Travelling Journal Thoughts and musings by Elsa Hoogenhout

Nine cities. Nine months. Seven airports. 28 artworks. 600 bottles of Laborie Limited

Collection.

If there is any word to describe our journey it would be epic. From the vineyards of the Cape,

to the forests of the Midlands, the big holes of the Northern Cape (with a flat tyre to prove it)

to the skyscrapers of Gauteng. The staff at the Woolies coffee counters at Cape Town

International and O.R. Tambo knew us by name. And in between the many airticket stubs

and hotel keycards, we realised why local is genuinely “lekker”. Every city brought with it

new experiences, new ideas and new friends. This is a journal account of our quest to share

KWV’s wine and art heritage across the country…

Stellenbosch / April 2011

With exhibition spaces confirmed, insurance checked and transport arranged, we were

gearing up for the Epic of Everlasting’s big kickoff in Stellenbosch. Old KWV barrels had

been trucked over from Paarl to be turned into gold by our creative team at Fanakalo. On the

to-do list was to find our Siduri (woman of the vine), who was meant to perch on top of the

Stellenbosch treasure hunt barrel. We found her at the side of the N1, in between a concrete

Michelangelo David and tiny garden dwarf.

After a quick lick of gold paint, Siduri was ready for treasure hunt action. On March 28th the

clue was launched and with great anticipation we awaited the entries. According to our

winner, Rolene, it was soon after launch time that she was chasing through the botanical

gardens to beat another eager treasure hunter to the prize. Luckily no khoi fish or

endangered plant species suffered in the process…A few days later, the Sasol Art Museum

was getting ready for the Grand Opening of the Epic of Everlasting on April 6th. Many long

hours were spent making sure all the paintings were hanging straight, glasses were polished

and labels were fixed. Chantal had just assembled the last hubbly bubblies (the first of many

times she would do this over the next few months in following our Mesopotamian theme),

when guests started arriving. With the Kyknet Nuus crew in tow, the exhibition was opened

to thunderous applause from the Eikestad locals. The evening was a great success, with the

“bittereinders” enjoying the beautiful museum courtyard while sipping a last glass of Laborie

Limited Collection Shiraz until late.

Cape Town / May 2011

Next stop: Slaapstad. We decided it would be a good idea to continue the golden barrel

“campaign” in the Mothercity. Little did we know that on the way to Cape Town, our barrels

would be involved in an accident involving a news vehicle’s satellite dish and our truck. A

little battered and bruised, the barrels nonetheless arrived in Cape Town safely and made

quite a brilliant impression.

I again had to go in search of our new treasure barrel icon, and for this headed to Jack’s

valley: Parow. There in Voortrekkerweg’s factory toy shop, I managed to find most of our

treasure barrel bits and pieces, and walked out armed with a bag full of plastic toys and a

loyal customer discount card. Within a few days our hero Gilgamesh’ plastic four-poster bed

was to be found amongst the silver caravans on the Daddy Long Legs hotel rooftop in Long

Street. Our most creative prize winner, Nina, even enjoyed a quick siesta during her

lunchbreak… Meanwhile, at the Irma Stern Museum, work was under way for the exhibition

to open. Definitely one of the most unique spaces our tour saw, we thoroughly enjoyed

having meetings at Mrs. Stern’s old dining room table! On the evening of May 4th, the Epic of

Everlasting opened with a memorable speech by Cecil’s daughter Pippa Skotnes, with many

of the family’s old friends in attendance. I couldn’t help feeling as if Irma and Cecil’s spirits

were present to lend a certain “magic” to the occasion…

Pietermaritzburg / May 2011

We had barely said our goodbyes in Cape Town before it was time to leave the Western Cape

for Kwazulu-Natal. This also meant that our little treasure barrel had to make its maiden

voyage by aeroplane – thus commencing the onslaught of questions at airline check-in that I

was to experience for the rest of the tour. “Artwork” proved to be the most inoffensive

response to their queries regarding the contents of the strange bubble-wrapped package in

the green and pink striped PEP bag.

