This past weekend I had a frozen moment where my beloved Kristoff and I were building ice castles and making snow angels. I was wearing a see-through bluish dress and we were riding in a sleigh. Magical ... Just kidding we went to Lesotho for our first (1.a) wedding anniversary and we wore thermals and gloves and we were travelling in my trusty Tata Indica. 

In my 31 years of existence I have never witnesses snow so you can imagine my excitement when we entered Lesotho and was driving towards the dark clouds aka Afriski Resort. 

and then - there it was. Our first sight of snow ... 

Until this moment I have only heard stories about snow trips and friends enjoying it with their friends and sleeping in a tent. outside. in the cold. I got reassurance from the hubster that we would be fine and that my Tata would survive, with us in it. 

It took about an hour or two, to reach the top of Moteng pass. I was smiling and got out of the car with camera in hand and feet firmly on the soft snow. 

It was about right at this moment when I realized that I have to put on my gloves. It was getting colder and I wanted to avoid getting frostbite. We decided to try and make it to Afriski Resort to enjoy a hot cup of cocoa and put our feet up next to the fire place. But we not that lucky. We had to turn back as the conditions had worsened. We stopped at Oxbow for a shot of port (dutch courage) and headed back down the mountain.

We had to proceed to the top of the mountain, but the road was already covered in ice and the cars started to skid. Someone from Afriski helped some of the cars to the top whilst others (including us) found some benefit from local guys giving us a push. But the worst was still to come. After reaching the spot where we were planning to spend the night cars were struggling to get down. Marius headed down to offer some assistance. 

and there I was guarding the car and taking a selfie ...

Respect for the Tata please and for the driver - my husband. Thank you for my first snow memory and the best first anniversary trip. It was both spectacular and amazing and may I say a bit - white!

African Ivory Route

We have an absolute stunner of a country, in particular the Limpopo Province characterized by contrasting landscapes, the abundance of wildlife and nature based tourism opportunities. Situated in this beautiful province is the African Ivory Route cultural campsites and it was an adventure just to reach them. We planned our route to 3 of the cultural camps during the long weekend breakaway in April – mind the delayed blog post.

It was our second time at Baleni camp which is situated on the banks of the Klein Letaba river near Giyani. This is my favourite cultural camp thus far and I don’t think it will ever change. The weather is always great, neither to hot (lying) nor to cold (telling the truth). The camp is built opposite a natural hot spring, named Mkhulu a sacred place with legends abound with Nzunzu, a snake as its protector. The local Tsonga women, mine the salt from the river and can be used in cooking or taken as a remedy to cure high blood pressure, body aches and to avoid bad dreams. You can purchase some salt at the camp. The crystals are bigger than what we are used to and it is saltier but I prefer using Baleni Camp Salt in my cooking than iodized salt. It has a much better taste to it.

The camp guide, Thinashaka, told us some camp fire stories and legends about Mkhulu, how a man was set alight by the snake spirit that protects this sacred place and you can hear the hooves of horses galloping near the spring. There are signs when you are prohibited to enter and when you are welcome to. For instance when the water is murky or when reeds are at the entrance then you may not enter. One is allowed to bath in the hot spring but it should not be used for business. Great respect is given to the hot spring but you have to wonder if the legends are true. The next morning around the crackling camp fire we enjoyed our morning coffee while listening to the cow bell melody in the distance.

Fundudzi camp is situated in the Soutpansberg mountain forest on a terraced hillside within the Land of Legends. The landscape is the complete opposite of Baleni with bright green moss and the ever present smell of wet earth. We were welcomed by a slight drizzle and velvet monkeys entertaining us from the tree tops. Or was it the other way round … It was colder at the foot of the Launame Mountains and we found comfort by sitting around our camp fire. Although it was short lived due to rain.

Modjadji camp was our last stop for the long weekend and is located in the Modjadji Cycad Reserve. This was the only night that we met fellow adventurers. The previous two nights we had the camp to ourselves. That’s what makes the African Ivory Route a must for travellers wanting a little me time. After arriving at dark, we could only see the camp by means of lanterns and our flashlights. It was equally stunning to the other camps although each camp has its own charm.

A definite bonus is that all the camps have a fully fitted and functional kitchen and that camping chairs are a non-essential. It is all provided. I got to bake my first bread – shocker I know.  The only two items that you have to take along is bedding and flashlights. Although paraffin lanterns light up the camp during the night and morning, the rondavels are a bit dark inside and a flashlight certainly helps.

As rule of thumb my appearance also known as flat hair or no make-up is connected to the level of luxury or as I would like to call it – electricity that we have on our travels. Therefore flat hair means no electricity and the amount of make-up applied is dependent on my mood. There is no need to say that on this trip we didn’t have any of it. The pictures speak volumes – pun intended, although my mood was fine. I was very excited on this trip though because Marius bought me a 12V hairdryer that I could plug into the dual-battery system. Much to my surprise was that the wanna be hairdryer doesn’t even move my hair let alone dry it, so I tried a different technique. But for the love of all thing holy, don’t do it! All it does is tangle your hair. Enjoy the beautiful Limpopo province with your hair in a pony, it’s more relaxing and less frustrating. 

The face should act as a warning why it was a bad idea to start with. If you ever try this let me know - I have to know ... Don't try this at home or anywhere else for that matter!

Ranger odyssey boot camp 2015

Life is back to normal today after the Ranger Odyssey boot camp that took place in Prince Albert. I am reminded by the event by a bag of dirty laundry, some battle scars and a voice that has gone all hoarse.. Someone said that I sound like a squeaky toy... 

