PCFCT Guest Speaker Announcement

I'm happy to announce the first guest speaker for the upcoming Postcards from Cape Town Travel Writing Retreat - James Bainbridge. Since his first Lonely Planet gig in 2005 - updating the Togo & Benin chapters of West Africa – James has contributed to 20-plus guidebooks and coffee table books ranging from India to Ireland. He's the senior author of LP's guides to South Africa, Turkey and Morocco. James has also written for a range of publications, including Time Out South Africa and Mango's inflight magazine, and last year presented the TV series Lonely Planet's Best in China. Originally from the UK, he's been based in Cape Town for a year. James is aptly leading our session on 'Seeking Eden on a Lonely Planet: The ins and outs of guidebook authoring'. You can find out more about him here.

STOP PRESS: Postcards from Cape Town Travel Writing Retreat now more affordable than ever!

Due to overwhelming demand, the Postcards from Cape Town Travel Writing Retreat is now being offered as a non-residential retreat. This means participants can stay anywhere in the city, bringing down the price down to a very affordable $600 (R4,500) per person. Participants will of course have to provide their own transport to/from Dunkley House, where we'll meet for workshops, and local restaurants.

Held from 5-9 September the retreat will take participants on a travel writing journey through the sights, sounds and scents of Cape Town. During the day we'll explore some of the city's most famous sights practising writing and researching skills learnt in workshops. Come the evenings, we’ll enjoy the tastes and flavours of the city’s best restaurants along with the company and conversation of leading travel writers, photographers, authors and editors.

If that's not enough, MSN NZ, the international media portal for the MSN Network in New Zealand, has offered to publish the best travel articles written during the course of the week on their popular Travel Bite website. So not only will you experience what it takes to be a travel writer, you might even get published! See the attached brochures for more details.

Any participants who choose to stay at Dunkley House, where workshops will be held, will be offered a 10% discount on accommodation.

If you need any more information I can be contacted on kim[at]wildwriting[dot]com[dot]au or you can visit my website.

Postcards from Cape Town Travel Writing Retreat

Learn the art of travel writing in the world's No.1 travel destination.

Times: 4pm Monday, 5 September to 12pm Friday, 9 September
$AUD 600 (R4,500) excluding accommodation **

Bold, brash and beautiful, Cape Town is one city that doesn't disappoint. From the cloud-blanketed top of Table Mountain and the craggy peaks of the 12 Apostles to the sun-soaked, sandy beaches of Camp's Bay and the rolling vineyards of Constantia to its vibrant mix of cultures and buzzing nightlife, South Africa's 'Mother City' is an electric, cosmopolitan city that has it all. Little wonder it was recently voted the No.1 Travel Destination in the World by TripAdvisor’s Travellers’ Choice Awards

Join veteran guidebook author, travel writer and some-time Capetonian Kim Wildman on a travel writing journey through the sights, sounds and scents of this sensational city. Based at the beautiful Dunkley House in the city's historic old quarter, you’ll spend five days learning the art of writing and selling travel stories while uncovering the heart and soul of Cape Town.

During the day you'll explore some of the city's most famous sights practising writing and researching skills learnt in workshops. Come the evenings, you'll enjoy the tastes and flavours of Cape Town's best restaurants along with the company and conversation of leading travel writers, photographers, authors and editors.

If a week of writing, reflecting and enjoying the sights and sounds of Cape Town isn't enticement enough, MSN NZ, the international media portal for the MSN Network in New Zealand, has offered to publish the three best travel articles written during the course of the week on their popular Travel Bite website. So not only will you experience what it takes to be a travel writer, you might even get published!

Included in the retreat: two restaurant dinners, a city centre walking tour, cable ride to Table Mountain (weather permitting), tour of Robben Island, and day trip to Cape Point taking in the beautiful seaside villages of Simon’s Town, St James and Kalk Bay as well as a wine tasting at Groot Constantia and a hamper lunch (inclusive of entry fees to Boulders Beach and Cape Point).

Not included in the retreat: accommodation, transport to/from B&B and restaurants, airport transfers, additional meals, alcohol and drinks, laundry, telephone, personal expenses, spending money, tips for guides, airfares, visas and travel insurance.

Participants can stay anywhere in the city. Any participants who choose to stay at Dunkley House will be offered a 10% discount on accommodation.

This fun and informative retreat is suitable for beginning writers upwards. Places are strictly limited, so contact Kim Wildman on kim[at]wildwriting[dot]com[dot]au to make a booking now.

**Prices subject to currency fluctuations

Top 10 Things to See & Do in Cape Town

News just in: My all time favourite travel destination – Cape Town, South Africa, of course – was just voted the No.1 Travel Destination in the World by TripAdvisor's Travellers' Choice Awards. To help celebrate, I thought I'd share an article I wrote on the Top 10 Things to See & Do in Cape Town for MSN NZ’s Travel Bite website:

Bold, brash and beautiful, Cape Town is one city that doesn't disappoint. With so many wonderful things to see and do, it's difficult to choose a top 10. But for first time visitors to South Africa's 'Mother City', here's what I'd suggest.

