the waterburg

moosa and arshad.
moosa had to put you here, wonderful to see you again....i suppose we are family now as a result of this wonderful match...sorry bout the camera angle...next time.


the happy couple


the wedding face..natasha and i


relaxing by the damn...sunday morning face


boy fishing at a watering hole


sunset over the mountain


ashantha and i...relaxed and happy


gorgeous waterburg


view from the veranda

last weekend was spent at the waterburg, another piece of heaven in this country. good company,good food,sure brings out the best in me.
to end a great weekend,..yep you have guest in another post wedding function.
after a gorgeous drive back from bela bela (formally known as warmbaths, can't figure out the reason for this name change but there you have it). as a young girl we spent many a summer holiday in warmbaths, where my maternal family have made their home and run a thriving business. i just remember the green segregated swimming pools ...Indians here, whites there. and of course we were not allowed to the warm spa's, from which the place derives it's name.
everything in life then was proscribed by the colour of one's skin and ethnic origin, all the best holiday spots were kept for those of paler hue.

this is where i learnt to swim,..my dad grabbed me and threw me into the deep end of the pool, with the words "swim". blubbering, spluttering, and barely able to find my balance, swim i did. all dressed up in my navy bather, with it's white frilly skirt. those were the good old days,...thanks to democracy, as an adult i was able to enjoy a magical weekend at the tilodi wilderness reserve.
a privately run game farm in the waterburg, just outside bela bela.
though we did not see any real game, the setting and tranquility of the area, was unsurpassed.

kudos to the staff, who were hospitable, always obliging and made our stay magical.my cousin yasmin finally said adieu to the last of her flock, all of 21 i believe, who got married on Sunday.
loosing the weekend laid back me, i donned the glad rags and was off to enjoy chicken and beef, much rather have been on a flight somewhere else. with the steward shouting, chicken or beef.

i have now to finally voice my beef, with these family shindigs, the "pahad's" always get a special table allocated to them, but then it's the select few, now ex public servants. what i would like to know have the rest of the pahad's suddenly metamorphosed into untouchable beings, relegated to the back benches, because we never held public office, or were close enough to lick the presidents ass.

do people not realise that it is totally rude, and socially unacceptable, to separate family along these lines, just as in "animal farm", there are some pigs who are more equal than others. quite frankly i cannot for the life of me think what might make them more special than me,.....and those hosting these shindigs are stupid enough to throw it in your face, then they wonder why we rarely accept invitations. guys you have got to learn, it is preferable not to invite guests, then to make them feel, like they are the afterthought, the politically correct invitees.

still i smiled, ate drank and made merry, the beautiful couple are only deserving of happiness and good wishes, in this instance, it was heartwarming to see the joining of families, who have known and respected each other for decades, finally there is a wedding joining them....good wishes to you both,...may you live long and prosper.may i not have to do glad rags for a good couple of months :)

my mid week break

friday afternoon,...back home city skyline in the distance


azad at the poolside


enjoying the pool, hazeyview


this is for the indian parks board, ranthambore national park,..is an embarrasment,...no facilities, this is the loo at mac,mac falls...it is clean.


my boys at mac mac falls


mac mac falls


mac mac falls, the mist rolling in


view from the chalet door as the mist rolled in


moth in our chalet,...hazeyview


natural beauty of the park


crocodile sunning himself


family bonding


hippo grazing near a watering hole


camouflaged by the indigenous grasses and the accacia trees


2nd of the big 5...buffalo


water buck


his majesty, the african elephant


first sighting in the park...zebra's


paul kruger, at the entrance to the kruger national park
how long this remains, is yet to be seen


through the mountain pass, zasm...in the distance portable loo being delivered somewhere


the highlands, reaching mpumalanga


azad, diving for arshads milk shake the first pit stop


the long and winding road


through the car window...gold mine dumps, as we drive out of jhb

i am once again, thoroughly in love with this beautiful country, despite our political agro,...and the things i lament about constantly, crime, bureaucracy,stupidity, God has truly created a piece of paradise in this land, my fervant wish is that we have the brains and will to keep it beautiful for all time.

i took azad on his first vacation without mum and dad, well really four days, the country side was magical and the kruger national park was a sight to see, we travelled to hazey view in mpumalanga, a five hour drive from johannesburg, the little guy was a champion traveller, he will be learning to swim before he speaks, he loved the swimming pool, so this aunt is determined, to see the little skinny one floating about on his own.

my highlight was the weekend spent in umdloti, i have posted pics before, it was truly a sublime, rose tinted ending to a relaxed and lovely week, i am know wondering, why i did not do this before. walks on the beach,swimming in the warm indian ocean,....sharing home cooked meals with someone special,.....mmmmm. it was magical and i loved it all. being the commitment phobe that i am,...i am truly surprised by the spontaneity of a weekend at the sea, it was indulgent and fun, and surely a must do again, scenario.

with all that in mind, hope you enjoy the pictures of my beloved country, green,lush and verdant, the summer rains, have created a magical beauty out of the highlands.

vacation talk

hungry neighbour looking for some fruit to snatch. the tree in our back yard.


vendor at the verulum market


verulum market


fisherman at low tide


umdloti beach


view to the south

just returned from a week in umdloti beach, it was so great to be chilled out and not have to deal with the office. long walks everyday, and tropical weather is a panacea for big city stress.

we opted to drive down and it was wonderful, the valleys and mountains sun kissed alive in winter's golden hues, majestic and wild,the vivid colours of the lion that roamed the plains,spread out as far as the eye could see. as always i just didn't take the time out for pictures.

