Innholdsfortegnelse for June 2019 i Getaway

We set sail from Cape Town, bound for the island of St Helena. It was sunset and Table Mountain was disappearing over the horizon. I stood on the aft deck of RMS St Helena, witnessing the most curious of modern phenomena. Passengers lined the guardrail, holding their phones aloft, desperately eking the last reception from the Mother City. The terror of the coming days at sea with no connectivity had gripped them. I returned to my cabin and laid out my own devices on the bunk. I was shocked at the number of screens, batteries and chords. I tallied how many ‘portals’ of connectivity I engaged with on a daily basis, from Facebook and Twitter to LinkedIn and WhatsApp. The number was 17. Bloody madness, I thought. Modern life is…

Bayala Private Safari Camp NEAR HLUHLUWE, NORTHERN KWAZULU-NATAL South Africa has more luxury safari lodges than you can shake an Instagram-influencer at. But with their hefty rates aimed squarely at pound- and dollar-toting tourists, they’re rarely within reach of the average South African. Not so Bayala, which offers all the memorable game viewing of a five-star safari at four-star rates. That’s thanks to its location in the 30 000-hectare Munyawana Conservancy in northern KwaZulu-Natal, in the same neighbourhood as Mkhuze and iSimangaliso Wetland Park. Bayala’s 3 500-hectare slice of the conservancy is home to Safari Lodge and Safari Camp, each offering 24 rooms. But it’s the Safari Camp I most enjoyed after its recent refurbishment. And I don’t mean a quick lick of paint: rather, a major overhaul that has…

WALK IT OFF BY ERNS GRUNDLING (QUEILLERIE) ‘My mother says we Grundlings are always rocking up with our ears flat, like rabbits, because everything is always such a bloody rush and fuss.’ Travel writer Erns Grundling knows how to stitch a good story together, with plenty of personality and humour. He’s a mess, he admits, when he sets off on the world-famous pilgrimage in Spain – a disillusioned Afrikaner, unfit, injured, overweight and not especially religious. He does it without a cellphone, camera or watch in order to truly be ‘present in the moment’. His account juxtaposes snippets from his life with his experience of the walk. He meets a United Nations of people and experiences amazing synchronicity, reminding us that real human connection in this Digital Age is still…

Set against the backdrop of the majestic Waterberg Mountains in Limpopo, Safari Plains offers a Big-Five safari experience in the 12 000-hectare private Mabula Game Reserve. A stay here combines the exquisite beauty of wide open savannahs, spectacular vistas, abundant wildlife and plush tented accommodation. And it’s just two hours’ drive from Johannesburg. Each safari-style tented suite provides a private space set in indigenous bushveld, and has a private timber wrap-around deck. The central area epitomises luxury in the bush, with a high-ceiling dining room, elegant lounge, bar and relaxing spa. Guests can explore the bushveld in open safari vehicles, on bush walks or on adventurous horseback safaris. safariplains.co.za The prize A three-night stay in a luxury tented suite for two people sharing, including three meals and two safari activities…

Don’t let the brittle grass brush your trouser legs. The telemetry is telling us to climb the dune. So we do. But even my breathing seems too loud. Suddenly, there he is! The pangolin shuffles out from under a bush and pauses, just metres away. He emits a low purring, almost like an elephant’s rumble. We stand in silence, spellbound. A prehistoric wonder – a terrestrial crustacean seemingly pulled from the bottom of the ocean … or another planet. He moves on with a waddling gait, scales clicking, tongue probing at ant holes. We walk beside him for a while until he picks up speed and totters noisily into the night. This is a Kalahari scene that has hardly changed in 40-million years. MY HEART IS POUNDING AS I TRY…

GETTING THERE Transfers are provided from Cape Town. WHEN TO GO The 2019 hike is from 24 September to 18 November. NEED TO KNOW The Rim of Africa is for experienced and fit hikers looking for a meaningful mountain experience. The guides are there for navigation, safety and knowledge, but you supply your own camping gear and food (and cook it yourself). One resupply point per traverse removes trash and delivers pre-packed food and clothes. We hiked between six and eight hours a day, reaching camp by late afternoon. BOOKING AND COST This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Rim of Africa, and to celebrate, it’s being offered at half price: R2 000 per section plus R395 pp a day. This includes permits, two professional guides, medical supplies and…

