Tom Waits should come to the Africa River Lodge in Upington if he misses the time when all the world was green for green is the dominant colour as I look out over the Groot Gariep. I’ve never seen the reeds this tall.

I’m up here choosing wines for the finals of the Tops at Spar Orange River Winemaker of the Year Competition next month and with 66 wines down I’ve found a real doozy. A 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon made from grapes grown in a single vineyard called melkstroom. It’s 13.2% alcohol and has the kind of flavours you’d expect from a cool climate Cab. Not the kind of wine you’d expect in the Northern Cape at all.

Meanwhile some pyromaniacs across the river are polluting the environment in a truly disgusting way. Someone is clearly burning something as the fires started upstream and have progressed downstream during the morning. There are a whole bunch of workers in green overalls loafing on the river bank so ten to one its the municipality or river police cleaning up the riverbanks. Keep the riverbanks clean and the air polluted it seems.