Table Mountain
Sometimes it's possible to sum up an entire city with a single attraction. In Cape Town, it's Table Mountain. Rising 3,562 ft/1,086m above sea level and dwarfing even the city's tallest skyscrapers, the imposing flat-topped stone behemoth is impossible to miss. For the best view, you can hike to the top or catch your breath in the vertiginous, rotating cable car as it whisks you up to the summit. Once there, you'll be rewarded with exquisite wrap-around panoramas – provided the peak isn’t shrouded in clouds, of course.

Robben Island
Few places are more evocative of South Africa's apartheid past than the once notorious prison on Robben Island. It is here where former president Nelson Mandela was incarcerated for 18 long years along other prominent ANC members including current president Jacob Zuma. Now a world heritage site, a tour of the island is a must for anyone visiting Cape Town – you can peer into Mandela's old prison cell and hear firsthand accounts from former prisoners who now serve as guides.

V&A Waterfront
Set against the spectacular backdrop of Table Mountain, the V&A Waterfront is touted as South Africa's most visited attraction. For serious shoppers the Victoria Wharf Shopping Centre beckons with more than 400 retail outlets as well as some 70 restaurants, pubs and coffee shops to explore. While the adjoining Red Shed Craft Workshop is filled with an eclectic mix of handmade merchandise and art, and the Waterfront Craft Market offers a range of traditional handicrafts along with holistic lifestyle accessories.

Greenmarket Square
Over the years this cobble-stoned square in the centre of town has served as a slave market, vegetable market and even a parking. Today, Greenmarket Square is the city's most popular flea market with artisans from across the African continent converge to hawk everything from replica radios expertly constructed from wire to hand-painted fabrics and magnificent wood carvings.

District Six Museum
The humble District Six Museum commemorates one of the most startling apartheid-era events in Cape Town – the 1966 bulldozing and forced removal of residents from this once vibrant, multi-ethnic community after it was declared a "whites-only" area. Exhibits are mostly photographs and artefacts donated by former residents.

Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden
Located on the eastern side of Table Mountain, Kirstenbosch is renowned for the beauty and diversity of its indigenous flora. The former estate of Cecil Rhodes, it includes a restaurant, gift shop, bookshop and garden centre. Sunset concerts are held on the lawn of the gardens every Sunday in December-March, and there's a craft market on the last Sunday of the month September-May.

Chapman's Peak Drive
Chapman's Peak Drive is one of the world's most awe-inspiring coastal drives. The 9km route with its 114 curves hugs the near-vertical face of its namesake peak as it skirts its way around the rocky Atlantic coastline from Hout Bay to Noordhoek. You can drive it either direction, but the reverse route from Noordhoek to Hout Bay is better with the best views afforded from the left side of the road.

Cape Point
It's a common misconception that Cape Point, a.k.a. the Cape of Good Hope, is the southernmost tip of Africa. That distinction belongs to Cape Agulhas, 150km southeast of Cape Town. Nevertheless, Cape Point, a narrow stretch of land 45 minutes south of town, where the Atlantic and Indian oceans collide, is spectacular. To get to the top, you hike 15 minutes uphill or take the five-minute ride on the funicular.

Boulders Beach
Just around the corner from the seaside village of Simons Town, Boulders offers the unforgettable experience of swimming with endangered penguins. The sheltered beach dotted with giant granite boulders, from which it takes its name, and its infamous colony of African Penguins is very popular, so be sure to get there early.

Two Oceans Aquarium
Africa's largest aquarium, Two Oceans is home to ragged-tooth sharks, large rays, turtles and about 300 species of fish. There’s a variety of exceptional exhibits including submarine kelp forests similar to those along South Africa's west coast, intertidal zones, and wave pools with native plants and bird life. Sharks inhabit the Predator Tank, and eels and other unusual creatures can be viewed in the Fangs display.

A win well deserved. Congratulations Cape Town!

Cape Town: Shop 'til you drop

With today my penultimate day in Cape Town (well, in Africa for that matter since I'll be spending most of Saturday hanging out at Jo'burg airport or in the air flying homewards), I was at a bit of a loss as of what to do this morning. The options I came up with were: A) Cry (since I don't want to leave); B) Go shopping for souvenirs in the City Centre (since I'm sadly lacking in the present department); or, C) Soak up the sunshine in Kalk Bay (well, just because I love Kalk Bay really!). In the end, I decided to hold off on Kalk Bay until tomorrow and save crying for the airport and caught a train to the City Centre to indulge in a little shopping. Cape Town of course has long been known for its three 'S's': sun, surf and sand. But thanks to an excellent exchange rate, it is also one of the best destinations for that other great 'S' – shopping! Whether you prefer large sprawling malls a la the Victoria and Alfred (V&A) Waterfront, more innovative shopping zones like Long Street, or rummaging through a flea market like Greenmarket Square, there are scores of shops around the city offering all kinds of unique and unusual treasures. From replica radios expertly constructed from wire to world-class wines, here are a few of my favourite Cape Town buys.

