WE HAVE RAIN

The rainy season is upon us, with its amazing electrical storms, inky skies and thundering, bouncy rain.

Bee stood outside under the protection of the stoop on Friday, and I could read her mind..she was thinking “I remember this” and positively smiling with joy.

For the past week we have been struggling with temperatures around 39 degrees, which is daunting enough..but the humidity! Oh my word...I have become Mrs Air-co again, and race out [when its not storming] to leap into the pool.

This is not meant to lay down the gauntlet to those of you who are struggling in sub zero temperatures, merely to reflect the extremes of our hemispheres.

 The pictures of the snow probably look as attractive to me as the pictures of the extreme heat here do to you at the moment.

How jealous I am of a potential white Christmas, we have the incongruity of Jingle bells shrieking out of OK foods in Kakamas at 40 degrees and rapidly shrivelling tinsel decorations scorched and curling in fright of the sun . There is a very pitiful attempt to “do Christmas lights” in Kak...rows of green and red lights across the one set of traffic lights in the village. [The blown bulbs give quite an attractive sequencing effect!]

Fruit of the suasage tree..one of my outside "still life" arrangements that Bongo insists on demolishing with his play, now being washed away by the water....wouldnt mind a few sausage trees in the garden!

CRAY FISH & S N A K E S

Thanks to everyone for the very kind comments about the “trip” photos.


I took a total of some 1000 pictures so a few of them HAD to be passable.

Big and I disappeared on Friday 19th November for the Cray fish festival on the West coast. Fantastic, but no staying in the beach hut this year, [ sad ....very, very sad] Instead we stayed at Willams Aunts house at Strandfontein on Friday and at Nikkis house in Lamberts Baai on Saturday night, leaving early on Sunday to relieve Opa of his “dog sitting” duties.

Partying at the Micebosskerm

Cray fish haul

The beach at Lambert Baai

Happy reveler at the festivities..IN MY  READING GLASSES![ dont know who took this photo]

Big feeling very pleased that he didnt own a wet suit and didnt have to get into the icy Atlantic.

SNAKES....NO PICTURES AVAILABLE!!!!!

As we are now in Summer, we are on high alert for snakes. Those that have read the blog since inception will know the extent that I have gone to in order to prepare myself for the eventuality of meeting one..any one!

Regina happened to mention to me on Monday that Moses had killed a large snake in the Garage after we left on Friday, it has taken until today to discover the full detail.

Moses was called in today to look through my THREE snake books. After a great deal of quiet deliberation, he started hopping around and wagging his finger at a picture. OG MY GOOD LORD..it was a spitting Cobra.

Very excited to have identified the snake in a book, Moses proceeded to enact the events surrounding his discovery and dispatching of said snake.

Missus Smallie had called him from the farm [Moses always spends Friday afternoon in town..debt collecting ] and said that a large snake had just passed across their doorstep and had gone into the garage.

Moses “raced” home ..a lot of pretend jogging and fake puffing at this point in the enactment.

He had entered the garage with only his faithful slingshot and a pocket full of stones [those who read the owl incident will know how accurate he is with this weapon].

The cobra had appeared raised up and faced him, Moses showed us how he charges the slingshot and “Poc” it hit the snake on his “Shoulder” ..english word used here.

As Moses was recharging, he said “..and Bossy, he spit at me..the snake spit water at me.”

Big and I gave each other one of those grown up looks that parents often do above childrens heads.

Moses continued.

Loading his pretend sling shot and shouting “POC”....and smiling widely “ Bossy, Moses kill the slang, and Moses burn him on a fire.” This is apparently something of a ritual.

He them raced to the braai room and grabbed a thickish bough from the wood store, babbling away in a mix of Affricaans and his native tongue. I didn’t need the translation, the snake was rather “Thick” as Big put it.

So our first encounter with a nasty snake. Moses hasd been informed that spitting Cobras DO NOT spit water, but poison that will blind him if it gets in his eyes....he has taken a pair of Edwins ancient Ray bans in the event of another close encounter with any snake.

All I can say is thank goodness I was not here, thank goodness the dogs [and Opa] were unaware of the incident, thank goodness Moses was unharmed.

We have only just started the summer.

Out with the BLT throwing knife and back to practicing on cucumbers for me I think!

Part II. Marchand to the Southern tip of Africa

View from the Cederberg Mountains

Viki and I made a late departure for Clanwilliam on Tuesday. Covering the 500+ kilometers at a leisurly pace and arriving in Wilma and Johan`s delightful guest house and out for supper at Oliphants House. This local resteraunt/pub describes itself as a "non smoking resteraunt"..even outside on the patio there were no smoking signs. It was with great amusement that I was told that I didnt have to go out onto the street to smoke but could do so freely in the pub bar. ...SOUTH AFRICA!!!! the only place in the world where one has to go INSIDE to smoke.

Up bright and breezy for our planned hike. Armed with our rucksacs/water bottles,camera and under explicit instructions from Wilma, we drove up into the Cederberg mountains for 30 kilometers untill we came to "The Travellers rest" a small building where we were able to purchase permits to walk the Sevilla rock art trail..reportedly 4 kilometers of moderatly hard trecking.

