Travel
Camping in St Helena Bay And Beyond
The drive to Paternoster along the dirt road maintained by Spoor Net is a dream, we always take it. This time there was a hold-up with works going on which meant we had to return to the tar road, but eventually we made it back onto gravel. It is the more scenic route. Paternoster is...
Langebaan – Greece On The West Coast - Leentjiesklip
It’s hard to believe that we’ve only visited Langebaan on a few occasions, and the last time was decades ago with a friend who had a timeshare unit. With very little knowledge, Langebaan never featured on my bucket list. There’s no specific reason we always skipped it on our numerous west...
Cape Town Capers – Making The Most Of The Mother Of All Cities
The only people who suffer due to negativity, boredom, frustration or resentment are the sufferers themselves. It is, therefore, not worth the space it takes up in our minds or emotions. Here we were in the City, rated amongst the world’s top ten. We were going to squeeze every drop of juice out...
Our Authentic Travel – Three Anchor Bay Stay
Family and fish go off after three days. This mantra is so ingrained in me that being a house guest for an extended period does not sit well. We had hardly dragged our suitcases, bags and bits and bobs up the flight of stairs in Green Point that Butch and I decided we needed our own space....
The Right Side Of The Tracks - Wild Camping
If I could have my life all over again, one of the career choices I’d consider would be to become a train engine driver. I love trains in any shape or form. As a child, one of the highlights would be my journeys to and from boarding school by steam train. The clickety-clack would lull me to...
The Old And The Nieu Bethesda
Visiting Nieu Bethesda is like visiting a favourite Grandmother. You know their smells, their curves, the colour of their curls. Her soothing voice is constant. Reliable, patient, and her devotion is unconditional. We’ve introduced our friends, shared experiences at dinner parties, and...
Wild Camping At KaKhulu Karoo
Like everyone else, I love a riddle, or a lekker ou skinder, but this visit left me with more questions than answers. The ninety-minute drive from Graaff Reinet on the Janzenville road was lovely, with breathtaking views of a rugged Karoo landscape carpeted in deep orange. Aloes were in...
Winter Wandering Into The Great Karoo
We picked up sticks and turned our nose northeast to Graaff Reinet. To celebrate the 4th of July, we stopped for tea and cake at Sophie’s Choice, a fascinating coffee shop just south of Willowmore. Quirky is the only word to describe this worthwhile stopover. No one can resist exploring...
Whether we can, Weather we can’t!
Our little holiday depended on weather conditions. Where are the days when we could determine weather conditions by experiencing the day, e.g.putting your head out the door, or feeling inclement weather in your bones,watching a mountaintop being covered by a cloudy cloth used to be a good...
Life After The Great Trek
Our gut is our best indicator of all things good and dire. We have been incredibly fortunate on this journey as all the keys have fallen into place. For us a good indication that we’re on the right track. Anyway, that’s how I see it. This time the dealer is on our side. Exhausted after weeks...
Keeping The Best for Last – Shametu River Lodge and Spa.
Camping on the Kavango River We were nearing the end of our holiday when we decided to spoil ourselves and indulge in a few days of Glamping. Yes, we were going Glamping! We'd laze at the poolside, bird watch, Loeries were building a nest in a palm tree on the deck overlooking the river...
Yzerfontein Revisited - A Celebration Of Our Freedom
We’ve benefited from a month of short weeks and long weekends. According to someone who has limited holiday time, if a worker took their leave on the 14th of April, they would use eight days of their annual leave, but they’d only clock back in at work on the 20th day after that on the 2nd of...
Rainbow River Lodge – Okavango River
Long holidays with many rendezvous, campsites and parks will eventually fill my mental melting pot into one large soup of sights, sounds and smells. My photographs serve to awaken my memory as I click through my albums distinguishing one campsite, experience or adventure from another. Spicing...
Travelling with Somebody. A Weekend in the Karoo - Kanniedood 4x4 Wild Camping
Two’s company and three’s a crowd. There are times when we have a very unwelcome guest in our midst. Her name is Somebody, and she’s the one that causes all the ructions. It’s almost impossible to pin her down, and she never owns up, apologises, or admits to being the culprit. Her shenanigans...
