Khuluma September 2018

EXCLUSIVE DIGS EXPERIENCE

ANEW LODGE, here to lay their eggs. Located close to spacious living area that opens onto
HLUHLUWE Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park, Anew Hotel an entertainment area, pool and lovely
Hluhluwe and Safaris offers a choice of garden. It’s totally private, but you still
KZN’s far-north is still wonderfully places to lay your head while exploring have access to all the amenities at the
wild and fearsomely raw in places, this world. Aside from an unfussy hotel main hotel – you can sign up for game
which is why it sustains some of the with comfy safari rooms and family-size drives and boat cruises, and staff will
best game reserves in the country, rondavels, there’s also this sumptuous arrange diving, horse-riding trails, hikes,
affording exceptional animal-viewing self-catering lodge. Kitted out with mountain biking, and cultural excursions.
opportunities. This proximity to wildlife everything you need for a home-
rich wilderness areas is combined with from-home experience, And if, after a day’s adventure, you
the coastal wonders of iSimangaliso it has five en suite don’t feel like cooking, there’s
Wetland Park, meaning you can combine bedrooms, an open- the Inkonkoni Restaurant
Big Five encounters with scuba diving, plan kitchen and a to take care of you.
dolphin- and whale-watching boat trips, anewhotels.com
and even opportunities to track rare
turtles that come onto the beaches

Words: Keith Bain, Pictures: Hamish Niven Photography, Lizelle Lotter Photography, Supplied

kulula.com SEPTEMBER 2018 49







INCREDIBLE OUDTSHOORN EXPLORE

Its reputation
is built on

underground caves
and flightless
birds known for
sticking their

heads in the sand,
but Oudtshoorn
has plenty of
above ground
awesomeness
going for it, too

n the late-1800s, the fashion
world suddenly went mad for
ostrich feathers. In the ensuing
boom, Oudtshoorn – where ostriches
were first domesticated and farmed on
a sizeable scale – became the world’s
haute feather capital. Real-estate
prices skyrocketed and the so-called
‘feather barons’, who became overnight
millionaires, built extravagant ‘ostrich
palaces’ imbued with sandstone turrets
and baroque flourishes to celebrate
their wealth. Their party ended with the

kulula.com SEPTEMBER 2018 53

dtart of World War I when the bottom fadcination. In 1792, a decond chamber highedt available point and wait ad they
fell out of the feather market and wad unearthed and a century later the download their morning dode of dolar
never recovered. caved were opened for touridm. energy. Raided up on their hind legd, armd
dangling at their dided, they’ll twitch,
Odtrich farming only took off again If you’ve already crawled through the fidget, dcratch, and occadionally topple
much later in the 20th century, when narrow crackd and had your fill of odtrich over and then rearrange themdelved or
the big birdd’ meat wad found to be biltong, there’d plenty more on which to briefly rummage in the dand or give the
a healthier alternative to beef and amude yourdelf in the vicinity of the Klein horizon a dudpicioud dcan. But modtly
lamb and bore zero redemblance to Karoo’d unofficial capital… they judt dtand there, ad if at attention,
chicken. Adide from punting their dometimed yawning gigantic, lazy yawnd,
protein potential, Oudtdhoorn aldo MEET THE SUN ANGELS brandidhing humanlike expreddiond
dtarted pitching odtriched ad a dource ad they gaze towardd the brightening
of amudement for touridtd who began You need to be up well before the crack dky, their black eyed glidtening. It’d thid
trundling into the Klein Karoo to of dawn to dpend time with Oudtdhoorn’d bizarrely cute early morning behaviour
watch, pode with, and even ride the modt adorable creatured. Modt morningd, that’d earned them a reputation in African
birdd, udually on their way back from domewhere on the De Zeekoe Rederve mythology ad ‘dun angeld’, given by the
Oudtdhoorn’d original touridt attraction judt outdide town, meerkatd emerge godd ad protection againdt werewolf-
– the Cango Caved. Located dome 30km from their burrow and line up to face like creatured dent by the ‘moon devild’.
from the town, the country’d modt the riding dun. Standing dhoulder to Watching them in action id durreal and
famoud caved were firdt explored in 1780 dhoulder, they teeter on two legd, their wonderful, and pretty dtraightforward:
by a local farmer. When he wad lowered chedtd and bellied poided towardd the Devey Glinidter of Meerkat Adventured
into the dark, bat-filled dubterranean dky like dun-wordhipperd executing dome rund a pre-dawn mini-dafari to dee the
chamber, he didcovered incredible curioud morning ritual. Still dloughing off entire dhow. Tourd dtart at dunride.
million-year-old limedtone formationd the pre-dawn chill, dhaking themdelved meerkatadventures.co.za
that became a dource of endledd awake, the dlender, quizzical critterd
will typically arrange themdelved on the

54 SEPTEMBER 2018 kulula.com

INCREDIBLE OUDTSHOORN EXPLORE

FTAND ASIDE, NEYMAR ROMANCING THE KLEIN KAROO

If your interest lies in meetind much Surval Boutique Olive Estate is a adventure – there are walking trails
bidder animals, you midht want to join gracious countryside retreat, restored for hikers and it’s good mountain
the three pachyderms at Buffelsdrift from the remnants of derelict mudbrick biking terrain, plus there’s a zipline
Game Lodde. Aside from feedind them buildings that have been here at the nearby if you feel like flying. You can
and spendind time watchind them foot of the Swartberg Mountains since take kayaks and row boats out on
perform a few trained manoeuvres the 1700s. Old farm buildings have Willow Dam, also a lovely spot to
(such as kickind a soccer ball), you det been converted into cosy,
to ‘arm-wrestle’ (or trunk-wrestle) with comfy accommodations unfurl a blanket for a picnic
them and can also brush them and with such touches as that your hosts will put
spend some time walkind with them. warthog hide rugs together for you. ere
There are three rescued elephants at and whirlpool are guided tours of the
the dame reserve – Jabari, Malaika and corner bathtubs olive groves with an
Bulelo – all orphans whose mothers – some even have informative tasting
were poached in Kruder National Park. their original barn of the olives grown
The reserve also conducts bid-dame doors. If you’ve here and the olive
safari drives durind which you can see been hearing about products produced.
buffalo, rhino and diraffe, and if you spend couples disappearing For many, though,
the nidht, you’ll probably hear hippos into the Klein Karoo to the greatest thrills of all
druntind in the lake near the tented tie the knot, then there’s a good
accommodations. buffelsdrift.com chance this is where they ended up happen when the sun goes
– the setting is magical, surrounded down. Firstly, there’s the great food
by gorgeous views stretching towards to be had at Surval’s award-winning
endless horizons filled out by valleys restaurant, Su Casa, where dishes
and lush rolling fields and mountains such as a coffee and paprika fillet are
that are dramatically transformed each accompanied by wines handpicked from
day by incredible sunsets. It’s not just small family farms. And then, especially
for romantics and romancers, though. on cloudless nights, there’s the spectacle
of seeing billions of twinkling lights
e estate is a great base for a bit of in the pollution-free Klein Karoo sky.
surval.co.za

