Here is my contribution to this week’s Black and White Challenge from Cee
A ‘Rhino’ used to get around the farm
Don’t forget the dogs!
Farm Dog at the Dam
Getting the horse ready for a ride on the farm
Scarecrows – having a coffee break?
This week’s prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is ENT, TEN, NET. Use one, two or all. I will free write and then go back and bold the ents tens and nets.
Yesterday my husband went fishing for the first time in months. As you would expect he would need a net and there is indeed one on the boat on which he fishes but that is only used in the last part of the activity to get the fish onto the vessel. The important piece of equipment is the rod of which he owns many. I could present you with a list of very expensive rods that line the walls of our garage. Not only does he have the best state of the art fishing rods he also has an impressive inventory of tackle. Not ten but more like ten thousand different hooks, lines, sinkers and lures. All of these are truly fascinating to look at especially for small boys and a few girls who are embarking on this hobby. I remember my grandsons as toddlers getting hold of a particularly pretty lure and pretending they were ‘fishies’ as they swished them in a basin of water. Now, these things have treble hooks on them so you can imagine my horror upon finding them with these dangerous toys. It was not easy to extract them from their tiny clutches. Only Smarties and a Tail about a Whale would distract them from their game.
For this excursion to sea, the love of my life awoke at five! I intended to get up at that crazy hour too but it was dark so I lay in until six and then went off to Yoga. It’s a fifteen-minute walk to my class and what a pleasure to watch the sunrise and breathe the fresh Spring air. Early morning is really the best part of the day! After sharing an excellent cup of coffee with my teacher, it was ten to eight. I walked home feeling energised and ready to face a morning of chores. I put on a BBC Women’s Hour Podcast and got everything done in three episodes! I showered and then sat down at the computer, connected to the internet and Duolingo and did my daily Italian lesson.
The intrepid fisherman arrived home at one o’clock, exhausted and hungry after catching only one katonkel. Nobody else on board managed to catch anything.
“Old fishermen never die they just smell that way.”
I whipped up some scrambled eggs for my hungry hubby after which he took a nap. It was then time to prepare a quiche for the party we were to attend in the evening. Once that was done I took a walk to the mall to get a card and present for the birthday girl.
The party was a surprise and the weather was perfect for it. We all sat around a pit fire in the courtyard of the hosting friends. The delicious food was set out and Yolandi didn’t suspect a thing and was beautifully surprised to find us all there when she arrived. It was wonderful to be celebrating her birthday as the past year has been a tough one with her having undergone a bone marrow transplant and chemo treatment. It has been an eleven-year journey but the good news is that everything is now in remission.
What a wonderful network of friends attended this celebration with presentations of food, gifts and wishes for Yolandi’s continued good health.
These are the basic rules of posting on Stream of Consciousness Saturday.
1. Your post must be a stream of consciousness writing, meaning no editing (typos can be fixed), and minimal planning on what you’re going to write.
2. Your post can be as long or as short as you want it to be. One sentence – one thousand words. Fact, fiction, poetry – it doesn’t matter. Just let the words carry you along until you’re ready to stop.
Today’s prompt from Linda requires us to use either rap, wrap or both.
The meaning of rap – sharp blow; a type of music, to strike sharply. What a lovely word – so onomatopoeic.
Rap is a form of entertainment that many of the older generation don’t get. But I actually love it. It’s vibrant and fun and works a treat when you’re trying to teach young children. When I was teaching I enjoyed the THRASS rap we used to Teach Handwriting, Reading and Spelling Skills. I’d bring rap into many other areas of my teaching too especially if I noticed that the children were becoming distracted. It really worked to bring them to attention and got them laughing too. Wouldn’t you if your school ma’am started to rap in the middle of a lesson? In the bad old days, the only rap from the teacher would be one on the knuckles!
Put w in front of it and you get Wrap! Now that conjures up thoughts of gifts in beautifully decorated wrappings.
