Way before dawn, horses stomp impatiently at the cold winter air, keenly aware of a palpable pre-race tension that alerts them that another important race day is about to dawn. Grooms filled with an eager apprehension stir early, although they will probably vow they never slept at all, and set about the all important preparations for race day.

Curry combs scuff at fine thoroughbred coats with a strong, yet tender, touch that conveys an eager urging for the performance of a lifetime. Finely tuned and muscular flanks gleam in the first rays of sunrise. Hoof picks glint in the growing light, and everyone is alert to possible interference while they trim tails, plait manes and gently exercise the horses under their care. All the while grooms whisper quiet encouragement and the horses nuzzle back promises of doing the very best they can.

Breeders, trainers and horse owners also have a poor night’s sleep on pre-race nerves, and wake, often unable to face breakfast at the thought of the R3 million stake. They too are up early, overseeing preparations, pacing nervously and generally getting in the way and adding to the growing tensions around track.

Although South Africa is renown for its warm hospitality, there is little to beat the hearty welcome you’ll get at Ganora Guest Farm, a remote working sheep farm situated in the triangle between Graaf Reinet, Cradock and Middleburg just seven kilometres from Nieu Bethesda in the Eastern Cape’s Karoo.

It is a tranquil setting with woolly sheep and bleating lambs in a string of lush green pastures situated along a willow-lined river in a sheltered valley, unexpectedly protected from the harsh Karoo climate. It is a paradisiacal oasis where time seems to stand still.
Hester and JP Steynberg sold their original sheep farm and moved to Ganora (which means GARDEN WITH LIGHT in Hebrew) about 10 years ago, and they offer the warmest of South African welcomes, complete with a roaring fire in a rustic farm style dining room, delicious home cooked meals of sweet and tender Karoo lamb and the most delicious biltong soup. 

Despite the current volatile nature of world markets offshore investments are continuing to attract South African investors, who are now able to invest ZAR 2 million offshore in their private individual capacities. Figures from the Association of Collective Investments show a net inflow of ZAR803 million in the last quarter of 2007 into foreign currency dominated retail funds, followed by a net investment of ZAR459 million during the first quarter of 2008.

Information from Sanlam Private Investments (SPI) corroborates the growing offshore investment trend, with two-thirds of all SPI business in the first two months of this year being placed offshore. 

This leaves one nagging question: is offshore investment currently a sound investment policy for South Africans, or is it a desperate attempt to hedge one's bets driven by a combination of political and economic fear?

There's an unspoken tradition followed by all visitors to Kruger National Park (KNP), South Africa's oldest and largest game park situated in the north-east of the country, near the border with Mozambique and Zimbabwe. An integral part of the excitement of this modern form of hunting - better known as game viewing - is the custom of sharing information about animals and their locations with other visitors to the park.

Without this courtesy, two adults and two lithe teenage boys would not be trying to cram their inelegant bodies like sardines into the confines of the driver's side of the car … prodding with elbows for the best view, straining eyes (and other body parts), to be the first to sight the pair of pythons we had reliably been assured were up ahead. "They're up in the trees - you can't miss them," the friendly driver of a passing car had just told us.