Ouma Jane’s Birthday Weekend in Nieu Bethesda

“It’s very refreshing to go away and take a break, to clear your head, and just get into something else.”

I know Peter and Imke are really looking forward to this post! Without them this weekend would not have been as amazing. Thanks guys! xxx

What is halfway between Ladybrand, Bloemfontein and PE? Not much… But, if you move the meeting point a bit more south, towards PE, there is a curious, beautiful and interesting place called Nieu Bethesda. That’s where we met for Jane’s birthday weekend.

Nieu Bethesda got its name from a biblical origin (the Bethesda pools) because it had such a strong water source. The town became a tourist attraction because of fossil discoveries, bushmen paintings, but mostly because of Helen Martin’s Owl House.

Helen Martin’s obsession to express herself through various art forms eventually turned into something people travel from far to come see. I still want to explore some of the psychological and philosophical meanings behind her creations. 

We also went to see the Kitching Fossil museum which was also very interesting! The fossils found at Nieu Bethesda aren’t dinosaur bones… they are even older than dinosaur bones! They are the bones of the ancestors of the dinosaurs. They say by understanding the earth’s history we can learn more about the present and future. 

It was really hot so between the fossils and Helen Martin’s Owl House we had to refuel at the local brewery. 

We stayed just outside of Nieu Bethesda on a sheep farm called Ganora. The old style farmhouses are very pretty and comfortable.  The staff were helpful and friendly.  

Ouma Jane taught the kids how to “gooi kleilat.” (throw mud with a stick) Some of us made some of our own ‘owl-house’ inspired sculptures from the heavy, stinky river clay. 

The sunsets and sunrises from our cottage were so beautiful! My favourite activity was the stargazing at night! 

A huge sky canvas full of stars was wrapped all around us. We saw shooting stars, aeroplanes, satellites and we think, the SpaceX’s starlink satellites. Well, Natey spotted them, but it took a while before anyone took his 3 year old excitement seriously. 

Blue cranes, ground squirrels, big tortoises, crows, horses and a lot of sheep- these animals were our welcome committee as we entered the Owl Route. Throughout the weekend we were watched by field mice, dassies, hawks, swallows and a whole lot of other birds.

On Ouma Jane’s birthday Leo took a video of all of us jumping into the pool at the same time. (It looks like I jumped after everyone but it felt to me like the same time… I’ll work on my reflexes.) 

While Pete was making his famous potjie, we played Bean-Boozled. You choose a jelly bean which can either be really yummy or really disgusting. Ouma Jane had 3 in a row really disgusting flavours. But luckily it was followed by really delicious food! 

I’m so thankful that we could have such a peaceful and fun birthday weekend together. 

“All our sweetest hours fly fastest.” – Virgil