reading the waves

Kelly Slater, 11-time world champion and universally regarded as the greatest surfer of all time, once said: ʻYour surfing can get better on every turn, on every wave you catch. Learn to read the ocean better. A big part of my success has been wave knowledge.ʼ You could look at it as a metaphor for life, and whereas I havenʼt ridden ocean waves of the scale he has, Iʼve certainly done a bit of metaphorical surfing, like we all have. I first surfed Muizenberg near Cape Town as a novice under the guidance of Apish Tshetsha in 2012. He, along with Tim Coniber, had founded a small weekend surf club teaching kids from the township of Masiphumelele how to ride waves. It wasnʼt long before they realised the benefit surfing had on…

contributors

Catherine Hofmeyr KZN SOUTH COAST (P80) At school and varsity, Getawayʼs deputy editor did a lot of hitting a ball with a stick on the hockey field. Golf, she figured, would be a natural progression. She frequently proved this not to be the case; then golf took a backseat to travelling and motherhood for 20-odd years. On the lush links fairways of KZNʼs South Coast she recently rekindled a fondness (not love, note) for this exasperating game. And with friendly sharks, waves, waterparks, adrenaline action and waffles, there was plenty to distract her from dwelling too long on dismal scorecards. Aiwekhoe Iyahen THE THREAD (P38) Aiwekhoe is an entrepreneur, magazine editor, avid traveller and development economist. She is of Nigerian/Barbadian heritage and has lived and travelled extensively throughout Africa, Asia, the Americas and Europe. She…

wow factors

IT’S HARD TO REMEMBER A TIME BEFORE ELECTRONIC MAPS. We live in a world where the right directions are almost always at our fingertips, with very little guessing involved. Cartography, or the science of maps as we know it, has come a long way. Here are a few fun map facts: NOT JUST THE TITLE OF A JOHN GREEN BOOK, ‘PAPER TOWNS’ WERE FAKE TOWNS created by old-time cartographers TO CATCH OUT MAP FORGERS. When forgers copied the fake towns, they set themselves up to copyright claims. The paper town Agloe, in New York, is an example of a paper town. It’s even listed on Google Maps. THE OLDEST SURVIVING MAP IN THE WORLD IS CALLED IMAGO MUNDI. It is carved into rock, and depicts the Kingdom of Babylon. On display at the British Museum, it dates back…

what’s on this month

Merrell Whale of Trail 16 January Breathtaking scenery awaits runners on this trail race which follows the route of the popular five-day hiking trail through the De Hoop Nature Reserve. There’s a 35km or 53km course. whaleoftrail.co.za Attakwas Extreme 16 January Reputedly SA’s toughest one-day mountain-bike race is back for its 15th edition – 121km from Oudtshoorn to Great Brak with 2 900m of total ascent. atta.co.za Ironman 70.3: African Tri Club Championship 24 January Swim, cycle and run in one of the longest-running middle distance races in the country. This action-packed event starts on East London’s Orient Beach. ironman.com Awaken Yoga Festival 22–24 January For a more zen experience, sign up for the Yoga Festival at Glencairn Retreats in the Southern Drakensberg. Tickets R1 050pp. awakenyoga festival.org Red Bull King of the Air 30 January – 14 February Kiteboarders will be showcasing their gravity-defying…

we asked:

Historical towns of South Africa – Janette Engelbrecht Travel. Travel is on my travel wishlist for 2021 – Meleney Bough Berry-Kriel To travel to the shop without having to wear a mask, lol – Peter Bougard Zanzibar again! It's paradise! Better than Bazaruto – Ursula Gunti Switzerland by train, booked for April, with luck – Wendy Wells Road Trip: Durban to Cape Town via Springbok down the West Coast to CT then a very slow drive through the Eastern Cape, around 300km a day with a lot of stops and wrong turns. – Mark Clausen Safari glam somewhere in Mpumalanga – Lulu Matoane Mapungubwe, Northern Kruger and Ndumo – Kevin Patmore…

post

Making the most of a Botswana lockdown There was an article you printed a few years ago that became an excellent guide for travelling Botswana. It was the most thorough and up-to-date information we received. My husband and I had a rare opportunity to travel slowly through Botswana for the past seven months in 2020. In a country the size of France and a population of roughly two million people, this country is great for social distancing. The unreliably slow and expensive Wi-Fi kept us away from the cornucopia of bad news for weeks at a time. We befriended the eight other tourists who chose to stay during the State of Emergency. And in a country where tourism is their second-largest industry, nature had the rare opportunity to recover. We travelled eight of…