The Most Scenic View

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Geo: -27.0045, 30.8028

Paul and I were going to be very busy for the next thirteen nights. Paul is running a safari trip and I am joining him on the trip to do the catering. Most places we were staying are self-catering places. The trip will be in the Kwa Zulu Natal region of South Africa. I'm going to be busy, but am hoping that I also am able to enjoy the trip and join him and his guests on some game drives.

Yesterday Paul and I did a huge food shop for the trip and very neatly packed the car. This morning we were up early as there were a few last minutes things to do and then at about 9am we left Johannesburg and drove to Pretoria. We were picking up our guests – Juliane and her nephew Maxim from their hotel.

We left Pretoria at about 10am and drove towards our accommodation for the night in Piet Retief. We arrived at the Guest House at about 2pm. It was a stunning location, surrounded by farms, cows, pine and eucalyptus trees. The accommodation is set on a hill and we all loved the view. The grass was so dry and yellow, such a contrast to the nearby pine forests.

Once we had settled into our accommodation we went for a walk at half past three. There were a few walks that we could do and we choose to do the Pipit walk. This would lead us down to the hide at the dam. We walked past calves with their mothers and bulls as we looked for birds. I quickly walked past the bulls - as they scared me! Our walk lasted about an hour and then we walked around and admired the gardens. It felt good to be active after sitting in the car for so long today.

In the middle of the gardens there was a huge tree with a strangler fig growing on the trunk. The only thing that spoilt our walk was the strong wind.

It was now time for me to prepare dinner while Paul chatted with his guests attending to them with drinks and snacks. After dinner I excused myself and had an early night.

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Photos

01 Huge Tree
The huge tree in the middle of the garden.

02 Garden
The pretty garden at the guest house.

03 Garden
The pretty garden at the guest house.

04 Palm
A type of palm growing below the huge tree.

05 Strangled
A strangler fig has taken over the trunk of the huge tree.

06 Strangled
A strangler fig has taken over the trunk of the huge tree.

07 View
The view of the surrounding farms as seen from the guest house gardens.

08 View
The view of the surrounding farms as seen from the guest house gardens.

09 View
The view of the surrounding farms as seen from the guest house gardens.

10 View
The view of the surrounding farms as seen from the guest house gardens.

12 New Growth
New leaves are growing on this tree.

13 Flower
A gorgeous Bird of Paradise flower.

14 Flower
Another gorgeous Bird of Paradise flower.

15 Garden
The pretty garden at the guest house.

16 Roses
The rose garden filled with poetic quotes.

17 Garden
The pretty garden at the guest house.

18 Pretty
Some pretty orange coloured flowers.

19 View
The view of the surrounding farmland while on our walk to the hide.

20 View
The view of the surrounding farmland while on our walk to the hide.

21 Entrance
The entrance to the guest house.

22 View
The view of the surrounding farmland while on our walk to the hide.