OR Delicious food in an easy to eat Wrap. It’s a brief word for a healthy snack wrapped up in a soft flatbread. I seldom make them at home but Hubby loves to order them when we’re on the road and we need to stop for something quick and healthy for lunch. His favourite – and mine if I succumb to eating a carb – is smoked chicken with sweet chilli sauce and don’t forget the avo!
We left Karoo National Park at 07:20 and made our way to Warmwaterberg for a two-night stay before returning to Struisbaai.
The skies were clear and the roads were long but they were a pleasure to drive. Travelling the Meiringspoort Pass was awesome!
The Karoo roads are long and seem to go on forever – but the scenery is stunning
Meiringspoort Pass had some winding bends
The pictures don’t do it justice!
The pass ends at Derust where we stopped at Herrie’s Restaurant for breakfast.
We enjoyed the setting
A wholesome ontbyt (breakfast) with good Boere Koffie (coffee)
We had a good chuckle reading the many amusing signs
Isn’t that the truth!
Fortified by the good food we continued our journey to Warmwaterberg Hot Spring a place we visit quite often as it’s not too far from home for a short stay.
Warmwaterberg Hot Springs
It was lovely to have a caravan site right opposite the pool gate and away from the main campsite. This saved The Earl a long uphill walk back to camp!
Our Campsite with the pool in the background
At the braai!
We had some feathered visitors – This is a Karoo Thrush
The Peacocks were in a romantic mood
And furry visitors popped in too – feral cats abound – this one was quite tame.
We thoroughly enjoyed just chilling at our campsite and popping over to the pool. It’s the kind of place where everybody is friendly and there’s always someone to chat to in the pools.
We even got up in time to watch the sunrise!
We are now home in Struisbaai and found the garden looking not too bad from two weeks of neglect. The clivias are flowering beautifully! We had a gardener in today and after he’d mown the lawn everything looked pretty good.
The caravan has been thoroughly cleaned, the washing and ironing done so now we’re ready for the next trip!
Karoo National Park is 356 km from Mountain Zebra. We needed to stock up on supplies and refuel which we did in Graaff-Reinet. If ever you travel though there don’t miss stopping for a bite to eat at The Blue Magnolia. It is awesome. We managed to find a double parking place for the caravan and a car guard made sure that it was safely looked after.
The campsite at Karoo National Park is one of the best Sanparks facilities we’ve been to.
We chose #11 which had sufficient shade and was close to the bathrooms. The sites are set up in a crescent, it is well lit at night, the ablutions are sparkling clean with extra touches like hand wash next to each basin, a full-length mirror and a counter with a lit vanity mirror for doing your hair and make-up.
Gecko 81 happily set up
On our first evening, this female kudu thought she’d join us! She must have jumped the fence to get in!
The Park was established in 1979 and as it is in the semi-desert Karoo, and like Mountain Zebra, it is very dry. The scenery, however, is also magnificent.
Like Mountain Zebra this park has similar animals like vervet monkey, springbok, gemsbok, eland and kudu. We enjoyed seeing them all as well as a few extras
Male Kudu
Mountain Zebra of course
Back view of a Chachma Baboon
A dear little steenbok – there were many
Black-backed Jackal – we only saw this one.
The Karoo Korhaan was on our wish list and on the first morning we nearly missed them. I saw two strange-looking ‘bushes’ and yelled ‘STOP!” The bushes turned out to be crouched korhaans trying to keep warm. The temperature at that time was 4 degrees C and only warmed up to 30 much later!
The female Karoo Korhaan
The Male Karoo Korhaan
We did not see as many birds as we would have liked but here are a few that we enjoyed.
The Karoo Chat – saw many
Mouth open!
White-throated Canary
The Ostriches ruled
Ant-eating chat
Pale-chanting Goshawk
White-backed Mousebird
I’m just not sure about this one – any suggestions?
We did not get an impressive list but for the record here they are
Ostrich, Karoo Korhaan, Karoo Chat, Familiar Chat, White-throated Canary, Karoo Scrub-Robin, Cape Robin-Chat, Dark Capped Bulbul, Southern Masked Weaver, Acacia Pied Barbet, Red-winged Starling, Laughing Dove, Cape Sparrow, House Sparrow, Grey-headed Sparrow, Pale-chanting Goshawk, Double-banded Courser, White-backed Mousebird,
We got back from our morning drive at 11 am today and decided to go to the restaurant for a snack. They were only open for take-aways so we ordered a chicken wrap each – not bad at all. We have dined at the restaurant on past visits and find the food excellent. They serve a very good breakfast too.
