KZN LIFE (February 2016)

BUSINESS | INVESTMENT | FOOD | TRAVEL | CULTURE | DESIGN | VISION February 2016

PREVIOUSLY

SPICE MAGAZINE

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drink up Five of the grooviest bars in Durban

kzn energy Be inspired by Jailoshini Naidoo and Vanashree Singh

BOX CLEVER Creative ways to tackle the housing crisis

KZN LIFE

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ED’S LETTER

rousing success and it is a wonderful enterprise in which to be involved, not least because we’ve managed to toast all things good in the province and avoid being a rah-rah rag that toadies up to government or the establishment.

For KZN to succeed we need a strong growth trajectory. This requires critical thinking and open and honest dialogue. We need to focus on the things we do well and learn useful lessons in areas in which we don’t.

A key challenge worldwide is the densification of cities, and KZN’s urban areas are no different.

Sadly, there doesn’t appear to be terribly much government innovation in how we approach the problems associated with the

Draw on the ingenuity and resilience of the poor. Empower rather than patronise

H

ello and welcome to our all-new KZN LIFE. Those of you who have become happily accustomed to SPICE magazine will hopefully be as pleased with our renamed offering.

The essence of our monthly publication will remain the same. We celebrate success and accomplishment in KwaZulu-Natal, and will continue to feature the many achievements that make our little patch of paradise unique.

We changed the name because we were often mistaken for a food mag.

That said, the publication has been a

crush on eThekwini and other cities.

Shacklands are spreading and the empires of city slumlords are expanding, while the approach to low-cost housing seems singularly without novelty or invention. In the public sphere, that is.

In the private sector and the makeshift settlements there is plenty of clever thinking and adroit behaviour. We need a champion in the public sector to harness this energy.

In the first edition of KZN LIFE we look at living spaces and how people artfully create them for comfort and efficiency.

Coincidentally, our entrepreneur in this edition is Colin Kisten, who will be responsible for huge housing offerings in upmarket Umhlanga. Kisten is a prosperous businessman whose triumph in commerce is matched by

genuine grace and humility.

We also feature what seems to be a trend in the creation of alternative living spaces. The penthouses of Mike Harris and Anand Nepaul are design classics.

Finally, we are indebted to a number of smart people who informed our approach to the issue of city densification and low-cost housing. They include architects Ruben Reddy, Ndabo Langa, Jonathan Edkins, Andrew Makin and Derek van Heerden.

Reddy introduced me to Chilean architect Alejandro Aravena and Van Heerden has made a practical suggestion of how we can adopt an Aravena-type solution in Durban.

Aravena is a revelation to anyone interested in living spaces. His mantra is this: “The more complex the problem, the greater the need for simplicity.” In Chile he did the hard yards with residents in favelas (shanty towns). He listened carefully and came up with a model that saw the government build “half a house” for poor city dwellers and created mechanisms for them to build the other half.

It was a marvel that drew on the ingenuity and resilience of the poor. It was a solution that empowered them rather than patronised them. Aravena says three billion of the Earth’s seven billion people live in cities. This will grow to five billion by 2030, and two billion of those people will live in poverty. It is time to engage around this, and engage seriously.

There are solutions, and elegant ones too.

Aravena was quoted in the Financial Times as saying: “The best architecture is somewhere between art and survival.” It gets you thinking.

GREG ARDÉ ardeg@sundaytimes.co.za

CONTENTS

Colours of love: Meet Sudanese artists Raja Oshi and Hussein Salim, who have found a home and happiness in KZN

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Family first: What drives property developer Colin Kisten

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Living in a box: The penthouse made from shipping containers Boot the commute: Lawyer Anand Nepaul takes a private lift to work In the bag: Vanashree Singh’s new business success story

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EDITORIAL EDITOR

Greg Ardé ardeg@sundaytimes.co.za 031-250-8500, 082-822-0001

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CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Megan Guyt

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MANAGING EDITOR

Matthew McClure Bridge over troubled water: The development healing an apartheid wound Homing instinct: A special report on the housing crisis in KwaZulu-Natal, and what’s being done to solve it

CHIEF SUB EDITOR SUB EDITOR

Nerissa Card DESIGNER

Thembekile Vokwana

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Take the leap: Oribi Gorge is a maelstrom of adrenaline

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Stealth bomber: Behind the wheel of the Range Rover Sport

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Good cheer: Five of Durban’s finest watering holes

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East, west, home’s best: Catch Jailoshini Naidoo’s Durban rave

Dave Chambers

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CONTRIBUTORS

Yasantha Naidoo naidooy@sundaytimes.co.za Shelley Seid seids@sundaytimes.co.za Beth Stols bstols@mweb.co.za Masood Boomgaard masoodboomgaard@gmail.com Nompumelelo Magwaza magwazan@sundaytimes.co.za Alan Cooper alanqcooper@gmail.com

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ADVERTISING

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BUSINESS MANAGER

Verna Pillay pillayv@sundaytimes.co.za 031-250-8500, 082-452-6277 PUBLISHER

Aspasia Karras Printed by Paarl Media Published by Times Media (Pty) Ltd, 4 Biermann Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg.

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© Copyright: Times Media (Pty) Ltd. No portion of this magazine may be reproduced in any form without written consent of the publishers.

The publishers are not responsible for unsolicited material. KZN LIFE is published by Times Media (Pty) Ltd. The opinions expressed are not necessarily those of Times Media (Pty) Ltd. All advertisements, advertorials and promotions have been paid for and therefore do not carry any endorsement by the publishers.

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LIVING COLOUR

The lives and loves of artists Raja Oshi and Hussein Salim TEXT SHELLEY SEID PHOTOGRAPHY JACKIE CLAUSEN

M

arried artists Raja Oshi and Hussein Salim escaped from war-torn Sudan after graduating in fine art at the University of Khartoum. Their journey of diaspora included interludes in Norway, Germany, Wales, France and Egypt. They settled just over a decade ago in Pietermaritzburg, the place they now call home, with their two children.

Raja’s work explores colour, texture, shape and design, and is inspired by her life context and what is happening in the world around her.

Hussein’s brightly coloured, narrative work is included in major national collections throughout Africa, Europe and North America.

HE SAID

I regularly make hibiscus juice. When students or friends go to the Sudan we ask them to bring us dried hibiscus.

SHE SAID HE SAID

HE SAID

I am a picture maker.

I don’t start with sketches, I just hit the canvas.

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I love Victorian architecture, which is very strange because I come from a desert with mud houses. I love the fine lines, the red brick, the motifs, the steel work.

Pietermaritzburg City Hall is my favourite building.

I love water, I am obsessed with water. Maybe because I was born and grew up alongside the Red Sea. I don’t believe in star signs, but apparently water is my element. I feel peaceful and relaxed when I am at the ocean.

THE CREATIVE

SHE SAID

HE SAID

I rise early, that kind of crazy early before the sun comes up. I have to witness the birth of the sun every day. Before the sun comes up the world is like a blank canvas. If I miss it, then that day is not my day.

