Today is our 2 year wedding anniversary. It was also my cousin’s wedding on Saturday evening so Karlien booked a lovely cottage next to the Crocodile river for us where we spent Sunday evening seeing that Monday was a public holiday.
When we got there I thought to myself - this place really ticks all the boxes – spacious, private, surrounded by trees with the river in the background and a Jacuzzi on the stoep next to an open braai area! It even has a fireplace inside for winter nights.
We would soon find out that this was not going to be a breakaway weekend without challenges…
The first was crossing the Crocodile river after the heavy rain the previous night. I was very hesitant to cross the 50m long low-water bridge but eventually decided to go for it after seeing another guy driving over the bridge with no problems. A nerve-racking experience but we both sighed of relief when we got to the other side.
We jumped straight into the Jacuzzi once we were packed out and had a lovely relaxing afternoon. Late afternoon the next rain storm approached and it never stopped raining until the next morning. So the open braai outside was not an option anymore but the cottage is equipped with a fully furnished kitchen so we’ll just cook inside we thought…that was until the power went out during the lightning storm. Jumping ahead, even when we left on Monday morning the electricity was still out.
So there we were, rain pouring down outside, equipped with 2 gas lamps and a few candles.
It probably sounds terrible but quite the opposite. Lying on the couches in front of the fireplace, reading by candlelight with a glass of wine – not how we planned it but great none the less!
We eventually realised that the power was probably not going to be restored before the next day so this “boer maak toe ‘n plan”.
We borrowed a little gas burner from the owners on which we could cook potatoes and I decided to use the fire place as a braai…there is a first time for everything!
We had a lovely dinner and afterwards we couldn’t really care less that there was no electricity.
I must admit we were a bit disappointed when we woke up on Monday morning and still had no power. But we were determined to make breakfast and that’s what we did! Luckily the rain stopped and we could use the outside braai. With a few contraptions and a self-made ice bucket we had our champagne breakfast after all!
On our way back the river level was even higher than when we went there and I was sure that we wouldn’t be able to drive across. All packed-up but nowhere to go…
Some of the other guests arrived at the river and one of them simply drove past us, plunged his car into the water and drove across the bridge. I can’t decide if he was very courageous or simply an idiot…
Another car followed him and we decided to cross as well. Probably not the smartest thing I’ve done this year but we would probably still be stuck on the other side of the river if we didn't!
Despite all of this we had a wonderful time and our batteries are recharged again!
So let this be an inspiration to you - cooking with the right equipment is convenient but don’t let it stop you if you don’t have all the fancy kitchen tools! It is possible to cook up a feast if you only have the basics to work with…it’s just going to take a few extra glasses of wine!
Cheers!
No comments:
Post a Comment