Weeks 21 & 22 - Photos

Laura and Monkey (Carmen he is seeing the world) getting ready to go.

Johannesburg Airport arrival hall. This is made out of wire and beads like animals below.

Monte Casino Bird Gardens.

My favourite the Scarlet Ibis and also the White Spoonbill.

Ground Hornbill. We have these on-site also and I see them when I am out walking.

Tango the Toucan.

My gorgeous girl 2 days post operation.

Lemurs' relaxing in the sun. What a life!

Big lizard with a big neck pouch. Laura loved the lizard. Even a Tonsillectomy could not stop her eating crunchy crisps.

Wire animals. They are just so clever.

Laura's ride. My exercise machine. Great for the kids, hard work for the parents (especially uphill).

One of Africa's many horned animals.

Amazing little bird nests.

Water Buffalo. Cheese!

Max the Gorilla.

Tribute to Max. Max was shot when he apprehended a burglar that broke into the zoo.As the burglar was trying to escape he accidently went into Max's compound. Max held onto the burglar until police arrived. Way to go Max!

Zebra! Laura finally gets to see them.

If only I could relax like that! White Lioness.

Beautiful White Lion. Very rare and the Zoo is successfully breeding them.

Me having a snack. LOL.

Laura and a Black Rhino in the background.

These very rare Lions were at the Hotel and Laura could not walk past them without giving them a hug or kiss.

Laura and the 'Giant' - Nelson Mandela.

Laura doing her best to look like Paris Hilton having a baby cino.

Laura and a Giraffe at Johannesburg Airport departure gates.

Weeks 21 & 22 – 26.8.12

Boy am I glad to be home. What a mad couple of weeks!

Week 21

The flights down went well. We flew from Solwezi to Ndola and then to Lusaka on Sunday. The flight from Solwezi was on a 12 seater and we could literally lean forward and tap the pilot on the shoulder. Thankfully the planes got bigger from here on. We spent the night in Lusaka. On our way into Lusaka that night from the airport, we were nearly in an accident, as a Taxi pulled out in front of the car ahead of us and sped off. We then noticed it being pursued by a Police car. Welcome to Lusaka! It is a big city though and I was surprised to see how developed it is, I was not expecting shopping malls.

On Monday morning we went straight to the airport and headed to Jo’burg. We were picked up from the airport and taken to our hotel. There was a change of plans, as the hotel I had booked was not one that had been used before by the medical company, and so they could not guarantee our safety there. As a result, we were moved to another hotel. It would have been nice to have known this before we arrived. We had about an hour to relax before we were off to meet the Doctor.

The appointment went well, and we checked into the Hospital to get all the paperwork sorted out before arriving on Wednesday. We then went out for a quick look around and dinner.

We had a very busy day on Tuesday shopping. We went to Sandton City shops and spent all day there trying to find what we needed. It was a bit overwhelming having so many shops. I had not seen that many in one place for a few years. Laura did really well being dragged from one shop to the next trying to find socks etc. The stuffed Unicorn I bought her helped tremendously.

On Wednesday we headed to the hospital fairly early and waited quite a few hours before going into surgery. Laura and I were both starving and thirsty by the time they took her in. I couldn’t eat or drink in front of her, as that just would not have been fair. She came out crying, but then settled down and spent the afternoon dozing. She did so well and I was so proud of her. They brought around ice-cream and food and she managed to eat fairly well. Mind you the dinner was left and the ice-cream and lollies were eaten. I spent the night in the hospital with her and in the morning after being dished up mealie meal for breakfast we were finally allowed to leave. They told us she had to eat her breakfast before she could go home, so I asked them for something she would eat. When they couldn't find anything, they then let us go home without the breakfast. So it was straight to the café for food. You would think that they would have given her toast instead of mealie meal as it has a very specific taste, that you either like or don't. She spent the rest of the day watching Barbie, we purchased the DVD, as the hotel did not have a kids channel.

Friday we went out shopping again. Laura was so eager to get out of the hotel, even though she was not talking. She grunted for about 2 days post operation. I thought they had removed her voice box as well. It was so quiet, I actually missed her screaming.

On Saturday, we went to the Monte Casino Bird Gardens. It was fabulous. They had a bird show and Laura absolutely loved it. They even had a Kookabura in the show. She was also thrilled when one of the birds came up and tried to eat her shoes in one of the aviaries. They also had quite a few Lemurs’ as well and if you are ever in Jo’burg, I would recommend going.

We went to the Zoo on Sunday and I spent 4 hours pushing Laura along in this hire car. See photos. Saw a lot of wonderful animals, but it was a long tiring day.

