After an extremely long drive (time-wise), we arrived around 7h30pm at Madikwena game reserve near Groot Marico in North West Province. We had no clue what the environment looked like as we drove the last 70kms in complete darkness (and with our vintage camper that 70kms took about 2 hours), but nevertheless we were pleasantly surprised that the gate at the game reserve opened upon our arrival and we were met by Susan and her husband Pieter, who were the caretakers at the reserve. The welcome was warm and they did everything possible to make our arrival one to remember. The lights in the chalet were lit and the campfire was lit for us to warm ourselves. We were immediately told that we could knock on their doors anytime as they stayed about 50metres from our chalet.
After parking the camper, we offloaded the essentials and checked out the well kept 2 bedroom chalet. The kitchen was well equipped and the chalet was clean and spacious. After spending almost a month in the confined space of the camper, it was a relief for all of us that the dogs could run free in the chalet and that Lisa had a bedroom to herself. While we were still settling in, Lisa uttered a loud scream. She said she had seen a spider, and that I had to come and take care of it. When I entered the bathroom, I could not belief my eyes. There were 2 gigantic spiders on the white walls. (size of a child's hand), I had never seen these spiders before and felt very uncomfortable approaching them. As it turned out, they were very quick and practically impossible to kill. After a broom, detergent spray and shoe fight, we managed to kill the 2 spiders. To our surprise, we found another 2 in the kitchen/lounge area, only one of which we managed to dispose off. I'm already not a fan of spiders, but these gigantic ones gave me a very uncomfortable feeling as I didn't know if there were more, if the spiders were harmful and if they run around on the walls during the night. As they crawled between the roof when we chased them, we had to make peace with sleeping in a chalet with spiders crawling on the wall at night.
As it turned out, the spiders were harmless ( confirmed by Susan and Pieter) and they would return every night when we switched on the interior lights. At a point we were somewhat getting used to seeing them, but the size of them is gave us the creeps every single time we saw them.
During our stay at Madikwena, we paid a visit to the Croc Inn ( a restaurant overlooking a lake with lots of crocs). Although the food was acceptable, it was not really as exceptional of a place as the website made it out to be.
A bigger attraction at the game farm, were the Nyala's who paid a daily visit to the lawn in front of the chalets, and the croc pond about 20 mins walk from the chalet (don't worry, the crocs are safely locked but you can really see them up close (within hand reach). There is a lot of game on the farm, but we only managed to see the Nyala's up close.
The caretakers had another little surprise in store for us. Their Jack Russel had 4 puppies and these little creatures were just too cute. In the end Lisa convinced me to take in 2 little ones (we named them Bullet (after Bullet for my Valentine) and Nyala (pronounced Nala, named after the chalet we were staying in). By the time we left we had 5 dogs and a cat joining our trip (although our lady Isabelle (our oldest dog) seemed to have a tough time. She had been under the weather for about 2 weeks already but seemed slowly to recover from it.
We set our noses towards Riverbend Guest Farm, about 50kms up the road from Madikwena but still in the Groot Marico region.
Enjoy every day as a gift of life!
Blobbing around South Africa
Blobbing around South Africa is the (real life) story of my journey with my teenage daughter(Lisa), the 2.5 year old boy in our care (Mosa) and our dogs and cat around the provinces of South Africa ,making use of campsites and lodges. As we travel around, we will also review the different campsites / lodges we stayed at and the activities which we have done. Last but not least, we report on our story and challenge of living in a limited space for a longer period of time.
We didnt know that
We spent a few weeks in Hennops Pride Camping site. Partly because we were still getting used to the new housing situation, partly because we still needed some things fixed on our awesome looking 80's look camper and for a big part because we still had some loose ends to tie up in Johannesburg. A lot of things need to be sorted when you sell your house and move.
