Dassieklip Farm

I've just had a lovely getaway! I spent the majority of the past week on Dassieklip farm (near Volksrust) where Kobus & Mariaan, friends of my parents live. 

View of Dassieklip Farm

Arriving at the farm - Bala with her head out the window!  (photo by Ani)

We went there for a break and also to get the wooden chest I'd bought on the drive down from Pemba fixed. It felt like April had more public holidays than workdays (which was really nice) so apart from the 2 days I had to be back in Pretoria for work, Bala and I were at the farm for 7 days! It was loads of fun:

I spent quite a bit of time in the work-shed working on my box: It had to be sanded down completely, which meant doing each side - inside and outside - with 7 different grades of sandpaper! After that was done, the bottom had to be replaced, and 'feet' put on to give it some ground clearance. I probably worked on it for a total of 4 days...


The old stone work-shed

Inside the work-shed

Me sanding the chest

The finished (Smooth and Shiny) chest ...albeit upside-down and back to front in this photo!

The farm is pretty much located where the Free State, KZN and Mpumalanga Provinces meet, so its fairly chilly! It's not a working farm as such, they have 3 horses (Mike, Misha and Jasmine), 2 sheep (Poplap and Meh) and a smattering of cows on the hills (the cows actually belong to the owner of the farm).

Bala meeting the sheep (photo by Ani)

Karlien (the horses' owner) on Mike and her puppy Toffee (photo by Ani)

I also had the opportunity to go riding! I'm still nice and sore, but it was totally worth it :-)

Me riding Mike with Bala running alongside (photo by Ani)

Me and Misha

There are plenty of things/places to explore:

Me sitting on the cliffs (photo by Ani) 

Plenty of open veld to ride: Karlien and I riding with Jasmine running with us

Some old-fashioned farm implements were still laying around... (photo by Ani) 

At night the stars were so bright! [Southern Cross and Alpha Centauri] (photo by Ani) 

My sister (who was there for 3 days with her husband) and I also had some quality sibling time

And of course, we HAD to have a braai!  [Sarel, my Dad and Kobus]

Bala also had a blast - she and Toffee became great friends and at times could be seeing chasing each other round and round playing like crazy!  Bala also loved barking at the sheep, the cattle and she even had a go at the little filly, Jasmine (although she soon realised it was best not to mess with a horse!)  When we went out riding she would run full speed next to us, bounding over the grass. She was usually exhausted by the time it got dark, and I'd find her curled up all alone in the bedroom, fast fast asleep :-) 

But now it's back to work. I start my exams soon too, so I guess I have to study at some point :-S