Beaded beauties
For a gift that gives twice you can't beat the cheeky hand-beaded dolls from Monkeybiz. Each doll is a one-of-a-kind work of art made by disadvantaged women from surrounding townships. With the proceeds going to their designers, you'll be uplifting others when you buy one.
Where: 65 Rose Street, City Bowl
Find out more: www.monkeybiz.co.za

Divine wines
No shopping trip to Cape Town is complete without sampling the region's superlative wines. One of the best-known labels is Fleur du Cap. Their signature Chenin Blanc is bright, fresh and perfectly balances fruit and wood flavours. It's also exceptionally good value at around $10-$20 (AUD) for a bottle.
Where: Available from most grocery and liquor stores
Find out more: www.fleurducap.co.za

Table magic
For almost 20 years, Carrol Boyes has been crafting pewter, aluminum, and stainless steel into sophisticated, functional art. Her eye-catching pieces, featuring fluid human forms, include cutlery, frames and bowls. With designs like these to take home, tableware need never be mundane again.
Where: Shop 6180, Victoria Wharf, V&A Waterfront
Find out more: www.carrolboyes.co.za

Wired for sound
Wire art is everywhere in Cape Town, but the best place to find quality artwork is at Streetwires. With characteristic inventiveness, Streetwires combines wire, beads and other recycled goods to create everything from key rings to chandeliers. Designs like their signature fully-functioning radios are not only unique, but also environmentally friendly.
Where: 77/79 Shortmarket Street, City Bowl
Find out more: www.streetwires.co.za

Cherrie on top
Launched in 2000, Stoned Cherrie is South Africa's hottest clothing line. This street-savvy range celebrates Afro-urban culture with remarkable flair and exuberance. Intelligent and self-reflective, the line reclaims the past for the present giving African culture the recognition it so richly deserves. Trademark designs include slogan T-shirts featuring images from the iconic Drum magazine and Xhosa inspired A-line skirts.
Where: Available from Woolworths Department Store at the V&A Waterfront
Find out more: www.stonedcherrie.co.za

In the bag
Bag yourself a bargain with one of Africa Nova's unique 'Hip-Pip' handbags. This colourful range of hand-made bags are made from 'Zambane' (potato printed) fabrics and decorated with leather, beads, wood, felt, and buttons. With the focus on small intimate designs, each bag is individually created to ensure exclusivity, so you’ll never have to worry about running into someone else bagging your style.
Where: Cape Quarter, 72 Waterkant Street, Green Point
Find out more: www.africanova.co.za

The world's best cityscapes

Whether they are surrounded by natural beauty or dotted with modern architectural wonders some cities just scream: location, location, location! With this in mind, I recently compiled a list of my top seven favourite cityscapes for a slideshow/article for MSN NZ Travel. My top pick? Cape Town of course! The first thing everyone notices in Cape Town is beautiful Table Mountain, a flat-topped stone behemoth slap-bang in the middle of town that rises above the city, dwarfing even the tallest skyscrapers. But there's more to the city than its picture-postcard profile. From glorious sun-soaked, sandy beaches and rolling vineyards to a vibrant mix of cultures and a variety of top-notch restaurants and nightclubs, South Africa's 'Mother City' is an electric, cosmopolitan city that has it all. If you don't believe me, check out Xander's posts over at Primitive Culture - an online ode to the city if ever there was one!

World's most disappointing tourist attractions: #3

Imitation might be the sincerest form of flattery, but sometimes it's just plain wrong. So my third pick for the world's most disappointing attractions is The World's Biggest Pineapple. Located in the small town of Bathurst, this giant fibreglass pineapple is famed as being the largest pineapple in the world. While it certainly looms large on South Africa's tourist landscape, it is in fact a rip-off of The Big Pineapple on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia. The Queensland idea was copied by a couple of South Africans who couldn't resist the chance to finally top the Aussies! At 16.7m high it's only a mere 70cm higher than its more famous counterpart. And, perhaps it's just my Queensland colours shinning through, but without the macadamia nut mobile it just isn't the same!

We're gonna go to Ghana

The countdown is now most definitely on for my upcoming trip to Ghana. With little over four weeks to go before I depart, I have been busying myself with my final trip preparations. While I'm certainly looking forward to hitting the road solo, yet again, it's always nice to be able to share your travelling experiences with someone. So when one of my old Cape Town cohorts, Margi Sutherland, asked if she could join me for the first few weeks of my eight week journey around Ghana, I was thrilled. Before we set off on our first travel adventure together, I thought it wise to ask a few questions. Here are Margi's answers:

Name: Margi Sutherland

Occupation: I have my own business - we are service agents for H2O Water Purifiers in Cape Town.

Why did you decide to join me on this trip?
I recently turned 40! [Same here! Kim] Apparently this explains it all? I haven't travelled a lot, priorities were different in the past, and now I want to catch up, be a little adventurous, explore new places and cultures. I have been to Zimbabwe, Zambia, Namibia and Malawi, and always used to dream of an overland Africa trip. I'm over that now, but when Kim announced that she was looking for a travel buddy I jumped at the opportunity! Also, I dealt with West Africans on a daily basis at my previous job - we had clients from Senegal down to Angola, and the guys that came to Cape Town for product training (which was what I did) were just the sweetest, friendliest, most positive people. I wish I could remember the name of the technician from Ghana that I used to speak to so often!

