A Weekend of Planes, Parties and Play-Dates in Joburg

This last weekend, was one of the first times that I've looked forward to going to Joburg - probably because I no longer live there and it was for a special occasion and Frosty was coming with me! But still, it was lovely to actually look forward to flying to Joburg.

My cousin, having recently celebrated a milestone birthday, managed to organise a weekend to have a family party that allowed not only most of the South African contingent to get together to celebrate, but we also had my aunt and uncle out from Australia who were also able to partake in the celebrations! 

It was such a treat to stay with a different cousin and her adorable son (who, for a two and a half year old, has a vocabulary that almost rivals mine), along with my folks, and then to spend a day catching up with all of the different family members, extended family members and family members who aren't blood-relatives, but who looked after me so well while I was in Benoni. 

Since most of my cousins are older than me, there were kids galore at the party. I was battling to remember all the names (and I'm related), but I got there in the end. At the next family gathering, Frosty (and probably my dad) are getting tested on all the cousin-kids, I think if they start swotting now they might pass! 

On Sunday we spent the day with a dear friend of both Frosty and myself. Tea at her house, lunch at a market and then, a few hours before we flew back to Cape Town, we spent some time at the Walter Sisulu Botanical Gardens which was absolutely stunning! There were people with a telescope pointed at the nest of a breeding pair of Verreaux's Eagles (Black Eagles) that is situated alongside the waterfall. We took a peek through the telescope before following the geological path which took us on a lovely walk.

All in all it was a great weekend away and such a treat to be able to catch up with family and friends from afar.

Waterfall at the Walter Sisulu Botanical Gardens.
Who would have thought that we would find a waterfall
in the middle of Joburg? It's definitely worth a visit if you
haven't been before!

Weekend Cycle and Camping Trip

A blended picture I made of our cycling group picture and
a few of us in action.

This past weekend a friend of mine organised a cycle around Cape Point with an overnight stay in Kommetjie - this was such a great way to spend a weekend, especially since the weather held out for us and we had beautiful views for our entire ride. 

We started off at 7.30 from Rondeboch and took a very chilled cycle past Kirstenbosch, Hout Bay, up Chappies and eventually ending up at Soetwater Camp Site in Kommetjie. After stopping off for a delicious breakfast about 3/4 of the way through our ride, we got to the camp site at about 12.30 and spent a great afternoon setting up camp and watching the ocean (which was way too cold to swim in). 

The following day, we left at around 09:30 and cycled all the way through to Kalk Bay where we stopped off for some amazing ice creams and then had a drink and bite to eat before catching the train back home. 

All in all, a really great weekend outdoors enjoying summer!

Group pic

Everyone admiring the beautiful sea view

Frosty playing with his bike

Some High School Memories

I've recently been in touch with an old friend from high school who I haven't been in touch with for ages. The night after I chatted with her, I had the most vivid dream of being back at high school. 

It was early morning and time for Chapel - the only problem was that I didn't have my school uniform! Luckily I had my car and keys to my car on me and since I lived literally 5 minutes from school, I figured no prob, I could zip home, put on my uniform and still be back in time for Chapel. 

When I woke up that feeling of being back at school and ready for Chapel lingered with me for ages and it got me thinking to some of my high school memories, so I figured I would share some of them with you:

• 5am swimming training where we would all pitch, bleary-eyed and dive into a cool pool. Walking back up to the house after training with our slops squeeking the whole walk back.
  
• Sitting on a blanket on Front Lawn with a few friends during rest, just chilling, chatting, reading, drawing.
  
• Lining up for Chapel on cold Winter mornings when the bell went, bundled up in our tracksuits, various coloured house ties peeking through our scarves and breathing out clouds of white "mist" that would fog up my glasses.
  
• Finding my friend, Alice, who had the warmest hands and standing there with my cold hands between hers, warming them up.
  
• Walking arm-in-arm to lunch, chattering away with a friend or two, hoping that lunch would be yummy.
  
• Monday morning art practical sessions, where everyone would share what happened on their weekends - exciting stories and plans already forming for the next weekend out.
  
• Being busy from the moment you open your eyes until the moment you go to bed.
  
• Friends taking "runs" in the vlei. Which meant they were actually coming to visit me and be in a home. We would sit on the veranda, drink some tea or coffee and eat some yummy home-made treats. Sometimes, we would have an early supper and then sneak people back in time for prep.
  
