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February 2021
yours forever - download me please e-edition
more
baffling
Riaad Moosa than
(virtually) before*
* Walk the West Coast, suss out street art in Salt River
+ why woo-woo conspiracy theories are booming
The 2021 edition of Proudly South
African’s flagship event,
the Buy Local Summit & Expo,
is going virtual!
8 -1 0 M A R C H 2 0 2 1
to register visit
www.buylocalsummit.co.za
The 2021 edition of the Proudly South African Buy Local Summit & Expo is
a hybrid event including some live sessions and some online participation
from speakers and will include a programme that is designed to educate,
inform and assist anyone with an interest in creating jobs and growing the
economy of our country using local procurement as a lever for growth.
Since it will be hosted online and all elements will be streamed, this allows
many more visitors to the event than previously when it took place over
just 2 days in Gauteng.
Our 9th edition in 2021 will include sessions that speak to entrepreneurs,
small and large business owners, and anyone working in supply chain man-
agement. All the sessions will be recorded live at the Sandton Convention
Centre and packaged for online viewing on.
All the sessions will be recorded live at the Sandton Convention Centre and
packaged for online viewing on this website: www.buylocalsummit.co.za
over 200
Local SMME
virtual Top speakers
products Workshop
exhibitors
V E N U® S E R I E S
G P S S M A R T WATC H E S
B R I G H T D I S P L AY S
U P T O 5 - D AY B AT T E R Y
A L L- D A Y H E A L T H M O N I T O R I N G
Copyright © 2021 Garmin Ltd. or its subsidiaries.
View from THE TOP
W
e are fast approaching the first-year anniversary of that life-changing day when
our President addressed his fellow South Africans. His sincerity and sombre tone
united our nation and we were all proud that we had a strong, empathetic leader
to guide us through the difficult times that lay ahead.
What followed was one of the more stringent and cumbersome lockdowns yet
implemented by any country in the world and we chose to trust our leaders. Ours was a
unique approach, certainly. The speed with which the tenderpreneurs procured our much
needed PPE equipment was record-breaking. We marvelled at the revolutionary science-
based formulas that were developed allowing us to buy slippers but not slops, gardening
gloves but not spades, and for allowing joggers to run on cramped promenades rather than
in parks, mountain trails and wide-open beaches.
Uniquely in the world our strategists flattened the curve by banning smoking. And cooked
chicken, too, was off the menu.
We made it through the tough restrictions and were eventually allowed to exercise in
gyms, restock our liquor cabinets, travel, and see friends and family again.
But no sooner had we begun to ease into a more normal way of life, letting our guard
slip, than we began hearing murmurs once again of rising infection rates and increasingly
overburdened hospitals. Soon this became an unavoidable daily talking point as the scourge
took hold of our lives and our liberty yet again.
And many more people were lost.
Now, on the crest of a second wave, it’s easy to become disillusioned at the reports of
exhausted healthcare workers and soaring death rates, but our South African spirit
remains undaunted.
And we have – perhaps for the first time since that first presidential address – reason to be
optimistic because the global rollout of a vaccine has commenced. Miraculous in many respects,
its rapid distribution will be on an unprecented scale.
While we have skilfully manoeuvred a place in the back of the vaccine queue, we await
with baited breath the vaccine’s arrival on our shores and with it, we hope, a return to
simpler times.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to all those who have lost a loved one.
Glenn Orsmond, CEO: Comair Limited Glenn Orsmond, CEO: Comair Limited
@iflykulula @kulula @iflykulula
kulula.com FEBRUARY 2021 3
February 2021
yours forever - download me please e-edition
more
baffling
Riaad Moosa than
(virtually) before*
All the web addresses
you see in this magazine
are clickable. Just hover
* Walk the West Coast, suss out street art in Salt River
+ why woo-woo conspiracy theories are booming
your cursor over the URL
and click.
Contents
PUBLISHED BY
PICASSO HEADLINE
a proud division of Arena Holdings
Hill on Empire, 16 Empire Road (cnr Hillside Road),
FEBRUARY 2021
Parktown, Johannesburg 2193
PO Box 12500, Mill Street, Cape Town, 8010
EDITORIAL
Editor Keith Bain
Content Manager Raina Julies – rainaj@picasso.co.za
Content Co-ordinator Vanessa Payne
ART
11 17 Head of Design Studio Jayne Macé-Ferguson
Senior Designer Mfundo Archie Ndzo
Production Editor Shamiela Brenner
EXPERIENCE Cover Photographer/Retouching Sven Kristian
7 THE SOCIAL SPACE
They say three’s a crowd, so wear a mask SALES
Project Manager Richard White –
and stay a couple of metres apart. richardw@picasso.co.za, +27 83 229 4040
11 SEEING IS BELIEVING khlassifieds Project Manager Steve Norval –
steven@picasso.co.za, +27 60 401 3598
EXPLORE
Exhibitions, inside and out.
28 Sales Consultants Clint Smith, Gavin Payne,
Andre Potgeiter, Roman Ross, Andre Theunissen,
17 REST ASSURED Randy Grace, Stephen Crawford
Sanctuary in the Breede River Valley. Advertising co-ordinator Johan Labuschagne
23 WEST COAST DAY DREAM management
In the footsteps of the ancients. Business Manager Lodewyk van der Walt –
28 YOU WILL FEEL IT IN YOUR SOUL lodewykv@picasso.co.za
Management Accountant Deidre Musha
Rediscovering the joy of being on safari.
General Manager, Magazines Jocelyne Bayer
34 SIMPLY BETHESDA
Where to eat after you’ve toured the Kulula.com
Owl House. Chief Executive Officer Comair Ltd Glenn Orsmond
Executive Manager Sales and Marketing, kulula.com
DISCOVER Brian Kitchin
53 42 YOU CAN’T MAKE THIS STUFF UP Brand Communictions Manager, kulula.com
Luane Lavery
If logic can’t stop them, what will?
45 WRITING ON THE WALLS Comair Limited
The rise and rise of graffiti. 1 Marignane Drive, Bonaero Park, Kempton Park, 1619
Tel: 011 921 0111 | kulula.com | contact centre:
53 THE GOOD BOOKS 0861 KULULA (585852)
Novel women.
Copyright: No portion of this magazine may be reproduced in any form
without written consent of the publisher. The publisher is not responsible for
Mind unsolicited material. khuluma is published monthly by Picasso Headline.
The opinions expressed are not necessarily those of Picasso Headline, kulula
the or Arena Holdings. All advertisements/advertorials and promotions have been
woo-woos paid for and therefore do not carry any endorsement by the publisher. While
every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of its contents, neither
kulula, nor the publisher can be held responsible for any omissions or errors,
or for any misfortune, injury or damages that may arise therefrom. We reserve
42
the right to edit interviews for layout purposes.
