Roadtrip - Across the Nyl

I never intended this blog to be a sad place and maybe that is the true reason why I have so seldomly posted during this year.  

The year so far has been a very sad and difficult year for us.  It started with Hubby being seriously ill and it took him months to recover and fact of the matter is that he will not regain his health completely.  Then my sister's youngest son had a massive stroke.  He survived the stroke but will never be able to resume his normal life.  Just last month, my eldest brother's wife passed away very suddenly at the age of 71.  At work, during this time, we have also lost four people that I have worked with for the past 20 odd years and a friend that worked with me a couple of years ago, lost her only child in a car crash.  It just never seem to stop!  The newest blow came yesterday morning when Hubby's youngest brother passed away after cancer was diagnosed just two months ago.

However, to survive the blows that life delivers so harshly, I have learned through the years to look for and concentrate on the positive in any situation, so I will do the same in our current situation.

We were planning on going down to the Cape in September to visit all the family so on hearing the sad news yesterday, we decided to take the trip now so that we can attend Kallies's funeral.  This decision now leaves me sitting at my friend's house in Pretoria on the way down to Cape Town.  Due to Hubby's health we will travel down to the Cape in four stages and I plan to keep you updated on this road trip as we go along.

We left Naboomspruit at 14:00 yesterday and I do not have much to tell you about that part of the trip.  I will just show you one photo taken along the way.  About thirty kilometers out of Naboom, this is the view you get just before crossing the Nylsvlei Floodplain. This is Kranskop.  A beacon to all who travel the N1 highway through Limpopo. 

(Left Click to enlarge)

It is a lone standing hill about 30 kilometers South of Naboomspruit.  It is alongside the Nylsvlei floodplain and legend has it that when the Voortrekkers saw it for the first time, the Nylsvlei was flooded and they believed it to be one of the pyramids alongside the Nile River.  On the left hand side of the photo the typical reed-like grass that you find all along the floodplain can clearly be seen.


Although the actual reason for our trip down to the Cape is a sad one, I cannot help being very excited about it.  I love road trips and I am going to visit my favourite part of the country (not counting the Bushveldt).  I am looking forward to the mountains, the forests and the sea... not to mention all the dear wonderful people we will be visiting... all the more dear to me as this year, so far, has taught me that life is very fragile and there are no guarantees that there will be a "until next time".


PS:  Went out with our dear friends Steve and Rina last night to a Dross restaurant and had one of the best steaks I have ever had.  What would life be without the Steves and Rinas to lift our spirits?