Happy (Belated) Leap Day!

I started writing this post on Feb 29th but as you can see, I didn't get around to finishing it. However, I thought I'd finish it off and share it anyway, as it's been a while since my last post!

February 29th - not a date that you bump into in the course of a regular year. However, this year is special, so happy (belated) Leap Day everyone - and happy birthday to all you February 29th babies!

This year is gearing up to be a fun year with lots of celebrations, planning and new beginnings and as such, I think it's extra appropriate that 2016 is a Leap Year. It's the type of year that comes around once in a while. The type of year where you look at the special times the lie in wait for you - time with family and time with friends, planning and celebrating and enjoying life together and you wish you could set your life on pause, just for a few moments, to savour everything that has happened and look forward to things that have yet to pass.

Earlier in February we went to the wedding of our friend's Chez and Heiko. It was such a privilege to be there with them and celebrate with them as they start out life together as newly-weds. It was such a special, joy filled weekend and made even more amazing by the fact that even though this particular bunch of friends is scattered around South Africa, we were all able to be there to celebrate together. We spent the weekend at a place called Platbos, these wonderfully cosy cabins on the edge of a dam. A weekend surrounded by friends who all just click and celebrating the wedding of two of our group was enough to make my heart feel all warm and fuzzy! Thanks guys, for a wonderful time - can't wait for the next one!

Our log cabins at Platbos

Our log cabins at Platbos

Frosty and I before the wedding.

Zel, me and Izzy before Chez and Heiko's Wedding

Special friends!

Night time photos at Platbos 

Another night time shot

Playing with light and night time photography - I set things up and pressed the button while Frosty shone the
torch like a pro to give us some of these shots!

Enjoying the water at Bainskloof Pass.

More special friends!

And more special friends!

I've got a few exciting things happening over the course of the next few weeks and months. Some of the exciting things are obvious, such as wedding planning! Other things are currently a bit more secret and I'm really looking forward to sharing these with you, however right now they're still a work in progress. I'm hoping that the first thing is going to be ready in a few weeks and once it's ready, you'll be among the first to know, so watch this space! It will definitely explain why I've been a bit quieter than usual on my blog, but that's all I'm saying for now!

Namibia Travels: Part 2

Day 1 and 2: 

Frosty and I recently went to Namibia for his cousin's wedding and we used the opportunity to take some leave and see a bit of Namibia (luckily we only needed to take 3 days of leave in order to have a wonderful 10 day holiday, thanks to the two public holidays in one week).

Our biggest constraint was that we had to be at work on Friday and be in Windhoek for the wedding on Saturday. Luckily we managed to work a bit of overtime during the week and both of us manages to get off work at lunch time. We packed up my car (an adventurous little Ford Fiesta!) and by quarter to 1 we were on the road. Since it's quite a drive from Cape Town to Windhoek, we decided to stop over at Savanna Guest Farm for the night, which is about 2.5 hours from the Vioolsdrif/Noordoewer border post (I think it's one of two 24 hour border post between SA and Namibia).

One of our biggest pre-trip tasks was getting all the different documentation ready for presentation at the border post. We ended up taking more than we needed. For those who are interested, here is the list of what we took* (the items in bold are the ones we were asked for at the border post):

• Passports.
• Drivers Licences.
• IDs.
• A copy of my Car Registration Document (it looks similar to the piece of paper that your car licence comes on every year).
• A copy of proof of travel insurance for my car, including confirmation that Frosty would be covered for driving my car and the dates that we would be in Namibia for.
• A letter from the company that finance my car, confirming that I am allowed to take the car across the border post and the dates that I would be in Namibia.
• Medical Travel Insurance papers.
• Address of the place we were staying in Namibia (we just gave the place that we were camping at over the time of the wedding).
• A magnetic ZA sticker for my car. We weren't asked for this, but we stuck it on at the South African side of the border post and only removed it when we got back into South Africa.

It took us about half an hour to get through both the South African and Namibian sides of the border post. We just got our passports stamped on the SA side and on the Namibia side, we filled in some forms, got our passports stamped and paid R220 for road tax, which included a permit that you must keep with you at all times, as it gives you permission to drive in Namibia. Another thing that is always useful is a pen. Let me repeat that - take a pen with you, as there were no pens for us to use at the border post. At the time that we were travelling, April/May, Namibia is an hour behind of South Africa, so remember to turn your watch back an hour when you cross the border post!

