The Intrepid Explorer magazine - Autumn 2014

Explorer The Intrepid

www.intrepidexplorer.co.za • Autumn 2014

Live the life of Adventure

rock the boat

Rowing across the world

adventure urban city Extreme escapades jane’s journey

The Life of Dr Goodall

on yer bike!

Our Top MTB spots conquering oceans South Africans on Cape2Rio

tomb raiders Searching for Egypt’s mummies

richard the lionheart Sir Branson’s galactic world records

R29.90 Incl. VAT 14002

9 772310 970403

columns from our intrepid contributors

AJ Calitz • Chris Bertish • Oscar Chalupsky

• WIN! 3 lucky readers can win holidays to Thabo Eco Hotel • FATHER & SON – Motorcycling across Africa • FAREWELL TO THE KING – Plight of the white lion • MAN VS WILD – Surviving the Bear Grylls Academy • HOOK, LINE & A SINKER – Fishing for the mighty Tuna

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contents 10

04

FOREWORD

07

EDITOR’S NOTE

Andre Labuschaigne, Cape Union Mart CEO

Challenge yourself!

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40

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16

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COMPETITION 3 lucky readers can win a trip for two to Thaba Eco Hotel just outside Johannesburg

RICHARD THE

LIONHEART

Robbie Stammers is awed by the record-breaking feats of Sir Richard Branson

JANE’S JOURNEY Our editor meets the Champion of Chimpanzees, Dr Jane Goodall ROCK THE BOAT Riaan Manser and Vasti Geldenhuys on their ocean adventure from Morocco to New York

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TOMB RAIDERS Graham Howe goes in search of the Golden Mummies of Egypt

ON YER BIKE! Make tracks for Fiona McIntosh’s mountain bike tours through pristine wilderness

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CONQUERING THE

MIGHTY ATLANTIC

Miriam Mannak speaks with a crew member of the first South African Cape2Rio contender

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HE AIN’T HEAVY, HE’S

MY FATHER

A motorcycling trip across Africa brings Bas de Vos and his father closer than ever

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C on ten ts

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ADVENTURE CITY Whether it’s on sand or water, in the sky or through the forest, there’s an extreme adventure close to you

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A SPOONFUL OF

CEMENT

HOOK, LINE AND

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KING?

Gareth Crocker fights for the survival of the white lion

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GET THE SHOT Photography pointers from Jacques Marais

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PRIMEVAL BLESSING Pippa de Bruyn finds solace in the heart of the forest

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MAN VS WILD Keith Hill takes on Mother Nature at the Bear Grylls Survival Academy

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WINTER IS COMING Brave the chilly season with our selection of warm wardrobe winners

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BEST FRIEND

Monty the chocolate Labrador is AJ Calitz’s favourite training partner

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ON THE WILD SIDE

News from the outdoors

HIT THE ROAD, JACK The Big 5 – catch a sighting of the latest motor vehicles

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LIFE THROUGH THE LENS

SINKER

The Intrepid fishermen bring home the tuna – despite a man overboard

FAREWELL TO THE

RUNNING WITH MY

Boot Camp training is worth the exertion and crack-ofdawn rising

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84

In this edition, we feature the photographic masterpieces of husband-and-wife team, Roger and Pat de la Harpe

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GLADIATORS OF

THE DEEP

Chris Bertish has advice for those wanting to take on the monster wave at Mavericks

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CHANNEL SURFING Oscar Chalupsky is pursuing his 13th surfski paddle championship win in Hawaii – at the age of 51

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CAPE UNION MART

STORE LISTINGS

THE LAST LAUGH

Graham Howe is blessed by the rats of Karni Mata

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THE LAST WORD

We ‘dance some more’ with Mango Groove’s Claire Johnston

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Explorer The Intrepid

Live the life of Adventure

Publishing Editor ROBBIE STAMMERS robbie@intrepidexplorer.co.za Advertising Sales Director KEITH HILL keith@intrepidexplorer.co.za Art Director STACEY STORBECK NEL indiodesign@mweb.co.za Chief Sub-Editor TANIA GRIFFIN Office Manager TARYN KERSHAW taryn@intrepidexplorer.co.za Staff Writer and Social Media Liaison SHAN ROUTLEDGE Editorial Contributors Graham Howe, Fiona McIntosh, Pippa De Bruyn, Riaan Manser, Bas De Vos, Gareth Crocker, AJ Calitz, Chris Bertish, Shan Routledge, Miriam Mannak, Keith Hill, Claire Johnston from Mango Groove

foreword Andre Labuschaigne

A

Back Office Support and Accounts Solutions BOSS (PTY) Ltd Managing Director: Rita Sookdeo Account Manager: Lucindi Coetzer

lthough this is the autumn edition of The Intrepid Explorer, I find myself writing this foreword on a perfect 30°C day in Cape Town! We all thought that winter had arrived, but Mother Nature had other ideas.

She clearly thought a late ‘summer surge’ was in order.

But the same is not true for the rest of the country. Winter is definitely coming!

And we hope this doesn’t disappoint you. Winter is great: spending time outdoors has a completely different feel to it. Look forward to the early morning nip, the unexpected rain shower, and the occasional sub-zero temperatures. Please don’t hibernate. Grab a backpack and get outside.

I must boast about AJ Calitz: did you know that this K-Way athlete has just broken a world record for the highest vertical distance climbed in 12 hours? Yes, he ran up Table Mountain 14.5 times in a row. Insane! Enjoy his latest column on page 84.

Once again, The Intrepid Explorer has some other incredible features in this edition, from the sterling work of Dr Jane Goodall and the exploits of Sir Richard Branson to the record-breaking feats of our very own Riaan Manser and Chris Bertish.

So whether you are out and about this cold season or sitting back under a blanket in front of a warm fire, enjoy this edition of The Intrepid Explorer.

Cape Union Mart www.capeunionmart.co.za Group Marketing Manager: Evan Torrence Marketing Manager: Nick Bennett

Yours in adventure,

Managing Director: Robbie Stammers

Andre Labuschaigne

Physical address: 174A Main Road, Claremont, 7700, Cape Town Postal address: PO Box 23692, Claremont, 7735 Telephone: +27 (0) 21 683 0005 Website: www.intrepidexplorer.co.za

Chief Executive Officer Cape Union Mart

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Photography Cover – Brian Smith Graham Howe, Fiona McIntosh, Roger and Pat De La Harpe, Jacques Marais, Nigel Khun, Trevor Wilkins, Bas De Vos, Michael Neugebauer, Matthew Willman, Shaen Ady, Riaan Manser, Shutterstock, Getty/Gallo Images

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Printer Creda Communications Distribution Universal Mail Link Special thanks to: Dr Jane Goodall & Linda Willemse, Fiona Ross from the Virgin Group PUBLISHED BY

No article or any part of any article may be reproduced without the prior written consent of the publisher. The information provided and opinions expressed in this publication are provided in good faith, but do not necessarily represent the opinions of Cape Union Mart (PTY) Ltd, Insights Publishing or the editor. Neither this magazine, the publisher or Cape Union Mart can be held legally liable in any way for damages of any kind whatsoever arising directly or indirectly from any facts or information provided or omitted in these pages, or from any statements made or withheld by this publication.

Our Intrepid Explorer

contributors Bas de Vos is a science student at UCT, fisherman and diver who, while backpacking through Thailand, Cambodia and Laos, and riding a motorbike through Vietnam and Africa during his gap year, discovered he also likes writing about travel.

These days, when he’s not in the laboratory or library, he’s dreaming about his next adventure off the coast of Mozambique – and the stories it’ll inspire.

Gareth Crocker’s debut novel, Finding Jack, was published in New York to international acclaim.

It was translated into several languages with combined sales of more than a million copies. His adventure novel, Journey from Darkness, was published in 2012 followed by the kidnap thriller, Never Let Go, in 2013. Both Finding Jack and Never Let Go are being developed for films. Gareth’s latest novel, King, has just been released.

Miriam Mannak is a journalist and photographer​based in Cape Town. She c​ overs a range of​topics, including travel and tourism in southern Africa and related issues such as the environment and sustainable social development. Follow her on Twitter: @miriammannak​/ www.miriammannak.com Fiona McIntosh, a freelance photojournalist, and the editor of Nightjar Travel magazine has an enviable life of travelling and adventuring all in the name of work. When not at her desk, she can be found out on Table Mountain hiking, rock climbing or enjoying a sundowner. She’s skied to the North and South Pole, stomped up a few continental peaks and dived the world’s most iconic dive sites. McIntosh is the author of numerous books on the Indian Ocean Islands, hiking, scuba diving, mountain biking and other adventures.

Jacques Marais is a pro photographer/author who regularly contributes to a wide selection of premium adventure, travel and outdoor magazines, both in SA and abroad. He has shot and authored numerous outdoor titles and is currently working on An Adrenalin Guide to Southern Africa. His short stories feature in an adventure anthology and during the acclaimed Red Bull Illume Image Quest sports photography awards, Jacques was honoured as a TOP 50 finalist from a field of well over 20 000 international shooters. Most recent honours include both a Gold and Silver Award in the respected SONY Profoto Awards.

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Shan Routledge was born into wanderlust, so it’s hardly surprising she found her way into the travel and adventure industry, interning for The Intrepid Explorer! Shan has worked on the snowy slopes of Aspen, sat on the edge of the world somewhere in Utah, been diving in Borneo, hiked volcanos in Indonesia and watched the sunrise from Borobudur. She survived the infamous Laos tubing, swam with elephants, cried in the Killing Fields of Cambodia, island hopped through Thailand and couchsurfed Europe. She is always looking for the next exciting heart-racing experience so watch this space.

Pippa de Bruyn is an awardwinning journalist who has been based in Cape Town since 1985. She has been travel-writing since 1998, when she was commissioned to write the first Frommer’s Guide to South Africa. Since then, De Bruyn has co-authored guide books on East Africa, India, East Europe and Italy, and continues to write travel and investigative features for various publications.

Riaan Manser is a solo adventurer based in South Africa. He was the first person to circumnavigate the coast of Africa by bicycle, a distance of 37 000km through 34 countries over two years and two months. In July 2009 he became the first person to kayak 5 000km around Madagascar, alone and unaided. Both journeys are covered in his books, Around Africa On My Bicycle (Jonathan Ball Publishers, 2007) and Around Madagascar On My Kayak (Jonathan Ball Publishers, 2011).

Recently Riaan has circumnavigated Iceland in a two-man kayak with Dan Skinstad and is currently rowing from North Africa to New York in a 6.9m kayak named Spirit of Madiba.

Chris Bertish is world-renowned for surfing waves the size of triple-storey buildings and for taking on extreme challenges such as stand-up paddleboarding across the Atlantic. He likes to say he’s just a normal guy, a regular Joe facing the same life struggles as everyone else. The difference is that Chris is willing to throw himself over the ledge of an ocean wave, paddle unsupported for seven days up treacherous coastlines alone, in extreme winds, battling the elements or paddling across the Atlantic on an SUP. He is now also a prominent speaker, doing talks all around South Africa. Chris is a Cape Union Mart brand ambassador.

Keith Hill was born and raised in Zimbabwe as the son of a tobacco farmer. They moved to South Africa in the early ‘80s, where he attended St Andrew’s College in Grahamstown. He qualified as a horticulturist at then Natal Technikon and worked for the Durban Parks Department until the mid-90s when he relocated to Cape Town.

Keith spends his time between working at The Intrepid Explorer and turning the coals and filling up his wineglass as chairperson of the Zeekoevlei Sunday Braai Club.

Roger and Pat de la Harpe are freelance photographers and writers based in South Africa and have a passion for conservation, natural history, wild places and indigenous cultures. Over the last 25 years, Roger and Pat have made frequent excursions into various regions of the African continent in pursuit of great stories and imagery. They have published 26 coffee table books, many of which are a celebration of nature and the environment, with their latest two – In Search of the African Wild Dog and In Search of the African Lion – having a strong conservation emphasis. They hope to increase public awareness of these two species and their current predicament, and to assist in raising funds to help researchers and game reserve managers find sustainable solutions to the conservation issues surrounding them.

Graham Howe is one of South Africa’s most experienced lifestyle journalists; he has contributed hundreds of food, wine and travel features to South African and British publications over the last 25 years. When not exploring the Cape Winelands, this adventurous globetrotter reports on exotic destinations around the world as a travel correspondent – and for the weekly travel show on SAfm. Andre “AJ” Calitz is a trail runner who has made his mark on the SA trail running scene, setting course records at almost every race. He came to trail running in 2011 with a strong pedigree and has been a multiple All Africa Triathlon Champion, South African Duathlon and Triathlon Champion and South African Cycling Champion. He also holds silver medals for Two Oceans and Comrades finishes.

As of 2013, he is a full-time athlete. AJ is a K-Way ambassador.

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editor’s note

Challenge yourself!

I

t’s an honour and privilege to have my hero, Sir Richard Branson, on the cover of our Autumn edition. I’ve had the opportunity before of interviewing him a few times via telephone and last year I had the awe-inspiring pleasure of meeting him face to face at a charity event for the JAG Sports & Education Foundation at the Arabella Hotel & Spa in Hermanus.

Branson has always held the highest pinnacle of place for me with regard to how he has taken on the biggest rivals in different spheres, with a self-belief that’s almost tangible. Whether it’s British Airways or the mighty Coca-Cola, he backs himself, pins his ears back and just goes for it.

That’s why the title of his book, Screw It, Let’s Do It, appeals to me so much. Nothing is impossible if one puts one’s mind to it.

Even the word ‘impossible’ can be broken up into ‘I’m possible’: if you believe in something strongly enough, then anything can be accomplished.

This is another major reason I love working on The Intrepid Explorer magazine, as I get to interact with so many inspiring people who, against all odds, relish the chance to beat them!

People such as Riaan Manser and Vasti Geldenhuys. Riaan has always vowed he would never expose Vasti to the dangers of his world, but now they’re taking on the waters of the Atlantic Ocean with no support boat in sight. Alone and unaided, they will endure a 120-day row from Agadir, Morocco to their destination, New York. (See page 22) People such as Chris Bertish, who won first place at the epic Mavericks, home of the world’s heaviest and biggest waves (page 81); and the incredible chimpanzee champion Dr Jane Goodall who, even at the age of 80, doesn’t seem to be close to slowing down at all. There’s only one thing on her bucket

list: to make the world a better place. Read more on page 16.

It has been extremely exciting to have The Intrepid Explorer available not only through all Cape Union Mart stores nationwide, but in retail outlets across the country – Pick n Pay and SPAR – and we thank you all for your continued support.

So let us all follow the example of the intrepid explorers in this edition, and strive to conquer whatever our goals and ambitions are. Remember, procrastination is the thief of time!

I’d like to end with a quote, fittingly, from Branson’s Screw It, Let’s Do It. He writes that author and mountain climber, James Ramsey Ullman, best summed it all up when he said: “Challenge is the core and mainspring of all human action. If there is an ocean, we cross it. If there is a disease, we cure it. If there is a wrong, we right it. If there is a record, we break it. And if there is a mountain, we climb it.”

I completely agree, and believe we should all challenge ourselves.

So enjoy this edition of The Intrepid Explorer and, until next time, live the life of adventure!

Robbie Stammers Publishing Editor

PS: On the subject of challenges, I would like to thank Sabrina Hill-Stammers for becoming my wife on 26 April this year! An immense challenge for her, no doubt, and a pleasure for me. In the next edition, I will let you all know about our special honeymoon in Africa.

Winning photo

This photo was sent in by James Kershaw all the way from Le Mas d’Estel Plage (plage is beach in French). The town is Saint-Aygulf in the south of France. James is teaching his daughter Naomi how to kiteboard surf. And when Dad wants to relax, he sits down to read his latest copy of The Intrepid Explorer and thinks of home. James wins this edition’s R500 gift voucher from Cape Union Mart.

Congratulations to the winners of our last edition’s competitions!

• Ashleigh Crowther wins the big prize of a getaway to Sanbona Wildlife Reserve worth R15 000 • Leigh Brown wins the 2-night stay for two people at Hotel Verde • Brad Corbi wins the three books: Things to do in a DORP, Gone Fishing, and Mammals of Southern Africa and their Tracks & Signs • Amore Scholtz wins the LED Lenser X14 Torch in our Facebook competition

Win, and have some fun doing it!

Take a photo of yourself with your copy of The Intrepid Explorer magazine in wild and wacky places or on an exciting adventure – whether it is on a mountain cliff, at an exotic location, or even under water! Three lucky readers will each win a 750ml bottle of the Three Ships Premium Select 5 Year Old. Named the ‘World’s Best Blended Whisky’ at the 2012 Whisky Magazine World Whisky Awards, the Three Ships Premium Select 5 Year Old has made South Africans burst at the seams with pride.

Send your photo, a description of your location, and your name and contact details to robbie@intrepidexplorer.co.za.

win big

with The Intrepid Explorer magazine and Thaba Eco Hotel

3 lucky readers can win a trip for two to Thaba Eco Hotel just outside Johannesburg

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urrounded by the tranquil and picturesque Klipriviersberg Nature Reserve, one finds a piece of Highveld Heaven in the form of the impressive Thaba Eco Hotel and Spa. A decade of passion has resulted in a brand renowned for world-class customer service.

Thaba Eco Hotel has been voted the best 4-star hotel in Gauteng at the Lilizela Tourism Awards, and is now also a registered Fair Trade Tourism-certified business.

The design of the hotel was inspired by the historical and environmental elements

of the Tswana Mountains. With the Standard, Deluxe, Luxury, and VIP rooms, guests have a variety of room types from which to choose.

Thaba Eco Hotel also has a variety of stunning venues for weddings, conferences and other functions, such as the Marquee, Lobola and Tswana Banquet Halls. Leisure activities include the Sinzinani Day Spa, horse-riding, Meditation Trail and guided hiking. For the future generation, the Eco Kids Club provides educational nature walks and various other leisure activities.

Thabo Eco Hotel has realised that hospitality and tantalising food go hand in hand, and has therefore put together a team of world-renowned chefs to attend to everybody’s culinary requirements. At the Olive Tree Coffee Shop, one can indulge in a slice of freshly baked Bar-One chocolate cake next to a 500-year-old Wild Olive Tree, while enjoying an aromatic coffee or sipping on a herbal tea.

The impeccable facilities and breathtaking natural surroundings ensure Thaba Eco Hotel is the venue of choice for both the corporate and leisure market.

Three lucky winners will each receive an accommodation voucher that includes the following:

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• • • •

• • • • • •

2 nights’ accommodation for 2 people Eco Walk for 2 people R500 voucher toward meals B reakfast at the Kraal Kombuis Restaurant between 07h30 and 11h30 Complimentary snack hamper L imited mini bar with alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages Turndown service with chocolates and mineral water Golf cart service Porter service K ids under 3 stay FREE (cots available on request)

To stand a chance of winning this superb prize, send the answer to the question below along with your contact details to taryn@intrepidexplorer.co.za.

Question: Which award did Thaba Eco Hotel recently win at the Lilizela Tourism Awards?

Winners will be notified, and will be responsible for their own transport to the hotel. Prizes cannot be exchanged for cash.

For more information on the hotel, go to www.thabahotel.co.za.

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The Kraal Kombuis Family Restaurant

High Tea | Kiddies Play Station Room | Bunnies Outdoor Play Area | Eco Walks | Coffee Shop Family Bush Picnics

info@thabahotel.co.za | 011 959 0777

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Sir R ic h a r d Br a n s on

richard the

lionheart Bold Branson’s galactic record-breaking feats

Most people know Sir Richard Branson, British business magnate and investor, as the founder of the Virgin Group of more than 400 companies and who has an estimated wealth of US$6 billion – but did you know he is also a seasoned record-breaker, having made history after securing three new titles in the new Guinness World

Records 2014 Edition? Robbie Stammers looks at his intrepid feats outside of the business realm.

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ir Richard Branson might have conquered the business world, but it certainly seems that his biggest passion lies in the near impossible challenges on land, air and sea which really get his blood racing.

The British entrepreneur has undertaken many intrepid adventures over the last two decades and has just added a new Guinness World Record to his tally, having become the oldest person to cross the English Channel by kiteboard.

The 63-year-old achieved the

largest parade of kitesurfers to surf over a mile in September 2013.

Recruiting from the team on Necker Island, Branson and friends then achieved ‘four up’ on a kiteboard at one time, setting a new Guinness World Record title for ‘Most people riding a kitesurf board’.

Apparently, he has already set his sights on getting a bigger board and going for five up. Guinness World Records editor-inchief Craig Glenday said, “We enjoy working with Richard on his quests to add further records to his already growing list and we’re delighted to announce that he has achieved another one! His passion

Atlantic Flyer, crossed the Atlantic. Branson and Per Lindstrand were the first to cross the Atlantic in a hot-air balloon rather than a helium/gas-filled one. They flew a distance of 2 900 miles (more than 4 600 kilometres) in a record-setting time of 33 hours. At the time, the balloon envelope they used was the largest ever flown, at 2.3 million cubic feet (over 65 000 cubic metres) of capacity.

A year later, Lindstrand set yet another record, this time for the highest solo flight ever recorded in a hot-air balloon – 65 000 feet (almost 20km).

The great team of Branson and

kiteboarding record after crossing from Dymchurch, Kent to Wimereux in northern France in three hours and 45 minutes in July 2012.

Branson was then challenged by friend and champion kitesurfer, Susi Mai, to take kitesurfing to a whole new level. On Necker Island, they set out to see how many people they could get up on a kitesurf board at one time.

After successfully equalling the current Guinness World Record title for three people riding a kiteboard, Richard and Susi set their sights on adding a new title to his extraordinary list of record achievements including leading 318 kitesurfers to break the record for the

for kitesurfing as well as oceanic-related records is truly inspiring and we eagerly await what he has planned for the future”.

The new titles are the latest in a long line of record-breaking achievements set by the multibillionaire. It all began back in 1985, when Branson attempted the fastest Atlantic Ocean crossing by boat.

His first attempt in the Virgin Atlantic Challenger led to the boat sinking in British waters and a rescue by Royal Air Force helicopter, which received wide media coverage.

In 1986, in his Virgin Atlantic Challenger II, with sailing expert Daniel McCarthy, he beat the record by two hours.

A year later, his hot-air balloon, Virgin

Lindstrand paired up again in 1991 and became the first to cross the Pacific in a hot-air balloon. They travelled 6 700 miles (10 783km) in 46 hours and 15 minutes from Japan to Canada, breaking the world distance record, travelling at speeds of up to 245 miles per hour (almost 400km/h).

The bearded billionaire just could not get enough of the adventurous lifestyle and his next challenge was to set a record for circumnavigating the globe in a hot-air balloon. This proved a step too far, however.

In the late 1990s Branson, Lindstrand and Steve Fossett made three failed attempts at around-the-world balloon flights. On the third attempt, made in December 1998, they travelled some

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I have done trans-Atlantic speedboating, hot-air ballooning and kitesurfing. Space adventure is still to come – though, ironically, it may be the least dangerous thing on the list!

8 200 miles (13 197km), becoming the first to fly across the whole of Asia in a hot-air balloon, before being forced down off Hawaii and having to jump to safety.

Branson later helped fund Fossett’s record-setting flight in 2005, in which he completed the first solo non-stop

circumnavigation of the world in an airplane.

Sir Branson then must have decided it was perhaps time to shelve his recordbreaking feats for a while but, still in the role of an intrepid explorer, he set his sights on a game lodge in South Africa: Ulusaba.

