BOOK Southern Africa

Sihle Khumalo Shares Tales from the Heart of Africa

by Amanda on 15 Mar 2010   |   

Sihle Khumalo delighted his audience with his dry sense of humour at the launch of his second travelogue, Heart of Africa, at the Melrose Arch Exclusive Books last week. The event doubled as The Citizen newspaper’s first Citivibe book club do of the year, and CitiVibe editor Bruce Dennill was on hand to welcome guests and introduce the author.

Khumalo took centre stage as he quietly shared the joys of travelling in Africa – particularly in Uganda and Rwanda. Saying he grew up wanting to “have each leg in a different hemisphere”, he was thrilled to find an actual white line demarcating the equator in Uganda where he could do exactly that. Khumalo shared the story of trying to travel by ferry from Mpulungu in Zambia to Kigoma in Tanzania. The ferry’s day of departure kept changing, partly courtesy of it being unexpectedly hired by the UN to move refugees. First it was leaving on a Friday, maybe Saturday, and then Monday – possibly. Noting that the best way to travel in Africa is without planning or expectation, he laughingly told how he diligently went to the authorities to report that his visa would run out while he waited for the elusive ferry. The immigration officials were unruffled about it and told him to return to them once it had expired. Khumalo took it all in stride and all was resolved on the Monday. The ferry arrived on Tuesday.

Khumalo also related the dubious joys of accommodation in Africa – including a room with low walls allowing for some sharing of his neighbours’ more intimate moments. Also, a stay above a night club where Lucky Dube’s Remember Me was played again and again – welcome at first but perhaps a little too much at two in the morning.

One of the highlights of this trip around Central Africa was a night in a pub perched 30 metres above the river Nile with a thousand stars in the sky above him. He remembered thinking, “Wow! No amount of money can buy this!”. Another highlight was his third bungee jump in Jinja, Uganda (also above the Nile) with bare feet feeling “the breeze through my toes”.

One of the saddest moments of his trip was visiting the Kigali Memorial Centre in Rwanda. He realised that the Rwandan genocide could have been prevented and that the response could have been “far more swift”. However, he found the country itself beautiful and definitely recommends that other travellers put Rwanda on their itinerary. He said, “It truly is the land of a thousand hills”.

Guests were treated to a Q&A session: asking about his travel budget ($60 a day should do it); paying bribes in Africa (most of the time he didn’t have to pay officials); the idea of a “United States of Africa” (maybe in the long term but definitely not now); women in Africa (beautiful!); and whether he felt conspicuous while travelling (“No, after all I am a brother!”).

Saying his journey through the heart of Africa was not about getting to destinations but about exploring, he told how a security guard he met said that he was not in South Africa, that he was in the “real Africa” now.

Enthusiastic fans can probably look forward to a third book in Khumalo’s Africa series, as the author plans to travel to the continent’s northwest sometime in the near future – time, and his wife, permitting of course!

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Book details

• Heart of Africa by Sihle Khumalo
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  EAN: 9781415200810
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African Safaris Are A Holgate Family Affair

by Amanda on 10 Mar 2010   |   

Intrepid traveler and social activist, Kingsley Holgate has written a fresh article about the safaris he and his family have undertaken – in which he offers some tips for others wanting to take Africa, like him, head on. For more incredible adventure tales, take a look at Afrika: Dispatches From the Outside Edge.

My wife, Gill (Mashozi) and our son, Ross and I have always been adventurers and we went on our first expedition in 1993. This “Afrika Odyssey”, a waterway journey in open boats from Cape Town to Cairo will always be our greatest adventure.
 
Zulu River Odyssey was my and Ross’ father-and-son journey, at the source of the Tugela, high up on Izinthaba zo Khahlamba, the Barrier of Spears, in the mighty Drakensberg. I fell on the mountain, dislocating my shoulder. In absolute agony, I remember having to jump from a high rock into a deep Tugela Gorge pool, with Ross waiting at the bottom to rescue me if I passed out from the pain. It’s a special bond between father and son; ours strengthened by the sharing of countless adventures.