What are you most looking forward to?
Besides a break from the rat race? And this freezing winter? I am looking forward to a completely new experience. To a different pace, to spontaneity and unpredictability... where I won't have to be in control, I won't have to check the time(!), and where Africa is really Africa.

What's the best piece of travel advice you’ve been given?
Well, Mum always gave us kids a tummy pouch wallet type thing, and told us to make sure our passports and money were on us at all times... no matter which country we were visiting. Oh, and wear long sleeved shirts, hats and sun block on the river (Zambezi) because the sun burns even through the clouds... which is what we all did and we didn't get sun burnt at all. Thanks Mum... I will take those same shirts with me on this trip!

What's your favourite destination and why?
I love Italy; have been there twice and WILL go back. It is possibly my favourite place only because I haven't yet been to France... I will find out in 2013 when I have my gap year. And Malta, although it is to be avoided during a heat wave.... Such incredible history, and beauty, I will be back.

Then again, I think it has to be anywhere along the R62, Montague, Barrydale, down to Outshoorn... then Hogsback... and the Garden Route (Nature's Valley, the Tzitzikamma Forest, Knysna...) we live in an amazingly beautiful country. [I'm with you on R62 Margi! Kim] Even the stark Karoo, which we travelled through by train recently, is stunning in its own way.

Where else is on your 'top places to go list'?
Next trip is a road trip through the UK with Dad, with the aim of writing his story, visiting his place of birth, his schools, meet some of his old friends, try to trace something of his father who was born in Scotland. As the only child of only children, his history stops with him unless I make the effort to journal it. I just hope that he gets slightly LESS cantankerous with age, not more so!! I'll try do most of Europe in 2013, but after that it has to be China, Japan... and Russia... Although I have recently had the urge to spend just one Christmas in the States, with snow, and carollers, and houses draped in Xmas lights... maybe one gets more sentimental with age? Of course there is still so much of SA that I haven't experienced yet - Drakensburg, and the Kruger area, must still be visited. And I want to take my boys to Namibia next year, during the World Cup, if that doesn't sound too unpatriotic!

Is there anything you try to do wherever you travel?
I buy a decoration for my Christmas tree! I also love to explore the back roads... just get into the car and head off somewhere that isn't necessarily on route to somewhere big. I always mean to take masses of photos, and to keep a travel journal... this time I will!

Finally, since we are going to be spending a large amount of time together, do you have any strange travelling quirks that I should be aware of?
Strange? I don't know how strange it is, but I do like to take a break and read a few pages of a novel every now and then... I enjoy quiet time. I also like to explore craft markets, which is not everyone's favorite pastime I've noticed! Kim, if you pick up any really strange quirks, let me know so that I can warn my next travel buddy!

Will do Margi. Though, perhaps you'd best have a talk to Dan; he'll fill you in on all my bad travel habits! By the way, I'm still looking for a travel buddy for a road trip from South Africa to Namibia in October. So if anyone wants to join me, give me a shout. Kim

Life is a highway

This last week I've been planning my itinerary for my upcoming trip to Africa which got me reminiscing about the greatest travel tradition of all – the humble road trip. Road trips of course aren't merely about the destination. Their appeal, as is often noted, lies in the journey itself. For me it's the people you meet, the dinky little one-horse towns you stay in and the experiences you have along the way which makes them so memorable. So as I prepare to hit the road again I thought I'd share a few of my all time favourite journeys (all tried and tested of course!):

Route 66, USA
Distance: 4000km
Route 66 is arguably the most famous highway in the world. No other stretch of asphalt has been eulogised so frequently and fervently by movies, songs, books and television shows. In fact, Route 66 has been mentioned in so many songs it’s earned the nicknamed the 'Rock 'n Roll Highway'. Starting in Chicago in Illinois, America’s 'Mother Road' crosses the country through Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona before ending at the beaches of Santa Monica in Los Angeles, California.

Trans-Fagarasan Highway, Romania
Distance: 90km
Said to be one of the highest roads in Europe, the Trans-Fagarasan Highway charges up and over the crest of Romania's Fagaras Mountains. Climbing up to 2000m, the dizzying road twists and turns its way between the jagged peaks of the country's highest mountains - the Moldoveanu (2,543m) and Negoiu (2,535m) - and passes through its longest tunnel (887m). If that’s not enough, you also can stop at the castle of Vlad the Impaler, the revered prince from the Middle Ages who inspired Bram Stoker's Dracula.

Great Ocean Road, Australia
Distance: 243km
Recognised as one of the world’s most scenic drives, the Great Ocean Road hugs the rugged south-eastern coast of Victoria. Starting in Torquay, it stretches westward past the windswept limestone pillars of the Twelve Apostles, to the historic seafaring village of Warrnambool. Built as a memorial to the 'Diggers' of World War I, the rough-hewn road winds along cliff tops, up breathtaking headlands, down to the edge of beaches, across river estuaries and through lush rainforests offering panoramic views at every turn.

Route 62, South Africa
Distance: 450km
I have to admit I have a real soft spot for this road trip. Often overlooked by motorists who tear up South Africa's N2, Route 62 is a stunning inland alternative to the much-hyped coastal Garden Route. Showcasing some of the country's most magnificent scenery, the road, starting just outside Cape Town and running to Port Elizabeth, meanders through scenic spa towns, past vineyards and fruit farms and over breathtaking mountain passes. It's also reputedly the longest wine route in the world with 69 wine farms dotting its path...I'll drink to that!

