Travelogue days 3 through 5

I've been lazy, right, but that's what holidays are for, and you'll forgive me if I give you three days in one instead of three separate logs I'm sure.
Day 3 - Wednesday, dawned wet, like most of the week. I decided to head out to Mokopone (Potgietersrus), via Mookgophong (Naboomspruit) and decided to take the back road. Of course it's not the straight route it looks on the map, and I decided to take the sand road through. This took roughly an hour and a half (75kms), of very slippery mud roads, which the Mini and I both enjoyed, barring one or two near misses (potholes mainly but one section where the road falls off unexpectedly was a little, erm, hair-raising. ;))
By the time I made it to Mookgopong it was way later than I expected (I had only bothered to get up at around midday, holiday mode again I'm afraid), so I had a look around, decided its ugly, flat and busy like most of the towns around here, and went home.
The scenic route is very scenic (from Vaalwater take the R518 to Melkrivier and hit a right at the t-junction), and as most of the properties there are game farms, you get to see quite a bit of wildlife too, if you drive slowly enough. ;)

Day 4 - Thursday
Day 4 is pretty much why I've not been as, erm, dedicated about updating this as I intended. Not that anything much happened, but that's rather the point. It dawned rainy, and a public holiday, and let's face it not much happens in this part of the world on a public holiday, so I figured the only sane thing to do was stay in bed.
I eventually got up once the sun made an appearance, sat outside long enough to get burnt knees (about 20 minutes) and then retired back inside with a book. Two afternoon swims rounded off the day quite nicely. And that was that.

Day 5 - Friday
Friday I headed out from Vaalwater to new digs in Louis Trichardt, which turned out to be a disaster but I'm getting ahead of myself.
I had to be out of my shed by 10am so it was a bright and early start (as I'd had three hours sleep every night this week it wasn't either but you get the idea), and I headed back down the R33 to the R101 (not keen to repeat the dirt road incident, it was fun but took too long), and headed for Mokopone. My plan was to visit the Arend Dieperink Museum, stop for lunch and then head onwards. And a good plan it was, barring the absence of anything but chain store restaurants in the town (I ate at O'Hagans, which actually makes salad these days, much to my surprise).
The Museum is a wonder. It has a tractor collection that skrik vir niks, as well as all manner of farm implements, wagons and stuff, all over the place. It has to be seen to be believed. Inside are replica rooms detailing this history of the people in the area and how they managed on a day to day basis - everything from how to load a musket to making butter is explained. It's a bit disorganised but absolutely fascinating.
Museum done I headed for Louis Trichardt, which is horrible. The N1 up that way is horrible (busses, taxis and bad drivers abound), the town is horrible, chaotic, and unfriendly.
My accomodation was friendly enough, and beautiful, just very remote, and lacking in cellphone reception. And while I have no objection to being at the bottom of a gorge, a few metres from the river and railway that pass through, when I'm on my own, in a tiny hut which is stifling and airless, things get a bit, unpleasant.
I spent an anxious and uneasy night, alternately feeling claustrophobic (with the door shut) or antsy (with the door open) and way too hot either way. I got up early (sun woke me at 5), packed, had a nice shower in the outdoor shower after managing to get a fire going under the donkey (was very proud of that little accomplishment), and headed back to more civilised climes (ie, away from Louis Trichardt).
Happily my accomodation for Sunday onwards could take me from today, so I headed back down to Polokwane, hit a left to Tzaneen and got to Haenertsburg a short while later.
It's gorgeous. More on just how gorgeous tomorrow.

Travelogue Day 2: Vaalwater, Ellisras/Lephalale, Marken and Melkrivier

Day two dawned rainy, and getting out of bed nearly didn't happen, but I forced myself. There's not much around Vaalwater (it's main function seems to be as a last bastion of banking/shopping/medical facilities en route to Botswana), except tiny towns, or empty crossroads that are allegedly towns (this may be bad map-reading on my part though, I did manage to get lost pretty much every day so far (yes, all two of them)).
Off I set, determined to check out the touristy side of Vaalwater, which took about 30 minutes. The cottages I'm staying at form part of a larger centre (Zeederbergs Centre) which includes a Spar, an ordentlike bush clothing store (featuring all the name brands), Kagomotso, which sells beautiful goods made by local women, the Bush Cafe and the Black Mamba. All three are delightful and well worth a visit. The Bush Cafe features a menu that doesn't have a burger or chips in sight and has more than two salads. The decor is reminiscent of Kitsch and Kool - slightly zany and very welcoming, and the Cafe houses a small collection of second hand books and an Internet cafe too.
The Black Mamba sells a wide variety of African crafts from across the continent. Pricing varies from 'nice little souvenirs' to 'OMG, you want to charge what?'. That said, there are some funky and interesting items, and it's worth visiting if only for a look.
My plan was to head from Zeederbergs Centre up the R518 to Melkrivier, and stop to visit St John the Baptist's Community Church (it's a Sir Herbert Baker), and then Eventieria, for some game viewing. Of course I decided to use the rather vague map in the Limpopo Tourism mag, which seemed to indicate R518 starts opposite Zeederbergs Centre. It doesn't. The R33 to Ellisras/Lephalale does. Something I discovered a way down the road. Oh well - the point of a roadtrip is to roadtrip, so I took the long way round, through Ellisras (depressing), Marken (that would be the crossroads that allegedly has a town), and on to Melkrivier (I saw the general dealer and sign for a school but not habitation to speak of. The school is apparently now a Waterberg and Rhino museum. It's not marked as such.). The countryside is beautiful, even on a rainy day, and my two hour detour was pleasantly peaceful.
Eventieria, when I found it, wasn't worth the effort. The service isn't so much crap as non-existent. No-one seemed interested in the prospect of a paying customer (not even the lion cub curled up under one of the restaurant tables), so I left.
St John the Baptist's Community Church is 8km down a very dodgy dirt road (the Mini and I had fun sliding all over the place and getting, erm, very dirty...). The church was designed by Sir Herbert Baker and built using local stone. It's very small, and very beautiful. A smattering of graves reside in the churchyard, which also houses a larger hall (made of the same stone), which I assume is used for services today, given the size of the old church, you probably couldn't fit more than 20-odd people inside it.
Church visited, I headed back home for a cold beer, and some much needed RandR. Now to plan today's expedition. Later peeps.

