Khuluma November 2017

PLAY WHEN YOU GET THERE TRAVEL

GO DEEP IN MOZAMBIQUE

For those who find KZN insufficient as
a tropical paradise, a little further north
there’s Mozambique. Lush, wild and with a
distinct frontier flavour to it, Mozambique is
a slice of paradise best washed down with
a swig of its infamous Paradiso rum. Its
wild beauty runs deeper than the surface:
submerge yourself in its bathwater-warm
ocean for extended periods and you’ll find
all sorts of marine wonders, including
whale sharks, manta rays and sea turtles.
Inhambane and Bazaruto island in the south
are relatively accessible, while in the far
north lie the Quirimbas Islands, and the
Primeira and Secundas Archipelago – the
latter being one of Africa’s largest marine
protected areas.

GIDDY UP ON THE WILD COAST

The Great Kei River cuts a path through the Eastern Cape
for 320km before pouring through a beautiful estuary into
the Indian Ocean. The river mouth area offers beautiful white
beaches, a subtropical climate and warm water against a
backdrop of verdant Transkei vegetation. It’s the perfect place
to star in your very own Michael Bolton music video, galloping
down the beach with a majestic steed betwixt thine thighs,
the fresh sea air blowing through your hair.
wildcoasthorsebackadventures.com

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A JÔL WITH A BALL TRAVEL

pictures: xxxxxxx sevensTHE MAGNIFICENT
What’s stronger than a locomotive,
faster than a speeding bullet, and NOVEMBER 2017 101
coming to Cape Town this December?
Fifteen teams of sevens rugby players
– that’s what. Anthony Sharpe
identifies the seven to watch.

P icture the scene. Saloon doors swing open
with an ominous creak. A gang of assorted
misfits saunters in, spurs and gun belts
clinking out a percussive tune to the beat of their
footsteps falling heavy on wooden floorboards. A
few whiskies, furtive glances, hissed insults and
narrowed eyes later, all hell breaks loose. But what
you don’t know is that the real action is happening
outside. Scampering from the bar, the gang members
are stunned to find their horses are gone, galloping
off towards the horizon, tossing something from
mouth to ... wait, is that a pig’s bladder?

kulula.com

If rugby XVs is a and blistering runs. And this
saloon brawl, then sevens December, it’s back in Cape Town.
is stallions racing across the wide open Here’s our rundown of seven of the most
plains outside of town – clouds of dust, exciting teams and players getting their
flared nostrils, breakneck escapes dash on.

HOW IT WORKS South Africa's Siviwe
Soyizwapi smashing
e World Rugby Sevens Series consists of ten tournaments in ten countries across his way into the
ve continents, making it a truly global series both in terms of participants and opposing defence.
venues. Sixteen teams compete at each tournament in pools of four, playing in a
round-robin format. en it gets complicated. ere are four trophies up for grabs
at each tournament: Cup, which goes to the tournament champion; then Plate,
Bowl and Shield, in descending order. e top two teams from each pool proceed
to play for the Cup, the four quarter nal losers then drop to play for the Plate. e
third- and fourth-placed pool teams play for the Bowl, and the quarter nal losers of
that play for the Shield.
Confused yet? Well, at least it’s pretty simple on the eld. Matches are lightning-
quick on the pitch and on the clock – each half lasts only seven minutes. In spite of
this, matches are frequently high-scoring a airs, with less of the gear-grinding battle
for territory and more wheel-spinning breakaways that lead to frantic races for the
try line. e form of the game allows for a lot more moments of nesse, air and
individual brilliance, and the short format means watching a game is like watching
a highlights reel of incredible plays.

BEYOND THE STADIUM (though it is right across the road). on Main Road; it’s a full-blown
021/433-2530 butchery (with biltong to take
An A to Z of where to eat and drink Badass. Loaded with two beef patties and with you) but also has bench
before and a er the rugby action (or stu ed with Habanero chilli and topped seating where you can tuck into
during, if you missed out on tickets). with jalapeño jam, this is the must-have properly-grilled steaks. 021/434-1111
burger at Hudsons. ere are plenty of David Donde, the creator of Truth Co ee,
Antilope is the Italian name for the burn-free options, too, along with a bustling has long been regarded as Cape Town’s chief
‘Springboks’ pizza at Big Route – ironically, bar and probably a massive crowd spilling co ee evangelist. e original branch of this
it contains no game meat, nor any part sancti ed roastery happens to be the rst
of any rugby player; it’s just good old onto the pavement (there are screens place you’ll encounter along the Fan Walk
feta, bacon and avo, and it’s brilliant. e here for stay-away sports a er leaving the city centre and crossing
gourmet pizzas here are all pretty fans, too). 021/433-1496 the Buitengracht Street pedestrian bridge.
phenomenal, in fact, and Carnivores are the only 021/419-2945
available gluten-free at no kind of diner catered Eat as much sushi as you can
extra charge. Plus there are for at e Butcher (for R199) at Active Sushi
enough big screen TVs Man, which is directly on Hudson Street in De
that you can decide to opposite the stadium
skip the stadium entirely

102 NOVEMBER 2017 kulula.com

Siviwe's expected to A JÔL WITH A BALL TRAVEL
form the spearhead of
the Blitzbokke's attack SOUTH AFRICA
this year.
The Blitzbokke cut a glorious path
through the 2016-17 series, reaching
eight tournament finals and winning
five of those, making them series
champions even before the final
tournament was played in London.
They previously won the 2008-09
series with three tournament wins.
Quick on the draw: With 29 tries in
the last series, Siviwe Soyizwapi was
second only to speedster Seabelo
Senatla (with 34 tries) in crossing
the line for the Blitzbokke, and he’s
expected to form the spearhead of this
year’s attack. And you know what these
okes are like, he’s definitely going to be
pushing to score more this season.

