We clocked up many many steps on foot as well as many kilometers by car on the day of our Scouting Expedition at Umdoni RV in the coastal town of Pennington.
It was a full day, for sure, but I wanted to show my old school friend as much of the village as possible, one of my favourite places on the Kwazulu Natal South Coast.
Definitely will not be walking to any of these destinations!
Hubby and I were contemplating retiring there, but, it was not to be!
I am still weighing up my options and wanted my friend's input.
You may have read when I shared the charming Umdoni Retirement Village with you about a month ago, and we walked quite a bit there having a look at the stand-alone homes and the facilities they offer.
We left the RV and drove to the town's Conservancy next to the quaint Beach Café at Impithi which overlooks the Indian Ocean, hopped out of the car, and started walking again.
The Beach Café with its wrap-around balcony serves the usual fare, but we did not have time to sit down and eat. We'd grabbed a sausage roll each at the RV before having tea and cookies with a friend's parents who live there.
I was super impressed the first time I saw this spotless park with a jungle gym and lovely picnic area. Unfortunately, our authorities do not maintain public spaces like they used to, but the folk from the town got together and maintain this. Projects like these are taking off in many towns and cities by residents who are passionate about maintaining the integrity and beauty of their areas.
A deck below the café overlooks the swimming beach.
Time was running out so a quick hop into the car, and off we went to the picturesque Umdoni Golf Club, where hubby and I had many leisurely lunches with friends, or just by ourselves. No time for lunch though, it was still part of the scouting exercise.
Along the way, we passed the beautiful, historical Botha House with its Cape-Dutch architecture, built in 1919 as a holiday home for the heads of state. It now is run as a bed and breakfast establishment.
The old windmill rises up to the sky, firm and strong, while the old pump house looks like it's falling apart!
I love this view of the Cape Dutch architecture clubhouse with the rolling greens and the Indian Ocean on the eastern side.
The image below is a closer view of the clubhouse I took on a previous occasion.
Some golfers looked a little puzzled at these two old dolls walking around without any gold clubs so we quickly retreated, did not want to fall victim to a golf ball or be run over by a golf cart!
The whale viewing deck was deserted, but we did not see any activity. Hubby and I saw dolphins on a previous visit.
Stunning views of the Indian Ocean on a beautiful sunny day.
Looking south towards the seaside village of Sezela, you see clouds of white smoke and pick up the pleasant smell of molasses as it turns into sugar from the sugar mill. This used to be the biggest sugar mill in the Southern Hemisphere!
Time stands still for no man, we'd had a full day at Pennington and headed back home just in time to beat the traffic.
We thoroughly enjoyed our adventure, the sun, and the fresh air, and even got a tad burnt as we took no sunhats, did not realize we'd be walking that much!
No excuses for having a Vitamin D shortage here in sunny South Africa, you just have to get out into the great outdoors, and soak up that sun!
As for the scouting expedition, my friend was charmed by this little seaside village.
It however would be a big move, away from the city, so for now, I am staying right where I am, my roots are planted deeply in this soil that I call home!
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