Well tha'ts what my friend Cathy says because our so far 3 day stopover in Johannesburg means that we get to see her. I'm not sure how long it will be before we head back to the UK but at the moment I am enjoying the sunshine and making the most of an extended holiday. Half of me is getting anxious about getting back to work/school/cats/ironing(!) but the other half thinks "blow this, lets head back to Cape Town for another couple of weeks! Can't all be bad. And my sister-in-law is stuck in the Canaries....
I will try and sort out some photos and get my pics organised for my blog about Namibia - that was a total highlight in my life. But Dave needs my laptop to get his proposal done. So see ya later - don't know which continent I will be on....
We drove along a dusty road through the hot, arid Karoo landscape. This is where I was born and my heart always gives a little leap as I enjoy this scrubby land with it’s red rocks and sand. We spotted a little outcrop of buildings at the foot of the mountains. This was our oasis, our destination. There is such scarce vegetation in the Karoo, I wondered how on earth there could be a safari park here.
We were met as we arrived and ushered to our lunch table. Never has a glass of cold, crisp, white wine tasted so good!
Our room was in the old farmhouse and gorgeously cool and dark. Those thick walls built to keep the African heat out! We spent some time relaxing by the sparkling pool: such a hardship!
After tea and cake we set out on our evening safari. First stop the Cheetahs. Inverndoorn is a Cheetah conservation park first and foremost. The rehabilitate and breed cheetahs to release into the wild. We watched them being taught to hunt by chasing a lure – amazing to see these animals in action!
We were given dinners and breakfasts by the pool. But breakfast was extra special as they bought baby cheetahs to visit while we ate. The 6 month old ones played and ran around but they kept the yearlings on a leash. They were so beautiful and Joseph was delighted at the thought of sharing his coco pops with a cheetah!
We went on a total of 4 safari drives seeing cheetah, lions, giraffe, zebra, rhinos, hippos (well, their snouts sticking out of the water), oryx, kudu, springbok, ostrich, African foxes, etc, etc – this list goes on. Joseph loved it hugely although by the 4th drive he was a little “seen one of those already!” (spoiled child!)
We did get stuck by a water hole on our second drive, when the jeep drove into some very soft mud and were towed out by a tractor. But that was wonderful as we got to walk about the waterhole and examine the spoor in the mud.
We were also lucky enough to be there at full moon and saw the gorgeous moonrise over the lunar landscape and beautiful sunrise and sunset on the red mountains.
All in all a fantastic time for us all. Back to Cape Town until we head up to Namibia at Easter. Life is hard…….
WOW! Had a fantastic couple of days camping in Ceres. Lydia and Colin had their informal wedding up their in an eco-camp and it was just gorgeous. We camped in their new tent and Joe just loved the freedom of it all. He befriended a couple of huge Great Danes called Ben and Bella as well as a few children too!
Lydia looked so happy and relaxed. It was wonderful. And Colin's friends formed an arch of honour with their mountain bikes. Too funny!
It did rain a little on Friday night, but the weather was fab and we swam in the dam (while the South African's shivered in the cold! They don't know.....)
Now I need to go and sort out my Safari photos - only about 20000 of them - that's the problem with digital......Have to trawl them to find the best. Now that was fantastic - wait until you hear about the cheetas joining us for breakfast.....
