Consciously connecting with nature - With Sunlight inspiration

#InspiredByNature

As a working person it is difficult to find time to spend in nature. We leave the house very early, spend at least two and a half hours in traffic each day, and sit in a cubicle without a glimmer of sunlight. We are disconnected from nature, and totally stressed. Profmed's Stress Index 2017 claims that stress has both an emotional and physical impact on professionals, with 10.9 percent of the respondents taking time off due to stress-related illness.  I was reminded on Tuesday to consciously seek out a closeness with nature to improve my own health, well-being and functioning.

Sunlight Dishwashing Liquid launched their Sunlight Extra range by treating us to a day of natural inspiration at Shepstone Gardens. We had a wedding at this lovely venue a few years back, and it still is a favourite spot in my books.

There is so much inspiration from nature, and these are my 5 take-away notes. How do we bring Nature back into our lives? 

Heia Safari - great for family outings!

The welcoming committee at Heia Safari - Zebras drinking water

We were on our way to a rural restaurant on the public holiday last month! They laughed at us for thinking that we would get a spot, so we had to get back in our car and drive around. We did not want to travel that far! We found Heia Safari Ranch, which apparently is now named Cradle Moon Lakeside Game Lodge!
We attended the Peace Concert here about two years ago, and always wanted to come back.

It was once again one of those serendipitous adventures that ended in the most beautiful place!

The photos tell the story!
 

We had a lovely lunch here

Little Miss was a bit worried about a few bees

Lots of playground for little ones

Lake Heritage

Picture pretty!

Lookout point

We did not find the rhino!

I sprained my ankle while walking around here, and Hubby went to fetch the car. We had to wait because he had to arrange for  a ranger to come down.

Rescue on the way

They charge a conservancy fee of R30 for each person, but it is totally worth it!
It looks like the hiking and off-road biking is also big here, and I would love to come back for that!

Wordless Wednesday #210 - Maropeng walking trail

A 60th at Stone Cradle

There was a recent 60th birthday in the family.

The family organised a surprise event at the Stone Cradle restaurant, and it turned out to be a very lovely venue, close to the Rietvlei Nature Reserve and Centurion.

It is lovely to have a buffet of enormous varieties with a view over the landscape. There was sushi as starters! Guess where we got stuck?

Little Missy was very impressed with the table that was arranged for all the kids

Table arrangement

The grandchildren entertained their grandfather

The surprised birthday man!

Entertainment at the venue
(great for a Sunday afternoon)

Two other well-known twins, Daniella & Caitlin of The Little Train that CAN-fame
celebrated their 8th birthday as well!

Speeches for a man that makes a difference!

Lovely to end the Sunday afternoon with a downpour of rain!

We will be going back!

Time for....

Sitting and dreaming next to water
Enjoying the sunsets
Getting out into nature
(Here at Rusty Hook)

Quality time with the Toddler

Gardening

Flowers and plants

Drives to new places
Playing

Braais (barbecues)

Salads and healthy eating
(My favourite salad at the moment: Cranberry & Spinach salad)

I love this time of the year!

Thursday photos - clouds & ice-cream

Johannesburg traffic on Beyers Naude

I had a bit of a traffic fail yesterday when I decided on a whim to drive another route to work...
There is a reason why we take the suburb routes to work in the mornings. The rest of the roads are a no-go! A murdering-no-go-not-moving-hell!

I had to turn back and go my usual route.
(I will not do it again!)

I love the clouds, especially now with the heavy downpours we have. See also the photos taken yesterday afternoon of the clouds from the University of Johannesburg.

Johannesburg city in the background

University of Johannesburg - Auckland Park campus

Another photo taken from the bridge from UJ over Kingsway

As I spend most of my working days indoors (without a view on the world), I love it when I have an opportunity to be outside.
 Although we are in the city, we can still enjoy a bit of Mother Nature, can't we?

Clouds are one of my favourite things to look at!
What do you love looking at in nature?

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And we had a perfect ending to the day.
Totally unrelated, but also totally worth it!

Ice-cream at Milky Lane

Visit to uShaka Marine World in Durban

We took the toddler to uShaka Marine World in Durban on Friday. She had an absolute ball! We did not think that she would enjoy it as much, but she enjoyed everything.


At 18 months there is response and reaction to especially all animals! Now it is an absolute delight for us to show her how nature works. It is quite amazing at how they respond to all kinds of animals (or fishes)!

My teen can’t remember the places we took her to when she was small. Before the age of five years! We were joking and saying that maybe we are wasting our time, money and effort showing them the stuff! But of course it is not true. The more we expose them to nature and how it works, the more they will be interested in it and the more they will have empathy towards it. My thinking, but I am sure it is correct in saying this?

The dolphin show went down very well, and the toddler was clapping each time a dolphin jumped out of the water. When they played the World Cup song of Shakira Waka Waka with the dolphins, she was dancing and singing along, and we had to pull her back from the railing a couple of times.

She loved looking at the fishes and sharks and turtles in the big tanks!

uShaka Marine World is a great place to take the kids! A bit expensive, but well worth it! We enjoyed it just as much!