Tomorrow we leave the last of the parks we are visiting on this trip.
If you have never done a Sanparks holiday, I don’t want to put you off, because the experience you have in any one of them is wonderful but it is only fair to warn you of the hitches.
In certain parks and camps, the maintenance is bad. Addo used to be fantastic but since about 2015 we have seen a steady decline. The roads are not regularly graded – those potholes need to be filled in! The ablutions are acceptable on the female side but not on the male side. Drains are blocked and they are not properly cleaned.
Mountain Zebra’s campsite is neat and tidy but their bathrooms need a serious upgrade – the hot water in the showers is erratic and the cubicles too small! The washing machine in the laundry was broken! Addo didn’t have washing machines at all and that’s okay but if they have them, please Sanparks, keep them in working order!
Karoo National Park was such a surprise. Everything was spotless and everything worked. The communal kitchen had boiling water on tap, lovely cooking facilities and a fridge and freezer for the use of the campers. The bathrooms are functional, clean and there is even an arrangement of flowers to pretty it up. The laundry washing machine and dryer work!
If Karoo NP can do it – so can the others! It’s all to do with good management. So well done Karoo National Park!
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Here is today’s prompt from Sparks
“This week I’m doing something a little different. Still questions and answers, but this week I’ve gathered those from other bloggers. There are a few more than usual too, which you can choose to answer all of or some of. If you’ve done the question on that other blogger’s site, feel free to use the answer you gave to them if you want. Each blogger is credited for their contribution.”
Courtesy of Rory:
Are we losing the art of listening in comparison to simply hearing?
I think some of us are but others not. There are so many empathetic, caring people in my circle who truly listen without judgement or wanting their own opinion listened to.
How often do you openly discuss with friends or here in WP with your readership topics that make you feel uncomfortable or may be taboo or stigma laden?
Quite often with friends – not so much on WordPress. Mine is not that kind of blog. I write about my travels, my lifestyle and the good things in life.
Do you think that these discussions should be freely discussed and written about more?
Yes, they should be. But talk is cheap. Something needs to be done! South Africa has a ton of issues and people are discussing them and writing about them but the situation is still not improving. Frustrated people are leaving the country in droves – we call it The Chicken Run – but what to do? If all the good people leave who will be left to help sort out the problems?
Did you have a nickname as a child and if so, what was [or what is it now]?
I had a few. I think I’ve answered this question before on Share Your World? I had a Greek surname that was corrupted to Automatic Cart Horse – which I didn’t think was funny at the time but now I think it’s hilarious. My husband used to call me Puppy. Now he calls me Granny! My friends object to it strongly but I don’t mind.
Would you rather double your height or lose half your weight? (In response to last week’s double your weight, half your height query). Thanks Leslie!
Suggestion by Leslie – Swot8
Last time I chose to double my weight as I could still live a reasonably normal life if I did. This time – if I could not live a normal life weighing 25.5 kg nor measuring 330cm. I would be too thin with either option – so I think I will just stay as I am!
What is your most essential kitchen tool? (Can be a person you know. For the non-cooks in the crowd).
A sharp knife.
Courtesy of Roger Shipp
https://rogershipp.wordpress.com/2019/09/15/essential-kitchen-tools/
Gratitude Question:
Who is one blogger you really admire and why?
Do I have to choose just one? Okay – Pat over at Chronicles of an Anglos Swiss. She writes beautifully about everyday things in her life as a ‘Golden Oldie’. She seems to ignore her disability and simply gets on cheerfully with LIFE. I love reading about her outings in her “wheelie” and enjoy her fantastic photographs. She is an example to us all.
