tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48386289646906447702024-03-05T16:31:24.762-08:00The Ministry of FabulousnessSexy and intelligent travel writing and photographyBridget Hilton-Barberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06323694299502913926noreply@blogger.comBlogger65125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4838628964690644770.post-22641164220636005302018-03-17T02:56:00.000-07:002018-03-17T02:56:22.533-07:00Journey to the top of PonteWhat the hell are we doing in this crowded elevator - noses against armpits - inching our way up to the top of Ponte, Jozi's most bizarre building, on the edge of Hillbrow, its most dangerous suburb?<br />
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"Tales of brazen crack and prostitution rings operating from its car parks, four stories of trash accumulating in its open core, snakes, ghosts and frequent suicides have all added to the building's legend", writes Michael Subotzky in <i>Ponte City, </i>an incredible photo essay of its days of dereliction in 2008. This brutal, whackjob of a building. Dystopian hell, the perfect panopticon.<br />
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Yeah, what the hell are we doing?<br />
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Haha, sundowners, of course.<br />
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Tourist in my own town, darling. Can you believe it's now possible to go for sundowners and snacks (R280 pp) at the top of Jozi's most infamous building, courtesy of Dlala Nje, a community organisation who are promoting Ponte Love - love and kisses for the now cleaned-up refurbished Ponte City.<br />
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We're not feeling the love so much as we Uber it in to Hillbrow past the shivering nyope addicts and whippet-thin prostitutes, but once we're inside the gate and grounds of Ponte City, it feels pretty friendly. There are ten of us and we all take selfies with the tower in the background. Then Steve the guide from Dlala Nje, meets us at reception and he nannies us through the Taking the Lift part which is most surreal.<br />
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The lifts are apparently newly installed at a cost of R5 million each, which is reassuring since they're being maxed out right now. It's five pm on payday and everyone and their auntie and their fridges, TVs and mattresses are going up and down in the lifts which seem to take an unbelievable amount of cargo. It's noisy and cheerful and we tourists are a novelty, but there are frissons of unhappiness in our party about claustrophobia and just how many people a lift should actually... when suddenly one opens and Steve herds us all in, plus a few, tight like sardines, and we are pulled hellishly upwards.....<br />
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But oh my, when we get out at the 51st floor and step into Dlala Nje 5101, this is what awaits. A shebeen chic venue with simple charming decor and the most <i>befok</i> views of Jozi at sunset. Never mind the lovely bar which we fall upon with great glee and starting frantically drinking and chatting and taking pics and exchanging weird stories about Ponte.<br />
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My friend Sally said she'd driven past Ponte every day for the past 25 years and couldn't believe she was actually at the top now. One of the guys in the group said he'd shagged someone who lived in Ponte when he was young. Phil confessed he'd visited when it was real dodgy. When I was a teenage delinquent I once visited a guy in Ponte and we saw a druggie throw a puppy over the edge into the pit. <br />
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It's gritty, but it's pretty. And impossible not to get high on the views and the vibe at Dlala Nje 5101. We eat and drink and get festive. Steve give us the lowdown on Ponte - it was built in 1975 by German architects Manfred Hermer and Rodney Grosskopff, it's 173m high. In its day in the 70s it was the height of sophisticated apartment living and Hillbrow was known as Manhattan in the veld. Then when the city collapsed in the 90s it fell into despair and dereliction and became a bizarre slum filled with poor people, immigrants, gangsters and crazy fucks.<br />
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"The reality of Ponte and its many fictions", writes Subotsky, "have always integrated seamlessly into a patchwork of myths and projections that reveal as much about the psyche of the city as it does about the building itself".<br />
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When it's time, Steve takes us down again, and now, the Taking the Lift part is fine because we're all drunk and supercharged on views and stories. The final dramatic touch is a visit to the infamous pit at the bottom of Ponte, which has been completely cleaned up. We all ooh and aah about what must have been unearthed in the four-storey high trash pile - skeletons, fridges, television sets, pots and pans, beds... I think of the poor puppy.<br />
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We stagger out to our Uber trying to feel the Ponte Love and definitely feeling the weirdness of having been inside and up to the top of the city's most peculiar building.<br />
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Would I do it again?<br />
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Yes, probably, but you'd have to come with me.<br />
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For more information on the tour check out Dlala Nje on Facebook<br />
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<br />Bridget Hilton-Barberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06323694299502913926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4838628964690644770.post-33952554379941549282017-11-08T02:30:00.001-08:002017-11-08T02:30:29.463-08:00The Think while you Drink Tour <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Drink and think. That’s
the spirit behind the fabulous Jozi Rooftops and Bars Tour hosted by Gerald Garner
of Joburg Places </span><a href="http://www.joburgplaces.com/" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">www.joburgplaces.com</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">. About forty of us meet at the City Lodge in Newtown. Gerald tells us how Jozi became a rough tented camp overnight after the discovery of gold and thereafter the Sodom and
Gomorrah of the bushveld. He is very entertaining. There is even dramatic thunder and lightning and then it hails. Gerald has to organise a bus change (from open top to closed) so we get a free drink and my two cohorts and I get to know some of the other okes on the tour - "Ja, we used to drink at the Dev in Braamfontein back in the day, hey", and then the sun comes out and we all depart. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Our first stop is the Parktonian </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px;">Protea</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px;"> Hotel </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">in Braamfontein, 23 floors up with extraordinary views. These are the Swedes who start out as a neat and tidy, happy and shiny group of fine upstanding people and, well, after six bars.. hahaha. I am already already on my third G&T and I'm loving the Swedes. We marvel at the views, the old fort, Constitution
Hill, the Hillbrow Tower, the Brixton Tower. Gerald tells us more tales about the boom and bust of this bizarre urban landscape. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">It starts pissing with
rain again and so our second stop is indoors, street level, a hipster bar where
we change to whisky and my cohorts and I meet this group of beautiful
young women who are celebrating a twenty fifth birthday. The rain is not lifting, Gerald herds us onto the bus again and we're off to Maboneng.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">The sun comes out en route and everything is golden around the Agog Gallery and Rooftop Bar, "home of the curious". The Nine Barrels Bar is in the same building, and some people go straight in there. We pour ourselves upstairs and from the rooftop bar see old industrial Jozi, theatrically lit. Gerald talks about the apartheid days when it was one of the richest cities in the world, run on greed on gold. Everyone's pretty tanked up by now and I am feeling passionate about the creative renewal of </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px;">Maboneng and New Doornfontein and life and art and the new Jozi and well, <i>everything</i>. </span><a href="http://www.agog.co.za/" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">www.agog.co.za</a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">I drink more whisky and love these umbrellas hanging over a nearby rooftop. They're styling this precinct as the new African New York with its mix of shops, bars and restaurants, and combination hotel-and-apartments, like at Hallmark House with its resident hip club, the Marabi Club which does fine dining and live jazz. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">My head is starting to spin and things are getting interesting in the city as the sun goes down and we head off again. </span><a href="http://www.hallmarkhouse.com/" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">www.hallmarkhouse.com</a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px;"> Did I mention, hic, that Curiocity is such a great backpackers, it's full of people from across the world who have come to explore our bad-ass crazy, creative city and I just want to love them all and make friends and so I talk to these two whose names I forget and also which distant city they come from alas. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Apart from being struck by its splendour, I can't remember too much about our visit to the o</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">ld Barclays Bank Building which was built in the 40s and is now home to Bridge Books. This is Commissioner Street which some amazing buildings like the old Library apparently and this one, where we go upstairs and perhaps I have another whisky. However I do remember this amazing lighting made from taxi bags, at our next stop which is Hangout Jozi at 1 Eloff Street. This is the coolest spot I've seen for a while. Restaurant and bar, art space, indoor, outdoor venues, great design and look. </span><a href="http://www.hangoutjozi.co.za/" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">www.hangoutjozi.co.za</a></div>
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My cohorts and I are now raging and raring for more so we make a note to return to this hip and fabulous place and we don't even say goodbye to any of our new best friends and instead we hire an Uber and head for the Troyeville Hotel, always a good Jozi jol and a suitably devilish end to the think and drink tour. </div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">This is Gerald Garner our Fearless Leader and master storyteller who beautifully paces his talk about the history of Jozi to fit each view and venue. Did you know - like many of the participants by the end of this tour - that Jozi has fallen and risen six times? Do it, it's such fun, check out </span><a href="http://www.joburgplaces.com/" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">www.joburgplaces.com</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">.</span></div>
