On the BRICS road for 10 days, packing up in Nieu Bethesda and heading to Port Elizabeth, I receive a WhatsApp from a friend in Johannesburg saying she had a dinner invitation for me at our next stop. The chicken potjie we'd had at The Karoo Lamb the night before was divine and as close to home-cooking as you can get, but the prospect of dinner at her "PE mom's home" would be a welcome treat. Indeed. The fact that it was a window into the home of Nelson Mandela Bay's former f

When South Africa won the bid to co-host the Square Kilometer Array project it was described as an achievement for the country and the continent as a whole. It is an international effort to build the world’s largest radio telescope, with its hub 80km outside Carnarvon in the Northern Cape. Members of the small Karoo town were understandably hesitant about the development of this project on their doorstep, but some are already reaping the rewards thereof. One of them is 15-yea

We bid farewell to Charl and Jennifer at breakfast. On Ernest’s recommendations, we drive down to the village to buy a picnic at Kuiervreugde, the local padstal/café/post office/gossip platform and head towards the main park gate, 17 kilometers further up a dirt track from Kamieskroon. We have been told this is a poor year for blossoms, owing to the enduring drought. Yet from the moment we enter the Namakwa National Park, we are blown away by the sheer amount of color that ca

The kids and I wake up leisurely but Leanne is already running through the hillsides surrounding Elands Bay and snatching photos of our picturesque lodge, Vensterklip, posing on the reedy shores of the Verloren vlei. We swallow a hearty breakfast and head on towards Pikanierskloof. Our route meanders lazily right along the Verloren vlei for miles. It’s a wide, shallow, swampy, reedy stream and its soft beauty offers a stunning contrast with the ruggedness of the mountains tha

We wake up to a gorgeous cloud-domed sky after a night of stormy rainfall. We heard the muffled sounds of raindrops pummeling the roof our warm little cottage throughout the night and felt quite relieved for the upgrade to Bos Huisie after the tinge of disappointment at missing out on the night in a reed hut. We head up the hill, across the West Coast highway for a hearty breakfast at the !Kwha ttu restaurant, run by the San community, just like the lodge, the camp, the museu

After a morning of frantic last-minute packing, we finally load the boot of the Subaru Outback with our luggage under a torrential downpour and lock the front door of our Mowbray house around 13h00. Earlier in the morning, our future tenants, Tobias and Claire, who will move in next week, came to pick up Flash, our beloved dog. He will remain in their care during our trip. There were some teary goodbyes but both Guy and Max feel reassured that with Phoebe, Tobias and Claire’s

We've had a couple of farewells before (to say the least), which always included lots of dancing, late nights and the hangover that goes with it the next day. Those were fun, don't get me wrong, but also didn't allow for any meaningful conversation with our nearest and dearest. This time, with two kids in tow and lots still to do before we leave, we decided to have an open house from 9 in the morning, until 9 at night, on a Sunday. Guests were encouraged to come at breakfast