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Top Billing goes for a meander through the Midlands
Top Billing goes for a meander through the Midlands
How do you build a tree house with a jacuzzi but without an architect? Join us this week as we take a trip to the Midlands for a little meander!
The route winding from Pietermaritzburg in the East to the majestic uKhahlamba Drakensberg mountains in the West recently won The S.A. Tourism Award for the best scenic beauty in KZN. It is what the locals did with this natural gift is what we came to see.
It was a handful of artists and crafters who conceptualised the Meander in 1985 and their Emerging Artist Programme continues to support new talent. Managing the hundred and fifty artists, restaurants, hotels and museums that feature along the way, is the privilege of Marian Evans.
A strong social conscience marks the art of Impumelelo Beadworks. Using re-cycled glass beads as their medium, their portraits and jewellery are exported internationally, and so the reputation of The Meander grows.
Just outside Howick stand fifty steel columns, their meaning unsure but intriguing. The defining feature is the sculpture by artist Marco Cianfanelli. Titled ‘Release’, its columns represent Nelson Mandela’s imprisonment. Together, they create an image of his face.
Many surprises reveal themselves along this route and The Sycamore Avenue Treehouses are among the best. It was at the turn of the Millenium that Bruce Attwood was struck with the idea to build these and Gary Els is now their custodian.
For every talent we met on The Meander and for each stunning valley we filmed, there are ten more to be discovered. The Midlands is waiting, for you so take a trip and go exploring!
