PARKHURST
Description:
A mix of residential
houses, a busy strip of restaurants and shops and a walk along
the meandering grassy banks of the Braamfontein Spruit.
Location:
Parkhurst, a suburb near Rosebank (Map Studio pg. 55 DN/DO 97).
Dog
Friendliness:
Technically all dogs should be on lead along the
Spruit, but nobody seems to comply. Most restaurants in
Parkhurst will tolerate well behaved dogs sitting with their
owners at their outside tables. It is always advisable to ask
first.
Walk Time:
Around 1 hour.
Parking: You
can park anywhere along the busy 4th Avenue – be
very careful of the passing cars when getting your dog in and
out of your vehicle. If the Alternative Fair is not on, I would
suggest you park at the Parkhurst Recreational Centre. Turn
west into 13th Street from 4th Avenue and
you will drive straight into the central parking area near the
Parkhurst Library. There are car guards in 4th Street
and security guards at the Recreation Centre.
Safety:
Parkhurst is one of the
few suburbs where you can walk around the leafy streets. The
grassed area along the Braamfontein Spruit is also well used by
residents, staff, cyclists, joggers, dog-walkers and horse
riders. Make sure your dogs are on their leads in the
residential areas and be cautious when releasing them from your
vehicle.
Facilities:
There are numerous restaurants with side-walk tables in 4th
Avenue. There are no facilities along the river bank.
Water:
The
Braamfontein Spruit is polluted, but dogs seem fine when they
swim in it.
Walk:
(1) From 4th
Ave: walk along 4th Ave until you reach 12th
St. Walk east down the hill. (2) From the Rec Centre: between
the library and the skate board park onto a playing field. Walk
straight across the field to a gate on the other side. Go
through the gate and turn left into 6th Ave and turn
first right into 12th St.
Just
before the end of 12th Street, take the open gate to
your left and follow a path leading down to the river. You have
to leap across the river – an easy jump of about half a metre –
to get to the other side. Scramble onto the river bank and take
the path leading to your right and follow the river downstream.
This
section is an easy stroll along the banks of the Braamfontein
Spruit under some electricity pylons. This is a section of the
Braamfontein Spruit Trail that was conceived in the 1980s as one
of the worlds longest urban trails. Lately, this noble idea has
been largely forgotten as crime in certain sections, and road
closures in others, have made it difficult to negotiate in one
go.
You will
notice that there is a road (Zonda Avenue) to your left. When it
ends look into the river and you’ll see a rough and ready
concrete footbridge close to the river bed. This is where you
cross back over the river into Parkhurst.
If you
want to continue along the riverbank, take any number of paths
that run parallel to the river. You can continue for another 2
kilometres to Conrad Drive in Randburg. I would suggest is that
you follow the paths up to the fenced off Scout and Guide areas
and the Bird Sanctuary. Walk along the fences and then double
back along one of the lower paths in the river valley when you
wish to return.
Once you
are back at the small footbridge, cross over it and follow the
path alongside a housing complex, cross another footbridge and
eventually reach the end of 5th Avenue. Put your dog
on a lead and walk straight along 5th Avenue until
you reach 14th Street. Turn left and walk up the hill
to 4th Avenue where you will find the shops and
restaurants for some retail and rehydration therapy.
Watch
Out For: (1)
Vehicles, other pedestrians and barking dogs in houses when
walking through Parkhurst. (2) Horses on the river side of the
walk.
More
Info: Val
Kleyn 011.782.5169
© Dogwalk Publications -
07 July 2007
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