AA Traveller SUMMER 2020

90years

traveller

R45

9HIKES IN

9PROVINCES

SUMMER 2020

TAKE ASTROLL IN

DULLSTROOM

THEART

that brings hope

to ourcities

GIFTS

GALORE!

5

and 4X4ROUTES

the best

vehicles to take

you there

FROM PARYS

TO UTRECHT

in Mzanzi

WE TEST

■ Mini One

■ VW Touareg

■ Audi S6 Sedan

■ Volvo XC60

10

OF THE

VERY BEST

BRAAIBROODJIES

THEAA-KINSEY REPORT 2020 The real cost ofvehicle parts

TRUST. NO TWO WAYS ABOUT IT.

AA Member:

Businesses you cantrust.

Whenever you see the AA Approved logo, you know you’re

dealing with arepairer you cantrust.

To earn that distinction, our partners have to maintain

standards of excellence in training, equipment, procedures

and customer service.

Whether you’re dealing with aworkshop, an after-market

repairer or abody shop, the AA will hold our partners

to the highest standards, on your behalf.

If something goes wrong, we’ll be right there with you.

Look out for theAAApproved logo, wherever you go.

For more information, contact us today.

Repair Professionals:

Trust.Itdefines your business.

Fees have beenreduced to R6 500 (ex Vat) onour annual fees.

Do you deservetobeanAAApprovedpartner?

If you makealivingrepairing vehicles, your success depends

on whether you can gain and maintainyour clients’trust.

If you maintain thehigheststandards and you are motivated

by unstintingprideinyour work, consider becoming an

accredited AA Approved partner.

To earn the distinction, you’ll have to maintain rigorous

standards in training, equipment, processes and customer

satisfaction.

If you meetour standards, we’ll refer our members toyou

when theyneed help, and we’ll work with you tokeep raising

your standards.

To join the AA Approved network, contactustoday.

Need assistance?

Contact AA Approved on 0861 000 234

Email us on aaapproved@aasa.co.za

From the editor

EDITOR

Gerda Engelbrecht

gerda.engelbrecht@media24.com

ARTDIRECTOR

Sally Cronjé

ASSISTANT EDITOR

Petro-Anne Vlok

COPY EDITOR

Erika Bornman

REPRODUCTION

Dewald Spies

Kurt Ohlson

PRODUCTION

Kerry Nash

CEO: MEDIA24

Ishmet Davidson

CEO:PRINT MEDIA

Rika Swart

GM:LIFESTYLE

Minette Ferreira

GM:COMMERCIAL

Nerisa Coetzee

FINANCE MANAGER

Jameelah Conway

CIRCULATION MANAGER

Armand Kasselman

BUSINESSMANAGER –SALES

Danie Nell

danie.nell@media24.com

GENERAL ENQUIRIES

Amina Essop

amina.essop@media24.com

COVERIMAGE

EVAN NAUDÉ

PRINTEDBY

CTPPRINTERS

DISTRIBUTED BY

ON THEDOT

PublishedbyMedia24,

adivision of NASPERS.

40 Heerengraght,

CAPETOWN8001

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

TO FIND

TRUE

PEACE

Askmeaboutmylove of sports and I’ll answerthe waymostteens wouldabout their

first love affair: it’s complicated. Myparents were determined to raise versatile children and

insisted weplay amusical instrument for every sport wewanted toplay. Tennis, netball,

hockey, piano, violin, recorder… Ican say with myhand on my heart that Ilove them all, but

I'm nogood at any. To this day, Ilove choral and orchestral music, and all kinds ofsports,

too. Well, from the stands. Intennis, Icould get tothe ball but not hit it. In hockey, Icouldn’t

even get tothe ball. All the notes on the violin sounded the same tome–and none of them

sounded remotely like Joshua Bell’s. Mydesperate recorder teacher exclaimed: “It doesn’t

help mefarting in the wind!” But Ilike towatch the Boks orProteas play, and Iwill pay good

money for aticket to asymphony concert or opera.

In my forties, however, Irealised there isone sport Ilove. One that requires minimum

equipment, that allows you to easily get going again ifyou’ve been lazy for afew months,

let's you meet people along the way and you can even sip acoffee while doing it. Hiking.

Thanks to aconfluence ofgracious circumstances, Ifound myself onthe Camino de

Santiago inSpain in September 2017. The history of this pilgrimage spans athousand years.

Youdecide for yourself how far you want towalk inaday, and you stop often along the way.

Talk to people ifyou want. Keep quiet ifyou don’t. Each morning, you hit the road at the

crack ofdawn and walk to the village where you’ll overnight –hopefully you reach it before

the afternoon siesta.

But note: I’m nogood at this sport either! Imake atortoise look like Wayde van Niekerk.

People with prosthetic legs and on crutches have called out “keep left” atmeasthey speed

past. But… there are only winners with hiking, no losers. I’m crazy about it. Ifyou really want

peace, start walking.

2021 is abig year for the Camino, aholy year. Any year in which 25July (St James Day)

falls onaSunday isextra special and people come from far and wide towalk itinaholy

year. Ihad secretly been planning to return to Spain in2021 for the Camino, but Covid-19 has

taught metonot make too many plans too far in advance. In the meantime, there are more

than enough hiking trails in South Africa (Fiona McIntosh tells you more about nine ofthem

on page 22) tokeep usfit.

May you find peace during the holiday season and may 2021 surprise you –inthe best

possible way!

Gerda

Gerda_travel

Theautumn

issue of AA

Traveller will be

distributedin

thefirst week of

March2021.

DO YOUHAVEANY COMMENTSONTHISISSUE,ORAFEATHER

FORTHE AA’S CAP? We wouldlove to hear from you. Emailaa@

media24.com. Oneletterwriterwillwin apairofHi-TecAltitude Infinity

hiking boots worthR1799.Hi-Techas been leading theway fordecades

with itsdarkbrown Altitude hiking boots.Now those boots areavailable

in alovely navy blue.These arereliable leatherboots –waterproofand

gentle on your feet thankstothe V-Lite Foam technology.

3

SUMMER 2020 | AA Traveller

32

38

Contents

10

4

3 Thesacredness of silence

2021 is abig year for the Camino de Santiago

6 TheAAatyour service

The lowdown onAAConnected Car

7 Letter from theAACEO

Looking forward tothe new year

8 Layton says

Fighting for your rights on the road

TRAVEL

10 Motorhoming throughMzansi

Evan goes onadream trip during lockdown

18 DearestDullies

Once you've been to Dullstroom in Mpumalanga,

you'll return time and time again

22 Hikethe belovedcountry

Nine fantastic overnight hikes –one in each

of our nine provinces

LIFESTYLE

42 Agiftfor all

Our editorial team on what has caught their eye

50 Braaibroodjiesrock

So much more than aside dish!

57 Areadingfiesta

Some fantastic fiction for the holidays –and

recipe books that'll have you drooling

MOTORING

60 Thecostofmaintainingavehicle

The comprehensive annual AA-Kinsey Report

shows you exactly what you can expect topay

for parts

70 Difflocks and low-range gears required

Here are some of SA's best 4x4 routes –and the

top vehicles inwhich to tackle them

76 Firstimpressions

We test drive the Volkswagen Touareg, Mini One,

Audi S6 Sedan and Volvo XC60

28 Paintthe town red

Street artists bring colour –and life –

to South Africa's streets

32 Of starsand dustyvistas

Meet Namibian photographer

Jandré Germishuizen

38 Travel portraits

Sam Reinders helps you take unforgettable

holiday photographs

80 Brainteasers

Crosswords, soduko and aquiz for you

82 Thelastword

When we were young and unpredictable

–and without cellphones, by Suzy Brokensha

AATraveller | SUMMER 2020

TheAAatyourservice

ACCREDITED

SALESAGENTS

6

GETIN

TOUCH

To update your

AA membershipdetails,

phone0861-000-234,

send an emailto

aasa@aasa.co.za or

visitaa.co.za

THEAAISONCALL24/7!

CALL 0861-000-234

MANAGE YOUR FLEET–WITH CONNECTED CAR

Having an AA ConnectedCar device

in your vehicle is aboutsomuch

morethanjustvehicle tracking. It’s

abouthavingtotal on-the-roadpeace

of mind with theknowledge that

theAAisonthe move with you.

AA ConnectedCar is acombination

of hardwareand software that allows

vehicle ownersorfleet managers to

effectivelymonitor driving behaviour

and vehicleperformance. Asmall device

is fitted to your vehicle in minutesand

thesoftware–available on theweb or

on yoursmartphone–allowsyou to

access arange of features,all directly

downloaded fromyourvehicle.

Butthe mostimportant featureofAA

Connected Caristhatthe information

collectedisyours,and no-one else has

access to it. AA ConnectedCar gives

youinformationand putsthe power

in your hands to useasyou seefit.

FEATURES

•Viewreal-time andhistorictracking

of vehicles

•National networkcoverage

•Service notifications

•Viewcostlog book anddownload

reports

•Set geofencing (locations)online to

define safety/no-gozones

•Receive harshand definedspeeding

event alertsvia emailorvia in-app

push notifications

•Receive lowvehicle batteryand

powerdisconnect/reconnect event

alerts

•Viewall eventsper vehicle pertrip

on amap,web andmobile

AA ConnectedCar is asubscription

basedservice andcosts apply.

Formoreinformationcall011-799-1696

or go to www.aa.co.za/aa-connected-car

Stay up to date with thelatest industry news by followingthe AA on

Facebook: AASouthAfrica, Twitter: AASouthAfricaoratwww.aa.co.za

EASTERNCAPE

Travel Experience,PortElizabeth:

041-368-6452

HarveyWorld Travel,EastLondon:

043-726-0601

FREE STATE

Travel Experience,Bloemfontein:

051-444-0571

GAUTENG

Travel Experience, Menlyn:

012-348-2522

Travel Experience, Benmore:

011-884-4104

Travel Experience,ParkMeadows:

011-615-7946

AA Cresta:

011-478-5312

Travel Experience,Boksburg:

074-175-2709

Travel Experience,Centurion:

012-653-5513

Voetspore4×4,MegaWorld:

012-940-8999

AA Foreign Travel,Kyalami:

011-799-1042

KWAZULU-NATAL

Travel Experience,Musgrave:

031-201-5244

Travel Experience,LaLucia:

031-572-7852

HarveyWorld Travel,ShellyBeach:

039-315-6330

MPUMALANGA

Dana Travel Agency,Nelspruit:

013-753-3571

WESTERNCAPE

Club Travel,Tyger Valley:

021-914-2265

ConstantiabergTravel:

021-715-2850

Travel Experience,Cavendish

Square: 021-683-1410

HarveyWorld Travel,George:

044-874-6930

AA Traveller | SUMMER 2020

Letterfromthe AA CEO

Let’sbestrongin2021

I’msure, like many,you can’twaitto

seethe back of 2020. While it’s been

abusy time for the AA, and we’ve

completed many projects over the

past 10 months (despite the lockdown),

it’s not been the easiest ofyears to

navigate. I,for one, am looking forward

to beginning 2021 onafresh note.

At the beginning of 2020 we set

ourselves goals to reach aspart of

Vision 2030 strategy, which is adigital

aggregation roadmap centred onsafety

and convenience. We want to deliver

products and services toour Members

to make their lives easier and safer.

Part ofthis was the launch earlier this

year of AA Armed Response and later,

the launch ofAAConnected Car and

AA Autofacts. There’s more tocome

in the months ahead, and I’m excited

that the AA is moving inthis direction.

While Iamlooking forward tothe new

year and new challenges, Iamconcerned

about your rights going into 2021.

YES, 2020 HASBEEN ATOUGHYEAR, BUT

THELASTSTRETCH IS ALREADY GREAT. IAM

CONFIDENTTHE NEWYEARWILLBRINGEVEN

MORE POSITIVE OUTCOMES FORUSALL.

One way in which these rights are being

impacted is by the poor service delivery

at many driving licence testing centres

(DLTCs) throughout the country. Many

of you, and many non-Members, have

contacted us with stories of long queues,

insufficient staff, equipment breakdowns

and computer failures atDLTCs, all of

which stand inyour way ofremaining

legally onthe road. It’s something we’re

aware of, and it’s anissue we are raising –

and will continue to raise –onyour behalf.

Another concern isthe planned

introduction in July 2021 ofthe nationwide

Administrative Adjudication ofRoad Traffic

Offences (AARTO) Act. We’ve highlighted

several issues we believe infringe

on your rights, and which webelieve

must beremoved from the legislation.

Please visit our website (aa.co.za) and

read our full submission or executive

summary. It really is in your best interests

to be informed on this piece of law.

This aside, asmotorists wemust accept

responsibility for our actions. Wecan do

this by ensuring our vehicles and trailers

(including boats and caravans) are ingood

condition before we set offonour yearend

vacations. Another way istostick

to the rules ofthe road, becourteous to

other drivers and toset agood example

for younger passengers, particularly

those who are nearing driving age.

Yes, 2020 has been atough year, but

the last stretch isalready great. Iam

confident the new year will bring even

more positive outcomes for us all. I

am also convinced that the struggles

many experienced this year will make

them stronger and more resilient as

we approach 2021. My message to

all ofyou is to never give upand to

embrace the challenges ahead. As South

Africans, Ibelieve this isinour DNA.

If you are going tobeonthe road

this festive season, please be careful

out there, and look after yourself and

your loved ones. Iamawaiting the

start of2021 with keen anticipation,

and Itrust Iwill find you all well

when the new year rolls around.

Our partners atMedia24 have put

together awonderful magazine. Again,

it showcases our amazing country.

Iparticularly like the article on the

graffiti improvements in Johannesburg.

Iamsure that asyou flip through the

pages you will be inspired toexplore

and experience our own backyard

and #SupportLocalTourism.

The AAvalues your continued

membership of the association. We

would beunable todowhat wedo

without your valuable support.

Yours

Willem Groenewald

CEO|AASA

7


Opinion

TheAA: In Your Corner

BY LAYTON BEARD, PR MANAGER: AA

8

Animportant,yet often

unseen,benefit of AA

Membership is that you have

thepower of themember

base in your corner.This

strength in numbersgives theAAa

credible voice in dealingwithissuesthat

affect motorists, protectingeveryoneon

ourroads.Our recent successful petition

to getthe validity period of driving

licences extended is agoodexample of

howweare fighting foryourrights.

Theoverwhelming majority of

driversonour country’s roadsare

law-abiding citizens whooften go to

greatlengths to ensure they arelegally

on theroad. Imention this because

theAAhas over thepastsix months

receivedatorrentofemailsand phone

callsfromfrustratedmotorists whoare

struggling to renewvital documents

such as drivinglicence cards.

In response,werecentlyexpressed

ourconcernover thestate of driving

licencetesting centres(DLTCs) and

theissuesmotorists arehavingto

renewtheir licence cardsand legally

remain on theroad. It’s amajor

problem,and it’s only gettingworse.

Ourcontention is that peoplewill do

what is necessarytoobtain thesecards,

butifthe systemworks againstthem, or

if thesystemdoesn’t work forthem, many

will have no choice buttodrive without

therequiredlegal cards. We don’t want

this to happen,but we fear

theremay be no other recourse

formotorists who, for example,

must gettowork,drive children

to school orattend to emergencies. es.

What is thesolution? Forstarters,

we thinkacomplete review of the

DLTCsisunnecessary.Thatthereare

problemsisnot newtoanyone. What

needstohappen, andhappenfast, is

amindshift in termsofthe issuingof

drivinglicence cards. We’veproposed

that thecurrent five-yearvalidity

period of licencesbeextendedto10

years butwiththe addedrequirement

that drivershavetheir eyes testedby

registeredoptometristsevery five years.

TheAAbelievesthiswill go along

wayindealing with the backlogs in the

issuingofdriving licence cards. Do you

agree with this approach?Ifyou do,or

if youdon’t andyou thinkyou mayhave

abettersolution, pleaselet me know.

Ultimately,Iwouldliketosee asystem

that works formotorists,and thecurrent

systemwehave simply doesn’tdothat.

Whichbringsmetoanother sticky

issue. Government says it will implement

theAdministrative Adjudication of

RoadTraffic Offences (AARTO)Act in

July next year.There have been several

iterations of theAARTO Bill over the

past 20 or so years,the most recent being

draftregulations publishedinearly

October. We have combed throughthe

500-page documentand

madeseveral comments on

its provisionswhich youcan

find onthe AA’s website. We

remain concernedthatmotorists’

rights arebeing infringed, andthat

thesystemisgeared to making money

rather than dealingwiththe country’s

horrendous road safety problems.

Ouroverridingconcernisthatno

pieceoflegislation will improveroad

safetyifthere isn'tasimultaneouschange

in lawenforcement. I’vementioned

more than once in variousinterviews

that “you can’tlegislate yourselfout

of aproblem that requires bootson

theground” and, unfortunately,that’s

wheremuchofthe issues remain.There

aretoo fewlaw enforcement officers

with too fewresources policing our

country’s roads, and, in my view,that’s

wheremorefocusshouldbedirected.

As we head towardsthe endofthe

year andusher in what Iamsurewill be

afantastic 2021, letmeend by wishing

you andyourloved ones ahappy and

safe festiveseasonand ajoyousnew year.

Be safe wherever youwill be travelling,

andpleaseobeythe rulesofroadfor

yourown andeveryone else’s safety.

Cheers

Layton

Follow me on Twitter@LaytonBeard

Main image:Getty Imges/GalloImages


ANYWHERE•ANYTIME

SOCIALDISTANCING Thereisno

better waytoself-isolate thanto

rent amotorhome andgoexplore

some of thecountry'sback roads,

like thisone just outsideClarens

in theFree State.

10

Aoverseas road t

WITH INTERNATIONAL BORDERSSHUTAND HIS DREAMOFEXPLORING EUROPE


Road trip

Parys

FROM

TO

Utrecht

in Mzanzi

11

rip onhome soil

IN AMOTORHOMELONGOVERDUE,EVANNAUDÉ DECIDESTOREPLICATE THETRIP

Inthe mid-2000sItravelled to London, England, for

agap year that turned into two, then three, andthen

longer. Eventually,IreturnedtoSouthAfricaafter

atotal of sixyears in theBig Smoke. It wasduringmy

time abroad that Itruly discovered alovefor travel

andwhile Icrammedinasmanytrainjourneys,

busrides, andbudgetflightstonew destinationsas

Icould,one dreamtripmanaged to evade me.Inever

had thechancetodrive acrossEuropeinamotorhome.

It lookedtome aquintessential, adventurous,and

immersive wayoftravelthatwas lauded in many

travelogues. Ivowed toexperience it oneday.

When cabinfever hitatits hardestduringthe recent

lockdown period,mymindoften wandered to faraway

places andthe unticked boxesonmybucketlist. I’d

flipthrough oldmagazines andmaketravelplans for

apost-pandemic day. Then,when Ihappenedacrossan

article on Parysinthe Free State, an idea struck.Aquick

glance at amap of thesurrounding area confirmedit:

Icould “travelthrough Europe”without needingasingle

passport stamp, invasive nasalswabtest, or quarantine.

StartinginParys,Icoulddrive southinaloopand string

no less than sixtowns together with aconnectiontoan

overseas destination,whilecelebrating SouthAfrica.

As Iran my fingeracrossthe map, theother

trademarks of agreat road trip lineduptoo:scenic roads,

natural splendour,heritagesites,historicalarchitecture,

andevensomecultural mélange.It’sall theexcuseIneed

to book aflight,rentamotorhomeand go exploreanew

part of my owncountry.

WE'LL ALWAYS HAVE

PARYS Asuspension

bridge(top),areplica of

theEiffeltower(middle),

andboutique coffee shops

(below)are just some of the

features Parysshares with

itsEuropean counterpart.

12

OFFTOEUROPE, SORT OF

Pariswas theveryfirstcityinEuropeIever visited, so

perhapsitisfittingthatIkickoff my road trip in Parys

on abrightspringmorning. Situated on thebanks of the

Vaal River, this popularweekend-getaway hasmorethana

fewsimilaritiestothe Frenchversion,albeitindownsized

versions. TheVaalisasuitable substitute forthe Seine,

complete with asuspensionbridgefrom1919and its

collection of locksálathe Pont desArts. Ispend the

What’s in aname? WHERE DID THESE NAMES COME FROM?

PARYS FRANKFORT CLARENS

Thetowngot itsnamefrom

aGermansurveyor, named

Schilbach,who wasincharge

of laying outthe town in 1876.

Apparently,the setting

of thenew town

on thebanksof

theVaalRiver

reminded him

of theFrench

capital.

Somewherealong thelinethe ‘u’

in Frankfurtbecamean‘o’,but

nevertheless this Free Statetown

wasnamed afterthe German city

in 1869.The name

waschosenby

one of thefirst

town council

members,

Albert von

Gordon.

This picturesque town dates

back to 1912.Itisnamed for

a villageinSwitzerland where

Paul Kruger,president

of theTransvaal,

died in exile.

Kruger spent

time in thearea

in hisyounger

years.


Road trip

PLACES OF WORSHIP

Theimpressive

architectureofthe

town hall in Newcastle

(top)and thestone

church in Frankfort

(bottom) harkensback

to theturnofthe 20th

century. In andaround

thetownofClarens

(middle)there is no

shortageofstunning

countryside roads.

afternoonbrowsingthe shopsonBreeStreetwhich,while

notquite theChamps-Élysées, does featureacollection

of boutique clothingstores, eateries, art galleries, curio

shops, andastaggeringnumberofantique stores. Finally

andmostcrucially,Iam delightedtofind notonlyone

butthree versionsofthe Eiffel Towerscattered across

town to complete my surrogateFrenchaffair.

ThenextmorningIscoff down an Eggs Benedict

amongstacollectionofquirkyantiquesatthe Hoi

Polloi café in Bree Street before departingfor thenext

destinationonmyquasi-Euroadventure.Heading east,

Ifollowthe R59toSasolburginstead of thegravelfarm

roadssince my tidy Isuzumotorhomeis, unfortunately

perhaps, mostly tar-bound. Afterall,this bachelor’s

flatonwheelsholds acargo much toofragile for

theinevitabledirtroadcorrugation shake: afridge

containingmysupplyofbeerbottles.

…the othertrademarks of agreat road trip

lineduptoo: scenic roads, naturalsplendour,

heritagesites,historicalarchitecture, and

even some cultural mélange.

With thesmokestacks of Sasolburginmyrearview

mirror,the R57takes me southtoHeilbronwhere Iturn

east againonthe R34. Before long, aroadsignannounces

thedistancetomynextstop: Frankfort10.

Ihad high hopesoffindingabratwürst or similar

German cuisinefor lunchsomewhere in town,but

it proved afutileexercise. This is theSouthAfrican

Frankfort! Finally, Ipop in at theMinaMoo farm storein

JJ Hadebe Street in search of somethingmorelocal.“Try

some of this,” says ownerJohnnyMüller as he handsmea

pieceofboereworsstraightoff thebraai.“It’s ahundred

percentbeef,nopork.You canstill tastethe meat!” He

is notwrong.It’snosurprisethere’s aqueue in-store,but

luckilyit’snot toolongbeforeIleave with amassive bag

of biltong.

>

13

NEWCASTLE DUNDEE UTRECHT

KwaZulu-Natal’sfourth-oldest

town,established in 1864,was

notnamed afterthe city in

England,but instead

afterthe Duke

of Newcastle,

aBritish

secretary.

When acoalminingindustry

developed in thearea, atownwas laid

outin1882onthe farm of thefirst

prospector, Peter Smith.

The town gotthe

name of thefarm,

Dundee,whichin

turn wasnamed

forSmith’s

birthplace in

Scotland.

In 1854 avillage was

laid outonthe farm

Schoonstroom (‘clear

stream’) by Dutch

settlerswho

nameditafter

thecityof

Utrechtinthe

Netherlands.

VIEWSFOR DAYS

Aviewpoint at

MoorfieldFarm

(left) looks

outoverthe

Ncandu River

valley.The Fort

Amiel museum

in Newcastle

(bottomright)is

an oldBritish fort.

Before Ileave town,Islipintothe DutchReformed

Church downthe road.Religiousarchitectureispart and

parcel with sightseeinginEurope, so Ifeelthe need to

replicatethe custom.While it’s no cathedral,the church’s

vast domedceiling is certainlyanimpressivesight.

Roadworksmakethe 120kmbetween Frankfortand

Reitztedious. To take abreatherfromthe highwayIturn

offtotakealook at thetown, butabusy main road soon

hasmeaiming forthe R26toBethlehem.Fromhereitis

only astone’s throwtomynextdestination,Clarens.

14

THROUGHTHE MOUNTAINS

Clarensgot itsnamefromavillageonLakeGenevain

Switzerland, andinstead of theAlps, it is surrounded by

theMalutimountains.Even in thedry season (I visited

in late spring)the landscapeisstunning. Theroads

in andout of town snakethrough thecreases between

themountains,flankedbygolden grasslands that meet

mighty sandstone buttresses glowingdeeporange in the

late afternoonsun.

Ispend twonightsinClarens, butone could easily fill

awhole holidayhere. Thearea is filledwithguest farms

offering horseriding, 4x4routes,hikingand mountain

bike trails,and fly-fishing. Thepicturesque Golden Gate

HighlandsNationalParkliesonly18kmeastofClarens

andishometovarioushikingtrails,aBasotho cultural

villageand ahostofplains gameincluding thediminutive

Herdsofzebra,wildebeestand

blesbokgraze contentlyagainst a

backdrop of golden mountain peaks.

oribi. If you’re theskiingtype, youcan even border hop

into Lesothofor atwo-hourdrive to theAfriski resort

during winter.

