Living Our Sunshine with Susann Deysel
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2 Mins Read

Dude, there is a lion on my car!

There are perks to living in Africa. You are closer to the most amazing nature reserves and you have sunshine almost all year round.

We recently visited the Lion Park just outside Joburg – and did we get more than we bargained for…

We excitedly drove into the first fenced area with the young lions – the only vehicle in this camp. The lions all lay in the middle of the grassy area, spaced around a felled tree trunk. While husband was clicking away the cats raised from their resting positions and walked down the road behind us.

…and then one lion walked towards our car. It peeked into the back window like a naughty cat and before we could say or do anything the car got another passenger!

The lion walked the roof. The fear was real, a cat could break through the sunroof and land in the Subaru with us. We made a lot of noise and started to drive a bit to try and scare the cat off. Unfortunately his/her curiosity was greater than expected.

The lion finally climbed down the windshield and checked us out while standing on the extra long Subaru bonnet.

We were more than a little relieved when the lion was off the car and made a beeline for the next camp.

It is so amazing to see animals up close and personal, but I prefer seeing them in their natural habitat like in the Kruger Park – it makes it so much more special when you eventually spot one.

Yes… I played with the lion cubs too and fed the 2 giraffes!

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Hey, pssst I’m still here

It is funny how people forget to ask how I’m doing. Just because the surrogate is expecting our kid doesn’t mean I cease to exist. I am here dammit.

Hello kitty?

On a lighter note do kids only like bunnies, bears and birds? Is that why I struggle to find stuff  with cats on? Drop some hints of where I can find cat stuff in the comments or on my Facebook page.

I am a cat person. We have 3 “apex predators” living with us…I cannot have the new person look like prey.

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#cat #catstagram #instacats Genie and I

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Is it weird that I played with toys I bought for the kid? I loved these mega blocks from Fisher Price (that was on special at CNA) so much that it can now be classified as secondhand.

I also made husband finish painting the walls in the new room, because I painted most of the living/dining & kitchen area. He really dislikes painting.

Remember that weekend I went to Summerfields in Mpumalanga?

We didn’t just sit in the room like cave people. We got up early that Saturday and drove to the Kruger National Park because I love driving 30kmph with a husband that takes horrible pictures with my amazing camera.

Fortunately we saw a few Rhinos… Every single sighting of these beautiful creatures is so special.

Just look at them, they were right there. They even tried to circle behind the car and sneak across the road…but I was ready with the camera and got this beautiful shot. To view more photos from this trip go to my Instagram page.

Good thing you stuck around to read the bottom of the page because… if you live in Joburg (or in Gauteng somewhere) you can enter this competition 🙂

  1. Like this Facebook page to see how The Goddess Factor Advanced Aesthetics can help you smooth out wrinkles and unsightly extra skin and bumps.
  2. Let me know on the Facebook post here that you have liked their page.
  3. Tag a Gauteng based friend for an extra entry.
  4. You can win one of those really awesome L’Oreal lip-stains that I keep for special people.
  5. You will have to collect the prize from The Goddess Factor at 120 Springfield Rd, Carlswald in Midrand, Monday to Friday.
  6. Competition ends 17 June 2016.
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Romance in the Lowveld (at Summerfields)

This weekend was magical. We stayed at the 5 star Summerfields Rose Retreat & Spa in a luxury riverfront tent.

From the minute we arrived at Summerfields to the minute we left we felt so relaxed. Would I go back? In a heartbeat – in summer…and now you can read why.

A little bit of farm, a little bit of 5 star luxury

Summerfields is a working farm with Macadamias, Litchis, Granadillas – and roses.  Hidden at the far end of the farm is the retreat and spa.

Be a VIP

Arriving at the gate, your name will be on a list. Arriving at the retreat you get escourted to the reception – while your bags make their way to your room. 5 minutes later you have a booking at the restaurant for dinner and in your room that smell like roses.

Everyone is friendly and ask how your stay is or how your meal was. I know they are paid, but it is nice to be looked after sometimes you know.

What makes Summerfields Rose Retreat & Spa one of the most romantic establishments?

Each luxury tent is secluded and connected to the rest with wooden walkways. Your room is filled with roses from the farm, Charlotte Rhys products, an outside shower and bath that overlooks the forest – and in our case, the river too.

