www.sanlamreality.co.za / Winter 2018
LAW AND SOCIAL ORDER HOW TO prot e c t YOURSELF ONLINE
wealth The secret to saving
travel 9 epic walking holidays
wellness Going bos for rooibos
debate Are we too competitive?
Be entertained
with your exclusive
Sanlam Reality benefits
Nu Metro Movies and Refreshments Pay just R25 for a 2D movie ticket, R45 for a 3D ticket and R30 for a medium popcorn and beverage!
Computicket Shows and Events Get two tickets for the price of one (up to R300)!
Simfy Africa Music Streaming Get six months’ free music streaming and access to 32-million songs!
For more information on your benefits and qualifying membership options, go to www.sanlamreality.co.za. Benefit terms and conditions apply.
We lc o m e
Winter is here and the year is racing by... fortunately, we still have plenty of exciting programme updates planned for the rest of 2018. It’s going to be a good one! It’s a terrifying prospect that South Africans are among the worst in the world at savings – after all, our futures depend on savings. The good news? This doesn’t have to include you! At Sanlam Reality, we’re dedicated to helping you save money on a daily basis. On page 50, we break down the secret to saving, with helpful tools. As we all adapt to the VAT increase that came into play in April this year, it’s good to know that Sanlam Reality is offering new, innovative ways to not only help you look after your cash, but to get the most bang for your buck, too. True to our promise, we kept the 2018 annual increase to a minimum (check out the table, right, for details). We’re doing everything we can to make your life easier and your wallet happier. This includes the upcoming launch of the new Sanlam Reality App, designed to help you save time and money. Just another example of how taking care of your money can be rewarding! The Sanlam Reality App will deliver a slick experience while giving you access to current and new benefits when you’re on the go. Plus, it integrates directly with the Uber app and your very own Personal Assistant available via chat. Turn to page 78 for more details, and keep an eye on our other communication channels for more information. Enjoy!
FROM THE SANLAM REALITY TEAM
18 34 Membership option
New fee
Core
R90
Core Family
R125
Plus
R195
Plus Family
R250
Health
R195
Health Family
R250
In every issue 04 M AILBOX 07 THE OTHER SIDE OF REALITY 72 TALKING POINT 75 REAL WORLD
Effective from 1 August 2018
Our contributors NICK DALL
TRACY MELASS
Coffee junkie by day, Red Espresso fiend by night, Nick Dall takes his brews seriously, bru. He recently investigated the story behind the growth and success of a proudly South African product, rooibos tea. [+] R ead his story on PAGE 18.
Tracy Melass believes in the therapeutic power of putting one foot in front of the other. She walks every day and has hiked the Inca Trail, walked Hadrian’s Wall and tackled most of SA’s bestknown trails. [+] J oin her for a walking holiday on PAGE 40.
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www.sanlamreality.co.za
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Sanlam Reality is the lifestyle, wellness and rewards programme of the Sanlam Group. The Sanlam Reality programme provides a wide range of benefits covering many aspects of today’s busy lifestyle needs, all of which benefit Sanlam Reality members every day. Members enjoy access to exclusive offers, competitions and discounts across a wide range of lifestyle purchases, as well as discounts and extra cover on their Sanlam products. Sanlam Reality aims to educate members on a variety of topics, including health, finances and insurance. SANLAM REALITY PROGRAMME Head of marketing and communication Francois Uys Communications manager Lucille Moore Communications coordinators Hasina Khan, Farah Bhikoo, Dylan Marinus Partner manager Marché Cilliers
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SANLAM REALITY CALL CENTRE Telephone 0860 732 548/9 Email info@sanlamreality.co.za Website www.sanlamreality.co.za REAL FUTURES (PTY) LTD Real Futures is a wholly-owned Sanlam Ltd company managing the Sanlam Reality Programme for the Sanlam Group. Chairman Ahmed Banderker Directors Gary Allen, André Larisma, Theesan Moodley, Jan Steenkamp Company secretary Ulishia Baijnath
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PUBLISHED BY NARRATIVE FOR SANLAM REALITY
18 Features 09 W ELLNESS 12 BE SOCIAL MEDIA SAVVY Social media can be wonderful – and damaging. Here, your guide to managing your platforms like a pro. 18 G OING BOS The proudly South African company taking rooibos tea to the next level. 22 H OW TO FALL IN LOVE WITH FITNESS Everything you need to stop exercise from feeling like a chore. www.sanlamreality.co.za
EDITORIAL Editor Jane Smith Junior writer/sub-editor Anitta Banjwa Email mag@sanlamreality.co.za Proofreader Katherine Farrell Contributors Nicci Botha, Nick Dall, Wilma de Bruin, Deborah Herd, Cathy Hofmeyr, Richard Holmes, Sholeen Lagadien, Fiona McDonald, Tracy Melass, Angelique Ruzicka, Gillian Warren-Brown, Katelyn Williams
26 C HRONIC PAIN? REWIRE YOUR BRAIN Practical pointers to help. 31 T RAVEL 34 TEMPLES, TRAINS AND TEA You’re about to fall in love with Sri Lanka!
56 G ET YOUR SHORTTERM INSURANCE CALCULATIONS RIGHT We investigate the options. 60 T HINK BEFORE YOU CLICK Protect yourself from scams and fraud.
40 9 WALKING HOLIDAYS TO STRETCH YOUR STRIDE The healthy, sensory way to experience a new culture or terrain.
63 E NTERTAINMENT 66 FERMENTED FLAVOURS Easy ways to include healthy, fermented foods into your cooking.
47 W EALTH 50 THE SECRET TO SAVING South Africans are some of the worst savers in the world – but that doesn’t have to include you! Start here.
70 F IVE MINUTES WITH CHAD SAAIMAN
Win
17 T HREE DAYS’ CAR HIRE FROM TEMPEST!
PRODUCTION Head of production Nicky Scheepers Traffic manager Ashleigh Tremearne CREATIVE Creative director Christelle Grobler Designers Franco Hanekom, Kirsten MacKrill Photography Getty Images, iStock, Shutterstock, Kirsten MacKrill NARRATIVE CEO Neal Farrell Content director Robyn Daly Business unit director Lauren Brabant Chief content officer Jane Smith Account manager Soni Siwela CAPE TOWN HEAD OFFICE Tel 021 487 9100 Email mag@sanlamreality.co.za 50 Harrington Street, Zonnebloem, Cape Town, 8001
Published by Narrative. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrievable system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, photocopying or otherwise without the prior written permission of the copyright owners, Narrative Media Group, Harrington Street, Cape Town, 8001. Printed by Paarl Media. While reasonable precautions have been taken to ensure the accuracy of advice and information given to readers, the editor, proprietors (Real Futures (Pty) Ltd) and publishers cannot accept responsibility for any damages or inconvenience that may arise from incorrect information.
Printed on paper sourced from sustainable forests.
WINTER 2018 REALITY
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SHARE YOUR VIEWS AND
win
WRITE TO US AND WIN! Email mag@sanlamreality.co.za to tell us what you think about Reality magazine or the Sanlam Reality programme. Letters may be edited at Reality’s discretion. Only Sanlam Reality members are eligible for the prize (please include membership number). The winning letter will receive a R1 000 Cape Union Mart voucher.
WINNING LETTER Tevrede Ouma! Eerstens my hartlike dank vir die kleurvolle tydskrif... met die interessantste artikels. Baie dankie dat ek dit gereeld gratis van U ontvang – vir my as pensioenaris is dit ’n maand se gratis leesstof. Baie dankie vir al die voordele tot my beskikking: letterlik op my voorstoep is ’n klomp vermaak waaruit ek kan kies en keur, asook plekke wat ek kan besoek teen goeie afslagtariewe. En ook die groot voordeel dat ek as Ouma, my kleinkinders teen ’n bekostigbare prys fliek toe kan neem! Dankie dat U net ’n telefoonoproep ver is en altyd bereid is om te help. Hester Jansen van Rensburg
Ed’s reply Dankie Hester – dis altyd so lekker om van een van ons lojale Sanlam Reality-lede te hoor. Geniet die vakansie flieks by Nu Metro (sien bladsy 64 vir die resensies) asook die prys vir die beste brief in hierdie uitgawe – ’n geskenkbewys ter waarde van R1 000 van Cape Union Mart.
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Long-time fan I’m so glad that I took the time to read the latest issue (Autumn 2018) and to enjoy the new happenings, like the royal wedding, Bitcoin news and the very important ways to keep fit at my age (I’m 70!). Also, I have been a member since inception, and have been receiving the magazine since it was launched. So I applaud the team on the investigative talents in the articles and the expert advice and reporting. Mrs P Chinthalraj
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or d ! W WHAT YOU HAD TO SAY ABOUT REALITY MAG…
The recipes and getaway places – I love those, and never know where to start when I’m planning, so the magazine gives me options. Mirriam Nombanda
This is the only magazine I seem to read – it has so much info for everyday issues. I read the articles a few times and take the advice given. Love it! Manor Jeffrey
I enjoy the travel tales because I love to travel… even if it’s via a magazine! Johanna Catharina Ijssel De Schepper
winn e r
OUR LUCKY Congratulations to Lizel Sylvester who won R5 000 in our Reality Summer 2018 competition. Enjoy your shopping!
MEET THE
NICOLE PILLAY
Proud Durban community member and Musgrave resident Nicole Pillay has been a Sanlam Reality member for almost eight years now. She owns an independent financial brokerage specialising in medical aid, and is a mum to a beautiful four-legged ‘child’ called Cinnamon (pictured above). What made you decide to join the Sanlam Reality programme? The idea of a virtual personal assistant intrigued me. What is your favourite Sanlam Reality benefit and why? Definitely the PA benefit. As a business owner, I do my best work when I’m able to create a schedule that keeps me energised, focused and time efficient. Tending to my clients is a priority but this leaves little to no time for myself. With Sanlam Reality’s team of personal assistants, I can stay focused and produce my best work while they assist me with my personal lifestyle. You’ve used the PA more times than any other member [1977 requests since joining the programme]. Can you tell us about some of your PA requests, and how
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me m b e r the PA helped you save time and money? The most recent request was research and doing the groundwork on sourcing suppliers for my new venture: Cinnamon’s Canine Couture. The Sanlam Reality team navigated all of my complex queries and always went the extra mile. Do you feel that Sanlam Reality saves you money? By all means! Besides the synergy of saving me time and consequently money, the agents often negotiate discounts on my behalf. I have never received this level of high-quality service from any organisation. The overall impact it has on my personal and professional life is priceless. Would you recommend Sanlam Reality to your friends? Without a doubt! Most of the agents demonstrate a high level of professionalism and integrity. However there is one that is most definitely the leader of the pack, and that agent is Munesh Darjee. He always exceeds my expectations even for the little tasks/queries. What three words would you use to describe the programme? Impressive, a blessing and simply awesome!
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Start an adventure today Hire a car from Tempest and pay from as little as R220 a day, plus get unlimited mileage and Super Cover!
For more information, go to www.sanlamreality.co.za/benefit/tempest-car-hire or call 0860 732 548/9. Terms and conditions apply.
The other side of FIONA McDONALD News journalist turned wine writer, editor and international judge, Fiona is now retired from not-so-competitive swimming and is seldom seen in a Speedo anymore.
SPLASHDOWN OR MELTDOWN? How to strip in a Kia and other Midmar tales…
I
love water and have spent a lot of time in it over the years. Sometimes hot water... but mostly chlorinated. As a distance swimmer, I’ve notched up many kilometres in pools and dams, including 14 Midmar Miles. It would’ve been 15 but for that last time... I’d flown to KZN for the Saturday team event, rather than Sunday’s individual race. Timing was an issue. See, I had to be back in Cape Town by 4pm to get home and change for a friend’s wedding – in Wellington at 6pm! If everything went like the proverbial well-oiled machine, it was doable... Having registered for the race, I was dropped off at the start, on the far side of the dam. My friend, Lorraine, duly took off in the hired car to patiently wait until I splashed up the slipway on the other side. I anticipated a 30-minute swim: six or seven minutes off my personal best when I was fit, 20 years younger (and, of course, 25kg lighter!) and used to finish just outside the
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top 50 in the individual race. Waiting for the 10am start, the heavy cloud dipped even lower, postponing the ‘off’ by 20 minutes. “Not a problem,” I thought. “I can still make my flight.” But the cloud didn’t lift – so the start was delayed until 11am. My buffer was gone. Time for Plan B. Call Lorraine… except my phone was in the boot of the hire car! Somehow, I blagged my way onto a speedboat ferrying officials to the finish. But how to find Lorraine in the thousands clustered around the slipway? Standing out was easier than I thought – but awkward. I cut a lonely figure on that slipway; bone dry in my Speedo, goggles around my neck, holding onto my coloured cap, 25kg and 20 years on from my sylph-like self. But that was only the beginning... We had to get to Durban – pronto! It was now 11:30am and I needed to check in by 12:30pm at the latest for my 1pm departure. It was more than an hour’s drive. Yup, cutting it fine... Then we realised the car
was almost out of petrol. Lorraine refuelled like a F1 pit crew while I worked the phone, frantically calling friends to get them to check online if there were any other later flights from Durban. There was one. It was fully booked! Somehow I got through on the phone to an angel at check-in. By now, we’d flown down Town Hill, skirted Pietermaritzburg, zoomed past the Rainbow Chicken farms and were at Camperdown. Airline angel took me at my word and checked me in: “Come straight to counter 10.” Cue elation. But… I was still in my Speedo. Ever tried to change out of a Speedo cozzie in the front seat of a Kia Picanto on the heavily trafficked N3? How Lorraine didn’t overturn the car as I contorted around, especially when the driver of the truck we were passing did an Oscar-worthy double take,
I’ll never know! We screeched to a halt and I hit the ground running. I breathlessly flung my ID at the check-in angel at counter 10, ignoring the indignant gasps of patient passengers. Phew, made it! “Just have a seat with that couple there,” she said coolly. An airline rep came over with an apologetic look. “I’m afraid the flight’s overbooked and you’ve been bumped.” I could’ve wept, until I heard… “but don’t worry, we have you on the 2:30pm direct flight, getting you to Cape Town earlier, and we’ve included R500 off your next flight with us.” Bonus! So, while I didn’t get that 15th Midmar under my belt, I did make the reception – and the couple have just celebrated their 10th anniversary. I, however, have never swum the Mile again...
Fiona WINTER 2018 REALITY
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Fit starts with you No excuses - join Planet Fitness today!
+ SAVE
as much as 80% or R450 on monthly gym fees.
For more information, go to www.sanlamreality.co.za/benefit/planet-fitness or call 0860 732 548/9. Terms and conditions apply.
FOOD AT OUR FEET Foraging – the new throwback with a health kick For centuries, nomadic hunter-gatherers relied on vegetation to source their food. Many years later, mass food production has affected the quality of our food and the environment. Foraging takes us back to basics – it’s about relying on the environment to provide our food needs, encouraging us to preserve the green spaces around us and being mindful of the food at our feet. Nestled in our foliage are health gems such as common purslane, which can be used as a culinary herb and is packed with vitamins A, C and E, and violets, perfect for the cold season as they contain salicylic acid, which can be brewed to soothe sore throats, headaches and reduce inflammation. With South Africa’s abundant fauna and flora, there’s an opportunity to explore and eat the best of the land absolutely free!
YOUR
wellness BENEFITS NEW
As much as 60% monthly discount at Virgin Active (Reality Health only)
As much as 80% monthly discount at Planet Fitness
As much as 80% monthly discount at JustGym
As much as 60% off monthly fees or studio packs at Independent Gyms and Studios
Go to www.sanlamreality.co.za/benefits/health to view which benefits apply to your membership option, your tier status and discount percentage.
