In Limpopo at Swadini, A Forever Resort an undocumented Dragonfly has been found and celebrated. This is the first time that this Dragonfly has formally been documented in the country; needless to say, it is also good news for the Limpopo ecosystem.  

Earlier this year Swadini started a project with the aim of understanding the ecosystem in and around the Resort ultimately exposing guests and students to a wealth of knowledge. The project was started in partnership with Neels Snyman, Flip du Plessis as well as Dries de Vries, guests staying on the Resort documenting and monitoring this new species. The Dragonfly named Eastern Scissortail was found and photographed by Antoinette Snyman on the 20th of May 2019.    

“Dragonflies and Damselflies play a key role in both the terrestrial and aquatic habitats. They are predators as both nymphs and adults feed on a variety of prey including nuisance species such as mosquitos, ants and biting flies. Dragonflies are also able to consume their own body weight in as little as half an hour. Dragonflies’ are nature’s way of pest control – natural alternative”, said Nols van der Berg, General Manager at Swadini. van der Berg added some fun facts about these interesting little creatures:

• Dragonflies were some of the first winged insects to evolve, some 300 million years ago.
• There are more than 5,000 known species of dragonflies
• In their larval stage, which can last up to two years, dragonflies are aquatic and eat just about anything—tadpoles, mosquitoes, fish, other insect larvae and even each other. Dragonflies are expert fliers. They can fly straight up and down, hover like a helicopter and even mate mid-air. If they can’t fly, they’ll starve because they only eat prey they catch while flying.
• Dragonflies, which eat insects as adults, are a great control on the mosquito population. A single dragonfly can eat 30 to hundreds of mosquitoes per day.
• Some adult dragonflies live for only a few weeks while others live up to a year. 

The Resort is not only home to the newly documented Eastern Scissortail Dragonfly, but also home to other unique Dragonflies such as Painted Sprite, Great Sprite, Lined Claspertail and Spined Fairytail. 

Unique trees located at Swadini include Lebombo clusterleaf, Carrot-tree, Mitzeeri, Forest fever tree and Matumi. Unique birds can also be found in Swadini and include Crowned Eagle, African Black Duck, African Finfoot, Half-collared Kingfisher as well as the Trumpeter Hornbill.  Wild animals that can be found in, and around the Resort include Leopard, Kudu, Hippo, Crocodiles, Waterbuck, Bushbuck, Meerkat, Duiker, Mongoose and Impala.

 “Overall, our vision is to leave behind a wealth of knowledge, understanding and awareness for the unique Fauna and Flora in and around Swadini and the Blyde River Nature Reserve for future generations”, van der Berg concluded.

Mpumalanga, South Africa – Today, 13 January 2019 the third stage of the 4th Mpumalanga Cycle Tour started at Forever Resort Swadini and finished at Forever Resort Blyde Canyon. The Mpumalanga Cycle Tour of seven days is the longest cycle tour in South Africa with an overall distance of 817km and a climb of 15 495m.  Today was also the final stage for the Veterans, Juniors and Open Groups. The Elite group will continue with the rest of the Mpumalanga Cycle Tour.   

Distance: 90.3km

Start for the Veterans, Juniors and Open Groups: 08:30

Start for Elite Group: 09:15

Start Elevation: 628M

Max Elevation: 1274 M

Gain: 1756M 

Final Prize-giving Results for the three day tour so far in the Category: Juniors & Vets:
Best Young Rider, KOM (King of the Mountain) and Points: Travis Stedman – Rider 614 

Final Prize-giving Results for the three day tour in the Category: Veterans 40+: Johan Naudé – Rider 476 

Final Prize-giving Results for the three day tour in the Category: Veterans 30+: Phillip Mudau – Rider 347

Overall Category winner (Juniors, Veterans and Open) for the three day tour: Damon Fouchee (17yrs) – Rider 618 

Stage 3 Results:

• Stage Open Category Winner: Shaun Ramahlodi – Rider 976
• Stage Junior Category Winner: Travis Stedman – Rider 614 2019 

Mpumalanga Cycle Tour Race Stages:

Monday, 14 January 2019: Stage 4: Forever Resort Blyde Canyon to Mbombela Stadium
Distance: 148,3 Kilometres
Start Elevation: 1163 Metres
Max Elevation: 1721 Metres  

Tuesday, 15 January 2019: Stage 5: Forever Hotel White River
Distance: 129,5 Kilometres
Start Elevation: 943 Metres
Max Elevation: 972 Metres 

Wednesday, 16 January 2019: Stage 6: Mbombela to Forever Resort Badplaas
Distance: 97 Kilometres
Start Elevation: 682 Metres
Max Elevation: 1557 Metres

Thursday, 17 January 2019: Stage 7: Forever Resort Badplaas to Forever Resort Loskopdam
Distance: 197,2 Kilometres
Start Elevation: 1112 Metres
Max Elevation: 1791 Metres

Mpumalanga, South Africa – On 11 January 2019 the first stage of the 4th Mpumalanga Cycle Tour started at Forever Resort Blyde Canyon and finished at Forever Resort Swadini. The Mpumalanga Cycle Tour of seven days is the longest cycle tour in South Africa with a distance of 817km and a climb of 15 495m.

