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.

In the next issue

The restorative power of nature

BEHIND THE SCENES • The award-winning journalist and author Jacques Pauw travelled to Vladivostok in the far east of Russia to board the Trans-Siberian train. Three weeks and about 9 300 km later, he arrived in Moscow. Read about his epic transcontinental trip on p 46.

Go!

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

WRITE TO US & WIN!

SPEAK TO US

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

PODCASTS! • What we’re listening to

LISTEN TO THIS!

Tempest in a teapot

THERE’S AN APP FOR THAT • Turning your focus into trees

Gondwana Collection extends Black Friday deal

PIT STOP • Picnic spot next to the R56, Eastern Cape

NIGHT WATCH • The moon ignores social distancing

VIEW FROM HERE James Lowe • The big wave surfer turned geology lecturer tells us about visiting some of the most remote places on earth, and why he always carries a sarong.

BOOKS & MUSIC • A gripping new crime thriller; the only guide to butterflies you’ll ever need; a fun book about the outdoors; and an early Tom Waits album best paired with a Karoo horizon.

MEET THE AUTHOR • Blood Stone by Irna van Zyl is the third Storm van der Merwe novel, following Dead in the Water and Death Cup. It’s a rollicking read that takes the characters to London, Antwerp and Hermanus – even Port Nolloth!

CHECK THIS

The introvert’s guide to B&Bs • Choosing the right place to stay when you travel is important, says Elsabé Brits, especially if you have issues with strangers and small talk.

Destination Erongo • Join us on a road trip around the Erongo Mountains in Namibia and explore a landscape of house-sized boulders, hidden shelters full of rock art and so much open space it feels like you’re the last person on earth.

KNOW BEFORE YOU GO

The way the warrelwind spins • Copperton is a barely there town in the Northern Cape. Will its once-profitable mine reopen? Will the solar and wind farms around it be enough to help some of the farmers through the merciless drought? And what about a time before Copperton existed – does anybody still remember?

From Siberia with love • The Trans-Siberian Railway offers an almost mythical journey across nearly a quarter of the planet, through frozen forests and across icy lakes, in a landscape that was once off-limits to anyone who wasn’t doing time in a gulag. Come experience the train trip of a lifetime.

KNOW BEFORE YOU GO

A life rooted in nature • It’s late afternoon in the Bushveld north of Thabazimbi, near the border with Botswana. Retired banker Willem Frost opens the door of his Land Cruiser. Get in, we’re going to look at some trees.

Going solo • Christoff Els decided to start 2020 with an ambitious adventure: a six-day cycle tour from Beaufort West to Ceres. But was he maybe too ambitious?

READER STORY

CHRISTOFF’S TIPS

SEND US YOUR STORY

TAKE YOUR PIC • Here are this month’s reader photos, with tips from Toast Coetzer.

SEND US YOUR BEST TRAVEL AND NATURE PHOTOS!

TAKE THE WINNING PHOTO • Next month you can win this durable camera...