Hope you guys aren’t getting sick of Africa yet, because I still have a fair few photos of my trip home to share! I don’t think I ever realised it when I was younger but I am incredibly lucky to have grown up in such a diverse environment. My hometown of George is located about 10 minutes away from some of the most beautiful beaches in Africa (not a biased opinion or anything), about another 45 minutes to the east and you are straight into a dense forest and about another 50 minutes north and you are smack bang right in the middle of the Karoo. I remember my very first trip to the Karoo – we had an old beater of a car with thick fluffy car seats and no aircon… yuck! It got so hot and dry in the car that the birdseed we kept in the car popped like popcorn. Luckily this time around, we ventured out on a crisp winter’s day and I was pleased to see that not a whole lot has changed since I was a kid. My 84 year old grandmother made the long journey from Johannesburg to spend a few days with me and we were very lucky that she agreed to join us for the road trip (she would have been far more happy parked in front of the Tswana soap operas with her knitting) but we think she had fun, in spite of herself. We were chauffeured by my soon-to-be-brother-in-law, traced our ancestors on a settlers ledger, we browsed the farm shops, we searched for ostriches and ended the day by eating a heart-stopping traditional meal that made me miss my home country just a little bit more.
And lest you forget you are in a dangerous country, a reminder is never far away. A country of stark contrasts for sure.
Images | Wishful Thinking
What a beautiful place you grew up in! LOVE these photos and so nice to see you with your grandmother.
ReplyDeleteOh, you've captured your home so vividly and beautifully. Ever since seeing Out of Africa ages ago (it was on again last night!), I've wanted to set foot on this continent myself. Thank you for sharing it with us, and yes, I LOVE that photo of you and your grandmother! XO
ReplyDeleteIt is absolutely beautiful there and the pictures of the old buildings (houses?) are adorable. Glad you also got to hang out with grandma. Family time is so rare these days but so worth it
ReplyDeletegrandma! i love that photo, it's nice seeing her face being as i have heard you talk of her before. she is looking good for 84! i am definitely not tired of your photos from africa. i don't know how it is in the rest of the world but africa in america is very much portrayed as one country, that is lion king-esque, rather than the continent that is filled with many diverse cultures and landscapes - so i really love seeing where you grew up, seeing south africa and hearing about it from your perspective.
ReplyDeleteps why did you keep bird seed in your car? xoxo
Lol. Didn't realise how weird that sounded until you pointed it out! I believe we were actually moving at the time and my sister's horrible lovebird "Cheeky" was in the car with us, hence the birdseed. There also happened to be two hamsters who managed to get out of the cage (and my mom was deathly afraid of them) but that's a story for another day.
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