• The interhouse activities: swimming, athletics, drama, music, public speaking...
  
• Sports events in the afternoons and over weekends with our busses often stopping off at the Mc Donalds for us to get some sort of treat, before heading back to school.
  
• Giggling during maths lessons - trying to understand what everyone else was talking about. It was probably one of my least favourite subjects, which is ironic considering my career choice!
  
• Debates during english that got heated but were always interesting.
  
• Learning about different cultures and lines of thought during our art history lessons and our art teacher encouraging us to always draw our weekly sketches from real life objects, not photographs, so that we would learn how to read and interpret form from 3 dimensions in to 2 dimensions.
  
• Drawing a leaf for every single first biology lesson of the year from grade 8 to matric and the big purple book that we used in grade 11 and matric.
  
• Chats with our afrikaans teachers where we discussed a lot more than afrikaans. Those dreaded afrikaans orals.
  
• Science lessons where we our teacher taught us that a good way to learn was to listen, read his notes from the blackboard and then copy them into our own notebooks so that by the time we came to learn for tests, we had read the information at least 3 times before that. And experiments.
  
• One-on-one Comp Sci lessons (I was the only girl to take the subject for matric) where I would finish off my work quickly and then spend the rest of the time chatting with my Comp Sci teacher about other interesting technology or whatever happened to be of interest that day.

My friend, Alice, and I at some fun school event :)

Camping At Kogel Bay

Last weekend, a bunch of us camped for a night a Kogel Bay, which is just past Gordon's Bay. Half our group met at our house on Saturday morning, we packed up two cars and set off for our camp site. 

When we arrived, it was a little windy blowing gales. So we set up all our camping stuff in the wind and just as we were finishing off, our neighbours decided to start their generator so that they could play some pretty average music (loud enough to drown out the generator!) and continue with what looked to be a very drunken weekend. Needless to say, after a group huddle and a quick discussion, we decided to move our campsite to a slightly more windy, but much quieter site. But at least it was far from our neighbours with their terrible music - definitely a decision that made the rest of our weekend much better!

Most of Saturday was spent chilling, with a bit of a beach session before we started a braai and spent the rest of the evening chatting, playing a tune or two on the guitar and trying not to be blown away.

On Sunday morning, most of us were awake early and after a cup of coffee, we went down to the beach to see the sun creep across the waves once it had risen above the mountain behind us. After a quick breakfast we packed some bags with water and snacks and spent an amazing day on the beach - the water was swimmable, the sky was blue and the weather ideal for a day on the beach.

Blanket over the mountain

Early morning sea view

Sea and mountain view

Sunrise at the beach

My friend Jono taking pictures for Giraffe Toes photography
You can check out his website here (and order prints from him if you like!)

Windy waves

Bright blue sea anemone

Colourful sea anemones

We found a friendly puppy on the beach who just wanted to play!

Catching frisbee

Playing at the beach

Intense games of frisbee took place

Some info on Kogel Bay Resort Camp Site:

• It's about 70 km from Cape Town to Kogel Bay Resorts and the drive is about an hour from Cape Town (depending on traffic through Somerset West).
• The camp site is pretty basic, with no electricity, but comfortable enough for a night or two.
• One thing to keep in mind is that the guys bathrooms (so I was told) were all open showers. I'm not sure if it was just this block, or if all blocks are like that, but if you're a guy and not used to boarding-school type open showers, you may want to find another place to shower...
• The cost is around R140 per night for one camp-site.
• Each camp-site fits up to 6 people and up to 2 cars.

Adventure Time: Cederberg and Wolfberg Arch Hike

As all good adventurers must, we have started challenging ourselves. About two weeks ago, we spent the weekend on our first team adventure. With a few honorary Adventure Time members, we set off to the Cederberg, stayed at Driehoek Guest Farm, in their Groothuis. Fireplace, kitchen, place to braai and space to hang your hammock (if you bring one!) made for a lovely stay.

We spent Saturday hiking to Wolfberg Arch. We drank wine and cheese, braaied, rode horses (very slowly!) and rock climbed. All in all, a pretty adventurous weekend. 

The sun peeking over the hills on a beautiful winters day in Cape Town

Our weekend hiking group

Nothing says "Adventure" like climbing to the top of a rock for a photo shoot!

The cracks that you pass through, on the way to the arch

The most awesome hiking shoes!

Our first glimpse of the arch!

We made it!

