http://blog.africabespoke.com Thu, 08 Mar 2018 10:09:20 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://blog.africabespoke.com/a-great-tree-has-fallen-rip-nelson-mandela/ http://blog.africabespoke.com/a-great-tree-has-fallen-rip-nelson-mandela/#respond Tue, 10 Dec 2013 14:16:29 +0000 http://blog.africabespoke.com/?p=5892 Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) has died at the age of 95. There is so much to say and to celebrate about this man. Where does one even begin? Maybe the best way is to share some quotes from the great man himself. We have collected some below. His astounding sense of of humility, forgiveness, empathy and perspective has been an example to all South Africans, and to people all over the world. Memories of Mandela and his actions will be etched into people’s hearts and minds forever. Over the last few days, hearing everyone’s stories of their interactions with Mandela, what struck me is how he always had time for the ‘little’ people. Everyman and woman. And this says so much about someone like Mandela, who was influencing history, fighting oppression, and more. But he always had the deepest respect for all people…and made time for them, in any situation. I really like this excerpt from Paddy Upton’s blog which sums that up so well: “It’s easy to put one’s best foot forward and look good. This does not impress me much. What interests me is who we are when we’re not playing the part that is written on our CV. Who are we being in our private moments when away from scrutinizing eyes – when our true character gets to shine through? There are few more telling moments than how we treat the ‘little’ people when no one is watching; people like the restaurant [...]]]> http://blog.africabespoke.com/a-great-tree-has-fallen-rip-nelson-mandela/feed/ 0 http://blog.africabespoke.com/the-test-kitchen/ http://blog.africabespoke.com/the-test-kitchen/#comments Wed, 16 Oct 2013 13:36:26 +0000 http://blog.africabespoke.com/?p=5859 If you are visiting Cape Town, or planning to, you might well have heard about some of the great restaurants that are ready to host your indulgence in epicurean pleasures: La Colombe, The Greenhouse, Overture, The Tasting Room, and Reuben’s to name but a few of the top performers. But the last few years have been dominated by a new force on the scene: The Test Kitchen. Brainchild of renowned local chef Luke Dale-Roberts, this phenomenal restaurant has rocketed to the top of the ratings, and is just quite sublime on every level. Have a look below at some of the creations coming out of this kitchen: is it food and or art? Whichever it is: unbelievable, stunning.../add various other adjectives here/. Luke opened his own restaurant because he craved complete freedom for his creativity and talent. The Test Kitchen, as its name implies, affords Luke the opportunity for maximum innovation as a chef and the dishes are a pure reflection of his creativity with flavours and ingredients. “The most important thing is flavour, and layers of flavour” explains Luke. “What we do at The Test Kitchen is always a bit different. That is our constant. I need to move forward. Everything in my life has to be about progress. And quality.”  Luke gets some serious praise from the hottest chefs in the world. For example: “A truly fantastic chef, he has this ability of putting seemingly incongruent ingredients together in such a way that they work amazingly well – [...]]]> http://blog.africabespoke.com/the-test-kitchen/feed/ 2 http://blog.africabespoke.com/walkers-river-camp-in-the-timbavati/ http://blog.africabespoke.com/walkers-river-camp-in-the-timbavati/#respond Mon, 14 Oct 2013 12:45:28 +0000 http://blog.africabespoke.com/?p=5726 This gem of a property, tucked just inside the Timbavati Reserve, was a revelation. We were on our way to a very good friend’s wedding in the Timbavati and had booked Walker’s River Camp as our base, not knowing really what we were in for. We wanted good value, with a bit of safari thrown in, so Walker’s sounded like a pretty decent option. Little did we know how good. The flight connections from Cape Town to Hoedspruit make getting there pretty easy. First prize is the 2.5 hour direct flight from Cape Town to Hoedspruit (3 flights per week), and second prize is the flying via Joburg, which is also pretty seamless. Then from Hoedspruit airport it is a quick 15 minute drive to the Timbavati Reserve Gate, and Walker’s Camp is just two minutes from this gate. We arrived to a peaceful camp, set on the edge or a river, with huge open lawns, and an inviting swimming pool. The 5 rooms separate thatched chalets, are very generous spaces, each with huge bedroom including lounge, bathroom and walk-in dressing room. There is also a separate upstairs kids dorm room, big enough for at least 6-8 kids in bunk beds, plus pool table, which makes Walker’s perfect for a great family holiday. The lounge and dining area flows onto the garden fireplace and pool. It has huge comfy leather sofas make for a great place to kick back and spend lots of time in the heat of the day. The [...]]]> http://blog.africabespoke.com/walkers-river-camp-in-the-timbavati/feed/ 0 http://blog.africabespoke.com/timbavati-wedding/ http://blog.africabespoke.com/timbavati-wedding/#respond Fri, 11 Oct 2013 12:49:12 +0000 http://blog.africabespoke.com/?p=5651 Isn’t it fantastic when your friends get married in remote beautiful places, giving their guests a chance to go away for a whole weekend (or longer) to attend? We had the pleasure of attending a very good friend’s wedding in the Timbavati Game Reserve in the Greater Kruger area, recently. A big ask to pull this event off, but they did it in style. They chose the Timbavati because the groom’s family has a concession inside the Timbavati which has been in his family for 80 years. Set deep in the Timbavati, Keer Keer farm was the wedding venue. This meant that wedding guests needed to stay maximum one game drive away (ie. somewhere in the Timbavati) to make attending the wedding and the various other gatherings during the weekend possible. Luckily there is plenty of accommodation at various levels of luxury and budget to choose from…and the bride-to-be had gone about provisionally booking everything available for in the area for 150 plus guests!! The bride, groom and their families put in a huge effort to make this event happen, and it showed. What an event! One gets a sense that it is going to be good when, upon arriving at your lodge, there is an invitation in your room, complete with complimentary kikoi and 4 myprodols!! Bring on the Safari Wedding. So to kick things off we headed out on game drive and ended up at Umlani, with a sundowners and dinner in a huge dry riverbed. Fires blazed into the night under [...]]]> http://blog.africabespoke.com/timbavati-wedding/feed/ 0 http://blog.africabespoke.com/the-antbear-and-the-anteater/ http://blog.africabespoke.com/the-antbear-and-the-anteater/#respond Fri, 27 Sep 2013 12:12:25 +0000 http://blog.africabespoke.com/?p=5782 Do you know your Antbear from your Anteater? Aardvark from your Pangolin? Read about more weird and wonderful creatures from the the Kalahari, all seen in Tswalu Kalahari Reserve, in a second post from professional safari field guide Brett Horley.  Image credits: Brett Horley and Tswalu Kalahari Reserve. Another epic time in the Kalahari is coming to a close. Again I have had a very special time here, just highlighted by the extremely unusual mammals which one has the chance to get a glimpse of in this area. As always the sunsets have been breathtaking, the night skies extraordinary, and with a lot of storms around (but only one actually producing some rain for the parched landscape) we have had amazing lightning shows. In this blog I just want to talk about two extremely special sightings we have had during my time here. The Pangolin (Scaly Anteater) and the Aardvark (Antbear). These are two creatures which are nocturnal, shy and generally practically impossible to see on a safari. But at Tswalu one does have the chance to actually see them. Although you still need a whole lot of luck. In my previous nine years of guiding and 28 years of being in the “bush” I had seen Aardvark only a handful of times, but have been privileged to double this tally since guiding out here in the Kalahari. Last week though we were extremely fortunate, to not only get a glimpse of this odd looking creature but actually view him going about his [...]]]> http://blog.africabespoke.com/the-antbear-and-the-anteater/feed/ 0