Many years ago when I first heard about a place called Beaverlac, my naive 8-year-old mild was confused? But, we don’t have beavers in South Africa? Since then I have always wanted to visit this so called Beaverlac but never got there. Whenever trips were planned, I seemed to be away at university or abroad so I missed family hiking trips to Beaverlac and its surrounds.
When the MD at my company, Hellocomputer, emailed the studio to invite us all to go on a camping trip to Beaverlac, the opportunity to actually see whether Beaverlac had anything to do with beavers or the like, landed in my lap.
It’s South Africa so obviously we don’t have beavers roaming around. The closest things to beavers in South Africa are probably the Dassies that keep an eye on Cape Town from the top of Table Mountain.
So after a last minute rush to get all our camping kit together and packing the essential provisions (braai/BBQ food, beverages and ice) into cooler boxes; my work buddy Spence and I hit the road and headed to Beaverlac to meet our colleagues and their families.
Two or so hours later, once Spence’s little champion car (aptly named Charles) navigated the dirt road and 4X4 rough terrain, we arrived at beautiful Beaverlac.
After we found the campsite and parked the car, we joined our HC campers and embraced our scenic surroundings. Bikinis on and cold beers in hand, we walked to one of the fresh water pools and enjoyed the waterfalls, sun and great company.
It was a refreshing experience to get away from the office, city and all things digital that consume our routine lives. Beaverlac has no electricity, no cellphone signal and you are not allowed to play any music or make loud noises (not even bird calls) so it’s just you and the outdoors.
When the sun set, we gathered around the camp fire, played musical chairs while chatting to colleagues and meeting their loved ones; and enjoyed a marathon braai/ BBQ where our legendary braai masters took the lead. With full tummies and another round of chilled drinks, we played an epic game of charades that went on for hours.
“Movie. Two words. One syllable. No, no, second word.”
I heard these words in the distance as I drifted off to sleep in my tent, content and tired.