Linda asks us to write about the first blue thing we see as we sit down to write from today’s prompt – BLUE
And strangely I am surrounded by quite a few blue things. A tablecloth on my picnic table, the chair I am sitting on and the sky as I am sitting outside my caravan in The Karoo National Park.
I always pack a table cloth when I go camping although I seldom use one at home – preferring to use placemats on my table or counter there. But when picnicking in the bush you need to cover the outdoor tables in picnic spots as they’re not too clean! Back at camp the table cloth just makes you the area look prettier.
Unfortunately, I have lost one or two table cloths through carelessly forgetting to remove them from the picnic site table and once at a self-catering cottage! I am more careful now.
I am very fond of this particular table cloth which I spotted at a craft stall at a garden show in Kokstad. It’s home-made and of very good quality.
Both The Earl and I have blue camping chairs. They go with us everywhere and are very comfortable. They’re the first things removed from the caravan before we set up. First, they hold the canopy poles and then us as we enjoy a bitterly cold drink after the effort!
I am grateful to have the clear, blue sky as rainy days aren’t much fun when you’re camping! The early mornings are crispy cold but clear but by 10 o’clock it is lovely and warm here in The Karoo National Park.
Blue table cloth, blue chair, blue sky and even the dish towel covering the plastic sink is blue!
After our wonderful three days in Addo, we moved on to Mountain Zebra National Park near Cradock in The Eastern Cape. En Route we stopped at a farm stall in the middle of nowhere just off the N10. I just love finding these hidden gems and Daggaboer Padstal was indeed unique. We were greeted at the door by our hostess who offered us a thimble of ginger beer or lemonade to taste. I had the ginger beer and The Earl the lemonade and both were delicious – homemade of course. Inside was a feast for the eyes and there were a variety of goodies from rusks to crafts for sale
Breakfast was a wholesome fried egg, bacon, boerewors and tomato served with roostekoek of course. The coffee would do any Boer (farmer) proud! It was percolated and had to be poured through a sieve. For my non-South African readers – roosterkoek is a ball of bread dough cooked on a grid over hot coals. It is often served with a braai/BBQ but is also often served in restaurants as an alternative toast.
An interesting Padstal (Farm Stall)
A wholesome Boere Breakfast – I declined the roosterkoek
Our three days at Mountain Zebra were lovely. This park was established in 1937 with the prime focus being to protect the endangered Mountain Zebras. Many of the other parks both Sanparks and private obtained their mountain zebras from this park. Mountain Zebra Park is also the most significant contributor of The Cheetah Metapopulation Project and many of their cheetahs have been relocated to other parks in the country.
We did not see any cats during our stay in the park but what we really enjoyed was the magnificent scenery in this mountainous reserve. The first day was hot but after that we enjoyed sunny but very cold days! Early mornings and nights were down to 5 degrees C!
Camp on Day 1 – Nice and warm
Note the mountain zebra
A tree growing out of rock – HOW?
Dry but beautiful
The roads were very steep in some parts
At a lookout point – The Earl took a picture of me taking a picture of him
My picture of him taking a picture of me taking a picture of him
On Thursday we drove the most hectic of the 4X4 trails. We only read the description later – “Umgeni is the most challenging of the 4X4 trails -It can either provide a lot of excitement or induce premature aging!” It did both for us! At one point The Earl had to get out of the car to remove a particularly large rock from the road! His choice was to risk being eaten by a predator or destroying his car! Luckily there wasn’t an animal in sight.
During our three day stay, we enjoyed seeing a variety of game and birds.
Brown-hooded kingfisher
Acacia Pied Barbet
Gemsbok (Oryx)
Kudu female – Saw lots of males too
Familiar Chat
Cape Rock Thrush
Ground Squirrel
Double-banded courser
Vervet Monkey
Black Wildebeest – different to the Blue Wildebeest seen in Kruger and other parks – Note the white tails
Red-billed ox-peckers giving an Eland a spa treatment
Eland
Pale-chanting Goshawk – only raptor we saw
Mountain Zebra
Dark-capped bulbul
A herd of Black wildebeest (Gnus)
Large-billed lark
Our national animal – Springbok
Spike-heeled Lark
Scaly-feathered finch
Golden-breasted bunting
Southern Boubou inviting himself into the caravan
Then asking The Earl for a snack
This naughty monkey stole an egg from my box and then went to wash in the puddle next to the caravan! One has to be constantly on guard when camping in the wild!
