Welcome to April!

I thought about putting up an April Fool's blog post saying we'd been adopted by the locals, or had changed our minds and were continuing our trip around the world and would next be posting from India, but the connection is painfully slow and by the time I got my hoax all worked out....I'd be too tired/frustrated/irritated to continue with the real post.

So, on with the actual show...

On Monday the 31st, we drove back down through the sugar cane to a massive game reserve close by--Tala Game Reserve. Tala is 7000 acres of both traditional African thornveld (with the inimitable acacia trees) and wide-open grassland. We entered through the main gatehouse of heavy logs and thatched roof right onto the dirt road that we followed up to the main lodge. We did see animals on the way, notably the omnipresent impala and the intrepid wildebeest.

Game viewing wasn’t on our minds immediately…we were far more interested in lunch! Up to the main lodge we drove and were met with meticulously maintained gardens and the thatched roof of the restaurant. The outside had natural stone tables.

…but the inside was truly stunning--a superbly appointed dining room and bar filled with the treasures of Africa. We opted to eat on the terrace behind and ordered from a surprisingly gourmet menu. Once we got to the table, we realized exactly how gourmet it was! The food looked like art and tasted divine. I would wholeheartedly recommend Tala to anyone looking for a notable dining experience. We only got to see the accommodations in pictures, but if they were anything compared to the dining area, they would be breathtaking. At a top price of R2500 person/night, they ought to be!

After our lovely meal, we headed back to the car for the real reason for our visit…the animals! We saw several herds of zebras back in the acacias, but none that were really picture-worthy initially. After several minutes, we crested a hill to see some of the zebras standing right in the road. Creeping slowly up on them, we were splitting a herd that were on grass the one side of the road

…and in the acacia trees on the other.

We were all anxious to see the giraffes, who for all their tall height, can be surprisingly difficult to find. Cindy spotted the first one in the trees (and won the 25 cent prize set by Grant). After watching him for several minutes, we went on up the road and turned around to head back down and he was still there when we returned. This time, he’d apparently decided he had somewhere to go and waited until we’d stopped and walked right behind our car to cross over the road.

Just before he wandered off into the trees, he turned back around to peer at us, and made us wonder who was really watching whom.

After driving around for more than an hour, we spotted plenty of animals including in pictorial order: warthogs, who often eat from their knees



The stately kudu, whose spiral horns are unmistakable



Blesbok and baby (who were completely unconcerned with our presence and some even slept right on the side of the road, not moving when the car passed)



The rhinos were the big prize. Cindy was again the game spotter and saw them far up on a hill. Fortunately, we were able to find a game track that went relatively close to them and watched them from afar as our car climbed upwards. Turning around, however, we got a nice shot of the male silhouetted by the lake.



As we came back down the hill, the rhinos were slowly on the move and came up within a few yards of our car.



Even closer than that, the baby rhino crossed the road in front of us (apparently finding the grass greener over there)



There were some murmurings of concern that we were now between the baby rhino and the mama rhino, but she seemed uninterested in our car and continued to graze while we decided that discretion was the better part of valor and scooted down and away from coming between them. We left the reserve very satisfied with our visit and determined to return the following night for an anticipated excellent dinner.

--Doni

Little House on the Veld

After we sadly left the beach house on Sunday the 30th, we packed up to head inland to Auntie Cookie and Uncle Owen’s home in the middle of the sugar cane farms. We stopped at Joe Cool’s on the beach for a quick bolster of food and civilization before heading out to the unknown.

We drive up and away from Durban towards Camperdown, and then head back into the rolling farmlands that mainly raise sugar cane. As far as the eye can follow, one can see the sugar cane fields. Rather mind-bogglingly, they are all still cut by hand. Back and back into the farmland, through the few trees where the monkeys scrambled off the road as we drove by, and finally up to the “town” of Mid Illovo which consists of a small grocery, a post office, police station and a liquor store. Some 5 kms away we arrived on the farmstead where Auntie and Uncle reside and help to caretake the main house and immediate grounds.

The farmhouse is nearly 200 years old with walls about 15-18 inches thick! The wood floors have been trod countless times, and they creak a tired welcome as we enter. Just a few yards away is the cottage in which Auntie and Uncle stay. The first thing that is apparent around it, other than the gardens of flowers and plants, are the pecking and muttering of the silky chickens wandering around the garden.



Nearby, the guava trees are heavy with fruit and the ground below them is littered with dropped and frot guavas.



Behind the main house is a huge tree full of dozens of weaver bird nests hanging from the branches as if the tree bore baby birds rather than fruit.



