Learning to cook a dish from one of Asia’s best restaurants, mastering the art of making macarons in Paris, and cooking with a Countess in Venice are just a few of our picks of the best cooking classes in the world. I've long said that discovering the cuisine of a destination is a way into the heart [...]
Having grown up in Australia during South Africa’s apartheid era, I became aware of what was going on there through the South African rugby team’s tour of Australia in 1971. I can remember, even as a small boy, being aware of the controversy and protests that accompanied the South African team’s trip to Australia and [...]
“We've been making Cape wine for three centuries, since 1659, and we’ve been exporting it to Europe since 1761,” our guide Carl tells us. “Wine is now our number one agricultural export, yet ironically South Africans have traditionally been beer drinkers!” We've just left Cape Town and are on our way to the Winelands to [...]
This was our first visit to Cape Town so we didn’t have any expectations about what things cost or the cost of living generally, so we were surprised to find it fairly affordable, especially when it came to grocery shopping. Here's our Cape Town shopping list for visitors staying in a holiday rental. While the cost [...]
We’d heard a lot about South African music before coming to Cape Town and were eager to experience as much of Cape Town music as we could, so much so that Terence even signed up for a drumming workshop! We were particularly keen to see some live music, especially jazz, but were surprised at how [...]
Is Cape Town safe? Is it safe to visit the city’s townships? These are questions being asked following the recent murder of Anni Dewani after the taxi she and husband Shrien were in was carjacked by gunmen. We asked some locals for tips to staying safe in Cape Town. The British-based honeymooning couple were on [...]
I am, perhaps, the least ‘African’ person I know. However, I do, for a very white guy have rhythm enough to play rhythm and bass guitar and drums without embarrassing myself. Dancing, however, is another matter altogether… All the same, coming to Africa as a musician is intimidating and on our way to my African [...]
“Beading has always been a part of Xhosa tradition and culture,” our guide Sabelo says on the way to our first stop on our African Beading Workshop with Cape Town tour company Andulela. Learning has been an important part of our grand tour this year and I knew as soon as we arrived in Cape [...]
I just had to make this portrait of Monwabisi Sobitshi, an extraordinary actor and artist we met when we visitedGuga S’thebe Culture, Arts and Empowerment Centre at the township of Langa, Cape Town. When Monwabisi is not teaching drama to school kids and high-school drop-outs, he’s recycling soft drink cans into funky crafts. Monwabisi spontaneously performed [...]
Faldela, during our Cape Malay cooking class, had already taught us the meaning of Ubuntu – sharing, interconnectedness, being open and available – and we would see it in action during a day spent touring Cape Town's townships. There was no question about it. To really get beneath the skin of the place, we had [...]
Sabelo Maku is a man with a big smile and a heart equally as large. He’s a guy with the kind of warmth, generosity of spirit and openness that you want in a tour guide. He's the kind of person who epitomises the African concept of Ubuntu, that Faldela was talking about, of being open [...]
The bredie (an Afrikaans word meaning ‘stew’) is a slow-cooked mutton and tomato stew. The amount and number of spices added has an infinite variety of permeations. This is my version of the Tomato Bredie. Jet lag makes you do the strangest things. We had arrived at our holiday rental in Cape Town in the late [...]