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ISSUE 68

FROM THE EDITOR ISSUE

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202 5 EDITOR SUSAN NEWHAM-BLAKE snewham@tppsa.co.za ART DIRECTOR TINA REDDELL COPY EDITOR WENDY MARITZ ADVERTISING EXECUTIVE BERNICE BLUNDELL bernice@adplacements.co.za

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HAD THE RECENT PRIVILEGE of enjoying one of the best aerial views of KwaZulu-Natal’s coastline by helicopter. Not just any helicopter, mind you – an Airbus H 130 B4. A seven-seater with handstitched leather seats reminiscent of a James Bond movie. This particular aircraft was destined for Jumeirah Thanda Safari where I was due to spend the weekend in one of their luxurious Royal Residences Villas. Flying low over kilometres of crashing waves on wild shorelines, and hovering above untouched forests overhung with lush canopies is not an experience easily forgotten. See ‘A kingdom to call home’ (page 64).

Flying by helicopter offers an opportunity to consider our immensely beautiful planet, and while this might not ignite the profound epiphanies experienced by astronauts from their vantage points, it is impossible not to appreciate how worthy of protection our earth is. In ‘Time Helpers’ (page 26), we discover how the world’s leading luxury watch brands are stepping in to safeguard the planet. Unsurprising, given these maisons have long had an affinity with the natural world, born from the environments in which their timepieces proved their worth: the depths that tested dive watches, the polar ice caps that challenged explorers, and space, where chronographs became mission-critical.

This issue also celebrates the beauty created by ourselves, something we never seem to tire of doing, whether it be building a beautiful home (‘Divide and Conquer’, page 42 ), designing or redesigning a luxury vehicle (‘A legacy of strength’, page 60) or creating an exquisite meal as our featured six-Michelin-star chef does (‘The French Dispatch’, page 54).

Our self-expression is often most successfully executed through the arts. South

073 618 1882 PUBLISHING DIRECTOR SUSAN NEWHAM-BLAKE PRODUCTION DIRECTOR JOHN MORKEL HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGER LIZ WOLFE FINANCIAL MANAGER NAEEMA ABRAHAMS

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African polymath artist William Kentridge is well known for his love of creative collaborations. ‘On the world stage’ (page 38) explores Kentridge’s rejuvenation of one of his earliest theatre productions, an adaptation of Goethe’s Faust set in Africa.

This show is set to have toured Europe three times by the end of the year.

Finally, if you’re a Wes Anderson fan or still wondering what all the fuss is about, an exhibition of 600 pieces showcasing the depth and breadth of this whimsical artist and filmmaker’s contribution to cinema, opens in London soon (‘You know it when you see it’, page 32).

Enjoy the read and fly high!

Private Edition is published by The Publishing Partnership (Pty) Ltd, 8th Floor, Tarquin House, 81 Loop Street, Cape Town 8001. Copyright: The Publishing Partnership (Pty) Ltd 2025. No portion of this publication may be reproduced without prior written consent from The Publishing Partnership or the authors. The publishers are not responsible for any unsolicited material.

The opinions expressed are not necessarily

SUSAN NEWHAM-BLAKE EDITOR

those of The Publishing Partnership or the editor.

Editorial and advertising enquiries: PO Box 15054, Vlaeberg 8018 Tel: 021 424 3517 Email: privateedition@tppsa.co.za Visit: privateedition.co.za Printing: Novus Print ISSN: 2218-063X

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JOHANNESBURG • BVLGARI BOUTIQUE • SHOPU28A/B, DIAMOND WALK. SANDTON CITY +27 11 883 1325 CAPE TOWN • BHH BOUTIQUE • V&A WATERFRONT, CAPE TOWN. +27 21 418 1889

CONTENTS ISSUE

68

2025

42 COVER

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54 EDITOR ’ S

LET TE R

Thoughts from the editor.

PHOTOGRAPHY GETTY IMAGES/ PEOPLEIMAGES

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THE

BR IE FING

The latest news from the world of luxury and investment.

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TIME

HELPE R S

The world’s leading luxury watch brands are turning precision into planetary good.

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YOU

KNOW

IT

WHE N

YOU

SE E

IT

Known for his curated sets and artistic whimsy, filmmaker Wes Anderson continues to enchant, delight and perplex with a visual sensibility all of his own.

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ON

THE

WOR LD

STAGE

Faustus in Africa!, a unique collaboration between William Kentridge and Handspring Puppet Company, has been revived, reworked and restaged, and is currently touring Europe.

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DIVIDE

AND

CONQUER

An interior-design duo applies their spatial planning expertise to the open-plan spaces of a coastal family home. The result is a breath of fresh air.

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TAG HEUER BOUTIQUES SANDTON CITY, V&A WATERFRONT, GATEWAY WWW.PICOTANDMOSS.CO.ZA

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64 4 8

FLIGHTS

OF

FREEDOM

Bright skies and palm trees, warm blue water and a stiff breeze…

Welcome to the fabulous lagoon-riding opportunities kiteboarders are discovering in Palmar along Mauritius’s east coast.

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THE

FRENCH

DISPATCH

From her restaurant in London’s historic The Connaught hotel, six-Michelin-starred chef Hélène Darroze serves dishes that speak to her memories and a sense of place. Complemented by sophisticated interiors, the result is entirely evocative.

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LEGACY

OF

STR ENGTH

Not content to rest on its laurels, Land Rover has upped the Defender ante and produced a barnstorming version of its bestseller. Enter the Octa.

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A

KINGDOM

TO

CALL

HOME

The Royal Thanda Club at Jumeirah Thanda Safari is set to be the most exclusive lifestyle offering ever to come out of Africa.

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Photo by Flavien Carlod and Baptiste Le Quiniou, for advertising purposes only. Architect Ramón Esteve Estudio

fabrics by

Mah Jong Outdoor. Modular sofa, designed by Hans Hopfer.

Upholstered in Missoni fabrics for outdoor use.

JOHANNESBURG - CAPE TOWN - MAURITIUS In-store interior design & 3D modelling services.

CEO’ S

LET TE R

SEIZE THE OPPORTUNITY WHY NOW IS THE IDEAL TIME TO INVEST IN PROPERTY. LEW GEFFEN CHAIRMAN

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ITH SOUTH AFRICA’S PRIME LENDING RATE at its lowest since 2022, we find ourselves in a very welcome window of opportunity for property investment during increasingly tumultuous times. This favourable lending environment, combined with real estate’s proven track record as a wealth-building asset, creates the perfect conditions for savvy investors to grow their portfolios.

The current three-year prime-lending-rate low makes this an exceptionally advantageous time to finance property acquisitions. With borrowing costs lower, investors can acquire premium assets with less capital outlay; bond repayments are significantly more affordable; the cost of capital for property investment hasn’t been better in three years; and investors can maximise their purchasing power to build larger portfolios.

This situation won’t last forever. But, as we’ve seen in previous cycles, when rates eventually do rise, those who acted during these favourable conditions will have secured their assets at optimal financing terms.

Real estate has long been regarded as a hedge against inflation and market volatility. Unlike stocks or currencies, which can fluctuate dramatically, property is a tangible asset with intrinsic value. Over time, well-chosen real estate appreciates, providing both capital growth and passive income through rentals.

Historically, property markets have shown resilience even during economic downturns. For example, after the 2008 global financial crisis, real estate values in prime locations rebounded and, in many cases, surpassed previous highs.

WEALTH CREATION THROUGH PROPERTY Investing in property remains one of the most effective ways to build and preserve wealth for various reasons.

The first is capital appreciation. Prime properties in areas like Cape Town’s Atlantic Seaboard have consistently outperformed other investments, with some areas seeing 300%+ appreciation over the past 15 years. The limited supply of coastal and urban properties ensures this trend will continue.

Rental income is another, because demand for quality rentals is at an all-time high. Investors can enjoy a stable monthly cash flow that often covers bond repayments, annual rental escalations that outpace inflation, and particularly strong returns in student accommodation and luxury rental markets.

YAEL GEFFEN CEO

Buying investment real estate offers unparalleled leverage opportunities as well. Banks continue to favour property lending, offering higher loan-to-value ratios than other asset classes, longer repayment terms (up to 30 years) and competitive interest rates for well-qualified buyers.

Finally, there’s opportunity for portfolio diversification.

Real estate provides crucial balance to investment portfolios by moving independently from stock market fluctuations, offering tangible asset security and providing inflation-beating returns.

Our current economic landscape actually creates opportunities for property investors, including an inflation hedge as real estate values and rents typically rise with inflation, protecting your wealth; currency resilience with rand-denominated assets a shield against exchange-rate volatility; and supply constraints offering ongoing value growth through limited development in prime areas.

The investment potential extends far beyond homes to investment areas such as commercial properties that offer 8-12% yields in prime nodes, industrial warehouses benefiting from e-commerce growth and luxury vacation rentals in highdemand tourist destinations.

THE CRITICAL ROLE OF PROFESSIONAL GUIDANCE In this complex environment, expert advice is invaluable. Our team at Lew Geffen Sotheby's International Realty provides precise market timing advice, access to off-market opportunities, negotiation expertise to secure the best terms, the best support services on the market, and portfolio strategies tailored to your goals.

The combination of favourable interest rates and real estate’s inherent strengths creates a rare investment moment.

Those who act now will position themselves for exceptional long-term growth.

I invite you to contact our team to explore how you can capitalise on this unique market opportunity.

YAEL GEFFEN CEO

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THE BRIEFING COLLECTABLES | OBJETS D’ART | DESIGN | DEPARTURES | TASTINGS

PRIVATE TIME

Iconic moment PHOTOGRAPHY PATRICK CSAJKO

CHOPARD IMPERIALE FOUR SEASONS IS A POETIC ODE TO THE PASSAGE OF TIME. Limited to just 25 pieces, Chopard’s latest Imperiale Four Seasons timepiece is a stunning fusion of haute horology and artistic craftsmanship. The watch features a rotating mother-of-pearl dial that subtly shifts over 365 days, mirroring the cycle of the seasons, all indexed to the hour hand for an ever-changing display. Encased in 18k ethical white gold and set with diamonds, the watch also features an intricately sculpted lotus flower motif – a signature of the Imperiale collection – along with four interchangeable alligator straps, each representing a different season. Powering the piece is Chopard’s in-house L.U.C 96.31-L caliber, a self-winding movement with a 65-hour power reserve. This extraordinary creation is a lyrical homage to time’s passage, seasonal beauty and Chopard’s enduring artistry. chopard.com

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TASTINGS

A sparkle of possibility STELLENZICHT CAP CLASSIQUE, MADE FROM 100% CHARDONNAY, REFLECTS THE SEASON OF RENEWAL. Stellenzicht Cap Classique offers an elegant expression of spring, a time when energy shifts and gentle signs of renewal appear everywhere.

Made from 100% Chardonnay, the Cap Classique undergoes traditional bottle fermentation and spends 18 months on the lees. It shows bright citrus and green apple notes, lifted by a fine mousse and supported by a dry, structured finish.

Together with Thunderstone and Acheulean Chardonnay, the Cap Classique forms part of Stellenzicht’s broader Chardonnay focus. While each is distinct, they share a clear intent: balance, careful viticulture and restraint in the cellar.

Grapes are hand-harvested and whole-bunch pressed, with fermentation in stainless steel to preserve purity and freshness.

In early spring, the landscape around Stellenzicht’s unique tasting room, the Wine Pod, begins to respond to nature. Fynbos softens into bloom, cover crops recouperate, and dragonflies return to restored waterways. These small signs mirror the farm’s consistent efforts to ensure ecological balance.

Best enjoyed over thoughtful conversation and a view across the slopes, Stellenzicht Cap Classique invites stillness, clarity and a slower way of life. stellenzicht.com

DESIGN

Eternal brilliance A NEW CREATION FROM SHIMANSKY IS DESIGNED TO CAPTIVATE.

PHOTOGRAPHY SUPPLIED

Discover the magic of Tanzanite in its rarest form with an exquisite 9ct oval-cut gem, framed in a delicate halo of microset diamonds. Designed and masterfully crafted by Shimansky, this one-of-a-kind ring radiates elegance and emotion, echoing the wonder of its African origin. More than a jewel, it’s a memory waiting to be made. Each piece is available for bespoke creation and shipped worldwide, but nothing compares with seeing its brilliance in person. Visit a Shimansky showroom in Cape Town to experience the unique world of Tanzanite. shimansky.com

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Refined retreat TUCKED AWAY IN LUSH, MANICURED GARDENS, FAIRLAWNS BOUTIQUE HOTEL & SPA PROVIDES THE PERFECT FOIL TO THE BUSY-NESS OF LIFE. Once a stately private residence, this exclusive hotel now offers 42 individually styled suites, each thoughtfully appointed. Every detail, from hand-selected artworks to beautiful interiors, has been curated by managing director Michael Kewley, ensuring each space feels like a true home away from home.

Whether it’s Afternoon Tea in the Woods, a secluded picnic beneath the trees, or dining at Amuse-Bouche, guests are invited to savour moments where global inspiration is balanced with local flavour. For more intimate gatherings, The Drawing Room and Seven Colours offer sophisticated private dining, designed to create unforgettable experiences.

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At the heart of the estate lies the Balinese-style spa, a tranquil retreat inspired by Eastern wellness philosophies.

Here, healing therapies, lush surroundings and expert hands combine to restore harmony to body and mind.

No one understands holistic wellness quite like Fairlawns.

Signature Wellness Weekends offer a curated journey of restoration, stillness and self-renewal, all within the calming surrounds of this boutique sanctuary.

Fairlawn’s last Wellness Weekend for 2025 is scheduled from 31 October to 2 November 2025 and includes two nights in a luxury Courtyard Suite as well as a number of restorative and calming wellness experiences. Indulge in sound therapy, a tea ceremony, restorative yoga or breathwork and meditation.

Swedish massage and a collagen facial or body wrap are also available. A highlight of the weekend is the Healing Earth Beauty Kitchen Workshop where you’re invited to craft your own natural skincare using botanicals and essential oils.

For bookings, contact lorna@planinumcc.co.za

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DEPARTURES

HENRY CAVILL

LONGINES SPIRIT ZULU TIME 1925

T H E

B R I E F I N G

ACCELERATE

A personal touch RANGE ROVER’S SV BESPOKE OFFERS THE ULTIMATE IN PERSONALISED LUXURY.

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Inside, clients can express their personality with a new level of customisation and personalisation, including unique colourway break-ups and the ability to mix and match colours and materials to suit their tastes. Clients can consider 15 different colours and materials to create a bespoke interior, with more than 1 500 possible combinations.

