Latest / Wander the World with Pippa Hudson / Travel and Tourism: Explore Grootbos on a fynbos safari

Transcript

Travel and Tourism: Explore Grootbos on a fynbos safari · Wander the World with Pippa Hudson

• 0:00
  Pippa Hudson: Time to talk travel and a huge pleasure to welcome
• 0:02
  Pippa Hudson: back to studio today travel writer Alison Fote, whose blog
• 0:05
  Pippa Hudson: Cape Town Diva is just brimming with lifestyle content and
• 0:08
  Pippa Hudson: inspiration for your next trip. Today that we want to
• 0:11
  Pippa Hudson: keep things relatively close to home because Alison has just
• 0:14
  Pippa Hudson: returned from an experience of a fain Boss safari at
• 0:17
  Pippa Hudson: the crut Boss Private Nature Reserve and Alison, you and
• 0:20
  Pippa Hudson: I were just chatting off air saying it's right there.
• 0:22
  Pippa Hudson: It's two hours away from Cape Town, and yet so
• 0:24
  Pippa Hudson: many of us have no idea of this absolute treasure
• 0:27
  Pippa Hudson: that's almost on our doorstep.
• 0:29
  Allison Foat: It is for me, her Boss is like it feels
• 0:32
  Allison Foat: like a small country, and I had no idea.
• 0:33
  Allison Foat: There was so much on offer.
• 0:35
  Allison Foat: I mean, aside from being the most glorious accommodation getaway staycation,
• 0:40
  Allison Foat: it is laden with all things fain bossome forest as
• 0:43
  Allison Foat: I like to call it, because it's a truly immersive
• 0:45
  Allison Foat: experience from the start to finish. As you said, fain
• 0:48
  Allison Foat: Boss trails, coastal walks, I mean, beach exploration, cave walks,
• 0:55
  Allison Foat: and it's just next level. I had no idea, right
• 0:58
  Allison Foat: down to their conservation and their community involvement. It really
• 1:02
  Allison Foat: was something that without signing teazy blew me away. It
• 1:05
  Allison Foat: was extraordinary, from top to toe, fully grounding. You know,
• 1:09
  Allison Foat: they want to do everything to connect you with nature,
• 1:11
  Allison Foat: and there are winning in this. I mean, I came
• 1:13
  Allison Foat: back three days, three nights, completer rejuvenation. I feel, I feel,
• 1:17
  Allison Foat: I felt renewed, and a whole new perspective of what
• 1:20
  Allison Foat: as you say, what's right on our doorstep. Two a
• 1:22
  Allison Foat: half hours drive Kant's Bay area.
• 1:25
  Allison Foat: It was an eye opener.
• 1:27
  Pippa Hudson: So just to place it, as you've just said for
• 1:29
  Pippa Hudson: those who don't know geographically, Cred Bosses just behind Decaldas
• 1:32
  Pippa Hudson: hunts By stretching to the coastline back into these beautiful
• 1:36
  Pippa Hudson: ancient milkwood forests, amazing fain Boss. And I think one
• 1:39
  Pippa Hudson: of the things we'll talk about is the ability to
• 1:41
  Pippa Hudson: go horse riding through the Fain Boss when you're there.
• 1:44
  Pippa Hudson: But layers upon layers of experiences and so many I
• 1:47
  Pippa Hudson: don't know where to start, Allison.
• 1:49
  Pippa Hudson: Maybe let's start with.
• 1:52
  Pippa Hudson: The environment itself, as you've just referenced, lots of different
• 1:56
  Pippa Hudson: ways to immerse yourself, to rejuvenate in nature.
• 2:00
  Pippa Hudson: Start with forest bathing.
• 2:01
  Pippa Hudson: I mean, the milkwood forests are among the most famous
• 2:03
  Pippa Hudson: parts of this landscape. What was the forest bathing experience like?
• 2:07
  Allison Foat: It was extraordinary.
• 2:08
  Allison Foat: I'm very much a nature junkie, so for me this
• 2:11
  Allison Foat: was a prize experience. And a guy called Grant Heine
• 2:14
  Allison Foat: actually takes you through. He's an ecotherapist, he caused himself,
• 2:18
  Allison Foat: and he leads you early morning, so you can imagine
• 2:21
  Allison Foat: how atmospheric it is. You're walking through these very twisted,
• 2:24
  Allison Foat: gnarled trees, clearly so evidently.
• 2:27
  Allison Foat: Ancient moss covered.
• 2:29
  Allison Foat: I mean, he just talks you very gently through it,
• 2:32
  Allison Foat: and he likes you to be very It's a quiet time.