Distance: 90.3kmStart: 09:00
Start Elevation: 1164
MMax Elevation: 1274 M
Gain: 1223 M 

Top 3 finalists for day 1, stage 1:

1. Rider 6 - Willie Smit from NAD with a time of 02:15:56
2. Rider 23 - Jayde Julius from ProTouch Sports 
3. Rider 14 - Calvin Beneke from Luso ACDC Pro Cycling Team 

First KOM @ 2km results:

1. Rider 1 - Matthew Beers from NAD
2. Rider 32 - Jean Pierre Lloyd from OfficeGuru Racing U23 Cycling Team 
3. Rider 42 - Alex Miller from Nam Nat Team (Namibian team) 

First Hotspot @ 14.2km results:

1. Rider 28 - Myles van Musschenbroek from Pro Touch Continental
2. Rider 15 - Andries Nigiri from Luso ACDC Pro Cycling Team 
3. Rider 26 - Rohan du Plooy from Pro Touch Continental 

Second KOM @ 26.6km results:

1. Rider 31 - Travis Barrett from Office Guru
2. Rider 1 - Matthew Beers from NAD 
3. Rider 16 - Christiaan Jooste from Luso ACDC Pro Cycling Team  

Second Hotspot @ 39.7km results:

1. Rider 2 - Gawie Combrink from NAD
2. Rider 6 - Willie Smit from NAD 
3. Rider 3 - Nico Bell from NAD 

Third Hotspot @ 55km results:

1. Rider 14 - Calvin Beneke from Luso ACDC Pro Cycling Team
2. Rider 1 - Matthew Beers from NAD 
3. Rider 29 - Dillan Girdelstone from Office Guru 

2019 Mpumalanga Cycle Tour Race Stages:

Saturday, 12 January 2019: Stage 2: Forever Resort Swadini to Orpen Gate and back to Forever Resort Swadini
Distance: 121 Kilometres
Start Elevation: 636 Metres
Max Elevation: 742 Metres 

Sunday, 13 January 2019: Stage 3: Forever Resort Swadini to Forever Resort Blyde Canyon
Distance: 90,3 Kilometres
Start Elevation: 628 Metres
Max Elevation: 1274 Metres 

Monday, 14 January 2019: Stage 4: Forever Resort Blyde Canyon to Mbombela Stadium
Distance: 148,3 Kilometres
Start Elevation: 1163 Metres
Max Elevation: 1721 Metres 

Tuesday, 15 January 2019: Stage 5: Forever Hotel White River
Distance: 129,5 Kilometres
Start Elevation: 943 Metres
Max Elevation: 972 Metres 

Wednesday, 16 January 2019: Stage 6: Mbombela to Forever Resort Badplaas
Distance: 97 Kilometres
Start Elevation: 682 Metres
Max Elevation: 1557 Metres

Thursday, 17 January 2019: Stage 7: Forever Resort Badplaas to Forever Resort Loskopdam
Distance: 197,2 Kilometres
Start Elevation: 1112 Metres
Max Elevation: 1791 Metres

Mpumalanga, South Africa – On 11 January 2019 the 4th Mpumalanga Cycle Tour took place starting at Forever Resort Blyde Canyon.  There are a total of seven stages across Mpumalanga and approximately 100 long distance road cyclists are expected to participate including some international riders. Apart from competing for the various titles the total value of the prizes add up to approximately R128 000.00.

Willie Smit is one of the well-known riders, was approached by the Italian team, Katusha Alpecin after his results last year. This year Smit will be participating alongside some of his Katusha Alpecin team members.

2019 Mpumalanga Cycle Tour Race Stages:
Friday, 11 January 2019: Stage 1: Forever Resort Blyde Canyon to Forever Resort Swadini
Distance: 90,3 Kilometres
Start Elevation: 1164Metres Max
Elevation: 1274 Metres

Saturday, 12 January 2019: Stage 2: Forever Resort Swadini to Orpen Gate and back to Forever Resort Swadini
Distance: 121 Kilometres
Start Elevation: 636 Metres
Max Elevation: 742 Metres

Sunday, 13 January 2019: Stage 3: Forever Resort Swadini to Forever Resort Blyde Canyon
Distance: 90,3 Kilometres
Start Elevation: 628 Metres
Max Elevation: 1274 Metres

Monday, 14 January 2019: Stage 4: Forever Resort Blyde Canyon to Mbombela Stadium
Distance: 148,3 Kilometres
Start Elevation: 1163 Metres
Max Elevation: 1721 Metres

Tuesday, 15 January 2019: Stage 5: Forever Hotel White River
Distance: 129,5 Kilometres
Start Elevation: 943 Metres
Max Elevation: 972 Metres

Wednesday, 16 January 2019: Stage 6: Mbombela to Forever Resort Badplaas
Distance: 97 Kilometres
Start Elevation: 682 Metres
Max Elevation: 1557 Metres

Thursday, 17 January 2019: Stage 7: Forever Resort Badplaas to Forever Resort Loskopdam
Distance: 197,2 Kilometres
Start Elevation: 1112 Metres
Max Elevation: 1791 Metres

2017 Best Results:
Clover Lowveld Tour (1st Overall)
Volta Cyclista ó Ribeiro (1st)
Vuelta Ciclista a Leon (1st)
Vuelta a Segovia (1st)
African Continental Championship (1st Road race, 4th individual time-trial)

South African National Road Championships (2nd individual time-trial, 3rd road race)

Winner Mpumalanga tour 2016 and 2017