Hiking at Kloofendal Nature Reserve with Dumbbells and Delights

#DDHike 

We were pleasantly surprised this weekend when we went on a hike at Kloofendal Nature Reserve with powerhouse Samantha Dube of Dumbbells and Delights. The area is beautiful, and it is just around the corner in Roodepoort. There were so many people who were there, enjoying the hikes and the views, and sitting down for picnics. (But not overcrowded).

Mountain climber

Walking down to Bell Park Dam, and back up again. 

It went so well on the first day last week on our Midweek break, that we decided to try the walk from Monk's Cowl to the waterfall on the way to the Sphinx.  

The promise of play at the waterfall helped to keep us moving. The waterfall seemed to be just around the next corner, and the next corner...

We got there, and Little Missy walked there all on her own! (We are impressed!)

Icy cold water

We cannot get enough photos of these mountains.
We did climb Sterkhorn a few years ago!

Ice-cream for a mountain climber

She did tell me afterwards that she would only consider climbing at the Walter Sisulu Botanical Gardens the next time...

This was a bit hard!

A midweek break in the Drakensberg

View from Cayley Lodge in the Central Drakensberg

We had a little breather last week, and I came back longing for this this beautiful view we had each day. When I grow up, I want a view like this each day of my life!

We had been to this place for a weekend in 2011, but because of the clouds I did not notice how near we were to one of our favourite hiking destinations at Monk's Cowl.

These are just some of my cellphone photos.
The views changed hour by hour...

Little Missy did two mountain hiking excursions with us. (I will do a separate post this week, because we are very impressed with her!)
She can do it on her own now, and she walked way ahead of us, especially ahead of her unfit mother!


A midweek holiday is only a breather, but it helped a lot to catch some breath for the rest of the year!

Another adventure for our budding mountaineer

The Harties Cableway at Hartebeespoortdam is a great way to spend a day on a mountain.

Especially since we don't have The Mountain (the Table one), or The Berg (Drakensberge).

But this is definitely not bad, and there is great views all round.

I was the one that hold my breath going up and down. The kids were not fazed at all!

Although the queue was long, it was not a bad wait with the curio shop and restaurant nearby...

 

And we were really glad the cablecars did not look like this anymore

They opened the new cableway in the middle of this year, which is a big improvement on the previous cableway.

(I remember somebody fell out of a cablecar?)

Definitely a great place to take the kids!

Posted with Blogsy

"Mountain climbing" at the Botanical Gardens

The Toddler keeps on asking us that she wants to go mountain climbing. 

I think she got the idea from us after our visit to Cayley Lodge in the Drakensberg mountains. We did a bit of hiking with her, and after that she was hooked...

We took her to one of our favourite spots nearby: The Walter Sisulu Botanical Gardens. There is a steep hike next to the waterfall to a lookout on top of the black eagles' nest. 

Going up went very well! Much better than I thought she would do for her first time, and she walked most of the way.

She even wanted to carry on walking on the walking trial when we got on the hill top ...

Going down was a bit more daunting, and she had to be carried for most of the way.

The Toddler loved it!

This is still one of my favourite spots for a Sunday afternoon!

You will definitely find us here when we want to take a breather in nature. Especially since it is just around the corner!

Related posts:

Weekend of three

Sunday sun!

5 Things-tag: Stuff I like about me

Cat at juggling act of life tagged me. Thanks, Cat, you gave me a headache! ;-) My photo’s are on 3 computers, and before that – photo’s of a previous life! It will have to do what I have on this computer now…

1. 5 pictures of myself that I really like (including listing 5 things of myself that I really like):I am including two of our wedding day in 2004. I love new beginnings and new lives!
I like the fact that I am able to adapt to new situations very easily. This was a great day in my life! (Check our slim versions! Smile)

Hiking in the Berg (Drakensberg Mountains) – this photo was taken in 2006. A great activity I only discovered in my 30s and Dries was a willing participant. I like the fact that I could be adventurous, again. We are planning a next excursion very soon!

My daughters are a big deal in my life. I like myself being a mom.

(Patrick Pretorius Photography)

The belly dance photo: I like the fact that I put myself out of my comfort zone, and I actually enjoyed it! (I was 8 months pregnant at the time.)

2. Tag others:

I am supposed to tag 5 bloggers today. I have tagged 8 fellow bloggers yesterday.

Whoever reads here, consider yourself tagged! ;-)