Innholdsfortegnelse for Summer 2016 i go! Platteland

GAUTENG Nickel Xmas Market, Pretoria 3-18 December Do your Christmas shopping and support the Kungwini Welfare Organisation. Where? Plot 214, Graham Road, Zwawelpoort Contact nickelmarket.co.za WESTERN CAPE Simply South Gift & Craft Fair, Bergvliet 5-22 December Christmas cakes, foodie gifts, décor, toys, jewellery, and natural health and body products will be for sale. Where? NG Church Constantia, Ladies Mile Circle Contact simplysouth.co.za WESTERN CAPE Witsand Christmas Market, Witsand 8 December-8 January 2017 More than 150 exhibitors showing their hand-made products, home-bake goodies, glassware, books, braai accessories, clothes, jewellery, jams, and enticing eats and drinks. Where? Breedezicht Estate, at the entrance to town Contact 082 928 4743 (Bruwer de Jager) bruwer@breedezicht.co.za WESTERN CAPE Ek Lief Krismis Christmas Market, George 9-22 December Pop in at this popular shopping and socialising event…

PURE PLATTELAND! Obie: A Photographic Story Book by Obie Oberholzer Part coffee-table book, part travelogue, part autobiography and part storybook, this is a collection of images that resonated the most with off-beat photographer extraordinaire Obie throughout his career. As always, he shows us things we didn’t even know existed and meticulously records it all in words too. R500 Quivertree quivertreepublications.com 021 686 6849 WIN 1: SMS Obie COOKBOOKS The Classic South African Cookbook by Melinda Roodt It focuses on classic home cooking that incorporates all the familiar, well-loved local favourites. More than 170 recipes have been refined to guarantee mouthwatering results. Techniques are explained in detail – great for those just starting their kitchen adventures. R350 Penguin Random House penguinrandomhouse.co.za 011 327 3550 WIN 1: SMS Classic Eat Ting: Lose…

Ronel Hulley uMlalazi publicity officer “Eshowe must be one of the few places where you don’t have to plant anything in the garden; instead, every now and then you have to remove something so your house isn’t enveloped by a jungle.” Thobani Kupheka Student and guide at Butterfly Dome “I’m studying towards a BA degree in tourism, so it’s great to work in my home town during the holidays. It’s peaceful and quiet. There are a lot of snakes, though.” Londiwe Ngema Waitress at Wall Room Café “I’ve lived in Eshowe all my life and I am really happy here. Working at Wall Room Café is wonderful. I used to clean houses and I found it rather lonely. Now I’m surrounded by people and the salary is better.” Hannes Diemondt…

Listen to me, young man. This desert hides nothing. It’s beautiful. Red dunes. Wide and open and stripped and honest. Especially honest – this isn’t a bugger that licks anyone’s arse, it’s not a two-faced jackal… The Kalahari doesn’t behave the way people do.” She stretches out in the last rays lingering on Koo Pan, 15km north of Askham. Christened Francoise Alexandra Steyn, aka Betta, aka Antie Bettagoed, aka Vet Bet (although she’s lost “several kilogrammes and even more centimetres” since her conversion to the Banting gospel in December 2015), aka Sandmeid – that’s how the late ≠Khomani Bushman leader Dawid Kruiper “cursed me so beautifully”, she says. She takes a couple of sips of lukewarm water from her two-litre Coke bottle before continuing: “Here you’re at the mercy of…

As everyone knows, Volvo is a manufacturer that builds safe vehicles. And the XC90 is no exception, although one could also wax lyrical about the range of features on this Swedish SUV – from the exterior and performance to the clever gimmicks under the hood and in the cabin. On a trip of just under three weeks, Platteland drove 3 700km in our stately black Volvo XC90 D5 (the diesel model) – from OR Tambo International in Gauteng to Hartbeespoort in the North West, to Middelburg, Ermelo and Chrissiesmeer in Mpumalanga, to Askham in the Northern Cape and Bloemfontein in the Free State, and finally back to Gauteng. (Read our story on Hartbeespoort on page 56 and about Françoise Steyn’s move to Askham in the Kalahari on page 38…

