Innholdsfortegnelse for October 2020 i Getaway

I was competing in the Fairest Cape Tour, a classic motorcycle rally. My 1967 BSA Thunderbolt had a carburettor that typically mixed air with a spray of fuel. The wise thing to do was cover the air intake with a filter, preventing things like grit and errant sparks getting inside. But if you removed it you got unfettered airflow and went a little faster. Of course, Iʼd removed it. Halfway through, we stopped to refuel. As 35 bikers lined up, I filled up and kicked her into life. A spark from some poor wiring met a burst of fuel in the air intake and whoosh! The BSA was aflame. With some urgency I wheeled it away from the pump, but not fast enough; halfway across the forecourt I had to…

STUART GILMER @ stuart_gilmer Huntshoek Lodge, Eastern Cape JARRYD DU PREEZ @jarryddupreezphotography Phinda Private Game Reserve ANNA C NAGEL @wildphotographix Balule Nature Reserve CALDEN SMITH @calden.smith Samburu National Reserve, Kenya SEBASTIAN JACOBS @flaired_edge Matroosberg, Western Cape NICOLE VAN DER WALT @nicolevdw1 Timbavati KERRY-LEE ROBERG @theafrican_me Tswalu, Kalahari TRUSHALL BHANA @ t r u s h a l l Natal Midlands JULIEN REGAMEY @regamey_wildlife _photography Kruger NP MELANIE MASKE @africanmamaske Etosha National Park, Namibia KERYN TAYLOR @kezklicks Pietermaritzburg JON KERRIN @wherethelight_is Cape Town TAG US IN YOUR IMAGES ON INSTAGRAM @GetawayMagazine…

What keeps you busy? We started DNA Photographers together and shoot stills and videos for cars, editorial and commercials mainly. What do you like most about your careers? We love the freedom it gives us. The travel, the diverse people we meet is mind blowing, entertaining and truly humbling. Your perfect day? A slow morning watching all the colour play in the sunrise. Coffee and breakfast with freshly baked bread. Desmond goes for a long MTB ride, I (Antonia) go for a run. Afternoons we’re shopping at farm stalls and visiting Monk’s Gin in the valley. Walks and a swim in the Witte River, followed by drinks at the Calabash Bush Pub. Then sunset with a fire and homemade pizza at the cabin. The whole day is underlined by Desmond’s…

dalemorris.com | dale_r_morris As a child growing up in a Welsh slum beneath an ever-present drizzle of rain, Dale Morris suspected there might be more to life than collieries and damp sheep. He had seen glimpses of a wider, vastly more wonderful world in wildlife documentaries. Steamy jungles full of glamorous primates; Arctic ice floes where white bears made red messes of seals. And of course, the African savannah, full of animals and void of shopping malls. All of it beautiful, and all of it under threat of extinction and disappearance. This outraged him (still does), and so, when his parents kicked him out, aged 16, he did a stint working as a zookeeper, saved up enough money to buy a one-way ticket to the world, and then began a…

Grey-headed albatross SEEN AT: Fishing grounds, south-west of Cape Point The last one to be reported anywhere in Southern Africa was off Cape St Francis in July 2017. Prior to that, all the other recent records came from the waters south-west of Cape Point with single birds seen in June 2016, June 2012, August 2011 and May 2010. In other words, this latest individual is only the 6th grey-headed Albatross to be seen in Southern Africa in the last decade! Albatrosses are exceptional birds and anyone with an interest in birds should make an effort to see these graceful avians gliding effortlessly around the open seas. One could then understand the words of the great ornithologist, Robert Cushman Murphy, when he wrote: ‘I now belong to a higher cult of…

GETTING THERE Vaalwater, the hub of the Waterberg, is just 2.5 hours from Joburg. Head north on the N1, turn left on the R33 and drive for another 72 km to reach the town. Do This Visit Waterberg Living Museum for a full understanding of this remarkable biosphere. Set in the veld where animals roam, the six exhibition halls cover natural and cultural history, including rhino conservation and prehistoric humans. 078 187 7782 themuseum.org.za Fly over the Waterberg with Lekhalo Zipline – a two-hour tour with six exciting stages. Max 10 per group, R350 for adults, R200 for kids. 082 484 8622, lekhalo.co.za ABOUT THE VEHICLE Toyota Fortuner 2.8 GD-6 • SA’s favourite SUV • Touchscreen Infotainment system • Satellite Navigation • Bluetooth and USB integration • Keyless entry and…

