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Thursday, December 11, 2008H.O.G. GOES BUSH (Part 3)With one final glance over the amazing scenery of Gods Window, we set off on the road to Pilgrims Rest.   Despite being such a dinky little town, it's actually world famous for sparking off the biggest gold rush of all time. The town was declared a 'living museum' several years ago & it was a 'must' on our tour.    We stayed over at the one & only Royal Hotel, which was great fun. The food served in the restaurant was bloody amazing & if ever any of my readers have the chance to visit the Royal, then treat yourselves to dinner! All of the rooms have been kept as authentic & original as possible. Unfortunately, the water pressure in our room was pretty weak & it would've taken a month of wet sundays to fill the tub! We made the mistake of telling Jo that there were apparently several 'spooks' or ghosts. She stayed up much of the night, photographing nothing in the darkness. Doc Robert fell off his log, despite being stone cold sober & Max maintained a firm grip on his missus :-) The following morning, after a magnificent breakfast, we loaded up the bikes & took off for Nelspruit. There are a couple of things I'll never forget from that leg of the journey...........riding through the clouds after leaving Pilgrims Rest & seeing a toddler - no more than 2yrs old - standing in the middle of a busy main road. How that kid never got run over is a mystery, as it was literally just standing in the middle of the road. We all slowed down & waved frantically at traffic coming in the opposite direction. After a few minutes, Doc Robert managed to attract the attention of a family standing around picking their noses about 400m away. A woman sauntered up to the road, picked up the sprog & sommer moseyed on back to resume the nose picking. No 'thank you', no reprimanding the kid, no concern at all. Next time - guaranteed there'll be a next time thanks to the concern this woman showed - the kid might not be so lucky.  We took a leisurely ride through to Nelspruit & the wonderful La Roca Guesthouse. Hosts Rob & Marlea have created a magic spot of pure tranquility in the heart of Nelspruit. We were made to feel at home from the moment we arrived & I have to say Rob & Marlea went out of their way to make sure we had everything we desired. Our plan of attack was to stay one night at La Roca, the following night in the Kruger National Park & then another night at La Roca, before heading off on the last leg of our trip. If only we could've stayed a week! We were all so impressed we simply didn't want to leave!  One of the 'rooms' at La Roca. Max & Tanya took a whole heap of photos of the interiors of all the rooms, in order to decorate their own place..........when they eventually get it!  Big Mike took Marlea for a quick spin. (The local residents are now requesting she flash a bit of leg more often.......*ahem*) Resident puppy Poppet wanted to join in on the fun, but sadly had to wait for her 'mum' to get back.  Once my booking for accommodation was confirmed with Marlea, I asked if it would be possible for her to organise a birthday cake for Jo, as she (Jo) would be celebrating her birthday during our stay. I told Marlea what I had in mind & as you can see, the result was great. Not only did she organise the cake, but during our stay, she also organised a lekker braai - consisting of several major slabs of cow meat, boerewors, chicken & some chunky lookin' bacon 'rashers'. She left the bar open for us to help ourselves & simply requested that we write down in a book whatever booze we took - which we did. Personally, I reckon there aren't many privately run businesses that are prepared to do that nowadays, so we really appreciated her trust in us.   Before settling in for the night at La Roca, we took a ride out to the Paul Kruger Gate of the Kruger National Park & a whole heap of photos were taken - naturally. Understandably, bikes aren't allowed in the Park. For 8 of the guys in our group, this was a major event, as many of them had only ever read about the KNP & never dreamt they would get to see it for themselves. Wayyyy to go guys!!
The following day, after swapping the bikes for cages, we took off for the Park. First up on the 'ooooh's' & 'aaaaah's' were the African Flat Dogs, basking in the warm weather.  Next up, giraffe disguised as thorn trees.  Mama & bubba taking a stroll. Despite their size, it's not always easy to spot a rhino.. During our oh-so-short stay in the park, between us, we got to see 4 of the Big Five - the 5th one being lion, which must've been feeling antisocial. Also spotted were kudu, waterbuck, hippo, bushpig (warthog) gennet, 28 million impala (so much biltong running around!) wildebeest, the occasional vulture & beautiful lilac breasted roller. Sadly, all good things have to come to an end & with heavy hearts, we left the Kruger National Park. One more great night at La Roca & we were off on the final leg of our journey. *sigh* Labels: La Roca Guesthouse, lekker braai and oh to be Bush Happy., Pilgrims Rest, stupid flatnosed mother  
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