Ulusaba Private Game Reserve is

Previous spread: Sir Branson setting a new Guinness World Record as the oldest person to kitesurf across the English Channel from England to France OPPOSITE PAGE: LEFT: Branson reading The Guinness Book of Records 1988 and his second entry in the book. RIGHT: The 21-storey high Virgin Atlantic Flyer crash-landing off Hawaii – Branson and Per Lindstrand jumped from the gondola and were rescued by military helicopter TOP LEFT: Branson and co-pilot Lindstrand became the first to fly across the Atlantic in a hot-air balloon in July 1987 TOP RIGHT: In 1986, in his Virgin Atlantic Challenger II, Branson broke the record by registering the fastest Atlantic Ocean crossing by boat by two hours

located in the heart of the Sabi Sand Game Reserve on the border of the Kruger National Park. I have had the pleasure of staying at this 13 500-hectare private reserve and, believe me, you immediately know you’re in for something really special when you get there.

And your first sight of Ulusaba’s Rock Lodge and Cliff Lodge will only confirm this. Clinging to a high hill, like something out of a fairy kingdom, the lodges promise incredible views and sightings of the Big 5.

When Branson is not flying around the world, or on his own private island, Necker, he can apparently be found right here in South Africa. In fact his son, Sam, got married at Ulusaba last year and it was also

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”

Sir R ic h a r d Br a n s on

“

one of the places Branson, his daughter Holly and Sam trained before successfully completing the London Marathon in 2010.

But back to 2004. You can’t keep a good man down, as they say, and Branson was soon back to achieving more record-breaking feats. By June 2004, he set

yet another world record, this time for the fastest crossing of the English Channel in an amphibious craft. Using a Gibbs Aquada, he eclipsed the previous fastest recorded crossing time of six hours by more than four hours.

Never missing an opportunity to tie his thrill-seeking with his business objectives, Branson immediately announced that Virgin Airlines would offer some of its Upper-Class passengers the chance to experience the Gibbs Aquada when travelling to and from London’s Heathrow Airport, enabling them to beat the traffic by taking the Thames.

As a kid Branson loved reading Jules Verne’s Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the

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Sir R ic h a r d Br a n s on ABOVE: Branson holding two Guinness World Record certificates in September 2013 – for “The oldest person to cross the English Channel by kiteboard” and “Most followers on LinkedIn”. He is also in the record book for “Richest presenter of reality television” for the show, The Rebel Millionaire BELOW: In 2004, Branson set yet another world record, this time for the fastest crossing of the English Channel in an amphibious craft, the Gibbs Aquada

Sea and was enraptured by its sense of adventure and mystery.

So what do you do when money is no object? You get a team to design and build a three-man submarine, which Branson christened Necker Nymph and based it at his island.

“The Nymph has been designed specifically for us and it can ‘fly’ to about 100 feet below the ocean’s surface, performing twists and turns, which allow us to keep up with turtles, dolphins, whales and giant spotted eagle rays.”

Branson says that in time, the Nymph will be followed by new generations of subs able to get far further down than people have ever been before. I am sure this is another potential record-breaking feat for his future.

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It was also in 2004 that he decided ‘the sky is not the limit’, and invested in Virgin Galactic. I suppose once you’ve conquered pretty much everything there is to accomplish on air, land and sea, you reach for the stars.

Branson has reiterated his plan to fly with his children on the inaugural flight of his long-planned commercial space operation, despite the relatively untested nature of the technology and a departure date that has slipped to the end of this year, hopefully.

“Everybody who signs up knows this is the birth of a new space programme and understands the risks that go with that,” Branson said in an interview from Virgin Galactic’s base in the Mojave Desert, north of Los Angeles. “But every person wants

to go on the first flight, and my kids and I will be there.”

I have no doubt that if anyone can pull this off, it will be Sir Richard Branson. The Intrepid Explorer wishes him well on his quest to conquer space and, even though the famous saying from Star Trek hails space as “the final frontier”, something tells me this will not be the last adventure we can expect from Bold Branson.

For more information on Virgin Galactic, visit www.virgingalactic.com. And to look at Ulusaba Private Game Reserve and Necker Island, visit www.virginlimitededition.com.

In August, for seven days Richard will trek the famous Haute Route alongside the Virgin Strive Challenge core team.

The Strive Challenge is the product of his son Sam and nephew Noah’s desire to set themselves a challenging goal while fund-raising a significant amount for the Big Change Charitable Trust. At the beginning of August, the core team will run, row, cycle, hike and climb over 1 000km from the O2 Arena in London to the summit of the Matterhorn – showing how Richard’s zest for adventure has affected the younger Branson generation.

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Dr J a n e G ooda ll

Journey

jane’s

Robbie Stammers had the honour of meeting the serene and sublime Dr Jane Goodall, founder of the Jane Goodall Institute and a United Nations Messenger of Peace

I have had the incredible opportunity of meeting many celebrities and/or highly respected people – such that, after some time, it seems I become a little desensitised.

So it was wonderful being able to listen to Jane Goodall

© Michael Neugebauer

and to feel that sense of awe wash over me.

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ere is a woman who turned 80 this April, and who is still so passionate and committed that it makes me feel bad I’m not doing far more than I am at half her age!

It all began in the summer of 1960, when a young Englishwoman arrived on the shores of Lake Tanganyika in what is now Tanzania, East Africa. She was about to venture into the African forest to study chimpanzees – a highly unorthodox activity for a woman in those days. In fact, British authorities had insisted that the young woman have a companion, and so her mother would share this adventure for a time.

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As Jane first surveyed the mountains and valley forests of what was then called the Gombe Stream Chimpanzee Reserve, she had no idea that her future efforts would redefine the relationship between humans and animals or that the project would continue into the 21st century.

This African adventure was the fulfilment of Goodall’s childhood dream.

She had been fascinated by animals even as a small girl – once frightening the adults in her household by disappearing for hours to hide under some hay in the henhouse to wait for a chicken to lay an egg. “It was Jane’s first animal research programme,” her mother, Vanne, would say later.

She read countless books about wild

animals and dreamt about living like Tarzan and Dr Dolittle.

As a young woman, Goodall searched for ways to realise her dream. When, in 1957, a school friend invited her to her parents’ farm in Kenya, she eagerly accepted. Within a few months of arriving, she met the famed anthropologist and palaeontologist, Dr Louis Leakey.

Dr Leakey had been searching for someone to begin a study of chimpanzees, not only to better understand these little-known primates, but also to gain insight into man’s evolutionary past.

Goodall’s patience and persistent desire to understand animals convinced him she was the right person. He believed that a

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would be one of Goodall’s most important discoveries.

Also in her first year at Gombe, Goodall observed chimps hunting and eating bushpigs and other animals, disproving theories that chimpanzees were primarily vegetarians and fruit eaters that only occasionally supplemented their diet with insects and small rodents.

In 1961, she entered Cambridge University as a PhD candidate, one of very few people to be admitted without a college degree. She earned her PhD in Ethology in 1966.

One cannot overstate the degree to which Dr Goodall changed and enriched the field of primatology. She defied

PREVIOUS PAGE: Dr Jane Goodall with Gombe chimpanzee, Freud

Dr J a n e G ooda ll

mind uncluttered by academia would yield a fresh perspective.

At first, the Gombe chimps fled whenever they saw Goodall. She persisted, however, watching from a distance with binoculars, and gradually the chimps allowed her closer.

One day in the autumn of 1960, she saw chimpanzee, David Greybeard, strip leaves off twigs to fashion tools for fishing termites from a nest. Scientists thought humans were the only species to make and use tools, but here was evidence to the contrary. On hearing of Goodall’s observation, Dr Leakey said: “Now we must redefine tool, redefine man, or accept chimpanzees as humans.” This

OPPOSITE and below: Dr Goodall with chimpanzees at Gombe Stream National Park, Tanzania

Dr Jane Goodall’s scores of honours include the Medal of Tanzania, the National Geographic Society’s Hubbard Medal, Japan’s prestigious Kyoto Prize, the Prince of Asturias Award for Technical and Scientific Research, the Benjamin Franklin Medal in Life Science, the Unesco 60th Anniversary Medal, and the Gandhi–King Award for Non-violence.

In April 2002, then UN SecretaryGeneral Kofi Annan named Dr Goodall a United Nations Messenger of Peace.

Messengers help mobilise the public to become involved in work that makes the world a better place. They serve as advocates in a variety of areas: poverty eradication, human rights, peace and conflict resolution, HIV/Aids, disarmament, community development and conservation.

In 2004, in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace, Prince Charles invested Dr Goodall as a Dame of the British Empire, the female equivalent of knighthood.

In 2006, Dr Goodall received France’s highest recognition, the French Legion of Honour, presented by then Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin in Paris.

Dr Goodall has received honorary doctorates from numerous universities including University of St Andrews, Scotland; Goldsmiths, University of London; Utrecht University, Holland; Ludwig-Maximilians University, Germany; University of Stirling, Scotland; Providence University, Taiwan; University of Guelph and Ryerson University in Canada; and the University at Buffalo, Tufts University and other universities in the United States.

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Dr J a n e G ooda ll ABOVE: The Intrepid Explorer editor Robbie Stammers hands over a magazine to Dr Goodall on her recent Cape Town visit. Dr Goodall signs a copy of her new book, Seeds of Hope

scientific convention by giving the Gombe chimps names instead of numbers, and insisted on the validity of her observations that animals have distinct personalities, minds and emotions. She wrote of lasting chimpanzee family relationships.

Through the years, her work continued to yield surprising insights such as the unsettling discovery that chimpanzees engage in primitive and brutal warfare.

In early 1974, a ‘four-year war’ began at Gombe, the first record of long-term ‘warfare’ in non-human primates. Members of the Kasekela group systematically annihilated members of the Kahama splinter group.

In 1987, Dr Goodall and her field staff would also observe adolescent Spindle ‘adopt’ three-year-old orphan Mel, even though the infant was not a close relative.

The Gombe Stream Research Centre, which Dr Goodall established in 1965, eventually became a training ground for students interested in studying primates. Today, it hosts a skilled team of researchers and field assistants, including many Tanzanians.

Said Gilbert Grosvenor, chairperson of the National Geographic Society: “Jane Goodall’s trailblazing path for other women primatologists is arguably her greatest legacy. During the last third of the 20th century, Dian Fossey, Birutė Galdikas, Cheryl Knott, (Francine) Penny Patterson and many more women have followed her. Indeed, women now dominate long-term primate behavioural studies worldwide.”

Perhaps most significantly, Dr Goodall’s work opened a window to the world of chimpanzees for a public with a strong curiosity about one of its closest genetic relatives. Through her books, particularly In

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the Shadow of Man and Through a Window: My Thirty Years with the Chimpanzees of Gombe, people worldwide are on a first-name basis with the chimpanzees of Gombe. Gombe’s greatest mother, Flo, and her offspring became internationally known. When homely old Flo died in 1972, The London Times printed an obituary.

In 1977, Dr Goodall established the Jane Goodall Institute, which supports the continuing research at Gombe and is a global leader in the effort to protect chimpanzees and their habitats. In addition, it is widely recognised for establishing innovative community-centred conservation and development programmes in Africa, as well as Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots, the global environmental and humanitarian youth programme that has groups in more than 120 countries.

In 1986, after a conference session with startling news about deforestation and the rapidly dwindling chimpanzee populations across Africa, Dr Goodall realised she would have to leave her beloved Gombe and begin working to save chimpanzees. She continues this work today, travelling an average of 300 days per year to visit schoolchildren and speak in packed auditoriums about the threats facing chimpanzees, other environmental crises, and her reasons for hope that humankind will ultimately solve the problems it has imposed on the Earth.

Dr Goodall continually urges her audiences to recognise their personal responsibility and ability to effect change.

“Every individual matters,” she says. “Every individual has a role to play. Every individual makes a difference.”

She also emphasises the interconnectedness of all life. The Roots

Dr Goodall’s list of publications is extensive, including two overviews of her work at Gombe – In the Shadow of Man and Through a Window – as well as two autobiographies in letters, a best-selling autobiography, Reason for Hope, and Harvest for Hope: A Guide to Mindful Eating.

In 2009, she released Hope for Animals and Their World: How Endangered Species are Being Rescued from the Brink, about the successful efforts of conservationists determined to save endangered species.

Her many children’s books include Grub, the Bush Baby, The Chimpanzees I Love: Saving Their World and Ours and My Life with the Chimpanzees.

The Chimpanzees of Gombe: Patterns of Behavior is recognised as the definitive work on chimpanzees and the culmination of Dr Goodall’s scientific career.

She has been the subject of numerous television documentaries and is featured in the large-screen format film, Jane Goodall’s Wild Chimpanzees (2002) and the documentary film about her life, Jane’s Journey (2010). Discovery Channel’s Animal Planet specials featuring Dr Goodall include: Jane Goodall’s Return to Gombe (2004), Jane Goodall’s State of the Great Ape (2004), Jane Goodall’s When Animals Talk (2005), Jane Goodall’s Heroes (2006) and Almost Human with Jane Goodall (2007).

& Shoots programme embodies this principle by encouraging member groups to undertake service-learning projects benefiting people, animals and the environment.

At the end of Dr Goodall’s “Road to Gombe” talk at the University of Cape Town in February, I met her in person and handed her a copy of The Intrepid Explorer. Sitting there – with her selfconfessed travelling companion, a stuffed monkey called “Mr H” – she smiled as she told me that even at her “advanced age” she travels 300 days of the year.

“There is simply too much to do and I am obstinate,” she said with the cheeky glint in her eye one would expect to see in a much younger person. It just goes to show: it is not your time on Earth that matters, but what you do with it that counts.

For more information, visit www.janegoodall.org.

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conserving a vanishing way of life

boat

rock the Testing the strength of love and endurance

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R ia a n M a n s er Riaan Manser, adventurer and author, is currently on an expedition with his girlfriend, Vasti Geldenhuys, to row from Morocco to New York – a 120-day, 10 765-kilometre crossing of the north Atlantic Ocean. He tells

The Intrepid Explorer about the challenges they are facing – both in and out the boat.

I

t all started with a seemingly innocent request from Vasti for a holiday to New York, but never in her wildest dreams did she think it would take 10 765km of ocean rowing to get her there.

Alone, and with no support boat in sight, we left Agadir, Morocco in December 2013 and we’re making our way to New York.

Our home for the past couple of months has been a seven-metre rowing boat equipped with two plotters, which indicate the boat’s position on a nautical chart; a satellite phone from Imtech Marine Satellite Communications, and a VHF radio. A solar charge regulator supplies power to the technology on board and a saltwater converter turns the ocean water into drinking water via the process of desalination.

We rowed out of Agadir Marina full of spirit – and probably a teeny bit of false bravado. The sunset effectively brought down the curtain to the first day’s efforts.

We were exhausted, hands blistered to pieces and my rear end especially tender.

And that was when our fun began.

When the first storm hit, just off the coast of Morocco, we hunkered down in the cabin. We heard a thunderous sound, and I warned Vasti to hold on tight. Our boat was smashed and rolled onto its side.

We were in shock. The adventure was ‘real’ now and promptly had us both donning life jackets, our GPS rescue beacons and

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R ia a n M a n s er

PREVIOUS PAGE: Riaan and Vasti leaving the marina in Agadir, Morocco on 30 December 2013, in the 7-metre rowing boat they will call home until the end of May 2014 Right: Out on deck where up to 9 hours of hard labour take place every day Below: Hygiene time on the boat takes the form of shampoo and a bucket filled with saltwater Opposite top: The small 2x2 metre cabin where Riaan and Vasti sleep, cook meals and hide out during bad weather Opposite bottom: Cooling off in the Atlantic Ocean after a hard day’s rowing

clothing that would keep us warm in open seas.

It was only on the following morning that we got to see the brutality of the storm. Our drogue (water anchor), which for us is the most crucial piece of equipment in a storm, had been ripped apart by the ferocity of the ocean.

But with tragedy comes some happiness. The guys from DionWired and Imtech Marine in Cape Town worked hard all week to make our satellite phone operational. It was a miracle they had it done the morning right after the storm.

It was emotional for me to see Vasti chatting to her parents. They needed the chat as much as Vasti did.

When we reached the Canary Islands, we had some good fortune in repairs on items we were stressed about. By chance we landed in a marina that hosts one of the 2014 Volvo Ocean Race teams. So fixing our water maker and repairing our carbon fibre seats seemed a pleasant distraction for their engineering support crew.

After all repairs were made, we continued our adventure and headed for the open Atlantic Ocean. We would leave civilisation until we made landfall in the Bahamas.

What has amazed me about Vasti is how seriously she has taken some of the rules I’ve suggested. One of these is that we save the boat first if a wave were to break over us. It makes sense: if your mate were hit by a wave and fell overboard, it would be very comforting to know you had a vessel from which to help rescue the person. On the other hand, if a wave were

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to break into the boat interior while trying to get your partner inside, you could sink and most definitely ruin all the electronic equipment.

But Vasti’s reaction still came as a surprise. Just after a toilet break, I could see a huge wave approaching us in the distance. I moved quickly to the cabin door and shouted loudly for Vasti to open – and to open it fast! Her reply was even louder and non-negotiable: “No, no, hold on, just hold on, hold on with everything you have!” I couldn’t believe it. She would sacrifice me for this piece of carbon fibre?

I ducked right to the floor of the deck, turned around and faced what was coming my way. Only two of these waves broke over me. Sopping wet and relieved, I climbed back into the cabin – once permission had been given, of course –

where Vasti was giggling and apologising.

She had done the right thing, but geez, it didn’t feel good to be on the other side of that equation.

After the bad weather had cleared and we had been cooped up within centimetres of each other, we both agreed that a little bit of personal hygiene would do us both some good. We got out the trusty ‘bucket’ and shampoo and washed our hair for the first time in two weeks. Both of us needed it badly – for the other’s sake! Although our hair was clean, Vasti still battled to brush hers out due to the fact that we had opted for saltwater in order to preserve our freshwater supply.

A couple of rowing days later, reality visited us like we had not imagined it would.

Rowing in our second hour of a morning

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“Just hold on, hold on with everything you have!” I couldn’t believe it. She would sacrifice me for this piece of carbon fibre? session in tough conditions, a giant wave hit us and capsized our boat. I was thrown out while Vasti hung on for dear life. We were lucky – but also not so lucky…

Vasti spotted the swell after I had already called for her to row ‘left’: usually a term to warn each other of a breaking wave. The boat needed to turn for the wave not to hit us side-on. In this case, the wave was racing toward us from the left. Vasti only had time to join me on one strong left oar stroke before the wave

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came crashing onto us and over. It made contact with the aft (back) left side of the boat first – exactly where I had been seated, still trying to make another oar stroke.

Vasti says she could see the wave break over me and she just remembers holding on for dear life. Her decision at that moment had probably been wiser than mine. She held onto the safety harnesses either side of her, leaving her oars to flay wildly about.

I remember the violent impact, then seeing white, the boat falling down over me and then the realisation that my feet were stuck in the footholds. I thought of Vasti and if she would be able to get out.

And then... it was all over. I spluttered water out my mouth, wiped my hair away and came to the rope clasped firmly in my right hand. I still don’t know how it got there. I was alongside the boat, a few metres away, and saw Vasti still in her original rowing position, her face a

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R ia a n M a n s er ABOVE: Riaan and Vasti en route to becoming the first in history to row from mainland Africa to mainland USA

mask of fear.

For me it still feels as if it had been a dream. Vasti remembers looking to her right as the boat was hit downward. Then she was underwater and holding on, no matter what. Relief engulfed her as she realised the boat was turning her back to the surface. And that’s when she saw me in the water, outside the boat. She screamed to swim as fast as I could, unbeknown to her that I had the rope in hand. Yes, we had been lucky.

But a very demoralising consequence of this accident was that our satellite phone had been damaged beyond repair.

We spent a day and a half successfully drying out the interior electronics of the exterior dome that holds the satellite receiver, but sadly our only way to contact loved ones was gone.

We have had small disagreements, as couples have, but after the accident fireworks flew on this 7m boat. We fought tooth and nail, about almost anything imaginable: the quantity of sugar we are allowed in our coffee to – even more ludicrous – how much sunscreen is enough for each. There was a time when we did not speak to each other, unless gravely needed, for two days.

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So to make things better, I got up early one morning and surprised Vasti with coffee and muesli in bed. We had made a pact before leaving Morocco: we had promised each other that no matter the excuse or the obstacle, we would never let each other down in our quest to complete this incredible world-first. We had known it was going to be challenging – just not as relationship-challenging!

The food, though, has been good. We did a stocktake of everything on board while repacking and balancing our boat, and found we had more Back Country Cuisine® ‘astronaut’ food left than we had originally believed.

On top of this discovery, we also had a few days of profitable fishing. Our Rapala® lures became worn getting big fish to fall for the temptation of their colours; we landed three big dorado but lost one, keeping the two for yet another braai on board. Actually, the braais are small gas-fuelled affairs, but in terms of what they do for our sagging spirits, they are gigantic!

We had a case of ‘dorado revenge’ after the first braai, though. It had been a large fish of almost 14 kilogrammes and obviously had provided far too much

meat for two people to consume in a short time. The morning of the third day, we tucked enthusiastically into our olive-oil soaked fillets for breakfast. I felt a bit uneasy from the start, but blamed a bad night’s rest. Vasti, though, began to break out in a rash, had hot flushes and even heart palpitations! We were quite concerned. Soon thereafter I regurgitated my food while Vasti stuck it out.

Fortunately we survived this case of scombrotoxic fish poisoning. We hope that in future, smaller fish will target our fishing lures.

We are still en route to New York, just a bit slower than we expected. Every day we are getting closer to the Bahamas, which will be our first contact with land since 31 January 2014 when we left the Canary Islands. We hope to finally reach New York by the end of May. We are attempting to be the first in history to row from mainland Africa to New York, North America. Follow us on our Facebook page: Take Me 2 New York, and on Twitter: @TM2NY or @riaanmanser. For live updates on position and progress, visit http://my.yb.tl/TM2NY and www.riaanmanser.com.

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Tomb

raiders

Graham “Indy� Howe headed overland on the Forty Days Road through the great Western Desert in search of the fabled golden mummies of Egypt

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We had a remote rendezvous with the keeper of the tombs at an oasis in the Western Desert. Leaving the fertile green banks of the Nile behind, we headed west of the Valley of the Kings in Luxor, away from the water and into the sands of time.

G r a h a m Howe

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he khamaseen, the warm desert wind, had deposited great shifts of red sand on the old tarmac road. Mustafa Hamdi, our Libyan driver, halted frequently at makeshift security checkpoints in the middle of nowhere. The Texan-style bull horns mounted on the front of our Land Rover always raised a laugh.

The petrol drums and wonky barriers were moved out of the way by bored sentries glad of passing company, who exchanged warm greetings with the travellers, kissing the driver on both cheeks.

We woke up the next day in Al-Kharga, the gateway to the great Western Desert.

This ancient crossroads goes back millennia to Roman times as a way station on the lucrative caravan route that conveyed gold, ivory, skins and slaves between Darfur in Sudan and the Mediterranean.

The penultimate oasis on the notorious Forty Days Road, Al-Kharga is a dusty desert settlement still guarded by the ruins of old Roman forts and garrisons that once protected merchants from raids by nomadic tribesmen.

The sign on the bedroom door of our rustic two-star country hotel in Al-Kharga warned us: “Our gostes (guests) are kindly requested to put consideration that breakfast is obligatory.” While we were obeying the polite order, two competing guides showed up at breakfast, bowing heads deeply to the floor in the oldfashioned Egyptian fashion.

A furious row erupted over who would guide us on an overland trip through the tombs and temples of the White and Black deserts. I did a hasty job interview. The young city slicker billed as the “desart fox” (sic) on his business card did not inspire confidence. His competitor, the curator of the Oasis Heritage Museum, was an older

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man of influence who said he could open tombs and temples – and an Egyptologist who said he could read hieroglyphics. It was a no-brainer. The desert fox, like Erwin Rommel, beat a hasty retreat.

We would get to know Mahmoud Yousef Eed well as we made our way around the oases of the Western Desert.

