Arum Lilea - Mpumalanga

Hello Journeyers and Happy Friday!
Tomorrow we are already entering the 3rd month of the year. I am extremely excited about today's post. This is a brand new series to my blog! I will have a Guest "Blogger" (won't necessarily always be a blogger) that will share a destination or travel experience with all of you, my loyal readers. When I first thought about this idea it was very easy for me to pick my opening blogger! I have been following Leanne over @ Arum Lilea since I've started blogging. And I've had the privilege of meeting her too, what a sweet person! She is beautiful with such a kind heart. And she is one of those all in one packages. Brains and beauty. So before I ramble on and you guys start losing interest....without further ado - here's Leanne!

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Hi everyone!  I’m so honoured to write the first Guest Travel Post for Our Journey to Everywhere.  When Johlet first asked me to do this post, I sat wondering where in the world I most enjoy travelling.  As someone who is completely infected with the travel bug, I love to explore internationally but I also appreciate the extraordinarily beautiful destinations we have in South Africa so today I’m bringing you a little bit of love from home:  Mpumalanga.

Mpumalanga?  People ask me all confused.  Yes, Mpumalanga.  It is one of my favourite places on this earth.  More specifically, Blyde River Canyon and the Panorama Route.  In this particular part of the world you can expect forests, waterfalls and views that your eyes might not believe.

The Panorama Route comprises of various stops including Bourke’s Potholes, Berlin falls, Lisbon falls, God’s Window and the Pinnacle.  On route there are also two sets of caves; the Sudwala caves and Echo caves that are also worth visiting. 

This route requires you drive the distance between each stop which means you’re doing a lot of driving around but the route is circular so it does bring you back to your starting point.  If you don’t feel like doing the driving yourself there are travel shuttles that you can organise through your hotel or information centre that will do the driving for you.  We were driving ourselves so we decided to divide the route into two day trips which worked out perfectly.

I’d recommend you take a packed lunch as there isn't very much in the way of restaurants once you’re out there.  We stopped at Spar in the morning and bought fresh rolls and cheeses and popped them in the cooler bag with a few bottles of water.  This is also so lovely to do because it means you end up picnicking surrounded by the most beautiful views.  On your way back to the hotel, Harrie’s Pancakes is not to be missed!  It is right outside Graskop Hotel and it has pancakes like you've never tasted them before.  My favourite is the milk tart filled pancake – nom nom nom.

The first time I ventured out here, I stayed at Graskop Hotel which is a very sweet hotel very close to the start of the Panorama Route.  If you don’t mind staying a little further away, I've also stayed Casa do Sol, a four star hotel in Hazyview.  This is a very romantic hotel with lovely spacious rooms (the double villas).  Our room rate included breakfast and dinner which were both delicious.  I also enjoyed staying at this hotel because the drive from Hazyview to Graskop takes you through Sappi’s forests which are beautiful.  The hotel also had a wonderful spa and lovely pool area which are both worth visiting on the days you've chosen to relax all day.

If you’re planning on road-tripping out here, have a look for specials for Casa do Sol.  I found ours on mtbeds.co.za which was R5000 for 3 nights including breakfast and dinner.   Graskop Hotel was about R700 a night including breakfast.  Other costs involve small entrance fees into the viewpoints, majority of which are R10. 

Don’t forget sunscreen and lots of water and I can guarantee you will have an incredible time and make memories for a lifetime.

You can find her here:

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Did you love this as much as I did? Then please leave your love at the bottom of the page and go share your love with Arum Lilea! After reading this I must admit I am even more confused on where to go for our mid year holiday break. As Mpumalanga is on our shortlist. And Leanne's photos just made me really jealous. 

Have a wonderful weekend everyone! Share your love. Even it's just with a smile! Brighten someone's day! 

Reasons to visit....Cape Town

Hello Journeyers!
It's Reasons to visit time again! And today I am sticking to my South African roots and am taking you to the ever so beautiful Cape Town! I am pretty sure that 95% of the worlds population knows this gorgeous piece of country. And if not Cape Town then I am sure you have at least heard of Table Mountain. I grew up in Mossel Bay, which is only 4 hours drive from Cape Town. And my one aunt lives there so you can imagine that when school holidays, long weekends or even just weekends came along that that is where we were going. And I loved every minute of it. There is literally only one thing I would like to change about Cape Town and that's the water temperature. haha! It's a tad bit too cold for me. So let's do....

