Justin Bonello

We arrive at the Nel’s farm, Klein Rivertjie, just before sun set, which is fortuitous because it means that we’re to get a good idea of just how close we are to the SA/Zimbabwe border – no more than 800m away. Our side is heavily guarded by the South African army but in spite of this you can’t miss the hundreds of holes which have been made in the fence. A stark reminder of the issues facing our Zimbabwean neighbors.

This family grows a wide variety of veggies. Smart not to have all your eggs in one basket. Throughout this trip the emphasis has been almost entirely on meat of one sort or another and by now I know I speak for all of us, even the red meat crazed Smart, when I say we can’t wait to discover what tasty vegetarian dishes will come from the episode.

Jeanie and Flip, despite some recent adversity, have a wonderfully positive spin on life and are incredibly welcoming hosts. Jeanie insists that we make ourselves at home and her eyes light up as she tells of week-ends when all her kids, grandkids and relations arrive and the house overflows with fun and activity - she says these are her favourite times.

Wesley, Doc, B-rad, (Danny’s replacement) have joined up with us and we’re a full strength side +1, once again. Quite a handful. But my crew doesn’t need anymore encouragement than this and they let their hair down, kick back, and declare all us all part of the family.   

A few weeks earlier the temperature had dropped so low that a large portion of Flip and Jeanie’s crop was totally obliterated by black frost. Basically this happens when it gets so cold that the moisture freezes and the whole plant turns pitch black, it kills the shoots where the fruit and veg grow and the whole crop from that cycle has to be tossed.

No one would say that this is the very best time to have guests armed with cameras; at least this is what I would have thought. But neither Flip nor his good wife lets on that they are fazed in the slightest - which gives you a good indication of just how resilient these people are. True grit.

In spite of Jack Frost’s heavy hand, the “werf” and homestead are very beautiful. The building nestles amongst huge mature trees, fruit orchards, a lush tropical garden and there are a number of picturesque dams on its periphery. We knew that these are truly “our kind of people” when flip explained how they designed the house to fit in with the existing trees and not the other way round.

The same consideration and respect for the environment is very evident in the way in which the Nel’s conduct their farming methods. This is obviously the reason why Woolies have included their produce in their ‘Good food Journey’. Flip believes in enriching the soil naturally, by adding plenty of decomposed matter – just as nature intended.  Well he’s rather more generous with his bounty than Mother Nature seems to be around here. Flip uses very few pesticides and insecticides and the crops are rather fed with pure organic compost, and as a result, they flourish – the proof is in the peppers, patty pans, the marrows, the tomatoes and so on.

It’s been a magnificent last few days. The cherry on the top is that we actually manage to catch a game of rugby and the Boks put 50+ points past the Italians. Of course we have to celebrate, as we always do, and Flip and Jeanie invite their kids and grandkids to join in. Inspired by our emphatic win over the Italians, we made a few South African style Mediterranean dishes (all vegetarian of course). I prepared baby marrow fritters with parmesan, a trio of capsicums stuffed with spicy basmati rice, a green bean, feta and red onion salad and oven roasted root veggies in a balsamic glaze. Delicious! There’s some meat served as well but to be honest, for the life of me I can’t remember what. 

This is the kind of spread that could turn even the most devout meat eater, happily into a tree hugging vegetarian. 

A very special thanks has to go to Flip and Jeanie for there most wonderful hospitality.

“A place of shimmering lakes, meandering waterways, tropical forests, remote beaches all within the iSimagaliso Wetland Park”

The route between Thonga Beach Lodge and Kosi Forest Lodge is meant to take approximately one and a quarter hours – we took five! Along the way we just had to pull in to every secluded cove and stopped and gazed in wonder at the spectacular view points, and of course caught it all on camera.

For once it was an absolute pleasure to be delayed. The scenery is something to write home about and those of us who were driving got to ‘play’ with the various 4X4 modes, as the road consists almost entirely of heavy sand.

We arrived in the dark, what else – we’re working on it!