Thenextmorningatsunrise Ihiketoaviewpoint

overlookingClarens before headingtothe town square to

peruse themultitude of curioshops,bistros anddelis,art

galleriesand boutique stores. It is aSaturdayand Isoon

realise halfofJohannesburg felt thesameneed to escape

from theirhomes as Idid.Nevertheless, thereisafestive

feelinginthe airaswecollectivelyrelishinthe fact that we

canonceagainsocialize, albeit with hand sanitizer, face

masksand elbow-greetings.

In theafternoon Idrive outtoGolden Gate.Istopat

thereceptionoffice to buyanentry permit whichgrants

me access to twogameviewing loop roads. On the4,2km

OribiLoopIfind that even thepark’svulture restaurant

cannot escape Covid-19.Ittoo had been temporarilyshut.

By thetimeImakemyway around the6,7km Blesbok

Loop,the sunislow on thehorizon.AsIclimbtothe

Generaal’s Kopviewing point, thesplendour of the

landscapeisbreathtaking. Herds of zebra, wildebeest

andblesbok grazecontently againstabackdrop of golden

mountainpeaks.The serenity is tangible andsuddenly

IfeellikeIam in averyfaraway placeindeed.

ONTO THEBATTLEFIELDS

Ajackal andhis mate runacrossthe road shortlybefore

Iexitthe easterngateofGolden Gate thenextmorning.

Ifollow theR712toHarrismithwhere Istoptolookatthe

imposing sandstonefacadeofthe Town Hall,built in 1907.

Unfortunately,the interior of this National Monument

hasfallen into disrepair andIfind only graffiti, broken

windowsand litter inside.Itakeapeekata250 millionyear-old

fossilisedtreethatsomehow made itsway next to

thebuildingbeforenavigatinganimpressivecollection of

potholesonmyway outoftown.

Thenextthree townsonmylist,Newcastle,Dundee

andUtrecht,are allrelativelynearone anotherinwestern >


Road trip

WHERETOPARKYOUR

HOMEONWHEELS

Even though youhaveall thecreature

comforts on board, it is stillrecommended

that youovernight in formal campsites

when travelling in amotorhomeinSouth

Africa.Here’swhere we camped.

Umfula Resort

Camp on the grassy banks ofthe Vaal

River about 5km outside Parys. Sites

have power points and taps; some have

shade. Anablution block with hot showers

and ascullery isavailable for use.

COST:R300per site

CONTACT: 082-312-4123,umfula.net

Clarens Inn&Backpackers

If you want tostay close to the shops and

restaurants of Clarens, this backpackers

in Van Reenen Street has one stand for

motorhomes. You have your own covered

braai, sink and power point. Ablutions

are shared with the backpackers.

COST:R120per person

CONTACT: 076-369-9283,

clarensinn.co.za

BergwoningGuestFarm

This picturesque campsite borders the

Golden Gate Highlands National Park.

Plenty of trees provide shade, most

sites have power points and asmall

braai pit. Ablutions are basic but neat.

COST:R140per person

CONTACT: 082-959-3150,dibusstop.co.za

Glen Reenen

Camp inside the Golden Gate Highlands

National Park. It’s the most central camp

spot for exploring the park, with several

hiking trails starting from the camp. It

gets packed during holidays, however,

and is situated near the main road

through the park. Selected sites have

power points and ablutions are shared.

COST:FromR265for 2persons

CONTACT: 012-428-9111,sanparks.org

15

Moorfield Farm

Escape the bustle ofNewcastle at this

farm inthe Ncandu River valley, about

30km from town. Camping facilities

are rustic and level parking spots

for motorhomes are limited, but you

have access to communal ablutions,

braai facilities and abasic kitchen.

COST:R120per person

CONTACT: 082-328-3819 (WhatsApp

only),moorfield.co.za

HOMEAND AWAY

Thelandscape of the

Golden Gate Highlands

National Park is at its

mostbeautiful in thelate

afternoonsun.

I’mheading foraguest farm borderingthe Ncandu state

forest andIsuddenly findmyselfonone of themost

scenic countryside roadsI’veeverdriven,evenifthe

gravel road vibrates themotorhomefiercely from time

to time.WhenIarriveatMoorfieldFarmIam theonly

person in thecampsite. Iwalktoaviewpoint over the

emeraldNcanduRiver valley, home to vast stretchesof

indigenous forest.The farm dog, Blue,follows me andsits

at my feetquietly as we gaze out over thelandscape.Ipet

herheadand shelooks up at me,then back at theforest

below.“YesIknow,”Itell her, “it’sincredible.”

North

16

NOSTALGIA

Foraglimpse

of abygone era,

popinatthe

Talana Museum

in Dundee(top

andbottom) and

check outthe oldstylehouses

in

Utrecht(middle).

KwaZulu-Natal.Iam headingintothe Battlefields,

aregion so-calledbecause it washerewhere bitter

skirmishes, battlesand wars played outbetween the

British, Zulu andBoernationsinthe late1800s.Every

inch of thesoilhereholds an importantpiece of the

country’shistory.

Ladysmithwas of particular strategicimportance

during theSouthAfrican War. It served as abasefor the

Britishfromwhich to defendthe rest of theirterritory

to theeast. In 1899 and1900the Boerslaidsiege to the

town forastaggering118 days.Eventually,the deadlock

wasbroken, in part thanks to thearrival aBritish relief

column containing ayoung WinstonChurchill.

These days Ladysmithisaneconomichub, full of retail

outlets, discount stores, street vendorsand traffic.Idon’t

stay long.

TheN11 carriesmeswiftly northwardtoNewcastle.

Heretoo thestreets areabeehiveofactivity, so after

adrive-bypeekatthetownhall(also once occupied

by theBoers)Istopbythe Fort Amielmuseum. This

reconstruction of aBritish fort showcases thetypical

living conditions of amilitary base in the1880s. The

dustyexhibitsdoanexcellentjob of making me thankful

forthe eraIwasbornin.

Thesun drawslongshadowsonthe ground by thetime

Idrive outofNewcastle to my campsite forthe evening.

HOMEWARD BOUND

On thelastday of my trip, Ibacktrack down theN11

forawhile before turningeastonthe R68toDundee.

Alifetimeisnot enough to captureall thehistory that

played outonthe Battlefields, butthe Talana Museum

on theedgeoftowntakes agoodcrack at it.Ifthere’s

oneBattlefields museum to visit, it’s this one.

Ispend thewhole morningwalking from one

building on thecomplex to thenext. Ibumpmyhead

on ablackened doorframeinthe mining exhibit, send

pictures of thefashion gallerytomygirlfriendand find

abustofMahatma Gandhi in thegarden.The Smith

Cottageremains furnishedexactly as it wasmorethan

100years agoand ascaled-down version of theTalana

trainstation features asteam locomotive that hauled

coal from themines forover70years.There arealso

reconstructions of old-timey workshops,apost office,

Thefarmdog,Blue, followsme

andsitsatmyfeetquietly as we

gaze outoverthe landscape. Ipet

herheadand shelooks up at me,

then back at theforestbelow.

ageneral dealer,apharmacy andacoach housewith

agrand collectionofhorse carriagesand ox wagons.

What my final destination,Utrecht,lacks in tourist

attractionsitmakes up forinnatural beauty.The town is

entirely surroundedbythe mountainousUtrecht Balele

CommunityGameParkwhich makesthe driveonwardto

Wakkerstroom decidedlyscenic.FromhereI’llmakemy

waybacktoJohannesburg.

In aweekIsqueezed in avisit to substitutesofFrance

(Parys),Germany (Frankfort), Switzerland(Clarens),

England(Newcastle), Scotland (Dundee) andthe

Netherlands(Utrecht).I’m almost temptedtokeepgoing

andvisit moresuchtowns throughout thecountry (there’s

both an Amsterdamand aBelfast in Mpumalanga, for

instance), butthey’ll have to wait foranother day.

Iremembernow whyInever didthe original trip.

Whetherit’scalled“Euros” or “Rands”, onetends to

runout of it at some point..

Images: Evan Naudé,Map:Francois Haasbroek


-West

N4

N14

GAUTENG

Vereeniging

Parys N1

Vanderbijlpark

Vaal Dam

R723

Heilbron

R34 Frankfort

Free State

Senekal

RSA

Ficksburg

MASERU

Your 7-dayguide to explorethisregion

PRETORIA

JOHANNESBURG

N17

Heidelberg

Standerton

Vrede

Reitz

Warden

Lindley

R722

R26

Blood RiverBattlefield

Bethlehem

N5

Harrismith

Dundee R68

Clarens

Fouriesburg

Hlotse

Bronkhorstspruit

N4

N12

Liebenbergsvlei

Vaal

LESOTHO

N4

Belfast

Emalahleni

N11

Carolina

N17

Bethal

Ermelo

N2

N11

Volksrus R543 Wakkerstroom

R34

Utrecht

Memel

Newcastle

R34

R68

R33

Rorke’sDriftBattlefield

Sterkfontein Dam

R712

Golden Gate National Park

Ladysmith

50 km

N3

Mpumalanga

Kwazulu-

Natal

Tugela

Mooi River

Greytown

N3

Howick

Pietermaritzburg

Road trip

DAY1

Parysisonlyanhourand ahalffrom

Johannesburg,soyou canhavealeisurely

drivetoyourfirst destination.Explore the

shops,restaurantsand boutiquesofBree

Streetbeforefindingacamp spot along the

Vaal River.

DAY2

Head east to Frankfortvia Heilbron,

roughlyatwo-hourdrive.Turnsouth

on theR26 andtravelthrough Reitz

andBethlehem to your nextEuropean

destination,Clarens.

DAY3&4

Clarensand surrounds have alot to offer,

so spendatleast twonightsherebefore

continuingyourtripeastthrough the

GoldenGateHighlands NationalPark.

DAY5

Even thoughNewcastleisonlyabout 3,5

hours’ drivefromClarens,anearly start

will give youenoughtimefor apictureat

theSterkfonteindam andavisittoFort

AmielinNewcastle before thesun sets.

DAY6

Head to Dundee foravisittothe Talana

Museum. If you’re ahistory buff, give

yourself enoughtimefor avisit to one of

themanynearbyBattlefield sitessuch

as Rorke’sDrift or Blood River. Continue

northalong theR33 andR34 to Utrechtor

Wakkerstroom forthe last overnightstop.

DAY7

Wakkerstroom is only 3hours from

Johannesburg, so you’ll have plenty of time

forbreakfast andaperusalofthisquaint

little town before headinghome.

17

Evan’s transportwas sponsoredbyBoboCampers. He travelled

in aDiscoverer4,afour-berthmotorhome with afullkitchenand

bathroomonboard.Rentalrates startatR2090 perday andother

models areavailable. Contact: 011-395-1020,bobocampers.com

DASHING

DULLIES

18

People oftenchuckleabout the‘dull’ in Dullstroom.Dullies –asit’sfondly

known–isanythingbut boring.Withtop-class restaurants, crystalriversand an

abundance of outdooractivities, this tiny Mpumalangatowncharmsall visitors.

WORDSAND PHOTOSBYMIA LOUW

Idon’t recall much from my first visit

to Dullstroom. Iwas inhigh school,

15 odd years ago, and wewere

merely passing through this dorpie

in Mpumalanga. Myparents and

Iwere heading back to my hometown,

Mbombela (Nelspruit), after ahockey

tournament inCarolina.

The long main road, Naledi Drive, with

its artsy shops and restaurants comes

to mind. Ican also remember the crisp

air, and that I’d wished I’d grabbed an

extra jersey that morning. Perched on the

Drakensberg escarpment, it is the highest

town in the country –just under 2100

metres above sea level.

Today Ican thankfully say there’s more

to Dullstroom than cool weather and

shopping. Wewere properly introduced

about three years ago and, ever since,

I’ve taken any opportunity to return to

these sloping hills and waters brimming

with trout.

My latest visit took place three weeks

after the nationwide lockdown moved

from level 3tolevel 2. The tourism

sector opened up for business and

interprovincial travel was allowed; aswell

as the sale ofliquor –abig sigh of relief

for restaurants and bars.

My husband, Hancu, and Iwere

hungry for aquick getaway and eager to

visit the hamlet we’ve grown fond of over

the course ofthe past few years; wewere

also curious tosee what was on offer after

months ofzero tourism. Excited and atad

nervous, we packed our camping gear, left

Mbombela and slowly cruised upthe Long

TomPass toknock on Dullies’ door.

SLOWDRIVING,SLOWLIVING

We traded the fast double lanes, toll fees

and heavy trafficofSchoemanskloof for

the scenic drive via the Panorama Route

and Long Tom Pass, with heavy mist and

hairpin bends climbing 2150 meters

above sea level.

Long TomPass was named after the

Long Tomcannons used during the South

African War, which took place onthe

slopes of Mauchsberg between Lydenburg


Weekend trip

Thetranquil OomOrg Chalet at

HolingsbergFly Fishing

We were

properly

introduced

aboutthree

yearsago and,

ever since, I’ve

takenany

opportunityto

return to these

slopinghills

andwaters

brimming

with trout.

and Sabie. This was originally the route

followed by pioneer wagon drivers

transporting goods from Mozambique

to Lyndenburg. The road tumbles over

aspot known as the Devil's Knuckles,

where areplica ofthe cannon reminds

travellers ofthe name’s origin.

If you have time, pop into Hops

Hollow Country House and Brewery.At

an altitude of 2070 metres, they claim

to be the ‘highest brewery inAfrica’,

and they have six delightful beers to

taste. My favourite is the red Irish Ale

with rooibos and honey called Leila

on the Lash, which isslang for anIrish

party girl. No partying just yet, as we

push past the summit and dip down

towards Dullstroom.

We turn off toWalkersons Hotel

&Spa for lunch, 17km before town. I’ve

often been advised to visit The Flying

TheAnvil Ale Brewpub

andBeans about Coffee

Scotsman restaurant to sample their

scones at high tea, but each time Ican’t

resist the Highland Platter and aglass of

wine. The platter isloaded with crusty

baguettes, cold cuts, trout aswell as

preserves, tapenades, pestos and cheeses.

People flock here for anexclusive

country lifestyle: good food, fly

fishing, horse riding and hiking –and

Walkersons isn’t the only estate that

offers ataste of the slow life. There

is Highland Gate Golf and Trout

Estate, which has acourse designed by

Ernie Els. Not being much ofagolfer,

I’ve traversed the estate’s Waterfall

Hike instead –itmeanders along the

Kareekraalspruit’s cascades.

You can also enjoy the outdoors at

Dunkeld Country and Equestrian Estate;

it is on the dirt road leading to the tiny

village ofTonteldoos. Horse riding,

hiking, running and MTB trails wind

through the manicured landscape; and

if you’re in the mood for something

different, go on aguided tour ofthe

estate's trout hatchery.

DRINKS AT DUCHESS DIVORCÉE

As we enter town from Lydenburg, the

Anvil Ale Brewpub appears on our

right –abucolic building with creepers

steadily slinking up stone walls. Owner

Theo de Beer has been making craft

beer for more than 30years and lures

customers closer with afree tasting of

their seven brews, some ofwhich has

won international awards. Myfavourite

is the Bookoo –asummer beer infused

with buchu and honey.

>

19

Pet-friendlycamping at

ElandskloofTrout Farm


MadeléneHoltzhausen

at Beansabout Coffee

TheWaterfall Hike

at Highland Gate Golf

andTroutEstate

Stephen De

Meyerand

WallisatMrs

Simpson’s

Astormyevening at

Oom OrgChalet

Turtle Dove at

the Dullstroom

Museum’s bookshop

Theo de Beer at

AnvilAle Brewery

20

Dullstroom is the ideal place for apub

crawl. On foot, you can start at Anvil Ale

and work your way upNaledi Drive, all

the way to the Duck and Trout atthe top

of the street. En route you’ll find Wild

about Wiskey. There are 1600 options

to choose from, and they claim tobe

the southern hemisphere’s best-stocked

whisky bar and shop.

Add one of the numerous restaurants

on your crawl through town –Mrs

Simpson’s inTeding van Berkhout Street

never disappoints. Proprietor Stephen

De Meyer isblown away by the influx

of visitors they’ve had after the hard

lockdown, aswell asduring... “You'd be

amazed by the excuses people had to

spend time attheir holiday homes in the

village,” Stephen laughs, mentioning

asneaky back road Joburgers used to

bypass roadblocks. People simply cannot

resist Dullstroom’s charm.

Stephen and his partner, Bryan

Wolmarans, have lived here for 27 years

and after managing various restaurants,

they opened Mrs Simpson’s in2005. It is

named after the American divorcée, Mrs

Wallis Simpson –the late Duchess of

Windsor. She caused astir throughout

England inthe 1930s when she married

Edward, the Prince ofWales, who was

king at the time and had toabdicate

the throne. “It’s abit like Prince Harry

and Meghan Markle,” Stephen exclaims,

eyebrows raised. “Eighty-three years

later and Harry also abdicated his royal

title for love.”

Stephan and Bryan’s cat, named

Wallis, is always inthe restaurant. The

same year they opened shop, she rocked

up here asaferal feline. “It took about

five weeks totame her,” Stephen recalls.

Their vet immediately recognised

Wallis –in2002 she had been run over

by acar. With abroken jaw, euthanasia

seemed like the best option, but her life

was saved instead. She is18years old

today and still moves from customer

to customer, looking for awarm

comfortable lap.

EXERCISE THEBRAIN ANDBODY

Wallis isn’t the only peculiar pet in this

street. Next toMrs Simpson’s lives the

cat named Turtle Dove who welcomes

guests to the second-hand bookshop in

the Dullstroom Museum. As Ienter the

small charity store (it raises money for

the Border Collie Rescue project), Iam

met byahigh-pitched purr resonating

from between the books. This is where

the black and ginger tabby gets her

name from –she sounds like acooing

pigeon perched onaroof.

Book lovers will be pleased to

know this isn't the only second-hand


Weekend trip

GOOD

TO

KNOW

GETTING THERE

Driving from Joburg,takethe N12

to Emalahleni (Witbank), theN4to

Belfastand thelaststretch onthe

R540,atotal of 250km.

WHERETOSTAY

Elandskloof Trout Farm is 14km

outoftown, on adirtroadtowards

eNtokozweni(Machadodorp).They

arepet friendly,withcampsites,

cottagesand chalets.071-698-7845,

elandskloof.co.za

Dullstroom CountryCottages,9km

outoftowntowards Lydenburg,

haseight self-cateringstone

units sleepingtwo to sixpeople.

Picnic Cottage, nestledinapine

forest,has beautiful viewsovera

private waterfall. 082-338-9458,

dullstroomcountrycottages.co.za

bookstore intown. Tucked away in

Naledi Drive, The Smokey Owl feels

like an ancient, secret shop from Harry

Potter’s Diagon Alley. Loads of Africana

books, first editions and collector’s

items fill the intimate space, and inthe

back you can buy aselection ofpipe and

rolling tobacco, pipes and cigars.

After stocking uponreading material,

Hancu and Iheaded toDullstroom on

the Dam for ashort afternoon hike.

The dam is in the Dullstroom Nature

Reserve, on the outskirts of town, and

offers ahaven for outdoor activities like

camping, fishing, horse riding and the

‘highest Parkrun in the country’, aroute

that circles the water twice.

We followed the Steenkampsberg

Hiking Trail upthe mountain, which

towers over the dam. Itisroughly 2km

from the parking to the peak and back,

and from the top wecould see the village

spread along the Highlands Meander.

THEWILD SIDE

That evening atour campsite at

Elandskloof Trout Farm, we could hear

jackals calling one another from the

valley. At times, four to five of these

wily predators were yelping across the

hills. The farm is also home to herds of

eland, zebra, wildebeest, fallow deer and

donkeys. Ithas been in the Combrink

family for seven generations and the

11 trout dams are apopular attraction.

Thanks to the Milly's Trout Stall in

town, wehad smoked trout fillets for our

braai, and after anight of cooking under

the stars, weretired to our cosy tent. At

sunrise, horses and sheep trotted along

the dam walls, and we slowly packed up

our gear for the journey home.

On our way back through town,

we drove past the Dullstroom Bird of

Prey and Rehabilitation Centre. I’ve

had the pleasure ofattending aflight

demonstration here afew years ago. We

were introduced to Daffy the spotted

eagle owl, Hali the fish eagle, and Rooney

the secretary bird. Magdali Theron runs

these flight demonstrations toeducate

the public and exercise the raptors. Asan

educational centre, the aim istopromote

an awareness ofraptors and their plight as

agrowing endangered species. The centre

has also evolved, due tothe need for the

care of injured and orphaned birds.

“Financially, the lockdown was a

stressful period for us. Wedidn't think

we would beable toreopen –but here

we are thanks toour supporters. Weare

extremely grateful,” Magdali exclaims.

They opened during the first weekend

of September, and Magdali admits

that they were worried about the birds'

reactions –they hadn’t seen any visitors

for five months. “The guests were

overjoyed bythe raptors' antics, and they

in return loved flying for the audience,”

Magdali laughs. “It was agreat success –

we’ve had up to 100 guests per day”.

We head back down Long TomPass

with happy hearts; thanks to the birds,

the streams, the books, the food and the

people. Dullstroom is as we remembered

it, thanks tothe tenacity ofthe locals and

the support from its fans. Dullies is not

only dashing, but also dependable.

21

Holingsberg FlyFishing consists of

twolarge farmsaroundthe town and

four secluded houses, with views

over grasslands andtrout dams.Our

friends booked theOom Orgchalet

for us as aweddingpresent two

years ago–it is ideal foraromantic

getaway. 083-253-5371,

holingsberg.co.za

MOREINFORMATION

Call 013-254-0020 or visit

Dullstroom Accommodation’s

websitefor holidayrentals,events

andactivities in thearea:

dullstroom.co.za

Peaceand quietat

Walkersons Hotel&Spa


22

ed & blisters

It is theseason for

hiking! FionaMcIntosh

listsone incredible

overnight hiking

adventureineachof

ournineprovinces.


Top9

FREE STATE

Sphinx Hiking Trail

One oftwo overnight trails onthe Moolmanshoek

Private Game Reserve near Ficksburg, the moderately

difficult, 22km Sphinx Trail showcases the magnificent

sandstone hills ofthe Eastern Free State. Rich in

birdlife, including Verreaux’s eagles which nest in

the cliffs, the reserve ishome to avariety of plains

game species including zebra, blesbok and eland

as well as more elusive mountain reedbuck, duiker

and steenbok.

From the Langesnek base camp (where there is

comfortable overnight accommodation indormitories)

the trail leads through open grasslands and valleys,

crossing streams on its way to the mountains.

Acouple ofrock pools make for great rest stops

before the main climb of the day, toaviewpoint

from where, on aclear day, you can gaze across at

the iconic cliffs of Golden Gate, near Clarens. For

even better views leave your pack here and scale

the 2407m-high Visierkerf Mountain. Once you’ve

retrieved your pack contour round the distinctive

landform of the Sphinx, through lush indigenous

forest and past wonderfully scoured potholes to the

rustic mountain hut, where you can cool off in the

natural pool orsit watching the birds at the dam.

On the second day you have two route options of

about 7km –aneasy stroll along ajeep track back

to base camp, oramore challenging mountain route

that contours beneath the two Pyramid Mountains.

Climb the First Pyramid if you have then energy, then

detour slightly to cool off in the spring-fed sandstone

reservoir before returning to Langesnek.

The trail is open from 1October to 31 May. Bag

transfer isavailable.

CONTACT: 051-933-2220,info@moolmanshoek.co.za,

moolmanshoek.co.za

>

Acoupleofrockpools

make forgreat rest

stopsbeforethe main

climbofthe day,

to aviewpoint from

where, on aclear day,

youcan gaze across

at theiconiccliffs

of Golden Gate…

23


24

LIMPOPO

Magoebaskloof

HikingTrail

Oneofthe country’smostestablished

long-distancebackpacking trails,

theMagoebaskloofHikingTrailisa

fascinatingjourneyovermisty mountains,

alongpristinestreams andthrough

denseforests whereold sawpitsand

other relics tell of thehistory of thearea.

Basichuts(withbraais, ablutions but

sometimesonlycoldshowers)provide

forhikes of three to six days.The most

rewardingoptionisthe challenging

50km circulartrail from theWoodbush

Hut. Wander through plantations of

towering treesincluding the Groot

Boom, agiant eucalyptus that is

claimedas‘thetallestplanted tree in

theworld’, lush,sub-tropical indigenous

forest,enchantingdells of lichens,

mosses andferns andalongsideadam

to theWaterfall Hut.

Daytwo starts with aclimb to a

viewpoint–awelcome change from

being underthe canopy –beforethe

path dropsbackintothe forest again.

Follow thestream,stopping to admire

thetreeferns and forest creaturesand

to bathe in rock pools on the waytothe

Dokolewa PoolsHut.Ifyou’re fit,visit

theDebegeni Fallsbeforelooping back

to thestart on the finalday,revelling in

theoccasionalviews,the nowfamiliar

kingfishers, canaries, cuckoos, Knysna

touracos and other forest birds, frogs,

insects, colourful fungi and,ifyou’re

thereinsummer,carpets of clivia.

Bagtransferisavailable.

CONTACT 013-754-2724,ecotour@safcol.

co.za,safcol.co.za

KWAZULU-NATAL

Giant’sCup Trail

With its steep, rugged terrain and

unpredictable high altitude weather,

backpacking in the wilderness of the

Maloti-Drakensberg Park (aWorld

Heritage Site) is not for beginners.