Exclusive new colours include Navy, Brogue, Pimento, Ecru, Lunar and Raven Blue, with the option to apply a contrast stitch, for which more than 100 combinations are available. In addition, personalised embroidery is offered, alongside custom veneers for the door panels and consoles, plus personalised treadplates for truly unique creations.

SV BESPOKE COMMISSIONING SERVICE The SV Bespoke commissioning service is available on Range Rover Sport SV and Autobiography vehicles and provides exclusive in-person or virtual commissioning with an extensive range of interior and exterior options and vehicle personalisation.

Clients are invited to begin their Bespoke journey via their preferred Range Rover retailer, or contact bespoke@ jaguarlandrover.com directly.

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PHOTOGRAPHY SUPPLIED

Range Rover Sport now offers more scope for tailored personalisation with the introduction of SV Bespoke. This is the first time the luxury high-performance SUV has been available through Range Rover’s exclusive in-house commissioning programme.

The arrival of the service follows the introduction of SV Bespoke for Range Rover in 2023 and increasing global demand for luxury personalisation. It gives Range Rover Sport SV and Autobiography clients access to an almost limitless range of colours, materials and finishes in pursuit of a vehicle that reflects their individuality.

With the SV Curated Bespoke Palette, clients can explore up to 230 options for exterior colours, including a choice of Gloss or Satin finishes, while the SV Bespoke Match to Sample service has an almost infinite capability to match any colour.

Every Range Rover Sport crafted with Bespoke gloss paint receives a new ‘glass-like’ gloss finish for the exterior bodywork, crafted with a thicker top-coat lacquer and a custom flatting-andpolishing process for an exquisite paint finish from the experts at Range Rover’s technical centre.

Clients can opt for an Exposed Carbon Bonnet with a wide selection of paint finishes, in addition to roof and mirror caps in bespoke paint choices, before exploring exquisitely detailed finishes.

Eight new combinations of the two-piece Range Rover script are available, crafted with precious metals and exclusive and distinctive new finishes, for a total of 22 possible combinations depending on the insert and surround. The inner script badge can also be specified to match Bespoke body or roof colours – offering the opportunity for never-before-seen configurations.

A new finish is available for the Range Rover Sport SV’s distinctive 23-inch wheels, while new brake caliper options include Xenon Blue and Silver.

RADO.COM

MASTER OF MATERIALS

RADO ANATOM

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DEPARTURES

A Cape icon, reimagined ROOTED IN SPIER’S REGENERATIVE PHILOSOPHY, ITS NEW HOTEL IS QUIET LUXURY AT ITS MOST ASSURED.

BY PAIGE DORKIN

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PHOTOGRAPHY SUPPLIED

Spier Hotel in Stellenbosch has reopened following its first full renovation in two decades. The refurbishment, which took a year to complete, delivers a complete transformation.

The hotel’s footprint has been fully reimagined – from 150 rooms in its previous incarnation to 80 expansive new rooms and suites, now arranged village-style among indigenous gardens.

The ground-floor rooms and suites feature private patios that enjoy wild fynbos or mountain views. Two secluded, three-bedroom villas, accessed via a private road, offer space enough for an extended family getaway, including a private chef.

The regenerative philosophy for which Spier has become known is present in its hotel interiors with locally sourced materials, custom furnishings and South African craftsmanship.

And then there’s the art – expertly collected by the Spier Arts Trust over time – that ensures every room feels more layered and personal than curated overnight.

Also newly opened, the Spier Spa is a destination in its own right. Guests are invited to savour ritual treatments based on plants wild-harvested or grown on the farm. The centrepiece, the Cape Herbal Bath House, is purpose-built for the spa’s signature tandem detox (with twin baths), involving a fynbos scrub, scalp massage, herbal soak and shea-butter treatment, followed by a farm-fresh platter and organic wine.

Veld, the dinner-only restaurant, continues the regenerative theme with seasonal menus sourced directly from the estate’s gardens and pasture-raised Farmer Angus meat.

With saffron-yellow velvet banquettes, a captivating gallery wall and a wine library that houses Spier’s award-winning vintages, Veld offers a dining experience that’s deeply considered and rooted in place.

In all, the new Spier is as much about finding stillness as it is about style – with a quiet, uniquely Cape confidence that’s unmistakably its own. spier.co.za

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PRIVATE TIME

The timekeeper’s collection TIMELESS TRADITION IS ECHOED IN PATEK PHILIPPE’S EXCITING NEW CUBITUS COLLECTION. BY RENATE ENGELBRECHT Patek Philippe has been celebrating the launch of its Cubitus collection ceaselessly across the globe. An intimate gathering of urban guests also rang in the collection at the brand’s store in Sandton City, affirming that the South African luxury market is not to be underestimated.

The new Cubitus collection is a unique alliance of daring and elegant, making for an exciting and versatile timepiece.

Patek Philippe has developed an entirely original and innovative design in which the bezel features rounded corners. This bold yet subtle shape is a square, circle and octagon in one. The shape of the Cubitus is further accentuated by the interplay between polished and vertical satin-brushed finishes.

STYLE

Something new SHEMER JEWELLERS IS SET TO UNVEIL ITS FLAGSHIP BOUTIQUE AT NELSON MANDELA SQUARE. Shemer Jewellers, one of South Africa’s most respected names in luxury watches and fine jewellery, is preparing to open the doors to its all-new flagship boutique at Nelson Mandela Square.

Crafted with elegance and experience in mind, the upcoming space is more than just a store; it’s an invitation to pause, explore, and be captivated by some of the world’s most prestigious watch and jewellery brands. Designed to reflect Shemer’s commitment to refined service, authenticity and detail, the new boutique will offer a curated escape for watch connoisseurs, collectors and those simply drawn to exceptional beauty.

Guests can look forward to an outstanding brand offering, from the bold, innovative spirit of Hublot to the mechanical mastery of Zenith. Timepiece aficionados will be able to explore the meticulous craftsmanship of Grand Seiko, the enduring strength of Tudor, and the timeless sophistication of Longines, Rado and Frederique Constant.

Complementing the watch collections is a dazzling selection of fine jewellery, with a special spotlight on Moraglione, the renowned Italian maison celebrated for its vibrant gemstones, feminine elegance and modern Italian artistry.

But more than the brands themselves, it’s the experience that sets Shemer Jewellers apart.

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Of course, the experience of investing in a timeless watch designed to become a family heirloom extends beyond the surface.

Highlights of the collection include an all-new model featuring novel displays combining instantaneous grand date, day and moonphase indications.

Not to mention the newly developed movement – caliber 240 PS CI J LU – based on the renowned, ultra-thin, self-winding 240 caliber. In addition, the collection can be identified by its distinctive square platinum case design.

Its medium diameter allows it to effortlessly adapt to any wrist, and the contrast between polished and vertical satin-brushed finishes and a first-ever baguette-cut diamond on the 5822P’s bezel at 6 o’clock are also standout elements of the collection.

Honouring the Stern family’s past four generations of watchmaking, the fifthgeneration Cubitus collection is certainly proof of Patek Philippe’s dedication to tradition, luxury, innovation.

A timepiece that speaks volumes. patek.com

The new boutique has been thoughtfully envisioned to offer guests an elevated yet welcoming environment where time slows down, details matter, and every visit feels personal. From bespoke guidance to private viewings, every interaction reflects Shemer’s enduring ethos: that luxury is not just what you buy, but how you feel when you buy it.

As the final touches are put in place and anticipation builds, Shemer Jewellers looks forward to welcoming you into their new home: a sanctuary of style, craftsmanship and warm hospitality in the heart of Sandton’s most iconic square. shemer.co.za PHOTOGRAPHY SUPPLIED

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PRIVATE EDITION

The world’s leading luxury watch brands are turning precision into planetary good.

TIME

WORDS PAIGE DORKIN

HELPERS

PHOTOGRAPHY GREG LECOEUR

PR IVAT E

T I M E

An aerial view of São Jorge in the Azores, designated a ‘Hope Spot’

by Mission Blue, a Rolex-supported ocean-conservation initiative that forms part of the brand’s Perpetual Planet Initiative.W

PRIVATE

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RECISION, LONGEVITY AND THE MASTERY of almost impossibly intricate mechanisms – these are the hallmarks of the centuries-old craft of haute horlogerie. Now, in an era defined by environmental urgency, forward-thinking watchmakers are applying the tenets of their trade beyond the workshop, in service of the planet itself.

The most storied maisons have long had an affinity with the natural world, born from the very environments in which their timepieces proved their worth: the abyssal depths that tested dive watches, the polar ice caps that challenged explorers, the void of space where chronographs became mission-critical.

Indeed, a heritage of exploration is woven into the DNA of luxury watchmaking. Omega’s Speedmaster is synonymous with lunar exploration; Rolex’s Oyster Perpetual accompanied Edmund Hillary to Everest; and Blancpain’s Fifty Fathoms was a pioneer of the modern dive watch. Preserving the environments that forged these legends is thus a natural extension of their origin stories.

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What’s more, longevity is the industry’s currency. A fine mechanical watch is built to outlast its owner – an heirloom of steel, gold and sapphire crystal that resists obsolescence.

Environmental stewardship mirrors that philosophy: protecting the planet for inheritance by future generations.

And then there’s the fact that, increasingly, watch aficionados seek out brands with authentic purpose. Ambitious environmental initiatives, often spanning decades, position watch brands not only as makers of exquisite objects, but also as actors with real influence and responsibility.

It’s against this backdrop that several watchmakers are leading with unique and, in some cases, truly pioneering initiatives.

CONSERVATION ON A GLOBAL CANVAS Rolex’s Perpetual Planet Initiative, launched in 2019, is among the most comprehensive environmental programmes in the watch industry. It channels the brand’s longstanding association with exploration – forged by its support of pioneering mountaineers,

PRIVATE EDITION

PHOTOGRAPHY ROLEX

During the summer, mobula rays gather around the Princess Alice seamount, 45 miles from Faial Island, one of the rich marine ecosytems protected by Rolex’s Perpetual Planet Initiative.

PR IVAT E

divers and scientists – into a framework that backs more than 20 partners worldwide, spanning every continent and encompassing disciplines from marine biology to climate science.

Key among these is Mission Blue, founded by oceanographer Dr Sylvia Earle, which is working to establish a network of marine ‘Hope Spots’, ecologically significant areas targeted for protection, with the goal of safeguarding 30% of the ocean by 2030. Rolex also partners with National Geographic for scientific expeditions, from charting the depths of the Mariana Trench to assessing the impact of climate change in the Amazon Basin.

Another striking collaboration is with Coral Gardeners, a Tahiti-based initiative using innovative propagation techniques to restore degraded reefs. The project has already replanted over 100 000 corals, with an ambition to reach one million in 2025.

Rolex’s role is not simply to provide funding, but to amplify these projects through storytelling that reaches a global audience. In doing so, the brand transforms its ‘Perpetual’ ethos from a product descriptor into an enduring commitment to the planet’s most vital and vulnerable environments. rolex.org/environment/perpetual-planet

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CITIZEN SCIENCE BENEATH THE WAVES Marine conservation has been part of IWC Schaffhausen’s identity for two decades, most visibly through its Aquatimer dive watches.

The maison’s partnership with Cousteau Divers – founded by legendary explorer Jacques-Yves Cousteau – has evolved into a remarkable citizen-science project: equipping recreational divers worldwide with precision sensors to measure ocean temperatures at depth.

These devices, developed by volunteer engineers, gather data in coastal ecosystems where biodiversity is greatest but scientific measurements are sparse. By integrating this diver-collected data with satellite readings, scientists can gain unprecedented insight into how the ocean stores and releases heat – critical knowledge in the fight against climate change.

For IWC, this is a sustained collaboration rooted in innovation and open-source technology. It demonstrates that even in the most traditional of industries, the tools of the future – cloud platforms, distributed data and citizen engagement – can be harnessed in service to the planet. iwc.com

PHOTOGRAPHY REMY STEINER FOR IWC

AMBITIOUS INITIATIVES POSITION WATCH BRANDS NOT ONLY AS MAKERS OF EXQUISITE OBJECTS, BUT ALSO AS ACTORS WITH REAL INFLUENCE.

Marine conservationist Pierre-Yves Cousteau is pictured here deploying the first precision temperature sensors developed for a global citizen-science project enabled by IWC Schaffhausen’s partnership with Cousteau Divers.

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CHARTING THE FINAL FRONTIER OF SUSTAINABILITY In 2022, OMEGA entered an unexpected arena: orbital sustainability. The strategy is twofold. First, it partnered with Privateer, the space-data company co-founded by Apple’s Steve Wozniak, to help tackle one of space exploration’s least glamorous but most urgent issues, space debris, which currently consists of more than 27 000 tracked objects orbiting the Earth at high velocity.

Through Privateer’s Wayfinder, a near real-time, open-access map of all known satellites and debris, the partnership aims to safeguard the future of space travel. OMEGA’s contribution lies not in propulsion systems, but in its expertise in precision timing

TIME

and its cultural influence to raise awareness of an issue invisible to the naked eye but potentially catastrophic to exploration.

Second, OMEGA joined forces with ClearSpace, the European Space Agency-backed start-up behind the world’s first active debris removal mission, slated to capture and deorbit a defunct satellite in 2025. This extends OMEGA’s reach from mapping the orbital environment to actively supporting its clean-up.

For a brand whose Speedmaster became the first watch on the moon, the initiative is far more than a marketing campaign. It’s a recognition that all exploration must be sustainable, whether in the ocean, on the ice, or in orbit. omegawatches.com/planet-omega/social/our-planet

OMEGA is backing the first-ever mission to clean up in-orbit space debris, planned

by ClearSpace for 2025.

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PHOTOGRAPHY ALEXIS CHAPPUIS

ABOVE AND BELOW The first-ever filming of the elusive coelacanth in the Maluku Archipelago in Indonesia – made possible by a Blancpain-backed expedition – marks a breakthrough in marine science.

REDISCOVERING A LIVING FOSSIL Blancpain’s Ocean Commitment programme has supported more than 20 major marine conservation projects, but few capture the imagination quite like its backing of divers Laurent Ballesta and Alexis Chappuis in documenting the elusive coelacanth, the deep-ocean-dwelling fish capable of living for up to a century.

Once thought extinct for 70 million years, the coelacanth – a species with strong ties to South Africa, where one of the two known living species was famously rediscovered off the coast of East London in 1938 – is a living link to the age of dinosaurs.

In a 12-minute documentary, Ballesta and Chappuis share the story of capturing the first-ever images of both species of the fish in their natural habitats – an achievement made possible through Blancpain’s ongoing support.

