In the new year I am going to ensure that I make a visit to the Brenthurst Gardens.  Guests staying here at Liz at Lancaster joined a tour and were completely enthralled.  Brenthurst, built in 1906 and the home of the Oppenheimer family since 1922,  is the only one the Randlords mansions on the Parktown Ridge that has survived [...]

See http://www.jhblive.com/reviews/adventure/a_walk_on_the_wild_side/68982

Since November 2010 the coffee shop at the Apartheid Museum has been re-opened.  Even better news is that it is run by Mrs D’Angeli, who together with her son Dario ran Yum in Greenside for a number of years.  With an interesting and varied menu, the coffee shop is accessible even to those who are not [...]

I have blogged before about one of Jozi’s best kept secrets – Nirox Sculpture Park out in the Cradle … http://lizatlancaster.co.za/blog/76 and http://lizatlancaster.co.za/blog/taking-cultural-symbols-out-of-context-nirox-sculpture-park , and now there is another opportunity to go out and experience this gem of a parkland. Do yourselves a favour and make a trip out there to see Eric Pladevall’s massive sculptures in his [...]

Best thing to do this week: Email Adi to get onto his list:  Adrian@fiftytwo.co.za Here is his suggestion for Week  29 of 2010
Genre: Rough it – Relax it What: On a clear day you can see (from most good vantage points in Joburg) the Magaliesberg Mountain range – stretching for 120km from Bronkhorstspruit to Rustenburg. Amongst this [...]

Go to  http://www.jhblive.com/reviews/adventure/searching_for_sunshine/44423 for suggestions of Jozi places to get out into the open and catch the sun 

FiftyTwo:25  This week’s pick: Klipriviersberg Nature Reserve Genre: Outdoor trails and reserveWhat: With 680 ha of open bush and 23 km’s of trails this Nature Reserve comes as a surprise to most Joburg dwellers. Rated the largest reserve in the Johannesburg Metropol, Klipriviersberg is overflowing with archaeological, cultural, historical and geological attractions. Home to red [...]

FiftyTwo:21  48 hours in Joburg Genre:  Tourist Guide to your own city What: What’s different to do and see in Joburg in 48 hours.Drink here: Darkie Café is the go for early Friday drinks, this is urban cool when busy. Move onto Narina Trogon, a hip Braamfontein eatery serving unusual fare. The upside – there’s a [...]

From Maropeng’s February 2010 newlsetter
On April 10, Maropeng and iHominin will give budding palaeontologists a rare opportunity to explore a 1.5-million-year-old fossil site. Cooper’s Cave, 1.2km from the famous Sterkfontein Caves near Johannesburg, is a relatively newly discovered fossil site, where several species of animals and a number of stone tools have been found. The [...]

My favourites are Art Africa for clever, creative contemporary items and Kim Sacks Gallery for contemporary porcelain and pottery and finely crafted more traditional objects :
Art Africa 62 Tyrone Avenue, Parkview 011 486 2052 Mondays to Fridays 9am to 6pm Saturdays 9am-4pm
Vibrant colour and extensive use of recycled materials, there are lots of funky [...]