Africa calling

By now you all should be aware of my affection for Africa. So it should come as little surprise to learn that I am about to pack my backpack and return to the continent in August. After my mammoth world-wind adventure last year which took in three continents and seven countries including Tanzania, Cuba, and the United States, this time I’ll be devoting my entire three month trip to Africa taking in Ghana and South Africa with a possible side trip to Namibia.

While much of time in southern Africa will be spent catching up with old friends, in Ghana I will be updating the 5th edition of Ghana: The Bradt Travel Guide for author Philip Briggs. So for eight weeks over August and September I'll be driving, bussing and bush taxiing my way around the entire country covering everything from the busy streets of Accra and the string of forts and castles that line the former Gold Coast to the lush mountains of the Eastern Highlands and game-rich savannah of Mole National Park in the north. It's been a few years since I was last in Ghana – I stopped by briefly on my way to cover Togo and Benin for the 5th edition of Lonely Planet's West Africa - so I'm really looking forward to reacquainting myself with the country. If anyone wants to join me for my latest wild adventure, drop me a line!

From Cape to Cuba

I know I've mentioned this before, but when I lived in Cape Town I loved spending my weekends hanging out in the small seaside suburb of Kalk Bay; having breakfast at the Olympia Cafe & Deli, rummaging through the antique shops and second-hand book stores or stopping in for a beer at the Brass Bell. It was here where I took the above photograph of one of my favourite watering holes; the Cape to Cuba restaurant. Now as I sit back home in Australia reflecting on my 11-week round-world journey, it's only just dawned on me that this trip quite literally took me from Cape to Cuba. So before time gets away from me, I thought I'd take the opportunity to share a few of the most memorable moments from my Cape to Cuba odyssey.

Getting down and dirty in Cape Town
As many of you are aware I'm a big fan of offbeat tours and attractions, so the first thing I did when I arrived in Cape Town was to organise a Below the Surface sewer tour of the city with Figure of 8. The tour, which was part of an "amazing race" experience organised to raise funds for one of the outlying townships, took us through a network of secret underground tunnels to emerge in the grounds of the city's castle; the Castle of Good Hope. It was certainly an odd experience shuffling my way through the pitch-black tunnel with only my dim headlight lighting the way, all the while trying desperately not to fall into the stream of cold water that ran between my feet. Luckily I'm not claustrophobic!

Traipsing around Tanzania
Naturally topping my list of highlights from my time in Tanzania were the couple of days Dan and I spent game viewing in Ruaha and Mikumi National Parks – being charged by an elephant is not something I’m likely to forget anytime soon! But, there is of course much more to Tanzania than famous parks and abundant wildlife.

In Tanga, a quiet seaside town near the country's northern border with Kenya, Dan and I met the indomitable Mama Ruth and joined her to watch a local village soccer match (made all the more entertaining by the appearance of a herd of stray cows!). Outside of Mbeya, a sprawling town in southern Tanzania, we stayed at the wonderfully delicious Utengule Coffee Lodge, where we learned the art of coffee cupping – a tasting technique used to evaluate the aroma, fragrance and flavour profile of a coffee. In spite of my newfound understanding of what it takes to make a perfect brew, I still remained an avid tea drinker, so was thrilled when we took some time out for tea with Rungwe Tea & Tours in Tukuyu.

My most heartfelt and emotional experience in Tanzania was visiting SOMAFCO; the former ANC school close to the town of Morogoro where young exiled South Africans were educated between the late 70s and early 90s after fleeing the apartheid regime. Finding the campus however proved a difficult task, with the campus now the Sokoine University of Agriculture and many people either unable on unwilling to remember the school and its location. This discovery was made more special knowing that one of my dear friends from Cape Town had grown up here. You can read about my friend's experience in the paper I wrote: I dreamed of South Africa: History, memory and identity.

Walking on the wild side in Nairobi
I know many tourists can't wait to come to Australia so that they can hug a koala or see a kangaroo, but for me nothing beats coming face-to-face with the world's tallest creature –the giraffe – or watching the antics of a mischievous baby elephant. Surprisingly, Nairobi, Kenya's big, bustling capital city unfortunately renowned as Nairrobbery, is one of the best places to get up close and personal with Africa's wildlife. Just 12 kilometres from the city centre in the leafy suburb of Lang'ata is the Giraffe Manor, a quintessential English manor which is a sanctuary for the endangered Rothschild giraffe. At the manor's attached Giraffe Centre Dan and I lined up with busloads of local school children to feed and hug a giraffe – Dan even kissed one! The next day we then visited the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, a haven for orphaned baby elephants next to the Nairobi National Park, where we watched the playful baby elephants as they were fed milk from bottles and were given a dust bath. For anyone who is interested, the Trust has created an online fostering program whereby you can adopt an orphan elephant. It might not be the same as having one at home – but then again, do you really think an elephant will fit in your backyard?

