We held the competition, chose the winners and sent them on a luxury weekend to Cape Town. Chris Buchanan went along as the host from Live Out Loud and met eight extraordinary people

The competition to the public was held in the banking court of Sandton City and over 500 people took their time to write down their Live Out Loud Moment. Two winners were chosen: MacDonald Kgare who was the first in his family to get his degree, cum laude, and Ilana Friedman, who brings joy to the lives of children. We could have chosen entries from people who had made billion rand fortunes or who had achieved great material things but that was not the point of the competition.

The other two categories involved a photographic competition won by Kit Bruyns and a media competition won by Pabi Moloi of All Access and Highveld Stereo. We gathered in Johannesburg late on a Friday night to travel to Cape Town, all with our partners and all total strangers from all

walks of life. We got home on Sunday as friends having shared unforgettable experiences and having all had a glimpse into each others’ lives.

Our arrival in Cape Town was late, 11pm and there stood luxury Bentley limos at the arrivals door ready to take us to our hotel.

The management of 15 on Orange were waiting for us as we arrived close to midnight. We were welcomed, given a rundown of the facilities and shown to our rooms in which we found designer snack platters and complimentary truffles.

After breakfast on Saturday we made our way down to the marina and on to Princess Intrepid arranged through Barron Charters. She’s a 20m motor yacht with all the luxuries of ice cold bubbly, sushi and the fresh sea wind through your hair. We were limited by a fairly high sea but weather permitting, the entire peninsula is your oyster with any of the yachts offered by Barron Charters.

Dinner that evening was at The Grand Café & Beach in Granger Bay with its astounding views across Table Bay and its innovative dining concept. The energetic of the group hit Cape Town’s night spots after dinner and partied to the wee hours.

We bade our farewell to the staff of 15 on Orange on the Sunday and arrived at Allée Bleue wine estate for a decadent picnic in the winelands.

That’s about as much as we could have squeezed in to our magical weekend and it was back to Johannesburg with fond memories of once in a lifetime experiences and great people.

The highlights? Watermelon and Rose cocktails on the 15 on Orange Terrace, sushi and sparkling wine on the deck of Princess Intrepid, and the lights of Table Bay twinkling in the distance at the Grand Café & Beach.

Share