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WorkOUT THE WINTER BLUES SEASONAL AFFECTIVE DISORDER (SAD) IS A DEPRESSION THAT COMMONLY OCCURS DURING WINTER. STUDIES SHOW THAT APART FROM VITAMIN D, EXERCISE IS AN EFFECTIVE WAY TO BEAT THE WINTER BLUES. From bright sunny skies to grey clouds and wet days, seasonal change affects our mood. As a result, depression commonly spikes in winter with negative effects not only on the mind but on the body as well. For some, seasonal affective disorder can lead to clinical depression if not dealt with earlier. Studies have shown that physical exercise can significantly boost mental health – try these: YOGA Yoga incorporates physical exercises and postures as well as breathing techniques. It’s a form of meditative exercise, which relieves stress and encourages peace of mind. Benefits: Yoga also increases flexibility, muscle strength and tone, and helps improve mental
COMING SOON
health, and is specifically good for those who suffer from ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), anxiety and PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). TAI CHI Also known as yoga’s fitness cousin, tai chi involves slow dance-like moves drawn from Chinese martial arts. Benefits: Tai chi addresses the key components of fitness – muscle strength, flexibility, balance and, to a lesser degree, aerobic conditioning. It’s also packed with mental benefits such as improved concentration, as well as a reduction in depression and mood swings. ZUMBA Zumba is all about dancing your way to physical and mental
health. It’s a high-intensity workout, which helps burn kilojoules and promote flexibility. Benefits: Zumba is perfect for toning and tightening your whole body. It also helps boost
cardio and a healthy heart rate. Zumba has been scientifically proven to elevate one’s mood and lower stress levels. It does so by stimulating the production of the feel-good hormone serotonin.
Boost your mood and try something different with our new Independent Gyms and Studios benefit. You could save as much as 60% on 10 classes at your local gym or exercise studio. Find out more on page 78.
UPCOMING EVENTS TOTALSPORTS WOMEN’S RACE
The Totalsports Women’s Race is a run with a cause towards raising awareness and education around breast cancer (22 July in Durban and 9 August in Cape Town and Johannesburg). Each
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event has a 5km walk/run and 10km walk/run. www.stillwatersports.com
SALOMON MAGALIESBERG CHALLENGE 2018 You can choose between the 36km and 50km challenge at this trail event that takes
place on 11 August at Van Gaalen Cheese Farm near Hartbeespoort. www.energyevents.co.za
SANLAM CAPE TOWN MARATHON
Africa’s only IAAF Gold label status marathon takes place
on 23 September through the streets of Cape Town. For those not at marathon level, the event also features a 5km and 10km Peace Run and a 12km and 22km Peace Trail Run (22 September). Turn to page 74 to find out how you can get free entry. www.capetownmarathon.com
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4 TIPS TO DEFEAT
dry skin
As the days get colder, the air gets drier, resulting in your skin producing less moisture. This leads to dry and flaky skin, which in turn exacerbates conditions such as eczema and psoriasis.
Did you know? You burn slightly more kilojoules by working out when it’s colder. That’s because your metabolic rate increases to warm your body, and that bit of extra work means more burn!
FEDHEALTH MTB CHALLENGE Boschendal Farm and the trails of the beautiful Banhoek Valley host this popular MTB event on 15 and 16 September, with event distances including 15km, 28km and 60km. There are also shorter fun events for kids. www.stillwatersports.com
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Bath time is also moisture time: Although a long hot bath sounds heavenly in winter (except if you live in Cape Town), it’s not the best for your skin. Opt for a warm bath and add moisturising products to your water. Avoid harsh soaps: Look for moisturising soaps that are fragrance, dye and alcohol free. Also swap bubble baths for soaps containing more natural ingredients. Replace your summer moisturiser with a thicker one: For maximum effect, make sure you moisturise immediately after bathing or showering, while your pores are still open. Hydrate hydrate hydrate! Aim for the classic eight-glasses-a-day to feed your skin the moisture it needs.
EARN TIER POINTS Give your tier status a massive boost! Take part in outdoor activities and earn as many as
8 000 tier points. Log your events on sanlam.entrytime. com.
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SOCIAL MEDIA
y v v sa
How to stay out of trouble Social media is a wonderful thing, but it is also a tangled web that can shatter your life if you get things wrong, explains Nicci Botha. Just ask Penny Sparrow.
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Social media is completely context and tone neutral, so the nuances of body language and facial expression that would help people interpret what you are saying are missing.
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WINTER 2018 REALITY
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I
n case you’ve been living in a digital black hole, Penny Sparrow is a former estate agent, who let rip on Facebook with a racist rant that went viral. It made her a pariah and landed her in court; the proceedings eventually cost her about R200 000 in fines.
DIGITAL CONTENT IS DANGEROUS CONTENT
“Digital content is dangerous content,” says social media law expert, Emma Sadleir, in her latest book, Selfies, sexts and smartphones: A teenager’s online survival guide, written with Dr Lizzie Harrison. Besides her books on the subject, Sadleir also founded The Digital Law Company three years ago. She and her team specialise in educating corporates, employees, schools, teachers, parents and universities on the legal, disciplinary and reputational pitfalls of social media. Although the book is aimed at teenagers, it contains useful information for anyone using social media. It says content is dangerous because once you’ve posted something on the Internet, it exists in cyberspace forever. If what you posted wasn’t too savoury – whether it was a photo dating back to your student days, or a controversial post – it can come back to haunt you. “If it’s online, it can/will be found, downloaded, screenshotted, copied and pasted. Privacy settings change every day, so hiding something behind them is no guarantee that it won’t become public one day,” she writes. THINK BEFORE YOU POST
According to billionaire businessman, Warren Buffett, “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.” But in the digital age this is more likely five seconds – literally the click of a button, Sadleir believes. So, your digital persona is all about reputation management. Think before you post. If it’s something you wouldn’t put on a massive billboard in your neighbourhood, along with your face, name, address and employer – then don’t do it, she explains. By engaging with social media you are under constant scrutiny, often by people you don’t even know. In some respects, it has become the modern equivalent of the pillory – that wooden medieval punishment device
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placed in a public area with holes to lock the felon’s head and hands in place. The offender was then shamed or insulted by everyone who passed by. Sound familiar? Besides damaging your personal reputation, posts can impact your career options. Prospective employers do trawl through the Internet to find out more about you. Sadleir refers to this as your digital CV or footprint, and it comprises everything you’ve posted. You also have a digital shadow, which is what other people post about you. Employers are also becoming more conscious that what you say in your private capacity can impact their brand reputation, and that can get you fired. Justine Sacco is one such example. She is a PR executive, who fired off an inappropriate joke about AIDS on Twitter before boarding
TOP TIP
Be safe on Facebook Regularly go into your privacy settings to ensure only your friends and family can see your activity. Remember, if the answer to any of these settings is ‘everyone’, then your posts can be seen by the general public and not just your friends.
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HOW TO SECURE YOUR PRIVACY ONLINE Social media also has another potential danger zone… online privacy. Safety online is important. Make sure you keep your posts protected at all times.
The recent scandal about political research company, Cambridge Analytica, using an app on Facebook to gather personal data on millions of users for Trump’s 2016 presidential election, has left people outraged at the invasion of privacy. The truth is the Cambridge Analytica scandal is just the tip of the iceberg. Facebook and other social media platforms have been mining your personal information for years to tailor advertising to your preferences. That’s why the ads on your Facebook timeline, your Gmail account or your Twitter feed correspond to your recent online searches. Similarly, those innocuous quizzes about who you were in a previous life, or in which country you should be living, aren’t just a bit of fun, but market research. However, there have recently been moves to legislate privacy on social media. Facebook boss, Mark Zuckerberg, was grilled by the US congress, the European Union’s new General Data Protection Regulation will force companies to reveal how they use data and, in South Africa, the Protection of Personal Information Act (PoPI), is supposed to do the same. In the meantime, you can limit what Facebook info you make available to third parties by reviewing your settings. TIGHTENING UP YOUR FACEBOOK ACCOUNT SECURITY
Apps Choose ‘Settings’ under the down arrow on the top right of your screen. If you’re not immediately prompted to do a ‘Privacy Checkup’, then click on ‘Apps’ on the left. Here, you’ll find all the apps you’ve logged onto using Facebook. Click on the pencil symbol to prevent friends from seeing that you use the app or stop the app seeing who your friends are. You can delete the app by clicking on the X. But this won’t remove your info from the developer’s database. To do this, you need to contact the company and ask them to remove your data. To deactivate the ability to log onto third-party websites by using your social media accounts, click on ‘Apps, Websites & Games’.
Apps Others Use Unclick anything you want to keep private on the apps and websites your friends are using.
Ads You may not be able to control the fact that Facebook gathers data about you, but you can dictate how the platform uses it. Go to ‘Settings’ and click on ‘Ads’ on the left of the screen. You can then turn off ‘Ads based on your use of websites and apps’ (prevents targeted ads on your timeline); ‘Ads based on apps and websites outside the Facebook companies’ (means you won’t see FB ads on the rest of the web); ‘Ads with your social actions’ (click ‘No One’ and friends won’t see your likes, comments etc on the adverts they see). FRIENDS AND FOES To limit what your friends and outsiders see of your timeline, likes and shares, go to ‘Settings’ and hit the ‘Privacy’ button. You can then edit who sees your future posts and who can send you friend requests by changing your privacy status from ‘Public’ to ‘Friends only’. Remember if your posts are set to ‘Public’ anyone can see them.
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WINTER 2018 REALITY
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a plane for Africa. Little did she know that during the few hours she was in the air and offline, she had created a Twitterstorm of epic proportions that ultimately got her sacked. That’s another thing about social media. It’s completely context and tone neutral, so the nuances of body language and facial expression that would help people interpret what you are saying are missing.
If it’s something you wouldn’t put on a massive billboard in your neighbourhood, along with your face, name, address and employer, then don’t do it, she explains.
LEGAL MINEFIELD
Digital content falls within the ambit of publishing and is therefore subject to the same laws as magazines or newspapers. “Something is considered published once it has been made available to just one other person, whether in writing, verbally or otherwise,” Sadleir explains. There’s something called the chain of publication. Even if you didn’t originate the content, but shared or retweeted something without commenting or agreeing with it, you become part of the dissemination process. Likewise, you have the ability to stop the dissemination of information (deleting a derogatory comment from your post), and the ability to disassociate yourself (untagging yourself) from it. If you fail to exercise that ability, you’re just as liable as the originator. “In the latter case, and if the post is on Facebook, you can turn on the settings that allow you to approve tags or turn on manual tagging, so that tagged photos don’t appear on your timeline without your permission,” Sadleir says.
Although WhatsApp has become a useful tool for workplace communication, you still need to be judicious about what you post, says another member of The Digital Law Company, Sarah Hoffman. Not everyone in your office wants to see photos of your child’s first tooth. On the other hand, is it appropriate for your boss to message you with a work request at 2am in the morning? Sarah says that depends on your job description, but more and more companies are putting WhatsApp guidelines in place to manage the situation.
Social media is far more complex than a space to post happy pictures. As it evolves, it will become trickier to navigate, but if you follow the giant billboard rule, are conscious of your digital shadow and think before you post, you should be okay. Most important of all, remember to be kind.
BELOW: Every post has a ripple effect. Don’t be caught on the wrong side of the law.
WHATSAPP, DOC?
Sadleir points out that apps such as WhatsApp are also social media. Content published on this platform can also be disseminated, and be just as disastrous to your reputation. Remember the mom who accidently sent a sexy photo intended for her husband’s eyes only to her child’s school hockey WhatsApp group? One of the members maliciously screenshot the image and it went viral, much to her embarrassment. Simply by being a member of a group where offensive remarks are made can get you into trouble too. The best action in this instance is to either leave the group immediately, or reply to the comment saying you disapprove or disagree.
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win!
three days’ car hire from Tempest worth as much as
R1 500!
How to enter Write to us at mag@sanlamreality.co.za and tell us about your Tempest car hire experience to stand a chance to win this prize.
Prize Tempest class T vehicle for three days 200km per day and Tempest’s Super Cover Competition closes: 11 October 2018 (exclusive to Sanlam Reality members)
Terms and conditions: The winner will be drawn within two weeks of the closing date of the competition and notified thereafter. The prize is valid for six months. The prize is subject to availability at the time of booking. The renter’s credit/debit card must be presented when collecting the vehicle, along with a valid unendorsed driver’s licence. A deposit will be pre-billed on to the renter’s credit/debit card to cover fuel and any optional extras that might be selected, as well as a security hold to cover a portion of the reduced liability. In the event of an accident or damage to the vehicle, R4 500 would be the excess and any extra charges as per Tempest’s terms and conditions would be applicable. Rental days are complimentary and exclude fuel and optional extra days. Tempest’s standard terms and conditions apply. For full Sanlam Reality competition terms and conditions, go to www.sanlamreality.co.za/terms-conditions.
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Rooibos tea is quietly painting the world red, and one proudly South African company has taken it to the next level by catapulting the drink into the cafÊ market and super-sizing the plant’s health benefits. Nick Dall tells the story.
g n i o G
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outh Africans have loved rooibos ever since the San first discovered the soothing powers of infusions made from the hardy, yellow-flowered shrub that grows only in the Cederberg. Dutch settlers to the area soon developed a taste for this cheaper alternative to Ceylon tea and, in the early 1900s, pioneered its cultivation and commercialisation. Rooibos has long been a South African staple, but – let’s face it – it’s never had much street cred… COFFEE OR TEA?
That is until Red Espresso came along and turned the dowdy tea into a sexy coffee-like drink that tastes delicious and is incredibly good for your health to boot. By grinding the tough-as-nails bush to a fine reddish powder and having the audacity to put this substance through a nine-bar espresso machine, the company created a new beverage category. With time, they realised that by using only the finest high-altitude tea and fine-tuning the exact consistency of the grind, they could further enhance both the flavour and the health credentials. “We were convinced the world was ready for a healthier, caffeine-free drink that tasted great and could be enjoyed in just the same way as coffee,” says Red Espresso co-owner Pete Ethelston. Visually, the only difference between a shot of Red Espresso and a regular espresso is the colour. Both have a rich frothy crema and an
intense treacly consistency, and Red Espresso boasts a finessed depth of flavour that is not dissimilar to a fine coffee. But it’s the health benefits that truly set the drinks apart. In addition to being naturally caffeine free, Red Espresso contains 10 times more antioxidants than regular rooibos and five times more than supposedly transformative green tea. Put simply, Red Espresso is a superfood that’s indulgent.
ABOVE: Rooibos plantations have pride of place in the Cederberg mountains.
POPULARITY ON THE RISE
Pete and his wife Monique knew they were onto a good thing the moment they discovered the product 10 years ago, but getting it into cafés and kitchens around South Africa, Europe, America and beyond has required patience, commitment and a whole lot of hard work. In addition to the nitty-gritty of setting up every aspect of the supply chain, from farm to cup, they had to “create a market from nothing and then sell the product,” says Monique. Not to mention the expense of
BELOW: Red cappuccino is the new ‘coffee’ trend, and so much healthier.
ROOIBOS TO THE POWER OF 10 Rooibos is good for you, but lab tests show that Red Espresso is 10 times healthier. Kick cancer Red Espresso is packed with the powerful antioxidant found only in rooibos. Aspalathin fights free radicals caused by the sun, pollution and stress, and thus helps to prevent premature ageing, heart disease and cancer.
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Sweet dreams Because it’s naturally caffeine free, Red Espresso helps you to sleep better at night while also reducing your stress levels.
Head master Red Espresso soothes muscle tension, eases nasal congestion and is a wonderful hydrator, making it the perfect tonic for headaches.
Immune boost The zinc contained in Red Espresso amps up the immune system, helps your metabolism and even assists in healing wounds.
Junior juice Red Espresso soothes infant colic and has a blessedly calming effect on kids who tend towards anxiety or hyperactivity.
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patents and trademarks whose renewal dates “come around far more quickly than we’d like,” jokes Pete. South Africans of all stripes took to the glamorous reinvention of an old faithful almost immediately, but foreigners who’d never even heard of regular rooibos were a harder sell. Luckily the company’s growth phase coincided with a global uptick in both the health and wellness industry and the speciality-tea business. In 2008, Red Espresso was voted Best New Speciality Beverage by the Speciality Coffee Association of America, in the process becoming both the first South African company and the first tea ever to win at SCAA. Since then, customers who were already on the lookout for the exoticsounding, health-giving tea with the funny name have been wowed by its sophisticated and uber-healthy lovechild, and Red Espresso is now available in 20 countries and counting. Nespresso, who were initially affronted by the new kids on the block from tiny South Africa, soon changed tack when they realised Red Espresso’s pods were helping them to sell more machines. Red Espresso hasn’t quite reached the point where it’s on every café menu and kitchen counter from Baltimore to Bosnia, but Starbucks’ recent decision to serve lattes made from “microground whole-leaf rooibos” at all of its UK stores is resounding vindication of the Ethelstons’ single-minded commitment to a product that “literally has no downside,” as Monique puts it. Watch this space – preferably with a steaming Red Cappuccino in one hand.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Rooibos is great but these all-new superfood lattes are also worth a whirl.
