Overture Restaurant's Stunning Site - an idyllic spot for a summer lunch

We finally made it last night to Bertus Basson‘s famed Overture Restaurant at the Hidden Valley Winery. The setting is stunning but sadly, it was virtually dark when we arrived for dinner at 7pm – well it was April and another good reason to visit again.

Without the view to compete, our striking first impression was the staff – they were all highly personable, knowledgeable, attentive, warm and friendly with a sense of humour. This is always a major asset and sets guests at ease from the outset.

The menu is set out over 4 courses with 2 to 3 choices per course. Each course comes with a suggested wine pairing while each course is priced with and without the wine pairing. This allows for a la carte dining. However, dinner is also sold as a 4 course or a 5 course Chef’s Menu at R350/490 and R410/R540 (with and without wine pairings). One can even go a step further with a 8 course tasting menu at R600 or R770 with wine pairings.

We opted for the 4 course Chef’s menu starting with seared scallops wrapped in pancetta with sweet corn and cauliflower. It was a really beautiful and very well executed dish served on a slate square. It was matched with a glass of Painted Wolf Lekanyane, a chenin, viognier and verdelho blend. Despite having a screw cap closure, it was disappointingly off but this was replaced by the very well informed and pleasant sommelier, Thembi, from a new bottle. This was a lovely wine and complimented the dish very well.

Our second course was a tomato panzarotti with tapenade, courgette and parmesan cream. The paired Lands End Sauvignon 2011 blew me away. From Elim over at Cape Agulhas, this intensely cool climate sauvignon was stony and full of minerality with grapefruit flavours coming from underneath. One could almost taste the salt from the sea breezes.

For our third course course, we both chose a grilled pork loin – unusual for me as I rarely eat pork. This worked really well with the roast parsnip, pomme puree, gremolata and carrot with which it was served as it did with the accompanying Hidden Valley Secrets 2008, a blend of Syrah, Tannat and Mourvedre – a big, rich, spicy blend.

After a lovely fresh pre-desert (can’t remember exact details), Séamus chose the Apricot and brandy souffle with vanilla ice-cream which was absolutely perfect and to die for. The accompanying Neweland Muscat de Frontignan 2009 was less successful. My choice of “Apple Tart” with orange ice-cream, red wine poached apple and cashew nuts was also disappointing though the accompanying Fleur du Cap Noble Late Harvest 2010 (mostly chenin with a touch of semillon and muscat) was very good on its own.

I would have to single out Thembi, the sommelier. He was so pleasant and gracious as well as being extremely knowledgeable thanks to being a student of the Cape Wine Academy. He is responsible for the food and wine pairings which he does very well and also the short but very carefully chosen wine list, some of which are also on our own guest wine list at Pembroke 403, our Cape Town 5 star apartment.

Bertus Basson, Chef-Patron

So there are now three reasons why we will have to go back to Overture

• go at a time to enjoy the view, perhaps lunch
• Savour Bertus Basson’s creative cooking again
• to share and enjoy Thembi’s great wine passion and knowledge

Staying at the Waterfront Marina Cape Town has to be most perfect base for a Cape Town holiday. Being only 500m from the network of motorways north, east and south, one can visit the Winelands, the Cape peninsula, the West Coast, Elgin or Hermanus in an easy day trip. Given that the Cape has 9 of South Africa’s Eat-Out Top 10 Restaurants which are all very accessible from the V&A Waterfront Marina, it makes Pembroke 403 the perfect base for a Gourmet Cape Town Break.

When only the best will do, look no further than Pembroke 403 for your Cape Town Gourmet Break

Cape Town Harbour under Magical Table Mountain

We just love to walk when we are at Pembroke 403, our wonderful Cape Town luxury vacation base and it is a particular pleasure to be able to head off and walk without ever having to get into the cars. We have loads of favourite walks which I will share with you in due course.

For the moment, the article below covers some great ideas for walks.

For the most amazing place to stay in Cape Town, look no further than Pembroke 403

Posted on March 19, 2012 by Bridget McNulty

As the weather fiiinally starts cooling down from the ferociously hot summer days Cape Town has had this year (there was a solid week of 35 to 40 degrees Centigrade that was quite hard to deal with), it’s time to think about exercise again… You know, that thing you should be doing all the time, but can’t think about when the weather is so sweltering?

One of my favourite things about the Cape Town City Bowl is how accessible it is, not only to the fantastic shops and cafés in and around the city, not only to the Labia cinema and the National Art Gallery, but to beautiful morning-or-afternoon walks that don’t require a car to get you to the starting point.

