Africa Archives | Hoffman Theron van Zijl

The Breakfast Stop

April 14, 2019December 13, 2020Hoffman4 Comments

My old Land Cruiser has, over the years of bush travelling, accumulated all the bumps and dents and scratches the bush needed to inflict on it. It wears the bush comfortably now, like an everyday warmer. But, it knows to inflict lots of discomfort on its driver. The suspension is about as soft as an empty freight train’s; over uneven surfaces it raises a cacophony of rattles and squeaks that drown out any conversation and numbs the mind; it drives like an oxcart and the cab is a custom-built furnace during the day, and a fridge at night. So,...

Stopping over at the Lion and Elephant

April 8, 2019April 14, 2019Hoffman4 Comments

Parked in front of the Lion and Elephant Hotel, Zimbabwe It is part of bush tradition, no, it is bush religion to stop over at The Lion and Elephant on the banks of the Bubi if the route north leads through Zimbabwe. It is unassuming, inexpensive and just worn enough at the seams so that it feels comfortable, like an old shirt. It has become a sort of a tradition for me to overnight there if the route north leads through Zimbabwe. Here is an extract from my book, The Wanderers: “It was around two in the afternoon. The...

Thoughts on a visit to Istanbul

November 4, 2015November 24, 2015Hoffman50 Comments

Ok, so it seems a bit strange to find the African Wanderer rambling on about Istanbul on his very African website. Actually my intention with this blog is to write about anything that I feel I’d like to share with the odd lost soul that might stumble onto the site – travel impressions, political or economic insights, philosophical thoughts; anything that generates enough energy to make me sit down and write. Perhaps I should put this sentence up as a warning right at the beginning. So what was it about the two weeks of meandering through the enigma that...