The short but poignant documentary, and the scientific project it describes, is a reminder of the ocean’s mysteries and the urgency of protecting them. For a brand whose Fifty Fathoms helped define modern diving, the project brings together heritage, adventure and conservation.

As Ballesta concludes in the documentary: ‘As long as there are a few passionate people willing to make some sacrifices to go look deep down, in the dim light... at this somewhat clumsy animal, there is still hope.’  blancpain.com/en/news/blancpain-coelacanthdocumentary

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XXX

YOU KNOW IT WHEN YOU SEE IT Whether you’ve watched one of his movies from start to finish or not, chances are you’re familiar with Wes Anderson’s aesthetic and witnessed some manifestation of the artist’s whimsical imagination in real life.

F

WORDS KEITH BAIN

ROM TALKING ANIMALS in his stop-motion animations and his use of ‘not-quite-real’ periods in history to his ability to create places that feel familiar but don’t in fact exist, filmmaker Wes Anderson has a visual sensibility all of his own. Known for creating ornately detailed and sometimes strangely symmetrical sets that themselves feel like meticulously designed art installations, Anderson’s films possess an unsubtle quality that sets them apart from reality, a distinctive look that is entirely handmade and fastidiously controlled, almost hermetically sealed.

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To his fans, Anderson’s idiosyncrasies are pure delight.

Detractors, though, consider the Texan-born-and-raised director’s style laboured, nitpickingly fussy, perhaps too mannered and outlandishly oblique. They regard his characters as cartoonish.

And the storylines? Absolutely bonkers.

On top of precision control and fastidious attention to detail, noticeable are the striking colour palettes, quirky framing, curious patterns and the requisite round-up of actors who do deadpan so successfully. Which also makes him meme-worthy and ripe for imitation.

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PHOTOGRAPHY TPS PRODUCTIONS/FOCUS FEATURES, STÉPHANE DABROWSKI

NOTICEABLE ARE THE STRIKING COLOUR PALETTES, QUIRKY FRAMING, CURIOUS PATTERNS AND THE REQUISITE ROUNDUP OF ACTORS WHO DO DEADPAN SO SUCCESSFULLY.

OPPOSITE PAGE Arch-villain Benedict Cumberbatch in a scene from The Phoenician Scheme, which showcases trademarks of Wes Anderson’s aesthetic, including eccentric symmetry, excessive patterning, extreme décor curation, plus some hardto-define visual whimsy.

ABOVE Among the costumes exhibited in the ‘Wes Anderson: The Archives’ show is the caramel mink Fendi coat that was worn by Gwyneth Paltrow in The Royal Tenenbaums; the exhibition includes this huge portrait of Anderson on the set of Asteroid City.

LEFT Handcrafted models are a trademark of Anderson’s movies – this one of a vintage military cargo plane from The French Dispatch was created

by Berlin-based prop- and model-maker Simon Weisse, a frequent Anderson collaborator.

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And while many have tried and failed to replicate his cinematic style, he’s well represented in the real world.

Apart from myriad examples of the ‘Wes Anderson aesthetic’ in circulation via Instagram tribute accounts and books, there are also venues – hotels, restaurants, bars and boutiques – where Anderson’s striking colour palettes, rigorous symmetry and idiosyncratic visual kookiness are honoured, parodied or recreated. There’s Bar Luce, a Wes Anderson-designed café at Milan’s Fondazione Prada. Closer to home, a French bistro in central Cape Town, named The Wes, has a look inspired by The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), and then there’s Camp Canoe, a glamping resort situated at Boschendal near Franschhoek that’s styled as a homage to his 2012 film, Moonrise Kingdom.

Anderson is known for having his collaborators meticulously handcraft objects from across just about every department of his productions, from zany submersibles and strange underwater creatures constructed for The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004), to the uniquely realistic puppets made with real animal fibres for Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009) and Isle of Dogs (2018). For both canine-themed stop-motion animations, puppet-makers toiled over each and every whisker to achieve precisely the look and feel that Anderson’s perfectionist eye demanded.

Some of the objects constructed for his films are seen on screen for mere moments, but such is the obsessive nature of his crafted aesthetic: he gets involved in the tiniest details, such as tweaking the colours and fonts used to create magazine covers that appear on screen for a few seconds in The French Dispatch (2021). He’s had his art team create a fake Kandinsky and a Klimt.

And in The Grand Budapest Hotel, considered by many to be his seminal (and most Oscar-worthy) feature film, there’s an entirely made-up faux-Renaissance-era painting, ‘Boy with Apple’ (purportedly by the non-existent artist Johannes Van Hoytl the Younger), that’s a key part of the film’s narrative.

‘Each of his films plunges the viewer into a world with its own codes, motifs, references, and with sumptuous and instantly

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recognisable sets and costumes,’ says Lucia Savi, co-curator of ‘Wes Anderson: The Archives’, an exhibition of some 600 objects that have been selected and exhibited to showcase the depth and breadth of the filmmaker’s contribution to cinema. ‘Every single object in a Wes Anderson film is very personal to him — they are not simply props, they are fully formed pieces of art and design that make his inventive worlds come to life.’

The exhibition debuted earlier this year at the Cinémathèque Française, a film museum and cinema in Paris. In November, it reopens at The Design Museum in London where it will show until mid-2026. The exhibition includes all manner of production artefacts – costumes, props, miniature models, artworks, décor elements, puppets – as well as storyboards, polaroids, sketches,

SOME OF THE OBJECTS CONSTRUCTED FOR HIS FILMS ARE SEEN ON SCREEN FOR MERE MOMENTS, BUT SUCH IS THE OBSESSIVE NATURE OF HIS CRAFTED AESTHETIC.

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paintings and a vitrine full of the director’s yellow spiral-bound notebooks filled with ideas jotted down in his distinctive capital letters and his hand-drawn miniature storyboards.

The collection exists thanks to Anderson’s fastidious archiving of objects used in his films after the props from his first film, Bottle Rocket (1996), were sold by the studio without his knowledge – and before he could shoot pick-up scenes. After Anderson made Rushmore (1998), he began hoarding all the props, costumes and set pieces from his films, and keeps them in a storage facility in Kent, England.

Exhibition highlights include the model of the pastel-pink Grand Budapest Hotel; a mix-and-dispense martini vending machine from Asteroid City (2023); painted Louis Vuitton

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THIS PAGE Detail of the Tracy puppet created by Arch Model Studio for Isle of Dogs; the model miniature motorcycle ridden by Mr Fox in Fantastic Mr. Fox, also created by Arch Model Studio.

PHOTOGRAPHY STÉPHANE DABROWSKI, RICHARD ROUND-TURNER

OPPOSITE PAGE Among the costumes, props and film clips from The French Dispatch shown in the Wes Anderson exhibition in Paris and London, are paintings supposedly created by the film’s murderous artist (played by Benicio del Toro), as well as his paint-spattered outfit.

luggage and model train cars created for The Darjeeling Limited (2007); the khaki suit, red tracksuit and mink Fendi coat worn by Gwyneth Paltrow in The Royal Tenenbaums (2001); the fantastical sea creature puppets and pale aquamarine uniforms from The Life Aquatic; and then there’s the fantastic Mr Fox himself, wearing his signature corduroy suit.

Among Milena Canonero’s Oscar-winning outfits from The Grand Budapest Hotel, there’s Ralph Fiennes’s Gustave H concierge costume, as well as the coat, dress and accessories worn by ancient heiress, Madame D, who was played by Tilda Swinton.

Also being exhibited is ‘Boy with Apple’, the ‘priceless Renaissance portrait’ that Gustave H inherits from Madame D, a regular hotel guest whom he’d been seasonally ravishing while still alive.

The painting, though, doesn’t in fact refer to any historic work in the real world – it was commissioned specially for the film and created by British artist Michael Taylor.

What visitors won’t see, however, are several genuine artworks featured in Anderson’s most recent film, The Phoenician Scheme, which premiered at Cannes this year.

In contrast to Anderson’s usual insistence on creating from scratch every object in his films, The Phoenician Scheme includes brief cameos by pricey real-world masterpiece paintings. In the film, these actual artworks, captured on celluloid for mere

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moments in order to establish a mood and convey some unspoken meaning, belong to the wealthy-but-shady industrialist Zsa-zsa Korda (a deadpan-hilarious Benicio del Toro), who, in one scene, shares some sanguine advice. ‘Never buy good pictures,’ he tells one of his sons. ‘Buy masterpieces.’

Korda’s fake-real art collection includes Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s Impressionist portrait of his young, long-haired nephew.

Titled ‘Enfant assis en robe bleue (Portrait d’Edmond Renoir fils)’ and painted in 1889, it was once owned by Greta Garbo whose estate sold it at auction in 1990 for $7 million; today it belongs to a family of serious collectors. And there’s René Magritte’s ‘The Equator’, depicting a grey house plant that seems to have birds for leaves. Painted in 1942, it might have been contemporaneous with Korda’s own timeline, hinting at some inadvertent luck he has with collecting. Also featured are real paintings borrowed for the production from Germany’s Hamburger Kunsthalle, among them a 17th-century still life by Floris Gerritsz van Schooten, of a roast ox on a breakfast platter.

For a cinematic universe in which so much is invented and fabricated from scratch, it’s unusual for Anderson to have insisted on using real paintings, but he says the works were there ‘to be themselves’ in an environment where everything and everyone is pretending to be something else. The artworks were the only objects truly being themselves.

That Korda has quite haphazardly amassed such a valuable art collection but barely bothered to hang most of the pictures,

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THE AESTHETIC SENSIBILITY AND VISUAL HUMOUR EMBODIED BY ANDERSON’S FILMS IN FACT EXIST IN THE REAL WORLD – OFTEN EVIDENT IN PLAIN SIGHT. OPPOSITE PAGE Director Wes Anderson on the set of his most recent film, The Phoenician Scheme.

THIS PAGE CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT ‘Wes Anderson: The Archives’ features original on-set photography as well as reference material that helped inspire the look of Asteroid City; Timothée Chalamet in a scene from The French Dispatch; while several genuine masterpiece paintings have made cameo appearances in The Phoenician Scheme, what speaks volumes in this scene from the film is the empty frame on the wall behind the careless collector, Zsa-zsa Korda (Benicio del Toro).

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hints at their utilitarian function – as commodities for investment – for someone who has spent his life accumulating material wealth. Perhaps, too, they’re a clue to a key distinction between Korda, the careless tycoon, and Anderson, the filmmaker who cares so much.

Cares enough, in fact, that each film frame might be considered its own momentary masterpiece.

Not that Wes Anderson’s world is limited by the borders of his films’ frames. Far from it. The aesthetic sensibility and visual humour embodied by his films in fact exist in the real world – often evident in plain sight.

While the actual Grand Budapest Hotel doesn’t really exist, just about anywhere you look it’s possible to run into accidental manifestations of Anderson’s universe.

This uncanny relationship between reality and fiction has of course spawned an Instagram account – AWA (Accidentally Wes Anderson) – which is populated by crowd-sourced photographs submitted by fans, photographers and just about anyone with an eye for detail and a knack for spotting examples of Anderson’s visual style in the wild. The account has shared more than 2 000 images of actual places that look like they might be stills from one of his movies.

Motivated by followers’ interest in ‘the unique, the symmetrical, the atypical, the distinctive design and amazing architecture’ that pervade Anderson’s films, AWA has produced two volumes of a coffee table book and ‘Accidentally Wes Anderson: The Exhibition’, which has shown in Los Angeles, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai, Melbourne and London.

AWA co-founder Wally Koval calls the travelling photographic exhibition ‘a journey through more than 200 of the most beautiful, idiosyncratic and interesting places on earth – all seemingly plucked from the whimsical world of Wes Anderson’.

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Whimsy may define him, but Anderson is also an artist in the reverential sense of the word. Whatever apparent irreverence pervades his films, it would be ridiculous to call them frivolous.

Even at their most gloriously pastel-pink, cartoonish and playful, Anderson’s movies grapple with deeper issues (and torments).

The Grand Budapest Hotel, for example, may look like a silly romp about a clever concierge with playboy tendencies, but it’s also about a fascist takeover – borders closing, random arrests and the erasure of civility. And Isle of Dogs concerns the consequences of a corrupt dictatorial mayor who has banned all the city’s dogs to an abandoned island. These films don’t, at first glance, look like political pictures but they are allegorical accounts of rising authoritarianism.

The Phoenician Scheme, meanwhile, walks a kind of kinky narrative tightrope pitting capitalism against spirituality. It’s not without that Anderson signature: a comedically convoluted plot with a lot of magnificent silliness and fun for fun’s sake. But it is also heavily laced with existential dread and a restless fascination with mortality. The film is marked by stark, surreal black-andwhite dream sequences – shades of hallucinatory Luis Buñuel, and hints of dreamy Michael Powell – in which Korda experiences visions of funerals and the afterlife. Even God is there – played by Bill Murray. (Who else?)

Pressed to try and explain the source of his seemingly obsessive meticulousness and control, Anderson says that he’s simply unable to work any differently, that over the years he has become, in a sense, ‘more Wes Anderson’.

Even if he were to deliberately avoid making ‘a Wes Anderson film’, he says, he would sabotage himself in order to create a picture that looks like one of his.

In other words, whatever’s processed through him automatically gets the Wes Anderson treatment. 

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WORLD STAGE STAGE Thirty years ago, William Kentridge, together with Handspring Puppet Company, premiered and toured an adaptation of Goethe’s Faust, set in Africa. This year the show was revived, reworked and restaged, and will have toured Europe three times before the end of the year.

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OPPOSITE PAGE Scenes from the revamped 2025 production of Faustus in Africa!, depicting its dizzyingly complex and aesthetically distinctive mix of animated charcoal drawings

by William Kentridge and handcrafted puppets from the world-renowned Handspring Puppet Company. THIS PAGE The production features live performers, including Atandwa Kani and Eben Genis, seen here operating the show’s titular puppet.

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HERE WAS A MOMENT in his life when William Kentridge, the renowned Joburg-based polymathartist, reckoned he might abandon his artistic ambitions and switch to banking. Clues as to how that career change might have impacted his soul are embedded in one of his early theatre productions, Faustus in Africa!

The play, a 1995 multi-media adaptation of Goethe’s take on the tale of a man who makes a pact with the devil, has as its setting a banking-like backroom or countinghouse, perhaps the headquarters of some colonial empire: ledgers on shelves, desks for studying accounts, contracts signed in blood.

It’s within this vision of number-crunching eternal damnation that Faustus, in puppet form, makes a deal with the oily Mephisto: his soul in return for unrestricted access to Africa,

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a chance to take from it whatever his heart desires. It’s also where the play’s action unfolds, using Kentridge’s charcoal animations to transport both cast and audience on a wild, hedonistic safari across the continent.

