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Here at The Great Break we are always searching for valuable information and resources centred around exploring the outdoors. We were excited to find just that in the form of the Hiking South Africa website dedicated to creating a central, national community resource for hikers.

Hiking South Africa is packed with news, videos, and articles about trails around our beautiful country. It has also built a great online community forum on which members discuss a variety of topics from, mountain huts, safety tips, gear advice and even trail food reviews. Looking to trade, sell or buy used hiking gear? This is the place!

We met up with co-founder, Arno van der Heever who expressed how he identified a need for this platform in the hiking community and his passion for the outdoors. We have since collaborated to create a uniquely South African designed t-shirt inspired by the SA landscape and local Ndebele patterns, buy yours in The Great Break Online Store!

You can sign up to the Hiking South Africa newsletter and follow them on social media for updates.

Photos by Sveta Becker

Header photo by Scott Webb

Mossel Bay forms part of the beautiful Garden Route. Situated halfway between Cape Town and Port Elizabeth, it is well known for its pristine beaches and abundant sea life.

The water is warmer in Mossel Bay as it lies on the East Coast with the warm Agulhus current of the Indian Ocean, compared to cold Benguela current of the Atlantic Ocean. This makes for a great day out diving without a wetsuit on a hot summers’ day. Why not make this dive a shark cage dive!

Shark sighting while out on the boat with the White Shark Africa team.

White Shark Africa is perfectly located in Mossel Bay to assist you with your Shark Cage Dive. This is an experience where the length of the time out at sea depends on the sharks and various other factors, but a good timeframe to work on is about 4 hrs.

“White Shark Africa staff have a proud history in White Shark research, conservation and education so you can be sure that we have a passion and love for these animals and their environment.”

You are welcome to visit their website for all the information you need about this amazing experience. Click here.

We had the privilege of collaborating with them to produce their latest shark design, and it looks awesome on the light grey poly-cotton t-shirt. To grab yours, visit their store, address below.

Illustration and locally manufactured T-shirt by The Great Break.

Written by: Jared Kohn

LOCATION> Greyton (Old Potters Brewhouse) to Hermanus (Hemel en Aarde Brewery), South Africa.

Greyton is a small town tucked away against the mountains in the Overberg of the Western Cape, a mere 1-hour drive by car to Hermanus. Hermanus is a small coastal fisherman’s town known for whale watching and weekend breakaways for families.

THE EVENT> Race day was Sunday 6th October 2019, from Greyton to the Brewery at Wine Village, near Hermanus. Cyclists set off at 08h00 on an 85km scenic route with 1400m of elevation ahead of them. There was the alternative option of a shorter 25km circular route which started at 08h15 and finished at the Old Potters Brewery in Greyton.

Race Map, designed by The Great Break.
Race Map, designed by The Great Break.

The vibe and energy on the day was contagious as the fun started early in the morning and continued throughout the day.

COLLABORATION>We were so excited about joining forces with this dynamic team on this outdoor event, and so grateful to have been given this opportunity to work together on these awesome t-shirts, caps and even the race map.

Looking good on event day. Photos taken by Gillian Coetzee.

THE BREWERIES> Old Potters Brewhouse and Inn was established in 2016, in the small village of Greyton, in the heart of the Overberg. In the surrounding area of Caledon, the golden malted barley fields are used in the making of our beers.

Hemel en Aarde Brewery is nestled at the entrance to the renowned Hemel & Aarde Valley wine region – a beautiful piece of land, who’s beauty presented its name upon it, Heaven & Earth.                                     

A very successful event organised by the teams from Coastline Group & MTB-Adventures.  For more information about this event, please visit the website> brewerytobrewery.co.za

Written by: Jared Kohn

Location> Battery Park, Alfred Road, Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, Cape Town, 8012.

This activity takes place in the canal at Battery Park, which forms part of the V & A Waterfront Canal District. The V & A Waterfront is well known for its retail, restaurants and activities in Cape Town, South Africa. Battery Park is surrounded by a range of outdoor recreation, entertainment and retail activities. With this canal so close to the waterfront, it is perfectly located to enjoy lunch with breath-taking views before or after your paddle.

