Here are my answers to this week’s Share Your World from Di

Here are this week’s questions:

What is the most comfortable vehicle you have ever ridden in or driven?

I really enjoyed driving our Volkswagen Caravelle. It was comfortable, had plenty of space and was easy to drive in spite of its size.

What is the most uncomfortable vehicle you have ever ridden in or driven?

The most uncomfortable vehicle I have been driven in is called an John Deer Gator and the driver was only seven years old. I was not keen to take a ride with an unlicenced driver but he assured me that he would go over the bumps in the rough farm road very slowly – And he did! Still, I think I prefer to walk!

Have you ever ridden a horse (or a donkey at the seaside)?

When I was a child we had a pair of donkeys on our beach. They were named Spitfire and Hurricane if I remember correctly. When not working on the beach they were kept in a field not far away and we used to visit them and feed them carrots.

I have never been a keen horse rider but I have ridden a horse several times. Our two older daughters loved horse riding when they were children and one now owns her own horse and until recently participated in endurance riding.

If you could have one of these as a pet, which would it be and why?
Black panther, cheetah, leopard, lynx

I know this is an IF question and just for fun, but I just can’t imagine keeping a wild creature as a pet. I am privileged to be able to see many wild African animals in their natural habitat and they are all magnificent.

Gratitude:
Never forget to tell the Special Someone in your life that you love them.

Love this meme below. I recently had my best friend spend a few days with me and we really get each other and can definitely be stupid together. Love you, Jen!

I have joined From Cave Walls Survey. Here are my answers

1. How many times per week do you post? Do you post multiple times a day? If so, how many?

I try to blog once per week but often don’t. I usually blog daily (or nightly) when I travel and have something I want to share with others. Most of my posts are about caravanning and our trips to the game reserves in South Africa but also generally about the South African Lifestyle and travel to other countries.

2. How many blogs do you follow?

I follow 68 but not all of these bloggers are regular. I have a list of ten favourites that I check regularly.

3. Do you read all the blogs you follow every day? If not, how often do you read other blogs?

I go through phases. When I’m travelling it’s all I can do to fit in writing my blogs so I don’t read as many then. But when I’m at home I try to read everything that comes up in my Reader or email.

4. Do you seek out new blogs to follow?  If so, how do you find them?

I used to but now I have enough to interest me. Googling a topic eg- caravanning + Blog +Wordpress has helped me find new blogs to follow. I have also found other blogs by joining challengers and reading the responses of other bloggers. If I like their responses, I start following them. Also reading a comment on a blog I follow might tempt me to check out that person’s own blog.

5. Do you comment on the blogs you read? If not, why? Do you respond to all the comments left on your blog?

Only if I have something I really want to say. I always enjoy reading what others have written but sometimes just a like is enough.

I usually respond to comments on my blog.

6. Do you ever close comments on a blog you post? If so, why?

I have never felt the need to close comments.

7. Do you ever unfollow someone? If so, why?

Not really – I have unfollowed people who haven’t blogged for a very long time and have obviously given up blogging — or died.

8. What content inspires you to follow a blogger?

I love reading about the lives of other retirees and I very much enjoy reading blogs from people in other countries.

9. What content turns you off from following someone?

If the blog is too political I’m not that interested in following it. Also where there is a lot of negativity. Humourous blogs are a hit for me and also informative blogs. I follow people who are into nature, wildlife and birds. I also enjoy travel blogs.

10. How important is it to you that you add a photo to every post?

11. Leave me a link for one blogger (other than yourself) that you think I should check out.

Because I write about the lifestyle in my own country, the game reserves and other travel, I always include photographs. I also like using clipart and memes.

1 January 2023

We woke to a beautiful morning at The Homestead Caravan Park had a champagne breakfast at the camp’s restaurant. It was awesome. Our table was decorated, the champagne waiting on ice and a fresh fruit salad ready in a pretty glass. This was followed by a lovely English breakfast and of course some excellent coffee.
The rest of the day we spent swimming in the pool, walking in the shady gardens, reading, and napping. It was a wonderful way to start the New Year.

2 January 2023

We left The Homestead at 8:30 and made our way to Plettenberg Bay, stopping for breakfast at Bay West Mall just off the N2 then made our way to Plett. The traffic was flowing until we reached Keurbooms. From there we crawled for half an hour! This is Plett in season – we should not have been surprised! But it was lovely to be back at our daughter’s now much quieter home as all the guests had left. Our granddaughter and her boyfriend had also gone off to his parents for the rest of the holidays. For supper, we ordered Sushi in and it was delicious.

