NaBloPoMo -26 Short Story

2015-11-26 | puppy1952

It is day 26 of NaBloPoMo. For today’s post I thought I’d post a short story.

The Encyclopaedia

Darren screeches to a halt on the street outside his upmarket Clifton home. He manoeuvres the Porsche into the garage and then hops out racing through the door to greet his family. He is ravenous, having worked flat out all day and he is looking forward to a hot meal. But the only smells that meet him are the glue from the newly laid carpet and these only cause him to wheeze. There is no one in the tiny compact modern kitchen and certainly no aroma of dinner emitting from the eye-level oven! His heart sinks “She’s been too damned lazy to do anything again today,” he thinks. He climbs the stairs two at a time and finds his wife wearily dressing their two year old son, Ashley, after his reluctant bath! The baby is grizzling in his playpen. He hardly greets Lorna but takes his son into his arms eliciting an excited giggle from him.

There is a ring at the front door. Darren shouts to Lorna – “I’m starving – when do we eat?” He dashes down the stairs with Ashley perched on his shoulders and swings open the door.

A dapper young man, neatly dressed and smiling broadly greets him, “Good-evening sir. And may I say what a beautiful young son you have there. I am sure that one of your priorities is to see that he has a good start to his education?” Now that is exactly what is close to Darren’s heart. The bright young salesman has hit upon his soft spot.

“Yes,” he replies – “I do want my son to have as much stimulation from a young age – I know the importance of this and I spend a lot of time seeing that he gets it.”

“Ah, sir then these books are just what you need to give your son a head start. They will ensure that he will be ahead of the pack when he starts his formal education.” Darren invites the young man into the sitting room with its panoramic view across the Atlantic Ocean and ushers him toward a plush leather armchair. The sales talk continues and is impressive. Just what Darren wants for his infant genius. In addition to the books there is an “if you buy now you will get free” option. And music to the ears of a computer geek – a multimedia DVD, which matches the paper version. No research does Darren do on price of said encyclopaedias and similar multi-media DVDs. He is, after all, just a young dad who wants the best for his child.He has no real knowledge of what is suitable for a 2 year old. And the excitement of games, images and interactive programmes is too much for him to resist. He signs the deal and is completely taken in. As soon as the salesman, incredulous at his swift success with this charming father leaves, Darren says to his son, “Come boy, let’s see what we have here. He loads the programme onto the computer and is shows Ashley how to click the objects in the cyber-classroom and even when the boys becomes bored and slips off his lap he continues to explore the possibilities. But – suddenly – horror of the worst nightmare – the screen goes blank! Some glitch in the programme has caused his entire Hard Drive to bomb out.

Darren is shattered!. He’s simply signed a credit card – no contact number – no way of getting that weasel back. Lorna comes in to find out what the fuss is all about. She listens with a jaded look as he rants about how he’s been cheated.

“You’ll find a way to fix it soon,” she says. And knows she’s right because she’s spotted Ashley behind the chair with the P.C. plug clutched tightly in his little hand.

NaBloPoMo 25 – The story of the Proud Hoopoe

2015-11-25 | puppy1952

NaBloPoMo

Our holiday to the Eastern Cape has come to an end and sadly we bade farewell to our wonderful friends, Jim and Maureen this morning and made our way back to Struisbaai. Thanks J&M for being such amazing friends and sharing your beautiful home with us. Thanks too for the tour guiding around the area. Earl loved seeing all the boats and the birding was great too! We are so privileged to have you in our lives and we look forward to meeting up again soon.

Of course after a stay away there is the unpacking and sorting out to do back home. I am pleased to say that the caravan is cleaned and sorted and the washing is almost done!

My blog post today will be a story about a bird from our holiday.