Wild Camping - Mudumu Campsite 3 - Second Time Lucky - The Caprivi adventure continues
It’s all very glamorous staying in beautifully appointed campsites with manicured lawns, five-star ablutions, and interesting restaurants. Even more so is gliding on a makorro and going for guided game drives. I'm not complaining. Still, we love doing our own thing. Besides, social...
Climbing the Skerpenheuwel To The Breede Otter Campsite -
When you’re a Grey Nomad, you’ll probably answer to Hodophile too, and we’re both. The Honey Badger stood forlorn, dusty and neglected in a barn behind a lock and chain, and she needed a weekend out, even if it's going loco on a road less travelled by us. My response to the Knight’s...
The Gondwana Collection - Getting Carried Away - A Handy Tip From Us
Doing your homework thoroughly before going on any trip is recommended; we all know that. We often have good intentions of following up on friends’ recommendations, advice, and experiences, but we rarely do when it comes to the crunch. The reasons are lack of time, procrastination, and the...
Calamity Jane Rides Again - Wild Camping While A Storm Brews
It is safe to say that life never runs as smoothly as we expect it should. While storm clouds were brewing, we went blissfully on our way, entirely unaware of our troubles simmering away. We left the leafy confines of Ngepi and made our way to a wild camping spot in the Mudumo National...
Island Style At Ngepi River Camp - Namibia
The marvellous advantage of writing or diarising is that Butch and I continually relive our adventures. Many of our conversations are rehashing and reimagining our trips which of course, inspire us to investigate future trips. I’ve just returned from an invigorating 27km bike ride, and I...
Casually Cruising The Khaudom National Park - North Eastern Namibia
Once again, we set off as early as possible. We had a big day ahead and knew the going wasn’t going to be easy. By all accounts, we were breaking all the rules. It’s suggested that one does the Khaudom in a convoy of at least two vehicles, preferably three. We have a Honey Badger, a Butch, and...
Namibian Bank Holi-YAY And A Flat Battery
You may well ask, “how the Dickens do you two do it?” We don’t know, and honestly, we try our best to avoid misadventures. But, as I remind Butch, nobody is interested in a boring story, and everyone loves a liberal sprinkling of drama and tension. Our excitement intensified as...
Beating The Odds - Navigating Namibia Naturally
Thanks to Boris Johnson, who tried to win Browny points, South Africa was again back on the red list, banning all travel to and from our country. By the stroke of a pen, millions of travellers could unpack their suitcases, lock up their passports and go out and buy a Christmas tree they were...
Ba-Ba Banff
Our vision is always 20/20 in retrospect. When Boris closed the borders on us last week, I realised I had just made it to Canada and back in the nick of time. Window periods both ways. The way the world works now, we must grab opportunities when they present themselves without dithering....
Searching For The Perfect Brew(ery) - A Road Trip To Calgary
All work and no play is not a hard and fast rule with this crew. They’re inclined to lean towards the sentiment that it makes Joe dull and kills innovation, invention and inspiration, or to be boringly predictable, which is an anomaly coming from an accountant, especially one who’s co-parenting...
Lekkerwater Beach Lodge - Go With The Flow. Naturally.
In October, three things happened simultaneously; one was a belated birthday celebratory weekend away, and the other two were unexpected events I never dreamed possible. Like most surprises, my life turned topsy turvy overnight. I had three days to prepare for a weekend away, a cooking class,...
Being Gobsmacked By Beauty - Nieuwoudtville And Biedouw Valley
In the grand scheme of things, three OMG’s in one day aren’t that bad, but, you see, I’m not that sorta gal. But then again, I’m known to have a mouth on me. My expletives were utterly spontaneous, what my eyes saw my mouth exclaimed before my brain had caught up. My most vivid memory of...
Exploring Van Rhynsdorp and Garies - Unlocking The Door To Spring -
Maskam Guest Farm and Klipkraal Campsite. Day two of our blooming bonanza road trip started bright and breezy. But, we needed to get off the N7, the busy main artery from Cape Town to Namibia. Blooms, still closed made splashes of colour, like a Jackson Pollock canvas, on the verges...
