VREDEFORT DOME - METEORITE IMPACT ZONE

The next day Jacques organized an educational tour at Christo Meyer's farm Kopjeskraal. This entire area, known as the dome area, is in the process of being declared a World Heritage Site.
Danie Van Zyl from Ten3 Safaris was also here, filming todays procedures for educational purposes. The ideal is to get more schools to visit this site and learn more about the meteorite impact, an event which is believed by some to have been responsible for life on earth. The Big Bang!
Greame and Karen Addison were the hosts today, and they mesmerized us all with their account of the meteorite impact some 2023 million years ago, and I was amazed that I never knew that this had taken place in this area, or at all, eventhough it is so close to home.

They had a group of 300 kids from a school in Heilbron, not too far away, and it was quite something to see Greame relay the events of the impact.

A FUN DAY ON THE VAAL RIVER

It was amazing to be back on a river, rafting. This made me almost want to swop my bicycle for a canoe for a while. Tempting...





Dante had enough of us chicks, so he decided to abandon ship and join Skit. Much more exciting, and comfortable.
It was a truly beautiful day, and everybody was quite amazing. Lucas and Skit were insightful and brilliant guides if ever you need one in these parts. The entire group were great fun, and had no problems with the cameras in their faces all day.
We arrived at Hadeda Creek, managed by Pieter. Gert, the barman, were leaving in two days, after working here for a couple of years. They were seriously entertaining, and had many stories to tell, so we stayed for a couple of drinks before going back to The Dell.

REAL ADVENTURE: WHITEWATER RAFTING

Skit and Lucas briefed us on what lay ahead for the day, and away we went. There were two people per raft, but we were four, as Dante and Katryn came along as our navigators.




We were given a safety brief before every rapid, but we all got stuck at one place or another, or dumped just for the heck of it.
Lucas carried all the dry bins and food for lunch. His knowledge of river rafting is quite extensive, and he is an excellent conversationalist.





At Gatsien rapid, we had lunch and went for a swim.

REAL ADVENTURE - PARYS

Parys, one of our key destinations, turned out to be so much more than what we bargained for. Jacques took us in immediately, and introduced us to the area and some amazingly knowledgeable people. You have to meet Jacques, to understand, that everyone that surrounds him has some kind of magic, as he himself, is magic!

At first it was Jan who is manager at The Dell where we stayed for two days. Jan is a delightful soul, as good as they get. Then there is Skit, one of the guides working with Jacques at Real Adventures, who picked us up the next morning, for a day of whitewater rafting on the Vaal River. He had a group of 8 whom we joined for the day, mostly students from Stellenbosch, and then an extra person, Lucas, also a guide with Real Adventures.

BRIEF ENCOUNTERS, STEERS AND GOOD COMPANY

We met a fellow cyclist on our way to Fochville, chatted for a while and moved along. Just as we turned onto the highway, which we were to follow for about 4kms, we found this lovely little roadhouse/bar which was the perfect spot to hide away from the sun for a while.


From here on, the road was magic, with a long downhill into Fochville. I was so hungry, food was all I could think about. At the first thing that looked like a shopping centre, we stopped. We opted for Steers, because they make gorgeous vegetarian hamburgers and fries. We sat there for a long while, chatting to passers by, wanting to know where to and why, until a very energetic young girl named Jacquelene Somers approached us and asked if we wanted to spend the night.
We ofcoarse didn't hesitate, because she seemed an interesting fun soul. Turns out Jacquelene is an mechanical engineer at Anglo. She is full of enthusiasm about environmental change and turning sewerage into bio gas, etc. We talked for hours, but eventually fell into bed exhausted. It was one of those magical days.

FLAT TYRES AND WELVERDIEND POLICE STATION

We haven't even left the premises, when Maria had a flat tyre. It took a while to fix, because turns out, there were more than one.

Dante and Katryn loved the time to play. This is their favourite spot at Metsi Pepa.
We left about an hour later, heading towards Welverdiend. The road there was quite enjoyable and it was a hot day out. We had no idea what awaited us in Welverdiend, so we cycled along happily. The dogs were loving every second. Once we reached town, we stopped by the first house where we saw people, and asked for directions to the nearest place to overnight. There was no such thing in Welverdiend. No camping grounds, no hotel, hostel or guest house. A bit of a dilemma if you ask me, especially since the people weren't overly friendly to begin with. A lady working in one of the small cafee's pointed to a horrendously filthy piece of land with a shabby caravan parked in the far corner, and said we should squat there, everybody else seemed to.
That was the moment when we decided that the local church or police station would be our best bet. We ended up sleeping in a small little room at the local police station in Welverdiend. We had no complaints, as we had electricity, a hot bath and small, yet warm bed.