Hoops the Hoopoe is an impressively handsome bird but even his stunning good looks don’t always get him the attention he craves from Hettie his girlfriend. He needs to find something else to impress her. Not even the Addo Park tourists are looking at him this morning because his friends Elroy and Eliza the baby elephants are making them giggle as they enjoy a lovely messy mud bath at Marion Baree waterhole. Suddenly he spies a fat, juicy worm popping its head up from its dingy hole and instinctively he nabs it with his beak. Now where is Hettie? He calls – Hoop-hoop, hoop-hoop as loudly as he can without opening his beak. Hettie does not appear but all the tourists in their cars are enthralled and he struts about proudly hoop-hooping away and even displaying his handsome crest. But where of where is Hettie – she needs to see this – I want to invite her to lunch! Then suddenly out of nowhere comes a flash of black and a cheeky Fiscal grabs the worm from the puffed up hoopoe. Poor Hoops – he’s lost the girl and the worm!

#NaBloPoMo 24 – St Francis Bay

2015-11-24 | puppy1952

NaBloPoMo

The weather in Jeffrey’s Bay is stunning. We sat on the deck to have our morning tea and there was no need for a jersey. After a delicious breakfast of fruit salad, muesli and yogurt we set off for to explore St Francis Bay which is not far from J-Bay.

St Francis Bay was first sighted in 1575 by the Portuguese seafarers who named it after the patron saint of sailors. It is a tranquil village with meandering waterways, picturesque thatched houses, abundant birdlife and miles of golden beaches.

We drove past a game farm and saw quite a few species through the electric fence and also did some birding wherever we found ourselves.

Grey Heron

At lunch time we went to a restaurant with a wonderful view of St Francis Harour but unfortunately the food did not match it. Jim had fried hake which left him feeling that he needed something to take the taste away later in the afternoon! The rest of us settled for prawn and salmon salad which was less than mediocre. To make it more interesting they could have added some avocado pear and perhaps mango. The “prawns” were tiny, deep-fried, crumbed shrimps, the taste of which indicated that they were fried in oil that was not too fresh. A rule we usually follow is not to go into a restaurant where there are no diners or where there are people sitting without food in front of them – It’s a clear indication that the food and service are bad! Such a pity because the venue was great.

St Francis Harbour

We visited an interesting shell shop at St Francis Harbour

One of the highlights of our birding today was finding a Kitlitz Plover with a chick. When Mommy saw us she sent her chick into hiding and then scurried away from the spot and drew attention to herself. We sat quietly in the car waiting and then moved a little way off to fool her that we were no longer interested in her baby. It worked and the little one appeared and we were able to get a picture or two.

Mother Kittlitz’s Plover

Don’t even think of coming near my chick!

At last the baby appeared

Kittlitz’s plovers mate for life. Their nest is a scrape in bare, dry ground, sometimes raised on mound in coarse sand or dried mud, mostly < 100 m from water. The female lays between 1 and 3 eggs but usually 2 and both male and female sit on the eggs. Today we saw only one parent and one chick.

Nearby we found another avian couple having a bath together.

White-fronted plovers enjoying a bath in a puddle

White-fronted plover

At tea-time Maureen said she had a craving for chocolate cake so we headed to a lovely bakery and sat down to coffee and the most delicious chocolate cake – well the others did – I virtuously stuck to Rooibos tea and a banting crunchie! It made up for the inferior lunch!

Coffee and Cake to end our outing

#NaBloPoMo 23 – Addo to Jeffrey’s Ba

2015-11-23 | puppy1952

NaBloPoMo

We couldn’t resist going for one last game drive before packing up this morning. I’d heard lions roaring in the night and though we just might be able to find them but that was not to be. We did, though, find two jackals at Ghwarrie Pan and I managed to persuade one to pose.

On our return Early made breakfast and then we packed up and made our way to Jeffrey’s Bay. It’s lovely to be here catching up with our friends Maureen and Jim. Maureen cooked us a delicious Roast Leg of Lamb for dinner tonight and we enjoyed the company of their friend, Errol too.

Yesterday I took some videos of the elephants and I am including them here

#NaBloPoMo 22 -Birthday Surprises

2015-11-22 | puppy1952

NaBloPoMo

How the weather can change so rapidly is a mystery to me. It was pouring at bedtime last night and I thought it would go on for a week! But this morning dawned bright and sunny with not a cloud to be see. It was, however, still a tad chilly but it warmed up to short and t-shirt temperature by midday.

