My Eight Best Things about Jozi

The Ministry of Fabulousness has been back in Jozi for five months now. Eish. What a change from life in rural Limpopo. Jozi is crazy, busy, wild, creative, intense, unforgiving, edgy. It's loco, it's lulu; it is lovely if you leave it often. Here are my highlights so far:

The Roving Bantu Kitchen I fall in love with this soul space in Brixton on Caroline Street. Sifiso Ntuli and Ashley Heron have put together a creative shebeen chic space offering walking tours, dinners, jazz evenings. A place to gather and talk and drink and navigate the way forward together. www.rovingbantu.co.za

The urban views No, we’re not in Kansas anymore, Dorothy. I happily take part in a wine launch with Nederburg and Sunday Times Good Life Experience on the rooftop of their new HQ in Parktown, edge Hillbrow. There are 360 degree views of the city and its iconic buildings like the Brixton and Hillbrow towers. We celebrate the wine and the sunset, the tastes and stories. Love this forest of glasses... 

The Keyes Art Mile My darling old friend Albie visits from Limpopo, so we take in the Everard Read and Circa Gallery, two of the key galleries that make up this delicious and inspiring route through the arty spots of Rosebank. We cruise the art, deciding which ones we’d buy if we had the money. We love it. Then we go for posh cocktails. www.keyesartmile.co.za

The voice of the sisters I go to the launch of Miss Behave by Malebo Sephodi at Rosebank Exclusive Books and I’m amazed at size of the crowd – yeah, black South Africans do read – and this young woman who speaks with such power and frankness about black sexuality. She decided to misbehave when she encountered historian Laurel Thatcher Ulrich’s quote, ‘well-behaved women seldom make history’. www.jacana.bookslive.co.za

Walking in Emmarentia I go often with my friend Paige Holmes, my godchild Miles and their dogs Fudge and Zippy. We all love it. This picture is quiet and still but we do see other walkers, joggers, cyclists, families and plenty of happy dogs. Emmarentia feels like one of the few wide open spaces in this malkop city.

The graffiti Jozi being Jozi there are a helluva lot of walls, and mercifully many of them are now graffiti clad. In some suburbs like Westdene, the neighbourhood walls have become a showcase of local spray paint talent. In Maboneng, entire buildings are turned into artworks. I prefer the rebellious ones to the acid rock ones. This is pretty Che of Putney Road in Brixton. www.rovingbantu.co.za

The walking tours I do the Roving Bantu walking tour of Brixton and Fietas, a gritty urban walk through this space that has long been politically contested. We check out historic spots in the area including Kingston Frost Park with its views, the Brixton Tower, the shebeens and people of Fietas, the Braamfontein cemetery and the grave of Enoch Sontonga who wrote our national anthem. www.rovingbantu.co.za

The Sunday vibe They say Sunday is the day when Jozi is at peace with itself. These guys were just hanging out outside a shebeen in Fietas.

The Ministry of Fabulousness: Winter warmer, Limpopo style

The Ministry of Fabulousness: Winter warmer, Limpopo style: I return to Limpopo in winter. To Magoebaskloof and to Agatha, my ancestral home. I am struck by the sheer beauty of it all. Ancient trees,...

Winter warmer, Limpopo style

I return to Limpopo in winter. To Magoebaskloof and to Agatha, my ancestral home. I am struck by the sheer beauty of it all. Ancient trees, autumn colours and golden light. And I am struck by the loving spirit of the funky new eateries and fabulous farm cafes in the area. Here are my highlights:

This gorgeous red head I am enchanted by this tree on the edge of the dam at Sequoia Garden Retreat. This once regal garden was started yonks ago by the Holloway family who planted the first sequoia trees in Magoebaskloof. Now, under new owners, Guy and Nina van Heerden, the garden has been restored, redefined and gotten all sexy again. Go in autumn for a spectacle of red and gold; go in spring for the pink and purple number. Just go. It’s beautiful.  www.sequoiastay.com

Dreamy cottage Oh Meadow Cottage you stole my heart. One of the cottages at Sequoia Garden Retreat is this soul space called Meadow Cottage. Stone and wood, it looks out over a dam and is tickled by the winter grass. In the late afternoon I walk over the dam wall and savour this reflection. Meadow Cottage is a fabulous spot for a romantic weekend, writing retreat or a frisky honeymoon.  www.sequoiastay.com