Being my first visit to ‘Maritzburg, I was taken aback by the incredible architecture of the

Tatham Gallery (the old Supreme Court) and City Hall across the street. A quick visit to the

tourism office around the corner confirmed my Google search prediction that World’s View

lookout point would be the perfect hiding place for the golden barrel. A week or so later, we

returned to the city for the opening of the exhibition on May 19th, and to “crown” our brave

treasure hunters who went in search of the evil Humbaba (quite a trek, I might add!). Even

young Gregory the Great (who helped his mother find the treasure) attended, despite staying

up way past his bedtime! In between our official duties, we squeezed in a bit of sightseeing

and were able to convince a city hall employee to give us an impromptu tour of the

impressive building and its pipe organ, one of the biggest in the southern hemisphere!

Kimberley / June 2011

In June we packed our bags for the Northern Cape and set off to Kimberley and its “Groot

Gat”. I’m not going to lie, none of the Epic project team expected much of this “quaint” city –

I mean how big can the hole really be? The truth is, Kimberley is a diamond in the rough –

with the Big Hole Museum and William Humphreys Gallery being shining examples. It was

no contest to choose the Big Hole site’s bar as our hiding place for the golden barrel (bling

meets bling), and it was none other than a historian with a geology background who found it

first!

At the William Humphreys Art Gallery, already sporting an incredible permanent collection,

our Skotnes exhibition looked stunning. The opening evening on June 30th was an enormous

success with just about 100 guests attending, including the city’s Mayor. At each opening

event there was always much excitement around the announcement of the evening’s treasure

hunt, and in Kimberley it was no exception with one very lucky lady jumping up and down

with excitement at having won her restaurant voucher!

Bloemfontein / July 2011

In the middle of winter it was time to bundle up and head to one of our chilliest provinces.

The City of Roses provided a great backdrop for our Flower of Youth treasure barrel, which

was to be hidden away in a bird hide on a dam of the Free State Botanical Gardens. Just as I

arrived at the hiding place, I had to interrupt one young Joburg couple’s romantic

rendezvous, but they happily obliged and swore to keep the treasure a secret…

The Oliewenhuis Art Museum and its beautiful grounds were the perfect hosts for our

exhibition, with the opening event here on July 19th being the biggest we had seen with 130

guests! In between the wonderful food and wine (and hubblies!), everyone chatted up a

storm – I even met an artist who had been given her first wood-cut tool set by Cecil Skotnes

himself. The following morning it was time to get academic as I conducted a walkabout of the

exhibition with students from a local high school. Impressive, bright young minds they were,

who even enquired as to the value of the collection. They’ll make brilliant shareholders one

day…

Johannesburg / August 2011

With the winter having taken its chilly toll, we wanted to bring some warm, “goue gees” to

the City of Gold. In anticipation of the Joburg Treasure Hunt, we chose the lovely courtyard

of Arts on Main in the CBD to advertise the golden opportunity of winning that lifetime

supply of Laborie wine. Although spray-painting endless bunches of grapes with gold enamel

paint was no easy feat, it all looked brilliant in the winter-time Highveld sun!

Meanwhile, deep in the urban jungle of Jozi, the wild and wonderful Enkidu was hidden

away at the Origins Centre on Wits University Campus. And if any of our treasure hunters

were wondering, no, he did not have rabies…just some good ol’ goue gees! Back at Arts on

Main, the Nirox Project Space was bustling with artwork hanging and label sticking in

progress. Although we had to compete with 6 other gallery openings happening on the same

night, the Epic of Everlasting opening event on August 11th lit up the Joburg CBD with

Laborie bubblies, hubblies, and the sparkling personality of Stephan Welz who gave a

tremendous opening speech.

Pretoria / October 2011

After a brief hibernation for the Epic of Everlasting, we sprung into spring and headed for

Pretoria, Jacaranda city. With splashes of purple everywhere and with a celebratory mood in

the air as the Bokke were (at that point) undefeated at the Rugby World Cup, we thought

there would be no better place than a “lekker plek (met) lekker mense” to hide our golden

treasure. Eastwoods Pub, being a Pretoria and Blue Bull institution, happily took in our little

golden Bull of Heaven!

Down the road at the Pretoria Art Museum, preparations were on the go for the exhibition to

open on October 12th. Our poor event coordinator Chantal barely made it to Pretoria as she

realised why the Gautrein is definitely not a “Gou”trein, but luckily survived her arduous

journey and worked her magic! With the jacaranda trees in full bloom and glasses of Laborie

bubbly in hand, our guests had a wonderful evening among the beautiful artworks.

