Author Archives: puppy1952

About puppy1952

I am making the most of the South African Lifestyle and hope with my blog to share some of the adventures my husband and I are having in our retirement. We live at the Southern Tip of Africa in the small coastal town of Struisbaai. We enjoy travelling around South Africa and are bird and wildlife enthusiasts so are often in game reserves.

Gecko #81 On The Road Again – Karoo National Park

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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.

IMG_2281-1

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

IMG_2214 Karoo Chat 2019-09-15 8-33-28 AM

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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Share Your World – 16 September 2019

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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.

Stream of Consciousness Saturday – Blue

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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!

Gecko #81 on the Road Again – Mountain Zebra National Park

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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.

Cee’s Black and White Challenge – Candid

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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.

Gecko on The Road again – Addo Elephant Park

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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.

gecko

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.

Share Your World – 9 September 2019

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Great questions from Sparks this week. Here is my contribution.

What’s the first thing you’d do if you won the lottery or came into a huge fortune?

First I’d have to buy a ticket to win the lottery – so hopefully there is a very wealthy long lost relative that’s pissed off with his offspring and would rather leave his fortune to me!

My generous side says I would use it to alleviate the poverty around me BUT you can’t help others until you’ve helped yourself

The first thing I would do is buy property in Greece or Italy and start the ball rolling to get permanent residence/citizenship there. Then I would become a human swallow – summer in Europe April to September and Summer in Africa – October to March

THEN

while I languished in the lap of luxury I would consider how I could help the poor! The more you give the more you get, Right?

Which decade do you think had the best sense of style?

I rather like the 1920s fashions. Stunning hairstyles for men and women and the clothes were awesome.

Would you rather be half your height or double your weight?

Well – if I were half my height of 165cm I would be 82.5cm which is probably what I measured at 18 months old. And then I would have weighed between 11 and 12kg. I weigh 52kg now and if I understand the question correctly, I can’t adjust both height and weight so I would be 82.5cm tall and 52kg fat. That simply wouldn’t work. I would be 5 times as fat as I should be and probably unable to move or lead a normal life.

Doubling my weight to 104kg would at least be manageable if not desirable. I could still function as an adult and live a reasonable life. The possibility of doubling my weight is definitely there – halving my height – that can’t happen. Thank Goodness I am in control of the former! With a healthy lifestyle, I guess I can stay in the fifties for a long time yet to come!

If you wanted to get away from everyone totally, where would you hide?

Probably the best place to hide would be somewhere in the bush. My choice would be The Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. There is no internet connection in most of the camps and I could hide out there without anybody being able to contact me. At the same time, I would be in a place that I simply love. Usually, I go with my husband but if even he is excluded from this question then I could survive perfectly well on my own for a while. I would take the Ford Everest, pack a pup tent and what I needed to survive and enjoy the peace until I started to miss him and then return home!

What do you do that you love?

I try to enjoy everything I do while I am doing it. If it’s doing chores that are boring, I listen to a BBC Podcast while I’m doing them and then I have the added pleasure from the completed task that I hardly noticed doing as I was distracted.

I love interacting with my family and friends. I love bird watching and going to game parks. I love blogging and reading blogs. I love going to Yoga. The list goes on. Basically, I’ve reached an age where I am just very happy with my life. I am full of awe and wonder that I am privileged enough to live in a beautiful place, have a comfortable lifestyle and good health that allows me to travel both locally and abroad. I feel very lucky and grateful that Life is Good.

Right now we are camping in Addo Elephant Park! I adore my caravan!

Share Your World 3 September 2019

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Some great questions from Sparks

When you’re 90 years old, what do you suppose will matter most to you?

I have warned my children and grandchildren that I plan to be a burden to them when I’m old! Of course, this is a joke! I will probably still be looking after them at 90!

What will matter is that I am NOT a burden to anybody and that I still have all my marbles. My independence will matter the most.

What’s the best way to spend a rainy afternoon?

When I was teaching, rainy day procedure was a nightmare. We had to keep the children in and take turns with a colleague to fetch a cup of coffee. It wasn’t missing the coffee break that was so traumatic – although it was irksome – it was the behaviour of the poor kids – they would be desperate to get out there and PLAY! It was up to the teacher to invent active indoor games for their motoric release – but it was just not the same. When the rain let up I would take the kids out for a walk. Oh, the fun of splashing in the puddles and smelling the cold, fresh air! Their shoes would get wet – but we didn’t care.

Here in the post-drought Western Cape we are very grateful for the rainy days we are having. I can’t say I do anything special on such days – I just do what I normally do – housework, Duolingo, hobbies. I even quite enjoy a drive out on a rainy day.

What is one thing you don’t understand about yourself?

I understand myself perfectly. It’s other people that I don’t understand – and perhaps that’s what I don’t understand about myself – Why don’t I understand other people?