Wednesday

28 APRIL
2010
thestar.com.my/lifestyle

R.AGE

Blogger Bryanboy
finds online fame >4

R.AGE

Parking
for fitness >10

THEATRE

A month of laughs

n
u
f
d
l
i
w
,
d
l
i
W
Join these youths on a South
African adventure. >2-3

>20

T2

R.AGE

STARTWO, WEDNESDAY 28 APRIL 2010

HEALTH

Smart drugs
Students are turning
to drugs to fight fatigue and
help them concentrate. >13

MIND OUR ENGLISH

A major shift

Graphic novels have been

included in the literature
component of the new English
language curriculum. >14

CHILDWISE

Sibling rivalry
Children need to work out
their relationships with their
siblings. >16

MUSIC

s
e
r
u
t
n
e
v
d
a
n
a
Afric

Strange yet
sublime
As far as world music
superstars go, Sa Dingding is
emerging as Chinas brightest
prospect. >21

ON THE AIR

A misfire
Human Target makes a rather
bland transition from comics to
the small screen. >23

StarTwo

By NIKI CHEONG
niki@thestar.com.my

F YOURE looking for adventure, all you

really need to is make a trip to South
Africa, and youre bound to be in for a
treat. After all, adventure seems to be in
the countrys DNA, if its history is anything to
go by.
Lets not even talk about the adventure
that is the migration of hominids to the area
millions of years ago. More recently lets
say the 1400s one of the biggest adventures in the world happened in South Africa,
most specifically at The Cape of Good Hope,
the most southwestern tip of the country.
Then, Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu
Dias became the first European to reach the
cape, making him also the first person to
discover a route to India which allowed
European travellers to bypass the Middle
East.
These days, however, a South African

EDITOR: LIM CHENG HOE

CONTACT
e-mail: startwo@thestar.com.my
tel: 03-7967 1388
fax: 03-7955 4039
ADVERTISING:
Peter Hoe
peterhoe@thestar.com.my
(03) 7966-8236
Pearly Tan
pearly.tan@thestar.com.my
(03) 7966-8272

EDITOR: IVY SOON

CONTACT
e-mail: alltherage@thestar.com.my
tel: 03-7967 1693
fax: 03-7955 4039
ADVERTISING:
James Lam
jameslam@thestar.com.my
(03) 7966-8226

adventure is mostly associated with the wild,

and it is for this reason that last month, a
group of over 20 Malaysians made a journey
together across the continent.
This group was made up mostly of winners
for the Holiday for the Brave competition
organised by Nestle Drumstick. The trip is
part of an on-going campaign for the brand,
aimed at bringing out the spirit of adventure
among its customers.
First up was the week-long trip to visit
South Africa, home to the 2010 World Cup,
which gave the contest winners a chance to
get up close with the wonderful inhabitants
of the wild great white sharks, lions,
rhinoceros and more.
I could not believe that I had won this
contest until Nestle actually called me. I was
so excited, said one of the contest winners,
Siti Nor Azlin, 23.
Azlin and the rest of the group had a host
of activities lined up for them. Immediately

after arriving at Cape Town International

Airport, they were bussed to a nearby ostrich
farm where they learned about the bird, got
to try its meat, and were even treated to
ostrich rides!
The ride may sound pretty harmless, but it
was quite a scary venture for Iza Syafinaz
Suhin, who was on the trip as the guest of
her sister Nurulsuhada, who won the competition.
Better to see hantu (a ghost) than to go on
that, said Iza, jumping off the ostrich barely
after she sat on it.
While the rest were not as spooked as Iza
was with the ostrich, the same could not be
said when they encountered the first real
dangerous activity of the trip diving with
the great white sharks.
Even though divers were kept safe within
the confines of a cage, the thought of coming
within inches of the sharks were enough to
keep some of those on the trip nervous.
Add to this fact that the divers were jumping into 9C waters, and it was enough to
send some people like Iza into a panic
frenzy.
Still, it was an exciting and thrilling day for
most even those of us who got sea sick to
come close with such a beauty of nature.
Diving up close with the great white
shark is unforgettable, not to mention unfor-

Breathtaking: The view of Cape Town

from Table Mountain.