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Bridget Hilton-Barberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06323694299502913926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4838628964690644770.post-30827073769482523052017-10-09T06:24:00.004-07:002017-10-09T07:11:18.639-07:00Seven great Jozi jols<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">Jol is one of my favourite South African words, short and upbeat and basically meaning to have a good time. So I go on the jol as we say, and together with friends discover the fabulous new side of this crazy cowboy city. Here are my seven best Jozi jols:</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The
Marabi Club</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> I fall in love with this jazz
bar and its pop up restaurant called The Potluck Club. This is Afro New York
at its sexiest. Gorgeous Nigerian doormen dressed in black, Art
Deco interiors that evoke Johannesburg in the 20s, a long stylish wooden
bar where charming waiters peddle intriguing cocktails; smoky live jazz while
you eat. I have the Thai Green Curry Cocktail which is so fabulous I have
another one, William and Sally have enormous designer G&Ts, Phil has a lot
of whisky. We jol in the chic cigar lounge, we feel hip, we meet people, the
food is brilliant, the music is delightful. I never want to leave. <a href="http://www.themarabiclub.com/">www.themarabiclub.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Hallmark
House</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> So I spend the night at Hallmark House which is conveniently next to the Marabi Club, First we admire the views from Phil’s apartment and
ooh and aah at the nightlights of Hillbrow where I once used to jol too. Hallmark
is a fabulous new addition to the Maboneng area, although this is actually New
Doornfontein. They’re styling it as African New York, so the first five floors
are the hotel and there are apartments above, and small shops and art and of
course the jazz club. A great jazz-jol-sleep-over combo. The rooms are hip
with slender balconies and killer urban views. There’s a spacious meet n' greet space downstairs looking onto the street, with a bar, restaurant and coffee
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The
Rooftop Bar Tour </span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Tony, Lee and I Uber it to Newtown and get on the bus with forty
others and we go to six different bars in and around Braamfontein, Maboneng and downtown Jozi. It’s a think and drink tour. Our fearless leader is
the delightful Gerald of Joburg Places who does a brilliant talk at each bar, describing the boom and bust of Jozi which has fallen and
risen six times, a bit like some of the people at the end of the tour. We
have the best jol. It hails, then the sun comes out, the views are astonishing,
the drinks are strong, the rooftops are hip and happening, the bars are trendy,
the people are friendly. There is a spectacular sunset down Albertina Sisulu
Street. It’s night. The drunker we get the friendlier and louder we all become
on the bus, the more exited we get about Jozi city - the style, the
regeneration, the friendliness. We are more fun than
a barrel of monkeys. We carry on the jol to the Troyeville Hotel. <a href="http://www.joburgplaces.com/">www.joburgplaces.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Fabric Tour</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> Willie and I hit the fashion district
in downtown President Street in style. We start our tour at a hip coffee shop
called The Fashion Shack and led by Ishvara of Ancient Secrets. He explains the origins of the area and trade, the stories of the cloth. We wander
through the small shop selling fabrics from Nigeria, Ghana, Tanzania, Kenya and
different parts of South Africa. Kangas, capulanas, kente, Masai tartan. The colours are
beautiful, we meet tailors and traders. I buy a funky cap and a mat, Willie
gets shoes. <a href="http://www.inyourpocket.com/johannesburg/african-fabric-tour_7642e">www.inyourpocket.com/johannesburg/african-fabric-tour_7642e</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Art Mile </span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">I have a few hours to kill so I slip into Southern Guild on Rosebank's Art Mile to see an exhibition by the interestingly named Porky
Hefer. He has crafted a series of sleeping pods inspired by things like the
workings of the weaver bird. I love this pod, it's a very good post-jol pod indeed. I also visit the Everard Read Gallery which is one of my favourite spaces, and Circa gallery next door where I climb to the top and check out the views to the north. <a href="http://www.keyesartmile.co.za/">www.keyesartmile.co.za</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The
Roving Bantu Kitchen</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"> This fabulous shebeen style spot adds love and life to the historic suburb of Brixton. We drink
Zamalek and talk about jazz and freedom and Sifiso the Roving Bantu himself comes to say hi, then we chat to the lovely Ashley and a tourist from Berlin. The soul food is delicious and the conversation continues...</span><a href="http://www.facebook.com/rovingbantu" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">www.facebook.com/rovingbantu</a></div>
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Bridget Hilton-Barberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06323694299502913926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4838628964690644770.post-11401463598090967862017-09-10T00:52:00.000-07:002017-09-10T01:08:07.914-07:00Signs of the time <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24px;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 28px;">I take great delight in wacky and quirky road signs and murals. Roadside semiotics is one of the great joys of travel. Like when I’m deep in rural Limpopo, for example, and encounter the sign for a tombstone business that advertises <i>Free Erections. </i>Or when I am on a remote island in Lake Malawi and I see the <i>Honolulu Bottle Store</i>. It’s not just about the signs themselves, it’s about the time and the place too. Here are some of my recent favourites:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><b>Swazi
gold </b>I'm cruising down the King's Highway from Mbabane to Ezulwini in Swaziland, destination<b> </b></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">the delicious Afro-Gaudi-esque House on Fire. I stop for a tequila in a dodgy bar - as one does - and I am rewarded shortly afterwards by this gem outside the official Swazi parliamentary buildings. </span><a href="http://www.house-on-fire.com/" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">www.house-on-fire.com</a><br />
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Complete Somebody </span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">I feel a strange sadness when I pass this sign near
the University of Limpopo on the R71 between Polokwane and Tzaneen in Limpopo
province. The name apparently comes from the days of Forced Removals under
apartheid when the victims who were re-settled here called their barren new wasteland
Nobody. Does anyone know more about the story of this name, I wonder? <o:p></o:p></span><a href="http://www.golimpopo.com/" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">www.golimpopo.com</a><br />
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</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">“Do you think
all roads out here lead to Vhutuwangadzebu?” I ask my traveling friend. “Or is
it a circular drive?" </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">“When you
see a fork in the road,” he says, “take it”. So being from the
Robert Frost School of Roads Less Traveled By (read his famous poem <i>The Road
Not Taken</i>) I turn right to Vhutuwangazebu, and as Frost himself would have
said, that has made all the difference. Can you spot the difference? </span><a href="http://www.golimpopo.com/vhembe" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">www.golimpopo.com</a><br />
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">A clear message </span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">There’s no real subtlety to this mural on the road near Makhado in
northern Limpopo but there’s no mistaking the clarity of the message. I love
the fact that it’s on someone’s house. I
have to stop and shoot it, but being a fair-weather vegetarian I don’t knock on
the door to find out more. Poor Piggy and Chicken. <o:p></o:p></span><a href="http://www.golimpopo.com/vhembe" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">www.golimpopo.com/vhembe</a><br />
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">The search for happiness ends here </span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">How can one not feel instant joy at the sight of
the Happy Cigarettes Shop & Hair Cut Salon? For some reason we are in
Mpumalanga’s grasslands and wetlands region and we stop for whisky and <i>gwaai</i> in Ermelo. Later there’s a big,
wild storm and we are happy to be indoors with our happy cigarettes and happy
whisky too. <o:p></o:p></span><a href="http://www.mpumalanga.com/" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">www.mpumalanga.com</a><br />
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<b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC93YOJXQ7eLSZn-7cPk9dRBRv6XyMLaNXl1u9uU3ozo0dI0bomvd4zxHYzYgLz3wGF9dM5t4AbpfEK52ocTbjhUNHQq-v917jYDSvLwJIzc09EpB9CZ1wA4LddT6bx8ZMf25Qg0x0stMq/s1600/lion+mural%252C+boa+vista+low+res.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="683" data-original-width="1024" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC93YOJXQ7eLSZn-7cPk9dRBRv6XyMLaNXl1u9uU3ozo0dI0bomvd4zxHYzYgLz3wGF9dM5t4AbpfEK52ocTbjhUNHQq-v917jYDSvLwJIzc09EpB9CZ1wA4LddT6bx8ZMf25Qg0x0stMq/s640/lion+mural%252C+boa+vista+low+res.jpg" width="640" /></a></b></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Dreamy lion</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"> I have an inordinate fondness for hand painted murals and I fall
instantly in love with Dreamy Lion. We are at a bar called Boa Vista which is on the edge of Manica, an edgy, restless market town in western Mozambique. We drink cold
Dosh-Em, the local beer, and gaze happily down on the Incomati River snaking its
way through the flatlands beyond. </span><a href="http://www.mozambiquetourism.co.za/" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">www.mozambiquetourism.co.za</a><br />
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<b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9JbiumpReqwIiFMUThsrjn5FtwF3fRR8CMj9_3ZPnPOjjTTFb8c-zqebOkD1oi2lm_uzgZ2wAKrXkO2qddJUEocFSfBYuScrJgkHP0f1Q-xw3tNg4JPm-9cb2wwZD3BNOwQugjySvgp7C/s1600/washing+day+at+the+dotcom+hair+salon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9JbiumpReqwIiFMUThsrjn5FtwF3fRR8CMj9_3ZPnPOjjTTFb8c-zqebOkD1oi2lm_uzgZ2wAKrXkO2qddJUEocFSfBYuScrJgkHP0f1Q-xw3tNg4JPm-9cb2wwZD3BNOwQugjySvgp7C/s640/washing+day+at+the+dotcom+hair+salon.jpg" width="640" /></a></b></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">What’s in a name </span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">I leave Tzaneen, in Mopani district, for Elim in Vhembe district. I take
the R36, then the R81 to Giyani, and then on a whim I decide to go via Lemondokop which will lead me to the R578 which is were I want to be led. I am somewhere
in between Sephukhubje and Ximausa and am thrilled to find the Dotcom Hair
Salon. It’s washing day here, and it’s also down the road from the Jealous Supermarket. <o:p></o:p></span><a href="http://www.shiluvari.com/" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">www.shiluvari.com</a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy0VZGbV0C8r8kc7GTDyBvhcKEhSUoz5CYDW2hq5LqTDhJBpSgfClV83ZqWNM23R-awEbEyBpeotjkDHM7cSTqoZC3mbWuqNERk4vaKczU-L3v8er3pyaT5G0fC2U1OhD82zyLssLcPHNe/s1600/jealous+supermarket.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy0VZGbV0C8r8kc7GTDyBvhcKEhSUoz5CYDW2hq5LqTDhJBpSgfClV83ZqWNM23R-awEbEyBpeotjkDHM7cSTqoZC3mbWuqNERk4vaKczU-L3v8er3pyaT5G0fC2U1OhD82zyLssLcPHNe/s640/jealous+supermarket.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Shoot me</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"> I just love
