In the wildest and most productive part of Zambia’s Lower Zambezi National Park, Dulini Anabezi has so far been two days of bewilderment: hours spent with large lion prides, a series of unexpected leopard sightings, being surrounded by a large pack of wild dogs, hippos guffawing ceaselessly somewhere in the river, the treescape, the birds, the cavorting baboons, the lone elephant working out his issues on the island in front of the lodge… Utter magic in a real, raw, bountiful African bush. @anabezicamp@dulinilodge
I’m not really big on photographing my food, but there are occasional reminders on my phone of moments I long to return to. This one, capturing my feelings about the bread course at @coy_capetown includes some of the details but not the bigger picture. The details - from the individualised utensils, the handmade, textured platter, the tiny bowl of konfyt I emptied out, the slick of butter and all the crumbs - hint at the obsessive creativity behind the scenes here and the urge to offer diners something exceptional. But nothing here can explain precisely how beautiful the food is, how astonishing the flavours, and the stories behind each recipe. Except perhaps the fact that there’s nothing left. My taste buds will always remember, though.
I have put many extraordinary mushrooms in my mouth, but these king oyster medallions take the cake. They’re being served at @creationwines in the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley as part of their new spring-inspired menu, accompanied by such uncommon flavours as num-num berries (transformed, with organic herbs from the garden, into a glistening raspberry-coloured gremolata) and served on a bed of deliciously creamy sweet potato mash, with wafer-thin slices of kumquat for a bit of zing. All part of a wellness-conscious food programme that prioritises gut health and includes consultations with an Ayurvedic food specialist and ingredients sourced from hyper-local suppliers. I woke up craving this dish. And to be in that dining room again, staring out across that beautiful valley. Ah, one day.
Doenjang glazed tofu, masterfully done, impossibly delicious, and one of the many (vegetarian) highlights on the lunch menu at @thepotluckclubct today; @jason_kosmas , who heads the kitchen, absolutely has some kind of superpower.
In a time-compressed tasting of a range of alcohol-free spirits, mixologist Malcolm Chitsare, who works at Iron Steak and Bar on Bree Street, made me half a dozen wildly diverse cocktails using a range of Lyre’s non-alcoholic spirits. It began with this one, evoking that gorgeous Italian golden hour staple, Aperol spritz. @lyresspiritco@ironsteaksa #nonalcoholic #sobercurious
That is not cloud, that is the smoke plume above Victoria Falls. This morning I watched the sun rise from the top of the viewing tower at Shongwe Lookout, one of several slick new intimately-proportioned boutique guest lodges in the residential part of Vic Falls.
The town is open for business. Almost everyone has been vaccinated and there’s a yearning to see travellers again. Some are here already, feasting on adventures, enjoying game drives and river cruises, and imbibing the legendary Zimbabwe hospitality.
Yes, you will need a PCR test, and you will have your hands sanitised and your temperature taken... But these are barely an inconvenience given the freedoms you get in return - and you will get to see many gigantic smiles emerge from behind the masks, too.
‘This Covid thing has ruined us,’ said my taxi driver as we came from the airport. ‘But we are here, waiting for the world to return. Please tell your friends to come.’
@shongwelookout@africas_eden #vicfalls #victoriafalls #southernafrica #sunrise
It’s been a long slump, but things feel like they may be looking up. Maybe it’s just the warm weather and gorgeousness of the sun; or perhaps it’s the simple joy of going somewhere else for a bit, travelling to see new horizons.
And so it begins. A weekend at De Hoop Nature Reserve as restrictions on intra-provincial travel in South Africa start to ease. Masks and sanitiser squirts and physical distancing are all still a thing - but so are snow-white dunes and vast skies and life-filled rock pools and ostriches and eland and bontebok and, of course, a whale that waved at us with its tail and a pod of dolphins that surfed in the waves. Heaven on earth. @dehoopreserve
We travel in our hearts, to that same place where we keep our loved ones and where we savour connection even with those we don’t yet know. Swinging in the Maldives will never be the same, but nothing is really ever the same once we have lived each moment. Picture by the illustrious leg-hoister @allisonfoat