ABOVE: Pete, who was an SAP consultant in Asia before starting Red Espresso, and Monique, who marketed big brands for Unilever and Distell in her previous life, have turned down many offers from big retailers who want to sell Red Espresso under their own labels and from venture capitalists who are keen to buy the company out. “We’re building a legacy,” says Pete, “one drink at a time.”
Turmeric latte: Great golden colour and a bigger satisfying taste. Turmeric has been found to improve digestion, reduce inflammation and combat viral and bacterial infections.
Beetroot latte: Heart-warming, spicy brew with a magnificent purple hue. Very high in antioxidants and contains unusually high levels of iron and nitrates, it’s great after a hard gym session or if you’re coming down with the flu.
COMPARING ANTIOXIDANT CONTENT RED ESPRESSO
59
GREEN TEA
11
BEETROOT
10
BLACK TEA
8
ROOIBOS TEA
5
[Measured in ORAC per ml – a measure of antioxidant capacity in food and beverages.
CARROT
3
Matcha latte: Eye-catching green colour and a distinct earthy flavour that some would describe as ‘acquired’! Made from ground whole green tea leaves, it’s one of the most antioxident-rich foods on the planet, but does contain caffeine.
Source: Cape Peninsual University of Technology Antioxident Research Unit (2006)]
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Join Virgin Active and get cash rewards for going to the gym! That’s a saving of up to R450 a month.
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How to
FALL IN LOVE WITH FITNESS Exercise needn’t be a chore. Sholeen Lagadien finds out how to fall in love with keeping fit.
Y
ou’ve been doing well for the past two months… you think. Managing to wake up while most of the world is still asleep to get in your workout. Your exercise goals are on track. But today, despite your best intentions to greet the day by breaking a sweat, you remain wrapped in the comfort of sleep’s embrace. And so begins the steady decline into inactivity once again… Until you start noticing the back fat or that your jeans don’t zip up as easily anymore. The vexing cycle of on-again, off-again fitness regimes is familiar to the many of us who grapple with how to stay motivated to move. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that adults (aged 18 to 64) get at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise a week. Otherwise, 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity throughout the week or an equal combination of both. This isn’t an inordinate amount of time, yet many of us struggle to fall in love with keeping fit. Michelle Segar, author of No Sweat: How the Simple Science of Motivation Can Bring You a Lifetime of Fitness, suggests a few reasons why we battle. Quite simply: we don’t prioritise self-care and wellbeing: our ‘why’ for exercising is health- or weightrelated, and our perception of what exercise is, is outdated.
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“We often don’t consider self-care and/ or boosting wellbeing as something we should prioritise because everything else is considered more important,” Segar says. Essentially, we don’t value ourselves, and we don’t make time to exercise because we don’t value wellbeing and self-care. If we changed this mindset, we might just find it easier to love and embrace fitness.
We now know that any movement at all is better than no movement. So get up and choose to move in any way that works for you. Research, Segar explains, also shows that the most common reasons for exercising (better health or weight loss) are the least motivating. She suggests you do away with these and instead focus on how exercising can make you feel better right now. “It can immediately boost your mood and energy,” she explains.
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BOXING
The benefits of boxing for fitness are far reaching. Not only is boxing both a savage strength and cardio workout – which means higher calorie burn – but it’s also a stress reliever like no other. Due to the high intensity of boxing, massive amounts of endorphins are released, which result in a naturally induced happy high – much like what runners experience and refer to as ‘runner’s high’. It also teaches you agility as you have to be quick on your feet. Hand-eye coordination and balance is enhanced, so the next time you trip and almost fall, you’ll be able to catch and steady yourself and avoid injury. This comes in handy as you age. Plus, you’ll also learn the invaluable and practical life skill of self-defence. Boxing also teaches discipline, and strengthens you mentally as you push beyond your perceived limits. Try it if… you’re not easily intimidated by gruelling workouts and you’re partial to rapid, lean muscle growth and some serious calorie burn.
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Johannesburg-based Corporate Wellbeing Specialist, Mario Papadopoullos, echoes Segar’s sentiments. We need to start thinking about exercise not as a means to gain washboard abs or reduce our cholesterol, for example, but rather as “lifestyle-specific movements which counter the mental, physical and emotional stresses experienced on a daily basis”. Exercise, adds Segar, can also be seen as a way to spend some quality time with your family.
Focus on how exercising can make you feel better right now. The next issue, she says, is the way we’ve been taught to exercise. “These definitions of percentage heart rate or intensity are now outdated. We now know that any movement at all is better than no movement. So get up and choose to move in any way that works for you. It might be a process of figuring it out. So give yourself permission to explore, play and move!” For those of you concerned that getting yourself to move in any way other than at a gym is a cop-out, rest assured that it’s not. The WHO defines exercise as: “walking, dancing, gardening, hiking, swimming and cycling; any kind of play, games or sport as well as household chores.” And if none of these sufficiently pique your interest, here are five more ways to get moving and fall head over heels for this thing called keeping fit. TAI CHI
Trying tai chi (a Chinese martial art characterised by slow, graceful movements) to keep fit may sound counterintuitive. One assumes the faster you work, the harder you work, the fitter you become. Not so. Tai chi can be even more dynamic than yoga and provides an aerobic and weight-bearing workout. It also sharpens your flexibility as well as balance, and is low impact so ideal for those who have knee or back problems. The martial art is often called a ‘moving meditation’ because of its meditative nature. This aspect is grounding, keeping you in the moment, while keeping worry at bay. Try it if… you want to grow old gracefully. Tai chi increases mineral bone density which declines as we age.
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INDOOR WALL CLIMBING
Indoor wall climbing used to be primarily the preserve of mountaineers who wanted to hone their skills throughout the year. But it has become a sport in its own right, with climbing gyms sprouting up as everyone – and it’s not just seasoned mountaineers – realises the benefits of climbing. Comprising walls decked with strategically placed multi-coloured grips that resemble blobs of modelling clay, chalk for your hands and mats on the floor in case you lose your balance, wall climbing requires little in terms of equipment. It also offers a full-body workout – both cardio and strength. Your core is activated as you use your lower and upper body (deltoids, biceps and triceps) simultaneously to haul yourself up the wall and navigate a route. Your problem-solving skills will also be greatly enhanced as you decide which way to go. However, it’s not something you can pop in for once a week if you want to see results. To build a climber’s body you’d need to hit the wall at least three times a week. Try it if… you’re looking for a more social form of exercise and enjoy the camaraderie from fellow climbers.
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BIKRAM YOGA
BALLET
Bikram yoga is a form of yoga done in a room heated to 40°Celsius and with 40% humidity. It’s a series of 26 postures designed to strengthen every joint, muscle, ligament and tendon in the body. It also detoxifies, boosts metabolism, increases strength and endurance, stills the racing mind and makes you sweat – profusely. Proponents of Bikram yoga swear by how it has changed their lives. Try it if… you want a full-body workout and feel you can handle the heat.
Joining an adult ballet class is a great alternative to gym for those who wish to build lean muscle and strength – especially in the lower body. The tiny muscles in your feet to the larger muscles such as the glutes, calves and back muscles will all get a strenuous workout in a ballet class. Ballet also promotes better posture, but doesn’t score very high on cardio fitness; so you will need to supplement your classes with some running or swimming. There is also not much focus placed on upper body strength, so you may also want to do some weight training to strengthen your arms and torso. Try it if… a graceful gait and limber body are some of your fitness goals.
COMING SOON
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We’ve got awesome news for you! Looking to try a new form of exercise? With our Independent Gyms and Studios benefit, you can explore new ways to get your fitness fix. Turn to page 78 to find out more.
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CHRONIC REWIRE YOUR BRAIN Pain that gnaws away at you for months or years can steal your joy, and your life. Gillian Warren-Brown looks at what makes pain persistent and how to take action to reclaim your life.
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I
watched as unrelenting pain slowly silenced my bright and bubbly mother. I see it silence my best friend: when a few days pass without a WhatsApp message from her, I know she’s having a spell of what we call ‘bad pain’. My mom had osteoporosis; my friend has a condition with symptoms similar to fibromyalgia. What I’ve learnt is that persistent pain is not confined to the elderly, nor to a specific list of ailments. Above all, it is an individual experience, both in terms of the actual pain and how you deal with it. My mom and my friend chose to retreat – not wanting to be a burden or take out their frustration on others, nor bore them by talking about their pain. But although they adopted a ‘suffer-insilence’ strategy, neither of them collapsed in a heap, immobilised by despair. In the years before her death, my mom tried to manage her pain with prescription medication to keep moving and doing what she could within the confines of her pain patterns. My friend does the same, and has learnt to cope with the disappointment of sometimes having to cancel a social engagement, or sit out while her friends are having fun on the dance floor. WHAT IS PAIN?
An occasional headache or the pain you feel after an operation or injury is known as acute pain. It usually has a specific cause and, after some time, goes away. However, when pain goes on for more than three months, it’s called persistent or chronic, and for those caught in its clutches, it seems as if it’ll never disappear. But what is pain? Associate Professor Romy Parker, Director of the pain management unit in the University of Cape Town’s Faculty of Health Sciences, says pain is something that your brain creates in response to its evaluation of multiple pieces of information. This includes information about your body, your environment and from your memory – have you been in this situation before and what happened – plus information such as who you are and who’s around. “When your brain receives all this information and decides the situation is
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dangerous, it may generate the experience of pain so you’ll change your behaviour to protect yourself or get help,” says Prof Parker. “When you feel pain, more than 400 different areas of the brain are involved. All pain is created by the brain: no brain, no pain.” RETRAIN YOUR BRAIN
According to internationally recognised Australian pain scientist Prof Lorimer Moseley, if the brain cells that produce pain keep firing repeatedly, they get better at creating pain. In essence, they ‘learn pain’. They also become more sensitive so they need less stimulus to produce pain. Over time, this means they end up trying to protect you against non-existent danger. The nerve networks also lose the ability to be precise, so your pain might spread or change in quality. This, then, becomes persistent or chronic pain. What’s needed is to train your brain to be less protective. This ‘rewiring’ of the brain is the aim of all persistent pain treatment, says Prof Parker. Among the approaches are: Exercise allows you to rewire the maps in your brain that give you an awareness of what’s happening in your body. This means starting by moving at a comfortable level – one that doesn’t produce fear of pain, and where your brain doesn’t automatically try to protect you by producing pain.“Exercise also stimulates the brain to open its drug cabinet and release morphine – the more you exercise, the more efficient you become at doing this,” says Prof Parker. Mindfulness changes the activity in multiple areas of the brain, the same areas that are involved in producing pain. The key is to practise mindfulness regularly so that your brain can rewire itself. This might involve learning ways of reducing stress and calming down your nervous system. A sense of emotional wellbeing can help you refocus your thoughts and beliefs to become more positive, which can, in turn, play a role in pain reduction. TREATMENT OPTIONS
Interventional pain specialist Dr Siyabonga Mkhize, who is based at the Pain Clinic, Ethekwini, says, “Ideally, pain management should involve a multidisciplinary team,
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USEFUL
resourc es
READ THESE BOOKS: Painful Yarns by Prof G Lorimer Moseley Explain Pain by Dr David S Butler and Prof G Lorimer Moseley
WATCH ON YOUTUBE: Understanding pain in less than 5 minutes – and what to do about it! Why things hurt Tame the beast – it’s time to rethink persistent pain
LEARN ONLINE: www.retrainpain.org
including a physiotherapist, occupational therapist and a psychologist, coordinated by a pain specialist.” There are a range of treatments that can be used progressively, based on how the pain condition responds: Non-interventional: medication – taken orally (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, paracetamol, and opioids) or applied to the skin in the form of ointments or patches. Alternatively, Transcutaneous Electro-Nerve Stimulator (TENS) units may be used. These are pads placed on your skin that provide stimulation around the area of pain. Interventional: injections into or around various levels of the spinal region. Dr Mkhize says these range from superficial ‘trigger point’ injections into painful muscles to more invasive procedures involving epidural injections for pain in the neck and arm, or the back and leg; or facet injections into the joints that allow
Persistent pain is not confined to the elderly, nor to a specific list of ailments. It is an individual experience, both in terms of the actual pain and how you deal with it. www.sanlamreality.co.za
BELOW: Transcutaneous Electro-Nerve Stimulator pads provide stimulation around the area of pain.
TIPS FOR LIVING WITH PERSISTENT PAIN 1. RESEARCH Read books and watch videos to help you understand how pain works: it is not an accurate measure of tissue damage and having pain doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with your body. It’s entirely possible to have pain with nothing being wrong, says Prof Parker. (See ‘Useful resources’). 2. UNDERSTAND Work with a physiotherapist to understand your pain experience. This may include physical factors such as how you move, as well as psychosocial factors such as your ability to do things independently, avoiding fear, a negative outlook or your sense of injustice, says Cape Town physiotherapist Jacqui Koep, who specialises in the management and treatment of pain.
Exercise allows you to rewire the maps in your brain.
movement of the neck and back. Other options include a micro-electrical current or heat energy to disrupt nerves involved in a pain condition; and injections using a patient’s own body tissues – such as blood or stem cells – to heal tissue that might be contributing to the pain. Advanced procedures: inserting a spinal cord stimulator catheter to block the message being transferred to the brain. This results in a tingling sensation in place of pain. Alternatively, a spinal pump with morphine or local anaesthetic may be used. New treatment options include stem cell therapy and endoscopic guided spine procedures for pain relief. There’s no comprehensive data for South Africa, but it’s estimated that a third of people live with daily pain, says physiotherapist Jacqui Koep. If you’re one of them, try using all the tools you can to reclaim your life and, above all, focus on rewiring your brain.
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USE YOUR BENEFIT
Start slowly with exercise that suits you by joining the gym. You can save as much as R450 a month at Virgin Active (Reality Health only), Planet Fitness and JustGym. Find out more: www. sanlamreality.co.za/ benefits/health.
3. MANAGE Build a team around you to help you use all the tools to manage pain. These include exercise, mindfulness, stress management, problem solving, medication and interventions. Prof Parker says everything needs to focus on helping you get your life back, not necessarily taking the pain away. (For practitioners who have studied pain management, see www.trainpainacademy.co.za.) 4. GET ACTIVE Start doing things – avoiding activity will not make a difference to your pain and will see you lose things that are important in your life. “Managing pain is an active process,” adds Prof Parker. 5. PACE YOURSELF Stay below the flare line: don’t push yourself into pain. Whether you’re doing daily activities or exercise, pace yourself, advises Koep. Organise your life so you’re not doing too much, and set achievable goals.
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Take a trip! Get a discount of as much as 30% on Mango!
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ALL EYES ON RUSSIA Soccer goes behind the old Iron Curtain About 1-million foreign visitors are expected to visit Russia during the FIFA World Cup in June and July this year. Over and above the action on the pitch, many are set to take in Russia’s top tourist attractions: St Basil’s Cathedral (pictured here) in Moscow and the Winter Palace in St Petersburg. Built on a monumental scale to rival the brilliance of Versailles, the Winter Palace was home to Russia’s rulers from 1732 to 1917. The current (and fourth) version of the palace contains 1 786 doors, 1 945 windows, 1 500 rooms and 117 staircases and today is part of the vast Hermitage Museum, which gets 3.5-million visitors annually.
