Private Edition Issue 56

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FROM THE EDITOR

EDITOR SUSAN NEWHAM-BLAKE snewham@tppsa.co.za

CREATIVE DIRECTOR TARYN RHODA

ART DIRECTOR TINA REDDELL

IWORK IN THE CENTRE of Cape Town about a block away from the iconic Greenmarket Square. I’ve worked in the CBD for more than half of my career and have experienced the deafening blasts of vuvuzelas during the 2010 Soccer World Cup, have joined the throngs pushing through the streets during anti-corruption marches and have been energised by the influx of tourists from all over the world pouring into the city during the summer months.

But it’s been a quiet two-and-a-half years in the city, let me tell you. With no tourists, Greenmarket Square was reduced to a quarter of its original size. My muchloved local, Rosa’s Bakery, where you could get the freshest cheese-and-salad roll for less than the price of a cup of coffee, closed down as did many other favourites in the city centre. It’s been one long neverending Sunday afternoon in the city.

But not anymore. As we put this last issue of the year to bed, I can hear the hooting of Ubers, the excited chatter of tourists and the metallic clanging of market vendors dragging their goods back from the square. Oh, and a peculiar whistling sound that may or may not be an overzealous traffic officer. These are the enlivening sounds of a world back to a new kind of normal and with them an exciting 2023 to look forward to. Or, at least, a busier one.

In this issue, we focus on the impressive ventures South Africa and its people are getting up to.

From spending 24 hours with our country’s most famous artist, William Kentridge (page 30), and chatting to talented South African chefs who are bringing unique flavours to global kitchens in ‘Local Chefs Light a Global Fire’ (page 54), to visiting

SUSAN NEWHAM-BLAKE EDITOR

newly opened luxury game lodges from the banks of the Zambezi to the gentle shade of the jackalberry tree in the Okavango Delta in ‘Wild and Free (page 64), we bring you stories we hope will inspire you.

Here’s to a festive season that fills you up and takes you into the new year revitalised and inspired.

COPY EDITOR WENDY MARITZ

ADVERTISING EXECUTIVE BERNICE BLUNDELL bernice@adplacements.co.za 073 618 1882

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR MARK BEARE

MANAGING DIRECTOR SUSAN NEWHAM-BLAKE

PRODUCTION DIRECTOR JOHN MORKEL

HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGER LIZ WOLFE

FINANCIAL MANAGER NAEEMA ABRAHAMS

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Private Edition is published by The Publishing Partnership (Pty) Ltd, 9th Floor, Tarquin House, 81 Loop Street, Cape Town 8001. Copyright: The Publishing Partnership (Pty) Ltd 2022. No portion of this publication may be reproduced without prior written consent from The Publishing Partnership or the authors. The publishers are not responsible for any unsolicited material. The opinions expressed are not necessarily those of The Publishing Partnership or the editor.

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A GLASS ACT We discover the creatives who are breathing fresh life into glassworking: from furniture and sculpture to structural masterpieces

GREEN FINGERS A cottage and pool house in Cape Town’s Southern Suburbs take their design cue from their natural surroundings

LOCAL CHEFS LIGHT A GLOBAL FIRE Talented chefs and South African flavours are turning up the heat in kitchens abroad

ACCELERATE INTO THE FUTURE Richard Webb reveals the cars waiting in the pipeline for 2023 and what’s driving their innovation

WILD AND FREE Three newly-opened luxury lodges take Private Edition from the roaring waters of the mighty Zambezi River to the gentle shade of the jackalberry tree in the Okavango Delta.

The digital luxury guide

Private Edition Digital is a dedicated luxury news and lifestyle guide that features reviews, opinions, videos and stories about the best, most exclusive cars, watches, art, travel, style and much more. Find us online at PrivateEdition.co.za, or like Private Edition magazine on Facebook and be the first to discover the latest developments and news from the world’s most covetable brands, curated by the digital team behind Private Edition. You can also subscribe to our newsletter for a roundup of the latest trends and stories every two weeks, so you never miss a moment in luxury. For the best life has to offer, PrivateEdition.co.za is an essential resource.

STYLE

The art of metamorphosis

CARTIER’S 13 PAIX HAS BEEN TRANSFORMED IN LINE WITH THE UNMISTAKABLE STYLE OF THE PARISIAN HOUSE. BY

DEBBIE HATHWAY

Cartier’s famous Parisian boutique at 13 Rue de la Paix reopened to the public in October 2022 after a two-year renovation. The façade of the sanctum of Louis Cartier and Jeanne Toussaint, the icon behind the Panthère, is slightly modified, retaining the style and spirit embodied in the black-and-gold composition introduced when the boutique opened in 1899.

Indoors, the space is filled with theatrical encounters. Each floor features extraordinary décor reminiscent of the Garland style and Tutti Frutti design, as well as the symbolism of the Trinity collection and emblematic panther.

‘The number 13 is associated with eternity, and this place is timeless to its core,’ says Cyrille Vigneron, president and CEO of Cartier International. ‘An abundance of space and light, of creation and imagination, the new No. 13 invites us on a journey of new and unexpected discoveries. Its thoughtful architecture, prioritising substance over form and appearance, is the ultimate showcase for the most precious jewels and the setting for romantic stories.’

The Maison invited creatives it had worked with previously to envision a place ‘that lives and breathes a timeless creative identity’.

Moinard Bétaille’s subtle changes to the showroom and sales area began with replacing the polished brass that once framed the windows with pale bronze. Inside, a soothing space filled with tones of ivory, blond wood, powdered gold, pearly white and champagne welcomes clients. In reception, the brass rays of a floor mosaic acknowledge a Cartier Art Deco motif, and light from the street filters in to rest on the classic sculpted vases and garlands of the refinished original woodwork.

Studioparisien worked on three floors. Each salon dedicated to customer services on the third floor celebrates the Cartier style differently, from the Indian salon with its embroidery-effect walls to the Art Deco salon that evokes 1920s and 1930s modernity. The high-jewellery ateliers on the fourth and fifth floors are beautiful and functional. And Laura Gonzalez achieved a dreamlike quality for ‘La Résidence’, the exclusive top-floor apartment.

Myriad tiny details will elude first-time visitors. But that’s the point. ‘We wanted a visit to these spaces to be an enticement to come back, to savour new surprises and delights each time,’ says Bétaille. cartier.com

FRAGRANCE

That makes scents

TWO NEW MEN’S FRAGRANCES BY HERMÈS ARE REDEFINING MODERN MASCULINITY.

BY MARTIN JACOBS

It’s been 15 years since French luxury house Hermès last released a men’s fragrance, but in little more than a year the brand has unveiled two: H24 and Terre d’Hermès Eau Givree. Critics have praised each for redefining modern masculinity. But how have they done so?

For Hermès in-house perfumer Christine Nagel, the answer is simple. Neither has been market tested prior to launch, thereby eliminating commercial predictability from each scent’s accord. And both artfully combine natural and synthetic ingredients, resulting in perfumes that are fresh in spirit and entirely modern.

For Nagel, H24 is distinguished by sclarene, a synthetic molecule she’s described as smelling like ‘metal so polished it becomes sensual’. Paired with floral clary sage (rather than the traditionally masculine lavender), sclarene lends the fragrance its trace of hot irons on damp laundry, and thus its metallic accord.

Her starting point for Terre d’Hermès Eau Givree’s fresh accord was an overdose, rather than the conventional hint, of juniper berries. She abandoned notes traditionally associated with freshness – laundered linen, cut grass – for the berries when she noticed the extent to which the many men in her family were drawn to gin cocktails. hermes.com

ART

A first in Africa

AFRICA’S FIRST FLORILEGIUM, A WONDERMENT OF RARE AND UNIQUE PLANT LIFE, OPENS AT GROOTBOS.

BY PIPPA DE BRUYN

Early morning in Grootbos Nature Reserve. Across the broad sweep of Walker Bay, the Hottentots Holland Mountains are purple under a hazy sky. It’s a magnificent view, but the group dispersed in the lowland heath have eyes only for the ground below.

Carol Woodin a preeminent American botanical artist is one of 16 international and 28 South African botanical artists invited to Grootbos to select plants to illustrate – several of which only grow in Grootbos – for South Africa’s first florilegium. ‘I have always wanted to come to South Africa,’ Woodin says. ‘The plant life is such a huge draw – but still, I wasn’t prepared. Not for the beauty of the plants, not for the landscapes, nor the extraordinary collection of people.’

Sprightly 71-year-old Vicki Thomas is arguably South Africa’s most revered living botanical artist, alongside Gillian Condy. Certainly Thomas is the best represented South African in Kew’s Shirley Sherwood Collection, the largest contemporary art collection in the world. ‘It was a lifelong dream of mine that South Africa would have its own florilegium,’ Thomas says. So when [Grootbos owner] Michael Lutzeyer approached me to ask if I would consider collaborating with a few artists to create some mementos for Grootbos guests, I suggested it could be the start of a florilegium.’

The Hannarie Wenhold Botanical Gallery, housing the original florilegium book and all artworks within it, opened in Grootbos in September 2022. All proceeds from the prints go to conservation, and the establishment of an art school for the Gansbaai community. grootbos.com

DEPARTURES A dorp on the hill

YOUR EXPERIENCE OF DORP HOTEL IN CAPE TOWN’S BO-KAAP WILL REMAIN LONG AFTER YOUR STAY IS OVER

If a hotel could be a poem, then one can be found hidden away on the hillside at the very top of Longmarket Street which boasts the best views of Table Mountain. The newly opened Dorp Hotel is described as whimsical, and it’s the detail in every furniture piece, cushion, lampshade, even the names of the private villas, that will delight and surprise you. A vision made real by hotelier and designer Gail Behr, the hotel offers a curated and truly original experience. The prayers of imams at sunset, heart-stopping views of the city bowl framed by the colour and uniqueness of Bo-Kaap, the echoing blast of the Noon Gun all add flavour to an already exceptional venue. Close to the city centre yet elevated enough to offer a serene and restorative stay, you’d be hard-pressed to have a more unique and inspiring experience of the Mother City. dorp.co.za

ART Things to look forward to

NOW THAT THE WORLD HAS OPENED UP AGAIN, IN-PERSON EXPERIENCES PROMISE TO EXCITE AND INSPIRE MORE THAN EVER

The Investec Cape Town Art Fair will be held from 17 to 19 February 2023, celebrating 10 years in which the event has propelled the city as an art destination. With 99 exhibitors, 23 000 visitors, 6 000 VIPs and a supportive local art community, the fair provides a platform for collectors, galleries, curators, artists and art journalists from around the globe to engage and create connections – proving to be the place where the fastgrowing African art market and the international art world meet. investeccapetownartfair.co.za

If you happen to find yourself in Paris over the festive season, treat yourself to the enchanting experience that is Le Grand Numéro de Chanel, taking place at the Grand Palais Ephemere from 15 December to 9 January 2023. This showcase of perfumery, visual arts and emotive storytelling will captivate experts and non-experts alike; it’s an immersive journey that invites you to follow your lucky star, seize your chance, or become part of the legend that is Chanel. grand-numero.chanel.com

LUXURY UNWRAPPED

We present six unique and beautiful objects; timeless treasures, each with its own story, that will delight those who are lucky enough to receive them.

THE SOPHISTICATED

OMEGA is bringing joy to the final hours of the year with a glistening line-up of models that are as beautiful as they are precise. Each style unwraps a story, making them a perfect gift for someone special – or a little treasure for yourself.

With this resplendent model, time is truly golden. To achieve the look, OMEGA has taken its popular De Ville Trésor design and refined it with a new 26mm size. The eye-catching timepiece is made from 18K Moonshine™ Gold and features diamonds that elegantly curve along the case. The domed dial and mesh bracelet both feature an embossed silk-like pattern, while the metallised sapphire crystal caseback boasts a mirror effect.

A watch with true ‘wow factor’, it would surely be the most breathtaking gift anyone could receive.

omegawatches.com

THE CONTEMPORARY

Crafted with the ambition to be the world’s most powerful and immersive soundbar, Danish audio brand Bang & Olufsen presents the Beosound Theatre: an innovative and meticulously crafted high-end soundbar that slots seamlessly with any screen and delivers the power of a multi-product home cinema, all in one singular spectacular product.

To create the powerful and immersive cinematic experience, Beosound Theatre comes with 12 speaker drivers including two custom-made long-stroke 6.5-inch woofers and 800 watts of amplification power. This is next-generation listening for generations to come.

bang-olufsen.com/en/za

THE MYSTERIOUS

For the wine lover, what could be more desirable than the distinct experience of a Hazendal Carignan 2017?

Hailing from the hills surrounding the village of Cariñena, Carignan is one of the iconic grapes of Spain, indelibly associated with the cellars of Priorat in southwestern Catalonia.

Revered for its bold and expressive character, Carignan remains a rarity in the South African winelands, and is seldom bottled on its own. But at Hazendal, we believe that, when given the opportunity to truly show itself as a single varietal, Carignan shines brightly as a wine of voluptuous power and elegance; a wine that is a true embodiment of the spirit and vigour of its Spanish roots.

That Iberian passion is echoed in the bold packaging of this remarkable collector’s wine. Inspired by the sensuous flowing lines of a flamenco dancer’s dress, as well as the topography of the landscape that shaped these exceptional vines, the Hazendal Limited Release Carignan 2017 is our homage to this proudly Spanish cultivar. hazendal.co.za

THE ORIGINAL

Molteni&C | Dada is the leading ‘Made in Italy’ design furniture company bringing high-quality design into your personal space. This small table (D.555.1) is from Gio Ponti’s house, located in Via Dezza in Milan. It was designed in 1954/1955 and is based on the original drawings from the Ponti archives. It completes the Gio Ponti Collection, a range of furnishings designed by the architect from the 1930s to the 1950s. The exquisite hand-painted metal structure and glass top will add a touch of class to any living space. molteni.it/en molteni.it/en

THE TIMELESS

Since its launch in 1984, the Portofino has become one of IWC Schaffhausen’s most successful watch families. These elegant timepieces are inspired from the classic round gold watches the company produced in the 1950s and ’60s.

