Tag Archives: Zane Maqetuka

Siyagyma-SA promotes a healthy lifestyle for all

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syagyma

That’s Zane 2nd from the left.

I first met Zane Maqetuka in March of this year on a tourism weekend to the beautiful Gansbaai area.

He had just come off the Mr South Africa competition a few months before where he placed 3rd, so of course the man is very easy on the eyes. ;)   But not only that I got to know that Zane is an absolute sweetheart and also one helluva passionate guy.  He loves this country and he really wants to make a difference wherever he can.

But why am I telling you all of this?  It’s because Zane is kicking off a national healthy lifestyle promotion campaign in association with the Western Cape Department of Health called Siyagyma-SA.

Siyagyma-SA aims to educate South Africans about healthy living by promoting regular exercise, eating a well balanced diet and adopting a positive attitude to achieving well-being as a whole.  You would certainly not know this by looking at him now, but Zane himself battled with childhood obesity.  He worked really hard to get over it and today he’s determined to show others how to do it as well.  A recent survey showed that a whopping 61% of South Africans are obese.  And with all the health risks that go along with obesity, like type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, coronary artery disease, stokes and more, it’s become so incredibly important to encourage people to get moving & start feeling good about themselves.

The campaign will officially launch tomorrow, 8 Dec at Gugulethu Square in the Gugulethu Mall and everyone is encouraged to head over there to take part in the fun planned for the day.  There’s going to be free health screenings, a 5km celebrity fun walk, some live entertainment and some fitness classes which you can join in on.  So come in your workout gear, ready for action.   

The programme for the day is as follows:

9:00 – 10:00
5km celebrity fun-walk

10:00 – 11:15
Handing over of medals by (Ms Vimla Moodley) DOH Official to the 5km fun walk 30 Participants   

Song by Gift Gwe
Song by Tornado

11:15 – 12:00
Health Screenings in the mall & by the Taxi Rank and Taxi Rank

12:00 – 13:00
Zumba dancing class led by Mr Lucas Mthenjane + Hula Hoop competition

13:10 – 13:30
Tae-bo Class in the mall with kids Led by Ms Andisiwe Silimela

13:30 – 14:00
Media Lunch

If you have any further questions or you can assist the Siyagyma-SA campaign in any way, contact Zane at mandisimaqetuka@gmail.com.

And here’s to a happy healthy living everyone! :)

xxx

Sir Robert Stanford wines & Madre’s Kitchen

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The last stop on our Overberg exploration weekend was Madre’s Kitchen in Stanford.  Madre’s is situated on the Sir Robert Stanford wine estate, so of course it made sense that before we got stuck into lunch, we first did a Sir Robert Stanford wine tasting.  Oh yeah…

The tasting room was honestly one of the prettiest I have seen to date.  Check it out

We got to sample two of their wines.  First their 2010 Sauvignon Blanc which sells for R85 a bottle.  And then their 2009 Shiraz which sells for R180 a botte.

The sauvignon was very easy drinking and I can highly recommend it while we’re still enjoying the last glimpses of summer.  But the real star for me was the shiraz.  I don’t know what’s been going on lately, cause normally I really don’t like shiraz.  But I’ve stumbled upon some really beautiful ones in the last 2 months.  It’s a really nice surprise.

You won’t really find these wines back in Cape Town, but if you email Alta at wines@robertstanfordestate.co.za she can organise to get your wines delivered to you.  Nice & easy.

Now Madre’s Kitchen has the most inviting outdoors dining area.  With vines draped over head…

And duckies & geese playing along side you…

I really can’t think of anything better.  Wait wait… I spoke to soon… freshly baked plaas brood with full fat butter, now that trumps everything. :)

That’s about enough for me… but shame, what about everyone else?

Madre had planned a very special menu for our group and we were treated to a full 3 course spread.   At that point I figured there’s no use fighting it anymore.  I had already stuffed my face with so much food over that weekend, what difference would 3 more courses make? ;)

From left to right: Baked camembert in vine leaves, roast chicken in Hanepoort sauce and then some totally irrisitable chocolate tart with fruits & homemade ice cream.  Yum!

In between meals I also quickly popped into the little decor shop which is also part of Madre’s.  This little place is like a treasure chest of wonderful little goodies:

Make a point to check it out if you’re there…

So this brings us to my final pot belly update for the weekend.  The damage looked a little like this:

At that point I was so full, it felt like the food was actually pushing into my lungs! hehe.  My poor little body just didn’t know what to do with it all anymore…

But hey, a little extra suffering in the gym is a small price to pay for such an amazing weekend away.   I have to say a huge thank you to Nomonde from Cape Town Routes Unlimited (CTRU) for letting me tag along for the ride. And then also to Bjorn Steinbach,Tanya Nefdt, Roxanne Cloete, Clayton Morar and Zane Maqetuka for being such fantastic travel companions.  Mwah!