A dedicated historian, our guide took his job very seriously – and, best of all, brought along a big bunch of keys to open tombs and temples closed for

scribes on the stone tablets of the Governor of the Oasis in 2300 BC – which somewhat resembled my illegible scrawl in shorthand in my travel notebook.

The linen-bound mummies were the most mesmerising artefacts of all. I’ll readily admit to a ghoulish boyhood fascination with these embalmed corpses, down to the exposed gnarly old fingers and toes. Mahmoud assured us, “Only VIP mummies are exhibited in my museum.”

We came across funny signs warning:

The necropolis of Al-Bagawat sits on a hill in the sand dunes outside Kharga.

Many of the early Christian tombs are closed to tourists. “Open sesame,” commanded Mahmoud. “Show my guests the ‘doomed shebbels’ (domed chapels).”

Behind the crumbling mud-brick walls of the Chapel of Exodus and the Chapel of Peace, our guide revealed an Aladdin’s cave of exquisite ceiling murals depicting biblical scenes of Moses and the burning bush and Jonah and the whale in the

decades for restoration.

A man with a sibilant stutter, he took a while to say Hatshepsut (pronounced ‘hat-cheap-suit’), the longest reigning female pharaoh of Egypt – but soon we could understand his quaint English as he diligently guided us around the temple of the “doomed” (tombs) and pointed out “diseased moomies” (deceased mummies).

Before setting out, the curator of the Al-Kharga Museum of Antiquities showed us the masterpieces of his establishment: the exquisitely painted wooden birds called ba (soul), buried in tombs in the oasis at Dush 4 000 years ago, which conveyed the deceased to the afterlife.

True to his word, our guide translated the hieroglyphics carved by ancient

“Thar is a mummy in bad condition in side”, next to “Here is a mummified lady in good condition”.

The archaeological season over the winter months was coming to an end as we headed out into the desert where temperatures soared to 40 degrees Celsius. A sphinx-lined avenue led us through the mighty gateway to the Temple of Hibis where workers were restoring one of the rare Persian temples in Egypt, lifting massive stone slabs and re-erecting fallen columns. Built by King Darius I in the sixth century BC, the temple is decorated with painted vultures and huge murals as well as graffiti left by the intrepid Victorian explorers of the Western Desert in the 19th century.

heart of the desert.

We followed “the way of dusty death” (the name of the old slave route from Sudan) further west to Al-Dakhla, one of a chain of oases. Travelling back in time, we passed farmers wearing straw hats, riding donkeys with saddle bags, working in lush orchards of date palms, oranges and olives irrigated by a maze of canals, wells and water wheels pulled by buffaloes.

We stopped for coffee at an old village called Mut – named after the vulture goddess, not the stray dogs – a citadel with spectacular views.

At the foot of the high limestone cliffs lay the medieval citadel of Al-Qasr, with its old covered alleyways and cool mud-brick houses. Wandering through the steep

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The linen-bound mummies were the most mesmerising artefacts of all. I’ll readily admit to a ghoulish boyhood fascination with these embalmed corpses, down to the exposed gnarly old fingers and toes.

PREVIOUS PAGE: Ruins of El-Ghweita Temple in Kharga Oasis Opposite page: Qasr al-Ghueita – The Palace of the Beautiful One: a sandstone temple built 2 500 years ago during one of the last dynasties of the Pharaohs Above middle: A camel caravan makes its way across the Black Desert of Egypt ABOVE Right: The author washes off the heat and the dust in one of the hot springs at Bahariya Oasis ABOVE Far right: Badr’s Desert Gallery owned by a famous Egyptian artist who makes weird and wonderful sculptures out of stone, clay and desert driftwood

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cobbled streets, we came across dozens of old lintels dating back to the 1500s – acacia beams carved with a verse from the Koran, and the name and occupation of the owner of every house.

At the House of Abu Nafir, exhibits tell the fascinating lineage of the owners of ancient wells over the centuries as well as desert folklore and traditions. Out in the desert, water is a lifeline, passed on from father to son as a priceless inheritance.

We watched the sun set over the ancient Roman ruins of Deir el-Hagar, a golden temple built on sandstone columns crumbling back into the sands.

Every famous desert traveller – from Rolf to Drovetti – has passed this way, leaving their names carved in the great porch of

the temple built during the reign of Nero.

Like the traveller poet Lord Byron, I thought: “Oh that the desert were my dwelling-place!” Under the eye of the keeper of the tombs, I refrained from adding my own graffiti.

At the Roman necropolis of AlMozawaka, we climbed the rocky slopes of a koppie to get a view of the flat gravel plains of the desert. Exploring one of the caves, I realised the entire hillside was a honeycomb of burial tombs.

Exposed mummies unravelled like head-to-toe bandages. Mahmoud shook his head. “The art of making mummies declined in Roman times. They lost all the old skills.” I could see what he was saying.

These were not VIP mummies – but they

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G r a h a m Howe Above left: A sphinx-lined avenue leads to the Temple of Hibis at Al-Kharga Oasis, the gateway to the great Western Desert Above right: The House of Abu Nafir, a museum of desert folklore in the Medieval citadel of Al-Qasr

had lasted 2 000 years.

During long, dry stretches of desert road we passed the time learning the names of the Egyptian gods and pharaohs who ruled for 3 000 years. We soon succumbed to what tourists in Egypt call ‘Pharaonic fatigue’. Mahmoud said, “Mr Writer, you must worship Thoth, the God of Wisdom, the patron of scribes, who appears as a baboon or sacred ibis.” I answered, “You won’t believe it, I see ibis (we call them ‘hadeda’) in my garden in Cape Town every day!” Mahmoud nodded sagely. Talk about serendipity.

Heading north, we came to the Farafra Oasis which lives up to its far, faraway name – a settlement of desert Bedouin who live in mud-brick houses with wooden doorways closed by medieval peg locks.

We stopped for coffee and a few puffs on a shisha (hubbly bubbly/hookah) at Badr’s Museum and Desert Garden, owned by a famous Egyptian artist who makes weird and wonderful sculptures out of stone, clay and desert driftwood. Hot springs bubbled out of the desert, irrigating the lush date palm and olive groves.

An entire army of 50 000 men once vanished into the Western Desert. At the turnoff to Ain Della (the Spring of the Shade), Mahmoud told us the incredible story of the lost army of Cambyses II, the Persian general who led an ill-fated expedition to destroy the oracle at the Temple of Amun near the Oasis of Siwa in 525 BC. The oracle’s prophecies had been renowned throughout the ancient world.

According to legend, the invading army was swallowed by a sandstorm – and never seen again. Solving the mystery has been a holy grail over the centuries, and in 2009 Italian archaeologist twins,

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Angelo and Alfredo Castiglioni, claimed to have found the remains of the army.

Further investigations are ongoing.

Mustafa, our trusty driver, stopped to let down the tyres of our Landy. We bounced off-road into the White Desert, a surreal landscape of eroded limestone bergs and canyons known as inselbergs.

Blinded by the whiteout, it took time for our eyes to adjust to the eerie Mad Max wasteland. Rocky outcrops eroded over the years by wind took shape before us – a shimmering mirage of fantastical creatures. The desert floor was littered with glittering quartz and fossils that draw collectors from around the world.

We felt like Alice stepping through the looking-glass into a magical land.

Rejoining the tarmac, we climbed a steep escarpment called Naqb al-Sillim (Pass of the Stairs), passing between two landmarks known as Twin Peaks en route to Crystal Mountain, a large crystal rock with an arch big enough to walk under.

Going from light into dark, we passed into the Black Desert, named after the fine black iron powder eroded from the volcanic mountains by the desert winds.

We came across the Black Desert Café, a roadside inn in the middle of nowhere. The charming proprietor, his seven wives and 11 children, jangling bangles and baubles, served us tea and gave Heather a glass bangle in a warm show of Bedouin hospitality.

At the end of the day, we washed off the heat and the dust in one of the hot springs at Bahariya Oasis, an overnight crossroads on the ancient north/ southwest/east caravanserai trade route.

Mahmoud still had a few tricks up his sleeve. On our last day in the desert, he

Fact

Under the Arabic lunar calendar, the best time to travel in the desert is under the full moon in the cool of the night. Experienced desert travellers never venture out into the sands when the harvest moon hangs like an old and withered date stalk on a palm tree.

took us to the village of Bawiti where he commanded the local guard to open up the two ancient burial mounds of Qarat Qasr Salim. Feeling like Howard Carter stepping into the long-sealed tomb of Tutankhamun – and wondering if any lethal ancient viruses lurked in the musty air – we gingerly climbed down a vertical ladder into the underground chambers of a wealthy wine merchant buried in 750 BC. We gazed upon colourful reliefs showing the journey of the sun, the moon and Isis, goddess of magic.

The oasis of Bahariya made global headlines in the late 1990s when world-renowned archaeologist Dr Zahi Hawass, the Indiana Jones of Egypt, discovered the most spectacular collection of mummies ever – and named it the Valley of the Golden Mummies.

Inside the antiquities inspectorate lay rows of gilded mummies embalmed during the reign of Ptolemy and found buried under the desert sands 2 000 years later.

Our desert safari ended on Qarat al-Farargi (Ridge of the Chicken Merchant) where mummified ibises pay tribute to the patron of scribes, who protects us writers from misadventures on the Forty Days Road.

Graham Howe was a guest of EGYPTAIR, the Egypt Tourism Authority and Egypt & Beyond. Contact Cecelia Amory at Egypt & Beyond, Johannesburg: 011 678 6165, cecelia@championtours.co.za or see www.egyptandbeyond.co.za.

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Fion a M c I n tos h

on yer bike!

Fancy a holiday in the saddle? Then make tracks for Fiona McIntosh’s medley of mountain bike tours It was an email from an intrepid friend, David Bristow, which sold me on mountain biking in big game country. “Fi Mac, how fast do you think you can ride if you’re being chased by an elephant? Forty-five kilometres per hour on a flat dirt road. I clocked it.”

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tracking devices so that the organisers know where you are – and immediately call you, should you venture off the track.

Sure, rangers sweep the area beforehand to check that there are no lion on the route but, flip, was the adrenalin pumping at the start!

As if on script, the lead riders surprised a young bull elephant beside the road as they rode out of the overnight camp at Mantuma in uMkhuze. Nicknamed “Malema”, after its habit of charging through the camp, it was more startled than the folk in Lycra and quickly skedaddled.

Next up, a white rhino lumbered across the road, seemingly oblivious to the merry band of excited riders. It just got better and better as we progressed through the park, following ancient migration paths, many of them through areas that are not normally open to the public: from the Lebombo Mountains through uMkhuze, Phinda Private Game Reserve and all the way to the Indian Ocean.

And the game viewing wasn’t just reserved for the front runner: one of the tail-ender teams, the ‘French Frogs’ who rode on cheap bikes bought in a hypermarket, got a huge surprise when they rounded a bend in the Eastern Shores section and almost rode slap-bang into a young black rhino!

There were wonderful touches such as the traditional Zulu drum roll that served as the starting gun each day; the scenery was mind-blowing; we got up close and personal with hippo, crocodile, rhino and other dangerous game, and every day there was the opportunity to enjoy the range of park activities – to take a canopy walk, visit a waterhole, spot hippo and croc on a boat cruise on Lake St Lucia – once the riding was over.

At the end, every participant raved about the incredible privilege of riding through the incredibly diverse ecosystems of the Big Seven park (whales and sharks in the marine section add bragging rights

©shaen adey

ountain biking through Big Five country sounded downright silly; I had to find out more.

And so it was that a few years ago, I ended up riding the annual Nedbank Tour de Tuli, a spectacular mountain bike tour that traverses the scenic and game-rich areas of the Greater Mapungubwe Transfrontier Conservation Area.

Riding in groups, with a guide in front and another at the rear, we rode along paths created by the matriarchs and were rewarded by some seriously close and exhilarating interactions. Needless to say, there were some great stories in the bar that evening – and that was only day 1!

Last year I was baited again. A new MTB event was being launched in South Africa’s first Unesco World Heritage Site, the Big Seven iSimangaliso Wetland Park. But on this event there are no guides. Rather, after a thorough briefing, you ride in pairs, wearing

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©fiona mcintosh

©shaen adey

©jacques marais

Fion a M c I n tos h to the Big Five reserve!). Chief executive of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park Authority, Andrew Zaloumis, summed it up perfectly when he admitted that although the riding had been amazing, “iSimangaliso is actually much bigger than the ride”. There is nowhere else in the world where mountain bikers can have such an experience. I’ll put money on this becoming the next big thing in mountain biking in southern Africa.

The next iSimangaliso MTB 4 Day will take place between 21 and 24 August 2014. Enter online at www.isimangaliso-mtb.co.za.

9 other great MTB tours Nedbank Tour de Tuli This annual event is not cheap, but it’s one of the all-time mountain biking adventures that everyone should try to ride once in their life, with proceeds going to Children in the Wilderness.

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The route changes from year to year, but starts at Pont Drift in the Northern Tuli Reserve in eastern Botswana. From there you follow specially marked, exclusive trails through the Northern Tuli region, before crossing the Shashe River at an informal border crossing into Zimbabwe. After some wonderful Moab-type slick cycling over exposed rock slabs and wonderful camping along the Limpopo River, the tour crosses out of Zimbabwe and ends in the Mapungubwe National Park in South Africa, a World Heritage Site.

Botswana’s Northern Tuli Game Reserve – a unique opportunity to ride kilometres of flowing single track created by migrating herds of elephants, with astounding wildlife encounters and comfortable wilderness camping.

The trails are endless and so, after discussion with the guides, routes and distances are tailored according to the group’s needs. The terrain offers something for riders of all skill and fitness levels, but on the whole the riding is relaxed with regular stops to enjoy the wildlife sightings and dramatic landscape.

Tour de Tuli 2014 runs from 1 to 6 August 2014. Visit www.childreninthewilderness. com/tour-de-tuli.html for more information.

Go to www.mtbsafaris.com or www.cyclemashatu.com.

Cycle Mashatu Wilderness Trail If you can’t make the Tour de Tuli, Cycle Mashatu runs regular four-day, three-night cycling safaris in the Mashatu section of

Desert Knights And now for something completely different. Another new kid on the block, this fascinating six-day ride through the |Ai-|Ais/Richtersveld Transfrontier Park

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Fion a M c I n tos h ©shaen adey

between Namibia and South Africa has a twist: you ride by moonlight!

Days in this starkly beautiful desert region are swelteringly hot, so you hide from the sun until the temperature falls in the late afternoon, then ride late into the evening. The tour is run over the full moon, which illuminates the dramatic landscape, so you rarely have to use bike lights. Surreal!

Most of the routes are on jeep tracks and district roads, but don’t underestimate this one. Although there is vehicle backup for less intrepid sorts, it’s a tough ride with several stages of nearly 70km – and some optional technical single track to test the competitive riders. Day 4 provides a welcome relief from the saddle, with a canoe trip down the Orange River.

If you’re up to it, Desert Knights is an amazing chance to really experience the diversity of this superficially desolate corner of southern Africa.

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Desert Knights 2014 runs from 7 to 12 September 2014.

Visit www.desertknights-mtb.com.

reasonably technical with some short, but steep hills and long sections of beach riding so a reasonable level of fitness and mountain biking skills are required.

Wild Coast MTB Tour Long empty beaches, rolling hills and some tricky single track along animal paths have ensured the Wild Coast’s popularity with mountain bikers. Popular tours include the 190km four-day, three-night RIDE WILD TOUR, which follows the same route as the Imana Wild Ride – from Kei Mouth to Umngazi River Bungalows – and Active Escape’s 140km four-day, four-night Wild Coast MTB Adventure from Morgan Bay to Coffee Bay (with an option to continue for a couple more days to Umngazi).

The former is geared at fit and technically sound riders while the latter is more leisurely and offers more time for swimming, chilling and taking in the spectacular landscapes. The route is

Check out www.wildride.co.za or www.active-escapes.co.za.

Black Mountain Magic Tour This seven-day, six-night tour which starts on the Garden Route and finishes in the quaint Karoo town of Calitzdorp is a delightful journey guided by highly entertaining local MTB fundi Tony Cook, which takes riders from the verdant coast to the semi-arid Karoo over two spectacular mountain passes – Montagu and Swartberg – and through some of the loveliest mountain scenery in South Africa.

The tour takes its name from the major mountain range that you cross several times over the course of the week: the Swartberg (Black Mountain). Although none of the

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©shaen adey

Fion a M c I n tos h riding is technical, there are some steep climbs, but backup vehicles and wellplanned rest stops make it a doable ride for any reasonably fit mountain biker.

For further info, visit www.tonycookadventures.co.za.

Gold Rush Tour This three-day tour, centred around the Mount Anderson Ranch near Lydenburg (Mashishing) in Mpumalanga, is one of the most varied MTB tours in the country – offering expert guiding, luxury accommodation, spectacular scenery, outstanding game viewing and well-laid tracks as well as an insight into the fascinating history of the area.

The riding is largely on single track that has been developed along the existing game trails, and groups can tailor-make their itineraries, choosing routes to suit their fitness levels and technical expertise.

Initially you climb, or take advantage of a lift up to the high plateau, then for most of the day cruise along the top through rock gardens and along the escarpment, checking out the mine shafts and admiring the views and game before a swooping downhill to a dam for lunch.

There are sections of technical single track that will challenge even the most proficient riders, but they are short and sweet so you can easily walk them. That said, this is a trail designed for people who are comfortable on their bikes – not complete novices.

Go to www.mountanderson.com.

Cape Peninsula Self-Guided Mountain Bike Tour Everyone’s heard of the awesome single track of the Tokai Plantation, but the Cape Peninsula also makes for wonderful MTB

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touring. This self-guided, two-day, one-night tour – which takes you along mountain tracks and quiet back roads – is a classic example of bike touring made easy.

Riders are loaned a 27-speed mountain bike, helmet and GPS unit with a preloaded route to follow, accommodation is booked, and bags are transferred, so it’s perfect for riders of all levels of abilities who fancy an affordable cycling holiday, but haven’t the time to organise their own logistics.

Although there are some significant climbs and a few technical sections, daily distances average around 40km per day – leaving you plenty of time for sightseeing and wine tasting along the way.

Find details at www. capemountainbikingtours.com.

Midlands Multi-Day MTB Meander The Natal Midlands are known for their diverse mountain biking terrain and this guided and fully catered four-day tour can be adapted to suit riders of any abilities.

There are options for technical riders to test themselves on the handcrafted single-track of Karkloof, while those with limited skills can stick to easy trails through forests, nature reserves and farmlands. The accommodation

is in lovely guesthouses and, since there’s always a backup vehicle in support, it makes for a great family holiday.

Check out www.active-escapes.co.za.

Wheels of Time Trail This two-and-a-half-day ride takes you through the rolling hills and coastal plains of the Cape West Coast Biosphere Reserve.

The tour is not aimed at adrenalin junkies or Absa Cape Epic trainees, but rather at recreational cyclists who are keen to experience the back roads and beauty of the West Coast – from the seat of a bicycle.

It can be customised to the needs of individual groups and is a great way to appreciate the authenticity of the West Coast at a relaxed pace.

Cyclists follow quiet gravel roads and tracks through undulating hills, with the occasional steep climb, stretch of sand or tar. A support vehicle, carrying luggage and providing food and refreshments along the route, is always in attendance so you can hop aboard anytime if you feel like taking it easy.

Visit www.capebiosphere.co.za/trails for information.

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iSimangaliso MTB 4 Day From the mountains to the sea through 8 interlinking eco-systems with “Big 5” game in 1 World Heritage Site

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Atlantic

conquering the mighty

Miriam Mannak gets a South African perspective of the Cape2Rio

In January this year the DStv Explora, as the first South African Cape2Rio race contender, sailed into Brazil’s capital city after being at sea for just over two weeks. Bowman Gary Neill remembers every minute of his crew’s epic journey, from start to finish.

Photographs Trevor Wilkins

M ir ia m M a n n a k PREVIOUS PAGE: It took the DStv Explora 16 days and 3 hours to sail from South Africa to their destination, Brazil ABOVE: The Explora crew was the first South African team, and the fourth overall crew, to cross the finishing line. The achievement didn’t land in their laps by accident, as Mother Nature almost put an end to their journey

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t was cold and misty when the Mother City awoke on 4 January 2014. However, by the time the clock struck noon, the sun had proved victorious after a round of musical chairs, with the thick tufts of mist revealing nothing but bright blue summer skies. These favourable weather conditions triggered a Table Bay invasion by hundreds of sailing and motoring yachts, speed and rowing boats, surfboards, dinghies and kayaks. Their

objective: seeing off, in style, the crews of the 37 competing racing boats.

“The day of the start was a bit emotional. You are, after all, leaving your loved ones behind on the jetty, as you are setting forth to cross the mighty Atlantic.

It was my first race,” Neill says, adding that most of his fellow crew had done some races before.

“Before we said our goodbyes to friends and family, we had a last meeting with our sponsors, SuperSport and First National Bank, after which we went for

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our final skippers and navigators briefing.

At 2pm, it was race time.

“It was very exciting, particularly because we managed to nail the start by racing the two favourites, Maserati from Italy and Scarlet Runner from Australia, around Table Bay. As we did so, we were cheered on by loads of support boats,” the bowman continues. “It was a great day.”

It didn’t take long for the tides to turn.

Barely 24 hours after the Explora’s glorious departure, the weather gods threw their toys out of the cot and launched the South Africans into the gauntlets of a harrowing Atlantic storm.

“This was on the second day of our

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yacht is, after all, a very uncomfortable space to be in with a group. This didn’t happen to us. The camaraderie was great.

This was assisted by the fact that we ensured to share at least one daily meal together, between 3pm and 4pm. That was my favourite meal and moment of the day.”

Most of the food that the Explora men consumed was freeze-dried, requiring just added hot or cold water – depending on the type of meal. “In the first week, however, we often had freshly cut cabbage with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, two-minute noodles, and some salami, smoked mussels or tuna. Very tasty,” Neill says. “We also had snack packs, which included biltong, nuts, power bars and isotonic drinks.”

Eventually, after being at sea for 16 days and three hours, the DStv Explora finally arrived in Rio de Janeiro on 21 January at 3pm. They were the fourth crew to cross the finishing line, and the first South African contesting team.

“We had a great reception upon our arrival,” Neill says. “A case of beer and a bottle of Champagne were duly dropped onto the deck. We were very humbled when the crew of Scarlet Runner welcomed us at our mooring nest. They had been our main rivals during the race,” he recalls.

“After our arrival, we spent two nights in Rio, after which we made our way down the coast to a beautiful little beach close to São Sebastião. We stayed in Brazil for a week, after which we flew back. We hired a skipper to return the boat to South Africa.”

Despite the storm, his brother’s accident, the death of the Angolan sailor and the various other challenges, Neill looks back on his transatlantic adventure with a smile. “The race was the cherry on top of a wonderful year of learning and training, which started in January 2013,” he says. “None of us had sailed in an open 60-footer before, which is a very fast boat.

At first, we sailed every Tuesday. Later, we would add an occasional overnight trip to the agenda.”

These overnight sails were a real shock to the system, the bowman recalls: “We would sail, at night, to a point some 160 nautical miles (296km) from the Cape coast, and back. Getting used to sailing at night, in big winds and at a high speed, is quite scary when you can’t see properly. It

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journey. The highest wind speed we measured was 54 knots (100km/h). It was hectic, and difficult to explain to someone who has not been at sea with 10-metre swells,” Neill says.

The storm almost put a premature end to the Explora’s journey. “Our motor and Genset® diesel generator broke, and we had a fire in the cabin. The storm was so violent that we couldn’t do anything for 36 hours,” the bowman explains. “We assumed that our race was over. Being only at day two, we assumed we wouldn’t make it to Rio.” Eventually, the Explora crew managed to get everything going again, after which they continued their journey. “My main tip, therefore, for anyone who wants to sail across the Atlantic – for fun or as part of a race – is that you have to be very good at fixing things and making plans when things break,” Neill stresses. “When you are at sea, the things that can go wrong will go wrong.”

