Wanted magazine May 2022

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ED’S LETTER

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EDITOR.

Sometimes, a journey can be too memorable

Another for m of transportation, on a recent trip to Milan

“I stepped out of the vehicle, with a bright spotlight on my face, hands up to the heavens...

It was the longest five minutes of a young life that briefly flashed before my eyes”

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t was a few minutes to midnight, on the border of the Eastern Cape and Free State. I had driven these roads several times over the years — as a passenger en route to family holidays — and Aliwal North had never been anything to write home about, but tonight was different.

I was the driver and things were about to get colourful.

Driving into the town on the dimly lit main road, I hadn’t seen the levelcrossing sign — or the red traffic light — and flew over

the railway tracks, violently waking my passengers from their slumber. No sooner had my friends begun throwing every conceivable curse word at me than the dreaded blue lights appeared in my rearview mirror. Panic ensued.

You see, there were seven of us, packed tightly into a white rental VW Chico. We were on an 11-hour-plus drive from Grahamstown to Joburg, in a small hatchback that could scarcely handle four (five if you must) fully grown humans on a brief trip into town.

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Some in the car (not the driver) had been intoxicated since we’d set off from res, and we were overloaded to the extent that, relegated to the boot, fighting for space with our luggage, was our pal Loyal (yes, that was his name, although later in life he proved to be anything but.

That, however, is a story for the inaugural Wanted True Crime edition).

It was September vac and six of us had hitched a ride with Mindlos, a friend who was the chairperson of a student

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political organisation, on his way to a conference in Joburg.

Our plans, of the female and libation variety, had nothing to do with people who started their sentences with “Well, errrr”.

Back in the Chico, Loyal now lay flat in the boot to keep himself out of eyeshot.

We couldn’t allow the cops to get to the car, we would be arrested on the spot, I thought as I stepped out of the vehicle, with a bright spotlight on my face, hands up to the heavens.

As I walked towards the police

WA N T E D O N L I N E . C O . Z A

photography

Andrew Berry

van and the light moved from my face, I could see two officers — one in the driver’s seat and another outside the vehicle, with an R5 rifle pointed at me (I imagined he was aiming straight for my head). My hands went up even higher.

As I reached the driver, his buddy wouldn’t lower his weapon, even as I apologised profusely for jumping the red light, and produced my licence and student card. It was the longest five minutes of a young life that briefly flashed before my eyes.

They let us go, we dodged that bullet, and drove off slowly, in silence. There would be more drama along the way: getting lost, a protracted rental-car change, and a fight about food.

It was not the kind of journey Dr Wamuwi Mbao points to (on p. 20) when he talks about “the kind of road trip where you start off at one place, watch the light and the scenery change through the vista of your windshield, and emerge somewhere far off, with your car ticking away from a day’s drive”.

In this, the Travel Issue, we do not limit our transportation to cars, and fly around the world to New York, Milan, Geneva, and Dubai.

We explore the trends that will colour your travel endeavours for the foreseeable future and take a tour of all four corners of an African continent that’s ready, once again, to receive you in style and comfort, after our surreal two-year slumber.

IMAGE ANDREW BERRY

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Sussurro, Mozambique

20 An ode to the lost art of road-tripping

24 Come with us to New York, Geneva, Dubai, and Milan

30 North, south, east, or west — Africa is still the best

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Luxury villa rentals that come with an art-filled twist

Haute camping & foraged fine dining with The Field Kitchen

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IWC TOP GUN.

Pilot’s Watch Chronograph TOP GUN

inspired the high-contrast, purist design of this

Edition “Lake Tahoe”. Ref. 3891: Lake Tahoe

TOP GUN Chronograph in white ceramic. A styl-

is a training area used by pilots at the TOP

ish timepiece fitted with the IWC-manufactured

GUN aviation school. The stunning natural

69380 calibre, it makes an equally striking

beauty of the landscape, with its snow-capped

impression both inside and outside the cockpit.

Day & Date display · Stopwatch function with hours, minutes

mountain peaks and scarped rock faces,

IWC . ENGINEERING DREAMS . SINCE 1868 .

and seconds · Water-resistant 6 bar · Diameter 44.5 mm

IWC Schaffhausen, Switzerland · www.iwc.com

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IWC-manufactured 69380 calibre · 46-hour power reserve ·

WAT C H E S

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Cartier Privé Tank Chinoise, 39.5mm x 29.2mm, yellow gold

“The initiative demonstrates that collaboration is key, that we can set ambitious targets and leverage actions by working together. We have defined three pillars — to build climate resilience, preserve resources, and foster inclusiveness,” Julien Stervinou, head of the Sustainable Innovation Lab for Watches and Jewellery at Kering, explained during Watches & Wonders 2022 (W&W2022) in Geneva last month.

While members have set tangible targets, the initiative will support them to meet growing expectations of exemplary environmental, social, and ethical practices. A shake-up is overdue.

Even the Responsible Jewellery Council does not disclose information on certification, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW), and does not require members to publish audits, for example.

While all of Cartier’s business partners in the supply chain are monitored through a comprehensive audit programme established in 2007, in HRW’s The Hidden Cost of Jewelry report, most respondents, including Cartier, ranked only “moderate” for “taking some important steps towards responsible sourcing”. Hopefully, the new Initiative 2030 will see members strengthen their rankings in the near future.

Meanwhile, Cartier had also been busy creating an array of novelties for W&W2022.

It was difficult to choose a feature piece from a lineup that included the Masse Mystérieuse, new versions of the Pasha de Cartier, a playful Métiers d’Art-crafted version of my favourite Crash, and the sensational cushion-shaped Coussin de Cartier collection. To add to the celebratory spirit, I’m going with the 100th anniversary of the Tank Chinoise, which is so exquisitely acknowledged through the yellow-gold Privé novelty and its mysterious floating skeleton movement. With its black-and-red lacquered open-work dial it is like peering through a traditional Chinese window, revealing the manually wound, in-house calibre 9627 MC. Limited to 100 pieces. Also available in two platinum novelties, one set with 161 brilliantcut diamonds. POA, Cartier.com or 011 666 2800

IWC METAVERSE IWC’s new NFT project called the

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IWC Diamond Hand Club — a reference to

someone with a high risk tolerance, particularly in the cryptocurrency market — marks its first venture into Web3 (the decentralised web, based on blockchain

ANGELUS Angelus is a pioneering manufacturer of chronograph watches with characteristically large and legible counters. In the same spirit, the displays on the new Chronodate dials are imposing, structured, and three-dimensional. In celebration of the model’s 80th anniversary, this bold successor features counters and appliqués against a matte frosted dial, accentuating the effect of depth. Inside its 42.5mm titanium case, the in-house calibre A-500 drives the bicompax chronograph and peripheral date. Also available in gold with a blue dial. POA, angelus-watches.com

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technology), opening an immersive metaverse environment for a tokenised community.

The Club allows members to unlock unique and exclusive experiences in the virtual and physical worlds — the first of which was a live private concert with multi-award-winning composer Hans Zimmer during W&W2022.

IWC collaborated with architect Hani Rashid and leading Web3 solutions platform Arianee to bring the project to life. nft.iwc.com

HUBLOT There is nothing square about Hublot — well, until now, with the launch of its open-works 42mm Square Bang novelties, available in titanium and King Gold models with the option of ceramic bezels, and an allblack, full-ceramic model.

Inside is the round Unico 2 calibre HUB1280, designed for smaller chronographs like this. It’s a self-winding chronograph movement with flyback and has a power reserve of 70 hours.

Presented on a black rubber strap, the Square Bang is water-resistant to 100m. POA, hublot.com

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NEWS

IMAGES SUPPLIED

Quality time

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he watch you choose reflects your values and those of the manufacture, so consider the journey of its individual parts. In 2019, Global Fashion Agenda reported that, by 2030, the global apparel and footwear industry would have grown by an estimated 81%, placing an unprecedented strain on scarce resources. The luxury watch and jewellery sectors do not contribute nearly as much to the environmental crisis as fast fashion does, but, with the sector’s combined business worth of over US$329-billion in 2019 (according to McKinsey), the purveyors of high style could shift the mindset and values of aspirant consumers from the top.

In the face of customers’ growing awareness, sustainability can no longer be a mere add-on or differentiator, but instead must be embedded throughout an organisation. A paradigm shift also requires a proactive approach with solutions that can be implemented at scale.

The global Watch & Jewellery Initiative 2030 was created in October last year by Cartier and Kering (Gucci Watches, Boucheron, Pomellato, DoDo, Qeelin) and its growing membership includes Chanel Horlogerie et Joaillerie, Montblanc, Rosy Blue, and Swarovski.

COLUMN.

Gary Cotterell is Wanted’s Watch Editor

Cartier takes the high road to sustainability

Gary Cotterell

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here’s true magic in a physical gathering that reinforces our connections with time and timepieces.

After two years of digital, Watches & Wonders 2022 (W&W2022) in Geneva was a reminder that nothing can replace or replicate the joy of meeting people in person and experiencing a watch on your wrist. The appreciation of a watch’s quality materials and finishes, its weight and finer detailing, and its heartbeat can never be replaced by an NFT. And while my diary filled up fast with presentations and formal interviews, it was often in the unexpected, in-between encounters with complete strangers that I found the most insights.

Luxury is not about fleeting trends, but the industry is certainly responsible for establishing a few. Innovation and creativity are at the heart of the watch industry and, even in times that call for a little austerity and conscious consumption, there are ongoing refinement, fresh ideas, and, of course, fantasy. There was plenty to highlight the industry’s great prowess as an innovator and the purveyor of dreams.

With elegant and bold statements in dial designs, and the mechanical wonder of high complications, brands captured this renewed energy — and that of the approaching European summer, when it is hoped their products will be worn in full view.

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SUSTAINABILITY Sustainability has definitely been on the agenda at virtual fairs for the past two years, but it was clear this year that the time for real action from the industry had arrived.

There is something about meeting faceto-face that tends to seal a deal. With topics ranging from new initiatives to innovation and design, transparency, ethical sourcing, and circularity, all panel discussions at W&W2022 addressed the pressing socio-ecological crisis while revealing the promise of a more “sustainable luxury” future.

This was evidenced in the global Watch & Jewellery Initiative 2030, the rethinking around packaging, and technology’s role in certification processes to ensure chain of custody in ethical

material sourcing.

Recycled or upcycled materials might be perceived as less noble than pure platinum or gold, but through creativity and storytelling the industry can interpret what makes these interesting and desirable.

Look at Panerai’s eSteel™, for example, where there is no compromise on quality.

The metaverse also looks set to play a role in the postpandemic industry trying to bounce back from revenue declines of 25-30%, according to McKinsey estimates. Key elements are collaboration, accountability, transparency, trust, and common goals in a collective effort to tackle environmental and social issues, implemented at scale. This was also seen in IWC’s “reusable” booth conceived by architect Hani Rashid, and the general absence of wasteful printed materials and gifting.

JOIE DE VIVRE Watches & Wonders 2022 brings back the human touch

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Gary Cotterell

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NEW NORMAL — SPORTS LUXE Reflecting contemporary lifestyles, the luxury sports segment continues to grow, with plenty of covetable, chic releases joining an already exciting lineup of unique designs. Many take their inspiration from the 1970s, with a contemporary turn on the rule-breaking watch styles of that era, quickly filling the gap that a certain watch may have left in the market. With watches featuring noble metals or practical stainless steel, elegantly integrated bracelets, unique dials, and sleek profiles, there are exclusive offerings and more accessible everyday wearers among the spread this year. Among these are the Speake-Marin Ripples, Vacheron Constantin Historiques 222, A Lange & Söhne Odysseus, Tudor Black Bay Pro GMT, Baume & Mercier Riviera, Chopard Alpine Eagle Flying Tourbillon, and Bulgari Octo Finissimo Anniversary Edition.

IMAGES SUPPLIED

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WAT C H E S & WO N D E R S

GREEN WITH ENVY Gradient and fumé, textured and engraved — brands have ventured deeper into an Amazon of greens, expanding on a trend established last year for dials, bezels, case materials, and straps. The most expressive this year is the H. Moser Endeavour Centre Seconds Concept Lime Green fumé dial, but glorious green can also be found in the Oris Aquis Date Calibre 400, Panerai Submersible 44mm, Rolex Datejust floral dial, Arnold & Son Ultrathin Tourbillon Cosmic Grené, IWC Pilot’s Watch, Chronograph Top Gun Edition Woodlands, and Van Cleef & Arpels Lady Arpels Heures Florales Cerisier.

GRAND GESTURES A most welcome newcomer to the fair, Grand Seiko set the perfect beat with its captivating Kodo Constant-Force Tourbillon, the brand’s first mechanical high complication and a first for horology. There were bedazzling crystal pieces at Chanel (Chanel J12 X-Ray Red Edition) and Hublot, while the jaw-dropping full-carbon and lab-grown diamond Carrera Plasma at TAG Heuer truly tapped into its avant-garde side.

Chopard rang out its celebration of 25 years of the L.U.C manufacture with a threesome, including the magical Full Strike Sapphire.

This minute repeater featuring a translucent sapphire case offers an unobstructed view of one of Chopard’s most sophisticated calibres, the 533-part L.U.C

08.01-L movement, which sounds out with “crystal clarity” the hours, quarters, and minutes on transparent sapphire crystal gongs.

Jaeger-LeCoultre brought a smile to everyone’s dial with its Rendez-Vous Dazzling Star and its little shooting star that appears randomly throughout the day. Patek Philippe’s gorgeous Annual Calendar Travel Time Ref. 5326G features a textured dial inspired by vintage camera cases. At a side event, but no less of a show, Bulgari celebrated the 10th anniversary of its architectureinspired Octo collection, which has already won over 60 awards.

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A notable downsizing in new releases... highlights a shift to unisex sizing and styles

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THE RISE OF THE REDS Consumer trends prove that in tough times the perfect lip can lift the spirits — a weapon to boost your confidence — and there was just enough of Coco Chanel’s favourite lipstick colour to hint at the rise of red, which made a positive appearance at Cartier (of course), particularly in its Chinese-inspired Privé Tank Chinoise (see Quality Time) and Tank Louis Cartier, the Baume & Mercier Classima, and Chanel’s Boy·Friend Skeleton.

