Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn

WICKED above her hipbone, GIRL across her heart
Words are like a road map to reporter Camille Preaker’s troubled past. Fresh from a brief stay at a psych hospital, Camille’s first assignment from the second-rate daily paper where she works brings her reluctantly back to her hometown to cover the murders of two preteen girls.

NASTY on her kneecap, BABYDOLL on her leg
Since she left town eight years ago, Camille has hardly spoken to her neurotic, hypochondriac mother or to the half-sister she barely knows: a beautiful thirteen-year-old with an eerie grip on the town. Now, installed again in her family’s Victorian mansion, Camille is haunted by the childhood tragedy she has spent her whole life trying to cut from her memory.

HARMFUL on her wrist, WHORE on her ankle
As Camille works to uncover the truth about these violent crimes, she finds herself identifying with the young victims—a bit too strongly. Clues keep leading to dead ends, forcing Camille to unravel the psychological puzzle of her own past to get at the story. Dogged by her own demons, Camille will have to confront what happened to her years before if she wants to survive this homecoming.

With its taut, crafted writing, Sharp Objects is addictive, haunting, and unforgettable.

This was my least favourite Gillian Flynn novel. It was kinda twisty, but I still found it fairly predictable. The characters were strange. I dunno. It didn't really resonate with me. I think read it if you've read her others, but if you haven't ... start with something else.

01 - 03 May: Bot River to Cape Town to Johannesburg

We left KolKol after a delish breakfast (did I mention they provide you with fresh eggs, milk and butter?!) and headed home to Mom's for our last night before catching the train back to Joburg.

We had a little bit of a debacle in our quest to acquire some Cloudy Apple. We stopped at Peregrine again but they were sold out. But apparently the Houw Hoek Farmstall, which we'd passed earlier, should still have. So we decided we weren't in a rush so why not. And we managed to get their last four-pack. Yay!

For our last dinner in Cape Town, we headed to Catherina's with the folks. Shew. It was a pretty delish dinner and we discovered another good wine (which we're still trying to get more of!), Steenberg's Echo Red Blend.

The next morning we headed out early to catch our train home. This time we left on time, yay! The first half of the trip was lovely. I read a lot and we got to enjoy the scenery. But we did seem to have a carriage full of kiddies.



Sadly the next day proved to cement our decision to not use the train again any time soon. When we woke up, we were running about an hour late. A vast improvement on our trip down, you'd think? But we progressively lost more and more time.

We thought when we got to Krugersdorp station, it'd be safe to let our friends who had offered to collect us know we'd probably arrive in an hour. Unfortunately it took us over 2 hours to go 5km. Apparently there was something wrong with the signals.

Now I get that things can go wrong, but really, no one communicated well with us on either train trip and you really are stuck, waiting in the queue when things do. There is no faster option (except if they put you on a bus, which is way less comfortable).

We eventually, along with a lot of other people, decided to give up and get out at Luipaardsvlei and get a lift from there. The train did end up leaving in the 20mins after making the decision that we were left waiting for our lift, but who knows how many more stops they had along the way.

I loved the train trip. I would recommend it, but really you need a lot of books (Kindle ftw!) and to not be in any sort of hurry. And I think if you have kids under the age of 10 it's probably quite a fun experience for them. So, maybe we'll try again one day ... for our eventual kids.

A Weekend with Mom

Shew. This weekend flew by. It was a decent mix of busy and relaxed ... but I definitely could've done with a lie in this morning.

On Friday I raced home after work to see Mom. We hung out and took Pepper for a walk. Gypsy loved having her here too and spent the weekend sleeping in the spare room with Mom instead of us - haha. At least she had a substitute for Finny & Jax (her cats), that she'd left at home (obvs).

On Friday evening we decided to stay in so The Trucker made us the Gammon with Broccoli and we watched The Other Woman.

Meh, the movie was nothing special. Pretty predictable. I have been banned from picking the movies since Noah and now this - haha. Also, can you believe Cameron Diaz is over 40. It's so bizarre. While she doesn't look like she should be in an older "mom" role (not that she was in this), I'm also not so sure she is aging very well. Anyhoo. Still, don't bother watching this one.