• Read the complete article

Book details

• Afrika: Dispatches From the Outside Edge by Kingsley Holgate
  EAN: 9781770075047
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Video: Bun Booyens gesels met Annie Olivier oor Sonbrand en braaiboud

by Jani on 10 Mar 2010   |   

Bun Booyens, die samesteller van Sonbrand en braaiboud: die beste van Weg! 2, gesels met Annie Olivier oor die boek en sy voorganger Waar die leeus Afrikaans verstaan. Hulle praat oor die stories, hoekom mense by hulle aanklank vind en hoe om rubrieke saam te stel in boekvorm.

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Boekbesonderhede

• Sonbrand en Braaiboud: Die beste van Weg! 2 saamgestel duer Bun Booyens
  EAN: 9780624047353
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• Waar die leeus Afrikaans verstaan deur Bun Booyens
  Boektuisblad
  EAN: 9780624044413
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Book Launch: Heart of Africa by Sihle Khumalo

by Amanda on 08 Mar 2010   |   

Umuzi and The Citizen’s Citivibe book club are pleased to invite you to the launch of Sihle Khumalo’s latest romp through our continent, Heart of Africa.

In Heart of Africa, the author who gave us Dark Continent my Black Arse once again travels into Africa by public transport, and this time to its continental core: the Great Lakes region. Ever the wandering stooge, he recounts with his signature wit and charm the sometimes impossible travails of getting from one point to another – even if the two are not remote from each other at all! A much matured storyteller emerges in these pages.

We hope to see you there!

Event Details

• Date: Thursday, 11 March 2010
• Time: 6:00 PM for 6:30 PM
• Venue: Exclusive Books, Melrose Arch, Shop No HL19
  Melrose Arch Piazza
  Melrose Arch Blvd
  Johannesburg | Map
• RSVP: melrosearch@exclusivebooks.co.za, 011 684 1260

Book Details

• Heart of Africa by Sihle Khumalo
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  EAN: 9781415200810
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Dana Snyman verkyk hom aan 'n familie se brose vaarwel

by Chris on 03 Mar 2010   |   

Dana Snyman is ‘n man met ‘n oog vir die emosies wat in situasies uitgeleef word. Hy spits hom toe op die dinge wat nie gesê word nie maar in ‘n kyk, ‘n gebaar vasgevang word. Snyman maak weer so tydens ‘n trippie lughawe toe waar hy twee ouers beskou wat van hul dogter afskeid neem. Op die toneel is ‘n versameling van Dana se waarnemings.

Ek sit in ’n koffiedrinkplek op die Johannesburgse lughawe. Ek drink ’n espresso en bekyk die gesinnetjie wat pas by die tafeltjie langs my ingeskuif het.

Daar is ’n pa, ’n ma en ’n kleinsus. Nie dat die kleinsus meer so klein is nie: Die beloftes van vrouwees slaan ferm onder haar Truworths-toppie deur. Sy is op pad oorsee, lei ek af, want die ma vra: “Het jy jou paspoort, Sus?”

En sy antwoord: “Ja, Ma. Ek sê dan.” Sy beduie na die rugsakkie op haar skoot. “Hiér.”

• Lees die volledige artikel in By

Boekbesonderhede

• Op die toneel: stories, reise, stemme deur Dana Snyman
  Boektuisblad
  EAN: 9780798151214
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• Op die agterpaaie deur Dana Snyman
  EAN: 9780624043522
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2010 Travel Tips: Durban

by Amanda on 01 Mar 2010   |   

Ahead of the FIFA 2010 World Cup, Craig Smith wrote a quick guide for Guardian readers on what’s hip and happening in South Africa’s “second city”, Durban. For a more in-depth look at Durbs and its incredible scenery, don’t miss Struik Travel and Heritage’s Picturesque Durban and Surrounds.

Durban is known as surf city, and much of the Durban scene revolves around the beach. Running 5km from the harbour mouth to the new football stadium is a recently built boulevard, with restaurants and bars on one side, and beaches on the other. North Beach is a hub for surfers, families and posers – with the centre point being Joe Kools a legendary beachside bar over three levels. The top open deck offers expansive views across the sea, and beers come in pails by the half-dozen, sitting on ice.

