Settling in..

And so we have arrived. With many hugs and laughs and much excitement we have arrived.

A later start to the day, and a Wimpy breakfast started off the day. And then we drove. A long, straight, flat road, with some twists and turns and hills and valleys. And then we reached the pass, and went offroad (!). What an absolutely stunning drive! I was torn between wanting rush and just get to Plett, and wanting to stop and take copious photos and just stand in awe of the mountains and river valley. The change in vegetation was quite obvious, and almost seems to be something out of a book. This is definitely somewhere I will take friends for a drive! But the road seemed to stretch out forever, and rattling along at 40km/h made it feel like we would never reach our destination before sunset. But we eventually found our tyres on tarred road once more and sped along into Plett. Me feeling more cranky than excited. But to have that first view of the estuary, and the sea, wow. Just wow. It is so beautiful here! It was so good to finally arrive and to see Mark, Kel and the kids, as well as the 2 furry additions to their family! Cars were unpacked, and boxes were unpacked as I went with Mark and Kel to the first meeting of my new church. As a newly planted church it is rather small, with the surf culture of Plett showing through, but hopefully among them I’ll find a friend or two.

Just keep driving..

A view in the pass.

An interesting place to stop over!

Pippin (left) and Merry (right)

On Monday an epic shopping trip into Knysna, a whopping 30km away (compared to everything else that is 2-5 minutes down the road), was undertaken to get a microwave and toaster as well as other household things. Today, there are shelves to paint. And on Thursday I make my first foray into the Kelp Gull colony at Keurbooms River for some ringing, as well as to assess what can still be done during the rest of the breeding season. I am looking forward to explorations into the town and onto the beach, but for now I am quite happy to just settle into my new home.