My favourite has to be around the Molteno Reservoir in Upper Orange Street. The reservoir changes its mood as the weather changes, and can either be still and serene, beautifully reflecting the image of Table Mountain in its unruffled water, or choppy and excitable, with the wind whipping the palm trees into a frenzy. There’s plenty of space to walk or jog or run around the reservoir, and early in the morning or after work you’ll notice a steady gang of people running a tread into the tar.

What I love about this particular spot is that it offers a stunning view out over the city (particularly stunning as dusk falls and the lights start flickering on in all the buildings) while also being surrounded by grass, and trees. There’s something very soothing about staring into the water of the reservoir, and the friendly family of ducks ensure there’s always something to look at! There’s also a sense of community to those who exercise around the reservoir: you’ll often see the same faces day after day, and it’s obvious that everyone lives within walking (or jogging) distance.

My other favourite is Company Gardens, just down the road from the Reservoir, and also in the Gardens area. Company Gardens is essentially a large public garden with a long paved path down the middle of it. You can walk straight up and down the path (often hung with Chinese lanterns or fairy lights), or you can veer to the left or right and walk around the National Art Gallery, the Natural History Museum or – my particular favourite – the rose garden, always in some degree of blossoming. There’s also a small aviary and a tea garden, which I have yet to explore (I try not to snack when I’m on an exercise mission!)

Company Gardens leads into Adderley Street, one of the busiest streets in the city, so it’s a good idea not to walk with handbags or obvious expensive jewellery, and not to walk alone at dusk or in the evening. I’d say this is probably a rule of thumb for every city’s public gardens, but just in case!

Other than that, lace up your walking shoes and come and join me for a dose of nature right in the heart of the city.

Now that my South Africa trip has just come to an end, I’m realizing that the biggest lesson I have learnt, one that I was not even remotely aware of, is the fact Cape Town is a heavy-weight design city.

Via luxurytravelbeat.com

LONG ROUTE: My all time favourite holiday was a road-trip from Cape Town up the west coast all the way to Swakopmund in Namibia – Tyrone Keogh Interview

Actor Tyrone Keogh

Hunky Cape Town actor Tyrone Keogh is known for his role in the M-Net TV soapie, The Wild. He has also landed roles in Hollywood films such as Goodbye Bafana and Blood Diamond. When he is not in front of the camera he is always up for a road trip. He shares some his travel history.

How widely have you travelled?

I actually haven’t done too much overseas travelling. My parents were in the habit of leaving me at home when they went off around the world. I’ve been to south-east Asia, South America, Europe and quite a few places around Africa. I’ve done a lot of domestic travel and I’m always up for a road trip.

Where was your favourite holiday or time spent abroad?

Cape Town to Swakopmund Namibia Trip

My all-time favourite holiday was a road-trip from Cape Town up the west coast all the way to Swakopmund in Namibia. There were eight of us in a combi without air-con in the height of a blisteringly hot summer. Everything that could go wrong, went wrong, and it made for an unforgettable holiday. I’ll take that over luxury any day.

Your worst experience on a holiday?

Getting robbed of all my spending money in a hostel in Argentina – no fun.

Your funniest experience?

Although at the time it was more frustrating than humorous, my funniest experience also happened on the Namibia trip. We’d shredded about four tyres in one day on a particularly bad stretch of road. We’d exhausted our puncture repair kit and finished most of our supplies. I had resigned myself to a life of solitude in the desert while we waited for help. Somehow we managed to roll into a one-horse dorpie late on a Sunday afternoon and in the local bar we found the only two combi tyres in the town – and possibly the country – and made our way back over the border, never looking back.

What do you avoid on trips?

I avoid the tourist traps. When I travel I want to try and experience the real place.

Your favourite restaurant and food during your travels?

Mombasa Lunch Houses - look at the colours!

The best food I’ve had on my travels has got to be from some of the local lunch houses and canteens in Mombasa. Everything is perfectly spiced, cheap and so tasty. Best enjoyed with a very cold beverage – in my case water.

Your favourite place for sundowners?

Watching the sunset from the restaurant on the rooftop of Emerson & Green in Stone Town, Zanzibar, has got to be experienced. Add a fiddler to the mix and you might just have the ultimate romantic setting, though I have to say my favourite place on earth is a lot closer to home. Give me sundowners in Pringle Bay any day.

As a seasoned traveller can you share some tips?

