Out on a limb

2017-07-29 | puppy1952

This week’s Stream of Consciousness prompt is Limb

This immediately brings to mind the idiom “to go out on a limb” which means being in a dangerous or unrecommended position when making a decision to do something. I have often found myself out on a limb. While on that limb I have not felt I shouldnt be there at all. It’s only when the situation is over and I look at it with 20/20 hindsight that I doubt my sanity and say to myself, “What the hell were you thinking! What sane person would do what you’ve just done?” For example when Hubby announced that Number 1 daughter was having a hard time in her marriage I said – bring her on home – along with 2 tiny babies aged 18 months and 4 months respectively. Crazy – it was an insane time – the kids were hyperactive, Mom in no position to cope, I was working full time in a demanding teaching post – at the peak of my career and loving it and now I had to return to working Mom/Gran status. Yet I told everyone how great it was to have the privilege of helping our daughter raise her kids. I hardly noticed the exhaustion, the stress and the drama of fighting an extremely tricky custody case in court. When said case was won, I retreated from the limb and felt an incredible lightness and only then realised what we’d been through. But that was not the end – we continued to help raise the boys until they were 17 and 18 years old. When they were 4 and 5 I gave up my job and only took relief positions until they were 12 and 13. Why hadn’t I stopped earlier? – the pressure was off and I had time to devote to helping them through primary school – both were ADHD and dyslexic. During that time we went out on other limbs for other reasons and for other people and only faced the consequences afterwards. Sometimes we fell off and were hurt but we always picked ourselves up, dusted ourselves off and went straight out onto another limb. This happened when making decisions about our lives, helping out friends or complete strangers and never did we hesitate to think – what will happen if this doesn’t work out?

Gran with her boys in 2000 -Jay 3, Josh 2

Gran and her boys in 2015 Jay 18 Josh 17

Then one day we chopped down the tree, left the family home and retired to to our holiday home 230km away. Omiword – the hindsight – I read diaries I kept and exclaim to my husband – Why the hell did we do that! Were we quite mad! At a time in our lives when we should have been winding down and indulging our own needs we started over with a fresh new family and continued to live life at full speed ahead. And we don’t regret a minute of it. We survived and so did our kids and friends. But now! Now we’re doing our own thing. Now we’ve found a new tree with different limbs to go out on. Now the limbs are half as dangerous and purely for our own fun. We will continue to go out on them until they break with the weight of us and we simply can’t any more.

#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!

Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park – Saffies and Aussies on Safari – Day 23 and 24

2015-07-15 | puppy1952

24 June 2015 Bitterpan

We hear lions this morning but none appear at the waterhole. We cook breakfast, chat to our neighbours and exchange details then leave for Twee Rivieren.
It is another roller coaster ride over the dunes and the scenery is great. We then take the dune road toward the Nossob – Twee Rivieren road but we have only a few sightings.

Affectionate jackals

A secretary bird

Big herds of Springbok

Ostriches descending rapidly from the ridge of a dune

Gemsbok at a waterhole

It is our grandson, Jay’s eighteenth birthday today. We have had no internet or cell phone coms so are delighted to be able to ring him when we get to Twee Rivieren – the only camp where such luxuries are available.

Happy Birthday, my boy – What’s that you say – You’ve been selected for Western Province Fishing?

Doesn’t Earlybird look cute with my pink iphone on his ear? The exciting news of Jay being selected for Western Province delights him. Watch out Shelly Beach – Here comes Jay!

We spend the afternoon relaxing and have a braai for dinner.

25 June 2015 Twee Rivieren

We set off early and are the first car in the queue. I tell Earlybird he is making a mistake choosing the Mata Mata road as it was very quiet in March and we had had all our good sightings on the Nossob road.

“The fact that we saw nothing yesterday,” I said, “is because it was the wrong time of day.”
I don’t like travelling at 40 km/hr. It is too fast in a game reserve. As we whiz by I see something right on the side of the road and yell, “Stop – lion!”

Earlybird sees it at the same time a skids to a halt. We’ve almost passed a pride of 8. The two males are proudly watching their cubs while the moms cross over to the other side of the road.

We are the only car for half an hour – nobody else comes while we’re there. We move on and alert several others as we pass them. It’s fun to see their bored expressions change when they realise that good a sighting is coming up soon!
Lions are not the only exciting things to see in a game reserve. We are very excited at our next observation.