NEW ZEALAND

Take a quick glance down the list of
annual champions since the series’
inception and you’ll see one name
repeated over and over: New

pictures: xxxxxxx Waterkant. e special runs all day Saturday that you’ll be lucky to nd anywhere to sit and it’s on Main Road,
and there’s only one catch: Everything you down in its tiny con nes. Fortunately, the just a hop and a skip
order but don’t eat you get charged extra for. deli does exquisite take-away meals, and from the stadium. In
021/418-2604 the bakery section is stocked with artisanal Mouille Point, on the
Flat white. Or espresso, Americano, breads and rolls if you need something to other side of Green Point
macchiato, whatever your ca eine x munch on. 021/434-6893 Park, it’s worth the extra
might be, there’s an early-morning special Hooman Sa arian, who le Iran in 1979, mileage to try the avours
on co ee at Bootlegger Co ee Company is the owner-chef at Sloppy Sam, one of of the month at e Creamery Café
(021/421-1237), at the top of the escalators Cape Town’s most insanely underhyped (021/434-2455) – they do milkshakes and
in the Cape Quarter. ere’s a full breakfast restaurants. Hooman’s lamb shank has been
menu, too, and if all the seats are taken, known to convert vegetarians (‘our lambs sundaes, too.
there are plenty more at Jenny Morris’s are all vegetarians’, he says). Jon-Paul Bolus o ers a stylish
adjacent restaurant, Yumcious sloppysam.co.za approach to café-style dining
(021/418-8000). Ice cream? Gelato Mania (073/201- at Loading Bay, which serves
Giovanni’s is so much of an institution in 8650) does extraordinary avours Espresso Lab co ee, freshly-
Green Point, and so close to the stadium, and makes it the Italian way,
squeezed fruit and vegetable
juices, and meals prepared

kulula.com NOVEMBER 2017 103

TRAVEL A JÔL WITH A BALL

Zealand. Not be outdone by their XVs Fiji's Osea Kolinisau – after winning gold at the Summer
counterparts, the All Blacks Sevens Olympics in Rio last year, their reserve
have dominated the series, winning it a New Zealand's bank printed commemorative coins and
record total of 12 times (to put this in Tim Mikkelson notes featuring the team. They’ve won
perspective, no other side has won more the World Series three times, second only
than three times). They may have just to New Zealand.
recently lost legendary player DJ Forbes Quick on the draw: Few honours could
to retirement, but we doubt they’re too compare with that of carrying your
worried about that. country’s banner at the Olympics, which
Quick on the draw: Tall, rangy, is what captain Osea Kolinisau did last
ridiculously nimble, and with nine years’ year in Rio. He captained the squad to a
gold medal, thumping England 43–7 in
World Sevens experience the final. There’s also the small matter of
and 192 series tries to his 120 series tries.
his name, Tim Mikkelson
remains a needle-sharp SAMOA
arrow in the All Blacks’
It’s a good thing there are only 12 players
quiver. But they’re all a needed for a sevens squad (with five
bloody menace, really. subs) – with only 180 000-odd people
inhabiting Samoa, that’s a hefty chunk of
FIJI the population. Regardless of their tiny
talent pool, Samoa is a force of nature
How do men that big run that fast? on the rugby pitch. They’ve played in
This is the question pondered by many all Rugby World Cup Finals since the
sevens rugby players as their gigantic tournament’s inception in 1993, and won
Fijian opponent streaks past (or straight the World Series in 2009-10.
over) them and into the distance. The
tiny island nation is mad about sevens

only from carefully sourced produce. Luigi Vigliotti is the ridiculously handsome Nutritious and balanced with health-
Nothing is taken lightly here, and charming owner and barista-in-chief at boosting ingredients, Nü Health Food
and there is a stylish menswear Shi Espresso Bar where the philosophy is Café (between Vida and Hudsons on
boutique and an Aesop skincare ‘death before decaf’ – order a brutal, never- Main Road) is brimming with scrumptious
emporium all under the same sleep cup of Black Insomnia, the world’s salads, multigrain wraps, gluten-free
roof – de nitely worth the strongest co ee, and it’ll charge you up for
detour up Hudson Street. the rugger. Oh, and the croissants are super apjacks, and vegan-friendly meals. eir
021/425-6320/1 too. 021/433-2450 smoothie menu alone might push you over
Kickstart your Saturday with Manhattan, in the heart of De Waterkant’s the edge. 021/433-1429
gay quarter, is packed with camp design Oranjezicht City Farm Market
a super breakfast-brunch-lunch details and on warm days, the hot waiters now has a permanent home down near
at Table 13 around the corner from will probably work topless – they’ll irt with the waterfront at Granger Bay every
the Victoria Junction hotel entrance. you too if you let them. Great burgers, Saturday morning. You can nd fresh
It’s small but the menu is packed with potent milkshakes, and barmen
wonderful options, including freshly-baked who pour with a steady hand breakfasts and brunches and loads to
breads and all sorts of ‘make your own’ – this place pumps well into snack on, plus tables stacked with
breakfast, sandwich, wrap, salad and pizza the night. 021/421-6666 just-harvested produce to
combinations. 021/418-0739 stock your kitchen.
ozcf.co.za/market-day

104 NOVEMBER 2017 kulula.com





A JÔL WITH A BALL TRAVEL

Samoa's Samoa Toloa Quick on the draw: At 1.75m in height,
patriotically-named Samoa Toloa may
With only 180 000-odd people not be the tallest man on the pitch, but
inhabiting Samoa, the sevens he accelerates like a greased fighter jet.
squad represents a hefty chunk With 92 tries in 137 matches, he puts that
of the population. speed to good use.

ENGLAND

The plucky English lads have yet to hoist
a series trophy, despite producing the all-

time top points scorer, Ben Gollings
(2 652 points), and all-
time top try scorer, Dan
Norton (261 tries). They
finished in second place
last year, however, so that

elusive top spot is hardly out
of reach.
Quick on the draw: Dan Norton
has a good kicking game, can sidestep
with either foot and can run 40m in 4.78
seconds. It’s no wonder he’s scored so
many tries. Norton started playing in XVs,
but after struggling to build his career
he sidestepped into the sevens format,
and has since become its most prolific
crosser of the white line.

Pink amingos and feather boas will be Roulade with rotkohl and bratkarto eln Tequila. And tacos. You’ll nd this and
seen at Beefcakes, good is one of the German treats you can nd more at El Burro, a wonderful upstairs
for beefy burgers, bu at Café Extrablatt. It’s essentially German Mexican joint that literally faces the
barmen and boys in rolled beef, served with red cabbage and stadium. If you’re skipping food, there’s
bras lipsynching all your fried potato, onion and bacon – perfect always the tiny Cabrito Tequila Bar
favourite feel-good for lining your stomach if you have a big downstairs, usually with a crowd
diva tunes. day planned. e German café also does spilling onto the pavement.
021/425-9019, weekend all-you-can-eat breakfast bu ets, 021/433-2364, elburro.co.za
beefcakes.co.za burgers, pizzas and wraps. Plus there is Usain Bolt is the name of a Red Bull-
Queues at Rocomamas always plenty of beer. cafe-extrablatt.co.za steeped cocktail available at Cubaña,
are never-ending. San Julian is a 100% authentic cantina in a vast all-day Latino café on the Fan
Eventually, though, you’ll De Waterkant, tucked away on Rose Street. Walk in De Waterkant. ere are
dozens more cocktails and shooters
get a chance to join a scrum of adoring fans e owners – the San Julian family – moved to get you into the spirit of the
tucking into scrumptious burgers and here from Mexico and brought with tournament, plus lots of spicy grub
summoning some of the craziest – including cheesy nachos – to keep
looking milkshakes you ever laid them recipes for proper tortillas, you greased for the day. 021/421-1109
eyes on. 021/433-2816 quesadillas and enchiladas.
021/419-4233

kulula.com NOVEMBER 2017 107

TRAVEL A JÔL WITH A BALL

Kenya's Collins Injera

The
World Rugby
Sevens Cape Town
Tournament takes place
9-10 December at Cape Town
Stadium. Tickets are officially
sold out, but if you’re lucky,
maybe you can pick one up
on viagogo.co.za.