All the trails uptothe top ofthe

escarpment involve long slogs

and the absence ofhuts means

that overnight hiking is generally

the preserve ofexperienced

mountaineers. But the wellestablished

and clearly marked

60km Giant’s Cup Trail, from Sani

Pass in the north to Bushmans Nek

in the south means that averagely fit

walkers can appreciate the backdrop

of towering peaks –the Barrier of

Spears –asthey wander through the

rolling grasslands of the Lower Berg,

overnighting infive basic, but wellsituated

overnight huts.

Although the longest stage is

13km, you’re at altitudes of2000m

plus for much of the route so it’s

not awalk inthe park. But the short

daily distances allow plenty of

time to bathe in the rivers and rock

pools, to appreciate the bizarre

rock formations, veld flowers and

occasional sightings of eland,

reedbuck and oribi and to enjoy

sightings of diverse birdlife, which

includes beautiful little sunbirds and

flycatchers aswell assoaring raptors,

including endangered lammergeier

(bearded vultures), Verreaux’s and

martial eagles and jackal buzzards.

No baggage transfer, but SA

Adventure Trails (trails.co.za)

have aslackpacking trail along

the route with accommodation in

nearby guesthouses.

CONTACT: 033-845-1000,bookings@

kznwildlife.com,kznwildlife.com


Top9

NORTHWEST

BushbuckHills

BackpackingTrail

Craggy landscapes and diverseflora and

fauna arehighlightsofthe Bushbuck

HillsGame Farm nearSwartruggens.

Anumber of shortloops allow forhiking

options ranging from a2km nature

walk to afairlystrenuous,two-day

backpackingtrail.

Starting at theHouse Kiepersol

(whereyou canovernight)the 9km

first daytakes youthrough bushveld,

past someold kraalsand big fig trees,

umbrellathorn acacia andaloes to the

undulating hillsofthe Pilansberg. There

youfollow amountainstreamthrough

adensely vegetatedkloof whereyou

mightspy kudu and bushbuck. Some

of themountainaloes areover10m tall

and the spreading crowns of coraltrees

aremagnificent–lookfor sunbirds, and

forest birdssuchashornbills and orioles.

Chill off in theswimmingholebefore

traversingamountainplateau of protea

grovesand grasslands thatsupportgame

such as giraffe,blesbuck, redhartebeest

and zebra.Takeinthe vistas from

Kudu Viewpointbeforecontinuingto

therusticMarlothi Cabin.

On daytwo there’sachoiceofa12k

or 15km routedownoffthe plateauand

through bushveld back to thestart.Both

offer wonderful bird and gamewatching

as well as tree spotting andswimming

opportunities.Onthe 12km routeyou

pass aMarshall owlbreedingsite.


CONTACT: 082-776-5540,info@fagalavoet.

co.za,fagalavoet.co.za

Images: ShaenAdey, Fiona McIntosh.Maps: GalloImages/GettyImages

MPUMALANGA

BlydeRiver Canyon Trail

Thismoderatelydifficult,30kmtrail takesyou

from Paradise Camp,onthe God’sWindow

Loop Road just outsideGraskop,toone

of Mpumalanga’s most impressive natural

attractions,the Bourke’sLuckPotholes.

Hikersnormallyspend three days on the

trail, butsince thehut atWatervalspruitis

under renovationyou currentlycombinethe

first twodayssostart early forthe 16,5km

hike to theColdstream Hut. Initiallytraversing

grasslands that areoften shroudedinearly

morningmist, thetrailthen winds through

wonderfullyweatheredrockoutcropsintothe

TreurValleyand on to thebasic overnight hut.

Thefollowingmorning, continue to follow theriver

pastthe tumblingNew Chum Fallsand aspotwhere

reconnaissanceparty forthe GreatTrekare believed to

have camped,toconfluenceofthe riversofjoy (Blyde)

and sorrow (Treur)–the startofthe dramaticBlyde

RiverCanyon. From thereit’sashortwalktothe finish

at theold mine hutatBourke’sLuckPotholes. Factor in

plenty of time to wander around thescoured,circular

depressionsinthe burntorange rock on thewalkways

and metal bridges.

CONTACT: 013-759-5373,reservations@mtpa.co.za,

mpumalanga.com

>

25


Burkea HikingTrail

Just east of Pretoria andwithsome260 bird

speciesand abundantplains game,the

grasslands,koppiesand kloofs of Ezemvelo

Nature Reserveawait nature lovers.Visitors

canexplore thereserveongamedrives,

in theirown vehicles,mountainbikes and

on two-day trails,but theovernight,21km,

Burkea HikingTrail is the waytoreally

unwindand appreciate thetranquillityhere.

Dayone is apleasant9km ramble through

grasslands and overrocky koppies to the

overnight huts.Choose,accordingtobudget

and groupsize, betweenthe intimate,

well-equipped, four-person MountainHut

or the basic, dormitory-styleRiver Camp.

Thelonger,tougher second daytakes you

through thebeautiful GrootspruitKloof,with

itsabundantbirdlife, and overmorerocky

terrainand game-rich plains on the12km

loop backtobase. Bagtransfer is available.

CONTACT: 082-776-5540,bookings@

fagalavoet.co.za ,fagalavoet.co.za

GAUTENG

WESTERNCAPE

WhaleTrail

Traversingsections of theDeHoop

Nature Reservethatare otherwise

inaccessible to thegeneralpublic,

the55km WhaleTrail, through

CapeNature’sflagship property,isworld

class;the perfectantidotetolockdown.

It's justreopenedafter an extensive

modernisationand upgrade,The

beautifullysited and well-equipped

overnight accommodationisatreat,

nowwithextensive lapasand fire

pits,viewingdecks, solar power

providinglighting, hotshowers and

charging points,fridges,gas hobs and

other comforts of home,while the

magnificentsceneryand rarefloraand

fauna –including,ofcourse, sightings

of whales,particularlybetween June

and December–thatyou seeonthe

trail showcases thisjewel in the Cape

FloralRegionWorld HeritageSite.

It starts with abang,the path

climbing steeplyupPotberg from

wherethereare incredible vistas.

Daytwo is less taxing, taking you

overrollinglimestone hillswithavery

different type of fynbos,richinprotea,

colourful ericaand aromaticbuchus.

Theremaining three days arealong

thecliffpaths and beachesofthis

fascinatingcoastline.Scanthe ocean

fordolphins,whalesand seabirds,

checkout therichmarinelifeofthe

rock pools, swimoffgoldensand

beachesand descend thenew stairway

to exploreStilgat cave.After settling in

to thelovely seaside cottages, grab a

cold beer andsit underthe starlitnight

skyofthis remote haven. Justperfect.


CONTACT 087-087-8250,

reservation.alert@capenature.co.za,

capenature.co.za

NORTHERN CAPE

Rock Pigeon Route

Oneofthe most geologically

fascinatingand botanicallyrich

and diverseareas of theNorthern

Cape,the pristine wildernessof

Oorlogskloof Nature Reserveoffers

150kmofmarkedtrails,ingeniously

laid outtoshowcaseits natural

wonders. Breathtaking views, weird

and wonderful rock formations,

rock-art sites, swimming holesand

diversefauna andfloramean that it’s a

fabulous destinationfor both dayand

overnight hikers,and whileitdoesn’t

have theeye-catchingdaisies of the

more popularNamaqua destinations,

theveldisspeckledwithwild

flowers in spring.

If you’re up forachallenge

choose the52,2kmRockPigeon


Top9

Routeand spend fivedayswandering

through magnificentarches, squeezing

up rock chimneys,taking in dramatic

cliff topviews and overnightingin

thesuperblysituated, comfortable

overnight huts.Makenomistake the

rugged terrain, shortage of waterand

FOUR-DAY DELIGHT

Luckyfor you, there's

aslackpackingoption

available on theStrandloper

Sundowner Trail,soyou just

need to carrylunch,water

andacamera.

extreme temperatures makethis atough

trail,sogoaslight as youcan.But any

hardshipismorethancompensatedby

theopportunity to immerse yourselfin

thesurreal landscape.Nobag transfer.

CONTACT: 027-218-1159,oorlogskloof@

gmail.com

Strandloper

HikingTrail

If walking desertedbeaches is

your thing, nothing canbeatthis

four-day backpacking trail along

the shores of theEasternCape.

Starting at KeiMouth (the southern

border of theformer Transkei)the

57km trail headspast theCape

Morgan lighthouse, through thepretty

resortofMorganBay and up the

dramaticcliffs at thefar end of town

before followingaflower-studded

cliff pathacrossthe plateauand down

to therusticStrandloperCabinat

DoubleMouth.Right on thewater’s

edge,onthe edge of dense coastal

forest,this is abeautiful wild spot.

Thefollowingday involves wading

the Quko Riveratlow tide

to Bead Beach, where, if

youare lucky, youmight

find Carnelian beads,

shardsofporcelain and

other treasuresthatare

stilloccasionallywashed

up from oneofthe many

galleons thathave been

wreckedoffthis wildcoast.

Thejourney continuesalong the

coast butthis is no easy beach walk;

you’ll pickyourway overboulder

fields,dramatic, doleriteoutcropsand

scoured sandstone rock shelvesto

thesecondovernight spot at Haga

Haga and on to thefinalovernight

cabinatBeaconValley.It’stough

going with aheavy packsopack

light, stocking up at cafésand shops

in theresortsalong theway.The

excitingfinalday,largelyalong a

rockycoastlineand occasionalbay

beachesthatoffersafeswimming,

requires carefulconsultation of

thetidetimetables to ensure that

youcan safely wade across the

Kweleraand Gonubie Rivers to the

finishjustoutside East London.

No bagtransfer, butthere’s

aslackpacking option, the

StrandloperSundowner Trail.

CONTACT: 043-841-1046,

strandloper@net4u.co.za,

strandlopertrails.org.za

EASTERNCAPE

27


WORD ON THE

BY ERIKA BORNMAN

28

THINK BLANDGREYWALLS AREANINEVITABLEPARTOFCITYLIFE? THINKAGAIN!

STREET ARTISTRANSFORMING OURINNERCITIES –ONE MURAL AT ATIME.

Not that longago,justhearing theword

graffitiwould conjureupimagesofa

hooligan or twoarmed with cans of spray

paint, defacing publicspaces. Butthe

public’s perception is slowly changing –

thinkofartists like Banksy,whose work commands

hundreds of thousandsofdollars these days.

In thespacethatexistsbetween thoseteenagers

furtivelyscaling billboards and an artistofBanksy’s

renown,there arealegionofstreetartists,alsoknown

as street writers, plying theirtrade andturningdrab

walls andbuildings into,well, worksofart. Andnonprofitorganisation

Baz-Artisdedicated to harnessing

theirpower of artfor thebenefitofthe public.It

providesasupportiveplatformfor artists to showcase

thepower of street art andits ability to transform

communitiesand individuals. (Follow them on

Instagram:@bazart_ngo.)

AMEANINGFUL MURAL

ForWomen’s Month this year,Baz-Art workedwith

street artistDbongzMahlathitocreateamural on

FoxStreetinMaboneng, Johannesburg,tocelebrate

female singers andactivists.

Theimagesabove show Dbongz creating this

gigantic work of art,titled“TheArt of Women”. In it,

he depictssomeofSouth Africa’s most well-renowned

activist andfeministmusicians.The mural’s purpose,

however,isnot only tomakethe spacebeautiful, but

also to shed lightonthe on theplagueofgenderbasedviolence

in ourcountry.

MelissaCucci, whoco-foundedBaz-Art,saysthe

main aimofthe project wastoenable thoughtprovokingconversations.

“The mural serves as a

specialtribute to women of SA.But most importantly

we want it to create positive dialogue andchange.By

combiningart andmusic,wethought this would make


Street art

forcompelling storytelling, allowing us to sharethe

journeyofthese powerful women. Street artisagood

medium to bringabout conversationsthatpeople

oftendon’t talk about.”

AN ARTIST WITH AVISION

Baz-Art andmusic labelPlatoon Africa approached

Dbongz to create this mural,one of many more

throughout Africa,and he jumped at thechance. “My

art is driven by narratives.The wall‘ArtofWomen’

wasagreatopportunity formetohonourwomen

andtheir beauty,” he says.“Ipaintwomen because

they arebeautiful, andtheyimmediatelybring life

andlight to spaces.Iwant to highlightthe powerof

women. To women whodoubtthemselves, Iwantthem

to understand andacknowledgetheir strength and

discover thepower that is within them andtowear

it with pride andactivateitall day, everyday.Men

GIGANTIC

TRIBUTE

Amomentous

labour of

love that

celebrates

womenand

adds beauty

to Maboneng.

Here you

seeDbongz

at work and

passersby

posing in

front of the

emerging

mural.

should empowerand neveroppress women,their

silence or lack of action on issues concerningwomen

beingviolated is notokay, it's horrible andinhumane.

Men must do better!”

Dbongzhas always been attractedtothe world’s

naturally colourful andvibrant features. Buthegrew

up in atownship, he says,wherehewas surrounded

by drab,mundane landscapes –uninspiringtosay

theleast.Then, arriving in Johannesburg to pursue

his tertiary educationin2008, he discovered andfell

in love with streetart, enamouredwiththe freedom

it afforded him: thecolours,the gigantic canvases in

theformofwalls.(Follow himonInstagram:

@dbongz_one.)

“Itisgreat to be able to communicatethrough art

what language can’t,tohavethe ability to interpret

theyears of pursuit into positively influential artworks

that resonatewitheverydaylives, andtoforever

vibratemundane spaces, to encourageongoing >

“Streetart is agoodmedium

to bringabout conversations

that people oftendon’t talk

about.”–Melissa Cucci

29

Street art

optimisminyoung minds, to boostconfidence and

eradicatedoubtand fear in humanbrains andinspire

patience andpersistence,and it is happening, one

artwork at atime.”

30

THEBRIDGEBETWEEN DYSTOPIA

ANDUTOPIA?

Andso, Dbongz andhis fellow streetartistare

changing dreary anddulllandscapes into vibrant,

inspiring spaces,using art to improvethe urban

environment. “The specialwalls to me,” he says,“are

thewalls that Iget to paintintownships or slums,

becauseapart from just adding colourand vibrance

to theirsociety,italsoeducates theolder generation

about theimportanceand value of art in general and

what theirsupport meanstothe youthwithcreative

aspirations, andithelps thekidstoopenuptheir

imaginations beyond thelifethattheyonlyget to

experience,itexposes them to differentrealities and

infinitepossibilities, they cannow notfearbut believe

andknowthattheir dreams arevalid andtheir gifts

have apurpose.”

This is what Baz-Artisall about, confirms Melissa.

Shesaysthatart cantransformhow an area is

perceived andexperiencedbyits inhabitantsaswell

as the widerpublic. Artenhancesthe appearance

andpersonalityofaneighbourhood, andindoing

so,itincreases thecommunity’s senseofpride

andbelonging.

Worldwide,streetart is increasinglybeing used as

avaluabletooltorevitaliseblightedneighbourhoods.

“Myart is driven by narratives.The wall ‘Art

of Women’was agreat opportunityfor me to

honour women andtheir beauty.” –Dbongz

As American screenwriter andarchaeologist Eric

Vasallosays, “Streetart is by thepeoplefor thepeople,

theleast autocratic,mostdemocratic andopen-source

of allart forms.”

Andthe street art of Afghan artistand finearts

lecturer ShamsiaHassani (@shamsiahassani on

Instagram)portraysAfghanwomen in amaledominatedsociety,

andshe imbues hercharacters

with power, ambition andawillingness to achieve

goals. “Art changespeople’sminds and people change

theworld,”she says.She believes art is afriendly way

to fight anykindofproblem.

BEFORE YOUTRY THIS AT HOME

As is oftenthe case,itwill take awhile forlawsand

lawenforcementtocatch up to public sentiment. Do

PROLIFIC

ARTIST More

artworks from

Dbongz, showing

hisversatility

andexuberant

useofcolour.

He takesadrab

wall (bottom

right) andturns

it into awork

of artintended

to sparkkids'

imaginations

in dreary

urbanspaces.

Road trip playlist:

TheArt of Women

Accompanying the mural, Platoon

created anoutstanding list of

tunes for Apple Music composed

by the phenomenal women who

own their light in South Africa's

music scene. Listen tothem, learn

from them, and tell your entire

crew about their magic.

ImagescourtesyofDbongz, Baz-Art, AppleMusic.Additionalsources:baz-art.co.za,Apple Music,medium.com, shamsiahassani.net


GOOGLE IT!

Interested to seemore? Google’s Street Art

Projectdocuments work from all over theworld

whereyou cansee images in high-resolution

and even learnthe storiesbehindthe art,

before they disappear forever:

artsandculture.google.com/project/street-art

checkthe by-lawsofyourmunicipalityand authority

before you even thinkabout tackling that grey wallat

theend of your street.

“Weworkwithmunicipalitiesand authorities,”

confirms Melissa. ‘Theyare veryenthusiasticabout

this art movementand really seethe positive impactto

theirpeopleand theculture ofacountry.

"Getting permission from thecitiesisthe

easy part, thedifficultpart is gettingthe whole

neighborhoodhappy abouttheir newcanvaswhich

will be apart of theirdaily routine.”

So,keepinmind that public art is just that:public,

andthe wellbeingand upliftmentofthe community

needstobefront of mind.

As moreand morecommunities recognisethe value

of street art,our urbanspacesbecomefriendlier,

morewelcoming andinspiring spaces fortheir

inhabitants. Public art,confirms Melissa, is apart

of ourpublichistory,part of ourevolving culture

andour collectivememory. By giving afuturetoour

artists,wealsogivemeaning to ourcities.

Photoportfolio

Reachfor the

Jandré Germishuizen is abornand bred Namibian who’s

making aliving from hispassion:capturing theaweinspiringregions

of hiscountry. AA Traveller hooked up

with himbetween hismanyphotographytrips.

PHOTOSBYJANDRÉGERMISHUIZEN

32



33

J

KEEN EYE Jandré

takespeople on

photosafaris

throughout

Namibia

andrégrewupinthe southofNamibia,but attendedhigh

school in SouthAfricabeforepursuingaqualification in nature

conservation andguiding before returningtoNamibia.

“I always had an obsession with theoutdoors. Ispent most of my

life in thesouthofNamibia whereIwas firstintroducedtoone of the

most beautifulplacesonthe planet,Sossusvlei. Ilived with my smallcamera

by my side andafter my studies, Iventuredintothe world of guiding. Istarted

guidingsmall privategroupsintoSossusvleiand laterall overNamibia.”

Butasatourguide he quickly realised he hasapassion forphotographyand

decidedtoforge his path more seriouslyinthatdirection.

He is currentlyafull-timephotography guide andhas ledsomeofthe

world's greatestphotographers throughNamibia,from National Geographic

photographerslikeArt Wolfetosome of theworldsleading landscapeand

wildlife photographers, like Hougaard Malan(LandscapePhotographerofthe

Year 2016).

“Photographyhas become apart of my being. EverythingIexperience is seen

or viewed in arectangularform. Ihaveaconstant urge to capturethe new, >

JANDRÉ’S TIPS FORASTRO

PHOTOGRAPHY

Namibia is well knownfor some

of thedarkest skiesout there

andevenhas adarksky reserve

(there areonlytwo in Africa!).

Jandré says:"It is very

importanttoplananight shot

in theday;findingthe right

composition at nightisvery

difficult.Secondly,onceyou know

wherethe Southern Crossis

youcan nowshoot thecircular

movement of thestars.Along

exposure of about5minutesand

youare in theWorld Cup!”

34

CONTRASTS

Thetextures

andcolours

of Namibian

wildlifeand

landscapesmake

for captivating

photographs

Photoportfolio

“Photography has

played amassive

role in theway

Iviewthe world

andevenmyown

life,and Ihope

to inspire, even

just amusepeople's

inneradventurer

with thebeautiful

nature that our

continenthas

to offer.”

35

THELADYAND

THEMOON An

exceptional

portrait of a

female leopard


MAKING AQUILT

MostofJandré's

aerial pics are

takenfrom

ahelicopter

BIG EYES Agecko in the

vast Namibian desert

36

capturethe differentand lure viewersintoanewworld.

Ibelieve that in today’svisualworld thereisaconstant

urge forthe viewer to feelattracted andpulledinto

aphoto,wanting to know more,” says Jandré.

“Photographyhas played amassive role in theway

Iviewthe world andeven my ownlife, andIhopeto

inspire,even just amusepeople'sinner adventurerwith

thebeautifulnaturethatour continenthas to offer.”

Theaim of hiscompany,GoGravelPhoto Safaris,

is to help otherpeoplecapture brilliantpictures

of Namibia. “Wedophotographictours through

Namibia. Ifocusonhelpingphotographersfocus on

thephotographypart of thetourwhile we focuson

everythingelse. Thereare so many detailsgoing into

aproperlyplanned phototripthatone oftengets

distracted from thebreathtakingphotos. We host some

of themostextraordinary toursimaginabletoclients,

wether it is adunetripintothe unknownSkeleton

Coastorahelicopter safari throughthe vast horizons

of Namibia.”

Although he says each phototgraphy destination

hasits ownuniqueness,hewould have to sayEtosha

is amonghis favourite. “Etoshaistomeareligious

experience everytimeIgothere, thevastness,

landscapes andthe sheeramountofanimalsthat

roam that unique area.”


Photoportfolio

STARS AND

STRIPES

Sossusvlei is

one of Jandré's

favouriteplaces

on earth

IN THEWILD Nothing

beats seeing animalsin

their naturalhabitat,and

observingtheir behaviour

PINK PARADE

Flamingoes

fordays

JANDRÉ’S TIPS FORDRONE

PHOTOGRAPHY

“I thinkthe most importantthingto

remember with drone photography

is that anything from abovelooks

completely differentand that most

things we seefromgroundlevelhas an

extremelydifferent perspectivefrom

above. Tryand figure outspecific areas

that youthink mighthavebeautiful

shapes from abovelikebeaches,rivers,

roads andgofly,test thedifferentheights

andtestshoot untilyou arehappy."

JANDRÉ’S GEAR

Jandré hasasmall amount of gear

as he believesknowing your gear

well is more importantthanowning

loadsofit. He uses aCanon 5D mrk

4, Canon400mm and24-105mm

lens, which he pairswithOKKO

filtersfor landscapes andvideos.

Although he hasaMavic2for

drone photography, Jandré says he

is privilegedtooften tagalong in

helicopter ridesand domostofhis

aerial work from there.

Follow Jandré on Instagram

@jandre_namibia_photo

Bookatouratgogravel.

africa.com or contactJandré

at info@jandrephotos.com


GETCLOSER

One ofthe most common mistakes with

travel portraits is that they are taken from

too far away –and you can tell that it isn’t

on purpose. Immediately you lose impact

and meaning. Don’t be shy! Approach

the person you want tophotograph. Do

it without your camera’s blazing. Have a

conversation with them. Most people will

be okay with having their photo taken

if you just ask. Itdoes become easier –

Ipromise. And often those conversations

will end up becoming the highlight of

your holiday.

ENGAGEWITH

YOUR SUBJECT

Once you have your subject’s permission,

you need to loosen them up and make

them feel comfortable infront of the

camera. That can be alittle more

difficult. Most people –even people

you know well –immediate stiffen

up as soon as you say “1, 2,3...”. Jokes

help –even ifthey’re bad ones. It also

helps toprepare your subject for what

they’re about toexperience. Explain

the shot you’re wanting, or even ask

them for suggestions for poses. If you’re

photographing children get down to

their level physically and talk tothem.

Encourage them to ignore the camera

and just have fun.

38

PerfectWORDS &PHOTOS SAMANTHA REINDERS

PORTRAITS

If you’re hittingthe road with your cameraonyour passengerseat, chancesare you’ll want to take

aportraitortwo along theway.Asyou mayhavediscoveredalready,it’snot as simpleaspointing

your camera andsaying“cheese!”There areaton of little intricacies to it –partpeopleskillsand part

camera skills.Heresomeessential tips to make sure your nextseriesofportraits arewinners.


Photography tips&tricks

Most importantly, be prepared yourself.

Know your camera inside and out. Have

it prepared and the settings all already

made. Fire offacouple oftest shots

so that when your subject isready to

go you don’t make the situation more

uncomfortable byfiddling with the knobs

and buttons on your camera.

Themajority of

portraitsare shot by

placingthe camera

at eye-level to the

subject. Trysomething

unconventionaland

change up yourposition

–perhaps shooting

from high up or from

alow angle. These

angles cancreate

impact andadd variety

to your photographs.

PHOTOGRAPHINGINAN

UNFAMILIAR CULTURE

Do some research before you go and talk

to people who have been there before.

Are there recommendations that will

help you find the best subjects orcatch

the best light where you’re going? Are

there cultural practices or taboos you

should know about? Ithelps to learn

afew phrases in the local language…

even if you’re bad atitand it makes

people laugh. Laughter goes along way

to opening doors and people genuinely

appreciate that you’ve made aneffort. If

you promise you’re going to send people

acopy oftheir photograph, then follow

up on your promise. Otherwise bad photo

karma will find you. Agreat and easy way

to do that these days is to simply send

the photo via WhatsApp.

