A trip to the Seychelles!

 Since my Mom and Karetha came for 2 months, they had enough time to acclimate to a new culture, learn how to drive on the wrong side of the road, and figure out the kid's school schedule. They let Jeff and I escape to the Seychelles for a week. WITH NO KIDS!!!
Now we have gone on a kid-free trip before. When we lived in SK our buddies took the kids for a few days so I could tag along with Jeff and go to Singapore. But that was a long weekend, and a business trip so we only had a few dinners and one day together and the rest of time Jeff was working. This was a real vacation!

We flew from Port Elizabeth to JoBerg and then to the Island of Mahe in the Seychelles. To get out to our island we had to take a tiny puddle-jumper and Jeff was in heaven!

We checked into our resort. It was beautiful! We got in pretty late so we missed dinner but we found this all laid out in our room for us. What a nice welcome for tired (and hungry!) travellers!

We had 6 incredible days of doing a whole lot of nothin'. Which suited us both just fine! When I wasn't reading (entire chapters at a time!!! With no interrutions! No phones or vomiting animals or people yelling my name!) I was pretty much in a stupor of bliss staring up at this:

Once in a while I would go through the supreme effort of lifting my head off the chair though so I could look at this:

Ok, Ok, those of you that know me well know that my ability to sit in a beach chair is maybe an hour or less but I did give it a "red hot go" as my Aussie friends would say. We DID get in some awesome relaxation and I did get to read 2 books which was heaven. I had totally forgotten what it's like to read more than 1 page at time, re-reading the same paragraph over and over because you keep getting interrupted. We also did a whole bunch of diving. It was INCREDIBLE and we saw sharks and schools of rays and millions of fish and it was the best diving either of us has ever done.

At night the beach restaurant was fabulous, with differently themed buffet nights. Eating Paleo is great at a buffet because it helps you eliminate 50% of the options and just go straight for the good stuff, so while other people were wasting valuable stomach real estate on stupid stuff like rice and bread I was going back for 3rds on grilled shrimp, lamb chops and fresh caught fish with TONS of yummy veggies!

We also had a vacation dog. She learned on the first night that M = huge sucker and basically took up a position in the sand right next to our table. Of course I can't eat a meal with a sad pup looking at me so this dog got HOOKED UP our entire vaycay with steak, chicken, chops, you name it. Somewhere in the Seychelles a dog is still lamenting my departure....

On Wed night the resort took a bunch of us on a nice big boat to the most gorgeous beach on Praslin (like how is OUR beach not the most gorgeous right?) The water was incredibly deep and blue and the beach was pretty fine. They let us jump off the roof of the boat! We found out later than 2 people got eaten by sharks off this beach 2 years ago but hey, no harm, no foul right?

 Sunset cruise fo sho!

 Lovin' it!

 We had a huge mango tree right outside our room. We got soooo many mangoes off that tree and they were YUM! We were on a half-board basis which means breakfast and dinner included. Lunch for 2 anywhere in the Seychelles will run you about 80$. (Upside- makes Disney Dining prices seem like a bargain!) There was also free snacks at 4pm but it was all wheat-based cookies ect. I had brought nuts and biltong and some other Paleo treats so on most days we literally got coconut and mango out of the trees and then just filled in with nuts, biltong and hardboiled eggs that I swiped at breakfast!

One day the guys were even harvesting Mangoes out of the tree so they just gave me a bunch!

 Another day we took a cab to a National Park: The Vallee De Mai. This is home to some wiiiiild vegetation and the Coco de Mer nut. Check out those leaves! If Survivor ever did a Seychelles edition shelter building would be no problem!

Some strange nut casing with another nut inside:

But 6 days go quick and before we knew it our last day had come. We did one more dive and saw some really cool things. I swiped pics off a guy that dove with us and brought his underwater camera. Cute little fish all living in coral:

White-tipped shark:

We made the most of the rest of the day, just enjoying the sun and the quiet. And I got a coconut with a rum shot in it. Oh yeah baby!

We were just about to leave the beach when we saw this perfect rainbow streaming into the water. Pic does not do it justice... it was so vibrant and clear!

Finally the sun set and the moon rose and we headed to dinner on our last night. We had to get up at 4am the next morning to fly all the way back to PE but it was a wonderful relaxing vacation. So many of our vacations have been trips where we try to visit a country and see and experience as much as possible. We don't want to waste the experience of being expats so in Asia we tried to see Australia and China ect. Those trips are incredible and educational and inspiring, but not at all relaxing as you are always on the move and trying to negotiate language, safety, culture, sanitation and fatigue. THIS vacation was totally different. Just a chance to stop. And sit. And breathe. I'll always remember it, and I'll always have a special place in my heart for the Seychelles. Even though there's waaaaay too many French people there....