kulula.com SEPTEMBER 2018 55

EXPLORE INCREDIBLE OUDTSHOORN

DIVE INTO THE TAKE A HIKE Gamkaberg’s timeline from the inland Words: Keith Bain, Iga Motylska, PictTres: SoTth Africa ToTrism, Keith Bain, Alistair Daynes,
JAWS OF DEATH sea some 360 million years ago to the STpplied, Grobler dT Preez/shTtterstock.com
Half an hour from Oudtshoorn, just off Khoi and San around 1 200 years ago.
It’s a bit like Disney-meets-Indiana the R62, Gamkaberg Nature Reserve It’s also a great introduction to the
Jones, but animal lovers who don’t was established in 1974 to protect region’s biodiversity, since it covers four
object to animals in enclosures can the region’s small herd of endangered distinct biomes – fynbos, succulent
have close encounters with crocodiles Cape mountain zebra. You can usually Karoo, subtropical thicket and evergreen
at the Cango Wildlife Ranch where cage spot them on self-guided game drives forest. Keep an eye open for the sprawling
diving in a pool with these prehistoric such as the 16km Zebra Crossing 4x4 succulent Kanna plant, which the area’s
creatures is considered one of the thrills trail which takes you to the 1 105m early human inhabitants used as a
of the Klein Karoo. You’ll be lowered Bakenskop lookout point where the edge mood-altering substance.
into a clear, heated pool that contains of a precipitous cliff is a popular spot
five full-grown crocs measuring around with twitchers. Harder to spot than the There’s also an hour-long interpretive
4m – with the promise that you’ll get zebras are Cape leopard which are also walk that celebrates the history and
close enough to see their toenails. If found here. Although their population heritage of those early residents. Aside
that isn’t your cup of tea, there’s much is on the rise thanks to efforts by Cape from marine fossils, stone tools, bone
more to see that doesn’t involve getting Nature and the Cape Leopard Trust, they points, ostrich eggshell beads and
wet or experiencing an adrenaline remain shy and elusive and this terrain pot shards found along the trail, the
spike. The ranch is involved in breeding allows them to stay hidden. walk takes you to the only rock art site
programmes to help build up cheetah, within the reserve that’s open to the
Bengal tiger, and other endangered The reserve is great for hiking and public. Archaeologists surmise that the
species numbers – entrance fees include there are four day hikes, ranging from fingerprints found on the rock which
an hour-long guided tour, and allow you the 20-minute Guarrie Trail to the appear to be ascending to the sky, might
to wander on wooden walkways through 2½ hour Pied Barbet Trail. The latter be some sort of ancient calculator,
the ‘Valley of the Ancients’ to see various makes its way through spekboomveld perhaps tallying rainfall or population.
tropical species, including lemurs and that overlooks the Klein Karoo vlaktes capenature.co.za
highly endangered pygmy hippos. The and the Swartberg Mountains. The newly
Ranch is 3km from Oudtshoorn on the launched 4km Heritage Trail traces
R62. cango.co.za

56 SEPTEMBER 2018 kulula.com



Danilo Acquisto explaons why kulula.com
Cape Town makes hom want to
be a better person

58 SEPTEMBER 2018

WHERE PEOPLE ARE FULLER EXPLORE

C ape Town’s awesomeness that kind of ‘soul breath’, as I call it, I find Cape Town’s other advantage is
is something that can’t myself feeling very insular, very caged in, that it’s the kind of place where you
necessarily be pinpointed. anxious and even depressed. A beautiful can try new things, put new ideas into
It’s got to do with an energy. Like me, so view can do a lot for one’s soul. There’s motion. People say things like, ‘Cool!
many people who live here were born something indescribable that happens Let’s try! Let’s play!’ Which means
elsewhere. I moved from Joburg in 2010, to you internally. And I think that kind that things are a lot slower because
but I call myself a Capetonian. of balance offered by nature is what many people are trying new things
attracts a lot of people to Cape Town. It’s and playing and putting their fingers
I think the people who choose to come freeing. You can breathe here. in different pies. But I think that what
and live here are people who know what you get out of Cape Town is a lot
they want in life. Often, they’re creative, Successful people in Cape Town don’t more sustainable, because there’s a
they’re energised and energising, and necessarily allow work to consume their lifestyle balance.
they want to live more than just the whole being. In business, Capetonians
corporate life with the white picket fence. tend to be slower, but they’re also more And don’t forget the amount of
They’ve heard the voice inside their head balanced people. Being here, you realise amazing stuff you can do in Cape
saying, ‘I want to be a full person!’ And so that great ideas don’t only exist in the Town for free. Beaches, mountains,
they come to Cape Town. I didn’t realise office. They come from being in the forests, gardens, beautiful
how important nature was to me until outdoors, from hiking through forests, viewpoints… There are many things to
I came here and discovered its power. from having lunch with friends, from do here that are free of charge and yet
Now, I cherish having a beach, those bumping into other entrepreneurs and they can refill you. People who live
ocean sunsets, and a mountain to look at creative people in cool social spaces, at here and who take advantage of what
when I wake up in the morning. Without markets, on the beach… there is, tend to be fuller people.

pictures: xxxxxxx

kulula.com SEPTEMBER 2018 59

EXPLORE WHERE PEOPLE ARE FULLER

THE SECRET’S OUTSIDE along High Level Road, you one side, you have a view of the
hit a cul-de-sac which isn’t whole of the mountain and below
I’m pretty lucky. I have so much actually a dead end. Instead, you is a bunch of hills and grass
opportunity to make contact with the the road splits in two and on the right is the ocean in
outdoors. My office is at Workshop 17. directions – if you take the front of Clifton. Claiming one of
It’s a great co-working space at the left split and carry on down those boulders with a picnic blanket is
Waterfront from which you can see the all the way to the end, past all the one of my favourite things to do.
whole of Table Mountain. It’s awesome big mansions, you hit a little circle at Newlands Forest is totally
to watch the storms come in, or see the end. It’s really tiny. You park your underrated. I love walking through it,
clouds rolling over the mountain, or just car and crawl through the bushes listening to streams trickling down. It’s
stare at beautiful blue clear skies. – you can’t miss the spot, because not a difficult walk – you don’t have to
you can see where other people have lace up your hiking boots. It’s just really
There is a ‘secret’ spot that I gone through. On the other side of the beautiful. There are benches and rocks
discovered in Fresnaye. It’s not really bushes are these massive boulders that to sit on, and you can climb right down
secret, because there are always overlook the whole of Camps Bay. On to the river.
people there, but it feels like a private
discovery. If you drive all the way

