Innehållsförteckning för July 2023 från Getaway

I caught a fish when I was six. A torpedo-shaped, oily mackerel with a dark patterned back and silver belly had taken the bait and was tugging on the end of my fishing line, which was dangling over the edge of a tiny boat into the salty sea off the coast of Cornwall. I carried its carcass, a hook through its bloody mouth, proudly back to my parents’ tourer caravan, where we were staying on one of many memorable family holidays. Mom gutted it, Dad cooked it on our portable braai. I remember how it tasted, its skin charred and crispy, its flesh flaky, soft and slightly sweet. I was fortunate to spend much of my childhood outdoors, engaging in simple pleasures. My parents bought my brother Carl and I…

BRIEFS The Price of Greed WHERE ON EARTH? CHILD MALNUTRITION HAS SKYROCKETTED AMONG THE YĄNOMAMÖ, AN INDIGENOUS TRIBE IN THE HEART OF THE AMAZON RAINFOREST. MOST OF THE TRIBE ARE HUNTER-GATHERERS WHO CAN NO LONGER RELY ON THEIR TRADITIONAL DIET DUE TO INVADERS. THEY HAVE BECOME DEPENDENT ON IMPORTED FOOD WITH LESS NUTRITIONAL VALUE. Lust for gold brings death to the Amazon In the Amazon rainforest, an indigenous tribe is fighting for its survival. The Yąnomamö have lived in the forest on the border between Brazil and Venezuela for hundreds of years, living off fishing, hunting and fruit gathering. Today, the Yąnomamö - whose population is about 29 000 - say they are at serious risk of losing their lands, culture and traditional way of life. A wave of illegal…

La Petite Ferme, at the base of the Franschhoek Pass, has some of the best views over the valley. It's also known for its food and boutique wines. Enjoy all three at specially designed evenings, carefully curated by head chef Ricardo Watson, senior sous chef Joshua le Roux, and winemaker Wikus Pretorius. The Chef's Table runs until September. It comprises a five-course dinner with wine pairing. The Themed Evenings are each inspired by a flavour chosen by the chefs and used across all five courses: Citrus - Friday, 28 July; Mushroom Friday, 25 August; Chocolate - Friday, 29 September. A Winemaker's Tasting Dinner with Chardonnay on Thursday, 29 June, begins with a showcase tasting of four wines. Each dinner is R1 450 per person, and booking is essential reception@lapetiteferme.co.za…

The 30-Year safari A Celebration of Getaway Photography EDITED BY JUSTIN FOX Jacana Media, RRP R330 Three decades and counting - in April 2019, Getaway turned 30. Over the years it has published several photographic coffee-table books. This, its fourth, focuses primarily on work from the last decade. By its 30th birthday, the magazine had entailed some 6 000 journeys filling more than 30 000 pages and producing hundreds of thousands of images. Photojournalists rode camels through the Sahara, hot-air ballooned above the great wildebeest migration, scuba-dived Red Sea wrecks, summited Kilimanjaro, sailed a dhow to Somalia and trekked across Antarctica - and so very much more. This book includes drone photography and underwater scenes, slow-exposure star trails and macro vignettes of the tiniest critters. It's the first of Getaway's…

You can laze around all day (after a good walk, of course), or you can take to the sky in a hot air balloon for an entirely different perspective on the desert. You can get an idea of the sheer scale of NamibRand on a walking safari across the dunes or connect with the solitude over a picnic in the wild. Or find out how Wolwedans runs on a Heart and Home Tour. DUNE CAMP, on the edge of a 250m-high dune, sleeps a maximum of 16. The tents are en suite, and are pitched on wooden platforms. There is a deck for safe sleep-outs under the stars. From N$9450 pps sharing pn DESERT LODGE, on top of a dune plateau, has panoramic views in all directions. The wood and…

Do This Treasure Islands Travel Tips Accommodation and flight costs to the Indian Ocean islands are highly seasonal. RÉUNION While paying respects at La Buse's contentious grave in Saint-Paul and scouring Ravine à Malheur, HOTEL LE JULIETTE DODU offers a characterful base, with its own interesting history, in the vibrant, nearby capital, Saint-Denis. Hire a car to explore the dramatic coastline and volcanic interior, with highlights including Piton de la Fournaise and the alpine village of Cilaos – from where you can hike up 3 069m-highpoint, Piton des Neiges (allow at least eight hours return time). Air Austral fly twice weekly (Thursday and Sunday) between Johannesburg and Réunion (3h50m; approx. R7 700 return). MADAGASCAR PRINCESSE BORA LODGE provides a salubrious base for exploring pirate haven Île Sainte-Marie, and owner Francois-Xavier…