CAPE TOWN & Surrounding Areas

#ojte_travel

1. Table Mountain - In 2011 it was votes as one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature. That's a big accomplishment (in my eyes) for South Africa and especially Cape Town. I have been up on Table Mountain and the views from up there are beyond breathtaking. Although I did get a bit freaked out when standing closer to the edge. Who knew...I love flying but apparently I'm terrified of heights. I do admit, if you going during peak season don't even bother trying to go. The queue that you stand in is horrible! Cedric and I went there in December 2010, we arrived, looked at the line of people, turned around, took a picture of us in front of TM and off we went. At least we could say we were there.

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2. Wine farms - I think I remember visiting a wine farm with the parentals once. But I was underage. So I wasn't really bothered with what was going on around me. To me it was just fun to be in a place where they sell alcohol and I'm allowed in. And the times that I went to CT after I turned 18 I didn't have the budget to visit wine farms. So yes, this is one thing that I want to do first when ever going to CT again! According to the Cape Town Travel website these are the Top 5 Wine Routes. Constantia Valley Wine Route // Stellenbosch American Express® Wine Routes // Helderberg Wine Route // Durbanville Valley Wine Route // Franschhoek Wine Route

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3. Clifton Beach - This is where I wish I was a millionaire so that I can afford one of the beautiful homes that overlook this gem of a beach. Although the water is freezing and I have no clue how people actually swim in it. I would still not mind waking up and looking at a sunrise with a view that will take my breath away every single day. And not to even mention the sunsets. We actually stayed in an apartment when we visited in 2010. And boy was my heart very heavy when the time arrived for us to pack up and go.

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4. Robben Island - Another thing that is rather high up on my to do list when we go to CT again. I know shocker. I'm a South African and I've never been to Robben Island. But I will get there don't worry. It's good to learn a bit of that side of the South African History. RIP Nelson Mandela.

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5. Long Street - Looking for a place to party? Then this is the street to go to. What more can I say. Grab a bite to eat and party the night away. End it off by watching the sunrise on a rock somewhere on the beach with some Mc Donalds.

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6. Mariner's Wharf - I absolutely love this restaurant! Plus Hout Bay is pretty awesome too. It's like a completely different world from CT and not too far from it. Best of both worlds! The food is good and the view even better.

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7. Blue Peter (The Blue Peter Hotel) - Looking for a spot where you can have the best sunset and view of Table Mountain. Then this is the place to go. I remember every school holiday we would go there, watch the sunset and have something to eat. Us cousins would just sit and relax on the grass while sipping on our cool drinks. Yip still underage at that point! hehe! But I see my cousins still go do it. Ahhh and at those moments my jealous green monster start creeping up onto my back and into my head. I will really love it to live in Cape Town.

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And there you have it. If you have been to Cape Town before. Please do share what your favourite place was/is to visit. And if you are planning a trip down to Cape Town. Please let me know if you will be visiting any of the above spots.

Costs of some of the things are:
Table Mountain - Adult R215 Return // R110 One Way
Robben Island - R250 which includes return trip across Table Bay, visit to the prison and a bus tour of the island.

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Disclaimer: All of the content and images posted are my own unless otherwise specified / linked to the original source. Please feel free to share photographs and material from this site but please link back to the original image or post. As always all comments and opinions are my own.

Insta-Monthly

Hello Journeyers!
Is it only me or is this year already FLYING by and I can't keep up anymore. I have so many BIG decisions to make and I'm really struggling with it. It's especially annoying because I am getting mixed responses from the people around me. So now it's up to me I assume.
Anyway, I realised the other day that I have not done my Insta-Monthly posts since December and I frankly miss them! So here you go. This Insta-Monthly will make up for my December - January - February misses.

We are ready to enter 2014! 

I don't look too bad for someone who only went to bed at 5:30am

Last night in Mauritius. What better way than to end it with very strong cocktails!

We brought back a mascot for our car and named it Mo-Dodo

Mo-Dodo on his first weekend trip with Mo-Landy

We also bought a rooftop tent for Mo-Landy! Our first night testing it out!

Pimped out and ready to take on Africa

My boo went back to MRU for business. And I missed him...

I babysat Landan and he took over our room.

High Tea with these gorgeous blogger ladies

Boo is back! Balloons to welcome him

Hmmm yummy cocktails for our date night

When the weather is bad, we party it on at home

So proud of this lady. I went to school with her and she's doing so well for herself. She blogs too!

We found this amazing camp site. Blog Post coming soon

We love spending time next to the fireeeee

I attended a Media Launch at The Maslow Hotel. Perfect venue. Blog post also coming soon.

We celebrated V-day and Cedric got spoiled in bed.

What better way than to be at home on V-day. 

