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Garden Route Botanical Garden

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It's amazing how quickly a year or two can pass. The last time I posted on this blog was in June 2018. So far 2020 has been a strange year with Covid-19 lockdown changing how we think about everthing. Our lockdown restrictions in South Africa have been reduced and now we can move around a bit more (although we are still very careful). I have decided that I am going to write posts both my home language, Afrikaans, and English in future.  If the post starts in Afrikaans, please scroll down to the English part below and vice versa if it starts with English. We had nice rain the last week of September, but on Sunday , 4 October, the sun was shining and my husband and I took the opportunity to go for a walk in the Botanical Garden in George. We were there early and many people had the same idea. First we had to sign in and go through all the new Covid-19 protocols as well as pay the entrance fee before we could start our walk. The Garden Route Botanical Garden is a ± 19-hectare indigeno...
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10 years since my first time in Europe

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On 12 June 2008, feeling excited and very nervous, I got on a bus in Mossel Bay with my friend Lelanie for my first trip outside of South-Africa.   I cannot believe that 10 years have passed since that day. The trip started with a lot of travelling…first the bus ride to Cape Town and then two flights…Cape Town to Dubai and Dubai to London. It was my first time on an airplane and by the end of the second flight I was so tired…of sitting and not being able to sleep and of all the excitement and nerves.   By the time we arrived at the hotel I was so relieved that everything worked out and that we were at the right place.  After exploring a little bit we went to bed early, very early to rest before the real adventures  began. The first part of our trip was a Contiki Tour to explore the highlights of Europe. The Contiki Tour began and ended in Londen and we decided to stay in London a few more days to explore before returning to South Africa. ...
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Diaz Express Shuttle trip

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I cannot believe it is June already.  What happened to April and May? It is almost time for the July school holiday and I want to write about the Dias Express trip I took with my son JW on during the previous holiday in April 2018. The Dias Express is a railway experience between Mossel Bay an George.  There are different excursions available.  The regular excursions depart Mossel Bay in the morning 9:30 and returns at 15:30 in the afternoon. I went on the Maalgate Lunch Excursion with my work in 2015 and loved it.  But a lunch trip would be too long for my son (who still takes a nap in the afternoon).  During school holidays the Dias Express has a Shuttle trip between Mossel Bay and Hartenbos.  The trip takes about 30 minutes one way and was the perfect way to treat my son with a ride on a “train”.   It was easy to book our tickets on the website and I pay with an EFT.  The cost for the shuttle trip is R 40 per person for a one way ti...
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Our favourite kids things to do at the Point

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We live in Mossel Bay, a small town next to the ocean.  The town is still mainly a summer holiday destination when thousands of people come here to spend time in the ocean. The point area is about 2 kilometres from our house and one of our favourite places to go for a quick outing after work or during weekends.  Almost daily, when I get home from work, my son JW asks if we can drive around the Point. Here are some of our favourite things we do around the Point area: Swimming in the Paddling Pool This is one of my son’s favourite activities…in summer, spring and autumn…and even on a warm winter’s day.  The Paddling Pool is a tidal pool. In the summer we usually go to the Point early in the morning (between 8 and 9 am) to swim and return home by 10am.  We do this to avoid the harsh sun later in the day but mainly because there are less people.  The water is cold and refreshing and there is more parking.  The paddling pool is not very deep and...
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Dias Museum

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It is wonderful what kids can remember.   I only took my son for one visit to the DiasMuseum in January 2017 and every time we drive is the direction of the museum he asks if he can go to the boat.   After another request from him in December 2017 I decided it was time for a second visit to the museum. The entrance fee to visit the museum complex was R 20 for an adult or for R 40 per adult you can enter the museum and go on the replica of the carvel. For children under 18 the fee is R 5 or R 10.   I think children under 6 years can enter for free. My son, JW was 3 year old and I did not pay for him. The main attractions of the museum for my son, JW is climbing on the boat. But if we start our visit by climbing on the boat he will never understand why he can’t go back to climb on the boat again. So we start by taking a walk through the garden towards the Shell museum and saved the carvel for almost last. Aquariums in the Shell Museum The Shell Museum i...
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Botlierskop

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The type of places I write about on this blog has really changed.   If I look back the posts of 4 years ago they were about my trips to Europe and Switzerland and our honeymoon through the Eastern Cape.   Now most of the posts are about the places I visit with my 3-year old son. But today I am writing about a grown-up outing to Botlierskop Private Game Reserve.   My husband and I were treated to a night at Botlierskop in January for a friend’s 40 th birthday.   Botlierskop Private Game Reserve is a Little Brak River, about 22 kilometres from our home.   Just outside of Little Brak we turned off of the tar road onto a gravel road.   This road was not in a good condition but we soon arrived at the entrance. Once inside we met our guide or host for the 2 days.   He gave us a quick tour of the Main Lodge and we completed all the paper work.   Then another guide took us to our tent with a golf cart. We stayed in one of the L...
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