obie oberholzer THE GREAT OCEAN ROAD (P60) Photographer and writer Obie Oberholzer is difficult to find as he's mostly somewhere else, travelling to strange places and riding the roads of his beloved southern Africa. Since the late 1960s, he has followed his pictorial dreams, taking the thoughts from the words of an Elvis Presley song ‘I've got to follow that dream wherever that dream may lead me’. A free spirit, a workaholic, a self-proclaimed visual thug and vagabond, he'll scoff at the claim that he is a national treasure. He has many quotations about travel and photography, but the one that rings loud reads, ‘if you go, you get’. At present he is working on his 16th coffee-table book, titled Going Dutch. A large production of 400 pages, this book…

48 HOURS BRIEFS Two Full Days This coastal town between George and Knysna is my home, my backyard. It has fossilised dune formations and long, lazy beaches, making it the ideal environment to lose yourself in a slow walk, cool swim, explore rock pools or indulge in the simple delights. Here's a local's guide to doing Sedgefield slowly in a short space of time. DAY 1 Gericke's Point Get out for a walk on Swartvlei Beach at 8am. If the tide is still low, all the better. Gericke's Point is a large protruding rock formation that extends into the Indian Ocean, named by locals for its Egyptian shape. Breath in the crisp air, chuck on your sunhat, and head towards mirrored rock pools abundant with marine life. It is easy to…

MEET THE TEAM BRIEFS Meet The Team IT'S THE VIEWS LORRAINE KEARNEY When I was a child, many a family holiday was taken. Sometimes to the mountains, or rivers, and even the bush, but mostly we headed for the coast. We lived in the hinterland so seaside holidays were a no-brainer. Over the years, we spent weeks and weeks exploring the whole east coast, from St Lucia to Simon's Town. A recurring favourite was the Garden Route, because it ticks all the boxes seaside for the children, mountains for the mother, peace and quiet for the father, rivers and dams for all of us. And then, one particularly memorable holiday, my dad kept our destination a secret. All we knew was that it was on the coast. As we meandered across…

DESPATCHES Rooibos Pull up a chair, sit down and pour a cuppa; I've got a story to tell you. Long ago, the continents formed, and specific biomes developed to suit the geography, climate and micro-climates, soil and nutrients in any given area. One of the smallest but most diverse plant kingdoms was the Cape Floral Region. It's so remarkable that it is inscribed on Unesco's World Heritage List and is considered of Outstanding Universal Value. Unesco tells us it's one of the richest areas for plants compared to any similar-sized area in the world. It makes up less than 0.5% of Africa but is home to nearly 20% of its flora, and the diversity, density and endemism of the flora are among the highest worldwide. The region is one of…

TRAVEL Nomadic Families Travel, for most, is restricted to school holidays, or those once an educational stage three-monthers. Some families, though, have packed up and taken to travelling as a way of life. Boats, campervans, caravans, even a bus, plus homeschooling and new places, equals happiness. 3 KIDS, 2 DOGS AND 1 OLD HOUSE The Alfino family set off in 2018 in a 1974 VW campervan (with an air-cooled engine – which proved rather problematic), planning a year on the road travelling the country with their three children, aged five, seven and eight. ‘We felt like we were being sucked into this consumer-driven lifestyle, not spending enough time as a family making good connections with each other and also wanting to make the most of the beautiful country that we…

The Pot Luck Club SIT.EAT.ENJOY There is something about Cape Town's The Old Biscuit Mill at night. It reverts to its industrial roots, looming over the silent square, darkened nooks and crannies in the corners, where you can hear echoes of the daytime chatter and music. Take the glass lift, with a welcome smile from a burley attendant, who will bring you to the first floor. The doors, with their Art Deco motifs, are instantly opened, and you are welcomed into the warmth of Salon, Luke Dale Roberts’ latest Cape Town creation. It keeps the industrial theme going, exposed pipe work painted black, huge lights affixed to the ceiling, a slight flavour of standing under a rocket launch pad. Off to one side, a quieter space with a table set…

