Weekends away

Highly highly highly recommended. Do at least one weekend away every two months (or every month if you can swing it). Take a drive, an hour, two or three away from where you live into open country and allow your mind to take in and adjust to the shift that occurs when suddenly your eyes can see further than just your PC screen. It really is worth it.

I have been pretty good at the regular weekend away - self-catering so that I can indulge in my other form of therapy, cooking (and more recently baking but more about that another time). Just a few notes for the weekend self-catering packing list:

1) Make breakfast easy and healthy, bacon and eggs may be weekend breakfast food, but you're like to indulge all day, so rather opt for meusli, yohurt and fruit. a) much healthier and you're likely to have more energy to enjoy the rest of your day and b) much less cutlery and crockery which means you'll only need to wash up once a day.

2) Pack pinic type food for luch: salads, cold meats, cheese, crisps, fruit, cupcakes, etc. Pack this into the car (in a cooler bag/box) when you leave to go exploring in the morning, if you decide to stop in a little town and have lunch there, fine, but if you happen to find a magnificant vista you have everything there ready for an impromtu picnic with a priceless view. Don't forget to pack water and a blanket.

3) Dinner is your call, if like me, making food is therapeutic for you, indulge at dinner (keeping in mind that you have limited equipment at your disposal) or opt for a dinner at an interesting restaurant you saw during the day.

The bf and I just got back from a magical weekend, despite the disappointment in the accommodation we booked (also won't go into that now since the booking agent still has a chance to make up for it), the sights around the area in Mpumalanga (a province in northern South Africa) were just breathtaking. Perhaps because of the disappointing accommodation, we made sure we were out early and back after sunset, which resulted in ensuring that we enjoyed the full magnificance of the views on offer. We were in an area referred to as the Panorama route which truly lives up to its name. I knew we were on track when we passed by a giant shoe proclaming 'Shoe caves' close to the Echo caves in the area! Towns in the area include Graskop, Sabie, Pilgrim's Rest and Hazyview if you're looking for something to Google. The Kruger National Park (SA's biggest - or at least one of the biggest - nature reserve and a home for the big 5, no, not Gucci, Prada, Louis Vuitton, Chanel and Versace!) is also quite close by although you will need more than a weekend to explore everything the area has to offer.

We stayed close to the Blyde River Canyon, a huge nature reserve that stretches as far as the eye can see and then some. I'm including links to some random websites for those interested but will leave you with a pic of this place so you don't miss out...

The area also has a number of very pretty waterfalls on view as well as picnic areas where you can indulge in the views of the hills, rivers and water pools around. Despite opting for a restful, relaxing weekend, we managed to hike up a couple of pretty steep rocks just to soak up more of the green and blue spectacles but eventually got smart and opted for a horse ride to access some of the more remote areas which cannot be reached by car.

Having had a stress immunising shot of nature, for good measure we visited the Sudwala caves on the drive back home, apparently the oldest known caves in the world and pretty impressive with massive stalagtites and -mites still growing patiently through the ages. What perspective this gives! Do wear shoes that can stand up to a hike and good at clinging to rocks etc. as this is one type of holiday where a pretty pair of pumps will not only make you look a little silly but keep you from taking priceless mental pictures.