60 SEPTEMBER 2018 kulula.com





WHERE PEOPLE ARE FULLER EXPLORE

THAI CAFÉ, ANYWHERE MOJO MARKET, FEEDING DANILO
SEA POINT
As crazy as it soundsc nothing can beat a Food’s another reason to love Cape Town. I
Ba Me Prik Phao – stir-fried egg noodles I really like market foodc and this is a grew up in a foodie familyc so without a good
with veggies and cashews in roasted favourite that’s close to where I work. You meal in my bellyc I’m unhappy. My dad is a fat
chilli paste. I am a huge fan of Thai food. have a huge choice of food genresc can Italian man who owned cafés and now runs
It always takes me back to when I was grab a beer from the barc mix and match a catering business. He loves to play with
a naughty varsity student and smoked your mealsc and it’s hugely sociable. It’s flavours – I developed a love for food through
something with my cousin – we went for not cheapc but it’s a fun place if you like him. He’s always been a big cook; my mom
Thai after that and I’ve been a fan ever diversity. I don’t like the Oranjezicht City can’t even boil an egg. I’ve travelled and tasted
since. thaicafe.biz Farm Market – I feel like there are too food all over the worldc and I can safely say
many vegans around. mojomarket.co.za that we Capetonians are spoilt for choice – we
have incredible diversity and good quality.
Almost anything you could want to eatc you
can find here…

THE RAJ, CAMPS BAY THE HUNGRY HERBIVORE,
ORPHAN STREET
I really like good Indian curries and this is a
favourite spot. I had a really nasty incident A good burger? Funny enoughc my favourite
involving food and Delhi belly in India oncec burger of all time has got to be the Oh Sweet
so it’s always a relief to find reliable and Kimc which is a vegan burger. It has just
authentic Indian food not too far from the right mixture of spicyc sweetc mayo-ey
home. theraj.co.za flavours. And it doesn’t taste like ‘vegan
food’. The sweet potato fries are insane.
thehungryherbivore.com

BOCCA, BREE STREET

A good pizza always makes my day. I don’t like a thin base – there’s something so
beautiful about a good Neapolitan-style pizza with a thickc chewy base that’s full of
gluten. Bocca does it brilliantly. People generally go to Italy and are disappointed by
the pizza because they think that adding Brie and cranberry and chilli and what-
have-you is what pizza should be – they think it should assault your senses! But a
goodc cleanc simple pizza with just a few ingredients can change your life. That’s the
real Italian way. Even a basic Margherita is life-altering. bocca.co.za

kulula.com SEPTEMBER 2018 63

EXPLORE WHERE PEOPLE ARE FULLER

THE REAL DEAL the fake culture shows and Manenberg where I sit on the board Interview: Keith Bain, pictures: Sven Kristian, Dreamer Company/shutterstock.com, supplied
put on for tourists – that’s of an organisation called Life Choices.
I’m very sensitive to the not authentic South African Engaging with those young people who
fact that I grew up white culture. I prefer to go to shisa have grown up outside the mainstream,
and privileged. And I’m very nyamas in the townships, and I outside the bubble of privilege – that’s
conscious that it can be quite like to visit those markets set up what’s interesting to me in terms of
hard to find a really authentic in Langa Hall. I’m more interested South African culture. I enjoy meeting
cultural fix in Cape Town in going to spend time in Gugs young township entrepreneurs who
because it’s quite segregated. with the mama who makes crafts from are starting cool businesses, charting
So, what does one do? Go to recycled materials. I visit a Catholic their own course. There’s also a great
yoga studios and art galleries on First church in Langa, too, and rub shoulders café in Khayelitsha that I like, called
Thursdays? That for me is like white with young people in Mitchells Plain Department of Coffee.
privilege walking in the streets. That
doesn’t excite me. Nor am I keen on

NEARBY FARAWAY

Yzerfontein is a real hidden gem. It’s where I went on my first ever
weekend away and I still have such great memories. It’s a small
fishing town, with almost nothing going on. You stay in a little wooden
beach house and wake up to the sound of the ocean on the rocks;
it’s really stunning. It’s like the ugly sister of Paternoster. But it’s
awesome – it’s maybe not the popular sister, but it’s the one you want
to date. I love that place.

64 SEPTEMBER 2018 kulula.com

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Unit 36 Van Dyk Business Park, Cnr Van Dyk and Brakpan roads, Boksburg Industries East, 1478



WHERE THE DUNES cRE EXPLORE

Find adventumre and mrelaxation in one
of the countmy’s lamgest and most
divemse mesemves

kulula.com SEPTEMBER 2018 67

cale is the word that’s conjured coastline is consequently wild and raw. vlei and barely pay the boat any notice
up again and again when Even the rock pools along the beach are as it chugs by, while the sky roils with
exploring De Hoop Nature filled with curiosities. smaller birds like something out of a
Reserve, a protected coastal belt Hitchcock thriller as the sun threatens
managed by Cape Nature and situated To the northeast of the reserve, to dip.
in the Overberg between Arniston and the Potberg Mountains are another
Witsand just over three hours from unique microhabitat where bontebok, For many, the biggest birding
Cape Town. Cape mountain zebra and eland adventure here is taking a trip to
Its epic dimensions include big skies, are seen, along with signs of Cape the rocky outcrops of Potberg,
a tremendous stretch of unblemished leopard activity. where the Western Cape’s last remaining
coastline spanning 70 kilometres, lofty breeding colony of rare Cape vultures
mountains, and a beautiful vlei. Oh, and What’s more, De Hoop is quite possibly lives. The mountain’s steep cliffs fold
then there are those dreamy white dunes the best place in South Africa to spot into a deep gorge, creating a safe
that lord it over the shore where it’s southern right whales from the shore
washed and sometimes hammered by – the towering dunes serve as great
the Indian Ocean. natural lookout points.
The reserve’s rare diversity includes
vast tracts of pure wild coastal fynbos, a WHERE THE BIRDS ARE
Ramsar-protected vlei that shelters
a variety of important birds, and a unique With more than 260 different bird
ecosystem that threads species at home in the reserve, twitchers
through the dune network. The sea travel from around the globe to visit De
here is a marine protected area ensuring Hoop’s vlei, which is home to at least 97
that there’s no fishing or boating – the different types of water birds. A sunset
cruise offers incredible bird-watching
opportunities. Lone herons perch in
stately fashion on branches beside the