I am profoundly affected by things around me. What I respond to emotionally, what happens in the world, finds itself in my paintings

SHE SAID

I love my garden. I love nurturing plants; making things grow. If I am sick or stressed I spend time in the garden. I love flowers particularly, because I love colour. I love all colour, there is no favourite for me.

It depends on my emotions. The colours I choose to work with or to wear are dictated by my mood.

SHE SAID HE SAID

The job of the artist is to teach people the meaning of love; to pose questions, not to give answers

I love beads. They are among my favourite possessions. I come across such lovely beading in South Africa. I never buy jewellery, but I have a large collection of beads.

SHE SAID

I’m inspired by Gustav Klimt, by the drawings of Kandinsky. In fact, I love all drawings.

During my postgraduate studies at university here in Pietermaritzburg, my professor told me my work reminded him of Mark Rothko. I didn’t know his work. When I saw the similarity I was surprised and excited.

HE SAID

I love shopping, quality shopping - but always to indulge my family

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07

“I

’m a poor man’s son … I don’t ever want to be shackled by wealth.”

In a city full of nouveau riche and self-proclaimed billionaires, Colin Kisten is a tonic. The real estate magnate is the furthest thing from a hackneyed property baron. He’s quiet, polite and without bombast, and he’s arguably the biggest independent residential developer in Durban, having recently purchased land worth R300-million from Tongaat Hulett Developments, in the Umhlanga and Sibaya node. He plans to roll out his projects (about 1 000 apartments in five signature buildings) over three years, at a cost of R1.6billion.

Dressed in a smart golf shirt and black slacks, Kisten makes for an animated picture in his Umhlanga offices. The smart suite is nothing flash, and as he talks with his hands he paints a vivid picture of how he started, light years away from the boardroom table he now commands.

Thirty years ago Kisten was a roadside smouse in Mobeni, south of Durban. He was expelled from school in matric because he joined anti-apartheid demonstrations. He was also banned from furthering his studies at any government-aligned institution.

He left Durban, he says, to avoid being harassed by the police and went to Gauteng to stay with a friend. There, he met the woman who would become his wife.

Kisten later returned home to Umhlatuzana and became a street vendor, selling clothing and other wares around Mobeni. “I sold on credit at times and learnt that, in business, your word is your bond.”

He did well, soon realising he needed his own wheels. He haggled with a car salesman and secured a battered Ford Cortina for R2 500, half the asking price. He and his unemployed mates then pimped the ride so spectacularly that Kisten sold it for 100% profit and saw a gap selling cars. At the time video recorders were taking off and he leased space in a neighbourhood supermarket, renting out movies and VHS players.

He also created a small space at the back of the store to set up a shoe-repair business after his father, an experienced shoe factory worker, taught him how to mend footwear.

Kisten was 21 and upbeat; he was making money and was about to be married. But tragedy struck on the eve of his wedding his two elder brothers were shot dead.

Kisten was bereft. He spent hours at night sitting on his brothers’ graves, until he redirected his despair. “I had to be three sons to my parents. Adversity had driven me thus far. I was on a path and determined to survive.”

When his landlord needed to sell the supermarket at which he was renting space, Kisten bought it. Then, one of the biggest hotels in Chatsworth came on to the market.

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INTERVIEW

CLAN IS KING

Colin Kisten has been wildly successful as a property developer, but he tells Greg Ardé that family will always come first PHOTOGRAPHY VAL ADAMSON

Kisten sold everything to pay R1.2-million for the premises, only to discover that the sellers hadn’t disclosed a tax debt. He lost everything he had invested. All he had to his name was a house he had recently bought in Malvern.

He turned to flipping cars from his back yard, until one afternoon he struck up a conversation with an estate agent who was selling the house across the road. He learnt the agent was living in his car with his five-yearold daughter.

“I told him he had to move into our spare room and they did. Meeting Richard changed my life.”

The two struck up a friendship and when Kisten wasn’t selling cars he was hanging out

I don’t need all the trappings. I am happiest in shorts and a torn T-shirt around a braai at a Realty1 office. He was there so often that he ended up joining the team, and within six months he was the top agent. He soon set up on his own agency in the dilapidated premises of a former fruit and vegetable shop, and eventually his company had five offices around Durban and 72 employees. Kisten also snapped up 32 properties for himself, including shops, houses and offices.

At the time he and his conveyancer spoke about buying property in Umhlanga.

“Honestly, it seemed so far away. I was happy, I had my family and had my mom and dad with me. We lived in Malvern and used to drive

to Umhlanga and sit in the car and admire the view and dream.”

The dream became a reality when the conveyancer invited Kisten to be part of a consortium developing the Grand Floridian, an upmarket residential complex in Umhlanga Rocks Drive with a build value of about R110million.

The success of the venture allowed the partners to go solo and Kisten set up his own company, Africa Rising.

He bought more land from Tongaat Hulett and built high-rise buildings with shops and apartments. He did well, but before the global recession hit he sold everything, put his money in the bank and went into preservation mode.

“I went to work in Cape Town as a project manager on a property I sold in Century City. I take risks but I never wanted to be vulnerable like I was with the hotel in Chatsworth.”

By 2013 Kisten’s parents had both passed away and he missed them terribly.

“After every one of my deals I used to go home and tell them about it. I had the chance to tell my mom and dad how much I loved them when they were alive. Looking after my family was what drove me. Initially I think I was driven by anger, but then I realised I had to redirect that anger or I would be bitter. I have a lovely family and a beautiful house in Umhlanga. But I’m a poor man’s son and I will always be that.

“I don’t need all the trappings. I don’t need a Ferrari in the garage. I am happiest in a pair of shorts and a torn T-shirt around a braai with my family. I am the underdog in any

deal. My approach is unassuming and people underestimate me, and that’s fine, because that’s when I do my best deals.”

COLIN KISTEN’S TIPS FOR ENTREPRENEURS • • • • •

Simplicity is key.

Don’t be sentimental about property.

You must be ready to sell at any time.

You determine your legacy.

People before profit.

My parents’ determination and hardship became the cornerstone of my love and care for them. It was a constant reminder that I had to protect and care for them. That became one of my greatest motivating factors.

When Kisten was six years old he remembers his dad leaving for work at 5am and he and his mom walking 7km to the hardware store to buy materials for the house the family was building in Umhlatuzana.

Today, Kisten goes to work designing and building The Madison, The Marina, Aria and Jefferson, all in central Umhlanga, and another development in Sibaya. The mixeduse and residential buildings will be built around Umhlanga Hospital and about 250 units have been sold off plan. Last year the company created 1 000 construction jobs and this year it expects to add another 500.

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LIVING OUT THE BOX

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ARCHITECTURE

The high life doesn’t have to mean a landscaped garden and huge pool. Shelley Seid finds it can also mean putting roofs to good use PHOTOGRAPHY LAR LESLIE

D

urban businessman Mike Harris and his wife Petra live in Churchill Road, in a penthouse on top of a commercial building they own.

It is probably best known because of Afros Chicken downstairs.

Their home is an inspired ensemble of steel, glass and wood.

