You're in the Highveld then, with soaring blue skies...
Highveld skies
Drive a little further (past Warmbad), and you'll see some hills that glint red in the sun. You're not dreaming - these are the Rooiberge, which are red because of the iron in the stone.
Rooiberge
Not much further and you'll reach Zebula - a private golf and game estate in one of the most scenic parts of a beautiful country - and the destination to which my darling friends brought me.
And they didn't bring me alone! Our party in the highveld included Warren, Gen, Teagan and me, Gen's parents, Geoff and Marie, Japie, Ina and their daughter - so we really had more than a combi full of fun by the time we arrived :-)
And wow - what an arrival! Our house at Zebula had plenty of room for us all: a huge lounge with a big fireplace for the cold nights, big bedrooms with inside and outside showers ;), a massive verandah - but best of all, a view from here to heaven!
What you really want to see when you wake up each morning: nothing but the hills...
And everywhere, there was silence. Not total silence, of course - there were too many birds and beasties making noise as they went by - but the silence of no shopping malls, no high-rise buildings, no cars - and no people :-)
Throughout my trip, I had the most amazing luck with the weather... Despite it being the middle of winter, I had non-stop sunshine - but nowhere more than at Zebula did I really feel like I was sitting under the African sun...
Zebula also has the most stunning sunsets. Japie and I spent both nights avidly photographing them as the colours changed... But nothing can quite capture the sky as it catches fire...
Zebula at sunset
Fire in the sky
Zebula at dusk
Since Japie had a fancy camera (unlike my trusty iphone) and a steady hand, he could even catch the night skies that were so full of stars that it looked like sea-sand... And of course, I just loved seeing the Southern Cross again :-)
Acacia - blerrie big thorns!
While my poor mate was laid up with kidney stones (which were later fixed thanks to the nice nurses at Warmbad hospital), I got to join Geoff and Marie for a game drive...
Apart from the ostrich, guinea fowl, quail, hornbills, starlings and lilac-breasted rollers which were all around... And the cheetah who made a starring appearance near a fence...
On this one drive we saw: blesbok, waterbuck, eland, zebra, kudu, giraffes, zebra, warthogs and wildebeest - not bad for an hour or two in the car!
Here are a few pics:
Eland
Giraffe
More giraffes
Warthogs (Just for Marie ;)
Wildebeest
Zebra
We also had the most amazing luck on our drive: we saw two eland fighting - not something you see every day!
Guinea fowl
Quail
Warren feeding Zazu
Zazu (the hornbill)
And then there was the ostrich...
... He really wanted to come inside our house... And he was so cute and fluffy...
The only catch was that his daddy wanted to come, too!
... So there we were: us and the local ostrich...
... Quite a formidable pair of tourists, these two ;)
Daddy and baby ostrich
...Eventually, after some persuasion (Warren told them to voetsak), they left, but they continued to visit us during our stay... Which made me a little more alert while sunbathing ;)
To give you an idea of just how much game there was, take a look at the footprints I'd find in the morning:
Spoor
While I know that you can't stay on holiday forever, this little slice of heaven made it pretty tough to leave... But Zebula really was fantastic - and it's thanks to all these folks below :-)
Thank you guys for such a wonderful family holiday :-)
Here's the photo that about sums up our time at Zebula for me:
Ja boet - it's another beautiful day in Africa...
:-)
or
In case you've already read it, here's a link to check out even more pictures of animals :-)