Comprising a Life

The Bonsai, Travels and Haiku of Vaughn Banting

Teaching bonsai in South Africa

In 1989 I was invited by representatives of  South Africa's bonsai clubs to do a bonsai teaching tour through their  country which took me first, to the clubs in and around Johannesburg then North to the club in Pretoria then down to the clubs in Durban (on the Indian Ocean) and finally to the two clubs in Capetown.

As a part of my agreement for doing the tour I was given equal time for sight seeing and for teaching.  I think I conducted around 20 workshops and other programs during my visit but also saw a lot of the country and its wildlife in between.

Highlights of the sightseeing included a trip to the border region of Zimbabwe to see the baobab trees, a three day trip through Kruger National Park (which is the size of Massachusetts) to photograph its wildlife and a trip down the Cape Highway (the views from which were breath taking) to view the blending of the Atlantic and Indian oceans at the tip of the continent.

Teaching back yard workshop in Johannesburg area

Demo in Johannesburg useing African Hackberry 1

The trunk-line defined, we will then have to wait for new branches to develop for the final design.

Demonstration at the Cape useing African Hackberry

At the Cape there were a lot of rugged wind bown trees

Showing future wind-swept design for the tree

Teaching bonsai in Pretoria all I could find was slow film.

Creating a bunjin style with local material

Again the pictures are much too blurry to see what is going on but the material is a native olive that everyone seems to like to use here.

African olive bonsai

A regional bonsai show

Bonsai collection under hail protection screening

In this region of Africa they frequently get hail stones the size of softballs

Derry Ralf in his bonsai collection

Forest plantings

Wild Olive bonsai showing technique for thickening a branch

A bonsai club member's (since deceased) teahouse in the Cape area of South Africa