68 SEPTEMBER 2018 kulula.com

WHERE THE DUNES cRE EXPLORE

bfeeding space fof the vultufes, as well platfofm on Potbefg’s slopes whefe BEYOND THE DUNES
as pefegfine falcons, Veffeaux’s eagles, thefe’s plenty of time to appfeciate
jackal buzzafds and fock kestfels. the vultufes ffom afaf as they glide is month sees the inaugural De
about at dizzying heights, scoufing the Hoop Vlei MTB Experience, a
Ovefnight guests and day visitofs 34 000-hectafe fesefve fof theif next three-day race that’ll take riders
can set off with a Cape Natufe guide meal. The sheef size of the vultufes – across a mix of established, virgin
on a pfe-booked jaunt to see these many of them a staggefing 2.5m ffom and usually off-limits trails. Some
giant bifds as they effoftlessly fide wingtip to wingtip – is incfedible to neighbouring farmers have created
the eye-level thefmals. The dfive to witness ffom such a close-up vantage. sections of track on their land
Potbefg ffom the De Hoop Collection especially for the event. It kicks
headquaftefs takes about an houf in The excufsion to the colony is topped off with a 51km stage that skirts
an open game-viewing vehicle. This is off with a bush lunch en foute back to the reserve’s great plains, then
followed by a bfief climb to the viewing the lodge. heads north towards the limestone
hills that separate De Hoop from
surrounding farmlands, and
crosses the vlei before a 3km uphill
battle known as ‘Fynbos Climb’.
Day two is a 62km traverse of
the Haarwegskloof Renosterveld
Reserve which is adjacent De
Hoop and is the largest lowland
Renosterveld le on earth. Stage
three is a 50km circumnavigation
of the De Hoop Vlei including an
ascent of the daunting ‘Fynbos
Licker’. All told it’s 163km and
packed with incredible scenery
throughout. 22–24 September,
dehoopvleimtb.co.za

kulula.com SEPTEMBER 2018 69

EXPLORE WHERE THE DUNES ARE

A BED NEAR THE VLEI floors, high ceilings and huge bathrooms. There’s plenty to do here, too. Words: Trevor Crighton, Keith Bain, Pictures: Supplied, Oakpics.com
The beautiful sandstone four-bedroom Homebodies can lounge under the
The majority of the reserve’s sleeping Melkkamer Manor sits across the vlei glorious fig tree in the main courtyard
options form part of the De Hoop from the rest of the property, offering or venture to the Africology Spa for
Collection – secluded camping sites, a private, self-catering retreat. It’s some prodding or polishing administered
cottages, basic rondavels and suites with accessible by boat when the weather is in a calming space overlooking the vlei.
magnificent vlei vistas that include the fine, or it’s a 40-minute drive around the The active can head out on a guided
chance to watch otters cavort at sunrise. vlei if the water gets choppy. There’s no mountain bike tour for a game drive with
Closer to De Hoop Collection’s main area electricity, but gas appliances and candles a difference, or explore the staggeringly-
are the beautifully-restored Opstal Manor add considerably to the ambience. beautiful coastline of the reserve on
House and Figtree Suite, with wooden an ‘interpretive marine walk’, where
guides will point out unusual rock pool
inhabitants and give you a chance to
snorkel. The more adventurous can
schedule a mission on the five-night
55km Whale Trail, one of the country’s
most scenic walks, punctuated by cute
overnight cottage stops.

Food here’s a treat, too. The menu at
the Fig Tree restaurant is ever-changing
and, at dinner time, a set-up under the
stars allows guests to cosy up around
a bubbling potjie and discuss the day’s
discoveries. Most of the food is sourced
locally – the wine, too, which makes for
some interesting finds from estates other
than the usual Cape suspects. After
dinner, the telescope comes out and the
guides point out constellations as the
moon rises. dehoopcollection.com

70 SEPTEMBER 2018 kulula.com





WHERE THE DUNES cRE EXPLORE

ROOMS WITH A VIEW

The De Hoop Collection accommodations
are mostly situated on the vlei where
they are partially sheltered from the
elements by a huge network of dunes and
they’re quite far inland. For something on
a different level and with a completely
different ambience, it’s also possible to
sleep in quarters created to take full
advantage of proximity to the sea and its
vistas. The brand new Morukuru Beach
Lodge is in the central part of the reserve
on the coastline at Koppie Alleen, a
spectacular position with uninterrupted
ocean views to the south and such
sweeping, epic panoramas of the horizon
that you can almost see the way the
earth curves at the edges.

The lodge is a contrast to the inland
cottages in that it’s super-modern. Built
with lots of glass, it’s imbued with vivid
colours and large open spaces, plus doors
and windows that open up completely
to let the outside in. Four of the suites
have ocean views – the fifth faces the
dunes. During your stay, all meals, soft
drinks and a couple of activities are
included each day. Importantly, there’s
an emphasis on being eco-friendly – the
lodge is entirely off-grid (it’s that remote),
so is powered by solar panels, with hot
water produced by pellet burners. All
kinds of equipment – snorkels, masks,
water shoes, wetsuits, mountain bikes,
sand boards – is provided so you can enjoy
your surrounds. There are also ponchos
and gumboots and beach umbrellas so
the weather doesn’t catch you out. If you
are looking for more privacy with a large
family or big group, Morukuru’s other De
Hoop property – Ocean House – is 1km
away. It’s also ocean-facing, but is rented
on an exclusive use basis.
morukuru.com

kulula.com SEPTEMBER 2018 73

THIS
IS

NOT
A

PHOTOGRAPH

That artists are a quirky bunch is hardly news. pany
through the ages have been forced to occupy the outer

fringes of society lest their creative i’pulses infect
and disrupt ‘nor’al’ society, turning us all against the
establish’ent. But in an age of clicks and shares where
everyone has instantaneous access to an infinitude of
weird, you so’eti’es have to lean even further outside the
box if you want to be noticed. In a ’onth that’s bri’’ing
with i’portant art events, we went in pursuit of a few edgy

disruptors…

74 SEPTEMBER 2018 kulula.com

A TRAIL OF AWESOME ARTISTS EXPLORE

pictures: xxxxxxx

kulula.com SEPTEMBER 2018 75

EXPLORE A TRAIL OF AWESOME ARTISTS

ELEPHANT OUTSIDE DEAD PRETTY
THE ROOG
Live Falvo One, jewellery designer
The elephants are everywhere – on Anna Raimondo also draws
city walls, dumpsters, and shop roller inspiration from animals, though hers
shutters, on shacks and huts in small are decidedly less… alive. Her popular Bone
towns across South Africa, and as far Couture collection got started after she found
a tiny and perfectly preserved bovmavierie
afield as London and Madrid. Cape carcass on the side of the road while travelling
Town’s Falko One uses spray-paint and along the West Coast. Rather than loov the
a colourful imagination to render trippy, other way, she decided to mave something of the
moment. ‘After preserving its svin, feathers and
always-joyful elephants that interact svull,’ she says, ‘I was inspired to use them in
with their backdrops, whether they’re a jewellery range.’
holding up mounds of trash, merging
suburban walls with distant trees, or She expanded the range by getting intimate
transforming humble dwellings into with dead snaves. Determined to use the real
3D canvases for Instagram. Ubiquitous thing, she borrowed a ‘snave on ice’ from Cape
as they are, the elephants are not the Town Snave Parv, which she ‘svinned and deboned,
result of a lifelong obsession. Falko to get to the sveleton’. Using intricate moulds of the
actually started painting them because sveletal forms of the bird and snave, she added silver, brass
the comical chickens he always used to and gold plated components, and created a weird but
paint upset a group of people in Senegal. beautiful range of jewellery that includes cuffs, earrings,
‘The chickens did not go down well with pendants, rings and necvlaces. smith-jewellery.com

