I recently had the pleasure of visiting an upbeat Moroccan cafe in Glenwood Durban. Their sustained reputation for featuring in the top 30 Durban restaurants had my friends and I thoroughly enjoying our evening. We unwittingly arrived on their 8th birthday bash, which was celebrated in a ‘Hobo Street Party’ style. Deco was outstanding- from [...]
Tanzania, home to Kilimanjaro, a giant stratovolcano peaking at 5895 meters above sea level. Comprised of 3 peaks: Kibo, Mawenzi and Shira; the latter two are extinct while Kibo still lies dormant. Out of its crater Kibo emits gas and molten magma lies a mere 400m below its summit. Uhuru peak is the highest point [...]
The seven of us departed Oliver Tambo airport on the 30th September 2011 at 21:00, bound for Dar es Salaam. Actually the time of departure was about a half-hour later. David and Pierre were summoned several times over the intercom whilst at the pub. They were well on their way to not even getting out [...]
At the foot of Kili there were literally hundreds of porters getting ready to load bags and depart through the rain forest region which covers the first day’s ascent. Mega-bus loads of aspiring hikers were also getting out the buses and making their way to sign indemnity forms and pick up their pack lunches. I [...]
The next morning after kitting up we headed off up the winding path. We soon learned a lot of Swahili on the way up the mountain, as each guide passed us there would be an exchange of lingo and laughter..’Safi kama samaki!’ this one guy said, carrying a huge duffel bag on his neck as [...]
We rolled into Barafu camp at around 12pm. There was not a lot of flat ground to be had and tents were pitched hap-hazzardly trying to wedge in as many people as possible. Some parties were camped for a couple of days, getting in as much acclimatising as possible. Remaining at this altitude of 4500m [...]
Time was of the essence and we couldn’t cavort up here much longer, besides, the ache at the back of my head was still nagging like an aggravated fish-wife on PMS. About halfway back to Stella who should we see, but David! A porter under each shoulder, the big man looked absolutely beaten. He had [...]
Who could ever forget the piercing green eyes of Sharbat Gula, the Afghan refugee girl who captured the attention of the world on National Geographic’s front cover(1985). Those eyes which told a story of pain and resilience representing an entire generation of Afghan women and children. It has always interested me how the impact of [...]
