Khuluma October 2018

A PLACE FEW DARE VISIT EXPLORE

THE KINGDOM OF

Kush

Its nafe fay be associated with the wrong
kinds of headlines, but if adventure is your
thing, follow Lerato Mogoatlhe across the
Sudan and discover a place where it’s still

possible to get lost in tife

K ush was an ancient
kingdom in Nubia, a vast
region that covered what
is today Sudan and parts of Egypt
and Ethiopia. In ancient times, it was
referred to as the land of the children
of Hamm, who was the son of Noah
who made such a name for himself
by building a great ark in preparation
for the Great Flood.

kulula.cof OCTOBER 2018 99

100 OCTOBER 2018 The Sudanese today still reference
the Old Testament in the story of
their origins, and it doesn’t take too
much imagination to evoke that
ancient past. Much of life in modern
Sudan looks like a snapshot from the
earliest days of mythical creation:
women enfold their bodies with
colourful shawls and men wear
jalabiyas and turbans wrapped into a
round pile over their heads.

As in many Muslim countries, life
comes to a standstill five times a
day for prayers. Prayer is woven into
life. Some restaurants have prayer
rooms, and everywhere that people
are found there are plastic jugs with
water so that ritual cleansing can be
performed by those who stop to pray.

There is also the vast desert
landscape that I travelled through
in a bus to reach Meroë, a city on
the Nile River, where the land has
forests of palm trees. I took tuk-tuks
around town, driving past pastel pink
and green houses and shops selling
beans, hibiscus flowers, spices, and
other dried foods from sacks left
at the entrances. Life here – with
smartphones, cheap mobile data and
fast connections – is very much 2018,
but the feeling of being back at the
beginning of the world lingers.

It’s in the old man ambling across a
field on his donkey; in the way people
eat from communal plates; and how
everyone is invited to tuck in. It was
startling, the lengths people went to
to make me feel welcome. People like
Bashir who invited me over for tea
with his family, and served up a feast
of biscuits, sweets, shortbreads, and
dates with sesame seeds.

kulula.com

A PLACE FEW DARE VISIT EXPLORE

Near the town
of Meroë, Nubia's
pyramids, smaller than
those in Egypt, stand
isolated and seldom
visited, feeling vaguely
lost in the desert

Frankly, Mproë would bp just anothpr Plus, thprp’s thp fact that thp history of thp mouth of thp cavp was too narrow,
dpsolatp placp in gfrica wprp it not for thp ancipnt Nubian pyramids is pntirply so wp couldn’t gpt insidp to pxplorp.
thp rpmains of thp Kingdom of Nubia. uncuratpd – thprp wprp no placards nor Instpad, wp starpd down at flat-roofpd
Thp rock fragmpnts of what was oncp an brochurps to tpll mp what was what. housps frpshly paintpd in pastpl pink and
pmpirp stand on thp pdgp of thp dpsprt in g fpw signboards pointing towards thp limp and purplp.
thp shapp of small pyramids with brokpn landmarks is as much acknowlpdgpmpnt
cornprs. Thp first of thpsp was built around as thpsp monumpnts gpt. Back down bplow, wp walkpd around
890 BCE and ypt, unlikp thp onps in Egypt, thp hill and found thp rpmains of thp king’s
thprp arp no throngs of tourists, no touts I was fortunatp, though. I managpd to court. gll that’s lpft arp brokpn granitp
nor hustlprs with pprsistpnt dpmands to bpfripnd two Sudanpsp guys who wprp pillars and smooth stonps bparing ancipnt
buy sompthing. visiting Mproë from Khartoum. Mohampd Grppk and Roman inscriptions. Thpsp wprp
and Djibril spokp English and grabic – wp lpft inscribpd by Kushitps at thp hpight of
Thp isolation and lack of buzz madp bpcomp instant fripnds and wp walkpd up thpir powpr whpn morp than 40 kings and
Sudan thp most ppacpful holiday I’vp pvpr a rocky hill callpd Gpbpl Barkal togpthpr. quppns wpnt on a pyramid building sprpp
had. On thp downsidp, though, no onp Calling it a mountain, as Djibril did, might around Mproë. Thpy lpft bptwppn 200 and
pvpr sppmpd to know whprp I was going. havp bppn strptching it, though. gt thp top, 300 pyramids.

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EXPLORE A PLACE FEW DARE VISIT

