#Africa

Last week I participated in a “motoring” media morning with Ford South Africa. The core purpose of the event was to get a bunch of woman journalists/bloggers/influencers together for a drive through the countryside in a convoy of bad-ass Ford Ranger bakkies (pick-up trucks). But we also went up in a hot-air balloon with Semakaleng (Sema) Mathebula, South Africa’s first Black woman balloon pilot, at Bill Harrop’s in Magaliesburg.

You all know I’ve become obsessed with second-hand shopping – especially thrifted clothes curated by my friend Ryan of @threedogsthrift. And while I buy most of my clothes directly from Ryan, I’ve also become interested in sustainable shopping more generally. Joburg is a major hub for buying and selling second-hand clothes and I’m really keen to learn more about it.

Ever since I moved to Joburg I’ve been driving past a shabby restaurant building across from the Westdene Dam, at the corner of Lewes Road and Motor Street. The restaurant used to be a Portuguese place called Tasca do Sol and once looked vaguely intriguing, with a wide patio and a retro, 70s/80s vibe. But it was never quite intriguing enough for me to actually go.

Ludwig’s Roses, a huge rose farm north of Pretoria that has been running for more than 50 years, had been on my radar screen for a while. Several people told me I should visit, but that I must go at the height of summer when the roses are all in full bloom. Somehow the summers kept passing and I kept forgetting to put Ludwig’s in my “to-blog” list.

I last blogged about the Klipriviersberg Nature Reserve, a huge Joburg City Park on the south side of the city, more than 11 years ago. I don’t normally like to blog about the same place twice but I think it’s time for a Klipriviersberg refresher. It’s a truly remarkable outdoor space and I suspect a significant percentage of Joburgers are unaware of this “Jewel of the South”, as the locals call it.

Greetings from the Omicron epicenter! I imagine lots of people in other parts of the world, and even elsewhere in South Africa, are wondering what’s really happening with the Omicron variant in Gauteng. We’ve got some first-hand experience at the Blogitect (blogger + architect) household, so here it is. (If you’re curious about the recent covid stats in South Africa, click here.)