Broken bones, Birthdays... and Elands Bay!

Well, I was right, we stopped for the night at a Truck Stop, with a whole lot of other Truckers resting for a few hours before another long drive.
As I said, there wasn't much camping choice for us, so this morning we took a detour off the N1 and headed towards the West Coast, to our favourite home away from home - Elands Bay.

We didn't get to Elands Bay as soon as we had hoped because we stopped in at the Piketberg Hospital to check out Kaylin's arm.  Two days ago she slipped while walking up some steps on the way to the mountain pools at Golden Gate National Park, and hurt her arm badly.  I made a sling for her and she had it strapped up and protected and was really brave, making us believe that it wasn't too bad an injury - until today in the car when she used her right arm to prop herself up onto her chair and let out a scream which made us head to the closest hospital for Xrays.  Yip, broken arm...... a green stick fracture, so not a huge break, but still a plaster cast for 4 weeks.  You can imagine what this does to an active 6 year old - she's been miserable the rest of the day.  It's itchy, hot, and uncomfortable and she can't understand why it has to stay on ALL of the time.  Shame, my poor little girl.

We got to Elands Bay eventually, and fell into the arms of family who had missed us over the past couple of weeks away.  The kids started playing with their cousins straight away, and Granny & Grandpa were there with comforting arms full of hugs.  Just what Kaylin needed.
Alex got some much needed sleep while I baked his birthday cake, with a bit of help from the kids.  Kaylin even managed to help mix, and that put a smile on her face.

Today was a tough one, but we're looking forward to our next few relaxing days here at Elands, before heading home on Monday morning to start our year.

Here's something fun to watch..... we managed to upload the video of us getting stuck in the mud at Port Edward...... click on the link below and enjoy.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o85ThX3WC_0

Golden Gate National Park

We left the coast of Durban on the 26^th.  Before leaving the busy MacNicols campsite, we wanted to enjoy one last swim in the warm sea before heading inland, but after waiting for the campsite truck to give us a lift to the beach we realized it wasn’t coming.  The campsite owner saw us waiting there and obviously felt sorry for us and offered us his bakkie to take ourselves.  Wow, this car loaning thing must be quite a common thing around this side of the world.  I can’t believe some campsite owners are that trusting.  So, we took the opportunity and headed down to the beach.  The kids loved it because we let them sit in the open back of the bakkie while Alex drove the 3km’s to the secluded beach.  We had a quick swim, and Alex got stung by blue bottles!  Not a very fun last trip to the beach, but it was great to fit it in before a long day driving….

We then packed up and hit the road.  We weren’t sure how far to drive, but Alex was obviously ready to get some kilometers done after a few days of rest, and we ended up getting all the way to Golden Gate National Park in the Midlands, near a little town called Clarins.  What a gem of a place!  We got there late so the scenery only hit us in the morning when we woke up to the most spectacular mountains surrounding us.  As you can tell from the photo’s, our camping spot was great!  We booked 3 nights straight away.

We went on a few hikes, had a few braai’s, and swam in a lovely mountain pool.  The kids made lots of friends again.  We left this morning after a great breakfast in Clarins.  I definitely want to come back to this place again….. stunning stunning stunning!

Well, it’s the 29^th Dec today, and while on the road we made a few phone calls to some campsites, and it seems we don’t have many options, Mmmm should of booked ahead it seems, oh well, that’s just part of the adventure I suppose.

Isn’t technology amazing?  I am busy typing this while Alex is driving.  The kids and I decided to watch a dvd in the back, and now the kids are asleep, so why not let you guys all know what we’ve been up to while we get a few kilometers closer to home……  I think we are somewhere south of Colesberg now, but not sure where we’ll be stopping tonight, probably at a Petrol Garage…… :-)  Oh the joys of a mobile home!

South of Durban...

(video will be added to this blog when internet gets faster.....)

We left the Transkei and headed on the N2 northwards.  We reached Mthatha, and stopped for some lunch at Steers.  We thought we’d better make some phone calls to see if there was any space in some nice campsite.  Luckily the first place we phoned could help us out – and we’re SO glad they could, because it turned out to be one of the best campsites we’ve stayed in so far!  -  Leasure View Caravan Park, near Port Edward.  It felt like we were camping in Kirstenbosch Gardens.

George, the owner was so welcoming and helpful and really made us feel comfortable.  We decided to stay 2 nights for sure!  He was so hospitable that he even offered us his bakkie the next day so we could go for a drive around town, to the shops and beach.  I was blown away, who does that?  What a great place.