this mural for a photographic studio in rural southern Mocambique. To be honest
I’m not really sure where we are – just barreling along some lonesome dust road
between Bilene and the next cold beer... <a href="http://www.mozambiquetourism.co.za/">www.mozambiquetourism.co.za</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBlqq60-jWGbgYMt9pii3pv2FdiBnjGvTgqRRM42IYkf8kYCa6hTLgPKdnl0tu6tMcgH9RkkOdz0eeiIy0TXGWUVSBFYPKG5WBF0kQG7ki9xYgcuAyWy1skT7RZSgrZkU52U3594rhEk_n/s1600/photographic+mural%252C+en+route.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBlqq60-jWGbgYMt9pii3pv2FdiBnjGvTgqRRM42IYkf8kYCa6hTLgPKdnl0tu6tMcgH9RkkOdz0eeiIy0TXGWUVSBFYPKG5WBF0kQG7ki9xYgcuAyWy1skT7RZSgrZkU52U3594rhEk_n/s640/photographic+mural%252C+en+route.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><b>Terra da boa gente</b> The Mozambicans have their own wonderful style of
murals, with a seventies feel and interesting colour. I really like this guy and his wine bottles. We are at a little restaurant in the shade in Maracuene for the annual Gweza Muthini festival, it’s only 9 in the
morning and already 42 degrees. <o:p></o:p></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">The festival marks those who died r</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">esisting colonial rule in the 1895 Battle of Marracuene. The festival is
supposed to involve the killing of a hippo and the <i>kuphalha</i> (invocation
of the ancestors) but the hippos have fucked off and these days some poor goat
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Bridget Hilton-Barberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06323694299502913926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4838628964690644770.post-50144317219101878832017-08-24T05:39:00.000-07:002017-08-25T22:57:56.775-07:00Travels with a giant pencil<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs4yZfDOZkOJgvi35KnjpcbJK07V_OI6SS2UBqB9LwXaqT26t0UcOok-fZO1cXQB8LXsPxmIFwr5XE41nkWBKL4SmDgduk-LBGv0rME5LnRydIyzpKXfp-wPcov3LF9i-KKe29nY6J5UGt/s1600/20170818_155138.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs4yZfDOZkOJgvi35KnjpcbJK07V_OI6SS2UBqB9LwXaqT26t0UcOok-fZO1cXQB8LXsPxmIFwr5XE41nkWBKL4SmDgduk-LBGv0rME5LnRydIyzpKXfp-wPcov3LF9i-KKe29nY6J5UGt/s640/20170818_155138.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">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. </span><a href="http://www.lowveldbookfestival.co.za/" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">www.lowveldbookfestival.co.za</a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;"><b>Love at first write </b>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. </span><a href="https://www.suninternational.com/boardwalk/" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">www.suninternational.com/boardwalk/</a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Pencil this in </span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">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. </span><a href="http://www.lowveldbookfestival.co.za/" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">www.lowveldbookfestival.co.za</a></div>
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do read </span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">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.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/readbooks.behappy/" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">www.facebook.com/readbooks.behappy/</a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Some
lead in my pencil </span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">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? </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><a href="http://www.boekenhoutskloof.co.za%20/" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">www.boekenhoutskloof.co.za </a></div>
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does a panel </span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">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 <i>Blacks do
Caravan</i>; and the sexy Adam Cruise who has written up his fabulous adventures
in and out of the Kalahari in <i>King
Solomon the Showman</i>. We are in
conversation with Nicky Manson, editor of <i>Lowveld Living</i> who lets us all tell
our very different stories. </span><a href="http://www.lowveldbookfestival.co.za/" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">www.lowveldbookfestival.co.za</a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 28px;"><b>Pencil makes friends </b></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 18.6667px;">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 </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 18.6667px;">Karin Mitchell, former investigative journalist turned writer who is about to blow us all away with her first book - watch this space; myself, Pencil, </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">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. </span><a href="http://www.hoedspruit.co.za/" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">ww.hoedspruit.co.za</a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Mightier
than the sword</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> 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. </span><a href="http://www.lowveldbookfestival.co.za/" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">www.lowveldbookfestival.co.za</a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Pencil
wanna party!</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> 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. </span><a href="http://www.mtpa.co.za/" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">www.mtpa.co.za</a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Sleepy
pencil </span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">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”. <a href="http://www.brainyquotes.com/">www.brainyquotes.com</a></span></div>
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Bridget Hilton-Barberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06323694299502913926noreply@blogger.com0White River, 1240, South Africa-25.3299288 31.016307900000015-25.4447413 30.854946400000014 -25.215116300000002 31.177669400000017tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4838628964690644770.post-37324888166895195902017-08-09T03:25:00.000-07:002017-08-09T23:56:21.854-07:00A few lovely dogs I met on my travels <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3PXu0pJwB3VNit__bMDhkyr7DMCXyGwCIQt_y1whzBi9hwEbz3J5kd9YLLtASkLZJ1QeG2dq1JM3T1XgULRjpkzGiUm_2-3ptw8lFo4pC5lUMQgHkOghQAR4SSMUxzfwfR_ziy-sZMiL4/s1600/dog+reads+menu+board.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="683" data-original-width="1024" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3PXu0pJwB3VNit__bMDhkyr7DMCXyGwCIQt_y1whzBi9hwEbz3J5kd9YLLtASkLZJ1QeG2dq1JM3T1XgULRjpkzGiUm_2-3ptw8lFo4pC5lUMQgHkOghQAR4SSMUxzfwfR_ziy-sZMiL4/s640/dog+reads+menu+board.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">What’s for breakfast? </span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">We’re
just sitting down to a long, lazy beach side breakfast, when this<b> </b>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 <i>peixe
grelhada </i>and<i> frangos. </i>Villa n Banga has spacious tents, a fabulous
outdoor bar and restaurant with first class island-style kitsch. <a href="http://www.villanbanga.co.za/">www.villanbanga.co.za</a></span></div>
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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. <a href="http://www.pleasurebay.net/">www.pleasurebay.net</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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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.<b> </b>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. <a href="http://www.kleinrivercheese.co.za/">www.kleinrivercheese.co.za</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><b>Chocolate box cuties </b>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. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><a href="http://www.mountaingetaways.co.za/">www.mountaingetaways.co.za</a><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Jock
of the Bushveld</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> 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 <i>Jock of the
Bushveld</i> 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. <a href="http://www.barberton.co.za/">www.barberton.co.za</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Do they know it’s Krismas?</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">
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. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><a href="http://www.sunshinecoasttourism.co.za/">www.sunshinecoasttourism.co.za</a></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">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</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;"> jungle and surreal limestone formations, a deep lake and exotic flowers. But Tintin won't let Snowy come walking with me. </span><a href="http://www.khaosok.com/" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">www.khaosok.com</a><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><b>The Rockster</b> 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. </span><a href="http://www.sequoiastay.com/" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">www.sequoiastay.com</a><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The beast from the east </span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">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. <a href="http://www.karoospace.co.za/">www.karoospace.co.za</a> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><b>Loving the licks </b>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. <a href="http://www.praiadepeixe.com/">www.praiadepeixe.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Bridget Hilton-Barberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06323694299502913926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4838628964690644770.post-71779248506180517402017-07-25T11:27:00.000-07:002017-07-25T23:13:54.821-07:00Ten Rural Bars You've Probably Never Been To <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP5xXxVTSVNFy6awugvNzA8hGnfYsB06nSDinZh2nQYpwp3V5ryqbgAvjTzKCLAmgJzrsw046FVhzUz62pIDsUF1iUCw73RlNEgBmbxlHMPnWU9Xf45Ie64_yOpWnBTulWKcdGshuieM2o/s1600/IMG_8204.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP5xXxVTSVNFy6awugvNzA8hGnfYsB06nSDinZh2nQYpwp3V5ryqbgAvjTzKCLAmgJzrsw046FVhzUz62pIDsUF1iUCw73RlNEgBmbxlHMPnWU9Xf45Ie64_yOpWnBTulWKcdGshuieM2o/s640/IMG_8204.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Ruby Tuesday </span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">I order a Tipo Tinto, meaning island spirit, the local rum, and fall hopelessly in love with this quirky, unpretentious bar at Ruby’s Backpackers on the far
flung island of Ilha de </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">Moҫambique</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"> some 2000 km north of the Mozambican capital of Maputo. It's tucked into the heart of Stone Town on this historic island which was settled in the 8th century and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its amazing coral rock buildings and architecture. What a powerful sense of history. <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pg/RubyBackpackers/about/">www.facebook.com/pg/RubyBackpackers/about/</a></span><b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Happy mercado </span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">You must pay for the cold Dosh Em (fabulous signature Mozambican beer) but the ukulele tunes are free at this small <i>baracas </i>in the <i>mercado</i> in