Activity> Fun session out Stand-Up Paddle Boarding. You can paddle in the canal for 1 hour OR 30min. You can also go out to the ocean for an hour session with an instructor. Booking is a must!

RYD SUP boards out on the water at SUP Cape Town.

Best to check weather conditions for a day out on the water to make the most of your experience. SUP Cape Town is open 7 days a week from 9am -5pm.

SUP Cape Town have an extensive range of merchandise for sale in their retro styled store. From surfing gear, SUP boards, apparel and accessories.
Plenty of parking available.

Handy tips > ensure you wear clothes that can get wet, and great idea to take a spare set of clothes with you. (just in case ) Sunglasses, a hat and a towel are best to bring a long as well.

We love the excitement of the SUP Cape Town team and their passion for the outdoors, that is why we jumped at the opportunity to do a collaborative project with them. These awesome t-shirts are for sale in their store.

Design & supply by The Great Break.

Should you need any further information on this outdoor experience, feel free to contact the SUP Cape Town team on 071 603 8388 or supcapetown@gmail.com

Written By: Jared Kohn

“A big premise behind The Great Break is to collaborate with different artists and create unique pieces in different formats,” explains founder Jared Kohn, outlining how a recent project with friend Ross Symons brought this to life.

Ross Symons below the installation

Kohn was approached by the Gone Outdoor store in Cape Town to do some form of installation for the increasingly popular First Thursdays. “I was not just about me doing flat illustration design but bringing in new dimension to an artwork,” Kohn says.

“Ross and I had done a collaboration before which went up in Salt Circle,” he says. “We did an artwork and I immediately thought it was a great opportunity to do some sort of installation with him again.”

“We’d worked well together (on that previous project) and enjoyed the whole process of combining an idea of a taking two-dimensional artwork, which is on a flat piece of paper and then taking that flat piece into a three dimensional format (which is essentially what Ross does).”

According to Kohn there was this really interesting contrasting relationship and cross over between the two crafts.

“The brief was to relate the installation to the water crisis that was happening in the Western Cape. It didn’t have to be the only focal point but we thought it a relevant influence at the time,”

Kohn explains.

The two didn’t have a huge budget so wanted to keep it simple but interactive. “If it couldn’t be aesthetically impressive to look at from far, we wanted people to engage with it,” he says.

The two then came up with the idea to create a virtual rain shower out of origami diamonds which had been illustrated on by Kohn. “I did various elements of nature,” he says. “From water to plants, mountains and rivers.”

The diamond shape worked well as a ‘raindrop’ and was just the most obvious choice for the two, who suspended these ‘raindrops’ from the ceiling down to a seat and focal point. People then had the opportunity to go and sit down and take photos underneath this rain shower, by way of interaction.

“It ended up looking great and we were pleased with the outcome, it was a nice meaningful piece,”

Kohn says.

“I think in hindsight we could’ve made it much bigger which would’ve made it more impactful but a lot more time consuming (it took two days to install). But this is what we learn on our journey as creators, the practical versus the ideal. There is no benefit in having a great idea that cannot be translated into something tangible”

In addition the pair sold some of their artworks. Symons sold print photographs of his current origami series – an Instagram series of miniature origami, while Kohn sold various signed pieces.

After the First Thursday event, the installation was relocated to the Gone Outdoor store and then stayed there until the end of that month. Throughout that month people had the opportunity to take a photo of themselves interacting with the installation and then enter a competition to win some prizes from the store and some art works from the duo.

“What it was, was showing people a new way of doing things, to a degree – it was, in essence, advertising for us as well, but it was exciting to do. With this project and the previous one we learned a heck of a lot, in terms of getting it done,” Kohn muses. “It was definitely about it having meaning and uniqueness in terms of a collaboration between the different crafts and about being interactive and a talking point for people who viewed and experienced it. We’re looking forward to doing more for sure,”

he concluded.

Written by: Ross Symons

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