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| << August15, 2005 - Turtle Essays Edition no 143 dated 15th August 2005 |
August29, 2005 - Turtle Essays edition no 145 dated 29.8.2005 >> |
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Turtle Essays Edition no 144 dated 22.8.2005 ** Watch this space for Cape Town tours I will soon be offering. Interested in what I will be doing Email me today at Geoff@turtlesa.com ** In this edition: Editor's Blurb Mesothelioma haunts Kuruman Baggage and touring tips ** Editor's Blurb. Hi there folks. A big Cape Town welcome to all my new and regular readers. This week I have traveled away from Cape Town into the Northern Cape for my first article. Mesothelioma a form of lung cancer caused by asbestos is rife in the Kuruman area. My article covers some of the history of the town and a bit of the tragedy that is playing itself out in the area. As I am training to become a tour guide and am aware of problems that people have with their baggage I have decided to give you some tips for luggage handling when you come to Cape Town. I hope you enjoy the articles. See you all next week. Geoff Fairman ** Mesothelioma haunts Kuruman Kuruman a small town in the Northern Cape has been in the news of late for all the wrong reasons. The town which was laid out in 1887 actually dates back to 1812 when the missionary Robert Moffat bought land from the Tlapin tribe to establish a mission station in the area. From 1887 the town grew steadily and finally became a Municipality in 1916. It is named after a San Chief, Khuduman, who was killed on a hill overlooking the town by the Tlapin people. Kuruman has a second name which is Gasegonyana, meaning Small Calabash. The town boasts a few historical buildings and a church which was built in 1831 and still has mud floors and wooden beams supporting a thatched roof . The Northern Cape region is rich in asbestos, manganese, haematite, crocidolite, iron and tiger eye. Since the discovery of the minerals, asbestos has been extensively mined, mainly near the towns of Prieska, Koega and Kuruman. Unbeknown to their inhabitants a monster was lurking in those mines and it was about to strike down many of them. Mesothelioma, a form of lung cancer, which has a 38 year latency period was that monster. During the 1960's a research unit of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research began investigating the relationship between asbestos and cancer. It was discovered that the risk of death through asbestosis or mesothelioma and cancer of the stomach was severely increased in blue asbestos areas. Unfortunately for many residents and miners the discovery of the link has come too late. Hundreds of them have contracted illnesses caused by carcinogenic fibres stemming from the asbestos mines of the Northern Cape. The whole region is heavily polluted with blue asbestos carcinogenic fibres that have been mined for decades with little or no regard for the safety of asbestos mine workers or their families. The effects of the mines will be felt for decades to come as hundreds, possibly thousands more people become ill and die from asbestos-related diseases. Good News! The authorities have stepped in and all asbestos mines have been closed down. In certain instances mines were abandoned by owners fearing large claims from nearby communities who were suffering from asbestos induced illnesses. As these owners cannot be traced it has fallen to the Department of Minerals and Energy to rehabilitate the ownerless mines. They have spent in excess R5million so far rehabilitating these mines. In total out of the 43 mines in the region 19 mines have been rehabilitated while 26 of them are still awaiting rehabilitation.. Where rehabilitation has taken place the veld has been returned to its original condition with grass pushing through the red earth that is found in the area. Unfortunately for people living near unrehabilitated mines the threat of mesothelioma still exists. The community and especially the people who have contracted asbestos related diseases have decided not to the matter lying down. They have appointed legal council who have over the past number of years taken the matter of compensation up with the mines through the courts. A number of these cases have been successful and mines have been ordered to pay milllions of rands worth of compensation to people currently suffering from asbestos related ailments. Millions have also been set aside for people who might contract diseases in the future. For the region which could have benefited from the mines the legacy left behind by them is a trail of death as the silent stalker does its work in the community. Your prayers for the sick in these communites will be greatly appreciated. Geoff Fairman ** Baggage and touring tips When traveling to a foreign country your holiday or stay can be marred by the first person you meet at the airport. Entering any country from abroad is always stressful as you never know what will happen in the customs section. You could get an official