Wattle Crane Cottage

2016-12-29 | puppy1952

27 December 2016

Sailor’s Gift farm, owned by the Raws, is just a half hour’s drive from Kaag’s Post. But from there to Wattle Crane Cottage next to the highest dam in South Africa it is another half hour along a steep and rocky drive with several gates to open as you go. The Ford Everest made it with room to spare!
We only took the boys along this time as Shan is not into fishing and instead accompanied her dad on a golfing trip.

You would think that after years of much travelling my darling husband would have clicked by now that it all comes together in the end. But even for a short trip such as this he gets himself into a tizz about meeting schedules and fitting everything into the car. Now we have a huge 4×4 and a trailer and with patience and time we always fit everything plus kids in with ease. But no trip would be complete without the panic.

I saw to the clothing, towels, toiletries and techno travel stuff and was about to check the food story when the dear one appeared with disastrous news – The Blitz was packed in with the sugar and now it’s contaminated. – No it’s not, I reassured him – the sugar is sealed and so are the fire lighters. Just relax – the supermarket packer forgot to put it in a separate bag! NO BIG DEAL. There were other things missing because he went and panic-packed without me but with careful checking I rounded everything up and the car and trailer were packed with precision. BUT – because I was slightly rattled by my beloved I forgot to pack the MILK. I also misjudged the appetite of three teen-aged boys and they complained that there wasn’t enough bread and rolls! But we had rusks and biscuits, lots of fruit and plenty of meat and vegetables so they did not, as feared, starve! We arrived at quarter to ten – Fifteen minutes before schedule – so what was all the fuss about!

Wattle Crane Cottage overlooks the dam

The boys were very excited. Jay claimed the canoe but had to help with the row boat first. It is heavy and was upside down. When the boys turned it over, what should they discover, but a swarm of bees! They had made a hive under the boat! A bucket of water later they managed to move the honeycomb to a safe spot and then waited a while for the swarm to find it before they could use the boat.

Simon and Josh fished from the jetty,

Jay tried his luck from the canoe

Grandpa fretted till the rowboat was safe to use. Then he and Jay went off to the far end of the dam. Simon and Josh took the canoe and Si almost caught an enormous trout but his line broke off!

There has been a drought in KZN (and the rest of the country) so the water level was very low. The fish seemed not to be on the bite either because most unusually nobody managed to get a single fish. However, they seemed to have a lot of fun.

The rain came in the late afternoon along with some dramatic thunder and lightning. The boys were starving and polished off the rolls with some smoked chicken, tomato and avo They also tucked into juice and biscuits.

For supper Grandpa braaied some deliciously juicy chops and sweet potatoes and I made a banana and chutney salad and roasted some veggies. For dessert we had mango and yogurt.

28 December 2016

It rained a lot during the night and it was still overcast when we woke up at 7. The boys were still fast asleep so grandpa went out in the row boat on his own.

He was back after an hour as it rained. His rain jacket had not completely protected him so his shirt was wet and he had not packed a second one! So I made him squeeze into my black t-shirt which was not too skimpy. Fortunately he’d lost weight during his illness in Italy so managed to get into it. He couldn’t find his fleece either and so once again borrowed mine. You might ask why he didn’t borrow from Jay or Josh – Well – they hadn’t brought any spare clothing either had they! After an hour he found his fleece in the car didn’t look too much like a girl once he’d donned that over my t-shirt.

By 8:30 everybody was up and I cooked scrambled eggs, tomato, mushrooms and bacon. After yesterday’s complaints about not enough bread I expected them to be demanding a second round of toast but – No thanks, Gran – we’re full. I told them that high fat in their diet would make them cave less carbohydrate and it seems I was right! They were still satisfied from last night’s meal.

Although it was raining and the lads were ill prepared as far as the correct clothing was concerned they insisted on going out on the dam. Because of the rain we thought we might just pack up and go – but they were having none of that! Anyway – luckily the rain abated and they did not get too wet.