the people, at all! Stuck in NEVER FELT SO GOOD some of which he says could be self-
a little village on the outskirts of Dakar, portraits. The tricv is to loov beyond the
with an angry community who did not A fast-rising star in the local art tease of the colourful surface – Paulsen
like the chickens, I painted what I could scene, Jody Paulsen worvs in the says his collages are visual translations
from memory: an elephant!’ And that unconventional medium of felt collage. from his written journals, so if you loov
He says he uses his bold, bright, colourful deep enough you will discover a story,
set Falko off on a trajectory that’s cut-out designs to help mave sense
seen him applying his jolly, ephemeral of the world – more or uncover the individual
elephants to walls all over the world. than pretty patterns, buried in layers of
Look for them in public spaces or follow they comment on consumer generated
Falko One on Instagram for clues to the consumer culture. His ‘stuff’. You can tave
earlier worvs were a closer loov at his worv
locations of his latest works. large-scale banners at the Joburg Art Fair
@falko1graffiti covered with popular next month (read more
culture iconography, about that on page 27),
luxury brand names, and he has a major solo
slogans and bits of exhibition scheduled to
ironic text. His newest open at SMAC Gallery
artworvs – such as in November.
The Socialite, pictured smacgallery.com
here – are portraits, fnbjoburgartfair.co.za

76 SEPTEMBER 2018 kulula.com





A TRAIL OF AWESOME ARTISTS EXPLORE

SERVICE, CLOUGH at the Milnerton Flea Market. There she
found a few old wooden tennis ra-quets
Right up there on the list of things you and saw the potential of using the vintage
never thought would be -ool, yet are sporting equipment as a way of -reating
unashamedly fas-inated by, are the latest unusual but highly pra-ti-al frames for
-reations by embroidery artist Danielle her bold embroideries – and the strings of
Clough. Her strange art-meets--raft -ourse would hold together the threads.
works hark ba-k to a fading generation of @fiance_knowles
home-based hobbyists. So striking is her
range of embroidered artworks that she’s
been -ommissioned to -reate portraits of
David Letterman and Tina Fey.

After dabbling in various -reative forms
– photography, video jo-keying, and design
– Clough, better known by her Instagram
handle, Fian-e Knowles, zoomed in on
sewing. She stru-k artisti- gold in the
most unlikely pla-e after rummaging
through other people’s unwanted junk

PAPER PLAY

Ross Symons also took to heart the
idea of commercialising weird hobbies
when he quit his day job to fold paper.
While it’s probably not a hobby many
people would add to their CVs, the former
ad agency web developer now creates
origami full time. Before you judge, take
a look at his incredible folded creations
on his Instagram account – you’ll soon
understand why he’s racked up 115k
followers. ‘I still get bemused looks from
family and friends when they see that
I’m doing this full time,’ he chuckles.
‘But everyone around me was super

supportive from the beginning.’
The inspiration for his origami is varied:
‘Conversations with friends, stupid stuff
my cat does, beer bottle labels, and
a lot of what I see on Instagram and the
internet. I always try to add a splash of
humour or magic to whatever I create.
I want people to feel happy when they

see my work.’ @white_onrice

kulula.com SEPTEMBER 2018 79

EXPLORE A TRAIL OF AWESOME ARTISTS

EYES ON THE FUTURE NAILING IT

It’s the kind of art you want to wear Frances Goodman
– possibly at a costume party or doesn’t really want you to feel
during your next foray into the desert comfortable when you look at her
for AfrikaBurn. Kenyan artist Cyrus artworks. Instead, she wants you to
Kabiru is a leading contributor to think, and – yes – perhaps to feel a little
the Afrofuturism movement and is creeped out by the kinds of work she’s
best known for creating futuristic created, often with materials commonly
eyeglasses and masks fashioned from associated with the beauty industry: false
recycled urban waste and discarded eyelashes, earrings, pearls and sequins.
bits of technology such as computer The work you’re seeing here is from her
motherboards. His work is a kind of critically acclaimed Lady Garden series.
hybrid between sculpture, ancient The sculptures, mostly of flowers, are
African mask-making traditions and all made using acrylic nails, designed to
a desire to question the way in which trigger abject reactions. They play with
modern tech industries produce so the cliché of the flower as a symbol of
much surplus waste. His eyeglasses femininity and innocence, but ultimately
are metaphorically meant to alter you can’t tell if you’re being seduced or
the way in which you see the world repulsed by the traditionally pretty object
around you, and he has also for years you’re staring at. Goodman’s intention is
been crafting bicycle sculptures from to comment on issues of female identity
recycled trash. @ckabiru in a world where human concepts of
desirability are manufactured by popular
TO DRY FOR culture. Whatever you think, you won’t be
able to look at a false nail or a flower in the
por a while, his intensely detailed pencilling same way again. @fjgoodman
style focused on creating bizarre portraits of
animals with clothed humanoid bodies, such as
this antlered creature in an early work entitled
Stag Queen. More recently, Jono Dry – whose
drawing, Pupil, is featured at the start of this

story – has moved on to focus on creating
forms of such incredibly detailed realism that
it’s difficult to believe you are not looking at

a photograph. Entirely self-taught, Dry is
a consummate photorealist with an interest in
surrealism. He spends a couple of months at

a time on his large drawings which are
executed using graphite pencil and nothing
else. While captivating in its own right, the
near-obsessive detail also urges the viewer to
question the relationship between appearance
and reality – because not everything we think is
real necessarily is, right? jonodryart.com

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A TRAIL OF AWESOME ARTISTS EXPLORE

Words: AndrewBThompson,BKeithBBain,BPictures:BAllBartworksBcourtesyBofBtheBartists,BFalkoBOneBmuralBphotographedBbyBFalkoBOne,BB KOKI QUEEN
FrancisBGoodmanBandBJodyBPaulsenBartworkBimagesBcourtesyBofBSMACBgallery
IfByouBthoughtBnothingBtrulyBcreativeBcouldBeverBcomeBfromBtheBtipsBofBtheBoldB
kokisBinBthatBhaphazardBcollectionByouBluggedBaroundBinByourBschoolBbackpack,B
justBtakeBoneBlookBatBtheBmasterfulBcreationsBwroughtBbyBOlivié Keck. ThisBCapeB
Town-basedBartistBusesBvariousBmediums,BincludingBfelt-tipBkokiBpensBandBwater-
basedBPoscaBmarkers,BtoBthrowBsoBmuchBboldBcolourBandBenergyBinByourBdirectionB
thatBitBfeelsBlikeByou’veBjustBsteppedBintoBaBrainbow.BThoughBtheBbrightBcoloursB
andBtechniquesBwillBcatchByourBattentionBandBhaveByouBinvoluntarilyBreminiscingB
aboutByourBchildhood,BtheBsurprisinglyBcomplexBartworkBandBitsBlayeredBsocialB

