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PENNY WESSON
John Allan Travel, Didcot
I particularly enjoyed the
evening spent at the Sandton
Sun Hotel in Johannesburg.
The interactive Chef’s Table Dinner
very crumbly biscuit. There were 100 pairs evening was the nearest a lot of us will
of eyes looking back at me. get to doing the Gordon Ramsay thing.
On the menu was an amazing array
No invitation needed including cape pickled linefish, Knysna
We had inadvertently interrupted the cele- oyster broth, braised beef and foie gras –
brations for the aforementioned wedding and we participated in the cooking of each
that was due to take place the next day. No course! We took it in turns to stand next to
invitations are sent for Zulu weddings as the maestro who showed us how to prepare
the whole village is welcome to come and and serve this delicious food. We had the
celebrate. Hundreds had turned up, and as best time and most amazing meal to boot.
per tradition a cow – one of 11 given by the
groom’s family to the father of the bride – FRASER MCCOMBE
was being stewed in a cauldron and home- Fraser’s Travel Shop,
brewed Zulu beer was being passed round. Macclesfield
Our arrival caused a great deal of excite- Battlefield tours are probably
ment. The young children immediately regarded by most agents as
ambushed our parked-up quad bikes and difficult to sell and requiring a high level
pretended to race them. When asked where of expertise. My visit to Isandlwana and
I was from I said Manchester and then felt Rorkes Drift – made famous by the film
compelled to swing my leg to pretend to kick Zulu – convinced me that this isn’t so. The
a football. I needn’t have bothered as I was vistas are largely unchanged since the 1879
immediately asked if David Beckham was battle, and a local historian gives you a real
my best friend. insight as your tour the sites.
Then we headed along grit-covered roads Nerves made me too liberal with the The location is isolated, being four hours’
and past clusters of trees and perfect little home-brewed beer even though it was drive from Durban, but while it might sound
round thatched cottages – Zulu homesteads. disgusting. Not knowing the local customs, a little boring, I can assure you that every
Occasionally there would be very basic I was keen not to offend. I needn’t have participant on the tour thoroughly enjoyed it.
cafe bars and restaurants at the roadside, worried. “This is my sister. Big arse,” said a
with music by Justin Timberlake or Nelly gap-toothed teenage boy as he introduced
Furtado blaring out, which seemed very me to everyone he could find.
surreal. In the marquee, the village sang and
BOOK IT
And there were always people, making danced for us, imperfect but beautiful. The
Travel 2 offers a five-night mountains, battlefields
a point of smiling and waving at us as we dancing involved lots of kicking and jolting. and bush self-drive itinerary from £1,265 per person,
made our way along the dusty tracks. It was Many of the singers were unable to stop
including flights, accommodation and car hire, plus
infectious. So eager was I to reciprocate that themselves from giggling as my new friend,
two days of tours and activities including game drives,
horse-riding and rhino tracking.
I lost control of the bike a couple of times drunk on too much beer, tried to join in but
■ travel2.com
and swallowed grit and soil, the kick-back fell over a dog.
from the bike in front. While all this was going on, the bride, her
Tribes of Zulus still live according to their father and her bridesmaids had been busy
ancient traditions in this parched landscape, getting dressed up to show us a traditional
governed by tribal chiefs and cared for by wedding procession and dancing, as the
witch doctors. ceremony was not till the next day.
Apartheid deemed these people third-class It was as she proudly processed in front
citizens. Poverty remains, HIV is rife and of us that she was joined by her extended
schools and a limited electricity and water wedding party, our bright white helmets
supply are all very new to many areas, but worn with pride. Somehow it was a fitting
yet people still seem happy. end to an unforgettable experience.
After an hour or two on the road I found We made it back to the lodge just after
myself in a tatty marquee, sat on a reed mat sunset, dusty and filthy, but it didn’t matter.
with my legs crossed, drinking something We were proud to show off the dirt because
sour and pink, and nibbling tentatively on a it proved we’d had a genuine adventure.
19.09.2008 83
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