Keeping it local

SA’s picnic spots rival the best in the world. Now that the countryside has gone that vivid green with the first flush of spring, it’s time to ditch the jerseys, pack the basket, grab the blanket and sit on the grass, preferably under trees and near water.

● In Joburg, you will have seen the green shoots erupt all around Emmarentia, Zoo Lake, Delta Park and the Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden in Roodepoort — four of the finest parks in the world, let alone the country. Emmarentia has the rose garden, Zoo Lake has the rowing boats — and you can braai, although that, technically, is not a picnic. Delta and the botanical gardens have lots of space and spectacular birdlife.

● In Durban, the Japanese Gardens and the Durban Botanical Gardens are pretty awesome, but first choice would be the Nkutu and Kloof Falls picnic sites in the Krantzkloof Nature Reserve near Kloof.

● In Cape Town, Kirstenbosch and Newlands Forest are the obvious places to roll out a picnic blanket, but for me, it’s hard to find better spots than Oudekraal or Smitswinkelbaai. The best spot of all is the exquisite, surfstruck cove below the parking lot at De Kelders, Gansbaai, one of Earth’s most beautiful beach picnic spots.