Backyard Tourist

I spend most days rushing madly around in the persuit of those pieces of paper that get exchanged for food and lodging. But now and then I'm made to stop, slow down and wait.

Recently I was stuck in Woodstock, not my usual stomping ground - awaiting news on whether to move back out into traffic with the trailer to find another location, or turn and head home. And I've made an executive decision. I need to get back there with a camera and a full day in hand to wander those streets and take photos.

Have you ever taken a good hard look at the people and places around you? In a place like Woodstock there are fascinating views at every turn. From out-of-business and boarded up buildings, to those with a fresh coat of paint. From the bergie heaving a trolley load of old metal to the nearest scrap dealer, to the tannie directing an antique from the back of a bakkie into her shop. People of every colour and age, fashion sense and fashion disasters. The trendy and the threadbare.

Take a trip through Maitland and you'll see just as many interesting things.

Or stop off in Muizenberg. Or Athlone. Parow. Paarl. Strand (where there's a complex of old buildings and factories nearby that are soon to be demolished to make way for new office "squatter camps").

Beyond the man-made stuff, very often we take our natural surroundings for granted. Favourite Man and I were discussing recently how immune we become to views like this right in our back yard.

Head down, we go about our business on familiar streets - seldom taking time to really look around us.

There are those who pay thousands and come from the other end of the planet to see things we live with every day. We pay thousands to go see what they live with every day....

But now and then it's a good idea to become a backyard tourist. To go experience this (and no, they don't fire it from the TOP of Signal Hill!):



To travel with a camera in case you come across something unexpected.

Or to simply take a day off, grab your camera and go get locally lost.