Some of the flowers around the grounds were amazing and still in beautiful bloom.

And the view from the cottage looking down into the undulating valley and over the sugar cane.

--Doni

Treasures from the sea

In conjunction with yesterday’s post about beach glass, I have composed a pictorial of some of the interesting things we have pulled from the sea. The beach we are on still has lots and lots of shells that wash up. Mostly in pieces, but there are a few that are intact and/or of fascinating shapes. My nephew Joel is not prejudiced and loves all of them. He’s picked up bags of all different kinds.

Some of Joel’s selections:

A few that I’ve picked up:

Mary’s (mostly) whole pumpkin shell:

The beautiful nautilus shell Ouma pulled from the sea, and gave to us to bring home:

Some of the beach glass I’ve collected over the last couple of days, and a pottery shard to boot!

The “sea horse” I found washed up this morning:

And the pièce de résistance Auntie Cindy fished out of the sea. A stunning silk sari! What an unexpected prize! There was a lively debate about whether it washed up from somewhere in Durban (which has a large Indian population) or if it crossed the sea from Indian, or Madagascar:

Who knows what will turn up next!?

--Doni

Beach glass and blue bottles

This afternoon, we were down and the beach and I hit a great spot of sand-in-the-making full of bits of shells, rocks and beach glass! I got a handful of beautiful bits of beach glass, and even a pottery shard that had been burnished by the sands, when I heard the sound every parent fears....their child screaming in pain and fear.

Grant and his mom, sister, and the kids had stayed back to play in the waves while I beachcombed. Owen was rushing along the edges of the water as it moved up and down the shore while the other children were in the water splashing in the waves. Even though Owen wasn't in the water, he had the bad luck of running into a newly-beached blue bottle...also known as a Portuguese Man o' War.



The above picture is one borrowed from Google Images, but it is a good example of what one looks like. They are generally small, maybe the size of a small child's fist, at the inflated sail, but the tentacles trail out behind for a meter or more. The tentacle wrapped around Owen's leg which immediately stung him, and then again on his wrist when he reactively pulled it off. They are very painful, but generally not harmful for an individual sting on the extremities. Grant rushed him back up the hill to douse the stings in vinegar to help neutralize the poison and a hot bath to further denature the venom and stop the stinging. After 20 minutes of treatment he was fine, but saying he never, never, never, never, never, never, or ever wanted to go back into the sea again. Poor guy.

More about blue bottles can be seen here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portuguese_Man_o'_War



You can see where the tentacle wrapped around his leg. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better beach day. (he's currently running around playing tag with his cousins...fully recovered)

--Doni

All internet access is not equal

Sorry for the long delay in getting up a post. We are dependent upon cellular net access, and our beach house is unfortunately in a lee spot for a decent connection. Plus, we’ve been having such a nice time no one has wanted to update!

We started out on Sunday the 16^th of March with a fully packed car, and two very excited children. The airports and flights were mostly uneventful and the 14.5 hour D.C. to Jo’burg segment was, if not comfortable, than at least tolerable.

After a couple of days at Grant’s mom’s flat to regroup, we packed it all up again and headed down the coast to Westbrook Beach, and the house we were to call home for the next ten days. The home was spacious enough with five bedrooms and three bathrooms, and also came with a housemaid to assist with cooking, cleaning, and laundering. The house sat on a hill above the Indian Ocean with about 20 yards of indigenous coastal forest between the back lawn and the beach itself. If you look to the water line on the right, you can see the some of the rock pools.

The kids couldn’t wait to try out the beach, so as soon as the bags were put down the costumes were put on, and down to the sea they went. (costume is the term South Africans use to indicate a bathing suit….it’s a bathing costume here) The beach was surprisingly empty, and we had it to ourselves that afternoon.

Since we’ve arrived at the beach house, we’ve had a braai (pronounced bry) almost every night. Braaivleis is the South African term for grilling out or barbequing. It’s as much a social event as it is meal preparation. Owen is here laughing at something his Uncle Charlie is saying.

The children have been playing cricket off-and-on since we arrived. Cricket is a bat-and-ball game that has a worldwide following (except in the US) where the pitcher is called a bowler and the batsman tries to protect a wicket.

We arrived just before Easter weekend, and the children here enjoy visits from the Easter Bunny as well. They build nests of clothing for the candy to be delivered during the night.

Along with the multitude of palm trees and other coastal flora, there is a simply stunning frangipani tree just where we park our cars. The flowers are beautiful and the fragrance is even better.

