The Intrepid Explorer magazine - Spring 2015

www.intrepidexplorer.co.za • Summer 2014

cycling with a view

Makgadikgadi Pans MTB adventure

On the King’s Highway

Following Lawrence of Arabia’s footsteps

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chasing frozen waterfalls With Ryan Sandes & Vanessa Haywood

swimming the 7 seas

local is lekker Hayden Quinn’s culinary adventure in SA

africa clockwise A family feat across our continent

let’s get high!

SA’s top

rock-climbing spots

from russia with love Scaling Mount Elbrus

twitching in xigera The Okavango’s birding paradise

lewis pugh’s campaign to save the world’s oceans

• WIN! 2 lucky readers stand a chance to win a Weber braai grill worth R2 400 each!

• AFRICAN HONEYMOON ADVENTURE – Part 2 • THE UNKNOWN SOLDIERS – Remembering the war dogs of Vietnam • ROWING WITH THE WIND – Cameron Bellamy crosses the Atlantic • 9 PEAKS CHALLENGE – Climbing SA’s highest mountains The official Cape Union Mart magazine • ROCKING THE DAISIES – Play hard and tread lightly

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contents 04

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FOREWORD

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Andre Labuschaigne, Cape Union Mart CEO

EDITOR’S NOTE Get the flock out of here!

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COMPETITION

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Win one of two Weber braai grills, worth R2 400 each!

7 SWIMS IN 7 SEAS FOR 1 REASON

Lewis Pugh is saving our oceans one swim at a time

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AFRICA CLOCKWISE

Stand-up comedian Mark Sampson and family are driving across the continent in their Big Green Truck

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PAN-ORAMIC

Feel like the only mountain biker left on the planet when cycling across Botswana’s Makgadikgadi Pans

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ARABIAN MAGIC

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SA ROCKS!

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FALLING FOR VICTORIA

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A BIRD’S EYE VIEW

On the King’s Highway through Jordan, with Graham Howe

These are Fiona McIntosh’s favourite places to get high— rock climbing!

The second part of Robbie Stammers’ s account of his African honeymoon adventure in Zambia

Rachel Lang observes the feathered inhabitants of Xigera in the Okavango

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C on ten ts

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DOUBLE THE ADVENTURE

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Sarah Kingdom attempts to summit Mount Elbrus—after a gruelling 48-hour journey getting there

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HERE’S TO YOU, THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER

Gareth Crocker pays his respects to the war dogs of Vietnam

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ROWING WITH THE WIND

What does it take to row two hours on and two hours off for 57 days? Just ask Cameron Bellamy

88 96

ON THE WILD SIDE

News from the outdoors

HIT THE ROAD, JACK

The Little 5—the latest vehicles more suited to the concrete jungle and the school run

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LIFE THROUGH THE LENS

We showcase the stunning landscape photography of Hougaard Malan

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THE 9 PEAKS CHALLENGE

Pamela Buckle climbed South Africa’s highest mountains on an Adventure with a Purpose

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LIVE LIFE, EAT WELL, TRAVEL FAR

Hayden Quinn’s culinary adventure through South Africa, exploring local cultures and cuisines

ROCKIN’ IN THE GREEN WORLD

Popular music festival, Rocking the Daisies, has strong green values

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ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS

Nick Dall has all the latest outdoor gadgets, gifts and garb

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UP AND OVER

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Ryan Sandes scales a wall of ice in the Drakensberg

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CAPE UNION MART STORE LISTINGS THE LAST LAUGH

Graham Howe discovers that travel also expands one’s waistline

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THE LAST WORD

We chat to ex-Springbok captain, Bob Skinstad

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Explorer The Intrepid

Live the life of Adventure

Publishing Editor ROBBIE STAMMERS robbie@intrepidexplorer.co.za Art Director STACEY STORBECK NEL stacey@insightspublishing.co.za Chief Sub-Editor TANIA GRIFFIN tania@insightspublishing.co.za Advertising Sales Director KEITH HILL keith@intrepidexplorer.co.za Advertising Manager KYLE VILLET kyle@intrepidexplorer.co.za Office Manager TARYN KERSHAW taryn@insightspublishing.co.za Staff Writer and Social Media Liaison SHAN ROUTLEDGE shan@insightspublishing.co.za Editorial Contributors Miriam Mannak, Sam Pearce, Gareth Crocker, Roy Watts, Patrick Cruywagen, Graham Howe, Fiona McIntosh, Rachel Lang, Pamela Buckle, Sarah Kingdom, Nick Dall, Ryan Sandes, Bob Skinstad

foreword

Andre Labuschaigne

S

ince I last wrote my foreword for The Intrepid Explorer, so much has happened in our country and our business.

Collectively, we have grown as a business, employed more staff and opened stores across our Cape Union Mart, Old Khaki and Poetry brands—bringing our total store count from 100 in 2011 to almost 170 currently.

We have launched a number of e-commerce websites and are investing in new technologies to make it easier for customers to interact and transact with us. And come check out our exciting new stock for the summer and festive season ahead.

Cape Union Mart hosted the 2014 Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour in October and also took the event to Durban. Our customers loved the films! The festival is a partnership between us, Deuter, LED Lenser, GoPro and K-Way. We look forward to expanding it further in 2015.

Conferences with our passionate staff have been hosted around the country to ensure customers experience the best possible service in our stores. After all, we’re in the business of satisfying and entertaining customers with world-class shopping experiences and products. We hope you and your loved ones will visit our stores and be blown away. Just a word of advice: Most of our exciting products will sell out fast, so don’t wait too long!

We always appreciate any feedback on our service and products, good or bad, so that we can improve on these all the time.

I wish you all a very meaningful festive season with your loved ones, a relaxing year-end holiday and a prosperous new year.

Yours in adventure,

Andre Labuschaigne Chief Executive Officer Cape Union Mart

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Photography Cover ©Kelvin Trautman/Nikon/Lexar Sam Pearce, US National Archives, Save The Elephants, Patrick Cruywagen, Gustav Oosthuysen, Graham Howe, Shaen Adey, Matthew Holt, Andrew Porter, Em Gatland, Shaun Gordon, Dawie Verwy, Sarah Kingdom, Ryan Sandes, Hougaard Malan, Kelvin Trautman, Getty Images/Gallo Images Back Office Support and Accounts Solutions BOSS (PTY) Ltd Managing Director: Rita Sookdeo Account Manager: Ghameeda Idalene Cape Union Mart www.capeunionmart.co.za Group Marketing Manager: Evan Torrence Marketing Manager: Odile Hufkie Printer Creda Communications Distribution Cape Union Mart stores and On The Dot Distribution Special thanks to: Venessa Lees PUBLISHED BY

Managing Director: Robbie Stammers Physical address: 174A Main Road, Claremont, 7700, Cape Town Postal address: PO Box 23692, Claremont, 7735 Telephone: +27 (0) 21 683 0005 Websites: www.intrepidexplorer.co.za www.insightspublishing.co.za

No article or any part of any article may be reproduced without the prior written consent of the publisher. The information provided and opinions expressed in this publication are provided in good faith, but do not necessarily represent the opinions of Cape Union Mart (PTY) Ltd, Insights Publishing or the editor. Neither this magazine, the publisher or Cape Union Mart can be held legally liable in any way for damages of any kind whatsoever arising directly or indirectly from any facts or information provided or omitted in these pages, or from any statements made or withheld by this publication.

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Our Intrepid Explorer

contributors Hayden Quinn became a household name in 2011 as a contestant in Series 3 of MasterChef Australia. Now, he is a regular face on Australian television and the author of a top-rated eBook series. A love of the ocean, travel, people and all things ‘food’ recently led Hayden to visit our shores for a new TV series.

Diversity is the word for Sam Pearce: She’s worked as a music festival organiser, stand-up comedy promoter and community-building carnival creator. Most recently, she’s been driving her kids around Africa Clockwise in a 10-tonne truck. But all her madcap ideas have, at their core, the fostering of interculturality and African pride. Sam also founded the legendary femme-fatale fire troupe, Parafina II. Patrick Cruywagen is currently the features editor of Land Rover Monthly magazine in the United Kingdom. Prior to that he was the bush editor of SA4x4 magazine. He recently published a book titled, Your Bucket List: 150 Must-Do Experiences in Southern Africa.

Sarah Kingdom is an Indian Mountaineering Federationrecognised mountain guide.

Born and brought up in Sydney, Australia, she climbed her first peak when she was 10 years old. Keen to keep up the ‘family tradition’ of climbing a notable peak at a young age with her own children, but now living in Africa, Sarah took her eldest son up Mt Kilimanjaro when he was also 10. She regularly guides on Kilimanjaro, and has climbed and guided expeditions in Nepal, India, Tibet, Russia and Turkey. She owns an 8 000-acre cattle ranch in Central Zambia, where she currently resides when she’s not climbing.

Hougaard Malan is a professional landscape photographer with a passion for capturing compelling images of nature. He has spent most of his time behind the camera in the Western Cape and Namibia, and later in the north of South Africa, but he has travelled plenty within the broader southern African region. While diversifying his portfolio, Malan has now started exploring the world’s bucket-list landscapes such as Patagonia and Seychelles.

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Pamela Buckle is a travel and experience journalist, adventurer, radio presenter and gadget gal—dubbed Little Miss Mission Impossible (Little MMI)! She is an outdoor, dynamic, inspirational and enthusiastic individual, inspiring others to step out of their comfort zones with a wide variety of fresh travel and lifestyle ideas, tips and topics— embracing life with enthusiasm and laughter!

Rachel Lang is a writer, blogger and environmental educationist. If she is not adventuring in the African bushveld, she is definitely dreaming about it. Some of her recent adventures include tracking black rhino in Namibia’s Kaokoveld, searching for the elusive Pel’s fishing owl in the Okavango Delta, and quad biking in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve. Rach has recently become a very keen birder. Her blog, Bush-bound Girl, is a collection of family stories, travels, interviews, poems and inspiring guest posts—all written on an adventure to discover Africa’s wild side.

Ryan Sandes is a South African trail runner. In 2010, he became the first competitor to win all four of the 4 Deserts races, each a six- to seven-day, 250-kilometre, self-supported footrace through the Atacama Desert in Chile, the Gobi Desert in China, the Sahara Desert in Egypt, and Antarctica. In addition to trail running, he is an active mountain biker, paddler and surfer.

Graham Howe is one of South Africa’s most experienced lifestyle journalists; he has contributed hundreds of food, wine and travel features to South African and British publications over the last 25 years. When not exploring the Cape Winelands, this adventurous globetrotter reports on exotic destinations around the world as a travel correspondent, and for the weekly travel show on SAfm. Miriam Mannak is a journalist and photographer​based in Cape Town. She ​covers a range of​topics including travel and tourism in southern Africa and related issues such as the environment and sustainable social development. Follow her on Twitter: @miriammannak​or visit her website at www.miriammannak.com

Gareth Crocker’s debut novel, Finding Jack, was published in New York to international acclaim. It was translated into several languages with combined sales of more than a million copies. His adventure novel, Journey from Darkness, was published in 2012 followed by the kidnap thriller, Never Let Go, in 2013.

Both Finding Jack and Never Let Go are being developed for films. Gareth’s latest novel, King, was released in October last year.

Fiona McIntosh, a freelance photojournalist, and the editor of Nightjar Travel magazine, has an enviable life of travelling and adventuring all in the name of work. When not at her desk, she can be found out on Table Mountain hiking, rock climbing or enjoying a sundowner. She’s skied to the North and South Pole, stomped up a few continental peaks and dived the world’s most iconic dive sites. Fiona is the author of numerous books on the Indian Ocean Islands, hiking, scuba diving, mountain biking and other adventures.

Nick Dall is a freelance writer who has lived and fished all over the world.

Recent postings include Italy, Argentina, Bolivia and Vietnam but he is currently back in Cape Town rediscovering the trout streams and dams of his youth. His one-yearold daughter and his mortgage also suggest that he is finally settling down.

Roy Watts is one of South Africa’s top adventure and travel writers—always seeking the ultimate sunset, the definitive bush experience and the perfect lodge.

Shan Routledge was born into wanderlust, so it’s hardly surprising that she found her way into the travel and adventure industry, getting a writing job at The Intrepid Explorer. She has worked on the snowy slopes of Aspen, sat on the edge of the world somewhere in Utah, gone diving in Borneo, hiked volcanos in Indonesia and watched the sunrise from Borobudur. As if that weren’t enough, she also survived the infamous Laos river-tubing in Vang Vieng, swam with elephants, cried in the Killing Fields of Cambodia, island-hopped through Thailand and couch-surfed Europe. Shan is always looking for the next exciting, heart-racing experience—so watch this space.

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editor’s note

Get the flock out of here!

T

here’s a story about a shepherdess in the Southern Alps who had never left her native remote village. She could see the sea from the top of the mountain while keeping her sheep, but she never went close to the sea and she never touched it. She would look at it from the hill with a sort of fear and fascination. The Mediterranean was less than 20 miles away, but she had never been able to leave her sheep long enough for her to walk there.

She is not unique. Instead, she is the norm of the past. This is how most people saw the world until very recently—in quite a sedentary, post-Neolithic way. Not too long ago, the geographical limits of the average human being were only tens of kilometres wide around his or her birthplace.

While I can understand this thought pattern—and a part of me even finds it somewhat endearing—I honestly don’t think I could’ve been like one of those people. If I were the shepherd, the view of the not-so-distant sea would’ve irked me. I would’ve had to venture there and discover, explore and gather new information: new cultures, new lands, new people and new places.

That’s the most wonderful thing about travelling beyond ‘our own village’ and comfort zone; it opens our mind to so many new experiences. Whether it’s the open expanse and solitude of ‘God’s country’ in the dunes of Namibia or the hustle and bustle of the hectic streets of New York City, travelling expands the mind and lifts the soul.

2014 seems to have gone by quicker than all the years before it (perhaps 2015 and beyond may feel the same—or go even faster).

Here we are at the end of yet another year, Christmas decorations all over the shopping centres and all of us taking stock of the year that was. There might have been trials and tribulations, good times and bad, but at the end of the day it’s vitally important, for the mind and soul, to take some time out.

That’s where travelling comes in: There’s nothing better than dropping the shepherd’s staff, grabbing some provisions and heading off to the sea you might have watched from a distance for so long. The sheep will be just fine when you get back.

To all our loyal readers, have a wonderful festive season. Travel safely, and see you in 2015!

Yours in intrepid exploring,

Robbie Stammers Publishing Editor

PS: Don’t forget to LIKE our Facebook page, The Intrepid Explorer, and visit www.intrepidexplorer.co.za to download the free digital version of this magazine with loads of extras.

Follow Robbie on Twitter: @daStamman

Congratulations to the winners of our last edition’s competitions!

The BIG winner of the trip for four to Mabula Game Lodge is Noleen Willoughby Lisette de Lorme wins The Animal Communicator DVD

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with The Intrepid Explorer magazine and Weber

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The Intrepid Explorer issue 8

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Lew is Pugh

7

swims

in the 7 seas for 1 reason From the North Sea to the Arabian Sea, Lewis Pugh is saving our oceans one swim at a time, writes Miriam Mannak

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Overfishing, oil and plastic pollution, rising water temperatures due to climate change, extinction: the world’s oceans are under siege. South African endurance swimmer and the United Nations Environment Programme’s Patron of the Oceans, Lewis Pugh, is determined to help ward off an irreversible crisis—not for our children and theirs, but for the current generation.

Photographs Kelvin Trautman

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Lew is Pugh

“I PREVIOUS PAGe: During the third swim, in the Aegean Sea off Athens, Greece ABOVE: In the Adriatic Sea off the Dalmatian Coast in Croatia (second swim) MIDDLE: The first swim—Mediterranean Sea off Monte Carlo, Monaco OPPOSITE RIGHT: Pugh swims past a bulk carrier in the Black Sea, during the fourth swim

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spent the better part of the past four weeks with my head in the sea… and I am able to say that our oceans and coastlines are on the line. The biggest fish I came across during my swims was 30 centimetres long. I didn’t see any sharks, nor dolphins or whales,” says Pugh, barely a week after returning from his latest expedition. The campaign, during which he swam the seven seas of the ancient world, took place between 4 and 29 August 2014 and stretched some 120 kilometres.

“I knew these seas had been overfished, but never did I anticipate

He adds that his Seven Swims in the Seven Seas campaign strengthened his worries with regard to the health of the world’s maritime resources, with oceans in particular. “The destruction has happened in my lifetime. I am 44 years old, and I like to think I am only halfway through my life,” Pugh says. “If we carry on doing what we are doing to the oceans in the second half of my lifetime, then we will have an irreversible crisis on our hands. We are using oceans as our dumping ground, and we do so at our own peril.

“My message to world leaders and policy makers is therefore that our oceans should be protected—not for our children

them to be this empty. I never, ever thought it was this bad,” he says.

What the swimmer did see was an insurmountable pollution crisis that exceeded his imagination. “Especially in the Aegean and Red Seas we saw huge amounts of pollution in the form of litter on the seabed,” Pugh recalls. “We saw heaps of stuff you wouldn’t expect on the ocean floor: tyres, shopping trolleys, bottles, cans and loads of plastic—from chips packets to carrier bags.”

and their children, but for us. Protecting the oceans is not about them. It should be about our generation,” he says. “We need to protect the oceans for us because this crisis is unfolding now, in our lifetime.”

The expedition wasn’t all doom and gloom, Pugh says. The Red Sea leg stands out in that regard. “The swim started in Aqaba, Jordan and took me along the coast and into the Aqaba Marine Reserve.

Once we entered this reserve, things changed below me. There were all sorts

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Lew is Pugh

“anticipate

I knew these seas had been overfished, but never did I them to be this empty. I never, ever thought it

was this bad.”

of corals—red, orange, yellow and even some beautiful dark blue varieties,” Pugh recalls. “Multicoloured fish darted in and out of the coral as we came past. It was truly magnificent.

“It was great to see what a marine protected area can look like,” he says.

“However, just two kilometres away, outside the marine protected area, the

“For our Red Sea swim, the King of Jordan decided to lend us his boat and a naval escort. During this swim, people from local villages—school kids included— came down to swim with me. The fact that so many different people supported what we did, from kings to ordinary folk, was wonderful.”

The toughest stretch was by far the

different from his Red Sea leg the week before, Pugh says. “In the Red Sea, the air temperature was 55 degrees while seawater temperatures hovered around 30 degrees.

“The thing is that you can’t really prepare your body for such extremes,” he continues, adding that every swim was different. “There was no time to

tyres, bottles, cans and plastic returned.

It was startling to see the contrast.”

In a way, this contrast was a highlight, says Pugh: “It was proof that marine protected areas do work and that we need more of them.”

Another memorable aspect of his Seven Seas campaign was the support he received from people from all walks of life. “Farmers, fishermen, shipowners, housewives and school children came out to support us, as well as royalty,” he says.

North Sea swim, which measured 60km and guided Pugh from Southend, which is situated on the North Sea, up the River Thames to the Thames Barrier, outside London. “There was a very strong tide moving into one direction, with winds blowing the other way,” he says. “The water was very choppy and I was swimming at night. The water temperature was 14 degrees Celsius. It was very tough physically.”

The North Sea swim was completely

prepare for things like that. We would arrive in a country, travel to harbour, find somebody who was willing and able to escort us, and then do the swim. We would also do photo shoots, interviews with the media, and one or two speeches.

Finally, we would get on a bus back to the airport, en route to our next destination.”

Pugh says his latest expedition has been different from previous campaigns and, in a way, more exhausting: “The world of campaigning has changed over the

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Past expeditions

ABOVE: Swimming from the North Sea up the River Thames to the Thames Barrier, for the seventh swim

past years when I started what I do now.

The overall package of 21st century campaigning is tough. Today, apart from the [aforementioned] activities, everyone expects you to be on Twitter and Facebook, and to communicate every few hours about what is going on. Media were phoning me all the time. Between 4 and 29 August, our team got on average four hours of sleep per night. The only way you can pull through is when you have a deep sense of purpose.”

While he was still recovering from his

Seven Seas expedition at the time of this interview, Pugh was already thinking about his next trip. On the agenda: the pristine and remote Ross Sea, situated on the New Zealand side of Antarctica.

“This is an extraordinary region, with whales, seals, orcas and other species,” Pugh says, adding that he wants to swim there to raise awareness around the necessity of preserving the Ross Sea as a marine protected reserve. “This region is truly the Garden of Eden. We need to protect it at all cost.”

Lewis Pugh has undertaken over a dozen swimming expeditions, of which quite a few served as tools to raise environmental awareness: • 2007 – Pugh was the first person to swim along the Maldives (140km in 10 days) to draw attention to the impact of rising water levels on low-lying islands. The Maldives archipelago is so low that it is directly threatened if seawater levels start to rise.

• 2007 – He swam 1km across an open patch of sea at the North Pole to draw attention to the melting of the Arctic sea ice.

• 2008 – Pugh paddled 140km in a surf ski from the island of Spitsbergen in Norway into the Arctic ice packs, to show the world that this trip was only possible as a result of melting Arctic sea ice, which is a direct consequence of climate change.

• 2010 – Dressed in his customary Speedo costume and a swimming cap, he embarked on a 1km swim across Lake Pumori, at 5 300m on Mount Everest. He wanted to draw attention to the fact that glaciers are a water lifeline for more than 2 billion people in India, China, Bangladesh, Burma and Pakistan. If the glaciers continue to melt away, Pugh said, they are to become the Earth’s next big battleground.

Over the Seven Seas

There are more than 100 ‘seas’ and five ‘oceans’ according to the International Hydrographic Organization. But the concept of the classical ‘Seven Seas’ comes from Greek and Medieval literature. These were the seas that surrounded the known world at the time.

Lewis Pugh undertook a long-distance swim in each of them: • The Mediterranean Sea (stretching from the Atlantic Ocean, separating Europe from Africa) • The Aegean Sea (an arm of the Mediterranean Sea, located between the Greek Peninsula and Turkey) • The Adriatic Sea (part of the Mediterranean Sea, situated between Italy’s eastern coastline and the shoreline of the Balkan Peninsula, which comprises Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Albania) • The Black Sea (situated in eastern Europe, surrounded by Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, Russia, Georgia and Turkey) • The Red Sea (an extension of the Indian Ocean, located between Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, with the entrance being the Gulf of Aden) • The Arabian Sea (stretching from the east coast of Africa to India) • The North Sea (situated between the United Kingdom and Norway)

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Af r ic a C loc k w is e

Passage pan-african

Part 1: From South Africa to Liberia

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Stand-up comedian Mark Sampson, his activist wife Sam Pearce and their two children Ruby (13) and Zola (10) have recently had to pause their Africa Clockwise trip due to the Ebola pandemic. Sam reflects on their first year on the road in their Big Green Truck.

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Af r ic a C loc k w is e

t

here’s nothing quite like driving your family through 12 African countries in 12 months to bring you together.

We’ve travelled 16 000 kilometres and broken down 10 times. We’ve survived a flying solar panel in Namibia, a wheel coming off in Angola, an AK-47-wielding bandit in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, getting stuck on the ferry across the Congo, being bitten by scores of jungle bugs in Gabon, driving through thigh-high mud in Cameroon, a tourist-infested vodoun festival in Benin, a scorpion bite in Togo, a thumping madman in Ghana, and malaria plus typhoid in Côte d’Ivoire.

But, mostly, we’ve enjoyed warm African hospitality wherever we’ve been, fabulous surf and palm-fringed perfection at beaches all along the West Coast, and Christmas at the continent’s most spectacular street party, the Calabar Carnival in Nigeria.

