Dear David, thank you!
Dear David, This is not just a fan letter, but also a thank you letter. What can I say, like millions of other people out there, your words and programs have shaped me. From the…
Collective Nouns for African Animals
A collective noun, for those who don’t know, refers to a collective name of things taken as a whole, and it originates from an English hunting tradition of the Late Middle Ages. I.e. – a group…
Bubbling through Champagne Valley
Writing about past trips is always great! You get to relive them all over again, as you scroll through and select photos to share. It’s like a gift that keeps on giving. A while ago,…
The sun’s gone to Hell
They say writing is cathartic, and helps people to cope with difficult events in their lives. I’m not too sure. It’s a year down the line, I’ve done a lot of writing and I’m still…
Lovely Kirstenbosch
My first trip to Cape Town was a whirlwind one day affair to help out at an ASI course. So when I got the chance to go back again, for our next fully booked course…
An Airbnb Adventure
I hadn’t heard much about Airbnb when I signed up on their site, to do a last minute accommodation booking for an impromptu work trip to Cape Town. Little did I know what I’d been…
Herping in the Soutpansberg
Before we start, for those of you not au fait with the term “herping” here’s Wiki’s definition, which is pretty much spot on: “Herping is the act of searching for amphibians or reptiles.The term, often used by professional and…
Who’s TED?
My infatuation with TED talks only started about a year ago when a friend helped me analyse how I was spending my travelling time. At that stage I was travelling 110kms everyday to get to…
Day tripping to the Chain Ladders
My love for the Drakensberg mountains deepens each time I have the privileged to visit. It doesn’t matter which part of the Berg I see, it does my soul a world of good, just to be…
What it’s like working for the African Snakebite Institute
My blog has been silent for far too long. So, here’s a quick look into what’s kept me so busy for the last year and a bit. When people hear where I work now, their…
Home Mountain
The Zwartkops Mountain has served as the scenic backdrop for most of my life. It’s been like having a favorite oil painting hanging on the entrance hall wall. And the one icon I could always…
A river actually does run through it….
A mere 20 minute drive out of the hustle and bustle of ever-busy Fourways traffic, brings you to another world. As you step out of the car into the cold morning air, the unmistakable smell…
The jobs that eat life
The blog title “The jobs that eat life” should actually be “A cautionary tale of the joys of working in the hospitality industry”. A year and a bit ago (about when the blog went quiet)…
Sunsets for Sid
Sid ran the second hand book shop at the local shopping mall. He was in his mid-twenties, fitly built with deep dark blue eyes and long blonde hair. I have this terrible curse of not…
Sawubona Gooday.
Agh Jubs, what can I say? You were one in a million my friend. With your salt and pepper hair and your deep reassuring voice. Your unfailing “Sawubona Gooday” greetings and your warm chuckle. Ever…
Magnificent Mountain Sanctuary
Some folk are sea people, their perfect holiday is spent on the beach, swimming, watching the waves, sand between their toes, eating ice cream and soaking up the sun. Other folk are bush people; they…
Scenes from Zululand
It’s coming up to two years ago since I took a major trip into the unknown. I’d been searching for a new job, something with challenge and the room for growth. A job where I…
Where to buy camping essentials
(Where to get the best priced camping, hiking and outdoors equipment in the West Rand) Hands up! Who wants a 4×4 with a roof top tent? Me! Me! (Okay you can all put your hands…
The cool tranquillity of Weltevreden Farm
It’s amazing how you can live in an area for a long time, yet completely miss out on its hidden gems. Thanks to a Facebook page, I recently came across a place called Weltevreden Farm….
Three words… Make Good Art.
I recently came across a video that all aspiring writers, artists, photographers, designers, poets, musicians, dreamers, believers and thinkers should watch. Its 20 minutes long and worth every split second. It’s one of the most…
The Lipizzaners of Kyalami
A couple of things really hit home in the last half of this year. One. Time is not really important. It’s what you do with your time that is important. Two. Material things can be…
Scenes from the South Coast
Think December holidays, seaside towns, sunshine, laughter, colourful umbrellas, beach towels and endless blue seas. Scurrying crabs, sea shells, smoothed pebbles, the crunch of sea sand between your toes. The taste of salty air, the…
ClustrMaps and imaginings
I had been intrigued by the idea of blogging way before I started LittleAshCloud, but had never had the perseverance to follow through with anything more than an intrigue for the idea. And now, a…
Taking time to smell the roses.