A fresh new take I spend the night at the stylish new Viewpoint Eatery and Guesthouse. The rooms are calm and spacious; the decor is funky and the food is slow, gourmet, fresh, wholesome, yummy. Ninia Knott is chief cook and bottle washer here, and she's raised the style levels of the mountain with this little charmer. Stay over or go for a meal with gracious views; the restaurant is open Wednesday to Sunday. www.facebook.com/Viewpoint-Guesthouse-and-Eatery-1801176226875735/

That Tree I haven't been back to Kingwalden for months. It was once our family home and is now a hotel. I take a long slow G&T on the veranda and gaze upon the mountains and the famous lightning tree. It's an old silver blue gum which was brought out here in 1908 by my grandfather's first wife Muriel. It was struck by lightning the night his second wife, my grandmother Elsie died. It's a very long story but I have time to talk to both of them and other spirits of the tree. www.kingswalden.co.za

Garden of my Ancestors  There is still wild poetry to be had in the Kingswalden gardens even though they are forlorn and neglected due to Circumstances. The garden keeps growing and changing and I catch the magic of my mother's hand here at the Bibigar, the dam at the edge of the garden, created for the female spirits and the cats. www.kingswalden.co.za

Sarah’s Garden Sarah steps into the sunshine to say hello. This garden was designed by my mother for Sarah Cullinan, who was my brother Brett's girlfriend and who died in 1988 at the age of 28 in a car crash. I love Sarah and I love that she always comes to say hello. www.kingswalden.co.za

The Bibigar I take this photograph on the winter solstice. Yes, this is the middle of winter in the subtropics at Kingswalden gardens. I love the pink plectranthus and the acid green sword ferns all tangled together. Frenzied calm. www.kingswalden.co.za

Golden delicious I love Mina's Art Cafe and Farm Venue in the heart of Magoebaskloof. Everyone loves Mina's. Denise and Rob Tooley have made an old farmhouse into a charming venue and playground and Mina's is an icon of the soul spirit of Magoebaskloof. Mina's does weddings, parties, neighbourhood food markets, music evenings, happy gatherings. There are three self catering cottages and a campsite,. Think simple and earthy, candle light and long rivers walks. Next door is the fabulous Zwakala Brewery. www.minas.co.za

 This is my favourite bridge, at the bottom of the Magoebaskloof, as you head towards Modjadjiskloof. Goodbye for now my ancestral province, I shan't be too long.  

The Ministry of Fabulousness: And then Nelspruit got sexy

The Ministry of Fabulousness: And then Nelspruit got sexy: Once upon a time Nelspruit was a crimplene-clad boeremeisie . A remote rural town with a whole lot of acacia trees. Today she is an elegant...

And then Nelspruit got sexy

Once upon a time Nelspruit was a crimplene-clad boeremeisie. A remote rural town with a whole lot of acacia trees. Today she is an elegant African queen. She is Mbombela of Mpumalanga - wrap your tongue around that, hipster whitey, haha. Mbombela is a hot and happening gateway to the Slowveld, to Limpopo, Swaziland and Mozambique, a cosmopolitan city surrounded by the distinctive rumps of the legogote, Bushbuck Ridge. Here’s what I’m lovin’ about Mbombela:

The Slowveld Sling We check into the Glass Bar for a late afternoon cocktail. Famous for its views of the city, the Glass Bar has fabulous floor to ceiling windows and is inside Emnotweni Casino along Government Boulevard. We cannot choose. Tijuana Sling? French Connection? Moscow Mule? Long Slow Screw Against the Wall? We invent one called the Slowveld Sling, with some few white spirits and soda and lime and mint and stuff.  We have a cool mixologist and the views are fabulous. www.tsogosun.com/m/glassbar.