Divers getting ready to

enter a cage to view the
great white shark up
close. DARRAN TAN/
The Star

STARTWO, WEDNESDAY 28 APRIL 2010

gettably cold, exclaimed 26-year-old travel

blogger Nicole Tan (nicolekiss.com).
The highlight of the trip, however, would
have to be the three-day, two-night visit to
Kruger National Park, the world famous
game reserve.
The reserve, which covers almost 19,000
sq km of land, is home to the renowned Big
5 the lion, rhinoceros, buffalo, cheetah and
elephant. Visitors to the reserve go on game
drives, usually on huge four wheel drive
vehicles, and look out into the mass of green
looking for these, and more animals.
Because the reserve is generally
untouched (aside from some basic accomodation and rest areas) one would never
know which animal might cross ones path
or walk casually beside the vehicle.
For the group, the first and the last day
proved most fruitful. They encountered a
lion and its lioness barely half an hour into
their first game drive. The two creatures of
the jungle were walking nonchantlantly pass
the vehicle as the contest winners snapped
pictures and looked in awe.
I will never forget when I came eye-oneye with the lion. I was so scared but at the
same time so excited. It was real! Azlin said.
Nurulsuhada, too, was really excited, as
this was the one thing she wanted to do in
South Africa.
The thing that I was most looking forward to is
to be at the safari, experiencing the wild. I was
looking forward to see all the wild animals especially the gajina (African elephant), phumba (wild
boar), jumba (the great lion), hyena, giraffe, zebra
and rhinoceros, she said.
She went on to talk about her most memorable
experience in the reserve.
A cheetah appeared right in front of us right
after we said we wanted to see it on the last day of
our visit. There it was jumping on the block of
stone, while all of us watched in the truck just
about 1.5m away, she shared.
It was exciting but scary. All of us, who were so
noisy before that, went so quiet and froze like a
stone.

R.AGE

Log on to www.rage.com.my to
watch a video clip from the trip.

Besides getting a tase of the wild, the group were

also treated to visits to a variety of look out points
to experience the beautiful landscape of South
Africa that it is known for.
I was most looking forward to the panorama
and scenery of South Africa, said engineering
student Mohd Khairul Naziri, 23.
Among the spots they visited was The Cape of
Good Hope as well as a cable car ride to the top of
Table Mountain which provided them with a spectacular view of Cape Town.
For the contest winners, the trip ended way too
soon. They had spent a week exploring a new
country, learning about new cultures and collecting

memories of a beautiful country to take home with

them.
And as cliched as it may sound, a few went with
a new understanding of themselves.
In the words of Iza, talking about her shark
diving adventure: Now I know that nothing can
stop me from doing crazy things.
You can bet that this is one adventure that they
will never forget.
Nestle Drumstick is now giving you the chance to
have a Maori adventure in New Zealand. Log on to
www.drumstick.com.my for details.

Easy does it: Iza

Syafinaz Suhin
jumping off an ostrich
in fear.

d
l
i
w
e
h
t
n
i
n
Fu

unknown,
exploring the
u
yo
n
e excitement
he
th
w
experiencing
Adventure is lf to do
dream.
se
and daring to
challenge your ve never
ha
u
Nicole Tan
something yo
Siti Nor
done before.
something
Adventure is to do
Azlin
ant
you may not w erous and
to
e
ur
nt
ng
ve
da
ad
The word
because its
ous.
g something
maybe hazard
me means doin ctations
pe
n you do it,
ex
he
y
w
an
t
ut
ou
B
ith
w
urself,
n
rience
you will ask yo , why
Tang Wai Ya
Daring to expe somess
ne
Oh my good
w and
e means
d this
m
ie
something ne
tr
to
r
re
ve
t
tu
ne
no
I
en
Adv
have
. It does
ur
d Khairul
yo
oh
of
thing different to be
t
M
do things ou
before?.
to
ed
ne
of
t
ily
ou
ar
,
ss
es
utin
nece
Naziri
daily normal ro ination,
t there has to
ag
dangerous, bu
im
t
es
ild

w
it!
ur
g
yo
in
be a risk in do hin
Su
Nurulsuhuda

enture can
THE term adv fferent
di
mean so many
rent people. It
things to diffe travelling,
t
is not just abou t going
ou
nor is it only ab
.
ild
w
e
th
into
e of the
R.AGE got som share
to
rs
contest winne ith us.
w
their thoughts

T3