On Saturday morning The Trucker took Pepper to Puppy Training while I stayed home and had a lazy morning with Mom. When he got home we headed out. We tried the Bosheuval Market. I think it is their first one. Perhaps it'll get better and fill out ... it was pretty dull. We took a wander around their beautiful gardens and left.

We decided that since we were out that way, we'd try The Culinary Table for lunch. Shewee. The Trucker & I shared their Butternut & Feta Open Lasagne (BEST!) and a 3-Cheese Toasted Cheese. And Mom had a starter portion of their Laksa Mussels (which I got to taste). Very good. And it looks like they change their menu monthly.

After that we headed home for a relaxing afternoon and a nap. I took Pepper for a quick walk around the complex as well.

For dinner we headed to Cafe Mexicho, which we haven't been to in ages! Shewee but the Chili Poppers were hotter than I remembered! And they have a new flavoured Frozen Margarita (Pina Colada), which I tried and was quite nice mixed with the strawberry :) We shared their nachos with chicken and quesadilla's for mains. Good thing too! We've definitely learnt we can not finish the food there :)

We rolled home! Haha. And then decided to try another movie before bed. This time we tried Transcendence. It wasn't bad (hello, Johnny Depp) but, I still managed to fall asleep somewhere towards the end.

On Sunday The Trucker was up early again for an early cricket game and Mom and I had another lazyish morning reading in bed. But we were up and walking Pepper around the complex before 10am and then I took her to the Fourways Farmers Market :) Damn, that place has exploded since I was last there (okay so it was more than a year ago)!

The parking was insane! And there were masses of people bustling around. We wandered the stalls tasting and trying things along the way before attempting to get Mom some coffee ... which we very quickly gave up on and decided that Bubbly was the better way to go. The queue had barely moved in the coffee queue by the time we got back and were sipping while sitting on a hay bale.



We decided to share a Balkan Burger and follow it up with a Nutella and Custard Pancake (also to share, wow it was so rich, I could never have had my own one!). And then we decided to head home with our bags of goodies (I got some aubergine pesto and halloumi and a Brownie from The Counter for The Trucker).

And then we didn't do much for the rest of the afternoon till we had to take mom back to the airport :( We took Pepper along and took her to Golden Harvest afterwards for a walk (she met geese for the first time. And barked her head off at some horses being ridden by policemen in a road block en route to the airport! Haha).

And then we had an early dinner at The Mariner with @Sascha_with_a_C. Half price sushi? Yes, please.

Now do you see why I needed a lie-in? Haha.

Having the Best Day

Sorry today's post is late, I was busy booking flights to Istanbul (!!) Squeal. Yes folks. This is happening for really reals.

But before I get to that, back to the past week. /Tries to remember/ ...

Oh yes. I had to be in a workshop for work on Monday & Tuesday so got home later than usual (after a much longer drive thru traffic than usual!). Pretty exhausted. So we didn't do anything in the evenings.

But I did still manage to squeeze in a walk for Pepper, every day this week :) Mom flew up from Cape Town for the weekend yesterday. Awe, she got to see our new house and meet the Pepsicle :D And she brought me my new pair of alpaca wool gloves, knitted by The Peeb.

Oh yes, and Pepper went for a wash and came back with a trim! She is looking like a proper little Schnauzer now. It's not a full Schnauzer-cut, but more like a winter cut. So she's lost the rough long curls (and no longer looks like a teddy bear) and you can finally see her face! Would've taken a pic, but haven't had a chance for a good one yet. She looks sooo cute and is so soft now :)

We took Mom out to Parkhurst's Christmas in July last night. It was alright. We bought some gluhwein and strolled the street. The Trucker was right, it would've been much nicer if they had actually closed the road for the evening. And unfortunately the shops didn't really have anything that interested us enough to buy.

