Share your world Week 16

2016-04-20 | puppy1952

If you had to have your vision corrected would you rather: glasses or contacts? Or what do you use if you need to have your vision corrected?

After enjoying enjoying perfect vision for the first forty or so years of my life I thought that I would only need reading glasses when I reached a certain age. So I started with those Readers you get without prescription and was hugely irritated by having to take them on and off all day long – off to look at my class – on to write on the board – off again and then on again to look at a child’s work. Very irritating. Finally I decided to have a proper eye test and was shocked to be told I needed to wear glasses all the time! But my varifocals are fan-tas-tic – They’re coated for sun, computer and night driving and suited for near and far visionary tasks. It took me only two weeks to get used to them and after 20 years I just love them. Contacts? No way – I think they would irritate my sensitive eyes.

If you had to describe your day as a traffic sign, what would it be?

I have never thought of my day in terms of traffic signs but here is one that made me think.

When we travel in the bush we watch out carefully for the small creatures. If we’re not mindful of them the whole balance of nature can be upset. In my everyday life the dung beetles are metaphors for other things that should have right of way.

Was school easy or difficult for you? How so?

School was not the easiest time of my life, I certainly had to work hard. But it was not that bad either and mostly I enjoyed it. The most important skills I learned at school were Reading and Touch Typing. Couldn’t manage without either of those two things 🙂

Would you rather take a 1 or 2 week vacation with an organized tour or take a cruise of your choice?

Neither of these appeal to me. I have been cruising twice before and enjoyed them but I prefer a self-drive, self-guide kind of holiday. First choice – a Wildlife reserve in Africa – Kruger National Park and Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park being my favourites. But a trip to the Greek Isles, Italy and the rest of Europe is also on the bucket list.

Bonus question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?

I am grateful for my caravan and the fact that I can pick up and go on a whim (just returned from such a trip) I am also grateful that I am financially secure enough to enjoy my retirement.

The coming week could hold anything, I am looking forward to its surprises.

ADDO ELEPHANT PARK

2016-04-12 | puppy1952

Homestead B&B and Caravan Park is just a few minutes away from the Addo Elephant Park entrance gate. The site provides excellent shade and the ablutions and facilities are adequate and clean. We paid R200 per night. If you can’t get into the Addo Rest Camp this is an excellent alternative. They also have Bed and Breakfast facilities. I forgot to take photographs but rest assured it is great!
We set off for a game drive at about 3:30. What a great afternoon we had. The weather was stunning – clear skies and quite hot. It was great to see plenty of the game grazing on the hillsides and in the veld. There is no shortage of warthogs, red hartebeest, kudu and zebra. And it’s certainly the place to go if you want to see elephants.

The buffalo are fat and healthy and the favourite food of the lions

We found that most of the animals were in the South of the park and that the elephants had spread out and could be seen at most of the waterholes. In the heat of the day they were enjoying themselves in the red muddy holes along with their little friends the warthogs who seem so tiny when seen right next to these gentle giants.

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We left via the South Gate and then had a long drive back to camp but it was worth it. On the way we found a number of delightful birds.

The common but very pretty Cape Glossy Starling

Always friendly – the African Pipit

The red-faced mousebird seldom sits still long enough for a photoshoot so I was delighted to get a reasonable shot of him

And he obliged to pose with his cousin the speckled mousebird

The Southern Boubou tends to hide but he was quite conspicuous on this day

Not just a pretty face but pretty feathers too has the emerald-spotted wood-dove

A Bird of Prey that has me foxed

The evening was warm enough to sit outdoors without a jacket and we enjoyed a braai of ostrich steak and sausage.

We were up before six the next morning and in at the gate by 7. Unfortunately when you are a day visitor you may only enter at 7 so miss the early 6 o’clock opening to the game area.

It is definitely better to stay in the park as you can then easily go back to your camp for a break in the middle of a hot day. We took our breakfast break at Jack’s Picnic Site which is named after Jack the Black Rhino who was one of the first to be brought to Addo. He was kept in the enclosure which is now the picnic site. It has a security gate and well looked after, clean ablutions. The picnic areas are also secluded and shady.

