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From Cooked Season 1 - Episode 8

However, travelling to merely observe will leave you with a shallow experience of Africa.

Get off the bus and take a walk through the village. Stay a night and experience the real pulse of Africa.

The best way to do this must certainly be an overland safari. Twenty people sharing one vehicle, one tank of fuel and camping in the open. Overland travel is affordable, it is environmentally one of the least harmful ways of travelling and it is great fun to share your experiences with your friends.

There are many different overland safaris on offer in Africa from tented camping trips to the more luxurious safari trips. So if you feel it is your duty to give a little back to Africa, consider this: most tour booking prices will spend roughly 10% of the tour price in the country of destination, while overland safaris spend over 50% of the tour price in the country of destination.

If you can’t find a group to join, create one, get your friends together in true “Cooked” fashion and plan a trip. For advice on your dream African experience, check out Cooked Travel website.

http://travel.cookedinafrica.co.za

Safe Travels,
Darren Putter

Tanya Bonello is a mixed media artist who works with gypsum, rust, linseed oil and oil paint. Her paintings are held in private and corporate collections locally, as well as in London, New York, San Francisco, Warsaw and Milan.

Her latest series was inspired by books, as she pays homage to the written word. She explains:

“In 2009 I was given a cardboard box filled with exquisite books – a Georges Braque biography, a visual exploration of the universe, a collection of romantic poetry, The Snow Goose…and other treasures. The books were moist and riddled with book-destroying mould – beyond reading, beyond restoration, beyond salvation. The pages had mostly gummed together and tore as I tried to pry them apart. These torn bits and pieces I put aside. It occurred to me that this is a fate that could await all books and nothing material lasts indefinitely.”

Tanya didn’t have the heart to discard the rotting books and instead photographed them and then pulped them in her food processor. This was the start of her method. She then reconstructed the pulp into sheets of paper. She impressed the torn bits into wet gypsum, extending their earthly journey a little further.

Transformation is a recurring theme in her work. “All that is and ever will be is in a constant state of flux.”

Tanya will be exhibiting 20 artworks for two weeks only.

Exhibition Details:

Venue: G2 Art Gallery
Opening Reception: 1 September from 18:00 – 20:00
Dates: 2 – 15 September 2010
Times: 10AM – 2PM daily

For more information, visit http://www.g2art.co.za/ or email info@tanyabonello.com

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Appropriately ending this epic three-month journey with the way it began – wit...

One handy guideline I failed to mention so far for the majority out there who is only guided, or shall I say misguided by the amount of stickers on bottles or what chain-stores has on the eye-level shelves.

There are other options…
Everyone should own a John Platter’s Guide – available at almost any wine farm and grocery stores. This guide is updated yearly and shows you the latest statistics, phone numbers, all the farms in the SA industry, winemakers, viticulturalists, terminology and value for money wines.
Here you’ll find wines that are well priced and most-definitely drinkable. A good wine that jumps to mind could be Simonsig Chenin Blanc or even Hartenberg Cab/Shiraz.

If you need more examples subscribe to Wine Magazine and flip straight to the back. You’ll find wines tasted by a panel of experienced judges and wine masters. It’s priced to suit your pocket, and it literally is a reflection of how that wine is currently carrying itself.
This might be a tad more accurate than the Platter, but remember these are only guidelines:

-    Windmeul Reserve Cape Blend ’08
-    Kumkani Merlot/Pinotage ’07
-    Thelema Mountain Red ’06
-    Lindsay’s Whimsy Cape Blend ’07

And for those of you, who have more time, go straight to the farms and look for the odd bins section at the tasting rooms. No, it’s not always reject wines!! It often happens that farms change vintage. This is when the real gems manage to end up just sitting, and at very low volumes. Go to De Meye, Simonsig, Rusticus, to name a few.

Try and eliminate the middle-man by going to the source, and I promise the experience will be worth your while.

Also remember, size does matter. The bigger the winery, odds are, the cheaper the wine. Smaller producers tend to have higher overheads, and thus higher prices. Don’t overlook quality when selecting cheaper wine. You might get used to the taste of lower quality by NOT following these tips!

Till later!

Cheers

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From Cooked Season 3 - Episode 9

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From Cooked Season 2 Episode 13

Their daily life revolves around their cattle. Status is derived from their relationship to their cattle and the amount of children they have. The more cattle a Masai has, the richer and more powerful he becomes within his tribe.

The Masai have adapted to this beautiful country. Their staple food is cow’s milk mixed with blood – they believe that this diet makes them much stronger. A small arrow is used to make and insert into the cow’s neck, taking the blood from the live animal. It is amazing to see with what precision and care this insert is made into the jugular vein of a cow. To stop the blood, the Masai warrior takes a hand full of mud, holding it against the neck until all bleeding has stopped with no harm to the cow.

Believing their goddess Enkai gave the cows to them, the Masai have great respect for their animals. While it’s the women’s task to milk the cows, the men have the responsibility of herding and guarding these sacred animals. They sleep on the cowhides and even use cow dung to build their houses.

What amazed me most was the gentle nature with which the Masai was making the insert into the neck, while around me women were milking the other cows, singing songs to them. It is obvious that they treasure this significant animal and treat them with the greatest respect.

Depicting Life
Chris Litschka
www.chrisphotography.co.za

Hi Cooked Fans!

Stand the chance to win a Cooked in Africa book signed by Justin!
All you need to do is this:
1. Subscribe to our newsletter if you haven’t already.

2. Answer the question below.

3. EMAIL your answer to info@cookedinafrica.com

The Question:
What nicknames did Justin and his crew give their FOUR Landies?

You can find the answer on the Cooked Website – you just need to do some digging!

Good luck!!

Cooked