Real-life journeys of discovery and reinvention
Kwelera National Botanical Garden takes shape We’re standing in the middle of a wetland deep in the cultivated portion of the Kwelera National Botanical Garden. But there is no water, just a thick covering of invasive solanum, ready to
The flowers are fading, pulling on their seedy caps to sleep for another year. After a prolonged drought, it has been a magnificent year for flowers in Namaqualand and the West Coast. We were lucky enough to see some of
Trans the Kei is where you find the real deal Whenever I hear anyone talk about the Wild Coast, I think of the 280km shoreline of the former Transkei in the Eastern Cape of South Africa, which stretches like a
Being close to nature – especially walking through it – is the number one way that I sustain myself. It clears my busy head, fills me with energy and lifts my mood. Whether it’s the physical exertion or closeness to
Down here in South Africa, especially along the coast, we seem to have a perpetual fixation with palm trees. I know, I know … we’re trying to evoke a sense of being on a tropical island. Or something. But it’s
Maybe it is happening at last: two days ago, I watched a thick smudge of frenzied activity slide past in the sea. The gannets – must be thousands of them – were crazy, and the sea was foaming. It had
This may well be as esoteric as you’ll get to see me, but the idea is just too intriguing – and comforting after the death of Max – to ignore. Fiona comments that some Native American tribes believe that when
It is meant to be a quick drive to the shop to buy milk and bread. It turns into an excursion. The trouble is that I spot a pod of dolphins flowing lazily in the blue, blue waves, and I
It’s the winter solstice today here in the South. In theory, it’s the middle of winter. But it’s far from a typical winter day: in this summer-rainfall area, most of the morning has been wet and overcast. I pull on
The mommy bushbuck is visiting for a snack. She rests in the shade of the milkwood tree, her head peering over the teak table, while her baby watches from close by. I should be shooing them away – they’ll be
