Week 39
It was a bit of a mad week, trying to get everything ready
for our holiday. As it has been raining most afternoons, it has been hard to
get all the clothes dry.
On Wednesday I headed to Masulwila to get my wood order. I
have mentioned this village before. They are such lovely people and yet have so
little. All the kids run up to meet you and the adults are so welcoming. Whilst
I was there I saw another wooden lady and had to take her too. So I came home
with 2 women and 1 Xmas tree that I had made to order. I love these women and
Davison and his men are the only ones to make them, so they are very special.
Davison has twin girls called Faith and Precious and so the women have been
christened with the same names.
Thursday was our flying day. We headed off by bus to Solwezi
and then flew to Lusaka on the ‘big’ plane (which means the 18 seater) and then
onto Jo’burg. We were met at the airport and transferred to the hotel. As I
knew where we were, I headed off for dinner. On my way back a huge thunder
storm hit. The lightening was spectacular and luckily the rain held off just
enough so I did not get drenched.
On Friday we had a healthy breakfast of McDonald’s before
collecting our hire car. We were then on the road and heading towards the
Drakensburg Mountains. The roads in South Africa are amazing, so well done. The
speed limit is 120km ph and as everyone gives way, it flows really well. If
there is someone in front going slow, they will pull over to the side and let
you pass, you then put on your hazard lights to say ‘thanks’ and then they
flash their lights at you to say ‘you’re welcome’. It is all so polite.
Along the way we stopped for lunch and were told, that that
morning there was a crash on the road we had just come along and 10 people had
died. One was decapitated and another lost limbs. This is one of the problems
with high speed limits, in that when you crash, you crash hard. We later heard
that 1300 lives were lost on the roads in South Africa over the Xmas period!!!
That is an incredible amount of loss of life.
We arrived at the Cavern in the early afternoon and headed
straight to the pool. It was somewhat cool, but very refreshing. The Cavern is
a gorgeous old place nestled in the valley of surrounding hills which are
covered with water falls. There is an amazing playground for the kids and a
smaller one down by the tennis courts, which is next to the croquet and lawn
bowls area. They have horses and a pony that you can ride. Plus a wonderful
balcony that has a gorgeous view of the hills beyond. They also had a good
selection of wine!
The kids had their own dining room and so you would take
them to eat and then they get to play, whilst you can go and have a meal in
peace. It took a bit of getting use to, for the kids that is, we loved it. But
the Nannies kept them busy. Plus, during the day they had activities to
entertain them, so we could get a few minutes to ourselves.
Saturday saw us up early and we went for a quick walk up a
hill. After breakfast we did another walk and went to a little water fall. It
was beautiful. The water was a bit too fast for us to hop in and play but the
kids had fun throwing sticks in to see whose would go over first. That
afternoon the kids made a pet rock and then it was swimming in the pool. The
pool had a slide and Laura loved it as long as you caught her at the end. Tom
tried once and that was enough. He is so much more timid then Laura.
That Sunday we headed out to The Royal Natal National Park
for a morning walk. The walk to the Cascade’s was a bit long, and the kids did
a great job. But my gosh, it was so worth it in the end. There was this big
area in the river that you could play in and splash around in the falls. The
kids stripped off to their undies and had a ball. It was again what I would
call refreshing, but nothing was going to stop the kids.
After that walk we were hungry and so stopped off at the
Tower of Pizza. It was great to get a pizza that I had not made. We then went
back to the Cavern and the kids had their faces painted before heading to the
pool for our afternoon swim. Laura decided she wanted to be in the Xmas day
play and so we signed her up to play an angel. You can imagine how exhausted we
were by the end of each day. The kids took to sleeping in the car and even afternoon
naps.
Week 40
We started Monday off with a Helicopter ride over the
Drakensburg Mountains. Wow what a view. Phil had been looking forward to seeing
these mountains for a while, so this was the best way to do it. And yes, the
kids went too. Laura loved the whole experience, Tom was not so keen. We flew
past the Amphitheatre and landed on top of a mountain that is inaccessible to
walkers and such. I had a glass of champagne and the others had juice. What a
view! I felt like Maria von Trapp!
