FM Travel May 2019

WWW.BUSINESSMEDIAMAGS.CO.ZA May 2019

rush?What’s the







Contents

FROM THE EDITOR AWAY BUSINESS CLASS

4 SAVOUR EACH MOMENT 13 LITTLE WONDER 35 CAPITAL GAINS
Bigger isn’t always better This Robertson gem may be small, Tshwane finds its cool
but its charms are far from diminutive
EN ROUTE 41 THE SMELL OF OLD
19 LET IT SINK INTO YOUR SOUL LEATHER
7 CONNECTIONS It’s time to rethink safari Why Graaff-Reinet should
New hotels and fresh lodges; plus gear, host your next out-of-town
inspiration and undersea dining 25 UNDER OXFORD’S SKIN meeting
Tom Eaton discovers the joys of the
9 TIME TRAVEL lesser-hyped city ARTYFACT
The end is nigh for the flying hippo
31 STRANGERS ON A TRAIN 44 CAPTURING TIME
13 Darrel Bristow-Bovey goes time- Discover the artist who saw into
travelling with Agatha Christie the soul of a moment

41

rush?What’s the
PICTURES: SUPPLIED Financial Mail Travel, May 2019

IMAGES: Ease off the accelerator and let it sink into your soul
at Jock Safari Lodge, pictured here and on the cover;
read our slow safari story on page 19

TRAVEL 3

FROM THE EDITOR

Savour Published by
each moment

T oo often we’re told that size bypasses London in favour of the more A Tiso Blackstar Group Business
matters and we’re ideologically compact charms of historic Oxford.
goaded into believing that There he discovers that despite all the Picasso Headline
bigger is better. Not just 13th Floor, 2 Long Street, Cape Town, 8001
larger, but faster, heritage and academic pomp, even Tel: +27 21 469 2400 | Fax: +27 86 682 2926
longer, stronger, more high- Oxford is ultimately a place Web: www.businessmediamags.co.za
tech. It’s undoubtedly also where ordinary humans
in our DNA, a genetic live – and, fortunately, EDITORIAL
hardwiring that reminds that doesn’t make it any
us that the tall, muscle- less thrilling to visit. Editor: Keith Bain
bound caveman would On page 31, Darrel Content Manager: Raina Julies,
get the bigger (and Bristow-Bovey relishes [email protected]
therefore better) cave. all the palpable mystery Copy Editor: Nicci Collier
of undertaking a ride on Content Co-ordinator: Vanessa Payne,
That same thinking the Orient Express. What [email protected]
all too often filters into our he discovers is that when Digital Editor: Tshepo Monyamane
travel choices, too. We think that you’re enjoying the journey, you Contributors: Katie Bigelow, Darrel Bristow-Bovey,
by travelling large we will automatically Mart-Marie du Toit, Tom Eaton
score greater dividends. Such simplistic forget that the object of the trip is to arrive
reasoning assumes that by spending at your destination – because savouring DESIGN
more, the trip will be better. Or that the time aboard is precisely what “living in
bigger the hotel, the more luxurious and the moment” is all about. We also head Head of Studio: Jayne Macé-Ferguson
pampering it’ll be. for Tshwane, on page 35, to discover what Senior Designer: Mfundo Archie Ndzo
benefits are to be had from being a mid- Advert Designer: Bulelwa Sotashe
Also silly would be to assume that the sized city with ambitious social leanings.
larger our destination, the more it will SALES
have on offer for us to enjoy. But while Finally, on page 44, we visit a new
the New Yorks and Londons have a lot to private art museum dedicated to the Project Manager: Dan Burman
offer, there’s plenty to be said for weekends great South African Impressionist [email protected] +27 21 469 2489
spent in tiny one-horse towns or trips to painter Adriaan Boshoff. By the end of Sales Consultant: Jeanette Nicholson
islands so small they don’t quite register his life, Boshoff had almost no material
on the map. possessions, but he spent his career PRODUCTION
attempting to capture each moment on
Which is why in this issue we’re canvas, fixing his memories in daubs of Production Editor: Shamiela Brenner
zooming in on the littler things in life. colour and light, energy and emotion, so Advertising Co-ordinator: Merle Baatjes,
We’re making the case for downsizing and that he could metaphorically stop time. [email protected]
slowing down to a more human pace. For I hope the stories in this issue achieve that Subscriptions and Distribution: Shumiera
starters, you can read about the discreet goal to some small extent: I hope they help Fredericks, [email protected],
charms on offer at the Robertson Small you remember that part of why we travel +27 21 469 2400
Hotel (page 13), and in our slow safari is to be given the chance to savour each
story (page 19), you’ll find out why the precious moment. That it might be burned MANAGEMENT
bush is more blissful when you take your into your heart forever.
time rather than dashing off to catch the Business Manager: Lodewyk van der Walt
next predator sighting. Keith Bain Senior Bookkeeper: Deidre Musha
General Manager, Magazines: Jocelyne Bayer
On page 25, Tom Eaton heads to the Editor
Brexiteering nation in the north and Copyright: Picasso Headline. No portion of this magazine
may be reproduced in any form without written consent of
the publisher. The publisher is not responsible for unsolicited
material. financialmail Travel is published by Picasso Headline.
The opinions expressed are not necessarily those of Picasso
Headline. All advertisements/advertorials have been paid for
and therefore do not carry any endorsement by the publisher.

4 TRAVEL

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NEWS, HOTELS, INNOVATIONS EN ROUTE

Connections

You can’t have it all, but... 2

 THE UPCYCLE REVOLUTION 4 1
3
Cape Town-based Sealand has established itself as
a top producer of high-end apparel, bags and accessories 6
sustainably cra ed from waste materials such as tents, yacht
sails, banners and advertising billboards. Diverting around 7

ve tons of waste from land lls per year, their rst walk-in  EVOLVED LUGGAGE
retail store recently opened at the entrance to the
V&A Waterfront precinct. sealandgear.com One of the world’s premium luggage brands has launched its rst
hard-shell collection. e ule Revolve range of lightweight
 CHANGE IT UP suitcases incorporates an easy-to-move resilient spinner wheel system,
e latest urban hotel from the fast-expanding telescoping handles, and such impact resistant features as internal
Newmark group is called Stock Exchange. e corner protectors, a rigid frame and reinforced front panels. thule.com
33 studios and apartment-style suites are located in
the mixed-use WEX1 building with the Woodstock  BEYOND LEKKER
Exchange across the road, and the train station around
the corner. newmarkhotels.com Overlooking a pure, unspoiled coast with an endless white beach,
magni cent dunes, rock pools and incredible whale-watching,
 COFFEE TABLE Lekkerwater Beach Lodge has opened at a privileged spot within
De Hoop Nature Reserve. O -grid and guided by strict sustainability
ADVENTURES policies, it’s likely to become the country’s ultimate beachside escape.
Gerald Hinde, one of South Africa’s most naturalselection.travel ▪
proli c wildlife photographers, has once 5
again teamed up with safari specialist and
game ranger Will Taylor to produce a book of
captivating animal pictures and stories about
the adventures undertaken to create the work.
It’s called e Big Seven – Adventures in search
of Africa’s iconic species and you can buy it directly
from the publisher using the code ‘MalaMala’ for
a 20% discount. hphpublishing.co.za

PICTURES: IVAR KVAAL, SUPPLIED  MOTHER CITY BEAUT

Interior designer Tristan du Plessis has overseen the transformation of
a pair of Cape Town heritage buildings into an eye-catching design-
centric hotel. Gorgeous George is a 32-room beauty done out with
furniture and ttings, artworks and statement pieces by some of South
Africa’s most gi ed designers, artists and artisans. gorgeousgeorge.co.za

 SUB-SURFACE SUPPERS

A er walking from the shore along a 16-metre bridge, there’s a grand
staircase leading to Under, Europe’s rst underwater restaurant. e
statement-making concrete structure in Lindesnes on Norway’s southern
coast features a vast panoramic window so diners can watch undersea
activity while seated ve-and-a-half metres below the surface. under.no

TRAVEL 7



PRICELESS EN ROUTE

Ttriamveel With the end in sight for
the ying hippopotamus,
Tom Eaton peels
back the layers of life’s
greatest luxury

