Woodpecker Travel And Tours

21/07/2025

Woodpecker Travel and Tours has been on a communication sabbatical! The first half of the year has flown by and there is a lot to talk about! Here are some photos from tours that I will expand on in the next few days

05/07/2025

27/04/2025

Woodpecker has just returned from a wet, but exciting, trip to Ficksburg and Lesotho. The following posts are a new approach - video! This one is a collage of images from our visit to Sandstone Trust. Thanks to Jono Leeming for sharing his creative skill.

16/04/2025

Woodpecker visited Marakele last week. The game viewing didn’t disappoint. However, the natural beauty of the topography and vegetation is something to behold. The summer and autumn rains have turned the park into a haven of green.

11/04/2025

Do you know the origin of the saying “Sleep tight”?
This is a perfect example - a bed frame with leather “riempie” supports for what would probably be a mattress filled with down feathers or even hay. We found this really tight one in the Kedar Paul Kruger museum. After some use the leather straps would stretch and the tight sleep would become a sagging one!

31/03/2025

Pilanesberg National Game Reserve is, at the moment, a place of contradictions. The natural environment is a haven for birds and animals. It really is sad that, despite the efforts of resorts and other organisations, the province seems to be totally disinterested in maintaining the infrastructure. The lack of maintenance of tar roads has been a continuous source of distress for loyal visitors for a long time. After the good rains of this summer we found that negotiating the rest of the road network is becoming increasingly difficult. One wonders what the situation would be without the amazing contribution of volunteer organisations? Such a pity!

27/03/2025

There is an historic and cultural jewel in the North West. Woodpecker Travel and Tours was invited to visit Kedar Lodge during a recent visit to the War Museum. Adele Forsyth and her family are continuing the legacy created by her late husband, Robert, who died tragically in a road accident in 2022. Here are some “tasters” of what is intended to expand our relationship. The links below are by no means comprehensive, as Kedar has created a diverse array of tributes to the full spectrum of cultural and historic personalities who have served South Africa with distinction.

26/03/2025

Woodpecker Travel and Tours is in the Pilanesberg. Despite excellent growth of the variety of grasses and shrubs, we have seen many of the species of fauna that call this extinct volcano their home. However, it is the beautiful scenery that adds so much appeal to this unique game reserve.

19/03/2025

The Spiral Aloe is Lesotho’s National flower. I have often heard that some plants spiral clockwise and others spiral anticlockwise. Despite claims that the direction of the spiral is indicative of male vs female gender, that it is incorrect. Some identify as elephants and others as whales!!!!!!!

04/03/2025

Have you ever seen what Pensioners’ Can Can looks like? ……

28/02/2025

I was invited to do a tourism presentation for the U3A Krugersdorp Travel Group on Thursday. An excellent event held at quite a unique venue - Cork Tree Restaurant and Conference. Naturally, curiosity got the better of me as I have only seen one other Cork tree in South Africa. The photos attest to the fact that it makes absolute sense to name the venue after this magnificent specimen. I can only guess that this is a very old tree!

24/02/2025

We had a WET week in the Drakensberg. With a fantastic attitude of my guests and hosts William and Hilda Thornhill creating a “home from home”, we were able to visit a number of the amazing gems that the central Berg has to offer….