Situated on the shores of the mighty Orange River, Orania has been highly criticised for isolating itself from the rest of a democratic South African nation, especially after many Afrikaners flocked to the town after the elections of 1994. Its secluded and controversial nature has kept many away; however, the town seems to be attracting ever-more tourists. The town’s residents, who considers themselves the preservers of the Afrikaner culture, are now hoping to draw even more curious visitors.

Today, Orania is flourishing and is open to receiving people from all walks of life, and of course with true Afrikaner gasvryheid. All they ask is for people to respect their beliefs, the town and its people. According to the town’s website, www.orania.co.za, tourism is currently their fastest growing sector. People now seem to be taking a keen interest in the Oranian way of life. With so little known about the town, it has been difficult for outsiders to fathom what day-to-day life is like here. Can you visit on a whim or do you need to have some kind of agreement with the town’s officials? The truth is that anyone can visit the town, despite rumours that you have to know one of the residents in order to be accepted to stay overnight.

Another important question for tourists relates to how money works in Orania. You see, the town has it own unique currency. Orania’s currency (even though this tiny ‘country’ is technically part of South Africa) is called the ‘ora’. It has the same value as the rand, which is widely accepted in Orania, yet locals encourage tourists to use the ora in their shops. Tourists can easily exchange rands for ora at Orania’s local bank. Unfortunately, the bank only accepts rands and no other foreign currencies.

Where to stay and what to do

It’s quite amazing that a town with only just more than 1 000 residents offers overnight and holiday accommodation for more than 300 people. Facilities for tourists include campsites, chalets, holiday homes, guesthouses, self-catering facilities and a luxurious hotel. The luxurious, four-star Oewer Hotel (www.oraniahotel.co.za) is certainly the way to go if you like to unwind in style. It offers a restaurant, DSTV, air conditioning and breakfast at R700 per night for two people.

After you’ve made some anthropological observations around town, try to visit Orania’s most famous landmark, the Koeksister monument. Situated in front of the local public swimming pool in the centre of town, this monument is so named for resemblance to the traditional Afrikaner, woven, syrupy treat – the koeksister.

Then, If you’re a history buff, either go for a jaw-dropping detour to the 4 000-year-old cave drawings found only in this area, take a guided tour of the town and its museums with the friendly folk at the information centre, or visit the Anglo-Boer War battlefields and concentration camps found nearby.

For those inclined more active pursuits, Orania is one of a perfect spot for water sports. The Orange River offers kayaking, swimming, fishing and rafting, and, since this area is so remote, you’ll never have to fight over boat lanes.

Lastly, an unexpected treat offered is the Oewer Spa. Situated next to the lovely hotel, the spa provides a range of fantastic modern treatments. So, while sitting on the deck, swooning over the breathtaking Orange River and its surrounding, you’ll find yourself drifting far away from the buzz of the city. So feel free to pop round to Orania any time if you happen to find yourself in this part of the Karoo, in need of a true getaway.

Sale starts midnight tonight and closes 23:59 on 18 May. Remember it’s for travel in May only.

Fares:

• Between Lanseria and Cape Town, in either  direction: R 745 including taxes
• Between Johannesburg and Durban, in either  direction: R 575 including taxes
• Between Johannesburg and Bloemfontein, in either direction: R 575 including taxes
• Between Johannesburg and Cape Town, in either  direction: R 745 including taxes
• Between Bloemfontein and Cape Town, in either  direction: R 745 including taxes
• Selected flights between Cape Town and Durban,  in either direction: R 745 including taxes

Mango Plus Fares (including flexibility, 10kg extra check in luggage, Premier Lounge Access, a refreshment voucher and more)

• Between Lanseria and Cape Town, in either direction: R 929 weekdays and R 1060 weekends, including taxes
• Between Johannesburg and Cape Town, in either direction: R 929 weekdays and R 1060 weekends, including taxes
• Between Bloemfontein and Cape Town, in either direction: R 929 weekdays and R 1060 weekends, including taxes
• Between Johannesburg and Durban, in either direction: R 745 weekdays and R 849 weekends, including taxes
• Between Johannesburg and Bloemfontein, in either direction: R 745 weekdays and R 849 weekends, including taxes
• Selected flights between Cape Town and Durban, in either direction: R 929 weekdays and R 1060 on weekends,  including taxes

Terms and Conditions

• Limited seats available on selected flights on a first come, first served basis.
• No group bookings available on promotional fares.
• Refunds on promotional fares must be requested      in writing to guestcare@flymango.com
• Subject to Mango’s Terms and Conditions
• Excludes Special events (Fridays and return      Sunday ) and other peak flights.

‘Paddle, paddle, paddle!’ comes the call from behind. Easy for him to say – hi s job is navigation and bar duty. I’m providing almost all the muscle, while he has immediate access to an ice- and beer-filled cooler box stowed between his legs. That’s all we need, really: a two-man Mohawk; one paddle apiece; and enough of the good stuff to stay hydrated under the searing African sun.