We did not dash out at dawn but were on safari before 7 am.

Speckled mousebird catching the early morning rays

This common waxbill teased me by flitting from tree to tree while I tried to snap his portrait. After much begging he finally obliged. Can you see that – oh all right then – expression on his face?

This red-necked spurfowl is far friendlier and quite likes the attention of the paparazzi

We had a pleasant drive and then returned to have breakfast at Cattle Baron at 10 before setting off again.

Because it’s my birthday I was treated to breakfast in a restaurant!

Warthogs have this cute habit of kneeling down to get closer to their food.

The elephants were having fun today. At Hapoor we watched herd after herd come down to drink and play in the mud. The babies always amuse me.

P1070753

Later in the day at another waterhole, we found a small family group having a muddy bath. The two youngsters were rolling on top of each other and I could almost hear them singing – mud – glorious mud. If eared that the smaller ellie wouldn’t be able to make it out of the mire but his elders used their trunks to help him out. It was fascinating to watch.

This is fun – really, truly it is!

Do I have to get out?

Okay, I’m coming

Don’t forget my brother!

I took a video of the adults helping the baby out and will post it when I’ve worked out how.

We were looking at some creature when I suddenly became aware of a hoep hoep sound behind me. I knew that sound and turned to look and sure enough there was an African Hoopoe right beside the road. He was strutting about proudly showing off his catch – a lovely juicy worm

He kept strutting about and calling and I wondered if he was going to give it to his mate but she was nowhere to be seen.

Look what I’ve got – Aren’t I clever!

And don’t you love my gorgeous crest – I’m such a handsome boy!

Well no other hoopoe made an appearance and for several minutes he continued showing off his catch. Then all of a sudden a Common Fiscal appeared from nowhere and snatched it from his beak. Not so smart anymore Mr Hoopoe – that will teach you to be such a show-off!

Another fine bird make my day – malachite sunbird

And a glossy starling too

Buffalo are the lions favourite food and these we saw near Zuurkop lookout. We heard roaring but no sign of the predators looking for lunch.

Our drive produced many of our favourite creatures including zebra, red hartebeest, kudu,jackal and meerkat. It was four o’clock and we were making our way back to camp on the hapoor loop when up ahead we saw four cars stopped on the road. “What can you see?” asked Earl. “Lion” I said, “in the shade on the side of the road.” “No way,” he said. But soon we were able to get closer and there he was – a single male lion – definitely there to wish me Happy Birthday. He was like a great big pussy cat washing his face and paws!

We invited our German neighbours, Ruth and Klaus to join us for a braai this evening. What a lovely way to end our stay in Addo Elephant Park.

And as I write this post I can hear the lions roaring not too far away!

#NaBloPoMo 21 – A Wet Day in Addo

2015-11-21 | puppy1952

NaBloPoMo

Who would believe that we would have rain in Addo Elephant Park in November! It was so hot on our arrival day but now it is cold and wet! But this has not dampened our enjoyment of being in the bush. We are not diehards but we certainly make a plan to make things more comfortable. Thank Goodness I thought to pack some warm clothes.

It rained throughout last night and was still raining this morning so we stayed in bed a little later – no point rushing out in the cool of the day as the whole day would be cool! It let up enough to make a hearty breakfast and while Earl was preparing he had a demanding visitor.

This cheeky fork-tailed drongo asked to share our breakfast

It seems that butter is a delicacy enjoyed both by the drongo and the weavers. Before Earl could stop the drongo he’d taken off with the butter from the egg pan!

After rescuing our breakfast from the birds we sat down to eat and then set off to explore. It rained on and off the entire day!

Mr Kudu was the first to greet us

We saw elephants frequently and I will just show a few of the special ones here

King of the road was this bull leisurely strolling towards us and not given a damn about the cars. This is taken through the windscreen

Don’t worry he was really friendly

He could have put his trunk right through the window but he was more interested in eating his lunch

He uses his trunk with such skill

Of course the warthogs have the run of the park and we saw plenty of them.

We also got up close and personal with red hartebeest and zebra.

