Home Alone - 12/03/12

Part of the Pebble Beach Loop

BEN - We had an early morning sending off the Lesotho trip.  I would say we are certainly getting it down to a science, very efficient.  After the morning chaos was done and the truck pulled off of the farm, we were truly alone and in charge, because Steve was leading the Lesotho trip.  That means its just Gabby, me, and Alistair.  This means we have a giant alcoholic baby to take care of, yipee!  Gabby and I decided to spend our afternoon completing our final hike left on the farm, the Pebble Beach Loop.  This is a 5 km loop that starts on a high ridge, and finds its way down to the Mzimkulu River.  The loop actually turned out to be one of my favorite hikes on the farm.  The walk was beautiful, with flowers blooming all around us.  We eventually reached Pebble Beach, a rocky "beach" that juts out into the river.  The day had turned hot so we decided to jump in the rapids.  The river's water certainly cooled us off quickly as we let the rapids push us downstream.  After our swim, we laid out and enjoyed the beach for awhile before heading back to the backpackers.

Pebble Beach, can you find the swimmer?

We were making some guests burgers and fries for dinner, so we got Alistair to drive us to town for a shopping trip.  While Gabby bought the groceries, I went to the local stationary shop and printed out/laminated our hiking project including map and posters.  They look awesome!  I ended up hanging them outside the reception office for all to see.  On the ride back to Khotso, Alistair asked if we wanted to see some scenery  We drove up a road we'd never been on before and had some incredible views of the mountains.  Alistair can sometimes be a really nice, friendly guy, but other times an absolute menace.  We got back, and I fired up the braii, made some patties, and cooked them up.  Gabby manned the chips, making some crispy, tasty delights.

While Steve is away, we are also in charge of feeding the dogs, cats, and Simon (Steve's old horse).  This actually turned out to be pretty fun,as all the animals instantly love you when you provide them with food.  After all the humans and animals were fed, we went to sleep up at Steve's house to watch over the dogs and household.  Its was a nice change of scenery and the bed was very comfy, so we were happy for the mini get-away.