LEOPARDS AND TIGERS

We finally had our grand tour of Metsi Pepa, and thanks to Stanley, our guide, we didn't miss a thing. We saw some unusual animals like the Bengal tigers, which were an absolute delight, and two Leopards with attitude.

METSI-PEPA

We woke up tired, after another night of freezing our asses off. The hut we were sleeping in, had no furniture, because they had just built a few, and they were, I presume, scared of robberies, as there was nobody there to look after the place 24/7. As you well know by now, our sleeping bags are built for summer, which it clearly isn't, and the cold came creeping up from beneath the wooden deck which was our bed.
We spend most of the morning exploring the place, and it was absolutely beautiful
We went down to the hole, or otherwise known as 'Die Gat', which is the origin of the Mooi River. Never have I ever seen such crystal clear water.

Dante and Katryn were loving every minute and couldn't get enough of the water especially. They played for hours on end, as we waited for Francois, the game ranger, to take us on a tour of the conservation.
It was at this point that my mother phoned to say that my dad was back in hospital, for an emergency procedure on his knee, which had been operated on only a few days earlier. All of a sudden I felt nauseous, because he had been in and out of hospitals and rehabs for the last 8 months, and I didn't know how much more of this either of them could take, or me for that matter...
We arranged that my sister would fetch us early the next morning, so that I could go and see him.
The rest of the morning seemed stressful, but with surroundings such as this, one couldn't help but feel somewhat positive about an otherwise desperate situation.
Water Lilli's as far as the eye can see, and my babies playing, oblivious to the change in atmosphere.
I suddenly knew that everything would be fine, and that all is good...

DERBY TO METSI-PEPA

It was getting late, and we started to look out for a good place to camp, but we kept pushing it a little, not knowing how far Welverdiend was. Eventually we had to stop and discuss what to do, because the sun was about to set, within the next 30mins.

By now we were all feeling the strain of a long day. We've covered a distance of about 45kms, but considering that we only got moving late, it was a long way.

Dante and Katryn were also getting tired, but mostly I think it was time for all of us to put our feet up and relax.

Where we stopped was a dilapidated fence with a sign board that indicated a development to our right. There was a number on the board, which we called to confirm that we could actually camp here or anywhere near here.

Turns out that this development was at the origin of the Mooi River, which, according to the developer and conservasionist, was something really special and a sight to behold. They had already built a couple of tented huts on the banks of the river, and suggested we stay there for the night. The owner of the establishment also offered to take us for a tour around the conservation area.
We made our way to the huts, and were in awe of what we found. We weren't quite prepared for the beauty and luxury that we encountered. Neither were we prepared for the unbelieveble hospitality that we were welcomed with. Our day just couldn't get any better. It's amazing how not a day goes by, where I have to get down on my knees and say thank you for all the kindness that is bestowed upon me...

JUST ONE OF THOSE BLESSED DAYS

We woke up early, but took our time packing up, because I find that I'm still getting the hang of what goes where. The dogs don't like having to stay indoors too much, and this is a good thing, for we have a way of forgetting otherwise. We were starving, and didn't feel like preparing breakfast, so we headed out to the Fast Foods joint next door. We had the same sandwiches as yesterday - devine.















We made a couple of stops on our way out of town, and away we went. It was already pretty hot by the time we left, and there was a couple of uphills waiting for us. It was a beautiful day however, and having had a good nights sleep, made it quite enjoyable. About 10kms outside of town, we stopped to stretch a bit, and let the dogs out to play.
















We pulled into a dirt road heading towards somebodies home probably, and a little while later the most precious family stopped alongside us. It was a lady and her 3 kids, and she had just fetched them from school. We had a bit of a chat and they invited us for something to drink, but unfortunately we had to decline, because we had already taken our time, and it was just after 2pm. We had to get on with it.




















The rest of the way was magnificent, because soon we turned off to Welverdiend, and all of a sudden the heavy traffic was no more... The landscape is absolutely beautiful in these parts. Long rolling hills, the odd dam here and there, a lot of cattle and lusern and maize crops. Beautiful and peaceful. I felt like I was on top of the world, and I cycled with very little effort. I didn't even feel the uphills, on the contrary, they were a delight. Amazing how one's state of mind can alter one's abilities...