They jimmied a few shipping containers and applied artistic flair to industrial materials. Notable features include a kick-ass bathroom, master bedroom with a monster view of Moses Mabhida Stadium and a charming rooftop garden, where pot plants and wood sculptures soften the daytime glare of downtown Durban.

There are no barking dogs or constant alarms. There’s no grass to mow - just instant lawn to vacuum Where did you live before?

In Durban North and Morningside, for 12 years.

What’s it like living in a penthouse and what is the biggest difference in your lifestyle compared to where you lived before?

We have lots of the benefits of a house, but none of the downside. There are no barking dogs, screaming kids or constant alarms going off. There’s no grass to mow – just instant

lawn to vacuum. We can lock up and go in an instant and there’s no pool to go green if we are gone too long.

How long did it take to build the penthouse?

Planning took about two months and it took three months to build.

What was the biggest challenge in design and construction?

It is three floors up, so the big building stuff came up by crane. Getting the insulation right was a challenge, but the building was easy.

Did you get a few stares when you hauled a few shipping containers on to the roof ?

Indeed. We had to block the road at one stage and several irate motorists did not see the humour in it.

What are your favourite spots in the house and why?

The bar and the front deck have views to Umhlanga.

What was the reaction of your friends?

Most of them thought we were mad, but everyone likes the finished product.

Do you feel safer three storeys up?

Definitely.

What can’t you do living in a penthouse?

We can do pretty much everything we did when living in a house. I don’t miss the pool!

Who or what do you most enjoy looking at from where you live?

Sitting on the patio watching storms approaching from the east.

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DOWNTOWN AVANT-GARDE

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urban lawyer Anand Nepaul, his wife Abigail and their five-monthold daughter Azuri share their 250m² inner-city penthouse.

It is perched atop a 12-storey building in Dorothy Nyembe (Gardiner) Street that Nepaul bought in 2001. Formerly the Durban headquarters of Volkskas Bank, Nepaul gutted and meticulously refurbished it, swopping his court robe for overalls after work. He renamed it Royal Towers, as it abuts the Royal Hotel.

Nepaul redesigned the airconditioning and lift towers to create space for his avant-garde sky-pad. The building is within walking distance of Durban’s courts and Nepaul’s busy law practice is in his building, allowing him to catch a private lift to the office. The remaining floors are let as office space.

Their rooftop sanctuary boasts glorious views of the bay and yacht mole. They have a reception room-cum-cocktail bar, a huge open-plan kitchen, palatial master suite and a tranquil open-air bathroom with crystalembellished walls.

What’s the best thing about your home?

Convenience. I never have to endure traffic.

Some people spend hours travelling to and from work. I use that time to bond with my family.

How do you feel about the building?

I have a deep connection to it. It’s located across from what used to be called Bayside, where I was born. I would spend hours looking at the tall buildings from across the bay and wonder what the view would be like from there. We were not allowed there. Today I live that view. Royal Towers is so soundly built. It is engineered to withstand strong winds. I have renewed respect for the craftsmen of old.

How do you feel about living in the inner city?

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Great! I chose to live here. It’s safe and convenient. It’s also a perfect fit for us and my law practice. I love the privacy, tranquillity and views.

What’s challenging about this lifestyle?

We don’t have a big garden that we can step out on to. But we often spend time at the Botanic Gardens, Mitchell Park and our amazing promenade.

What’s interesting about living where you do?

The view is so dynamic. It’s like watching a silent movie. It unfolds every minute, from pedestrians and moving traffic down below, boats bobbing on the bay in the moonlight, to virtually touching the Queen Mary. There’s such life out there.

Your apartment has many unusual features. Which ones do you most get a kick out of ?

An automated TV wall was engineered to slide back to create an entrance to the lift. We built that to be economical with limited space in the

The view is so dynamic. It’s like watching a silent movie. It unfolds every minute. There’s such life out there reception room. We also covered the landside kitchen wall with a long mirror to reflect the captivating Durban bay. We have toughened glass walls throughout the front of the penthouse that allow us to see the magnificent views while keeping the hustle and bustle of the streets out.

The apartment has interesting design features. What was the inspiration?

Da Vinci: “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” When we designed the home with interior expert Stan Oshry, we kept the furnishings modern, neat and uncluttered.

ARCHITECTURE

Bespoke pieces from our travels overseas merge with the lighting, neutral tones and soft furnishings to create an open but homely feel.

What does this place mean to you?

It’s my reminiscence: When I was a boy swimming, fishing and sleeping under the stars with the clear waters lapping the mangroves of Salisbury Island, I dreamt of what it would be like to live in a home like this. Living up here inspires me to do better every day.

There’s also so much history in the city centre; it has places of worship, markets, the harbour and world-class beaches.

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PROFILE

ELEGANT TOTES

Vanashree Singh’s eponymous range of exotic bags is finding fans around the world, writes Yasantha Naidoo

V

anashree Singh glides into Marc Gold coffee shop in leafy Morningside, her elegant diamond tennis bracelet winking hello as she gracefully sinks into her chair and places her signature-brand Mahi V-tote on the table.

Its exotic ostrich, polished finish and bespoke design command a yearning stare. It’s rude, but beauty is hard to ignore.

And that is the essence of Singh’s VLuxe brand, which is responsible for the VanaShree collection of handbags, wallets, belts, keyrings and other accessories, created locally using “ethically sourced” crocodile, ostrich, python, stingray and cashmere.

Following in the bespoke footsteps of European counterparts such as Hermes and Prada, the VanaShree range, first launched at the uber-sophisticated Delaire Graff Estate in Stellenbosch, followed by the luxury lifestyle store, Luminance, in December, and in a boutique in Moscow, is in high demand.

It’s no wonder, though, considering that each piece is curated and vetoed by Singh, a style icon with years of experience in the fashion and beauty industry, and someone who has hobnobbed with the rich and famous on red carpets around the globe.

“My first range was created around my needs as a mother. I wanted a tote that spoke to functional beauty, but was also chic.

And from there it just grew into a range of totes, clutches and wallets. The name is also symbolic, as Vana, and its association with butterflies, has particular significance for me.”

Singh says when she thought of the idea, she wanted a product that would stand up to international standards, but was an authentic South African creation. And so the luxurious accessories, in cotton-candy pink, ox-blood red and vibrant yellow, are handmade by teams of craftsmen in Cape Town and KwaZulu-Natal.

Her style and business philosophy are simple and aspirational.

“I want them to be treasured purchases, bags that are timeless and sophisticated, that can be handed down to daughters. It’s about appealing to all the senses and at the same time being unique and exclusive to one’s personality.”

While it may be a sin to covet, there’s no doubt that owning a VanaShree accessory is a priority on the fashion bucket list.

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BRIDGE CITY

BRIDGE THE GAP

Durban’s latest, greatest push north will undo another of apartheid’s evils, writes Greg Ardé

T

he pieces of the jigsaw are fitting together and the picture is fast emerging. It is Bridge City, but if you didn’t know about it, you’re

forgiven.

Eight years ago it was vast swathes of undeveloped land between KwaMashu and Phoenix. The only notable feature on the roadside was a livestock outlet, Hyper Goat.

