The 2018 Two Oceans Marlin Tournament

2018-02-20 | puppy1952

The annual Two Oceans Marlin Tournament took place in Struisbaai between 12 and 18 February 2018. As always the success of a tournament such as this is weather dependent. The boats might or might not land a marlin so to make the competition more interesting prizes for the heaviest bi-catch would be awarded.

Twenty Five boats from all over the country took part. Each team was presented with a goody bag at the opening function on Sunday 11 February.

I tried to get as many photographs of the boats as I could but some came in too late and some stayed out overnight. Apologies to those who have been left out!

Boat collage 1

Collage1 Teams Opening Function 1

The competitors only got to sea three out of the six days due to poor weather and sea conditions. However, nothing dampened their spirits and there was a great deal of camaraderie and catching up with old friends.

And as boys will be boys there was some mischief afoot and the deviants had to ‘pay’ for their misdemeanours. Each evening the ‘wrongdoer’ would be named and shamed and called the ‘idiot of the day.’ He would then be subjected to the snuff sniffing punishment followed by downing of a shooter. A fine was also levied upon him!

Preparing for the snuff sniff – a hammer will strike the contraption and snuff will go up the nose – Close your eyes as it can really sting!

You were warned!

Over the six days there were several ‘idiots’ who gave everybody else a good laugh and were great sports about the resultant ragging.

Thanks to Marinda and her team, the most amazing meals were provided to all involved in the tournament. The incredible bar assistants also kept their sense of humour and managed the demanding masses with smiles and kindness. Thanks too, to Elsa for all the record keeping.

Marinda and team

Bar attendants

Elsa our very efficient Club Secretary receiving a bouquet from Club Captain – Hubert

Each evening there was something different happening. On the auction night, money was raised for a past member’s deceased estate, The NSRI and Suidpunt Deep Sea Angling Club. Thanks to all who made such generous bids on the rods, reels, wines and Garmin watches.

Making a bid

Everyone was supposed to dress up for the Hawaii Evening and some did. However, Kosie was the outright winner in his amazing outfit.

He also joined in the spirit of the evening when the dancing girls appeared.

Auction Collage.jpg

All good things come to an end and after a great week of fun and fishing the prizes were handed out on Saturday evening. The Marlin trophy was unfortunately not won but thanks to the incredible sponsors everyone got prizes for their participation, their by catch or team spirit. Well done to all the fishermen for going out there and trying to hook a big one!

Second lot First 15

Prizes were presented as follows:

Andre Swart – Kind of Magic – 10 Year participation in The Two Oceans Marlin Tournament

Met Eish – Last Year’s 10 Year Trophy

Tony Dalton – Camaraderie Trophy

Certificates were presented to:

Trevor Brinch vir sy volgehoue ondersteuning en werk om see veiligheid te handhaaf. (for his continuous support and work in maintaining safety at sea.)

Davy Schemuder for “dedication and hard work towards safety at sea”

Prizes were awared to:

Bi Catch First Prize – Piet Steyn Marias from Multi – vir ‘n Geelvin Tuna van 14.93kg. (An Arniston Voucher plus some oil)

Bi Catch Second Prize – ET – Kuduro – Geelvin Tuna – 11.16kg (Black Oystercatcher Voucher and Oil)

Bi Catch Third Prize – Kobin Koch – True North – Geelstert van 7.45kg (Malgas Hotel Voucher and Oil)

Sunseeker II – Five strikes and 1 Hookup (Big Catch Voucher + Cooler Box)

John Graeme – Hook Up – (Big Catch Voucher and cooler Box)

Hard Luck Prize to Gareth – Team Tyler for out of Comp Fish (Voucher)

Hard Luck Prize to Koos Pretorious – Team Osprey for 1 recorded strike and 1 out of comp striped Marlin. (Big Catch Voucher)

Best Spirit prize of the book Rugby Vasvrae – awarded to Team Capetonian, Team Kuduro and Jac van Niekerk, Dudley Rosslee, Bruce – D’Stress and Team Catitude.