To welcome us were the couple that runs the lodge, Chris and Illana and the manager, Blessing. After they’d given us a quick run down we unpacked and made our way to the bar for a couple of cold ones. This lodge has eight intimate rooms, even less than Thonga. Each one is hidden in a beautiful sand forest and we were the only guests, so except for the odd hippo, this meant that we had this little piece of paradise all to ourselves – such luxury.

After a couple of ice breaking drinks we were treated to a 3- course meal in our own private boma. I discovered later, via Illana, that Chris had been a little intimidated by our - and by this I’m sure she meant Jax’s - presence. Not being a chef himself and having to cook for all of us must have been quite a daunting task. All I can say is, well done brother; you’re a dam impressive cook, all the food we had at the lodge was delicious.  

The following morning we were up bright and early and looking forward to the boat cruise through the nearby lake systems. Our aim for the day was to get a better idea of the traditional fish traps, chat to some locals and maybe wave at a few hippos along the way.

There’re four lakes and we started at the first one and made our way toward the sea. There’s a 5 minute hike to get to these, through a raffia palm forest, which was absolutely stunning as the rays of the sunrise shimmered through the trees. These palms are enormous and look almost prehistoric. The locals use them to make ferries because the wood is very light and sturdy. In Africa if a tree can be used for building or as a source of food it’s as precious as gold - if not it’s almost always chopped down and burnt as fire wood.

We’d been through the first two lakes and spotted numerous hippos when we met up with Amos, a local fisherman, whose forefathers had been fishing here for centuries. The traps they use today are identical to those used hundreds of years ago. There’re strict laws which are enforced by local authorities as to the size of each trap and you may not build any new ones but can maintain existing systems. If your father had three, then you too may have three. They consist of a long fence, which acts as a barrier that runs into a kraal. Once a fish swims into this it’s forced along the stakes which are placed a certain distance apart so that the smaller fish can beak free. This means that only the larger fish are trapped. It's a simple but very effective way of making sure that this type of fishing is sustainable for future generations. George, one of our guides tells me that these traps are made completely from natural fibers and need regular maintenance every 4- 6 months. This is hard work and a lot like single man rod fishing. It depends a lot on luck and is never a sure thing – ask me, I know.

Amos was quite a character and took to being in front of the camera like a fish to water. He quickly became the director of operations and went so far as to tell us only to shoot him from his good side. We learned quite a bit about his life as a fish trap owner before he produced a 5- litre container of palm wine (home brew) and offered some to me. Then I realized that much of his bravado was Dutch courage – he also drank like a fish.

We bade him good day and rushed back to cheer on Bafana Bafana in their game against France. Although we klapped them 2-0, it was too little too late.     

The next day while out canoeing some crew members got a little too close to a hippo. Unfortunately Louis, our stills photographer was so caught up in this near death experience that he forgot to catch it on camera. He’s promised to do better next time, and I would hope that he’ll never again place his life above what’s good for the show.  No seriously, Calvin, my producer and the other guy in the boat is adamant that they were literally within a meter or so of death and the guides back at the lodge agree. This was no joke, they’re lucky to be alive!

The last night was particularly poignant for me, we were not only leaving this magical place but three of our mates were about to leave us too. We were saying farewell to Danny, Gareth and Jax. So in true Cooked style we had a bit of a kuier and said thank you and cheers to all.

Being in the middle of nowhere made it quite difficult to source produce and our first two menu options, being oxtail or lamb neck, proved impossible to get our hands on. So I settled for beef fillet - fairly cheap too. In retrospect this was a blessing in disguise as it’s far less labour intensive, plus it was the perfect opportunity to whip out my newest toy, the Cassie and smoke some fillet.

So we served smoky beef fillet, with creamy mdumbi mash and chunky coriander guacamole. For dessert we had home made chocolate brownies, with marinated orange slices, courtesy of my more than qualified assistant - thanks Jacky.