The train trip started at Park Station in Johannesburg and we were all super excited by meeting our fellow contestants. We had loads of fun in the train and went bed later than expected that night. But in all fairness we had to find a way to get rid of all our excitement and by talking through the night certainly helped a lot. Thursday morning we realized that the train had a longer than expected scheduled stop and we were running between two to three hours late. Take into account that we HAD to be at boot camp at 10:00. This was obviously of great concern to all of us and we started implementing plan b. I made a call to another contestant that was travelling by train and he helped us out by organizing with a local taxi in Beaufort-West to pick us up at the train station and take us to Prince Albert that was 170 km away. We made it in record time and was only 30 minutes late. If we would have stayed on the train, we would have only arrived in Prince Albert at around 12:00 in the afternoon and that would not have made the best impression.

We received our tents, stretchers and chairs when we arrived at the show grounds together with our contestant number and a very sexy looking bright orange bib that we had to wear the entire weekend. During the event we were known only by our numbers and not our names to avoid some sort of favouritism. I was number 12.  After we introduced ourselves to the group and instructors we had a information session about recovery equipment and an introduction about the Ford Ranger. To carry our luggage (including our tent, stretcher and chair) to boot camp that was now 2.2 km away. The scenic route through town took our minds of the amount of steps we took to get there but carrying a 25 kg bag on your back brought you back to reality in an instant. Nonetheless I am much fitter than what I make myself believe ... 

After all of the contestants arrived at boot camp we had to pitch our tents for the weekend and had to walk the same route back and we were rewarded with a spit braai prepared by local resident, Moolman.

The next morning, yours truly had to stand guard between 4:00 and 5:00 am. Believe me when I say it was freezing outside. I had three layers of clothing on including my thermals not to mention my wool socks and you still feel the cold. The rangers stopped at bootcamp just before 5:00 and we went for an early morning drive. Although the drive was only 9km long, we were dropped off in the Swartberg pass and had to run/walk our way back - again the reward was food. We had an hour and a half to make our way back to the show grounds. I started almost in the middle and then worked my way to the back of the group. Jacobus, or should I rather say number 24 said that I should jump on his back. At first I thought he made a joke, but he was as serious as I am about my love for chocolate. So I made the jump... and he jogged whilst piggy backing me. Respect. I don't have anything to say about it. I am super unfit. There's no two ways about it. We made it to the show grounds and I arrived in one piece without any help from the medic, Barry. Although he did check up on me once. I was shaking like someone with a serious illness. Willem, nr 44 even went to fetch me a coke. Auuww how sweet. Let me say, chivalry is not dead ladies.

After the delicious breakfast and me shaking like a rattle snake we went for skills and off road training with all of the instructors. Our group started with the basic off road driving challenge and I was the first driver off the day. Watch the video to see my epic fail. After the first training session we had to do the skills training. We learned the correct way of changing a tyre with Hartogh Streicher, and how to use a winch with Barry, the medic. Not to mention that Garron showed us how to use a highliftjack. Embarrassingly so he and Hardy de Kock had to help me. I am definitely not as strong as I make myself believe, which is all fine and fair because I have a loving husband, Marius Dreyer who helps me with carrying heavy stuff. Moolman again prepared lunch, but this time it was an South African favourite called roosterkoek with some wors and of course chutney. It's not complete without chutney, then again nothing is! On Saturday evening, Tracy told us everything we needed to know about the Ford brand and the discussion kept going until after 21:00. Like the previous nights we walked to camp. Guard duty was between 5:00 and 6:00 again. And we saw a pair of owls in a massive Bluegum tree.

Like every morning and night we had to walk back to the camp site and Saturday morning was no exception. We had to be at the showgrounds early again to have breakfast before we left for the day's drive. We drove through the Swartberg pass and got the enjoy the spectacular views of the mountains where we were dropped off the day before. Every now and then we made a stop for a driver change, to take selfies and to enjoy God's creation. We drove through 3 passes that day namely the Swartberg pass, Huisrivier pass and Seweweekspoort. We also drove through the town of where my maiden name originates from - Calitzdorp. I had the privilege of driving the longest stint back to camp and received some compliments from two of male passengers. Ismael from Ivory Coast said I drive like a man. I felt proud of myself, but I have to say thanks to my husband who taught me how to drive on a gravel road. As you might have gathered, the food during our stay was excellent and Saturday evening was no exception. Another favourite - curry and rice, with sambals, banana, coconut and chutney. Much to our surprise we were spoiled with peppermint crisp tart. Whoop whoop. 

Sunday morning we got a special visit from Garmin's Kevin Bolton and he showed us how to use a montana gps. After that we enjoyed a hot breakfast. The moment we had all dreaded had arrived. It was time for individual interviews. You had to stand in the middle of a circle and had to answer questions at random order. I went second and could breathe a sigh of relieve. Just like that, bootcamp was over and done with... It was a sad moment when we realized that some of the contestants would go through to the third round and some may not. Good friendships were made.

To celebrate the end, Gerrie, Jacobus and myself went to the Swartberg Hotel and enjoyed a pint. Cheers to the end of the Ranger Odyssey 2015.

At the end of it all, I was not chosen as one of the Top 20 contestants. I will stick to driving my 1999 5.2 HSE (P39) Range Rover.

The official boot camp video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6k1zqkSpj0