A BLUES NOTE This year also revealed just how versatile ever-popular blue can be. Et voilà, in magnificent dials presented in smoky or astral gradients, icy glacial lode, aventurine, and bursts of delicate Azzurro blossoms. Memorable examples include the Czapek Antarctique Frozen Star S,

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Montblanc 1858 Iced Sea Auto Diver, Cartier Santos, Vacheron Constantin Patrimony, and Ulysse Nardin Freak X Aventurine.

TRAVEL ITINERARY With travel back on the agenda, you have the option to go back in time or fly ahead on a new solo adventure. As the world slowly opens up again and we can venture beyond the backyard, there are new pilots, world timers, and GMT novelties to accompany us as we take flight. And when it’s time to fulfil those long-harboured escapist dreams, we can look to IWC’s Pilot’s novelties, the updated Rolex Air-King, the elegant Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda PF GMT Rattrapante 40mm, the Tudor Black Bay Pro GMT, the Grand Seiko Evolution 9 Spring Drive GMT, and the Oris ProPilot X Calibre 400.

DOWNSIZING Whether it’s just about being more discreet and practical, as called for by this moment in our history, or influenced by the secondary-market growth in vintage watches, there’s a notable downsizing in new releases. This also highlights the interest from female consumers in mechanical watches and a shift to unisex sizing and styles to suit all. The Zenith Chronomaster Open 39.5mm is a perfect example. Even brands such as Hublot and Panerai, known for making bolder statements, have downsized their latest novelties.

For a full list and images of examples, visit wantedonline.com

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1. Panerai Submersible QuarantaQuattro eSteel™ 2. Bulgari Octo Finissimo Anniversary Edition 3. Tudor Black Bay Pro GMT 4. Grand Seiko Kodo Constant-Force Tourbillon 5. Jaeger-LeCoultre Rendez-Vous Dazzling Star 6. Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda PF GMT 7. Chanel Boy·Friend Skeleton 8. Montblanc 1858 Iced Sea Auto Diver 9. Zenith Chronomaster Open

OBJET

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production

Sahil Harilal

photographer

Judd van Rensburg

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STOCKIST GUCCI 010 442 5252

Perks of being a wildflower

The second collection in the partnership continues to pursue intrepid reflection and exploration The North Face x Gucci puffer jacket, R39 100, Gucci

Giannis Antetokounmpo

JEWELS

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3. Messika We’ve been huge fans of Messika ever since the inspiring talent that is Valérie Messika launched her new luxury jewellery brand in 2005. Her femaledriven company has always created easy-towear luxury jewellery with enough rockchick chic to make it a favourite with some of the coolest women in the world. The Lucky Move collection

text

Jacquie Myburgh Chemaly & Ingrid Wood

1. Louis Vuitton Every top jewellery brand boasts a fashion jewellery range these days.

The LV Volt Upside Down Play collection

is a riot of cocktail rings, bracelets, and necklaces, fitted with 11 different coloured faces and — always — dancing diamonds.

Victoria Wharf, V&A Waterfront, Cape Town, and Hyde Park Corner, Joburg

LET’S P LAY

has taken those iconic initials and

T h e r e ’s a n a i r o f f u n i n t h e w o r l d o f f i n e jewellery this year, and why not? reinvented them yet again, with a striking clasp on a bracelet that gives a contemporary take on the luxury logo.

Sandton City Shopping Centre, Joburg, and Victoria Wharf, V&A Waterfront, Cape Town

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4. Bulgari Can the Serpenti get any better? The evolution of Bulgari’s iconic snake watch has been a delight to behold, ever since Elizabeth Taylor wore one on-screen in the 1960s. This year’s launch is in another league altogether, with Bulgari revealing four new Serpenti “secret” watches — the Serpenti Misteriosi. Not only do these

treasures set a new benchmark in terms of luxurious highjewellery watches but they also hide, inside the serpent’s mouth, one of the smallest movements in mechanical watchmaking history.

It measures just 12.3mm x 2.5mm and is revealed by pushing down the snake’s forked tongue.

Diamond Walk, Sandton City Shopping Mall, Joburg

IMAGES SUPPLIED

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2. Statement style The working studio of owners Geraldine Fenn and Eric Loubser, Tinsel is also a platform for original handmade jewellery by local designers. “In a world overflowing with mass-produced sameness, we like to make jewellery for the unique individual,” says Fenn. Expect pieces that not only exemplify technical skill but also have personality and make a style statement. Solid 9kt yellow-gold ring with a round brilliantcut chrome tourmaline, R28 500, Geraldine Fenn at Tinsel Gallery, tinselgallery.com

STYLE NOTES

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Nokubonga Thusi

SOLITARY /

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hen Gucci comes knocking, you answer — and for Cinthia Sifa Mulanga, that knock came in the form of an exciting artistic collaboration with the Italian fashion house to celebrate one of its iconic bags.

Gucci commissioned the 25-year-old artist, who rose to fame during the pandemic with her arresting and relatable depictions of Black female subjects trapped in interior spaces, to create a one-of-a-kind artwork. The final piece, called Moment, not only is created in Mulanga’s signature mixed-media style but also features Gucci’s Diana tote bag, made famous by Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1991.

IMAGES EVA AL DESNUDO, GUCCI/LATITUDES AND SUPPLIED

INSPIRATION

gucci.com/latitudes.online

MOTHERBOARD REBOOT

Cinthia Sifa Mulanga, Moment

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Viviers, the local fashion house founded by Lezanne Viviers, merges digital constructs with conscious design in its latest collection, Motherboard 2O22, which celebrates the brand’s third birthday and its new studio and retail space. The glasshouse space, designed by Roelof Petrus van Wyk and Thomashoff + Partner Architects, is the perfect backdrop for the new collection. Staying true to the brand’s circular design ethos, Motherboard is a display of eco-consciousness with the use of upcycled e-waste found around the city. viviersstudio.com

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f you’re hankering after a new fragrance to snuggle up to, look no further than this heady, resplendent masterpiece. Any one of Molton Brown’s collectible, refillable glass bottles with the signature spherical resin cap would look majestic on your vanity, but this unique scent brings together the Rolls-Royce of fragrance ingredients with notes of saffron, black tea, rose, and oudh. As it is heady in olfactory nature you would expect overpowering notes on the nose, but the resinous woody scent profile surprises with unexpected hits of honeyed freshness in the opening and notes of davana, bergamot, cardamom, and black pepper. Molton Brown Mesmerising Oudh Accord & Gold EDP 100ml, R2 875

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light work ith autumn on our doorsteps, lean into skincare that will work harder to keep your W skin looking luminous. Dermalogica’s Biolumin-C Gel Moisturizer has just received top honours in the skincare category of the ARC Next Big Thing Awards, and its silky, lightweight gel formula, powered with a brightening vitamin C complex, glides over the skin. The result? An incredible glow, and a more radiant complexion. Dermalogica

Biolumin-C Gel Moisturizer 50ml, R1 290

TAG HEUER BOUTIQUE � � � ��� � � � � � �� � � � � � � � � �� � � � Ŝ ��� ����� � � � � � � �� � � � � � � � � � � � �� � � �� � � � ��� � � � � � � �� �� � �

DOWN TO BUSINESS

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Lukanyo Mnyanda

were as friendly as the people there, we would have very little reason to complain.

The irony is that I got to know them so well because I had to make a few visits, as the online process you have to go through before you visit to have your pictures taken isn’t the easiest to navigate. The language can be a bit vague — such as the front section that implies that you need to

Lukanyo Mnyanda is the editor of Business Day

COLUMN.

Singing those old passport blues… and playing it by ear at the bank’s home affairs branch

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hen was the last time you read something positive about home affairs?

As we prepared this travel edition of Wanted, I remembered reading a tweet by entrepreneur Michael Jordaan about his travails queueing for a passport at home affairs.

I wondered at the time if FNB CEOs didn’t get lifetime

cheque accounts, and why he wasn’t doing this at his local branch. The home affairs branch at my local Standard Bank is possibly the only reason I still have my account.

With all the troubles I’ve had with home affairs and passports in the past, one thing for sure is that I won’t be complaining about the officials at the Killarney branch in Joburg. In fact, if everyone who worked for the government

provide a signature but without the section being clickable.

It took a visit to the branch to work out that this step wasn’t necessary. Same with trying to pay. By the third visit, we were all on friendly terms. Once it was done, it took all of two days for my passport to arrive, and I was set for London. And this wasn’t a freak occurrence.

A friend whose passport had long since expired, with no need to renew it owing to Covid restrictions, was also planning to visit family overseas. She had the same trouble navigating the online application, but, with the benefit of my experience, she knew, for example, to ignore the email that says you must bring a barcoded confirmation letter (it doesn’t exist).

Once through that, she was also a happy home affairs customer with a shiny new passport in her hands a couple of days later.

One thing that is noticeable in this (hopefully) post-Covid world is that direct flights to the UK are a lot more expensive than I remember. After two years

of disruptions and the closure of busy routes, the airlines have to catch up with their revenue, and, judging by how full the mid-week flight was, customers aren’t protesting.

The travel experience itself was rather strange, but for good reasons this time. It was barely three months since my previous trip to the UK, an unpleasant experience that required PCR tests and a hotel quarantine on the other side.

That had become normal, so it felt a bit strange when I checked in for the flight and there was no request to see Covid test results. Vaccine certificate? No need.

I told the person checking passports how strange it was that the British authorities, who had imposed two travel bans on South Africa in 2021, now didn’t have any requirements at all. “They are done,” he said. Until I was seated on the plane, I had this nagging feeling that wouldn’t go away that, along the way, someone would come and say, “Gotcha, you do need that Covid test result after all.”

It indeed is a world of extremes, and the red listing of just five months ago feels like a distant nightmare. I’m definitely glad they are done, and long may it last.

Alexis Preller, Birth of Venus R 1 500 000 - 2 000 000

Modern, Post-War and Contemporary Art LIVE VIRTUAL AUCTION Johannesburg | 16 & 17 May 2022 +27 11 728 8246 | jhb@straussart.co.za www.straussart.co.za

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T R AV E L C O N V E R S A T I O N S

Travel mavens Wrenelle Stander and Anne Scott on the pleasures of the unexpected, fellow feeling in airport queues, and taking a river boat down the Mekong

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ANNE SCOTT AND

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nne Scott [AS]: Wrenelle, it’s so nice to meet you. And thanks, you brought beautiful weather with you today.

Wrenelle Stander [WS]: It’s my favourite time of the year, that time between summer and winter. Lovely to be at One&Only!

AS: Obviously, the hotel was closed during hard lockdown, but as soon as there was permission we opened up. We’ve been going at full force since December and are really enjoying welcoming back [people]. Americans started to travel first, and the Brits.

WS: We’ve seen that pattern in the airlines coming to the Western Cape as well. In the travel industry, the recovery rate is about 61% of 2019, internationally. And for the past financial year, we’ve seen the recovery in the US market. At Wesgro, our marketing focus has now shifted to the US market. We have a unit called E-access focused on getting direct services to the Western Cape. We have made 27 direct connections to the Western Cape and, of the 27, 23 are back.

AS: That’s wonderful.

WS: We work very closely with Cape Town International Airport in particular, and they were saying that the recovery is between 70 and 75%, which I think is phenomenal.

AS: The US market, specifically, is fascinating because these are multi-generational groups of families coming, at least two generations, but often a third generation as well. They want three- to four-bedroom suites, or connecting rooms. In other words, this is a bucket-list destination, and people want to come to Cape Town because it is seen as the gateway to a great South African or African adventure.

WS: What I think a lot of people don’t realise is that the Western Cape has a very big services sector.

It’s more than tourism — it’s actually been quite phenomenal how renewable energy and the tech industry have taken off.

AS: Our inquiry chain has exploded in the past four months. As I’ve said, people see Cape Town as a bucket-list place to go. They know if they have an event here, people will come. As One&Only, we have some really beautiful banquet facilities, but we tend to be at a higher price. [Cape Town hotels] are now all racing to get back up to full capacity. Wrenelle, what’s your career path that brought you to this role, at this point?

WS: I’ve worked in two industries, primarily — the energy sector and the aviation industry. And those are quite tough industries, very technical and, I suppose, very male dominated. When I was in aviation, except for my last role, I worked mainly in the government sector. I did quite a few interesting things. While I was there, I negotiated the first agreement between South Africa and China, the air services agreement.

I travelled to Beijing at that time and it was a very different place to the Beijing of today. I am always

Anne Scott is the general manager at One&Only Cape Town and has years of experience in the global hotel industry

fascinated with how quickly Beijing transformed and became modern.

AS: I worked in China for a year and a half. I worked in Sanya on Hainan Island, down at the bottom of the South China Sea. There’s a beautiful tropical-beach atmosphere on Sanya. I never knew that China has white sandy beaches and palm trees and coconuts.

It’s a very special place.

WS: At the Great Wall of China — obviously, that was one of the places we went to see — there’s a marketplace. Do you know that the Chinese have this tradition that the first customer of the day must buy

something? I wanted two masks. I was negotiating so hard and so well that I drew a crowd. I have such lovely memories of China. I’m longing to go back.

AS: It’s a very exciting corner of the world.

WS: Then I also worked in the energy sector and spent over 10 years at Sasol Limited. And now Wesgro. I’ve worked in the private and the public sector, and now I’m getting to do both of those things at the same time.

AS: The wonderful thing about the hotel business is that it gives you incredible opportunities to travel.

As you can tell from my accent, I’m from the UK — Scotland is my home. My blood is 100% whisky. I’ve

02.

WRENELLE STANDER

Wrenelle Stander is the CEO of the Western Cape Tourism, Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (Wesgro)

worked in hotels all of my life, I’ve never wanted to do anything else. But then I had a big birthday, and I thought, “I might live in London forever, which wouldn’t be so bad, or maybe I’m going to go and have an adventure.” I went from Knightsbridge, London, to Chiang Rai, Thailand. I was so out of my comfort zone. I opened my first hotel there, Le Méridien Chiang Rai Resort. What are the places that make you think, “Okay, I’m richer and wiser for that experience”?

