Stepping out in the world

NO BETTER WAY TO BE HEALTHY THAN CURIOSITY ABOUT WHAT’S OUT THERE Nature’s beauty spurred two entrepreneurs to start a hiking business.

Sunday mornings are usually a time of rest for the average Joe. Some prefer to spend it at church, with family, or outdoors exploring South Africa’s hidden gems on foot.

Last Sunday, a group of fitness buddies gathered at Witpoortjie, outside Roodepoort, for Epic Hike’s Cycle to Hike. About 40 people cycled from Witpoortjie to the Walter Sisulu National Botanical Gardens in Poortview, Roodepoort, where they hiked for 4km.

Epic Hikes is an outdoor hiking club founded in 2015, by Lesego Mapeka and Bogosing Modise.

“Epic Hikes was born from the passion for the outdoors and the adventures of exploring them,” said Mapeka.

“I used to work from 9 to 5 in 2015,” he said.

“My line of work required me to travel to Cape Town quite often. The Western Cape boasts ex- quisite mountains and terrain and the sun sets late that side, so I started hiking after work as a hobby.” The lifestyle and scenery of the Western Cape ignited Mapeka’s love for hiking and the outdoors, which then sparked the idea to start a hiking movement in Joburg. “The vision for Epic Hikes is to introduce hiking to a lot more people, especially the black community,” he said. “We want to put ourselves in the forefront of living healthily. We want to get to a point where hiking is top of mind when people are thinking health,” he said.

“We want people to incorporate hiking into their lifestyle. It exposes you to travel and exploring nature, whereas gym doesn’t expose you to much, if anything,” 010 492-5227

With hiking, we want to take people out of their comfort zones Edited by

Mapeka said.

“Our goal is to spread the excitement of outdoor adventure, whether just down the road or