Our next stop was Nuri where the From the taxi driver’s animated Mohammed confessed that he knew
pyramids – around 82 of them – look even response to the picture, I assumed he nothing about the place in the picture so
older than those in Meroë. Most have tops knew where this curious place was. He had taken me to the museum hoping I
and corners missing, and some have been summoned a friend who spoke English. wouldn’t notice the difference.
looted brick by brick to build houses. The friend explained that the taxi driver
knew where it was but was too busy to Back in town, I furiously set about
Back in Meroë, I found myself staying at take me there. Instead, he summoned finding the actual location of the building in
an upmarket place with a swimming pool another friend, Mohammed – yes, I met the photograph and finally received word
and tennis court, and in my room a mini several men with this name every day. from a friend in Khartoum that what I was
fridge stocked with nothing but water and Mohammed said he would take me to this searching for was a place called
a TV playing nothing but Middle Eastern mysterious place for R300. He was also Old Dongola; it lay some 80km upstream.
channels. Mubarak, the hotel manager, keen to point out that he was a man of
was super-courteous and after he found great influence and could make museum Getting there was complicated. The
me at mosque, seemed to develop an doors open for me if we arrived after hours. following morning, I took a minibus that
instantaneous crush on me. He then I thought I’d hit the travel jackpot. dropped me at an intersection where I
followed me around asking me to be his caught a bakkie that transferred me to a
second wife. But my excitement quickly turned into spot on the bank of the Nile River. There, I
a tantrum when it turned out that instead waited for a boat which, I was told, would
I declined all his offers and from of reaching the beehive-shaped building in take me to the place in my picture.
Meroë took a minibus to Dongola where I my picture, we were in the Kerma Museum
searched for a taxi to take me to a place where a small collection of artefacts In the end, all my efforts were utterly
I knew only from a picture I’d found using includes granite statues of pharaohs. It worthwhile. The boat arrived at Dunqulā
Google. It was of a beehive-shaped mud was lovely, but it wasn’t the nameless al-Ajūz, which, back in the 4th century, was
hut. In the picture, a man in a white robe place in my picture. I seethed, expressed a thriving cultural and spiritual centre. All
stands in the doorless entrance and I was my dismay, and gave Mohammed an that’s left now is a fort and a collection
fascinated: I needed to turn the picture into indignant look. of broken pillars. I walked slowly for less
a real memory. than a kilometre towards the building in
my photograph. What I found,

Ruins
of the Temple
of Amun in Naga,
near the pyramids
to the south of the
ancient city of

Meroë

102 OCTOBER 2018 kulula.com





A PLACE FEW DARE VISIT EXPLORE

Old
Dongola is a
deserted ancient
city in Nubia; it is
dotted with the tombs
of Islamic holy men,
now shrouded by

silence

Pictures: Claudiovidr/shutterstock.com, knovakov/shutterstock.com, Kertu/shutterstock.com, eventually, was a collection of about 16 tomb was a simple wooden structure spectres of ancient inhabitants. I poked
Martchan/shutterstock.com, HomoCosmicos/shutterstock.com, knovakov/shutterstock.com conical mud huts, most of them ruined. that might have been a makeshift bed my head inside each of the structures.
The tombs of Islamic holy men, they are shrouded by a piece of torn cloth. I had Where, I wondered, were the camera-
over 900 years old, and when I arrived, I learnt that some of these tombs around toting tourists? The archaeologists? The
had them all to myself. Old Dongola had been discovered with scientists? The museum curators or
mummies and Biblical inscriptions inside. ticket sellers? It was insanely deserted,
The first tomb I entered was lit by There was a ghostly presence, to be sure, like a place that has fallen off the map or
sunlight entering via a small opening in but the place seemed more haunted disappeared out of time. This, I figured,
the roof. It was bare except for a numerical by silence and loneliness than by the was how history itself gets lost.
inscription on the wall. Inside the second

kulula.com OCTOBER 2018 105

MISSING
LINKS

Some call hsm a charlatan, whsle others belseve he’s
unearthed the keys that unlock the mystery of human
exsstence. Anthony Sharpe josns Mschael Tellsnger on the
trasl of a lost csvslssatson that convensently left sts footprsnts
sn the form of stone rusns sn the hslls of Mpumalanga

106 OCTOBER 2018 kulula.com

A LOST CIVILISATION EXPLORE

kulula.com OCTOBER 2018 107

EXPLORE A LOST CIVILISATION

P ilot Johan Heine was flying technologies the focus of his
above a dramatic landscape life’s work – he’s authored
of ancient mountains books and given
near the village of Kaapschehoop in countless lectures
Mpumalanga when he noticed a strange on the subject.
formation of rocks – three monolithic
standing stones surrounded by a circle of Tellinger believes that the
smaller stones – on a grassy hill. He was ruins, documented by archaeologists as
intrigued by the mysterious monoliths, early as the late-19th century, hold
as he was by the many stone circles that special significance. He named the
dotted the area. To his mind, these stones phenomenon ‘Adam’s Calendar’
had been placed there for a reason. He and believes the site is closely
believed he was on to something big… linked with the origins of
humankind in southern
Heine’s sighting happened in 2003 Africa, a theory based
but it wasn’t until 2007 that he found on knowledge
anyone who shared his fascination drawn from ancient
with the stones. That’s when he met tablets detailing
Michael Tellinger, an author, musician the Sumerian creation
and explorer with a well-documented myth. ‘These texts
passion for the unexplained. Tellinger, speak in great detail
who has a degree in pharmaceutics, about the human race,
had made ancient civilisations and their the creation and cloning
of a new species, and beings
called the Anunna gods, or 3.6 circles per hectare. He multiplied
Anunnaki, and they refer to Adam’s that by the extent of these clusters and
Calendar – or Inzalo Ye Langa, Birthplace reached the conclusion that there are
of the Sun, as it’s known in African possibly 10 million of these structures
shamanic terms – where humanity was dotted across southern Africa.
created by the gods.’
Most historical explanations for the
FOOTPRINTS OF structures are that they were used as
THE GODS dwellings and cattle kraals, and that they
were constructed in the early 1800s by
Adam’s Calendar was only the beginning, the Koni people.
however. As Heine and Tellinger
investigated the other stone ruins in But Tellinger disagrees. ‘The one thing
the area, they uncovered a network of overlooked constantly by historians is
structures across a vast area. Using that the original structures have no doors
Google Earth and aerial photographs, and entrances, so they couldn’t have been
Tellinger looked for areas where the constructed as dwellings for people or
stone circles were concentrated, and animals. Their original purpose was
worked out that there were on average

