This week Cee gives us a free black and white topic the only requirement being to post a completely black and white photo – no sepia or other effects.
I have chosen some of my favourite holiday pics for this challenge.
Government schools in South Africa began their school year on Wednesday 9 January but as our two grandchildren are at private schools they had an extra week before needing to return. At very short notice I managed to get a camp site in Addo Elephant Park for two nights which we later extended to three.
After years of visiting parks we tend to take certain things for granted so having the kids with us and seeing the creatures through their eyes gives us a fresh appreciation for the wild. They also have keen eyes and their spotting skills amaze us. They also each had the use of a camera and so most of the photographs featured here are credited to them.
We left Jubilee Farm at 5:30 am on Wednesday, stopped at Jeffrey’s Bay for breakfast and arrived at Addo at midday. After a basic set up of the caravan we got straight back into the Everest and set off on a game drive. It was not too hot as there was a breeze blowing.
We returned to Addo Rest Camp and finished setting up and then enjoyed a lovely braai.
On Thursday we were up early and ready for a long day in the park. We had an idea where we might find lions so planned a trip to see them and then to leave the park via the Colchester Gate and have breakfast at the coffee shop near the petrol station.
After a while of seeing very little, Shannon yelled – Grandpa – do a U-turn now – Elephants are coming through the bush and will probably cross the road behind us.
To just do a U-turn is not that easy so Grandpa started to reverse and then the ellies suddenly appeared and did not cross over behind him. Shan yelled – Go foward – Go forward they’re coming after us! Grandpa remained perfectly still. And the ellies simply brushed past the car! Shan’s window was open and she could have touched the giant but instead she slip over to me in a state of angst! We all giggled nervously as the herd lumbered by.
Shan soon calmed down and was ready to order breakfast just a few minutes later!
Our return journey was somewhat quieter. We enjoyed watching ellies at the waterhole but they did not swim as we have seen many times in the past.
We stopped for a break at Jack’s picnic site and then made our way home enjoying all the other little things on the way.
On our third day we were lucky enough to see lions again.
We also had an awesome time watching elephants at Haphoor Waterhole
All too soon it was time to return to Pletteberg Bay. We arrived back on the Saturday afternoon and spent the night with the family. The next day we took Shan to George and then continued to Great Brak where we spent the night with our family at Rondomooi!
We have now been back in Struisbaai for just over a week. What an awesome holiday we had!
I have been absent from the Blogosphere for a while. This happens from time to time when I am visiting places that have little or no internet access. It can be very frustrating trying to blog and post photographs when the connection is weak and the network is slow. So this is just a short catch up on what has been going on in my life!
It has been a month of catching up with the rural family! Those of you who know me and/or follow my blog will know that our daughter has moved from rural Kokstad in KZN to rural Plettenberg Bay in the Western Cape. This has made visiting with her so much easier and since she’s been in Plett we have visited her four times! However we still have relatives back in KZN who would normally have contact with during the Christmas season. 2018 was a tough year for them as one nephew’s wife had a kidney transplant and a niece gave birth to triplets who needed intensive neo natal care. We felt the need to visit and catch up with them after Christmas so Kokstad was part of our holiday too.
On 16 December we left Struisbaai and made our way to Plett where we stayed till just after Christmas. Our Cape Town kids were already there and our niece from Spain came to spend some time at a nearby Game Lodge with her family so they all joined us for Christmas lunch. It was a really superb day!
After an awesome time in Plettenberg Bay we set off for Kokstad on 30 December. We stayed with Barbara and Andrew on Brooklyn Farm for the first two nights, visited Joan and her new babies, celebrated with Murray whose birthday in on New Year’s Day and The Earl took his boys fishing at the dam but sadly no fish were caught!
Joan gave birth to premature triplets on 24 July but sadly Samuel didn’t make it. Joshua and Jesse were in neonatal care for 86 days. It’s been a tough struggle for Joan and Henk and their extended family. We were delighted to meet these gorgeous babies who are now doing very well.
