I know what you're thinking. Let me guess. You want to know how the trip went? Right? Well, before I get to that, let me just ask this question: "Why is everyone always in such a rush to get where they're going?" Life is a journey after all. I just don't get it.
Anyhow, I left on Saturday morning (a bit later than I would have liked) and hit the road along with my brother and his family. It's amazing how beautiful the world is when you're not too busy to take a look around as you travel. Some might call 5 hours on the road some kind of torture, and when you do it for 3 days, some might call it madness. Me, you ask? I call it absolute bliss. I wouldn't forego my air con though - every man has his standards. To take those proverbial "...roads less travelled", all I can say is wow.
Day one took us from Cape Town to "Rietfontein", a guest farm 45km past Barrydale. To get there we went by way of Worcester, de Doorns, Robertson, and Swellendam. 5 hours and 2 witnessed car accidents later. Talk about a discovery. This place is beautiful. My only complaint would've been that they'd gone a little too "green". All your electricity is sourced from solar cells and then it's only enough to run the light bulbs. If, like me, you're a quadruplegic, being turned in your sleep every 3 hours gets tedious. I definitely need a plug for my air mattress! Otherwise it was great.
Day two saw us taking a "shortcut" to Beaufort West via Laingsburg, our destination, "Ko-Ka Tsara Bush Camp", being 7km past Beaufort West. Well, bah humbug! The "shortcut" was a 2 hour dirt road through absolute desolation. It was beautiful country but I'm a "tarred road" kind of guy. Eventually we reach the civilization of Laingsburg... if you can call it that. It's a quaint little one-horse town on the N1. But hey, we're off! Only 2 hours to go. Yippee! Well, that's what I thought. The Chinese have a curse: "May you live in interesting times." With 40km to go... splutter, splutter, gasp, gasp - nooooooo! We run out of petrol. Thank God for roadside assistance. Geez Louise! 2 Hours later without air con in the middle of the Karoo, 36 degrees celcius... I for one was having a serious sense-of-humour failure. We eventually get going again but by this time we've lost our need for sight seeing. Let's just get there, unpack, and pour a "g 'n t" I say. After an alcohol induced de-stress it is decided that another day on the road would be put on hold for the sake of general sanity. We booked for another day/night and lit the braai... man, the stars were beautiful!
Day three got underway with a fantastic camp-style brunch, followed by an afternoon of catching rays, a good book and a beer around the pool, all the while befriending the local hand-reared meerkat. I must admit, this was blissful! 3:30pm saw us hop into a 4x4 for a 2 hour game drive which turned into a 3 hour adventure. Giraffe, Gnu, Impala, Springbok, Oryx, Eland, Kudu, Duiker, Bushbuck, and a *phew* far off Red Hartebees later we arrive back at our chalet. Dinner was a hurried affair as my bed was calling in a big way... I had to recharge my batteries for the 460km trip the next day.
All in all it was a fantastic trip. Give me R4 million and I'd happily set up a game farm of my own. It's truly God's own country.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Dear Diary?
Wow. What a week it's turning out to be. Since I last wrote I've gone through quite a roller-coaster of an emotional ride. Where to begin? Someone once told me: "You live the life you wish for..." If that's true, then I have a genie with a very interesting sense of humour.
Last week I heard that my brother had been diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. How? Why? Aaagh! No one in my family has diabetes! He's only 33! WTF?! Google, as it turned out, came to the rescue again. So he's not going to die (duh!), I don't have to lose sleep (double duh!), and it's simply a case of "he's got to change his lifestyle". It does, however, give perspective to one's outlook on one's own mortality.
Okay. So what to do when you figure out that you won't live forever? Road trip!! Yours truly is going to do an easter getaway. Where to you might ask? Saturday night I'm at the Rietfontein resort (www.rietfontein.co.za) near a little town called Calitzdorp in the Little Karoo. Sunday night I'm at the Ko-Ka Tsara Bush lodge (www.kokatsara.co.za) near Beaufort West in the Great Karoo (I think it's the Great Karoo). In between we have many wine farms, we have the Cango Caves (haven't seen those since I was a kid) and a few very nice coastal detours if the notion arises. I haven't taken anything even loosely called a vacation in... well... forever, so I'm really looking forward to it.
Between now and then I've got to deal with the little things like Bear Stearns going bust, the greedy sods. I don't know where bankers go to school but I can't imagine that they're very good ones. Ugh! So they're pushing half a trillion $$$'s in write downs? Who gives people these mortgages? The tooth fairy? Even she wants at least a tooth as collateral. Drives me nuts! Now I have to wait a month for the ripples in the market psychology to die down. Oh well, at least Lehman Bros had results that didn't make themselves look like overpaid loan sharks. But enough shop talk. I'm off to a fish braai!
