Last Echoes of the Bushveld Trail

Our final “do-nothing” day before heading home was all about taking it easy—which, as it turned out, is exactly what it turned out to be.

The Great 7 AM Lie-In

We started the day with a “massive” sleep-in. Now, when you reach a certain age, that means you’re definitely awake by 8:00 am. After kick-starting our own systems with coffee and rusks, we decided to explore. Since the recent rains had turned the proper walking trails into a muddy mess, we were told to stick to the sand roads instead.

For the first kilometre, the only “wildlife” we saw was some old farm buildings, even though we knew there were critters around because we’d heard them from our chalet earlier.

A Mini Safari and a Forest Chapel

Eventually, we hit the jackpot! We spotted a large herd of antelope—including Impala, Kudu, and some shy Bushbuck—hiding in the thick bush. They weren’t exactly looking for new friends, though; as soon as they saw us, they went full Olympic sprinter and disappeared into the distance.

Since we’d forgotten to bring water and hadn’t really planned for a marathon hike, we started heading back toward our chalet. Going for a hike without water is like driving a car on empty; you’re having a great time until you realise you’re stuck in the middle of nowhere with a very dry engine! On the way, we stumbled across a beautiful outdoor chapel tucked under a massive tree. It probably hosted some pretty cool weddings back in the day.

Putin’s Pit Stop

Back at the ranch, I decided it was time to play mechanic. I rummaged through my “stash of mystery spares” and actually found a bolt to replace the one Putin had dropped from the exhaust manifold. While I had the tools out, I gave all the other bolts a good nip just to make sure nothing else decided to go AWOL on the ride home. This BTW is something I always do at our sleepovers, but I slacked a bit, hence the missing bolt.

Brunch, Naps, and One Last Fire

The rest of the day was spent in peak holiday mode: a leisurely brunch on the porch followed by a very necessary afternoon nap.

After my previous drama with smoky fires, my confidence is finally back. I’ve decided that for our final night, I’m definitely setting something on fire again—the braai kind, hopefully, and not the “call the fire brigade” kind!