Fishing, Skiing, Eating and all those good things

This weekend we took a drive to a friends house on the Breede River for an amazingly relaxing weekend away. We were celebrating his 31st birthday and celebrate we did with great food (the potjie and the baked cheesecake blew my mind), good wine (but not too much of it), awesome company (almost all from the EC #winkwink) and some pretty horrid fishing (we caught "sweet-f-all!")

It was so great to do a little "road-less-travelled" adventuring and visit Infanta - a place I've never been to before and am fairly certain I'll never visit again! It has the biggest river mouth that I've ever seen and the amount of water pushing through totally explains why the water ends up way inland at Riviersonderend.

The weather was amazing - far too warm for all the winter woolies that I'd packed remembering our last icy cold trip there. The river looked like glass for our whole weekend with not a ripple, other than from the crazy folk who dared to ski (one even without a wetsuit!) We even got to see the oldest hand-pulled pont in South Africa in action.

Great break away with some great people - Thank You guys :-)

Keep Calm and Explore

Exploring new places has always been one of my favourite things to do. So often we think that we need to go beyond our borders to discover a favourite new place, when so often we're living within a 2 hours radius of the most interesting destinations.


St Helena Bay - Fishing Boat



My boo and I will often just go for a drive "to no where" and see where the road takes us. This past weekend we did just that and headed up the West Coast. Both not being from the Western Cape, there are many spots in this direction that we've not yet been to but rather than hit the more touristy places, we tried to find the "off the beaten track" places.

Our first discovery definitely fit that brief. St Helena Bay must be one of the more random places I've visited in my life! With many fishing industry related businesses there, the coastline is not particularly "untouched" but that in itself gives it it's own charm. It's clear to see that the community revolves around the income that the industry brings in although they are clearly trying to increase the tourism industry with plenty of estates with nice roads and street lights, but not too many houses build yet.

Vasco de Gama Monument


St Helena Bay is also the place that Vasco de Gama first set foot in South Africa in 1497. We visited the monument erected to commemorate this only to find plenty of smashed beer bottles on the ground - either it's a popular drinking spot, or the locals don't think much of old Mr de Gama!

After a little drive around there we headed back in the direction of home and stopped off for some "slap" chips in Paternoster. Not entirely non-touristy, Paternoster is just a place that neither of us had been to yet. It's quainty white washed fisherman cottages reminded me a bit of how I imagine Greece to look. It's would definitely be the prefered weekend destination choice for me over it's neighbour St Helena!

Last up was Saldanha Bay, which at my request, we just drove through and didn't stop in. I was too afraid of getting attacked by the millions of sea gulls swirling overhead as a result of the many fishing boats that had just brought in their hauls. That and the fact that the Steel Factory there made everything an unhealthy red colour which had me a little concerned! Let's just say that I'm very glad that my life has taken the path that it has and that this is not a place that I call home!

Keep Calm - It's only your Birthday

February has always been a busy birthday month in my family and this past weekend was one filled with celebrations! My cousins daughter turned 1 and what a cake she had to celebrate the milestone with. Crafty peeps - check out the insane matchbox cake her mom and dad created for her (with flaming matches nog al!) Their logic - before all cakes need to be princess or mermaid related, do something odd and out there that she is not old enough to object too ;-)



Next up was my mans dirty fourth birthday celebrations. Not one for being in the spotlight, he declined the elaborate party I suggested and opted for a day with me! We took a drive to Elgin after ALL the presents were opened (when you can't think of 1 big gift to buy and you think that thinking of 34 small gifts will be easier...it probably won't!), for a spot of adventuring.



34 problems but a gift aint 1!



I never realized that such cool little spots were hidden just the other side of Sir Lowrys. Our first stop was for wine tasting at Almelkerk which had great views and even greater people tasting there that allowed us to join them for lots of laughs and some great wine.

After some shopping there (my wine rack is VERY empty at the moment you see!) we found, quite by accident, the most unique tasting spot I've ever been to. Winters Drift is situated in an old railway station which has been revamped to keep all its vintage charm while including clean, modern pieces. The wine was cheap, the hostess was cheerful and full of stories of growing up on a wine farm and I'm so pleased we stumbled across this hidden gem. (More pics of this stop will most definitely follow soon!)

Rib eye, Lemon Tart, Vintage Suitcases!



Next on the adventuring list was The Pool Room for lunch and what an awesome lunch we had! Despite the drizzle keeping us indoors, the setting was amazing, the food even better and the celeb spotting didn't disappoint (Schalk Burger was there celebrating a friends birthday with wife and very cute baby!)

And then it was time for the drive home - full, happy, wine rack replenished - what more can you ask for from a Sunday?!

Keep Calm and Travel On



Where I've been...

I recently saw on a friends Facebook status the she was leaving her home province for the first time ever (in her mid-twenties) and I was amazed. I was lucky enough to travel abroad for the first time (by myself!) when I was 12 years old. My brave parents put me on the plane in Johannesburg (my first time there) and off I went to England for a 2 month stint on a boarding school exchange programme. While I'd love to say that I adored every second of it, the intense home sickness I experienced would make that a terrible lie. I did however relish the opportunities I had to travel around the country with teachers or school friends parents. It was then that the travel bug bit.



Where I'd love to go...



Since then there have been a few more trips - always to short and always to too few places! Every year I crave a new adventure outside of our boarders, but obviously this is not always possible. And so I thought I'd put together a Travel Bucket List so that when the stars do align (those stars being: Annual Leave, Enough Money and No Other Responsibilities) I'll be ready to hop on the plane!

My Travel Bucket List:

> Vietman - has been at the top of the list since I was a child - I'm not entirely sure why!

> Cambodia - joined the list after my special friend Margs planted the seed a few years back

> India - prehaps "Monsoon Wedding" romantisied the place for me slightly but never the less...

> Anywhere in Africa...but particularly Ghana, Kenya, Botswana - as soon as I stepped out of the plane and set foot on Tansaneenen soil (albeit in Zanzibar!) I felt as if I'd never truely been to Africa (cue whiney American accent) despite having lived on the continent all my life. Ghana in particular holds a particular tug on my heart

> South America - Aside from Asia I'm not sure that there are many places in the world as different to what I know as you'll find here

> Spain, Croatia, Greece - Having pretty much travelled Europe flat on three occasions the only real regrets I have are not being able to see these three countries

And Japan might just make it's way onto the list too given that it's my favourite persons dream destination!