GP and Hesmé Schoeman from the farm Schoemanshof near Potchefstroom sent their eldest son to school for a year and then started teaching both their children at home. Naudé and Stef are now 11 and 9. “Given all the driving back and forth, and children being away from home all the time, home-schooling was a better option for our family.” The family follows a relaxed routine with a flexible schedule. “There’s so much going on at schools – breaks, concerts, sport, classes that move... If you only have two children, there’s much more time in a day.” Of course it helps to live near a big city like Potchefstroom. “There is a large community of home-schooling families here – we stage talent evenings and shows, there is a music centre…

If you have a spare weekend, you could knock together a very basic composting toilet in your garage using little more than a few pieces of plywood or shutterply to create a basic box shape (naturally, it will need an appropriately large hole cut out of the top), a toilet seat and a large bucket. Add a suitable enclosure (an unused tool shed might work; just add a ventilation pipe) and a bag of sawdust, and off you go. A high-set seat will accommodate a larger waste receptacle, so you may want to build a bigger box and attach one or two steps for easy access to the seat. Estimated cost: about R300. If you have scrap timber in the garage, the cost may come down to almost zero. If…

“Here in the Olifants River Valley it gets pretty hot in the summer. A normal summer day easily reaches between 43°C and 47°C, and then we wait until the day’s worst heat is over and seek relief under the giant oak tree in our garden where we usually braai. In summer we have an abundance of flowers: yellow and orange day lilies, purple wild garlic and agapanthus, petunias, strelitzias and roses. Other than the veld flowers that bloom in spring, our landscape is green all year long. In summer more than 100km2 of table-grape vines colour the surroundings, and in winter the citrus, tea and potatoes get their turn.”…

• THE BOOK Of the 170 snake species that are native to Southern Africa, 70 are not venomous, 29 can inflict a painful bite, and only 19 are able to deliver a fatal bite. These and other interesting facts can be found in Johan Marais’ book Snakes & Snakebites in Southern Africa. The book also features simple icons, distribution maps, concise text and full-colour photographs so you can identify snakes quickly and easily. Symptoms and treatment of snakebites are described, with vital emergency information. There’s also a poster with photos of 16 of the most dangerous snakes, a list of emergency measures, and a list of dos and don’ts when a snake bites you. Price R200 (book), R120 (poster) Contact Penguin Random House penguinrandomhouse.co.za africansnakebiteinstitute.com • THE APP It’s…

Vanessa says… This compact little garden is a great solution for herbs, fruit-bearing plants like tomatoes and peppers, leafy greens and root crops. It should keep producing a crop throughout the year. Get ready SHOPPING LIST • corrugated-iron sheets (have the panels cut so the planter will be just above knee height to ensure “bend-free” gardening)• a deep plastic bucket• lawn dressing, well-rotted kraal manure and compost• bamboo sticks (for winter)• frost-protection fabric (for winter) TOOLS • pop-rivet gun• electric drill with a 4mm drill bit This is how…

BASIL (Ocimum basilicum) Great for sauces, marinades, salads, cheese and tomato dishes Clever tip Makes an excellent pot plant on a sunny windowsill – and it will help to keep flies out of the kitchen! CHIVES (Allium schoenoprasum) Great for salads, spreads and soups (and the flowers make attractive vinegars for salad dressing) Clever tip The plant can be divided once grown and replanted to increase your supply (or to give away). CORIANDER (Coriandrum sativum) Great for salads, sauces, dressings, stews and curries Clever tip What would boerewors be without the characteristic flavour of dried coriander seeds? The leaves can also be turned into a natural spray to repel insects. Coriander hates being transplanted. THYME (Thymus vulgaris) Great for all savoury dishes, especially mutton or pork stews, soups, roasts and baked vegetables Clever tip…

