My weekends are usually filled with socialising, being out and about and trying to squeeze in some rest and relaxation time. A while back, my friend invited me to her birthday braai which was celebrated a little differently this year. It was an afternoon of playing with puppies from a shelter, the Ark Animal Centre in Fourways.

My friend asked us to donate things to the shelter instead of buying her birthday present. What a cute idea! That morning we bought tons of stuff that the animals and people caring for them would need. The cost of running the shelter is about R60 000 a month – most of this is used to pay for dog food and the vet – so they rely heavily on donations to care for all their dogs.

As soon as we arrived, we brought all our donations to their offices where the cutest dogs were all running around between us. These dogs were let loose but not at all dangerous – they seemed to love seeing so many people coming in and out and enjoyed all the random pettings.

Doggies checking out their presents

Pretty soon, we were put to work by the birthday girl. She told us that we’d be giving little puppies a bath. Ark Animal Centre specialises in caring for pregnant mom doggies so they have a lot of pups. The puppies are kept in little areas according to their litter or breed or size. They keep the different puppies apart for health reasons and even when visitors come in to play or choose a puppy to adopt, they are required to sanitise before entering different puppy areas.


This dog was just received so she was all alone being slowly introduced to the other dogs

Puppies wanting attention

Check out those floppy ears!

The one on the right stole my heart

I have never had any pets so bathing them was a first for me. Some of the puppies were so tiny and scared of the water and others loved being pampered. I stole out some time to play with all the puppies – one of which stole my heart and I wished I could take him home. :-(

Me with a clean dog

Trying to escape the bath

Afterwards, we started a braai at the back and mingled with the people that care for the dogs. I have such respect for these people who give up so much of their time for these animals and they know each animal by name! They also rehabilitate dogs that may have had traumatic experiences and try to rehome them.  
Our braai

Me, the birthday girl and the angels that take care of the dogs

We found a newborn! He woke up for this pic

If you’re interested in getting a puppy, please look at adopting from a shelter. There are so many dogs out there that I cannot understand the concept of breeding dogs to sell them. Ark Animal Centre will assist with the whole adoption process.

A newly adopted pup

This cutey also got adopted later that day

If you can’t adopt, you can sponsor a pup and you can visit as much as you like – kinda like having a dog if you can’t keep one in your apartment. The Ark Animal Centre loves having visitors to give the puppies a cuddle or take the dogs for a walk so if you want to volunteer you time or have a day like ours, just give them a call.

If you want more information, check out their website: www.arkanimalcentre.co.za. Donations are much needed and if you want to contribute financially, their banking details are:
Ark Animal Centre
FNB Cheque Account
Account number: 62335841301
Branch: Broadacres
Branch code: 204809

There are so many ways to help

I left with a heavy heart knowing that I couldn’t save all those dogs but at the same time I have never felt so much love within an organisation. Somehow I just know that these dogs will be fine. And I can’t wait to organise another fun day like this where I can go back to play with them.
While planning my Garden Route Trip, The Whale Watchers kindly offered me a discounted rate on their whale trip. I have been wanting to see whales since last year when I holidayed in Cape Town in winter so I was pretty excited to go on this trip. In fact, it was probably the part of the Garden Route trip I looked forward to the most.

The briefing room

On their website, the Whale Watchers state that if you don't see any whales on a trip, they'll let you come back on another trip for free. So when we arrived at the new harbour in Hermanus for our 9am whale trip, I was a bit worried that we might not even see any whales. Our guide assured us that although it was almost the end of whale season, the bay was still filled with mother and calf pairs. 

 That made me really excited and so we started on the briefing session where the guide told us all about the Southern Right whales that are popular in the bay, their anatomy and how to spot them. Pretty soon, we were on the boat jetting off to the bay. The waves were quite high but we were fine sitting in the bottom area of the boat. It took about 15 minutes to get to the bay and all the while, I was just enthralled by the stunning coastline and the amazing feeling of speeding through the ocean. When we stopped, we all went to the top of the boat to see if there were any whales nearby. Now the waves were pretty high so I tried to keep steady by sitting down.
Our guide showing us a whale's tooth during the briefing
The exciting walk to the harbour
That's our boat!
How awesome is that view!