Triple-check that you’ve got your passport, double-check your flight times and look both ways when crossing the street. – Weekend Argus

Via www.iol.co.za

Ball Tower at Cape Town Waterfront

I recently did a historical walking tour of the V&A Waterfront, organised by the Chavonne Battery Museum.

If, like me, you didn’t take a lot of notice of the Waterfront until it reinvented itself as a tourist destination, you might get something of a surprise should you go on this most edifying and entertaining tour.

We’ve all been to the V&A more than once, and there are a myriad attractions other than the shops, such as the pubs and restaurants, coffee shops, the Two Oceans Aquarium, a boat trip or two and the occasional visit to the cinema. I have always rather enjoyed the hustle and bustle of the place, the boats heading in and out of the harbour, the swing bridges, seals, and the occasional luxury liner providing something to look at.

But how much do you really know about the Waterfront and the harbour? You might find, as I did, that there is an awful lot about the place you didn’t know or had never noticed. This is a little tricky, because should you decide to take this tour I don’t wish to steal our guide Willem Steenkamp’s thunder and give away all the hidden secrets and treasures

It is fascinating to know that Cape Town very nearly never got a harbour in the first place and East London was vying for the honour of being the primary revictualling post for ships plying lucrative trade routes to the Orient. The marketing coup of using royalty – Victoria’s son Prince Alfred – to lay the first stones of the breakwater became a tipping point in Cape Town’s favour. It is in fact this little gem of information that explains the naming of the V&A, something still misunderstood by many.

The Breakwater Prison 

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During the 90-minute wander. it was revealed that one of Cape Town’s top hotels started life as little more than a warehouse, that the dry dock is still served by a simple caisson construction which works very much like a cork in a bottle, and that in the past the dry dock was flooded and used for, of all things, swimming galas.

Overlooking the harbour is, of course, the Noon Day Gun, an institution in Cape Town – but which is more important, the smoke or the noise? What do you do if you can’t see the gun? And when you get down to it, is it trying to assist with issues of longitude or latitude? All of this and more was revealed during our relaxed walk.

We further discovered that there is a large Victorian tunnel running under the ground within the waterfront, that the harbour master’s office has been moved and raised over time as the port has become larger and its outer limits further from shore, and that the original office still houses an antiquated contraption to measure the tides. Much of this you will have walked past dozens of times without ever noticing; perhaps that is one of the greatest joys of the tour.

We visited the Breakwater Prison, where even today you can see gloriously detailed images scratched in the stones of the walls by those incarcerated, and we saw one of very few treadmills still in existence. The treadmill was a punishment device not unlike those infernal stepping machines at the gym, just a whole lot more evil-looking and without the advantages of lycra-clad women and permanent DStv to take your mind off the pain.

Our guide was a mine of information and told us numerous secrets of the Waterfront which you more than likely have seen or noticed. Plus we were entertained with a running history of how the place developed from a lowly breakwater serving sailing ships and postal vessels to a modern-day tourist attraction.

Under Steenkamp’s educated guidance the history and underlying structure of the place was revealed. It was a fascinating tour and not demanding in the same way as a hike up a mountain.

The tours usually run from 11am and are arranged by the Chavonne Battery Museum, which can be reached on 021 416 6230. Tickets are R50, and children between 10 and 18 are R20. You need to book 24 hours in advance as the walk takes place on demand only. But if you would enjoy learning a little more about the Mother City and its harbour, the stroll is recommended. – Sunday Argus

 

Touches of Class in Classy Cape Town

The Alphen Boutique Hotel in Creative Cape Town, South Africa opened its doors last year after an extensive revamp. Not your typical 5-star hotel, a modern and playful twist has been added to the decor and design whilst …

Via www.sadecor.co.za

For the most glamourous place to stay in Cape Town, look no further than Pembroke 403

Cape Town from the air - Table Mountain, Ocean, City & Stadium

CapeTown highlights, a weekend visit is possible!

Reading this makes we want to go back  right now…

THE PLACE

Stunning scenery on Cape Peninsula

It’s no secret, however, that South Africa hasn’t always been one big ‘Kumbaya’-singing celebration of diversity – and still isn’t. Having put apartheid officially to rest only 20 years ago, vestiges of a pained and recent past remain, a triple-lane footbridge (a path each for blacks, whites and coloureds), for example, and the tellingly bare District Six. Learn of struggle and triumph at the District Six Museum or Robben Island prison, where anti-apartheid activists were marooned as political captives and where Nelson Mandela spent 18 of his 27-year imprisonment. Those also interested in the issues of the here and now would benefit from a visit to outlying townships with a local tour guide, where you’ll meet the (usually smiling) faces of today.