LIGHT SUMMER SALAD Duck and cherry salad Serves 4 | Preparation time 5 minutes | Cooking time 15 minutes You need • 2 duck breasts• 2 tablespoons (30ml) strawberry jam• 1 clove garlic, crushed• 1 lemon• 450g baby spinach or other greens of your choice • 1 cup (225g) pitted fresh cherries (or sliced strawberries)• 50g walnuts, toasted• 3 tablespoons (45ml) olive oil This is how Preheat the oven to 200ºC. Make 4 to 5 incisions in the skin of each duck breast, taking care not to cut the flesh. Season the breasts all over with salt and black pepper. Heat a cast-iron pan over medium to high heat and fry the duck breasts, skin side down, for 8 to 10 minutes or until they turn a deep golden brown.…

Freeze the stock to use for a soup or in a potjie or lamb curry.  BRING & BRAAI HIT Lamb necks on the braai This is one of my best discoveries! With the price of lamb chops skyrocketing, you can still get your lamb fix using a much more economical cut. Delicious! Serves 4 Preparation time 15 minutes plus overnight marinating time Cooking time 2½ hours You need • 2 whole lamb necks, each cut lengthwise into 2 pieces• Ina Paarman’s Rosemary & Olive Seasoning• 1 onion, cut into quarters• 1 whole garlic bulb, cut in half horizontally• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary• 2 cups (500ml) water• 2 tablespoons (30ml) Ina Paarman’s Beef Stock Powder• Ina Paarman’s BBQ Marinade• grilled lemon wedges to garnish• fresh rosemary to garnish This is how…

Write to us and tell us about your move to the platteland, the characters in your town, festivals and bazaars you love, things that bother you, your garden, animals and clever ideas... Send an email to letters@goplatteland.co.za or post it to Platteland Letters, PO Box 740, Cape Town 8000. We give preference to letters of fewer than 300 words. Remember to include your name and surname and, very importantly, the town where you live. Platteland reserves the right to edit and shorten letters at our discretion. Johan Oosthuizen and Sharon and Carl van der Merwe win Cape Town Gin & Spirits Company gift packs, comprising a six-pack of Fitch & Leedes Indian Tonic, a bottle of Classic Dry Gin and a bottle of Rooibos Red Gin. Enjoy these gins on…

A hairy business Along with the growing number of beards out there come new and different beard oils, and we’re happy to have discovered Baardbek products at the monthly market at Reizis Square in Bloemfontein, as well as the bearded man behind it, Christo Norton. He takes care of the design and his wife, Odette, mixes the oils. There are four fragrances: Ebbehout (sandalwood and argan oil), Palisander (rosewood with macadamia oil), Sitroengras (lemongrass with macadamia) and Vanielje (vanilla with argan oil). And they all smell wonderful. You’ll pay R135 for 30ml. baardbekolie.co.za Boska Geneva cheese curler with dome R580 and Dalewood Huguenot truckle of cheese R275/kg dalewood.co.za 021 200 2580 The big cheese The Huguenot cheese from Dalewood Fromage, a nutty Gruyère matured for six months, was declared dairy…

The time was ripe: readers have long wanted to know when Platteland would be heading north with our popular bread-baking workshops. Fortunately, two qualified people were ready to assist us in this venture: Annelien Pienaar of the guest farm Bos-en-Berg in Hartbeespoort and Marcelle Botha of Demo-Den Cookery School in Bloemfontein, both old hands when it comes to cookery, bread-baking and presenting courses. Our wildest expectations were exceeded. At Hartbeespoort the one planned workshop spontaneously became two, and in Bloemfontein Marcelle’s kitchen was bursting at the seams as people came from all over – as far afield as Herolds Bay, Postmasburg and Hartswater – for this delightful affair. And it was great to see how readers arrived in teams at all three courses: there were husbands-and-wives, mothers-and-daughters, fathers-and-sons, mothersand-sons, in…

