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🔊 Listen ⏹ Stop

There's a turn-off about ten minutes from most people's houses that they've never taken.

A path through the park that isn't the one that gets you to your car fastest. A street you've driven past a thousand times and walked down zero.

Our modern world stops us from noticing these things anymore. Map apps reroute you, the second there's a faster way.

Commutes get timed to the minute. Even weekend walks tend to follow the same loop, on autopilot, because it's easy and it's known.

But what if the point was never to get there faster?

Let the Route Decide

There definitely is something satisfying and comforting about having a plan. It gives us a sense of control and the feeling that we have our life in order. It makes us feel safe.

But there is also something exhilarating and energising about leaving a little room for the unexpected.

And there are many benefits of stepping outside your comfort zone. It offers variation to your routine, stimulates the mind, and heightens your senses.

You take a wrong turn and end up somewhere you’d never have found on purpose. A hike you thought would take 30 minutes ends up being worth two hours instead.

South Africa makes this easy. You don’t need to drive for ages to find it. Trails, open spaces, stretches of coastline waiting to be explored, are often closer than we think.

The trick is giving yourself permission to wander.

Leave the watch at home if you want to. Take the longer route. Stop when something catches your attention.

That's where the right footwear earns its place. The Merrell Accentor is built for exactly this kind of day. The one where you're not sure yet what it's going to look like, moving easily between path and pavement without asking you to plan ahead.

And when that short walk turns into something longer, the Moab Speed 2 is light enough to keep going, made for the hike that outgrew its own plan.

There is No Rush

Taking the scenic route does not mean you have to slow right down.

For runners, it can just mean picking a trail because it looks interesting, leaving the familiar loop behind and seeing where another one goes.

There is something refreshing about running without thinking too much about pace or distance.

The Agility Trail is made for this kind of running: light underfoot, built to keep your focus on the terrain ahead instead of on your watch. The outdoors doesn't always need to be about performance.

Sometimes it is enough to enjoy being there.

We spend so much of our time getting from one place to another that it’s easy to forget about everything in between.
So next time you head out, take the long way. Walk the extra few kilometres. Try the trail you normally skip. You might not get home as quickly.

But that was never really the point.

Ready to find your own version of the long way round? Explore the full range at merrell.co.za and find the pair built for wherever your detour takes you.