Private Edition Issue 65

A tribute to creativity

ADVENTUROUS ARCHITECTURE TOMORROW’S THREADS TODAY IN DEFENCE OF DELICIOUSNESS

FROM THE EDITOR

ISSUE 65 2025

THIS ISSUE of PRIVATE EDITION is an exciting one for us. Not only is it our first issue of 2025, but also the first of five for the year. This means you’ll receive an extra issue this year, giving you more access to quality journalism covering the latest in luxury travel destinations, premium motoring, high-end restaurants and hotels, as well as the latest in design, art and architecture.

In this issue we celebrate creativity in all its forms. Creativity is, of course, a form of self-expression and takes courage, intelligence and a large dose of curiosity to be realised. It’s no surprise that the theme for the largest art fair on the continent, the Investec Cape Town Art Fair, was play. In ‘A World at Play’ (page 30), we share the inspiration behind the local artists who are making waves in the global art scene. Creativity can be found in all industries, and the homes and buildings we work, play and live in are no exception. In ‘Adventurous Architecture’ (page 36), we explore the avant-garde structures that fearlessly push the boundaries of design, construction and material use.

Back on African soil, Nigeria’s maverick fashion designers are going against the grain of mass production and creating norm-defying garments of the future. In ‘Tomorrow’s Threads Today’ (page 44), expect the unexpected at Cape Town’s premier annual fashion event held at the iconic Mount Nelson.

Food is a major source of creative inspiration, not only in restaurants and TV series, but also in our own homes. In ‘Defence of Deliciousness’ (page 54), we speak to chefs who are going back to basics to deliver menus that counteract the effects of food fatigue (too much foam, smoke and plate décor). Here, chefs return to what makes good food good: flavour, texture and quality produce.

While humans continue to create beauty, nothing can compare to the beauty

already present in nature. ‘Pictures from an Exhibition(ist)’ on page 66 will transport you into Namibia’s visceral wilderness, a place that is both astonishing and humbling, where you can dream your days away in luxury retreats inspired by their extraordinary desert surrounds.

Author Martha Beck says that the opposite of anxiety is not peacefulness, it’s creativity. When the brain focuses on creative problem-solving, it us unable to experience anxiety. In a world gone mad, there’s certainly some respite in harnessing those creative powers in whatever field we find ourselves. May this edition of Private Edition offer you inspiration.

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

ART DIRECTOR TINA REDDELL

COPY EDITOR WENDY MARITZ

ADVERTISING EXECUTIVE

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

PUBLISHING DIRECTOR SUSAN NEWHAM-BLAKE

PRODUCTION DIRECTOR JOHN MORKEL

HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGER LIZ WOLFE

FINANCIAL MANAGER NAEEMA ABRAHAMS

SUSAN NEWHAM-BLAKE EDITOR

Private Edition is published by The Publishing Partnership (Pty) Ltd, 8th Floor, Tarquin House, 81 Loop Street, Cape Town 8001. Copyright: The Publishing Partnership (Pty) Ltd 2025. 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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ISSN: 2218-063X

The

Why

Be

Meet

MAIN ATTRACTION

Private Edition curates a trio of A-list motoring shows and their destinations, together with highly anticipated new models.

54

IN DEFENCE OF DELICIOUSNESS

If you’re suffering from food fatigue caused by the fluff, foraging, foams, smoke and whizz-bang visuals of fine-dining, join us as we return to what makes good food good: taste, texture, flavour, portion. 60

FREE-SPIRITED LIBATIONS

Globally, bartending has been exploring the peak playfulness for some time now, and the possibilities for mixing drinks are simply off the hook. In Africa, the party’s just getting started.

66

PICTURES FROM AN EXHIBITION(IST)

Namibia is best expressed in images. Peter Frost toured a selection of retreats north of the Fish River Canyon and came away confident the country has few equals in its ability to astonish and humble..

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Sense. Curved 3-4 seat-sofas, designed by Sacha Lakic.

Astréa. Armchair, designed by Sacha Lakic. Triolet. Cocktail table, end table and occasional table, designed by Julie Figueroa.

THE BRIEFING

COLLECTABLES | OBJETS D’ART | DESIGN | DEPARTURES | TASTINGS

PRIVATE TIME

‘Colour of life’

DIOR’S ICONIC CHIFFRE ROUGE COLLECTION HAS BEEN REINVENTED WITH NEW MODELS THAT REVISIT ITS HISTORIC CODES.

Twenty years after its first launch, the Chiffre Rouge collection is enjoying a renaissance, reinvented through eight new models featuring some of Dior’s most iconic codes – details chosen for their elegance and couture aesthetic. Residing between tradition and metamorphosis, the bold singularity of this exceptional watch is reaffirmed by its architectural asymmetry, the case revealing a subtly enlarged and tapered side, its red crown and matching hands swirling in a mesmerizing ballet. The ‘colour of life’, in the words of the founding couturier, is a hue of the most intense character and a unique signature. An extraordinary timepiece, reflecting the excellence of Dior. picotandmoss.co.za

DEPARTURES

A decade worth celebrating

WHAT BETTER WAY TO VISIT THE ICONIC DROSTDY HOTEL IN GRAAFF-REINET THAN BY AIR? BY

JUSTIN FOX

It’s been 10 years since Anton Rupert bought and extensively renovated the Drostdy hotel in Graaff-Reinet. It’s something worth commemorating and guests are now able to fly to the Central Karoo town with Air du Cap, a new boutique airline offering bespoke flights to destinations around and beyond the Cape.

The Cape Winelands Airport near Durbanville, Cape Town, is your place of departure. From here, a Beechcraft Baron 58 will transport you east over the Matroosberg and Tankwa Karoo, flying low to make the most of the splendid views. Swooping past the spectacular Valley of Desolation, you’ll arrive at Graaff-Reinet Airport in under two hours. Waiting on the runway will be tour guide David McNaughton, something of an institution in the area. Discover Graaff-Reinet’s rich heritage with David as he takes you on a tour of the old Gunpowder Magazine, magnificent NG Church and the town’s sublime architecture, including the

Old Pastorie and, of course, the Drostdy. Dating back to 1804 and designed by Louis Thibault, this handsome building served as the magistrate’s official residence before being transformed into a famed hotel.

In 2012, Anton Rupert and the SA College for Tourism (SACT) acquired the Drostdy and undertook a comprehensive refurbishment to elevate the hotel to five-star status. In collaboration with SACT, the Drostdy offers disadvantaged youth the opportunity to experience on-the-job training and mentoring in a refined environment.

Expect fine dining (paired with sumptuous Rupert Wines), luxurious accommodation, tours and sundowners in Camdeboo National Park, and spa treatments and pampering in this legendary home of Karoo hospitality. drostdy.co.za airducap.com

Into the woods

THREE NEWLY-LAUNCHED MEN’S EAU DE PARFUMS MAKE HEROES OF WOODY NOTES AND ARE SET TO BE AUTUMN’S SMASH SCENTS. BY MARTIN JACOBS

It’s tempting to consider woody fragrances better suited to the depths of winter. In fact, their outdoorsy – at times, spicy –allure offers a balanced earthiness with year-round appeal. Take LV Lovers, for example. Tasked by Pharrell Williams, Men’s Creative Director at Louis Vuitton, to create a masculine fragrance that captures the scent of the sun, perfumer Jacques Cavallier

STYLE

Love eternal

THE INFINITY RING FROM SHIMANSKY WITH ITS UNIQUE DESIGN IS AN AWARD-WINNING MASTERPIECE AND A TESTIMONY TO EVERLASTING LOVE.

The ring – with no beginning or end – has always been a symbol of eternal love. Designed to capture precious memories and the sentiment of everlasting love, the infinity double ring is a bold interpretation of the concept of infinite bonds and emotional connections. This Shimansky exclusive is expertly crafted in 18-karat yellow gold and showcases 130 round brilliant diamonds weighing a total of 1.52 carats.

shimansky.co.za

Belletrud drew inspiration from the earthiness of tree trunks expanding in the sun. For warmth, he turned to sandalwood and cedarwood, pairing them with the minerality of root ginger and the lightness of bergamot.

The olfactory pull and timeless harmony of sandalwood, bergamot and ginger are equally alluring in Ferragamo Red Leather, the newest in a line of leather fragrances from Italian luxury goods house Ferragamo. With mandarin orange and jasmine also in the mix, Ferragamo Red Leather offers a lighter woody scent, anchored by vetiver, that’s easy-wearing both day and night as the last of summer fades.

Vetiver forms the base note in Black Meisterstück Absolute Incense too, our favourite of four fragrances in the just-launched Montblanc Collection. Inspired by the iconic Meisterstück writing instrument, celebrating its centennial (watch Wes Anderson’s short film for more on this), perfumer Jordi Fernández’s scent champions a woody resin incense. Its strong smokiness and amber middle notes make it perfect for autumn evenings out on the town.

DEPARTURES

A world away

SITUATED 28KM FROM LONDON LIES AN UPMARKET 300-ACRE COUNTRY RETREAT – A MORE PERFECT ESCAPE WOULD BE HARD TO FIND. BY ANNA

BENNETT

The former home of the Earls of Clarendon is now a luxury hotel. The Grove in Hertfordshire is a stellar attraction for day visitors and travellers, and a fabulous venue for special occasions.

The luxury hotel reflects a historic elegance, while the modern amentities and facilities, including a championship 18-hole golf course and the Sequoia Spa, introduce sport, leisure and pampering into the mix. For fine dining, visit The Glasshouse, one of five dining options and well known for its extensive buffet.

For younger guests, aged two to eight, there’s a mini Land-Rover replica to explore. Activities and events are plentiful and well conceived, such as wreath- and bauble-making with Jo Malone London over the festive season. An outdoor pool and early evening outdoor movie screenings have proven very popular in summer. The Grove, in conjunction with Feast on Cloud 9, will be reintroducing its hot-air-balloon dining experience this year, during which guests embark on a nostalgic culinary journey to the fairground with surprises along the way. thegrove.co.uk

STYLE

The art of living

ROCHE BOBOIS CONTINUES TO UNITE DESIGNERS, CREATORS AND ARTISANS UNDER THE SHARED VALUES OF CRAFTSMANSHIP, INNOVATION AND RESPONSIBILITY.

Celebrating creativity, innovation and unmistakable French art de vivre, Roche Bobois’s autumn/winter range highlights myriad iconic pieces. At the heart of the collection is the Mah Jong sofa. Reinterpreted with striking new bases available in coloured lacquer, the sofa introduces contrasting tones and a Japaneseinspired finish, further enhancing its iconic aesthetic. Designed by Kenzo Takada for Roche Bobois, Mah Jong’s chrysanthemuminspired fabrics additionally feature sophisticated jacquard and burntout-velvet techniques. The result: a visually dynamic piece, that can be further accentuated with vibrant cushions, rugs and ceramics that elevate its artistic expression.

Making a singular statement this season in the Préface modular sofa in pearl-grey. Offering a harmonious blend of softness and modernity, it is perfectly complemented by a modular system of steel tubes and glass panels that allows for endless configurations, including cocktail tables, sofa back units, pedestal tables and bookcases.

Joining Patrick Norguet’s Elanta collection is a refined round marquetry-top table, as well as sophisticated bookcases that will lend elegance to any space. Meanwhile, Christophe Delcourt’s Palatine collection welcomes a new cocktail table and a striking china unit with an integrated bar, blending craftsmanship with functional artistry.

Finally, an exquisite selection of decorative accessories, lamps and rugs showcasing exceptional materials and savoir-faire lend depth and texture to the season’s designs. More than just furniture, this collection is an invitation to embrace a lifestyle where bold design meets artistic expression. roche-bobois.com

DEPARTURES

In search of cheetahs

AN EXCLUSIVE SLACKPACKING EXPERIENCE IN THE EASTERN CAPE OFFERS EXCEPTIONAL ANIMAL SIGHTINGS, INCLUDING THE ELUSIVE CHEETAH.

A three-day cheetah-tracking trail is one of the latest offerings from iconic luxury game lodge Samara Karoo Reserve in the Eastern Cape. It’s in this vast semi-arid landscape with its dramatic escarpment that you can disappear for a three-night, four-day guided hiking adventure, slackpacking 10 to 15kms a day with qualified guides and trackers.

Not only will they walk you through Samara’s various biomes, they’ll also share first-hand expert knowledge of the elusive cheetah. On your second night, you’ll camp under the stars (complete with mosquito nets draped over the trees to create a cocoon-like bed) and experience the delight of seeing the Milky Way in the middle of this Big Five game reserve.

The Samara Cheetah Trail is designed for those who want to enjoy a safari with a difference and who appreciate the opportunity to explore the rich diversity of plant and animal life on foot. The hiking is not too strenuous and guides highlight animal tracks and signs (like scratches on trees), identify flora and share information on the geology of the area. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and one that will linger for a long time. samara.co.za

THE LONGINES MASTER COLLECTION

TASTINGS Africa’s rarest blend

FORAGED BY DESERT-DWELLING SAN COMMUNITIES, KALAHARI TRUFFLES – OR N’ABBAS – ARE RICH IN NUTRIENTS AND HAVE A SUBTLE FLAVOUR SOMEWHERE BETWEEN A POTATO AND A PORCINI MUSHROOM. BY KEITH BAIN

Quite unlike the black French truffle most of us are familiar with, Kalahari truffles are traditionally consumed fresh after being slow-cooked under sand covered with hot coals. Now a small team of entrepreneurs, looking to showcase their delicate flavour, has created a pair of sipping liquors that they’ve branded Kalahari Truffles and brought to market. By drying the truffles and then infusing them into a yellow maize spirit base distilled at Pienaar & Sons in Cape Town, independent spirit-maker Angie Smith has developed two tipples that are rare, refined and utterly unique.