Last week I heard that my brother had been diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. How? Why? Aaagh! No one in my family has diabetes! He's only 33! WTF?! Google, as it turned out, came to the rescue again. So he's not going to die (duh!), I don't have to lose sleep (double duh!), and it's simply a case of "he's got to change his lifestyle". It does, however, give perspective to one's outlook on one's own mortality.
Okay. So what to do when you figure out that you won't live forever? Road trip!! Yours truly is going to do an easter getaway. Where to you might ask? Saturday night I'm at the Rietfontein resort (www.rietfontein.co.za) near a little town called Calitzdorp in the Little Karoo. Sunday night I'm at the Ko-Ka Tsara Bush lodge (www.kokatsara.co.za) near Beaufort West in the Great Karoo (I think it's the Great Karoo). In between we have many wine farms, we have the Cango Caves (haven't seen those since I was a kid) and a few very nice coastal detours if the notion arises. I haven't taken anything even loosely called a vacation in... well... forever, so I'm really looking forward to it.
Between now and then I've got to deal with the little things like Bear Stearns going bust, the greedy sods. I don't know where bankers go to school but I can't imagine that they're very good ones. Ugh! So they're pushing half a trillion $$$'s in write downs? Who gives people these mortgages? The tooth fairy? Even she wants at least a tooth as collateral. Drives me nuts! Now I have to wait a month for the ripples in the market psychology to die down. Oh well, at least Lehman Bros had results that didn't make themselves look like overpaid loan sharks. But enough shop talk. I'm off to a fish braai!
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Euphoria or something like it
What makes you happy? For me there are a few things. The taste of coffee, the sound of nature, my niece's smile... don't laugh, I know it sounds cheesy but truly, little things are what do it for me. Today, just knowing that those I love are well puts a smile on my face.
I woke up this morning at 6:45am and I just knew it was going to be a good day. Ben Bernanke et al and their economic band aid for the world meant that work today was going to be a snap. Builders arriving meant that work on my garage was going to start. Things are ticking over nicely thanks! I suppose one should spare a thought for those going through tough times. I find myself wondering what I could do to put a smile on someone else's face? Suggestions?
Anyhow, today I find myself looking out of my window. A tree is swaying in the wind. The sun is shining. I'm listening to Sandra... all is well in my world.
I woke up this morning at 6:45am and I just knew it was going to be a good day. Ben Bernanke et al and their economic band aid for the world meant that work today was going to be a snap. Builders arriving meant that work on my garage was going to start. Things are ticking over nicely thanks! I suppose one should spare a thought for those going through tough times. I find myself wondering what I could do to put a smile on someone else's face? Suggestions?
Anyhow, today I find myself looking out of my window. A tree is swaying in the wind. The sun is shining. I'm listening to Sandra... all is well in my world.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
New Beginnings
Someone I once cared a lot for said to me: "You've got something to say." While I'm not sure where such a journey will take me, I've decided to start keeping this journal. If it means something to those who read it, great. As for me, I venture into the unknown...
It's a warm autumn day in Cape Town and I'm wondering: "What will life give me next?" A friend just left. We watched the third Resident Evil movie together. A great creature feature, if that's your thing. I like movies, especially ones that come with microwave popcorn. The stock market is recovering after yesterday's terminal velocity nose dive so it gave me some time off. Yay! It looks like tonight's going to be a quiet night in. I could use a few of those. After the weekend's trip up to the West Coast Nature Reserve I'm a little pooped. Was nice though. I'd recommend it to anyone. The "Geelbek" Restaurant... hmmm... now that was yummy.
Tomorrow... who knows? My life over the last year has changed so radically. New home, new vehicle, new career, rediscovery of family, independence... perspective. It hasn't all come easily but it's all been positive. It's nice to get to know the person you are. I thought that person had gone for good.
It's a warm autumn day in Cape Town and I'm wondering: "What will life give me next?" A friend just left. We watched the third Resident Evil movie together. A great creature feature, if that's your thing. I like movies, especially ones that come with microwave popcorn. The stock market is recovering after yesterday's terminal velocity nose dive so it gave me some time off. Yay! It looks like tonight's going to be a quiet night in. I could use a few of those. After the weekend's trip up to the West Coast Nature Reserve I'm a little pooped. Was nice though. I'd recommend it to anyone. The "Geelbek" Restaurant... hmmm... now that was yummy.
Tomorrow... who knows? My life over the last year has changed so radically. New home, new vehicle, new career, rediscovery of family, independence... perspective. It hasn't all come easily but it's all been positive. It's nice to get to know the person you are. I thought that person had gone for good.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)