There was a whole family of these cute little meerkats

There was a whole family of meerkats – on the wrong side of the road for good light – and this chap was taking his guard duty very seriously

Gemsbok having a confrontation

Erich’s favourite surveying the world from the top of a dune

Male and female yellow canaries singing sweetly

Marico Flycatcher looking dapper

It was interesting to see this little steenbok digging for roots with its front hooves

I have to take back my words about this being the wrong road to take today – because in addition to our lions and other creatures we have three cheetah sightings

After we have breakfast at Kamqua picnic site we drive on a bit further toward Mata Mata and find some cars parked. They tell us we’ve missed three cheetahs trying to get lunch. Then we see them!

We follow them as they make their way through the bush.

We think they may try to hunt again but instead they lie down under a tree and so we leave them in peace.

Soon after this we spot another cheetah, on her own, sitting up on the ridge. She then walks along the ridge and disappears down the other side.

As we travel on Earlybird stops and says – Look at that gemsbok – We look and see his is standing stock still and staring up onto the dune ridge. We scan with our binoculars and after a few minutes I spot her.

She starts to move towards the springbok and gemsbok. They all move away and the springbok cross to the other side of the road.

We drive up the hill toward Killie Krankie to get a better view. She is patient and does not move for ages.

Eventually we leave as all the animals are aware of her and she won’t hunt today.

As we travel back to TR cars stop us to say they have seen the lions but when we get back to the spot they are no longer there. What a fabulous last day we have had.

Namibia – Saffies and Aussies on Safari – Day 12

2015-07-09 | puppy1952

Saturday 13 June 2015 Halali to Okaukuejo

By 7:00 a.m. we go off to have our last breakfast at Halali.

Earl forgets to refuel so we can’t take the long route to Okaukuejo. We stop at a few waterholes but as we get nearer and nearer to Okaukeujo it became drier and drier.

Still we enjoy what we see, the highlight being a honey badger in its natural habitat and not scrounging in dustbins for tourists’ left-overs.

A nice mix of creatures

He is too quick for a good photograph

Honey Badgers are tenacious little creatures with little fear. They will stand up to lion should there be a confrontation. Their hide is tough and unpalatable to most predators.

We check in at reception at 9:00 but of course our rooms are not ready. However, we get our numbers and take a look at what facilities they have to offer. We are pleased to see there is a braai. So before going for a drive we shop for supplies. Luckily this shop is better stocked than the previous two camps. We get fresh tomatoes, lettuce, peppers, potatoes and onions. The meat on offer is ‘game’ but no mention of which animal. It looks good so we buy fillets and steaks and some sausage. We also indulge in an ice-cream treat, stow the goodies in the car fridge and set off for a our drive.

Okaukuejo

Male kudu with his females

Shy Steenbok

This jackal was hiding away to take a nap

We return at 12:00 but the rooms will not be ready till 14:00 So we have a drink next to the pool. Erich and Earl climb the tower and then come back to tell us that they’ve spotted elephants and would we like to go for a short drive to find them. Of course we do – and we find them.

They are heading toward the camp waterhole and so we race back and sit there and wait. A springbok stands stock still staring into the distance and Wendy says, – I think he senses the ellies. Sure enough they appear at that moment, come down to drink and play and it is fun to watch.

Here comes the matriarch

We then check into our chalets

For the record: Bush chalets are either two bedroom (4 beds) and one bathroom or one bedroom (two beds) one bathroom at Etosha. Halali and Okaukuejo have braai facilities. Halali provides crockery and cutlery – Okaukuejo does not. There is no stove or hot plate. There is a fridge in each unit. There is a kitchen with sink, kettle, cups and saucers and tea, coffee, sugar provided. Work space is limited. You need to bring your own pots, pans, chopping boards, braai kit etc.

Comfortable bedroom

Basic Bathroom

Small open plan kitchen/sitting room

Basically equipped with fridge and sink

While I am waiting to get my keys from reception there is a man ahead of me in the queue. He asks if there is DSTV. “No sir, – no wifi – no TV – We have a waterhole with live animals”

“Oh no – I want to watch the rugby”

“The springboks are here,” I joke.

He is not amused.

We relax for the rest of the afternoon visiting the pool and the water hole and enjoy a great braai for supper.

Caravanning in the Kgalagadi Twee Rivieren Tuesday 31 March 2015

2015-04-22 | puppy1952

Today is our last full day in the park. We are up at the usual early hour of 5:15 and ready to leave by 6:15. From tomorrow gate opening time moves to 7:00 am.

