Gardens, Parks, Nature 
South Africa: Tenikwa Center for “Lesser Cats”(1)
Do you, like most people who speak Spanish, think that “caracal” is a misspelling for “caracol” (snail)? Well, it isn’t. A caracal is one of the endangered wild cats of South Africa, about the size of a cocker spaniel dog, with beautiful face markings and big, dark ears, very shy and, unfortunately, fast becoming rarer [...]
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South Africa: Addo National Elephant Park
It is 5:15 a.m. when I get in my little grey Micra Nissan rental car. The pre-dawn sky is laced with clouds showing just a pale tinge of pink around the edges. The weather forecast said it will be 32 degrees today. I set off on the dusty dirt track from my guest house, direction [...]
Malaysia: Tropical Spice Garden experience
Have you actually ever seen the tree from which the cinammon bark comes? Or tasted fresh nutmeg juice (deliciously refreshing, by the way)? These and many other delights await the visitor of the Tropical Spice Garden on Penang Island.
At the main gate, you are given an organic citronella insect repellant to rub on any exposed [...]
Malaysia: Beautiful Penang Butterfly Farm
One of my main reasons for coming to Penang (other than meeting up with a cousin who is sailing around the world), was to visit the Butterfly Farm. I had read about it back in the 90s and now my dream has come true.
This live-butterfly sanctuary has been in operation since 1986 [...]