Xan had been asking for days if we could braai, so after a nice big shop at the South Coast Mall, we were stocked up on groceries and enjoyed a braai…. With perfect timing too, because as we finished cooking, we enjoyed sitting and eating inside the truck as we watched and heard a Huge thunder storm outside…… nice!

Xan made a friend too, Xander.  The only problem was the language barrier when they swapped bikes, and Xan didn’t understand what Xander was telling him about the brakes….. Xan’s bike has back-peddle brakes, but Xanders had normal brakes…… after a small accident they decided that their own bikes were best for them.  Sweet how the kids are making friends so easily at each campsite.  Xan is definitely the friendliest kid on the block, waving to everyone as we arrive and then riding around to say hi to everyone while we set up camp.

Our last morning in Port Edward was very eventful, we decided to pack up and spend a bit of time at the beach before heading a further 100km north to another campsite which had space for us.  The beach was great of course, but leaving the beach parking lot was another story (after a lot of rain the previous night I might remind you….)

 Epic day of Mud, in Africa..... video to follow soon.....

We’re now about 90km south of Durban, at a place called Bazley Beach, Mac Nicol’s Campsite.  It’s a 4 star campsite, and feels kind of like a hotel/resort but without the huge building.  There are two swimming pools, a river, a beach, a mini supermarket that sells just about everything you can think of, a takeaway shop, a bottle store, games rooms, play grounds, and even a set daily program full of activities eg. Pony rides for kids, afternoon tea and scones by the pool, treasure hunts for the kids etc etc.  Apart from the sites being very close together, eliminating any view of the surrounding natural beauty, this place is quite nice.  Quite a contrast to our Christmas week last year, camping on a remote stretch of  stunning Lake Malawi, this year we arrived to a complementary tray of freshly brewed Tea, while they asked if they could set up our camp for us……. What?!  Of course we didn’t need that, but we watched as other campers arrived and had the staff put up their tents for them!

Everyone seems to be in the festive Chrismas spirit.  There’s a kids Chrismas party tonight, with a nativity play put on by the kids who have been around and practicing hard. There’s also a carols by candlelight, but we’ve just had some heavy rain so not sure if that’s still going to happen……

Nearly every caravan has a Chrismas tree, and quite a few even have flashing lights all around their tents.  We can even see some reindeer etc, flashing from outside our window.  Very festive, and busy.  Bit too much for our liking, but we’ve got another 2 nights here, leaving on the 26^th, so we’re making the most of the place. 

Today we took a ride on the back of the Campsite Truck, through some sugarcane fields, to a nearby beach.  Alex has a great surf.  Xan impressed us with some proper bodyboarding – seriously, these kids of ours are such waterbabies.  

We’re hoping we can get to that beach again tomorrow, if the Truck is going there again (it’s a private beach that needs an entry permit etc.), but with it being Christmas Day we’ll just see what the day holds…. The resort daily program might be full of surprises!!!

Transkei

We had planned on leaving Morgans Bay on Saturday morning, but we woke to find out that our campsite was now the venue for the local Farmers Market!  There was no easy way to drive Max out, without causing a bit of a traffic hazard, so…. oh well….. we were forced to stay another night!  Which was great of course because the kids got to eat candy floss & we got to enjoy the festivities that a small seaside village has to offer.  The whole town showed up and Yellowwood Forest Camp seemed like the place to be!

We left Sunday morning after a bit of a play on the beach, and then headed north.  We turned off the N2 towards Coffee Bay and then nearer the coast we turned towards Umdumbi.  We found a backpackers quite close to the beach and although they said their campsite was full, they weren’t going to turn us away because it was starting to get dark.

Alex had a great surf this morning, without a wetsuit, nice!  And the kids and I enjoyed some warm water swimming.  The kids even learnt how to bodysurf – they are complete naturals!

I have to explain what the above photo is.  Alex makes the greatest Omelets, and after Xan asked for Honey on his, Alex got an idea.  He made himself an Apple Pie Omelette!  Tinned apple, muesli, raisins, Honey, and Custard….. all on top of an open Omelette! 

We’ll leave this place tomorrow and head north again. 

Location:South Africa

Sunshine at last! Morgans Bay

We woke up in JBay to another very wet day......

We packed up a very wet camp, while the kids decided to decorate their room with all their 'rainy-day' artwork....