Bilene, southern Mozambique. Bilene is a happy, shabby lagoon 'n seaside town an hour plus from Maputo. I
don’t know why, but I just love this <i>mercado</i>
so. It makes me want to laugh and drink rum, sing songs, slap my thigh. It's a warren of stalls selling food and drink and stuff. People gather here to haggle, trade, gossip, drink
beer, watch soccer and sell just about anything from cashew nuts to cell phone covers. <a href="http://www.mozambiquetourism.co.za/">www.mozambiquetourism.co.za</a></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 28px;">Name of the game </span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 28px;">The Hang Over Bottle Store and its adjoining beer garden is a fabulous place to have a few G&Ts if you happen to find yourself in the middle of the market in Likoma Island in north eastern Malawi. Which I do. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 18.6667px;">The island is charming and lapped by the waters of Lake Malawi, lake of stars.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 18.6667px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">The Malawian gin - Waragi - is clear and strong. And Likoma Island is a great address. To its north is Tanzania, to its west Mozambique, east, Zambia, and all around, Malawi. </span><a href="http://www.malawitourism.com/" style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">ww.malawitourism.com</a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 28px;">And Englishmen </span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 28px;">Even though my ship has still not come in, I always love coming to this bar with its neon sign and beautiful wooden counter at Mad Dogs Café near Hoedspruit. In my years of travelling between Limpopo and Maputo, I stopped here often, either for an early coffee or a late afternoon vino depending on whether I'd come down or up the escarpment through the Strijdom Tunnels above the Olifants River. This is a classic traveller's pit stop. <a href="http://www.bluecottages.co.za/">www.bluecottages.co.za</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><b>High on beer </b>This is </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Colin Ntshangase, a cricket loving Zulu and the brew master at Hops Hollow which is </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 18.6667px;">at the top of the Long Tom Pass in Mpumalanga.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 18.6667px;"> Colin r</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">ecommends the Mac’s Porter
ale </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">which he tells me he formulated with women in mind. He says it has a “</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">malty creamy
fullness, smooth as silk”<b>. </b>Hops
Hollow, outside Mashishing, claims to be the highest brewery in Africa - it’s
2150m above sea level. <a href="http://www.hopshollow.co.za/">www.hopshollow.co.za</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><b>Wild
horse grooves </b>We d</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">ay trippers beat a steady path up the steep pass to
the eccentric misty village of Kaapsehoop in the mountains outside Mbombela. The Bohemian Groove Café is the
soul spot here. Kaapsehoop was once a gold rush town - for about ten minutes - and today is famed for its wild horses and
lovely walks, as well as a cast of interesting local characters, bistros, bars
and fabulous people. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><a href="http://www.bohemiangroovecafe.co.za/">www.bohemiangroovecafe.co.za</a></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 28px;">Change your relaxing style</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 28px;"> We take the road to Vutuwangadzebu, deep in the heart of Vhembe district in Limpopo, and end up high in the rural villages apparently very far away from everything. So it’s completely fabulous to find a cold beer and some surprised looking locals at the Speakeasy Entertainment Hub. Don’t change your lifestyle said the billboard outside, change your relaxing style. Yebo yes. <a href="http://www.nightjartravel.com/">www.nightjartravel.com</a></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Ten green bottles</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"> I am very impressed by the wall of
green Jagermeister bottles that forms the display at Biker’s Rest bar in Graskop, on the Panorama Route in Mpumalanga. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">In case you didn't know, Jagermeister is a digestif made with 56 different herbs. And this is a real </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">biker spot, like pub and grub like, with flags and paraphernalia and stuff so don't expect craft gin or canapes.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Another
roadside attraction </span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">The crazy Toeka se Dae
is on the R516 to Bela Bela, off the N1 to Limpopo. The décor is wacky - corrugated
iron walls, road signs turned into tables, a
bright orange Shooter Bar. I have a tequila. The waitress' name is Bella from Bela Bela. She had another late night she said and recommended the freshly baked bread from the deli. <a href="http://www.toekasedae.co.za/">www.toekasedae.co.za</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">I know I had a beer here once because I took this picture. It was en route Carolina or Piet Retief or somewhere in the wetlands regions on Mpumalanga, details sketchy. I love this mural
on the walls of the Kuyawiso Tavern. I am also struck by the similarity in style to the mural below which is from a bar in northern Malawi. </span><br />
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<br />Bridget Hilton-Barberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06323694299502913926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4838628964690644770.post-74862686180567869932017-07-11T07:50:00.000-07:002017-07-26T02:56:14.138-07:00Life, art, good taste <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">I encounter a diversity of aesthetics in recent travels to Polokwane
and Port Elizabeth, unlikely bedfellows; with some Zambia thrown in. My journey takes me in and out of Art Deco, Rococo-meets-Boere-Baroque, modern Zen Bush Chic and Hip with an African Twist. As tenderness is the grace of the heart, they say, style is the
grace of the mind. Here are some of the highlights: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Art and Life </span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">I never want to leave this place. The hippest
hotel in Mandela Bay - No 5 Boutique Art Hotel in Port Elizabeth’s Summerstrand.
Think luxury Art Deco designed to feel like a <i>salon privé</i> from those heady days in Paris in the 20s, with a Champagne
Bar, period furniture and glassware, a piano, cocktails. Except you’re in PE bru,
and there’s a beach within walking distance, even better, there’s a bar
right next to the pool. And – faints with delight – the most fabulous
collection of South African art including works by William Kentridge, Robert Hodgins, Sam Nhlengethwa
and Henk Serfontein.<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><a href="http://www.no5boutiquehotel.com/">www.no5boutiquehotel.com</a></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Hot
Desks, Good Art </span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">This
fabulous photograph by Zambian-based French photographer Francois d’Elbee hangs
in the main lounge of The Works, a new business space that’s part of Latitude
15 in the Zambian capital Lusaka. The Works is a first for
Lusaka – a collaborative and dedicated office space offering pods with hot
desking and bean bagging, similar to Soho Works in London, or We Work in New
York. <span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><a href="http://www.latitudehotels.com/">www.latitudehotels.com</a></span> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Rembrandt Comes to Polokwane </span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">These gold framed portraits by the famous Dutch painter Rembrandt look down from the walls of Saskia's Restaurant (named after the artist's wife and muse,) which will soon be filled with the contented chatter of the black diamonds who so love this place. They're fake paintings, I may add, not that that puts anyone off the Fusion Boutique Hotel, undoubtedly Polokwane's most luxurious, and in parts, outlandish. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Try the Hollywood or Bollywood suites if you’re feeling fanciful.<a href="http://www.fusionhotel.co.za/"><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-themecolor: text1;">www.fusionhotel.co.za</span></a></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Zen Bush Chic Deliciosa </span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">I love the simplicity and modernity of the tents at King Lewanika Lodge all the way out in the Liuwa Plains National Park in western Zambia. My intrepid
compatriot Sally Young and I are the only guests in camp for three days. It's a real tough job but we feel we must do it. Designed by South African architects Silvio Rech and Lesley Carstens, this is my Soul Space of the year so far. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><a href="http://www.timeandtideafrica.com/">www.timeandtideafrica.com</a></span> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Nautical Kitsch Pool </span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">I confess that I fall in love this with this pool at the Boardwalk Hotel in
Port Elizabeth. It’s so determinedly old fashioned, so nautically kitsch, it could be straight out of a colonial yacht club. The Boardwalk is a big, busy hotel right in the middle of the beachfront hub, with lovely views of the Indian Ocean. </span><a href="http://www.suninternational.com/boardwalk/" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">www.suninternational.com/boardwalk/</a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuBr7oqLS9Jw2bAOfexDk7wOuYyI7hFr7vQ9eSXrCALGTmWUwFKDtNqUfrfrVgHj-5W6ign-3Ly3pSBNOL1A-eQth7wGl8GNKp3lvM4Ve_fEEsciuF31tC4SbJE3GUhtadkO7CXZ_xZTk8/s1600/park+inn+radisson+polokwane.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1065" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuBr7oqLS9Jw2bAOfexDk7wOuYyI7hFr7vQ9eSXrCALGTmWUwFKDtNqUfrfrVgHj-5W6ign-3Ly3pSBNOL1A-eQth7wGl8GNKp3lvM4Ve_fEEsciuF31tC4SbJE3GUhtadkO7CXZ_xZTk8/s640/park+inn+radisson+polokwane.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">So Long Ethno Bongo </span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Loving
the clean Swedish lines and cool colours at the Park Inn by Radisson Polokwane
of all places. A gal gets tired of all the ersatz animal prints, wooden carvings and horns. I trawl around Polokwane, there are
more trendy place than I realize, although many decorating atrocities continue
to be committed in the name of the province’s signature safari style. <a href="http://www.parkinn.com/hotel-polokwane"><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">www.parkinn.com/hotel-polokwane</span></a></span></div>
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Bridget Hilton-Barberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06323694299502913926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4838628964690644770.post-68629221685386516822017-06-29T08:18:00.000-07:002017-06-29T08:31:22.145-07:00My Eight Best Things about Jozi <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">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 <i>loco</i>, it's lulu; it is lovely if you leave it often.
