Sommaire pour August 2016 de go!

Baddaford Farm Stall, Fort Beaufort The Kat River Valley in the Eastern Cape is known for its citrus farms and also for the Roberts clan, of which actor Ian Roberts is a member. The first Roberts, a British settler, arrived in South Africa in 1820. In 1903, his descendants found a home on the farm Baddaford. Crates full of oranges, naartjies, pomelos and lemons are stacked at the door of this farm stall. From May to September they also sell avocados and pecan nuts. The dining room is nice and cool, but it’s outside under the thatched stoep that you can really relax. The place feels familiar and comforting, as if you’re visiting an aunt you haven’t seen in years. Have a home-made pie or a quiche (both R20), or…

TOUR DETAILS Dates: 10 – 16 March 2017 Duration: 7 days, 6 nights Departure point: Rhodes, Eastern Cape End point: Lusikisiki, Eastern Cape Accommodation: Lodges and guesthouses Cost: R9 950 per person sharing. Single rate additional 30 %. THE RATE INCLUDES • A professional tour leader and an experienced field guide • Three meals a day • Accommodation in chalets and guesthouses • All park fees • Two-way radios WHAT TO BRING • A 4x4 (fuel is for your own account) • Drinks and snacks • Personal items ADVENTURE ITINERARY Day 1: We meet in the afternoon at Walkerbouts Inn, in Rhodes. Day 2: We explore the valleys in the area and Tiffindell Ski Resort before returning to Rhodes. Day 3: We head towards the Wild Coast, travelling on back roads to avoid Mthatha’s traffic. The…

Experiencing nature as a family makes for memories that will last a lifetime, whether you’re camping in Etosha, watching wildlife in Moremi or just having a sleepover in your own backyard. With Camp Master’s children’s range, your little ones will feel like they’re having the adventure of a lifetime, while staying safe and comfortable. Our range of mattresses will make sure your children get a good night’s sleep. We have everything from an inflatable mattress to protect small bodies from Kaokoland’s hard ground to a fold-away foam mattress for sleepover parties, in colours to match your needs and delight your kids. Don’t forget to include the perfect-sized sleeping bag so that they can stay warm throughout the night. Once you’ve got sleep sorted, you and your little adventurer can pitch…

When he was 29 years old, before he’d found widespread fame as a writer, Uys Krige set off with a group of his friends to explore the Maluti and Drakensberg mountains. In his party were three young painters who, like Uys, would also become famous: Walter Battiss, Terence McCaw and Uys’s brother François. The first part of the journey was recorded in a series of travel articles published in Die Brandwag magazine, but the project was cut short by the outbreak of World War II. It was not until 1990, three years after Krige’s death, that the articles were collected by the writer Hennie Aucamp and published as a travel book called Na die Maluti’s. Uys and François Krige were my uncles, and the tales of their escapades in the…

Treat your family to the holiday of a lifetime. Our 2017 tours with Mpafa Travel will take you from the channels of the Okavango to the plains of southern Namibia, from the beaches of northern KZN to the cliffs of the Wild Coast. Ride in a mokoro, search for nesting sea turtles, feel the spray of Victoria Falls, see Namaqualand in bloom, cruise on a houseboat… There’s something for everyone! GARDEN ROUTE, BAVIAANSKLOOF & ADDO R12 595 5 – 11 February 2017 BERG TO BEACHES (DRAKENSBERG AND WILD COAST) R9 950 10 – 16 March 2017 TRANS-BOTSWANA R22 450 • 19 – 29 April 2017 • 28 June – 8 July 2017 • 6 – 16 August 2017 • 15 – 25 September 2017 RICHTERSVELD & SOUTHERN NAMIBIA (INCLUDING NAMAQUALAND) R19 650 12 –…

BMW X1 I get the impression that the guys at BMW don’t understand our fondness for gravel roads. Yes, they build go-anywhere GS motorcycles, but their X-range cars just don’t feel at home on the open plains of the Karoo. We explored the back roads and forestry trails between Knysna and Mossel Bay in the new X1. My test vehicle was an xDrive25i with so-called “intelligent all-wheel drive”. Indeed, the auto traction control made a valiant effort to smooth out the corrugated roads, but the sporty suspension and the 19" wheels shod in run-flat tyres made this nearly impossible. The 2.0-litre petrol engine was eager to please, too eager perhaps. Jumping on the pedal on a dirt road is a bad idea in this X1. But once we got onto…