DO AND DAWDLE • Fort Nongqayi Museum Village You could easily spend an entire morning here and keep the children entertained. Besides the impressive old fort, through which you can walk while learning more about the history of these parts, there’s also the Butterfly Dome, Vukani Museum, a park with a cave for the little ones, a lovely shop and the restaurant Adam’s Outpost. Where? Nongqayi Street, on the western side of town Contact eshowemuseums.org.za 035 474 2281 • Dlinza Forest boardwalk The forest is at the heart of Eshowe and it’s a wonderful experience to walk among the treetops on the 125m-long boardwalk 10m above the ground. At the end there’s a 20m-high deck, where you can look out over the forest and listen to birds chirping. There are…

Hok is dedicated to all the grannies and young girls of the Kalahari, says Betta, because in days gone by Bushmen girls having their first period would undergo a ritual that sounds weird, even upsetting, to many modern people. Back then, a small cage was built in which the girl would be locked up and where she’d eat and sleep for about a month. She’d have no contact with men or other women – only the grandmothers would visit the cage to tell her everything about womanhood and cooking. “During the day, the oumas would teach her about the food of the veld, the berries and the roots, the pips of the tsamma melon, how to roast gatkoffie [made from the roots of the witgatboom, or shepherd’s tree] and how…

CHOEMANSVILLE Aerial Cableway Hartbeespoort Take the cable car to the top of Magaliesberg for a bird’s-eye view of the dam and houses of Hartbeespoort. Stroll along the walkways and enjoy something to eat, or simply admire the scenery. hartiescableway.co.za 012 253 9910/3 Mountain Herb Estate Nursery The tiny nursery run by the Swart family specialises in medicinal, insect-repelling and culinary herbs, particularly “strange plants, things you don’t find every day”. You can order plants, seeds and rhizomes, oils, balms, tinctures and different teas, and the best news is that they have a great website with comprehensive product lists, their uses and prices. And they deliver countrywide. Next to the R514 in Kameeldrift West. herbgarden.co.za 082 924 3067 Mountain Herb Estate Jasmyn Plaasprodukte This must be the largest farm stall in…

Bertus and Carna van Zyl from the farm Eenvoud outside Napier started homeschooling at their previous farm outside Piet Retief. “We began by attending an insightful home-schooling workshop and doing personality tests to establish each person’s learning style. Wian was a kinetic learner and Berna a visual learner. We then chose a curriculum best suited to the four members of our family.” They switched from an informal approach to a formal South African curriculum (Breinlyn) in Grade 10 to make admission to university easier. Eventually the family decided to let the children complete Grades 11 and 12 at the Vryheid Agricultural High School in order to broaden their horizons and experience a school environment. “Some people are still amazed by my son [Wian] who is busy with his third…

THE BASICS 1 Check for leaks Turn off your taps, take the reading on your water meter and wait two hours (without using any water). If the reading changes within those two hours, call a plumber to investigate. 2 FIX LEAKING TAPS RIGHT AWAY The dripping is annoying – and will only get worse – and if a tap leaks only one drop a second, you’ll be wasting a shocking 10 000 litres of water a year. 3 Imagine there’s just about no water left Set yourself a challenge: try to complete all tasks for which you need water with as little water as possible. Henna Briers Botha Parys 4 Teach kids from a young age that water is precious – that way, half the water-saving battle would…

Way back in 1976, British writer and adventurer John Seymour wrote a book called The New Complete Book of Self-Sufficiency: The Classic Guide for Realists and Dreamers, described as a guide for real and wannabe “downshifters”. Aside from a host of practical tips and useful information garnered from years of experience on farms and smallholdings, he came up with this thought-provoking paragraph: “The flush toilet is one of the greatest sins of modern man… It is a remarkably expensive way to pollute fresh drinking water, while at the same time wasting the very nutrients that are essential to maintain fertility in the soil. One pull of the lever and the waste becomes somebody else’s problem.” Seymour had a point. According to Rand Water’s WaterWise website, flush toilets account for a…

