A Milestone Birthday in the Free State : Where Else?

Hello, my small-town family.

You haven't heard from me since my lovely stay in Wakkerstroom a few weeks ago. I was hoping to maintain an air of mystery for at least a couple months, but alas, here I am again.

The reason? My milestone birthday and a hiking weekend in the spectacular Eastern Free State.

Now, before anyone panics, this is not about the ridiculously epic hikes.

You are small-town folk, not hiking folk.

That said, it would be borderline criminal for me not to share some of the photographs from the weekend.

Lasoba Guest Farm

We stayed at Lasoba Guest Farm, just outside Fouriesburg, and spent three-and-a-half days exploring this beautiful corner of South Africa on foot.

Okay, let's call it what it was - hiking.

But that's the last time I'll use the H-word. Promise.

The Impossible Task of Choosing Photos

Let me tell you something - selecting the "best" photos from a hiking trip is almost impossible.

Fortunately, I have a system. And by "system," I mean that I delete approximately 99.9% of my photographs after every hike once I've posted them.

Some might call this madness.

Others might call it efficient.

I use both terms, depending on the day.

As a result, the photos that survived this ruthless culling process were already the favourites, which made putting this post together slightly less painful.

Slightly.

Why Small Towns Keep Pulling Me Back

The older I get, the more I realise that small towns continue to provide something I struggle to define.

Peace.

Character.

Perspective.

A reminder that not everything needs to move at city speed. In fact, most things probably shouldn't.

So, to everyone emotionally invested in small towns - and to those financially invested in keeping them alive and thriving - thank you.

Places like these continue to surprise me, inspire me, and fascinate me.

More Small-Town Adventures Coming Soon

And just so you know, you'll be hearing from me again in July.

In fact, buckle up.

Because I am clearly not playing around anymore.

The air of mystery had a good run.