Muesli and Yogurt followed by crackers and olive paste with a cup of coffee at Jack’s

Cape Robin-chat came to check us out but did not like our food.

The bokmakierie is a common resident in the park and showed himself to us quite a few times.

Such a pretty bird

Plenty of these guys in the park

And aren’t the zebra gorgeous

At lunch time we went to the Cattle Baron in the Rest Camp The food was good. I had a chicken salad with a generous amount of grilled chicken strips, greens, tomato and avo and Earl had seared chicken and Camembert with a salad which was delicious. Cost – Around R190 altogether including a glass of wine and 2 beers.

You may alight from your vehicle at certain viewpoints

But entirely at your own risk!

The warthogs are so amusing

A nice muddy bath will do the trick

And even the Dung Beetles are fascinating

Elephants love the glorious mud

The babies are adorable and so well cared for by the moms, aunts and sisters

Before lunch we came upon a traffic jam and were told that there was a lion under a tree – I managed to glimpse it but encouraged Earl to move on and come back later as all it was going to do was sleep for a few hours and it was not worth fighting for a good viewing spot.

When we returned at about 4ish we saw elephants at the nearby waterhole and quite a few cars were parked watching them. Suddenly Earl called – “There’s the lion,” and toward the elephants a lion stealthily crept.

Lions will not drink at the waterhole alongside ellies as they’re afraid of them – for good reason. She soon dropped down behind a bush and then we spotted two others. The elephants were well aware of them and some decided to leave but two remained for ages. One of the younger lions quickly came down and took a few sips and then ran off as fast as she could. We thought she might grab an unsuspecting warthog but he saw in in time and ran for his little life.

The warthog is unaware of the pending danger

But she justs wants a drink

She is the only one of the lions brave enough to sneak a sip or two while the giants ignore her.

Only when they leave do the others come down to drink

This one was the last to arrive from the opposite direction and she was wearing a collar

We left the park at about 5 and it was a short drive to camp. The evening was even hotter than the previous night so we once again sat outdoors in shorts and t-shirt. Quite a difference from our evenings at Warmwaterberg and Buffalo Bay!

We packed up to leave early this morning with the intention of a stop-over at George or Gouritz but we decided in the end to press on and arrived home at half past three. It was a good week away!

Buffelsbaai

2016-04-10 | puppy1952

On our first day at Warmwaterberg Spa we met and chatted to a couple and found that Earl and Tony were both keen fishermen and knew many of the same people! Tony and Wendy are from Gordon’s Bay and were involved in the Boat Club there. So of course the two men bonded and Wendy and I had plenty in common too!

We had planned to go on to Buffalo Bay from there and Tony and Wendy said they were going there too so we joined up with them for the next two days.

Buffalo Bay is situated in the Goukamma Marine Reserve on the N2 between George and Knysna. The campsite is almost completely surrounded by the sea and the beach is fabulous.

View from our campsite

Tony and Wendy’s Campsite

Our near neighbours

Black Oyster Catcher sunning himself on the rock

A favourite spot

When we arrived there was a stiff wind blowing and was very cold on Friday night.

The food was good and the company warm and friendly

But Saturday dawned calm and sunny and it turned out to be a gorgeous day.
We headed to Sedgefield where they have the weekly Wild Oats Farmers’ Community Market. The locally produced fresh vegetables are too tempting to resist and are a fraction of the price one would pay at the supermarket. We did not buy the organic meats, chicken and lamb and cheeses on offer but we were sorely tempted. There were plenty of bottled goodies too and we got some olives and olive pastes as well as a loaf of banting bread. All the breads were very tempting! Earlie grumbled about being on the Banting regime and complained that I was dragging him away from all the really good stuff! However, when I agreed that he could have a cake or preserve he declined.

Aren’t the carved meerkats adorable?

The Market attracts hundreds of people each week

After walking our feet off at the Farmers’Market we browsed around the Mosaic Market which had some wonderful crafty goods on offer and only bought a small jar of face cream which was guaranteed to cure all skin ailments. Yes – we’ve heard that all before haven’t we but the girl was charming and I needed some cream and it didn’t break the bank I gave in. There were many places we could have bought a takeaway breakfast but finding a place to sit was the problem so we decided to go to Nibbles cafe instead. We sat outside and had a view of the market from there too. While we waited we could see two young magicians entertain the kids with magic card tricks. They appeared to make a card move about in mid-air without touching it. No thread could be detected – quite amazing!

