“Quirky, unusual, fresh, and like nothing we’ve seen before…” – i-escape.com
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Why we live in Franschhoek…
A few months ago I nipped out for a morning jog, before the sun hit the valley floor. Up at 6 for a 5 kilometre round-trip: down the road, over the river, up past Mont Rochelle Hotel, down the hill past the various Champagnes, over the common, left at the monument at the main road and…
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A recce into the depths of the Okavango Delta
Rear-Admiral Dorian Hoy, able-fisherman master Sam Hoy and I (tackle-master, bottle washer, deck-scrubber) threw caution to the wind and took off up a channel from Maun to see how far we could get into the swamps in a day. Laden with drinks, snacks, binos and fishing tackle we launched at dawn, following a GPS route…
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Bring Back Choirboy races Mercedes down Franschhoek Pass
On a stormy winters day a daredevil on a skateboard races down the Franschhoek Pass against a Mercedes.
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Library Lecture – Patricia Glyn on two months in the Kalahari with a family of Khomani Bushmen
Patricia Glyn returns to Franschhoek to give a more in-depth insight into the plight of a family of Khomani Bushmen when they returned, for two months, to their ancestral hunting grounds of the southern Kalahari, in the Kgalagadi National Park, from which they had been evicted. It was a moving and memorable expedition during which…
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Scorpions, Spiders and Lighting Fires with the Bushmen of Tsumkwe
A boy scout trip with a couple of bushmen at Meno a kwena is always going to throw up some surprises. Fire was always on the cards but it was the hunt for the small things that was particularly interesting. Matchbox size entrances, on the harder parts of the ground, were indicating the presence of…
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A memorable night on the Makgadikgadi Pans
Should a bit of bush fatigue set in the perfect antidote is a night under the stars on the Makgadikgadi pans. The contrast to the bush is thoroughly refreshing, particularly if you have been tossed about in the sandy mires of the Kalahari and taken in the somewhat cluttered areas of Chobe where the elephants have…
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Entering a Time Warp – The Kariba Ferry across Lake Kariba in Zimbabwe
The choice of dribbling along for twenty-two hours across an expanse of water or battling for forty-eight hours across corrugated roads and bottomless potholes was an easy one. It was an especially easy decision as it was like entering a time capsule – The Kariba Ferry. We squeezed onto one of the three available berths…
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A nostalgic & homely seaside escape, above Boulders Beach, joins Explorers club
We have discovered another twinkling moon called Little Hampton and it sits above Boulders Beach, a sheltered cove made up of inlets between gigantic granite boulders on the Cape Peninsula. The beach also happens to be a permanent nesting colony of African Penguins and is a perfect beach for children to play hooky. Colleen Nugent, its…
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The first beach house to join forces with The Explorers Club collection…
We have been striving to find somewhere on the coast we can send our guests from Franschhoek, for an escape like nowhere else, where you can feel part of the ocean. La Gratitude, in Hermanus, delivers this in spades. It is an historic family holiday home, retaining it’s old fashioned charm, in an unbeatable position…
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One extraordinary flight – Ol Malo to South Island, Lake Turkana
Andrew, at the end of the night, suggested an adventure at dawn the next day. “Let’s fly to South Island on Turkana, see if we can catch a Nile Perch, and if we can’t we can have some breakfast anyway, and take in some views.” Chiyulu added “We can break the doors off to get…
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Walking with Camels in Laikipia, Kenya
We spotted Gabriel from across the swollen river, in his striking red shukka, standing aside a large dome-shaped back of a camel. Steve Carey ferried us across the chocolate waters and we slipped into walking boots. We had a hike ahead lead by Gabriel though the Tumaren Ranch to rendezvous with Kerry Glen in the…
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Oddysey into Laikipia, Kenya
On a dusty bend in the road north between Nairobi and Nanyuki, Gordie Church lurked in ambush sporting flat cap and razor sharp side burns. A long awaited re-union with a gangly old friend and Felicia on their shamba, resting in between safaris. A fitting start, over a few Tuskers, to 5 weeks in Kenya,…
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The Library Lecture: Isandlwana, 22 January 1879 – British Defeat or Zulu Victory? A date for the diary: Wednesday 28th November
Andrew Rattray will talk to us about that fateful day, the 22nd of January 1879, when the British Army invaded Zululand and found themselves up against the might of the Zulu Army, which prompted Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, later that year, upon the death of the Prince Imperial of France to say ‘A very remarkable people…
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AfrikaBurn – Burning Man Festival in the Tankwa Karoo
Abi, Nicole (thanks for the pics) and some equally flowery damsels took flight to join the flock of slightly off-piste revellers on the edge of the semi-desert in the Northern Cape. Images speak louder than words.
