adventure – Page 2 – wee little lovelys

Elk Lake

July 28, 2014

On a hot Sunday morning we decided to pack up our swimming gear and head to Elk Lake which is about a 15 minute drive from our house. Jimmy spent a lot of time at this Lake and the conjoining Beaver Lake in his youth. I ran the trails of this lake when I went to University. The trails are really nice and if you run the whole lake it is 10km. Elk Lake is the training area for Canada’s Olympic Rowing team and is a popular fishing area as they stock the lake with fish annually.

We arrived fairly early so there were not many people. We played in the sand and then quickly made our way into the warm lake water. Claire and Rhys love swimming. Particularly Claire who is a fish and once in the water does not want to come out. After a few hours we packed up and headed home to host our friends for an early evening BBQ. A great Sunday!

Claire being a ‘baby turtle’ on her daddy turtles back 🙂

Last Africa trip! Clarens, SA

November 22, 2013

Last weekend we adventured on our last trip in Africa. We decided to go to Clarens which is situated in the foothills of the Maluti Mountains in the Free State province of South Africa. The sandstone mountains were really pretty and reminded us of the drumheller region in Alberta.

This town is an artists haven with so many cute shops, restaurants etc. that surround a town square. It also has a golf course which draws tourists in. The weather was overcast and rainy but it was a fun little get-away that the kids enjoyed.

We are now getting ourselves organized and packed as we leave South Africa at the end of November to begin our journey back to Canada. We will be traveling through Australia to visit friends and family- fun!

Stay tuned for our parting thoughts on our time in South Africa as expats & for more travel/ life stories….

Whether it’s falling asleep with a lolli stuck in his hair or general hi-jinx, Rhys kept us entertained:

Claire & Rhys stoked on the 4×4’s sunroof (whilst parked):

Lory Park Zoo

October 30, 2013

The sun was shining as we headed to Lory Park Zoo in Midrand, a quick 30 minute drive from home. With our remaining time in South Africa now measuring in weeks, we are trying to make the most of it by seeing as many nearby attractions as possible.

This animal park ended up being very well maintained and it was the weekend hot spot for birthday gatherings. There must have been 4 parties going-on at picnic tables etc. I thought Claire & Rhys could be burnt out on animal observation but they were so excited to see them all…. We saw lots of birds, cats, and reptiles. We had lunch, played at a little playground, walked around, fed the bunnies then made our way back home for nap-time.

Pretoria

October 25, 2013

What you just scrolled down from is a pretty photo of my stunning wife in front of a jacaranda tree. They are starting to bloom here and their bold purple colour is quite a sight. What you also scrolled down from is the inspiration for our latest Miller roadtrip; Pretoria.

Pretoria is one of the South Africa’s three capital cities; it serves as administrative capital while Cape Town handles legislative business and Bloemfontein tackles judicial issues. Pretoria is also dubbed “The Jacaranda City” due to it’s high volume of this variety and at only 45 minutes away (and limited time left here in SA) we opted to pack up the car and go for a visit.

We have to be honest though, the trip ended up quite stressful due to high traffic volumes, muggy heat and less than cooperative children. After our obligatory tourist stops we found an outdoor park for all of us to blow off steam. The kids nodded-off easily on our return ride and we arrived back home thankful, collapsing back into routine.

– Jimmy

Southeast Gauteng Trip – Part 4 of 4 (Sterkfontein Caves)

October 3, 2013

In 1992, my family & I spent Christmas in Texas and New Mexico. During that trip we visited the Carlsbad caverns in New Mexico. The caves were gigantic and amazing to wander around in! Ever since that family trip I’ve loved exploring caves. Perhaps this early exposure led me to be a geologist in some sort of way…

The last destination on our long weekend trip was to the highly anticipated Sterkfontein Caves. They’re world-acclaimed as many fossils have been discovered in them. First discovered in 1896 by an Italian miner, they endured 40 years of mining activity before scientists started more serious archeological excavations in 1936.

We left Maropeng in the morning and made our way through vast farmlands to Sterkfontein. The visitor centre was very nice yet sadly the first thing you see is their gift store. This is not such a welcome sight when you have kids. Claire had a hard time with us saying no to a new stuffy so we bartered a purchase in trade for no-fuss during our hour long underground tour. Yes, sometimes you have to erm, ‘cave’ if you want to get things done as a parent.

I figured we would walk into the side of a mountain to get started but no, we entered by way of the earth down a very long & steep staircase, ducking at times to proceed. In fact, the entrance isn’t visible at a distance as it blends into the grassland so well. It was intriguing and the kids were amazing on the tour. I thought for sure they would be scared as it was dark and we had to crawl through few a few sections, but no. It was a hot day and the caves were a cool 18C which was soothing for us heat sensitive Canadians. After our unique tour through the dolomitic limestone depths we climbed out of the earth, squinting much of the walk back to the visitor centre.