A mist hung over Buffalo Bay so we decided to take a drive to Knysna.

Amazing view over the lake

Bush buck wander freely around the Lake Brenton Area

The Knysna Waterfront is a must – lots to see and buy and lovely restaurants overlook the harbour

By the time we returned the mist had lifted and the day was once again bright and sunny.Earl decided to take a nap while I took a long walk on the beach and then had the most wonderful swim in the warm breakers.

The evening was cool but not as chilly as last night.

We bade farewell to our new friends at about nine and took a beautifully scenic drive towards Addo Elephant Park. The park is full so we are staying at The Homestead which is just a few minutes from the gate.

Watch this space for our Addo Adventures.

Warmwaterbergspa

2016-04-07 | puppy1952

Apologies to those who are regular readers of my blog. I have indeed got a lot to blog about but I’ve been too busy doing the things that I write about to actually sit down and do the writing! For this reason I am jumping right into the present to tell you where I am and what I am doing. I might then jump back into the past to tell you some other stories that I have in my diary but haven’t converted into a readable blog yet! On the other hand those stories might just have to be left unwritten.

We were just settling down after the family invasion to enjoy some catching up with what always needs to be done but can be shelved if you can’t be bothered to do it when out of the blue we were invited to join an off-road excursion to Kaokoland. Unfortunately it was just too short notice to get organised in time so we declined. Well that left us feeling a bit deprived so we decided to take a simpler trip to sooth our disappointment. So on the day we should have been heading for the wilder parts of Africa we set off instead to Warmwaterbergspa, near Barrydale in The Karoo. And this is where we are right now.

The Land and the Comfortvan at a view site on the Tredeaux Pass

One of the most beautiful passes in South Africa

The weather in Struisbaai was a bit on the chilly side and the wind was blowing but here we found it somewhat warmer although last night it was rather cold!

Warmwaterberg Spa is a mineral hot spring situated between Barrydale and Ladismith on Route 62 from Montagu to Oudtshoorn.
The water from the spring is 44°C at the source and has a high iron content. It is completely untreated and fresh from the artesian spring. There are two hot pools and a cold pool as well as a number of roman baths. Soaking in the hot pools is very relaxing but one has to be careful not to stay into long as it can be energy sapping too. It’s fun to swap from hot to cold a few time – very invigorating.

The pools are lovely – well maintained and emptied and cleaned every second day.

The cold pool in the foreground – the two hot pools beyond

Earlie is in the cooler of the two hot pools

The spa is set high up on the foothills of the Warmwaterberg Mountain giving panoramic views over the little Karoo, from the Langeberg to the Swartberg. We have a lovely caravan site which is visited by a variety of ‘wildlife’. Sparrows, robins, weavers, peacocks and doves know just where they are welcome and then there are the feral cats looking glossy and healthy because of the handouts they get from the guests! A giant tortoise also made an appearance.

One of the feral kittens licking his lips after a tasty titbit

Some visiting pea-fowl

The giant tortoise was not shy

This morning we paid a visit to the town of Barrydale and had breakfast at The Diesel and Crème. It’s famous for it’s decadent cheesecakes and milkshakes but we restrained ourselves and indulged in their excellent coffee instead.

Diesel and Creme is one of the novel places where shabby and old becomes chic and fun. Don’t expect comfort and style but do expect excellent service and wonderful food. It is a must go to place even if you’re just passing through Barrydale – lots to see and photograph and if you’re at that certain age you will be transported back to those memorable days when life was so much simpler.

The milkshake menu

Me soaking up the sun on a shabby chic bench

Inside we find more to feast our eyes upon

So much to look at

Most importantly – the food was good.

We also popped into Barrydale Weavers and were super-impressed. So much so that we bit the bullet and bought a rug for our home in Struisbaai!

A lot of hard work goes into weaving a wool rug.

Tomorrow we are packing up and making our way to Buffalo Bay and then too and who knows where before we head back to the tranquility of our Struisbaai home.