WS: I’ll never forget, in China I decided to go into a busy marketplace and there was a hotpot where you have to cook your own food. And of course I spoke no Chinese. By the end of it, I was cooking my meal with everybody trying to tell me what to do. Travel just opens your horizons. When I went to Japan, I couldn’t believe how spoiled for choice you are. If there’s one cellphone cover, there are thousands. Because of the earthquakes, when you walk in the street, there’s music playing because those are the sound systems through which, if there’s a disaster, they will make announcements.

AS: What I love about travel is, you make friends for a day, or because you’re both sitting in an airport waiting for a flight. Sometimes they’re your friends just for half an hour, but for that half an hour, you take care of each other. I did a trip back to the UK last year when it was at its very worst in terms of lockdowns.

It was a six-hour queue through immigration at Heathrow Airport, and it was the nicest, most positive crowd of people I’ve ever met. There was a woman with a baby and somebody halfway up said: “Does anybody have an issue if we let this lady to the front of the queue?” And the whole crowd parted.

Travel brings out the best in us. It can bring out the worst, too, but in the right circumstances, it really can make us demonstrate our human kindness.

WS: Another place that stood out for me was Rwanda.

AS: Yes. I went to Rwanda last year, where we have two One&Only sister hotels, including One&Only Gorilla’s Nest — 30 absolutely gorgeous bedrooms 25 minutes away from the gorilla base camp. You made me think, when we were talking about Asia — once you live somewhere or travel somewhere, you find hidden secrets. When I was in Asia, I would hear people talk about a place called Luang Prabang, in Laos, on the banks of the Mekong River. You take a river boat from northern Thailand, it takes two days to go down the Mekong River. At about four o’clock on the second day, the captain said, “Okay, we’re here now.” I remember looking around and thinking, “We’re not anywhere, what do you mean?” I could only see the riverbank and palm trees, but I could hear monks chanting. So I went up the steps and sure enough, there was this little town that had this incredible French ancestry together with this Asian culture.

I’m not sure I would have known of this place but for the benefit of just meeting interesting people.

WS: Another amazing place for me is the West Coast.

There’s just something so calming about it.

AS: I climbed Table Mountain in December. The climb up was quite good fun, and then I took the cable car down. How lucky are we to live in this beautiful place?

WS: We are so lucky! I mean, I have the SANParks Wild Card. You can go to the West Coast National Park, to the Kruger National Park, and into Silvermine Nature Reserve. There are so many lovely walks, you just pack some water and some protein and off you go.

AS: And then have a delicious glass of Western Cape wine at the end.

WS: Yes, exactly.

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THE READ

THE LOST ART OF ROADTRIPPING

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R

oald Dahl is probably the reason I will always, given half a chance, drive rather than fly.

One of my earliest literary memories is of being six years old and transfixed by his story The Hitchhiker.

If you haven’t read it, it’s a wonderful tale about a virtuoso pickpocket and a nasty policeman who gets outsmarted in a surprising way. But the star of the story for me was the narrator’s brand-new BMW, a powerful blue machine with matching leather seats and the kind of power that threatens your licence. They speed along on the road to London (a different era), until a cop with a chip on his shoulder threatens to spoil the fun.

But I digress. That story was probably in the back of my mind when, almost 20 years later, I bought my first car.

My driving history begins with a road trip. As someone who’d worshipped Jeremy Clarkson (back when he had a curly mullet and wore leather jackets, long before he took up farming and casual racism), I did things properly and bought the most impractical car I could find. It was a big, blue BMW with a large V8 under the hood. It roared gloriously and consumed petrol in a frightening way, which was fine, because it looked

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Dr Wamuwi Mbao

an

Why seal yourself off in a pl

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e when

sinister and had a deep burble you could hear from several streets away.

The first thing I did with it was to drive it from one end of the country to the other. It was my first time driving somewhere with nothing but my own wits and a plan to be sitting someplace very different at the end of the day to where I was when the day began. I thundered across the provinces, stopping only to fuel myself and the car, passing trucks in the dry Karoo and listening to Miles Davis as the sun set on the flatlands of the North West. I reached my destination tired and ready to do it all again. It was probably the most free I’ve ever felt, then or since.

you could be

d h a v ing an a

ve

illustration

Carike de Jager

n ture instead?

It’s become a cliché to talk about cars as instruments of freedom, but the cliché persists even as the gathering storm clouds of environmental crisis, threatened energy resources, war, and viral epidemics conspire to change our travel habits. The bald fact is that there are too many cars on the road right now. More people should take public transport. Cities shouldn’t be arranged around the needs of the car — an outdated, toxic, and land-hungry 20th-century appliance.

That’s the unemotional, rational argument, and one with which it’s hard to argue in an age of ride-sharing and millennials who choose not to drive. But cars have never been about rationality, not really. When journalist Tom Wolfe declared that cars were

“freedom, style, sex, power, motion, color — everything”, he captured the heart of the matter.

Sure, for many of us, cars are an appliance and travel a drudging necessity. South Africa is a country of vast distances, and the road trip is part of our national makeup. Many of us are migrants who live between places located hundreds or thousands of kilometres apart, and road-tripping can thus become a begrudged necessity.

But that’s not the sort of trip I’m talking about. I’m thinking of the kind of road trip where you start off at one place, watch the light and the scenery change through the vista of your windshield, and emerge somewhere far off, with your car ticking away from a day’s drive. I’m thinking of the kind

of trip that takes you past unfamiliar, one-street towns and through scenery where the only soul is (always) that one man randomly walking from someplace to someplace else.

Nowadays, people shun the road trip because they fear boredom. Once the Instagram snaps have been taken and the playlist chosen, what do you do with yourself? But this is the wrong approach to take. Driving is exactly the freedom to escape, to seclude ourselves from the world in an escape pod of our own controlling. You can wax nostalgic about the trips of your youth (they were never that good) or invent new memories. You have options.

Certainly, in the age of the pandemic, the desire to travel has to be balanced against the anxiety engendered by other people and their contagions. Theoretically, flying ought to be safe, but if you don’t need to fly, why would you? Think of how much you miss from the air. In any event, air travel promises, with gross inexactitude, to save you time. But air travel is a con. The great lie — that time is the greatest luxury — is cruelly exposed when you forsake the bliss of your own hermetically sealed car to take part in a compacted parody of suburbia in the sky, being herded with strange strangers and abused and crammed and made to wait, all to save a few hours you probably won’t use profitably anyway.

Of course, not everybody should drive and, given the ongoing protracted death of the car (electricity and automation won’t save it), fewer people will, over time. Perhaps, like rail travel, the road trip will become the exclusive province of those who do not adhere to the dogmatic view that travel is about convenience. But while we still have the chance, pick a weekend, pack a suitcase, and drive somewhere you haven’t been. Loved ones optional. I promise, you’ll enjoy it.

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MOTORING

05 / 2022

TO INFINITY AND BEYOND

text

Denis Droppa

M

aserati’s Fuoriserie customisation programme allows customers to create unique renditions of the Italian brand’s vehicles. One customer has taken a flight of fancy with a Mars-themed rendition of the justlaunched Grecale midsize SUV. The one-off vehicle, dubbed Grecale Mission from Mars, is painted a Galactic Orange in honour of our celestial neighbour, with a special textured metallic paint — inspired by mineral dust and metal erosion — used on components inside and out. To complete the exterior, Grecale Mission from Mars features special Vortex wheels and grey tyres.

Inside, the space theme continues with a star chart on the ceiling projecting the main

constellations, while the seats are inspired by “electric currents on Mars with astronauts’ spacesuits”, according to Maserati.

This unique Grecale showcases what is possible with Fuoriserie (“custom-built” in Italian) — a personalisation programme introduced in 2020 for customers who don’t want their Maserati to look exactly like the Joneses’.

“Maserati Fuoriserie is a blank slate, and the brand is offering a wide range of designs and colours for it. The rest falls to the inspiration of individual customers, who are given the opportunity to take on the stance of a trendsetter and express their personal creativity,” the company says.

The Grecale had its global premiere in March as the smaller stablemate of the Maserati Levante luxury SUV, which has

been on sale since 2016. It’s named after a wind, as per Maserati convention, and is built on a modified Alfa Romeo Stelvio platform (the sister brands both belong to the Stellantis Group).

Taking on premium midsize SUVs such as the Stelvio and Porsche Macan, the Grecale was designed to have class-leading space, with 44mm more rear legroom than the segment average, combined with up to 570l of boot space.

Even without Mars-themed paint the Italian SUV stands out with its athletic styling, with the front end inspired by Maserati’s MC20 mid-engine sports car.

The fenders are adorned with the brand’s signature triple portals, and the sleek look is finished off with flush door handles.

At the rear, the boomerang tail-light

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Inside, the Grecale eschews a clutter of buttons for digitised interfaces... and a head-up display

signature is inspired by the Maserati 3200 GT of the late 1990s, with a carbon diffuser and dual double exhausts.

Inside, the Grecale eschews a clutter of buttons for digitised interfaces, including a digital instrument panel, the largest infotainment screen yet seen in a Maserati, and a head-up display used for the first time in a trident-badged car. Along with a multifunction steering wheel that still has physical buttons, controls are operated via touchscreen, gesture, or voice control using the Maserati Intelligent Assistant (Mia) connected to Amazon Alexa.

The customary clock in the centre of the dash remains, but it too has migrated from the analogue to the digital world. Its round metal bezel houses a smartwatchstyle digital clock with a selectable array of faces.

The Grecale was launched in three petrol-powered models, with a fully electric version called the Folgore to follow. The range starts with the GT, which is powered by a 2.0l turbo four-cylinder mild-hybrid engine with 223kW and a claimed 0-100km/h sprint of 5.6 seconds. Next up is the mild-hybrid Modena with power in the 2.0 engine boosted to 246kW for a 5.3-second 0-100 time. The range-topping Trofeo has a detuned version of the 3.0l V6 petrol twin-turbo engine fitted to the MC20, mustering 395kW for a 3.8-second 0-100km/h blast.

An eight-speed automatic gearbox and all-wheel drive are standard across the range, with the Trofeo’s handling boosted by an electric limited-slip differential.

There are five configurable drive modes: Comfort, GT, Sport, Corsa (Trofeo only), and Off-Road, and optional air suspension.

The Grecale will touch down in South Africa in the third quarter of this year, with prices still to be confirmed.

IMAGES SUPPLIED

Maserati’s personalisation programme spawns a Mars-themed Grecale

C O L L A B O R AT I O N

2022 / 05

INTRODUCING A MILLENNIUM MASTERPIECE tenacity, and influence as a hero of South African whisky,” says marketing manager Meryll Stocks Roos. “While the world was busy entering the eve of the 20th century with much trepidation, our master distiller was in the maturation cellar, gripped with optimism and foresight, knowing that a truly spectacular whisky was on the horizon.”

Decades later, that distant horizon has finally arrived.

AN UNPRECEDENTED PROCESS

The oldest and most complex Three Ships whisky yet created is incomparable on the palate, thanks to the extraordinary measures taken to produce it. For 10 years, the single malt rested in ex-bourbon American-oak casks before being re-vatted to 300l hogsheads for a further five years.

“It then matured for the remaining six years in seasoned Oloroso casks and older ex-bourbon American oak,” says Watts. “I kept moving it around to ensure the balance between the extracted flavours and oak interaction remained.” The culmination is a whisky presented in its purest form, unchillfiltered, natural in colour, and at a strength of 51.8%.

THE FINAL RESULT

Notes of nutmeg, roasted nuts, sherry sweetness, coffee, and a subtle seabreeze saltiness give way to a warm, peppery palate, with savoury, earthy tones interlacing with lingering spices.

The finish is salty with an impressive softness and delicate sweetness.

T

hree Ships Whisky’s first 21-year-old single malt, the Millennium, has been heralded as the whisky of the millennium, and its journey into the world has been nothing short of exceptional — taking 19-billion km, 21 revolutions around the sun, and no fewer than four distinct maturation phases in various casks to create.

Ask anyone who’s had the pleasure of tasting the final product, though, and they’ll attest that every inch of effort put into its creation has been well worth it.

MADE BY A TRUE MASTER

INNOVATIVE, INSIDE AND OUT

Just a year before Three Ships Whisky Millennium’s unveiling, Three Ships master distiller Andy Watts took his place as the 70th inductee into Whisky Magazine’s Global Whisky Hall of Fame. Watts’s commitment to creating award-winning South African whisky has played a pivotal role in placing the country at the forefront of the international whisky scene.

“With this landmark whisky, we pay tribute to Andy’s vision, bravery,

To celebrate its long-awaited arrival, a limited-edition sale on 20 April saw 400 of the 1 202 bottles produced released online, with each bottle costing R2 850.

Each commemorative box of the Three Ships Whisky Millennium features a hidden UV artwork, that will only be seen by those fortunate enough to get their hands on a limitededition case.

Available for purchase from mid-May at store.jamessedgwickdistillery.co.za

Subscribe to the Three Ships Whisky YouTube channel to view the latest video of the 21-year-old single malt. You can also follow the conversation using #MadeExceptionalMadeHere on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

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Three Ships Whisky raises the bar yet again

TTRRAV AVEELL

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“N

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ew York City, please go easy on me tonight…” I bop my head to Alicia Keys’s City of Gods while I ready myself to open up about my travel itinerary to the immigration officer at John F Kennedy ( JFK) International Airport. It will take me an hour to get to the front of the snaking queue. Yes, it seems the tourists are coming back to the concrete jungle “where dreams are (still) made”.

Under normal circumstances I would have booked a transfer with blade.com, but because this is an impromptu trip, I revert to the good old trusted Uber. But wait, I’m in the United States and they use Lyft.

I grab my luggage, rush to the airport exit, and am met by an icy gust of wind. It’s a shade after 5pm and it’s 4°C. I’m quickly reminded that northern-hemisphere winters aren’t for the faint of heart.

The last time I made my way into the city was in November 2019, for the New York City Marathon — I was a spectator — a few months before the pandemic would change the way we travel. It’s hard to think that it’s nearly two years since I’ve been here, because something about this arrival feels so familiar.