On 2 January Barbara, Andrew, Earl and I set off to Port Edward to spend time with our niece Heather who has a holiday home there. We ended up staying three nights! Ann was there with her three kiddies and it was awesome catching up with them too.
It was an awesome three days at Port Edward but time was running out and we had to get back to Brooklyn Farm. On our last day we visited Andrew’s brother on his farm in The Swartburg. Ken and Caroline entertained us with a stunning lunch then Earl went to fish in his dam while some of us went for a ride to see the farm. It was fun standing on the back with wind blowing through my hair.
Catching up and bonding with this side of the family was awesome even though it was just a short visit. All too soon it was time to head back to Plettenberg Bay. We left early on Monday morning, arriving at Jeffrey’s Bay at half past three. We over-nighted with our friends Maureen and Jim and enjoyed a wonderful dinner with them at Kitchen Windows on the beach front.
On Tuesday we left mid-morning and arrived back at Jubilee Farm at 2 in the afternoon. In the meantime we’d managed to get a caravan site at Addo Elephant Park and on Wednesday we took Simon and Shannon there for three nights. More about that in my next blog post.
Thanks to all our family and friends for hosting us and making this such a memorable holiday season. It has been awesome catching up with everybody.
2012 was a year of firsts for my Grade One colleagues and me. It was Lisa’s first year of class teaching, Monique’s first year teaching a boys’ class and the first time Bridgette and I would be teaching Grade 1 from the beginning of a year to the end. At our school boys and girls are taught separately in Grade 1 and Grade 2. Lisa and I had girls while Bridgette and Monique had the boys. And what an awesome year it turned out to be.
Bridgette is no longer in the classroom but still works at SVPS as a counsellor. I am the only one of us no longer on the staff and this year our 2012 Grade Ones finished their Primary School career. It was decided that all their Grade One teachers should say a few words at their valedictory. For us all to be there meant that I would have to drive 200 km from Struisbaai to Cape Town at a busy time of year! But when I received the invitation I was delighted and accepted without a second thought. Thanks Mr K for subsidising my fuel costs!
At award ceremonies at this amazing school each and every child is celebrated. The teachers pre-record a message mentioning each child by name and then as they come up onto the stage to shake the teacher’s hand and receive their certificates, his/her photo appears on the big screen and the message is broadcast for all to hear. It was awesome for us as Grade One teachers to see our ‘babies’ all grown up and hearing what their Grade Seven teachers had to say – All the potential we had seen in Grade One had been achieved!
My three Grade One colleagues and I had the honour of sharing our memories and a word of encouragement to send these fine young people on their way to High School.
I was also delighted to be asked to help hand out the special awards and trophies and how proud I was when several of my little girls were called up onto the stage. I was particularly moved when one of my special little girls who’d had an indomitable spirit in First Grade received the trophy for Persistent Commitment.
Congratulations to all The Grade Sevens and specially to the my 2012 girls. I am super proud of you all.
Thank you SVPS for having me. It was awesome!
In 2011 I started blogging about my return to teaching after a short break. All these posts were headed Back in the Classroom and appeared weekly until I retired at the end of 2014. I re-read some of these posts today and all those wonderful memories came flooding back. Parents and children reading this today might like to take a peek again.
Here is my contribution to this week’s Share your world from Sparks
What’s the worst topping you could put on popcorn? (credit to Teresafor this one)
I’m not a huge fan of popcorn but if I eat it then I would probably put Ina Paarman’s Rosemary and Olive spice mix on it – and salt of course. The worst thing – sugar!
In what country did Silent Night originate?
I have to admit that I Googled this one and what I found is fascinating. I had no idea of the origin of this popular carol but I LOVE the story and will be sharing it with my grandchildren on Christmas Eve.
The answer is Austria.
(WARNING! The following question is NOT meant to start a fuss. It’s merely a good discussion question in my opinion. Most everyone knows where I stand on this. If you feel like arguing about it, please give it a pass.) We’re all adults and sensible ones at that. We can be mature about such things, right?
