breaking up with borneo

The minute the Mainstay team and I arrived on Gaya Island, off the mainland of Borneo, we knew that tearing ourselves away from this special place would be one of the hardest things to do.

Steeped in a splendour which combines the beauty of lush forests, scenic trails, intricate cave systems and meandering rivers with clear, enticing waters, this island is a utopia of tranquillity.

breathtaking

Words could never do justice to its majestic beauty; no amount of film could ever capture this tropical paradise, where the visitor cannot help but succumb to the grandeur of a place in which nature reigns supreme.
Granted, this was my first trip overseas (go big or go home, they say) but Borneo and the Island Resort certainly fulfilled its promise as a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

One of the main questions that I’ve asked the models on this trip is, ‘What tops this experience?’ No one has been able to think of another place. This is my frame of mind as I start off my last day on the island, day four of the SA Swimsuit Borneo photo shoot.

As Candice, Rosette, and Careen bid us farewell, it dawned upon my travel companions that this infatuation with this island would soon be entertained only as a memory.

Only an activity that would out-do the other days here would be a fitting end to this experience. The solution, it turned out, was fairly simple: a two-hour spa treatment.

While the photographers and models battled it out in the hot jungle, my masseuse was performing magic, relaxing my nerve ends, confronting my sleep-depriving demon, insomnia.

The lady with bewitching hands let the effect of sleep-deficiency run its course on the massage table and I finally managed to get some real rest, which energised me for the day.

By lunch-time I was doing hand-stands on the beach, not to mention an impromptu ‘how to work your abs’ session with a true beauty, Nicole Meyer.

I invited Nicole to a continue reading

reality shows with models

Being an insomniac has its moments. I survived four years of university exams solely by using this sleep-denial demon to my advantage. Being ‘normal’ wouldn’t cut it, so my method was simple: sleep in the afternoon, pull an all-nighter, then zombie-walk to my exam room and write down the answers which my sleep-deprived state convinced me were right. Head home. Sleep. Repeat.

It may sound a little extreme, but it worked and, happily, I have a qualification, thank you very much.

But there is a different side to this coin: the times when insomnia decides to bite. And when it does, it doesn’t just scratch the surface; it cuts deep and reminds you who is boss.

Needless to say, on this side of the coin I come off second-best. And day three in Borneo for SA Swimsuit is more than an unpleasant reminder of exactly who is in charge. Oh yes, insomnia reigns supreme and I find myself its unwilling servant.

hiking with Candice

The day started off with Candice Boucher, Jason (TV crew) and me being invited to join Gaya Island’s resident naturalist for a nature ‘walk’. Most people would call it hiking. Uphill hiking at that!
Not that this deterred me.

I have always been at my happiest outdoors. So this walk, on any other day, would have been a breeze. But not today, because at 02:45, I was catching up with mates in South Africa, fully aware that I had a date with the mountains. But closing my eyes at that hour was not an option. As I mentioned, sleep and I parted ways many years ago.

Now, despite being surrounded by the magnificence of the outdoor life of Borneo, by the 20th minute of this 80-minute hike (I’m choosing to call it as it is), I was playing the ‘are we there yet’ game, questioning my thoughts of entering Survivor South Africa, which I have been entertaining for the past week.

cooking with Rosette

Somehow I put one tired continue reading