i believe that the drive from gauteng to natal is one of the most scenic drives in the country, it rivals the splendour of the cape, for my money natal is the favoured destination, not being overtaken by foreign capital and people it retains its warmth and africanness, if i can say that. i would someday like to do the midlands meander, from trout fishing to horseback riding, the area offers so much. there are new bed and breakfasts that have opened along the route, some fine restaurants, where home made jams and pickles can be purchased, as well as some of the finest arts and crafts available, soos hulle se, local is lekker. this really rings true for natal and it's surrounds.

umdloti was all peace and quite, since we arrived out of the holiday season, just the way i like it, august is not really the month to visit, as it is windy, and winter fights to retain it's place, even that didn't deter the few holiday makers out on the beach, when i say winter the weather was a balmy 18-24 degrees Celsius, a light cardigan was all we needed, and the walks on the beach have a different flavour without a hot african sun, turning you to toast.the fisherman were not deterred and i got a good shot of someone fishing just outside our place. the tides were seriously low this week, for the first time since i've been taking trips to umdloti, the tidal pool had practically been empty of water at low tide, one could walk across the sand to the rocks that held the sea back, creating a huge swimming pool of the sea.

umdloti also saw the opening of a new restaurant, i love the name,.. " BEACH BUG BAHIA" should have asked what it meant, it's in a great spot, just outside the tidal pool, great sea views, and the food was not bad, i found the ambiance to be fresh and perfect, great for cocktails and lunches, the starters were good, smoked samon and asparagus, lamb with lentils, brinjal wraps, peri peri prawns etc, the mains were not that great, i found the fish overcooked, surprisingly i think i had better fish in johannesburg, which is 600 kilometres inland, on the whole, it has become one of durbans favourite eateries,... and it was a great timeout on a sunday afternoon.
our company were a fun bunch to,....it was then i thought had it not been so close to ramadaan, a couple of g&t's would have gone down well, the atmosphere just begs sipping on cold alcoholic beverages, in this case virgin coktails,...lol.we will definitely be frequenting the beach bug again, lets hope it has longevity, in this country fun places open and close quite rapidly, people constantly feel the need to move on to newer more trendy spots, fast food entertainment, not something i am really keen on, i prefer to have things last, to be familiar and comfortable in places....so beach bug here's to many years.

i ventured out of umdloti as well, into verulum, the indian part of town, it smelled and felt a bit like bombay, in a good way mind you,...i loved the vegetable market which is open on a tuesday, thursday and saturday, from 5am until 1pm.the place was welcoming, the prices were mind blowing, we went in on thursday morning,( just a day before the hindu religious holiday, excuse my ignorance, but i believe it might have been raksha bandan, the day sisters give tokens of love and respect to brothers,)
and were told "why don't ya'll come on saturday" prices will be muuch cheepar"
whispering to my mother how much cheeper, this is really the best value i have ever encountered. being from johannesburg where everything costs more, i thought christmas had come early, to give you an idea.
tomatoes were four rands a kilo, in johannesburg, probably nine rand a kilo.
ginger ten rands a kilo. as opposed to forty five rand at the local grocer.
the veggies were fresh, and smelled like heaven, the smell of freshly picked limbri (curry leaves) filled the air, and every stall we stopped had vendors with smiling faces, and something happy to say, that is the way to shop, i managed some pictures here, and automatically, looked like a tourist, yet the prices didn't go up.... this is a market i would recommend, as a must for any visitor to the north coast, we didn't quite make it to the fish market, hopefully on the next trip, freshly caught line fish, should be a treat.

further up the coast is ballito, the drive is scenic, their open air mall is a treat as opposed to the airconditioned city malls, good food places too, so another spot to visit if the north coast is your holiday destination.

this sounds like a travelogue, suffice to say i had a really relaxed time, and driving along the coast is really the best way to see natal, i would highly recommend this as a holiday destination, with fair warning as arshad is fond of saying " keep one hand on your balls and the other on your wallet and you should be fine".....happy travelling

durban

view of the drakensberg, from bergview one stop

THE VIEW FROM BEHIND THE WHEEL, NAUGHTY I KNOW


THE DRAKENSBURG, FROM OUR PIT STOP

RAIN CLOUDS OVER HARRISMITH

NORTH BEACH ROAD



UMDLOTI BEACH

ARSHAD ENJOYING HIS BIRTHDAY CIGAR
what i thought might be a relaxed couple of days on the coast became, more work than play, who am i to complain,any work related activity with a sea view,beats the office 9-5 hands down.flying to durban, is a lot quicker but not as beautiful as the drive, it was grey and humid all week,so not the ideal beach weather, for my money though the tropical climes of natal, far out ways, the picturesque views and gale force winds of the cape.

the hills were awash in the sharpest greens, rolling sugar cane lands, have made way for new malls and condo's,...much of the beautiful coastline still survives though. our family, think we are crazy, to love the quietness of umdloti beach on the north coast but our little sleepy hollow, has made way for larger buildings, more people, the price of development,the seas were rough, menacing grey skies, turning the otherwise blue waters, an angry grey, a surf not for the feint hearted...but i loved my only walk on the beach, this week.

the drive home began at six this morning, it was a little slice of heaven, 6 hours behind the wheel, we left with a slight drizzle trailing us all the way to pitermaritzburg, the valley was shrouded in a fog, hiding the unbelievable, views, the mist starting to rise on the road as we drove through, the midlands, and on to harrIsmith, my only gripe this drive, is the 100-80 km zones, my lead foot was starting to fall asleep at that ridiculous speed,so the pit stop was a welcome sight, where i could down a coke, with enough caffeine and sugar, to energise me for the last homeward stretch. parts of the drakensburg, range, stretching around us, with a cool morning breeze, was just the ticket. the summer rains, have cleaned the world, and made everything rich and green, a beautiful thing to see.above are some of the pics, i managed to get.