Other Regions

In July, 2008, two members of the MPA, who were checking the conservation status of the Magaliesberg from the air, noticed a massive new development that was taking place inside the Magaliesberg Protected Environment (MPE) at Olifantsnek. The MPA immediately informed the North West Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Environment and learnt that they had only recently become aware of this illegal development and were in the process of prosecuting the developer.

The much-awaited appeal took place in the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein on 13 May 2013. The MPA was represented by Advocates Peter Lazarus and Fiona Southwood, with Amanda van der Lith as our attorney, all three acting on a pro bono basis. There were two advocates representing the Province and one the developer. Kevin Gill and I (Paul Fatti) attended the hearing.

A luta continua!

Having lost its application for review of the North-West province’s post-hoc approval for the Kgaswane Country Lodge, a 57-bedroom upmarket hotel which had been illegally constructed inside the Magaliesberg Protected Environment, in the Mafikeng High Court, as well as the application to the Judge for leave to appeal her judgement, the Magaliesberg Protection Association (MPA) has now been granted leave to appeal the judgement in the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein.   The Heads of Argument have been submitted to the Court and we are now waiting for a court date, which will most probably be in the second half of the year.

On 10th January, 2012 the MPA at last received the judgement from the review hearing which had taken place in the Mafikeng High court on 4th August, 2011. We were disappointed but not surprised, given the Judge’s generally unsympathetic attitude towards the MPA’s case, that she dismissed our application for review of the North-West province’s post-hoc approval for the Kgaswane Country Lodge, a 57-bedroom upmarket hotel which had been illegally constructed inside the Magaliesberg Protected Environment, and of the MEC’s subsequent dismissal of the MPA’s appeal against this approval. What did surprise us was the Judge’s award of costs against the MPA.

Another sad day in the history of Nepal as yet another airplane crash claims 19 lives.

Among the more interesting Himalayan expeditions currently on the go is that of Swiss speed climber Uelie Steck, having recently arrived at Shishapangma Base Camp in Tibet. In this season he will attempt to climb Shishapagma (8027m), Cho Oyo (8201m) and Everest (8850m). As if that were not enough, as a warm-up he has just finished climbing Lobuje and the north face of Cholatse, two 6000m peaks in the Everest region of Nepal.

Source:

http://www.uelisteck.ch/en/news/news.html

http://www.everestnews.com/stories2011/steckbowie04122011.htm

Ueli Steck

A hiker was airlifted from the Magaliesberg on March 5th after breaking her ankle.

After a lot of work, submitting affidavits and responding to the responses from the other side, and having had a day in the Mafikeng High Court arguing for an interdict restraining Kgaswane Country Lodge from continuing with construction activities, we are now braced for the main review hearing, which has been set down for the 5th and 6th May, 2011. This is the hearing for MPA’s application for the decision by the MEC, dismissing the MPA’s appeal against his previous decision to approve the Section 24G application by the developer for “rectification” of the Kgaswane Country Lodge, a ± 50 bedroom upmarket hotel which had been illegally constructed inside the Magaliesberg Protected Environment, to be reviewed and set aside.

The popular route up Everest on the Nepal side will be officially fixed from Base Camp to summit this Spring 2011 climbing season.

A sad day in Nepalese mountaineering history as Chhewang Nima Sherpa was buried in an avalanch on Baruntse, a popular 7129m peak in the Everest region, on October 23, while busy fixing ropes to the summit at just over 7000m. His body has not been recovered and the search has been called off. He has an impressive list of achievements such as summitting Everest 19 times, Cho Oyo 6 times and Shishapangma 2 times. He is second only to Apa Sherpa in the record number of Everest summits.

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