FAR FROM THE MADDENING CROWD
We’re on the Orange River, South Africa’s longest stretch of water, covering some 2 200km between Lesotho’s Maluti Mountains and Alexander Bay, where it spills into the Atlantic on the diamond-yielding Northern Cape coast. It’s here, in a stark, dry-weather region of rock-strewn emptiness and ancient volcanic debris, that the river forms a natural border with Namibia, carving its way through forbidding mountain desert.

My editor asked for tales of wild, nail-biting adventure. She wants to hear panic-stricken screams peal off the page; have you mainlining adrenaline with accounts of merciless rapids and vengeful rocks ripping our canoes asunder.
I hate to disappoint, but instead I find Nirvana. There are plenty of thrills and (for others) spills, and lots of fast-water action, but the journey is more meditation than waterborne rodeo. You experience serenity, not menace. Stripped of the trappings of contemporary life – no cellphones or internet – the most significant connections are the peaceful ones made with nature. Out here, a million miles from nowhere, ‘getting away from it all’ isn’t cliché but reality. And the ancient topography lends itself to escape. A sense of freedom. And adventure.

The adventure has already kicked off with the long, astonishing drive from Cape Town; it’s some 770km to the Namibian border, almost directly north, often along an arrow-straight highway. Assorted lonely towns drift by as we witness the emerald landscape of the Cape’s agricultural belt transform into another world, a semi-arid zone that’s beautifully empty.

We arrive at Provenance, base camp of river-trip specialists, Felix Unite. They have a mix of thatch-capped cabanas and camping sites, with a pool, restaurant, and bar, on a vast terraced property at the edge of the river, just a few miles beyond the border.

A simple briefing – clear enough that even the most canoe-phobic of us will get the hang of things – and then we’re off. We stow our luggage, now downsized and shoved into watertight plastic buckets that magically help balance the canoe; cooler box stocked and sunscreen slavered over every inch of exposed flesh, we feel decidedly self-sufficient.

NATURE’S VIOLENT HANDIWORK
Although the river received its modern name in 1777, in honour of Prince William of the Royal Dutch House of Orange, it was known to the San much earlier as the eGariep, and the Voortrekkers called it the Grootrivier (‘Big River’). Links with Dutch royalty aside, it seems in any case more believable to imagine the name refers to the orange-ochre sheen of the folded mountains hugging its banks. At sunset, especially, the reddish glint is unmistakable.

Our escapade involves bewildering visuals. Millions of years ago, craggy peaks thrust their way up through the earth. Everywhere, the results of brutal eruptions, ancient floods, mudslides and earthquakes have left unusual and beautiful patterns in rock. We drift past gigantic mounds – King Kong, The Witches Hat – that look as if they were shaped by human hands, bearing uncanny resemblance to the things after which they’ve been named.

For much of the trip we’re gliding silently, melancholically over gently flowing water, the only sound that of paddles dipping into the water, fish jumping out of it, and the occasional chunky goliath heron launching its considerable bulk into the air. Then, a bend in the river, and a flat, untouched patch of beach, or a seasonal island peeking almost imperceptibly above the shallower waters.

Or – with the promise of excitement I’ve come for – the dull rumble of fast-moving water.

WHIPLASH AND THE COCKTAIL POSITION
To my editor’s chagrin, the rapids along this stretch aren’t particularly furious – most range between grade 2 and 3. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t challenges, and when the water is high (February and March being a prime season), fast-water channels like the Roller Coaster can get canoes airborne. When water is low, however, there are more exposed rocks, making navigation tricky. This we discover as other canoes in our group are repeatedly capsized. Our guides know the river intimately and, before each potentially scary stretch, brief us on the route for getting through unscathed. Only thing is, our guides can’t do the steering for us, so there are inevitable foul ups, and always at least one canoe that goes over.

When we hit the rapids, my job is to paddle relentlessly, leaving my back-seat driver to steer us through without incident. The most potent stretch is the aptly named Sjambok. It’s not particularly fierce, but, like the nasty whip for which it’s named, it comes out of nowhere and strikes with surprising force. The canoe immediately ahead of us capsizes instantly and within split seconds I realize that we’re just metres from taking off the head of one of its capsized paddlers. Despite the opportunity to impress my editor, I paddle at triple speed to alter our trajectory. ‘Right, right, right!’ I scream to my navigation system, mercifully finding my paddling barman is already correcting our course. We miss our friend’s head by mere inches.

Just two canoes survive Sjambok without tipping. One is damaged when it clunks into a rock, so while it’s being repaired, we take time out to perform legendary ‘nappy’ runs through the rapids – wearing our life-jackets like adult diapers, we leap into the white waters, assume the ‘cocktail position,’ and float effortlessly downstream.

