Getaway November 2018

This month marks the centenary of the end of World War I. At the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, we will commemorate the falling silent of the guns 100 years ago. The world was never the same again. In many ways, we are still living in the shadow of that confrontation and its spawn, World War II. My grandfather, Albert (Bertie) Fox, fought on the Western Front and was wounded at the Battle of Passchendaele. He, too, was never the same again. It’s said that no soldier ever returned from the trenches, not even those who lived. Bertie was a gentle soul who died in 1959 from the after-effects of shell shock. Nostalgia, heritage and battlefield touring are increasingly popular, especially in Europe. Not long…

Nick Sadleir Zimbabwe, page 88 Nick has been a cricket and travel writer for more than 10 years. With a knack for making friends the world over, he’s a budding tour guide and expert on shoestring-budget travel. Through combining these two passions, he has visited more than 60 countries and declares Zimbabwe to be his favourite of the lot. Read his story about road tripping across the country post-Mugabe. Helen Walne Nudibranchs, page 18 Wearing nothing but men’s boxers and a tank top, Helen goes freediving almost every day in the chilly waters off Cape Town. While encounters with rays, small sharks, seals and octopuses have her squealing into her snorkel, it is also the tiny creatures in the kelp forests, particularly nudibranchs (sea slugs) with their crazy colours and…

The best, craziest, most fantastical road in the world is the Transfagarasan Highway that loops like a fly-fishing line through the Carpathian Mountains in Romania, from the forests of Wallachia to the woods of Transylvania. When you look down the mountainside from Negoiu Peak at the unspooling road below, it’s like someone threw a plate of overcooked spaghetti at the slope. You can take a hairpin bend and drive through S-curves and switchbacks and 15 minutes later find yourself doubling back to a hairpin two metres from the original one. I’d been travelling for weeks, driving through Turkey and Bulgaria and Hungary and Romania, and I was tired and jaded. No matter how great the adventure and how beautiful the world, there comes a time when you aren’t up to…

My mom almost freaked out when I told her that I, a boytjie from Brits, was going to the City of Gold on my own for a day. It was 1995 and we’d heard Joburg was very dangerous. Nevertheless, I took a taxi to Pretoria and then Joburg. I was wide-eyed, taking in all the sights along the Ben Schoeman highway. As we entered the CBD, people started getting off. The question was, where was I going? At the taxi rank I heard someone shouting ‘Sandton, Sandton…’ Well, why not? I asked the driver where I should get off and he said, ‘Relax.’ So I did and took in the passing scenery. The cityscape soon changed and it was obvious I was in Sandton. I walked like I’d been there…

‘Let’s pack our bags and leave tomorrow. We’ll go wherever the wind blows us!’ Awestruck, I sat behind my holiday-job counter with my jaw on the floor. Standing across from me was my best friend, nonchalantly proposing the most ridiculous, yet tempting, adventure. Before I knew it, the words ‘Um … okay?’ slipped out, and a sunrise later we were on our way with nothing but a tent, sleeping bags, some burger patties, R1 000 and three promising days of unplanned fun ahead of us. Spontaneity had never tasted so sweet: December sun on our skin, roads threading through a patchwork of farmland, Journey’s song ‘Don’t Stop Believing’ blaring out the windows… What more could we need? Famished after setting up camp in Arniston, we started a fire, only to…

So far, Coffee Bay takes some beating. – Rob Walker Hentiesbaai in Namibia. – Glenn Nicolaas Swart Skuinsbaai Noord in Namaqua National Park. Solitude and ocean, two of the best remedies for anything! – Natalie Kirby Kotze Tiger Reef in Swakopmund. – Charles Hutton-Squire Bazley Beach on the South Coast. – Courtney Kantor Double Mouth. – Lew Botha Storms River Mouth. – Alex Hallza Cape Vidal, Rocky Bay, Mazhou Camp in Mapungubwe. – G. Clarke Victoria Bay. – Chris Smal See page 72 for Getaway’s favourite beach campsites.…