4 FEBRUARY 2021 kulula.com
putting you in charge
download our kulula.com app and enjoy a
paperless, stress-free journey as you
manage everything on the app and stay on
top of your travel game
kulula.com/app
Our app gives you the ability to:
Store upcoming trips View and share boarding pass
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Quick access to manage your
Check-in and pre-select your seat booking, add extras, FAQs & more
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SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE EXPERIENCE
KEEP IT SAFE
THE SOCIAL SPACE
Stay grounded
Red Bull’s King of the Air, an
extreme kiteboarding competition
that usually takes advantage of
Cape Town’s annual windy season,
has been blown off course by the
pandemic’s second wave. The plan
is to reschedule for late in the year.
In the meanwhile, you can get a dose
of adrenaline-firing sports action by
tuning into Red Bull’s TV channel; it’s
online, free, available 24/7, and the
variety will have you surfing far
and wide.
From ultra-runners Ryan Sandes
and Ryno Griesel racing across the
Himalayas in Lessons from the Edge
(pictured here) to a doccie about
Brad Binder’s ascent to MotoGP
champ, there’s ice climbing in
Greenland, skateboarding, and so
much more. Plus, the site streams
unique live events from around the
world. redbull.com
kulula.com FEBRUARY 2021 7
EXPERIENCE SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE
Where
Where there’s Ash,
there’s Ash,
there’s fire
there’s fire
HeNorval
melds Foundation in Tokai,
folk, blues and rock,
butCape Town,
there’s alsocurrently
modern has soul And
andthree
some major exhibitions:
country rhythm AnrdE’S
photographs
in there by Zanele
too. Tshwane-born THE rr ’s
eE
Muholi; sculptures
singer-songwriter by Ash
Roan thmeO
more
willJackson
combine Hlungwani;
music withand this
huge window
storytelling and vinyl
a liveby Athi-
band
forPatra Ruga. It’s
a one-night the first
concert at part
theofTheatre
his iiNyanga Zonyakaat
of Marcellus –
‘norvalfoundation.org
Emperors Palace in Joburg on
20 February. computicket.com
Alfredo Jaar: The Rwanda Project,
Apoca LAUGHS
Cape Town, ongoing.Now!
CapeMOCAA
Zeitz Town, inuntil
Cape27 February.
Town reopened after
The premierhiatus
lockdown’s of Alan Committie’s
with new solo
Home is Where the Art
stand-up
Is, exhibiting over 2 000 artworkstwice
show has been delayed due toby
Humanising science the onset of the second wave. All
submitted
things
Capetonians. Now also showing is an exhibition being of
This is the last month of Science meets Art, an
exhibitionHumanising science equal, you should be able to see him at
selected work by Chilean-born, New York-based Theatre
at the Rupert Museum in Stellenbosch on the Bay in Cape Town this month;
The saucy Alfredo Jaar, the artist-activist whosedue to
six-year
for which artists anddrag queens
crafters haveatcreated
Cape
Covid seating protocols tickets are only sold in
project honours the 800 000 victims of the 1994
artworks designed to spark conversationshave
Town’s Gate 69 cabaret theatre
pairs. computicket.com
never been knowninto hold back on the Rwandan genocide. It’s deeply affecting and runs
about illnesses, especially communities
naughtiness. Eros, their summertime until May. zeitzmocaa.museum
where names for particular diseases might
cabaret, promises to be hotter,
not even exist. For more art shows happening Boschendal Friday Night Market
fleshier and more risqué than ever. It’s Trail of Lights,
Franschhoek, Durban, 11–30 December.
ongoing.
countrywide, see page 11. rupertmuseum.org
a Greek tragedy-inspired musical, in The Durban
Each Botanic
Friday until Gardens
30 April, hosts thishosts
Boschendal illuminated
which they conjure an agony aunt g. tribute
an to the
outdoor festive
market season:
with You drinks
food and follow stalls,
paths
gate69.co.za between
live musictheandtrees and landscaped
picnicking under the gardens,
trees and
setthe
on aglow
lawnsby at
lights
Theto create
Werf an after-dark
(there are beanbags,
otherworldliness.
but bring blankets).There’s
No cash,also
soabring
Festive
yourMarket,
card
music
or havepop-ups,
Zapper or a pair of foodon
Snapscan gardens and
your phone.
Youngsters
youngsters aged
can meet5 to 14 canin
Santa spend the time at
his dedicated grotto.
The Tree House,
trailoflights.co.za where there’ll be supervised
The
Thegood
good old
old days
days fun – crafting, drumming and an outdoor movie
Fed up with with
Sowetopopcorn
Kota – for R200 per 12
Festival, child. Arrive early
December.
Bundle yourNetflix
crew on intoyour
the laptop?
car and Bundle yourback
time travel crewtointo
thethe carof
days
and GoDriveIn as numbers are limited, and adhere to all Covid
drive-in movies at GoDriveIn in Salt River, Cape Town. There arein
time travel back to the days of drive-in movies at Celebrating our nation’s beloved street food, this is
Salt River, Cape Town. There are screenings of old favourites most mitigation protocols. boschendal.com
a hunger-satisfying gathering for the whole family.
screenings of old favourites on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. This month there’s plenty
Assuming the curfew is behind us, this month’s line-up should of family
include There’ll be live music and a place for children to
fare, including E.T. on the 4th and The Incredibles on New Year’s
a mix of family movies (like Shrek 2 and Up), and a few classics for play, too. It’s at the Soweto Cricket Oval in Rockville.
Combo Comedy Show
Eve. Grown-up delights such as Pulp Fiction and Jaws are also computicket.com
fans of such fare as Indiana Jones and the Raiders Joburg, 14 February.
scheduled. Gates open 6pm, movies start 8pm;
of the Lost Ark, Beverley Hills Cop, The Hand-holding may be frowned upon, but this
you can pre-order hot food (plus popcorn Newcastle
Valentine’s DayDay withall
we could Black Coffee,
do with a few good
Breakfast Club and Ferris Beuller’s
and snacks)
Day fromtrucks
Off. Food Truckwith
Norris
hot 12 December.
laughs. Join Sifiso Nene and a selection of top-
when
treats and popcorntickets.
you book your are Thecomedians
tier king of Mzansi
for ahouse music will
much-needed be rocking
giggle at Gold
it at Newcastle’s
Reef Scrapyard
City’s Lyric Theatre. Lounge.
computicket.com
in godrivein.com
attendance.
computicket.com
godrivein.com
8
10 F
DE B
CREU
MABREYR 22002210 kulula.comSOMETHING FOR EVERYONE EXPERIENCE
Discovery Surfers Challenge
East London, 20 February.
Presuming our beaches and waterways are Take the movie to the mountains
open, this annual event (now in its 47th year) The late Mary Twala has already received posthumous awards
will take athletes over rocks, across sand and for her starring role in This is Not a Burial, It’s a Resurrection,
along the river from Kwelera Mouth to Nahoon which is also Lesotho’s first-ever official Oscar entry. Visually and
Beach. There’s running, paddling and swimming, emotionally breathtaking, this astonishing film is at cinemas now.
and entrants are advised to follow Covid sterkinekor.com
mitigation rules and limit any post-race back-
patting and celebrating. surferschallenge.co.za
Spirit of a great heart
The Last Five Years ‘The world is full of strange behaviour,’ sang
Cape Town, from 24 February. Johnny Clegg in one of his most loved anthems.
