This is the map of the number of cards needed to turn all of KZN "green" as per the standard ADU coverage maps.
What is noticeable on this map, when comparing to the last one I put up on 18 January, is that last of the red pentads in the southern Nongoma / Mahlabatini area have disappeared, as have the last empty pentads in northern Maputuland.
This is thanks to John and Kim Cox and Richard Johnstone's continued efforts in this area after their expedition in December last year with Trish Strachan. [For a story of these efforts see
Richard's post on the SABAP2 website].
Tim Wood and Peter Spence spent some of last week in northern Maptuland, when they managed to finish off the last eight empty pentads in that area. They also managed to do a fair number of second cards as well.
I hesitate to say this, as I have not done a detailed analysis yet, but my feeling is that these two areas are now have better coverage than they received in SABAP1. So well done all involved with this effort.
Alan Manson has managed to chip away at some of the empty pentads in the upper Tugela Basin [around Pomeroy], as well as some in the Berg.
There are plans afoot to try to eliminate the last of the western empty pentads. The idea is to base ourselves at Chelmsford over a weekend and look at doing as much as we can from here, but concentrating on the pentads at Nqutu and south-west of Chelmsford.
We, as the SABAP2 community that is, do have provisional permission to get the the north-eastern section of iSimangaliso Wetland Park, where there are 7 empty pentads. Please contact me for details on how to go about this. It would be really great if we could get an Atlas Bash together to tackle this area.
For depth of coverage, Tim has continued his efforts across the province to cover as much ground as possible, planning his trips using the Excel Pentad Chart [see on RHS of this blog], to ensure as even as possible seasonal coverage.
The Cox's have also continued their systematic coverage of the broader Richard's Bay area. Their goal is to ensure as wide an area as possible within their reasonable reach, has at least 7 cards. [Though they broke their mold in the last fortnight and covered a fair sized portion from Creighton to Matatiele in southern KZN].
For the rest we have had a continous flow of cards as and when people have been able to contribute, which is really great.
Please note that although our autumn and winter cards may not be as exciting as the summer ones, they are still very valuable to the project. In fact I would say they are very nearly more valuable, as there is usually a distinct and understanderable tailing-off of submissions during winter. I am pleased to report that this does not appear to be the case this year.
