Good Karma

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We awoke in Kestell to a wet and miserable day and instead of travelling further into the Nthn Drakensburg to The Ampitheatre, decided to just stay put. After 8 or 9 days of hectic travel we wanted somewhere to chill out and recharge our batteries and Karma was certainly the place for that. Apart from David, a young and very green German, and the two gorgeous staffies Solomon and Jess, we had the place to ourselves. From the moment we'd staggered in the previous night, Veran and Lutcho made us feel completely at home and we were sure they were glad for the company too. Veran and Lutcho are somewhat self sufficient, growing their own fresh produce, making delicious jams and chutneys and much to Danis delight, sharing a love of, and the know how to make Haloumi cheese. Whilst I spent the morning catching up on my journal, Dani played and lazed on the couch with her new best friends, Solomon and Tess. Our new German friend David was a bit ancy at being couped up inside for the day as he was only on day two of his travels and I reluctuntly agreed to go for a drive with him. He'd just bought himself a VW Golf in Joburg and planned to drive it to Capetown and back. He'd never driven a left hand drive on the "wrong" side of the road before and the fact that he was probably the most incompetent driver I'd ever come across didn't help! After several photo stops on blind corners and even completely running off the road at one stage, I decided that I'd felt much safer with yesterdays drunken, one handed bus driver. After three hours of white knuckling the door handle and putting my brake foot through the floor I was very relieved to return to Karma in one piece. Whilst I was off having my supply of grey hairs involuntarily incresed, Dani had managed to separate herself from the doggies for a few hours. I returned to find a very professional and tasty looking batch of Haloumi baking in the oven. Veran whipped up a salad straight from the garden, I put on a soy mince vege pasta and with the beer and wine that Lutcho had been saving for just such an occasion we sat down to a fabulous gourmet dinner. Ofcourse the dogs never strayed too far from Danis chair and I'm sure they too enjoyed morsels of Haloumi and pasta. We had a wonderful night and decided that it was definately one of our favourite spots so far. Unfortunately Dani couldn't find any room in her pack for Solomon or Tess, so it was a reluctant departure the next day. We'll certainly remember Veran, Lutcho, Solomon and Tess for their friendship, generosity and definately Good Karma. Seeing as though they are not yet in The Lonely planet, we've promised to write to LP in an effort to get them admitted.

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