And then we headed north hoping we could find some sunshine.  Unfortunately the rain got harder and the mist heavier.  We stopped at a Mall in East London for an early supper and then headed on towards Morgans Bay.  We arrived just after dark so we didn't get to see the surrounding beauty, but after finding a campsite and sloshing in the mud to the spot where the trees weren't so thick, we all had a good sleep.  We then woke this morning to SUNSHINE!!!!  And more surprises...... this place is stunning!!!  The campsite we picked in the dark is called Yellowwood Park, and it's in a Forest!  Xan enjoyed riding his bike around the campsite, finding every possible mud puddle there is.  There's a great big JungleGym and kids area by the campsite outdoor restaurant that serves the most amazing vegetarian pizza's.  There are rabbits & ducks, and if we were all a whole lot shorter I'd think I was living in a CS Lewis Story!!!!

We enjoyed a long morning on the Beach, and then took a full 5 minutes driving around the tiny town to the one small shop to buy some things for lunch.  We enjoyed a picnic on a hill near the topshop, which felt like a set from the 'TellyTubbies'. (It's Laura writing this Blog Post, not Alex, in case you were worried about his TV viewing choices...)

We got back to the campsite and did some laundry while the sun was shining brightly & then went and enjoyed a pizza at the restaurant while the kids played.

I really like this place, but we feel like moving on and seeing what other great places this Wild Coast has to offer us.  Tomorrow we'll discover Coffee Bay maybe......

Location:Incarna Dr,Morgan Bay,South Africa

Knysna & Jeffrey's Bay

We left Bontebok and headed off to George Mall for Lunch and to stock up on some supplies that we had left behind.....  it seemed the whole of George was there doing their Christmas shopping, but we still managed to find a parking spot for Max.

We had made arrangments with our friend Greg to stay over at his farm in Knysna, and it was really great that he could manage to fly up to George for the night and stay over with us.  His farm is a stunning piece of land right on the edge of the State Forest, with no facilities at all, so it seemed the perfect place to camp out in Max.  We arrived and after driving through and over some of the overgrown bush we found a perfect spot and then took a walk through some more bush down to the stream on the border of his farm.  Greg hadn't had much chance this year to get to his farm,  and we've spent a few days with him there before so it was a really special day for us all.  We remembered taking Kaylin with us one weekend when she was 6months old and enjoying a picnic down at the stream.  This time we had to stop the kids from exploring too deep into the forest!  They loved it.  Xan later enjoyed collecting firewood around the area for our bush campfire.  It was rough, overgrown & isolated..... but it's Greg's farm, and we loved it!  Thanks Greg for flying up especially for us.

We then headed up towards Cape St Francis.  We found a place to camp at the Cape St Francis Resort.  Not great camping, but there was a great swimming pool which was perfect.  We enjoyed the facilities, camped for one night, and then headed here to Jeffrey's Bay.

We have camped here before, but not over the Dec holiday season, so we were happy to find that we could get one of their last seafront sites.  So here we sit,  huddled in our cozy Max while the weather outside is less than perfect - fresh sea wind, and not a surfer in site.

Despite the wind and overcast weather, we have enjoyed our stay here.  The kids don't seem to notice the weather and we went for a long walk along the beach down into town.  It doesn't look like the weather will be getting any better tomorrow, so we'll be leaving JBay and heading north again.  Not sure where we'll stop, but we'll blog again in a few days I'm sure.

Location:Uys St,,South Africa

Still at bontebok...

We'll be leaving to knysna tomorrow. Today Xan & I went for a two hour hike / ride to the reception to pay, and in the afternoon kaylin joined us for a swim in the river. Great day - Xan spent many hours riding!

Location:Swellendam,South Africa

On the road...

We left this morning eventually at around 10h30, and headed to Lourensford for some coffee supplies and a very nice lunch.



Now we're sleeping at the bontebok national park and we're already planning on slowing down and sleeping two night here! This evening we went on a very nice walk to the river, next time I'll take my vibram shoes cos the natural reflexology for 45 minutes on small rocks was a bit intense!

Also just to mention that we're not planning an epic adventure into deepest darkest africa this time, so our blog is more a way of keeping a diary for ourselves. For the family & friends following it's a nice way to share our photos and places along the way. Enjoy!

Location:Swellendam,South Africa

I found a cool new blog tool

I read a green article about how much more efficient mobile phones are than computers, so we'll try blog from here!




I fly to George on Tuesday to go fetch max! Can hardly wait.


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Location:Cowrie Crescent,Milnerton,South Africa