We then had to race back to the Cavern as I had an
appointment at the Spa. I had a full morning of pampering. It started with full
body exfoliation, went on to a full body massage (this was THE best massage I
have ever had) and then a mini pedicure.
I then had a rest from all the effort with a cup of tea and warm
muffins, before having a facial and then a mini manicure. By this time I was
well and truly exhausted. Lol. Wow did I feel good. All the tension of these
last months just left me. It was so nice to feel so relaxed. If only it lasted.
Whilst I was being pampered, the kids were enjoying some
painting and Phil some free time before getting Laura’s dress for the Nativity
play. That afternoon it was Phil’s turn for a pamper. As it was raining that
afternoon, the kids and I headed to the TV room and watched “A Bugs Life”. Phil
had decided on a massage and a facial and he actually looked younger when he
got back. The kids decided that they needed their nails done, co we went back
and got their finger nails done in the same sparkly silver that I had.
That night the kids were absolutely exhausted and so after
we gave them our Xmas presents, we collected dinner and ate in our room. The
kids got Samsung Galaxy tablets and so settled down to watch a movie each. I
had put some games and movies on for them before coming down.
Tuesday, Xmas day we went for a quick walk before breakfast
up the hill and flew Tom’s kite. It was quite windy which was great, but the
rain came and so we ran home without getting too wet. It was then off to
breakfast. At about 10am, we all met on the lawns and waited for Santa. He was
nearby and we all had to sing ‘Jingle Bell’s’ really loud so he could hear us.
He pulled up in the back of a Bakkie (Ute for us Aussie’s) and handed out a
present to all the kids before he had to head off to deliver to another
country. He looked very tired but was very jolly.
Lunch was a buffet and then we headed out for a walk to the
Fern Forrest. The kids were amazing walking the kilometre’s they did. No wonder
they were so tired that night. Phil and I were having dinner, when one of the
Nannie’s, Dorothy came to get us. The kids were crying. So we brought them in
to the dining room whilst we finished our mains with a kid on each lap. I then
took them back to the room whilst Phil grabbed the pudding to go. The dessert
table that night was amazing. It was like being in Willy Wonka’s Factory. There
were glass jars of all sizes, and filled with lollies and little bags for you
to fill yourself. It was lolly heaven for the sweet tooth. We filled a bag for
each kid and I think Phil grabbed one too. It was absolutely pouring with rain when
we were ready to leave and we were all drenched by the time we got back to our
room. The kids showered and then were asleep in minutes. Phil and I sat down
and enjoyed our Xmas pudding with a lovely glass of sticky wine!
It was an unusual Xmas. Not seeing family or sitting down to
turkey at lunch. Even more so not having to cook and do any dishes! That I have
to admit was good. Who knows where we will be for our next one.
We awoke to drizzle on Wednesday and decided we would go on
a drive to a small game park nearby. It was very rundown, but they did have
some animals. We saw lots and lots of Zebra which was wonderful as we had missed
these previously. We saw Giraffe less than 7 feet away from the car, Red
Hartebeest, Black Wildebeest plus a huge pile of bones. The kids took them to
be dinosaur bones when in fact it was just the animals from the park that had
passed all piled together. I wanted to collect a few as some of the heads had
antlers, but Phil wasn’t too keen. I must admit, it would have been a bit messy
sorting through decaying animals and their bones…….When the kids got bored of
seeing the animals we headed home.
Laura was up super early the next morning. I believe it was
530am! Phil dropped her into bed with me and headed off for a walk. He was gone
all morning and had a wonderful time. The kids and I played until Phil returned
and then we all got changed into our swimmers and headed to the natural pool.