Thanks to its reduced case diameter of 37mm, the Portofino Automatic 37 is very comfortable to wear and has become a staple in IWC’s women’s watches portfolio. The Portofino Automatic Day & Night 34 is the first 34mm Portofino with a poetic day and night complication that provides a particularly charming visualisation of the passing of time. A disc at 6 o’clock rotates around its axis once every 24 hours and indicates whether it is currently day or night. iwc.com

THE TASTEFUL

Manufactured in Aich, Germany, the bulthaup range comprises beautiful and unique elements for your entire living space.

Sophisticated handcrafted pieces can elevate and transform a kitchen or living area. The bulthaup b Solitaire is made from materials that are handcrafted to perfection.

Solid lengths of wood are hand-picked and arranged by experts for the 12cmhigh oak top layer. However you choose to use your bulthaup b Solitaire, the wood becomes your platform.

It lives, it changes with time, and will reflect traces of your life without losing any of its authenticity.

domum.co.za

24 HOURS WITH WILLIAM KENTRIDGE

The most famous resident of Houghton is pretty much taking over the world… again. SEAN O’TOOLE spends 24 hours with William Kentridge and discovers a workaholic who also makes a mean ox tongue.

NOT LONG AFTER spending 24 hours with artist William Kentridge I bought a butter dish. The purchase was prompted by a frivolous lunchtime conversation. It helps to know that William Kentridge, South Africa’s best-known artist globally, whose 40-year career as draughtsman, printmaker, sculptor, filmmaker and theatre director is currently being surveyed by major museums in London, Los Angeles and Milwaukee, likes to eat lunch with his studio staff. The menu tends towards a miscellany of salads, cheeses, breads and, yes, hotdogs.

In summer, the fare is laid out in front of a Simon Stone mural on the north-facing patio of the Houghton home Kentridge grew up in as a child and returned to with his family in the late 1990s. But it is winter when I visit to spend time with him to chat about his largescale exhibition at London’s storied Royal Academy of Arts. The artist, who wears a white button shirt and sober slacks no matter what, is seated indoors with more than a dozen staff. Their duties are diverse. Three are video editors working on a film created to accompany a live recital of Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich’s 10th Symphony.

While Kentridge butters his bread, I mention my dislike of people hacking wedges out of butter blocks. The grey-haired artist with aquiline nose and blue eyes thinks about my statement for a moment. He doesn’t mind that so much, he responds, but storing butter in its trade wrapper, now that’s in poor taste. Oops, I gulp, and swiftly move the conversation along. But let’s pause for a moment on Kentridge in the kitchen. One can learn a great deal seated at a dining table with Kentridge. For starters, he is a decent cook. For dinner he prepares a dish of boiled ox tongue served with an orange-infused mustard sauce and carrots.

I share the dinner with the artist and his Australian-born wife, Anne Stanwix, a physician specialising

in rheumatology. Sweethearts since high school, the couple performed together in a leftist theatre troupe at university in the 1970s. Stanwix flits in and out of view in Kentridge’s artistic output. There she is, the naked muse in the artist’s magical 2003 film installation 7 Fragments for Georges Méliès. This appearance is not anomalous: there is a strong biographical tide flowing through Kentridge’s work.

Professionally, Kentridge is known to be a connoisseur of African history, European opera, revolutionary Russian art, the poetry of Rilke, paintings of Édouard Manet and much besides. At home, these worldly interests dovetail with his instinctive pleasure in food and family. Family is important. After our meaty dinner, the artist takes a call from one of his two daughters. He shortly slips into the role of waving granddad on Facetime. Kentridge remains a dutiful son, too – the artist’s 100-year-old father, famed anti-apartheid lawyer Sir Sydney Kentridge, was chaperoned through a private preview of his son’s Royal Academy exhibition in September.

Kentridge’s family history can fill an entire book. I’ll be concise. The artist is the scion of driven and educated Lithuanian Jewish settlers who prospered in South Africa. They include the artist’s great-grandfather, Woolf Kantrovich, a rabbi in Vryheid, who anglicised the family surname to Kentridge in 1912. Irene Geffen, his maternal great-grandmother, was South Africa’s first female advocate. But I want to pause on his parliamentarian grandfather, lawyer Morris Kentridge, whose 1959 political memoir, I Recall, has a cover illustration depicting a portly Jewish man stuffed into a suit. He closely resembles the artist’s muchdiscussed fictional character of the Jewish robber baron, Soho Eckstein.

Kentridge’s Royal Academy show includes an entire room of Soho drawings and another devoted to the films in which Soho is the central protagonist. Soho’s

provenance is complex. He was gestated in drawings Kentridge made in the 1970s and ’80s for theatre and trade union posters. Soho came into sharper focus in the print suite ‘Industry & Idleness’ (1986), which referenced English satirist William Hogarth and quoted scenes from Kentridge’s early adult years living in Bertrams.

‘Soho was absolutely the industrialist taking over Johannesburg,’ says Kentridge of the glutinous man in a pinstripe suited depicted in Johannesburg, 2nd Greatest City after Paris (1989), the first of his celebrated stopanimation films from his ongoing Drawings for Projection series. The artist is seated on a chaise lounge in his studio when he tells me this. Supper is done. Houghton twinkles in the night. Johannesburg is hushed. ‘When I had my first big exhibition in London at the Serpentine Galleries in 1999, there was a whole complaint about anti-Semitism.’

The complaint was led by a prominent art critic but was secretly stoked by a South African émigré of Jewish parentage. The denouement to this painful episode in Kentridge’s career played itself out at a party in

THIS PAGE, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT

Kentridge’s studio, 2022; the artist poses for his wife, Anne Stanwix, with studio manager Anne McIlleron, Norval Foundation curator Owen Martin, artist Karel Nel and literary scholar Stephen Clingman, 2019; ‘Drawing for Other Faces’, 2011; works in preparation for Kentridge’s exhibition at Goodman Gallery, London, 2022.

OPPOSITE PAGE

Kentridge uses a 35mm camera to make his animated films.

Plettenberg Bay many years later. Kentridge approached the aggrieved businessman and asked which had brought more dishonour to South Africa’s Jewry: his renderings of Soho or the émigré’s much-publicised banishment from the London Stock Exchange for shady dealings. ‘He stormed out of the party.’

While it is true that Soho was a cartoonish figure in Kentridge’s earliest films, over time he has emerged as a durable vehicle to explore the real-life burdens and existential responsibilities of living in contemporary South Africa. This transformation owes largely to Kentridge’s realisation that Soho was an alter ego. And so Soho’s portrayal has softened. He now also increasingly resembles the artist, especially in two recent films included in the Royal Academy show. Both are set in a transforming Johannesburg. City Deep (2020) juxtaposes scenes of culture and leisure with the illicit scavenger mining in the city’s many shuttered gold mines. Other Faces (2011) details the recycling of a mine dump and car accident involving Soho. The film is notable for its tender portrayals of the artist’s mother, lawyer Felicia

Kentridge, who was rendered paralysed in later life by a degenerative disease. One moving drawing depicts Soho holding vigil over a bedridden woman.

Our conversation pivots from Soho to Russia. Kentridge’s new film, Oh to Believe in Another World, features dancers in elaborate costumes performing in grand neo-classical edifices made from painted cardboard and filmed in the artist’s studio. The film, which premièred in Switzerland and Italy over the European summer, explores Shostakovich’s complicated relationship with Russia under Stalin. Kentridge’s fascination with Russia is longstanding.

‘I always had an interest since university days,’ he says. ‘Is the liberal solution the only solution? What are other kinds of ways of thinking about it? The calamitous failures of the big ideas of socialism are questions that still seem so present. That is the reason for my interest in the new film with the Shostakovich music.’

Kentridge first visited Russia more than a decade ago. ‘It was such a pleasure to see Moscow’s beautiful metro stations, which gave you a sense of the dream of a people’s art. Moscow particularly is such a masculine society. The men drank vodka together, with women far at the edges. Here, the art world has always been quite feminine. Irma Stern is our superstar. When I started off, the heroes were largely women. Jo Smail was the flavour of the day, also Aileen Lipkin. Russia was a shock.’

I end my time with Kentridge by visiting the Centre for the Less Good Idea in Johannesburg’s Maboneng Precinct. Established by the artist in 2016 and named after a Tswana proverb (‘If the good doctor can’t cure you, find the less good doctor’), the centre promotes collective thinking and collaborative artistic practices. The centre has hosted about 600 artists and presented nine seasons of productions to the public. In November, Houseboy, a

HIS 40-YEAR CAREER INCLUDES PRINTMAKING, SCULPTURE, FILMMAKING AND DIRECTING.

two-hour performance with nine players workshopped at the centre and based on a 1956 novel by Cameroonian diplomat Ferdinand Oyono, premiered in Los Angeles.

‘It is an affirmation for collaboration,’ Kentridge proudly tells, adding that the success of his large-scale theatrical productions The Head and the Load (2018) and Waiting for the Sibyl (2019) are directly attributable to the centre. ‘It has been very important in terms of my own work, meeting new people and collaborators. But it is a long-term test whether this kind of collaboration or improvisation is a legitimate, functional and productive way of arriving at something.’

Kentridge enters a rehearsal room. A small team of actors and stagehands are tinkering with a play featured in the seventh season. Kentridge, who in two days time will be in New York to receive an honorary doctorate from Columbia University, along with Hilary Clinton and Patti Smith, tells the team he can give them an hour. It is a productive hour. Ideas are traded. Sets refined. At one point Kentridge walks into the spotlight and begins an impromptu mime routine. He gesticulates. ‘Easy kind of farce like that,’ he says. ‘Am I here? Or, you take out your wallet.’ He places his wallet back in his pocket, only to show amazement at its sudden disappearance. His private audience laughs. Kentridge is gloriously holding court, again. 

‘William Kentridge at the Royal Academy’, London, runs until 11 December 2022; ‘William Kentridge: See for Yourself’, The Warehouse, Milwaukee, runs until 16 December 2022; and ‘William Kentridge: In Praise of Shadows’, The Broad, Los Angeles, runs until 9 April 2023.

THE OSCARS OF WATCHMAKING

Independent watchmaking brands vied for top honours – and won their share – at the celebrated Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève this year.

WORDS DEBBIE HATHWAY

ALMOST HALF OF THE MOST prestigious watchmaking awards presented at the 22nd annual Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) went to independent brands this year.

Prix

MB&F was among them winning two prizes: Best in Show or ‘Aiguille d’Or’ Grand Prix for the LM Sequential EVO, an MB&F Machine nominated in the Chronograph category; and the M.A.D.1 RED, an accessible timepiece created under a different brand, M.A.D.Editions. These accolades take MB&F’s total to nine GPHG awards in 17 years.

MB&F is a creator of kinetic sculptures for the wrist, at very high price points that reflect their haute horlogerie composition. The LM Sequential EVO features the independent brand’s 20th calibre to date. In a recent communiqué, communications manager Arnaud Légeret said: ‘In the world of fine watchmaking, creating a new movement for each new watch is likely to get you labelled officially insane ... and that is exactly what MB&F has done. Since 2005, MB&F has created 20 calibres in 17 years, spanning 11 Horological Machines and 9 Legacy Machines, with over 250 friends.’

The LM Sequential EVO is a chronograph, reinvented by Stephen McDonnell, representing ‘extraordinary technology and extraordinary thinking. On the M.A.D.1 RED, we took an industrial movement, put it upside

The Innovation Prize went to Van Cleef & Arpels’ Lady Arpels Heures Florales Cerisier watch.

down, and created this crazy rotor that turns on top of it, and cylinders underneath, giving the time. The case construction is nuts, and we reserved it for a happy few,’ says CEO and founder Maximilian Büsser in his acceptance speech.

That level of crazy is one of the things that drives interest in independent watch brands (indies as they’re known in the industry) because they’re not afraid to break tradition. Asher Rapkin, cofounder of Collective Horology, an exclusive invite-only watch club where members share a common interest and own at least one timepiece created by Collective and one from another significant watch brand, says, ‘They’re the brands taking the most risks these days – in designs, complications, and style. Indies are well equipped to move fast and try new things.’

Akrivia, Ferdinand Berthoud, Grönefeld, H. Moser & Cie, Krayon, Parmigiani Fleurier, Sylvain Pinaud,

Bulgari’s Serpenti Misteriosi High Jewellery was awarded the Jewellery Watch Prize.

Trilobe and Voutilainen were the other indies who won prizes. Meanwhile, Bvlgari, Van Cleef & Arpels and Hermès won two awards each, with Grand Seiko, TAG Heuer and Tudor scooping the remaining individual prizes. Automaton-maker and sculptor François Junod won the Special Jury Prize for his contribution to the watchmaking world.

Bvlgari took the Jewellery Watch Prize for its Serpenti Misteriosi High Jewellery piece and the Audacity Prize for the Octo Finissimo Ultra 10th Anniversary piece, adding yet another accolade to the Octo Finissimo series.

Hermès came out top in the Ladies’ Complication and Men’s Complication categories for the Arceau Le temps voyageur, a watch that is part of a longstanding tradition of craftsmanship, technology and the art of time.

Van Cleef & Arpels’ awe-inspiring Fontaine Aux Oiseaux automaton was a deserving winner in the Mechanical Clock category. The artistic masterpiece is the result of 25 000 hours of craftsmanship. The brand’s Lady Arpels Heures Florales Cerisier won the Innovation category for its incredible dial, decorated with flowers that bloom to tell the time: when four open, it’s four o’clock.