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Reza Mahammad cooks up a sumptuous feast at Explorers Club, Franschhoek
On a glorious autumnal day in Franschhoek Reza delivered a feast to over a dozen magazine editors and food writers in the comfort of Explorers Club, sponsored by Le Creuset, Chamonix, Colmant and Evian. The menu comprised of recipes in Reza’s new book, Reza’s Indian Spice. Reza’s skill is quite extraordinary and he had been…
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Piscatorial Research off Linene Island, Mozambique
In between injections of gin and quinine we went to test the health of gill-bearing aquatic vertebrae off Linene Island, on the southern tip of the Bazaruto Archipelago in Mozambique. On the surface there were plenty of healthy signs; breaching whales, popping heads of loggerhead turtles and pods of spinning dolphins. Below the surface too…
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Absinthe: A taste and talk on the blisteringly powerful creative lubricant which has earned an enduring place in alcoholic folklore…with Roger Jorgensen of Jorgensens Distillery
What better way of welcoming in the festive cheer by coming to taste and listen to the story behind mind-bending effects of the notorious medicinal tonic, Absinthe, otherwise known as the Green Fairy, and its re-birth on a Wellington farm. Invented in the late nineteenth century, consumed by the bohemian café societies of Europe and…
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'Chasing The Devil' – In Search of Africa’s Fighting Spirit. Tim Butcher lectures at The Library, Franschhoek
Best-selling author (Blood River) and adventure-traveller Tim Butcher lost friends in Sierra Leone during its civil war and was threatened with death by the Liberian warlord Charles Taylor, but he faced down these demons by trekking 350 miles through the jungle on an epic journey to one of Africa’s most overlooked regions. He wanted to…
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The Library, Franschhoek: some images
Framed by two old Jacarandas, and an ancient oak, sits the The Library. The accommodation sleeps up to six, in three en-suite, spacious bedrooms, tucked away in a quiet quarter of Franschhoek. What better way to relax on holiday with a pile of books, a view to devour, dip in the pool every now and…
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Baltic Oddballs
A voyage is not complete without a degree of bizarreness. I knew this passage would be a little out of the ordinary and had put some effort into research. A former military prison where you can stay – they treat you as a prisoner; a restaurant resembling a hospital where you eat with surgical instruments,…
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Where the Bison Roam…and other beasts
Apart from startling a buck in Mavrovo National Park, in Macedonia, and encountering at least half a dozen vipers on paths and roads, we fell short on encountering some big game. The signs were there but guides were slim on the ground. Enter general oracle Laco Molnar, primarily wildlife vet but also part-time hunter, on…
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National Parks of Montenegro, Albania, Macedonia and Kosovo
One of the purposes of coming to this region is to uncover some of the lesser known backroads and wilder areas. Although the larger wildlife has remained elusive it has not in the least detracted from the mountains, lakes and rivers of that we have encountered. Snakes, on the other hand, have been much more…
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The Accursed Mountains of Theth, Albania
For seven months Theth is isolated, cut off by the winter snows. The rocky track to get there is arduous, with slippery hairpin bends, even when the snows have melted in May. As we climbed the narrow pass and entered the clouds, the weather closed in, and the temperature slumped. Tea was taken on top,…
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Gravediggers; Sweaty Twins; the Harushas of Theth; a bizarre serenading boatman and multiple shots at dawn – some of the characters so far….
The first foray into the unknown has taken in Montenegro, Albania, Macedonia and Kosovo. Not your a-list destinations, but the so called underbelly of the Balkans. These are some of the characters that opened our eyes to the local hospitality, filled with generosity, usually flushed down with some home made rakija, no matter what time…
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An expedition sailing down the Irrawaddy, through the James Bond islands and onto Langkawi
In 2002 I organised a sailing escapade in the Far East. It was four months long and it started 1,000 miles up the Irrawaddy River in Burma, close to the Chinese border, and ended at Langkawi in Malaysia. Recently a sailing magazine in the US asked a few questions about the voyage and the article,…
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A glorious weekend exploring Indian Food with Reza Mahammed
If you can, do yourself a favour and call African Relish, the Cookery School in Prince Albert, and get your name on the waiting list for next year’s course hosted by the unplayable BBC personality and chef extraordinaire; Reza Mahammed. What a weekend!! It was a mesmerising display of colour and layers of exotic flavours…
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Hike to Cabane d'Orny in the memory of Hannes Esterhuyse
I met Lindy a few weeks ago, while she was staying at The Map Room in Franschhoek. She has written a story about tracing her brothers tragic last climb on a mountain in Switzerland, and wanted to share the journey. How I miss my brother Hannes. He died in August 2008 whilst climbing le Petit…
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Iona National Park, Angola 3rd & 4th July
We drove through the southern edge of the Iona National Park in Angola to make tracks back to the Namibian border. We passed through some remote areas, with very slow progress across river beds and rocky passes and through Himba territory. A very weary group pushed through the border back into Namibia on the 4th…
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Virgin Kunene Camp 2nd July
We left Foz and discovered an untouched camp on the banks of the Cunene where we unwound for two nights after the crossing, before the long trek to the border.
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The infamous Killing Zone – battle to the mouth of the Kunene
It all started so well. In high spirits, after saying our goodbyes to those returning to the Cape, we took off with excitement and some trepidation to tackle the infamous stretch of coast from Flamingo to the Kunene River. Rico Sakko pioneered the beach run some ten years ago for adventure. The two vehicles narrowly…