in a bad mood and he could treat you very rudely or if you are lucky be extremely helpful. A recent trip to an Indonesian Island was quite traumatic as I was one of the last persons to get through customs. When I arrived to claim my baggage a number of porters accosted me and of course wanted a tip for carrying my baggage. Being a South African abroad I had dollars with me and when this was converted to the islands local currency I had no idea as to the value of the notes I was given. The result was that I refused the porters help and carried my own bags as I was not prepared to be taken for a ride by the islanders. The above is obviously experienced by many people arriving in South Africa and I would like to allay some of your fears in this regard. If you are part of a tour group you should be met by a local tour guide who once he has gathered all his passengers together will check that everyone has his/her luggage. If your luggage has not arrived or been tampered with it must be reported to the airline officials before you leave the airport. Your guide is there to assist you to do this. Most passengers collect a trolley for their luggage before passing through customs and then wheel it through to the terminal building where they are met by their guide. Don't expect your luggage to get to the coach by itself. Ensure that you stay with it and that it is loaded onto the coach. Your guide will be watching and counting the number of bags loaded as it is his duty to see that the same number of bags that get loaded onto the coach come off when you reach your hotel. It is not necessary to tip the porter loading the coach as this will be done by the guide. On arrival at your hotel the guide will supervise the unloading of your luggage but you should be there to identify it before it is whisked away to your room. There are many pitfalls that can occur with luggage especially when a tour guide does not tip porters at a hotel. Luggage although not missing will be dropped into someone else's room to embarrass the guide for not paying the porterage. At the end of the day retrieving your luggage yourself and keeping an eye on it will ensure that it gets to your hotel room. What to do in Cape Town once you have settled in. There are many day tours available with the main one being the grand tour of the Cape Peninsula where you visit Cape Point and stop off at various places along the way. A second tour which is always enjoyed is a trip to the winelands where there are many estates and many wines to taste. These tours include cellar tours in some instances. Township tours are also very interesting as in them you will experience a lifestyle that you are not likely to see anywhere else in the world. The West Coast tours are also good especially in September when all the flowers start blooming. The stunning beauty of the Langebaan lagoon, the fossils at the fossil park and the Mykanos Casino are just some of the attractions on this tour. To add some tranquility to your Cape Town holiday a visit to the Kirstenbosch Botanical gardens is a must. In this small tract of land most of the Cape's Floral Kingdom is on display and if you did not know, there are more species of plants in the Cape Floral Kingdom than in the whole of the British Isles. Would you like to tour some of these places with a guide who knows Cape Town like the back of his hand. Contact me at Geoff@turtlesa.com for more information on what I have to offer you in tours. Would love to show you around. Geoff Fairman ** Ezines R Us Ads: http://www.ezines-r-us.com/cmd.php?af=293028 ** Excellent Pay and Rapid Growth giving people what they want - FREE! This IS the Next Revolution in the ENTIRE Home Business Industry. Don't believe me? Go to >>> http://ddp1.com/go.php?723 ** Turn your dog into the best behaved pooch on the park with Secrets of a Professional Dog Trainer Guide Book http://www.dogproblems.com/clicksecrets.htm?hop=brerrabbit ** Turtle Travels new blog is online now. http://turtleessays.blogspot.com There are some interesting new articles being posted today. Be sure not to miss them. ** Start your own home nursery and earn yourself some pocket money! Find out how to do it from an expert. Here is his link: http://hop.clickbank.net/?brerrabbit/mcplants ** Sometimes one gets lucky! I did when I came across this site by accident. Its offers stunned me so I decided to try it out to see if it was for real. It Was! This amazing members-only website run by a top internet marketer, is UNIQUELY available: at http://www.pr-pl.com/a.php?ELn Check it out today and get some of the free stuff offered as bonuses. ** For my personal details, contact address, and warnings regarding products advertised in this ezine please read the disclaimers which can be found at: http://www.turtlesa.com/Disclaimer.html |
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| << August15, 2005 - Turtle Essays Edition no 143 dated 15th August 2005 |
August29, 2005 - Turtle Essays edition no 145 dated 29.8.2005 >> |
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