TAG Heuer’s Monaco, considered the most iconic watch from its collection that boasts a five-decade history, won the Iconic Watch Prize. CEO Frederic Arnault notes the design elements that make it identifiable immediately: the square case, square counters, the circle on the dial, the bright colours, and the partnership with Gulf that dates to the ’70s when they were the only two brands sponsoring motor racing. ‘Everybody knows about the Monaco watch. This one is simply a revolution: new movement, finishing, texture and colour, but it’s a similar watch to the ones that came before,’ he says. 

CRAZY IS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT DRIVES INTEREST IN INDEPENDENT WATCH BRANDS.

ABOVE The coveted ‘Aiguille d’Or’ Grand Prix was awarded to MB&F for its Legacy Machine Sequential EVO.

BELOW FROM LEFT Ladies’ Complication Watch Prize: Hermès’ Arceau Le temps voyageur; Audacity Prize: Bvlgari’s Octo Finissimo Ultra 10th Anniversary; Calendar and Astronomy Watch Prize: Krayon’s Anywhere; Chronometry Prize: Grand Seiko’s Kodo Constant-force Tourbillon.

MENTORS THROUGH TIME

Every two years an extraordinary legacy initiative partners a selection of the world’s most celebrated artists with hot new talent in mentorship. And among the hottest selected for the 2023-2024 intake is Bronwyn Katz, a young South African installation artist.

WORDS GLYNIS HORNING

FFOR 20 YEARS, the Rolex Mentors and Protégé Arts Initiative has partnered celebrated visual artists, architects, writers, musicians and filmmakers with promising newcomers across the globe, to help perpetuate artistic heritage and create a link between the past, present and future.

As makers of luxury precision watches for more than 115 years, Rolex has built a reputation for promoting the pursuit of excellence, symbolised by the word ‘Perpetual’, which it insists underpins every aspect of the brand’s activities. And this clearly includes its mentorship programme.

Programme mentors are suggested by an advisory board of distinguished artists and arts practitioners. Once a mentor agrees to participate, Rolex works with them to draw up a profile of the protégé they would most like to work with: ‘Each mentorship is tailormade.’

Young artists cannot apply to be protégés. Instead, nominating panels – one panel for each artistic discipline – are assembled. They identify suitable potential protégés, who are then invited by Rolex to send in applications. These are studied by the panel members, who

come up with a shortlist of three or four finalists for their respective disciplines. Finally, Rolex arranges for the mentor to meet the finalists and choose his or her protégé.

Mentors and protégés are asked to spend at least six weeks together over a period of two years, with a protégé either granted access to the master at work, or the two collaborating on a work, while Rolex provides the financial support. Afterwards, Rolex keeps in touch with the protégés and supports them, as many go on to greater things.

Past mentors have ranged from multi-award-winning writers Toni Morrison and Margaret Atwood to legendary film director Martin Scorsese, the late soprano Jessye Mae Norman and artist David Hockney. Protégés have gone on to present at exhibitions from the Venice Art Biennale to the International Architecture Exhibition, and one literature protégé, Tracy K Smith, became Poet Laureate of the US.

Among the 2023-2024 protégés is the venerable Ghanaian installation artist El Anatsui, 78, who now lives and works between Ghana and Nigeria. In 2014, he was

Bronwyn Katz’s star is already on the rise. But it’s set to shine even brighter as she teams up with El Anatsui in the collaboration of a lifetime.

made an Honorary Royal Academician and elected into the American Academy of Arts and Science, and in 2015 he was awarded the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the Venice Biennale.

The youngest of his father’s 32 children, Anatsui says, ‘I lost my mum when I was a baby and I grew up with my maternal uncle. Looking at the situation, that event contributed something different. My uncle was a manager of schools. I started school very early and that kind of context gave me an early start. Anything that happens has an impact.’

Anatsui trained at the College of Art at Ghana’s University of Science and Technology and taught at the University of Nigeria. His breakthrough came in 1990, with his first important group exhibition at The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York. Since then, his work has been shown everywhere – from the

Metropolitan Museum of Art to the British Museum. And in June this year, the Goodman Gallery held his first major solo exhibition in Cape Town, describing him as ‘one of the most important contemporary artists in the world’.

Anatsui creates enormous installations of natural and found objects, from wood, clay and stone to aluminium bottle tops he crushes into circles or cuts into strips and sews together with copper wire, creating massive hangings, some several storeys high, that ripple like fabric or skin. Critics have noted that his work is not just about turning discarded objects into pieces of beauty – they hint at themes like global consumerism and its history, including slavery.

Small wonder that he should choose for his protégé in the Rolex programme young South African Bronwyn Katz, who

incorporates sculpture, installation, video and performance in her subtle but equally striking work. The 29-year-old grew up in Kimberley, and works between Cape Town, where she went to Michaelis School of Fine Art at the University of Cape Town, and Johannesburg.

Her father, she says simply, was a metalworker at a company that made gates. ‘I’ve always had a relationship with metal because of him, and the process of creating.’ Like Anatsui, she has a fascination with the earth – sand and rocks – and found objects.

Where Anatsui’s work is on an epic scale and outgoing, much like the man himself, hers is quiet: ‘It’s like my personality, making a statement in a quiet way.’ But her work, too,carries political and social overtones, with pieces created from the likes of old bedsprings, with their connotations of intimacy, conception and

Accomplished Ghanaian installation artist El Anatsui works with earth elements and found objects, his installations sometimes extending several storeys high. His protégé, Bronwyn Katz, shares an affinity for similar materials and their mentorship pairing promises to be an exciting time for collaboration and creation.

death, salvaged from the streets of downtown Joburg, and from domestic objects like pot scourers, evocative of women’s labour and a derogatory reference to black hair, she says.

She addresses these ideas, and loss of place, land, language and cultural heritage, as a founding member of iQhiya, a network of 11 black women artists.

Katz has already had residencies in Paris and Amsterdam, won recognition with the First National Bank Art Prize in 2019, and had her work shown at a slew of exhibitions, including the International Art Exhibition of the 2022 Venice Biennale. But she can’t wait to work with Anatsui next year.

‘It’s always interesting to work with artists who have similar sensibilities to material as I do,’ she says. ‘El Anatsui also uses and transforms everyday objects, and I look forward to learning about his approach to manipulating a plethora of materials. I’m very inspired by his sculptural practice and how it involves a multilayered, sensory re-imagining of our material world.

‘This mentoring period and collaboration with him will be inspiring, and an exciting creative process with great potential for experimentation. I look forward to seeing how new ideas for works may take shape.’

Anatsui, for his part, can’t wait to collaborate with Katz.

‘The mentorship challenge came at the right time,’ he says. ‘I already had it in my plans to work with younger artists in a residency programme; it’s why my studio in Tema, a port city of Ghana, has provision for two artists. While all four protégé candidates that came to meet me were very strong, I zeroed in on the one who probably has experience of what I was working on in my hometown where the main elements are land, water and wind, and found objects. I thought, if she is the protégée, we might have something that we can create together.

‘She was also concerned in her work with the idea of impermanence and with freedom. These are some of the reasons I thought she would be an ideal protégée for me. For mentor and protégée are in fact fellow travellers.’

Katz already has ideas of paying it forward herself: ‘Working as a member of iQhiya has taught me the importance of collaboration and creative exchange; receiving feedback and advice from fellow artists has made a significant impact on my growth and development. And I hope one day I can offer valuable guidance to other artists too. I see the mentoring role growing in my practice over time.’

The legacy ticks on…

THIS MENTORING PERIOD WITH ANATSUI WILL BE INSPIRING, AND AN EXCITING CREATIVE PROCESS.

A GLASS ACT

As the UN’s International Year of Glass comes to an end, we reflect on the most exciting projects in art and architecture that champion the material, and discover the creatives who are breathing fresh life into glass working – from furniture and sculpture to structural masterpieces.

WORDS MARTIN JACOBS

Inspiring Awe INUCE ARCHITECTS

WHERE The Church of Luoyuan can be found in its namesake coastal fishing village in China and is home to the Congregation of Luoyuan, a traditions-focused Christian community whose origins can be traced back to 19th century British missionaries. Known for its terraced tea plantations, Luoyuan is rich in granite deposits, the mining of which in recent decades has sullied the landscape with quarries, factories and highrises. The church was conceived as a place of refuge for this fast-modernising community.

THE ARCHITECT Inuce has offices in China and Switzerland, and its principal architect, Dirk Moench, is well versed in designing churches. His work includes the pink pebbledash community hall (with rooftop amphitheatres) of the Huaxiang Church in Fuzhou.

THE CHURCH Additional to the church is a building that houses a youth hall, classrooms, and a tea house, and takes its curvilinear form from regional Tulou houses, their traditional ring shapes enclosing a central green courtyard. The auditorium of the church has capacity for 1 200 congregants and was designed by Moench to fuse Christian and Chinese traditions. ‘The interior is illuminated by a huge window made from almost 108 000 individual pieces of stained glass, each 10cm2 in size,’ he explains of his reference to Christian churches. ‘At night the stained glass will be illuminated from within the void between inner and outer facades, transforming the church into a shining beacon.’ With over 1 412m2 of glass surface area, the structure constitutes the largest stained-glass façade in China, and one of the largest worldwide. Of its colour (21 shades of blue), Moench elaborates: ‘It exudes an atmosphere of profound blue, carrying believers away to a metaphorical place deep down at the bottom of the ocean, in which daunting darkness is dispersed by an aura of divine light.’ inuce.com

Inuce Architects’ Church of Luoyuan in China boasts the country’s largest stained-glass façade, with over 1 400m2 of glass in more than 20 shades of blue.

SHI KAI

Created in collaboration with Edinburgh-based fragrance brand Jorum Studio, BolañosDurman’s Wild Flowers collection comprises 21 bottles upcycled from waste glass.

Repurposing Waste

JULI BOLAÑOS-DURMAN

THE DESIGNER ‘I act as a translator between the material and the idea of what the object can become,’ says Juli Bolaños-Durman, a Costa Rican sculptor with qualifications in both graphic design and glass working. She operates from a shared multidisciplinary studio in Edinburgh, where she’s lived for more than a decade. Her sculptures have been exhibited at London’s V&A Museum, Dutch Design Week and the Corning Museum of Glass in New York.

THE SCULPTURE Ever conscious of global waste and our need to be more conscientious as consumers, Bolaños-Durman considers her works as acts of rebellion. Of collecting discarded glass with which to sculpt, she says, ‘I love the chance to give that piece of glass that was going to the bin a second chance.’ Be it handmade or industrially manufactured, a decades-old frosted shard or a coloured beer bottle, the glass others discard is the starting point for her artworks. Pieces that, while aesthetically inspired by her Latin American heritage (like the riot of colour in her childhood garden), address the need for sustainability and recycling. ‘The work becomes a rebel. It’s not just a pretty sculpture; it is so much more than that,’ she says. ‘It’s not just thinking about the material as something that’s here to serve us, it’s about how we can serve the material. How can we show it compassion?’ The sensitivity with which she addresses her material comes into its own when Bolaños-Durman cold-works. Using sandpaper, stone and diamond points, she etches, smooths, cuts and reshapes repurposed glass before constructing her assemblages. Her message may be concise, but her collections – with titles like ‘The Isles of Reclaimed Wonderment’ and ‘Ode to Intuicion’ – are playfully charismatic, intentionally wonky and vibrantly colourful. julibd.com

Interrogating Perceptions

GERMANS ERMIČS

THE DESIGNER Latvian-born Germans Ermičs describes his furniture as ‘two-dimensional thoughts materialised in objects’. Apt for a designer whose studies were primarily of two-dimensional disciplines: graphic design followed by interior design at Design Academy Eindhoven. He founded his studio in Amsterdam in 2014, has received accolades in the 2017 and 2018 Wallpaper* Design Awards, and exhibits furniture at Salone del Mobile in Milan and Design Miami/ Basel.

THE FURNITURE The angular forms of Ermičs’ pieces benefit from being seen from all sides, their linear contours immediately softening as panels of coloured glass create Venn diagramlike overlaps of nuanced colour. ‘I’d like to make people look at the glass, not through the glass,’ Ermičs explains of his chairs, tables, consoles and mirrors. This he achieves less through form (his pieces comprise minimalist interlocking panels free of screws) and more through engagement and seductive surface treatments. Ombre colours, monotone or multi-hued, lead the eye around his pieces. He embraces frosting to blur the edges of his forms. And mirrored effects often serve to unsettle one by reflecting and interrogating personal space. All this to leave us questioning glass’s often unfavourable reputation as ‘fragile, dangerous and cold’. Altering perceptions is very much at the forefront of his pieces, including the throne-like Sunburst Tall Glass Chair and Ombre Glass Chair, the latter a homage to Japanese industrial designer Shiro Kuramata’s 1976 seat. ‘You can sit on it, but it’s not going to be your everyday chair,’ he says of his tribute. ‘It’s an art object.’ Much like the works of the Minimalists of 1960s Southern California (artists like James Turrell and Doug Wheeler), Ermičs’ designs, through creative and at times unsettling use of light, colour and space, leave us questioning established perceptions of our environments. germansermics.com

LEFT Ermičs describes his Sunburst Tall Glass Chair as ‘caught in a moment between stability and collapse’. TOP He has created updated limited editions of his Ombré Glass Chair in a number of different colours.

Of her ‘Architectural Glass Fantasies’ sculptural series, Bidstrup says, ‘I tend to make a hard thing harder by developing several complex ways of creating form and pattern and combining them into one work.’

Reimagining Architecture

STINE BIDSTRUP

THE ARTIST A self-described ‘glass geek’, Danish artist, art historian and educator Stine Bidstrup holds degrees from the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, the Rhode Island School of Design and the University of Copenhagen. She teaches at institutions around the world and has works in multiple collections. ‘My pieces celebrate all the things you can do with glass in terms of light and colours and levels of translucency, transparency and opacity,’ she explains.

