African Wildlife & Environment Issue 80

FAUNA, FLORA & WILDLIFE

Born on 11 July 1961 in Johannesburg, I did not realize at the time what a privilege it would be growing up on the continent of Africa. In the UK a girl called Diana Frances Spencer was born ten days earlier on 1 July 1961, and it was interesting as the years rolled by to follow her life in terms of what she was able to achieve and had to endure in her life as a Royal. I had parents that had a love for nature, and they had a huge influence SIXTY YEARS OF CONSERVATION MILESTONES

on my childhood years. We regularly visited the world- renowned Kruger National Park (KNP) where my young mind got to love the incredible biodiversity on offer.

Bryan Havemann

place called Shu Shu.These were hot springs on an island in the Tugela River.There were 50 campsites on the island that were hired out to families who had been involved there since the early 1900s, and the privilege had been passed down to the next generations. My grandfather, David Alfred Julius Havemann, used to negotiate with the local chief and agree on the terms and rental for that year. The local community members used to benefit from all the 'tourists' coming into the area and they would also get work by selling curios, looking after the camps, sealing the camp site floors with cow dung to keep the dust away, collecting water,

My grandparents, both on my father and mother's side, had farms in Kwa Zulu-Natal (KZN) where I also spent many weeks a year on holidays learning how to drive, hunt and fish. I am grateful that I grew up in the era before cell phones, x-boxes, and social media. It was also a time where we could spend the whole day playing in the bush, riding our bicycles, and the only security issues that our parents were concerned about was, that you had to be home before dark. The July school holidays were always special, because the Havemann family would migrate to the Tugela River beyond Kranskop to a special

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