The great braai project has started. We had to remove all the grass and ended up with a huge sand pit. The kids enjoyed it, but the house is full of sand.
We went on a long overdue 11 day holiday up the Wild Coast. We first went to Areena Riverside Resorts just north of East London on the Kwelera river. Took about 4 hours to do the 350km due to all the pee stops. We spent the weekend there, the kids loved it. There was a big playground with trampolines, swings, slides etc. and lots of small kids to play with. Kayra, of course, fell into the river while fishing off a very wobbly jetty. Luckily it was just after Shirley insisted on them putting their arm bands on. She did very well righting herself and waiting for me to get there to pull her out.
Monday we packed up and left at 9:30am for Port Edward, about 550km. The part through the Transkei was not too bad. The bit over the pass from Mount Ayliff to Kokstad was a nightmare. We rode into a massive hail storm. We were the last car through the pass before it was closed. The hail was about 10cm deep and the road very slippery. Took us about 40 minutes to do about 5 km. The thunder, lightning and hail was spectacular. Luckily the car was not damaged.
The part from Kokstad down to Port Shepstone was hell. Jorja, especially, decided she needed to pee and poo. With very little space to pull off the road we ended up doing them on the move. At one time every 15 minutes, and nothing actually happening. Think she was just bored and found a way to keep everyone entertained. Shirley was ready to murder the kids by Port Shepstone.
The part from Port Shepstone to Port Edward went quite fast. We arrived in Port Edward at 5:30pm in the dark and found the first grocery store to buy supplies. Our accommodation at Caribbean Estates was self catering. Needless to say, a lot of braaing and wine drinking happened.
We arrived at Caribbean Estates just after 6pm. The house was amazing, very open and airy. Had 3 bedrooms, one of which we used to store all the junk. We had a great time there, spent most of the time at the river fishing, at the pool lounging and on the balcony braaing.
We spent a day at the Wild Coast Sun, just across the Umtamvana river. We went on the ferry on a relaxing trip up the river, kids had a ball.
Friday we left just after 8am for the trip back to Areena. The week was far too short. The trip went quite well and fast until Umtata. It took us almost an hour to get through the city due to the Friday afternoon month-end mayhem. Same for Butterworth. We arrived back at Areena just before 5pm in the rain. Was interesting pitching the tent in the rain and keeping the kids and everything else dry. Anyway we managed and had a quick supper and went early to bed.
The weekend was extremely cold, winter had definitely arrived. Spent most of the time fishing to get rid of bait. Didn't catch much!
Monday we packed up and took a slow drive back to Port Elizabeth. Everyone had a great time, although it was far too short. I desperately needed a recharge of the batteries and the holiday definitely helped.
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