While Bridge City is much trumpeted, it was only really appreciated by a savvy few and state spatial planners.

It is a joint venture between the eThekwini Municipality and Tongaat Hulett, and its 60 hectares, about 7km inland from Umhlanga Ridge, will undo apartheid planning that separated Phoenix, Inanda, Ntuzuma and KwaMashu.

Massive road works give an inkling of how big it will be. It will house the city’s second biggest transport hub after Warwick Junction, with bus lanes to town, Pinetown, Umhlanga and Cornubia. Already a station beneath the shopping centre sees 22 trains shuttle in and out every day.

The centre is already tenanted by stores such as Woolworths, Spar and Checkers. Next door is Ntuzuma Magistrate’s Court, a colossal, futuristic architectural piece that has usurped Hyper Goat as the local landmark. Between the centre and the court, a 500-bed state hospital is under construction, due to open in 2019.

Brian Ive, a development executive at Tongaat Hulett, the project manager and sales agent, gives a sense of Bridge City’s strategic location as the city unlocks land for eThekwini’s sprawl along the northern corridor.

Bridge City is a stone’s throw from Cornubia, a flagship mixed-use development inland of Umhlanga. Nearby, the only big, vacant chunks of land have been bought by Investec and JT Ross, probably the biggest player in the KZN commercial property market.

“The huge transport infrastructure that is going into Bridge City will bring it to life,” says Ive. “Already we see thousands of people coming to the shopping centre and to the court daily. We’ve sold over a third of the sites in the town centre and there are only four sites left in the business park next door, which are new on the market.”

Ive says the latest town-centre building to go up, three storeys with shops and restaurants at street level and flats above, gives an indication of what the area will look like.

“There is great potential for developers because we allow them to go up nine storeys in areas. There will be a total residential capacity of between 4 000 and 8 000 apartments, depending on the affordability level. We’re looking at homes for between 17 000 and 27 000 people in the next three years.

“We have set up the precinct management model in Bridge City that we already run in areas like Umhlanga and Riverhorse, with additional street cleaning, crime prevention and CCTV.” Ive says the infrastructural spend at Bridge City, excluding the city’s investment in the Bus Rapid Transport system, the rail station and line, and the national government’s allocations for the hospital and the court, is R205-million.

This is expected to attract approximately R10-billion in private-sector investment by 2020, including the shopping centre.

Bulldozers are clearing a site on the western edge of Bridge City for a R250million development that includes a petrol

The transport infrastructure will bring it to life. Already we see thousands of people coming to the shopping centre and court filling station and a six-storey mixed-use development.

Ive says Bridge City is testament to the power of public-private sector partnerships to deliver on industrial and mixed-use developments.

Frank Reardon, divisional director of Broll property group, which is handling leases on the development, said the next five years promised considerable investment in Bridge City.

“There has been strong interest in the commercial development from retail and office tenants across the private and the public sector,” he said.

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Whatever we’re doing to provide the homes Durban needs isn’t working. Greg Ardé, Shelley Seid and Alan Cooper meet people with ideas for tackling the problem differently

HOMING INSTINCT PHOTOGRAPHY CHRIS LAURENZ & ROGAN WARD

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HOUSING

HERE’S AN ALTERNATIVE

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or most of us our homes are places of comfort and refuge, community and recreation. In parts of Durban people live comfortably and efficiently in freestanding houses and apartment blocks.

But with the influx of people into eThekwini, informal settlements are encroaching.

Shacklands are spreading and people camp in illegally converted office blocks that morph into slums overnight. The densification is alarming, but it is also an opportunity to create a vibrant, effective city.

We spoke to a range of specialists for ideas on what’s working here and around the world.

Among the most passionate and articulate proponents of a new housing deal were architect Derek van Heerden and Ndabo Mzimela, Cato Crest leader of Abahlali baseMjondolo, the shackdwellers movement.

The least useful contribution was from

We are blessed with can-and-do urban dwellers. They have incredible desire to build and innovate. Why not tap into that? the city. It sent a dry response to questions rather than opting to put us in contact with its housing champion, if it has one.We learnt most from walking around the jondolos with Van Heerden and Mzimela.

The city says there are 436 shack settlements and it is trying, where possible, to upgrade them. There’s scant evidence of this, which is what prompted Van Heerden to pitch a plan for an affordable upgrade of a shanty town named Jadu Place near Overport.

It was set up 20 years ago, although fires started by candles and paraffin stoves have razed it at least four times. After a fire in 2011 the city rebuilt rows of corrugated iron “transit” houses and thousands of people have been sweating it out there since. Residents share containerised, communal toilets, showers and taps.

The place is not as soulless as an RDP village of nondescript houses, but it has nothing of the vibrancy of the shack settlement in Cato Crest, where innovative residents have a sharp eye for design and individuality. Van Heerden says low-cost housing is without novelty or invention because it is not about building houses, it is about empowering construction companies.

He has come up with a proposal to build steel frames above the tin huts in Jadu. He says squatter camps in eThekwini are here to stay, so why not tap into the ingenuity of residents?

In Jadu, or amaTin-Tin, a typical family room

measures 3m by 5m. Space is at a premium, so the obvious solution is to go up. Van Heerden reckons a structural steel frame could be erected above the tin houses while residents are still living there.

Then they can be given lightweight, fire retardant cross-laminated timber panels to build their own two or three-storey homes.

“The techniques for joining panels and tools required to do so are simple – saws, hammers and screwdrivers. Not unlike shack-building.”

Van Heerden says the new houses in the air would free up space below for communal living.

The tin shacks could be demolished partially or wholly, creating space for shops, crèches, bathrooms and dining areas. “We are blessed with can-and-do urban dwellers, and they are resilient. They have shown incredible desire to build and innovate. Why not tap into that?”

Van Heerden reckons that by maximising self-build technologies developed around existing (shack-building) technologies – timber - with technical support and a localised supply chain developed and managed by Human Settlements/eThekwini, the per-unit cost would be well within the state’s current R160 000 allocation per low-cost house.

On a walkabout in Cato Crest, Van Heerden spoke with Mzimela and his neighbours. Most said their shacks cost about R3 000 to build.

Most, like Duduzile Dlupha, are house-proud.

They have window boxes and vegetable gardens, doorbells and running water piped by them around the settlement. It’s stolen from council mainlines, as is the electricity, which snakes its way in dodgy connections from shacks to trees. Residents refer fearfully to the connections as nyoga-nyogas (snakes). Their bite is often fatal.

Dlupha shares her two-roomed home with two of her three children. A 32-year-old single mom, she is a supermarket cashier and built her house in three days. They have a fridge, stove, TV and running water. “This house is perfect,” she says. Her only complaint is that when it rains she has to set off with two pairs of shoes, one for traversing the mud and a clean pair for work.

“The government goes to Umhlanga and gives everything to the rich people. So we have to do this by ourselves.” Mzimela says the self-help approach to housing should be non-negotiable. “This is where people live and have made their homes. Each family must have a house they love. They know what they want and can satisfy themselves. Building contractors cannot understand how I want my house.

This is about humanity.”

