Saturday 21st January 2023
Three weeks of this year done already and it feels like I haven't done much in the way of new year energy but I know I can catch up, lol.
This morning started with a stunning sunrise as sister and I headed towards the Kloofendal nature reserve. Sister was going to run the trail, I wasn't sure what I'd end up doing. We got there just as it opened at 6am and I was surprised to see so many people there before us. Kloof =cliff; dal= valley means that there's quite steep hills.
I started out on one of the paths thinking I would get to the small dam quickly but I was mistaken. I haven't been to the reserve since training for my 2016 Camino walk. So after a climb I turned back and decided to stick to running on the tar. On my way out I saw many people leaving the park and head up towards the even steeper side of the valley. One day I'll go up there but it wasn't today. Instead I went along the tar roads and watched the quiet neighbourhood wake up. Guinea fowl called out, announcing my arrival and all sorts of other birds were cheerfully chirping. I got back to the reserve after a lovely 5km, feeling so grateful that I could experience this suburb on foot.
The carpark was completely full and people were streaming into the park which is fantastic to see these free and well maintained facilities being utilised. I walked around the entrance again, this time with my camera and waited for the trail runners to finish. Afterwards we had a hearty breakfast at a local restaurant.
Then we went to collect my Smartie. Yey! While on the small plot, where my mechanic has at least 50 Smarties in various stages of repair, his tame Emu came to say hello. I tried giving him a hard date that I keep for emergencies as a snack, but he refused it. I was able to stroke it's long neck and it felt completely different to what I'd expected (not that I've ever imagined an Emu's neck, lol) My delightful car drove beautifully back to Johannesburg and I wanted to drive everywhere but loadshedding and it being Saturday, made it less pleasant, so I went back to my sister's.
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