We had to drag ourselves out the house today as it's getting colder, but I am so glad we did. I've always wanted to show the children a special hike to the "secret tunnel," that I remember being one of my favourite's when I was little. It's not a hike that is on our itinerary, but we used to go there as a family. I couldn't remember if this "tunnel" was really as cool as the memories I had of it, so I didn't say too much about it. I didn't even know if I'd remember the way to get there.
We headed in the direction we thought it would be and were taken back with the beauty along the way. The stream we followed was filed with poplar trees having shed their autumn leaves in their masses inside the stream and along the path we chose to walk. The autumn yellows were already buried under the winter browns, Note to self - we will definitely be doing this walk in Autumn next year - I can imagine that the colours will be even more magical.
The leaves were so thick on the water that it gave a false sense of being land. The dogs, on numerous occasions, were fooled by this and ended up being dunked in the water.
Thabo has a fascination with fairies, and identifies all the fairy forces of nature on the way. Little ferns are fairy forests. Tiny streams are fairy canyons. Tiny caves and flowers are fairy homes and gardens. Today we came across beautiful fairy forests whereby, due to erosion, the roots of trees were exposed on the banks of the stream. It is such a treat hearing Thabo's comments along the way. Saying that, I never actually realised how much the boy can talk. When there are no other people nearby to share the listening with. It really is quite something to hear.
Bryce and I ended up a bit ahead of the rest of the family, and the excitement I felt when we came across the tunnel was palpable. Floods of childhood memories came filtering through and I felt like a 10 year old again. The tunnel definitely did not disappoint. It was probably formed by a rock slide, whereby 2 massive rocks have wedged against each other, creating roughly a 20m walkway through to the other side. Inside it's dark and luckily Michael always carries a headlamp with him.
A pool of water lies just in front of the tunnel so I almost chickened out, thinking that just by finding it was exciting enough, and that we would return in summer to venture through it. The rest of the family was, however, game for it and there was no way I wanted to be left out. We spent some time, icy feet and all, exploring the tunnel and enjoying every moment.
The Bushmen Painting hike was a short distance away so we decided to head to the paintings via the Echo Caves. This is a cave that is directly opposite a cliff face across the valley. I remember my Dad telling me the first time he took me there, that there is a little creature that repeats what you say if you shout loud enough. The legend continues.....
After some loud shouting and funny sounds from the children, we ventured off to see the paintings. Bryce was leading the pack, and with the Makhaleng River in the distance, in the opposite direction to the paintings, the temptation was too great, and he "accidentally" led us there instead.
River sand, frozen water, and plenty of space to run a mock - a child's heaven. We spent some time there before venturing home again.
On the way home we saw a lonely African Sacred Ibis. Hadida and Bald Ibis's are a common sighting in the nearby valley. We have however never seen a Sacred Ibis before, so a really lovely sighting that was.
We headed in the direction we thought it would be and were taken back with the beauty along the way. The stream we followed was filed with poplar trees having shed their autumn leaves in their masses inside the stream and along the path we chose to walk. The autumn yellows were already buried under the winter browns, Note to self - we will definitely be doing this walk in Autumn next year - I can imagine that the colours will be even more magical.
The leaves were so thick on the water that it gave a false sense of being land. The dogs, on numerous occasions, were fooled by this and ended up being dunked in the water.
Thabo has a fascination with fairies, and identifies all the fairy forces of nature on the way. Little ferns are fairy forests. Tiny streams are fairy canyons. Tiny caves and flowers are fairy homes and gardens. Today we came across beautiful fairy forests whereby, due to erosion, the roots of trees were exposed on the banks of the stream. It is such a treat hearing Thabo's comments along the way. Saying that, I never actually realised how much the boy can talk. When there are no other people nearby to share the listening with. It really is quite something to hear.
Bryce and I ended up a bit ahead of the rest of the family, and the excitement I felt when we came across the tunnel was palpable. Floods of childhood memories came filtering through and I felt like a 10 year old again. The tunnel definitely did not disappoint. It was probably formed by a rock slide, whereby 2 massive rocks have wedged against each other, creating roughly a 20m walkway through to the other side. Inside it's dark and luckily Michael always carries a headlamp with him.
A pool of water lies just in front of the tunnel so I almost chickened out, thinking that just by finding it was exciting enough, and that we would return in summer to venture through it. The rest of the family was, however, game for it and there was no way I wanted to be left out. We spent some time, icy feet and all, exploring the tunnel and enjoying every moment.
The Bushmen Painting hike was a short distance away so we decided to head to the paintings via the Echo Caves. This is a cave that is directly opposite a cliff face across the valley. I remember my Dad telling me the first time he took me there, that there is a little creature that repeats what you say if you shout loud enough. The legend continues.....
After some loud shouting and funny sounds from the children, we ventured off to see the paintings. Bryce was leading the pack, and with the Makhaleng River in the distance, in the opposite direction to the paintings, the temptation was too great, and he "accidentally" led us there instead.
River sand, frozen water, and plenty of space to run a mock - a child's heaven. We spent some time there before venturing home again.
On the way home we saw a lonely African Sacred Ibis. Hadida and Bald Ibis's are a common sighting in the nearby valley. We have however never seen a Sacred Ibis before, so a really lovely sighting that was.