Table of contents for September 2024 in Getaway

FIT FOR ROYALTY The Royal Thanda Club has joined Thanda Safari Lodge, Villa iZulu and Thanda Tented Camp at Thanda Safari, a Big Five reserve of 14 000 ha in Zululand. The club's estate houses Royal Residences - there are four at present - owned by private families, but which are available to book for a luxe safari vacay. The reserve's attractions include the Big Five as well as plenty of other wildlife, Zulu culture and history, activities for children, spa treatments and loads of downtime. The Royal Residences are individually furnished according to the owners' taste, but each has a Zulu architectural theme and spirit. There are four- and five-suite options, ranging in size from 587 m² to 1 100 m² covered area. But you're getting absolute privacy and…

Sticky Pork Fried Rice This dish combines flavourful pork neck steak with sautéed vegetables and sushi rice in a delicious sticky sauce. Topped with toasted sesame seeds, cashews and a drizzle of Kewpie mayonnaise, it's a satisfying, umami-rich meal perfect for any time of day. PREP TIME 10 MIN COOKING TIME 20 MIN SERVES 2-4 Ingredients Oil for frying 2 garlic cloves, crushed 60 ml (about 1¼ cup) grated ginger 300 g sliced and deboned pork neck steak 125 ml (about 1½ cup) cooked corn 1 cup finely diced mushrooms (preferably sautéed in soy sauce) 1½ cup diced spring onion 2 cups cooked sushi rice 1/4 cup sesame seeds Salt and black pepper, to taste Sticky Sauce 1½ cup soy sauce 1/4 cup honey 1 tbsp tomato sauce 71 tbsp…

FIELD NOTES Pangolins ‘My first encounter with a pangolin was at a bushmeat market,' Dr Mark Ofua begins. He's a wildlife veterinarian who runs Saint Mark's Animal Hospital and a pangolin orphanage in Lagos, Nigeria. 'It was coiled on a bushmeat seller's table, and as I continued to observe, it straightened a little. We locked eyes.' Dr Ofua describes a tribe in Nigeria that nicknamed pangolins 'idiots' because they cover their head and front legs when startled and roll up completely into a protective ball if touched or grabbed, exposing their scales to predators including poachers. When he met a pangolin for the first time, that was the last thing that came to mind. 'I saw a wise animal with whom I felt spiritually bonded. I felt his appeal for…

Stay Here There are plenty of places to stay in Eswatini. The country is so small you can stay pretty much anywhere and still make it to the Reed Dance, but a few options to try are MOGI BOUTIQUE HOTEL (mogihotel.com), MANTENGA LODGE (mantengalodge.com) and THE ROYAL VILLAS (royalvillas.co.sz). Nudity, Photography and Social Media The Reed Dance videos were once classified as age-restricted content by YouTube, which angered users who had uploaded them. That included Lazi Dlamini, the head of TV Yabantu, an online video production company that aims to produce content that 'protects, preserves and restores African values! Working with 200+ cultural groups, Lazi organised a series of protests against Google to force them to rethink their position. YouTube apologised and allowed the showing of genuine African traditional videos.…

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BRIEFS Hara and Naw RHINO LOVE This month, the new Mlevu Rhino 96 Sanctuary on the southern boundary of Zimbabwe's famed Hwange National Park welcomes two rhinos, following the introduction of two bulls to the first community rhino sanctuary, Ngamo, in May 2022- Thuza and Kusasa. This is significant for several reasons: once home to a substantial white rhino population, the last one in Hwange was poached in 2007. This month, there will be four in the area. Second, the sanctuaries are on the border of Hwange, on communal grazing land the communities allocated and entrusted specifically for rhino conservation. At Mlevu, three communities amalgamated their land for rhino conservation. The project is called the Community Rhino Conservation Initiative, and one of its partners is Imvelo Safari Lodges. Third, community members…

While making lunch in the kitchen, we overheard raucous laughter from the lounge. Twelve women were playing a silly game. They'd met two days earlier when they'd joined our Womxn for Wild South Coast Surf Camp on Umzumbe Beach. Those who'd felt shy on the first day were suggesting meeting up, going hiking or for beers in Joburg. I wasn't always adventurous. Women appeared on my Instagram feed, hiking, surfing, scuba diving and climbing, which I found fascinating but separate from my life in inner-city Joburg, where I worked in sound engineering, live broadcast, film and marketing and spent my weekends at festivals and music events, sleeping all day and partying all night. Moving to Plettenberg Bay was the catalyst for my outdoor lifestyle. I realised how much easier it…

DESPATCHES Food It's early morning in the Omicho Market, Kanazawa. Fresh fish, snow crabs, sweet shrimp, scallops, squid, and oversized oysters lie on beds of ice while unagi (freshwater eels) wriggle and writhe in buckets of water at the fishmongers' feet. On the countertops are mountains of mushrooms, piles of pears, long stems of fresh wasabi, lotus root, and trays of marbled, melt-in-the-mouth Wagyu beef. Stall holders shout prices and show off their products to potential customers looking for the best and freshest produce. The sprawling Omicho Market's busy network of covered streets houses roughly 200 stalls, selling seafood and local farm produce that ranges from freshly picked vegetables to bunches of pristine Ruby Roman grapes. Numerous restaurants and stalls sell sushi, seafood rice bowls and other local specialities. Even…