A few years ago, I did myself a seriously good deed – one that fed the soul. I stopped to smell the roses. Growing up, I was one of those kids whose bedroom walls were…
The Butterflies of Beyers Naude Drive.
Recently a Facebook friend posted a lovely pic of a butterfly, on which I commented with its name. My friend replied saying he didn’t know the names of the butterflies he saw on his trail…
Lake Heritage – What lies beneath?
Lake Heritage – what lies beneath? For some it’s just a big lake, I guess what lies beneath depends on your point of view. For me, the memories, dreams and imaginings of a six year…
The Place of Great Noise.
Early September, and the sun is baking down. When I say baking, think of 180 degrees in an oven. Ja! That kind of baking. Hot and dry as we make our way along the boardwalk,…
A blast from the past
Once a year, The Cradle of Humankind is inundated with a bunch of genuine biking enthusiasts. No, no, I don’t mean road cyclists (I have very little time for them) I mean real bikers. The…
Lotheni – Far from the madding crowd
Stop your busy day for a few minutes, and come join me for a short walk, I want to show you something. Park your car under the Pines, you’re met by the crisp fresh smell…
Why I love photography?
This is both an intrinsically simple and highly complicated question – I shall try my best to explain. There is currently a competition being run on twitter by Canon South Africa (#ILuvCanon) in which they…
Built when cars were made to last.
On the 3rd Sunday of every month, The Piston Ring club of South Africa has its monthly meet at their Modderfontein grounds. Dotted around under the tall fresh smelling Eucalyptus trees, are hundreds of classic…
Magic in the air
There’s something magical, mystical and just down right amazing about rainbows. For me, they are the epitome of uniqueness, and I cannot help but smile when I see one and am fixated by a supreme…
Golden Gate Highlands National Park
There is something different about the Free State air. It’s thin, but not just like high altitude thin, there’s something else about it, something indescribable. Maybe it’s subtly tainted with the rich smell of earth,…
Namaqualand – Blooming marvellous
The trip of a lifetime started because of a book in one of our crammed book shelves. The black letters on the white spine read ‘Patterson – Garden of the Gods’ This gem of a…
Red Rocket
I have recently come to the conclusion that I don’t fit in with the majority of Joburg people, whose lives are dictated by the fact that they need to spend huge amounts of money in…
Drifting – in Black and White
5 am is an early start. It’s dark, quiet and there is a distinct nip in the air. I help myself to coffee (a great distraction when one is nervous) The mug nestled in my…
Not another Hipster Market
“What is a Hipster?” I hear you saying… Well, let me explain briefly. This is rather a touchy subject, as Hipster’s don’t like to be defined, because then they’d fit in a category and thus…
Its a dogs life….
The car park is a buzz of activity, with car doors opening and closing and the occupants jumping out in an extravagant and frenzied hurry. Anticipation hangs heavy in the air. Commands of; “stop!” “stay!”…
This is a Round Tuit
Getting a Round Tuit. For all you loyal followers of the blog, the ones who have asked me again and again (and again) when the next post will pop onto your screens, you’ll be happy…
The hippest pants in Jozi.
Fashion and I, we’ve never really been close friends. I usually just dress for comfort, jeans and a tee shirt kinda thing. The hippie-down-to-earth side of me likes natural fabrics, the cottons, linens and especially…
Blossom smile some sunshine down my way
The loveliness of Peach Blossoms. Now I’m not one of those girls who has a huge affinity to wearing the colour pink. I thought at a stage that I actually disliked the colour, but nature…
Scenes from Mpumalanga
It’s the middle of winter, the grass is drab and brown, the trees are bare. It’s is bitingly cold. (The famous Mama’s and Papa’s lyrics come to mind: “All the leaves are brown, and the…
A spike of colour
Imagine standing beneath a cloudless blue sky, in the baking African sun, a harsh dry winter landscape meets the eye. You’ve been hiking this single – shale ridden track for the last half an hour,…
Cosmos Dreaming
I’m thinking of sugared almonds, the kind you get at weddings. You know the ones; white and pastel pink? They are traditionally given as wedding favours, in indivisible numbers, representing the unity of the bride…
The silent majesty of Giants Castle
(For those of you who don’t know about Giants Castle, it is a section in the Drakensberg mountain range in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. It gets its name from the mountain’s silhouette, which resembles the…