Getaway -julkaisun August 2024 -irtonumeron sisällysluettelo

WHERE ON EARTH? FROM HUMBLE BEGINNINGS IN 1986 AS A SMALL FUNCTION ON BAKER BEACH, SAN FRANCISCO, BURNING MAN HAS EVOLVED INTO AN ANNUAL, 'WEEK-LONG LARGE-SCALE EVENT' HELD IN NEVADA'S BLACK ROCK DESERT. THE EVENT, WHICH HAS BRANCHED OUT TO 35 COUNTRIES WORLDWIDE, FOCUSES ON 'COMMUNITY, ART, SELF-EXPRESSION AND SELF-RELIANCE'. DESPITE THIS AND BURNING MAN'S CONTINUED POPULARITY, THE EVENT HAS HAD ITS FAIR SHARE OF CONTROVERSY. PROTESTING CLIMATE ACTIVISTS HAVE BEEN KNOWN TO BLOCK THE ROADS LEADING TO THE CAMPSITE TO PREVENT ACCESS TO THOSE ATTENDING. THIS YEAR'S EVENT TAKES PLACE BETWEEN 25 AUGUST AND 2 SEPTEMBER, WITH TENS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE EXPECTED TO MAKE THEIR WAY TO BLACK ROCK CITY, A TEMPORARY METROPOLIS DEDICATED TO THE EVENT.…

BRIEFS Here and Now UGANDA CALLING Volcanoes Safari's swish new Kibale Lodge opened its doors last month, forming a circuit linking the finest gorilla and chimpanzee sites in Africa. The lodge sits on a ridge near Port Fortal, with views of the Rwenzori Mountains in the west, and the Queen Elizabeth plains and the Kazinga Channel to the south. Kibale Forest, it must be said, is the primate capital of the world, with a community of 1500 chimps. Volcanoes takes its eco credentials seriously and Celine Ishimwe, the lead botanist, and her team of 50 gardeners have planted 200 000 indigenous plant seedlings in the past year. Each guest is given a pet name, an ampaako, during their stay, a mark of respect for visitors among the Batoro people. Lodge staff…

I was born in Etosha National Park in Namibia. My father is a former park ranger, and as far back as I can remember, I accompanied him when he helped injured marine animals on the beach. I feel responsible for their welfare. In 2015, our daughter, Nina, was diagnosed with a rare paediatric cancer and underwent 15 months of intense chemo and radiotherapy. Fortunately, she recovered. At the time, my wife Katja and I owned a kayaking company at Pelican Point, but Nina reminded us that life is short, which encouraged us to take seal rescue more seriously. With fellow wildlife protection activists Alva, Antoine and Roman, crewmen on the MY Ocean Warrior, which the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society owns and operates, I ran a campaign to disentangle as many…

PHOTOGRAPHY Portfolio Originally from Bayeux in Normandy, France, Réhahn has lived in Hoi An on the coast of Vietnam for more than a decade. He's known for his colourful portraits and photos of local life in Vietnam but has also photographed people worldwide, including in Cuba, Malaysia and India. Réhahn owns and runs galleries in Hoi An and Saigon, which showcase his photos of Vietnam's tribes alongside traditional clothing and artefacts. During Covid, Réhahn embarked on a journey into books, particularly reading about the Impressionists. When restrictions were lifted, he started experimenting with what Impressionism might look like within the context of photography. 'Many movements have their roots in Impressionism. The post-impressionists, such as Van Gogh, played with freer brushstrokes but shifted their colour palettes to more intense tones. The…

Good to Know The best time to visit the Okavango Delta for wildlife viewing is from July to October (the dry season), when water levels are at their highest - good for mokoro trips. Because of the time it takes for the water to reach the Delta, the flooding is highest in the dry months of April to October. July and August are the busiest months, and the campsites fill up. The wet months, from January to March, are less ideal for visiting because some areas become inaccessible. From November to March, a lot of wildlife remains in the heart of the Delta, which has permanent water. There is less wildlife around and water levels may be too low for mokoro trips. But there are loads of baby animals, which…

TRAVEL Into Africa Halfway to the Turtle Islands, our boat grinds to a halt in the sand. We haven't timed our trip well, as the tide is going out, and our dilapidated boat is too big for the increasingly shallow waters, now waist-deep. The boatman tinkers with the motor, attempting to free our vessel from the sand. We limp for a few minutes, but the propellers soon revert to churning deep into the sand. The mainland is a faint blur on the horizon. Thankfully, a father and son manning a small wooden boat with an engine appear a few hundred metres away. We wave and shout to get their attention, and they pull up alongside us. Luckily, they're heading in the same direction we are. An animated conversation ensues -…

Werner Labuschagne A WALK ON THE WILD SIDE (P44) Werner is a writer, lecturer, and former hermit in the bustling city of gold, Johannesburg. Escaping the city's speed is a top priority for the published author, who seeks reflection in the stillness of nature. Whether a short, steep hike through his local botanical gardens, a dip in a Dullstroom lake or a haphazard hike down a gorge to the base of Howick Falls (where a serpent deity is said to be sleeping), exploring the quirk and charm of South Africa's tiniest towns and trails is where his inspiration strikes. A chronic introvert, travelling forces him to step outside his comfort zone and experience life rather than think about it. With a knack for storytelling, Werner dabbles between fiction and travel…

