After spending most of my day at a medical centre yesterday I have to make serious changes to my diet/lifestyle. It might be easy for some but I really really like coffee and chocolate and cookies, not biscuits - koekies!

I have to minimize my intake of caffeine, chocolate, soft drinks and stress. That is easier said than done especially if you travel on the N1 everyday.

Small steps. Baby steps ...

I don't want to be a vegan vegetarian who is also banting, I just want to start living healthier. Although I almost lead myself into temptation today at Clicks. It was all going well until I was walking toward the cashiers. I was greeted by two rows of eye catching packaging filled with yummy deliciousness. I closed my eyes and thought of someone I saw yesterday - it's all fun and games until your jeans don't fit.  I do fit in my jeans but skinny (yeah right) is not everything. You have to be healthy as well. If it's not the most important.

Anyway, I ate 5 or 6 potions of fruit and I feel awesome about not buying or eating anything sweet or drinking a coke.

I will take this one step at a time and I feel healthier already!

Oh yes, I have to exercise as well!  Will let you know how that goes tomorrow.

December holiday in Kosi Bay

The start of our official Christmas holiday was 24 December 2014. The car was packed and stacked to the brim. Kids and dog in the back. New battery to run the inverter and fridge from - check. We were ready for a nine hour drive to Kosi Bay.

We passed some towns that I have never had the pleasure to visit like: Piet Retief, Pongola, Jozini, eManguzi and we drove on the Pongolapoort Dam wall. While driving to Kosi Bay as well as during our stay, temperature was a scorcher. The highest measuring 45°C. Thank heavens for an air con in the Range Rover. At times it felt more like a weight loss program than a holiday. Except for the last two days. That was rainy and messy.

We stopped at Utshwayelo Lodge at around 18:00 and Enock went to show us where the bush camp was. We picked a lovely tree to camp under that would shield us from the burning rays of the sun during day time. There is only one toilet and one separate shower that supply the camp. Did I mention it was in the open air. Only a couple of reeds (for privacy) and a strip of corrugated roof sheeting is used to build amazing outdoor shower experience. Complete with a spider above the think tank. There's obviously no door, so you have to "halloooo, is there anybody in there?" to know if it is safe to enter.

Back to our tree - there is no electricity. Hurray! That meant I couldn't blow dry my hair, which in turn makes me really happy. I could relax and tie my locks with an elastic. Make up was only reserved for the days that we travelled. It was just such a waste with the heat. You sweat it off faster than you can put it on. Loosing weight and saving time because of not having to do my hair and saving my face from harsh chemicals - I could hear angels sing in unison - HALLELUJA!

We had a laid back Christmas day. We went to the beach and the kids had a blast. They loved every minute of it. Armani called it the best day ever! We tried to minimize time in the sun to avoid getting bad sunburn on our first day. Did I mention the heat?! Later that day went I made some gourmet canned sardine sandwiches and Armani said I was the best chef and my food is so good. She is so cute. Both of my kids are.

The next day we lounged around camp and the day after we went to St Lucia and I did use some make up. Had to. We saw some crocs on the riverbed and some hippo's in the water. The kids were amazed that wild animals were that close. We want to give them experiences they remember. A day in the zoo is not the same as seeing an animal in their natural habitat. Best parents ever - check! We went for some much needed pizza at Reef and Dune. Hands down best pizza I've ever had. No seriously. There's so much toppings on you can't see the base. Alonzo (son), was happy. He asked for pizza ever since we left Centurion. Marius' dad and his wife decided to join us for a day or two. We had to gulp down the pizzas and meet them on the road. Happiness. I love my parents in law. They are super relaxed and easy to chat to and you don't have to pretend.

The next day we took them to the beach and we enjoyed some family time around a fire. Unfortunately they had to leave the next day and we saw the opportunity to explore. We did a day excursion to 9 Mile beach, Lala Nek and Black rock beach. Unspoilt beaches like you have never seen. I have a question - why go to Moz and get trampled by Valies if you can experience this. I mean during night time and when the wind was right we could hear music coming from Ponto du Ouro. That is not my definition of a nice relaxing holiday with family. I want space and freedom and I want my children to experience it as well. I don't want to take them to over expensive commercialised holiday spots; I want to give them the best that this world has to offer.