The South African team was subjected to many more challenges. “My brother, Bruce, had been seasick for three days,” Neill recalls. “On the fourth day, he started to feel better and that very night he came onto his shift, which started at midnight.

Unfortunately, he accidentally stepped into an open hatch. He broke three ribs and pulled the ligaments in his knee. That was very tough on him and the rest of us.”

While the problems faced by the DStv Explora were undoubtedly genuine, they were nothing compared to the hardship experienced by some of the other boats.

The Angolan crew of Billie, besides suffering various injuries and severe breakage due to the storm, lost one of their team members. António João Bartolomeu, 47, was thrown overboard during the storm. His fellow crew mates managed to pull him back on board, but he died shortly afterward.

It wasn’t all drama for the Explora, however. To Neill, the best part of the 3 300 nautical mile expedition was being part of and working with a tight team of friends. “You hear nightmare stories of guys who start packing their bags three days before arriving at the harbour, and who afterward never talk to their teammates ever again,” he says. “A racing

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Despite the storm, his brother’s accident, the

death of the Angolan sailor and the various

other challenges, Neill looks back on his transatlantic adventure with

a smile

BELOW: Celebrating their arrival in Brazil after an eventful expedition. From right to left: Mike Minkley, Philip Lamprecht, Craig Sutherland, Bruce Neill, Gary Neill, Ken Venn and Mike Clarke

The Boat

Type: Open racing yacht Design: Finot–Conq Length: 60 foot (18.2 metres) Depth: 4.5-metre deep draft fixed Weight: 8 tonnes Other specs: Pure carbon fibre hull, twin rudders and a pure carbon fibre mast and boom Christened: Wednesday, 30 October 2013 at the V&A Waterfront

The Crew

Craig Sutherland – Watch captain and skipper Gary Neill – Bowman Phil Lamprecht – Watch captain and in charge of generator, motor and electronics Mike Clark – Watch captain and in charge of sails, lines and rigging Ken Venn – Navigator and expert bowman Bruce Neill – In charge of safety and finance Mike Minkley – In charge of nutrition

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is particularly scary when you blow a sail, as we did on our first overnight sail. It ripped all our guard rails out in 20 knots of wind.”

Besides mastering the art of ocean sailing on a fast boat, the crew’s preparation revolved around anticipating eventualities and tackling problems. “Only about 30% of training revolves around sailing,” Neill says.

“We also had to get used to being at sea in a small space and dealing with day-to-day activities and duties. We soon decided to work a three-shift system, with shifts from 4am to 8pm, 8pm to 12am, and 12am to

4am. The last was called the graveyard shift.

We had two people on duty at all times, and two crew members on standby. During the storm, however, we had four crew on duty at all times.”

All in all, the Cape2Rio has left Neill a changed man. “I have realised how very privileged we were to have experienced the race,” he says. “My admiration for ocean sailors has increased dramatically, as well as respect for the incredible force of nature. It was amazing. I don’t think I will experience a storm like that again.”

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Ba s de Vos

He ain’t heavy,

he’s my father Bas de Vos learnt the meaning of bonding on a motorcycling trip across Africa with his father

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When, in October last year, my father and I completed the final preparations before riding our Honda XR650 motorcycles overland from Cape Town to Amsterdam, we received two distinctly different responses from our friends.

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is friends were very positive and got caught up in the romance of the idea. My dad’s Dutch and grew up in Amsterdam. He arrived in Cape Town nearly 35 years ago when he was 19, after a nine-month trip through Africa on a motorcycle with three friends. The 2013/14 expedition was, in a sense, the

along well and, while I wasn’t entirely certain what ‘bonding’ meant, I suspected it was something best left to the authors of self-help books.

It didn’t take long into the trip, however, before I realised there might have been something to my friends’ reservations.

Things about my father which, before we left, I’d simply laughed off as a bit eccentric, began to irritate me. He can,

the bike that bothered me. There was also his stubborn single-mindedness when it came to tracking down his other great love – beer – at the end of a hard day on the bikes.

Fortunately, until we reached the Arabic countries, finding a cold one each evening wasn’t a problem. But especially in Sudan – and often in Egypt – things changed and my father was greatly distressed by the lack of beer.

return journey for him – in the company of his 19-year-old son. It was something we’d talked about doing together ever since I can remember.

“Wow! That’s really great… so envious.

What an adventure. You two are going to have such wonderful bonding times,” was the sentiment echoed by his friends.

Mine, most of whom had been out of school for less than a year, didn’t share the enthusiasm: “Dude, sick idea. But you’ve just come back from a six-month jol all alone in Southeast Asia. The sandiest beaches, cheapest beer, mooiest chicks and complete freedom. Now you’re going to cross dark and dangerous Africa with your dad? WTF, bro?”

At first, I dismissed what both groups said. My father and I have always got

for example, appear arrogant at times.

Having been a biker for more than four decades, he doesn’t think twice about popping wheelies, hopping up on sidewalks and undertaking various other motorcycling manoeuvres he’s perfected whenever he deems it necessary. While I can’t claim to be completely innocent in this regard, his reckless riding sometimes annoyed me.

Like the morning in Khartoum when, impatient in heavy traffic, my father suddenly took off and bounced his bike onto a sidewalk to avoid queuing behind cars – right in front of a large contingent of AK-47 wielding Sudanese policemen who, we’d been told the night before, are notorious for their take-no-prisoners attitude.

It wasn’t just my father’s behaviour on

He never gave up, though; he’d ask anyone and everyone (including those who were clearly not accepting of alcohol) if they knew where he could find a beer.

And it never ceased to amaze me how surprised he seemed when his queries were ‘rewarded’ with stares of pure venom, particularly from women wearing burkas.

Then there is his unreliable memory.

It became a daily, sometimes twice daily, ritual that he’d forget where he’d placed his sunglasses just before we rode off.

This would require checking the countless pockets of his jacket and, inevitably, unpacking several bags while I waited, sweating in my full riding gear under the African sun, which was particularly intense while travelling south of and close to the equator.

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Ba s de Vos

My father and I babbled away to one another,

admiring corner after corner of brilliant riding, via our helmet intercoms.

Previous page: Big sky, dusty road. The author (right), his father and their Honda XR650 motorcycles on the road to Maralal in Kenya shortly after the latter (father) rode within centimetres of an elephant, which was crossing the road. With his eyes firmly fixed on the road ahead, he didn’t spot the pachyderm until his son alerted him from behind via the intercoms fitted in their helmets Opposite left: Goodbye southern hemisphere, hello northern hemisphere. On the equator a few kilometres west of Entebbe in Uganda as the pair head for Lake Victoria Above middle: Wide road, wild woodlands. A water stop in tsetse fly-ridden Katavi National Park in Tanzania on the way to Lake Tanganyika Above right: Africa done. Father, son and their two bikes in Port Alexandria in Egypt after traversing the continent from Cape Town

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The failing of his memory reached a high point in Ethiopia after we’d encountered another group of Addis Ababa’s finest pickpockets – the city is riddled with them. Soon after he’d been groped in a taxi, my father discovered his motorcycle key was missing. He searched his kit to no avail and the key was therefore presumed stolen.

Having forgotten to bring spares, this required an emergency call to Cape Town and some days lingering in the polluted city while we waited for one to arrive by courier. I brushed this off as an unfortunate turn of events until (the day after the replacement key had arrived and we’d fled Addis Ababa) the original key curiously reappeared somewhere else in my forgetful father’s bag.

It was also while in Ethiopia that I became annoyed by the amount of time my father spent on his iPhone when he could have been talking to me. This, however, didn’t last long because I soon realised it was unfair of me.

To begin with, conversation with me must have been terribly boring at the time. I moaned incessantly about the endless stream of goats, which seemed intent on murdering me (and themselves) by running out in front of my bike throughout our journey. What’s more (confession alert), although it emerged the pickpockets in Addis Ababa hadn’t stolen my dad’s key, they had indeed stolen my iPhone. In other words, I was intensely jealous every time my father took his out.

It was when I recognised some of my

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Left: Rubber necking. Crowds gather around the author as he shelters from the rain in a small village in Mugie Wildlife Conservancy on the road to Maralal in Kenya Middle: Big fish, big smile. Nile perch hooked in Lake Victoria in Uganda Right: Still no beer, dad. Sign in the Sudan plays a cruel trick on men in search of beer

own faults that it occurred to me that most of the things that frustrated me about travelling with my father were unreasonable. He’s a biker, which means he’s arrogant, doesn’t it? Also, he’s as old as the hills – we celebrated his 55th birthday being charged by a hippo at Lake Baringo in northern Kenya – so naturally he suffers memory loss.

Once I’d put it all into perspective, the things that irritated me about my father didn’t matter anymore. Instead, I began focusing on the many really great moments I shared with him on our trip.

hot. There was no shade and we’d been fishing non-stop for the entire day without a single bite. Our ‘fishing guide’ didn’t know how to tie a knot, and the boat’s engine sounded terminal. Then, without warning, all hell broke loose as one of the rickety old fishing rods screeched to life. A long, strenuous fight ensued. Eventually, the monster we’d hooked launched itself out of the water like a rocket and viciously shook its head trying to dislodge the hook.

A massive Nile perch was landed. It was the heaviest freshwater fish my father and I have ever caught.

the most exotic creatures around. Within no time, a huge crowd gathered to stare at us in apparent disbelief. Our attempts at conversation failed; they simply gawked, mouths wide open and eyes unblinking.

Not a smile or a murmur passed their lips.

Eventually the rain stopped. We clambered back onto our motorcycles, pushed our ignitions in chorus and, with a roar from our aftermarket-Japanese-gofaster pipes, sped off. The sight in our mirrors of the audience dispersing in terror behind us had us chuckling for kilometres down the road.

Was this what the other old-timers meant by ‘bonding’?

Great moments such as the road through Nyungwe Forest National Park in Rwanda, which passed through the wildest and densest rainforest that covered a series of hills stretching well beyond the horizon.

The road surface was so smooth that you could’ve played a game of pool on it. There was minimal traffic. Crowds of curious monkeys sat in the trees on the roadside and placidly watched us zip past. My father and I babbled away to one another, admiring corner after corner of brilliant riding, via our helmet intercoms. There wasn’t a goat to be seen. It was the best biking road of the entire trip.

Great moments such as the day we spent on Lake Victoria in Uganda on a beaten up old ski boat. It was blisteringly

Great moments such as the time we spent in Bujumbura in Burundi where, by chance, we met an expat from Cape Town who one night took us on a tour of the city’s restaurants and bars. We drank a beer at every place we visited – possibly more.

At some stage I knew I shouldn’t drink another, but it seemed lame for a 19-year-old to be out-drunk by his old dad. I should’ve stopped. I felt lousy the next day; he was his cheery old self.

Great moments such as the time we pulled over in a very rural village in northern Kenya to shelter from the rain. The villagers were spectacular. They wore brightly coloured robes, large and elaborately beaded necklaces, and wide wooden appendages in their earlobes. Their faces and bodies were patterned with countless scars. Even so, to them my father and I were

There were times I recalled my friends’ sentiments about my travelling across what many believe to be the world’s most dangerous and inhospitable continent for more than three months in the sole company of my father. There were even moments when I wished I’d listened to them.

But those moments were significantly outweighed by the many times I acknowledged that my father’s friends had been right. I would never have experienced the journey without him.

And even if I had, the experiences would’ve been different.

More than anything, though, I think I now understand what ‘bonding’ is all about and why my father’s friends were envious of our African adventure.

The Intrepid Explorer issue 6

Thanks, Dad.

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South African-born author Gareth Crocker attempts to shine a light on the plight of the white lion

farewell to the

King?

The rhino has been in the headlines for a while now, but there is another animal on the verge of extinction. There are barely a few hundred white lion left in the world, and trophy hunting is exacerbating the already dire situation.

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friend of mine was recently involved in a rhino relocation programme, and the experience both moved and haunted him in equal measure.

The rangers explained that rhinos are particularly easy to poach for two reasons: One, they’re quite obviously enormous – it’s a little like setting one’s sights on a parked truck; and two, in many cases rhinos have personalities not entirely unlike golden Labradors.

The net result is that when a member of their family gets shot, they often remain in the immediate area, refusing to scatter.

They watch on, heartbroken and stressed out of their minds as their loved one lies bleeding on the ground. The whole family is then picked off in a matter of minutes – often all falling in an area no larger than a football field.

I’m very pleased that rhino poaching is getting the attention it deserves.

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Hopefully plastic car horns, public outrage and media bluster will ultimately translate into meaningful action and we can, at the very least, get a handle on the slaughter.

The sad reality is that we’re down to our last 20 000 white rhino and 5 000 black rhino (depending on which report you read). This, in global animal terms, is a tenuous state of affairs, to say the very least.

And yet there is, I believe, an even greater tragedy unfolding across the world – and most people are oblivious to it. As I write, the white lion sits precariously on the very edge of oblivion. And that’s not just some melodramatic wordsmithing on my part; it’s hard fact. You see, there are barely a few hundred left. In total. In the whole world.

With the aid of an iron will and a pair of very thick oven mitts, one could theoretically fit them all into my garden.

However, in my view their low numbers – while immensely concerning – is not the real sadness. It’s their individual fate that’s so tragic.

Less than 10 white lion currently roam free in the wilds of their endemic habitat – an area known as the ‘Kruger to Canyons Biosphere’ – and yet, unbelievably, it’s still legal to hunt lions in this sacred place.

Instead of protecting the white lion as a precious living heritage for future generations, South Africans have been exporting them to international zoos and circuses for decades.

But by far the majority of white lion are held in private death camps where they wait to be shot by wealthy trophy hunters. And where, you ask, do these private owners acquire their white lion?

Well, often from those seemingly innocuous animal farms and nature venues where the public are allowed and encouraged (for a fee) to handle and pet the cubs.

The problem, of course, is that at some point the adorable cubs grow up into powerful predators that the public can no longer touch and feel. When that happens, the young lions become far less of an asset to the venue in question. Until, that

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Sadly, the white lion is regarded by international trophy hunting syndicates as arguably the highest value

trophy in the world

is, they can be sold to a private game reserve aka a death camp. Sometimes the petting camp is the death camp. And the general public, without knowing it, is funding these camps.

Sadly, the white lion is regarded by international trophy hunting syndicates as arguably the highest value trophy in the world – made even more desirable by the fact that there are so few of them left. It is not only legal to hunt white lion in the wild, but they can be shot in an actual cage, where they’ve been living their whole life. If you can believe this, hunters can even select them from a catalogue on the Internet!

Of course, trophy hunters, certain tourism folk and other interested parties will no doubt tell you that hunting provides much-needed employment and generates a significant amount of revenue.

I don’t argue that for a moment. I’m sure trophy hunting creates dozens of jobs and brings in great bricks of foreign currency (although a recent international economists’ report claims that only 3% of the proceeds of trophy hunting reaches the local community in which it occurs, but let’s not digress).

I’m afraid the issue of whether or not white lion hunting makes financial sense is not the point. It’s a little like saying we can make large sacks of money by selling our children into slavery, and thus we should consider doing it. In fact, based on this way of thinking, you could excuse and rationalise almost anything as long as it generates decent income.

Similarly, the notion of being able to take the life of an individual animal for sport, based on the argument that its numbers are high and healthy, is in many respects just as flawed.

On this basis, I should be able to waltz into your home and, armed with a

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crossbow, say, take aim at your family.

I would, of course, explain that this shouldn’t upset you in the least, as there are a great many more healthy families out there in the world. The important thing, I would assure you, is that there’s still lots of ‘human ground’ to mine; lots of runway, to use the corporate cliché.

So stand aside, friend, my money is good.

And yet, still, there is some faint hope.

Thanks to the Global White Lion Protection Trust and a team of international scientists who last year identified the genetic marker that makes the white lion unique (they are not albinos, as some people think), plans are in place to try and have them protected by law.

If you would like to see what you can do to help the trust, I urge you to visit its website (www.whitelions.org) and have a look around. Everyone can make a difference, however small.

For my part, my latest novel King – a highly charged emotional thriller – has been written as a tribute to the white lion and represents at least one attempt to shine a light on the animal’s plight.

Linda Tucker and her team at the Global White Lion Protection Trust are trying to raise funds to expand the protected reserve in the Kruger to Canyons Biosphere, where they have successfully reintroduced three prides of white lion to their ancestral pridelands (in a long-term scientific reintroduction programme that has taken more than a decade).

I hope they are successful. I hope that, in the months and years ahead, they don’t have to battle alone. I hope that at some point government, tourism and wildlife officials will finally take a stand to defend the King of Kings.

I hope my daughters will one day be able to see them roaming free in the

wild, legally protected from the most savage predator that the world has ever known – us.

About the author Gareth Crocker’s debut novel, Finding Jack, was published in New York to international acclaim. It was translated into several languages and featured in eight volumes of Reader’s Digest Select Editions, with combined sales of more than a million copies. In 2012 Penguin Books published his adventure novel, Journey from Darkness, followed by the kidnap thriller, Never Let Go in 2013.

Both Finding Jack and Never Let Go are currently being considered for films in Los Angeles. Crocker’s latest novel, King, has just been released and tells the story of an American policeman who sacrifices everything to save a lone white lion.

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G et th e s h ot

GETTING THE SHOT: High-contrast shooting was the name of the game here, with the sun rising behind the start bunch. I decided to use a long lens and shoot at high speed, but did not want the focal point to be the front of the pack, as this would mean too much loss of focus toward the back.

I decided to shoot on motor drive and composed for the ‘Rule of Thirds’, knowing the action and spray would make for a visual journey with a number of focal points. The low angle of view furthermore silhouetted the competitors against the reflections and spray highlights, creating a high-contrast visual.

Once I’d seen the RAW image file, I decided to convert it to monochrome during the postprocessing in Adobe Lightroom. I did not do much else to the image, except to push the Black Levels and Contrast slightly.

THE SPECS: Body: SONY SLT-A99 Lens: SONY 70-400mm G SSM II Focal length: 150mm Aperture: f4.5 Shutter: 1/4000sec ISO: 250 Lighting: Natural light only Post-processing: Adobe Lightroom 5 More info: www.jacquesmarais.co.za or www.gkcm.co.za

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G et th e s h ot G et th e s h ot

Blades of Glory

by Jacques Marais

Get the THE IMAGE: Paddlers set off on day 2 of last year’s Green Kalahari Canoe Marathon, undoubtedly the fastest growing river paddling event in Africa. This year’s event was postponed until August due to heavy flooding, and competitors will include at least half a dozen Olympians and world champions, with the likes of Dawid and Jasper Mocke, Sean Rice and Hank McGregor lining up at the start.

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blessing

primeval In the dappled kingdom of the ancient forest, one is dwarfed and insignificant – yet solaced

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Forests have been described as nature’s cathedrals – sacred spaces that feed the soul. Pippa de Bruyn communed with the trees on two continents, and came back a convert.

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Pippa de Br uy n

T

he Portuguese called northern Mozambique’s Niassa province, Fim do mundo – “the end of the world”. Flying over this region, our Cessna a speck-shadow on the vast miombo forest that stretches to every horizon, it is a world with no end. No fences, no roads, no sign of human habitation.

As we come in sight of a series of granite inselbergs, their smooth domes like giant flanks of the elephants hidden in the vegetation below, we bank to see the glistening river, a thatched roof peeping from its shady bank: Lugenda, the only luxury camp in the entire 4.2 million-hectare reserve.

Seen from the air, the sheer scale of Lugenda’s forest is impressive, but it is driving under the dappled cool of its canopy – the soft light casting an intricate tapestry on the forest floor – that it starts to work its magic.

Tamarind, false thorn, malala palm, panga panga, East African mahogany – our guide points out a regal legion while a symphony of birds serenade us as we make our way to camp.

In the next three days, we see no other vehicles, not even those transporting the only other party overnighting in Lugenda.

We encounter plenty of elephant, the endemic Niassa wildebeest, and are lucky to sight lion, but it is the trees – the variety, their majestic length and breadth – and attendant bird life that steal the show.

Indeed, when I flatten myself, arms outstretched around the giant girth of a baobab more than 2 000 years old – an ant trying to embrace a watermelon – I feel that sense of awe usually evoked by the huge painterly vistas of Namibia or vast savannah oceans of East Africa’s Rift Valley.

To touch a living being whose leaves soaked up the same sun that set on a young Christ and Mohammed, whose roots anchored its massive Medusa-like canopy long before the Shona ancestors laid the first stones for the towering walls of their Great Zimbabwe, or the Dutch dug the foundations of their Castle of Good Hope, is humbling. Evenings, en route to watch the setting sun turn hippo pools molten, the forest’s leaves fall like

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confetti – a swirling stream in the wake of our slow-moving vehicle. Blessed.

Magical Mashpi

As luck would have it, a week after exploring the forests of Lugenda I find myself suspended 200 metres above the Andean cloud forest, the tiny Meccano® set that is Mashpi Lodge – the only sign of human habitation in the tangled green that appears and disappears beneath the wispy

TOP LEFT: The granite inselbergs that provide both backdrop and vantage to Lugenda’s forests TOP RIGHT: Lugenda Camp, the only luxury tourist destination in the entire 4.2 million-hectare reserve ABOVE LEFT: Mashpi’s waterfalls provide an invigorating hydromassage ABOVE MIDDLE: Ecuador’s Chocó Bioregion, said to be the most biodiverse centre of endemism in the world ABOVE RIGHT & OPPOSITE: Mashpi Lodge

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clouds below. Almost two hours from a decent road, we are in Ecuador’s Chocó Bioregion, said to be the most biodiverse centre of endemism in the world.

There are pumas in this forest, and large-eyed kinkajous, but these are rarely seen. What we do see are exotic birds – indigo flowerpiercer, yellow-green bush tanager, golden-headed quetzal, crimsonrumped toucanet, black solitaire – bright jewels glinting in the forest.

To make it easier to spot some of the 22 hummingbird species, the lodge has built an elevated viewing platform overlooking the forested hills as they roll down into the mist. Surrounding us are sugar-water feeders, around which hundreds of brightly plumaged hummingbirds hover and dart back and forth – well-dressed drunkards impatiently plunging into their free-for-all bar.

Where there is forest, there is water – and plenty here, clinging 3 000 feet above sea level to the Andes as it makes its imperious descent to the flatlands of

Ecuador’s coast. It is everywhere: in the tendrils of mists and damp that play havoc with a carefully groomed hair, the sensuous sound trickling through roots, burbling over rock faces and thundering into crystal-clear pools.

And here – a scene straight from a 1980s Timotei® advert – is the real forest highlight. In a fern-encircled pool, a Mashpi waterfall provides the most invigorating baptism: oxygenated water gushing onto the scalp, washing away everything but the pleasure of a deeppressure hydromassage. Walking back, the forest takes on a magical quality: ferns sightlessly unfurl their tips beneath tree trunks embroidered with lichens, tubular orchids preen on mossy stumps, and mushrooms like giant ears listen to our gumboots suctioning through the mud.

Cool green canopies of Knysna “Most people don’t realise the true value of the forest. They see it as a resource – as pure timber, or potential farmland.” I am

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Pippa de Br uy n listening, quite entranced, as Mark Dixon, a specialist guide who offers guided walks in the Knysna Forest, talks about the trees.

He runs one hand along the trunk of one of the area’s big yellowwoods. “Forests represent centuries of production. That’s why they have such an effect on us. I believe they have an electromagnetic energy that re-energises and de-stresses.

I see it countless times, when clients arrive in the forest with a cellphone glued to their ear. Thirty minutes walking in the forest and they switch it off.”

At around 1 000ha, the Knysna and Tsitsikamma forests are a mere fraction of what they once were, but still represent 80% of South Africa’s Afromontane forest, and home to 139 tree species – more than Mashpi and Lugenda combined.