T he Airbus A380, oating through twin-engined passenger jets were extending was in March that the death notices began
the skies like an immense their range, e ciency and operational agility. in earnest, with some of the A380’s most
hippopotamus paddling through By the time it entered service in 2007, the A380 high-pro le operators cancelling orders or
a pond full of lilies, will soon be was almost obsolete. Today the hub-and- revealing they were selling parts of their eet
gone. Production will end by 2021. spoke system is surrendering to convenience, – almost 50 years to the day since the maiden
For travellers used to seeing iconic aircra as passengers board smaller, more plentiful
in harness forever – incarnations of the Boeing aircra to y directly to where they want to go. ight of another iconic airliner: the beautiful
747 have been airborne since 1969 – the dream that was Concorde.
impending end of the A380 feels startlingly e bottom line, in other words, is the
sudden. But not even a record-breaking giant bottom line: the impending death of the A380 e fastest airliner in history was retired
that can carry 800 people 14,000 kilometres is, as always, about money. in 2003. Now we are losing the biggest. A er
without breaking a sweat can outrun change. almost a century of ying further, faster, in
Still, I can’t help but see something symbolic ever greater numbers, these two classics seem
When the A380 was dreamed up in the in this behemoth, shuttling vast crowds to to be admitting that travel isn’t always about
late 1980s, it was to serve a “hub-and-spoke” shopping centres in a desert, being replaced speed or scale.
conception of air travel, whereby huge aircra by smaller machines that go straight to more
would deliver huge numbers of passengers interesting places. e future of travel, the Indeed, getting there slowly is o en half
to huge airports like Dubai, from where they doomed A380 seems to be whispering to us, the pleasure.
would get onto smaller aircra and y to is a shi from the immense and impersonal to
smaller destinations. the small and speci c. If I’d own into Transylvania, for example,
I would never have experienced the
But even as the A380 was lumbering o the e whispers get louder when you deliciousness of spending half a day on a ropey
drawing board and into the sky, those smaller, consider a curious coincidence. Airbus’s train rattling relentlessly eastward into the
announcement came in February, but it wilds of Romania, racing a setting sun to my
destination; slowing to a hissing halt God

TRAVEL 9

EN ROUTE PRICELESS

The paradox of speeding from place to place in the
hope of seeing more is that we end up seeing less

knew where, enveloped in Gothic darkness, time pro igately – to waste it in delicious is so ened by the shadows of clouds and PICTURES: ARISSU/ISTOCKPHOTO.COM, ANTON_SOKOLOV/ISTOCKPHOTO.COM
complete with theatrical, creeping mist; immobility, burning up the tiny amount then transformed by rain, peeling back the
clambering down out of the train directly onto we’re allocated at birth, simply gazing at the super cial Instagram glamour to reveal
rusting tracks – there was no platform, and horizon or reading book – ah, that is the something more intimate and therefore
the station building, we were told, had recently greatest luxury of all. more beautiful.
burned down – before being approached by
a cadaverous host who xed me with a watery In a culture of bucket lists and frantic e paradox of speeding from place to place
eye and croaked, with a tone that brooked no itineraries and FOMO, it can feel like a waste in the hope of seeing more is that we end up
argument, “You are omas.” of precious time to spend two or even three seeing less. Some, who stumble through the
weeks in one place. And yet spending time great places of the world with their eyes locked
I know that this sounds like the setup for – letting it trickle through your ngers like on the pictures they’re recording on their
a joke and that I am about to tell you how sand on a beach – can be one of travel’s most phones, see nothing at all.
dreadful it all was. ose memories don’t intense pleasures.
No, the way to experience more is to slow
t with our collective idea of inspiring, When we allow time to spill over new places, down and scale down.
meaningful, luxurious travel. And yet that they transform. e public becomes personal.
journey wasn’t a joke and it wasn’t dreadful. It I recently stood under the dome of St Peter’s
was utterly wonderful. And part of what made e epic becomes intimate. e beach you in Rome, and later gazed up at so rain dri ing
it so wonderful was that it unfolded slowly, at discovered on the rst day becomes, by the h down through the roof of the Pantheon. Both
a human pace, and on a human scale. day, your beach. A small supermarket, at rst were beautiful; but no more than the evening
just a place to buy milk and bread, becomes I spent in a Yorkshire pub, barely big enough
Indeed, to travel like this is to remember an a daily conversation in good-natured, broken to seat 10 people, smelling somewhat of the
obvious truth about wealth and luxury. English as the proprietor tries to teach you the wet dog that snoozed in the corner, the décor
local names for your groceries. A feral cat, at unchanged since the First World War, except
e most valuable thing on the planet isn’t for a sign reading, “Like us on Facebook in
money or the material things it can buy. rst nothing but scenery, becomes a pest or pet. return for nowt”.
When you travel at a slower pace and on
It is time. a smaller scale, even the weather becomes an It couldn’t have been further from Row 88 of
It’s not accidental that we talk about event, as the sun-blasted, retina-scorching an A380 bound for Dubai.
“spending” time, as if it were money. Because white-and-blue of the travel brochures
deep down we understand that to spend It couldn’t have been more perfect. ▪

10 TRAVEL



HERMANUS

Boat-based WHALE WATCHING

that will “blow your mind”

Fun activity for the
whole family

Whale watching between

June and early December

Trips at 7:00, 9:00, 11:00, 14:00
and 16:00 daily, weather permitting.

Look for the big orange building,
right-hand side after entering the

Hermanus New Harbour.
Hermanus is a 90-minute, scenic

drive from Cape Town.
www.hermanuswhalewatchers.co.za
[email protected]

THE GOOD OF SMALL THINGS AWAY

wonderLittle
You know what they say about dynamite and small packages?
Keith Bain gets blown away in Robertson

T hey call it “small”, but it has Walking distance to Robertson’s main drag, that would pull together an original look and
enormous heart. Occupying yet lightyears from anything resembling noise, feel for the entire hotel. From Alexis Barrell’s
a quiet, tree-lined residential road, bustle or a crowd, this little hotel embodies one-o cotton fabrics to a signature scent
the Robertson Small is the sort of tranquillity, slowing down, nding your feet created by perfumer Agata Karolina’s House
intimate, downsized hotel that’s on the earth. Aside from the shaded veranda, of Gozdawa, uniqueness prevails.
genetically wired to make you feel like you’ve there are plenty of other nooks and crannies
come home. Starting with the gracious smile into which you can tuck yourself. You can Despite all there is to admire, by mid-
that welcomes you from across the counter curl up on your private terrace, unfurl on a ernoon I had become fastened to a sunbed,
in the fabulous little lobby, right down to the a sunlounger, nd cool alcoves in the garden, gazing lazily over the tips of my toes across
linens that enfold you as you dri to sleep at or sink into one of the statement-making the vastness of the garden. It was still summer
night, every detail seems ordained to coax chairs in the little lounge where you’re in the Robertson Valley and I simply melted
you into a kind of lazy, feel-good stupor. surrounded by art. into position. I could barely budge, although
when I did, I literally just had to climb into
Centred on a 110-year-old Victorian manor As with the public areas, each of the 10 the three-metre wide lap pool and oat across
with a broekie-lace fringe around the veranda, rooms has been turned into something quite to my room. Can you imagine anything more
its good looks spill over into a stupendous special thanks to a collaborative e ort by delightful than swimming to your room to
garden, one that’s manicured in parts, slightly various designers and artists and cra ers apply a dab of sunscreen or grab something
jungly in others. tasked with coming up with unique pieces cold from the minibar?

Check in

Robertson is pretty much the Breede
River Valley’s HQ and a linchpin for
surrounding farms and outlying hamlets where
there’s plenty to discover. With so much to see,
the temptation is to make yourself terribly busy,
which is why the Robertson Small Hotel is
a perfect sanctuary. No matter how much of
a crammed schedule you envisage, this hotel will
literally force you to ease off the accelerator,
slow down, unwind – this is the real deal,
a place where you go to feel more human.

therobertsonsmallhotel.com

TRAVEL 13

AWAY THE GOOD OF SMALL THINGS

C(aonmdethhuirnsgtryy)

Winemakers and producers of
delicious things from across the
Robertson Valley, encompassing the
towns of Ashton, Bonnievale, McGregor
and Robertson, host the Slow Food & Wine
Festival for three days in August – it’s
one of the year’s best country festivals,
with venues spread across the Valley.
It gets busy, so make plans well

in advance. 9–11 August,
r o b e r t s o n s l ow.c o m

My bedroom was perfectly proportioned
and imbued with precisely all the things you
might need, want or crave