Without the following sponsors The Two Oceans Marlin Tournament would not be possible. A Huge Thank you to them all.

Robertson’s Toyota
Raymarine Navionics
Garmin SA
Tiletoria
FPM
SQM
Aarbeidsvreugd/Unifruit
Simrad
Penn Fishing
Arniston Hotel
Realty 1 Agulhas
Addis
Big Catch
Big T Lures
Black Oyster Catcher
Breco Seafoods
Caltex Struisbaai
Coke
Cornelis Ham
Distell
Henk Aggenbach
Andrew van Zyl
Lourens Odendaal
Malagas Hotel
Maxel Reels
Seaport Supplies
Ski Boat Magazine
South Sea Suzuki
Suidpunt Marine
Van Loveren Family Wines
Zulu Overland
Viljoensdrift
Airwise
B&D Tegniese Dienste
Bon Courage Wine Estate
Build It Franschoek
Certainty Charters
Dirk Odendaal
Glenwood Wines
Rising Wave Accommodation
Johan en Elizna Theunissen
OK Grocer Struisbaai
Paul van Niekerk

Delightful Weekend with Good Friends

2017-03-31 | puppy1952

We love having our Cape Town friends to visit us in Struisbaai from time to time and last weekend Tony and Sharon came up to spend Saturday and Sunday night with us. The weather couldn’t have been nicer.

During our many years of friendship, Sharon and I have waked many miles together so it was great to have her company on my daily strolls. Of course we did the mall, the harbour and the beach but on Sunday we headed toward Cape Agulhas where we planned to meet the guys for coffee at Potpourri.

It’s compulsory to visit the harbour

We didn’t make it to Potpourri as we bumped into our mutual friend Sheryl who was working in the garden in front of her B&B. She was delighted to see Sharon and invited us in for coffee. So we rang the guys to join us and spent a few hours with Sheryl and Alan instead

Sheryl showed us round her beautiful B&B, Agulhas Ocean House

Each room has stunning sea views

The en suites are so luxurious

On Monday we drove to Arniston and looked for birds and wildlife on the way.

We saw a few birds including blue crane, bokmakierie, pied starlings, sparrows and canaries but I’m always delighted to find the Denham’s Bustard

Also a little bokkie resting in the veld.

This rock kestrel at the car park overlooking Otter Beach

View of Otter Beach

Tony and Sharon enjoying the view

It was an amazing day

View from the deck of The Arniston Hotel

The cake and coffee was to die for

Not the Banting Diet!

Sadly our friends had to leave when we got back to Struisbaai but it was so good to spend those two days with them.

The All Coastal Bottom Fish Interprovincial Competition

2017-03-27 | puppy1952

The All Coastal Bottom Fish Interprovincial Competition was hosted by Suidpunt Deep Sea Angling Club at Struisbaai from Tuesday 21 March to Saturday 25 March 2017. Thanks to Leander Wiit (Chairman of Western Provence Deep Sea Angling Association), DP Burger (Convener) and Louis Becker (Tournaments Officer) for their organisation of the event.

The three days fished were Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Conditions were superb although the sea was quite rough on Thursday.

There were nine teams, namely

Western Province White – DP Burger (Captain) Iaan Viljoen and Gus Rautmann
Western Province Blue – Morne Marais (Captain) Ron Pennninkhof and Philip van der Walt
Western Province Juniors – Christof Dahl (Captain) Divan Burger and Karla Rautmann
Natal DSSA – Abed Khan (Captain) Heino Meyer and Timothy Munnick
Southern Cape White – Terry Terblanche (Captain) Koos Scholtz and Johan Crouse
Southern Cape Blue – Rod Kieser (Captain) Chris Schorn and Thys Uys
Eastern Province Black – Wayne Gerber (Captain) Christopher Gerber and Sheena Gerber
Eastern Province Red – Kevin Clark (Captain) Peter Dawson and Alie Matthysen
Border Deep Sea – Rory Leonard (Captain) Allan Ford and Everitt van Loggerenberg

