Midmar Weekend
The 42nd Midmar Mile took place this weekend on the 7th and 8th of February! Between Friday and Sunday, thousands of swimmers and their families flooded into Howick - an Autumn-Years little town cosily hidden between the farmlands and hills of the Midlands.
We arrived on Thursday already, (much to the disdain of some of my lecturers, who were of a mind that students are only good for one thing and that is studying...) and were ready for a weekend which promised to be beautiful!
Howick, along with some of its neighbouring towns like Nottingham Road and Hilton, is especially well known for lying along the wandering way of the Midlands Meander. This is a treasure of a route through woodlands, and plantations and wetlands and hills, and grasslands with so many different shades of green that you cannot believe you are staring at simple plants! It is also spotted with some of the most amazing little shops and cafe's! They're filled with homemade goodies, beautiful crafts and delicious foods that leave the mind amazed at the cleverness of ordinary people! One of the best visits of the day was to a little setting called Piggly Wiggly! We rode a train! YES! A real, miniature steam train, with a real CHOO!-CHOO! And a real life conductor. Call us childish...but there was something very special about that short trip through the crowds of onlookers.
The weekend turned out to be blissful. The sun slept late beneathe a cover of cloud each morning, only poking its head out after eight. At nights, it again turned in early, when thick, grey clouds pushed across the horizon, and sent everyone to bed with a few mild showers. A short visit to the Saturday Karkloof Farmers Market had me yearning again to stay forever in the comfort of good friends and Earthy folks! The wholesomeness was not only in local produce and gifts and foods baked freshly in their homely ovens. It spread further. Much further: through their welcome, and their hospitality, it twirled right into us, and grabbed us by our spirits. It made us, invaders from another province, feel as though we had always belonged. That we would always be considered family.
On the whole, the early trip down to Midmar was splendid! And by the end of the Saturday evening, I was more than ready for the swim that awaited me at dawn!
We arrived on Thursday already, (much to the disdain of some of my lecturers, who were of a mind that students are only good for one thing and that is studying...) and were ready for a weekend which promised to be beautiful!
Howick, along with some of its neighbouring towns like Nottingham Road and Hilton, is especially well known for lying along the wandering way of the Midlands Meander. This is a treasure of a route through woodlands, and plantations and wetlands and hills, and grasslands with so many different shades of green that you cannot believe you are staring at simple plants! It is also spotted with some of the most amazing little shops and cafe's! They're filled with homemade goodies, beautiful crafts and delicious foods that leave the mind amazed at the cleverness of ordinary people! One of the best visits of the day was to a little setting called Piggly Wiggly! We rode a train! YES! A real, miniature steam train, with a real CHOO!-CHOO! And a real life conductor. Call us childish...but there was something very special about that short trip through the crowds of onlookers.
The weekend turned out to be blissful. The sun slept late beneathe a cover of cloud each morning, only poking its head out after eight. At nights, it again turned in early, when thick, grey clouds pushed across the horizon, and sent everyone to bed with a few mild showers. A short visit to the Saturday Karkloof Farmers Market had me yearning again to stay forever in the comfort of good friends and Earthy folks! The wholesomeness was not only in local produce and gifts and foods baked freshly in their homely ovens. It spread further. Much further: through their welcome, and their hospitality, it twirled right into us, and grabbed us by our spirits. It made us, invaders from another province, feel as though we had always belonged. That we would always be considered family.
On the whole, the early trip down to Midmar was splendid! And by the end of the Saturday evening, I was more than ready for the swim that awaited me at dawn!
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