• 2:36
  Allison Foat: Your phone is in your pocket, there's no need to
• 2:38
  Allison Foat: take a video. You can just be in the moment
• 2:41
  Allison Foat: and he just you walk in with respect and it's
• 2:45
  Allison Foat: very meditative. So he was a forest bathing must have
• 2:48
  Allison Foat: bring Muslim suit, new No, it's all about just walking
• 2:52
  Allison Foat: in and being in this gorgeous, really old established milkwood
• 2:57
  Allison Foat: forest that is there for us to joy and engage
• 3:01
  Allison Foat: with the elements. And he has a moment where he
• 3:04
  Allison Foat: let you take your shoes off and you stand on
• 3:06
  Allison Foat: this sort of soft multi ground, you touch a tree,
• 3:10
  Allison Foat: all the sort of things that you kind of think please,
• 3:12
  Allison Foat: but you just are all in when he takes you,
• 3:16
  Allison Foat: and he's very calming and soothing. You know, he follows
• 3:19
  Allison Foat: that whole ethos of you know, get in tune with
• 3:22
  Allison Foat: your environment. And they've got this pristine wilderness, two thousand
• 3:26
  Allison Foat: year old forest and it is very life changing.
• 3:30
  Allison Foat: It is a must.
• 3:31
  Pippa Hudson: I've had the experience in Newland's forest and there is
• 3:34
  Pippa Hudson: something of a sort of a depth of stillness in
• 3:36
  Pippa Hudson: that experience which is very, very hard to find in
• 3:39
  Pippa Hudson: the modern lifestyle. That was for me what I took away. Okay,
• 3:42
  Pippa Hudson: so forest bathing in the ancient Milkwood forest. The Faint
• 3:46
  Pippa Hudson: Boss Safari itself. I mean, Kate's just written in to
• 3:48
  Pippa Hudson: say we did a fain Bos Safari at Root Boss
• 3:50
  Pippa Hudson: last year. Our guide Darren was so knowledgeable. It was
• 3:53
  Pippa Hudson: a fantastic experience. What does a Faint Boss Safari involve?
• 3:56
  Allison Foat: Well, I mean you go on a game vehicle and
• 3:59
  Allison Foat: you get taken on this long drive. It's about an
• 4:02
  Allison Foat: hour up to an hour and a half depending on
• 4:04
  Allison Foat: how you feel about it. But they unpack all the
• 4:07
  Allison Foat: different species. I mean there's something like nine hundred and
• 4:09
  Allison Foat: seven plant species in this ecodiverse system, which is absolutely
• 4:16
  Allison Foat: gorgeous and right now, of course this time a year,
• 4:18
  Allison Foat: everything's starting to pop. So all the proteins that are
• 4:20
  Allison Foat: showing their colors, and you know, they talk you through it,
• 4:24
  Allison Foat: and they stop and you can look at the different plants.
• 4:26
  Allison Foat: I mean, the guid will even.
• 4:27
  Allison Foat: Show you how when a bee alights or an ant
• 4:30
  Allison Foat: alights on a certain blossom, how this whole thing starts
• 4:35
  Allison Foat: to open in different ways. And you get to see
• 4:37
  Allison Foat: this up close. You really do get to see the
• 4:39
  Allison Foat: minute that you would miss normally. So you trund along
• 4:43
  Allison Foat: in your vein and you stop and he goes look
• 4:44
  Allison Foat: at this, look at that, and explains about the way
• 4:47
  Allison Foat: the fire works in terms of regenerating what's under the soil,
• 4:52
  Allison Foat: and you know everything. It's just it's a UNESCO protected area.
• 4:57
  Allison Foat: It's a reserve that just keeps on giving the gift
• 5:00
  Allison Foat: that keeps on giving out. I mean, that is essently
• 5:02
  Allison Foat: what it is. It's a plant safari, something quite different.
• 5:05
  Allison Foat: And you can see it on horseback as well, so
• 5:07
  Allison Foat: that's a different vantage point. Yeah, So you have all
• 5:09
  Allison Foat: these perspectives where you can get out of the game
• 5:12
  Allison Foat: vehicle and you can walk around and you can touch things,
• 5:15
  Allison Foat: so there's this sort of textural, tactile experience that again
• 5:19
  Allison Foat: just resonates and does touch you really deeply. It's really
• 5:23
  Allison Foat: something utterly rejuvenating and so different, and.
• 5:26
  Allison Foat: I just loved it.