Help us find SA’s best milk tart The pit stop is an integral part of any road trip. And the best kind of pit stop involves an interesting farm stall where you can buy coffee, home-made snacks and, above all, a slice of milk tart! We’re already gearing up for National Milk Tart Day 2017. We want to know where to find the best milk tart in South Africa, whether it’s at a farm stall or a tuisnywerheid in your town. We’re not interested in mass-produced milk tarts made by franchise coffee shops and supermarkets – we want the real deal. We want to know about the farm stall where the baker gets up before dawn to put a lovingly made milk tart into the oven. How do I get…

Aussies spoke of the weed in a hushed manner, making it sound like hell hath no fury like a sprig of parthenium. “We’re the lucky country – we’ve never been invaded,” drawled Al the bulldozer driver in-between gulps of Carlton Mid beer as the sun edged towards the outback horizon. Al, who fancied himself something of a war historian after a few beers, was referring to “invasions” in a military sense. He had clearly never strolled past a Greek Orthodox church in Sydney on a Sunday morning or wandered around Melbourne on Chinese New Year or watched cricket at the WACA in Perth when the Aussies host the Proteas. Invaders are storming the “lucky country”; they’re just doing it in orderly queues at immigration counters. Australia has been a promised…

We’re looking for wildlife, landscapes, insects, birds, portraits… Anything you like to take photos of when you’re on holiday at the beach, in the bush or in the mountains. (Pics of your cat or your little brother doing silly things might be disqualified.) Every day we’ll choose the best photo submitted and post it on our website. At the end of the competition we’ll choose a winner and runner-up from all the submissions. There will also be a prize for the most popular photo, as determined by an online vote. The winners and highly commended shots will be published in the magazine, and the best photographs will also be shared on our social media platforms. The competition starts on 20 July 2016 and will run for three months. The main…

Wait, I’m confused… Okay, let’s start at the beginning. First, collect a pile of dry twigs and sticks for fuel. The manufacturers recommend using a firelighter to get the fire going, but if your fuel is dry enough this isn’t necessary. After about 10 seconds, press the power button to switch the fan on. Now, you’re ready to cook. Just remember to add more fuel every now and then, and control the temperature by turning the fan up or down. The energy generated by the fire charges a battery, which in turn allows you to charge your cellphone, GoPro or other USB-powered device. As long as you use the stove every six months or so, you’ll only ever have to charge the battery once – before you use it for…

KAROO PASSES AND POORTS Ride both sides of the Swartberg Pass – the hills of the Little Karoo and the plains of the Great Karoo – then swoop through Meiringspoort and fly down Montagu Pass. TOUR DETAILS Dates: 11 – 15 August 2016; 1 – 5 September 2016; 15 – 19 November 2016 How long is the tour? Five days/four nights Average daily distance: 30 km – 50 km Departure: Queens Hotel, Oudtshoorn Accommodation: Hotels, guesthouses and a special Dryland campsite. Rates: R7 950 per adult; R3 975 for children under 12. Single supplement additional 30 %. ITINERARY Day 1: The tour starts at the Queens Hotel in Oudtshoorn. From there you’ll be transferred to the Chandelier Game Lodge for a short ride to warm up the legs and test…

WINNING LETTER The one that got away Recently, I watched a white-breasted cormorant hunting in the Kruger Park. The bird managed to land a large tilapia but it struggled to eat the fish in the water. As soon as it waded out onto the riverbank with its catch, however, another cormorant swooped in to steal the prey. In the skirmish, the fish somehow got away and slithered back into the water. Now neither bird could have it. ZIES VAN ZYL, Vanderbijlpark Meiringspoort is magical After many years, I recently drove through Meiringspoort near Oudtshoorn again. It was as magical as ever: the low-water bridges with their evocative names like Spookdrif, Ontploffingsdrif and Witperddrif; and the waterfall that tumbles into a river pool where a mermaid is said to have once…