Fancy lunch high in the sky? Very high in the sky? French company Zephalto is offering flights on Céleste, its pressurised capsule lifted by a stratospheric balloon filled with helium or hydrogen to an altitude of 25km. That's about three times higher than a commercial airliner flies. The company has partnered with the French space agency, CNES, which has been sending balloons into the stratosphere for more than 60 years. Already, three test flights have been carried out, with pilots on board. Zephalto's vision, the company says, is to offer guests a chance ‘to view the Earth from a new perspective and witness its spherical curve (the “Overview Effect”), in the darkness of space but in the comfort of quality hospitality and safety, accessible to all ages and physical conditions’.…

1 Don't drive at night. Not only for your safety but that of wildlife and pedestrians. 2 Don't pack too many spares. The first time I took my Cortina to Kenya, I had a 13mm spanner, tow rope and bottle opener. If you can't fix it with a 13mm, wait for a tow and have a cold beer. These days, I also carry an air compressor, cable ties and duct tape. 3 Keep smiling There will be situations in which you will question what on earth you're doing. There will be terrible border crossings. But, you know, in Africa, you must never try to speed things up, and being aggressive will get you nowhere. Just be grateful you're not doing an office job you hate! 4 Display your flags We…

‘My future hubby Matt and I were standing on Las Vegas Boulevard gawking at the world-famous Little White Wedding Chapel, sandwiched between a motel and a tattoo parlour, where numerous famous couples have said ‘I do’, the likes of Joan Collins and Peter Holm, Rita Hayworth and Dick Haymes. I'd met Matt the night before in a limousine. We were on a bar crawl of nightclubs housed in ridiculous, monstrous hotels as blinding as Christmas lights in the otherwise stark Nevada Desert. We were two 21-year-old backpackers let loose in the US now that we were old enough to get into the clubs with an ID. We weren't even that drunk when we decided to get married for a joke. It was early enough that it was still light. We…

IN-DEPTH NamibRand Why should one go to the NamibRand? Well, there's the awe: ‘It's simply because it is one of the most beautiful places in the world,’ says Stephan Brückner, co-owner and custodian of Wolwedans. And there's The AridEden Project, the multi-faceted programme focused on a new kind of tourism, one used solely to support sustainability and a circular economy, and one where we move from passive consumption to active participation. There is also the pursuit of happiness. Stephan may seem something of an idealist, deeply invested in spirituality, manifested in one of the five Cs of The AridEden Project – Consciousness – but he is a man on a mission to change the way we live. It starts in the desert in southern Namibia, and from there can grow…

TRAVEL Island-Hopping Born in 1688, La Buse was a legitimate French corsair fighting in the Caribbean before going rogue and hoisting the Jolly Roger. He acquired his nickname for swooping on victims like a buzzard. When the colonial powers clamped down on Caribbean piracy, La Buse relocated to East Africa and joined forces with English pirate John Taylor, jointly commanding three ships and 750 men. In April 1721, just off Réunion, La Buse and Taylor chanced upon The Virgin of the Cape, a Portuguese galleon bound for Lisbon, carrying the Viceroy and Bishop of Goa, plus their colonial loot. Having jettisoned her cannons during a storm, the Virgin was easy prey. The pirates’ plunder, in current terms, was worth several billion euros, with La Buse's share including a two-metre-tall gold…

TRAVEL Europe We flew into Amsterdam Airport Schiphol from Johannesburg and took the Eurostar to London St Pancras station. It had snowed, and we were equally thrilled and appalled by how beautiful and freezing it was as we Ubered through kaleidoscopic London in December. The following day we began what would soon become a familiar ritual over the next three weeks: suiting up in layers of socks, boots, gloves, beanies, scarves and winter coats and heading out to explore. By day three, we had lost legwarmers, a hat and a scarf on either a bus or train but were hopping on and off public transport like seasoned pros. And we weren't quite so cold. After London, we travelled via Paris to Amsterdam, experiencing three capitals, cultures and languages. We covered…

GETTING THERE Suicide Gorge lies in the majestic Hottentots Holland Mountains in the Hottentots Holland Nature Reserve, about 90km south-east of Cape Town. It's about an hour to 90-minutes’ drive from Cape Town. Take the N2 over Sir Lowry's Pass, turn left on the R321, go through Grabouw and on towards Villiersdorp. Up Viljoen's Pass, look out for Nuweberg and the reserve entrance signposted on your left. GPS: 34 4 26.64 S 19 3 42.41 E Office hours: 7.30am-4pm Tel: 028 841 4301/02 Know before you go According to CapeNature, Suicide Gorge is for experienced kloofers who are not afraid of heights. The route can take up to 12 hours to complete. The kloofing section is only 1.3km but consists of 80% swimming –start early to ensure you finish before…