To give some idea of the diversity this represents, Dixon points out that wellforested Canada has only nine tree species.

He then goes on to explain some of the intricacies of life in the self-sustaining forest. “Did you know that trees are able to manipulate the behaviour of the birds by changing the taste of their fruit?” he asks. “The Knysna loeries [an endemic species of turaco] are the forest scouts who recce for the best-tasting fruit. Once one finds a tree, it calls out, and the rest of the fruit-eating birds in the forest descend as quickly as teenagers to a tweet locating Justin Bieber in a nearby mall. The tree then hosts what you could call a ‘bird party’, but it doesn’t last long.

After a while the tree will change the taste of its fruit. As soon as they no longer taste good, the birds leave. The next day the tree again produces fruit that is

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delectable, and is ready to host a new bird party. This way the tree improves the long-term survival chances of its ‘offspring’ by spreading germination opportunities.”

I listen wide-eyed as Dixon then tells me how trees are capable of the kind of long-term strategic thinking that escapes most humans: “A tree can produce a bumper crop of flowers and fruit in one season, but only 10% to 20% of these seeds will be viable. The abundance in fruit creates a spike in the pest population, which in turn increases the predator population.

“The Cape batis, grey cuckooshrikes, Cape white-eyes and woodland warblers all produce more eggs when there is more food. The next season, the very same tree will produce far less fruit, but its seeds are now 90% to 100% viable. And because the tree has boosted the population of seed agents, the distribution is going to be the most effective yet.”

He stops under another towering yellowwood, one he estimates to be around 900 years old. Again I cannot resist trying to wrap my arms around it. “Better to lean with your back into it,” Dixon recommends, and shows me how. “Did you know that Napoleon Bonaparte insisted that his soldiers spend 30 minutes like this every day? He believed the trees revitalised them, made them a better, stronger army.”

Leaning on the solid trunk, we look up at the sun refracting through the cool green canopy into the dappled kingdom of the ancient forest. Dwarfed and insignificant. Yet solaced.

How best to explore the forests Lugenda Camp offers just eight luxury tents within the 700 000ha Lugenda concession, located in Niassa. It is open only during the dry season (mid-May to November). To canoe the river, visit in May and June, but game viewing improves as it gets drier (October to September). For more information, visit www.raniresorts.com. Lugenda costs $560 per person per night.

Mashpi Lodge is in the Andean cloud forest, about three hours northwest of Ecuador’s capital, Quito, and a good addition if you are here to visit the Galapagos. For more details, including rates enquiry, visit www.mantiscollection.com/mashpi-lodge.

Knysna is the urban heart in the Garden Route’s forests, with a plethora of accommodation options in and around town, of which Phantom Forest Eco Reserve is still one of the most romantic (http://phantomforest.com).

For guided walks in the forest and adjoining fynbos, contact Mark Dixon (www.gardenroutetrail.co.za; 082 213 5931). For self-guided walks, Dixon recommends the Woodcutters Trail (Millwood section). Nearby George Museum and Knysna’s Turbine Boutique Hotel (on Thesen Island) both have sections of giant yellowwood trunks with annotations marked on the rings to indicate historical events that took place during the trees’ lifespan. Fascinating.

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Keith Hill

man vs wild The eagle has landed – or rather, the Bear Grylls Survival Academy has been established in none other than the magnificent Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe. I couldn’t think of a more fitting venue to test my instincts and don my survival cap. This was, after all, my country of birth and I felt completely at home in the bush here.

I

was privileged to be one of 12 participants to experience a taste of true survival right in the heart of the African bush, alongside the mighty Zambezi River. Our home base was the Nakavango Conservation Centre within the popular and well-established Stanley & Livingstone Private Game Reserve – a proud member of the prestigious Mantis Collection which, together with British Airways, provided this unique opportunity.

Upon arrival we were greeted by Paul Gardiner, Mantis Collection’s marketing director and MD of the Bear Grylls Survival

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Academy. This was followed by a stunning three-hour game drive through the 6 000-acre reserve, which is home to the Big Five. We did have sightings of various buck species, giraffe, elephant and rhino – but no lions, unfortunately.

The following morning we were introduced to our lead instructor and course developer, Scott Heffield, who also works closely with Bear Grylls. We were briefed by him and his specialist team who were to accompany us on our 36-hour survival ordeal.

The standard equipment issue included: rucksack and liner, sleeping

bag and sleeping mat, head torch, a Gerber® knife, mug, water bottle and technical safety equipment including safety helmet and harness. The contents of a small tin contained within our

ABOVE: One of our Intrepid survivor teammates, James Kydd, reaches the summit of a vertical climb OPPOSITE: Mark Williams and Dean McGregor of the Bear Grylls support team in true camo style. Camouflage against sight and scent is vital to your survival

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Keith Hill Keith Hill learns survival basics at the launch of the Bear Grylls Survival Academy

rucksacks did raise some eyebrows and invoke some hearty laughter: a condom, a tampon, nine-volt battery and small wad of steel wool? These items didn’t seem to fit in with the whole concept of survival and, although a condom is important for protection, I didn’t think it would offer me much value on this course.

After all, this was to be the ultimate survival course, not the ultimate intercourse!

Survival is largely teamwork, and this was instilled in us as we set off through the bush and made our way down the steep gorge toward the Zambezi River.

We were greeted by three rubber ducks that were to be our transport downriver through rather impressive adrenalin rush-inducing rapids, reaching up to level 3 intensity. The use of safety helmets and life jackets was compulsory.

Some way down, we pulled over

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between two large pillars of rock on either side of the river and this is where we learnt the art of Tyrolean traverse – a method of crossing through free space between two high points connected by a rope. This was followed by rappelling – also called abseiling – meaning ‘to rope down’ in a slow and controlled manner.

As the day moved on, it was time for us to find a suitable area to bed down for the night and this was in the form of a fairly large, flat, beachy area about 20 metres up from the water and just below dense vegetation. As night falls, your true survival instincts start to kick in and you realise how vulnerable you really are when the light starts to fade.

The fundamentals of survival are always to keep a clear head and learn the following phrase: Please Remember What’s First: Protection, Rescue, Water,

Food. These are the absolute basics you need in order to survive.

Protection starts with the clothes you are wearing and it’s important that these are dry, as wet clothes can lose up to 90% of their insulating properties.

Shelter is also one of the top priorities in any environment; if there is an absence of natural shelters such as caves, overhangs, hollows and trees, it becomes necessary to build your own. We did this by using our incredibly sharp and versatile Gerber® knives to cut suitably sized tree saplings to make lean-tos with one side covered with leafy branches for protection.

It was now time to build a fire, which is essential for heat, light, comfort and protection. Without matches this task was a little more daunting, and that’s where the tampon came in very handy.

A teased-out tampon is very flammable

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and makes good tinder should other materials such as moss or dry grass not be available – as was the case with us due to the recent rains. Insect repellent sprayed on the tampon will make it even more flammable. Enter the steel wool and the 9V battery: touching the steel wool to both terminals of the battery will cause immediate ignition.

Rescue is your next priority: in terms of location, try to put yourself in the shoes of potential rescuers out looking for you.

How will they spot you? There are various ways of signalling, anything from smoky signal fires to laying out stones in a clearing to create an SOS – which we did after

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exiting the steep gorge. One could also use any shiny surface to reflect sunlight.

Should you choose to move, then navigation is an invaluable tool; without a compass there are many other ways of finding direction, such as the use of a shadow stick. Place a stick in the ground and mark where the tip of the shadow falls. Wait 15 minutes and mark again. The line between those two marks denotes a general east-west axis.

Water is essential for your survival, and without it your survival time is numbered in days, at best. The sourcing of water can be varied, but following game trails, animals or insects will usually lead you

to surface water such as streams and rivers.

The collection of water will be your next challenge, and that’s where the use of a condom comes in handy. Scooping water into a condom can be tricky, depending on the depth and abundance of the water, but it is quite resilient and can hold at least two litres.

Always purify water when possible, as drinking water that makes you sick can be worse than no water at all. Basic filtration of water can be done through a shirt or a sock, and this should be followed by boiling the water to kill any bacteria it may contain.

Food is essential to provide the vital energy you need to help you survive. We learnt much about the local flora and which was edible, such as Zambezi wine-cup, nettle leaves (taking care to avoid the stinging stems) and African ebony (jackalberry) which has green, grape-sized fruit that become yellow

1. Our arrival at the Victoria Falls Airport before departing by bus to the Stanley & Livingstone Private Game Reserve 2. One of the three open helicopters that flew us up the Zambezi River Gorge to the Victoria Falls after being rescued 3. My ascent up a steep rock face using leg power with rope and safety harness 4. The thrills of white-water rafting down the mighty Zambezi 5. One of the Intrepid participants savouring an earthworm 6. Glee on my face after summiting the Zambezi River Gorge at the end of our 36-hour survival challenge 7. Skinning an impala bull before removing its testicles for later consumption 8. A group shot of the Intrepid Bear Grylls survivor team alongside the Zambezi River after alighting from our rubber ducks

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as they ripen. As a golden rule: when it comes to indigenous fruit-bearing plants, it’s advisable to observe what the local wildlife are eating, particularly the primates. Resist the temptation to follow this rule with birds, though, as some of the fruit and berries they consume can be toxic to humans and other mammals.

We ate the raw testicles of a freshly killed impala bull, which we also had to skin ourselves. Live earthworms and the endemic dried mopani worm were the other delicacies we got to try. They’re really not so bad when you’re hungry.

There are three essential knots that every survivor should learn: the figure 8 knot and figure 8 loop knot; the bowline and the clove hitch – essential knots for when setting up snares to catch small mammals for food. And the more traps you set, the better your chances of success. Endeavour to check your snares frequently after making careful note of where you have laid them.

Where there is water nearby, there is invariably food in the form of fish and water birds, and this should be your first port of call before considering the laying of traps.

The all-important laws and general rules that govern sustainable survival out

in the elements and the wild should be adhered to by following the correct procedures as outlined earlier: Please Remember What’s First (Protection, Rescue, Water, Food) and all of these can be enhanced by thinking rationally, keeping a cool head and maintaining a sense of humour. Nothing worse could dampen the spirits of a lost party in the wild than a member who becomes hysterical or harbours negative emotions.

Remember that teamwork and presence of mind go a long way toward reaching ultimate safety or finding rescue.

Strength in numbers and good discipline make survival that much easier. We had an enthusiastic and vibrant team on this launch.

The ultimate part of our Bear Grylls 36-hour survival and rescue mission was the incredible experience of a rescue flight in three open choppers up the Zambezi River Gorge toward the mighty Victoria Falls. We hovered and then circled the falls for at least five minutes, absorbing the spectacular views and scenery just below us. There was nothing quite like this experience, and it was a more than fitting end to a somewhat gruelling but highly educational survival course in the African bush.

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Sh a n R outledge

Shan Routledge uncovers a host of extreme urban escapades

Adventure city T Being cursed with an adventurous spirit and an indomitable will to try anything new, I constantly find myself searching for anything that’ll get the adrenalin going and the heart pounding. Living in the city, though, one sometimes has to search a little harder to find one’s thrills.

here are plenty of exciting and exhilarating activities to be found within some of our largest cities. The best thing about many of these is that you get to experience the city from a completely new and unique perspective.

So after bungee jumping, sliding down sand dunes, jumping off mountains and diving with sharks, I’ve come up with a list

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of my top adventures that you can do in the city or as a day trip over the weekend.

Even if you don’t live in one of these cities, you can still do some research and are likely to find plenty of kicks right in your own backyard.

Cape Town, Western Cape Sandboarding

Sandboarding has been around since the

time of the Egyptians and has since been revived and refined to be enjoyed by people of all ages, sizes and experience.

Grouped together in the same family as snowboarding, surfing and skating – none of which I’m experienced in – I like to think of it as the more approachable cousin that requires enthusiasm instead of skill, making it the perfect activity for everyone to enjoy.

Taking place in Atlantis, just a short drive out of Cape Town, sandboarding is

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Sh a n R outledge a fantastic adventure in the sense that everyone can do it in their own time, learn at their own pace, with no pressure – but lots of guaranteed laughs.

If you’re quite adept at it and advance quickly, you can move further up the dune and still enjoy it together with your novice buddies. Unlike snowboarding that involves great skill as well as lifts and long runs, and wakeboarding which can only be enjoyed alone behind a boat – sandboarding is the ultimate social adventure for friends or for a family outing.

Contact: www.extremescene.co.za Times: Daily, by appointment Cost: R450

Shark cage diving

One of South Africa’s most popular adventures is shark cage diving with one of nature’s most feared predators – the great white shark. People travel from all over the world to experience this in Cape Town, which has become known as the great white capital of the world.

A mere day trip out of the Mother

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City and before you know it, you’re in the water, eye to eye with this enormous creature – truly an exhilarating, aweinspiring and thrilling experience.

You don’t need a diving certification to enjoy this adventure. You’ll be given a full-body wetsuit, weight belt, booties and face mask and then all you have to do is muster up the courage to submerge yourself in the chilly Cape Town waters and face “Jaws”.

Besides being nerve-tingling, shark cage diving is also humbling and educational – giving you some understanding of these massive fish.

And even if you don’t have the nerve to jump into the cage, you can still enjoy fantastic views from the top deck while delighting in a light lunch.

Contact: www.extremescene.co.za Times: Daily, weather dependent (sightings better in winter) Cost: R1 300

Tandem paragliding

If you could experience the feel of flying,

wouldn’t it be at the top of your bucket list? Paragliding off Signal Hill in Cape Town must be the closest thing you can get to soaring over the city like a bird.

As the gentle slope of Signal Hill drops away beneath your feet and you become airborne, your heart stops for an instant. Following the contours of the hill, you get incredible views of Lion’s Head, Table Mountain and the Atlantic Seaboard – you’ve never before seen Cape Town from this angle! You soar downward and suddenly your instructor levels out and you’re directly above the city, spanning out below you like a surreal Legoland with little toy cars driving through the gridiron.

You need no prior experience or training to go tandem paragliding, and even the landing is graceful with the expertise of your instructors from Fly Cape Town. Enjoy the rush, the panoramic view, the silence – and savour the feel of flying!

Contact: www.flycapetown.co.za Times: Weather dependent Cost: R950

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Sh a n R outledge Johannesburg, Gauteng Skydiving

Experiencing Johannesburg from 10 000 feet above is a heart-stopping, take-yourbreath-away, blood-pumping adventure that will stay with you forever – it’s an adrenalin rush of note!

A tandem jump is the easiest way to enjoy this incredible sensation and requires no experience or training.

Attached with a special harness to your instructor, just take a very deep breath, count down from 10 and launch yourself into the air.

Get ready for the amazing 40-second freefall as you plummet toward the city below. With your heart in your throat, you’re relieved when the instructor finally pulls the ripcord to deploy the parachute and you can relax and have time to enjoy the view as you glide slowly back down to earth. You will help the instructor guide the parachute to a designated drop zone and finally touch down. Completely hyped, I guarantee you’ll be raring to get back in the plane and jump again!

Securely strapped to your tandem master, you’ll always feel safe and secure – even when travelling at almost 195km/h.

This experience will be one of the most thrilling of your life and is the ultimate in city adventure.

Contact: www.skydiving.co.za Times: By appointment, weather dependent Cost: R1 750–R2 650 (including video footage and photographs)

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Cable waterskiing

With no prior experience, boat or equipment needed, simply show up with enthusiasm, grab a handle and hit the water. Cable skiing is fun, whether you’re an experienced athlete or a first-timer looking for some adrenalincharged fun.

With 800m of aerial cable and a series of daunting jumps, StokeCity WakePark is fully equipped for a thrilling day. The park offers wakeboarding, wakeskating, kneeboarding and waterskiing.

The cable system can pull up to nine riders at a time, and if you fall it is just a quick swim to shore before walking back to the dock and starting again.

Contact: www.stokecity.co.za Times: Open 6 days a week; weekdays from 12pm to 6pm and weekends from 10am to 6pm Cost: R150–R350

Orlando Towers

Orlando Towers is Joburg’s hottest adventure attraction and the epitome of adventure in the city.

Developed on the site of the disused Orlando cooling towers in Soweto, Skyriders’ vertical adventure facility is aimed at adventure enthusiasts with a taste for bungee jumping, power swing, abseiling, SCAD (suspended catch air device) freefall and more.

Besides the adrenalin sports, the view of Soweto from the top of the towers is incredible and a memorable

experience in itself.

The bungee bridge is suspended between the two towers and is 100m above the ground – so before you even jump, you already have a thrilling walk to the platform. With the incredible panorama of Soweto and Joburg greeting you, you’ll barely hear the countdown before jumping off the bridge.

Bungee jumping is an electrifying yet terrifying adventure – what better way to experience these contrasting emotions than at such a local and proudly South African site.

Contact: www.orlandotowers.co.za Times: Friday to Sunday, 10am to sunset Cost: R360–R480

Durban, KwaZulu-Natal White-water rafting

A must for all daredevils is the Umkomaas River just outside Durban.

Rafting in a two-man inflatable canoe, getting up close and personal with the rapids, is more gripping than you ever would’ve imagined.

It is white-knuckling negotiating the twists and turns of the river and mastering the white-water rapids. In between the rapids, on the quieter sections of the river, you can rest a moment to take in the spectacular views.

With no less than grade 2 and 3 rapids, the day trip is suitable and safe for beginners and those with little experience. Perfect for team building,

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Sh a n R outledge satisfied thrill-seekers who’ve already caught the bug.

Contact: www.karkloofcanopytour.co.za Times: Daily, from 8h30am to 2pm Cost: R495 per person

Deep-sea fishing

the whole family, a group of friends or just an adventurous double date – river rafting on the notorious Umkomaas River is enthralling, to say the least.

Contact: www.liquidadventures.info Times: By appointment Cost: R450 for a half day and R550 for a full day

Canopy tours

The Karkloof Canopy Tour® is a unique eco-experience that takes you on a two-hour journey through the magnificent Karkloof indigenous forest, sliding from one platform to the next along a series of steel cables set amid magnificent natural surroundings. The tour comprises nine platforms and eight slides that zigzag down a pristine

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forested valley. You get to experience the beauty of the scenery and the incredible birdlife in their natural habitat, and at a height you wouldn’t normally reach.

The guides are fantastic and provide interesting facts about the forest ecology and the birds and wildlife as they lead you through the tour. Accompanied by the exhilaration of sliding in among the trees high above the ground, this is the perfect eco-adventure!

It’s suitable for all ages – the youngest ever to have experienced the tour was three years old and the oldest 90 – so, as long as you love nature and adventure, this is for you!

Come experience one of South Africa’s fastest-growing and exclusive ecoadventures and join the thousands of

Just 15 minutes north of Durban, you can escape to the wide-open seas with Casea Charters. When looking for an adventure in the city, there’s nothing quite like the challenge of some deep-sea fishing.

Not only can you try and reel in one of the seasonal fish, but you can take in the beautiful views of Durban and its surrounds from a different perspective.

All-year round you can catch rock cod, salmon and reds and during the summer months you can catch a wide variety of game fish such as king mackerel (cuda), queen mackerel (‘Natal snoek’), dorado, kingfish, queenfish, sailfish, marlin and three types of tuna – yellow-fin, East Coast and sada sada. In the winter months you can still find tuna and queen mackerel, but the main target is garrick, a very strong fighting fish that makes for an exciting catch.

Deep-sea fishing is suitable for all ages and adventure seekers – even the launching and landing are riveting as the boats push off and onto the beach through the waves!

Contact: www.caseacharters.co.za Times: By appointment, weather dependent Cost: R1 250 per boat

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B oot C a m p

When the people leading Boot Camp were introduced as ‘Sergeant Screamer’ and ‘Corporal Killjoy’, Robbie Stammers soon realised this wouldn’t be a walk in the park

a spoonful of cement For eight weeks, three times per week, we were to rally at the crack of dawn for Boot Camp training. “What have I got myself into?” I moaned as I desperately tried to shake the cobwebs from my brain and the sleep dust from my eyes as my partner and I got into our gym clothes at 5h30am on a dark Monday morning.

I

t had seemed such a grand idea at the time. A wedding around the corner and the idea of looking like Brad Pitt in Thelma & Louise had me originally thinking this would be the ideal way to get into shape before our day of nuptials. However, the alarm going off at 5am had left me feeling that I hadn’t thought this through very well – and how on earth would I be able to maintain this for two whole months?

The world-renowned Sports Science Institute of South Africa (SSISA) had hooked up with FUTURELIFE® High Protein Smart Food to launch ‘Boot Camp’: a ‘military-style’ workout programme with expert trainers, which takes place in the beauty of the outdoors and with a host of locations – as opposed to the stale and placid environment of an indoor gym.

We had attended the pre-programme evening the night before and now were having our first session at the SSISA to have our full assessments done, with everything from dieticians and biokineticists talking us through meal plan ideas, body fat percentages, blood pressure and cholesterol tests, as well as the inevitable and ghastly weigh-in.

It was then onto our fitness assessment (or lack thereof, to be honest), during

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which we had to do as many push-ups and sit-ups as we could in a minute and as many sprints around the indoor track as we could muster.

Now, my usual feeling about running is this: If I’m running, you’d better start running too, as it means something is chasing me!

This was no different at Boot Camp, and the swearing under my breath as I was circled yet again by someone at least 20 years older than I, left me feeling quite disheartened.

However, it all came to an end an hour later and I felt I’d at least got through the first session. Little did I know that our first ‘real session’ would begin the morning after next on the lush fields of Westerford High School, with panoramic views of Table Mountain.

We were met by Sergeant Screamer (aka Greg) who, I soon learnt, had a special place in his heart for the ‘five-minute plank’. This was when it really hit home that Boot Camp is not a workout that comes with a spoonful of sugar to help the medicine go down – it comes with a spoonful of cement!

There were about 15 of us in the morning sessions, although there’s also an evening session. In each week, Boot Camp divides up the sessions into different themes including endurance,

cardiovascular fitness, strength and conditioning, core stability and proprioceptive training, circuit training, hiking, obstacle courses, yoga and Pilates.

Although I severely battled through the first week of early rising, I must admit that by the second week already, I was actually mumbling a lot less and starting to enjoy the fact I was in nature’s playground at 6am to 7am, so by the time I showered and changed at SSISA afterward, I felt invigorated and ready to tackle the day.

There is a wonderful camaraderie between all the Boot Campers, with us egging each other on in tough exercises and competing in others. There’s definitely something to be said for having the grass beneath your feet, the mountain in front of you for distraction, and a cool breeze on your face.

Over the next number of weeks, I can honestly say I was proud to have not missed out on one session and I could feel my fitness levels improving.

Other venues were thrown in, such as heavy sessions on Camps Bay beach, running up and down the steps of Rhodes Memorial, and steep hikes up sheer climbs of the mountain. I even started warming to our drill sergeants – five-minute planks

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and all!

By the time we reached our last week of Boot Camp, my partner and I were up in a flash every morning as if we had done this all our lives. I no longer felt as if I might swallow my tongue on the runs or lash out at someone next to me. In fact, it felt like a lovely morning ‘stroll’ with friends, yet obviously far more rigorous.

At the end of two months of intensive training, we attended our last session back at SSISA, where we would finally find out if the whole course had reaped results.

We once again underwent all the same tests we were given on day 1. This time, however, I found my weight had dropped by 4 kilogrammes, my cholesterol had dropped by two points, and my measurements had drastically decreased (which I had already – proudly – known from the two belt notches I had gone down in the last few weeks).

My number of push-ups and sit-ups had increased in the minute we were

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given and I was running around the track with a smile and the strains of “Chariots of Fire” playing in my head!

In our ‘passing out’ parade, we were given certificates and my bride-to-be won the ‘Belly-off’ Award.