Botswana is definitely not known for its mountains. It’s so flat that the Okavango River drops only a few metres on its mega journey to the sand of the Kalahari. The Makgadikgadi Pans in the north-east of the country are just as flat and remote. But underlying this seemingly sedate landscape is one of the continent’s most dramatic geological features. It can all be traced back to the formation of the Great Rift Valley in East Africa. As the Somali tectonic plate moved away from the larger Nubian plate, it formed a crack in the earth’s crust. Imagine a dinner plate with one big crack and several smaller cracks branching off the main crack. One of these smaller cracks influenced the geological features of Botswana. Ancient rivers once flowed through…

4 – 6 AUGUST !Naba Food & Wine Festival, Upington The !Naba, also known as a desert truffle, is a fungus that grows below the surface of the Kalahari dunes – a delicacy in these parts. Watch a cooking demonstration, taste wine, turn chops in the braai competition or relax in the whisky lounge. Where? Upington showground When? Friday from noon to 8 pm; Saturday from 10 am to 7 pm. Cost: R120 per adult, including a tasting glass and coupons; R60 per child aged 7 – 16; free for pre-schoolers. Tickets? webtickets.co.za More info? 082 410 7669; nabafoodandwine.co.za 6 AUGUST Thabazimbi Apiesdoring Carnival This is not your average church bazaar. More than 60 cattle and 80 game animals are slaughtered and sold. If you can…

DAY 1 Grünau Your classic Namibian road trip starts in Grünau, about 140 km north of the Vioolsdrif border post if you’re coming from Cape Town and about 180 km from the Nakop border post if you’re driving from Gauteng. (Gautengers can do the circular route as described here, or move the first two days to the end of the trip.) Grünau is a dot on the map with a filling station and the landmark GRÜNAU COUNTRY HOTEL ( 00 264 63 262 001; grunaucountryhotel.com), which has been a popular pit stop for years. It’s a good place to have your first Tafel Lager of the trip. Refuel at the Shell filling station and drive 12km north on the B1 to the WHITE HOUSE, one of the most hospitable guesthouses…

READER STORY ANJE RAUTENBACH Home town: Port Elizabeth Occupation: Travel blogger at goingsomewhereslowly.com In Pokhara, Nepal’s second-largest city, Machhapuchchhre Peak reflects in glorious white shades on Phewa Lake, while my trekking guide explains what we’ll be doing over the next six days. After searching the Internet high and low for an independent female guide, I eventually found Kamala Pun and we exchanged numerous e-mails. Now she’s here in real life, showing me a map and pointing to villages, possible stopovers and mountain ranges. She points to the highest point of the trek: Poon Hill, at 3 210 m. Poon Hill is aptly named because it is just a hill in Himalayan terms, and it’s what makes this trek one of the most popular in Nepal. The terrain is…

GERRIT BREYL Canon 350D Sigma 170 – 500 mm lens GERRIT WRITES: I saw this leopard in a jackal-berry tree on the banks of the Timbavati River next to the S39 in the Kruger Park. The leopard was calm and allowed me to take photographs for a few minutes before it disappeared into the riverbed. TOAST SAYS: I’ve driven up and down the S39 next to the Timbavati River, one of the best game-drive routes in the area, and I’ve scanned every tree for a leopard. But I’ve never seen one! Leopards are only seen when they want to be seen. And getting a photo like Gerrit’s when you do eventually see one is no easy task. Every regular visitor to the Kruger Park dreams of getting a photo (or…

KLEIN PELLA, NORTHERN CAPE As the crow flies, Klein Pella Guesthouse in the Northern Cape is exactly halfway between the mining village of Aggeneys and the Onseepkans border post into Namibia. This corner of the country isn’t exactly known for its wealth of accommodation options, but fortunately Klein Pella is a modern oasis: Date palms cover 18 000 ha of this farm on the Orange River, and the guesthouse has a swimming pool and 24/7 air conditioning. It’s just what you need after a long day on the road. Things to do? Visitors can explore the date plantations on foot. During harvest season (March to October), workers use a cherry picker to reach the dates. Ask them to raise you up into the branches, or even higher for a view…