What do you get when you cross a kangaroo, an autumn fairy and an autumn queen? A magical forest 21st. Thank you Larel for having a birthday so that our inner child could come out. We loved it!

We went camping at Grootvadersbosh over the Easter Weekend. It rained most of the time but when it stopped for a while we went for a walk in the magnificent forest. At first all I saw was trees, trees and more trees… but then I started noticing the infinite detail in each rock, twig and leaf. Here are a few of the things that caught my eye:

My father came across this beautiful Spotted Eagle Owl whilst looking for our cat in a neighbour’s garden in Betty’s Bay on Sunday afternoon. He didn’t even see the huge bird until it hissed right in his ear. Very kind of this grumpy chap to give up his afternoon nap for a close up portrait shot, don’t you think? Thank you, Owl!

To end off the Betty’s Bay holiday with the cousins, we decided to go to the beach for a few “lights” to watch the sunset.

We spent a part of Old Years Day in the Kogelberg Nature Reserve. It was the perfect way to end 2012, dipping our toes in the river and strolling amongst the Fynbos.

November and December brought many festive occasions. To name a few there was the braai at Hidden Valley Wine Estate, a family Christmas party, a birthday or two, Christmas eve, Christmas day and many days spent between Betty’s Bay and Cape Town. What a magical and special holiday it was.

I remember first hearing stories of Spook Hill, located somewhere in Somerset West, over 15 years ago. Details varied from one anecdote to the next, but the rumour had it, that left in neutral, your car would start rolling up the hill instead of down.

Some claim the phenomenon to be a gravitational anomaly, most say it’s just an optical illusion.

I have always hoped to visit the place myself some day to experience the alleged mystery firsthand. Yet, driving around Somerset west blindly looking for a nondescript hill has never quite made it to the top of my priority list… until today!

Tamara and I happened to find ourselves at our cousin Lea’s birthday party high up in the leafy hills of Somerset West this morning and suddenly the story of Spook Hill occurred to me. The perfect opportunity to look for it had finally arisen.

A bit of Googling and we managed to pinpoint the location, just a couple of streets away. After the party we set off on our search and managed to rope Nadia and Tanee into joining us, but when we got to Spook Hill it looked and behaved like any ordinary slope. Nadia and Tanee soon turned homeward disappointed. I was determined to discover the root of the rumours, so Tamara and I kept driving further up the road.

Here’s what we found: (Video)

It was only once we reached a No Entry sign at the top of the road and were forced to turn back that we saw it: the gradual downward slope of the road drops suddenly into a steeper decline, creating the illusion of a rise ahead. Add to that the low-lying area on the right with a few barely visible rooftops, and it starts forming a pretty convincing “uphill”. Hardened sceptics may have to apply a little imagination ;)

So today, after 15 years, I finally managed to discover the mystery of Spook Hill.

Case closed!

Celebrating Tamara’s 25th birthday with flavour!

The day after Spring Day we went to Deer Park which is just a few roads up from where we stay. It was a perfect day, exploring new areas and soaking up some vitamin D.

On the 27th of October, our friends got married at De Malle Meul in Philadelphia, Western Cape. The venue was very pretty and so was the tiny town itself. Seeing as we had never been to Philadelphia before, after the wedding we decided to go exploring the town a little bit. We drove about a km and found ourself on a farm road which took us into the most scenic, beautiful area. Surrounded by open farmlands and the setting sun, we couldn’t help but breath in the scene and take some fun pictures.