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CELEBRATING SELF-BUILD

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ndrew Makin, an award-winning architect who divides his time between Mexico City and Durban, says “assisted self-build” construction is one of the only viable ways to deliver housing on the scale South Africa needs.

The approach is a fundamental part of life in Latin America and enables poor people to live close to work opportunities in cities and reduce transport and social service costs.

From London to Cairo, self-built settlements were pretty much how most existing formal cities began, says Makin.

Self-builds are “physical projections, or mirrors, of the complex social, economic and cultural networks of the people who make them - they directly and exactly represent their realities”.

Formally planned and delivered cities can be super-productive, says Makin, but they don’t tend to achieve the benefits of the city developed in direct response to the evolving realities of the people who live in and use it.

For self-build to work, he says, it must involve professionals or highly experienced lay people who can add value to the selfbuilder’s process of defining and enabling the fulfillment of his needs.

“They can assist, for example, by advising on topological choices to best ensure the incremental extendability of the initial construction. That your ‘house’ in the city has the potential to be an income generator and accommodate a wide range of family structures is a fundamental economic and social necessity.”

Makin says in places like Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, or large parts of Mexico City, this knowledge is embedded within the community.

“They also know how high they can go with 20

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what size columns, on what kind of topography.

They know what slab thicknesses are required for what spans, and how much steel reinforcing should go into them. They know how to reticulate water, sewage and electricity. This is because there is a network of skilled artisans within these communities, by day and week perhaps working for the formal sector, but by night and weekends working within the informal.”

And self-building in the informal settlements could work in the inner city or Durban’s CBD, Makin says.

“If we’re going to move from easy theory to reality, the main question is, who builds, in what conditions and for what purpose?”

Makin says the public sector builds for public good rather than profit but hasn’t built anything of major impact in the inner city, either during apartheid or the democratic period.

“Perhaps the exceptions are the ICC, the Warwick markets and the beach promenade upgrade, all of which are super-catalytic in their own rights, and the stadium, which is not.”

If we’re going to move from easy theory to reality, the main question is who builds, in what conditions and for what purpose?

The government has major land holdings in the city and could invest in catalytic projects that integrate into the fabric of the city and build an increasingly productive economic system.

Makin says that on some public-owned land the state could encourage self-build by constructing concrete frames and putting in bulk services, letting people build their own homes within these spaces, combining formal and informal efficiencies.

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e asked Ruben Reddy, president of the KwaZuluNatal Institute of Architects, how the city should reinvent affordable living spaces.

Who has the wow factor in dealing with city migration and affordable housing?

Chilean Alejandro Aravena, who won the 2016 Pritzker Award, the architectural equivalent of the Nobel Prize.

What is his design ethos and why does it work?

Looking at his work over 20 years, you are struck by the elegance and simplicity of his solutions – engaging with communities, but at the same time taking responsibility for

We need to begin to recognise that we are creating destructive environments that people would never protect because they are soulless sound planning and the delightful appearance of the spaces, both internal and external.

He takes the same care with large or small commissions, for rich and poor alike.

Aravena draws solutions from favelas (Brazilian shack towns). Do you think we can find answers in our shack settlements?

Yes. Walking through one in Rio, you are exposed to the scale of poverty and the lack of services, but at the same time to the quality of the public spaces outside the homes. The sense of space protection and livability is obvious. They are arranged so that a few households can access this common space.

The alleys are the piazzas and squares of classic cities. These spaces should get designers thinking differently when planning our new, dense-living environments.

Our RDP houses are horrible and soulless, situated on the city’s outskirts.

Why did it go so wrong?

We need to re-examine how we have given tacit acceptance to the notion that any building that extends beyond ground floor

HOUSING

will never work for poor people. Somehow we need to engage with communities around the benefits of multi-level living environments that the public space becomes as important as the individual internal spaces for a more vibrant living environment. Services like roads, and utilities like water, would be more affordable and accessible to many. I guess we need to convince the politicians first.

Aravena seems evangelical about simplicity and synthesis. What does this mean in the design of affordable housing?

He advocated building “half a house” and letting low-income dwellers build the other half at their own cost, with their own materials and in their own time.

Can this work in Durban and, if so, what will the challenges be?

Self-help is not new to the South African poor. They have been doing it for decades.

What needs to happen is political support and for politicians to not only do the quantitative analysis during election times, budget speeches or State of the Nation addresses, but also begin to recognise that we are creating destructive environments that people would never protect because they are soulless.

There is no opportunity for expressing individuality, which means there is no contribution to a vibrant living fabric. It’s this idea of individuality and vibrancy through affordability that Aravena pronounces on.

That is how human settlements are borne out - not just through housing.

What’s the best example of inner-city densification that you have seen, and can it work in Durban?

South American examples are probably the best: Curitiba for its public transport, Chile for its livable human environments. In Medellin, Colombia, they designed out crime through sound community interventions and the development of public buildings and public spaces. Designers joined communities with cable cars across valleys, linking communities separated by drug wars. These places have turned the corner. We need to try some of these solutions if we are to build safe and comfortable communities.

T

here was a fair bit of scepticism in mid-2014 when ex-Durbanite Jonathan Liebmann, enfant terrible of the Joburg CBD property scene, announced ambitious plans to help revitalise the city centre of his home town.

It wasn’t that he didn’t have a track record.

Although barely 30 at the time, Liebmann, at the helm of property development company Propertuity, was already being hailed a wunderkind for his role in transforming Maboneng, a run-down inner-city area, into a vibey, sought-after precinct of pavement cafes, loft apartments, chic shops and airy offices.

But Durban is different, the cynics warned, pointing to a string of failed urban-improvement schemes.

Eighteen months later, it’s probably too early to say who’s right, but the progress seems to be leaning in Liebmann’s favour.

Propertuity’s debut development, 8 Morrison Street, a former warehouse near the beachfront, has been transformed into 36 office pods housing start-ups, entrepreneurs and freelancers.

Pixley House, a former office block at 396 Dr Pixley Kaseme (formerly West Street), is being converted into 150 apartments.

“This is our first residential project and it’ll mark a huge milestone for us. One of my passions is to encourage people to come back to live in the city centre,” says Liebmann.

Closer to the sea, at 332 Dr Pixley Kaseme Street, the first phase of Pioneer Place is occupied by about 150 fashion designers. Phase two of the refurbishment of this once run-down office block will be completed in the next four months.

Two buildings down, 320 Pixley is also proceeding apace, with 120 businesses already occupying its office and commercial space.

Nearby, 6 Durban Club Place is already fully tenanted, mainly by law professionals.

Ambassador House at 61 Monty Naicker Street, previously home to a backpackers’ lodge, is being converted into 60 “boutique offices”, and a ground-floor conversion to retail will cater to the International Convention Centre across the road.

The transformation of this 1930s-era building is a joint venture between Liebmann’s company and Ndabo Langa, architect and founder of jazz lounge The Chairman.

Other deals are in the pipeline, says Liebmann, including several in partnership with Delta Property Fund. The Johannesburg-based group, headed by another ex-Durbanite, Sandile Nomvete, has a portfolio of more than 100 properties countrywide, valued at close to R10billion – R500-million of this reportedly in the Durban CBD. Liebmann says he’s more than happy with how things are progressing in Durban and now splits his time equally between the highveld and the coast.