It is still overcast but the air temperature is warm. We take the Rooiputs Road. Just before Rooiputs Jim and Maureen stop ahead of us. I look to the right and spot one cheetah, then Earl says there is one in the tree – then a second one jumps down from the tree. We watch the three cheetah play and roll and generally get going for the morning. Soon other cars gather and we all jostle for position while watching what the cheetahs will do. Eventually they make their way to the ridge and disappear.

At 7:15 we find a tawny eagle that is very photographable. There is a Lanner in the same tree.

At quarter to eight we find the same two male lions we saw yesterday. They are fat and lazy and do very little but sleep. We wonder where the females are and Earl finds them on a distant dune but they do not make a proper appearance. After watching the more wakeful male do his ablutions we move on as the loo is calling.

At Melkvlei we have a brief loo break then move on to see if we can find the other cheetahs but don’t have any luck so we return to Melkvlei for breakfast.

Later we find one of the males on the move. We hear the first one had already gone over the ridge.

We then make our way back to Twee Rivieren stopping to enjoy the smaller things.

Back at camp, I do the laundry and make sandwiches for lunch. The Pearl Spotted owl is back in our tree and while photographing him I find a brubru as well. Earl takes a nap and I wander around camp to do some birding. When he wakes he joins me. We then go for a short drive to find more birds. We do find a Brant’s Whistling Rat!

Brubru

Groundscraper Thrush

Ground Squirrel emerging from his hole

Brant’s Whistling Rat

Secretary Bird on top of tree

Scaly Feathered Finch

For supper Maureen makes a delicious lamb chop curry. We turn in at 9. Tomorrow we will wake a little later, pack up and leave KTP at about 9.

Caravanning in the Kgalagadi – Nossob Wednesday 18 March 2015

2015-04-10 | puppy1952

We wake to a calm and pleasant morning. But there is desert sand everywhere! Maureen and I head for the showers at the same time and decide to deal with clean up after our morning game drive when it is light enough to see. The showers are cold again this morning and as the temperature of the day is cooler I don’t feel as tolerant about the cold water as I did yesterday!

We head North on our drive and see very little. There is a family of three jackal that amuse us and watching the Lanners chase doves at the waterholes is always fun.

They are up to something

Annoying a bateleur

Earl has a tummy ache and we decide to return to camp. At 9:30 I give Earl a Myprodol. An hour later the pain is gone! It It just 10:40 when we get back to Nossob and the delivery truck has arrived. However, very little produce is delivered. We buy water, ice a packet of tomatoes, bread and some canned foods. I spend the next hour or so cleaning up the sand and wiping down the caravan. Fortunately there is no damage. We set up the side wall of the canopy and all is well again.

Maureen and Jim arrive an hour later and I take all the dishes from last night to wash. I boil some eggs and make and add them to our left over salad which we all have for lunch along with some canned fish and 3 bean salad that Maureen produces.

After lunch Maureen and I both have a bit of washing to do and to of course the lunch dishes are done before we go to the pool for a swim. Earl has a nap and feels much better afterwards.

We go for our afternoon drive at 4:30 taking the South Road and Marie se Draai. We stop to watch a PCG catch and devour a mouse.

On the way back on the Nossob road we see a traffic jam caused by 18 lions lying asleep all the way across the road. We decide to turn around and go back via Marie se Draai.

Supper is a delicious Chicken and vegetable stew cooked by Maureen. Stormy weather threatens and there is a spit and a spot of rain but nothing soaking. We photograph a lovely rainbow and pray that more rain will fall. The wind is blowing but not as violently as yesterday. We watch the lightening for a while and then decide to turn in early.

Caravanning in The Kgalagadi – Wednesday 11 March 2015

2015-04-03 | puppy1952

We have still not learned to keep up with Jim but we have improved. Maureen is second in the queue, a chap named Des – a hardened bush whacker who has to be out first – has been waiting since 5:45! I am third! We chat with Des and he says it is vital to get to the waterholes as early as possible and that if something exciting is going to happen it must be right next to the road or it won’t be worth watching! But we are still torn between wanting to see the cats and wanting to enjoy the early morning birdlife!

It is already 23 C and rising. The first animal of the day is a Black-backed jackal.

By 7:10 we’ve spotted Gemsbok, Springbok, Kori Bustard Giraffe and Tawny Eagle.

Our first proper stop is at 13^th Waterhole where there is quite a bit of action. A jackal is drinking and so is a large tortoise.

Black-backed Jackal taking an early morning drink.

