Tourists in our own Country Part One - Mpumalanga

We collected Dave and Crissie at OR Tambo early on Saturday 31st October and were already having morning coffee at Millys by 11am. We took the touristy route via Sabie and Graskop to lunch at the Boskombuis and headed back to Graskop via God's Window to overnight at the Graskop Hotel. RWC Final! I had booked at the Canimambo Mozambiquian Restaurant months in advance in the hopes that we would be watching a SA vs Aussie ( Dave's team ) final. Sadly, the Bokke didn't make it and the place was very quiet. Dave composed himself well after the defeat by the All Blacks.  The next day, after Amarula shots at the Royal Hotel, Pilgrims Rest for morning tea, we headed to the Kruger National Park. Here's a best kept secret... Talamati Bush Camp, about 30kms from Orpen Gate. We loved it. Only 15 huts, a private flood lit water hole, excellent staff and off the beaten track.  The drought meant all the animals had to come to the man made water holes to drink,  which meant the predators were not far behind.  We dragged Crissie and Dave up before 5am every morning but we were well rewarded. We saw four separate sightings of leopard, mating lions and even honey badger. A sable antelope came to our water hole along with hundreds of ellies and buffalo as well as zebra, giraffe, wildebeest, warthog and plenty of buck. On our last game drive we saw  rhino, completing our big five experience.  We did a bush walk too. The rangers who took us out on drives and walks were all professional and friendly;another reason to stay at Talamati.
After 3 nights and 4 days we headed to Dullstroom and stayed in the delightful Cedar Cottage. Wild about Whisky is a definite stop; they have the biggest collection of Whisky in SA and very generous with the tastings. I recommend the whisky and chocolate truffle tasting. We ate dinner at Art of Food, a good spot because Mrs. Simpson's was closed on a Wednesday.

Hit the SA ground running...

We arrived back in SA in time to celebrate DAD'S 80th birthday with one party in Hazyview and another at Gilroys Brewery in Joburg. We watched the RWC semifinals in Dullies; our poor Bokke outplayed by the all powerful, all favourite All Blacks! We had a busy week in Joburg, servicing the bakkie, the caravan and ourselves ( hairdresser, dentist, doctor and beautician)before taking up our new positions as private tour guides.We are ready to welcome our awesome international friends to our amazing country and we extend the invitation to all of you.

RWC 2015 part three

Finally, the Bokke ended up at the top of Pool B and we had the right Quarters tickets after all.We stayed with the London Greenfields in Chiswick as we do and London was abuzz with rugby fever. There were plenty of visiting and resident Saffers out and about and we felt like we we new at least half of them. We had a busy week catching up with family and friends and got the Quarters weekend party going in Soho on Friday night. A surprise late entry to our supporters clan were Nick and Kerry from Wales, a splash of red amidst the green and gold pre-match lunch at the Rock and Rose in Richmond. The atmosphere was great, the game exciting and the win worth celebrating. Back in Richmond we found a wonderful Italian Restaurant to celebrate and watch the 2nd quarter final.

On Sunday the rugby continued, with lunch at a pub in Soho with Eric and Veronica and friends and 2 more quarter finals to watch. In the end, four Southern Hemisphere teams went through to the Semis with the Bokke to face the looming All Blacks and the Travelling Greenies boarding a plane to sunny SA.

RWC 2015 part two

In between games, we travelled to  Nottingham, through the Peak District, Yorkshire Dales and North York Moors and up to Newcastle for the SA vs Scotland game at St James' Park on Saturday 3rd October. Mylene, Coenraad, Eva and Coemy joined us at the campsite. Newcastle is a great little city, revamped and revitalised with plenty of nightlife. We met before the game at the Blond Barrel and ended up there afterwards too. The good Bok win meant we could breathe a little easier. On Sunday we dashed down to Peterborough to Rina and Menon's place for a reunion and to celebrate Nikki's birthday. On Wednesday 7th October we drove to Harpenden, parked up Homer and travelled into the Olympic Stadium with Coenraad and Coemy to see the last of the pool games for the Bokke; SA vs USA. It was great to see our team get a convincing win (64 - 0) for a change; filling both the team and the fans with confidence for the Quarters. On 8th , we took Homer back to Europe on the ferry, making it back to Germany in time for the wonderful SA wine tasting party at Peggy and Gary's. By Monday 12th, we were on a plane back to London; the Homer 2015 oddessy over.