BACK TO BASICS
Each day, we paddle between 12 and 25 kilometres, generally settling on a campsite around midday. By lunchtime the sun’s too potent to do much more than laze. After working our shoulders and deepening our tans, afternoons are spent like horizontal Robinson Crusoes, hoping to escape the heat in the shade of a tree, or cooling our engines by floating in the water. There’s an immense rough, rugged wilderness to investigate and we climb the rock-strewn hills and mountains for incredible views back over river we’ve been navigating.

There’s something charming about returning to basics – the simplicity of grabbing a spade (named ‘Doug’) in lieu of flushing toilets, and making do with the barest essentials. You soon realize that it’s impossible to pack too lightly for this trip – a sarong and sunscreen at times feel like all you need. Even the tents seem too civilised, and the best nights are spent curled up in sleeping bags near the campfire.

This is old school camping that organically transforms into a casual drumming circle, our guides entertaining us with unrehearsed rhythms, and demonstrating the alchemist properties of fluorspar, a stone that glows turquoise and then explodes when tossed on the fire.

With all the sun, fresh air and exhilaration, you sleep deep in this wilderness, perhaps hypnotised by the star-spangled sky, with no light pollution or electrical hum to break the spell. Beyond the crackle of fire, only the distant sound of a jackal penetrates my dreams.

MAD MAX AND THE HALF-HUMANS
Dawn is impatient out here, the rapidly rising sun stirring us from slumber sometime before six. The mercury rises rapidly, too, meaning it’s best to get onto the water early.
At some imperceptible point in our journey, we cross into the Richtersveld National Park, a reserve managed together with the Nama people. The idea is to protect an area of beautiful desolation. Amidst the rugged rocky peaks grow tall aloes, gnarled quiver trees, and the mythically-named ‘half-mens’ (half-human), which the Nama revere as an embodiment of their ancestors, believed to be half-human, half-plant. Away from the river, water is scarce, and comes largely in the form of an early-morning fog known as Malmokkies which rolls in from the ocean. Look closely enough, and you’ll discover all kinds of unimaginable succulents, fat-leaf plants that survive the harsh conditions by storing up any available moisture.

Our final camp is close to a small abandoned diamond mine, looking now like a scene out of Mad Max – a fierce reminder of the respect man owes Nature. As one of our river guides tells me, ‘What you learn out here is that Nature is in charge. If she doesn’t like you or doesn’t want you here, she’ll get spit you out one way or another.’ Here, at Rudi’s Mine, there’s vivid evidence of Nature grown tired of the grumbling machines, and evicting the humans who operated them. And it looks like the mining crew left in a hurry.

NIRVANA
Our three-and-a-half-day journey takes us to a final take-out point at Aussenkehr, a settlement attached to one of the world’s largest table grape farms, sprawling for miles along the river. Grapes grown here are on the shelves in Europe a month before their season starts.

We’re shuttled back to Provenance in a bus named Bertie, travelling through more desolate wilderness dotted with Martian hills, convincingly volcano-like.

Back at base camp, it’s an afternoon of lolling by the pool, contemplating the return to civilization. It’s all well and good having access to the trappings of modernity – connected to the Net, phone signal restored, and hot water to wash away the remnants of river sand, bush, and pure air – but I can’t help but long for the restorative freedom of time spent on the water. My river safari has been an urban-antidote, pulling life into perspective; instead of perilous adventure, I found my bliss.

OPTIONAL BOX: TRIP DETAILS

Felix Unite (www.felixunite.com), the country’s best-established river guiding outfit, offers several different canoe trip options. The stretch of border-river between Noordoewer and Aussenkehr, 70-odd kilometres west, is where most commercial Orange River trips take place; be warned that, in peak periods (school holidays and end-of-year celebrations), it can get unexpectedly busy – surprising, considering the effort it takes to get here. Besides the three-and-a-half day experience I’ve described, there are longer trips that continue a little farther west.

Felix provides all the hands-on manpower and river equipment for the trip; you start and end at their well kitted out lodge-style river’s edge camp, where you can avail of either camping grounds or smart air-conditioned cabanas, the best of which hover above the water. You can either bring your own tent, or rent one for the duration of the trip, but do bring a sleeping bag. Since the Orange is best experienced in summer (the desert gets icy in winter), you don’t need much clothing, although it can get unexpectedly chilly at night. Bring a hat, sunscreen, sarong, T-shirt, costume, and shoes that you can wear in the river.

I highly recommend exploring the rock-strewn mountains that border the river – for this, bring a pair of trail or hiking shoes. Provenance has a shop selling refreshments and other necessities that you might have forgotten; there’s also a bar, a large pool, and a restaurant. But don’t forget your passport, because although the river is officially in South Africa, the trip starts and ends just across the Namibian border.

Sale starts midnight tonight and closes 23:59 on 16 May. Remember it’s for travel in May only.

