FEATURES & COMPETITIONS Archives

FIREFLIES AND FORESTS

by Inge Triegaardt Close to the well-known Kurland, situated in The Craggs, an escape with fireflies and fairies await. Turning off the Nature’s Valley Road, you are greeted by a laid-back setup with a feeling mixed between backpackers and glamping. Firefly Falls is a relaxed accommodation option close to Plettenberg Bay. If you are looking for a bit of a glamping spoil without breaking the bank, then this is your kind of place. At R690-R890 per night, the luxury glamping tents, like Dusky Flycatcher, is reasonably priced. You can sleep in the comfort of a warm bed, with electric blankets for winter time and a fan for summer. The luxury glamping tent is not equipped with it’s own bathroom, but you have options when it comes to ablutions. You can have a bath in the forest, in the Forest Bathroom or you can choose to shower with the fairies in… Read more >

SCHREINER: KAROO WRITERS FESTIVAL

by Inge Triegaardt Earlier this month we were invited to a festival that would normally be frowned upon in our household. Why? Well, I honestly do not have an answer for you. Maybe because we don’t see ourselves as being on a high enough level (whatever level that is) or we simply would not want to attend, because reading books for a couple of days and listening to people reading books is straight out boring! Oh how wrong could we be! This is the perfect place to be in the middle of winter, all snuggled up in an old Victorian Hotel in the middle of the Karoo, with winter woolies and fires crackling in the background. Yes, we braved the cold and headed to the Karoo town of Cradock for the weekend of 17-21 June to attend the Schreiner: Karoo Writers Festival. Upon arrival we soon bumped into the likes… Read more >

A KAROO FARMHOUSE WITH THE PERFECT LOCATION

by Inge Triegaardt If you ever find yourself daydreaming about the beautiful Karoo Landscapes, the bare mountain ridges (sometimes capped with snow), the warmth of a fire in the winter or the cool shade of the big ‘stoep’ around a homely Karoo cottage, dream no further. Snap out of it, NOW!! Pack your bags and hit the road, we will meet you at our favourite Karoo Farmhouse. It is situated at the foot of the majestic Towerkop Mountains a mere 15km from Ladismith on the famous Route 62 that dissect the Klein Karoo. In the fertile Dwarsriver Valley where the most sophisticated wines are being developed from lush green vineyards, Arusio Farmhouse @ Towerkop awaits you. Driving on a well maintained gravel road, admiring the beautiful views, you might think that you have left the Karoo landscape behind when you turned off the R62. Here you will soon switch your… Read more >

UITSPAN TYD BY UITSPAN

Dit is een van baie lekker kampplekke in die Baviaanskloof en hier doen ‘n mens net wat die naam sê – uitspan! Omdat ons by die see woon vermy ons gewoonlik die malligheid van ‘n Desember vakansie by die see en kies eerder koers binneland toe. Karoo toe. En waar meer kry jy Karoo as in die Baviaanskloof? Hier is dit boeklees-tyd, koffie-tyd, gesels-tyd en vriende maak-tyd weg van tegnologie en die gewoel van die stad. Die staanplekke is met groot sorg uitgelê sodat elkeen ‘n koelte kolletjie het, wat belangrik is in die somer, maar tog nie so ingedruk dat jy oor mekaar kamp nie. Dit is nogal iets wat vir ons baie punte tel. Hier is oorgenoeg om te doen, as jy iets wil doen! Jy word begroet met ‘n blouste blou plaasdam swembad met ‘n groen grassie wat sorgvuldig elke dag nat gemaak word en waar die… Read more >

FUEL YOUR TRIP WITH H20

by Inge Triegaardt We have planned, packed and repacked our trips and vehicles hundreds of times on our journeys before. Like we plan on how and where we would refuel and fill the jerrycans with the necessary fuel to keep our vehicles going, we have done the same with our water. When traveling in deep dark Africa, or even just in a remote location in our own country, it cannot be stressed enough that you should have a decent supply of water. When taking an over landing trip, we will typically have about 50L of water with us at any given time. When doing a day trip or going for a hike, we would mostly take about 5L of water at least. We do not need to go into details of how water can be lifesaving and how being stuck in the wilderness without any human contact, could be life-threatening… Read more >

ROMANTIC SPOTS ALONG THE GARDEN ROUTE

by Inge Triegaardt When referring to a romantic getaway, one often thinks of candle light dinners in lodges with white linen, sparkling wine flowing in abundance, soft music, rose petals and some beautiful words spoken over a four course meal while looking deep into someone’s eyes and whispering sweet nothings into the depth of night. We focus on destinations where natural romantic settings is available all year round. Although we would love to have romantic getaways as the ones described above, being in our favourite places along the Garden Route on a regular basis, we keep in touch with our romantic side as often as we can. Our first stop is usually a place called Kaaimansgat. It is one of the most photogenic places along this beautiful route stretching from Mossel Bay to Storms River. The Kaaimansgat Restaurant, set amongst some big trees at the water’s edge, is a perfect… Read more >

A CRISSCROSS ADVENTURE

by Inge Triegaardt Picture yourself on a crisp Saturday morning, blue skies above you, on the back of a Safari vehicle, driving through some export quality citrus orchards with some foreign languages filling the air. That is exactly how we felt when we joined Crisscross Adventures in Addo for an amazing day filled with activities that makes you want more. First up was the river safari. I had a preconceived idea of what this might entail and with my very limited canoeing experience that I obtained as a kid, using some rented canoes on a Sunday morning outing in Wilderness, I was excited to see whether my picture was close to what they had to offer. On the way to the drop-off point further up the Sundays river, the guide was sharing his knowledge of the working citrus farm and we made a quick stop at one of the oldest… Read more >