Here are my highlights so far:<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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Roving Bantu Kitchen</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"> 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. <a href="http://www.rovingbantu.co.za/">www.rovingbantu.co.za</a></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqUOS5F9uvEivXHF_fzHhaRFx93sO5fivODSxjVkIG11eGqDb252GpUOr1nqrKEpDeu15l-CDq7Ec0hJvMJfg-dFgd-i0Q9RxG50GRwWkH6OaytLfFzqvEK8rz3NxH9-FvumsFmqEhOugO/s1600/jozi+skyline+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqUOS5F9uvEivXHF_fzHhaRFx93sO5fivODSxjVkIG11eGqDb252GpUOr1nqrKEpDeu15l-CDq7Ec0hJvMJfg-dFgd-i0Q9RxG50GRwWkH6OaytLfFzqvEK8rz3NxH9-FvumsFmqEhOugO/s640/jozi+skyline+2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The
urban views</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> 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... <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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Keyes Art Mile </span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">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. <a href="http://www.keyesartmile.co.za/">www.keyesartmile.co.za</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The
voice of the sisters</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> I go to the launch of <i>Miss Behave</i> 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’. <a href="http://www.jacana.bookslive.co.za/">www.jacana.bookslive.co.za</a><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><b>Walking in Emmarentia</b> 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 <i>malkop</i> city.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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graffiti </span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">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. <a href="http://www.rovingbantu.co.za/">www.rovingbantu.co.za</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The
walking tours</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"> 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. <a href="http://www.rovingbantu.co.za/">www.rovingbantu.co.za</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><b>The Sunday vibe </b>They say Sunday is the day when Jozi is at peace with itself. T</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">hese guys were just hanging out outside a shebeen in Fietas.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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Bridget Hilton-Barberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06323694299502913926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4838628964690644770.post-2190257221582754822017-06-24T06:27:00.001-07:002017-06-24T06:27:59.459-07:00The Ministry of Fabulousness: Winter warmer, Limpopo style<a href="http://theministryoffabulousness.blogspot.com/2017/06/winter-warmer-limpopo-style.html?spref=bl">The Ministry of Fabulousness: Winter warmer, Limpopo style</a>: 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,...Bridget Hilton-Barberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06323694299502913926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4838628964690644770.post-25157637268188727982017-06-24T06:19:00.000-07:002017-06-24T06:19:38.531-07:00Winter warmer, Limpopo style<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">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: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">This
gorgeous red head</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"> 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. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18.6667px;"> </span><a href="http://www.sequoiastay.com/" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18.6667px;">www.sequoiastay.com</a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Dreamy
cottage</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"> 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. <a href="http://www.sequoiastay.com/">www.sequoiastay.com</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><b>A fresh new take </b>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. </span><a href="http://www.facebook.com/Viewpoint-Guesthouse-and-Eatery-1801176226875735/" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">www.facebook.com/Viewpoint-Guesthouse-and-Eatery-1801176226875735/</a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><b>That Tree </b>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. </span><a href="http://www.kingswalden.co.za/" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">www.kingswalden.co.za</a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Garden
of my Ancestors</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> 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. </span><a href="http://www.kingswalden.co.za/" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">www.kingswalden.co.za</a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Sarah’s
Garden </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">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. </span><a href="http://www.kingswalden.co.za/" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">www.kingswalden.co.za</a></div>
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<b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The Bibigar</b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> 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. </span><a href="http://www.kingswalden.co.za/" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">www.kingswalden.co.za</a></div>
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<b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Golden delicious </b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">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 </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">self catering cottages and a campsite,. Think simple and earthy, candle light and long rivers walks</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">. N</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">ext door is the fabulous Zwakala Brewery. </span><a href="http://www.minas.co.za/" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">www.minas.co.za</a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> 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. </span></div>
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Bridget Hilton-Barberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06323694299502913926noreply@blogger.com0Magoebaskloof, South Africa-23.8466667 30.031944399999929-52.091704199999995 -11.27664960000007 4.3983707999999986 71.340538399999929tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4838628964690644770.post-37334714906853320622017-06-08T04:12:00.001-07:002017-06-08T04:12:07.400-07:00The Ministry of Fabulousness: And then Nelspruit got sexy<a href="http://theministryoffabulousness.blogspot.com/2017/06/and-then-nelspruit-got-sexy.html?spref=bl">The Ministry of Fabulousness: And then Nelspruit got sexy</a>: 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...Bridget Hilton-Barberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06323694299502913926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4838628964690644770.post-42658485832720898342017-06-08T04:08:00.000-07:002017-06-08T04:08:49.801-07:00And then Nelspruit got sexy<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Once upon a time
Nelspruit was a crimplene-clad <i>boeremeisie</i>.
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 <i>legogote</i>, Bushbuck Ridge. Here’s what I’m lovin’ about Mbombela:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The
Slowveld Sling </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">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. </span><a href="http://www.tsogosun.com/m/glassbar"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">www.tsogosun.com/m/glassbar</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">.
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Orange
views </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">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. <a href="http://www.eatorange.co.za/">www.eatorange.co.za</a></span></div>
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Vincent Vibe</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"> 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. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><a href="http://www.chezvincent.co.za/">www.chezvincent.co.za</a></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Green heart of Mbombela </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">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. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><a href="http://www.sanbi.org/gardens/lowveld">www.sanbi.org/gardens/lowveld</a></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Sleeping
in style</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> 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. <a href="http://www.francolinlodge.co.za/">www.francolinlodge.co.za</a> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Art
in the dome </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">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. </span><a href="http://www.mpuleg.gov.za/" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">www.mpuleg.gov.za</a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Mbombela of Mpumalanga, land of the rising sun </span></div>
Bridget Hilton-Barberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06323694299502913926noreply@blogger.com0Nelspruit, South Africa-25.4752984 30.969416300000034-25.5899714 30.808054800000033 -25.3606254 31.130777800000036tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4838628964690644770.post-64425766775200539082017-06-02T04:46:00.001-07:002017-06-02T04:46:02.207-07:00The Ministry of Fabulousness: The Lucky Lions of Liuwa<a href="http://theministryoffabulousness.blogspot.com/2017/06/the-lucky-lions-of-liuwa_2.html?spref=bl">The Ministry of Fabulousness: The Lucky Lions of Liuwa</a>: 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...Bridget Hilton-Barberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06323694299502913926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4838628964690644770.post-81827539566693751392017-06-02T04:42:00.000-07:002017-06-02T04:44:32.038-07:00The Lucky Lions of Liuwa<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">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. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 18.6667px;">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.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18.6667px;">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. </span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 18.6667px;">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....</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 18.6667px;">Our fabulous g</span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 18.6667px;">uide 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.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 18.6667px;">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.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">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 <i>Lady Liuwa, Last Lioness</i>, which then generated momentum and money for lions to be reintroduced into Liuwa. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">Brauer tells here of his first meeting with the lonely lioness back in 2005: </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">“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".</span></div>
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<br />Bridget Hilton-Barberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06323694299502913926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4838628964690644770.post-71666085345499686172017-05-25T00:59:00.000-07:002017-05-25T10:39:26.061-07:00Into the Liuwa Floodplains <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUl_gFGxMxJYVYZFh9-8mWruh0Z3e0A-twrP5gR7l7H_C1iVaQKiRzVdkIxYDvvunNTI3wazAhpp04uUcNHcgzU10RdaEk9hhPpRn9IBU-Y3z18XbK2WCgFe1USCRkqqy7okjxAVBZw-fN/s1600/IMG_5571+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUl_gFGxMxJYVYZFh9-8mWruh0Z3e0A-twrP5gR7l7H_C1iVaQKiRzVdkIxYDvvunNTI3wazAhpp04uUcNHcgzU10RdaEk9hhPpRn9IBU-Y3z18XbK2WCgFe1USCRkqqy7okjxAVBZw-fN/s640/IMG_5571+%25282%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">I experience the eternal
poetry of rivers as we fly over the upper Zambezi floodplains of western
Zambia. These aerial views are heartbreakingly beautiful. Bounded by the Luambimba
and Luanginga Rivers, the floodplains are underwater and inaccessible during
the rainy season, then as the waters recede so this ancient wilderness area reveals itself. This place is remote – a two-and-a-half hour
flight from the capital Lusaka, an hour's river crossing via pontoon, depending on the
season, and a three hour drive into the Liuwa National Park. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 28px;">We fall into the friendly arms of the sexy </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">new five-star King Lewanika Lodge, which is deep in the heart of the plains and was designed by acclaimed South African architects Silvio Rech and Lesley Carstens. They also designed Norman Carr’s flagship camp Chinzombo, in Zambia’s South Luangwa National Park; and Miavana, a new lodge in Madagascar, both marketed by Time + Tide. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;"> King Lewanika Lodge is a funky new take on the traditional tented camp. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Our first sunset is spectacular. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 18.6667px;">I am a complete slut for a good African sunset and this one really rates. I'm travelling with Sally Young - both of us from <i>Sawubona</i> magazine - and our sunset drill is Grey Goose vodka and and tonic and lots of ooh-ing and aah-ing, much to the delight of our guide Rabi and tracker Mr K. We can’t believe how lucky we are. They agree.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">In the next few days we explore the soul spaces of the Liuwa floodplains. One morning, we stand in a spot where all around is flat and golden. 360 delicious degrees of flat and golden,
except for a small </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">koppie</i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;"> and a lone
palm tree that break the horizon. You’d think it would be still and quiet but
it’s not. It’s so busy. I’ve never seen so many birds in my life as out here. Under
ancient skies, endlessly busy birds. Clouds of pranticoles, flocks of herons.