When you fall into bed it is like a soft cloud that catches you. From here you have a view of the beautiful forest and hear the river pleasantly making its way towards the rest of the retreat.

The most romantic part of our stay was the sunset baths with a lit candle and rose scented bath salts. It does get a little chilly after sunset in winter 🙂

The decor in the room and bathroom is just gorgeous…

Orga(smic)nic dining

At Summerfields you will find not 1 but 3 restaurants. If ever you find yourself in the neighbourhood – make a plan to book for breakfst, lunch or dinner.

We had dinner at the main restaurant. All vegetables on our plates came from the gardens at Summerfields (so you know it is fresh).

I loved everything – except the Ostrich Tartare. I’m a fussy eater that barely eats meat – let alone raw meat hidden in a salad pile. Aikona.

We ordered the same starters and desserts. Our salad starters had the normal greens and things in, but had homemade ricotta and the most delicious pesto I have ever tasted.

Dessert was a pear butter, butternut ceignet and chocolate macadamia bar. It was so sweet, but I couldn’t stop eating.

My main meal was quail with pumpkin puree, roasted beetroot, quinoa and cinnamon jus.

Hubby had Karoo lamb, sweet potato and lavender puree (yummy) and onion brûlée.

Service at this restaurant is just amazing. You will only have 2 options per course every night, but… whatever they make, I’m sure it’ll be delicious.

Summerfields would be the perfect choice for:

  • romantic couples weekends (no kids allowed)
  • a place to propose
  • your honeymoon

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Once in a lifetime

Happiness is not a destination, it is a way of life.

In life you can choose many different paths. You can choose to live a real life or pretend to be someone else (for the rest of your life). You can choose to sit in one spot or explore the world with a big smile and camera in hand.

There are things and places I will never forget from our many family holidays – when your parents were as adventurous with a map and tent as mine was, you would probably have gone mad.

We were campers that could set up and break down a camp in less than 30 minutes. We were the family in the old light blue VW kombi and then the light blue Landrover that would always drive slower than the rest.

We have seen Victoria Falls from both Zimbabwe and Zambia. We slept in the Hwange National Park while hyenas pawed our tents and a lion chased a buck through the camp.

We have walked on the Makgadigadi salt pans in Botswana and marvelled at the flamingos in their thousands.

We drove to Cape Town and almost ran out of fuel in some mountain range. We “freed” down the hills and we got there. Unfortunately we were also that family that went to every museum in the Western Cape.

To my parents’ dismay I was the kid that made the menu difficult with my refusal to eat red meats (I come from a long line of carnivores). I was also the kid that refused to take of my shoes to go into (yet another) mosque.

Then I left home and moved to Jozi…

In 2008 I made my first trip to Europe and I was hooked on those beautiful passport stamps. I couldn’t get enough of the food, the culture and the people. It was like a big playground – and I could play around in it for 6 weeks only. It was a whirlwind tour to 8 countries and a week on my own in Ireland.

Ireland stole my heart and I’ve only been back once – and still trying to get back with every possible lame excuse.

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#Ireland #burren #travel

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Then the whole marriage thing happened and we dragged our guests off to Mozambique for 5 days and an 18 day Europe, Ireland and Egypt honeymoon.

…and then the Kgalagadi called us

Nothing I’ve ever seen could’ve prepared us for the beauty of the Kgalagadi. The sun beating down on the savannahs, the lions casually strolling over the road or the fresh baked bread from the locals.

For some reason all our friends started going to Thailand and raving about it… and we decided to go see what the fuss was about.

All of Thailand’s beauty and splendour could not save it from landing on our list of places never to go back to. It is a tourist trap – and we want true experiences.

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#phiphi #stones #beach

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The highlight of all highlights…

No holiday could ever compare to the one in the Maldives. This little island paradise stole my heart. My soul still yearns for the white beaches and turquoise waters.

Where would I still like to go to?

  1. I really want to see the country as it is now, before it becomes too westernized
  2. The Scandinavian countries
  3. Eastern Europe
  4. All the Greek & Italian islands
  5. Bora Bora
  6. Seychelles
  7. Comores
  8. Anyplace that isn’t yet on my passport

I probably will never stop collecting passport stamps and memories, but for now all I can do is plan, plan and plan.