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flavour
TRIPS WITH ADDED LOVE COOKING? THEN COMBINE YOUR NEXT BREAK WITH CULINARY CLASSES AT BEAUTIFUL SPOTS AROUND THE COUNTRY. RELISH KAROO COOKING African Relish is a rural cooking school paired with quaint accommodation, in the Karoo town of Prince Albert. Themed classes happen throughout the year, covering the likes of Karoostyle tapas, vegetarian food, kids in the kitchen and more. There are also scheduled classes on specific dates, or masterclass weekends with invited chefs, as well as a foodie tour of the town and foraging excursions. Guests at the school stay in four restored cottages in the town. [+] www.africanrelish.com GO ORGANIC IN THE MAGALIESBERG Join in the communal fun, or put a group together and learn to cook Greek, Italian,
vegetarian and more during full-day or weekend cooking breaks on Puschka Farm in the Magaliesberg. You’ll use veggies and herbs, as well as organic produce grown on the farm, and learn to pair your creations with local wines at dinner. Accommodation is in cosy, selfcatering cottages with fireplaces. [+] www.puschkafarm.co.za BUCKET-LIST STUFF
BREAD IN THE WINELANDS Learn from a master how to fill, twist and shape various styles of fancy bread at Bread & Wine Restaurant on Môreson wine farm in Franschhoek. While your bread is baking, you can sample the farm’s fine wines. Also enquire about the two-day charcuterie workshop if hams and cured sausage are more to your liking. Bread courses cost R985 and the website has details of upcoming courses. [+] www.moreson.co.za
MOROCCAN SPICE Learn what you can really do with couscous on a threenight culinary visit to the red city of Marrakech. Hands-on classes will unlock the medley of spices used in Moroccan dishes, and you’ll enjoy a guided city tour, veggie shopping at a local souk and even a massage; from R6 559 a person.
CITY OF TEMPLES The world’s largest religious monument, Angkor Wat in Cambodia, is a must-see tourist attraction for many… but not always the easiest to get to! The good news for travellers is that Emirates has introduced a route to the country’s capital, Phnom Penh, operating daily out of Dubai, with a short stop in Yangon (Myanmar).
+ Reality Plus and Reality Health members can travel this new route using their Emirates discount – go to www. sanlamreality.co.za/benefit/emirates.
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[+] www.bookculinaryvacations.com
Did you know? Emirates flies to 142 destinations across six continents and regularly updates and expands its routes. Look out for a new addition from 1 October... Edinburgh in Scotland! The Scottish capital is the secondmost-visited city in the UK, and especially popular over Hogmanay. Time to start planning now...
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‘OTHER’ THINGS TO DO IN GRAHAMSTOWN
The National Arts Festival hits the streets and theatres of Grahamstown from 28 June to 8 July. But what’s to do in the City of Saints when the festivities are gone?
STAY at The Highlander – the Old Boy’s Club turned guesthouse overlooks the cricket pavilion at St Andrews. SIP cappuccino at the Provost Coffee Shop in the old military gaol – and don’t miss the bicycle statue on the Rhodes campus opposite. STROLL down High Street to the Cathedral of St Michael & St George, and many other historical buildings. EAT spicy pizza at the Rat & Parrot, the notorious student pub that’s surprisingly civilised in the daylight hours.
USE YOUR BENEFIT
BROWSE second-hand clothes and eclectic goods at Under the Arch near the famous Clock Tower on Rhodes Campus. POST a letter in the oldest letterbox in South Africa. HIKE up Settlers Hill at sunset and take in the views and monument.
ABOVE: The Cathedral of St Michael and St George is the home of the Anglican Diocese of Grahamstown, and a popular tourist attraction in the city.
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HISTORY IN THE
Winelands
STAY HERE!
The four-star Protea Hotel by Marriott Franschhoek oozes history, with part of the building dating back to the 1880s. So it’s a comfortable springboard from which to explore the wine farms, restaurants, cheese shops and art galleries of Franschhoek, which owes its existence to the French Huguenots who settled there after fleeing France in the 1680s. Enjoy mountain views, a leafy pool courtyard and the Hussar Restaurant, or ditch the car and stroll into town.
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TEMPLES, TRAINS AND TEA From ancient statues to glimmering beaches, Richard Holmes is enchanted by Sri Lanka.
LEFT: The hilltop citadel of Sigiriya is remarkable from every angle. BELOW: Serene statues and soulful visitors at Gal Vihara. MIDDLE: In the ‘Cultural Triangle’ you’ll find hundreds of intricate stone carvings, like this ‘moonstone’ dating back 1 000 years. RIGHT: Buddhist pilgrims come from across Asia to marvel at the ancient city of Polonnaruwa.
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T
here are many reasons people have Sri Lanka at the top of their travelling wish list for 2018. For some, it’s the siren song of white-sand beach es and world-class surfing. When it comes to Instagram-worthy tropical paradise, the quiet coves of southern Sri Lanka certainly deliver the goods. For others, there’s the scenic beauty of the highlands, or the chance to spot leopards in Yala National Park. The capital city of Colombo is charming in its own frenetic way, a colourful cacophony of markets, temples and street stalls. Just watch out for the tuk-tuk drivers who, with a broad smile, will refuse to use the meter. But it was the stone buddhas of Gal Vihara that brought me to Sri Lanka. Carved out of a single chunk of granite, for 800 years these four remarkable sculptures have lain serenely in the countryside of central Sri Lanka; the showpiece of what was once the regal ancient city of Polonnaruwa. Centuries on, they have lost none of their dignified splendour. Once the capital of Sri Lanka’s ancient kingdom, Polonnaruwa dates back close on a thousand years, and much of the old city can still be explored in the well-managed archaeological zone. Tickets need to be purchased at the
informative museum a short walk from the gates, but once inside this UNESCO-listed heritage site, you can easily spend half a day wandering between the ruins of ancient palaces and temples. It’s worth taking your time here, for the delight is in the detail: the elaborate moonstones, carved with elephants and lions, at the door to many of the temples or the gleaming whitewashed stupa (a mound-like or hemispherical structure containing relics) that still stands proud above the trees. THE CULTURAL TRIANGLE
Polonnaruwa is best visited as part of a few days discovering Sri Lanka’s so-called Cultural Triangle. Pressed for time, I have to squeeze all three corners into a long day-trip, so we bid the buddhas farewell and head for Sigiriya. Easily the most spectacular of Sri Lanka’s ancient kingdoms, this ancient fortress sits atop a dramatic rocky outcrop towering 200m above a sea of green forest. Built in just seven years, towards the end of the 5th century, the ‘Lion Rock’ is surrounded by the remnants of an ancient city that included water gardens, temples and caves covered with elaborate murals. It’s a popular spot, and the narrow stairways to the summit become unbearably crowded over weekends. Arrive as early as you can to avoid the crowds and heat..
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Train journeys in Sri Lanka are an adventure on their own. With the doors permanently open there is no shortage of incredible views... As with many great sights, I find that Sigiriya is best admired from afar. A few kilometres north, the Pidurangala Royal Cave Temple offers by far the finest views of this ancient rock fortress. Try and get there at dawn for the spectacular sunrise, or dig deep into your budget for a hot-air balloon ride over the area. Completing the triangle are the elaborate cave temples at nearby Dambulla. Set halfway up a massive granite outcrop – a stiff climb in the afternoon heat – the five dimly lit grottoes are festooned with ornate murals and packed with statues of Buddha. The oldest paintings were done more than 2 000 years ago, and despite the crowds, it’s a site rich in atmosphere and history. It’s also rich in thieving macaques, so keep an eye on your snacks if you stop for a rest. SRI LANKA’S SECOND CITY
At the end of the day it’s a long drive back to Kandy, the cultural capital of the island. The highlight of Sri Lanka’s second city is the Temple of the Tooth, the country’s most revered temple. Set on the shores of the city’s charming lake, it’s perhaps less impressive for travellers than other ancient temples, though the museums in the temple precinct are well worth a visit. If you can, time your visit to Kandy for late July and early August to catch the 10-day Esala Perahera. This colourful festival sees a replica of the celebrated tooth relic paraded through the streets by up to a hundred elephants, with thousands of dancers and acrobats in tow. It’s regarded as one of Asia’s most spectacular public pageants. TEA COUNTRY OR BEACH PARADISE?
From Kandy, most travellers choose one of two routes: inland to the cool of the tea
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country, or south to the coast. The tea country around the towns of Nuwara Eliya, Ella and Badulla is justifiably one of the highlights of Sri Lanka. Here walking trails lead up towering peaks, while the slopes are carpeted with lush tea plantations. A 15-minute drive from Ella, the Uva Halpewatte Tea Factory offers fascinating tours that walk you through the history of Ceylon tea, followed by an informative tea tasting with superb views over the region. But I head south for the coast, and at 5am find myself on a chilly railway platform waiting for the weekly express to Matara. The train from Kandy to the coast is one of the most spectacular railway journeys Asia has to offer, winding its way through indigenous forests, mountain villages and tea plantations. Views aside, train journeys in Sri Lanka are an adventure on their own. With the doors
ABOVE: Riding the rand-friendly railways between Nuwara Eliya and Kandy. RIGHT: Discover the historic tea plantations in the island’s verdant central highlands.
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BAY OF BENGAL
SRI LANKA Sigiriya
Polonnaruwa
Dambulla
Kandy
Nuwara Eliya
Badulla
Colombo
Hikkaduwa Galle Mirissa
TRAVEL PLANNER
Matara
Weligama
INDIAN OCEAN
GETTING THERE Emirates airline flies daily from South Africa (Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town) to Colombo, via Dubai.
permanently open there is no shortage of incredible views, and the vendors wandering the carriages sell delicious street snacks. Worried about getting sick? I ate dozens of packets of dhal vade – fried dhal cakes enlivened with curry leaf and ery chilli – during my 10 days in the country and not once had a rumble of the dreaded ‘Delhi belly’. The Matara express stops brie y in Colombo before continuing south, and an hour out of the capital you’ll nd the more popular seaside resorts. Bentota has become a stylish option along this stretch of coast, while Hikkaduwa, once a hippy hangout, is today better known for its international hotels and vibrant nightlife. Unseasonal rains pelt the windows as
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GETTING AROUND Local train services are the best way to travel between major cities: they are cheap, efficient and safe. Bus services link main centres and smaller towns, while tuk-tuks and taxis are available everywhere for short journeys. The roads are busy and the driving haphazard, so don’t consider self-drive. If you want the flexibility, book a car and a driver for your stay. COSTS Sri Lanka is an affordable destination for SA travellers. A crosscountry train journey will set you back just R40. Meals in a local restaurant start from R30, and you’ll pay about R15 for a beer in a restaurant and R5 for a cup of tea at a country stall. CURRENCY Sri Lankan Rupee (ZAR1:LKR13) VISAS South African passport-holders require a visa to visit Sri Lanka. You can obtain a visa on arrival, but it’s quicker to apply for an Electronic Travel Authorisation ($35) online before you leave. www.eta.gov.lk FIND OUT MORE Visit www.srilanka.travel to start planning.
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Wander the 17th-century walls of Galle Fort, one of Sri Lanka’s eight UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
the express trundles into Galle, a historic highlight of this southern coastline. While the modern side of the city lacks much charm, the old Dutch quarter – known locally as the ‘Fort’ – offers some of Sri Lanka’s bestpreserved colonial architecture. Here churches and cobbled streets give onto the original battlements, while colonial storehouses have been converted into chi-chi boutiques and hotels. The best way to get a sense of it all is to wander along the original Dutch forti cations: from up high they offer wonderful views out to sea, and across the red-tiled roofs of the old quarter. Sports fans should leave time to visit the northern corners of the wall, with its top-notch views over the Galle International Cricket Stadium. Beyond Galle the coastline is what tropical dreams are made of. Quiet bays offer lowkey home-stays a few steps from palmfringed beaches, while larger towns dish up everything from surf lessons to whalewatching excursions. Unawatuna and Weligama are two of the larger towns well suited to family travellers, while a crowd of sun-bleached surfers step off at Ahangama where the lazy reef breaks a short paddle offshore. I alight at Mirissa, something of a Goldilocks option on this southern coast. Beach restaurants line the golden sands, while more than a few touts try to convince me that I
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ICON
need a whale-watching tour. Perhaps they’re right, but after a few days on the rails all I’m looking for is warm water and white sands. Mirissa delivers both in spades. And so pass a few languid days of sun, sea and exploring. Have I seen it all? Not even close. Next time I’ll head to the east coast and the surf breaks of Arugam Bay. Up north, Jaffna shows an entirely different side to the island, with the local Tamil population closer – geographically and culturally – to India than Colombo. Ah Colombo, its museums and monuments make it worth a day or two of your time. Just watch out for those tuk-tuk drivers.
ABOVE: Street snacks are an affordable way to eat out.
Waving palms and white sands. Mirissa beach ticks all the right boxes.
Save as much as R10 000 on return flights for a family of four to Sri Lanka (via Dubai) with Emirates and enjoy a dream holiday. Find out more at www.sanlamreality.co.za/benefit/emirates.
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Save as much as 25% on Emirates flights! Travel to more than 130 destinations worldwide and feel truly special in Emirates economy class: Over 2 500 channels Four-course meal Complimentary drinks Free Wi-Fi
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Lying between the coast and mountains, the Lycian Way often has steep gradients. The paths follow the old Roman roads and mule trails, and are often stony.
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WALKING HOLIDAYS TO STRETCH YOUR STRIDE Classic walk, meditative pilgrimage, epic hike… Whichever style you choose – and whatever your budget – a walking holiday is a healthy, authentic and sensory way of experiencing a new culture, terrain or pocket of the world. Tracy Melass uncovers nine of the best.
1 LYCIAN WAY, TURKEY
TIP A Turkish phrase book will come in handy since people in some of the remote villages do not speak English.
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LEVEL: EASY Ancient civilisations, dazzling Mediterranean scenery, rural life, Turkish flair… the long-distance Lycian Way is an epic journey back into a fascinating past. As Turkey’s first and most-established long-distance footpath, the Lycian Way follows the coast for 500km, from Ovacik, near Fethiye, to Antalya. You’ll be treated to vistas over impossibly blue sea, while the path itself undulates through peaceful olive groves and scented pine forests, past impressive remains of ancient amphitheatres and tombs, and over trickling streams, with the occasional stop-off for a well-earned swim. Before you baulk at the distance, there are, of course, shorter options, including a manageable three-day hop. [+] cultureroutesinturkey.com/
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2 HADRIAN’S WALL, ENGLAND
The portion of Hadrian’s Wall at Walltown Crags is particularly well preserved.
TIP There are shorter routes and circular walks if you are pressed for time.
LEVEL: EASY Find yourself on a trip to the UK, and need to escape the London throng? Then a dash of ancient history and bucolic English countryside might just be the thing. Probably the best-known and best-preserved frontier of the Roman Empire, Hadrian’s Wall (a World Heritage Site since 1987) is considered one of the world’s most impressive feats of engineering. Following the wall from coast to coast, the National Trail is a 136km pathway that passes through a landscape walking addicts enjoy for its diversity: wildly evocative moors, pretty, wildflower-dotted English fields, overgrown woods… The terrain is undulating (a great option for families with kids), with just a smattering of hilly, but very manageable, sections. It takes a week to walk from one end to the other, depending on how long you’d like to spend visiting the Roman forts and settlements along the way. [+] www.nationaltrail.co.uk/hadrians-wall-path
3 TANKWA CAMINO, SOUTH AFRICA LEVEL: MODERATE TO STRENUOUS Think inky black skies, otherworldly quiet, sunsets to surpass all others… The Tankwa Camino, a 250km 10-day exploration of a starkly beautiful part of South Africa, takes you through some of the Karoo’s most arid but awe-inspiring landscapes. Starting in Calvinia in the Northern Cape and finishing in Ceres, hikers typically tackle around 25km per day. Be warned: it’s not for the fainthearted. The unrelenting heat and interminable road ahead can get to you. But you will be greatly rewarded with staggering landscapes, and a phenomenal sense of achievement. [+] www.tankwacamino.com
5 REASONS WHY WALKING IS GOOD FOR YOU 1. GENERAL HEALTH AND WELLNESS
Research shows that there’s an inverse dose-response relationship between walking, health and disease prevention. So up to a point, the more you walk, the healthier you are. 2. AN IMPROVED IMMUNE SYSTEM
Regular walking can decrease the incidence of colds. Regular walkers show an increase in natural killer cells (immune-system cells) that attack bacteria and viruses. 3. BOOSTS YOUR BRAIN POWER
Research shows that regular cardiovascular exercise might enhance your brain power. It improves blood flow to the heart and brain, promotes the preservation of brain cells and increases the connection between them. 4. REDUCES THE RISK OF DEVELOPING HEART DISEASE
TIP Lighten your pack. And then lighten it again.