After three years spent dreaming and plotting, we left Cape Town on 1 July 2013 in our Big Green Truck, an ex-South African National Defence Force Mercedes 911 adapted to run on waste vegetable oil. The original plan was to take two-and-a-half years travelling Africa Clockwise around the circumference of the continent, spend some quality time with our kids while they’re still young enough to think we’re cool, and attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the longest journey made on alternative fuel.

While we’d already done 10 000km in trials around South Africa thanks to Kalky’s fish and chips restaurant in Cape Town, we weren’t sure how easy it was going to be to source used cooking oil en route. Namibia proved easy, as we scored 600 litres from a lovely man in Okahandja, who’d been storing the dirty oil from his two restaurants in his garage and was happy to have us take it away. This stash kept us going all the way to Congo!

In Namibia, one of our five Treetops Renewable Energy Systems solar units flew off the roof but miraculously landed without smashing. In Angola the wheels came off a bit—literally and metaphorically. When bolts broke off on a rocky road outside Dombe Grande, we narrowly escaped losing a wheel, and were only saved by the quick-thinking response of the first of many amazing ‘bush’ mechanics to rescue us en route.

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Af r ic a C loc k w is e On the day we had to cross into Angola before our visas expired, Mark received the devastating news that his mum was seriously ill in hospital in the United Kingdom. By the time we’d made it across the border and were making plans to leap on a plane, she’d passed away.

I thank God that at least Mark had managed to speak to her on the phone one last time: She had said he mustn’t worry, but stay with his family and continue the adventure as his dad would have wished. He was able to send a video eulogy to the funeral, dedicating the trip to his parents and thanking them for the spirit of adventure they inspired in him.

He also named a never-before-surfed wave on the starkly beautiful Angolan coast after his mum: Joy’s Gift.

The constant challenges of the journey have helped him work through his grief.

In the DRC, I found myself negotiating in French at midnight in the middle of a crazy, wonderful city called Matadi, with an AK-47-wielding oke in a scarlet ski mask demanding protection money against ‘bandits’; Mark got us out of an equally sticky situation when the Big Green Truck got stuck trying to get onto the ferry across the Congo.

Ruby is never happier than when socialising, and in Angola she made a true friend. Ngeve lived in the wooden hut right next to where we happened to pull up. A family of six kids lived in the hut, though she and her younger brothers slept in a tiny tent outside. Their mother lived across the way, their father was a fisherman we never saw, and their

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grandfather sat outside for half the day.

The eldest daughter, aged 14, cooked for all six of them. Ngeve was shy at first, but sharp as a button and full of fun.

She and Ruby communicated mainly through laughing.

The first day there, they’d played a matching card game in the truck, and afterward Ruby had gone back to Ngeve’s place, which was completely empty except for a plastic table, two chairs and some small piles of clothes on the floor.

That evening Ruby told me, “I know you’ve always said how lucky we are, but I’ve never really felt it till now.”

Before we left, I was worried that I was being an irresponsible parent by taking my children into dangerous places beyond the reach of decent medical care, but the cover granted by our pan-African Liberty Health Blue policy put my mind at rest: In an emergency situation, we can be flown out of anywhere within two hours. The children have proved remarkably resilient, handling snakes and scorpions and tiny ferocious biting bugs with aplomb.

Having the same routine every day inside the Big Green Truck—no matter where we are—helps enormously. The scenery outside may be constantly changing, but inside there is a reassuring regularity: in the morning we do school; in the afternoon we swim; at dusk we come inside behind the mosquito screens, shower and eat supper, then play games or watch a movie on the laptop cinema Dad has rigged up, hanging from the clothes cupboard on bungee cords! At bedtime, the kids crawl into their rooms

previous page: Laundry day at the Big Green Truck, next to the Ogooué River in Lambaréné, Gabon ABOVE LEFT: Ruby returning from washingup duties with her friends, in a coastal village in Angola ABOVE MIDDLE: The truck getting stuck on a rock while trying to get onto the ferry across the Congo to Luozi in the DRC BELOW: Family Sampson at the Calabar Carnival in Nigeria Opposite page, TOP: The Big Green Truck being dug and rocked out of a giant rain-filled pothole by helpful passers-by in San Pédro, Côte d’Ivoire OPPOSITE PAGE, BELOW: Parking off at a secret spot on the coast of Ghana

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Af r ic a C loc k w is e in the nose cone above the cab and fall asleep to the sounds of the bush or the sea.

Although Zola was scarcely as tall as our Continental tyres when we left, and quite shy, his confidence has grown on every step of the adventure and he’s become quite an adrenalin junkie. He shocked me by whooping with delight when the truck made it through thighhigh mud just before crossing the border from Cameroon into Nigeria.

Our favourite places have all featured fabulous surf combined with big-hearted hosts who didn’t charge us to stay despite the palm-fringed perfection of their beautiful beaches: Chef Thomas Mouri Ngouo at Hôtel Tara Plage in Kribi,

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Cameroon; Danielle and Olivier Funfschilling at Ezile Bay Village in Ghana; and our soul-brother Jules Ineka in Grand Drewin, Côte d’Ivoire.

We have struggled to source used vegetable oil along the way; in Nigeria, for example, hardly anyone eats chips.

A manager of hip fast-food chain, Fiesta Fries, told me they had sold their deep fat fryers after the first year of operations and had gone back to offering traditional fare of fufu (pounded cassava) and pepper sauce.

Without the donations of palm oil from Siat Gabon and sister plantation Presco Plc in Benin City—some of which we swapped with restaurants en route to persuade them to change their dirty

carcinogenic oil more frequently—we would not still be in contention for the Guinness World Record.

Although severely behind schedule, Mark and I have learnt that our greatest bliss comes when we surrender to ‘the gods of travel’, as Kingsley Holgate says.

Give up trying to fight trying circumstances and go with the flow.

The only time we get stressed is when we have to rush, usually to meet visa deadlines; if you have time, there’s no need for tension. We feel blessed just to be hanging out together, enjoying the simple life of slow exploring, moseying along, discovering the next lovely beach, the next colourful market, or our next fascinating friend.

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Af r ic a C loc k w is e ABOVE: Family Sampson just before setting off from Cape Town in July 2013

Mark has been a stand-up comedian in Cape Town for nearly 20 years, but most people don’t know he started as a busker in London’s Covent Garden, chucking around fire clubs on a unicycle. When we stay in a rural village, where more than often we don’t speak the language, he does a juggling and magic show just before we leave to say thank you for their hospitality. The children both learnt a magic trick to take part, and the finale has the kids and I doing a rousing dance number with fire.

We are proud to represent the Department of Arts and Culture in promoting the African Union’s Charter for African Cultural Renaissance and fostering pan-African cultural co-operation through the ARTerial Network.

As well as entertaining at schools, bars and several South African Embassies en route, Mark has performed sleight-of-hand magic at hundreds of police roadblocks. It works like a dream. In seconds, a simple magic trick can turn a surly policeman sporting an automatic weapon and mirror shades into a delighted six-year-old boy.

We have never paid a bribe.

We spent Christmas as guests of the

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effusively hospitable Cross River State Tourism Bureau in southeastern Nigeria, privileged to witness the jewel in the crown of their December festival offerings: Carnival Calabar, known as ‘Africa’s biggest street party’. The parade of 25 000 superbly costumed and choreographed performers is world-class; why go to Rio when you can enjoy the same level of sophisticated pageantry for a fraction of the price in Nigeria, while supporting the African economy?

Alongside our visit to the Afi Mountain Drill Ranch for endangered primates, the Calabar Carnival made Nigeria the highlight of the trip so far for the kids.

At the onset of the rainy season in Côte d’Ivoire, all four of us managed to get malaria and typhoid in the same month. Luckily for us, Côte d’Ivoire has relatively sound health infrastructure and we received excellent treatment. But the delay meant we crossed into Liberia just as Ebola arrived in Monrovia.

My parents both turned 70 in July and the children and I flew out to the UK to surprise them at their birthday party. We had planned to go for only a couple of weeks and took one bag of clothes

between the three of us. We’re still here.

Mark spent a wonderful couple of weeks in the surf at Robertsport outside Monrovia, falling in love with the Liberian people—but when Ebola arrived in the village, he realised he was in danger of getting stranded away from us on the wrong side of an international travel ban.

Currently, the border is shut between Liberia and Sierra Leone, and Guinness has given us permission to suspend our World Record attempt, as it is impossible for us to continue our journey. The Big Green Truck is sitting in a compound in the rain in Monrovia, being looked after by the SA Embassy.

And we are sitting here in Mark’s mum’s house in Cornwall, watching the collapse of several West African economies while international governments waste precious time debating options of ‘boots on the ground’ in Iraq and Syria—ignoring the more urgent need for them in Liberia and Sierra Leone. We are watching, and waiting, and praying.

Follow Africa Clockwise on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, or on Sam Pearce’s blog at www.africaclockwise.co.za.

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Pan-oramic If you want to feel like the only mountain biker left on the planet, then you may want to consider cycling across Botswana’s Makgadikgadi Pans, writes Patrick Cruywagen

T

his is in stark contrast to the Great Makgadikgadi Pans Mountain Bike Adventure, where only 30 riders spend three days cycling 150 kilometres on a 12 000km salt pan. This year I tried to do it a little differently by becoming the first person to enter on a tandem.

For those who don’t know, in Botswana the annual rains occur during the hot summer months: The water floods these pans, which then attract the wildlife and the birds. Flamingos come in their thousands, and crossing the pans when

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they’re flooded is impossible—as many an intrepid adventurer such as Jeremy Clarkson has found out. This is why the Makgadikgadi Pans ride is held toward the end of the winter when they are dry.

As part of their entrance fees, riders get to spend the night before and after the ride at the legendary Elephant Sands Lodge, which lies about 53km north of Nata. The actual pans are just south of here, while the Chobe River and Victoria Falls are only a few hours north. You’d be silly not to combine the ride with a visit to these world-famous attractions.

As the name suggests, Elephant Sands is

famous for its pachyderms, and owner Ben Moller is the co-founder of the mountain bike ride. While riders get to relax with a cold beer and watch the elephants, event staff load the bikes and gear.

Hosting an event on the pans is a logistical nightmare. The white, powdery pans and mud are not kind to vehicles and everything needs to be transported in—including water, wood, food, toilets, tents and the riders, of course. This year we had 13 support vehicles on the pan, which works out to about one vehicle per every two riders.

One of the highlights of the adventure

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Pa tr ic k C r uywa gen

Each year, thousands of mountain biking enthusiasts take part in events such as the Cape Epic or Sani2c. In the morning, riders are herded into starting pens like cattle going to the abattoir. Once the starter sets you off, nothing happens for the first few seconds because you have to wait for the hundreds ahead of you to get going first. Cycling doesn’t get more impersonal than this. You’re just a number to race organisers. I’ve been there, done that and (literally) got the T-shirt.

Photographs Patrick Cruywagen and Gustav Oosthuysen

is sighting the pans for the first time; this is normally when the long convoy snakes its way toward the first campsite. The dry bush suddenly gives way to one of the most unforgettable vistas—bright white pans as far as the eye can see. The convoy stops so that first-time riders can climb out and feel the surface for themselves. My wife once described the pans as a giant poppadom, while one of this year’s riders called it a big, white Aero chocolate.

The surface of the pan is ever changing: It goes from hard to soft to anything in between, and then back again.

One thing I did know for certain was that

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the tandem would struggle more than a regular mountain bike, as I had double the weight on each axle and it would break the surface more easily.

While most of the crew are volunteers, Moller does bring along the lodge chef Lazarus, a man who has cooked over a hundred meals for me during my African travels. I have yet to come across a better bush chef than Lazzie—and to date, no rider has lost weight on this event thanks to him.

Our first night camping is at Kite Camp, owned by Pierre van der Bol. No one knows these pans better than this

man, as he has spent most of his life crossing them. Van der Bol normally drives one of his Mad Max-style beach buggies a kilometre or two in front of the first riders so they know which direction to go. (Most of the riders have the route downloaded onto their GPS units in any case.)

The first day’s ride is only 36km—and as the winters are pretty mild, we start at around 8 a.m. We head straight toward Kubu Island, which is about 5km away.

Kubu is one of the most special places on the pans, a granite rocky outcrop covered in hundreds of baobabs. We would be spending our second night on the pans

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Pa tr ic k C r uywa gen PREVIOUS PAGE: If you don’t like being alone on the pans, then pair up with another rider THIS PAGE, ABOVE: Trying to get the riders away from the fried breakfasts and to the starting line each morning was not an easy task THIS PAGE, RIGHT: There was always medical or mechanical help on hand OPPOSITE PAGE, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: Due to the pans’ flat surface, sunrises and sunsets are always spectacular affairs; Camping is so much more bearable when someone else puts up your tent; The Toyota Land Cruiser is the undisputed king of Botswana

here and so, after circling it, our route takes us south away from Kubu toward some of the smaller islands. One of these is covered in miniature baobabs and we allow ourselves a stop to take a closer look.

Despite the fact that there are almost 30 riders on the pans, we soon find ourselves alone as the field spreads out.

I like it that way, which is why I come here year after year.

Most of the going on the first day is good and firm; this makes life easy for us.

After circling a few of the smaller islands, we’re back in the middle of Sowa Pan, again heading toward Kubu. It seems a mere 5km away, but it’s more like 15km.

Out here, things appear closer than they actually are. Fortunately, the last few

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kilometres are on a hard vehicle track and we’re able to crank up the speed.

Another of the highlights on this adventure is the sunset at Kubu Island.

The red, burning sun turns everything a soft pink colour. This is the time to contemplate the longest day of the ride which lies ahead. This explains why the riders are divided into two groups, with the slower group starting an hour earlier.

This is my favourite day of the adventure, as we basically cross from Sowa Pan to Ntwetwe Pan. To get there involves a long trek along the ridgeline between the two pans. It’s rocky and sandy, but once you reach the adventure camp (which has a proper flushing toilet!), you know Ntwetwe Pan is not too far off.

In fact, the event’s only downhill takes you straight toward it—and once on the pans again, you get to cycle along a cattle fence for many a mile.

Years ago, foot and mouth disease almost destroyed all the cattle in Botswana and so thousands of miles of fence were put up. It might have contained the cattle but, sadly, it also prevented the wildlife from taking the migratory routes they’d been using for centuries.

Despite the fact that it’s the middle of winter, this is Botswana—and by midday things do start to heat up somewhat.

Fortunately, Van der Bol carries a cooler box and I’m able to replenish my liquid stocks.

The soft sections of the pans don’t make things any simpler. After about five

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hours of riding, we see the campsite and reach it after about 67km. It has been a long but satisfying day, and we’ve broken the back of the adventure. Staff very kindly put up our tents, complete with bedding, so I can head straight for the showers.

The final day is a 35km push northward along the finger of the Ntwetwe Pan. However, the prevailing wind blows southward and we’ll be heading straight into it. The first few kilometres are along a good track, but soon we’re on open pan again and fighting the wind. Every so often my front wheel breaks the surface and the tandem slows almost to a halt.

We group up with two other riders and take turns at the front, but soon they leave us and disappear into the horizon. We’re

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like a cork in the ocean. This is why event numbers are restricted: Riders need to feel like they’re the only people on the planet.

We reach the finish a few minutes before the convoy of bakkies. A few cooler boxes full of cold beers make their appearance and it’s time for some group photos. After our last lunch on the pans, the bikes are loaded and the convoy makes its way back to Elephant Sands, which is about two hours away.

The Great Makgadikgadi Pans Mountain Bike Adventure has once again been an undoubted success. It has given riders the opportunity to travel where they don’t usually do.

To get to Gauteng takes a full day’s drive, and that same night I’m on a flight

back to the United Kingdom so that I can make work the next day. As I take the crowded Tube back into Central London, I notice the white dust from the pans on my sneakers. I bet most of the people here have never heard of the Makgadikgadi Pans, let alone cycled across them on a tandem. Life is good.

Want to ride it?

For details of the 2015 adventure, visit www.makpans.com or email info@makpans.com. Sign up now, as most of the spots have already been filled.

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Arabian magic

Graham Howe takes the King’s Highway to Wadi Rum

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sitting next to me on the flight from Cairo into Amman in Jordan.

Flying into the wild air turbulence of the khamsin—the dry and hot seasonal wind that blows across Arabia from the great Western Desert—it felt as if we were riding a bucking

© Gallo Images/Getty Images/Kevin Button

bronco in the clouds.

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G r a h a m Howe

“This pilot is like a cowboy riding a camel,” chuckled the passenger

e went looking for Lawrence of Arabia on the King’s Highway, the route travelled by spice caravans, merchants, pilgrims, crusaders, armies and explorers for over 2 000 years. This ancient thoroughfare has been known as the Frankincense Road, the Royal Road, the Emperor’s Road, the Sultan’s Road and the Road to Mecca.

Winding along a line of freshwater springs on a ridge of mountains through the Jordan Rift Valley, the King’s Highway links the Sea of Galilee, the Dead Sea and the Red Sea. The King’s Highway runs through some of the finest classical sites of antiquity. A spiritual cradle, Jordan lies at the crossroads of the Holy Land in the Middle East.

One of the earliest references to the King’s Highway is in the Bible, when the Israelites were refused passage through Edom. They said, “We will go by the king’s highway. We will not turn to the right hand nor left until we pass thy borders”.

We were following in the footsteps of famous travellers such as Jean-Louis Burckhardt (who rediscovered Petra), Richard Burton, Victorian artist Edward Lear, Mark Twain and Wilfred Thesiger, who shared a fascination with the exotic land of the Arabian Nights.

We came dressed as modern tourists— unlike a few earlier Western explorers who travelled in mufti, disguised as pilgrims and sheiks. We’d forgotten to bring the marmalade— “very refreshing and easily carried”, according to one traveller to these parts who reckons a clean shirt is “not without its moral effect in the wilderness”.

We soon met Tayseer al Jamal, our driver and dragoman (an assistant and interpreter) on the King’s Highway. Before we set out, the speed king of Jordan asked: “Would you like to look at the engine? It’s very powerful. We can go fast, fast.”

“We’re not in any hurry. We take it slow, slow,” I ordered.

“You’re the boss” he replied, crestfallen.

Sprawled across 20 hills, Amman is a modern Arabian city with broad boulevards and high-rise apartment

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blocks. “Welcome to Philadelphia,” quipped our wise-guy driver, alluding to the city originally named by Ptolemy Philadelphus, one of many conquerors of these ancient lands—including Pompey, Herod and Alexander the Great.

Jabal al Qala’a, the Citadel of Amman, is the heart of the old city. Rising 850 metres above sea level, the ruined terraces afford magnificent views of the modern city. It stood at the crossroads of the ancient pilgrim route between Damascus and Mecca. We spent hours in the Citadel open-air museum, ogling a great collection of artefacts from antiquity, including some of the oldest Neolithic stone statues in the world and the Dead Sea Scrolls inscribed on goatskins in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek, found in 1948 by a Bedouin shepherd in jars in a cave near Qumran near the Dead Sea. Travelling through a biblical landscape of olive groves, lemon orchards and

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vineyards, we arrived at the ruins of Jerash, one of the best preserved Roman cities in the world. You could spend an entire day strolling around the huge complex of temples, theatres, baths, chapels, markets and the Cardo Maximus, the main drag.

We were amazed to spot a highlander regiment of the Jordanian army in full dress, blowing the bagpipes— demonstrating the magnificent acoustics of the old Roman theatre.

A silly-looking tout dressed like a Roman foot soldier handed out pamphlets at the old hippodrome in Jerash. Posing for snapshots with the tourists, he shouted out: “See the spectacle of authentic seven-lap Roman chariot races, witness exciting gladiator fights! Watch Roman legionaries do battle! Sit where the Romans sat, see what the Romans saw!”

We’d missed the morning show, so we went on our way.

Leaving via Hadrian’s Triumphal Arch,

we headed south. Inspired by the chariot race, our speeding driver was soon stopped by the traffic police. Chatting on his mobile, consulting our itinerary, twiddling radio knobs while driving over a mountain pass is all in a day’s work for our driver. He protested loudly, “I drive tourists for years. I never make accident, inshallah (if Allah wills). I have 10 eyes in my head. I see everything.”

The King’s Highway took us to Madaba, a sleepy desert town famous for its giant mosaic map of the Holy Land in the Church of Saint George. Pilgrims come from all over the world to see the sixth-century map that depicts “the territories of the tribes of Israel” and all the major Christian shrines, from Bethlehem and Jaffa to Jerusalem and Jericho.

Your religious identity is more important than your nationality in this town of churches and mosques. “Are you Christian or Jewish?” asked a

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G r a h a m Howe PREVIOUS PAGE: Wadi Mujib, Jordan’s own ‘Grand Canyon’ on the King’s Highway OPPOSITE PAGE, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: The Roman amphitheatre at Amman, built during the reign of Emperor Marcus Aurelius in 2AD; Amman, city of 20 hills, capital of Jordan; A highlander regiment blows the pipes in Jordan; Hadrian’s Triumphal Arch in Jerash, one of the world’s best-preserved Roman cities THIS PAGE, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: The view from Wadi Musa, gateway to Petra; The memorial on Mount Nebo, where Moses was shown the Promised Land; Rock carving of Lawrence of Arabia at Wadi Rum

polite Mohamed Saqar, a Palestinian confectioner who sold us a kilo of wonderful sticky honey, almond, cheese and pistachio pastries from his alluring corner sweet shop in Madaba.

We ascended the steep road to Moses Church on Mount Nebo, a place of pilgrimage perched high above the Jordan Rift Valley. The Old Testament records that Moses was shown the Promised Land from these lofty heights, while Lot’s wife was turned into a pillar of salt here. Roman milestones from the Via Traiana Nova (the King’s Highway) were scattered on the hillside. When Saint Peter visited Mount Nebo in 5AD, he wrote: “It is a place of cure for both the soul and for the body, a place of refuge for all.”

Driving along the King’s Highway on the high-lying Trans-Jordanian Plateau, our driver commanded: “Shut your eyes.” We blinked nervously as we appeared to fall off the edge of a precipice on a hairpin bend

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that plunged into the spectacular gorge of Wadi Mujib. “Welcome to Jordan’s Grand Canyon,” shouted Tayseer with great delight on our roller-coaster ride into the abyss.

Driving along the wall of a new dam on the valley floor, we passed Muhattet el-Haj (station of the pilgrimage), an old Roman fort that once guarded the old bridge.

The scribe Eusebius wrote in 300AD, “It is a very treacherous place, with ravines in which garrisons of soldiers keep guard everywhere.” We stopped to admire the black iris, the national flower of Jordan, in a field where a Bedouin shepherd crouched in the shade of a tree, boiling tea over a fire—keeping an eye on his flock in a timeless scene.

We came to Karak, the walled fortress city of Moab, a strategic crossroads on the King’s Highway for millennia. The crusader castle, with its forbidding parapets built on a high rocky ridge, once controlled the lucrative trade and pilgrim route. The

infamous crusader Raynald of Châtillon (aka The Elephant of Christ) used to fling prisoners from the castle walls, with their heads encased in wooden boxes to prevent them from losing consciousness until they met a bloody end on the rocks below.

On the King’s Highway, we crossed wadi after wadi (dry river valleys) running from the Jordan plateau down into the desert. We passed thoroughly modern Bedouin encampments in the desert sands, with their huge canvas tents, pickup trucks, satellite television dishes and huge flocks of goat and sheep.

