#Culture

I’m not sure when I first saw a photo of the Big Pineapple. It might have been in a blog post, or maybe somewhere on Instagram. But I do know one thing for certain: The moment I saw the Big Pineapple, it rocketed to the top of my South African must-see list.

Last year, before the pandemic, I started a campaign called #10SouthAfricanTowns. I planned to visit ten small towns all over South Africa during 2020. Bathurst, 20 kilometers inland from Port Alfred in the Eastern Cape, was one of the first towns I put on the list. It had been a dream destination of mine for years.

Six years ago, during a wild road trip in a van full of bloggers, I spent a night at the Royal Hotel in Bethulie. I was enchanted: Bethulie is a charming, tiny South African town and the Royal Hotel was one of the quirkiest guesthouses I’d ever stayed in. I vowed to go back someday and spend a little more time.

Although the Nizamiye Mosque is huge and impossible to miss when driving north on the M1 highway, it remains one of Joburg’s best kept secrets.

I think most Joburgers know there is a mosque there (since it’s impossible not to see). But I think few know the story behind the mosque, and even fewer know the mosque is open to the public (Muslims and non-Muslims alike) and that there are so many cool things to do there.

Due to poor planning, I probably won’t have time to visit a roadhouse in March. But if you’re eagerly awaiting the next installment in my Roadhouses of Gauteng series, the Chilli Pepper Restaurant on Immink Drive in Diepkloof, Soweto, is a great substitute.