On my last trip I was lucky enough to stay in a downtown hotel, but I can remember feeling like just another common tourist in the concrete jungle. This time, I’ve opted for an apartment on the Upper East Side. As I unlock the door to my quintessential New York brownstone, I rediscover not only that space is at a premium in this city but also that a characterful façade does not necessarily translate into grandeur inside.

But, who am I to complain? I’m in New York, and I need to prepare for my first night out with the locals and so begin my experience of the city’s new normal. Like many restaurants in major cities, New York’s eateries introduced alfresco dining back in 2020 in the hope of saving about 80 000 jobs and encouraging social distancing. Nearly two years later, this is still the case at many of them.

I meet up with old friends and we make our way to Vinatería — a Spanish-influenced Italian joint on 119th Street and Frederick Douglass Boulevard — for a quick bite. The restaurant opened its doors nearly nine years ago, when Harlem was already wrestling with gentrification.

But Vinatería’s ambience exudes comfort, sophistication, and inclusivity, accommodating long-time residents and the influx of “new locals”. Like most places on a Friday night, liquor flows and dollar bills multiply. Not long after dinner we find a place where the bright lights get dimmer and the jazz louder. (But I’d be a fool to divulge where — unless you offered me another glass of vino, or a penicillin cocktail.)

One afternoon, I take a walk along the High Line. On this particular day, the weather gods are on my side and temperatures reach 12°C — a whiff of spring is in the air, you might say. The Nara Roesler gallery in Chelsea is showing “Hotel Solidão”, Brazilian artist Marcelo Silveira’s first solo exhibition in the US. It brings together works from different periods of the artist’s career, with special emphasis on his use of Cajacatinga, a native Brazilian wood.

It’s fascinating to see what the artist was able to create and how much emotion each piece expresses.

I end my afternoon with a visit to the 9/11 Memorial Museum,

Edge observation deck

New York is shaking off its semi-hibernation mode text

Tshepo Tshabalala

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01.

NEW YORK with the Hudson River gleaming in the sun.

I spot a number of runners jogging topless and in the shortest shorts to be found — it is, after all, the last month of winter in this part of the world. It is rather quiet around the museum, in a marked contrast to the crowds of people who landed at JFK on my arrival. One appreciates this stillness, as it allows you to reflect on those who were taken from us.

The sun is setting, it’s rush hour, and trying to flag down a yellow cab at this time of the day is a true challenge to any man or beast. I decide the quickest way to make my 5pm reservation is to use the subway. Edge, located on the 100th floor of 30 Hudson Yards with 360° views of New York City, is the highest mid-air sky deck in the Western hemisphere. I’m glad I’ve managed to grab a last-minute ticket — I’ve never truly experienced New York from this perspective. Conveniently located one floor above is the new latenight cocktail bar Peakaboo. Watching the sun set while sipping a Manhattan, in Manhattan, is a fine way to end my stay.

The next day, I take flight from the newly revamped and dazzling LaGuardia Airport to continue my US adventures. The revamp is likely to make LaGuardia the airport of choice for many travellers, as it is much easier to navigate, conveniently linked to the city, and getting high praise from travel influencers.

By the time you read this, warm weather will be on the horizon, in time to liven up a city that was in partial hibernation not that long ago.

Visas: South African citizens need a tourist visa to visit the US. See za.usembassy. gov/visas/ Covid: Travellers over the age of 18 must demonstrate proof of full vaccination against Covid-19 to their airline prior to boarding a flight.

All travellers over the age of two must take a Covid test within one day of departure, regardless of vaccination status. Airlines must confirm passengers’ negative test results before boarding.

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Good to know /

T R AV E L

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02.

GENEVA S

witzerland in early spring is very different to midwinter, when temperatures are well below zero. As one of the international journalists invited to witness the unveiling of the most exciting new timepieces at the world’s most significant watch fair, in Geneva, I’ve learned to be prepared for anything and pack accordingly.

My first Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) was almost 10 years ago. We stole precious hours to explore the Old Town before the formalities began, seeking respite for frozen fingers by clutching steaming cups of coffee at a street café, climbing to the top of St Peter’s Cathedral to marvel at the view, and indulging in a traditional cheese fondue. The latter is almost a rite of passage when you visit Geneva for the first time, and the Hôtel Les Armures in Rue Puits-Saint-Pierre is a favourite eatery for this purpose.

There followed the obligatory whip around the city’s best luxury boutiques and shopping for chocolate. That year, I tried in vain to find venues hosting evening dance events, going as far as walking the icy streets late at night to find a salsa bar. As it turned out, the bar had nothing to do with the popular Latin-American partner dance and, it being Sunday, was closed.

Today, Geneva is very different. Various dance communities have been established, offering regular lessons and social events.

Incredibly, an international bachata dance festival coincided with the new spring scheduling for SIHH, renamed Watches and Wonders

Favola, a quaint, cosy Italian restaurant in the Old Town with a handful of tables at the top of a narrow spiral staircase.

We savour starters of grilled and marinated artichokes, beef carpaccio (sans the inevitable truffle oil), ravioli with sea bass, tagliolini with cuttlefish ink and octopus ragout, and tiramisu.

After a week of rich Swiss food, we love indulging in the Italian fare washed down with a superb bottle of the 2017 Marchesi Antinori Solaia Toscana IGT. We opt for an early train to Montreux, spurred by the promise of clear skies, the prospect of exploring Chillon Castle (made famous by Lord Byron’s epic poem The Prisoner of Chillon), and the opportunity of discovering more about the whereabouts of the Montreux Jazz Festival. The journey takes just under 90 minutes from Geneva, and Chillon Castle is an easy walk from the station

text

along the lakeside promenade, duly decorated with a profusion of colourful spring blooms.

Looking back at a week of sensory overload, especially after three years of relative isolation, one experience stands out above all others. The sound of silence.

In an unforgettable meeting with maverick mountaineer and former special-forces operative Nirmal Purja (who is a Mark Maker ambassador for Montblanc), the hustle and bustle of the Palexpo convention centre dissolve into white noise.

We could have sat comfortably in silence for those few precious minutes had we not had to go through the motions of a timed interview. It is a lesson in being, not doing, like a meditation I never wanted to end.

• Debbie was a guest of the exhibiting brands at Watches & Wonders Geneva 2022. She stayed at Hotel Jade Manotel and flew to Geneva with Emirates from Cape Town via Dubai.

Debbie Hathway

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Tripping the light fantastic in a springtime Geneva Geneva 2022, and I tripped the light fantastic at the closing party.

My point? The magic of music and dance has seen me through many travel challenges, keeping me on a natural high. I’ve danced under the summer stars at a villa in Greece, in the rain year-round in Mauritius, sheltered by a dimly lit gazebo in midwinter in Munich, and on an open-air dance floor an hour’s walk from my hotel in Florence. In Geneva, this year, the musical entertainment included The London Essentials, DJs, and the IWC Schaffhausen The Sound of Color concert by Hans Zimmer and his band (I counted 32 musicians), who blew us away with their skills, passion, and humility.

Day one at Watches and Wonders strikes the right chord for me with the continuation of the Van Cleef & Arpels tribute to the world of dance. The maison describes fairies and ballerinas as symbols of joy and hope, their ethereal grace inspiring creations such as the Ballerine Enchantée collection. I fall in love with the Lady Arpels Ballerine Enchantée Or Rose, designed to reflect one of Anna Pavlova’s dreams in which the Russian ballerina saw herself dancing as lightly as a butterfly. The flounces of the ballet dancer’s tutu unfurl against a subtle pink enamelled guilloché background, and a retrograde module enables the upper veils to rise softly to indicate the time, transforming the figure into a delicate butterfly.

Meanwhile, Chopard reveals three new chiming watches to mark the 25th anniversary of the L.U.C line, one of which is the world’s first minute repeater with a sapphire gong. It has enlisted the help of two musical brothers — cellist Gautier and violinist Renaud Capuçon — to add emotional resonance, ultimately producing a sound that is described as “purer, longer and more harmonious”.

Downtime is limited when I travel for work, and I love nothing more than returning to old haunts. There is reassurance in familiarity, but this time there is also opportunity for adventure. I plan my final day with long-time friend Tara Rogers-Ellis over dinner at La

Mountaineer Nirmal Purja

Good to know / Visas: Travellers to Switzerland need a Schengen visa for a stay of up to 9O days.See eda.admin.ch/pretoria Covid: Switzerland has re-opened its borders to travellers who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19 and/or recovered.

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03.

MILAN

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he glut of cranes and mid-development high rises on the 50-minute drive south from Malpensa Airport — one of Milan’s three international airports — into the city centre is testament to its rapid transformation. The buzz on the streets is both par for the course and fuelled by Milan Fashion Week, the reason for our presence there. I am accompanying South African fashion designer Wanda Lephoto on his maiden showcase in a city that loves art and architecture but is utterly seduced by fashion. Based mainly in the city centre, we will explore what we can in a short period of time, as we already know we owe ourselves another trip.

All clichés observed, Milan will make you fall in love with dressing up again. As our driver drops us off unceremoniously some metres from our hotel, every square metre of pavement around us is one sight of rampant sprezzatura after another. There are well-dressed people everywhere — on foot, on bicycles, and in the frequent Italian mega sportscar. I can imagine the frustration of each beautiful soul sauntering by at having had to stay indoors and dress like an American for two years.

Our abode, the Velvet Grey, a stylish boutique hotel, is located amid all this, but you wouldn’t say so — outside my fourth-floor window the skyline is filled with picture-book Milanese buildings and fairy lights from the restaurant below.

Here, we are close to the shopping at Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II and the snaking queues at Duomo di Milano (Italy’s biggest church), and hardly a kilometre from Duomo Square, which is busy pretty much all year round. On our first visit, there is a march for Ukraine.

Siphiwe at Duomo di Milano Siphiwe Mpye

photographer

Oratile Moh

In Milan, you come for the fashion and stay for the food

Hundreds come out, chanting and walking by Valentino, Tod’s, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Jil Sander, Cartier, and others — the luxury-brand roll call framing this scene is staggering. A short ride on the tram or a leisurely walk south you find yourself in the popular “streetwear” enclave of Corso di Porta Ticinese/Navigli, frequented by a younger crowd and the place for your Carhartt and Stüssy fix. Further southeast, on the outskirts of Porta Romana, you find the famed Fondazione Prada, which is always one exhibition away from blowing your mind.

Later that night, we stand outside the Bottega Veneta show, amid a sea of young fashion fans, phones in the air, expectant. I am told Frank Ocean may be exiting soon. I like Frank Ocean, but I — like a rookie, in my secret socks — am not going to freeze on the streets of Milan to see him. I spot the actor Yahya Abdul-Meteen II leave the show as we learn from history and give up on expecting anything from Ocean until he is well and ready, and look for something much more accessible — food.

We have to wait for the authentic Italian we crave — nothing decent opens for dinner before 7pm — so we kill time with a drink at Juice Milan X Mama Burger, a meeting space for Gen Z, with trap music and attitude flowing from the bouncer to the waitrons: you may be important as a customer, but the staff is far more vital (and way cooler), one would have to believe.

Dinner at Al Cantinone Trattoria — established in 1930 — is a practised, polished but warm affair, with the chianti chosen by one of my dinner mates complementing the veal splendidly. On another night, I meet a crowd of Saffers and a gracious Italian at Taverna Moriggi — a historic dive bar tastefully renovated and reopened in

2018, serving classic Milanese fare. I arrive late — a South African, a taxi, and an ATM meet in Milan, the joke would begin — having missed out on an aperitivo and live jazz, but there’s just enough time to taste some starters being passed around before I text my wife about the cracking ravioli main.

Our food adventures will wane, wax, and wane after that, and after Lephoto’s show — a well-received smash — we see about a celebratory drink. Tutti Fritti, popular with the Supreme army and famed for a long craft-beer menu, closes after one drink (it’s a Monday, after all) but the barman has a plan. We file into two taxis and head to Dirty Mondays, where the rallying cry is “Live fast, die Dirty”.

With an irreverent rock ’n roll theme popping up in this city and Los Angeles, the soundtrack on this night is all manner of tunes in the rock genre, from punk and grunge to more poppy anthems.

The energy is young and frenzied, the floors suitably sticky, and the drinks cheap. As I walk the 15 minutes back to

my room, making mental notes about things that cannot be forgotten as we depart the next day, I vow to finish the long list of “must-see places” in Milan that we never got close to finishing, top of the list being a grown-up bar, like the famed Bar Basso. One must also explore the north of the city, in neighbourhoods such as Isola and Pasteur district/ Via Padova, where some of the more interesting and multicultural of Milanese reside. I may even take my place in the queue at Duomo, but don’t count on it.

• Siphiwe’s trip to Milan was made possible

by Bulldog Gin.

Good to know /

Visas: South African passport holders must obtain a Schengen visa to enter Italy.

Covid: Travellers need to fill in the Passenger Locator Form before entering Italy, and show the document to the carrier. They also need to present a Covid-19 vaccination card or a negative molecular or antigen test.

Those who do not show this documentation can still enter, but will have to undergo quarantine for five days.

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carefully curated oasis, a fever dream of opulence, self-determination, and focused society-building — there is nothing quite like Dubai. The city that has transcended the definition of a city, Dubai is an experience of global proportions, an idea crafted by billionaires, architects, and dreamers in an absurdly short amount of time.

My trip begins, as all trips to the Emirates should, in the businessclass standing bar on an Airbus A380, with a glass of Moët in hand and a cosy bed awaiting me. Seven hours of champagne-induced slumber later, I am chauffeured to one of the 100 000-plus hotel rooms in the city, in Emirates’ private fleet — Mercedeses for firstclass passengers and BMWs for business class.

The city’s economy is based on real estate and tourism, and it’s no wonder that it is home to manifold world firsts, world records, and world-renowned hotels, from the tallest four- and five-star hotel to a gold-plated seven-star luxury escape at the Burj Al Arab. There is something for all manner of tastes, but not necessarily all budgets.

Here, shopping is coupled with tourism, and experiences range from the largest mall in the world, which houses a diplodocus skeleton, to a mall with one of the largest indoor ski centres in the world. Global fashion houses are represented with gorgeous showrooms.