At least we had a lot of time to discover the Hartebeespoort area, be it in a gigantic camper with restricted access to tourist attractions. We visited following attractions :
1. Jasmyn : just off the R511 on the way to Haretebeespoort. This coffee shop / fresh grocery store sells most things you will need to keep your physical engine running. Fresh vegetables (they are fresh but have a short preservation time), meat, spices, honey, cool drinks, snacks AND a whole Dutch/German section. That section features some food items common in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany region in Europe and for Belgians (yes, we still miss our native foods), this was really a "We didn't know that they had that here" moment. We just had to stock up on speculoos spread, ontbijtkoek and stroop waffles.
2. Bushbabies Sanctuary: On the other side of the Hartebeespoortdam and listed in the GPS. A truly wonderful experience to walk around rescued monkeys. I even had a mother and child sit on my shoulder throughout 15mins of our guided walk. The total tour takes about 1 hour and is really worth the money you spend. Great experience!!
3. Croc City : A small reptile/crocodile park, that features a small guided tour with opportunity to hold a snake and baby crocodile. Feeding times are on Sundays, so a planned visit is best on Sundays around 14h. Although small, the atmosphere is great and the food in the small restaurant is of good quality. One of the only places where you can eat crocodile meat, and I must say, the croc burger and the croc meat pizza are great. Best of all though is the crocodile cream which is for sale in the small shop upon entry of the property. This cream does wonders for the skin -- "We didn't know that"
4. Hartebeespoort cable way : A cable way up the hills surrounding the Hartebeespoortdam. Very slow ascent and descent, boring most of all and the reward on top of the Hartebeespoortdam hills was definitely NOT worth the money. NOT worth repeating and NOT recommended.
5. Vervet Monkeys and snakes : Wildlife is entertaining to say the least just outside Johannesburg and for mainly city folks like us, the daily visits of the stealing monkeys was definitely a highlight for 2.5 year old Mosa (he even had a one-on-one struggle with a monkey over a banana). Little did we know that there were even more dangerous visitors housing with us in the same campsite : puff adders, spitting cobras and even green mambas. We were lucky that the only encounter we had with them was the finding of their shedded skin. "We didn't know there were green mambas here"
All in all we enjoyed our stay at Hennops Pride Camping site.
After registering Lisa for her learners test in Langlaagte testing station (Gauteng) we went on to NORTH WEST PROVINCE!!!!!
At least we had a lot of time to discover the Hartebeespoort area, be it in a gigantic camper with restricted access to tourist attractions. We visited following attractions :
1. Jasmyn : just off the R511 on the way to Haretebeespoort. This coffee shop / fresh grocery store sells most things you will need to keep your physical engine running. Fresh vegetables (they are fresh but have a short preservation time), meat, spices, honey, cool drinks, snacks AND a whole Dutch/German section. That section features some food items common in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany region in Europe and for Belgians (yes, we still miss our native foods), this was really a "We didn't know that they had that here" moment. We just had to stock up on speculoos spread, ontbijtkoek and stroop waffles.
2. Bushbabies Sanctuary: On the other side of the Hartebeespoortdam and listed in the GPS. A truly wonderful experience to walk around rescued monkeys. I even had a mother and child sit on my shoulder throughout 15mins of our guided walk. The total tour takes about 1 hour and is really worth the money you spend. Great experience!!
3. Croc City : A small reptile/crocodile park, that features a small guided tour with opportunity to hold a snake and baby crocodile. Feeding times are on Sundays, so a planned visit is best on Sundays around 14h. Although small, the atmosphere is great and the food in the small restaurant is of good quality. One of the only places where you can eat crocodile meat, and I must say, the croc burger and the croc meat pizza are great. Best of all though is the crocodile cream which is for sale in the small shop upon entry of the property. This cream does wonders for the skin -- "We didn't know that"
4. Hartebeespoort cable way : A cable way up the hills surrounding the Hartebeespoortdam. Very slow ascent and descent, boring most of all and the reward on top of the Hartebeespoortdam hills was definitely NOT worth the money. NOT worth repeating and NOT recommended.