Hopefully I’ve been able to share a few new things with you guys and that you’re now planning your own little trip out to the Overberg area.  Happy exploring. :)

xxx

Grootbos Forest Lodge

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After a bit of an afternoon snooze (to let the wine, cheese & cured meats from our lunch with Lomond & Farm 215 settle) we headed over to the Forest Lodge for dinner.  The Forest lodge is one the amazing 5 star lodges which can be found on the Grootbos Private Nature Reserve.  The reserve is situated on a mountain slope overlooking Walker Bay and Hermanus and trust me, the views are like none other.

The lodge itself oozes elegance and “living the good life”…

You can tell that no detail was missed and no expense was spared to make sure that staying and eating here is a memorable experience.  We luckily got there just in time to watch the beautiful sunset as well:

By this point we had totally mastered the art of getting a successful group shot.  So here we all are, getting ready for the big 8 course dinner challenge which was awaiting us… lookin’ good, lookin’ strong… and lookin’ hungry!

Zane (Mr SA finalist), Sonja (Hermanus tourism), me (future princess of Monaco… what?! It could happen…), Clayton (journalist), Roxanne (Marketing Manager at Fair Lady), Nomonde (CTRU), Tanya (E News) & Bjorn (actor)

But I also had to get my own piccie with Zane.  I don’t know how this boy only came 3rd in Mr SA, he would have definitely gotten my vote for a win.  We begged him to wear his Mr SA scarf thingy to make sure people would know this was the real deal. ;)

I will admit, I was standing on my tippy toes so I wouldn’t look like a dwarf next to him.  He is seriously tall.

To drink we had some South Hill Cabernet Sauvignon wine from the Elgin Valley.  This was yet another beautifully smooth red which I hadn’t had the opportunity to try before.  Happiness. :)   Then we jumped right into course # 1 – the amuse bouche which was a beef carpaccio with some fancy foamy stuff:

After this hot little number I thought to myself… Hmmm, this is going to be quite a ride… nice.

Course # 2 was grilled linefish with tabouleh salad & red pepper coulis:

Course # 3 was a mushroom cappuccino:

Then we had a sorbet palate cleanser as course # 4. And at this half way point, the troops were still looking strong:

Course # 5 was gnocchi with nutmeg & macadamia nut pesto:

Course # 6 was dukkha spiced lamb loin with olive oil mash & tapenade:

Course # 7 was dessert nr 1… yes, that’s right, we were in for 2 sweet treats!  And the first happened to be a dark chocolate tart… it was like they knew me better than I know myself. ;)

Then course # 8 was I think the star of the show for pretty much everyone at the table: Amarula set brulee:

Oh yeah baby…

Now the end of this 8 course super battle brings me to my pot belly update for day 2:

OK, the waist belts are no longer working at hiding the boep… some serious gym will definitely be required & poeple are starting to think I have a “bun in the oven”.

But hell, why stop there!  We loved the food so much that we actually headed back there the next morning for breakfast. haha.  Check out my fancy pants eggs benedict y’all:

Boom!

So ja, I’d say if you’re in the area and you have a mightly appetite, definitely pop in here.  You won’t regret it, trust me.

xxx

Cave exploring @ De Kelders

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After our forest walk on Sat, we headed over to De Kelders to check out some caves.

Now the original plan was actually to do some shark cage diving (with Gansbaai of course being the hot spot for it).  But sadly the weather didn’t play along and the waves were too high to take us out.  Sure, I was bummed – having packed a nice meaty steak to feed the sharks with and everything.  I even considered having a “sad shark” T-shirt made, like so:

Ag shamepies… I feel your pain dude, you’ve just been given a bad rep… I totally get it.

But after like 5min I was all smiles again, cause they had already lined up plenty of other cool things for us to do.   This cave expedition thing being just one of them.  On the way down to the caves we stopped to have a look at what they call “wild dagga”… apparently you can smoke it, but it’s totally legal… hmmm… interesting:

Leonotis leonurus – also knows as Lion’s Tail or Wild Dagga.  Native to SA and Southern Africa.  Known for it’s medicinal & mild psychoactive properties. Thanks Wikipedia!  I’m sure Billy (our guide) told us all of this as well, but I am really poor at paying attention for extended periods of time… I think he lost me at “dagga”…

The De Kelders shoreline is absolutely incredible.  I mean just check out the perfection in this photo:

Absolutely zero post editing on this shot, I promise.

We got to check out the Drip Cave (named after the dripping water inside).  We were actually very lucky to go inside because it’s not open to the public.  Ooooh aren’t we fancy. ;)   I was concerned mainly about 3 things:

  1. I’m pretty night blind.  So I don’t do well in dark spaces.  Luckily we were each given a little LED flashlight. Sweet.
  2. I’m claustrophobic, so didn’t want to have to climb through any tiny holes or anything.  Luckily they assured us that this would not be the case.  Sweet again.
  3. I’m not a huge fan of bats.  I have this massive fear that they’re going to fly into my fair and get all knotted up in there.  But apparently that’s a total myth…  hmmm, wasn’t 100% sold on that one.

