My brothers blog 'other-things-amanzi', which is hugely more popular than mine, for obvious reasons if you read it, just got a boost as he was invited to be interviewed on BlogTalkRadio.com. Sid Schwab of surgeonsblog fame was a guest host, which worked well as he and 'bongi' got chatting about everything from the pleasures of living near the Kruger National Park, to regional issues facing surgeons, like the bad treatment sometimes delivered by the local witchdoctors or 'sangomas'.
Sid even mentioned my blog, but I'm guessing the ultra-geek content stopped him in his tracks :-). Of my blog, Bongi said: 'I don't understand a single word of it!' Perhaps this post will score better?
One thing Bongi said that I fear is some misinformation I might be responsible for, was that the Kruger Park is the size of England. I used to claim that myself, but recently decided to double check my facts and found I was WRONG! A quick google search reveals several sites claiming it is the size of Wales, and one claiming it is bigger than Ireland:
(Size: The Kruger Park is huge. It stretches for 350km (217 miles) from north to south and averages 60 kilometres in width which makes it bigger than Ireland. Most of the park is fenced so it is a self contained ecosystem.)
So, I stand corrected. So I decided to investigate and figure out what is really going on. How does the park compare to England, Ireland and Wales? Right now these are the facts I could find:
Kruger Park:
Area: 18 989 km2
Length: 350 km
England:
Area: 130 395 km2
Length: 580 km
Wales:
Area: 20 79 km2
Length: 215 km
Irland:
Area: 84 412 km2
Length: 360 km
Skåne:
Area: 10 939 km2
Length: 115 km
Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park:
Area: 35 000 km2 - 99 800 km2 (planned expansion)
(England, Ireland, Wales lengths were roughly north-south measured by me on google earth 'ruler'. Kruger length is from wikipedia.)
So England is about 7 times the area, and about 65% longer. So the Kruger is comparable in terms of length (60% the length of England), but not by area, since the Park is so narrow. The website that claimed the park was bigger than Ireland is wrong. It's a bit shorter, and less than a quarter the area. It is, however 60% longer than Wales and nearly the same area, so that is the best match. If the full-size transfrontier park materializes, it will close in on the size of England, which is really impressive.
It is especially interesting to me that the Kruger Park is nearly twice the length and over three times the area of Skåne, the province in Sweden in which I live.
7 comments:
interestingly enough, i understood this post. i must be getting cleverer and cleverer.
i realise i should have checked my facts about the park. now that i think about it, i think my source was my father, which might explain why you were also misinformed.
Indeed, there are several words here I comprehend, and I even recognize some of the countries mentioned.
me too. i do, however wonder where irland is.
I was following along until we got to the stats, then my brain went into hibernate mood.
So Craig, are you the go to guy when I have questions about my impending lap top and HDTV purchases?
I think Irland is just a little bit Wst of Ireland...
No idea about laptops and HDTV ....
... actually I lie :-), I can recommend panasonic 42" plasma. I have the older PX60, and it is super, especially at that price. And laptops are getting so fast these days you can get a great machine for under $1000.
Thanks, that helps!
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good post
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