ann-adventures-blog

[ann-adventures-blog]

Jacaranda trees has a special soul... They ignite a spirit of freedom within me... Jacaranda jou mooi ding. It takes you home and makes you feel welcome. #onlyinsa#jacarandatrees#freedom#home#lnstapics#instatree#picoftheday#spiritofreedom#love#nature#sabeauty https://www.instagram.com/p/BpZUSVFA_wx/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=18qu8o5sylw0d

[ann-adventures-blog]

The FISH River Canya  can change your thoughts of life …..

A few months ago I had the greatest opportunity to join a rally across Africa as a chef  and armed with not much but a tent,a mattress, a sleeping bag, a pot and a few knives I set off.

First stop was our beautiful Cape Town who welcomed us with her  pouring drops of wet love which in its current state of drought was a wondrous acceptance. Amidst this showers I got to meet the team of strangers with whom I was embarking this journey with. Note the word strangers as we have never met at all and here we were going to be spending long days and nights together in close proximity in a car, travelling hundreds of miles and trying to maintain that smile. 

Looks its hard enough to travel with those whom you say you like and have familiarity with, but now to travel with complete strangers, hit me over the head and call me Kray Kray. To top that we are suppose to work together as a team and make #putfootrally2018 work and run smoothly. No one said it was going to be easy and as I embarked on the ride of a lifetime I suddenly found myself questioning Myself and asking I if Me thought this was a wise decision. So here it is Me, Myself and I at a crossroads of who’s decision this was and at the end of it I’m proud to say that it was My decision and I had the trip of trips. 

Day 1 and getting acquainted to these strangers from across the globe I came to the realization that seems to follow me quite often and that is that I was once again the oldest, the Mommy, the Tannie, the Wiser one sounds better, the Matured Lady the more experienced gal (mmmmm, that can go in all sorts of directions) and right there I have to go into fuck that shit mode or hell no fuck that shit, kick into a gear.So from the genesis of my adventures this has seemed to be the norm and I have learnt to embrace it and let me ride it till by revelation of days. So in a nut shell I interpret it as I am the coolest one around , so whatever floats my boat yeah.

As the days follow one gets to find your tribe as they say and nestle closer to each as to embrace the feeling of belonging once again in this open world of people I’m not quite sure I relate to as yet. The days are filled with driving the nights with sitting around a camp fire drinking beer and bonding and then crawling into your own little shelter away from the elements and the night creatures to ensure a somewhat proper sleep amidst the cold and hard ground so that the early morning start wont hit you like a bat falling from the sky.

Strangely odd and quite unexpected our little family within a space of 3 days and nights together were all as one long lost family enjoying the warm evening waters of a night swim in Ai Ai Namibia. Here where one family member (note FAMILY) from America tasted her first Lamb chop after a 2 minute shopping spree as the supermarket closed its doors behind me and all staff standing at a cashout point awaiting payment , I sourced the most flavorful , juiciest lamb chops and boerewors any South African meat loving person will attest too. 

The morning after the night before we set off to the magical Fish River Canyon and it was here among this emptiness of a landscape. A nothingness with sooo much history and stories to tell. It was here in all its raw beauty, its barrenness and its some what scarcity of just about everything where I found more meaning to my life than anywhere else in the world that I’ve been.

The arduous drive to the canyon if you not stopping early to catch the sunrise in true form then its just going be a dusty road and a bumpy one too. The rolling hills are just that rolling from one to another, but what I was imagining  wasn't  what I experienced , A LIFE ALTERING MOMENT for me that is.

Sometimes we find ourselves in the middle of nowhere and sometimes the middle of nowhere is where we find ourselves.

Growth is painful, change is challenging but nothing is as painful as being stuck in a place you dn’t belong. I am not meant to be stuck in the same place daily, I am not meant to be looking at the same 4 walls year in and year out . I am a free spirit and my wings have been clipped. That vast world that is out there like all the crevices of that canyon is waiting to be discovered. What seems like barren land once closely examined is a new world cultivated in its own ecosystem. Living organisms with a complete diversity and living community beaming with life. 

I too have just come from a barren life, 3 years dealing with sickness and death has  taken my once vibrant disposition and transformed it into a state of nothingness. Here I realized that what seems dead from the outside still has full life when you dig deeper that what the eye can see. Anyone who has gone through major life altering changes in their life can tell you that their is a difference in understanding what is real in life and what is important. The goal is not to get rich in life but to live a rich life.

The Fish River canyon has opened me up on an operating table and I am surgically having those thoughts of ‘why’ we are alive and whats our purpose being removed  Its a complicated operation as its so close to the nervous system and the feelings of depression can also be affected simultaneously ,however with a slight shift of the blade the mind can be fully restored to the greatest discovery of life which is that my Life can be altered if I alter my Attitude..