THE WORK Bidstrup’s works challenge the act of seeing. Forced to regard the complex nature of their surfaces – reflective, smooth, rough and matte – one equally has to consider their spatial depths, faceted forms and historical art references. But that doesn’t guarantee immediate understanding, for her works intentionally defy easy interpretation. ‘My ideas derive from wanting to understand and visually interpret the complexity of utopian ideas in the cultural history of glass,’ she explains. Bidstrup’s ‘Architectural Glass Fantasies’ series is inspired by The Crystal Chain, the post-World War II correspondence project involving a handful of German architects who exchanged letters discussing what form the architecture of the future should take (with specific reference to coloured glass and steel as ‘gateways’ to an ideal society). Her series ‘Imaginary Crystallisations’ appears inspired by both natural crystalline forms and digital constructs coded by computer. They’re these polarities and more: pieces that combine intellect with technical skill. ‘Glass is far from an easy material to work with, and I tend to make a hard thing harder by developing several complex ways of creating form and pattern and combining them into one work,’ she says. ‘I use a spectrum of techniques – glassblowing, glass-casting, fusing and stretching, cold-working, gluing and painting – in my pieces to create dense layers of information and meaning.’ stinebidstrup.dk

Colouring Shade

STUDIO OTHER SPACES

WHERE Vertical Panorama Pavilion on the Donum Estate is in Northern California’s Carneros valley, nestled between the world-renowned Sonoma and Napa wine counties. This year the Donum Estate celebrates its 21st year as a single-vineyard, single-appellation Pinot Noir wine farm. It’s also home to one of the largest accessible private sculpture collections globally, which includes works by artists Ai Weiwei, Keith Haring and Louise Bourgeois.

THE DESIGN DUO Studio Other Spaces is a Berlin-based interdisciplinary architecture and art venture founded by artist Olafur Eliasson (most known for The Weather Project installation in the Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall in 2003) and architect Sebastian Behmann. Together, under the banner of Studio Other Spaces, they create spatially experimental artworks and building projects for public spaces.

THE PAVILION Intended as an event and wine-tasting venue, the space beneath the glass canopy offers panoramic views across the wine estate and San Pablo Bay. The impressive conical canopy is almost 15 metres in diameter. It beautifully catches the light while simultaneously colouring the space below in an array of 24 hues, all chosen from the surrounding landscape and intended to blend within it. According to Behmann, the canopy was inspired by the history of circular calendars. It is glazed with 832 coloured laminated glass panels (with variations in transparency) that depict yearly averages of the estate’s four meteorological parameters: solar radiance, humidity, temperature, and wind intensity. ‘The design elements are abstractions of components taken from a vertical slice through the pavilion’s location on the estate,’ explains Eliasson, ‘The pavilion maps out the surrounding ephemera – the soil, vegetation, wind, sun, atmosphere, and rain – and incorporates these into a colourful canopy.’ studiootherspaces.net 

Vertical Panorama Pavilion, a conical structure providing shelter for an outdoor tasting room on a Californian wine estate, is glazed with more than 800 panels of coloured glass.

GREEN FINGERS

Surrounded by a verdant garden, the cottage and pool house of a southern suburbs home in Cape Town take their decorating cues from the colours and textures of the great outdoors.

WORDS MARTIN JACOBS

The home’s spectacular view of the mountains above Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden served as inspiration not only for the landscaping, but also for the interiors.

A‘AS SO OFTEN HAPPENS when it comes to Cape Town homes, ideas tend to return to embracing the beauty of Table Mountain,’ says designer Sumari Krige. ‘And for a designer, that’s often about décor that nods to the subtleties of the mountain’s many colours and textures.’ So, upon first visiting the newly acquired site adjacent to the home of long-term clients of hers, the founder of La Grange Interiors couldn’t have felt more assured of her inspiration for the interiors her clients had requested. These were to be for a soon-to-be-built pool house and cottage, both extensions of the family’s existing Newlands home. ‘Before me was the most radical view of the mountains above Kirstenbosch, dense in foliage and fauna in all shades of green,’ explains Krige. ‘It was a no-brainer – these were to be the colours I’d turn to when decorating.’

Further cementing her decision were the conversations she had with the homeowners about the landscaped garden to follow, which would be rich in indigenous plantings that would run right up to the pool house like a carpet to its skirting. ‘I loved the mention of a planned combination of warm, textural grasses alongside cooler, more feathery leaves. My client is an avid gardener, so I knew bringing the outdoors in would be a welcome approach.’

Krige’s ongoing working relationship with the homeowners meant that she had honed her understanding of what they’d appreciate. Having decorated prior homes of theirs, the process flowed with rhythmic ease. They made it clear they wanted a space that was fresh and fun,

ABOVE Three of the pool house’s four walls fold open completely, creating a pavilion-like ambience that welcomes the outdoors in and forges a dialogue with the stepped garden.

OPPOSITE PAGE, CLOCKWISE FROM

LEFT Interior designer Sumari Krige worked with local fabric designer Nicole Levenberg to transpose one of her fabric designs onto a wallpaper backing that lines the drinks cabinet/coffee station.

Inspired by the mountainside fauna, Krige chose a green paint for the interior walls of the pool house.

Understated outdoor furniture in earthy tones populates many of the garden’s relaxation zones.

indicated their likes and dislikes, and pointed out pieces of furniture that particularly appealed to them. It helped the process too that architect Jane Baldwin’s design of the spaces had wonderful flow, both within and from the inside out. ‘Three of four walls in the pool house fold open completely, Krige says, ‘which really blurs the boundaries between interior and exterior living, and which makes for a pavilion-like space perfect for summer.’

Complementing the cool-to-the-touch screed flooring, Krige’s introduction of green on the walls helps create an underlying palette for the pool house that is cocooning, an intimate space offering respite from the summer heat. In the open-plan living area, the introduction of wood joinery surrounding the television and within a drinks station adds warmth and focuses attention. ‘I’ve always appreciated local textile designer Nicole Levenberg’s work. I thought a floral fabric of hers was particularly suited to the space and so worked with her to transpose it onto wallpaper to line the drinks station,’ Krige says. Used on cushions on the circular sofa, an equally striking painterly print by Portuguese designer Barbara Osorio echoes organic forms of mountain foliage and simultaneously introduces

KRIGE’S INTRODUCTION OF GREEN ON THE WALLS HELPS CREATE AN UNDERLYING PALETTE FOR THE POOL HOUSE THAT IS COCOONING, AN INTIMATE SPACE OFFERING RESPITE FROM THE SUMMER HEAT.

hints of warmer earth tones to the room. ‘This isn’t the family’s primary living space, so I could afford to be playful with colour,’ Krige explains of the touches of burgundy dotted about. ‘Nor is it a pretentious room; I’ve stuck to durable fabrics with natural textures, and I’ve echoed this tactility in wooden and ceramic accessories.’

Earthy textures and warmer tones carry greater weight in the adjacent one-bedroomed cottage, where white walls lend themselves to a more neutral space. Krige has echoed the wood grain of a trio of coffee tables in cushions on the sofa, each covered in a different fabric from Mark Alexander’s Moderna collection. Similar striation-like patterning contours the front and sides of the bedside tables. Here, a sleigh bed in a statement-making orange speaks to the warmth of morning light on the mountain. Krige’s talent for pattern play holds its own in the bedroom, where tribal-inspired bed linen is paired with a chair in a graphic print from Fabric Bank’s Africa Dreaming collection.

ABOVE Krige opted for a quieter, neutral colour palette in the adjacent cottage, where textured furniture and tactile accessories in wood and earthenware create a sense of intimacy and warmth.

RIGHT A Roberto bedside table from La Grange Interiors echoes the emphasis placed on textured surfaces in the living space.

The clever use of nature-inspired colour indoors leads the eye seamlessly outwards. Amid the landscaped garden, understated outdoor furniture chosen by Krige creates garden ‘rooms’, opportunities for contemplating the tranquil surroundings.

‘With such an arresting view, I wanted the interiors to become an extension of all that’s happening here, rather than fight with it for attention,’ Krige says, with a sweep of her arm that takes in not just the garden, but the majestic mountains beyond.

Since its debut only a few months ago,

Paisible’s Vigne d’Or Chardonnay is garnering accolades from far and wide.

BARELY THREE MONTHS AFTER making its first appearance on the global wine scene, the Vigne d’Or Chardonnay from Franschhoek boutique wine and lifestyle destination Terre Paisible was met with critical acclaim from the latest Tim Atkin South Africa Report, the annual précis of Cape wine conducted by the renowned British master of wine.

Terre Paisible’s Vigne d’Or Chardonnay 2021 accrued a commendable 91 points which, according to Terre Paisible managing director Shirley van Wyk, underscores the property’s commitment to premier luxury wines at a time when South Africa is making some of the finest wines in the world.

‘As a newcomer to the South Africa wine scene, and a brand committed to becoming a notable player in our wine and

TO SIGH FOR A WINE

Terre

RIGHT The Chardonnay vineyard at Terre Paisible in Franschhoek.

Newcomer Terre Paisible scores 91 points in Tim Atkin’s report for its statuesque Vigne d’Or Chardonnay.

destination offering, this 91-point rating by one of the world’s leading wine critics emphasises our vision of excellence and quality,’ says Van Wyk. ‘The Vigne d’Or Chardonnay already made waves when we launched the wine at this year’s Cannes Film Festival where it attracted positive commentary from a slew of international wine lovers. But to have the wine’s credentials validated by an expert of the likes of Tim Atkin is extremely rewarding and pure inspiration for our road ahead.’

Vigne d’Or Chardonnay 2021 is made from two selected vineyard parcels each with distinct features that allow a seamless coming together of flavour profiles in one boldly expressive Chardonnay termed the Vigne d’Or style. According to Terre Paisible winemaker Adam Mason, the foundation for the wine is the Chardonnay vineyard growing on the terrace of the Berg River on Terre Paisible’s Franschhoek property. ‘The fertile alluvial soils and proximity to water allows for the fruit-driven broad palate that borders on the edge of being decadent,’ Mason explains.

The other vineyard from which the grapes for this wine are sourced lies in the famous Stellenbosch Berg region on the Blaauwklippen Road. Ancient soils of decomposed granite and a rocky river terrace ensure nutrient-deprived soils, resulting in the vines having to work hard to produce small ripe berries with intense and energetic flavour.

‘This is the austere element for the Vigne d’Or Chardonnay, this tight, lean and edgy Stellenbosch component adding an exciting mineral and citrus element to what we get from the fuller, richer fruit from Franschhoek.’

The grapes were whole-bunch pressed, the juice fermented in a selection of new 300-litre barrels of blonde toast levels, combined with neutral 500-litre barrels. Malolactic fermentation is followed by maturation on the lees.

‘The element of new wood just raises the Chardonnay to a statuesque level of superiority, giving it backbone and longevity along with palate weight and complexity,’ Mason adds. ‘The bigger vessels of 500 litres provide poise and plushness. But this is all a work in progress. Terre Paisible will, each year, leave no stone unturned in seeking ways to make the best Chardonnay possible as we see this noble variety possessing all the features of excellence and distinction with which the name Terre Paisible wishes to be associated.’ 

‘CHARDONNAY IS A NOBLE VARIETY POSSESSING THE EXCELLENCE AND DISTINCTION WITH WHICH TERRE PAISIBLE WISHES TO BE ASSOCIATED.’

LIGHT A GLOBAL FIRE LOCAL CHEFS

Talented chefs and South African flavours are turning up the heat in kitchens abroad.

WORDS RICHARD HOLMES

FINN LOUGH FARREL HIRSCH

When The Greenhouse restaurant wrapped its final service in November 2021, foodies with a passion for fine dining wept into their amuse-bouche. For the award-winning restaurant at The Cellars-Hohenort Hotel in Cape Town, it was the end of an era. But for head chef Farrel Hirsch, it was the start of an entirely new adventure.

After rolling up his knives at The Greenhouse, Durbanborn Hirsch unpacked them at Finn Lough, a serene luxury hideaway on the shores of Lough Erne in Northern Ireland.

Finn Lough is billed as ‘a lakeside haven where the switched-on come to switch off’, and the elegant accommodation certainly speaks to an affluent urban audience with an eye for design. Whether it’s in Finn Lough’s Forest Bubble Domes or Lakeside Suites, there’s a thread of contemporary cool running throughout the property.

‘I’ve always wanted to get a Michelin star, and when I was approached to join Finn Lough, part of the discussion was around winning accolades for the food. It was a perfect match,’ explains Hirsch, whose CV extends from North Island to Singita to The Test Kitchen. ‘The idea is certainly for Finn Lough to become known as a culinary destination. We want to bring people in for the dining experience as much as the accommodation.’

Today the culinary experience at The Barn restaurant is built on a menu of inspired small plates – still something of a novelty in these rural parts of Ireland – that melds inspiration

from traditional Irish dishes with local produce, global flavours and thoroughly contemporary plating.

Take the dish of Irish scampi, where Hirsch’s play on traditional tartare sauce turns to Asian yuzu for a dash of acidity in dill mayonnaise. Short rib comes glazed in Guinness, with gaufrette potatoes. Local stone bass arrives as a fish taco, plated with pickled cucumber and lentil pureé. Even the braised Irish pork gets a makeover, wrapped in a pillowy bao with pickled onions and sriracha mayo.

‘The produce here is just out of this world,’ enthuses Hirsch. ‘I’m getting amazing fresh squid. Incredible fish from Killybegs. Wonderful free-range meat, and then fresh produce from our own polytunnels.’

