Birthday present in the bush

For my birthday, I asked people not to give me 'stuff' - I'm uncluttering my home and at my age, I really really need less stuff around me.  When pushed for a list of possible gift items, top of my list was donations to the SPCA Randburg, the gift of time with people (coffee dates, meals together or walks, etc.) or sterling silver jewellery or terracotta pots for my garden.

 

Bridget and her daughter Boo gave me the gift of time, and we spent Sunday at Borakolalo, a nature reserve in the North West Province, about 2 hours away from Johannesburg.  They packed a fabulous picnic basket, picked me up in the morning, and we spent a wonderful day out in the bush, birdwatching and game-spotting.

looking for the ant lion 

maybe Boo will become a birder one day 

We had really good sightings of more than 30 species of wild birds, and saw several mammals including giraffe, kudu, impala and monkeys.  We enjoyed a delicious picnic under the trees before heading back to Joburg in the late afternoon.  This was a wonderful birthday present - thanks Bridget and Boo!!