Riversands Farm Village : A Sunday Morning That Had "Cancel" Written All Over It

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 supportive friend that I am, I completely ignored this opportunity and responded with a cheerful thumbs-up.

Internally, however, I had already accepted my fate.

The forecast was awful - cold AND wet

The odds of cancellation seemed excellent - I was mentally preparing for my third solo hike in recent memory, which was particularly ironic given that I'd recently been telling everyone how long it had been since I'd done a solo hike.

The universe loves irony.

When the Student Becomes the Master

By Sunday morning it was spitting rain and cold enough to make me feel guilty for not giving Basil an easy way out.

Trying to be considerate, I messaged her.

"Let me know how you're feeling."

Translation: Here is your escape route.

Take it - run.

I also casually mentioned that Boris was expecting a hike.

This was not me being manipulative..

I simply presented facts in a way that strongly suggested disappointing Boris could trigger the collapse of civilisation.

Then came the response.

"We leave at 7."

No hesitation.

No uncertainty.

No weather-related bargaining.

Just commitment.

At that moment I realised something - the student had become the master.

Suddenly I had to abandon my carefully crafted disappointment and become enthusiastic again.

This is difficult for me - joy is not my natural state.

It's more like stretching before exercise. If you don't warm up properly, something gets injured.

Previous Visit

The funny thing is that my previous visit had been... fine.

Not bad.

Not amazing.

Just fine.

We basically wandered around with absolutely no idea where we were going.

Eventually we bumped into some fellow hikers who informed us that there was a river.

At Riversands - who could possibly have seen that coming?

They pointed us in the right direction and, to be fair, the river turned out to be the highlight of the day.

To add insult to injury, the farmers market was closed for a private function, so I left feeling like it had more to offer.

So I left convinced the place probably had more to offer.

The Trail

This visit was considerably better.

Partly because I knew the area.

Partly because I've become a more experienced hiker.

And partly because I've accepted one of the great truths of hiking - only about one trail in twenty is actually well marked.

Once you embrace this reality, life becomes much easier.

You stop expecting signs.

You stop expecting certainty.

You simply walk confidently in random directions and call it adventure.

We ended up covering nearly seven kilometres and, remarkably, didn't get lost.

To be fair, we also didn't strictly follow a trail - but let's not get distracted by technicalities.

The route took us through open grassland, a lovely forest section and around the dam.

After the hike we grabbed coffee in the farmer's market area.

And honestly?

This is where Riversands really shines.

The market has food stalls, outdoor seating, live music, plenty of space for families and enough activities to keep children occupied while adults focus on the important business of caffeine consumption.

Once Again, the Universe Delivers

The weather app confidently predicted rain until midday.

We didn't get a drop.

Not during the hike.

Not during coffee.

Nothing.

The spitting only arrived after we were done and heading home at around 11 am.

So once again, thank you universe for coming through with impeccable timing.

RATINGS

Trail Information

AREA

Midrand

COST

Free. Everyone's favourite price.

Trail Details

TRAIL DIFFICULTY

Easy

TRAIL LENGTH

Yes...that.

TRAIL MARKERS

Kinda

TRAIL HIGHLIGHTS

The forest section and the dam.

WEATHER CONDITIONS TO CONSIDER

It's mostly open

ABLUTIONS

SAFE FREE PARKING

AMENITIES

The farmers market, bike trails, Acrobranch and a climbing wall.

WILDLIFE & BIRD LIFE

Ducks

Lots of bird life.

No lions - I know some people need that clarified.

NOTE TO SELF

Find out where ducks go when they're not being ducks.

FAMILY FRIENDLY

Absolutely

PET FRIENDLY

Definitely.

Boris approves - which is the only review that really matters.

ON A FINAL NOTE

It's close.

It's free.

It's easy.

There's nature, coffee, ducks and a market.

Honestly, for a morning that started with me mentally pivoting to a solo hike, it turned out remarkably well.

(TO)SOLO OR (NO)SOLO

(TO)SOLO