So I think it’s safe to say I need to thank Sergeant Screamer and Corporal Killjoy for making my wedding even more special.

Will I be back for more Boot Camp now that the wedding is over? Absolutely, without a doubt!

The Boot Camp with SSISA programmes are now also starting in Johannesburg and Pretoria, and there are three different locations in Cape Town (in the southern and northern suburbs).

For more information and the next Boot Camp dates, visit the SSISA website at www.ssisa.com or go to the Facebook page at: www.facebook.com/sportssciencesa.

You can also follow SSISA on Twitter: @sportscience_sa.

FUTURELIFE® High Protein is South Africa’s first and only scientifically formulated high-protein, high-energy, low GI meal to contain 25 vitamins and minerals, 19 amino acids, omega 3 and Moducare®. FUTURELIFE® High Protein Smartfood contains SmartProtein 3D, which is a unique blend of three different types of protein: whey, soya isolate and caseinate.

FUTURELIFE® High Protein Smartfood is ideal for endurance athletes, weight-training athletes, those striving for weight loss, those on an energy-restricted diet as well as diabetics.

“This partnership with SSISA’s Boot Camp is testament to FUTURELIFE’s commitment to assisting individuals attain a healthier lifestyle. We believe in a practical and holistic approach to good health and fitness,” says Shaun Harris, managing director of FUTURELIFE.

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G on e f is h in g

hook, line and sinker My Uncle George, an avid fisherman, has this quote inscribed on a plaque at his Plettenberg Bay beach house, which I’ve always thought is the best way to describe this enjoyable pastime: “Behold the fisherman. He riseth early in the morning and disturbeth the whole household. Mighty are his preparations. He goes forth full of hope and, when the day is ended, he returneth smelling of strong drink and the truth is not within him!”

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I

thought about this lovely saying as we met Captain Dave Christie of Two Oceans Sport Fishing Charters (TOSF) at the break of dawn on the Hout Bay harbour jetty. Ambitions and adrenalin were high among our Intrepid Explorer team and I hoped our day at sea would not have us returning with our own tales of ‘the one that got away’.

Captain Dave led us onto his aptly named boat, Obsession, and gave us a safety briefing. The weather was unfortunately not on our side and the rain was starting to shower down, with the swell looking rather ominous.

He explained that TOSF had been going for 13 years and that each day at sea was like opening up a present: one never knew what one would get. The day before our excursion, they had managed to catch only two small long-fin tuna, yet the day before they had filled a boat with yellow-fin. I hoped the Fishing Gods would smile on us as we headed out to sea, destination 36 nautical miles from Hout Bay (a nautical mile is equivalent to about 1.85 kilometres – for those, like me, who did not know).

It became apparent very quickly who were going to be green around the gills and who were not, as the Obsession hammered through the massive waves that bulged in front of the bow, and the rain and surf pelted us in the oncoming wind. Dave clearly knew what he was doing behind the wheel, but that did not stop some of the crew going very quiet in the conditions. (No names mentioned, Keith Hill!)

I must admit to feeling quite bad for Keith as the rest of the boys cajoled and ragged him – seasickness is no joke. Dave handed Keith motion sickness patches to put behind his ears, which have been known to work on many a poor bugger who has been afflicted.

An hour later, we were past the worst of the swell and the rain had at least relented. Dave was now in stealth mode, checking the fish finder and conversing with compatriots on other nearby vessels to see who might have scored what. The feedback seemed rather bleak, with a few boats with nothing yet and one with two small long-fin.

However, Dave is not known as “Captain Tuna” for nothing, and

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: The Intrepid fishermen – Charlie Kershaw, Grant Holloway, Luke Stammers, Robbie Stammers, Keith Hill and Tony Diekmann

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G on e f is h in g

Robbie Stammers discovers that when the going gets tough, the tough go fishing. Well, some of the team fitted the bill at least…

a few minutes later he spotted some movement on the fish finder and started screaming instructions to his first mate to get us hooked up in harnesses and to get lines in the water.

No sooner had a few of us been handed these incredible rods and reels, when all hell broke loose! All four rods started singing sweetly at the same time. There was a moment of sheer panic as we all realised the game was on and it was happening a little sooner than any of us had expected. One person in particular, Grant, got caught unaware and before he had managed to put his rod in the fishing harness, the tuna pulled him right overboard.

“Man overboard!” was the next thing we heard, and the first mate jumped in right after Grant without even hesitating.

This was a rather unsettling moment as the rest of us were fighting fish while watching our friend hanging onto the side of the boat for dear life. Earlier we already had enquired and knew that each of these rods and reels cost more than most of us cleared in a month – and Grant had gone overboard with his.

He had desperately tried to keep hold of the rod but, with the tuna pulling him under, he had to make a choice between staying above the waves or letting the rod go. “Choose life” as they say in Trainspotting – and he did. (Hence the title of this article: Hook, Line and Sinker – there is no sinker in tuna fishing, but Grant had almost been the ‘sinker’ on this excursion!)

With our friend finally safely back on board, albeit a little shaken and with his ego dented no doubt, the first of us brought up some awesome long-fin tuna (about 25 kilogrammes). It was then that it dawned on us that Grant’s rod and reel was sea bait and I wondered how we were going to enjoy the rest of the day knowing we had lost Captain Dave an extremely large sum of money and hardware. It seemed this might end up being not such a fun day after all.

Neptune was smiling on us, however. As one of the other team brought up his tuna, there entangled in the line with the fish was the rod that had gone overboard. There was adulation and cheers all around, no more so than from Captain Dave and poor old Grant, whose relief was tangible!

So it was back to the fishing – and it was spectacularly relentless.

Every time someone put a rod in the water, we snagged a long-fin tuna. So much so that Dave pulled out the old method of pole fishing. This is vintage tuna fishing at its best and we had never witnessed it before. The pole has a hook and lure on the end, and the bait is lowered into the water and jigged around just under the surface. Tuna shoot up for the fish and the pole is hauled up just as they take on the lure, impaling the fish, and it is simply brought onto the boat. We all had a go at this, and I can tell you it was an amazing experience.

With us now filling the boat with long-fin tuna, Dave assured us that it was only a matter of time before we met our real match

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G on e f is h in g ABOVE: Keith Hill fighting seasickness and a massive yellow-fin tuna BELOW: David Christie with his 110kg yellow-fin tuna, which won him a ski boat as first prize in the 2012 Tuna Derby and which smashed the 80lb line-class All Africa yellow-fin tuna record of 107kg

of the day, if we were lucky – the monster yellow-fin. The words had barely left his mouth when the rods of my son and Sinker (that is Grant from now on!) bent like they had just been caught on bedrock.

But this was no bedrock – this was the prize tuna.

The rest of us watched, mesmerised, while the two guys fought their fish foes.

And what a fight it was! With us taking turns to hold their harnesses at the back, the yellow-fin showed no mercy; it truly was a sight to behold. After what seemed like a lifetime – to them more so than us, no doubt – both of them pulled their hauls alongside the boat, and Dave and his first mate gaffed the tuna and brought them into the boat. They seemed massive to us; apparently they were approximately 65kg, which is not that big when compared to the largest one Dave has ever caught – a record-breaking 110kg!

This is when ‘jelly legs’ set in, and both my son and Sinker were completely fatigued, wobbling to the safety of a seat and looking paler than the white water around us – but nonetheless ecstatic.

I must admit to being slightly in two minds at this point, as it was wonderful to catch such massive fish but at the same time it was a bit sad to kill them. However, I had no time ‘to be a sissy’, as I was told,

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and it was time for the rest of us to have a go at bringing up a beast.

In no time I had hooked one and it made the long-fin tuna from earlier feel like a sardine had been on the lines – this was one strong fish! Forty-five minutes later, and with much wailing and gnashing of teeth, I caught my first yellow-fin. By the end of the day, we had all managed to catch at least two yellow-fin and a boatload of long-fin tuna. An incredible day out, even in Dave’s logs.

So with plenty of fish and plenty of back-slapping smiles, we headed back to Hout Bay harbour. On shore, a crew gutted, cleaned and cut up the tuna for us to take home for many, many tuna braais and other dishes. Right there we even got to taste the raw tuna dipped in soy sauce, which was incredible.

None of us had even had the stomach or the time to think of cracking a beer on board that day, so when we had reached terra firma once more, we headed into The Lookout Deck and put a few pints under the belt. So, contrary to the wisdom on my Uncle George’s wall plaque, we had not lost a fish and not had ‘the truth not within him’, although after the success of the day at sea and the drinks to celebrate afterward, we no doubt did return smelling of strong drink!

For an incredible day of fishing with Captain Tuna himself, do not hesitate to contact Dave Christie via email: dave@tosf.co.za or visit www.tosf.co.za. You can also book via www.south-african-hotels.com.

The best times for tuna fishing are in late March, April and May and also from October through to early January. Remember to not indulge in alcohol the evening before, and take seasickness tablets or use patches even if you think you are the sturdiest of sailors.

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&

A blend of Luxury & Adventure

Set 10 minutes away from Victoria Falls is the Stanley & Livingstone Private Game Reserve in Zimbabwe, the perfect place to combine the wild life with the high life, extreme adventure with the ultimate get-awayfrom-it all retreat. With a star-studded cast of animals, conservation experience and animal interactions all at one of the most breathtaking wonders of the natural world.

Tel: +27 (0) 21 715 2412 | e-mail: sandl.reservation@mantiscollection.com website: www.stanleyandlivingstone.com

Tr a vel gea r

Winter

is coming

While your favourite fictional characters may be preparing to face war, white walkers, wildlings and whatever else winter brings with it, are you ready to brave the icy chill?

Shan Routledge’s collection of wardrobe winners will ensure the cold weather doesn’t put a damper on your outdoor adventures.

i

f, like me, you’ve been holding on to the last few days of summer with a ferocious vice grip and now find yourself completely unprepared for the cold, wet and windy weather that’s about to descend, don’t despair! We have compiled a list of our top 12 winter must-haves.

With this new gear, you can withstand the elements and survive anything Mother Nature throws at you.

Merrell Men’s Reflex II Mid Leather Boot

There’s nothing worse than having cold and wet feet, especially if you’re trying to enjoy the outdoors in winter. The Merrell Reflex II is the perfect winter boot for hiking and outdoor activities because it’s waterproof, comfortable and is constructed with high-quality materials – making it extremely durable.

Your feet are kept dry by a Bellows tongue, which keeps out water and debris. Top of the range, this boot is your ideal winter wet weather shoe.

Merrell Men’s Reflex II Mid Leather Boot R1 299

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K-Way Men’s Rain Trousers R299

K-Way Men’s Rain Trousers

For determined adventurers, particularly in those torrential downpours, your winter wardrobe wouldn’t be complete without the K-Way Rain Trousers. Completely waterproof, windproof and seam-sealed, these pants are a basic shell that can be worn by themselves or over warm thermals. They have an elasticated waistband for extra comfort and side leg zips for easy boot access. All these features make them easy to put on and take off, and they’re packable into their back pocket so you can easily store them in your backpack – just in case.

K-Way Vulcan Softshell Bodywarmer

Perfect for those chilly evening sundowners or early morning hikes, the K-Way Vulcan Softshell Bodywarmer is a must-have item in your wardrobe. With cut-off sleeves, it keeps your chest warm without letting your body overheat. Windproof and water-shedding, it has four-way stretch for comfort and freedom of movement – making it ideal for an active lifestyle.

K-Way Women’s Magma Softshell Bodywarmer

This is the women’s version of the Vulcan, which means you don’t have to steal your partner’s jacket!

An adjustable hem and elasticated cuffs make it the perfect fit for every body type, and add extra wind protection. It’s great for everyday wear or as a mid-layer garment, and is available in black. No winter outdoor wardrobe should be without one.

K-Way Men’s Kilimanjaro Shell Jacket This garment is made from a three-layer fabric consisting of a high-performance membrane bonded to a tough outer material and a robust inner mesh. It makes the jacket waterproof, windproof and vapourpermeable – a perfect combination for the wet and cold winter. Being an outer shell, the jacket is lightweight and has a hood as well as adjustable sleeves and hem for added protection.

K-Way Women’s Magma Softshell Bodywarmer R599

K-Way Men’s Kilimanjaro Shell Jacket, R1 699

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K-Way Women’s Swan Down Jacket R1 299

K-Way Women’s Misty Rain Jacket

Lightweight, seam-sealed and 100% waterproof, this is the best all-round winter jacket. You can wear it over a T-shirt in humid downpours or as an outer layer when it gets chilly. It packs away into the pocket and converts into a bum bag, so it’s small and easy to carry along on hikes or in a bag.

It’s available in a variety of bright colours such as lemon, coral and periwinkle – so you will always stand out in grey, misty mornings!

K-Way Women’s Misty Rain Jacket R599

K-Way Men’s Torrential Rain Jacket Made from a polyester microfibre, the K-Way Torrential Rain Jacket has a PU milky outer coating and is lined with a mesh for added vapour permeability.

As with the Women’s Misty Rain Jacket, it’s waterproof, windproof and seamsealed, and is an excellent addition to your winter wardrobe.

K-Way Women’s Swan Down Jacket

If the Siberia Down Jacket is the king of outdoor winter jackets, then the Women’s Swan Down Jacket is the princess. This all-rounder jacket will protect you from all types of weather. Filled with goose down, it will make you feel as if you’re wrapped up in your duvet. Windproof and water-repellent, it will keep you warm and dry through any winter weather.

K-Way Men’s Siberia Down Jacket

For something a bit warmer when the temperature really drops, you need to add the Siberia Down Jacket to your collection. Made from nylon and polyester, it’s filled with white goose down and has a water-resistant coating to keep you extra warm and dry.

Featuring adjustable hems and cuffs, and superior insulating properties, this is the king of outdoor winter jackets.

Susino Classic Auto Open Umbrella

In case of surprise showers or abrupt changes in weather, always keep the Susino Classic Umbrella in the car. With an aluminium/fibreglass frame, it has superior strength without weight. Its automatic open/close function means you’ll never have to struggle in the wind and rain to open it up, and it comes in a stylish and classic black colour with black handle.

K-Way Men’s Torrential Rain Jacket R599

K-Way Kids’ Drizzle Rain Jacket

This rain jacket is specially designed to keep your tiny tot warm and dry, with its waterproof and windproof shell with inner mesh lining for added vapour permeability. Fitted with an adjustable hem, cuffs and hood, this jacket will fit any child perfectly and keep out the cold air.

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Susino Classic Auto Open Umbrella R120

Poncho

The final must-have for winter is the classic poncho, for those times you’re caught unawares. Extremely lightweight and small, it’s easy to store in the car, handbag, daypack or backpack. The poncho is reusable and, for only R20, it’s an absolute steal so pick up a new one at your closest Cape Union Mart. It may seem simple, but it’s essential for any lover of the outdoors in winter.

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C h r is B er tis h

The greatest honour and accomplishment that a big wave surfer can ever wish for, is riding and braving the might and power of Mavericks

gladiators of the deep

t

he wave itself is dark, cold and ominous; the water temperature an icy 8 degrees Celsius, the air temperature even colder. Thirty feet below the surface is a jagged and rocky reef, with great white sharks that lurk these waters beneath your feet.

Toward the shore, the ‘Boneyard’ – a menacing array of protruding rocks

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sticking out of the water – waits for you to make the slightest miscalculation, but this is the least of your worries because the wave itself, breaking over a kilometre out to sea, comes marching in from deep within the Pacific. Like a liquid mountain, it travels at over 50km/h, suddenly hitting the reef and quadrupling in size to over 60ft – three stories high. As the wave hurtles forward and explodes on reef with

such immense power and intensity, the earth literally shakes beneath your feet.

This is the biggest, meanest and heaviest paddle-in wave on the planet – welcome to Mavericks!

Why on earth would someone even think of going out there and surfing a wave like this, you may ask. Well, the answer is simple: because we love surfing and we love riding big waves.

It’s like taming the beast, slaying the dragon. It’s the sheer thrill of cheating death, walking that fine line – that balancing act – and coming out unscathed.

It’s a rush and a feeling like no other.

I’ve jumped out of planes, won numerous other sporting events, climbed high mountains, raced the fastest and largest yachts on the planet, but there’s nothing that comes even close.

It can’t really be explained or described or put down on paper; it’s a combination of utter exhilaration, excitement, sensory and adrenalin overload, and complete bliss – all in one intense moment of pure elation and survival. The knowledge that you’ve walked

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Most of us believe we have the courage and the will to test ourselves against the world’s heaviest and meanest big wave spot on the planet. It’s just a matter of getting to the point of being good enough, getting to the point where you feel you are ready, both physically and mentally prepared – which for many takes almost a lifetime – to take on the monsters that

Pictures ©Kolesky/ Nikon/ Lexar

come rising up from the deep, having travelled for thousands of miles across the Pacific. that fine line and will live to brave another day, another wave, another session.

There’s nothing quite like it; the high of your session often lasts not only for seconds or minutes, but for hours and sometimes even days thereafter.

It doesn’t come around very often; it may be months or, for some, even years before you may be able again to get that perfect storm, that big perfect ride. Will you be that lucky the next time round?

Will you be prepared? Will the waves be big enough, or will they be too big for you on that given day? Will you be able to muster up all the courage you have to be able to face your fears and ride a couple of these monsters?

I’ve learnt that by riding big waves, by facing your fears, you become stronger; at the end of the day, you know what your goals and dreams are and how you will achieve them.

If you want to know what it’s like to ride Mavericks and you want to give it a try, you had better be ready and have done years of training and preparation – underwater training, mental and physical training – know yourself completely,

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through and through, and have zero hesitation. This big animal can smell fear; she preys on it and will eat you up alive and spit you out in pieces, with no hint of uncertainty or wavering. This wave tests you to the core, to your limits, on every level: as a human being, as a surfer and as a waterman.

Mavericks is not for the faint-hearted, the crazy, the suicidal or the stupid.

Mavericks deserves and commands the utmost respect, timing, positioning, commitment, skill, courage and in-depth

planning and preparation to minimise the risk and maximise the thrill, and to survive to tell the tale.

Among this small crew of daredevils is a close-knit brotherhood who would risk life over limb to save one another at the blink of an eye, as the connection and bond that is forged between these gladiators of the deep is like no other.

Welcome to our arena, welcome to Mavericks…

Chris is a Cape Union Mart brand ambassador

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Os c a r C h a lups k y

channel

surfing

Veteran surfski paddler Oscar Chalupsky is returning to Molokai, Hawaii in pursuit of a 13th title win

For better or worse, my intense desire to compete – and win – has become notorious in the paddling world (and

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assuredly throughout numerous golf courses and beer halls as well). I’m 51 years old now, about to head back to Molokai to win back my title.

oes the competitive fire burn as brightly as it did when I paddled my first world championship? Yes, it does still blaze like crazy. The only difference is I’m much more experienced than 31 years ago. I started when I was 15, winning the junior and senior surf lifesaving Iron Man – and the desire has never waned since.

In the last 23 years, I’ve had great support from my family, as it’s tough to fit everything into your life. Family, work and training have to be balanced; that’s why my wife, Clare, and now my children Luke (23) and Hannah (20) have had to help with driving duties while I paddled 40-50 kilometres down the Durban coast.

As I’ve become older, I’ve had to alter my training in order to prepare physically for a gruelling event such as the Molokai 2 Oahu World Surfski Championships in Hawaii. I still train hard, but a lot wiser. I spend much more time doing technique sessions than I did since my first wins.

I’ve also been told by my sports doctors that one does take longer to recover at this age. Yes, Dr Tim Noakes himself has told me I should be taking it slower – in fact, that should’ve happened at 35 years old! I’ve been following his Real Meal Revolution, so I’m lighter and hopefully faster. I do cheat quite a bit in my alcohol consumption, which none of the 21-year-old competitors would dare to do – that’s why I’m still competing!

Knowledge of nutrition and the science of training have evolved rapidly over recent years. I’ve been asked if I’m more focused and disciplined in my diet four to five months from Molokai. Do I pay

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stricter attention to it these days in order to get the most out of my training and to recover quicker?

No, I’m still doing things similarly to how I did ages ago, but maybe there’s been a little more weight loss. I think the reason I’m going well and still paddling at my age is that I have balance, so I’m never strict with anything I do. The only thing I’m strict with is my concentration during events. I do get very angry when I make mistakes at my age! I haven’t been carbo-loading for 10 years now, and I don’t taper as much as I used to. I drink very little when I race, which now has been proven to be the best course.

Boat designs and technology have advanced greatly over the last 10 years as well. The surfskis are lighter weight and stiffer, faster yet more stable (or perhaps faster because they’re more stable). The difference in weight has made a huge difference, but I’ve always been able to balance on really unstable boats. The speeder shapes and the bailers have also contributed to my being faster nowadays.

I, together with Greg Barton from Epic Kayaks, have changed the entire surfski industry with all the experience we have gained over the years. I won my first seven races on the surfski I made and designed when I was 17 years old. And yet, even with all the recent advancements in training knowledge and equipment, the course record isn’t mine. The wind and water conditions on race day seem to be a major wild card for the competitors. Weather conditions are the most important factor for me, in that I can’t beat the young guys if the Molokai is flat. The coarse record will go if we have decent weather on race day.

I came very close – about five seconds – and I doubt if the time was accurate in those days. It will be very sweet to win and also break the record in my 50s.

As long as the wind blows more than 10 knots, that’s all I need to have a chance at winning my 13th Molokai title. I’m there for the fun of the sport – winning comes with the enjoyment of riding the ocean swells.

You need skill to ride the waves and you need experience to understand the Molokai.

Champion surfski paddler Joe Glickman once said Molokai is part of my identity, something I covet. That seems to have been the case throughout my paddling career. I think Hawaii is a special place, and winning there so many times has made it even more special. Molokai is one of the most competitive international races and has been around for nearly 40 years. Everyone I teach around the world would simply like to participate in the Molokai, never mind win it.

It’s on every paddler’s bucket list. There’s some sort of accomplishment in crossing the wild Molokai Channel.

I have no idea how many more times I could win the Molokai title, but I would love to come back to Hawaii many more times, even if I don’t win the race. Hawaii and training are in my blood during the month of May. I think I may paddle with celebrities once I think I can’t win the race anymore – but who knows when that will happen?

Oscar Chalupsky is a South African sprint canoer who competed in the early 1990s. He was eliminated in the semifinals of the K-4 1 000 m event at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. He is also a 12-time World Surfski Champion, his latest win (2012) coming at the age of 49 – 29 years after his first win.

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AJ C a litz

running with my best friend

Having my dog along as company on runs lifts my spirits and encourages me to keep going, says AJ Calitz

In my mind, the definition of joy is the image of my best friend and training partner – Monty, a chocolate Labrador – on the beach, dragging a piece of driftwood in his mouth while running beside me.

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Photographs Jacques Marais

dog changes your life: it can be an animal you keep and share a living space with, or it can be a companion, training partner, coach and best friend.

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Just because you have a dog doesn’t mean you’re dogged down. South Africa offers many dog-friendly holidays, camping sites, trails and excursions.

Dogs are allowed on most trails and mountains around the Cape Peninsula – as long as they’re kept on a leash.

Initially I wasn’t for the idea of getting a dog, but my wife – being very broody at the time – called for a choice: baby or puppy. Like many 20-somethings, I went for the latter. I couldn’t in my wildest dreams have foreseen the sheer joy and extremely hard training sessions we would share. My wife often remarks that Monty has a life of hard labour, but he doesn’t agree.

Our local vet suggested I could have him run with me at 6 months old, and if he became tired, he would lie down.

Perhaps even in pooches the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, as at 4-5 months he was moaning to go running with me and never lay down; 30-minute sessions soon turned into 60 minutes, turned into many joyous hours of running bliss.

A quick proviso: excessive running can wear down a dog’s paws and you need to keep an eye on that; I’m not a vet, but I know when enough is enough for Monty and have consulted professionals on the matter.

