When You Can’t Travel Far, Travel Deep

There was a time when travel meant airports, passports, departure gates. It meant the anticipation of somewhere unknown and the quiet excitement of stepping into a different world. Today, travel often begins with something much simpler: the turn of a key in an old Mercedes-Benz, the sound of its engine settling into rhythm, and a short drive down familiar streets in Pretoria.

Over the past decade, distance has not always been available to us. Rising living costs, the realities of working remotely in South Africa, and the limitations of an aging vehicle have meant that long journeys have often remained out of reach. Apart from my work on an oilfield in Iraq and a brief visit to Ajman in the United Arab Emirates, most of our travel has unfolded within a much smaller radius.

And yet, within that radius, life has quietly continued to offer places worth discovering.

Travel, I have learned, is not always about distance. Sometimes it is about depth.

Camel-riding on Ajman beach, Ajman, UAE

Camel-riding, Ajman, 2018

Pretoria Boeremark (Farmers Market): where continuity begins before sunrise

Some of our most meaningful journeys begin in darkness, long before the city fully wakes, at the Pretoria Boeremark.

The Boeremark is widely regarded as one of Pretoria’s most beloved farmers markets, known for its early morning hours, traditional farm foods, and strong community atmosphere. Rooted deeply in Afrikaner agricultural heritage, it represents continuity with a slower, older rhythm of life.

Arriving between 5 and 6 in the morning, you immediately notice the smell of wood fires and fresh coffee cutting through the cold air. Vendors prepare food in quiet concentration. People greet one another with familiarity. The market is alive, but not chaotic—busy in a way that feels purposeful and grounded.

We walk past stalls selling vetkoek filled with mince, pannekoek dusted with cinnamon sugar, sosaties grilled over open flames, farm breads, fresh cheeses, pap and kaiings, rusks, kombucha drinks, cappuccinos, and homemade desserts. There are even international touches—Asian dishes, Indian foods, and Russian treats—quiet reminders of how the world intersects in unexpected places.

Standing there, holding a warm coffee while the sun begins its slow rise, you feel something rare: continuity. Stability. The quiet reassurance that life continues forward.

Cinnamon sticks, Pretoria Boeremark

Henry (me) and Ansu (my wife) at the Boeremark

vetkoek stall at the Boeremark

'Blikbekers' (tin cups) for sale

Spices

Safari Garden Centre: a sanctuary hidden in plain sight

Another place that offers quiet restoration is the Safari Garden Centre, located in Pretoria East.

More than a commercial nursery, it functions as a living ecosystem. Indigenous plants, tall trees, and carefully designed walkways create a space where nature reasserts its presence. Small waterfalls provide constant background sound. Birds move freely overhead.

Two tame parrots, Anna and Jason, have become part of the centre’s identity, calmly observing visitors and occasionally engaging with them.

Garden centres like this exist not just to sell plants, but to preserve small pockets of ecological calm within urban environments. They offer psychological relief as much as horticultural value.

We usually keep things simple there. A soft serve ice cream. A slow walk. No urgency.

It is enough.

Ansu and I at Safari Garden centre

Jason, one of the parrots that one can engage with at Safari

Elephant statue at safari

Tuckshop where one can buy soft serve ice-cream

Jason and I at Safari

Afro-Boer: where heritage and calm still exist

The Afro-Boer Restaurant, established in 2013 in Lynnwood, has become one of Pretoria’s most respected baker’s cafés. It has received national recognition for preserving and modernizing traditional Afrikaner culinary heritage while creating a peaceful farm-style environment.

Its outdoor seating, surrounded by gardens and open space, creates a natural sense of calm. Chickens walk freely between tables. Meals unfold slowly.

Traditional dishes like the Boereboepie breakfast reflect South Africa’s agricultural roots—simple, nourishing, and grounded.

Afro-Boer reminds you that heritage is not something abstract. It lives in spaces, in food, and in quiet environments where time slows down.

Enjoying Herbal tea from Malawi at Afroboer restaurant

Afroboer main restaurant

Garden section

Cullinan: distance measured in atmosphere, not kilometers

Before losing my Toyota Corolla in 2016, we were able to travel further to Cullinan, a historic mining town east of Pretoria.

Cullinan is internationally known as the site where the Cullinan Diamond—the largest gem-quality diamond ever discovered—was found in 1905. Today, the town preserves its mining heritage through museums, architecture, and tourism districts.