We went camping with Tammy and her husband and daughter. Thanks to her Cedric wants children. haha

Do you enjoy my Insta-Monthly posts? Want me to keep doing them? Let me know below! :)

You can follow us on Instagram - Our Journey to Everywhere or #ojte_travel

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Disclaimer: All of the content and images posted are my own unless otherwise specified / linked to the original source. Please feel free to share photographs and material from this site but please link back to the original image or post. As always all comments and opinions are my own.

River Run Resort Family Campsite

Hello Journeyers!
I was a bit confused shocked when I looked at my posts side bar now. I only did 2 blog posts last week. One of them being my "Affordable Fridays"! Unacceptable! I really have to blog more! And to be honest I have been missing blogging so much. But at the same time have been so crazy busy at work. And I realised that I also miss my Insta-Monthly posts so I will be bringing those back to from next week! Woohoo! Double Yay! As all of you know we bought Mo-Landy last year. And since then Cedris has been wanting to "pimp" out the car to go do proper bush trips. You know get the whole awning, roof rack, roof tent, floating toilet and fridge. So we got the awning and roof rack but Cedric wanted the tent desperately. When we came back from holiday he was past want and determined to get one ASAP. So that's exactly what he did. We bought the roof tent the Thursday and were packed and ready the Friday and on the road and on our way to River Run Resort.

About
"We are situated in the Beautiful Vredefort Dome ,Parys along the Vaal River. This Family Camping Site is on a Private Game Breeding Lodge just 60 minutes drive from Johannesburg 36 km from Potchefstroom and 42 km from Parys"

I grew up in a family that loved camping, and to be honest when I was younger I loved it. The whole sharing a bathroom with 1000's of others did not put me off at all. Now. Well that's a different story. I'm very fussy about that. Call it snobbish but it just freaks me out a bit. When Cedric and I went to camp last year after we bought our 3 second pop up tent we tried a place. It wasn't dirty but we only stayed the night and left early the next morning. We showered at home. This place I was blown away with. Although they weren't very busy, the ablution blocks were spotless. And I'm not lying.

We spent our the weekend relaxing in the pool as it was extremely hot or sitting under a tree soaking up the beautiful scenery. We asked for a stand next to the river and surprisingly the mozzies weren't as active as I expected. I'm a mozzie magnet. It is very annoying. We enjoyed a nice braai every evening and were baked out of the tent early morning. But I didn't complain, I loved it. There are 28 River Front Stands and 8 Grass stands at the back.

Things to do
There are so many things here to keep you entertained, whether young or a bit older. From fishing, birding to table tennis. They also have tubes that you can float on down the river. I REALLY wanted to do this but I couldn't handle the heat so were hiding in the shade most all of the time. Parys is also a mere 42km from the place so perfect to sneak off to go have a nice lunch. If you are the active type they do have walking trails and mountain biking trails. So yes it is very safe to say that you will not be bored.

Things that made me happy
The ablution blocks were extremely clean. A few people we spoke to who were camping there too that weekend told us how impressed they were.
The Tuck Shop. It kept my mouth and their till full most of the weekend.
The views were so pretty. Looking at the mountain while listening to the river. 
The manager was so friendly. Thank you for your hospitality.

Things that made me sad
I wish they had more trees to create shade. When it's so hot and you are running around with your chair chasing after the shade, it's not nice.
I can picture that camp site with trees as far as the eyes can see. It will really round of that picture perfect view.
Something to consider in the near future is to maybe put up some sort of divider between each campsite. I know it's a long shot because it's a campsite. Even if only on the stands next to the river. It will create a more private feel to your spot.

If you love camping and have children (or don't) you will really enjoy this place. We really had such a nice time and with the efficient staff and management you can't go wrong here. Thank you to the staff for keeping the premises and ablutions so clean! Almost makes me feel like I'm at home. Except I'm sleeping on a car in a tent. But close enough.

 

Rates vary. We paid R260 per night for a River Front Stand. Children 5 years and younger stay free and children 6 - 12 pay 50% of the sharing rate. There is no minimum stay.

You can find them here:

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Please share with me what you think of the place if you decide to go visit.

My OJTE Star Rating is.....drum roll please!!!

We are already packed and ready to go camping...again. We will be going with Tammy and her little family. I am very excited. It's nice to see how others camp. Seeing as we are still fairly new to camping you can pick up nice tricks from other more matured campers. Have a wonderful weekend everyone and stay safe! Make the best of the last weekend of February 2014!

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Disclaimer: All expenses were paid for by us for our weekend to River Run Resort. As always, all thoughts and opinions are our own. All of the content and images posted are my own unless otherwise specified / linked to the original source. Please feel free to share photographs and material from this site but please link back to the original image or post.