After a bit of a walk we realised we were lost and so headed to the road, from
here we walked to a parking area and found exactly what we were originally
looking for. The water was moving way too fast for us to hop in, so we played
the stick game again. It is really hard finding the perfect stick. It has to be
light enough to float, but heavy enough to move with the current. After a bit
we headed home for lunch and then a sleep, swim, dinner and sleep again. We
were all tired by this point, especially Phil and Laura.
On Friday we had to leave the Cavern. Such a shame as I was
really relaxed and enjoying the peace, cleanliness, change of food and just
everything that Zambia isn’t. We headed to Sani Pass. This is basically no
man’s land between South Africa and Lesotho. It was an amazing drive. The
weather had turned and so we were driving in slight rain and fog. After the
South African checkpoint it was a steep uphill climb over the worst road ever.
It could not even be called a road as it was just rock in some places and the
rest was dirt, gravel and water. It was wide enough for 1 car and in some
places 2, which was just as well, because as we were heading up, some were
heading down. It was a constant zig-zag up this mountain. At times it was a
whiteout as the clouds covered us in. My hand got so sore from squeezing the
handle inside the car. I was relieved when we made it. The Lesotho checkpoint
was mud heaven. It was raining and there was mud everywhere. You could not even
see where we were. But apparently this was where we were staying for the night!
We drove on to the Pub, which in fact is the Highest Pub in Africa, Phil
checked us in and then we ran to our room. It was lovely and cozy. Someone came
in to light our fire and thankfully the cloud finally cleared to reveal to us
our surroundings. We were perched on the top of the pass and could look down at
the road we had just travelled. It was beautiful. We went out exploring and watched the clouds
come in and before long we were in total whiteout conditions again. It was a
bit scary really. Tom was walking with Phil and Laura and I were trailing
behind. At one point I thought we were going to lose them, it was that dense.
Luckily, as were we on the edge of the cliff when the cloud came in, we knew to
walk in the other direction so as not to fall off the top. No rails here. That
night we had one of the best meals of our entire trip.
430 am the next morning we were up and getting ready to go! This
Saturday was the worst of our entire trip. It took us 2 hours to drive 40 km’s.
Tom threw up as the roads were so bumpy, but at least we saw some of Lesotho.
The shepherds all had on big blankets and hats. It is not the most beautiful of
countries, at least the places we saw. But it is amazing. The mountains are
incredible and some of the roads, even though not in the best condition, were
amazing in their position. The way they went up and down hugging the hills
showing an amazing feat of engineering. We were truly ready to head back into
South Africa that afternoon. We stopped in Ficksburg for lunch and then headed
to our cottage in the hills of Franshoek. Phil took the kids for a swim, whilst
I did all our washing. Then I had a quick swim and the kids and I headed off to
explore. We had a Braai for dinner and a late night.
Sunday was more of a relaxing day. We drove to a small town
called Clarens and it was like being home.
It was full of all little shops selling craft, furniture, garden
ornaments, clothing and heaps of food places. I did not want to leave and could
have spent a fortune. We found some beautiful Lesotho wall hangings and so
bought a couple. After lunch and ice cream, we headed home. We had been told
the night before of a walk to a waterfall and so decided to find it. Wow. It
was worth the kids crying about sore legs by the time we got there. It was
wonderful. The water was fresh, but beautiful after the walk. So we all went in.
Phil and Tom headed off to explore and then called out for us to follow. Our
little man is a bit of a mountain goat when it comes to climbing over rocks. He
really is very good. After a couple of hours at the falls we headed back to the
cottage. A lovely South African family had arrived with 2 kids and so all the kids
had a wonderful time playing together, especially Laura and Olivia. We swapped
numbers and will hopefully catch up when we are in SA again.