Don’t forget, though, that much of Cape Town’s allure is outside the city, tied up in the majesty of nature. A day trip out to Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope are absolutely mandatory, accompanied by a return route along scenic Chapman’s Peak Drive.

Allot a bit of time for stopping off along the way to picnic or take pictures of a landscape so unreal, it’s like hanging out in a colour-enhanced digital photo.

THE PAD

Magical sunset on the 12 Apostles

Strewn along the coastline and set apart from the city centre by the shoulders of Table Mountain and Lion’s head is Camps Bay,  Cape Town’s ‘Upper East Side’. The locals, tan and swathed in beach couture, sip champagne in panoramic bars, float in and out of boutiques and peer from floor-to-ceiling windows in hillside homes overlooking the sea. A short bike ride outbound from this scene is the Twelve Apostles Hotel & Spa, where every room has a view. Dwarfed by the Twelve Apostles mountain range, gazing across the rock-studded Atlantic and featuring its own exotic garden, not to mention solitary but within easy reach of the city, this is a hotel with bragging rights – almost a holiday on its own. When they’re not seeing Cape Town’s sights, guests can watch a movie in the 16-seat cinema, visit the sumptuous spa with flotation pool, hike the private trails, swim in one of two pools, even take a helicopter to the V&A Waterfront for shopping. Be sure to make dinner reservations at their Azure restaurant, where two parallel menus let diners mix and match between dressed-up regional comfort foods and the head chef’s epicurean inventions. We recommend the peppery springbok tenderloin from the chef’s menu, and for dessert, don’t dismiss the rice pudding – it more than breaks its humble mold.

THE FOOD

La Columbe

Tucked into Constantia, another of the city’s affluent suburbs – and one of its oldest – that trades sand and waves for vines and wine, the Constantia Uitsig estate is a slice of Provence at the tip of Africa. Gazing across the lawns to rows of sun-dappled grapevines at the foot of sparsely treed mountains, it’s hard not to imagine a wedding taking place there, at that moment. And it’s in this swoon-worthy scene, at the La Colombe restaurant, that one of Cape Town’s most sought after prandial experiences awaits.

Take a seat outside by the bubbling fountain or inside near the show kitchen and let your charismatic waiter tailor the meal to you. The reading of the night’s a al carte selections is an exercise in ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’, however the real deal is their Gourmand Tasting Menu with optional wine pairings. The lineup is apt to change occasionally, but when we were there it was an eight-course trip around the world, with a complex fusion of flavours inspired by France, Italy, Japan, Catalonia and, of course, South Africa. The usual suspects like foie gras and truffles conspire with supple indigenous springbok to lull you into an indulgent daze, while expertly matched wines (paired according to weight, not colour) add depth to the meal like a cello in a string quartet. Dessert was a smoked chocolate torte and a troupe of edible accessories with notes of cognac, coffee and hazelnut, as well as a tobacco caramel sauce we’ve haven’t stopped thinking about since.

THE DRINK

One & Only Hotel Bar in Cape Town

You’ll find South Africa, despite being a patchwork of cultures, possesses a fiery sense of self – one that existed even before the 2010 FIFA games had citizens tooting their vuvuzelas in unison, and one that’s embodied most conspicuously in the country’s distinctive culinary offerings. At the One & Only Cape Town hotel’s Vista Bar, drink to the nation’s many facets with signature beverages tweaked with local flavours, both highbrow and homegrown. Each familiar cocktail, from the cosmo to the margarita, is offered in three versions: past, present and future. ‘Past’ being the cocktail as you know it, ‘present’ a more experimental version with a Capetonian spin, and ‘future’ the drink fully evolved into its molecular potential with flourishes like Campari candy floss, smoked tequila or a Cointreau fireball. A dash of forward-thinking local flavour comes through in Cape spice-infused brandy, rooibos syrup or South African biltong, a dried meat that’s something of a point of national pride. We were intrigued and delighted by the Bed of Rosé, a signature concoction of South African rosé wine, rose liqueur and cranberry juice, tickled with berry- and petal-infused vodka.