Grant, the kids and I took a trip down into Durban proper and enjoyed a walk along the boardwalk and fishing piers. The Monday after Easter was a public holiday here (Family Day…such a nice holiday!) and all across the beach front they were setting up for festivals later in the day. Lots of talented sand carvers were out and creating fascinating sculptures out of sand. Here is one in progress.

On Tuesday (the 25^th of March) we took all the children to a crocodile farm for an exhibition and tour. They boast of having thousands of crocs on the premises and we arrived just in time for feeding. The lazy reptiles didn’t budge the first 15 minutes we were there, but when the keeper whistled and opened the gate, the pit came alive with snapping, writhing crocodiles fighting over the food. These crocs like chicken, feathers and all, apparently. They brought out a ten foot python for the kids to touch and see, as well.

Wedesday morning, the sky was overcast and the sea was calm, and it was perfect conditions for watching the wild dolphins who came out just a few dozen yards offshore. The pod was a good size and had probably 12-15 members. They appeared to be following the food and spent lots of time just out in front of our house.





As I'm finally publishing this morning, the dolphins have returned. We have 4-5 foot waves at the first set of breakers, and they will line up with the wave and surf down it, sometimes six at once! What a privilege to watch them playing in their natural environment. We also have a resident vervet monkey, but haven't managed to snap a shot of him yet. He's quite shy, which is rather unusual for suburban monkeys....they're generally quite cheeky and are happy to steal your food when you aren't looking. Sometimes, even when you are!

Hope to get another "guest" post up soon.

--Doni

The Trip Over.

We are here!

The trip over was one of the best we have had. It is certainly easier with the kids being older -they can help carry and keep themselves entertained for the most part, which reduces the load on us. The real reason it was so good was the service provided by SAA.

We've used them on every trip and their quality of service is always excellent. This time was even better than in the past. They have changed from using the 747's to the Airbus A340-600.

Our plane was a new model and remarkably comfortable. All the seats have the seat back monitors/entertainment systems, with a selection of on-demand movies, TV shows and games. I do think they should have more children's programming - Savannah was quickly bored with the 2 kids TV shows (an episode of Scooby and one of the X-Men) and the 2 Movies (Bee Movie and Enchanted). Owen watched a highlights package of a recent SAA Open golf tournament 4 times (!).

The food service was excellent, too - two full meals and tons snacks and drinks. Our seats were as comfortable as you can expect for economy class - enough room so my legs didn't hit the back of the chair in front. The plane had a camera mounted on the tail, which allowed a continuous real time feed of the outside of the aircraft on one of the TV channels. The image was grainy, but I completely geeked out watching the plane take off and land from that perspective. Seeing the earth from 12km up was a treat!

The trip over was epic. 3 flights and a 2 hour car trip. The total time elapsed, door to door, was 30 hours. We left home (Spring Hill) at 8.30AM (central time) on 03/16, and arrived in Empangeni at 9:40PM local time (or 2:40PM central time) on 03/17. The main flight over, from Washington to Johannesburg, was 14.5 hours. We didn't stop to refuel this time.

Here are some of the stats I collected on the main flight:

Total Distance: 8276 miles (13961 kilometers)
Time Elapsed: 14 hours 23 minutes
Average Speed: 570 m/h (913 km/h)
Top speed that I noticed: 688 m/h (1108 km/h)
Cruising Altitude: 41380 feet (12613 meters).

Savannah asked why "they" didn't make a train, under the ocean, to South Africa. My response was that it would take forever to travel the distance. We also had a good discussion about the logistical difficulties of building across the ocean. Turns out my time-estimate was pretty much close to exactly right! 8276 (as the plane flies) miles at 65 m/h, is 127 hours, which is about 5 days non-stop, which is equivalent to infinity.


Owen and Savannah were amazing on the trip over. I can only imagine how tough it is for their energetic little bodies to be forced to a seat and the crowded situation they had to endure through 4 airports, 3 airplanes and over 30 hours. They co-operated through the lines and tedium and were remarkably resilient to the stress of this trip.

Today, they released all their wound-up-giro-giggers and exhausted themselves playing with their cousins Joel, Seth and Calib. We had a braai (barbecue) outside tonight. It included a 4 hour power failure, so the kids ran around under a near full-moon, playing tag-spy-rugby-hide-and-go-seek-chase-athon.

Remarkably, there were only 2 major bruising the whole day; Savannah - head meets door, and Joel - knee meets step. The only real tension was over the one available flash light, and whose turn it was to run with it. I was able to use my superior size and intellect to wield it for the largest percentage of the time!

Owen was asleep and snoring before the end of the first bedtime story - a world first for him :).





















-- Grant