Tellinger had made ancient civilisations and their technologies the
focus of his life’s work

108 OCTOBER 2018 kulula.com





A LOST CIVILISATION EXPLORE

something different; they’re most likely purpose of which was the Yes, Tellinger believes that
energy-generating devices, extraction of gold on an enormous scale humans were made by aliens
which link to an ancient for a race of extraterrestrial beings called in order to toil as gold miners. The
civilisation with the knowledge the Anunna, who created humanity as theory, he says, can be found in the
of advanced technology. slave labour. aforementioned Sumerian texts. ‘The
ancient tablets talk about a time before
‘We’ve done extensive electronic and Er, what? time, when these Anunna beings were
scientific measurements with very very active in southern Africa, which they
advanced tools that show these sites refer to as Abzu, the gold-mining empire
are highly advanced technological of Enki. They were mining gold on
devices that work with the a spectacular scale using technology
vibrational frequencies rising
out of the earth.’ What’s more, that we don’t understand.’
Tellinger says that these The Anunna have been
‘vibrational frequencies’ are
amplified by the quartz that’s written about by other authors,
in the rock resulting in what he most notably Zecharia Sitchin,
calls ‘a powerful magnetic and an Azerbaijani-born US writer who
electromagnetic field’. quoted extensively from translations
of the Sumerian tablets described by
Beyond all this talk of many historians as dubious. Rather than
frequencies and advanced merely expanding upon Sitchin’s work,
technology, Tellinger’s explanations however, Tellinger says he has provided
grow increasingly convoluted, ultimately the physical evidence for what
leading to the conclusion that each others have only written
stone circle represents ‘a prime about. ‘The discovery of
resonance frequency’. these ruins has lifted
the veil on an ancient
These structures, he says, are all linked history that no
by channels into a giant grid capable of one has
generating vast amounts of energy, the

TIME TRIP e calendar, however, is out of alignment, under-examined history should have
by 3.25° anticlockwise. ‘ is suggests that it profound significance for southern Africa’s
Tellinger and fellow enthusiast Johan Heine was built at a time when the true north- tourism worth. ‘We’re dealing with the
have matched the alignment of the stones south-east-west alignments were not where most critical and important archaeological
of the Adam’s Calendar in Mpumalanga to they are today,’ says Tellinger, ‘which poses a discovery in the last hundred years,’ he
that of the cardinal points, the solstices and very interesting new scientific puzzle.’ says. ‘It should turn South Africa into the
the equinoxes. ‘It’s the oldest working sun Although claims about Adam’s Calendar new tourist destination for people who’ve
calendar on earth,’ says Tellinger. ‘You can and the surrounding ruins have not been overdosed on Egypt, Çatalhöyük and
tell every day of the year from the setting accepted by the incumbent archaeological Pumapunku.’
sun, which casts a shadow on the calendar or scientific establishments, they have To see Adam’s Calendar for yourself and
stone. It’s also aligned with Great Zimbabwe drawn attention to a relatively poorly hear Tellinger’s theories told in situ, visit
in the north. And if you extend that line, understood part of Mpumalanga’s history. stonecircletours.co.za and plan a trip into
you end up at the Great Pyramid of Giza, Tellinger believes this unacknowledged, the unknown.
so it is significantly placed on a very specific
longitudinal line: 31° east.’

kulula.com OCTOBER 2018 111

EXPLORE A LOST CIVILISATION

‘I’ve also discovered the remains of giant lizards and humanoids up to
10, 20 times the size of normal humans.'

