Hartbeespoort Boat Cruise #mycruisestory
Sitting in lockdown we were sharing our favourite stories from our cruises. Birthdays, anniversaries, baby showers and marriage proposals. This really got us thinking about cruise stories, and how important making memories are in our lives.
The world as we knew it will never be the same, we can’t watch sport, go to the mall, chill out with our friends or family. We are spending time on social media scrolling through the madness of this COVID-19 crisis, catching up with loved ones on Facetime, Skype, and even Zoom. We are reminiscing about the good times.
Instead of reminiscing, let’s celebrate our memories! We are looking for your stories about your Hartbeespoort boat cruise with us. Tell us about your cruise, who were you with, what were you doing. If you were celebrating your birthday tell us all about your wonderful friends. If it was an anniversary, tell us about your other half, how long have you been married, what your best memories are? Send us pictures of your special occasion.
We are going to start off with a story from the Styles family.
Chris and Suzanne Styles had lived in the valley for several years and their daughter was emigrating to the United Kingdom with her boyfriend, here is their story…
We couldn’t believe how quickly time had flown, it seemed like just yesterday that our daughter had said she was looking at the options around emigration. All the plans feel into place and seven months passed by in the wink of an eye.
Bronte and Roland were spending a week with us before their flight and we were squeezing in as much as we could into the short time we had left. Although we were sort of locals in the Harties area there were a lot of activities that we hadn’t tried out, it is true that you are rarely a tourist in your own back yard. We decided that a Hartbeespoort boat cruise would be a wonderful way for us to say one of our goodbye’s.
On the morning of the cruise a cold snap had arrived in the valley, it was cloudy and looked like we could be in for some unseasonal rain. We weren’t going to let this spoil our day. We bundled up with some extra layers of clothing and headed off to the Kommando Nek Resort to board our cruise.
The friendly team greeted us at the harbour with warm smiles and a welcome drink. The Captain and crew took us through the safety demonstration, and we were off. The views across the water were simply beautiful, we could see our house against the Witwatersrand Mountains as the boat manoeuvred out of the harbour area.
As we began our cruise delicious snacks and finger foods were served, washed down with a wonderful glass of red wine to ward away the winter chill. The sun managed to break through the clouds and although it was quite windy, the extra layers kept us warm.
Heading across the dam we cruised the shoreline close to Pecanwood Golf estate and enjoyed a glimpse of the beautiful waterfront homes. The views of the Magaliesberg Mountains were spectacular, it is amazing to think that this is the older mountain range in the world, Hartbeespoort and surrounds have so many things to offer us local tourists. As we looked over to the Magaliesberg we could see a kettle of vultures taking off from the mountain top above Leopard Lodge.
What a wonderful way to spend our last few hours with Bronte and Roland, food, wine, laughter and the sound of the water breaking against the side of the boat as we enjoyed the winter sun that had broken through the cloud.
