Due to the holidays, transport routes in Noida will change for 4 days for Tanteras and Diwali.

Midlands in KwaZulu-Natal is renowned for its green hills, country roads, and charming farm guesthouses. However, beyond the picturesque landscapes, this region has cultivated a rich gastronomic culture, featuring artisanal cheeseries, independent bakeries, farm stalls, and local producers everywhere.

A journey through the Midlands focused on food allows visitors to savor freshly baked sourdough bread, taste homemade cheeses, and browse shelves of homemade preserves while traveling along slower rural roads. Due to its proximity to waterfalls, forest trails, craft shops, and historical attractions, a short stop for food can easily turn into an ideal weekend getaway.

The Midlands has a long association with dairy farming, and small cheeseries are a key feature of the area. For instance, at Indezi River Creamery, located near Curry’s Post, visitors can explore a selection of handmade cow, goat, and sheep milk cheeses, as well as yogurts, butter, kefir, and local preserves. The farm shop here is convenient for stocking up before continuing along the Meander route.

Another worthwhile stop is La Petite France on Preston Farm near Howick. This family dairy farm produces various cheeses and other dairy products from its Jersey cows. Their café and farm shop offer the chance to enjoy coffee, eat homemade buns, and purchase local goods.

Miche Bakehouse on Nottingham Road is worth visiting for its sourdough bread, rustic loaves, ciabatta, and naturally fermented baked goods. Their bomboli, Italian-style filled doughnuts, are another reason to stop for something sweet alongside coffee.

For a more traditional farm stall experience, head to Taste Buds Farm Stall in Dargle. Here, a bakery, delicatessen, and restaurant combine fresh pastries, homemade pies, cakes, preserves, and locally produced goods. It is also a good spot to buy picnic supplies.

If you plan a Saturday trip, be sure to visit the Karkloof Farmers’ Market. This covered market gathers local vendors and producers offering fresh vegetables, baked goods, homemade treats, and other regional produce.

For a sweet souvenir, Wedgewood Nougat Farm Shop in Merrivale offers homemade nougat, cookies, and confectionery. This is a useful detour for visitors looking for local gifts and treats. Visitors should check the weekday opening hours before traveling.

In the heart of the Green Kalahari in the Northern Cape lies an extraordinary landscape that disrupts the usual palette of reddish earth and sparse desert vegetation. Here, tall white dunes suddenly rise, creating one of South Africa's most peculiar natural contrasts.

This is Witsrand Reserve, a remote wilderness area where the dunes are as fascinating for their geological history as they are for the mysterious sounds they sometimes emit. These dunes, known as Roaring Sands of the Kalahari or Brulsand in Afrikaans, are part of a landscape offering much more than just unusual photographic opportunities.

Witsrand offers visitors the chance to experience another side of the Northern Cape through wildlife encounters, hiking trails, bird watching, outdoor adventures, and exceptionally clear night skies.

The first thing visitors notice at Witsrand is the striking contrast between the light dunes and the surrounding reddish terrain. While much of the Kalahari is characterized by iron-rich sand and resilient vegetation, the central dune field of Witsrand appears almost alien.

The reserve protects about 3,500 hectares of this unique landscape, where the white dunes sharply contrast with the red earth, acacia forests, and the distant Langberg Mountains.

It is believed that the dunes formed around an isolated massif of buried hills, under which groundwater played a significant role in shaping the landscape. Over millions of years, this moisture gradually washed away the reddish iron oxide from the sand grains, leaving behind pale quartz sand, which gave the reserve its name. This resulted in a remarkable geological feature, making Witsrand one of the most distinctive landscapes of the Green Kalahari.

One of the most intriguing attractions of Witsrand is something visitors can hear rather than see. The reserve is home to the famous Brulsand, or roaring sands—a phenomenon where the dunes emit a deep, resonant hum or roar under certain conditions.

This sound occurs when countless sand grains rub against each other. With sufficiently dry sand and appropriate conditions, this movement can generate an almost musical vibration that spreads across the dunes. This unusual natural phenomenon has brought Witsrand into the ranks of South Africa's most captivating geological destinations. However, this sound cannot be guaranteed during every visit, as humidity, temperature, and sand condition affect the occurrence of this phenomenon.

For travelers, this makes exploring the dunes particularly interesting. Even without the audible roar, the scale, texture, and unusual color of the landscape provide plenty of reasons for admiration.

After potatoes, onion is one of the most frequently used vegetables, and the dish is considered incomplete without it. In South India, there is a special recipe with onion that cooks quickly and has an exceptional taste. If you are tired of the simple combination of dal and rice, try serving everyone onion pachadi with it.

Onion pachadi, which is essentially an onion sauce, cooks very quickly. It is especially prepared in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala. This sauce can be eaten not only with dal and rice but also with idli, dosa, and paratha. Below is a simple instruction on how to prepare this dish at home.

To prepare onion pachadi, several steps must be followed. First, one tablespoon of oil is heated in a pot, and then split lentils (chana dal) and urad dal are fried over low or medium heat until golden brown and fragrant.

Next, finely chopped ginger and garlic are added, followed by sliced onions, and they are sautéed for 2–3 minutes until the onions become soft and slightly golden. Then, dried red chili and ginger are added to the mixture and roasted for one minute. After this, the heat is turned off, and the mixture is allowed to cool completely.

The cooled mass is transferred to a blender jar, a little palm sugar and salt to taste are added. If necessary, a little water is added and blended into a puree or slightly coarse consistency.

For the final touch, a tadka is prepared: a little oil is heated in a small pan, mustard seeds are added, and as soon as they sizzle, urad dal, asafoetida, and curry leaves are fried. The ready tadka is poured over the sauce and mixed thoroughly.