Crowned and wattled cranes, fish eagles, herons, egrets, storks, thick knees,
hamerkops, secretary birds, pelicans. An egret rookery with thousands of fluffy
cheeping chicks.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">The guides at King
Lewanika Lodge are seriously good birders. You <i>will</i> see lifers - ours was a
rose-throated longclaw and a lesser jacana. The guides explain the magic of the mood swings of Liuwa. We also saw hyenas, jackals, plains game, as well as this gorgeous male lion cub, who looked like he was learning to write.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">This guy is descended from the famous Lady Liuwa who
was once the last forlorn lion in the Liuwa national park, the others all hunted out. Other lions were then successfully reintroduced. The lions had just eaten when we
saw them in the afternoon. This cub was playful and curious and approached the vehicle; the other cub was so stuffed he couldn't even roll over, just lay on his back with his tummy in the air. Their mother watched with <i>those</i> eyes. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">King Lewanika Lodge in the Liuwa plains was one of the most extraordinary places I have ever visited. Not just the fabulous staff and the delightful manager Noelien - but everything. The space, the style, the soul; the legends of the Lozi people who live here. I dream of it often, the faraway, golden wilderness that stole a piece of my heart ...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">I didn't ever want to leave
the Liuwa Floodplains. I wanted to be dropped off at the Hashtag Bar - a little place I spotted on our drive out of the town of Kalabo - to stay forever in awe of the riverside people here, whose lives are </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">determined by the rise and
fall of the flood plains. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">This little-known
region of Zambia is a showcase of transformation. Since 2003, the park has been
managed by African Parks through a public-private partnership with the Zambian
Government, the Zambia Wildlife Authority (ZAWA) and the Barotse
Royal Establishment, and now Norman Carr Safaris.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Contact: </span><a href="http://www.normancarrsafaris.com/"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">www.normancarrsafaris.com</span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">;
</span><a href="mailto:bookings@normancarrsafaris.com"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">bookings@normancarrsafaris.com</span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">;
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><a href="http://www.timeandtideafrica.com/">www.timeandtideafrica.com</a></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Bridget Hilton-Barberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06323694299502913926noreply@blogger.com0Western Province, Zambia-15.9454906 23.382354500000019-19.856470599999998 18.218780500000019 -12.034510599999999 28.54592850000002tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4838628964690644770.post-39417035175090688672016-12-09T08:29:00.000-08:002016-12-09T08:33:01.014-08:00Sunshine journalism and the G&T revolution<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgtItmTvpsxF5LnD2tNXfulF_KAzWReiVe78mRSRgaxm8n1iNXNsIeBlRF36hk02axDgxRlZWkY3kViiVHLpRpPFKQeSDYVlPG7cAelQoGgAIEfC_DlZpQWSnnI8HKXKswsEt-PL8TOLj_/s1600/7+JULY++%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgtItmTvpsxF5LnD2tNXfulF_KAzWReiVe78mRSRgaxm8n1iNXNsIeBlRF36hk02axDgxRlZWkY3kViiVHLpRpPFKQeSDYVlPG7cAelQoGgAIEfC_DlZpQWSnnI8HKXKswsEt-PL8TOLj_/s640/7+JULY++%25282%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">I have been trying
desperately to think of one good thing about 2016. Brexit, Trump, Syria, drowned refugees, bomb blasts, terror attacks, the drought, the death of David Bowie, Black
Friday, violence on campus, my personal life, oh dear, heartbreak, writing a painful book, losing a
pet, moving house. I’ve been thinking about it all week.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Where is that one
little ray of sunshine?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">And it then it just
struck me.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">It has just struck me that
this is the very first year in my adult life I haven’t been a South
African crime statistic. Can you imagine that? I mean like, no crime has been
committed against me, and as far as I remember, I haven’t committed a crime. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">It might not seem like
a big deal to you, but to me it is a startling and wonderful revelation. In the
past thirty years I have been mugged many times, held at knifepoint, held at
gunpoint, thieved and burgled more than I can count, robbed of three or four
cars, armed robbed, home invaded, attacked and stabbed in the head, had all my
possessions stolen; and then again. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 18.6667px;">I've been to the cops more than thirty times in thirty years.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 18.6667px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">You know, it’s like South Africa. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">I can’t even begin to come
up with an inventory of stolen things, apart from my whole life, except to note
that there was one ghetto blaster that had serious street voodoo and managed to
not get stolen for close on twenty something years before dying a natural
appliance death in rural Limpopo. God alone knows how that ghetto
blaster pulled it off. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">So howabout that then? All
of a freelance Friday, here I am, the chosen one, finally that fabulous statistic.
I have been granted one whole crime free year in South Africa. And it feels great. Send champagne, send whisky, send fresh horses, send love; send a SA Crime Stats Award in chrome; send strength to the
constitutional democracy’s arm. Oh wait, send some artisanal gin if you could. I’ve
noticed – heh - there is a G&T revolution sweeping the country. Think amber,
<i>verde</i>, rooibos infused, black pepper, basil, cucumber, decolonised. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">* Images courtesy of the Latitude Group & Francois d'Elbee x</span></div>
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Bridget Hilton-Barberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06323694299502913926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4838628964690644770.post-71275409683370970632016-09-13T05:06:00.000-07:002016-09-13T05:06:56.660-07:00Sex, spring, mountain gardens <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj90j0u6j8uIXAr70sZvcKsHmLZ2rW6BSKWhQklLFfGdM7eHSenzkpaeYQAHzqNqs3-zuwVFsvWQhHCxblYePXcNVrSui4xbpK2MwfRIvTcFuw1a0l2g4MYcKzuMYdz_oqPmlPatyU2hu7A/s1600/anthirium.jpg+lo+res.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj90j0u6j8uIXAr70sZvcKsHmLZ2rW6BSKWhQklLFfGdM7eHSenzkpaeYQAHzqNqs3-zuwVFsvWQhHCxblYePXcNVrSui4xbpK2MwfRIvTcFuw1a0l2g4MYcKzuMYdz_oqPmlPatyU2hu7A/s640/anthirium.jpg+lo+res.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Hopeful shoot, bursting
bud. Wicked, wicked anthurium (yes that’s the rude pink one in the photo). It’s
impossible to ignore the arousal of spring out here in the mountains of the
Magoebaskloof, Limpopo. Everywhere I look there’s a flirtatious azalea, a
blossoming cherry, the sweet smelling jasmine. I cannot stay at my desk, I have
to get out and explore.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Marloe’s
Garden</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> I head for the <i>jardim
</i>of the fabulous Marloe Scott Wilson. Soft view, tall trees, horses, dogs, cats,
delight. We sit on the porch and drink wine and talk gardens and life. Marloe
got into urban gardening in London in the 70s and is passionate about edible
gardens, companion planting, making compost, planting at the new moon, talking
to your seedlings and using available resources. All the things that make me go
zing. I leave with bunches of greens and packets of heirloom seeds. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Oh
me oh my, the clivias</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> I go completely weak kneed at the sight
of a flowering clivia which is making morning walks a wobbly affair. Every
shady garden pocket in Haenertsburg village is lit with the clivias flowering in peach,
apricot, orange, yellow-orange, vermillion, tangerine. I grow them from seed
for pleasure, and think of my mother and the fabulous Lisa Atherstone who has a
clivia nursery in the dreaming heights of George’s Valley near here. <o:p></o:p></span><a href="http://www.wholsesale-nursery.co.za/" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">www.wholsesale-nursery.co.za</a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Hello
Cheerio</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> We walk gently as friends in the afternoon under
the pin oaks and crab apples; gaze greedily at the outrageous spectacle of azaleas,
cherry blossoms and water. Cheerio Gardens are the mountain’s most famous
English exotic gardens and were started by the pioneering Box Thompson after the First World War. </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Sequoia</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">
Another treasure of Magoebaskloof is the gentle, gracious Sequoia Gardens,
lovingly tended over the years by the delightful Jack Holloway. I do slow pans across calming dam views, close ups into the erotic blue iris. I may never be the same
again. See Jack’s blog on </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">https://</span><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">sequoiagardens</b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">.wordpress.com</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Albie’s
Orchid </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">I drink a whisky with Albie Leiding, pharmacist,
philosopher, gardener and gentleman. He lives in Agatha in Tzaneen and the
orchids in his house and on his veranda delight us every spring and summer. He
tends them carefully. He knows their Latin names, their daily mood swings, their favourite songs. Pure plant porn.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">My
grandmother’s tibouchinas </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Like ballerinas in pink tutus these trees prance across the garden
stage, frilly and delightful. They were my grandmother Elsie Tooley’s favourite trees and
they’re flowering early this year. Wander with a G&T </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><a href="http://www.kingswalden.co.za/">www.kingswalden.co.za</a></span><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Horse
shit </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">I head for the fabulous Denise Tooley at Minas and
load up 100kg of compost and horse and sheep manure. The horses, Tigger, Amber
and Naledi are very beautiful, especially when sun kissed, but they can be
unruly if not downright anarchic. Denise shouts at them when they get into the
veggie garden but we are still grateful for their help in enriching the Minas
gardens and my very own. </span><a href="http://www.minas.co.za/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">www.minas.co.za</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Bridget Hilton-Barberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06323694299502913926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4838628964690644770.post-26835247930849688272016-08-29T03:02:00.000-07:002016-08-31T00:56:39.570-07:00Ten reasons to visit Magoebaskloof now<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIN6J87wQPrqkdsgcYwJAefJyo2UxhyjXDzPpLJVKwKHPD1UwetYH1YFoylzOpJEMV6O8dScU693wuJlZiweiGGqxsJZOMHtpDNiv9eZC0h_OGMUXeUXQBK8VWiW4fRanfbHq9zhYyavOP/s1600/cheerio_garden_1_960_472_80auto_s_c1_center_center.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIN6J87wQPrqkdsgcYwJAefJyo2UxhyjXDzPpLJVKwKHPD1UwetYH1YFoylzOpJEMV6O8dScU693wuJlZiweiGGqxsJZOMHtpDNiv9eZC0h_OGMUXeUXQBK8VWiW4fRanfbHq9zhYyavOP/s640/cheerio_garden_1_960_472_80auto_s_c1_center_center.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The
