Hazyview... or Rainy-view?

During varsity holidays my parents, my boyfriend and I made our way to Hazyview in Mpumalanga. My mom was lucky enough to be given accommodation for the week at the Hazyview Cabanas resort. It was such a stunning place to stay. We were near to the pool and a short walk away from the Sabie river and Body Bliss Day Spa (which I’m happy to report that we did indeed visit).

We set out on the Monday morning and took our time on the road, stopping in Dullstroom for a walk along the main road and through a little craft shop which provided a recurring joke for the week, when we came across their “willy-warmers” (it was basically a mielie with a hole in the middle). Chris got a real kick out of it.  We arrived at the resort that afternoon and it was a lovely, hot day. After unpacking the car, the guys were determined to take a dip in the pool and they did just that! I, on the other hand, decided that the water was much too cold.

Tuesday morning we took it slow and after breakfast, took a walk down to the river at the bottom of the resort. It was so simple yet so beautiful at the same time and amazingly peaceful. We must have spent an hour and a half just taking pictures there. Chris was on a mission to jump on as many rocks as he possibly could in order to make it to the other side of the river with no success. Walking back, we stopped at the entertainment area near the spa and being out of season, it was so quiet as was the whole resort. Picking up ice-creams at the shop, we made it back to the chalet in time for a game of cards (and a nap for dad) before lunch. The weather was pretty lousy, overcast and rainy for the rest of the day, so we stayed indoors and relaxed for the afternoon.

Wednesday we dedicated to driving through the Kruger National Park. With the weather still not looking up, we didn’t think there would be many animals out for us to see. However, in the end the day turned out to be rather successful. We saw many millions of buck (maybe a tad over exaggerated), a bunch of birds, some buffalo, the much anticipated Hippos (which I was all too keen to see, and one even obeyed my request for a yawn and that Hippo-noise they make *you may laugh*). We only managed to see one lion, although it was out in the distance. I was really excited to see the Giraffe and I even named one Melman (hehehe...). We were seriously close to riding into a herd of about 40 elephant crossing the road. And the most amazing sighting all day was the Cheetah. It’s an interesting story, really. In short: Cheetah walking down middle of road, at least ten cars following it and Nicole hanging out of window with camera in absolute awe. It was the first Cheetah I have ever seen in the wild and it was a pretty amazing experience. Not too far down the road we were privileged enough to see a Cheetah right next to the road after just catching some prey. It was surreal.

Thursday went by in a blur. All I remember was being treated to an amazing 30 minute back and neck massage at the day spa (Thanks Mom and Dad!). More rainy weather and a drive down the main road to Hazyview town and up to my dad’s late aunt’s farm (I think that happened on Thursday- this was back in September, so forgive my terrible memory, please). The day ended with me reluctantly packing my bags.

Friday morning we loaded up the car and headed home in the most horrid storm heading out of Mpumalanga. After a much needed and most welcome relaxing week we made it home safely. I am so grateful for that week, and it was just the kind of break I needed to get me through the final term of the year.

Please enjoy some of the photos we took (yes, only some).

A small shop in Dullstroom, I took this photo for my Grampa, Bert

Posing by the trees next to the river

The herd of Elephant crossing the road

The babies were just too cute ^_^

My Hippo-friend

The Cheetah

The pack of cars that was following the Cheetah

It's Melman!

The Cheetah kill

I loved this turtle! He was probably as tall as me (okay maybe a little shorter)
His presence at the resort represents child-friendly facilities

Stopping for lunch on Monday

Rock jumping at the river

Until next time,

Keep smiling,

<3 Nicole_Kayley

Return of the Blogger

I am incredibly excited and happy to be back on my keyboard to bring you a new blog post! I was shocked when I logged into the blogger account and saw that my last post was the 26^th of July!! *hides face in shame*. But to be brutally honest I just haven’t had the time to blog. As desperately as I’ve wanted to and all the ideas I’ve come up with, I just never found the time. However, I shall be making it up to you in the next few weeks. I have so much to share about the past three and a half months... It’s crazy!

Since I last blogged, some interesting things have happened around here that I would love to share in more detail. So, it snowed all over South Africa, I did a bunch of tests and assignments, I surprised my boyfriend with a troll cake for his birthday, we took a trip to Hazyview, more assignments, a long weekend in Clarens, more tests and assignments, some work here and there, some music along the way, an inspirational Jo’burg skyline, I lost 5kgs and started exercising, four exams later, and I finally finished my first year of varsity yesterday! That’s basically the past three months in a whirlwind, but I will be sharing more in the next few days... so stick around! And I might throw in a Snapshot post or two as well... Don’t miss out!

I went back and read the last post I wrote and I was actually surprised with myself. Embarrassingly, I had forgotten what I had even written about, but upon reading it I felt a sense of pride and satisfaction. While writing a motivational post such as that one, I didn’t think of how I would stay true to my word. Everything I mentioned about being a postage stamp and getting there rings true to my final months of the varsity year. I am quite proud to say that I did just that! I put my mind to it, I worked hard and I came out stronger on the other side. I’m hoping you can say the same for yourselves. Let me know of your motivational success stories and post a comment below. I’d love to hear from you!

Until next time,

Keep your head up, and smile!

<3 Nicole_Kayley