Do you live in Johannesburg? Do you have a garden, or know someone who does? Do you have R400 to spend? If so, then you need this:
If you don’t live in Joburg and don’t know what a hadeda is, read here. But these hadedas are not easily transportable, so unless you already live in Joburg (or at least in South Africa) then you probably can’t have one.
About a year ago I wrote a blog post called Five Secret Spots for a Romantic Dinner in Jozi, as part of my Jozi Top Fives series. That post is far and away the most popular thing I’ve ever published on this blog. Every day, dozens of people find their way here after googling “romantic restaurants in Joburg”, “romantic things to do in Joburg”, “romantic places in Joburg”, etc.
Last weekend I was invited to spend two nights at Walkersons Hotel and Spa in Dullstroom, a holiday town halfway between Joburg and Kruger National Park in Mpumalanga Province. I had been to Dullstroom briefly once before, and while I found it quaint I wouldn’t have considered spending a weekend there. Dullstroom is known as a fly-fishing destination and I don’t fish.
A few weeks ago I organized an Internations coffee gathering at Industry Bakery in Emmarentia. I had been to Industry briefly once before, but didn’t sit down to eat. This time I ordered a couple of coffees and a full breakfast, so I thought I’d give the place a quick review in 400 words or less.
A couple of weeks ago I received an invitation to visit Azteca Mexican Food Products, a Mexican food factory in Joburg. Azteca’s owner, Gaby Agraz, reached out to me because I had just published a post about Mexican restaurants in Johannesburg. Most of the restaurants I wrote about are Azteca’s clients, Gaby told me, and she would love to show me the business. (This wasn’t the first time Gaby had extended an invitation. She first reached out to me more than a year ago but somehow I kept forgetting to follow up. I didn’t know what I was missing.)
This week I got a behind-the-scenes look at No. One Eloff, an exciting new development project in downtown Joburg.
No. One Eloff is a huge, 1950s-era building that used to be an automotive storage/sales facility (for Rolls Royce and then for Chrysler) and later became an OK Bazaar and then an auction house for repossessed cars. A couple of years ago, a company called Molten Black purchased the building, with the plan of turning it into a residential/retail property. That plan is now in full swing.