Week 41
Today we headed to the Elephant Sanctuary. On our way there
we passed a sign for Lions, so we decided to explore. It turned out to be a
small family run game park. We booked to go on the walking tour and ordered
lunch. It was a great experience for the kids and myself. I was able to pat a
white lion that was 12 months old and the kids were able to pat 4 month old
lion cubs. We were also able to go into the cheetah cage and got up close to
the somewhat tame cheetah. She was not in a good mood and so we were not able
to pat her, but we were able to get as close as 3 feet. It was incredible being
so close to such a big cat. However, they do not belong to the cat species as
they do not have retractable claws and do not meow. They are also not a part of
the dog species, so they really are an amazing animal. After lunch we got back
on the road for the Elephant Sanctuary.
It was a long drive to the area of Hartbeestpoort Dam, but
it is a lovely area. The houses on the dam edge were huge. We drove through an
area marked “High jacking Hotspot”, a rather comforting thought. Thank goodness
we made it through with no problems. Once at the Sanctuary our guide Shadrack,
took us to our sleeping quarters and explained some rules to us. We then went
and watched the Elephants go to bed. Our wall to our rooms backed on to the
Elephants quarters and so you could hear them through the wall. It was
wonderful. After that we hiked up a hill to have sun downers. It was then a
delicious dinner around a fire and then off to bed. Overall, a nice way to
spend New Year’s Eve!
We were up early the next morning to help get the Elephant’s
out. Unfortunately, they were not in a good mood and so we were not allowed in
with them while they came out. Vuso, the young male is extremely adolescent and
so was very naughty. The 2 boys were put into one enclosure and the 2 girls
into another. We enjoyed our breakfast whilst watching them get groomed. After
breakfast it was our time to go in with the girls. We each got a chance to
brush them, pat them, walk them and feed them. We then fed the boys and learnt
a few Elephant facts. It was a wonderful morning.
We went for a drive to the nearest market and had a look
around at all the African crafts. I could have spent a fortune, but limited
myself as we had limited room. It was then lunch time and then time for a nap.
The kids and Phil had a sleep, whilst I enjoyed watching the bulls play or
fight I should say. It was great to witness the way they interacted with each
other. We all had time for a swim, before heading up the hill for sun downers. On
the way we stopped and saw the old bull. Amarula is 45 years old and is a
giant. Made the others look tiny. He is in the process of being ‘humanized’, so
that he eventually can go to the other enclosure and be around people. We then
had another wonderful dinner around the fire whilst it drizzled. It was such a
relaxing and enjoyable day. Our kids are so lucky to have had these
experiences.
On Wednesday, we left the Elephants and headed next door to
the Monkey Sanctuary. Wow! If all animal enclosures could be like this, it
would be fantastic. It was one big open plan cage, with electric fences to stop
the monkey’s escaping. So we headed off with our guide along a boardwalk as he
explained to us what monkey’s we saw. Api was a cheeky little Capuchin and
decided my shoulders was a great place to sit whilst he ate his breakfast. As a
result my hair was covered in cooked potato and then orange. He was a real
cutie and the kids were able to pat him. Next Zsa Zsa decided that she wanted
to taste my finger and Laura thought it was hilarious that this little thing was
trying to play bite me. Then, King Louie tried to pick my scab on my leg. Not
too sure what it is about me, but the monkeys decided I was their favourite. We
all had a ball. It was then off to Jo’burg. Once at the hotel, Phil dropped the
car off and then we all just crashed and relaxed the afternoon away.
On Thursday, we went for a walk to the nearby park for a
play. This is the same one that Laura and I went to previously. After a while
playing we headed to Sandton City. Tom got to see the ‘Giant’ (Mandella statue)
and then we went to a movie. Laura lasted 15 mins and then we left the boys to
it. It was a 3D movie, Adventures of Zambezia, and it was funny watching the
kids trying to grab and touch the animals that came out of the screen. So Laura
and I went shopping. We met up again after and had dinner back at the
apartment.
Friday we flew to Cape Town. We were picked up from the
airport by a gentleman who was only expecting Phil. He had a surprise when he
saw myself, 2 kids and the luggage as he only had a small sedan and had stocked
up on fruit prior to picking us up. Luckily we all squeezed in around the
luggage and headed to Noordhoek. We
stayed at a lovely place with its own village shops, sushi restaurant and
eateries, which was wonderful as we did not have to go far for food.