At the height of the construction boom, a quarter of the world’s

celebration of development. Dubbed “the most beautiful building on Earth”, the elliptical structure has no columns to support itself, instead relying on thousands of diagonally intersected steel tubes in its outer frame. It was officially unveiled on the palindrome date of 2/2/22 — symbolism and statements are never far off in this city.

The 29 700m2 building is inscribed with words of hope from Dubai’s ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum that allow natural light to dart into the building by day. At night, it is lit up by LEDs. The museum is a striking symbol of creative progress.

In Dubai, the past, present, and future of society and the city are constantly contextualised and emphasised. Tourist attractions — the constructed islands, viewing decks, and malls — stress its breakneck development.

Moving out of the air-conditioned, sky-scraping city, I take a short Land Cruiser drive to the Arabian desert, a popular dune-hopping, sand-drifting exploration. The scene is scored by

local music and orchestral numbers, while the actors are falconers, camel riders, and fire dancers, amid the soft chatter of families and couples dining on Persian rugs while watching the festivities unfold. Walking across the dunes, whether to watch the sunset or to career down them on a board, uses half of the calories consumed on the trip and sets me up for the next day of beachside cocktails, island hopping, or Mount Olympus-level jacuzzi-ing.

On my final morning, I am picked up promptly from the hotel and jet off to check-in, where the state-ofthe-art scanning system allows you to access lounges, bypass boarding lines, and avoid human contact altogether.

After a stare-down with an AI flight attendant, I enter the Disney World of airport lounges, offering a Moët bar, an ice-cream bar, three restaurants, and bespoke showers.

Dubai is a feast for the senses, a culture shock, and a must-visit for all lovers of luxury.

• Declan was hosted by Emirates airline.

Tourism and shopping combine in a city of epic proportions

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Declan Gibbon

cranes were in Dubai, engineering an air-conditioned city that has burgeoned into the world’s fourth-most visited destination, hosts 40% of the world’s physical gold trade, and is home to over 215 skyscrapers, many of which have broken records.

As much as the physical engineering has elevated skylines, the feat of social engineering is just as breathtaking and encompassing.

Recent years have seen the city catering to Western tastes, and its demographics are 85% foreigner: a mixture of wealthy expatriates, tourists, and side-lined South Asian workers — money rules. Unlike the other six emirates, Dubai — in full promotion mode at the recent Expo 2020 Dubai, which had been postponed due to Covid — has a relatively liberal society where alcohol, skimpy clothes, and dancing are privileges that can be bought and displayed in the wealthy districts and hotels.

Views are the order of the day, with breakfast, lunch, dinner, and coffee in street-side cafés coupled with craned necks peering at the world above the ground. Canapes and aperitifs can be had in rooftop bars, hotel lounges, and restaurants that lean into the abyss of the world 300m or so below. Experiencing the best view, a panorama of old and new, requires a visit to the Dubai Frame, a picture-perfect, cut-out polaroid of glass, steel, and glistening gold. The designer, Fernando Donis, created the perfect metaphor of the city — seeing Dubai as already clustered with emblems, he chose to frame the city rather than add another one, using a void to celebrate Dubai’s progress while constraining it at the same time.

The Museum of the Future, a striking technological monument housing innovation labs and exhibitions, is a new landmark and audacious architectural achievement, a calligraphy-strewn, torus-shaped

Dubai Frame

Good to know /

Emirates, the national airline, has ties to the experiences, hotels, and excursions available in the country, providing a one-stop platform for the organisation of your trip, whether for work or play.

Covid: All passengers arriving in Dubai must have a valid vaccination certificate with a QR code; a negative PCR test with a QR code, issued within 48 hours of the flight; or a valid medical certificate with a QR code that shows they recovered from Covid within a month prior to arrival.

Visas: South African passport holders should arrange a tourism visa before their trip, through Emirates and other relevant airlines, the hotel where they’ve booked. or their travel agent.

IMAGES NEW YORK, COURTESY OF RELATED OXFORD/PARRY ELI; DUBAI, TAMPATRA/123RF AND SUPPLIED

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TRAVEL 101: GO NEAR, GO FAR, GO EVERYWHERE

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f there is one thing that the Covid-19 pandemic has taught us, it is that travel is often vital to our emotional well-being. And while social distancing is becoming more and more intimate, healthy behaviours and lifestyle changes are still advantageous for travel. Discovery Bank, in conjunction with the well-established Vitality programme, now boosts its members’ healthy financial behaviours, lifestyle and physical health with wide-ranging benefits through the recently launched Vitality Travel platform.

By applying behavioural economic principles in an impactful manner, Discovery Bank clients are encouraged to be healthier, make better financial choices, and live better lives — and now they have the added benefit of being rewarded with travel perks.

“Over 25 years, we’ve been refining the Vitality programme, and we’ve seen the impactful interplay between incentives and sustained behaviour change, over time. Vitality members have better health outcomes and make positive lifestyle changes a lifelong habit — and this includes managing life during a pandemic,” says Dinesh Govender, CEO of Discovery Vitality in South Africa.

Vitality, one of the world’s leading health and lifestyle programmes, is introducing a global-first, shared-value booking platform, rewarding and incentivising healthy lifestyle choices.

As a result of being encouraged to exercise more, drive safely, and maintain healthy money management, Vitality members are proven to live better, and richer, lives. The loneliness of lockdowns has underlined the importance of travel, whether for recreation, adventure or to visit family and friends — it is essential to emotional and cultural health. Vitality’s expansion to an all-encompassing lifestyle platform is thus an obvious and rewarding next step for the benefit of its members.

Members can book their entire travel experience through the Discovery Bank banking website — an integrated platform to manage all aspects of a trip. Discounts of 10-75% on international and local flights, up to 25% on accommodation and car hire, and up to 15% on holiday packages make travel ever more accessible and affordable. These remarkable savings are enhanced by the seamless, all-in-one Vitality Travel platform, which offers all

of these logistics in one place.

Members also receive free travel insurance when booking an international flight. In addition, Discovery Bank offers the only real-time forex accounts in SA, where clients can open a dollar, euro or pound account, convert, and start saving for their holiday, instantly. They can add a virtual or physical card to use on their travels, and pay in over 60 currencies.

Whether you are planning a honeymoon, your gap year or a retirement cruise, Vitality Travel offers discounts on premium World Leisure Holidays properties, Contiki Tours, and Royal

Caribbean cruises. Bookings are seamless, while airports offer Discovery Bank Priority Fast Track and lounge access.

Discounts on thousands of accommodation options, scores of lounge options, and savings of up to 75% — what more reason do you need to put on your smart watch, pull on your (discounted) running shoes, and head to the airport?

By changing your behaviour you are rewarded — not only by the changes to your finances and wellness but also through the benefits of travel. Upgrade your travel experience — join Discovery Bank today! discovery.co.za

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Discovery Bank launches Vitality Travel, an all-inone booking platform

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Mozambique

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Zodwa Kumalo-Valentine

CHALE! MARHABA!

anked number one among African and Indian Ocean islands in the Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards 2021, Bazaruto Archipelago in Mozambique is a protected marine conservation area. The country also boasts a string of tropical islands.

Visitors who are fully vaccinated can enter the country after producing a PCR test taken within a 72-hour window.

STAY /

Set to open in July 2023, Banyan Tree Ilha Caldeira (@banyantreeilhacaldeira) will offer 40 pool villas and the ultimate in luxury spa treatments.

Each of the 22 bungalows at Kisawa Sanctuary (@kisawasanctuary) on Benguerra Island has its own beachfront.

Sussurro (@sussurro.co) on the remote Nhamabue Peninsula has vernacular architecture, waterfront verandas, and mindful activities such as dhow safaris.

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The little-known Chimanimani National Park (@chimanimani_national_park) has spectacular ancient rock paintings and secluded mountain scenery.

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Experience all four corners of the continent

Kisawa Sanctuary

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NORTH / IMAGES KISAWA SANCTUARY, BACCHUS AGENCY; SAIKO3P/123RF; SAO TOMÉ, BY LERATO MOGOATLHE; ADA\ GALLERY AND SUPPLIED

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he Kingdom of Morocco is often called the gateway to Africa. In the medina in Marrakech, labyrinthine streets are alive with traders, donkeys, and tuk-tuks. The old city is crammed with markets, riads, souks, hammams, and mosques, with the Hassan II Mosque one of the largest in the world.

A bit further off, in the Ville Nouvelle, is the famous Musée Yves Saint Laurent Marrakech (museeyslmarrakech.com/en/).

Morocco reopened its borders in February 2022, and passengers travelling to the country must present a vaccination pass and a negative PCR test result taken less than 48 hours old before boarding.

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With five swimming pools and a claysurface tennis court, Jnane Tamsna (@ jnanetamsna) is a contemporary oasis, with most of the food served at the hotel grown in the gardens.

Actor Robert de Niro, celebrity chef Nobu Matsuhisa, and film producer Meir Teper, the founders of Nobu Hospitality, are expected to open Nobu Hotel and Restaurant Marrakech (@

The Hassan II Mosque

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earing up to become the destination du jour for eco-conscious travellers with its deserted beaches and biodiverse rainforests, the dual-island country of São Tomé and Príncipe is Africa’s second-smallest state, and one of the least-visited in the world, having logged only 33 000 visitors in 2018.

South African tech entrepreneur Mark Shuttleworth bought Príncipe’s Bom Bom Island Resort in 2011 and was granted six land concessions amounting to about 1 700ha. He

Run exclusively by female chefs, Al Fassia (@alfassiaofficial) offers an extensive fine-dining Moroccan-style menu of soups, tagines, and more.

Dar Simons (@darsimonsboutiquehotel), a fine-dining restaurant that also offers accommodation, was established

by Michelin-starred chef Carlo Simons and serves French/Belgian cuisine.

At L’mida (@lmidamarrakech), perched on a rooftop in the heart of the medina, you can enjoy traditional, homemade meals reimagined by chef Nargisse Benkabbou.

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Indulge in a full traditional Moroccan spa with a heated hammam at one of Marrakech’s best-kept secrets, The Levantine (@the_levantine_marrakech), a luxurious manor house.

ADA\ contemporary art gallery

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São Tomé & Príncipe

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WEST / has reportedly invested more than US$100-million into turning the project — named HBD Príncipe (@ hbd_principe), a reference to the phrase “here be dragons” — into a for-profit ecotourism business. It has a working cacao plantation and factory, and the premium Sundy Praia and Roça Sundy lodges. The original Bom Bom bungalows will reopen in October 2022.

All air passengers must have proof of a negative Covid-19 PCR test taken no more than 72 hours before arrival.

• Visit wantedonline.co.za to read Lerato Mogoatlhe’s (@madamafrika) São Tomé travel recommendations. The author of travel memoir Vagabond ditched her job as an entertainment writer to journey solo through Africa.

Ghana

residence) is reputed to be the preferred accommodation choice of celebrities and visiting dignitaries.

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ubbed Africa’s capital of cool, Accra offers travellers immersive experiences in nature, white sand beaches, a vibrant arts and culture circuit, and a robust nightlife.

All non-resident adults must be fully vaccinated to enter the country.

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Opening at the end of this year, Pullman Accra Airport City Hotel & Serviced Apartments will be the largest development of its kind in the country.

It will feature an open garden terrace with façades that integrate artworks.

Kwarleyz Residence (@kwarleyz

Chef Fatmata Binta’s Fulani Kitchen (@thefulanitestkitchen) is an experimental dining experience using all-indigenous, sustainable ingredients.

According to content creator Stephanie Yeboah (@stephanieyeboah), Bloom Bar (@bloombargh) is the best spot to eat and drink in Ghana.

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ADA\ contemporary art gallery (@ada_ accra) aims to nurture Ghana and the continent’s art community. Catch Araba Opoku’s exhibition “Come Hell or HighWater” (on until 22 May), which examines water scarcity in Accra.

Learn to surf with Ahanta Waves (@ahantawaves).

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São Tomé and Príncipe

nobuhotels) in the cool Hivernage district in October 2022. The luxurious hotel will offer indoor and outdoor swimming pools a spa and fitness centre, dining venues, and rooftop lounges.

Riad Mena & Beyond (@riadmena_ pinkdoor), a two-location hotel concept, features Riad Mena, where the bedroom suites are just a few minutes away from the Jemaa el Fna (the city’s main square); and Berber Lodge (@berberlodge_), a quiet countryside haven with views of the Atlas Mountains.

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Nxabega guided nature walk, andBeyond

In the post-Covid world, borders have opened and minds have widened text

David Allardice

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ancelled. Indefinitely postponed. Missed celebrations and special gatherings. Still waiting for refunds. The feeling that life is slipping by. If you had booked and paid for your holiday nearly two years ago, just before the Covid-19 hard lockdown, and then (luckily) had the cost refunded so you could choose to have that trip right now, how would it differ, and why?

The need for the hospitality industry to transition into the new, postCovid reality is creating a marked shift in the way we travel. This, in turn, has affected our travel planning, the overall guest experience, and enduser product design. So, what are the post-Covid trends we are witnessing firsthand in Africa, and how are they affecting travel product and experience design and delivery?

Jeremy Clayton, Cape chair of Fedhasa, the official voice of the Southern African hospitality industry, has observed a marked increase in the number of digital nomads coming to South Africa. Many travellers are now combining business and leisure trips, using the new freedom of remote working to work and travel at the same time, especially if they are solo or have children who can be homeschooled.

The hospitality sector needs to accommodate this new class of travellers.

A fast, uncapped Wi-Fi connection and access to co-working spaces could soon be seen at many hotels. Cape Town is certainly a beneficiary of this trend, says Clayton, with people maxing out their three-month tourist visa on entry and then renewing for a second three-month stay. “In essence, they live like a local but spend like a tourist,” he says, “and this is where the hotel sector needs to shift gears most, and should look to attract high-value families for longer stays subsidised by work stipends.”

In the “foreign independent traveller” space there has been a marked

recovery in South Africa’s traditional in-bound markets such as the US, Germany and the UK, and a significant uptick is expected in July and August, especially in the safari sector out of the US and Europe.