BACKGROUND MATTERS

With portraits, the background can be

as important asthe subject. Sometimes

even more so! Abusy ordistracting

background will take attention away

from the person in the photo. Tryto

find aneutral, uncluttered background

that won’t distract. Itdoesn’t have to

be completely plain –you can use

lines todraw attention to the person,

or apop of colour or texture to add

>

39


Photography tips &tricks

layers to your image aslong asit’s

subtle. Often including appropriate

props (an instrument ifyou’re

photographing amusician or the boat

of afisherman, etc) will both make your

subject more comfortable and add an

interesting dimension.

SHOOT ALOT!

Don’t simply take one or two images

wherever possible. Without being too

intrusive (it can bealittle bit of atightrope

walk; some situations require you to be

quiet or aflyonthe wall) fire off afew

shots atatime. This will avoid you getting

images with the persons eyes closed and

increase the chances ofthat money-shot

when the sparkle inthe person’s eye is

just perfect oryou’ll capture emotions

and expressions that will make the image

sing. Don’t hurry. People also often warm

up after afew shots, so keep that in mind.

LIGHTING

If your subject isn’t in great lighting –ask

them to move. Direct sunlight isoften

the worst light towork inbecause it

casts horrible shadows. Overcast days

provide soft light that is really flattering.

Youcan use natural daylight indoors too

–and this can often beaquick fix if you

you’re looking for alast-minute place to

pose aperson. Place your subject near

awindow ordoor and have them face

slightly towards the light. Expose for the

light onyour subject’s face.

USEAFLATTERING

FOCALLENGTH

For portraiture there isnosuch thing

as the right lens, ittotally depends on

the scenario, but it is the most vital tool

you have inyour bag. A50mm focal

length will give you the most accurate

representation of your subject because

40

AA traveller | WINTER 2020

Photography tips&tricks

it creates nodistortion. Ifyou shoot

with afocal length below 50mm

you’ll start tosee some undesirable

distortion of the features closest

to the camera. (See the photo of

the camel above). Acommon focal

length for portraits is between 80

and 100mm. This is more traditional

and flattering and helps toblur the

background. Italso allows you to

give your subject some more space

–decreasing stiffness and shyness

–asyou’ll bestanding abit further

away from them.

BLUR THEBACKGROUND!

Asure-fireway to raise your portraitgame

is to shootwithashallow depthoffield.

Thisallowsyou to have your subject

in sharpfocus whilethe background

appearsblurred or outoffocus,helping

your portrait subjectstand out. To do this

youneed to adjust your lens aperture.

Ideallyyou want to shootwiththe largest

aperture youcan (the smallest aperture

number). An f4 generallyworkswell.

Usingthe Aperture Priority settingonyour

camera dial whileshootingportraits is a

Portraits don’t

only have to be

of faces!

Thehands of afarmer,

apianist,abaker,the

feet of aballetdancer

or thebicepofaweight

lifter…The detailsof

thehuman body make

greatsubjectsinand

of themselves andare

away to saysomething

aboutanindividual.

Useyourimagination!

To really makeyour

subjectseyes“pop”,

ensure that your light

source is reflectingin

your subject’seyes.

Thesereflections –

called “catch lights”

–are effectiveinturning

aboringportraitinto

somethingmorespecial.

good idea because

it allows youto

manipulate the

aperture quickly.

Protip: if the

background isn't

blurred enough,try

movingthe subject

furtherawayfromit

to blur the backgroundmore.

EXPOSE FORTHE

SUBJECT’SFACE

Generally speaking, the most important

part of the photo will be your subject’s

face. Make sure you expose correctly for

it. Ifyou’re shooting onthe suggested

Aperture Priority use the Exposure

Compensation (EV) to control how light

or dark your photograph will be. Ifyour

subject isquite small in the frame, walk

up closer to their face to measure the

light offitbefore you step back and

recompose. Make sure there iseven

light across the person’s face.

FOCUSONTHE EYES

Especially when shooting with ashallow

depth offield make sure you focus onthe

person’s eyes when taking aportrait.

Your camera most likely has several

Autofocus/AF points, which are visible in

the viewfinder. Select the central AFpoint

using the AF option inyour camera, then

position the central focus point directly

over the one of the subject's eyes. Now

half press the cameras shutter button

to lock the focus and recompose if

necessary without changing the distance

between you and the subject.

Samantha Reindersisafreelancephotojournalist with alovefor theopenroad. She’sworkedfor National

Geographic andwas thePhoto Editor at Weg/go! magazine for fouryears.She sees her collectionofportraits as

alifelongdiary of theinterestingpeople shehas metalong theway andisone of thereasonsshe lovesher job.

41


Petro-Anne Vlok,

assistanteditor

Petro-Anne got her

Christmas gift early

this year. She and her

husband welcomed

their healthy first child,

Helena, inJuly this year.

SUNNYSIDE UP

PHONECORD

I’m constantly

misplacing my phone,

so this phone necklace

is apractical and

pretty solution. Have a

look at the rest of the

Chommies site if you

want to buy agift for

your fur baby. Their dog

leashes are stunning.

PRICE R400 at

chommies.com

YUPPIEPICNICBASKET

Apicnic isthe perfect outdoor

social distancing activity for

summer, and with all the

plates, cutlery and glasses

included, you can just grab

this basket and head outside.

PRICE R1 299 attakealot.com

WISH UPON A Star!

MAXI-COSIBERYL

CARSEAT

This car seat may seem

on the pricey side, but it’s

designed to grow with your

baby, soIthink ofitasan

investment. The seat can be

adjusted to fit from anewborn

to aseven-year-old, and it has

both rear- and forward-facing

positions. It’s the only car seat

I’ll ever need for mybaby girl.

PRICE R9 799 ataa.co.za

With thefestive season justaroundthe corner,

theAATraveller team scoured theshopsfor

gift ideasfor ourreaders and ourselves.

Sta

42

ErikaBornman,

copy editor

Erika isaseasoned

writer and copy

editor who stood in

for Petro-Anne for

acouple ofmonths.

NATURALINSTINCTS HIGHVELD

4POLYESTER DOME TENT

This is alight-weight dome tent that is

ideal for aquick weekend getaway. Ithas

aflysheet and isUV50+ and 2000 mm

water-resistant. Weight: 5,8kg

PRICE R1 999 atOutdoorWarehouse

FIRSTASCENT

IBEX CARBON

TREKKING POLES

This set of trekking

poles islightweight

(21o grammes) yet

strong. It can fold into

five sections, making

it easy to pack into

your luggage on a

flight. Adjustable from

1,15m to1,3m.

PRICE R899

at Outdoor

Warehouse


Gift guide

SQUIGGLE PLAYDOUGH

Themed playdough sets in aneat

container, perfect for keeping the

kids busy inthe car. Lots of different

themes tochoose from.

PRICE R200 each at

squigglesa.co.za

SallyCronjé,

art director

Sally has abusy year

behind her but can

look forward toa

camping trip tothe

Kruger in January, an

annual treat for their

family. She raised

her kids toalso love

nature. Her gift list

reflects road trips and

lots offamily time

over December.

STANLEY

TWIN LOCK

TRAVEL MUG

Because coffee

and the road... this is

my favourite. Easy to

use and keeps your

drinks hot.

PRICE R399 at

OutdoorWarehouse

ADVENTURE

INC. BUFF

Youcan never

have too many

buffs. These ones

are pretty, versatile

and good for social

distancing.

PRICE: R299

at Sportmans

Warehouse

ULTRATEC

PORTABLE ZAPPER

LANTERN

Zap those mozzies!

Easy, portable, bugfree –

without the citronella.

PRICE R349 at Outdoor

Warehouse

CAMP COVERCAR

SEAT ORGANISER

This isideal for backseat

drivers to organise and

contain their stuff.

PRICE R249 at .

OutdoorWarehouse

43

Images: supplied.

LEGO WHEELS

Can you imagine how much fun it will be for the whole family

to build aset like this! There’s loads of models, also aVWCamper

Van, Fiat 500, Ford Mustang and VW Beetle and each has around

3000 pieces.

PRICE R3 299 (Land Rover), R2599 (Mustang), R1 599 (Fiat 500),

R1 899 (Camper van) at takealot.com or specialist toyshops.


Gift guide

44

Evan Naudé,

travel journalist

Being afrequent travel

photojournalist, the

months oflockdown

were hell for Evan.

Now he’s looking for

shoes for the bundus

and adrone camera to

take his photography

to new heights.

DJI MAVICAIR 2

DJI has been the king of drones for years and

with the launch of the Mavic 2earlier this year,

they are likely tohold ontothe crown for awhile

still. It is by far their most advanced consumer

drone. It features anincredible 42-megapixel

camera (stabilised ofcourse), 4Kvideo and 50%

more battery life (now up to 34 minutes offlight

time) than its predecessor. Best ofall, itfolds up

small enough tostash in abackpack, handbag

or apair ofbaggy 90s cargo shorts.

PRICE R18 799 at ormsdirect.co.za

SALOMON XA WILD GTX

Iprefer trail running shoes tohigh-topped boots

when hiking. Ienjoy the freedom of movement

that alighter shoe affords, but Ialso need

something abit more durable than standard

running shoes. The Salomon XA Wild GTX ticks

both of those boxes. It has agrippy sole, hard

rubber toecaps and my personal favourite

feature: awaterproof Gore-Tex

membrane.

PRICE R2 799 at

Sportsmanswarehouse or

salomonsports.co.za

TRACKS4AFRICAMAP OF SA

Although Irely onGPS and the internet when

Itravel, there isnosubstitute for aproper paper

map, especially onaroad trip. I'm amap junkie

with agrowing collection and Iamyet to find

better road maps than the Tracks4Africa range.

What makes their maps unique isthe inclusion of

gravel roads, jeep tracks and even 4x4 trails, all

of which include distances and crucially, reliable

travel times. If you are asucker for finding back

roads and offthe beaten track destinations, this

map isamust-have.

SamReinders,

photojournalist

Sam isconstantly on

the road inher new

Haval and found

gifts that will make

life easier.

DOWN

DOG-APP

Doesn’t matter

whether you’re

in Kamieskroom

or Kakamas you

can have agood

stretch after along

day behind the

wheel. Youcan be

atotal beginner

or an experienced

yogi –there’s a

little something

for everyone. The

yoga nidra isagreat

sleeping tool too.

PRICE Free

download, but inapp

purchases at

downdogapp.com

LACIERUGGED PORTABLE

HARDDRIVE

Youcan never have too many! These

bright orange babies are water resistant

and can handle being dropped, rained

on, dust covered, and crushed. They’re

ready for any gravel road. They’ve sold

more than six million units since they

launched in 2005.

PRICE R1 775 for 1TBat

www.lacie.com or takealot.com

PRICE: R220 at shop.tracks4africa.co.za


Gift guide

GerdaEngelbrecht,

editor

Gerda was so tired of

having had to stay at

home, she upped and

bought herself agift

she’s been dreaming

about for decade: a

second-hand Vespa.

But now she needs

the equipment that

goes with it.

MOTORBIKEJACKET

Iknow the Italians ride their

Vespas in their summer dresses

and tailored suits, but I'm too

old tobestupid. Helite makes

motorbike jackets with built-in

airbags. The jacket has acan

of CO2 in the inside pocket,

and the jacket is connected

with acord tothe bike’s frame,

which deploys the airbag within

0.1 seconds if you collide with

something orthe motorbike

starts to slide. Does it work?

Ihope Idon’t ever have to

find out.

PRICE From R9 000 for the vest

to R15 000 for the leather jacket.

There are also styles available

for cyclists and horse riders.

lovelifeandride.co.za

GRILLS OF JAPAN

In the summer, our family loves tolight the braai fires for what

we call a“plank braai”, where wesnack on the food as it comes

off the grid. Grills of Japan offers some options todothis a

little more stylishly. Their grills are ideal for frying meat or

vegetables and can even be used indoors on atable, for those

who live inanflat without abalcony. They use ordinary coal.

PRICE From R1 150 atgrillsofjapan.com

CORE MERINO

Iread about the benefits ofsportswear made

of pure wool in an article earlier this year. That’s

because itregulates the body’s temperature and

is odour-repellent. Iwas sceptical, especially

about the claim that itrepels odours. Iordered

my first Core Merino shirt inthe winter and have

had more items delivered twice since then. The

long-sleeved tops will be awinner on

walks where what you wear needs

to be light and versatile. The

products are delivered to you

with ahandwritten note and each

purchase supports South African

merino farmers.

PRICE Dependent on item at

coremerino.com


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Gift guide

48

CANON IVYREC ANDCANON POWERSHOTZOOM

Canon had agreat year with ground-breaking (but super-expensive) cameras in

their mirrorless range. Atthe lower end of the market, they’ve also surprised us

with two innovative products, which Icould use for aweek totest. The colourful

Canon Ivy isobviously aimed atthe younger market. The clip (why has noone

thought ofitbefore now?) attaches easily to abackpack, but also serves asa

simple viewfinder. The camera takes 13 megapixel photos and full HD video at60

frames per second. It is shock and water resistant, but can’t take photos orvideos

underwater. The lens is not quite as wide asother action cameras, but it was wide

enough for me. If Canon invests inone or two mounts that can beattached to a

dashboard orhelmet, this camera will sell like hot cakes.

Canon's Powershot Zoom is acompact camera with asuper zoom that fits in

the palm of your hand. The Powershot Zoom weighs 460 grams and has a400mm

optical zoom lens and 800mm digital zoom lens. It's like atelescope that can take

videos (full HD) and photos (12 megapixels) –ideal for bird watchers. The quality

will surprise you.

PRICE: R2 999 (Canon Ivy Rec) and about R6999 for the Powershot Zoom

at orms.co.za

BEELINE

Idon’t want to mount my

expensive cellphone on

the Vespa where itwill

be exposed towind and

weather (and thieves).

Beeline's innovative device

is as big asalarge pocket

watch and is discreetly

mounted onthe dashboard.

The app onyour phone,

which you can now safely

lock away in your luggage

box, sends directions tothe

device that shows you the

way with simple arrows.

The app also records your

routes. Itworks great and

costs thousands less than

amotorcycle GPS. It’s also

suitable for cyclists!

PRICE R899 at loot.co.za

This selectionofproducts waschosenbythe editorialstaff,and thevarious brandfeatureddidn’tpay forthe exposure.All pricesmentionedcan change without notice.

Delivery costsare notfactoredintothe prices. Theeditorial staffcan’t accept responsibilityfor orders.


USE

Social with us

@PoopourriSA

CONTACT US ON 021 913 3962 |www.poopourri.co.za

Distributed by FMCG 1Sales.

AVAILABLE AT:

WHEN IN

50

PARMAHAM

ANDGREEN FIG

BRAAIBROODJIE

WHATISABRAAI WITHOUTABRAAIBROODJIE? THESEOPTIONSOFFER

MORETHAN THEUSUAL CHEESE ANDTOMATO.

Recipes

PARMAHAM ANDGREEN

FIGBRAAIBROODJIE

Serves 2

Preparation 5minutes

Cooking time 5minutes

½green fig, finely chopped

½red chilli, finely chopped

2slices parma ham

2slices emmenthaler

fresh rocket

4slices bread, buttered onone side

1 Mix the green figs and chilli and spread

on the unbuttered side of two slices of

bread. Add aslice of parma ham and a

slice ofcheese, ensuring the fatty side

of the parma ham hangs over the edge

of the bread.

2 Sprinkle some rocket leaves and

close the sandwich. Fry in some butter,

pressing down on it with an egg spatula,

until golden brown.

2 Mix the flour, salt and oil inabowl. Add

all the liquid and knead thoroughly for

10 minutes.

3 Grease the dough ball with olive oil,

cover itwith cling film, and allow to rest

until ithas doubled in size.

4 Knead the dough and divide it into four

balls. Let itrest onafloured surface at

room temperature for 20minutes.

5 Heat aheavy oven tray orpan in the

oven that's at maximum temperature.

If you want tomake itover the coals, a

Cobb oven or akettle braai with acastiron

plate orpizza stone isbest.

6 Roll out the dough on afloured surface.

If you prefer athin crust, roll itout

several times until each isabout 30 cm

in diameter.

7 Spread one half ofthe dough with

tomato sauce and sprinkle the rest of

the ingredients over. Fold the other half

of the dough over to form acrescentshaped

pie. Press the sides together.

8 Remove the hot pan from the oven and

place the calzone directly onto it. Bake

for 10minutes at 200°C oruntil the dough

is crisp and cooked through. (Or spray

the iron plate ofthe braai with anonstick

spray before placing the calzones

on it. Replace the lid. Turn the calzones

after 10minutes and bake them for afew

more minutes.)

TIP This folded pizza isalmost likeapie

in whichyou can put anyfillingand,ifyou

have an outdoor braaiwith asolid plate,

you can cook it anywhere.

>

CAMPFIRE CALZONE

Makes 4calzones

Preparation 1hour

Cooking time 20 minutes

DOUGH

1packet (10 g)instant yeast

1½ cup water, lukewarm

1tablespoon sugar

4-5 cups (500 g)white bread flour

1tablespoon salt

2tablespoons olive oil

FILLING

¼cup tomato passata

(or bottled pasta sauce)

2cups mozzarella, grated

1cup olives, pitted

8smoked viennas

2tablespoons fresh rosemary,

chopped

1small fresh chilli, chopped

(or Tabasco sauce totaste)

CAMPFIRE CALZONE

51

1 Mix the yeast with the water and sugar

and allow to stand for about 3minutes

until bubbles form on top. The water

should be just atouch warmer than

body temperature –ifit's too hot, the

heat will kill the yeast.


BRAAIPIES

Makes 6pies

Preparation 20 minutes


½amount of sour cream crust (see recipe below)

250 gthick bacon, diced

1pepper, chopped

1onion, chopped

Spare rib braai sauce(we usedKraft Hickoryand Honey)

1cup mozzarella, grated

CURRIED FISH JAFFELS

1 First make the dough for the crust.

2 Fry the bacon, peppers and onions together until soft

and cooked, and season with the braai sauce.

3 Roll out the dough and press out six small circles.

Spoon afew spoonfuls ofthe batter onto one half and

sprinkle cheese over it. Fold the rest of the dough over

it so you have crescent-shaped pies. Use the tines of

afork to press the dough together. Place in the freezer

for 15minutes.

4 Make sure that the grid has been thoroughly sprayed

with anon-stick spray. Fry high over medium coals (or

in akettle braai) and turn frequently until the dough is

crisp and cooked. Orbake at180°C for 20minutes (turn

halfway) on abaking sheet.

TIP Youcan also fill the pieswith curry mince orafetaand-spinach

mixture.

Forthe seaside

52

SOUR CREAM CRUST

1cup butter,3cupscakeflour,

1cup sour creamorcream cheese

Rubthe butter into theflourand then

mix with thesour cream. Refrigerate the

dough overnight or until completelycold.

BRAAIPIES

CURRIED FISH

JAFFELS

Serves 4



1onion, chopped

1garlic clove, chopped

1tablespoon curry powder

1teaspoon chilli flakes

1teaspoon paprika

1can (410g) chopped

tomatoes

2tablespoons tomato paste

2tablespoons sugar

3cups smoked snoek,

flaked and with all the

bones removed

8slices seed bread,

buttered on 1side

1cup mozzarella

cheese, grated

1 Slowly fry the onion, garlic

and spices in olive oil for 5

minutes. Add the tomatoes,

tomato paste and sugar,

and simmer for 5minutes.

2 Remove the sauce from

the heat and mix it with the

snoek. Add salt and pepper

to taste. The mixture must be

fairly dry, otherwise the bread

will become mushy. Ifitlooks

too dry, add alittle water.

3 Sprinkle some cheese onthe

unbuttered side of four of the

slices of bread. Spoon afew

spoonfuls ofthe fish mixture

on top and place aslice of

bread with the butter side up

on top. Fry itinajaffel pan or

just aSnackwich machine.

TIP Youcan also use tinned

fish orleftover braaied snoek.


Recipes

TIN-PLATE PIZZA

Makes 2pizzas

Preparationtime 20 minutes, plus

time to rest the dough

Baking time 15 minutes

500g store-bought dough or 24-

hour pot bread dough (see p54)

4tablespoons cooking oil

1½ cups tomato passataorbottled

bolognese sauce

4cheese sausages, sliced

2cups grated mozzarella

Ahandful ofcherry tomatoes,

halved

2tablespoons fresh oregano

leaves

1 Allow the dough rise and then

divide it into 2balls. Put the balls

on aflour-covered surface and

use arolling pin to make 2discs of

about 30cmindiameter. Cover the

dough with cling wrap and let itrise

for about 1hour.

2 Grease2deeptin plates

(about 25cm in diameter)with

2tablespoons oileach. Useyour

fingers to popany air bubblesinthe

dough.Drape eachdiscoveraplate

andpress it down onto the bottom

and sides –itshould hang over the

rimofthe platebyabout 3cm.

3 Divide the sauce between the 2

bases and use awooden spoon to

spread it out. Scatter the sausage

slices and cheese. Fold the dough

hanging over the rim back and

press into the pizza. Add the cherry

tomatoes and herbs.

4 Put the 2plates onthe grid of

ahot kettle braai and replace the

lid. Cook for 15 minutes. (Or bake

in apreheated oven at 220°C for

15 minutes.)

TIP If you don’t have tin plates ora

kettle braai, make them in acastiron

pan using apotjie lid. Put the

pan onabraai triangle and put

some coals onthe lid.

PULLED PORK ROLLS

Makes 12 rolls

Preparation 5minutes, plus time tomarinate

Cooking time 3hours

2onions, finely chopped

4cloves ofgarlic, finely chopped

1can (410 g) chopped tomatoes

2cups braai marinade

2kg deboned pork shoulder

(or beef chuck)

±2 cups water

12 roosterkoek or hamburger rolls

PULLEDPORKROLLS

TIN-PLATE PIZZA

1 Add the onion, garlic and tomatoes to the braai

marinade (store-bought isfine). Put the meat in

aplastic bag, add the marinade and seal. The

flavours develop better the longer you allow the

meat to marinate (up to 4days inthe fridge) but

you can also cook it the same day.

2 Put the meat and marinade into apot (or potjie)

and cover. Bring to aboil, then lower the heat

immediately. Simmer gently for 2–3 hours or until

the meat is tender. Stir the meat from time to

time and add water tostop itfrom drying out.

3 Remove the meat and set it aside tocool. Put

the pot with the marinade back on the fire and

simmer uncovered until the sauce thickens.

4 Flake the meat with afork and return it to the

sauce. Season to taste.

5 Serve onabuttered roosterkoek or fresh roll.

53

TIP Braai marinade recipe: mix½cup tomato

sauce, ¾cup whitewine vinegar and ¼cup

brownsugar; stir in1teaspoon smoked paprika,

2teaspoonsground cumin,2tablespoonsDijon

mustard and 2teaspoons chilli flakes. >


BUSHVELDTOASTIE

Serves 4



BUSHVELD TOASTIE

POTATOBAKE

BREADROLLS

Makes 1bread

Preparation 30 minutes, plus

12 hours rising time


1cup milk

1cup cream

1sachet potato bake seasoning

(your choice offlavour)

basic bread dough (see recipe

below) that has already risen once

Grated cheese

IN THEOVEN

1 Preheat the oven to 180ºC.

Mix the milk, cream and potato

bake seasoning. Pour half into an

ovenproof dish.

2 Now shape the bread dough into

balls and pack them side by side in

the dish on top ofthe liquid. Do not

make the balls too big asthey will

increase insize asthey rise again.

3 Now pour the remaining liquid on

top and sprinkle the cheese over.

Allow tostand for half an hour or

so until ithas risen and then bake

uncovered until golden brown.

OVER THECOALS

Use aflat-bottomed potjie and

make asabove, but swap the oven

for atripod over medium coals. Do

use the lid here and place afew

coals onthe lid sothat the potjie

operates like anoven.

6tablespoons butter

2tablespoons cake flour

½cup milk

Salt and freshly ground black

pepper, totaste

2cups grated gruyère cheese (or parmesan

or mature cheddar)

2tablespoons wholegrain mustard

16 fresh sage leaves (or basil)

2handfuls thinly sliced moist biltong (or

chopped dry biltong)

8slices white farm bread, buttered on one side

2tablespoons olive oil

BASICPOT BREADRECIPE (Makes 1small bread)

Preparationtime 5minutes, plus time to rest thedough

Baking time 35–45minutes

3cupsflour,1½teaspoons salt,½teaspoon instantyeast,

1½ cups lukewarm water, plus extra

Combine the flour, salt and yeast inalarge bowl. Add the

lukewarm water and stir with awooden spoon until the

ingredients are mixed. Add more water ifneeded. Cover the

bowl with cling wrap and set aside for 12–24 hours at room

temperature. (It won’t go off.)

54

1 Makeathick béchamelsaucebymelting

2tablespoons butter.Add the flour andstir. After

2minutes, startaddingthe milk bitbybit, stirring

continuously to preventlumpsfromforming.

Keep on stirring untilthe mixture thickens and

comestothe boil.Remove from theheat, season

andstirinhalf the cheese andall themustard

into the sauce. Setaside.

2 Divide the rest ofthe cheese, sage and biltong

across the unbuttered sides of four slices of

bread. Topwith aspoonful orthree of white

sauce –not too much. Topwith the other slices

of bread, buttered sides out.

3 Heat the rest ofthe butter and oil in apan and

fry onboth sides until golden brown and crisp.

4 Squeeze some lemon juice over the

sandwiches before tucking in, or serve with

gherkins and homemade pickled onions.

FACT: TheFrench callsthis aCroque Monsieur.

It is traditionallymade with ham and cheese.

