Getaway September 2019

In the run-up to the Rugby World Cup, starting this month in Japan, I spent a few weeks exploring the island nation. While vigorous outdoor sport was front of mind (and best of luck to the Boks!), I was also made aware of another form of healthy outdoor recreation: shinrin-yoku or ‘forest bathing’. My introduction to the healing nature of this activity (it doesn’t involve leaping into icy natural pools but rather submerging yourself mentally) occurred during a nine-day hike through the forests of central Honshu with Walk Japan (walkjapan.com). The practice of shinrin-yoku, I was told, has the power to counter a host of ailments and modern ills. The idea is simple: walking through nature in a relaxed, mindful way has many calming and rejuvenating benefits. The concept gained…

Christi Nortier Breedekloof, page 107 Having been at university in the Cape Winelands for four years, Christi knows her way around its vineyards. The Breedekloof Valley has a wine route that had always been just out of reach of her student fuel budget, despite being just an hour-and-a-bit away from Cape Town. As a Getaway journo she experienced this up-and-coming valley first-hand, even setting down her wine glass to pick up a fly-fishing rod and climb on a mountain bike for the first time. Teagan Cunniffe Namibia, page 90 It’s hard not to get attached to animals that you know might die, despite your best efforts to be objective. Teagan spent weeks in the Namib-Naukluft National Park documenting the last of the Namib desert horses, in conjunction with the Wild…

When I was in my early 20s, I had a pretty clear idea of the kind of man I would marry and how my life was going to turn out. He would be tall, definitely dark and of French Huguenot stock. A wine farmer with tanned forearms and a soft Afrikaans accent. I envisioned a dappled veranda and chattering, barefoot children; from my kitchen door, the late afternoon sun illuminating the vineyards, a cool flagstone floor and a happy table where at the end of the day I would present a fat chicken or a tasty mutton curry. My strapping husband would grumble about the Petit Verdot grapes taking their time to ripen and worry about the weather, while sombre photographs of his forebears looked on in approval as we…

The July Ed’s Letter about a dhow experience brought back many memories for me. During the early 60s I ran an architects’ office in Aden, Yemen, planning the last of Britain’s military installations in the Aden Protectorate and adjoining countries. The flat I lived in overlooked a dhow-building yard. It was incredibly interesting, and they built dhows of all sizes there. In 1963 I visited the Wadi Beihan district to assist the community in building houses with and for blind people, then the biggest concentration of blind people in the world. From the town of Nagoub, where I was based, I visited some of the Queen of Sheba’s ruins nearby, but was not permitted to go any further into Yemen. On my return to Aden, a well-connected Arab friend of…

Night drives are always a thrilling experience, but darkness also brings uncertainty. One night on our way back to camp in Manyeleti Reserve, an unusual and unexpected sighting caught our attention. It was bigger than the usual nocturnal animals one would expect, and was lying very still in the road. Our guide approached carefully so as not to startle the animal, but as we came closer we soon realised that it was not an animal but a human lying in the road (in socks, no shoes). We were all quiet, waiting for a sign of life and wondering why a person would be on foot at night in a game reserve. With the film Stroop: Journey into the Rhino Horn War fresh in our minds, our first thought was that…

Three nights at Safari Plains, worth R35 000 ‘I’m a country boy and always in my element if I’m in nature. Can’t wait to take this blessed break.’ – Karel Jaftha A hamper of iconic SA travel gear, worth R15 000 ‘You have no idea how well this prize suits us! Thank you for staying alive and vibrant after 30 years.’ – Jeanne de Lange A copy of The 30-Year Safari Winner 1 ‘As a subscriber since 1990, it will be wonderful to go back to all the exciting places and memories that you have planted in our minds over the years.’ – Ian Simpson Winner 2 ‘Thank you, Getaway. I’m looking forward to reading through 30 years of safari memories.’ – Nerine Koekemoer Our coffee-table book is…