50|50 Episode 38 Season 7: 3 November 2016

Wildebure: Western leopard toads

Western leopard toads are the largest, but also arguably the prettiest toads in southern Africa. This amphibian lives right on the south-western tip of our continent where it happily co-exists with millions of Capetonians – except during a single week in August. It is during this time that they must run the gauntlet of busy highways and other urban obstacles. They are this week’s Wildebure.

Tour de Wilderness: Tour de Tuli

There is a narrow fringe of land on the eastern border of Botswana that is wedged between Zimbabwe and South Africa. This dry but beautiful place is called the Tuli Block. Affectionately known as the “Land of Giants”, this arid wilderness is home to gigantic baobab and Mashatu trees, large herds of elephants, the tallest mammal, the giraffe, the largest antelope, the eland, the largest bird, the ostrich, the heaviest flying bird, the kori bustard and the king of the beasts, the lion. It is no surprise that this would be the very wilderness that Bertus chose to cross – on a bicycle! But he wasn’t the only one on this risky mission. Teams of mountain bikers took to the ancient trails left by elephants for the annual Wilderness Safaris’ Tour de Tuli, a 300 km, 4-day ride, all to support a worthy educational cause in Africa’s remote corners that inspires the next generation to become the future custodians of the wilderness areas in which they live.

Woolworths’ solar energy:

We shine the spotlight on how South Africa’s top retailers are beginning to move away from dirty coal based energy supplies, rather turning to solar energy to power their industries. For retailers such as Woolworths, a new dawn is steadily rising on the age of renewable power sources.

VeldFokus:

This week on VeldFokus we take a moment to look back at some of the highlights of the season before the final announcement of the winners next week. As always the animals never cease to entertain, no matter how many times we watch them.