Category Archives: johannesburg

Hunting Johannesburg’s first serial killer.

Posted on August 14, 2015 by Shaun Smillie

Mavis Davids struck a deal with the stranger in the big black car. Then she opened the passenger door, got in, and disappeared into the night. It was 1937 and in Europe Hitler’s land grab continued, South Africa still struggled … Continue reading →

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The Beryl street yoga club mystery

Posted on July 4, 2015 by Shaun Smillie

It goes like this Tweeta tweeta tweeta. No, throw back your lips and let that weeee go, so it comes out Tweeeeta tweeeta tweeeeta. Now you have the call of the mystery bird of Observatory. Always heard but never seen. … Continue reading →

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The outlaws of the Nuweveld.

Posted on July 3, 2015 by Shaun Smillie

Long before the lion took to the Nuweveld mountains another outlaw hid out in these remote borderlands between the Northern and Western Cape. His name was Stefaans Coetzee and he was responsible for the Worcester mall bombings in 1995. According … Continue reading →

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Peak bagging in the old Transvaal

Posted on May 17, 2014 by Shaun Smillie

Here it is higher than both Ben Nevis and Mount Snowdon, in fact throw both their heights together and they pip this spot by just a bit. This trig beacon marks the highest point in Gauteng, sitting at 1913 metres, … Continue reading →

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The other Sharpeville

Posted on November 11, 2013 by Shaun Smillie

Something is not right with this picture. Sharpeville Township lies to the south of Johannesburg. But this photograph I snapped is in Durban Deep, to the west of the City of Gold. The bearing is all wrong To understand this … Continue reading →

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Behind bars for ‘a sliver of green’

Posted on July 19, 2013 by Shaun Smillie

There was enough grass to roll a spliff the size of a toothpick. Maybe half a toothpick. Not enough for a drag, or even to get high on. But that sliver of green, clinging to the bottom of the stamp-sized … Continue reading →

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When photographers drive scary

Posted on July 16, 2013 by Shaun Smillie

It happens around the third floor-loose coins float in the VW Polo like bubbles, passengers lift in their seats, only to be held back by seatbelts. What photographer Christopher Collingridge achieves in those frightening seconds, has cost the US government … Continue reading →

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Bird mystery solved.

Posted on July 9, 2013 by Shaun Smillie

Mysteries in blurred photographs do sometimes get solved. Last week I posted a picture of a strange bird sitting on the wall of my garden. It didn’t appear in any local bird book and when I approached a couple of … Continue reading →

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So what is this strange bird?

Posted on July 3, 2013 by Shaun Smillie

Like all great mysteries this one stares out of a blurred photograph. But this is no picture of the Loch Ness Monster, Sasquatch or even Elvis, this is a photo of a small finch sized bird. It is a pretty … Continue reading →

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The Sandmen of Kya Sands

Posted on September 18, 2012 by Shaun Smillie

Their battle honours stretch back over a century, but on this night the Rand Light Infantry were on a different mission. Rioting had broken out in the informal settlement of Kya Sands to the north west of Johannesburg. Foreigners had … Continue reading →

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