Swings and open-air shops = fun
When you live in the bush, a town trip is a restock on supply trip, no shopping allowed as such… Home-schooling in the bush might afford a very tangible biology or geography lesson in the park/reserve but very few park visits as such. The “as such” is referred to here as very seldom. Which is why, when the local town has a festival, it is marked on the calendar and we combine a ‘school-outing’ with a bit of shopping…
The sustainable festival hosted by Pick ‘n’ Pay in Hoedspruit over the weekend afforded Joshua the opportunity to zorb in a play-pool, bungee-bounce, swing on a park-like swing, attend a theatrical production put on by local schools about white lions as well as have an educational talk about snakes! Pieter attended a Rhino Forum and I shopped and talked!
Snake education
The open-air shop stands makes shopping a pleasure – you’re outside, the people are passionate about their products and since the theme was sustainable – most of the goods for sale are good for the planet!
The food available was good and the healthy options tasted really good! Joshua particularly enjoyed the dairy-free ‘milkshake’! I found great coffee and a variety of teas – all endorsed by fair trade. We also bought fresh produce from Hlokomela, an intiative of the Hoedspruit training trust that seeks to contribute to the reduction of HIV prevalence and the impact of AIDS among commercial farm workers and their families through an integrated programme of prevention, treatment and care.
The bottom line is that it was wonderful to see so many people wanting to make a difference in what we buy, use or produce so that it benefits our environment and we left having loads of fun and encouraged in our quest to do our part for nature conservation.
School children recite poems
The play that kept adults & children enteratined!
Kids at play
running on water ~ sort of