Kentridge’s so-called ‘stone-age animations’ are laboriously produced by filming the bit-by-bit development of his charcoal drawings (draw a little, take a picture, draw some more, take a picture, rub out a bit, take a picture, and so on). They are also an essential part of the fabric and the material substance of Faustus in Africa!, part of what gives it a certain timelessness.

A consummate collaborator, Kentridge relishes working with other artists, whether composers, opera singers, dancers, actors or designers. To create Faustus, he teamed up with puppetry innovators Adrian Kohler and Basil Jones, the duo behind

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Handspring Puppet Company, who created more than 20 puppets for the show, including an adorable, yet cunning and cruel hyena.

Kentridge first co-opted the Cape Town-based puppet masters in 1992 to collaborate on what became their take on Büchner with Woyzeck on the Highveld, which toured Europe.

Following its success, they used Goethe’s reworking of the Faust legend as a springboard from which to unleash a kind of zany, elegiac comedy about the colonial and postcolonial conquest of Africa. In 1995, it was part of an early wave of post-apartheid theatre searching for newness. In a note in the programme of the National Arts Festival, its South African premiere, Kentridge wrote that it had ‘the aim of finding the place where the play ceases to be a daunting other – the weight of Europe leaning on the southern tip of Africa – and becomes our own work’.

Visually inventive, the play traversed different mediums and performance genres; its off beat storytelling achieved by layering charcoal animations, puppets, actors, music (by Warrick Sony and the late James Phillips) and somewhat unbridled imagination.

It was all channeled into a vibrant concoction that looked and felt like something greater than the sum of its parts. With it, Kentridge was able to express his passion for art with ‘bastard origins’ – work that comes, he says, ‘not out of a clarity of thought, but out of a mixture of things’.

It was a great success and, like Woyzeck, toured internationally; The Washington Post called it ‘utterly engrossing’.

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Three decades later, the show is back. Lara Foot, as associate director, has driven a reworked revival, uniting Kentridge, Kohler and Jones with a new cast, technological enhancements, and a fresh focus.

‘We haven’t altered the images that are projected at all,’ says Kentridge. ‘The text remains the same, the puppets are dusted off but essentially untransformed. But in these 30 years, the world has rotated. Though the production is the same, it is seen from a new angle. Things that were peripheral to the first production – the question of ownership and repatriation of African artworks, greed and corruption in the new South African state – now take a more prominent position. But the central questions of the weight of Europe on Africa has not fundamentally changed.’

While it continues to confront colonialism, greed and excess, what’s newly apparent is its referencing of the climate emergency as a consequence of unchecked capitalism. In an age when Faustian deals are rife – in politics and business – the production feels as relevant as ever.

There have been some updates, though. The original film footage underwent digital restoration, new puppets and special effects were added and all scenes rigorously interrogated with a new cast. Foot replotted the action, edited it down in order to allow some filmed sequences to run simultaneously with the live stage action, and freed the puppets from some traditional limitations.

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FAUSTUS IN AFRICA!’S THEATRICALITY LIES IN THE INTERPLAY OF MULTIPLE CREATIVE COMPONENTS.

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Foot, who is CEO and artistic director of The Baxter in Cape Town and who is as business-minded as she is a hands-on creative force, has a reputation for toughness, for fighting back against criticism, and for defending against the crackdown on the arts. She’s been determined in her efforts to show the world that South African theatre still matters, doing so by consistently championing high-stakes productions capable of attracting not only foreign funding, but international audiences.

Sometimes these shows premier in Europe, as with 2022’s Othello, which attracted German donors that enabled her to assemble a formidable creative team. Her stage adaptation of JM Coetzee’s Life & Times of Michael K, another collaboration with Handspring Puppet Company, toured Europe, the US and China.

And thus it is with Faustus in Africa!, for which Foot secured not only international funding, but at least three overseas tours following its Baxter debut. The first covered multiple theatres and festivals across continental Europe, and in August it played at the Edinburgh International Festival, followed by a week in Paris for Festival d’Automne. In November, it returns to the UK for a two-week season at London’s Coronet Theatre in Notting Hill.

This is no small achievement.

Faustus is an expensive production, prohibitively so in South Africa, where theatre pricing means box-office receipts can barely cover the cost of putting on large-scale works. It is also a generous show, with a lot happening on stage within the confines of 100 minutes.

Though rooted in highbrow verse and lofty speeches, its theatricality lies in the interplay of multiple creative components: puppets that come alive in exhilarating ways; top-calibre actors who seamlessly switch between roles and effortlessly segue into stints as puppeteers; and the many ways in which the screen onto which Kentridge’s drawings are projected becomes a kind of transdimensional portal linking the physical world of the stage with an animated realm made manifest through charcoal and sepia. It is, in other words, a tremendous act of collaboration.

And its existence is living proof that South Africa’s creative pundits have something the world craves. 

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CLOCKWISE FROM FAR LEFT The show’s puppet marching band parades before a screen on which Kentridge’s ‘stone-age animations’ are projected; the set resembles a countinghouse, where Mephisto (Wessel Pretorius, far right) conducts business such as the signing of soul-binding contracts; among Mephisto’s emissaries is this hyena; William Kentridge and Atandwa Kani with Faustus.

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CONQUER An interior-design duo applies their spatial planning expertise and decorating knowledge to the open-plan spaces of a family home on KwaZulu-Natal’s North Coast. The result is a breath of fresh air.

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with open-plan living, it can pose challenges.

Sometimes of the sort best solved by interior designers. So when a young professional couple working with Masterworx Architectural Design on the plans for their newbuild signed off the layout of their ‘forever home’, they had the savvy to enlist the help of interior designers Fyfe Boyce. The award-winning design duo first tackled the spatial planning – particularly of the open-plan entertainment area – and subsequently the finishes and furniture for the project.

Located near Ballito on KwaZulu-Natal’s North Coast, the newbuild takes the form of a modern twin-gabled coastal barn, with much of the exterior clad in black clip-lock metal sheeting. Oriented north-east, the ground floor open-plan entertainment area – which includes both indoor and outdoor kitchen, dining and living spaces – as well as the upstairs bedrooms benefit from a welcome amount of KwaZulu-Natal’s subtropical sunshine.

Top of mind for designers Bruce Fyfe and Kelsey Boyce was how to divide the lower level’s sizeable open floorplan into more intimate spaces, more suited to how the couple – and their two tweenagers – like to live. ‘Both architecturally and with respect to interior design, our clients insisted on a home suited to barefoot living,’ says Boyce. ‘Spaces in which it would be easy to entertain. Nothing precious, a home that would age well.’

Both designers were in agreement about carrying the colour black, so prevalent on the home’s exterior, inside, in the form of an accent. ‘As all the spaces were so open plan, it was important that we maintained a colour palette throughout, broken up slightly with black punctuation,’ explains Fyfe. ‘We considered black as an anchor, a way to stop the neutrals from being too overwhelming.’ Known in more recent years for residential projects in which they have fun with bold colour palettes and adventurous pattern play, in this instance Fyfe Boyce tended to the more sedate.

To make the lengthy outdoor living space feel more intimate, interior designers Kelsey Boyce and Bruce Fyfe subdivided it into different ‘rooms’, including a bar, and dining and living areas. To add texture and pattern, scatter cushions were introduced.

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ABOVE A curved wooden divider helps create distinct living and dining spaces, while also providing a focal point between the two. Much like other decorating choices in the dining room, monotone artworks contribute to the black-and-white palette, as do bespoke armchairs.

OPPOSITE PAGE Textured neutrals, rich blues and hints of metallic result in a shift of mood in the living room.

above the dining table visually help drop the ceiling, creating a “room” without walls.’

To further divide the space, Fyfe Boyce introduced a slatted and curved wooden divider – a soft boundary, as they put it – between the dining and living areas. A monochromatic abstract artwork hung on the structure helps to create a division between the two rooms. At its base stands a custom-designed console (‘a favourite of ours in the home’), its pattern and rich texture

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‘We played it quieter in this home, as our clients wanted a calm space. We reserved the colour and drama for smaller areas and kept the big players neutral. Where necessary, we could amp up the colour with art and accessories.’

The kitchen, much like the guest bathroom with its statement wallpaper, is monochromatic. Offsetting lacquered white cabinetry and lightly veined splashbacks is a monolithic black quartz island. It stands in strong contrast to the pale tones of the living room at the opposite end of the interior.

‘We opted for a dining table in smoked oak, as this tonal change bridges the kitchen’s finishes with the lounge’s timber tones. By doing so, the span feels intentional,’ explains Boyce.

This isn’t the only decorating device the duo turned to in order to divide and conquer the open-plan space, while still cementing visual continuity.

‘While their gold colouring repeats the metallic accents we’ve used in the living room, the large cube pendants positioned

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‘WE PLAYED IT QUIETER IN THIS HOME, AS OUR CLIENTS WANTED A CALM SPACE. WE RESERVED THE COLOUR AND DRAMA FOR SMALLER AREAS AND KEPT THE BIG PLAYERS NEUTRAL.’

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ABOVE Designed by Masterworx Architectural Design, this North Coast home takes the form of a contemporary twingabled coastal barn, with heavily-shaded outdoor living rooms sheltered from the heat and sun.

OPPOSITE PAGE, CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT The guest bathroom is lent monochrome drama through pattern play created by the wallpaper and armchair; the understated palette in the master bedroom is unusual for Fyfe Boyce, who often play with pattern in a high-impact way; a grouping of pendant lights above the terrace dining table helps create an intimate space where al fresco meals can be enjoyed.

Delighted with the outcome, the family’s ‘forever home’ is at once both practical and approachably stylish. What at first might have felt like a potentially daunting open-plan entertainment space has been thoughtfully considered, and designed not just for easy enjoyment, but tailormade for barefoot living. 

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serving as a focal point. It also links the textural palette indoors with that of the outdoor entertainment space.

Here, wood is used in a more expressive manner, like the timber-clad wall into which an outdoor kitchen was built, or in the form of a tree-root table base. ‘The slatted timber sunshade filters the heat and casts strips of light across the area, from which the family has views over the pool to the surrounding fields,’ says Fyfe of the terrace. ‘It’s a great place to relax.’

Because the same light porcelain flooring used indoors was extended outside to create a visually seamless flow, the designers employed decorating tricks other than changes in flooring to subdivide the space. Again, a cluster of pendant lamps above the dining table gives it intimacy, while a console abutting the back of a sofa helps create a barrier between the dining and living spaces. And again, much like indoors, black accents – the barstools’ metal frames, tabletop objet and stripes along rattan stools – intentionally interrupt an otherwise neutral expanse.

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BOTH DESIGNERS WERE IN AGREEMENT ABOUT CARRYING THE COLOUR BLACK, SO PREVALENT ON THE HOME’S EXTERIOR, INSIDE, IN THE FORM OF AN ACCENT.

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FLIGHTS OF FREEDOM Bright skies and palm trees, warm blue water and a gale-force wind… When kitesurfers think of Mauritius, they usually focus on Le Morne, a best-on-earth wave-riding location. But there’s fabulous lagoon riding – sans waves – along the island’s east coast too.

OMEWHERE OUTSIDE, a banshee wailed and

screamed. When I ventured from my resort room to the beach, there was indeed a mounting gale.

The usually flat blue-green lagoon was being visited by an invisible fury redistributing sea sand and forcing the palm trees into the brace position. It was far from the tropical idyll folk might fantasise about when planning an island holiday.

‘The rider with the blue kite made a crash-landing,’ came the announcement from the Spanish MC. ‘The wind is a bit gusty.’

Despite this minor setback, it wasn’t long before more than a dozen C-shaped inflatable kites transformed the sky into a colourful aerial ballet, an armada of sails powering through the air. Kiteboarders, it turns out, have different holiday expectations. The wind was precisely why these folk had come to this beach during the mid-year off-season. And why the lagoon had transformed into a massive kiteboarding free-for-all. Jumps, twists, tricks, turns… kites pulling foilers, wing-foilers on paddleboards, and one kiteboarder – French legend Antoine Auriol – giving high-speed piggyback rides.

Auriol, now in his early 40s, is a former world champion who gave up competing to pursue the sport’s more soulful dimensions. He spends his time producing nature and travel documentaries, and creating events that promote the intersection of wind-powered sports and sustainability.

‘What I love about kiteboarding, wingfoiling and paragliding is that we don’t need to do anything to nature in order to enjoy them,’ said Auriol on the beach. ‘These sports are about harnessing the strength of the elements to have fun while enabling you to experience a connection with nature.’

Auriol has kiteboarded in just about every imaginable place on earth, including Udaipur (around the Lake Palace

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in Rajasthan), on caiman-infested rivers in Guyana (‘I was a little bit afraid!’), across remote lakes in Maine in the US, and in assorted patches of paradise from Tahiti to El Puerto de Santa Maria, in Cádiz, Spain, where he now lives.

C Kite Festival, a wind-fuelled jamboree that held its fourth iteration this year, was Auriol’s vision. He came to test the lagoon just off Palmar on the island’s east coast in November 2021, and despite catching the very last of the winter winds, he fell in love. He says he loved it not only for the waveriding, but also because of how the place made him feel. Hair-raising wind notwithstanding, the lagoon itself is beyond reproach: a broad strip of curved coastline, where a creamy white beach is lapped by cerulean water and bookended by black boulders that are essentially fat blobs of lava that cooled millions of years ago. Pleased as he was by the water’s Pantone hues and the vastness of the lagoon, it was the unmitigated sense of ease with which Mauritius operates that won his heart.

Auriol says Mauritius has an X-factor: its people. ‘I really love the people here, their warmth, lack of aggression and how they treat others. This is something that we don’t have in France. Mauritians speak French but they don’t have that French attitude.’

The festival now sees kiteboarders gather from around the island as well as far-flung corners of the globe annually, to participate in friendly competition and camaraderie, and enjoy the chance to watch and learn from some of the best kiteboarders in the world. Among the regular pros is Louka Pitot, a Mauritian who has been climbing the world champion ranks and is an ambassador for the event.

Former kitesurfing world champion Antoine Auriol established the C Kite Festival in Mauritius in 2022.

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‘WHAT I LOVE ABOUT KITEBOARDING IS THAT WE DON’T NEED TO DO ANYTHING TO NATURE IN ORDER TO ENJOY IT.’

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After living and studying in Montpellier, France, for five years, Pitot moved back to Mauritius in 2022, just before the first C Kite Festival. Despite being a sponsored competitive waverider, he dispels the myth that kiteboarding is purely for adrenaline junkies and thrillchasers. He says his own love of the sport is about finding freedom.