Fares:

• Between Lanseria and Cape Town, in either direction: R 745 including taxes
• Between Johannesburg and Durban, in either direction: R 575 including taxes
• Between Johannesburg and Bloemfontein, in either direction: R 575 including taxes
• Between Johannesburg and Cape Town, in either direction: R 745 including taxes
• Between Bloemfontein and Cape Town, in either direction: R 745 including taxes

Mango Plus Fares (including flexibility, 10kg extra check in luggage, Premier Lounge Access, a refreshment voucher and more)

• Between Lanseria and Cape Town, in either direction: R 929 weekdays and R 1060 weekends, including taxes
• Between Johannesburg and Cape Town, in either direction: R 929 weekdays and R 1060 weekends, including taxes
•  Between Bloemfontein and Cape Town, in either direction: R 929 weekdays and R 1060 weekends, including taxes
• Between Johannesburg and Durban, in either direction: R 745 weekdays and R 849 weekends, including taxes
• Between Johannesburg and Bloemfontein, in either direction: R 745 weekdays and R 849 weekends, including taxes

Terms and Conditions

• Limited seats available on selected flights on a first come, first served basis.
• No group bookings available on promotional fares.
• Refunds on promotional fares must be requested in writing to guestcare@flymango.com
• Subject to Mango’s Terms and Conditions
• Excludes Special events (Fridays and return Sunday ) and other peak flights.

It’s sad the going to the theatre is for many not a dress-up affair anymore. Gone are the days when only your best suit and tie, your best evening gown, a great pair of heels, a clutch bag and a stole over the shoulders was almost de rigueur. Now, anything goes – the argument being that it makes the theatre less snobbish, more inclusive and invites more people to enter what was once perceived to be the domain of the too rich, too Eurocentric, too exclusive, too many things…

However, the theatre has indeed become more diverse in patronage and productions. The road is still long, because vested interests are still fiercely protected even while new and diverse home-grown productions are kicking down the doors once closed to the majority of South Africans. The fact remains that theatres need bums on seats in order to survive; they need to attract new, younger audiences while holding on to existing ones. And they have to compete with the ever-evolving social media and people’s diminishing attention spans.

While it is true that theatres face tough challenges to get people to attend shows, art, music and food festivals are experiencing boom times. More plays are being written and performed for these festivals, more actors are making stage debuts, more people are getting the chance to see these plays and stage companies are cottoning on to the idea that this is a way of taking theatre to the people. The debate is on as to whether people actually go to see the productions that scriptwriters, actors and producers work so hard on or simply to be part of the incredible vibe that takes over a town when the festival comes to town. Whichever way you look at it, art festivals have thrown a lifeline to people on all sides to experience the magic of the theatre – albeit in their shorts and slops.

It must also be said that Afrikaans drama practitioners have taken up the challenge of getting bums on seats with gusto and they are producing excellent stuff. One Afrikaans production that drove me to set off a standing ovation is Voor Ek Vergeet. Amanda Strydom and Hannes van Wyk are two actors who have taken to the stage after longs absences (Amanda 30 years and Hannes 15) to portray a story people can relate to.

Now if you sit there wondering who Amanda Strydom is, you must be living under a rock. Amanda is one of the divas of Afrikaans music and theatre. Hannes van Wyk, while a serious thespian, is nevertheless better known for his soap opera roles as Krynauw in Egoli and Len in 7de Laan.

In Voor Ek Vergeet, Amanda plays the role of a woman whose husband has passed away, whose one son immigrated to Australia and who now suffers from dementia. Hannes plays the role of her other son, who is dying from cancer. This all sounds very depressing, but scriptwriter, Karen Marx, has given the characters very strong personalities. They banter with each other about their afflictions and there are moments of great intensity, but then Amanda’s character will deliver a comic one-liner with brilliant timing that relieves the tension. It’s almost inappropriate to laugh, but you can’t help yourself.

The play focuses sharply on the topic of dementia, one many of us shy away from, because it happens to old people. It enables the audience to experience the angst and anxiety the sufferer goes through. Whilst battling to retain her most precious memories she also has to deal with being uprooted from the home she lived in for all her life and being confined to a small room in a care facility, as well as the thought that her son might die before her. He deals with the anger of being a good son – the one looking after his mother – and wonders why should he be the one who is dying. His anger is so palpable you feel like you are in his skin.
Many people can identify with both sides. At the premiere at the Woordfees in Stellenbosch in March 2012, there was not a dry eye to be seen. Theatre is important, because it shows us to ourselves and implores us to rethink our current realities. When they tour the rest of the country, make sure you book a ticket.

Where can you see them?

11, 12, 14 May – Atterbury Theatre, Pretoria
13, 14 July – Bloemfontein Vryfees
8 to 13 October – Theatre on the Bay, Cape Town
Book at www.computicket.co.za

Our Afrikaans guests are important to us. Next month we feature Sandra Prinsloo, yet another icon on the South African theatre landscape, about her role in a play called Janneman.

