go!

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.

The promise of a new year

BEHIND THE SCENES • Adventure guide and photojournalist Grant Christie moved from Pretoria to Hoedspruit about a year ago. Read his story about his new hometown on p 96.

Go!

LETTERS • Where have you been? What have you seen? Write to editor@gomag.co.za

Q&A • Every month our experts answer your questions about birds, bugs and beasts. Send your photos and questions to editor@gomag.co.za

CHECK THIS • On the last day of the 2022 Tour de Tuli, a 300 km cycle tour that starts in Mapungubwe National Park and loops through Zimbabwe and Botswana, participants had to carry their bikes and wade through the Limpopo River to get back to South Africa. Park rangers armed with rifles (perched on the big tree stump) kept an eye on a pod of hippos wallowing 200 m upstream during the crossing.

IN BRIEF

Changing up your change

NIGHT WATCH

Die Pienk Karavaan, Namibia

VIEW FROM HERE Mitzi Knipe • Five years ago, Mitzi Knipe and her husband Louis sold their house in Cape Town and moved to a plot bordering Anysberg Nature Reserve near Laingsburg. Her love of mountain biking has inspired a passion project that's taking the area's tourism industry by storm The Klein Karoo Gravel Corridor!

BOOKS AND MUSIC

MEET THE AUTHOR • In Honey Mountain, retired entomologist Geoffrey D Tribe digs into the history, geography, fauna and flora of the Heuningberg in the Swartland, with a special focus on the Cape honeybees that gave these hillocks their name.

Stuck in the middle • Children can have a hard time telling fact from fiction, but middle child Vania Jooste allowed herself to be misled a few too many times…

Mountain magic • Whether you want to climb high into the clouds or stay grounded and toast the view with a chilled glass of rosé, the Drakensberg offers a wealth of experiences for everyone. To help you plan your next trip, we asked the experts about their favourite places to stay, hikes, walks, rides and other activities.

The real jewels of the Diamond Coast • The coastline from Hondeklip Bay to Alexander Bay is cold, windswept and barren. It’s known for its diamond-mining activities, but spend time here and you’ll realise the real riches are its people.

Surround yourself in silence • When you’re driving through the Karoo, a hundred kilometres go by in a flash. On foot, notso much… Join us on the four-day Heuningland Slackpacking Trail near Beaufort West.

TAKE YOUR PIC • Do you have a great travel or nature photo? Send it to Toast Coetzer and you might see it here! takeyourpic@gomag.co.za

SEND US YOUR BEST TRAVEL AND NATURE PHOTOS!

Light, dust and dunes

Go nuts! • Nuts are an expensive ingredient, butahandful here or a sprinkling there can elevate any dish.

Reaching the summit • The Ford Everest used to be a down-to-earth SUV without many airs or graces. That has changed. The new one is better looking, bigger and more advanced in every way - and it's a lot more expensive.

Pack perfect • To chuck your clothes randomly into a bag and pile your gear into the car without a plan is a recipe for travel disaster - and for marital strife! You need a proper packing system. These nine solutions will ensure that everyone in the family is smiling.

TAKE A HIKE • Get the adrenaline pumping

STAY HERE...