Upon entering I made sure I was walking behind the tallest person there (sorry Zane) cause I figured if the bats were going to attack, they’d get him first and then I’d have time to make a quick exit.  Hey, don’t judge me… it’s survival of the fittest out in the bush! PLUS Zane doesn’t have looooong hair to worry about like me. ;)

Luckily though the bats were quite chilled and I actually felt quite at ease.  It was probably mostly because it’s so calm and pretty in there.  Lemme show you:

Bjorn chillin’ in front of some crystal clear water…. ah bliss…

Colourful rocks… stalactites & stalagmites… (OK, I had to Google those terms – I used “pointy thingies in caves” as my search term.  It was surprisingly successful.)

Back outside, Billy showed us how to make a vuvuzela out of some dried out kelp.  Zane was the first one to give it a bash… he gave it all he could as you can see in this pic:

You can do it Zane!

Other peeps decided to do some serious chillin’ on the rocks…

Tanya, Lunga (our awesome driver) and Clayton… workin’ it…

We did a bit of a walk and some minor rock climbing to get to the other side of the little cliff area we were in.  From here we could see plenty more caves which one could explore:

I see… I see…

Sadly we were on a bit of a tight schedule.  So we had to get movin’.  But at least now I know where they are – if I ever get back to that area, I’m going to check them out for sure.  I mean people used to live there, like way way way back when.  They have found bone tools, stone artefacts and even human remains in these caves… I find stuff like that very interesting.

Oh also good to know, this is apparently a great spot for whale watching from Sep to Nov.  Just one more awesome reason to take a trip out there. :)

We’re only about a third through day 2 of the Gansbaai weekend now…  much more to come.

xxx

Gansbaai adventure – The kick off

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This past weekend I was a seriously lucky girl – I got to tag along for an action packed weekend to Gansbaai and it’s surrounding areas (also known as the Overberg – just FYI) thanks to the lovely people at Cape Town Routes Unlimited (CTRU) – the marketing organisation for Cape Town & the Western Cape.

How did this come about?  Well Bjorn met them at an event a while back and thanks to his charismatic charm, they thought of him when putting together this weekend which was aimed at introducing people to all the amazing places to check out and things to do, without having to travel very far.  Of course me being the bestest, awesomest, most fun girlfriend in the world, I couldn’t exactly be left behind. ;)

Other fabulous folks who came along for the ride were Tanya Nefdt from E News, Fairlady’s Marketing manager Roxanne Cloete, journo and celebrity blogger Clayton Morar and hunky Zane Maqetuka who just came 3rd in Mr SA.

During the 2 1/2 hour drive from Cape Town the gang got some time to get to know each other.  Actually looking back, I think that only took about 5min after which we all felt comfortable enough to let our inner craziness hang out. hehe.  Love it.  I could tell at that point that this was going to be one hell of a weekend.

Our first port of call was a little restaurant called B Blondes in Gansbaai.   It’s a very cute little spot with a bit of a brasserie feel with lots of dark wood furniture and a really nice old school bar.

We immediately jumped into “happy snapping” mode – all in attendance clearly loving the camera. :)

Zane & Tanya workin’ it

Me with “laugh a minute” Clayton & Roxanne

We even attempted a BIG group shot.  But as you can see, it was quite hard to get all the different strong-willed personalities to all focus at the same time.

From left to right: Glenda from Gansbaai tourism, Nomonde from CTRU, Zane, Tanya, Clayton, Roxanne, me & Bjorn

Now let’s get down to the serious stuff… the food.  Bjorn was the only one smart enough to go for a starter.  I love how small towns don’t do any skimping on servings, here even a starter is a whopper of a meal.  Check out this beef carpaccio:

This is on a big plate people… we all had serious food envy… but I was lucky enough to get a bite and it was delish.

For mains people went for a wide variety of hearty “comfort food” options:

From left to right: Grilled baby chicken, ribs and calamari & hake combo.

More chatting, laughing & wine drinking followed.  We got so brave that at one point we even considered doing some karaoke at a local pub.  Ideas after a few bottles of wine are NEVER good ones.  They seem to be absolutely brilliant at the time, but don’t fool yourselves, they aren’t. :)   Luckily some sanity prevailed and we decided to rather settle in at our accommodation as the next day promised to be jam-packed.

Then this part is just to brag, but once we had checked in at our accommodation (which I’ll tell you about in my next post) we decided to play some darts.   Seems I’m pretty damn impressive with wine pumping through my veins cause I busted out a bullseye.  Here is the proof:

BOOM! And nooooo, I did not simply place the dart there. I was way too sozzled to think of something that clever. ha!

After that moment of pure awesomeness, I decided to quit while I was ahead and my head hit the pillow… hard.

Now this was a weekend which included a lot of eating.  Therefore I decided to leave my normal eating  / no eating obsessions at home (just this once) and totally overindulge.  I will be showing you a very scientific depiction of how my pot belly progressed over the weekend.  Here are the results after day 1:

Things are still OK at this point… it’s still totally manageable with a bit of extra time in the gym…

More to come on day 2 & 3.

xxx

Oh PS:  You can follow Cape Town Routes Unlimited on Twitter here.   And while you’re at it, you can follow me too! HERE.  (Shameless punt for myself there as well.  Cause hat’s just how I roll…)