Table of contents for April/May 2025 in go!

I'm convinced that time accelerates as you get older. (There must be a mathematical equation somewhere that explains it.) How is it possible that a school day can feel like an eternity when you're 10 years old, but the first three months of 2025 have already disappeared down the wormhole? How is it even 2025 already? What speeds things up even more in our world is the magazine production schedule, which already stretches into 2026. There's so much to look forward to, but also so much to do. And that's excellent news – not just for us, but also for you, our loyal readers. (By the way – according to the latest statistics from the Publisher Research Council – the 382000 people who read go! and our Afrikaans sister mag…

Wood, Iron and Steel by Bruce Henderson & Kelly Graham, Quickfox Publishing R895 in bookstores The Western Cape coast is known for its turbulent seas; many ships have met their end on hidden rocks and reefs over the centuries. This guide – compiled by Bruce Henderson, founder of marine research company Wreckless Marine, and Kelly Graham, a technical diver and a researcher – showcases 60 ships that sank between Silwerstroomstrand near Melkbosstrand and Danger Point beyond Hermanus between 1698 and 2009. The shipwrecks were surveyed as part of a project to map the seafloor in the region; the team used the latest multi-beam sonar technology to create high-resolution 2D and 3D images of the wrecks. They also visited some of the shipwrecks on dives and searched the archives to bring…

Tulbagh is the fourth-oldest town in the country, founded around 1700. It's full of heritage, as evidenced by its clutch of Cape Dutch, Edwardian and Victorian buildings. And the mountains… The town is surrounded on three sides by the Groot Winterhoek, Witzenberg and Obiekwa ranges. So, yes, there's a lot to see and do. The horse-riding trails are particularly popular, and there's a hiking trail to a waterfall in the Waterval Nature Reserve. (Tip: Kole en Deeg in Vander Stel Street is a good stop if you're craving fresh roosterkoek. 079 489 7428) Tulbagh also has an established wine route with many prize-winning wine estates, one of which is Montpellier. Come for an afternoon to taste wine and dine under the trees (the pizza is delicious) or book in for…

What surprised you? The cold! I travelled in December the first time – the middle of their winter. My sister Gaynor has been teaching English in Munsan for three years; the town is about an hour by train from the capital of Seoul. One day it got down to -12°C and it snowed often. The streets are amazingly clean and well maintained for such a densely populated country. Seoul has twice as many people as Cape Town! What did you like? Public transport runs on time and you can travel to almost anywhere in the country by bus or train. The Koreans also love their coffee; you can find a coffee shop on almost every corner – and they're always packed. Any highlights? The way that Gyeongbokgung Palace – the…

Feline the love Camera trap photos of leopards are always exciting, but every once in a while, our research team at the Cape Leopard Trust gets absolutely cracker images that give us goosebumps! This sequence from our 2024 Piketberg survey is a perfect example. Leopards are solitary creatures that spend almost all their time roaming their home ranges alone. As a result, it's uncommon to capture more than one spotted cat in the same frame. When it does happen, it's mostly a female with cubs. Occasionally though, we get a lucky shot of a meeting between a male and a female… Leopard mating is known to be an energetic, feisty and sometimes drawn-out affair. This pair of cats first arrived on the scene just after 8.30 pm, and what followed…

In the preface, you describe a tidal pool as a haven. Why are they so special to you? Tidal pools are a sanctuary, not just for me and fellow swimmers, but for the marine life they protect from rough seas. They serve as a balm for body and soul, offering wonder, joy and a sense of calm among daily stressors. Since moving to Cape Town from Joburg in 1999, the pools have been a refuge for me. Beyond my work as a writer and researcher, I navigate complex education challenges in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Rwanda, Ghana and South Africa, working to scale impactful programmes that benefit children. The tidal pools offer a place to recharge and reflect, away from the demands of my work. More than just places of renewal,…

While exploring along the Piesang River, in a forest that forms part of the Plettenberg Bay Country Club, I spotted an iridescent bird in the shadows about 20 m away –a rare half-collared kingfisher! I returned the next morning, this time armed with my Nikon D850 and Nikon 200 – 400 mm lens. I found the same bird, but then another arrived – they were a pair! 1 This chance discovery turned into an eight-week assignment. I returned daily to photograph the pair. Classified as “near threatened” in South Africa, discovering a pair of half-collared kingfishers on a stream in dense forest is testament to the health of the Piesang River. I learnt a lot about the birds during the hours I spent observing them. For example, I noticed that…

WINNING PHOTO WILLEM KRUGER Nikon D5 Nikon 600 mm lens WILLEM WRITES: I took this photo in Karongwe Private Game Reserve near Hoedspruit. The reserve has an underground hide next to a waterhole, which made this shot possible. A flock of guineafowl arrived one morning around 7.15 am. Some drank while others foraged around the edge of the waterhole. This bird was looking for food under a log. My shutter speed was 1/1 000 second, aperture f18 and ISO 3 200. I also used a fill-in flash. TOAST SAYS: Many private reserves in South Africa and our neighbouring countries now have underground hides. Book a spot at one of these for the opportunity to take unique photos. You sit at water level in the hide, which also means you're at…

Date night carbonara Serves 2 Preparation time 25 minutes Cooking time 10 minutes You need • 200 g dried egg tagliatelle or spaghetti • 100 g pancetta strips, cut into pieces (I used the Forage and Feast pancetta from Checkers) • 2 egg yolks • 125 ml grated pecorino or parmesan • lots of freshly ground black pepper Here's how 1 Cook the pasta in salted water until al dente – follow the directions on the packet. 2 In the meantime, fry the pancetta pieces in a big pan until crispy. You want to render the fat rather than adding extra oil so regulate the heat and don't make it too hot. 3 Beat the egg yolks, half of the cheese and ¼ cup warm pasta water (from the pot)…