Iʼd driven the R71 a hundred times before I ever noticed the sign. Lowvelders know to obey the 60km/h speed limit through the tiny town of Gravelotte, and watch for cops under the acacia trees. That could be the reason so many people bypass Leydsdorp, an even smaller town 10 kilometres to the south-west. I was met at the Leydsdorp Hotel by Andries Masete, the hotelʼs jack-of-all-trades who carries your bags and takes your drinks order at the bar. After a scorching day driving around with a broken aircon, my small room in the hotel felt like air-conditioned heaven. Two khaki-clad locals eyed me as I ordered a Black Label. In a town where the last census tallied six, strangers tend to stand out. ‘I think there must have been…

My 4×4 came to a grinding halt. I pressed down hard on the gas but nothing happened. All four wheels were now well and truly stuck in gooey black mud. This was on a trip with members of the Botswana Bird Club at the edge of Sowa Pan to view countless bird species enjoying the waters of the recently flooded pan – pink flamingoes, huge white pelicans, avocets, spoonbills, stilts – and thanks to a length of rope and some elbow grease, the Hilux finally came free and it was back to our binos and scopes. A few years ago, we also assisted Irish ornithologist Dr Graham McCulloch who was carrying out research on the ecology of the pans and the diet and movement of flamingoes (see info box overleaf).…

AS WE RETURN TO THE ROAD, RAIL AND SKY here are some things you can mumble through your mask when next you find yourself having to make small talk with a fellow passenger MORE THAN 23-MILLION people ride India’s trains EVERY DAY That’s almost the entire population of Australia! Japanese railways HAND OUT DELAY CERTIFICATES for commuters to present at work in case of tardiness. 18 HOURS 20 MINUTES The longest commercial flight in the world is a direct flight from Singapore to New Jersey, clocking in at The shortest commercial flight takes less than TWO MINUTES, between the Scottish islands of Westray and Papa Westray. Less than the time it takes to make a cup of tea! LET’S GET VIRTUAL Tour world-famous sights from the comfort of your couch…

CLARENS, FREE STATE Omega Luxury Mountain Retreat The Maluti Mountains set the scene for Omegaʼs colourful cabins, each one distinct from the other thanks to some snazzy interior decoration. All of them are suitably equipped for a tranquil holiday, and all include an outdoor spa bath for some toasty stargazing. From R700 pp pn, R400–R500 per extra Person | 082 824 8825 omegaclarens.co.za AND MORE Trails for hikers, mountain bikers, quad bikers, 4×4 drivers and Enduro lovers; the charming town of Clarens is also a must. KNYSNA, WESTERN CAPE Cliffhanger Cottages Three lovely cabins await visitors to Cliffhanger Cottages. Two of them (Cliffhanger and Cliffedge) are perched high above a lush valley, offering clear vistas of the Outeniqua Mountains and an expansive forest canopy below. These cottages boast cosy, rustic…

I was in Cologne on something of a work trip. That is to say my days were more about hobnobbing in conference rooms than hanging out with the city's highlights. In fact, only the final evening of my visit was truly mine. Even then, I only got back to my budget hotel after 9pm – exhausted. I crumbled onto the bed like a detonated building, ready to take off my pants and watch Die Slowly (Stirb Langsam –the German-dubbed Die Hard) ona tiny television bolted to the furthest corner of the room. But I was uneasy. On the one hand I really wanted to hear German-speaking Hans Gruber say ʻI'm going to count to three. There will not be a four!' On the other, if I didn't go outside could…

‘Sorry, I canʼt see you this morning. Iʼm busy monitoring a breeding black coucal. Come this afternoon.ʼ The brusque voice on the phone belonged to Hugh Chittenden, co-author of the first (2007) and updated Roberts bird guides and other birding titles. ʻAn amazing thing has happened,ʼ an upbeat Hugh enthused, welcoming me to his home in the leafy holiday village of Mtunzini later that day. ʻWeʼve got our third successive black coucal brood from this single pair this season.ʼ Black coucals, he suggests, are in the top 20 of rarest breeding birds in South Africa. Theyʼre also polyandrous. The female simply lays her eggs, then leaves to look for a new partner. The males alone incubate and rear the chicks. Hmm, she may have something there... With no other potential…

