How to Relax: Phuket style

Relaxing in the morning

Relaxing in the afternoon

With only 3 nights left in Patong, we were checking out condos to rent for next year and enjoying sunset drinks and dinners at a few of our favourite places. We had a great time with guests Claire and Grahame and Tracey, our most regular visitor over the last 10 years! We are Pad Thai and Banana Pancake experts thanks to Tracey!

Relaxed "Shopping" at Otop Market

...more relaxed "shopping" at Otop Market

Relaxing at sundown...2017 featured cocktails include the Long Island Iced Tea (Robin holds the daily consumption record) and the Pina Colada (no sugar) from Ek and his team at Sole Mio. Fanciest cocktail prize goes to the bartender at Home Kitchen.

Toblerone Dessert Cocktail, Home Kitchen

Pina Colada, Sole Mio

Relaxing at Night...Our favourite spots for live music on Bangla Rd this year were Lion Bar, the band at Soi Freedom, Jerry ay Heroes Bar and Rock City. We enjoyed Gary's 50th at Rockin' Angels and had another superb party at Ka Jok See.We would love you to join us next year!

Jerry at Heroes

Soi Freedom

Rock City

Phuket for 2 months

It's been 10 years ( probably a lot longer if you consider all Neil's business travel and our love for holidays and weekends away ) since we spent 55 consecutive nights in the same place! Alen and Umberto Guesthouse, Nanai Rd. Patong is our new home...for the first 10 days we had no agenda.. It takes a week to settle in, to check out all our old favourite places; what's still around, what's good, what's new in town...then we had plenty of time to catch up with locals, Debbie and Gary and regulars Dave, Patrick and Jill and visitors Nikki and Robin....4 fave beaches for 2017...

Northern end of Patong Beach

Koh Rang Yai by longtail boat

Laem Singh Beach: Nikki and Robin

Merlin Beach

...5 places to see a sunset....

Sole Mio, Patong Beach

Little Tiger, Merlin Beach

La Versace, Patong

Sunset Bay, Kalim

Iguana Beach

Christmas and New Year: Hermanus

Christmas time!

 Christmas and New Year is always a wonderful time to spend with family and friends. We arrived in Hermanus late on 23rd December. On 24 December Woolies opened at 6am. Andrea, Paulet, Jean and I were there before 7am, battling the crowds for brussel sprouts and cranberry sauce. Christmas lunch for 16 people sorted, we still had time to celebrate Christmas eve at Bientang's Cave. On Christmas Day we were feeling very nostalgic as this was to be our last round of parties in the Perdeput.We have sold it! We are blessed to be able to spend great times with our wonderful friends and family. We love entertaining and have so many great memories of all the braais and parties at the Perdeput. It's a simple place but it's proof that good times are all about who you are with and not about how lavish your surroundings are. It was great to celebrate Christmas SA style with our US visitors and to have the Boones from Switzerland with us for New Year.

Bientang's Cave

Janet and Victor

Arjen, Harry, Xander, Justine

Gavin, Paulet, Clarissa

The Hermanus area will always be a favourite. We had lots of time to visit our favourtie spots like the Saturday market at Hermanus Piertersfontein and Creation winery. We took a trip to Somereset West to Mont Marie to see the Smit clan and another trip to Hout Bay to stay with Denise and Bert on their boat. We popped over to Betties Bay a few times and hung out like locals at Soul Cafe with Di and Marjo.

On the boat...

Kalagadi in Summer

On 16th December we set off for Kuruman, driving through places like Ventersdorp and Sannieshof and stopping for lunch at Barberspan. It was great to be travelling in SA with Stefan and Andrea again and to have first timers Larry and Jean on tour with us. Paulet, Gavin and Clarissa too. Kuruman has become a dump! We did visit the neglected Moffat Mission station where Livingston proposed to Mary Moffat but it was sad to see how everything is falling apart. Luckily we were staying on a game farm a few kilometres out of town. Once Jean got over all the trophies in her bedroom and we all got over the fact that we got macaroni cheese instead of a braai for dinner, it was fine. At least the drawers in the back of the bakkie were filled with wine. After a grocery stop in Upington we made it to Twee Rivieren in the Kalagadi Transfrontier Park. It was hot! Vrek warm as they would say there! Luckily we were in air-conditioned bungalows and not camping. Note to self and everyone else : never go camping in the Northern Cape in December. On the first game drive that evening we didn't see much and began wondering if the trek was worth it. However, the next morning we had a couple of amazing lion sightings. It's thrilling to realise how much is out there in the desert. All in all we had 8 sightings of lion, 3 of cheetah and lots of birds. There were plenty of gemsbok, springbok and wildebeest and I just loved all the desert giraffe. We spent 2 nights up in Mata Mata and a fourth back at Twee Rivieren.Back through  Upington, we stopped for lunch at Bezelel wine estate. The bobotie was great, the wine not really. The Orange River area is just too hot to make good wine but the table grapes and sun dried raisins are exported all over the world. We spent a night at Augrabies Falls National Park. (It's been about 18 years since we were last there.) The falls were not very full but the canyons at sunset are stunning. We drove to Tankwa Karoo National Park via Calvinia for lunch. The wilderness cottages are isolated, peaceful and romantic with the best vistas across karoo landscapes.The next day we continued our drive south, with a stop for wine tasting and snacks at Gabrielskloof wine farm in Botrivier before arriving in Hermanus.

Kalagadi

Tankwa