A little break...

Sometimes just getting away from our daily lives does us a world of good. Last week Friday was a public holiday and so Jake, Danie and I piled into the car on Thursday afternoon and headed off to visit friends in Augrabies in the Northern Cape.

Danie managed to get off work a little early on Thursday and we were on the road just after 3. We drove all the way to Springbok and stayed at a stunning lodge, the Blue Diamond Lodge. By the time we got in, it was 9pm and we were all hungry and tired. We had take aways, showered and crawled into our heated beds - it was freezing! I've never had an electric blanket, but I'm SO getting one for next winter! We had a lovely breakfast the next morning and, after a quick guided tour around the lodge with the owner, we made our way onto Augrabies.

The Northern Cape isn't a popular part of South Africa for travllers, but it's seriously under-rated. It's either extremely cold, or very hot and very dry, since it falls within the Kalahari Desert, but if you visit it during these in between times; it's really just gorgeous. It's peaceful and scenic and there's surprisingly lots to see and do. Augrabies is famous for it's beautiful waterfall along the mighty Orange River, which is a must if you're ever in the area. We're hoping to do a longer trip that way sometime soon too - there's still so much that we haven't done yet.

Danie took part in a cycle tour in Upington while we were there and did really, really well, although he said the conditions were very tough. He's braver than me though, I value my bottom too much to risk sitting in a saddle for 3 hours straight. Besides that though, it was really good to see our friends, Wes and Lizelle and their kids again. Late night braai's, afternoon naps - it's a life I could get used too. It was so good to just get away from it all.

Other than that, Jake's on holiday again this week and the soccer season's finally finished (it was really tough being at practices twice a week and getting up for matches early every Saturday morning), so we're enjoying the slightly slower pace. We bunked swimming on Tuesday afternoon and went to see Legends of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'hoole as a holiday treat. It was really good and Jake was mesmerised, he loves that kind of thing. Otherwise, there's not much else happening. I'm already looking forward to the weekend, although it's set to be another busy one.

Hope every one's OK!

Love Sue XXX

PS. Unfortunately, I'm without a camera at the moment, so I don't have a single photo for you. Next time, I promise!