FIELD NOTES Maasai Olympics The Maasai people are natural athletes, tremendously lithe and limber. It's something to witness them jump high, kick up dust and become gracefully airborne, their primary coloured shúkà (sheets worn traditionally) billowing, earlobes stretched and pierced with striking metal loops, in vivid contrast to the savannah they inhabit. The Maasai Olympics has replaced traditional lion hunting with the hunt for gold medals and prize money and ignited a passion among warriors for sports and conservation. Arguably the most iconic tribal group on the African continent, the Maasai of the Amboseli ecosystem in rural Kenya retain many of their traditions. They live in manyatta, homesteads of huts made of mud, cow dung and wood, rely on herding cattle for food, modify their bodies and wear shúkà to…

Visit Norway (visitnorway.com) has a comprehensive website with all the information you need to plan a western fjords trip, including the fjord cruise by car ferry between Geiranger and Hellesylt. The Loen Skylift (R1 000 for a round trip, loenskylift.com) also offers activities on the mountain and restaurant information. Visit Stranda Ski Resort (strandafjellet.no/en) for skiing and related activities. For guided kayaking in the Brosundet canal in Alesund and rafting, biking, skiing, hiking and more activities in the region, contact Uteguiden (uteguiden.com/en). Stay Here Geiranger UNION HOTEL booking@hotelunion.no hotelunion.no Alesund THON HOTEL thonhotels.no From R3 000 pr pn Loen HOTEL ALEXANDRA (near the base of the Skylift) alexandra.no…

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A NATURAL WONDER Just over 9% of South Africa's mainland surface area is protected, mostly by nature reserves and national parks. The plan is to have by 2030 at least 30% of terrestrial, inland water, and coastal and marine areas conserved and managed. So a new reserve in the Northern Drakensberg is cause for celebration. The Northern Drakensberg Nature Reserve was gazetted on 18 April. The 6 500 ha reserve is part of a conservation corridor connecting the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park in KwaZulu-Natal (a World Heritage Site) to the Sterkfontein Nature Reserve in the Free State, expanding a transnational protected area from South Africa to Lesotho. It's made up of 19 properties owned by 11 private landowners who wanted to protect their land and help to conserve South Africa's poorly…

IN-DEPTH Loving Local We escaped the office early on Friday to get a head start on the two-and-a-half-hour drive from Joburg to Sun City resort. Leaving our work stress in the rear-view mirror, I couldn't help but wonder, what do adventurers do at Sun City during winter? The sunset lit the mountains against a cloudless sky. We arrived at Lefika Villas that evening to find our friends had already settled in, lounging around our luxury accommodation. The three-bedroom villa is ideal for a group or family who want to explore the wilderness of Pilanesberg with all the creature comforts of a resort on standby. Our kitchen was roomy enough to accommodate many helping hands to prepare a big meal. The lounge and covered outdoor patio each had a long table…

TRAVEL Botswana The Okavango Delta, in far north-western Botswana, is one of those legendary places at the top of many bucket lists. It is a massive draw, people lured by its remoteness and vast, untamed wilderness. But more than tourism, it has deep significance, culturally, historically and, crucially, geologically and hydrologically. WHAT'S IT ALL ABOUT It's made up of permanent marshlands and seasonally flooded grasslands and is one of very few major interior delta systems that do not flow into a sea or ocean; and its wetland system is almost intact. The annual flooding from the Okavango River is during the dry season, which is not what you'd expect, and the plants and animals have adapted their life cycles to the annual cycle of rains and flooding. In essence, it's…

TRAVEL Motoring Places hold memories, and I don't have fond flashbacks of Piketberg. As a teenager, I was crammed into a 12-seater van with 15 junior cricketers (and all our kit) and made the nearly two-hour drive from Cape Town to Piketberg. We played four matches and lost them all. Convincingly. We'd return each night to the school dorm we were staying at to eat a dinner of stale hotdog rolls and cold potato chips. At 8 pm, our coach would sit us down to unpack our performance. It was the mid-'90s, and the emotionally mature, people-centric coaching styles that are commonplace now weren't then. It was acceptable to tell a 13-year-old they sucked. And we believed we sucked, which, for many of us, informed the lens we see the…

TRAVEL International Standing alone on the top deck of the Bolsoy for the ferry ride from Hellesylt to Geiranger, there was a crisp chill in the air. Although it was springtime, the crystal-clear Geirangerfjord was enveloped in mist. The last whispers of winter were fading, the summer visitors had yet to arrive, and the fjord, minus the high-season crowds and cruise ships, was silent and tranquil. The boat cut through the glassy water. Sheer rock walls stretched spectacularly upwards. Long abandoned farmhouses, where people had once eked out a living, clung precariously to tiny grassy ledges. Slender waterfalls streamed down the cliffs to meet the surface of the fjord — the De syv sostre (The Seven Sisters), Friaren (The Suitor) and Brudesloret (The Bridal Veil). In a region with no…

BACK PAGES World Wide Weird Caught in the Web Too Hot by Far Denmark has recalled three varieties of fire chicken instant ramen noodles for being too hot. The level of capsaicin found in Buldak Hot Chicken Ramen 3x Spicy, Buldak Hot Chicken Ramen 2x Spicy and Hot Chicken Stew was so high that it could poison consumers, the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration said. Buldak, which means 'fire chicken' in Korean, is made by Korea's Samyang. It seems the original buldak ramen scored about 4 000 on the Scoville scale, about the same heat as jalapeños. The new flavours are apparently higher than 13 000 Scoville heat units, which is about as hot as manzano chillies, but not nearly as hot as habaneros, which range between 200 000 and…