We didn’t have time to stop for tea.

The women used to weave these beyt ash-Shar (houses of hair) from goat fleeces.

We stayed the night at Hotel Taybet Zaman on the King’s Highway. An antiquarian bookseller in the handicraft souq (open-air marketplace) in one of the old cobbled alleyways sold old Arabian classics such as TE Lawrence’s Seven Pillars

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below LEFT: The gorge through Petra, the ancient pink city BELOW RIGHT: The Treasury of the Pharaoh (Khazneh el Faroun) in Petra, one of the New7Wonders of the World

of Wisdom, sepia photographs taken by Victorian travellers, and reprints of the journals of early Western travellers to Arabia.

He also sold old Iraqi banknotes bearing the infamous image of Saddam Hussein. “The money is worthless, but American tourists go crazy for these,” he said.

We awoke to the hypnotic chant of the village muezzin calling the faithful to prayer. The King’s Highway led us to the village of Wadi Musa, gateway to the ancient pink city of Petra—voted one of the New7 Wonders of the World. Over one million tourists visit Petra every year. Walking along the long and narrow magical gorge, the main gateway, is like passing through Alice’s looking-glass into Wonderland. We followed the course of the ancient sluice that carried water to the settlement.

According to legend, the djinn (spirits) still guard the tombs carved out of rock.

Our first sight of the Treasury of the Pharaoh (Khazneh el Faroun), illuminated by a golden shaft of sunlight at the end of the dark passage into Petra, was an enchanted moment. We wandered spellbound in the vast mountain stronghold of the ancient kings who grew fabulously wealthy on the frankincense and myrrh trade. From dawn to dusk, the myriad canyons and caverns change colour with the light of day. The layers of weathered stone are a palette of rosy salmon and ochre—a cathedral of fantastic forms shaped by man and nature.

Petra is a lost city of magnificent tombs and temples hewn out of the multicoloured rock 2 000 years ago. We ascended 850 stone steps up a rough stairway through a narrow gorge to

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Ad Deir, a hermitage carved out of the rock face, with a magnificent façade twice the width of Westminster Abbey. Coming to the High Place of Sacrifice at Petra, we gazed out over the green land of Jordan that lay at our feet far below.

Travelling deeper and deeper into the past, we were swept along on Jordan’s great tide of history toward Wadi Rum, at the end of the King’s Highway at Aqaba.

The vast national park covers 720 square kilometres—a spectacular desert landscape of sheer granite massifs at heights of 1 700m, narrow canyons, secret passageways through fissures, weathered rock bridges, sand dunes and ancient rock drawings.

Wadi Rum is forever linked to the legendary exploits of TE Lawrence, who used the canyons as a base during the Arab revolt against the Turks of 1916– 1918. Lawrence’s house and spring are two of the many tourist attractions at Wadi Rum today.

Out in the mirage of the desert, there is a thin line between fable and history, fact and fiction, the man and the myth. Film buffs will recognise many scenes filmed by British director David Lean, who shot his myth-making film, Lawrence of Arabia, here.

An Oxford scholar who did his thesis on crusader castles and was fluent in Arabic, TE Lawrence was liaison officer between British intelligence and the emir of Mecca. In his book, Seven Pillars of Wisdom—inspired by the seven-sided massif outcrops at the gateway to Wadi Rum—he describes the unique landscape of the area as “magically haunted … Rum was vast and echoing and God-like.”

In the parking lot of the Wadi Rum Visitor Centre, Bedouin guides queue in rusty old pickups to take visitors on a 4x4 trip into the desert. These days, the locals herd tourists instead of sheep and goats. Visitors can overnight in a Bedouin tent and belly-dance the night away. “Good disco.

Happy hour. Dancing girls,” tempted Tayseer, who was keen for us to stay. I guess you could call it Bedouin and Breakfast…

Abdul Kareem, our world-wise community guide, was dressed in a white galabiyya and a red-checked keffiyeh (headdress). He explained, “My family have lived in the desert for 200 years. My grandfather knew Lawrence of Arabia.

We only keep 10 ‘goots’ [goats] now.

Water is too little. Tourist tips are too big!”

After driving out into the desert to the massif known as ‘The Seven Pillars of Wisdom’, we looked at old rock paintings of camel caravans and new carvings of Lawrence of Arabia in the maze of canyons at Wadi Rum. How things have changed since Lawrence rode the range on the back of a camel, disguised as a Bedouin in flowing white robes. He wrote his own epitaph: “The dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes to make it possible.

This I did.”

We shook the sand out of our hair, shoes and clothes and headed home.

Graham Howe was a guest of American Express, Egypt Air and Egypt & Beyond. Contact Cecelia Amory on telephone: 011 678 6165, email: cecelia@championtours.co.za, or visit www.egyptandbeyond.co.za and www.visitjordan.com.

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Rock climbing gets you out into nature, provides an all-round workout, fuels the adrenalin and concentrates the mind. Fiona McIntosh lists her favourite places to get high

sa rocks!

As a kid, I’d study photographs of lean, muscled climbers defying gravity by clawing their way up overhanging cliffs.

I’d be glued to documentaries of epic climbs on iconic spires such as Patagonia’s Torres del Paine or on the vast, sheer rock faces of Yosemite. I wanted to be there: to be a fly on those walls. But rock climbing always seemed inaccessible; how on earth was I going to learn those

©Shaen Adey

skills, to get hold of all the necessary gear?

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t

The easiest way to try rock climbing is in a climbing gym where you can hire gear and learn the basics. Then you’re equipped to climb with ropes, or simply ‘boulder’ ropeless around the gym. Wonderwall is the top spot in Joburg (www.wonderwall.co.za), Capies flock to CityROCK (cityrock.co.za) while Southern Rock Gym (www.southernrockgym.co.za) is the premier spot in Durban.

Fion a M c I n tos h

Getting started

hankfully, with the increasing popularity of indoor climbing gyms and ‘sport climbing’—whereby climbers can safely protect themselves against a fall by clipping their rope into permanent bolts in the rock—the sport is now accessible and affordable to all: young and old, nervous and bold.

With its superb and varied rock, sunny climate and spectacular settings, South Africa offers climbing opportunities that rival anywhere else in the world. It’s a wonderful head-clearer and escape from the rat race, but be warned: climbing is addictive!

SA’s best climbing destinations Table Mountain

No bolting is allowed on Table Mountain, so the impressive faces underneath the cable car and on the iconic mountain’s sheer cliffs are the preserve of trad climbers.

But with easy access via the cable car and over 3 000 routes on top-quality rock, it’s a magnet for rock climbers from around the world. The Mountain Club of South Africa holds a list of qualified Table Mountain guides who’ll show you the ropes.

Mountain Club of South Africa—Cape Town: 021 465 3412 or www.mcsacapetown.co.za

‘Boven

With a vast number of bolted sports routes on the vertical orange cliffs near Waterval Boven in Mpumalanga, ‘Boven is South Africa’s climbing mecca, consistently rated as one of the top rock-climbing destinations in the world. Less than three hours from Joburg, and with gear hire, instruction, guiding, advice, accommodation and a wealth of other adventures offered by Roc ‘n Rope, it’s the perfect spot to learn how to climb, to go for a family holiday or to really push your climbing grades.

©Shaen Adey, Matthew Holt

Roc ‘n Rope Adventures: 013 257 0363 or rocrope.com

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There are three climbing styles: • B ouldering is a highly gymnastic form of climbing on low boulders, which requires minimal gear. All you need to pit yourself against the problems on the rocks are a pair of climbing shoes, a crash pad to fall on and a chalk bag to counter sweaty fingers. A partner to ‘spot’ you as you start the climb or to steady you if you fall is a bonus, but many boulderers go out alone.

• S port climbing involves scaling cliffs by clipping quick draws into permanent bolts. For this you’ll need rock shoes, a chalk bag, climbing harness, helmet, quick draws and a rope as well as some basic knot-tying and climbing safety skills.

• Traditional, or trad, climbing involves putting in and removing your own protective gear, so it requires more gear and skills. Many climbing gyms offer introductory trad-climbing outings, and the Mountain Club of South Africa (cen.mcsa.org.za) runs rock-climbing courses. Otherwise, take a guide.

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Fion a M c I n tos h The most popular crag in Gauteng, Bronkies, on the banks of the Bronkhorstspruit River, was originally a trad-climbing venue, but bolting has been prolific for the last couple of decades and it now has myriad sports routes in three different sections. There are plenty of easy climbs for novices and kids to get started on; you can cool off with a post-climb dip; and since you can park your car right at the base of the crag, it makes for great spectator sport!

There’s a small fee payable on arrival.

Drakensberg

Scaling the lofty peaks and spires of the Drakensberg is not for sissies. Long, bushy walk-ins, unpredictable weather and dodgy rock mean it’s the preserve of serious mountaineers. But while the quips of the locals—“the best holds are the tufts of grass that adorn the routes” or, “if you find a good hold, please don’t take it with you”—are off-putting, the rewards of climbing in this magnificent wilderness make it all worthwhile. Buy a permit from Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife on arrival and sign the appropriate mountain registers before setting out.

Novices should organise a guide through Peak High Mountaineering: 033 343 3168 or www.peakhigh.co.za

Durban Surrounds

There are both sport and trad venues within an hour of Durbs.

The outstanding crags of Kloof Gorge in the Krantzkloof Nature Reserve boast over 200 bolted and trad routes across the grade range, with most of the venues enjoying great views of the leafy gorge. The sandstone cliffs of the Umgeni Valley Nature Reserve

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make it one of the most spectacular sport-climbing venues in the country. And since the reserve is well stocked with plains game, offers stunning hiking and mountain-biking trails, and has cottages and rustic accommodation for hire, it’s a great crag for family outings. Monteseel at the southern edge of the Valley of a 1000 Hills has lots of really low-grade single-pitch climbs, so it’s probably the easiest place in the whole country to learn to trad—with a magnificent setting to boot.

Montagu

The pretty little winelands town of Montagu is a sport climber’s paradise with some 900 bolted routes across the grade range, all on bomber-hard sandstone. Only two hours from Cape Town and surrounded by towering, folded peaks, Montagu’s numerous crags offer everything from friendly beginner’s crags such as Legoland where you can almost belay from the bumper of your car, to South Africa’s hardest route. A highlight is the stunning multi-pitch routes on Cogman’s Buttress. Taking spectacular lines up the great folded peak just outside town, these high mountain routes feel like real ‘trad’ outings, but with the ease (and safety) of bolts! A major plus is that climbing at Montagu is year-round: With so many crags, it’s not difficult to find shade. And since the area has a very low average rainfall, it’s a very popular winter location; if it’s raining in Cape Town, you will often find sun and blue skies in Montagu.

Silvermine

The five-star sports-climbing crags of Silvermine Nature Reserve, only a short drive from the heart of the Mother City, are perfect for beginners and rock jocks alike. Easy access, the large number

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©Shaen Adey, andrew porter

Bronkies

Fion a M c I n tos h of novice routes and the fact that the crags are protected from the wind even when the southeaster is howling, means that— unlike the other climbing venues—Silvermine can be quite busy at weekends and holidays. Unless you have a Wild Card, there’s an entry fee payable at the gate.

Cape Town Surrounds

There are numerous fantastic rock-climbing venues within an hour’s drive of Cape Town. The beautiful granite domes of Paarl Rock have some stunning beginner’s sports routes as well as some Yosemite-style cracks and slabs for the brave to friction up. The spectacular quartzite cliffs above the Palmiet River near Kleinmond offer great bolted routes in the sublime setting of the Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve, but the most extensive and way-out sports climbing is at Hellfire, the inviting orange cliffs on the lower slopes of Du Toit’s Peak. Surrounded by high peaks, which hold with plenty of testing ‘country routes’ for trad climbers, the two-kilometre long sandstone band offers lengthy, bolted, single-pitch routes on top-quality rock in a superb mountain setting.

Organise a permit through CapeNature (www.capenature.co.za) or at the Du Kloof Lodge on arrival

©Shaen Adey

Rocklands

The dramatic, gnarly orange cliffs and boulders of Rocklands in the northern Cederberg have graced many an international climbing magazine. The vast number of bizarrely shaped, rough sandstone boulders acts as a magnet to local and international climbers who come to pit themselves against the ‘problems’

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set by the overhanging rocks. The area also has some great bolted routes for sport climbers, but this rugged piece of wilderness is mind-blowing for more reasons than just rock.

One of the eight protected areas of the Cape Floral Region World Heritage Site, it’s also a place of outstanding botanic beauty, with magnificent fynbos and accompanying sunbirds and sugarbirds. Pick up a CapeNature permit at the info office in Clanwilliam or at one of the campsites or lodges in the area. If you’re staying at one of the Kliphuis campsites or chalets, you can boulder there for free.

CapeNature: 021 483 0190 or www.capenature.co.za

Southern Cederberg

The striking orange walls of Wolfberg in the southern Cederberg offer some of the best climbing on the planet on clean, solid rock. There are routes to suit all grades, including super easy ones that offer novices and even kids a spectacular introduction to trad climbing. Sanddrif Crag at the base of the Wolfberg offers sport climbers a range of magnificent long bolted routes while Truitjieskraal, near the famous Stadsaal rock-art site, has outstanding single-pitch climbing in a truly magnificent setting.

If you’re new to climbing, Rooiberg on the Nuwerust Farm a little further south has both single- and multi-pitch sport routes as well as trad routes, so it’s a good bet. Organise permits at the resorts before heading up to the crags.

For more details on rock climbing in South Africa, visit www.climbing.co.za/wiki/South_African_Climbing_Wiki or www.nightjartravel.com/climbing.

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Best of all worlds Go anywhere with the new Fortuner Epic model Toyota’s Fortuner has transformed the South African SUV market since its introduction in 2006. In honour of that achievement, the manufacturer has introduced a limited production special edition of its iconic SUV. Enter the Epic.

The rugged yet refined Toyota proves as comfortable on the rough track up the ’Berg as it normally is on the school run or the commute to the office. It’ll change your lifestyle, giving you and the family the best of all worlds.

Special style

From outside, it is identifiable by a special stainless steel nudge bar with cutout badge, chrome covers for the electrically retractable side mirrors, a black rear sill protector, and smoked 17-inch alloy wheels. There’s also an optional decal with the model name and engine designation.

The overall styling retains the best of the Fortuner’s design language. For example, there’s the striking trapezoidal grille with bold horizontal slats and prominent chrome detailing. The bonnet has a strongly defined bulge, and the D-4D version has a wide, centrally mounted air intake to optimise air flow to the intercooler.

The ‘squared-off’ front bumper has character lines that extend the

www.toyota.co.za

flow of the bonnet shutlines. Under the bumper is an additional engine cover designed to optimise air flow underneath the vehicle to improve steering response and driving stability.

Viewed in profile, the Fortuner has overfenders with rear-flowing character lines that pick up on the cues from the front lights and create a sense of forward movement. This effect is strengthened by the privacy glass on rear passenger and luggage compartment windows.

Rounding off the body design is a square rear bumper, cleverly designed to achieve a smooth transition to the luggage door. A roof-mounted spoiler with in-built LED stop lamp completes the styling package.

Inside, Epic models get special black leather upholstery with red stitching and a matching steering wheel and gearshift boot. The instrument cluster features Toyota’s luxury Optitron instrumentation with finely detailed gauges and blue-accented graphics.

All Epic models have Toyota’s Display Audio system with a 15.5cm TFT touchscreen. This system displays audio information including iPod cover art and track listings from a USB memory stick, an iPod or music streamed from any Bluetooth-enabled device. All models are equipped with a USB/iPod jack and audio-in connector. The Display Audio system also displays images relayed

Toyota SA

from the in-built reverse camera.

Epic models also feature automatic climate control with a separate air-conditioning system for the rear compartment, which can be deactivated by the driver and controlled by rear passengers.

Among the other features are electric seat adjustment for the driver and controls for the cruise control and Bluetooth systems on the steering wheel.

Practicality guaranteed

All versions of the Fortuner are equipped with seven seats, of which the second row is split in a 60/40 configuration and can unclip to tumble forward. The third row of seats can slide, split 50/50, and fold up to the sides in a space-up configuration to further increase the load area.

There’s ample storage space for all passengers, a centre arm rest for the second row of seats, rear privacy glass and electric windows all round.

Safety first

All Fortuner models have air bags for driver and passenger, ABS brakes with EBD, emergency brake assist and vehicle stability control. Along with the 3.0 D-4D and 4.0 V6 models, the Epic versions add front passenger side air bags and curtain air bags that stretch for the length of the passenger area.

Proven mechanicals

Under the skin, the Epic has the same proven mechanicals as the 3.0 D4-D and 4.0 models on which it is based. The turbo-diesel unit is a DOHC unit with common rail direct injection and an intercooler.

This engine delivers 120kW at 3 400 r/min and 343Nm between 1 400 and 3 200 r/min.

The 4.0 V6 petrol engine features Toyota’s well-known VVT-i

@ToyotaSA

engine management system, 24 valves, EFI injection and dual overhead cam shafts. Peak power output is 175kW at 5 200 r/min, with a strong 376Nm of torque at 3 800 r/min.

All versions of the Fortuner are equipped with high mounted double-wishbone front suspension and, in contrast to its Hilux brother’s leaf springs and rigid rear axle, the SUV is fitted with fourlink independent rear suspension with a lateral control rod at the rear. All models feature protection under the engine and fuel tank.

Two-wheel-drive Fortuners are equipped with a lockable rear differential, while four-wheel-drive versions of the 3.0 D-4D and 4.0 V6 add a heavy-duty transfer case and a lockable rear differential, with a Torsen limited slip centre differential.

The 4x4 versions of the Fortuner are permanently in fourwheel-drive mode and the driver can use the transfer case to switch between 4WD High and 4WD Low. The Fortuner 3.0 D-4D is available with the choice of 5-speed manual or 4-speed automatic gearbox, and the 4.0 V6 is equipped with a 5-speed automatic gearbox with Toyota’s artificial intelligence shift control (AI-Shift), a system that measures driver inputs and road conditions to ensure smooth shifting and prevents hunting between gears when driving on hilly roads or when towing.

Service plan and warranty

The Fortuner range is sold with a 5-year/90 000km service plan and a 3-year/100 000km warranty. The service plan can be extended to 7 years or 220 000km and the warranty to 6 years or 220 000km.

The warranty also includes a ToyotaCare Roadside Assistance Programme that is applicable in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Swaziland and Lesotho. All Toyota products are equipped with DataDot Microdot anti-theft technology.

A pretty Epic package, as thousands of local consumers are proving!

#toyotagetsmypulseracing

An Af r ic a n h on eym oon pa r t 2

Victoria falling for

In the last edition of The Intrepid Explorer, I wrote about keeping our honeymoon destination a secret from

i

my wife and detailed our magical first leg of the Blue Train and the Island Lodge at Royal Chundu on the Zambezi in Zambia. And now our story continues…

ABOVE: Our romantic dinner for two on a sampan in the middle of the Zambezi at Tongabezi OPPOSITE: The views from the Nut House at Tongabezi were spectacular

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guess the first thing I should do before commencing on the second instalment of our African Honeymoon adventure is to apologise to all the irate husbands who emailed me, asking: Why, for the love of money, did I have to go and publish my honeymoon escapade?

Some of you, I understand, have not been treated to any ‘conjugal rights’ or your favourite meals since your better halves read about the first leg of this trip. So let me advise you that now may be a good time to tear out these next few pages in the hope that your love life be restored to its former glory.

Okay, then, where were we?

After much wailing and gnashing of teeth, we left Royal Chundu behind. My wife still had no inkling of where our next stop would be but, after the first two heavenly places, I was feeling quite confident that the enchantment would be sustained.

We headed back in the direction of Victoria Falls, where our next destination was a mere upstream boat ride from ‘The Smoke that Thunders’, called Tongabezi. From my first sighting of the lodge, I knew the standard of our honeymoon trip would not dip at all.

Nestled between grand jackalberry and African ebony trees that stretch their toes into the waters of the Zambezi, Tongabezi is one of the oldest lodges on the river. But there is nothing that seems obsolete in appearance, as the open-fronted houses (there are five) and cottages (five River, one Garden) that dot the magnificent waterfront are old-world

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C a m er on B ella m y themed, but clearly have been recently refurbished with every modern amenity one could desire.

Tongabezi was established in 1990 by adventurer Ben Parker and the late Will Ruck-Keene. It is privately owned and run, with the emphasis on exclusivity and romance, enhanced by the warmth and hospitality of the people of Zambia. This was something we felt immediately on our arrival. Following Royal Chundu and the welcome at Tongabezi, I was ready to move lock, stock and barrel to this country. Not only can you not beat her profound beauty, but her people just make you want to smile with their infectious, bubbly enthusiasm.

Our first of three nights at Tongabezi would be at Sindabezi Island. We jumped into the boat and headed off on a 10-minute trip. However, our skipper first took us to the other side of the river which borders the Lower Zambezi National Park.

We manoeuvred around a massive herd of hippo and chugged along the bank in the direction of the Victoria Falls, while watching malachite kingfishers dive-bomb into the water and giraffe saunter by.

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On arrival at Sindabezi, we were escorted to our accommodation (there are only five chalets on the entire island). This was our ‘Honeymoon Chalet’, situated on a secluded sandy shore at the edge of the island. To be fair, every chalet on Sindabezi is worthy of being a honeymoon chalet.

It is constantly voted as one of the top romantic destinations in the world and, as we would find out that evening, we were one of four honeymoon couples on the island at the time.

The chalet was spectacular and we were appointed our own valet, who told us he would be at our beck and call whenever we required anything. A bottle of bubbly was already chilling in the ice bucket, and I popped the cork immediately while Sabrina settled into the hammock. Later we tried out the brand new, old-fashioned clawfoot bath out on our deck—perfect for two.

As the sun started slipping down the horizon, we watched crocodiles and hippo cruise past our own little beach and listened to the most beautiful bird calls fill the air. It was one of the most incredible sunsets we have ever witnessed.

Thanks to our solar panelling, hot water and ambient bedside lighting were assured and, as the night settled in, the entire Sindabezi Island was romantically transformed with traditional hurricane lamps and candles.

The evening meal was a sumptuous affair in the boma area, with our table under the stars. We chatted the night away with the other honeymooners from all over the world, with the wives comparing notes on wedding dresses and the men discussing the wines (both priorities for each gender, no doubt).

We woke to the rapturous sound of nature in all her glory: hippos snorting, birds singing and monkeys chattering.

We had even heard lions during the course of the night, just on the other side of the water.

After almost stepping on a small croc that was fanning itself in one corner of our beach (which I kept from my wife, as it is the only animal she truly fears), we packed up our gear and headed back by boat to the main Tongabezi camp, where we would enjoy breakfast before heading off

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An Af r ic a n h on eym oon pa r t 2

ABOVE LEFT: Happily drenched at Victoria Falls in full flood ABOVE RIGHT: Sabrina soaks up the sun, the water and the view from the Nut House pool

for our visit to Mosi-oa-Tunya, which is the local name for Victoria Falls.

Sabrina had never seen the Falls before, and I had last seen them at least a decade ago, at the driest time of the year. But there we were, in the height of flood season, and apparently the Falls were stronger than they had been in many years. After a deliciously satisfying breakfast, we excitedly headed off to witness one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

For those who have not had the pleasure of seeing Victoria Falls, let me paint a picture: It is approximately 1 700 metres wide, and varies in height from 80 to 108m. It is one-and-a-half times wider than Niagara Falls and twice its height, making it the biggest curtain of water in the world. Around mid-April, peak flood waters occur. Roughly 625 million litres of water flow over the edge per minute. This huge volume of water produces a spray that rises up to 500m in the air.