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Hello April

I see you. I see when you like my posts on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram. I see when you laugh at my rantings and ”SERIOUSLY?” usage. I love that you are there, but one day when you see me walking about in some mall, street or beach and recognise me – I would love to meet you.

Hello & goodbye Salt Rock

Last month I had so much fun in Salt Rock. The weather was amazing, traffic was almost non-existant and the water was just perfect.

Every day started with breakfast on the beach. It may have been just a humble sandwich, but it tasted like a gourmet meal at a great restaurant – just because I ate it on the beach while watching the surfers.

The last morning on the beach I took this amazing photo of a dad and daughter. I wish I had gotten their contact details to send them this pic.

Back to work look

It has been really hard to get back into the swing of things. Day 1 I forgot my lipgloss at home. Day 2 forgot to put on perfume and day 3 I just didn’t bother to brush my hair and covered it up with a Billabong beanie. Thank goodness for casual Fridays.

Where you should be shopping this week

Clicks. Yes, Clicks is having their 3 for 2 promotion on a whole lot of beauty products. Click here for the current specials. Get you Maybelline mascaras now… (no secret that I only use Maybelline on my lashes).

Would you…

Here is a big question for you – would you be interested to attend a event hosted by me in Midrand? A small get together with a short workshop, some Q&A time, a goodie bag and some food? Pop a comment below 🙂

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Where is your happy place?

Where do you go when you need a break from city life, work and being sick? My happy place is a beach, any beach – but when it comes down to where am I happiest in South Africa, I always choose Salt Rock Beach.

I have been going to Salt Rock Beach for 8 years now. I discovered it with my besties back in 2007 and since then my boyfriend (now my husband) and I have made it our “home” beach. In 2012 we finally bought a small townhouse 2km from our favourite beach so we can stay longer and take our 3 black cats with.

Sitting on the beach is great, but when I finally get in the water everything I want to leave behind just washes away. Once I am in the water it is also almost impossible to get me out…just ask my poor husband.

The best time of year (according to me) to go to Salt Rock Beach is March. The water is warm and the waves not too bad. If you keep your eyes on the tides you can get a great swim and no waves…

Wherever you go during these lovely long-weekends…travel safely.

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Instagram Accounts To Follow That Will Depress You

To kick of the first week of 2016 – and work – I have decided to share some of the most amazing Instagram accounts that you should follow. Remember, I am doing a list in no particular order because I cannot yet get my list to follow my orders 🙂

Travel with these Instagrammers:

If you don’t know it by now, I love to travel. If I didn’t have a cat I would travel (I am sure my hubby would follow me).

    1. MySpace TomMySpaceTom – remember MySpace and your default friend Tom? Well, here he is exploring the world.
    2. IG_Naturelovers – I take amazing photos, but on this account you can see photos that are out of this world.
    3. Feel like you need colour in your life? Get ready to explore the world (and some other random things) with IZKIZ.
    4. Enjoy an endless summer with Gypsylovinlight.

I use instagram to research beaches and places before I make my final travel plans. Yes, I know what is outside the crop I might not like, but it is still better than brochures!

Foodporn on Instagram:

I am not a baker, chef or housewife, so looking at food is how I get my kicks. I can page through food pics for hours and forget about eating.

  1. Baking_Ginger – everything on her account looks scrumptious. It is just so depressing that I won’t get to eat it all.
  2. Close your eyes now and don’t follow DrizzleAndDip because you will be hungry after checking out the foodporn on Sam Linsell’s account.

Get spot on with these Fashionista Instagrammers:

I’m not a fashionista, just give me a surflabel and I’m good to go.

  1. Brett Robson
  2. Amy Scheepers
  3. Irina Doman
  4. Arumliliea or Leanne

I wish I could share every Instagram I surf on a daily basis but then I would do nothing else but make lists! If you still haven’t followed me on Instagram… click here and follow 🙂

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Where is your happy place?

So this is how it feels to know that maybe you are living in the wrong city…

Hubby and I have been in Ballito for almost 2 weeks. We have spent so much time on the beach (I put in 8 hours most days) and I still can’t get enough of being able to hear the waves. I love playing with the sand and attempted to build a sandman…


I have enjoyed every minute of our stay in our tiny apartment with our 3 cats. I have realised that the smaller a place is, the faster it looks full of cat hair. I also realised that you don’t need a huge place to be happy by the sea.