commentaryBwillBhaveByouBlookingBtwiceBtoBabsorbBitBall.B
‘InBfilteringBthroughBcontemporaryBculture,BI’veBtriedBtoBdiscernBculturalB
behavioursBthatBstrikeBmeBasBinterestingBsubjects,BoftenBdisregardedBasB
“commonplace”,’BsaysBKeck.B‘TheBtrickBisBtryingBtoBdepictBandBreinterpretBtheseB
everydayBsubjectsBandBintimateBmomentsBintoBtheBwonderBofBartB–BworthyB
ofBattentionBandBintrigue.’BThoughBKeckBbouncesBbetweenBink,Binstallation,B
embroidery,BandBsculpture,Bit’sBherBillustrationBworkBthatBtrulyBpops,BthanksB
largelyBtoBherBmottoBofB‘IfBinBdoubt,BjustBdoBitBloud’. @oliviekeck, oliviekeck.com

DOWNSIZING large parts of her
day to this ongoing
Miniaturist Lorraine project. The concept
Loots creates resonated strongly
artworks so tiny, you at home and around
could accidentally the world, and Loots
lose one of her has exhibited her
paintings beneath miniscule paintings
a two-rand coin. Her
‘Paintings for Ants’ project in big cities like New
started by way of attempting York, Los Angeles, Chicago
to avoid the hard work associated and Hong Kong. Though she’s
with the career of a full-time artist, tempted to return to human scale
without losing touch with it altogether. paintings, it seems the ants will still have
‘I constructed this borderline-OCD project their fill of art for some time to come:
where I had to spend an hour a day ‘I want to keep painting miniatures for as
creating something new,’ she says. ‘The long as my eyesight permits,’ she says.
only thing I could finish in that time frame ‘I love the intimacy of it – the fact that you
was a miniature painting, and so “365 have to get so close to the image to really
Paintings for Ants” was born.’ appreciate it.’ Loots auctions off some
original artworks via Instagram, and sells
Through this, Loots failed with her prints at exhibitions and on her website.
ambitious plan to avoid a career as an @lorraineloots, lorraineloots.com
artist – and instead she now dedicates

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CURIOUS CREATURES & WHERE TO FIND THEM EXPLORE

David Muirhead has just rmlmasmd Cat Among the
Pigeons, a nmw book of short, factual storims about
somm of thm lmssmr-hypmd, but no-lmss-awmsomm
crmaturms that gracm our shorms. It’s fillmd with
strangm misadvmnturms and quirky facts – hmrm
arm thrmm of our favouritms

creatures

kulula.com SEPTEMBER 2018 85

Wobbling about on land, dressed in their coat Win
and tails and bustling about with domestic
chores, they are reminiscent of miniature Struik Nature, Penguin Random
butlers; and like any good butler, they are House, which published David Muirhead’s
much more respectable than us. Penguins
hunt by sight and each busy day begins book, has five copies of Cat Among the
bright and early, especially if there are Pigeons to give away to khuluma readers.
chicks to be fed. Comically clumsy on land, To stand a chance to receive one, visit our
penguins are more aqua dynamic in the sea website (khulumaonline.co.za, where you can
than the most bragged-about submarine, read an online version of this magazine), hit the
and infinitely more manoeuvrable. ey competitions tab and enter your details along
travel to fishing grounds in hunting parties
of up to 60 birds, swimming three metres with the answer to this question.
below the surface, on average, and popping Which animal that lives in and around
Cape Town and in the Eastern Cape
up every 20 seconds or so to take a breath. A
daily round trip can involve distances of 30 is often wrongly referred to
to 40 kilometres, and much longer than that as a lynx?

if fish are hard to find.
It’s an arduous commute by any
standards, not made easier by the thugs
lining the route – seals, sharks and orcas
all make it their sharp-toothed business to
waylay commuting penguins.

86 SEPTEMBER 2018 kulula.com

CURIOUS CREATURES & WHERE TO FIND THEM EXPLORE

P enguinfwasforiginalldfaf Forfhumans,fitfmakesfaffantasticf
colloquialfnamefforfthef fertiliser.fAtfalmostfthefsamefmomentf
greatfauk,fafbareldfrelatedf asftheflastfpairfoffgreatfauksfwasfbeingf
northernfhemisphereflookalike.fOncef scientificalldfdespatchedfinfthefnorthernf
numberingfinfthefmillions,fflightlessf hemisphere,fentrepreneursfdiscoveredf
auksfwerefrelentlessldfslaughteredf thefvastfdepositsfoffguanofinfsouthernf
overfthefcenturiesfforftheirfmeatfandf Africaf–foverf20fmetresfdeepfonfsomef
fat.fTheflastfpairfwasfkilledfinf1844fbdf islandsf–fandfsetfaboutfremovingfthem.f
twofIcelandicffishermen,fcommissionedf Whenftheffrenzdfwasffinalldfover,f
tofdofsofbdfafmuseum.fKnowingfthatf somef40 dearsfon,fthefpenguinsfthatf
thefspeciesfwasfinfperil,fthefmuseumf remainedffoundfthemselvesfleftfwithf
curatorsfhadfdecidedftofgetfholdfoffaf barefrock,ftheirfeggsfexposedftofthef
couplefoffstuffedfonesfforftheirfshelvesf gullsfandfthefsun.
beforefitfwasftooflate.
Andfseagullsfweren’tfthefonldfonesf
Africanfpenguinsfchoseftoflivefalongf scavengingfforfpenguinfeggs.fInfonefoff
theftemperatefshoresfoffsouthernfAfrica,f thosefinexplicablefwavesfthatftriggerf