On 16 November 1855, Dr David Livingstone was transported in a canoe by some of the local Makalolo to the outer edge of the Falls. The Scotsman was so overwhelmed by his first sighting, that he momentarily abandoned his scientific observations and recorded: “It had never been seen before by European eyes; but scenes so lovely must have been gazed upon by angels in their flight.”

Loyally the good missionary, whose heart lies buried in Africa, named this great wonder of the world after Victoria, his British queen.

On arrival at the Falls, one can purchase a raincoat for 10 dollars, which may seem a bit excessive, but let me assure you: It is worth every penny, as you will get

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completely and utterly drenched!

For ages, Sabrina and I marvelled at the ferocious beauty of the Falls, walking between rainbows and cascading water that seemed to drop down from Heaven itself. It is truly an amazing experience that everyone simply has to do once. (There is also an opportunity to fly over the Falls in a microlight manned by the owner of Tongabezi, Ben, but sadly it was not within our budget.)

On our return to Tongabezi, we were shown to our accommodation for the next two nights which, we felt, was aptly named for us—Nut House! It is a haven from the elements; it is entirely enclosed, but with light streaming in through every wall. It combines the best art, textiles and textures from around the African continent, with design elements from Morocco, Mali, Zambia and South Africa.

The palette is easy on the eye, seamlessly blending the house into Zambia’s natural scenery. Folding doors open onto the elevated private garden and infinity plunge pool, with spectacular views over the Zambezi as far as the eye can see.

The rest of our afternoon was spent sipping gin and tonics while lounging in the pool—watching, through our binoculars, life go by on the river. Words cannot really recreate the setting.

For that evening we had booked the sampan, a flat wooden boat in which we were taken out onto the river and anchored there. A mokoro was used to come serve us each course of the romantic candlelit dinner for two—slap bang in the middle of the Zambezi!

The next day we once again ate like kings before heading off for a canoe trip

down the river. We were taken upstream a number of kilometres, where we were met by our river guide. The brief was rather intimidating and, frankly, I am pretty sure that if he had done it at the lodge, Sabrina would have insisted we rather do something else. But as the boat had already returned to Tongabezi, we had no choice but to jump into our canoes. The brief basically outlined that the crocodiles could be very inquisitive, and may come up to the canoes and sometimes bump the sides. We were also told what to do if we came between a mother hippo and her calf, or a rogue male hippo.

As I mentioned earlier, my wife is not a big fan of crocs, so this—along with the many hippos around us—made it all sound rather dangerous. Nonetheless, we set off for the two-kilometre trip back to the lodge. The water was flowing very rapidly, so this at least helped ease our concerns; although we saw quite a few crocodiles, thankfully none of them knocked the boat. Besides one slightly nerve-wracking encounter with a hippo coming straight for us (and us paddling like lunatics), it was an amazing experience.

Tongabezi offers many other activities such as fishing, trips to Livingstone Island (only in the low season), visits to the neighbouring villages and the school that the lodge runs, and loads more. One really needs a number of days in this paradise to lap it all up but, unfortunately, it was time to say our goodbyes—it was back over the glorious Falls and into Zimbabwe.

Leaving the Zambezi behind was sad, but we were looking forward to being in a bush setting and doing some game viewing. The Stanley and Livingstone

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An Af r ic a n h on eym oon pa r t 2

ABOVE LEFT: Back at Royal Chundu—playing Scrabble, drinking G&Ts and watching life go by on the Zambezi ABOVE RIGHT: A romantic three-course meal in the wine cellar at the Stanley and Livingstone Hotel BELOW: Our honeymoon suite at the Stanley and Livingstone

Hotel, situated just 10 minutes from the Falls within the 6 000-acre Victoria Falls Private Game Reserve, is just such a place where the Big 5 can all be ticked off. The 5-star boutique hotel combines modern creature comforts with Victorian opulence, allowing you to enjoy both the wild adventure of an African safari holiday, and the grace and refinement of a bygone era.

Stepping into the foyer was like taking a step back in time. One almost expected to see Henry Stanley standing right there, enquiring: “Dr Livingstone, I presume?”

With just 16 beautifully appointed private suites and four chalets set among lush green gardens, you will feel like you have this little slice of wilderness all to yourself. Our African extravagance continued, booking into the honeymoon chalet with a beautiful four-poster bed and our very own Jacuzzi!

The next two days were spent mostly on game drives, viewing hordes of animals and birdlife—from rhino to eagle owls.

When we were not in a vehicle, we simply

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relaxed in the Jacuzzi or on the lawn that directly overlooked a watering hole; we did not even need to venture out to see game constantly passing right by our room. On our first evening we had a lavish braai in the bush boma, with local dancers and singers beating drums and dancing around the fire. The second night was another real treat, being served a three-course feast for two in the wine cellar—very special, indeed.

The next day we headed back over the Falls (this was becoming quite a lovely habit), past Tongabezi and Royal Chundu, on the way to our final honeymoon stop. This one I had personally been looking forward to: a suite on the houseboat, Pride of Zambezi. The idea of leisurely moving down a river while watching game on the banks, and visions of pulling up a fierce tigerfish had me feeling like an impatient kid.

The Pride of Zambezi is an upmarket houseboat berthed on the Chobe River, right at the entrance to the Chobe National Park. It is rather confusing,

though, as one needs to pass out of Zambia, through Botswana and then into Namibia to get to the boat. On arrival at the border post, I could almost taste the bream on my fisherman’s dream… Alas, it was not to be.

The problem was, my wife had only a temporary passport—and no matter how much I tried charming the border control ladies, explaining to them that we would literally be “passing through for less than half an hour”, they would have none of it!

In fact, they told us (with what seemed a little too much glee) that we had been the fourth South African couple to be turned away that day.

My wife cried, and I almost did, too.

Our magical African honeymoon I had planned for so many months was about to end in disaster. (So learn from us, dear readers: No temporary passports are accepted in Botswana.)

What to do? Well, when in doubt, phone our fantastic hosts, Hessah and Aggie, at Royal Chundu. I explained our predicament, wondering where we would stay for the next two days before our flight departed all the way back at Victoria Falls. I was not holding my breath for positive news, but Hessah just laughed and said: “You are family! Come back here—we happen to have one free cottage at the River Lodge.”

So back to Royal Chundu we went!

Back to where it all began, and now where it would all end. The last two days there were spent taking in the Zambezi once again, with the calls of fish eagles, G&Ts, tiger-fishing (thank the river gods!) and Scrabble on the water. Thank you, Zambia, until we meet again. And I assure you, we will be back.

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R a c h el L a n g

bird’s

a

eye view

Rachel Lang OBSERVES the feathered inhabitants of Xigera in the Okavango

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Huddled on the backseat of the small Cessna 206 aircraft, I wrapped a scarf around my ears to numb the engine’s roar. The dusty Maun airstrip retreated to insignificance as Em Gatland (photographer and fellow traveller) and I exchanged nervous smiles; yes, this was real. We had dreamt about it, but now it was really happening.

Photographs Em Gatland

R a c h el L a n g

w

e were two aspiring birders, winging our way into the heart of Botswana’s Okavango Delta, the palm of the ‘great green hand’ to a camp that neither of us could yet pronounce.

I hugged my notebook tightly and felt my brand-new binoculars against my chest, which seemed to be swelling with a gleeful, uncontrollable giddiness. It wasn’t long before Em had her camera out of the window, her photographer’s eye soaking up the lush, winking waterways beneath us.

The ‘Jewel of the Kalahari’, as the Okavango Delta is often called, is a pulsing wild Eden. Water flowing from the highlands of Angola transforms flat Kalahari thirstlands into a complex system of emerald-braided channels and papyrus-fringed lagoons.

From the air I caught sight of an enormous crocodile sunning itself on its own private island. It was one of many islands dotting the landscape, most of which were crafted by termites, spurting

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wild date palms and mats of dense riverine forest. I watched families of elephant swaying through vast swamplands in one-by-one formations, winding through well-used paths or parting reeds to create new ones.

But if I had thought then that seeing the Okavango from the air was the best way to experience its remote beauty, it was only because I was yet to explore it at water height, where its most precious and delicate secrets are revealed.

Xigera, pronounced kee-jera (meaning ‘kingfisher’), is tucked away on a small island (fittingly named Paradise Island) within a private concession on the western side of Moremi Game Reserve.

The camp has been in existence since mid-1980 and consists of 10 tented chalets and a large deck area overlooking permanent water. To reach our exquisitely furnished abode, we wandered along raised wooden walkways enfolded by a canopy of sausage and jackalberry trees.

I smile to think that, back then, we had no idea what might be peering down at us from those leafy heights. In fact, we had a

lot to learn. Luckily, our newly acquainted guide Onx (Onkagetsa Letsholathebe) was a keen birder and eager to share his knowledge with two newbie twitchers.

The Okavango Delta is home to about 500 bird species. During summer months (November to March), it’s estimated that the swamps swell with more than one million migrants, leaving Xigera—one of the Okavango’s prize birding areas— bursting with fresh feathers. African skimmers nest in exposed sandbanks along Xigera’s lagoon, migrant cuckoos and warblers return, and the trill of woodland kingfishers can be heard from every corner of the camp. Lower water levels make for extended game drives where Temminck’s coursers and crimsonbreasted shrikes are a common sight.

Yet winter, as we discovered, has its own charms. A rise in water levels means more areas can be explored by boat—a highlight for both me and Em, who loved the adventure of not knowing what we’d meet around each new corner.

“We would like to see a Pel’s fishing owl,” I told Onx. He grinned at us: “Some

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people come here and they have searched their whole lives for this owl; when they see it, they are so happy, they cry.”

Now this was something I could identify with. As a child, I was fascinated

by Tim Liversedge’s Haunt of the Fishing Owl, a documentary filmed along the Okavango Panhandle following an extensive study in the 1970s. I remember watching it over and over, mesmerised by the owl’s enormous ghost-like wings as it flew over the water with a catfish. I dreamt of the moment I would finally meet one of these mysterious winged ‘Cheshire Cats’.

In South Africa, Pel’s fishing owls are classified as threatened (mostly due to habitat loss) and only found in small localised areas. But in the Okavango, it previous spread: A mokoro (plural mekoro) is the perfect way to slip unobtrusively between narrow delta channels opposite: The Okavango is a photographer’s dream, as I soon discovered above: Pel’s fishing owl (Scotopelia peli) is the largest and most widespread of Africa’s fishing owls. They roost in dense riverine forest, which makes them very difficult to spot

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is thought that there are at least 100 nesting pairs.

We began our search the very next morning, arriving by motorboat at a small island where we were dwarfed by tall riverine trees. The smells of wild sage and semi-fresh elephant dung mingled in the air sweetly. “Very good habitat for the Pel’s,” Onx informed us. Following his example, we scoured the dense foliage, straining our necks for any sign of the owl. “You will see big, black eyes staring down at you,” he said.

Onx’s words were full of fondness, as if he were describing a good friend of his.

Our guide was a man of patience— which I’ve learnt is a key element for successful bird watching—but despite his inspiring efforts, we had no luck with the owl. Instead, we admired a golden weaver, eavesdropped on some cheechee-ing Meyer’s parrots, and followed the sound of a metronome to a bearded woodpecker. It was not a bad start to our first morning of birding.

Back on the boat, we relished the warmth of the day. The gentle water drew ripples in the riverbed sand, making it look like a Chinese zen garden. Aquatic

plants swayed flirtatiously in the clear water and the thought of swimming was tremendously tempting! We decided we would have to come back during summer when the lagoon is shallow and guests are allowed to bathe in certain areas declared safe from crocodiles.

“Adorable!” exclaimed Em from the seat beside me. A pair of African jacana chicks were bobbing up and down on long, gangly legs. Not far off was an adult male: “That’s the father,” Onx explained. “He is the chicks’ sole caregiver.” After the female has laid her eggs, she abandons them and goes on mating with multiple males in her territory, leaving him to raise the chicks.

As we got closer, the fledglings began wobbling nearer to their attentive dad, balancing on lily pads with their incredibly long toes, designed for this very purpose.

African jacanas are a common sight at Xigera (and throughout the Delta), but they have a smaller, shyer cousin—the lesser jacana, which is not as easily sighted. We were lucky to get a brief glimpse of one, though, before it took off to find a more secretive spot. The size difference between these lily-trotters

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LEFT: Onx and I, scouring the treetops for signs of Pel’s fishing owl BELOW LEFT: The malachite kingfisher (Alcedo cristata) is only 13cm in length. It usually perches low over the water, looking out for small fish and insects BELOW RIGHT: Painted reed frogs (Hyperolius marmoratus) make use of tall reed beds to breed. Males climb right to the top of reeds and produce shrill calls to attract females

reduces competition between them because the lesser jacana can feed on floating grasses unable to hold the heavier African jacana.

The more time we spent on the water, and with eyes glued to our binoculars, the more we got to ‘know’ the distinctive ‘personalities’ of the birds.

The African fish eagle is daytime king of the waterways. No other birdcall expresses so perfectly the soundscape of wild Africa.

Levitating pied kingfishers made me want to search for their puppet strings, and tiny colourful malachites sat perched on reeds, which were like golden ribbons in the sunlight. Black crakes, which are skulking creatures, were surprisingly timid for their bold, bubbling voices and very hard to photograph.

But even more challenging in this regard were the African pygmy geese: attractive little ducks with bright orange breasts, white faces and dark green wings, which take off from the water like jets.

Interestingly, they are the primary dispersal agents for water-lily seeds, piercing the fruit (which they eat) under the water’s surface and releasing seeds that drift with the current. Coppery-tailed coucals sit in the papyrus making distinct cooing sounds, and smaller birds such as

prinias and cisticolas skip through the tips of reeds, easier heard than seen.

Back at camp, we spent our time rather lazily: reading, sleeping—or being happily distracted from both of these by Blue the monkey and his crew, or the nyala gently nibbling near the camp’s walkways.

Our afternoons were spent back on the water, but this time in mekoro, or traditional dugout canoes. At water height, and without a noisy engine, I felt a deep intimacy with the surrounding wilderness. There were feathery ends of miscanthus grass tickling my arms and I held a tiny painted reed frog in my hand.

As the crepuscular hours crept in, pond skaters left golden rings on the water, spider webs were lit up, and the papyrus made me think of ladies dressing for a dinner party with up-style hairdos.

White-faced whistling ducks flew over us and a Verreaux’s eagle-owl grunted.

It was important to get back to camp before dark, as this is when hippos depart for their evening forays and, especially in such narrow channels, meeting one en route would best be avoided.

After a lantern-lit dinner in the camp’s boma, Onx escorted us back to our chalet.

In the moonlight, he pointed to a shape on a dead tree beside the water, a few

metres from the walkway—a Pel’s fishing owl! We could see him from the front door of our chalet—had he been waiting for us all this time? From his perch, he was peering into the water, searching for fish.

Fishing owls have the extraordinary ability to locate their prey in pitch darkness by sensing their movement in the water. Once a target has been set, they dive feet-first, gripping their slippery dinner with specially adapted scales on their talons. Unlike most owls, they lack feathers on their legs and feet, which would add extra weight if they got wet.

The next morning we were still munching our muesli when Onx appeared. “I found the owl for you,” he announced, “Tent nine.” We leapt up, leaving our half-eaten breakfast behind.

A few minutes later I was standing beneath a large jackalberry tree, peering up into a pair of enormous dark eyes in broad daylight. This is the moment to which I will return over and over again— the moment that stilled my soul.

For more information or reservations, contact Wilderness Safaris on tel: 011 807 1800, e-mail: enquiry@wilderness.co.za or visit www.wilderness-safaris.com WATER CA M P S IN THE OK AVANGO D ELTA

VUMBURA CONCESSION KWEDI CONCESSION

KHWAI CONCESSION

Vumbura Plains & Little Vumbura

Duba Plains Banoka Bush Camp

JAO CONCESSION

MOMBO CONCESSION

Kwetsani Tubu Tree & Little Tubu

Jao

Jacana

Mombo & Little Mombo

Xigera

Seba Abu

CHITABE CONCESSION Chitabe Chitabe Lediba

ABU CONCESSION

Xigera Concession MAuN

6 000 hectares (14 000 acres); a wetland paradise within Moremi Game Reserve in the heart of the Okavango Delta. Situated on one of the Okavango’s key waterways, it is surrounded by picturesque papyrus swamps and wooded islands.

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Pamela Buckle climbed South Africa’s highest mountains on an Adventure with a Purpose

9 peaks

The

challenge

Pa m ela Buc k le South Africa showcases some of the most picturesque, monumental and elevated peaks that stand as guardians to the provinces encompassing them. The decision to step onto these majestic mountains requires not only basic survival and mountain-climbing knowledge, but also a respect for the terrain, patience and consideration for one’s teammates, and a purpose to climb. Whatever the objective, whether it be achieving something personally or raising awareness for a charity, there will come a moment when that purpose will require mental and physical energy to climb a few more steps toward the ultimate goal—the summit.

w

hen I was approached to join the 9 Peaks Challenge to help raise fund for Meals on Wheels South Africa, I jumped at the opportunity, knowing this would become so much more than a fight for an admirable cause; it would become an adventure that would test to the limits my agility and fear of heights.

Meals on Wheels does not only have the monumental task of providing over one million meals each month to poor communities; it is also developing community centres and projects to teach people how to live sustainably, going to the heart of trying to make a difference in people’s lives. I was honoured and privileged to be part of an Adventure with a Purpose!

For one person, to take a step could be the beginning of a journey, and for others a direction toward a destination—a footprint left out of one’s comfort zone.

I am not an experienced mountaineer.

I always envisioned climbing a mountain would involve my starting at the bottom of a hill and making my way to the top where I would triumphantly place a flag in the ground. This was far from reality!

Our team consisted of Kim Williams, Irene Rügheimer, Sane Nkabinde, Kobus Bresler, Rene Winter, Jordan Williams,

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the dreaded Chain Ladders, with the bitter cold instantaneously numbing our noses and creeping beneath our thermals. The path was rough with patches of sleet that had settled during the freezing early morning and soon became an obstacle for us as we trod across large rock structures with slanting gradients toward the drop.

The higher we walked, the more the sunrise presented a view that drew an orange haze across the horizon, slowly exposing the mountain’s treacherous and rocky face. The clouds resembled lakes of fleece that surrounded the rolling hills of the Drakensberg below, making us feel that we were indeed on top of the world—a silent place only broken by the crushing of the soil beneath our boots.

Eventually we arrived at the base of the Chain Ladders that were the exposed metal passageways to the Drakensberg traverse: intimidating structures that were approximately 18 metres high.

We didn’t have anything securing us to the frame, so the rule was to always have at least three body parts touching the ladder as we slowly, one by one, made our way up against the rocky surface of the ridge. After climbing both ladders and reaching the top, I cried tears of joy, fear and excitement as every one of our

teammates made it unscathed. We were filled with overwhelming emotion as we stared at the panoramic spectacle that surrounded us. It was a sight to behold!

We had not yet conquered the mountain, however; there was still a way to go before we reached the summit. We trekked through the Lesotho valley, following Kobus and Rene who were using Runtastic altitude watches, a Garmin GPS and topography maps to track our position and guide us to the highest summit in the Free State. Finally we made it; we touched the pile of rocks that stood as pillars and conquered Namahadi Peak at 3 275m as the Meals on Wheels team—proud, tired and freezing cold in the minus Celsius temperatures.

As the sun started setting in, so did a little sense of panic as we felt ourselves racing toward the patches of light that remained stained across the surface. There are no words to describe being on a mountain at night. Everything is pitch black and the only assurance that we were descending correctly was watching the lights at the bottom of the mountain become more distinct and brighter as the stars above us became smaller and dimmer. It took us hours to get down and I will never forget the moment when we

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©shaun gordon

Pa m ela Buc k le Shaun Gordon and I. We began our adventure with the incredible support of the Meals on Wheels crew: Gershon Naidoo, Brendan Peckham, Zee Lamula, Matthew Kirkwood and Graison Moodley, who guided us to every peak.

The morning of 21 April 2014 arrived and the sunrise painted a pale, light-blue façade across the sky in the distance as the misty silhouettes of the surrounding hills haunted me with the realisation that I was actually going to be climbing mountains. Suddenly, things got very real!

We received our sponsored, bright pink Discovery vehicles and Peugeot 3008s from Land Rover Pietermaritzburg and Peugeot Pinetown respectively. The looks on the men’s faces were priceless. These machines would safely take us on our journey through South Africa and become our home for the next few days.

At 4 a.m. we started packing for what were deemed the top three most difficult mountains to climb in South Africa.

The Drakensberg has very unpredictable weather; you never know what condition you could be going into and, after being updated with snow reports, we needed to be prepared.

Arriving at Sentinel Car Park, we started our journey up the winding path toward

OPPOSITE PAGE: Start of KwaDuma climb with Irene Rügheimer, Kim Williams, Sane Nkabinde and Pamela Buckle LEFT: Sunrise over the Drakensberg with Pamela

Pa m ela Buc k le

PREVIOUS PAGE: Hiking to KwaDuma

BELOW LEFT: Climbing the Drakensberg toward the Chain Ladders

After going over so many mountains that seemed to be the summit, we were struggling to find additional inner strength to continue onward. Jordan had started getting sick, so at this point Kim decided to hang back with her son and give us a chance to summit.

Finally we reached the summit at 3 019m. Conquered! We stood in silence as we took in the majestic surroundings. I will not forget that moment we saw Kim and Jordan hiking over the ridge and making their way toward us. Their determination and perseverance embodied so much of what Meals on Wheels stands for: Never give up trying to help people in need.

The clouds resembled lakes of fleece that surrounded the rolling hills

of the Drakensberg below, making us feel that we were indeed on

top of the world

went around a corner and saw faint flashing lights in the distance which marked the location of our Meals on Wheels crew. They became our lighthouse, guiding and securing our hopes that we were going to make it.

An experience such as this digs deep down into your gut when you have accomplished something out of your comfort zone. Some of us laughed, others cried, and I just curled up in the closest warm place I could find, our Land Rover Discovery. My feet were numb, my entire body was too cold to move, and I just sat and listened to my amazing team’s excited chatter. I breathed in a sigh of relief. We had completed our first peak with a purpose and learnt that mountains don’t accommodate you—you need to accommodate the mountain.

In the morning, we were on our way to South Africa’s third highest mountain, KwaDuma, where the landscape was

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decorated with herds of goats, wild horses and clay huts with grass domes pointing to the blue heavens. The terrain was vastly different to Namahadi, with the wild turf soaking up our footprints as we made our way to the cattle paths that we were hoping would direct us to our next point, the top of KwaDuma Pass. I could not help but use every moment during our breaks to take pictures of one of the most magnificent mountains I would ever have the privilege to climb. Sometimes one needs to pause and appreciate the opportunity of being able to stand in such a breathtaking environment.

While making our way up the steep and dangerous KwaDuma Pass, two locals caught up with us and, according to them, we were insane and would not make it down the mountain in time—which was a very scary thought, considering the horror stories we had heard about the wolf dogs that roamed the area.

As the darkness set in, we were filled with the urgency to get beyond KwaDuma Pass before it was too dark. When the night sky had finally taken over just after the pass, we knew that once again we were facing a mountain in the dark—we were in trouble. At one point, we ended up on a high cliff when thunder broke the silence in the distance and the barking of dogs instilled in some of us a fear of so many things that could possibly go wrong.