Week 22

As a result of spending a whole day at the Zoo,  we spent all day Monday at the hotel resting. Not too sure why Laura was so tired, she did not walk all day!

On Tuesday we caught the Gautrain to Rosebank (a nearby shopping precinct) and saw a movie. This was Laura’s first time on a train and first time seeing a movie on the big screen. We saw Madagascar 3 and she loved it. I did not think she would sit and watch the whole thing, but she did.

We also visited the local African market and it was wonderful. I could have spent a fortune, but did not buy one thing. I only had room for essentials and treats for the kids, not me. They had the most amazing masks and carvings out of wood and stone, clothing and lots of animals made out of wire and beads. See photos.

Wednesday saw us finalise the shopping and pack up the cases. We had an appointment with the Doctor in the afternoon who gave us the all clear to go home. We then spent the last few hours playing at the park before dinner and bed.

Our flights home on Thursday, were more eventful. The Jo’burg to Lusaka flight went well, but the Solwezi flight was another matter. It was the 12 seater plane again, and the air turbulence was horrendous. Ten minutes into the 1 ½ hour flight, Laura vomited all over herself and me to a degree. Thankfully, I had taken my bag into my seat with me and so was able to clean up most of it with wipes. I then had her in her undies, cuddled up on my lap trying to sleep, whilst I held a bag trying not to vomit myself. It was the worst flight I have ever been on. Thankfully, the bus was waiting for us and so I quickly got her into some clothes and we headed home. It was so nice to finally be back.

On Friday, I would love to have been able to sit and relax. But, for the last few weeks I had been organising a Craft Market which was to be held on Sunday and had last minute bits and pieces that needed to be done. The LTG decided to hold a cake stall and so it was into cake making mode, again. As we did not know who was going to donate cakes, it was up to the LTG to make most of them. So I also spent Saturday morning making 140 biscuits.

Saturday night we had Luke and Ross (Drillers) over for dinner. Phil cooked a braai and I just kept cooking and arranging the cakes for the market (I was also the cake collector for the stall). I was glad to finally get to bed!

It was up early today to get the market ready. Phil, Luke and Ross went to Masulwilla to collect the people for their craft stall. They would not have been able to get here otherwise. I went to set up the tables. Thankfully, Bex took the kids with her to put up the signs showing directions to the site. This was at 7:30am and I finally left at 3pm to help drop the Masulwila people back. It was a really good day. We had people selling bags, jewellery, wooden craft, cane furniture, woven baskets, dolls and paintings. Most of the stall holders sold lots of items and the weather was great as well. I was also rostered on the PTA stall to cook bacon and eggs and the LTG stall to sell the cakes, so I kept busy the whole day. But it seems to have been a success. I am glad it is over and I look forward to the next one. At least I will know what I am doing next time.Lol.

August here is also the ‘burn off’ month. So there has been a lot of smoke around lately as the surrounding bush gets burnt. The fires are really controlled here. For some reason the fire does not spread like it does at home and so it does not get out of control. It also ‘rains’ ash, not the most  wonderful of events and the smell can be really bad at times. But it is done to encourage a good wet season, I am told. I like to think it gets rid of snakes too.

My impression of Jo’burg;

Johannesburg is a crazy place. The people drive like rally car drivers. The speed limit basically does not exist. The drivers just seem to do whatever they like, for instance 80 in a 60km zone. Then you have these guys that stand on the white lines at the traffic lights selling things from newspapers to dolls, drinks and sunglasses. Again the drivers speed past these guys at 100km an hour. My driver nearly hit one and OMG it scared me. I clung to Laura in the car for fear of death. The weather was actually nice most days. We had freezing temperatures about twice, so we were glad for our coats, but we ended up buying some t-shirts. I was expecting to spend more time at the hotel rather than sightseeing, but Laura recovered so well. It is also a rather child unfriendly place. Not many areas for kids to play. I guess this is due to the high crime rate, which means kids just don’t play outside where anything could happen. All the buildings have high electric fences around them and the houses that we saw were in compounds or had electric fences or very high fences with glass shards on top.It doesn’t exactly look inviting! The people we met were lovely, but you really had to be careful. We also saw the Nelson Mandela statue and Laura referred to him as the ‘Giant’. I found the prices in the shops to be reasonable and would love to have spent a day just shopping and spoiling myself with a haircut, colour and pedicure. No such luck, maybe next year!

Week 20 - 12.8.12

It’s been a busy week. Monday was a public holiday for Farmer’s Day, but Phil had to work in order to take some extra time when Laura and I are away. Both kids had colds and so were quite miserable. Thus, they argued quite a bit so it was a fun day all round.

