Being more of a ‘bush baby’ my preference has always been the 
bushveld, but when i was invited to stay at Harbour place in Kalk Bay, I jumped at it….obviously 
. Owned by the delightful Zelda Bezuidenhout and under the banner of Escapology Self Catering, Harbour Place is…well what can I say….spectacular. Situated right on the main road going through Kalk Bay to Simons Town is the 
historical hotel, The New Kings. Harbour Place is one of the self catering apartments in The New Kings Hotel. With spectacular views over the harbour, Harbour Place is the absolute ideal place to relax, catch your 
breath and of course….trawl the street of Kalk Bay and St James. Continue reading
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ANNE FRANK TOUR. Amsterdam, Poland. 23rd April – 3rd May 2016
Join us from the 23rd April 2016 to the 3rd May 2016 for the ANNE FRANK TOUR. Hosted by Bryan Andrews from Andprom (www.andprom.co.za) It IS going to be an unforgettable experience. See the basic itinerary below. Just a smidgen of some of the awesome and thought provoking places we will be visiting.
THE WAREHOUSE. S/C Cradle of Humankind. Krugersdorp
So I have this very special friend, Zelda Nel Bezuidenhout, 
whom I met randomly one day a good ten years ago, (serendipity) and only recently does she tell me that she has, not ONE guesthouse, but FOUR guesthouses!!!!! L’escape Eden Island in Seychelles, Harbour Place in Kalk Bay, Cape Town, Kondensmelk & Last Tango Vredefort Dome in Parys AND The Warehouse in the Cradle of Humankind near Krugersdorp!! (All fall under the banner of “Escapeology Self Catering”) http://www.escapologyselfcatering.co.za/
BRIAN GRAHAM GEYER. 23.12.1974 – 02.10.2004
All photos courtesy of Anne Blach Overgaard, who put the beautiful album together for my mom. Photos taken by Anne in Israel, Egypt, South Africa, Denmark and Sweden
We have reached that dreaded day again…the day all our lives changed forever. Like so many people that have lost a sibling and parents who have lost a child, how we long to be able to turn back the clock and have a moment to say good bye. We weren’t given that moment. In a blink of an eye you were gone. Eleven years ago (4015 days ago) you were sadly and tragically taken from us. Not a day goes by that we don’t think of you and miss you. Always something or someone that triggers a memory. Where are you little brother? Love and miss you forever and a day.
BEGINNINGS CAFE. 13 Begin str. Krugersdorp North
After gym this morning I was looking for a place to have a quick bite to eat and came across 
a little cafe in Begin str (opposite Keywest) called BEGINNINGS. I’m absolutely crazy (bordering on obsession) about old houses and buildings, and for years I’ve been driving past this beautiful old house, meaning to go in and have a look, but never did.
UMLANI BUSHCAMP. Timbavati. Hoedspruit
Once again i had the absolute privilege of visiting AND being able to stay at UMLANI 
BUSHCAMP www.umlani.com. As most know, this is one of my favourite camps in the bushveld. Why you ask? Well because to me, this is a true African Safari experience. Simplistic luxury. Ten stunning luxury reed and thatch huts, with on-suite bathrooms and outside showers, no electricity, no cellphones, exquisite scenery, amazing professional staff and guides AND right in the heart of Big 5 territory!! What more could you want?
VALLEY OF THE RAINBOW Country Estate and Nature Reserve. Stoffberg. Dullstroom.
THE VALLEY OF THE RAINBOW Country Estate and Nature Reserve. Stofberg. Dullstroom
Driving to Valley of the Rainbow, I already had a feeling that I was going to be greeted by something very special. Being in the throws of winter I was afraid 
that the dryness would taint this stunning place in a way. Man, was I in for a surprise!! As one enters the Valley of the Rainbow, it’s like entering a different world. Although still dry with very little leaves on the trees, it is so clear that winter has its own beauty, especially in this part of the world.
MICHAEL FERGUSON LIVE
DONT MISS THIS!! FRIDAYS IN JULY
He’s back from his first taste of performing abroad in Europe – Catch Michael Ferguson on his home turf, South Africa, for the best in live entertainment at the Dros Northriding, Fridays in July! For bookings, please call (011) 462 – 3478. #cyouthere
Michael Ferguson – Live @ Dros Northriding!
SHIBULA LODGE. Welgevonden Private Game Reserve
Check this out guys…. I get to go to some of the most amazing places, and one of them is
Shibula Lodge in the Welgevonden Private Game Reserve, near Vaalwater in Limpopo. Desre and Laurie Roux are the managers at this five star, AA Superior Lodge, with new ranger, Matthew doing the game drives and early morning shifts . (sometimes at 4.30am I might add!) 
