East, west, home is best.....

We are back home after a wonderful break. It really was amazing and we all feel so much more alive and relaxed. The cottage was everything that it promised and more and our hosts, Caroline and Mark were very kind. It was private and so well equipped and was serviced daily - so no housework.

On the first day we went to the Magalies country festival, where we did all sorts of country festival things including wine tasting, cheese eating, home made beer drinking, camel riding, jumping castle jumping, market shopping, show watching and ice cream, hot dogs and chip eating. The next day we went to Maropeng, the cradle of mankind. For anyone who does not know what that is, check it out on - line. Africa is considered the cradle of all humanity, where the earliest humans evolved. Maropeng is a site that is dedicated to the fossils found in South Africa which led to this conclusion. It is an amazing site as it is not just focused on evolution and fossils but also understanding our planet and where we come from. There is a strong message that we are just animals, blimping on the radar BUT due to our ability to influence our environment we have the ability to do so much damage to the earth. The centre aims to educate humans on our responsibilies and how we need to care for our planet.

Our final day was one of real relaxation. We started the day at the cheese farm , where the kids could play in the playground and watch the ducks and the goats getting fed. They make amazing cheese, including one that has stinging nettles in it! (It does not sting at all!!) Then we went for lunch at a farm, called the African Pot. It is a resturant that is run from a lady's home and we were the only people there. We were treated like absolute kings! We were waited on hand and foot. The kids were totally pandered to, with one waitress allocated to play with them while we ate and the food was all handmade and really good. They go to chase the ducks and rabbits, look a the ground squirrels and the baby goats and harass the chickens.

In between all of this we spent our days braaing, taking long walks in the veld, reading and playing board games. It was really a breath of fresh air for us.