KENYA experience, he’s an USA's Perry Baker
essential lynchpin of the
The Kenyan side recorded their Kenyan squad. Just don’t say Dan sustain a traumatic brain injury than in
first tournament win last year, Norton’s name too loudly around him. American football). The Eagles finished
beating Fiji in the Singapore sixth in 2014–15 and 2015–16, and fifth
final. They’ve also taken the UNITED STATES in the 2016–17 series, so they’ve got
Africa Cup Sevens tournament something to prove this year.
twice – in 2013 and 2015 – so they’re Not too many years ago, the words Quick on the draw: Perry Baker was
a force to be reckoned with on the ‘American rugby’ were a bit of an the leading scorer of the last series,
continent. oxymoron. But the sport is gaining crossing the line 57 times. And sitting
Quick on the draw: The hopes of the popularity in the US, and with only 10 behind leading all-time US
Kenyan side are likely resting heavily popularity comes money and better try scorer Zack Test, he’s got some
on the shoulders of the experienced athletes (you’re also less likely to extra incentive to put those
Collins Injera, a blistering bullet of a afterburners on.
wing who holds second spot on the
all-time top try-scorers list, with 244.
With eight years of national sevens

V&A is where you’ll nd dozens of Woolworths. Because if you don’t which is at e Rockwell on Napier Street.
places to eat, plus a food market and that manage to nd a table anywhere, there at’ll give you time to choose between
evergreen beer-qua ng joint, Mitchell’s. are always supermarket snacks for you to
Just arrive super-extra-early if you have take to the nearest park benches for a the Creole-style so shell crab, the Cape
any intention of bagging a parking makeshi picnic. Malay curry, and the nger-licking pork
space here. X-factor! You’ll nd plenty of it at Manga, loin ribs. 021/418-3910, themess.co.za
a lively Japanese joint that also serves Zenith Sky Bar is up in the clouds on the
breakfasts in a funkily-designed space on roo op of the Cape Royale hotel. You
Beach Road in Mouille Point. ere’s might not have time to tan next to the pool
plenty on the menu aside from
the usual sushi suspects. (if there’s water in it in these dry
021/202-2720 times) but you might want to
Yoghurt and thyme call before climbing into
the li to the top. If you
atbreads are what do make it up there, the
you should order the bird’s eye view of the
moment you sit down stadium might be
for a meal at e Mess, worth skipping the
rugby for. 021/430-0500

108 NOVEMBER 2017 kulula.com





A JÔL WITH A BALL TRAVEL

Kenya on Russia's heels THE NEARLY GREAT EIGHT

e Sevens World Series is made up of 12 core Scotland tackles Argentina
teams with occasional guest teams playing at certain
tournaments. While the Series has historically been
dominated by a handful of teams, fans shouldn’t forget or
dismiss the other eight teams.

An Aussie (in green
and yellow), in an airborne
tussle with the USA

Spain versus France

Pictures: Supplied Canadians teaming
up to take out Wales

Argentina – best finish 3rd (2003–04)
Wales – best finish 6th (2006–07) / World
Cup Winners (2009)
Australia – best finish 2nd (2000–01)
Canada – best finish 6th (2013–14)
France – best finish 7th (2005–06)
Russia – best finish 14th (2016–17)
Scotland – best finish 7th (2016–17)
Spain – best finish 14th (2011–12)

kulula.com NOVEMBER 2017 111



THE LIFE CYCLE LOCAL HERO

Wheels
OF CHANGE

Andrew Thompson sees the future unfold at a cycling academy in Khayelitsha.

pictures: xxxxxxx ‘ R iders ready?’ comes the The solid metal gate clangs to the floor, launch themselves considerably higher.
muffled voice from the and the five helmeted riders on BMXs Then, one by one, they thud back down to
starting gates on the far side launch themselves forward and down the earth, and the chaotic cycling continues.
of the track. It’s difficult to hear above the starting hill in a frenzy of peddling. They
icy Southeaster that’s whipping across hit the first ramp in unison, and for a few Almost immediately the group breaks up,
the Cape Flats. It comes again, this time split seconds, each one is airborne over with three riders stretching out their leads
with urgency. ‘Riders ready!’ There’s a the dusty track below. Some just a few before the second bend. No one seems too
dramatic pause. And then: ‘Go!’ centimetres above the ground; others concerned, though. This isn’t an official
race, just a typical day at Velokhaya Life

kulula.com NOVEMBER 2017 113

LOCAL HERO THE LIFE CYCLE

'The sound of crunching gravel and excited Shaun Doch, pointing towards the track.
grunts intensifies as the riders continue ‘She was once number six in the world.
around the compact, snaking BMX course.' Went to the UCI World Champs and
surprised everyone.’
Cycling Academy in Khayelitsha. The riders course. The sound of crunching gravel,
on the course in front of me are a mix of occasional yelps, and excited grunts I shift my focus to Zenani as she rounds
age groups and skill levels, here because intensifies as the riders continue around the 180-degree berm. She’s not in the
it’s their school holidays, and because the course and get closer to my trackside lead, but the way she rises over the rollers
there’s nowhere else they’d rather be. position, bringing my focus back to the and floats over the jumps suggests her
informal race taking place before me. ease on the bicycle. There’s a calm grace
In the distance, behind the enthusiastic and fluidity to her riding as she goes from
cyclists, the picturesque Hottentots- ‘That cyclist on the end there is alarmingly airborne over the mounds of
Holland Mountains rise up to blue winter Anita Zenani,’ says Velokhaya alumnus
skies marked with light wispy clouds, a soil to near horizontal high
slightly surreal backdrop to the action. around the bends.
A little closer is the modest low-rise ‘She’s lost a
infrastructure, looping power lines, and bit of pace
soaring floodlights of Cape Town’s recently,’ Doch
largest township. continues.

