Northern Farms

About 6 months ago, I started cycling. Nothing hectic, I’m more of a leisurely rider who likes to look at the scenery while I’m doing it. My father recently introduced me to Northern Farms. It’s a Nature Reserve out near Diepsloot and I think it may have at one time been a JHB Waterworks site. There is also a cow farm on the property. 

According to the website (http://www.northernfarm.co.za) , it offers over 2500ha of beautiful green grasslands and woodlands to explore. It is a great spot for bird watching, cycling and horse riding. It can get very busy, judging by the number of cars parked, but the area is so big you can go for ages without seeing anyone (although they do tend to sneak up behind you on the single tracks!)

There are 5 marked out routes – pink, green, red and blue. Pink being the easiest and shortest and black the longest. At the moment, I prefer to do the green route, not too many hills and lots of mud! There is a combination of jeep and single tracks and we go past dams, through forests and fields and past cow enclosures.  

I love taking a relaxed cycle around while looking at the awesome scenery. There are green fields and farms with housing complexes, informal settlements and power transmission lines in the distance. Every now and then a Kulula plane takes off overhead – it’s close to Lanseria.  

After your ride, you can drop your bike at the bike wash which is part of the Dipesloot Development Project. They also host the Diepsloot Mountain Bike Academy that provides MTB and life skills training for underprivileged youth sourced from schools in Diepsloot (https://www.facebook.com/DiepslootMTBAcademy).  

There is also a ‘coffee shop’ where you can buy a delicious bacon and egg or cheese and bacon roll with a coffee or Sterie Stumpie. You sit outside on benches under the trees and inhale your roll while cyclist watching.  

It really is a great and safe weekend morning out!

Off to market!

Markets seem to be quite the rage at the moment in Joburg. They are springing up all over the place and thankfully they seem to be quite decent!

The two markets I love at the moment are the Neighbourgoods Market in Braamfontein and the Fourways Farmers Market - there are still a lot more I need to visit!

Neighbourgoods Market

This is found in an old parking garage in the middle of the 'new' Braamfontein, in Juta Street. The market has all sorts of yummy things downstairs like fresh eggs benedict, waffles with bacon in them, giant pancakes (the lemon meringue is my favourite!) and champagne and oysters. There are also lots of vendors selling take home stuff like pesto and sauces (Paulie's is a firm favourite!). Upstairs you can sit outside taking in the sights and sounds of the city or you can visit the clothing and jewellery section that sells small design label clothes.

You should get there early because the market gets very busy and you'll find yourself trying to eat and drink while standing - not easy to do if you need utensils!

It's open every Saturday from 9:00 to 15:00. Come hungry!



Photos courtesy of Neighbourgoods Market

Fourways Farmers Market

This market is on the corner of William Nicol and Montecasino Boulevard, next to Longmeadow Venue. It's open on Sunday's from 09:00 to 15:00 and features fresh produce, freshly made food and the usual sauces and other delicious goodies.

Once you have your food, there are hay bales, picnic tables and tree stumps to sit on. There is also a separate bar type area where you can buy wine and beer (and there aren't many children!).

It's another great day out and you can stock up on all sorts of things. There are some great 'food trucks' like Baha Taco, Balkan Burgers and Flammkuchen - they also sell cronuts (yum!) and I can recommend a visit to the cheese stall - the brie is out of this world!

Rhino and Lion Park – a day just out of the city

This weekend, I treated myself and a little friend to a day out at the Rhino and Lion Park (www.rhinolion.co.za) in the Cradle. It's about 30 minutes out of Randburg, so in the 'bush' but not. It's a lovely area, big plots, cycle lanes, hills and grasslands. I've stopped opposite the entrance while out cycling with Daddles, where they have animals (lions and tigers) in enclosures as part of a breeding programme and to get animals healthy (I think) but never actually went inside.

The entrance fee was R130 for adults and R90 for kids (they take cards). After you've entered the park you drive along dirt roads (a 4x4 would've been a more comfortable choice in car!) past mixed herds of animals. They have set up feeding areas along the road for the grazing animals, complete with salt licks.

The first heard we saw was a mix of wildebeest, impala and a snoring buffalo next to the road. Along the way we also saw sable, gemsbok, waterbuck, ostriches (one relaxing in the middle of the road), zebras, eland, a rhino, squirrels and a mongoose.

We drove through to the Predator enclosure just in time for feeding time. The first stop is the wild dogs. Most of them were in a field to the left having a go at a big rack of ribs but three were sitting in the shade to the right. They got up and starting sniffing the cars, rubbing the exhaust of one and chewing the wheel cover of another. From there, it’s through to the Lion enclosure. After queuing like peak hour traffic we got in just in time to see a cow (or something similar) get dumped off a ranger vehicle. The pride jumped on it and got going. It was quite scary to hear the growls coming from a pile of lions. When we’d had enough, it was a drive through the very big cheetah area, but we didn’t see any.