The birds – Namaqua doves, red-headed finches, lark-like buntings, grey-backed sparrow-larks, yellow canaries, Cape sparrows and laughing doves are flying down is flocks grabbing a drink and flying up into the trees again. The juvenile Gabar and a Lanner are there swooping down on the hunt. We see the Gabar take a lark-like bunting and settle in the tree to enjoy it!

Larklike buntings taking refuge in the trees

Juvenile Gabar with prey

We then head to the breakfast spot – Kamqua – and find a good table under a tree but the shade hasn’t reached it yet so Jim uses his canopy which works perfectly. This time we decide to have muesli and yogurt.

We then head toward Montrose Waterhole find very little so turn around and come back. We find a hyena lying in the shade on the side of the road.

He gives us a look that says “Hey – what are you looking at?”

Just let me sleep!

As we continue I yell STOP Go Back, I’ve seen a White-faced Owl. Earl reverses and sure enough there among the foliage is the bird I’ve been looking for in camp! Soon after this we find 4 spotted dikkop.

There were supposed to be a pair of these in camp but we never found them

One of the four spotted dikkops we saw

At Dalkeith a lovely family of ostriches runs away from us.

We watch a Namaqua Sandgrouse take drink

And a grey headed sparrow goes rock jumping

A car stops to tell us there is a lion at Craig Lockhart and when we get there we look toward the waterhole and see nothing. The chap in the car parked next to the big tree that dominates the site points next to us and there in all his glory sits a big male lion!

No peace from the tourists

Please go away

I wonder what Human tastes like

I have very sharp teeth

Half an hour later we find 4 cheetahs resting under a shady tree. We return to camp after a cursory glance at some beautiful giraffe and then return to the cheetahs later in the afternoon. They wake up and mover around and we hope to see them hunt but all too soon it is time to go back to camp so we don’t have that privilege.

Caravanning in the Kgalagadi – Mata Mata Tuesday 10 March

2015-04-03 | puppy1952

I wake up from a comfortable night in my comfort van with the usual feeling of excitement and anticipation when I’m in a wildlife park. We are up at 5:15 and get ourselves ready for our first trip around Mata Mata. It is already quite warm and the air is dry, dry, dry. We are still drinking coffee when Maureen and Jim say they’re heading for the gate and will see us on the road. Wow – travelling companions who are ready before us – that’s a first! We take our coffee in the car and chase after them. In the Kgalagadi you have to check in and out before leaving camp. Gate opening time is 6:30 and it is quarter past six now. Maureen is number 2 in the queue. I am number 4. It takes a while for the guy on duty to meticulously write down time of departure and whether you’re on a game drive or leaving the camp/park and he only starts at 6:30 on the dot! So it is a while before we actually get going. By the time I’m through Maureen and Jim are long gone. It is our practice to take it very slowly in the park and to stop for every bird and tiny creature. After today we learn – get to the waterholes as early as possible and don’t dawdle or you will miss the sightings as we do today! When we finally catch up with J&M they tell us that Lions came down to drink at 13^th Water Hole and they had 9 cubs with them! They also went as far as Achterlonie and the spot where we’d seen our leopard and there they found lions eating its kill! When we go to the spot a little later the lions have left the scene. They have not left much of the leopard’s kill.

The lions left this for the poor leopard

Oh dear! But we do enjoy our bird watching. We stop to admire Pale Chanting Goshawk, Secretary Birds, Familiar Chats, Sociable Weavers with the condominium nests, ant eating chats, Namaqua Doves, Lark-like Buntings, Grey-backed sparrow-larks, Marico Fly-catcher and swallow-tailed bee-eater among many others.

A typical Kgalagadi Scene - Dalkeith Watherhole

A typical Kgalagadi Scene – Thirteenth Watherhole

Red-backed shrike

Tawny Eagle

White-backed Vultures

Pale Chanting Goshawk

Lark-like buntings and female red-headed finch

Red-headed finch

We also see wildebeest, giraffe and the ever present springbok and Gemsbok. Jackal are also commonly seen and as it is our first full day in the park we stop to photograph them of course. J&M. While waiting for them we are told by other tourists that there are Cheetah lying under a tree a short way off so we head out to look at them. They are quite far from the road under a shady tree so photography is not great. However, we enjoy them for a bit before returning to meet up with the Gibsons.

The picnic site is busy and all the shady spots are taken but no problem – Jim has a canopy on his bakkie and we cook in the shade of a tree and have our chairs so between us we have enough shade. The Gibsons are surprised that we cook eggs and bacon while they settle for cereal! They decline our offer to share brekkie.