And I'd tried to book a table for dinner at Craft, but they weren't taking bookings (I hate that in a restaurant). So we thought we'd try Coobs. But we didn't have a booking :/ Can't win. So we left and headed to Tei Avon for shwarmas. Yum :)

So yeah, today could not be better: 1. It's pay day 2. We booked our flights this morning and 3. Mom is here for the weekend. Work is also going well, although busy, I'm enjoying it. And we are about to book our tour in Turkey. The smile on my face is huge.

Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey

In this darkly riveting debut novel - a sophisticated psychological mystery that is also an heartbreakingly honest meditation on memory, identity, and aging - an elderly woman descending into dementia embarks on a desperate quest to find the best friend she believes has disappeared, and her search for the truth will go back decades and have shattering consequences.

Maud, an aging grandmother, is slowly losing her memory - and her grip on everyday life. Yet she refuses to forget her best friend Elizabeth, whom she is convinced is missing and in terrible danger.

But no one will listen to Maud - not her frustrated daughter, Helen, not her caretakers, not the police, and especially not Elizabeth's mercurial son, Peter. Armed with handwritten notes she leaves for herself and an overwhelming feeling that Elizabeth needs her help, Maud resolves to discover the truth and save her beloved friend.

This singular obsession forms a cornerstone of Maud's rapidly dissolving present. But the clues she discovers seem only to lead her deeper into her past, to another unsolved disappearance: her sister, Sukey, who vanished shortly after World War II.

As vivid memories of a tragedy that occurred more fifty years ago come flooding back, Maud discovers new momentum in her search for her friend. Could the mystery of Sukey's disappearance hold the key to finding Elizabeth?

Yep, I read this is a whirlwind 2 days. I really enjoyed it and I really enjoyed reading something written in such a different style (a woman with alzheimers/dementia), it reminds me of reading things like Room or The Curious Incident or Extremely Loud (which are written in the voice of a child). It is quite refreshingly different. And, it made me want to phone my grandmother immediately (which I did :) ).

I thoroughly enjoyed the mystery of this story because it felt like as much a mystery for me as it did for Maud. I highly recommend this book!

30 April: Cape Agulhas to Bot River

Awe, we had to say Goodbye to Cape Agulhas today. Was very upset, would have loved another night! But we still had two more nights of our fantastic roadtrip before we started the journey home. But I will be back someday!



Before we packed up the car, we had one last walk along the beach (the last we'd see of it this trip). This time we strolled along the pebble beach in front of the chalets. And we timed it just right because as we were leaving, it started to drizzle.

We didn't have far to go today so we had a very busy drive with many stops. First on the list was The Shipwreck Museum in Bredasdorp. It was quite interesting and there were a lot more wrecks there than I imagined! Definitely worth a visit if you're in the area ...

After that we got on the road and did some wine tasting! Our first stop was Raka. It felt a bit random after we went to a few more spots. But we did buy a Spliced and a Malbec (which we've drunk and replaced already!) from them. After there we drove past The Birkenhead Brewery so decided to pop in there since they offered Craft Beer for The Trucker as well (although after this trip and our purchases he has been drinking more red wine than usual, it's not a preference for him).

This was a fabulous stop. A gorgeous table outdoors with a lovely view and a Beer Taster tray for him and a Wine taster plate for me. I found a white wine I actually like!! (I NEVER drink white). So we bought another 2 bottles, a Cab-Sav and a Sauvignon Blanc. Seriously, a pretty perfect little stop, this one.



After that, we needed some lunch so headed into Hermanus and stopped at Harbour Rock (which we had missed in December!). We ate some yummy sushi at a window seat overlooking the harbour. This really was a perfect day.

Before we left Hermanus, we stopped at Hermanuspietersfontein's tasting room. Sorry I missed the market they have there, it looks like it'd be good fun. We were struggling by this point and throwing out anything that we didn't immediately enjoy. But we found something we both absolutely loved, their Die Martha. Wow. Naturally we bought a bottle. But, I must get my hands on some more of that. And I got a bottle of their Rose, Bloos, too.

