Sandton Field & Study Centre (Plus a Delta Park Victory Lap): A Disjointed but Delightful Day

This was one of those days that start with a plan, immediately trip over themselves, and then pretend that was the plan all along.

Boris (off-lead king), Basil (keeper of the king), and I set off to explore the Sandton Field & Study Centre.

It had been hovering on my list forever.

Random? Extremely.

But my brain fixated and refused to let it go.

The Sandton Field & Study Centre: Open? Closed? Imaginary?

According to the internet (our modern-day oracle), it’s closed on Sundays? Maybe.

A nine-kilometre trail? Possibly.

A park you can just stroll into? Could be.

Armed with this premium-grade intel, I dragged "B squared" along to solve the mystery.

We mentally prepared for it to be closed (because -Google), and we kept Delta Park as our backup plan.

I'm still not quite sure that we were in the right place.

There was nothing to close.

Yes, there was a gate we drove through - which looked like it might possibly have been opened that morning out of sheer habit - but beyond that? It’s a park. A field. Some trees. A river.

Closing it would require the universe’s participation - and honestly, even that feels optimistic.

First Impressions: “Is This Safe?”

When we started walking, the vibe was very “nice neighbourhood stroll by a river,” and slightly less “official trail maintained by actual humans.”

I was not immediately convinced it was safe-safe - just normal-safe. The kind of safe where you walk faster out of habit.

But hey - other people were out walking dogs, taking photos, and looking totally unfazed. That was reassuring.

Then we stumbled onto a Joburg City Parks sign and I was genuinely shook.

City Parks usually does a great job, but this area looked like it had been hit by silly-season chaos and an unholy amount of rain.

Still, it was pleasant in a “suburban park that isn’t surprisingly well maintained but still somehow works” kind of way.

About That “9 km Trail”…

We did 2-ish kilometres.

Two. Ish.

So unless that trail has a secret expansion pack we missed, I remain unconvinced about the mythical 9 kilometres Google swore existed.

Boris, by the way, lived his absolute BEST life. Tail high, nose working overtime, fully convinced he ran the show (which he did).

Flushing Away My Judgements

At the end of our mini-hike, I reluctantly ventured into the park toilets, prepared for trauma.

And then…... they were immaculate. Shockingly clean.

Zero toilet paper - but honestly, does toilet paper even exist in public bathrooms, or that just an urban legend?

That’s when I realised I might’ve been a tad too judgy earlier.

The place IS maintained - it’s just a perfectly normal urban park walk doing perfectly normal urban park things.

But just at the mercy of Johannesburg weather and, well… December being aggressively December.

Final verdict

If you’ve got a dog who wants to gallivant like royalty - go.

If parks with no security give you palpitations - don't go.

Personally, I wouldn’t do this one solo.

They also have some jungle gyms if you’re taking kiddies.

Detour to Delta Park

Because two kilometres does not a morning adventure make, we headed off (Boris practically yelling “FINALLY!”) to Delta Park.

I’d been there once before with my son Pepper..... in the rain - and we wandered around like two rain-soaked, directionally confused gremlins until we finally found the correct parking lot.

So returning was definitely on my list, but preferably when the beautiful (and dry) cosmos flowers were in full bloom.

Last time (because...rain), Pepper and I virtually had the whole place to ourselves.

This time? It started off with an unstoppable herd of weekend warriors and their dogs, stampeding toward… who knows what, really. 

Boris was unimpressed, and honestly, same.

But once we moved deeper in, it shifted from a chaotic “ARGH” to a gentle “ahhh.

We walked about 4 km, with some polite little inclines that tricked us into feeling fit.

The bridge to the coffee shop was blocked (rain-related, I assume), so we didn’t cross it… but I somehow think it is the more scenic side.

But we’ll be back when the famous blooms are blooming - and we’ll approach from the other side.

This I think I would do solo.

The Satisfied Trio

By the end of it, Boris and I were blissfully content.

Basil—who had no real say in any of this - seemed happy too.

Two perfectly normal urban parks doing perfectly normal urban park things - nothing more, nothing less, nothing shocking.

A success of a day.

Thanks, B-squared… for once again transforming my “What are we even doing?” into “Wow, that was actually lovely.”.

See you on the next adventure.