The end of winter

The arum lilies signal the end of winter in the Swartland. Spring is short and the temperatures soar soon enough; good thing - the wheat needs to brown quickly. The garden turns into the bread basket. 

Agueda, Portugal - creativity unleashed (unfurled)

Art needn't be expensive or hidden. After the urban brilliance of Malaga's street art last month, the streets of Agueda. Hope to visit soon. Photos Patricia Almeida and Pedro Nascimento

Alaska calling - not your average travelogue

 Blue Moon(ing)

Anchorage, beneath the film of off-duty loggers and bewildered tourists, has a heart of gold (lame).

“Bright as Anchorage in December” a wag once described past Alaska governor Palin, and truly, Alaska’s capital is as thrilling as a head cold during the winter months. In summer it’s little better – disaffected Inuit youth in heavy metal T-shirts sprawl on the Burger King lawns drinking Coors while mildly confused Japanese pass by in Adidas, seeking the spirit of Call of the Wild.

Wild however has gone, summer or winter, as I discovered on a winter trip through the city - its been shot and mounted; step off the plane and you are confronted by a raging grizzly bear, expertly stuffed, proclaiming through a speaker in its mouth “Don’t pet me, I bite” in a Stallone bray, which may win the all-time award for understatement and suggest a worrying statistic for the caliber of tourist to the state capital.

With two winter days to kill I’d been advised to check out the earthquake-proof skyscrapers (balancing on a point, attached to bits of rope), the splendid new mall downtown and Oktoberfest. In December. In Alaska. 1000 loggers in a downtown church hall, dressed as Bavarians singing Deutschland Uber Alles to the melody of Stand By Your Man. With food enough to feed Bangladesh for a month. I passed by the schadenfruede as well as the mall and was mulling over the sense in building skyscrapers at all here when a bass voice interrupted my reverie.

“Looks like Judith on a Saturday night.”

A skyscraper of a man, magnificent in gold lame and ten-inch heels, indicated the pointy bit at the bottom of the building.

“Her heels, they’re just like that – holding up a whole lotta property.”

“Judith?” I asked, trying to appear Lower 48 nonchalant.

“Priest. Judith Priest. At the Blue Moon. You should come on down. Tonight at ten. Just ask for me hon, Phyllis Stein, and don’t let that sadass at the door cuss you none. Angie O'Plasty don’t like foreigners, but she’s harmless. ”

Who could refuse an invitation like that? The Blue Moon did indeed exist – a surreptitious door and a glowering bouncer in the less salubrious part of town (there is one). Outside on the pavement a squat, tottering Pilipino Pam Anderson suggested the global standard as I approached; “Fauw dolla, love you long time dahlin’, Fi’ dolla, you get big surprise!”

“Surprise is right honey,” said rough Angie the bouncer, “that ain’t no girl.”

Inside, the drab winter world was transformed into a drag summer celebration of all things glam. MC Misty Dawn introduced the family; Junketta Syringe, Suppository Spelling, Devoida Talent,  Ming Vase, Summer Clearance, Tam Pon and my own personal favourite, Rena Failure. But it was Judith who stole the show, Phyllis was right. In magnificent purple stilettos the leviathan Amazon lead the oompha band - “ein, swei, zunfen!” - then exchanged condoms for the best tips on how to trap a logger. Lads from the nearby military base, recognising their drill sergeant, were as delighted as the aging lesbian motorhome travellers.

Anchorage in December turned out to be very bright. Palin would not have approved.

- Reproduced from One for the Road, a series by Peter Frost for British Airways

Pieces of Free State

“I come here to escape the shit over there. It relaxes me. Clean lines, look there, look left. It’s empty, the thin blue line. I can think clearly.”

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“Go ahead”, she calls from behind clouds of antimacassar and Craven A, “but keep going – daar’s altyd nog ‘n kamer [there’s always another room].”

There really is. The seemingly tiny home turns out to be Kiesler’s Endless House, offering up one more room after another, each jam packed with paraphernalia.

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Look at the junk and it tells you stories. Which is what our dorps are really all about. Stories told, but all too often forgotten. I’ve read four good books today. You have to love South Africa. 

Free State saturation

Best time to visit Cape Town

It is a generally accepted fact that Cape Town is best in summer, between January and March. But think carefully about that. Cape Town has a Mediterranean climate, which means rain in winter. And no rain in summer. But Mediterranean is only half the story. The city is also close to a number of arid regions and, if you believe the prophets -  as you should - getting warmer and more arid every year. That all means January, February and March are incredibly hot, and getting hotter. Days are often in the high 30 degree Cs, and evenings stay hot for the most part. The winelands can be a lot hotter still - mid 40s are not uncommon. That may sound great to a pale northerner starved of sun, but speak to any traveller who has experienced it and it's not lekker, really, as we locals would say. The weather patterns are also shifting, meaning winters begin later and summers too, obviously.