How would you react if there was irrefutable proof that God doesn’t exist? How about if there was irrefutable proof that God does exist?
This is a bit of a tough one to answer without causing a stir! Here’s the thing – we all have a God consciousness or spirituality – it’s part of the human makeup. Since time began we’ve believed in something. Our literature is rich in myths and legends. There are numerous religious beliefs – where does that come from if not from “God” We may all have different ways of celebrating this fact but most of us certainly do.
And last question:
What is the scariest non banned item you could take on to a plane
Scariest? I really don’t know but I read somewhere that you may take your own parachute onto a plane. Now I wouldn’t mind doing that but if I had to use it – that would be scary!
Traditions
Which version of the holiday celebration do you and your family enjoy? By this I mean do you follow Jewish traditions with Hanukkah; Christian celebrations with Christmas and (for those over the pond) Boxing Day; or some other festivities that I’ve overlooked? Please do share with everyone! I truly feel that this sort of question lets us know a little more about our fellow bloggers without getting too personal (i.e. revealing too much of private lives, which some folks prefer to keep private.)
We celebrate Christmas on 25 December with a decorated tree. Being in the Southern Hemisphere we tend to have a cold dinner rather than a traditional Roast Dinner. Turkey is sometimes on the menu but usually its Glazed Gammon, Chicken and Lamb. Lots of delicious salads feature and we deck the tables with Christmas hats and Crackers. We will certainly be having mince pies, Christmas Cake and a traditional Christmas Pudding. Last year we celebrated with a big extended family on a farm in KwaZulu-Natal. This year we are celebrating at our daughter’s home in Plettenberg Bay. There will be at least seventeen of us enjoying the festivities together. We might insist that everybody dress for lunch but before and after there is very likely to be a lot of activity around the swimming pool!
Today is my birthday and just being here in the bush is the best gift I could ask for. However, I make a short list of what I would like to see today and at the top is Cheetah! The Kgalagadi usually shows us wonderful cheetah sightings but this time we’ve seen only a single sleepy one under a tree! I really want the Mools to see them at their glorious best. Pat even put in a request when saying Grace last night. Will her prayer receive a positive answer???
The Mools greet me with a big happy birthday and a gift of a new Kgalagadi Map Book! – It will be much treasured!
First up and always amazing to see is The Martial Eagle – then a den of the cutest Cape Foxes.
Then we watch two springbok locking horns in a friendly battle of strength
We find the wild cat at the same spot as yesterday and point her out to others who stop to ask what we’re staring at. We manage to get good shots of her and the kitten
There are no lion at Kij Kij today but we stop for coffee and to watch the sandgrouse, sparrows, quelea and finches flying from trees to water hole – always fascinating.
From there we drive to Melkvlei where The Earl cooks us a delicious birthday breakfast on the Skottel.
After breakfast we take the Dune Road.
Once on the Mata Mata Road we stop to see birds and animals. We find Ostriches. The babies are having a delightful sand bath.
Then it all happens. Between Rooibrak and Kamqua bore holes, lying lazily under a tree we find two young cheetah! My birthday wish comes true! Patricia’s prayer is answered.
We thoroughly enjoy a birthday treat of note! The cheetah interact with each other then they spot a springbok and get up and go for the chase – but they’re spotted and lose their lunch. We think they’ll go off somewhere else now –but no, they return to the same tree, giving us more wonderful views of their beautiful selves. I am in heaven!
There are only two other cars and we have nobody blocking our view – just awesome.
It’s a long way back to Twee Rivieren and we’re on a high all the way home. We stop to enjoy other creatures but the Cheetah are definitely the highlight. A wonderful way to end an amazing month’s trip! Tomorrow we start making our way home!
What an awesome day we had today. There were more gemsbok, springbok and wildebeest about and jackals were going busily about their business.
We were on the road just after 5:30 and by quarter to six we had a lovely male lion at the Samevloeiing water hole. He was just lying there lazily set to sleep for the rest of the day.