POTATOBAKE

BREADROLLS

RecipesbyAlettaLintvelt;HopeMalau;EstherMalan


ROASTIES /BRAAIBROODJIES

Make Memories

Available at select stores.

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Recipes

BEER ANDBACON

BRAAIBROODJIE

Makes 4

Preparation 5minutes


4tablespoons butter, plus extra

4onions, sliced thinly

2tablespoons brown sugar

2tablespoons vinegar

1bottle (330ml) beer

8strips of bacon

8slices ofbread

ahandful ofgrated cheese

(gruyère works well)

56 STOKBROODWITH

ACHOCOLATE TWIST

Makes 4

Preparation 20 minutes, plus

rising time


4cups bread flour

1tablespoon salt

1tablespoon sugar

1sachet (10 g) instant yeast

1cup lukewarm water

2tablespoons olive oil, plus extra

4sticks

1packet instant chocolate pudding

400 mlmilk orcream, ice cold

1 Combine the flour, salt, sugar and

yeast inabowl. Pour inthe lukewarm

STOKBROODWITH

ACHOCOLATETWIST

water. Mix to make apliable dough,

adding more water if necessary, and

knead for 10 minutes.

2 Shape into aball and rub with olive

oil. Cover and allow torise inawarm

place until doubled insize. Divide into

4and roll each into athick sausage.

3 Wet the ends ofeach piece of

dough, roll around astick, firmly

securing the ends.

4 Braai high over medium-hot coals

(about 30 cm from the heat) for about

20 minutes oruntil cooked through.

5 In the meantime mix the instant

pudding with the cold milk or cream

and pour into aclean ziplock bag.

When the bread is cooked, pull itfrom

the stick and cut the corner off the

bag. Squeeze the chocolate pudding

onto the warm bread and tuck in.

1 Heat the butter in apot and fry the onions

for 5minutes until translucent. Add the sugar,

vinegar and beer and simmer over alow heat

for about 30 minutes oruntil the beer has

evaporated and the onions have caramelised.

Don’t rush –take your time!

2 Fry the bacon until crisp and drain on

kitchen paper.

3 Butter thebread on 1sideand put2stripsof

bacon, aspoonfulofonionsand some cheese

on the unbuttered side.Close with another

sliceofbread –butteredsidefacingout.

4 Braai inahinged grid over medium-hot

coals until the bread is golden brown ormelt

some butter in apan and fry on both sides.

TIP It’s easy enough to prepare thecaramelised

onions at homeand pack them for your

holiday. They’llcomplementany meal,from

steak to scrambledeggs on toast.

BEER ANDBACON

BRAAIBROODJIE


Holiday

READS!

Books

COMPILED BY GERDAENGELBRECHT

Decemberand January mark thetimetokick

off your shoesand read.Here’saselection

of somefantastic books thathave appeared

on our shelvesinthe last fewmonths.

Nowfor SomethingSweet

BY THEMONDAYMORNING

COOKINGCLUB. PUBLISHEDBY

HARPERCOLLINS. PRICE UNKNOWN

The club consists offour Australian

women of Jewish descent (Merelyn

Chalmers, Lisa Goldberg, Natanya

Eskin and Jacqui Israel) who have been

meeting regularly for the past 15 years

to collect and test their community’s

recipes, and then share them with the

world. Now for Something Sweet is

avoluminous book with sweet treats

straight from heaven. Itstarts with a

chapter oncookies for the holidays, then

cakes, tarts and

pastries and

desserts. It’s

one big feast!

Ideal for the

family looking

for anew treat

at this time

of year.

Jan–AbreathofFrenchAir

BY JANHENDRIK VANDER WESTHUIZEN.

PUBLISHEDBYPENGUINRANDOM HOUSE. PRICE R439

Jan isaMichelin-starred chef who needs nointroduction, and in

his TVseries onVIA he invites readers behind the scenes of his

top-quality restaurant inNice, France. Jan -ABreath of French Air

is both autobiography and recipes. Jan talks about his first years in

the industry and how heended up in his restaurant inNice.

The recipes are divided into chapters for bread (boulangerie),

snacks, vegetables, meat, fish, soup, cheese, pastry, dessert

and sauce. It is amagical 256-page culinary journey.

Johanne 14

–RealSouth

AfricanFood

BY HOPEMALAU.

PUBLISHEDBY

QUIVERTREE.

PRICE R176

This isatreasure

trove of South

African recipes.

“Johanne 14” is

areference tothe biblical John 14: 1(“Do

not beupset...”) aswell asatownship name

for cabbage, Hope explains in his preface.

Because cabbage is so versatile and

affordable, you have no reason to worry as

long as you have cabbage in the house.

The recipes include the whole spectrum of

South African dishes. There are chicken legs,

cow feet and sheep’s heads, but also pickled

fish, pap and sausage, vetkoek, bunny chows,

gatsbies, tripe curry, oxtail, koeksisters and

koesisters, Cremora tart, peppermint crisp tart

and milk tart. Hope's recipes remind me afresh

that South African communities have far more

elements that unite us than divide us.

JanBraai –

Braaibroodjies

andburgers.

PUBLISHEDBY:NB.

PRICE R279

Here's another fabulous Jan.

Jan Scannell, or Jan Braai, isthe

undisputed braai king of South

Africa who lights the coals for

Braai Day and keeps the flames

going throughout the year.

Braaibroodjies and burgers is

abeautiful publication that will

show you how the braaibroodjie

is not only aside dish for chops

and sausages, but can be

elevated to the main meal. Some

of the recipes are so grand, you

could serve them to your motherin-law

(the iced tea braaibroodjie,

for example, containing roasted

baby marrows), tothe caramel

braaibroodjie, which isa

winner for dessert. The waffle

braaibroodjie will definitely end

up on my grid. Ican imagine that

the macaroni and braaibroodjie

will be popular atrugby braais.

57


Books

R269

58

Perfectfor the

beach, poolorcouch

Fantastic!

Nine Letters

BY JOHNWEBB.

PUBLISHEDBYPENGUIN.

PRICE: R159

Cynical Durban lawyer Teddy

Dickerson receives asimple

instruction from his aunt Val

when she dies: mail eight

letterstoher friendsaroundthe

world. When divergent letters

from Egypt, England, Canada

and beyond are returned to

him, he realises his aunt’s idea

behind the assignment. It’s

beautifully written!

ALifeonOur Planet: My Witness

Statementand aVisionfor the

Future BY DAVIDATTENBOROUGH.

PUBLISHEDBYPENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE.

PRICE R289

Sir David Attenborough (now 94) isanawardwinning

presenter

of environmental

programmes and an

environmental activist.

In his book, which has

the same name asa

Netflix documentary,

he interweaves his own

memoir with the history

of the earth, and gives

aglimpse into the future.

Gripping stuff.

TheParis Diversion

BY CHRISPAVONE.

PUBLISHEDBYFABER

&FABER. PRICE: R189

Kate is amysterious CIA

operator who now lives in

Paris with her family. On

the morning of aterrorist

attack, she and her husband

sit inacafé and talk, in

an attempt tosave their

strained marriage. The whole story takes place in 12

hours, like the then TVseries 24, and every second

is important and full of suspense. Ihaven’t been this

captivated by abook for along time! My favourite

book ofthe year!

Cajun Justice

BY JAMESPATTERSON &TUCKERAXUM.

PUBLISHED BY ARROWBOOKS.

PRICE R159

TheCoast-to-CoastMurders

BY JAMESPATTERSON &JDBARKER.

PUBLISHEDBYPENGUIN. PRICE R314

James Patterson is currently the best-selling

living author in the

world, and one

of the reasons for

this isthe sheer

volume of books

he produces

annually. For that,

he often gets help

these days. He

wrote Cajun Justice

and The Coast-to-

Coast Murders with

Tucker Axum and JDBarker. Hewould not be

selling thousands ofbooks if this didn’t work!

In Cajun Justice, competent secret agent Cain

Lemaire isfired after his team messed up

on aforeign mission. Inhis new job, ashead

of security at acompany inTokyo, Cain is

dragged into anet of corruption and extortion

that threatens his life.

In The Coast-to-Coast Murders, truck driver

Michael Fitzerald, atwin, finds acorpse in his

apartment. Michael is arrested, but similar

crimes continue to plague the country and the

FBI and LAPD have their hands full.

After more than 20books, Patterson is still

my favourite holiday read.

Call of theRaven

BY WILBUR SMITH &CORBAN

ADDISON. PUBLISHEDBYBONNIER

BOOKS. PRICE R229

Augustus Mungo St John, the son of

awealthy plantation

owner, returns from

university and finds

his family destroyed

and the love of

his life, Camilla,

abducted as aslave

by Chester Marion.

Mungo swears

revenge…

R199

R129

Hitthe road!

Iamabigfan of

mapbooks because

aGPS doesn’t

always give you

agoodoverview

of aregion.Ontop

of that, aGPS is

particularly fond

of theN1and N2,

whileyou maywant

to explore those

back roads –even

dirtroads –when

planningyourtrip.

Camp &Caravan

wasrecently

updated, with 110

new campsites

added. These

map booksare all

from MapStudio,

andmostofthem

are availablein

AA stores or at

Takealot.com.

R319

ReviewsbyGerda Engelbrecht. Thebooks were selected by theeditors andthe publishershad no inputinthe reviews. Pricesare

subjecttochange. Theeditors acceptnoresponsibilityfor delivery.Mainimage:Gerda Engelbrecht.Bookimagesprovided.


AA-KinseyReport

THEREALCOST

OF DRIVING

AVEHICLE

60

Starting 30years ago,

Malcolm Kinsey first

approached adealership

for parts prices based on

personal experience driving

and racing his own vehicles.

Following from anenquiry into the

parts for aspecific vehicle, Malcolm

decided to make alist for all entries

in the 1990 SAGMJ Car of the Year

competition. Later after this data

was published, he was asked if he

would bedoing the same exercise the

following year, and that was the start

of what would become known as the

Kinsey Report. In2019, the Automobile

Association began its partnership

with Malcolm, and the report is now

known asthe AA-Kinsey Report.

The annual AA-Kinsey report on

parts pricing provides current

owners and prospective

Thinking of buying acar?You cancalculate monthly

instalments,but theadded costsofowningand repairing

it maycomeasasurprise. Theannual AA-KinseyReport

is acomprehensive vehicleparts cost survey thatwilltell

youexactly howmuchyou canexpecttopay.

buyers with aguide to some of the

costs involved in servicing, repairing

and fixing accident damage to

vehicles, by comparing aselection

of the most popular models onthe

market across eight categories.

The methodology has not

changed much: all entries in the

AA-Kinsey Report have quotes done

in writing, with local dealers filling in

aform giving their suggested retail

price including VAT. No importer

or manufacturer has ever been

involved unless the dealerships

do not yet have aparts price listed

(for anew model, for example) and

none have ever given any financial

assistance in compiling the report.

Malcolm has taken suggestions

on acceptable categories, adding

additional ones as the years

progressed and hehas changed

the parts lists inplaces tokeep the

report relevant. The original parts list

has increased from 13to33. Over the

years, service contracts have done

away with the need for owners tobuy

some servicing parts in new vehicles,

but crash parts are still amajor

item, even for insured vehicles, as

the cost ofthese can influence the

write-off point and excesses.

The AA-Kinsey Report is not

areflection of the manufacturers’

prices, though hopefully they mirror

the costs shown bythe dealers.

The report ismeant toenhance

the customers’ experience when

shopping for parts from an accredited

dealer. Inanideal world, unless there

is amisunderstanding between

counter hand and customer, the

price ofanitem should be similar

throughout the dealership group.


Image:Getty Images/ GalloImages

ASUMMARYOFTHE

RESULTS

The AA-Kinsey Report released end

of October shows that although some

vehicle parts have dropped, on the

whole prices are up from 2019 and are

running above the government-stated

inflation rate.

“Motoring has become more

expensive, certainly from aparts

perspective, and the results for 2020

show that. Although there may be similar

alternative parts from non-franchise

outlets –the durability of which cannot

be vouched for –prices for original

equipment are rising,” notes Malcolm,

author of the AA-Kinsey Report.

This is the 30th year of the Kinsey

Report and its second as the AA-Kinsey

Report and inevitably afew changes

were forced to be made including how

the figures were collected.

“COVID-19, which hit us afew months

before our normal collection ofprices

in May/June, saw us in the height of

restricted travel and social distancing

with many dealerships onlight duty

and suffering many retrenchments. It

was decided to delay the report until

the situation approached some form

of normality. Wewanted tocollect our

data in afull calendar month and did so,

finally, in September,” says Malcolm.

He explains most of his research

was previously undertaken in and

around Durban, with him personally

handing in parts lists to local dealers to

complete. However, hesays this year

he approached afew manufacturers

to supply their retail prices including

VAT –which he then randomly checked

at dealerships. He also excluded a

few brands who, regrettably, recorded

very low sales figures. Inkeeping with

tradition, all prices in the report are

from written quotes sothere isthe best

possible chance ofgetting them correct.

It must bestressed that the prices

used are what acustomer, walking into

adealership, would pay onthat day and

do not always coincide with what the

manufacturer or importer would supply.

The manufacturers donot have any

input astowhich vehicles are chosen –

generally the most popular vehicles in

the range are chosen.

“Malcom’s thoroughness has again

proved pivotal in bringing this muchneeded

information toconsumers to

enable them tomake better decisions

about their vehicles purchases. It’s

important for us that consumers

understand as much about their

vehicles as possible, including that of

replacement parts, and Malcolm’s work is

providingacredible, reliable andvaluable

service to motorists inour country,”notes

Willem Groenewald, CEO of the AA.

All the figures in the AA-Kinsey

Report were collected inSeptember.

Vehicle sales for August and September

show large declines ofapproximately

30% over the corresponding months

in 2019. Kinsey notes that some of the

popular manufacturers such asToyota,

Volkswagen, Ford and Hyundai are all

still doing well both with local aswell as

export sales.

Some models have been dropped and

some replaced with new cars, including

the Starlet and excluding the Etios.

“A factor that has become evident

is the increase incost ofbody parts.

Headlights, rear fenders and wheel rims

on some models appear to be agreat

deal more expensive. This has anegative

effect for everyone as it increases the

contribution the owner pays for the

insurance excess, and the write-off point

for acrashed vehicle, and it ultimately

increases premiums that one has topay,”

says Malcolm.

The 2020 AA-Kinsey Report again

includes the SA Guild ofMotoring

Journalists “Car ofthe Year” entries.

These represent the latest vehicles on

"Motoring hasbecomemoreexpensive,certainly

from aparts perspective, andthe results for

2020 show that." –Malcolm Kinsey

the market, launched during the last 12

months, and hopefully introducing new

cutting-edge features. There are 14 in this

survey, all identified byanasterisk ahead

of the manufacturer’s name.

There are nine categories ofvehicles

with each category list entry ranging

from aleast to most expensive parts

basket. The 2020 AA-Kinsey Report

sees ahuge increase in the popularity

of the crossover vehicle yet again, both

in models and sales volumes with some

manufacturers now having three or four

options available. This year, 27crossovers

are featured with prices ranging from just

under R200 000 toR1.7 million.

THENINE CATEGORIESOFVEHICLES

INCLUDED IN THE2020AA-KINSEY

REPORTARE:

City Cars and Entry-LevelVehicles

SuperMini

FamilyFavourites

Crossovers

Compact Crossovers

ExecutiveCrossovers

DoubleCabs

Single Cabs

ExecutiveSaloons

Malcolm says that the servicing and

repair costs sections ofthe survey are not

as vital tothe vehicle owner, particularly

with anew vehicle.

These costs are often borne tosome

extent by the dealer through service

contracts which could beaslong as

100 000km. Manufacturer warranties

can beasmuch as200 000km, or seven

years, in some cases.

“Crash parts prices, however, will

affect your insurance excess and the

write-off point of your vehicle, and

will be well worth noting. The charts

are set out linking vehicles of similar

cost, technology and purpose toallow

for simple comparisons. In the end,

though, itstill pays to shop around. Ask

for adiscount from your local dealer

as the motor industry, and dealers, are

battling to make sales. This all makes

buying abit keener when one dealer is

trying toclose asale over another one,”

concludes Malcolm.

>

61


62

CITY CARS AND

ENTRY-LEVEL

VEHICLES CATEGORY

The first three places in this

category are:

The Renault Kwid with atotal

basket price ofR62 990,

followed bythe Ford Figo at

R63 866, and the Hyundai

Atoz atR66 189 inthird place.

Serviceparts:

Kwid R3 048

Figo R3 168

Honda Amaze at R3 455

Repair parts:

Figo at R6 187

Honda Amaze at R7 033

Atoz atR7560

Crashparts prices:

Kwid at R50 490

Figo at R54 510

Atoz at R54 572

SUPERMINI

CATEGORY

The winner here isthe

Hyundai i20, with aparts

basket price ofR90 065,

about R2500 less expensive

than the 2019 class winner,

the Renault Sandero. Second

place goes toToyota’s newly

launched Starlet atR90 826

with the Ford Fiesta at R91

275 inthird.

Serviceparts:

Toyota Starlet atR3150

Toyota Yaris atR3543

Renault Sandero atR3968

(last year’s winner)

Repair parts:

Suzuki Swift atR7285

VW Polo at R7 348

Toyota Starlet atR8256

Crashparts prices:

Hyundai i20 at R72 590

Ford Fiesta at R74 699

Toyota Starlet atR79 419

FAMILYFAVOURITES

CATEGORY

The Toyota Quest follows

up last year’s success with

another overall victory with

atotal parts basket cost of

R85 031 –though quite a

substantial increase over the

2019 figure; second is the

Nissan Almera (R86 488 –just

about R1000 more than its

2019 total). Third is another

Toyota, the Corolla Hatch

with atotal of R131 294 –quite

aleap from the first two. The

Hatch was afinalist in the

COTY competition which is

quite adeparture from the

traditional four-door Toyotas.

Serviceparts:

Nissan Almera at R2 827

Toyota Corolla Hatch at

R4 934

Toyota Quest atR5344

Repair parts:

Toyota Quest atR9088


Toyota Corolla Hatch at

R10 504

Crashparts prices:

Toyota Quest atR70 598


Toyota Corolla Hatch

R115 855

CROSSOVERS

CATEGORIES

Crossovers are without doubt

the most popular family

vehicles, and their size and

versatility make them ideal

for amultitude of purposes.

They range from small SUVs

to large, sophisticated and

extremely expensive models.

We have three categories

basedonsize and to adegree

price. They are Compact

Crossover, Crossover and

Executive Crossover.

COMPACTCROSS

CATEGORY

The Mahindra KUV 100 wins

this class with aparts basket

price ofR81 776. Second is

the Haval H2with its parts

amounting to R93 860 –

some R2 800 increase over

last year. COTY nominee the

Citroen C3 Aircross comes in

third with aparts basket total

of R102 249.

Serviceparts:

Haval H2atR3741

Mahindra KUV 100 atR3781

Renault Duster at R3 873

Repair parts:

Honda HR-V atR8814

Citroen C3 at R9 392

Mahindra KUV 100 atR10 012

Crashparts prices:

Mahindra KUV 100 atR67 982

Haval atR79 797

Ford Eco Sport at R88 016

CROSSOVER

CATEGORY

The most fiercely contested

category with 12contestants

and three COTY nominated

vehicles. The Toyota Fortuner

again wins the class with its

total parts basket amounting

to R100 429, with the Nissan

X-Trail insecond place at R115

921 and COTY nominee, the

VW TCross, third at R119 852.

Serviceparts:

Nissan XTrail atR3556

Hyundai Tucson at R4 283

Nissan Qashqai atR4629

Repair parts:

Peugeot 5008 atR8 961

Toyota Rav 4at R9 066

Nissan X-Trail atR9367

Crashparts prices:

Toyota Fortuna at R83 049

VW T-Cross atR102 141

Nissan XTrail –R102 997

EXECUTIVE

CROSSOVER

CATEGORY

There are another three

COTY nominees inthis

category with the best parts

basket being scored bythe

Volvo XC60atR242 070.

The second, two places

higher than in 2019, isthe

Audi Q5 with an overall parts

basket cost of R251 288 and

in third, aCOTY entrant, the

Mercedes GLE atR328 211.

Serviceparts:

Volvo XC60atR8964

Audi Q5 at R9 907

Range Rover Sport at R10 822

Repairsparts:

Jaguar IPace atR16 336*

Audi Q5 at R17 486

Volvo XC60atR17 964

Crashparts prices:

Volvo XC60atR215 142

Audi Q5 at R223 894

Mercedes GLE atR243 383

*NOTEONTHE JAGUAR “I” PACE

This is afully electricMPV with arange

of some 400km. It does notreally fit

intoany current classification, but for

itsluxury featuresand sophistication,

it doesneed amention. We have

shown the cost of thehome charger

andreplacement battery. Thebattery

hasawarranty ofeight years, sois

not apart that requires short-term

replacement. An 80%charge canbe

achieved in about one hour at aquick

charge station orabout ten hours from

thehome charger.

DOUBLECABS

CATEGORY

The Ford Ranger 2.0 DXLT is

included inthe double cab

section because the COTY

competitor, the Ford Ranger

Raptor –which is included

here asit’s aCOTY finalist –is

another vehicle which should

really be in aperformance

class ofits own, and isnot

really comparable to the

other four double cabs. The

Ford Ranger XLT wins the

category with atotal parts

basket price ofR79 796.

Second place isthe GWM

Steed 6, one place up from

last year and boasting alower

price parts basket of R86 105.

Third is the Toyota Hilux at

R90 189.

Serviceparts:

GWM Steed 6atR3443

Nissan Navarra atR3669

Toyota Hilux atR5059


AA-KinseyReport

TOYOTA COROLLA SEDAN

Repair parts:

Isuzu atR5837

Ranger XLT atR7274

GWM Steed 6atR7645

Crashparts prices:

Ranger XLT R67 456

GWM Steed 6atR75 016

Toyota Hilux atR76 573

Single Cabs Category

There are no COTY

contestants inthis category.

The Nissan NP200 and the

Nissan NP300 fill the top two

placings; the NP 200 the least

expensive, at R42 529 with

the Nissan NP300 in second,

at R48 611, and the Toyota

Hilux isthird at R58 747.

Serviceparts:

Nissan NP 200 atR2404

Isuzu atR3904

Nissan NP 300 atR4326

Repair parts:

Isuzu atR5427

Nissan NP300 R6 204

Mahindra Scorpio at R6 389

Crashparts prices:

Nissan NP200 atR29 685

Nissan NP300 at R38 080

Toyota Hilux atR46 486

ExecutiveSaloons

Category

The Alfa Giulia takes a

resounding win inall three

categories. The overall

parts basket cost isR86 570

and there’s abig jump to

the second car, the Audi

A3 at R178 710, and the

Toyota Supra (another COTY

contestant) atR217 634.

Serviceparts:

Alfa Giulia least atR5961

Audi A3 at R6 406

Mercedes A200 at R6 520

Repair parts:

Alfa Giulia at R6 361

Audi A3 at R9 964

BMW 330i at R18 073

Crashparts prices:

Alfa Giulia at R74 246

Audi A3 at R162 339

Toyota Supra at R177 963

TheAA-KinseyParts

BreakdownReportis

available onlineathttps://

www.aa.co.za/sites/

default/files/aa-kinsey_

report_2020_parts_list.pdf

andmay be printedfor free in

itsentirety or in sections.