‘When I’m kiting, I’m alone with the ocean, the elements. I feel in charge, unafraid, with not a single stress in the world. There is no one to talk to, and no phones, so there’s no noise, no distractions.

When I want to jump, I jump. If I want to chill, I chill. No one can tell me anything. I cannot say that I’m in control, because you’re never in control of the ocean, but I feel 200% in control. So, how does kiteboarding make me feel? Free.’

Auriol says he wanted to create a festival that was not about competing, but rather a get-together where local and international kiteboarders and wingfoilers could collectively celebrate their passion, spend time on the water and on the beach, and socialise after dark with DJs, local musicians, beer and cocktails.

Among the charms of Mauritius is that so many of its resorts, including bright-and-breezy C Mauritius, which hosts the festival, edge directly on to the beach. From your room, you see waves breaking just beyond the reef that shelters the lagoon. Prime conditions include a 30-knot south-southeasterly wind that Mauritian freestyle kiteboarders love. ‘The water’s usually really flat and so crystal clear, you can see fish swimming while you’re flying high above the surface,’ one local told me. ‘The water is always warm, so you never need to put on a wetsuit – it’s just boardshorts, good vibes, and off you go.’

Still relatively undiscovered, Palmar has seen a minor revolution in the last few years, with several new resorts occupying wedges of prime sea-facing territory between the classic beach cottages along

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CLOCKWISE FROM ABOVE Palmar’s beach, on the Mauritian east coast, where the annual C Kite Festival takes place; Mauritian kiteboarding champion and C Kite Festival ambassador, Louka Pitot; apart from the appeal of idyllically flat water combined with reliable winds, Palmar – like the rest of the island – is in close proximity to other outdoor adventures, including hiking and trail-running routes up steep Mauritian mountains.

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DEPARTURES

Mauritian professional kiteboarder Louka Pitot, who says the island provides everything he needs for a happy life, at one with nature.

LEFT Palmar’s narrow, shallow, usually flat lagoon is ideal for first-time kiteboarders.

the stretch of coast between Trou d’Eau Douce and Belle Mare.

People first started kiteboarding here in about 2003, but it flies far beneath the radar compared with the likes of Le Morne, the popular surfing enclave on the southwestern corner of Mauritius that is reputed to be among the world’s top-10 kiteboarding destinations. ‘Everybody goes there to surf a well-known wave called “One Eye”,’ a Mauritian waverider explained. ‘Le Morne gets more wind than anywhere else and it’s a strong wind. Most people who come to Mauritius don’t really know any other spots, which is a blessing for those of us on the east coast – it’s never as crowded as Le Morne.’

Of the lesser-known east coast, Pitot says: ‘There’s no crowd, but there’s wind. I’ve chosen to live in Le Morne because it’s a bit windier than here. I ride waves a lot and Le Morne has great waves. Here, on the east coast, we don’t have surfing waves, it’s just kiting. But it’s shallow so it’s great for learning, and the lagoon is huge so you can go up, down, and visit different spots along the coast. I think that’s special.’

Palmar – a narrow, fairly shallow lagoon, with plenty of flat water and stable 45-degree onshore wind – is especially good for newbie kiteboarders; it’s a great spot to learn and, if you stay inside the lagoon, it’s very safe.

The reef, which protects the lagoon, creates an unstipulated border between friendly kiting territory and a zone where it’s possible to kite, but where – should anything go wrong – a rescue boat can’t venture out to help you.

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Auriol ended his competitive career in 2010, saying it just wasn’t important to him anymore. ‘There are many other ways to feel rich inside, other than having the best trick. I love kiteboarding, but not competing. That’s why this festival is not a competition… it’s just about sharing passion.’

Among the festival events is a mass ‘downwind social’ when around 60 kiteboarders inflate their kites, gear up, sign indemnity forms and ride the wind over an extended distance. Kiteboarders of every stripe gather on the beach at Poste Lafayette where the downwind ends. From nine-year-olds to veterans in their 60s, they emerged smiling, despite admitting there’d been some stretches requiring seriously hard work. ‘Beautiful,’ admitted one retiree. ‘And tough.’

The ‘tough’ bit, he said, involved a section across an open channel and a long stretch where the wind had dropped a bit.

‘I had to work the kite quite a lot,’ he said.

Which is, of course, part of the paradox of kiteboarding. It relies on the stroppiest of all the elements. But if the wind drops, you’re left stranded.

Fortunately, for those days when it’s not blowing, Mauritius has plenty of other tricks up its sleeve. ‘When it’s not windy, I have so much choice,’ Pitot said.

‘I can go snorkelling, diving, hiking, paragliding... If I want to go for a swim, I go here. If I want to fish, I go there. Any hike on the island is less than an hour’s drive away. I can be active every single day doing things that I love – in nature.’ 

PRIVATE EDITION

PHOTOGRAPHY MOHAMED AHSAN, SUPPLIED

‘WHEN I’M KITING, I AM ALONE WITH THE OCEAN, THE ELEMENTS. I FEEL IN CHARGE, UNAFRAID...’

N OT F O R S A L E TO P E R S O N S U N D E R T H E AG E O F 18 , D R I N K R E S P O N S I B LY

PHOTOGRAPHY JÉRÔME GALLAND AND JUSTIN DE SOUSA

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THE FRENCH

DISPATCH From her restaurant in London’s historic The Connaught hotel, six-Michelin-starred chef Hélène Darroze serves dishes that speak to her memories and a sense of place. Complemented by sophisticated interiors, the result is entirely evocative.

PHOTOGRAPHY JÉRÔME GALLAND AND JUSTIN DE SOUSA

WORDS MARTIN JACOBS

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MORE BRITISH INSTITUTION than London’s The

Connaught hotel in Mayfair you’d be hard-pressed to find. Its origin dates to 1815, when the Duke of Westminster opened the hotel in one of two houses he owned, naming it Saxe-Coburg Hotel. A century later, it was renamed The Connaught after Queen Victoria’s seventh child Arthur, the Duke of Connaught. In 1992, Queen Elizabeth II visited the hotel to open its new kitchens.

While linked to British royalty, The Connaught equally has French connections. Most notably in the form of French President Charles de Gaulle who, in 1940, made room 103 his residence, from which he ventured forth to meet Allied commanders. But also, in the form of guest Princess Grace of Monaco, and former head chef Michel Bourdin, whose service lasted 26 years. For the past 17 years, The

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TOP LEFT Considered one of the world’s best chefs, Hélène Darroze has inspired both Mattel’s Barbie Chef and the character of Colette in the film Ratatouille.

ABOVE Darroze adds the finishing touch to a dessert that includes Venezuelan chocolate, almond, cardamom and cocoa bean.

OPPOSITE PAGE Darroze names her dishes with references either to the region or the supplier from which hero ingredients are sourced. In this intricately plated dish, Pantelleria capers, marjoram and sardine accompany tomatoes from Hubert Lacoste in France.

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Connaught’s most notable nod to all things Gallic takes the form of Hélène Darroze at The Connaught – one of only six three-Michelin-starred restaurants in the city.

Born in Southwestern France in the late 1960s, Hélène Darroze is a fourth-generation chef from a family who owned and ran a restaurant in Villeneuve-de-Marsan. Following a business degree, and with an interest in restaurant operations, Darroze cut her teeth working at Alain Ducasse’s Le Louis XV where, impressed by her palate, he persuaded her to spend time in the kitchen. Thereafter, following several years working in her father’s restaurant, Darroze moved to Paris in 1999, where she opened her first restaurant. A quarter century later, and Darroze presides over four restaurants, has served as a judge on French TV’s Top Chef, has published several books, and inspired both the character of Colette in Ratatouille and Mattel’s Barbie Chef. She’s previously been named The World’s Best Female Chef, and has six Michelin stars tucked beneath her apron.

It’s with these accomplishments and accolades in mind that I arrive for an invitation to lunch at Hélène Darroze at The Connaught. I’m immediately struck by the refined beauty of interior architect Pierre Yovanovitch’s design. ‘I can’t change the décor as often as I do my menus, so it was important to create an environment that was reflective of myself, as I want my guests to feel welcome in my home,’ Darroze says of the space, with its oak-panelled walls and a colour palette of pastel pinks and

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greens offset by bold red and tan. Moving between leather chairs and curved banquettes in rich velvet, an attentive army of waiters attend to diners. Their uniforms – as bespoke as ceramicist Ema Pradère’s handmade consommé bowls used at the start of each dining experience – have a vintage aesthetic; the men in widelapelled slate-grey suits, and the women wearing flowing pink and cherry-red dresses. I can’t help but think there’s a touch of Wes Anderson at play.

Darroze’s dishes celebrate a marriage of terroir and memory – her own, as well the nostalgia of her diners. ‘Every dish I have ever created is part of who I am; not just of my work and travels, but also of my family and teams, past and present, and of the incredible artisanal suppliers I have come to know and respect.’

Her trusted suppliers, both on British and French soil, are

BELOW LEFT Wagyu from Japan’s Gunma Prefecture is plated with celtuce (also known as stem lettuce), shiso and fermented pepper.

BELOW RIGHT Redesigned by French interior designer and architect Pierre Yovanovich, the restaurant’s interior includes specially commissioned artworks by English artist Damien Hirst.

OPPOSITE PAGE Given both The Connaught’s history and her love of locally-sourced ingredients, Darroze includes the best of British produce in her menus. Mussels from Scotland’s Shetland Islands are paired with cucumber, yuzu koshō and Douglas pine.

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PHOTOGRAPHY JÉRÔME GALLAND AND JUSTIN DE SOUSA PHOTOGRAPHY JÉRÔME GALLAND AND JUSTIN DE SOUSA

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FOR THE PAST 17 YEARS, THE CONNAUGHT’S MOST NOTABLE NOD TO ALL THINGS GALLIC TAKES THE FORM OF HÉLÈNE DARROZE AT THE CONNAUGHT, ONE OF ONLY SIX THREEMICHELIN-STARRED RESTAURANTS IN THE CITY.

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Quirky ceiling illustrations and wood panelling lend intimacy to the Chef’s Table, which boasts views of the subterranean kitchen, featuring a monolithic marble island where plating takes place.

responsible for many of the ingredients in my meal, like asparagus cultivated in Pertuis, north of Aix-en-Provence, Dorset snails, and a white wine that hails from Eastern France’s Jura region. ‘My biggest inspiration is the Basque country and Les Landes, where I grew up. It’s the foundation of my cuisine,’ she says. ‘I’ve always been surrounded by amazing ingredients. It gave me the constant desire to give happiness through food.’

My lunchtime happiness takes the form of a delicate white asparagus velouté, followed by tender, tasty chicken-and-rabbit vol-au-vent. Both are part of a three-course offering, since replaced by the restaurant’s summer menu, which includes one of Darroze’s signature dishes, rum baba. ‘Baba au rhum is a quintessential French dessert and something I maintain across all my restaurants. At The Connaught, I serve the baba soaked in

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my family’s Armagnac, and with a seasonal fruit such as British rhubarb, strawberries or apples.’

My lunch concludes with the ultimate treat – an unexpected visit to the subterranean kitchen. Unlike Ratatouille’s kitchen action or, more recently, The Bear’s noisy cooks, the staff here are silently efficient. ‘The team is, of course, part of the magic,’ Darroze says. ‘I have a very stable and loyal team who completely embrace my cuisine, my vision, and I can count on them to relay who I am.’ From the chef’s-table alcove, I have a front-row seat across the industrial space. Impossible to miss is an enormous marble island (so weighty it required specialist craning to place) where plating occurs. Its curved form in the otherwise stainlesssteel space is much like Darroze, a memorable feminine presence in an industry largely dominated by men.

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CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT Alongside exceptional flavours and mastered techniques, extraordinary plating has earned the restaurant three Michelin stars; pastel tones and curvilinear forms in the high-ceilinged restaurant make for languorous meals; summer dishes are seldom prettier than this Cornish crab, plated with pink grapefruit, turnip and sheep’s curd; Darroze divides her time between The Connaught and her three restaurants in France.

PHOTOGRAPHY JÉRÔME GALLAND AND JUSTIN DE SOUSA

SHE’S PREVIOUSLY BEEN NAMED THE WORLD’S BEST FEMALE CHEF, AND HAS SIX MICHELIN STARS TUCKED BENEATH HER APRON.

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ACC E L E R AT E

LEGACY OF STRENGTH Not content to rest on its laurels, Land Rover has upped the Defender ante and produced a barnstorming version of its bestseller. Enter the Octa.

WORDS PETER FROST

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Defender Octa sets itself apart from the family by extra ride height, wider stance, and blistered wheel arches. It’s not for show either; the Octa’s wading depth of one metre is the best of any Defender.

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AY BACK IN 1948 when Maurice Wilks traced the outline of the first Land Rover

Defender in the sands of Anglesey, it’s unlikely he’d have thought his ‘mechanical sheepdog’ would one day rocket to 100kph in 3.8 seconds, transport five in ultimate luxury and be the de jour society choice of thousands. But that’s what happened. The recently launched Octa (named after a diamond) is the fastest Defender ever made, even as it retains its off-road prowess. Wilks would have been astonished: all he envisaged was a light-duty tractor, an engine and four-wheel-drive system that was able to go anywhere and run various mechanicals off the central power unit. Function was his cornerstone, ability his guiding principle.

Function and ability remain central to the successor, but the accent, post the redefinition of Defender in 2020, is firmly on luxury and design. It’s that cocktail that proved so popular; today Defender makes up a full 70 percent of Jaguar Land Rover sales and the understanding is most definitely ‘don’t fix what ain’t broke’.

Rugged good looks, real off-road ability, cossetting luxury, presence on the road and a pedigree going back

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nearly 80 years are the fundamentals. And so, for 2025, Octa, the latest iteration, simply adds more of the same: more power, better insulation, more electronic ability and greater driving satisfaction.

Climb in (or up) and the world is a peculiarly changed place in a Defender. It’s high enough to look down on even the double cabs, traffic is a doddle and because it’s so quiet, even with the monster V8 engine running, there’s a glorious sense of detachment. Curated is the word – choose your music, your company and your destination – everything is in your control.

