Lord of the Rings

This past weekend, Melanie and I decided to get away from Shamwari for a couple of days and explore the area.  We rented a car and drove about 3 hours to a little town in the mountains called Hogsback.  The town has something of a mystical quality to it, and is reputed to have served as JR Tolkien's inspiration for Middle Earth in The Lord of the Rings.  Its populated by a bunch of hippies who are into crystals, incense, and fairies (as you can imagine, we fit right in!).

We rented a thatched roof cottage on the edge of a bluff with a spectacular view

Went hiking to one of the many waterfalls

And visited the fairies in the forest (Melanie woke up in a cold sweat from a nightmare last night - I think it was inspired by the fairies)

Also spent a morning birdwatching and an afternoon horseback riding in the forest.  The scenery was spectacular, and the horses were well-behaved!

 We topped off a great weekend with massages at the best local spa (though we skipped the option of the fairy card reading)

At the very end, we discovered a backpackers' camp.  Next time we're staying there, for this one special amenity

Well, we still have some catching up to do on the blog, but that'll be all for tonight.  Tomorrow morning we have to get up just after 4 am to go out on the annual game count here.  Gonna be a long day, but I'm sure we'll sleep well tomorrow night.