I'm starting to plan all my trips and holidays not just around what I want to see and do, but also around where there are Geocaches in the area. If you don't know much about Geocaching then you would wonder why and how it could enhance a holiday, but believe me it does. It often takes you to spots you may not have planned to visit otherwise but once you've been there you are really glad you did. One of…
You know the saying when something goes on till the cows come home? Well, a day literally does exactly the same. While camping at The Crags the cows came by to be milked at about three in the afternoon and then headed home to the meadows just after five thirty... when the sun heads for the hills. This means the day does go on till the cows come home.
I used to travel down the Garden Route quite often while I was still tour guiding but these days don't often get a chance to go further than the Tsitsikamma. Driving down to Natures Valley on our recent Easter weekend Sho't Left in the area I had to stop at one of the view points on the way down on the Grootrivier Pass. Its not a view point as much as it's a tree point. The view is of a little…
A holiday experience can be made up of anything and for our Easter long weekend Sho't Left to the Crags and Natures Valley we were expecting it to be made up of camping, swimming in the Natures valley lagoon, walks and Geocaching. Little did we expect a farm experience that got the KidZ a lot more excited than any of the mentioned activities. The campsite was situated across the road from the Natures Way Farmstall which on its turn is located on a…
South Africa has some impressive farm stalls. Some sell nothing more than fresh produce while others are for all intensive purposes a restaurant or curio shop along a high way or back road somewhere. Its the ones in between that really interests me. Those who sell something fresh, some curios and also serve a killer meal, even if its nothing more than roosterkoek with jam and cheese. And coffee. Lets not forget coffee. I discovered a farm stall like this on the road…
Arriving at the beach in Natures Valley on a recent visit I immediately spotted something a bit unusual. A piece of down pipe attached to a pole with a sign on it. On closer inspection I found out that it's been placed there, and all around the beach in Nature's Valley, for people to place fishing line they pick up from the beach in. Fishing line is a huge threat to wildlife, specially birds and small mammals. They often also…
I remember when I was about 8 or 9 I got to see a cow give birth on a farm I went to with my grand parents. Its something I never forgot and I always wondered if my KidZ, being city kids, would ever get the opportunity to see it happen. During our Sho't Left Easter weekend at the Crags we visited the Natures Way Farm Stall across the road from the campsite a couple of times. Natures Way is…
Tourism in South Africa isn't just for international visitors but also for locals. Yes there are places that most locals would never be able to afford to visit, but there are more places that are affordable to visit and even more things that you can do that actually doesn't cost you anything. South African Tourism encourages locals to travel through their Sho't Left campaign. "Sho't Left" is derived from everyday South African "taxi lingo" where a commuter wanting a ride to a…
The lakes district between Knysna and Wilderness on the Garden Route is made up of a series of lakes, most of them visible from the N2 itself. Out of all those lakes, Groenvlei - just east of Sedgefield - is the only one that is a fresh water lake and without an inlet or an outlet. The lake is maintained by rainwater and springs alone. There are very strict restrictions on boating on Groenvlei with only electric motors, and no outboard motors, allowed. The lake…
Geocaching is the ideal activity for people who love to travel and discover new places. Yes I know I've said it before and I will say so again many times in the future. On a visit to the Tsitsikamma I went in search of a cache called Elands Delight (GCX2QF) and even though it was raining (yes we geocache come rain or shine) I was very keen to find it. The coordinates took me onto the old road a couple of…