One is a delicious sipping vodka with a gentle infusion of the truffles’ unmistakeable flavour. Perfect for a refined palate looking for an elegant, slightly left-of-centre taste that comes alive with the addition of just a block of ice. The first batch comprises a mere 1 500 bottles.

There is also an ever-so-slightly-sweet aperitif infused with truffles and handharvested honey and finished with aloe and African citrus fruit. It’s a slightly bolder expression of the truffles’ earthy umaminess, gently captured in a golden liquid. Just 950 bottles were produced in its first distillation. The idea going forward is to help the communities that are collecting n’abbas to develop a sustainable, cultivated crop through research into viable inoculation of potential host plants, which is crucial at a time when climate change is having an impact on the fungus’s availability. kalaharitruffles.co.za

MASTER OF MATERIALS

CENTRIX OPEN HEART

A TRIBUTE IN A TIMEPIECE

Rare and exceptional limited-edition timepieces are inspired by the Chinese Zodiac’s Year of the Snake.

WORDS SUSAN NEWHAM-BLAKE

THE YEAR 2025 marks the beginning of the Chinese Zodiac’s Year of the Snake. For Swiss watchmakers, this offers a unique opportunity to create commemorative limited-edition timepieces that are artistic tributes to an animal revered for its wisdom, grace and transformative powers. From intricate engravings to vibrant enamel dials and sophisticated designs, each watch tells a unique story, blending expert craftsmanship with cultural significance.

BLANCPAIN VILLERET CALENDRIER CHINOIS TRADITIONNEL 2025 WATCH

For the 14th consecutive year, Blancpain’s commemorative timepiece pays homage to the lunar new year, engraved on the watch’s rotor. Produced in a limited edition, this calendar is the first to pair a platinum case with a green grand feu enamel dial. The snake takes pride of place on the 22-karat whitegold rotor of the Villeret Calendrier Chinois Traditionnel 2025 with its frosted finish. Brought to life in Blancpain’s Métiers d’Art workshop, the reptile has been delicately drawn by in-house artisans. This calendar sign is accompanied by natural ruby and an engraving in Chinese characters reflecting the words ‘serpent’ and ‘wood’.

HUBLOT SPIRIT OF BIG BANG YEAR OF THE SNAKE

Hublot’s Spirit of Big Bang Year of the Snake stands out with its bold design and high-tech materials. A creative 42mm timepiece featuring a microblasted and polished black ceramic case is paired with an intricately engraved bezel designed to mimic snakeskin texture. Limited to just 88 pieces, the skeletonised dial showcases a gold snake appliqué coiled gracefully around the three subdials, with the snake’s head positioned at 12 o’clock. Through the dial and sapphire caseback is a view of the Zenith El Primero-based Hublot caliber HUB4700, a self-winding chronograph movement with a 50-hour power reserve.

THE BREGUET CLASSIQUE 7145 YEAR OF THE SNAKE EDITION

Limited to just eight pieces, the Breguet Classique 7145 Lunar New Year 2025 watch highlights the brand’s mastery of decorative techniques with a head-turning snake-themed dial. Cased in 18-karat rose gold, the 40mm watch features a fluted caseband — one of Breguet’s signature design elements. Highlighting Breguet’s artisanal prowess, the snake and foliage on the dial come alive with hand-engraving and guilloché. Armed with chisels, burins and a microscope, the engraver removes gold from the base to create a rich, two-dimensional composition.

BVLGARI SERPENTI AUTOMATIC

You don’t need the Year of the Snake to wear a snakeinspired watch. Just ask Bulgari. The Bulgari Serpenti is by far the world’s most famous snake watch. Introduced in the 1940s, the Serpenti collection has continuously evolved, offering iterations that range from sleek and modern to opulent and gem-encrusted. With its signature coiled bracelets wrapping around the wrist, the Serpenti Viper and Serpenti Tubogas both capture the allure and mystique of the serpent. With options in gold, steel or fully paved diamond versions, this iconic timepiece can be worn regardless of what cycle of the Chinese Calendar we’re currently in.

IWC PORTOFINO AUTOMATIC MOON PHASE 37

YEAR OF THE SNAKE

The Portofino Automatic Moon Phase 37 Year of the Snake features a stainless steel case with a diameter of 37mm and a burgundy dial. This unique shade of red symbolises the vibrant colour of fire, typically used to welcome the lunar new year in China. The golden moon and stars stand out against the burgundy background and harmonise beautifully with the gold-plated hands and appliqués. The watch is powered by the IWC-man ufactured 32800 caliber with automatic winding and a power reserve of five days. A special highlight is hidden on the back: the oscillating mass, made of solid 18-carat 5N gold, is crafted in the shape of a snake, a nod to the lunar new year.

VACHERON CONSTANTIN MÉTIERS D’ART

THE LEGEND OF THE CHINESE ZODIAC

YEAR OF THE SNAKE

Vacheron Constantin’s Métiers d’Art collection is renowned for its intricate craftsmanship, and the Year of the Snake edition is no exception. Limited to just 25 pieces per colourway, these timepieces feature an intri cately hand-engraved snake motif, positioned against a stunning grand feu enamel dial in blue for the platinum version and brown for the pink-gold version. Its self-winding movement is stamped with the Hallmark of Geneva, a guarantee of excellence and reliability.

JAEGER-LECOULTRE

THE REVERSO TRIBUTE ENAMEL ‘SNAKE’

La Grande Maison adds a new chapter to its continu ing story of craftsmanship and artistry with the Reverso Tribute Enamel ‘Snake’, the third in a series paying homage to the Chinese Zodiac, following the years of the Tiger and Dragon.

FROM INTRICATE ENGRAVINGS TO VIBRANT ENAMEL DIALS AND SOPHISTICATED DESIGNS, EACH WATCH TELLS A UNIQUE STORY.

The reverse of the watch case reveals a striking, handengraved snake emerging from a wreath of golden clouds, set against a background of glossy black grand feu enamel. The polished surfaces of the snake’s body, the fine details of its scales – which are hand-drawn with black rhodium – and the contrasting sandblasted texture of the clouds catch and refract the light to enhance the illusion of movement.

LONGINES CONQUEST HERITAGE YEAR OF THE SNAKE

To celebrate the Year of the Snake in 2025, Longines has launched a special edition of its Conquest Heritage model. Renowned Chinese artist Wu Jian’an was invited to create a special design, which features a mystical snake holding a lingzhi mushroom in its mouth, intricately engraved on the caseback. Limited to 2 025 pieces, this exceptional timepiece features a 40mm stainless steel case with an angled screwed-down caseback engraved with the unique snake emblem, a symbol of good fortune.

Cartier’s Trinity collection includes a snake motif that appears on the bands of the rings. The snake motif is one of several animal motifs that Cartier has incorporated into the Trinity collection, which also includes the tiger and panther. Each ring in the tripartite design features distinct characteristics — snake-like scales in white gold, black lacquered panther spots, and tiger stripes in yellow and rose gold, with each band shaped to reflect its animal inspiration.

CARTIER

A WORLD AT PLAY

The largest contemporary art fair on the continent is testimony to the extraordinary artists, collectors and galleries who are dedicated to fostering emerging and established talent. This year Everard Read was there leading the pack.

WORDS ANNA BENNETT

THE ANNUAL INVESTEC CAPE TOWN ART FAIR is a mustattend for any serious art lover and an enticing event for both collectors and investors. The fair acts as a vehicle to provide interaction between local and international artists, curators and galleries, showcasing unique and exciting works from here and abroad as well as exposing artists to new audiences and buyers. And while there is serious business to be done, anyone who’s ever attended this electric occasion knows this is also a world that is very much at play.

Emma Vandermerwe, head curator at Everard Read, has been with the country’s oldest commercial gallery (established in 1913) for about a decade. She notes that the broad thematic for this year was indeed the notion of play, in a more formalised, conceptual manner.

LEFT ‘Tjaila time’ (2023) by Warren Maroon is an anti-clockwise mechanism made from slate, gold chain and bottle necks.

OPPOSITE PAGE Thonton Kabeya’s ‘I love Cape Town’ series, mixed media.

Vandermerwe says, ‘We chose to have a large booth to feature plenty of our senior artists, our up-and-coming artists, and a few surprises, but the focus was on three seminal iconic artists from the gallery.’ To this end, Everard Read curated a space to enable audiences to engage in poignant dialogues with human-scale sculptures created by iconic female artists Mmakgabo Helen Sebidi, whom Vandermerwe describes as the matriarch of South African art, Nandipha Mntambo, who has been shortlisted for The Norval Sovereign African Art Prize 2025, and Teresa Kutala Firmino, who is most well known for her wall-based collages and textured painting.

Vandermerwe explains that each of these artists produced a life-size sculpture recreation of the female form and investigated what it meant for a woman to occupy three-dimensional space using visual language that evokes stories of trauma, power and fable in their communities.

The booth also highlighted works by a select group of the gallery’s leading and emerging artists with artworks spanning a variety of media, from ceramic and paintings to textiles, bronzes and installations.

The gallery’s Tomorrows/Today booth, the more experimental space, featured Warren Maroon, who turns to art as a form of liberation. He took the notion of play and pushed it further into a direction that addresses the trauma and violence in his community.

While art can function as a reinforcer of societal structures, for Maroon it can also be used to drive social change. Based in Cape Town, and brought up on the Cape Flats, he was exposed to the harsh realities of gangsterism, drugs and violence, leading him to turn to art as a form of refuge.

Finding inspiration in the Arte Povera movement, which makes use of worthless or everyday materials such as earth or newspaper, he creates sculptures from found objects. By using this familiar humble media – the detritus of life, such as glass, rugs, matchsticks, barbed wire, fabrics and tools – he aims to undermine power dynamics through robustly but playfully reimagining the banal in order to create a sense of personal and collective agency.

‘Warren uses language that evokes the everyday materiality that surrounds him. He translates it in playful, personal and

experimental ways, speaking very closely to the spaces that his community occupies and the issues and livelihoods that are affected by the social structures around him,’ says Vandermerwe.

The 25 artists occupying the main section booth included Atang Tshikare, Blessing Ngobeni (a former winner of the Standard Bank Young Artist Award), Brett Murray, Brett Charles Seiler, Githan Coopoo, Keabetswe Seema, Sanell Aggenbach, Tafadzwa Tega and Vusumzi Nkomo.

‘The gallery occupies a great, strong breadth of language when it comes to the artists we represent, so there’s painting, collage, thread and fabric work, woodwork, bronze work and a few surprises as well,’ says Vandermerwe.

OPPOSITE PAGE Sanell Aggenbach’s ‘Nina’ (2024), oil on canvas.

THIS PAGE CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT Keabetswe Seema’s ‘Target Practice: The Sins of The Window Seals’ (2024), mixed media on Fabriano.

Atang Tshikare’s ‘Pabala’ (2024), bronze and wood.

‘Resting Spirit’ (2024) by Blessing Ngobeni, mixed media on canvas.

How does Everard Read differentiate from other galleries?

Vandermerwe says that each of the galleries in the South African art scene occupies its own space. ‘The breadth of artists we represent resides in a very unique domain in the industry. Mmakgabo Sebidi is over 80 years old, she’s self-taught; there are very few artists of her ilk still alive. She holds a distinctive homestead space with her self-portraits.

‘I feel like each of our artists, regardless of the form that they’re choosing to take with their language, whether it’s painting, sculpture, video or photography, occupies a space that is very much grounded in the traditions of mark making. What I mean by that is all our artists in the booth are very preoccupied

RIGHT Warren Maroon’s ‘Between a Rock and a Hard Place’ (2021), created from found chairs, glass, hammers and clamps.

BELOW Warren Maroon’s ‘Idle Threats’ (2024), produced from matchsticks and balsa wood.

with social commentary, political commentary, personal commentary but also the action of mark making and the deep investigation into the process of making. That is the kind of unifying force that links them together,’ says Vandermerwe.

Younger artists like Keabetswe Seema, who won the Blessing Ngobeni Art Prize last year, and painter and sculptor Boytchie were exhibited, together with the established artists who have been working with the gallery for years.

Vandermerwe says the Investec Art Fair is critical in terms of the local art landscape. ‘I’m a big fan of Investec’s focus. I think the team pushes very aggressively and very hard to occupy a really pertinent space in the art fair world. It’s very hard to get international galleries and collectors in the international space here and, increasingly, we’ve seen more museums, more foundations, more international curators and galleries coming to the fair, and I think it’s a testament to how hard they’re working. It’s important – we can’t occupy a proper space in the global art world if we don’t have a moment in time in the global calendar where groups of art members can congregate. The fair is a good example of where you should come if you want to get a good feel for what’s going on on the African continent.’

‘THE FAIR IS A GOOD EXAMPLE OF WHERE YOU SHOULD COME IF YOU WANT TO GET A FEEL FOR WHAT’S GOING ON ON THE AFRICAN CONTINENT.’