Amazing rock formations and patterning, hardly surprising the ancient inhabitants were moved to paint!

The lady running the place said "You two are brave" and in response to our questioning looks, she went onto say that it would be the hottest day. Vikki asked if we were likely to come across any snakes..in stereo the man and the lady said brightly "YES", and backtracked rapidly seeing the gloomy look on Vikkis face.." Dont worry about them, they will move away from you." in the pregnant pause that followed she added "You can swim in the river and its OK to drink as long as its flowing."..We gave each other..."So thats Ok then" looks.

So we set forth, each with a small map and with instructions to follow the white "painted feet"or white dots at regular intervals  on the rocks.

It WAS hot and after a kilometer of trecking through rough crubby and rocky land, we came to the first of the 9 sites that we planned to visit.

Each site was roughly marked with a number,and was unprotected from viewing or the elements in any way. We became increasingly amazed at the fact that we were not on a guided walk and could potter off track at our whim, and sit under the cool of the shelters in which most of the rock art had been painted. The rocky landscape was awsome and with the river flowing underneath us we could both see that this place must have been a favorite for the bush people who lived there up to a thousand years before.

Dancing ladies

AS the walk progressed we became hotter and the sites became increasingly demanding to access but access them we did. At Number 9 we were looking forward to dropping down the steep banks towards the river ,where our map told us we would cross and then join a 1 kilometer loop back to the travellers rest.

After congratulating ourselves that we had negotiated the trail beautifully and even managed to cross the river without incident, we realised that we had lost site of the small white painted footprints or dots...the only sign of life was a mountain tortoise who looked at us as if to say..."Not more lost tourists".

Determined not to fret and more concerned by how hot we were and how tempting the small tributary of the river looked, we decided to swim..neither of had had the forecite to bring costumes, and neither of us was prepared to spend the rest of the day fighting our way out of the bush in wet knickers, so we stripped off, [at this point, we heard the engine of a car and saw dust] so both leapt into the water rapidly, hoping that no other lost walkers would find us, or indeed decide to join us.

A very cooling calming swim and we set forth once again to fight our way out of the bush. we decided to walk in the river ,knowing that it eventually came to "the travellers rest "where we started. After a while, the river was blocked by a fallen tree and thick reeds and neither of us fancied limbo dancing through it, so we retreated back to the swimming pool,and decided to try and find where the engine noise had come from. Sure enough a dirt track revealed itself to us, and after a good walk we saw the Travellers rest. Both of us were feeling very proud that we had managed to find our way back and celebrated with lunch there. The "farmer /owner" was so surprised whenVikki asked for a beer with her lunch, that she insisted on having another one, just to make the point! Ha.

Another night at the Olipahants house, and the following morning we were on our way to Franschoek, we did the Grand Provence gallery, where they were having an exhibition " Artists who print", they also had some of the ceramics collection from the previous ZA ceramisists exhibition. Then we hit Haute Cabrierre Vineyards in Franschoek for a wine tasting session and lunch. Fantastic!

view of Table Mountain from the apartment .

Big wanted to join us for the weekend  and could only get to Cape Town via the private plane that flies from Dundi Lodge ,just up the road from the farm. So we forged on towards Cape Town and collecteted him, then headed for an apartement in Blouberstrand for three nights, courtesy of Viki`s had contacts.

Friday and pick up at school for Little, I had made an appointement at The Mount Nelson in Cape Town for tea. What a spectacle..a good old English tea with tiny sandwhiches which just kept coming and scones and cakes and everything nice..a real treat.

 on our way back to the apartment we saw this man with a large fan on his back bracing himself into the wind. I wondered out loud how on earth he would be able to fly it....Littles reaction [see picture below!]

                                          Little highlt tickled by my senior moment.

                                                   Wings...OF COURSE!!!!!!!

Saturday, and we planned to drive all around the southern point of the Cape. WE tracked out to Kalk Bay on the Eastern side of the point, where we had been given a reccomendation for lunch at Cape to Cuba, it has also been mentioned that there were some fantastic junk shops and galleries..we were not dissapointed by either and Kalk Bay is on my list of places to visit again.



 After a great lunch we set out to the point, the final area is a designated nature reserve and the drive alone was breathtaking with stunning views.

Signpost at the lighthouse

Viki and I climbed up to the lighthouse, while Big & Little rested their knees  below.

                                                         Suitably rested and swaggering!

A fantastic drive along the stunning West coast, for a fish supper in Camps Bay.

Not before a quick tip of toes in the cold water of the Atlantic.

Sunday was a "goodbye" day for both Viki and Little. Sad and happy departures as we had had such a fantastic time.

Viki was a hilarious sight as she dissapeared through customs with two very heavy "Carry on bags" a wrapped ethnic pouffe and a veritable beam of bubble wrapped wood that belonged to her precious ceramic purchase...She made it back with everything intact! Hurrah.