Press the substantial accelerator pedal and there’s the first hint that this is no ordinary 110. The distant roar harks back to a time of muscle cars and unburstable engines. Indeed, this V8, a 4.4 litre twin turbo mild hybrid unit is all of those things, muscular, unburstable, epic. It produces 470kW and 750Nm of torque, and given the right encouragement, makes short shift of overtaking. It feels beautifully engineered, shamelessly performative, a rock star, but with a dynastic heritage. It’s the in-gear accel-

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eration that is really so satisfying. The twin turbochargers work to offer up instant low down-pull and high end-legs. Again, it’s a curious experience in a massive SUV rather than a road-hugging sports car. Happily, both suspension and chassis are up to the task of containing and directing all that power. Equally impressive are the uprated brakes, which bring the nearly three-ton beast to a confident stop without drama or alarm.

Soon enough the relationship of driver and car is established.

Octa, for all its heft, is an easy drive; controls and touchpoints light and carefully weighted. Steering, brakes and gear shifter are all quickly understood. Relaxed. There’s nothing to fear here.

The interior is a contradiction; everywhere a design edginess reveals itself, yet it’s also robust, channelling Wilks’s determination for function and longevity. The Octa, you might say, frames utility as an aesthetic decision. Seating, door insets and roof lining are exquisitely detailed. And Defender is an electronic masterclass, the various control units interfacing on the huge infotainment screen that offers a frankly dizzying array of

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IT FEELS BEAUTIFULLY ENGINEERED, SHAMELESSLY PERFORMATIVE, A ROCK STAR, BUT WITH A DYNASTIC HERITAGE.

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ABOVE Few will be brave enough to test Octa’s one-metre wading depth; more will test its mettle in the badlands where its Mode4 off-road drive option makes dirt-roading simplicty itself.

RIGHT New seats feature Body and Soul settings for long-distance comfort as well as support. Octa gets new interior colours, such as the standard Burnt Sienna.

OPPOSITE PAGE As well as the improved wading depth, Octa features redesigned bumpers, which improve approach and departure angles.

Toughened underbody protection completes the picture.

controls. Naturally, all the expected passive and active safety aids are included, but Defender’s real party trick is its bouquet of offroad aids. Everything from wade visualisation to suspension and camber information. Ride height is adaptable and there are a host of drive modes for every possible surface and adventure, many of which most owners will never encounter.

But today we try find a road beyond its ability. A track to truly test the Octa. Earlier in the day, it had already dispatched the Atlantis Dunes with barely a pause. Now, beyond Ceres and into the Tankwa, the rain-ravaged paths that pass for roads might be a test. Except not. Three hours later, up Gannaga Pass into the High Karoo, Octa felt like nothing more than a family sedan out for a Sunday cruise. It’s understood in the safari community that Land

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Rovers have the best suspension set-ups, and that played out again in the Tankwa. Neither rocks, corrugations, sand nor shale dampened its resolve. What an astonishing machine.

Routing home via the N1, truck-dense and awful, the Octa had one more trick up its sleeve. The adaptive cruise control made the trip back far less stressful, surely one of the most sensible, useful inventions in modern motoring. High above the noise and chaos, happy in the knowledge it could produce whatever was asked of it at the touch of the throttle, the world was a wonderful place. The only stresser was trying to ignore dirt track after dirt track off to the left and right. Because, for all its sophistication and raw power, Defender still belongs where nothing else does.

Far, far off the beaten track. Maurice Wilks would approve.

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A KINGDOM TO CALL

HOME

The Royal Thanda Club at Jumeirah Thanda Safari is set to be the most exclusive lifestyle offering ever to come out of Africa.

WORDS SUSAN NEWHAM-BLAKE

The Royal Thanda Club at Jumeirah Thanda Safari offers the opportunity to become part of a unique community of like-minded families from around the world whose zest for living life to the full integrates with making a positive difference and impact in the world.

PHOTOGRAPHY HYWELL WATERS

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Club Estate is the brainchild of its KwaZulu-Natal-born CEO Pierre Delvaux and Thanda Safari owners, Swedish tech entrepreneurs Dan and Christin Olofsson, whose combined dream was to create something that had never been achieved in Africa before. The Olofsson family have become Sweden’s largest private investors and philanthopists in Africa since the creation of the Thanda Group in 2002.

The land that makes up present-day Jumeirah Thanda Safari, originally cattle and game farms, was once Pierre’s childhood playground. ‘I spent my entire childhood going on camping trips in the bush with my parents and siblings on what is today Jumeirah Thanda Safari.’

With his deep connection to the land and appreciation of Zulu culture (he speaks the language fluently), Pierre won the confidence of the Olofssons, whose original idea for a private residence quickly expanded into a safari lodge and wildlife reserve. Pierre then began the enormous task of negotiating the acquisition of neighbouring farms, which was facilitated by his relationships with the surrounding farm owners.

What followed was a dedicated effort to restore the land to its natural state and reintroduce indigenous big game.

Pierre was appointed as director shortly after the company was registered in 2002, and was made Managing Director in 2003 and CEO of the Thanda Group in 2004, joining the family business full time in January 2005.

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HERE’S ONLY ONE WAY to arrive in a Big Five reserve in the heart of the Zulu Kingdom and that’s by helicopter. In this case, an Airbus H 130 B4, a seven-seater VIP-configured helicopter with a metallic sheen reminiscent of a James Bond movie.

As we fly from King Shaka International Airport north towards Thanda, we pass over unspoiled coastline, the fine spray from a whale’s blow visible in the distance. We change course, moving inland, then hover over the lush canopy of the sacred Zulu Ngoye Forest, so low it feels like you can touch the giant leaves of the cycads.

Landing on the exclusive-use helipad of Villa Thandawena, the only Grand Royal Residence within The Royal Thanda Club at Jumeriah Thanda Safari (recently voted the most exclusive, private luxury villa safari offering in Africa), it’s not hard to understand why those who’ve heeded the call of the wild have invested in one of the private villas here.

These discerning buyers have been accepted in their quest to own a piece of protected Big Five nature reserve and, in doing so, have been granted access to a unique global community.

The Royal Thanda Club membership requires real estate ownership of a full title Royal Residence Villa on a freehold plot of protected land within The Royal Thanda Club Estate. The 386-hectare, fully enclosed, access-controlled Royal Thanda

PHOTOGRAPHY HYWELL WATERS, SUPPLIED

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T R AVE L

‘THIS IS THE MOST EXCLUSIVE LIFESTYLE MEMBERS’ CLUB AND SAFARI REAL ESTATE OFFERING EVER TO COME OUT OF AFRICA.’ PIERRE DELVAUX, THANDA GROUP FOUNDING CEO

CLOCKWISE FROM FAR LEFT Pierre Delvaux’s private residence, Villa Thandawena, showcases the contemporary designs on offer; there is nothing quite like drinks in the bush, set up by Jumeirah Thanda Safari; Villa Thandawena’s fire pit and boma where storytelling at sunset becomes part of your daily ritual; Pierre Delvaux enjoying a G&T on the deck of Villa Thandawena; the indoor dining space at Villa Thandawena overlooks the infinity pool and vistas of the Big Five reserve.

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Recently, Jumeirah Group, owned by Dubai Holding, partnered with the Thanda Group, owned by Dan Olofsson, to manage all hospitality of the Thanda Portfolio.

‘Years ago, as far back as 2006, I was struck by The Yellowstone Club in Montana, the most exclusive residence club in the world at that time, which offered a combination of exclusive lifestyle, membership by invitation only, estate access control and real estate ownership,’ says Pierre. ‘I was immediately inspired to replicate this exclusive lifestyle and real estate offering in Africa,’ he explains.

The Royal Thanda Club not only offers a chance to own one of the most exclusive luxury villas in a South African reserve, thus allowing owners to become part of an international community of likeminded families, it also presents an opportunity to enjoy the very best of an African safari, managed by the world-class hospitality brand, Jumeriah.

The villas are available in unique designs – from those inspired by traditional Zulu huts to more contemporary designs like Villa Thandawena, which Pierre owns. As a member of The Royal Thanda Club, you will be part of a community of adventurers, all of whom enjoy exchanging the beaten track for a magnificent home away from home on Jumeriah Thanda Safari, the multi-award-winning 16 500-hectare Big Five African safari game reserve in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

‘Through our different foundations, we help children from surrounding communities, and are also involved in protecting endangered species like rhino and cheetah,’ Pierre says.

As with all the villas in The Royal Thanda Club’s Royal Residences, great thought and care has been given to the design of each villa: in relation to its elevation, orientation to the setting sun, dramatic views and attention to privacy (villas are far enough apart so as not to be visible to one another).

Pierre says, ‘It took nine months, using six special blades and water cutting saws, to cut the volcanic rock scattered all over the ground into smooth slabs for the cladding of Thandawena.’

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CLOCKWISE FROM TOP Villa Thandawena’s master bedroom with its luxurious Hästens Vividus King extralength bed; Royal Thanda Club’s private Airbus B4 helicopter transports guests directly to and from King Shaka International Airport; Villa Thandawena’s ensuite bathroom overlooks Big Five bushveld.

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Villa Thandawena is a five-bedroomed luxury villa owned by Pierre Delvaux.

It’s available for short-term rental stays.

BELOW Contemporary outdoor dining spaces maximise the sights and sounds of the bushveld.

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our Ultra High Net Worth Individual (UHNWI) clientele through the Sotheby’s International Realty network.

‘This is an exciting, ambitious project and Lew Geffen Sotheby’s International Realty is delighted to hold the exclusive mandate in South Africa for buyers across the world.’

INTERESTED IN PURCHASING? Lew Geffen Sotheby’s International Realty has been awarded the select mandate for Jumeirah Thanda Royal Residences. There are 37 out of 44 memberships and villas available for sale. For more information, contact Yael Geffen on 082 578 4777 or email yael@sothebysrealty.co.za or yael@thanda.co.za.

GETTING THERE Thanda Safari’s air-conditioned, seven-seater H 130 B4 helicopter flies directly from King Shaka International Airport to the reserve, offering a scenic, one-hour flight over the KwaZulu-Natal coastline.

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PHOTOGRAPHY HYWELL WATERS

The use of marble with embedded fossilized tree root as well as the incorporation of wood, glass and rock add depth and layers to the architectural design. The entire floor of the villa is wooden herringbone with brass inlays that separate the spaces to emulate an entrance-way carpet.

The suites are also perfectly decorated and colour-themed to blend into the natural geology of their surroundings. And then there are the beds... Villa Thandawena is exclusively furnished with a range of Hästens beds from Sweden, known to be the most expensive and luxurious in the world.

Back at the fire pit, we sip gin and tonics to the sounds of the wilderness, hyena calls filling the air. Pierre says the firepit was inspired by the Olympic torch and is symbolic of excellence.

‘The fire pit, where you can sit and watch Zulu TV Channel 1 (the burning fire), has a wooden balcony in the shape of a buffalo thorn elevated seven metres off the ground on a circular platform. This plant’s notorious thorns, one pointing forward and one pointing backwards, speaks to the Zulu belief that we should always be reminded of where we are going and where we have been.’

It’s this ethos of incorporating past and present that is most notable when talking to Pierre about his future dreams for Thanda. ‘I believe that The Royal Thanda Club at Jumeirah Thanda Safari is the most exclusive lifestyle members’ club and safari real estate offering ever to come out of Africa. An international community of 44 member families from around the world joining the Olofsson and Delvaux families to create a unique community of people who own their own Royal Residence, who wish to live life to the full. Adventurers who seek the most exquisite homes in the wild, while giving back to conservation and community.’

Lew Geffen Sotheby’s International Realty CEO Yael Geffen says the luxury real estate brand aligns perfectly with everything The Royal Thanda Club stands for.

‘Partnering with Jumeirah Thanda Safari means bringing this opulent, award-winning development to the global market for

WELGELEGEN ESTATE, GEORGE

Asking: R12.850 million | 3 Bedrooms | 3 Bathrooms | 2 Garages This ultra-luxurious home, in George’s Welgelegen Estate provides panoramic mountain views, open-plan living, and top-tier entertainment features including a 25m lap pool, Jacuzzi, sauna, and fire pit. The designer kitchen flows into spacious living areas with glass walls, high ceilings, and tiled floors. Three large bedrooms and three elegant bathrooms include a main en-suite opening to the pool terrace. A study, double garage, ample parking, solar panels, heat pump, and inverter complete this stylish, modern residence in a prime location.

Beatrix de Waal: 072 394 8822; Office: 044 873 2519; Web Ref: SIR115543.

Lew Geffen Sotheby’s International Realty – George is an independently owned and operated franchise business of Southern Cape Realty CC – Reg # - 1991/016692/23 under sub licence from Geffen International Realty Franchises (Proprietary) Limited

PLETTENBERG BAY, GARDEN ROUTE

PLETTENBERG BAY, GARDEN ROUTE

The Meadows Country Estate offers the perfect balance between refined country living and modern coastal convenience. Enviable location being near town and the beautiful Keurbooms Estuary, a stroll away. A very generous stand with lush gardens and raised vegetable beds, ample water available.

Special features include high white-washed ceilings, fireplace, seamless indoor-outdoor living, chef’s kitchen, two studies, and walk-in closets.

Separate 3-bedroom cottage for extra guests or caretaker. Double garage and staff facilities. Elbie Pama: 082 569 2588; Office: 044 533 2529; Web Ref: SIR116071.

Brand new upmarket north-facing Eden View Lifestyle Estate home. Off-plan, so you can choose from a range of options. The estate is gated and access controlled with state-of-the-art surveillance and security with a centralised solar power system, 5 000 ℓ rainwater tanks in all homes and indigenous water-wise landscaping, All homes are wheelchair friendly, and the Lifestyle Centre (with medical support services, indoor pool, gym, restaurant facilities and padel courts) will be constructed once the 25th home has been sold. Carrie Maclean: 082 566 1881; Paul Jordaan: 082 876 0577; Office: 044 533 2529; Web Ref: SIR113174.

Lew Geffen Sotheby’s International Realty – Plettenberg is an independently owned and operated franchise business of Bahia Formosa Estate CC – Reg# 1997/005096/23 under sub licence from Geffen International Realty Franchises (Proprietary) Limited

Lew Geffen Sotheby’s International Realty – Plettenberg is an independently owned and operated franchise business of Bahia Formosa Estate CC – Reg# 1997/005096/23 under sub licence from Geffen International Realty Franchises (Proprietary) Limited

Asking: R17.5 million | 4 Bedrooms | 4.5 Bathrooms | 2 Garages

Asking: R6.53 million | 3 Bedrooms | 2 Bathrooms | 2 Garages

To view these properties visit www.sothebysrealty.co.za

MORNINGSIDE, SANDTON

RIVER CLUB, SANDTON

Tucked away in a serene, private setting, this captivating villa is more than just a home - it’s a lifestyle. With every arch, chandelier, and sweeping staircase, you’ll be transported to the romantic hills of Italy, without ever boarding a plane. From the moment you step through the grand entrance, the villa reveals a world of timeless design - textured walls echoing the sun-washed colours of Siena, artisan finishes, and opulent touches that capture the warmth and grandeur of the Tuscan countryside. Marc: 082 854 7272; Alan: 082 490 0940; Office: 011 886 8070; Web Ref: SIR6992435.