I kept calling the mountains dirty :-). Looks quite dusty

 Pretty soon, we were spotting whales and looking at them in awe. Big mommy whales were floating on the surface with baby whales nearby. We even saw some baby whales playing by jumping out of the waters closer to the shore. All the while, our guide told us more about the whales. I learnt that these whales usually mate in Hermanus and are pregnant for just over a year. During this time they migrate to the Antarctic. When they migrate back to the Hermanus area, they prepare to give birth and move to the bay where the waters are less rocky. When a mommy whale is ready to give birth, she is helped by a mid-wife whale who assists to carry the newborn calf to the surface to take his first breath of air. How cute is that! I thought we were the only animals that need birthing assistance. 
That black spot in the water is whale!

Another whale a little closer

Awww...a mother calf pair

We were given lots of stories and info like that while we were moving between whales or just staying in one spot watching a specific whale. The rockiness of the boat got too much for my boyfriend who needed to run to the side of the boat to throw up. The guide was so sweet and kept telling him that it's fine and that it happens all the time. He even got him some water and a brown paper bag for round 2. Lesson learnt: take motion sickness pills even if you think you don't them. 

 Pretty soon, the hour was up and we were making our way back to the harbour with some complimentary chips and cooldrinks. Although the excitement of the whale watching was over, the ride back was pretty amazing too with spectacular views of the ocean and the shorelines. 
A cute seal statue at the harbour

I was really happy to have seen whales in their natural habitat. If you want to experience a whale trip, check out The Whale Watchers website and contact them. The whale trips are R650 per person and it is really important to book in advance as all the whale watching companies book out fast because of the amount of tourists in the Western Cape. I would also suggest going earlier than November so you can see a lot more of these marvelous giants.
I remember searching for accommodation in Tsitsikamma while we still planning our Garden Route Trip. There weren’t many options available but of all the websites that I saw, I knew that this had to be the one.

I imagined it to be a wooden lodge in the woods - somewhere to escape into. We arrived just before a heavy downpour and it was exactly what I imagined it to be. From the outside it looked like a wooden lodge with trees everywhere. The wooden feel carried through to the inside creating a warm inviting feeling. I loved the African theme throughout the guesthouse with little animal figurines and African art that complemented the woods theme very well.



I am so fussy about hotel rooms – I automatically think they are dirty before I even step into the room. This room was clean and neat and as soon as I stepped, I expressed my sadness about only spending one night here. Little did I know how true that was because I hated the guesthouse we spent the next two nights in.


Big showers are a must for me and this bathroom was big with a very modern open kinda shower so you don’t feel too enclosed as with normal shower doors. We spent the rest of the afternoon checking out the place and watching the rain from the balcony – a relaxing end to a busy day travelling from PE.





The lodge does not serve supper but the owner told us about the various restaurants just a few minutes away where we could get supper. Because there wasn’t a restaurant on the premises, I appreciated the well-stocked bar fridge in the room. There are also two lounge areas next to the wine cabinets if that’s how’d prefer to spend your evening.







Breakfast is served out on the balcony overlooking the Tsitsikamma mountain which is apparently the same height as Table Mountain but doesn’t look it since we were so far up sea level in comparison to being in Cape Town. It was a standard fruits and yogurt and English breakfast and I loved the fresh croissants that were served to us. Most of all, I loved the view of the mountain, the “woods” and the greenery within the premises as my breakfast view. I like embracing nature from afar and not actually being in nature so this was perfect.






The owner gave us tons of information about the area when we checked in and also chatted to us during breakfast. When we were checking out, he told us all about where to go in and around the area so even if you rock up unplanned (like me) there’s someone there to make sure you check out the must see places in the area.