The morning traffic was a nightmare. I was late for a meeting with a person whose name I could not for the life of me remember. He was from an airline company and insisted on a one-on-one meeting – no email or phone conversation – because he wanted to show me something. Hrmph, I thought, what could be that mind-blowing that it needs a personal intervention? I agreed purely because I was asked to see if there was a story to be done about fixed-wing aircraft. The meeting would be brief; I’d cite conflict of interest and then top it off with agoraphobia. I had no intention of going on something that sounded like a disaster waiting to happen. The traffic was not letting up so I called the office to apologise and ask them to come back another day. The receptionist called back to say that I better hurry because there were three serious-looking men in uniform waiting for me and they said they would wait. Did I get my dates wrong? Was I caught on camera for speeding?

I arrived at the office huffing and puffing, and dashed to the boardroom where the officers would be waiting, anxiety breathing down my neck. I fully expected three traffic officers; instead I was greeted by three dashing young men in crisp pilot uniforms standing at attention: David Jacobs, Leon van Schalkwyk and Ian Fletcher. They sported dashing smiles, so I figured I was not in trouble…

The three pilots work for a company called Agulhas360. They specialise in scenic tours across the peninsula – no conflict of interest with Mango. All they wanted was to show me around the peninsula on a tour with a difference. How could I refuse?

Flights of fancy
I was, however, scared out of my wits. I asked Juice art director, Kimberley Reid, to accompany me. We had to be at the airport at the crack of dawn. The pilots of Agulhas360 were all assembled and standing at attention (excuse my An Officer And A Gentleman delusions) – all 10 of them, nine gentlemen and a lady. On arrival at one of the hangars at Cape Town International Airport, we had to fill in the necessary forms. Among other information, they wanted to know our weight and we willingly obliged, as we didn’t want to hit the headlines with: ‘Cessna refused permission to leave hangar due to heavy cargo’! The maximum weight for a full peninsula tour is 262kg (three normal people) and we were way short of that (wink, wink).

We walked onto the tarmac Top Gun-style. The smallest plane, a Cessna 172 RG (the RG stands for retractable gear) stood like a mirage on the airstrip. Two pilots accompanied us: Ian, who was doing the flying, and David, second in command on the flight and tour guide for the day. They gave us a rundown of the safety issues and we were ready for liftoff. Kimberley was quivering with excitement while I was praying not to lose bladder control – that’s how scared I was.

I sat up front with Ian in a tiny cockpit, but with all the controls and gadgets you find in a normal aircraft. Kim was put on window control. Ian talked to the control centre to get clearance and in no time we were taxiing down the runway. When Ian asked me to take the steering wheel in front of me and put my feet on the pedals and help him with liftoff, my stomach churned. I was sure he was having me on, but when I felt the surge of engine power under my hands and the plane lifting off and gaining height, my fear was replaced by a sense of excitement so deep I had to pray even harder to not have a mishap…

The air up there
Many people, local and foreign, often wax lyrical about the beauty of South Africa. Most people see the different attractions from their cars, a tour bus, a hike up a mountain, a boat trip, a limited glimpse from an aircraft window, but very few get the chance to experience the uninterrupted views of a coastline so beautiful it will make you cry. Ian and David did their best to explain the different landmarks to us, but we hardly paid attention. Ian would take the plane higher and then suddenly dip down, causing our stomachs to flip too, but we felt like eagles diving down and riding on the wind currents. Zeekoevlei looked like a scene from a Harry Potter movie, followed by a pristine stretch of coast with a few scattered shipwrecks and crosses left by old-time mariners. Simon’s Town, Chapmans Peak, Hout Bay, the Twelve Apostles, Robben Island and the Cape Town stadium look completely different from the sky. No mist; just clear skies and water so blue and translucent you could practically see the sharks smirking up at you.

Ian took the plane down until we were a few metres from the water and we could hear the sea as if you were listening to it through a shell held close to your ear. The landing back at the airport came way too soon and we were still mesmerised. On arrival we were greeted with a bottle of ice-cold bubbly and told to take it easy for the next few hours, as we would feel a little wobbly and then the hunger pangs would strike.

I can almost hear you saying that this must be unaffordable, but let me assure you it is not. The Agulhas360 assured me that they will tailor-make tours to suit your budget. And because they are a small company, the attention to the customer is great – I can attest to that!

Scenic Flights

Route 1 – Atlantic Sea Board
(Approximately 30 min)
CT International, through Constatia Nek, over Hout Bay, 12 Apostles, Camps Bay, Clifton, Green Point Stadium, City Bowl, CT International.