spring show is about to begin </span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">“In the spring time,
the only pretty ring time, when the birds do sing, hey-ding-a-ding ding,
cuckoo, jug-jug, pu-wee, ta-witta-woo!” <b> </b>Come
and see the astonishing spring spectacle on our mountain here in Limpopo
province as the azaleas and cherry blossoms do their wild pink, purple, peach thang
and everything is reflected in silver dams. It’s completely outrageous. OMG,
sweetmotherofmary, hawu, yona yo, faints with delight. The annual Spring Fair
is on from the 24<sup>th</sup> of September to the 2<sup>nd</sup> of October. <a href="http://www.mountaingetaways.co.za%20/">www.mountaingetaways.co.za</a></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKwKEY5DyRrOzRPE9wKcnAWLxTwmRz3eB7SHBCO7AfnduhbhgPXLQiUNhUInOsWl6x6Tx7rObZdvjwr4nfhPc6Ic9m12YQ92ADbyEdxjOtThsH8rfilTDQuehV8sBWmJusQIPUCUyXZwzY/s1600/Haenert+13.+Dancing+to+the+jazz+band+during+Mina%2527s+food+market.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKwKEY5DyRrOzRPE9wKcnAWLxTwmRz3eB7SHBCO7AfnduhbhgPXLQiUNhUInOsWl6x6Tx7rObZdvjwr4nfhPc6Ic9m12YQ92ADbyEdxjOtThsH8rfilTDQuehV8sBWmJusQIPUCUyXZwzY/s640/Haenert+13.+Dancing+to+the+jazz+band+during+Mina%2527s+food+market.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">There’s
fabulous soul food</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> Mina’s Neighbourhood Food Market is
happening on the 4<sup>th</sup> of September and it’s the best food jol on the
mountain featuring gourmet burgers, trout platters, sushi, curry, bliss bowls
and more. All in a glorious farm setting with cool people and hot music. </span><a href="http://www.minas.co.za/"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">www.minas.co.za</span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The
cemetery has views to die for </span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Set amongst old gardens
and ancient trees at the top of the hill with far reaching views, Haenertsburg
has a fabulous cemetery and everyone visits it all the time: happy hikers, sentimental
relatives, cooing lovers, groping teenagers, day trippers, weekenders, the
whole lot. Pack a picnic or sundowners and head up the hill <a href="http://www.magoebasklooftourism.co.za/">www.magoebasklooftourism.co.za</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The
beer is flowing </span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">There’s a new brew rising here on the
mountain. Zwakala Brewery, Limpopo’s first organic craft brewery has opened its
doors and its taps. The name Zwakala means ‘come closer’ and people from all
over the world are pulling in, including a couple in a small car who drove all
the way from Germany. Seriously. </span><a href="http://www.zwakalabrewery.co.za/"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">www.zwakalabrewery.co.za</span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">There’s
a brilliant bookshop</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> Go for a long slow book browse followed
by breakfast and a <i>moerkoffie</i> or a
lazy lunch at the Pennefather bookshop in the main road. They’ve got a great
selection of second hand books, Africana and collectibles. </span><a href="http://www.pennefather.co.za/"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">www.pennefather.co.za</span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The
cheese is organic </span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Blessed are the cheesemakers as Monty
Python said. Wegraakbosch Farm produces a delicious range of totally, like
totally, organic cheeses. And milk and veggies and chourico sausages. Take a
tour of the farm and cheese factory and end it all with a lunch platter
overlooking the blue mountains.<b> </b>wegraakbosch.wixsite.com/wegraakbosch/organic-dairy<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The
people are crazy</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> Nice crazy. Friendly and eccentric and
upbeat now that the spring is springing. Take a stroll down the main street –
yes there’s only one – and meet assorted locals who are more than happy to ply
you with food, hooch, craft, trinkets, plants and good conversation. And you can put unruly children in the village stocks! <a href="http://www.magoebasklooftourism.co.za/">www.magoebasklooftourism.co.za</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The
scenery is incredible </span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The Magoebaskloof area is Scenery
Central. I’m talking wild mountains, thick indigenous forests,<b> </b>rolling endemic grasslands, happy
waterfalls, chortling rivers, silver dams…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 28px;">There are amazing places to stay</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 28px;"> Take your pick from farm cottages, village B&Bs, mountain hideaways and country hotels. <a href="http://www.limpopobookings.co.za/">www.limpopobookings.co.za</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; font-weight: bold; line-height: 150%;">The
pub is feckin fabulous</span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"> Named after the highest peak in the area,
the local pub the Iron Crown is the place for good food and cheer - try their delicious Haenertsburger. If you ring the bell inside you have to buy the whole pub a round – you have
been warned!</span></div>
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Bridget Hilton-Barberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06323694299502913926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4838628964690644770.post-50716139571638986462016-08-23T04:14:00.001-07:002016-08-23T04:37:15.026-07:00The Ministry of Fabulousness: Putting the mmm in Mpumalanga<a href="http://theministryoffabulousness.blogspot.com/2016/08/putting-mmm-in-mpumalanga.html?spref=bl">The Ministry of Fabulousness: Putting the mmm in Mpumalanga</a>: We call Mpumalanga the Slowveld, You know, like the Lowveld, but sultry with extra steam and less speed. More time to explore the ancient mo...Bridget Hilton-Barberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06323694299502913926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4838628964690644770.post-86087912631268416112016-08-23T04:03:00.000-07:002016-08-23T04:36:36.096-07:00Putting the mmm in Mpumalanga<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 28px;">We call Mpumalanga the Slowveld, You know, like the Lowveld, but sultry with extra steam and less speed. More time to explore the ancient mountains, scenic passes, lovely wildlife and fabulous people. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 28px;">Here’s my soul selection. </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 28px;">High upon a White River sunset </span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 28px;">We park off on the veranda overlooking the Swartfontein Dam in the dreamy hills above White River. We have giant G&Ts and watch the sun slip sexily down the sky. When it gets dark the stars take over. We are off-the-grid, solar-powered, candlelit. We see the Milky Way in glorious detail and listen to the purr of the night. <a href="http://www.krugerlowveld.com/">www.krugerlowveld.com</a></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Day
driving through southern Kruger</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> The dawn breaks warm as
we trundle sleepily into southern Kruger, Malelane Gate. It’s spring and there
are babies everywhere. We ooh and aah. At lunch we stop and watch the baby
elephants hold onto their mothers’ tails as they cross the Lower Sabie River. <a href="http://www.krugerpark.co.za/">www.krugerpark.co.za</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Looking
over the Makhonjwa Mountains</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"> My heart sings at the
sight of these wild green mountains on the edge of the Slowveld and Swaziland. The
Barberton Mountain Lands, greenstone rocks dating from the dawn of time. Three
and a half </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">billion years,
some of the oldest on earth containing evidence of life’s first forms. Geologists,
scientists and boffins from NASA have been coming here for years. My best. Faints of happiness. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><a href="https://www.nightjartravel.com/magazine/makhonjwa-magic">https://www.nightjartravel.com/magazine/<b>makhonjwa</b>-magic</a></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">On
the edge of Blyde River Canyon </span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">I drop to my knees at
the sight of the Blyde River Canyon. God’s Window. Sheer green cliffs and a silver dam. Highlight of the Slowveld’s Panorama Route, the Blyde is the
third biggest canyon in the world after the USA’S Grand Canyon and Namibia’s Fish
River Canyon. Take a hip flask. <a href="http://www.mpumalanga.com/">www.mpumalanga.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Jolling
in Nelspruit </span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">We’re after a different kind of wild
life now, and there’s fabulous ear candy at Die Stoep, a groovy venue at the
back of a street-facing coffee shop in Sonpark Boulevard. There are pink
pillars and fairy lights and the steps are painted like piano keys. We make friends
with everyone and end up with hangovers. <a href="http://www.diestoep.co.za/">www.diestoep.co.za</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Kaapeshoop
on a Sunday</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> Day trippers head up the steep pass to
this eccentric misty village in the mountains. The Bohemian Groove Café is the
soul spot. Great food, strong drink and live music. Kaapsehoop was once a gold rush town - for about ten minutes - and today is famed for its wild horses and lovely
walks, as well as </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">cast of
interesting bistros, bars and fabulous people. </span><a href="http://www.bohemiangroovecafe.co.za/" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">www.bohemiangroovecafe.co.za</a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Roadtripping
the Slowveld </span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">By virtue of its geology, the Slowveld offers some of the most scenic and sexiest roads you could hope to
take. We travel the Long Tom Pass, the Abel Erasmus Pass
(slipping through the Strijdom Tunnels), the Saddleback Pass. We drive the
Panorama Route and into the Wild Frontier and off to Mozambique, destination Maputo where spicy
food and groovy people await.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.mpumalanga.com/">www.mpumalanga.com</a></span><br />
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Bridget Hilton-Barberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06323694299502913926noreply@blogger.com0Mpumalanga -29.796559405788241 30.64361572265625-29.90677340578824 30.482254222656248 -29.686345405788241 30.804977222656252tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4838628964690644770.post-74586374251335695602016-08-16T02:37:00.000-07:002016-08-16T22:30:45.461-07:00Fabulously Trouteng, Walkersons of Dullstroom<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">From the gold framed portraits
of the ancestors and their spaniels to the pink bubbly at noon, Walkersons is fabulously
Trouteng, as I call Dullstroom, Mpumalanga’s fly-fishing capital. Famed for its
honeyed grasslands and moneyed Gautengers, there’s no suffering in Trouteng - and
staying at Walkersons is like visiting a fabulously decadent and somewhat
eccentric grand old aunt’s country estate. Where there’s whisky on your oats in
the morning and the waiters wear tartan kilts and demure women like us wonder
what’s under them. Us being a media group, all too keen to be in this gentle golden valley with its silver trout dams and promise of loveliness.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Walkersons lies at the
end of a pretty track reached by a dramatic descent off the tar road. The gracious
stone hotel has shade trees and water features, closed porches and generous verandas.