Travelogue: Day 1 Johannesburg to Vaalwater

The choice of what to do over the summer holidays is always an important one. Working the way I do I only get to take real time off in December, which is when the rest of the country takes leave too. I really don't care to spend holidays surrounded by screaming kids and harassed parents (love you all madly though I do), but I do need to get away, out of Johannesburg, and physically removed from my Real Life (TM).
This year I decided to take nine days and go see if I could find my soul in Limpopo. The last five years have involved marriage, divorce, two operations for cervical cancer (I'm clear now, thank the gods), the death of my father and then step-father, and my deciding that juggling work and a Master's degree was a Good Idea (TM). Needless to say, I'm shattered, and currently comprised of stress, anxiety and not much else.
Day 1, Getting Out of Johannesburg (it needs the caps):
Naturally it took three times longer than I thought it would to pack, plot my route, find out exactly where I was going, and get myself out of the house and on the road. Heading north on the N1 on a very rainy day felt like it was something happening to someone else. It dawned on me about an hour in that I was firstly, not actually paying attention to what I was doing, and, secondly, that I was way too tired to be doing this and should have stayed in bed. Oh well, we pressed on.
Bela Bela is a short hop from Johannesburg (80kms out of Pretoria), but turning off the N1, getting unreasonably annoyed at the complete lack of driving ability of the locals made me feel that I was at least sort of on holiday.
Petrol, lunch and check of the guidebook later and I was on the (back road) to Modimolle (previously known as Nylstroom) is a very short trip from Bela Bela (around 30kms) on the R101, which is a picturesque and winding road featuring an abundance of roadside stalls, the Thaba Kwena Croc farm and way too many 'Lifestyle Estates' ready to take your cash in return for a fantasy.
There's a lot of history around Modimolle (particularly of the Boer War variety), the only thing that caught my eye was the 'Youth Centre of Excellence', on the outskirts of town on the Vaalwater road. Judging by the quantity of fences, high-powered spotlights and barbed wire these youngsters must be excellent at escaping, if nothing else.
Back on the road and the 60km to Vaalwater went past pretty quickly. The terrain gives way from flat to hilly as you get into the Waterberg, and the number of locals with aggressive driving habits that would make a Jo'burger proud increases, but otherwise it's miles and miles of farmland.
About an hour later (I was taking in the scenery) and I found Vaalwater (not much to recommend that main drag), the Spar (groceries ftw) and Zeederberg's Cottages.
I'm staying in a shed, which is actually gorgeous, 'large, scary things that go bump in the night on the roof' notwithstanding.
Arriving late afternoon yesterday as I did, I didn't do much beyond unpack, look around (I plan to explore the swimming pool in greater detail later) and flop into a chair with a book and beer. I'll hit the sights later today (all three of them ;)). Happily it's overcast again, which should make driving around way more fun than it is in 30 degree heat.
Things to do today: Swim, check out the Bush Stop Cafe (second hand books) St John's Church and Beadle.
Later peeps...

Of younger men

It's inevitable, really, that as you get older you start finding the younger of the species more attractive.
Let's face it - men may pretend they get distinguished with age, but there is nothing romantic about nose or ear hair, or sagging bellies, or wrinkles, for that matter.
Not that I'm advocating you select a partner purely on the basis of looks, or age, but initial attraction is - well - attraction, right? And so, as time goes by, I've found myself increasingly attracted to younger men. Some days I think I should be locked up - some of the things I think about the 20-somethings walking by cannot be legal. ;-) And I'm way too young to be a dirty old woman, or a cougar, before you get any ideas.
Finding suitable partners once you've hit the over-30 mark becomes increasingly problematic. Attraction factors notwithstanding, anyone still single is likely to have issues (really - if you're 35 and no-one has wanted to marry you yet the rest of us are going to start wondering), and the divorced crew usually have baggage in the form of ex-wives or children or both and frequently bad attitudes too.
Can you blame us then for looking to fresher flesh, erm, sorry, let me rephrase that - younger potential partners with less baggage, fewer issues and (yes, I generalise but bear with me here) better attitudes to women? No offense guys, but a lot of my generation have some serious attitude problems when it comes to the fairer sex, and younger generations seem more respectful. My experience etc etc usual disclaimer applies.
Anyhow - there was a point, but I forget. I guess it just fascinates me how something you once found unacceptable (why would I want to date a kid?) becomes normal. And there just isn't anything like those long summer days, and beach boys in baggies, and...