I was so in love with this guesthouse the night I stayed there and then I spent the next two nights dreaming about this place so I was so excited when the owner offered a night’s stay to give away to one of my readers. It’s amazing to have enjoyed my stay so much and to be able to share it with others.

The one night’s stay for two people sharing with breakfast at At The Woods is only valid from 1 May – 31 July 2014 and no flights or other extras are included. I'll be running the giveaway until the end of the year. Enter using Rafflecopter by doing any one of the following:
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Disclaimer: At The Woods is providing the free guesthouse stay to the winner of this giveaway. I fully paid for the At The Woods stay detailed in this post. 
I stayed at Maison d’Ail for the last night of my Garden Route Trip in Franschhoek and although I sampled quite a variety of guesthouses on my trip, Maison d’Ail had to have been my favourite. It was a pity that I only got to spend one night here and I would have loved to have stayed a bit longer. Maison d’Ail kindly offered to give away a night for two to my readers so they can experience why I was so blown away by the guest house. The entry to the competition is right at the end of this post. But first let me tell you more about Maison d’Ail.

I loved the name of the guesthouse before I even saw it – Maison d’Ail – House of Garlic. The owners’ names are Mr and Mrs Garlick – how cute is that!

We arrived all hot and sweaty from walking around Franschhoek at midday. I’m quite baffled by why everyone complains about Durban’s heat. The rest of South Africa is just as hot! We were welcomed into the reception area and the lady that greeted was sweet enough to see how tired I was, got someone to take our bags up to our rooms and offered me a free beverage (from their stunning kitchen) to quench my thirst.  

The first thing I did when we got to our room was pass out from travel exhaustion out so I can definitely attest to how comfy the bed was. I loved the look of the room. Everything was clean, white and crisp and the silver-grey colour scheme worked so well off that white. The view from our room was of the mountain with Franschhoek written out in white stones.




I love big bathrooms and while this wasn’t that big, it did have a huge shower – more space to dance around while singing in the shower. There were loads of things hidden in the cupboards that I did not have time to use like a bathrobe. One of the guesthouses on my Garden Route Trip didn’t even offer shower gel and shampoo and for the same price, Maison d’Ail provided us with bathrobes. There was a coffee plunger.


After my nap, I walked out the same way I came in, this time marvelling at the long light blue coloured pool. After my dip in the pool at Hermanus, this pool was just calling my name but I didn’t have time for it. For those that prefer the indoors, they have a little open library area where you can curl up on the couch and have some me-time with a book. There are also balcony areas to chill out in if you want some sun. Did I mention there’s free wifi?




I loved loved loved the kitchen and dining area. There is an inside dining area, a little couch area with a fireplace and the outside area which we settled on for breakfast. Breakfast was my favourite time at this guest house. We were spoilt with a huge buffet selection of juice, fruits, yogurt, cereal, pastries with cheeses. They were all plated ready to be taken to our table so we weren’t dishing up at the counter. I prefer hot dishes and this breakfast was your standard English breakfast but I liked the little differences – like the use of cherry tomatoes instead of a thick slice of a salad tomato.






Before we left, the owners came to say hello to us and we had a lovely conversation about our trip, Franschhoek and…um, chemical engineering.

Now that you know all about the place, here’s how you can enter. The one night’s stay with breakfast at Masion d’Ail is only valid during March and April and no flights or other extras are included in this prize. I'll be running the giveaway until Christmas. Enter using Rafflecopter by doing any one of the following:
  • Tweet “I want to win a free night’s stay at Maison d’Ail with @SandiSplash. Enter here to win http://sandisplash.blogspot.com/2013/11/giveaway-free-nights-stay-at-maison-dail.html”
  • Share this post on Facebook
  • Comment on this post by telling me what you would get up to in Franschhoek if you win
  • Like my brand new Facebook page link
a Rafflecopter giveaway

 Disclaimer: Maison d’Ail is providing the free guesthouse stay to the winner of this giveaway. I fully paid for the Maison d’Ail stay detailed in this post.