Route 2 – Chapmans Peak
(Approximately 40 min)
CT International, Muizenburg, Kalk Bay, Fishhoek, Sun Valley, Noordhoek Beach, Chapmans Peak, Seal Island, Hout Bay, 12 Apostles, Camps Bay, Clifton, Green Point Stadium, City Bowl, CT International

Route 3 – Peninsula Lighthouse
(Approximately 60 min)
CT International, Muizenburg, Kalk Bay, Fishhoek, Simonstown, Boulders Beach (penguins), Cape Point Lighthouse, Kommetjie, Noordhoek Beach, Chapmans Peak, Seal Island, Hout Bay, 12 Apostles, Camps Bay, Clifton, Green Point Stadium, City Bowl, CT International

Route 4 – Whale Watching
(Approximately 2 hours)
CT International, Sir Lowry’s Pass, Grabouw, Hermanus, Kleinmond, Hangklip, The Strand, CT International

Call Agulhas360 on 0768905378 and quote Mang001 to select one of the Peninsula Scenic Air Ventures or to have your own tailored tour designed for you. Watch this clip on and be swept away.

Orange…
Orange is a bright, cheerful colour. Comforting and warm, it reminds one of the flickering flames of roaring fires, the splendour of autumn leaves, breathtaking sunrises and magnificent sunsets. Or of a juicy, fragrant fruit – succulent and sweet, peeled slowly, eaten wedge by delicious orange wedge.

The fruit or the colour – which was named first? There was a time when the English-speaking world did not know a fruit called ‘orange’, and the colour orange was actually called ‘geoluhread’ (yellow-red). Sometime during the 13th century the English language embraced the word for the fruit, after the name had travelled from an ancient Dravidian language in Asia, through Sanskrit and Old French to Anglo-Norman ‘orenge’. By the 1400s the fruit’s name had arrived in the English language, and it was soon widely known as an orange. A mere three centuries later people began to use the same word when they referred to the colour of this fruit.

Orange is one of the seven colours of the visible spectrum, and it lies between red and yellow in a rainbow. It is not one of the primary colours, however, and it seems that its position between red and yellow has given it somewhat of a split personality. This is understandable, because it seems easy for secondary colours to lose their identity. Lean too far to the one side and it becomes red; cross the boundary to the other side and it is in pure yellow territory.

Orange and feng shui
Some feng shui wisdom about orange (from blog Feng Shui and Beyond): ‘Orange is a flamboyant and vibrating colour, expressing the energy and warmth of red, combined with the happiness and sunshine of yellow. The meaning of orange is often defined as stimulating, active, cheerful and sociable. It is a more beneficial colour to use if you want to create a social, active, and cheerful space. Orange is a very appetising colour and is great to use in restaurants.’

Other oranges
The word ‘orange’ doesn’t just describe a fruit and a colour. The Orange River is South Africa’s longest river, winding its way from the highlands of Lesotho across the country to the Atlantic Ocean, where it empties between Alexander Bay in the Northern Cape and the aptly named Oranjemund (Orange Mouth) in Namibia. The river does look orange, but the river’s name has nothing to do with its colour – in 1779, colonel Robert Jacob Gordon named the river in honour of Prince William V of Orange. This led to names like Orange River Sovereignty, Orange River Colony and Orange Free State. Two towns were also named after the river: Oranjeville and Oranjekrag.

The Orange in the name of the Dutch royal house comes from the Principality of Orange in Provence, north of Avignon in the south of France. William I of the Netherlands inherited the principality and established the House of Orange-Nassau. Orange is still the national colour of the Netherlands and of their national sports teams. The Dutch football team is nicknamed ‘Die Oranje’ and the Dutch flag originally had an orange stripe, which was later replaced with red.

Orange in flags
Orange is not a very popular flag colour – only eight countries use it on their flags. In each case the orange has a different meaning. The countries are: Ireland (followers of William of Orange); India (courage and sacrifice); Niger (northern regions of the Sahara Desert); Marshall Islands (sunset); Côte d’Ivoire (the land, the savannah and its fertility); Armenia (creative talent and hard-working nature of the people); Zambia (the land’s natural resources and mineral wealth) and Bhutan (Buddhist spiritual tradition).

The orange in the previous South African flag (1928-1994) was in memory of the old Dutch flag, known as the Prince’s Flag.

The orange in the flags of New York City and Albany, New York, also serves as a reminder of these cities’ Dutch heritage.

Orange place names
There is a reference to ‘orange’ (the fruit) in many United States place names (such as Orange County) that is found in eight different states. There is even an American-style suburb called Orange County near Beijing in China. The TV series The O.C. is named after Orange County.

In the USA orange and black represent Halloween (31 October), mainly because orange is the colour of the carved pumpkins. Orange, together with brown, also represents Thanksgiving.

Orange songs
Orange is used in songs with titles like ‘Orange Blossom Special’ (Johnny Cash and Dolly Parton), ‘Orange Blossom Lane’ (Glenn Miller), ‘Orange Colored Sky’ (Nat King Cole), ‘Orange Crush’ (R.E.M.), ‘Evolution Orange’ (Earth, Wind & Fire) and ‘Orange County Girls’ (Gwen Stefani). Tori Amos has produced two such songs: ‘The Power of Orange Knickers’ and ‘Agent Orange’.