View across the dam

Healthy looking calves

Misty Conditions

Please don’t get lost, Josh and Si

Nobody wanted to leave the cottage but because more rain was forecast Grandpa thought it safer to leave before it became unsafe to drive. So we packed up and reluctantly returned to Kaag’s Post. It turned out to be a good decision as it poured during the night. It would have been a treacherous drive back had we remained till the following morning.

Some of the Sailor’s Gift herd

Sailor’s Gift

Cape Longclaw seen on our drive down

The cause of the baby boom in Kokstad!

Visiting the Kids in Kokstad – Wattle Crane Cottage

2015-04-27 | puppy1952

Monday 27 April – Week 2 in Kokstad

It has been another pleasant week in Rural KwaZulu Natal. What a pleasure it was to suddenly come upon a flock of crowned cranes landing and grazing in a wheat field near Lauren’s place.

Crowned crane landing on a hay bale

We attended Glynis’s birthday tea on Thursday. In the evening we enjoyed a delicious ‘Banting’ dinner at Nicoline’s. Lauren and Allan ‘bant’ most of the time too and they are all looking fabulous. Nicoline lent me her book and said – Just read it this weekend and see what you think.

Tucking into Nicolines delicious HFLC food

The weather was beautiful on Friday. Nicoline dropped her two kids, Scott and Robyn off and lent Lauren and Alan her 4×4 bakkie. With both cars packed to the hilt we set off at about 3:00 pm and arrived at Wattle Crane Cottage an hour later. Shannon and Robyn travelled with us and did an excellent job of taking turns to open and close the gates. They appreciated the sparkles they received in payment for the task.

Wattle Crane Cottage is on the Raw’s farm and is next to a huge dam. The drive up is picturesque as it can only be in the mountains of East Griqualand!

Calves hoping for a treat

Beauty everywhere

As soon as the unpacking was done Allan and Earl went straight to ‘sea’ in the boat. Allan caught two lovely trout.

For supper I cooked my very own version of bobotie as we forgot to pack some of the essential ingredients like sultanas and other dried fruit! So I just threw in a can of tomato and onion and sliced in some fresh bananas. I hoped the custard topping would not clash with the tomato and to my relief everybody enjoyed it. The rice was also forgotten so I served it with mashed sweet potato which went down a treat.

Where there are dams there will be frogs. On Friday night we hardly slept as the glorious amphibian choir entertained us till the early hours of the morning. Allan was up early and took Scott and Simon out on the boat. They returned triumphant each proud catchers of a trout each!

Earl cooked us a delicious breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, banana and two cheeses and as I had begun to read the Tim Noakes book I’d already decided that Banting might not be a bad idea so I skipped the toast. Lauren and Allan usually cut out carbohydrates but include them in their diet when on holiday and some weekends. I am embracing the new regime with the fanaticism of a new convert! (Although it goes totally against my previous low fat convictions I am always one to try something new and Tim makes a lot of sense.)

Robyn and Simon with his lovely trout

The girls on the lake

The boys and the boat

After breakfast Earl went fishing on his own, Allan went back to Kokstad to play Golf, the boys fished from the jetty and the girls rowed on the dam in the canoe. Lauren and I cleaned up and then relaxed with our books.

I did go for a long walk before lunch though. How divine to ramble in such gorgeous surrounding your only company being the cows on the mountainside, the beautiful, crickets, bugs and butterflies and the variety of birds that refused to pose for photographs!

Red-collared widowbird in transitional plumage

Ant-eating chat and lizard on a rock

Another beautiful dam on the farm

The results of the fishing were gratifying – Simon caught two from the jetty! Earl got a few nibbles and caught and released one or two.

Allan returned from Golf and then went for a cast with Earl and was triumphant with another catch!

We had a lovely braai in the evening which was very Banting friendly!

On Sunday Allan took the boys fishing – there were more catches – Shannon tucked into bed with us and wouldn’t let her grandfather up. She has become just as much as a tease as he is!

Finally he managed to escape and went off in the boat to get his last catch. The packing up did not take long and after lunch we were on our way down again. Lauren had to ride on Monday and the girls had a music practice to attend so another day was not possible. At lunchtime we went to the neighbours for a braai. Simon got involved with the cooking of the excellent meat.