Thanks to the skippers who put in their boats for this competition

Kitty Cat – Pietro Cutino
Haven – Colin Joubert
Sea Dodger – Roger Marais
Cavalier – Mark Truter
Men @ Work – Piet Wessels
GT – Patrick Christodoulou
Relentless – Daniel Hughes
S-Catman – Louis Bekker
King Fisher – Erik Dahl

The boats used in the competition. Thanks to the awesome skippers.

All the catering was done by Marinda de Kock and her team. All can attest to the superbness of the breakfasts, lunch boxes and dinners.

A Delicious Spread at the Opening Function

The radio communications were ably controlled by Andrew Perris and assisted by Earl Fenwick who also took most of the photographs.

Thanks too, to the following people, Grant van der Westhuizen, Elize Beukes and Dick le Roux for doing an awesome job as weigh masters at the scales, Mark Westhook for organising the bait and Louis Becker and Patrick Christodoulou for doing the scoring.

At the opening function it was great to see the teams dressed in their colours, newbies were capped and there was an auction to predict and ‘buy’ the winning teams. He/she who predicted the first, second and third winners would win a handsome cash prize.

Leander Wiit and Patrick Christodoulou with the newly capped WP Juniors – Divan Burger, Karla Rautmann and Christof Dahl

Launching time was 7:00 am which meant a chilly and early rising if you wanted to enjoy a good breakfast before setting off to nab your catch. The aim was to get as many bottom species as possible. They had to be measured, photographed and released. However, if it was a pending record fish it had to be brought to the scales to be weighed. Yellowtail could be caught, kept and brought to the scales for points.

Busy at the scales

An awesome catch of yellowtail by Southern Cape White -Terry, Johan and Koos

The Gerber family – Eastern Province Black – did exceptionally well and were a tough team to beat!

Sheena Gerber achieved a SADSA Lady’s 6kg line class record with her beautiful yellowtail

The only juniors fishing and didn’t they have an awesome time – not to mention a three day break from boring old school!

A special word of thanks is due to the skippers of GT, Cavalier and Haven for hosting the Juniors. Thank you guys for your patience with and your guidance and support of these delightful youngsters. Long may they continue with their passion for the sport.

Christof Dahl holding his Red Stompneus which is a pending 6kg line class junior record.

It was a close competition and on Saturday all held a collective breath waiting to hear the final results at the prize-giving function. Roger and Sonja Marais were particularly delighted to hear that Western Province Blue, the team they ‘bought’ were the winners!

Winning Team Western Province Blue 2017-03-25 08-06-06 PM 800x600

Sonja and Roger with the winning team!

Eastern Province Black - Second 2017-03-25 08-00-54 PM 800x600

What an exceptional Eastern Province family in second place

Border - Third 2017-03-25 07-57-43 PM 800x628.JPG

And Border came an awesome third

Pietro Cutiono Third Skipper Kitty Kat2017-03-25 07-41-38 PM 800x600 2017-03-25 07-41-38 PM 800x600 2017-03-25 07-41-38 PM 800x600

Pietro Cutino (Kitty Cat) was the skipper in third place

Second Skipper Piet Wessels Men @ Work 2017-03-25 07-42-13 PM 800x600

Colin Joubert (Haven) was placed second

Top Skipper Louis Bekker S-Catman 2017-03-25 07-42-40 PM 800x600

And the top skipper was Louis Bekker (S-Catman)

And so ended another awesome Suidpunt Deep Sea angling event!

Fishing and Fun in Struisbaai

2017-03-06 | puppy1952

Our daughter, Laurie, brought a group of friends to stay this past weekend. What a great time we had with Cara and Shaun, Dylan and a young girl visiting from Turkey named Cansu – pronounced Yunsue.

