‘There is a lovely road that runs from Ixopo into the hills. These hills are grass-covered and rolling, and they are lovely beyond any singing of it.’
– Alan Paton: Cry, the Beloved Country.
And, some 30Km into those hills one finds Creighton, with its picturesque railway station and its annual Aloe Festival.
The family and I have been up close and personal today with steam engines, railway coaches, aloes, the beautiful Umzimkulu River, a ghost town, a haunted hotel, and a helicopter. We have caused cattle stampedes and done game spotting.
I have some 130 photographs to sort through …
Here is a foretaste.
© Colonialist June 2013 (WordPress)
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What a ride!
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Those photos have given me an attack of the nostalgics, Col
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As did the experience to me! In my boyhood I did a lot of travel by train, alone, back ‘home’ to the sea. Two days and nights each way. Magic!
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wonderful pics – looking forward to some more
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Did I miss the Aloe? . . . or is that a SA word for “hello”?
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This heading will be lost on anyone not familiar with the BBC sitcom, ‘Allo ‘Allo set in France during the Nazi occupation. It has a character Officer Crabtree whose utterances include: “I was pissing by the door when I heard two shats. You are holding in your hind a smoking goon. You are clearly the guilty potty!”
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I’m officially jealous – especially of the steam trains 😉
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I can’t wait t hear more, Col! What a wonderful day! Look forward to hearing all about it…
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Looks like a FUN outing, Col.
Here’s the link to the Whale Tail Tale:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-07-07/surfer-knocked-unconcious-by-whale-in-sydney/4804296
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Looks like a trip back in time….
Looking forward to the next installment Col 🙂
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It’s so beautiful there Col and love the shot of the aloes with the river and the hills in the background! Looks like you had lots of fun! Thanks for sharing. 😀 *big hugs*
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Great photos: quite remarkable how similar today’s scenery is to Australia [well, perhaps natural not remrkable 🙂 !]
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Looks like you had a great family jaunt. Love the river scenes. 🙂
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Ah the river that gave me the most problems when I was Green Keeper at Port Sheptsone Golf Course… the large Umzimkulu river… lovely share, and I do love the photos, can’t wait to see more…
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Lovely countryside. 95 miles to P.M.B! Now that takes us back.
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Sounds exciting.
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