Do not disturb!

Verreauxs' Eagle Owl (English)
Reuse Ooruil (Afrikaans)
iFebesi (Zulu)

The largest sub-Saharan eagle-owls, identified by their distinctive sleepy pink eyelids. They live in the savannah regions, nesting in trees in the stick nests of other birds. They lay two eggs but, like the big eagles, only raise one chick. Their diet consists of small mammals (including hedgehogs!), birds and even other owls.

All the birds in the African Bird of Prey Sanctuary, close to Pietermaritzburg, are either captive-bred, or 'unreleaseable rehabilitation birds' - in other words, raptors which have come into a rehabilitation centre sick or injured and cannot be successfully healed and release back into the wild.

The sanctuary have a daily show where one can see these predators in an interactive flying display, and learn more about these beautiful creatures.

Something for everyone.

Yesterday I asked you to guess where I found the gheko. Thanks to everyone who responded.

Well done to Marq it was indeed uShaka. Hyde DP was very close with a shopping mall.

The area sporting the gheko's is athis mini mall, with shops and various restuarants.

Is it a handrail?

People walk up and down the stairs, some use this handrail, but I wonder how many notice it's in the shape of a gheko.

The smaller details, while not initially obvious, give a place its ambiance. Those who created this venue obviously understand the concept, because they have given wonderful attention to every detail. The more I see, the more impressed I am with the whole establishment.

Any guesses where I found this one? I'll reveal all tomorrow :-)

A Flat block.

Depending on where you live, you will refer to this building as a tower block, and apartment block, a high-rise apartment building, or an MDU short for Multi Dwelling Unit.

In South Africa we refert to it as a block of flats. I wondered where this term originated, until I spotted this one. It looks so flat - almost like it's a cardboard cutout.

Wire sculpture

Wandering around the shops at uShaka, I was rather fascinated by this unusual piece of art. Not sure what to call it, and wire sculpture are the first words which pop into the mind. Rather well done, don't you think?

Swimming with the fishes.

In answer to the questions from yesterday's post .... the wreck really does look authentic, and is well worth a visit, if every you're in Durban. Its obvious those who created this aquarium had a lot of fun doing so, because they've done an excellent job.

Inside the ship, the wreck theme is maintained, and you feel you're swimming with the fishes - without the concrete shoes of course - so it's a very pleasant experience.

In this one the ship is upside-down, with all the controls hanging from the "ceiling" and the fish swimming past, just as one would expect if it had sunk.

Wrecked.

This manufactured wreck of an early 1900's steamship, houses the viewing windows for all the aquarium tanks of uShaka Marine World.

188 workers, together with artists from the Alan Paton studio, spent many hours and much effort to make this wreck look authentic. Regular touch-ups are needed to keep this fibreglass, concrete and wooden structure looking like a lot of rusted metal.