I'VE JUST DISCOVERED ZULU ROSE AND I'M IN LOVE!

This is a departure for me. Usually I'm in self-aggrandizing mode, promoting my own t-shirt creations that are growing probably not as fast as they should along at my store www.sweltermerchandise.com. But I've just been cruising through This Next when I was stopped in my tracks by a t-shirt by Zulu Rose. I'm sure whether or not you have to be African to fully appreciate their wonderful site and creations, but when I stopped over at their place I instantly got that wonderful smell, heat and soul from their web site layout, their t-shirt and other apparel designs and their use of language. I admit to being a little drenched in envy too. Their work is beautiful and everyone involved at Zulu Rose seems to have a really interesting background - from academia to design, shooting for MTV, dance (with SoulIISoul), costume design (for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Company amongst other such luminaries), and concept work for Beyonce. Phew! I can't top that but I am inspired by what Zulu Rose has achieved, I'm always proud to be African, and I will be starting my very contemporary African t-shirt brand before the year is out. So, to the team at Zulu Rose, I say thank you and hamba kahle (go well!).

BE BRAVE! GO ON AN AFRICAN T-SHIRT SAFARI.

We're headed for the Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Game Reserve set in the heart of Zululand. Established in 1895, it is purportedly the oldest game park in Africa. If you look really hard, searching through 96 000 hectares of hills, bush and the Hluhluwe River Flood Plain, you'll likely come across the Big Five - lion, black and white rhino, elephant, buffalo and leopard. Not to mention an abundance of other animals, from cheetah (one of my favourites) to giraffe, blue wildebeest, zebra, hyena, jackal, warthogs, baboons and all kinds of buck (like waterbuck, nyala, eland, kudu, impala, duiker, suni and reedbuck). You'll even find crocodiles and hippos. And over 300 species of birds.

It's one of my favourite places to visit. I love the indigenous growth, the wild dusty smell, and the sounds of thousands of insects and birds in conversation at the same time. Not to mention the feeling of intense heat pounding down on your skin, forcing even the most intense of individuals to relax and be at one with the African world.

Watching animals takes time and patience. We have to respect that we are in their territory and must honour their natural rhythms. But the wait is always worth it. I have been privileged to have been amongst wild African animals all my life yet every time I see a giraffe I am struck by its graciousness, every time I see a lion or lioness with its cubs, I am in awe of its balance between purring gentleness and immense power, and whenever I see a cheetah, I cannot believe its beauty and speed.

I was in Hlulhuwe earlier this year with my partner, entertaining an American guest. And soon we will be lucky enough to go there again, this time with family from Australia. The game park is only three and a half hours drive from our place and yet we don't go there often enough. A few days out in the bush and you feel totally renewed.

Of course, the trick is to go well equipped. Since it is swelteringly hot most of the time, you'll need to wear something comfortable and cool ... like a t-shirt or two from the appropriately named Swelter, perhaps. This range is just beginning. Expect it to take unexpected twists and turns, like the rocky pathways down to the Umfolozi River. The creation of each shirt is an exploration unto itself. Demanding, exciting and surprising. I'm approaching it with a pioneering spirit. And anticipate both the journey and the outcome to be a little wild.

AFRICA, MY AFRICA

I've been extremely privileged to have been born and brought up in Africa. No matter how much the Western world has brought in its influence, Africa is still a Dark Continent and hopefully will always be that to a large extent. It is wild, vast and awesome in the grandest meaning of the word. Whether you are honoured enough to live here, or lucky to be able to visit, one thing is for certain - you will always be touched by this great land. You will realize that you are a very small part of something much greater, that is beyond you yet connected to you, and that connects all creatures that touch its soil. Of course, such immense experiences and feelings demand a t-shirt, the greatest wearable art form and means of portable expression. Not just any t-shirt, mind you, but one from the good spirited and passionate African t-shirt brand, Swelter. A very global brand, I may add - the designs come out of Africa, the shirts are made in America and they are worn all over the world. Try this one on for size.