The Hiking Crew has an awesome time at The Wilds Nature Reserve

A socialised hiking group, the Hiking Crew, enjoyed an awesome hike at The Wilds Nature Reserve in Houghton. The crew set off for the hike as six participants on September 18.

Chairman of the Hiking Crew Grant Kinnear said one afternoon while driving down Houghton Drive, he saw this ‘beautiful place’ and told his crew about the place and they decided to check it out as a team.

Kinnear said The Wilds was very clean and well maintained, ‘, especially for those who do spiritual healing’.
“I was very impressed with the different sections where you can actually meditate and all the cacti are just too beautiful.

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“The fact that we have this nature reserve in the heart of a suburb, Houghton, with the busy highway separating the east from the west with a bridge crossing which allows you to go from the one to the other.
“The view was extraordinary with all the relevant signage and markings. The best for me was seeing the two domes of the Masjid protruding through the thick bushes and trees.”

The Hiking Crew was formed on January 26 this year as an initiative by Kinner and Quentin Maynier.

Kinnear said they started off with six members and have grown over time. He said their group is a socialised group where they do not race or see who gets to the finish line first. On most hikes, they have breakfast on top on a hill where they get to know new members who have just joined.

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“In our group, we have this young guy, Kevin Kinnear, who is disabled and, on many hikes, he encourages us because if he can do it so can we. As chairman of this group, I set out that we are equal and that the group belongs to us.”

Kinnear is also a community activist and he participates in fundraisers to assist with social responsibility alongside some group members. “Even if one of us is in need or in a complex situation we would all step in to assist. I found this heart-warming as I saw most of our members have a compassionate side and this way, we could assist many people as well as our own members.”

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The crew has so far embarked on 16 hikes in many places including Magaliesburg. They also do park runs in between to promote the Hiking Crew and get new members to join.

Kinnear said they would definitely have a picnic on their next visit to The Wilds.

Details: The Wilds is located on Houghton Drive in Houghton Estate.

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