Having worked here for 57 years, the Edward Hotelʼs concierge Freddy Pather might have met my parents or even my great grandparents. Before I was born, my parents visited the hotel for the curry – ʻthe best in Durban,ʼ they enthused. Years before that, my pops (under the watchful eye of my great grandfather) splashed about in the circular pools that lie out front. Some 30 years after, my partner, Scott, and I checked in. ʻWelcome to the first five-star hotel in Durban,ʼ said Freddy. When my folks were dating back in the 80s, Durban Harbour was better known for its sleazy red-light district, but a host of recent developments has changed that. The latest enhancement links this area to the promenade, making it the longest continuous waterfront walkway in…

FINALIST Karoo cloud After the severe drought we’ve experienced in the region, some relief finally came. This cloud formation showed up around sunset, after good rain had fallen throughout the day. I took some cell phone snaps and I didn’t have much time as the clouds were moving quite quickly. But I managed to set up my tripod and take five images that I stitched together in Lightroom to create this panoramic image. By Bertus Hanekom, Northern Cape Canon 5D MKII, Canon EF 17-40 f/4L USM, ISO 200, f/11, 1/13 sec FINALIST Family Dispute We were in the Simien Mountains National Park, northern Ethiopia, when we came across this super group of geladas. After we’d observed them for a while, a group of six bachelors appeared and began to closely…

KIMBERLEY Death on the diamond mines and Anglo-Boer battlefields left the historic town of Kimberley with no fewer than 158 known haunted sites, from houses to cemeteries to the old Kimberley Club. There’s the librarian who swallowed arsenic, and still takes his 4pm tea at the Africana library, and tosses odd books from the shelves. The ghost at Rudd House, said to be one of the most eerie places in South Africa, haunts the upstairs balcony of the old mansion. And at the Magersfontein battlefield, where the Boers were victorious in 1899, you may hear the phantom sounds of a lonely Scottish piper, mourning his fallen brethren. You can visit these haunts on an after-dark guided tour of the Kimberley ghost trail. Kimberley Ghost tours, contact 083 732 3189 for…

How do you study the diet of a flying bird? Well, first you have to catch it. This necessitated wading out into Sowa Pan and hammering posts into the pan. Then, by means of nylon lines strung between poles, and loops we were able to hook their feet. Captured flamingoes were weighed and their wings measured. We  inserted plastic tubes into their stomachs to take samples of food in order to identify the types of algae that make up their diet, and compared them with the dominant algae species which occur in the pan waters. Dr Graham McCulloch also ringed the birds and attached radio transmitters to track their migration routes.…

Dreams of Namibia I was intrigued by the article, ʻSand, sea and a sausage treeʼ, by Jessica Oosthuyse in the May/June issue of Getaway since my wife, Sue, and I have been regular visitors to Namibia. On occasion, when staying in Swakopmund, I have also swum regularly, like Charleen Clarke and Jessica, to the buoy in the ocean in front of the Strand Hotel. One could add some worthwhile adventures south of Swakopmund such as viewing the ʻMoon Landscapeʼ features and Welwitschia mirabilis plants along Welwitschia Drive which flanks the Swakop River. For a thrilling adventure, you can hire quad bikes from rental agencies such as Desert Explorers outside Swakopmund for a tour up and down the dunes. Mokuti Etosha Lodge is close to Namutoni, the fort which is a…

Mount Bain Cabin is just 90 minutes from Cape Town if you let Garmin or Google take the lead. But you should lose those gimmicks, Gadget Guy, theyʼre designed for the weekly rat race. Ease back on the gas, get off the N1 at Klapmuts, amble through to Wellington and turn left at the Church Spire. Soon, youʼll be climbing Bainskloof Pass, a lick of winding tar pasted over an ancient wagon trail, so bumpy youʼll feel every moment that those wooden wheels bit rock. But oh, what a view, all the way up, all the way down; mesmerising; magnificent; mind you donʼt crash. At the foot of the pass on the Ceres side, a rocky track winds up to a cabin in Mount Bains Private Nature Reserve, a dwelling…