After breakfast we follow Jim and Maureen and find lions and later a cheetah with a kill. So all is not lost today!

We also find lions lying about in the shade of the trees – it is really hot.

Today we have a long day out and only return to camp at 4:00 pm. Our campsite is big and shady and we enjoy watching the birds and the ground squirrels who try to beg food from us. We are on the perimeter and a water hole is not far off. We hope to see game come down to drink before dark but only the odd springbok appears.

I cook Risotto for supper and we turn in early.

Caravanning in the Kgalagadi – Veldrift to Molopo Lodge to Mata Mata

2015-04-02 | puppy1952

We survive our first weekend in the caravan. Prior to this It has been a week of stressing, faffing and fussing to get everything ready for a month long trip away in the Kgalagadi. Isn’t it amazing what people will do for fun? Here we were in a large home with everything that opens and shuts, electricity, hot and cold running water, air-con – the list goes on – and what do we do? We swap it for a tiny hut on wheels. I think this is going to be so much fun! But I think my darling husband anticipates every hiccup and tries to squash our familiar life-style into this small abode. Not gonna happen honey – we have to be prepared for the odd discomfort – and don’t panic – I will survive!

Sunday 8 and Monday 9 March

We are wide away just before 4 am on Sunday morning – the noise of the Sishon Saldana iron ore train being our alarm clock! There is no point going back to sleep for 15 minutes so we rise and get ready to leave. The biggest hassle is getting the roof folded down – there must be a knack that we haven’t mastered yet – but with only a minimum of grumpiness and a few giggles we finally did it. By 5:00 am were are on the road in beautiful weather and only a few stop goes to negotiate.

It is a 950 km journey to our overnight stop Mopolo. I love driving through the Karoo. It has a stark beauty all of its own but the roads can be long and straight with little change in the scenery. But I just love the muted green-grey and orange-khaki colours, the low scrub and mauve, flat-topped mountains and koppies that resemble crusty loaves of bread or Christmas cakes.

We stop at Vanrynsdorp to refuel and take-away toasted sandwiches and coffee. I am impressed with the pristine state of the loos and the quality of the coffee! The staff are gentle and friendly too.

We arrive at Molopo Lodge at 3:30 and decide to check into a chalet as there are no campers in the camp site. Also it’s been a long, hot drive and we don’t feel like battling to set up the caravan for just one night. What bliss to get a chalet with a plunge pool right in front. We spend a couple of hours in the pool and watch the many birds flitting about in the tropical garden. This place is like an oasis in the middle of the dessert. In the evening we go to the restaurant. The service is shocking – the waitress doesn’t know what Dry White wine is and brings a sickly sweet glass of something awful. We send it back and order a bottle of Durbanville Hills sauvignon blanc. I have a couple of glasses and take the rest with me. However, the Gemsbok steaks are really good and are accompanied by beautifully prepared vegetables and chips.

The plunge pool

White-backed mousebird

Red-eyed bulbul

Looking toward the Lodge Pool

Monday 9 March

The hot water doesn’t work in the chalet but as it is very hot we are not too fussed about it. We are up at 6:00 and ready to leave by 6:45, pay our bill and ask for the ice bricks we asked them to freeze for us. But they are not frozen. Clearly they were put in the fridge and did not see the inside of a freezer at all! Oh well!

We arrive at Twee Rivieren at 8:30, check in and pay the balances we owe and then check in at the Botswana side too. Maureen has already paid for us here but the receptionist insists we fill in the register too. We decide to breakfast at the restaurant – our last bit of luxury for the next three weeks.

We have over 100km to travel and the first 15 takes 3 hours as we tend to stop for all the birds and little things too!

The Kalahari Sky

The Pale Chanting Goshawk is very common in the park

Most of the flycatchers we see are Marico Flycatcher

A familiar bird is the Familiar Chat!

Here he is with a kill!

Before taking the Mata Mata Road we detour to Samevloeiing Waterhole which is very rewarding.

Namaqua Sandgrouse

Sociable Weavers and Red-headed finches

A jackal slakes his thirst

The signature animal of the park – Gemsbok (Oryx)

En route we find a lanner falcon in a tree

Lanner

What a delight to find the Northern Black Korhaan

This cross little chap is a scaly-feathered finch

Kgalagadi is famous for the swallow-tailed bee-eater

Here we are at Agterlonie Picnic Site

Soon after leaving the picnic site we find a car with its occupant staring into the bush. I look into the tree and say – He’s looking at a leopard’s kill

In the “pan-tree” springbok for lunch.

