Ralph Pina
  • Home
  • About
    • Studies
    • Oranje
    • Football
    • Reading
    • Reflecting on the last, lost decade
  • Terms
  • Contact
Select Page
Fighting aliens in De Hoop

Fighting aliens in De Hoop

by Ralph Pina | Feb 11, 2021 | conservation, De Hoop Nature Reserve, Featured Posts

My recent post, The Whale Trail in the Pandemic, has attracted enormous traffic, by the standards of my site at least. In it I opine that biological control of Acacia cyclops (rooikrans) in De Hoop Nature Reserve is failing because my – admittedly unscientific...
The Whale Trail in the pandemic

The Whale Trail in the pandemic

by Ralph Pina | Jan 24, 2021 | conservation, De Hoop Nature Reserve, Featured Posts, hiking, trails

As South Africa emerged from the hard lockdown in mid-2020, I became desperate to escape to the outdoors. On the off-chance that the Whale Trail was open, I contacted Cape Nature and easily obtained a booking for the trail in January 2021. The hugely popular trail was...
Hunting in Assegaaiboschkloof

Hunting in Assegaaiboschkloof

by Ralph Pina | Sep 11, 2019 | conservation, hiking, Hottentots Holland Nature Reserve, Jonkershoek Nature Reserve

It’s spring in the Cape and Santie decided that she wanted to hunt a wild population of blushing brides (Serruria florida) in Assegaaiboschkloof, the valley in which the Berg River rises before it drains into the Berg River Dam. So Santie, Magdel and I set off with a...

Fighting the Kogelberg fire

by Ralph Pina | Mar 21, 2011 | conservation, firefighting, Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve

The latest fire that swept through the Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve last week was nothing short of disastrous. Young veld burnt again and all the eleven-year old veld has been destroyed, so that, in the words of a nature conservation official, “everything between...

Jonkershoek colour explosion

by Ralph Pina | Nov 1, 2009 | Jonkershoek Nature Reserve

Photos of the Watsonias in Jonkershoek after the big summer fire and the winter rains. Deon and I took a cycle up the valley to capture them before the summer winds take their toll.  
Page 1 of 212»

Welcome to RalphPina.com

Thank you for visiting my outdoor blog. RalphPina.com documents my experiences over many years of appreciating, and adventuring in, Nature. It celebrates visual beauty, advocates minimal impact, reflects on humans’ relationship with our ecosphere, spans the planet but focuses on the wild diversity of southern Africa. Photos, videos and GPS maps of hiking, cycling, kayaking, abseiling, canoeing and windsurfing..

Recent Posts

  • Dropping down Cascades
  • Kloofing Visgat
  • Fighting aliens in De Hoop
  • The Whale Trail in the pandemic
  • Burnt dogs, no Englishmen
  • Mad dogs and Englishmen …
  • Hike above Kogelbaai
  • Deep into Hottentots Holland Nature Reserve
  • Zebra stripes and yellow streaks
  • Berg River Dam to Jonkershoek traverse
  • Blind Gully and Diagonal, Table Mountain
  • HH Epic Trail

Recent Comments

  • Greta on Grootvadersbosch and Boosmansbos
  • Ralph Pina on The Whale Trail in the pandemic
  • Diana Smit on Burnt dogs, no Englishmen
  • gwilford2012 on Hike above Kogelbaai
  • Ralph Pina on Hike above Kogelbaai

Twitter

Tweets by @ralphpina

Navigate

Feb 2021
MTWTFSS
1234567
891011121314
15161718192021
22232425262728
« Jan    

Analytics

  • Google
  • Sharing analytics

Friends

  • Peter Groves

Good Causes

  • Fire Information System for SA
  • The Cape Leopard Trust

Hiking sites I like

  • Boots and Fins
  • Ian Webb's Great Hikes in the Western Cape
  • Jacques Niemand – interesting hikes
  • Maps – Hike the Cederberg
  • Mountain Club of SA Stellenbosch Section
  • Mountain Meanders

Parks

  • Cape Nature
  • SANParks

Archives

Recent Posts

  • Dropping down Cascades
  • Kloofing Visgat
  • Fighting aliens in De Hoop
  • The Whale Trail in the pandemic
  • Burnt dogs, no Englishmen
  • Mad dogs and Englishmen …
  • Hike above Kogelbaai
  • Deep into Hottentots Holland Nature Reserve
  • Zebra stripes and yellow streaks
  • Berg River Dam to Jonkershoek traverse
  • Blind Gully and Diagonal, Table Mountain
  • HH Epic Trail
  • Three Sisters and Perdeberg
  • Perdekop escape
  • Botmaskop fly-past
  • Kromrivier Kloof: bucket list stuff
  • Solitude at Agtertafelberg hut
  • Turret Peak mission
  • Hunting in Assegaaiboschkloof
  • A weekend at Zoo Ridge
  • A pristine winter’s day on Victoria Peak
  • A militarised Wolhuter Wilderness Trail
  • Picnic at Hangklip
  • Gantouw Pass
  • Seweweekspoort Para-cycle Tour

Recent Comments

  • Greta on Grootvadersbosch and Boosmansbos
  • Ralph Pina on The Whale Trail in the pandemic
  • Diana Smit on Burnt dogs, no Englishmen
  • gwilford2012 on Hike above Kogelbaai
  • Ralph Pina on Hike above Kogelbaai
Feb 2021
MTWTFSS
1234567
891011121314
15161718192021
22232425262728
« Jan    

Recent Posts

  • Dropping down Cascades
  • Kloofing Visgat
  • Fighting aliens in De Hoop
  • The Whale Trail in the pandemic
  • Burnt dogs, no Englishmen

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License except where otherwise indicated for some photos. Kindly attribute by linking to this site or citing “www.ralphpina.com”.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google
  • Instagram
  • RSS

Designed and Developed by NetMechanic 2021