Mother and I once smoked a hole in her kitchen table. We wanted to make pea soup with smoky pork bits but only had a fresh ham hock on hand. We had to make do; dusted off my brotherʼs old science project – a cased smoker – and googled ʻhome smokingʼ. How difficult could it be? Turns out, quite difficult. Smoking food is similar to smoking cigarettes. It takes years of practice to get it right and look cool while doing. Some people never master the art. South Africans, however, are master smokers. Smoking food is in our DNA, forged around those prehistoric campfires in the Cradle of Humankind a million years ago. I bet Mrs Ples, Little Foot and the gang enjoyed a good old braai as much as…

Our convoy advances inexorably towards the end goal. Three shimmering, low-flying objects pulling up high-speed dust devils across the Tankwa Karoo. To the west, ominous storm clouds engulf the Cederberg. To the east, the Earth remains unerringly parched, with powerful rising thermals painting telltale stratus clouds across the sky. And then there's us – three amigos right in the middle of this baking, beautiful and turbulent nowhere. Adventurer John McDouall Stuart once attempted to cross the continent of Australia – no mean feat in an air-conditioned vehicle today, never mind back in the 1800s on horseback – and when he reached the centre of the continent he coined it ʻthe very climax of desolationʼ. I bet heʼd identify something similar on the unyielding R355 that connects Ceres with Calvinia, crossing…

THE BLUE MOON GUESTHOUSE offers slow-town charm in Sutherland. Five rooms with en-suite bathrooms sleep 10 in total, with a central lounge and dining room, making it perfect for families or bigger groups. There’s complimentary Wi-Fi, tea and coffee-making facilities and breakfast is offered. Knowing we'd arrive after dark and depart again before breakfast, owners Johann and Roelien went out of their way to deliver dinner to the guesthouse and prepare breakfast packs for us the next morning. R450 pp sharing (or R550 single); 14 Primrose Street, Sutherland, 082 962 0416 / 082 804 3060.…

In for the long haul The amur falcon, a small bird of prey no bigger than a banana (but far better at flying) is a world-class traveller with one of the longest migratory routes of any raptor. After summering in Southern Africa, the falcon travels some 14 500km to its breeding grounds in China. The most remarkable aspect is the non-stop ocean crossing, almost 3 000km and 60 hours on the wing. Eye spy with my enormous eye The ostrich has the largest eyes of any land animal. In fact, an ostrich’s eye is bigger than its own brain. Whoyoucalling a rooinek? Bearded vultures purposely dye their feathers by ‘bathing’ in red soil or mud. Some believe they do this to show their dominance to other birds. Another hypothesis is…

There are a number of possible ways to reach the summit from Injisuthi Camp, but almost all use Leslie’s Pass on the descent. The route we followed was chosen because Go Trekking considers it to be the most scenic. Some hikers stay in the Upper Injisuthi Cave, near the summit. We took tents, as it gave us more flexibility to choose overnight spots. GETTING THERE Injisuthi camp is five hour’s drive from Johannesburg, three from Durban and one hour from Winterton on dirt road deep into the mountains. What to pack The best time for hiking is in autumn (April and May) or spring (September and October). The summer months (November to March), are hot and have daily thunderstorms. June to August can be very cold with snow on the…

ALIWAL SHOAL, KWAZULU-NATAL WITH TIGERS, RAGGIES AND MORE My friends think I'm crazy when I tell them the only way to swim with sharks is to ignore them. But I know what a thrill it is to interact with this super-predator, arguably the most charismatic of the ocean dwellers. My favourite character is the tiger. Like massive boisterous puppies, they blunder into any situation – either fearless or carefree. They love electronic equipment, and Iʼve sometimes seen cameras carried off in the jaws of happy sharks. Apart from their blind hunger for scraps and carrion, tiger sharks are gorgeous striped creatures. As they swim past you with a gape-like grin, you can get lost in the black pools of their eyes. Don't be too indifferent when diving with tiger sharks,…