We were pretty wine-farmed out and although we sort of intended one last one on the way to Bot River, we skipped it and went straight on to KolKol. Not without a number of farm stall stops trying to get our hands on some more Cloudy Apple ... sadly we had no luck with that :(



This was an interesting spot. I'd never heard of it till a friend of mine sent me the link (we share amazing places we'd love to one day stay ... she basically wants to kill me after this trip! Haha) And then I saw it popping up all over my Facebook and Twitter feeds. The place is amazing. Seriously.

I didn't need more than one night here, but it wouldn't have gone amiss and I reckon this is another one we'll be adding to the "go back to" list for a weekend getaway when we live closer (one day). We made the most of our evening there (We were in the Bugsy Cabin, with it's incredible peach-pit floors!). We fired up the hot tub immediately.

Unfortunately this was kind of disappointing. It takes absolute ages to warm up. We tried hopping in at around 6pm. But it was only luke warm from the step up and as soon as we were in and swirling the water around it cooled down VERY quickly. We left it going and decided to try again after dinner. This was a bit better and we quite enjoyed it. Because we were fairly chilly after our dips, we had the fire going and inside was warm and toasty.

Just before bed, around 9pm we decided to hop in again and it was AMAZING. Seriously superb. It was hotter than I run my bath with only the very tips of our toes able to find a cooler spot. We switched all the lights in the cabin out and sat enjoying the hot water looking at the stars, watching them shoot. It was about as close to perfect as it gets, honestly. That is a half hour I will treasure for ever. Absolutely the cherry on top of our amazing holiday.

Dead Guilty by Beverly Connor

In Beverly Connor's absorbing series, the bones of the dead reveal the secrets of the living. In this latest investigation, forensic anthropologist Diane Fallon must lead a chilling excavation of a crime with harrowing implications: the murder of three people, hanged execution-style in an isolated patch of Georgia woods.

This was alright as a follow up to One Grave Too Many (although it seems to take place about a year later, which confused me for a little). But I did find it a little same-same-but-different. Diane seems to be setting a a peculiar trend of being kidnapped on her way to her car o_0.

Still, I am looking forward to the rest of the books in the series and I'm enjoying the Museum / Forensic cross-over :)

* This book is part of the Diane Fallon Forensic Investigation series: One Grave Too Many (2004), Dead Guilty (2004), Dead Secret (2005), Dead Past (2007), Dead Hunt (2008), Scattered Graves (2008), Dust to Dust (2009), The Night Killer (2010), One Grave Less (2010)

A Visit to Pretoria

#sigh Another weekend come and gone. This one absolutely flew past. I'm tired and not feeling 100% and have to work late today (sad face). Doing that on a Monday really screws with my week. It's like you never quite recover.

The traffic was so bad on Friday afternoon in all directions leaving the office (I left nearly half an hour later than usual) that I got passed the first robot (traffic light) and then did a U-Turn and came straight back. At least it was Friday so there were people around and a mere 45mins wait for the bar fridges to open. So that turned out to be a much better way to spend a few hours than stuck in the traffic.

We watched Noah on Friday night. I assumed it'd be good. Or at least entertaining / interesting based on the star-studded cast: Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly, Emma Watson & Anthony Hopkins. Nope. Don't even waste a minute of your time on this. We very nearly switched it off very early on, but we thought it might improve ... but it didn't. And then we just finished it for the sake of it. It was terrible.

On Saturday we had a long day planned. But we had a late-ish morning because we had no puppy-training. I did manage to take Peps out for a quick walk before we headed out tho. We met up with some friends at the Hazel Food Market in Pretoria at 11am.

It's a mad packed little spot. Parking can be a hassle, but it was great. We wandered from stall to stall tasting in buying. Loved the koeksisters, bought a ton of fudge from Sweet Angels (wow, what a variety of flavours!), bought cabanossi, melktert, tried a chili popper (a little disappointing), bought home made ginger beer, and some drunken cheese. And more ... even more. It was such a fun morning. And when we finished with the tasting, we wandered thru the craft area and into the Capital Craft Beer Academy for the rest of the day. Another friend from work and her hubby joined us there.

