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You worked at go! – when was that? From 2011 to 2014 – I was the magazine’s inaugural picture editor. I had the pleasure of working for three editors: Bun Booyens, Barnie Louw and Pierre Steyn. I was there for the 100th edition of Weg (our Afrikaans

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF (WEG & GO): PIERRE STEYN editor@gomag.co.za DEPUTY EDITOR: ESMA MARNEWICK TRAVEL EDITOR: TOAST COETZER FOOD EDITOR: JOHANÉ NEILSON COPY EDITORS: MARIJCKE DODDS, MARTINETTE LOUW CONTRIBUTING EDITOR: JON MINSTER JOURNALISTS: SOPHI

There’s a school of thought that the quickest way to extinguish your love of something is to turn it into a job. When people find out that I work for a travel magazine, their reaction usually goes something like this: “You’ve got the best job in the

Barthlo wins a Zartek ZA-815 laser LED torch worth R1 350. The main 800-lumen LED is focused into a single spot beam that reaches up to 1 500 m. There’s also a COB LED light on the side to illuminate a wider area. The torch has a shock-proof aluminiu

Send your letters to editor@gomag.co.za – include your name, surname and where you live. Please also include a photo if you have one (at least 2 MB in size). We reserve the right to edit and shorten letters, and use your photos elsewhere in the magaz

The June/July issue will be on sale at your local retailer from 27 May 2022. ■

DOUG PULLOCK from Illovo Beach writes: I spotted this zebra in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi with something strange on its neck. What’s wrong, and will it be fatal to the animal? Wildlife expert LD VAN ESSEN says: This zebra has sarcoidosis – a disease caused b

Some lockdown habits die hard, like ordering groceries online. It is more cost-effective to buy food without the supermarket markups, and you’ll also be getting closer to the source of your meals, supporting local farmers and making the world a green

On 2 February 2022, the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment announced that the Berg River estuary in the Western Cape had officially been declared a Ramsar Site, making it the second new Ramsar Site declared in South Africa in two y

Take your furry best friend on a five-day overlanding tour hosted by Endless Africa, starting next to the Doring River and ending in the Cederberg. This is the first guided tour of its kind in Africa – it allows you to enjoy 4x4 driving, swimming, lo

This is the fourth collection of essays in travel writer and environmental scientist David Bristow’s Stories fro- the Veld series. (For an interview with the author, see go! #175.) Bristow mixes accounts of his personal adventures in the wild with cl

When I first saw Soweto’s BCUC (Bantu Continua Uhuru Consciousness) live at Oppikoppi a few years ago, they swept me along with their rollicking, rolling rhythms and meditative, sometimes trance-like vocals. Crank up the opening track – “The Journey

Tell us about the walk. After I finished matric last year in Pretoria, I decided I wanted to traverse the Waterberg massif and plateau. The first thing I needed to do was figure out a route. I went to see Richard Wadley, who wrote Waterberg Echoes, a

People often ask whether we really need snakes, especially venomous ones that can bite and kill people. Justifying the presence of any animal is an arrogant pursuit – they all form part of intricately balanced ecosystems that culminate in the bigger

During the Anglo-Boer War, a woman from New Zealand called Florence Eleanor (Tottie) Cross travelled to South Africa to work as a nurse. When the war ended, she stayed and married a Van Reenen man who owned a sawmill in the Knysna Forest. She opened

On Saturday mornings, the Wild Oats Community Farmers’ Market in Sedgefield is the place to be. Eat breakfast, drink coffee and stock up on groceries for your Garden Route holiday. Where? On the western outskirts of Sedgefield, next to the Engen 1 S

Keep an eye on the tides when you paddle in and out. High tide gives you a boost when going upstream. At low tide, there are two or three shallow sections where you’ll have to portage your canoe. Visit tideschart.com • Water shoes are essential for t

After an attack on a tourist in the reserve in 2019, park authorities employed guards to patrol around the office and chalets at night. “Until that incident, no crime had been reported at Hluleka, nor has there been any since,” says reserve manager N

Dwesa, Cwebe and Hluleka all have associated marine protected areas, and fishing is strictly controlled. In Dwesa, you’re only allowed to fish between the reserve entrance gate and the Ngoma River; and in Cwebe, only between the beach at The Haven an

Only 7 km from the KFC in Port St Johns, Silaka is the most accessible of all the Wild Coast reserves. You drive on tar to get there; most of the way at least – only the final 2 km are on dirt. Silaka is a relatively small reserve, stretching down th

This canvas bag has sturdy sides and a soft inner to protect your valuable gear. The compartments are adjustable to fit your camera and lenses. Product available at winkel.weg.co.za ■

WHY? We publish a selection of reader pictures in every issue. Don’t be shy, haul out those shots you’ve been hoarding on your computer and send them to us! We like just about anything: wildlife, landscapes, portraits, holiday snaps or bugs in your g

“We lived in Namibia for 13 wonderful years. During this time, we visited places like Etosha, Damaraland and the Okavango. We always try to look for the smaller things on our trips, rather than just focusing on the Big Five. Doing so gives you a deep

Growing up in Hilton, I always felt a sense of nostalgia when we drove past the railway station on the main road. The old locomotives seemed forlorn where they stood, rusting in the train yard, and I couldn’t help but imagine how impressive they must

What business does a 60-year-old woman with no experience of overlanding have driving through West Africa, all on her own, in a two-wheel-drive van? My answer? A woman’s place is wherever she wants it to be! I was born in Zimbabwe and moved to South

MAKE AND MODEL: 1998 Ford Transit MILEAGE WHEN BOUGHT: 87 000 km PRICE: €2 000 (about R35 000) DOT SAYS: I added a wooden floor to the loading area. On top of this, I built a single bed across the width of the van by the back door, with two chests

NOTE: Dot travelled in 2018-2019. The costs here are just as a rough guide – prices will have changed. VISA: My British passport allowed me a three-month stay in both Morocco and Senegal – no visa required. Mauritania issued me with a 30-day visa a

RESEARCH: It took me about two and a half years to prepare for the trip.I used apps like iOverlander and maps.me to plot routes and find campsites. The Facebook groups “Overlanding Africa” and “West Africa Travellers” (which also has a WhatsApp group

Dot Bekker is a business coach and author. Her nearly nine-month, 20 000 km journey took her from Spain through 17 African countries until she arrived back home in Zimbabwe in August 2019. Covid might have halted her adventuring exploits for now, but

Capital: Rabat Languages: Arabic, Berber Currency: Dirham Population: 37 million Days spent in country: 39 Distance covered: 3 000 km DOT SAYS: I found Morocco to be exotic, colourful and diverse, and I would highly recommend that people visit

Did you know you can calm a gemsbok by pouring a little brandy on its back? Ja no, me neither. But this is the kind of thing you can learn over a cup of coffee in Betta while sitting in a camping chair around last night’s ashes, where enormous steaks