Orange views I eat alone at the fabulous Orange Restaurant and watch the sun set over the city, the night time lights begin to sparkle. It feels so cosmopolitan. I listen to the other diners talk in Xitsonga, SeTswana, German, Dutch, English, Portuguese. My delightful host Lisinda brings me ‘an extra big’ glass of Chardonnay to go with the salmon. I am in love with Orange Restaurant, the food, the wine, the views, the everything. www.eatorange.co.za

The Vincent Vibe This fabulously friendly and quirky guesthouse, Chez Vincent, is close to the city and yet feels like a world away. Their restaurant is open to the public on Fridays and Saturdays and has a delicious Afro-Mediterranean menu; outdoor dining in summer and fireside dining in winter. Chez Vincent also hosts wine-tasting evenings for local and visiting wineheads. www.chezvincent.co.za

Green heart of Mbombela I wander through the rain forest in the Nelspruit Botanical Gardens, a glorious green playground set along the confluence of the Nels and Crocodile Rivers. It’s in the middle of town and is the best head clearer if you need time to think or just chill out in a forgiving setting. See ancient trees, waterfalls, riverside gardens and fabulous flowers. I finish off with an espresso at Kuzuri, an Afro chic spot in the visitors centre with waterfall views. www.sanbi.org/gardens/lowveld

Sleeping in style I find my Inner Princess at Loerie’s Call Lodge which is built atop a massive granite boulder with views of the city beyond. It’s sister, Francolin Lodge, is next door and the Orange Restaurant is here too. Heaven. I watch the sun set from a bench on the boulder, I watch the night fall from my veranda. A huge bath, a really comfortable bed, breakfast overlooking the pool, fast WiFi. Sound of purring. www.francolinlodge.co.za

Art in the dome I check out the African art collection that is housed inside one of the spaces in the Mpumalanga Provincial Legislature, surely one of the city’s most interesting buildings to be commissioned after democracy. It feels like a modern palace, and is set opposite the botanical gardens, alongside the river. The art is lovely. www.mpuleg.gov.za

Mbombela of Mpumalanga, land of the rising sun 

The Ministry of Fabulousness: The Lucky Lions of Liuwa

The Ministry of Fabulousness: The Lucky Lions of Liuwa: I had the very good fortune to meet the famous lioness, Lady Liuwa, and some of her pride in the Liuwa National Park in western Zambia r...

The Lucky Lions of Liuwa

I had the very good fortune to meet the famous lioness, Lady Liuwa, and some of her pride in the Liuwa National Park in western Zambia recently. The sad story of Lady Liuwa – but don’t worry it has a happy ending – has become an icon of lion conservation in the Liuwa National Park. 

Once the last lonely lion left in the park, Lady Liuwa now has a National Geographic documentary to her name, her own Facebook page and a Wikipedia write up. Here you can see her having a great big yawn about it all, typical cat.

We were staying at the new King Lewanika Lodge which is seriously sexy. The decor blends in with the bush, the colours are ancient; animal, stone. By night you can hear the lions, the roar that breaks the night, makes you shift a little in your luxury bed, primal memories astir.   

 By day you can feel that this is lion country. The blonde grass, the woodland pockets, the thousands of plains game like wildebeest and zebra, you just know they're out there....  

Our fabulous guide Rabi tracked them down on the second afternoon Lady Liuwa and her mate and the cubs and their mother had just eaten and were visibly full and chilling out along with the sunset. This little guy, an eighteen month old cub from another lioness, was too curious and came to sit a little closer, watching us watching him.

He was by far the bouncier of the two cubs. The other guy had plainly stuffed himself silly and he just lay there on his back, shallow breathing, his fluffy young balls in the breeze.

The reintroduction of lions into Liuwa has been successful so far. Along with the two male cubs, there are two female who we didn't see. Much credit to filmmaker Herbert Bräuer who came to Liuwa to document hyenas in 2005 and ended up befriending the lonely lioness. It spurred him onto making the documentary Lady Liuwa, Last Lioness, which then generated momentum and money for lions to be reintroduced into Liuwa. 

Brauer tells here of his first meeting with the lonely lioness back in 2005: “Nothing could have prepared me for our first meeting. As I stood outside my tent, a huge lioness appeared and strolled up casually to within ten metres of where I stood - I was frozen to the spot. All my years of experience taught me to be extremely wary of lions, but it was clear that she was totally relaxed and happy. She looked me up and down, and then settled nearby, rolling and purring. I had never seen anything like it in my life".