written about and no one knows about,’ Andrew Collins is a British author found claims that the site was between
enthuses Tellinger. with considerable interest in the area 75 000 and 200 000 years old impossible
of ancient civilisations, having written to validate. ‘There is no astronomical or
Tellinger claims he possesses the books on Atlantis, real-life angels and geophysical mechanism that can be
physical proof, too. He has assembled the origins of humankind. In 2011, he used to determine the construction
the tools that he says were used for visited Adam’s Calendar and other date of a site beyond a precessional
this technology, and he displays them in stone ruins with Heine and Tellinger. cycle of 26 000 years. This determines
his own museum. ‘I’ve also discovered He was intrigued by the site and shared the positions on the horizon where stars
the remains of giant lizards, possibly Tellinger’s assertion that the stones have rise and set, and can be used to suggest
dinosaurs, and humanoids up to 10, 20 been placed purposefully, some of them the age of a monument. However, even
times the size of normal humans. This is in a manner similar to that of megalithic then, the choice of which stars the
all in my museum – it’s not questionable structures in Europe and other areas. builders might have been interested in is
or debatable.’ Seeking evidence of the site’s validity as a subjective and open to debate. Claims, for
calendar, he conducted further research. instance, that Adam’s Calendar is aligned
THE SHADOW OF DOUBT Collins asked British engineer Rodney to the rising of Orion’s Belt 75 000 years
Hale to determine the archaeoastronomy ago are thus meaningless, for they can
Tellinger may think he has an airtight of the site. ‘Hale has worked on never be substantiated.’
grip on historical and archaeological fact, determining the alignments of sites
but the establishment isn’t convinced. In in every part of the world, including Tellinger, however, is emphatic. To his
fact, even those in the ‘alternative history’ the Giza Pyramids, Göbekli Tepe [in mind, the evidence is there to see, and
fraternity have misgivings. Turkey] and Gunung Padang in Java,’ his focus now is on preserving the ruins
says Collins. ‘He found no compelling from encroachment by farming, town and
road development, so that they might be Illustration: Patrick Latimer
astronomical alignments at all at further studied and understood. ‘I’ve got
Adam’s Calendar.’ to believe that we live our lives with some
Collins also sort of predetermined destiny,’ he says.
‘The role that I’m playing is obvious, and I
like to believe that somehow it landed in
my lap because I was able to understand

and decipher it, while thousands before
me have not been able to.’

112 OCTOBER 2018 kulula.com



SCREEN

EVERYWHERE

QLED 2018

No more messy cords and
a choice of modes and
styles that blend seamlessly
with your décor

Seeking to produce a TV that blends in Décor: Consumers can choose between that range from 2 to 10 nanometers in diameter.
with any space, going beyond simply interior décor elements to meet their taste and The colour light that a quantum dot emits is
being beautiful in design, Samsung wall decorations. Ambient scenery choices directly related to its size; smaller dots appear
has introduced the value of ‘Screen include mountains, water, clocks, etc. blue, larger ones redder. In LCD screens, they’re
Everywhere’ to its TV design. applied as a way of eliminating the need for
Info: Quick feeds of useful information such white LED backlights and colour filters.
One Invisible Connection: A hybrid cable as time, weather and news* are offered.
that integrates the data signal cable and Samsung Smart TVs are equipped with the
the TV’s power cord. With a newly-developed, *Weather and news are available in a limited number highest level of security in the industry. During
15-metre-long transparent power cord and the product design process, Samsung works
cable, the One Invisible Connection is able of territories. with its internal and external experts in this area
to connect the One Connect Box and can to produce a safe product in terms of security.
be hidden from sight. Now the messy tangles Photo: Through the SmartThings app, photos Samsung has also gained an international
of cables from connected peripheral on users’ mobile devices and the Samsung security certification for three years in a row.
devices as well as the TV’s power cable Cloud can be displayed on the wall. In 2015, 2016 and 2017, Samsung Smart
can all integrate into a single strand of TVs received the Common Criteria security
transparent cable.The cable was certified for Music: Through Bluetooth connections, certification reserved for TV products.
safety by leading international certification music can be played while Ambient Mode’s
organisations including UL, ISO, US HHS visual content (décor, info and photo) are on Developing and building its KNOX security
Management Standard, etc.The plug-in the screen, elevating the space further. platform for its Smart TVs, Samsung is
method was newly developed and allows applying a three-layered security solution that
the cable ports on the back of the TV to Synced with mobile signals, Ambient Mode covers hardware, platform and application.
be easily attached and detached. QLED detects whether there is a person nearby Additionally, communication with external
TVs come standard with a 5m cable, but or not. It also detects the ambient brightness services is encrypted to prevent critical data
consumers have the option of buying a in its surroundings to know when the TV is in from being extorted or modified.
15m cable. use and not in use. Based on these highly
advanced technologies, Ambient Mode Samsung partners with the industry’s leading
Ambient Mode: A mode that provides features a function to automatically turn the security companies and is collaborating with
consumers with a variety of information in real- screen on and off to save power. Ambient McAfee to provide the anti-malware security
time and helps the TV blend with consumer’s Mode uses the TV’s automatic luminance service “McAfee Security for TV” on its Smart TVs.
spaces even when the TV is not in use. adjustment sensor to offer optimised Samsung will stay committed to providing safe
brightness according to the ambient lighting products and services to its consumers.
in the room – this reduces power consumption.