We headed to the Largest Bird Park in Africa on Saturday and
were somewhat disappointed with the conditions of the place. They did have a
lot of birds and even squirrel monkeys that you could get very close to, but it
was very run down. That afternoon we went to the beach. I was in heaven! It was
a beautiful expanse of white sand and clear blue water. It was quite choppy and
there were a few surfers out. We raced to paddle our feet and the water was the
coldest water I have ever felt! After about 40 seconds my feet were aching from
the cold. We did not go swimming, but the kids enjoyed playing.
On Sunday we headed to the Cape Point and went to the most
Eastern point of Africa. We then headed
up to Boulder’s, which is a Penguin Only beach.
We were expecting to see 1 or 2 penguins, but OMG, we must have seen a
hundred! Quite a few of them were nesting and you could see the eggs under
their feet. It was a beautiful beach for them, I was so jealous, so we headed
to the beach ourselves. Unfortunately, Laura was asleep by the time we got
there and so Phil more than happily agreed to sleep in the car with her. Tom
and I braved the freezing water and had a ball. The seaweed is something like I
had never seen before. It was 5 metres, yes metres, long with roots at one end
and seaweed at the other and this tube in between. It was basically a seaweed
tree. Poor Laura was so sad when we went back to the car as she then realised
she had slept the whole 2 hours!
Week 42
With our trip nearly over we headed to Cape Town itself for
a look. We stopped off at the V & A Waterfront area and had a walk around.
Laura and I went on the big ferris wheel and Tom had a play at the Pirate Park.
Laura and I from the top of the wheel, saw a giant lego man, so after we got off
we all went for a look. The man was actually made out of plastic drink bottle
crates and had gold medals hanging from his neck. Not too sur of the relevance
as there were no signs explaining why it was there.
We took the kids to a toy shop and bought them a toy each.
They were so thrilled. They really miss their own belongings which are still
sitting in Perth accumulating dust. We drove to Signal Hill for a look and
watched some people doing tandem paragliding. It looked like great fun and I
would love to have given it a go. Maybe another time.
On Tuesday we headed to Table Mountain. It was an
interesting trip up as the cable car turns around as you go up, so everyone can
get a view. It is a very clever idea. The views from the top were great. It was
quite cool up there and we were lucky not to have cloud. We then said good bye
to Cape Town and headed back to the beach. The kids had a marvellous time and
Laura made friends with a lost dog. He had a ball playing with her too. They
really miss being around animals they can play with.
Wednesday saw us up early and on the road. Our first flight
was a 730am! We flew to Jo’burg and had to run to catch our next flight. When
we got to Lusaka, I realised I had left my Kwacha in my suitcase and my zip was
open. Someone had taken all my money and gone through my bag. Thankfully, they
left the souvenirs as they were more important to me. It was bound to happen at
some point, but I will remember to put all my money on me next time! We finally
arrived in Solwezi at 3pm and we were all exhausted. The drive back to the mine
went quick enough but I have to say I was not glad to be back. I had enjoyed my
time away and did not like the idea of being back on the mine site. Tom even
cried that night as he did not want to be here either.
It was back to routine on Thursday. Phil was back to work.
Carol arrived and we worked through the mountain of washing. It was as if we
had never been away. The garden had grown though. We had missed a lot of rain
and everything was so much bigger and greener than when we left. Our garden
looked gorgeous and still does.
We really had a wonderful holiday.The different foods were so delicious. I even had an Ostrich steak and it was lovely. The kids enjoyed spending
a lot of time with their Dad. Phil had a relaxing time and we made some
wonderful memories. I must have taken about 800 photos and will sort through
them in time. Don’t worry I won’t put all 800 on my blog, maybe only half!
Lol..The kids had some amazing times with African animals and I hope they
remember at least some of it. I know I will.