It was a great day out :) I think we got home after 5pm! Took Peps out for another quick walk and then napped / bathed / read my book before we headed off to @jarredcinman's for dinner. (Told you it was a busy one!)

We had a lovely evening although we were exhausted by the time we left (shortly after 10pm).

We had a completely lazy Sunday, I think we only got out of bed around 11am. Haha. Just what I needed. We did our grocery shopping and made lunch at home. I researched more on our Turkey trip while The Trucker went to cricket. I don't think we're gonna be able to fit it into our budget :(

And then we made some yummy pasta with the cabanossi and drunken cheese and a spicy tomato sauce for dinner. I almost finished a whole book today! Haha. It was pretty perfect.

Gobble gobble?

I know, today's post is rather late. I didn't have time this morning ... I told you, I've been super busy at work. It hasn't stopped and is showing no signs of letting up next week either!

Which is annoying because I would love nothing more than to spend some more time trying to squeeze or tiny budget into a September trip to Turkey (!) I have secured the leave and we've found an awesome deal on Emirates flights with our Discovery discounts ... but the rest is proving tricky. We'd obviously land in Istanbul. And I MUST get to Hot Air Balloon over Cappadocia and swim in Pamukkale's travertine pools (Didya see? That'd tick of *two* Life List items. Score!). And after a little research, some time in Fethiye wouldn't go amiss either! I found the perfect trip itinerary ... but it's only like double our budget :/

#sigh

Anyway, other than the crazy of work and the highs and lows of the possibility of Turkey, it's been a pretty cool but quiet week.

On Monday evening I had another attack of Domestic Godessery (well I guess on Sunday actually, since that's when I bought the ingredients and planned the meal). I made the MOST AMAZING salad. It's a Mandarin Broccoli Salad and we served it with chicken breasts. It was quite simple to make and I'll definitely be making it again. I even had the leftovers for lunch on Tuesday. Yum. Yum.



No SCM on Tuesday. The Trucker and I have been very lazy this week. Although Pepper has been getting her daily walks (of course). Lookit how she's grown! Aside from that we've barely done anything.

I did get to do a Birthday celebration for a friend at work tho. Which has been such fun! I designed a quote we got printed on canvas and raised some cash and managed to get her some proper French Champagne and macaroons. (Can you tell we went with a French theme :) ) And the birthday girl loved it :)

29 April: Sedgefield to Cape Agulhas

Today we said goodbye to Teniqua Treetops and took a rainy drive back along the N2. Seriously it seems to rain every time!

We stopped again in Riversdale, this time for lunch so we decided to try find a place The Trucker had been told about by friends in Joburg, Die Ou Tronk.

You have to turn off to get to it but it's quite a nice little stop. The tables were outside under branches heavy with avocados. It's an interesting little piece of history and while all the nick-nacks and what not that filled the rooms didn't interest me, the building itself did.

I can't remember what we had for lunch, but it was nothing spectacular but we did taste a slice of the melktert they had on sale and The Trucker then bought us a whole one. It was good :)

The rest of the drive to Cape Agulhas, our next overnight stop, was fairly boring. Grey rain clouds all the way ... but eventually we could see the sea!

Can you believe I'd never been to Cape Agulhas before? Me neither. I don't quite know what I was expecting, but it doesn't look very impressive on arrival. That said, it honestly is the place I will without doubt be going back to from everywhere we went on this trip.

If I thought I was impressed by the SANPark's accommodation at Addo, well this was EVEN BETTER. They were still in the process of building the 15 chalets that will be there. There were only 7. And they really do feel like they are on the tip of the world. You look out from each one onto a stretch of fynbos before the sea.



The units themselves are gorgeous little wooden chalets with a completely stocked (utensil-wise, not food-wise, obvs) kitchen, a small 4-seater table, a lounge area and a bedroom with a nicely sized bathroom (shower only). There is an indoor fireplace. And then there is the deck, looking seaward.