All in all the north coast of Natal has been a majestic place to visit and the perfect pampering we needed after the rigors of the Transkei. Thank you to all the folks at both lodges and all the incredibly friendly people of the greater Isimangalisa Wetland Park region, we had a blast! 

“Soothe your soul in the balmy waters of South Africa’s last true beach wilderness… on the Elephant Coast, Kwazulu Natal”

I always hate saying good bye to the Transkei; it’s the one place where I just lose all sense of time and reason. When I’m there I just immerse myself in the wide open spaces and forget about the pressures of modern city living. So to suggest that I was a little reluctant to go, when it was time to leave, is putting it mildly. That’s why we need to have a producer with us, to make us stick to our schedule and get the show on the road. This allows me the luxury of digging my heels in and giving him a hard time –it’s a thankless job, but someone has to do it. 

If however, I’d known then what I know now about our next destination, I’d have been a lot more co-operative. Thonga Beach Lodge is situated right on Mibibi Beach just below the Mozambiquan border and at this time of the year the weather’s magnificent, the water lukewarm and the sea life quite spectacular. 

On the way up there we spent a night in a B&B in Amanzimtoti, just south of Durban and the next morning at sparrows, we screamed in to Durbs to avoid the Saturday morning rush. What a pleasure to leave off the long johns, the thermals and the boots  - my uniform for the past while - and just pull on a T-shirt and jeans and stick my feet in to a pair of slip slops. 

Here we collected a further Discovery, which was instantly nicknamed ‘Rudolph’, and met up with our new “old’ mate Jackie Cameron. We’d got to know Jax at the end of Season 4, when we shot at Hartford House. She’s Kwazulu Natal’s no. 1 chef and I was more than happy to have her along as my assistant for a while.  Just kidding, Jax had decided to join us for a bit of a jol and she’d promised, if I asked nicely, to act as a professional consultant if and when her services were required.

With everyone accounted for and without any further delays, we were ready to hot foot it up the coast, through all the picturesque little towns and on to Thonga Beach Lodge. This consists of 12 beach suites, which made it just the right spot for us to ease back into civilization after roughing it in the Transkei. Unfortunately, as usual, we arrived in the dark - something that’s becoming a habit, no matter how well we plan our trip. This time fortunately, it was no big deal because we were staying for three full days, which gave me plenty of time to take in the entire splendour of the place and then some.

The lodge itself nestles amongst a grove of trees right on the edge of a private beach and each free standing bungalow is surrounded by indigenous flora. The folks running it could not have been more hospitable and constantly plied us with copious dishes of delicious eats – my kind of place. This, coupled with the outdoor and aquatic activities during the day meant that we all slept like the dead each night.

Every morning as I stepped out of my bungalow I was confronted by a paradise that far surpassed any picture in a brochure.  We’d gear up with wetsuits, fins, snorkels and goggles and wander along the path leading down to the sea. This stretch of untouched beach is completely deserted, due to the strict policing of the local parks board – but I wasn’t complaining. It’s one the most unspoilt and beautiful spots we’ve visited this season.

One morning on our way to the reef, along which we were to dive, one of the guides spotted a small school of welcoming dolphins and we didn’t need a second invitation. Swimming with these lovely creatures was the highlight of the trip so far. For many of the crew and considering where we’ve been and what we’ve seen, that’s praise indeed.  As Mart says, this is one of those experiences that cannot be adequately described in words, it has to be felt first hand, and so if ever you have the opportunity, don’t hesitate, just dive in and feel the vibrations for yourself.

This was a truly exceptional few days and I’d like to thank all the folks at the Lodge for treating us so royally – we’ll be back!            

So we said goodbye to Glend-awehness (Danny’s catchy new name for her), Judy, Gregg, Mtungwa and the rest of folks at Matobeng Village (Katse Dam) and travelled all the way to Sani Top. Tim, the resident trout farmer at Katse told me that it would take the whole day to get to the border, a meager 300+ km’s. This we found out is no lie. The fact of the matter is almost the entire trip across Lesotho is spent dodging potholes and all sorts of other foreign objects on the road.