They all drove up together after work on Friday evening and we met them at The Michael Collins for dinner. The fun began from there and it was midnight before we got to bed.

In spite of this Dylan, Shaun and Earl were up bright and early and went out on Kiora to try their luck on the five and twelve mile banks. And it all went well – more of that later.

We girls chilled a little longer in bed but when we arose Cansu cooked us a Turkish breakfast. She heated olive oil in the pan, threw in chopped green peppers, tomato and garlic and fried them till soft then mixed in some eggs and then topped it with grated cheese and cooked it slowly. We sat out at the picnic table and enjoyed this delicious feast.

Breakfast was a Turkish Delight – Cansu and Cara

Our mission for the day was to show Cansu what the area had to offer so off we set to climb to the top of the Agulhas lighthouse.

Cara and Laurie stayed down below but I went up too. The last ladder that takes you to the top is the scariest of all. You may only go up one at a time. When I reached the top I found a mom and a very scared little girl refusing to go down. I stopped to encourage her telling her the story of two other little ones I’d recently had in the tower who were just as terrified but very brave. Just hold on tight and don’t let go and you will be fine, I said. I think just hearing a voice other than her mom’s did the trick as the tears dried up and she went straight down.

Dad and Little Sister were waiting to welcome her – what a brave girl!

Cara and Laurie walking Caper the Daschund

Magnificent View from up there

Down the scary ladder she goes

But she was not afraid

It is compulsory for every visitor who comes this far south to stand at the very tip of Africa. As it was the weekend there were a number of visitors but the wait was not too long.

In 982 a Japanese fishing boat, The Meisho Maru 38 wrecked at Cape Agulhas and can still be seen on the rocks today. We took Cansu to see it.

The rocks are rugged – you wouldn’t want to run aground here

Cansu poses with the ill fated Meishu Maru

The threatened Black Oystercatcher

Casper loves the beach

Some fynbos

By this time we were all hanging out for a cup of coffee so the delightful gift shop, Potpourri, was our next port of call. We sat outside as we had Casper and shared a scone – a first for Cansu.

Potpourri

The boys, in the meantime, were having a great time at sea. Soon after we got home, Earl called to say they were on their way in and they had fish for supper.

There was a lot of activity at the harbour and some fishermen were cleaning their catch and throwing the guts into the sea. This attracted about ten stingrays into the shallows.

A stingray swims in the clear water

These creatures have become very tame, will eat from a friendly hand and allow people to stroke them. Cansu was fascinated. She kicked off her shoes and waded in. One of the locals had bits of fish and was feeding them. He told her the stingray was pregnant.

Getting close and personal with a ray

“It feels like a jellyfish with fur,” she said

I yelled to Canu to watch the tail but I was on the jetty and she didn’t hear me.

Ouch – the tail brushed against her leg

Cansu got a fright and there was a small graze on her leg which bled but there was no harm done – the spikes did not penetrate her skin and there was no swelling or pain afterwards. We just treated her with Allergex ointment and she was fine.

The Fishermen returning after a successful day at sea

Shaun has a Santa and a Red Stompneus Dylan has two Red Roman

Laurie made us a lovely spinach salad, Cara made garlic bread and new baby potatoes and Earl fried the fish – we had an amazing feast.

More of this lovely weekend to follow.

Struisbaai Marlin Competition 2017

2017-02-21 | puppy1952

Last week The Suidpunt Deep Sea Angling club once again hosted the Marlin Competition. This annual event is a great drawcard for deep sea anglers and a wonderful highlight on the Struisbaai calendar. This year 27 teams from all over the country took part and the competition ran for six days of which only two were not fished due to poor conditions.

The club catered all meals for the teams and there was a wonderful vibe at the evening dinners. Earl and I hosted Andrew, who was the communications officer and we were appointed the official photographers for the week!