Discovering Jamaica
In Jamaica I met up my dear friend Natasha Himmelman to attend the 2008 ACS Crossroads in Cultural Studies Conference at the University of West Indies in Kingston. While sadly our time in the country was limited and, of course, marred by my unfortunate 3-day stint in hospital, we did manage to squeeze in a little sight seeing in between seminars and preparing our presentation. Not only did we explore Bob Marley's Kingston and taste-test the country's famous jerk chicken, we also popped by the prime minister's house for dinner – OK, so it was a reception dinner for the conference, but I still got to check out the PM's diggs and drink Jamaican rum on his lawn!

Cars, cigars and cabarets in Cuba
Visiting Cuba was definitely a dream come true. The politically isolated Caribbean island has been on the top of my "must see" list for as long as I can remember. After reading Hemingway’s "The Old Man and The Sea", I was keen to indulge in the legend of 'Papa'. From sipping daiquiris at El Floridita, where the novelist’s former seat is preserved as a shrine, and rumbling down the road in a classic chrome-laden Cadillac to smoking a fresh cigar straight from the factory and watching the spectacular Las Vegas-style cabaret at the Tropicana, the famous pre-revolution open-air nightclub where Carmen Miranda once performed, my fantasies were not only fulfilled, they were surpassed. While Cuba is undoubtedly intoxicating it is still clouded by the sinister shadows of the past with the stern visages of Ernesto "Che" Guevara and Fidel Castro keeping a careful watch over the country's citizens. Yet somehow this caught-in-a-time-warp feel only added to its appeal!

Going a little offbeat around the world

If you hadn't already guessed from my previous post I have a bit of an odd affection for strange, unusual and offbeat attractions that don't always make it into the pages of guidebooks or local tourist brochures. So much so that the first thing I did once I arrived in Cape Town was to organise a Below the Surface sewer tour of the city with Figure of 8 for tomorrow.

A sewer tour in the bowels of Cape Town might not sound very appealing – especially for anyone who's claustrophobic – but it's actually a great, fun way to learn a little more about the history of the city and experience it from a whole new perspective. The tour takes participants through a network of secret underground passages to the city's castle; the Castle of Good Hope. What's more the group I am joining is doing this tour as part of an "amazing race" experience to raise funds for one of the townships on the outskirts of Cape Town. So I'm really looking forward to my latest offbeat adventure.

Offbeat tours and attractions are obviously not limited to Cape Town and South Africa. There are a world of weird, wonderful and quirky experiences and attractions out there just waiting to be discovered. So I thought I'd ask a few other writers and bloggers to share some of their city's best offbeat experiences.

Heather, from Heather on her Travels, suggests that visitor's to Bristol, UK should explore its dark secret - the Slave Trade:

As you wander around Bristol's pleasant Harbourside area or admire the fine 18th century houses, you may not realise that much of Bristol's wealth was founded on the Slave Trade. Why not visit the Georgian House, a free museum which was once the home of a wealthy sugar merchant whose fortune was made from his slave plantations in the Caribbean. Then download the free MP3 walking tour from the Visit Bristol website, which will guide you around the centre, stopping off at the old sugar refineries and other sites that have connections with the slave trade. You can stay the night or relax in the bar of one of these sugar houses, now a luxurious boutique hotel, the Hotel du Vin. You might like to take a drink in one of the bars and old pubs, such as the Llandoger Trow on Welsh Back, where the merchant ships would moor up when Bristol was a thriving port. Or walk across the modern Pero's bridge in the harbour, named after the slave servant of John Pinney who built the Georgian House.

My co-author for my conference paper and travelling companion for Jamaica and Cuba, Natasha Himmelman recommends visitors get tangled up with a little "Yarn Tasting" in Oakland, California:

Montclair Village in Oakland, California is, at times, a seemingly random splice of the Bay Area a place where wanna-be Piedmonters, Berkeley yippies, and Oaklanders converge. Although this fusion is sometimes odd, if not outright awkward, some businesses in the area have managed to get the recipe just right. The Knitting Basket is one such place. A yarn store by birth, the Knitting Basket has become so much more. It's a community spot where one can pick up beautiful yarns, of course, but also take knitting and crocheting classes, join the knitting charity group, become a member of the Afghan Square of the Month Club, enjoy an afternoon of baseball and knitting titch Pitch, or just drop in to say hello to Kelly. But do not let this cute yarn store fool you; it has an edge. Come on in for a Friday Night Stitching Party (BYOB) or stop by for a yarn tasting. Yes, I said, yarn. The last yarn tasting took place on 4-20, a perfect date to check out some hemp. Kelly laid out some hemp yarns, hemp fusion yarns (i.e. hemp and cotton), and some knitting needles and tasters purled, knit, and stitched (crocheters are also welcome) the new threads. So, if you're in the Bay Area, looking for some new threads or just want to try something different, check out the Knitting Basket.

For anyone visiting Lisbon, Portugal, travel writer and blogger Anja Mutić from Ever the Nomad suggests you make a splash in the city's waterways:

For a unique view of Lisbon's hills hugging the Tagus River, take a commuter ferry ride from either the Cais do Sodré or the Terreiro do Paço terminal. Get a roundtrip ticket to Barreiro, Montijo or Cacilhas. For schedules, see Transtejo’s website.