Struisbaai -Two Oceans Marlin Competition

2016-02-24 | puppy1952

When there is a fishing festival or event, our quiet little fishing town wakes up and shows its true colours. The Tenth Two Ocean’s Marlin Competition held here last week, ( I mentioned it briefly in a previous post) seemed doomed to failure as the weather provided only one good fishing day which was last Friday. The boats that got to the 45 mile bank were confronted with green and cold water but worked their way back to Halfway House where the water was better and managed to get a few big yellowtail and a Dorado.

Other boats fished outside of the 12 mile bank where they found shoals of small yellowfin tuna. No marlin were hooked but some were sighted.

It’s a marlin competition so no other species counts for the trophy. So when the weatherman predicted that Sunday’s conditions would be perfect, they decided to extend the competition by one day! And this is how the competition was saved with one boat catching and releasing a 90kg marlin, the only one caught, thus winning the competition!

Our harbour was graced with many beautiful boats and brought many locals and visitors down to have a look.

Some of the boats that graced our harbour

Gwaza is done for the day

I love the name of this boat!

And this one – translation – Hectic Leaks

@Work – Good name – Fun Boat

@Work’s towing vehicle – Just love it!

Black Pearl with crew on board

Le Boss coming back after a fun day at sea

And Marco Polo are the winners!

The seagulls certainly welcomed them as did our friendly stingrays who were only to happy to accept the scraps from fish cleaning that were thrown into the sea.

Waiting for a hand-out

Dozens of Cape Gulls – adults and juveniles

Fish guts are a great meal for a gull

This juvenile Kelp Gull nabs a sanck

Others want a bit too!

One of the stingrays

Suidpunt Deep Sea Angling Club were amazing hosts and each evening good food and company was provided.

A lovely braai being prepared

The amazing catering team

The prize-giving was a happy affair and there were some lovely prizes handed out.

A great new tackle box.

The winning team – Skipper – Rikus holding the trophy

Enjoying the prize-giving

Share your world Week 8 2016

2016-02-23 | puppy1952

Here are my answers to Cee’s Share Your World Week 8

What household chore do you absolutely hate doing?

Cleaning windows. I don’t mind any other household chores but somehow the cleaning of windows is too much for me – I just can’t get them clean. So I never clean them – instead I employ somebody else to do it. It’s well worth the money.

What was the last URL that you bookmarked?

It was about making a Banting Toasted sandwich – but I haven’t tried it yet! Low Carb toasted sandwich

Close your eyes. Listen to your body. What part of your body is seeking attention? What is it telling you?

My stomach is telling me that I am hungry. I’ve been busy doing household chores, made the salad and am now ready for some flash fried tuna. (Hubby is going to make it!)

Would you rather have a two-bedroom apartment in a big city of your choosing or a mansion in the country side in the state or country where you currently live?

I am happy with the house at the sea-side where I live. My caravan is also an attractive option. The mansion would require too much time doing household chores – imagine all those windows!

Bonus question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?

I am grateful for the stunning weather we’ve been having -lovely sunny days but not too hot and we’ve even had a shower or two of much needed rain. I’m making the most of the sunny days and usually have a morning and afternoon swim in the sea. Whatever the coming week has to offer I am sure I’m going to love it.

Share your World – Week 7

2016-02-18 | puppy1952

These are my answers to Cee’s Share Your World Questions

What are you a “natural” at doing?

This is a difficult one. There is nothing that I am really very good at. I throw myself into all sorts of things and enjoy them but I don’t ever reach very high levels. The one thing I do find is natural to me is relating to children.

I also find all things computer related easy to learn and I enjoy teaching others how to use their devices.

Would you prefer a one floor house or multiple levels?

When I was a child I always wanted to live in a double story house and my wish came true at age 13 and I loved the house on the mountainside that we lived in. It’s the only double story I’ve lived in and it had a view of the sea.

What was your favorite subject in school?

English and Typing. The most important and useful things I ever learnt at school was how to read and how to type. But I also enjoyed History and Accountancy.

Complete this sentence: If only the rain..