Flower Power - Camping Around Namaqualand
TOP OF PIEKENIERSKLOOF - KARDOESIE CAMPSITE AND ON TO CLANWILLIAM My best memories of childhood holidays were waking up reluctantly at 4h00 on the morning of our departure. Then we could get away with travelling the first bit in our PJ’s and being squashed up against my brothers, who...
Spring Shenanigans and Daisies with Honeyed Hearts
TIPS AND TRICKS FOR SUCCESSFUL FLOWERING IN NAMAQUALAND. Within a matter of hours, we had the Honey Badger packed, our bikes strapped on, our picnic basket brimming with delicious goodies, the fridge stocked, and meat in the deep freezer for six braais. My tummy clenched and unclenched like...
Clickety Clack Closer To Home
Camping in Rawsonville - Goudyn - Stillewater on the Smalblaar River You might think it’s ridiculous to go away for the weekend, and all you do is go off to the next hamlet. As soon as I step into our Honey Badger to spring clean and spruce it up, make my bed and pack my goodies into the...
Shell We Go West?
Exploring the West Coast National Park and Groenrivier. With the sun on our backs in the morning, we set off from Upington to Springbok. All along the Orange River aqua systems through vineyards, date palm plantations, water mills and the legendary Pink Padstal where stocking up on books,...
We're On The Bus Gus
We had to fetch the Honey Badger in Upington. Our immediate thought was a rental car, but the logistics would be a nightmare. Flying was out of the question, too expensive. Driving up in our car was not an option either; two vehicles on the road would be ridiculous, which left us with no...
Ewe Herd We Explored The Kgalagadi?
We shrew did and Veareax eagle to meet you! I Gnu we’d have a fabulous time. I haven’t felt the sun on my skin for days and feel cheetah'rd. That’s the sort of thing I do when I’m cold. With this thought, I decided to cheer myself up and click through some of my photographs of our recent trip...
The Chase – Homeward Bound
There comes a time on every trip that one’s nose turns homeward bound. In Afrikaans, one likens it to a spirited horse stopping in his tracks, cocking his head and galloping back to his stables. Nothing can stop him when his head’s down. Indomitable they are then. Our heads turned when...
Wellies Or Winter Warmers - A Trip To Lake Jozini
I’m sitting here freezing, wondering how anyone can say, “I love winter!” I do get the crackling fire in the huge grate, which we don’t have, the red wine, which I don’t drink and the comfort food, which has settled around my waistline and will not budge. At night Butch and I wrestle to...
Head In The Clouds - At The Frame House
Bosmans’ Wine and Protea Farm – Hemel en Aarde Valley. Sami-Joan suggested we take ourselves off to the Bosman Farm in the Hemel and Aarde valley for a Tapas lunch and wine tasting. She’s a foodie and loves her wine; I knew I could take her word for it. We phoned immediately and were...
Fab Four Ride Again - Kraalskloof Campsite - Slanghoek
Glamping in the mountains My sister-in-law Sue needs no introduction, albeit to say she’s one tough cookie and doesn’t take no for an answer. Trouble came in the form of an email from the proprietress of a campsite she’d reserved for the weekend, situated on the banks of the Breede River. ...
Chicken Soup
For the soul on a moody Monday as autumn bombards us in earnest. Monday’s are quiet days in our house. The usual chores bring me down to earth, especially after an eventful weekend. I enjoy the slow rumble of the old washing machine and the warmth emitted while our linens spin in the...
Death And Mourning In Times Of The Corona Virus
Maybe it’s just me who dwells on death today as a photograph pops up on my screen, taken three years ago, before the unthinkable. One of my very best friends passed away and will never feature in another photograph. Technology and Social Media is our new memory keeper. ---oOo--- With...
A One Night Stand - Cremorne Holiday Resort - Port St John's - Fabulously Flamboyant
Tick list travel or dashing from one place to the next; doing over-nighters doesn’t do it for me; although, I do get it. Sometimes there’s no option. For me, travel is about exploring. My curiosity about a place, its people, history, art, architecture needs in-depth investigation. Before...