GETTING THERE It’s a five-hour drive from Durban to Port St Johns. Take the N2 to Port Edward, then the R61 via Bizana, Flagstaff and Lusikisiki. Alternatively, fly direct from Joburg to Mthatha on Airlink (from R2 050), then drive the 90-kilometres to the coast. flyairlink.com WHEN TO GO The Sardine Run typically reaches Port St Johns from late June into early July but nature follows its own timetable, and some years are much more prolific than others. Go to offshoreportstjohns.com to find out if the sardines are running, or tourismsouthcoast.co.za to get updates on the shoals reaching the south coast of KwaZulu-Natal. NEED TO KNOW You must be comfortable in the open ocean and fairly fit. The whole day is spent out on the boat, getting off and on and swimming hard.…

The novelist Hermann Hesse once said, ‘Whoever has learned how to listen to trees no longer wants to be a tree.’ I’m not sure what he was going on about. I’ve spent the last few hours hiking in the Black Forest (Schwarzwald), listening to the swishings of trees, and right now, all I want to do is be a tree. Light green leaves splash merrily off the boughs above us like frothy Champagne; pines and their down-turned needles disapprove of our life choices. Trees are excellent. They don’t have feet, for one thing, so they don’t feel any urgency about being anywhere else. That’s a luxury we don’t have, as we put one foot in front of the other, heading towards our first overnight stop at Dobel before sundown. The…

GETTING THERE Graaff-Reinet is 263km north of Port Elizabeth on the R75. From Colesberg on the N1, it’s 205km south on the N9. STAY HERE Drostdy Hotel. Enjoy memorable service and stylish surroundings. The property has lovely garden courtyards, a wine shop, art gallery and spa. From R585 pp sharing B&B. 049-892-2161, drostdy.co.za Whyte House. Five units with Wi-Fi and air con, and a pretty garden with a pool, in a quieter part of town en route to Camdeboo National Park. From R600 pp sharing. 079-347-5722, whytehouseaccommodation.co.za Rietjiesbos B&B. Each room is named after a local bird, and is decorated accordingly. There’s Wi-Fi and comforts such as electric blankets. From R400 pp for a four-sleeper. 076-473-4589, rietjiesbos.co.za Nqweba Dam Campsite. Caravan and tent sites from R313 for two people plus…

Elise Kirsten Sardine Run, page 86 Whether it’s in the air, on land or underwater Getaway’s online editor is always up for an adventure. In June last year, she found herself in Port St Johns on one of her favourite escapades yet. In the deep, where whales plunge and marine predators thrive on the bounty of sardines heading up our east coast, Elise fell in love with the ocean for the umpteenth time. Matthew Sterne Rim of Africa, page 78 Zanzibar, page 92 The secret to being clumsy, Matthew says, is knowing how to recover gracefully and pretend that nothing has happened. He used this hard-learnt knowledge on his latest assignments, slipping down mountains on the Rim of Africa and tumbling out of kayaks in Zanzibar. At one point he…

My eldest son, Ammar, and I went on an epic bonding adventure to Abisko National Park in Sweden last year. I saved every penny, intent on seeing the northern lights in Iceland, but Google advised that Abisko was one of the best places to see them. Arriving in Kiruna, Lapland, we immediately felt the difference – so cold, but it was spectacular to see snow covering everything. We took a bus to Abisko, with occasional stops to see reindeer. Arriving at our lodge, we were welcomed by friendly English-speaking staff, a crackling fire and our photographic guide, Dominic. Each night our group met in the lobby, decked out in toasty ‘Teletubby’ suits to go ‘aurora chasing’. On the first night, the guides erected tepees outside and made fires. There was…

Whale of a time Later this month, humpbacks and southern rights start their annual swim-past of Durban. The best place to see them is on the Bluff, which has five viewpoints (plus the roof of the Treasure Beach Wessa office, by appointment, where you can find out about visits to the Old Whaling Station). There are also two whale-watching boats, operated by Isle of Capri Cruises and Umhlanga Charters from Durban Harbour. The Bluff hosts a Welcoming of the Whales street festival – Foreshore Drive will be closed to traffic, and visitors can enjoy treasure hunts, games, a market and entertainment. Look out for ‘Destiny’, the whale sculpture made out of recycled bottle tops last year – and her new friend created for this year’s event. Free entry. 29 June.…

There are two main types of distortion in photography. Optical distortion results from the design of the lens, and you get three types: • Barrel distortion, commonly found with wide-angle lenses, occurs when the image bulges from the middle outward (in the shape of a barrel). The problem is exaggerated the closer you get to your subject. • Pincushion distortion is the exact opposite: the image bends inwards from all sides towards the centre. It’s most common when using telephoto lenses. • Moustache distortion (also called wavy distortion) is a combination of the above two. The image bulges out from the middle, while the edges and corners straighten and go the other way. It’s the kind of distortion you’d get when pushing your finger into a tightly pulled piece of…