And, when you’re not oating across silhouettes. As the sun dropped from sight, need, want or crave. ere were gorgeous
the pool to your room, there’s precious the intimate Michael Chandler-designed lightweight cotton robes (with socks),
little to distract you, aside from the cooing porcelain bar beckoned. Here, pre-dinner a Nespresso machine, snacks (healthy ones,
of turtledoves, the cries of hadedahs, and nibbles and sundowner drinks were served too), and barely a scrap of unnecessary
watching the French-speaking couple taking in the presence of a well-curated soundtrack plastic. Plus, of course, a super-plush bed
a break from their honeymooning to play that spilled into the adjacent restaurant which that very quickly swallowed me whole,
petanque on the lawn. in turn spilled onto an outdoor courtyard committing me to deep sleep.
where, on that ne summer’s evening, I
My room neighbours, meanwhile, refused caught a hint of a breeze and a sliver of star- e same pattern of nurturing continued
to do anything other than loll idly on their speckled sky. at breakfast where a cold bu et was arranged
terrace at the pool’s edge. When I asked them like a work of art, incorporating ingredients
if they’d had a busy morning, they just giggled Dinner was a bit of an event, with sourced from the Breede River Valley’s
and muttered, “Busy doing nothing!” stellar service and all sorts of interesting abundant farms, and piled with breads and
ingredients featured on a menu that mu ns straight from the oven. A menu of
It was quite a chore to extricate myself from emphasised avour, freshness and hot items, however, conjured a conundrum:
my horizontal happy place by the pool. While seasonality. A salad of squid, Cape bokkoms, was it to be eggs Benedict or was I more in
Walter, the gentleman at the front desk, had dried apricots and toasted macadamias the mood for Florentine? Rather than decide
plied me with information about all there is to was followed by a scrumptious cauli ower for myself, I entreated the waiters for advice…
see and do in the Valley, I couldn’t even bring “steak”, pan-fried and nished with charred
myself to leave the premises, save for a brief beetroot, wood sorrel and almonds. Less easily resolved, though, was another,
stroll around the immediate neighbourhood more urgent dilemma: how was I going to
which consists of more lush gardens and A er an extra helping of homemade convince myself to spend the day doing
several beautiful old houses. ice cream, my bedroom was a marvellous anything more than nothing?
cocoon – somehow perfectly proportioned
My a ernoon of laying low eventually and impeccably laid out, it was imbued
gave way to a lazy dusk as green palm fronds with precisely all the things you might
turned to sepia and eventually became inky

14 TRAVEL





THE GOOD OF SMALL THINGS AWAY

TINY GEMS IN THE DEsetWateetshof oils you will ever taste. He also makes fantastic
ROBERTSON VALLEY tapenade, does all kinds of oil infusions, and – if
In your room at Robertson Small, you’ll nd you call in advance – will take you on a tour of the
e Small Guide, a deck of cards (beautifully farm and possibly show you the olive sorting and
oil extraction processes (if it’s the right time of
designed by Cape Town’s Hoick studio) year). marbrin.co.za
laying out some of the best attractions in the
Robertson Valley and providing directions OWL’S REST OLIVE AND
to its loveliest hidden gems. Apart from LAVENDER FARM Hedley and
a few well-known names, including Graham Patricia Manicom are what other farmers
Beck (for bubbly) and Saggy Stone Brewery (for in the Valley like to call “hobbyists”. When
cra ale), there’s a ra of novel stops such as MOGalriorvbwereinrs they found a little farm with a tiny olive
Farmer Redbeard (de nitely call ahead for the
tractor tour) and the rather wonderful-sounding grove and a garagiste-style essential oil
Wonderfontein (where there are MCCs and operation, they thought they’d found just
muscadels to taste). Here are a few other little the right amount of work to keep them
wonders you shouldn’t miss…

DE WETSHOF ESTATE e from getting bored. Instead, it’s a full-time
business – and they love to show you how it
Robertson Valley’s rst registered wine all works. ey hand-harvest lavender and other
estate welcomes you via a magni cent botanicals, and use a homemade steam distillation
tree-lined avenue watched by horses in set-up to extract the essential oils and lavender
a lush paddock. You’ll soon set eyes upon water which Patricia blends into various interesting
stately white buildings that recall a long creations. You can buy all sorts of products – from
history. While the De Wets bought the farm soaps and creams that Patricia infuses with the
in 1947, the family had been established scented oils, to olive oil, rose geranium cordial,
at the Cape since their arrival in the 1690s. OOLawlivvle’esnaRdneedsrt chutneys and jams made from tamarillos that grow
e cellar facade mimics the design of Farm here, aromatherapy products, and even natural

Cape Town’s rst Customs House and the household cleaning products. owlsproducts.co.za
tasting room is a replica of Koopmans-de
Wet House on Strand Street, dating back SHEILAM CACTUS FARM It’s almost
to the 18th century – both buildings were overwhelming. An endless garden of spiky, thorn-
designed by renowned architect, Louis riddled mottled plants that don’t look like plants.
Michel ibault. Good looks aside, De FCSaharecmitluasm More like aliens – hairy ones, scary ones, ones that
Wetshof o ers classy tastings of its range of look like rocks, others that look like ginger but
Chardonnays, combined with the curious with spines, some that look like reptiles, and plenty
history of how this noble Burgundian that seem to have been sculpted into existence.
varietal rst arrived in South Africa. e beautiful chaos at this enormous cactus,
e story goes that in 1973, Danie de cycad and succulent nursery was started
Wet convinced a group of fellow young back in 1954 and there are now around
renegade winemakers to join him in smuggling 2 000 species growing here. Call far in
cuttings of Chardonnay into the country, defying the Tanagra advance if you’d like to arrange a guided

conservative strictures of the old-guard KWV. Which tour – otherwise, show up and self-
means that this farm is quite literally ground zero navigate. sheilamnursery.com
for South African Chardonnay. Today, ve di erent
Chardonnay varieties are produced, each grown in TANAGRA Just down the road from
a di erent pocket of land. dewetshof.com
Robertson, the little village of McGregor
PICTURES: MICKY HOYLE, KEITH BAIN MARBRIN OLIVE GROWERS Even if your is a popular haunt with Capetonians on
the lam from the daily grind. A few kilometres
interest in olives is limited, it’s a treat visiting this lovely family-run before you hit the village itself, it’s possible to avoid
farm surrounded by the slopes of the Langeberg and Riviersonderend the semi-migrant Capetonians at Tanagra. is 78-hectare estate
mountains. Much of the fun is provided by Clive Heymans, an where the Rosenbachs have been farming for the last 10 years, has
ebullient and irrepressibly bohemian farmer, olive oil maker and gorgeous cottages and a human-size distillery where Robert Rosenbach
produces a range of marc (aka grappa) and eau de vie. You can taste
avour experimenter. His knowledge about the various olive cultivars wines, sample the strong stu and even take a peek at the distillery –
and insights into distinctions between di erent grades of olive oil is Robert will show you how it works, too. tanagra.co.za ▪
riveting stu – and he gets you to savour and compare some of the best

TRAVEL 17



SLOW SAFARI AWAY

W e’d touched down at Skukuza, cycles of life have played out here, irrespective loved to share, and so our time in nature was
arriving in a hot, dusty, of human in uence. that much richer and fuller…
bleached-out otherworld.
It was desperately dry, the We piled into the Land Cruiser and, behind In the bush, there were buskers
earth parched and brittle like our sunglasses, squinted in the Lowveld glare. everywhere. Impala huddled in the shade
ancient leather. A cracked landscape covered Air – decadently hot – set upon our faces as we of thorn trees. Elephants sauntered towards
by thorn trees and hot air, Kruger looked as set o towards adventure. a water hole. Lone bu alo stood lumbering
if a digital lter had been applied to leach on levees. And a pair of gira es, their eyes
out the colours. What remained were the You forget, don’t you? e wonder of the staring at us from below long eyelashes,
greys and brown and ghostly greens. It was bush. e impact that being in it has on entertained us by locking necks in some
not unbeautiful. Rather, it possessed a sort of you. It is such a rare privilege – in this day gentle game of strength. Kudu turned to
sublime splendour, a loveliness that’s di cult and age – to be able to venture into such show o their majestic horns. And, above
to explain because it touches you here – deep still-wild places, to see creatures whose very us, baboons mooned us from the safety of
in your chest – like an ache or a yearning that existence hangs on a knife’s edge. And then tall trees. We saw steenbok and zebra and
reaches across the depths of time. Because suddenly you’re there, being given a glimpse mongooses and squirrels. And a pair of
this is a land that has survived beyond the of it by a passionate ranger like Lazarus ground hornbills with their blood-red face
reach of memory; for millions of years, the Mkhonto, and you can’t imagine it any other scarves – extremely endangered, Lazarus told
way. We were in the capable hands of a man us, with just 250 le in the entire park.
for whom wildlife tracking was a gi he