• Read the complete article

Book details

• Picturesque Durban and Surrounds by Sue Derwent, photography by Roger de la Harpe
  EAN: 9781770077973
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Image courtesy Wayfaring

Chris Harvie Attends a Wedding Like No Other

by Amanda on 26 Feb 2010   |   

The accidental tourist, Chris Harvie, has been at it again. The author of Do NOT Take this Road to El-Karama had the good fortune to attend a rather raucous wedding in a small Karoo town recently:

'Whoop!” exclaimed the umfundisi, beaming mischievously – glinting eyes and shining teeth in a glowing round face.

“Umtshato!” yelled the congregation, also beaming, in response. “Wedding!”

And this was not the first time. The good priest brought it on every time he thought he was losing his audience – which was quite often – and it was very effective.

• Read the complete article in the Sunday Times

Book details

• Do NOT Take this Road to El-Karama by Chris Harvie
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  EAN: 9781415200643
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Meet Toast Coetzer and Samantha Reinders at The Rainbow Experience

by Ceri on 25 Feb 2010   |   

The Book Lounge and their Mandela Rhodes Place partners, The Rainbow Experience, will host authors Toast Coetzer and Samantha Reinders to talk about their book Key to Cape Town: Your Insider’s Guide to Exploring the Mother City.

Please note that this event will be hosted at The Rainbow Experience, and will commence slightly earlier than usual, at 5:00 for 5:30pm.

Event Details

• Date: Monday, 01 March 2010
• Time: 5:00 PM for 5:30 PM
• Venue: The Rainbow Experience,
  Mandela Rhodes Place, 23 Church Street | Map
• RSVP: The Rainbow Experience,
  manager@therainbowexperience.co.za, 021 422 1428
  www.therainbowexperience.co.za

Book Details

• Key to Cape Town: Your Insider’s Guide to Exploring the Mother City by Toast Coetzer and Samantha Reinders
  Book Homepage
  EAN: 9781919938868
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Scribd.com book preview:

Key to Cape Town

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Images courtesy Whale Cottage and The Book Lounge

Namibia Wins 2010 Wanderlust Travel Award

by Amanda on 24 Feb 2010   |   

Namibia has been awarded the Wanderlust Travel Awards 2010 prize for the world’s Top Country. The timing couldn’t be better – Namibia celebrates it’s 20th year of independence on March 21st. Find out more about our fantastic neighbour with Lily and Marcel Jouvé’s Secret Namibia.

Perennial favourite Namibia wins – in its 20th year as an independent nation (21 March 2010 is the day to celebrate).

This endlessly photogenic slice of southern Africa is a traveller's dream – deserts, dunes and canyons; national parks teeming with wildlife; fascinating tribal cultures – plus good roads and welcoming lodges make independent travel a breeze.

• Read the complete article at Wanderlust.co.uk

Book details

• Secret Namibia by Lily Jouve, Marcel Jouve
  EAN: 9781770076945
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Bridget McNulty Talks about Traveling with Diabetes

by Amanda on 23 Feb 2010   |   

Diabetes is one of those scary words that make you break out in a cold sweat and leave you fearful of being dependent on medications and treatments. But there is life with a chronic illness like diabetes. Just ask author Bridget McNulty, who’s been living with diabetes since 2007 – and living it to the full, as Catherine Price discovered:

Bridget McNulty is a South African writer and journalist, and a Type 1 diabetic. Her first novel, Strange Nervous Laughter, was published in South Africa in 2007 and released in the USA in May 2009. She has written articles for a number of South African magazines, including ELLE, Real Simple, the Oprah magazine, Psychologies and Woman & Home, and frequently writes about diabetes. In 2008 she was voted one of Cosmopolitan magazine’s Awesome Women, an award extended to 30 South African women who are making a difference in their chosen field and inspiring other women to live their best lives.

Bridget is also a frequent blogger, both on her personal blog which was shortlisted for a South African Blog Award in 2008, and on ThoughtLeader, the Mail and Guardian’s exclusive blogging platform (www.thoughtleader.co.za/bridgetmcnulty).

She was diagnosed with diabetes in 2007 (at the age of 25) and, thanks to Apidra and Lantus insulin, has had excellent control ever since (her HbA1c results for the last year were 5.6 and 5.9). She also works as a champion for diabetes awareness in South Africa.

Bridget is a passionate writer intent on living the truth that people with diabetes can do anything they want to.

• Read the complete article at A Sweet Life

Book details

• Strange Nervous Laughter by Bridget McNulty
  Book homepage
  EAN: 9781770200623
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