Perfectly positioned in a sought-after area, this versatile family home offers easy access to places of worship, top schools, healthcare, and Sandton CBD. Spacious reception rooms flow to a patio, manicured garden, and pool, ideal for entertaining. The gourmet kitchen connects to family living spaces with fireplaces, plus a study and wine cellar. Upstairs boasts 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, and balcony views. Added features include an inverter, grey water tanks, double garage, staff accommodation, and 24-hour guarded security.

Sue Hall: 083 378 1101; Office: 011 886 8070; Web Ref: SIR7001830.

Lew Geffen Sotheby’s International Realty – Craighall is an independently owned and operated franchise business of Lew Geffen Estates (Pty)Ltd – Reg# 2012/141008/07 under sub licence from Geffen International Realty Franchises (Proprietary) Limited

Lew Geffen Sotheby’s International Realty – Craighall is an independently owned and operated franchise business of Lew Geffen Estates (Pty)Ltd – Reg# 2012/141008/07 under sub licence from Geffen International Realty Franchises (Proprietary) Limited

HOUGHTON ESTATE, JOHANNESBURG

BRYANSTON, SANDTON

In the exclusive 3rd on 3rd complex, this north-facing cluster blends luxury, light, and effortless family living. Expansive reception rooms flow to a covered patio, manicured garden, and sparkling pool. A private study opens outdoors, while upstairs offers 4 luxurious en suite bedrooms. Extras include a borehole, generator, double staff accommodation, 3 garages, and off-street parking.

With top-tier 24/7 security and a prime position, this turnkey home is ready for a new owner. Sabina: 083 254 6981; Kobus: 083 632 2626; Office: 011 886 8070: Web Ref: SIR7024005.

Modern masterpiece in an exclusive gated estate of only 4 homes on a prestigious guarded avenue. Light-filled double-volume living spaces flow to a covered patio, firepit, pool, and landscaped garden. Gourmet open-plan kitchen, guest suite, and study downstairs; 3 en suite bedrooms, 2 studies, and family lounge with views upstairs. Extras include staff accommodation, solarheated pool, inverter with solar panels, and double garage. Close to top schools, this secure, contemporary home is truly exceptional and a must-see. Maria: 082 690 0194; Adel: 078 679 8641; Office: 011 886 8070; Web Ref: SIR7112270.

Lew Geffen Sotheby’s International Realty – Craighall is an independently owned and operated franchise business of Lew Geffen Estates (Pty)Ltd – Reg# 2012/141008/07 under sub licence from Geffen International Realty Franchises (Proprietary) Limited

Lew Geffen Sotheby’s International Realty – Craighall is an independently owned and operated franchise business of Lew Geffen Estates (Pty)Ltd – Reg# 2012/141008/07 under sub licence from Geffen International Realty Franchises (Proprietary) Limited

Asking: R14.999 million | 4.5 Bedrooms | 4.5 Bathrooms | 2 Garages

Asking: R9.950 million | 4 Bedrooms | 4.5 Bathrooms | 3 Garages

To view these properties visit www.sothebysrealty.co.za

Asking: R7.350 million | 4 Bedrooms | 3.5 Bathrooms | 2 Garages

Asking: R9.5 million | 5 Bedrooms | 4 Bathrooms | 2 Garages

PARKMORE, SANDTON

NORTHCLIFF, RANDBURG

Immaculate and full of warmth, this beautifully maintained family home offers 3 bedrooms plus a study/4th bedroom, generous living spaces, and a heartof-the-home kitchen with Smeg range. All bedrooms open to the manicured garden with sparkling salt-chlorinated pool. Enjoy a covered patio with weather blinds and misting system, ideal for entertaining. Extras include solar power with inverter and batteries, water filtration, and air conditioning. Simply move in and start your next chapter in this lovingly cared-for, welcoming home.

Karen: 083 435 7703; John: 083 271 0231; Office: 011 886 8070; Web Ref: SIR7100940.

Sunsets, Style & Sophistication – Northcliff Luxury Living. In an exclusive three-home estate, this Northcliff gem blends privacy with lock-up-and-go ease. A sun-drenched modern kitchen flows to elegant lounges, a dining/braai area, and a seamless patio overlooking the pool and manicured garden. The main suite is a sanctuary with walk-in closet, pyjama lounge, and luxurious en-suite. With triple garages, staff quarters, premium finishes, and superb entertainment features, this home offers style, space, and soul – perfect for serene sunsets or lively gatherings. Melinda Odendaal: 083 399 4113; Louw Stuart: 082 464 7914; Office: 011 476 8303; Web Ref: 7163511.

Lew Geffen Sotheby’s International Realty – Craighall is an independently owned and operated franchise business of Lew Geffen Estates (Pty)Ltd – Reg# 2012/141008/07 under sub licence from Geffen International Realty Franchises (Proprietary) Limited

Lew Geffen Sotheby’s International Realty – Randburg is an independently owned and operated franchise business of Bleauprint Realty (Pty)Ltd Reg – 2014/239443/07 under sub licence from Geffen International Realty Franchises (Proprietary) Limited

NORTHCLIFF, RANDBURG

BOSKRUIN, RANDBURG

Entertain in Style – Northcliff Elegance with Cottage. Set on 2,900m² in leafy Northcliff, this immaculate 5-bedroom, 4-bathroom home includes a private cottage, perfect for guests or extended family. A renovated kitchen with scullery flows to lounges, study, and entertainment areas opening onto lush terraced gardens, pool, and braai space. Enjoy 20 solar panels, inverter, generator, water tank, staff quarters, and top security. Close to top schools and amenities, this rare property offers space, flexibility, and refined family living in one of Johannesburg’s most sought-after suburbs. Melinda Odendaal: 083 399 4113; Louw Stuart: 082 464 7914; Office: 011 476 8303; Web Ref: 7140173.

A private oasis situated within a gated estate within the Boskruin boomed area. This 4 bedroom, 3 bathroom home affords style, comfort and peace of mind. The open plan living spaces blend seamlessly with the gourmet kitchen, leading onto a spectacular covered deck with views of the pool and landscaped garden. Luxurious master suite. Double garage and carport. Solar power and water tanks with a filtration system. This is modern living at it’s finest!

Grant Macdougall: 079 902 0370; Office: 011 476 8303; Web Ref: 7174762.

Asking: R3.9 m – Bidding from: R3.495 m | 3 Bedrooms | 2 Bathrooms | 2 Garages

Asking: R6.5 million | 5 Bedrooms | 4 Bathrooms | 2 Garages | Pool

Asking: R5.6 million | 4 Bedrooms | 3.5 Bathrooms | 3 Garages | Pool

Asking: R2.849 million | 4 Bedrooms | 3 Bathrooms | 2 Garages | Pool

Lew Geffen Sotheby’s International Realty – Randburg is an independently owned and operated franchise business of Bleauprint Realty (Pty)Ltd Reg – 2014/239443/07 under sub licence from Geffen International Realty Franchises (Proprietary) Limited

Lew Geffen Sotheby’s International Realty – Randburg is an independently owned and operated franchise business of Bleauprint Realty (Pty)Ltd Reg – 2014/239443/07 under sub licence from Geffen International Realty Franchises (Proprietary) Limited

To view these properties visit www.sothebysrealty.co.za

POORTVIEW, ROODEPOORT

POORTVIEW, ROODEPOORT

Exquisite Small Holding in Poortview. This luxurious property offers a 4-bed, 5.5-bath main house with multiple living areas, gourmet kitchen, pool, koi pond, and rooftop potential. Ideal for extended families or rental income, it includes two private flatlets, staff accommodation, storage, 8 garages, a borehole, JoJo tank, and 40kVA generator. Immaculate gardens and versatile spaces make it perfect for living, working, or investing. A rare find in sought-after Poortview – space, elegance, and functionality in one exceptional offering. Jackie Petzer: 083 315 4464; Office: 010 900 3450; Web Ref: SIR116034.

Lew Geffen Sotheby’s International Realty – Roodepoort is an independently owned and operated franchise business of Yukocom (Pty)Ltd – Reg# 2019/344066/0SIR108611 Geffen International Realty Franchises (Proprietary) Limited

Exceptional Dual-Home on 10,000m² in Prestigious Poortview, Ruimsig. A rare chance to own two fully independent homes on a spacious 10,000m² stand.

Each home has its own entrance, garden, solar power, water supply and highend features—ideal for extended families, rental income or working from home. Enjoy pools, fireplaces, modern kitchen, ample garages, staff quarters and more. Privately fenced with security systems in place, this unique property offers luxury and versatility in a prime location close to top schools and shopping centres. Bianca Parsons: 083 645 6590; Charmaine von Gordon: 079 882 3360; Office: 010 900 3450; Web Ref: SIR116032.

GORDON’S BAY CENTRAL, GORDONS BAY

BEACH ROAD, STRAND

Red Rock Villa in Gordon’s Bay offers a rare life-right opportunity for over 60s seeking luxury, sustainability, and breathtaking 300-degree sea and mountain views. Enjoy eco-friendly living with 95% solar energy independence, underfloor heating, and double-glazed windows. This exclusive residence features marble finishes, a heated ozone-treated pool, gourmet kitchen, and an expansive 48m² terrace. With wheelchair-friendly design, top-tier amenities, and proximity to beaches, golf, and Cape Town, Red Rock Villa blends elegance, comfort, and convenience in one exceptional address. Jan Uys: 063 669 6988; Office: 021 851 4450; Web Ref: 113572.

Experience Strand at its finest in this beautifully renovated penthouse on sought-after Beach Road. Enjoy seamless open-plan living, a modern kitchen, and a fully enclosed balcony with panoramic ocean-to-mountain views – perfect for year-round entertaining. Featuring three bedrooms, two bathrooms, secure parking, and prime Airbnb potential, this stylish lock-up-and-go offers the ideal blend of convenience, privacy, and coastal charm. Whether as a full-time residence, holiday escape, or investment, this gem ticks every box.

Arrange your private viewing today. Jan Uys: 063 669 6988; Office: 021 851 4450; Web Ref: 116087.

Lew Geffen Sotheby’s International Realty – Helderberg is an independently owned and operated franchise business of Helderberg Realty (Pty) Ltd – Reg# 2023/178798/07 Geffen International Realty Franchises (Proprietary) Limited

Lew Geffen Sotheby’s International Realty – Helderberg is an independently owned and operated franchise business of Helderberg Realty (Pty) Ltd – Reg# 2023/178798/07 Geffen International Realty Franchises (Proprietary) Limited

Asking: R6.950 million | 4 Bedrooms | 5.5 Bathrooms | 8 Garages

Asking: R16.3 million | 3 Bedrooms | 4 Bathrooms | 2 Garages | 1 Parking

To view these properties visit www.sothebysrealty.co.za

Asking: R6.9 million | 9 Bedrooms | 5.5 Bathrooms | 11 Garages

Lew Geffen Sotheby’s International Realty – Roodepoort is an independently owned and operated franchise business of Yukocom (Pty)Ltd – Reg# 2019/344066/0SIR108611 Geffen International Realty Franchises (Proprietary) Limited

Asking: R3.5 million | 3 Bedrooms | 2 Bathrooms | 3 Garages

SILVERHURST ESTATE, CAPE TOWN

STEENBERG GOLF ESTATE, CAPE TOWN

Nestled in the prestigious enclave of Silverhurst Estate, this elegant double-storey home embodies luxury and sophistication, offering an exceptional standard of living in one of the estate’s most sought-after locations. With warm, north-facing views and an abundance of natural light, the home radiates comfort and tranquillity.

Steve Thomas: 084 471 4722; Dave Burger: 083 458 3333; Office: 021 701 2446; Web Ref: SIR 115691.

Nestled within an Exclusive section of the iconic High Steenberg Golf Estate, this remarkable double-storey home offers an unparalleled living experience, where elegance meets functionality, and breathtaking views of the surrounding mountains frame every window. Upon entering this magnificent home, you are immediately greeted by the warmth of natural light flooding the open-plan living spaces. The home has been designed to harmonise with the stunning environment, offering both style and comfort in every corner. Steve Thomas: 084 471 4722; Dave Burger: 083 458 3333; Office: 021 701 2446; Web Ref: SIR115690.

Asking: R39.950 million | 5 Bedrooms | 5.5 Bathrooms | 2 Garages

Lew Geffen Sotheby’s International Realty – Southern Suburbs is an independently owned and operated franchise business of Capeprop Estates (Pty) Ltd – Reg# 1996/010537/07 under sub licence from Geffen International Realty Franchises (Proprietary) Limited

Asking: R30 million | 4 Bedrooms | 4.5 Bathrooms | 2 Garages

Lew Geffen Sotheby’s International Realty – Southern Suburbs is an independently owned and operated franchise business of Capeprop Estates (Pty) Ltd – Reg# 1996/010537/07 under sub licence from Geffen International Realty Franchises (Proprietary) Limited

CONSTANTIA, CAPE TOWN

WESTERFORD, NEWLANDS, CAPE TOWN

This compact single-storey home offers untapped potential in a truly enviable location. Set directly opposite a picturesque greenbelt, this property combines natural beauty with renovation-ready opportunities. Offering flexible living areas including a formal lounge & informal lounge/dining area and large kitchen. Accommodation includes four bedrooms (main en-suite with dressing area), a full family bathroom, and guest loo. This property is in a highly sort after pocket of Upper Constantia. Rouvaun McKirby: 071 671 0821; Jo Thomas: 084 404 4120; Office: 021 701 2446; Web Ref: SIR115250.

Experience contemporary elegance in this stunning modern home, blending cutting-edge design with sophistication. The grand double-volume entrance, custom Italian pivot door, and crystal chandelier set an opulent tone. Inside, an open-plan living area with a combustion fireplace flows seamlessly to a designer kitchen with high-end finishes, Elba gas hob, and scullery. Upstairs, three en-suite bedrooms open onto a balcony with mountain views. Additional features include a wine cellar, walk-in safe, double glazed windows, and advanced security, offering a secure, luxurious lock-up-and-go lifestyle near Cape Town’s top amenities. Jennifer Lee: 082 562 5139; Office: 021 673 1280; Web Ref: SIR115539.