What a Spread

Hardworking Girls behind the scenes

The rules of the competition were fairly complicated but this is how I understood them. A marlin had to be landed, photographed, a DNA sample taken then released. A video of the fish swimming away also had to be taken. The angler/boat who caught the last fish would be declared the winner – this was so that their enthusiasm would last to the bitter end!

Three fish were landed. Osprey caught the first, Woes Lekke the second and Salti the third.

Crew from Woes Lekke with DNA Sample – second Marlin landed

On one of the evenings Andrew was the Auctioneer and some generous bids were made for the wines donated by some local estates.

Wines on Auction

Sold to that man over there

Should we or shouldn’t we – they did

A special wine bottled in honour of Shanga

Shanga is Andrew’s dog who goes everywhere with him

And what am I bid for last year’s banner? Quite a lot it turned out and this year’s one went too.

The auction raised R39 000 for the club. Thanks to all the bidders this will be put to good use a Suidpunt Deep Angling Club.

On Friday there was a pirate party at The Club which was great fun. Earl and I were the judges and we found it difficult to choose so in the end gave one individual prize and one group prize. There was no female prize and I was the only girl to dress up and the judge can’t win!

Tattooed and scary?

Captain Morgan ready to pillage

Beware of this lot on a dark night

p1100254

The organisation of this event was mammoth. The caterers did an amazing job and kept us all well fed.

Hungry anglers enjoying the catering

Struisbaai, I think, thoroughly enjoyed having the anglers visit for a week and each afternoon the harour was a fun place to be as the boats returned from sea.

The winning boat escorted in by the birds

Feast from the fishermen

No fighting please – there’s enough for everyone

The Stingray will not be left out

Second boat to land a Marlin

Team Salti were the winners

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

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.

The Overberg and surrounds – Tourists in our own backyard

2015-10-19 | puppy1952

There is nothing like having visitors to prompt you into visiting places that are all too familiar but still exciting to explore.

Now that we are residing in the picturesque, fishing village of Struisbaai at the tip of Africa and a three hour drive from our former home, Cape Town, we welcome having friends to stay. Last week Tony and Sharon were our guests for a midweek break and what fun we had.

The weather was not perfect but at least the rain held off and it was not too cold. On Wednesday set off to visit Elim 36 km away. Of course we birded on the way there and back!

Blue Crane

Red-billed teal

Elim was established in 1824 by German missionaries as a Moravian mission station. The grew vines in the viticulture suitable terrain so as to produce their own wine for communion. The he missionaries taught the villagers a variety of trades and skills. Thatching was a skill they mastered and to this day Elim thatchers are recruited to from all over the world.

The village is picturesque and has changed little over the years. The thatched whitewashed cottages are typical fo their homes. All the roads in the village lead to the thatch roofed church. The community, still mainly Moravian, consists of farmers, artisans and farmers.

Elim is becoming known for the export of fynbos, and as an emerging area in the production of wine.

We visited the museum which has some fascinating exhibits.

Implements from a bygone age

The waterwheel

We loved this cart with a licence plate!

Typical kitchen from long ago

Sharon showing how lowly she can be

On Thursday, after a delicious “Early” breakfast we set off for the historic town of Swellendam wich was declared a magisterial district in 1743. It was the fourth oldest in South Africa, and was named after Governor Hendrik Swellengrebel who was the first South African born Governor, and his wife, Helena Ten Damme. This outlying settlement was the gateway to the interior, and was visited by many famous explorers and travellers including Francois Le Vaillant a noted ornithologist (1781).

A village was established beyond the Drostdy, where artisans including numerous wainwrights, blacksmiths, coopers and traders settled. Swellendam was the last outpost of Dutch civilisation on the eastern frontier and thus the services of the residents of the town were of utmost importance.

