Holidays - Part2

After  the  marathon  day  of the  28th,  the  29th  is  one  of  our  rest  days,  so  all the  "none morning"  people  slept  in  and  only  started  surfacing  at  around  9.30  which  for  me is  like the middle  of the  day,  because  the  weather  was  overcast  and  raining, spending the day on the beach was  not an option  neither  was  going  up  Table  Mountains,  so those  who  wanted  to  fish  went  off to  fish,  and  those  who  wanted  to  shop went  down  the  road  for  about  an  hour  to a  beautiful  little  fishing  village  called  Hermanus

which is famous  for  its  whale  viewing which  unfortunately  finishes  in November  so  we  were  not  fortunate enough  to see a whale  here.  The  town  is  beautiful little  cobbled  walk ways,  with  tiny  little  shops,  selling  everything  from  candles  to  helicopter  trips, the  place  is  beautiful...........  so  beautiful  that  we  found  ourselves  a  little  coffee  shop  called  Memories  and  sat and  watched  the  world  go  by  from  there. We  were  there  for about  4  hours  and  apart  from  doing  all the  whaling  museums,  I  just  love  museums  and  art galleries  we  actually  only  got  to  do  about  a  block of the  shops  because  of  the  sheer  number  of shops.  We  had  just  been  in an  amazing  beach  shop  all done  out  in  blue  and  white  and  on the  way  back  to the  cars  for the  trip  home,  we  saw  a  beautiful  "shop" exactly  like the  beach  shop  all done  out in the  blue  and  white.  Lorraine  was  first one in the  door  and  I  was  right  behind  her  and we  were  looking  at the  picture  on  the  wall and  Lorraine  asked  whether  is  was  for  sale,  a  gentlemen  sitting  on a  chair  said,  "This  is my house  I  live  here".........  did  we  laugh  all the  way to the  car.  We  then  realised  we  should  have  suspected  something  when we  went  in  and  he  was  sitting  with  a  beer  in his  hand,  we  thought  he  was  just chilling  waiting  for  his  wife..........
The  30th  up  early  and  today  was  the  day that  we  hit  Cape  Town,   firstly  to the  V & A  waterfront,

  then  to the  Castle

  then  to  Green  Market  Square

and  then  to The  Company  Garden , and  then  to the  Eastern  Bazaar  for  supper,  which  we  had  to eat  the traditional  way  with  our  hands......  not  sure  whether  that  is for  me.

and  then  to the  flea  market  on the  main  street  at  5pm  they  close  off  Adderley street  and  it becomes  a  flea  market  and  at  8.30  the  Christmas  lights

go  on,  the  to  Mitchells  Plain  to  meet  Wayne's  Mom  and  then  home just  after  12,  everyone  exhaused  but  what  a  day.  We  wanted  to  do  Signal  Hill and  the  Noon  gun  as  well,  but  there  was  a  fire  on  the  hill  and  no  traffic  was  being  allowed  through  although  we  did  get  some  amazing  pictures  of the  helicopters  and  crop  sprayers  trying  to  put  out  the  fire.

31st  was  a  chill  day, with  just  a  trip  to a little  town  near  by  Kleinmond,  to  get some  groceries  and  then  off  to the  Stand  to  set  off  fireworks  to  let  the  New  Year  in,  which  was  quite  an  experience,  there  were  some  young  adults  setting  off  fireworks  which  turned  out to be  quite  an  experience  as  they  obviously  had  none,  firstly  one  of the  girls  turned  towards the  people  while  holding  a  live  hand  held  firework,  everyone  ducked  and  screamed,  quite  hysterically  I  might  add ,  then  they  set  off  a  flare  which  was  really  beautiful,  then  they  set  off another  flare,  which  was  caught  by the  wind,  and  blown  under  a car,  which  caught  fire,  thank  goodness  the  fire  engine  was  on the  beach  so the  fire  was  put  out  with  minimum  damage...........  now  I remember  why  I  dislike  fireworks  so  much..............................
Then  the  1st  of  January,  the  weather  was  perfect  and  so  the  cable  car  on  Table  mountain  was  open,

so  off  we  went  (  without a bath  I might  add  because  their was  no water  there  was a burst  pipe,  I  very  uncomfortable  feeling  to be  sure) what  an experience   nothing  can  describe  what  it  looks  like  you  can  almost  see the  entire  coast line,

what  a  fantastic  way  to  end  a  fantastic  holiday.......   everyone  was  on their  way  home  on the  2nd  and  we  were  on  our  way  to  Port  Elizabeth  to  visit  some  family,  another  800km  trip...................