Eventually we made it to the rest of the team, practically jumping for joy as they lifted the heavy backpacks off our shoulders and presented us with a delicious cooked dinner under the stars.

Soon we were on our way to the Northern Cape to tackle the next highest peak, Murch Point. Gearing up for the cold winter’s night, we made our way up the steep and treacherous gradient. The beacon at the summit of 2 156m had toppled over, so I decided this was a

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Pa m ela Buc k le

©shaun gordon

Clockwise, FROM TOP left: Toringkop Peak at 1 913m with Sane and Pamela; The Meals on Wheels 9 Peaks Challenge Team with Irene, Kobus, Kim, Sane, Jordan, Rene and Pamela; Namahadi Peak at 3 275m; Setting up camp at Seweweekspoort

perfectly good moment to plank the beacon. Another successful summit!

Exhausted, we started making our way in the cold night toward our next peak, Seweweekspoort, the highest point in the Western Cape. After hurting ourselves on previous peaks, some of us made the decision to rather skip this summit, knowing the danger of getting stuck on a mountain in the dark. I had badly hurt my leg on Murch Point, so I felt I should hang back with the support crew and make them endless cups of hot chocolate.

Soon after, Kim and Irene joined our awaiting crew as the mountain had drawn in all the strength they’d had left, and now it was up to Kobus and Rene to reach the top. We were filled with such pride that they made it and took our cause to the top of the Western Cape at 2 325m.

On our way back toward Gauteng, my legs were getting more swollen and so painful to a point that tears were engulfing my words. My heart wouldn’t stop palpitating. I knew I needed to seek medical advice, so that night I parted from my team and went to see my GP the

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following morning. I had to have bed rest for a few days or I would have put my life at risk—and potentially the lives of my teammates as well.

At this stage, the team consisted of the support crew, Kim, Irene and Jordan who went on to conquer Die Berg at 2 331m (Mpumalanga), Iron Crown at 2 126m (Limpopo) and Nooitgedacht West at 1 806m (North West). I knew I needed to finish with my team, so I made my way to Toringkop, which is the highest peak in Gauteng at 1 913m.

Sane and I, along with renowned mountain guide Sean Disney, made our way to the beacon that marked the end of the current 9 Peaks Challenge. While watching the African sun set once more over the mountain, I knew this was not over, as we needed to battle one last peak, Mafadi in KwaZulu-Natal—and for me personally to complete the other peaks I unfortunately couldn’t reach.

Something bonds you to the people with whom you have shared an experience beyond your limitations, revealing your vulnerability and character. I made friends

on and off those mountains; friends whom I had relied on in so many ways.

With the recent weather report regarding the conditions on the peaks, we decided to postpone Mafadi for a later stage. We didn’t have the right equipment and, as hard a decision as it was, sometimes one needs to be responsible and take into account that we aren’t in control of the weather and our lives are more important being around than left on the mountain.

I want to thank all our sponsors. And I want to reiterate how proud I am of my team; proud of Meals and Wheels, the people who keep the wheels turning and the cause that feeds so many families. I am proud of myself for accomplishing what I did—not just climbing the mountains that seemed impossible, but for standing up for a cause that means so much to the people of my country. Hopefully we have left a few footprints on the peaks, marking a way for new adventurers who want to go on an Adventure with a Purpose.

Mafadi, here we come...

Visit Pam’s site at www.littlemmi.com.

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Ha yden Quin n

Hayden Quinn goes on a culinary adventure through South Africa, exploring the local cultures and cuisines

Live life,

eat well, travel far MasterChef Australia finalist, 2012 Cleo Bachelor of the Year, lifeguard, adventurous surfer, WWF–SASSI ambassador, presenter, marine biologist, cookbook author and ambassador of the Starlight Children’s Foundation— Hayden Quinn truly is the real McCoy!

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Q

uinn recently spent seven weeks on a 10 000kilometre trip around South Africa for his latest television series, Hayden Quinn South Africa. With 13 destinations and different local dishes, he combines travel, food and adventure in this enthralling and authentic series (as well as in his one hard-copy cookbook and two ebooks)—even staunch Springbok supporters will be won over by this Aussie with his dimpled smile and passion for food and cooking.

No one will be able to resist the allure of his foodie road trip, and it will reignite your enthusiasm for classic South African favourites. It features top local destinations and local culinary stars, making everything from bobotie and potjie to ostrich steak sandwiches and biltong pizzas.

(For recipes, check out his website: haydenquinnsouthafrica.com/recipes) What are the travel essentials you cannot leave home without?

My passport—that’s important! (laughs) Who inspires you, and what brought about your love of food?

The people I meet as I go about my ‘work’: the guys and girls who just love food, whether it be eating it or cooking it or just being around the production of what ends up on our table. The early passion came from my mum and family; we love our food at home and, more than anything, it was a love of sharing and bringing people together.

What is your favourite South African dish so far?

Ooh, my favourite… so far, it would be a lamb potjie that was cooked for me by a group of farmers out in Prieska. This was probably one of the more fun cooking scenes we have done—and the backdrop was spectacular. Sometimes it’s not only

Ha yden Quin n

PREVIOUS PAGE: Hayden preparing a yellowtail sashimi dish atop Table Mountain BELOW LEFT: Joining two local fishermen in Paternoster BELOW RIGHT: Preparing roosterbrood to dip in his delicious mussel pot

about the food, but the people whom you share it with.

Favourite location in which you have filmed?

Filming in Vic Bay [Victoria Bay, on the Garden Route] was pretty special because, basically, all we did for the shoot was surf, so I felt a bit like a pro surfer making a surf movie. It was super chilled and not as full-on as it can get sometimes when you are shooting all the other stuff. Plus, the surf was such fun!

Are you an adrenalin junkie? What thrilling adventures have you tried in South Africa?

Wow, well, we do something new each episode in Hayden Quinn South Africa, so there are 13 for me to choose from! One of the most amazing experiences—and it’s not really your classic ‘adventure activity’ (I actually don’t think people get to do this often at all)—we met up with a rhino conservation team in KwaZulu-Natal and were able to go out with the rangers to monitor the rhino in the wild and on foot. It was amazing!

What do you think makes your cookbook, Dish it Up, different and unique?

I like to think that it tells a bit of my story. Each of the recipes is backed up by little anecdotes or stories from my life, which make them special; they are not just thrown in there because they are fancy or taste good (but most of them taste good!). I also like the way we have broken the different chapters down with little quirky phrases such as “Why eat soggy cereal?” for the breakfast foods chapter, and “Who needs boring old knives and forks?” for the section on food you can eat with your hands.

What are your three cooking rules that everyone should follow?

It’s all about, firstly, temperature and, secondly, timing: monitor those and you’re on the right track. Thirdly, just give it a go! It’s not that hard—even I can do it! (laughs) What has been your toughest challenge in achieving your dreams?

There have been many, and many of them have had to do with confidence in myself and believing/knowing that what I was

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doing was right. There have been many times when I had thought ‘things’ were going to happen but they fell through.

This adventure in South Africa really is the first massive thing I have done since setting out and trying to create a life around that which I am passionate about—and for that I am incredibly grateful to a number of people who believed in me and supported me in what we are doing here. Most of the time it is just a state of mind, and all it takes is getting into the moment and looking at where I am to make me realise this is all very special.

What do you think of the local South African produce?

I love it! Like Australia, there is such a variety and the landscapes and ‘climes’ of South Africa allow for a huge array of foods to be cultivated within the country—which is great for seasonality, locality, sustainability and freshness.

What were you most excited about seeing or experiencing when you came to South Africa?

I wanted to feel the buzz of a big country! Australia is tiny in comparison, and places such as South Africa seem to just have this beat or throb to them. I also wanted to understand the history and people; I have tried to read as much as I can into the country to further understand it, but it’s the people and the places that teach you the most. I guess that is the same about all the countries I visit: I love reading up, getting a bit of a picture in my head and then trying to see if I can challenge that, or confirm it.

What motto do you live by, and what would you say to the younger generation trying to follow their dreams?

Live life, eat well, travel far. That, I guess, is where I am at the moment; however, I am trying to live a little more ‘in the moment’ because sometimes I get caught up in the ‘work’ element of what I do and don’t take in the amazing part of where I am. I think if young people can see themselves doing what they love, really see it and make it real in their minds, it will happen—they need to have a firm belief and desire to want to live out that dream.

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Here is a Hayden Quinn recipe for The Intrepid Explorer readers:

Free-range Beef BiLtong, Fig and Brie Mini Pizzas (serves 8) Ingredients

Picture Courtesy of Dawie Verwy, Flat Art Studios

For the pizza bases: • 5 00g bread flour • ½ teaspoon salt • ½ sachet instant yeast • ½ tablespoon sugar • 2 tablespoons olive oil • 3 25ml lukewarm water For the topping: • 1 jar basil pesto • 8 fresh figs, thinly sliced • 1 wedge of Brie, thinly sliced • 1 ½ cups free-range beef biltong • 1 handful fresh rocket leaves • ¼ cup sunflower seeds • O live oil Method Combine half the sugar, 25ml of the lukewarm water and yeast, and leave for 10 minutes.

Combine the flour, salt and remaining sugar in a large mixing bowl and make a well in the centre. Pour the yeast mixture, remaining water and olive oil into the centre of the flour and mix with a wooden spoon.

Once the dough starts coming together, turn it out onto a clean, floured surface and knead until smooth.

Return to the bowl and cover with a damp tea towel. Leave to prove for roughly 45 minutes.

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Once doubled in size, shape into golf ball-sized rounds.

Cover with a damp tea towel and prove for another 30 minutes or until doubled in size.

Roll out the balls on a heavily floured surface into thin oblong shapes.

Fry in a dry pan until golden and crispy.

Spread a generous layer of basil pesto onto the pizza bases. Then add a few slices of Brie and figs.

Sprinkle with beef biltong, rocket and sunflower seeds.

Drizzle lightly with good quality olive oil just before serving.

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Sarah Kingdom attempts to summit Mount Elbrus— after a gruelling 48-hour journey getTING there

adventure double the

Two bouts of malaria and a chest infection all in the six weeks prior to my departure for Russia was not an ideal way to prepare for my attempt on Europe’s highest

mountain, Elbrus. But having booked my flights, made all the arrangements, and

having neglected to even consider travel insurance, I was not about to back out. So still midway through my course of antibiotics, a side effect of which was terrible nausea, I packed my kit and set off.

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Sa r a h Kin gdom

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hey say the journey is half the adventure… well, clearly whoever said that was not travelling from my home in central Zambia to the Caucasus Mountains on the Russian border with Georgia!

My journey started with a 400-kilometre drive to Lusaka, followed by a two-hour flight to Johannesburg, where I had a 12-hour layover. Then a seven-hour flight to Abu Dhabi and another six-hour layover. Next, a five-hour flight to the Moscow Domodedovo Airport.

Due to a mix-up with flights/dates/ terminals etc., my arrival at Domodedovo was followed by a panicked two-hour (and R2 000!) high-speed taxi ride across Moscow to get to Sheremetyevo International Airport, 90km away on the other side of town. My ride was an ancient old Lada that dated back to the Cold War and was being driven by someone who clearly believed he was starring in a James Bond movie, being pursued by the KGB. I arrived—shaken, not stirred—at the end of the white-knuckle ride to find my onward flight was delayed by three hours, and I would actually have had time to take the Moscow subway between the two airports, save myself R1 700 and add years to my life!

Finally we boarded our two-hour flight to Mineralnye Vody, the closest airport to my destination. Our flight was followed by a 50km drive to the Russian spa town of Kislovodsk where, after dining out in a restaurant where it took two hours to bring us our dinner, we overnighted in a hotel with no hot water (something I dearly needed after 44 hours of nonstop travelling).

The next morning, having had to share a bed with a woman I’d only just met—a fellow climber in our team—we had a final four-hour, dirt-road drive to Dzhily-Su at the foot of Mount Elbrus. Only now could my real adventure begin…

My decision to climb Mount Elbrus was a rather last-minute one. I’ve been climbing and guiding for years and I regularly guide trips for an Indian

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company run by a friend of mine. So when the ‘boss’ told me he was headed to Elbrus with two guys with whom I had climbed before, I decided—with the help of some generous sponsors—to join them.

At 5 642 metres Mount Elbrus, an inactive volcano, is the highest peak in the Caucasus Mountains, a mountain range that straddles Asia and Europe. It is also the highest mountain on the European continent and hence one of the coveted ‘Seven Summits’ (the highest peak on each of the seven continents); Elbrus is in fact the fifth highest of the seven summits.

The mountain has two almost identical peaks, the west summit at 5 642m and the 5 621m east summit; we would only decide which peak we would attempt once we were on the mountain and could assess the conditions—but we knew that reaching either summit would count as a successful climb.

There are two main routes to Elbrus’ summit: the normal route from the south, and a more precarious and challenging

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route from the north; we would be attempting the latter. Elbrus is not a technically difficult mountain, but it’s notorious for its brutal and fickle weather including strong winds and freezing temperatures. As we were to witness ourselves, the weather on the mountain can change very quickly from sunny skies to a total whiteout and blizzards.

The weather, coupled with the elevation, can create problems for any ill-equipped or inexperienced climbers. The mountain is known as one of the deadliest, and every year there are between 15 and 30 deaths. This season, we learnt, four people have already died on the north side of the mountain, and the season has only just begun; one climber died from high-altitude pulmonary oedema (water in the lungs), one suffocated in his tent following its collapse in heavy snowfall, and two climbers simply disappeared.

So here we were, a team of eight climbers (two Russian, one Norwegian, three Indian, one Hungarian and I), finally

at base camp, the end of the road, climbing out of our transport, stretching our legs and settling into the tents that would be our base for the next few days. We couldn’t even make out the outline of the mountain above us which we were here to climb.

After lunch we hiked to nearby mineral springs that were too cold and unappealing for us to swim in, although they were occupied by some ‘generously proportioned’, scantily clad Russian men who didn’t look at all keen that we join them. We left the ‘swimmers’ and hiked back to camp, had dinner and headed off to our tents to sleep; the next day we would begin our acclimatisation hikes to prepare ourselves for the mountain.

PREVIOUS PAGE: Heading to the summit ABOVE: View of the mountaintop from High Camp BELOW: En route to High Camp from Base Camp

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Sa r a h Kin gdom Our time at High Camp was spent acclimatising, practising various climbing, rope and glacier skills, trudging around in the snow, and lots and lots of eating The following morning we woke to views of Elbrus towering above us. Our first acclimatisation hike was straight up toward the mountain—a four-hour round trip to Mushroom Rocks, 600m altitude gain above Base Camp. The route was straightforward, and the first half of the trail was a path to which we would become very accustomed over the next few days.

Day two we headed up again from Base Camp, this time for a four-hour climb all the way to High Camp. Unlike in the Himalayas, on Kilimanjaro and a number of other mountains, there are no porters or sherpas on Elbrus, so climbers have to carry their own gear (unless they’re prepared to pay a premium to the guides).

Our climb to High Camp was what is commonly referred to as a ‘load ferry’ trip, where we would drop off much of our

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equipment including snow boots, ice axes, crampons and harnesses—all of which would be needed on our summit attempt.

The following day, we would return with the balance of our gear and settle in to prepare ourselves for the summit bid.

High Camp on the north side of Elbrus is at an altitude of 3 800m, approximately 1 820m below the summit. The camp has a breathtaking and uninterrupted view of the mountain above.

On all my climbing expeditions in the past, I’ve slept in tents, no matter what the weather conditions; in fact, I once spent five days stuck in a tent on a mountain during a blizzard in the Himalayas. On Elbrus, however, we were to sleep in what is commonly referred to as a ‘barrel’. In reality, it looked nothing at all like a barrel, and was in fact an insulated metal shed

that had been divided into compartments internally to provide enough space for the 12 members of our group (including guides and cooks) to all sleep, two to a compartment, on the floor.

We were to spend four nights at High Camp, counting the night we would set off for the summit.

Our time at High Camp was spent acclimatising, practising various climbing, rope and glacier skills, trudging around in the snow, and lots and lots of eating (I’ve never eaten so much chocolate in my life!).

Night three in High Camp was to be the night we would set off for the summit, so the day was spent alternating between sleeping and looking up at the mountain, attempting to second-guess the weather conditions we would face. Lunch at 3 p.m… then sleep… dinner at 5 p.m…

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Sa r a h Kin gdom

LEFT: Trudging to the summit in icy cold winds BELOW LEFT: Sarah taking a break a few hours before the top BELOW RIGHT: Descending to High Camp after reaching the summit

partially dress for the mountain and get back in sleeping bag… more sleep… wake at 11 p.m.… finish getting dressed and ready with all gear…

Our guide appeared and told us the conditions were not looking favourable for the climb. His motto was, “If I can’t see the summit, I don’t set off for the summit”— and we most definitely could not see the summit that night. We did have a spare day up our sleeves for a summit attempt; however, we knew the conditions were forecast to get worse in the upcoming days. As there were a fair number of experienced climbers in the group, we convinced our guide to let us make an attempt—and so at 12.30 a.m. we set off.

It ultimately took us almost 12 hours of non-stop climbing to reach the summit.

Two of our eight-person team dropped out at 5 000m, another at 5 100m— leaving just five of us and two guides to continue on to the top.

To clarify: For non-climbers, 100m may not seem a big distance, but in the almost total whiteout conditions in which we found ourselves, with constant snow and high winds, every 100m gain in altitude was taking us about 40 minutes—so when the third teammate dropped out, we still had an expected four hours to go to cover the remaining 520m to the summit, followed

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by an anticipated three-hour decent.

It was bitterly cold and my fingers, despite being in gloves rated to -35°C, were frozen and felt like a million tiny needles were being stabbed into them. I kept wriggling my fingers, knowing that despite the discomfort of the ‘pins and needles’ effect, I didn’t want them to get so cold that they went numb and I could no longer feel them.

I don’t normally use trekking poles when climbing, but our guide had suggested that in the deep snow it was a good idea to try them; he was right, but my arms weren’t used to utilising them and by 5 500m my limbs felt like they were going to fall out of their sockets.

The few exposed portions of my face were stinging from being constantly blasted with wind-blown snow. My insulated water bottle, which had started the night filled with boiling water, was starting to ice up when I finally managed to bring it out of the depths of my rucksack. One teammate’s GoPro camera froze and stopped working, as did her GPS and tracking device.

Over the last few metres to the top, I seem to recall I was walking about 20 steps and then resting for a few minutes, walking another 20 and then resting again. Our guide kept stressing how dangerous it was

and how, in the poor visibility, with numerous crevasses on the mountain, it was important not to separate.

About 100m from the summit, my teammate—the only other girl on the climb—was close to collapse, so my friend/‘boss’ decided he would short-line her to the top (for the uninitiated, this is basically one climber towing another by rope).

When we finally reached the summit, the visibility was so poor that we quite frankly could’ve been anywhere! We had five minutes to attempt to take a few photos and then start our decent. Fifteen hours after we set off, we reached High Camp again, ate and fell into our sleeping bags—and slept.

Our expedition ended the following night with an evening of vodka-drinking lessons back in Base Camp, followed by dancing as the Indian contingent tried to teach everyone some Bollywood dance moves, and the Russian contingent attempted to reciprocate with some local rap music.

Counting the climbers, guides and support staff, we were 14 tipsy people who hadn’t washed properly in eight days, donned in our down jackets and head lamps, dancing… in a tent, in a field, in the wilds of Russia.

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When boo king please quo te Intrepid Explorer 12 3

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conserving a vanishing way of life

soldier

here’s to you, the unknown Gareth Crocker pays HIS respects to the war dogs of Vietnam

After attending a writer’s convention in Washington,

DC some years ago, I found myself standing in front

of the wall of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial the day before I was scheduled to fly home. For those who may

not know, the wall carries the names of the more than 60 000 American soldiers who were lost in the conflict.

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G a r eth C r oc k er

w

hen seen on the page or through a camera lens, the memorial seems a little uninspired. Flat. Insipid, even. Where’s the sense of pathos that one expects of such a monument?

Well, I can tell you that it’s a completely different experience when you’re witnessing it with your own eyes. In a newsprint photograph, you don’t see the smudges of people’s hands pressed over the names of their loved ones. You don’t hear the mournful whispers or catch sight of the trinkets of one-time children scattered like autumn leaves on the ground. Neither do you see the hunchedover figure of a mother, crying for a son who’s been gone for almost 40 years.

It’s among the most poignant things I’ve ever had the privilege of seeing.

I’d been standing near the middle of the wall for a good half an hour or so, trying to imagine what it must’ve felt like to be a terrified 19-year-old kid marooned on the other side of the planet, fighting a war that you neither understood nor cared for, when a man in full military dress arrived beside me.

As I cast him a sideward glance, he hardly appeared real to me. He looked more like an actor—a Hollywood cliché—and, for a moment, I half expected to see a camera appear over his shoulder.

But after one look into his eyes, I knew this was no act.

After reciting a brief prayer, he reached into his jacket and withdrew some sort of leash and harness combination, which he then placed against the foot of the wall.

A minute later, I could no longer contain my curiosity and I turned to face him.

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The war dogs were trained at specialised detachments (opposite, bottom right) in various disciplines such as guarding their handlers or acting as sentries, tracking the fleeing enemy soldiers, scouting for Viet Cong booby traps, mines, tripwires and tunnels as well as sniffing out hidden caches of weapons or food

“Sir, I’m so sorry to bother you and, please, you can tell me to get lost and mind my own business, but I’m a former journalist and I just have to ask: Why have you placed that harness against the wall?”

Thinking back now, I cringe at how vulgar and inappropriate my behaviour had been. If there was ever a moment that shouldn’t have been intruded upon, that was it.

Nonetheless, and to the man’s eternal credit, he turned to me and offered me something that under different circumstances might have been a smile.

He then told me he had been a dog handler in the war; part of a

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specialised K9 unit. “My dog’s name was Shadow. He was a German shepherd.

Saved my life on three occasions. Twice, he saved our whole platoon.”

His expression faltered and he shook his head. “Were it not for him, I would’ve died over there.”

He then proceeded to tell me the story of the war dogs.

On 27 January 1973, thousands of families across America were in tears.

They were crying not from sorrow, but in celebration. An official ceasefire to the war had been announced, the details of which weren’t important. What mattered was that the war was effectively over.

Those American and allied soldiers lucky enough to survive the horror of their tours would all soon be home. Mothers and fathers would be reunited with their boys.

Wives would have their husbands back, children their fathers. It was a wonderful day for American and Allied families.

This was not the case, unfortunately, if you were an American war dog.

Within weeks of the withdrawal, the United States government realised the cost of extracting and transporting thousands of soldiers and countless tonnes of equipment was prohibitively high. And so, urgent cuts needed to be made.

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Before long, a decision was taken to declare certain items as ‘surplus military equipment’ which was not to be transported home. This extended to defunct and outdated armaments, damaged supplies, old tents and prefabs and, tragically, all the war dogs as well.

It didn’t seem to matter that these brave animals had helped to save the lives of more than 10 000 soldiers.

They were now surplus to requirement.

Some of the dogs were handed to the South Vietnamese, but many were abandoned. The lucky ones were euthanased. Others succumbed to disease or were skinned and eaten by

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a country desperate for food.

In the end, more than 4 000 dogs were sent into the madness of Vietnam.

Less than 200 made it home.