“Yes, the Durban market is different from Joburg’s. But having lived in both cities, I think I have a pretty good handle on the dynamics of each. And I also have a team of extremely talented and enthusiastic professionals working with me.”

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DOING WHAT COMES NATURALLY

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urning trash into treasure is one thing. Turning trash into houses, which is what Chris Whyte has done, is something else entirely.

Whyte is managing director of Durban NGO USE-IT, which over the past seven years has turned rubble and soil into building blocks, old computer parts into gutters and used plastic into roof tiles.

A model house, constructed entirely from waste, is located at Giba Gorge near Mariannhill. It’s sturdy, good to look at and functional – indeed, it has housed a happy tenant since its construction in 2011.

USE-IT opened in 2009. Its vision was to divert rubbish from landfills. Trained as a geologist, Whyte got involved in recycling when he was chairman of City Affairs in Pietermaritzburg and wood waste was an issue. “The municipality was about to increase the landfill rates for wood, so I started looking at alternatives to dumping at landfill. The more I looked, the more excited I got.”

Waste costs a fortune, says Whyte, and South Africa is running out of dumping space.

“We take 108 million tons of waste annually and put it into 2 000 landfill dumps. We should be recycling the majority of that.

“It costs Durban alone between R600-million and R700-million a year to dump waste in landfills. And at least 70% of this is recyclable.”

Diverting from landfill not only saves money, it creates jobs. To date USE-IT has helped to provide employment for 2 330 people.

One of USE-IT’s most successful projects is its compressed earth blocks, which Whyte says are the solution to the housing crisis. Made from 25% builders’ waste, 5% cement stabilising agent and 70% waste soil, the blocks are SABS compliant, three times stronger and 10 times 22

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more thermally efficient than concrete, with 5% the environmental footprint. They are also easier to build with – with no need for cement mortar, the bonding time is reduced and the building process accelerated.

A recent independent carbon assessment showed USE-IT structures have a carbon emission footprint of 251kg/m², less than a third of concrete block construction, saving 20 tons of CO2 emissions per 40m² build.

The product is also the first and only five star-rated EcoStandard Certified product in Africa.

The “RamBricks”, as they are called, are being used to build a range of dwellings in KwaZulu-Natal, including an orphanage in Shongweni for New Horizons Trust, a recycling centre in Howick for Wildlands Conservation Trust, demonstration houses in Pietermaritzburg and Durban, and site offices and workshops. The compressed earth blocks will also be used in a R30-million waste-beneficiation centre in Hammarsdale.

It costs Durban between R600-million and R700-million a year to dump waste in landfills. At least 70% of this is recyclable According to Whyte, the amount of rubble and waste soil that Durban throws away could manufacture enough blocks to build more than 100 000 houses a year. “We throw it away in a hole at huge cost, then mine sand out of our rivers and then pay to transport it in order to build. It is absolute madness. Durban’s Cornubia development alone, designed for 28 000 housing units, will be landfilling enough waste soil in its second phase to build 165 000 houses.

We need to change the way we do things.”

hen Jonathan Edkins was eThekwini’s city architect he tried to get staff to adopt principles of “biomimicry”, where innovation looks to nature for sustainable solutions – the idea being that “animals, plants, and microbes are the consummate engineers. After billions of years of research and development, failures are fossils, and what surrounds us is the secret to survival.”

Edkins says bureaucracies tend to defer to politicians or follow the traditional line in city planning, which means the car reigns supreme.

Now in private practice, Edkins is driving a project in the North Bay precinct, the harbour area from the Point to the sugar terminals.

He wants to use natural systems to deal with the challenges of foul water run-off, air pollution, precinct degradation, pedestrian compromise, unsustainable transportation, crime and social disintegration.

A biomimicry system has been conceptualised, with the whole precinct seen as a natural coastal forest, incorporating layers of supporting and inter-related surface and below-ground elements, filtering roots, retention systems, solar collecting canopies, salt and humidity catchers, and biodiversity capable of transforming waste products into useful elements within a closed loop system.

Human movement and occupation within this precinct needs to be in carefully carved out spaces within the “coastal forest”.

Edkins says the concept has massive potential for recreational, commercial and economic development at the bay’s edge.

The key to a sustainable and resilient precinct lies in the change in thinking, towards design genesis in natural systems, which reinforce the local ecology, rather than imposing hard edged and hard nosed commercial development. A holistic approach, taking into account social and environmental imperatives, will lead to a healthier and more resilient inner city, with benefits for port and city business, as well as for inner city residents.

HOUSING

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he eThekwini Municipality says it is seeing a “rapid influx of people from rural areas, few of whom have the means to build or buy formal houses in the city�.

The priority is to upgrade informal settlements, and while not many people believe the city council on this, it says each shack in the city is numbered and the names of residents recorded. eThekwini says the upgrade of shacklands is prioritised according to where the settlements are and how close they are to public transport, bulk infrastructure, and social and economic facilities.

Settlements that are unlikely to be upgraded in the short term are provided with interim services, including ablution blocks with water and sanitation services, standpipes for potable

water, a basic road network and footpaths, with associated storm-water controls and electricity connections.

The city says it has embarked on an alternative technology initiative, using different service providers to investigate alternative construction methods. However, at the time of going to print it had not supplied any details.

The cost of building a low-cost house varies, the city says, according to geotechnical conditions, but is capped by a government subsidy of about R160 000 per unit, including connection to services.

The city says it has embarked on a technology initiative to investigate alternative construction methods

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IT’S LEAP YEAR 24

KZN LIFE | FEBRUARY 2016

ADVENTURE

CEBO NZAMA AND NKOSI CELE

If you’re in need of a natural high, the spectacular Oribi Gorge offers several ways to become the boldest swinger in town, writes Devon Charles PHOTOGRAPHY WARREN VAN RENSBURG

T

he middle-aged chap climbed stoically down the metal ladder, his short pants sticking awkwardly out of the body harness. Minutes earlier he had joked with onlookers about his fear of heights. But as he inched closer to the 165m drop his fixed smile looked madly incongruous on his ashen face.

Standing on the edge he was a picture of unmasked terror, and as 23-year-old jumpmaster Nkosi Cele pushed him off, he clutched back wildly.

But it was too late. He was free-falling through Oribi Gorge. The three seconds that it takes before the ropes and cables arrest the fall seems like three minutes. It’s supremely still, but for the whoosh of the ropes as they cut through the air, eventually dangling you above one of KwaZulu-Natal’s most picturesque nature reserves.

Oribi is a hidden gem on the South Coast.

You turn inland at Port Shepstone, but before you start the climb up to Harding and Ixopo, you turn right again into the majestic gorge.

Luke Williamson runs the highest gorge swing in the world. It has attracted its fair share of adrenaline junkies in the 14 years since the cables were rigged up across the gorge. He says about 50 000 people have made the jump. “When we’ve pulled them back up from the bottom of the gorge they say it is better than sex. I say they must be doing something wrong, but it is definitely the best thing you can do with your clothes on.

