As my mom bends down to tie my shoelaces I think to myself, “I'm glad it's not winter.” The walk to school is only 20 minutes but often it's raining and cold in winter. However with the harvest season over my parents have no work and so there's not much food. I set off with a skip in my step looking forward to the meal I will get at school. It's an early start as Nicky and I slink out of the house while the children are still asleep. We are headed to help with an outreach effort run by the Kusasa charity at a local school. As usual we get lost as we try and find our way around the township outside Franschhoek. “Hi, sorry we are lost,” I say as I call Carryn who we're meant to meet at the school. We are stopped outside an area that is really poor with broken shacks everywhere. We try and explain where we are. “Sorry,” Carryn replies, “I don't really know the township very well. I just know how to get to the school and out again.” Now that's handy for us, but we are resolved to find our way. After asking various kids strolling the roads obviously headed to school we eventually locate the Dalubuhle school. It's situated at the top of the township and at the base of a beautiful mountain that rises above it. “Wow,” I say as I look at the school, “this is impressive.” It is obvious that someone has put some money into this school, as a lot of attention has been paid to the buildings and common areas. The walls are filled with fun paintings and even the stairs have games the kids can play that teach maths as they climb them. Nicky and I head down to the reading room where Carryn is going to be teaching Grade 2s English. Arriving in the room we find Carryn with a group of 16 children sitting quietly before her as she tells them, with animated enthusiasm, a story using some bright images to further engage them. “How many brothers and sisters do you have?” Carryn asks a small girl as she teaches them counting. “One - two - three - four,” the girl starts counting with her fingers as she replies, “five - six.” She beams a huge, proud smile at Carryn. The children are all primarily Xhosa speaking, and so teaching them English is not easy. Some of the children seem to have a basic grasp of English, and it soon becomes apparent how important this is. After a few minutes the children all break up into groups and seat themselves at tables where they have to complete a worksheet. This is where we come in...well Nicky, comes in. I'm the blogger, photographer, observer, assessor, person. I'm not that good at wiping snotty noses, patient enunciation, and general kid teaching. Thankfully Nicky has all these skills and is soon engaging the children entusiasitically in the lesson. Similar lessons are unfolding at the other tables. It's now that we realise how important it is that some of the kids speak English. They quickly translate the instructions to their siblings and its heartwarming to see the care and concern they have for each other. This is where ubuntu is born and demonstrated, where the success of all is more important than the achievement of just one.
“I drive in from Paarl” Carryn tells us as we chat to her afterwards about her work with the children. It turns out she volunteers to teach these children three days a week, for no other reason than that she cares. She drives 100km three times a week, and its making a huge difference in these kids lives. It's passion and dedication like this, the unsung, quiet heroes of our country who make both our journey so fulfilling and our country so beautiful. As we leave we see a little girl skipping out of the large school hall. I can see a look of glee on her face. “We provide breakfast for the children everyday,” Sintu the community liaison officer for Kusasa, says as we see other children filing out the hall. “Many of their parents are seasonal workers on the winefarms, and so they often have very little at this time of year. Its the donations of many kind people that help us feed these children. It makes a real difference, one that many never see nor ever know.” As we chew on a crispy chocolate twist and wash it down with Franschhoek's best flat white at The Hoek coffee shop, we marvel about South Africa's paradox. Just minutes from this up-market coffee shop are shacks with hungry kids. Just kilometers from the beauty of Franschhoek is the harshness of shacks. Yet in this paradox is a story of hope. It's a story that shows while our world will always have paradoxes, true beauty exists when the one touches the other, and when both learn and grow from one another. Just outside Franschhoek at the beautiful wine farm La Motte there is a statue of a woman holding an overflowing cup of water. Its the symbol of our experiences, for surely our “cup runneth over”.
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Clip, clip, clip. Once more my tips are trimmed. It's been the same routine for over 40 years. I'm never short of water or food. I'm never too hot or too cold. I'm constantly cared for, constantly groomed, but yet I am still so small. So unbelievably small. How do you script a perfect anniversary day? Well it's hard after the previous day's experiences at Kagga Kamma and God's bedroom - but we are determined nonetheless. The start is obvious. Walk the 100 meters down Frasnschhoek's Huguenot street to the best coffee spot, The Hoek. Begin the day with the best flat white around and their delicious chocolate twists - crispy on the outside with soft chocolate on the inside. Great start! We then head over Hellshoegte Pass to the university town of Stellenbosch. Unlike Franschhoek on the opposite side of the mountain, Stellenbosch is not only bigger and busier, but it has a student vibe not a tourist vibe. The green heart of Stellenbosch is a stunning botanic garden and so we start our visit here. Soon we are immersed it its beauty and tranquility. “This bonsai is 40 years old,” an official and obviously knowledgeable curator says as he gently trims the tree. Everything about it is miniature, even the fruits. It's amazing. “Yes,” he replies, “they are olives. However they are a special olive that is naturally small and so it makes them appear just right for the tree.” It's like we've been transported to a Lilliputian world. In fact we are so enraptured we even consider returning next week for a bonsai course. We wander out the gate and notice a popup art exhibition in a disused building, and discover that Stellenbosch is having a huge art festival. And so begins a visual feast as we stroll through art shows in restaurants and shops, craft markets in hidden corners, and food stalls tantalizingly beckoning the unwary towards them. We soon find ourselves wandering around the vaulted halls of Stellenbosch's museum and art gallery. It's like being in another world - art, music, beauty, history, smells, tastes. It's not long before our meanderings lead us past a restaurant that is advertising a delicious sounding mushroom burger. And so like those helpless to the siren's call we are drawn in for a burger and beer. A student sits with a long empty coffee cup at a nearby table working on his computer, while at another table a group of friends laugh loudly as they clink their glasses in a toast. The food is rich and full of flavor, just like our experience in Stellenbosch. Returning to the botanic gardens towards our car we round off our experience with a dark chocolate cake and a chocolate mousse cake washed down with a double espresso. Our gastronomical glands are enraptured. Did I say “round off our experience”? You can't leave Stellenbosch without wine tasting, it is one of the top wine regions in the world. And so we need to round off, again, our experience, by visiting Blaauwklippen and Lanzerec wine farms for a taste of the grape and a mellowing of the soul. Now we feel fully rounded off! With a glow of contement we drive back to Franschhoek to spend a few hours catching up on life before the coup de grâce of our day - dinner at Rocos.