When we arrived, we decided to go and check out the 2 ocean marker and visit the Meisho Maru wreck for sunset (we'd been advised in advance). It was fabulous. We strolled along the wooden walkways for quite a while, enjoying breathing in the sea air. We got our touristy photos.

And then we got the most stunning photos of the wreck as the sun was setting before heading back to braai on the deck. It was a superb stay and I will advise everyone living in Cape Town that this is the perfect weekend break-away. I can't wait to go back!

The Astronaut Wives Club by Lily Koppel

As America's Mercury Seven astronauts were launched on death-defying missions, television cameras focused on the brave smiles of their young wives. Overnight, these women were transformed from military spouses into American royalty. They had tea with Jackie Kennedy, appeared on the cover of Life magazine, and quickly grew into fashion icons.

Annie Glenn, with her picture-perfect marriage, was the envy of the other wives; platinum-blonde Rene Carpenter was proclaimed JFK's favorite; and licensed pilot Trudy Cooper arrived on base with a secret. Together with the other wives they formed the Astronaut Wives Club, meeting regularly to provide support and friendship. Many became next-door neighbors and helped to raise each other's children by day, while going to glam parties at night as the country raced to land a man on the Moon.

As their celebrity rose-and as divorce and tragic death began to touch their lives-they continued to rally together, and the wives have now been friends for more than fifty years. THE ASTRONAUT WIVES CLUB tells the real story of the women who stood beside some of the biggest heroes in American history.

I was very curious to read this book, but it's not as interesting as it sounds. It is interesting to transport yourself back to life in the 50s / 60s and the changes that America and the world were going thru. But I struggled to follow a lot of the story line.

There were a lot of names and couples to remember and a surprising amount of them had the same names! I was often confused. Especially after they added the New Nine (1962), The Fourteen (1963), and The Original Nineteen (1966). I definitely got lost with who was who.

But shew, those families lived a different life! So, it was definitely interesting to read about that, the real lives that were going on back home, not just the astronaut's space adventures. And I'll be honest, I didn't know America went to the moon so many times ... (I only know about the first one with Neil & Buzz). And I did notice the mention of the camera failing and them faking it in a studio ... so there you go, Conspiracy Theorists ;)

Oh, and I heard there is going to be a TV Series soon. I'll definitely give that a watch :)

Weekend Type Stuffs

Ah this weekend just flew past! Did you watch the Soccer final? I didn't. It only started at 9pm. The Trucker got home (he went to watch at a friend's house) at midnight (apparently, I was sleeping). If it had've started around 6, I definitely would've tho. I was totally supporting Germany but I don't care that much.

Work is no less crazy so I've been working from home since Friday after lunch. Less distractions ... although the puppy may beg to differ. Haha. Took her for some more shots and a rabies injection. Such a good girlie at the vet :) But shewee she has grown. Weighed in at 4.2kgs (!) That's a long way off the 1.9 she weighed when she arrived. If I had any doubt about how much she's grown, well there's the proof.

We went for a little walk when I finished working and then The Trucker got home and made yummy Mac 'n Cheese for dinner. We were both feeling very lazy. Also, he had to make some whipped bacon sweet potatoes for our lunch on Saturday.

On Saturday morning we were up early. Puppy training was moved to 9am. I was a bit nervous since we missed last week. But it was great :) So awesome to see how much Pepper enjoys seeing all her friends again. And yes, they have specific friends in the class ... her favourite are a Doberman and a Rotti. Haha. She just loves the bigger dogs.

And she is so good. Such a confident, independent little girl. Except she doesn't much seem to like going thru tunnels. That had both of us down on our knees trying to coax her thru. Haha.

After that we didn't have long to get ready before we had to head off to DJMike and Power's new house for Thanksgiving in July. They bought a small holding and renovated the house and now have 2 horses, a cow, 5 dogs, a cat and in seven short weeks, a daughter. Quite the farmyard.

