From our annual trip to South Africa to visit my family, we were lucky enough to have enough time to have a small trip with with the three of us (yes, with Ander too who was 3 months old or so).

We decided we would go to Dullstroom which is a sleepy town about 2.5 hour drive from Johannesburg. It is well known as a fisherman’s paradise, especially for flyfishing. Historically it was founded by the Boers in teh Second Boer War but it wasn’t until 1893 when it was a full fledged town. Now it is a popular retreat for city folk, where it now has shops, museums, art galleries and of course fishing supply shops.

We stayed at a great lodge called Walkersons which is about 10km from Dullstroom and boasts a country vibe with horses and ducks running around the premises. We were able to book a small chalet for us which was ideal as we had enough space for Ander to cry if he wanted.

The highlight of our small trip away from a two day climbing expedition to Waterval Bovan, which means under the waterfall in Afrikaans. We hired a guide, Gustav, who was a local celebrity of sorts and was very friendly and helpful.

He helped us navigate the area and locate the good climbing crags for us. At this stage we needed to carry Ander around with us and ensure he had a cool and protected area while we hiked and climbed.

It was surprisingly not too bad to go with him and over we managed a few good days of climbing on the red cloloured rocks. Anyone who is in South Africa and is looking for some Sport Climbing, I would highly recommend a trip to Waterval Bowan.

On our final day we managed to do a small detour back to our car where we managed to actually see the waterfall that the town is named after, which included a close call of me nearly dropping Izaskun’s phone over the edge of the cliff.

After our trip to Watervall Bovan and Dullstroom it was off to see my sister and her husband near Hartbeespoort Dam which was another story on its own.