A musical in miniature, this theatre production What could be more true right now? A
tells the bittersweet tale of a struggling number of top-tier South African
actress and a budding novelist who meet at artists will be celebrating his life
the wrong time in their lives. To underscore and music during the Johnny
this star-crossed theme, the story of their Clegg Tribute Concert
ultimately doomed relationship is told from two being held at Emmarentia
perspectives – she gives her account backwards Botanic Gardens in
while he relates it chronologically. Their stories Joburg on 6 March.
converge at only one point – on their wedding computicket.com
day. It was initially meant to open just as the
pandemic hit South Africa last year; now it’s
scheduled to be at The Baxter until 13 March.
baxter.co.za
Skhumba’s Weekend Comedy Special
Mmabatho, 26 February.
Skhumba Hlophe is bringing his comedy A game
Words: Keith Bain, Pictures: Dean Leslie, supplied
to the Mmabatho Palms Resort, and with him
on stage will be several of his finest comedian
friends. computicket.com
Newcastle Day with Black Coffee
27 February.
The king of Mzansi house music had his Chicken, fish, or a slap?
December show postponed; if all goes according
Has-been flight attendants Cathy Specific, Holly and Molly are bringing
to plan, he’ll will be rocking it at Newcastle’s
their naughty grown-up cabaret, The Trolley Dollies – A Musical, to
Scrapyard Lounge this month. computicket.com
Joburg for the first time. They’ll be at The Lesedi at Joburg Theatre,
from 18 February. webtickets.co.za
kulula.com FEBRUARY 2021 9ART FOR DAYS EXPERIENCE
Seeing is
believing
Inside, outside, covering entire
buildings... an abundance of art
across Mzansi
Cut the what, now? Scene in the Karoo
Introduced in the early- Pictured left is Sheep and Windpomp,
20th century, the linocut – or a linocut that forms part of an
linoleum cut – is a print created exhibition by Joshua Miles currently
from a sheet of linoleum showing at the Prince Albert Gallery.
into which a relief design The new show, entitled Karoo,
has been cut. features landscapes, rural scenes,
Linoleum’s versatility means animals and plants, and a quite a
it can be worked to achieve few distinctly Karoo locations.
both fine-grain textures and Ceres-born Miles studied
large areas of flat colour often graphic art before enrolling at
found in big decorative prints. UCT’s Michaelis School of Fine
The technique has long been Art; he now has a studio in the
used to create graphic posters, one-horse Overberg hamlet of
and was popularised among Baardskeerdersbos. His exhibition
serious artists following its use is as fine a reason as any to spend
by Pablo Picasso and Henri some down-time in the small town at
Matisse in the 1950s. the foot of the Swartberg mountains.
princealbertgallery.co.za
kulula.com February 2021 11EXPERIENCE ART FOR DAYS
Still waiting
At Cape Town’s Zeitz MOCAA is
the first museum solo exhibition
of prolific Soweto artist Senzeni
New kid on the block Marasela. It’s called Waiting
Jaffer Modern is a new gallery at Vīb for Gebane and centres on
by Best Western, a sleek hotel that Marasela’s fictional alter ego,
launched on Green Point’s Main Road Theodorah, who is based
mid-December (more about the hotel on her mother.
on page 17). The opening exhibition is Marasela works in a variety of
Gathering: A Community of Portraits, mediums, include photography,
featuring works by over 40 artists. video, prints, textiles and
Some are first-time artists, others – embroidery. Central is the
like Diane Victor, Cecil Skotnes and recurring theme of waiting – for
Colbert Mashile – are well known. an absent husband, presumably
Pictured below is one of the works working on a faraway mine,
on show by Durban artist Sibusiso destined never to return.
Duma who mixes fantasy and reality. zeitzmocaa.museum
jaffermodern.com
Inside out
This statue by Angus Taylor is
called Bearing your Becoming.
She stands on a marble base and
is made from bronze, inlaid with
stones. It was cast in 2020 and
is part of the current exhibition
at the new Everard Read space
at Franschhoek’s larney
Leeu Estates.
Monumental sculptures are
displayed among the fynbos and
vineyards, plus there’s a purpose-
built gallery in the Fynbosch
Quarter, which includes a studio
and cottage for a new artist
residency programme.
everard-read-franschhoek.co.za
Look into my eyes
From 25 February, at Cape Town’s Christopher Moller Gallery, you
can see an exhibition of paintings by Ghanaian artist Hamid Nii Nortey.
It’s entitled For My Sisters, and highlights the figurative portraiture
for which he’s known, focusing on multi-generational female
subjects. Pictured left is Exodus to the West, in which you might
notice the artist’s focus on the eyes as a kind of portal into the deeper
emotional world of his subjects. The exhibition runs until 25 March.
christophermollerart.co.za
12 FEBRUARY 2021 kulula.comART FOR DAYS EXPERIENCE
Good, better, Goodman
For the birds Cape Town’s Goodman Gallery has a new
Otto du Plessis’s Hornbill Woman is among the home: a former convent dating from 1910. Its
sculptures on show as part of an exhibition opening group exhibition – Did you ever think
– plainly titled Birds – at the IS Sculpture there would come a time? – kind of sums up
garden around Tokara Delicatessen on the widespread feelings about the state of our
lovely Tokara wine-and-olive estate on the world right now and serves as a reflection
Helshoogte Pass between Stellenbosch of our collective response to the sustained
and Franschhoek. The theme might be self- pause inflicted by the pandemic on what we
explanatory, but the avian-inspired sculptures regard as normality.
are in disparate styles – some have an industrial This reflection features new and existing
quality, others (like the Hornbill Woman) conjure works by Ghada Amer, Nolan Oswald Dennis,
myth, mystery, even magic. is-art-gallery.com Alfredo Jaar, William Kentridge, Kapwani
Kiwanga, Mateo López, Misheck Masamvu,
Gerhard Marx, Shirin Neshat, Mikhael
Subotzky, Sue Williamson and Pamela
Phatsimo Sunstrum, whose work (Did you
Colour my city never think there would come a time?) is
Cape Town’s International Public Art Festival pictured below. The exhibition runs until
(IPAF) is unlike any other exhibition of art 20 February. goodman-gallery.com
currently happening in the country. Said
to be the largest public art festival on the
continent, it celebrates not only the evolution
of street art from what was once considered
a form of public nuisance into a legit art
form, but also marks the ways in which art,
colour, social interaction and collaboration
can transform urban spaces, and even entire
neighbourhoods.
The festival happens on buildings, walls and
public places in and around Salt River, with big
name local and international muralists and
graffiti artists in attendance. This year’s event
is all about sustainability. For deeper insight,
read the full feature on page 44.