I kept Tom home from school on Tuesday as I did not want to spread the germs. Mind you I wish I had have sent him. It is so hard getting things done with kids at home let alone sick ones. I had problems with my credit card, as it was blocked due to me purchasing plane tickets to Jo’burg. I finally managed to track someone down in Oz that could help me. The bank was incredibly unhelpful, their international service is rubbish, but I finally got my card back on line. Thank goodness.

I also had a mad rush trying to get warm clothes for Laura and I as it snowed in Jo’burg on Tuesday. Thankfully, I was able to get a coat for both Laura and myself to take with us.

Wednesday saw no water in the house from 7:00 – 16:00. That was a good day! I had done so much cooking for when I would be away and the dishes were piled high. It took me forever to do them that night. 

We had a smidge of rain, which is very unusual as it doesn’t normally rain until the 24^th October (Independence Day), which is usually spot on every year. As a result, the locals are saying it will be a big wet season. If only it had have rained more, I could have collected some for the dishes. Lol.

Had major problems trying to pay for flights due to my credit card being blocked and South African Airways being incredibly helpful (insert sarcasm here), but finally after several hours finally got everything sorted for Sunday. I also made some Weetabix balls for the cake sale on Friday.

I had a busy day on Friday, as I went out to the Mine with Beth-Anne to sell the cakes. It was really interesting as it was the first time I had been on the actual mine site apart from Administration. It is huge and incredible. We managed to sell all the cakes and made a cool 1.2million! Unfortunately, that is Kwacha not dollars.

On Saturday the PTA held a ‘Blokes Dinner’. I was in charge of making the apple crumble for dessert. Thankfully, Phil is a pro at this and so basically took over for me. There were 40 guys attending and all had a good night feasting on home cooked food. A lot of the single and FIFO guys eat at the mess every day and so to get a proper home cooked meal is a treat. Also had to pack.

Off to Lusaka today. Wish us luck.

Weeks 18 & 19 - 5.8.12

I have had a couple of very busy and horrendous weeks. Things have been happening that make me wish I was back in the comfort of my home in Forbes rather than in the middle of a 3rd world country called Zambia.

Let’s go back to the beginning of Week 18.

It started with a meeting at my house for the Tetekela group on Monday. All was going well and then a siren went off that had all of the ATS (Housekeepers and Gardeners) staff run. We finally worked out it was a drill for them, but it had us wondering what on earth was going on. Then when Tom got home from school, he was running after Laura and fell and hit his head on the cement floor. He was hysterical and complaining of pain in his eyes. Great I thought. We still did not have our passports back from Immigration (for our next permit to stay in the country), and I was thinking we would have to be air lifted to South Africa for a brain haemorrhage. So off to the clinic with Tom, who was by now wanting to sleep when he wasn’t screaming and Laura in tow. Two hours later we finally left with the all clear from the Doctor, but now 2 grisly kids due to the wait. Boy did I need a drink that night!

The next day I had Security turn up to take a statement. Did I tell you we had a con man come around trying to get money out of us Aussies? Well, he came to me and so I had to give a description and a statement. I was then late to a meeting at Tom’s school and we then had a power blackout from 3 -4pm. Thankfully it came on when it did as I was just starting to get the Braai ready for cooking. The hot water finally came back on about 6:30pm, just in time to have a relaxing shower. You see, when we have no power, we have no water. We live at the top of a slight incline and so get water last out of everyone on site as it gets pumped uphill. The joys!

But it gets better.

I then had to go to Solwezi on Wednesday to get a few bits and pieces. I ended up going alone as Robyn had to pull out due to a sick child. Oh boy. When you arrive at Shoprite you are greeted by quite a few street sellers and local boys wanting to help you. They help with the trolley and packing of goods and then help you to the car, for a small fee or some food. Well, that day I had 2 boys help me and all went well. Until, I went to Mercury Couriers to pick up some items. One of the other boys followed me demanding money for looking after my car. I informed him that I had help from others that day and he got somewhat aggressive demanding that I pay him for my car not being scratched. You see if you don’t pay up or use their service, your car may mysteriously get scratched. Shoprite has tried to stop this, but unfortunately some of the kids can be a pain. I got in the car and left very annoyed for being followed and somewhat shaken from this experience.
Thursday saw the arrival of our new neighbour's. I had volunteered to cook a dessert for them and so spent the day in the kitchen cooking not only for them, but a cake for Clement (it was his birthday the next day), a cake and biscuits for us. The new family is absolutely lovely. They have a 3 year old little girl and Laura is thrilled. They are fast becoming good friends.