Formoreinformation please

visit www.aa.co.zaoraasa.

mobi, or contact: Automobile

Association of SouthAfrica

(AA);AAPublicAffairs

press@aasa.co.za >

63


city cars &entry level

PARTS DESCRIPTION

PRICES INCLUDE VAT

RENAULT

KWID 1.0

EXPRESSION

FORD

FIGO 1.5 TREND

HATCH

*HYUNDAI

ATOZ

1.1 MOTION

DATSUN

GO 1.2

TURBO ACENTA

VW

POLOVIVO1.4

COMFORTLINE

HONDA

AMAZE 1.2

TREND

KIA

PICANTO1.0

STREET

RETAIL SELLING PRICE R 156 900,00 218 500,00 165 900,00 182 300,00 225 200,00 190 700,00 190 995,00

PARTS BASKET AS %OFSELLING PRICE 40,15% 29,23% 39,90% 39,44% 34,72% 41,61% 69,92%

AIR FILTER R 143,83 281,75 220,55 128,21 226,55 350,50 151,32

OIL FILTER R 84,33 142,93 120,52 81,42 191,48 109,20 234,00

POLLEN FILTER R 154,69 181,88 241,71 435,54 553,15 N/A 481,16

SPARK PLUG EACH R 68,80 91,71 236,30 64,30 76,71 75,00 370,49

GLOW PLUG EACH R N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

R/H WIPER BLADE R 217,29 132,25 768,40 139,60 234,60 351,64 224,34

FRONT BRAKE PADS R 1034,76 1324,80 1384,08 1724,32 1004,53 1733,96 1625,39

REAR BRAKE PADS/SHOES R 1344,60 1012,86 1084,76 1140,67 1454,75 835,25 1064,44

SUB TOTAL: A R 3048,30 3168,18 4056,32 3714,06 3741,77 3455,55 4151,14

CAMBELT/TIMING CHAIN R 1825,59 897,00 725,66 1165,87 1299,50 1122,26 1550,82

FRONT BRAKE DISC R 1754,96 1156,31 1627,38 1827,75 1134,48 1145,75 2429,51

REAR BRAKE DRUM /DISC R 2414,45 945,01 1271,47 1171,94 1730,75 980,75 2919,74


FRONT SHOCKABSORBER /STRUT R 1544,55 1359,30 1790,09 665,94 1851,50 1595,07 1759,74

FANBELT R 366,69 438,15 233,68 479,77 959,10 500,38 617,14

SUB TOTAL: B R 9450,79 6187,15 7560,24 12 872,34 8109,81 7033,18 11 800,60

BONNET R 5033,10 4156,46 4603,34 3685,49 6428,50 7312,31 8445,30

FRONT BUMPER SKIN R 2475,16 1844,60 1617,60 2677,29 2415,00 2122,46 6127,58

GRILLE R 961,64 2954,04 1010,60 2070,08 2024,00 3188,95 3682,70

L/H FRONT FENDER R 1212,74 1320,67 1358,63 2434,02 1558,25 2158,38 3812,94

WHEEL RIM R 1321,36 4636,44 1697,76 651,95 817,08 1192,50 2896,11

L/H HEADLIGHT ASSEMBLY R 2179,91 2688,73 4651,12 2554,12 3174,00 2556,90 7605,39

FRONT WINDSCREEN R 2264,50 3079,93 5240,64 2456,61 1667,50 3075,55 5904,54

AIRCON CONDENSOR R 5449,77 3808,56 3764,08 4209,75 6773,50 2347,35 7214,65

RADIATOR R 3119,32 2975,25 2931,26 3195,05 1305,25 3158,92 9228,81

R/H FRONT DOOR R 3763,79 6754,12 7821,58 6983,50 6313,50 9388,54 8330,74

R/H REAR DOOR R 3763,79 3682,86 7510,56 6607,30 7774,00 8526,56 7331,64

R/H FRONT WINDOW GLASS R 1862,57 652,74 835,46 822,10 778,55 2069,11 3466,31

REAR BUMPER SKIN R 2196,45 1693,95 1617,60 3590,89 2857,75 3716,35 5641,82

L/H REAR FENDER R 5559,46 6032,91 1963,88 5917,43 8360,50 8288,30 14 169,85

BOOTLID /TAILGATE R 5798,83 5333,70 5549,19 5032,96 8865,15 6511,20 11 940,34

L/H TAIL LIGHT ASSEMBLY R 1179,62 1581,03 1066,94 989,03 1788,25 1891,10 4834,38

REAR WINDSCREEN R 2348,91 1314,78 1332,39 1431,84 3435,00 1360,57 6954,17

BATTERY CHARGER (ELECTRIC) R N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

BATTERY DRIVE R N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

SUB TOTAL: C R 50 490,92 54 510,77 54 572,63 55 309,41 66 335,78 68 865,05 117 587,27

TOTAL A+B+C R 62990,01 63 866,10 66 189,19 71 895,81 78 187,36 79 353,78 133 539,01

SHOES SHOES SHOES SHOES SHOES SHOES SHOES

CHAIN CAMBELT CAMBELT CHAIN CHAIN CHAIN CHAIN

DRUM DRUM DRUM DRUM DRUM DRUM DRUM

64

supermini

PARTS DESCRIPTION

PRICES INCLUDE VAT


HYUNDAI

I 20 1.2

FLUID

TOYOTA

STARLET 1.4

XS

FORD

FIESTA1.0 T

TREND HATCH

RENAULT

SANDERO 66KW

EXPRESSION

TOYOTA

YARIS 1.5 XS

VW

POLO1.0 TSi

COMFORTLINE

RETAIL SELLING PRICE R 272 900,00 215 200,00 305 300,00 209 900,00 291 200,00 309 300,00 327 900,00

PARTS BASKET AS %OFSELLING PRICE 33,28% 42,21% 29,90% 47,45% 35,40% 37,14% 34,15%

AIR FILTER R 374,60 290,33 281,75 236,96 532,10 288,65 1205,65

OIL FILTER R 127,42 167,90 142,89 139,69 275,02 156,93 177,91

POLLEN FILTER R 363,26 527,74 313,95 237,99 533,88 444,48 322,67

SPARK PLUG EACH R 209,63 89,07 357,65 212,12 453,03 232,30 630,44

GLOW PLUG EACH R N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

R/H WIPER BLADE R 1181,51 257,13 299,00 327,76 117,92 510,03 462,79

FRONT BRAKE PADS R 1947,23 1066,94 1736,50 1118,95 646,09 1037,30 2217,57

REAR BRAKE PADS/SHOES R 1246,88 751,71 1762,74 1695,38 984,97 3220,00 1814,64

SUB TOTAL: A R 5450,53 3150,82 4894,48 3968,85 3543,01 5889,69 6831,67

CAMBELT/TIMING CHAIN R 2148,42 1692,68 1897,50 3925,36 1176,24 1063,18 1269,09

FRONT BRAKE DISC R 1844,35 2471,68 1804,35 2389,42 2221,18 309,35 1875,16


FRONT SHOCKABSORBER /STRUT R 2427,60 940,68 3332,32 1541,62 2127,56 2041,25 3780,53

REAR SHOCKABSORBER /STRUT R 1689,24 352,80 2415,37 1359,81 681,75 1868,75 2794,57

FANBELT R 1127,90 649,49 616,86 701,80 994,70 616,98 199,64

SUB TOTAL: B R 12 024,81 8256,51 11 681,00 12 513,69 8661,52 7348,51 7258,55

BONNET R 5025,66 3984,05 4668,44 5792,62 5718,89 6704,50 5564,90

FRONT BUMPER SKIN R 2500,36 2757,45 4453,13 4201,72 3235,94 2915,25 7258,55

GRILLE R 1340,08 2542,50 3807,65 1879,82 2254,94 6003,00 1028,32

L/H FRONT FENDER R 1685,23 2686,35 1452,45 2253,80 2481,14 4151,50 2845,00

WHEEL RIM R 1825,37 7545,56 5140,20 2166,82 7811,09 11 488,50 7742,46

L/H HEADLIGHT ASSEMBLY R 5525,57 3745,29 4529,26 4390,85 8663,47 5560,25 19 961,01

FRONT WINDSCREEN R 4470,28 3307,20 4809,77 2707,93 4195,27 2024,00 5443,90

AIRCON CONDENSOR R 5982,46 6531,71 3589,31 9132,50 6189,08 4680,50 5867,35

RADIATOR R 3981,33 6978,88 1766,40 4629,45 7036,77 4030,75 9980,54

R/H FRONT DOOR R 9760,23 6095,41 7730,88 7386,16 8397,98 8855,00 7984,42

R/H REAR DOOR R 4817,71 5691,29 7193,25 7386,16 9058,57 12 719,00 7621,49

R/H FRONT WINDOW GLASS R 2326,24 1067,28 1335,15 1386,38 2202,13 939,55 1935,61

REAR BUMPER SKIN R 2328,21 2559,66 5709,16 4346,23 4536,96 6980,50 7621,49

L/H REAR FENDER R 5023,50 9163,98 4019,78 10 395,95 5568,64 8107,50 4052,73

BOOTLID /TAILGATE R 8419,23 5514,91 6831,00 8765,16 6189,25 8222,50 7561,02

L/H TAIL LIGHT ASSEMBLY R 5160,00 1533,28 3035,40 1664,59 1698,26 1345,50 6593,21

REAR WINDSCREEN R 2418,84 7714,58 4628,75 4639,02 5648,90 6911,50 2903,43

BATTERY CHARGER (ELECTRIC) R N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

BATTERY DRIVE R N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

SUB TOTAL: C 72590,30 79419,38 74699,98 83125,16 90887,28 101 639,30 111 965,43

TOTAL :A+B+C R 90065,64 90 826,71 91 275,46 99 607,70 103 091,81 114 877,50 126 055,65

*SUZUKI

SWIFT

SPORT

PADS SHOES SHOES SHOES SHOES SHOES PADS

CHAIN CHAIN CAMBELT CHAIN CHAIN CAMBELT CHAIN

DISC DRUM DRUM DISC PAIR DRUM DRUM DISC

INNER &

OUTER

DRUM

familyfavourites

PARTS DESCRIPTION

PRICES INCLUDE VAT

TOYOTA

COROLLA QUEST

PRESTIGE

NISSAN

ALMERA 1.5

ACENTA

*TOYOTA

COROLLA HATCH

1.2 TXS

*MAZDA3

1.5 DYNAMIC

DYNAMIC

VW

GOLF GTi

RETAIL SELLING PRICE R 295 200,00 247 300,00 369 100,00 369 100,00 605 100,00

PARTS BASKET AS %OFSELLING PRICE 23,92% 29,82% 31,39% 33,31% 20,87%

AIR FILTER R 282,74 188,56 657,88 581,27 561,78

OIL FILTER R 275,02 81,42 290,41 89,91 301,30

POLLEN FILTER R 853,46 231,78 894,60 744,36 732,55

SPARK PLUG EACH R 453,03 161,94 471,81 717,18 1566,30

GLOW PLUG EACH R N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

R/H WIPER BLADE R 460,14 190,35 444,35 683,73 554,30

FRONT BRAKE PADS R 1510,13 1073,36 1322,49 2973,27 2248,25

REAR BRAKE PADS/SHOES R 1509,51 899,79 852,79 3404,00 1920,50

SUB TOTAL: A R 5344,03 2827,20 4934,33 9193,72 7884,98

CAMBELT/TIMING CHAIN R 1603,96 1165,87 1542,26 1658,20 1512,25

FRONT BRAKE DISC R 1661,73 1244,09 2382,38 1528,45 1828,50

REAR BRAKE DRUM /DISC R 1288,30 3820,81 1960,08 1271,59 2185,00

FRONT SHOCKABSORBER /STRUT R 2522,74 2103,22 2767,32 3008,81 2547,25

REAR SHOCKABSORBER /STRUT R 1070,14 1374,70 962,07 2793,45 2811,75

FANBELT R 941,30 211,40 890,59 307,36 507,15

SUB TOTAL: B R 9088,17 9920,09 10 504,70 10 567,86 11 391,90

BONNET R 3851,22 6446,80 7142,05 8882,19 6095,00

FRONT BUMPER SKIN R 2766,91 1483,93 3217,48 7401,81 3915,75

GRILLE R 2659,88 2881,66 3349,73 4499,64 3381,00

L/H FRONT FENDER R 1680,05 1754,31 3396,67 2663,81 2064,25

WHEEL RIM R 2172,88 3843,23 7493,79 3769,45 7889,00

L/H HEADLIGHT ASSEMBLY R 5717,22 5891,82 17 382,14 17 716,27 7693,50

FRONT WINDSCREEN R 5410,21 4337,63 6781,53 11 794,81 9913,00

AIRCON CONDENSOR R 6005,52 5462,70 7701,37 8206,81 6405,50

RADIATOR R 4128,87 3394,11 7582,97 8660,54 7590,00

R/H FRONT DOOR R 7696,21 9944,08 7799,71 9622,36 15 392,75

R/H REAR DOOR R 5898,03 7281,41 6603,56 5977,91 15 392,75

R/H FRONT WINDOW GLASS R 1129,85 2001,90 2239,30 2469,36 1615,75

REAR BUMPER SKIN R 2564,18 1873,59 4050,73 3261,81 3892,75

L/H REAR FENDER R 7613,43 8135,68 9018,12 14 036,26 9004,50

BOOTLID /TAILGATE R 3580,18 4484,69 12 954,80 7608,81 15 766,50

L/H TAIL LIGHT ASSEMBLY R 4181,56 2477,57 4830,69 6360,55 1765,25

REAR WINDSCREEN R 3542,76 2046,48 4310,73 5597,37 8521,50

BATTERY CHARGER (ELECTRIC) R N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

BATTERY DRIVE R N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

SUB TOTAL: C R 70 598,96 73 741,59 115 855,37 122 932,39 126 298,75

TOTAL :A+B+C R 85031,16 86 488,88 131 294,40 142 693,97 145 575,63

PADS SHOES PADS PADS PADS

CHAIN CHAIN CHAIN CHAIN CHAIN

DISC DRUM DISC DISC DISC

compactcrossover

PARTS DESCRIPTION

PRICES INCLUDE VAT

MAHINDRA

KUV 100

NXT

HAVAL

H21.5 T

LUXURY

*CITROEN C3

AIRCROSS1.2

FEEL

TOYOTA

RUSH 1.5

MAN

FORD

ECO SPORT 1.0 T

TREND

RENAULT

DUSTER 1.6

EXPRESSION

HYUNDAI

VENUE 1.0 T

MOTION AUTO

HONDA

HR-V 1.5

COMFORT

MAZDA

CX3 2.0

DYNAMIC

RETAIL SELLING PRICE R 190 999,00 314 900,00 366 900,00 330 700,00 329 000,00 278 900,00 319 500,00 399 400,00 358 100,00

PARTS BASKET AS %OFSELLING PRICE 42,82% 29,81% 27,87% 31,78% 32,50% 42,02% 39,68% 39,49% 48,79%

AIR FILTER R 348,68 219,36 195,01 372,47 281,75 236,96 374,60 350,50 426,55

OIL FILTER R 321,96 115,58 153,22 246,41 105,70 139,69 127,42 109,12 96,19

POLLEN FILTER R 272,74 204,93 218,81 749,77 313,95 237,99 458,74 806,55 744,37

SPARK PLUG EACH R 121,11 176,35 199,08 426,59 357,65 243,19 413,08 948,88 717,19

GLOW PLUG EACH R N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

R/H WIPER BLADE R 314,86 773,19 380,36 219,88 513,57 327,76 962,23 826,34 683,73

FRONT BRAKE PADS R 1671,12 1017,76 1821,30 1620,11 1442,10 1107,71 1942,22 2445,43 2973,27

REAR BRAKE PADS/SHOES R 731,12 1234,64 1192,14 2708,61 1590,94 1580,18 2373,83 1692,10 3093,50

SUB TOTAL: A R 3781,59 3741,81 4159,92 6343,84 4605,66 3873,48 6652,12 7178,92 8734,80

CAMBELT/TIMING CHAIN R 1256,56 557,65 901,94 1176,24 1897,50 3757,25 979,97 1284,02 1180,03

FRONT BRAKE DISC R 1289,10 1624,59 2464,38 5399,72 2040,10 2674,16 3835,91 2718,99 4106,62

REAR BRAKE DRUM /DISC R 1061,80 1253,93 2679,13 3336,44 1336,70 2640,23 2807,86 918,07 1271,59

FRONT SHOCKABSORBER /STRUT R 3263,00 4483,71 1647,76 765,58 4865,73 1725,74 2961,45 1697,94 5444,45

REAR SHOCKABSORBER /STRUT R 2684,87 2024,49 1192,14 409,10 3463,36 1549,72 2518,63 1694,94 4181,81

FANBELT R 456,79 376,64 507,27 1013,90 712,90 587,22 434,98 500,38 675,42

SUB TOTAL: B R 10 012,12 10 321,01 9392,62 12 100,98 14 316,29 12 934,32 13 538,80 8814,34 16 859,92

BONNET R 7969,48 7822,36 6221,49 4290,49 6335,35 7887,68 8151,49 7419,14 8882,19

FRONT BUMPER SKIN R 4614,08 4056,58 7450,70 3128,54 4553,77 5398,72 3938,18 6997,77 8010,16

GRILLE R 1379,58 3760,97 3193,64 2391,37 4937,75 2238,54 6301,82 14 063,70 4499,64

L/H FRONT FENDER R 1662,07 2506,54 2040,96 1739,69 1178,75 3237,43 8151,49 3627,16 2663,81

WHEEL RIM R 4675,63 4375,46 5227,09 7491,53 3690,35 3694,11 3154,85 9189,94 7765,64

L/H HEADLIGHT ASSEMBLY R 4375,13 6644,43 4597,99 5243,55 7180,60 6166,52 5196,24 16 158,49 22 847,36

FRONT WINDSCREEN R 4273,74 3640,40 5805,17 4057,01 5465,95 3817,60 5547,01 8791,60 21 542,64

AIRCON CONDENSOR R 3976,23 3763,53 4390,15 7948,16 3589,31 9132,50 6216,66 14 139,58 8206,81

RADIATOR R 2454,65 4026,64 4071,51 5879,97 1766,00 4629,45 4835,75 6069,69 8660,56

R/H FRONT DOOR R 8836,35 8548,36 6106,67 6111,11 9907,25 7971,14 16 555,06 6745,00 9622,36

R/H REAR DOOR R 8694,17 7436,07 5150,54 5337,56 8294,95 7971,14 17 006,56 6761,26 5977,91

R/H FRONT WINDOW GLASS R 828,52 850,77 905,11 1772,55 759,06 3643,06 1032,88 764,58 2469,36

REAR BUMPER SKIN R 3880,72 3270,00 5653,25 2342,86 5969,77 4966,87 4087,66 1598,11 3261,81

L/H REAR FENDER R 5586,83 9024,69 13 848,43 8598,71 9274,75 11 442,70 2873,36 17 799,11 14 036,27

BOOTLID /TAILGATE R 613,30 6376,24 9139,14 8436,19 10 528,75 10 640,85 7075,51 7824,86 7608,81

L/H TAIL LIGHT ASSEMBLY R 2170,62 1404,64 2412,07 4666,11 967,05 3282,27 3340,44 6729,89 8192,19

REAR WINDSCREEN R 1991,81 2289,83 2482,79 7214,34 3616,75 4263,23 3136,94 7052,82 4867,27

BATTERY CHARGER (ELECTRIC) R N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A NA N/A

BATTERY DRIVE R N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A NA N/A

SUB TOTAL: C R 67 982,91 79 797,51 88 696,70 86 649,74 88 016,16 100 383,81 106 601,90 141 732,70 149 114,79

TOTAL: A+B+C R 81776,62 93 860,33 102 249,24 105 094,56 106 938,11 117 191,61 126 792,82 157 725,96 174 709,51

SHOES PADS SHOES SHOES SHOES SHOES PADS PADS PADS

CHAIN CHAIN CHAIN CHAIN CAMBELT CHAIN CHAIN CHAIN CHAIN

DRUM DISC DRUM DRUM DRUM DRUM DISC DISC DISC

65


crossover

PARTS DESCRIPTION

PRICES INCLUDE VAT

TOYOTA

FORTUNER

2.8 GD

AUTO

NISSAN

XTRAIL

2.5

TEKNA

*VW

TCROSS

1.0Si

COMFORT-

LINE

OPEL

COMBO

LIFE 1LTD

ENJOY

* TOYOTA

RAV4

2.0 GX

NISSAN

QASHQAI

1.2

TURBO

ACENTA

*PEU-

GEOT

5008,00

1.6 TGT

LINE

OPEL

GRAND-

LAND X

1.6 T

KIA

SELIOS 1.5

CRDi

EX

VW

TIGUAN

1.4 Tsi

COMFORT-

LINE

KIA

SPORTAGE

2.0CRD

IGNITE

PLUS

HYUNDAI

TUCSON

2.0

PREMIUM

RETAIL SELLING PRICE R 631 100,00 569 700,00 408 000,00 389 000,00 454 500,00 443 400,00 614 800,00 465 000,00 420 995,00 560 600,00 505 995,00 474 900,00

PARTS BASKET AS %OFSELLING

PRICE

15,91% 20,35% 29,13% 31,57% 27,23% 29,40% 24,06% 31,96% 42,17% 32,48% 38,81% 43,51%

AIR FILTER R 729,59 138,86 271,40 799,70 538,21 396,58 200,24 645,53 375,87 287,50 324,25 221,29

OIL FILTER R 232,16 108,11 147,20 221,71 198,35 212,52 148,58 202,22 131,10 156,98 131,10 147,86

POLLEN FILTER R 345,34 457,65 585,93 1030,34 894,60 344,14 336,63 1030,34 379,91 732,55 541,82 369,77

SPARK PLUG EACH R N/A 315,59 512,33 N/A 279,84 196,33 239,12 268,16 176,42 384,10 366,09 357,75

GLOW PLUG EACH R 495,41 N/A N/A 434,04 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

R/H WIPER BLADE R 177,28 255,55 658,95 526,78 413,36 786,12 536,29 1280,26 643,64 641,13 221,93 401,35

FRONT BRAKE PADS R 1707,91 1293,50 1621,50 1799,08 1467,39 1480,30 2845,12 5418,96 2360,80 2811,75 2762,84 1674,25

REAR BRAKE PADS/SHOES R 1196,09 986,85 2380,50 1656,69 954,71 1213,87 1821,30 1469,80 1399,52 3467,25 1293,55 1111,24

SUB TOTAL: A R 4883,78 3556,11 6177,81 6468,34 4746,46 4629,86 6127,28 10 315,27 5467,26 8481,26 5641,58 4283,51

CAMBELT/TIMING CHAIN R 1412,68 1657,30 1001,07 2625,47 1399,10 1423,11 679,07 1107,63 1305,41 1063,18 1895,35 1293,52

FRONT BRAKE DISC R 1732,44 1369,86 2185,00 1997,46 2556,63 1330,55 1607,71 1545,46 4318,94 1828,50 3151,95 3157,59

REAR BRAKE DRUM /DISC R 3193,92 2322,66 1085,03 2671,05 1680,74 2005,81 2744,13 2827,60 2764,23 2185,00 2575,95 2826,70

FRONT SHOCKABSORBER /STRUT R 4140,74 2535,59 3283,25 2109,28 1822,45 2584,15 2254,28 2576,71 2970,99 3277,50 4102,81 5082,16

REAR SHOCKABSORBER /STRUT R 613,62 1022,21 2397,75 2116,17 711,44 2257,77 1416,18 2576,71 2475,19 3099,25 3092,44 3972,87

FANBELT R 1403,08 459,90 580,75 1486,57 896,63 855,08 260,02 484,59 603,89 616,98 617,84 522,00

SUB TOTAL: B R 12 496,48 9367,52 10 532,85 13 006,00 9066,99 10 456,47 8961,39 11 118,70 14 438,65 12 070,41 15 436,34 16 854,84

BONNET R 4863,02 8594,44 8349,00 6268,40 8769,52 15 627,07 11 179,68 17 976,11 11 233,86 8602,00 13 898,23 9274,34

FRONT BUMPER SKIN R 2000,65 2941,73 6992,00 8570,00 3229,03 12 394,07 8842,98 9675,21 5568,72 7544,00 8988,93 5357,85

GRILLE R 6838,68 2159,46 3536,25 7592,00 2037,83 4313,44 7894,03 2184,67 5182,69 11 965,75 5333,64 11 121,65

L/H FRONT FENDER R 1978,37 4588,26 5617,75 2510,77 3357,86 3149,34 3218,90 3196,78 4779,81 5106,00 4868,71 1567,13

WHEEL RIM R 2818,26 9774,85 2731,25 1531,62 7994,30 5117,99 6307,79 5413,05 15 283,04 18 158,50 10 242,38 13 812,24

L/H HEADLIGHT ASSEMBLY R 20 647,28 7751,61 5502,75 9672,05 6961,85 7704,94 7302,02 8868,66 28 228,23 17 422,50 17 349,08 20 251,93

FRONT WINDSCREEN R 4366,25 9965,18 7233,50 5464,95 8996,58 7532,89 6734,97 8246,35 10 931,21 8774,50 12 761,24 14 652,46

AIRCON CONDENSOR R 4168,89 6663,54 4404,50 5725,09 8660,85 3361,17 13 201,79 4624,00 7788,54 6750,50 9884,56 9245,93

RADIATOR R 4996,68 8390,35 5829,35 4107,27 7305,77 5452,63 3929,31 4407,77 7925,35 5393,50 8356,83 8874,92

R/H FRONT DOOR R 5919,80 6194,66 10 292,50 12 061,91 10 592,65 13 683,10 7816,84 12 182,99 14 121,37 12 138,25 17 347,00 16 125,47

R/H REAR DOOR R 5317,40 6194,72 10 292,50 4321,92 9576,87 16 090,89 6683,89 12 182,99 14 327,51 12 138,25 15 947,79 15 703,16

R/H FRONT WINDOW GLASS R 721,53 3334,24 1167,25 1157,45 3277,30 2428,97 3444,10 192,00 1200,93 1926,25 3514,73 2783,61

REAR BUMPER SKIN R 2098,47 2758,07 7210,50 5153,98 3288,55 8472,98 6253,24 7529,28 3858,00 9683,00 7414,05 6225,30

L/H REAR FENDER R 4197,34 3565,40 9729,00 N/A 11 423,12 10 383,35 15 427,05 15 526,58 5121,24 7751,00 20 067,84 25 262,13

BOOTLID /TAILGATE R 6128,44 18 241,10 11 523,00 28 931,77 12 803,39 6282,28 29 978,85 18 807,24 13 199,98 10 614,50 16 833,38 17 208,81

L/H TAIL LIGHT ASSEMBLY R 2468,89 3635,61 3973,25 6521,08 3328,89 5064,62 3282,75 8878,62 6081,46 5537,25 10 053,10 9850,00

REAR WINDSCREEN R 8382,12 6838,75 6106,50 N/A 7106,38 3819,60 2525,32 5280,21 2774,86 12 011,75 6321,78 7430,75

BATTERY CHARGER (ELECTRIC) R N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

BATTERY DRIVE R N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

SUB TOTAL: C R 83 049,05 102 997,53 102 141,85 103 321,86 109 941,22 115 252,26 132 843,83 127 196,40 157 606,80 161 517,50 175 285,04 185 473,34

TOTAL :A+B+C R 100 429,31 115 921,16 118 852,51 122 796,20 123 754,67 130 338,59 147 932,50 148 630,37 177 512,71 182 069,17 196 362,96 206 611,69

