A FRESH GANDER AT OUR FAVOURITE MEANDER

There is a morning from the early 1990s that exists as clearly in my memory now, as it did when the moment unfolded on that early autumn day. It was 1 April – my mum’s birthday – and our yellow station wagon was pootling along the windy R103. I was 14, wearing a Madonna T-shirt, and I’d stuck my head out the open window. Eyes closed, I drank in the crisp air. I was exhilarated; a dreamy bundle of excitement because a) we were listening to Capital 604 and the DJ had just announced that Vanilla Ice was coming to Durban, and b) because we were “doing the Meander”.

In essence, the KZN Midlands is a network of driving routes in the heart of KwaZulu-Natal linking arts and crafts outlets with restaurants, lodges, historic landmarks and all manner of fun and inspiration. While it took days to recover from the disappointment of the April Fools’ joke, I’ve never lost that feeling of anticipation – that excitement – of driving Midlands roads and knowing that just around the corner, there’d be something interesting to look at, something new to discover, something that would fuel my