Saturday Spot: Jonkershoek and Assegaaibosch, near Stellenbosch…

A couple of weeks ago I wrote that we had bought ourselves a Wild Card… and now we have to use it!!! So we decided that once a month we would do something a bit more than home maintenance and we would head on an outing a bit further than home. So we carefully waited until it was about 400 degrees in the shade, and headed for a drive in the country. So our first exotic outing on our Wild Card was Jonkershoek and a picnic at Assegaaibosh, which is a great Nature Reserve just outside Stellenbosch!!!

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The whole drive over we worried we would be too late for a spot. On the website it says they only accommodate 60 folk a day and we are already ten of the quota. Needless to say when we got there, there was not another soul in sight… The rest of the world was probably at a local Wine Farm being barraged by persistent direct sales people: “If you would like to lose weight now, then ask me how?” Trust me, the rest of the world made a mistake! You would rather take a little drive down the road to here:

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Rolling lawns, down to a river for splashing in…

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Nothing like icy mountain water on a boiling hot day…

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And it was roasting!!!

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But nothing a picnic and some cool green trees couldn’t remedy!!!

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For some, like Mr. Oblivious, it meant a serious nap…

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For others it was hide and seek (more seeking than hiding):

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An impromptu show:

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Some exploring:

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Examining:

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Fish Spotting:

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Figuring out North and South:

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Face hunting in the craggy mountains:

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Racing:

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Bird watching for the very keen eyed!!!

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And wandering… Oh look what I found!!! I could give up my sea view for a life in the country if this was where I was headed… A beautiful old house big enough for all of us, cool in summer, warm in winter… huge shady oak trees and a wide stoep (South African for verandah)… and a river for messing around in running by!!! Yes this would definitely work for me!!!

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Moving on!!! As we were leaving I noticed this spot…

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And I can tell you that in the olden days when I was young those houses were tents:

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And I spent many a summer day messing around in that same river… (yup that’s me in the middle)…

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We used to go there on school camp when we were in Primary school… (that’s me on the right!!!)

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And how my teachers survived I don’t know – one teacher per grade – 45 kids in each grade, from grade 3 to 7… Mad roaming around in river beds and on mountainsides… How on earth did they keep track of us, let alone feed us for a week every summer!!! I shudder to think of the logistics!!!

But it was brilliant to take our kids to a place I had been in the past and I am so looking forward to next months outing, somewhere new and interesting on The Wild Card Menu.

7 Replies to “Saturday Spot: Jonkershoek and Assegaaibosch, near Stellenbosch…”

  1. What a glorious adventure!!!! I don’t know how YOU do it, let alone those teachers with 45 kids!!! I love the pics of YOU as a girl… you were just as sweet then as you are now! Did you ever imagine that you would be back with one huge, happy family??? God sure does surprise us sometimes, dosen’t he?! I like His sense of humor!

  2. Hay KM, Good to hear from you!!! I am sure that little fellow in green is having fun over at your house!!! And isn’t it great to take your kids to places you went to as a kid. You are so right God does indeed have a sense of humor… Who of us could plan our lives like he does!!! I could never have predicted my life at all!!! Hope you guys have a fun week!!!

  3. i suppose those teachers tracked you like you track your hoods 🙂 with that built-in tracking devices that come with every child. You kinds know when they’re up to no good….

  4. Hay I, I just never ever thought of it before I wrote the post!!! Can you imagine 1 teacher per 45 kids times by five grades!!! Just getting us there by train and then bus must have been an absolute nightmare!!! Insane!!! And I hope you have a great week!!!

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