Picking one's self up after such an embarrassing episode is not easy but as the saying goes - yesterday is history so I vowed not to let this mishap spoil our holiday. It was after all only two missed days of a 21 day holiday and so we had to forget about the scenic walks in the Lebombo Mountains and Sibebe Rock which has the largest exposed granite pluton in the world or the Nyenga Glass factories and all the wonderful Swazi curios we were hoping to buy !! Had to dry my eyes and concentrate on our forthcoming and much anticipated lodge/camping experience in the Kruger Park.

Our journey to Pilgrims Rest in Mpumalanga took us via Barberton and onto R537 through Sabie, Graskop and Pilgrims Rest up Robbers Pass to Mount Sheba which is at an altitude of 1800 meters and part of the Forever Resort which boasts not only a hotel section but also timeshare cottages spread out amongst the large estate surrounded by wonderful indigenous lush forests . After settling into our overnight plush hotel rooms which included a superb fireplace, the four of us were parched and headed for the pool deck to tuck into our first G&T's and get up to date with emails and my blog. We were one day ahead of our schedule due to my faux par so took advantage of the hotel and its facilities of a restaurant.

After our early morning hours walk in the pristine forests where we experienced waterfalls, babbling streams and a myriad of shady undergrowth foliage and fungi we certainly got our hearts and adrenalin pumping with some very tricky and slippery descents to the forest floor. Then back up to the Resort where we headed to the historical village of Pilgrim's Rest.

The Main Street and the famous Royal Hotel was our prime target and while the girls did some shopping for curios, the boys sampled some liquid 'gold'. Sitting on this verandah having a light lunch and watching the passing pedestrian shoppers, one could just picture the scene on a film set back in the early days from 'The Good, The Bad & The Ugly' with Clint Eastwood & his motley gang staring down the baddies, while the whole town went quiet in anticipation of a shoot out!! Or better still, memories of a page from the picture book series called "Die Man Sonder Naam " where a dashing young Terence with long wavy blond hair, accompanied by his horse "Tonto", all the while clutching a gun in his virgin palm, would have fitted into this 'one horse' town perfectly!

Pilgrims Rest and Knysna could not be more poles apart - one is in the far north and one is in the south, one a 'ghost' town and the other a tourist Mecca and most notably one a diggers mining town and the other a town that hosts the gay community during "The Pink Loerie Festival" - and boy did our beautiful town go pink this year with the Mr Gay World Pageant being hosted by Knysna aka "Pleasantville' . I dare you guys and gals to Google our Crown Prince Ballerina - aka The Black Swan - crowned Mr Gay World 2015! Phew what perfection he is - must have had many a 'pink' heart fluttering in his tutu and points!!

For those who do not know or who might be just a teenie bit interested, Pilgrim's Rest is a small town with a population of some 1780 (2011) and its early history dates back to 1873 when the town attracted a rush of prospectors soon after the MacMac diggings started some 5 km away. The alluvial gold was discovered by prospector Alec Patterson. He panned Pilgrim's Creek, as it became known, when the nearby MacMac diggings became too crowded. He kept his find a secret, but a gold rush resulted when fellow prospector William Trafford registered his claim with the Gold Commissioner at MacMac. After it was officially declared a gold field in September 1873, the town suddenly grew to 1,500 inhabitants. Alluvial panning eventually gave way to deeper ore mining . During the second Boer war the town was the location for an emergency mint. Besides a few small tourist ventures occupying these 'corrugated tin houses' there are sadly many empty buildings, making way for all sorts of street vendors trying desperately to sell their wares or to sneakily try to wash a parked car and then extort money from the unsuspecting tourist. Sound familiar ??? Crime was also rife in the good old days - hence the story of The Robbers Grave.

At the town's graveyard, every single grave was laid facing in the same direction, except for the famous Robber’s Grave which is laid perpendicular to the rest, emblazoned simply with a cross and the large type words of "Robbers Grave". It is said that his grave was laid out that way, so that it could not see the rising sun. One report states that it is the grave of a robber who was shot stealing a tent from one of the miners. A tent represented a "home", so was the most valuable of any individuals belongings . Stealing this tent was a most grievous crime and the punishment was meted out in the extreme. Another report states that the robber instead stole a wheelbarrow.

Mining was finally closed down in 1971 and the town which has not greatly changed since then, became a tourist destination

Back at Mount Sheba we settled into the 2 bed roomed timeshare unit allocated to Peter and Carol and enjoyed braais and pre-cooked meals while surveying the Samango monkeys who keep a tight rein on their territory and therefore no vervets hang around! Sitting with friends around a roaring fire with some good red wine under a starlit sky is pure magic.

Mount Sheba memories were our trips into the forest, visits to Gods Window, Lisbon Falls, Bourkes Luck Potholes ( not the road type ) and Graskop where we indulged in the famous Harrie's Pancakes, not once but twice and then a bit of retail therapy in White River which has an amazing village type shopping centre called Casterbridge.

A misty start at 7.30am on 8th May saw us head for the Kruger gate of Orphen - and then the long drive up to Satara for our overnight stay in a bungalow - no camping has as yet taken place! We are saving this for Balule and Tsendze.