Take a tour of Lisbon's historic Águas Livres Aqueduct, built in 1834. This remarkable 36-mile construction with 35 arches (the tallest is 213ft/65m) crosses the Alcântara Valley. On this excursion offered by Lisbon's Water Museum every weekend morning from March through November, you travel along the springs of the Aqueduct and visit its cavernous interiors.

New York City-based photographer and journalist, Wendy from Escape New York says there are plenty of offbeat ways to take a bite out of the Big Apple:

Some of the best views of Manhattan are from the water. How about taking in the skyline while kayaking on the Hudson River? The Downtown Boathouse, a volunteer organisation, offers free kayaking tours.

Take the subway to Coney Island where old world Americana still exists. Sideshows by the Seashore features 'Freaks, wonders and human curiosities'. The current cast includes fire eaters, chainsaw jugglers and glass eaters to name a few. Admission is $7.50 for adults and $5 for children under 12.

You won't find this museum on the tony Upper East Side's Museum Mile. The Museum of Sex opened its doors in 2002. Current exhibitions include Sex in Design and Sex and the Moving Image. You must be 18 years and older to enter. Admission is $14.50 plus tax.

Finally, Dan Hammett (aka Diver Dan) who will be accompanying me in Tanzania offers his advice for visitor's to Edinburgh:

Try one (or more) of the pubs in Edinburgh (there are plenty to choose from!), preferably those selling a good range of single malt whisky and real ale. Some of my favourites would be the Dagda Bar (Buccleuch St), Cloisters (Toll Cross), Guildford Arms (just off Princess St), Bow Bar (Victoria St), and the Cumberland Bar (Cumberland St). Most of these are off the tourist path, but the detour is well worth it for the quality of the drinks, and the atmosphere of the venues.

Look up. When you’re walking around remember to look up as the town is built on some crazy hills and it’s easy to miss the amazing Georgian architecture surrounding you if you don’t make the effort to gaze upwards occasionally. Climb Arthur’s Seat or Carlton Hill to get a panoramic view across the city and out to the Firth of Forth and even the southern highlands on a clear day.

Do you also have a fetish for the strange, peculiar and bizarre attractions? If so, what offbeat things would you recommend for people visiting in your city do?

Tourists of reality part II: St James

One of my favourite places in Cape Town is the False Bay coastline which is flanked by the Silvermine mountain range and dotted with fabulous little seaside villages from Muizenberg through Kalk Bay all the way down to Simon's Town. While I was living in the city I'd often spend my weekends exploring the coast; having breakfast at the Olympia Cafe & Deli, rummaging through the antique shops and second-hand book stores or stopping in for a Windhoek (yes, I know Castle Lager is the national beer of South Africa – I’m just more partial to Windhoek) at the Brass Bell.

For most people though, False Bay's main drawcard is its string of sheltered, family-friendly beaches. With the water around 5-7 degrees warmer than on the Atlantic Coast on the opposite side of the peninsular, it's hardly surprising that it became Cape Town's first fashionable bathing area. There are several magnificent beaches in the area, such as Fish Hoek and Boulders Beach just past Simon's Town where you can swim and sunbathe with a resident colony of penguins. But by far the prettiest and most photographed beach is St James with its brightly coloured bathing houses and tidal swimming pool (see above).

While the stretch of beach itself is not very wide and can get quite crowded in summer, St James has become one of Cape Town’s landmark tourist attractions with its colourful beach houses popping up time and again on postcards, books and paintings of the city. The "tourist reality" captured by these images evoke a romantic vision of the Victorian seaside which is strangely at odds within the context of its modern southern African setting. Yet in an endeavour to sell the past to the present the "touristic reality" has been selectively framed so as to focus squarely on the old-worldly charm of the bathing houses while simultaneously erasing all traces of modernity including the Cape Metro train line that runs directly behind the beach (see below).


I wonder how keen Tourism Cape Town would be to show this reality of their picture-perfect tourist view?

Tourists of reality: reframing travel photography

Following on from some of the comments I received from my last post, I thought I'd shed more light on Susan Sontag's concept of 'tourists of reality'. That is, through the proliferation of photographic images we unwittingly become 'customers' of a 'recorded' reality. In the case of travel photography it is a reality that is formulated, packaged and sold, in the form of glossy travel brochures and postcards, by slick marketing companies and tourism bodies keen to tempt us with the scopophilic pleasures of a holiday in their country. Thus, while Africa has become a continent of wild animals, exotic peoples and vast savannahs, Australia is represented by a monolithic red rock, endless deserts and a coathanger bridge.

Lara Dunston recently touched on this subject on her Cool Travel Guide blog with a post on Blue Chairs: imagining Greece, the perception & reality where she questioned the authenticity of the blue cafe chairs in Greece, which are an omnipresent feature in all brochures and postcards produced by the Greek National Tourism Board. I have to admit I was totally sold on this image and went snap happy for the cute Mediterranean blue chairs while I was in Greece!

Yet so effective has this form of photographic marketing been that we invariably end up spending much of our vacation time searching out so called 'sights' in order to capture these touristic images for ourselves. Because without capturing them we'd have no proof that we did in fact visit that particular place, town, city or country. After all, if you travel to Paris the only way you could possibly prove you'd been there is with a smiling snap of you standing in front of the Eiffel Tower; right?