Seasonality is key for Hirsch, and in the extensive on-site tunnels he sources up to a quarter of his produce: ‘We have borage flowers, carrots, tomatoes and microherbs; it’s all seasonal. We also do some foraging for wild ingredients.’

And while it’s Irish, not South African, flavours that loom large on the menu at Finn Lough, Hirsch is quick to pay tribute to his mentor, acclaimed chef Peter Tempelhoff.

‘Pete showed me everything. I owe him the world,’ says Hirsch. ‘The food I’m cooking now isn’t the food of The Greenhouse, but it’s definitely influenced by Peter. He taught me how to create, without overthinking it. And that’s what we do here at The Barn. We start with Irish ingredients, and build the flavours from there.’ www.finnlough.com

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OPPOSITE PAGE Durban-born chef Farrel Hirsch is stamping his culinary signature on the menu at Finn Lough.

Hirsch takes inspiration from the abundant local produce sourced from farms in and around Finn Lough. And in a corner of Ireland more famous for hearty country cuisine, he brings a deeply contemporary approach to the menu.

MARGOT JANSE

SAAM

It began with a Whatsapp. Dutch sommelier Koen van der Plas had a proposal for acclaimed chef Margot Janse and asked if they could talk. ‘A lot of people seem to think they have a great idea for me,’ laughs Janse down the line from her home in Franschhoek. ‘So I told him to send an email. I didn’t really want another restaurant; I have done my time in the kitchen.’

She certainly has. In her 22 years at Le Quartier Français Janse established The Tasting Room, cementing her reputation as one of South Africa’s most talented chefs. When she left in 2017, she had the time to focus on her Isabelo school-feeding charity.

But Van der Plas’s email piqued her interest and meetings followed. Fast-forward 18 months, and Janse and her new partners are putting the finishing touches to SAAM, a groundbreaking new restaurant on the banks of the Amstel River in Amsterdam.

Blending Dutch and South African cuisine, SAAM is ‘a perfect full circle for me,’ says Janse, who grew up in The Netherlands before moving to South Africa in 1990.

SAAM promises a melding of these two culinary traditions, without resorting to cliché or predictable plates. The foundation of the menu is a sharp focus on regional produce, with flashes of inherently South African flavours, from honeybush to suur vygies

‘It’s not a cuisine that is defined as yet, but it will be amazing Dutch produce given a South African slant,’ says Janse.

‘I want to do good food, and it has to be sound in its nature. No more smoke and mirrors. No more 16 drops on the plate,’ she adds. ‘So it’s about the produce, and layers of South African flavours. But it’s also about the experience. It’s about feeling the warmth that you find when you come to this country.’

SAAM will offer both an à la carte and a five-course menu, while the riverside terrace will showcase a menu of smaller ‘bites’.

Janse will provide culinary direction, spending up to eight weeks a year at SAAM, Dutch chef Jasper Hermans will run the kitchen, and Van der Plas will lead the service and wine offering.

South African creativity also gets a nod in the SAAM décor, with furniture pieces by David Krynauw and tiles by Johannesburg’s Wolkberg Casting Studios. Furthermore, diners at SAAM will help to support Janse’s Isabelo charity, which feeds up to 1 800 children in the Cape Winelands each day. Cuisine, creativity and giving back to the community: it all comes together at SAAM. saamrestaurant.nl

Margot Janse embraces South African ingredients and inspiration on the menu at SAAM, offering a cliché-free taste of Mzansi.

KUDU KATLEGO MLAMBO

Over the past few years Katlego Mlambo has become something of a household name in South African foodie circles. He’s cooked in some of the country’s top kitchens, bagged the ‘Rising Star’ gong at the 2019 EatOut Restaurant Awards, and cemented his reputation at Johannesburg’s chic The Marabi Club, cooking up an inventive menu of African-inspired contemporary small plates. With his own show on the Food Network, South Africa was, seemingly, at his feet.

But when his friend, and former kitchen colleague, Patrick Williams was recruiting a head chef for Kudu, the South Africainspired restaurant he co-owns with wife Amy Corbin in London, Mlambo didn’t think twice.

‘In my years of travelling, London has always been my favourite city, and the food scene is just amazing, says Mlambo, who flew over to head up the pass in July 2022.

At first glance the Kudu menu is not overtly South African. And that’s precisely the point.

‘You’re not getting koeksisters and bobotie; it’s not that kind of party,’ Mlambo explains. ‘In African cuisine we have such a vast amount of ingredients and influences; that’s what makes us so unique. So we want to emphasise those South African components and flavours, but using modern techniques.’

A standout on the Kudu menu is, perhaps surprisingly, the bread course. Taking inspiration from the cast-iron vessels used in traditional kitchens, and the mosbolletjie bread typical in the winelands at harvest time, it is served with a choice of infused butters, including an option redolent with Cape Malay flavours.

For starters, the chicken liver parfait and choux buns arrive paired with a spiced blatjang, while a plate of local cockles, sea aster and basil is cooked in a traditional potjie. Other dishes see choice cuts of meat done over open flame, with free-range beef, lamb and venison all a nod to South African culinary traditions.

‘Kudu is all about being seasonal; right now it’s game and mushroom season,’ Mlambo enthuses. ‘In African culture, sharing is caring, and we’re going to do a lot of that at Kudu.’  www.kuducollective.com/kudu/

Discover the flavours of North Africa at Kudu, where Mlambo’s signature shakshuka is served with Parmesan crisps, smoked yoghurt and crispy kale.

INTO THE FUTURE ACCELERATE

RICHARD WEBB reveals the cars waiting in the pipeline for 2023 and what’s driving their innovation.

THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY is facing changes unlike anything its experienced in the last hundred years. We are slowly witnessing a shift from individual car ownership to ‘Transport as a Service’. It’s about time; while cars have become increasingly computerised, most are still fairly inefficient, and are too infrequently connected to the internet.

Four trends are starting to shape the cars we’ll drive in the future: autonomous, connected, electric and shared. Think of your car as just one element of a mobility system, and this system, like many before, is overdue for further digital disruption. That’s why we’ll see carmakers move from selling us cars to selling us mobility experiences.

So how does this affect us right now? Not much really. But the cars you’ll be driving in the future will continue to be the early adopters, getting us incrementally closer to the future of mobility. Thanks to stricter regulations on emissions, cheaper battery costs and increasingly convenient charging infrastructure, there’s a surge in consumer acceptance of electric vehicles (EVs).

To get ahead of this disruption, just about every brand is expanding its EV offering. Having driven most of them (admittedly on global launches in Northern Europe), EVs are becoming truly sought after. But if you’re also into the aural delights of a sonorous combustion engine, don’t worry. There are still rumbling V8s in the mix. Here’s what you can expect to see on our roads during the next year.

The BMW XM Label Red, hailed as the most powerful BMW M car ever produced, launches in 2023.

Based on the successful DBX, the Aston Martin DBX Coupe is an even sleeker coupé model. Going head-to-head with its nemesis, the Porsche Cayenne, this slippery all-roader offers a different driving experience from the standard car. The coupé shares its front end with its SUV sibling, but it gets a lower roof that flows down into a wider, more nuanced derrière. Under the metal, you can expect a more focused suspension set-up for sharper handling without sacrificing that languid cruising comfort the DBX is known for. And, of course, a traditional 4-litre twin-turbo V8 engine that propels if from a standstill to 100km/h in just 4.5 seconds.

If you’re after a bit more exclusivity and something ‘a bit quicker’, wait for the Swiss firm Morand Cars to launch their new hypercar. With options of a full EV and hybrid powertrain, both power on to a ‘more than adequate’ top speed of around 400km/h. The price of each version will be approximately R36 million, and they expect to sell 73 cars. Any takers?

But wait, before you authorise that money transfer, you should know the Bugatti Royale will offer their peerless new electric hyper-limo later in the year. Bugatti’s flamboyant Stephan Winkelmann said there will be a new direction as the French brand expands the range. ‘In Bugatti’s future, top speed doesn’t play the leading role anymore. We’re going to put an emphasis on lightweight, ultimate vehicle dynamics, and modern sustainable luxury.’

Using a stretched Porsche’s J1 Taycan platform and drawing inspiration from the 1926 original Royale, it will echo the latest Bugatti look with four doors and oodles of space inside for its uber-high net worth fans. Three electric motors will result in around 649kW, with all-wheel-drive capability. A coach-built, fully personalised interior will assuage the most demanding customers’ peccadilloes.

Meanwhile, if being swaddled in an ‘invisible shield of safety’ is higher on your priorities, the fully electric Volvo EX90

WE’LL SEE CARMAKERS MOVE FROM

OPPOSITE PAGE The BMW XM Label Red –frugal, brisk and unspeakably handsome.

ABOVE The Volvo EX90 is bringing the car marque one step closer to manufacturing cars that just don’t crash anymore.

RIGHT Morand expects to sell 73 of its latest hypercar, which can reach a nottoo-shabby 400km/h.

all-electric flagship SUV continues to align the increasingly upmarket Swedish brand with safety. Volvo says they are innovating towards cars that simply don’t crash anymore and also being 100 percent carbon free as a company. So, the EX90 should enhance safety by better understanding the way we drive.

With cameras, radars and LiDAR offering a 360° real-time view of the world, the EX90 ‘understands’ your state of mind and surroundings. LiDAR literally senses the road in front of you, whether it’s day or night, even at highway speeds. It can see small objects hundreds of metres ahead, creating more time for you to act and avoid. Inside the cabin, it gauges eye-gaze concentration and if you’re distracted, tired or otherwise inattentive will alert you, first by nudging softly, then more insistently if needed, before finally stopping safely and calling for help. Neat, huh?

Also launching in 2023 is the BMW XM Label Red, the most powerful BMW M car ever produced. If the classically high-revving

4.4-litre V8 Twin Power Turbo sounds anachronistic, consider this: it returns a combined fuel consumption of 1.7–1.4l/100km yet still muscles a system output of 550kW (430kW generated by the combustion engine and 145 kW by the electric drive system) and goes from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.3 seconds. Now that is brisk and frugal.

While the distinctive design is not to everyone’s taste, it is an incredible expression of presence and performance. Inside, you’ll be treated to a very driver-focused cockpit, and a luxurious M Lounge in the rear. Jekyll and Hyde, step this way.

Some of these cars are a ‘last hurrah’ for the internal combustion engine, while it’s clear from other new car launches heading our way that the car business is reshaping its value proposition in line with demands from society. We need to consume differently to preserve the climate and the environment for future generations. 

A TROPICAL PLAYGROUND

IN THE MALDIVES

Acclaimed as one of the best resort hotels in the world, Waldorf Astoria Maldives offers an unprecedented luxury travel experience.

NESTLED BETWEEN WHITE sands and crystal blue waters, the Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi is a 45-minute yacht journey from Velana International Airport. The resort boasts 11-celebrated dining venues, including Michelinstarred chef Dave Pynt’s The Ledge, Zuma Maldives and Terra, a treetop venue featuring seven intimate hand-crafted bamboo dining pods, as well as a world-class spa sanctuary and a host of activities for all generations. Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi features 119 beach, reef and overwater villas with private pools, complemented by world-class facilities for a memorable and unique stay.

Earlier this year, Travel + Leisure awarded Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi the prestigious ranking of Best Resort Hotel in Asia and third Best Resort Hotel in the world.

Situated in one of the most beautiful and sought-after locations in the world, the award-winning Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi offers guests unparalleled, bespoke service and unforgettable experiences. Promising unprecedented privacy, Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi inspires extraordinary journeys for the soul. From extensive outdoor adventure options, including snorkelling and diving in its azure waters, to the mesmerizing Waldorf Astoria Spa and new Aqua Wellness Centre, guests are really spoilt for choice.

Taking privacy to a new level, the resort launched Ithaafushi - The Private Island in 2021. This hyper-exclusive 32 000m2 oasis in the heart of the Indian Ocean accommodates up to 24 guests in two elegantly designed villas and one four-bedroom residence, the perfect setting for bonding with loved ones or celebrating life’s significant milestones with close friends.  waldorfastoriamaldives.com

OPPOSITE PAGE The Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi offers privacy and sanctuary, a complete escape to nature.

THIS PAGE, CLOCKWISE FROM RIGHT The King Grand Beach Villa at Ithaafushi – The Private Island; the hand-crafted bamboo dining pods at Terra; the resort’s Aqua Wellness Centre.

WILD AND FREE

Three newly-opened luxury lodges take Private Edition from the roaring waters of the mighty Zambezi River to the gentle shade of the jackalberry tree in the Okavango Delta.

IT IS SAID THAT ONCE you’ve lived in Africa you’re forever changed. Whether it’s the vastness of the landscape, the blueness of the skies, or simply the lifestyle or people, those who leave often pine for the unique feeling Africa evokes. Some are never happier than when they’re in the bush, where the animals roam free. It is here that we are put back in our rightful places, in awe of nature.

DUKE’S CAMP (OKAVANGO DELTA, BOTSWANA)

Ascending the wide wooden stairs to a large tent in the serene afternoon shade of a jackalberry tree, Duke’s Camp is instantly, almost eerily, familiar to anyone who’s been to the Bousfield school of Botswana safari.

Over several decades now, the Bousfield family has crafted a unique way to experience the African bush. Their offerings, under the Uncharted Africa banner, fall somewhere between comfortable and adventurous, often in rapid succession. Game drives, for example, are on custom Toyota Land Cruisers with the option of rooftop seats. Drivers’ doors have wooden armrests weathered from years of use, and there aren’t luxuries like bucket seats or USB charging ports. Guides won’t necessarily warn you of upcoming branches and may throw the vehicle around the odd corner in pursuit of wildlife, but then, moments later, they’ll pour you the coffee of your life to savour with freshly baked granola served in a white bowl with a silver spoon.