Imagine, if you can, the anguish of those dog handlers who were forced, often violently, to leave their partners behind. The Internet is besieged with stories of the war dogs and how they had saved countless platoons by detecting bombs, traps and ambushes.

The man then broke from the story and told me about a decorated dog handler who, after learning about the construction of the Vietnam Wall in 1982, made sure he was present on the day

G a r eth C r oc k er

More than 4 000 dogs were sent into the madness of Vietnam. Less than 200 made it home.

they laid the foundations. As they poured in the wet cement, he threw several small items into the mix, saluted and walked away.

A builder working on the site pulled him aside and asked what he had cast into the mix. “My war medals,” he replied.

“Why’d you do it?” asked the bemused builder.

“In memory of my dog. His name is not on this wall but, without him, mine would have been.”

At that point, I don’t mind telling you that tears welled up in my eyes.

The man placed a hand on my shoulder. “You told me you’re a journalist;

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G a r eth C r oc k er

RIGHT: Lance Corporal Ralph H. McWilliams and his scout dog “Major”, 1967 (US National Archives)

a writer.” I nodded, unable to speak.

“Then you should write about this.

The world doesn’t know what happened to the dogs. They should know. We owe it to them.”

And then he returned his hand to his side, took one last look at the wall, and walked away.

Two years later, I completed my first novel. It was rejected at least a hundred times by agents and publishers all across the world. I rewrote it and submitted again. When that failed, I rewrote it a third time. A year later, it was finally published.

Called Finding Jack, it tells the story of a US dog handler who refuses to abandon his dog at the end of the war and, defying orders, decides to hike out of Vietnam into Thailand.

In its various formats and languages, it has sold more than three million copies around the world.

I’ve written a further four novels since then and, while I’ve enjoyed success with each of them, none of them has come close to the heights of Finding Jack. Years after it was published, I still get emails and letters from readers on an almost daily basis. There’s something in that book that goes beyond the words on the page. I consider some of the writing, in fact, to be quite ordinary; hackneyed even. Certain of the facts and research around the war are not quite right. And yet, there is something happening in that story that’s better than me. I can’t explain it, so I won’t even try.

I hope the soldier I met at the wall that day somehow heard about Finding Jack and got his hands on a copy. I hope he remembers our encounter because it’s seldom far from my thoughts.

It’s one of the great regrets of my life that I never got his name.

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Gareth Crocker is a South African author and television producer whose novel, Finding Jack, continues to sell strongly around the world. In 2014—six years after it was first published—it was ranked #1 on Kobo for suspense and action fiction. It has been released in hardcover, trade paperback, softcover, as an audio book and has twice been sold to Hollywood. Translated into a dozen languages, Reader’s Digest has also published a condensed version of the story in territories all over the world. Initially published by St. Martin’s Press in New York, Crocker’s current publisher, Penguin Random House, plans to re-release the book in 2016.

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Rockin’

Shan Routledge explores what it means to play hard and tread lightly

in the green world Every October, there is an annual pilgrimage to Darling—and while this picturesque town is well worth the visit, the thousands of cars are actually destined for Cloof Wine Estate, home to the popular

T

he usually peaceful farm transforms for a weekend into a buzzing hub of music with well-known headline indie electro groups, garage rock bands, heavyweight electronic performers and a variety of other entertainment options.

This year saw popular headliners such as the incredible Rudimental alongside Crystal Fighters and indie rock group MGMT, with The Presets tearing up the Red Bull Electronic Dome. Our top local musicians and entertainers were not to be sidelined: from Jeremy Loops and Al

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Rocking the Daisies music festival.

Bairre on the main stage to Rob van Vuuren at the Lemon Tree Theatre to Das Kapital lording over massive crowds in the Electro Dome and relative unknowns strumming away on the Hemp Stage.

There is something magical about Rocking the Daisies; a utopia somewhere on the Cape West Coast which becomes real just once a year. It’s a sanctuary of music-induced euphoria where everyone is welcome, from your hipsters to your jocks, your rockers to your hippies, your Durbanites to your Joburgers and everyone in between. Guys wear floral headbands and superhero costumes,

girls wear as little as possible, and onesies are considered high fashion. Everyone’s inner hipster seems to emerge and you can wear that neon green, slightly offensive ‘wife beater’ tank top that sits in your cupboard all year.

It’s an excuse to fall in love: with the people around you, the music, the life you live. It’s a reprieve from society. Your days are spent basking in the South African sun; the sky seems bluer and the multicoloured windmills along the banks of the dam make it seem you’ve stumbled into Wonderland.

The dam is the place to cool down and refresh, with people rinsing off last night’s sins and escaping the midday heat, floating around on anything from a full-size blow-up pool to a plastic shark that must belong to someone’s three-year-old sibling.

The cool tunes of Goodluck drift across the water and a stranger stops to form a raft with you and chats about everything except the weather.

If the days are impressive, they have nothing on the nights. As the sun sets over the sea of tents, lights slowly start to turn on, the main stage explodes in colour and the hillside is illuminated with the Olmeca slogan, “Turn on the night”.

People are decked out in lumo bangles

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and flashing like walking, talking Christmas trees. There’s a moment when you’re standing in a crowd that size, listening to Rudimental belt out lyrics, that you can’t help but smile, can’t help but revel in the glory of this festival and sing along as loudly as you can: “Maybe something’s wrong with me, But at least I am free, Yeah, c’est la vie!”

Now in its ninth year, Rocking the Daisies has grown to more than 20 000 people and attracts all types. There is plenty criticism, however, with people complaining about having to stand in a long queue for a shower that has been built from scratch in what was a cow pasture only two days earlier. There will always be issues and complications but, at the end of the day, it is a sold-out event that has doubled in size in a mere three years.

It is possibly one of the only festivals where you will find all the general stereotypes interacting in the same hemisphere, bouncing along to the same—or at least vaguely similar—beat.

And thousands of people will make the same journey next year. But the really unique aspect of this event, which is often forgotten and still not entirely embraced by the thousands of festival-goers, is that it’s a ‘green festival’.

What is a ‘green festival’?

Well, the general concept is reflected in

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the festival’s motto: “Play hard. Tread lightly”, which basically encompasses the idea of the event having a neutral carbon footprint. Over the past few years, the organisers have developed and implemented green goals, which form a core part of executing Rocking the Daisies in an eco-friendly way. Every year after the festival, a comprehensive eco-audit is performed by an independent organisation, Steadfast Greening. The aim is to come as close as possible to being carbon-neutral by reducing and offsetting any carbon that was expended during the production of the festival.

And to prove it, Rocking the Daisies has won numerous awards including:

the Eco-Logic Award for Recycling (2012); Eco-Logic Award for Transport (2012); Eco-Logic Award for Climate Change (2011); and SA Climate Change Leadership Award in the Small to Medium Business Category (2009 and 2010). In addition, it was a finalist in the 2012 Mail & Guardian Greening the Future Awards and a finalist in the 2011 Eco-Logic Awards for Transport. The event also received a Highly Commended accolade at the ‘A Greener Festival’ Awards in 2012 and 2013.

An event of this size and scope, having such strong green values, is leading the way in South Africa and following a global trend to ensure festivals limit their impact on the environment.

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Roy Watts marvels at Cameron Bellamy’s determination to complete the Indian Ocean Challenge in aid of the Ubunye Foundation

Rowing in the wind

ABOVE: Rowing into the Seychelles, with the island of Mahe in the background OPPOSITE: Cameron on the day of departure, on his way to visit customs officials

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W

hat does it take to row two hours on and two hours off for 57 days? Interviewing Cameron Bellamy was a fascinating experience, which brought home the kind of determination necessary for an epic adventure such as this.

His story starts in his final year at Diocesan College, when he won the Rower of the Year award. Even back then, in 1999, he pondered about long-distance rowing across the oceans of the world.

Bellamy is an unusual scholar/adventurer hybrid, and at Rhodes University he followed up on his earlier passion by oaring for the South African under-23 team, and a year later was chosen to row for South African Universities at the world championships. During his time at Rhodes, he was awarded a BCom Honours degree and furthered his academic

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C a m er on B ella m y On 11 August, a team of six rowers reached the Seychelles after setting out from the port of Geraldton in Australia on 11 June—57 days earlier. In doing so, they set a world record. At 6 720 kilometres, it was the greatest distance covered by any team in the Indian Ocean. One of the crew members was Cameron Bellamy, a Capetonian and Bishops Old Boy. This is his story.

Photographs supplied by Save The Elephants

career by achieving a master’s degree at the University of Queensland in Brisbane.

He rowed for this institution as well.

Bellamy’s adventurous wanderlust took root at the end of a three-year period of working in Beijing. He decided to embark on a 7 200km bike ride from there to Kanyakumari on the southern tip of India. He set out on a specially equipped bicycle fitted with a rack and side panniers housing sleeping bags, a

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tent, cooking equipment, blankets, pillow and a mattress.

He was conversationally fluent in the Chinese language and describes himself as a gregarious loner. This sociability meant that he only spent half of his time sleeping and cooking in forests or open fields. For the rest, he was offered a bed and meals by well-wishers along the way.

During his long ride, he started thinking about a concept where a group

of like-minded adventurers may channel their energies into fund-raising exploits for charity. Four months later, he pedalled into Kanyakumari—having spent his budget, which was the equivalent of R50 per day.

The bicycle ride from Beijing to India was Bellamy’s Chinese swan song, and his next job was in Britain where he set up the Ubunye Challenge in 2011. Three separate ventures were planned. The first was to cycle 1 349km from Land’s End to

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C a m er on B ella m y

below: Rowing into the Seychelles opposite page, clockwise from top left: Rough seas early on in the crossing; The crew in Geraldton, a few days before departure; Arrival celebrations; First sighting of the welcome boat in the Seychelles

John o’Groats in northernmost Scotland.

This was to be followed by a solo swim across the English Channel, and finally an Atlantic crossing from the Canary Islands to Barbados in a six-man rowing boat.

The beneficiaries were to be the Ubunye Foundation (formerly the Angus Gillis Foundation), a project that would instal containers fully kitted out as classrooms in the Eastern Cape; and Vimba, an outfit dedicated to fostering the development and education of underprivileged children in Zimbabwe.

Preparing for the Land’s End/ John o’Groats ride was easy enough, as it consisted of cycling in a nearby gym at lunch times. The really tough one was training for the Channel swim, scheduled for the end of June—two months after the bike ride. This involved early-morning lengths in the gym pool and two open-air swims a week in Hyde Park’s Serpentine

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Lake at 8 degrees Celsius in mid-winter.

From April onward, Bellamy attended weekend training courses run by the English Channel Swimming and Piloting Federation (CS and PF) at the Port of Dover, with occasional sessions at Bournemouth.

The Land’s End charity ride was split into two groups of five using country roads, and was a lot of fun. The same could not be said of the Channel swim, however. Bellamy was the only one of the ‘Challengers’ to make it. Accompanied by supporters in a boat provided by the CS and PF, he got to the English shore in 16 hours and 30 minutes. He was not one of the recognised competitive swimmers at school, so this says a lot about his determination and staying power.

The final Atlantic challenge ran into trouble when he failed to find sponsors for the Atlantic rowing event. He then

approached Scotsman Leven Brown, who had a 45-foot (13.5-metre) eight-man rowing boat and had already completed four successful Atlantic crossings. Long story short: He decided to join Brown’s team in a rowing venture from Australia’s west coast to Durban. This, then, was how he found himself—the only Ubunye Challenger—in the Aussie port of Geraldton, setting out with a crew of six men and one woman for the ambitious crossing to Africa.

The going was tough in the first two weeks. There was much seasickness due to the extremely rough conditions created by three low-pressure systems—the last of which was on the tail end of a hurricane.

Adjusting to sleep deprivation was another difficulty as they embarked on the two hours on/two hours off rowing routine. With the on/off sleeping sessions seldom lasting more than 90 minutes,

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Twenty-four days out, they experienced their first major mishap when the autopilot packed up.

there was a continual degree of tiredness for the duration of the trip. Conditions did improve, however, once they reached the tropics.

Twenty-four days out, they experienced their first major mishap when the autopilot packed up. It became evident that it could not be fixed out at sea and thus the crew had to steer manually for the duration of the trip.

For meals, the crew depended mainly on freeze-dried food that was prepared by pouring boiling water into the sachet containers. This led to the next setback, when two huge waves hit the boat four days later: Shane Usher was preparing a meal and boiling water splashed onto his leg, creating serious blisters. Despite ointment and bandaging, the wounds continued to deteriorate—and after four days, it became necessary to embark on a casualty evacuation. Global Rescue was

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contacted and a tanker was diverted to arrive a scant five hours later.

The first attempt to winch him on board in a basket nearly ended in disaster, as their limited steering capacity proved to be too erratic when the tanker was nearly blown onto their boat. An oar was broken in fending it off. In the end, a lifeboat was lowered to complete the transfer.

The loss of Shane meant that for the remaining 25 days, they could only have two oarsmen at a time—with one person steering!

While fairly far out, it was decided to switch the destination to the Seychelles.

Storms and unseasonal winds had blown them too far north to make Durban safely and, due to current unrest in Kenya and Somalia, this was the only viable option.

The Seychelles also has a pirate problem, and as they neared their destination, a 12m wooden skiff

approached and radioed the demand that they stop. It was manned by a group of swarthy looking individuals claiming they were fishermen—but there was nary a rod in sight. Brown decided to brazen it out and carried on rowing. When asked what they were up to, he replied they were on a Royal Navy exercise, waiting to be refuelled. That did the trick and the suspicious boat scooted off.

The interlude with the suspected pirates was the final drama in their marathon journey and they continued on to a welcome at the harbour in Victoria, the capital city of Mahe.

When Cameron Bellamy set out from Geraldton, he weighed 105 kilogrammes.

On arriving back in Cape Town in high spirits after his arduous crossing, he weighed 87kg, his hands were calloused— but the Ubunye Foundation was R798 660 better off.

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all i want for

Christmas Whether you’re shopping for trail-running Tim, kayaking Katie or braaimaster Braam, Nick Dall’s got your back.

And he’s also thrown in a few sneaky picks to help you beat your own postYULETIDE blues

Go, go, gadget Loving the outdoors doesn’t have to mean getting hiking socks and biltong for Christmas every year without fail. Here’s a look at the most exciting and innovative gear to hit the shelves this year, all at surprisingly pocket-friendly prices.

Powerstick+

The only thing worse than not being able to Instagram the view from the top of Cathedral Peak because your iPhone battery is flat, is realising that you won’t be able to find your way home because your GPS is out of juice, too. With the sleek yet hardy Powerstick+, you won’t need to worry about either of these calamities, as you’ll be able to charge any USB-compatible device on the go.

Unlike some other portable power solutions, the Powerstick+, which can be charged from a laptop or using a USB mains adapter (not included), has minimal cables and plenty of battery capacity (5 200mah is enough to fully charge a smartphone twice). With it in your backpack, “Hakuna Matata” will be the soundtrack to your next adventure…

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Alva Digital BBQ Fork R200

Powerstick+ R350

LED Lenser NEO Headlamp

If you ever run, cycle, walk or drive after dark (or before the sun comes up) and you don’t have a LED Lenser NEO headlamp, you should get one. Like now. And if you already have a NEO? Get another. It’s that good. Not only is it the most stylish headlamp I’ve ever seen, but it’s also incredibly lightweight (86 grammes including batteries) and has the best-inclass performance we’ve come to expect of all LED Lenser products. Its whopping 90-lumen LED casts an extremely wide 16:9 beam, which provides peace of mind and which means running at night no longer feels like running in a tunnel. The main light has three functions and can run for 100 hours on its lowest setting, while the flashing red safety light at the back draws virtually no current but could very well save your life. Three Duracell AAAs are included.

Nite Ize DoohicKey

The stainless steel DoohicKey is less than half the size of a credit card, and at 12g it doesn’t weigh much more, either. But the clever folks at Nite Ize have managed to squeeze a ruler, box-cutter, bottle opener and flat-head screwdriver into this tiny tool, which attaches to your keyring or belt loop via a sturdy carabiner. As they say, dynamite comes in small packages.

GoPro Hero

In what has to be the biggest news to hit the global gear market this year, iconic high-definition action camera brand, GoPro, has just launched a new entry-level camera that comes in at only R2 000! The all-new

LED Lenser NEO Headlamp R300

Hero features the trademark wide-angle HD video we’ve come to expect from GoPro, and it’s fully waterproof. More importantly, it’s compatible with all the mounts, poles and other GoPro accessories you can dream up. The lens isn’t as versatile as those in the fancier models, and it doesn’t have Wi-Fi capability, but when you consider it’s three to four times cheaper than the other cameras in the range, you’ll appreciate how much of a game changer this is. At a price like this, it may be feasible to buy a whole ‘fleet’ of GoPro’s, and give multiple perspectives on your next adventure.

In stores late November.

Alva Digital BBQ Fork

Sick and tired of hubby feeding you raw sirloin and dry turkey? Get him a digital BBQ fork from Alva and consider your meat done. He’ll just have to plunge the scary prongs into his beef, chicken, turkey or gammon, check the temperature on the dial, and refer to the chart on the back.

Medium-rare beef is 63°C, for example, while well-done is 77°C. If he’s clever with gadgets, he can leave the fork in the meat and set the timer to tell him when it’s done. What’s more, there’s a built-in flashlight so he can make sure it’s not burning. And the best part? He can use the same fork to carve your roast when it’s done. Just make sure Einstein doesn’t get the electronic end wet. The fork requires two AAs (not included).

Leatherman Wingman

In the Air Force, your ‘wingman’ is the pilot whose job it is to watch your back and

GoPro Hero R2 000 Leatherman Wingman R600

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Nite Ize DoohicKey R75

protect you from enemy ambush. It may sound a bit Top Gun, but the Leatherman Wingman is also a lifesaver. It really is the perfect tool for outdoor survival, roadside emergencies and even Sunday DIY. When it comes to multi-tools, Leatherman is the gold standard, and the Wingman is their best-selling tool ever. The focal point is the pliers, which are both brawny and delicate, but the Wingman is much more than a dentist’s best friend: It has a razor-sharp combination blade (both serrated and plain), proper Phillips- and flat screwdriver heads, not to mention scissors, can openers, belt clips and the like. And it comes with a 25-year guarantee, nogal. Give this to the man in your life this Christmas and you’ll get a whole year’s worth of brownie points!

Just ask my wife…

KEEN Men’s Newport H2 Sandal

I’ve worn ankle-length hiking boots that offer less support, comfort and protection than the KEEN Men’s Newport H2. When it comes to footwear, KEEN doesn’t mess around—and the amphibious H2 is a perennial (get it?) favourite. Being an avid fly-fisherman, I’ve tried every strop, sandal, bootie and water-shoe known to humankind. But I’ve never found one that ticks as many boxes as the Newport H2.

The anatomical outsole is as at-home in water as it is on land; the tough toecap is an absolute pinkie-saver (you never know what could be lurking under that piece of kelp) and the antimicrobial footbed keeps your feet dry and pong-free for longer.

Much longer.

KEEN Men’s Newport H2 Sandal R600

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K-Way Men’s Explorer Kowie Shorts R500

Extreme makeover If you’re feeling a bit pap from filling everyone else’s stockings, why not treat yourself to some retail therapy to ring in the New Year?

K-Way Men’s Explorer Kowie Shorts

A great pair of shorts can be the difference between an epic adventure and a chafe-ridden ordeal. K-Way has certainly pulled out all the stops with the quickdrying Kowie. Featuring no fewer than five roomy pockets and an oh-so-useful durable water-repellent coating that withstands rain in the same way a water lily stays dry, the absolute best thing about its construction is the four-way stretch nylon-spandex blend that makes the shorts comfortable even when you’re dragging your kayak up the bank after a long day of paddling on the Orange.

They’re the kind of shorts you could wear all summer; just give them a wash every third night or so, and they’ll definitely be dry in the morning. What’s more, they’re smart enough to wear on the golf course.

The Callia is so much more than a pretty face. Yes, the candy-stripe belt does look great, but it also ensures you’ll be comfortable while trekking through OR Tambo to catch your connection to Bangkok. Yes, the crisp cotton fabric practically screams summer sophistication, but it’s blended with 2% Lycra to give it some much-needed suppleness. Yes, the boxy, stitched pockets lend a dash of symmetry, but they’re also big enough to hold your smartphone and your purse—a very rare thing in a pair of women’s shorts.

The Callia comes in a variety of different colours, with a few different belt options as well.

Cushe Men’s Manuka Wrap Sandal R700

Old Khaki Callia Belted Shorts R400

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You get flip-flops. And then you get these flip-flops. United Kingdom brand Cushe (pronounced ‘cushy’) strives to challenge the boundaries of footwear design and is absolutely obsessed with detail. Every aspect of every one of its shoes is thought through to the nth degree. And it shows.

The first time I tried it on, the Manuka Wrap felt like an old friend. On a hot, sticky summer’s day, the natural suede was a soothing balm and the ultra-soft footbed and contour-hugging outsole gave me a renewed spring in my step. But the Manuka Wrap didn’t just feel amazing—it looked great, too. A stylish accoutrement to shorts, jeans or chinos. Try not to get them wet, though: suede’s a bit hydrophobic!

K-Way Men’s Explorer Addo Shirt

K-Way Men’s Explorer Addo Shirt R400

Old Khaki Men’s Rimmel Shorts

If you’re anything like me, summer hasn’t truly begun until you’ve put on a pair of long, baggy, cotton cargo shorts. The 100% cotton Rimmel is laid-back and comfy enough to keep you happy, but also tailored enough to make sure you don’t look like a slob. The garment has loads of pockets, big and small, and comes in 50 shades of green, beige and khaki—no grey anywhere to be seen.

The Lindsay plaited thong is elegant, comfortable and all-natural. Wear it to breakfast in the morning, at the beach at noon and while sipping cocktails at the club well into the wee hours. The sophisticated, intricate design accentuates your foot’s natural contours while the leather uppers and insole make all-day wear enjoyable. The adjustable heel strap means you won’t have to do any flipping or flopping this summer, leaving you with plenty of time to look your best.

Cushe Men’s Manuka Wrap Thong Sandal

Rare Earth Lindsay Sandal R500

Old Khaki Callia Belted Shorts

Rare Earth Lindsay Sandal

Old Khaki Men’s Rimmel Shorts R400

Old Khaki Men’s Fabian Golfer R325

The K-Way Explorer Addo is the Jacques Kallis of shirts: It can do anything and everything—extremely well. But unlike King Kallis, this chic workhorse is nowhere near retirement age. It can be worn as a short- or long-sleeved shirt and is as at home fishing for grunter on the Knysna Lagoon as it is mingling with the polo socialites at Kurland a few hours later. Weighing in at an airy 165g, the quick-dry nylon fabric also boasts UPF40+ sun protection. When you get back to work in January, you won’t want to take it off—and luckily it’s smart enough so you won’t have to…

Old Khaki Men’s Fabian Golfer

Nothing screams summer style more loudly than a 100% cotton golfer. The Old Khaki Fabian features very high quality piqué cotton, superior workmanship and a ‘slim fit’ cut, which all add up to ensure it’ll never go out of fashion. It’s available in a variety of colours, making it the perfect addition to any wardrobe.

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up and over

Ryan Sandes scales a wall of ice in the Drakensberg

Chasing my dreams, catching up to them, and turning them into reality is something I can’t get enough of.

It’s my modern-day alchemy.

i

t’s not only the challenge that gets me going, though— the places I go in order to realise these dreams are generally quite spectacular. There is normally a running theme behind the adventures, too, but sometimes I get to experience some pretty wild times unrelated to my running.