The beginning and the end
Words: Keith Bain, Pictures: Michael Hall, Supplied
It’s been a decade since the passing of Jackson Hlungwani. The celebrated
Shangaan sculptor and religious leader grew up in rural Limpopo and northern
Mpumalanga; he never attended school, but along with a childhood spent herding
goats and sheep, his father taught him to carve, passing along a deep tradition, and
filling him with a passion for the medium that served him throughout his life.
At Norval Foundation in Tokai, Alt and Omega: Jackson Hlungwani is an
exhibition of his work honouring the complex intersection between his artistic work
and his spiritual journey. The show’s title takes its name from the church Hlungwani
established, which he called ‘Yesu Geleiya One Apostle in Sayoni Alt and Omega’.
norvalfoundation.org
kulula.com February 2021 13URBAN BOLT-HOLE EXPLORE
EXPLORE Here. There. Everywhere.
What’s your vibe?
There’s visual intrigue aplenty at Green
Point’s new compact, cost-conscious hotel,
Vīb (pronounced vibe), which is Best Western’s
answer to the accommodation demands of young,
connected, remote-working travellers. The building
emanates from the drawing board of Cape Town
architect Robert Silke, whose knack is for eye-
catching constructions rendered with artistic flair.
His other signature?
Downsized proportions that heed growing
concerns about constraints on the availability of
physical space in urban settings. His solution is to
have created sleek guestrooms with everything
you need for a comfortable, convenient stay: Chic,
minimalist finishes; snazzy design elements; and
– importantly – plenty of natural light and dynamic
views. Plus, access not only to a fabulous indoor-
outdoor café-style restaurant on the ground floor,
but a dramatic rooftop pool that’s cantilevered over
the front edge of the hotel.
There’s also a modern art gallery (more about
that on page 12), and across the road are Cape
Town Stadium and Green Point Urban Park. What
you’re looking at here is the view from below,
towards the underside of that pool with its porthole
‘windows’ directly overhead – like we said, plenty
of aesthetic intrigue.
Words: Keith Bain, Picture: Keith Bain
vibcapetown.com
Dreaming in Robertson 17 Tumbling on the Zambezi 23 Tasting Bethesda 34
PLUS Rediscovering the wonder of safari 28
kulula.com FEBRUARY 2021 15KINGJAMES 52135
ep
*R
dy
ut tu
at io es
n I n stit u t
Add flight
tickets to your
shopping list.
Go to your nearest Pick n Pay supermarket or Hypermarket
to book your next kulula.com domestic flight in-store.
For more information, go to www.pnp.co.za/money/value-added-services/flight-tickets.
Travellers must adhere to the Covid-19 travel protocols stipulated by government to be allowed to fly.
Ts and Cs apply. E&OE.SLOW-DOWN STAYS EXPLORE
DOWN IN THE VALLEY
REST ASSURED
1. Counting sheep in Robertson
You know what they say about dynamite and small
packages? Well, here’s evidence. Occupying a quiet, tree-
lined residential road, and centred on a 110-year-old
Victorian manor with a broekie-lace fringe around the
veranda, the Robertson Small is the sort of intimate,
downsized country hotel that’s genetically wired to make
you feel like you’ve come home.
kulula.com FEBRUARY 2021 17EXPLORE SLOW-DOWN STAYS
Roaming
Robertson
Valley
Fine wine
Effectively headquarters of the Breede River
Valley, Robertson is at the western end of
Route 62 – full of quirky stops, lovely vistas
and villages where time moves at a gentler
pace, it’s also the world’s longest wine route.
Apart from a few well-known names, including
Graham Beck (for bubbly) and the rather
wonderful-sounding Wonderfontein (where
there are MCCs and muscadels to taste), a few
other little wonders you shouldn’t miss include
Excelsior (where, apart from touring the cellar,
Things about the Robertson Small that’ll make you smile?
the manor house and the rose garden maze,
Starting with the smile that welcomes you from across the counter
you can create and bottle your own blend)
in the little lobby, right down to the linens that enfold you as you
and De Wetshof, which is ground-zero for
drift to sleep at night, every detail is designed to coax you into a
Chardonnay in South Africa, there’s Springfield,
kind of lazy, feel-good stupor. As with its public areas, each of the
which is owned and run by ninth-generation
10 rooms has been turned into something quite special thanks to a
French Huguenot descendants who produce
collaborative effort by various designers and artists and crafters.
wines using primarily native yeasts and keep a
And laugh? Well, there are those sheep, of course, keeping watch
herd of springbok on the estate.
in the lounge.
OMG factor? Its good looks spill over into a stupendous garden,
one that’s manicured in parts, slightly jungly in others. Saggy Stone Brewery
Not for you if… you’re in any kind of a hurry. Because, quite Around 25km from Robertson Small Hotel,
frankly, no matter how much of a brewer Adrian Robinson runs a microbrewery
crammed schedule you envisage, tucked away deep in the Langeberg Mountains.
this hotel will literally force There, on the edge of a river where fresh air
you to ease off the accelerator, prevails and spring water is filtered by over
slow down, unwind, sink into a granite rocks, he handcrafts ales. To entertain
reverie as though a spell has visitors, there’s a rustic pub where country
been cast over your entire being. grub is served alongside his lagers and IPAs.
It’s Robertson’s only five-star saggystone.co.za
hotel but don’t let that conjure up
ideas about any sort of pretence
or empty luxury – this is the real
deal, a place where you go to feel
more human.
How deep are your pockets?
From R1 450 per person sharing,
including an incredible breakfast.
.therobertsonsmallhotel.com
18 FEBRUARY 2021 kulula.comSLOW-DOWN STAYS EXPLORE
Sheilam Cactus Farm
Whether you’re looking to buy plants that 2. Near and far
don’t need too much attention, or simply Just down the road from Robertson, the little village of McGregor is a popular
want to gawk at a vast collection of bizarre- haunt with Capetonians escaping their daily grind. A few kilometres before you
looking succulents, don’t miss this sprawling hit the village itself, it’s possible to stay in total tranquillity – far from anything
nursery not too far outside Robertson. You resembling a crowd – at Tanagra Wine and Guest Farm, a 78-hectare estate
can explore the chaos on your own, taking in the where the Rosenbachs, who have been farming here for over a decade, have
cacti, cycads and oddities, or phone ahead to a handful of gorgeous cottages.
Words: Keith Bain, Pictures: Micky Hoyle, Keith Bain, Supplied
arrange a guided tour – there are at least Things that’ll make you smile? Apart from the four cottages that are
part of the main farm (with access to a lovely garden with loads of trees and a
2 000 species of plants to see.
pool), there are two more (appropriately named Hill and Faraway) that are quite
sheilamnursery.com
remote, stuck out there in the wild veld with loads of privacy, pretty views and
their own plunge pools.
