For those who need a bit of a break from all the soccer-soccer-soccer of the World Cup (and let’s be honest, even the most diehard fans have to eat, and if you have to eat, why not eat oysters?) the Pick n Pay Knysna Oyster Festival is happening this week.
In fact, they’re claiming it’s the best 10 days of your 2010 (quite a claim!)
We’ve been here all of four hours, and so far it is simply delightful. A Whisky and Jazz Cruise started the evening off in a beautiful way (throw in the Lindt chocolate that was served with almost every whisky and you have a perfect combination)… Lindt, sunset, the beauty of the Knysna Lagoon – simply lovely.
I’ll post updates during the week, but to find out allll about the festival, visit http://www.oysterfestival.co.za
Photo: Allerina & Glen MacLarty
If you haven’t read this letter yet, you’re in for a treat.
Peter Davies, one of the Supersport World Cup presenters, wrote an ‘Open Letter to our Foreign Media Friends’ that really just says it all… What do you think?
OPEN LETTER TO OUR FOREIGN MEDIA FRIENDS
by Peter Davies 09/06/2010 09:09
Dear World Cup visitors,
Now that you are safely in our country you are no doubt happily realising you are not in a war zone. This may be in stark contrast to what you have been bracing yourself for should you have listened to Uli Hoeness or are an avid reader of English tabloids, which as we all know are only good for wrapping fish ‘n chips and advancing the careers of large-chested teens on page three.
As you emerge blinking from your luxury hotel room into our big blue winter skies, you will surely realise you are far more likely to be killed by kindness than by a stray bullet. Remember that most of the media reports you have read, which have informed your views on South Africa, will have been penned by your colleagues. And you know what journos are like, what with their earnest two thousand word opuses on the op-ed pages designed to fix this country’s ills in a heartbeat. Based on exhaustive research over a three-day visit.
Funnily enough, we are well aware of the challenges we face as a nation and you will find that 95% of the population is singing from the same song-sheet in order to ensure we can live up to our own exacting expectations.
We are also here to look after you and show you a good time. Prepare to have your preconceived notions well and truly shattered.
For instance, you will find precious few rhinos loitering on street corners, we don’t know a guy in Cairo named Dave just because we live in Johannesburg, and our stadiums are magnificent, world-class works of art.
Which is obviously news to the Sky TV sports anchor who this week remarked that Soccer City looked ‘ a bit of a mess’. She didn’t realize the gaps in the calabash exterior are to allow in natural light and for illumination at night, and not the result of vandalism or negligence.
The fact that England, the nation which safely delivered Wembley Stadium two years past its due date, is prepared to offer us South Africans advice on stadium-readiness should not be surprising. The steadiest stream of World Cup misinformation has emanated from our mates the Brits over the past couple of years.
If it’s not man-eating snakes lurking in Rooney’s closet at the team’s (allegedly half-built) Royal Bafokeng training base, then it’s machete-wielding gangs roaming the suburbs in search of tattooed, overweight Dagenham dole-queuers to ransack and leave gurgling on the pavement.
In fact what you are entering is the world’s most fascinating country, in my opinion. I’m pretty sure you will find that it functions far more smoothly, is heaps more friendly and offers plenty more diversions than you could possibly have imagined.
In addition to which, the population actually acts like human beings, and not like they are being controlled by sinister forces from above which turns them into bureaucratically-manipulated robots.
Plus we have world’s most beautiful women. The best weather. Eight channels of SuperSport. Food and wine from the gods themselves. Wildlife galore. (Love the Dutch team’s bus slogan: “Don’t fear the Big 5; fear the Orange 11”).
Having said all that, Jo’burg is undoubtedly one of the world’s most dangerous cities. Just ask those Taiwanese tourists who got out of their hire car to take close-up snaps of tawny beasts at the Lion Park a few years back. Actually, ask what’s left of them. And did you know the chances of being felled by cardiac arrest from devouring a mountain of meat at one of our world class restaurants has been statistically proven to be 33.3% higher in Jozi than in any other major urban centre not built upon a significant waterway? It’s true. I swear. I read it in a British tabloid.
Having recently spent two years comfortably cocooned in small town America, I’m only too aware of how little much of the outside world knows about this country. The American channel I used to work for has a massive battalion of employees descending on World Cup country. It has also apparently issued a recommendation to its staff to stay in their hotels when not working.
Given that said corporation is headquartered in a small town which many say is “best viewed through the rear-view mirror”, I find the recommendation, if it’s true, to be utterly astounding. In fact I don’t believe it is true. Contrary to the global stereotype, the best Americans are some of the sharpest people in the world. The fact they have bought most tickets in this World Cup proves the point.
Of course I have only lived in Johannesburg, city of terror and dread, virtually all my life, so don’t have the in-depth knowledge of say, an English broadsheet journalist who has been in the country for the weekend, but nevertheless I will share some of my observations gleaned over the years.
Any foreign tourist or media representative who is worried about his safety in South Africa should have a word with the Lions rugby fans from last year, or the Barmy Army cricket supporters (lilywhite hecklers by day, slurring, lager-fuelled lobsters by night). They managed just fine, just like the hundreds of thousands of fans who have streamed into the country over the past fifteen years for various World Cups, Super 14 matches, TriNations tests and other international events. Negligible crime incidents involving said fans over said period of time.
Trivia question: which country has hosted the most global sporting events over the past decade and a half? You don’t need me to answer that, do you?
In addition. Don’t fret when you see a gaggle of freelance salesmen converge on your car at the traffic lights (or robots as we like to call them) festooned with products. You are not about to be hijacked. Here in Mzansi (nickname for SA) we do a lot of our purchasing at robots. Here you can stock up on flags, coat hangers, batteries, roses for the wife you forgot to kiss goodbye this morning and a whole host of useful merchandise.
