Places to see before you die

Everyone seems to have accepted the fact that the days of leaving your door unlocked are over. The rise of crime is affecting everyone, not just those who live in the larger cities. In fact, homes in rural areas are being targeted like never before--due to the opportunity a secluded area provides to the burglar. Statistics tell us that theft of property is among the highest of all personal crimes committed in the United States. While many families do install some type of house alarm, this alone does not bring complete peace of mind. Home alarm devices can be disabled by a crafty intruder. These facts alone would explain why many people are turning to house sitting directories to help them find a house sitter when they need to be away from home for an extended time. The presence of a human is the main deterrent to a burglar. When you have a house sitter come into your home to live while you are away, you can almost be guaranteed your home will not be targeted by a thief or vandal...

Situated near Clanwilliam in the Cederberg mountain range. This amazing place is where you go to completely switch off. The beauty is the river/ dam that you camp on as this place is very hot. You will spend most of your time here in the water and if you like me in the shade. A great place for boating, fishing, mountain bike riding ect ect. We have just spent 2 weeks at this amazing place and even if I say so myself it was enough time spent in one long session. The nights are lit up with stars as far as the eyes can see and the competition becomes who see the most shooting stars. Why I love this place is that you dont really need to do anything and if you wish you pick up a fishing rod have a few casts into the river and sometimes you get that lucky fish. There are 3 types of fish here. Yellow ,carp and bass, I mostly fish for bass as this has over the years become my passion. Cows roam freely here and you might have to move out the way of one or two when they go out of their camp....

This is a really great place to visit if you do not have a lot of time while in Cape Town. It is 3 hours out and has some amazing animals. You can even do a day tour with lunch if you are on your way to another part of the country. On arrival you are already getting excited as you can see the expanse ahead of you from the reception. We received a warm welcome on arrival and was very impressed with the views from the restaurant that is in the same building. The accommodation is very well placed on the hills around the main reception and all look over the watering hole. We were lucky enough to see the 2 hippos lying outside the water on the banks, this is not usual for them to do as they have very sensitive skin and stay out of the sun as much as they can. We saw a lot of  animals on our game drive and even visited the reptile  park which my daughter loved and wife waited outside. My daughter even got to hold some snakes which really made her day.

If you want to enjoy 5 star Game Lodges and seeing the big 5 then Gondwana private game lodge is the place for you. From the time you arrive you feel like you are at one of the best hotels in the world. The staff are super professional and the food which is all inclusive is next level. The lodge is set in a mountain range which on arrival seems very remote. Well it is nothing but amazing we were blown away by the amazing architecture of the buildings that blend into the area. Our room or should i say 3 bedroom house was huge and next level comfort. 3 rooms all with on suite bathrooms and all has amazing views over this mountainous range. You can pack in alot of adventure which I love to do or you can just chill with your favorite glass of wine and a great book. Game drive are a plus as they have the big 5 on our first game drive we got so close to 5 lions that i was able to tick off another bucket list achievement. The pic above is just 1 of the many i was able to take on this amazi...

If  you prefer 5 star lodges to camping or self catering then BLA is a place that can help you find those bucket list holidays you can tick off your list. These guys specialize in top class game lodges in South Africa. The big 5 is one of the biggest attractions in South Africa game parks and to do this in absolute luxury is a huge ++. We have booked 3 trips with them already and what they really do well is offer things most people would not normally do in these places. Swimming with seals, sharks, climbing secret parts of a mountain range . They have really come though with thing we love to do. So our last trip was to a game park who allow you to walk in the wild with a ranger. we got so close to elephants it was overwhelming. Now we have also done some off the beaten track stuff with them like having mussel pot on the beach that they are picked while watching the sunset over the Atlantic ocean. So if you are ever in South Africa and want a top class game park getaway please ...

Warner beach was my local surf spot, the place we owned and loved. The place was amazing it had it all. There was a river running into the sea which we swam, fished ,tubed pretty much anything. Then there was the super tube it was awesome there was a hole in the fence so when it rained we all climbed though the hole and went bare bum down the super tube. There was a putt-putt course and of course a shop. The beach itself had two surf breaks the one to the left was called porpit and was a right handed break and it worked on a south westerly wind. The other was right which is called baggies and was a left break and worked on a north easterly wind and is pretty much the best break for me. It had a midbreak which you could get barrelled off your head. The rocks that separated the two breaks had a rock pool and when the swell was big would be the place we would hold on behind the wall as waves crashed over us. There were a few groups of people on this beach. There were the lifesavers woul...

Now this little treasure we found later in life and also the start of our camping ventures as a family. This is still one of my favorite camping sites to go to. It is very basic as in no electricity. The best part about it is that you can still find a site that is right close to the waters edge. If you like place with very few people and can get leave out of season this is the place to go. The camp site is in Paternoster in the Western Cape on the West Coast. The village of Paternoster is a small fishing village with their main income source is crayfish. This is also good for visitors and campers as you are allow to dive out 4 crayfish in season if you have a license.  So when camping here you can dive crayfish out right in front of your campsite and have a braai of fresh seafood in minutes of catching these delicious creatures. The place is almost completely empty out of season but does get very full in season. I prefer to not camp at the main campsite but away to the rig...