THE LOOK

Cape Town Designs by Mungo & Jemima

It might not be Paris or Milan, but Cape Town is no dunce when it comes to style. The city has its own fashion council that mobilises a task force of purebred South African visionaries, many of whom have set up headquarters on Long Street. The nucleus of the city’s dining, drinking and dancing culture by night, Long Street is a veritable catwalk during the day where vintage styles hog the limelight. Walk the walk in duds by Capetonian David West, whose designs – heralded in and outside of South Africa – are a tribute to the 1950s aesthetic, begging for a pair of metallic flats to bring them seamlessly into the 21st century. Accessorise with handpicked jewellery and handbags from Mungo & Jemima or throw on a Cape Town-made Love Water Love swimsuit from MeMeMe, both boutiques that also sell their own in-house designs along with curated creations from South Africa’s fashion week luminaries. When hunger strikes, feed yourself and your inner hipster at Loading Bay, a couple blocks over in the De Waterkant district. This café-retail hybrid carries the latest sustainable looks from international designers and the best french fries (er, chips) we’ve ever had.

THE ADVENTURE

 

White Lion Cubs born at Sanbona

‘Sanbona’ is a Khoisan word meaning ‘what the Bushmen saw’ – an appropriate moniker for a place that feels like it hasn’t been touched for millenia. Encompassing more than 200 square miles of untamed land about three hours from Cape Town, Sanbona Private Wildlife Reserve is first and foremost a conservation effort, focused on protecting endangered animals and reintroducing once-indigenous flora and fauna that have become extinct in the area. Its other purpose: providing an exclusive and enlightening retreat for the fortunate few travellers who venture there. On twice-daily game drives, guests can get up close and personal with all manner of fascinating creatures, including the Big Five (lion, African elephant, cape buffalo, leopard and rhino). They can track cheetah on foot, stare into the eyes of rare white lions or marvel at ancient bushmen cave drawings, all in the company of a safari guide whose reservoir of knowledge nears encyclopedic portions.

Providing the ideal foil to dusty days in the wild are the accommodations, taking the form of three intimate, ultra-luxe ‘camps’ spread across the reserve. There’s the stately colonial class of Tilney Manor and family-friendly amenities at Gondwana Lodge, but the Dwyka Tented Lodge, with its nine well-spaced tents sheltered by a massive red rock bluff, has our highest seal of approval. During the hottest part of the day, when the critters are doing little more than lazing about in the shade, you can take a page from their book and lounge around your private deck and plunge pool. Surrounded by such serenity and attended by considerate staff, it’s easy to slip into a holiday-induced stupor and flout the 5am wake-up call for your game drive, but resist the temptation. You’ll want to see and soak up as much of this spiritual place as possible before returning to the real world.

Via www.centurion-magazine.com

Barbara Tyrrell, author & artist celebrates 100yrs

IT’S artist and author Barbara Tyrrell’s birthday today. She turns 100. To mark the occasion an exhibition, Iqholo le Afrika — A Centenary Celebration of the Life and Work of Barbara Tyrrell, opens at the Iziko South African National Gallery in Cape Town this evening.

The exhibition catalogue dubs Tyrrell an “artist-recorder”, reflecting the fact that over several decades Tyrrell travelled southern Africa, sketching and painting indigenous peoples in their traditional dress.

According to the catalogue: “If one realises that her original field sketches are perhaps the only reference to actual persons who once lived and went about their lives at a certain time and place, then one can appreciate her work as a national historical heritage of great value.”

For most of her life, Tyrrell lived in KwaZulu-Natal and much of her work is held by the Campbell Collections in Durban, but as Tyrrell now lives in Cape Town, it was decided to hold the celebratory exhibition there.

Tyrrell was born in Durban in 1912. Her father, Harcourt Tyrrell, an assistant magistrate who later became Zulu interpreter in the Department of Native Affairs, insisted his children learn to speak Zulu.

Tyrrell’s earliest memory is of a ceremonial Zulu dance her father organised for the visit to Eshowe of Sir Henry Rider Haggard, author of King Solomon’s Mines, in 1914. “I remember him talking to my father, and I thought ‘what’s an author?’,” Tyrrell said while speaking to The Witness last week.

“Through my father, we had a lot to do with the Zulus,” she said. “If there was a dance or any entertainment, the whole family would go along and I became interested through that.”

In a previous interview with The Witness, Tyrrell credited that 1914 dance as setting her on course for her life’s work, as the sight of the dancers with their swirling beads, plumes, switches and shields fired her imagination. In her autobiography, Her African Quest, ­Tyrrell recalled that day long ago: “High-stepping, stamping, chanting, girls of the front ranks in high-pitched song, shining bodies in beads only; deeper song from men at the back with shields and tall plumes. Old women scuttling along the line of girls, between them and the audience, mopping the girlish brows, cleansing the air with whirling switches … Ululating, that strange and exciting sound. Ropes of beadwork tossing wildly around brown bodies, and ostrich feathers against blue sky.”