And then, at my feet, is the compact,
snaking track of a well-maintained BMX

114 NOVEMBER 2017 kulula.com 114

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THE LIFE CYCLE LOCAL HERO

'The distant Hottentots-Holland BIKES FOR BETTER
Mountains form a slightly surreal
backdrop to the action.' To nd out more about how
Velokhaya Life Cycling
Academy uses cycling to
help children stay o the
street and engage in positive
a er-school activities, visit
velokhaya.com. Also doing
amazing work by providing
people with bicycles is
Qhubeka (qhubeka.
org), while the Bicycling
Empowerment Network
(benbikes.org.za) supplies
donated and a ordable
bicycles to disadvantaged
communities and institutions
throughout South Africa.

‘She’s in second year university and has immediate focal point of Velokhaya. just to take kids out of the
been studying really hard.’ But it’s inside the new building a few street and give them bikes. It
metres away that much of the important was a tool to promote education.
A few seconds later the last of the riders work takes place, and where Shaun But then we saw the talent and we
cross the finish line, and they gather on introduces me to Sipho Mona, Velokhaya’s nurtured that talent and have unearthed
one of the small hills to chatter excitedly general manager. some amazing riders.’
before setting off again. It’s an hour of
riding around the track, participating in ‘You know, two of our riders, Songezo I poke my head into a small room to
mock races and showing off with wheelies Jim and Nicholas Dlamini, are currently the side of the entrance hall, where half
and impressive jumps, before the young living in Italy as pro cyclists,’ says Mona. a dozen young men, heads bowed and
BMXers begin to tire and slowly peel off ‘They’ve taken our story 360 degrees. drenched with sweat, look up at me
the course before heading home. After meeting their idols at a Spier training from spinning bikes. They maintain their
camp in 2007, they’ve gone on to race cadence on the bikes but meet my eyes,
Doch suggests we take a look at the rest against them in Spain and Italy.’ greet me, and then continue quietly with
of the facility. The outside BMX track, with their training.
it’s beautiful snaking curves, along with ‘In many ways the competitive side of
the colourfully painted shipping containers things was all serendipitous,’ says Mona. In the small workshop at the back, I meet
converted into trackside buildings, is the ‘Our goal at the beginning was actually Anele Madlolo, one of the ‘veterans’

kulula.com NOVEMBER 2017 117

LOCAL HERO THE LIFE CYCLE

'Velokhaya's athletic activity is underpinned
by firm focus on academic education.'

at the organisation, and now the in-house many residents actually use old frames wind and floats across the facility, and as I Pictures: Shaun Doch, Andrew Thompson, Pick n Pay, Evgenii Matrosov/shutterstock.com,
mechanic. ‘You know, people tell us that to anchor the roofs of their shacks – in the turn to leave I notice a child no older than rustamank/shutterstock.com
our riders stand out from others kids in this early days Velokhaya used these frames three riding alone on the paving outside.
community. Purely because of how they to build up rudimentary bicycles for their His small bicycle has training wheels
listen and interact with others,’ he tells me members. Now they are able to supply and a little lever that makes it sound
as he threads a new brake cable onto a bike. their riders with serious wheels. like a motorbike, but as he pedals across
towards me, I can’t help but wonder what
Doch tells me about the kinds of It’s lunch time now at Velokhaya, and his future might hold.
challenges faced by the township’s apart from two young boys lying on their
youngsters, and how Velokhaya evolved to backs reading next to the bookshelf, most
help them overcome those. Although basic riders have gone home. The spinners have
bicycles are common in Khayelitsha, he finished their morning’s training, and the
says that the cost of competition-level bikes BMX track outside is deserted. Crackling
makes the likelihood of anyone getting a music being broadcast through a PA
pro setup highly unlikely. He explains how system somewhere nearby catches the

BUILDING BALANCED SCHOLARS

Velokhaya has made headlines because is dedication to education means from Khayelitsha on my bike,’ says
Antoni. ‘I’ll go to Cape Point and back
of its athletes’ talent – several riders have that the young cyclists have a incredibly if time allows.’

placed in championships or gone pro packed schedule. e hard work has paid o . Antoni
has risen to the top of the Khayelitsha
in their age groups, and two are now ‘Ja, it’s a challenge, hey!’ says Tulani team, which is incredible considering that
he rst climbed on a bike four years ago
racing abroad. Not bad for a grassroots Antoni, Velokhaya’s youngest pro road when he was 14. ‘I was living with my
granny and knew nothing about the
organisation. But, although Velokhaya is a cyclist. He’s in his nal year of school, sport,’ he says. ‘One of my neighbours
was into cycling. One day I came with
cycling academy, all its athletic activity is and determined to squeeze everything him to Velokhaya to check it out, even
though I’d never ridden a bike before.’
underpinned by rm focus on academic in. ‘Every a ernoon a er school I have

education. Velokhaya accepts anyone an hour or two of training, go home to

who is interested in learning more about wash, eat supper, and then study.’

cycling, provided they are in school. At the Any free time these riders have is

Khayelitsha HQ, there’s a fully-equipped spent on the bike or in the gym.

computer lab and a small library. ‘Usually over weekends I head out

118 NOVEMBER 2017 kulula.com



iAdulT ng?

Remember when play was a never-ending highlight of our days?

That happiness is within reach, if you just cut

I yourself a little slack, writes Clifford Roberts.
t was December, 1914. Europe. A
bitter war raged along a front defined
by muddy trenches, shell-holes,
barbed wire and a sea of ravaged bodies. By
Christmas, hope of a quick end to hostilities
had faded. But then, something incredible
happened. From across No Man’s Land, a
ragged white flag appeared. A truce! The
enemy wanted a game of soccer.

The tale of how battle-weary British
and German troops suspended their
murderous pursuits for a few hours of play
is legendary, though often recounted with
much embellished fictions. The soldiers’
focus, says British historian Dan Snow,
would have been to clear the battlefield
and tend to the wounded whenever there
was a pause in fighting. Kicking around a
football with the enemy would have been
‘just one of many different activities men
took the time to enjoy’ during the brief
ceasefires that occurred.

