Grootbos Private Nature Reserve

Posted on 29. Jun, 2006 by Cassandra in Streetflava

There’s some rather disturbing news doing the rounds that some dude is planning to use the power of the Internet and photography to post some really hectic crime photographs from South Africa.

If you’re going to visit this site – then do so. But remember, South Africa has challenges and at the same time huge opportunities.
If you have a problem in your family, you don’t take pictures of it and encourage your friends to never visit again. You band together, fix the problem – with the help of your friends – and move on.

Call us idealists, but do us a favour – after you’ve seen that other website – come back to our photoblog and browse through the archives for a bit.
Go to Frozen Motion and check out Ambuscher’s amazing shots – head to Gosu and see what won Jason the award for best Middle Eastern and African photoblog – go visit Lor who’s site Apparently Nothing has consistently been voted one of the best blogs in the UK….and then decide for yourself whether it’s better to dwell on the challenge or the opportunity.

Preach out.

Check out our lastest photoset from Grootbos Private Nature Reserve.

9 Responses to “Grootbos Private Nature Reserve”

Fatima

29. Jun, 2006

The effects of this website:
Let’s see
1. 1000’s of tourists not coming to South Africa.
2. People in tourism industry losing their jobs because of the lack of foreign tourists.
3. Businesses that thrive on the tourism industry will fail.
4. A lot of those that will suffer unemployment because of the job loss that occurred due to the lack of tourists will eventually turn to crime to bring in some sort of income.
Interesting cycle.
The Don

29. Jun, 2006

While I think you may have a valid point I think the one thing that all South African’s seem to agree on is that we have an alarming rate of violent crime in this country and that the government seem either too inept or disinterested to do anything about it. A site like this (if it gets the interest I think it will) will embarrass and force them to action.
While you can hardly compare the two, watching a SABC documentary on the Soweto riots last night it was clear how the youth of this nation pushed a global spotlight on the indecency and atrocity of the previous regime.
Sometimes I think it is because of the majesty and beauty of our country that we (me included) get blinkered from the suffering and the violence that plagues thousands every day. Perhaps this website will help level the playing fields.
Preach out.
Dave

29. Jun, 2006

This website is brilliant. Why do we sweep the horrendous rate of crime and violence under the carpet. We allow our people to be murdered every day. We allow our lives to be affected by it every day (burglar bars, locked doors, security guards). If a consequence of resolving crime in South Africa is a reduction in the number of tourists then so be it. All out war should be declared on crime and violence in Soutb Africa. Clearly the government is not going to do anything, it will be left to the citizens.
The critics of this website are scam artists trying to dupe tourists into believing the country’s crime situation isn’t “that” bad. Its exactly that mentality that allows crime to proliferate. They turn a blind eye because it might not have directly affected them. The kind of people who would censor the release of a Koeberg melt down in case tourists don’t come to Cape Town. F*&% the tourists and all the apathetic politically correct middle class muppets in SA who think this website should be censored, you are doing exactly what the government wants you to do, and it is WRONG!
Brett

29. Jun, 2006

The government of this country is a democratically elected one and as far as I understand represents the people’s choice of leadership.
If they’re doing a crap job of managing crime (which they clearly are) then the people that are so unhappy should vote them out. That’s what happened here in Cape Town. Now we have a city run by the DA instead of the ANC, but the tossing of rocks at cars on the city’s highways is as bad, if not worse, than it was before.
Is the DA now to blame for not doing anything about it?
There’s a big problem here that is a complex one to solve. Posting pictures to create bad PR on the net is not going to stop crime, make the government suddenly realise that there’s a problem or help South Africa.
Nobody’s saying that crime isn’t a problem, but perhaps there are better, more effective and constructive ways of getting attention and hopefully helping.
Cherryflava

29. Jun, 2006

First prize would obviously be to shoot the bastards – and hope they don’t have more ammo than you do.
But our point is that surely there are better, less destructive ways of proving a point. This method is similar to dropping a nuclear bomb on the place just so that everyone will sit up and take notice.
Old Mandela was fairly effective in his persuit of his goal without causing harm.
Why is the solution to crime in this country always laced with hate.
If it’s not the bloody death penalty being called for, then we’ll hang the country ourselves with bad publicity.
Maybe if we all got off our arses and came up with strategies to solve the problem, like we do when giving advice on how to win the tri-nations, there might be some light at the end of this here tunnel.
Dave

29. Jun, 2006

Brett, publicising crime instead of censoring it does help. But if you’re so sure that it isn’t going to help then why don’t you suggest something else?
And another thing, local municipalities are powerless to reduce crime. Policing budgets are set at national level and so is pratically everything else which could affect the crime rate!
Brett

29. Jun, 2006

Dave, the nation’s media has been doing a fine job of publicising the countries crime for a number of years now, with limited success in its reduction.
The solution is the one I have already suggested. Make your unhappness felt with your vote in the next general election.
As far as local government goes: they have the power to channel the budgets they are given and highlight their needs at a provincial and national level.
Make a noise to your local council. If they don’t do something about it, vote for someone who will.
Dave

29. Jun, 2006

I can’t vote, I live overseas and have therefore been disenfranchised. Criminals in jail have the vote, I don’t!
The media does a shocking job of publicising crime. Was the police massacre in Joburg a couple of days ago on the front page of all nationwide newspapers for a few days, if at all? If they did a good job of publicising crime why would this new website be sensational, surely they would just be echoing what appears in the media. Unfortunately the more familiar people in SA become with crime the more “acceptable” it seems to become.
A spate of murders in any other other country does not galvanise the population to vote for a different political party!
capdog

29. Jun, 2006

I like the way they are targeting the World Cup!
Maybe Fifa will say “Hang on, no world cup until government cleans up crime..” and then there will be action!
It’s kinda sad that our cries for help have fallen on deaf ears, so now we have to threaten to saboutage this major event in order to get the point made. Kinda like, the government will only listen if there’s something more at stake than simply the lives of the citizens.
I say go for it, I’d rather see action on crime than a world cup. Who is going to take responsibilty for the murdered tourists? Because we all know there will be many, many casualties if things don’t improve DRASTICALLY.