Vandermerwe says a lot of collectors flew in this year whom she’d been asking to come to the fair since ‘forever’ and who finally made the commitment. These are the same collectors who are visiting the Frieze, Armory and Art Basel art fairs and who are in private dinner-party conversations with the bluechip galleries.

‘Cape Town is a destination of choice. Creative industries across the board are world class so it’s affirming to know we’re all putting our best feet forward as a community during this time.’ 

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ADVENTUROUS

ARCHITECTURE

The world’s newest buildings are fearlessly original, pushing the boundaries of design, construction and material use. Be they museums, homes or otherwise, they prioritise user experience. Step inside and discover our favourites.

WORDS MARTIN JACOBS

THIS PAGE The roof of Aruma Split Garden, a multistorey restaurant, bar and beer garden in Jakarta, is the building’s most innovative architectural element. Its sweeping concrete form serves as a recreational space, with cantilevered steps designed to double as seating for its patrons.

TOP RIGHT Stepped and split-level terraces are camouflaged by their tropical surroundings and the overall thoughtful landscaping.

Aruma Split Garden JAKARTA,

INDONESIA

THE ARCHITECTS RAD+ar

THE BUILDING Whether visiting the restaurant, the bar one storey up, or the beer garden on the roof, for patrons of Aruma Split Garden in Jakarta’s lush Kemang neighbourhood, the transition from street level to rooftop is a seamless and interactive experience. It’s also one that constantly connects patrons to the surrounding greenery, regardless of where they may be in the building. These two outcomes were the primary focus for RAD+ar’s principal architect, Antonius Richard, when conceptualising the new build. The compact site demanded an inventive design, and the city’s tropical climate begged for architecture that blurred the threshold between indoors and out. ‘Our concept was to explore the potential of split-level design in creating distinct zones,’ explains Richard. ‘The design tries to combine many elements in one gesture.’ Nowhere is this idea of multifunctionality expressed through a single form more evident than in Aruma Split Garden’s roof. Its wave-like structure serves as a façade, a wall, a cantilevered and stepped recreational space, and as furniture. And in doing all this, becomes an entirely functional space, maximised to full effect. Not only do its steps act as seating for patrons of the beer garden, but its sweeping concrete form curves upwards to a thin skylight that runs the length of the building, allowing light into the restaurant below. Lighting is concealed both indoors and out, and concrete planters are home to tropical plants that reach up through, or cascade between, the building’s split levels. WHY WE LOVE IT Aruma Split Garden gets our vote for its compelling and considered use of split-level design. Whether inside or across the building’s exterior, varying levels are almost too many to count, resulting in intimate spaces, unusual lookout points, a structure that’s truly interactive, and a rooftop that is both functionally and aesthetically intriguing. radarchitecture.net

‘By documenting the reception of the popup from city to city across China, we’ve been able to witness how it’s been used, which sometimes is not what we intended as architects but interesting for us to explore and adapt when moving on to the next location,’ explains Zhan Di, of the demountable structure with its unusual stacked grain-sack walls.

Cycle Cycle Mobile Bakehouse HANGZHOU, CHINA

THE ARCHITECTS F.O.G. Architecture

THE STRUCTURE Following Shanghai’s Covid-19 lockdown, the founding architects of F.O.G. Architecture, Zhan Di and Zheng Yu, sought to investigate ways in which food can reactivate public spaces. An unusual brief from a client provided the opportunity, and Cycle Cycle Mobile Bakehouse, a pop-up café and bakery designed to be demounted for transportation by truck, was the result. Inspired by traditional barns, the modular wooden framework is easily assembled, then infilled with stacked grain sacks to form façades. ‘Our design leaves small openings between sacks, to allow actions like coffee-making or bread-packaging to be seen from outside,’ says Yu. ‘But details such as the placement of the grain sacks, and the length of the curtain are figured out on site, with input from builders and sometimes passers-by, adding a sense of the impromptu.’ Bamboo mats, curtains, a timber ladder and low timber chairs designed by the architects, complete the material palette. Di explains how the ladder and chairs directly reference those found in rural settings. He says, ‘The mats on the rainproof canopy and the rough texture of the fabrics in their primitive states present the beauty of wild nature. To encourage people to interact with the structure, its bottom forms a low seating area inspired by the benches used by farmers who work close to the ground, while the sack façade forms a backrest. Draped curtains offer privacy.’ The duo considers the daily opening and unfolding of the bakehouse to be a performative moment for passers-by, who are then drawn to the structure by the wafting aromas of coffee and baked goods.

WHY WE LOVE IT With a strong focus on sustainable and recyclable materials, Cycle Cycle Mobile Bakehouse’s innovative design – particularly its clever use of stacked sacks – lends itself to adaptability and creative interpretation and is well-suited to varying economies and climates. fogarchitecture.com

Enclosure House HIMMATNAGAR, INDIA

THE ARCHITECTS Design ni Dukaan THE BUILDING ‘We were relying on our client’s brief to inspire the design of his family home, but his complete disinterest in how the house would look from the outside prompted us to question the very basis of built forms,’ says principal architect Veeram Shah of the residential project. Given that the slightly elevated site has verdant views in all directions, Shah’s conceptual solution was unexpected. ‘The experience of space from within took precedence over the external form,’ he explains. The result is a citadel-like home, enclosed by the undulating walls of a ‘second skin’. Views aren’t outward but, instead, are of several internal courtyards – with the exception of three ‘sentinels’ that project above the boundary wall. ‘We imagined them in conversation, floating above a seamless sea of green once the vegetation has reclaimed the concrete.’ Ask Shah about the extensive use of off-shutter concrete, and he’ll tell you that the logistics of construction in a remote, rural location had much to do with it. The client, formerly a farmer and now a businessman, insisted on local labour. Asking a village contractor to build a sample wall, both men were so seduced by the ‘anticipated imperfections’ that resulted that they decided concrete would set the architectural tone. Paired with it are Kota stone and wood, and the occasional use of terracotta and white as accent colours both indoors and out blurs thresholds within the home. ‘Disrupted by several delays, including two lockdowns, the seven-and-a-half years it took to complete this home gave us the opportunity to repeatedly reassess our ideas of what architecture is,’ says Shah.

WHY WE LOVE IT Design ni Dukaan’s Enclosure House is architecture considered outside of the proverbial box. Rather than powering up on surrounding tropical views, Shah’s design provides plentiful opportunities for introspective, familycentric living.

designnidukaan.com

For the most part a single-storey home, the citadellike walls that encircle architect Veeram Shah’s design block views outwards across the surrounding rural landscape. Instead, rooms face onto a series of internal courtyard gardens, the growth of which, with time, will reclaim parts of the concrete boundary.

Erlebnis-Hus

SANKT PETER-ORDING, GERMANY

THE ARCHITECTS Holzer Kobler Architekturen

Unusual in appearance, Erlebnis-Hus is a community and visitors’ centre that, at a quick glance, looks as if it could still be under construction. Sited along a promenade that borders a dyke in the North Sea town of Sankt Peter-Ording, the building is the result of a competition win by architects Holzer Kobler to replace a community centre in the nearby village. Founding architect Barbara Holzer explains that the construction was inspired by traditional pile structures on a local beach, elevated to cope with high tides. Erlebnis-Hus is also elevated, as it sits in a flood-protection zone. ‘The building comprises an exposed load-bearing structure made of laminated timber, within which five oversized solid wood cubes are inserted at various heights and positions,’ she says. Each of the cubes are enclosed on three sides by a suspended wooden façade, while the fourth side is fitted with full-height windows that offer views of surrounding salt marshes, stilt houses, the beach and a nearby lighthouse. The cubes house an analogue games room, an information centre, restaurant and more; their roofs provide terraces, many kitted with play equipment. For the adventurous, there’s a skatepark, as well as a 47m-long slide from rooftop to ground level. ‘We want visitors to interact with the building, and such equipment encourages play in, on, under, beside and around the house,’ says co-founder Tristan Kobler. ‘We were tasked with finding a sustainable, ecological and innovative solution, contributing to the attractiveness of the location, both from a tourism and societal perspective.’ WHY WE LOVE IT There’s boldness in designing a building that, for those not familiar with the vernacular architecture, looks somewhat incomplete. That said, Erlebnis-Hus merges with the surrounding foliage, its pale colours derived from the terrain, and serving as camouflage within it. st-peter-ording.de/erlebnis-hus

Constructed, in part, from Siberian larch, the design of Erlebnis-Hus community and visitors’ centre allows for the building to expand further, with possible additions to come. Conceptualised as a space in and around which play is encouraged, its wood-and-glass cubelike structures slot into its timber frame.

Abrahamic Family House

ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

THE ARCHITECTS Adjaye Associates

THE BUILDING Designed by Ghanaian-British starchitect Sir David Adjaye, Abrahamic Family House is an interfaith complex created to foster dialogue and learning, and allow for the practice of faith. The complex comprises three separate houses of worship – a church, a synagogue and a mosque – that sit atop an architectural plinth, home to a welcome centre and other shared spaces. Constructed primarily from Omani limestone, concrete, textured plaster, timber and bronze, each of the three houses of worship has a cubic form, measuring 30m3, that’s oriented on the site according to religious references (the church towards the east, the direction of the rising sun, the synagogue towards Jerusalem, and the mosque towards Mecca). Gardens, walkways and water features connect the three buildings. Adjaye drew on religious similarities when designing the spaces. ‘Their forms are translated from the three faiths, carefully using the lens to define what is similar as opposed to what is different,’ he explains. Shape and material palette are what unite the buildings, all three sharing an off-white concrete exterior, the material chosen not only to deflect the sun’s heat, but to reference the sand and mountains of the Emirati. Their façades differ, though. The church’s towering columns symbolise vertical rays of light, while those of the synagogue reference overlapping palm fronds on a sukkah (a traditional temporary prayer shelter used during the Festival of Sukkot). Seven elongated arches on each façade of the mosque reflect the importance of the number in Islam. Adjaye considered sustainability and passive cooling for the façades, taking into account thermal modelling studies to balance illumination and shade.

WHY WE LOVE IT In an era of waning religious tolerance, Abrahamic Family House nurtures an acceptance of (and among) different beliefs, cultures and nationalities, and encourages a peaceful co-existence. abrahamicfamilyhouse.ae

ABOVE Light filters through mashrabiya screens onto seamless colonnades in the mosque.

FAR LEFT Abrahamic Family House is an interfaith complex that includes three houses of worship: from left, the Imam Al-Tayeb Mosque, the Moses Ben Maimon Synagogue and St Francis Church.

LEFT A draped bronze mesh tent in the synagogue symbolises the original tabernacle.

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In fashion, the turnaround between seasons may be quick, but Nigeria’s upstart designers are going against the grain of mass production, eschewing trends, ignoring convention, and ultimately forging their own path in a norm-defying embrace of sartorial reinvention.

WORDS KEITH BAIN

TOMORROW’S THREADS TODAY

IT WAS LIKE STARING into couture’s crystal ball, one model after the other gliding down the runway and into the future. Draped and dressed in sometimes maximalist, sometimes barely-there clothes that might have been beamed in from a vaguely parallel universe, they bore evidence of intense sartorial daring.

The maverick fashion designers responsible included Adeju Thompson, founder of the gender-neutral label Lagos Space Programme, winner of the Woolmark Prize in 2023 and a 2021 LVMH Prize semifinalist. Another was disruptor-in-chief Bubu Ogisi, who has been called a ‘savant of subversion’ and whose ethical pan-African womenswear brand IAMISIGO continues to cause jaws to drop with its innovative ideas about how the body can be covered – and what material can be used to do so.

These two creatives are not only at the forefront of Nigeria’s alternative fashion scene, but are also breaking down international barriers, accruing awards and accolades from institutions that have recognised the ways in which they’re using fashion not only as a means of personal expression but also as a force for social change.

Which is precisely why last year, Thompson and Ogisi became the first designers from outside South Africa to be featured at Confections x Collections (CxC), Cape Town’s premier fashion event, hosted each summer at the Mount Nelson hotel. Curated by Twyg, a platform championing the cause of sustainability in fashion, the event showcases the continent’s most groundbreaking and ethically astute designers.

Ogisi and Thompson were a perfect fit for the event, not only because they both share deep sentiments about the need for fashion to reevaluate itself, but because of their instinctual focus on remaining true to the spirit of where they come from – and where their inspiration lies.

OPPOSITE PAGE On the grounds of Cape Town’s Mount Nelson hotel, a model poses in a shaggy overcoat draped over a buttonless shirt, part of an ensemble by Nigerian designer Adeju Thompson, founder of Lagos Space Programme, a label known for defying sartorial convention.

THIS PAGE Designer Bubu Ogisi is renowned for using unexpected materials to craft norm-defying garments. Her frock made from hundreds of interlinking brass pieces (below) was initially created for supermodel Naomi Campbell.

THOMPSON AND OGISI ARE USING FASHION NOT ONLY AS A MEANS OF PERSONAL EXPRESSION BUT ALSO AS A FORCE FOR SOCIAL CHANGE.

DESIGN

MATERIAL GAINS:

FASHIONING FABRICS FROM THE FUTURE

The clothes these designers sent down the runway were in many ways a form of sartorial science fiction. There was Ogisi’s use of recycled plastic transformed into a kind of space-age fabric. And there were her frocks made of metal. Thompson’s oversized shaggy coat worn over an open-fronted buttonless dress shirt – chest exposed to the navel, a huge golden metal buckle at an angle across the waist – might have been channelled from a costume party at the end of the world.