So, after all that, when to visit?

Choose the two border seasons, October and November, and May and June. Late spring is the absolute bomb in Cape Town, late October my favourite time of year. Fruit picking rocks at this time of year (try Mooiberg near Stellenbosch for strawberries or the Slanghoek Valley near Worcester for berries). But with the changing climate, last year it was still wet in October and mid November was perfect. June may sound late for the end of summer, but remember that this year's temperatures in May were still well into the low 30s.

And if you're really brave, real winter has its own charms. The West Coast wheat fields are green as the Sussex Downs (pic) and it is often still cold during the famous West Coast flower season in late August and September. It's much cheaper too in July, and Cape Town's naturally European vibe lends itself well to warm fires and glistening cobbles in the Bo-Kaap. The southern right whales have arrived by June too, a spectacle indeed, best seen from the Peninsula hamlets of St James or down the coast at Hermanus.

Avoiding Altitude Sickness

A friend on his way to Chile and a mountaineering holiday asked me to send him a piece I wrote for Getaway magazine a few years ago. He remembered it and climbed Kilimanjaro on the advice.

Here it is again, good for debunking a few myths, as well as taking the right precautions.

Avoiding AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness)

If you’re considering climbing Kilimanjaro, or any other major peak over 4000 metres, print this out and make sure that your tour organiser is a legitimate, registered guide who has actually been up the mountain and is experienced in identifying AMS symptoms.

- AMS falls on the extreme side of altitude related illnesses, which affects 70 per cent of high altitude trekkers above 3500 metres. Symptoms such as mild headaches, nausea, and loss of appetite are common, and while these symptoms do not automatically indicate the onset of AMS, their presence should not be ignored in the overall picture.

- There is no correlation between AMS and age, gender or fitness. It can strike anyone at almost any altitude above 3500 metres.

- A too fast ascent, low fluid intake (typically less than 3 litres of water per day), severe cold and prolonged exposure to altitude can lead to the onset of AMS.

- There is no known method of pre-determining whether you will be a sufferer of AMS. As such, never be cavalier about the seriousness of altitude related symptoms. No human being can ‘walk through’ the symptoms of AMS. By going higher with AMS symptoms, you are exponentially increasing the risk of grave injury or death. Even by staying at the same altitude, you are taking a big risk.

- AMS can take two forms, both potentially fatal:

o HACE (High Altitude Cerebral Oedema), there is a build-up of fluid on the brain (and therefore swelling), potentially causing loss of coordination, incoherence, dizziness, persistent severe headaches, severe nausea, vomiting etc. If any of these symptoms are identified at altitudes above 3500 metres, the patient must be monitored without any further increase in altitude.

o HAPE (High Altitude Pulmonary Oedema) occurs when there is a build-up of fluid in the lungs. A persistent, inexplicable cough that develops at altitude can often be an indicator, as are shortness of breath while at rest, tightness in the chest or extreme fatigue. If a gurgling sound can be heard when listening to the affected person's breathing, it is a sign of HAPE in a more advanced state. A telltale sign of blood or froth in the affected person's sputum after coughing is a sure sign that there is a serious problem and the person should immediately stop ascending and descend immediately. A pallid complexion with the lips, nails and outer edges of the ears turning blue from lack of oxygen is also a sign of NAPE.

- There is a saying that only three cures exist for altitude sickness – descent, descent, descent. If the weather and conditions allow for a safe descent after AMS has been identified (or suspected), bring the person to a lower altitude immediately, regardless of the time of day. Time is of the essence. (In the case of HAPE, the patient should preferably be moved in a sitting position).

- AMS can manifest itself at relatively low altitudes (below 4000 metres). When it occurs at these lower altitudes it can be overlooked completely. Always consider that AMS can be the problem until proven otherwise.

- Never ascend quickly to a high altitude. When planning to camp at altitudes of 4500 metres or above, the ascent time should preferably not be less than 5-6 days to that level alone and progress should be slow throughout. Beyond 4500 metres, realistically add an extra ascent day for each 300 metres climbed higher if you're planning to sleep at the higher altitude.

