Kaapsehoop

Matthew and I were looking for places where we could walk our dogs off lead but sadly we found none in Nelspruit, so while at the Central Veterinarian Hospital I asked and they told me to try Kaapsehoop. Now I haven't been to this historic gold mining village for a long time so we headed up into the hills overlooking De Kaap Valley.

We had a lovely walk among the rocky outcrops and the gold filtered wetlands with the dogs darting in and out the rock formations of quartzite. Here is Jade who somehow managed to get up a rock from the other side but is trying to find a way down to me. The most comical part of the walk was when Skye spotted some hikers and sprinted to greet them across a wet area but he failed to see a pool of water until it was too late and disappeared in a huge splash. He tried to clear it in one bound but landed in the middle and as fast as he went in he was out again.

Nelspruit

Wow Nelspruit is so hot and humid with Weather SA warning that it will be extremely uncomfortable. Well that is in the valley, it is slightly more comfortable up in the hills overlooking Nespruit. Here is the view from the lapa and swimming pool. Matthew is in the pool with his niece and nephew Daniȅlle and Jaen-Jurie while I am sitting with my sister and brother in-law under the thatch roof of the lapa enjoying this stunning view of Nelspruit. Now where is my refill for my cocktail?

Long Tom Pass

Matthew, Patch, Maxy, Jade, Skye and I set off on our annual summer holidays. The first part of our getaway is the Lowveld or as I know it as the Slowveld. Well instead of going straight to our destination we decided to visit my parents who live at Fredriksdal, just outside the quaint little town called Sabie. To get there we had to turn off the main road at Belfast, past Dullstroom and cross the tail end of the Drakensberg mountains at Lydenburg. Now the Long Tom Pass is the scenic pass across the mountain which was built in the 1800s. It was named Long Tom after a 155mm field gun that was used effectively against the British by the Boers during the Second Boer War in this area.

When we saw this view, we could resist stopping in the clouds to look at Sabie way below from the pass. Welcome to Mpumalanga.