Did you know?
Agent Orange was a chemical substance used by US forces in the Vietnam War to strip leaves from trees, with the aim of destroying the vegetation that sheltered Viet Minh forces. It caused numerous horrific health problems for returning US GIs and Vietnamese locals. The name comes from the orange barrels in which it was shipped.

Orange warnings
Orange is a popular warning colour. In some instances it is better known as ‘amber’ (but it is still a member of the orange family). On the road an amber flicker will warn you that a car intends to turn or change lanes. When a robot’s red light is about to issue a strict ‘Stop!’ command, a much friendlier orange light will first wink an ample warning. Traffic cones are also orange, as well as protective jackets worn by workers who have to be highly visible.

Orange and religion
Orange (specifically a deep saffron) is Hinduism’s most sacred colour. Hindus and Sikhs use saffron-coloured pennants on their religious buildings, while Buddhist monks and some Hindu swamis wear saffron robes. When the House of Orange in the Netherlands took part in the French Wars of Religion and the Dutch Eighty Years’ War (on the Protestant side), orange came to be associated with Protestantism, too.

Orange animals
There are remarkably many orange animals. The orang-utan, a large ape of the forests in Indonesia and Malaysia, has orange-reddish fur, but even though its name hints at the colour, it is just a coincidence. In this case ‘orang’ means ‘forest’, and ‘orang-utan’ is ‘person of the forest’.

The tiger has reddish-orange fur, while some foxes and squirrels have more than a hint of orange in their pelt. A few birds, earthworms, butterflies, fish, shrimps, slugs and the Pacman frog are quite comfortably clad in bright orange outfits. Even the famous Nemo, the clownfish of the movie Finding Nemo, has embraced the orange revolution!

Did you know?

The word ‘orange’ has no perfect rhyming word. There is only one word in the entire 20-volume Oxford English Dictionary that rhymes (kind of!) with orange. It is ‘sporange’, a very rare alternative form of sporangium, which is a botanical term for a part of a fern or similar plant.
Orange fashion and cars
Orange has not always been that popular in the world of fashion, but there was brief flirtation with this colour in 2009. The world of cars also do not take that kindly to gaudy, rich orange vehicles, although such cars would most certainly be the most visible vehicles on the road! (I must confess to passing my driver’s test behind the wheel of the family’s bright-orange Ranger station wagon.)

Orange food
Orange food is believed to be an important source of betacarotene, which is converted in the body to vitamin A, an antioxidant. Many fruit species display some kind of orange. Examples are cling peaches, tangerines, naartjies, kumquats, apricots, cantaloupes, nectarines, oranges, peaches, papaya, persimmons and, of course, mangoes! Orange vegetables include carrots, sweet potatoes, pumpkins and turnips, while ginger is an orange-coloured spice. Orange pekoe is a high-quality black tea from South Asia, made from small, young leaves at the tips of the stems.

The orange and its flowers have many uses. The petals are used for orange-blossom water, which is used in baking orange-blossom scones and making marshmallows. In Spain, tea is made with dried orange blossoms or orange leaves. Orange-blossom honey is quite popular because it tastes just like oranges. All the parts of a Seville orange, even the pith, are used to make marmalade.

Did you know?
The Battle of the Oranges is an annual carnival and festival in Ivrea in the north of Italy. Thousands of people are divided in nine teams, and these teams pelt each other with leftover oranges (which have to be imported from Sicily!).

Orange flowers
It is in flowers that the colour orange can really be appreciated. Gaudy, bright, warm and exuberant, all over the garden, these beauties include strelitzias, clivias, roses, aloes, daylilies, cannas, gazanias, daffodils and too many more to mention, each one as pretty in orange as the next.

And you’ll only really know what orange is when you experience the Northern Cape’s abundance of orange Namaqualand daisies, which cover the ground as far as the eye can see.

It’s May, and what with winter around the corner, the Highveld has begun in earnest to liberate itself of every careless molecule of moisture. Face it. Johannesburg is one collective towel rub away from being drier than the elbow skin of cosmonaut, and boy, does she look it. Gone are the phosphorescent greens of summer, and here are the yellows of straw, the browns of bone-dry dust, and the oranges of winter sunshine. And self-tan lotion.

With plummeting UV exposure ratings at hand, the pale-skinned inhabitants of Johannesburg will begin to ferret out inventive methods of darkening their skin, in an understandable but no-less desperate bid to keep the nauseatingly intense translucence of their natural complexion hidden. If they accomplish this, they will remain sexually attractive. At least, that’s the theory.
You know these people. You have passed one, two, perhaps as many as a dozen in the mall during your brief and never-to-be-repeated forays into Houghton. The Disciples Of Ed Hardy are so named for their unwavering love of Ed Hardy clothing garments, which are tightly fitted as a rule, made of one of three materials: cotton, denim, and chiffon (or a combination thereof), and finished with an assortment of rhinestones that could induce epilepsy in the right light.

Their accents are garish and frightening – spilled from their mouths in a half-formed nasal squawk. If you don’t shun them immediately, you may find yourself ‘invaahted’ to their ‘haas’ for a ‘braah’.