Asking: R15.950 million | 4 Bedrooms | 2.5 Bathrooms

Lew Geffen Sotheby’s International Realty – Southern Suburbs is an independently owned and operated franchise business of Capeprop Estates (Pty) Ltd – Reg# 1996/010537/07 under sub licence from Geffen International Realty Franchises (Proprietary) Limited

Asking: R13.750 million | 3 Bedrooms | 3.5 Bathrooms | 2 Garages

Lew Geffen Sotheby’s International Realty – Southern Suburbs is an independently owned and operated franchise business of Capeprop Estates (Pty) Ltd – Reg# 1996/010537/07 under sub licence from Geffen International Realty Franchises (Proprietary) Limited

To view these properties visit www.sothebysrealty.co.za

NEWLANDS, CAPE TOWN

RONDEBOSCH, CAPE TOWN

Grand Historic Home – Nestled in the heart of leafy Newlands, this magnificent residence stands as a proud testament to timeless elegance and classic charm.

Often admired, seldom available – this is your opportunity to own a piece of Cape Town’s history. From the moment you step through the stately front door, you’re welcomed into a world where history meets refined luxury. Jennifer Lee: 082 562 5139; Office: 021 767 1280; Web Ref: SIR115318.

Unit B is a charming townhouse blending timeless features with modern updates. It offers spacious living areas with original wood finishes, pressed ceilings, fireplaces, and large windows for natural light. The open-plan kitchen includes Caesarstone countertops and a scullery. Upstairs features a main bedroom with an en suite, additional bedrooms with character, and a balcony with mountain views. Extras include a double garage, courtyard with built-in braai, security features, a Jojo tank, and water filtration, making it a comfortable, secure, and character-filled home. Lesley Payne: 082 455 4808; Office: 021 673 1280; Web Ref: SIR115268.

Asking: R17.750 million | 5 Bedrooms | 3 Bathrooms | 2 Garages

Lew Geffen Sotheby’s International Realty – Southern Suburbs is an independently owned and operated franchise business of Capeprop Estates (Pty) Ltd – Reg# 1996/010537/07 under sub licence from Geffen International Realty Franchises (Proprietary) Limited

Asking: R8.750 million | 4 Bedrooms | 3.5 Bathrooms | 2 Garages

Lew Geffen Sotheby’s International Realty – Southern Suburbs is an independently owned and operated franchise business of Capeprop Estates (Pty) Ltd – Reg# 1996/010537/07 under sub licence from Geffen International Realty Franchises (Proprietary) Limited

KOMMETJIE, CAPE TOWN

SIMONS KLOOF, CAPE TOWN

Set on an expansive 806m² plot in sought-after Kommetjie, this versatile home offers dual-living or grand family living. The lush, private garden and automated gates provide peace and security, while the full-length balcony is ideal for ocean glimpses, sunshine, and entertaining. The main level features open-plan living with a fireplace, three north-facing bedrooms, a study, and seamless indoor-outdoor flow. Downstairs, a self-contained unit offers four bedrooms, kitchen, lounge, and dining area. With prime location, ample space, and endless potential, this property is ready to become your dream coastal sanctuary.

Natalie Cooper:083 630 0911; Office 021 783 8260; Web Ref: SIR114671.

Prestigious Simon’s Town Location. Nestled in one of the Cape’s most soughtafter coastal enclaves, Simon’s Town offers breathtaking harbour and mountain views, pristine beaches, and a charming historic village atmosphere. With boutique cafés, scenic coastal walks, and a vibrant maritime heritage, this location is highly coveted for its lifestyle, privacy, and natural beauty. Oliver Dehning: 0677409876; Office: 021 784 2260; Web Ref: SIR116187.

Asking: R12.4 million | 7 Bedrooms | 4.5 Bathrooms | 1 Garage

Lew Geffen Sotheby’s International Realty – Southern Suburbs is an independently owned and operated franchise business of Capeprop Estates (Pty) Ltd – Reg# 1996/010537/07 under sub licence from Geffen International Realty Franchises (Proprietary) Limited

To view these properties visit www.sothebysrealty.co.za

Asking: R14.950 million | 4 Bedrooms | 4.5 Bathrooms | 3 Garages

Lew Geffen Sotheby’s International Realty – Southern Suburbs is an independently owned and operated franchise business of Capeprop Estates (Pty) Ltd – Reg# 1996/010537/07 under sub licence from Geffen International Realty Franchises (Proprietary) Limited

DE ZALZE WINELANDS GOLF ESTATE, STELLENBOSCH

PEARL VALLEY GOLF & COUNTRY ESTATE

Discover refined living in this immaculate five en-suite property, perfectly positioned on a prime north-facing stand within the prestigious De Zalze Winelands Golf Estate in Stellenbosch. Designed to maximise natural light and showcase sweeping mountain views, this exceptional home offers expansive open-plan living areas that seamlessly flow onto generous terraces. Chris Cilliers: 082 568 1122; Office: 021 809 2760; Web Ref: SIR115707.

Superb North Facing Home Overlooking the Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course. This Character home is located in a quiet cul-de-sac overlooking the first and 9th Fairways. A large entrance hall featuring an integrated wine cellar welcomes you to this warm, light filled home. Designed with an open plan concept creating a wonderful space for entertaining family and friends. Kim Egdes: 072 562 4472; Office: 021 867 0161; Suritha van Tonder: 084 440 4283; Office: 021 867 0065; Web Ref: SIR116054.

Lew Geffen Sotheby’s International Realty – Winelands is an independently owned and operated franchise business of Craggy Island Investments PTY Ltd 2016/303204/07 under sub licence from Geffen International Realty Franchises (Proprietary) Limited

Lew Geffen Sotheby’s International Realty – Winelands is an independently owned and operated franchise business of Craggy Island Investments PTY Ltd 2016/303204/07 under sub licence from Geffen International Realty Franchises (Proprietary) Limited

VAL DE VIE ESTATE

FRANSCHHOEK

Escape to the Cape Winelands in this modern North-facing single storey 3-bedroom home offering peace and tranquillity. Set in a landscaped garden this home is a mere stroll from The Yard facilities which include a state of the art gym, Olympic pool, paddle tennis court, cricket bowling nets, laundry and pharmacy. Kevin Layden: 082 300 9446; Office: 021 867 0065; Web Ref: SIR115410.

Charming Double Story Thatch home in a Secure Franschhoek Estate. In the heart of the picturesque Franschhoek Village, this spacious double-storey thatch home offers an ideal blend of character, comfort, and contemporary convenience — perfect for family living within the sought-after Domaine des Anges estate. Gary de Valle: 082 464 8038; Moira Barham: 082 896 3597; Office: 021 876 8480; Web Ref: SIR115609.

Lew Geffen Sotheby’s International Realty – Winelands is an independently owned and operated franchise business of Craggy Island Investments PTY Ltd 2016/303204/07 under sub licence from Geffen International Realty Franchises (Proprietary) Limited

Lew Geffen Sotheby’s International Realty – Winelands is an independently owned and operated franchise business of Craggy Island Investments PTY Ltd 2016/303204/07 under sub licence from Geffen International Realty Franchises (Proprietary) Limited

Asking: R37.9 million | 5 Bedrooms | 5.5 Bathrooms | 3 Garages

Asking: R12.750 million | 3 Bedrooms | 3 Bathrooms | 2 Garages

Asking: R14.950 million | 4 Bedrooms | 4 Bathrooms | 3 Garages

Asking: R16.5 million | 4 Bedrooms | 4 Bathrooms | 1 Garage

To view these properties visit www.sothebysrealty.co.za

RIEBEEK KASTEEL

VERDEAU LIFESTYLE ESTATE, WELLINGTON

This exceptional home offers the complete package - panoramic views, stunning visual appeal and thoughtfully integrated sustainable features. A harmonious blend of rustic warmth and minimalist design to create a unique, cohesive ambiance that is both inviting and modern. Nestled in a sought-after location, this residence is a true standout — offering beauty, functionality, and timeless style in equal measure. Lizette Visser: 072 826 0555; Bronwyn Boyd: 083 420 1747; Office: 021 873 0260; Web Ref: SIR115276.

Experience refined estate living with Plot & Plan Luxury Collection Homes at Verdeau Lifestyle Estate in Wellington. Nestled in the Cape Winelands, Verdeau offers a secure and peaceful environment where thoughtfully designed homes meet spectacular mountain views, landscaped green spaces, and modern convenience. Marisa Carstens: 084 663 1859; TC Kohler: 082 894 5231; Office: 021 873 0260; Web Ref: SIR115669.

Asking: R6.850 million | 5 Bedrooms | 4.5 Bathrooms | Carports

Lew Geffen Sotheby’s International Realty – Winelands is an independently owned and operated franchise business of Craggy Island Investments PTY Ltd 2016/303204/07 under sub licence from Geffen International Realty Franchises (Proprietary) Limited

Asking: R4.850 million | 4 Bedrooms | 3 Bathrooms | 2 Garages

Lew Geffen Sotheby’s International Realty – Winelands is an independently owned and operated franchise business of Craggy Island Investments PTY Ltd 2016/303204/07 under sub licence from Geffen International Realty Franchises (Proprietary) Limited

WELLINGTON FARM

HONEYDEW COUNTRY ESTATE, PAARL

Winelands farm approximately 69 Hectare located just 14 km from Wellington on the R44 and approximately 80 km from Cape Town International Airport, this well-positioned farm offers a prime agricultural opportunity. With 8 ha planted with Chenin Blanc and Shiraz vineyards. Open fields ideal for wheat or oats. Danie Hauptfleisch: 083 627 2148; Office: 021 873 0260; Web Ref: SIR115289.

Nestled in the heart of picturesque Paarl, Western Cape, is a secure residential estate, manned 24 hours per day, where first time home buyers, young professionals and empty nesters are being offered easy lock-up-and-go convenience. Choose between a plot and plan family home, a Blue Mountain Mews townhouse or a Pearl Dew Heights apartment. The estate offers mesmerizing views, landscaped gardens, play areas and a swimming pool that welcomes young and old. Janine Kohler: 082 774 2525; Office: 021 870 1011; Web Ref: 5446416.

Asking: R24 million

Lew Geffen Sotheby’s International Realty – Winelands is an independently owned and operated franchise business of Craggy Island Investments PTY Ltd 2016/303204/07 under sub licence from Geffen International Realty Franchises (Proprietary) Limited

Asking: From R2.773 million

Lew Geffen Sotheby’s International Realty – Winelands is an independently owned and operated franchise business of Craggy Island Investments PTY Ltd 2016/303204/07 under sub licence from Geffen International Realty Franchises (Proprietary) Limited

To view these properties visit www.sothebysrealty.co.za

HOUT BAY

HOUT BAY

Designed by renowned architect Shaun Mahoney, this striking home is nestled on the forested slopes of Klein Leeukoppie in the prestigious Kerzner Estate.

Showcasing panoramic views of Hout Bay and its marina, it blends raw minimalism with world-class design. Highlights include a private courtyard, double-volume entrance, open-plan living, bespoke kitchen, natural pool, and ocean-facing terrace. With curated indoor-outdoor flow and designer finishes throughout, this residence offers tranquil luxury living in one of South Africa’s most exclusive security estates. Grant Bailey: +27(0) 83 444 5171; Office: 021 401 4338; Web Ref: SIR115701.

Designed by world-renowned architect Stefan Antoni, this iconic home is nestled within the exclusive Kerzner Estate on the slopes of Klein Leeukoppie.

Surrounded by towering eucalyptus trees, it offers sweeping views of Hout Bay and the marina. With double-volume ceilings, expansive glass doors, and seamless indoor-outdoor flow, the home features five luxurious bedrooms, a private lift, a landscaped garden, pool, and multiple entertainment areas.

Bespoke finishes, a gourmet kitchen, and exceptional privacy define this architectural masterpiece in one of South Africa’s premier estates. Grant Bailey: +27(0) 83 444 5171; Office: 021 401 4338; Web Ref: SIR115703.

Lew Geffen Sotheby’s International Realty – Atlantic Seaboard is an independently owned and operated franchise business of Atlantic Seaboard Properties (Pty) Ltd – Reg#2018/587662/07under sub licence from Geffen International Realty Franchises (Proprietary) Limited

Lew Geffen Sotheby’s International Realty – Atlantic Seaboard is an independently owned and operated franchise business of Atlantic Seaboard Properties (Pty) Ltd – Reg#2018/587662/07under sub licence from Geffen International Realty Franchises (Proprietary) Limited

SEA POINT

CAMPS BAY

This exceptional 3-level Sea Point penthouse offers sweeping ocean and mountain views, a private pool, and expansive entertainment patio. Featuring seamless indoor-outdoor flow, top-tier finishes, and elegant furnishings, it’s located steps from the Promenade, cafes, and restaurants. A proven Airbnb performer, it generates R1.8 million annually with R800,000 in future bookings, making it ideal for investors or lifestyle buyers. Fully furnished with 4 parking bays, full air-conditioning, and a backup inverter, it’s a turnkey Cape Town retreat with strong returns. Munya Mutanga: +27 (0)74 762 2237; Office: 021 401 4338; Web Ref: SIR116047.

Seller has relocated — prime opportunity to own this luxurious, multi-level home spanning over 1,200m². Showcasing breathtaking 180° views of the ocean, Lion’s Head, and Table Mountain, this residence features 4 en-suite bedrooms, a flatlet, home office, cinema, gym with sauna, and boardroom.

Enjoy seamless indoor-outdoor flow, floor-to-ceiling glass, and top-tier finishes.

Additional highlights include a lift, double garages, solar system, high-tech security, and staff accommodation. Ideal for multigenerational living or Airbnb income, this home offers unmatched elegance and functionality. Andrea Glew: +27 (0) 79 893 9197; Office: 021 401 4338; Web Ref: SIR110453.

Asking: R40 million | 3 Bedrooms | 3.5 Bathrooms | 2 Garages | 1113 m2

Asking: R17.5 million | 3 Bedrooms | 3 Bathrooms | 131 m2

Lew Geffen Sotheby’s International Realty – Atlantic Seaboard is an independently owned and operated franchise business of Atlantic Seaboard Properties (Pty) Ltd – Reg#2018/587662/07under sub licence from Geffen International Realty Franchises (Proprietary) Limited

Asking: R60 million | 5 Bedrooms | 5.5 Bathrooms | 3 Garages | 1487 m2

Asking: R45 million | 7 Bedrooms | 7 Bathrooms | 4 Garages | 1200 m2

Lew Geffen Sotheby’s International Realty – Atlantic Seaboard is an independently owned and operated franchise business of Atlantic Seaboard Properties (Pty) Ltd – Reg#2018/587662/07under sub licence from Geffen International Realty Franchises (Proprietary) Limited

To view these properties visit www.sothebysrealty.co.za