Time stands still on
the North Coast when you’re watched over
by Umhlanga’s
two-tone sentinel.
Personal butlers, aerial excursions and luxury every which way you look. De Hoek’s suite deals are made of this.
So, you haven’t yet tried Tibetan sound therapy at the Saxon Hotel? What about a fynbos exfoliation at The Twelve Apostles Hotel in Cape Town, or an uplifting green tea body wrap at Cybele Forest Lodge and Spa? The fact is that health and wellness tourism is a growing trend both locally and internationally.
No image available
/ 23 December 2005
During the month of April, the streets of Chiang Mai in northern Thailand set the scene for a slippery warfare, where the weapons are plastic guns, hosepipes, buckets and just about anything that can be used to carry water. Even the Buddhist nuns are in on the act — drenching unsuspecting tourists with bowls of icy H2O.
No image available
/ 23 December 2005
We’re a nation that drinks more than 45-million litres of brandy a year — so it only makes sense for us to have our own brandy routes. Our love affair with this popular tipple began way back when, according to Pietman Retief, director of the South African Brandy Foundation, "brandy was already available in South Africa before Jan van Riebeeck."
Being a grown-up doesn’t mean you’re too old to love the idea of living in a tree house. Knysna’s Phantom Forest Eco-Reserve offers the ultimate tree-house fantasy. Built overlooking the indigenous forest and an estuarine wetland, these elevated luxury tree-house suites offer the perfect weekend playground.
<i>The Sunbird Illustrated Touring Atlas of Southern Africa</i> is a big-scale touring book that has heaps of fantastic information. The highlight is, of course, the stress on "illustrated" as the guide has detailed area maps, just right for the <i>rigting-bedondered</i> (directionally challenged). If you want to head out into distance, there are plenty of travel books to help you on your way.
No image available
/ 3 December 2004
Salitun Lu in the Chaoyang district is known as Beijing’s "Bar Street". With more than 200 bars to choose from, how do you decide where to go and sip on Tsingtao beer? One suggestion is to flip a coin. Heads means three bars to the right, tails means every third bar to the left. <i>Escape</i> gets a taste of the bar culture that has taken hold of the Chinese capital.
No image available
/ 24 September 2004
Twice a year the Chrissiesmeer shop owners put up signs on their doors that say, "Gone Frogging". Instead of preparing for World Tourism Day on September 27 by publishing a set of platitudes about the most prominent places to visit, we decided to abide by the spirit of these intrepid merchants and prepare a portfolio of the country’s more unpredictable and out-of-the-ordinary travel destinations.
No image available
/ 13 September 2004
Billboards that encourage travellers to "Sho’t Left" (taxi slang for "jump off just there or around the corner") litter the Mpumalanga countryside. The mystical, medieval African city of Mapungubwe is preparing to host thousands of visitors when the subcontinent’s latest transfrontier park is launched at the end of the month.