Of recent I’ve taken an immense liking to nature reserve trails, “Why?” you may ask, let’s find out.

With the way we live today, our lives always revolve around being under pressure, whether it’s due to leaving a lasting impressions on people we meet or just plain old life stresses. Well, I’m sure I’m not the only one that thinks nature is peaceful, stress relieving you may say, plus there aren’t many people around, if any, so throw on those comfy baggy sweats that you don’t want anyone to know you own, run around looking like a hobo if you’d like, no one’s going to see, so no pressure.

Personally, I love to grab a group of friends, get some cardio in (kidding, no one likes cardio), get some bangers for the gram and most importantly, talk utter nonsense in a public environment with no one around to judge your weirdness!

This past Saturday I took a trip to one of my favourite reserves, Umhlanga Lagoon Nature Reserve, the weather was personally ideal for adventure, cloudy, and I state “cloudy” because if you’re Indian like myself, sunburn is a huge issue, mainly because there’s always that one relative at your next family function with the infamous “so sunburnt you gone.” statement, which has you awkwardly standing there smiling thinking to yourself “Really Shelia? Really?”.

However, if you don’t have an aunty Shelia or just looking for that gorgeous sunkissed look then I’ve got good news for you, like the quote “All roads lead to Rome.” with this reserve, all trails lead to the beach, and what a beach I might add, it stretches for miles with no one in sight, so if you’re feeling cheeky and thinking of ticking off skinny dipping from your bucket list, I’d take my chances here if I were you.

So, what about the trail itself? There are 2 actual trails, one is about 150m long and the other 1.1kms, they cross the river flowing through the reserve by means of wooden walkways, so if you’re looking to take some tumblr pictures, here’s where I suggest you do so. There are a few benches along the way, if you need a rest or just feel like taking all of it in. Most of the trail is on levelled ground apart from the last few hundred meters, which is a slight climb, but trust me it’s worth it, as you walk along the path of the longest trail, you glimpses through the foulage of the beautiful beach I mentioned before, until you reach the vantage point where you can take in all that the beach has to offer.

My favourite picture of all time was taken from this vantage point, so once again if you’re feeling artsy, this is the point where you should pull out your camera again. The reserve opens at 6:00 and closes at 18:00, so if you’re there during winter you might be lucky enough to watch a lazy sunrise or beautiful early sunset, and yes there’s secure parking within the reserve so it’s safe to be there that late.

I hope you enjoyed reading this first post, if you have any feedback, suggestions or have a reserve you think I should visit, please leave a comment below.