NATURE-BONDING
WEEKEND
APRIL 2009
Standing under an outside shower is pure
addictive, revitalizing, therapeutic bliss!
Gazing up into the trees (trying to see snakes or spiders) while hot
water splashes over your shoulders, is an experience not to be missed.
A bond with nature is formed, never to be
forgotten…. although heating the shower water is another story altogether! A
donkey story.
---OOO---
Mid March 2009, we decided to go away for a
weekend. We found a lovely cabin in the Northern Drakensberg, called Ingwe Cabin. (http://www.wheretostay.co.za/ingwecabin/
- R250 per person per night, minimum of 2 nights.) (George & Suzette Spies
– 082 406 6271)
One lonely cabin looking onto the mountains
sounded the perfect getaway. Phoning to
book, I was told they were quite full; the only weekend open was 17-20
April. Well, since it was my birthday on
the 19th and hubby’s on the 20th, we booked it
promptly.
During the 2 weeks before our mountain weekend,
Hein had a big project to finish, so worked quite late some evenings, as well
as over the Easter weekend. He looked
forward to some rest.
Friday, 17th April 2009
The morning dawned crisp and
clear – our alarm beeped at 05:00, we had some coffee and packed Rissiepit, our
Pajero. We left home at half past 6 and
stopped at the BP Garage on Beyers Naude to fill up with petrol and
breakfast. At the McDonalds. Yeah, yeah, I know some people can’t abide
McDonalds, but honestly, we like their food.
We each had an Egg Sausage McMuffin, Hashbrown and more coffee. With our
tummies full and Rissiepit’s tank full, we started the weekend.
At Harrismith, we turned towards Bethlehem, then towards Bergville
and saw this guy sitting on a traffic sign.
We arrived at Little Switzerland’s gate at
10h30. Booked in at the gate, bought
some ice at the hotel and started the 7 km gravel road to the cabin. In serious 4x4 gear. No other kind of vehicle is allowed. And then we realised why … the road is not earth-shatteringly bad but is
filled with, actually the road is just loose stones (above right). The zebras
just stood and gazed at us.
A few serious up-and-down hills (I found the
side of the road at that stage to be VERY interesting) but the Pajero yawned
her way through. The going is very, very
slow and when we reached the cabin, we were amazed to found it took us more
than an hour! No quick ‘hopping into
town’ or ‘buying more beer’-stuff.
When we stopped at the cabin with George
waiting for us, we saw huge baboons galloping over the ‘golf green’ next to a
small dam. Quite a few of them with some
tiny ones clinging for dear life. Sadly
we didn’t take photos and although I looked for them every day, didn’t see them
again.
George showed us around, explained the hot
water process and left. After unpacking
everything, Hein parked the car under a verandah and we decided she’ll stay
there till the Monday. This meant,
severe chilling was in order!
Hein immediately went to feed the donkey … he
wanted to try the outside shower. OK, a
‘donkey’ is a concrete structure with a chimney (photo left) with 2 drums inside
filled with water, via a pipe from a water source. Then a fire is lit beneath the drums (photo
right), heating the water. There’s then
a pipe from the drums to the outside shower, enabling you to have hot water.
I just had a quick shower, filled with Joburg
nerves, anxiously looking around for peering eyes. The combination of nerves and ‘guilty
pleasure’ is quite a heady perfume.
Weigh-Less chicken viennas in buns were lunch
and then, of course, we had to test the queen-size bed. There are 2 rooms, 1
with the queen-sized bed, another with 2 single beds. There is also a bunk bed in the lounge. A single bathroom, complete with
ball-and-claw feet, basin and toilet inside the cabin. Using camping storage units in all the rooms
and bathroom, proved to be space-savers and quite ingenious.
The kitchen was well-stocked with everything
you could possibly need. A lovely
6-seater table and chairs for dining, enough storage in a beautiful old
sideboard for groceries and a gas stove.
Solar-powered lights are all over, but we used them sparingly. Wrought-iron candle holders with candles were
here and there, and provided us with ample light.
A lovely fireplace in the lounge for winter
nights, although I must admit the seating on the furniture were a bit
hard. Plumper cushions would be more
comfortable.
Outside on the verandah was another pub-style
table with seating, looking out onto the mountain and protected from the
weather by a roof and side-windows.
The ‘braai’ area around the corner
had another table & seating with an umbrella. A few plastic chairs were provided.
On the other side of the ‘braai’ area, is the
outside toilet. Very comfortable
indeed. And with a lovely view down the
valley.
The ‘cellphone corner’ was this
lovely spot (photo left) with a table and chairs. With the exception of the table on the
verandah, this is the best spot for a signal.
Hein started to light a fire for ambience – but
it didn’t go so well. The wood (loads
and loads of it) was a bit wet and needed nearly a packet of firelighters to
get going. We did manage a fire in the
end, but not for cooking. Peri-peri baby
chicken was on the menu for dinner, but after struggling with the fire, it was
already dark. And very very cold.
