Catch the early morning worm, woorm, wooormmm - that's what people who go boating seem to do. At least that's what my wife and I thought when we were rudely woken at 5.30am by the sound of engines being revved to a screaming pitch.
I'm one of those happy campers who respects other people's space and tranquillity. When we go away for the weekend we try not to let the kids get up too early or make an undue noise early in the morning.
But life being life, you get others who just don't care. So we learnt one valuable thing - when visiting Loskop Dam, remember to ask for a cabin well away from the boats.
This, of course, is not the management's fault. They do ask you to be considerate and keep the noise level down after 11 at night. But mornings are another story - and from 5.30am there's this buzz of activity for approximately two hours until everyone has left to go fishing or sightseeing and everything returns to normal. But then, I guess, keen fishing folk are another breed entirely.
The Loskop Dam Aventura Resort, situated on the banks of the Olifants River and just 44km north of Middelburg, is an easy two-hour drive from Johannesburg - an ideal spot for a weekend break.
This eco resort is surrounded by the beautiful Waterberg mountain range and various nature reserves which one can view from a boat cruise in the morning or late afternoon.
As a normal family, with extremely energetic kids and not so energetic parents, we decided on the afternoon trip because of the heat of the day, and because we fancied the idea of sipping sundowners on the water. You can't beat game-viewing from a boat, relaxing with a glass of something cold in hand.
So there I was, the breeze sneaking over the bow, sitting in the shade, my feet up and my binoculars at the ready, experiencing the "Africa is hell" feeling. Even my concentration was taking a break - why not, the kids were there to do the serious spotting.
That afternoon we were lucky. Besides a variety of antelope, we saw white rhino on two occasions and several families of warthogs trotting with their tails held high. There was plenty of birdlife, including the spectacular fisheagles with their piercing calls.
We didn't see crocodile, though we were assured there were many - the reason why swimming and waterskiing in the lake is not allowed. And we were told that the ever elusive leopard had been spotted on the mountain slopes.
The resort itself has all the usual Aventura facilities to keep visitors happy - a cafeteria/takeaway, camping for tents and caravans, a convenience shop, lapa, liquor store, playpark (for little ones). And then there are the activities - tennis and volleyball courts, golf and mini golf, snooker, a large swimming pool as well as a solar-heated pool.
The pools are well situated in a large, open, well-grassed and treed area - and although the resort was fairly full, there was plenty of space.
Those with a spirit of adventure can go walking or hiking - other choice pleasures include birding and fishing - unique to the area. Then there's the game-viewing, both on land and from the water, as well as clay pigeon shooting - which takes a little getting used to.
For the truly adventurous - or crazy - there's a 60m abseiling drop onto a rubber duck floating on the dam.
Besides the camping and caravan area, accommodation consists of 34 rustic log cabins (which sleep two to four people), 28 chalets and cottages and a three-bedroom guesthouse for six.
One thing worried me: the electric fence running around the entire dam front. It was to keep the hippos and crocs away from the resort, manager Kobus Tuit told me.
He also said that to date they'd had no incidents with the fence. However, guests, especially those with small children - and this is essentially a family resort - must be aware of it.
I do have one complaint. Although there are signs around the pool recreation area saying, "No alcohol beyond this point", it seems that many adults just can't read or perhaps they really can - whatever, they blatantly ignored them. Not the right stuff really, not nice to think we're becoming a nation of law breakers even while on holiday.
* Loskop Dam Aventura Resort tel (013) 262-3075, fax (013) 262-5269 or e-mail: [email protected]