The route we took was made up of a series of passes that run over mountain ranges and through valleys, quite magnificent. But due to the state of the roads, we only managed to average 39km per hour, which meant that as promised, it took us a full day’s travel plus to reach the Lesotho border post.

The interesting people you meet while you are on the road often make your day. And this particular time was no exception. We had stopped routinely as we do often, I was up ahead shooting a particularly magnificent mountain pass but Mart told me later how this meeting played out. He and Darren heard an almighty shriek, which meant one of two things, either Lucy, carrying Ray and Megs had gone through a barrier and they were tumbling down the mountain side or there was a staunch Cooked fan in our midst, luckily for all concerned it was the latter. Her name is Lucie (the bubbly Scott), and she along with her boyfriend Lachlan and their dog Bow Wow, just so happened to bump into us (she also just so happened to have our book on hand for me to sign). So we said our hellos, exchanged travel stories and our particulars and then both went on our merry ways. If you want check these two out go to www.thevagabondadventures.com 

We made the border post well after dark which meant that we had to unfortunately spend the night at the Sani Pass Backpackers. We phoned ahead but were ‘misinformed’, they told us that the border closed at 6pm, which is true, what they regretted to tell us was that it takes two hours to get down. Not even a suicidal maniac would dare take on this pass at night.

If you are planning on travelling down this world famous pass, and I highly recommend it. Take it from me; make sure to get to the border post at least two hours before it closes. On the positive side this particular establishment boasts the ‘highest pub in Africa’, which was okay but to be honest I’d much rather have had a cold one back in SA at the Himeville Arms, our intended stop over for the night.

The next morning we got up before dawn, to ensure our spot, first in line at the border post. We then made our way down the Sani Pass and back into South Africa. Our next destination was the Bush Pig at the Kei Mouth, on the border of the Transkei. We had planned to spend a couple days there catching up with some of our loved ones but on account of the weather we had to reschedule and spend a couple extra days with them.

So after two welcomed days of bad weather, which included a wild boar, slowly cooked on a spit (courtesy of local cook chef Reg and owner of the Green Lantern), an impromptu concert by our resident rocker/heli pilot Johnny, numerous pool games and one or two cold uns it was time to make our way to my other favourite place in the world – ‘my secret spot in the Transkei’

I had really been looking forward to shooting this episode “The hungry ones”, which is what I called it in the end. This one in particular would bring us one step closer to the reality of what this series is all about – to see exactly where the food we eat comes from.

So we set off on a three day hike up the coast, and along the way we would fish and forage to survive. A rather daunting ask for most of my city savvy crew. Our mission was to see if it is still possible. All that we were allowed to take with us was water, our sleeping bags, two fishing rods. Patricia, who I have known since I was a young is the perfect travel companion as she has knowledge of the edible local plants and lastly Gareth Beaumont, known in series 1-3 of Cooked as The fishing assassin – came along. We were all pretty happy that he came along.

We ‘survived’ a day before the storyline evolved; which was very much appreciated by all survivors concerned. I made the decision the night before but only let on to the rest of the crew after a long, cold night under the stars. 

Firstly I sufficiently proved that living solely off the sea is still possible, the only problem we faced was a variation in our diet, simply eating seafood made us a little mal. There is more than enough seafood available, we ate freshly caught Blacktails mussels, oysters, limpets and even octopus. Where the problem lies is in the fact that anyone who was doing the same hundreds of years ago, had an intimate knowledge of the edible plant species available. Where we faulted was in the fact that its winter, which means there isn’t much around and I wasn’t prepared to chance it on the vegetation available.

Foraging for your food isn’t easy. I’m the most surefire super-scout wannabe I know but scavenging for crunchy seafood (sand gets everywhere) gets very old, very quickly. And it’s as tough on the body as it is on the mind. At the end of a long day, cuddling around the fire, we all spoke of our wish list menus, which included, gourmet cheeseburgers (Helena), malva puddings (me) and rare rib-eye (Mart) - pretty much anything that didn’t taste of the sea.