We visited pancake restaurants serving milk tart-filled pancakes, walked through historic streets, and spent time in Stavros’ Greek restaurant, where hospitality felt genuine and unforced.

Cullinan was not far geographically. But psychologically, it created distance from routine.

Distance enough to breathe differently.

Ansu enjoying ice-cream in the tourist section of Cullinan

Greek restaurant, owned by Stavros, in the tourist section of Cullinan

Ansu at Pancake restaurant in Cullinan with my red Toyota in the background

Restaurant and coffee bar in tourist section of Cullinan

Stavros' blind cat

Sooper Eats: stability through consistency

Closer to home, Sooper Eats has become part of our regular rhythm.

Run by Mark, whose hospitality defines the environment, it offers something simple but powerful: reliability.

The meals—steak, burgers, pasta, lasagna, oven-baked pizzas—are clean, affordable, and consistent. Mark greets guests warmly, creating an environment where you feel recognized and welcome.

Consistency, over time, becomes stability.

And stability becomes its own form of travel—movement not through geography, but through continuity.

Bicycle as interior decoration feature inside Sooper Restaurant. Mark, the owner loves cycling.

Outside seating area

One of many cappuccinos we have enjoyed at Sooper 

Fig Cheesecake

Ansu and I enjoying the afternoon out at Sooper

Pretoria National Botanical Gardens: an urban oasis

Just two kilometers from our home lie the Pretoria National Botanical Gardens, a 76-hectare conservation area established in 1946 and now managed by the South African National Biodiversity Institute.

The gardens serve both scientific and public purposes, preserving indigenous plant ecosystems while providing accessible natural environments within the city.

After teaching online for hours in my small Nutec garden office, I drive there and walk along the designated trails. These paths move through grasslands, indigenous forest areas, and quiet ecological corridors.

There is no urgency there.

No deadlines.

No screens.

These walks restore balance. They create separation between work and life. They remind me that life exists beyond productivity.

Giant metal insect mounted on a tree near the entrance

One of the many animal residents of the garden

Morning Garden picnic

walking trail scenery

Spring time

Out on a walk at the Botanical Gardens

The view of Silverton from the hill on one of the walking trails

Sunset view from the Deck Restaurant in the Botanical Gardens

Dry allow during winter

Teaching and traveling simultaneously

Most evenings, I teach English online from my small garden office.

Through my students, I travel mentally across continents. I speak with people living in Russia, Serbia, Poland, Portugal, Cyprus, Turkey, Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, the United Kingdom, the United States, Kazakhstan, Thailand, Japan, Malaysia, Croatia, Montenegro, Mauritius, and the Maldives.

Through their stories, I imagine their cities, their winters, their coastlines.

Travel continues—not physically, but mentally.

Each lesson becomes a small journey.

Our kitty, Klouye, constant companion and adventure seeker

Our garden, for exercise and calm

Klein Kariba: a true bushveld retreat

One of the few places that truly felt like physical travel again was ATKV Klein Kariba, located in the Waterberg region near Bela-Bela.

Nestled within bushveld hills and natural landscapes, the resort offers nature trails, accommodation, and recreational facilities designed to create rest and immersion in nature.

The air feels different there. The pace slows naturally.

But reaching it required patience. The old Mercedes sometimes overheated. We stopped. Waited. Continued.

Each kilometer carried meaning.

Travel became an act of perseverance.

Njala, some of the wildlife at Klein Kariba

Main lake at entrance

Restaurant at Klein Kariba

Restaurant and views of lake and waterfall

Recreational lake at the entrance

Coffee, sunset drives, and small dignities

Sometimes travel is nothing more than coffee at Plato.

Sometimes it is a sunset drive.

Sometimes it is simply continuing forward.

In South Africa, where many face profound hardship, even stability becomes meaningful.

Enjoying a Plato Coffee Freezo on one of our afternoon drives 

Colbyn Gholf range where we enjoyed many outings

Ansu enjoying a break at Lynnridge mall

Out for a walk in Silverton, where I live, during Covid

Trying on a new hat during a shopping trip

Traveling deep

Travel is not only distance.

It is attention.

It is awareness.

When you cannot travel far, you learn to travel deep.

And in doing so, you discover that the world was never entirely out of reach.

Old tractor on display at Farm Inn which we frequented until it close

Donkey car at Farm Inn