And then we see him – on the ground but well hidden. Imagine our first cat of the trip – a leopard!

Leopard resting up after making a kill

We see a whole pool of secretary birds at Montrose waterhole. Here is one of them.

Secretary Bird

The main diet of the predators is springbok and there are plenty of them

Taking shelter from the sun

Giraffe

The cutest creatures reside here – Ground Squirrel

We arrive at Mata Mata at 16:00, check in at reception and are told we have to find the campsite as none are allocated in advance. We find Jim and Maureen easily – fortunately they are not out! In no time we set up the caravan – Jim lends a hand and gives some good advice. Maureen kindly offers to cook the meal for all of us this evening and I will repay the favour tomorrow. Her chili con carne is to die for!

Our camp at Mata Mata – Jim and Maureen have an Jurgen’s Xcape on the right – we have the Imagine Comfort Van on the left

Retiring Adventurously – Getting used to all this free time!

2015-02-22 | puppy1952

Back to the question of “What do you do all day now that you’re retired?” I could answer that fairly easily in the past few weeks as I have been busy tying up things to do with Bird Club, the Caravan and the house. Earl is hyperactive and makes sure he has one project or another on the go and so doing things together has taken a bit of a back seat for now. He did comment that I was spending too much time reading and indulging in other useless occupations so I said “I could get some relief work at one of the schools.” which sent him into a panic and shut him up completely. While I was teaching he was doing all the shopping and cooking but I have reclaimed those duties and even bring him cups of tea and snacks while he industriously labours on the boat he has been commissioned to fit out. Once this is done there is no knowing what he will take on next. I am of course most grateful to him for taking on these jobs as it does add to the ‘not so full anymore’ coffers! And I am a lady used to her little luxuries.

On Thursday we were both up bright and early – Earl to go fishing and I to join a midweek bird club outing! The venue was one of my favourite spots – The False Bay Ecology Park – which Earl and I often visit on our own- but to go with other like-minded friends and an expert guide makes it extra special.

Dave, our leader explained the importance of this birding area

The False Bay Ecology Park’s man-made wetland system is amongst one of the top five bird watching areas in Southern Africa. It is an IBA (Important Birding Area) because of the number of species that it attracts. Many birds from across the seas use it as a stop off spot or destination as they traverse the world’s migratory flight paths. One hundred and sixty eight species of bird have been recorded in the park. Seventy-six of these are freshwater wetland species. Eighteen are are coastal species that visit the area to roost or breed.

Checking out one of the ponds with binoculars

The stilt is a common resident.

We delighted to find a grey-headed gull among the usual Hartlaub’s gulls

There were many swift terns fraternising with the gulls too

In the shallow waters we found a wood sandpiper

And there were plenty of stints in the water and in the air

The barn swallows visit us every year

It is truly a beautiful spot right here on our doorstep

For us here in the Deep South, it is an adventure just to go ‘over the mountain’ for any kind of excursion or outing. Visiting the V&A Waterfront is as good as going to a foreign city. And heading to the theatre in the very cosmopolitan Camps Bay is just as much fun. On Thursday night we went to Theatre on the Bay with Heather and Peter and were wonderfully entertained by Pieter-Dirk Uys. He has been presenting satire since the sixties and is still as amazing as ever. This show was called ‘An Audience with Pieter-Dirk Eish’ On the stage were rows of numbered boxes – reminiscent of the old Pick a Box radio show of the sixties – Various members of the audience were invited to pick a number and then Pieter Dirk dressed up in the contents and did one of his famous characters. My personal favourite is Nowell Fine – a Kugel from Constantia one of the first he ever created. She is older now but still has Dora her maid who has her own car in which she takes the grandchildren out for dinner. No more cooking for her! We were in fits of laughter watching Uys take on one persona after another and perform them perfectly! If you live here in Cape Town I highly recommend you attend the show.

So nothing too adventurous happened this week. We ended it with a lovely family steak braai and we shall see what next week brings!