Hope your holiday was as amazing as ours.

Chain ladder climb to Sentinel Peak and Tugela Falls

It took Marius (my husband) a couple of months to try and convince me to hike up to Tugela Falls. I am so unfit I am bordering couch potato. Nevertheless I agreed to do the 14km hike UP and down the mountains.

Tugela falls is located in the Drakensberg Mountains in the Royal Natal National Park. It is the second tallest waterfall in the world, 948m and the tallest in Africa. The tallest waterfall is Angel Falls located in Venezuela, 979m.

 

We drove from Lesotho and through Clarens to get some supplies. We bought two long sleeve shirts. Senqu only had men's shirts. If you see my photo's it is self explanatory. I also got a buff (best investment for my first hiking trip) and a pair of sketchers. I know, not considered a hiking boot but it was comfortable and much better than the conventional tekkie. It had some flex to it.

The night before we stayed at Witsieshoek Mountain Resort which is located 7km from the Sentinel Peak car park. We had lunch packs made up by the resort which including a sandwich, fruit, packet of crisps, chocolate, packet of peanuts ... not to bad for the money we paid. Before you start your hike there is an office where you pay levies and park fees. Make sure you visit the office again on your descend.

We started the hike. One small step for (wo)man, one giant leap for Anel.

You are surround by green valleys and reddish-brown rock faces. The landscaping and views are absolutely breath taking. The only thing that is really not good for your spirit is that you can still see the car park almost all the way up the mountain. It looks and feels like you make absolutely no progress.

We had to stop a lot. I could feel my heart pound away in my neck. Weird feeling. As I said, coach potato. Moving on and don't judge! But after a while I started feeling better and the hiking went better. We could go further with fewer stops in between. Make sure you take an ample supply of water. We did and I was thankful. We kept ourselves hydrated. Other than my please-stop-I-have-to-sit-down-NOW-breaks we made time to eat and chat. It was a good time to bond with my husband. You have to place your trust in your partner. You have to help each other and motivate each other. 

The first part of the hike is the worst. There is an incline of note and it's impossible not to get jelly legs. I wanted to give up before we even started. Although at point we almost had to. We had to cross an angled rock face. Not to big but big enough. I didn't want to walk across as I knew my lack of balance would be the reason I plummet to certain death. I would rather slide on my bum across the rock face. I don't know how it happened but my one shoe fell of my foot and it started rolling down this rock face. Much to our amazement it was grinded to a sudden halt by some grass. My prince went to get my slipper and on we went!

We reached the first ladder and it was a whopping 40m long or should I say high as you have a face to face climb against the rock face. Nonetheless, it was scary as hell. My husband went first and I followed. My knuckles turned white against the rusty ladder and I focused on the crack in the rock face. I was not going to look down or even left or right. I took deep breaths. First step done. One million-thousand to go, or so it seemed. But It wasn't as bad as I told myself it was going to be, it went fairly quick. After the 40m ladder there is another 20m ladder and ta dah you are on the Plato overlooking the magnificent Tugela Falls. It was beautiful and of course it was worth the climb.

Our plan was to stay the night hence the orange bag my hubby had on his back. We pitched our tent as it started to rain. I got into warmer clothes but was still cold. After resting for 30 minutes we made a call to rather descend. We didn't have proper gear and it was not worth risking our lives or health.

The descend took us 2 hours as opposed to the climb that took 5 hours - embarrassing I know. And I guess my unfit self is to blame for that.

Lucky for us the sun had no intention of crisping us up but upon our descend it started to rain and there was thunder and a bit of lightning. It was scary. We take our homes for granted. Being on top of a mountain in the rain while having to hear a thunderstorm approaching was not my favourite place to be although I was with my favourite person.

Our instinct saved our lives. It was 10°C when we reached the car park again and I have never been so happy to see the Range Rover. I can only imagine what the temperature was at that night. Next time we will be better prepared. 

Would I do it again? Of course I would!