Dec 2011 Holidays Part 3

The last part of our holiday was spent with Christina's family at Amathunzi Nature Reserve just outside Robertson. We rented a big house that could easily accommodate 9 adults and 6 kids and with spectacular views over the mountains and a wild life watering hole. Every afternoon a number of Zebras would come right up to the house to graze on the lawn. It was a very relaxing place to unwind, read books, hike and swim. Zack wanted to swim at least 3 times every day and enjoys being thrown up into the air to make cannon balls. Amathunzi is also conveniently located near one of the lesser traveled Robertson / Klein Karoo wine regions of South Africa. We visited Springfield, Kranskop, Excelsior and Viljoensdrift wineries. At Viljoensdrift we took a boat cruise down the Breede River. Other highlights were visits to the quint towns of MacGreggor and Montagu, and Gavin and Willem got to play a round of golf at Silwerstrand/Robertson golf course.

Dec 2011 Holidays Part 2

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were spent in Noordhoek with Gavin's family. A wonderful fish braai at Pete's brother's house overlooking Noordhoek beach, Kommetjie & Fishhoek was enjoyed while the sun set over the Atlantic Ocean. Christmas morning was the usual gift bonanza with all kids seemingly very pleased with what Santa/Father Christmas brought them. Before lunch we took a nice long stroll along the beautiful Noordhoek beach and played the compulsory soccer game. Lunch was fantastic and it was wonderful to spend it with family and some family friends (aunt Myra and Vanessa) who we have not seen in many years.

Dec 2011 Holidays Part 1

The first part of our holiday was spent on the South Coast of Kwa-Zulu Natal. Christina and the boys went a few days early to spend some time with Christina's parents in Durban. One of the highlights for the boys was a visit to a wild bird sanctuary. Gavin and the Harveys (Gavin's sister, husband and two teenagers) joined the holiday makers and we spent a thoroughly enjoyable week at San Lameer. The weather was great and allowed us to go to the beach every day to play soccer, have fun in the lagoon and swim in the warm Indian Ocean. We made really good use of the estate's facilities and managed to play golf, squash, lawn bowls, sip smoothies by the pool etc. etc. A personal favorite was also revisited... famous Natal curry on the beach!

Life in the Harvett Household

We have not blogged for a while, so thought it is a good idea to catch up a little. The 2011 school year is coming to an end and there are several class concerts and award ceremonies to be attended. Both boys are happy in their respective schools, which is good - because next year they will both be going to the same schools as where they were this year. Zack has taken a liking to reading comic books just like his older brother. He can't read yet, but likes to have Aiden read for him or just looking at the pictures. Their latest favorite is Supa Strikas! One evening we rescued a little bird that had fallen from it's nest. There is a new cousin, Elizabeth, who was born a few weeks ago. The boys believe that they are growing so fast because they eat all their breakfast cereal.

Kagga Kama

For as long weekend in early November we visited Kagga Kamma private game reserve about 1 hour north of Ceres in the "Koue Bokkeveld" area of the Western Cape. It is a stunningly beautiful place with the most amazing rock formations. Being out of season there were very few other people there and it felt like we had the whole place to ourselves. Aiden and Zack along with their two cousins Johan and Albert thoroughly enjoyed climbing the rocks and it is a small miracle that none of them got hurt. The weather was chilly but gorgeous to be out in nature. These are just a small sample of the photos that we took.

Da-Big-Five!

It's officially only tomorrow (Sep 12th), but we've been celebrating Aiden's 5th birthday the entire weekend. It started with a "boys only" Wii party for a handful of Aiden's school buddies here at our home on Saturday. This was followed by a BIG rugby game... South Africa vs Wales on Sunday morning (this was SA's opening match in the 2011 Rugby world Cup... they narrowly won 17-16). Lots of family and friends came over for the game and then stayed for a braai - many of us proudly wearing the green-and-gold. Christina baked another stunning cake and Aiden thoroughly enjoyed all the attention. There was also time for a spirited soccer game in the garden.

Random things

Winter is winding down and things are pretty much normal lately, which is great! The weather allows us to partake in one of our favorite family outings... ice cream on the beach. We can often still not believe that we live only 10 minutes from a spectacular beach with loads of wide open space. Aiden and Zack enjoy playing with their shovels and just running! We got some silk worms from a friend of a friend and the boys call them "the fellas". The fellas (in the Prince shoe box being watched by Aiden) are growing really fast and it is nice to know that some things are still the way they were when we were kids. Next weekend is Aiden's 5th birthday party, so we will be posting some photos here soon afterward.