The babies are adorable

In spite of the rain the plains were full of game

The zebra were in playful mood

And quite affectionate toward each other

The birding was most rewarding – they did not seem to mind the rain.

The steppe buzzards posed beautifully

On all kinds of perches

Glossy starlings made many appearances

Two beautiful spotted thick-knees

An orange throated longclaw posed like a model

Of course he is a handsome chap!

A red-necked spurfowl showed off her chicks

The hyperactive stonechat was hard to get but finally he sat still and obliged me with a half decent photograph

The resident Jackal Buzzard shows he’s just as handsome as the visiting steppe buzzard

We exited the south gate and went to the little village of Colchester just outside the park to do a bit of shopping and had lunch at Taste of Africa – a chicken salad that lacked imagination!

We arrived back at camp at 4 o’clock. We had every intention of doing a braai for supper as the rain had stopped but by 5 it was raining again so we opted for dinner at the restaurant. Our venison hotpot was served with mash, butternut and spinach and was to die for!

Early looking surprised at the excellent food

We’re having trouble with our portable wireless devise so might not be able to do a blog post tomorrow but hopefully I’ll be able to use my phone or Earl’s tablet as a hotspot – depends on how much data is left!

But now I will be going to sleep with the sound of rain on canvas – I do so love my offroad caravan!

#NaBloPoMo 20 – Lions and more@ Addo

2015-11-20 | puppy1952

NaBloPoMo

It was the call of the fiery-necked nightjar calling loudly that woke me at a rude hour this morning. I lay listening to The Good Lord Deliver Us over and over again before reluctantly climbing out of bed and heading to the showers. Good thing too – because it was already light and gate opening was at 5:30. We made it to the gate by 5:45.

The weather was somewhat cooler but still warm enough for shorts and t-shirt but I took along a jersey for when the windows were open. Our first bird of the morning was this summer visitor from Eastern Europe

Although the steppe buzzards breeds in Eastern Europe they migrate to Southern Africa in summer arriving in October and leaving in April

Another non-breeding summer migrant is the barn swallow

These birds start arriving in September and the last ones leave in April

An intra-African migrant Lesser Striped swallow greeted us early this morning.

Lesser Striped Swallow – present in South Africa from July to March

The Southern Masked weaver is a common resident in South Africa and is not too shy to pose for a portrait. They can become quite tame and frequent campsites in the hope that they pick up a snack or two from the friendly humans.

How those vicious thorns don’t stab them I do not know.

As we drive around the reserve we frequently hear – Willie – come out and fight – scared. Or that is what the field guides tell us the Sombre bulbul is saying. But I think it sounds more like. Look out – you can’t find me – whaaaaa. But today we did find him – right out in the open too.

Another one who calls out loudly and likes to hide is the very pretty little Diderick Cuckoo. Today Earl found him trying to camouflage in the foliage.

The male cuckoo is very good looking – but he and his wife don’t raise their own chicks. The female chooses a variety of hosts including the southern masked weaver, red bishop, Cape sparrow and Cape wagtail. She lays up to 20 eggs per season so that’s a lot of surrogate mothers she has to find!

It is important to get out into the park early if you want to see predators. Lions are lazy and sleep in a shady spot most of the day. Today we found two large males at Carol’s Rest and they were just lying there – awake and just staring into the distance.

Lions Rule

Red Hartebeest, zebra and kudu were waiting, dead still, over the road on the hillside, very aware of the enemy and too scared to come down to drink.

We parked off, had breakfast and drank our coffee while we waited to see if anything would happen. Warthogs have to be the bravest and cheekiest of animals. The appeared from the other side of the waterhole so did not consult with the herbivores on the hillside. They boldly approached their kings and I wondered how the conversation went.

Please, Your Majesty, may I go down to drink?

Now let me think – I’ll check with my brother

NO! Get out of here or we’ll have you for breakfast!

The cheek of those subjects!

You would think the others would learn from the warties – but no – all of a sudden a herd of donkeys in prison clothes came racing across the road – then stood dead still in front of their sovereign.

We’re just out of jail and very thirsty – May we have a drink please sire?

Oh sure – if you want to be steak!