5. Vervet Monkeys and snakes : Wildlife is entertaining to say the least just outside Johannesburg and for mainly city folks like us, the daily visits of the stealing monkeys was definitely a highlight for 2.5 year old Mosa (he even had a one-on-one struggle with a monkey over a banana). Little did we know that there were even more dangerous visitors housing with us in the same campsite : puff adders, spitting cobras and even green mambas. We were lucky that the only encounter we had with them was the finding of their shedded skin. "We didn't know there were green mambas here"
All in all we enjoyed our stay at Hennops Pride Camping site.
After registering Lisa for her learners test in Langlaagte testing station (Gauteng) we went on to NORTH WEST PROVINCE!!!!!
How to adjust to a new situation
Once we arrived at the first camp site, I immediately experienced the challenge I was going to face throughout our travel; due to my fat and short-haired appearance, I was mistaken to be a man on our first day of arrival. Not that it bothers me, as I have been experiencing it since childhood, but it leads to a number of embarrassing situations for my daughter and for the person who mistakes me for the opposite sex.
My first on the road experience was when I wanted to use the ablution facilities for women in the camp site the evening we arrived. As it was a weekend, there were a lot of campers and one of them felt it their duty to point out to me that the facilities I was about to use was for women. As I acknowledged that I knew and happily walked on with my baby boy Mosa, he felt he had to point it out again, as he clearly thought I did not understand his remark. It took three remarks from his side and an equal amount of responses from my side before he understood that I was a woman and was using the correct facilities. Needless to say that Lisa had a very good laugh with it and till today refers to that situation.
Although I successfully tackled the challenge, it was just a prelude to the other mistakes of identity which I was going to go through in the months to come.
Second challenge we faced was the lack of a decent internet access seeing as we use an MTN mobile internet usb. Although the campsite was not far from civilisation, the internet was poor, which limited any activities I could do on the internet, one of which is an activity which I will use to generate an income while on the road.
On a positive note, the animals seemed to adjust very well and quickly to the new situation. The only dog who was still not easy to contain with people passing close to our park area, was Rammstein, who was the least socialized and most protective of them all. The other 2 dogs and the cat adjusted within the first day of camping.
Like I said before, one of my concerns during our trip is finance so Lisa has come up with an excellent way of making money. She buys some stuff on www.Tripleclicks.com and joins their Pricebender auctions. Throughout our trip we will keep you informed how we manage to make money out of Lisa's SFI and Tripleclicks membership and other activities I do to make extra money to support our travels.
Stay well and stay focused!!
My first on the road experience was when I wanted to use the ablution facilities for women in the camp site the evening we arrived. As it was a weekend, there were a lot of campers and one of them felt it their duty to point out to me that the facilities I was about to use was for women. As I acknowledged that I knew and happily walked on with my baby boy Mosa, he felt he had to point it out again, as he clearly thought I did not understand his remark. It took three remarks from his side and an equal amount of responses from my side before he understood that I was a woman and was using the correct facilities. Needless to say that Lisa had a very good laugh with it and till today refers to that situation.
Although I successfully tackled the challenge, it was just a prelude to the other mistakes of identity which I was going to go through in the months to come.
Second challenge we faced was the lack of a decent internet access seeing as we use an MTN mobile internet usb. Although the campsite was not far from civilisation, the internet was poor, which limited any activities I could do on the internet, one of which is an activity which I will use to generate an income while on the road.
On a positive note, the animals seemed to adjust very well and quickly to the new situation. The only dog who was still not easy to contain with people passing close to our park area, was Rammstein, who was the least socialized and most protective of them all. The other 2 dogs and the cat adjusted within the first day of camping.
Like I said before, one of my concerns during our trip is finance so Lisa has come up with an excellent way of making money. She buys some stuff on www.Tripleclicks.com and joins their Pricebender auctions. Throughout our trip we will keep you informed how we manage to make money out of Lisa's SFI and Tripleclicks membership and other activities I do to make extra money to support our travels.
