Zoë Scholtz

(Or: How Ordering T-Shirts Became a Marathon) Somewhere in January 2026 , "iemand" in the office said the dangerous words: “We should enter the J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge .” And just like that, the #ICPCLAN was signed up. Race entry — tick. Now anyone who has ever participated in anything remotely corporate knows that the real event is not the run itself. The real event is the T-shirts . Because if you're going to run 5.6 km with colleagues, it might as well be done in coordinated cotton . Phase 1: The Optimism Stage Naturally, I jumped into action and put together a concept design for the shirts. The last batch we ordered for the #ICPCLAN looked fantastic — but apparently some members of the clan felt the fit was… how shall we say… aspirational . A little snug. A little optimistic. Possibly designed for Olympic athletes rather than normal humans. So this time, armed with my concept design and a determination to avoid the “painted-on Lycra” look, I ...

Know before you go Travel time - approx. 4 hours from Gauteng  Road conditions - tar Electricity - yes, blue caravan plug adaptor required Ablutions - very clean and functional. Private ablutions available, enquire when booking Shop on site - yes, basic supplies Fuel - closest filling station, Little Switzerland (petrol & diesel) Closest supermarket - Winterton Getting there Hlalanathi is approximately a 4-hour drive from Gauteng. It's a relatively easy trip with most of the route following the N3 highway. Once you take the turnoff to Harrismith/Bergville the mountains make their appearance, and we really enjoyed the stretch of road passing the Sterkfontein Dam. This body of water is enormous and its blue waters and abundant wildlife were sights to be savoured.  After Little Switzerland, the road conditions worsened, and there were plenty of potholes peppered along the route. There was a section of road that had fallen away which necessitated a short stretch of very rocky ...

Hubby and I love the outdoors and enjoy 4x4ing and overlanding. With over ten years of camping experience, we are usually well kitted out and mostly self-sufficient. With the sale of our offroad trailer in February 2022, we'd been investigating the available alternatives to meet our camping needs. Eventually shortlisting our favourites, we  decided to  rent a Bushlapa Miskruier for a weekend to test it out. Since this caravan is built for rougher camping, it made sense for us to try it out in an environment that required one to be largely self-sufficient.  In typical Scholtz fashion, our caravan rental was an impromptu affair (you can probably blame me for that). This meant that we had limited time available and necessitated we find a campsite relatively close to Gauteng.  Approximately a 45-minute drive from where we live in Gauteng, Kyleu is located in the Dinokeng Game Reserve. From the Tau Gate, it's a short 7 kilometre drive, with a small stretch of gravel road ...

Here’s the scenario: We’d been researching offroad trailer/caravan options to decide which one to buy, but remained uncertain of the way forward. We liked the Bushlapa Boskriek, but was it really going to work for us? Even after inspecting as many of the various available offerings on the market as we could, we still had unanswered questions that were impossible to resolve by meandering around a showroom or chatting with a salesperson Here's where the expression “Try before you buy”  becomes relevant. It's s omething I wish hubby and I had done more of before purchasing big-ticket items. Buying any form of vehicle is a large investment and so we decided to rent a Bushlapa to experience it for ourselves.  Have you found yourself in a similar situation? Maybe you don't want to buy, but just need a rig for a once-off adventure? If so, our personal impressions after renting from Corcis Outdoor Rentals can help with your decision-making process. Click here to access the Corcis ...

In 2019 hubby and I glibly agreed to join a small group of friends on a trip to (what I perceived at the time to be) a mystical, yet scary place referred to as 'the Richtersveld'. The intent was to embark on our adventure in 2020. I had absolutely no idea what I was agreeing to! The Ai-Ais/Richtersveld Transfrontier Park is found to the northeast of the Northern Cape. The mighty Orange River flows through the park and forms the border between South Africa and Namibia. This unique park in the SanParks stable is the only arid biodiversity hotspot in the world and was declared a World Heritage site in 2007.  A simple keyword search on Google confirmed that a sojourn to this rocky, rugged terrain wasn't for the faint-hearted. Initially confident in our own abilities and with our  fellow adventurers being experienced overlanders - we were unconcerned.  Then the global pandemic introduced a smallish  complication by including the imposition of travel restrictions. The stri...