After buying the promised stuffed animals (a giraffe and a hippo) we made our way back to our cooked car. Onwards back to Johannesburg.

We had a great little trip that provided us with plenty of memories and photos. Perhaps one of the kids will find future inspiration as I did with my geo work.

Southeast Gauteng Trip – Part 3 of 4 (Maropeng – Cradle of Humankind)

October 1, 2013

With a drive time of one hour, our next destination of Maropeng was a breeze. The Cradle of Humankind was located right beside the boutique hotel we booked which was convenient. Upon arrival we noticed the turmoil of a large concert area being set up. Turns out it was a free concert the following day in honour of Heritage Day in South Africa. Sidestepping the descending swarms of people, we quickly made plans to get our visit to the Maropeng exhibition completed on this arrival day rather than fighting any chaotic crowd the next day.

Maropeng was very pretty and the surrounding grassy fields reminded us of the Canadian prairies during summertime. As I enjoyed the breeze and the kids slept with car doors open, Jimmy the Sherpa graciously unloaded our parked car. As it turns out, the hotel was pretty fancy and not really set up for kids as they had touted. They did provide an extra mattress that fit on the floor though and the kids enjoyed jumping from our generous bed to it.

The Maropeng exhibition wasn’t quite as scientific as we thought and rather it was set as part theme park/ part exhibition. We started our visit with a boat ride through air, water, fire, and earth (very fun for the kids!) then we walked through the exhibition centre which introduces major themes, such as evolution, the formation of fossils, extinction, DNA, and the birth of the Earth and the Cradle of Humankind.

We walked outside the centre in the warm sun and found a playground which was taken over by African teenagers. They performed a bunch of dances which were fun to watch. Rhys liked the dancing but thought they were too loud 😉 After tiring ourselves out we headed back to the hotel for a drink on the patio while the kids put their feet in the freezing cold pool. The view was fantastic!

After a nice bath for the kids and further fun jumping off the bed, it was time for slumber. All in all it was a nice visit to Maropeng. The next morning we planned to visit the Sterkfontein Caves then onwards to home….

Rhys is a HUGE fan of dinosaurs!:

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Southeast Gauteng Trip – Part 2 of 4 (Harties Cableway)

September 29, 2013

Offering panoramic views from the top of the Magaliesberg Mountains, Harties Cableway was our next destination. Thankfully, the somewhat overcast weather burned-off lending us hope and excitement for the views to come.

After a nail-biting ascent (Deanna) we reached the top of the mountain. We walked around finding a pizza joint -always a favourite (Jimmy) and a well placed playground got some mileage (Claire & Rhys). It’s safe to say that the playground may own the best view of any playground anywhere!

Having spent an hour at the peak running amuck, getting sun baked and snapping photos we felt spent. We then made our descent to start our drive to the more educational Southeast region of Gauteng Province.

Jimmy channeling his inner Fabio:

Tired monkeys enroute to our next destination:

Southeast Gauteng Trip – Part 1 of 4 (Elephant Sanctuary)

September 24, 2013

In a past blog entry we profiled the monkey sanctuary located in Hartbeespoort. That particular visit to this area was a short one and we quickly realized there was a lot to do in this town. A resort nearby had a skatepark and that roused curiosity, an elephant sanctuary promised pachyderm interactivity and a UNESCO Heritage site were both close by. The Cradle of Humankind certainly sounded scientifically intriguing. With this all summed up, we started planning an eager return trip.

Our Jo’burg doctor recommended staying on site at the elephant sanctuary as opposed to staying elsewhere. She praised her own experience doing more with the elephants as a result of sleeping there. Although it did end up nice for us, it turned out we were the ONLY guests on our specific night of stay. This meant our customary “fend for ourselves” style got overwhelmed by over eager (tip-hungry) employees. Shrugging off our keen staffers we settled into our sundowner drinks and met our guide. After a walk up some breathless hillside stairs we earned our reward; for the adults a nice view of the Magaliesberg Mountains, for the kids blowing bubbles in their water glasses through “elephant trunks” (straws). Prior to sunset we dined at a fire-lit Boma meal which was nice but the kids’ patience wore thin due to the long day so we called it a night.

We woke the next day for breakfast then onto the touted elephant activities; a brush down, a trunk-held walk around, feeding, and learning all about them. It was a fulfilling two hours albeit Claire and Rhys did scare at times due to the elephants overwhelming size. We enjoyed our time at the elephant sanctuary and we were excited for our next stop on our three day adventure…..

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Flea market enroute to The Elephant Sanctuary