- If you are from a sea level city or live at an altitude below 1000 metres, the effects of altitude can be expected to be more severe on any specific day when you compare yourself with someone living at high altitude (for example Johannesburg or Denver). Where possible, always try to spend one or two nights at a higher altitude before departing for the mountainous country.

And finally, be exceptionally wary of joining a tour group that encourages an overnight stay in the crater in the course of a normal six-day tour. The risks of spending a night at 5700 metres without proper acclimatisation are very, very real.

- With thanks to Dr Retief Laine and Lance de Williers at Tribe Safari. lance@tribesafari.com.

Audi S3 sedan

Initially it didn't seem to make much sense - why would you buy an S3 sedan when the S4 is bigger and arguably better looking. But after a couple of hundred kilometres in the car it was abundantly clear that this isn't just a shrunken A4 - it has a character all of its own. And that character is addictive. It's comfortable, it's very fast, it's sharp as a butcher's cleaver and above all, it makes sense. Those saved kilogrammes make a world of difference to the feedback, agility and all-round hunker-downness of the car. It rates as one of the best drives this year, and easily the most liveable compact in a long time.

Just not in faded orange.


Stats

Fuel consumption average: 6.9 l/100km
Power Max: 206 Kw
Torque Max: 380 Nm
Acceleration: (0-100 Km/h):  5 secs
Price: R 529 500

Catch up

Such are some months that you look around and you've missed a bunch of them. That was March, it's now June (nearly) and time has flown.

Malaga, Spain proved to be as special as I had hoped, as much for the street art as the mountains and the antiquity. It turns out that the city is a haven for graffiti artists, although graffiti doesn't do the kind of work they have managed, justice. The feature will appear in the July 2014 issue of Getaway magazine.

Nieu-Bethesda - Since getting back the emphasis has been on local travel, and motoring. Mostly holidays, given the surfeit of them in April and May, including a trip to the farm in Kestell and two trips to Nieu-Bethesda. That town remains as wonderful as ever; the second visit was with Frieda le Roux, a full four days instead of the usual overnight rush. We had planned so much but Karoo time is not like other time - much was left untouched. We did however get to the Valley of Desolation, a first for Braam who overcame serious acrophobia and ended up, if not exactly like a dassie, at least happy to leopard crawl towards the precipice.

Coming up - A trip up the Sani Pass in the bizarrely styled new Cherokee, and the possibility of Borneo, which seems to be coming together slowly.

Published - Malaysia is published (twice) in Traveller and Fancourt, and the First Time feature in High Life.

Driven - Notables include the Audi SQ5 (immensely fast), the Renault Duster (superb value and bulletproof) and the best of all, the Audi A8 V8 4.2-litre TDi, arguably the most impressive car I have ever driven, certainly this year.

Time marches on, miles to go...

 Leopard, Vumbura Plains, Botswana.

 Vumbura South, Wilderness Safaris

 Mokoro racing to find a Pel's, Jacana Camp, Wilderness Safaris.

 Through the Delta in an Evoque. Picture Rob Till.

 Kingsley Holgate on the Land Rover launch safari. Nigel Sweet looks on. His focus for now is on cultural storytelling.

 Sierra Nevadas, Andalucia, Spain

 Tuningi Lodge, Madikwe.

Nissan's Navara Safari at Legend Resort in the Waterberg. The 19th Hole is visible on top of Hangklip.

Wilderness Safaris Botswana - check (Vumbura Plains and Jacana). Madikwe, check (Tuningi). Waterberg, check (Legend Resort).Vic Falls, check (Victoria Falls Safari Club). Botswana again with Land Rover through the swamps, check. Kingsley Holgate out of the night surrounded by the San of the Kalahari, check. Spain, Granada, Malaga, check (Room Mate, Malaga). Oh, and home, check.

And it's only March...

A new year

Zimbabwe and the end-of-year trek behind us, all eyes are focused on the Year of the Horse. What will happen, what won't, it's always interesting to watch. So at the outset here's the plan; Madikwe and the Waterberg are urgent stories, Wilderness Safaris' new properties also scheduled for Feb/March and the chance of a trip to Nigel's new property in Chobe, Ngoma Lodge. Vic Falls is on the cards too, sooner rather than later, also to check out Albida's Safari Lodge.

Looking further ahead the intention is to try Italy, Cortina ideally, and perhaps the Dalmatian Coast. Then there's the ongoing exploration of the West Coast, especially the hidden region behind the Cedarberg and inland, cross-country on backroads towards Loeriesfontein and Kenhardt.

For the rest, wait and see - freelancing is all about the early morning surprise, after all.