Our 3 cats have adjusted quite well to our little place down here – and the travel. My cat, Mr Genie, loves sleeping on his chair on the patio. Miss Penny usually invites strange cats home just to get upset when they try to eat her food. Miss Mona has unfortunately found her place under a blanket on our bed… Everybody has their problem child – right?


Factory shopping in Durban

If you haven’t figured it out by now, I love finding factory shops. I love paying less for labels that I love and Durban is the perfect place to get surf brands a little cheaper.

My favourite brands include Billabong, Lizzy, Roxy, O’Neill and my all time favourite, RipCurl. I shop all of these in Durban – except Billabong. RipCurl Ialways find something – and most importantly they cut to true size every single garment.


Finding the best beach from Salt Rock, Ballito to Umdloti

This trip we explored all the beaches from Tinley Manor to Westbrook. The best beach in my opinion is still Salt Rock.

  • There are no rocks on the swimming beach
  • At low tide it is the best swim
  • At high tide you can still swim, but need to work a little harder to stay within the flagged area
  • The beach is clean

If however you have small kids, this is not the beach for you – unless you go to the tidal pool. Willards, Sheffield or Umdloti offers rock pools or tidal pools that is less intimidating to the small ones.

When Gautengers arrive…

I do have one complaint – as soon as the rest of Gauteng arrives the beaches suddenly become ashtrays. It really is a disgusting habit to leave cigarette buts on the beach – seriously. Disgusting.

All good things must come to an end

Soon we will be returning to Joburg with its traffic and doctors appointments – and I am not looking forward to that.

 

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Things I loved in October

I have a very “slow” lifestyle that revolves around “when can I get to the beach”. As you might have read, I am based mainly in Johannesburg but with a little slice of heaven in Ballito. I always miss whichever place I’m not.

Number 1 on my list of things I loved in October – going to our little beach house for a weekend with all 3 our cats. I really needed the escape to sit on the beach as the water was FREEZING!

While in Ballito we stopped for a Bunny at Salt Rock Sasol. The Bunnies are really the best and my husband swears by that.

My mom won serviettes from Stuart Graham Fabrics and she gifted them to me as she knows that I really adore SG Fabrics.

I also visited the Hey Bunny studio and found some amazing jewellery and crochet stuff. Check out their website, click here.

Absolutely also love that the roses are in full bloom in the complex!

The best thing that happened was that I had a dinner for 2 of my friends on Halloween. It was awesome to mix my new and old friends.

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The Local Tourist – Vilakazi Street

When work says they will pay for a drinks and food if you go to Soweto and take pics on Vilakazi Street, you get on the minibus and go. Maybe it wasn’t the best time to go with the heatwave and all, but to go back to Soweto and get a free meal…

Vilakazi Street is one of the most famous streets in the world with houses belonging to Archbishop Desmond Tutu and the late former president, Nelson Mandela. You could can actually stand on the corner of either house and see the other house – how crazy is that?

Anyway, 6 of us piled into a van and made the trek from Sandton to Soweto. On the other side we were met by our guide, Nkosi and made the very long walk up the street.

8115 Vilakazi Street

The small house on the corner of Vilakazi & & Ngakane streets was home to former president Mandela’s family even while he was incarcerated. On the outside you can still see bullet holes and fire damage to the bricks of this humble home. Now it only hosts photos and quotes from the Mandela family.

It is truly amazing to think that someone that lived so humbly was president of a country.

Entrance to the (now) museum is R60 per person and that includes a short talk by a guide.

Walking up the hill – again and at the corner of Moemas and Vilakazi, where Hector Pietersen was killed, we turned right.

Along the neat little street with neat little houses graffiti graced a few of the walls.

Hector Pietersen Museum

At Hector Pietersen museum I was quote surprised to see that people were so anti Afrikaans and blaming killings on a language. Do people not realise that a language cannot kill people, it is people that kill people. Yes, apartheid wasn’t right, but blaming a language for an atrocity committed by more than just the Afrikaans speaking population…aikona wena.

The museum is a really important reminder to future generations that atrocities like the killing and disappearance of humans should never be forgotten or repeated.

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