QLED TVs make use of quantum dot
technology. Quantum dots are small particles



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ADVENTURE MACHINES DISCOVER

roadLOSE THE
Whether you’re bundu bashing on
safari or blazing your own trail
into the back of beyond, these four
hard-wearing machines will get
you where you need to be – far
from the known world, if necessary

THE PRECIOUS interior is done out in soft-touch trim
and comfy leather. But don’t let the
In 1947, on the shores of Red Wharf preciousness of the cabin dull the fact
Bay in Anglesey, Wales, an automotive that this is one of the most capable
engineer named Maurice Wilks sketched SUVs in its class; it eats dirt trails and
what would later become the Land tricky obstacles for breakfast. It is every
Rover Defender. Little did he know, but bit the tough four-wheel explorer its
his doodle – depicting two boxes with a name implies, and – like its forebears – is
wheel at each corner – would go on to designed to take on the unknown and
define the world of vehicle overlanding journey across rough terrain with ease.
forever. Today, Land Rover’s portfolio It wears the company’s contemporary
brims with opulent and refined vehicles design riffs without diminishing any of
such as the Evoque, Velar, Range Rover its more rugged DNA. If you go to the
Sport and Discovery Sport. Of all these, trouble of owning one of these babies,
it’s the all-new Land Rover Discovery just make sure you give it the chance to
that truly epitomises the brand’s ethos, fulfil its destiny – which means getting
which these days combines unrivalled off the tar and into the unknown…
off-road functionality with luxury
finishes and fine looks. Its cocoon-like

kulula.com OCTOBER 2018 117

DISCOVER ADVENTURE MACHINES

THE CONQUEROR THE TRAILBLAZER

It’s been around in various shapes If it’s genuine trailblazing you’re after, you won’t get any better than the Jeep
and sizes since the early 1980s nameplate. Its bloodline goes all the way back to the 1941 Willys MB, the US Army
but its intended purpose has never Truck which actually inspired the design of the original Land Rover. A burly and
changed: to explore and conquer. chunky-looking thing that first trudged onto the scene in 1986, the Jeep Wrangler
The new, fourth-generation is one of the brand’s most popular models. Sporting the company’s fabled seven-bar
Toyota Land Cruiser Prado may grille, it took the American market by storm before conquering international markets
share many commonalities with with an aesthetic based very much on the original Willys. And conquering is what the
the ultra-suave Lexus GX, but Wrangler does best – especially on gravel trails and technical terrain. The Wrangler
it’s the Land Cruiser that most is one of the few remaining four-wheel-drive vehicles with solid front and rear axles,
enthusiasts swoon over – partly renowned for its durability, strength, and articulation. A tapered nose design with
owing to its impressively appointed flared fenders, a fold-flat windshield and removable doors and roof further enhance
cabin, gargantuan proportions its popularity and customisation. Whether used as a daily drive, a weekend boulevard
and commanding driving position. cruiser or bona fide off-roader, the Wrangler will never disappoint. In fact, it’s the
The Prado’s only foibles – and Wrangler’s propensity to adapt to any situation that’s made it one of the most popular
this is nitpicking – are its alloy Jeeps to date. And, apart from what it’s capable of, it has a way of making the driver
wheels which ultimately hamper look pretty cool, too!
progress on gravel roads and rocky
off-road trails where obstacles
may pose a challenge. There is a
small solution: the Land Cruiser
Prado Utility. It’s naturally more
utilitarian than cosmopolitan with
17-inch steel wheels and a shorter
wheelbase equipping it to go bundu
bashing with confidence; think of it
more as a Prado Mini. In terms of
aesthetics, it’s very much standard
Prado fare save for the two-door
body configuration which adds a
sense of sportiness. Plus, the glut
of onboard features will appeal
to lift-club moms and city-bound
millennials from Bishopscourt to
Bedfordview: front fog lights, auto
headlights, cruise control, smart
entry, six-speaker infotainment,
Bluetooth with USB and five
airbags are all part of the package.
The trick is to make sure you aim
this beauty towards the open roads
and the rough trails beyond.

118 OCTOBER 2018 kulula.com





ADVENTURE MACHINES DISCOVER

Words: Aaron Borrill, Pictures: Supplied EXTREME PHONE ENVY THE POCKET ROCKET several years later, the Jimny concept
was spawned. Fast forward 40 years and
If roughing it is part of your regular Often ignored in favour of more the fourth-generation Jimny is scheduled
routine, then the new Land Rover established stock, the Suzuki Jimny to hit showrooms across the country
Explore Outdoor Phone might come remains one of the most accomplished next month. Its retro styling represents
in handy. Designed for everyday off-roaders money can buy – especially a throwback to the original LJ10 of the
explorers, adventurers and sporty here in South Africa. Much like its 1970s, with an off-roading repertoire that
types who regularly hit the waves contemporaries, the Jimny stems from belies its dinky-car-like appearance. The
or trails in rough conditions, this a lineage that spans nearly four decades, Jimny has crafted a niche for itself in the
hard-wearing gadget will keep you but it came to life under a very different urban jungle where peak-hour traffic, kerb
connected to the outside world set of circumstances to the Discovery hopping and mall parking yards will pose
even in severe climactic conditions. and Land Cruiser. In the 1950s, the its biggest set of challenges. That doesn’t
Designed for Land Rover by UK Japanese government propagated the mean it isn’t any good when things get
tech innovation company, Bullitt development of the Keijidosha or Kei car bumpy – in fact, despite its mite-sized
Group, it’s drop tested to 1.8 metres, to comply with the government’s tax proportions, the Jimny is one of the most
and it’s not only splash proof, dust policies that limited vehicle dimensions competent off-roaders around.
resistant, and able to survive under and engine sizes at the time. Suzuki led
water (including salt water), but can the charge in this new category and
withstand extreme temperatures,
thermal shock, humidity and intense
vibration. is makes it the kind of
phone you can take out on wet, muddy
and rough trails, fasten to a watercra
or sling over a shoulder in any
imaginable weather. Its touchscreen
can be operated with wet fingers and
with gloves on, too. e phone comes
with an add-on Adventure Pack that
extends battery life, includes a patch
antenna to improve GPS accuracy,
and enables topographic mapping
with Skyline augmented reality.
ruggedphones.co.za