PADS PADS PADS PADS PADS SET PADS PADS PADS PADS PADS PADS

CHAIN CHAIN CHAIN CAMBELT CAMBELT PADS CHAIN CHAIN CAMBELT CAMBELT CHAIN CHAIN

DISC DISC DISC DISC DISC CAMBELT DISC DISC DISC DISC DISC DISC

INNER &

OUTER

DISC

66

PEUGEOT5008


executivecrossover

double cabs

PARTS DESCRIPTION

PRICES INCLUDE VAT

VOLVO

XC60 T5

MOMENTUM

AUDI Q5 40 TDI

OFF ROAD

*MERCEDES

GLE

*BMW

X5 xDRIVE 3.0D

AUTO

RANGE ROVER

SPORT

SE P360

*JAGUAR

IPACE

EV 400 SE

RETAIL SELLING PRICE R 774 700,00 826 900,00 1480 000,00 1070 382,00 1389 184,00 1717 300,00

PARTS BASKET AS %OFSELLING PRICE 31,25% 30,39% 22,18% 33,84% 32,38% 53,18%

AIR FILTER R 793,50 984,98 1512,00 629,35 756,03 N/A

OIL FILTER R 385,25 324,30 295,20 312,90 512,44 N/A

POLLEN FILTER R 805,00 1288,00 1117,40 679,08 813,28 813,25

SPARK PLUG EACH R 1092,50 N/A 181,20 N/A 367,00 N/A

GLOW PLUG EACH R N/A 991,30 N/A 821,89 N/A N/A

R/H WIPER BLADE R 1357,00 948,75 1044,00 1087,59 550,00 516,86

FRONT BRAKE PADS R 2530,00 3139,50 3966,30 5291,74 5766,49 6356,68

REAR BRAKE PADS/SHOES R 2001,00 2231,00 2939,40 2093,84 2057,37 6714,04

SUB TOTAL: A R 8964,25 9907,83 11 055,50 10 916,39 10 822,61 14 400,83

CAMBELT/TIMING CHAIN R 3289,00 1357,00 16 249,31 2065,31 1056,56 N/A

FRONT BRAKE DISC R 3174,00 5169,25 5333,20 5908,16 2674,46 4842,66

REAR BRAKE DRUM /DISC R 2231,00 3340,75 3060,80 4054,65 2528,40 3517,20

FRONT SHOCKABSORBER /STRUT R 4209,00 3599,50 36 402,80 16 601,35 28 431,29 4057,66

REAR SHOCKABSORBER /STRUT R 4002,00 3530,50 11 669,10 11 240,48 9863,79 3919,05

FANBELT R 1059,50 489,90 1056,70 434,46 926,91 N/A

SUB TOTAL: B R 17 964,50 17 486,90 73 771,91 40 304,41 45 481,41 16 336,57

BONNET R 18745,00 21 309,50 37 644,60 25 789,05 27 769,28 27 577,33

FRONT BUMPER SKIN R 14375,00 12 696,00 17 061,10 21 339,98 37 734,38 12 667,64

GRILLE R 6267,50 21 712,00 2245,30 4474,12 11 448,00 5387,97

L/H FRONT FENDER R 8912,50 6210,00 11 527,40 14 032,84 12 057,75 7691,15

WHEEL RIM R 13570,00 10 522,50 5287,80 13 151,13 18 057,00 8751,50

L/H HEADLIGHT ASSEMBLY R 28 405,00 16 209,25 42 633,20 43 371,31 63 031,50 31 703,58

FRONT WINDSCREEN R 11040,00 11 655,25 10 181,00 10 773,33 19 009,50 11 676,81

AIRCON CONDENSOR R 9142,50 8441,00 13 035,30 9456,16 9387,00 N/A

RADIATOR R 8855,00 5301,50 9413,90 12 944,86 5659,00 N/A

R/H FRONT DOOR R 18055,00 18 267,75 22 006,40 30 155,59 17 442,41 23 167,24

R/H REAR DOOR R 15295,00 17 347,75 26 141,80 30 155,59 33 025,00 22 939,82

R/H FRONT WINDOW GLASS R 4232,00 2587,50 3192,80 4361,49 4810,45 2735,17

REAR BUMPER SKIN R 10465,00 8464,00 13 795,60 23 802,00 33 533,75 12 667,64

L/H REAR FENDER R 11327,50 22 862,50 27 170,40 49 045,51 23 368,55 26 834,79

BOOTLID /TAILGATE R 19435,00 21 263,50 25 679,40 25 221,35 45 997,70 26 230,79

L/H TAIL LIGHT ASSEMBLY R 6785,00 8832,00 4620,60 6516,05 10 442,00 6235,33

REAR WINDSCREEN R 10235,00 10 212,00 9391,60 12 182,36 20 714,95 7896,19

BATTERY CHARGER (ELECTRIC) R N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 54 684,19

BATTERY DRIVE R N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 593 687,50

SUB TOTAL: C R 215 142,00 223 894,00 243 383,60 310 983,67 393 488,22 882 534,64

TOTAL :A+B+C R 242 070,75 251 288,73 328 211,01 362 204,47 449 792,24 913 272,04

PARTS DESCRIPTION

PRICES INCLUDE VAT

PADS PADS PADS PADS PADS PADS

CAMBELT CAMBELT CHAIN CHAIN CHAIN DISC

DISC DISC DISC DISC DISC

FORD

RANGER

2.0 DXLT

GWM

STEED 62.0 VGT

XSCAPE

TOYOTA

HILUX 2.8 GD Lgd

AUTO

NISSAN

NAVARA 2.2 DS E

AUTO

ISUZU

DMAX 30 TD LX

AUTO

*FORD

RANGER

RAPTOR 2.0 T

RETAIL SELLING PRICE R 575 800,00 319 900,00 635 300,00 527 300,00 576 200,00 875 700,00

PARTS BASKET AS %OFSELLING PRICE 13,86% 26,92% 14,20% 17,82% 19,59% 24,50%

AIR FILTER R 564,00 295,41 729,59 648,86 376,61 610,59

OIL FILTER R 155,00 289,19 232,16 318,35 336,34 147,37

POLLEN FILTER R 129,00 401,15 345,34 280,90 209,24 128,57

SPARK PLUG EACH R N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

GLOW PLUG EACH R 292,00 325,45 495,41 426,24 809,02 292,33

R/H WIPER BLADE R 215,00 460,03 177,28 323,43 69,82 214,65

FRONT BRAKE PADS R 1531,00 960,10 1742,33 463,47 2108,62 5338,56

REAR BRAKE PADS/SHOES R 2180,00 711,71 1337,19 1208,50 1680,10 3651,77

SUB TOTAL: A R 5066,00 3443,04 5059,30 3669,75 5589,75 10 383,84

CAMBELT/TIMING CHAIN R 1280,00 1375,44 1412,68 1224,21 963,00 1733,95

FRONT BRAKE DISC R 1314,00 1958,69 1732,96 1733,97 1093,40 2250,49

REAR BRAKE DRUM /DISC R 1557,00 1472,84 1796,32 1612,08 564,00 2579,12

FRONT SHOCKABSORBER /STRUT R 1416,00 1235,43 1178,13 1064,58 1661,08 30 680,52

REAR SHOCKABSORBER /STRUT R 947,00 967,25 1033,50 977,55 1149,08 28 735,05

FANBELT R 760,00 635,67 1403,08 1228,12 406,69 403,13

SUB TOTAL: B R 7274,00 7645,32 8556,67 7840,51 5837,25 66 382,26

BONNET R 4182,00 8515,00 4863,02 5129,15 4265,61 4182,19

FRONT BUMPER SKIN R 2325,00 5097,47 1977,80 1742,71 2820,46 12 001,58

GRILLE R 9499,31 7042,47 6514,92 8446,30 9500,00 11 860,59

L/H FRONT FENDER R 1438,00 2725,24 1863,76 5428,76 3473,64 12 446,44

WHEEL RIM R 2488,00 4081,05 2818,26 3900,51 4552,99 3241,57

L/H HEADLIGHT ASSEMBLY R 5064,00 6814,91 17 195,23 13 699,00 6193,55 9348,35

FRONT WINDSCREEN R 3253,00 4497,69 4366,25 2588,59 3218,86 7462,35

AIRCON CONDENSOR R 3433,00 4684,81 4166,56 5699,86 11 575,07 3109,54

RADIATOR R 4170,00 2854,49 4996,68 4608,84 17 017,75 3982,45

R/H FRONT DOOR R 4917,00 5379,00 5919,80 5525,15 5898,37 4917,40

R/H REAR DOOR R 4314,00 4045,74 4551,25 3731,51 5553,93 4315,65

R/H FRONT WINDOW GLASS R 1542,00 379,13 721,53 677,96 2169,50 1541,82

REAR BUMPER SKIN R 5159,81 3972,51 N/A 7893,84 6505,10 32 123,58

L/H REAR FENDER R 8625,00 5702,65 3243,41 LOADBOX 4133,61 18 495,78

BOOTLID /TAILGATE R 4437,00 5282,42 7114,96 6589,75 7239,98 5710,91

L/H TAIL LIGHT ASSEMBLY R 1387,00 2929,42 1370,17 1837,16 5053,08 1722,16

REAR WINDSCREEN R 1222,00 1012,96 4890,33 4960,44 2302,80 1276,50

BATTERY CHARGER (ELECTRIC) R N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

BATTERY DRIVE R N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

SUB TOTAL :C R 67456,12 75 016,96 76 573,93 82 459,53 101 474,30 137 738,86

TOTAL: A+B+C R 79796,12 86 105,32 90 189,90 93 969,79 112 901,30 214 504,96

SHOES PADS SHOES SHOES SHOES PADS

CAMBELT CAMBELT CHAIN CHAIN CHAIN CAMBELT

DRUM DISC DRUM DRUM DRUM DISC


single cabs

PARTS DESCRIPTION

PRICES INCLUDE VAT

NISSAN

NP 200

NISSAN

NP 300 2.5 D

TOYOTA

HILUX 2.4

GD S

MAHINDRA

SCORPIO 2.2

PIK UP S4



AIR FILTER R 245,81 406,79 729,59 806,67 409,16

OIL FILTER R 113,82 178,85 232,16 141,00 117,00

POLLEN FILTER R N/A N/A 345,34 261,11 209,24

SPARK PLUG EACH R 41,98 N/A N/A N/A N/A

GLOW PLUG EACH R N/A 817,37 495,41 472,49 539,30

R/H WIPER BLADE R 138,71 63,66 177,28 211,81 69,82



SUB TOTAL :A R 2404,93 4326,78 4698,46 4753,08 3904,21

CAMBELT/TIMING CHAIN R 366,90 1344,84 1412,68 1099,20 GEARS



FRONT SHOCKABSORBER /STRUT R 2573,77 379,70 977,44 786,21 2655,98

REAR SHOCKABSORBER /STRUT R 2365,49 1089,60 1010,42 1110,90 1113,32

FANBELT R 584,53 653,23 1403,08 505,11 387,59

SUB TOTAL: B R 10 438,65 6204,43 7562,24 6389,52 5427,89

BONNET R 4320,96 2163,05 4863,02 6561,40 4265,61

FRONT BUMPER SKIN R 1113,03 1378,42 1853,65 4835,90 2452,52

GRILLE R 654,14 4739,51 2080,32 1589,50 9674,88

L/H FRONT FENDER R 1727,00 2265,37 1878,33 1498,80 3035,36

WHEEL RIM R 591,28 652,30 1092,41 2622,80 1624,31

L/H HEADLIGHT ASSEMBLY R 2710,87 4321,85 3506,45 4599,40 2908,86

FRONT WINDSCREEN R 1882,68 1554,87 2754,99 6028,60 3218,86

AIRCON CONDENSOR R 3221,62 1928,42 4166,56 1579,80 N/A

RADIATOR R 2764,55 6180,71 3483,00 5149,80 9652,04

R/H FRONT DOOR R 1246,70 2298,14 6497,25 4242,00 5362,59

R/H REAR DOOR R N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A


REAR BUMPER SKIN R 2529,41 N/A N/A 3304,00 N/A

L/H REAR FENDER R LOADBOX LOADBOX 4083,17 5871,50 6609,12

BOOTLID /TAILGATE R 3908,65 6588,41 6757,01 4945,40 10 755,12





SUB TOTAL: C R 29 685,90 38 080,07 46 486,95 56 366,79 64 826,78

TOTAL: A+B+C R 42529,48 48 611,28 58 747,65 67 509,39 74 158,88

ISUZU

250 LE

SHOES SHOES SHOES SHOES SHOES

CAMBELT CHAIN CHAIN CHAIN DRUM

DRUM DRUM DRUM DRUM

68

auto executivesaloon

PARTS DESCRIPTION

PRICES INCLUDE VAT


ALFA

GIULIA 2.0 147 KW

SUPER

AUDI

A3 35 TFSi

SP0RTBACK

*TOYOTA

SUPRA

3.0T TRACK

MERCEDES

A200

HATCH



AIR FILTER R 377,10 287,50 390,40 737,00 629,35

OIL FILTER R 174,58 156,98 241,65 206,00 312,90

POLLEN FILTER R 258,07 732,55 869,54 940,00 1329,02

SPARK PLUG EACH R 279,52 544,53 345,03 210,00 336,05

GLOW PLUG EACH R N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

R/H WIPER BLADE R 390,82 895,28 826,00 820,00 1087,59



SUB TOTAL :A R 5961,69 6406,09 9576,15 6520,00 8069,03

CAMBELT/TIMING CHAIN R 558,75 1063,18 1301,90 943,00 2788,26



FRONT SHOCKABSORBER /STRUT R 1714,64 3105,00 11 700,92 10 172,00 5465,36

REAR SHOCKABSORBER /STRUT R 1094,85 2650,75 9374,25 10 219,00 3700,35

FANBELT R 121,65 616,98 491,54 710,00 434,46

SUB TOTAL: B R 6361,69 9964,76 30 094,85 28 414,00 18 073,60

BONNET R 6548,68 13 046,75 20 372,45 14 280,00 18 985,33

FRONT BUMPER SKIN R 2770,30 10 522,50 12 353,64 11 320,00 13 679,71

GRILLE R 1641,44 8947,00 N/A 10 400,00 3463,95

L/H FRONT FENDER R 3511,36 5957,00 7614,21 6222,67 9080,08

WHEEL RIM R 3749,15 17 301,75 10 931,54 5062,93 12 163,04

L/H HEADLIGHT ASSEMBLY R 7133,57 13 926,50 29 028,08 25 600,00 27 107,06

FRONT WINDSCREEN R 5467,26 9694,50 9036,40 10 640,00 6156,32

AIRCON CONDENSOR R 2954,44 6842,50 9537,01 8308,00 9546,16

RADIATOR R 3215,83 5336,00 5652,53 9466,00 9292,46

R/H FRONT DOOR R 11007,33 13 345,75 16 831,07 13 172,00 17 738,00

R/H REAR DOOR R 11638,45 13 345,75 N/A 14 343,00 17 738,00


REAR BUMPER SKIN R 875,04 9211,50 4566,30 12 420,00 18 595,41

L/H REAR FENDER R 2644,41 11 919,75 16 449,31 23 680,00 24 522,76

BOOTLID /TAILGATE R 5907,42 12 477,50 22 143,59 15 747,00 19 107,45





SUB TOTAL :C R 74246,79 162 339,75 177 963,78 193 447,11 226 695,60

TOTAL: A+B+C R 86570,17 178 710,60 217 634,78 228 381,11 252 838,23

*BMW

330i

AUTO

KIT PADS PADS PADS PADS

PADS CAMBELT CHAIN CHAIN CHAIN

CHAIN DISC DISC DISC DISC

DISC

10033467JB/ JHB/E

THE NEW MORE POWERFUL

EXPERIENCE THE LUXURYOFFREEDOM

MODEL SHOWN: 2.8GD-6 4x4 VX AT

Discover the meaning of the Luxury of Freedom in the newFortuner.With amorepowerful 2.8-litreengine,

the most advanced safety package* yet and anew super spacious black interior, you won’t find amore

capable and luxurious long-road companion.

MODEL LINE-UP:2.4 GD-6 RB MT |2.4 GD-6RBAT|2.4GD-6 4X4 AT |2.8 GD-6RBAT|2.8GD-64X4 AT |2.8 GD-6RBVXAT|2.8GD-6 4X4 VX AT

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*Available on selected models.

HOWTO

FF-

ROAD

LIKE

PRO

Motoring

There’snothing quitelikebeing in thewideopen with fresh airin

your lungs,says JULIET MCGUIRE.One exceptionalway to getthis

fix is to getyour caroffthe blacktop andintothe dirt.

may

seem like

adaunting

prospectfor

Off-roading

some,but once

youknowjustafewofthe basicsof4x4ing, youwill

neverlookback–although sometimesyou doneed

to so youdon’t hitarockorslide down acliff.Here

areanumber of tips on howtopullitoff like apro…

1 PREPARE! PREPARE! PREPARE!

Before youevenleave on your trip,besureto

examine your chosen route. Know if andwhere there

aretowns,fuelstops andplacesshouldyou need to

call forhelp. Checkthe weatherasoff-roading in wet

weatherisawholedifferent ball game andyou want

to be prepared,evenifitiswithawarmjacketand

sleeping bag(youneverknowifyou mightget stuck

andfor howlong).Takewater andatoilet roll.You’ll

be grateful to have it when nature callsinthe middle

of themountains. Anditgoeswithout saying that

youshouldtakeaspare tyre,tow strap, shovel anda

first-aidkit among otherthings that youmight need.

2 WALK IT FIRST

Then,onceyou areatsaidroute,besuretowalk

throughany obstacles before youattempt them

in your vehicle. Chancesare that if youare unable

to getoveracertain area yourself,yourvehicle

won’tbeabletoeither. Youalsowanttoknow

what is up aheadbeforeit’stoo late.And be

carefulofdriving through water; younever know

what couldbehiddenbelow thesurface.

3

KNOW WHAT YOU’RE

UP AGAINST

When you’re outonamountain or along ariverbed,

theterrain canchangeveryquickly. Youneed to

know what youare dealingwith–beitsand, mud,

rock,orwater…and sometimesall of them at once.

Youneed to know what your vehicle in capable

of,how to manoeuvreitinsuch terrain and, also,

know yourlimitswhenitcomes to your skillset.

4 SLOW IT DOWN

Thereisasayinginoff-roading, “Asslowas

possible,asfastasnecessary.” If youare

descendingacliff, youwanttodoitasslowlyas

possible,keeping your vehicleverysteady. If you

areascendingahill,you will want to increase

your speed to gain some momentum.Ifyou’re

traversing an obstacle, do it at asnail’s pace,

youdon’t want to damageyourvehicle by being

over-eager or impatient. Andwhenyou’reon

gravel,rememberthatsudden movements

at high speed canbearecipefor disaster.

Accelerateand brakeslowly. Reduce speed

when approachingacorner or ahill.

>

71

TINY ANDMIGHTY

TheJimny is

the perfect

embodiment

of little engine

that could…


5 KEEP AN EYEONIT

Don’ttakeyoureyesoff theroadevenfor

asecond, especially if youare travelling

at speed on gravel.Ifthere areexisting

tyre tracksonaroute, be sure to follow

them.Ifyou seeanother vehicle, slow

down,especiallyifitisalargevehicle

that is boundtocreateamassive dust

cloudmakingitalmostimpossibletosee.

If in doubt,neverovertake. Andalways

go off-roadingduringthe day, once it

gets dark,things canget dangerous.

6 EASE UP ON YOUR GRIP

It is naturaltobenervous thefirst time

youdrive offthe beatentrack andchances

areyou will grip thesteeringwheel so

hard your hands feel as thoughtheymay

break. Rather loosen your grip to allowthe

wheels to work with thevehicle. Both your

handsshouldalwaysbeonthe steering

wheelonoppositesides of thewheel in

afirmyet gentlegrip. Andremember,if

your thumbs arefoldedaroundthe inside

of thesteeringwheel andyourtyrehits

something, thewheel mayturnsharply

causingyou to break, dislocate or strain

your thumb. Always keep your thumbs

up along thefaceofthe steering wheel.

5OFSOUTH

AFRICA’S

BEST

OFF-ROAD

ROUTES

72

7 KNOW YOURSELF

ANDYOURCAR

Before headingoff,you need to know

exactly what your cariscapable of doing.

Youalsoneed to know howtoget thebest

outofyourcar when 4x4ing. Know howto

engage or disengagelow range, know when

to useyourdifflock, etc. Andasmuch as

off-roadingcan be relatively easywhenyou

know what you’re doing, things canchange

to disastrous very quicklyifyou don’t know

your limits.Takeitslow. Andalwaystake

someonewithyou.Nevergooff-roading or

4x4ingalone.Whenpossible, go in twos so

that thereisavehiclefor towing if needed.

Happy trekking!

LANDYLOVE

Youcan pretty much

take thenew Land

RoverDefender

anywhere youlike!


Motoring

South Africa’s landscape is as varied as thepeople who live here. That’s

what makes itsovery special. Just as we have some of themost beautiful

roads, so too dowehave some of themost magnificent off-road routes

theworld has tooffer. Being able to take thelesser travelled route

meansyou get tosee parts ofthe world some can only dream about.

It’s thereason that South Africa gets into your soul andnever leaves –simply

ask any tourist. So, why not have abit of fun enroute to your destination? And

do it in style. Here arefive incredible 4x4 trails todoinfive fantastic vehicles.

1SANI PASS –

KWAZULU-NATAL

If it is spectacular views and

abit of challenge you are after,

then the Sani Pass isamust. Weather

depending ofcourse, as it can get quite

harrowing, but the effort is well worth it.

It is possibly one ofthe most beautiful

trails this country has to offer with views

you can only imagine at 2865 meters

above sea level. The mountains in the

Drakensberg enroute to Lesotho also

offer something quite magical. Don’t

forget to take your passport sothat you

can enjoy ahot drink inAfrica’s highest

pub atthe Sani Mountain Lodge.

NEWLANDROVER DEFENDER

Priced from R996 600

For apass such asthe Sani Pass, only

the toughest 4x4s will do. The new Land

Rover Defender has been labelled the

toughest and most capable Land Rover

ever made. That should give you some

peace ofmind when traversing this pass.

Currently offered in the long-wheelbase

Defender 110 guise; the short-wheel

Defender 90 is expected at alater date.

What makes this vehicle even more

appealing isthat itisalso jam-packed

with the latest technologies Land Rover

has tooffer. You can choose between a

petrol, diesel orhybrid engine and then

the usual trim levels of Standard, S,SE,

HSE and the top-of-the-range Xmodels.

You can also choose between four

accessory packs, namely the Explorer,

Adventure, Country,orUrban packs.

But, most importantly, it has aground

clearance of291mm and anapproach

angle of38degrees, a28degree breakover

angle and a40degree departure

angle (in off-road mode) and can

wade through water 900 mmdeep.

It really is the ultimate off-roader.

2AUGRABIESFALLS

NATIONAL PARK –

NORTHERN CAPE

This is the perfect trail

for beginners asitisextremely easy

to traverse in a4x4 vehicle. But it

might beeven better asapassenger

as you get totake inthe beauty of the

Augrabies Falls. Avid bird watchers

and wild-life enthusiasts will also revel

in this route. The barren plains you

encounter continue for about 100km

through the Augrabies National Park

4x4 trail and if you’re able to, there

is aslight detour toEcho Corner

that overlooks the Orange River and

provides agreat spot for atea break.

TOYOTA FORTUNEREPIC


It’s little wonder that the Toyota

Fortuner is South Africa’s top selling

seven-seater SUV. The whole family can

pile in and enjoy the views that atrail

such as Augrabies Falls has to offer. The

second row iselevated sonoone will

miss athing. And, ifyou don’t need the

third row of seats, simply fold them away.

But the small kiddies will be more than

happy to sit back there. It might not

be agood idea topop Grandma back

there though, it can beabit cramped.

It is now available with ahost of

exterior additions inthe form of the

Fortuner Epic and Epic Black. Both

add black styling cues to the exterior,

but it’s what’s under the bonnet and

the interior you’ll bemore concerned

about when hitting the gravel roads.

With the whole family in tow, you’d

want to know everyone is safe and

sound. Standard on all Fortuners are

ABS(anti-lock braking system), TRC

(traction control), VSC (vehicle stability

control), BAS (brake assist), EBD >

FORTUNEFAVOURS

THEBRAVE Seven

of you canfit in here

–let's hit theroad!

73


DUSTERTODUSTS

Safetycomesfirst

forthisall-terrain

SUV, whetheryou

optfor the4x4 or

4x2version.

(electronic brake force distribution)

and HAC (hill start assist). That’s alot

of acronyms, but itsimply means you’re

safe as houses in this SUV. The fourwheel

drive models additionally feature

Toyota’s A-TRACoff-road traction

control logic and downhill assist control

(DAC), to make navigating obstacles

abreeze. ‘On-the-fly’ selectable

2WD/4WD/4WD Lomodes further

add tooverlanding convenience.

3R355 –WESTERN

CAPE

The R355 route between Ceres

and Calvinia holds the record

for being the longest, uninterrupted

dirt road in South Africa. That alone

should make you want tocheck it

out. It’s 255km, so you might want

to make sure you have enough fuel

and snacks as there will be nowhere

for you to fill up on either. The views

certainly aren’t as impressive as some

of the other routes mentioned inthis

feature, but the vast landscape, great

expanse ofthe sky and the ancient

ochre plains will have you mesmerised.

