I have been away in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park where there is no access to cell or internet coms so have missed a few of these challenges.
Wanting something to quench your thirst, what would you drink?
I drink water or Rooibos tea.
What made you feel good this past week?
Our three daughters, one son-in-law and four grandchildren have been with us for the Easter Holidays – it feels really good to have the 10 of us together.
When you’re alone at home, do you wear shoes, socks, slippers, or go barefoot?
All of the above but mainly barefoot in summer and slippers in winter.
Would you rather live where it is always hot or always cold?
I prefer heat to cold as long as it is a dry heat. The Kgalagadi heat is bearable.
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 that my family travelled long distances safely to be with us this week. I am grateful for Daughter 2 and son-in-law’s best friends – and delighted that they were able to be here with their kids for the Easter Weekend.
Next week they will be gone so I will be a little sad but I am looking forward to getting started to finally having the plans finalised so we can begin alterations to our home.
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
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
What is your favorite word? Stunning – It is so expressive in the variety of different South African accents. I use it often!
What is your least favorite word? No. It’s so negative.
What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally? The outdoors – mountains, sea and bush.
What turns you off? Stubbornness – It’s such a block to learning, enjoying your world and moving on.
What is your favorite curse word? The South African version of ‘shit’ – Kak, pronounced Kuck. Of course I never swear!
What sound or noise do you love? The dawn chorus of birds
What sound or noise do you hate? Fire enginesirens and the tocotocotoco of the helicopters’ rotors – it usually means there’s a fire on the mountain and there’ve been just too many here this summer. Also Police sirens as then I know another crime has been committed. One hears them too often.
What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? “I’ve been known to say – “In my next life I’ll teach at a Girls’ School” – so no, No other profession comes to mind.
What profession would you not like to do? One school holiday I signed up to be a Nurse’s Aid – Definitely not something I’d like to be forever. I think nurses are amazing.
If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates? Which Game Park would you like to start at – oh and none of our creatures are endangered here.
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.
If you had a shelf for your three most special possessions (not including photos, electronic devices and things stored on them, people or animals), what would you put on it?
This is a tough one because my photographs and electronic devices are the first things that I’d grab if my house were on fire! My favourite pieces of art hang on the wall so they wouldn’t go on the shelf – I have a painting of a house that hung in my grandmother’s house that I really treasure. The artist was 11 years old when he painted it. He grew up to become a successful and very well-know artist in this country and is now about 70 years old.
Another painting was done specially for me by my Aussie friend Wendy – I love Rainbow lorikeets and she painted the most beautiful picture of them for me.
There are others – too many to mention so I’ll save them for another time. Other things I treasure are my jewellery – specially a gold and diamond necklace given to me by my darling husband. Then there are all the cards our kids have given us over the years. I keep those in a file. I have a little memory year book made for me by a class I taught a few years back – well it was organised by Ashleigh’s mum – but it has a message and a drawing from each child – and that is probably my most prized possession of all.
If you had a box labelled ‘happiness’, what would you put in it?
Lots of things make me feel happy – the view from the top of Sir Lowry’s Pass, arriving in Kruger National Park on the first day of a holiday there, plunging into the sea early on a summer morning. But I can’t put these things in a box – I would have to put photographs or a poem about them inside the box instead.
What do you want more of in your life?
Not much, actually. I have pretty much everything I’ve ever wanted. However, I would love to travel to Australia again. I’d also like to go to some places I’ve never been to before -India, USA, Italy and Holland. Also another trip to the Greek Isles wouldn’t be shunned.
Daily Life List: What do you do on an average day? Make a list of your usual activities you do each day.
Now that I’m retired I’m asked this question quite often. It’s not easy to answer as I don’t have a routine and we’re not always in the same place for long so what we do differs from week to week. But when I’m at “home” my day would go something like this.
Wake up any time between 7 and 8:30 – Check my emails and Facebook in bed – sometimes, not always. Get up and do 45 minutes of gym ( I have a space set up for this) After this run (slowly) to the beach and have a swim in the sea. This is the best part of my day.
Hubby brings my towel to the beach and drives me home. He then cooks me breakfast which we enjoy at a leisurely pace.
While he is cooking I make the sugar water solution for the birds so that we can enjoy the sugar birds, sun birds and witogies who partake of this treat while the seed eaters enjoy the seed we put out for them.
