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Each decade was marked by its unique style. In the 50’s it was just about indoctrinating women to look smart and to be a ‘lady’ at all times. They slept with curlers in their hair, to ensure that they looked their best the following day, in soft curls and wearing a feminine swing skirt. Men always wore suits, even for a Sunday walk in town or to the movies and the so called ‘long hairs’ were frowned upon. The political unrest, the so called ‘out there’ music and the hippie movement saw a lot of change and it’s no wonder that the 60’s brought an awareness to women of their individuality and their sexuality. What better way to flaunt it, than with the famous mini skirt and often boots to accentuate the outfit? Still encouraged to be the perfect lady and to take pride in ones appearance was still the order of the day. However, this decade soon flowed into the next and before anyone knew it, it was the era of disco. The 70’s were a combination of halter necks, platform shoes, flared pants and still the bell bottoms carried over from the 60’s. Fashions were more relaxed and although men were still gentlemen and women were still ladies, the attention on being just about perfect had shifted. The 80’s were plain and simply garish! Big hair, lots of bright make up and plastic jewelry… Need I say more? I might add, in my opinion, that this is when society started sliding. The 90’s were not much better with some strange dance sequences being seen in some music videos and not to mention some questionable hairstyles – I was there for that! And so every decade we look to the future and how we aspire to be better and more modern than the previous generation… But then came the 21st century and well to put it into one line, it just all went to sh**!

Another year done and dusted!

My darling, this is the year for new things, great happenings and more wonderful memories to make.

I know that the year will bring you all the love and success you deserve and I can only hope that you have an awesome birthday, despite being at work.

I love you so much!

Soon it was time for us to pack up and move on to our next[/caption] destination in Namibia. Unfortunately this is where the Bowen clan broke up a bit. My sister-in-law, Jo, went off with her family and Mick, Pete’s brother, came with us. We drove an approximate distance of 520kms to Norotshama River Resort, 50kms from the Noordoewer border, on the banks of the Orange River, in the Aussenkehr Nature Park. Once again the campsite booking got mixed up, but management was prompt in accommodating us, to make up for the confusion.

Despite the initial booking mix up, we were all unpacked in no time. The next couple of days were very adventurous. We spent a lot of time canoeing up and down the river (another big moment for me), walked among the vineyards, took a 4×4 ride up to the top of a hill and took in some of the most amazing and dramatic views, did a so called white water rafting experience with an adventure company called Felix Unite (which turned out to be just a bit of bouncing over some rocks. Well, Mick and I bounced over some rocks. The rest of our group did follow the instructions) and we drove through a village, Aussenkehr, made entirely of straw, which Kyra now calls the pig village because of the second little pig in the fable, The Three Little Pigs, who used straw to build his house.

 

We saw New Year in with a shower of champagne and much merriment, despite a noisy crowd behind us who honestly thought the entire Namibia wanted to hear their dire choice of music… Unfortunately all good things must come to an end and the day eventually came for us to say our good byes. After many hugs and tears, we all departed. It was a 3 day drive back for Pete and I and by the end of the first day, approximately 650kms later, we pulled into the tiniest town called Groblershoop, where we overnighted at the Grapevine Guesthouse. The quaint guesthouse had an old farm house charm with a subtle modern touch. They served the largest T-bone steaks known to mankind, their service was warm and friendly and Pete and I will definitely return, should we be in that part of the world again. Our second night was spent in Virginia so that I could see my oldest son, which really was wonderful! Thank you to my sister-in-law and her family for having us. We finally pulled into our driveway on the third day at about 17H30. This holiday was truly memorable and it’s all thanks to Rob and Jane. Once again you made it possible for all of us to have the time of our lives! Thank you.

Our arrival at Khamkirri was a bit disappointing, as the gentleman we dealt with was apparently the events coordinator and didn’t really know what was going on. The site we had booked was relatively close to the reception and I noticed that the camp sites on either side of us had people on them and we’d specifically booked 2 sites next to each other.

The following day the manager promised, in passing, throughout the day to come to us when he had a chance to sort out the mess. It finally dawned on me that there was nothing to be done and we arranged for my in-law’s to share a site with us. We were eventually told that the reserve doesn’t book campsites and works on a first come, first serve basis. Personally, I think a booking should take precedence and thereafter whatever is available should be on a first come, first serve basis.

Nevertheless, our stay turned out to be absolutely wonderful with the entire Bowen clan being reunited for the first time in 8 years! In the days that followed some of the group did a game drive and quad biking offered by Khamkirri, we all took a drive up to Augrabies Falls, Pete, the kids and I spent hours relaxing in the pool and the one day I got extremely adventurous and braved a swim with Pete in the Orange River. (I have a phobia for rivers, dams and dirty pools, etc).

Christmas was an exciting day for all. Kyra and Kayden had a very successful haul and even the rest of us were spoilt rotten!

Christmas night had me totally freaked out because of the nastiest looking spiders that I have ever seen! The infamous camel spider will have a post dedicated to it at a later date… Despite these frightful creatures lurking in the shadows, we all managed to have a lovely and festive evening, punctuated with fits of laughter as we ducked & dived to get out of the path of our unwanted guests. In hindsight, we may have been regarded as the over sized, unwanted guests lurking in their territory!

We recently returned from our holiday, not so much rested, but with wonderful experiences, many fond memories and photos to share. Camping, I’ve come to realise, is a lot of hard work! Yet it is rewarding with two toddlers who are learning to appreciate life outdoors. However, travelling 3 days in a car with a 4 year old and temperamental 2 year old is the ultimate test of ones sanity!

Getting back to our holiday. After a year of planning, debating and waiting; the day finally arrived for us to set off on our approximate 1200km trip. We headed to Khamkirri Private Game Reserve on the northern banks of the Orange River, near Kakamas, in the Green Kalahari. It is frustrating for the little ones in the car, so we break our trips down to approximately 600 kms a day. As a result, our first night we stopped over in Bloemfontein at my nephew’s place.

The following day, after another 600kms, we were very relieved when we finally turned into the private game reserve Pete and I had so thoroughly enjoyed a year earlier.