your soulLet it sink into

At a private concession in the Kruger

National Park, Katie Bigelow discovers
the joy of slowing down on safari

TRAVEL 19

AWAY SLOW SAFARI

Lazarus is one of those rangers who doesn’t

just show you the bush, but teaches you how to
connect with its soul

It wasn’t long before we veered o one of late 19th-century when he and his heroic dog and his bush-attuned eyes that have
Kruger’s tar roads and onto a dirt track marked traded between Pilgrim’s Rest and Delagoa Bay. a knack for spotting even the most well-
by a little “no trespassing” sign. And soon hidden animals. He’d translate a dainty call
we were driving on beach sand along a dry It’s all very sensibly put together, with lots from above into a tale about a Burchell’s
river bed. “Going up!” Lazarus said before we of wood and a vintage feel despite the recent coucal, and could identify with ease a brown-
ascended a near-vertical bank. is was soon makeover that’s added chic comforts to the hooded king sher ittering imperceptibly
followed by, “Going down!” as we descended classic-feel quarters. Everything’s designed to above a bushbuck hiding in the reeds. He
another. And so we crisscrossed empty rivers enhance an appreciation of what’s happening found waterbuck in the shadows, picked out
and slugged it along dirt roads until we arrived in the bush, so each of the free-standing dwarf mongooses scampering through the
at a remote-controlled gate, on the other side of suites enjoys a grand vantage over a prime undergrowth, and pointed out the rhythm
which folks were waiting to welcome us home. slice of unfettered wilderness. You can stand, being knocked out by a woodpecker that sent
sit or lie on your terrace – where there’s also its percussion-heavy symphony reverberating
Jock Safari Lodge occupies a 6 000-hectare an outdoor tub and shower, a comfy sala, between the silent trees.
concession within Kruger’s southwest – it’s plus plunge pool and sun-loungers – and see
the oldest such concession, where perks like elephants parading past or perhaps witness A stalwart of the Kruger bushveld, Lazarus
being allowed to drive a er dark and go o - a chase unfold. You can enjoy much the is one of those rangers who doesn’t just show
road are tempered by the fact that only Jock’s same view from inside your room, too – just you the bush, but teaches you how to connect
conservation-conscious rangers get to do the keep the curtains open and let the sunshine with its soul. Having spent a good portion
driving. e main camp is situated on the in… Quizzical vervet monkeys will come to of his life in this environment, he’s learnt to
banks of the con uence of the Mitomeni and check you out, perhaps stare through your suss out its subtlest nuances, cultivating an
Biyamiti rivers, done out in a timeless safari glass doors to see if you’ve le any snacks in ability to feel nature’s rhythms. His skill is not
style that pays tribute to the era when Percy plain sight – leave the door slightly ajar for just knowing the Latin terms for animals and
FitzPatrick and his dog Jock traversed this land a moment and they’ll take full advantage (to impressing his guests with details about their
– the lodge’s founders were FitzPatrick’s blood their credit, they got some of mine). mating habits and contents of their dung,
relatives, in fact, and there are still artefacts such but somehow being able to listen to their
as maps and photographs harking back to the A er lunch, we were back in the Land thoughts, feel their emotions.
Cruiser with Lazarus, his leather cowboy hat

20 TRAVEL





SLOW SAFARI AWAY

About 35km from
Skukuza’s airstrip, Jock
Safari Lodge is 150km from the
Kruger Mpumulanga International Airport
in Nelspruit. Guests at this private concession
enjoy access to Kruger but with the added
advantage of being able to explore a huge swathe of
wilderness that’s not accessible by private vehicles.
Aside from prodigious game drives and the chance
to walk in the bush with masterful rangers, the lodge
offers sublime sleeping quarters, impeccable dining
and a nothing’s-too-much-trouble approach to
service. To receive a 10% discount on stays at
Jock – or the smaller three-suite Fitzpatrick’s
Lodge – simply book three consecutive
nights before 30 September.

jocksafarilodge.com

PICTURES: KATIE BIGELOW, SUPPLIED At one point, he stopped the vehicle in the glint of the spotlight as we headed back late back from a night of clubbing. Steenbok,
the midst of a large family of elephants and to the lodge for a feast in the boma. waterbuck, gira e – and a giant eagle owl
explained his approach. “ ere’s no point that produced a loud honking sound we all
having a quick look and rushing o ,” he told Later, I found myself on the deck outside assumed had been a baboon. We meandered
us. “You’ve got to let each moment sink into my room staring into the blackness of the through a dry forest where barely a leaf
your soul.” sky, riveted by the silence, entranced by the had been spared by the drought, and then
stars. I’d decided to sleep, not in my room, we watched as hundreds of bu alo dri ed
And so we did. We simply watched and but in the outdoor bed that’d been made up ghostlike between the grey, skeletal trees.
listened and took it in. We gave ourselves for me in the sala. Insect netting had been We found small pools of water where hippos
permission to appreciate the moment, absorb lowered to transform the thatched space wallowed imperceptibly below the surface
its memory, commune with the elephants, into a temporary tented bedroom with and crocodiles basked menacingly on the
and let it really sink in. And steadily, a new see-through walls. I dri ed to sleep with muddy banks.
narrative opened up. We became privy to the sounds of the bush everywhere around
this elephant family’s speci c bonds, its me: some nearby creature snu ing in the And when we found a leopard lazing on
relationship dramas, the tiny intricacies of tall grass, a distant lion roaring, and hyenas a large rock, her cubs poking their snouts
individual personalities. – somewhere – shrieking and laughing like curiously in our direction, Lazarus treated the
maniacal children. moment as though it were the most natural
It came as a relief that there was nowhere thing in the world. As it should be.
to rush o to, no race to the next sighting, no We were up early to greet the dawn, and
boxes to tick. Nature isn’t on the clock, but it found Lazarus raring to go, keen to show us Later, a er breakfast, I plunged into the
does take time for humans to uncouple from more. Pink and orange spectres streaked the little pool on my deck, and lazed on
the “go-go-go” impulse we carry with us. grey-tint sky like slivers of burning embers a sunbed while a hot, fast wind licked my
from a simmering camp re. We were barely face. A pair of precocious vervets sat on
With Lazarus’s help, we let the rest of the out the gate when we found ourselves being a wall, planning a heist. And as I listened to
a ernoon similarly sink in. We paused to overtaken by four wild dogs on the trot. birds squabbling in a nearby tree, I watched
appreciate the less obvious pleasures of the Evidently on a mission and oblivious to our a fantastic herd of elephants saunter across
bushveld, the smaller beasts along with the presence, they only paused to sni and roll in the riverbed just beyond the tips of my toes.
large, and we took time to notice such trees hyena turds they found in the road, a practice And I lay there, content and satis ed, letting
as the Lowveld milkberry, the weeping boer- they use to cover their own scent and outwit the moment sink in. ▪
bean and the Transvaal sa ron. the competition.

As the light so ened and the sky turned We spotted lots of kudu with their
to melting orange, hyenas whooped in Mickey Mouse ears, grey duikers standing
the distance. We paused for requisite still pretending to be trees, and a lone teen
sundowners before catching glimpses of hyena dri ing across the veld like he was
bouncing scrub hares and tiny bushbabies in

TRAVEL 23



BOOKS, BROOMSTICKS AND BINSEY’S WELL AWAY

OxfoUnrdder ’s
skin In a city where books are
I t was late October, and University Parks, worshipped and time stands
a green lung pressed against Oxford’s stone
heart, should have been bleak and still. still, Tom Eaton loses
Only dedicated dog-walkers, bundled himself in the charms of the
against the cold, should have hurried
along the verges of its sports elds, perhaps sentimental and the mundane
glancing up at a huddle of steaming rugby
players preparing for a weekend game. But climate change sometimes gives even e path that had led my wife and I through
e trees that anked the elds, and beyond as it takes relentlessly away; and on this late the Parks was bending away from the elds
them, the copses following the river, should October day, the a ernoon was fading into now, back towards the hedge beyond which
have been hunched under grim skies. At their radiant glory. Families and lovers walked and busses rumbled and bicycle bells jingled. We
feet, the punts should have been moored, talked, peeling o jerseys and jackets for a last slowed, and stopped, turning back to take in
damp and abandoned. touch of the sublime, sinister warmth. e that green evening one last time.
e silence that comes before deep cold trees were green and tall, and full of birdsong. And that’s when we saw it.
should have been broken only by the cawing e sky was immense and gentle, melting into At the end of the last eld, near a pair of
of ravens. gold where the low sun headed for home. rugby posts, there stood a solitary white pole.
Of frostbitten rugby players there was no At the top of the pole was a vertical hoop
sign. Instead, footballs and Frisbees passed – imagine a netball net bent upwards by 90
each other in slow arcs. e only nod to degrees. Scuttling around near this setup, now
formal rigour was a lacrosse match, the players and then hurling a large ball at the hoop, were
galloping about like a boatload of underdressed a dozen or so young people with long sticks
entomologists trying to net an escaped moth. clenched between their thighs.