HOW TripAdvisor lists accommodation rated by guests, but as much as we love peer reviews, they don’t offer a comparative voice – so how do we know No. 1 is really the best? Pippa de Bruyn, who has reviewed accommodation for 20 years for the likes of Frommer’s and The Telegraph,  scours TripAdvisor and other online sites when researching a destination. For Pretoria, she created a longlist of 17 to inspect. The following made the cut. WHAT I FOUND ABOUT ACCOMMODATION HERE • Pretoria has no shortage of hotels but I focused on guest houses and B&Bs, looking for one or more of the following characteristics: historic buildings, personally hosted, well decorated, lush gardens, great views. I also looked for attractive self-catering units – these were more difficult to find.…

The Kalahari can be an unforgiving environment for vehicles. For our journey, I chose a Ford Kuga Titanium TDCi AWD. This stylish, agile vehicle performed well both on and off the blacktop. Its supple suspension, a hallmark of Fords, is augmented by steering that’s tight but responsive. For greater control in challenging conditions, the All-Wheel Drive system is designed to monitor the Kuga’s performance and continually adjusts the delivery of torque to each wheel. Our mixed route returned less than 8L to 100km – good enough for a range of more than 800km from its 60L tank. Starting from R384 900, the Kuga range is certainly good value for money for its class. ford.co.za…

ABOUT THE BOOK The Last Elephants was planned over a cup of coffee. Don Pinnock and Colin Bell were surveying the shocking results of the 2016 Great Elephant Census by the NGO Elephants Without Borders. On average, the survey found, an African elephant was being poached every 15 minutes. The news needed to be more widely known than a circle of concerned scientists, and presented in a way anyone could understand. This 487-page book is the result – 42 chapters and hundreds of photographs from researchers, journalists, game guards, trackers, conservationists, filmmakers, poets and both professional and amateur photographers who donated their work for the love of elephants. It’s being published worldwide to raise awareness of the plight of these intelligent, sentient animals, which could become extinct in the wild…

STAGE 1 CEDERBERG Duration 7 days Highlights Rock formations, pools and incredible vistas STAGE 2 KOUE BOKKEVELD Duration 6 days Highlights Seldom-seen valleys and remarkable peaks STAGE 3 SKURWEBERGE Duration 7 days Highlights Crossing the Atlantic/Indian Ocean watershed line STAGE 4 HEX RIVER Duration 7 days Highlights Camping in the Amphitheatre STAGE 5 LANGEBERG Duration: 7 days Highlights Proteas, fynbos, great heights STAGE 6 MARLOTH Duration 8 days Highlights Exceptional flora, Klein Karoo views STAGE 7 GROOTVADERSBOSCH Duration 7 days Highlights Indigenous forests STAGE 8 GOURITZ Duration 8 days Highlights Crystal streams, river crossing STAGE 9 OUTENIQUA Duration 7 days Highlights Rolling hills, old passes…

In a channel between two islands, off the southern tip of Zanzibar, we nearly collided with a dhow. The ancient vessel – with a single, intent fisherman aboard – sailed across our bow with a stealthy grace that belied the choppy water. It came so close and went by so silently that it had the sensation of a wildlife encounter. My kayak partner and I stopped paddling and watched it go. ‘They’re just so lovely,’ Simon Watson said in one of his weird voices. He sounded like an elderly British lady talking about muffins. We sat for a moment, bobbing in the ink-blue water, watching the dhow sail into the distance. With it gone, it was just us, the sea and the sky. And what a sky. The clouds, puffy…

The Lofoten archipelago in the Arctic Circle is known for its craggy peaks that plunge into the sea, as well as the flickering aurora borealis during the winter months. Summer, however, is the time of the midnight sun, when the islands are bathed in light around the clock for nearly two months (which makes counting sheep at night either much easier or much harder, depending on who you ask). It’s a time of national holidays, midsummer parties and exploring. This means cycling through small fishing villages, riding on Icelandic horses, hiking, scuba diving, sea kayaking, even surfing – Lofoten allegedly has the world’s northernmost surf breaks. An interesting feature of this wilderness is a system of tidal eddies and strong whirlpools known as the moskstraumen or maelström. These were the…

