WandaLUST » Travel Writing

Silencing the vuvuzela one plug at a time

editor — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 18:07:21 +0000

Blow them? Ban them? Love them? Loath them? On and off the field and across the world the hammering drone of the vuvuzela is raising more intense emotions — and a greater range of them — than when ones favorite team gets knocked out of the FIFA 2010 World Cup. Now Durban interior designer Liesl Heath is doing something about it. Since last week she has been taking the guts out of the vuvuzela’s discordance and turning it into a whisper with her cleverly branded ‘Shu-Shu Zela’ earplugs. The idea for the earplugs ...

Woza eNanda heritage site hails South African heroes

editor — Thu, 20 May 2010 21:45:41 +0000

Experiencing the political change of South Africa rates as the second preference of most foreign visitors after a visit to a game park. Until recently, there was a lack of tourism facilities in KwaZulu-Natal with a strong liberation theme. By Wanda Hennig

The heart of Inanda, the sprawling township that is part of the greater Durban municipality, known as eThekweni (Zulu for “where the earth and the ocean meet”), is called Freedom Valley for good reason. It is a fountainhead of South Africa’s rich liberation history; a source of legendary — and contemporary — people, places and events that have shaped and continue to shape the “new” South Africa.

Let Football Nights plan your World Cup South Africa travel

editor — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 23:17:02 +0000

Are you going to South Africa for the 2010 world cup soccer tournament. If not, why not? The good news is, if you haven’t made your travel plans, it’s not too late. If you’re not sure where to start, help is at hand. By Wanda Hennig South Africa right now is a great big fabulous party waiting to happen. No, I’m not blind to some of the more controversial news stories of the past weeks. But for heavens sake, look at the news from the rest of the world (including the United ...

RSA-USA and Invictus beyond the Oscars

editor — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 23:59:21 +0000

What South Africa, Clint Eastward’s movie and Morgan Freeman’s Mandela moment can teach the USA. Ten reasons to see the Oscar-nominated film (with Freeman nominated for Best Actor and Matt Damon for Best Supporting Actor).

By Wanda Hennig

Invictus is the story of the 1995 Rugby World Cup, hosted and won by South Africa. The movie is a tribute to Nelson Mandela’s vision and leadership — and a lot more. Go see it and be inspired. Perhaps it will give you new thoughts and insights on Washington politics and the US health care debate. The Top 10 list starts with rugby

Berlin celebrates currywurst. So what about poutine and bunny chow?

editor — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 02:28:28 +0000

I thought I knew all about Germany food, sausages included. Bratwurst, bockwurst and leberwurst were on my family’s snack menu from when I was a child. And I discovered the joys of weisswurst while on a extended stay in Munich some years ago. But please excuse my gross culinary ignorance. I had never heard of currywurst until last week when I learned that a Deutsches Currywurst Museum opened in Berlin last year, near Checkpoint Charlie. I also learned that the fast-food urban snack has a cult following and countless fans. In ...

Zen and The Art of Vegetarian Cooking

editor — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 01:54:45 +0000

Greens Restaurant in San Francisco has an outstanding reputation for fine produce and creative food.

Story by Wanda Hennig This story was first published in Food Illustrated magazine, London, with photography by Richard Jung

A visit to Greens in San Francisco is a celebration of the senses. Dip your spoon into a bowl of butternut squash soup and delight in the delicate harmony of lightly caramelized onions and apple confit blended with a hint of calvados. Feast your eyes on a salad that marries fresh ripe figs with Kodata, Mission and Calmyra olives, melon, watercress and creamy goat’s cheese. Inhale and delight ...

Every year is Year of the Tiger at South Africa’s Tiger Canyons

editor — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 19:23:57 +0000

Acclaimed wildlife author and photographer Daryl Balfour was in the tiger’s den at South Africa’s famed JV Tiger Canyons five hours after tiger Julie gave birth to her five cubs, including a white cub.

Story by Daryl Balfour Guest Contributor Photos by Daryl and Sharna Balfour

I spent two hours in a tiger’s den this week, watching her nurse five hours-old newborn cubs — including the first white cub born in the wild in more than 50 years.

Tembe has Africa’s biggest tusker and web-spinning spider plus tiny suni

editor — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 03:03:11 +0000

Isilo could be the world's largest elephant; the suni is one of Africa’s smallest antelope; and scientists thought until recently that nephila komaci — the female spider has a leg-span of five inches — was extinct.

By guest Africa correspondent Graham Linscott Photos by Wayne Matthews

TEMBE Elephant Park, a wilderness in the remote north-east of the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal, offers visitors the opportunity to step back 200 years into unspoiled pre-colonial Africa.

It also offers the opportunity to spot southern Africa’s largest tusker, a giant bull elephant named Isilo who is about 65 years old ...

Sex, Social Media and New Zealand (3): Blogs & Vlogs

editor — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 23:02:07 +0000

San Francisco Culinary Travel Examiner: Blog and Vlog post links 1 – 8 8. Rotorua menu blends Maori hangi, haka, Swoop and Zorb. Eat, play, love, New Zealand (With video and slideshow) 7. Xtremely hot Maori lunch cooked in lizard cauldron (2). Video. Eat, play, love, New Zealand (With video) 6. Xtremely hot Maori lunch cooked in lizard cauldron (1). Slideshow. Eat, play, love, New Zealand (With slideshow) 5. Tiger Moth flights to freedom and romance woo lovers. Eat, play, love, New Zealand (With slideshow) 4. Matchmaking Flight: Who went? Why? Having a ball. Eat, play, love, New Zealand (With ...

Sex, Social Media and New Zealand (2): How to write a travel blog

editor — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:26:35 +0000

Ten tips to publishing online (versus writing for a print publication). My first journalism job was on The Daily News in Durban, South Africa and — wait for it — we used typewriters. We’d layer four short sheets of paper — long enough to type maybe three paragraphs, at a pinch — separated by three sheets of carbon paper, and roll them into the machine. God alone knows what the parts of the typewriter were called and by my second newspaper job (on the Sunday Tribune, also in Durban), basic computers were ...