Getaway December 2021

These werenʼt ordinary cats; they were caracals, and I was thrilled when I first saw photos of them online one evening. My wife and I could hardly wait to visit the gardens the next morning. Sarah had never seen a caracal and I had only ever seen a pair of tufted ears poking above a river bank in Namibia. We thought our chances of seeing these normally elusive cats would be slim, that they and their mother (she had been sighted earlier) would have left the garden by then, wary of all the human traffic. We arrived the next day, spotted a small group of photographers, followed the direction of their long lenses and there they were, two little balls of golden fur huddled in the lee of a thicket to escape…

Dale R Morris GARDEN ROUTE (P 70) Dale R Morris is a multi-award winning travel writer and photographer with a passion for wildlife and nature. ʻMy mission in life is to motivate people to get out into the wild, connect, become impassioned, and then become concerned.ʼ To that end, the majority of Daleʼs 500-plus published magazine articles have been about wildlife, conservation issues and ecotourism destinations. A resident of Wilderness, he lives on the edge of the Garden Route National Park. Read his feature on this amazing destination in this issue. Matthew Sterne BEST OF BOTH WORLDS IN MOZAMBIQUE (P 92) Matt has been a photojournalist at Getaway for the past four years but his recent trip to the Maputo Special Reserve was his first genuine 4×4 adventure. He imagined himself being in one of…

TRAVEL 1) Trip to Mauritius2) Trip to Durban3) Trip to Thailand4) Trip to Mozambique5) Trip to Hawaii6) Trip to Mars7) Trip to Singapore8) Trip to Bali9) Trip to Jamaica10) Trip to Zanzibar RECIPES 1) Pizza Dough2) Doughnut3) Pineapple beer4) Banana bread5) Pancakes6) Magwinya7) Lemon meringue8) Cinnabon9) Naan10) Pornstar martini TOP TRENDING QUESTIONS 1) How to apply for an unemployment grant?2) Who won the election?3) What time is the president on tonight?4) What is coronavirus?5) What is 5G?6) Where does vanilla flavouring come from?7) Why were cornflakes invented?8) Where to buy beer during lockdown?9) Why were chainsaws invented?10) How to make hand sanitiser?…

1 December 1955 - Rosa Parks is arrested in Montgomery, Alabama, for refusing to give up her seat to a white man on a municipal bus. Her arrest results in a year-long boycott of the city bus system and legal actions ending racial segregation on municipal buses throughout the American South. 3 December 1967 - Dr Christiaan Barnard performs the first successful heart transplant at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town on Louis Washkansky, who lived for a further 18 days. 4 December 1791 - The Observer, now the oldest Sunday newspaper in the world, is published for the first time in Britain. 5 December 1901 - A boy is born in Chicago, Illinois, and grows up drawing farm animals. He eventually gets a job as an artist, and in 1928 introduces us to Mickey Mouse in…

GEORGE TENS FESTIVAL 2–5 December A week of exciting rugby and other sports such as netball and bowls will kick off on the Garden Route on 2 December at Outeniqua Park. Tickets R20–R185 tickets.computicket.com INTRODUCTION TO 4×4 DRIVING 4 December Spend an exciting day in Stellenbosch learning about vehicle dynamics, driving different terrains, practical driving, tyres, deflation, traction and all the accessories and equipment you could ever need for a4×4 adventure. Tickets from R1 500 quicket.co.za SPRING DAY CRUISE ON THE VAAL 16 December Wine and dine to your heart’s content on a spectacular Spring Day Cruise on the Vaal River, and be entertained by the sounds of award-winning jazz artist Henry Philemon. Tickets from R890 tickets.computicket.com WARWICK KIDS CHRISTMAS CARNIVAL 17 December Join Warwick Wine Estate in Stellenbosch for a fun-filled day where you can relax while the kids are…

FIVE FESTIVE SEASON FACTS Christmas trees are part of a very old tradition that goes all the way back to the ancient Egyptians and Romans, who would decorate evergreens during the winter solstice to signify that spring would return. In 1965, astronauts broadcast ‘Jingle Bells’ from space. Nine days before Christmas, Gemini 6 told Mission Control they’d seen a UFO about to enter Earth’s atmosphere, travelling from north to south. Just before they began to panic, Wally Chirra started playing a harmonica while Tom Stafford shook sleigh bells as they broadcast Jingle Bells back to Earth. Few know where the iconic Christmas spruce in Trafalgar Square comes from. THE TRAFALGAR TREE HAS BEEN GIVEN TO BRITAIN BY NORWAY EACH YEAR SINCE 1947 in gratitude for Britain’s support of Norway during WWII. The word “Xmas” is…