Tyrrell was educated at Eshowe Girls’ School and when, after her father’s early death, the family moved to Richmond, she attended Pietermaritzburg Girls’ High School. In the school library, she came across Alfred Duggan-Cronin’s landmark photographic record The Bantu Tribes of South Africa, which woke her to the fact that apart from decorative appeal, tribal dress was also invested with symbolism. “The dress shows status and tribe, as well as personal feelings,” she said. “Everything has meaning.”

During the thirties, Tyrrell studied fine arts at the then University of Natal, and subsequently became a lecturer in fashion design at the Port Elizabeth Technical College. Her first commissioned artworks were fashion sketches for newspapers. She later tried her hand at journalism and occupational therapy.

Around 1935, in Richmond, Tyrrell befriended a young Bhaca, Banukile Mbanjwa, who, at the age of 15, became Tyrrell’s first model. “She was an inspiration,” says Tyrrell. “We were great friends. Banukile was interested in my drawings, and would tell me about the dress and the customs. She educated me.”

It was from Richmond in 1944, that Tyrrell set out on what would become her first field trip — this one was to the Drakensberg — in a 1934 Chevrolet truck she had adapted into a mobile home dubbed “Nixie” — named for a free-wheeling spirit.

Over the years, Tyrrell made countless field trips, sketching and painting the indigenous peoples of southern Africa, including the North-Nguni comprising the Zulu, Cele and Bhaca of KwaZulu-Natal, the Swazi of Swaziland and their related Drakensberg-located Ngwane, the South or Cape-Nguni of the Eastern Cape, inclusive of the Mfengu/Fingo, Xhosa, Xesibe and Mpondo; Nguni-Sotho mixed cultures like the Ndebele and Ntwane from Mpumalanga and Limpopo; the Nguni-Tsonga mixed Shangaan from Limpopo; the Sotho cultures of the interior of South Africa, including the south Sotho or Basuto from Lesotho, the Bathlokwa from Nqutu in Kwa-Zulu Natal and the North Sotho, Pedi or Sekukuni from Mpumalanga. She also ventured into Namibia and Zimbabwe.

In a 1997 Witness interview, Tyrrell was asked what it was like for a woman travelling alone, and well off the beaten track. “It was easy for a woman,” she replied. “It would have been harder for a man. The women I met took me as a friend — I was more or less protected. The women hold the knowledge of custom and dress, and they confided in me.”

Another confidant was Killie Campbell, the famous collector of Africana, who commissioned and purchased much of Tyrrell’s work. The Campbell Collections, now part of the University of KwaZulu-Natal, holds over a 1 000 of Tyrrell’s works, of which the Cape Town exhibition features a selection of over 150 items.

During her travels, Tyrrell met and married Adrian “Pete” Jurgens, an engineer who happily matched his lifestyle to hers, redesigning Nixie, and turning professional film-maker and photographer. The couple were based in Richmond, and Tyrrell frequently exhibited her work at galleries in Pietermaritzburg.

Tyrrell’s first book, Tribal People of Southern Africa, was published in 1968, featuring 96 colour plates and 76 line drawings. This was followed in 1972 by Suspicion is My Name, which combined a biography of her friend Mbanjwa with illustrations depicting the various female age-grades of the Bhaca. In 1983, Tyrrell co-authored with her son Peter, African Heritage, and in 1996 published Her African Quest, an autobiography.

Tyrrell received an honorary doctorate from the University of Natal in 1965. She was awarded the Order of the Ikhamanga Silver (OIS) by State President Kgalema Motlanthe in 2008.

Birthdays are traditionally a time for gifts. But on Tyrrell’s 100th, as the exhibition catalogue acknowledges, it is she who is the giver, having given “our nation a priceless gift, the gift of perceiving its own; its many peoples’ great dignity, affirming their cultural identity and beauty, which true to African thinking, is both physical and spiritual”.

• Iqholo le Afrika — A Centenary Celebration of the Life and Work of Barbara Tyrrell. An exhibition from the Campbell Collections of the University of KwaZulu-Natal, runs from today to July 8 at the Iziko South African National Gallery in Cape Town.

For the most stylish place to stay in Cape Town, look no further than Pembroke 403