Longer stays, multi-generational travel, nature-based travel and destinations, and private retreats and residences are other trends reflecting post-Covid end-user demand. Travelers want open spaces, sunshine, and authentic experiences — and the logical beneficiary is Southern Africa and its popular safari offerings. According to Joss Kent, London-based CEO of andBeyond (an award-winning, luxury experiential travel company that tailor-makes exclusive safaris and tours in Africa), “Travellers are desperate to catch up on their honeymoons, which some couples have been putting off since 2020, or to celebrate postponed multi-generational trips. Many people are using their holidays to catch up with extended family. Add to this that lead time on bookings is shifting, and we are seeing US-based enquiries coming in on a Friday wanting to travel on a full touring trip on Sunday.” Which, of course, is excellent news for the industry.

“Travellers are seeking out restorative safaris that have a positive impact on conservation and communities, as well as intimate and authentic experiences that… also give back to the world in a way that inspires positive action,” says Keith Vincent, CEO of Wilderness Safaris, which offers guests access to nearly 2.5-million ha of Africa’s finest wildlife and wilderness areas through some 40 luxury camps and safaris across seven countries. “We are certainly seeing an increased demand for family travel, which includes multi-generational family safaris, as well as smaller groups.

There is a desire among these families to create memories and to reconnect with one another and with nature.”

When you think about what makes a travel experience or hotel

STAY I N O N E O F THE MO ST I CO NI C ARC HI TECTURA L HOMES

INRE SID E N CE .VILLA S/ P R OP E RT IE S/ P E N GILLY- H O U S E

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remarkable, you might think of the architecture, the service, or even the food. But you’re probably not (at least, not immediately) thinking about the ways it makes a positive impact on the environment and surrounding communities. Arguably, the best hotels should be contributors on all levels.

Sustainability is no longer an indulgent concern, nor is it only about the environment. It’s also about the things that make a hotel a good neighbour, a good employer, and a good investment. It’s the proverbial triple-bottomline components — economic, social, and environmental sustainability — that work together to deliver a responsible experience. And as a guest, you also have a role to play in this important recipe. As Kent points out, “We are definitely seeing a shift from passive observation to more of a participative experience with a sense of purpose.”

This is echoed across the industry, particularly in the high-end safari sector, where the system has to be functionally responsible and sustainable.

Luke Bailes, founder of conservation and ecotourism brand Singita, confirms this sentiment. “Guests question if there is a philanthropic component and what the sustainability credentials are. People are travelling far more consciously… They demand a sustainable experience — looking at the solar energy, food waste, plastic usage, water saving, light footprint, ethical food sourcing, sustainable building materials, local employment, etc.”

Consumer travel spending is increasingly being driven by these themes, so the concept of travel with purpose is becoming more mainstream.

“Travellers are looking not only for options that have a lesser impact on the environment, but also for more participative and hands-on experiences that provide a deeper understanding of a single destination, often shared with many generations of the same family,” observes Kent.

Right: Kwitonda dancer, Singita

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IMAGES SUPPLIED

Below: Wilderness Safaris

Nearly three-quarters (73%) of US travellers have confirmed that sustainable travel is important to them, with 44% saying that recent news about climate change has influenced them to make more sustainable travel choices. This insight comes from Booking.com’s latest research, which polled more than 30 000 travellers across 32 countries and territories.

This theme is even more pronounced in post-Covid travel. There is a renewed emphasis on personal wellness throughout the industry, from global hotel brands such as Aman and Four Seasons to local city hotels offering wellness escapes, all promising guests the opportunity to enhance their physical, mental, and nutritional well-being.

This requirement is translating into new offerings, with brands launching private residences and designing bespoke retreats.

Experience and product design have had to shift and refine accordingly, resulting in a much wider banquet of choice. Wilderness Safaris’ offerings are “already well suited to this, as our camps are intimate and remote,

already located in bucket-list destinations, offering a variety of once-in-alifetime experiences, such as doing gorilla treks in Rwanda, ballooning over the Namib Desert, tracking black rhino on foot in northwestern Namibia, or experiencing the Okavango Delta in Botswana,” explains Vincent.

Similarly, Singita has a collection of multi-generational, exclusive-use villas that cater to families or groups of friends. “Guests are yearning for longer stays, to slow down the experience and have time to reconnect with one another.” The pandemic has set back many industries, but none more so than hospitality. The lack of tourism has had a massive impact on the government’s ability to protect wildlife, for example in the Kruger National Park, where illegal poaching has increased rapidly. Singita is not alone in recording that the poverty affecting nearby communities has worsened owing to the declining economic situation, compounded by the fact that people have lost jobs in tourism.

Without normal tourist activity there is also far less movement in parks and reserves, which provides more cover for poachers.

Clayton points out that the Covid net effect “taught us to be more dynamic than ever, from a business perspective, with greater tenacity to survive, and then hopefully the ability to thrive. There will undoubtedly be more of these black/green swan events, from climate disasters to wars.

Covid has been devastating for staff and morale. Only now are we starting to pay incentives to staff and dividends to shareholders, but this is few and far between.” And the next five years? “Well, we have stopped forecasting with accuracy, but we do project a surge in travel… that will hopefully deliver profitability for both our staff and shareholders alike.”

After some disappointing cancellations and disruptions caused by the Omicron variant, travellers are again planning bigger and more splurgeworthy trips. Private flights and villa stays are still in high demand, says Kent. “Travellers are planning 2022 trips with a fervour unlike anything we’ve seen since the start of the pandemic.”

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inesh Govender (DG): What does travel mean to you — in a business and a personal sense?

Hylton Kallner (HK): For me, travelling is about unique experiences and creating new memories. It’s about learning of and exploring different cultures. When I’m with my family, it’s a special bonding time where I get to see the world through the eyes of my children — and have their undivided attention. For business, it is about building relationships that extend beyond a video call and finding opportunities in the moment.

DG: During lockdown, most had that “one” destination they kept “wanderlusting” after. Mine was Florence, Italy — those cobblestoned streets, the search for incredible art and gelato. What was yours?

HK: Mine was a lot closer to home.

After being locked up in my study for months, I was desperate for the Kruger; for the openness, peace, and tranquillity — and a braai around the fire.

DG: As CEO of Discovery Bank, you aim to get people to manage their money well; I spend my days trying to get people healthier and fitter. We’ve poured our efforts into a new travel platform, Vitality Travel, and many would ask: Why? What’s the thinking behind it?

HK: We’ve done a lot of work over the years to understand what our clients value most — and travel is right at the top of the list, time and again. And what’s interesting about travel is that it is both an enabler for business people and a reward in terms of personal leisure, but in every instance it’s an area where we can make the journey cheaper or better for our clients.

Importantly, from a behavioural perspective, because people value travel in different ways, it has really broad appeal. We’ve found that making travel more affordable and accessible is uniquely powerful as a motivator, so we can either try to coax you to go for a run three times a week, with the goal of lowering your cardiac risk at 65 (which you will), or get you a free flight to Cape Town at the end of the year for your holiday (which is what Vitality does for people who manage their health and money well). It’s no surprise which one has a bigger impact, given the immediacy and appeal of the reward. From our perspective, it’s all connected, and we benefit as a bank and insurer from the better financial and wellness behaviours in the short

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ALL SYSTEMS GO DINESH GOVENDER AND Dinesh Govender, CEO of Vitality, talks to Hylton Kallner, CEO of Discovery Bank, about the new Vitality Travel platform, wanderlust, and chilling taxi rides

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“We’ve found that making travel more affordable and accessible is uniquely powerful as a motivator”

HYLTON KALLNER

Pro, which doubles up as a personal video player and laptop when I travel; my Rimowa overnight case — it’s the maximum size you can take on board a flight and tough enough to withstand any abuse; a roll-up puffer jacket, which is useful for any weather; and my Moleskine notebook, for jotting down lists wherever I go.

DG: Travel is incredibly physical by nature, and yet has been enhanced by digital technology, enabling more selfservice and the rise of online bookings, much in the same vein as banking, where there has been a real disruption of business models and innovation globally. To what extent do you think consumers benefit?

HK: For one, the booking process has been democratised and pricing has become much more transparent; it’s easy to compare the price of every available flight to your destination, and then make a booking in minutes. But I think that it’s much more than that — as a consumer, you now have access to options that simply didn’t exist before, such as booking tours and restaurants, and researching your destination online. While some of the older, traditional models have come under pressure, consumers have benefited through competition and better prices and, ultimately, the industry has also grown. You’re right — it’s very similar to the impact that digital technology is having in banking.

DG: Let’s talk the virtues of earliness and lateness. For the most part, there tend to be two types of travel people: the arrive-three-hours-before-departure cohort and then those who relish the racing heartbeat and cold sweat that just about get them through a boarding gate. I’m all for a cosy spot in the lounge, with time to spare for a strong coffee and the FT. How about you?

HK: I’m really impatient by nature and I hate waiting around, which often does mean a bit of a sprint to the gate.

My family hate it, but we’ve never actually missed a flight, so I’ve clearly always left just enough time — it must be the actuary in me.

DG: What would you say are the three key priorities business travellers value?

HK: Timesavers, like our Fast Track Priority Lane; lounge access, to catch up on emails between flights; and a 24hour helpdesk, for when things don’t go according to plan. We’ve built all of these into the Discovery Bank travel offering, plus a lot more, based on the feedback from our clients.

DG: Is there a surreal (or harrowing) travel experience you’d like to share?

HK: I’ve had a few missed landings and some frightening meals, but nothing can be scarier than a taxi ride in New York or Rome.

DG: How do you exercise when you travel? In all his venturing off beaten paths, I was surprised to hear Anthony Bourdain always crammed his Brazilian jiu-jitsu gi into his luggage, essentially adapting his fitness routine to his adventures no matter where he was in the world.

HK: I like to do an early morning run wherever I am. For me, it’s the best way to keep up my exercise regimen and explore the city — and get a local coffee.

DG: Discovery Bank recently introduced its inaugural SpendTrend report. Anything interesting in terms of people’s travel choices?

HK: SpendTrend was a fascinating look into top money trends and spending habits among the bank’s client base over the past year. On average, Discovery Bank clients were most likely to book flights on a Tuesday, and Cape Town was the most popular destination for travel.

What was also interesting was that local travel rebounded very quickly as the lockdowns were lifted and South Africans got to explore our beautiful country in ways that they hadn’t experienced before, so we saw many of the less well-known routes and towns being visited much more frequently than before.

DG: A very important question — how do you pack your suits? Fold, roll, or garment bag?

HK: Fold — but with a quick steam wherever I go.

DG: As we end off, and on the topic of gallivanting, what’s your next planned trip?

HK: It’s a business trip, to Amsterdam.

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and long term — and so do our clients.

The science is in getting the economic equations to balance, and the art is in making it simple and appealing enough to change human behaviour, which is what Vitality has done with over a million flights a year for clients, as you know.

DG: What are your five travel essentials when packing?

HK: A really comfortable pair of noise-cancelling headphones (I now use the Apple AirPods Max); my iPad

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ccess, not excess, is the real luxury. This much was true even before the pandemic upended the world, and it is taking on ever-greater resonance as travellers seek out authentic opulence and truly unique escapes.

Pre-pandemic, villa rentals were largely seen as the preserve of the ultra-wealthy, where rooms for the security cohort and private pilot went without saying. Today, that’s changed, as private homes broaden the scope of villa rentals and travellers weigh the expense of an exclusive property against the enhanced privacy, personalised service, and innate character of a villa escape.

It’s a niche that the Art House Collection neatly taps into, offering art- and designloving globetrotters the opportunity to stay in memorable, exclusive-use

properties defined by their unique style and remarkable private art collections.

The Art House Collection grew out of luxury villa rental company In Residence, and was founded by veteran travel expert Michelle Snaddon and cultural entrepreneur Elana Brundyn. No stranger to the art world, Brundyn was instrumental in launching Zeitz Mocaa, and was formerly CEO of the Norval Foundation.

“A lot of the Art House Collection comes from people I’ve met, or houses I’ve discovered over the years,” says Brundyn.

“Some owners are in a different season of their lives, and are now interested in renting out their homes part of the year.”

That has created a new avenue for artloving travellers — and an opportunity for Brundyn to celebrate what she calls the “psyche of the collector”.

“In the art world we are so focused on the artists and curators, but I also feel

HOME IS WHERE THE ART IS

Luxury villa rentals for those with an eye for quality

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that the collectors — who are interesting and knowledgeable — have been slightly forgotten,” she says. “And it’s not always about large collections, it’s about how they are put together. Sometimes it’s one painting that carries the whole place.”

A highlight in central Cape Town is Heatherfield Manor, a serene villa set amid lush gardens, yet just a few steps from the buzzy pavements of Kloof Street. Indoors, the house is a treasure trove of art and design, with an eclectic private collection amassed over nearly two decades.

In one bedroom, a piece by Marié Stander hangs alongside a complementary private commission, while downstairs the entrance hall is almost overwhelmed by a striking work by Matthew Hindley. In the study and dining room you’ll find canvases by Kate Gottgens, while Stephen Inggs, Chris Denovan, and Nigel Mullins are just a few of the other artists whose works grace this elegant manor.

There’s a similar well of homegrown creativity to tap at Dorpshuis Studios in the heart of Stellenbosch. Here, the art on the walls comes largely from the owner, architect and artist Johann Slee. In the Banhoek Valley outside of town, there’s Johannesdal Farmhouse. In the home of owners Chris Willemse and Dané Erwee — founders of innovative Stellenbosch florist Okasie — you’ll find a seemingly incongruous collection ranging from tapestries to botanical installations to works by young local artists.

Venture further to Montagu, and you’ll find chef and interior designer Jacques Erasmus and his partner Hein Liebenberg, who have beautifully reinvigorated the 165-year-old cottages that make up art-filled Jonkmanshof.

Guests looking for a more comprehensive discovery of the local art landscape can also book personalised art tours with Brundyn, leveraging her personal relationships with artists and curators across the art world. Such an experience could include lunch with a local artist, a tour of a private studio, or an insight into the curatorial process behind art auctions.

“It’s about giving people the lay of the land when it comes to art on the continent, and hoping they also get excited, because I really want to remind travellers of the successes on the continent and what is fuelling the interest in African art right now,” says Brundyn.

