Our pack have been on the move almost constantly since April. Jeremy meandered around KZN, Jo’burg and the Lowveld, while Emma explored new areas of Zambia and caught up with all the travel professionals at Indaba, World Travel Market Africa and We Are Africa.
In June we supported the Pangolin Working Group with their fund raising dinner and art auction in Jo’burg. They are not wild dogs, but as Africa’s most trafficked animal, they need help too.
The Pangolin dinner was like the Dinner for the Dogs we held in November 2016, when we were desperately raising funds for a vaccination programme having lost 11% of the wild dog population to Canine Distemper Virus.
Next week, Jeremy will be back in KZN, attending a host of wine pairing events, two of which will be fundraisers for tracking collars for wild dogs. At each of these events, the wine will be 100% donated and a portion of the ticket price will go towards this fundraising endeavour. We are proud to say, that we don’t just put our wine where your mouths are, we put our money where our mouths are. We recently fully funded a wild dog tracking collar. Here it is, ready to send crucial information back to the researchers and conservationists in the area.
There are three types of collars used by researchers: VHF, GPS and Satellite. Which one is chosen depends on the area the dog is in, how easy it is to get signal, and of course the weight. International guidelines state that the collar cannot exceed 4% of the animal’s weight and are comfortable for them to wear. Collars range in price from R6000 to R55,000, and we would like to raise enough funds to sponsor quite a few.
To discover the key reasons for putting tracking collars on African wild dogs – read this very interesting article.
Two great opportunities to taste our wines
Both take place on 27 July. The first is a lunchtime canapes and wine event at Two Acres in Hillcrest and the second is a three course meal at the Fig Tree Café and Deli in Hluhluwe.
Two Acres Tearoom, 1 Country Lane , Assagay, Hillcrest: 11h00 – 14h00, 27 July 2018
Two Acres tearoom presents a lunch time Conservation Conversation wine tasting with canapes.
Jeremy will be joined by Pippa Hankinson and Tristan Dickerson. Pippa is the producer of the international award winning documentary BLOOD LIONS®, an exposé on the captive predator breeding and canned hunting industry in South Africa. Tristan is a Leopard researcher and creator of the documentary TO SKIN A CAT, a film addressing the loss of leopard populations to the skin trade and how creative cross- cultural change can turn the tables for leopards.
All three will speak about their passion for predators and what can be done to help them. Jeremy will present a wine for each talk that he thinks matches the characteristics of each animal: Exciting and packed with personality for the African wild dogs, a bit more gravitas to reflect lion behaviour and finally reflecting the mystery and scarcity of leopards. The wine and talks will be accompanied by mouth-watering finger foods from the Two Acres kitchens.
Cost: R250 per person with (R50 going to the EWT/Wildlife ACT collar campaign)
To book: contact Kathleen Walsh: 083 303 3576
The Fig Tree Café and Deli, 1 Ngweni Road, Hluhluwe: 19h00 – 22h00, 27 July 2018
Pippa and Suzy took over the Fig Tree Café and Deli in Hluhluwe a few years ago. Their aim was to create a wonderful space where local people could get good, fresh, simple meals. They are gaining a reputation for quality food at affordable prices and are attracting international tourists and South African travelers to their garden oasis in this out of the way spot. Because of their commitment to conservation, they loved the Painted Wolf Wines story and now stock three of our labels as their house wines. If you pop in for lunch, you can choose between the den Sauvignon Blanc, Pinotage or Pinotage Rosé.
This fundraising dinner is going to expand their wine list for the night.
The cost of this amazing meal is R360 per person with R90 going to the Endangered Wildlife Trust/ Wildlife ACT collars campaign.
Contact Suzy or Pippa on: 082 045 1647 or info(at)figtreecafe.co.za
(only 30 places are available, payment in advance is essential for booking)