The Hiking Hag

Sunday morning was promising to be exactly the kind of weather that makes sensible people stay in bed. Freezing. Wet. Miserable. The sort of day where even your coffee needs a coffee. But Basil (Boris's human) and I had plans to hike at Riversands Farm Village. We'd both done the trail before, although not together and not recently. On Saturday night, Basil messaged to confirm the start time. I suspected her message was a desperate plea for me to suggest cancelling. Being the

Let me tell you about a cup of garage cuppacino. Not the kind that wins awards. The kind that comes in a paper cup at a petrol station at an hour when reasonable people are either asleep or pretending responsibility doesn’t exist. And yet, somehow, it has disproportionate power in my life. A Totally Unremarkable Luxury (That I Would Defend in Court) It starts innocently enough. A road trip. Well, a hike. Sometimes one that is technically so close it barely qualifies as travel

Let us begin with the default assumption that I am the problem - experience suggests this is usually the safest starting point. When I came across this walk hosted by the Johannesburg Heritage Foundation, I was immediately interested. Not because I've suddenly become sociable. Let's not get carried away. But I genuinely love discovering corners of South Africa that are far better than the headlines would have us believe. I invited my hiking pal Lavender along. She's endlessly

I was due to meet a friend for coffee. A few days before, however, I had a sudden realization - this friend, whom I've known for around 25 years, was actually into nature long before I was. Not in the usual "I love trees and get angry when someone cuts one down" kind of way. No. She is one of those people who gets involved. Actively. Like some kind of botanical emergency services unit. The sort of person who sees a struggling tree and thinks, “Right. I’ll fix that,” instead o

There was hiking. Then more hiking. Then even more hiking. And because apparently I have no sense of moderation, there was additional hiking after that. Four days. Four hikes - for me. Yes, I am absolutely going to mention it repeatedly. If excessive self-congratulation isn't your thing, feel free to step away briefly. Before you know it, I'll be back to my regularly scheduled self-loathing and self-deprecating programming shortly. But for now? I sparkle. The Monday Morning F

Hello, my small-town family. You haven't heard from me since my lovely stay in Wakkerstroom a few weeks ago. I was hoping to maintain an air of mystery for at least a couple months, but alas, here I am again. The reason? My milestone birthday and a hiking weekend in the spectacular Eastern Free State. Now, before anyone panics, this is not about the ridiculously epic hikes. You are small-town folk, not hiking folk. That said, it would be borderline criminal for me not to shar