Still, it bolstered our optimistic belief in
a better nature somehow imbedded

120 NOVEMBER 2017 kulula.com

WHAT PLAY MEANS BEHIND THE SCENES

pictures: xxxxxxx

kulula.com NOVEMBER 2017 121

BEHIND THE SCENES WHAT PLAY MEANS

'The ability to play is critical not only
to being happy, but also to
sustaining social relationships'

in the DNA of all an unexpected path. Her therapist advised occupational therapist Madré Fraenkel
living creatures. Now her to write letters to Annake, but during a is among those in her field who employs
that play theory has particularly low point one night she began games to address boredom, loneliness
become a serious field doodling. She describes the experience as and helplessness in elderly patients
of study, clearer understanding ‘circles and patterns flowing out’ with an with dementia and for the neurological
– and the importance – of these kinds of accompanying sense of tremendous relief. treatment of people with perceptual
actions has emerged: Most significantly, A friend later recognised the drawings as fall-out from strokes. ‘Treatment can
play is not just for children. mandalas, geometric patterns commonly be a difficult road for a patient. Play
‘Remembering what play is all about used for meditation. Beukman’s mandalas allows therapists to make the journey
and making it part of our daily lives are have now become artworks in their own fun; in some cases, to encourage social
probably the most important factors in right and are also being published in adult interaction; and, temporarily remove
being a fulfilled human being,’ writes colouring-in books. attention from what may often be harsh
American play theory pioneer Dr Stuart realities of a condition,’ she says.
Brown in his book Play – How it shapes The work of Dorian Haarhoff, a Cape
the brain, opens the imagination and Town former professor of English who Nonetheless, the concept of adult
invigorates the soul (Penguin, 2009). applies play through creative writing, is play is often still considered the purview
‘The ability to play is critical not only strongly influenced by, among others, of the lazy, distracted or perverted. The
to being happy, but also to sustaining narrative therapy. ‘Play invites our innate underlying view is that an activity that is
social relationships and being a creative, creativity and imagination, with its healing
innovative person.’ qualities, to the party… qualities that not productive in the pursuit of money
For the soldiers on the WW1 battlefield, often lie dormant in us,’ he says. ‘We learn is defective.
it might have appeared to be a mere through play. Images (metaphors) set Suspicion also lingered even
distraction. Play has, however, become a up a ladder between the conscious in the field of care when, just a
recognised cornerstone of the process of and unconscious mind. We leave few years ago, the Gesundheit
healing too. tick-tock time and enter a Institute of the famous clown-
When South African violinist Annake world of words where the doctor and laughter therapy
de Villiers killed herself in 2012, the moment expands. Writing
devastation led her soulmate, Afrikaans helps us to be present in our proponent, Hunter ‘Patch’ Adams,
singer-songwriter Lise Beukman, down lives and show up.’

Likewise, Somerset West-based

122 NOVEMBER 2017 kulula.com



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WHAT PLAY MEANS BEHIND THE SCENES

tried to establish a revolutionary type as play. ‘We all play occasionally, and we
of hospital. It would have included the
integration of medicine with performance all know what it feels like. But when it
arts, arts and crafts, nature, agriculture,
education, recreation and social service, comes to making theoretical statements
but failed to raise enough support funding
– even after being in operation for 12 years. about what play is, we fall into silliness.

‘The idea of play is difficult for adults,’ There is little agreement among us, and
says Bevil Spence, a hand-drumming
teacher and drum circle facilitator. His much ambiguity. Almost anything can
observations reveal that once someone is
committed to participate in a drum circle allow play to occur within its boundaries
and the session proceeds, change begins to
happen almost immediately. ‘The intervals ... for example, by works of tourism,
of noticeable transformation are the
same for almost every newcomer; by the television, daydreaming, sexual intimacy
end, they’re doing solos on an instrument
they’ve never played before, often in front and even gossip.’
of a group of complete strangers. The
process helps people unlock things they And we haven’t even begun to talk
did not believe could be.’
about sport and the international billion-
But what is this disarming activity
that has spawned the adult play craze? rand business of computer gaming.
Bookshops in South Africa are stacked
with colouring-in books for adults, while Stuart Brown himself declared
‘sandplay’ is taking hold for its serious
therapeutic value in the US. Australians hesitance at an over-arching definition
are raving about No Lights No Lycra dance
sessions that give you a no-pressure of this activity, which so often means
licence to shake your booty for the sake
of creativity. In London, no under-16s are different things to different people. Faced
allowed on the 7m-high, inflatable playpen
known as Bouncingham Castle and some with a room of engineers one day where
bus stops have been equipped with swings
as seating. Stockholm has encouraged he was to be a guest speaker, Brown
whimsy and exercise by simply painting
public staircases to look like the keys mustered a list of its properties. Play,
of a piano – the same simple bit
of fun can be found in cities he believed, is an activity defined by an
around the world.
Pictures: De Repente/shutterstock.com, Yulia Sribna/shutterstock.com, JoyImage/shutterstock.com, supplied apparent purposelessness that is done for
There’s no easy answer, it
seems. The Ambiguity of Play its own sake. It is undertaken voluntarily
(Harvard University Press, 2001)
by Brian Sutton-Smith focused on just and has an inherent attraction. It offers the
how hard it is to pin down what counts
sense of freedom from time; diminishes
kulula.com
our consciousness of self; and allows for

improvisation. Finally, it encourages our

desire to return to it.

This act of play is a part of us, in the

harshest of times and forever. It was

something that those tales of the soldiers

on the battlefield demonstrated, and it’s a

wisdom ignored at our peril.

‘We don't stop playing because we grow

old,’ the great playwright George Bernard

'By the end, Shaw once wrote. ‘We grow old because
we stop playing.’

an they’re doing solos on played before'
instrument they’ve never

NOVEMBER 2017 125

playLIFE’S kulula.com
Try new things, be curious, stay
inquisitive about what your body
can do. This fundamentally
playful approach to human
health is the ultimate game-
changer, writes movement coach
Richard-Dean Sumares.

126 NOVEMBER 2017

MORE FIT, MORE FUN HEALTH, FITNESS & BEAUTY

S waying left and right, I launch
into a cartwheel (which is more
correctly called an ‘aú’) before
returning to my ‘ginga’, the fluid side-to-
side lunging motion that’s a staple of the
Afro-Brazilian martial art capoeira. All
the while I’m moving hands and arms,
sweeping them around in controlled,
animated patterns that add the texture
of a dance. I continue on and on like this,
as if in a kind of meditative reverie, feeling
out my body, craving mastery over its
muscles, tendons and nerves. On and on I
go, until I finally collapse to the floor and
lie there, drenched, soaking in a pool of
sweat, my chest heaving. The thumping in
my ears is the sound of blood circulating
through my body at high speed. I work to
control my breathing, an exhausting effort
accompanied by muscles burning in places
I didn’t even know I had muscles, burning in
places I didn’t even know I had places.