• 5:27
  Pippa Hudson: Alison Fote with me and Studio talking about the experience
• 5:30
  Pippa Hudson: of hurt Boss private Nature Reserve only about two to
• 5:32
  Pippa Hudson: two and a half hours drive from Capeton in the
• 5:35
  Pippa Hudson: sort of rand Spidercaldis area, and all of those things
• 5:38
  Pippa Hudson: you've just mentioned being exposed to on the Fantboss Safari
• 5:41
  Pippa Hudson: in such close contact, Alison, all of those are reflected
• 5:44
  Pippa Hudson: in another very different way at Hurt Boss, which was
• 5:47
  Pippa Hudson: my first touch point with the reserve, and that was
• 5:49
  Pippa Hudson: the concept of the Fluorolegium, this incredible work of botanical art.
• 5:55
  Pippa Hudson: But it's much much more than that. If I was
• 5:57
  Pippa Hudson: trying to explain it to some of the other day
• 5:59
  Pippa Hudson: and they said, well, what is that, and I said,
• 6:00
  Pippa Hudson: it's a collection of paintings of the flowers that you
• 6:04
  Pippa Hudson: will find there, and of the creatures, as you said,
• 6:06
  Pippa Hudson: the way they interact with them. But that doesn't even
• 6:09
  Pippa Hudson: begin to explain how beautiful this thing is and how
• 6:12
  Pippa Hudson: many years of work by how many dozens of artists
• 6:14
  Pippa Hudson: went into it. Why'd you tell us more and try
• 6:17
  Pippa Hudson: to do it better than I can.
• 6:18
  Pippa Hudson: Well, that's excellent what you said. To build on that.
• 6:21
  Allison Foat: I mean, so the Flora leadium right to look up
• 6:23
  Allison Foat: at the word I won't lie. It's Latin for the
• 6:25
  Allison Foat: gathering of plants and flowers. And as you say, they've
• 6:28
  Allison Foat: put together this extraordinary collection which is the permanent home
• 6:32
  Allison Foat: of the Hunary when hold Botanical Art gallery. So there's
• 6:36
  Allison Foat: this extraordinary collection of these paintings and sort of sculptures
• 6:41
  Allison Foat: or wood sculptures and all different things that speak to
• 6:44
  Allison Foat: the botanical environment that is sound at fruit posts and
• 6:48
  Allison Foat: the surrounds. And what I loved is when you walk
• 6:50
  Allison Foat: in there first, it's a very very big gallery. There's
• 6:52
  Allison Foat: a lot on display. They give you a magnifying glass.
• 6:56
  Allison Foat: You can go up to the paintings and you actually
• 6:59
  Allison Foat: can see.
• 7:00
  Allison Foat: The detail is ridiculous. I couldn't believe it.
• 7:03
  Allison Foat: That's why I actually they'll stay on the website that
• 7:06
  Allison Foat: this is open to the public. But be aware that
• 7:08
  Allison Foat: the children that I invited should be about age twelve
• 7:11
  Allison Foat: so you could actually.
• 7:12
  Allison Foat: Be tall enough to see the paintings. So I actually
• 7:15
  Allison Foat: I was like, gosh, that's something to clock for sure. Okay,
• 7:18
  Allison Foat: so you know, you really go up and it takes
• 7:21
  Allison Foat: a while.
• 7:21
  Allison Foat: You don't really this is something you can't rush. It
• 7:24
  Allison Foat: is by bit you go past all these incredible works
• 7:28
  Allison Foat: by somebody you mentioned as well South African artists and
• 7:31
  Allison Foat: a collection of international painters. So I just couldn't believe
• 7:35
  Allison Foat: the extraordinary detail. It's like everything is so finely done
• 7:42
  Allison Foat: and with such intention, and you just weave your way
• 7:45
  Allison Foat: through this gorgeous space and then end up in a
• 7:48
  Allison Foat: little gift shop where you can take things away that
• 7:50
  Allison Foat: have perhaps been transferred onto little gift bags and purses
• 7:53
  Allison Foat: and cars.