This waterhole is fed by three boreholes drilled in 1913, 1984 and 1987 respectively. Samevloeiing means flow together – thus confluence.
More excitingly we found three lions right next to the road at Kij Kij Waterhole. They were finishing off a meal of springbok and we got some lovely shots.
Kij Kij was the first borehole driled in the Nossob River in 1913. The farm, Kij Kij was private property at the time. It means – big big or The Biggest.
Then all of a sudden they got up and marched off. All the spectators got into gear and followed them. We enjoyed them walking, play fighting and interacting for the next 20 minutes. It was great fun.
There was very little going on for a while but then we heard a jackal howling. Stop, I said, There’s a reason why he’s making a fuss – there’s a predator nearby! We looked all around and couldn’t see anything. The jackal was looking up toward a hill and Earl followed his gaze and then said – It’s an African Wild Cat. He snapped a photo and then pointed it out to us.
Wow! It was as clear as anything through our binoculars. Another car was wondering what we were looking at and was amazed when we went up next to them and told them where to look. It was an awesome sighting!
Those were the two highlights of the day. We also enjoyed the birds tortoises and ground squirrels and a cute little mouse.
It’s all about being in the bush and experiencing the colours of the Kalahari, the changes in weather, the huge sky and the awesomeness of being away from normal town life!
Moving Day today! We were up by 5 and on the road by 6:25. The Mools made stops at all the waterholes while The Earl and I went on as quickly as possible with the caravan. As most of the waterholes don’t require negotiating, we managed to get some good sightings along the way. There were three lions at the waterhole on Kaspersdraai. There were quite a few cars so we pulled in and quickly took photos before moving on so as not to block the view for everyone else.
Kasper Sanderson had a residence here during the tsamma melon season. He also dug a well here. Kaspersdraai means Kasper’s Turn.
An hour later we had another lion sighting of 2 males and a female at Kameelsleep waterhole. A sad meaning to this name – kameel(perd) is a giraffe sleep means drag. It was here that the last migrating giraffe was shot by the Sandersons and dragged by donkeys to neighbouring Bechuanaland. Giraffe have now been reintroduced to The Kgalagadi.
We had a brief pit stop at Dikbaardkolk picnic site. Dikbaard means bushy beard and kolk means pool. Dikbaard is a colloquial term for lion. So it means Lion Pool.
Our next stop was for for breakfast at Melkvlei which is a big un-fenced site with tables and benches on both sides of the road. “Which spot do you want?” asked the Earl – I picked one on the opposite side of the road to the toilets. “Are you sure?” He asked. “Yes!” I said and when he pulled in what should I see in the tree but a Spotted Eagle-Owl! “This is definitely the right spot,” I said! A little later I noticed there was a juvenile on a branch and the mom was keeping a careful eye on it.
Melk means milk vlei means small depression which collects water in the rainy season. It is so named because of the white chalk banks of the river. We have indeed seen this picnic site flooded after heavy rains.
We arrived at Twee Rivieren at half past 11 and set up quickly. The Mools arrived two hours later. We went out again at 4 o’clock and had another lion sighting at leeudril. Leeu means lion dril means shiver. So it means here a man’s legs shook with fear when he encountered a lion on the other side of the dune!
We also saw springbok, tortoise, birds, ground squirrels and suricates but no cheetah and no leopard!
Nossob to Rooikop to Marie se Gat to Kaspersdraai and back
Another early start today and out the gate by 06:06. The Earl complained that we were late! We should have been out by 5:30 – now we’ll miss the lions and cheetahs. But all was not lost. Why are these cars parked at the water hole looking at nothing – he said. We turned in and there they were!
We watched them drink and play and then walk off together. What an awesome sighting – they spotted a springbok and went into hunting mode. But it was far off and gone before they could give chase. We watched them till they melted into the veld. A few minutes earlier or later and we would have missed them
We continued to Marie se gat. Marie was married to one of the men responsible for drilling the boreholes. His name was Henry Brink. Imagine being Marie – living like a squatter in the wilds of Africa. Life was tough but when the man on whom you depend fails to perform his duties and no money is coming in, you turn to desperate measures. Henry began to drink excessively and his job became the last thing he paid attention to so Marie simply drilled the borehole herself so that they could survive! Hooray for pioneering women like Marie!
