As I've probably mentioned in previous posts, we have made some incredible friends since we have been here including coworkers. One of the families/couples we have grown close to is Louise and Stephen who have two older sons and a daughter, Alice. Louise works with Kellie and Kevin at the Hillcrest AIDS Center and is always graciously having us over for dinner and Sunday lunches. Louise's family also owns a farm in the Underberg area which is about a 3 hour drive from our house. A couple weekends ago Louise and Stephen invited us to the farm and it was a blast. We got there around 7pm on Friday night and met Louise's aunt and uncle, Lynn and Stigg, where were supper nice and happy to have us. We chatted for a bit and then had a delicious dinner of mince and venison lasagna with salad and bread which all came from their farm and was amazing. After dinner, Stephen drove us to our cabin where we stayed which was right on the dam. The drive was only about 10 minutes in the dark but on the way we saw a dika, some cattle, and a huge, crazy flock of sheep that were standing right in the middle of the road while we were trying to go by. Stephen was an excellent driver and was able to maneuver his way around them without hitting them but we can very close at times! The flock finally moved a way but then ran next to the car as we drove away. Needless to say, it was quite the adventure just to get to the cottage.
The cottage we were staying at was small and adorable with no electricity and water that was heated up by a fire stove and donkey at the back of the house. There were two bedrooms downstairs and a loft upstairs. It was a beautiful view to wake up to the dam on Saturday morning and I was able walk around, explore the boat house and see 4 donkeys close by. On our way back to the main house, we stopped to look at blue crane and crown cranes which hadn't been on the farm for over 50 years!! At the house we worked on an African puzzle which took forever and was really hard until lunch which was another delicious meal. Stigg, Steve, Kellie, and Kevin went to a local bar to watch the Sharks rugby match while I stayed back to work on the puzzle. Lynn suggested we go for a walk so we went for a walk around a small part of the 3,000 acre beautiful farm. It was so nice to hear stories from Lynn about how they got the farm, the trees that Stigg's grandfather all planted years ago, and how Louise loved to go there when she was a little girl. I found a porcupine quill on the walk which I brought home with me. Since we had such a big lunch we had really good bread dipped in pesto, roasted peppers, sun dried tomatoes, and olive oil with an Egyptian spice mix that Lynn made. Everything was delicious of course. After dinner we chatted for a little bit and then I drove Stigg's car back to the cabin. We had a small run in with the sheep but I hooted and they moved out of the way pretty quickly. It was eerie to see the darkness of the dam/farm at night but it was a cool drive. We played a couple rounds of taboo and sat by the fire before going to bed.
Sunday we got up and went to see ancient bush paintings that were in caves on top of a hill on their farm. We started walking towards the hill but then Steve and Stigg came with the bakkie (pick up truck) and gave us a ride all the way up the hills and mountains which would of been a nice hike if the weather was better. The paintings were really cool and Stigg thinks they have been their for over 200 years. When we were up in the caves, we saw a bearded eagle which was a rare sighting. Then when we were walking back to the bakkie, it started to rain and we got stuck in a downpour and got soaked when we were standing in the truck. When we got back, we changed, went to the main house for lunch, and then drove home. It was a great relaxing weekend on a beautiful farm with lovely people. I will try to post pictures soon!
South African Fact: Recently, South Africa redesigned their currency which now has brighter colors and Nelson Mandela on all of them.
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