Most of the time, the adventures take me to distant corners of the world.

Last year I travelled 45 hours to get to Patagonia, and I’ve found my way to some of the most remote deserts, mountain ranges, canyons and continents of the world.

That’s why I was massively surprised to be invited to go ice-waterfall climbing—in my own country! Well, technically, the climbing would happen in Lesotho, but there would be no border posts or passports to deal with. I could not wait to see how this was going to work out.

It started with an invite from an adventurer I have learnt to respect and admire. For many years, Ryno Griesel has been climbing basically anything he can get to the top of. When he suggested my fiancée (now my wife) Vanessa and I join him on a frozen waterfall-climbing

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expedition, I did not need to ask for further details before replying ‘yes’.

What guy has not looked at an ice axe and dreamt of smashing it into a wall of the white stuff?

I was amped to experience something I had only seen before at short-film festivals

or in action movies. And to be able to do this so close to home felt bizarre—I was all in!

We met Ryno in Johannesburg and took the drive to Giant’s Castle. Sleeping at the campsite the night before a long hike up to the top definitely heightened

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ABOVE: The ice is frozen solid, and just a tip of the crampon gives great purchase OPPOSITE: The last section of stalactites was the toughest BELOW: Vanessa, always up for the challenge

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the excitement of what was to come.

We were the first to arrive, but soon others pulled in from Durban and Pietermaritzburg, and a small pimpled patch of tents took shape under the imposing gaze of the Giant’s Castle peaks.

As with anything worthwhile in this

life, you need to pay your dues. On our expedition, this would take the form of a 12-kilometre hike up to the top of Giant’s Castle Pass to set up camp at the amphitheatre of ice around the corner.

Normally this would not be too much of an effort, but strap on a 40-kilogramme backpack, and the hike to the top becomes quite arduous.

There was nothing easy about choosing which food, camping equipment and climbing gear to take up. Vanessa and I were struggling. Already we had halved our load, and we still could not get it all into the backpacks. The rest of the group were all done and standing around us in a circle, watching every item we packed. Suddenly, in front of the rolling eyes and taunting chirps from the rest of the group eager to get going, the marshmallows for roasting, packets of sweets and extra comforts and treats became guilty extravagances. We did manage to find space for some Old Brown Sherry, though—come on, everyone knows warming up from the inside out is the most effective way to keep the cold at bay, right?

The joking about the gear soon came to an abrupt halt. Every metre of altitude gained took its toll on the humans

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LEFT: Moments before Ryan whipped out his iPhone for a selfie—true story

It was crazy how effective those crampon

blades were; once in by just a couple

of millimetres, my full body weight

was supported with ease.

squirming under these huge backpacks.

We needed quite a few stops to reorganise and redistribute ropes, climbing boots, tents and sleeping bags among the group.

Eventually, we tumbled over the lip of the last gully leading to the summit, with not much energy to spare. It was a super tough hike with all that weight on our

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backs; I suppose it was a great training session for the quads, but I’m not sure my shoulders benefited from the overloading to which they were so unaccustomed.

Once we made it to the campsite, the tangible excitement quickly replenished the low energy levels with the anticipation that, the next morning, we’d be putting the ice axes and

crampons to use on a wall of ice.

Once we were up there, things became very relaxed. We would simply climb all day, drink warm drinks until the sun went down, attempt to brave the chill, and inevitably hit the sack soon after dark— and repeat.

The climbing, of course, was what it was all about. The first morning, we were barely through our first cup of coffee when the ropes were in place and I was standing below this 18-metre wall of ice, with Ryno telling me: “Make a move—there’s no starting pistol in this adventure.”

The trust in your equipment needs to be 100% as you kick into the glassy ice, blades an inch long protruding from the toe area of the boots. It was crazy how effective those crampon blades were; once in by just a couple of millimetres, my full body weight was supported with ease.

Next, it was the ice axe that got put to work. It was quite a thing to smash these impressive pieces of equipment into the ice, but it was my legs that were the main show in this effort and, once I found a rhythm, I could make up a few metres relatively quickly.

The beauty and serenity halfway up the face were worth taking in—and I did.

Every route I chose to climb included a chill-out session, just taking a look around at the splendour of the Drakensberg.

There was no fear of falling, as even when I slipped (less than I thought I would, but more than the pros!), I knew I was attached to a belayed rope.

The fear was minimal, and the effort it took to get there was vastly outweighed by the sensational experience, which was also one of those times in my life when I was humbled and thankful for the privilege to experience the wonders of this beautiful planet.

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Out a n d a bout

On the

wild side We give you the inside scoop on the outside world. We look at some of the astounding feats that are being

accomplished by intrepid people and places; new developments and books on offer; and a host of events on the calendar to diarise in which you, The Intrepid Explorer reader, can become involved. So what are you waiting for? Get out there and make the most of the outdoors!

Compiled by Shan Routledge

Summer at Shamwari

S

hamwari Group establishments—which include Shamwari Game Reserve in the Eastern Cape, Sanbona Wildlife Reserve just outside Cape Town, and Jock Safari Lodge in the Kruger National Park— have all undergone soft refurbishments for the upcoming summer season. Plus, a unique Cooking Safari experience is ‘on the boil’ at Sanbona and Shamwari.

The ultra luxurious Dwyka Tented Lodge at Sanbona Wildlife Reserve reopened in September 2014. Guests can expect to experience new additions and further eco enhancements when staying at this tented lodge.

The kids’ playroom at Gondwana Family Lodge has undergone a soft refurbishment so that kids of all ages can truly enjoy the Kids on Safari Programme in a new, fresh and fun-filled environment.

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Due to the popularity of the Boat Safari and the floating jetty on the Bellair Dam—which is now also used as a unique lunch location—another jetty will be built to enhance guests’ experience.

After an incredibly successful season of the Jock Explorer Camp in 2013 at Jock Safari Lodge, the camp will reopen in April 2015. The opening of the Skukuza Airport has truly made visiting Jock Safari Lodge and the Kruger National Park more convenient.

Eagles Crag Lodge and Bayethe Luxury Tented Lodge at Shamwari Game Reserve have both undergone soft refurbishments to enhance the look and feel in order to offer something completely new for the season ahead.

More details can be found at www.shamwarigroup.com

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Out a n d a bout Dreams take flight

The Eco-Logical choice

After a nail-biting month of anticipation, John Lucas has been selected as the winner of the 2014 Eco-Logic Award in the Eco-Youth Category, sponsored by Pick n Pay. Celebrities, senior government officials, representatives from municipalities and the private sector, environmental non-governmental organisations and non-profits, as well as finalists and Certificate of Merit recipients attended the Glamorously Green Awards Ceremony.

From the age of 15, Lucas has been perusing his lifelong passion by volunteering with environmental NGOs and community-based educational projects across southern Africa. In 2006 he matriculated and received his Springbok-Scout Award and furthered his education graduating in Nature Conservation (2010) followed by a BTech in Nature Conservation (2011). During this time, he completed numerous short courses, leadership/environmental workshops, served as a faculty/ university representative and designed or piloted environmental education programmes.

He has spent time working and volunteering with conservation organisations across southern Africa, including Tswalu Kalahari Reserve.

The conservation work completed includes game captures, conservation management, veld firefighting, census/management projects, radiocollaring and tracking of caracal in urban reserves. The scientific research projects with which he has been involved have taken him as far as the sub-Antarctic. This, together with his passion for environmental education and humanity, has fuelled the founding of explore4knowledge®. e4k® aims to facilitate research and environmental education projects and currently runs alongside his MTech in Nature Conservation in Ecotoxicology (2013–2015).

Hosted by Enviropaedia, in association with SABC3, the glittering award ceremony focused on Eco-Logic: a mindset and value system that goes beyond products and manufacturing to include how we run our businesses; how we live in society and our communities; and the application of natural law to our politics and economy.

The judges noted that, “John Lucas shows a deep understanding of the need for individuals to not only take personal responsibility for environmental protection and education but, through collective learning, to empower communities to become change agents themselves.”

Cape Town resident Jan Frylinck is a lawyer, working toward a master’s degree in Forensic Medicine. But he is also a local DIY and flight enthusiast who has undertaken an extraordinary challenge: to build a Bushbaby Explorer 2 using just a Dremel multitool.

The Bushbaby Explorer 2 is a twin-seat aircraft that can hold up to 70kg of luggage and travel up to 700km in one stretch. His inspiration for the project came after he learnt to fly a helicopter.

Construction on the bush plane began early in 2014, and is due to be completed in January 2015. Frylinck emphasises that assembly of the various aircraft components requires precise and accurate cutting and placement.

Assembly of the bush plane requires working with a variety of materials including 6061 aircraft-grade aluminium, marine plywood, aluminium sheeting and fibreglass. Frylinck reveals that the Dremel multitool can cut through all of these materials quickly and easily.

He observes that building the bush plane is a family project, with his wife, son and daughter participating and assisting with the various stages of construction.

“We are all involved with this project and we love it. This project has given us something we can do as a family, and gives us more quality time together.”

Frylinck points out that this project has been immensely satisfying because of the interest the community has shown. “When I work on the plane, there’s an incredible satisfaction that I get from creating something and doing it well. Men and women driving past the house will stop and come in to look at the plane. People are shocked when they see what I am doing, and they want to get involved.

It’s just a wonderful community project,” he concludes.

For further details on Enviropaedia and the Eco-Logic Awards, visit www.enviropaedia.com and for more information on John Lucas, go to www.explore4knowledge.com

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Out a n d a bout

A festive feast This holiday season, head to Bushmans Kloof Wellness Retreat in the breathtaking Cederberg Mountains for a unique wilderness adventure with family and friends.

Voted one of the Best Hotels for Food in the Middle East, Africa and the Indian Ocean in Condé Nast Traveller UK’s Gold List three years running (2010–2012), Bushmans Kloof will be presenting a range of delectable dining experiences served in spectacular venues within the reserve. Executive chef Floris Smith’s traditional Christmas Eve dinner will be served at Makana, where guests will be seated around festively adorned dining tables. Overlooking the sweeping lawns down to the Boontjies River and the wilderness beyond, this magical setting guarantees a memorable celebration.

On New Year’s Eve, guests will embrace the dawn of 2015 with a Shanty Town-themed party to be held at Embers, a magical outdoor venue deep in the reserve. A special highlight will be the live music and dance performances—with Bushmans Kloof’s very own champion Nama Riel dance troupe, Die Graskoue Trappers, taking the spotlight.

Email: info@bushmanskloof.co.za or visit www.bushmanskloof.co.za

In the bag

No matter the gear, the size of your crew, or the length of your adventure, the new Thule Chasm duffel bag can get you where you need to go. Available in three different colours and five different sizes—27l, 40l, 70l, 90l and 130l—it is your go-to gear hauler for any adventure. The bag’s straps quickly convert it from a duffel into a backpack, and compression straps prevent your gear from falling to the bottom of the bag. The Chasm’s ultra-wide mouth opening, padded bottom, internal mesh pockets as well as rugged, waterproof tarpaulin fabric will keep all your gear safe, organised and easily accessible.

For costs and other enquiries, call 086 118 4853 or visit www.thule.com/en/za

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Out a n d a bout

The roads less travelled

The South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) is an autonomous, state-aided organisation whose mission is to champion the exploration, conservation, sustainable use, appreciation and enjoyment of South Africa’s exceptionally rich biodiversity for all people.

SANBI uses basic information on biodiversity and builds on this foundation through assessments, experiments, models and tools. In this way, it influences policy makers and contributes to the government’s higher objectives of poverty alleviation, job creation and improving human well-being. SANBI engages in ecosystem restoration and rehabilitation, leads the human capital development strategy of the sector, and manages 10 National Botanical Gardens as ‘windows’ to South Africa’s biodiversity for enjoyment and education.

SANBI’s work starts with a strong foundation of surveying, classifying and mapping South Africa’s ecosystems and species. It builds on this foundation, through assessments and monitoring, to answer questions about the status of our biodiversity, and the best ways to protect it and its benefits to society.

Using this knowledge, the organisation translates science into policy and action by creating tools and information resources, and giving policy advice that then assists those who make decisions about land use and natural resources while aiming for objectives such as poverty alleviation, job creation and improved human well-being.

Biodiversity sustains us through providing water and energy; nourishes us through providing food; inspires us through education and art; protects us through providing shelter; connects us through our heritage; and empowers us in terms of development and economic growth.

Through all of this, biodiversity and natural resources provide opportunities for job creation, improved service delivery and a better life.

Biodiversity gives us freedom of choice. It is everything we have!

MapStudio’s South Africa for South Africans

by Mariëlle Renssen and Hirsh Aronowitz is a collection of 23 driving routes of varying distances that criss-cross the entire country, many of them along national or provincial roads.

There is plenty to explore across our nine provinces, and the big skies, boundless vistas and hours of sunshine have made us an outdoor-focused, activity-loving nation. With each province radically different in terms of biomes, landscapes and climate, there is great incentive to slow down your journey and have fun with the family along the way. After all, a journey is never solely about the destination.

The intention of this book is not to focus only on the major tourist attractions that are so familiar to South Africans, but rather to turn away from heavily trodden visitor paths, delving into lesser known, more unusual activities. From hiking and mountain biking to wildlife watching, birding and beachcombing, this book has some new surprises. Travellers are invited to explore beyond the usually uninspiring main roads that cut through little country towns. Quirky farm stalls, small-town museums, monuments, city walks, battlefields, cultural sites and interesting municipal parks—this book has them all covered. You may even learn a few things you never knew about your own country…

See www.sanbi.org

R295 from MapStudio.co.za

Biodiversity gives us freedom of choice

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SUPER CLOSE ANIMAL VIEWS GUARANTEED The Johannesburg Lion Park has a wealth of exciting activities for the whole family to ensure visitors an unforgettable wildlife experience. Lion Park’s guests are guaranteed to get extremely close to the lions (including the rare white lions), cheetah, wild dog, hyena—as well as antelopes, zebra, impala, blesbuck, wildebeest and springbok.

C

hosen by Newsweek magazine as one of the ‘Top 100 Perfect Tourist Destinations in the World’, the Lion Park offers activities that cannot be found anywhere else. We are also the proud recipients of the prestigious Trip Advisor’s 2013 and 2014 ‘Certificate of Excellence’ awards.

We offer self-drives, and day or night guided tours in our safari vehicles through the large antelope area, four different lion pride camps–including the rare white lion, a cheetah and a wild dog camp. Go on an amazing cheetah walk alongside a fully-grown cheetah, or take an unforgettable 2 hour lion tour with the world-renowned animal behaviourist, Alex Larenty, and watch him get hands-on with our big cat predators.

Our latest adventure offering is a thrilling 1,5 hour photographic or private tour in a silent electric car. We also now offer a one stop printing and photographic centre. Print your personal photos at low cost or have one of our

Interact with c ub s

professional photographers take your photo with the animals. Then choose from our large selection of a photo frames to make a gift or simply a lasting memory. We use state-of-theart equipment and fully guarantee our quality.

We house a massive range of African crafts, artefacts and clothing and kids’ merchandise from all over Africa—and don’t miss a visit to our new clothing superstore.

The restaurant offers a delicious menu, braai lunch or dinner, fully licensed bar, authentic clay oven pizza hut (halaal available) or large appointed picnic area. Visit our baby animals in Cub World and enter the lion cub enclosures for a rare opportunity to pet these lively youngsters. Be sure to include a visit the hyenas, meerkats and serval.

Let your little ones run wild in our fun filled play area, situated beside an eating/sitting area where parents can keep an eye on them. The Lion Park is also the perfect venue for a unique kiddies’ party or educational school tour.

ht drives Guided day/nig

Let us host your next day or night corporate function or conference, for time out of the office with an opportunity to meet some of Africa’s special wildlife. We can host and set-up almost any type of event, from formal to informal, birthdays, fancy celebrations or braais. Professional in-house photographer supplied. Our tailor-made packages include activities to suit your requirement or budget.

Overnight accommodation is available at the Wildside, our large semi-luxury 5-sleeper safari tents, that come complete with en-suite bathroom, private braai area and falling asleep to the magnificent sounds of lions roaring.

Thrilling guided lion feeds occur nightly at 18h30 and at noon on Saturday and Sundays.

As the only park that is open every day of the year and until 21h00 every night—the Johannesburg Lion Park is an unforgettable African wildlife adventure that feels like the bush, but is close to home.

Feed giraffes

Cheetah walk

A Newsweek ‘Top 100 Perfect Tourist Destinations in the World’ and a Trip Advisor 2013 and 2014 ‘Certificate of Excellence’ award-winner www.lionpark.com | info@lionpark.com 087 1500 100 / (011) 691 9905-11 GPS 25⁰59’35”S | 27⁰55’47”E Corner Malibongwe Drive & R114 Road, Lanseria

B-BBEE Accredited

Out a n d a bout

Surf’s up this summer

The 11th edition of the Wavescape Surf Festival 2014, presented by Pick n Pay, kicks off in Cape Town during November and runs until Sunday, 14 December.

Ocean lovers, film enthusiasts, foodies and conservationists will be spoilt with a host of events that centre on educating, entertaining and inspiring all age groups.

The festival is supported by Pick n Pay, WWF-SASSI, Red Bull, Banana Peel, Jack Black Beer, and Save our Seas Foundation.

All funds raised will go to the festival’s beneficiaries: National Sea Rescue Institute, Shark Spotters and the Isiqalo Foundation.

For more details, go to www.wavescapefestival.com or call festival co-ordinator Shani Judes on 083 509 5106

7 November:

Sea Change Outdoor Photo Exhibition, Sea Point Promenade

29 November:

Fish Fry at Blue Bird Garage, Muizenberg

3 December: Slide Night, Centre for the Book, Queen Victoria Street, City Centre 6 December:

Cinema under the stars on Clifton 4th Beach

7–10 December:

Films at Brass Bell, Kalk Bay

11–14 December: Films at Labia Theatre, Gardens

A book for the bird-brained

Birding enthusiasts are flocking to get their copy of The Ultimate Companion for Birding in Southern Africa—the long-awaited follow-up by renowned South African birding authors, Peter Ginn and Geoff McIlleron. The duo have teamed up once again after their record success with The Complete Book of Southern African Birds to produce what is being hailed by birding experts as the most visually stunning bird book ever published.

A double-volume large-format coffee table book set, The Ultimate Companion features powerful full-colour images for all 960 species. These are complemented by varied commentary from 18 contributing authors who have relayed their personal observations from the field, so the book offers birders action photography as well as insights that you won’t find in any of the existing field guides—cementing the fact that this is indeed the ultimate bird book.

All profits from The Ultimate Companion will go to shifting the lives of children in underprivileged crèches through the not-for-profit early childhood development initiative, The Unlimited Child.

The standard edition of The Ultimate Companion for Birding in Southern Africa is now available online at www.birdbook.co.za. The set usually retails for R1 476.30 (including VAT), which includes a free e-book. But, as a Christmas special until the end of January 2015, you can purchase the set for only R999.

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D

Ph oto c om petition

Photo finish

We partnered with the Stellenbosch Academy of Design and Photography to challenge some students to take a photograph of themselves with a copy of The Intrepid Explorer in wild and wacky places

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They were briefed to try and capture the spirit of the magazine—and we weren’t disappointed! These are just the top five incredible entries we chose; some of them made us laugh, some made us daydream of adventure, but all of them showed the students getting creative in the name of being an Intrepid Explorer!

Each of our top entrants wins a bottle of Three Ships Premium Select 5 Year Old Whisky—as well as a R500 Cape Union Mart voucher!

5

the little

Robbie Stammers gives us a guided tour of the new and exciting—smaller—vehicles that have been spotted on our roads recently

We usually feature ‘The Big 5’ in The Intrepid Explorer, but this time around we have decided to swap the bundu-bashing big boys for their smaller siblings, which are just as versatile but perhaps more suited to the concrete jungle and the school run. Then again, some could go anywhere, it seems…...

A go-anywhere car – Suzuki SX4

The new-generation Suzuki SX4 crossover was recently unveiled in South Africa. The crossover is a hotly contested segment of the car market, with many manufacturers all fighting for a slice of the pie.

A crossover is spacious, practical and aimed at the weekend outdoor enthusiast. It’s also aimed at young families, and is marketed as a car for everyone.

I was immediately impressed with the look of the SX4: it’s slicker and bigger than its predecessor and has plenty of extra bells and whistles. You get cruise control, 17-inch alloys, six-speaker USB/Mp3/CD radio, Bluetooth connectivity with steering-wheel mounted controls, automatic HID headlights,

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daytime LED lights, comprehensive trip computer, keyless start, auto wipers, park-distance control as well as a five-star safety rating—pretty impressive, indeed!

There’s extra leg room in the rear and heaps of boot space.

Then under the bonnet, this 1.6-litre four cylinder has a power and torque rating of 86kW and 156Nm respectively. Fuel economy is where the vehicle shines, however, and Suzuki South Africa claims the new SX4 will sip just 5.8l/100km—which certainly comes in handy when one’s doing a long journey or running kids around for their extramurals.

To top it all off, if you do feel like doing a bit of intrepid travel, you can do so. The Suzuki SX4 comes with a four-wheel-drive

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Hit th e r oa d, J a c k system called AllGrip. There’s between 175mm and 180mm worth of ground clearance, and the automatic AllGrip system does most of the work for you. By using a dial located in the centre console, you can choose modes to tackle different terrains.

All in all, the cap fits—this is certainly a ‘go-anywhere’ vehicle worth considering.

The Suzuki SX4 is available in a number of derivatives that share the same 1.6-litre engine.

Price tags 1.6 GL 1.6 GLX 1.6 GLX CVT 1.6 GLX AWD 1.6 GLX CVT AWD

R265 900 R295 900 R318 900 R319 900 R341 900

The small jewel in the crown – Hyundai Grand i10

Hyundai’s all-new Grand i10 has arrived in South Africa, and this small, well-endowed hatchback has all the potential to fill the shoes of its forerunner that has helped to put the Korean car brand on the map in our country.

I can’t help but draw comparisons between the new Grand i10 and the Hyundai Getz—a car that was discontinued about four years ago after it reached enormous popularity in South Africa. The Grand i10 has everything in its arsenal—and more—to do what the Getz did for Hyundai. Not only is it spacious inside yet small in overall diameters, but it’s filled with standard features that will make it a compelling choice in the entry-level segment of our car market.

The Hyundai Grand i10 was chosen to fit in between the present, smaller i10—which is retained in the local model line-up—and the i20. The Grand comes in three derivatives: the 1.25 Motion manual, the 1.25 Fluid manual (with a slightly higher

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specification level) and the 1.25 Fluid with a four-speed automatic gearbox.

Influenced by Hyundai Motor Company’s design philosophy of ‘fluidic sculpture’, the Grand i10 features sleek and substantial lines that emphasise the naturally athletic stance of a model that is longer, wider and lower than its predecessor. The larger bodyshell of the Grand i10 yields one of the roomiest occupant cabins on the market, as well as an impressive 256l of trunk capacity. Up to 1 202l become available when the rear seats are folded—also one of the best in its class. New levels of craftsmanship can be found in the spacious interior, together with levels of comfort and safety equipment commonly only found in segments above.

Among the many features of the all-new Grand i10 are luxury items such as Bluetooth connectivity to the sound system; keyless entry and electrically heated and folding side mirrors (for the two Fluid derivatives); USB and AUX ports for the sound system; air conditioning and central locking for all the derivatives.