The next stop was the animal crèche where they keep the exotic, baby and sick animals. We played with the baby lions – there were 3 month olds and 6 ½ month olds to choose from, we took the younger ones. Three of the four were asleep and the fourth was very playful. They were very sweet little things. We also saw baby giraffes, clouded leopards, a black leopard, jaguar, Siberian tigers, white tigers (one was trying to stalk the hyena in the enclosure next door), blue cranes, bat-eared foxes and so on. It is R30 to play with the Lions and you have to pay for each animal you want to interact with, like the grown cheetah. They only take cash in the crèche but do take cards at booking office a short walk away at reception. There is also a reptile section though we didn’t go in.

The crèche is also part of an area that has picnic areas, a restaurant and kids play area. And lots of squirrels.

At a few points along the drive you can see the Coca Cola Dome and Sandton in the distance, which reminds you that you're actually quite close to home but still surrounded by a game park. It was a very dusty experience as well, there is red dust everywhere! It looked like we'd been off-roading in the dessert. I assume it's better in summer?

They also have accommodation, game drives and Wondercaves.

So all in all, well worth the visit! It’s a great day out of Joburg without really going out of Joburg.

 

A tourist in our own town - City Sightseeing Tours

Daddles and I love doing tours of Joburg! We love the history, the vibe, the architecture, the people. So as a birthday present, I decided to book us on the newly unveiled City Sighting seeing tour of Johannesburg. I've done the tours in Cape Town and Rome and loved them! They're a quick, easy and interesting way to see a city and to get a feel for it before you launch yourself into being a tourist.  

The tickets are very reasonable, R120 online and R150 at the 'door'. We started the tour at Park Station on a half full bus. There were the usual selection of European tourists but it was also nice to see or rather hear locals on the tour.  

The audio part of the tour is very good. The guides have some good information and are entertaining. They objectively cover the important parts of Joburg history but without going too deep into the ugly parts surrounding apartheid. Luckily there weren’t any cringe –worthy parts which is quite an achievement!  

It goes past Ghandi Square, the Carlton Centre (see previous Top of Africa post) and onto Santarama.  

We got off at the Santarama stop. Just to give you some background… in primary school, Santarama was one of the field trips we used to do. It's also known as Miniland. It's full of teeny replicas of all sorts of (pre 1994) South African things like an airport, the Castel of Good Hope, a harbour, a city hall,  the Dromedaris, rural villages for different tribes and so on. There is a massive statue of Jan van Riebeeck outside and for some strange reason, a huge statue of Michael Jackson inside? I was looking forward to seeing the place because I only have fond memories of it… I was very disappointed! It looks like they haven’t done any maintenance in the last 15 years and would probably have to demolish it and start again. I'm not really sure why this is on the tour?  

 

We then walked down the road to the James Hall Transport Museum. What a treat! I'd never heard of it, but am so glad my Dad wanted to see it! They have old wagons, bikes, fire engines and cars in great condition. Being a fan of shiny sports cars and vintage cars, I was in my element! Then it was on to Gold Reef City, via Turfontein, past the Apartheid Museum and back into town.   

We got off the bus again at the Mining District Walk, outside the Anglo American building – which was the building my dad had his job in (but not at Anglo). We walked down Main Street which has been done up very nicely! My dad told me stories about when he worked in town in the 70's before the big companies moved into the Sandton CBD. There are little extra touches everywhere like pretty gardens, metal leaf cut outs in the pavements and mining machinery and presses. While waiting for the bus, we chatted to some guys (and their customers) at their spaza shop and my dad took some great photos… Joburg is truly a great cultural melting pot!

And then we were off to Newtown, where we stopped to grab some lunch at Gramadoelas. I wouldn’t recommend it. Bad service, terrible food and a waste of stomach space! I think you just need to look a bit harder in the area for a great place to eat. While waiting for the bus, we made a plan to come back to the Sci Bono Museum that is in the old Electric Workshop (my favourite rave venue back in the 90's).

The rest of the trip took us past the Origins Centre - a very interesting museum about the evolution of humankind, The Grove in Braamfoniten, home to the Neighbourgoods Market (excellent market!!) and a lot of urban renewal and the to Constitution Hill. This is my favourite museum and I've done the tour so many times I can probably give it myself. If there is one place you visit in Joburg, this is it!!

From there, it was back to Park Station and the end of a really good tour. We had a great day and I am looking forward to other routes they will hopefully add to the tour.