If only the rain would fall in the drought stricken areas of South Africa. It’s the worst drought we’ve had in 30 years. The crops are failing and the food prices are rising. People travelling to the worst affected areas are taking drinking water with them. Hopefully relief will come soon. In South Africa we don’t complain about rainy days – well hardly ever.

“What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?”

I am grateful for new friends made and old friends who remain good friends.

I am looking forward to whatever the new week brings – hopefully a drop in the galing south easterly wind so that the fishermen can go out and compete in the Marlin competition here in Struisbaai, Western Cape, South Africa

Some Unexpected Socialising and Outings

2016-02-17 | puppy1952

I am back in Struisbaai! I came back on Sunday afternoon and Earlie couldn’t wait till Tuesday and returned on Monday morning.

We have Andrew staying with us. He is the radio ham looking after the communications for the Marlin competition that is supposed to take place this week in Struisbaai. Unfortunately the wind is not playing fair and we have not yet had a fishing day! Maybe I will be able to blog about this later in the week when the wind drops.

My exercise programme is back on track. While in Cape Town I went to my personal trainer at least three times and he got me back into a good routine. Even with the horrid South Easter blowing I have finished my training off with a swim in the sea! I just love it but coming out this morning was not pleasant with the sand stinging my legs while trying to dry off! Swimming daily in Struisbaai is wonderful but I am usually the only one in the water in the mornings. Unlike Fish Hoek where I had made friends with the regulars. My cousin, Maria took a photo of me splashing about in False Bay.

That’s me in False Bay

Funny, Maria!

Maria has the beautifully painted toenails

On Monday night we had a surprise invitation to a birthday party. We have only met these friends once but hit it off with them immediately so it was really great to be included in Judy’s birthday celebrations. What a stunning evening it was with their very interesting friends.

Under the milkwood tree

Catching up with old friends

Happy Birthday, Judy

Judy and Martin live on a farm near Struisbaai and on the way there we were delighted to find the Denham’s Bustard and Jackal Buzzard. We also captured a rainbow over Struisbaai harbour.

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Young Jackal Buzzard

Denham’s Bustard in the long grass

On Tuesday we had lunch it was great to meet up with an old school friend and we had a wonderful fish lunch at the fish shop in Agulhas. Silly me forgot to take photographs!

Today – Wednesday – Andrew wanted to meet up with a fisherman in Gansbaai so we took a drive via the Elim Road only to find that he’d already left for Gordon’s Bay! Nevermind – we enjoyed the drive and were thrilled to find Greater and Lesser Flamingos on one of the dams. Lesser Flamingos are not seen as often as the greater so it was really cool to find them so close by.

Lesser Flamingos have maroon bills with black tips and are a bit pinker than Greater Flamingos

We enjoyed the drive and decided to stop at The Black Oystercatcher near Elim for lunch. What a stunning venue and the food, though a bit on the expensive side, was excellent. I had a salmon salad, Earl had a chicken salad and Andrew and Dave had burgers.

Sitting outdoors was ever so pleasant

We were super impressed by the Johnny Depp mosaic hanging in the restaurant

So – yes – it has been a lovely welcome back home this week. Hopefully the wind will die down and the competition prove to be successful. If not, it will still have been, for the visiting fishermen, a pleasant visit the the most southern tip of Africa.

A Cape Bird Club Outing to False Bay Ecology Park

2016-02-10 | puppy1952

Although I arrange the outings programme for The Cape Bird Club, living in Struisbaai prevents me from attending most of them. Circumstances brought me to Cape Town for a few days which became extended for another week so I was delighted to be able to attend February’s weekday outing led by my friend, Heather.

How lovely that the sun was shining and the wind not blowing too strongly. We had a group of about 12 – four in each car.

A Perfect Day for Birding

False Bay Ecology Park consists of a number of ponds which boast a variety of birdlife and at this time of the year it is good for waders. These birds are difficult to identify specially when they’re far away and there is no telescope available. However, our leader was amazing and with lots of discussion with other good birders and referring to the field guide we managed to agree on what they were. We were delighted to find greenshank, curlew, ruff, little stint, three banded plover and Kitlitz plover. Here are two of them.

Common Greenshank behind, Ruff in front.

These little stints were taken by me on another occasion

Swallows are often found near water, as are brown throated martins. We found Barn Swallows and Martins but the white-throated and striped swallows were conspicuous by their absence.