The Hoopoe doesn’t rely on us for seed or sugar water – he is a worm eater
Sugarbird at the sugar water feeder
After breakfast anything can happen. I try to do all the necessary household chores first. Monday and Thursday are my house cleaning days when the house gets a thorough doing but on other days it’s usually just the kitchen and bathroom that has a proper cleaning. Then there is washing ironing which might get done in the afternoon. (Boring I know – but it has to be done!)
We sometimes take a trip to watch birds or to shop in our nearest big town – Bredasdorp. Sometimes we’ll even take a longer drive just to explore other places in the Overberg.
The computer consumes quite a bit of time – I organise functions for The Bird Club so emails have to be sent and dates organised. Hubby does a lot of business on his computer and often yells for me to help him with this and that. I blog and check facebook. I sort out and edit photographs.
Then there’s my new hobby – crochet. I am busy on a blanket at the moment. I also read a lot.
Most afternoons I head to the beach for an afternoon swim and/or surf on my boogie board.
Then there’s shopping and dinner to be cooked.
I’ve left out socialising. We don’t have a huge circle of friends in Struisbaai but we often have people to stay. Having said that friends of ours have moved to Struisbaai now and we’ve seen quite a lot of them!
After dinner we usually watch television – we have a media player and have just finished watching the entire series of Downton Abbey which we loved. We’re now on Suits and White Collar. We seldom watch SABC television and we don’t have DSTV.
Sometimes I read before going to sleep – this includes reading Blogs.
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 great weekend we had with friends and I’m looking forward to spending this weekend in Cape Town.
What a successful South League Off-shore competition it was for Team Kiora – Earl, Gus and Karla (10) and Team Red-Head – (Sam (18) Gareth (22 and Chris (Die ou man at 31)
They all had brilliant catches but Karla was the hands-down winner! This amazing little girl who has been fishing with her dad since she was barely out of nappies caught two yellow-fin tuna 13,39kg each and two skipjack tuna, 4 Kob, 1 Santer and a red stump.
The men on Team Kiora caught a yellow-fin tuna each, Gus caught 2 skipjack and they each caught 5 Kob.
Team Red Head also did quite well with some yellowfin and red stump.
All the other teams did well too so it will be interesting to see the final results.
Kiora coming onto the trailer – Struisbaai Harbour
Karla at the weigh-in with her Yellowfin Tuna
The smaller species count heavily towards points
Quite a catch for a 10-year-old girl. She beat all the participating junior boys!
Team Red-Head – Sam (Skipper) Chris and Gareth
It was a rewarding day. But after the fun, the cleaning of the boats and fish as well as the cooking thereof must follow. Karla was exhausted but she still willing did her share of the work.
Still smiling while cleaning the fish
Totally exhausted but still prepared to fry the delicious fresh fish
Sam, Chris and Gareth ready to partake of a feast of fish
Fishermen’s Friend, Andrew who mans the shore-based radio communications joined us for Earl’s famous fried fish
It was very late when everybody finally got to bed and I can assure you nobody was up with the early sparrows chirping outside my bedroom window! We decided that cooking breakfast was not an option so instead we headed to Potpourri in Agulhas and enjoyed their delicious fare instead.
It was way cooler outside than in and what a happy brekkie it was
It was fairly windy on Wednesday so we did not expect to see many birds when we set off for a drive. And, no we didn’t have record breaking sightings but still we enjoyed ourselves
Roberts No 1 – Ostriches in the company of cattle egrets
I am always happy to see our National Bird although this time they decided to keep their distance.
Later in the day this Blue Crane posed obligingly
It was good to see a number of Steppe Buzzards on the telephone lines and also hunting in the farmlands.
This was one of many that we saw on the ground
At lunch time we stopped at a farm called Nachtwacht which has a restaurant for fine diners. As it was the middle of the week we found ourselves to be the only patrons there. Nevertheless we were served with the most beautifully prepared rack of lamb served with mash and vegetables. The service was friendly and the waiter treated us like Royalty. There was also an interesting art gallery in an old stable.
Nachtwaght Restaurant between Bredasdorp and Arniston
A fine place to dine
The rack of lamb was stunning
We found a Paradise Flycatcher in the garden
On the way home we found a troop of baboons who scarpered into the bush at our approach except for a few brave ones who obliged us with a photo shoot
This little baby felt quite safe on Mommy’s back.