pictures: xxxxxxx

kulula.com OCTOBER 2018 121



CONNECT & COLLECTTHINGS WORTH HAVING DISCOVER

Words: Keith Bain, Pictures: Supplied 1 Joburg’s Ticketpro Dome hosts FIBO 1 and all give some penetrating insight into
Global Fitness Africa, the world’s biggest the South African story.
trade show dedicated to fitness, health grappa and limoncello, Italian olive oil,
and wellbeing, this month. Divided into fresh vegetables and Italian wheats 5 The Cape Town International Boat
eight different zones, there will be a that are grown, cultivated and hand Show, South Africa’s premier boating and
section dedicated to health and fitness harvested on the farm. ayama.co.za luxury lifestyle event takes place at the
travel, one focused on technology, and 4 David Bristow’s latest book, The V&A Waterfront from 19 to 21 October.
one devoted to children. And in the Game Ranger, the Knife, the Lion and Expect a display of the world’s finest
FitStudio workout zone there’ll be aerial the Sheep has just been published by yachts, catamarans and exotic boats
yoga, Zumba and other active sessions to Jacana. It’s full of tales about incredible with experiential elements for visitors,
join. 26–28 October, fibosa.co.za South African characters such as Krotoa, including boat rides, workshops and skills
the Khoi woman who worked for Jan Van training. boatshow.co.za
2 With its 321 micro-pavé round Riebeeck as a servant and interpreter
brilliant black diamonds and two and later became the wife of a Danish 6 The follow-up to The Search for the
marquise-shape emeralds, the Shimansky surgeon. There are stories of farmer’s Rarest Bird in the World, Vernon Head’s
Untamed Panther ring is 5.33 carats and wives, trekboers, Herculean explorers, new novel, A Tree for the Birds, is another
is handcrafted in 18K white gold. There are historians, archaeologists and geologists, masterful piece of nature writing. It tells
other panthers in the collection, and the the tale of three people heading deep
rings are also available in yellow, rose and into the jungle world of the Congo River.
black gold, and can be crafted to your Expect rich prose packed with powerful
specifications by Shimansky’s master descriptions of Africa’s birdlife.
jewellers. shimansky.com
7 This ‘Dotty Pine’ patterned apron
3 Founded and owned by an Italian is one of five fruity designs in the new
couple, Ayama is a wine farm in the range of hardwearing textile products
Voor-Paardeberg region that mirrors some by Durban-based Thandana, otherwise
of the soil and climactic conditions of known for its handmade leather
Sardinia. They are producing wine from products. The new fabric designs are
Vermentino, an Italian cultivar, and they’ve eco-friendly and the textile has been
also planted Carignan, a Spanish red grape treated with a wax-based, water-resistant
varietal. They’ve just launched their coating that increases durability and
Ayamateca Farm Store, where you can eliminates the use of plastic entirely.
pick up Ayama wines, locally made thandana.co.za

3 4 6
2 5 77

kulula.com OCTOBER 2018 123

DISCOVER TUNES WORTH FINDING

EAR WORMS

Pictures: Greyline Photography, Supplied
MR BIG

Mozambique-born, Pretoria-based Pedro Barbosa has made his name as the singer-
songwriter for Mrs B and for The Barbosa Experience. Taking his career to the next level, the
frontman with flamenco-inspired roots has just released his debut solo album. It’s called
Reborn and is a remarkable achievement worth sinking your ears into.

THE EVOLUTION OF KWAITO

Drawing inspiration from Afro-funk, neo-soul and hip-
hop, rapper Katt Daddy and songstress Yoza Mnyanda
are Joburg duo Darkie Fiction. Their neo-kwaito sound
has been described as ‘post-bubblegum pop with
pantsula swag’ and their debut EP, Sobabini: A Mzantsi
Evolution, came under the iTunes New Artist Spotlight
in August. Definitely worth a listen.

THINKING MAN’S RAP kulula.com

Known for ‘Cerebellum’, for which he received a Ghoema Music Award for
Best Hip Hop Song in 2017, PE-based rapper Early B has a witty sense of
humour and revels in his use of unique PE slang while weaving heartfelt social
commentary into his music. Aangename Kennis, his recently-launched debut
album, went to number two on the SA iTunes charts.

