Dear Universe

I have it on good authority that the thoughts and vibes we put out there in your ethereal space will morph into something real and come back to us. That if we dream and visualise and believe hard enough, your cosmic forces will kick into action and help turn our happy imaginings into something a bit more tangible.

You have been so generous to our family in 2016 – 4 countries, 9 road trips, 6 flights and 5 happy campers. We are so grateful for the abundance of travel and adventure you sent our way. We are also very broke from being showered with such generous blessings.  I don’t mean to sound in any way negative – our rainbow chasing has resulted in magical family times brimming with happiness and laughter and filled with the thrill of discovery and the sweet taste of travelling to new places and making memories together. It was worth every cent.

The thing is, we want more. This year we watched the sun rise through the mist mirrored on the calm waters of the Discovery Passage, we dangled on a thin rope high over a waterfall flowing into a magnificent gorge, we swam in the ocean with Great White sharks, camped under snow-capped Rocky Mountains, paddled in a crystal clear river with wild salmon running around us, caught our first wave while standing up, watched our first rodeo, got lost in the wilderness, swam in a hidden mountain pool in the thick mist – the list goes on and on.

Instead of quenching our thirst for adventure, our appetites have been whet. We can see ourselves cycling to the world’s prettiest tropical beach, with our goggles and snorkels in the little wicker baskets on the front of our bikes. We can feel the chill of the soft powdery snow as we lie on our backs and make a family of snow angels. We can hear the absolute silence of being somewhere where nobody else is and taste the fragrant spices of exotic street food in a bustling foreign market. We can smell the freshly caught fish sizzling on the braai as we sit around the campfire laughing about the massive one that got away.

You see dear Universe, it is so real to us, so close that we can see and taste and feel and hear and smell it already. It really won’t take an awful lot of your cosmic time or effort to help things on just a little bit, to give opportunity a gentle push and to nudge circumstance in the right direction.

So, to help make things as easy as possible for you Universe, here is a very tangible list of 17 adventures we would truly like to experience in 2017:

1. Somewhere Tropical

Its been a while since we have dipped our toes into clear turquoise waters, sipped on exotic cocktails under palm trees and flicked our fly line into shoals of sport fish. Our dream is to visit the Seychelles, but we will be equally thrilled to explore Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Reunion or the Maldives, so Universe please feel free to send whichever you see fit our way.

2. Somewhere Wild

Its Cian’s big 12^th birthday this year. Big because that’s how old you need to be to do a wilderness trail in the Kruger Park. We would love to finish our family tradition of taking our boys on a walking trail in the Kruger for their 12^th birthday with a hat trick 3 out of 3.

Luke walking in the Kruger for his 12th birthday

3. Somewhere Cold

We hate the cold. Even 3 months of a relatively temperate Port Elizabeth winter seems too hard to bear. But our kids yearn to go snowboarding, have a snowball fight and make a snowman. Dear Universe, since last year’s near miss on the Swiss Welcome, Switzerland is still top of mind, but anywhere with real white powdery snow that falls from the sky will do.

4. Somewhere Remote

Where can we venture beyond the beaten track? Where is rugged and remote with no cellphone signal? You got it Universe, we want to drive through the Baviaanskloof from one end to the other.

5. Somewhere New

Anywhere new is paradise for us. Nieu Bethesda springs to mind. So close, and yet dear Universe we have never been there. I can feel it in my bones that 2017 will be the year of the owl house.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BOnBKx8gJcE/?tagged=owlhouse

6. Somewhere Far

There is nothing quite like road tripping through South Africa’s ever changing landscape, through long straight Karoo roads while we count the windmills, through twisty, turny mountain passes with views that stretch forever, through small towns that you would miss if you blink. We have never driven to the Northern Cape, Universe, and we can hear the thunder of Augrabies Falls calling our names across the plains.

7. Somewhere Close

There is so much to see and do around our beautiful home town. We are lovers of all things nature, and I can’t understand why we have never been to Mountain Zebra National Park. Perhaps, kind Universe you can help us rectify this?

8. Somewhere Beautiful

Each year, I pour over the photos of Spring flowers in Namaqualand on my Instagram feed. Dear Universe, I would so love to post some of my own Spring flower pics.

9. Somewhere Quiet

Aaaah, the blissful sound of silence, broken only by the swish of a fly line through the air and the gurgle of a river full of fish. Universe, the remote reaches of the Orange River in the Northern Cape full of yellows would do just fine.

10. Somewhere With a View

A simple request, dear Universe. How about the Valley of Desolation?

11. Somewhere High

Some of us are dreaming of jumping out of airplanes or leaping off hills and mountains. Please keep my family safe divine Universe if you choose to send them skydiving or paragliding.

12. Somewhere Low

We have read about some tunnels underneath Cape Town, where you climb down a manhole at the base of Table Mountain, and emerge again at the Castle of Good Hope. Pretty please Universe?

13. Somewhere Fast

Big U, how about some sand sledding, go-karting or quad biking? The buzz of adrenalin puts a smile on even our moodiest teenager’s face.

14. Somewhere Slow

I yearn to SUP. The smooth waters of King’s beach to Humewood beach’s 6 pillars on a windless PE day sounds like a perfect place to give it a try.

15. Somewhere Wet

Think kayaks and lilos up Storms River. We are very keen to explore deep into the gorge, jump into the dark pools and paddle into caves and through ancient forests.

16. Somewhere Painful

Please Universe make me brave enough to take part in a kids vs adults paintball session?

17. Somewhere Famous

We chase rainbows. More in a figurative than literal sense. But one real rainbow we would love to see is the one in the smoke that thunders above Victoria Falls.

Lastly, dear Universe, please feel free to substitute any of our suggestions for any other form of family travel or adventure. As long as we are together as a family – exploring, discovering, tasting and experiencing something – we are content and will spread this happy optimism with others on our blog and vlog.

Gratefully

P.S. This list was compiled as a family, and we would love to tick off as many items as possible together as a family, so please send everything x 5.