Even short periods of exercise, like walking one hour a week, can greatly reduce the risk of heart disease. 5. PSYCHOLOGICAL BENEFITS
Studies show that a moderate amount of walking daily can also boost your emotional health. Source: Sports scientist Kathy McQuaide, of the Sports Science Institute of South Africa.
RIGHT: The arid plains and stark mountains of the Tankwa Karoo National Park provide the perfect backdrop for a meditative walk.
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5 KERALA, INDIA
4 OTTER TRAIL, SOUTH AFRICA LEVEL: STRENUOUS It’s South Africa’s most-loved and best-known coastal hike for good reason. The mighty Otter Trail traces the jaw-dropping Garden Route coastline from Storms River Mouth to Nature’s Valley in the Tsitsikamma National Park, and offers breathtaking sea views, timber huts on the beach, sightings of the rare Cape Clawless Otter, exhilarating river crossings, and more fauna and flora than you can shake a walking stick at. It’s challenging but taken at a slow, rhythmic pace is suitable for all ages and fitness levels. An overwhelming highlight includes the unsurpassed locations of the huts (any closer to the sea, and an over-zealous wave may get you in the night). Falling asleep to the roar of the ocean takes on a whole new meaning… [+] www.sanparks.org/parks/garden_route
ABOVE: The shimmering Indian Ocean is ever present on the picturesque Otter Trail.
TIP Crossing the Bloukrans River (day four) should only be attempted at low tide, so check the tide table for that. If it’s in flood, take the escape route.
LEVEL: MODERATE TO STRENUOUS Dazzling colours, spicy scents, the vibrant hustle that is uniquely India… Southern India on foot is a suitably sensory way to experience Indian culture. The 16-day Spice Trails of Kerala walk, which starts and ends in the historic port city of Kochi, takes in some moderate trekking, as well as camping and sleeping on a traditional houseboat. This walk will take you through authentic villages in the lowland forests at Thattekad before hitting the hills to visit the lush green tea estates in the mountains. A highlight includes a trek across the Western Ghats, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the world’s top 10 biodiversity ‘hot spots’. [+] www.walksworldwide.com
TIP Walking poles are a must-have for trekking holidays. You become a quadruped and spread the load. Great for aching hips and shorter legs.
6 AMATOLA HIKING TRAIL, SOUTH AFRICA LEVEL: STRENUOUS The mother of all Eastern Cape trails and one of South Africa’s longest at 100km, the Amatola starts close to King William’s Town and, a gruelling six days later, comes to a dramatic end at the mountain hamlet of Hogsback. The time in between is like something out of Lord of the Rings. The challenging trail (for fit and experienced hikers only!) traverses some of the most dramatic scenery in Southern Africa. Its magic lies in its extraordinary diversity of landscapes, including indigenous Afromontane forest, alpine-like meadows of wild flowers and plenty of waterfalls and pools for a quick splash. You might even hear the hum of the cicadas being broken by the occasional call of a Knysna Loerie. It’s beautiful, remote and a showcase of the best of the untrammeled Eastern Cape scenery. [+] www.amatolatrails.co.za
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TIP The days are long, so start early. That way you will have enough time for fun stops.
ABOVE RIGHT: You’ll sleep on a traditional houseboat in Kerala as part of the Spice Trails walk. RIGHT: A sighting of the rare Knysna Loerie is just one of the many highlights of the extraordinary Amatola trail.
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7 CAMINO DE SANTIAGO, SPAIN LEVEL: MODERATE Needing very little introduction, the Camino de Santiago de Compostela is undoubtedly the world’s best-known pilgrimage walk and a truly unforgettable experience. For more than 1 000 years, pilgrims from around Europe were drawn to the grave of the Apostle James the Great at Santiago de Compostela – at the far northwestern tip of Spain – where his tomb was said to be discovered in the 9th century. Today, thousands of walkers from around the world follow the trail (and St James’ shells, which are dotted in walls and roads along the route) and swear to being transformed forever. There are a number of different trails that lead to Santiago de Compostela, but the most popular is the Camino Francés which stretches nearly 780km, starting near Biarritz in France and going through Pamplona, Burgos and Leon en route to Santiago. Highlights include passing through myriad towns and villages with their friendly locals and historical and cultural attractions, wildflowers, mountain vistas, medieval buildings and monuments, meeting fellow pilgrims, sampling local fare… not to mention the meditative space to just be as you walk. [+] santiago-compostela.net/
PACKING SMARTS Pack lightly Take essentials only Use your geometry (you’ll fit so much more in just by the way you pack) Quick-dry towel Wet wipes Dried fruits and nuts Spare sunglasses Buff River sandals or aqua shoes (for hikes) Water purification tablets Waterproof shoes Toilet paper Wet/dry bag (for when your clothes get wet) Plasters Blister plasters Walking pole(s) Sun hat
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TIP Invest in a good pair of walking shoes. Not the typical leather hiking boots, as they’re heavy for this purpose, but some good trail shoes.
ABOVE: The St James shell indicates the route of the world’s oldest pilgrimage walk. RIGHT: The Camino de Santiago makes its way through different landscapes, including forests, mountains and historical villages.
GET WALKING FIT Without at least some pre-trip training, or a good basic level of fitness, hiking and long-distance trekking can be hard work. To combat discomfort, it’s essential to train ahead of time. The amount of training will depend on the length and type of your planned hike. For hiking, excellent general exercises include crunches, squats, lunges, push-ups, and step-ups (with a weighted backpack). And then get onto the mountain as much as you can. Nothing gets you fitter for hiking than hiking itself. For trekking or walking on flat terrain, it’s also wise to put in the distance. As the experts say, don’t put your body through anything for which you haven’t prepared it. How much you prepare depends on what level you’re at when you start your training and where you need to be for your trip. For all fitness levels, try to walk at least three times per week, building up the distance you walk each week. If the distances you will be walking are long (say 17km to 25km), aim to have a few similar-length walks under your belt before the trip. Make sure to include some long walks on consecutive days.
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9 Bryce Canyon is home to the largest collection of hoodoos in the world.
BRYCE CANYON, UTAH, USA LEVEL: ALL OPTIONS, EASY TO STRENUOUS They put it down to wind, water and time... Bryce Canyon National Park’s sandstone cliffs are legendary and they never fail to amaze. It’s the contrasting colours that get you first. The shifting shades of jagged red rocks against a vivid blue sky. The spires, known as hoodoos, combine to look like a fiery sunset – blood red, dusky pink, bright orange, lemon yellow. It makes for an otherworldly walking landscape. There are countless trails through the canyon, including the day-long Fairyland Loop and the magical Wall Street trail, which winds its way through a very narrow gorge. Bryce can be coupled with a visit to Zion National Park, a prominent feature of which is the famed Zion Canyon, which stretches 24km and spans up to 800m deep. [+] www.nps.gov/brca
TIP Avoid crowds by visiting in winter as part of an exploratory south-west US road trip.
8 GEORGIA & CAUCASES LEVEL: MODERATE TO STRENUOUS Georgia sits at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, and is framed to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the south by Turkey and Armenia, and to the south-east by Azerbaijan. It oozes mystique, and a history and culture underexposed to Western travellers. Which is why this walking holiday grips the imagination. The trek incorporates visits to remote villages often cut off from the outside world. There is a mixture of 7-10 daily hikes, peaks of up to 3 430m, and accommodation that includes wild camping and local guest houses. You’ll have time to marvel at the elegant city of Tbilisi, snow-capped mountains, roaring rivers and verdant valleys. [+] www.walksworldwide.com
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TIP While this is a small-group guided walk, you can also be independent and flexible by choosing a self-guided walking holiday.
RIGHT: Historic, remote towns dot the route on a walking trek through the Caucases.
Before you start walking, get to local destinations with Mango and save as much as R500 on flights to a number of SA cities. Go to www.sanlamreality.co.za/benefit/mango-flights.
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Get up to
30% off Sanlam Life Cover
At Sanlam Reality, we believe in giving rewards that really matter. Which is why we offer up to 30% off Sanlam Life Cover.
These products include: • Life insurance • Funeral cover • Disability cover • Income protection • Severe illness cover Your financial planner can assist you in structuring a risk policy that suits your needs.
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EVERY BIT COUNTS Smart saving for a shared goal Imagine being able to ‘crowdfund’ your children’s education from family and friends or collectively save for a dream project with a group of like-minded souls. ADDaBIT is a savings platform that allows you to do just that. From as little as R50 – with no penalties, no minimum payments and no monthly fees – you can create your investment fund and ask people to contribute to it. The platform also allows you to support a good cause by creating a fundraising page or helps you to create a community stokvel. Best of all, the money is looked after by Sanlam Investments, to ensure your nest egg continues to grow. Find out more at www.addabit.com/home.
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Risky
BUSINESS TWENTYSOMETHINGS USUALLY PRIORITISE PAYING OFF STUDENT LOANS, BUYING A CAR, MOVING INTO A FLAT AND KICKSTARTING THEIR CAREERS… BUT WHY NOT CONSIDER LIFE INSURANCE? ESPECIALLY SINCE IT CAN MEAN BIG SAVINGS IN THE LONG RUN.
YOU’LL PROBABLY PAY A LOWER PREMIUM Age really is on your side in your 20s. In general, young adults enjoy better health, which can mean lower monthly premiums with no exclusions. Multiple factors impact premiums, but young people are considered less likely to claim, which makes them a lower risk to insure. By purchasing insurance at an early stage in life, your insurance will stay intact as per your policy wording even when your health changes as you get older. If you wait, you’re likely to face higher premiums, or have exclusions. YOUNG PEOPLE NEED LIFE COVER TOO When you start a career, you tend to think of physical
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assets first – buying a car or investing in property. But did you know that as a young person your long-term incomeearning potential is really your biggest asset? And so it should be protected with sufficient life cover. YOUR LOVED ONES WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR YOUR DEBT Apart from student loans, many young people have some form
of debt. In order to protect your family from being liable to pay off your debt if you die, it’s key to consider life cover. THINGS CAN GO WRONG FOR YOUNG PEOPLE TOO According to Stats SA, road users are at highest risk in their 20s – in fact, 28.5% of all passenger deaths happen in this age bracket. A bad accident can compromise your ability to earn an income, which has potentially
detrimental consequences for a young person with some 40 years of earning potential ahead. Also, young adults are not exempt from severe illnesses. In 2017, 6% of severe illness claims received by Sanlam came from people under the age of 35. To find out what type of insurance works best for you, your life stage and financial circumstances, it’s advisable to speak to a financial planner.
Save up to R300 on a monthly R1 000 insurance premium. Speak to your financial planner about Sanlam Life Cover and save rands and cents every month. Find out more at www.sanlamreality.co.za/benefits/sanlam-life-cover.
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SARS SAYS…
Yip, it’s true – cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum are not exempt from tax.
According to the South African Revenue Service, taxpayers need to declare cryptocurrency gains and losses on their tax returns as they are subject to normal tax rules. According to SARS, cryptocurrencies are seen as intangible assets, rather than a currency for income tax purposes or capital gains tax. This means that taxes could be applicable to cryptocurrency mining, trades on cryptocurrency exchanges and the purchase of goods and services using digital money.
GET MORE ONLINE Whatever your stage of life, having sufficient risk cover is essential. We investigate different types of insurance and what you might need in our latest money digital magazine. Check it out at www.sanlamreality.co.za/ wealth-sense.
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1918 This year, Sanlam celebrates an incredible milestone – 100 years of hard work, innovation and transformation. From the first policyholder in 1918, the company grew and by 1988 boasted 10-million policyholders. In 1998, through demutualisation, every person who owned a Sanlam policy received a share in the newly listed business, Sanlam Life Insurance Ltd, in the process turning 2-million policyholders into shareholders. To find out more about how Sanlam plans to tackle the next 100 years, go to www.sanlam.co.za.
ABOVE: Since the first meeting in Cape Town’s Burg Street in 1918, Sanlam now has a global presence.
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THE SECRET TO
g n i v sa
South Africans are some of the worst savers in the world, but that doesn’t mean we have to be, discovers Deborah Herd.
15%
65%
That’s how much employed South Africans save of their income but, as a nation, the savings rate is just 3%.
Of household income is spent on consumables and living expenses.
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71.9% This is the figure for household debt as a percentage of household income, meaning we’re borrowing more than we save.
6% That’s the small amount of South Africans who are financially independent at retirement.
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BACK TO BASIC BUDGETING Budgeting serves many purposes – planning financial goals, keeping spending on track, uncovering hidden cashflow issues, and it doesn’t have to be complicated. Create a basic budget in five easy steps: 1. Gather all financial statements. 2. Record and total all sources of income. 3. Record and total all monthly expenses, including fixed expenses (bond, car, rates, phone/Internet/DSTV etc) and variable expenses (food, transport, entertainment etc). 4. Subtract expenses from income and, hopefully, they are equal or there is excess income, allowing you to prioritise it on savings for retirement or paying more on credit-card balances or your bond. 5. If the expenses exceed income, adjust your expenses. Review your budget each month and your spending on a weekly basis.
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I
t’s easy to think that we are poor savers for one simple reason: there’s not enough money left at the end of the month. The high cost of housing, food, education, healthcare, transport, clothing and taxation means that most of us are being squeezed so tight we can’t afford to save. Or so we think. You only have to consider the savings culture of other nations to understand that the ability to save is as much about attitude and environment as it is about income. In China, for example, the typical Chinese worker saves more than 50% of their income. This is not because they are wealthy – the average income is the equivalent of just under R3 000 a month – but, because of a number of historic, social and economic reasons, they’re more inclined to save. For a start, unlike South Africans, most Chinese have virtually no access to credit. If they want to buy a big-ticket item – a new dining table and chairs or a fridge-freezer – they can’t borrow the money to finance it. They have to save the money before they purchase it. Despite economic changes, many Chinese remember the hardships of the 20th century and they don’t expect, or anticipate, the state will provide for them. There is virtually no social security and only a few people have
BELOW: Save your R100-a-week coffee habit and, invested at 10% interest, it can grow to over R30 000 in five years.
PRACTICAL STEPS TO SAVE MONEY EVERY DAY MAKE MONDAY ‘MONEY DATE’ NIGHT: Sit down once a week, update your budget, review your accounts, track last week’s spending and plan the coming expenditure. Like all relationships, money needs time and effort. PLAN YOUR MEALS: Each week, work out what you are going to eat and shop accordingly. Consider online deliveries to help you avoid impulse trolley purchases and save time, petrol and parking fees. CUT THE COFFEES: Allow yourself one or two purchased coffees a week, but cut the daily habit. This could save R100+ a week. BUFFER ONLINE BUYS: Wait a week before you click ‘Add to trolley’ to help contain impulse buys and instant gratification. CHOOSE QUALITY OVER QUANTITY: Whether it’s food, clothes, electronic appliances, furniture… save so that you can buy quality over a budget-friendly version. They will last longer and save you in the long run.
STOP BUYING/START SELLING: We all have books, clothes, furniture, collectables that we never use. Look at places to sell them, from auctions to flea markets, community Facebook sites and garage sales. REPAIR AND REPURPOSE CLOTHING: When did you last mend a hole, change a zip or sew on a button? Instead of buying new items, repair clothes and upcycle for modern looks. There are many blogs and websites to inspire even beginners how to do this. INSTALL LED LIGHTS: Energyefficient light bulbs may be more expensive initially but they have a much longer life, use less electricity and aren’t hot to the touch. INSTALL A PROGRAMMABLE THERMOSTAT: Cut down on your electricity bill by setting a timer for one time a day when you need hot water.
CONTROL YOUR FOMO: You don’t have to own the newest gadgets or experience the latest things. Control your fear of missing out and rather save for special events or that occasional treat.
BUY BULK BIRTHDAY GIFTS: Spend a fortune on party presents for your children’s friends? Buy bulk, at the start of the year, or during sales and store away for the year ahead.
REBALANCE YOUR BOUQUET: Are you really making use of all those DSTV channels? Could you buy a cheaper package – even give it up? Consider more affordable options like Netflix or Showmax.
GET CARD SMART: Make your own birthday, Christmas and anniversary cards, and save R50+ each time.