Until now, these experiences were only an option available on the desolate Makgadikgadi Pans, or an intrepid mobile safari often led by Ralph Bousfield himself. But the realisation of a longstanding dream has seen him strike a deal with Duke Serefo, whose family has lived on the land for generations, to open a sister to Jack’s Camp in the Okavango Delta.

Already known by the moniker ‘Duke’s’, the familiarity and cross-references to Jack’s are no coincidence. When Bousfield and his Uncharted Africa team rebuilt Jack’s during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, they chose to upcycle much of the iconic camp for use at the new Duke’s. Touches like the copper pitcher on arrival, the flapping vintage tents, and antique furniture are familiar across the portfolio.

Duke’s Camp offers a genuine safari experience that combines the thrill of a game drive with the simplicity of unwinding on the deck of your tent soaking up unobstructed views of the Delta.

‘Jack’s camp has always been a real safari camp, and Duke’s is now the same,’ says Bousfield. ‘We have always loved the elegant simplicity of a stylish, beautiful yet real safari camp. We saw that there was a niche for this and so built Duke’s as a traditional, proper safari camp that is simple yet elegant and beautiful.’

Wandering around the main tent, past display cabinets filled with relics, faded family photographs, and an antique wooden trunk repurposed to hide an upright drinks fridge, a large vintage dining table laid with antique silverware and crystal glasses invites you to take a seat. Across the verdant Delta in the middle distance an elephant grazes in a knee-deep channel, pulling clumps of long grass from the shallows before effortlessly swishing them into its mouth.

Where Duke’s starts and the wilderness ends is deliberately impossible to tell, for guests and elephants. Mokoros ready for poling lie metres from the main tent, there’s no visible fence to speak of, and pathways have been hollowed out through dense bush that’s no match for a meandering elephant or a skulking leopard.

‘We have built Duke’s camp as the last word in real and traditional authentic safari camps,’ Bousfield says. ‘The tents are proper tents. You walk on the sand. You engage with the environment around you. And you don’t feel removed from the surroundings and the experience. You are part of it all.’

Nowhere is this more apparent than in the guest tents, which poke through the riverside vegetation and hover above the water for uninterrupted views of the Delta. When night falls, and you’re tucked into your waist-high four-poster bed surrounded by nothing but the highest quality bedding, a mosquito net, and a few millimetres of canvas, the whooping hyenas and chomping hippopotamuses remind you this is about as wild as luxurious Africa gets.

By Andrew Thompson naturalselection.travel/camps/dukes-camp/

LEJWE LA METSI (LIMPOPO, SOUTH AFRICA)

On arrival at Lejwe La Metsi (the rock of water) in Limpopo, it feels almost unimaginable that such a place exists. Just outside Bela Bela, (a two-hour drive from Johannesburg), the sheer opulence of this establishment belies the imagination. Nothing has been spared in terms of luxury. Roman pillars, travertine floors and marble counter tops provide the six private villas with an air of extravagance, quite atypical of your usual game lodge found in the African bushveld. Although unique pieces such as an oversized leopard print armchair and a kudu horn lamp offer token reminders of your surrounds. Despite their generous size, each villa is discreetly tucked away into the hillside surrounded

by lush, landscaped gardens and trickling waterfalls creating an oasis from the hot dry surrounds of the area.

Malaria-free Lejwe La Metsi’s is home to a remarkable diversity of flora and fauna and you can look forward to game drives where you’ll spy jackal, hippopotamus, giraffe and zebra. But most unique about this reserve is its conservation efforts of more rare species such as the African buffalo, Zambezi sable, golden wildebeest and black Impala. Sitting on the back of a Landy at sunset with massive buffalo standing so close you can hear them breathe is as mesmerising as watching a herd of pitch-black impala grazing in the open veld, or a golden wildebeest galloping past.

For the more active, the lodge offers a variety of activities including guided quad-bike tours designed to offer a unique perspective of the reserve – great for older children and the adventurous to get up close to a giraffe or a troop of baboons. You can also take a walking safari with an experienced guide and immerse yourself in the sounds, smells and sights of the bushveld close up. You can even enjoy a sky safari – due to the reserve’s remote location and virtually no light pollution, the night sky here has a remarkable bounty of stars.

But it’s the smallest things that make the experience of staying here special. Breakfast served outside your own private villa

LEFT Al fresco dining with a view at Duke’s Camp.

BOTTOM LEFT The Lejwe La Metsi experience is completely immersive: from luxury accommodation in one of six villas to guided tours of the surrounding bushveld.

BOTTOM The villas are secluded and private as seen in this aerial view of the lodge and its rugged surrounds.

overlooking the lawns, an extravagant picnic laid out next to a trickling stream, and the staff’s warmth and attentiveness (from suggesting custom-made cocktails to blowing up floating pool toys for the kids).

While there is nothing subtle about the appearance of Lejwe la Metsi, not the grounds that conjure up being in a tropical jungle, or the extravagance of the private villas, here you’ll still find that home-away-from-home feeling that makes for a memorable stay. By Susan Newham-Blake lejwelametsi.co.za

MUKWA RIVER LODGE (LIVINGSTONE, ZAMBIA)

Arriving at your destination at night can be disorientating. On the upside, there’s the thrill of waking up in a foreign land, drawing back the heavy blockout curtains and gaping at the scene in front of you – in this case the mighty Zambezi river, mud-coloured, rushing past you, a herd of buck on its banks in the gentle morning light, the cry of a fish eagle overhead. You’re outside the town of Livingstone in Zambia, home of the mighty Victoria Falls. But it’s the river in front of you that makes you pause, the sheer size of it, its untouched beauty. Throughout your stay, you will stare out at it, watch the biggest crocodile you’ve ever seen slip silently into the water, track the path of a mother and baby hippopotamus bobbing down the river, and marvel at two brave fisherman manoeuvering their precarious wooden canoe through the reeds next to the riverbanks.

It’s the power of the river that drew the family who own The Residence in Houghton, Johannesburg, and Camp Ndlovu in the

ALL SUITES HAVE PRIVATE DECKS WITH VIEWS OF THE RIVER OR WATERWAYS.

in the Welgevonden Game Reserve in the Waterberg in Limpopo, to purchase this unspoiled stretch of land on the Zambezi and open this sister property, Mukwa River lodge, 28 minutes from Livingstone Airport and 10km from Victoria Falls.

The newly launched lodge is exclusive and intimate, accommodating only 14 guests in six spacious, free-standing suites, including one two-bedroomed family suite. All have private decks with double outdoor showers and a bath, a plunge pool and pool loungers and a dining area, all with spectacular river or island waterway views.

The lodge is seamlessly integrated into the lush, natural environment on the river and you’ll find yourself wandering over waterways on your boardwalk to get to the main lodge to dine. Meals are a culinary encounter to remember, with Mukwa serving locally sourced and produced dishes, complemented by an excellent wine list. Chickens, named and loved by the owners, are kept on a dedicated site within the property to provide fresh eggs daily. The kitchen garden produces herbs, fruit and vegetables, and other fresh produce is sourced from local farms and the surrounding community.

But back to the river. Sunset on the Zambezi takes the form of sipping an ice-cold gin and tonic inside a boat while floating past hippos, crocs and a world of birdlife, while an orange African sky takes your breath away. Or sitting back on your private deck with its sweeping views of the river and the Zambezi National Park, to watch animals come down to drink at the river. No wonder then that Mukwa River Lodge was voted the Best Relaxation Retreat in Africa in the 2022 Haute Grandeur Global Hotel Awards.

By Susan Newham-Blake mukwariverlodge.com

There’s no better way to punctuate the day than with a sundowner and the generous view of the ever-present Zambezi from the deck of the main lodge. BELOW Mukwa integrates seamlessly into the lush, natural environment of the riverbank.

CAMPS BAY, CAPE TOWN

Asking: R18.95 million | 4 Bedrooms | 4 Bathrooms | 3 Parkings

Sophisticated three level home with generous dimensions and good flow from indoor to outdoor entertainment areas and luxuriously set over three levels belying its lock up and go appeal. A light aesthetic lends the spacious lounge, dining and immaculate kitchen with separate scullery a casual flow. Two bedrooms plus a study on the upper floor are all luxuriously appointed with ensuites and a balcony. The other two bedrooms on the lower level are complimented by a 2nd TV room with kitchenette for casual entertaining spilling out to a pretty terrace, garden and pool area. Garage, security and laundry. Andrea Glew: 079 893 9197; Web ref: SIR103512.

CAMPS BAY, CAPE TOWN

Asking: R85 million | 8 Bedrooms | 9 Bathrooms | 3 Garages

Perfect location offering 360 degree views of the Atlantic Ocean, Lions Head and Table Mountain. A luxurious lounge and dining with gas fireplace and honesty bar flows to a wide terrace with access to one of the two swimming pools on this property. Seven individually appointed guest suites all offer magnificent sea views and feature gas fireplaces, coffee stations, free-standing baths and private balconies. Purchase fully furnished as an accredited hotel or as a large villa perfect for family and holiday lets. Also offers accommodation for a manager. Andrea Glew: 079 893 9197; Web ref: RL101421.

GREEN POINT, CAPE TOWN

Asking: R7.95 million | 4 Bedrooms | 3 Bathrooms | 2 Garages

Beautiful does not begin to describe the feel of this home when you walk through the front door. As you enter the property you are greeted by a wash of green as the living wall invites you further in. Take a walk up the stairs and enter the front door to an open living space that spans the length of the house, through the kitchen and to the sunny garden courtyard, loop around to the second outside that features a shaded seating area and pool with a view. Upstairs there are 3 homely bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and a balcony with great views and loads of sun. Jonathan Boyes: 065  804 4989; Web ref: RL98042.

To view these properties visit www.sothebysrealty.co.za

CAMPS BAY, CAPE TOWN

Asking: R34.995 million | 5 Beds | 5 Baths + Guest Bath | 7 Car Garage

This masterpiece connected by an elevator and picturesque staircase is the perfect home for showcasing your artistic flair and style. Featuring 5 en-suite bedrooms with ocean views, soft carpeting in the bedrooms, double volume bookshelf and quality finishes. Step onto one of many balconies showcasing unobstructed views of the vast Atlantic Ocean. Entertainment is made easy with large sliding doors opening onto a beautiful pool, patio and outside fireplace floating on the Atlantic Ocean with the 12 Apostles Mountain range as your backdrop. Andrea Glew: 079 893 9197; Web ref: SIR103790.

HURLINGHAM MANOR, JOHANNESBURG

Asking: R5.2 million | 4 Bedrooms | 3 Bathrooms | 4 Garages

Welcoming, light-filled entrance foyer. 4 Reception rooms with stacking doors to the covered patio & pool. 4 Family bedrooms, main with dressing room. 3 renovated, stylish bathrooms (mes). Guest toilet. Covered pool terrace with built-in braai. 2nd covered terrace provides lavish entertainment space adjacent to pool. Staff room with bath. 4 Automated garages with direct access into the house. 14 Solar panels, inverter, 2 solar geysers. Council approved plans for d/storey ext. Karen: 083 435 7703; John: 083 271 0231; Web ref: 5545780.

DUNKELD WEST, JOHANNESBURG

Asking: R7.899 million | 4 Bedrooms | 2.5 Bathrooms | 3 Garages

A classic Dunkeld double storey home. South entry, north facing. 3 Receptions open onto an entertainment patio overlooking the beautiful treed garden with pool and Lapa. 4 Beds, 2.5 baths. Staff and triple garage. Subdivision in place on the side of the property. Asking R7,89m. Di Kuhlenthal: 082 960 5353; Debbie Parkinson: 083 326 7739; Web ref: 5583419.

HOUGHTON ESTATE, JOHANNESBURG

Asking: R7.35 million | Land: 3866m2

Superb Acre that can be developed in a high densification zone. All offers considered. Great opportunity with investment potential, application can be submitted upfront on the Sale Agreement. Exceptional Value, Serious Seller looking for an Offer. Not to be missed. Sabina Seeber: 083 254 6981; Michael Lambert: 076 202 3388; Web ref: 5531464.

SENDERWOOD, JOHANNESBURG

Asking: R15 million | 5 Bedrooms | 5.5 Bathrooms | 3 Garages

No words can adequately describe the comfort, flow, design, aesthetic and attention to detail! No expense has been spared. Spectacular entrance – Atriums!! Cladding and feature walls take you into an open plan WOW! Lounge – feature wall fitting & gas heater / Dining room. Fabulous designer – Open plan eat in kitchen. Gym room / or huge games room. Fully shelved wine cellar. Upstairs: Huge and luxurious main bedroom suite – dressing room bathroom with bath, shower, bidet and double vanity. Charlene: 082 448 0440; Jodi 072 110 0276; Web ref: 5532384.

To view these properties visit www.sothebysrealty.co.za

WEST CLIFF, JOHANNESBURG

Offers from R18 million | 5 Bedrooms | 3.5 Bathrooms

Magnificent northern and urban views that will take your breath away. Set on ±5900m² of terraced gardens which extend on both sides of the West Cliff Ridge. 4 Reception areas, magnificent patio, rim flow pool, 360°views! 5 Bedrooms, including contained guest cottage, so many permutations, depending on your personal circumstances. Ultra-modern approx. 220m² garden pavilion, studios /consulting or residential living space features all services (including Egoli gas and borehole) that serve the main house. Asking R25 million. Beverley: 082 412 0010; Web ref: 5566787.

BRYANSTON EAST, SANDTON

Asking: R60 million | 6 Bedrooms | 6 Bathrooms | 3 Garages

The position is unique – on the ridge – views from all angles. A rare find in this position – for the large family – 2 studies – 5 bedr suites, a very luxurious m.e.s. with enormous dressing room & gym – all bedrooms to verandahs with superb views – plus self-cont garden guest cottage with own s/pool – cellar - open-plan dine-in kitchen to many luxurious reception rooms opening out to enormous patio with stunning views with cocktail areas and many entertainment sitting areas to s/pool and tennis court – lux domestic accommodation. Manuela: 082 552 7119; Web ref: 5573361.