On Broad Street, handsome
Balliol is one of Oxford's oldest
colleges, founded in around 1263

TRAVEL 25

AWAY BOOKS, BROOMSTICKS AND BINSEY’S WELL

Connecting two parts of Hertford College, the

elegant Bridge of Sighs is among Oxford
University's best-known architectural symbols

It couldn’t be. Could it? No, impossible. Friends of ours, however, had recently moved university and its constellation of colleges
But it was. there and had something literally priceless to control assets of £9 billion, or R170 billion.
South Africans travelling on rands: a spare
ey were playing quidditch, the aerial bedroom for as long as we wanted it. Which is at’s enough to keep them in gargoyles for
polo-basketball dreamed up by J.K. Rowling in how we found ourselves stepping onto a train at another thousand years.
the Harry Potter books. Paddington, and stepping o into a fantasy.
Money, excellence, fakery, self-belief, self-
e sticks weren’t just sticks. ey were Matthew Arnold wrote of “that sweet city delusion, bright-eyed optimism and withering
broomsticks. Magical, ying broomsticks. But with her dreaming spires”, but it’s not just the snobbery: all come together in Oxford
instead of whooshing around in the air, the spires that weave the dream. e collective to create a place that is as imposing and
players were trundling about on University determination to make the fantasy real seeps deliberately opaque as a high mass in Latin.
Parks, getting third-degree broom chafe. and swirls like mist down every street and
out of every window, animating the students But Lord, it can be beautiful.
It was, at rst glance, extremely silly. And who rush like fresh blood through the veins of I’m not a good enough writer to describe
yet there was something undeniably beautiful those magni cent buildings, awing the tourists our walk through the deer-haunted parkland
in the youth and earnestness of the players. who gape at gargoyles or try on o cial Oxford of Magdalen College at dusk, or the stained-
sweaters in shops that look like the sort of glass perfection of the choirboys singing
eir determination to transform fantasy into place you might buy a magic wand. evensong in its chapel. You didn’t have to be
reality, even if it made no sense, was oddly any kind of writer, however, to be a ected by
moving. e staying power of their so bits And then there are the walls. My childhood the apparently endless line of people reverently
was magni cent. impression was correct: parts of Oxford are passing through an exhibition of the life and
simply ivy-covered walls, screening o the work of J.R.R. Tolkien. In Oxford, people don’t
Beautiful, moving, magni cent – and inner sanctum from ri ra like you and just read books: they worship them.
entirely absurd. e quintessence of Oxford. me, keeping those antique courtyards and
gardens the secret province of the brightest e historic centre pretends a kind of
It had never been a dream destination. My and the best. Or just the richest: last year easy nonchalance, but Oxford is designed to
father had studied there in the early 1970s, and awe. e weight of all that history somehow
his matriculation photo had convinced me as e Guardian calculated that the central dismisses one’s connection to the modern
a child that Oxford was a vast wall of ivy, in front world: even though I am a fairly con dent
of which stood a hundred young men – all men,
then – with fantastically terrible haircuts.

26 TRAVEL





BOOKS, BROOMSTICKS AND BINSEY’S WELL AWAY

Outside the famous Bodleian library stands
a statue of Sir Thomas Bodley who restored

the 15th-century university library

PICTURES: SMILTENA/ISTOCKPHOTO.COM, PETERSPIRO/ISTOCKPHOTO.COM, resident of the 21st century, I found myself happened almost ve centuries years ago, if it at Binsey in 735AD and is now enshrined as
SAKHANPHOTOGRAPHY/ISTOCKPHOTO.COM, FLIK47/ISTOCKPHOTO.COM feeling at times like an 18th-century bumpkin. happened at all. the patron saint of Oxford University.

Still, there are touches of reassuring banality e hamlet of Binsey is marked on most It was to this well, the story goes, that
revealing that, beyond the carefully curated maps, but that is generous. It is an almost Henry VIII brought Catherine of Aragon,
fantasy, Oxford is still a university town with accidental destination, somewhere you reach his rst wife, in the hope that the magical
the inherent raggedness that one o en nds by wandering up Port Meadow, touching in at waters of Frideswide’s well would help
in places ruled by young people. At e Trout, her conceive a male heir. ey did not.
a famous pub in leafy, watery Wolvercote, e Perch for a re ll, and then rambling up Catherine was discarded. e Pope refused
we couldn’t order a drink because the fridges a narrow lane between sheep pastures towards a divorce. e rest is the history of the
were broken. Maybe a co ee? Sorry, the co ee a modest stone church, shaded by trees. English reformation, and, arguably, the
machine is broken. Anything else? No, not geopolitics of the last 500 years.
really… In the centre of town I’d felt adri in Gravestones stand in slightly haphazard
the 1700s. Here, we were rmly in the 1950s. rows, some still tended, others starting e shadows were lengthening. October
to surrender to lichen and time. It is all was slipping inexorably into November. My
And then, of course, there are the small very peaceful and polite, an apparently hands, damp from Frideswide’s well, were
pleasures of travel on a gentler timetable: the unremarkable place at which one might arrive cold. But I lingered there, imagining that royal
tiny cinema where nobody in the audience and then leave immediately. procession, with its armoured horses walking
breathed a word or rustled a chip packet through the meadow and rough carriages
for 90 minutes (God bless the introverted But this would be a mistake, because just creaking up a muddy track towards this
English!); a bench and a pint and a view of behind the last grave, that polite, settled, very place; a queen dreaming of a baby and loving
trees; scrambled eggs on toast and a read of English Christianity plunges quite literally husband; a king perhaps already dreaming of
the paper in e Crypt, just your average, into a time in which religion and pagan magic Anne Boleyn and murder.
pleasant cafe in a building that’s been standing were o en the same thing. Here, the earth
for 700 years… opens. Stone steps lead down towards wet Money, power, faith and hope; all coming
moss and darkness, and there, out of sight of slowly up from the river in search of magic,
e image of Oxford that stays with me the sun and trees above, is the well of Saint determined to transform the dream of Oxford
most intensely, however, was something that Frithuswith, or Frideswide as she is known into something real. ▪
here; an English princess and abbess who died

TRAVEL 29



AT A HEARTBEAT’S RHY THM AWAY

trainStrangers on a
Darrel Bristow-Bovey rekindles an old love
affair with slow-pace travel

“If there’s a murder,” I whispered to my
partner as we boarded the cream-and-
brown British Pullman in Victoria
Station, “you can be my sidekick while
I nd the culprit.”
“Or you can be my sidekick,” she said.
“That wouldn’t work,” I told her. “You’re too
nice. You’d be too embarrassed to accuse anyone
of being a murderer. Plus, you don’t have
a moustache. Detectives should have moustaches.”

“Have you considered,” she asked, “that if there’s
a murder, you wouldn’t be the detective, you’d be
the victim?”