Port Elizabeth / November 2011

The time would soon come when the wind would blow us back down south towards the coast,

and we landed in Algoa Bay for our second last stop. Upon arriving at the Donkin Reserve

(which had been recommended by several people as a must-see in Port Elizabeth), I was

blown away (literally) by this unique place. A well-known heritage site in the city, the

Reserve is now also a site for public art installations that brighten up the landscape. It was an

easy choice to hide our little pirate ship treasure barrel at the top of the lighthouse, from

where you have a brilliant view of the city and its harbour.

P.E. continued to impress as I noticed the incredible and peculiar architecture of the city.

The Ron Belling Gallery was no exception – a converted Art Deco house that now exhibits a

most unique collection of aviation science paintings, the gallery gave our Skotnes collection a

stunning “home” in the Friendly City. At the opening on November 15th, we truly realised

why the city has earned its name as we chatted away for hours with our guests – one of

whom we discovered used to be a “KWV girl”! We were also touched by our most creative

prize winners’ story (with the most creative bit coming from their proudly SA “gees”!) – a

mother-daughter team who entered the treasure hunt as a tribute to a friend who had

recently passed away. After saying our many goodbyes, the Epic team ended the evening in

the vibey, re-vamped Richmond Hill district (although it took some GPS navigation to find…)

to celebrate the last exhibition on the road…

Paarl / December 2011

It was good to be home. Although I would miss my adventures looking for the perfect

treasure hiding places around the country, I was kind of glad to no longer have to lug around

the bubble-wrapped barrel in its green and pink striped PEP bag. Not needing to Google

search a hiding place this time around, the barrel and I headed straight for the Strooidak

Church in Paarl’s Main Road. Our mythic hero Gilgamesh’s tombstone would fit in well

amongst those of the unknown French Hugenots buried there…

At Laborie, the staff were working at warp-speed to get the farm ready for the Epic of

Everlasting. Walls were painted, artworks hung, lighting prepared and every last piece of

copper polished until it sparkled. Janine and her team made sure all the guestrooms were

ready for our 9 finalist treasure hunters who would soon arrive. At Harvest Restaurant,

planning was on the go for hosting the opening of the exhibition. I was still running around

Laborie wondering how to tackle the final treasure hunt, while clutching artwork labels and

making sure no frame was skew.

Finally December 13th came, and our finalists started to arrive, all smiles with nervous

excitement as they were shown their rooms. At 6pm bubbly was opened (to calm the nerves)

as our treasure hunters met for the first time. After a quick introduction, it was time for them

to venture out (in the light rain that had begun to fall) and armed with pens, question sheets

and umbrellas, the treasure hunters set off. Searching for various answers to questions about

Laborie, the estate and the Skotnes collection, they braved the rain and the first three to

return were treated to a do-it-yourself sabrage. After all the answer sheets were tallied, four

treasure hunters went through to a bonus question round, having tied in points. As no one

knew that the Epic of Gilgamesh tale originated in Mesopotamia (silly me), it in the end

came down to a draw, which revealed Belinda Viret from Cape Town to be the lucky winner!

Although still soaked from running around in the rain, Belinda couldn’t stop smiling at the

thought of her lifetime supply of wine. The evening continued with much merriment around

the dining room table at Laborie, as our guests enjoyed a lovely three course meal and

Laborie wines. The “jol” continued late into the night – ending with a roaring fireplace and a

“raiding the Manorhouse kitchen pantry for chips” incident (which we only heard about the

following day)…

The next day, although some of them were feeling a bit “broos”, our guests were treated to

wine tastings, a visit to the Cathedral Cellar and a scenic drive in Paarl. Back at Laborie, last

minute preparations were underway for the evening’s opening event. With the wines and

bubblies chilled, hubblies set up and speeches jotted down, we were ready for our last

opening. After all the thank you’s and dedications, we ended off with a presentation of the

giant bottle of wine to our happy winner Belinda. The evening continued long into the night,

with big tables full of happy guests, many empty wine bottles and countless memories

recalled of our epic adventure.

And so we come to the end of our journey across our fair nation, and yes, the little golden

barrel is still with us! It’s been epic, to say the least, and the best part is, the journey is far

from over. Planning is already under way for a permanent art gallery and museum at KWV’s

head office La Concorde in Paarl. In addition, a historical research campaign will be

launched to document the history of KWV as it nears its centennial birthday, to ensure that

the company’s rich heritage is preserved for generations to come.

…well, we didn’t call it the Epic of Everlasting for nothing, now did we?

/ January 2012