Making an Impact

Today we are in Paris, or rather, Parys.

Parys is a small town within the Vredefort Dome. Not, as I thought, a huge stadium, but the valley of the biggest impact crater in the world. Carl studied the Vredefort impact crater for his undergrad thesis, meticulously mapping the whole area and making 3D models. Carl is supposed to have had his name immortalised in the Vredefort museum as he had donated some stuff to it, but sadly the museum project appeared to have run out of funding and hadn't actually opened yet. So Miranda couldn't see her Daddy's claim to fame unfortunately!

It is difficult to tell that we were standing in an inverted 'dome' though. The area is so huge, you can barely see the edges of the impact structure. The small hills in the distance are the first ring, with others behind it forming geological ripples rolling out from the crater. We did find the tiny Parys museum, run by a very enterprising woman who knew very little about the area's geology but wanted to learn and took down as much info as she could from Carl. The museum had everything from Voortrekker costumes and potjiekos pots, to a very early contraption that made stockings, to bits of shattercone rocks from the impact. Who knows, if we come back, there may be Carl's maps on display next time!
The rest of Parys was a friendly little town, with for some reason, more than it's fair share of antique shops! I found a good coffee shop which did a 'Jozi Blend' of African coffees, and Miranda got foam off my cappuccino all round her mouth. I also finally got to try 'bunny chow' which I have been searching for since we got here. It is a spicy lamb stew with veg, but bizarrely, served up inside a hollowed out loaf of bread! Guess what? Miri liked that too - the bread at least.
By a stroke of luck, we found an absolutely brilliant place to stay. We had a bit of trouble because a place we'd looked up on what passes for mobile internet here couldn't take reservations over the phone and we had to email. We then couldn't find it, and asked in the Parys tourist office, who advised us not to stay there anyway but wouldn't say why! Instead, we took a chance and rocked up at a place called Rietpoort cottage. It was perfect! Beautifully decorated and we got the whole cottage to ourselves, but it could sleep up to seven. It was on a working farm, and in the morning we were greeted by a herd of friendly cows and the four farm dogs that accompanied us everywhere - Miranda was completely fascinated!
The weather has been gorgeous, so sunny that Miri woke up at 5.30am and refused to admit it wasn't morning since the sun was streaming into her room. We went for a hike around the rest of the farm grounds that afternoon and it was wonderful just seeing the view and appreciating the sheer amount of space there. I got my feet eaten alive by huge red ants, and I bravely carried Miri around in the sling, covered in kiddy factor 50 suncream and with her daft sun hat falling over her eyes every few minutes. She started whining every time we stopped for a rest: "keep going mum! Come on! Faster!", but by the time we got back to the cottage, she'd nodded off!
That evening, Carl did an excellent braai outside the cottage, watched by the dogs hoping for bits of wors (sausage). Miranda eventually fell asleep again watching the fire after demanding some of the potato salad. The perfect end to an amazing trip!