We kick start our adventures by setting out for the Lowveld Book Festival in White River in Mpumalanga. I drive, obviously, but we are delayed by an hour long traffic jam on the N12 trying to leave Jozi. At least this means the service delivery protests blocking the N4 near eMalahleni are cleared by the time we get there. Eventually we are happily barreling down the glorious
Schoemanskloof Pass towards Mbombela. www.lowveldbookfestival.co.za
Love at first write In my eternal quest for
the perfect travel companion, I come across Pencil in Port Elizabeth of all places.
“I’m portable, wacky and most appropriate for a writer”, he chirps from next to
the other giant pencils on this curio stand in a market in the Boardwalk hub. “I’m
also cheap, take that the way you want to”. Pencil slips happily into my bespoke Barok handbag made by the fabulous Merle Payne. www.suninternational.com/boardwalk/
Pencil this in We meet the charming festival director Louis van der Merwe. “The
Lowveld Book Festival is in its second year”, he tells us, “the numbers are up, interest has been piqued”. We pose in front of the lovely ticky creeper in
the Casterbridge Centre where the festival is held. The festival focuses on South African literature but with a Lowveld twist. Or Slowveld as we say around these parts. www.lowveldbookfestival.co.za
Pencils
do read Pencil and I check out all the fun of the fair. There are panel discussions,
author interviews, talks and workshops held in three different venues in the
Casterbridge Centre. The centre itself has a Barnyard Theatre, various designer shops,
lovely restaurants, bistros, coffee shops and watering holes. And book stalls. We meet Suzanne
Tourner from White River Book Dealers. Pencil digs her book stand –
collectibles and Africana. www.facebook.com/readbooks.behappy/
Some
lead in my pencil We get thirsty when we see the next stand is Porcupine Ridge. "The wine is free", says the lovely Sue who has the unenviable task of controlling the bottles. I know this well. I went to the Kingsmead Book Fair and the Franschhoek
Literary Festival earlier this year, both were awash with wine from our
sponsors Porcupine Ridge. But I didn't know that the label was drawn by the late artist
Zakkie Eloff of White River? www.boekenhoutskloof.co.za
Pencil
does a panel Oh my goodness, Pencil and I remember I
am also a writer and we rush to participate in a panel. It’s called Roads and
Stories. We pose for a photo op alongside Fikile Hlatswayo, author of the
hilarious and subversive Blacks do
Caravan; and the sexy Adam Cruise who has written up his fabulous adventures
in and out of the Kalahari in King
Solomon the Showman. We are in
conversation with Nicky Manson, editor of Lowveld Living who lets us all tell
our very different stories. www.lowveldbookfestival.co.za
Pencil makes friends There are lots of artists, writers, poets, musicians and other shysters in the Slowveld. I connect with some of them for dinner. This bunch are from Hoedspruit and are delighted to meet Pencil. The feeling is entirely mutual. From left is Karin Mitchell, former investigative journalist turned writer who is about to blow us all away with her first book - watch this space; myself, Pencil, Liam Patrick McKay, an Irish-Australian former journalist turned anti-rhino poacher extraordinaire, and his fabulous partner Laura Matter, a teacher and intellectual from California. We laugh and drink and talk. ww.hoedspruit.co.za
Mightier
than the sword Pencil proves to be a big hit with the
people of the Lowveld Book Festival. Everyone wants to hold him and make a
joke. The pencil is mightier than the sword is a good one. Sharp sharp. We sign
some books and even some menus and napkins and meet lovely new people. www.lowveldbookfestival.co.za
Pencil
wanna party! There are so many other fabulous folk at the
Lowveld Book festival. We meet poets Athol Williams and Thlookomelo Mashile, we bump into radio personalities Gareth
Cliff and Sam Cowan, we say hi to authors Mario Cesare and Tony Park; we meet investigative journo Sizwe Yende who chronicles corruption and assassination in Mpumalanga; we believe the fifth Mrs Andre Brink is here then we bump into Tracy McDonald ex Penguin Books and then Cheryl Arthur who is a fashion designer and things go a bit blurry. Pencil
ends up drunk and naked. www.mtpa.co.za
Sleepy
pencil Next morning Pencil and I are tired but happy. “Lying
in bed would be an altogether perfect and supreme experience", he says quoting author GK Chesterton, "if only one had a coloured pencil long enough to
draw on the ceiling”. “In spite of everything I shall rise again,” I reply,
quoting artist Vincent van Gogh: “I will take up my pencil, which I have
forsaken in my great discouragement, and I will go on”. www.brainyquotes.com
What’s for breakfast? We’re
just sitting down to a long, lazy beach side breakfast, when this curly tailed guy comes trotting along