Our first stop after a scenic drive from Struisbaai was The Old Mill Restaurant. We wanted to sit in the garden but it had rained and the seats were wet so we settled for an indoor table and ordered coffee and milk tart. Inside the menu we found a touching trip report written by one of the staff. They had all been taken to The Kruger National Park and surrounds to do a training course. What an amazing experience they had flying for the first time, seeing fascinating wildlife and exploring a part of our land that they’d only dreamed of. And what a lot they learned about their trade too. The piece was written with such warmth and appreciation of every aspect of the experience. It’s worth going to this restaurant just to read it!

Earl and Sharon next to the lovely fireplace

Feeling refreshed we went to the Drosdy Museum and really enjoyed all the exhibits and re-informed ourselves of our South African history.

Sharon emerging from the Cooper’s cottage

Sharon thinks I should crochet a spread like this!

Tony and Sharon in the court room of the original drosdy

Tony and Sharon in the court room of the original landrost

Earl wants this for his hearse

He says I can have this one

A very old Singer Sewing Machine

At ‘The Whipping Post’ restaurant (It was the old gaol) we found this stunning patio furniture which I fancy having here in Struisbaai!

We spent a good few hours exploring Swellendam and I can recommend it as a destination especially if you have an interest in things historical. There is also a pottey you could visit and we popped into an art gallery too. The exhibits were interesting and if I could choose I would have take this.

The weather was cooling down quite rapidly by the time we left and made our way to The Bontebok National Park. There was not too much to see but we were thrilled that we saw its star performers plus a few other creatures.

Star of the show

And some of his friends

The flora is stunning

Southern Black Korhaan

Back in Struisbaai we popped into the harbour and took a photograph of the stingrays cruising beneath the surface.

Such a beautiful harbour

On Friday Sharon and I made the most of the most glorious morning and walked to Agulhas.

View on our walk

The men met just over an hour later and we did the compulsory standing on the southern tip thing, took a scenic drive to Suiderstrand and then had breakfast at Potpourri.

Our Southernmost Friends

Me with the Agulhas rocks in the background

It was a lovely end to to a brilliant visit with our friends.

A Whale of a Time in Struisbaai

2015-10-04 | puppy1952

There are two things my darling husband knows I don’t do. I don’t fly in light aircrafts and I don’t go out to sea in small boats! Yet this year found me flying not once but twice in a light aircraft and today, wait for it, I went out to sea in Kiora – his small fishing boat!’

And why was I persuaded to do this mad thing? Well as I’ve mentioned in this Blog before, I’ve decided to retire adventurously and to do things I wouldn’t in my saner days do. A little bit of madness in one’s old age goes a long way to make one move out of one’s comfort zone. Megan was keen to go so I decided – oh well why not!

So up we were before 7 this morning and out to sea we went! I was not a happy camper for the first half an hour it’s the speed and bumping over the waves that scares me silly, but then I got into the flow and decided I’d better just enjoy it.

To be honest it is beautiful out at that time of the morning which is actually late for most fishermen.

In the middle of the ocean

This trawler is from Cape Town and on her way to Gaansbaai

Earl spotted some whales

My super zoom camera did not let me down

I even caught a fish – red stump

We changed Kiora’s name to Love Boat

Megan’s Blue Hottentot

Earl was thrilled to get a beautiful cob

The pyjama shark had to be released

The red roman was released too

Phoning and Fishing – After all we girls can multi-task

We moved from reefs to wrecks looking for the best fishing grounds but there was not really much happening today. The scarcity of birds told us that we could try but our luck would be limited so at 11:00 we headed back to shore.

Nice to take photos from the other side

Our beautiful harbour

Happy Fishers

Everybody was pretty tired after all the fresh sea air so after cleaning fish we all had an afternoon nap. Tonight we are going to Tommy and Megan’s friend’s farm for a braai.