PARKVIEW, JOHANNESBURG

Asking: R4.8 million | 3 Bedrooms | 2 Bathrooms | 3 Garages

Country house living in the heart of Parkview village. Main house, Stunning Cottage, Double garage, Staffroom plus Storeroom. Set on 1020m² stand with high walls, electric fence, security beams and borehole plus double garage. Pool area and braai area creating easy party entertainment. The study/playroom is private and would make a lovely snug room to cocoon yourself. Theodora: 082 553 8525; David: 082 565 6367; Web ref: 5586041.

PARKHURST, JOHANNESBURG

Asking: R4.5 million | 3 Bedrooms | 3 Bathrooms | 2 Garages

A unique contemporary masterpiece that cleverly interconnects past and present. Two bedroom, two bathroom main home plus large cottage. Designed with a definite focus on four main elements- concrete, steel, glass, and wood to express sensitivity towards the original vintage home and its specific Parkhurst setting. A state-of-theart air conditioning/temperature control system adds to the overall luxury while the property also boasts a top of the range power back-up inverter system. One of the best features of the home and certainly that single element that adds tremendously to the sensation of extra space is the fact that all rooms lead to- and have a connection with the outside. Willem: 082 442 1497; Cornel: 082 468 8247; Web ref: 5559253.

To view these properties visit www.sothebysrealty.co.za

BEDFORDVIEW, JOHANNESBURG

Asking: R6.85 million | 5 Bedrooms | 5 Bathrooms | 4 Garages

Elegant cluster with contemporary finishes. Downstairs: Super-spacious open-plan lounge and dining room, with Morso fireplace, an entertainer’s integrated fully fitted Cherrywood bar, study, loo & stunning kitchen. Upstairs: sumptuous Master Suite, with large dressing room and en-suite bathroom. His and Her’s vanities and two showers. Another 3 generous sized bedrooms, all en-suite, completes the upstairs accommodation. Separate Cottage. Enormous entertainment area. Ingrid: 082 490 6246. Web ref: 3994582.

RIVER CLUB, SANDTON

Asking: R8.85 million | 6 Bedrooms | 6.5 Bathrooms | 3 Garages

A magnificent 6-bedroom, 6-bathroom family home for the larger family with endless possibilities! Designed for lavish family living and entertaining. It could also serve as a boutique hotel or wellness centre. Positioned in a boomed culde-sac, electric fencing, indoor and outdoor alarm, CCTV cameras. Garaging for 3 cars, double staff accommodation. Sue: 083 378 1101. Web ref: 5558354.

WATERKLOOF RIDGE, PRETORIA

Asking: POA | 6 Bedrooms | 8 Bathrooms | 3 Garages

Welcome to this encompassing home of elegance and luxury. The upper floor hosts three bedrooms all of which are ensuite and a guest bathroom. The master bedroom with its private lounge, the pop up tv and gas fireplace. The staircase leads to the lower floor which hosts two ensuite bedrooms, study with ensuite bathroom, open plan lounges which lead out to the covered patio and garden area, billiard room. The garden is an oasis, lighting up at night. The guest suite has its own private lounge and ensuite bathroom. There fully equipped kitchen, prep kitchen and scullery. This home comes with a squash court, a gym, a heated 25m lap pool, a steam room and a sauna. Extras include a service lift, Solar power, and generator, a guard house with state of art security, three garages, carport and double servant. This home comes fully furnished. Karien De Jongh: 082 900 4065; Office: 010 510 0000; Web ref: SIR103804.

CORNWALL HILL, CENTURION

Asking: R23 million | 5 Bedrooms | 6 Bathrooms | 5 Garages

This 5 bedroom all ensuite main residence boasts 1 850 sqm of stylish living spaces. A state-of-the-art blue-line kitchen. pantry, separate scullery and laundry, dining and living areas with a double-sided fireplace, modern cigar lounge and bar area fitted with state-of-the-art ice machine, wine cooler and fridges with an indoor double braai. Covered patio overlooks the sparkling swimming pool, firepit, sprawling lawns, tennis court. Downstairs includes a guest cottage interleading from the home with bedroom, ensuite bathroom, lounge, dining, and separate kitchen. Upstairs 4 Bedrooms all ensuite with balconies and sweeping views. The lavish master suite includes a private lounge, his-and-her walk-in closets, steam shower and spa bath. The suite opens to a sun washed view-swept balcony and outside shower. Lisa Kelly: 082 559 1395; Office: 010 510 0000; Web ref: SIR103886.

To view these properties visit www.sothebysrealty.co.za

BERARIO, JOHANNESBURG

Asking: R35 million

Lew Geffen | Sotheby’s International Realty is delighted to be involved in the marketing of Morrells Boutique Estate in Johannesburg, a highly sought after destination for weddings, corporate events, private functions, and media occasions. Morrells Boutique Estate is a hospitality and lifestyle portfolio comprising four carefully decorated and curated properties. Much of the architectural detail and exquisite attractions have been sourced from local and international design and restoration specialists, making each property unique and imminently interesting. Multiple spaces on the properties offer multiple potential uses, and with accommodation and catering options included, Morrells is able to present a full-service hospitality offering. Georg Marnewick: 082 376 6551; Office: 011 476 8303; Web ref: 4939222.

ROBINDALE, JOHANNESBURG

Asking: R4.8 million | 6 Bedrooms | 4 Bathrooms | Double Garage

Entertainers’ dream villa, classy elegance, and breath-taking northern views! Tucked away in a quiet exclusive position. 3 Large living areas, garden and entertainment patio. 4-Car Garage. Dining room. Wooden farm style kitchen with gas hob and scullery/laundry. Lounge, with a granite top bar kitchen. Braai patio. Family room. 4 bedrooms. The bedrooms overlook/open to a wooden deck. Elegant master bedroom includes a dressing room, en-suite, full bathroom, and bay window with seating. Infinity pool, Flatlet. Strong room, cold room, extra caravan parking courtyard, a vegetable patch, staff quarters, and top security system! This exceptional home offers a wonderful lifestyle! Lisa Fanton: 082 600 1789; Melinda Odendaal: 083 399 4113; Office: 011 476 8303; Web ref: 5470203.

EAGLE CANYON GOLF ESTATE, JOHANNESBURG

Asking: R7.25 million | 4 Bedrooms | 3.5 Bathrooms | 3 Garages

Entertainment home with elegant bar room with jacuzzi, lending to large covered patio with built-in braai, pool and landscaped garden. Entrance hall, leading to reception rooms. 4 Spacious bedrooms with balconies, 2 bedrooms with ensuite bathrooms and walk in closets plus a third family bathroom servicing the remaining 2 bedrooms. 3 Garages, plus additional off-road parking. Generator. Staff accommodation with kitchenette. Eagle Canyon Golf & Lifestyle Estate voted Best Estate in the 2022 Best of Joburg Competition! The Clubhouse offers restaurants, pro shop, beauty spa, hairdresser and gym. Debby Woodward: 082 889 7903; Office: 011 476 8303; Web ref: 5346672. To view these properties visit www.sothebysrealty.co.za

NORTHCLIFF, JOHANNESBURG

Asking: R5.4 million | 4 Bedrooms | 4 Bathrooms | 2 Garages

Luxurious living in the sought-after Brooklands Estate. Delightful, double volume living room with a real log burning fireplace. Open-plan dining room. Kitchen with breakfast nook. Covered patio, garden, and tantalising solar heated pool. Family room, formal living areas. Private study. En-suite guest room. Upstairs: 3 Bedrooms. Master bedroom with modern en-suite bathroom, double vanity, shower and bath tub. Family bathroom serves remaining bedrooms. Additional: Walk-in linen cupboard, Attached double automated garage, Inverter, Storage, Aluminium windows and stacking doors. This home is the perfect retreat after a busy day and offers communal park for little ones to kick ball! Ria de Wet: 082 824 6925; Office: 011 476 8303; Web ref: 5469913.

DE ZALZE WINELANDS GOLF ESTATE

Asking: R29.5 million | 4 Bedrooms | 5 Bathrooms | 2 Garages

Secluded Position on De Zalze Winelands Golf Estate. Out of the pages of a modern fairy story. A babbling brook, towering mountain ranges and a beautiful garden with mature plantings encase this magnificent home into a world of its own. At the end of a private cul de sac and with no direct neighbours, this has to be one of the most desirable homes on the highly acclaimed, De Zalze Winelands Golf Estate. Chris Cilliers: 082 568 1122; 021 809 2760: Web ref: 4963495

PEARL VALLEY AT VAL DE VIE

Asking: R7.4 million | 4 Bedrooms | 3 Bathrooms | 2 Garages

This much loved four bedroom home is ideally located if you are looking for privacy and tranquillity. Lovely views over the 10th Fairway and walking distance to most of the amenities and Pearl Valley Club House. This home offers bright, sunny rooms filled with character and style. A fourth bedroom and separate bathroom downstairs are perfect for guests. The heart of this charming home is the large open plan living/dining area with excellent flow to the open plan gourmet kitchen, ideal for entertaining. Marli Scheppel: 021 867 0161; Suritha van Tonder: 084 440 4283; 021 867 0161; Web ref: 5161552.

BOSCHENMEER GOLF & COUNTRY ESTATE, PAARL

Asking: R8.995 million | 3 Bedrooms | 4 Bathrooms | 2 Garages

This modern family home is neatly finished, spacious and provides all the amenities for sophisticated living. Every angle of this home boast amazing views. The property boasts an entrance lobby, a guest cloakroom, open plan living areas that include 3 lounges, dining room, bar area and a modern kitchen. The double volume ceilings in most of the living and entertainment areas creates an aura of spaciousness. Marilize Breytenbach: 083 241 1580; 021 863 0266; Marinda de Jongh: 082 573 2204; 021 863 0266; Web ref: SIR103934.

VAL DE VIE ESTATE

Asking: R10.85 million | 3 Bedrooms | 4 Bathrooms | 2 Garages

The ideal investment property in an established area in Phase 1 of Val de Vie Estate . This stunning north facing family home boasts an open plan kitchen, dining and living area that flows onto a spacious patio with build in braai. It has a wonderful splash pool and manicured, easy to maintain garden. Winette Hattingh: 073 434 9675; 021 770 0230; Helene Tallie: 082 807 4438: 021 770 0230; Web ref: 5482405.

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DIEMERSFONTEIN WINE & COUNTRY ESTATE, WELLINGTON

Asking: R9.745 million | 3 Bedrooms | 2 Bathrooms | 2 Garages

Set on almost 3.5 acres in Diemersfontein Wine & Country Estate offers a unique lifestyle with tranquil panoramic views across the vines & the Estate. Double-volume Living, Dining & Kitchen which opens onto the terraces, entertainment room, Pool & Garden. Eddie Van Pachtenbeke: 071 003 0363; 021 876 8480; Web ref: 5109337.

FRANSCHHOEK

Asking: R7 million | 3 Bedrooms | 2 Bathrooms | 2 Garages

This is a single storey solid timber-frame home in the Victorian style, on a corner position in a beautiful side street in the village of Franschhoek. The wraparound veranda is in keeping with the character of the house and trimmed by elegant and decorative broekie-lace. Bev Malan: 082 901 6966; 021 876 8480; Moira Barham: 082 896 3597; 021 876 8480; Web ref: 5505515.

FAIRHAVEN COUNTRY ESTATE, SOMERSET WEST

Asking: R22 million | 4 Bedrooms | 5 Bathrooms | 2 Garages

This boutique home with 360-degree views are embraced through the masterful use of varying levels. Exquisite positioning with great privacy, European design and tranquillity. An elegantly designed triple level home with expansive glass windows, sliding doors and strategically places balconies creating a natural flow from interior to the exterior. Chantal Botes: 083 702 5460; 021 851 4450; Web ref: 3602831.

STELLENBOSCH

Asking: R29.5 million

This unique property is located in one of the most picturesque areas around Stellenbosch. Directly below the dramatic scenery of the Hottentots-Holland Mountains the approximately 11 ha farm offers peaceful living in nature and harmony. The main house, built around 1920, is a historical monument and still expresses the charm of the time a hundred years ago. Detlef Struck: 079 597 1727; 021 851 4450; Web ref: 5492568.

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BISHOPSCOURT VILLAGE, CAPE TOWN

Asking: R9.95 million | 4 Bedrooms | 5 Bathrooms | Double garage

Perfect family home on 858 Sqm in Bishopscourt Village. Single storey home with 4 en-suite bedrooms, large open-plan living spaces with doors leading to a covered patio and pool, beautiful mountain views. Spacious kitchen with impressive breakfast counter. Separate scullery, laundry room and study nook just off the kitchen. The main lounge is large and the dining area has beautiful loft ceilings. Complete with separate TV/Games room (with bathroom). Great flow, light and bright and conveniently placed for all leading schools. Ruth Leach: 082 323 7550; Elaine Dobson: 082 413 7369; Office: 021 701 2446; Web ref: 5044989.

CONSTANTIA UPPER, CAPE TOWN

Asking: R15.95 million | 3 Bedrooms | 4 Bathrooms | 6 Garages

A generous & well designed north facing home built in 2011 approx 510sqm, with mountain views, manageable size landscaped garden plus a separate flatlet in a very desirable position. A home of generous proportions, large lounge, dining room, open plan kitchen to family room all with beautiful high ceilings. The sunroom with stack back glass doors is a highlight of the house with garden, pool and mountain views. It has many extras with underfloor heating throughout, shutters at the majority of windows, an inverter to run important items and borehole. The kitchen has a centre island, a separate laundry/scullery. 3 large ensuite bedrooms and pj lounge/study area. There is a security door to the bedroom area. Jo Thomas: 084 404 4120; Rouvaun Mc Kirby: 071 671 0821; Office: 021 701 2446; Web ref: 5533942.

