Hidden Joburg: The Lemon Squeezer Church
I recently bought a copy of Hidden Joburg, a hardback coffee table book featuring 28 of Joburg's most interesting (and difficult to access, in some cases) buildings and interiors. Hidden Joburg, written by Paul Duncan and photographed by Alain Proust. The book is part...
Joburg’s Five Best Shawarmas
As many of you already know, I've been on a mission to discover Joburg's best shawarmas. This turned out to be a bigger challenge than I initially anticipated. One of many photos of me eating a shawarma, in this instance at the Schwarma Co. in Norwood. All the photos...
The Awe-Inspiring Shiva Temple of Actonville, Benoni
Several months ago I spotted a post in the @WhatsOnInJoburg Instagram feed. "Africa's tallest Shiva Shakti Statue is in Benoni", the post read, with a photo of the biggest, boldest, most colorful Hindu deity I've ever seen. I made a mental note to visit the Sivan...
Flying (and Driving) With South Africa’s First Black Woman Balloon Pilot
Last week I participated in a "motoring" media morning with Ford South Africa. The core purpose of the event was to get a bunch of woman journalists/bloggers/influencers together for a drive through the countryside in a convoy of bad-ass Ford Ranger bakkies (pick-up...
Glorious, Plastic-free Shopping at the Refillery
Over the past two weeks I've seen dozens of heartbreaking pictures of the recent flooding in Kwa-Zulu Natal, and there's one image I can't get out of my mind: a shot by photojournalist Jacques Nelles of a Durban beach piled high with plastic waste. Apparently many of...
Return to Jeppestown’s City Hall
Almost ten years ago, I did an exhibition of photos I shot in Maboneng and Jeppestown, two adjacent neighborhoods in downtown Joburg. I had nearly forgotten about this exhibition (which you can read about here). But then a week ago I received an Instagram message from...
Call of the Melville Mielie Lady
If you live in Melville, or have lived in Melville at any point between December and April over the past few decades, then you know the call of the Mielie Lady. "Meeeeeeee-LEEEEEEEEEEES?!" she begins. Her voice echoes down the thick tunnel of plane trees, leaves heavy...
Shopping Sustainably (and Cheaply) in Johannesburg
You all know I've become obsessed with second-hand shopping -- especially thrifted clothes curated by my friend Ryan of @threedogsthrift. And while I buy most of my clothes directly from Ryan, I've also become interested in sustainable shopping more generally. Joburg...
The Cosmos Flowers of Delta Park: 2022 Edition
I hadn't planned to blog about the cosmos flowers in Delta Park this year. I've already done so multiple times: Once during my #Gauteng52 series and once (very memorably) right before South Africa's covid-19 lockdown began two years ago. But I went to see the cosmos...
The Funky Pots and Tiles of Liebermann Pottery
Not too long ago, I told you about my new obsession with plants. This plant obsession is of course accompanied by a pot obsession, and I am fortunate to live five minutes away from the best pottery place in Joburg: Liebermann Pottery. Browsing the yard at Liebermann...
How to Climb Table Mountain via Skeleton Gorge
I visited Cape Town for the first time more than 11 years ago, with my mother. During that trip, Mom and I attempted to climb Table Mountain in a hilariously foolish way -- I'll let you read about it yourself in the blog post I wrote back then, called How Not to Climb...
The Shawarma King of Roodepoort
A couple of Sundays ago, Thorsten and I were finished hiking the Kloofendal Nature Reserve and looking for a place to eat. We were in Roodepoort -- an area neither of us know well, dominated by big shopping centers -- and had no idea where to go. Thorsten drove as I...
The Glorious Proteas of Kloofendal Nature Reserve
Last Sunday Thorsten and I went hiking in the Kloofendal Nature Reserve, which is in Roodepoort on Johannesburg's West Rand. I last hiked in Kloofendal nearly 11 years ago; I know I enjoyed it because I wrote a blog post back then, too. But Kloofendal is even more...
JFF Rooftop Farm: A Plant Nursery in the Sky
I recently moved to a new house, and for the first time in nearly half a century of life I've become interested in plants. Actually that's an understatement: I've become obsessed with plants. Most of my plants have names. I spend lots of time googling their care and...
Heather Mason
I’m an American writer/blogger/photographer living a quirky life in Johannesburg. Follow along as I explore Johannesburg, South Africa, and the rest of the world.
