After struggling with money for a few years, this year has really been about spoiling ourselves and trying to do different fun days/nights out. In fact, we’ve gone so far as to book a few festivals along the way as well.
Although some have them have not always worked out as planned, we have thoroughly enjoyed immersing ourselves in days/weekends away. Whether it be beer tasting at the Pretoria Botanical Gardens (which was actually incredibly well organised), or going to a Yoga and Music Festival; we found out that trying new things really makes us feel so much younger and more alive.
The Yoga Flow and Mieliepop was definitely interesting. It rained so much on the first night that we had to bring extra towels, blankets and clothes for our friends that camped there a night before us and when we drove in, at night, with the rain pouring down and found that we had to drift my car like we were in a ‘Fast and Furious’ movie to get past another car that was completely stuck in the mud; we were slightly worried as to how the rest of the weekend would go. Turns out, we had nothing to worry about. The festival wasn’t too busy, because of the rain and we got to laugh every day while we watched people who hadn’t brought gum boots like us struggle through the mud and lose their shoes along the way. I loved listening to bands I’d never heard of before, drinking vodka mixed with cool drink like I was in my twenties and trying random yoga positions that made me look like a not so graceful flying ostrich. The bathrooms or lack there of (green and yellow port-a-potties) were interesting. It was like they had deliberately put them on a slope, so you had to hang on for dear life every time you went to the loo. And it’s always good fun when no one tells you that they have to switch on the water pressure and heat in the showers, so you have a cold shower with 3 drops of water!
The beer festival was luckily less eventful. Although we did get there to find a friend of ours who had started drinking before she even arrived and then her brother decided to disappear and none of us were sure if he had taken his keys and decided to drive home, or just didn’t want to be in our company anymore. At least I got to taste some berry beer, honey lager and flavoured G&T’s when I couldn’t drink anymore beer. Can you blame me, they came in 500 ml glasses every time? And I also ate awesome food like corn dogs and churros for dessert.
We even managed to go to a Park Acoustics one Sunday afternoon on the way back from having lunch with my dad in Joburg. We might have only got to see one band, but the tickets were free thanks to the same friend from the beer festival and watching Freshly Ground was amazing. Actually the whole vibe around the Fort, which is right next to the Voortrekker Monument, was super fun and happy. We couldn’t help but smile as we watched people dance and sing to a proudly South African band. We even got to watch 2 comedians at the comedy stage and while they were making us laugh, in the background we watched the sun going down and the lights of the whole of Pretoria springing to life.
If there is anything I love more than festivals/fun days out, it is food. I love finding new places to eat and tasting the most random foods that I can get my hands on. With this in mind, I strive to find food festivals wherever I go as well. As it turns out, there are quite a few in my home town alone. I have tried the Hazel Food Night Market and just had the opportunity last Friday night to go to the Deep Roots Night Market. Hazel was cool, but incredibly busy and with that there is usually not enough space to sit or just relax after walking around. I found the opposite was true for Deep Roots. Although they charge an entrance fee (only R20 pp), there is so much space to make yourself comfortable and just sit and watch the live bands. For the first time ever, I saw a sushi place at a food market, so I had to try it. It was deep fried and totally delicious. Luch had a pita with pulled pork and then we just had to try French donuts with caramel and crushed oreos. The best part about the donut guys is that they make up an entire song to call you when your donuts are ready. We were taking bets on if they would be able to sing Luciano properly. 🙂
Honorable mention should be given to the Wine and Art Festival that was held at Pont De Val. Although I was hungover (never the best when you’re going to a wine festival), it was incredible to walk around this stunning property with a canape and glass of wine in hand looking at all the art that South African artists had painstakingly poured their souls into. What a beautiful venue as well! I’ve been for lunch here once before, years ago, and it has only gotten better with age.
Next up is Oktoberfest (which is in September here for some reason) at the German School. I’ve lived in Pretoria my whole life and never been, so it is definitely about time I went. Let’s hope it lives up to the hype!