Friday saw Clement turn 42! So I gave him his cake to take home and share with his family. It was to be the first time that they would eat cake! It is amazing that we eat and over indulge in it all the time and give it no thought.  I then had to get myself organised as Phil had invited two work mates over for dinner. It was one of his bosses from Perth, and a colleague from Washington, USA. They were very interesting men. I could have talked to them all night, but Tom decided to scream and cry due to a nightmare and so I had to go in with him. We realised the next morning that our candles got stolen again that night. Goodness knows why we keep getting our candles stolen.

The weekend was fairly uneventful, thank goodness. Although due to the Olympics being on, I spent too much time with the kids as they are not interested in sitting with Dad and watching it for hours at a time like he is!

Week 19.

On Monday, Laura and I went over to our new neighbours for a play date. It was lovely to see her playing calmly with a couple of girls rather than the full on boy play with Tom.

Tuesday had me busy on the computer. The President of our Tetekela group has resigned and she was helping me to do the Craft Market that is coming up. So I have had to step up and get it all organised. It has been a bit difficult as I have had to make a lot of calls and sometimes the language barrier is difficult over the phone. I had quite a time with the names, with are so beautiful, but hard to figure out how to spell. I felt so stupid at times.

On Wednesday, I got so mad. I was sitting outside under the Larpa enjoying a few quiet moments to myself, which I had not done for a long time, when the kids came out to get me. Five local kids had asked Tom and Laura to open the door and let them into the house, when Tom said no, they then wanted Tom to open the door and for them both to go with them. Thank goodness Tom and Laura said no and came out to get me. This is not the first time they have been asked to go with someone. I was so proud of them for saying no. We have had the stranger talk, even when it is kids asking, not just adults.

That night I had a farewell dinner for a friend. Robyn has been wonderful to me and quite an inspiration as well. She has organised a literacy and school sponsorship program and the Tetekela group will keep this going. She will be dearly missed.

Thursday saw me start to look at flights. Now that we have our passports back and a new appointment (we had to cancel the last one due to our passports not being back in time) for Laura I could start to get organised. However, after sorting everything out, I found out her appointment had been changed and so needed to look into it all again. I managed to book everything on Sunday and today found out that my credit card was blocked and so only half had been paid for. So after several phone calls and unanswered e-mails, I managed to sort that out! Now we are ready to go. So on Sunday, Laura and I fly to Lusaka, spend the night and then onto Jo’burg on Monday. She will see the Specialist that afternoon and then have her tonsils out on Wednesday the 15th, see the Specialist again on the 20th to then fly back on the Tuesday. Hopefully we can get some shopping in prior to operation and some R&R after.

Tom had a friend over on Thursday after school. He has befriended Fabian a new boy in his class. He is a lovely little boy and it was nice to see Tom playing with a friend again. He has been missing the companionship of Lachie from next door.

On Friday we had afternoon drinks and boy did I need it, although I only had a soft drink. I did not think I would stop if I was to start on the wine. Lol.

We all went into Solwezi on Saturday and also took one of Phil’s driller with us. Ross has just arrived in Zambia and had not been to Solwezi before. What an experience. Could it get any worse? We had a lovely morning and lunch at Chabanga Lodge. It was then onto Shoprite. The local boys were very aggressive and it was not nice. As a result I will not be going back again. It just may not be safe without an escort, and we can’t take that risk. It is a shame as I enjoyed getting out and shopping. But the local boys would either damage the car or cause me problems and we don’t need the hassle.  The problem is escalating at Shoprite and something will need to be done. It is only there, as everywhere else the locals are wonderful to us.

We bought some kerosene lamps at Shoprite and so needed kerosene. The power blackouts have been a regular occurrence these last weeks and we thought it would be safer to use lamps than candles. Manyama thankfully is quieter than Solwezi, however, with the population increasing constantly it may end up the same very soon. A lot of people are coming closer to the mine in search of work.

On Sunday we went and said goodbye to Robyn and picked up the kids table we bought off them. It was then a lazy day tidying up the house, doing the washing and cooking. Ha Ha.

It was a Public Holiday here on Monday for Farmers Day. Phil went to work so that he can have a day off next week when I am gone with Laura. Both kids have a cold and Tom now has a cough. So I am loving my walks in the morning. However, 8 km’s just doesn’t seem long enough some days.  So you’ll have to excuse me for not writing last week. But as you can see things have been a bit…..hard. I miss you all. Even though the weather here is getting warmer, 30 degrees today, I do sometimes wish I was back home in front of the fire with Sebastian.

I will not write again until after Laura and I get back from South Africa. Wish us luck. xx