So they turned tail and headed back to the hill.

They have to leave some time – we’ll just have to wait!

We watched these antics for over an hour and then decided to head back to camp.

We were thrilled to find two meerkats – but only one photograph is worth posting.

Life is good in Addo Elephant Park

Jackals are usually on a mission but this one must have had a tough night as he is settling for a nap

I’m watching you – please leave me in peace.

Back at camp we decided to follow the jackals example and have a nap before going out in search of more game later in the afternoon.

It was 3 pm when we set off again and I have to eat my words about summer reaching the Eastern Cape ahead of us. A cold front sneaked up, strong winds blew and the heavens clouded over. It is calmer as I type but freezing cold! It will probably rain in the night.

Anyway this did not dampen our spirits and we had an enjoyable game drive. Surprisingly there we saw no elephants until the very end.

It was great to see a black-shouldered kite

A greater double-collared sunbird posed and sang for us.

And finally at Hapoor we found a small herd of elephants

We decided to do a small potjie over the fire for tonight’s dinner

And just to make our day a bushbuck came to visit

#NaBloPoMo 19 Garden Route to Addo

2015-11-19 | puppy1952

NaBloPoMo

Last night’s dinner was great. We went to Royal Siam a wonderful Thai Restaurant in the Milkwood Village Shopping Centre, Wilderness. Milkwood Village is centred under the beautiful protected milkwood trees and has a variety of shops and restaurants with indoor and outdoor seating. As it was a tad chilly we decided to sit indoors but the ambience was still great. The service was wonderful and we enjoyed the food – a prawn and avo salad and zebra rainbow rolls for me and sweet and sour pork for Earl.

Good cuisine in a beautiful setting

We were packed and ready to leave at a minute to six this morning. It is a beautiful part of the country to travel through and if ever you do it don’t rush past as we did today but rather stop and explore as many of the wonderful spots that you can. Knysna with its stunning lagoons and lakes is a particularly lovely place to stay.

Our friends Jim and Maureen had been at Addo for 6 days and were due to leave today so they waited for us to arrive and we had breakfast together at the restaurant. They had also saved a good caravan site for us.

All set up and ready for a 4 day sojourn

The climate in the Eastern Cape is very different to where we live. Summer has truly arrived here while back home it is a tad warmer than last month but we still need our jackets in the evenings and early mornings! Addo is hot! We are in Africa! We immediately shed our jeans and long sleeved t-shirts for short and cool tops!

Addo is an elephant park – so yes on our first drive this afternoon we saw them aplenty. But we also saw other creatures.

You’d be forgiven for thinking it was a warthog park because there are thousands of them about. Still, I just love the ugly creatures. They stick skinny, little, aerial tails straight up in the air when they run from danger, so that their kin can follow them through the bush and not get lost.

I was thrilled to get piccies of this mother and her piglets.

Leave my babies alone!

Aren’t we adorable

Only the males of the kudu antelope have horns. They begin to grow when he is between 6 and 12 months old and he usually has 2 and a half twists by the time he is six years old. Sometimes a male may get up to three twists in his horns.

A male kudu gives us a meaningful stare – he is about 2 years old

Two twists and growing!

Eland are not as commonly found in the game parks as kudu, but Addo has a fair number of them.

Both male and females have horns

Although it’s great to see the big animals, I just love the smaller ones too. This cute little yellow mongoose gave us great pleasure

He is an inquisitive creature

The yellow mongoose, is sometimes called the red meerkat. He weighs about 500g and is about 50 cm in length.

We also saw tortoises both big and small. This chap is a leopard tortoise

The leopard tortoise is the fourth largest species of tortoise in the world. The adults reach 56cm in length and weigh up to 18 kg.

I think he likes us

We found this handsome heron atop a dead tree. The black-headed heron is a large bird, standing 85 cm tall, and it has a 150 cm wingspan. It usually fishes for fish and frogs but will also hunt away from water and wait silently and still before capturing an unsuspecting small mammal or bird. He also eats large insects.

Seeking non-aquatic prey, I think.

