After one of our morning drives on the second or third day in the “bush” we decided to drop by the hotel shop to check it out. Located closer to neighboring Singita Boulders which was closed for some renovations, the shop is located in a free-standing building and houses an incredible selection of 100% South African made products. If you must shop in the “bush” this is the place to be, reported to be perhaps the finest collection of tempting things at a safari lodge location.
The space was enormous, and filled chockfull of things you didn’t know you wanted. Animal hides were draped on one side of the space (upwards of $2,000 for a nice zebra hide to just $100 or more for a small impala hide) along with gnu hides, etc.
Native masks, beautiful black and white photos enlarged and framed, as well as beautiful colored photographs of the scenery and wildlife as well were on offer.
There was a dedicated women’s section with safari outfits as well as linen and cotton blouses, pants, etc.
An impressive selection of crocodile and ostrich handbags, wallets, belts etc. had us amazed at the quality of materials, design and workmanship.
The “man cave” as they referred to it, was exactly that, filled with safari jackets, hats, scarves, crocodile doodads, gun cases, bags, magnifying glasses, mounted horns, hides, etc. I could furnish my den desk in this one store alone!
The housewares section featured beautiful blankets and lines, mohair throws, feathers, etc. Oh, good grief, how could they tempt guests with this while only having 20 kilos in baggage allowance?! Easy. Buy as much as you want and they arrange to ship it home for you! Yipes. Imagine if they had balikbayan box service from South Africa, I would have been in SERIOUS trouble!
Ostrich egg doodads, polished horns of all kinds mounted, as bases for candelabra, as handles for magnifying glasses, silver, handmade leather bracelets… the showcase of South African talent was most impressive.
There was some kitschy stuff, but you need to have things for all ranges of desire I suppose.
But just look at this ottoman covered in a zebra hide?! I liked that. And the large crocodile satchel was over the top. But I did end up buying the two magnifying glasses with horn handles, for very reasonable sums each. We would later compare prices at this shop with some places in Cape Town, and I can tell you they were comparable, and thus, quite reasonable, considering you were shopping in the middle of the bush…
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Umm, everybody must be busy getting ready for the eyeball.
I wouldn’t thread on a two thousand dollar rug; at that price I shall be more tempted to nail it on a wall… or just take it as they suggest with the ottoman/coffee table application, graphically impressive.
Btw did you know that the squares of two regular hides equal the square of the hippopotamus’?
Footloose: Same thought crossed my mind. In jealous desperation I was even planning to crash the eyeball, but it would be so uncouth since I did not even try to play the game:)
Algebraic equations are far too distant memory for me to remember and I am not sure they involve wild animals but I recall (and I could be treading dangerous territory here) that a certain hanging body part may be equal the size of a football field when stretched to its limit.
Footloose: Your wit never fails. Pythagoras would be amused.
A stretched out hypotheses no doubt but mine is a theorem postulated by Pythagoras himself though in slightly different phrasing.
Can’t make out if those are felidae or canids guarding the entrance in the first photo but truly surprising to find a classic Chinese motif out in the veldt. The San Agustin church entranceway is also guarded this way but with a pair of more typical stone lions which upon closer inspection are determinedly untypical, they appear as smiling instead of fiercely snarling. They are proof positive, along with the joinery and choice of wood employed in the interior, that the early 17th century church was built by Chinese artisans. The wiki entry makes no mention of these features.
A magnifying glass in hand is worth two in the bush.
Yup, they should have considered the luggage limits. But I guess the items are priced on the high end so the high rollers with cash to throw around can probably arrange for shipment in a snap.
Oh gosh Footloose, square of the hippopotamus indeed. My coffee (yes, at 1am!) shot out of my nose at maximum warp :P
Kass, I know….we are all excited for the eyeball today!!yehey!!!!
If ever I would like an ostrich clutch bag but maybe $300 (my limit) will not buy one.
It is around 7 am, June 13 over there right now, all I could think is the eyeball today. Wish I were there. Have a great time fellows :)
Have a wonderful Eyeball Time, guys! Pictures, please….
Connie, you would think the term “jealous desperation” was reserved for situations involving love-driven impulsive teenage acts…
But in this case it includes those involving paella and grill at a beach house.
Imagine being number 5 in that palabunutan haha.
Thank you MM for sharing your family’s safari adventure, I enjoyed reading through the series :)
average power of a magnifying glass is plus 6.50- which in my opnion enlarges the objects 3x.
The magnifying glass reminded me of a PDI article last week about some guy in Malaysia who purchased online a penis enlargement device. He complained because the device he purchased turned out to be a magnifying glass with an instruction “do not use in sunlight.” Here’s the link: https://lifestyle.inquirer.net/162165/kl-man-buys-penis-enlarger-online-gets-magnifying-glass-instead
Will save him from getting burned twice if he’s not the usual that reads instructions after everything else failed.