BUY STAPLES IN BULK: The initial outlay is greater, but you’ll save over time if you buy items like washing powder, toilet paper, household cleaners… in large quantities. FLIP THE SWITCHES: How many appliances in your home have the switch flipped on? Turn off, unplug and cut the cost of ‘phantom’ energy. UNSUBSCRIBE TODAY: Magazine subscriptions, society memberships, website subs all build up over time. Cancel any that you don’t use regularly.
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CASH IN AND OUT: Withdraw a week’s spending in cash, leave your cards at home and don’t spend on anything that is not in your spending plan.
GO GENERIC: Try out no-namebrand products that may be just as good, but cheaper than your regular branded products, and ask your pharmacist about generics of medications you use. SET UP A BABYSITTING CIRCLE: Fed up of paying a fortune for a babysitter in the evening? Set up a group with your friends and share sitting fees. DO MAKE-AND-TAKE LUNCH: Your wallet and your waistline will be thankful if you stop buying lunch and make your own. EAT LESS MEAT: Go meatless three days a week and stock up on protein-laden legumes and beans.
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Save up to
100%
Save up to 100% of your asset management charges on Sanlam Investment’s flagship funds. This means there’s money in your investment to grow and grow and grow with the power of compound interest.
imagine R1-million invested in the SIM Inflation Plus Fund over 10 years
result R2.25-million Non-Sanlam Reality member R2.52-million Sanlam Reality member
To find out more about your Sanlam Reality benefit, go to www.sanlamreality.co.za/benefit/sanlam-life-savings-products. Example quoted on a Sanlam Reality member on Gold tier status. Terms and conditions apply.
growth That’s R270 000 more on the very same investment. Speak to your financial planner about making your money grow.
ABOVE: Start them young... research shows that developing the right attitude to money starts when children are as young as seven.
GET STARTED! Try out these simple savings plans to kick-start your journey to financial freedom:
TAX-FREE SAVINGS ACCOUNT (TFSA): All proceeds, including income, capital gains and dividends, on TFSAs are not taxed. The tax exemption is on income earned up to R33 000 a year and R500 000 over a lifetime. There are a large number of tax-free savings accounts available, so choose one that best suits your investment goals. It is best to have a 10-year or longer investment horizon to be able to make best use of the tax breaks, but the liquidity of certain of these accounts means you can access the money immediately if necessary. They are great savings vehicles for your children’s education. EXCHANGE-TRADED FUND (ETF): An ETF is an investment product that tracks the performance of a basket of shares, bonds or commodities. They can be bought and sold like shares and are used, usually by investors new to the world of investing, to gain exposure to these different sectors. They are liquid and wellregulated, so they are relatively low risk, but they are not actively managed. UNIT TRUSTS: A unit trust pools investments from many investors to invest in assets like bonds, shares and property. By investing a regular amount in a unit trust, you take away the risk and uncertainty of buying shares in one company.
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EARN TIER POINTS A monetary goal can help you be dedicated to saving regularly. Use our online savings calculator to find out how much you need to save monthly to reach your target and earn
1 000 tier points. Go to www.sanlamreality. co.za/wealth-sense.
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Source for SA stats: South African Savings Institute
private pensions, so people are forced to save for retirement. Whereas most nations, South Africa included, are consumer societies, spending daily and living in the moment, the Chinese live more frugal, focused lives, enjoying the occasional ‘big’ spend on celebrations and investment items. You can argue that the savings culture is enforced, but it does demonstrate that it’s possible to save on a very limited income if you have the right mindset. That mindset is, according to a recent UK study, set by the age of seven. The difference between the adult savvy saver and the more impulsive spender is the age you learn to spend responsibly, according to a study by the Money Advice Service and experts at Cambridge University. The frugality of one generation of Chinese gets passed on to their children... Never has it been more important to make your child understand the value of money, the need to plan ahead and to self-regulate over-spending. In order to save, it’s essential to budget correctly (see ‘Back to basic budgeting’ on page 51), to cut expenditure to a minimum (see ‘Practical steps to save money every day’ on page 52) and to know where to invest your money (see ‘Get started’ below ).
Free
lounge access Reality Plus and Reality Health members enjoy as many as 20 free visits a year to any Bidvest Premier Lounge.
To find out more about your Sanlam Reality benefit, go to www.sanlamreality.co.za/benefit/bidvest. Terms and conditions apply.
SHORTTERM INSURANCE GET YOUR CALCULATIONS RIGHT Most of us have short-term insurance as a matter of course… but how many of us take time to ensure we get the insurance values spot on? It’s a huge risk to be overinsured or underinsured, as Wilma de Bruin explains.
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F
aced with high levels of crime, vehicle hijackings and road accidents on the one hand, and a fair share of natural disasters like fires, floods and storms on the other, chances are that many of us may fall victim to any one – or more – of these misfortunes during our lifetimes. While we can never know when disaster will strike, at least we can be prepared for any eventuality by adequately insuring our homes and vehicles to help us recoup our losses.
The challenge is to diligently determine our insurance needs and then, more importantly, correctly calculate the insurance values to make sure we’re placed in more or less the same position after a disaster as we were before it. BEING UNDERINSURED
Simply put, underinsurance is when the insured value of your property (or of the household items and possessions on your insurance policy) is less than its replacement value at the time of loss, damage or theft. Most of us are loath to pay for something that we’d like to believe we’ll never need; as a result, many of us try to insure our homes and contents for as little as possible to keep our premiums as low as possible. The upshot: our calculations don’t add up to the true value of our property and possessions, and so we are underinsured – with the potential of serious financial implications. The devastating Knysna fires, which ravaged hundreds of properties last year, are a case in point. Damage caused by the fires was estimated at R4-billion, with some 600 homes gutted and over 10 000 people displaced. Moreover, the fires also taught many people some hard lessons about managing risk correctly: besides the hundreds of uninsured homes in townships and informal settlements that were
Many of us try to insure our homes and contents for as little as possible to keep our premiums as low as possible
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WINTER 2018 REALITY
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wiped out by the fires, it was reported that more than half of the formal homes affected by the Knysna fires were not insured. In some instances, properties were underinsured for the replacement costs of the buildings and assets at current prices, simply because policyholders had not revised the insured sums since taking out their insurance. Likewise, others who had paid up their bonds and closed their bond accounts neglected to reinstate their building insurance – and suffered the consequences. APPLYING THE AVERAGE – WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
The Ombudsman for short-term insurance advises consumers to ensure that the sum insured of all items reflects the true replacement value. If you are not insured for replacement value and suffer a loss, your insurer may apply the principle of average, which will reduce the amount you get paid out. “In terms of the average clause, policyholders are required to insure their assets at full value. When you are underinsured, your insurer may choose to apply average to the claim under this clause. This means that the insurer can reduce its liability for a claim by applying a proportionate approach,” explains Attie Blaauw, Head of Personal Lines Underwriting at Santam. For example, if your home is worth R800 000 and you insure it for only R600 000, then you are underinsured by 25% and, in terms of the average clause, only 75% of your loss will be paid out when you claim. So what should we do to avoid the trap of underinsurance and, consequently, a nasty surprise when we claim? “Should a property depreciate (ie when a property ‘bubble’ bursts or a suburb falls into disrepute for some or other reason) is completely irrelevant. The only criterion that should apply is replacement cost. The cost of replacing something that is destroyed, lost or stolen, changes all the time. Therefore it’s important to revisit and review both your home and household contents insurance annually to ensure that it is current and the insured value is up to date,” he advises.
exceeding the replacement cost which the insurer will pay. In other words, they overinsure their property and household possessions. “Whether your house is in an upmarket area or a more affordable neighbourhood is completely irrelevant: if the finishing is the same, the cost of repairing the house will be exactly the same, irrespective of its location. So, should you have a R35-million bungalow on Clifton beach, you shouldn’t insure it for R35-million because of its exclusive position and market value, but for what it would cost to rebuild/repair (which tends to be more expensive than building a house from scratch),” Blaauw points out. “To avoid overinsurance, review your insurance annually. You may even consult a specialist valuator to ensure that your possessions are not insured for more than what it would cost to repair, rebuild or replace them in the event of loss.”
BELOW: A short-term insurance valuator can help you work out how much insurance you need for your assets and possessions.
TOP TIPS Should you use the insurer’s online calculator and your house and its contents happen to be slightly over- or underinsured (by no more than 10-15%), certain insurers – like Santam – will most likely not quibble about the difference.
Make sure that you keep a file with copies of the invoices of all items purchased – especially big-ticket items – to assist you when you calculate your insurance value.
BEING OVERINSURED
Conversely, there are people who are so afraid that they will be underinsured when disaster strikes, that they buy too much cover, thereby
58 REALITY WINTER 2018
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WORK IT OUT Take time to calculate your insurance values correctly for peace of mind: YOUR PROPERTY “When you decide to insure your property, it is important to draw a clear distinction between the house and its contents,” advises Blaauw. “In terms of home insurance, the first mistake consumers tend to make is that they either believe they only need to insure the house for the amount still owing to the bank (the outstanding portion of the bond on the house) or that they need to insure their home at market value. Fact is, the house must be insured for what it would cost to repair or rebuild it (the replacement value).” For the purposes of rebuilding or repairing a property, insurers use current building costs of the representative building industry body as a guideline.
1 000
tier points Use our Building Value Calculator to give you a guideline on the replacement value of your property. You will need to have information on hand about square metreage of the house and outbuildings, paving, perimeter of the walls and other details on the structure. www.sanlamreality.co.za/wealth-sense/building-value-calculator
YOUR HOUSEHOLD CONTENTS Should you lose some or all of the contents of your home due to a burglary, theft or a fire, the stolen or lost items need to be replaced, therefore insurers cover their clients for the replacement value of the contents. “The guiding principle for clients is to insure household contents as if the items were brand new, but this is often where the problem lies,” Blaauw points out. “Clients also need to seriously consider – and include – all their possessions, including paintings, Persian carpets, TVs, computers, other high-tech equipment, even pots and pans in their inventory.“ Policyholders should also make sure that they consistently review and update their insurance calculations as and when they acquire new items or improve their homes. More often than not, homes and contents are underinsured simply because policyholders do not adjust their policies.
1 000
tier points Use our Home Contents Inventory to itemise all your household possessions room by room. This will give you a good sense of the replacement value of all your household items. www.sanlamreality.co.za/wealth-sense/home-content-inventory
YOUR VEHICLE While most insurers will adjust the value of your vehicle on an annual basis, it’s also advisable to do an annual check on the retail value of your car as it depreciates every year. If you neglect doing this, you could be overinsured, so your insurance premium may be higher than it needs to be. “Imagine your dismay if the assessor should find that your car, which is written off in an accident, has a market value of R160 000 while it is insured for R200 000! Not only did you unnecessarily pay premiums on the additional R40 000, but you will only receive R160 000 to replace your vehicle,” Blaauw points out.
1 000
tier points As the value of your vehicle depreciates every year, it is important that you review your car insurance annually. To this end, our Vehicle Value Calculator is a useful tool as it works out the estimated retail value of your vehicle in three simple steps. www.sanlamreality.co.za/wealth-sense/vehicle-value-calculator
EARN TIER POINTS
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The higher your tier status, the more discounts you’ll earn on benefits. So use any of the calculators mentioned in this article and you’ll earn 1 000 tier points per calculator (to a maximum cap of 5 000 points for Wealth Sense activities). Explore at www.sanlamreality.co.za/earn-points.
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THINK BEFORE YOU
CLICK With a few simple clicks or the swipe of a bank card, we can buy most things. But this can also leave us vulnerable to scams and fraud, finds Angelique Ruzicka. IS FRAUD A BIG
IS FRAUD MORE
WHAT IS A CNP
WHAT IS COUNTERFEIT
HOW CAN I SHOP
PROBLEM IN SOUTH
PREVALENT IN CERTAIN
TRANSACTION?
FRAUD?
SAFELY ONLINE?
AFRICA?
PROVINCES?
Yes it is. According to the South African Banking Risk Information Centre (SABRIC), credit card fraud increased by 13% from R331.4million in 2015 to R374.4-million in 2016. Fraud on SA-issued debit cards increased by 3.1%, from R333.2million in 2015 to R343.5-million in 2016.
Card fraud is a global phenomenon. However, SA provinces mostly affected by card fraud are Gauteng, Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. These are followed by the Eastern Cape, Mpumalanga and the North West.
Card-not-present (CNP) fraud remained the biggest contributor to gross fraud losses on SA-issued credit cards (66.8%) in 2016. CNP transactions are defined as transactions that occur when the cardholder does not present the card for a merchant’s visual examination when the order is given and payment is made. Fraudsters typically make these transactions online.
Fraudsters have the technology to copy or skim your card. Counterfeiting or ‘skimming’ a credit card involves criminally copying the magnetic strip on a legitimate credit or debit card through a small handheld device or ‘skimmer’. This captured data is then used to make fake payments. This type of fraud accounts for 26.4% of the gross fraud losses on credit cards.
The Consumer Goods and Services Ombudsman said it received complaints against online suppliers where consumers paid for goods that were never delivered and it was subsequently found that the company had been liquidated. The CGSO advises that you should only make use of trusted and familiar online suppliers when buying items online.
R718-MILLION 60 REALITY WINTER 2018
Total card fraud recorded in South Africa in 2016.
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GOOGLE YOURSELF! These days, with social media, we sometimes inadvertently share important information about ourselves that could be used by fraudsters. So, Google yourself to see if there’s anything personal online that may make you a target, and keep updating and using the security and privacy tools on your social networking platforms and mobile apps.
HOW TO AVOID BECOMING A VICTIM OF FRAUD 1. EMBRACE 3D-SECURE TECHNOLOGY: Brendon Williamson, chief sales officer of Southern Africa at PayGate, says that at the very least you should ensure that your cards are enabled with the 3D-secure authentication process. This is where you get asked for a one-time pin from your mobile phone. 2. GET A CHIP AND PIN CARD: Chip and Pin technology has proved hugely successful and is the reason for the significant drop (35%) in counterfeit debit card fraud, according to SABRIC. However, criminals have circumvented this strategy by using card jamming techniques and swapping at ATMs or ‘shoulder surfing’ for PIN numbers. “Make sure you are in control of your card at all times. A lot of retail stores won’t handle your card and will make you insert your card in the device,” advises Williamson. SABRIC CEO, Kalyani Pillay, warns: “Be cautious of strangers offering to help as they could be trying to distract you in order to get your card or PIN.” 3. MAKE USE OF LEGITIMATE PAYMENT APPS: If you download apps such as Zapper or SnapScan it means you don’t have to take your cards with you. “If my phone is stolen then I just shut my phone down. But if they steal my wallet then everything is gone,” highlights Williamson. 4. PROTECT YOUR DETAILS: Never send emails that contain vital information such as your ID number, card numbers and expiry dates. Also, don’t disclose information like this over the phone if you get cold called. 5. BE WARY OF FOREIGN-LOOKING CARD DEVICES: SABRIC warns that you should not allow anyone to swipe your card on a small black device that is unknown to you. 6. STRENGTHEN YOUR PASSWORDS: Instead of using information that may be public – like your birthday or phone number – use the first letters of a song title or phrase you like, combine upper- and lower-case letters, and add some numbers and special characters to the mix. Always use different passwords for private and work use.
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Save R240 on movies and refreshments for a family of four!
See the biggest blockbusters at Nu Metro for less.
R25
R45
R30
2D movie ticket
3D movie ticket
Medium popcorn + beverage
To find out more about your Sanlam Reality benefit or to book movies, go to www.sanlamreality.co.za/benefit/nu-metro-movies. Benefit terms and conditions apply.
SPACE AGE Recreate your rhythm of life at Decorex SA Back in 1913, Elsie de Wolfe became the very first commissioned interior decorator. More than 100 years later, interior design has grown to incorporate more than just art decoration, and is all about the aesthetic values of how we view and organise our space. At this year’s Decorex SA exhibition – where the theme is rhythm of life – you can learn all about creating an ambience that mirrors your unique rhythm of life, at home or in the workplace. + Decorex SA comes to Johannesburg from 8-12 August 2018. Reality Health and Reality Plus members can buy a ticket to the event on Computicket and get another free! Go to www.sanlamreality.co.za/benefit/computicket.
