You must be tired of hearing how beautiful Ireland and the UK was. Fortune favoured us with 2 days of rain out of 2 weeks, from the Emerald Isle we saw it at its best, everyone commented on how unusual it was. When the sun shines in spring and early summer, the countryside with all its rolling green hills, shrubs and flowers in full bloom, glistening lakes, it is truly spectacular. Our theory was that of course we unpacked the African sun ! Ireland is fairly small, compared to other countries but it can take time to get around, with its narrow winding roads. This was Karen and Clive's idea, so we could see more of Ireland and makes it far more interesting than sticking to highways and byways and one can appreciate the landscape that ... read more

Days 10, 11 & 12 After we stayed overnight in Galway, it was decided that in order to fit in as many sights as possible before we had to get back to Dublin to drop Dale off at the airport for her flight, we would skip seeing the Cliffs of Moher, as it would take us a while to drive there and back and see as much as we were planning to. Onward march to Limerick where we stopped for a quick look and some tea. The castle was being renovated so we couldn't go inside but we admired the lovely bridge and scattered with plants growing out of it, it looked quite beautiful - an effect a landscape designer tries to recreate often in a garden and here it is growing naturally! Then we headed ... read more

Day 6, 7 & 8 Arrived at Loughe Eske. What a beautiful setting, not just for weddings! I could spend a few days walking around to recharge my batteries, but now all the wedding celebrations are on the roll, and we still get to enjoy the area around Loughe Eske in all its splendour. Rowan and Sadhbh will share their vows in St Agatha's Church, Clar, Donegal Town and the reception will be at Harvey's Point on the edge of the lake. The B&B that we are staying at, Ardeevin, overlooks the lake, with such a glorious view. The breakfast was truly scrumptious and should keep us going throughout the day until we have dinner at the wedding reception. If in need of a romantic getaway in Ireland - this is the place. The rooms are ... read more

Day 1 England is filled with many surprises. In our short stay we discovered a few of them. A spectacular day in England as we landed with the sun shining, everything looked clean fresh. Karen and Clive fetched us from Manchester airport and we took the scenic route to Ambleside as there were delays on motorway. Breathtaking typical English countryside with cows in the lush green meadows, horses grazing, lambs frolicking around. I would love to know how many kilometers of dry stone walls there are in England, packed with precision up, down and across steep hills and covered in places in thick moss. Quite extraordinary to see traditional gypsy caravans parked next to the side of the road where they are camping, when there are so many more modern caravans and camper vans available. They ... read more

Should we take the low road or the high road? Driving to Mountain Sanctuary Park from home, the distance is shorter going via Breedts Neck pass than going via Hartebeespoort dam, probably by about 30km. The only trouble is the 'gravel' road over the pass. The last time we travelled that route was quite a few years ago and then already the road was in a bad condition. How much more had it deteriorated? Reports from the 4 x 4 forums and others that had travelled it in the last couple of months varied. We would just have to see for ourselves. It has become a tradition to go to Mountain Sanctuary in the Magaliesberg at Easter time. Traffic is not as bad - always chaos down to Natal, chaos travelling north, with too much delay, ... read more