For now, the Art House Collection is focused on the Western Cape, though it extends to a handful of safari-focused properties further north. In the Sabi Sand reserve, Cheetah Plains offers four 1. free-standing villas that each boast their own private collections, while Botswana’s Xigera Safari Lodge lists a roll-call of renowned artists in its décor offering.

And, sometimes, the space itself is 1. The Nest the artwork. Take The Nest in Namibia’s 24 000ha Namib-Tsaris conservancy.

Here the four-bedroom lodge was dreamt up by conservationist Swen Bachran and artist Porky Hefer, drawing inspiration 2. Jonkmanshof from the weaver nests found in the region.

What’s key to each and every property is an inimitable sense of character, a trait that is integral to the collection.

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n little more than a decade, One&Only Cape Town has established a global reputation for its sense of refined luxury, making it an oasis of contemporary opulence in the heart of the vibrant Victoria & Alfred (V&A) Waterfront precinct.

And now, a revamp of the gorgeous Lion’s Head Penthouse has cemented the reputation of this rooftop locale as the address in the city for discerning travellers.

The Lion’s Head Penthouse, situated at the apex of Marina Rise, is an expansive sanctuary designed for reconnection and celebration, a luxurious hideaway for friends, families, and multi-generational travellers.

This is particularly true of the upper floor of the penthouse, which has two separate lounge areas, an elegant dining room, and a fully fitted kitchen — ideal for catching up with old friends while cooking a celebratory feast (or just book a private chef to do all the hard work).

Guests can enjoy seamless alfresco dining as well, with the lounges flowing out onto a terrace that now features a step-in plunge pool boasting stunning views over the Atlantic Ocean.

Downstairs — a short ride in the private elevator away — the lower level of the penthouse is a space for quiet reflection and relaxation. Here, four sumptuous en-suite bedrooms each open out onto a private terrace or balcony, promising remarkable panoramas of the City Bowl framed by the peaks of Table Mountain National Park. The master suite is especially impressive, with its own walk-in wardrobe and an

indulgent, free-standing bath carefully positioned to soak up those city views.

While the eye is drawn to the skyline, the poised luxury of the décor is always very apparent. The penthouse has a thoroughly contemporary aesthetic with a touch of classic opulence.

In the bespoke furniture, curated artworks, and signature details, flashes of modernity are neatly balanced by a sense of timeless elegance.

And while the Lion’s Head Penthouse is a true sanctuary above the bustling streets, it’s also the perfect

Indulge in One&Only Cape Town’s Lion’s Head Penthouse

gateway to exploring the Mother City.

The V&A Waterfront waits on the doorstep, while the glamour of the Atlantic Seaboard is just a few minutes away by luxury transfer. Looking for hot tips or sold-out tables? One&Only Cape Town’s well-connected concierge is on speed dial to make your dream trip come true.

True to the One&Only ethos, service here is defined by innate attention to detail, from the bar pre-stocked with guests’ favourite champagne to the butler’s scullery that allows for discreet service at all hours.

And, of course, holding the keys to the Lion’s Head Penthouse also brings a host of benefits within this one-ofa-kind urban resort. Guests enjoy a seamless check-in in the comfort of the penthouse, dedicated sessions with a personal trainer in the state-of-the-art One&Only fitness centre, round-theclock butler service, and the use of an Isola poolside cabana. Whether you’re soaking up the serenity poolside or enjoying the views from your rooftop terrace, the Lion’s Head Penthouse offers an unforgettable escape.

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LUXURIOUS TRANQUILLITY ATOP AN URBAN OASIS

NAVIGATOR

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Dispatches on all things cool, covetable, and conversation-wor thy

drinks

the goods

Settle into autumn with one of these mellow finds

M a ke y o u r t r ave l s memorable with these gadgets

gifted M&C Saatchi Abel MD Faheem Chaudhry

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A FEAST IN THE VELD

Canvas Collective Africa’s The Field Kitchen

eclectibles Sarah Buitendach on a super-surprising landing with Condor

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Fo r a g e d f i n e dining at The Field Kitchen

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aunched as part of Canvas Collective Africa’s roving luxurycamp offering, The Field Kitchen sees chef Gregory Henderson, renowned for his biomespecific food, cook up hyper-local cuisine for the sophisticated camper.

The Field Kitchen, which has laid claim to being South Africa’s first truly mobile fine-dining restaurant, has been launched in tandem with this new haute-camping concept, which sees the setup wind its way across the Western Cape, inviting guests to explore the fauna, flora, and produce of these unique locales.

Chef-in-residence Henderson, who has travelled extensively across Africa and is known for his endemic approach to cooking, draws on the diverse ecosystems and biomes of each site. Incorporating foraged veld finds and local ingredients, he impresses with adventurous yet approachable dishes. And when it comes to pairings, he need look no further than the nearest wine estates and distillers.

The kitchen itself is set up inside an impressive mobile glass, steel, and canvas cabin, which has been designed as both a bespoke moveable kitchen and restaurant and an openplan food studio. This gives diners the opportunity to witness how these foraged foods and often unusual ingredients are transformed into thought-provoking yet delicious dishes.

Award-winning mixologist Bruce Dorfling is in charge of the drinks programme. In addition to mixing, shaking, and pouring some botanically inspired cocktails he also gives guests the opportunity to try their hand at distillation, with the libations then being enjoyed with the meal.

The debut of Canvas Collective Africa — and hence The Field Kitchen — takes place in the picturesque farmlands around Botrivier in the Overberg. This region is not only The

Field Kitchen’s first stop but also the focus of Henderson’s latest cookbook, Overberg Tapestry: Part One, which takes readers through the edible history of the area.

The first culinary experience will take the shape of a live-fire-cooked meal under the beautiful African skies. Local and veld-sourced produce will be used to create hearty and generous slow-cooked dishes, with the Botrivier location lending itself to beautiful lamb.

Those with an interest in foraging will be able to join Henderson in the veld on his exploits. The farm, in

Chef Gregory Henderson

addition to its bounty of natural and wild produce, is also home to regenerative olive trees and stone-fruit orchards, ripe and ready for harvest. In winter, the Overberg offers an abundance of chestnuts, chicken of the woods mushrooms, fynbos (including two different varieties of wild rosemary), and plenty of botanicals, flowers, and perennials. All of these will be harvested ahead of a picnic lunch in the veld.

The final dinner will see the fruits of the harvest and contributions from local farmers transformed into a multi-course fine-dining experience, not only highlighting the beauty of the regional produce but also showcasing the versatility of the ingredients.

While the menu will change daily based on what’s at its best and ready for harvest, the chef is also excited to weave the history of the region into the experience. In honour of this having been a route along which cattle were traded for salt, butter, and fat, Henderson has conceptualised a Nguni beef dish that pays homage to this part of the Overberg’s past, using all the traded components.

For the chef, the project is the realisation of a 20-year dream, bringing his passion for foraged veld finds and indigenous ingredients to the fore and allowing him to share it with all who are interested. After all, according to Henderson, to really understand our biodiversity and all it offers we need to be eating it.

Canvas Collective Africa’s Botrivier sojourn will be available to culinary travellers until 30 June, before making its way to the fertile Biedouw Valley, just beyond Clanwilliam, for late winter and spring.

To book your Canvas Collective Africa experience, email stars@canvascollectiveafrica.com. For further information visit canvascollectiveafrica.com or follow @canvascollectiveafrica on Instagram

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FOOD /

DRINKS

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CAMINO AFRICANA CAPE VINTAGE 2O2O

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BLAAUWKLIPPEN 10-YR POTSTILL BRANDY

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A vintage port-style wine made from bush vines is anything but ordinary, but then again, acclaimed winemaker David Finlayson is always up to an extraordinary challenge. Made from grapes specifically grown for this purpose in a warm, dry microclimate, this fortified wine will be ideal with desserts, cheeses, and preserved fruit, or enjoyed alongside a roaring fire this winter. R270 per bottle.

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looking Ithefforyou’re true zen at bottom of

your tumbler, look no further than the paragon of Japanese whisky.

Residing in a bottle with 24 facets (representing the 24 seasons in the country’s lunar calendar), Hibiki Japanese Harmony is a luminous blend of 10 malt and grain whiskies (aged in five different types of casks). At once subtle and complex, it’s the perfect complement to any dining experience, and retails at about R1 599 per bottle.

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otes of menthol and a touch of eucalyptus add a fresh counterpoint to the dark brooding fruit so typical of this vintage. Its palate teems with rich fruit and notes of cherry tobacco, leading to a lingering lead-pencil finish. A touch leaner than other vintages, this offering is nonetheless sumptuous, with dry defined tannins and a silky yet serious end. Price per gift box R875.

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INVERROCHE COCO CAPENSIS As the third and final addition to Inverroche’s Creative Collection, this elegant, smooth, and well-balanced dry gin invites you into the magic of alchemy. By adding a tasteless, all-natural pinking essence to the outer box, the clear liquid inside is transformed into a beautiful and elegant shade of pink. A combination of various fynbos botanicals makes for a gin that’s perfect for mixing. Our recommendation: serve with premium Indian tonic over ice, and garnish with rose petals, a sprig of orange buchu, and a sprinkle of pomegranate seeds. Available from select bottle stores from R429 per bottle.

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ade in limited quantities, this 10-year Potstill Brandy

by Blaauwklippen is a real beauty. Matured in selected 225l French-oak barrels, it presents whiffs of vanilla, clove, and rich fruit flavours in every sip. Enjoy on the rocks, or paired with chocolate and cheese. Available from select bottle stores from R495 per bottle.

This flagship blend is powerful on entry, with integrated oak and sumptuous red and black fruit wound up in a mesh of fine-coated tannins. A complex wine, it combines an array of fruit with subtle oak and savoury aromas.

Promising 10 years and beyond of maturation potential, enjoy alongside good company and a slowroasted leg of lamb. R875 per bottle.

THE GOODS

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1.Orbitkey Nest

For me, travelling is more akin to a jigsaw puzzle than anything else, at least when it comes to packing my “essential” tech and all the required charging bricks, cables, and adapters.

While I have a few different tech organisers for travel, they’re all basically just bags or cases that have a few loops, or a storage sleeve, into which I toss all my cables and whatnot. It’s the tech accessory equivalent of overpacking your suitcase, hoping that you haven’t forgotten anything important, and then sitting on it to try to ensure that

MAKE IT MEMORABLE

its overstuffed innards don’t spill out for all the world to see. It’s not great. That’s why I love the Orbitkey Nest. Not only does it look more stylish than any tech organiser I own, it’s also a hard-shell case (which is more protective than the usual soft variants) and has more storage options than you’d expect.

Movable dividers let you customise compartments to suit your needs, and the lid has a wireless charger embedded in it.You won’t be able to use it as a power bank, but there’s something to be said for the convenience of having a wireless charger with you. Available in Ash or Black. R1 999, istore.co.za

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3. Bose Sleepbuds II

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2. Leica M11

One of the best parts of travelling is capturing the sights and preserving the memories. While you can use your smartphone camera to do this, I find that an actual camera does a far better job. Leica’s new M11 features a full-frame BSI CMOS sensor with exclusive triple-resolution sensor technology, expanded ISO range, dual memory, and longer battery life.

While it maintains the iconic look of Leica’s traditional M series, the design has been optimised for efficiency and ergonomics.

If you’ve used an SL2 or Q2, you’ll find the menu structure familiar, but with the controls around the high-resolution touchscreen arranged in a new way.

Another feature unique to the M11 is the deliberate omission of the base plate, a move that is meant to give you easy, direct access to the battery and SD card. The camera also boasts 64GB internal storage.

Trying to fall asleep in a new environment, whether it be on a plane or in a hotel suite, can be nigh on impossible.

According to some studies, up to 62% of adults worldwide say

Available in a black finish (featuring a top plate of high-quality aluminium with a scratch-resistant coating) or a silver-chrome variant with a classic brass top plate.

R149 995, ormsdirect.co.za

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they don’t sleep as well as they’d like, and over 20% of adults in the US and Canada have reported experiencing insomnia.

If this sounds like you, you may want to take a look at the Bose Sleepbuds II. Despite the fact that they look like in-ear true wireless buds, these are essentially wearable white-noise machines — unlike in-ear true wireless buds, they do not stream music or audio from your connected device. To use them, you need to download the Bose Sleep app, pair your Sleepbuds II, and then transfer the sounds that Bose has loaded on the app to your Sleepbuds II. The Sleepbuds II also have new anti-friction coating covers and an IPX4 rating, and provide up to 10 hours’ battery life on a single charge (the charging case provides an additional 30 hours’ usage). R6 600, soundimports.co.za

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here is no financial model to accurately determine the value of innovative design in the economy. Consumers are, however, increasingly expressing the value they place on product design that is customised to their individual lifestyles.

In step with this year’s International Design Day theme “Suspended in Transition”, Samsung, as a large-scale manufacturer of consumer products, is embracing the call for designers to step out of their comfort zone and adapt to a world where connected and customised experiences are at the top of consumers’ needs. With this theme in mind, we look at how Samsung, which for many is now a ubiquitous part of their connected lives, approaches its product design.

Samsung is enabling an ecosystem of technology with design experts who are exploring pioneering design and innovative strategies to create products that prioritise consumer values over technological capabilities. By doing this, it is unlocking fresh ways for consumers to experience technology and innovation that can enhance their lives, from gravitydefying foldable devices and home appliances designed to adapt to individual usage to technology that effortlessly bridges the gap between the home, the office, and everything in-between.

Our homes are full of expressive elements. However, even though they feature prominently in interiors, home appliances are still largely designed with a standardised approach. This is where Samsung’s vision of a Bespoke Home differs. Taking inspiration from

A PARADIGM SHIFT How Samsung is creating customised lifestyles and living spaces

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contemporary urban lifestyles and aesthetic trends, customers can now make choices based on their home décor, selecting from a wide range of fridge colours, for example, and the materials from which it is made. By mixing and matching different colours, materials, and modules, you can create a look that’s tailored to your lifestyle and family size. It’s a look, designed by you.