124 OCTOBER 2018





WHY SURVIVE WHEN YOU CAN THRIVE? DISCOVER

Self-made millionaire
Vusi Thembekwayo

is an investment
whizz whose

entrepreneurship
advice cannot be
ignored. His recently
published biography
is filled with lessons
in life and business.
Here’s an extract

that zooms in
on the value of

thinking big

y dad was a salesman. OCTOBER 2018 127
The best in the business.
He would drive all the way
from Wattville to Venda and Thabazimbi,
and come back with his boot loaded with
the best fresh vegetables money could
buy. Then he would sell them door to door.
It was as easy as selling candy in a crèche.
At the end of the day, he would show us
his fistful of cash, and we would go out for
supper to celebrate. We had money. We
were rich! Except, it wasn’t our money. It
belonged to the business.

kulula.com

DISCOVER WHY SURVIVE WHEN YOU CAN THRIVE?

The next day, the bulk of the takings but, as he stood there, in his shiny, grey tradition, maybe a little crazy too. Then
would be ploughed back into buying fresh suit, rocking on his shiny, black heels, came the bottom line. He whipped away
stock, and my dad would be back on the his hands clasped in front of him, like a the cloth to reveal… a roll of toilet paper,
road again – and again and again. We groom at the altar, he looked at us and attached by a holder to an upright board.
were survivalists. We had food on the said, ‘You can call me Mr President.’ Big He turned the board around, and on
table. Fresh vegetables, even. For my dad, thinker. Then he delivered his presidential its back side was a push-button liquid
that was enough; he didn’t want to own address. He had come up with a very dispenser, of the kind you find in the
the farm. Me, I’ve always been big on powerful product that was going to better, smarter public toilets. That was
the dreams. I don’t want to fly business change the world, he assured us. It sat his invention. He called it the iWipe. (Yet
class; I want to own the airline. I don’t another start-up entrepreneur inspired
want to go on holiday; I want to own the there on an office chair, draped with a by Steve Jobs, I thought.) Zithande, or
island. I don’t want to drive a Porsche; I black cloth that I knew was going to be should I say Mr President, explained the
want to own the factory. I don’t want to whipped off with a flourish at some point. workings of his invention to us as we
be a survivalist; But, first, he ran the numbers by us. He leaned forward in curiosity. You take a
I want to be a thrivalist. The biggest lie was looking for an investment handful of toilet paper, you apply water
that was ever sold to black people was of R1 million, which he would turn into from the dispenser to make it soft and
that they must be satisfied with thinking $100 million in a matter of months. He wet, and then, well, you ‘iWipe’. Happily,
small. Small business, small prospects, already had a deal to supply a nationwide the inventor chose not to demonstrate
small profits. Big lie! chain, with 140 outlets, and there had the use of his invention, but when it came
been interest from the US too. Very big to the moment of passing judgement, all
But the thing about big thinking is that thinker and, in the best entrepreneurial five of us on the panel, sadly, gave it a
it’s not enough – you have to think deep thumbs-down.
as well. Let me tell you a story about
the president. No, not that president – Feedback is important for a start-up
I’m talking about a guy who dared to entrepreneur. Even on reality TV, in the
venture into the Dragons’ Den one day, realm of ‘you’re fired’ and ‘you are the
to pitch a business idea and interest us weakest link’, there is nothing more
in his invention. His name was Zithande brutal or demoralising than a flat-out
no. So, before I gave my verdict, I

conceded the merits of the pitch: soft and
wet, in the circumstances, was always
going to be better than hard and dry.

‘Except,’ I added, ‘there is something
called wet wipes. And you can get them
at any branch of Dis-Chem.’

The trouble with Mr President was
that he had created a solution for a
problem that didn’t exist. He was spot on
about the potential of the market:
a report by the market-research