Holidays

What  a  hectic  few  weeks  this  has  been, from  my birthday  for the  past  3 weeks,  it  is  as though  I  have  not  had  a moment  to myself,  before  I started  my annual  holidays  we  had  to get through  a  week  of  holiday  club,  which  was  one of the  most difficult  we  have  had,  normally because it is our  summer  we  have  jumping  castles  and  slip and slides  to keep the  children  but this  time  it  rained and it  rained, and  it  rained,  in fact  by Thursday  two of the  roads  into our  town  were  closed  because  the  rivers  had  burst  their  banks so there was  the  long  journey  around  the  town  to  get  anywhere,  normally we are  called  a 5 minute  town,  because  that  is the  distance  to everything or  everyone  here,  but  we  became  a  30 minute  town,  as  people  battled  to find  alternative  routes.  Then I had  to  finish  all my work  so that  I  could  go on leave,  then  it  was  finishing  the final  things  for  Christmas,  then  cooking  for  Christmas,  which  was  an  amazing  day  with 10 people  for  lunch,  the  food  was  great,  the  atmosphere  was  festive,  the  company  was  amazing,  the  only  thing  against  it  was  that  it  was  HOT  would  have  killed  for the  snow  that  everyone  else  around  the  world   had.......  then  on the  26th  we  were  off to  Cape  Town.
 Because  we  are  doing  some  traveling  this  time,  I  decided  to  drive  and  not  fly,  the  first  day  we  drove  1000km  which  took  us 9  hours, Kayla  and  I  shared  the  driving,  which  was  great,  but  with  Gods grace  and lots  of  prayer  we  made it  all the  way  without  any  problems, but  I  was  finished, the  Karoo  is  very  boring  endless  roads  that  look  like  they are  never ending,  it is  very  dry  at the  moment  the  rivers  are  empty  the  dams  are  empty  and  everything  looks  like  it  is  dead  or  dying,  it  is  one of the  worst drives  I  have  had,  we  slept  over  in  a  little  place  called  Beaufort West,  where  people  driving  through are asked  to bring  10 litres  of  water,  because  there  just is  not any water,  so  showering  on restrictions  was  interesting..........  to say the least, but  the  next  town  was  250km  away  and  I  really  could  just  not  go  any  further  I  was  all driven  out.
Then the  27th  up  early and the  final  5 hours  to Cape  Town,  after  the deadness  of the  Karoo  you  go  over  the  Hex River  mountains  and  things  are  transformed,  the  beauty  of this valley  is  beyond  words,  with  the  green  of the  vineyards  and  the  old  Cape  Dutch  houses it  is  like  being  transported  back  in time. 

We are  staying in a  place  called  Betty's  Bay,  12  of  us  hired  a  luxury  house together,  which  is amazing,  and  is  great  company  for  Kayla  and  I, and  means  we  are  not doing  things  alone,  she  has  friends  and  so  do  I  to  enjoy  all the  sights  and adventure  with.

After  a  cup of  tea  and  settling  in,  off   to the  penguin  reserve,  1000's  of  penguins,  and  absolutely amazing  sight,  and  I  must  be  honest  a  very, very  VERY  smelly  one.

Up  early  on the  28th  and  off  to  Cape  Point,  where  the  Indian  and  Atlantic  ocean  meet,  the  wind  was  "pumping"  at  85km  an  hour  and  we  had  to  walk  up  the  mountain,  but  the  view  and the experience  from the  top  was  worth  every  step.

Along the  way  we  went  through  amazing  towns,  like  Muizenburg,  Kalk  Bay,

this  is  my kind  of town,  cute  little  coffee  shops,  antique shops  and  book  shops,  old  buildings  and  secret  walk  ways, and  of  course  the  sea,  my beloved  sea,  there  is  just  something  so  quiet  and  peaceful about  the  sea,  it  just  has the  power  to  make  me  rethink  where  I  am  going,  and  where  I  want  to  be, then  the  navel  base  at  Simons  Town,

a  stunning  place,  but  a  work  of  warning  never  have  the  scones  at  Berthe's  they  are  lethal  weapons  that can  be  used  as  missiles   to  kill people,  or  to tie  around  there  feet  so the  sink  to the  bottom of the  ocean Mafia  style.
Then  on  to  Hout  Bay  for  the  best  fish and  chips  in the  whole  world,  straight  out of the  ocean  and  on to   your  plate, mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

As  one  of the  boys  said  as  his  facebook  comment,  Cape  Town  in 12  hours,  and  he  was  so  right,  cannot  wait  for what  we  will be  up to  in the  next  few  days.. ...........  We  have  booked  for  table  mountain  but the  wind  has  been  two  strong  so the  cable  car  has  not  been  running,  but  we  still  have  a  week  left  so  here  is  hoping..................