These were a form of sophisticated soothsaying, the creations of designers who have seen the future and know how we’ll be dressed when we get there.

And, as is the case with all things fashion, there was a kookiness, a fabulous sense of quirk and defiance against cookie-cutter conformity. And there was the potential to be a source of raised eyebrows, even baffled bemusement. But there was, above all, a message, an underlying philosophy and a story. These were garments with depth and meaning. And it was clothing that made you want to reach out and touch, to feel the textures, figure out what in the world they were made from, and how they came to exist.

Both designers are the products of an international upbringing, having grown up in Lagos and the UK, and

THIS PAGE AND OPPOSITE For her boundarybreaking IAMISIGO label, Bubu Ogisi (below) is constantly researching indigenous fabrics while exploring ways to make clothes from new materials. Whether they’re knitted from wool or created using raffia, hemp, cannabis, even reclaimed plastic, the result is a line of bold, provocative looks that lean into textures and textiles that look like they’ve never before existed.

both having studied design in Europe. And yet Thompson and Ogisi both say they’re working to decolonise fashion, creating modes of dress that eschew expectations imposed from the outside.

Dedicated to preserving and reimagining ancestral garmentmaking processes, Ogisi’s IAMISIGO label has been decolonising the wardrobe in astonishing ways.

At CxC, she showcased one of her latest obsessions: avantgarde knitted bikinis made from material as soft and fluffy as candyfloss, so delicate you probably wouldn’t dare wear it to jump into the sea. Those she paired with matching thigh-high knitted socks.

And there were garments drawn from her ‘Green Water, Blue Forest’ collection, which includes over a dozen styles made from hand-crocheted recycled plastic, woven together with cotton, silk and hemp sourced from a company that uses agricultural waste to create textile-grade fibre. The collection is a collaboration with Kenyan artisans who did the crocheting, stitching and weaving.

FEW THINGS ARE MORE WONDROUS TO OGISI THAN THE TOUCHY-FEELY BEAUTY OF A THING THAT’S MADE WITH REAL FLESH-AND-BLOOD HUMAN EFFORT.

Also shown were handmade metallic frocks, based on the one she designed and created for Naomi Campbell to wear during a Victoria’s Secret campaign that rolled out in various fashion capitals in 2023. The clinky, shimmering dress was an interplay of negligee and tunic composed from hundreds of brass pendantlike pieces that had to be linked and welded together much like medieval chainmail.

As with her garments knitted from raffia, cannabis, hemp and other highly organic, raw and sometimes unrefined materials, Ogisi’s metallic creation for the supermodel was born out of an interest in experimenting in order to find unexpected answers to the problem of how we can cover ourselves. Leaning into potentially subversive solutions is the twist that makes Ogisi’s label both eye-catching and exhilarating. What’s potentially more important, though, is her fetishisation of anything crafted by hand. Few things are more wondrous to her, she says, than the touchy-feely beauty of a thing that’s made with real flesh-andblood human effort.

WHAT HUMANS WEAR: A SPACE FOR GENDER-FLUID FASHION

Calling your fashion label ‘non-binary’ is one way of putting yourself out there, but while Thompson describes Lagos Space Programme as a ‘contemporary genderless label exploring multidisciplinary collaborative futures’, they are also averse to putting a label on anything. Their philosophy is about defying convention in order to create from a place unburdened by expectation. ‘I draw on Yoruba dress codes, European tailoring, and a very queer energy, blending these influences to create something new,’ Thompson says.

Like Ogisi, Thompson’s audaciousness stems from being an artist at heart, someone whose passion is for pushing the bounds of possibility rather than stopping for someone else’s ideas of what can and should be. For Thompson, gender-neutral design has a lot to do with ignoring fashion codes imposed by Eurocentric aesthetics; fluidity in fashion is thus a form of anti-colonial protest, a way of moving beyond externally-dictated norms. It is African, Thompson believes, to explore the ‘spaces between’.

A hallmark of many of Thompson’s designs is the use of Adire, an indigo resist-dyed textile synonymous with Yoruba clothing. This traditional fabric is elevated and reinvented to become ‘post-Adire’, expressing something of the evolutionary nature of fashion that takes from and builds on the past. In Thompson’s orbit, there are ‘post-Adire’ lab coats, knitted ‘post-Adire’ tank tops and Yoruba workwear-style wide trousers. This absorption and redeployment of heritage techniques is combined into an aesthetic that can be both subversive and whimsical: a shirt’s collar trailing down to the navel; the edges of a wrap skirt purposefully frayed; a vest tailored to become a hybrid so that it is also a shirt or a waistcoat; or workaday lab coats reinvented as luxury evening attire.

At the same time, Thompson says that the label ‘deliberately avoids modes of presentation

THIS PAGE AND OPPOSITE Adeju Thompson (left) designs clothing as a form of sartorial liberation. There are no rules, no genders. Instead, while drawing on Yoruba heritage, elements of formal European tailoring, and a very personal sense of style and playfulness, Thompson imaginatively blurs the lines to create clothing that alludes to an ‘anything is possible’ future.

IT’S A LABEL FOR ‘UNDERDOGS’, AN AESTHETIC MEANT TO APPEAL TO THOSE WHO ‘GET IT’, RATHER THAN TRYING TO APPEASE POPULIST, MASS-MARKET TASTES.

that support Western ideas of how we, as Nigerians or Africans, are expected to present ourselves’.

This can mean purposefully situating fashion within what seems to be an alternate universe by blurring the lines of influence and inspiration to come up with something that’s difficult to categorise: jeans with cut-out pockets; hand-dyed hoodies; the neckline of a Yoruba-style agbada (a flowing men’s robe with wide sleeves) tethered to a soccer shirt… all ways of creating clothing that avoids easy classification.

Thompson happily admits that these are not clothes for the mainstream. Instead, it’s a label for ‘underdogs’, an aesthetic meant

to appeal to those who ‘get it’, rather than trying to appease populist, mass-market tastes.

There are, however, certain precepts by which everything that comes out of Lagos Space Programme studio must abide. And one is very simple: the clothing must be beautiful. That goes without saying for a designer based in Lagos, a city that is sartorially savvy, and whose people are instinctively switched on to the power of looking their best. What Thompson hopes to convey, though, is the idea that beauty is not merely in the eye of the beholder, but is something that comes from the soul of the people who make a culture happen. 

MAIN ATTRACTION

As the motoring world gears up for a stellar season of motor shows, Private Edition curates a trio of A-list destinations, together with highly anticipated new models.

WORDS PETER FROST

New launches, prototypes and classic cars... Motor shows have always attracted huge crowds. And this year, there’s good reason to travel to some of the world’s most notable regions and take in all things motoring.

SHANGHAI MOTOR SHOW

CHINA 25 APRIL TO 2 MAY

The ascendency of China has heralded a rise in the importance of Sino motoring shows, perhaps none more important than Shanghai’s. The city – and region – has always been an outlier in the Chinese firmament, the harbinger of tomorrow, and 2025’s car show will underline that.

THE CARS

Not only will it show most of China’s astonishing new output (much of it electric), but it has also been chosen by many Western manufacturers to be the key show of the year. Watch out for the first real-life outing of Jaguar’s much-talked-about four-door GT. It’s unlikely to be a finished car (that only launches in 2026), but the prototype will be close to completion. Few new cars have garnered as much interest and controversy as the GT. It heralds Jaguar’s new dawn, new look, new corporate identity, as well as an entirely electric future, with a handful of expensive, exclusive models taking the marque into new territories.

THE BEST OF THE CITY

Without doubt Piero Lissoni’s exquisite Middle House in downtown Dazhongli is the place to stay in Shanghai. The Italian architect’s use of traditional Chinese materials, sculpted into contemporary shapes and spaces, offers the best of old and new Mandarin culture. Dazhongli is the fashion district, and the boutique hotel’s show-stopping entrances (Lissoni loves an entrance) meld perfectly with the high-art environment. thehousecollective.com

CONCORSO D’ELEGANZA VILLA D’ESTE

ITALY 23 TO 25 MAY

Motor shows traditionally celebrate the future, but this one accents the past as well as what’s to come. Italy’s Concorso d’Eleganza on Lake Como at Villa d’Este is a high point of social calendars across the globe, an opportunity for the cognoscenti and collectors to buy, sell and admire some of the world’s most

OPPOSITE Jaguar’s four-door GT should break cover at the Shanghai show in April. As electric as the night skyline, it may be the most anticipated motor car of the past 50 years.

BELOW Germany meets Italy on Lake Como where the BMW Skytop super-cabriolet will vie for attention at the annual Concorso gathering in May.

ALL THE CHATTER IS REALLY ABOUT THE HIGHLY ANTICIPATED SKYTOP SUPER-CABRIOLET (WITH AN M8 ENGINE AND 8-SERIES CHASSIS), ARGUABLY THE PRETTIEST, AND CERTAINLY THE FASTEST, BMW CONVERTIBLE TO LAUNCH IN RECENT HISTORY.

famous classic cars. The show’s location – a hop, skip and jump from George and Amal Clooney’s Lake Como hideaway – is as much a star as the classic Ferraris, Lamborghinis and Duesenbergs.

THE CARS

BMW is a key Concorso partner and will use the 2025 show to mark the relaunch of their electric car programme, now known as Neue Klasse. The links are ideal; BMW’s first Neue Klasse evolution occurred in the 1960s when it pivoted towards a more lucrative mass market, so, for 2025, old BMW classics will sit alongside the new iX3 and new-style volume seller, the 3-Series. But all the chatter is really about the highly anticipated Skytop super-cabriolet (with an M8 engine and 8-Series chassis), arguably the prettiest, and certainly the fastest, BMW convertible to launch in recent history.

THE BEST OF THE REGION

First-timers to Concorso tend to stay in the little village of Como and catch one of the classic river boats, the famed Riva Vaporinas, over to Villa d’Este, but aficionados choose one of the historic villas up and down the lake. The pick of those is currently Passalacqua, the 18th-century, 12-suite villa recently restored to its former neoclassical grandeur. Murano chandeliers, a 200-year-old greenhouse and those views across the lake recommend it. Insider knowledge suggests you choose the Bellini Suite, for the afternoon sun, double-volume grandeur, Albertolli frescoes and echoes of La Sonnambula, composed in the villa by the suite’s namesake. passalacqua.it

GENEVA INTERNATIONAL MOTOR SHOW

QATAR 27 NOVEMBER

Confusing certainly, but Geneva’s loss has been Doha’s gain; when the Swiss city fathers decided to pull the plug on what was the world’s most famous motor show in the early 2000s, Qatar put its hand up to host the spectacle. Like Shanghai, the Doha show

seems a good fit, following the global wealth stream into new areas and markets. The 2025 show will feature new technologies but maintains a strong emphasis on traditional propulsion. In layman’s terms that means big petrol engines and buckets of excitement for enthusiasts.

THE CARS

Mercedes-AMG should have a working prototype of their bespoke electric SUV available for show. It will be AMG’s first dedicated electric car, and spy shots suggest it will be handsome as well as a force to be reckoned with. Equally admired is the company’s Mercedes-AMG E53 which, happily, makes use of a six-cylinder engine (boosted by a hybrid system) to create a fire-breathing sedan of the old school (almost).

THE BEST OF THE CITY

Doha’s reputation as a centre of architectural excellence is growing – experience the desert-rose-inspired National Museum of Qatar, I.M. Pei’s astonishing Museum of Islamic Art and the Qatar Faculty of Islamic Studies. It’s no surprise then that the city’s luxury hotels follow suit, notably The Torch Doha, Katara Towers and Fairmont Doha. But for true design bravery, choose W Doha in West Bay, which is as audacious as it is exceptional. The W brand has a global reputation for playfulness and it translates here, from the beaded curtaining in the WOW Suites to the polar bear art in the foyer. All in good taste, of course. marriott.com 

OPPOSITE PAGE Geneva in Qatar? Indeed. The Swiss motor show has upped sticks and relocated to the Middle East, retaining its name. Expect plenty of innovation from Mercedes-Benz and AMG, including the super-hot E53 AMG (opposite top) and AMG’s first all-electric SUV.

THE MERCEDES-AMG E53 MAKES USE OF A SIX-CYLINDER ENGINE (BOOSTED BY A HYBRID SYSTEM) TO CREATE A FIRE-BREATHING SEDAN OF THE OLD SCHOOL (ALMOST).

IN DEFENCE OF DELICIOUSNESS

Did we get so caught up in the fluff, the foraging, the foams and smoke and whizz-bang visuals that a few basics got lost along the way? And when did dining out become a competitive sport? If you’re suffering from some form of food fatigue, read on.

WORDS KEITH BAIN

THERE ARE PEOPLE who come and take all these pictures before they eat,’ says Cape Town chef Harald Bresselschmidt. ‘It’s another story, another generation, something’s changed.’ Bresselschmidt grew up on a dairy farm in Germany’s Eifel region, near the Belgian border. In 1996, having cut his teeth at places like The Savoy in London, he opened Aubergine in a 200-year-old house in a tucked-away part of Gardens. Almost 30 years later, it’s the longest running fine-dining establishment in the city. He reckons, though, that Aubergine is becoming increasingly ‘niche’ because of his unapologetic refusal to follow dining trends.

‘We didn’t change our style even when the fad was molecular dining, and we never went in for foams and smoke. I did my chef training 44 years ago, learnt a classical Mediterranean style. And I keep that going. We cook our sauces properly, and we are defending textures and hot food and plates with decent portions of meat.’