EVERY CLOUD HAS A SILVER LINING

I was exhausted when it was time to get up. We scattered around, trying to fit everything into it's rightful place, but it took a while before we were good to go. Dante and Katryn urged us on, because during all this commotion, we were kind of trapped in this barn, with a very big dog on the other side, and they were developing a serious need to relieve themselves of excess fluids.
We left without having breakfast, because the look in those eyes made me feel almost guilty. We weren't even 100m away when Katryn decided that she had had enough and so we stopped and waited while they did their thing. It was so nice to be outside again. The sun was out, and it was turning into a lovely warm day.

From word go, I was challenged with all sorts. It felt like I had nothing with which to help me up those steep hills, and they kept on coming. The traffic was absolutely mad, and there was no shoulder to the road, so when the trucks would pass, it felt like I was being sucked in underneath the never ending chassis. Everything just seemed more impossible, I guess, because I had no energy to speak of.

I soon saw that Maria had the same difficulties. We pushed our bikes up most of the serious hills, having to stop every now and again to catch our breath. We only had one energy bar between the two of us, and not so much water either. Dante and Katryn also seemed less playful. We hoped that Derby would be just beyond the next hill, but no. I soon started to imagine a coke with lots of ice, or juice, or anything, as long as it had ice. A farmer stopped beside us, and told us that Derby was about another 6kms away, handed us an ice cold juice and wished us luck, because another big one was ahead.
It took every last ounce of determination, to push/bike that last kms. Derby is a very, very small town, consisting of a petrol station, butcher, hotel, pub, liquor store, general dealer, and only the main road is tarred. All the stuff I was imagining wasn't quite possible, but what we ended up with wasn't half bad either. Our first stop was Sampie Motors, the petrol station, when a very friendly lady named Corrie welcomed us, and offered to buy us a coke because she said that we had triggered her interest, and by the looks of it, we deserved it. We chatted for a while, and headed out towards the hotel, only with one goal in mind, food, bath, sleep!
The shop manager invited us to stay over at their house if we weren't lucky at the hotel. Outside the hotel we met a very nice man named Willem and his 5 year old son George who also offered to help us out if we didn't get sorted. There was a room in the hotel, and they allowed the dogs, but warned that the resident Ridgeback was a bit grumpy and didn't like other k9 friends in his territory, so as to keep them out of harms way. The hotel is cheap, only R180 per night, but leaves nothing to be desired. Luckily we were so tired that it didn't really matter. There wasn't any food available at the hotel, so we headed out to the fast foods place next door.
There was the most delightful little girl that kept us company while we waited for some toasted sandwiches and chips. In a little town like this, there is not much else if you're vegetarian. She told us all about her life, walked the kidz, although they didn't like being dragged around very much, but entertained her nevertheless. Aaagh, the sandwich was magnificent, and just what I needed.

Once back at the hotel, I collapsed on the bed, while Maria had the first go at a bath. The water was a shocking dark pink color, which we figured must be rusty pipes. I don't know, but it sure didn't look very inviting to me. I put some of my equipment on charge, and we chatted for a while, but then I fell asleep, the sleep of the dead.

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE AT THE WATERGLEN GUEST LODGE