Two little eyes stare at me from between the soap dish and the tap. My brain freezes for a moment and I stand there with my toothbrush in my mouth and toothpaste dribbling down my chin. What in the world? It's a red-legged kassina – a lifer for me. I know it's a frog, but still… I take it as a good sign for the day ahead. We're on the San Sebastian Peninsula in Mozambique, a finger of land that juts into the Indian Ocean south of Vilankulo, and we're looking for the very special Saunders's tern. These cute birds were first recorded in southern Africa as recently as 2019 and their movements remain a mystery: After they've nested along the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea and the Horn of…

The school was something to behold: The grounds were sprawled over fields with ancient trees and colonial-era buildings, all impeccably maintained. A storm broke out just as we were about to leave Cotonou, a harbour city in Benin. It was late in October 2023 and day 45 of our adventure. We chatted with a woman called Yasmina, who ran the local motorcycle club, as we waited for the rain to abate. Yasmina told us about how Benin and Togo were supposed to be one country, but they were split during the colonial era. In some places the border goes right through people's houses! She told us about a guy who uses his house as a border post: You walk in from Togo at the back door, pay your border fees,…

When my older sister Gaynor moved to South Korea in March 2022 to teach English, I suddenly had an excuse to travel overseas. She invited us to visit her in December that year. Finally, I had a chance to experience a white Christmas – me, a born-and-bred Swartlander from Malmesbury! I roped in my baby sister Mary-Beth and my cousin Jarryd – my parents weren't up for such a long flight. But before we could get excited, we had to get the practical stuff out of the way. We spent hours in the queue at Home Affairs in Malmesbury to get new passports. The process went smoothly, except for my passport photo, which got cropped harshly, chopping off my curly hair. I looked like I had half a watermelon on…

WINNING LETTER Mabuasehube magic My husband Eben and I always dreamt of visiting the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park to see lions. In December 2024, we got our chance. We camped at Khiding 1 in the Mabuasehube section of the park – we were really excited to sleep in our rooftop tent with no fences around us. Early one morning, while having coffee and rusks under the A-frame awning, we heard a lion roar. When we heard another lion answer, we quickly grabbed our cellphones and got into the Land Cruiser – just in time to see two lions arrive at our camp. We took photo after photo. Time passed but we knew there was nothing we could do – we didn't want to disturb them. After a while my husband fell…

Even before we meet, there's a sense of adventure in the air. “Bring a pocketknife and a headlamp,” Gary Goldman tells me in a WhatsApp message, followed by directions to the rendezvous point. And now I'm here, shivering in the early morning dark in one of the highest streets in Newlands. A bakkie up the street flashes its lights and a silhouette gets out. Two four-legged shadows follow. Gary greets me and retrieves a basket for each of us from the back of his bakkie. He calls the dogs softly and guides me to a gate in the fence – a shortcut into Newlands Forest. I've never experienced the forest in this way. The dogs, Jack and Russell, take the lead in our headlamp beams. Moss-covered tree trunks float like…

HAVE YOU SEEN SOMETHING AMAZING? Send your series of photos and a short description of the sighting to toast@gomag.co.za. You could win a Thule Subterra PowerShuttle bag! The Thule Subterra PowerShuttle bag is ideal for people who travel with a lot of tech. It's a sturdy carrier made from durable materials and is perfectly sized (21 x 7 x 14,5 cm) to organise everything from cables, earphones and adaptors to power banks and compact external hard drives. There's also an easily accessible pass-through slot that allows you to charge your device in the exterior slip pocket from a power bank inside the bag. With the Subterra PowerShuttle, you'll never have to search for a single cord again! For more information about this and other great gear for your active lifestyle,…

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 garden. HOW? Send your photos to takeyourpic@gomag.co.za Submit only your three best shots each month. Don't send files bigger than 4 MB – if we need a bigger version, we'll ask for it. Give the name, surname, home town and contact number of the photographer. Also include info about where and how the shot was taken, and what equipment was used. If you manipulated your photo in any way, tell us what you did. No AI illustrations, please. THE FINE PRINT We reserve the right to use…

South Africa loves mountain biking, especially on the Garden Route. There are multiple stage races in this part of the world, each of which promises beautiful riding along jeep tracks and single tracks through the forests and along the coast. But these races are pricy – and you have to be fit. What if you could ride the same routes, often on private land, with your family or friends? We're talking leisurely pedalling here – no rushing from one water point to the next, chewing energy bars and sucking gels. That's the idea behind Bhejane 4x4 Adventures’ new three-day Tour de Tsitsikamma, which covers roughly 150 km from the village of Thornham in the Eastern Cape to Nature's Valley in the Western Cape. It's a guided mountain-bike adventure where your…

Filled by the Sanddriftkloof River, which drains the steep slopes of Matroosberg on the northern side of the Hex River Valley, the Roode Elsberg Dam is tucked away from general view. The dam was built in 1968 and has a beautiful 72m-high wall. I took this photo in August 2024, when the dam was overflowing after good winter rains. Unfortunately, the dam isn't usually open to the public, but you can arrange a visit if you stay at nearby Klipheuwel Farm. Klipheuwel offers cosy, self-catering accommodation and a campsite on a nice lawn, all against the backdrop of vineyards and mountains. See klipheuwelfarm.co.za for more info.…