The last thing I remember before I went to la la land was Wes, our post producer piping up “My hands smell just like my mouth tastes” which sent us all into uncontrollable laughter – it was a sentiment we could all relate to. It was clear, we had all had enough.

It’s not as though I went to bed starving, there was plenty of seafood to eat but the truth of the matter is simple, the food we eat everyday (in the convenient world we live in) is not about sustenance anymore, it’s far more than this, and we want a sense of pleasure from every bite. Food has become about celebrating combinations of both flavors and it’s a luxury that I, along with the rest of the survivors would not easily go without.

So after a cold night under the stars I told the crew the new plans for the rest of the hike, which before anything else happened, included a piping hot cup of coffee with their seafood breakfast. The news immediately sent all the survivor’s spirits soaring. We would still have to forage a fish for all the food we were going to eat but instead we would be allowed to spice things up quite literally. We were immediately transformed into a band of modern strandlopers – a progression I have to admit I was equally happy with.

So we set off for the days hike with hot coffees in hand and a renewed love for foraging for nature’s bounty. The rest of the crew met us up the coast and we prepared a meal fit for a Transkei Chief (with a taste for Asian flavour). I rustled up a Thai style seafood pot, cooked on coals right next to the beach and served with freshly baked pot bread. Everyone pulled in, camped and kuiered until an all mighty cold front came in and sent us packing.

All in all I’m glad we gave prehistoric foraging a go, I believe it’s possible and sustainable but it’s a sacrifice I’m not sure I would make for all the fresh oysters and pearls in the world.

Hungry for more: www.cookedinafrica.com

After being on the banks of the Katse Dam for 4 days, armed with the knowledge that the area is renowned for its wild trout fishing I couldn’t hold in the urge any longer and so it was time to whip out my old fly rod and reel, for a spot of fly fishing. So off I went early in the am with Cameras in toe (no pressure) to catch us dinner.

I returned home empty handed. To make matters worse Glenda (a serious novice) threw a line in for about an hour before sunset and caught two fish, a small Wild Trout and a Yellow Fish. In my defense however, I was using a fly fishing rod, an art that is nowhere near as easy as Brad Pitt and Craig Sheffer made it look The River Runs through it. And Glenda who used fish food as bait (skelem) was on a boat right next to the farming pens. What poor wild trout wouldn’t spend his days chilling with his domesticated mates, knowing that he will receive no less than 3 square meals a day, only to be deceived by a wily fisherwoman?

After a long day of fishing, not catching, I thought to my self. The Katse Dam which is around 50 km’s long was built to create Hydro Electric power for Lesotho and the by product, H2O, is a major contributor of water to Gauteng (South Africa). The offshoot of this means that local herdsmen have now either had to find grazing areas higher up in the mountains as a result or further way from their homes or at worst completely alternate ways of make a living like fishing. Which makes me think that if it’s this hard for me to catch a fish, how sustainable is it really for the local fisherman?   

The next day I was determined to land a fish. This time I was armed with a tip or two Gregg (one of the owners of Royal Highlands Trout and basically a local) gave me last night over dinner. So I set out early the next morning, like a man on mission. And as luck would have it I caught a beauty. On the fly nogal!

Later that day I hot smoked my prize in my custom built Cassie (basically it’s a paraffin drum with a tight fitting grid and a lid) and served my humble offerings along with a few other bits and bobs (of an exceptional standard as per usual) that Judy and Glend-awehness (Danny’s catchy new name for Glenda) provided us with. We made a fire on the banks of the river, filmed for a bit and then everyone sat back to appreciate our surroundings. The shooting crew joined in, we drank, and we ate and enjoyed each other’s company because we knew that the next morning we would be making the mammoth journey across Lesotho to the Sani Pass.

Special thanks (Ke a leboha) has to go to Glenda, Judy, Gregg, Mtungwa, Steve and the rest of the folks at Matobeng Village for making our stay at Katse one we will remember forever.

www.cookedinafrica.com