Sand, Sea and Sun Part 4

Well  on  "home day"  I  woke  up  earlier  than usual,  and  I  was   not  quite  ready  to  go  home  a  few  more days would  have  been  really  nice.  There  was  no  distinction  between  the  sea  and  the  sky,  both  a  grey  colour  which   matched  my  mood and  my  spirit   quite  well............  there  was  no  sunrise  this  morning  as  the  day  was  overcast  and  remained  that  way.........  it  was  probably  also  mourning  that  we  were  leaving............  what  would  have  made  the  weekend  complete  would  have  to  see  some  dolphins  but  no  such  luck...........  about 3  years  ago  I  was  fortunate  enough  to  swim  with  the  dolphins when we  went  on  holiday  to  Mozambique,  .........  although  I would  never  do  it  again.........the  fact  that  you  are  dropped off  in the  middle  of  the  ocean  still gives  me  nightmares......... I  never realised  there  are  "BIG"  waves  in the  middle  of  the  ocean.
Although  we had  planned  to  leave  at  about  10 o'clock  by  just  after  9  we were  all  ready  so  started  on  our  way,  we  decided  to  go  the  back roads   for  the  first  100km's  of  the  journey  and  what  a  blessing  that  was.........  the  hills as  far  as the  eye  could  see  for  kilometers  after  kilometer  were  full of  sugar  cane  blowing  in  the  breeze.....

Many of  the rural  houses  we  passed  were  still  built  with   the  old  stick,  stone  and  mud method........  there  were  some  massive,  beautiful  houses.........  with  long drops  at the  bottom of  the  garden  as  there  is  still no running  water .......  talk  about  first  and  third  world  mixed............

When  we  hit  the  N3  the  highway  home  we  were  joined  by  the  whole  of  Johannesburg  who  had gone  to  the  coast  for  the  long  weekend,  we decided  that we  were  not  going  to  get  caught  up  in  the "rat race"  and  kept  to  a  steady  pace..........  although  I  must  admit  I  got  a  speeding  fine by  camera ,  I  didn't see the  sign  to  reduce  speed ......  probably talking.........  and  will  have  to  wait  for  the  picture  and  fine  to  come in the  post  before  I  know  what  the  damage  will  be...........

This  time  there  was  no  accidents........  but  lots  of  road  works....  and  lots  of  delays........  so  took  us  a  little  longer  than  expected  to  get  home..............  a  really great  few  days.........  the  end  of  day 4.............  and  back  to the  rat race  tomorrow.

Sea, Sand and Sun

This  is  a  long  weekend  for  us,  Tuesday  is  a public  holiday  so  we  took  a  days  leave  on  Monday  and  headed   for  the  ocean..............
We  were  up  at  3.30am  and  on  the  road  for  4.30 am,  my  family  thought  I  had  lost  my  mind,  but  the earlier  we  arrived  the  more  time  we  would  have  exploring......  for  most  of  the  journey  it  was  drizzling   with  rain,  the  first  two  hours  were really  dark....  with  only  the  twinkle  of  a  farm house  light breaking  the  darkness............  the  dawn  broke  just  after  6 o'clock,  but  with  the  rain  it  really  did  little  to  improve  the  driving conditions.

