Navigating our 7th Decade
The Midlands Meander in The KwaZulu-Natal Midlands is a great place to spend a lazy weekend unwinding from the pressures of modern life. Or in our case, recovering from the heart stopping, gut wrenching quarter and semi final wins by the Boks at the 2023 Rugby World Cup! Of course, if you are looking for physical activities, there’s plenty of that available as well! But we were erring towards the …
We love doing road trips. The freedom of the road, the ability to change plans in a heartbeat, visiting interesting places and meeting different people are all part of the attraction. Of course, sometimes things don’t always go according to plan! South Island Road Trip We were in New Zealand for the summer of 22/23. Summer in New Zealand is supposed to be warm and dry. The summer we got …
The best place to see leopard in South Africa is in a game reserve. Although leopard can be found outside game reserves throughout South Africa, they are shy animals that try to avoid humans and areas where there is human activity. Leopard sightings in the Kruger Park (and many other game parks) are not unusual, and that’s one of the best places to go to see leopard. On our latest …
The Hamilton Botanical Gardens in New Zealand The Botanical Gardens in Hamilton are situated on the banks of the Waikato River as it runs through the east part of the city. Run by the city council, this 54 hectare park offers a range of gardens and open lawns to enjoy. We visited the gardens several times during our stay in New Zealand. Sometimes we strolled through the various gardens, sometimes …
When we are at home in the KZN Midlands, we often pop down to the coast for a few days. Ballito is a favourite hang-out because we love walking the Ballito boardwalk, which runs along the Ballito beach front. This partly wood, partly concrete walkway lies just above the beach. It is thus in front of all the apartment buildings, so your view of the various beaches and the mighty …
Soncino is an ancient walled village about 35km north west of Cremona. We visited it in early October 2022 during the festival that celebrates the ancient tradition of moving cattle from the Alps to lower lying areas for the winter. This ancient practice is known as Transhumance, and you can read more about it here. We had previously encountered this practice in a very different setting . You can read …
Road Trip with a Difference After over-nighting at Augrabies Falls, we headed for Vioolsdrif on the Namibian border and went paddling down the Orange River for 3 days. Then we hit the road. Vioolsdrif to Sendlingsdrif via the Helskloof pass and Nababeep Reserve. Our destination. The Richtersveld National Park. The Nababeep Nature Reserve and Helskloof Pass Heading out from The Orange River Rafting Lodge situated on the South African side …
Cremona is a city in the Lombardia region of Northern Italy, situated about a 100km dash down the A1 SE of Milan. It’s not one of the first places that comes to mind when you think of visiting Italy. We had never heard of the place until we hosted an Italian Rotary Exchange Student who happened to come from Cremona. And thus we were introduced to Cremonesi life! We were fascinated …
This year we joined the mass movement of Kiwi Baby Boomers moving south. To be fair, lots of them also crisscross the North Island, but that’s another story. Every year, like clockwork, a remarkable phenomenon occurs in New Zealand’s South Island. When the school kids head back to school and life returns to normal, but summer is still a thing, that’s when the Grey Wave becomes self evident! We noticed …
So this is the second in the series of notable haircut experiences I have had while on our travels. I plan to add to the series as we go along…..even though the amount of hair to cut is disappearing fast!! It should be noted that these haircuts do not require high tech tools or an abundance of hair cutting talent. This is because, sadly but inevitably, there is not that …