He says many chefs don’t do hot food anymore. ‘Everything is prepared and dressed up, but it’s lukewarm.’

Of folks who spend the entire meal photographing his food, he says: ‘What can we do? We have to smile and accept it, but it’s potentially irritating to people sitting at the next table who came for food and wine but inadvertently end up in someone’s photo shoot.’

He says that while food’s aesthetic matters, ‘the most important thing is deliciousness, texture, and the marination of food from the bottom up and not from the top down.’

LEFT Aubergine’s owner-chef Harald Bresselschmidt aims for balance on the plate, something achieved with this dessert of lime gastrique, fennel and pineapple.

OPPOSITE West Coast oysters with yellow watermelon granita and dune celery, courtesy Seebamboes.

He says newfangled, ‘extremist’, trend-focused places do well, but tend to close after a few years. ‘They’re unsustainable because they’re going too hard, too extreme.’ And, of course, because they’re chasing trends.

While food fads come and go, he’s trying to serve food that’s as close as possible to the classical cuisine that’s worked for centuries. ‘If you’ve got a great product, why try to fix it?’

He’s aiming for ‘balance on the plate’. ‘Rather than playing the whole piano in one dish, I generally use only about five ingredients on a plate. Each ingredient must stand for itself and at the same time, it must all come together, to make the dish interesting until the very final mouthful.’

He says honest deliciousness needs depth of flavour and complexity. ‘Good taste comes from marination. We marinate all our meat and fish properly, and when we make sauces, soups, bisques and bouillabaisses, we cook with proper stocks and wine to achieve balance.’

Which is not to say that Bresselschmidt is stuck in the past. ‘It’s not like in a classic French restaurant where you get heavy food and butter sauces. We have a feel-good approach. Lighterstyle wines with less alcohol, olive oil rather than butter and cream.’ Aubergine has its own garden, so produce is homegrown and organic, and the meat is free-range or wild.

‘We want you to feel good after a delicious meal, not saturated and heavy.’

He says he is ‘sort of moving with the times, always going forward’, albeit without compromising for the sake of fickle tastes dictated by social media.

One Cape Town restaurant where you won’t feel out-of-place whipping out your camera is The Wes Bistro & Bar, a visually zany, but gastronomically classic French bistro in the city centre. Its décor is inspired by the stylistically idiosyncratic film director Wes Anderson, while chef Pete Goffe-Wood’s food takes things back to basics with a menu brimming with dishes that have survived the test of time.

And there’s butter, too, paired with a proper portion of properly cooked entrecôte (ribeye) – with frites, naturally. There’s also a creamy, garlicky moules marinière, also served with frites, chicken liver parfait with toast and pickles, steak tartare prepared at the table, and a sharing-size Chateaubriand.

The food may be rich, even indulgent, but The Wes focuses on what many of us, perhaps exhausted by too many over-elaborate and over-the-top multicourse menus, have secretly been craving: good food, properly cooked and without the need for extensive table-side explanations. The Wes may be visually whimsical, but its food is uncomplicated, nostalgia-inducing and recognisable, transporting you to the heart of Paris without being befuddling or tricksy.

There’s a similar lack of confusion and pretense at Kloof Street’s ëlgr, a restaurant that consistently overdelivers without the hype and swagger. Hidden away downstairs from a 24/7 cannabis shop, it’s owned by Jesper Nilsson, a Swedish-born chef who moved to South Africa when he was 19.

Although he’s worked in Scandinavian kitchens, he doesn’t identify as a ‘Nordic’ chef. ‘The places I’ve thrived have been multicultural,’ he says. Rather than reflecting any specific cuisine type, his menus revolve around food and flavours he loves. Which run the gamut from pizza napoletana to Swedish-style charcuterie and Middle Eastern manakeesh.

‘I cook what I like and keep things scaled back. I’ve done fine dining, but it’s not me.’ Nor is he a chef who likes dressing food up to look fancy on the plate. ‘I really like food to be food – and I want food to look like food, too.’

Nilsson’s menu is testament to this belief in the sovereignty of ingredients. Dishes don’t have names, but instead, the individual elements are listed. It might be ‘potatoes, rosemary-and-lemon salt and tzatziki’ or ‘yellowfin tuna, ash-covered goat cheese, orange, jalapeño, green garlic and red onion’, but you can be assured that tremendous effort will be taken to make those ingredients shine.

THIS PAGE Dishes at ëlgr, such as this line fish with butter beans, kale, smoked tomato, green olive, parmesan and sage pesto, evolve out of research and a relentless quest for deliciousness.

BELOW Jesper Nilsson, ëlgr’s owner-chef, and a selection of desserts.

OPPOSITE Behind the scenes at Seebamboes are chefs Adéle Hughes and Anouchka Horn, and artist Lisbet Jooste. Their venison tataki with pickled veldkool (dune cabbage) dish is among many that prioritise deliciousness over any inherent ‘cool’ factor.

ABOVE This may look like a simple ‘meat and a few veggies’ dish, but the rib-eye is done to perfection, and the greens have been touched by fire, too, at Marble in Cape Town.

LEFT Marble Cape Town’s head chef Matt van Niekerk gives a final touch to a dish before it leaves the kitchen.

OPPOSITE PAGE Marble’s otherworldly reinvention of Key lime pie (top left); Seebamboes’s desserts will definitely include ice-cream sandwiches, like this one with vanilla bean ice cream captured between two darkchocolate biscuits, dipped in caramel crunch and dusted with sea lettuce.

‘It’s about respecting each element for what it is, but also seeing how we can put the main ingredient together with something that might not usually be found on a menu, so there’s an opportunity for discovery with every dish we create.’

The secret, Nilsson says, is the research he puts into every dish. ‘When originating a dish, I research deeply to figure out that little secret or a twist to unlock its full potential.’

His aim is to get as much flavour into the dish as possible, maximising its deliciousness. ‘Never underestimate the value of slow-cooking an onion,’ he says.

This centralising of cooking’s primary objective – creating something both nourishing and delicious – is also what drives Neil Swart and Anouchka Horn, the duo behind Belly of the Beast and Galjoen, two exemplary Cape Town restaurants on Harrington Street, both with a reputation for zero-wastage cooking and a menu based on what they’re currently inspired to cook. Often it’s simply something they’ve been craving. Above all, though, they’re focused on making great-tasting food.

Swart and Horn believe there’s been a rash of restaurants that use presentation to compensate for flavour. ‘They put so much

time into making something look like a beautiful pear, but then it tastes nothing like a pear,’ Swart says. ‘That upsets me.’

He says it started going wrong when chefs lost their minds to ‘gels and foams’.

‘The wastage in those types of kitchens is insane,’ Horn says. ‘They’ll throw away masses of food to get some tiny morsels for the pretty picture on the plate.’ She says it’s unsustainable and an insult to the farmers – and the animals whose flesh gets wasted.

‘There’s a lot of hiding behind cool ingredients,’ Horn says. ‘But even if you have the priciest ingredients in the world, you still need to make it delicious.’ Horn and Swart say the kitchen is where the flavour of an ingredient should be heightened – not only to make it more delicious, but so that diners know what they’re tasting and remember it too. Restaurants should preferably maximise food’s impact on diners while minimising their impact on the planet.

Similar principals apply at their new eatery, Seebamboes. Here, they teamed up with another ethically-minded, highly creative chef, Adél Hughes, to create a 20-seater in the narrow, intimate mezzanine space above Galjoen.

At Seebamboes, they’re playfully reclaiming, deconstructing and reimagining the good old ‘surf-and-turf’ concept, applying the fundamentals of good cooking and out-of-the-box thinking to create delicious food.

And while there are some unusual ingredients, they’re emphasising simplicity: lamb chops with peppered seaweed salt cooked over the fire; octopus with roasted ripe tomatoes; venison tataki with veldkool (dune cabbage); shoestring fries with bokkom butter; and vegetables cooked inside a kelp stem, cut open at the table.

What they’re not doing, Horn says, is trying to be cool and trendy. ‘We’d never use ingredients simply because they sound cool.’

‘First and foremost, we’re striving for that balance of flavours that we experience as deliciousness,’ says Swart. ‘It’s not about

putting ice cream and seaweed together to be cool. We start with whether or not that combination is delicious. And, if it looks good on the plate, great. If it happens to be cool, bonus.’

Another new restaurant with the cool factor already baked in is the Cape Town offshoot of the David Higgs-conceived Marble, which has, since 2016, been perfecting the art of simple-butelevated dining in Johannesburg. ‘Everything on our menu leans towards simplicity and we love the slight juxtaposition between the rusticity of food cooked with fire and the elegant environment,’ says Higgs. ‘Sometimes you just want to give people what they want to eat; it’s not always about the overly fancy or serving overly conceptual food.’

Higgs says a big focus on the menu is flavours that ‘we as South Africans can’t resist’. And there’s that primordial connection with the flame. ‘Everything, whether it’s a steak, a sauce or a salsa, originates from the fire and there’s always beautifully seasoned meat, which we don’t smother in sauces because we want you to taste the star of the show.’

It’s definitely not a braai, though. There’s plenty of top-grade meat, but its success stems from using different fire-cooked techniques to maximise the flavours in unexpectedly nuanced dishes. Take the Chalmar ribeye, wood-fired and served with grilled green beans, edamame, confit onions and a romesco sauce. It’s an uncomplicated classic but crowned with a smoked bone-marrow salsa, made by roasting onions in the pizza oven until they turn black, caramelising naturally before being blended with habanero and leeks and bone marrow. In other words, a lot of effort in order to maximise flavour.

‘In recent years at Marble Johannesburg, I’ve started introducing the classics organically,’ says Higgs. ‘They’re classics because they’re bestsellers. And it takes me back to where it all started: cooking very simply, on fire. Just a piece of fish cooked over the coals and eaten around the fire. That’s something I’ve always loved, and I love sharing that almost primordial eating experience in this sophisticated restaurant environment.’ 

FREE-SPIRITED LIBATIONS

Globally, bartending has been exploring peak playfulness for some time now, and the possibilities for mixing drinks are simply off the hook. In Africa, the party’s just getting started.

WORDS KEITH BAIN

Think mad-scientist apothecary and you’re almost there: at Tokyo’s 15-seater Bar Benfiddich, bartender Hiroyasu Kayama is a farmer, ingredient curator, collector of curiosities and expert mixologist who creates every cocktail bespoke. There’s no menu, so, instead, he blends what he knows will satisfy your mood, personality and taste. And he does so using antique bottles of aged spirits, homemade alcoholic elixirs and unique tinctures – plus herbs, fruit and other fresh ingredients from his family farm. Beyond the culturallyengrained devotion to omotenashi, or hospitality, his one-of-a-kind concoctions are an expression of an obsessive quest for perfection.

Such extreme individualism is a far cry from the globalised cosmopolitanism encountered by a soul-searching Bill Murray at his hotel bar depicted in Sophia Coppola’s Lost in Translation. That film turned the chichi high-altitude watering hole at Tokyo’s Park Hyatt into an outpost of late-capitalist ennui and anodyne drinks stripped of personality.

But times have changed. And cocktail bars are evolving.

Around the world, spirits are soaring as bartenders lean into maximal inventiveness, opening up space for unbridled – and sometimes outlandish – creativity. They’re experimenting with left-field flavours, whether in minimalist masterpieces or savoury drinks showcasing umami’s multidimensionality. There are eye-popping twists on classics, but we’re simultaneously witnessing moments of boundary-pushing audaciousness.

Along with new spirits, obscure flavour profiles and hitherto undreamed of ingredients, mixologists are toying with taste-intensifying techniques such as fat-washing (a process whereby alcohol is infused with a flavourenhanced liquid fat before being frozen, causing the fats to solidify so they can be removed from the unfrozen alcohol which retains all the flavour as well as a gorgeously silky mouthfeel). And augmenting recipes with everything from heirloom vegetables to grated cheese and meat shavings –at the extremes of the cocktail spectrum, nothing’s off-limits.

OPPOSITE PAGE In a tucked-away location in Mexico City’s Colonia Juárez neighbourhood, Handshake Speakeasy, with it’s black-and-gold Gatsby aesthetic, was dubbed best bar in the world last year.

THIS PAGE CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT

Preparing the ‘Jellyfish Martini’ at Singapore’s Fura; ‘Ice on Pots’ (no, not an Easter Island flaming brain), made with hemp-infused rum, fresh lemongrass and berries, guava juice, peach purée, orgeat, ginger, lime and frozen raspberries, and served at The Smiths in Lagos; Accra’s Front/Back offers the ‘Jamestown’ cocktail with coconut-infused spiced rum, passion fruit, ginger, lime and pineapple; Bar Benfiddich’s Hiroyasu Kayama ensures every drink is bespoke.

THE TRICK IS TO GET THE FINAL DRINK TO A SILKYSMOOTH CONSISTENCY SO YOUR BRAIN BATTLES TO MATCH THE TEXTURE WITH THE TASTE.

That might mean levelling-up dirty martinis with ‘soil scent’ (as they do at Artesian in London), or by adding miso and mushrooms or seaweed and fish shavings for a savoury spike. At New York’s Double Chicken Please, there’s one cocktail that tastes like a Waldorf salad and another that combines Irish whiskey, coffee butter, corn, walnuts, wild mushrooms and heated charcuterie strips.