When Agatha Christie used to catch the
Orient Express to Istanbul each winter to
accompany her husband on archaeological digs
in Mesopotamia, the journey took three days and
she sat patiently for hours on end, pretending
to knit, studying the other passengers. Travel
happened on a more human scale then: you had
time to watch the landscape change, time to see
people’s personalities emerge, their irtations and
irritations. You became a community and when

TRAVEL 31

The original Orient Express stopped running
in 1977 but in fact there was never a train called

the Orient Express

you disembarked, it was with the same sorrow But she wasn’t listening, she was too busy rail travel, they were less pampered for space
and relief that you feel a er a family gathering. hoovering down scrambled eggs and salmon. than we are, or maybe they were just slimmer.
Today the regular service of the Orient Express Outside, southern England clicked past, Two full-grown South Africans cannot dress
only runs as far as Venice and only takes 24 a thousand grim faces dragging themselves for dinner at the same time without coming
hours, but in this modern world, 24 hours is to work while we sipped Bellinis and hurtled to blows, so I strolled the corridors while my
purest luxury. smugly toward romance. Well, most of us, partner dressed, peering nosily into other
anyway. I watched the honeymooners through people’s compartments.
Sleuthing as I imagined Dame Agatha had my Bellini glass. She was too angry to eat and
once done, I eyed the other passengers in the glared at him as he tucked into his croissant, e original Orient Express stopped
saloon car. ere was a pair of white-haired saying “Mmm”. e food was tremendous, running in 1977 but in fact there was never
English fellows with expensive matching coats. but I’ve been in quarrels like that: he was only a train called the Orient Express – the name
eating to annoy her. signi ed a service linking Paris with the
ere was a family of Italians – mama and Near East, and the train would lengthen and
papa and 11-year-old twins – dressed in linen At Folkestone the Pullman went no further. shrink along its journey as cars were added
jackets and pocket squares, all so beautiful and We transferred to luxury motor-coaches to zip and subtracted according to need. It was more
elegant you’d go blind if you looked at them under the channel and pop up again in Calais functional than we imagine nowadays – it was
too long. But there was also another couple, to board the blue-and-gold Continental train, the most e cient mode of commuting, rather
a young chap and his new wife, sitting in scowl- the Orient Express proper, a grand 16-coach than a luxury excursion taken for its own
like silence. I’ve had enough quarrels while procession of restored 1920s carriages that sake. ere were no bar carriages or lounges
travelling to recognise the signs: they sat facing would sweep us across France and Switzerland or saloon cars back then; there are still no
each other but with their heads angled away, and Austria and into Italy. showers or toilets in your compartment, and
staring unseeing through di erent windows, I don’t mind that one little bit.
as miserable as you can be without actually e sleeping compartments are lovingly
throwing yourself under the locomotive. restored originals – small but perfectly I love trains. I love the sense that you’re
arranged, as though Marie Kondo was travelling as much through time as you
e oldest carriage on the Pullman train designing trains in 1929. Open an inlaid are through space. I love the rattle and the
dates back to 1925 but we were on Perseus, walnut cabinet and there’s your sparkling glamour and the ka-chuck, ka-chuck of the
built in 1957 and part of the train that carried washstand; return from dinner to nd wheels on the rails at the rhythm of an excited
Winston Churchill’s body around England your sofa seat vanished and the carriage heartbeat. I love looking out at night seeing
a er his death in 1965. transformed into a sleep chamber with two of a yellow light burning in a window and
the most comfortable beds you’ve ever slept wondering who lives there and what their
“Have you seen the toilet?” I hissed at my on. Still, though, back in the golden age of lives are like and imagining a small child
partner. “ ere’s a mosaic of Perseus’ head on
the oor!”

32 TRAVEL

AT A HEARTBEAT’S RHY THM AWAY

Outside were ice-blue lakes and
sheer snow-capped stone mountains

and a faded denim blue sky

PICTURES: ROBERTO/ISTOCKPHOTO.COM, VICHAI PHUBUBPHAPAN/ISTOCKPHOTO.COM, looking back at nally talking, and a faded denim blue sky rubbed with the
KMN-NETWORK/ISTOCKPHOTO.COM this string of bright but in low voices, fading white traces of dreams.
jewels rushing by, making jabbing
wondering where we’re gestures with their We crossed the Gotthard Pass toward Milan
going and what elsewhere cutlery as they ate their and enjoyed a three-course lunch outside of
is like. venison. Some cranberry Verona. I couldn’t remember a time when we
sauce ew o his fork and landed weren’t on the train. It felt like we had been on
My favourite walk in all the on her dress. Surely, someone was going to be board for a year that had passed in 10 minutes.
world is that walk from your compartment murdered tonight. I stared out at terraced vineyards and hilltop
down a swaying corridor, all gussied up A er dinner, we drank Cognac with the towns, my mind a perfect, contented blank.
in your suit for a cocktail before dinner, white-haired English gents and discussed
seeing yourself re ected in the window glass our mutual infatuation with the Italian I wanted to nd that young couple and tell
like the happy transparent ghost of a more family, and gossiped about the Asian family them to stop wasting their time not being
sophisticated version of you. We’re all better who brought a hired photographer with happy, that a trip like this won’t happen very
looking on a train. them to take their holiday snaps. During the o en, that all of our days are precious but that
night, we crossed into Switzerland. I woke the point of an experience like this is to make
In the piano bar, a lean silvery fellow in the early hours from a dream, swaying the preciousness unmistakeable.
tinkled Cole Porter, and the honeymooning warmly in my bed, and listened happily to
couple were nowhere to be seen. I imagined the creak of the compartment. My partner I’ve never been so unhappy to arrive in
him at one end of the train, glaring furiously said sleepily, “I’ll be your sidekick if you Venice. We were the last ones o , unwilling
into the French night and wanting to take up like,” and we held hands in the dark and it to leave, watching the others bustle along the
smoking, her at the other end, composing felt even better than a dream. platform in Santa Lucia.
bitter Facebook updates in her head. I watched I lay half-awake the next morning as we
the Italian family sipping their Champagne. approached Zurich, remembering the scene “I want another cup of tea,” said my partner.
Even the 11-year-old twins were sipping in From Russia With Love when Rosa Klebb “It’s too late,” I said.
Champagne, and somehow they looked more attacks James Bond on the Orient Express “I want to see the Italians one last time,”
adult than I did. with poison-tipped shoes. I dozed again she said.
and woke for co ee and croissants in our “You’ll have to make do with me.”
In the Riviera dining car with its Lalique compartment. Outside were ice-blue lakes “Will we ever be this happy again?” she said.
glass panels and silver cutlery that tinkles and sheer snow-capped stone mountains I watched through the window as the
against the crystal wine glasses, I swirled my honeymooning couple walked by, pulling their
spoon through a silky lobster bisque and bags. As they walked she pulled herself closer to
surveilled the honeymooners. ey were him and nuzzled her cheek against his shoulder.
“We’ll be all right,” I said. ▪

TRAVEL 33



TSHWANE COOL BUSINESS CLASS

Capital gains

Despite a reputation for conservatism, Tshwane is catching up.
Mart-Marié du Toit looks at the evolution of Snor City’s life-work balance

I n “Snor City”, a song by the late James Jacaranda boulevards plus a younger “My background is in property, and
Phillips, the ctional Bernoldus crowd looking for hip, urbanised spaces to I thought the Menlyn Maine concept would
Niemand walked the streets of unleash and explore their creativity. work,” says entrepreneur Nicholas Nolte
Pretoria, looking for “net een skoon who owns Mira Co ee, a container co ee
bo-lip” – just a single clean upper lip. Urban development has been a shop in the precinct. He took a chance at
Niemand’s apt observation poked fun at buzzword in Tshwane over the last few the beginning of development when the
the moustachioed civil servants of Pretoria years. e swanky Menlyn Maine precinct foundations were just nished. “I had no
in the 1980s. Since then, it has become was designed according to New Urbanism company pro le – I wasn’t a big chain like
the city with two names – while some principles with every convenience right Starbucks, but I wanted in. So I had to
refuse to renounce the administrative on residents’ doorsteps. is development prove myself rst.” He opted to renovate
capital’s connection with an Afrikaner folk is one of the initial 16 projects in the a container with the premise of laying claim
hero, others have embraced “Tshwane”, Clinton Foundation’s Climate Positive to a space inside the Central Square when the
signifying in some sense the city’s rebirth. Development Program created to build was done. But being “di erent” worked,
Today, the moustache-brigade has given support the development of large-scale and such was his success that he never
way to the stronghold of the ANC and urban projects designed to dramatically moved – he’s still serving a daily x to those
foreign diplomats who enjoy the leafy, reduce greenhouse gas emissions in an working in and around the precinct.
economically viable manner.