Marbrin Olive Growers
And what’ll melt your heart? Well, if the tranquillity and views don’t do
It turns out that olive trees love the Valley, too, it, then pop across the road and spend some time at the Eseltjiesrus donkey
which means that olive farmer Clive Heymans sanctuary where there’s a little café and a chance to visit with donkeys that
is able to press fruit to create some of the most have been rescued from terrible circumstances. The adjacent Vrolijkheid Nature
highly regarded oils in the country. At his family- Reserve is a good place for a hike, and there are overnight mountain trails all
run farm, he’ll talk you through a range of olive the way to Greyton, too.
cultivars, tapenades, and oil infusions all while OMG factor? Robert Rosenbach has his very own little distillery where he
regaling you with his special brand of humour. produces a range of grappas and eau
marbrin.co.za de vie. You can taste wines, sample the
strong stuff, and even take a peek at
Farmer Redbeard how the distillery works.
Overseen by the legendary farmer himself, How deep are your pockets?
you can explore Wilde Paarde Kloof by tractor, R1 000 for a couple per night self-
taking in the farm before stopping at a gorgeous catering; R2 500 for up to four people
spot overlooking the dam where there’ll be at Faraway cottage.
a braai accompanied by a few of the estate’s tanagra.co.za
small-batch wines. Or spend some time getting
a feel for genuine farm life, helping with harvest,
seeing to the bees, or working in the kitchen
making fruit preserves. farmerredbeard.co.za
kulula.com FEBRUARY 2021 19connecting South Africa
over 42 million customers carried since 2001
We offer a network of flights to South Africa's
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East London
iflykulula iflykulula kulula
Love exclusive deals? Sign up to kulula.com/fanmailRIAAD MOOSA MEET
Asking
for our
frontline
workers Just wash
them, okay?
Salaam! I’m comedian (and doctor) Riaad Moosa
and please forgive me for looking exhausted. It has been a
brutal year. For all of us. Besides the Zoom calls and home
schooling (which is not to be taken lightly), there were
the stressful times in the kitchen. And then there was me
trying to be funny in front of a webcam, with no idea who
was watching. Or if anyone was watching.
If you think it’s nerve-wracking doing stand-up comedy
in front of a live audience, wait until you try stand-up while
sitting down in front of your laptop at home. Doing comedy
online is no joke. Without that feedback from a live
audience – whether there are laughs or just crickets – it’s
hard to know if a joke has landed.
The thing is, though, I can’t complain. Being able to stay
at home knowing your family is safe is a luxury.
As we find ourselves battling a second wave, perhaps
complaining about so-called Covid fatigue, think about
those folks who work at the coalface of this pandemic, who
spend their days trying to save lives. My heart goes out
to the frontline health workers – the doctors and nurses
and paramedics and other medical personnel – who put
themselves at risk every day for the sake of society.
It’s for them that I believe in being conscientious about
our behaviour: avoiding crowds, keeping our hands
to ourselves and keeping them clean, wearing masks
properly, and maintaining a decent distance between
ourselves and other people. It’s the least we can do.
So, please, consider our frontline workers. Have a great
flight and make the best of 2021. Responsibly.
kulula.com FEBRUARY 2021 21IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF TRUE ORIGINALS EXPLORE
West Coast
day dream
Set off on a seaside hike steeped in history
I’m alone on a beach.
Few signs of life apart from fellow strollers. The
sea’s rough today, slamming the shoreline like it’s
on a mission of destruction. Thoughts bob in and
out of my consciousness. I’m midway through the
day on a 50km beach walk between Elands Bay
and Strandfontein on the Cape West Coast. We’re
tracking a thousand-year-old route the San
once used.
I plod along like a crab tracking the waterline,
trying to stay on the section of beach where the
sand is hardest. The time warp on our adventure
began the day before at Elands Bay, a major surfing
location at the mouth of Verlorenvlei. There, our
group – a handful of participants in Anette Grobler’s
Shoreline of the San beach hike – took a late-
afternoon drive to the cave out beyond the point at
Bobbejaanberg. A short climb to the entrance led
past a crumbling, graffiti-covered building, once an
observation post for German U-boats.
kulula.com FEBRUARY 2021 23EXPLORE IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF TRUE ORIGINALS
In front of us, in the blazing orange of dusk were I wonder about their worldview and ours; and, what
hundreds of small handprints cluttering the rockface – led to their demise. Thoughts of the future mingle with
a timeless greeting to the wide ocean horizon beyond. thoughts of the past: what answers have we missed in
There’s the shape of an eland and silhouettes of people our march towards progress, I wonder? Where did it all
too. Our guide tells the story of what we know, his go so wrong?
shadow dancing on the wall much like that of the early It’s one whole day and several kilometres later, just
dwellers in firelight. south of Lambert’s Bay, that Oom Herman Burger on
Occasionally John Parkington, Emeritus Professor in his farm Steenbokfontein shows us the smoothed
the Department of Archaeology at the University of Cape edges on a rock now believed to have been something
Town and rock art specialist, joins our groups to set the of a scratch-pole for the elephants that once lived here.
scene. Our guide, Johnny van der Westhuizen, shoulders Craggy edges resemble polished marble.
the job today. The rock outcrop is known as Simon Se Klip, named
Johnny talks about the shamanic ritual that was after the VOC Governor of the Cape who apparently
central to the San existence and its powerful link to passed here on his expedition northwards in 1686. It
the world they found themselves in. Through the was also home to earlier travellers who left a plentiful
practice of trances, they sought better hunting, supply of evidence in rock art and heaps of discarded
healing, rain, enlightenment. seashells.
24 FEBRUARY 2021 kulula.comIN THE FOOTSTEPS OF TRUE ORIGINALS EXPLORE
The Burgers have been on this farm for centuries and hikers stretches out along the white sands. Sometimes
that night Oom Herman’s spouse Tant Kitta nourishes us I’m alone; sometimes I’m with someone and we talk.
in her famous Plaaskombuis (farm kitchen). The walls We lunch at the Muisbosskerm beach restaurant
are thick, white-washed and covered in black and white outside Lambert’s Bay, the fishing town where we bed
photographs, newspaper articles and historical sketches. down. It’s a weeknight so the streets are empty when the
As we feast on West Coast delicacies, she regales us with mist rolls in, creating spooky halos around streetlights.
tales of shipwrecks and ghosts. The mist is still there the next morning as we set off
After some fitful rest, aches and pains quickly dissipate for Doringbaai, another fishing village made famous by
and the rhythm of the walk returns. Oystercatchers, seals, the Fryer's Cove winery in the old harbour.
gulls, terns and scurrying plovers track our progress. The From Doringbaai, sandy beach gives way to a track
sea remains angry. leading along the cliff-line. We zigzag between coves
Then, at some point, I lose myself again; the repetitive and caves, the path littered again with bleached shells.
physical activity itself unexpectedly transforms an And just as it was yesterday, last week and one thousand
outward experience into inner awareness. It’s not an years ago, the sea is roughly slamming the shoreline.
unconscious state, just one that feels like spiritual ease. And I realise that it’s not a mission of destruction. It is a
There’s no rush in the pace of our group and the peloton of kind of genesis.
the repetitive physical
activity transforms an
outward experience
into inner awareness
kulula.com FEBRUARY 2021 25EXPLORE IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF TRUE ORIGINALS
The long walk
The Shoreline of the San is a four-day guided
coastal walk that requires a moderate
amount of walking fitness, although everyone
walks at their own pace.
