The Hiking Hag

If my previous post didn’t already convince you to keep a SLIGHTLY open mind about our cities, parks, and public spaces… this might be where I finally lose you. Still. Try. Because today I’m going to say something nice about Downtown Johannesburg. Take a moment. I’ll wait. Deep breath. Sip of water. Text someone you trust. Everyone okay? Good. Let’s proceed recklessly. This was organised by the Boksburg Hiking Club - which, despite the name, occasionally hikes on things other

For those of you who refuse to hike free suburban trails because you have heard they are " dirty", "dangerous",  and possibly home to several unsolved crimes, I truly hope that I’ve managed at the very least to nudge your paranoia down a few percentage points. Even a reluctant 0.5% I would regard as a win. So my son Pepper and I headed out to this trail - in the south of Johannesburg - spanning 640 hectares. This wasn’t my first time there - which is unusual for me, because

So someone asked me (after I’d been gushing like a borderline-obsessive whack job about how happy I’ve been since I found hiking), whether I’d "still be happy" if I couldn’t hike anymore. And honestly? I was irritated. Because you know those “questions” that aren’t questions at all, just passive-aggressive insinuations gift wrapped and slapped with a label that says "concern" - even though they could not be any less concerned? Yes, that. The Question That Poked the Bear What

I first hiked here a while back and remember being pleasantly surprised by what I found. Recently, it popped into my brain while I was doing my new favorite hobby - researching dog-friendly hikes for Boris, the self-declared off-lead monarch of the universe. Naturally, I informed Basil (Boris’s human) that we absolutely had to revisit this trail for a very serious “Boris Compatibility Assessment.” Because obviously, science demands it. Early Morning Trails We arrived at 7 am.

There is nothing that warms the cockles of my ice-cold heart more than stumbling across an actual community. You know… the old-school values. The kind where people talk to each other, look out for each other, and aren't locked in a silent competition to outdo each other. From what I’m told, this sort of thing still exists in our rural areas - out there somewhere beyond the potholes and robots. But in the Gauteng suburbs? Forget about it. Or at least… mostly forget about it. B

We Need To Talk Ticks So… are ticks having a moment, or is it just me? I have questions. Many questions. Mostly because every time I ask someone about ticks, I get a completely different answer. Love a topic where nobody knows anything. One thing is  certain though. The second someone says the word “tick,” I immediately initiate a full-body security sweep. Shoulders? Check. Socks? Check. Back of neck? (Previously compromised.) Last year, ticks were background characters. I wa