CHIENCK Menlyn Boutique Hotel

Right opposite the Menlyn Park Shopping Centre and a quick hop from the highway, this
intimate hotel offers convenience and comfort, plus everything you should need to soothe
and smooth a leisurely business trip. Rooms have an almost Scandi feel, done out in
pale hues, lots of wood and splashes of colour – a touch of mint or lime or arctic blue,
some with exposed brick – and it’s all very elegant, clean and unfettered, with desks you
can work at and space in which to think. There are self-catering units as well as more
compact express rooms for when you’re not planning on spending much time in there
aside from lying down. There’s also The Black Bamboo, a great little restaurant where
a local twist is given to an international menu. menlynhotel.com

TRAVEL 35

BUSINESS CLASS TSHWANE COOL

re“aI lllikyecTasrhewhaonwe’syopuerrswoeneakleanndgwlae,st. hIta’st people
not just

in business, but a friendlier environment

overall.” – Geo Botha, wealth manager

Nolte happily names Tshwane’s many and the world’s second largest collection of But with the involvement of skilled
advantages: “ e climate, the lack of ‘real’ diplomats meld together to create a city that is entrepreneurs, it might just get there. Lina
tra c, the people, proximity to a number of vibey yet understated, a unique combination Swart, who in 2013 started TEDxPretoria
great government schools, the tree- lled areas of conservative and innovative approaches as a platform to showcase innovative ideas,
in which you can actually a ord to live.” which coexist harmoniously against a laid- says she’s witnessed an exciting shi in the
back and welcoming atmosphere that is city’s business climate. “ e startup culture
But it’s not just the newly-developed hubs unique to this city.” has certainly been picking up in the last
that are proving attractive. One development couple of years with co ee shops morphing
that’s helping to shi Tshwane’s image is Wapnick believes that Tshwane has many into co-working spaces and entrepreneurs
012central, a multi-space precinct in the spaces – both old and new – that deserve considering it as an alternative to the
CBD. People are ocking to experience its attention. What’s required, he says, “is an hustle of Jo’burg. I’ve seen an increase of
bene ts. “ ese are people who by their investment with a longer term view on the entrepreneurs in the food and beverage,
own admission were previously averse to impact thereof on the surrounding assets.” e-commerce and technology spaces.
exploring the city centre as a result of their
negative perceptions,” says Je rey Wapnick, In global terms, Tshwane has some ground ere is also a big drive towards inner-
managing director of City Property which yet to cover. e 2018 Innovation Cities Index city rejuvenation and I see gravitation of
manages 012central. lists Tshwane as number 445 out of 500 cities businesses towards the CBD.”
around the world (and the same index places
Wapnick believes there’s a colourful, it 26th among emerging cities in Mid-East, And there’s been an upwelling of support
multicultural scene evolving in the city. Eurasia and Africa). Johannesburg ranks 380 for local entrepreneurs, she says. “ e
“Contemporary Pretoria is much more globally (number 12 in the emerging sector), narrative around government support for
a melting pot of cultures, where top whilst Cape Town is 265th globally (and third entrepreneurs is starting to change with
professionals, academics, government o cials among emerging cities). hands-on support for startups on the rise

ASWTHAIYLE The Maslow Time Square

In booming Menlyn Maine, this hybrid business-meets-leisure hotel locates guests in the heart
of the country’s most advanced entertainment complex – Sun International’s Time Square
includes round-the-clock gaming facilities, a plethora of restaurants (including Guy Fieri’s
Kitchen & Bar and Something’s Cooking by J’Something), bars, shops, plus a state-of-the-art
concert venue (check out Ben Harper on 6 June; Disney on Ice’s Magical Ice Festival from
14 to 17 June; and GeekFest from 28 to 30 June). The hotel offers something for everyone at
a range of price points – if you want all the bells and whistles, there are five-star rooms, and
if you’re after something less extravagant, there are smart digs to suit your needs too. Plus,
conference facilities, high-speed no-nonsense Wi-Fi everywhere and beds that coax you into
deep sleep – everything you need on a business trip. suninternational.com/time-square

36 TRAVEL





TSHWANE COOL BUSINESS CLASS

“We’re quite laid-back in terms of entrepreneurial
drive, but we’re working on it.” – Monde Zuma,

Startup Grind Pretoria chapter director

PICTURES: VLBENTLEY/ISTOCKPHOTO.COM, in Pretoria.” As an example of structures that Town and Jo’burg is not here yet, but we’re His brother agrees. “It’s so much fun
HANNESTHIRION/ISTOCKPHOTO.COM, GERALD PEARL, SUPPLIED exist to support entrepreneurship in the city, working on it.” living here,” says PJ. “So much fun that even
she cites the Innovation Hub in Lynwood people who work in Sandton choose to live
which focuses on science and technology The allure of the Jacaranda City might here. ey are willing to take on the Jo’burg
and o ers incubation and support services be lost on those living in cities with more tra c, because at the end of the day they
– especially to previously disadvantaged lucrative business hubs or cities with can return here.”
and youth-owned startups. She also says a mountain and a seafront, but the small-
that the CSIR provides entrepreneurs with town charm of Pretoria does the trick He sees it as a great gateway city, too.
prototyping and research support, and the for many who’ve opted to settle in here Bushveld, game reserves and smaller getaway
Department of Telecommunications and for the long-haul. Brothers PJ and Geo towns are all within easy reach. “It scales
Postal Services (based in Hat eld) has been Botha, wealth managers at Bovest Wealth somewhere between ‘platteland dorpie’ and
helping entrepreneurs gear up for the fourth Management, are big advocates for living big city,” he says. And, in some sense, it’s the
industrial revolution. and working in Tshwane. “Pretoria has city’s hybrid nature and its more diminutive
many SMME’s, but larger companies are dimensions that give it its unique edge.
Another entrepreneurship boost is also opening up here, which is changing Because, despite its size relative to Jo’burg,
provided by Google for Startups. ey the face of business in Pretoria,” says it is managing to attract ambitious and
nurture startup ecosystems in 125 countries Geo, who made the break from corporate politically active young people from across
and have a Startup Grind chapter in the city. Jo’burg. “I like the personal angle, that the country. Which means that, if you’re
Monde Zuma, Pretoria chapter director, people really care how your weekend was. willing to wait it out, and work at it, you will
says that Tshwane has a “quite laid-back” It’s not just in business, but a friendlier notice old Bernoldus Niemand’s moustache
attitude in terms of an entrepreneurial eco- environment overall. It’s something to get increasingly giving way to the hipster goatees
system. “ e drive that’s evident in Cape used to.” as Snor City embraces change. ▪

RBEESDT Town Lodge Menlo Park

A short drive from Hatfield and 10 minutes from Tshwane’s CBD, this hassle-
free business hotel is also just around the corner from Loftus Versfeld Stadium
– ideal if you’re keen to catch rugby or soccer while you’re in town. Menlyn
Park Shopping Centre is only three minutes away, too. With a keen focus on
convenience, the hotel has all your basics needs taken care of — from 24-hour
reception and effortless Wi-Fi, to a handy same-day laundry and dry cleaning
service. And, for downtime, there’s a great sundowner bar. A recent R22 million
full interior refurbishment has breathed in new life and colour, adding fresh finishes,
furnishings and fabrics, and a contemporary feel that is felt throughout. Plus, in the
rooms, such conveniences as USB connectivity and international plug points that
make your life so much easier. All this, and still so easy on your budget. clhg.com

TRAVEL 39

WWW.BUSINESSMEDIAMAGS.CO.ZA

OFFICE, a biannual
magazine, is distributed
with the

An essential publication
for corporate decision
makers to use for their
business solutions and
procurement needs.

DISTRIBUTION
DATES:
5 September 2019
& 5 March 2020

ADVERTISING CONTACT
Dan Burman, Project Manager
Tel: 021 469 2489 Cell: 083 630 8863
Email: [email protected]

KAROO DEALMAKER BUSINESS CLASS

oldThelesmaelltohf er

Don’t let The
Drostdy’s careful
capturing of a bygone
age fool you. Every possible
contemporary need and want is
looked after – from fast Wi-Fi to
staffers who seem able to procure
anything you might require. They
even have a charger for your

electric car.
newmarkhotels.com

Want to take the next board meeting to a different level? Trek to the middle of the

Karoo to mix business with history – and add plenty of pleasure
N ot all meeting rooms are
created equal. In the ibault room more like a monument than a piece you’ll probably make out the ghostly echoes
Boardroom, named for the of furniture, and – yes – the leather that of deals being forged and colleagues slapping
architect who designed e cushions your backside as you slide into one one other on the shoulder.
of the armchairs that feel like thrones. It’s
You might be wondering why anyone
Drostdy in Graa -Reinet, the these authentic old-school features that give would travel to the middle of the Karoo to
sepia-scented fragrance is not old money, this meeting space such character, adding sign a deal or negotiate the coming quarter’s
although you get the sense that there’s plenty not just atmosphere but actual attitude – as plan of action, but that is precisely the
of that oating around, too. Instead, what if they bring some of the weight of history point: where better than this? It’s one of the
your nose is detecting are the beautifully to bear on the moment so that everything country’s oldest towns – and far from the
preserved yellowwood oors, an antique you do and say in this room seems somehow hectic, distracting bustle of the big cities. And
stinkwood wardrobe that stands in the more, well, weighty. Listen carefully and yet, being central, it’s a good gathering