• 7:54
  Pippa Hudson: But I met one of the painters, Mags Deavilliers, a
• 7:57
  Pippa Hudson: year or so ago, and she gave me a card
• 8:00
  Pippa Hudson: rendition of one of the and one of the flowers
• 8:04
  Pippa Hudson: that she'd paid it for the floral legium. And what
• 8:05
  Pippa Hudson: you said about the microscope magnifying glass really resonates with me,
• 8:09
  Pippa Hudson: because every time I looked at it, I saw something
• 8:12
  Pippa Hudson: an additional level of detail and layer of right down
• 8:15
  Pippa Hudson: to feeling like I could see and almost feel the
• 8:18
  Pippa Hudson: sort of furry tentacles and the stem of the flower
• 8:20
  Pippa Hudson: I was looking at it was painted with such exquisite
• 8:22
  Pippa Hudson: detail that at first glance something that was beautiful became
• 8:28
  Pippa Hudson: so much deeper than that. So let's just so somebody's
• 8:32
  Pippa Hudson: pointed out how gorgeous whor it was is, but so
• 8:34
  Pippa Hudson: unaffordable for the average person. As the garment, Allison, It's
• 8:38
  Pippa Hudson: not an inexpensive place to stay if you want to
• 8:40
  Pippa Hudson: stay overnight and have the full immersive experience with the
• 8:43
  Pippa Hudson: meals included in the activities, et cetera, although there is
• 8:46
  Pippa Hudson: a special on which you'll mention at the moment. But
• 8:48
  Pippa Hudson: is it possible to go just as a day visitor
• 8:50
  Pippa Hudson: if you just want to go and explore the floral
• 8:52
  Pippa Hudson: legion for example.
• 8:54
  Allison Foat: Yes, that is the only way you can go to
• 8:55
  Allison Foat: a core boss is through the Fire Religion Tour.
• 8:58
  Allison Foat: There's two different tour options. I believe it's on their website.
• 9:01
  Allison Foat: Okay, So I think that if you do it, there
• 9:04
  Allison Foat: are certain things included. You can either have some kind
• 9:07
  Allison Foat: of snack that's involved, or I think you can go
• 9:10
  Allison Foat: to the lodge and book a lunch, but it must
• 9:12
  Allison Foat: be pre arranged so by appointment only.
• 9:16
  Allison Foat: You can't just rock up there and say hi, you know,
• 9:18
  Allison Foat: I'd love to just do the art gallery.
• 9:20
  Allison Foat: It must be done through the protocols, which is through
• 9:22
  Allison Foat: the website booking the way they sort of lead you
• 9:25
  Allison Foat: through on that platform.
• 9:27
  Pippa Hudson: Okay. And by the way, there is a sort of
• 9:29
  Pippa Hudson: a secret season for South African residents up until the
• 9:32
  Pippa Hudson: end of August, So if you are interested in having
• 9:35
  Pippa Hudson: the fully immersive experience of staying over the dining, their activities, etc.
• 9:41
  Pippa Hudson: There is a special on through the winter months, even
• 9:43
  Pippa Hudson: with the special price. I know it's not an inexperience,
• 9:46
  Pippa Hudson: inexpensive experience, but it is a once in a lifetime
• 9:50
  Pippa Hudson: experience of a very very special place. Now, Allison, you
• 9:53
  Pippa Hudson: mentioned several times the community involvement and the community work,
• 9:56
  Pippa Hudson: and I don't want us to miss the opportunity to
• 9:59
  Pippa Hudson: just elaborate a little bit, because this isn't just about
• 10:02
  Pippa Hudson: creating a beautiful place that people can come and visit
• 10:04
  Pippa Hudson: Talis with more.
• 10:05
  Allison Foat: Yeah, So, their upliftment and sustainably sustainability ETHOLS is obviously
• 10:10
  Allison Foat: very strong.
• 10:10
  Allison Foat: And they've got all sorts of things.
• 10:12
  Allison Foat: A fruit Boss Foundation has been active for several years.
• 10:14
  Allison Foat: I mean, the founder of herd Boss has just been
• 10:18
  Allison Foat: so pivotal in getting all these projects off the ground.
• 10:22
  Allison Foat: Michael Lutz, So.
• 10:24
  Allison Foat: You'd have got the Green Futures College, which is vocational
• 10:27
  Allison Foat: training and horticulture and ecotourism. Be there's a football foundation,
• 10:32
  Allison Foat: and so of course sport and education is such a
• 10:33
  Allison Foat: great entry point into teaching children about conservations. Everything is
• 10:37
  Allison Foat: linked obviously to this messaging, this narrative constantly. And then
• 10:41
  Allison Foat: as Cicco, I think you say SIKA Cooler Project, which
• 10:45
  Allison Foat: is supporting sustainable livelihoods to things like food gardens and beekeeping,
• 10:48
  Allison Foat: which is also fantastic. Of course bees love this whole
• 10:52
  Allison Foat: fables environment, you can imagine, so, and they've got beehives,
• 10:56
  Allison Foat: they're producing honey. And then of course when you're dining
• 10:58
  Allison Foat: there that the food is on point, wine is spectacular.
