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Road trips

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One thing I have learnt during a pandemic and having toddlers is that no matter how big your house, it is not big enough for a threenager diva and one that has her mother’s temper plus just entered the terrible twos.

Life is an adventure; we get out of it what we put into it.

Richard Daly, God’s Little Book of Hope

We have visited many little nature reserves here in Gauteng and it was lovely. We saw the usual and got a little too close to rhinos – you know, the normal stuff. (Just kidding, it was spectacularly unforgettable!) We were however also limited to Gauteng…

I’ve had my eye on visiting the Upside Down House near Harties (Broederstroom) for a while. It didn’t take much to convince hubby to get in my car with the 2 hooligans with snacks…

It was fun! Lexa was in awe of the Upside Down House and Lily slapped her hands over her mouth. Hubby was impressed with my activity pick of the day.

Once inside the Upside Down House all the furniture is hanging from the floor above you. The “ceiling” you walk on is slanted… so we felt a little woozy after a few minutes. Don’t even get me started about walking upstairs – or is it downstairs up???

Entrance at the Upside Down House in South Africa is a bit steep for adults, but once you’ve seen it you probably won’t go back unless you have kids that nag you to go back. That said, I had fun and the kids had fun – it was worth it for the almost 30 minutes we were there on our very own.

Upside Down House South Africa Details

What to do with Kids in Gauteng (& North West)

Who knew Gauteng had so many (little) nature reserves that we could escape to? I used to jump over into Limpopo to get my “wild fix” – but now I am forced to make do with what’s inside a provincial border… and it’s not that bad.

Last weekend we decided to check out Groenkloof Nature Reserve by Pretoria.

  • Pros
    • It is a hikers’ paradise with little footpaths up and down hills
    • There are herbivores like wildebeest and rooibokkies – and ostriches (we didn’t see anything else)
    • There are horses
    • You don’t need to pay for your car if you are just going for a hike
  • Cons
    • Not much to see and takes about 20 minutes to drive around once (including to stop and watch animals)
    • You can however get out of your car and hike to a viewpoint for some fresh air
    • They don’t let you know how far you will wander to a viewpoint
    • It costs R120 for a vehicle plus then some per person

The horse pictured was surrounded by grazing wildebeest. Suddenly it neighed wildly and the wildebeest scattered over the road. A few minutes later they were right back next to the horse. I wonder what that was about?

While driving you’ll even catch a glimpse of the Voortrekker Monument and if you walk the first viewpoint route up the koppie, a view of Pretoria.

There is also a 4×4 track, but obviously we gave this a skip. I’m not really a bundu basher.

What to do with kids while in Gauteng