A few years ago I explored the same theme in an article published by itch magazine in Cape Town in which I studied the city's visual representation in postcards. While postcards of the city showed all the iconic sights such as Table Mountain and the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, what they in fact presented was a piece of a puzzle that forms only a minor part of the mosaic that is Cape Town. So I purchased several of the most popular postcards of the city and set out to discover what had been left outside the focus of the touristic lens.


The most overdetermined of all Cape Town's touristic sights is the omnipresent Table Mountain. Its monolithic form graces almost every postcard, travel brochure and coffee table book produced on the city. While the mountain has been captured from almost every possible angle, the most dramatic and most photographed view of Table Mountain is easily the view from Bloubergstrand on the opposite side of Table Bay. It gives you a panoramic wide-screen view of the whole mountain with the city nestled cosily at its base.

With the postcard as I my guide I made my way to Bloubergstrand to view and capture the 'touristic reality' (see the image above). Once I arrived at the sight I discovered that there were numerous 'view points' from which to obtain the picture-perfect rendition of the 'touristic reality'. I quickly snapped a couple of pictures then plonked myself down on the sand and sat back to await inspiration for my 'alternative realities'. As if on cue another tourist/photographer, armed with an expensive camera and heavy tripod, walked casually up the beach. Stopping directly in front of me, he turned towards the ocean and carefully surveyed the scene before him. Then having decided he had found the perfect 'viewing position' he quickly set up his tripod to capture his own version of Table Mountain's 'touristic reality'.


Immediately inspired, I jumped to my feet and hastily rolled-off a couple of shots of the same scene, though this time reframing my viewfinder to include the tourist/photographer (see above). Then suddenly sensing that my unwitting subject had become aware of my presence (and not wanting to be exposed as a crazy photographer with a peculiar fetish for taking pictures of strangers) I quickly turned around and randomly pointed my camera skyward. But as the lens slowly came into focus I was pleasantly surprised by the new 'alternative reality' that filled my viewfinder. All the time I had been facing forward and focusing my camera on the 'realities' that lay within the usual touristic view of Table Mountain I had been unaware that as the sun was slowly setting the sky behind me had been staging its own magnificent display. Through my viewfinder I now watched mesmerised as the clouds stretched endlessly across the late afternoon sky. Fascinated by their elongated forms, I snapped at my camera again (see below).


The sad thing is, if I hadn’t been doing this project at the time I more than likely would not have seen this amazing sight let alone have captured what has turned out to be one of my favourite and most requested photographs. While photography will always be an integral part of the travel experience, as will the predetermined touristic sights, what I learned from this project is that as travellers we need to open ourselves up to the possibility of life outside of the viewfinder. So the next time you are in Paris and confronted with the Eiffel Tower, I challenge you to buck the trend and discover what is not within the touristic frame. Turn around and take a picture of what is behind you – after all you never know what you might capture!

Where's great in 2008?

With the New Year well and truly under way, it seems every website, newspaper, magazine and publisher from The New York Times to Lonely Planet has released a list of the newest, hottest and best Travel Destinations for 2008.

Instead of adding to the plethora of "it lists", I've decided it would be much more interesting to share my travel itinerary for the coming year. To date, I have two major trips planned:

Trip one: Around the world in 46 days (or thereabouts)
South Africa: A holiday just wouldn’t be a holiday for me if it didn’t include a stopover in South Africa! Considering I have averaged around five months there each year since the beginning of 2000, I suppose it's only natural that I will be back again for another week at the end of May. Look out Cape Town, here I come!

Kenya: From South Africa it is then on to Nairobi at the beginning of June for the first of two overseas weddings that I will be attending this year. With plenty of old friends on hand, I look forward to a real celebration. I also have some work to do in Kenya, so will stay for around two weeks.

London: This will only be a quick few days stopover in mid-June, but I am keen to unearth the many layers of this great city. Last time I was in London was back in the northern hemisphere winter of 2002/2003 and I left pretty quickly because I couldn’t stand the lack of sunshine, freezing cold, and continuously miserable rainy days. So hopefully this time, as I am going mid-summer, I will see the city in a whole new light.

Jamaica: I unfortunately have to go to Kingston for a conference at the beginning of July – shame! Along with my co-author, I will be presenting a paper examining Bono's (Product)Red at the 2008 ACS Crossroads in Cultural Studies Conference at the University of West Indies. I am so excited about this, as not only have I always wanted to visit Jamaica, but with Cuba just a stone’s throw away I am hoping to make a side trip there too...I wonder if Fidel is up for an interview?

USA: On the way back from Jamaica I will be making flying visits of Miami, San Francisco and LA.

Trip two: Road trip USA
For my next adventure I’m then heading back to the US in October to be bridesmaid for a very dear friend at her wedding in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Since I’ve always seen myself as a bit of a Thelma, I thought I’d take the opportunity to drive from LA through the desert to Santa Fe stopping via Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon, and Monument Valley.

All I need now is to find a Louise.... Come to think of it, I'm much more like the hard-nosed Louise, so if anyone believes they have what it takes to be Thelma, let me know!