IN-DEPTH Loving Local PEZULA NATURE RETREAT Inspire. Reward. Spoil. The weeks preceding my trip to the Garden Route hadn't been kind. Winter storms had ravaged Cape Town, and I had begun to think I may have been suffering from seasonal affective disorder. To say I was more than over the gloomy weather would have been a polite understatement. Spending time at Pezula Nature Retreat would do me good, allowing me to enjoy the area's splendour while indulging in much-needed downtime from the madness that often goes hand in hand with city life. Yes, relaxation was what I needed. Thankfully, Pezula Nature Retreat lives up to its promise to 'inspire, reward and spoil', making it the ideal base to explore the area. I first visited Pezula five years ago, when it was…

TRAVEL Drakensberg The dragon is close. I can sense the lurking beast's presence within the thin air yawing beneath my feet. Unseen, skulking in the shadows, the creature wills me to feel the fear. Maybe, to fumble. Finally, to fall. Three years ago - nearly to the date - I plummeted five storeys when my rock holds broke while down- climbing a pinnacle in the remote Groot Winterhoek wilderness. I should have died but miraculously snuck in through the proverbial back door despite fracturing a dozen bones and bursting my lung due to the immense impact trauma. Cue two weeks in the ICU and 18 months of excruciating pain, but a disciplined rehab routine and an unrelenting need to get back into the great outdoors helped me to navigate those…

TRAVEL Road Trip I last spent meaningful time in Hermanus almost 11 years ago. At the time, it was a quaint little town South Africans ventured to for brief breakaways, and the rest of the world flocked to off the back of decent tourism marketing. It offered good food, sea and some of the best whale watching on the planet around this time of year. This Hermanus is different. It is a world-class destination populated by impossibly gifted creatives and entrepreneurs who've created a broad swathe of dope stuff. I'd imagine the Mona Lisa would look like this Hermanus if Andy Warhol had trained his lens on it. Familiar in ways that retain its historic charm but completely unrecognisable in others. It has a magnetic appeal for travellers whom this…

And Here's What You Said… Elric Pretorius I live in Blue Horizon Bay and enjoy nature, sunsets and the Indian Ocean. Koos Smith I've been visiting [the area] from the UK for 44 years. It has fresh air and is far from London's traffic, air pollution and crowds. Caught in the Web Silkworms on the Side Travelling to Singapore anytime soon? Eating around the island nation may be an interesting exploration. Singapore Food Agency (SFA), its food safety unit, has approved 16 species of edible insects for importing, sale and consumption in the country. 'SFA will allow the import of insects and insect products… These insects and insect products can be used for human consumption or as animal feed for food-producing animals,' it says. On the list are several cricket…

WHERE TO STAY YIELD HOUSE (yieldhouse.co.za) offers guests lovely self-catering accommodation on the beachfront. Depending on your group's size, you can book one or all of its three sections - a three- bedroom home, a studio apartment and a courtyard cottage, each with a smart TV, Wi-Fi, braai facilities and a kitchen or kitchenette. The courtyard cottage has one bedroom with a double bed and a smart TV with DStv. There is a sleeper couch in the living area. For those who want to explore, it's 1 km from the harbour and various shops, 5 km from McDougalls Bay, 90 km from Steinkopf and 142 km from Springbok. From R900 pn (based on two people sharing, sleeps four, maximum two adults) EAT HERE If a good meal with a gorgeous…

Climb down the rocks, or stay here? Jump in the water, or stay dry? Swim under a waterfall, or stay on the bank? When are you ever going to get another chance to do this, here? Only the last is really a question. Of course you'll climb down the rocks; of course you'll jump in the water; you'd be mad not to swim under a waterfall. It was the same early that morning at the mouth of the river: kayak or standup paddleboard? Both, followed by a swim in the ocean, because you never regret a swim. GweGwe Beach Lodge is that kind of place. It's hunkered into the landscape overlooking the beach and the hills beyond, and it invites you to dive right into its adventurous streak. The adventure,…

Ruby Roman Grapes If you're visiting Ishikawa in summer, try to get your hands on some Ruby Roman grapes, probably the most expensive fruit you'll ever eat, and a favourite all over Japan. They're known for their sweet flavour, vibrant colour and large size. It took farmers in Ishikawa 14 years to produce these grapes, and they have a price tag to match. In 2016, one cluster of grapes was auctioned for a record bid of ¥1.1 million (around R123 000). Dining Tips • Mid to high-end restaurants will almost certainly accept card payments, while the small independent ones may only take cash. • Tipping is not expected - if you leave the change behind, someone will probably run after you to give it back. • Slurping your noodles or…

PHOTOGRAPHY Portfolio ‘I discovered photography through my first love: music. I'm passionate about visual storytelling, presenting the people I meet and the spaces I navigate from a unique perspective. I think that's what I've always tried to do, as well as show my perspective and how I perceive the world around me. 'I've always been interested in photography. My family kept photo albums when I was growing up. I was often on the internet and social media in 2011 when Tumblr was popular. Inspired by the images I saw online, which I saved in a folder on my computer, I started taking photographs with my cell phone and posting them on Instagram. I bought a camera a few months later.' Asked where he'd visit if he could choose anywhere, Kgomotso's…

INTO AFRICA Eswatini Seeing thousands of young Swazi women and girls adorned in traditional attire streaming towards us is awe-inspiring and slightly surreal. Their clothing is minimal: short, beaded skirts, rainbow-coloured scarves embellished with pompoms and tassels, and little else. The girls chant and dance towards the Queen Mother's residence, the rhythmical stamping of their feet and the jingling of their anklets vibrating in the air. Their energy is palpable and infectious. The Reed Dance, or Umhlanga, as it's more widely known, is steeped in tradition and history. It dates back to the '40s and is an adaptation of the older Nguni reed dance ceremony. Today, it serves as a rite of passage for young women and a way to honour the Queen Mother and the Swazi royal family. The…