I chuckle quietly at the little joke, glad
that even amid the exhaustion and pain
my mind is alive enough to see the funny
side. The fun side. The joy. This is after all
a workout that isn’t a workout. I’ve been
playing. Playing hard. Hard at work playing
with my body.

kulula.com NOVEMBER 2017 127

HEALTH, FITNESS & BEAUTY MORE FIT, MORE FUN

'Exercise is a made-up thing, Play allows us to
something we humans invented let go of our thinking
when we realised that we mind for a moment
weren’t moving often enough.' and become ‘doers’ – it
engages us in active, direct experience.

The trick is to find ways of playing that

empty building sites and getting up to the are interesting to you – finding the games

adventurous mischief of childhood. I liked that keep you engaged. Much of my time

to wrestle and roughhouse. It’s wasn’t for is spent crawling about on the floor,

the hard knocks so much as that playful rolling, jumping and swinging – plus I get

engagement with other kids. in regular doses of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (an

Playtime gave me the opportunity to ideal replacement for a boy who loved

learn not only about my body and how to roughhouse). These different forms of

it actually works, but also about my play satisfy various parts of me,

environment and how I am able to interact providing

As I regain control over my breath, I feel with it. Play, in truth, is a form of research.

my heart rate recover, my muscles soften At the same time it is a type of training

and the burn transform to something more preparing us what lies ahead.

akin to a soft sizzle. A wave of tension

leaves my body, and before my mind has ALL THE WORLD’S YOUR PLAYGROUND
had time to agree to it, my body makes the

decision: It is time for another round. And, You only have to watch traceurs – parkour practitioners – to get an inkling of how

off we go again… the entire city can be used to move in expressive and athletic ways. Parkour isn’t just

A BOY KNOWS about showing o mad skills like jumping from one roof to another – it’s simply the
ability to overcome any obstacle that’s in front of you. So, if you’re moving along and

As a boy, my favourite time of the day was you encounter a ledge, instead of going around it, go over it. Simply use a very basic

playtime. No surprises there. It was the vaulting technique – place two hands on the ledge and boost yourself over. And now

favourite time for most children I knew, you’ve practiced parkour, using the ledge less like an obstacle and more as a challenge.

save for some outliers who were probably Don’t ignore that railing, either – take o your shoes and try to balance on it. Or, hang

already planning their conquest of other from the rails, or slither your body between the gaps. See what you can do, discover

planets. Youngsters like me, though, we what your body is capable of. Pull up onto something, hang from things. Explore your

were exploring this planet. Climbing to environment the way you might have done as a child, with curiosity, and with your

the tops of trees and digging under rocks, whole body. Forget Google for a moment, and use the equipment you were given.

jumping over streams, manoeuvring in, And at the same time you’ll nd out what that equipment can do for you.

on and through jungle gyms, exploring

128 NOVEMBER 2017 kulula.com





MORE FIT, MORE FUN HEALTH, FITNESS & BEAUTY

RUN LIKE A WARRIOR

e eighth and nal leg of
the 2017 Toyota Warrior Race,
powered by Reebok, happens
at Riversands Farm, Midrand,
on 25 and 26 November.

e stamina-testing outdoor
tness event is the largest
obstacle course race in Africa,
and designed for athletes (and
wannabes out for a good time)
looking for an adventurous
test of strength, endurance,
and physical fortitude – not
to mention a keen sense of
fun. Aside from hoo ng it
through testing environs, the
race includes obstacles that
must be scaled, objects that
must be carried, and a fair
amount of mud that must
be splashed about in. If ever
there was a case for the playful
side of athleticism, this is it.
advendurance.com

opportunities for test your mobility, exertion is when we are doing something
the many ways my balance, hand-eye called ‘exercising’.
body likes to move coordination
and express itself. and responses. Exercise is a made-up thing, something
But I also use softer Can you jump we humans invented when we realised
practices like testing that fence? Can that we weren’t moving often enough.
my balance by walking you walk in a A lack of movement made us weak and
on a balance beam; straight line with your sick, and so we decided to pack all of
sometimes I do this with my eyes closed? Can you our complex movements and physical
eyes closed or by moving sideways crawl around on the floor exertions into a couple of one-hour
or backwards. Or on all fours – there’s mimicking various members of the sessions each week. I believe this focus
nothing wrong with playing like a monkey. animal kingdom? And if not, why not try? on ‘exercising’ fails because it ignores a
Or any animal, in fact, as long as that fundamental fact of our evolution – we’re
animal gets to play. THE PLEASURE PRINCIPLE designed to be on the move all the time
and with unparalleled complexity. And
The trick is to allow yourself to see We have been sold a misconception yet we have, along with becoming more
the obstacles of the outside world as that the only time we are meant to ‘civilised’, become increasingly sedentary.
challenges and opportunities for you to move our bodies to the point of serious With the exception perhaps of sloths

kulula.com NOVEMBER 2017 131

HEALTH, FITNESS & BEAUTY MORE FIT, MORE FUN

'The real solution PLAYTIME’S and koala bears, we are the most Pictures: Daniel Coetzee, Sarah-Jane Goodman, Thea Hurenkamp, Andrew Dry,
is so simple: Play. NATURAL HIGH sedentary animals. This is why we Alena Kaz/shutterstock.com, Panda Vector/shutterstock.com, supplied
Play like children do.' invented ‘exercise’ – it’s an attempt at an
It’s way easier to watch antidote to the modern lifestyle
videos of people
performing extreme What I hear all the time from people
physical feats on Instagram engaged in ‘exercise’ is that what they
and YouTube than it is to crave is enjoyment – they want to
actually go out and perform experience pleasure. Many people say
them ourselves. things like ‘I want to feel comfortable
inside my body’ or ‘I just want to be able
e bene ts, though, can’t to enjoy my body’. The real solution is so
be downloaded. When we simple: Play. Play like children do. No need
move, our bodies secrete to wait for that fitness class or your next
a naturally occurring gym session – just get out there and play.
cannabinoid – commonly
mistaken for endorphins Allow yourself to have a curious mind
– that is received by every and set tasks and challenges for yourself
cell in the body. Our that are fun and stimulating and that will
brain makes us high when foster that feeling of comfort within your
we move – it’s a natural, own body. Learn how to juggle, spend
biological reward system. If time balancing on the edge of pavements,
that isn’t incentive enough walk on logs in the forest and step onto
to play and move, I don’t handrails in the city. Hang from trees.
know what is. Better yet, climb a tree. Remember how
much fun it was to roll on the grass when
you were a child? Well, get outside and
roll around on the ground. Roughhouse
with a friend, then take your friend for
a hike. Throw a ball, kick a ball, do
whatever it takes to have a ball. But,
for life’s sake, play.