3 January 2023

We managed to get a caravan site at Warmwaterberg for two nights so left before 8 this morning in lovely sunny weather. We like sites 17 a b and c in front of reception and next to the pool but they were fully booked. Instead, we got a very private and shady spot, Number 16, behind reception. It was too hot to set up so went straight to the pools. Usually, we enjoy the hot springs but today we wallowed in the cold pool. Because it is still school holidays it was busy and there were lots of families with kids. However, it was still quite pleasant. We chatted to some of the parents and the kids and everybody was having a lovely time.

We decided that as these two days were the last of our holiday we would eat our meals at the restaurant. This evening I had bobotie and the Earl had Oxtail. The reasonably priced portions are really generous and come with plenty of vegetables. We really should have ordered one meal and shared!

4 January 2024

Isn’t it amazing how weather can change so dramatically? After a very hot day yesterday, the wind got up in the night and this morning was quite chilly. But this made being in the hot pools an enjoyable experience. We spent the day in and out of the pools and just relaxing.

In the evening we went to the restaurant again. I had the lasagne and Earl the ribs. Once again we were not disappointed.

I did not take any other photos of our two days here because I have blogged a few times about this spot. If you want more info I have written about the campsite here and what to do in the surrounding places here.

This was to be the last day of our holiday but a phone call while having breakfast was to change that. We were expecting the tenants in our house to move out today and tomorrow we would go home. But our agent called to ask if she could let to new tenants until 15 January! Yes, it was very last minute and we were not prepared but the opportunity to earn some more money made us bite the bullet and say, Yes, Okay – we will make a plan!

“We’re homeless!” I said to the Earl when I ended the call. But of course, we have our Gecko and so it would be home for another 10 days! We just had to decide where to go next.

Very quickly a plan took shape. We needed to go somewhere nearby. So after some discussion, we decided to go to Bontebok National Park for two nights and then to Cape Town but we couldn’t stay with the kids because there would be no place to park the caravan. But parking off at Chapman’s Peak Caravan Park for a week would be ideal. We have lots of friends and family in the area and really need to catch up with them. After enquiring we were told there would be plenty of space as most of the holidaymakers have now left.

So watch this space for news of the Homeless Gecko Caravanners!

This is the first SYW of 2023 hosted by Pensitivity100

Did you stay up to see the New Year in?

We were camping and some of the other campers stayed up. A young girl gave us sparklers to light at midnight but I am afraid we didn’t make it. We were asleep by 10!

Are there any special occasions or events coming up in 2023 for you or your family?

2022 was an awesome year. We had regular visits with our Cape Town and Plettenberg Bay kids and grandkids. Thankfully the younger generation is still happy to spend time with us. The highlight of the year was celebrating my 70th birthday with all ten of us gathering for a weekend at Fransvliet in Franschoek.

We also went on a cruise to Marion Island and did a few caravanning trips. We certainly plan to have as much fun in 2023.

One trip already planned with our friends Cathy and Alec is a caravanning trip to Kgalagadi in August 2023.

My granddaughter is turning 21 next month and ‘something’ is planned. We don’t know what yet.

 Do you keep a diary?

Yes, I do. At first, my diaries were erratic and dealt with the progress of my children and holidays. I have kept all of them. In 1999 I started to journal more regularly as some serious things were happening in our lives. I used these diaries to help write my book, A Judge Decided. Since starting those diaries I have continued although I don’t do entries every single day.

 How did yesterday differ from January 1st 2022 or was there no difference?

Let me check my diary.

Well, it seems that I didn’t write anything about 1 January 2022. But there is an entry for 31 December 2021. We all had different plans for the evening. The Earl and I were not going to stay up till midnight and that plan worked out for him. But our youngest, her friend and the friend’s young man who was also staying over with our Plett family, went out to a party, but the young man being of a rather shy disposition came back early and he and I sat up till midnight chatting! It was a most unusual New Year’s eve but very enjoyable. (He was good company one on one – just didn’t like parties!) I have no idea what time the girls got home but it was well after midday when we all met again for our next meal!

This year on New Year’s Day we had a champagne breakfast at our camp, The Homestead’s, restaurant. It was awesome. Our table was decorated, the champagne waiting on ice and a fresh fruit salad ready in a pretty glass. This was followed by a lovely English breakfast and of course some excellent coffee.
The rest of the day we spent swimming in the pool, walking in the shady gardens, reading, and napping. It was a wonderful way to start the New Year.

Gratitude:
A smile is infectious. Spread it around.

I am grateful that The Earl and I are still in good enough health to do the things we do. Each year just seems to get better and better.