Visit http://www.citysightseeing.co.za/joburg.php

 

 

 

 

Greenside - a place to eat, drink and dance

The other night, I went to Greenside with some friends for a girls night out. This is one of many outings over the last couple year's to the vibey, villagey suburb.

Greenside was initially part of a farm founded by the Geldenhuys brothers, who owned a huge area that now includes Linden, Emmarentia, Saxonwold, Parkhurst and Victory Park.

The main drag of Gleneagles Drive is lined with restaurants and bars on one side and small businesses on the other. There are all sorts of cuisines to choose from, Indian (at Spiceburg and Karma), South African (Mama Tembo's), Asian (Tokyo Star), Italian (Topo Gigio), burgers at Dukes and the list goes on.

It's a great place for sundowners, with Topo Gigio offering jugs of cocktails at half price between 3 and 5. They also have great food and the vibe is great!

If you're there for a night out and aren't having dinner, this is what I recommend...

1.   Have a couple drinks at The Office. It's a vibey, busy bar. It does get super full after about 9, but that's ok because by then it's time to move on.

2.   Stop in at Gin, next door to The Office. This has a more chilled, less hoity toity feel. It's a great place for a couple more drinks and bit of a dance. The music ranges from old school rap, to hip hop to rock to pop. Try and avoid the bathroom though... it's not great.

3.   Wander along to Tokyo Star. There are 2 sections to Tokyo, the bar/restaurant that plays chilled acid jazz type music and the club side that plays everything. And I mean everything, from Dr Dre to Nirvana, it just depends on who the DJ is.

There is also Bob Rock's around the corner, but the night we went there, we were underwhelmed and the music wasn't that good.

Because it is all in a residential area, everything closes down at 2am, so you have a time limit. There are also sometimes cops on Barry Hertzog and Tana, so watch out! Parking is also a bit of a nightmare and you'll find you will end up parking in some side street but there are car guards everywhere so it's pretty safe.

During the day, it's great driving down the main streets of the suburbs, under the canopy of oak trees, looking at the old houses.

All in all, it's a great suburb day or night and there is always something to do and see.

Jacaranda season

The Jacaranda season is almost upon us! In October/November all of the Jacaranda trees in Joburg start flowering. Their beatuiful purple flowers add a special something to the landscape that is the urban forest of Joburg.

They're orginally from South and Central America and were planted all over the city.

I recommend going to almost any viewpoint to take a look out over the city at the gorgeous colours. Parktown is always good for viewing as is Northcliff Hill (though I hear you need to be alert up there).

And when they fall off the trees, the flowers cover the roads wiht a carpet of purple (and make a fantastic popping noise as you drive over them!)

Melville Koppies

A couple months back, Daddles and I eventually got around to going on a guided walk of the Melville Koppies.

We arrived early one summer morning, all ready to go. My in my trusty pair of walking Havaiana flip flops and everyone else in their hiking boots. And I’ll have you know I didn’t get a sock tan and had the last laugh when we walked through the river. Ha!

The Melville Koppies is a nature reserve and Heritage site just off Beyers Naude at the bottom of Melville and across the road from Mark’s Park (where the original Louw Geldenhuys farmhouse is). The walks are through Melville Koppies Central. They do dog walks through Melville Koppies West. Melville Koppies East is open to the public but people are advised not to walk alone (as with most of these areas in Joburg)

The area is on a granite ridge and as you walk around, you can see where the granite has been pushed to the surface. There are all sorts of different colour stones – ranging from clear, to white to brown to black - in different areas, I would assume as a result of different veins of granite and conditions.

The guided walk took us up the koppie, through a foresty area where we looked at all sorts of mushrooms, lichens and pretty flowering plants growing there and also sampling the edible fruits and berries that grow there. All the plants are indigenous. There is even a plant that looks like the seeds of the Tree of Souls in Avatar.

We walked up to the top of the koppie and to where the Iron Age furnace can be found. They have set up a roof and put up educational signage boards and information about the ages of man in the area. Our guide quickly ran through the 250 000 year history (Stone Age an onwards) and who moved through the area and what they left behind. There are arrow heads made of stone, cutting tools, pots, kraal walls and so on. They have also found San artefacts.   

Further up, is a view to die for! You get a 360° view of Johannesburg… its breath taking! On a clear day you can see all the way out to Magaliesburg.

From there we walked down the back of the hill towards the Westdene Spruit, that runs along Beyers Naude and into the Emmarentia Dams. It’s a lovely, cool, quiet area and a nice way to end the walk. All in all, it’s about 3 hours (I think). The guides are passionate about the area and their particular specialisations, such as the plants, insects and history.

They do regular guided walks and also do speciality walks like Geology, birding, ecology and trees. Visit their website on www.mk.org.za for more info.