RENAULTDUSTERTECHROAD


You don’t always need a4x4 vehicle

to enjoy off-roading, especially

when it is mostly gravel, such asthe

R355. Although the Renault Duster

is offered asa4x4, you’ll bemore

than comfortable inthe new 4x2

Duster TechRoad. It has aground

clearance of210mm for all-terrain

driving and boasts aclass-leading

fuel consumption of just 4.9l/100 km

which you’ll begrateful for, especially

if you are doing this long stretch that

has nofuel stops anywhere in sight.

The original Renault Duster was

designed and engineered toadeptly

master tough road conditions, but

in amore modest form. This Duster

TechRoad builds onand reinforces the

Duster's existing strengths. It has some

unique styling cues, but atthe heart of

it lies what we’ve come tolove about the

Duster: from technology to its capability.

Safety isthe most important thing

when it comes tooff-roading and

the Duster has you covered with

ABSand with EBD inconjunction

with emergency brake assist (EBA),

which all help to maintain control over

the trajectory inthe event ofheavy

braking. Hill start assist holds the car

steady for two seconds and allows you

to accelerate normally without stalling

or rolling back. All in all, the Duster

is an extremely capable SUV that

has become known for being tough,

simple and reliable, yet very accessible

based onthe value proposition.

4THEPANORAMA

ROUTEREGION,

MPUMALANGA

This is considered one of

South Africa’s most scenic self-drive

off-road routes, some calling it the

most beautiful place inthe world as

they are able to‘touch the clouds’. It

explores the Mpumalanga highlands, or

the north-eastern section of the Great

escarpment ofthe Drakensberg where

the mountains end and give way to

the Lowveld. The grasslands of Africa

hold many astory and being so close

to the Kruger National Park means

you can hop on over to agame reserve

and enjoy the Big Five. It’s best to drive

here in winter when it is dry and no

mist or rain will hamper your views.

FORD RANGER THUNDER


The Ford Ranger really needs no

introduction. Itisone of South Africa’s

best-selling bakkies, with only the

Toyota Hilux outselling it. Inkeeping

with what customers want, Ford now

offers the exclusive limited-edition

Ranger Thunder which isderived from

the hugely popular Ranger Wildtrak.


Motoring

Pricescorrect at timeofgoing to press. Images: supplied.

It has its own unique and distinctive

design cues such as the honeycombstyle

front grille with red accents for

the side ‘nostrils’ giving it a distinctly

performance-oriented demeanour.

You’ll find Thunder decals embroidered

in red throughout the cabin, and

exclusive to the Thunder is a lockable

black roller shutter to safely secure

goods being carried in the load bay

(handy for those off-roading trips).

The Ranger Thunder is exclusively

available in Sea Grey, Frozen White,

Absolute Black or Moondust Silver.

It boasts the same engine as the

Wildtrak and Ranger Raptor: a 2.0l

bi-turbo engine, producing 157 kW

and 500 Nm, and mated toa10-speed

automatic transmission. What makes

it even more capable off-road isthe

progressive range select function. It

gives you the ability to lock out gears

from the automatic shifting range,

which isgreat when you’re driving in

slippery conditions orclimbing steep

gradients… all of which you might

encounter on an off-road trail.

5KNYSNAFOREST

4X4 TRAIL–

WESTERN CAPE

The Garden Route isa

much-loved part of South Africa, for

locals and tourists alike. The Garden

Route National Park is home to the

Knysna Forest 4x4 trail and takes you

deep into this indigenous forest that

boasts streams and wildlife aplenty.

You will even witness ahelicopter that

crashed and lay undetected for seven

years. This magnificent part of the

country is known for its lush vegetation

and the many different landscapes

ranging from coastline to wetlands

to mountains and valleys. Itbasically

offers something for everyone.

PURE DYNAMITE

TheJimny may

be small, but it's

capable of more

thanmostofits

bigger peers.

SUZUKI JIMNY


This is the smallest mentioned inthis

feature, in fact, itisprobably the smallest

off-roader on the market. But itisstill

one ofthe most capable and affordable.

We had to wait 20years for this new

Jimny’s 2018 arrival inSouth Africa.

Andweall rejoiced. It pays homage to

the legends that were the original LJ

and SJ, and looks almost like atoy car –

that’s what makes itever so charming.

The cabin ismore modern than ever,

THUNDEROUS

APPLAUSE

This best-seller

comeswith 10 gears

–all the betterto

driveoffroad with.

boasting anew, more powerful 1.5l

engine and now sports ahost ofnew

tech, but where itreally shines is its

off-road capabilities. It has aladder

frame chassis and then two diagonal

cross members that further strengthen

the chassis which helps limit body flex

when you’re doing some serious

cross-axle off-roading. It has the Allgrip

Pro four-wheel drive system with low

range transfer gear. You are able toshift

to 2H or 4H on the fly. Hill descent

control maintains the speed in 4WD

high range and in4WD low range,

allowing you tofocus onnavigating

obstacles rather than having tooperate

the brake pedal. There are just too

many integrated 4x4-assist systems to

mention, but all you really need to know

is that this little Jimny can take you

anywhere your heart desires..

75


FIRST

IMPRESSIONS

Motoringjournalist Juliet McGuire takesadriveinfour newcars, from

the mighty Mini to arevampedVolvo.

76

VOLKSWAGEN TOUAREG

Thenew Touaregisnot so new

anymore. It waslaunchedinthe middle

of 2018,but it certainlyremains one

of my favouritecarsinits segment.

It didn’t need anymoredonetoit

to make it better,but Volkswagen

nowoffers aBlack StylePackage

to giveitthatextra va va voom.

The Touaregisapremium SUVwith

an elegantcabinthatisjam-packed

with tech to matchany of itsrivals.

The optional Innovision infotainment

system takesthe cockpitupalevelby

merging the digitalinstruments (Digital

Cockpitwith12-inch display) andthe

topDiscoverPremium infotainment

system (with15-inch display) to

form adigital operating, information,

communication andentertainmentunit.

Itsrefined3.0-litre V6 turbodiesel

engineproduces 190kWofpowerand

600 Nm of torque.The powerdelivery

is smooth andthe ride qualityexcellent.

It oozesthatluxuriouscharmonthe

open road,offering acomfortableand

quiet drive.The fuelconsumption is at

aclaimed 7.1l/100 km.But what’s even

better is that this Touareghas fantastic

safety features.Itisthe firstVolkswagen

availablewithanightvision system.

Thisusesathermal imagecamera to

register infrared radiation coming from

alivingbeing.The system then warns

youaswellasbrakesthe vehicleif

required.ItalsoboastsPark

Assist,TrailerAssistand even

Multicollision brakewhich

automatically introduces

braking before the driver

canrespondafter acollision

hasoccurred.Thisversion

nowalsobrakesuntil the car

comestoastandstilland activates

preventative safety measures.Thisis

becausearound25% of accidentswith

personalinjuryare collisionsthattake

placeafter the actual first accident.

Butnow back to the Black Styling

Package that is availableontop of the

range Executivemodel.Itfeatures

blackenedout chrome elements,

abumper in ‘R’style,bodycoloured

bumper andlowerdoorparts,black air

intake with fins, blackroofrails,black

decorative trim on the side windows,

blackexteriormirrorhousings, black

radiatorgrilleand black 21-inch

Suzukaalloy wheels.Itwillcost

aroundR40 000 forthispackage.

MODEL CHOICE Touareg

PRICEDFROM R1 178600

SERVICE PLAN 5year/120000 km

WARRANTY 3year/12000km

FUEL CONSUMPTION 7.1l/100 km

TheTouareg’s understatedelegance

is something Iloveabout it.Itis not

aflashy car, butstill exudes apremium

andluxuriousfeel. Iamahugefan of

the BMWX5, so it wouldbeatough

call betweenthese two, butone thing

is certain, the Touaregisright up there

with the topplayers anddeservestobe.


Motoring

MINI ONE

Is thereabigger icon in motoring than

the Mini?Itisdebatable.Overthe years,

Mini hassnuckintothe hearts of many

aSouth African. Notme, really,but the

Mini Onehas sneakily creptintomy

heart. Ihavecometorealise that Mini

is at itsbestwhen in itssimplestform.

When it is on normalsuspension and

running on smaller tyres.

Thisprobablycomes as asurprise

to most people,especiallythose who

cannot getenough of the JohnCooper

Works, butIreallyappreciate the fussfree

drivingofthe Mini One. As motoring

journalists, we seldom gettotestdrive

the entry-leveltoany model range.We

are, forobvious reasons, moreoften

than not, given the topofthe range

or the best seller with everyoption

availableaddedtoit. It wasabreath

of fresh airdriving the mostbasic Mini

moneycan buy you.

Bearing in mind that Mini is still a

premiumbrand andsoyou canexpect

afew obviousstandardfeaturessuchas

amulti-function steering wheel,alarm

system with radioremote control, rain

sensors andair-conditioning etc. But

the optionslistislongand youwillneed

to be carefulwhen ticking those boxes

as youwillquicklyrack up that sales

priceintoCooperterritory.The interior

retainsthatretro yetmodernlookwith

the circular centre console, whichis

somethingyou either love or hate about

Mini.Iamguessing most love it,justlook

at Mini’s salesnumbers.

ThisMiniOne sports a1.5lthreecylinder

turbochargedpetrolengine

that produces 75 kW of powerand 190

Nm of torque.Inacarofthissize, it is

certainly enough.Itis punchyand makes

forthe perfectcitycar.Mytestmodel

wasmated to aseven-speed automatic

transmission, butyou canopt fora

manualgearbox if yousowish. Just for

conveniencesakealone,Iwouldstick

with the auto.

Thething that is rather appealingto

me is that although the ride is notas

firm as some of itssiblings,itisstill afun

and engagingcar to drive.Itwillstill give

youahintofthe go-cartstyle,but your

kidneys won’trupture.Withthatsaid,it

is notasoftdrive andifyou aretakingit

on aroadtrip, youmight want to avoid

uneventerrain and/or potholes.

As muchasIenjoyeddriving this

entry-level Mini,itremains aMini, which

in my mind is notapractical car(unless

youopt forthe larger Clubmanor

Countryman… andeventhen Iamnot

sold). Thebootremains really tiny and

beingathree-door hatch, youcan just

imaginethe rear seat legroom… or lack

thereof. The test unitIhad wasfitted

with optional Isofixanchorage points

which Ifind unnecessary as Ican’t see

thisbeing an idealfamily car. Tryingto

getababyinand outofthatrear section

wouldprove tricky.But if you’re up for

thechallenge…

This is wheremy“journalismhat”

goes back on becausenot everyone

wantsorneedsapractical carand if it

is aMiniyou areafter,thismight be the

perfect onefor you, especially at the

price. However, something to bear in

mind is that it only comeswithalimited

oneyear/25000 km Motorplan. And, as

Imentioned, if youadd afew optional

extras to this car, youwillbeinCooper

territory that offersamoreextended

motorplansoyou mightaswellopt for

themorepowerful of the two. Butifyou

areabletokeepitsimple, this mightjust

be the carfor you.

>

MODEL CHOICE Mini One

PRICED FROM R384 000

SERVICE PLAN 1year/25 000 km

WARRANTY 2years/unlimited km


77

AUDI S6 SEDAN

This year hasseenevenmoredelays

when it comes to cars arrivinginSouth

Africa,and so it gives me allthe feels

to be abletowrite aboutthe newAudi

S6.Ittookalmostayear andhalftoget

here. It is the flagshipofthe A6 range

andone that Ithink many aluxury

sedanloverwillappreciate.

This carmademewanttodoall

the things it wasbuilt to do.Iwanted

to hitthe open road andcruise along

the coast, Iwantedtoflyupatwisty

mountain path andput it on atrack.

What makes it such an appealing

packageisthatitiscapableofdoing

allofthese –and do themwell. It is

comfortable, refined,dynamic,and

balanced –something notthatmany

SUVs getright.

It no longer boastsa4.0-litre

twinturboV8engineasseeninthe

previous model,but nowutlises the

same engineasisfoundinthe RS4

Avant, which happens to be oneofmy

favourite cars andone Iwould happily

ownifsomeone were to giftmeone.

This 2.9-litreV6enginepunches out

331kWand 600Nmoftorque.The S6

mayhavelosttwo cylindersbut that

doesn’t mean it isn’tstill very quick.

It will getyou to 100km/hinjust

4.5seconds.The engineisbeautifully

refinedand again, oneofmyfavourite

engines.Itismated to an automatic

transmission that sendspower to the

quattro all-wheeldrive.Tofurther

enhancecomfort andefficiency, this

model is fittedwithamildhybrid

system.Incombination with the sixcylinder

engine, a48V mild hybrid

system is used.The S6 cancoast

between55and 160km/hand the

start-stop kicksinright from 22 km/h.

In real-world driving, the mild hybrid

technology basedon48V reduces

fuel consumption by up to 0.7litres

per 100kilometres.

There islittle hesitation when you

put your foot flat and the in-gear

acceleration is excellent. But ifis

aguttural roar ofaV8you are after,

Iamafraid you will have towait for the

RS6 which should hopefully arrive in

2021 and will feature the 4.0-litre V8

engine. Until then, you will have to be

satisfied with popping every setting in

to Sport mode in the S6 and enjoying

the natural sound coming out ofthe

exhausts. There issomething Ican

appreciate about there being no

sound symposer.

When it comes to the cabin, Audi

claims this to be the mostmodern

operatingconcept in itsclass.It’s

beautifuland refined inside, especially

with the twolarge displays that

replacethe buttonsand controls of

the previous model.

Iammoreofaof atraditional

button kind of person,but one thing

Iappreciate is that the touchscreen

hasaphysicalclick-likesensation

when youpush it which mimics an

actual button.It’snot the real thing, but

Icould live with it if Ihad to.

78

MODEL CHOICE AUDI S6

PRICEDFROM R1 406010

SERVICE PLAN 5years/100 000 km

WARRANTY 1year/unlimited km

FUEL CONSUMPTION 8.3l/100km


Motoring

MODEL CHOICE VOLVO XC60

PRICEDFROM R753000

WARRANTY 5years/100 000

MAINTENANCE PLAN 5years/100 000 km


Images: Supplied. Pricescorrect at time of goingtopress.

VOLVOXC60

Just like theVolkswagen Touareg,

the VolvoXC60was launched in South

Africa back in 2018,but it hashad a

minor feature addedtoits long list of

offerings in theform of VolvoOnCall.

Icould notbemorethrilled,Volvo is

rightatthe topofmylistoffavourite

brandsbecauseits productsare not

only excellent, butsafe, comfortable,

stylish, andsomewhat understated.

TheXC60, whichsitsperfectly

in-between the larger XC90 and

smaller XC40,has wonaplethora of

awards sinceitlaunched. It even took

the2018World Carofthe Year title. It

hasalsowon severallocal awards in

CAR magazine’s Top12and Cars.co.za

Consumer Awards.And this is no small

feat when youconsideritisupagainst

rivals such as the BMWX3, Audi Q5,

Range RoverEvoque,Mercedes-Benz

GLCand Jaguar E-Pace.

Thereare bothdieseland petrol

engines on offer,but Igot behind

the wheelofthe T6 GeatronicAWD

that boastsa2.0-litre four-cylinder

superchargedand turbochargedpetrol

enginethatproduces235 kW and

400Nmoftorque. There is nothing Ican

really fault aboutthisengine, except

perhaps thefuelconsumption.Itis

clamed at 7.7l/100 km,but youwillget

afar higher readingthanthatin‘real life’.

Youmight be better off with the diesel

enginewhichclaims5.2l/100km, but

again, you'll be sittingalot higher than

that.So, preparefor afew morestops at

the fuel stationthanyou hoped for.

SomethingpositiveVolvo is known

forisbeing generouswhen it comes

to standard featuresinits cars.And the

XC60 is no different.The safety features

include things such as City Safety

that includes pedestrian,cyclist,and

largeanimaldetection as well as front

collisionwarning with full auto brake.It

also hasDriverAlert ControlwithLane

Keeping Aid, Road SignInformation

Display,Rear Park Assistand Intelligent

Driver Information System.

Butnow to add notonlytoyour

safety butalsoyour convenience,

Volvohas includedVolvo On Call.

It’s an app-basedservice that helps

motoristscommunicate with theircars.

Youcan lock or unlock your doors

remotely,check your fuel levelfrom

your office desk andevenheatorcool

your carbeforeyou getin. If it is the

best Italianrestaurantyou'reafter,this

service will tell youwhereitisand how

to getthere. It will even remind youof

appointments.Anin-carWifi hotspot

canbeaccessed by everyone in the car

andifyou lose your carinaparkinglot,

neverfear,becausethe appyou would

have downloadedontoyour phone

will help youlocateit. Something Ithink

most of us wouldappreciate,especially

if livinginSouth Africa,isthatitwill

automaticallycontact the emergency

servicesifyou areinvolved in an

accidentand tellsthem whereyou are.

The VolvoXC60comes standard

with a5-year/100 000kmwarrantyand

5-year/100 000 km full maintenance

plan.Justincaseyou need morereason

to consider it.

79


Blockbusters

CROSSWORD NO 94

Calgary

and

Ottawa is

in this

country

Marine

fish

Complain

Walk back

and forth

Seasons

It belongs

to aguy

Postberg

is in this

national

park (4,5)

Fire

residue

Plead Pleased Oozed

Coffee

vessel

To be

Measure

of length

Church

group

Pigpen

Handle

Gemstone

Ship-topier

structure

Paarl or

Cullinan,

eg

Utilise

Feline

Speck

Tease

Exist

Otherwise

Ceylon

and Earl

Grey, eg

Cute

Beside

Take as

one's own

Spaciousness

Meeting

plan

Tearful

Period

of time

Tilt and

Shift

(abbr)

Scandium

(symbol)

Staff

En suite

(abbr)

"I see!"

Carpentry

Detest

Russian

leader

Prank

Ocean

Public

relations

(abbr)

Cabbage

Opera

songs

Plunged

Nearby

Senior

(abbr)

80

Varnishes

Anybody

Owns

Thou

Frames

Slow

outflow

Worships

Notion

Coveted

While

Pink fish

Apair

Middle

Catch

Type

of nut

Gardens

in the

Netherland

Skidded

Increase

Slightest

amount

Equal

Polish

Evildoer

Bristle

Leafy

green

Not yes

European

Union

(abbr)

Actinium

(symbol)

Weapon

Broad

Indefinite

article

Proclaim

loudly

Samovar


Puzzles

WHEREAMI?

This Bavarian city is on the Austrian border and known as the Three

Rivers City as it lies at the confluence ofthe Danube, Inn and Ilz

rivers. The Dackelmuseum in the city houses aquirky collection

of memorabilia inhonour of the dachshund.

This city, the ninth most populous city in Europe, isknown

as the City ofSpas asithouses more than adozen thermal

baths. The Danube divides the city into two distinct parts.

SUDOKU easy

4 7 3 2 5 6

1 9 4

4

3 2 9

9 5 6 2 3

1 9 8

2

2 1 9

4 9 6 1 2 3

SUDOKU hard

Answers: 1. Passau.2.Budapest.3.Montreux.

This picturesque town on

Lake Geneva is known for

its annual jazz festival and

abronze statue ofFreddie

Mercury of Queen, as he

lived here and recorded his

last album here.

Solution to No 93

M J P S W

B A N A N A C H A I R

I R N I R E

S M S D E M O D R Y

H R A N O R A K I

B I O M E W N O J A U N T

N E E D S W E B C A M C O

C A G A V E E V I H

R O T T E N O A I D E W

G O G I M M I C K G O O

K N O T S T E N O N R O A M

I A I D N I N E T Y R E

S T A L L S T V Y E S N

O S L O C O O K E R O R

P A R R J A G U A R

M U D E V E N P I

L E T A C T S S N

P A T I E N T O W E

8 9

9 2 8 5

4 1 9

3 5 7

2 4

2 4 9

7 2 1

1 7 6 3

3 9

6 7 8 5 2 3 4 9 1

9 1 2 4 7 6 8 3 5

5 4 3 1 8 9 7 2 6

3 5 4 8 9 1 2 6 7

7 9 1 2 6 4 3 5 8

2 8 6 3 5 7 1 4 9

8 6 9 7 3 2 5 1 4

1 2 7 9 4 5 6 8 3

4 3 5 6 1 8 9 7 2

sudokusolutions

hard

8 4 7 9 3 2 1 5 6

3 1 2 8 5 6 9 7 4

5 6 9 1 7 4 3 8 2

6 7 3 5 2 8 4 1 9

9 5 8 4 6 1 7 2 3

1 2 4 7 9 3 8 6 5

7 3 6 2 8 9 5 4 1

2 8 1 3 4 5 6 9 7

4 9 5 6 1 7 2 3 8

sudoku solutions

easy

81


Thelastword

Ashotinthe dark

BY SUZY BROKENSHA

82

Iknow someonewho movedfrom

Johannesburg to Cape Town

becauseshe couldn’t work out

howtoleave herbookclub. This

mayseemslightlyextreme to

you,but to me it wasaneminently

sensible approach:Ionceleftthe

countrybecause Ididn’tknow

quitehow to break up with my

then-boyfriend.

Travelling canbetricky;

particularly so when you’re young

andbroke andentirelyalonein

theworld.Because ‘entirelyalone’

is howitwas then:there wereno

cellphonesand no social media

to keep in touchwithfriends and

family,nocomfortingfacetime

callsorinstant money transfers.

It wasjustyou,yourrucksack, your

pocket-sized map-book andyour

pitifullittlefolder of travellers

cheques, vrou alleen in acityyou’d

never seen before –not even in

movies(becausethere wasone new

movieeverysix monthsatyourlocal

movie house, andnoneofthemhad

been shot in Budapest).

Forweeks at atime, my parents

had no idea what continentIwas in,

letalone whichcity.

Imissedmyincompetentlyabandoned

boyfriend desperately. A

year andmanybegging phone-calls

from me later, ‘Her Ladyship’, as my

children still insist on referringto

him (for reasonsofhis long, curly

hair,his ridiculousgoodlooks and,

of course,out of loyalty to their

lovely father andmylovelyhusband,

whoisnot him),cametojoinme.

We metupinGreeceand spent

thesummer meandering through

Turkey,Germany,Hungary and

theCzech Republic before heading

offtoIsraeltovolunteer at a

kibbutz:wewantedtowork ourway

throughwinterinaplace where

we would be fed, wateredand,

crucially, warm.

It wasatthe kibbutzthatwe

metCraigand Maria, acouple

from Australia who’dhad pretty

much thesameidea. They were

funnyand irreverent and, like us,

from thearse-end of theworld,

travelling on acurrencythatdidn’t

measureuptomuch. We bonded

immediately over themountains

of washingupinthe communal

kitchens that it wasour jobto

deal with.Morespecifically,we

bonded over thegallons of cheap

vodkaand orange we bought

everyweekfromthe kibbutz

convenience store.

We used to lightaslice of orange

andbalance it on topofthe glass

It wasjustyou,yourrucksack, your

pocket-sized map-book andyourpitiful

little folder of travellers cheques…

–Ihave no ideahow,orwhy.The

pointwas to drink thevodka

throughthe flames, whichseemed

like aprofoundly excellentidea

at thetime. Turnsout it is quite

abondingexperience to keep

smacking your friends on thehead

in order to puttheir hair out: on

ourlastnight,after several fiery

rounds,the four of us decidedto

carryontravelling together.

Theproblem was, Craigand

Mariahad alreadyarrangedto

move on somewhereelse, as had

we.But we constructedafoolproofplan,

whichIwill nowreveal

to youinitsentirety: we would

go ourseparateways, as we were

committedtodo. Andat11pm,

on the11thofApril,inapub

called Shotsinthe Dark in Lagos,

Portugal, we wouldmeetupagain.

SuzyBrokensha

is the editor

of FAIRLADY,

Lose it andHOT!

magazines

We would then immediatelyhave

several fieryvodkasand carry

on from there. That wasit. The

entire plan.

April11was threemonths

away.Noneofushad ever been to

Portugalbefore, letalone Lagos,

andwehad no idea whether Shots

in theDarkstill existed–we’djust

picked out thenamefromaLonely

Planet that wastwo years outof

date.There wasabsolutelynoway

we couldcontact each otherin

theinterim.

We said ourhungover goodbyes

and set off.Her Ladyship and

Iwanderedthrough France,

Switzerland, Austria, Belgium, the

Netherlandsand Spain, finally

reachingLisbonand heading

straightdowntotheAlgarve.We

gotthere laterthanwe’dplanned,

skidding into Lagosataround10pm

on the11thofApril.Somehow we

managedtoget coherent directions

to Shotsinthe Dark (which still

existed!)inalanguage we didn’t

speak, andrushedinside.Itwas

five to eleven,the pub washeaving.

Andthere wereCraigand Maria,

resolutelybeating puntersback

to keep twoplacesattheir table.

We flungourselves into each

other’s arms andinstantly got

downtosetting ourhaironfire,

as oneshould.

Thefourofustravelled together

forayearorsoafter that,but it’s

that re-connectioninLagosthat

stayswithme. Ican’t actually

explainthe miracleofittomy

kids,who have neverhad tomake

planswithout theback-up of

cellphonesiftheir mindsortheir

circumstanceschange,and whowill

never be utterlyalone in acitythey

don’t know.

There’snodoubtthe entire world

is moreconnected nowthanever

before –but areweasbonded? Let’s

getinaroundofflaming vodkas

andwecan talk aboutit...


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