YOUR
entertainment
Pay R25 for a 2D movie ticket (R45 for 3D) and R30 for a refreshments combo at Nu Metro
Get two tickets for the price of one on Computicket!
BENEFITS
Six months’ music streaming from simfy africa
1GB free data every month with AlwaysOn
Go to www.sanlamreality.co.za/benefits/entertainment to view which benefits apply to your membership option, your tier status and discount percentage.
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WINTER 2018 REALITY
63
ANIMATED ACTION YOU’RE SPOILT FOR CHOICE WITH TOP PICKS FROM THE WORLD OF PIXAR.
SMALLFOOT The Yeti community is turned into a frenzy when they discover that humans actually exist! Busting this ‘smallfoot’ myth leaves the community wondering what else is out there beyond their snowy boarders. For Migos and his friends, it’s a courageous journey of self-discovery and adventure, as well as the beauty of friendship. Release date: 28 September
USE YOUR BENEFIT
64 REALITY WINTER 2018
HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 3: A MONSTER VACATION The monsters embark on a vacation on a luxury monster cruise ship… but the dream holiday soon turns into a nightmare when Mavis realises that Drac has fallen for the mysterious captain of the ship, Ericka, who hides a dangerous secret that could destroy all of monsterkind. Release date: 31 August
Brighten up a dull winter’s day with an affordable trip to the movies. Save R70 on a 2D movie ticket, medium popcorn and drink at Nu Metro. Book at www.sanlamreality.co.za/benefit/nu-metro-movies.
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A TRIBUTE TO THE MUSIC GREATS Relive some of the 21st century’s most iconic musical moments. BEATLEMANIA ON TOUR
GREAT BALLS OF FIRE
With popular hits like “Love Is All You Need”, “Yellow Submarine” and “Day Tripper”, The Beatles were one of the most influential bands of the 20th century. Beatlemania on Tour is your chance to relive the heyday with tribute shows (in Cape Town and Durban) that bring these icons to life. Until 11 November 2018
After his success as Che on the international tour of Evita, Jonathan Roxmouth gives us a flaming hot performance as popular 1950s singer Jerry Lee Lewis (he of “Great Balls of Fire” fame). Audiences can expect the timeless hits performed by a rocking sixpiece band and other top local performers. 18 July–12 August
Did you know?
The term ‘Beatlemania’ was coined by the Daily Mirror in a review in 1963.
ABOVE: Sculptor, Andrew Edwards, brings the Beatles to life in a life-size bronze statue on Liverpool Waterfront.
5 APPS FOR A
rainy
DAY
+ Reality Health and Reality Plus can book a ticket to any of the shows listed above and save as much as R300. www.sanlamreality.co.za/ benefit/computicket.
USE YOUR BENEFIT
Escape the cold and swipe into an imaginary world. There’s no better time to snuggle up with a hot cuppa tea and a good read than on a cold winter’s evening. If you like to go ‘paperless’, then these free reading apps are ideal – no ‘dog ears’ and you can take them anywhere you go: WATTPAD: It’s more like a digital book-reading club where readers can promote, appreciate and criticise each other’s writing. Android and iOS.
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KOBO: Comes with its own online store where you can gain access to a myriad books, both free and paid. Android and iOS. ALDIKO: The best place to read and organise your e-books, this is a virtual bookshelf, right in your pocket. You can also connect to other readers across the globe. Android and iOS.
AUDIOBOOKS. COM: From bestsellers to classics and a plethora of other books, the app offers a store library across a variety of genres. Android and iOS. AUDIOBOOKS NOW: Offers a library of thousands of literary classics and bestsellers. All you need to do is download, sit back and relax. Android and iOS.
Save more than R800 on free Wi-Fi with AlwaysOn! Reality Health and Reality Plus members get 1GB Wi-Fi data every month at AlwaysOn hotspots, so catch up on some reading time. Find out more at www.sanlamreality.co.za/ benefit/wi-fi/.
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FERMENTED FLAVOURS Fermentation is a way of preserving food that dates back more than 2 000 years. The process creates ingredients with healthy probiotics, which help with digestion. Katelyn Williams shows you four easy ways to include these fermented foods in your winter cooking.
KOREAN BIBIMBAP WITH KIMCHI
66 REALITY WINTER 2018
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KOREAN BIBIMBAP WITH KIMCHI
Kimchi is a traditional Korean side dish made from salted and fermented vegetables, most commonly cabbage and radishes. It’s a powerful health food due to the fermentation process, which loads the ingredients with gut-healthy bacteria. Kimchi can be found at most Asian supermarkets and delis. Serves 4 Pickled vegetables 1 large cucumber, cut into matchsticks 1 large carrot, cut into matchsticks 250ml rice vinegar 60ml lemon juice 30ml sugar Serving sauce 30ml sambal oelek 30ml sesame oil 125ml soy sauce 5cm fresh ginger, grated 2 cloves garlic, grated
Coconut pancakes 1 cup rice flour 1 tsp ground turmeric 250ml coconut milk 625ml chilled sparkling water 1 tbsp fish sauce 60ml peanut oil 450g spinach, boiled and squeezed 100g bean sprouts 80ml sesame oil 30ml sesame seeds ½ cup (75g) kimchi Micro herbs and thinly sliced radish, for garnish METHOD
For the pickled cucumber and carrots, combine the sugar, lemon juice and vinegar in a non-metallic bowl and stir until dissolved. Add the cucumber and carrot and toss well to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour. For the serving sauce, combine all the ingredients in a small bowl and season.
To make the coconut pancakes, place all the ingredients in a large bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside for 20 minutes. In a large non-stick frying pan, heat a tablespoon of peanut oil over a high heat. Add enough batter to just coat the bottom of the pan (about 125ml). Cook for 2-3 minutes on either side until the edges are lightly golden. Set aside and keep warm. In a small bowl, toss the cooked spinach with 2 tsp of sesame oil, a pinch of salt and ¼ tsp of sesame seeds. In another small bowl, season the bean sprouts with 1 tsp of sesame oil and a pinch of salt. To serve, fill each of the pancakes with an equal amount of filling (including the kimchi), garnish with micro herbs and radish – don’t forget the sauce!
CREATE YOUR OWN QUICK KIMCHI While authentic kimchi takes months to prepare, you can make a quicker version which is a great standby if you cannot find the original. Make 2-5 days in advance (400g) 300g chinese cabbage (or any other cabbage) 30ml salt 1 carrot, julienned 3 spring onions, sliced Hot paste 1 onion, pureéd
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5ml ginger, grated 6 cloves garlic, grated 45ml ground chilli flakes 30ml soy sauce 5ml brown sugar
METHOD
Slice the cabbage in quarters and place in a large bowl with the carrot and spring onions. Sprinkle with salt and rub the salt into the leaves. Leave for 3-4 hours or until soft and wilted (could take up to 6 hours). Combine all the hot paste ingredients and rub
BRAISED SAUERKRAUT CHICKEN WITH BABY POTATOES
Sauerkraut is fermented cabbage with a host of health benefits. Not only is it a source of dietary fibre, vitamins C and K, potassium, calcium and phosphorous, but eating sauerkraut is important for good digestive health. Serves 4
2 tbsp olive oil 4-6 chicken pieces (legs and thighs), skin on Sea salt and cracked black pepper 100g streaky bacon, chopped 2 leeks, washed and finely chopped 400g baby potatoes, quartered 1 tsp fennel seeds 2 bay leaves 540g sauerkraut 250ml chicken stock Sour cream dressing 125ml sour cream ½ lemon, juiced 1 clove garlic Pinch of salt Lemon wedges, to serve
into the cabbage, covering it completely. Place the kimchi in a sterilised jar and press it down so the juices rise up, leaving a gap at the top, then close and seal the lid. Allow to stand at room temperature for 2-5 days. Check the kimchi every day, letting out some gas and pressing the vegetables down into the brine. When the kimchi tastes delicious, transfer the jar to the fridge. It will keep for up to three months.
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 200°C. Heat the oil in a large heavy-based frying pan over medium heat. Season both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper, and fry skin-side down, for 6 minutes or until golden and crisp. Turn and cook for a further 4 minutes. Remove the chicken and set aside. Add the bacon, leeks, potatoes, fennel seeds and bay leaves to the pan and sauté for 6 minutes. Add the sauerkraut and stock, and heat through.
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TOP TIP To boost the gut benefits of this recipe, serve extra sauerkraut on the side, as cooking it can negate some of the health benefits.
BRAISED SAUERKRAUT CHICKEN WITH BABY POTATOES
GINGER MISO SOUP WITH ZUCCHINI NOODLES
In an ovenproof pot or casserole dish, layer the chicken on top of the sauerkraut mixture and cover with a lid or foil and transfer to the oven. Roast for 30 minutes. Uncover and cook for 20 minutes or until the potato and chicken are golden and cooked through. Combine all the sour cream dressing ingredients and serve alongside the chicken with lemon wedges.
GINGER MISO SOUP WITH ZUCCHINI NOODLES
Many Japanese swear by the old saying “a bowl of miso soup a day keeps the doctor away”. Miso is fermented soy bean paste and is an extremely nourishing ingredient, with protein, vitamins and essential amino acids. Miso paste can be found in Asian supermarkets and delis. Serves 4 Ginger miso paste 125ml (160g) miso paste 3 cloves garlic, crushed 5cm piece ginger, finely grated 2 tbsp canola oil 1 tbsp sesame oil 1 tbsp honey
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Broth 250g oyster or shiitake mushrooms, cleaned and sliced 1l chicken stock 100g baby bok choy 500g zucchini noodles 4 spring onions, finely sliced and refreshed in iced water 30ml white sesame seeds, toasted for serving METHOD
Using a food processor, blend all the ginger miso ingredients to form a smooth paste, pass through a sieve (this is not essential but does give a clearer broth) and set aside. In a large heavy-based pot over a medium heat, fry the mushrooms with the miso paste mixture until golden. Add the chicken stock and bring to a gentle simmer, stirring until completely combined. Add the bok choy and cook for 5 minutes. To serve, place the zucchini noodles in the serving bowls. Then pour the broth over the noodles; this prevents the ‘zoodles’ from over-cooking. Garnish with spring onion and toasted sesame seeds.
NO-KNEAD SOURDOUGH BREAD
Many people find sourdough bread easier to digest than
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normal bread; this is because phytase enzymes released by the yeasts as the dough acidifies effectively pre-digest the flour. This in turn releases micronutrients and reduces bloating and digestive discomfort. 620g lukewarm water 775g good quality stone-ground bread flour 15ml fine salt 265g sourdough starter METHOD
In a large bowl, combine the water, flour, salt and sourdough starter. There’s no need to knead, just make sure everything has been completely mixed together. Cover with cling film and allow to rise in the refrigerator overnight. (It can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks and baked as you need.) Preheat a cast-iron pot with a tight-fitting lid in a 220°C oven. Take the dough out of the bowl and loosely form into a ball on a piece of baking paper (it will be wet and sticky, but this is correct). Allow to rise under loosely covered cling film for 45 minutes. Then remove the cling film and use a very sharp knife to score the surface of the dough and place it in the preheated cast-iron pot with the baking paper at the bottom. Bake with the lid on for 20 minutes. Take the lid off and bake for a further 50-60 minutes until a deep caramel-coloured crust has formed. The bread should sound hollow when tapped. Cool completely on a rack before flipping the bread out. Serve with butter.
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NO-KNEAD SOURDOUGH BREAD
CREATE YOUR OWN SOURDOUGH STARTER A sourdough starter is simply flour and water left to ferment; the flour and water provide food for the wild yeast and lactobacilli in the air around us. With regular feeding, the flour and water become a healthy biome of yeast that adds a wonderful flavour to bread and has many health benefits. 15g fresh yeast 300ml water 250g strong white flour
METHOD
In a large glass jar, sprinkle or crumble the yeast onto the surface water; leave to dissolve for 5 minutes. Add the flour and stir until combined. Cover the jar with a tea towel and leave to ferment at room temperature for at least 48 hours and up to 5 days. The starter will become a loose, frothy batter. Stir once a day during this period. Use immediately or refrigerate indefinitely (some people
use their sourdough starter to make bread for years). After using a portion of the starter, replace it with an equal amount of flour and water to keep it active for the next time you make bread. For example, if a recipe calls for 250ml starter, after removing this amount, stir 125g flour and 125ml water into the remaining contents of the jar. Ferment at room temperature for 12-24 hours before refrigerating.
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Rising ABOVE 5 minutes with Chad Saaiman Singer-songwriter Chad Saaiman has travelled all over the world performing his brand of soulful pop, but a tragic accident almost derailed his career. He speaks to Reality about his strength and inspiration, and what makes him tick. HAVE YOU ALWAYS KNOWN THAT YOU WANTED
our minds and, in turn, control our actions.
[Canadian R&B and soul singer] Daniel Caesar.
WHAT’S THE ONE THING
SURVIVING A TRAUMATIC
PEOPLE DON’T KNOW ABOUT
EVENT CAN BE QUITE
YOU FROM FIRST GLANCE?
TOUGH [CHAD WAS SHOT IN
That I have a unique sense of humour. I love seeing people laugh.
A BOTCHED HIJACKING IN
TO GET INTO MUSIC?
No, I only realised that this is what I wanted to do at the age of 16. I always wanted to be a professional footballer before this epiphany. COMPLETE THE SENTENCE: MUSIC IS…
AS A FATHER, HOW DO YOU
... a universal lifeline.
BALANCE THE DEMANDING PRESSURES OF BEING IN THE
WHEN YOU’RE NOT IN
MUSIC INDUSTRY AND HAVING
STUDIO WHERE ARE YOU?
A FAMILY?
I’m either on stage or in the boardroom! [Chad is the coowner of Stereotype Talent Management.]
I must say, time management and communication are pretty key.
I draw my inspiration from everywhere. I ask questions, observe, research and, most importantly, feel. These things fuel my musical ideas.
2011], WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR
BESIDES BEING A GREAT
MAIN SOURCE OF STRENGTH
SONGWRITER AND SINGER,
DURING THIS TIME?
WHAT OTHER HIDDEN
I’m fortunate to have a strong support base of family and friends. I also keep my squad pretty small, with likeminded and positive people.
TALENTS DO YOU HAVE?
I am decent at soccer, and I am strong at editing and writing documents. YOU NEVER LEAVE
THE ENTERTAINMENT
THE HOUSE WITHOUT…
INDUSTRY CAN BE QUITE
A prayer.
HECTIC, HOW DO YOU YOU’VE BEEN FORTUNATE
UNWIND?
WHAT DOES 2018 HOLD
IF YOU WERE TO DEDICATE
TO WORK WITH MUSIC
FOR YOU? ANY EXCITING
YOUR LIFE TO A CAUSE,
ICONS LIKE BRIAN MCKNIGHT...
I play five-a-side football, go for a run or I go to a movie.
WHAT WOULD IT BE?
WHO ELSE WOULD YOU
I would love to eradicate poverty. I know that sounds grand, but extreme poverty causes so many of the negatives that plague
LOVE TO COLLABORATE
IN THE HIP-HOP AND
WITH?
HOUSE AGE, YOUR MUSIC
Hmmm… I’d love to work with [SA record producer and DJ] Black Coffee and
IS QUITE SOULFUL, WHERE
USE YOUR BENEFIT
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PROJECTS YOU WANT TO TELL US ABOUT?
DO YOU DRAW YOUR INSPIRATION FROM?
I have a new album out at the end of this year, which I’m really excited about. It’ll be my first new album in four years!
Explore the music of Chad Saaiman on simfy africa! With your Sanlam Reality benefit, you get six months’ free music streaming – that’s a saving of R325. Check it out at www.sanlamreality.co.za/benefit/simfy.
www.sanlamreality.co.za
IN FIVE LINES NAME: Chad Saaiman LIFESTYLE: Active,
creative, industrious, social, moral
INDULGENCE:
Pringles Tortillas – Sour Cream and Chives Photo by MARS digital
PET PEEVE:
People who speak in the cinema NOTORIOUS FOR:
Dressing well, working hard
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Talking POINT
ARE SOUTH AFRICAN PARENTS TOO COMPETITIVE? We all want our children to achieve, but is our own ambition turning us into pushy parents who lean on our kids to win at all costs? Deborah Herd investigates.