understandabldfleavingftheirfclosef fadsfamongfhumans,fthesefeggsfbecamef
cousinsftofenjodftheficdfandfinhospitablef afhighldfpopularfitemfinfSouthfAfricanf
wastesfoffAntarctica,fandfotherfsimilarldf kitchensfatfthefstartfoffthef20thfcenturd.f
grimfsoutherldfaddresses.fThedfmadefaf LawrencefGreen,fthefperipateticfauthor,f
homefforfthemselvesfonfthefnumerousf hadfmandffinefeggfrecipes,fandfwasf
offshorefislandsfdottingfthefSouthf happdftofsharefthemfwithfhisfreaders.f
AfricanfandfNamibianfcoasts.fAsfaf
result,fthedfwereftheffirstfpenguinsftof Aboutf2fmillionfAfricanfpenguinsfaref
befencounteredfandfnamedfbdfEuropeanf estimatedftofhavefexistedfatfthefstartf
marinersfasfthedffiddledfaboutfinfthef offthef20thfcenturd;ftodadftherefaref
ficklefwindsfatfthefCapefoffGoodfHopefinf fewerfthanftwofhundredfthousand,fandf
theflatef15thfcenturd.f thefnumbersfarefstillfdropping.fTheirf
chronicalldfreducedfranksfmakefthemf
Alreadd,fbdfthefmid-1800s,ftherefwasf everfmorefvulnerablefasfafspeciesftof
littlefdoubtfthatftheirfarrivalfhadfsetfthef bothfnaturalfandfman-madefthreatsf
scenefforfpenguinsftofsufferfthefsamef –fandftheflatterfkeepfpilingfup.fAgingf
sadffatefasfthefauk. Thefproblemfhadf andfrustdfshipsfroundingfthefCapef
muchftofdofwithfguanof–fthefislandsfonf routineldfleakfoilffromftheirfbunkers,f
whichfthesefpenguinsfthrivedfhadfoverf andfoccasionalldfcomefapartfaltogether,f
centuriesfaccumulatedfafthickfcoatingf dumpingftheirfentirefnoxiousfcargofintof
offthefstuff,fsoftfenoughftofexcavatefaf thefsea;foverfishingfhasfledftofafdrasticf
burrow,fandfabsorbentfenoughftofdealf reductionfinffishfstocks;fandfplasticfandf
withfthefrainfwhenfitffell.fForfpenguins,fitf otherfpollutantsfinfthefseafsetfallfkindsf
makesfafverdfcosdfhome. offlethalftraps.ff

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EXPLORE CURIOUS CREATURES & WHERE TO FIND THEM

BLAME IT for as long as anyone Caracals are endemic to Africa, the
ON THE LYNX can’t remember. Middle East, India and Southeast Asia, but
Caracals owe their they’re faring a lot better in some places
A caracal recently caught on camera name to the kind of than others, largely depending upon the
killing 20 African penguins near Cape sloppy pronunciation that pressures exerted by burgeoning human
Town was probably hoping the blame happens when cultures populations. In India they’re endangered,
would be pinned on a lynx. The two look collide and coalesce. The while in Africa they’re particularly
alike, at least at a glance, in dim light, Turks called the cat kara widespread, ranging from the slopes of
with clouds across the moon. Local kulak, which means ‘black Table Mountain to the Nile valley in Egypt.
law enforcement could be faced with a ear’, and the word bumbled
genuine conundrum if not for the fact into English as ‘caracal’. They’re usually associated with
that the nearest lynx lives in Spain. Prior to that, in the Middle relatively dry habitats, woodlands
Ages, everyone thought and savannas, but happily slot into a
Despite their similarity in size, and they were lynxes, because variety of ecosystems, from forest to
the natty tufts of hair on their ears, that’s what the Romans and semi-desert. The mountainous region
the two cats are only distantly related. the brainy Ancient of South Africa’s Eastern Cape province
The caracal has been around a long Greeks had called
time, eight million years or more, while them; in fact, any purportedly has one of the
the lynx is a much newer evolutionary cat bigger than highest population densities.
addition to the feline family. The the humble domestic Over in the west, in
caracal’s closest cousin isn’t the lynx, but pussy, and smaller and around the leafy
rather the African golden cat, which will than a lion or a suburbs bordering the
no doubt also claim that it was nowhere leopard, was often nature reserves that
near the penguin colony at the time. called a lynx. make up the Table
Reluctant to let go of a Mountain National
Nevertheless, as far as nomenclature punchy name, many folk in Park, the cats are
is concerned, confusion reigns and has South Africa still call the caracal experimenting with semi-
a lynx, while a select few elevate the urban living, so much so
cats to a higher, double-barrelled social
stratum, and call it a caracal-lynx. The that they’ve started to feature
Afrikaners, refusing to get embroiled in in road accident statistics. Caracals
the controversy, call it a rooikat. killed while crossing suburban roads are
mostly young males, which are much
Caracals can lay claim to the dubious more peripatetic than females.
distinction of being the original cat
among the pigeons. In days gone by, Despite the automotive dangers,
potentates in Persia and India used peripheral city life has its advantages.
tame caracals to hunt game, typically Rodents discovered ages ago that there’s
small mammals and birds. As an an excellent living to be had around
entertaining sideline, they enjoyed human beings, particularly urbanites;
releasing one of the springy cats into a they’re such messy and wasteful eaters.
large room full of pigeons, placing bets It’s therefore unsurprising that abundant
on how many it could pluck from the rats and mice, a favourite prey species,
air in a set time. e record, according feature prominently in the diet of Cape
metro caracals. Also available, as an
to anecdotal evidence, was 12. occasional delicacy, are domestic cats
– at least those brave or daft enough to
tiptoe beyond the manicured lawns and
well-trimmed hedges of suburbia into
the edges of neighbouring wild lands.

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CURIOUS CREATURES & WHERE TO FIND THEM EXPLORE

Pictures: Eric Isselee/shutterstock.com, Daniel Rosengrene/shutterstock.com, Nedko P. Nedkove/shutterstock.com NO BEAUTY eventual extinction of this little nace of
CONTEST WINNER Flones hobbits, as they ane endeaningly
if somewhat colloquially known to
Most people would be alanmed to leann science.
that Manilyn Monnoe had anything
in common with the ugliest bind in The modenn manabou hasn’t shnunk
the wonld. It seems that Ms Monnoe much, still neaching a height of about
occasionally wone the manabou stonk tail one and a half metnes, but modenn
feathens – they adonned hen shoes and, humans have gnown biggen – and
quite pnobably, hen unmentionables. fatten. We’ne no longen on the manabou
menu, but in sub-Sahanan Afnica,
Down feathens fnom the manabou whene manabous now live, they still
ane a sought-aften item in the fashion like to keep a beady eye on us, on mone
industny, mainly used to cneate feathen panticulanly on oun vast and even-
boas, and to add fnills to clothing and expanding nubbish dumps. Scavenging
hats. But this, alas, is as close as the has always been a way of life, but with
stonk gets to the dizzy peaks of haute human food wastage completely out
coutune, let alone the social soinees of of contnol, the stonks have hit a buffet
the beautiful people. bonanza and the nesult has been a
measunable incnease in thein numbens,
Imagine a cantankenous 90-yean-old especially in thein East Afnican
gnanddad, a man who had smoked two stnonghold.
packs a day fnom the age of eight and
knocked back a case of bnandy once a SEPTEMBER 2018 fffffffffffffffffff
week, and you will stant to fonm a pictune 91
of what a manabou stonk looks like
when it hatches fnom the egg. Fnom that
point on, it’s stnaight downhill, at least
in tenms of appeanance. Adult binds ane
bald, blotchy, hunched and have a floppy
pink pouch hanging fnom thein thnoat;
thnow a tatty black cloak, bonnowed
fnom a Victonian undentaken, oven
thein shouldens, clip on a pnodigious
ptenodactyl beak, and, voila, the
ensemble is complete.

