More must-do adventures …
GAUTENG
Big City Life came alive through the enthusiasm of Eelco Meyjes, while pedalling the bustling streets of Jozi and experiencing graffiti over the handlebars of our bikes.
‘Let me put it this way,’ says Eelco, as we pedal along. ‘The legendary Banksy dreams of a city where graffiti is legal and the inner-city abounds with splashes of colour and quirky quotes. I mean, nobody would ever be bored while in a traffic jam!’
DO IT: Get on your bike and get psyched. 082 457 4936, ebiker.wordpress.com.
Book well in advance.
Ride options: Graffiti Walls Private Exercise rides R160 pp;
Monthly Rides (three routes available) From R185 pp.
NORTH WEST PROVINCE
We drank 70% proof mampoer with the ‘Donkieboer of Maratwane’ in the hideaway eco-village of Groot Marico and listened to poetry written in an adobe rural classroom by the fabulous storyteller, Herman Charles Bosman. Then we dipped dizzingly deep into the vodka-clear Marico Eye, an inland dive site where the visibility and underwater scenes will blow your mind.
DO IT Get more info on the Marico Eye at marico.co.za or santamarico@gmail.com
STAY HERE
River Still farm: Cottages are R370 pp; riverstill.co.za Marico Eye: Day visitors R80 pp; chalets from R350 per weekend; camping
R70 a site plus R80 pp.
MPUMALANGA
Standing atop Mariepskop, named for Maripi, an erstwhile Pedi chief, you feel the energy of Africa deep within your bones. ‘Mariepskop rates as one of the best kept secrets in all of Mpumalanga’, enthuses Romy Antrobus-Wuth, one of our Kruger-2-Canyons guides, while we gaze in awe at the
JUNE 2021 • GETAWAY.CO.ZA panorama from atop the summit. ‘The biodiversity is off-the-scale’. A Conservation South Africa project is considering mountain biking, trekking and trail running routes to boost local cultural and adventure tourism here.
DO IT Find community tourism and cultural activities at kruger2canyons.org. Entry to Mariepskop is R25 pp; trail-run or hike the summit or forests, or walk to enchanting Klaserie Waterfall.
LIMPOPO
We sated ourselves at a Harvest Festival lunch with the ‘Mountain Foodies’ of Magoebaskloof, a gathering of delightfully guileless women. Barefoot and beautiful, they are versed in culinary witchcraft and organic wisdom, and you’ll fall under their spell. Nearby, the indigenous forests of Kurisa Moya (Place of Tranquil Spirit), await. Wander into the green heart of this breathtaking woodland with David Letsoalo, one of Limpopo’s leading Birdlife (SA) guides. ‘I love this forest with all of my heart’, he says, hugging a moss-covered tree trunk. Then he stands stock still as he lets the surround-sound of bird song envelop him and he rattles off bird names as he snaps his fingers in the direction of their calls echoing from deep within the emerald canopy.
DO IT You’ll be enchanted by the Cheerio Tea Garden, Zwakala Brewery, Kurisa Moya Forest, and the village of Haenertsburg. A half-day birding hike with David Letsoalo in Kurisa Moya costs R1 250 for three people (four hours).
STAY HERE
Zwakala River Retreat: Cottages from 900; camping from R500 a site.
083 980 8433
KZN
We were seduced by the aqua adventures (and palm wine, age-old fish kraals and birding) of the incredible Thongaland
Region of iSimangaliso. This tiny piece of paradise lies at the heart of the Thonga community and is partly owned and run by these warm-hearted folk. There are few places with such a kickass combo of culture, cuisine and adventure on tap. We paddled onto the estuary with Vusi Mahlathini of Thongaland Travel to kayak amid fish traps while fish eagles, kingfishers, flamingos and palm-nut vultures cruised the big blue above.
DO IT Kosi Bay Kayaking Adventure – R300 pp (2hrs) through mangrove forests, fish kraals and estuary tides; Cultural Fish Kraal Tour & Palm Wine Tasting – visit 700-year old fish kraals and sample Thonga palm wine – R300 pp for two hours. Get in touch with Vusi, Ric or Elize at thongalandtravel.com
STAY HERE
Utshwayelo Lodge:
Chalets and luxury tents
R1 220 (for 2); camping R850 for two. 082 909 3113
EASTERN CAPE
I’m standing atop Esikhaleni, or The Place of Great Noise, with Mzo Xolo Gxala, gazing at the tempestuous waves hammering against Hole-in-the-Wall. Few tourists know of the sketchy scramble up The Queen – as the adjoining outcrop is known – and even fewer would be gutsy enough to tame the vertigo it is bound to induce. ‘There are local tales about this place; mermaids lived here and a Xhosa prince wanted to marry one’.
Mzo smiles as he describes how Neptune lost his temper with the prince, and battered a hole in these cliffs to rescue his daughter.
Mzo owns Coffee Bay Kayaking & Adventures, offering superb hiking, MTB, trail running as well as cultural activities.
DO IT: Guided three-hour Kayak, Hiking or Snorkel Tours
R250 pp (minimum of 2). Hotel Rates: from R700 pp B&B, depending on season. Reach Mzo via Ocean View Hotel, Coffee Bay. oceanviewhotel.co.za