Shannon got a chance to practise her music as she doesn’t have a piano at home.

Today is Freedom Day in South Africa. We commemorate the first ever democratic voting in South Africa. What a long way we have come since 1994.

Autumn Break – Wattle Crane Cottage

2014-04-05 | puppy1952

On Thursday morning my darling granddaughter was on cue with steaming cups of coffee for grandpa and me She is an ace coffee maker and I am threatening to take her home with me as her counterpart cousins don’t score highly on the coffee making front. This was the day we were to depart for the mountains – not far away but a four by four vehicle is highly recommended to get there. Our destination – Wattle Crane Cottage owned by the Raw Family who are cattle farmers and let out their rustic cottage next to the highest farm dam in South Africa. The scenery on the way is spectacular.

Allan would join us later as he had first to attend a business meeting in Kokstad. We set off for town to replenish our provisions and then it was an hour’s drive to Wattle Crane Cottage. The weather was sunny but in the mountains it is always chilly.
After checking in at Sailor’s Gift we negotiated rough roads to a nearby neighbour whou had offered to lend Earl a boat with a motor. The old man is finding oars a bit strenuous these days!

Shannon was an excellent gate opener and before long we arrived, unpacked and Gramps was out on the dam. He returned with a lovely rainbow which had Simon all excited and demanding to be taken out. Although Grampy was cold and tired he could not resist the pleas of his youngest grandchild and off they went. Si is just learning to cast a fly rod but is getting the hang of it. He was well rewarded with a catch which he released.

Allan arrived before dark but was upset as he’d damaged his sump on the rough road – really they are not the best for ordinary sedan cars. We were lucky enough to get Nicoline’s bakkie for the trip.
It was too cold to stand in the chill to braai so we grilled our chicken wings, pork rashers and chops in the oven and did our sweet potatoes in the micro. All accompanied by a lovely salad – scrumptious.
On Friday morning, Grandpa for the first time in history did not get up early to take the boy fishing. Instead, Allan obliged but not as early as his dad-in-law expected! No problem they were still successful – Alan with 3 and Simon with 4.

They returned for breakfast cooked by the Master Chef and then Lauren took Allan back to Kokstad for a meeting.
Earl and I and the grandchildren took a long walk, saw cows and birds but no Oribi which had been our mission. Gramps was feeling a bit tired so we stopped to rest and admire the view.

This is where Lauren found us as she led the flat bed truck which was coming to collect Allan’s ailing car. We all piled in and the watched the process of getting car onto truck – very exciting for one particular small boy!
While this procedure was underway the cows decided to take advantage of the open gate and trespassed into greener pastures. My rural grandchildren rose to the occasion and chased them back to where they belonged.
After bidding the car goodbye we went in for a much needed cup of hot coffee and biscuit. The kids persuaded us to have a game of 30 seconds which had us in fits of laughter then Gramps decided it was time for a nap.

Simon went onto the jetty to practise his casting. After 20 minutes we heard yells – I’ve caught a fish Shan ran out with the net and I woke Grandpa and grabbed the camera. He had a beautiful rainbow caught all by himself – and right in front of the cottage to boot.

After lunch we played another game of 30 seconds then Grandpa went out on the boat and I went for a long walk. I saw some interesting birds.

African Pipit

Egyptian Goose

Dabchick

Reed Cormorant

Male Amur Falcon

Non-breeding Yellow Bishop

Female stonechat

Black-winged Lapwing

Before supper we were prevailed upon to play another game of 30 seconds which had us once again in fits of laughter as we tried to get our partners to guess the right word.

Earl braaied before it got dark and the chill set in. He captured a lovely sunset.

This morning it was very misty and cold. The guys did not go fishing although the sun did come out later. Look at the mist hovering above the surface of the water.

After a leisurely Early breakfast we packed up and hit the road back down to civilization. Shannon spotted a pair of reed buck on the hill.

The Cosmos is still in full bloom and makes the roadsides look so pretty. I could not end this post without showing it to you with Mount Fifty in the background.