Chris's lovely nephew is in town so we decided to show him some of the best harbour scenery in Sydney. I never grow tired of this fabulous 10 km walk.
Life Trove
A celebration of treasured moments
June 04, 2026
June 04, 2026
Watson's bay with Shushann
It was wonderful catching up with Shushann after my time away and what better place than Watson's Bay. We had planned for Frenchies but took the wrong turn off. Some things are meant to be!
Labels:
lighthouse,
Macquarie Lighthouse,
Shushann,
walking,
Watsons Bay
May 27, 2026
Cape Town & Zululand 2026 Highlights
A wonderful 6 week visit to Cape Town and Zululand.
Diary
Highlights
- An absolutely fabulous 9 days in Zululand exploring Mkuzi, Sodwana Bay, Hluhluwe and St Lucia.
- A really fun weekend at the Good Hope Farm near Robertson with Russell and my Afrikaburn friends including two lovely hikes.
- A restful weekend away at Melkbos with The Hardcore Hiking group.
- Photographing a Gymnogene which Heather manifested.
- Photographing an Eagle Owl at Kirstenbosch.
- Lots of delicious lunches at Woodside Village.
- Compiling Mike's memoirs.
- Helping Jo purchase a new computer and screen and setting up her photos in Lightroom.
- Creating a birthday song for Sam.
- A fun night of poker with the boys.
- Watching The Rocky Horror Picture Show. What a blast.
- A delicious lunch in Melkbos with Mary-Anne.
- Some nice walks and hikes: Hluhluwe game walk, Myburgh's Ravine, Eagle's Nest, Muizenberg, Chapman's Peak, The Greenbelt and 2 hikes at Good Hope Farm.
Arrival
- Flight and reunion (Apr)
Family
- Birthday song for Sam (Apr)
- Sam's birthday breakfast (Apr)
- Mother's day (May)
- Jo's 54th birthday (May)
- Compiling Mike's memoirs (Apr)
Social
- Poker with the boys (Apr)
- Melkbos with Mary-Anne (May)
Weekends away
Walks & Hikes
- Walk in The Greenbelt (Apr)
- St James to Muizenberg walk (Apr)
- Chapman's Peak with Russell (May)
- Eagle's Nest with Russell (May)
- Myburgh's Ravine with Russell & Brandon (May)
- Waterfall walk and mountain walk near Robertson (May)
Photography
- Photographing Gymnogene (Apr)
- Steam train in Rondebosch (May)
- Kirstenbosch (and photographing an owl) (May)
Show
Zululand trip
- All posts
- Journey there (May)
- Mkuzi (May)
- Sodwana (May)
- Hluhluwe–iMfolozi (May)
- St Lucia (May)
Labels:
Cape Town visits,
South Africa 2026
May 26, 2026
Day by day diary of my time in Cape Town & Zululand
| 28-May | Thu | Fly home |
| 27-May | Wed | Mum & Mike. Russell for roast lamb. |
| 26-May | Tue | Shopping with Jo. Lightroom photos for her. Dinner with Russell at Peddlars. |
| 25-May | Mon | Teeth cleaned. Mike memoirs & lunch. Help Jo dinner. |
| 24-May | Sun | Drive home |
| 23-May | Sat | Goodhope Farm weekend. 2 hikes. |
| 22-May | Fri | Drive to Good Hope Farm near Robertson |
| 21-May | Thu | Kirstenbosch, then lunch with mum, Mike, Jo |
| 20-May | Wed | Work am. Melkbos lunch with Mary Ann |
| 19-May | Tue | Full day work on LGM. Shop & make dinner |
| 18-May | Mon | Mike stories re Africa. Shopping mum. |
| 17-May | Sun | Myburgh Ravine with Russell & Brandon |
| 16-May | Sat | Jo's birthday |
| 15-May | Fri | Chapman's Peak walk with Russell |
| 14-May | Thu | Dentist. Visit mum. Cavendish to get Jo gift. |
| 13-May | Wed | Visit mum & Mike |
| 12-May | Tue | Blog my photos. Shop and cook stirfry for family. |
| 11-May | Mon | Huge storm. Blog my photos. |