This pretty little Karoo Scrub-robin posed nicely for us

We found these tiny goslings while watching elephants at a waterhole and I couldn’t resist snapping them. They were quite unafraid of the enormous pachyderms

Mom and Dad were close by.

We saw scores of elephants but I will just post a few here as there will be plenty more in the next few days.

The driver of this car was a tad nervous when Jumbo came right up and stared at him through the windscreen

Both the male and female African Elephant have tusks – except in Addo Elephant Park. This was due to years of interbreeding but new stock has been introduced and some of the new generation females are beginning to sport tusks again.

Note the lack of tusks in this female elephant

Stay tuned for more Addo reports over the next few days.

#NaBloPoMo 18 – Birding etc at Ebb & Flow

2015-11-18 | puppy1952

NaBloPoMo

Oh what bliss to wake up to a brilliant blue skies and sunshine this morning. The rain is desperately needed in the Western Cape and it was great to hear it during the night, but when camping, one is delighted to have some good weather.

What a pleasure to sit out, listen to the early morning chorus of birdsong and watch the activity on the river while sipping our first cuppa of the day.

A gorgeous morning

A group of young, energetic, American holidaymakers canoeing down the Touw River

A noisy Egyptian Goose greeted us hoping for a tidbit

My wonderful hubby cooked his special scrambled eggs which includes cheese, mushrooms, bacon, banana and baby tomatoes and somehow it tasted extra delicious as it was eaten alfresco.

Gourmet Breakfast at Ebb & Flow

After breakfast we did a marathon walk along the Pied Kingfisher Trail. It was 11ish and already quite hot. It’s beautiful walk not only for the birdlife but also the flora.

We also found a tortoise and a dung beetle in the path.

P1070431

Dung beetles keep the veld clean as they eat the faeces of herbivores which consists largely of undigested plant matter .

Some dung beetles roll the dung into balls and move it to their nests but others stay near the dung and feed from it there. The dung is also fed to the babies and this is why she lays her eggs in the dung. It sounds disgusting to us but not to a dung beetle!

Although the trail is called the pied kingfisher trail we did not see one. However, we saw a few other birds.

A Karoo Prinia

Levaillant’s Cisticola

Yellow bishop

Reed Cormorant catching some rays

On the last leg of our walk we met a German couple and as we were chatting a little Malachite Kingfisher appeared and we watched it catch insects in the water collected in the gutter on the side of the road.

Although we didn’t get the pied we were delighted to find a Malachite Kingfisher

All morning in camp I’d heard the Black-headed oriole but it insisted in hiding in the foliage. But this afternoon he obliged and posed beautifully for me.

Earl’s feet were hurting after our long walk and he blamed his heavy shoes. We decided to go to George to find a softer pair. After that we went to Victoria Bay and walked along the promenade.

These rocks bore plaques of remembrance possibly for people who love Victoria Bay

Signpost to everywhere

This bay is a surfers’paradise

It has been such a happy day and now we are going to pack up as much as possible the have a sushi supper in George so we can have an early night and leave for Addo at 6 am tomorrow morning. Watch this space for more!

#NABLOPOMO 17 – Garden Route National Park

2015-11-17 | puppy1952

NABLOPOMO

I was not raised in a camping/caravanning family. When I was a little girl my mother told me, “Camping is not a holiday! A holiday is a relaxing stay in a luxurious hotel where everything is done for you. Why would you want to stay in a tent or a caravan with no modern conveniences when you could be more relaxed at home!” That’s why we hardly ever went away on holiday. We couldn’t afford it! I do remember going to The Kruger National Park when I was seven and The Lakes, Wilderness when I was 13. I thoroughly enjoyed both of those holidays! There were odd weekend trips in chalets at odd venues but other than that – no we stayed at home. “After all,” my dad would say – “we live in a holiday resort – the most beautiful place in the world – why would we want to go anywhere else.” And yes – I was content to enjoy the seaside town where I grew up but just because it was the most beautiful place in the entire world didn’t mean that I didn’t want to see other places!