Struisbaai – finally settling into our retirement home

2015-09-06 | puppy1952

We were supposed to move semi-permanently to Struisbaai in March this year but Life happened and we found ourselves on several adventures before we could take the first step.

So this is a catch up of what has been happening since we returned from our Namibian Trip.

On 25 July we came up for our first stint to Struisbaai, dropped in at Toyota Bredasdorp where we traded in my beloved Volkswagen Caravelle and took ownership of a brand new Toyota Avanza.

I shall miss my bus which has transported family and friends, school-kids and grandkids on many amazing trips in the utmost comfort. But after 10 years and a Land Rover to take her place we decided to get a smaller run around for Struisbaai and surrounds and leave the Landy for towing boat and caravan.

We’ve learned to cook for two, to not worry about what the rest of the family were doing and to simply enjoy each other’s company. Because we both had kids when we met we’ve never lived alone together and we have not had the luxury of empty nest syndrome either! It has been blissfully peaceful.

So what do we do all day? Well – the house needs maintenance and Earl is busy with that. He is also drawing plans for our extension and once the building begins he will be busy supervising that.

For years I have been up before 6 every morning and thought I would never get out of the habit but now we sleep in until 8 most days and what luxury that is!

My day begins with a 45 minute workout – I have a mini gym in the lounge – amazing what you can do in a small space. Earl has set up my TRX I have kettle bells, a skipping rope and a pilates ball and I use the passage for shuttles. Then after my shower we have a leisurely breakfast. There is of course the housework, laundry and shopping to do and we can take as long as we like over that.

Many years ago I used to knit, sew and crochet and do crafty things and I am slowly taking it up again. So I listen to the radio of podcasts and knit! It doesn’t make for interesting blogging but it’s what I do for many hours!

Struisbaai is a lovely little place and there is the beach and lovely birding drives and walks too too. We are not bored.

The harbour

A gull on the beach

A dog made friends with Earl

The Pelican Harbour Cafe serves a good breakfast and sitting outside in the winter sun is sooo pleasant

Earl chatting to a local fisherman

We have been back to Cape Town a couple of times for a funeral and business appointments but we are now here till November.

Visiting the Kids in Kokstad – Getting There

2015-04-23 | puppy1952

Yes – another trip! We certainly are enjoying our adventurous retirement. We saw our rural kids in Struisbaai and Cape Town in December/January. Our last visit to them in Kokstad was a year ago so really another visit was due. We also had the excuse of our brother-in-law, Andrew’s 80th coming up in May so after less than two weeks at home after our Kgalagadi trip we departed Cape Town yet again.

Our new home is going to be Struisbaai but we haven’t had time to move there yet! Therefore we decided to stop there for two nights to see that everything was still in order at the house and to check what needed to be done there. Earl sorted out the garden, I checked the inventory and we decided that a new Convection Oven should be added to the kitchen equipment.

Of course we also checked out the birdlife in the area.

Cape bulbul

Common Waxbill

Common Fiscal

African Pipit

Female Southern Black Korhaan

A visit to the harbour is compulsory and on the Sunday the day was clear and beautiful and the stingrays were having the time of their lives

On Monday 13 April we made our way to Great Brak to visit Diane and Carey. What a piece of paradise they have found. Carey was just out of hospital after a back operation but he was up and about and keen to show us everything. On Tuesday Diane and I took a very steep walk to the river planning to get a ride back with Earl but the pet calf followed us so we had to walk her back! It was a steep climb but I certainly needed the exercise.

First bird we saw – swee waxbill

Diane’s fishpond is a source of delight to the cat

He fell in trying to get a catch then swam to the edge without suffering too much trauma

Very pretty walk

Even the calf enjoyed it

But, boy was it steep to get back

Although it was only a day and a night with Carey and Diane we had an amazing time and are so impressed with what they have done with their place. Carey custom builds campervans and has set up an amazing workshop on the plot. Diane has taken to the country life like she was born to it. Next time we will stay for longer.