 So thank you to the opportunities we sometimes neglect as significant Ann_Adventure is not so much the physical but the emotional in our lives as well. To my new found family, the journey has just begun. Africa still awaits.

[ann-adventures-blog]

Live your life and forget your age

[ann-adventures-blog]

The life changing magic of not giving a F###

Sarah Knight

[ann-adventures-blog]

The FISH River Canya  can change your thoughts of life .....

A few months ago I had the greatest opportunity to join a rally across Africa as a chef  and armed with not much but a tent,a mattress, a sleeping bag, a pot and a few knives I set off.

First stop was our beautiful Cape Town who welcomed us with her  pouring drops of wet love which in its current state of drought was a wondrous acceptance. Amidst this showers I got to meet the team of strangers with whom I was embarking this journey with. Note the word strangers as we have never met at all and here we were going to be spending long days and nights together in close proximity in a car, travelling hundreds of miles and trying to maintain that smile. 

Looks its hard enough to travel with those whom you say you like and have familiarity with, but now to travel with complete strangers, hit me over the head and call me Kray Kray. To top that we are suppose to work together as a team and make #putfootrally2018 work and run smoothly. No one said it was going to be easy and as I embarked on the ride of a lifetime I suddenly found myself questioning Myself and asking I if Me thought this was a wise decision. So here it is Me, Myself and I at a crossroads of who’s decision this was and at the end of it I’m proud to say that it was My decision and I had the trip of trips. 

Day 1 and getting acquainted to these strangers from across the globe I came to the realization that seems to follow me quite often and that is that I was once again the oldest, the Mommy, the Tannie, the Wiser one sounds better, the Matured Lady the more experienced gal (mmmmm, that can go in all sorts of directions) and right there I have to go into fuck that shit mode or hell no fuck that shit, kick into a gear.So from the genesis of my adventures this has seemed to be the norm and I have learnt to embrace it and let me ride it till by revelation of days. So in a nut shell I interpret it as I am the coolest one around , so whatever floats my boat yeah.

As the days follow one gets to find your tribe as they say and nestle closer to each as to embrace the feeling of belonging once again in this open world of people I’m not quite sure I relate to as yet. The days are filled with driving the nights with sitting around a camp fire drinking beer and bonding and then crawling into your own little shelter away from the elements and the night creatures to ensure a somewhat proper sleep amidst the cold and hard ground so that the early morning start wont hit you like a bat falling from the sky.

Strangely odd and quite unexpected our little family within a space of 3 days and nights together were all as one long lost family enjoying the warm evening waters of a night swim in Ai Ai Namibia. Here where one family member (note FAMILY) from America tasted her first Lamb chop after a 2 minute shopping spree as the supermarket closed its doors behind me and all staff standing at a cashout point awaiting payment , I sourced the most flavorful , juiciest lamb chops and boerewors any South African meat loving person will attest too. 

The morning after the night before we set off to the magical Fish River Canyon and it was here among this emptiness of a landscape. A nothingness with sooo much history and stories to tell. It was here in all its raw beauty, its barrenness and its some what scarcity of just about everything where I found more meaning to my life than anywhere else in the world that I've been.

The arduous drive to the canyon if you not stopping early to catch the sunrise in true form then its just going be a dusty road and a bumpy one too. The rolling hills are just that rolling from one to another, but what I was imagining  wasn't  what I experienced , A LIFE ALTERING MOMENT for me that is.

Sometimes we find ourselves in the middle of nowhere and sometimes the middle of nowhere is where we find ourselves.

Growth is painful, change is challenging but nothing is as painful as being stuck in a place you dn’t belong. I am not meant to be stuck in the same place daily, I am not meant to be looking at the same 4 walls year in and year out . I am a free spirit and my wings have been clipped. That vast world that is out there like all the crevices of that canyon is waiting to be discovered. What seems like barren land once closely examined is a new world cultivated in its own ecosystem. Living organisms with a complete diversity and living community beaming with life. 

I too have just come from a barren life, 3 years of dealing with sickness (cancer) and death has taken my once vibrant disposition and transformed it into a state of nothingness. Here I realized that what seems dead from the outside still has full life when you dig deeper that what the eye can see. Anyone who has gone through major life altering changes in their life can tell you that their is a difference in understanding what is real in life and what is important. The goal is not to get rich in life but to live a rich life.

The Fish River canyon has opened me up on an operating table and I am surgically having those thoughts of ‘why’ we are alive and whats our purpose being removed  Its a complicated operation as its so close to the nervous system and the feelings of depression can also be affected simultaneously ,however with a slight shift of the blade the mind can be fully restored to the greatest discovery of life which is that my Life can be altered if I alter my Attitude..

 So thank you to the opportunities we sometimes neglect as significant Ann_Adventure is not so much the physical but the emotional in our lives as well. To my new found family, the journey has just begun. Africa still awaits.