Barcelona’s Paradiso uses tahini and sweet potato in its ‘On Fire’ blend of bourbon and smoky Calvados. In Hong Kong, The Savory Project serves a ‘Thai Beef Salad’, which is actually a cocktail of clarified peanut rum, shaken with beef essence, coconut water, bird’s eye chilli and kaffir lime. In another sign of the times, the bar has an entire ‘Temperance’ section on its menu for abstainers.

Cambridge Public House is a slice of the British pub scene located in the Marais district of Paris where bartenders like to create drinks with names like ‘Golden Child’. Described as ‘carrot cake in a glass’, it’s made using carrot-cake cordial, Philadelphia cream, cognac and Naked Malt whisky. More French, perhaps, is their ‘Cigarette After Sex’, which is a velvet-smooth combination of Agua de Jamaica, Elephant Sloe Gin and Del Maguey Vida Mezcal.

At Singapore’s women-owned Fura, there’s a ‘Jellyfish Martini’ combining jellyfish-infused gin, distillate from the peppery fish leaf plant, spirulina-infused dry vermouth, and oil infused with roasted kelp. The umami-forward cocktail list includes a vodkabased drink with a floating island of kombu ice-cream onto which you scoop vegan caviar made from black garlic.

And at Mexico City’s Handshake Speakeasy, 2024’s greatest bar on the planet according to The World’s 50 Best Bars, there’s an on-site laboratory where advanced culinary techniques are used to experimentally develop drinks that will eventually each take around 48 hours to prepare for service. Most of this activity involves using high-tech culinary equipment to extract flavours from fresh food ingredients – the trick is to get the final drink to a silky-smooth consistency so your brain battles to match the texture with the taste. The magic lies in being taken to the edge of disbelief.

Mixology’s adoption of culinary ingredients and newfangled techniques is trickling into Africa’s burgeoning cocktail scene, too. It’s a scene that’s getting a well-deserved boost thanks to two spirits industry stalwarts, Ghanaian-born US-based Colin Asare-Appiah (co-author of Black Mixcellence: A Comprehensive Guide To Black Mixology) and Mark Talbot Holmes (founder of U’Luvka Vodka), who last year launched Ajabu (‘wondrous’ in Swahili), a biannual cocktail bar festival. Taking place in Johannesburg and Cape Town, it aims to bring international focus to the continent’s cocktail culture.

There’s certainly a need for it, given the relative obscurity of bars here. In 2024, not a single African venue was listed among The World’s 50 Best Bars, and just two appeared on its 50 nextbest ones-to-watch list.

One of those is Sin+Tax (ranked 81 in the world), a notso-secret secret bar in Rosebank that once entertained David Beckham. More interesting, though, is Nairobi’s Hero (75th on the list). Up on the ninth floor of the Trademark Hotel, it’s

a themed speakeasy that playfully celebrates comic-book superheroes. But their real innovation is that they’ve turned African ingredients into cocktail heroes. There’s Procera African Gin in their ‘Kijabe Kayama’, for example, and their ‘Plantain Old Fashioned’ is made with plantain banana syrup, fried plantain, plantain dust and plantain butter-washed whisky.

At Accra’s Front/Back, a lively club inside a gallery, bartenders are augmenting gin cocktails with ingredients like moringa, dandelion and lemongrass, and showcasing that key West African crop, cacao, in a bourbon-based cocktail named after the bar’s co-founder, a Ghanaian chef and activist named Selassie Atadika.

Lagos is also an emerging hub of cocktail innovation, nowhere more so than at upscale restaurants like The Smiths. It’s perhaps the go-to spot in West Africa for adventuresome drinks served in extravagant vessels and with enough theatrical dazzle that the cocktail menu includes a movie camera icon signifying those you might want to film as they arrive on your table.

Back in Johannesburg, at Smoking Kills in Melville, the skaterbar edginess is fuelled by mouthy bartenders and provocative artworks that vilify corrupt politicians. Their cocktails are mad. ‘Atchar Lipgloss’, for example, is vetkoek-washed Naked Malt whisky with mango atchar and homemade mango chutney syrup, plus a bit of mustard seed, some honey and whey. The taste – and the effect – is meant to transport you to those after-school days eating vetkoek and spaza slap tjips on the side of the road. Your grease-lined lips will gleam like they’re covered in lipgloss. Their take on an espresso martini is the ‘Moer Koffie Martini’, and will

OPPOSITE PAGE LEFT TO RIGHT Leaning into delicious weirdness at Cape Town’s The Art of Duplicity is this ‘Flamingo Flapper Flip’ cocktail of Johnnie Walker Blue Label, Luxardo Maraschino, rhubarb and rose shrub, honey, quail egg and sparkling wine; at Hero in Nairobi, the ‘Loki’s Cup’ cocktail blends orange bitters with smoky flare; at The Smiths in Lagos, ‘The Messenger’ is a strong, floral and citrusy adaptation of a Cosmopolitan, served with citrus vapour.

TOP Paradiso, with its design vaguely resembling the interior of a whale, is a must-visit bar in Barcelona.

ABOVE ‘Mielieeees’, with its corn-on-the-cob flavouring and popcorn side-shot, is a must-try tequila-based cocktail at Talking to Strangers in Cape Town.

While there’s a strongly theatrical element to the décor and accessby-secret-password drama at the front door, what goes on behind the bar at The Art of Duplicity reflects an entirely serious focus on innovative, imaginative and unlikely-sounding mixed drinks.

‘THE WHOLE THING MUST BE AN EXPERIENCE, LIKE STEPPING INTO ANOTHER WORLD ... TOTAL ART, ALMOST LIKE BEING IN A MOVIE.’

remind you of coffee made with condensed milk and eating an Ouma rusk.

Engaging in a similar game of playful inventiveness is Cape Town’s original ‘secret’ speakeasy, The Art of Duplicity, where a password is demanded before you enter an 1894 Victorian warehouse via an alleyway with underwear dangling overhead. Inside, you can try quirkily imagined drinks such as the ‘Cereal Killer Milk Punch’ (Rémy Martin VSOP, Bacardi 8, Port Charlotte heavily-peated single malt whisky, guava, mulled spices, lime, cornflakes and jaggery), or the even more kitchen-centric ‘Niwatori Tea’ with Japanese Nikka Coffey Whisky, mushroom sherry, spiced tea syrup, kombu bitters and chicken consommé, accompanied by chicken skins.

Across town, in the candlelit interior of Talking to Strangers, every non-alcoholic ingredient is made in-house. A must try? ‘Mielieeees.’ It’s made by fat-washing reposado tequila with caramelised bourbon butter and then combined with syrup infused with charred corn on the cob. They add a bit of chilli oil and fresh lime, shake it up, and serve it with tahini on the rim.

And then there’s Tokyo-born Tetsuo Hasegawa, bartender and owner of bijou city-centre gem, Anthm, which he opened in 2024, after 20 years in New York where he co-founded two bars. ‘I do my own thing, create cocktails using imagination and local inspiration,’ he says. His menu features a small, regularlychanging selection of studiously crafted tipples such as his ‘Beat-Nik’, a combination of beetroot, Durban masala, apple shrub and milk-washed tequila, and ‘All Night Boogie’, made with Cape brandy, Shiraz, banana, white miso and dark chocolate.

However, Hasegawa believes it’s not just the drinks that make for the perfect cocktail bar. ‘No, the whole thing must be an experience, like stepping into another world,’ he says. ‘The ideal bar is like total art, almost like being in a movie.’ This he achieves by taking a page out of Bar Benfiddich’s playbook, aiming to provide an ultra-personalised experience like no other, playing only LPs on an old-school turntable, using ingredients he’s made or foraged himself, and making a point of looking you in the eye as he tries to glean precisely what sort of libation will be a perfect match for you. 

Few places tell the Namibia story better than Wilderness’s Little Kulala, on the doorstep of the Sossusvlei dunes. Exclusive, elegant and filled with the magic of a landscape promising adventure and serenity in equal measure.

PICTURES FROM AN EXHIBITION(IST)

Namibia’s visceral punch is best expressed in images. Peter Frost toured a selection of Wilderness properties north of the Fish River Canyon and came away confident that the country has few equals for its ability to astonish and humble.

RECENT FIGURES COMING from the number crunchers have confirmed what anyone living in popular travel destinations already knows: that Southern African tourism is back to pre-Covid-19 levels. Where exactly those travellers – specifically luxury travellers – are going is more interesting, with an uptick in remote regions such as the Karoo, the Eastern Cape, and isolated areas of Botswana and Namibia featuring prominently. Research suggests this is still a reaction to Covid-19, with renewed interest in destinations far from the madding crowd still as popular as they were in 2022. Namibia, of course, ticks all those boxes, and when masterminded through bespoke luxury operators Wilderness, the free radicals are taken care of – no tyre blowouts, no itinerary nightmares, no unfamiliar dirt roads. Wilderness Air and a fleet of cruisers see to all that. There aren’t many better ways of going to the ends of the earth without breaking a sweat.

THROUGH THE TEMPORAL MEMBRANE

SERRA CAFEMA

Somewhere south of Wilderness’s northernmost camp, after you’ve landed at Doro Nawas Airstrip but before you reach the Rooiduin and Marienfluss mountains, it seems you slip through a cosmic curtain into a parallel universe, so removed is the landscape from anything familiar. Imagine a trek that hogsbacks red sand plateaus to the left, towering mountains to the right, then falls off – almost vertically – to a river course as green as the Kavango in April. It’s not the Kavango of course, it’s the Kunene River, a necklace of rapids welcoming you with a sound like the Atlantic some 80km away. This is rarest earth, far from any formal development, the land of the Himba and ancient lore. Every day here feels like a privilege.

Serra Cafema lodge overhangs the Kunene, on stilts mostly, built to withstand the annual floods. Raised walkways, hidden split-level lounge areas and suites that feature the river through the picture windows, as well as the 20-storey dunes and, of course, the Kunene River. A typical stay at Cafema includes hiking or quad biking into the dunes, a visit to one of the Himba communities in the desert and time spent on the river. All of it trades in visceral contrasts; they’re everywhere – silk dunes, shattered rock, green edging, barren cliffs, protected inlets, sandblasted plateaus. It feels like nothing on earth and you will dream about it for a very long time afterwards.

AFTER YOU’VE LANDED AT DORO NAWAS AIRSTRIP BUT BEFORE YOU REACH THE ROOIDUIN AND MARIENFLUSS MOUNTAINS, IT SEEMS YOU SLIP THROUGH A COSMIC CURTAIN INTO A PARALLEL UNIVERSE.

Serra Cafema, on the banks of the Kunene River, trades in roaring rapids, fishing raptors, dune adventures and a sense of unrivalled calm.

DUNES, BALLOONS, MOONS

LITTLE KULALA

Little Kulala, one of 14 Wilderness properties in Namibia, is arguably its best-known. Within spitting distance of Dune Alley and the almighty Sossusvlei dunes, it has much to recommend it: vistas across the Namib-Naukluft desert plains, drives onto mountain tops, suites with outside and inside beds, plunge pools, a wraparound outside dining area and next-level wine cellar. But, primarily, it serves as the launch pad for those exceptional dunes. Up early, out in the cruisers by six, it’s a short drive to the dedicated Wilderness gate close to the Namib-Naukluft National Park entrance. That’s important because getting to Sossusvlei early means cooler temperatures for climbing Big Daddy, that behemoth of a dune, and fewer tourists, most of whom arrive mid-morning. And if you’re hell-bent on avoiding all tourists, there’s an even more bespoke way of seeing the dunes; by air. Or balloon, more accurately. Weather dependant, Namib Sky Balloon Safaris gets going early, all the better for Martian sunrise flights over the archaic landscape as a full moon gives way to a vast, clear sky. It’s not cheap, but, like the small boats down the Lemaire Channel off Antarctica, it’ll stay with you forever.

ABOVE AND RIGHT: Little Kulala, Wilderness’s property on the edge of Sossusvlei, features day beds under the stars and spa pools on porch suites. Balloon safaris over the Sossusvlei dunes leave early in the morning, offering a bird’s-eye view of the desert sunrise.

TOP RIGHT AND FAR RIGHT: Rhino Desert Camp, situated in a remote corner of Damaraland, specialises in walking safaris to see the rare, desert-adapted black rhinos. Suites are bespoke tented units that celebrate the stories of the area through artwork above the beds.

AROUND THE HORN DESERT RHINO CAMP

If Little Kulala is Wilderness’s best-known camp in Namibia, Desert Rhino Camp is its most ambitious. It’s here, in the far-off Kunene Region, that an impossibly luxurious tented oasis exists largely to support one of the region’s boldest conservancy projects. Rare desert black rhino are protected by three conservancies totalling 10 000 square kilometres, Torra, Sesfontein and Anabeb, and the Wilderness property sits bang

in the middle. Rhino ‘walks’ start early, a dedicated team locating, alerting and guiding guests in a safari vehicle to the splendid creatures. It’s all hyper-regulated (how long you can be there, how close you can get) but fully worth it, as much for the archaic landscape as the horned omnivores. And part of that glowing red rock landscape are the welwitschias, earth’s oldest living conifers, lazy dual flops extending across the landscape in messy swirls. The plants, some of which are 2 000 years old, have been growing here for more than 86 million years.

