Specialists
Our Portfolio of Expert Guides
Consists of a wide range of high calibre specialists from a variety of disciplines whose depth of knowledge really bring your trip to life. This is our distinguishing difference.
We connect you to a cross section of experts handpicked for their ability to engage, who mix
on-site explanations with off-site conversations, and mingle informally, especially over meals.
These guest lecturers escort you around interesting places, sharing nuggets of their knowledge, while tour leaders look after the practicalities.
What makes our tours enriching is that you get to meet a number of resident specialists on each tour, hear multiple perspectives and see with ”new eyes”… because we believe that
”A real voyage of discovery consists not only in seeking new landscapes,
but in having new eyes” – Marcel Proust.
Brief Biographies
André van Graan
Restoration architect who worked on Hampton Court Palace & Windsor Castle, and specialised in Edwardian and Art Deco architecture, focusing on the work of Sir Herbert Baker, leading a number of tours including a visit by the British Furniture History Society.
He lectures at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, was chairman of the Vernacular Architecture Society of SA, is the vice-president of the Cape Institute for Architecture and the chairman of its Heritage Committee.
He’s also a member of ICOMOS as well as the Docomomo chapter, and serves on the board of representatives of the South African Institute of Architects.
Dr Terence Rapke
For the past decade he has been leading tours with a special emphasis on Cape history and wine.
Classicist and ancient historian with degrees from Melbourne (Monash) and Johannesburg (Witwatersrand) universities, who spent a good part of his academic life teaching in Ghana, Australia and South Africa, authoring numerous papers and reviews on Greek and Roman history.
Dr Nigel Penn
Highly recognised authority on Cape history, who has published The Forgotten Frontier – Colonists and Khoisan on the Cape’s Northern Frontier in the 18th Century; Rogues, Rebels and Runaways: 18th Century Cape Characters; The Khoisan and the Colonists at the Cape 1700 – 1800, and Robben Island: The Politics of Rock and Stone.
He is a popular public speaker and has acted as historical consultant for exhibitions on Robben Island and the Bushmen / San as well as for a film history of South Africa. He holds a PhD from the University of Cape Town where he is an associate professor in the Department of Historical Studies.
Allan Mullins
Cape Wine Master – and wine selection manager for the country’s leading retailer who sits on numerous wine tasting panels, he is one of the most respected wine personalities in the country.
He has been chairman and cellar master of the International Wine and Food Society, judge of numerous wine events including the SAA wine list, Diners Club wine list of the year, senior lecturer for the Cape Wine Academy, and co-author of two books on wine.
Fiona McDonald
Trained as a hard news journalist, she covered stories as diverse as shipwrecks, murder trials, before being seduced into wine writing “by accident”.
Was editor of Wine magazine for nearly eight years before opting for a freelance career, where she’s still eating and drinking well as a contributing author to the Eat Out guide.
She’s also a recognised international wine judge, serving at the London International Wine Challenge, Decanter World Wine Awards as well as a jury president at Concours Mondial de Bruxelles.
Dr Antonia Malan
Independent historical archaeologist and member of the Historical Archaeology Research Group, she has directed a significant transcription project capturing archival papers from the VOC period and the first decades of British rule at the Cape, in collaboration with the national archives of the Netherlands.
She is actively involved in local heritage issues, is a trustee of Cape Town Heritage Trust, has chaired the Vernacular Architecture Society of South Africa, edits the VASSA Journal and has a doctorate from the University of Cape Town.
Dr Antoineta Jerardino
Archaeologist and heritage impact assessor, she is involved with the reconstruction of palaeo-environments by way of faunal remains.
With a PhD from the University of Cape Town she was part of a team excavating open shell middens and rock shelters along the West Coast with the aim of reconstructing the ways hunter gatherer groups exploited marine resources.
Prof Brian Huntley
Former chief executive of the National Botanical Institute and then the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) based at Kirstenbosch, he spearheaded its transformation into a world-class organisation of high credibility.
He founded the Southern African Botanical Diversity Network and was involved in multi interdisciplinary and research programmes resulting in numerous publications.
Now retired, he acts as senior policy advisor to the governmental Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism.
Porky Hefer
Multiple award winner, voted 2010 Elle Decoration South African Designer of the Year as the inventor of ”Nest”, he focuses on three dimensional forms, from public sculpture to product and furniture design.
As creative director in agencies such as Hunt Lascaris in Johannesburg and Bozell and Ogilvy in New York, he has worked on international brands like Nike, Levis, Coca Cola, American Express, BMW and local ones likes Nando’s.
Currently helming Animal Farm, his design philosophy is that a pure design idea should be followed by a chorus of ”Why didn’t I think of that?”
Margie Garratt
Professional textile artist whose name is synonymous with quilting and whose work crosses the boundaries between art and craft.
She was the driving force behind Innovative Threads, an annual exhibition providing a greater multi cultural understanding of South African textile & fibre art.
Dr Hans Fransen
Art and architecture historian and author of seminal books on South African architecture such as the definitive The Old Buildings of the Cape and Old Towns and Villages of the Cape.
He has been involved in arts and culture since immigrating from Holland, as curator of the Stellenbosch and Groot Constantia museums, assistant director of the SA National Gallery and director of the Michaelis Art collection.
Knighted by the Netherlands for his pioneering work and dedication to architecture – the fieldwork for one book covers over 5 000 buildings, includes 700 photographs and required travelling 25 000 km by car and 5 000 km by bicycle.
John Ford
Former cellar master of the International Wine and Food Society and chairman of the Oenophiles wine club.
Purveyor of fine food and wines, his speciality emporium has won the ‘Outstanding Outlet’ award for several years from Eat In, South Africa’s definitive food lovers’ guide.
Dr John Compton
Earth scientist with a doctorate from Harvard University, who taught marine geology at the University of South Florida before moving to the University of Cape Town, where he is an associate professor in the Department of Geological Sciences.
Since publishing The Rocks and Mountains of Cape Town, he has become a sought after lecturer at the university’s Summer School.
Dr Elbé Coetsee
Craft art specialist, who established the Mogalakwena Craft Art Development Foundation and initiated a craft centre to support the economic and social upliftment of the Pedi community in the North Western province.
With a doctorate from the University of Pretoria, she published Craft Art in South Africa that represented a ground breaking contribution to this field.
Phillippa Cheifitz
Highly respected author, food editor for Femina magazine and consultant editor for Taste Magazine. She has published numerous best selling cookbooks including Day to Day; Seasons; Cape Town Food; The Monday to Sunday Cookbook; The Cosmopolitan Cookbook; and Lazy Days which featured in the Gourmand World Cookbook 2007 Awards.
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