You just free-fall and then suddenly the rope catches you and you’re swinging.”

There’s no age limit to jump, nor weight limit.

Cele has been a jumpmaster for a few years

and in that time he’s hurled himself off the edge about 1 000 times. When his dad heard he was joining his brother, who also worked at the gorge, he said, “be careful boy, make sure your rope is always tied tight”.

Cele says jumping is “the best feeling. It’s like a dream. When I did it the first time I realised I had wanted to do this my whole life, I just didn’t know it. Your feet shake, your legs wobble. The adrenaline lasts for days.

“The guys are brave at first and then they get to the edge and they become like a small child. I tell them, ‘come, you can do it, once you jump off it’s amazing’.

“The best jumper was the comedian, Jeremy Atkins. He jumped off like Superman, with his arm out.

I realised I had wanted to do this my whole life. Your feet shake, your legs wobble. The adrenaline lasts for days “My worst is when people clench up. They need to jump out and enjoy the experience. I think it is scarier for them if they close their eyes and are all bunched up.

“I find the women are braver than the men.”

Williamson chips in: “Yeah, the guys scream like girls and the women swear like sailors.”

You can’t really see the tensioned cables at Lake Eland, a reserve at Oribi, but the resort boasts the longest and highest ziplines in Africa.

You only know if somebody is whizzing 650m across the gorge if you see a helmeted body in the distance or hear the “zzzzzzzz” of the zip line.

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carefully integrated into the landscape. At the highest point a zipline traveller will be 300m high, taking in breathtaking views. There are 14 slides and a guide travels ahead of each visitor on the two-hour journey.

Eland marketing manager Shona Lawson says the zip has been over-engineered, with three strands connecting each guest to the cable. For most it is a gentle ride above a canopy of trees, about the same height as the vultures as they start to catch thermals.

There is an extreme ride, a 1km kamikaze gig that sees you reach speeds of more than 100km/h.

The adventure ride is one of a basket of offerings at the resort, which has safe picnic spots and plentiful wildlife, including the indigenous (and shy) Oribi buck and blesbok, zebra, wildebeest, giraffe and eland.

MBALI DLAMINI IS A DIMINUTIVE 25-YEAR-OLD GUIDE AT LAKE ELAND. She was a waitress at the resort until she had a chance to try out the rides.

“I was scared until I realised you can’t fall off. This thing takes 18 tons so it won’t break any time soon. You can slow yourself down.

Actually, you can bring yourself to a stop.

Sometimes people get stuck in the middle of the ride and we shout to them that it is okay

THE WILD FIVE THE SWING The Wild Gorge swing, the highest swing in the world, is at the top of Lehr’s waterfall. Step off the edge of the waterfall to swing 165m into the gaping depths of the gorge. Unlike a bungee, where you are strapped by the ankles, swing participants wear full-body harnesses.

THE SLIDE The zipline, 165m above the treetops, slides along a cable that spans the gorge. Participants, fitted with a full-body harness, get a bird’s eye view of Lehr’s waterfall and Baboon’s Castle.

ABSEILING Abseil down a 110m cliff face alongside Lehr’s waterfall. The first 45m is a traditional cliff abseil with your feet against the cliff. The remaining 65m is a free abseil. Beginners are given instructions by qualified trainers and are allowed to participate only once they have satisfied certain requirements.

WHITE-WATER RAFTING Take a trip down the rapids of the Umzimkulu River. After a safety briefing at the Oribi Gorge Hotel, participants are driven down a 4x4 trail to the drop-off point. Rates include

and we go to them, hand over hand, and pull them along.

“The worst ride I had was a middle-aged woman who had a panic attack and stopped herself halfway. She was crying and gasping for air, but I went to her and told her she was going to be fine and she was.

“Some people have a phobia about heights and they shouldn’t take the ride. I thought that if I could do it, anyone could, but it’s not like that.

I took a 92-year-old on her birthday.

At first she said all sorts of swear words, then she started screaming for joy

MBALI DLAMINI

“One fat guy in his 40s, yoh, he was so big he dipped into the water when he went over the dam, but he just laughed.

“I took a 92-year-old woman on her birthday. We did the ride in tandem. She was a cool old lady, with purple hair and makeup. At first she was scared and said all sorts of swear words, then she started screaming for joy and flapping her arms around. She was very happy at the end.

She said that’s ticked off the bucket list. I have taken a guy with one leg, blind people, paraplegics. They all love it.”

refreshments on the river.

Qualified guides are on hand throughout. Minimum of four people.

SUSPENSION BRIDGE The 84m bridge, 100m above the gorge floor, gives participants views of Lehr’s waterfall, BABOON’S CASTLE AND THE WORLD’S HIGHEST GORGE SWING. Contact Wild5 on 082 566 7424 or info@wild5adventures.co.za for more information and reservations Contact Lake Eland on 039 687 0395 or www.lakeeland.co.za SWINGING OUTSIDE THE SUBURBS - The Bloukrans Bridge in the Western Cape is the world’s highest commercial, natural bungee jump.

- Jumping from the Victoria Falls Bridge (111m) gives you double your money’s worth, as you swing between two countries, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

- At 321m above ground, the Royal Gorge Bridge, a suspension bridge in Colorado, US, is the world’s highest bungee jumping spot.

- The only night jump takes place 220m above ground in Switzerland at the Verzasca Dam.

According to healthresearchfunding.org, the risk of having an accident while bungee jumping is 1:500 000, which means your chances of dying are higher driving a car faster than 160km/h

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MOTORING

STEALTH BOMBER

Latest Range Rover is one for the sports fans

TEXT MASOOD BOOMGAARD PHOTOGRAPHY ROGAN WARD

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he Range Rover Sport is arguably the most desirable SUV in the world. It’s the one we all want in our garage. It’s the first choice for tenderpreneurs, mayors of bankrupt municipalities and overpaid footballers. It’s a vehicle that makes a statement: “I have arrived”. Its name alone implies style, opulence and the pinnacle of motor engineering.

There’s little not to like about the Range Rover Sport, as I discovered driving it around Durban. It’s a serious head-turner. The new shape, launched in 2014, offered style enhancements without shocking the brand loyalists too much. But when it’s fitted with the “stealth pack”, like my V8 diesel was, it’s one seriously sexy beast.

It’s said to be the most agile and most responsive yet, and the one I drove certainly packed a hell of a punch That pack features a set of exterior design enhancements, including satin-black grille and surround, fog-lamp bezels, bonnet and fender vents, upper-mirror caps and tailgate finisher.

There is also “stealth” finish on non-reflective headlamp and taillamp surfaces, with a choice of 21-inch nine-spoke, or 22-inch five-spoke wheels in satin-black finish.

If you’ve got the cash for a Range Rover Sport, you should probably throw in a little extra and get the stealth pack. It really

distinguishes the vehicle from others in the product line.

This generation Range Rover Sport is said to be the fastest, most agile and most responsive Land Rover yet, and the vehicle I drove certainly packed a hell of a punch. The first thing I noticed was how light the steering felt for a big car. By light I mean “sporty” - this car doesn’t just have brute power, it has the handling to go with it. And, boy, does it handle.

