''Weg!'' (literal English translation: ''Away!''; title of English-language version: ''Go!'') is an

Afrikaans language Afrikaans is a West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and to a lesser extent Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and also Argentina where there is a group in Sarmiento that speaks the Patagonian dialect. It evolved from the Dutc ...

outdoor and

travel Travel is the movement of people between distant geographical Location (geography), locations. Travel can be done by Pedestrian, foot, bicycle, automobile, train, boat, bus, airplane, ship or other means, with or without Baggage, luggage, a ...

magazine A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...

. It was first published in April 2004 and is owned by the

Media24 Media24 is a South Africa, South African mass media company with interests in digital media and services, newspapers, magazines, ecommerce, publishing, television, logistics, and distribution. Established in 2000, and owned by Naspers, the com ...

division of

Naspers Naspers Limited (until 1998 Die Nasionale Pers) is a South African multinational internet, technology and multimedia holding company headquartered in Cape Town. The company has interests in online retail, publishing, real estate, and ventu ...

. The magazine focuses on affordable destinations in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

and the rest of

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

. In addition to travel articles, the magazine also contains

photographic Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employed in many ...

portfolios focusing on nature and

recipe A recipe is a set of instructions that describes how to prepare or make something, especially a dish (food), dish of prepared food. A sub-recipe or subrecipe is a recipe for an ingredient that will be called for in the instructions for the main r ...

s, as well as

car A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people rather than cargo. There are around one billio ...

book A book is a structured presentation of recorded information, primarily verbal and graphical, through a medium. Originally physical, electronic books and audiobooks are now existent. Physical books are objects that contain printed material, ...

music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...

and outdoor equipment reviews. The original name of the magazine was ''Wegbreek'' (Break Away), but it was forced to change its name after a court case with Ramsay, Son & Parker, the publishers of the rival '' Getaway'' magazine. In February 2006, the magazine achieved a circulation of 77,174 (as audited by the Audit Bureau of Circulations of South Africa), making it the largest outdoor and

travel magazine Travel is the movement of people between distant geographical locations. Travel can be done by foot, bicycle, automobile, train, boat, bus, airplane, ship or other means, with or without luggage, and can be one way or round trip. Travel can ...

in any language in South Africa. This position was consolidated by the launch of its

English language English is a West Germanic language that developed in early medieval England and has since become a English as a lingua franca, global lingua franca. The namesake of the language is the Angles (tribe), Angles, one of the Germanic peoples th ...

sister magazine, ''Go!'' in June of the same year, which resulted in a combined circulation figure of 113,248 by November 2006. In December 2006, ''WegSleep'' (Tow Away), a former caravanning and camping supplement, was launched as an independent magazine. The founding editor of the magazine was Bun Booyens. He was succeeded by Barnie Louw from 2010–2013, with Pierre Steyn taking over the reins as editor early in 2014. In 2011, ''Weg!'' produced its first stand-alone travel map of the

Baviaanskloof Baviaanskloof Mega Reserve is a protected area in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. Characteristics The Baviaanskloof (Dutch for "Valley of Baboons") lies between the Baviaanskloof and Kouga mountain ranges. The easternmost point of th ...

by in-house cartographer François Haasbroek. Since then, the magazine has published detailed travel maps of

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

and the

Kruger National Park Kruger National Park () is a national park in South Africa covering an area of in the provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga in the country's northeast. It extends from north to south and from east to west. The administrative headquarters are i ...

Awards

The magazine has received several awards, including: * At the 2006 Magazine Publishers' Association of South Africa's

Sappi Sappi Limited, originally incorporated as ''South African Pulp and Paper Industries Limited'' in 1936, is a South African pulp and paper company with global operations. Products and operation South African Pulp and Paper Industries Limit ...

Pica Awards: ** The inaugural Jane Raphaely Award for Editor of the Year to Booyens. ** The best magazine in the Travel, Wildlife and Conservation category. ** The best supplement, for WegSleep. * In both 2005 and 2006, travel editor and columnist

Dana Snyman Dana Snyman is a South African journalist, writer and playwright. Snyman was born in Stellenbosch and matriculated from Nylstroom High School. He later followed a journalism course at the Tshwane University of Technology before joining the Afr ...

won the "ATKVeertjie" award from the ''Afrikaanse Taal en Kultuurvereniging'' (Afrikaans Language and Cultural Society) for magazine journalism. * At the 2006 ADvantage awards of the South African magazine industry: ** Best overall magazine. ** Magazine editor of the year. ** Best magazine in the leisure category.

References

External links

''Weg'' Magazine official website

''go!'' Magazine Website

Data on circulation figures
2004 establishments in South Africa Afrikaans-language magazines Magazines published in South Africa Tourism magazines Magazines established in 2004 {{Media24