Statistics South Africa reported in September 2015 that, despite measures to eradicate it, the bucket toilet system remained a persistent phenomenon in seven of our nine provinces, although there was a significant drop in usage. Countrywide, some 84 065 consumer units were serviced in 2015, falling from 100 618 in the previous year (and from 231 660 units in 2004). The 16% drop in 2014 was driven mostly by municipalities in the Eastern Cape, which reduced the provincial total by 15 353 consumer units. Interestingly, just more than a third of serviced consumer units (that is, bucket toilets) are concentrated in a single municipality: Nelson Mandela Bay.…

This is how A Prune and strip Use pruning shears to get rid of all the twigs on the branches. Remove the green bark by using the blade of a pair of scissors or a sharp knife: lift the bark with the sharp edge and pull it off. 1 B Start with a frame Decide how tall you want your Christmas tree, and cut or saw three of the branches to this length (80cm–100cm works well). Drill holes through the top of all three branches, thread a piece of binding wire through the holes and wind the ends together using a pair of pliers (not too tightly). 2 Stand the three “legs” upright on a flat surface. 3 C Build the skeleton To cut the transverse spars, measure the distance…

Garden Master’s range of easy-to-grow seed makes growing your own a breeze. The collection includes 28 vegetable, seven herb and 11 flower varieties, but thanks to the hype created by local and international TV cooking programmes, it comes as no surprise that herbs are the fastest-selling seed category. What herbs want • LIGHT All seven easy-to-grow varieties in Garden Master’s herb seed range prefer a sunny, sheltered position in the garden, although parsley and chives also do well in semi-shade. Indoor pots should be in a position that enjoys bright light but not direct sunlight.• SOIL All herb types like welldraining neutral-to-alkaline soil enriched with compost and well-rotted manure.• WATER Herbs need regular watering, but never overwater or let them dry out completely.• FOOD Light applications of a liquid…

Onions, leeks and chives are some of the first crops I encourage beginner vegetable gardeners to plant. They taste great, they look pretty, and there is very little that can go wrong with them in terms of pests and diseases – plus they fulfil many other functions for the avid organic gardener. Firstly, alliums are great companion plants: with the exception of peas and beans, alliums get along with all other plants. Pests hate their strong flavour so much, they even provide protection for more vulnerable neighbours. Aphids and flea beetles, those little critters responsible for the tiny holes in rocket and mustard leaves, can’t stand the smell of any member of the onion family, especially garlic. Chive flowers attract pollinators to the garden and should therefore be planted under…

Pickled garlic Makes about 500ml Preparation time 1 hour plus 3-4 weeks’ pickling time The Koreans pickle garlic in vinegar for a week and then in soy sauce for two weeks, which produces slightly sweet garlic without an overpowering flavour. Be patient – the result is worth the wait. This recipe can easily be halved. You need • 500g fresh garlic heads (about 8)• 150ml white-wine vinegar• 1 tablespoon (15ml) sea salt• 400ml water FOR THE PICKLING LIQUID • 150ml soy sauce• ¼ cup (60ml) white-wine vinegar• 3 tablespoons (45ml) sugar• 400ml water• 1 small chilli, chopped This is how Break the garlic heads into cloves and cover them with boiling water for 30 minutes or longer to make it easier to remove the skins. Peel the cloves, cut off…

Bryanston Organic & Natural Market – a registered fund-raising project of Michael Mount Waldorf School – celebrated its 40th anniversary in October, but there’s nothing middleaged about “Joburg’s original outdoor market”. The seed for an “organic village market” in the north of Johannesburg “where people could meet one another and have healthy, natural food”, was planted in 1976 when a group of mothers armed with bunches of fresh carrots tried to attract the attention of motorists on Bryanston Drive every Thursday. Behind them, at Michael Mount Waldorf School, you could buy fresh organic fruit and vegetables off the back of bakkies and trailers. The name of the market has undergone several changes, but the focus has remained the same: products and activities that encourage people to be healthier, more “conscious”…