➊ ‘Nothing says “Africa” more than baobab trees and sundowners,’ says Larry Whitfield, founder of Loxtonia Cidery in Ceres. He’s blended the two to create a quintessential African cider, a delicious tart-sweet mix of sundowner apples and baobab fruit. It’s all freshly pressed and naturally fermented, with no additives (plus baobab is known to be packed with nutrients). Pop in to taste the whole range – including cherry-flavoured cider – at the new tasting room on the farm. R22 a bottle; tastings from R50–200 pp. loxtonia.co.za ➋ Mead (or honey wine) is where the party started – it’s the oldest known alcoholic beverage on the planet. Capetonian Ernst Thompson is producing mead made with organic honey from Zambia, mixed with a little local fynbos honey. It goes into his MCC-like…

Take it yourself It’s not always about the big picture EQUIPMENT Take a wide-angle lens (16-35mm or 24-105mm) and a telephoto (such as a 70-200mm) to give you options when framing your shot. A tripod and a timer/cable release are essential to eliminate camera shake (because you’ll be shooting with a small aperture). A graduated filter is an optional extra but will help with contrast control between the sky and foreground. SETTINGS Set your camera to manual mode and start with aperture – f/11 or smaller provides greater depth of field, offering deeper sharpness through your image. Once you’ve set the desired aperture, read your exposure value from the foreground and the sky. Take note of the difference between the two, then find a good balance between them and set…

FINALIST Annoying Mom Soon after sunrise in Londolozi, we came across this female leopard with two cubs. She was trying to hunt but they just wanted to play. Mom was not impressed, as is evident from her expression. Eventually she gave up and rested on a dead marula tree. By Willem Kruger, Bloemfontein FINALIST Glowing in the Dark Strawberry sea anemones have a fluorescent protein that can be excited by a certain wavelength of blue light. The function of the protein is uncertain. I took this photo at Rambler Rock in False Bay, at a depth of 17 metres, using a special fluorescence excitation filter and yellow barrier filter to show up the anemones in the dark depths of the ocean. By Peet J van Eeden, Welgemoed FINALIST Monkey Business…

STAY HERE 1 Kamieskroon Hotel is a good stopover spot close to Namaqua National Park (fabulous in the spring flower season). From R550 pp sharing a room and R120 pp sharing a campsite. 027-672-1614, email info@kamieskroonhotel.com 2 Augrabies Falls National Park. Self-catering chalets from R543 pp sharing, camping from R177 pp sharing (plus R53 pp per day conservation fee). 012-428-9111, sanparks.org 3 The South African side of Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park has three traditional camps at Twee Rivieren, Nossob and Mata-Mata. These have shops and petrol stations (Twee Rivieren has a restaurant) as well as caravan and camping sites. All chalets are equipped for self-catering, from R543 pp sharing for the first two, camping from R177 pp sharing. The park also has six unfenced wilderness camps, equipped for self-catering. A ranger…

In the recesses of my dream came the distant sound of chattering swifts and falling water. The unusual combination lured me back to consciousness as I peeled open an eye to see a grey dawn coming through the trees that formed my shelter. It took a moment to remember where I was – at the end of a long kloof below a massive amphitheatre. My eyes slowly adjusted and I noticed the imposing wall rising 260 metres above me, a small waterfall shooting off the top of it and creating a trailing mist that fanned across the valley floor. A tiny rainforest of moss, long grass, ferns and a gnarled Cape holly is continuously watered by its spray. We’d arrived the evening before and slipped gratefully into our sleeping bags…

Nausea clawed at my throat as I bounced like a ping-pong ball against the inflatable tube of the rubber duck. I was hunkering as close to the bow as I could to avoid the smell of diesel, my hands clutching the rope. The breakfast I’d so enjoyed earlier was now at sea in my stomach. Our duck heaved skyward off the lip of each swell and descended just as rapidly. A cold front had swept over Port St Johns the previous night and there was a marked difference from the previous day’s calm. Up, down, bam, bam, bam, we powered across the chop, chasing millions of bait fish that made the surface of the ocean shimmer as their oily bodies agitated the water. We were in the midst of the…

‘Two decades ago local tourists didn’t come here. They’d drive on the N1 through the Karoo to or from Joburg, but in the last 15 to 20 years South Africans have been discovering Graaff-Reinet for the first time,’ said David McNaughton. ‘Ja, it’s a double A. Never mind the double F,’ he quipped as the beautiful Groot Kerk loomed in front of us. ‘Welcome to Graaffies!’ I came to Graaff-Reinet to steep myself in its small-town charm, admire the famous architecture and eat Karoo lamb morning, noon and night. I’d arranged to meet David at the Drostdy Hotel, originally the landdrost or seat of government of the Cape Colony back in 1786. No stranger to the hotel (he was a barman there years ago) and with no shortage of stories…