Johannesburg 1750m

One of my favourite nerdy facts about Johannesburg is that it sits at roughly the same altitude as parts of the French Alps. Of course, there's less snow, less fur and fewer people called Hugo in a puffer jacket than in Courchevel. But still. We’re talking around 1,750 metres above sea level, which puts Joburg up there with Alpine resort towns.

At this altitude, the air in Joburg contains noticeably less oxygen - about 17% compared to around 21% at sea level. This doesn’t sound like much but you best believe your body absolutely notices. You get out of breath quicker. Hangovers hit harder (personal research ongoing). And a measly 5km run feels like an ultramarathon (which is definitely an altitude problem and not contributed to by my ongoing vape habit).

That altitude is also why the climate is strangely ideal for an inland African city with no coastline and no major river. Joburg has a subtropical highland climate, which is the technical way of saying we have warm summers that are rarely unbearable and cool, dry winters with blue skies without it being freezing.

If you, the reader, have gotten this far, you may be wondering why I am banging on about altitude sickness. Before moving here, my only reference point in South Africa was Cape Town - a city defined by its dramatic hiking routes in and around Table Mountain. Which is why Joburg can come as a bit of a surprise. Although it’s elevated, it’s built on a plateau, the Highveld, meaning the surrounding landscape is relatively flat. So instead of peaks and ridgelines, you get rolling grassland, wide open horizons and scattered koppies (Afrikaans for small hills).

Open bushveld and big sky views at the Cradle of Humankind

On Easter Sunday we wanted to escape the urban hot mess that was Joburg and experience this surrounding landscape. So we drove to the Cradle of Humankind, about an hour from the city. It's one of South Africa’s most important archaeological sites and a UNESCO World Heritage Site famous for some of the oldest human fossils ever discovered. Over 40 % of the world’s known hominin fossils come from here. True to its name, it’s the cradle of the human story: the evidence from the surrounding caves has been central to the Out of Africa theory and research that tells us how our ancestors walked upright, made tools, and spread around the globe.

Me, more exhausted than I should be on the trail.

All photo credit to our friend, Jeroen.

The trails aren’t extreme, but that makes it a perfect day out with a four-legged companion and so Pluto came along for the adventure. It may not have the same cinematic cliffs and ridges as a mountain hike but it was still pretty spectacular. You're walking through dry, open bushveld, and eerily quiet, ancient terrain that feels almost untouched. I think we only saw one other walker all afternoon, which would be unheard of in Lion's Head in Cape Town.

Alistair and me.

Alistair exploring the trails at Cradle of Humankind

Pluto quenching his thirst.

If you’re after more dramatic hiking near Joburg - actual elevation, rocky trails, something that feels like a climb - you do have to venture a bit further out to places like the Magaliesberg or Suikerbosrand Nature Reserve. But for something closer to the city, the Cradle offers space and stillness. And when you're living in a city that is as hard (and high) as Joburg, perspective is already a given - it’s not always about the climb.

Notes from 26° South.