My in-house hobby-ornithologist informs me this is a Cape Rock Jumper.
A bunch of these guys joined us while we were having lunch. They proved
to have discerning tastebuds and loved the Camembert cheese that one of
our party had brought along - eating it out of her hand! 

Me and Frosty in front of the arch

Wolfberg Arch Hike Information

The hike took us about 8 hours, round trip. And we walked slowly - the photo session on top of the rock was at least half an hour and we probably had at least another hours rest at the arch.

The day pass to the Cracks would put you back R50 per person. If you want to go all the way to the arch it will cost you R100.*

There is one place to collect water - in the wet season. I would suggest taking enough water for your entire hike if you go in summer.

It is suggested that if you want to get some amazing pictures of the arch, that you start late and spend the night up at the arch. The sun sets on one side of the arch and rises on the other. Maybe one day I'll be adventurous enough to try this!

There are some steep sections with a bit of scrambling at the beginning of the hike, but once you have passed through the Cracks, the rest of the way is pretty flat. Make a note of where you come out at the cracks - we may have got lost missed our mark by a little bit on the way back, luckily Runtastic helped us figure out where to go!

* At the time of writing this is correct - cost may vary over time, so please don't quote me on this to the people who issue the passes!

July Christmas

A few weeks ago my friend, Kelly, hosted an amazing Christmas in July at her new flat. There was a great mix of people and we had such fun getting into the (July) Christmas spirit. Here are some of her decorations - personally, I think the melted snowmen were great! I also think that, since by birthday is in winter, I know what I want to do for my next birthday! Take a squiz at these pics...

Table Decor

Fun Sticks

Who doesn't love July-mas

Great photo accessories (and Frosty finally picked his nose!)

Who doesn't sometimes need a little bit of melted
snowman to keep you hydrated!

What Fruit Best Describes You?

"What fruit best describes you?"

Random? 

Yes.

Remember-able? 

Definitely

Kinda strange? 

Only when you spend a good amount of time thinking up an answer, only to be told (when you ask the person originally doing the asking exactly the same question) that they don't know and they only asked you that to break the ice... 

About a week ago a bunch of friends came over to our house after a dinner out. The topic of an app called Tinder came up. I had no idea what this app was, so after having it explained to me (it's an app that helps you connect with people but is mainly used for dating), we got to chatting about it. 

It was rather interesting chatting about the different ways of starting a conversation with a person over a dating app. My friend who was asked the fruit question wasn't too impressed when they didn't get a reciprocal response to the fruit question. I don't think I would have been too impressed either. 

I can't say I've ever used any of these apps, but I would say that, if you were to use an app like this, a far safer opening line to break the ice would be a line given to me by another friend who uses this app: "Hey :)" 
(It's apparently much less threatening, a lot more genuine and doesn't come across as creepy). 

What are your thoughts on using applications for dating? 

Worth it or waste of time?

How would you approach someone using some method of virtual-connection?

First Thursdays

The first Thursday of every month, central Cape Town shops,restaurants and galleries keep their doors open until late, to allow people to explore the central city a bit more. This event is called First Thursdays and it's been around for a while, but until a few months ago I hadn't ever heard of it (probably a side effect of living in Joburg and then the southern suburbs!)

An interesting find on our explorings

Last month I went to this event with a group of friends and it was great. It was my first time going and I had such fun! We all met up to say hello and then split into smaller groups while browsing the streets, finally meeting up again for a delicious dinner at Royale Eatery. If you're looking for something fun to do in Cape Town and you're around on the first Thursday of the month, I would definitely recommend this evening out! 

To find out more about the event and how it works click here. 

To see Royale's web site click here (I would definitely recommend their sweet potato fries!).

Rhino Horn Hike

A few weeks ago I flew back to KZN with Frosty for the long weekend so that we could join in on another lovely berg weekend hosted by our friend Annie, and her folks.

We were able to spend the night before we left to the berg, and the night that we came back from the berg, with my folks, which was a lovely bonus to the trip!

Our biggest achievement was a hike up Rhino Horn; the guys were all keen to make it to the top from the start. The girls weren't so sure BUT as we got closer (and closer, and closer) to the top, our mindsets changed and we decided that we couldn't let the guys summit alone.

Some advice:
It took us about 11 hours and we entered through the Drak Gardens entrance.
We took lots of snack-type foods to keep us going throughout the hike. 