The 1 248cc engine delivers 64kW peak power at 6 000 r/min, and reaches its maximum torque delivery of 120Nm at 4 000 r/min.

The power is delivered in a spirited fashion, and the small yet perky engine never gives the impression that it’s labouring. Fuel consumption can be as low as a measured 5.9l/100km, with emissions of 130g/km in the 1.25 Motion manual and 1.25 Fluid manual derivatives; and 6.9l/100km with emissions of 147g/km for the 1.25 Fluid with the four-speed automatic gearbox.

At its price range, with Hyundai’s 5-year/150 000km warranty and roadside assistance thrown in, the Grand i10 offers exceptional value. The red interior option with a leather cloth combination would add R5 000 to the price. A service plan is another optional item.

Price tags Grand i10 1.25 Motion manual Grand i10 1.25 Fluid manual Grand i10 1.25 Fluid automatic

R139 900 R149 900 R159 900

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Hit th e r oa d, J a c k Urban chic – Toyota Etios Cross

Next in line to make headway into the entry-level ‘crossover’ market is this Toyota Etios Cross. It’s a pumped up Etios, full of extra cladding to make it look a bit more butch. Toyota says the current Etios seems to be a bit girly and the manufacturer wants to attract more masculine buyers, hence the muscleflexing bits around this Cross.

I can honestly say I think Toyota has hit the mark quite well with the look, and the vehicle will definitely appeal to the younger generation.

Starting with the interior, the centre console—where the RPM, speed, fuel level and trip metre are displayed—looks less tacky and the font size has been increased to a legible level. The radio unit is standard in the Etios Cross and has been upgraded to a modern unit that features Bluetooth, a USB port and an auxiliary jack.

It is on the exterior, though, where there’s definitely some distinctive bodywork to mention. Firstly, the front ‘bull bar’ grille changes the face of the Etios Cross and the side skirts now have serious sills, with bulging plastic running right the way around the vehicle. The rear end gets a grey scuff plate as well as a roof spoiler for that rear-wing cool factor. A roof rack has been added and is not purely cosmetic: it can support a load of up to 50kg— more than enough for a couple of bicycles.

The engine is a 1.5-litre, quad-valve, four-cylinder, 66kW/132Nm engine and five-speed manual gearbox; not bad for its size and price, but you’re not exactly going to win any drag races. That said, it’s good for 100km/h in 11.3 seconds and general fuel consumption of 6l/100km. Prices include a two-year or 30 000km service plan and VAT. Price tags Etios 1.5 Xi Hatch (with air con) Etios 1.5 Xs Hatch Etios 1.5 Xi Sedan Etios 1.5 Xs Sedan Etios Cross 1.5

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French flair – Renault Clio 4

This Renault has a lot to live up to. The Clio has been the company’s top-selling vehicle since its original inception all those years ago and has been raking in the awards ever since.

I personally have never been a big Renault fan, but even I have to admit the Clio 4 is a winner.

Firstly, she seduces you with her aggressive and sexy new lines. She looks racy from the outside, and that is what Renault wants your first impression to be. While it certainly is no powerhouse, Renault has equipped the latest generation Clio

R127 800 R136 800 R134 500 R143 000 R159 800

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Price tags Clio 4 55kW Authentique Clio 4 66kW Turbo Expression Clio 4 66kW Turbo Dynamique

R149 900 R169 900 R179 900

Confident all-rounder – VW Cross Polo

I’ve always been a sucker for VW. It probably has something to do with the fact that the first time I could afford to buy my own car, I got a Golf GTI 16 valve—frankly, I loved every minute in that car!

The Cross Polo comes with rugged sporty looks that appeal to me greatly, as does the purr of the engine when you kick

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her over. An underbody protection panel—offset in silver— on the front and rear bumpers as well as black covers on the wheel arches, sills and doors give the upgraded Cross Polo an independent off-road character. The door mirror housings are painted in silver, regardless of the car colour, and the matching silver anodised roof rails make for an extra portion of sportiness.

In addition, two new metallic colours (Honey Orange and Titanium Beige) as well as newly styled 17-inch Canyon alloy wheels complete the range of equipment features. The smoked tail lights have also been redesigned. All inclusive.

In addition, exclusive fabrics (Link interior cloth trim for sport seats and door trim), designed especially for the Cross Polo, enhance its value. The car can be ordered with optional bi-xenon headlights. The newly designed steering wheel as well as the gear and parking brake lever are covered in leather; contrasting colour seams increase the high-value ambience in the interior, which has a two-tone colour scheme—as does the new instrument cluster in a ‘tubes’ look and applications in matt chrome.

Two Cross Polo models are available, driven by similar capacity 1.6-litre four-cylinder engines. Both engines produce 77kW, with the petrol derivative’s peak rotational force of 155Nm positively dwarfed by the turbo-diesel’s 250Nm. Economy figures are pegged at 6.6l/100km for the 1.6 and 4.3l/100km for the TDI. A thoroughly enjoyable drive!

The new Polo comes standard with a 3-year/45 000km service plan, 3-year/120 000km warranty and a 12-year anti-corrosion warranty. Service interval is 15 000km.

Price tags 1.6 77kW Cross Polo Comfortline 1.6 77kW CR TDI Cross Polo Comfortline

Hit th e r oa d, J a c k

with a three-cylinder 66kW turbo engine; when you get behind the wheel, you could be forgiven for thinking the car were being powered by something bigger. This is the next generation of downsizing, and the 900cc engine is more than willing and capable.

Equipped with 66kW of power and 135Nm of torque, this little lady achieves an impressive claimed fuel-consumption figure of 4.5l/100km, with carbon emissions at 105g/km.

All Clio’s are fitted with additional active safety features including ASR traction control, ABS, EBD and EBA as well as electric variable-rate power steering and cruise control with speed limiter. The car houses four air bags (two front and two side), as well as seat belts equipped with pretensioners and load limiters.

As is the case across Renault’s entire product range, all three Clio variants come standard with a 5-year/150 000km mechanical warranty and 3-year/45 000km service plan.

It’s a great vehicle, albeit slightly small for my family requirements.

R198 500 R224 500

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Ph oto es s a y

lens

life through the

In this edition of The Intrepid Explorer, we showcase the works of one of South Africa’s top landscape photographers, Hougaard Malan

After finishing school and naively thinking engineering or architecture were good directions to follow, Hougaard Malan found his calling when he picked up a DSLR camera. Seven years on, it has become his profession and passion, and his name is now synonymous with landscape photography in South Africa.

Having lived in the Western Cape for the past seven years, he felt he had done a good job of documenting that half of the country. He moved up to Pretoria in 2013 to get closer to landscapes such as the Drakensberg and Blyde River Canyon, and hopes to do justice to their natural beauty over the coming years.

While diversifying his portfolio of southern Africa, he has started exploring the world’s bucketlist landscapes such as Patagonia and Seychelles.

Malan’s work has been published in almost every imaginable form of media, both locally and internationally. His main business is landscape photography tours, and the destinations on offer can be viewed at www.CapturEarth.com.

Namib Aerial – Sossusvlei, Namibia: I’ve driven past this dune well over 50 times in all different types of light and I never anticipated it to have such an amazing form. Viewing it from 3 000 feet in the sky revealed its true beauty.

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Dwesa Forest – Dwesa Nature Reserve, Wild Coast, Eastern Cape: Many of the beaches along the Wild Coast are lined with lush indigenous forests like this one. When there’s some surf spray in the air and warm afternoon sunlight floods in below the canopy, it results in this amazing scene.

Sunrise from Laguna de los Tres – Los Glaciares National Park, Patagonia, Argentina: Mount Fitz Roy reaches into the sky below a deep morning sky as night starts fading and blood-red alpenglow casts a blush on its sheer rock faces. The blue was caused by a thick layer of high clouds over the mountain.

Perito Moreno Glacier – Los Glaciares National Park, Patagonia, Argentina: Roughly 80 metres high and 5 kilometres wide, it is certainly a special experience watching chunks of ice the size of a bus plunge 50m down into the water and feeling the thunder of the impact.

Water Drainage Patterns – Deadvlei, Namib-Naukluft Park, Namibia: This water drainage pattern may be in open sight near the iconic trees, but very few people know of it.

Stormberg Lightning – Dordrecht, Eastern Cape: This display of nature’s power I captured about 10 minutes after sunset as the last colour was fading from the skies. Once I got out of the storm, I drove to a high point and captured the last major strikes as it lost power.

Sehlabathebe Twilight – Sehlabathebe National Park, Lesotho: As the last colour of day disappears in the west and the blackness of night approaches, there’s a transitional hour in which the sky is a brilliant deep blue. As the first star appears in the sky, the moon is reflected in one of Sehlabathebe’s tarn pools.

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Richtersveld Tree – Kokerboomkloof, |Ai-|Ais/Richtersveld National Park, Northern Cape: A tree so photogenic, you could swear it grew on that exact spot in that exact way with the purpose of being photographed.

Luphuthana Crashing Waves – Pondoland, Wild Coast, Eastern Cape: Luphuthana is the name of a short stretch of the Pondoland area where high rock shelves extend deep into the sea. When strong swell collides with these vertical rock shelves, a flood of water crashes into the air and the thunder of these collisions can be heard very far away.

store listing western cape STORES Bayside Mall (021) 556-3861 bayside@capeunionmart.co.za Blue Route Mall (021) 712-5979 blueroute@capeunionmart.co.za

EASTERN CAPE STORES Riverside Mall, Nelspruit Fountains Mall (013) 757-0338 (042) 293-0005 nelspruit@capeunionmart.co.za fountainsmall@capeunionmart.co.za NORTH WEST STORES Greenacres Shopping Centre Brits Mall (041) 363-1504 (012) 250-1909 greenacres@capeunionmart.co.za brits@capeunionmart.co.za

Canal Walk (021) 555-2846 canalwalk@capeunionmart.co.za

Hemingways Shopping Centre (043) 726-0908 hemmingways@capeunionmart.co.za

Matlosana Mall (018) 462-0711 matlosanamall@capeunionmart.co.za

Canal Walk Adventure Centre (021) 555-4629 cwac@capeunionmart.co.za

Walmer Park (041) 368-7442 walmer@capeunionmart.co.za

Mooiriver Mall (018) 293-1788 mooiriver@capeunionmart.co.za

Cape Gate Shopping Centre (021) 982-2000 capegate@capeunionmart.co.za

Vincent Park (043) 726-2900 vincentpark@capeunionmart.co.za

Waterfall Mall (014) 537-3651 waterfall@capeunionmart.co.za

Cavendish Square (021) 674-2148 cavendish@capeunionmart.co.za Constantia Village (021) 794-0632 constantia@capeunionmart.co.za Gardens Centre (021) 461-9678 gardens@capeunionmart.co.za Mill Square (021) 886-4645 stellenbosch@capeunionmart.co.za Mountain Mill Mall (023) 347-1484 worcester@capeunionmart.co.za Paarl Mall (021) 863-4138 paarl@capeunionmart.co.za Somerset Mall (021) 852-7120 somersetwest@capeunionmart.co.za Tygervalley Shopping Centre (021) 914-1441 tygervalley@capeunionmart.co.za V&A Waterfront Quay Four (021) 425-4559 quayfour@capeunionmart.co.za V&A Waterfront Travel & Safari (021) 419-0020 waterfront@capeunionmart.co.za West Coast Mall, Vredenburg (022) 713-4113 weskus@capeunionmart.co.za GArden route Garden Route Mall (044) 887-0048 gardenroute@capeunionmart.co.za Knysna Mall (044) 382-4653 knysna@capeunionmart.co.za Langeberg Mall (044) 695-2486 mosselbay@capeunionmart.co.za The Market Square (044) 533-4030 marketsquare@capeunionmart.co.za

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The Intrepid Explorer issue 8

Killarney Mall (011) 646-7745 killarney@capeunionmart.co.za Kolonnade Shopping Centre (012) 548-9811 kolonnade@capeunionmaart.co.za Mall@Reds (012) 656-0182 redsmall@capeunionmart.co.za Menlyn Park (012) 368-1015 menlyn@capeunionmart.co.za Nicolway Mall (011) 706-7573 nicolway@capeunionmart.co.za

Northgate Shopping Centre KWAZULU-NATAL STORES LIMPOPO STORE (011) 794-1022 Boardwalk Shopping Centre Mall of the North northgate@capeunionmart.co.za (035) 789-0321 (015) 265-1067 OR Tambo boardwalk@capeunionmart.co.za mallofthenorth@capeunionmart.co.za International Airport Galleria Mall GAUTENG STORES (011) 390-3245 (031) 904-2318 Atterbury Value Mart, Pretoria ortambo@capeunionmart.co.za galleria@capeunionmart.co.za (012) 991-3171 Rosebank Mall atterbury@capeunionmart.co.za Gateway World (011) 442-1959 (031) 566-5111 Brooklyn Mall rosebank@capeunionmart.co.za gateway@capeunionmart.co.za (012) 460-5511 Sandton City brooklyn@capeunionmart.co.za La Lucia Mall (011) 884-9771 (031) 562-0523 Carnival Mall sandton@capeunionmart.co.za LaLucia@capeunionmart.co.za (011) 915-0470 The Glen Shopping Centre carnivalmall@capeunionmart.co.za Midlands Mall (011) 436-1300 (033) 342-0152 Centurion Shopping Centre theglen@capeunionmart.co.za midlands@capeunionmart.co.za (012) 663-4111 The Grove centurion@capeunionmart.co.za Pavillion Shopping Centre (012) 807-0642 (031) 265-1666 Clearwaters Mall thegrove@capeunionmart.co.za pavillion@capeunionmart.co.za (011) 675-0036 Vaal Mall clearwaters@capeunionmart.co.za Westville Mall (016) 981-5186 (031) 266-6049 Cresta Centre vaalmall@capeunionmart.co.za westwood@capeunionmart.co.za (011) 478-1913 Woodlands Boulevard cresta@capeunionmart.co.za (012) 997-6960 NORTHERN CAPE STORE Eastgate Adventure Centre woodlands@capeunionmart.co.za Diamond Pavillion Centre (011) 622-8788 (053) 832-3846 BOTsWANA STORES egac@capeunionmart.co.za diamondpavillion@capeunionmart.co.za Francistown, Pick n Pay Centre 00267-241-0398 East Rand Mall Kathu Village Mall francistown@capeunionmart.co.za (011) 826-2408 (053) 723-2736 eastrandmall@capeunionmart.co.za kathu@capeunionmart.co.za Game City, Gaborone 00267-391-0948 Forest Hill City FREE STATE STORES gamecity@capeunionmart.co.za (012) 668-1030 Loch Logan Waterfront, Bloemfontein foresthill@capeunionmart.co.za Riverwalk Mall, Gaborone (051) 430-0230 00267-370-0040 lochlogan@capeunionmart.co.za Fourways Mall riverwalk@capeunionmart.co.za (011) 465-9824 Mimosa Mall, Bloemfontein fourways@capeunionmart.co.za NAMIBIA STORE (051) 444-6059 Maerua Mall, Windhoek mimosa@capeunionmart.co.za Greenstone Mall 00264-612-20424 (011) 609-0002 windhoek@capeunionmart.co.za MPUMALANGA STORES greenstone@capeunionmart.co.za Highveld Mall The Grove Mall of Namibia Heidelberg (013) 692-4018 thegrove@capeunionmart.co.za (016) 341-2031 highveld@capeunionmart.co.za heidelberg@capeunionmart.co.za OUTLET STORES Ilanga Mall Access Park, Cape Town Hyde Park Corner (013) 742-2281 (021) 674-6398 (011) 325-5038 ilanga@capeunionmart.co.za accesspark@capeunionmart.co.za hydepark@capeunionmart.co.za Middelburg Mall Woodmead Value Mart, Irene Village (013) 244-1040 Johannesburg (012) 662-1133 middelburg@capeunionmart.co.za (011) 656-0750 irene@capeunionmart.co.za woodmead@capeunionmart.co.za

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Howe to tr a vel

The last laugh

not the

noakes diet They say travel expands your mind— Graham Howe discovers it also expands your waistline

I

carbo-loaded on local treats while watching the Chicago Cubs play the Pittsburgh Pirates at Wrigley Field, one of the oldest ballparks in the United States. Baseball fans have been eating Chicago-style hot dogs since the baseball park was built in 1914 by the global tycoon who made his fortune in chewing gum. Wrigley may ring a bell.

“Make me one with everything,” I said to the hot dog vendor, who quipped: “Are you a Buddhist, sir?” He made me a Chicago-style ‘dawg’—popping a steamed (never grilled) frankfurter into a poppyseed bun, garnishing it with chopped onion, pickles and green relish.

Amazingly, no one had thought to put a sausage in a roll until some genius invented the hot dog at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893.

When you travel, you have to eat local.

I was in the city that invented the hot dog, deep-dish pizza, caramel and cheese popcorn, and horseshoe sandwiches (toasted bread piled with fries, topped with molten cheddar cheese). I also grabbed Chicago-style pizza: a thick, pie-like crust smothered with mozzarella, sausage and tomato (on top, not on the base).

After foraging, I returned to my seat with dinner: Goose Island beer, a huge slice of pizza and a hot dog. It’s never too late to find the child in you.

Sticking to a diet while travelling is impossible—especially in a land of large portions, and which invented seriously good fast food. While attending a travel conference called Pow Wow in Chicago, I was having way too good a time to follow a diet incongruously named after an obese undertaker called William Banting,

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whose surgeon William Harvey first prescribed a low-carb, protein-rich diet in 1861. It was a good thing the divine temptations of hot dogs and deep-pan pizza were yet to appear.

You won’t spot the Banting/Tim Noakes diet in the diners, drive-ins and dives of the United States. No siree!

While walking it all off around the loop in downtown Chicago, I spotted a long line of office workers queuing at Garrett, a legendary popcorn shop founded in 1949, which invented another local specialty—a sweet and salty combination of caramel and cheddar cheese popcorn. Talk about a pop-up restaurant. I joined the queue to see what all the fuss was about. I guess it’s an acquired taste.

After a nutritional lunch of popcorn in the corn capital of the Midwest, I went looking for frozen custard ice-cream and Chicago-style cheesecake at Lickity Split Frozen Custard & Sweets, an old-fashioned ice-cream parlour. (I’m delighted to report that both dishes were delicious.)

My guidebook said that when in Chicago, you simply have to leave room for divine desserts. But then the author also warned: “In a city where size matters, and big is definitely better, local food portions are not just sizeable but extreme”.

Chicago is also famous for its ‘chop houses’ and rib joints that serve gargantuan prime steaks and spare ribs —from the homely Chicago Chop House to elegant grill houses. A city that has grown into a culinary destination over the last two decades is home to 25 Michelinstarred restaurants such as Alinea, headed up by super chef Grant Achatz and rated number nine in the World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2014. But my subsistence

budget didn’t stretch to fine dining on South African rands.

While I could still get a seat belt around me, I left the world capital of the blues and headed south into Illinois. I was looking for traditional Midwestern family fare like deep-fried chicken, mash, gravy and beans. A fast food trail lay ahead on Route 66, from Dell Rhea’s Chicken Basket serving travellers since the 1940s to White Castle—the original home of the ‘slider’, where you can buy mini-burgers for fifty cents a pop.

I was following the trail of crumbs left

by Guy Fieri, presenter of the food show, Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, who ate his way through fast food America and survived to tell the tale.

In a land where biggest is best, I spotted the world’s biggest ketchup bottle (52 metres) in Collinsville with a billboard: “You should see our tomatoes!”

I found the ultimate diner in Springfield, state capital of Illinois.

Operated by the Waldmire family since 1950, the Cozy Dog is the world-famous home of the corn dog on a stick: a Wiener sausage deep-fried in corn batter. They also serve great chilli bean soup, chilli cheese dogs and cheeseburgers—with shoestring fries, coleslaw for health freaks and root beer. Who could resist carboloading out on the open road?

I finished my carbo spree at My Just Desserts, a landmark in Alton on the banks of the mighty Mississippi. Baker Ann Badasch is famous for her wholesome servings of home-baked apple, cherry and key lime pies—with lashings of cream.

Talk about the comfort zone.

Oh boy. I may have to go on the undertaker’s diet when I get home...

The Intrepid Explorer issue 8

107

the last word The Intrepid Explorer chats to ex-Springbok captain,

Bob Skinstad

What are the top destinations on your ‘bucket list’ of places to which you’d like to travel?

I’ve been lucky enough to travel all over, but anywhere with some big, tough-tocatch fish is always up there for me— perhaps one of those beautiful trout resorts in Argentina. I’d also love to do a camper van (glamping!) trip through New Zealand with my family, to show them how beautiful the country is.

Which favourite places have you already ticked off your bucket list?

Some really magical spots: The Seychelles island of Alphonse is exceptional, and I love the US of A—Boston, New York, Chicago.

What is the weirdest food or drink you have ever tried?

I don’t mind trying out new foods; offal, or derms, in the bush is always good, and oysters fresh from the ocean taste much better if you’ve gathered them yourself.

Are you an adrenalin junkie?

Very much so. I’ve done all five of the highest bungee jumps in the world; I’ve abseiled, but I haven’t gone shark-cage diving—yet! A parachute jump/skydiving is on the list, but I have to get past my wife first...

If you consider your upbringing, were/are you a bush baby or a city slicker?

Bush baby, definitely!

Braai or sushi?

A good old braai. I love sushi, but the idea

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The Intrepid Explorer issue 8

of a fire, friends and some great South African steak is too good!

What is the most memorable experience you have had with wildlife?

I’ve been really lucky all round with game and park visits, but watching two young bull elephants play-fighting in the river, while I was fighting a tigerfish, has to be up there.

If you were stuck on a desert island, would you know how to make a fire without matches, and how to catch dinner?

Yes—how do you like your meat?!

What is your tried-and-tested signature dish you serve your friends?

I’m not great in the kitchen, but I’ve received some compliments on my beer-can chicken.

If it were up to you, what should be done to the people running the rhino horn trade?

They should be jailed for life.

Beer or wine?

Wine, please—I’m off beer for a while (after my wife noticed a bit extra around my tummy).

You have been a Springbok rugby captain, entrepreneur, radio-show host and television commentator, among many other exploits. What are you currently busy with, and how do you juggle all these things plus a young family?

I’m very lucky with my family: we’re very close and my wife’s a star—she runs a tight ship. I’m currently the chief

marketing officer at Seartec, a technology company that’s part of Deneb Investments; it’s a great job with a wonderful future.

What are your honest thoughts on how the Springboks may fare at next year’s Rugby World Cup? I think we’re going to win it: We have the squad, who’s chock full of talent; we have the right coaching group, a good World Cup record and the support—we’re ready to take it!

What are your pet hates/dislikes in people?

I don’t like false people, and I can’t stand it when people can’t deliver what they say they will. But mostly I’m lucky, with great friends and people who love our country and are committed to making it work.

As a role model yourself, whom did you see as your inspiration while growing up?

I was quite eclectic in terms of role models. I looked up to more than one rugby player and tried to pick the best bits from a few of them: Zinzan Brooke, Gary Teichmann, the wiry Laurent Cabannes. In life, I’ve always read a lot, and there are loads of incredible motivators out there; Tony Robbins, Tom Peters and Tim Ferriss are authors/speakers whom I look up to.

Which holiday destination do you and your wife consider to be the best family getaway?

We have a lovely family spot in Hermanus, which offers an amazing break at the end of every year—golf, surf, wineries and the amazing Overberg all rolled into one.

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