The Rovos Rail, the first leg of my Pride of Africa
trip, is 48 hours of retro-living, the art of slow food,
lively conversation and dressing for dinner. With no
access to satellite, cellphone and print media. The
world recedes. Everyone should let go like this once
in their lives. What’s highly seductive is that
no-one demands decision-making from you. the mode of
transport is non-negotiable, your meals are at set times
and your direction is predetermined. The speed you travel
barely exceeds 55kph and while that might drive you
crazy in suburbia, the vintage wooden carriages feel
as if you are going at a fair lick.
The service on board is exceptional. Our late arrival
in Pretoria means that I have to switch car hire companies.
The Rovos staff hand me an envelope containing R131.
It’s the exact amount that I will have to pay
in for the fancier car. Small things, big impressions.
On my return, BMW calls to ask if I would like to
test drive their 330i. I am struck by the extreme
irony that it has very nifty on-board satellite navigation.
(Or had they heard?) Once programmed, the soothing
and slightly head mistress-ish but well-rounded tones
of a woman’s voice, coaxes me to ‘turn
left in 200 meters’. It was three weeks’
late and over 2000km too southerly in its direction
to do me much good but I obeyed, last time I tried
to find my way, I lost the plot.
Lisa Strachan has an eye for scientific detail that
stops botanists in their tracks. Her exquisite paintings
are not only accurate but they have a subtle poetry
to them that puts them in a class of their own.
The
small Free State town of Clarens quadruples its
population on the weekends. The lure is art, good
food, the charm of a small neighbourhood and a
freedom that’s irresistible to city dwellers.
Words by Michael Cohen | photograph by David
Southwood
Tim Noakes
is one of South Africa’s few public intellectuals
who gets taken seriously – on everything
from resting rugby players to how much to drink
when running. We investigate the making of South
Africa’s premier sports scientist
Words by Ian Glenn | Photograph by David Southwood
Prynnsberg
in the Eastern Free State is a national treasure
awaiting a buyer with a love of history and a longing
to restore and preserve one of the grandest residences
in the country
Words by Michael Cohen | Photograph by David
Southwood