Similarly, that guy who runs up as you park the rental car outside the pub intends no malice. He’s your car guard. Give him a buck or two and your vehicle will be safe while you refuel for hours on our cheap, splendid beer. Unless someone breaks into it, of course.
We drive on the left in this country. Exercise caution when crossing the road at a jog-trot with 15 kilograms of camera gear on your back. Exercise common sense full stop. Nothing more. Nothing less. If you want to leave wads of cash in your hotel room like our Colombian friends, don’t be surprised if it grows wings.
Bottomline. Get out there and breathe in great lusty lungfuls of this amazing nation. Tuck into our world-class food and wines. Disprove the adage that white men can’t dance at our throbbing, vibrant night-clubs. Learn to say hello in all eleven official languages. Watch at least one game in a township. You will not be robbed and shot. You will be welcomed like a lost family member and looked after as if you are royalty. Ask those Bulls rugby fans who journeyed to Soweto recently.
With a dollop of the right attitude, this country will change your life.
It’s Africa’s time. Vacate your hotel room. Join the party.
Waka waka eh eh.
Photo: Shine 2010
I saw a headline in a community newspaper the other day that read ‘Soccer Eclipse!’ and I didn’t even need to read the rest of the article, because I understood exactly what they meant.
If you’re a South African (I would guess even if you’re a South African living overseas), the last 2 weeks have been about nothing but soccer-soccer-soccer. Food? Only if it’s boerewors rolls or available in front of a large screen TV. Sleep? Only if it doesn’t interfere with any of the matches being played that day. Work? Only juuuust enough to keep employed, while 90% of brain power is on that day’s games.
I kid you not – soccer fever has taken over the whole country. It’s as if a giant soccer ball eclipsed the sun, and everything is being seen through a black and white hexagonal haze.
Not that I’m complaining! Not at all, not in the slightest. The last two weeks – since the World Cup began on the 11th of June 2010 – have been undeniably, non-stop exciting. The goals! The losses! The refs! The players! The fans from all over the world who have descended on our lovely country and found it – surprisingly for some – to be hospitable and friendly.
I think that’s one of the things I’ve enjoyed most of all about the last two weeks… The sense of South African pride that has crept into every part of the country. I lived overseas for four years, and came back infected with this pride (sometimes you have to leave to realise just how extraordinary home really is). In general, though, there are an alarming number of naysayers in South Africa, so many who would rather point out our long list of problems than our even longer list of opportunities and quirky eccentricities that make this country one of the most vital and exciting places to live.
So this month – this month of South Africans flying flags from their cars and homes and bodies, has been simply thrilling. South Africans and foreigners alike have joined together for the love of a game – the beautiful game. And we’re only halfway through!
All this soccer madness has most definitely taken its toll on my To Do list, though, which is why I’m quickly typing up this blog before the USA vs Ghana match in an hour and a half (I do love the USA, but I’m rooting for Ghana as the only African country to have made it this far). I’ll be blogging regularly from here on in, about travel and home, beautiful places to stay and beautiful things about staying right here, and all manner of other lovely international snippets. We’ll also be having lots of giveaways, so keep your eyes peeled on this page!
And now? Time to gobble down some food before the soccer begins once again…
Photo: babasteve
In December I decided to take a break from London living (the dreaded winter and the relentless blah of the BBC and their terminal view of the economic situation) and decided to work on JUST THE PLANET with my partners in Cape Town. The best decision I have made in years ! So much to do… and a Cape Town summer to do it in. Not a hard choice, obviously!
My first trip back home was to a wedding in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands via a new safari lodge outside of Ladysmith on route from Johannesburg to Durban called Nambiti Plains. Partly sponsored by the wonderful Status Luxury Vehicles (see http://tinyurl.com/ktwd8r) my friend and I drove the Landrover Discovery all the way. What a car – almost like driving a spaceship and so comfortable.
We arrived at Nambiti Plains in time for lunch and were received by the staff with cold drinks and cool hand towels… mmmm… there’s nothing like being taken care of after a long drive. We had a look around the place – particularly liking that each room was its own private villa. We had an uninterrupted view of the landscapes and at one stage had an inquisitive giraffe flutter her eyelashes at us from about 100 metres away. Quite something to behold whilst brushing your teeth!
Nambiti Plains: Peeking giraffe (image: Robyn Hodson)
The lodge was vast and comfortable… huge decks, sweeping views of the bush and waterhole and comfy deckchairs in which to relax and read.
Nambiti Plains: Outdoor lounge (image: Kim Thunder & Nambiti Plains)
I won’t go into the food – suffice to say that it was five star all the way with a wonderful mix of African and European tastes.
The safari drives were beautiful – there’s nothing like a good local guide to make even the smallest plant or animal interesting… and then there were the cheetahs – six of them in total, a band of brothers, long tails steering them into the twilight.
After G’nTs on the patio, a delicious dinner with our enthusiastic and entertaining hosts and then time for bed under a royal canopy of draped mosquito nets (which incidentally we didn’t need in the slightly cooler winter air).
Nambiti Plains: Decadent dinner (image: Kim Thunder & Nambiti Plains)
Oh how I long to go back… I suppose what I loved most was that due to the intimate size of the place the visitor is king. There isn’t a single wish that isn’t granted. Staff are always on hand to help. The guide is your own and there aren’t large groups of people to spoil your fanciful musings.
Nambiti Plains: Pool at dusk (image: Kim Thunder & Nambiti Plains)
I also LOVE having an outdoor shower… it’s all so ‘Out of Africa’!
Nambiti Plains: Outside shower (image: Kim Thunder & Nambiti Plains)
