Document

Want to entertain the kids, shop some fresh veg, get your car washed and grab a coffee for just R120? Challenge accepted! Cue Honeydew Eco Village!

Honeydew is an often-overlooked Jozi neighborhood. When people think of it, it’s perhaps of the Honeyrock Motel or the many horse stables heading out towards the Zandspruit area. But Honeydew has many undiscovered gems to find, if you just know where to look. Together with the Stepping Stones Garden Village in the same street, the Honeydew Eco Village on 281 Honeydew Road is one of those treasures.

Situated in a spacious parking area, it includes the Honeydew Fruit Market, an Econofoods (which sells extremely affordable frozen food like chips, chicken nuggets and fish cakes), a nursery, car wash, cake shop and café with a play area for the kids. And why is it so wonderful? Because you can shop, relax and get your car washed for under a R120!

Let’s face it, doing anything in Joburg for under R200 is a bargain.

If you’re like us, the pandemic related economic downturn has you pinching your pockets, and you need to get ever more creative with your outings, especially when you have kids. Allow us to walk you through a fun afternoon that won’t blow the bank.

An Apple A Day

Park at Pitstop Car Wash, where their friendly employees will get your baby shining for just R40. Then head to the Honeydew Fruit Market, where you can shop some of the cheapest and freshest veggies and fruit this side of the city. Think R8 for two blooming heads of broccoli. R10 for a punnet of plump blueberries (which usually sets you back about R40 at Woolworths). And R10 for a bag of sweet, crispy apples. You can literally walk away with a sizable box of fruit and veg for just R50.

And these aren’t soon-to-expire veggies either. The market gets fresh deliveries daily and acts as a wholesaler to shops and restaurants around the area. You’ll also find tinned goods, olive oil, pasta, sauces and diary.

Cuppa Coffee?

Image Source: Coppa Café Facebook

If you’ve got a kidlet with you to entertain while you shop, walk through the passage and head to the courtyard where you’ll find Coppa Café, a newly opened coffee shop with a lush play area for kids. The menu features fresh and healthy light meals like avo and cherry tomatoes on toast and quinoa salads, alongside evergreen lunch favourites like pizza and burgers and chips.

Drop R30 for a cup of coffee and relax in the tranquil, leafy premises while your toddler(s) plays on the jungle gym, man the plastic push bikes, or crawl through the Teletubby-land looking grass tunnel.

Burn It Off

If they still have some energy left, saunter them through Colourful Splendour Nursery on your way out. And don’t forget, your car will be waiting for you, washed, when you’re finished. Not bad for a day’s work, eh?