Isn't that a beautiful sight?

This area is part of the highest mountain range in South Africa, known as the uKhahlamba-Drakensberg mountain range. More specifically, this is Champagne Castle in the Central Drakensberg Mountains - now, I wasn't in my absolute favourite part of the Drakensberg mountain range, an area known as the Amphitheatre, but I was in the Drakensberg mountains... which I adore! ... and Champagne Castle is a beautiful part of the range, not to be sneezed at!!!

It is approximately 300kms from Durban, which makes it about 270kms from where my home is in South Africa. So...it was a decent 540km roundtrip for the day... but I love road trips and it was so worth it!

The most expensive thing for sale there.... a ride in this helicopter...

... but the South African Rand had just tanked (sadly) and so for us it felt pretty cheap at the time. I will never forget...the exchange rate was 20:1 to the pound sterling and we booked a helicopter flight to the top of champagne castle for £25 per person including a glass of champagne at the summit.

And this was our pilot... and was he ever a young maverick tearing through the valley👀... I could have sworn a few metres here or there and the bladetips would have grazed the walls of the narrow valley we flew through on the way backto the hotel. It was clearly his very familiar playground... an exhilerating flight, that's for sure.

The most beautiful thing at my market? Hands down....

THIS

I mean it was just pure bliss - what a view! Cheap at the price, right? It just doesn't get better than sitting back and purveying the beauty and splendour of God's incredible creation... and I could honestly have sat there all day💞

And what could we get for $10 in South Africa at that time... a round of oh my gosh do you know I can't remember... I could have sworn we ordered cocktails...but maybe it was milkshakes hahaha, from the Champagne Castle Sports Resort Pool Bar, to round off the day, that's what 😜

Aah and that is my brief sojourn through some memories that popped up while I was writing my comment on Denise's post... and so I decided to write about it!

Next week, perhaps I can actually get to a more traditional market hehe.

For Denise, it is #alwaysaflower ... for me?

I think....

#alwaysamountain💗 the mountains are my happy place, my family and friends... my rocks.~