Our most exciting experience was spotting three rhinos while on a lonely drive and no other cars were there to share the sighting with us.
Black Rhino
Mom and baby
A little while later we were also the only car to see a fourth rhino on his own. When he caught sight of us he made a mock charge and then thought we weren’t worth the effort and ran off into the bush.
Today I took some candid photos suited to today’s challenge from Cee
Ground squirrel in Mountain Zebra National Park – we stared at them so they stared back!
Cheeky Vervet Monkey – taking a drink from a rocky puddle in front of our caravan.
Southern Boubou – not too shy to invite himself into our caravan/trailer
Then he hopped onto our picnic table
Short-sighted black rhino eyeballing these strange creatures in a tin can on wheels.
We had great plans for a long road trip in the second half of this year but a few things caused us to change our minds. Our big trip of the year was the cruise from Mauritius to Venice and we have also done a few short caravan trips. We have had some family events to attend and our little home in Struisbaai needed some attention so we decided to just do a short trip before we have to start thinking of the Christmas Season.
We packed up the Gecko Xtreme Off-Road caravan and left Struisbaai on Thursday 5 September then spent the weekend with our sister-in-law at Great Brak River. She was celebrating her 60th birthday and there was a bit of a family reunion there. Diane and Carey live on a small farm and some of us camped in the garden! It was awesome fun.
On Sunday we headed to Addo Elephant Park – our third trip there this year! It was not as exciting as last time but very enjoyable nevertheless. We only managed to get two nights when I booked and we planned to spend a third night at a private camp outside the park. I asked if there were any cancellations when we checked in but no luck. However, the next day I asked again – and there was a vacancy so we got our three nights saving us an extra pack-up day.
The weather was awesome – very hot on Sunday and Monday then cooler morning and evening on Tuesday but still shorts and t-shirt temperatures during the day.
Tiny baby enjoying the mud
Protected by his elders
This is so refreshing
I’m just gonna sit here and enjoy the waters
The warthogs seem to have no fear of the giants above them
AAAH a lovely trough of cool, fresh water.
Early on our second morning, we came across this strange looking goose!
It looks like a shelduck
Then we saw a more familiar-looking one a little further away.
Mr. Shelduck
And soon we also saw his wife
Mrs. Shelduck
So the odd creature must have been their youngster not yet in his full adult plumage.
A better photo of Mom.
Usually, we see them near water but they must have been out foraging.
It is hot and dry in The Park at the moment and even the birds were scarce. We did, however, manage to see and photograph a few
Streaky-headed seedeater
Bokmakierie
Common Fiscal
Ant-eating chat
Pale-chanting Goshawk on prey
The guts are delicious!
Southern Boubou
Hoepoe
Emerald-spotted wood-dove
Cape Glossy Starling
Jackal Buzzard
Karoo Scrub-robin
One doesn’t often see suricates so it was really rewarding to find some so close to the road
This lot greeted us in a friendly manner
What was he thinking!
The rest of the gang dug furiously for breakfast
Perhaps because of the heat, the animals were hiding in the bushes and trees. We usually see herds of them on the open plains. This time they were more scattered.
Zebra eating the dry grass
A lone red hartebeest
Male Kudu trying to get some juicy leaves
There were not many buffalo around but this one got a beauty treatment from a crow! The crow tried to impersonate an ox-pecker but didn’t quite have the skills. He jumped up and pecked at the long-suffering buff and managed to get a tick or three.
I see some parasites annoying you – shall I get them off?
Be my guest – I haven’t had a spa treatment in ages
oooh – that’s better!
These jackals were hiding from a kudu who was trying to trample them!
Other tourists reported seeing lions at various places in the park but we only saw one female about to take a nap.
We left Addo this morning and made our way to Mountain Zebra National Park near Craddock. More about that in my next post.
Adventuring into Retirement 