A Wild Adventure – Chapter 1 Off to the Kgalagadi

2016-04-21 | puppy1952

A wild adventure with Lord and Lady Grum-Peigh and Mr and Mrs Frend-Leigh is based on a true story. Names have been changed to poorly disguise the true identities of the guilty.

Chapter 1-

“When are the children coming to stay,” asked the First Earl of Struisbaai of his wife after a particularly busy few months of organising building plans and other business matters.

“In just over a fortnight,”said Lady Grum -Peigh.

“Well I feel like getting away somewhere,”said the Lord – “Try and book something.”

So she tried but nothing seemed to work out quite right. Addo was booked up and the only camping available at Kgalagadi was at Twee Rivieren. So she tentatively suggested – “We did have a loose arrangement to join the Frend-Leighs at Kgalagadi if we got the chance – If we leave straight away we could fit in 10 days or so and share their campsites. The only problem is we can’t contact them as there are no internet or cell coms where they are at present.”

“Good idea,” said The Lord ” If they can’t have us we’ll just spend a few days at Twee Rivieren then come home.” And two days later the caravan was packed and sorted for a long trip to the semi-desert. The first night was spent at Molopo Lodge and then the next day (3 March) they were able to enter the park by 8:00 am. They booked two nights at Twee Rivieren where they set up camp and then set off to find their friends.

Luckily Lady Grump-Leigh had their itinerary. They would be making their way from Mata Mata to Rooiputs that day. The latter is just 30 km from Twee Rivieren and so getting there would not take long. “I predict that they will be there around 11ish,” said her Ladyship who knew that Mr Frend-Leigh would make no unnecessary stops along the way. And sure enough they were just about to pin a note to a tree on their allotted campsite when along they came.

“We thought you wouldn’t come!” cried Mrs Frend-Leigh in surprise.

“Sorry we didn’t let you know but we decided at the last minute that we could fit and few days in! We’ll stay at Twee for two nights then come and join you here.”

Rooiputs is rustic, unfenced camp the Botswana side of the park and booking in had to take place at Twee Rivieren. Lady Grum-Peigh duly went to book in but the official on teh Botswana side said they would have to get Mrs Frend-Leigh to check them in personally so it was just as well that they’d booked two nights at Twee Rivieren.

The Grum-Peighs were delighted to be back in the wild and spent the rest of the day enjoying the park.

Wattled Starlings at Samevloeing

The beautiful Namaqua dove eyeing them from a thorny tree

It’s called the Green Kalahari for although there’s little rain when it comes the grass grows and the flowers bloom – Here is a Red Hartebeest enjoying the bounty

The Grum-Peighs were pleased to see large herds of healthy Springbok. Fodder for the lions! It was hot and they wisely found a shady spot to escape the burning sun

Why when there are plenty of waterholes do the creatures drink from puddles in the road? It must contains salts that they crave. Those white specks are butterflies!

The Grum-Peighs found them all over the park in huge numbers

So delicate and pretty

A southern black korhaan had a lot to say!

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.

P1090230 P1090227

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!

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

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.

Struisbaai and The South League Competition

2016-01-31 | puppy1952

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

Struisbaai and Share Your World Week 4

2016-01-26 | puppy1952

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.

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.

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.

kagga-kamma-game-reserve-accommodation-480

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.

Cape Boat and Ski-boat Club Old Members Reunion

2016-01-25 | puppy1952

Earl was looking through old Club magazines and the articles and photographs brought back fond memories of the founder members from way back when. “Wouldn’t it be great, he said, to gather all these old friends together again – bring them all for a function at the club.”

Easier said than done! How do you get hold of all these legends? Some, sadly, have passed on, others are overseas and almost all have changed their addresses. Undaunted he got hold of old membership lists and started the search. He emailed, telephoned and coerced people who might know this one or that to find the missing people!

This all started sometime in September with the view of getting 100 oldies together. The response was phenomenal and on Saturday 23 January The Club entertained 140 friends from the past. Photo albums, magazines and memorabilia were brought and great memories were resurrected and spoken about. There was an amazing vibe as friends gathered in groups both inside and out at the beautiful venue at Rumbly Bay.

Thanks to the current members who donated and braaied yellowtail which was served in addition to the spit roast lamb, veggies, salads and chips. Our club manageress, Colleen, excelled herself in organising the staff and helpers in the setting up , preparing and serving of the food. Thanks too, to all those helpers.

Thanks too for all those who attended – you are all legends and the Club appreciates all that you did in those early years to build up the Club. May the current members never forget your legacy.

The wine was generously donated by Springfield Wine Estate, Cowland Wines and Rosberg Wines.

How amazing it was to have Guy Rowe and his band who in their seventies are still doing gigs. And of course we all enjoyed the music of our youth!

The photos will show the joy of the event.

Thanks to the younger members for donating and braaing the yellowtail!

Fun catching up with each other over a one or six beers

Hymie Steyn, a legend of note with Leander Wiit current chairman of Western Province Angling Association

Lyn Shield and Carolyn Fourie catching up

Diana and Ray who came all the way from England having fun with Alan and Evelyn

Stuart and Andrew

Enjoying the Miss Lucy Wine donated by Springfield Estate

For more photographs please look on the Cape Boat and Ski-boat Facebook site.

Proudly South African Expat Catches Up With Friends

2016-01-09 | puppy1952

After she retired three years ago, my friend Margie, packed for Perth to be near her son, daughter and grandchildren. For her it was a good move but it is not without its challenges. Today our Breakfast Club met so we could all catch up with her.

Our favourite breakfast venue is Bistro Sixteen82 on Steenberg Wine Estate. “The Aussies think their Wine Farms are fabulous,” declared Margie. “They have no idea! There is nothing like this over there. And this is the first time I’ve been out for breakfast for three years as it’s just too expensive!”

Margie enjoying Mushroom Benedict at an affordable price

Margie said she didn’t realise how much she’d missed the mountains till she landed back in Cape Town. “Cape Town,” she said, “is the most beautiful city in the world.”

A wonderful ambience at Bistro Sixteen82

“You’re biased,” I laughed.

“NO!” she insisted. “Really – there isn’t a more beautiful place in the whole, wide world!” A truly proudly South African statement – and just proves how you can take the girl our of Cape Town but you can’t take Cape Town out of the girl.

Emigrating at retirement age is not easy on a South African Teacher’s pension. Margie still has to work and getting employment is not easy. She has done a number of courses to improve her qualifications, mainly to enable her to work with children with special needs. She has had to register a business in order to take on private pupils – even though she does not have many. She also does supply teaching and baby sitting! In order to work with children in any capacity she has had to get Police Clearance!

Studying in your sixties is daunting but Margie has achieved excellent results and has enjoyed the challenge. She embraces every opportunity that comes her way but still it’s not easy to get full time employment.

Yes, it’s tough living away from your homeland and she misses her friends but the rewards are great as she gets to be near her kids and to see her grandchildren growing up.

You’re looking good on it, Margie. We admire you hugely for what you’ve accomplished in three short years away from home. All the best for 2016 and may many good employment opportunities come your way!