My mother and all the guests, who have become family, missing you already


Girls, you have done so much for us. Love you always

Thanx Royal Canin

For suporting our adventures and keeping our diet balanced

IT'S OFFICIAL, WE'RE LEAVING TODAY - 1 SEPTEMBER 2008

I woke up this morning with such mixed emotions, I almost didn't want to get up out of bed. There was no turning back, and no procrastinating, anymore. That which is sorted, is a bonus, that which is not, will find it's own time. The time is now, so best I seize the day! This I kept telling myself, but I couldn't completely shake the feeling of fear which was growing inside. There was so much that had me scared. Firstly, I was thinking of all the comforts that we'd be giving up, like a warm bed, hot shower whenever, food and drink of any kind at any time and whenever I need anything, there is no real mission in acquiring it, just get in the car and go. I lay there for a while, absorbing everything in that moment! Suddenly all anxieties disappeared as I thought of the freedom I feel when all I need is with me on my bicycle, and that I'm in no hurry to get somewhere. It's quite fantastic when one's needs becomes so small that it doesn't really matter either way. When one doesn't need anything, it's quite possible that you will only receive that which you should have to continue along Destiny's path. Maybe...
We've been here before, and it's like it's all happening all over again. Only this time, things are different, we are different, so our challenges are different. It's amazing, this gift us humans have, to transform ourselves, to adapt to any situation. The only pity is, that we forget that we have these abilities, and therefore we sometimes stay put, finding 'better' alternatives. Well, at least I do, or I wouldn't have such an intense need to break free from my comfort zones.
Sarah and Maria prepared the most amazing breakfast. We had vegetarian strips, scrambled eggs with melted cheese, and toast, juice, coffee, the whole nine yards. The morning was confusing and rushed, so I can't elaborate on that, but saying good-bye was hard. We have lived at the Waterglen Guest Lodge for over 8 months now, and I fell in love with each and every individual all over again. It's hard to leave behind friends and family, especially when they are such extraordinary people. They go everywhere with us though, because we stay in touch, and I carry them in my heart, wherever...
When I knew it was time, my heart skipped a couple of beats. I had to compose myself a bit before I could get on my bike. Once mounted, I was cool! It was a bit scary at times, because the traffic was super crap, and my lungs had shrunk to the size of a peanut, but other than that, I was in my element.
It wasn't long, before I remembered a couple of valuable lessons which I have forgotten, about riding, packing, balancing, etc., but it was duly noted, and on the to do list for the immediate future. When dusk set in, we started looking for a place to set up camp when Hannes and his son Ruan stopped beside us, and invited us to sleep over at their house. He also offered his barn if we would prefer, which we did, because they had one huge dog, and it just seemed easier with the dogs. Hannes and his family was lovely, and helped us with everything we needed. Little Ruan seemed to enjoy our company and hung out for a while. He is only two and speaks fluently and has an amazing sense of humor.
We had the toasted sandwiches that Leya and Christina prepared for us, for dinner. It was devine, I was so hungry, I could eat a horse. Strange how things work hey? I was just saying the other day, that this winter was a breeze, I never really felt the cold. Well, tonight, my words came to bite me in the ass, because I cannot remember being this cold. I was shivering and shaking like a leaf all night long, thus never really sleeping. I spent my hours hanging somewhere between sleep and severe discomfort, always aware of the bitter cold. This in Spring. I vaguely remembered some techniques to warm myself through meditation, but nothing made sense at this point, so I suffered the consequence.

THE ADVENTURE CONTINUES...

It was 3 weeks ago when the 3 of us: Maria, Petro and myself, sat at The Place (restaurant) in Menlyn, and decided our fate. September the 1st, on Spring Day, we would be embarking on a whole new adventure, and it was phenomenal! It has been 8 months since we came back from the Wild Coast, since my father got sick, since we went home, since we've had such a breakthrough and at the same time the worst blow ever, with our project For Good. All of these are stories for another day though, but it was great to know that in a very short while, we would resume our travels.
The last week, has been so hectic, my head's still spinning. For some reason, and I seriously don't know why, we always give ourselves the minimum time in which to put together something huge. I know that I get lost in the moment otherwise, and then nothing gets done, and this is why I have to thank my friend Maria for always staying focused and for getting things done. You are a super-star chiki, and it's amazing how we're getting closer and closer to our goals. Thanks for never losing faith, and for persisting, no matter what!
There's also a whole bunch of other people who have contributed to making the next leg of our journey possible, in fact, people who have despite the limited time frame, come through for us and are now part and partial of Go4Good. Petro, girl, I don't think I have ever told you this, but you ROCK! We met Petro through the team at Riverwalk Productions, and she has since performed some miracles. Amazing to have you on board, and thank you so much for all your efforts, despite the fact that you were 8 months into your pregnancy. Oh and congratulations on your baby girl who was born on the 1st of September, Petro and Coenie!
Michael and Karen at Sony, you guys were brilliant, and thanks for your support. Fraser at Garmin you are the coolest, thanks for your support. Manual and Sheena at Swift Cycles who have in no time at all, made brand new baskets for Dante and Katryn. Eugene at Karrimor for your continued support. Tarryn at Royal Canin who looks after our dogs brilliantly.
Last but not least, I have to thank my mother Irma, without whom, none of this would've been possible. I love you madly and appreciate everything you have done for me ever.