128 OCTOBER 2018 kulula.com





WHY SURVIVE WHEN YOU CAN THRIVE? DISCOVER

NOW READ THE REST happened to Charmagne’s business –
something that happens to almost 70
Venture capitalist and founder-CEO of MyGrowthFund and per cent of small businesses in South
IC Knowledge Bureau, Vusi embekwayo is a judge on the Africa. It failed.
entrepreneurship reality TV show, Dragons’ Den. He’s also an
internationally acclaimed speaker on finance, entrepreneurship There is a certain romance attached to
and organisational leadership. Recently published by Tafelberg, the notion of failure as a rite of passage
his new book, Vusi – Business and Life Lessons from a Black for entrepreneurs, but as a graduate
Dragon, reveals the secret to his success and how he sees the of that school, I can assure you there
world, while explaining how you can shape your own destiny. is nothing romantic about it. Failure in
business is brutal and debilitating, and it
company TechNavio predicts that the leveraging innovation and technology, makes you question everything, including
global value of the ‘toilet care’ sector and mobilising our technicians, we offer the faith you thought you had in yourself.
will reach more than $6 billion by the a unique quality service that is different Sometimes the answer, the one you don’t
end of 2019. But either he hadn’t done from the norm,’ she told us. By that, want to hear, is well tried: you’ve learnt
his own research, or he’d taken a look she meant she would send her mobile from the experience, now find something
at a wet wipe one day, had a eureka salon out to your home, your office, or else to do with your life. Which is more or
moment in reverse, deconstructed it the venue for your big event, where you less what the majority of the panel, three
to its basic constituents of tissue and would be beautified and coiffured for a out of five of us, told Charmagne when she
H2O, and thought, let me go and see if minimum fee of R800. stepped back into the Dragons’ Den. She
I can get a million bucks out of those listened, she nodded… and she ignored our
dragons. He thought big, but not deep. Initially, there was some scepticism advice. Well, the advice given by three out
among the dragons, who questioned of five of us. She sold her flat and moved
But then a certain Charmagne came whether there were enough customers back into her parents’ home. She sold her
to see us dragons. She was looking for out there prepared to pay that much car and used the proceeds to fund her
money to start a beauty salon. Hmm… for a consultation. But she had come business for another few months. The last
armed with facts and research to back I heard, she was cash-positive, but a long
A crowded market, I thought – how do her proposition. Notably, as she told us, way from being profitable, and a long way
you even begin to compete against the some 40 per cent of spend in the beauty from giving me a return on my investment.
ubiquitous Sorbet franchise? But she had and styling business goes on products But you know why I think she’ll do well?
a vehicle to match her driving ambition. and peripherals, which makes every Because she doesn’t think small.
In the lexicon of modern entrepreneurship, consultation an opportunity to up-sell.
she was an ‘Uberfor’. As in, an Uber for The more you can make your customers Her market isn’t Alex, it isn’t Joburg,
gardening, an Uber for dog walking, look good, the better things it isn’t Gauteng. Her market is New York,
an Uber for household cleaning and look for your business. Paris, London, Rome – anywhere you’ll
maintenance. Such services, which set out find people with a smartphone in their
to satisfy the deep-rooted human need to We were sold. One by one, we said, hand and an urgent need to call someone
conserve as much energy as possible – on ‘I’m in’ – a pledge that proved to be over to make them look good. An Uber for
the premise that laziness, not necessity, worth R800 000 in phased-in funding beauty, an Uber for confidence, an Uber for
is the true mother of invention – are also for Charmagne’s mobile beauty start- self-esteem. How can that not be the big
known as ODMSes, or on-demand mobile up. Off she went, delighted, to test idea that builds a big business, somewhere
services. You tap an app to summon the her service in the market. It was a hit. down the line? To me, it sounds as easy
service, at your leisure, rather than having She had rave reviews from customers as giving a pack of kids five bucks to buy
to go all the way out to find it. on the social media channels and she some sweets to sell.
was profiled as a role model for young
Charmagne’s Uberfor was an Uber black entrepreneurship by business and And I’m pretty sure that one day, no
for hair styling and beauty, which she lifestyle magazines. Then, something matter how long it takes, I’m going to get
called a 360-degree mobile salon. ‘By my money back from them as well.

kulula.com OCTOBER 2018 131







MIND-BENDY SCULPTURE DISCOVER

THsEhapeshifter
I f Wim Botha’s sculptures seem famous religious statue using maize meal.
familiar, it’s because – despite their Botha says he developed this form of
beautiful strangeness – they are
expression in order to take the viewer

often based on well-known images and by surprise. He wants to catch you off

icons. The similarities are invariably guard. Despite presenting images that

turned on their head, though, and it’s have been assimilated into popular

usually because of what Botha has consciousness, you can’t help but

chosen to sculpt with. Look deeply, look closer, deeper, longer, to find

and you’ll probably find yourself out what the heck he’s done.

getting lost in his process of creation. By executing well-known

Because, as with this bust of a man subjects using materials that

that forms part of a huge installation have their own story, Botha adds

entitled Study for the Epic Mundane, deeper layers of meaning to the

Botha’s sculptures are fashioned final sculpture. Which is why, over

from mind-bendy, unexpected and above any simple appreciation

Words: Keith Bain, Picture: Detaig from Study for the Epic Mundane by Wim Botha, materials. In this case, the face has of the strange beauty his works
photographed by Mario Todeschini, courtesy of the artist and Stevenson, Cape Town/Johannesburg
been carved from stacks of books possess, it’s difficult not to find

held together by steel rods. yourself in a staring competition with

Botha first explored this idea an inanimate object, usually while

of working with books and piles scratching your head at the sheer

of documents as a sculptural cleverness of it all.

medium in a piece entitled If you’d like to lose yourself in

Commune: Suspension of Disbelief, the genius of Botha’s imagination

a monumental Christ-like figure for a while, you can see Study

sculpted from Bibles and biblical for the Epic Mundane along with

texts that is considered his many more of his sculptures,

breakthrough work. It was first lithographs and line drawings

exhibited in 2001 in Oudtshoorn at Norval Foundation in

where it created considerable Steenberg, Cape Town, where

buzz. Since then, there have they are currently on show.

been many variations on The solo exhibition, which

this theme, and myriad runs until 28 January 2019, is

explorations of the idea of entitled Heliostat: Wim Botha

reproducing iconic images and includes key works from

using strange materials. His his career, alongside a major

Mieliepap Pietà, for example, new immersive installation.

recreates Michelangelo’s norvalfoundation.org

kulula.com OCTOBER 2018 135







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