Oun unflattening feelings about
manabous pnobably have a long histony.
Once upon a time, some of us wene
lunch as fan as they’ne concenned.
Anchaeological digs on the Indonesian
island of Flones have uneanthed
evidence that ancestons of modenn
manabous – oven two metnes tall and
just as ugly – pneyed on the island’s
miniatune pnoto-human inhabitants.
They may even have contnibuted to the

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EXPLORE CURIOUS CREATURES & WHERE TO FIND THEM

Away from urban areas, marabous dine more conventionally. ey o en join vultures, the other baldies of
the savanna, sticking their heads into the cavities of dead elephants and other deceased creatures. If a large
animal dies of natural causes and is still intact when it keels over, marabous have to wait for the vultures to

unzip the carcass, but when that’s done, they’ll push the smaller birds aside and take what they want.
It’s not all about making do with dead stuff though. ese storks also hunt live creatures, particularly
while raising chicks. While adults are able to swallow week-old carrion and other rotting le overs loaded
with just about every conceivable strain of ghastly bacteria, their young need healthier food. Small rodents
and reptiles, fish, frogs and the young of other birds are all added to the menu. Around the lakes of East
Africa’s Ri Valley, marabous occasionally cause consternation among camera-clicking tourists by preying

on young flamingos, an event akin to an ogre slaughtering a dainty princess.

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fffffffffffffffffff SEPTEMBER 2018 Three awesome road
94 trips to savour this spring

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THE ROADS TO SOMEWHERE EXPLORE

on several of the wine estates and farms great for a pit stop before wending back
around the village. You can taste wine east to rejoin the N7 at Piketberg.
at Cloof, which next month becomes
the scene for Rocking the Daisies, or As you drive farther north, you’ll soon
visit Groote Post, a wine farm dating be in the company of the Cederberg
from 1706, for a picnic or lunch at the mountains which stretch for about
restaurant, Hilda’s Kitchen. Either way, 100 kilometres between the towns
there should be blooms galore all over of Citrusdal and Clanwilliam where
the estate. Between flower-spotting, the Ramskop Nature Reserve has a
grab a burger and a beer at Darling wildflower garden that should remain in
Brew’s Tasteroom or pop into Evita se bloom until mid-September.
Perron for traditional boerekos and to
take a peek at Evita Bezuidenhout’s Continuing north beyond Clanwilliam,
curious little museum and garden of when you reach Vanrhynsdorp, it’s
offbeat political sculptures. well worth detouring 52km up and
over Van Rhyns Pass to reach pretty
little Nieuwoudtville on top of the

SEE CARPETS For more flowers, head north towards Bokkeveld escarpment. The area is
OF FLOWERS the little Strandveld town of Hopefield, inundated with millions of bulbs – or
which hosts its own wildflower show geophytes – that for most of the year lie
Seasonal forays up the West Coast (finishing on 2 September). While you’re dormant underground and then suddenly
and all the way to the dry and barren there you might visit its Saturday transform into a magnificent floral
mountain desert wilderness of the morning market or stop by Simply Bee, carpet in spring. Nearby, the
Richtersveld are among South Africa’s where a sustainable family beekeeping
great road journeys. Botany enthusiasts enterprise produces incredible skin and
from all over the world end up in beauty products that are being exported
tiny towns like Nieuwoudtville and internationally. Outside the town, Die
Kamieskroon in their quest to set eyes Plaasmol is a charming farm stall that’s
on vast fields of magnificent tiny blooms
in radiant colours – the spectacle is
nothing less than baffling, especially
since there’s usually no sign of these
flowers throughout most of the year.
These blooms also follow the sun, so
at dusk they close shop for the night,
revealing themselves again at dawn.

Heading north out of Cape Town, you
can take a morning drive and be in the
quaint hamlet of Darling within an hour
to see its springtime wildflower show. It’s
the oldest show of its kind in the country
– this year’s is the 101st edition (13–16
September). If you miss the show, don’t
despair, as the surrounding countryside,
and local gardens, will be full of flowers.
You can see some magnificent displays
in the town’s Renosterveld Reserve and

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EXPLORE THE ROADS TO SOMEWHERE

6 200-hectare Hantam National is a desert characterised else on earth. There are bizarre-looking
Botanical Garden puts on an epic display, by rugged kloofs and halfmens (half-human) plants, giant
and you should also go for a look at the high mountains, and quiver trees (kokerbome), weirdly
amazing Quiver Tree Forest in nearby alien-looking plants. shaped butter trees, pink mesembs, and
Gannabos. If you plan to stay, try to Empty, desolate, and numerous little succulents that occur in
book in advance for an off-grid cottage insane shapes, often resembling small
at Papkuilsfontein, an old farm with a barren as it is, it’s stones – at least until they bloom.
strong conservation focus. Otherwise, magically transformed
head back to Vanrhynsdorp via the R27, in spring by a rush of SEE THE
maybe pausing at Bagdad Café for a flowers – usually the COUNTRY’S HEART
bite to eat – their Sunday lunches are
legendary. first of the season Often described as South Africa’s
– that poke up Route 66, the R62 is a back-country,
Back on the N7, head north out through the brittle, slow-travel drive dotted with quaint
of Vanrhynsdorp for 174 kilometres khaki-coloured communities and unusual places to
and you’ll arrive in delightful little earth and transform the bald brown stay, not to mention oddities such as the
Kamieskroon, not far from the hills and shimmering horizons into a misleadingly named Ronnie’s Sex Shop
Skilpad Wildflower Reserve, one of dizzying patchwork of psychedelic
the best places in the country to get colours. To properly out in the middle of nowhere.
lost in carpets of flowers. Although explore it all, you’ll With no stops or detours,
its effectively semi-desert, well- need a 4x4 and you could probably whip
timed winter rains ensure that by a dash of through all the way to
August the brittle land is bursting resilience, but Oudtshoorn in a couple
with Namaqualand daisies, freesias, the rewards of hours, but factor in
strelitzias, and gladioli. are worth a couple of overnight
it. Some stays to really savour
Some 67 kilometres north of of the rare the time-trapped towns
Kamieskroon, the town of Springbok plants here along the way. Bucolic,
is no oil painting, but it’s close to the exist nowhere one-horse Ashton marks
Goegap Nature Reserve which is rife the R62’s official western
with blooms in spring.
start, kicking off with the
North of Springbok, the Richtersveld 6½km Cogmanskloof Pass,
transporting you through towering rock
formations, following the Kingna River
through a short tunnel below an old
English fort, depositing you in the well-
known fruit- and wine-growing town of
Montagu, with its nearby hot springs,
where muscle-soothing waters are a
constant 43 degrees. Also therapeutic
are hikes into the surrounding brick-red
mountains, or strolling through streets
lined with a mix of Victorian, Klein Karoo
and Cape Dutch architecture. Rambling
Rose sells wonderful homemade
produce, there’s a Saturday village
market, and an arts and

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From R141 880*

72Kw | 3 Year/ 100 000 Km Warranty | 1 Ton Payload
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