Stay well and stay focused!!
In the beginning...
Our travel began on the 13th April 2013, when we physically left the house we lived in and owned for almost 8 years in Ridgeway, Johannesburg.
We finally managed to load all our belongings up in our dear camper (converted 1982 Toyota Dyna Truck) and made our way to our first campsite, Hennops Pride Camp site on the R511 towards Hartebeespoortdam, close to Pretoria.
Only a drive of about 70kms but enough for our first real travel with a fully loaded camper.
As we had gradually sold all our belongings since July 2012, mainly to cover the cost of living (like for food and electricity), we had a limited amount of possessions left which we had to fit in our camper but still the space seemed too small, with our 3 dogs (Batista, Rammstein, Isabelle) and our cat (Massacre) joining us.
During that short drive, our lives (Me, Lisa, Mosa, the 3 dogs and the cat) changed drastically. It took us almost 3 hours to make the small trip and during that time we felt a new found freedom and at the same time felt the realisation that our lives will never be the same. Our whole possessions would be carried with us wherever we would go. The benefit of course is that we couldn't forget anything, but the scary thought was that everything we owned would always be in public, on the road.
I never imagined that our first camp site would be such an eye opener and at the same time would be so much like a holiday. An eye opener in the sense that we finally realised that we were living on the road, almost like gypsies, and could never really call a place "Home" again; but at the same time we felt like the space, the whole country was our home and we would feel connected everywhere we would go.
The whole Hennops Pride Camp site experience was so wonderful that we decided to score the places where we stayed in a number of categories to end up with the top campsites/lodges/guest houses in the province / country which are affordable, pet friendly, child friendly , etc. The different criteria we'll still put on the blog and then we will keep a continuous score of our findings.
All in all, we would like to share our experiences with everyone interested in travelling the country and we would also like to inform everyone, especially with pets and small kids, about the best places to put on your map for your holidays.
We would also like to hear from everyone reading our escapades and answer any questions they could possibly have.
Keep well and Keep safe!!
We finally managed to load all our belongings up in our dear camper (converted 1982 Toyota Dyna Truck) and made our way to our first campsite, Hennops Pride Camp site on the R511 towards Hartebeespoortdam, close to Pretoria.
Only a drive of about 70kms but enough for our first real travel with a fully loaded camper.
As we had gradually sold all our belongings since July 2012, mainly to cover the cost of living (like for food and electricity), we had a limited amount of possessions left which we had to fit in our camper but still the space seemed too small, with our 3 dogs (Batista, Rammstein, Isabelle) and our cat (Massacre) joining us.
During that short drive, our lives (Me, Lisa, Mosa, the 3 dogs and the cat) changed drastically. It took us almost 3 hours to make the small trip and during that time we felt a new found freedom and at the same time felt the realisation that our lives will never be the same. Our whole possessions would be carried with us wherever we would go. The benefit of course is that we couldn't forget anything, but the scary thought was that everything we owned would always be in public, on the road.
I never imagined that our first camp site would be such an eye opener and at the same time would be so much like a holiday. An eye opener in the sense that we finally realised that we were living on the road, almost like gypsies, and could never really call a place "Home" again; but at the same time we felt like the space, the whole country was our home and we would feel connected everywhere we would go.
The whole Hennops Pride Camp site experience was so wonderful that we decided to score the places where we stayed in a number of categories to end up with the top campsites/lodges/guest houses in the province / country which are affordable, pet friendly, child friendly , etc. The different criteria we'll still put on the blog and then we will keep a continuous score of our findings.
All in all, we would like to share our experiences with everyone interested in travelling the country and we would also like to inform everyone, especially with pets and small kids, about the best places to put on your map for your holidays.
We would also like to hear from everyone reading our escapades and answer any questions they could possibly have.
Keep well and Keep safe!!
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