132 NOVEMBER 2017 kulula.com





WOODSTOCK'S DECK MAKER FASHION & DESIGN

sTHEhaper
Keith Bain meets legendary
longboarder Kent Lingeveldt, I n Kent Lingeveldt’s office above his
now a sought-after shaper of graffiti-emblazoned workshop in
beautifully-crafted custom Woodstock, the chemical smell of
skateboards. industrial glue and varnish hits me right
between the eyes. We’re surrounded
Pictures: Supplied by rows of custom-designed longboard
decks that Lingeveldt shapes downstairs,
and from outside comes the distinctive
ghghghgh of little urethane wheels rolling
and grinding along tar and concrete.

‘It’s not my fault they’re skating,’ says
Lingeveldt of the young members of his 52
Crew surfing the narrow streets below. ‘It’s
either that or they'd be sitting on corners
smoking cigarettes.’

kulula.com NOVEMBER 2017 135

FASHION & DESIGN WOODSTOCK'S DECK MAKER

'Cops would stop us and lock
us up.I spent a few nights in jail

– just for skateboarding.'

A legend in the skateboarding everything feels
community, Lingeveldt was the first black right and clicks
African to compete on the international into place. I moved around
circuit. And he did that a mere five years a lot as a child, so I was a bit of
after using a street skateboard to compete a loner. And skateboarding was something
in 1999’s Red Bull Downhill Extreme, I could do on my own. It felt like something
South Africa’s first real exposure to I could identify with in terms of the attitude
gravity longboarding. and the culture – in those days it was still
very punk-infused. And Doc Martens
Now in his late-thirties, Lingeveldt still were in.’
cuts a youthful, bohemian presence with
his earrings, wispy facial hair, and socks Lingeveldt says skateboarding’s attitude
pulled up to his knees. He puts the start was always strongly linked to music.
of his skateboarding days precisely in ‘Initially it was surfer music. Punk-rock
1994. ‘It was rare to see a kid of colour arrived in the late-70s, and suddenly
skateboarding back then. But I wasn’t skaters wore leather jackets, tight skinny
a typical kid from the Cape Flats – my jeans and earrings – looking rough and
parents were quite alternative and told me being ruffians. That’s when it became a
it was okay to be different. I had no idea distinct subculture. Upper-middle class
people viewed skateboarders the way they parents didn’t want their beautiful little
did – as vagabonds, druggies, pseudo- kids associated with that, so they stopped
gangsters on wheels.’
them from skating.
‘I was a natural skateboarder. It Because they assumed
was one of those things where skaters were

136 NOVEMBER 2017 kulula.com





WOODSTOCK'S DECK MAKER FASHION & DESIGN

'I didn’t have much money, so I
bought a cheap piece of wood and
traced out a board.'

Pictures: Supplied raucous hooligans who ‘Ollies, kickflips and
drink and swear. That all the normal stuff
image stuck.’ you see all the time.
Plus, I was always
The image also bombing hills on a short
brought laws restricting skateboard. When Red Bull
skaters. ‘I spend a lot of time hosted that first Downhill Extreme
bombing hills in Woodstock. Cops race down The Glen, it drew Europeans
would stop us and lock us up. I spent a few and Americans – they were pros with
nights in jail – just for skateboarding.’ longboards and leather suits. While they
were buffing their helmets, we locals
Skip ahead a decade or two, and looked a bit out. I was in shorts and a vest.
the world’s a much different place. What Our asses got kicked, because smaller
was then presumed to be a rough pursuit boards are not as stable as a bigger
involving spray-paint wielding vagabonds board at high speeds. So I realised that
is now, suddenly, cool. And in the if I wanted to go faster, I’d need a bigger
intervening years, Lingeveldt expanded board. I didn’t have much money and
from world-class skater into sought-after couldn’t afford those foreign brands, so I
board-shaper. bought a cheap piece of wood and traced
out a board. I didn’t even do woodwork at
Lingeveldt started shaping longboards school, but I’ve always been good with
around 2000. He did it purely out of my hands.’
necessity, because back then no-one in SA
was making those bigger boards. ‘I come
from street skateboarding,’ he explains.

kulula.com NOVEMBER 2017 139

FASHION & DESIGN WOODSTOCK'S DECK MAKER

STOKED longboard. ‘Skaters saw what I’d

ey’re called the 52 Crew, a er Alpha done and started asking me to make
Longboard’s address in Woodstock: 52
Wright Street. Some of the youngsters, boards for them,’ he says. For a long time,
or groms as he calls them, live in
shacks, Lingeveldt says. ‘For some of Lingeveldt’s shaping business
them, skating’s the one happy, feel-
good thing in their lives. was operating entirely Visit Kent
hand-to-mouth, he says, Lingeveldt’s Alpha
‘Coming from the Cape Flats, I and he spent eight years Longboards workshop and
know about the lack of options for working out of a 3x3 skate shop at 52
kids. I know what skateboarding has metre space. Until a Wright Street, Woodstock,
done for me, and how it a ected me. few years ago, he says
And these kids are stoked – because he was lucky to sell one Cape Town,
it’s something positive they want to do. alphalongboards.com.
And I’m stoked they’re stoked. I’m like
the old man of the mountain and they board a month. But recently
keep me grounded.
there’s been an explosion of
‘It’s incredible to see the groms in
action. ey watch me for ve minutes interest in skateboarding, which has also
and be doing something I’ve been
trying to get right for two years.’ earned wide-scale legitimacy – even

With no local shapers to turn to for advice, being tolerated and promoted by city outsources his deck art to local artists,
Lingeveldt had to figure it out for himself.
‘I didn’t have Internet so I was kind of authorities. Longboarding has taken off, among them Kayalethu Witbooi, illustrator
winging it, reinventing the wheel a bit. I
chatted with people in various industries. and Lingeveldt’s business has boomed. Atang Tsakari, and tattoo artist
To learn how to bend wood I spoke to boat
builders in Kalk Bay. And for the fibre- His customised decks are in demand as Rico Swanepoel.
glassing, I spoke to friends who
make surfboards.’ far away as Australia. ‘Something that ‘People tell me I should get a bigger

Lingeveldt soaked in all that knowledge unites all skateboarders, is that it’s always workshop space,’ says Lingeveldt, ‘but I
and used it to successfully fashion his first
been about self-expression. It’s always think back to those years when I was

been about customisation. “How do I working in that tiny shoebox and

make this mine?” That’s what we try to I realise that I’m stoked to be

do with art on boards – making sure that where I am right now, living

no two boards are the same.’ Lingeveldt my dream.’