According to Land Rover, superior handling was a top priority for the company when developing the Range Rover Sport. The lightweight aluminium suspension is fully independent, with wide-spaced doublewishbones at the front and an advanced multilink layout at the rear.

The upgraded air-suspension system automatically varies between two ride heights, while the ground-breaking terrain response system automatically selects the most suitable program for the conditions.

Off-road capability has not been ignored. It retains class-leading wheel travel and provides exceptional wheel articulation of 546mm to deal with the toughest conditions.

It’s a car equally comfortable eating up highways at neck-breaking speed or hurtling through the Serengeti.

The Range Rover Sport, as you’d expect from a premium SUV, is packed with features. It’s got everything you’d want in a luxury ride and more. The only thing I didn’t like is that I had to return it to the dealership.

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HARRY’S BAR Award-winning mixologist Haroon Haffajee is the Diageo Reserve brand ambassador for KZN. He consults on the development of Harry’s cocktail programme and provides training for the bartenders and waitrons. “I have an intense passion for the hospitality sector and the spirits business – my job brings these two together in the best possible way.” He says Harry’s offers “the best tableside cocktail served in Durban”.

Harry’s Bar at Harvey’s restaurant, Umhlanga Centre, 189 Ridge Road

THE TIME TO TANQUERAY Place 50ml Tanqueray No TEN gin and 25ml elderflower syrup in a brandy glass and ignite. Infuse flame with orange oils while lit, then pour into a tumbler filled with ice.

Add 25ml fresh orange juice, 12.5ml fresh lemon juice and three dashes of Angostura bitters. Stir to finish.

I have an intense passion for the hospitality sector and the spirits business

BAR NONE Five of Durban’s most fabulous watering holes TEXT SHELLEY SEID PHOTOGRAPHY JACKIE CLAUSEN

CARIBE COLADA 50ml Ciroc Pineapple, 12.5ml Martini Bianco, 25ml Fabari Coconut Syrup, 25ml freshly squeezed lemon juice, 50ml freshly squeezed pineapple juice, pineapple atomiser, pineapple slice to garnish. Method: shake and fine-strain into glass coupe.

THE DUTCH Dean Spencer is general manager at The Dutch. What he loves about his work is the satisfaction it brings, “both in a new cocktail or drink creation and on the customers’ faces after trying it”. The Dutch, he says, is one of a kind, offering unique cocktails and live music: “You can’t go wrong.”

Corner Chartwell Drive and Lighthouse Road, Umhlanga 28

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FIVE BEST

OYSTER BOX HOTEL Douglas Shandu is head barman at the Oyster Box. “I have the greatest day when I suggest a drink to my guests without them looking at the menu and they end up loving it.” He describes the hotel’s Lighthouse Bar as the hottest rendezvous spot in the province for spectacular sunsets and sundowners.

2 Lighthouse Road, Umhlanga

I love the instant gratification you get from a happy customer

UMHLANGA SCHLING Add 50ml cane spirit, 25ml sugar syrup and two slices of crushed pineapple to the shaker and shake for 10 seconds. Add 12 mint leaves, clapped between your hands to release the aromas and prevent them from going bitter.

Place crushed ice in a hurricane cyclone glass, add the mixture and stir clockwise for 10 seconds. Fill glass with crushed ice and top up with 75ml mango juice. Garnish with a pineapple wedge.

I have the greatest day when I suggest a drink to my guests without them looking at the menu and they end up loving it

SIDE BAR George Louis Mthembu is the marketing manager and brand custodian at Side Bar. His role is to ensure that standards are maintained, internally and externally. “I love the instant gratification you get from a happy customer.” Side Bar, he says, is a space for urban thinkers, “connecting you to the city, the people and some great conversation”.

Side Bar, 200 Florida Road, Morningside PIMMS AND LEMONADE Served with ice and garnished with slices of orange and cucumber.

LUCKY SHAKER Michael Stephenson is the owner and bartender at Lucky Shaker.

“I get the opportunity to create, learn, educate and offer genuine hospitality every day.” He describes the bar as “an oasis for those in search of a better experience”.

5 Park Lane, Parkside, Umhlanga PARADISO Mix 37.5ml Aperol, 60ml fresh ruby grapefruit juice and 20ml honey syrup.

Shake the ingredients with ice and strain into a large, ice-filled wine glass. Top with 75ml dry sparkling wine. Garnish with grapefruit slice and mint sprig.

FEBRUARY 2016

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KZN LIFE

29

CELEBRITY

CLOSE TO HOME Durban has it all for actress and TV presenter Jailoshini Naidoo TEXT SHELLEY SEID PHOTOGRAPHY VAL ADAMSON

30

KZN LIFE | FEBRUARY 2016

J

ailoshini Naidoo is one of Durban’s most talented dramatic artists. Actress, comedian, TV presenter and compere, she is as warm as the city she comes from.

I have wonderful memories of my childhood in Chatsworth, walking to school on hot summer days and picking fruit from the neighbours’ trees.

I particularly remember the mulberries and the green mangoes, which we ate with chilli powder and salt.

We didn’t have luxuries growing up, but we had a lot of love. We had so much to look forward to: dad driving us to town to see the Christmas lights, for example, and annual visits to the Boswell Wilkie circus.

Diwali in Chatsworth was a thrill. We had a special bath and got new clothes, and then spent the day delivering our mother’s baked goodies to the neighbours. That evening, the whole road would light prayer lamps.

As a child I was quiet, shy and reserved. Primary school was horrendous - I was really timid - but things changed when I got to high school and met the drama teacher, Mrs Somasundran. She nurtured all the kids who were interested in drama and entered us into eisteddfods. I loved playing Lady Macbeth.

My first big foray on to the stage was in Standard 9, when I wrote, directed and starred in my own play for the school concert. It was a comedy called Father Talk Turkey.

As a teenager I hung out at the Palladium nightclub, in Sanlam Arcade and went to movies at the BP Centre in town.

If I need to chill I go to Spiga D’Oro in Morningside. I hang out with mates at Unity Bar and Grill on the Berea and for those special occasions I like Daruma on the beachfront and Café 1999 on the Berea.

Jogging along our beachfront, from Snake Park to uShaka or Suncoast to Blue Lagoon, inspires and invigorates me.

My favourite place to perform in Durban is the Playhouse. It’s the history of the place and the beauty of the various theatres, from the Opera to the Drama.

I’ve had many amazing moments in theatre.

At the Edge, a one-woman show in which I played 35 characters, and Jimbo, when I played a coloured hobo. It was thanks to this role that I got a job on Eastern Mosaic - the producer had seen me perform.

I have wonderful encounters with fans. Once, waiting to get off a plane, a man three rows behind me phoned his wife and said, “Jailoshini Naidoo is on the plane, do you want to say hello to her?” He proceeded to pass the phone down the aisle to me. His wife had seen my show the week before, so we had a little chat. Incidents like that make me smile – they come straight from the heart.

#GottaLuvKZN

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