It was great catching up with everyone and a gorgeous Joburg Winter afternoon. And as usual, we ate and we ate well.

We got home in time to take Pepper for a little walk around the complex (I've got a whole lot of options now so we can vary it up for her, seems to be working much better) and give her dinner. And then we collapsed on the couch. Didn't even need any dinner!

We watched The Croods. Meh, animation. But just what we needed in our post-lunch coma ;)

On Sunday we went and had some breakfast and then did the grocery shopping before The Trucker headed to cricket. I went and did some browsing for other things I don't really need ... and then came home and made Brookies (Brownie + Chocolate Chip Cookies). I'd seen the recipe last week and it seemed worth trying!

They didn't come out that great :( The two batters are easy enough to make, although I reckon the choc-chip batter probably also needs some time to sit in the fridge because it was unmanageably sticky to try rolling into balls!

Also, I would make them much smaller next time. And keep half the batter for a second batch ... we tried to fit them all onto my two baking trays. Hahahaha, we ended up with one giant square cookie in the end. And they didn't all cook thru, so I turned them over and cooked them a bit more.

So mostly I have a lot of crumble ... haha. I reckon I might just make them separate another time too, they are yummy!

Cancellations

It's been a strange week. I feel completely swamped at work. I am not one for extremes, I don't like too little to do but I also don't enjoy too much. Yeah yeah, Goldilocks, I like it Just Right. This week it has not been just right. That's what happens when other people commit to things but you're the one who comes in and has to actually deliver ... Unfortunately I don't see this changing for the next month or so. Full steam ahead.

So outside of work, life has been quiet. Tuesday night's SCM was cancelled. The Trucker's Thursday evening Body Corporate meeting was cancelled. So in this icy weather, we just stayed in. Well, except for last night, we decided to go out to get dinner. But we could not decide. No one wants to drive too far and neither of us had any specific cravings. And where we live, there is a black hole of actual decent sit-down restaurants ... we are spoilt for choice when it comes to your standard take-out joints (McDonalds, Steers, KFC, Nandos ...) and lots of pizza and indian options too. Basically, we are surrounded by chain restaurants o_0

So we decided to go to Mozambik again. We had the same starters we had last time (Creamy Sweet & Sour Chorizo and Prawn Bilene) and that was it. Neither of us had space for anything more because they are so rich!

Thursday is a tricky night to try eating out without a booking too ...

Anyway. Aside from that, I've been to gym twice and taken the Pepper Pup walking daily. We are going the variety route now and haven't done the same walk more than once this week :)

28 April: Port Alfred to Sedgefield

As you can imagine, we left Port Alfred early. We didn't even stay for breakfast, instead grabbing some Wimpy as we left town ... we had quite a drive ahead of us, all the way past Knysna to Teniqua Treetops for our next overnight stop.



It wasn't a very eventful drive, and I can't remember where we ended up having lunch ... I think maybe we just had the pies we'd bought at Nanaga yesterday, but we did stop in Knysna, having made good time. So we took a drive up to look out from the Knysna Heads and then another detour to look at the Brenton-on-Sea beach ... but we weren't brave enough for all those stairs - haha!

We stocked up on some booze and supplies for dinner and then headed to Teniqua Treetops. Wow, the place is hidden away! We were in the Loerie's Nest and it is gorgeous!

Oh, and how funny is this? They have a lending library type thing in their office and I finally found the Christian Jacq book I have been looking for, for years! The exact publishers copy to match the rest of mine. So, our stay started on an extreme high for me :)

Taking a wander thru our treehouse was like being in a fairytale. If you have the opportunity, I'd highly recommend this spot!

Since we had arrived early enough and had pretty much got a minimal amount of exercise in the last few days (except for that walk on the beach), we decided to try one of the hikes. I think we did the Fynbos walk which was great fun.

We got back to our treehouse in time to enjoy the sunset and I had a bath enjoying the view! And The Trucker made us an amazeballs dinner (I forget what, but I think pasta). It was superb.