Walking on the wild side

Walking on the wild side

“Around every inch, and every corner, there’s a ‘wow’,” said our guide Sikhanyiso “Computer” Mdiya, as our hiking group gazed at a waterfall plunging over a precipice and dropping 80 metres into the sea. A dozen of us were on the second day of the Pondo-Hopper hiking...
Seasonal, sustainable The Newt

Seasonal, sustainable The Newt

A cider-saturated bee clung to my chic black drinking straw, as I gingerly fished the drowsy insect from my glass. My family and I were enjoying a tasting of three ciders at The Newt, a dream country estate in Somerset, England that centres around the county’s...
Nature-based tourism in the Klein Karoo

Nature-based tourism in the Klein Karoo

An enormous sun-bleached tortoise shell, slowly disintegrating and returning to the earth,  was the portent of exciting natural discoveries as we left the R62 route for the Sanbona Wildlife Reserve in the Klein Karoo. Our destination to mark the New Year was one of...
Golden oldie

Golden oldie

Old Nectar in Stellenbosch is the perfect place to experience the springtime glories of an extremely  personal,  beautifully maintained  garden. Stretching over four hectares in the Jonkershoek Valley, with a neoclassical gabled  manor house at its heart, the garden...
Marvellous M’kepi

Marvellous M’kepi

“Absolutely beautiful, exquisitely decorated and great views”; “heaven on Earth is a place called M’kepi”; “the wildlife is spectacular and the peaceful surroundings will stay in my heart for a long, long time.” These are just some of the comments written over the...
Casanova steals my heart

Casanova steals my heart

The pandemic and lockdown have made overseas travel extremely onerous, if not downright impossible, but a  weekend mini-break in Stellenbosch was like taking a KLM flight to Europe. The town’s beautifully preserved buildings, boutique hotels, coffee culture and indie...