Samsung is bringing this bespoke design philosophy to the rest of the home, empowering users to create ideal living spaces while simplifying their everyday routines. This includes the Samsung Jet Vacuum, which was designed with portability in mind. Unlike larger appliances, vacuums are meant to be carried around the house — but they are often hidden away when they are not being used. The Jet Vac’s meticulous design, with the body virtually floating above its circular platform, gives the vacuum an elegance that allows it to stand out in the open in living spaces even when not in use. Another stylish addition to Samsung’s vision is the AirDresser — its cutting-edge clothing-care appliance that is designed to fit into any home’s décor.

The AirDresser offers a beautiful, sleek, and smart way to keep garments refreshed daily with an appliance that blends into any space, as it seamlessly doubles up as a full-length mirror and is narrow enough to be placed inside a standard cupboard, without any plumbing required.

The home of the future is definitely worth a visit, especially as it’s already being designed across the country by its users, ushering in a new era of customisation.

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CO O LL L A B O R C RA ATTI IOONN

N AV I G A T O R

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— and, in some cases, eradicate.”

The continent of Africa, he points out, has been wiped of its identity. Fifty-four countries with nearly 1.5 billion people speaking more than 2 000 languages have been distilled into one “country”, “devoid of nuance and cursed to be forever plagued by deprivation”.

He acidly takes apart the fly-encrusted, starving-or-safari stereotypes of Africa. To counter them he sets out with a reporter’s forensic eye and the fondness of a homeboy to “unspool the inaccurate story of a continent, dragging this bludgeoned narrative towards reality”.

Michele Magwood is an awardwinning literary critic

READ ALERT.

Dragging the bludgeoned African narrative towards reality Dipo Faloyin dismantles a continent’s worth of inaccuracies, one stereotype at a time

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ne of the barometers I use for which books to cover in Wanted is how often I find myself telling other people about them. This month I have been talking a great deal about Dipo Faloyin’s Africa Is Not a Country: Breaking Stereotypes of Modern Africa (Harvill Secker).

Faloyin is a senior editor at VICE magazine, a smart, sharp writer who focuses on race, culture, and identity. Though he lives in London, he was born in Chicago and raised in Nigeria.

In his introduction he parses his layered identity, from the broad strokes of being half Igbo and half Yoruba to his assertion, “I was raised with a strong belief that it is an auntie’s duty to mind your business and that it is impossible to have too many cousins.”

Faloyin uses this affectionate description as a springboard for the more sober thrust of the book: “Not everyone is allowed a complex identity. Throughout history, individuals and entire communities have been systematically stripped of their personhood and idiosyncrasies, often to make them easier to demean, denigrate and subjugate

Right: A Benin Bronze in the British Museum Bottom: Africa Is Not a Country

by Dipo Faloyin

To understand Africa it is critical to understand how the region was divvied up between colonial overlords, who stole the best lands, split tribes, and forced markedly different cultures together into new nations against their will. It is a continent, then, birthed in deep trauma, in erasure.

Faloyin lays bare this diabolical process with a chapter on “Seven Dictators”. He doesn’t shy away from the distressing facts of history, but reminds us that African countries were left with forms of

democracy that did not necessarily fit the demographics the colonisers had created.

It’s not as though Africans are somehow predisposed to evil despotism, he writes.

There’s a brilliant chapter titled “The Birth of White Saviour Imagery or How Not to Be a White Saviour While Still Making a Difference”. Faloyin falls just short of lampooning the “We Are the World” phenomenon — “Heavyweight musicians drenched in exceptional ’80s knitwear” — but has choice words for the “Do They Know It’s Christmas” phenomenon that raised £10 million for Ethiopia but was grotesquely insulting to the millions of Christian Africans who know very well when it’s Christmas.

Perhaps the most arresting chapter is on the cultural artefacts that were stolen from Africa on an eye-watering scale, and that are now to be found in museums all over Europe. Most of us are aware of the Benin Bronzes in the British Museum; what’s less well known is what a sophisticated nation the Kingdom of Benin was. Hanging on the vast walls of the palace of the oba (traditional leader) were exquisite brass plaques, sculptures, and figurines that represented the oral history of the kingdom over 500 years.

These priceless artefacts were looted wholesale by the British army in 1897.

Faloyin goes on to itemise other treasures pillaged from African countries such as Namibia, the Gold Coast (now Ghana), and Abyssinia (now Ethiopia) — piles of bloodied treasures ripped from their rightful owners and now behind glass in Europe. It’s said that 90% of Africa’s material cultural legacy is outside the continent. In the face of growing pressure for artefacts to be returned, governments and museums are dissembling, but at least one, France, has agreed to rehome the tens of thousands of items it has in its museums.

Strung through Faloyin’s exacting narrative are many warm and human stories. Of the Africa Cup of Nations, of the manic streets of Lagos — if you’re lucky you can hit three wedding receptions on one Saturday afternoon — and especially of Jollof rice, which for him sums up the soul of Africa.

“Done right, and your Jollof should taste equally like a still Sunday afternoon at your parents’ house and the sensation of your table being placed next to a giant speaker emitting a medley of bonethumping noises whenever the band gets carried away… With every mouthful you should taste the time your relay team finished last on Sports Day and you were immediately handed a bowl overflowing with strangely pink strands of soft rice as if it would heal your sorrow. It did.

It should taste as you wish to be seen. It should taste as you and yours are known.”

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01. What is your personal definition of luxury? There is such a big difference between expense and luxury. The former is about cost, the latter is a feeling of upliftment and pleasure — from savouring a perfectly prepared cup of coffee, to a spray of your favourite cologne, to the excitement of boarding a plane to an unfamiliar destination. 02. The one indulgence you’d never forgo? Going to the barber once a week. I get a lot of stick for this from friends and family, who often say, “I can’t even tell the difference, ha-ha!”

It makes me feel on point from the top down.

An indulgence worth indulging in, I say!

03. What are your essential grooming lotions and potions? Dermalogica is my go-to brand — the exfoliator, cleanser, toner, and moisturiser. Piz Buin for sun protection. Acqua di Parma cologne for the day and Salvatore Ferragamo for the night.

But the most effective is time in the sun, exercise, and a good night’s sleep. 04. What tech gadget couldn’t you live without?

My Apple Watch Series 5. I’m a bit of an optimiser, so I love observing the data I’m able to glean about myself and my lifestyle.

05. If you had to choose, what is the single most sentimental object to you?

A signed Arsenal jersey from the invincible team of 2003-2004, which went an entire season without defeat. Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp, Robert Pires, Patrick Vieira, and Arsène Wenger all signed it. My aunt worked as a radiologist at the hospital where the Arsenal players used to do their scans. For my 16th birthday she got them to sign the shirt for me. It represents a year of unthought-of

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The MD of M&C Saatchi Abel on the joys of Tokyo’s road signs and Paul Smith socks 5.

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achievement, which hasn’t been replicated by any team before or since. 06. What is your drink of choice? Sanpellegrino, Blood Orange flavour. I first had it when travelling to Capri, Italy, and every time I open that can, hear that “shhh ahhh” sound, and take that first sip, I’m transported back to Capri’s cobbled streets and enviously stylish people. 07. When you eat out, where do you go? I love Tortellino d’Oro in Oaklands. It’s beautiful in its simplicity, and still run by members of the family.

08. What element of your wardrobe signifies your individual sense of style?

My socks. I love Paul Smith’s bold colours and stripes. They can help you blend in and they can make you stand out. That’s how I try to show up in the world too — there are moments to go with the herd and moments when you need to go your own way. 09. What was the last object on a shopping expedition that you instantly fell in love with? A pair of Axel Arigato sneakers. 10. A watch brand that you love? I’ve never really been a watch guy, but I love Patek Philippe for its famous payoff line: “You never actually own a Patek Philippe. You merely look after it for the next generation.” As an adman, that kind of genius really does it for me. I don’t own one, though. 11. How has travel changed for you in 2022? Ultimately, travel is about adventure, perspective, feeding the soul, and going somewhere you haven’t been before.

I found that the lockdown forced many of us to go on very personal journeys of selfreflection. In terms of actual travel, Covid-19 meant lots more local travel. In 2021, I did a life-changing hike along the Drakensberg’s Mnweni Pass with nothing but the things on my back. No cellphone signal, just the luxury of being with myself and in nature, without another person in sight. 12. The last place you travelled to that captured your heart? Tokyo, Japan, was absolutely mind-blowing. It was a sensory overload in every single way. Incredible consideration goes into everything, from the check-in experience to the design of the road signs.

13. The last meal that really blew you away? Wasabi prawns at The Good Earth in Knightsbridge, London. Next level!

14. What is the first thing you add to your grocery cart? Granny Smith apples and medjool dates. Both to eat on their own and to slice into a bowl of warm oats. And Woolies double-cream coconut yoghurt, because have you ever?!

15. The best gift you’ve been given recently? My dad recently gave me a limited-edition set of Japanese yunomi teacups, which is the most beautifully crafted gift I’ve ever received. 16. What place rejuvenates you? Whenever I’m in Cape Town I love doing a run up Kloof Road from Sea Point, down to Camps Bay and then back via the promenade.

The intensity of the energy in that place at sunrise stays with me for days afterwards.

1. At the office 2. Paul Smith socks 3. Hike along the Drakensberg’s Mnweni Pass 4. Apple Watch Series 5 5. Uomo Salvatore Ferragamo 6. Arsenal jersey 2003-2004 7. Tokyo

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2022 / 05

N AV I G A T O R

05 / 2022 text

ECLECTIBLES.

Earning your stripes

L

48

The cost-of-living index score for Joburg, making it the most expensive city in which to live in South Africa, according to Statista. Pretoria comes second at 42.76 and Cape Town third at 40.98.

A NUMBERS GAME text

Declan Gibbon

LIVING IT UP

Joburg is ranked as the 60th most expensive holiday destination globally.

55 000000

The estimated average cost increase, in percentage, from economy-class to first-class seats on long-haul international flights.

cost carriers. Our island-bound Condor flight was packed with Teutonic types taking a time-out.

The return leg began much the same way. My friend and fellow journalist Cath was seated on the opposite side of the aisle and we settled in for a fourhour prattle while sun-kissed German families snoozed.

Truthfully, the entire flight passed by pleasantly; that is, until roughly a metre above ground, as we came in to land at Frankfurt.

The wheels were down, tray tables securely fastened, when, suddenly, in a heart-seizing second, the plane accelerated and pulled up sharply.

There was a collective shriek of horror. The blood drained from my

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imagine the frenzy of sun-deprived Munich dwellers, Jedi mind-tricked by the new Condor planes, frantically booking flights to Lanzarote, Puerto Plata or anywhere else that promises sunburns and real stripes.

The masses may have visions of sticky, sandy days when they see those jazzy Boeings and Airbuses, but, in a sharp contrast, they make me think about how my life almost came to a very uncool end over Frankfurt.

But let’s take this near-tragedy back a step. Pre-Covid, I’d flown on the airline from Frankfurt to Tenerife for a super-swanky champagne launch. The Spanish island off the top of Africa is a major holiday spot for Europeans, and the easiest way to get there is via low-

100 000

434

The size in square metres of the first-class cabins offered

by Singapore Airlines.

44.87

The infrastructure cost in dollars of the Qatar 2022 Soccer World Cup, which includes a new city, an airport, and seven new stadiums. More than 6 500 migrant workers have died in Qatar since 2011, many of whom are believed to have worked on these infrastructure projects, says The Guardian.

15.24

220 000 000 000

ast week, glancing over Monocle Magazine’s morning mailer, I noticed a story about German “leisure airline” Condor’s rebrand.

If you’d spent time at a European airport up until that announcement, you would have clocked the budget brand’s yellow-and-grey livery, and then immediately forgotten it. As plane markings go, they were entirely unremarkable.

Now Condor has decided to give its fleet a major facelift, courtesy of gigantic, bold bands that wrap its planes from nose to tail. It’s a clever, supersized riff on the kind of stripes you’d find on beach umbrellas, towels, and loungers next to swimming pools (think the red-and-white pattern at the Oyster Box in Umhlanga) — a smart move for a completely holiday-minded company.

I have since spotted stories about these hi-vis high flyers all over the internet. People are mad for them. Just

The estimated amount, in rand, allegedly stolen

by Durban travel agency Hello Darlings. More than 370 criminal cases have been opened since the disappearance of CEO Tasneem Moosa in February.

The number of launches into space in 2021 — the highest in the history of spaceflight.

Nearly 200 launches of personnel or satellites are planned for 2022.

12

Sarah Buitendach is contributing editor to the Financial Mail.

body. I turned to Cath — she was transparently white. The captain came on and spoke in clipped German. I tried to ask my other neighbour what he’d said, but she stumbled over her English, offering only, “There is wind.” A glance out the window — patently the stillest day on record in the Rhein-Main for a thousand years.

Why were we now doing a full loop around the city, and seemingly coming in to land once more? I reasoned it had something to do with faulty landing gear. When you’ve watched every episode of Air Crash Investigation, you know these things.

But, moments later, we were easing towards the tarmac again. No one on the plane said a word. They’d obviously all watched the series too.

And then, instantly, like absolutely nothing untoward had ever happened, we were on the ground, skidding to a slow, with a blast of passengers screeching and clapping.

It was then that the captain spoke again. “Congratulations,” he said in English, “this flight was my co-pilot’s final exam, and he has passed.” Cath and I sat inanimate, both continuing to do great impersonations of the undead.

As we disembarked, the kind souls around me stopped to give their best to the new pilot. He was beaming. The two South African grinches did not — choosing instead to drag our adrenalinedrenched bodies into the closest airport bar for a vat of Spätburgunder.

Years later and I stand by the thought I had then — a full commercial flight doesn’t seem a great vehicle to take out for your final spin as a learner.

Condor, note this: it might take a little more than new stripes to earn my trust as a flyer again.

The discount in dollars given by the most expensive resort in the world, Philippines’ Banwa Private Island, during the pandemic, from $100 000 to $45 000 a night.

The number of domestic air tickets granted to members of the South African parliament for their and their partners’ personal use per year, for a period of five years after exit.

IMAGES GRISPB/123RF AND SUPPLIED

Sarah Buitendach

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