I was lucky enough to have a room with a pond right outside, which did a mean
line in reflection and it occurred to me I was getting double the scenery and I
immediately felt fabulous. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">After bubbles and lunch
with the media princesses, I retired to my room and set about speed dating it.
It’s been so long since I’ve been in a real grand old country hotel, and I’ve
just survived my first non subtropical winter in a decade, having recently
moved to the mountaintop village of Haenertsburg in Limpopo - so I went for unconscionable
decadence. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">I started the pre-made fire, put on the electric blanket, ran a
bubble path, lit all the candles and tried unsuccessfully to connect to the wifi.
So I opened the bar, poured some wine, put on the CD player AND the TV, poured
more wine and gazed longingly at the winter sun kiss the pond outside, so
grateful to be warm and safe, especially warm. Repeat. Very grateful to be
warm. Sounds of purring. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">When I did get onto the
wifi, shortly before those pre-dinner drinks that are <i>de rigeur </i>at your fabulous aunt’s country estate, I posted a
picture of the sun-kissed golden pond and an old friend from Betty’s Bay in the
Western Cape said he knew the chef at Wakersons. So the chef was duly summonsed
and he turned out to be the fabulous Adri van Wieringen who has a string of
illustrious awards to his name and cooks like a dream. We princesses were exceptionally
well looked after on the food front. If you’re ever in Trouteng, go to Walkersons
as a day visitor just for the food. And the wine. Ok you may as well stay a few
days…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">And when I stumbled
happily back to my room, the Turndown Service had stoked up my fire, revved up
the electric blanket, scattered the room with roses and run me a bubble bath.
Guess what I did?<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mbali, Ilse, myself, Dawn, Theresa and Michelle</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Apart from my room, my other favourite place was Peggy’s Bar, named after Peggy de Villiers who was an early
pioneer and tippler. We posed under her portrait. She photo-bombed us. Walkersons
is grand but not snobby or stuffy. It’s a really friendly laid back place for a
chill-out weekend.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The estate has a series
of trout dams as well as ornamental dams with ducks, and lots of water features.
The grasslands were wintry ochre, with busy birds and the odd lone tree. You
can stroll or hike, fish or go for a massage. Or all of them. Or do nothing but
purr and look at the pond’s reflections. Check out www.walkersons.co.za</span></div>
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<o:p></o:p>Bridget Hilton-Barberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06323694299502913926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4838628964690644770.post-54723666614528511632016-08-11T03:48:00.001-07:002016-08-11T03:48:35.861-07:00The Ministry of Fabulousness: Soul Dancing, Limpopo<a href="http://theministryoffabulousness.blogspot.com/2016/08/soul-dancing-limpopo.html?spref=bl">The Ministry of Fabulousness: Soul Dancing, Limpopo</a>: Crooks Corner at sunset. We drink G&T and jump in the air. This is the northern Kruger, meeting of three countries South Af...Bridget Hilton-Barberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06323694299502913926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4838628964690644770.post-60570135050721461512016-08-11T02:22:00.001-07:002016-08-11T02:22:26.533-07:00Soul Dancing, Limpopo<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Crooks Corner at
sunset. We drink G&T and jump in the air. This is the northern Kruger, meeting of three
countries South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe, intersected by the Limpopo and
the Luvuvhu rivers. We talk about the early tribes that would have crossed here, then pioneers, smugglers, traders, adventurers; later the dispossessed, war refugees... www.returnafrica.com</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 28px;">Lanner Gorge in the rain. We each take a turn to step onto a lone look-out rock on cliff’s edge - and watch as the Levuvhu River below cuts its ancient course through Lanner Gorge towards its confluence with the Limpopo River. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 28px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 28px;">It’s drizzling and the views are wild; a powerful sense of history hangs in the air...</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18.6667px; line-height: 28px;">so many stories from the Pafuri Triangle.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 28px;"> </span><a href="http://www.returnafrica.org/" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 28px;">www.returnafrica.com</a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 28px;">Kurisa Moya at dawn. Spirit of the wind. True to its name it’s been blowing all night, roof creaking, trees squeaking, bushbabies shrieking. But at dawn it’s completely still and we awake to a soft, pink day overlooking the Kudu River Valley. This is one of southern Africa’s best eco-tourism spots. Good morning beautiful Limpopo. <a href="http://www.krm.co.za/">www.krm.co.za</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 28px;">Leshiba Wilderness in the shower. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 28px;">I am in the dreaming heights of the Soutpansberg mountains in Vhembe. I fall in love with a Venda prince. He is tall and muscled; his hands cupped together invitingly. He wears nothing but a loin cloth. Out of his ear comes a shower head. Aaah, my prince is a shower sculpture at the delightful Venda Village at Leshiba; inspired by legendary artist Noria Mabasa. <a href="http://www.leshiba.co.za/">www.leshiba.co.za</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 28px;">Kings Walden under the lightning tree. We drink, eat, love, laugh, weep and wonder under the lightning tree on my ancestral farm, now a boutique hotel. The tree was struck by lightning the day my grandmother died and it still stands silver-proud, an antenna connecting us to the ancestors. <a href="http://www.kingswalden.co.za/">www.kingswalden.co.za</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 28px;">Klaserie River at dawn. A whole lot of us get up at dawn and watch the river turn a steamy salmon pink. We are friends together, from around the world for one dawn and a few days in the deep heart of Limpopo’s oldest and one of its biggest private reserves. <a href="http://www.klaseriecamps.com/">www.klaseriecamps.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 28px;">Zwakala Retreat on the lawn. We eat food and drink Zwakala Beer. We are gathered in friendship, love and kin on a golden afternoon in the Magoebaskloof mountains. The sun beams us up. We are surrounded by rivers and waterfalls, forests, indigenous kloofs and mountain views. <a href="http://www.zwakalaretreat.co.za/">www.zwakalaretreat.co.za</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 28px;">Wolkberg Wilderness with a view. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 28px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 28px;">I gaze longingly onto the purple blue mountains of the northern Drakensberg mountains, spine of the massive Wolkberg Wilderness area. Thick indigenous forests, dancing waterfalls, home to many a river source and mountain adventure. </span><a href="http://www.magoebasklooftourism.co.za/" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 28px;">www.magoebasklooftourism.co.za</a></div>
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Bridget Hilton-Barberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06323694299502913926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4838628964690644770.post-4294285581390819822016-07-26T03:55:00.001-07:002016-08-22T06:00:52.249-07:00Mystic River, Vagina Flumine<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“Hippo on the left”,
said my guide Kaley. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">We were in canoes,
paddling gently down the wild and ancient Kafue River in deepest Zambia. Kaley
and I in one canoe; my friend and colleague Sally and her guide in another. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The
Kafue is big and long and flows for nearly a thousand kilometres through Zambia
before joining the Zambezi River in Zimbabwe. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">She – this river is definitely a
she – is the lifeblood of the Kafue National Park, Zambia’s oldest and biggest. And very far flung. It took us an hour and a
half by air charter, an hour and half by road in a 4x4 and fifteen minutes by
boat to get to the remote Kaingu Lodge from Lusaka. A soul spot. Deep soul. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Now here we were,
vulnerable little humans, paddling her ancient waters, trying to hug the banks,
dodge the boulders, avoid the hippos. After a bit of initial canoeing in
circles, you know, trying to sync paddling and steering. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“Hippo on the left”,
said Kaley again, and then: “No that’s not a hippo. Come, paddle faster, let’s
go see”, and we paddled furiously towards this scene…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">A young male puku – think
chunky version of our impala – leapt into the river on the left and started swimming.
A massive crocodile leapt into the river from the right and in a few powerful
strokes and one mighty snap of the jaws caught the puku and dragged it under. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">A wriggle and some splashing. Some </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">bubbles.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">We canoed over the
bubbles. Kaley and I had a moment of being mutually startled by the life and death scene we had just witnessed, aware that we just happened to be there and see a moment that existed outside of our humanity. "</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">I feel sad for the puku", I said to Kaley, who said the puku must have been chased into the water by a predator, perhaps a lion or a cheetah. I felt happy for the croc though, so prehistorically reptilian-crocodilian, soon
to be tummy-full.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 18.6667px; line-height: 28px;">And when I looked back, the She River had closed over again. Croc one; puku nought; life moves on, birth, death, life, flow...</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLvw0JZjjW1Z6N7RFzsq6SnA-sty9-ZQqOkmiaCwwFmhPFRhVnL5U8PTWUW5Dm_Y1gIfZdHjyFP41ljECE5LBUKyN4FuBoBnFLwzlZRreR-Z9m8Vr2IRjvarLHD9l678mGJ2MuHf2R5F8M/s1600/IMG_4060.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLvw0JZjjW1Z6N7RFzsq6SnA-sty9-ZQqOkmiaCwwFmhPFRhVnL5U8PTWUW5Dm_Y1gIfZdHjyFP41ljECE5LBUKyN4FuBoBnFLwzlZRreR-Z9m8Vr2IRjvarLHD9l678mGJ2MuHf2R5F8M/s640/IMG_4060.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Vagina flumine. Flowing vagina.That’s what an old
friend commented on this photograph I posted this pic of the Kafue River recently; the metaphor of river as erotic, female, primal, flowing, cyclical. Birth,
life, death. It got me thinking about my old friend Thecla and it got me thinking about river porn (snuff in
this case) and the wild wet mysterious place I had just been. </span></div>
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Bridget Hilton-Barberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06323694299502913926noreply@blogger.com0