Getaway March 2022

Dark nights in the Alaskan mountains transformed into torchlit trips along the page, Chris McCandlessʼ penetrating journey Into the Wild inspiring deep adventure in me. While exploring trails in the Rockies I was simultaneously on the road with Jack Kerouac. My other travelling companions through the continent were Ernest Hemingway, Bruce Chatwin, Paul Theroux and Joseph Conrad, and while my thumb was hitchhiking dusty Mexican roads, my head was in books about the Australian Outback, the Congo River and the Trans-Siberian Express. My own journey became intertwined with these, and they inspired other adventures in me. As an editor Iʼve been equally inspired by our journalistsʼ tales, and I simply canʼt sit behind a desk any longer. Iʼm stepping down as editor and my plan is to get back out there,…

Lauren Dold FINDING KRUGER’S TUSKERS (P 68) Lauren Dold has been visiting Kruger since she was a toddler, and living in Hoedspruit means she gets to visit her favourite park often. At the suggestion of our editor, Lauren was all too happy to jump in her Jimny and head up north in search of Krugerʼs current tuskers, even though it was mid-summer, her partner hates elephants, and the chances of finding any were slimmer than slim. Scott Ramsay CONGO’S NOUABALÉ-NDOKI NATIONAL PARK (P 38) For six weeks, Scott Ramsay photographed Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park in the Republic of Congo, on assignment for the Wildlife Conservation Society. It wasnʼt always zen ecstasy: sweat, bees, drenching rain, suffocating humidity, trench foot and ingrown toenails (wear sandals, not boots). But it was worth it. Because there were also peaceful,…

The Kruger National Park covers 2 MILLION HECTARES, which is roughly the size of Wales. KNP is home to: 500 bird species 145 mammal species 404 tree species There are 254 known cultural heritage sites and 130 rock art sites. The first official tourists entered the park by car in 1927, FOR A FEE OF £1 and the visitors had to arrange to be accompanied by a guide. Up until 1965, none of the roads were tarred. Today more than 850km of Kruger’s roads are tarred, while 1 400km remain gravel. The KNP had 1 833 061 down from 1 892 128 in 2019 because of Covid lockdowns. visitors in 2020 In 2017, Kruger was the 49th most instagrammed location in the world, the only destination in Africa to make the top 50 list. KRUGER NATIONAL PARK…

1 March 1961 US president John F Kennedy establishes the Peace Corps, an organisation that sends American volunteers to developing countries to help with health care, education and other basic human needs. 3 March 1847 Alexander Graham Bell is born in Edinburgh, Scotland. While Bell and his father were teaching deaf people to speak, he developed an interest in the vibrating membrane as a method of electrically transmitting sounds. A little over 29 years later, on 10 March 1876, he spoke the first words on the newly invented telephone: ‘Mister Watson, come here – I want to see you.’ 4 March 1933 Newly elected US president Franklin D Roosevelt delivers his inaugural address in an attempt to restore public confidence during the Great Depression, stating: ‘Let me assert my firm belief that…

VAAL DAM BEACH PARTY 5 March The Vaal Dam Beach Party is a social event bringing together family and friends for a day of relaxation on the dam’s banks. Well-known local musicians make up the day’s entertainment with some of the ticket sales also going to the Vaal Trust Fund. Tickets from R150. webtickets.co.za MOSHOESHOE WALK 9–12 March This three-day hike commemorates the legacy of the founder king of the Basotho, and through adventure and education, the objective of the walk is to rekindle a spirit of unity. Tickets: R1 000 (selfcatering) or R1 800 (for seven meals catered) tickets.computicket.com CAPE TOWN CYCLE TOUR 13 March Sweat for a cause! The Cape Town Cycle Tour is back for its 44th outing (weather and Lockdown restrictions permitting). All proceeds go to the Pedal Power Association and the Rotary Club…

WINNING RESPONSE What is this? In our January issue, we asked: This log with these strange tube-like organisms washed up on the Plett beach in September. Any idea what it is? Georgi Dorward from Kenilworth was the first to respond correctly. She wrote: ʻThe organism in the picture is goose barnacles. I have come across them a lot on the beaches in Cape Town!ʼ The goose barnacles, also called gooseneck barnacles, live attached to hard surfaces on rocks and flotsam in the ocean intertidal zone. They depend on water motion rather than the movement of their cirri for feeding, and are therefore found only on exposed or moderately exposed coasts. More than just a hike When hiking in Magalies or the Drakensberg, the Otter Trail would often come up as a topic of discussion.…