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South Africa’s number one travel and outdoor lifestyle magazine. We pay our own way and tell it like it is. We drive back roads and speak to real people, giving you practical information about affordable destinations in southern Africa. Each issue is crammed with excellent photography, honest gear reviews and delicious recipes to make at home or in the bundu. Whether you’re looking to escape for a weekend or a month, your journey starts here.

EDITOR'S LETTER

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Life, love and windmills • No matter how many windmills you’ve seen, touched or climbed, if you haven’t repaired one, they’ll always just be whirring metal things, says Willem van der Berg.

High under a blue sky • This 650km route meanders from Loxton to Middelpos and takes you back and forth over the Nuweveld and Roggeveld mountains. Roll down the window, take your foot off the gas. This is one for the gravel connoisseurs…

Sally's corner of the Karoo • Sally Andrew, author of the Tannie Maria Mystery series, finds much of her inspiration around Ladismith, where she and her partner, the artist Bowen Boshier, live at the foot of the Touwsberg.

Capture the Karoo • Improve your landscape and travel photography on this six-day tour with photojournalist Toast Coetzer and Douwe Vlok from Heuningland Tours.

Eat, drink and be merry! • The R62 through the Little Karoo is one of South Africa’s most beloved routes. It has mountain passes, quaint towns and views upon views. But all the driving makes you hungry… Here’s your guide to the best farm stalls and restaurants along the way.

Frans Hugo, newspaperman • In Calvinia, every week for 49 weeks of the year, Frans Hugo (91) and his team publish a community newspaper. And everyThursday, Frans does an almighty 1200km delivery run to Prieska and back all by himself…

Stories in stone • The story of the Karoo’s famous corbelled houses is humble and simple, like the part of the country in which they’re found.

Dancing in light • Many so-called “outsider artists”found creative freedom in the Karoo. Helen Martins from Nieu-Bethesda and Outa Lappies from Prince Albert are two examples. Marcella de Boom is another. Iselle Combrink and her three dogs went looking for De Boom’s mythical dancers on a farm near Loxton.

Follow sacred paw prints • The Leopard Trail is a four-day slackpacking hike in a corner of the Baviaanskloof where Karoo meets fynbos. Walking from one beautifully situated hut to the next, you might even have the rare privilege of putting your boot print next to a leopard’s spoor…

See both sides of the Kgalagadi • Join us and Bhejane 4×4 Adventures on a guided tour of the South African and Botswanan sides of one of the most iconic transfrontier parks on earth – the Kgalagadi!

The Land of Begin Again • For almost 20 years photographer Samantha Reinders has been working on a long-term project about landscape and awakening. In 2018, she moved to Prince Albert. Here’s how the Karoo has changed her.

THE KAROO

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Time travel… with breakfast! • The Eastern Cape Karoo is famous for its country hospitality. Book a stay at one of these 10 historic farmsteads, which are full of stories and friendly faces.

Future classics • With her parents as fellow accommodation reviewers, Samantha Reinders drove the big and little roads of the Karoo in search of guesthouse nirvana. These six places hit all the right notes.

Time out in the Tankwa • The six self-catering places featured here are spread between the Ceres Karoo and the Tankwa Karoo, with another in the Hantam and one in a tucked-away corner of the Karoo near De Doorns… Next holiday, sorted.

LETTER FROM Beaufort West •...