{"id":660,"date":"2018-04-22T21:04:17","date_gmt":"2018-04-22T21:04:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/amanziguesthouse.co.za\/blog\/?p=660"},"modified":"2022-08-17T09:52:42","modified_gmt":"2022-08-17T09:52:42","slug":"weekend-walking-in-the-wilds-nature-reserve","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/amanziguesthouse.co.za\/blog\/weekend-walking-in-the-wilds-nature-reserve\/","title":{"rendered":"Weekend Walking – in The Wilds Nature Reserve"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rob and I have been meaning to do one of the organized<\/strong> walks in The Wilds for months, and finally, today was it.\u00a0 The Wilds is often referred to as Joburg\u2019s \u201cforgotten park\u201d, and because of its proximity to Hillbrow,\u00a0 has been avoided for many years as being too dangerous to walk in. \u00a0A few years ago, James Delaney<\/a>, an amazing artist living nearby, decided to rehabilitate this 40 acre forested park. He and a whole bunch of volunteers pulled weeds, cleared underbrush, and painted park benches. James says,\u00a0 \u201cOwls have always played a special role in my life.\u00a0 To get\u00a0people to visit The Wilds again\u00a0I installed 67 metal owl sculptures, in honour of Mandela\u2019s 67 years of public service. It worked \u2013 hundreds of people have now been to the park to see the owls, and the park has come back to life as a public space.\u201d<\/p>\n

Inspired by these words, we arrived at the park to find a handful of walkers, and definitely not the group we were expecting.\u00a0\u00a0Alas, I had read May for April!\u00a0 To console ourselves, we bought coffee from the travelling Craft Coffee<\/a> vendors, Lovejoy and Neo, who work for Craft Coffee in Newtown.\u00a0 Craft Coffee is one of several small sophisticated roasteries which have opened in the Joburg CBD \u2013 more of speciality coffee in a later blog.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Coffee from Coffee Craft travelling van<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Right next to the coffee vendors is a marvellous embroidered collage.\u00a0 “Tree speak”<\/p>\n

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Embroidery collage<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

My favourite bit of the collage..<\/p>\n

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Educate a woman and you educate a nation<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Stone paths criss-cross and ramble through the hilly “koppies” (little hills) with many brightly coloured benches along the paths inviting one to sit and relax.<\/p>\n

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Stone paths criss-cross throughout the reserve with brightly coloured benches along the way<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

James Delaney’s Wild Owl Metal Sculpture Project is inspiring and has brought people back to the park.<\/p>\n

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Owl Project by james Delaney<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The owl sculptures hang in a grove of yellowwood trees in the middle of the Wilds.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
One of 67 Wild Owl Sculptures by James Delaney<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It would be a fun outing with children, trying to spot all the owls.<\/p>\n

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White Wild Metal Owl sculptures<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Wilds land was donated\u00a0to the city on the condition that the land remain in its natural state. The park is hilly and planted with thousands of indigenous trees and other native flora, crisscrossed by many winding stone paths.\u00a0 There are amazing views of the Johannesburg skyline from different angles.\u00a0 We walked up to the sundial, which is the highest point of the Wilds.<\/p>\n

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Sundial at the highest point of The Wilds<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Johannesburg skyline views are amongst the best from here.<\/p>\n

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Skyline from the sundial vantage point<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Along the way we met fellow walkers, with their German Pointers.<\/p>\n

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Fellow walkers with their German Pointer (who got lost)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

So many inviting benches along the way to stop and rest, or stare at the different views.\u00a0 A charming shady spot …<\/p>\n

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Beautiful shady spot to stop and reflect<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Walk continues across the bridge over Houghton Drive to the other side of The Wilds with different viewscapes.<\/p>\n

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Bridge over Houghton Drive to the Eastern side of the Wilds<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Wild<\/a>s \u00a0has secure parking just off Houghton Drive and full-time security at the entrance.\u00a0 Take a few friends and take a picnic to the park, or check dates and book online for the next organised walk with James Delaney.<\/p>\n

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Rob and I have been meaning to do one of the organized walks in The Wilds for months, and finally, today was it.\u00a0 The Wilds is often referred to as Joburg\u2019s \u201cforgotten park\u201d, and because of its proximity to Hillbrow,\u00a0 has been avoided for many years as being too dangerous to walk in. \u00a0A few … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":676,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[26,28,31,1],"tags":[79,77,78,75,76],"yoast_head":"\nWeekend Walking - in The Wilds Nature Reserve - Amanzi Guest House Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/amanziguesthouse.co.za\/blog\/weekend-walking-in-the-wilds-nature-reserve\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Weekend Walking - in The Wilds Nature Reserve - Amanzi Guest House Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Rob and I have been meaning to do one of the organized walks in The Wilds for months, and finally, today was it.\u00a0 The Wilds is often referred to as Joburg\u2019s \u201cforgotten park\u201d, and because of its proximity to Hillbrow,\u00a0 has been avoided for many years as being too dangerous to walk in. \u00a0A few ... 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