The  roads  were  full of  trucks,  and  we  saw  a  couple  of  bad  accidents  involving  trucks  the  drivers  had  obviously  fallen  asleep  at the  wheel  and  lost  control  as  no  other  vehicles  were  involved.  Van  Reenens Pass   at the  foot  of  the  Drakensberg  was  covered  in  mist....  and  I  must  admit......  rain  and  mist   make  for  a  scary  trip.............. I  was  worried  that  the  rain  would  follow us  all the 550  kilometers  to  the  sea,  but  about  500  kilometers  away  from  home  the rain  stopped.  As  we  took  the South  Coast  road  and  headed  for  the  flat  we  had  hired,  we  landed  in the  middle  of approx. 100  Harley  Davidson motorbikes  that  were on  the  way  to  a rally.............  as  if  we  had  not  had  a  stressful  enough  trip.  On  a  three  lane  highway  they  decided  to  use  the  middle  lane,  driving  two  a  breast  each  on  the  white  line,  it  made  driving  very  dangerous,  and I  held  my  breath  every time   we   passed one  and  they  have  the  cheek  to  say  that  cars  are  not  considerate  enough............
In spite  of  everything we  arrived  safe  and  sound,  off  loaded  our  bags,  had  a  cup  of  tea  and   headed  for  the  beach ...............  there  is  something  about  the  ocean............  that  is  relaxing  and  cleansing...............  it  helps  to  put  things  back  in  to  perspective,  clears  the  mind  and  warms  the .  spirit..................... even  though  the  waves  were  really  high  and  the  ocean  was  just  white  with  the  force  of  the  waves  breaking,   all the  no  swimming  signs  were  up  as  the currents  were  just  too  strong............. we  took  a  walk  up  the  beach  for  an  ice cream ........  after  which  we  discovered  we  would  have  to  come  back  the  long  scenic route  via   the  road  as  the  tide  had  come  in,  and  the  river  we  had  crossed  was  now  one  with  the  sea............

 Had  a  lazy  afternoon,  reading..............  the  4.30  start  really  affecting  everyone............ and  then  we went  out  for  supper,  good  food  good  company..........  what  an  amazing  day  one  of  our  long  weekend............................

Goodbye farm

I have just spent 4 relaxing days with my sister, and i am so laid back now, that nothing can get to me. I feel so close to my Heavenly Father, which is something the bush always does for me, it makes me realise how small i am, and yet God knows how many hairs i have on my head, and he loves me no matter what.
It had something of a problem start, I was up normal time on Thursday morning to discover that we had frozen over night and there was no hot water, so i had to wait until my husband had bathed and left for work, before i could bath, which means before i started i was already running late, something that i hate, i am such a punctual person, that i hate it when my timing plans do not go according to plan, then i had some home chores to do, i had to pay the car licences and the electricity bill before i could leave, as the municipality is ruthless and i would have been without power by Monday morning.
Half way into our trip the housekeeper phoned to tell me i had forgotten my toiletry bag in the bathroom, it was just not an option to leave it behind, everything, that was a cream was in that bag, i would have looked like a wrinkled pear by today with out my anti wrinkle creams, i would have smelt like a dead cow, without my deoderant, and i would have had breath like.................. Shrek............ , so we trekked back all the way to fetch it, but it was worth it for everyone around me.
We first went to their new farm in the Magaliesburg, what a beautiful place much smaller than the farm that they have just sold in Swartruggens, but lovely, little cottages, with a boma in the middle, we had a roaring fire in the evening and i mean a roaring fire, almost whole trees were thrown in and although it was minus on the outside around that fire it must have been 30 degrees. We decided rather late to go on a game drive, i don't think i have ever been so cold in my life....................... so believe me needed that fire to thaw out, i am sure that my blood became as thick as a slush puppy from the cold, it was freezing needless to say with the cold and the dark we really did not get to see much game, and we didn't talk much we were scared that our faces would freeze into that position............. the next time in the middle of winter i will be more careful what i ask for, because i might just get it.........................
On Friday morning we again had a problem with the water, someone had switched off the geyers so we had to wait to shower because it was just to cold to shower in anything that was not boiling hot, my brother in law was the first to shower, and he came back looking decidedly blue, he had put the shower on and then got in presuming that it was hot...........................
brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
On Friday afternoon we went through to the farm they have just sold, which was really heart sore, we have spent some fantastic times there, we have spent Christmas's for the last 4 years there, i have spent some time in July there every year for the past few years, not to mention all the weekends in between, we have had dinners for up to 30 people there, and spend hours alone talking in the bush, we have looked for missing cows, for hours, and we have prayed in my sisters special part of the farm., i will really miss the place...............................
We spent two days of peace and quiet there going on walks sitting around the fire, and just chatting, i love these times i spend with my sister, they really make me feel so close to her.
As we left the far this morning, it was quite a sad occassion because we are not sure whether we will ever see it again, and it was a beautiful place, but like my very smart 16 year old daughter said, where every my sister is, she makes the place into a place that you love to visit........................................