Dogs are naturally competitive animals, a kind of pack dominance manifesting in always wanting to be half a body length ahead of me when we do speed work or

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leading the way on a single track. I have no doubt that in any session less than 60 minutes, my dog will crush a Kenyan speedster. Their bodies are genetically engineered for hunting and chasing – it shows in the turn of speed they can produce when needed and the extreme endurance in the same breath. Their agility and fearlessness often defy belief on a tricky and winding mountain path.

Monty has accompanied me on many a run in the mountains, sometimes in the four- to five-hour range, proving himself a far superior climber than I! As long as he is kept cool, he can keep going as far as I can.

When going on a long run, I pack his food and a drinking bowl and we have lunch on top of a mountain somewhere – sheer bliss. During a recent run on Table Mountain, he even went on the cable car for a lift down – much to the astonishment of the many tourists! (Dogs are allowed on the cable car, but must be kept on a leash and remain under the control of the owner – vicious or dangerous dogs are not allowed.)

Last year during the K-Way Platteklip Charity Challenge, Monty accompanied me on one of the ascents during the latter

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part of the day, his company lifting my spirits and encouraging me to keep going.

In defence of humans, I have to mention that dogs are ‘rear-wheel drive’ and have an enormous power-toweight ratio when compared to us. They are genetically designed to run – fast!

It may come as a surprise that on many

days I don’t feel like running. Without fail, however, Monty is able to get me excited, don my gear and get out there. The pure stoke of a dog is contagious!

I can’t remember ever being more excited for anything than my dog is about running – every day!

AJ Calitz is a K-Way athlete

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On the

wild side We give you the inside scoop on the outside world. We look at some of the astounding feats that are being

accomplished by intrepid people and places; new developments and books on offer; and a host of events on the calendar to diarise in which you, The Intrepid Explorer reader, can become involved. So what are you waiting for? Get out there and make the most of the outdoors!

Compiled by Robbie Stammers and Shan Routledge

Shamwari Group giving it horns

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ontinuing the journey to raise funds for rhino awareness and protection, Shamwari Group is proud to announce it has raised R6 million for the Wilderness Foundation SA’s Forever Wild Rhino Protection Initiative, aimed at helping to save our endangered African rhinos.

Over the last two years, three of the Shamwari Group properties – Shamwari Game Reserve, Sanbona Wildlife Reserve and Jock Safari Lodge – have taken part in the Forever Wild campaign by offering guests a discounted rate if guests donated a minimum of R150 per person per night when making their booking. Shamwari Group then donated R100 for every bed night sold on this offer. To date the funds have gone to many areas such as providing vehicles to reserves and anti-poaching and canine units, a dedicated helicopter and

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microlight in the Eastern Cape, aerial support in Mozambique, equipment and funds to the Hawks and special units, four-wheelers and equipment, educational material and fact sheets on the history of rhinos in South Africa and poaching facts – these are used in education and awareness initiatives.

A rhino hot-line has been set up as well as training programmes, research projects, tracking device project, two sniffer dogs sponsored by the Wilderness Foundation and a group focusing on the successful prosecution of wildliferelated crime.

If you wish to book your safari that makes a difference, contact the Central Reservations team at reservations@shamwarigroup. com or (041) 509 3000, or for more information check out www.shamwarigroup.com.

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Out a n d a bout South African swims Necker Island for worthy cause

On 14 March 2014, a South African businessman swam from Necker Island to Moskito Island situated in the British Virgin Islands, to raise funds for the Faces of Hope Foundation.

Ettiëne Pretorius was invited to Necker Island for a five-day Oxford-meets-Necker think tank, where the top professors of Oxford University together with 20 influential entrepreneurs all over the world came together to discuss climate change, and how they as influential individuals could bring about change and set examples of how to build a greener environment.

Pretorius was born with one sole purpose: to influence the world and to share his passion for business, with a burning desire to become one of the world’s top entrepreneurs. In preparation for Ironman South Africa this year, he decided to train while on Necker Island, which became a motivation to swim from Necker to Moskito – symbolising a passion to do something for a greater cause, raising awareness for Faces of Hope.

For Pretorius, the five-kilometre swim was exhilarating and rewarding, knowing the purpose behind the challenge.

After the swim, Sir Richard Branson together with Pretorius and the group, had a discussion about global warming, whereafter they explored Moskito before enjoying lunch and a swim in the sea.

Necker and Moskito Island are both owned by Sir Branson. Moskito is going to be developed into a premier ecotourism resort and Necker is going to continue reducing environmental impact – setting a great example for other island communities worldwide.

“Meeting with Sir Richard Branson was one thing, but knowing that this individual has changed the dynamics of entrepreneurship across the globe, living with one passion and goal in mind and changing the world, is a feeling of excitement, humbleness and growth. I am thrilled to have taken the step forward in doing something for a greater purpose and creating awareness for two causes I am personally passionate about,” says Pretorius.

To help support the Faces of Hope Foundation, SMS the word ‘Hope’ to 39703. SMSes cost R30 each, once-off. To find out more about Ettiëne Pretorius, visit his official webpage at www.ettienepretorius.co.za.

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On the road again

If you want to escape the crowds, take the road less travelled and visit new interesting places, get a copy of Road Tripping South Africa (published by MapStudio), which features 20 iconic road trips – all perfectly manageable in a normal sedan.

Discover these routes: Not the N1; Cederberg; West Coast; Winelands; Route 62; The passes and beyond; Overberg; Frontier Country; Garden Route; Wild Coast; Meandering the Midlands; Great Trek Road Trip; Maluti Drakensberg Route; Anglo-Zulu War Battlefield Route; The Ultimate Safari; Tumbling Waters; Land of Legend; The Dry North; Surfing Road Trip; Golf Road Trip; and In Deep Water.

These road trips will take you on quiet, scenic back roads to places that you probably didn’t know existed.

The book includes driving conditions, pet-friendly ratings, child-friendly ratings, low-slung vehicle-friendly ratings, don’t-miss features, emergency numbers, the best time to visit these areas, top tips and padkos options, as well as day-by-day descriptions and route maps.

Win

To stand a chance of winning a copy of Road Tripping South Africa, send your name and contact details along with the answer to the question below to taryn@intrepidexplorer.co.za before 30 June 2014.

Question: How many iconic road trips are featured in this book?

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Out a n d a bout

Experience Africa On foot

Ranger Francois “Faf” Pienaar pauses mid-bite at dinner and stares off into the distance. The small group of guests looks worried; the lack of fences around the Africa On Foot camp means all manner of four-legged guests can and do stroll right by the chalets with ease.

“Lion!” says Faf with a grin, before leaping to his feet. “Who wants to go find him?” The sumptuous dinner is forgotten as the party scrambles to pull on jackets and races to the gameviewing vehicle for a second evening drive.

He traverses the paths he knows so well and, after a short drive, a sharp right bathes a majestic male lion in the glow of the headlights. Stifling a whoop, Faf stills the engine and quietly calls in the sighting to sister camp, nThambo. Ranger Chad will arrive within five minutes with two guests of his own – but until then, the small Africa On Foot contingent is left alone in the solitude of the bush to admire the beautiful big cat.

The sighting perfectly sums up the Africa On Foot and nThambo Tree Camp experience: flexibility and passion combine to give guests a wildlife experience they’re unlikely to get anywhere else with the regimented 5am/4pm game drive schedule of other lodges.

Based in the 70 000-hectare Klaserie Private Nature Reserve in the Greater Kruger, the teams at both camps – whether in the kitchen, at the table or in khaki – have an infectious enthusiasm for wildlife which delivers unique, memorable experiences for visitors. Whether traversing the reserve by game vehicle or on foot, the knowledgeable rangers seem to summon up Big 5 sightings at will.

With only four small commercial lodges in the Klaserie, you’re spared queues of game vehicles and hordes of chattering tourists at every sighting, offering a feeling of intimacy missing in many of the big reserves.

Owners Courteney and Cecelia Blunden started Africa On Foot seven years ago, and nThambo, three, on what was once Cecilia’s grandparents’ farm. Courteney, named after wildlife

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hunter-turned-conservationist Frederick Courteney Selous, has been a game ranger for over a decade and boasts some of the industry’s highest qualifications, including a Level 3 SKSDG (Specialist Knowledge Skills and Dangerous Game).

The Blundens’ approach means that walking safaris are a special treat. Viewing game on foot is so much more rewarding than tracking them by diesel vehicle, with the rangers’ passion for the bush illustrated as each turn reveals new plants, birds and beasts – with in-depth explanations and quirky stories related for all. nThambo Tree Camp is marketed as the more upmarket of the two Sun Destinations camps, with five eco-friendly, solar-powered ‘tree houses’ accommodating a maximum of 10 guests in all. The chalets are raised on wooden stilts and the walls, made from canvas, leave guests open enough to the elements to hear hyena barking at the nearby waterhole each night, and buck snuffling below the raised decking.

Sheltered verandahs overlook the plains in front of the camp, with views all the way to the distant Drakensberg.

Camp managers Kelly and Chad tailor programmes for guests: whether you’re looking to while away your time at the pool with a G&T or spend your day tracking game on foot or in the vehicle, the team remains unobtrusive until called upon and deliver fantastic surprises such as fire-lit bush dinners beside the camp’s watering hole.

Just a 10-minute drive away, the Africa on Foot camp features five brick chalets and a tree house, where adventurous guests can spend their evenings on a basic but sheltered deck for a more authentic experience.

If you’re more interested in experiencing and understanding, rather than just seeing the reserve’s animals, Africa On Foot and nThambo offer pristine opportunities with enough luxury to help you relax in style.

For more information, visit www.africaonfoot.com or www.nthambo.com.

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Out a n d a bout

Foraging fun

Join a small group of avid fungi foragers, eccentric hobbyists and amateur mycologists when Delheim Estate sets foot in the forest for its exclusive Wild Mushroom Hunts, in search of these elusive, seasonal delicacies on 16 and 17 June 2014.

While many fungi fans remain tight-lipped about their favourite hunting spots, Delheim’s Nora Sperling-Thiel welcomes foraging fans to join her and Gary Goldman – an enthusiastic mushroom expert and cultivator who goes by the moniker “Mushroom Guru” – for a walk on the ‘wild side’ on this legendary Stellenbosch wine estate to indulge in some mushroom magic.

Your day starts with an insightful lecture on wild mushrooms and, armed with all the newly acquired knowledge, you will then gear up for an enchanting excursion through the pine forest on the farm to get up close and personal with the edible and poisonous mushrooms on the estate. After working up an appetite hunting for varieties ranging from pine-rings to ceps, guests will be rewarded with a mouth-watering mushroom-themed buffet in Delheim’s historic Vat Cellar.

There are only 40 spots available per day and the hunt starts at 10.30am. Tickets cost R350 per person, which includes the short course in mushroom identification, the forest forage, as well as the lunch and a glass of Delheim wine.

Pre-booking is essential and, given the intimate nature of these events, no group bookings are allowed. For more information or to secure your spot, contact Charlotte Terblanche at 021 888 4600 or send an email: info@delheim.com.

Your Bucket List

Everyone has a travelling bucket list, right? Maybe you need some ideas to add onto your own bucket list or maybe you’ve wanted to start one of your own.

Here is the perfect title for you!

MapStudio’s new Your Bucket List by renowned author Patrick Cruywagen gives you more than 150 must-do experiences in southern Africa: Where and when to go, experience information, how to get there, where to stay, contact details, full-colour photography and so much more.

Areas in southern Africa include: South Africa, Lesotho, Namibia, Botswana, Mozambique, Madagascar, Angola, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi and Tanzania & Kenya.

So get started today by ticking off on your very own bucket list and experience this beautiful continent we call Africa.

Win

One lucky Intrepid Explorer reader will win a copy of Your Bucket List.

All you need to do is answer this simple question and send the answer along with your name and contact details to taryn@intrepidexplorer.co.za Question: How many must-do experiences does Your Bucket List provide?

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Taking you to Wild New Frontiers The Intrepid Explorer magazine and Wild Frontiers are organising the most incredible trips to the most amazing destinations. For more information on exact dates as well as details on talks about each trip at certain Cape Union Mart stores, go to www.wildfrontiers.co.za.

These are all in the pipeline: Kilimanjaro – 8-day Machame Route hike for singles, departing from Joburg on Saturday, 26 July 2014 and returning on Saturday, 2 August 2014. For those who don’t have friends or family joining them on this expedition, simply join up with this departure and hike with other ‘singles’. 15 seats available.

Kilimanjaro – 9-day Rongai Route, ideal for novice hikers. Depart from Joburg on Saturday, 20 September 2014 and return on Sunday, 28 September 2014. Everyone is welcome to book onto this set departure with The Intrepid Explorer.

Kilimanjaro – 8-day Machame Route hike for ladies only, departing from Joburg on Saturday, 27 September 2014 and returning on Saturday, 4 October 2014. This one’s for like-minded ladies who prefer doing an expedition with other ladies. 15 seats available.

Wildebeest Migration for singles, Essence of Tanzania – 8-day safari departing from Joburg on Friday, 18 July 2014 and returning on Friday, 25 July 2014. For people who don’t have friends or family joining them on this safari, simply join up with this departure and travel with other ‘singles’. 6 seats left.

Wildebeest Migration Safari, Essence of Tanzania – Departing on Friday, 1 August 2014 from Joburg and returning on 8 August 2014.

Everyone is welcome to book onto this set departure with The Intrepid Explorer. 6 seats available.

Wildebeest Migration Safari, Essence of Tanzania – Departing Joburg on Friday, 21 November 2014 and returning on Friday, 28 November 2014. This would suit like-minded ladies who prefer doing a safari with other ladies. 6 seats available.

Uganda Gorilla Trekking with Spud author, John van de Ruit – 7-day safari departing Joburg on Saturday, 1 November 2014 and returning on Friday, 7 November 2014. 6 seats available. Option to extend to Murchison Falls for fishing, game viewing and birding – extra 3 days.

Inca Trail with The Intrepid Explorer editor, Robbie Stammers – 8-day Inca Trail hike starting in Lima on Saturday, 8 November and ending on Saturday, 15 November 2014. 15 seats available. Option to extend to the Amazon, Lake Titicaca, among others.

Victoria Falls Mountain Bike Challenge from 11 to 15 June 2014 – 3-day stage race from 12 to 14 June 2014. 10 seats available.

Victoria Falls Marathon from 28 June to 1 July 2014 – full marathon (42.2km), half marathon (21.1km) and fun run from which to choose. 10 seats available.

Kilimanjaro Marathon from 27 February to 1 March 2015 – full marathon (42.2km), half marathon (21.1km) and fun run from which to choose. 10 seats available + one representative from The Intrepid Explorer.

Go check out the Wild Frontiers website – you snooze, you lose!

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No matter the gear, the size of your crew, or the length of your adventure, the new Thule Chasm Duffel Bags can get you where you need to go.

Available in three different colours and five different sizes – 27l, 40l, 70l, 90l and 130l – these bags are your go-to gear haulers for any adventure. Straps quickly convert the bag from a duffel into a backpack, and compression straps prevent your gear from falling to the bottom of the bag.

The Chasm’s ultra-wide mouth opening, padded bottom, internal mesh pockets and rugged, waterproof tarpaulin fabric will keep all your gear safe, organised and easily accessible.

For more information, call 086 118 4853.

pioneering journeys Inca Trail

Tel: 011 702 2035 or 072 927 7529 Fax: 086 689 6759 reservations@wildfrontiers.com www.wildfrontiers.com www.intrepidexplorer.co.za

Tanzania Uganda Kenya Rwanda Ethiopia Botswana Namibia Zambia Zimbabwe

A F R I C A T R AV E L S P E C I A L I S T S

On 18 April this year, 12 ordinary South African guys crossed the finish line of their 1 488-kilometre relay race from Johannesburg to Cape Town. This endurance challenge has never been done before. Then on 19 April, the runners completed the Two Oceans Marathon in just three hours!

The seven-day race, which started at Maragon Private School in Johannesburg on 11 April, finished in Cape Town at Grand Africa Café & Beach on the 18th at 2h30pm.

MADFORM Physio & Sports Products founder, Miguel Angel Dominguez, spoke from Barcelona in Spain after hearing the news of MAD2RUN finishing in Cape Town: “We in Spain have been following the runners very closely. It has been an exciting adventure, and we admire people who put themselves through challenges which also challenge their physical performance and achieve great things.”

The exhausted runners persevered through dusty open gravel roads, intense sun, freezing night conditions, snakes, steep mountain terrains and uneven surfaces with holes and rocks. They were supported along the route by locals and some even ran with them on parts of the journey.

The race was completed without any physical complications or injury, thanks to the constant MADFORM physiotherapy treatment provided along the route by MADFORM South Africa in the support vehicle sponsored

by Volkswagen Lindsay Saker Kempton Park in Johannesburg.

MADFORM Physio & Sport Products proudly sponsors MAD2RUN in aid of the Make A Difference (MAD) charity.

The MADFORM Sport and Protect range of creams (MADFORM Warm Up Cream, MADFORM Muscle Recovery Cream, MADFORM Double Power Recovery Cream, MADFORM MADFREEZE Cold Gel, MADFORM Sport Sun Protector SPF50 and MADFORM Sports Shield) were used by the MAD2RUN team; these specially developed sports creams enabled the runners to perform better for longer and effectively recover faster.

MADFORM has pledged to donate R10 from each product sold until R1 million has been raised over the course of the next few months.

South African rugby legend Francois Pienaar founded the non-profit MAD Foundation in 2003, in aid of education in South Africa.

Education is the tool that instils knowledge in people so they can function within national and global infrastructure as individuals as well as make constructive contributions politically, economically and socially to the world.

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It’s in the bag, baby!

12 guys, 7 days, 1 488km – they must be MAD2RUN!

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5 i the big

Robbie Stammers gives us a guided tour of the new, exciting vehicles that have been spotted on our roads recently

Like the Big 5 in the bush, these vehicles have unique characteristics: some may be featured for their strength and speed, and others for their comfort and size.

n Africa, the Big 5 game animals are the lion, African elephant, Cape buffalo, leopard and rhinoceros. The term ‘big five game’ was coined by big-game hunters, and refers to the five African animals that are most difficult to hunt on foot.

Impressive family SUV – New Hyundai ix35

While driving the new Hyundai ix35, I started noticing just how many of them are on our roads, so it certainly seems this Korean car is ticking the boxes for quite a few folks.

The South African ix35 range starts with a 122kW 2.0-litre petrol 4x2, producing 197Nm of torque and mated to a choice of either an all-new six-speed auto or five-speed manual transmission.

The family 130kW 2.4-litre petrol Thetea-II engine will also be available with the new six-speed auto 4x4 drivetrain. In the ix35, the 2.4 produces 227Nm of torque and emits 219g/km of CO2.

The pick of the range, however, is an all-new 135kW 2.0-litre turbo-diesel, producing 392Nm of torque and CO2 emissions of 174g/km. This oil burner will be available with a six-speed manual in 4x2 guise (returning a claimed combined fuel consumption of 6.4 litres/100km) and a six-speed auto 4x4 (returning a claimed 7.5 litres/100km).

Material quality, fit and finish on the inside of the ix35 are excellent. There are plenty of soft-touch plastics, all the switches feel robust and there is soft blue backlighting that gives the interior a classy feel.

It’s really comfortable, too. The suspension has been set up to provide a soft ride and it’ll easily absorb all but the biggest of potholes and bumps that you’ll encounter on the road.

The interior is well insulated and does a great job of filtering out tyre, road and wind noise, while the engines are reasonably powerful, smooth and quiet. Space in the rear seats is a little tight, though, so passengers may find it a little too confined on longer journeys. On the other hand, the boot space is huge and certainly won’t have you muttering that there isn’t enough space for the

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Subsequently, the term was adopted by safari tour operators for marketing purposes. For our purposes, we have chosen this quarter’s five preferred vehicles to review. Some would be ideal for an intrepid adventure into the bundus, while others would be more suited to the concrete jungle and the school run.

Easter holiday luggage.

My only bugbear is that the clutch takes too late in the first two gears, which sometimes had me stalling the car. (I’d like to believe this was more the Hyundai’s fault than my driving ability...)

All in all, a solid drive and a great-looking family SUV. Price tags 2.0 Premium Manual – from R319 900 2.0 NU Executive Manual – from R349 900 2.0 NU Elite Automatic – from R369 900 2.0 R2.0 Elite 4x2 Manual – from R389 900 2.0 R2.0 Elite 4x4 Automatic Diesel – from R449 900

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Hit th e r oa d, J a c k Sleek and savvy – 2014 Mitsubishi Outlander GLS Exceed

A restyled and very well-equipped Mitsubishi Outlander SUV has arrived in South Africa. The latest Outlander comes with a great pedigree and has already received two most prestigious awards globally.

The arrival of the seven-seater Outlander SUV continues the value-for-money approach adopted by the new distributor of Mitsubishi vehicles in South Africa. Imperial was awarded the licence to distribute these vehicles here in July 2011, which marked the introduction of many new models in the country – including its best-selling ASX compact SUV and the single-cab Triton bakkie.

The Outlander underwent a full model change in early 2013 and, in the earlier launch countries, the sales have been very good. South Africa is now getting the all-new Outlander with additional 2014 model year changes which include design tweaks that further refine the vehicle in terms of styling and aerodynamics, as well as a reduced drag-coefficient that further increases fuel efficiency.

The first in the range of Outlanders to be launched in South Africa will be the luxurious GLS Exceed model. The vehicle is powered by a 2.4-litre, four-cylinder petrol engine developing 123kW of power at 6 000r/min and 222Nm of torque at 4 100r/ min. Claimed fuel consumption in the combined test mode is 8.2 litres/100km and emissions on this cycle are 192g/km.

Claimed maximum speed is 195km/h with a maximum towing capacity of 750kg.

The Outlander uses a continuously variable transmission to transfer the power from the engine to the wheels. The power extends to a multi-select four-wheel drive (4WD) system, which is electronically controlled. In Eco mode, the 4WD system runs in 2WD during normal driving conditions, but automatically engages 4WD when it senses one of the wheels slipping on a loose or slippery surface. The system permits 4WD Eco, 4WD Auto and 4WD Lock-up modes.

The lock-up mode increases wheel traction, thereby providing maximum tractability. The different modes can be selected through the simple push of a button. The 4WD system is flexible, driver-friendly and provides great capability in off-road situations.

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All models are fitted with 18-inch alloy wheels shod with 225/55R18 tyres and there is a full-size spare wheel.

The new Outlander is extremely spacious with a lot of loading space for a SUV in this class and offers convenient seating for seven occupants in three rows of seats, with the second and third rows able to fold flat. Getting in and out of the third row of seats is also easy, thanks to the simple fold-forward action of the rear seats.

The real clincher with the latest Outlander range, however, is the excellent level of standard equipment. This includes a dual-zone automatic air-conditioning system, keyless operating system, a high-quality touchscreen audio system, cruise control, multi-function steering wheel, paddle shifts, an information system, park distance control, Bluetooth with hands-free voice control for cellphone use, a USB port and a retractable tonneau cover over the spacious luggage compartment.

The seven-seater Outlander boasts leather seats (driver and front passenger seats are heated) and a Rockford Fosgate® audio system with nine speakers. It also features a rear-view camera, glass sunroof and electrically operated tailgate as well as a rear entertainment system that connects via wireless headphones.

Safety is always a number-one priority for the Mitsubishi engineers, and here the Outlander is again very well equipped with seven airbags, ABS (anti-lock braking system) with EBD (electronic brake-force distribution), ASTC (active stability and traction control) that includes a brake assist system, as well as HSA (hill start assist).

A superb vehicle in every way! The Mitsubishi Outlander GLS Exceed is covered by a 3-year/100 000km warranty with a 5-year/90 000km service plan.

