I never knew of a morning in Africa when I woke up that I was not happy…
28 April 2017
I am sitting on my porch with a cup of coffee, overlooking the waterhole .... a herd of Springbuck is grazing in the tall grass of the Kalahari...
Here I am, clueless when it comes to internet marketing and I am trying my hand at writing a blog...
What? A blog? According to google, a blog is a "frequently updated online personal journal or diary. It is a place to express yourself to the world. A place to share your thoughts and your passions. Really, it’s anything you want it to be."
So my Kalahari blog is going to be more of a memoir... a trip down memory lane (for me and for you)... a sharing of memories, of photos, of Kalahari moments, recipes from my Kalahari kitchen....
So where did it all start.... 20 years ago this city girl fell in love with a tall handsome farm boy... never imagining a life of breathtaking sunsets, bright starlit nights, herds of zebra running through my front garden.... a full, beautiful, simple life in the Kalahari. Our love story began in the beautiful town of Stellenbosch where we both went to college. Janneman a law graduate playing professional rugby and myself, a girl studying Economics - with the dream of her knight in shining armour and a white picket fence. After a whirlwind romance, we got married May 1997 (yes- twenty years next month!) and moved across South Africa and abroad, where Janneman played professional rugby. After retiring from professional sports ( my dream of a white picket fence still much alive) and two baby girls later, I thought we were ready to settle in Stellenbosch. Never in my wildest imagination did I think (or plan) that we would be moving to live in the Kalahari where Janneman grew up as a boy.
In exchange for a white picket fence, I got open land
In exchange for oak trees and vineyard (Stellenbosch is known for the oak lined streets and beautiful vineyards surrounding the town), I got yellow oak and camel thorn trees (and red sand)
In exchange for city lights, I got dark nights filled with more stars than in my dreams
In exchange for traffic and sirens, I got the call of the jackal filling the night
In exchange for a social filled calendar, I got days full of children's laughter
In exchange for a law practice, I got a husband living his dream
Yes, the Kalahari offered me so much more than I could ever imagine....
I found myself here in the red dunes of the Kalahari....
pulling out thorns from my children's bare feet, listening to the quiet of the day as the sun draws water and the African night sky comes alive with stars so vast and incalculable.
Kalahari Safari was born.... also in my heart.
“I never knew of a morning in Africa when I woke up that I was not happy.”
* Ernest Hemingway