Here are some pics of our hike

At the beginning of the hike

The sun just peeking over the mountain tops

We had the most beautiful views for our entire hike

Most of this hike is in the shade, with pockets of sun every now and then

Frosty and I

Se and Annie

Tienie and Frosty managed to find some water for us at the last watering hole before the top

It was so chilly that a lot of the ice along the rocks hadn't yet melted!

There's a remarkable flat portion along the top of the mountain, before you get to the actual "horn"

Tired legs and hungy tummies, but we made it to the top!

Our group at the top of Rhino Horn

And all the way at the bottom again - tired but content

Workplace Heros

I started writing this ages ago and found it when I was scrolling through drafts of posts - enjoy!

At my factory our jobs are hard. We're the factory that the whole business has been complaining about, week after week, for months. They 
forget that we've just completed major project, and have more projects coming, that will require us to somehow keep the factory running at full production even though we're changing major aspects of the factory.

Among the people in my team, there are those who stand out to me as workplace heroes. They are the guys who get called in at all times of the day and night to fix something that isn't theirs to fix. The guys who are in the top 10 of my favourite dialled list, just because I know that if I call them, they will be able to give me advice and help me out. The guys who have smiles on their faces whether it's 2am or 2pm. 

They somehow manage to still be interested and crack jokes with you after a frustrating session of problem solving and they're the guys who never stop learning and asking questions.

These guys are the ones who keep our factories running under hugely stressful work conditions. They're the ones who get by on minimal sleep because everyone else calls them when they have an issue. The ones who get called when people don't know what to do next. The guys who somehow still manage to be patient when explaining something they've explained a thousand times before, to a fresh-faced university graduate with no idea what's potting.

They're the guys you want on your team when you're faced with a problem that you have no idea how to fix.

I've now left this team behind and saying goodbye to these guys was something that I was not looking forward to. At the start I wasn't sure how I would fit into the team. When I left - one of them told me that when you work in this team, you become like family. This post is for those guys in my factory maintenance family - I learnt so much from all of you and am honoured to have worked side by side with you!

Murder Mystery Mirth at Mabula

Mabula Sunset

This weekend I was lucky enough to get an invite to a friends timeshare at Mabula Game Farm. It's the second time I've been there and this time was just as good as the first time we went, probably even better as we were celebrating a birthday and my last weekend in Joburg for a while!

Our game drives were conducted by Sakkie in the Entokozweni game vehicle. His smiling, cheerful face is one that you feel like you've known for years. Before our drives he would welcome us and give us a little bit of interesting information and during the drives he would stop and explain a bit about whatever animal that we were seeing, if we were seeing it for the first time. Information such as maximum weight, age and gestation period for each type of animal was given, and if the animal had any distinct markings he would point those out as well - a trademark saying of his being that the white markings on animals act as a "followme" sign. We saw less big animals and more birds this trip and I used this as an excuse to try and brush up on my bird identification skills!

Sakkie, our smiley and knowledgeable guide!

After our game drives, we were welcomed home by the delicious breakfast smells that wafted through the kitchen as Seena prepared our food. As we got off the game vehicle, there were lovely, damp scented cloths waiting for us outside so that we could clean our faces from the dust that gets kicked up during the drive. Upon walking into our rooms, the beds had been made and anything untidy-looking was made to look tidy. 

View from the veranda, where we breakfasted

One of the highlights of the weekend was playing a Murder Mystery game, organised by our host, Paul. If you've never tried out one of these games, I would suggest that you give it a try. It's a role playing game, so whatever you put in is what you get out. For a bunch of engineers and marketers, we managed to pull of a thoroughly entertaining performance - it's just a pity we didn't have an audience other than ourselves. Don't worry if you're not such a fan of role-playing. Everything is scripted and you can act it out as outrageously (or un-outrageously) as you like - I would suggest being as outrageous as possible, it makes for way better entertainment. On top of this, as we learnt at the end, the clues really are there for a reason - so pay attention when you play these games because at the end you need to use your reasoning skills to decide who you think the killer is, before the killer gets revealed to the group!

Pungent Pumpkin Processing Company
Back: Gigi Sparkle, Mavis Cheek, Investigation Panel, Clifton Curry, Professor Emmelius Bunsen, Sir Hamish Hogwash
Front: Lloyd Lunchbox, Lady "Beauty" Fading

Team Pic
Ryan, Laura, Annie, Jean, Paul, Alex, Me, Tienie