So when I grew up I really had the attitude that camping was not my scene until I went to deepest, darkest Africa which required a 4×4 vehicle and roof-top tent. That was my first introductions to the joys of camping in the wild and I loved it! There is something very special about being in the bush, cooking your food over an open fire and doing your ablutions in inadequate facilities – sometimes even digging a hole for the deed. It’s called ‘communing with nature.’ For a few years we did this on trips to Botswana and some parks in South Africa but then we got soft and decided that air-conditioned chalets were more comfortable – and way more expensive!

Now that we’re retired and want to travel more widely we’ve settled for the cheaper option of an off-road caravan – and I’m so glad we have because it is great! It’s not as rough as roof-top tenting and not as soft as chalets. It’s a happy medium of outdoor cooking and relaxing and sleeping in a dry comfortable bed! If you’ve been following my blogs you will know that we had a great trip to Kgalagadi earlier this year and today we set off on another caravanning trip.

We were up bright and early and left Struisbaai at 6:00 am. An old friend of Earl asked us to meet him for breakfast in Riversdale. They hadn’t seen each other for 4o years and it was great for them to catch up.

Earl and Fred catching up

Travelling the Garden Route is always a pleasure as it is so picturesque. We passed by Little Brak, Great Brak, Mossel Bay, George and finally reached Wilderness and The Garden Route National Park where we are staying at Ebb & Flow Rest Camp. What a beautiful place it is. We set up camp and then went to George to do some shopping.

We are right on the Touw river at Ebb & Flow

Our camp chairs are stored in bags and Earlie thought he’d packed two but the one turned out to be a tripod! So we went to Cape Union Mart to purchase another one. While there we spotted a few things we thought might be useful for our new camping life – like a super bright spotlight torch and electric cool box!

This cool box gives us extra fridge space

I have made some wonderful blogging friends from a many countries around the world and for their benefit I am going to describe the South African Braai. The word braai rhymes with cry. It is the shortened word Braaivleis which means roasted meat. Loosely translated it means Barbeque but a barbeque is not quite the same as a braai!

South Africans use invasive, alien wood to make a fire for their braai. Electric braais and Gas Braais are not considered proper braais. Every campsite in South Africa provides braai places and almost everybody braais when camping. Most South Africans braai at home at least once a week. You can braai almost anything and Fish Braais are quite popular if you catch your own fish. But the most common food braaid is chops and “boerewors” Boerwors is unique in South African. The word means Farmer’s Sausage. It contains 90 percent beef or a mixture of beef, lamb and pork. The other 10% is made up of spices and other ingredients. Not more than 30% of the meat content may be fat. Boerewors may not contain any “mechanically recovered” meat (meat derived through a process where meat and bone are mechanically separated). Potatoes are wrapped in tinfoil and cooked in the coals. Any vegetables can be cooked this way too. A salad also usually accompanies a braai. Some people also make cheese, tomato and onion sandwiches on a braai – so delicious.

There isn’t a South African man alive who can’t do a good braai – It is seldom the domain of the women.

Chops, Wors, Sweet potato (done in tinfoil) and Greek Salad

It was very pleasant here today and we were visited by Helmeted guineafowl.

A pretty but common bird in South Africa

The Egyptian Geese passed nonchalantly by before taking to the water

Fortunately the rain held off until the braai was done but we still managed to eat under the canopy without getting wet and afterwards everything looked clean and fresh.

Hopefully the weather will be sunny tomorrow as we have some great bird walks planned. Watch this space!

#NABLOPOMO 16 A day of Preparation

2015-11-16 | puppy1952

NABLOPOMO

I am full of excitement today. At my age I still count the sleeps till the day of departure arrives. There weren’t too many to count this time because it was a fairly last minute decision to take the caravan to Addo Elephant park – so I’ve been like a kid waiting for Christmas.

Although we’ve done a lot of travelling this year, this little trip has me just as thrilled as the past trips. I just love getting out into the bush!