140 NOVEMBER 2017 kulula.com





MIND YOUR HEAD TECHNOLOGY & GAMES

Drones have started to dron esGAME OF
infiltrate almost every
aspect of our lives,
from sublime aerial
photographs and stunning
videos, right through to
unapologetic voyeurism.
Andrew Thompson reveals
some surprising uses
for these flying robots.

HUMAN DELIVERY punch in the destination, and then sit a drone-riding maniac to deliver a football
back in wide-eyed terror until the flight to the referee at the Portuguese Cup
Step aside Uber, and even Amazon’s fruit concludes. The drones will land at pre- Final. In a scene that would have been a
and veg delivery drones. It’s only a matter determined spots throughout the city, and better fit for a Back to the Future remake,
of time before drones start transporting then return to their starting points for the a moustached man in a black jumpsuit
people above city skies with alarming ease next passenger. wobbled above thousands of fans with
and autonomy. the match football tucked precariously
Portuguese drone developers decided to beneath his left arm. In the short clip of
Earlier this year Dubai’s transportation beat Dubai to it with human deliveries in a
agency chief got wealthy sci-fi fans all hot slightly less reassuring manner. They used the incident that went viral it
under the collar with the announcement appears as if everyone was
that human-carrying drones would soon just relieved not to lose an
rise up above the city skies. arm to one of the buzzing
According to Mattar blades before the match
al-Tayer, the government had even started.
has been experimenting with
these crafts for some time, and
the first flights are due to take off
sometime this year.

The pilotless drones will carry
a single passenger with a small
suitcase for up to 30 minutes. The
passenger simply needs to hop aboard,

kulula.com NOVEMBER 2017 143

TECHNOLOGY & GAMES MIND YOUR HEAD

THE END OF FIREWORKS Gaga, always ahead of the technology
curve, performed at the Super Bowl with
Providing a youngster with all-important 300 of the dancing robotic creatures above
career advice? It might be time to suggest her, climaxing in a formation of a giant
drone pilot instead of pyrotechnician. fluttering American flag.
That’s because the days of ostentatious
fireworks displays are numbered. Instead, China recently beat all of these displays
terrifying swarms of micro drones, the launch of 1 000 drones at the annual
equipped with bright spotlights, are set Lantern Festival in Guangzhou, creatively
to take over the skies on momentous creating the number ‘1 000’ in the sky,
occasions like New Year’s Eve. and throwing in an emoticon or two for
good measure.
Disney, the Super Bowl, and a number
of cities around the world have already Beautiful displays aside, the most
teamed up with computing giant Intel to remarkable – and alarming – thing about
roll out epic night-time drone displays
in the skies above their key attractions. this new aerial spectacle is
Though the thought of this might have that it takes just one
pyromaniacs rolling their eyes, it’s actually person to control
a lot more epic than it sounds. an army of 1 000
drones. What
Last November, Disney sent 300 could possibly
of the buzzing contraptions into the go wrong?
skies above Orlando’s Walt Disney
World shopping district to perform
a choreographed after-dark display.
The brightly lit drones flew in a perfect
formation that started out looking like
a galaxy of surreal stars, and ended
up as a rotating 3D Christmas tree,
a dove, and a trotting reindeer.

Sydney jumped on the bandwagon
recently and recreated their famed Opera
House in the skies above the city. And Lady

144 NOVEMBER 2017 kulula.com





MIND YOUR HEAD TECHNOLOGY & GAMES

DRONES TO THE RESCUE NOVEMBER 2017 147

It’s no secret that drones have been used
to take thousands of lives in military
operations. But now that they’ve made
their way into the hands of the public,
they’re being used to save lives rather than
erase them.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police
have been using drones in search and
rescue missions in Nova Scotia and
Saskatoon to good effect. Rather than
finding a large helicopter and smiling
human waving down at them, stranded
hikers have been looking up to see a small,
whirring, unmanned aerial vehicle hovering
above. Though this may be slightly less
reassuring than an actual mountain
rescue team, it’s an important first step
to help the pro rescuers map out the best
approach, and to let victims know that
help is on the way.

A Dutch student has taken it a step
further by developing a full-on ambulance
drone that can land at the site of a medical
emergency. It will provide bystanders with
basic equipment to stabilise heart attack
victims while waiting for a traditional
ambulance to arrive. These ambulance
drones have built-in defibrillators and an
on-board camera and mic so that experts
can talk noble bystanders through the
process of saving a life.

kulula.com

TECHNOLOGY & GAMES MIND YOUR HEAD

BAYWATCH 2.0 they’ll save you buoy to a swimmer in distress
without getting so much as in a matter of minutes.
The next time you find yourself in a toe wet in the process. Though this may mean less
difficulty while at sea, don’t expect a chance of a fairytale rescue by the
buxom blonde (or David Hasselhof, for that If drone company HELPER has lifeguard of your dreams, you’ll stand a
matter) to come striding across the sand its way, a fleet of high-powered airborne much better chance of survival, according
and wading into the shallows. Instead, life-saver drones will do the hard work to the organisation. In fact, they claim to
your assistance will be somewhat less instead. Their high-tech ocean-based have helped 50 swimmers in difficulty
humanised. Human lifeguards of the aerial crafts weigh just 3.9 kg and can fly during the testing phase alone.
future will be nimble-thumbed teens up to 80 km/h, and they can drop a life
relaxing in a recliner on the beach, and

PUTTING AN END TO SHARK ATTACKS Pictures: Miss cupcake hair/shutterstock.com, KateMacate/shutterstock.com,
Manekina Serafima/shutterstock.com, Supplied
Cape Town leads the way with aerial shark spotting, thanks to the
effective Shark Spotter programme which places binocular wielding kulula.com
humans on slopes above busy bays. But it’s only a matter of time
before tech takes over.

The reality is that as good as these spotters are, research says
humans can only accurately detect sharks from aerial images and
footage about 30% of the time.

Though it may sound like the premise for a new Jaws sequel,
Australia has decided to take the guesswork out of shark spotting
with the use of special shark-detecting AI drones. These drones hover

above the backline of problem beaches and stream a live feed to
an operator nearby. The operator then uses purpose-built shark
profiling software that can identity them in the water in real-
time, and with 90% accuracy. When the report comes back that
there’s a shark getting a bit too close for comfort, operators can
sound the alarm and get bathers and surfers to safety before
an ocean-based calamity.

148 NOVEMBER 2017