Price tag R429 900

Life’s an adventure – Pajero SWB SUV

Mitsubishi Motors SA has launched another supreme off-roader in the form of the 2014 update on the two-door Pajero short wheelbase (SWB) SUV. It once again has a rear diff-lock included in the standard specification. This feature, linked to the famous shift-on-the-fly

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Super Select 4WD system, makes for a very capable, serious off-roader.

Other upgrades to the 2014 model include the inclusion of a rear-view camera, privacy glass, colour-coded door handles and exterior rear-view mirrors as well as a USB port.

The price of the standard Pajero SWB is very competitive in a market where it has few competitors besides the Land Rover Defender SWB and Jeep Wrangler, which have much less standard equipment and far fewer comfort features.

The Pajero SWB is powered by a tried and trusted 3.2-litre common rail turbo-diesel developing 140kW of power and 441Nm of torque, which drives the wheels through a five-speed automatic transmission with the versatile and efficient SuperSelect all-wheel drive system.

The Super-Select system offers 2WD, 4WD (4H) without locked centre differential, where the power is split 33/67 between front/ rear wheels – giving the driver the benefits of an AWD vehicle, including better control for high-speed driving. The 4HLc and 4LLc settings lock the centre differential and split the power 50/50 between front and rear wheels. All this, together with the lockable rear differential, makes the Pajero SWB virtually unstoppable.

Although the off-road ability is still extremely important to the designers of Pajero, they have also paid a great deal of attention to safety and comfort for the occupants.

Standard safety features include six air bags, ASTC and high-intensity discharge headlamps with automatic levelling, while convenience and comfort features include a rear-view camera, park distance control, glass sunroof, and multi-function steering wheel with remote controls for the audio system and cruise control. There are also heated seats for the driver and front passenger as well as Bluetooth with hands-free voice control for a cellphone.

There is an easy-to-read central information system with multiple readouts, including a compass, altimeter and barometer for the outdoor enthusiast.

The Mitsubishi Pajero certainly has all the right DNA for tackling the toughest off-road obstacles, as its forerunners have won the gruelling Dakar Rally no fewer than 12 times – making it the most successful vehicle brand in 33 years of Dakar history.

The Mitsubishi Pajero SWB is ideally suited to the requirements of those who love the great outdoors, and is the perfect ambassador for the brand slogan: “Life’s an adventure”.

Price tag R549 000

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Dynamic and versatile – New Volvo V60

The new Volvo V60 is the car for people who need the versatility of an estate, but who want the handling of a sports sedan – all in a stylish Scandinavian package. The new model’s sporty drive is emphasised by new, comfortable sport seats and Volvo’s new Sensus Connected Touch system with unique online possibilities.

Fuel consumption is down to 4.5 litres/100km and CO2 emissions are just 119g/km in the Volvo V60 D4.

As with the Volvo S60, the new model’s road presence is strengthened by emphasising its horizontal lines, which visually connect the car to the road. The new Volvo V60’s silhouette is a visual reminder that this is no ordinary estate: it’s a powerful sportswagon designed for pure driver enjoyment and perfect versatility.

To enhance the visual appeal of the car, it’s now possible to specify the new Volvo V60 with expressive 19-inch wheels and keep the same profile height as 18-inch, without compromising comfort.

Inside, the attention to detail and use of authentic materials – such as wood and leather – along with the easy-to-use controls ensure an in-command driving experience. Changes include new upholstery colours and new wood inlays, a new headliner, and silk metal frames around the air vents and light controls.

The focal point of Volvo V60’s versatility is its intelligent seating. The rear seats can be folded down in three 40/20/40 segments, so that the rear 430 litres of load space can be supplemented quickly and easily. Parents favour the V60’s two-stage integrated booster cushions for children. With one simple movement, the booster cushions pop up from the seat base, giving a comfortable and safe ride height for children from three years and older.

Supportive and incredibly comfortable seats have been a Volvo trademark for decades. The buyer of the S60 can now specify a new sport seat that retains this traditional comfort and makes a perfect addition to the in-command feel of a true driver’s car. It has great hugging side support all the way from the thighs to the shoulders, so the seat keeps the driver firmly in position when cornering fast.

The T6 petrol engine has a displacement of 3.0 litres and pumps out 224kW and no less than 440Nm of torque. Fuel consumption is 9.9 litres/100km (EU Combined). The engine’s power is delivered to the wheels via Volvo’s second-generation six-speed automatic Geartronic transmission.

A very clever extra is the new Pedestrian and Cyclist Detection technology with full auto brake, equipped with an advanced sensor system that scans the area ahead. If a cyclist heading in

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Price tags V60 T3 Excel – R345 400 V60 T3 Elite – R361 400 V60 T3 Powershift Excel – R367 100 V60 T3 Powershift Elite – R380 700 V60 T4 Excel – R369 000 V60 T4 Elite – R385 000 V60 T4 Powershift Excel – R386 800 V60 T4 Powershift Elite – R402 900 V60 D4 Excel – R392 100 V60 D4 Geartronic Excel – R406 200 V60 D4 Elite – R408 100 V60 D4 Geartronic Elite – R422 200 V60 T5 Powershift Excel – R441 000 V60 T5 Powershift Elite – R457 000 V60 T5 Powershift R-Design – R454 100 V60 D5 Geartronic Elite – R468 900 V60 T6 Geartronic AWD Elite – R529 900 V60 T6 Geartronic AWD R-Design – R537 900

Mind-blowing performance – BMW X5 xDrive50i

Once upon a time, a fledgling germ of an idea was beginning to form in the minds of BMW engineers: they thought it may be good to build a practical SUV with off-roading abilities, but they were all track-heads infused with the DNA of racers, and some part of them just couldn’t help trying to execute that idea.

This baby is the X5 xDrive50i, with a twin-turbo 4.4-litre V8

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producing 335kW, 649Nm of torque and a 0-100km/h time of 5.0 seconds. That’s mighty quick.

Elsewhere, there’s the traditional 3.0-litre straight six diesel in the xDrive30d (192kW, 0-100km/h in 6.9s) and, of course, the wonderful 3.0-litre, triple-turbo straight six diesel in the M50d. It’s not an all-guns-blazing M-Power car, but an ‘M Performance’ line model. Still, it produces 284kW, 740Nm and accelerates from 0-100km/h in 5.3 seconds. It’s also cleaner and more efficient than before: CO2 sits at 177g/km.

All models get a standard eight-speed automatic gearbox, together with comfort, sport, sport + and eco modes (the latter adjusting ECU, throttle and box characteristics for efficiency).

Other green measures include brake energy regeneration, start-stop, electric power steering and low roll-resistance tyres.

Couple this to the 90kg weight reduction over its predecessor and, well, it’s about as green as you’ll get in a two-tonne SUV. Exterior revisions include a broader-set kidney grille and a new front bumper, side lines that rise up to the rear of the car, and ‘aero blades’ at the back – black air-channelling elements next to the roof spoiler that help with aerodynamics.

Inside, there’s ambient lighting, new trim and accent strips, high-gloss black surfaces, a 10.25in freestanding front display and a few leather options. The front seats have been redesigned (with the option of sports seats), and there’s an optional third row to make it a seven-seater. These, in turn, can be folded – along with the second row – to create a greater load capacity.

There are also plenty safety and driver assist options, lots of infotainment and even a ‘concierge service’, which dials up hotel reservations, searches for addresses and telephone numbers, and displays real-time traffic info.

Pure driving pleasure – and a head-turner to boot!

Hit th e r oa d, J a c k

the same direction as the car suddenly swerves out in front of the vehicle and a collision is imminent, there is an instant warning and full braking power is applied. It is also possible to share a Wi-Fi network with everyone in the car.

It seems Volvo has thought of everything!

Price tags sDrive25d – R660 000 xDrive50i – R990 000

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Giraffe ribcage, part of a lion kill. Mashatu, Northern Tuli Game Reserve, Botswana

Ph oto es s a y

In this edition of The Intrepid Explorer, we showcase the photographic prowess of husband-and-wife team, Roger and Pat de la Harpe

lens

life through the

Roger and Pat de la Harpe are freelance photographers and writers based in South Africa and have a passion for conservation, natural history, wild places and indigenous cultures.

Over the last 25 years, Roger and Pat have made frequent excursions into various regions of the African continent in pursuit of great stories and imagery. They have published 26 coffee table books, many of which are a celebration of nature and the environment, with their latest two – In Search of the African Wild Dog and In Search of the African Lion – having a strong conservation emphasis. They hope to increase public awareness of these two species and their current predicament, and to assist in raising funds to help researchers and game reserve managers find sustainable solutions to the conservation issues surrounding them.

They are currently busy shooting for a new book, African Icons – 21 Must-see Places in Africa, with long-time friend and colleague, David Bristow. (See www.africanicons.co.za.)

Roger and Pat own and manage Africa Imagery, an online database of some 40 000 images of the people, wildlife and landscapes of the African continent.

Video is playing an ever increasing role in many digital and online publications and, as a result, they are actively growing this part of the Africa Imagery portfolio.

In addition to Roger and Pat’s images and video clips, there are eight specialist photographers who contribute their pictures to the image bank.

The De la Harpes also undertake commissioned photography in the tourism sector, run photographic safaris and workshops at carefully selected destinations in southern Africa and offer advice on, and sales, of photographic equipment.

For more information and photos, go to www.rogerandpatdelaharpe.com or www.africaimagery.com.

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Victoria Falls or Mosi-oa-Tunya at Main Falls, Zimbabwe San rock art. Game Pass Shelter at Kamberg, Ukhahlamba Drakensberg Park, KwaZulu-Natal

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Lion with an injured eye. Mashatu, Northern Tuli Game Reserve, Botswana

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Giraffe giving birth. Northern Tuli Game Reserve, Botswana

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Lioness grooming her cub. MalaMala Game Reserve, Mpumalanga www.intrepidexplorer.co.za

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store listing western cape STORES Bayside Mall (021) 556-3861 bayside@capeunionmart.co.za Blue Route Mall (021) 712-5979 blueroute@capeunionmart.co.za Canal Walk (021) 555-2846 canalwalk@capeunionmart.co.za Canal Walk Adventure Centre (021) 555-4629 cwac@capeunionmart.co.za Cape Gate Shopping Centre (021) 982-2000 capegate@capeunionmart.co.za Cavendish Square (021) 674-2148 cavendish@capeunionmart.co.za Constantia Village (021) 794-0632 constantia@capeunionmart.co.za Gardens Centre (021) 461-9678 gardens@capeunionmart.co.za Mill Square (021) 886-4645 stellenbosch@capeunionmart.co.za Mountain Mill Mall (023) 347-1484 worcester@capeunionmart.co.za Paarl Mall (021) 863-4138 paarl@capeunionmart.co.za Somerset Mall (021) 852-7120 somersetwest@capeunionmart.co.za Tygervalley Shopping Centre (021) 914-1441 tygervalley@capeunionmart.co.za V&A Waterfront Quay Four (021) 425-4559 quayfour@capeunionmart.co.za V&A Waterfront Travel & Safari (021) 419-0020 waterfront@capeunionmart.co.za West Coast Mall, Vredenburg (022) 713-4113 weskus@capeunionmart.co.za GArden route Garden Route Mall (044) 887-0048 gardenroute@capeunionmart.co.za Knysna Mall (044) 382-4653 knysna@capeunionmart.co.za Langeberg Mall (044) 695-2486 mosselbay@capeunionmart.co.za

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The Market Square (044) 533-4030 marketsquare@capeunionmart.co.za

Middleburg Mall (013) 244-1040 Middelburg@capeunionmart.co.za

Killarney Mall (011) 486-4253 killarney@capeunionmart.co.za

EASTERN CAPE STORES Riverside Mall, Nelspruit Kolonnade Shopping Centre Greenacres Shopping Centre (013) 757-0338 (012) 548-9811 (041) 363-1504 nelspruit@capeunionmart.co.za kolonnade@capeunionmaart.co.za greenacres@capeunionmart.co.za NORTH WEST STORES Mall@Reds Hemingways Shopping Centre Waterfall Mall (012) 656-0182 (043) 726-0908 (014) 537-3651 redsmall@capeunionmart.co.za hemmingways@capeunionmart.co.za waterfall@capeunionmart.co.za Menlyn Park Walmer Park Brits Mall (012) 368-1015 (041) 368-7442 (012) 250-1909 menlyn@capeunionmart.co.za walmer@capeunionmart.co.za brits@capeunionmart.co.za Nicolway Mall Vincent Park Mooiriver Mall (011) 706-7573 (043) 726-2900 (018) 293-1788 nicolway@capeunionmart.co.za vincentpark@capeunionmart.co.za mooiriver@capeunionmart.co.za

Northgate Fountains Mall LIMPOPO STORE (011) 794-1022 (042) 293-0005 Mall of the North northgate@capeunionmart.co.za fountainsmall@capeunionmart.co.za (015) 265-1067

mallofthenorth@capeunionmart.co.za OR Tambo International Airport KWAZULU-NATAL STORES

(011) 390-3245 Boardwalk Shopping Centre GAUTENG STORES ortambo@capeunionmart.co.za (035) 789-0321 Atterbury Value Mart, Pretoria boardwalk@capeunionmart.co.za (012) 991-3171 Rosebank Mall atterbury@capeunionmart.co.za (011) 442-1959 Galleria Mall rosebank@capeunionmart.co.za (031) 904-2318 Brooklyn Mall galleria@capeunionmart.co.za (012) 460-5511 Sandton City brooklyn@capeunionmart.co.za (011) 884-9771 Gateway World sandton@capeunionmart.co.za (031) 566-5111 Carnival Mall gateway@capeunionmart.co.za (011) 915-0470 The Glen Shopping Centre carnivalmall@capeunionmart.co.za (011) 436-1300 La Lucia Mall theglen@capeunionmart.co.za (031) 562-0523 Centurion Shopping Centre LaLucia@capeunionmart.co.za (012) 663-4111 The Grove centurion@capeunionmart.co.za (012) 807-0642 Midlands Mall thegrove@capeunionmart.co.za (033) 342-0152 Clearwaters Mall midlands@capeunionmart.co.za (011) 675-0036 Vaal Mall clearwaters@capeunionmart.co.za (016) 981-5186 Pavillion Shopping Centre vaalmall@capeunionmart.co.za (031) 265-1666 Cresta Centre pavillion@capeunionmart.co.za (011) 478-1913 Woodlands Boulevard cresta@capeunionmart.co.za (012) 997-6960 Westville Mall woodlands@capeunionmart.co.za (031) 266-6049 Eastgate Adventure Centre

westwood@capeunionmart.co.za (011) 622-8788 BOTsWANA STORES Game City, Gaberone

egac@capeunionmart.co.za 00267-391-0948 NORTHERN CAPE STORE gamecity@capeunionmart.co.za Diamond Pavillion Centre East Rand Mall (053) 832-3846 (011) 826-2408 Riverwalk Mall, Gaberone diamondpavillion@capeunionmart.co.za eastrandmall@capeunionmart.co.za 00267-370-0040

riverwalk@capeunionmart.co.za FREE STATE STORES Fourways Mall Mimosa Mall, Bloemfontein (011) 465-9824 Francistown, Pick n Pay Centre (051) 444-6059 fourways@capeunionmart.co.za 00267-241-0398 mimosa@capeunionmart.co.za francistown@capeunionmart.co.za Greenstone Mall

Loch Logan Waterfront, Bloemfontein (011) 609-0002 NAMIBIA STORE (051) 430-0230 greenstone@capeunionmart.co.za Maerua Mall, Windhoek lochlogan@capeunionmart.co.za 00264-612-20424 Hyde Park Corner windhoek@capeunionmart.co.za MPUMALANGA STORES (011) 325-5038

Ilanga Mall hydepark@capeunionmart.co.za OUTLET STORES (013) 742-2281 Access Park, Cape Town ilanga@capeunionmart.co.za Irene Village (021) 674-6398 (012) 662-1133 accesspark@capeunionmart.co.za Highveld Mall irene@capeunionmart.co.za (013) 692-4018 Woodmead Value Mart, Johannesburg highveld@capeunionmart.co.za (011) 656-0750 woodmead@capeunionmart.co.za

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Howe to tr a vel

the rat pack

t

ravelling overland through Rajasthan, the magical realm of the maharajas, we visited the ghost city of Fatehpur Sikri. Wandering around the abandoned palaces and pavilions of the mighty Moghul Empire built by Akbar the Great in the 16th century, we got lost in a stone labyrinth of pavilions and gardens.

The playful emperor was fond of board games. He used his concubines as human chess pieces in one of the courtyards, in an ancient Indian game called Pachisi (rather like Ludo) – and played Blind Man’s Bluff with his harem. We tried to persuade the girls in our tour party to play along, but they grew bored and went off to join the pilgrims, chanting, tying holy red thread and scattering rose petals at the tomb of a Sufi mystic.

In Jaipur, the pink city, we lunched with the regulars at an old restaurant founded in 1727. This landmark serves only sattvic (vegan) food – but doesn’t use onion and garlic which, they say, excite your base emotions. The menu declares, “We don’t serve food which is half-cooked, half-ripe, insipid, putrid, stale, polluted or impure.

Lord Krishna condemns unwholesome food – and recommends food which promotes longevity, intelligence, sweet and naturally agreeable.” Well, thank goodness for that.

We took the great caravan trade route north to Bikaner – a princely state on the edge of the Great Indian (Thar) Desert on the border of India and Pakistan.

Newlyweds come from all over India to pray for fertility at the legendary Temple of Rats in Deshnok. Bound together by

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Graham Howe sought a blessing from the holy little rodents who rule at the legendary Karni Mata temple in India

an umbilical cord of colourful fabric – tying the knot, so to speak – young couples headed through temple doors inlaid with exquisite carvings of cute little rats in marble, wood and silver. Taking off our shoes, we followed the pilgrims inside.

Rats rule at Karni Mata, the temple that has drawn worshippers from all over India for six centuries. Thousands of hungry rats live in the temple and feast on offerings (condensed milk, coconuts and carrot cake) every day. If a rat runs over your bare feet, you’re twice blessed; and if it’s a white rat or if you eat local cake dunked in holy rat saliva, you’re thrice blessed! I’ll take their word for it. It’s not for the squeamish – or easily rattled – but persecuted rats need a sanctuary they can call home.

You never know: I may end up there one day. It turns out these rats are all reincarnated storytellers. According to Hindu legend, Karni Mata (an incarnation of Durga, the wife of Shiva, the creator) asked Yama (the Hindu God of Death) to restore life to the dead son of a grieving storyteller. When he refused, the goddess reincarnated all dead storytellers as rats, depriving Yama of human souls. It’s all pretty confusing. But you may even spot your favourite novelist or writer running around the temple courtyard.

It was feeding time at the temple. Rats scampered across the courtyard, lapping thirstily at giant copper bowls flowing with milk – lining up in rows like hungry boys at a boarding school refectory. Rats scurried away to gnaw on crumbs of halwa (holy carrot cake). Rats gnawed at coconut flesh at the ornate silver shrine

where pilgrims queued with offerings of prasad (holy food) and devotees cracked open a vast pile of coconuts.

No matter how I tried, I couldn’t get one of these hungry little rats to run over my feet for good luck – even when I stuck crumbs between my toes. Rats!

Ganga Singh (‘the Lion’), one of a dynasty of 24 maharajas who ruled Bikaner from 1588 to 2003, donated the silver doors and marble carvings to the temple.

We stayed at one of the maharaja’s old art deco palaces – and didn’t spot any rats there. At his Junagarh Fort, with its 40 palaces and pavilions, we marvelled at the exquisite silver thrones, golden swings and lavish bedrooms decorated with ming tiles and gold leaf. The longest ruling maharaja had his own royal train, biplane and palanquins (sedan chairs carried by porters) on show in the museum. Those were the days.

We headed out into the great Thar Desert to do a camel trek through the sand dunes on the border. I was travelling in the footsteps of my grandfather, Captain Theodore Kemble, who spent his youth patrolling the northwestern frontier all the way from Quetta to the Khyber Pass. A troupe of transvestite dancers (hijras) entertained us at an oasis in the desert.

When I was just a boy, my grandfather told me many weird and wonderful stories about India. It turned out to be more incredible than I had ever imagined.

Graham Howe was a guest of Jet Airways (www.jetairways.com) and Intrepid Travel South Africa (www.intrepidbundu.com).

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One on one with Mango Groove’s ‘special star’, Claire Johnston

What are the top destinations on your ‘bucket list’ of places to which you’d like to travel?

Wow, so many options… The Okavango, the Amazon, seeing the gorillas in Rwanda – in a different way; for all the touring I’ve done, I’ve also yet to visit Italy.

Which favourite places have you already ticked off your bucket list?

A lot of the great cities – Paris, Los Angeles, New York, Cape Town, of course! Some of South Africa’s greatest wilderness areas, and the Zambezi.

What is the weirdest food or drink you have ever tried?

Boiled sea slug! We were special guests at a dinner in Hong Kong, and I would have caused huge offence by not trying it.

Are you an adrenalin junkie?

Of course I’m an adrenalin junkie – I’m in the music business! Seriously, though, I do thrive on extreme and intense experiences. I’ve never tried skydiving, but wouldn’t mind giving it a bash (pardon the expression).

If you consider your upbringing, were/are you a bush baby or a city slicker?

Actually, more of a city girl – not many holidays as a kid. The bush/wilderness thing gripped me later in life.

Braai or sushi?

Aah… both, I’m afraid (is that allowed?).

What is the most memorable experience you have had with wildlife?

I’m fortunate enough to have had many.

A couple of memories that will never leave

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me: rhinos chasing one another through our wilderness camp in the Imfolozi (only sleeping bags to protect us!), and being at Shamwari, watching two competing male lions roaring at each other only metres away from each other and from us – an astonishing and primal noise reverberated right through us.

If you were stuck on a desert island, would you know how to make a fire without matches, and how to catch dinner?

Hmm… I might well end up a raw food vegan under those circumstances.

What is your tried-and-tested signature dish you serve your friends?

I love cooking and do a lot of it. A nice Thai or Portuguese prawn curry, perhaps?

If it were up to you, what should be done to the people running the rhino horn trade?

Gosh, do you want the brutal answer or the practical one? On a very serious note, I guess we will only properly deal with the issue once we tackle demand. One day, I hope, everyone will see just how senseless and barbaric and ‘uncool’ it is to use rhino horn.

Amazing people are doing amazing work out there, and massive strength to them.

Camping or luxury lodge?

I would have to take both. We did it in the Imfolozi: a few hard, ascetic days of trail, and a wonderful lodge (and hot bath) awaiting you at the end of the trip (is that cheating?).

Is there a particular song you have performed that stands out above the rest?

As a Mango Groove track, it would have

to be “Special Star”, as the song always generates such an amazing emotional response in people. There is also something indescribable in performing the national anthem to a stadium full of sports fans!

You are about to embark on a big tour to Australia and New Zealand this year. Can you tell us a bit about that? And what other exciting new ventures does Mango Groove have on the cards?

We can’t wait! We last visited Oz 20 years ago, and have never been to New Zealand. It is a beautiful part of the world, and hopefully we will reconnect with many South Africans as well as with lots of Antipodeans! New projects? I have a new solo album coming out this year (a celebration of SA and its music, featuring a host of the country’s top artists). We will be doing a lot of big open-air concerts in SA this year, and (longer term) there is a giant stage production in the pipeline.

What are your pet hates/dislikes in people?

Small-mindedness, bullying, people foisting their own issues on the world, people without respect or compassion for living creatures.

Do you still get a thrill out of touring and doing live concerts?

You know, I’m enjoying performing now more than ever. The band is sounding so amazing, we are so relaxed with each other, and we are now reaching a host of new, younger audiences. We remain so humbled by the love and support we continue to receive from everyone.

www.intrepidexplorer.co.za

©Matthew Willman of Dreams for Africa

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