The Executive Mayor in the City of Joburg (CoJ), Councillor Geoff Makhubo and the Member of the Mayoral Committee for Community Development, Councillor Margaret Arnolds are set to join a community-led, hiking group on a 5km hike at 8am on Sunday, 12 June 2021 at the Klipriversberg Nature Reserve at 129 Peggy Vera Road, Kibler Park in Johannesburg. The Social Therapy Club co-ordinates weekly Sunday hikes to encourage healthy living in the City.
Councillor Arnolds, appealed to hikers to encourage their young children and youth to join a Sunday-hike this June. “It is Youth Month and it is a critical platform to encourage our children to adopt a more-healthy perspective on life and not limit it to whiling their Sundays on their cellphones, in front of a television or on the corner of a street or at a mall.”
“Hiking across the country, has seen a revival with renewed community interest since the onset of the pandemic,” stated Arnolds. This has allowed family and friends to remain in their ‘bubble’ while enjoying the soothing expanse of the outdoors with their close friends and family, she added.
The benefits of hiking are far-reaching for so many plagued by the anxiety of the pandemic and it a cost-effective way to:
- Relieve stresses;
- Promotes mental wellbeing;
- Strengthens and tones the body;
- Connects families; and
- Fosters and builds healthy and safer communities
“Weather is also not a deterrent. Regular hikers will strap on their boots, come rain or shine,” noted Arnolds. This encourages residents to keep fit and healthy throughout the year while taking in the tranquil, picturesque and rolling hills and watercourses in Joburg.
Some of the spectacular views that hikers can access are to the top of The Wilds; the 360 degree panoramic views of the Northcliff Eco-Park; the walk past stone-age remnants at Melville Koppies; the rich biodiversity at the Kloofendal Nature Reserve; the free-roaming animals at the Norscot or Lonehill Koppies or here along the watercourse at the Klipriversberg Nature Reserves that caters for the physically challenged as well.
Hiking, walking and picnicking in the over 42 nature reserves is free. In return the city urges you to keep spaces spotlessly clean; pick up any abandoned litter; stay on the designated pathways; respect the various groups using the spaces; and ensure that you strictly comply with all Covid-protocols.