When I saw Kaapmuiden on the cover of your Winter Issue (Platteland #11), my heart leapt. It led to a sleepless night as the events of more than 60 years ago flashed before my eyes. That multicoloured painted silo was one of many playgrounds where we trampled the silage as the maize was chopped up and blown into the tower. We liked to see who could jump the highest from the shutters onto the silo floor – I was usually the champion – and it was also the place where I first kissed a girl undisturbed. My father, Piet, was the manager of the jersey dairy on the one side and the piggery on the other side of the tower. There, I not only learnt to milk and warmed my…

WESTERN CAPE Our Favourite Things Market, Gabriëlskloof, Bot River 16-18 December Clothes, quilts, ceramics, cheese, oysters, toys, jewellery, great music and lots of great people! Where? Just off the Swart River road, a stone’s throw from the N2 Contact gabrielskloof.co.za 028 284 9865 LIMPOPO Kranskop Grape Festival, Modimolle 5-7 January 2017 Start 2017 on a high note with well-known artists, stalls, agricultural goods, a gymkhana, a beer tent, and bike races, beauty competitions and a park for the children. Where? Festival grounds off the R33 Contact kranskopfees.co.za 082 854 8764 FREE STATE Love Rosendal Festival, Rosendal 10-12 Februarie 2017 The focus is on nourishing food and a wholesome lifestyle. There will be lots of activities, for kids too. Contact rosendalinfo.co.za WESTERN CAPE Stellenbosch Wine Festival 24-26 February 2017 Award-winning…

The big problem with organics at the moment is that there is a limited supply, which leads to premium prices. This is the view of Paul Duncan from Dovehouse Organics in Howick, KwaZulu-Natal. “Some organics are imported and this adds to the cost. At our shop we have only made small increases when compared with non-organic produce over the years,” he says. “There is definitely a lot of competition between organic and chemical farming. Chemical farmers produce at such a low cost and in large quantities, but they have to use many chemicals to grow the way that they do. For the organic guys, that’s where the competition is… At the store consumers are faced with a R5 bunch of chemically treated spinach versus a R15 chemicalfree, organically grown bunch.”…

Distance from the city 80km from Richards Bay, 100km from Ballito and 150km from Durban Facilities Eshowe has a Pick n Pay, SuperSpar, Build It, Spur, doctors, pharmacies, a dentist, various clothing and furniture stores, tyre places, car dealerships and branches of most banks. Nearest hospitals The town has a state hospital ( 035 474 4500), but the nearest private hospitals are in Richards Bay, Ballito and Durban. Nearest retirement resort Zululand Homes for the Aged ( zha.org.za 035 474 2636) is a neat retirement facility with beautiful gardens. Schools There are a number of schools, among them Gratton Primary School ( gratton.co.za), Eshowe High School ( eshowehigh.org.za) and Eshowe Christian School ( 035 474 2846). Nearest Woolworths Richards Bay (80km) Municipality Eshowe is the seat of uMlalazi Local Municipality,…

R795 000 Neat four-bedroomed house on a 1 496m² stand with two bathrooms and a large stoep at the back overlooking the garden. R1,6 million Four-bedroomed house on a 320m² stand in sought-after Eshowe Hills Eco Estate. It has three bathrooms and a lovely stoep and wooden deck. R3,75 million A 30ha farm, with 25ha sugar cane, five chicken coops (with space for 8 000 chickens), store rooms, a butchery, three boreholes and a three-bedroomed house.…

We are all familiar with those “first day at school” photos: a plucky, gaptoothed child, all bony knees and combed fringe, dressed in an uncomfortable uniform and completely dwarfed by the suitcase they are carrying. Behind every child who’s been declared school ready stands a parent or two with a lump in their throat. Especially for countless people in the platteland, where the first day of school marks the start of a series of difficult choices: do you send your child to the school in town where numbers are dwindling and the academics are average? Do you drive the 70km-100km from the farm to the school and back again twice a day? Do mom and child live in the “town house” during the week while dad holds the fort…

