Jhb to Sterkfontein Dam

bright-eyed & bushy-tailed

Tsonga meets a monkey

[Sarita]

It was quite a surprise to realise that we had already been in Kuruman for 12 days before we started getting itchy feet again; geez time flies swiftly there as one day flows so easily into another! We decided to make a dash for Joburg in one long haul…

Fallow deer - Kuruman

Oh my hat! The N14 is a hectic skinny long road with ‘stop & go’ road works most of the way, even forced to a detour that was surely fit for 4x4s, which took us down to Carletonville.  Needless to say with all the road works we started losing time and it became inevitable that we were going to arrive at the new site in the dark,… again! LOL

Driving Miss Peppa

Potholes of note!

The last hour of the journey was so hairy – potholes everywhere!  There we were in the dark with peak traffic pushing our asses – it’s been a while since we drove these roads so we put our trust in ‘Garmin’ and the stupid bitch led us onto some old back road!

Eventually we pulled in to Hennops Pride and cold does not describe the air blowing right through my body to every internal organ and ultimately freezing my bones. That was nothing compared with what was to come! Rain, Wind, Hail !!!

at Hennops

The cool thing about arriving at camp sites in the dark is the next morning you are presented with so much more than you expected, especially if you’ve chosen a shitty spot & you gotta move! Seriously though it does have a certain charm to it camping out right on the river’s edge and fishing, although not catching anything. Hanging out at Hennops for a couple of days gave us the opportunity to meet up with some family members and see our very dear friends and make some new friends. A fabulous time was had which went well with a bottle of ‘chocolate russians’.

First drink 1/3 of a bottle of good quality vodka, then chop up at least 400g of Diary Milk chocolate and put into bottle as best you can without eating the chocolate. You should then put the bottle near the fire to melt the concoction to a thick silky smooth yummy nectar and drink with friends.  Soon you will develop a Russian accent!

the view at hennops

Seeing our dearest friends Colin & Avril, as always was brilliant –' we love you guys, stay strong and we believe in you our friends'.  Erin looks so awesome with her shorter haircut, thanks Av! Erin got so excited at seeing such a hectic hail storm, it was a joy to see her enthusiasm.  We haven’t seen so much hail in ages, ‘not something you see around Cape Town bro’.

Erika, Sarita, Erin & Andrew

Thank you so much Erika for the opportunity to clean up and sleep in a bed (in a house) for a couple of nights and even catch up on some washing ... priceless!

We decided to start heading south and marked our 1^st stop for Sterkfontein Dam and will give Mpumalanga, Limpopo and Kruger Park a proper chance next year.  As it turned out today was a super day, everything just fell into place and went smoothly. 

Even the cats are getting the hang of it and settling down quickly for the drive.  I’m so amazed at how well they have adapted to this change in their lifestyle. So after sleeping for the better part of 5 years they have awoken and developed a personality. Amazing! 

Sterkfontein Dam

Snow-covered Mountains Harrismith

So we’ll hang out here with the

dam and the snow-covered

mountains in the distance

for company.

It shouldn’t be that difficult even though it feels below zero – it probably is!!! The view is pretty wow and this will be our spot for a bit, or at least until Sunday.