Living Life on the Road ahead.....

 The longest journey is the journey inward, and this right now, is "the vehicle" I'm choosing for myself and my two children, Jordan (10) and Jennah (8).

 I am blessed to be their mother as well as to be able to choose doing an adventure like this with them, when they will learn experientially most of the things not taught in classrooms, ie. how people live, meet different cultures and participate in their rituals, see how children go to school, be it in classrooms or under a tree in more rural areas, experience visiting working farms and see where the food  we eat originally comes from (apart from Pick ' Pay and Woolworths).  

 Jordan especially would like to do a whole lot of surfing along the way too ;-)  Both Jord and Jen are keen on the roadtrip, and we did practice sessions and met people in caravan parks, and researched various aspects of camping and made every attempt at eating healthily in the process.

 Some of our smaller past expeditions includes the West Coast, which we explored last year October.  This included visits to the West Coast Fossil Museum, the Darling Museum and the West Coast National Park.

 

Another sojourn earlier in May 2009, along Route 62 included a visit to Oudtshoorn to experience the meerkats early in the morning, in their own surroundings, guided by Grant McIlrath who is also fondly known by many as the Meerkat Man.  We visited the Cango Caves and enjoyed a delightful tour telling us about how the cave was discovered and used over the years.

 

Having breakfast with legendary Schalk Burger on his farm Welbedacht was an amazing privilege.  We also met Jacques his winemaker and enjoyed breakfast with Tiaan, youngest son of Schalk senior.  Upon departure, Schalk had Jacque load up two boxes of Meerkat wine, one red and one white for our enjoyment.   I purchased a bottle of his prize winning  wine, Hat Trick.  I'm keeping that one for a very special auspicious occasion.  Thank you, Schalk Burger, for your warm hospitality and kindness. 

Looking forward..... July 2009

 I will be "road schooling" my children, while slotting them into the daily routines of a Pretoria based online homeschool, called brainline.co.za.  We will be starting this system next term. 

 We realise the journey will not be easy and possibly  include any number of challenges.  At the same time, we know the long term benefits of such experiences for children, and I look forward to the succulently wonderful & delicious times, meeting with such a rich and colourful people-culture in our land.  In our very own backyard.  To be explored and enjoyed first hand.

Looking back...... July 2010

We travelled in and out, up and down the West Coast and Garden Route, even visiting the Karoo, Burning Man....  yes Africa Burn was memorable for us all.

I've subsequently sold Koali, our trusted and beloved Mitsubishi L300 mobile home, Two small things went "wrong" on the road with her, one being a damaged pressure valve on the wheel, after checking the air in the tyres. Luckily this was spotted by a fellow traveller at the Tsitsikamma Bridge Filling Station and we had it repaired on the spot. 

The other was a dirt road, causing so much rattling that the connectors on the battery became unattached, and we had a "dead" battery when next we started her up. Soon the fault was discovered, again parked just accross the road from the Lamberts Bay Filling Station.

Yip, two small "incidents" in the whole journey of a year  :-)  and I get a sense that we are so protected and smiled upon. Thank You!

One of our greatest joys was taking our Golden Retriever , Jess, with us on some trips. She is a delightful animal and makes friends wherever she goes, wearing her laid-back smile and big intelligent, soft doe-eyes. This dog loved to travel and firmly planted her big bottom on the front passenger seat. She watched the road while I drove, leaning into the corners as they approached. Good girl, Jess!!!

One thing I would like to see shift in our country is for Municipal Caravan Parks to relax on their "No-pets allowed" rule. South Africans love to travel, and they also love travelling WITH their pets. One beautiful example of a very successful family camping venue where dogs are welcome is Beaver-lac just outside Porterville. The charge is R30 per dog per day, and the only rule is for owners to ensure that their dogs don't bark incessantly. 

The children have gone back to school and yet the itch to travel still needs a regular scratch. Our journeys are by no means over, and there will still be many more!!