When we arrived home Earl discovered that his friend, Gareth from England had arrived in Struisbaai so he invited him for supper. We cooked a chicken in the Weber and had a very pleasant evening catching up. The next morning Gareth came for breakfast before moving from his accommodation to stay with Clive who was down for the weekend.
There is a South League competition this weekend so quite a few Capetonians are here for the weekend. Friends of ours from Aba Dabi are arrived on Thursday too. Earl took Gareth around Struisbaai and Agulhas this morning and he was amazed to see how the place had grown since his last visit. In the afternoon I went for a swim and met up with Clive and Gerald – another chap from the past!
We all got together for dinner at Seagulls. What a great evening we had.
Gareth and Clive enjoying their first pre-dinner beer
Ray and Percilla
Percilla’s photo of Earl and Me
Gus, Jacqui and Karla arrived for the competition after 8 last night having been held up by all the roadworks on the way. We’d already had a lovely braai by the time the boys, Gareth, Sam and Chris arrived but they had stopped to eat at The Spur in Caledon. They’d towed Sam’s new boat down.
This morning the fishermen and one fishergirl were up before five and ready to launch at 6. Jacqui and I had a wonderful day to ourselves. We walked down to the beach for a swim then went to Potpourri for breakfast. It is now almost 4 o’clock and we have just heard the call for lines up on the radio. We will soon be invaded by the gang and hopefully it will be fish for supper tonight!
Tomorrow I will publish the photographs.
It seems a while since I’ve posted anything about Struisbaai so I thought I’d write something today and combine it with Share Your World Questions.
1. What one thing are you really glad you did yesterday?
I’m going to replace the yesterday with today!
This morning we got up later than usual. I have always been an early riser and thought during retirement that I would continue to be up with the sparrows – but not so – Sometimes I only get up after 8 o’clock! Usually, I do a bit of gym then run to the beach and have a swim before breakfast. Today we skipped the gym part, drove to the beach and had a delicious swim just after 9 o’clock before returning to an ‘Early Breakfast’ of giant black mushrooms and fried banana, tomato, bacon and eggs. “To die for doll!”
After breakfast, we walked to the harbour to see what the boats had brought in. I will never grow tired of Struisbaai Harbour! It must be the most picturesque and interesting little harbour in the Western Cape. Or maybe I’m just biased.
My Beautiful Harbour
Commercial Fishermen rowing back from their moored boat
I’m sorry I didn’t take photos of the huge yellowtail being off loaded from one of the ski-boats but believe me there were some beautiful fish. I concentrated on the commercial fishermen gutting on the slipway and throwing the guts to the stingrays and gulls.
Ready to clean the mackerel
Chatting about the catch
The birds know what’s coming
Breakfast!
The Stingray won’t be left out.
I am glad we did this today as afterwards we sat at Pelican’s Cafe and had a cup of coffee and met a couple from Cape Town and had a great chat with them. I overheard them talking about birds which is what started the conversation!
2. Are you generally focused on today or tomorrow?
Definitely I am focussed on today although I do make plans for tomorrow. But especially in my retired state, I let things happen on a daily basis! So far I’m having a fabulous day!
3. Would you want to have a guardian angel/mentor? What would they tell you right now?
I am convinced that my guardian angel works overtime on me! Why else would my life be so good and full of good things happening in it. I think she would tell me to take every opportunity that comes my way and to enjoy every minute of my life.
4. Would you rather live in a cave house or a dome house made out of glass?
I would definitely choose a cave. One of my fondest memories is staying in cave accommodation in Kagga Kamma – a private game reserve in the Cedarberg Mountains. Originally this area was home to the San people who lived in caves. Caves have cleverly been recreated using artificial rock to blend in with the surrounding mountainside. They are so cosy and it was great fun staying there.
Bonus question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?
On the mountainside of Fish Hoek which is near to where I lived in Cape Town, there were horrific fires which threatened the homes of my sister, aunt, sister-in-law and many friends. I am grateful that none of them lost their homes in spite of being evacuated or nearly evacuated (some refused to leave in order to fight the fires themselves). I am grateful to the amazing firefighters and helicopter pilots who worked so bravely to beat the fiery monster.
Next week I am looking forward to entertaining friends and fishermen who are coming up for an angling competition. It will be great to have a houseful again.
Diary of an Adventurous Retiree 