I
n a world where children get medals for participation, competitiveness is fast becoming a dirty word. The reward is in the effort, children are told. And while a medal may encourage a three-year-old to work harder for success, it would be wrong to resign competitiveness to the scrapheap of old-fashioned qualities. As a friend of mine, who displayed an unexpected bout of competitiveness during a dinner party game of darts, explained, “It’s not that I mind losing, I just prefer winning.” Don’t we all. Brad Bing, a former
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professional cricketer and managing director of Sporting Chance, a youth sports foundation, says competitiveness is part of what motivates a person to reach their potential and hit the bull’s-eye. “It teaches children that success comes from commitment, focus and hard work, not privilege or brains,” he says. It’s what makes the cricketer get back in the nets when he’s been bowled out; what makes the musician practise longer when she doesn’t strike the right note; it’s what motivates the mathematician to study further until she solves the
equation. Let’s face it, Roger Federer wouldn’t be the respected champion he is without the determination to be the very best at his game. And, says Bing, competitiveness can foster skills that prepare children for life, such as how to handle both success and disappointment; how to be proud of winning without being boastful; how to understand the positive (and sometimes frustrating) experiences of working in a team.
party to see that today’s brand of competitiveness appears to lack the sportsmanship of old. We all know overly competitive kids. They have to be the ‘best’ at everything, from academics to sport, music to extra-murals. They have a win-at-all-costs mentality, where lying, cheating and unfair play is par for the course. They sulk or throw a tantrum if they don’t win. They’re neither gracious in victory nor magnanimous in defeat. They don’t go to the nets when they’re bowled out, they throw down their bat, and sink to the ground in a sulk. Unsurprisingly, this attitude is often mirrored in their parents, who complain, gripe and growl at every opportunity. Why didn’t their child get chosen for the A team… land the lead in the school play… get the music solo? They pace the sidelines at sports matches barking orders and disputing decisions. When their child’s team doesn’t win, they complain of biased decisions or foul play. This behaviour is so rife that each year the principals of the top schools in Cape Town’s southern suburbs – and, no doubt, elsewhere in SA – collectively send out a letter urging parents to show respect and restraint on the sports field. GENETIC DISPOSITION
HOW FAR IS TOO COMPETITIVE?
But you only have to spend a few hours at a school sports match or attend a dinner
“I sometimes think South Africans are genetically competitive,” says Bing, who says he’d be a wealthy man
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DEBORAH HERD When Deborah, a freelance editor and writer specialising in health, isn’t trying to meet her latest deadline, she’s busy taxiing her children to and from sports matches, music recitals, dance shows and gliding lessons.
if he had a rand from every parent who told him their child is the next Dale Steyn. But in the 28 years he’s been running Sporting Chance, which inspires children to develop a lifelong passion for sport and nurtures their natural talent, he has seen parents’ behaviour change for the worse. “The pressures on children
It is creating unparalleled levels of anxiety in our kids. While a Google search reveals there are pushy parents worldwide and children are under extreme pressure everywhere to do well, Bing believes much of this unique South African competitiveness comes from the social, political and economic instability
Much of this unique South African competitiveness comes from the social, political and economic instability. now are massive and parents don’t understand,” he says. A generation ago, there was far less pressure to be in the A team, to achieve an 80+ aggregate in class, to play two musical instruments... “Kids no longer go home to play and chill. They’re scheduled from 6:30am until late in the evening.” Naturally, a child’s success is a parent’s source of pride, but it becomes a problem when being the best is all that counts and – as so often appears to be the case – when parents are experiencing their children’s successes, and failures, as their own. The joy of childhood is fast disappearing with parents inflicting one activity after another in a desperate bid to ensure their child’s success. But this parental ambition often hampers a child’s enjoyment and ability to develop at their own pace.
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we experience. “Many South Africans feel vulnerable, and want to attach themselves to something,” he says. This attachment is increasingly to their child’s school and sports teams. Top schools, which are difficult to get into, have huge status attached to them. “This status strokes the egos of parents,” says Bing. Of course, it’s normal for anyone – child or adult – to feel upset, angry and jealous when they lose, but children need to learn how to handle those emotions, recover and move on. Equally, feeling proud of success is good, but being boastful and gloating is not good sporting etiquette. Parents need to learn how to be gracious winners and losers, and to experience – win or loss – the sense of fulfilment that comes with watching their children playing their best.
HOW TO CURB YOUR
competitiveness
Help yourself and your child develop a healthy attitude to competition. Allow your child to experience the full range of emotions – negative and positive – that go with winning, losing and competing, but don’t indulge them. Take pride in your child’s success but teach them to be gracious in victory by being gracious yourself. Allow disappointment and regret when your child doesn’t win, but do not indulge self-pity. Understand that, win or lose, your child can do no more than his or her best – and that is good enough for them and for you. Consider the ‘messages’ you show your child. Do you call your child a ‘loser’ after a defeat in which he gave his all? You may think it’s motivating; your child will find it soul-destroying and think you only see the game in terms of who wins or loses. Shout encouragement from the sidelines of a match, but do not criticise other players, or the coach. Accept results with equanimity – especially disappointing ones. At home, play games that rely on different strengths so that your child can safely experience the charged emotions of competing individually and as part of a team. Encourage your child to understand that everyone has different strengths and weaknesses. Praise and admire talent in other children and adults, and encourage your child to do the same. Don’t badmouth other children or their parents. Let your child know that in a competitive arena, cheating is never acceptable, nor is violence. Encourage your child to take part in activities (music, art, scouts) where the goal is not always winning. Be motivated from within to succeed. Do not measure your child’s or your own success solely against others.
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Get COMPLIMENTARY entry to the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon!
Be part of Africa’s Gold when you take part in Africa’s only IAAF Gold Label Status City Marathon. The annual Sanlam Cape Town Marathon takes place on 22 and 23 September 2018. All Sanlam Reality members get free entry to the 42.2km Marathon, 10km Peace Walk/Run or 5km Fun Run. It’s Cape Town, must run it.
How to get your complimentary entry Please go to the Sanlam Reality website for details of the entry mechanism. You will be required to inform us of: • Your Sanlam Reality membership number • Your ID number • Your title, name and surname • Specific race you want to enter: 42.2km; 10km; fun run You will receive a voucher via email within five working days. Use that voucher for your free entry into the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon.
For more information on the event and to enter, go to www.sanlamreality.co.za.
REAL WORLD YOUR
info guide
TO WHAT’S HAPPENING INSIDE SANLAM REALITY
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78
80
THE NEXT GENERATION
PROGRAMME UPDATE
MONEY SAVER CARD
Sanlam celebrates 100 years
Two new benefits in the pipeline for members
Makro joins our list of shopping retailers
www.sanlamreality.co.za
81 BENEFITS All your Sanlam Reality benefits and discount percentages
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Sanlam
Changing lives for generations to come “Sanlam is celebrating its centenary this year and, while we’ll acknowledge our past, the focus will be on the future and leaving the world in a better place for generations to come,” explains Mariska Oosthuizen, Head: Sanlam Brand. Sanlam will be celebrating 100 years with a purposedriven concept focusing on the difference the company wants to make in the world, in the countries where it operates and in people’s lives. By its very nature, the financial services industry is focused on the long term, building lasting legacies and leaving the world in a better place. It’s concerned with the future and future generations. Generations who will be affected by the decisions we make today – good and bad. While a 100th birthday usually conjures up images of a wise, older person, Sanlam’s spokesperson for the year is a nine-year-old child, who represents the current generation asking questions that count. Her questions are meant to evoke a sense of responsibility in all of us as custodians of the world she and her peers will inherit.
Blue Ladder Schools project In line with the ‘for generations to come’ theme, Sanlam launched the Blue Ladder Schools project, which is a Sanlam Foundation initiative to help children learn what they can
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learn so that they can be what they want to be. “We believe each child has the power to change the world. And the best way to build a better tomorrow is to start investing in them today,” says Francois Adriaan, Head: Sanlam Foundation.
fact that all schools have the essentials our children need to learn. But this is not the reality. When you shop for good, you choose how much you’d like to donate – whether it’s R10 or R1 000. Every rand counts and will be used to make a difference.”
The project has already benefitted 71 693 children from 75 schools across South Africa. The Sanlam Blue Ladder Schools project partners with schools, educators, education departments and communities countrywide to give children a head start on a brighter future. The aim of the project is to enhance the teaching and learning of maths, while improving the lives of learners, teachers and their immediate community. The project has already benefitted 71 693 children from 75 schools across South Africa.
Shop for Good To further support Blue Ladder Schools, Sanlam launched Shop for Good – an easy way to donate money and help give schools the essentials they need. “Many of us take for granted the
That’s why Sanlam is asking South Africans to shop for good to help create supportive learning spaces. You can either make a cash donation or shop online for classroom essentials. When you shop, you won’t be buying the actual items. The money you donate will go towards creating supportive learning spaces in Sanlam Blue Ladder Schools. Every child educated and every school changed is a success that will positively impact the economy. “It’s an investment we can’t afford not to make. If we invest in their education today, imagine what more every child could achieve, for their future, for our country and for generations to come,” says Oosthuizen.
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Sanlam
If we invest in education today, imagine what more every child could achieve, for their future, for our country and for generations to come.
GET MORE ONLINE
www.sanlamreality.co.za
To learn more about the Sanlam Blue Ladder Schools project, visit sanlamfoundation.co.za. If you want to shop for good, visit shopforgood.co.za.
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Programme update
Coming soon We believe taking care of your money should be rewarding – we also believe it should be easy. That’s why in the coming months we plan to launch the Sanlam Reality App, enhance a number of our existing benefits and introduce brand-new benefits.
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www.sanlamreality.co.za
Programme update
Sanlam Reality App The Sanlam Reality App is an easy way to keep track of your benefits while you’re on the go. By downloading the app, you’ll have access to key Sanlam Reality benefits in your pocket, and the simplified processes and seamless integration will make it even easier to use your benefits. So, what do you get with the Sanlam Reality App?
I nstant chat 24/7 with your Personal Assistant for help with queries, sourcing quotes and more. It’s like having a WhatsApp conversation with your very own PA! An enhanced Uber benefit that allows you to use your Sanlam Reality discount for after-hours trips (11pm to 4am) in addition to the existing airport transfers benefit. The ability to book Nu Metro movie tickets and refreshments when you’re on the go. So, if you’re at the mall and get the urge to see the latest blockbuster, it’s no problem. Just go into the app and book tickets in a flash! The ability to log your visits with the built-in QR functionality on our new Independent Gyms and Studios benefit. Easy access to the Bidvest Premier Lounge with your digital membership card stored inside the app – so there’s no need to carry your card in your wallet.
Other functionalities will include a digital wallet, which will automatically store your movie booking confirmations for easy reference. All your family member cards will also be stored in the app, plus you can upload and save your preferential payment card for easy future payments. We will also reward members for downloading and activating the Sanlam Reality App with 3 000 tier points! Keep an eye on your inbox and the Sanlam Reality website for more information.
www.sanlamreality.co.za
Independent Gyms and Studios It’s time to mix up your workout routine with a new benefit coming soon: Independent Gyms and Studios, with as much as 60% discount on fees. Due to a demand for exercise options outside of traditional gyms and across the length and breadth of South Africa, we’ve specially created this unique benefit for Sanlam Reality members. Importantly, independent gyms and studios offer increased access to a wider range of fitness options: yoga, Pilates, CrossFit and more are just some of the offerings you’ll be able to enjoy. Ideal if hitting the treadmill is your idea of hell! The list of the gyms and studios available as part of this benefit will be up on the Sanlam Reality website as soon as this benefit goes live. You will use the Sanlam Reality App to record your visits by scanning a QR code to get your discount.
Uber Trips Our popular Uber Trips benefit just got better! Over and above the current Uber discount on trips to and from the major airports, we plan to extend the deal so that you can enjoy the same discount on after-hours trips (11pm to 4am) anywhere in South Africa with Uber. Full details of the expanded Uber benefit will be communicated to you in due course. Going forward, you will only be able to use the Uber benefit via the Sanlam Reality App.
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benefits
Money Saver card Makro is our newest Money Saver retailer and cardholders can shop at Makro stores nationwide and earn cash back. Makro stocks a variety of food, the latest electronics, houseware, outdoor equipment and more.
Need to know Your monthly purchase limit is determined by your credit worthiness. This purchase limit is interest free up to 45 days. There are no transactional fees at any of the national retail partners. The monthly administration fee is R50 (including card fee and insurance).
Apply for additional cards at R25 per month admin fee. Sign up today and pay no admin fees for the first 12 months (Sanlam Reality members) or first three months (Medscheme clients). Earn 3 000 tier points when you acquire a Money Saver card, plus 1 000 tier points per additional card.
Shop at participating stores, pay with your Money Saver card and earn as much as 10% towards a cash-back bonus!
Where to shop Fuel
Groceries
Pharmacy
Goods
Go to www.sanlamreality.co.za/benefit/money-saver-card for more information. Please note: the Money Saver card is closed to new applications
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www.sanlamreality.co.za
benefits
Sanlam Reality benefits table Reality Health
Reality Plus
Reality Core
Sanlam Life Cover
Up to 30% off
Up to 30% off
n/a
Sanlam Savings Products
Up to 100% off primary asset management charges
Up to 100% off primary asset management charges
Up to 100% off primary asset management charges
Sanlam Gap Cover
Double the cover from day one
Double the cover from day one
Double the cover from day one
Sanlam Online Will
Free with secure Will storage
Free with secure Will storage
Free with secure Will storage
Sanlam Personal Loans
Cash-back reward of up to 20% Cash-back reward of up to 20% Cash-back reward of up to 20%
Wealth Sense
Online financial platform
TaxTim
Complimentary tax assistance Complimentary tax assistance Complimentary tax assistance
Funeral Cover
Fedhealth members on Reality n/a Health and Reality Access
Fedhealth members on Reality Health and Reality Access
Pet Accident Cover
Fedhealth members on Reality n/a Health and Reality Access
Fedhealth members on Reality Health and Reality Access
Cash-back bonus
Cash-back bonus
Cash-back bonus
Virgin Active
As much as 60% off
n/a
n/a
Planet Fitness Gym
As much as 80% off
As much as 80% off
As much as 60% off
JustGym
As much as 80% off
As much as 80% off
As much as 60% off
Mango Flights
As much as 30% off
As much as 30% off
As much as 20% off
Emirates Flights
As much as 25% off
As much as 25% off
n/a
Protea Hotels by MarriottÂŽ
As much as 30% off
As much as 30% off
As much as 20% off
Tempest Car Hire
As much as 50% off
As much as 50% off
As much as 50% off
Uber Trips
As much as 30% off
As much as 30% off
As much as 30% off
Bidvest Premier Lounge
Up to 20 visits/year
Up to 20 visits/year
n/a
International Travel Insurance
Fedhealth members on Reality n/a Health and Reality Access
Fedhealth members on Reality Health and Reality Access
Nu Metro Movies & Refreshments
R25 for 2D or R45 for 3D; R30 for combo
R25 for 2D or R45 for 3D; R30 for combo
R25 for 2D; R30 for combo
Computicket Shows and Sport
Two tickets for the price of one (up to R300)
Two tickets for the price of one (up to R300)
n/a
Simfy Africa Music Streaming
6 months complimentary; save 7.5% thereafter
6 months complimentary; save 7.5% thereafter
6 months complimentary; save 7.5% thereafter
Wi-Fi
1GB data/month
1GB data/month
n/a
Reality Magazine
Quarterly
Quarterly
Quarterly
24/7, 365 days a year
24/7, 365 days a year
24/7, 365 days a year
Wealth
Online financial platform
Online financial platform
Day-to-Day Savings Money Saver card Health
Travel
Entertainment
Personal Services Personal Assistant
www.sanlamreality.co.za
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KINGJAMES 43764
Ever met a person who’s going to change the world? We’ve met 71 693 of them. At Sanlam, we know every child has the power to change the world. We also know that the best way to build a better tomorrow is to start investing in them today. That’s why we’ve launched the Sanlam Blue Ladder Schools project to help children learn what they can learn so that they can be what they want to be. We’re building the next generation of Wealthsmiths™, today, and for generations to come. To find out more, visit forgenerationstocome.co.za.
For generations to come