I spoke a while ago about how my family will shortly be moving to East London. I’ve taken a few weeks off from blogging because I was struggling with juggling everything on my plate. I can’t say that I have ‘cleared’ my plate but the urge to write again is coming back, which I take as a good sign.

Yesterday we drove down to East London from the Free State. The drive was as picturesque and scenic as I have come to expect of any road trip in South Africa.

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The beauty of the Free State farm lands, even in winter, is hard to describe but it’s certainly a beauty I’ve come to appreciate and admire. The vast golden grasslands, the blue cloudless skies, and even now and then, an oasis like this that takes your breath away.

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General Hertzog Bridge, Aliwal North. The border between the Free State and the Eastern Cape. It crosses the Oranje Rivier (Orange River).

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Another view of the bridge from the banks on the Eastern Cape side of the river.

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Penhoek Pass – Awesome views.

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N6, near Stutterheim.

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Woo Hoo! Nearly there!

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The Sea! Finally. Gonubie Beach, East London, Eastern Cape.

On the way down I could tell my youngest was getting sick. Her cheeks were rosy, her mood was irritable, even her beloved elder sister’s breathing was irritating her, and then she finally fell asleep – 6 hours into the 8 hour drive.

We finally made our way to our accommodation. It was not suitable. It was booked by the company by a lady who has never been to the area so I am not blaming anyone. I don’t mean to be ungrateful, but a room with two beds, a shower and a TV isn’t really great for a family of four for 12 days. Fortunately it was still early enough that we found a much more suitable self catering apartment with two bedrooms, a kitchenette and separate lounge – heaven in comparison.

Unfortunately at about midnight my youngest started coughing. It was a hard dry hacking cough and eventually she came through to our room about 03.00am … and that was that. None of us slept much after that, least of all her, poor little monkey.

Now, in my preparations to pack for a trip away for any length of time I always pack a little bag with the usual over-the-counter medications a family might need: ibuprofen, paracetamol, something for headaches, something for upset tummies, antihistamines, something for my eldest’ bee sting allergy,  etc. Basically everything – except this time I did not pack cough medicine. Obviously!

So after a rough night, our plans for this morning were put on hold whilst we tried to find a Doctor that would see us, today, without being pre-registered or even from the area! Finally we discovered the gem that is the MediCross in East London. The staff was so helpful and friendly. We did have to wait a little while, being ‘walk-in’s’, but when we finally got to see the doctor he was busy but courteous, professional and understanding. Turns out she has croup. He prescribed a range of medications to treat her, all of which – other than the antibiotic – I already have back at home (obviously), including the actual nebulizer machine. I guess that’s how it goes though and these things certainly are sent to test us.

This evening we got a pizza for dinner and made our way to the seafront to watch the waves crashing in whilst enjoying our dinner, but that didn’t happen because the little one was too miserable by the time we got there. We ended up just heading back to our temporary home and are having a quiet night in. I did get one pic in …

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Another awesome view. Gonubie Beach at sunset.

The plans over the next few days are to find temporary accommodation for my husband until the girls, the cats, the birds, the bike, furniture and I, all move down at the end of the school year; we need to make a visit to the school we’ve booked the girls in for next year; and we need to scout out the area for a potential new home for us for next year.

*Deep breaths!*

Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram where I post pics from all our new adventures.