“Quirky, unusual, fresh, and like nothing we’ve seen before…” – i-escape.com
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New to Explorers Club – Step back in time at Daniels Kraal Farm on Route 62
Hidden away in a valley in the Klein Karoo lies a luxurious homestead overlooking rolling green lawns, a large swimming pool and surrounded by mountains. Wind your way out of the little town of Calitzdorp for 9km past vineyards, orchards and ostriches and discover the Daniels Kraal Farm, encased by rambling vineyards, olive trees and…
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Local break at the hottest new hotel in Franschhoek
Having seen close to fifteen years of innovation in our valley it is surprising we see the bar still being lifted each year. A few years ago, during the World Cup hosted in South Africa, a new visitor fell in love with Franschhoek. Since then he has been busy, quietly amassing a hospitality portfolio that…
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Stage 2 Marathon des Sables 2016: Comms from Ash
Now that she is in the thick of the race, only now do you realise what an immense effort this is. Here are her postings from her departure from the UK, via my brother Nick: 8 April: Ash left Mells yesterday afternoon and spent the evening with her tent buddies, a chicken burger and a…
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My Sister-in-Law, Ash Sinfield, takes on the toughest foot race on earth, second stage today…
Ash has just completed the 2nd stage of the Marathon des Sables (Marathon of the Sands) today. She has been training for two years. It is a six-day, 251 km (156 mi) ultramarathon, which is the equivalent of six regular marathons. The longest single stage (2009) is 91 km (57 mi) long. This multiday race is held every year in…
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Fantastic Launch Offer at La Cotte House, Franschhoek, for Easter, Sleeps 12
Easter is available at La Cotte…. in 22 out 31 March (dates 12-19 March are also available) There won’t be any arguments about who should get the room with the view at La Cotte. Wherever you choose to lay your suitcase, you’ll enjoy its 360-degree views of Franschhoek’s vineyard-studded valley and mountains. But it’s not…
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The Trigger – Hunting the Assassin Who Brought the World To War. Tim Butcher talks at The Library, Franschhoek, on 11th September
Please find details on how to book tickets on the link below: Tim Butcher talk Sept 11, 2014
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'Going South with Scott': Rob Caskie talks at The Library, in Franschhoek, on 12 August
For details on obtaining tickets please click on the link below: Rob Caskie talk Aug 12, 2014
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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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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 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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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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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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No Worry, Chicken Curry – the Whittles family adventure
I came across this story on Alaistair Sawday’s newsletter and thought it sung of a ‘very Explorers Club’ story which embodies the Mark Twain quote ‘Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did so. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away…
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A hungry croc tastes Rupert's canoe in Caboro Bassa
Below reads a story, of which much of us dream, of two men in two boats, on a great adventure down one of the most thrilling rivers in Africa. The photos appear on a blog below and Rupert has sent this story along to accompany the photos. Yesterday I received a message from Warren Willis…
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Fancy a stroll?
Jeanine Barone went for many strolls in the search for some unusual ambles. I concur to two, having cut my teeth for three years in the Croatian backwaters. There are plenty of gems in Croatia, off the beaten track. Two more worthwhile are crossing the Massif de la Selle in Haiti (although sadly now might…
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Rupert FitzMaurice and Justin Matterson descend the length of the Zambezi, dodging hippos and fending off crocs
By chance, some friends staying in The Explorers Club and I got chatting of adventures over some Chamonix Sauvignon Blanc Reserve at New Year. Kiki told me of two intrepid explorers she knew who descended the Zambezi River – source to sea – and I mentioned I had been to a lecture at the Royal…
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A Fortunate Soldier…new documentary film
Koos Verwy was a special forces operative for the South African army during the Angolan Border war in the 1970’s and 80’s. He now operates a remote lodge located in northern Namibia, on the Kunene River, overlooking Angola. Every year he takes a few adventurous Franschhoek locals on a long trek through the Marienfluss and…
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Top 20 Inspirational Travel Books of the past century
These are the books that have inspired generations to travel, and to write: the best of their genre in the past 100 years – by Steve Keenan
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Angus Paradice (age 11) wins Adventure Award
TWO MONGOLIAN ADVENTURES THIS MONTH!!! When Angus Paradice was 11, he went to the Nadaam festival in Mongolia two years ago on a family holiday and watched the traditional horse racing for children, thinking: ”I could do that.” Back at home in Scone, north-west of Newcastle, he trained for nine months, riding his horse 22…