Most of the walking each day is completed
Words: Clifford Roberts, Pictures: Clifford Roberts
by around lunchtime. Luggage is transported
to the guesthouse accommodation, so all
you need during the day is a comfortable
backpack, a light jacket, a broad-rim hat,
sun-cream, snacks, at least two litres of
water and a basic first-aid kit. Most
people walk in trainers, but they should
be comfortable. For the evenings, have a
change of clothes, and alternative shoes.
silentsteps.co.za
26 FEBRUARY 2021 kulula.comspeed through the boarding process
purchase Q-Jump and be one of the first to board the aircraft
With Q-Jump, you get to access the overhead stowage sooner and your checked
bag is amongst the first to be offloaded.
Book online or call our Contact Centre on 0861 (KULULA) 585852
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Love exclusive deals? Sign up to kulula.com/fanmailEXPLORE BACK TO THE BUSH
You
will
feel
it in
your
soul
Let the safari
sink in
28 FEBRUARY 2021 kulula.comBACK TO THE BUSH EXPLORE
Y
You forget, don’t you? The wonder of the bush. The impact that
being in it has on you. It is such a rare privilege – in this day
and age – to be able to venture into such still-wild places, to
see creatures whose very existence hangs on a knife’s edge.
And then suddenly you’re in it, and something deep inside –
somewhere in your primordial being – remembers…
We’d touched down at Skukuza, arriving in a hot, dusty,
bleached-out otherworld. It was desperately dry, the earth
parched and brittle like ancient leather. A cracked landscape
covered by thorn trees and hot air, Kruger looked like as if a
digital filter had been applied to bleach out the colours. What
remained were the greys and brown and ghostly greens. It
was not unbeautiful. Rather, it possessed a sort of sublime
splendour, a loveliness that’s difficult to explain because it
hits you here – deep in your chest – like an ache or a yearning
that reaches across the depths of time. Because this is a land
that has survived beyond the reach of memory; for millions of
years, the cycles of life have played out here, irrespective of
human influence.
Dirt tracks
We piled into the Land Cruiser and, behind our sunglasses,
squinted in the Lowveld glare. Air – decadently hot – set upon
our faces as we headed for adventure.
It wasn’t long before we veered off one of Kruger’s tar roads
and onto a dirt track marked by a little ‘NO TRESPASSING’
sign. We criss-crossed empty rivers and slugged it along dirt
roads until we arrived at a remote-controlled gate, on the
other side of which folks were waiting to welcome us home. Or
rather to Jock Safari Lodge, which occupies a 6 000-hectare
concession within Kruger’s southwest. The main camp is
situated at the confluence of the Mitomeni and Biyamiti rivers
and is done out in a timeless safari style that pays tribute to
the era when Percy Fitzpatrick and his dog Jock traversed this
land – the lodge’s founders were Fitzpatrick’s blood relatives.
We were urged to settle in, feel at home.
Jock Safari Lodge is built with lots of natural materials
and retains an old-world, authentic atmosphere, its
buildings twisting around ancient trees; each guest
suite has its own open-to-the-elements sala, where
the daybed can be set up for a night 'out'
kulula.com FEBRUARY 2021 29EXPLORE BACK TO THE BUSH
After lunch, we were back in the Land Cruiser,
being guided by Lazarus Mkhonto, a ranger with
a leather cowboy hat and bush-attuned eyes. A
veteran of the Kruger bushveld, Lazarus is one of
those rangers who doesn’t just show you the bush,
but teaches you how to connect with it. He’s learnt
to suss out its subtlest nuances, cultivating an
ability to feel nature’s rhythms. His skill is not just
knowing the Latin terms for animals and impressing
his guests with details about their mating habits and
contents of their dung, but somehow being able to
listen to their thoughts, feel their emotions. ‘There’s
no point having a quick look and rushing off,’ he
told us. ‘You’ve got to let each moment sink into
your soul.’
And so we did. We watched and listened
and absorbed. We gave ourselves permission
to appreciate the moment, commune with the
environment, and let it really sink in.
Off the clock
It came as a relief that there was nowhere to rush
off to, no race to the next sighting, no boxes to tick. Nature isn’t on the clock,
but it does take time for humans to uncouple from the ‘go-
go-go’ impulse we carry with us.
With Lazarus’s help, we let the rest of the afternoon
similarly sink in. We paused to appreciate the less obvious
pleasures of the bushveld, the smaller beasts along
with the large, and we took time to notice such trees as
the Lowveld milkberry, the weeping boer-bean and the
Transvaal saffron. He’d translate a dainty call from above
into a tale about a Burchell’s coucal, and could identify with
ease a brown-hooded kingfisher flittering imperceptibly
above a bushbuck hiding in the reeds.
The next day, after breakfast, I set off with Lazarus and
one other ranger for a bush walk. A chance to stretch my legs and
This page, clockwise
from left: Bush walks
start directly from
Jock's front gate; early-
morning hot chocolate
stop with Lazarus playing
barista; wildebeest;
adolescent ellies;
afternoon game drive
30 FEBRUARY 2021 kulula.comBACK TO THE BUSH EXPLORE
This page, clockwise
from left: Hornbill and
giraffe playing peekaboo;
private plunge pool, tub
and loungers at Jock;
suite interior; Lazarus
encounters ellies on foot
experience an even closer connection with the environment. It took
just a few moments on foot on the other side of the lodge gate for
the dimensions of reality to somehow change. Here you feel the
eyes on you. We were watched by the matriarch of a large herd
of elephants feeding nearby, close enough that it was possible to
discern her expression. ‘Don’t come any closer,’ she seemed to be
saying. We obeyed, of course, and slinked into the bush to startle
impala and guinea fowl, squirrels and mongooses.
And then, amid a lesson on the usefulness
of the magic guarri tree, a lone white rhino
that soon woke from his nap. He watched in
our direction for a while trying to make out
what we were and then eventually strolled off,
disappearing into the bushes with barely
a trace.
Broken by the heat, I plunged into the little
pool on my deck, and lazed on a sunbed
while a hot, fast wind licked my face. A pair of
precocious vervets sat on a wall, planning a
heist. And as I listened to birds squabbling in a
nearby tree, I watched elephants saunter across
the riverbed just beyond the tips of my toes.
