Farm weekend in the Klein Karoo, SA

Hello!

Now it is ‘mid-winter’ in South Africa and in practise, that means that it rains sometimes. However, exams are over and classes are on break so it was time for the students to take a break as well. In order to celebrate the end of the term and to erase the horrible memory of exams from our minds, my friends and I headed to the Klein Karoo for a long weekend at a farm.

The drive to the Karoo should take about 4 hours but we were busy stopping for coffee and shops as girls do so we arrived a bit later than originally planned. We did make it perfectly before the sunset and managed to start the journey fabulously by spotting some springboks followed by a herd of gemsboks.

 We quickly set up the braai and organised our meals. Then we popped open the red wine and sat by the fire watching the pink sunset followed by a breathtakingly clear view of the starry sky and the milky way. We sat there until everyone had had their fill of shooting star wishes.

The next day we headed for a little three-hour hike around the surrounding wilderness in hopes of seeing a few more of the cool animals. indeed, the gemsbok herd seemed as curious about us as we were of them and we continuously crossed paths which was brilliant.

We prepared for the evening and for our friends’ arrival, watched the sunset on the hill looming above the farmhouse and lit up the braai again. Half of our gang arrived in the evening and the usual farm antics commerced again.

The next day, we fed the koi fish and did another small hike. The weather wasn’t as favourable as before so we were forced to cut short but it is safe to say that the dinner setting was vastly improved by the extra time that we had in our hands. We completed a seven red wine tasting and made hummus and guacamole in our spare time.

Luckily the sky cleared towards the evening and we were able to catch the sunset again.

A few of the brave ones even took a dip in the farm pool after the hike.

Later at night, we took a UV lamp and headed on the path to find some scorpions. Due to the cold weather, most of them are hiding in warmed places but we did manage to find quite a few smaller ones and one a bit larger.

We did one more hike on our last day to find those gemsboks again but they were in hiding.

Overall, the trip was exactly what you would expect from a weekend away with friends in Europe too except with some extra interesting animals. This is loads of food and drinks, no cell reception, star gazing and fresh air.

Ride back home was peaceful and we arrived safely back to Cape Town with some new energy.

Sadly, half of the bunch are now finished with their masters’ degrees and are heading back to Europe. Farm reunion commencing in November! I’m looking forward to it.

Thanks!

Mira

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