• 11:01
  Allison Foat: Everything even there points to what is available and what
• 11:05
  Allison Foat: he's sourced right there on their doorsteps.
• 11:07
  Allison Foat: So they've got these.
• 11:07
  Allison Foat: Tremendous food gardens and it's like this incredible circle of life,
• 11:12
  Allison Foat: right down to having a spa in forest pot.
• 11:15
  Allison Foat: I mean that right there is something extraordinary too.
• 11:18
  Allison Foat: So the weaving and the intent is really remarkable. I
• 11:24
  Allison Foat: find great kudos to this team. Sean is the GM
• 11:28
  Allison Foat: and he's so astute at not only making sure that
• 11:32
  Allison Foat: everything follows the past set by the owners, but that
• 11:34
  Allison Foat: all the stuff kind of bounce into the different sectors
• 11:39
  Allison Foat: of Kurt Boss. So you might find somebody taking a
• 11:41
  Allison Foat: coffee break in the food gardens, somebody that's a therapist
• 11:46
  Allison Foat: has got nothing to do with a cuisine aspect, So
• 11:48
  Allison Foat: everybody kind of taps into all elements of the court
• 11:52
  Allison Foat: Boss reserve. In terms of the staff and the management,
• 11:54
  Allison Foat: I thought it was quite interesting. So they can speak
• 11:56
  Allison Foat: to all of it, you know, in conversation. It reody
• 11:59
  Allison Foat: knows about everything. Instead of things they're just the cuisine
• 12:02
  Allison Foat: staff or the cuisine team, but actually they can speak
• 12:05
  Allison Foat: to you about the Florio legium if you ask them,
• 12:07
  Allison Foat: which I thought was a very nifty kind of management approach.
• 12:11
  Allison Foat: It shows that everybody's involved and tapped in. Okay, super useful.
• 12:15
  Pippa Hudson: So nine hundred and fifty round per person per night
• 12:18
  Pippa Hudson: sharing for South African residents. That's the special rate for
• 12:21
  Pippa Hudson: winter and it includes, as Alison has mentioned, amazing food
• 12:25
  Pippa Hudson: and wine and some incredible experiences as well, and that
• 12:29
  Pippa Hudson: is for South African residents through Secret season May to August.
• 12:33
  Pippa Hudson: The website if you want to read up more and
• 12:36
  Pippa Hudson: find out more about this incredible space. Is crutboss dot com.
• 12:41
  Pippa Hudson: Another listener who's written and who's had this experience. Lucky you,
• 12:43
  Pippa Hudson: Jane saying, a group of friends and I did the
• 12:46
  Pippa Hudson: Faint Boss hiking trail over four to five days, and
• 12:49
  Pippa Hudson: we were guided by a man called Billy who told
• 12:51
  Pippa Hudson: us all about the plants, the history, et cetera. It
• 12:54
  Pippa Hudson: was a truly magical experience, says Jane. Thank you so
• 12:58
  Pippa Hudson: much for that feedback. Road Bass dot com is your
• 13:01
  Pippa Hudson: landing point for the website for all information or if
• 13:03
  Pippa Hudson: you'd like to initiate a booking. The other place I
• 13:06
  Pippa Hudson: want to send you to is Allison's Instagram page because
• 13:08
  Pippa Hudson: you've shared lots of photos of your recent trip.
• 13:10
  Allison Foat: Yeah, so if there's a highlight icon that says court Boss.
• 13:13
  Allison Foat: Because to be honest, my blog is a little behind
• 13:15
  Allison Foat: at the moment, so I didn't manage to land pictures there.
• 13:18
  Allison Foat: But there's a whole lot of video and great photos
• 13:20
  Allison Foat: to give you that sense of what it feels like.
• 13:23
  Allison Foat: You know, you can just a little deep dive into
• 13:25
  Allison Foat: the court Boss experience that I personally went through.
• 13:28
  Pippa Hudson: Okay, and that's on Instagram? Is it also at Cape
• 13:30
  Pippa Hudson: Tan Diva.
• 13:30
  Pippa Hudson: Or Allison vote either one will pop up.
• 13:32
  Pippa Hudson: Okay, Alison, thanks so much always for keeping us abreast
• 13:35
  Pippa Hudson: of these amazing opportunities right on our doorstep.
• 13:38
  Pippa Hudson: Lovely to see you looking.
• 13:39
  Pippa Hudson: All zen like and recharged from the experience, and thanks
• 13:43
  Pippa Hudson: for popping in to share it with us.
• 13:44
  Allison Foat: Thank you so much,