And I lay there, content and satisfied, letting the
moment sink in.
kulula.com FEBRUARY 2021 31EXPLORE BACK TO THE BUSH
Safari destinations to find
your soul
Jock Safari Lodge
On a 6 000-hectare private concession In
the south-western corner of Kruger National
Park, Jock is 150km from Nelspruit. It’s all
Nkomazi Private Game Reserve
Mpumalanga’s magnificent Barberton Greenstone Belt is the setting for
very sensibly put together, with lots of wood
the 14 900-hectare Nkomazi Private Game Reserve, where these 14 tents
and a vintage feel despite a chic make-over
are sheltered among the trees above the banks of the Komati River in the
that added luxury comforts to the classic-feel
Makonjwa Mountains. Tents are linked via stone paths meandering through
quarters. Everything’s designed to enhance an
leafy riverine forest, weeping wisterias and succulent gardens. Each has a
appreciation of what’s happening in the bush, so
private splash pool, outdoor shower and tub, plus glass doors with views
each free-standing suite enjoys a grand vantage
from your bed. In this malaria-free wilderness, glamping gives way to game
over a prime slice of unfettered wilderness.
drives through the savannah grassland, and there are nature walks, birding
You can stand, sit or lie on your terrace – where
excursions (some 300 feathered species occur here), catch-and-release fly
there’s also an outdoor tub and shower, a
fishing, and opportunities to see Bushman paintings. newmarkhotels.com
comfy sala, plus plunge pool and sun-loungers
– and see elephants parading past or perhaps
witness a chase unfold. You can enjoy much Abelana Private Game Reserve
the same view from inside your room, too – just Previously a hunting reserve, Abelana might be
keep the curtains open and let the sunshine in. a new safari destination, but the land – 15 000
jocksafarilodge.com hectares of prime Lowveld real estate adjacent
Greater Kruger – is palpably primordial.
Blessed by gorgeous topographic diversity, its
Words: Katie Bigelow, Pictures: Katie Bigelow, Supplied
flatter northern reaches encompass ancient
riverine trees and riparian forest while in the
south these give way to granite koppies and
baobabs in a region widely known as the ‘Jewel
of the Limpopo’. The north includes a 10km
stretch of the semi-perennial Selati River, along
which are found the 20 guest bungalows of
River Lodge. In the boulder-strewn south is the
smaller, more intimate Safari Camp, with its
handful of Meru-style tents with cot beds and
off-grid everything. abelanagamereserve.com
Clockwise from left:
The plush sleeping
quarters at Jock;
giraffe; Nkomazi’s
tree-sheltered
tents; main deck at
Abelana’s River Lodge
32 FEBRUARY 2021 kulula.comJump
into bed
with
Restonic!
SUPPORTING DREAMS SINCE 1938
@Restonic.Mattresses @restonic_dreams www.restonic.co.zaEXPLORE BETHESDA’S HUNGER-BUSTERS
Simply
Bethesda
Peter Frost finds first-class foodies
in the Karoo’s favourite dorp
T here are a few things you need to know about Nieu-Bethesda before you head out
to the Karoo dorp that’s hidden under the Kompasberg, halfway between Graaff-Reinet and
Middelburg in the Eastern Cape. Never call it Nieu-Bethesda for starters; to the locals, it’s
Above, left to right:
Scintillating hues on
the Kompasberg; One of
the numerous concrete
simply Bethesda. sculptures in the yard at the
It’s also cold in winter. Very. But there’s plenty of water, so pack a cozzie. Dusty, too. It’s Owl House and Camel Yard;
all dirt roads, you see. Friendly. Everyone knows everyone; they’ll wave, don’t be alarmed. Stirlings at the Ibis
And, oh yes, don’t mention the road or Helen Martins’ famous Owl House, both topics likely
to spark incendiary rows; half the town wants a tar road to the village (it stops about five
ks outside town), the other half want to keep the hamlet au naturel.
Half the village object to the way the Owl House and traders are handled, half don’t. Best
really to just enjoy what’s there, smile and wave, don’t ask too many searching questions
and…eat. Eat lots – turns out Bethesda has developed a taste for the good life. New blood
has invigorated an already intriguing food mix. Potjie king? Tick. Township delicacies? Tick.
Sweet pizza? Tick. Beer? More pizza? Michelin star quality? Tick, tick, tick.
34 February 2021 kulula.comBETHESDA’S HUNGER-BUSTERS EXPLORE
The haute cuisine queen
‘People who come to Bethesda come for the Owl House and
a burger, they’re not expecting haute cuisine,’ says Barbara
Weitz, who has a habit of making magic food. ’If I can give
them traditional favourites with an element of special, hey,
I’m winning.’ She is. Diners are mal for her skilpadjies, ostrich
fillet with kapokbos, cranberry and port sauce, roosterkoek and
homemade quince jelly, her lamb or chicken curry with spiced
rice, cumin, coriander, mustard seed dried onion and turmeric
and, best of all, her lemon verbena tart with preserved green
fig and soft cheese ice-cream, and, as she calls it, her blueberry
nicecream. It is. Nice. Very. ‘I want to punt the local – there’s a
strong food tradition here – but give it a bit of a twist,’ she says.
Barbara is used to watching wildebeest migrate to their
crocodilian deaths in the Serengeti. She and her khaki
dreamboat hubby for years ran a successful safari-guiding
outfit, Johan in the field, Barbara creating incredible food. So
why Bethesda? ‘Johan’s family comes from the area, it’s in his
DNA and when the chance came to buy The Ibis, we jumped
at it, all in, this is it’. It’s been a ride; The Ibis has a long and
fabulous history in Bethesda lore, home to the legendary
bookworm Egbert, then the Wilbys who turned it into an art
gallery. Now it’s a charming guesthouse, with attached pantry
shop, and Barbara’s restaurant, Stirlings at the Ibis, where her
deft touch
kulula.com February 2021 35EXPLORE BETHESDA’S HUNGER-BUSTERS
Clockwise from far left:
Antie Evelyne; stocked shelves
at The Ibis's pantry shop and
one of its bedrooms; Barbara
Weitz; The Bethesda B&B;
Carla and Ludolf Smit; The
Bethesda's stoep
ensures it’s far and away the Bethesda fine dining spot. legend, one of the old Bethesda crowd, a woman whose
Not fine like hipster Cape Town places with their sky- soup kitchen still feeds the kids of the township. On
high prices and miniscule portion sizes, but fine as in her veranda, set about with succulents and creepers
using the best local ingredients grown just over there brought from across the country (take a plant along
(when the donkeys don’t break in and eat everything), when you visit) she remembers the early days when
years of expertise and that OMG post-meal feeling. there were 20 people in the village and dried pumpkin
S’truth, this woman can cook. She enlists Johan to was the celebrated export of note. She remembers
grill the meat but mostly it’s her and her small team. Helen Martins too – funny, clever, good to the children,
Johan has transformed the side of the restaurant, not the sad hermit history suggests. She left for ‘die
creating a courtyard of stone and serenity, fairy lights, Baai’, Port Elizabeth, but like most Bethesdans its
conversation and conviviality. The hardest part now? sorcery-strong pull proved too strong to resist.
