Shaun Douglas

Entrance to the larger Nan Hua Temple complex

Nan Hua Temple Bronkhorstspruit: This Shouldn’t Be in Bronkhorstspruit — But It Is

Bronkhorstspruit isn't where I expect to find the largest Buddhist temple in Africa. I turn off the N4, past a stretch of dry highveld grass, and there it is — an ornate Chinese gate rising out of the veld, orange and green tiles catching the midday sun, stone lions standing guard on either side. ... Continue Reading

Witpoortjie Falls at the Walter Sisulu Botanical Garden

Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden: The Trail Where the Eagles Steal the Show

Last updated 12.08.2026 - A stranger let us look through his scope, pointed up at a cliff face where two of Roodepoort's most-watched residents were building a new home. Mahlori and Makatsa — black eagles, paired for life, minor celebrities to anyone who's spent time at Walter Sisulu — had lost their last clutch back in May. ... Continue Reading

Telescope used for Star Gazing at Kloofendal Nature Reserve

Star Gazing at Kloofendal Nature Reserve: The Night I Went Star Gazing and Came Down With a Fever Instead

My hands won't stop shaking. Not the polite kind of cold-shiver — the kind that comes from somewhere under the skin, somewhere you can't quite reach with a pair of gloves. I'm standing in a queue in the dark, waiting my turn at a telescope, and I can't tell anymore if it's the winter air doing this to me, or something else entirely. ... Continue Reading

The start of the Bokmakierie Trail at the Suikerbosrand Nature Reserve

Suikerbosrand Nature Reserve: No Wildlife, No Peak Moment, Still Worth It

The grass is dry and colourless on either side of us, and the trail underfoot is hard-packed earth, dusty with every step. Four of us move through it in single file, poles clicking against stone, breath already a little short from the last climb. Somewhere ahead, another rise waits. There's always another rise. ... Continue Reading

Midway up the Black Trail at the Vergenoeg Hiking Trails, Hartbeespoort

Vergenoeg Hiking Trails: The Vulture Trail Where the Vultures Never Showed

You look beautiful," I tell them, and they laugh — exactly the reaction I was going for. It's easier to photograph people when they're having fun doing it. It's 8:30am and the haze over the Magaliesberg hasn't burned off yet, though it will, into one of those clear winter Highveld days that make the effort worth it later. Right now it's just cold. Put on your jacket cold. ... Continue Reading

Two hikers and an Ostrich on the Yellow Trail at the Groenkloof Nature Reserve

Groenkloof Nature Reserve: Two Ostriches and a Trail I Thought I Knew

The trail is barely wide enough for one person, and two ostriches are standing in the middle of it. Neither looks in any hurry to move. I'm most of the way through a hike I've done a dozen times, and for the first time all morning I have no idea what happens next. ... Continue Reading

Shaun DouglasView posts