At her famous Gat (bore hole) we watched quelea and Cape Sparrow
We continued to Kaspersdraai waterhole where clouds of quelea, finches and Namaquadove were being pursued by a lanner. Then we made our way back spotting a Martial Eagle on the way
Half way between Kaspers and Marie’s we saw a car stopped and asked the Australians within what they were looking at. “A sleeping cheetah – hasn’t moved for half an hour – we may give up and go back for breakfast!” We found a suitable spot – saw the cheetah lift her head and flick her tail and stayed to see if she did anything more while we had a cup of coffee. She didn’t stir – but it was still a lovely sighting as thus far no other cheetahs had made an appearance!
Back home I did some washing while The Earl cooked brekkie and then we watched the birds and mongooses round the camp.
Afternoon drive – Nossob to Cubitje Quap and Kwang and back
On the way we found a spotted eagle-owl in a tree
At Kwang Water Hole we found lion!
There were some vultures there too.
We left the creatures in peace and drove on for a while. When we came back they were more active.
On our return drive we found that there were two owls in the tree.
Pack up and set up day today.
The mornings are just cool enough to pack up in comfort. The Earl and I were off by quarter to seven. The Mools followed a little later as they still had to fuel. The plan was to meet at Kamqua for breakfast.
The sightings were slow all day today but The Earl and I did see sleeping lions and the Mools got them awake!
We arrived at Kamqua and opened up the caravan kitchen to prepare breakfast. Earl said – I’ll just prepare everything and start the cooking when the Mools arrive. Well he’d just completed the prep when they arrived. It was quarter past ten. Perfect timing.
The drive to Nossob from Mata Mata is over 100 km. It was a slow day as far as sightings were concerned. Our most interesting sighting was a little jackal at a waterhole we could see from the road.
Below are some photos of animals and birds we did see.
It was 43 degrees when we arrived at Nossob at around 1 pm.
Nossob means blackwater, black lung – soft and even flow. The northern reaches of the river are wide and flat making it difficult to see where the actual course runs.
We parked the caravan and pushed up the roof but left the canopy till later. I washed up the breakfast things in the camp kitchen and washed out all my dish towels. Then I sat in the air conditioned caravan and edited photographs while the Earl napped.
When the Mools arrived we finished setting up and then all went to the pool for a swim. I was delighted to get a good photo of a violet cheeked waxbill at the gate.
Nossob to Polentswa and back
We made an early start this morning, getting our exit permit at 20 to 6. The first water hole we stopped at was Cubitje Quap. The meaning of this name is Aardvark Burrow but I’ve never seen any aardvarks there!
This is a good spot to watch birds of prey trying to catch birds. There were hundreds of doves, quelea and finches in the trees. They swarmed down in twittering clouds to drink at the waterhole. At the approach of the prey-bird they explode into the air and back into the trees.
There are several waterholes along the corrugated way to Polentswa. We stopped at Kwang where the water is of good quality. The meaning of Kwang is unknown but it is a site where Piet de Villiers, the Inspector of Lands, camped regularly. He was instrumental in having the area declared a national park. We had rewarding sightings of secretary birds as well as a red-necked falcon that landed on the ground near the waterhole. This bird is easy to confuse with the lanner. The diagnostic feature is that its whole crown is red and the feathered part of the legs are striped, not plain.
At Polentswa we sat having our breakfast while observing wildebeest and birds at the waterhole. Polentswa means ‘losing the way, or rogue river.
On our return we saw vultures at some of the waterholes the last being Bedinkt which means sour grass.
It is also interesting to pay attention to the small creatures of the park. Aren’t these ground agamas fascinating. Although they are called ground agama, they do like to hang about in thorn trees. The male’s head turns blue in the breeding season.
Adventuring into Retirement 