Monthly Archives: April 2014

Klipriviersberg Nature Reserve

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A couple weekends ago we joined a Meetup group for a lovely hike in the Klipriviersberg Nature Reserve. This reserve is located just 10 km south of central Johannesburg in Mondeor and is home to many species of birds as well as many larger mammals such as springbok and zebra. Even though we had just gotten back from Kruger National Park where zebra sightings were a daily occurrence, one can never get enough of zebras and I was very excited to do this hike and see them so close to home.

Klipriviersberg Nature ReserveKlipriviersberg Nature Reserve

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So We Bought a Tent

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And we slept it in too.  Crazy right ?  No ?  Well if you have known me for a long time you are probably at least a little bit surprised.  You see, in the past I was never known to be much of an outdoorswoman.  Even a couple of years ago I would never have imagined myself sleeping in the African bush with only a thin layer of poly-canvas between me and the stars.  But This Is Africa (TIA) and that has all changed, though it has been a gradual process.

During our first trip to Kruger National Park about 3 years ago we had a great time but stayed in nice little chalets or rondavels.  The following year I was ready to be closer to nature and we stayed in a permanent tent (with private kitchen and bath) in the unfenced camp of Mpila.  What an unbelievable experience.  As the camp is unfenced, this allows all sorts of animals to be browsing about at all times of the day or night.  This could be some dainty impala munching on the grass right outside your tent while you try to sleep or even a hungry hyena lustfully checking out your braai just a couple meters away.  If you want to know more about this camp, you can see our photos here.

Mpila Tented CampMpila Tented Camp 

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Learning to Drive a 4×4

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Before moving to Jozi, we spent a lot of time talking about what kind of cars we wanted to buy once we got here.  I had already decided we needed a 4×4 to help us get the most out of our planned African bush experiences but Yannick was not yet convinced. Eventually we would need 2 cars once we were both working as it was unlikely it would be convenient to carpool.  We ended up renting a car for the first 3 months here while we were deciding what to buy and also to get our other car sold back in France.

About a month into our stay here, following on a couple of weeks of heavy rain, Yannick announced that he thought we should indeed buy a 4×4 as soon as possible for our first car to help us navigate through the pothole ridden, flooded streets.  Now, of course there are plenty of non 4×4’s successfully maneuvering through Joburg but that is his story and he is sticking to it.  And who I am to argue ?

My dream car i.e. what we didn't buy as it was 3x over our budgetMy dream car i.e. what we didn’t buy as it was 3x over our budget

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