The composting toilet is a type of dry toilet that treats human waste by composting or managed aerobic decomposition. In the process, nutrients are retained, so it could be used as a fertiliser. It starts with a “curing” stage to allow what’s known as mesophilic composting. (For the scientifically inclined, mesophiles are among the micro-organisms that cause food to spoil.) Initially, mesophilic organisms, which live at temperatures of 10°C to 45°C, colonise the waste. When the temperature exceeds about 45°C, they are replaced by thermophilic organisms, which thrive in the temperature range 45°C to 70°C. This high temperature kills the pathogenic bacteria and protozoa – microscopic one-celled organisms – that aren’t good for us. In South Africa, aerobic processing is usually assisted by the addition of sawdust (this helps…

Cattle browse peacefully next to more than a thousand golden barrel cactuses, also known as mother-in-law’s cushions. Sheilam feels more like a farm than a nursery, although you’ll often spot brides and models on a photo shoot. Here you pretty much stop and bend down every few metres to take in a colour or shape or fragrance that you don’t encounter every day. The nursery started out in 1954 as a succulent collection and has been in the Schwegmann family’s possession since 1967. For the past 13 years, Minette Schwegmann has been at the helm here. “My degree in botany from the University of Stellenbosch comes in handy,” she says, “but I’ve learnt many lessons along the way. I’m here every day and don’t have time for tea parties. All…

Where did you fascination with snakes start? I was seven when I caught my first brown house snake in our garden in Durban. There were also many interactions with snakes on family farms outside Stella, Ermelo and Grootvlei. Unfortunately, in those days, snakes were always killed. Have you been bitten by a snake? I’ve been dealing with snakes for more than 40 years and had never had a serious bite or needed an antivenom. What do you do if a dangerous snake decides to make your garden its home? Watch the snake from a safe distance – at least 5m – and use a field guide to identify it. Then contact a snake catcher – you’ll find a list on my website: africansnakebiteinstitute.com. Are snakebites regularly reported by gardeners? Fortunately,…

No kitchen – or stock, soup, potjiekos, curry or braai marinade – should be without onions and/or garlic, even though they are both usually chopped so finely and cooked away that we forget they’re even there. Some people are wary of their strong flavour but don’t realise that the way garlic and onions are prepared has a big influence on their taste. One of garlic’s secrets is that the strong, distinctive flavour only comes to the fore once you crush or chop it and the enzymes start working. But if you leave the cloves whole and pickle, boil or roast them, this results in a much softer, sweeter taste. When I find that a head of garlic contains those irritating tiny cloves, I roast it whole and then squeeze out…

REFRESHING DRINK Raspberry lemonade Makes 750ml Preparation time 10 minutes Cooking time 10 minutes This recipe is really easy and can be made with fresh or frozen berries. It’ll be a hit with your guests but you could also pour the lemonade into a beautiful bottle, tie a ribbon around it and give it to the host of the next dinner party you’re invited to. You need • 400g fresh or frozen raspberries• juice of 2 lemons• 1 cup (250ml) water• 1 cup (250ml) sugar This is how Blend the raspberries, lemon juice and water in a food processor and strain. Discard the seeds. Heat the liquid along with the sugar in a saucepan over a medium heat for 10 minutes until the sugar dissolves. Let the mixture simmer for…

DAY 1 We meet in the town of Letlhakane and refuel. Then we head out into the bush and onto the vast, flat expanse of Makgadikgadi Pans, where we spend our first night on Kubu Island. DAY 2 Early birds and keen photographers will relish watching the sun rise over the pans while enjoying coffee and rusks. After breakfast we hike around the island with its fascinating rock formations and baobabs while the logistics team strikes camp. Then it’s time to head north to our overnight camp outside Maun. DAY 3 We spend the morning in Maun for shopping and fuel. There’s an opportunity for an hour-long flight over the Okavango Delta (not included in the tour price). Then we depart for our next overnight stop on the banks of…