Barn Swallows

Every pond was great to see and we spent three happy hours exploring and admiring the birdlife. We got a list of 57 species and hereunder are photos of just a few.

Moorhen

Black-winged Stilt

The African Jacana shouldn’t be here but he hasn’t read the field guide.

Shelducks are infrequent visitors to FBEP – Heather’s way of remembering which one is the female? The female wears white face powder.

The graceful pelican

A zitting cisticola

FBEP is famous for its greater flamingos (in front) so but today some Lesser Flamingos (behind) joined them

Lesser flamingos have maroon bills with a black tip – juveniles have a dark bill with black tip

A flamboyance of Lesser Flamingos

Spur-winged Geese

Black-shouldered Kite

This Kittlitz Plover tried to attract us away from its chick.

The chick sat dead still and was beautifully camouflaged – we had a peep then left them in peace.

One can also find bokkies in the park – this is a grysbok

It was great meeting new people and catching up with members I know. We all had a jolly good time.

Our leader on the left

Banting’s Little Secret

2016-02-05 | puppy1952

Diet is a four-letter word and quite frankly the topic is quite tedious. However, in the recent past so many people have brought up the subject with me with the words – You’re looking so well/how do you maintain your shape/what do you eat/ etc. etc So I thought I’d write a bit about it again.

I am certainly no expert and I can’t even explain the science behind Banting (Low Carb High Fat Diet) I’m just not clever enough to remember all that I’ve read about it. All I can say is that it works for me. It is controversial and I don’t pretend to know all the pros of cons of low fat vs high fat and Low Carb vs High carb. But those who know me well, know that I have had a lifelong battle keeping my weight to within normal limits and it’s always been on the higher side of normal! I have tried every single diet known to man and all of them have worked. BUT none of them have kept my weight stable. The reason for this is because they only work while you’re on them. The minute you try to eat normally the weight comes back and you have to start from square one. Eating out and socialising is problematic unless you have an iron-strong willpower. The thing is I love socialising and eating is part of socialising. I do have willpower but I have a good appetite too. I exercise a lot and I get hungry! I don’t believe in depriving myself of the odd treat either. All my life I have had a deep affection for chocolate and use it like a drug to cheer myself up when I’m having a bad day, get frustrated or feel depressed. And believe me when you’re a teacher, chocolate on the food pyramid has an essential group all of its own.

Before reading The Real Meal Revolution I used to tell everybody that the best way to lose weight and keep it off was to eat FAT FREE. For years that was what I tried to stick to. It was relatively easy and it worked but still my weight fluctuated because I cheated too much. When I was in a good routine and ate 5 meals a day it worked. When I was stressed and rushed and not eating breakfast before school, it was not so great – I tried but I was always hungry because I had no time to eat properly!

THEN – I started to notice people who were Banting were doing really well. My daughter and son-in-law lost their (hardly noticeable) podge. Their friend invited us to dinner and told me that everything we had was Banting – I couldn’t believe it. She’d lost lots of weight too. She lent me the book and I read it with great interest.

I was chomping morning rusk, reading the book when I had an AHA moment. Just one sentence – If you don’t have any fat in your diet you will die. If you don’t have any sugar/carbs in your diet – you won’t die. All the scientific facts were read and understood but this sentence convinced me. I would try it! I threw away the rusk and started right then and there in a mountain cottage next to beautiful lake in KZN.

That was nine months ago. I have dropped 5kg and there has been no fluctuation in my weight. But that is not the important part – what’s actually kept me on it for so long is the fact that I am no longer hungry. I eat 2 meals a day and I don’t crave snacks – at all!

That’s because eating proper food satisfies you. It is the empty calorie carbohydrates that make you hungry and cause you to crave more. And Banting Food is delicious.

Tim Noakes says – it’s not for everyone. I believe if you’ve never had a problem with your health and weight, carry on doing what you’re doing. BUT if you’ve struggled, if you’re pre-diabetic, if you have ANY health issues and if you’re always hungry why not go and see your doctor and ask about the possibility of going changing to Banting. Read the book and become informed and then give it a try! It’s the best thing I ever did.