Des and Laurie have been at Shibula for a good couple of years now and I have been privileged to be able to spend time with them and get to know them on numerous occasions. But enough about them 
. Let me tell you about Shibula. The most luxurious rooms…well you cant really call them rooms. They are more like luxury townhouses, with 
bathrooms almost as big as the rooms, a lounge area to match, enviable Persian carpets scattered everywhere and breathtaking views over the bushveld and cliffs. 
As I was the only guest in the lodge, I was spoilt rotten by Laurie, Desre and Matthew. I even even got to have dinner with Mat and Laurie!!! Rich home-made butternut and ginger soup, fillets braaied to absolute perfection and a surprise desert that I literally force-fed myself so that I didnt miss out The boys were excellent company and did not disappoint as they related crazy stories about their experiences in the bush…some hysterically funny and others pretty sobering. 
As usual, I slept like a 
log (always do when I am in this part of the world) partly because of the top quality mattresses on the beds 
and partly because of the beautiful serine stillness of the bush, with only the sounds of jackal howling and the occasional barking of the baboons up in the crags and cliffs. Morning saw me, once again, having to move on and after a wonderful breakfast served by the MOST friendly, attentive waiters, I hit the road… Thanks again to Mat, Des and Laurie for hosting me and ALWAYS giving me the feeling of “I neeeed to live here!!!” To get more info or to book at this “SUPERIOR” place check out their FB page https://www.facebook.com/shibula.lodge?fref=ts or visit their website at www.shibulalodge.co.za
OLIEVENHOUTSRUS Guest and Game Farm
The Vaalwater area always holds a special place in my heart. Different in a way from the 
Kruger area in that the vegetation is more ‘compact’ and green, it almost gives the feeling of being ‘almost’ in another country, yet only 2 and a half hours from JHB. So when Sandra Nortje, the owner and manager of Olievenhoutsrus invited me to spend a night at their beautiful guest game farm, I jumped at the opportunity. A mere 2 hrs drive from Pretoria, in the heart of the Waterberg mountains, 10 minutes outside the bushveld town of Vaalwater, lies Olievenhoutsrus (roughly translated – Olivewood Rest)
Owned and run by the vivacious Sandra Nortje, Olievenhoutsrus is an oasis in this beautiful bushveld wilderness. This self-catering accommodation has been running for at least 8 years with great success, thanks to Sandra’s background in the hospitality industry and her flair for making her guests feel like family.
Olievenhoutsrus is a lovely peaceful self-catering establishment that has 2 very comfortable rondavals and 2 family cottages that sleep 4 people and 6 people respectively, all in a 
beautiful, well-tended garden setting with full views of the surrounding bushveld. They also have a beautiful fully equipped kitchen in their lapa area that reminded me of my mom’s kitcken when we were younger. The lapa boasts a stunning hard wood dining room table where guests can gather and have dinner together PLUS a nice big screen TV for the guys to watch the rugby or where the kids can watch movies or DSTV (why anyonewould want to do that in the bushveld, I don’t know!
)
I was delighted to spend the night in one of the lovely rondavals on this working farm. A two sleeper with a spacious lounge, kitchenette, small comfortable bathroom off the bedroom and my very own little stoep, overlooking the waterhole and feeding troughs where the animals are fed during part of the winter months.
While sitting outside at dusk, with the red sun shining through the dust, contemplating life and deciding what next adventure I wanted to do, a herd of zebra came meandering towards the feeding troughs. Still learning to negotiate my new Nikon camera, I figured the setting was perfect to try out the camera and take a few shots. As I moved closer, so the setting and composition got better and more and more animals started coming. Eventually, between the beating of hooves and the snorting, the animals had worked up the sand and dust to form the perfect backdrop. There were 3 giraffe, a herd of wildbees and nyala and the zebra. My goodness…did I have a field day clicking away. Have a look…. 
In all the years I have been in the bush and been travelling around, I have never actually seen a real live bush baby. So you can only imagine my excitement when I was sitting outside later that night, to look up into the trees and see this little creature with the biggest eyes looking down at me. My VERY FIRST bush-baby sighting!!! Wow, I was blown away. Sandra later explained that they have a whole group of bush babies which feed at their bird bath in the evenings. I have since learned that the collective nouns for a group of bush babies is a “congress of bush-babies”. (like baboons –but oh-so-much-cuter )
http://www.vaalwateraccommodation.co.za/
Sandra Nortje : +27 (0)82-657-6262