They are young, hard-talking, fast-moving, cap-wearing, upwardly mobile Northern Johannesburg socialites. They work in digital advertising, adhere to a strict gymnasium regimen of bicep, gluteus and pectoral muscle exercises (applicable to both male and female members), and drive Polo TDi’s.

But don’t pigeonhole them. They’ll keep you and your stereotypes guessing by co-chairing a recreational ad-sales SuperBike clubs on the weekends.

They are the kind of people who are entirely concerned with maintaining their trimmed goatees, platinum hair, pastel lipstick, and even tans. Even in winter.

How do they do this? These well-heeled crackers make use of sunbeds – ingenious devices which simulate the act of outdoor tanning insofar as successfully darkening the complexion by bombarding one’s dermis with varying grades of UV rays. That said, the associated cost in money and cancer makes the sunbed something of a Pyrrhic victory.

This increased cancer risk has sullied the reputation of the sun bed in the eyes of self-tanners, which has only served to divert business, and income, to the next available option: spray on tan salons. And anyone who has ever had the privilege of dating a private school girl in their misguided adolescence knows that one treatment by a spray on tan technician will turn a lily white skin a shade of orange normally reserved for shoes in the East Rand. The results are nothing short of horrific.

Glodina has reported a 400% jump in the sale of orange towels, and associated laundry linen – and is unable to keep up with the demand.

Last week, a pedestrian suffered near fatal injuries after being struck by a burnt-orange Ford Focus STi. What should have been a relatively speedy intervention by medics was complicated by the fact that they could not see the injured subject on the hood of the vehicle, until an opportune reflection of light from a passing vehicle produced a glint from his cubic zirconium stud earring.

And the entire staff complement of a small digital strategy firm on a corporate team building retreat is said to have disappeared for three days at Hartesbeesport Dam following a game of hide and seek gone awry. Authorities struggled in vain to locate the overly competitive but disorientated staff members in the tall, orange grass surrounding the dam.

But what would our malls and gyms be without this extraordinary clan of people? They would be cleaner, for a start – but would we not begin to pang for that familiar orange stain on the handle of a white BMW One Series, or the acrid stench of protein powder, self tan and sweat in the showers after our workout?

Like an old, familiar bad habit, the Disciples Of Ed Hardy are more a part of us than we would like to admit. Even if they are orange.

G-Connect In-Flight Wi-Fi allows for full Internet connectivity on board Mango’s aircraft, including sending and receiving emails, web browsing as well as the use of all social networks. An air-to-land SMS service will also be available, managed through a web service.

Mango CEO Nico Bezuidenhout said that the introduction of on-board connectivity fulfils the airline’s on-going ideal of innovation in aviation and its desire for product differentiation. “In a highly competitive market where everything tastes like chicken, it’s important to taste like beef. Innovation is a cornerstone of our business along with sustained affordable fares that are relative to the prevailing market.” Mango was the first airline to retail air travel through supermarkets (Shoprite / Checkers) and remains the only airline in the world to accept store charge cards (Edgars / Jet).

“The G-Connect In-Flight Wi-Fi service is offered in a totally new, integrated model and its regarded as a carrier-grade telecommunications access medium”, said Wireless G CEO, Carel van der Merwe. “Social networks and the tsunami of next generation Wi-Fi enabled devices and the related converged eco-systems makes in-flight Wi-Fi connectivity more relevant. Moreover, the specific way in which it is offered as an integrated telecommunications internet access medium, is essential for our future plans,” said van der Merwe.

The service is compatible with most Wi-Fi enabled devices including smartphones, tablets and laptops. By converting their satellite infrastructure, Vodacom has ensured that the G-Connect In-Flight Wi-Fi service will keep people connected even as they travel at over 800km/h. “This takes the notion of a mobile device to a whole new level – literally. We know how much customers value being connected; in fact 88% of people surveyed said they’d like to have broadband access when they fly. Vodacom prides itself on having the widest network coverage and thanks to our satellite technology the sky is no longer the limit,” said Chris Ross, Vodacom’s head of Commercial Operations.

There are three different G-Connect In-Flight Wi-Fi packages on offer. One-Way Access is priced at R50 per single sector flight with a One Day pass available at R90, irrespective of the number of flights completed during a 20 hour period. A per-minute option, billed through G-Connect online account, offers land and air convergence at R1 per minute. All three packages offer unlimited data use during the allotted time.

The service will be monitored continually with real-time support available to users. Data-heavy services like YouTube and peer-to-peer downloads will, however, be disallowed. “This is done to ensure the quality of the service remains unimpeded. We already have plans in place to expand the G-Connect In-Flight Wi-Fi product offering further in a second phase, where we aim to include IPTV and other entertainment services”, concluded Van Der Merwe.

The roll-out of the G-Connect In-Flight Wi-Fi service should see 80% of Mango’s fleet online by end June 2012.