| 10-May | Sun | Boat trip & drive to airport |
| 9-May | Sat | St Lucia |
| 8-May | Fri | Drive to St Lucia |
| 7-May | Thu | Hluhluwe |
| 6-May | Wed | Hluhluwe |
| 5-May | Tue | Drive to Hluhluwe |
| 4-May | Mon | Sodwana Bay |
| 3-May | Sun | Mkuzi |
| 2-May | Sat | Mkuzi |
| 1-May | Fri | Leave for Zululand. Drive to Mkuzi |
| 30-Apr | Thu | St James to Muizenberg walk. Packing. |
| 29-Apr | Wed | Dr for mole check. |
| 28-Apr | Tue | Gymnogene |
| 27-Apr | Mon | Drive home |
| 26-Apr | Sun | Fossil museum |
| 25-Apr | Sat | Langebaan & West Coast National Park |
| 24-Apr | Fri | Leave for Langebaan |
| 23-Apr | Thu | Anxious and lightheaded. |
| 22-Apr | Wed | Walk in upper Constantia. Beef stirfry for Antony |
| 21-Apr | Tue | Mum lunch lamb pie. Brandon dinner |
| 20-Apr | Mon | 11 km walk in Greenbelt |
| 19-Apr | Sun | Chicken stirfry for Antony |
| 18-Apr | Sat | Sam breakfast. Russell and Heather - water & stirfry |
| 17-Apr | Fri | Lunch with mum & Mike, Sam's song, Poker evening |
| 16-Apr | Thu | Arrive Cape Town. Dinner with family & Matt |
| 15-Apr | Wed | Flight |
Labels:
diary,
South Africa 2026
May 26, 2026
Flight home
An uneventful flight home. I was very happy to have two extra seats on my flight to Joberg and one extra seat on my flight to Sydney.
I found the perfect private nook to get some sleep at Singapore Airport where I had a 3.5 hour layover. Bliss!
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| Someone else had found the spot too! |
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| The sleep spot was behind this. |
Labels:
airport,
flight,
South Africa 2026
May 25, 2026
Weekend away at Good Hope Farm near Robertson
An absolutely fabulous weekend away with Russell, Rob, Dawn, Glen, Brandon, Shane, Graeme, Lucy, Wouter and Hayley.
Highlights
- A rather roundabout 3.5 hour journey to get there due to the recent floods.
- The stunning sunrise over the dam each morning.
- A fun walk to a waterfall for an invigorating swim.
- An adventurous walk up the mountain with Graeme and Lucy. Graeme ran out of power to navigate and I was able to save the day by whipping out my powerbank.
- The wonderful, friendly farm animals including Blondey (the horse), Honky (the donkey), Broomhilda (the big pig), Snuffles (the small pig) and Pecky (the ostrich).
- Making pizzas on the 2nd night with the pizza oven. I broke the Guinness Book of Records for the most toppings on a pizza.
- Spending more fun time with dear Russell.
- A special heart-to-heart chat with Dawn.
- Glen having a precarious swing over the dam.
- Discussing the joys of birding with Hailey.
- The love so evident between Hailey and Wouter - you'd think they've been together a year, not 14 years.
- Brandon and Shane introducing me to sugar free lemonade and icecream.
Scenery on the way
Waking up to sunrise over the dam
The friendly farm animals
About to leave on our walk to the waterfall
Walk to the waterfall for an invigorating dip
Hike up the mountain with Graeme and Lucy
Braai on the 1st night and pizza on the 2nd
Chilling on the final day
Scenery on the way home
Labels:
goose,
hiking,
horses,
me with Russell,
Russell,
South Africa 2026,
walking,
weekend away
























































































































