It was a very straightforward affair to get into Namibia and our total travel time from Cape Town to our overnight stop Namibia was about 9.5 hours, including the time we spent crossing the border. Savanna Guest Farm was a welcome break to our drive (we booked it through SafariNow, which is a great site for finding accommodation when roadtripping and I've used it often). 

The second day, we were up at 4.30 am Namibia time, on the road by 5 am and arrived in Windhoek at Arebbusch Guest Lodge 6.5 hours later. I was a bit concerned about finding the place, because Frosty didn't really know where it was and neither of us had roaming on our phones, so we were thinking of winging it a bit and maybe finding a sim card so that we could call or find out where the lodge was. Luck, however, was on our side! Somehow, as we were driving in to Windhoek, I noticed the sign on the left at one of the sets of robots, so first time lucky, we were able to pull in and surprise everyone a bit earlier than we had anticipated. We even had time for a shower and lunch and catch up with various family members before it was time to get ready for the wedding!

Fun with bubbles after the ceremony

Blowing bubbles

Bride and Groom looking wonderful!
Don't the bubbles make for a beautiful atmosphere and picture?

Sunset overlooking Windhoek

The wedding was lovely, can you tell I really loved the bubbles? As the bride and groom exited the church everyone started blowing and there were just bubbles everywhere. I didn't get any snaps at the reception, however it was good fun and the food was incredibly tasty - don't even get me started on the wedding cake, it was a variety of chocolate truffles which were without a doubt the best I've ever tasted! We missed the cousins that weren't there, but it was good fun all the same and once we got back to the camp site, we carried on the party for another hour or two before heading off to bed!

* This is not an official list, so please do a bit of research yourself! The most useful website for us was the AA website.

Balloch Wedding

Balloch

I'll hie me away to Balloch, 

The sweet and lovely glen - 

Deep hidden in the mountains grand,

Far from the haunts of men.

There's healing there for wounded hearts - 

A balm for every pain;

And if you've been to Balloch once, 

You'll sure go back again

It's lovely in the summer time

Beneath the sun's warm glow - 

It has a "happy fireside climb,"

When hills are white with snow.

For friendship true and real is there,

And love and peace do reign -

And those who've been to Balloch once, 

Are welcome back again.

The hills that compass it around

Raise rugged peaks on high,

And towering crags where eagles next

Stand out against the sky; And

Through the glen the mountain steam

Sings such a sweet refrain - 

How could you come to Balloch once, 

And not come back again?

How silently the evening falls

And stars begin to peep;

The only sounds - the river's song

And bleat the mountain sheep.

Such peace and rest in cities great,

You'll look for that in vain;

Then come with me to Balloch glen

Again, and yet again

This lovely poem decorated the tables of the guests who came to the first Frost cousin wedding at the farm; hidden away in the mountains of Barkly East in the Eastern Cape. I'm not sure of the author (does anyone know?), but I know it was written by a guest to Balloch farm and sums up the farm that is so beloved to family, friends and visitors.

As it was over Easter weekend, many families missioned to the farm to celebrate this wedding. Most made a long weekend out of it to maximise family time. What a celebration it was! Whoever thought that farms were boring have definitely never spent a New Years party (or wedding) in Barkly! True to form, the dance floor stayed packed from the time it opened until the early late hours of the following morning; the most active participants were the beautiful bride and grinning groom!

I don't think my words could do this weekend justice, so here are some pics instead.

The bridal getaway car

The whole family pitched in to help!

It was given a thorough cleaning...

... Before decorations started getting added 

Taking a break from the hard work

Exercising our lungs

Doesn't the car look grand? (And slightly tiny against
the beautiful backdrop)

Lindi and Linzi
Along with another Linzi (an actual Frost cousin) things sometimes got a bit confusing.
But scroll down to find out what was even more confusing!

A long body poplar (according to My Frost)

The groom

How cute is this little guy?

The lovely bride

These guys were just too adorable

Drinks and snacks under the cave

Wedding cake - mmm, delish!

Frosty and I.
Pretty much everyone is called Frosty in this family! It gets very
confusing when you hear all the girlfriends/wives talking about Frosty,
but you get used to it pretty quickly.

Frost Cousins
Marion, Frosty, Thelma, Frosty, Frosty, Rich, Frosty (Linz), Kev, Kirst, Frosty, Frosty
(See what I mean - and these are only the cousins!!!!!)

Balancing Rocks

Scotty and Lindi

Frosty and I

Our smart servers - love the bow-ties!

Keeping the party going!