Johannesburg - Dubbed the Bush-Cook Guru, Justin Bonello can be seen in the fourth season of Ultimate Braai Master on e.tv.
First holiday memory?
Travelling through the Transkei to Coffee Bay and Hole in the Wall in the back of my dad’s Cruiser and, strangely enough, I have a distinct memory of jumping on a trampoline – I can’t recall exactly where it was, but that one seems to have stuck with me 40-odd years later.
Favourite place in South Africa?
It has to be the Wild Coast. I love the big wide open spaces and the fact that you can get out of the stimulation pollution and be out of contact from the chaotic rat race of the city.
Best holiday?
My favourite holidays have always been on the Wild Coast – my favourite place in South Africa. I have a secret spot on the Transkei Coast that I go to every year to de-stress, find myself and spend time with my family.
What have you learnt from your travels?
There are three cardinal rules: be open, be honest, and be humble – that way you open yourself up to all the experiences that you can have on the open road.
Ideal travelling companion?
I have to say the wife and kids. When I first met my wife, 10-odd years ago, the first thing we did to get to know each other was to do a 10-day road trip. While filming the fourth season of Ultimate Braai Master this year, I took my wife and kids along for the journey. It was amazing to see my children’s evolution through the spaces we were going into and, two months later, they’re still talking about the journey – where they were, the hot springs and so on. Michael Palin puts it aptly when he says that the only bug you want to get when you travel is the travel bug and … once you’ve been bitten it’s all that you want to do.
Beach bum, culture vulture or adrenalin junkie?
I would have to say beach bum/adrenalin junkie. I’m not so keen on the culture side of it. I love being out in the open spaces of the great outdoors, fishing on the rocks, jumping off cliffs – that kind of thing gets me going.
Greatest travel luxury?
I would have to say that it’s my portable Bluetooth speaker that hooks up to my phone. More often than not, music makes the whole experience of travel that much richer and special – another essential travel companion.
Holiday reading?
At the moment I’m reading At Home by Bill Bryson. It’s quite interesting to delve into how we evolved from living in caves to a predominantly home dwelling species, but there’s a question that I’m interested in finding the answer to: 100 to 200 years ago there were three spices we put on the table – salt and pepper are the obvious ones, but there’s no reference to what the third spice was and that intrigues me. What was the third spice tables in Europe had to have?
Which country, town or city has seduced you?
Earlier this year, I was fortunate to travel to India and I fell in love with the people, the culture, the macro economy and the visual vibrancy. In my backyard it would have to be the Karoo.
Worst travel experience?
On that same trip to India, during the layover in Dubai, we were so exhausted that I left R50 000 worth of equipment at a restaurant and it disappeared.
l Dubbed the Bush-Cook Guru, Justin Bonello can be seen in the fourth season of Ultimate Braai Master on e.tv.
Saturday Star