BISHOPSCOURT, CAPE TOWN

Asking: R39.5 million | 8 Bedrooms | 9 Bathrooms | 3 Garages

Offering uninterrupted mountain views, and within walking distance of Kirstenbosch Gardens, this beautiful home accommodates a discerning buyer’s every demand. Open-plan reception rooms include interleading living/ dining areas with stackaway doors to covered terrace and garden. French country style kitchen, study/library and TV/family room. Accommodation comprises eight beautiful bedroom suites and a luxuriously appointed main suite, all with lovely garden and mountain aspects. Barbara Manning: 083 407 3656; Office: 021 701 2446; Web ref:  5084747.

CONSTANTIA, CAPE TOWN

Asking: R11.9 million | 4 Bedrooms | 4.5 Bathrooms | Double garage

Set on a 2000sqm plot this fully remodelled Arthur Quinton designed 4 bedroom home embodies a true sense of style and sophistication throughout. 4 generous interleading living areas, entertainers patio and a solar heated pool. There are 3 en-suite bedrooms on the ground level, the master suite on the first level enjoys beautiful Mountain View’s. There is the added value of a separate one bedroom self-contained flatlet. Eileen McKirby: 082 410 7204; Matthew Raubach: 072 382 7949; Office: 021 701 2446; Web ref: 3785241.

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LAKESIDE, CAPE TOWN

Asking: R11 million | 5 Bedrooms | 4 Bathrooms | 2 Garages

Overlooking the beautiful wetlands and waterways of the False Bay coastline, this magnificent original manor house radiates charm, comfort and grace. In a gated, secure estate with a majestic mountain backdrop, it offers a world of tranquility yet easy access to major highways. Built in 1941 in the Cape vernacular style, this family home is the perfect blend of historical grandeur and modern comfort. Meticulous maintenance and thoughtful upgrades over the years (including a sparkling new pool and guest cottage) will be appreciated by those with a taste for the finer things in life. Steve Thomas: 084 471 4722; Dave Burger: 083 458 3333; Web ref: 5421197.

KENROCK, HOUT BAY, CAPE TOWN

Asking: R8.995 million | 4 Bedrooms | 4.5 Bathrooms | 2 Garages

Double High volume ceilings with 3 Reception rooms, 4 Bedrooms all ensuite, privacy & pool, this home has much to offer. The Interior emphasises the spaces, integrating with contemporary elements in a natural setting. A flowing Kitchen & Dining area leading to a glorious patio. Welcome to Kenrock Country Estate. Nestled in the picturesque Hout Bay valley on the back slopes of Table Mountain.The focal points of the landscaped area are the forest, meadow, dams and wetlands within the private open space in the estate.The environmental setting on the estate has also allowed the natural fauna and flora to flourish, which is an essential part of true country living with 6 dams established throughout the estate, including a winter perennial dam. Terri Steyn: 0827770748; Sue Loxton: 082 351 4477; Web ref: 5509242..

FERNWOOD, NEWLANDS, CAPE TOWN

Asking: R13.8 million | 4 Beds | 4 Baths | Double Garage | 2 Secure Parkings | Flatlet

Enjoy the tranquil ambience of this contemporary home situated in the most sought-after position in Upper Fernwood Estate. Stylish and minimalist yet warm and inviting, the interior open-plan spaces offer perfect flow with expansive glass doors opening onto the pool deck – the ideal setting for alfresco dining. Panoramic views over Bishopscourt and across the valley to the Hottentots-Holland mountains of Stellenbosch can be enjoyed from the private light filled living area. Brandon Challis: 084 491 0906; Jennifer Lee: 082 562 5139; Office: 021  701 2446; Web ref: 5054199.

NOORDHOEK, CAPE TOWN

Asking: R15.95 million | 5 Bedrooms | 4.5 Bathrooms | Double Garage

Everything of the best epitomizes this very unusual baronial residence.  On entering this home, one can only be impressed, open-plan living areas, 2 kitchens leading to sheltered courtyards and entertainers terrace. 5 Beds, 4.5 baths, study, flatlet, staff quarters, natural pool/pond, double auto garaging, off street parking. Special features of the highest standards, including sliding barn-doors, wine cupboard, wind-protected decks, impressive views from all aspects of the building, designed carefully to show off the incredible garden with natural pool and surrounding mountains and sea, to the very finest advantage. Lilian Bron: 076 959 2733; Office: 021 783 8260; Web ref: 5247113.

PLETTENBERG BAY, GARDEN ROUTE

Asking: R25 million | 4 Bedrooms | 4 Bathrooms | 2 Garages

Modern 4 bedroom, 4 bathroom sea-view family home with self-contained flatlet/staff accommodation in Whale Rock Beach. There is direct access to the pristine 5km stretch of Robberg Beach from this access-controlled estate. Modern open-plan kitchen with laundry and scullery. Open-plan living areas and various lounges, two with wood-burning fireplaces, study/library, bar area, various patios including roof-top patio, double garage, fully enclosed, lush and established garden with swimming pool. A minute’s drive from Robberg Nature Reserve, and a quick drive to central Plett or local shops and amenities. A perfect permanent residence or a family holiday paradise. Hein Pretorius: 083 701 3159;  Office: 044 533 2529; Web ref: SIR104036.

PLETTENBERG BAY, GARDEN ROUTE

Asking: R5.99 million | 5 Bedrooms | 3 Bathrooms | 2 Garages

Proverbial “Golden Oldie” in the ever-popular “Old Plett”. Rectory Lane is a quiet upmarket cul-de-sac, surrounded by church land and the historic Anglican stone church, on a generous stand (1049m²). Two-level home offering: 5 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms (main en-suite), two living areas (one upstairs, one downstairs), kitchen and dining area, verandas with beautiful sea views, tandem garage, free-standing separate staff quarters. The views are very special – stretching from the lagoon to stunning mountain and bay views, and Robberg Nature Reserve on the right. Buy the right thing at the right timenow! Carrie Maclean: 082 566 1881; Elbie Pama: 082 569 2588; Office: 044 533 2529; Web ref: SIR103901.

PLETTENBERG BAY, GARDEN ROUTE

Asking: R5.45 million | 3 Bedrooms | 2 Bathrooms | 2 Garages

Beautiful 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom, north-facing contemporary timber home with spectacular indigenous forest views and tranquil breathtakingly beautiful setting in the Crags, with spacious open plan dining, lounge and kitchen with a pantry, scullery and laundry area, spacious patio, studio room, TV lounge, swimming pool, established garden, peaceful pond, and spacious double garage. The main living areas are on the ground floor, and two guest bedrooms and TV room are on the first floor. Rural living with the additional security of an access-controlled small community estate. Contemplate life until the fireflies come home. Paul Jordaan: 082 876 0577; Office: 044 533 2529; Web ref: SIR103871

PLETTENBERG BAY, GARDEN ROUTE

Asking: R17 million | 5 Bedrooms | 5 Bathrooms | 2 Garages

Picture perfect, stylish 5 ensuite bedroom sea-view home designed by well-known architect, Llew Bryan, this home has it all. Designed for living and entertaining; offers the discerning buyer a rare opportunity to acquire a home which exudes an aura of relaxed and elegant living. The uniqueness of this light spacious open plan home creates a powerful impression. Glass doors open out onto a patio overlooking the heated lap pool and Robberg in the distance. Includes: large family room, wine cellar, study, scullery/laundry, double garage, irrigation, underfloor heating, etc. The stunning eco-friendly prime residential housing estate of Brackenridge awaits you. Sue Harvey: 083 306 7499; Office: 044 533 2529; Web ref: SIR103965

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FEATHERBROOKE ESTATE, KRUGERSDORP

Asking: R17.85 million | 5 Bedrooms | 5.5 Bathrooms | 6 Garages

La Bella Vita – A whimsical Italian Villa. One of Featherbrooke Estate’s iconic properties with enchanting views over the surrounding landscape. The peaceful magic begins when you enter the gated, cobbled driveway lined with walls of local stone and beautifully landscaped gardens. For extra convenience the property has 2 entrances serving the upper and lower level respectively. The living areas flow naturally through glass doors onto the substantial pool terrace which provides plenty of room for a larger group of guests to relax by the boma or poolside or to enjoy the delightful, shaded garden. Zona Coetzee: 084 626 6119; Bianca Parsons:083 645 65 90; Office: 010 900 3450; Web ref: SIR103705.

OLIVE CREST ESTATE, ROODEPOORT

Asking: R4.899 million | 4 Bedrooms | 5 Bathrooms | 2 Garages

Upmarket contemporary home, with quality finishes, attention to detail and a practical layout with lovely free-flowing entertainment and living areas. Compromising of three spacious en suite bedrooms upstairs, guest bedroom en suite downstairs. The lavish double volume entrance welcomes you into this scrumptiously charming home. The seamlessly outfitted Kitchen forms the heart of all your entertainment endeavors. Dining area, tv lounge area with built in fireplace, opens onto the large undercover patio with built in braai, al fresco deck, boma and sparkling pool in double sized garden for Olive Crest Estate. Sunrises and sunsets from different balconies for serenity, tranquility to meditate and reflect or to escape into novels and daydreams. Zona Coetzee: 084 626 6119; Office: 010 900 3450; Web ref: SIR104118.

STEYN CITY, JOHANNESBURG

Asking: R22 million | 5 Bedrooms | 5.5 Bathrooms | 4 Garages

This modern design lends flawlessly with deluxe comfort like home automation, surround sound system, under floor heating and air conditioning through-out. This exquisitely curated house features five spacious en-suite bedrooms, a magnificent kitchen and multiple open-plan spaces, with a three-sided gas fireplace, that seamlessly integrate outdoor-indoor living. Sliding doors that leads to the undercover entertainment braai patio overlooking the green belt. A spacious staff suite, study, 4 car garage, sunken fire pit and 11 meter rim flow pool. Excellent security in a 24 hour guarded estate. Selma Kinghorn: 076 886 4007; Rob Els: 061 130 7371; Web ref: 4278426426. aut voluptas am, officiis simin; Web ref: XXXXX.

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CONSTANTIA, CAPE TOWN

Asking: R23.95 million | 5 Bedrooms | 5 Bathrooms | 2 Garages

Nothing has been spared in the creation of this substantial and elegant entertainer’s home overlooking the beautiful Constantia greenbelt and Silverhurst lawns. Everything centres around the picturesque positioning within Constantia’s premium gated estate of Silverhurst and 60-acres of never-ending views and gardens. With a wealth of character and beautifully appointed, your family has a choice of  living options here with 5 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms, a study, 3 entertainment zones, plus a home cinema with adjoining wine cellar. Dave Burger 083 458 3333; Steve Thomas 084 471 4722; Web ref: 5448290. XXXXX.

BALLITO

Asking: R19.7 million | 4 Bedrooms | 5 Bathrooms | 2 Garages

This multi levels home is an architectural masterpiece, feel the warmth and love in the design itself, an epitome of less is more. Upon entering the front door you are greeted by the Domus elevator taking you from the basement all the way through to the first level, perfect place to be retired in luxury and style or to live in a dream house you have always envisioned, this is the ideal home for you where simplicity meets luxury. There are four extravagant bedrooms and two swimming pools, main bedroom boasts of breathtaking sea views and magnificent designs. Zenande Mathebula: 072 522 4221; Web ref: SIR103781.

Altura Zimbali Lakes

Introducing ALTURA Sole Mandate – Exclusive design, Striking layout. Looks will definitely impress. A new sectional title of 8 exclusive freestanding homes, ranging from: No transfer duty.

Option A – R5.95 million Option B – R7.25 million 280m2, 3 beds, study, 3.5 baths 330m2, 4 beds, 4.5 baths 2 garages; Web ref: ZL005. 4 garages; Web ref: ZL006.

Option C – R7.45 million Option D – R8.1 million 340m2, 4 beds, 4.5 baths 360m2, 4 beds, 4.5 baths, study, 4 garages; Web ref: ZL004. 2 lounges, 4 garages; Web ref: ZL001.

FERNKLOOF VILLAGE, HERMANUS

Asking: R23 million | 4 Bedrooms | 4.5 Bathrooms | 3 Garages

Exceptional Wynand Wilsenach Architects designed home in Fernkloof Village offering magnificent 360° mountain and ocean views. Spacious light-filled open plan living areas greet you as you enter the home on the upper ground floor level. Leading off the arrival lobby is the dining room, kitchen, lounge, TV room and guest suite. This flows directly onto the outside entertainment area with its sparkling pool and outdoor braai with beautiful mountain views as the backdrop. The first floor boasts two studies and two beautifully appointed ensuite bedrooms. A guest cottage, three garages and the wine cellar complete this architectural masterpiece. Brent Hill: 083 441 9045; Paul Grinstead: 078 798 0422; Office: 028 312 4970; Web ref: 5579717.

GEORGE, RURAL

Asking: R18.5 million | 8 Bedrooms | 5 Bathrooms | 4 Garages

Live and work the dream! Positioned in George’s prime agricultural area. Included in the sale of the property, is the highly successful chicken farming, meat packaging and distribution operation; a thriving, well-established business, with an efficient staff compliment. The characterful farm shop provides a variety of local products and a popular coffee shop, regularly visited by customers from near, far and wide. The delightful, modern three-bedroom farmhouse accommodates the family. An income-producing, two-bedroom cottage is positioned alongside the main farmhouse and a self-contained one-bedroom flat and a two-bedroom manager’s cottage, with elevated deck, is privately positioned on the north-eastern boundary. Pieter van Rensburg: 0825756319; Office: 044 873 2519; Web ref: 5480737.

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