to see what’s on today’s menu. We’re at Villa n Banga, a laid back rustic spot tucked
into jungle greenery right on the beach at the far end of Nyabanga village,
about 20km from Bilene in southern Mozambique. I’m pretty
sure he went for the peixe
grelhada and frangos. Villa n Banga has spacious tents, a fabulous
outdoor bar and restaurant with first class island-style kitsch. www.villanbanga.co.za
Miro from Pleasure Bay
Miro the archetypal insatiable Duracell Jack Russell joins us on a sunrise walk
along the beach at Pleasure Bay, near Paindane in southern Mozambique. He
chases the waves, he swims, he frolics, he body surfs, he digs the sand, he
chases seagulls, he pees on flotsam and jetsam, he greets the fishermen – and
that’s just in the first five seconds. As we return, exhausted, hours later,
Mira dashes excitedly off with the next lot of beach goers. Pleasure Bay has lovely self-catering chalets and if you really want to escape
Miro go diving and check out the famous Manta Reef and Lighthouse Reef sites. www.pleasurebay.net
Say cheese, actually don't worry, just lie there Pedro
lies in a sunbeam in a near comatose state of bliss at the lovely Klein Rivier Cheese place in Stanford, near Hermanus in the Western Cape. He and his brother Pancho just love their life on this beautiful farm. Almost as much as they love the cheese here which is made using age-old artisanal methods. Locally sourced, pasture fed cows, no hormones or antibiotics. Mmmm. I spend a very happy day here drinking wine, nibbling on delicious cheeses and admiring Pedro and Pancho's attitude. www.kleinrivercheese.co.za
Chocolate box cuties Both rescue dogs, Missy and Django, now live it up in total paradise on a glorious organic farm on the outskirts of Haenertsburg village in Limpopo province. Their mother is the lovely Marloe Scott-Wilson who rescues everything. Missy and Django share their paradise with other dogs, cats and two horses. Sometimes there's even room for Marloe's husband! The village of Hanertsburg and the surrounding Magoebaskloof has many dog friendly spots. www.mountaingetaways.co.za
Jock
of the Bushveld Every time I visit Barberton in
Mpumalanga, I go and say howzit to Jock of the Bushveld, one of the Lowveld's
most famous four footers. His story is told in the classic Jock of the
Bushveld by James Percy Fitzpatrick. It's the true story of his bush
adventures with his Staffie, Jock, during the 1880s, when Fitzpatrick
worked as a storeman, prospector's assistant, journalist and ox-wagon transport
rider. It's a violent book. Jock does a lot of fighting and killing. It's also
sad 'cos he gets run over in the end. But hey, Barberton is a cool place
and there's loads of bars. www.barberton.co.za
Do they know it’s Krismas?
I just love Krismas, this complete gentleman of a hound who looks after my lovely cousin Vanessa.
They live in Port Alfred in the Eastern Cape. Vanessa is famous for her daily sunrise
shots on East Beach and so we get up at dawn and walk with Krismas. It’s winter
and fah-reezing. But Krismas is happy. We jump and get our paws wet. Port
Alfred is the friendly heart of the Sunshine Coast, famed for its wide, clean
beaches and warm Indian Ocean waters. There are gorgeous self-catering beach
cottages up and down this coast. www.sunshinecoasttourism.co.za
Finally I meet the famous white wire fox terrier Snowy, Tintin's faithful hound - and would you believe, it's in the middle of Khao Sok National Park, deep in the jungles of Thailand? Khao Sok is like the Amazon of Thailand. Think dense virgin jungle and surreal limestone formations, a deep lake and exotic flowers. But Tintin won't let Snowy come walking with me. www.khaosok.com
The Rockster This is Rocky. He is in his favourite place - on the lap of his mother Nina van Heerden, the creative brains behind the amazingly beautiful Sequoia Garden Retreat in Magoebaskloof. Go now for their spring spectacle as the azaleas and cherry trees burst in blossom. www.sequoiastay.com
The beast from the east Two
Pack lives in Cradock in the Eastern Cape but we meet briefly this time in Port
Alfred. He’s a travelling hound on the road with his owners Chris and Julie
Marais. They are storytellers extraordinaire, bringing us tales of the Karoo in
their books and wonderful website. I walk one wintry morning in Cradock with Two
Pack and then he comes and watches me bath. www.karoospace.co.za
Loving the licks If
I remember correctly, this delightful hound gatecrashed our beach party at
Praia de Peixe, a fabulous getaway in Macaneta, a short hop from Maputo. With
the Indian Ocean on one side and the Incomati River on the other, the Macaneta peninsula
is the charmer of Mozambique’s Maputo province. Think white sands, blue waters,
friendly people and a laidback island vibe. And friendly dogs. www.praiadepeixe.com