We returned to Struisbaai from Cape Town yesterday after stopping at Napier for a delicious lunch. The young waitress recognised us and was very attentive. She saw the caravan and asked what our plans were. We told her that our lives now revolve around caravanning and travelling at a whim. She found that was something to envy! And it is! Anyway if ever you pass through Napier – do stop at the little restaurant at the side of the road – it is stunning. I did not feel like anything on their menu – lovely Boere kos – so she said she’d ask the chef to make me a chicken salad. Oh wow – it was fantastic

The cappuccino was good

Earlie had a burger to die for

The burger was stacked with a porcupine quill!

My chicken salad was divine – a variety of greens, avo and camembert cheese topped with kiwi fruit

When we got home I loaded the washing machine and we started packing the caravan. Today I had to sort out Earlie’s new laptop and get his email set up – I won’t go into details but I got only so far before I called the local expert. Thanks Jaapie for loading Windows Live Mail! Much easier than what I was trying to do with Microsoft!

Once that nightmare was over I could concentrate on preparing for tomorrow’s departure – I ironed our clothes, did some last minute shopping, printed the check lists and packed the last minute things into the caravan.

Our home on wheels for the next 10 days!

We leave at 7 tomorrow morning – stop at Riversdale for brekkie then onto Ebb & Flow, Wilderness for 2 nights. Then four nights in Addo Elephant Park. After that we will spend two days with our friends, Jim and Maureen in Jeffrey’s Bay!

Watch this space for our safari story.

#NABLOPOMO 15 Old Photographs Call Back The Past

2015-11-15 | puppy1952

NABLOPOMO

Hubby and I were back in Cape Town for a week. While there I delved into the deepest, darkest cupboard and hauled out the ancient photographs – nearly all black and white of course. And of course this only served to throw me nostalgically back to the past!

I have recently written about Quintella and all the amazing memories it holds but didn’t have enough photographs to enhance the story.

My aunt sent me this photograph of the house – before my time and before the garden was established. It is the ‘front’ of the house. The drive way passed the back door and so that is where everybody entered. The front door led to the front garden.

A very early photograph of Quintella – before the garden was established

Although my grandmother was the gentlest of souls and a friend to whoever crossed her path, she was a ‘lady’ and always dressed beautifully and correctly for the occasion. I never saw her looking untidy or in a pair of trousers until she was quite old and then she said it was to keep out the cold!

Granny and Atom – a very special little dog!

In the ‘olden days’ street photographer would snap one in the city, issue you with a card and for a small fee and a long wait you could claim you picture.

She dressed up to go to town - note the smart hat!

Gran always dressed smartly for a visit into the city and never left home without a hat. Looks like a great shoe shop in the background.

The picture below is of my aunt and my brother and big brother and me. We were very attached to her. She was full of fun and always ready to play with and entertain us. When I heard the news that she was leaving the country I was devastated. I couldn’t imagine the world without all of my family around me. Looking at this photo – I see a smiling, relaxed Big Brother – a slightly worried young aunt (Was she thinking about her imminent departure?) and me? Why the wide eyes and pressing closely to her side? Was I feeling neglected?

I have a feeling this photo was taken just before emigration to Australia. We are just outside the back door of Quintella

Our cousin’s father was our father’s brother but after their parents divorced their mother married my mother’s brother, Uncle To so he became their step-father so we ended up spending a great deal of time with them both at Quintella and Fish Hoek where we lived. The beach and Quintella – what an idyllic childhood we had. There was an older cousin too – but he didn’t spend as much time with us as the younger two. Note the clothes – this photograph must have been taken on the same day as the one above – OR we didn’t have any others!

The Five of Us – Tana, Me, Michael, Louis (RIP) Philip. Always together having the most amazing fun.

Of course we adjusted to the departure of our aunt. It would be 12 years before we saw her again. Her three sons were born in Oz and we only met them when they were 3,6,and 9 and instantly fell in love with them! But that is a story for another Blog – maybe.

The photograph below was sent to my grandparents to assure them that they were doing well in their new country.

Aunt and her husband soon after settling in Australia

It’s amazing how rapidly the years fly by. Soon Quintella became too much for Gran and Grandpa to manage. I was in High School when they sold up and moved to Fish Hoek where they lived happily for many more years. They had a long and happy marriage and here we are celebrating their Golden Wedding Anniversary with them.