Grandpa doing what he does best

Retiring Adventurously – Downtimes and Uptimes

2015-02-16 | puppy1952

I don’t do sick and I don’t do old. Give me a crying baby or a mischievous child or even a whole crowd of them and I will cope with the greatest of ease. I say I don’t do the former but that’s not quite true – of course I will deal with whatever I have to at any particular moment – but it’s way out of my comfort zone. So when the beloved awoke with a shivering fever and a rebellious tummy on Monday morning I was not well pleased. There was no escaping to the classroom with the words take yourself off to the doctor and drink plenty of fluids. Just as well because there was no way he was going to cope with this one on his own. I was all dressed and ready for gym but had to abandon that plan and drive the invalid shaking almost to convulsions to the doctors – why don’t they do house calls anymore? He was hurriedly ushered into a treatment room where he lay in his gown wrapped in a blue blanket which he insisted I tuck firmly under his freezing feet. It was a hot day but he was shivering as if he were at the South Pole. I feel so helpless in these situations. My ministrations limited as they are seem not to help and all I can do is just stand there and wait for the worst. The young doctor – they get younger as I get older- I’m sure this one was still in his teens – came in after what seemed hours but was only 10 minutes. After asking all the right questions and pressing in all the right places he put Earl on a drip and instructed him to lie there for the next hour. It was 9 o’clock. “I’ll just make it to gym then,” I said “I’ll pick you up when I’m done?” “Don’t leave me,” he wailed. So that put paid to that escape plan.
Much to my relief the drip worked and the shivering stopped and my ailing man fell asleep. I sat ‘monitoring’ him while checking Facebook and emails on my iPhone. I’m a woman I can multitask!
The hour dragged by and then he was released with a script for a pharmacy of drugs. I made sure he was comfortable, showered and changed – I had to get out of my gym clothes – then headed to the mall to get the script filled out. Then back to the invalid, dosed him with 4 different drugs, made sure he was comfortable and asleep then escaped to have tea with Carol. He was much better on my return but still slept most of the day and all that night. On Tuesday he got up for part of the day, did some things that needed doing then collapsed into bed exhausted and wondered why! I am pleased to report that by Wednesday all was back to normal!

On Tuesday I was up before the crack of dawn and out of the house before 6:00 am. My destination? – Home Affairs. I was determined to be in the front of the queue as I had to get a new I.D. Document – the old one went Awol somewhere between the Vodocom Shop at our local mall and The Kruger National Park in June last year. My passport although valid gives problems at border posts by refusing to scan. It happened in Australia and then again in Namibia so I thought it best if I was to be crossing African borders to get a new one in order to avoid delays and an excuse to arrest me! Home Affairs is notorious for its long queues and it is not uncommon to spent an entire day waiting to be processed. Their offices open at 7:30 am and I arrived at Maynard Mall parking at 6:20 am delighted that I would be very near the front. But oh no – the parking was closed – and I was fourth in that queue. There was much hooting and tooting until somebody came to explain that the rules had changed. The parking garage and the mall would only be opened at 7. There was nothing to be done so I switched up the radio and sat an waited knowing that there would also be a queue on the pavement and at the other parking garage over the road! By the time I had parked and raced for the escalator I was number 61 in queue to get into the offices! Admittedly the queue did move quite quickly and it was 8:30 when I finally made it in. Then there another number issued, a wait in the pay desk queue – R400 for the passport – ID – Free for over 60s! From there to the photobooth and a grumpy photographer barking unfriendly commands – take off your glasses – don’t smile! From there you had to wait for your number to be called. I found it all quite amusing. The queue consisted of rows of chairs and you had to move up every minute or so as you came closer to your turn. It was like being on a conveyer belt. I didn’t dare take photographs in case I was expelled! Finally, I reached the front row and then my number was called. This time a friendly and efficient assistant. My fingerprints were taken digitally and I had to sign on a digital device too. It was all done and dusted by quarter to ten – only three and a half hours. The good news is that on Friday afternoon I received an SMS to say my ID is ready for collection! Wow! But I shall wait for the Passport to be ready and collect them together. The estimated time is between 2 and 6 weeks. Maybe I will be lucky!

On the bright side, Earl recovered quickly and on Wednesday dropped the Fortuner off at Gus’s house and he and Andrew went to Stellenbosch to fetch the Land Rover Discovery 4! Earl is very pleased with the new vehicle. Before he drove it away, Martin spent two hours teaching him all the amazing features of the car. What wonderful service. Such a difference to the experience we had with the Volkswagen Caravelle. Fifteen years ago there were very few of them in the country. We researched it thoroughly and decided that it was the car we wanted and went off to a showroom in town to have a look. Nobody appeared to help us. I clapped my hands and yelled – Please come and sell me this car! A bored young man appeared and when I asked him to show me all the features he shrugged his shoulders and made a half-hearted effort at showing me a few things. He had no idea how to move the seats and was clearly ignorant of anything about the vehicle. If I hadn’t wanted it so badly I would not have bought it. We walked out and went to another dealership and asked them to contact that one to get the car for us. For all these fifteen years we have never been completely satisfied with Volkswagen’s service. Hopefully we will continue to have a better experience with Land Rover!