We arrive at Rocos which is located at Dieu Donne wine farm just before sunset. We are seated outside where we have drinks and watch the sun explode the sky into oranges and reds from behind the mountain. We then move indoors to their beautiful glass enclosed restaurant and settle to enjoy what Josh and Hannah say are the best meals they have ever had - I have a Pork Belly that is superlative, Hannah has the Springbok Loin which is equally delectable and Josh and Nicky share a cheese board starter and a Pork Belly. We all feel a little like porkers with full bellies, but as I drive home and slip into bed I can truly say this has been a day gifted by God…a gift that began 23 years ago and just keeps on getting better. Thank you Lord for 23 years and my four beautiful gifts. The hunt has been good which means we can settle down for a while. The smell of cooking meat hangs in the air as we sit in a circle watching the smoke slowly rise from the fire to the gods above. The gods smile down upon us as they light a million sparkling fires into the dark sky stretched above. As the firelight flickers off the towering rock behind where we are camped, I begin to paint a scene from our hunt. The dancing shadows from the fire make my painted animals appear to move, as I tell our story, as I leave a message for our children, and their children, and for those yet far off. Stories and songs fill the air. Connecting with the outside world in this spectacularly remote place of the Cederberg means a several kilometre drive to reception along the thick sandy roads. Nicky and I head there to get connected and buy some supplies. Last night on our game drive we embarrassingly ended up driving into a secluded camp that had been setup in the bush for a couple - they looked stunned but it looked stunning.Thankfully they were fully clothed. An idea is born. Could we maybe stay there as an anniversary celebration? Would it be affordable? Would it be available? Nicky enquires. It's R750 for a couple and it’s available. This is why we tour in South Africa. That’s a crazy price! We return to our chalet to inform the children that they will be abandoned to their own care, while we head off for a night in the wild. Leaving them with fond reassurances of our love, and intention to return, we head off. The separation is made smoother by the good snacks we’ve arranged for their sundowners…in fact we get a sense that we are being shooed out the door. We climb onto quad bikes and follow a game ranger to the special location called “The Outcrop”. The drive there is thrilling as we bounce and slide along the sandy tracks. The scene that awaits us is truly stunning, taken from postcards or fairytales. A king-sized white linen bed is set on a platform. A table and two chairs is on one side next to a fire that is ready set. On the other side of our bush bedroom is an open shower. Behind the bed a huge rock towers, creating the largest headboard in existence, and framing the most spectacular bedroom ever. This is the ultimate open air bedroom with unhindered views of the open bushland before us and the mountains in the distance. As we have the quads to ourselves we decide to go for a short quad drive. We bounce and slide along the dirt tracks thrilling in the speed and marvelling at having this whole world just for ourselves. The sun begins to melt behind the distant mountains casting a rusty hue over the stunning vista. We head back to our piece of paradise and settle into our comfortable chairs, cracking open the wine and snacks, and breathing deeply of this indescribable experience.
This is yet another ultimate sundowner experience - sitting in absolute tranquility watching the sun sink behind the mountains in front of us from our open air bedroom. But God's splendor is just beginning. While the sun paint’s a riot of fiery colours across the skies before us, behind us a full moon is rising. This is iMax for real. We climb our headboard - the giant rock that shelters our bedroom, and sit atop it looking at the orange moon rising in the distance. Stunning. Words fail. I start our log fire and soon the smell of smoke and braaing meat, crackling warmth and dancing orange flames complete the setting. This area is filled with bushmen paintings, and as we listen to the night sounds its as though I can hear their laughter dancing on the evening breeze, as they once sat around their fire in this this their bedroom and shared stories. The sensual feast is overwhelming. Satiated with good wine and food, and refreshed by the most spectacular open-air shower, we fall into our huge bed, pulling the soft white duvet up high as we gaze up at the starry canopy above us. It's perfectly still. Silence. I slip into a peaceful sleep. The ancient laughter dancing in the air. We wake early to drink in the awesome wonder of this divine bedroom and watch the silvery moon melting behind the distant mountains. On the other side of our bedroom the sun is rising and casting is warming orange rays across the plane. I fire up the gas burner and soon we are sipping filter coffees and soaking in the last moments of this incredible place. It certainly is a place of stories. A place of legends. The story continues, and we’re blessed to have added a page to its telling. |
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