Adventures with the Grammies!

 On Sept 20, after what seemed like MONTHS of anticipation, my Mom finally landed in SA for a 2 month visit. She brought her friend Karetha, so we got a bonus grammy! We were right in the middle of school holidays so we wasted no time setting off on adventures!

Lucky for us they were both up for it. Check out my 71 year old mom. Coolest Grandma on the PLANET!!

We stayed in our favorite spot on the garden route:

 And then headed into the wilder parts of Africa!

 On our way out to the Bavaiaanskloof we had to rescue a huge tortoise from the road!

 And the grammies fit right in with our family habits of good food and fun fitness. They were super competitive with each other and it really took them to new levels. We did a strength training workout on M, W, and F. When they came they could plank for about 7-9 seconds. By the time they left they could hold a perfect plank for 55 seconds. And they both lost fat and gained muscle. I am SO proud of them!

 Of course we had to take them on many animal adventures. We did a new safari called Scotia Safaris and saw Lions! It was awesome!

We had a blast with our driver...

 They helped me throw the best Paleo Halloween Party Ever:

And we sent them off to Elephant back Safaris for a few days.

 They got to ride, feed them and watch them play in this new mud-hole they've made.

 They had a blast!

 We had some incredible food while they were here.

 And met all kinds of people.

 Their visit ended much too quickly and left us all wondering where the 2 months went! We can't wait to have them back...

Adventures in the Baviaanskloof part 2!

After our amazing farmhouse breakfast Yanni asked us if we wanted to see some baby animals. Of course we said "yes!" and jumped into the back of his truck.

These baby ostrich were only a few days old. They were TINY!!! From the size of their eggs, I expected baby ostrich to be a lot bigger.

Then we saw a pair of lambs that were minutes old. This one still has the cord attached!

We said  good-bye to the cave people and ventured on down the road to the Speekhout Treehouse. Se had to drive home so we didn't get to stay in the treehouse but the owners let us check it out. We get to stay a night here in January.

Bathroom in the trees!

The main living area of the treehouse:

Some of the beds and an outdoor dining room. Seriously awesome place!

Then we headed home. We decided to drive through the bush on a long route through the wildest part of the Baviaanskloof. At one point we hit a sign that said Willomore was 101KM back the way we came: 2 hour drive. The next town moving forward was 99km: 4.5 hour drive. WHAT!?! Well my friends it took us 3 hours. Because we are outstanding. But let me tell you that was some ROUGH terrain. We drove along ruts and through rivers and if we had gotten a flat tire I think we would have had to eat a kid. There was tons of wildlife and we saw monkeys and baboons:

In September we drove back into the B-Kloof with my Mom and her friend Karetha:

And the G-Spot had puppies!

This guy. He killed a bok and made his own Whisky dispenser. I think Blue Ridge Distilling needs one of these STAT!

Then we drove into the back country once again:

We found this HUGE tortoise in the middle of the road!

And Mom and K loved the scenery!

That night we stayed at the Cedar Guesthouse out in the middle of NOWHERE. It's totally off the grid so we got to eat dinner by candlelight.

Beautiful scenery:

The next day was windy and COLD so the girls stayed back at the house but Teddy and I went on a long hike up a canyon. We saw some pretty cool stuff!

Meanwhile back at the ranch the girls were taking photos and mugging for the camera!

Swimming pool? Really? I've seen bathtubs bigger than this!

Then there was this guy: He followed us all around the property. Sat outside the door during meals and just generally adopted us. He was very proud and loved to strut his stuff and lead the way up the various pathways. I need a chicken...

After 2 very peaceful nights away from civilization we headed back home. But first we had to get past this crew!

The road from Willomore was paved (finally) but it was ONE LANE!!! I have never seen this before. You had to keep your eagle eyes open and pull the left side of the car onto the gravel if you saw another car heading your way. Kind of epic to say the least.

We stopped for lunch at a little picnic table by the side of the road. It seemed like a nice enough spot. Then Sasha read that tiny sign you can see on the other side of the road:

After we read that we all finished up lunch REALLLLY quick. In fact I think we set a new record for eating and re-packing a vehicle. Lesson learned: In Africa, read ALL surrounding signs before stopping to picnic!