The Caravan ready for action

The new vehicle

From behind

Test Drive

My turn to drive

On Friday Earl heard that the yellow-fin tuna were in the bay and biting so he rushed to finish some stuff he was doing on the caravan and he and Yassin dashed off to see what they could catch! They were well pleased with the results and returned just in time for Earl and me to meet our friends for a dinner date at Brasserie in Tokai! We had a stunning evening.

Yassin with one of the yellow-fin tuna

Celebrating Heather’s birthday

Saturday was Valentine’s Day but because we’d been out the evening before we decided to not to go out on a romantic date. In any case we had lovely fresh fish for sashimi. The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry as did ours when we were informed after waking from an afternoon nap that the teens were having a Valentine’s Braai that evening. We decided therefore to go off for a sunset picnic with our fish and salad but this plan too was thwarted when I discovered that the 6 teens were alone, had no braai wood and nobody had brought meat! No – I could not leave them alone with their chips and Coke – so we found ourselves entertaining 5 boys and a girl with an impromptu sashimi evening. Now some of those kids are used to our strange tastes and love to eat our weird food. But the girl and one lad looked horrified at the fare before them. “Don’t panic,” I said. ‘Just have one taste and if you really don’t like it, Grandpa will give sear some tuna for you”. The young lady agreed that it did not taste bad at all but she really would prefer it cooked. The lad had tried in our home previously and just said – cooked for me please! The rest of them tucked in and cleaned the platters.

Jay the handsome host

Tucking in

Seared to perfection

A relief not to have to eat raw fish!

Earl worked on the caravan on Sunday and I went off to a bird club outing with my friend Priscilla. We thought we had plenty of time to get to Stellenbosch but found that we could not get to Baden Powell Drive because of a marathon of some sort blocking the route. So we had to detour over the freeway and onto the N2 which made us a few minutes late. The rest of the group were nowhere in sight but a quick phone got Simon returning to find us and soon we were enjoying th walk along with the other. The birding wasn’t great but the walk in Assegaibos is wonderful.

Simon rescued us

The group looking at something in the trees

The majestic mountains

A beautiful setting

Our leader and his wife relaxing at the picnic site Thanks for leading on your birthday, John!

We ended the week with a braai at Heather and Peter’s and forgot all about the early disasters of the week!

Our hostess with host in the background

Retiring Adventurously – An Introduction

2015-01-07 | puppy1952

The Kokstad Kids have left but Lolz is still with us for a few more days. Lisa returns to work tomorrow. The weather is stunning and I still feel as if though I am on holiday. Retirement, I think, will only seem real when schools reopen and I don’t have to go!

My weekly “Back in the Classroom” blog is no more. But Blog I must so my new Blog title will be – Retiring Adventurously! We do not intend to sit back on the stoep in our rocking chairs. Exactly how we are going to spend the next few years of our retirement has not been quite planned yet but what is certain is that we will not be staying in one place for long! Our holiday house in Struisbaai will be our base but we will also spend time in Cape Town where will be until mid-March. In the meantime we are going to decide upon what kind of mobile home to purchase – a campervan, caravan or just a tent! We have planned one big luxury trip for June – a safari in Namibia and The Kgalagadi. Watch this space!

Our first adventure this year is also to Namibia! Tomorrow we will be driving to Robertson and overnighting with our friend Abri at his home – Springfield Wine Estate. Abri phoned Earl yesterday and invited us to his game farm in Namibia for the weekend! Yes for the weekend. And how will get there? In his private aircraft of course. To say that I am terrified would be an understatement. I don’t even like flying in a Boeing. A tiny light aircraft is my worst nightmare! Airasia crashes so what chance does a box with wings have? But I have committed to a retirement of adventure and the first one has presented itself out of the blue – so here I go! I’m old enough to be brave now aren’t I. I’ve lived a full life so whatever happens now is a bonus. How grateful am I to still be young and healthy enough to enjoy whatever else Life has to offer.

I don’t think I will have access to the internet so I won’t be blogging daily on this trip. We return on Monday or Tuesday next week. If you don’t hear from me you’ll know I went down with a smile on my face!