Chasing donkeys out of the spinach. They can be Today her guests are brought across from the
stubborn, after all. And the greens are super-tasty. guesthouses and sit communally, enjoying a typical
theibislounge.co.za Karoo fusion of lamb curry, stories and that peculiar
serenity that is all Bethesda’s own. Magic aromas fill
the air, and as she yells to her staff to ‘roer die pot’
Antie on the hill and ‘bring asseblief die suiker’ three children appear at
Apartheid. If ever there’s a physical legacy it’s the the bottom of her steep stairs. No words, just dropped
ubiquitous dusty field that separates the small town heads, hopefuls following the so-called saliva trail, the
villages from the townships. Still today. And few curry seduction reaching across to the Lettie de Klerk
visitors cross those wastelands. In Bethesda they Primary School fields at break, drawing the hungry.
really should, because Antie Evelyne’s restaurant in She issues instructions, plastic bakkies are filled, a
Pienaarsig is up on the side of the hill with a killer little bit of right happens in the world. Go visit. Please.
veranda and a strong sense of Karoo calm. Antie is a 4 Kloof Street, 083 873 5526
36 February 2021 kulula.comBETHESDA’S HUNGER-BUSTERS EXPLORE
The other guys
The Brewery and Two Goats Deli
André Cilliers’ place is always full
of thirsty travellers and overseas
volunteers. The food offerings
complement the beer experience,
a tapas-like selection of local
cheeses and cured meats.
Nieu Karoo Country Restaurant
With a fully operational pizza oven
Bruno’s lasting legacy and commendably comprehensive
Bruno has eaten all the Hills Cat Food for Italian menu, this is the place for
Aging Cats with Joint Support. Not Bruno pork belly, and slow-cooked short
of Bruno’s at The Bethesda. That Bruno has rib pasta. It’s right next to the Owl
moved on, leaving only his name behind. House too, which makes it popular
This Bruno – fat, happy, slightly queasy – is with the tourist trade.
an Australian cattle dog pup, pot-bellied on
the polished concrete floor. Usually he’s all Die Waenhuis
energy, mirroring his indefatigable owner, Chris Lloyd runs the restaurant at
the constantly moving Carla Smit, who runs Jacques and Justin’s central Martin
the much-loved pizza place on New Street. Street venue – excellent Karoo food
Carla’s husband Ludolf emerges from Bruno’s subterranean wine cellar, but oddly no pizza, puzzling given
designed by a bunch of passing Swiss builders (think Parisian catacombs Chris ran the legendary Bruno’s
meet Hobbiton Shire) and gets to work prepping for the evening service. pizza spot down the road for
They’ve been Bethesda regulars for years, well-known visitors who finally many years.
chucked in the Gauteng rat race, bought a piece of architectural history and Manna
restored it to its former glory. It’s now the smartest André du Toit’s idea is simple –
B&B in town, all baroque entertainments, clever excellent coffee, superior baking,
touches and enviable junkyard finds. The attached the best ingredients, no rush, no cut
restaurant was another matter; Carla comes from a corners. Call first (072 636 9167) to
design background but neither had food experience. check if he’s in before trekking down
Cue Bethesda’s uncontested pizzameister: top-notch to his place on Pienaar Street.
chef, Chris Lloyd, old Bruno’s guiding light, who
runs the kitchen at Die Waenhuis. A crash course in The Village Inn
pizza-making followed: ‘This is how the oven works, The oldest, arguably most beautiful
here are the portion sizes, now add your own touch!’ spot in town, serving simple Karoo
Carla’s touch is a signature sweet pizza, mostly fruit, fare (and scones) on the porch, in the
all kinds of unusual, which is proving popular. ancient house or magical country
Newbies in town traditionally have a tough time garden out the back.
adapting, adjusting, but Carla’s full-tilt immersion Tot Hier Toe
exercise has won her many admirers. Join the Just outside Bethesda on the
neighbourhood watch, walk the dogs, wave at Graaff-Reinet road, it’s more than
everyone, attend church, do time at the country club, a farmstall; excellent roosterkoek
it all helps. And it seems to be working. and known in the district for its
thebethesda.co.za choice meat.
kulula.com February 2021 37EXPLORE BETHESDA’S HUNGER-BUSTERS
Martin of the flowers
The Nieu Bethesda Art Centre bridges
many divides in Bethesda. Run by
community artists and activists, it sports
a gallery, museum, selection of studios,
Rapunzel-like, fairytale tower with
rooms and a small kitchen, run by the
ever-inventive Martin Lackay. Like Helen
Martins and most in Bethesda, he’s paid What to do after the meal?
his worldly dues, left, felt the alienation of Traditionally people come to
the outside world and returned, content to Bethesda to see Helen Martins’ Owl
breathe the cooler, familiar airs. House and Camel Yard. The artist,
It’s tough being gay in Bethesda, but with the help of Koos Malgas and
then again maybe not, his township others, created a world-renowned,
side business in Pienaarsig is booming, personal tribute to light, spirituality
his lover has work (rare in Bethesda) and the Karoo using little more than
and making food keeps him happy and her imagination, crushed bottles,
focused. And excellent fare it is too; the cement and determination.
town’s trademark edible flowers, absent Also pop in to Dustcovers
during the long drought, are back and on on Hudson Street, hands down
the plate, along with industrial helpings of the best little bookshop in the
Clockwise from above: Martin
lamb shank and fresh Bethesda veggies. platteland, hike to the Gats River
Lackay; JP Steynberg in his
Eaten out in the courtyard under the fossil museum at Ganora; rock pools down the kloof, climb
pear, karee and pepper trees, it’s a good Neville Swiers drinking veldtee the Kompasberg and visit the
experience, vintage Bethesda, a meal and with Barbara Weitz; Jenny Nel fossil museum at Ganora farm, just
a legend in one. nieubethesda.org outside town. And if you want a
really cool experience, go walking
in the riverbed with Khoisan veld
Jenny from the hood guide Neville Swiers; he’ll show
Yesteryear’s door. Ancient knocker. Wide, dusty stoep. you how to forage for indigenous
Pictures: Peter Frost
There’s no sign, no menu board, no nothing. Just the dog veldtee which you’ll brew back at
to announce your arrival. Jenny’s is a secret in Bethesda, The Ibis on a portable Cadac. It’s
you have to know someone who knows someone to crack the new rooibos, only even better
an invite. for you. Tastes good too.
Actually it’s not quite that Masonic – Jenny is just
Jenny, the town’s undisputed queen of the kitchen but
less about marketing than getting on with life. She used
to be at the Post Office restaurant, but her mum died,
leaving the original Bethesda house to her where the
impromptu evenings of every kind of meat and side dish
now happen. It’s a chef’s table really, a smorgasbord of
deliciousness laid out behind the family dining table, help
yourself, again and again and again and again.
There’s no point listing the offerings, they change
as availability dictates, but bank on venison, lamb
(of course), succulent beef and much more besides.
Bethesda doesn’t do street lights, which is a problem
after a Jenny Nel meal; you need all the help you can get
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