Desert Rhino Camp itself has been reimagined, an ultraluxurious design triumph that’s both handsome and practical. Migs+Drew (M+D) architects did all the hard work, stretching fabric roofs over locally sourced stone, hunkering the suites down against the summer heat. Glass sliding walls transform interiors into exteriors and the raised, outside day room is a genius idea.

Interiors too are dramatic and luxurious, designer Cate Simpson’s deft touch evident in the materials and artwork, most notably the old collection of ’80s slides from the Save The Rhino Trust, retouched, transferred onto fabric and turned into headboards.

WILDERNESS

Formerly Wilderness Safaris, the luxury safari experts have recently rebranded to underline their emphasis as a purveyor of outright luxury in the wildest of places. They offer access to more than 60 camps across Africa, their latest ventures being the new nine-tented Mokete Camp in the Mababe Depression south of Chobe, Botswana, as well as Bisate Reserve in the Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda. For itineraries and destinations, visit wildernessdestinations.com.

HIGH RIDING COUNTRY ESTATE, SOMERSET WEST

Asking: R19.5 million | 7 Bedrooms | 7.5 Bathrooms | 2 Garages

This modern home, set on a spacious plot in a secure estate, features two vineyards, over 100 olive and fruit trees, and breathtaking Helderberg mountain views. It boasts 4 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, and an open-plan living area with exposed trusses, a gas fireplace, and smart features like automated curtains and Google voice control. The main bedroom offers a private glass shower, projector screen, and ample storage. Highlights include a large indoor pool, built-in braai, walk-in fridge, solar inverter system, borehole, kids’ play area, and domestic quarters. Luxury, functionality, and expansion potential define this unique and stunning property. Simoné Croeser: 082 557 8452; Carin Harris: 083 258 6699; Web Ref: M72WKK.

STEYN CITY, JOHANNESBURG

Asking: R24 million | 6 Bedrooms | 6.5 Bathrooms | 3 Garages

Experience luxury in this stunning 6-bedroom, 6.5-bathroom home in Steyn City. With open-plan living, panoramic Dainfern Valley views, and abundant natural light, this residence offers elegance at every turn. Enjoy two lounges, a cinema room, study, pyjama lounge, and a gourmet kitchen leading to a covered patio with a braai, bar, and wine room. The main suite boasts a walk-in closet and spa-like en-suite. Additional features include a gym, sauna, steam room, pool, triple garage, and top-tier security. Schedule your viewing today! Mo: 073 708 4570; Yaqshaan: 068 333 3984; Office: 010 823 2205; Web Ref: SIR113926.

BOSKLOOF ECO ESTATE, SOMERSET WEST

Asking: R18 million | 4 Bedrooms | 4.5 Bathrooms | 2 Garages

A masterpiece in Boskloof Eco Estate with stunning mountain and sea views. This luxurious home blends elegance and nature, offering fynbos-covered landscapes and seamless indoor-outdoor living. The kitchen boasts highend finishes, a scullery, and flows into spacious living areas with a fireplace and custom bar. A glass walkway leads to light-filled bedrooms, with the main featuring a private balcony. Enjoy a library, home gym, office, solar power, and borehole water. Located in an eco-estate with walking trails, a private dam, and views of False Bay, Table Mountain, and the Hottentots Holland Range, this is eco-luxury at its finest. Chantal Botes: 083 702 5460; Web Ref: D5Z593.

CAMPS BAY, CAPE TOWN

Asking: R23.995 million | 3

| 3

| 2

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Located in the exclusive, wind-sheltered Deep Glen of Camps Bay, this northfacing home blends modern elegance with practicality. Set against a forested backdrop at the foot of Lion’s Head, it offers a tranquil lifestyle. Highlights include a vine-covered terrace, three spacious bedrooms (two en-suite), a study, and sea or forest views. The generous plot allows for expansion, while solar power, automated irrigation, and top-tier security ensure comfort and peace of mind. A rare opportunity in a prime location. Andrea Glew: 079 893 9197; Office: 021 401 4338; Web Ref: SIR113627.

BANTRY BAY, CAPE TOWN

Asking: R72.5 million | 3 Bedrooms | 3.5 Bathrooms | 2 Garages | Size: 266m2

This exclusive Bantry Bay residence offers unmatched luxury with world-class finishes and breathtaking ocean views. Located in a boutique development with concierge, valet services, and 24-hour security, privacy is ensured with only one apartment per floor. Three en-suite bedrooms open to private terraces, complemented by a dedicated office, laundry, and scullery. Additional features include air-conditioning, underfloor heating, double-glazed windows, and secure tandem parking. A rare opportunity to own a coastal masterpiece in one of Cape Town’s most sought-after locations. Munya: 074 762 2237; Maxine: 073 338 5827; Office: 021 401 4338; Web Ref: SIR113801.

To

these properties visit www.sothebysrealty.co.za

LLANDUDNO, CAPE TOWN

Asking: R42 million | 4 Bedrooms | 4.5 Bathrooms | 3 Garages | Size: 740m2

Set against the stunning Llandudno coastline, this luxury villa offers uninterrupted sea views and seamless indoor-outdoor living. Just moments from Llandudno Beach, it features four sea-facing en-suite bedrooms, a private flatlet, a heated pool, a fully equipped gym, and a modern kitchen. Designed for comfort and security, the home includes solar power, water storage, and advanced security systems. With its prime location and sophisticated design, this is a rare opportunity to own a coastal sanctuary. Steve D’Hooghe: 082 654 9707; Office: 021 401 4338; Web Ref: SIR113644.

BANTRY BAY, CAPE TOWN

Asking: R40 million | 2 Bedrooms | 3 Bathrooms | 3 Garages | Size: 343m2

This exceptional Bantry Bay penthouse offers over 340sqm of luxury living with panoramic ocean views. Featuring two en-suite bedrooms (convertible to four), open-plan living spaces, and direct lift access to both floors. Enjoy a private rooftop pool, expansive terrace, fireplaces on both levels, and three secure parking bays with two storerooms. A rare blend of sophistication and coastal serenity in one of Cape Town’s most sought-after locations. Carl: 072 984 1831; Ulla: 083 685 5634; Office: 021 401 4338; Web Ref: SIR113058.

VAL DE VIE ESTATE

Asking: R13.9 million | 4 Bedrooms | 4 Bathrooms | 2 Garages

This magnificent north-facing home will bring joy and tranquillity to your daily life! Situated in a quiet cul de sac, in Val De Vie Wellness Lifestyle Estate. The impressive entranceway is inviting and set the tone for the rest of the house. Bold design features like wood wall panelling, wooden floors, concrete screed flooring, solid oak stairs and a beautiful marble slab behind the slow combustion fireplace creates a relaxed ambiance with a hint of industrialism, in this inviting open-plan design. Annette Barnard: 082 820 1888; Office: 021 867 0065; Web Ref: SIR113877.

PEARL VALLEY GOLF & COUNTRY ESTATE

Asking: R22.9 million | 4 Bedrooms | 5 Bathrooms | 4 Garages

Located on the 7th fairway of the Pearl Valley Golf Course this contemporary, classic, and timeless designed home welcomes you through double doors into the foyer of this lovely home with full-length windows, capturing the beauty of the surrounding mountain ranges. The privileged owners on the estate are spoilt for choice with the facilities such as the Jack Nicklaus Signature 18-hole golf course Suritha van Tonder: 084 440 4283; Kim Egdes: 072 562 4472; Office: 021 867 0065; Web Ref: SIR109944.

VAL DE VIE ESTATE

Asking: R14.6 million | 4 Bedrooms | 3.5 Bathrooms | 3 Garages

A clever contemporary design and a low maintenance garden, with lots of exterior appeal. Situated opposite a beautiful green park, bordering olive groves and vines. This beautiful home offers spacious open plan living! Exposed trusses creates visual space and add to the relaxing and inviting atmosphere. Val de Vie Estate homeowners enjoy a lifestyle to dream of with the numerous facilities that the Val de Vie Estate has to offer. Annette Barnard: 082 820 1888; Office: 021 867 0065; Web Ref: SIR113051.

PAARL

Asking: R5.595 million | 3 Bedrooms | 2 Bathrooms | 2 Garages

Enchanting home which offers a perfect blend of comfort and style. Three generous bedrooms where each room is designed with comfort in mind, providing ample space for relaxation. A dedicated study with a separate entrance which is ideal for a home office or private workspace. Cosy up in the lounge or dining area with a dual-sided fireplace that adds warmth and charm. Miranda Coetzee: 083 414 7212; Adele de Almeida: 082 780 0067; Office: 021 870 1011; Web Ref: SIR111757.

FRANSCHHOEK

Asking: R23.950 million | 6 Bedrooms | 6 Bathrooms

A stunning opportunity to buy an immaculate gem of a property that has been thoroughly renovated and expanded into a six bedroomed home that exudes contemporary elegance. This property offers flexible accommodation with three en-suite bedrooms in the main part of the house along with two separate bedroom suites, each with its own private entrance and Bedrooms. Gary de Valle: 082 464 8038; Office: 021 876 8480; Web Ref: SIR113794.

PAARL FARM

Asking: R42.5 million

This Wine Estate spreads across 32 ha, where views and exceptional natural elements converge. Nestled in a good location, it is a mere 50-minute drive from Cape Town International Airport, making it easily accessible for wine enthusiasts and travellers alike. Situated near the towns of Paarl and Wellington, all the conveniences and amenities are nearby. With the vineyard spanning 14 ha on mountain slopes, the owner/wine maker has perfected the art of crafting wines that captivate worldwide. The vineyards and horse paddocks benefit from the irrigation. Danie Hauptfleisch: 083 627 2148; Office: 021 873 0260; Web Ref: 462721.

FRANSCHHOEK

Asking: R18.5 million | 3 Bedrooms | 3.5 Bathrooms | 2 Garages

Tucked away in the heart of the picturesque Franschhoek valley, secure agricultural Estate, Domaine Des Anges offers an exquisite living experience for the discerning family. The Estate offers a club house, which one could rent for private functions, a beautiful secluded pool, gym and floodlit tennis court. This luxurious property is conveniently located within walking distance to the charming Franschhoek village, providing residents with easy access to the area’s renowned restaurants, boutiques, wine farms and cultural attractions. Gary de Valle: 082 464 8038; Moira Barham: 082 896 3597; Office: 021 876 8480; Web Ref: SIR108870.

STELLENBOSCH

Asking: R29.5 million | 9 Bedrooms | 9.5 Bathrooms | 2 Garages

This property on the slopes of Helderberg Mountain boasts breath-taking views of Table Mountain surrounded by vineyards. With its classic French interior design, high ceilings, and light-filled rooms, it features a grand dining and lounge area overlooking a heated swimming pool and a vineyard, alongside a voluminous kitchen. The 1.3 ha smallholding in one of the most sought-after areas between Somerset West and Stellenbosch. Detlef Struck: 079 597 1727; Office: 021 809 2760; Web Ref: SIR113687.

CONSTANTIA, CAPE TOWN

Asking: R42 million | 4 Bedrooms | 4.5 Bathrooms | 4 Garages

Nestled within a prestigious manned secure estate, this north facing magnificent single-storey residence offers an unparalleled blend of space, comfort, and tranquillity. Set on 2 acres of beautifully landscaped grounds, the property is a haven for those seeking a peaceful and private lifestyle without compromising on luxury. The heart of the home is a large open-plan living area, designed for modern family living. With 4 to 6 spacious bedrooms, this home is perfect for growing families or those needing extra room for a home office or gym. Rouvaun McKirby: 071 671 0821; Jo Thomas: 084 404 4120; Web Ref: SIR 113209.

TROVATO ESTATE, CAPE TOWN

Asking: R14.995 million | 5 Beds | 6.5 Baths | 4 Garages | 5 Parkings | Pool | Study

On a Clear Day, You Can See Forever – Tucked away in the exclusive and highly sought-after Trovato Estate, one of the best-kept secrets of the Southern Suburbs, this light-filled contemporary sanctuary offers the perfect blend of elegance, comfort, and breathtaking panoramic views. With properties here rarely coming to market, this is an exceptional opportunity to secure a home in one of Cape Town’s most coveted enclaves. A rare find in an exceptional estate – don’t miss your chance to call this home. Barbara Manning: 083 407 3656; Office: 021 673 1280; Web Ref: SIR 113819.

CONSTANTIA, CAPE TOWN

Asking from: R46.995 million | 4 Bedrooms | 4.5 Bathrooms | 2 Garages

Beau Glen Villas – Step into an unparalleled world of sophistication, grandeur, and refined luxury. Presenting three exquisitely designed villas, set within a vast 9,000 m² estate in the heart of Constantia, Cape Town’s most coveted neighbourhood. These properties stand as a testament to architectural brilliance and extraordinary craftsmanship, envisioned and realized by the internationally acclaimed South African architectural firm, SAOTA (Stefan Antoni). High-quality finishes, including expansive floor-to-ceiling windows that bathe the spaces in natural light. Villa 3 sold already. Rouvaun McKirby: 071 671 0821; Jo Thomas: 084 404 4120; Web Ref: SIR111148.

SILWERSTEEN ESTATE, CAPE TOWN

Asking: R15.8 million | 4 Bedrooms | 4.5 Bathrooms | 2 Garages

Private Estate at the Southern tip of the Constantia Valley. Silwersteen Estate presents a stunning residence nestled amidst rolling mountains and lush vineyards, offering the perfect fusion of sophistication, comfort, and serene natural beauty. This extraordinary home provides a peaceful sanctuary where luxury living is elevated to its finest. Steve Thomas: 084 471 4722; Dave Burger: 083 458 3333; Office: 021 701 2446; Web Ref: SIR109575.