The sky was pitch-black and thousands and
thousands of bright stars were studded all over. The Milkway was right over our heads. We tried to take photos, but you need some
special lenses for that.
Realising that a chicken will take too long, we
fried onion, bully beef and baked beans in a cast-iron pan on charcoals. Real
cowboy-style – and I even ate mine straight out of the pan. Wicked!
In bed, everything was quite dark – the moon
only a sliver. We fell asleep amidst the
creaks and sighs of the cabin.
Saturday 18 April 2009
When we woke up on Saturday, it was already
light. While I was making coffee (Pronto
coffee bags in the flask with boiling water – pity about the chicory taste) and
washing the dinner dishes, Hein stoked the donkey. Smoke was escaping the chimney like they were
on fire – hang on, they were!
Lighting charcoal for breakfast, we enjoyed our
coffee, drunk on Nature’s beauty. The mountains
changed color with the rising sun and the cows were grazing on grass.
After our boerewors rolls with tomato relish,
Hein had a shower and then took a nap.
Reading ‘Miss
Chopsticks – Xinran’, I was immersed in Chinese cultures and food. ‘It is
the story of 3 sisters, who, like so many migrant workers in today’s China, leave
their peasant community to seek their fortune in the big city. Sisters Three, Five and Six don’t have much
education, but one thing they know for certain:
their mother is a failure because she hasn’t produced a son, and they
only merit a number as a name. Women,
their father tells them, are like chopsticks:
utilitarian and easily broken.
Men, on the other hand, are the strong rafters that hold up the roof of
a house.’
Just before lunch, we saw some Eland (large
antelopes) licking the cow’s salt blocks.
When we walked closer to take photos, they ran away.
The lettuce was half-frozen, so I made a lunch
salad with tomatoes, cucumber, cocktail onions, cheese and poached egg. Scrumptious.
Hein was given a bug puzzle by a friend.
9 squares to be fitted together.
It’s a bit tricky and I was not allowed to touch it. When I pointed out wrong fits, he ‘growled’
and I left him alone. After a few tries,
he succeeded and only then was I allowed to try. (I forgot to adjust the camera setting for a
close-up photo.)
Leaving my city nerves behind, I went for a
shower. Never before have I experienced
this invigorating thrill. While
shampooing and soaping, you turn in circles – now you see the bare rock with
the shower head, then the shrubs and leaves close by, then the pebbles on the
floor, then the Bluegum treetops, then the mountains afar… The water is pleasantly hot, the breeze gives
you goose pimples and you smell the wood smoke from the donkey …
Chopping wood for a bonfire, we relaxed with
our books. Hein had a real battle with
drunken insects though. Every time he
picked up his glass of red wine, 2 or 3 small insects were swimming
around. As soon as the sun went down, we
fetched our jackets and sheepskin slippers and took deep breaths of fresh
evening air.
A peri-peri marinated chicken sizzled on the
coals, while I prepared instant mash with sweetcorn and tinned peas. And then my blood nearly froze in my veins –
we heard jackals and baboons. And I got
a bit uncomfortable. Would the fence
around the cabin keep them out? With
only a few candles and a small moon, the darkness felt like a blanket… We ate at the kitchen table with the door
closed. I adore nature, but am still
scared of the wilder side.
Sunday 19 April 2009
On Sunday we woke up just after 6am. Carla, my youngest sis from Perth, phoned me to wish me happy birthday and we talked for a
while. In-between coffee and rusks, I
was busy with phone calls and sms messages.
Preparing some lovely braai sandwiches with
onion, tomato & cheese, Hein lit the fire for …? Yes, boerewors!! It was just around 10 and the weather was
mild, so we enjoyed our brunch outside in the sun.
After a short nap and tinned fruit cocktail and
custard, we had some tea and relaxed outside.
All of a sudden I spotted an eagle circling high up in the air. And then it disappeared again.
We should have stayed a bit longer, because it
usually takes Hein 3 days to unwind. But
spending most of his Saturday napping and snoozing, helped a lot.
Grilled steak and lamb kebabs for dinner, with
baby potatoes, tinned Denny mushroom-pepper sauce and sliced beetroot. Hmm.
Needless to say, half of the meat wasn’t eaten.
With the popping sound of the gas lamp, we read
our books and felt wonderfully relaxed.
Monday 20 April 2009
Waking up on Monday, we found the weather changed
– cloudy, misty and chilly.
After coffee we packed up, cleaned the kitchen
and just before locking the door, Hein remembered his wallet in his bedside
table’s drawer.
Driving back on the gravel road to Little
Switzerland’s gate, we felt very sad leaving this beautiful scenery and weekend
behind.
- - - - - -
With no outside shower planned for the future,
I will have to glue branches and leaves onto our shower wall ….
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