A walk in the park clears the mind and gives the eyes a break from concrete. Johannesburg has Zoo Lake, Cape Town has Kirstenbosch,
Copenhagen has Fælledparken and London has Hyde Park.
New York City – where I lived for 20 years – has more than 1700 parks! The two I visited most often were Central Park in Manhattan and the lesser-known Prospect Park in Brooklyn. Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux were the architects of both parks, and it is said that they preferred Prospect Park, which they built second, over a period of 30 years between 1865 and 1895.
Central Park is slashed with roadways and encircled by skyscrapers. In Prospect Park, you’re more likely to forget that you’re in a city. At just over 2km² in size, it’s small – roughly half the size of Kirstenbosch – but there’s plenty to do: Prospect Park boasts an ice rink, a zoo, bike paths, botanical gardens and a concert amphitheatre with free music shows in the summer. But it also has pure, untrammelled wilderness, and that’s what I was after during the pandemic of 2020. Cooped up in my tiny apartment and unable to escape the city for the Adirondack Mountains to the north or the beaches to the south, I had to make do with what was right on my doorstep.
I decided to set myself a challenge of a “hike” in the park every day. The first thing I noticed was the birds. During my initial forest forays, on a woody bend next to a slow-moving river, I was stopped dead in my tracks by a flash of red, an electric figure against the deep green foliage. It was a northern cardinal, a male, showing off his bright red cape.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة February/March 2024 من go! - South Africa.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة February/March 2024 من go! - South Africa.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
The wilder shore
The final leg of a 30-day trek across East Africa sees lan Tyrer and the Africa - Wild & Untamed crew explore both shores of Lake Malawi. Get ready for an overloaded ferry, a croc attack and being surrounded by elephants...
A river runs through it
Sabie is onthe Drakensberg escaromentialongMpumalanga’s famous Panorama Route. Want a weekend away surrounded by forests and waterfalls? Here's wnat you need to know.
TAKE A HIKE
Harkerville's mini Otter
Sweet & juicy!
This issue's recipes all include lush seasonal fruit like nectarines, plums and apricots. Enjoy!
Big mountain magic
On a clear day, as you approach the Cathedral Peak Hotel, it happens involuntarily: You start to grin. You'll be standing up there soon, gazing over this valley, and the scuttling of ground-level life will seem irrelevant. Join us on a five-day adventure into the heart of the high Drakensberg
Your next weekend away
A self-catering house in the Tankwa, a campsite next to the Orange River, a guest farm near the Drakensberg... Toast Coetzer travelled a lot last year: Here are six of his favourite places to stay if you're planning a road trip or weekend escape.
A life through binoculars
If the name Hugh Chittenden sounds familiar, it's probably because you see it every time you use your Roberts Bird Guide he's one of the co-authors. He lives in Mtunzini on the KZN coast and birding is as much part of his day as a cup of coffee.
Wanderlust in the park
All great cities have great parks, writes Dara Kell: spaces where you can exhale and slough off the stress and grime of urban life.
The Kalahari remembers
The Kalahari is a place of magic and heartache, where drought is an ever-present threat. Drive a loop from Upington to the Kuruman River and discover soulful landscapes, brilliant skies and resilient people who never give up.
Take a Hike
Hug a baobab in the Bushveld