KENILWORTH UPPER, CAPE TOWN

Asking: R17.5 million | 4 Bedrooms | 2 Bathrooms | Double Garage

Standing proud on 1,700 Sqm of exquisite garden, is this gorgeous period property in Upper Kenilworth. Recently renovated, this wonderful family home offers everything a young family could want comprising of 4 large bedrooms with two bathrooms. High-end finishes are evident throughout the house and it is in immaculate move-in condition. Features include: Large Pool; Borehole; Double Garage; Double carport and secure parking for 8 cars; Established garden with mature Trees; Koi Pond; Fire pit; Staff accommodation; Excellent security; Large Inverter. Elaine Dobson: 082 413 7369; Ruth Leach: 082 323 7550; Office: 021 701 2446; Web Ref: SIR106965.

KOMMETJIE, CAPE TOWN

Asking: R4.350 million (Including VAT) | 3 Bedrooms | 2 Bathrooms

Perfectly positioned just 400m from Longbeach and a short stroll from the village centre. This ground-floor apartment boasts a sunny courtyard entrance, leading to living area & kitchen. Enjoy the covered patio with built-in braai, overlooking a garden. The bedrooms offer vinyl flooring & built-in cupboards, the 2nd bedroom offers outdoor access to a private garden with shower. The main bedroom offers en-suite bathroom. PLUS: 2 parking bays, a solar geyser and fibre connectivity. Residents benefit from security, automated gated entrance, and a play area for children. Natalie Cooper: 083 630 0911; Office: 021 783 8260; Web Ref: SIR113848.

NEWLANDS, CAPE TOWN

Asking: R14.950 million | 5 Bedrooms | 3 Bathrooms | 5 Garages

Step into a world of elegance and comfort in the heart of Newlands Village, where charm meets convenience. This extraordinary property can be divided into two homes, offering versatility of a spacious family residence or dual-living arrangement. As you enter, you’ll be greeted by expansive open-plan reception rooms, with magnificent fireplaces. The dedicated dining room, boasts elegant French doors seamlessly connecting indoor and outdoor living. As if that’s not enough, included is, secure garage parking for five cars, additional staff accommodation, adding to the ideal functionality of this impressive residence. Jennifer: 082 562 5139; Brigitte: 072 784 7475; Office: 021 673 1280; Web Ref: SIR113472.

NOORDHOEK, CAPE TOWN

Asking: R13.5 million | 5 Bedrooms | 4 Bathrooms | 5 Garages

A stunning 720m2 architectural masterpiece in Crofters Valley, Noordhoek, set on 2700m2 landscaped garden with breathtaking sea views. This luxurious home offers five bedrooms, four bathrooms (three en-suite), multiple living areas, two offices, and a solar-heated rim-flow pool. Additional features include a gym/ wine cellar, five garages, borehole irrigation, fireplaces, air-conditioning, and top-notch security. Minutes from boutique shops, eateries, organic farms, and a world-class beach, Noordhoek offers an unbeatable lifestyle – just 45 minutes from Cape Town. Lilian Bron: 076 959 2733; Helen Smith: 084 503 5464; Office: 021 783 8260; Web Ref: SIR108215.

BRYANSTON, SANDTON

Asking: R28million | 4 Bedrooms | 4.5 Bathrooms | 7 Garages

A luxurious double-storey Spanish Colonial home in Bryanston’s gated estate. Features include expansive bedroom suites, a dreamy guest suite, stunning open-plan receptions, a chef’s kitchen, and a study/library. Enjoy a roof terrace with Magaliesburg views, landscaped gardens, water features, a pool, braai area, and gazebos. Includes staff quarters, 7-car garaging, solar power, inverter, borehole, and top security. Perfect for executives seeking elegance, space, and modern amenities in a secure, family-friendly setting. A truly exceptional property. Manuela Coelho: 082 552 7119; Maria Nenkov: 082 690 0194; Office: 011 886 8070; Web Ref: SIR 6709468.

HOUGHTON ESTATE, JOHANNESBURG

Asking: R9.9 million | 5 Bedrooms | 5 Bathrooms | 4 Garages

Exquisite modern cluster home, meticulously designed by Romi Kaplan Interiors. Features 5 en-suite bedrooms, including a main suite with fireplace and lavish dressing room. Upstairs pyjama lounge, double-volume entrance, and seamless indoor-outdoor flow to entertainer’s patio with heated pool. Modern eat-in kitchen, family room, home office, staff suite, and 4 garages. Prime location near schools, 24-hour security, and move-in readiness. A turnkey luxury lifestyle awaits—serious seller, exceptional value. Sabina: 083 254 6981; Kobus: 083 632 2626; Office: 011 886 8070; Web Ref: SIR 6866035.

PARKVIEW, JOHANNESBURG

Asking: R5.5 million | 4 Bedrooms | 3.5 Bathrooms | 4 Garages

A family sanctuary on ±1020m² in a magical garden. Features 4 bedrooms (main en-suite with dressing room and north patio; 4th as a private suite), 3 bathrooms, and open-plan living areas with fireplaces. Year-round heated pool, solar/inverter system (16 panels), borehole, and Egoli gas ensure selfsufficiency. Includes a private studio cottage, staff suite, and top security with CCTV. Combines modern comfort, sustainability, and multi-generational living in a secure, serene setting. Ideal for discerning families. Theodora: 082 553 8525; David: 082 553 8525; Office: 011 886 8070; Web Ref: SIR 6750106.

MORNINGSIDE, SANDTON

Asking: R9.499 million | 4 Bedrooms | 4.5 Bathrooms | 2 Garages

Sophisticated modern cluster home in Morningside’s secure 24-hour estate. Fully renovated with Louis Louw-inspired architecture, featuring air-conditioned, lightfilled open-plan living, shadow line ceilings, and chic finishes. Includes a guest cloakroom, stacked living areas around a central atrium, stacking doors to garden/ lap pool, and a gas fireplace. Gourmet kitchen with island/scullery, seamless indooroutdoor flow, and family-friendly garden. Combines contemporary elegance with practicality—ideal for luxury living, entertainment, and serene family life. A secure, move-in-ready sanctuary blending timeless design and modern upgrades. Marc: 082 854 7272; Alan 082 490 0940; Office: 011 886 8070; Web Ref: SIR 6699145.

HYDE PARK, SANDTON

Asking: R7.490 million | 4 Bedrooms | 3.5 Bathrooms | 2 Garages

Secluded 3/4-bedroom cluster home in a secure complex, offering panoramic views and north-facing indoor-outdoor living. Features a courtyard entry, double-volume hall, three open-plan receptions with gas fireplace, and a patio overlooking the pool. Gourmet kitchen with bespoke cabinetry, granite counters, and scullery. Upstairs: three en-suite bedrooms (main with walkthrough dressing room), study landing, and patios. Staff suite, underfloor heating, generator wiring, double garage, carport, and 24-hour security. Perfectly positioned near Hyde Park, Sandton, and Rosebank—a private sanctuary blending luxury, practicality, and seamless entertainment. Di: 082 960 5353; Debbie: 083 326 7739; Office: 011 886 8070; Web Ref: SIR 6081198.

NORTHCLIFF, RANDBURG

Asking: R14.950 million | 4 Bedrooms | 4.5 Bathrooms | 4 Garages | Pool

Little Tuscany in Northcliff – Experience Tuscan luxury in the heart of Northcliff with this breathtaking three-story residence. Featuring 4–5 bedrooms, ensuite bathrooms, grand living spaces, and a 12-seater cinema, this home is designed for opulence. Entertain in style with a cellar, multiple lounges, an enclosed patio, and panoramic balconies. The gourmet kitchen boasts a gas stove, walk-in pantry, and cold room. Off-grid convenience includes an inverter, borehole, and water tanks. Nestled in lush gardens with a firepit—this is your private escape! Heloise Azar: 072 294 4901; Office: 011 476 8303; Web Ref: 6780192.

BOSKRUIN, RANDBURG

Asking: R5.799 million | 6 Beds | 4.5 Baths | 2 Garages | Pool | Flat

An exceptional opportunity to own one of Boskruin’s finest homes in a soughtafter boomed area! This luxurious 6-bedroom, 4-bathroom residence features expansive entertainment areas, a stunning kitchen, and breathtaking views. Enjoy a solar-heated pool, boma, tennis court, and a private flat. Security is top-notch with CCTV, beams, and 24-hour patrols. Additional perks include air conditioning, irrigation, and generator backup. With 800 sqm under roof on a 2776 sqm stand, this home offers space, style, and security in one perfect package! Grant Macdougall: 079 902 0370; Office: 011 476 8303; Web Ref: 6846132.

EAGLE CANYON GOLF ESTATE, ROODEPOORT

Asking: R6.5 million | 4 Bedrooms | 4 Bathrooms | 3 Garages | Pool

This stunning north-facing home offers 4 spacious bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms, and elegant open-plan living with high-volume ceilings. A double-sided 18kW fireplace creates warmth and charm, while multiple lounges, a study, and a gym provide versatility. The gourmet kitchen includes a scullery and laundry. Enjoy outdoor living with a built-in braai, sparkling pool, and lush surroundings. Energy-efficient with an 8kVA solar inverter, this home is set in the prestigious Eagle Canyon Golf Estate—offering security, serenity, and convenience. Hestea Mare: 072 454 1110; Office: 011 476 8303; Web Ref: 6864409.

PLETTENBERG BAY, GARDEN ROUTE

Asking: R18.5 million | 4 Bedrooms | 4 Ensuite Bathrooms | 2 Garages

New, upmarket, and modern home in the Whale Rock Hill gated estate, featuring excellent views of the ocean and Robberg Peninsula, spacious openplan living spaces, extensive patios, all-weather entertaining, well-appointed kitchen with scullery/laundry and drying courtyard, large wood-burning fireplace, swimming pool, covered sitting area, separate spacious dining area, built-in braai, 4th bedroom is self-contained with kitchenette, separate gym, extensive storage, rainwater tanks, heat exchange pumps, inverter, fenced established garden, air con, etc. Ready to move in. Hein Pretorius: 083 701 3159; Office: 044 533 2529; Web Ref: SIR111053.

VICTORIA HEIGHTS, GARDEN ROUTE

Asking: R29.950 million | 5 Bedrooms | 4.5 Bathrooms | 4 Garages

This landmark Garden Route property provides stunning views from Wilderness beach to Gericke’s Point and the Indian Ocean beyond. Set on 5.6 hectares, requiring refurbishment, in an exclusive, private position. It features a contemporary structure of 623m², set within vast indigenous gardens and walking trails through the grounds, to the Kaaimans River below. The property provides a tranquil lifestyle, yet so close to Victoria Bay, Wilderness, George, and the airport. Under subdivision. Jan Schiebe: 082 562 5064; Office: 044 873 2519; Web Ref: SIR114047.

PLETTENBERG BAY, GARDEN ROUTE

Asking: R17.75 million | 6 Bedrooms | 5 Bathrooms | 2 Garages

Immaculate north-facing family home in Whale Rock Heights gated estate with fabulous elevated sea views. The spacious living areas are open-plan with design focus on easy living, and a seamless flow out to the pool and entertainment area. One ensuite bedroom and a second TV lounge are on this level and 4 bedrooms including the master suite are upstairs. A separate private flatlet is great for visitors. The home offers light and spaciousness with quality finishes and comfortable well-appointed rooms. Carrie Maclean: 082 566 1881; Paul Jordaan: 082 876 0577; Office: 044 533 2529; Web Ref: SIR114009.

VERMONT, HERMANUS

Asking: R15.95 million | 5 Bedrooms | 5 Bathrooms | 2 Garages

Luxurious Sea View Manor: This 731 sqm home blends timeless elegance with modern convenience. Built in 2010, it features imported double-glazed windows, Hansgrohe fittings, solar power upgrades, and smart home wiring. Highlights include spacious living areas, a built-in braai, sea-view balconies, three en suite bedrooms, a main retreat with sea and mountain views, and a private 1-bedroom flatlet with a garden. Nestled in a quiet cul-de-sac, this meticulously maintained home offers breathtaking views and effortless luxury. Christiaan Uys: +27 61 478 4990; Office: +27 28 312 4970; Web Ref: 6762250.

Lew Geffen Sotheby’s International Realty

THUNDERSTONE RED

THUNDERSTONE RED

A delicate perfume rises from the glass, unveiling captivating aromas of red berries, with bright cherries and subtle spices.

A delicate perfume rises from the glass, unveiling captivating aromas of red berries, with bright cherries and subtle spices.

The blend of 40% Cinsault, 30% Syrah, and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon enhances these flavours.

The blend of 40% Cinsault, 30% Syrah, and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon enhances these flavours.

On the palate, this medium-bodied wine is fresh and lively, with juicy red fruits and a touch of sweet spice, finishing with soft tannins for a refined, lasting impression.

On the palate, this medium-bodied wine is fresh and lively, with juicy red fruits and a touch of sweet spice, finishing with soft tannins for a refined, lasting impression.

NOT FOR SALE TO PERSONS UNDER THE AGE OF 18, DRINK RESPONSIBLY

NOT FOR SALE TO PERSONS UNDER THE AGE OF 18, DRINK RESPONSIBLY