here’s to our 30-year safari

Justin Fox shooting the cover of The 30-Year Safari in Namibia, 2008. This month, Getaway celebrates its 30th birthday and the April issue pays homage to three decades of travel and adventure. Thirty years is a long time in magazine life. Many fine publications have come and gone during that period, but Getaway has stayed the course, continuing to produce world-class travel journalism for a loyal readership.Our magazine was founded at an auspicious time in South African history. In that year, 1989, FW de Klerk became president and would later announce the unbanning of the ANC and release of Nelson Mandela. The country had been cut off from the rest of the continent during the latter stages of apartheid, but now borders were…

our favourite places in africa

Catherine Hofmeyr DEPUTY EDITOR Islands are my thing, and paddling to Kayak Africa’s barefoot camps on Domwe and Mumbo in southern Lake Malawi tops my list of fantastic island experiences. The rest of Malawi is not too shabby either. Michelle Hardie MANAGING EDITOR The mountainous Bvumba in the east of Zimbabwe, right on the border with Mozambique, is full of lush foliage and alive with the sound of buzzing insects. Being there gives me peace and hope. Tara Osborne MULTIMEDIA JOURNALIST Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, is a special place for me as it was the first city I visited outside of South Africa. I travelled by bus across the border, and through my window watched as the beautiful terrain transformed. Caroline Webb ASSOCIATE EDITOR Swakopmund is so incongruous.…

much ado about birthdays

Darrel Bristow-Bovey ‘Aha!’ said the policeman, shining his torch at my passport.That didn’t sound good. When a Cuban policeman who doesn’t speak English has pulled you over on a dirt track somewhere in the foothills of the Sierra Maestra mountains, not a million miles away from Guantanamo Bay, and is examining your papers by torchlight with a suspicious expression on his face – the kind of expression armed officials in Latin-American dictatorships reserve for shifty-looking foreigners who may or may not be plotting intrigue against the Glorious Revolution – ‘Aha!’ is not what you want to hear. What had he found? When I passed through Arrivals, had the guy behind the counter made some subtle mark in my passport, a coded message to any authorities I may…

a young traveller in the making

This is not a letter about travelling to some exotic destination in a faraway country, but rather a story closer to home.One night after dinner I came across my ‘laaitie ’ on the potty reading, or rather browsing, through my copy of Getaway. He was really fond of all the images. I had to explain and read some of the stories behind them.Although they say a picture is worth a thousand words, it was rather interesting to create my own version of some of the stories to satisfy my son’s curious and fascinated little mind.Both father and son loved it. I was very grateful to Getaway at that moment for saving me from the typical bedtime story!And I thought to myself: wouldn’t it be great to add a section…

snap of the month

En route from Skukuza in Kruger, we received word that lions had been spotted mating on the Crocodile River road. We found the pair but their activity was interrupted by a new suitor. The first lion wasn’t keen to give up his partner and a skirmish ensued. – JP Meiring, Port Elizabeth WIN! Tag us in your images on Instagram @GetawayMagazine and stand a chance of winning a R400 Outdoor Warehouse gift voucher. outdoorwarehouse.co.za …

from social media

WE ASKED: Do you have a destination you’d like to tick off your travel bucket list by your 30th birthday? I want to see the aurora borealis (northern lights). – Karishma Bagoon The Trans-Siberian Express! – Clair Koegelenberg I am actually turning 30 this year in April too. My destination is Xcaret Park in Mexico. – Lillian Roets I did a solo Vic Falls trip for my 30th. – Beryl Booi Definitely Machu Picchu. – Erin Jemma Byrne Antarctica. – Chantell Vorster Morocco or Ireland. Six months left to win the Lotto… – Christy Peacock I did Peru ... and 10 years later, I’m still here. …