TRAVEL 41

BUSINESS CLASS KAROO DEALMAKER

Get connected
Whether you need transfers from

PE’s airport, want the best historic,

cultural or nature-oriented tours of

the town and surrounding areas, or

are looking for a deeper insight into life

spot whether colleagues are coming from explore the heritage in Graaff-Reinet or the township of Sundays River. e
Cape Town, Jo’burg, Durban or PE. Once here, uMasizakhe where Robert Sobukwe
they’re in good hands, too. As the boardroom
will testify, e Drostdy itself has a long architecture that’s was born, enlist the experts at Karoo guys from Karoo
history. For years it was a traditional dorp on just about every Connections. 049 892 3978, Connections can also
hotel, but before that it was what the name karooconnections.co.za
says – a drostdy, where government business
was conducted. It was built as a symbol street, and walk to a ra talk you through the
of importance. of museums – better still, incredible ancient history of
enlist the guys from Karoo the stone monuments that rise
We’re not suggesting that it’s all work Connections, who have facts and up from the valley oor. e reserve
and no play, though. In fact, the hotel’s real anecdotes and detailed tales of a fascinating is very popular with Graa -Reinet’s mountain
endeavour is to help guests reclaim their sanity, history. e entire town is in fact like one big biking fraternity. Bring your bike and, if
recuperate, and nd soulful nourishment in open-air museum, with around 200 heritage you get up early before your meeting, you
the bosom of the Karoo. e entire property, buildings making Graa -Reinet the largest might nd yourself pedalling among friendly
which incorporates a substantial town block, repository of historic landmark monuments strangers ( e Drostdy’s manager is among the
has been gorgeously overhauled in recent years in the country. Don’t miss the time-preserved regulars who cycle here, so ask him if he’s game
to become one of the most tranquil places in Graa -Reinet Club where farmers and for company).
the country to spend a few days – your rst townsfolk nurse drinks and gossip amicably And, should you be able to swing an entire
inclination might be not to work or relax, but – it shares the same building as e Drostdy’s day away from the boardroom, it’s worth
to set about exploring the grounds, though. o -site casual restaurant, Coldstream, where driving to the tiny hamlet of Nieu Bethesda
Aside from the immaculate architectural you’ll nd impressive down-to-earth dishes 50km away. It’s on the other side of a very
overhaul of a variety of historic cottages and (including probably the Karoo’s best pizzas). beautiful mountain pass. Once there, e Owl
the creation of distinctive new suites, the hotel And then there’s the proximity of the House – where outsider artist Helen Martins
o ers plenty of distraction. Along with several town to one of the country’s most impressive obsessively transformed her home into
pools, a spa, and the marvellous De Camdeboo geological sites – the Valley of Desolation, the a colourful fantasy – is the main draw, but
Restaurant, there are artworks everywhere, main vantage point for which is at the end of there’s also a cra brewery, a couple of cafes WORDS: KEITH BAIN, PICTURES: SUPPLIED
including large-scale sculptures by Dylan a steepish road up and through a mountainous and seriously time-lost village atmosphere.
Lewis, and an attached art gallery that sells section of the Camdeboo National Park which Of course, you could choose to unplug
work from regularly changing exhibitions. virtually surrounds the town. Up at the top, entirely from the world, settle into stillness
there’s also a great viewing deck from which at e Drostdy, and allow the hotel’s bygone
e hotel feels a bit like the fulcrum you can gaze down on the town, scoping the atmosphere and mellow sta to work their
around which the town itself turns. You can kopjes and mountains that silhouette the magic, restoring your faith in humanity’s
background and making sense of its grid-like ability to slow down, relax and take things at
layout and perfect situation in a bend in the a more, well, human pace. ▪

42 TRAVEL

AADDVVEERRTTOORRIAIALL

TAJ Cape Town offers

business and leisure

Steeped in heritage and nestled in the heart of the CBD,
Taj Cape Town offers the business traveller both business
and leisure excellence

e Taj Cape Town’s exceptional accommodation • Data projector and screen.
comprises of 176 rooms and suites that o er a • Audio visual control panel in every room.
retreat from the lively bustle of the city centre. • ISDN line suitable for HD video conferencing.
• Super-fast, reliable and consistent WiFi
e Taj Club rooms and suites are conveniently
located around the private Club Lounge to ensure internet access.
convenience for the business traveller while • Complimentary shuttle service within a
being mindful of o ering luxury and beautifully
decorated accommodation too. All suites, either 10km radius.
one-bedroom or two-bedroom family suites, o er
spacious living room and a separate work area. A er a hard day’s work, the Jiva Spa is the perfect
retreat to unwind, destress and relax. Jiva Spa is
e Club Lounge o ers complimentary facilities one-of-a-kind in Africa and offers a complete
and services, including dedicated 24-hour butler range of signature treatments and therapies using
service throughout your stay, private room check- traditional Indian techniques.
in, private breakfasts, all-day complimentary
snacks, a courtesy shoe shine, and use of the Dining o ers the choice of the nest Indian
boardroom for two hours within the duration of cuisine at Bombay Brasserie where meals are
your stay. Daily a ernoon tea in the Lobby Lounge prepared using traditional ingredients to create
on the ground oor is also included in the Taj Club the most authentic and delicious dishes outside
reservation package. of India, or a more casual all-day dining
experience at the Mint Restaurant and Terrace.
e business facilities and banqueting rooms are
located on the rst oor of the Heritage Wing and are The Lobby Lounge, exuding opulence with
able to host a variety of meetings, conferences its restored marble columns and high ceilings,
and events. transforms into a glamorous evening venue and
is the perfect location for an after-work cocktail
ese facilities include: or pre-dinner aperitif. To end the evening,
• First oor banquet venues accommodating from one can retire to the formal Cigar Lounge for
a night-cap and a wide selection of cigars,
8 to 100 delegates. cognacs, liqueurs and spirits.

For more information, floor plans and reservations, CAPE TOWN
021 819 2000
res.capetown@tajhotels .com SOUTH AFR ICA
www.tajhotels.com

ARTYFACT FLEETING MOMENTS

Capturing
H e was known as the Renoir of time
South Africa, with comparisons
to Monet and Seurat, too. Adriaan
Bosho , a self-taught artist born
in Pretoria in 1935, came to be
one of the most proli c Impressionists South
Africa has known. He explored widely and capturing light at its
enthusiastically – a relentless traveller, even optimum and in the The Adriaan Adriaan Bosho
riding his motorcycle all the way to the Congo process hoping to Boshoff Museum is at The Museum, a private
in the 1950s. An electrician at the time, he stop time. “I want Orient, a small private hotel on gallery at a hotel
earned a living repairing farm generators. He to capture eeting the Francolin Conservancy where on the Francolin
tried becoming a tobacco farmer in what was moments before they there are wild animals, abundant birds, Conservancy
then Rhodesia, but by the early-1960s, his real disappear forever,” he and the award-winning Restaurant near Tshwane.
passion took hold and he set about capturing once said. He possessed Mosaic, headed up by one of the e collection, curated
life on canvas. a rare talent for evoking country’s most extraordinary chefs,
mood, atmosphere and the Chantel Dartnall. The museum’s
He painted landscapes and seascapes, open to overnight guests and
diners, or otherwise by prior

appointment.
the-orient.net

and captured moments from the lives of the spirit of his subjects with dabs of by Marié Antoinette Odendaal,
people with whom he mingled – children at colour – chosen from a bright palette is sequenced thematically, so that
play, shermen, village people in evocative and applied to the canvas using dynamic as one wanders through the galleries, there’s
pastoral scenes. His compositions captured brush strokes. a discovery of the artist’s fascinations. It is
the light and colour and essence of the True to his obsessive passion for working, touchingly annotated, too. As you pause to WORDS: KEITH BAIN, PICTURES: SUPPLIED
simplest things – oral still lifes, cats creating Bosho took his nal breaths in his studio in re ect, you discover a portrait of the human
mischief, donkey carts in the Karoo, majestic front of his easel, just before continuing work being behind the canvases, a story littered
mountainscapes that make you yearn to be on Streets of My Youth, that ery nal painting with tenderness and joy, delving into his life,
there, and – at the very end of his life, a street which – despite remaining un nished – his loves, his obsessions and kindnesses, and
scene that sets the canvas a ame with its ery powerfully conveys the very spirit and passion his artistic development. Some of the stories
red hues and robust energy. and artistic obsessions of the man. It’s on – of his life struggles – are heartbreaking. It’s
Bosho was throughout his career pursuing display now, as part of the world’s largest reckoned that, having little interest in material
that elusive goal of creating the perfect canvas, collection of his works, at the audacious new possessions, he died owning almost nothing. ▪

44 TRAVEL