My opinion on various things. And pics.

As I'm sure you are all aware, I have an opinion on pretty much everything :-) So here are my thoughts on a couple of things:

Movies:

Unkown: I love Liam Neeson. I love action movies and thrillers. One would think this was a match made in heaven. And it was definitely edge-of-your-seat engaging. The only problems are the plot holes the size of JuJu's ego and the fact that it's all been done before. And let's face it, Bourne Identity did it a little better. I give it 6 out of 10.

Thor: Expecting a credible storyline and a superb script from a comic book movie is a bit like expecting a politician to tell the truth - it's possible, but quite rare. That said, if you can ignore the really daft plot, cheesy lines and superficial characters, Thor is actually quite a lot of fun. The special FX are pretty impressive, there's loads of action and, of course, there are Chris Hemsworth's abs. I give this one 6 out of 10 too.

TV:

Masterchef Australia: I don't know why I watch this show. I find it so stressful that I spend most of it clenching my fists and chanting contestants' names over and over as if I can stop them from being eliminated. But I love it. I really do. For the first time in ages, TSC and I are following something (other than sport) regularly on TV. Of course, it helps that we have a PVR now :-)

Restaurants:

La Passant: I bought a voucher for La Passant in Sandton awhile ago from awesome group buying site, WiCount (http://www.wicount.co.za/), and WOW - what a find! TSC and I had such a lovely dinner there. He had the lamb shank in red wine, cranberry and chocolate sauce (yum!) and I had the duck breast with orange and mango sauce (also yum!). We finished off with a rooibos creme brulee and the beligian chocolate mousse - both were little pieces of heaven on a plate. And the service was fabulous. We'll definitely be visiting again.

So those are my opinions for today. And here are some more pics from Sondela...

TSC feeding Porky, the tame warthog who was taken in by the Wildlife Centre when he was abandoned by his mother...

Sweet ass :-)

Yummy cheese platter that was brought to our room as part of our package on our first night...

Three giraffes. We saw them from a distance when we were out cycling, so we headed closer, got off the bikes and walked near enough to take pics - amazing experience...

Good stuff. And pics.

I do not feel like being back behind this screen, hard at work. The past few days have been such a good break that I don't want them to end.

I survived the farm in Namibia, with all its millions of mosquitoes and its one loo that doesn't work properly. TSC went off hunting and then spent much time cutting up all the meat (three springbok) to make biltong, mince etc, while I ploughed through several library books. I must say, despite the fact that it's really not my cup of tea, the farm was beautifully green. They've had good rains this year, so instead of just bone-dry red dirt, there was lots of grass and many fat dassies, happy sheep, tiny wild flowers and, of course, thousands of bugs. And the weather was great. Sunny and warm during the day and not too cold at night.

TSC enjoyed it. I would've liked to be with my whole family who were in Durban for Easter (especially my borther, whom I haven't seen in the past few weeks), but it was good to see him happy and I'm glad he got to spend quality time with his folks, without a million other people around for a change. Also, there were kittens, so that kept a smile on my face. I managed a few firsts too: first time eating !nabas (Kalahari truffles, which we dug out of the sand) and first time eating melkkos (not a fan. I'm not big on milk, so it was wasted on me. Lumpy milky stuff).

Anyway, here are some pics...

Horses, enjoying the short, sweet, green grass at the dam...

Somewhere, over the rainbow...

Kittens!!!!! *Squee*

We got back last Tuesday. Wednesday, being Freedom Day, was spent at the Rand Show. I haven't been since I was about eight years old and TSC has never been. We had such a good day out, although we spent far too much money (we each came home with a leather jacket).

Pics...

Thursday we both worked. And then, on Friday... SONDELA! I'd been looking forward to our weekend getaway since we booked. And once again, Sondela didn't let us down. I *love* that place (wrote about it last time here). We were only there for two nights, but we enjoyed every minute of it. We played tennis, rode our bikes through the bush spotting game, swam, read, napped, watched the stars from our private outdoor victorian bath, took photos, fed a giraffe at the wildlife centre, enjoyed good food and a private dinner at the poolside with candles and a fire, did a game drive and generally had a ball.

Pics...

Our private lunch table in the garden...

Zebra crossing...

The view looking up from our outdoor bath - a giant Kapok tree...

A Kapok blossom that landed in the empty bath...

All of this wonderfulness. I feel very lucky indeed.

Sondela

Our bush getaway to Sondela was phenomenal. It's difficult to find the words to explain how much we enjoyed our time there. Squeals work best, I find.

We were at the magnificent Sondela Country House near Bela-Bela / Warmbaths for three magical nights. It's a five-star boutique hotel, but they had the most fantastic winter special on that meant it was more affordable than many three-star hotels.

In our few days there, I experienced many "firsts":

• First time milking a cow;
• Having butler service (something to get used to, actually - it's a bit weird having someone just waiting around to do what you ask. We weren't very good at it);
• Going on a proper night drive (where I got to hold the spotlight);
• Seeing a bushbaby in the wild, jumping from tree to tree;
• Having a three-course gourmet meal served in our hotel room;
• Going on a "game drive" on bicycles (awesome!);
• Seeing a crimson-breasted shrike in the wild;
• Playing tennis while nyala watched;
• Being asked whether I wanted a goose down, duck down or feather pillow (?! I told them to surprise me. Have no idea which one I got in the end, but it was really comfortable);
• Having our car washed before we checked out, just as part of what they do for guests.

The attention to detail and level of service were mind-blowing - filter coffee in the rooms as opposed to the mix-n-drink stuff, a heated towel rack in the bathroom, Charlotte Rhys toiletries...

It was so good to be guests rather than hosts for a little while. The place is brilliantly maintained, has a great variety of facilities and, best of all, it's only an hour and a half away and it's warm!

I will attempt to stop gushing now, so here are some pics...

Me, milking a very patient cow:



Our King-sized bed:





The tame kudu doe that wanders around the property:



Very inquisitive mongoose:



The chalets also look brilliant - very private, in the middle of the bush, with a hot spa pool, col swimming pool, tennis courts and entertainment area. In fact, even the campsite looked really nice - shady, quiet and small.

I think we'll have to go back and try each ;-)

Ok, the gushing is really over now, I promise.