JULY 2009.

JULY 2009

THIS MONTH IN THE GIDDY FAMILY
SUZANNE LEAVES BARBARA'S SCHOOL
HEAVY RAIN FALLS AND LASHING WIND PLAY HAVOC WITH THE SCHOOL AND OUR BACK YARD
BUSHMANS RIVER WITH CHARLES AND INGRID
ADRIENNE WILSON IS IN ROME FOR FINA DIVING JUDGING
DAVE GASNER DESCRIBES DOING OTTER TRAIL MANY YEARS AGO.
I DO THE CLOVER 10KAY HELPERS RUN AND THE ACTUAL RACE AS WELL.
PETER WHATLEY (ACHILLES RUNNER) WRITES FROM DOHA
BACK ON THE BIKE, CYCLING WITH RON



Suddenly the half way mark of 2009 has past. We are now in July and heading downwards to the end of this decade. This past period has been an amazing time for South African Sport. We hosted and did reasonably well as a Soccer Team in the FIFA Confederation Cup. Unfortunately, due to some misunderstanding and due to lack of confidence, PE was not a host venue for this tournament. Brazil were ultimate winners but the Bafana team did us proud. Bafana Bafana were placed fourth behind Spain, USA and Brazil.

We have been playing Super 14 Rugby where the Blue Bulls from Pretoria (Tshwane) were placed first. The Sharks, Lions and Stormers played up to standard and we were not let down by any means. Then came the British Lions. We have been treated to some stunning Rugby over the past few weeks including a match in PE which the EP team did reasonably well. The two Springbok Matches have also turned out to be really exciting matches going down to the final few minutes before victory was given to the Boks.

The Alpha Course in which I have been leading a group ended on Wednesday 1.07.2009 and has been a real success. The group that I was fortunate enough to lead was a really special and wonderful group. We formed some real friendships and have agreed to continue for now including a meeting on Tuesday next week at Moira and Reg Haupt.

This week we played bridge with Charles and Ingrid. Ally had a Party at a friend and we used the time between dropping and collecting her to visit Charles and play some bridge. We have not played the game for ages except for Barbara who has become quite hooked on Computer Bridge. I am sure that she is honing her skills on the computer.

We will remember the last week of June 2009 for the cold spell with lashing high winds and heavy rainfalls. Our back yard was flooded as the Street Drain became blocked and this has an overflow effect on the drain which flows from our bathroom. Barbara's school also felt the effect of the heavy rainfall and was rained out. Fortunately school holidays started and Barbara only had a few days of having to mop up.

Barbara's school will go through a new phase: She has cut back to just one class. Suzanne was to be retrenched at the end of 2009 but has decided to make the break now and resigned. Barbara will run the school on her own with the two assistants. She will operate with one instead of two classes and will change the days of school to four days Monday to Thursday.

Ally started the school holidays with a Hockey Clinic. It was three days of coaching which we hope will improve her ability and skills on the field.

Friday 3.07.2009.
Cathy's Birthday.

We arranged a "Hike Discussion meeting" at our house this evening. Fred Kohler, Gerald and Pat Scheepers and Hannes Zeelie were there to talk about the Mountain Zebra hike next week. Fred has a problem that he has to be back early on Monday. The rest of us will leave on Saturday morning early to try to be at Cradock by 08.00am.

Saturday morning:
I have started running (walking) again this week.This morning we ran from Mill Park to the William Moffet and then down the third avenue dip and then back home via Linkside. This route is about 10kay. In our group was Susan Burri, Andrew Barton, Adrienne Wilson, Suzanne Gendall, Gerald and myself. We ran at an easy pace and I was able to stay with this friendly group. I thought about Sunday morning when I knew that I would be on my own at Bushmans and how I love the company and chit chat that goes with a run of this nature.

After the run I spent a little time at work, collected a Hockey stick from Brian Bands for Joshua and then did a "tip run" off loading some of the sticks and branches that our gardener, Kevin, has been cutting away. I purchased a good looking fillet steak from the Spar and then headed home to load up for our weekend at Bushmans.

We dropped Ally off at the Zeelies and drove through to Bushmans River Mouth where we were to stay with Charles and Ingrid. Once there we took a walk to the local pub where we ordered a couple of Quarts, Savanahs and a plate of slap chips. Adquately armed we settled down to watch the final in a series of three internationals against the British Lions. We had already won the first two matches.

As we sat down I recognised Carol-Anne Cash who does the promotions, amoungst other things, for the Achilles marathon and the Lake Farm 27Kay. Her husband, Niel Bissiker, does the radio sports commentary for Algoa FM. I also met up with Theo Van Wyk, who was at High School with me at St Andrews. He recognised me even though we had last seen each other about 40 years ago.

It was a great afternoon sitting and chatting in this little country pub. We lost the rugby but that did not matter to me too much as I had enjoyed the outing. We strolled back to the camp site and started the braai. We grilled the Fillet to perfection. Ingrid had brought some bottled salads which complemented the meat. After supper and a few more beverages we started an evening of Bridge. We all played better that we had done the previous time.

Bridge is a card game that requires a fair amount of concentration. As the evening progressed so did the red wine and the sherry and the quality of bridge playing began to deteriorate. It was about 10pm when we all turned in for the night.

Sunday 5.07.2009.
I started the day off with a Walk / Run up to the Build-it and Bakery in the industrial area. This is only about a 7 or 8 kay run. I never enjoy being on my own as I don't go as far or as fast as when I am in a group. But this morning I loved the solitude as I watched a Heron jump off a Power Line perch. This National bird of SA glided and looked so absolutely peaceful and content that I could not help but feel the same way. As I turned back I was treated to as beautiful a sunrise as I will ever see. The morning sun slowly crept up over the Eastern Horizon and became a fire ball as it struggled to make an impact though the morning mist and cloud.

Back at the camp site I had a shower. I love this shower as it is just short of being outdoors and gives me a sense of freedom as I washed off the braai smoke and residue of the mornings excersise. The monkeys were all over the shack and chased away the birds (Cape White eye, Cape Weaver, Heuglins Robin and Southern Boubou) feeding on the cheese and tomato that Charles had put out for them.

This morning we loaded up packed sandwiches, coffee and some warm jerseys into Charles' bakkie and drove down to the Bushmans River where we launched the boat. Charles took us far up river, past the game lodge (Amakhala). We did not spot any game until we were on our way back. We saw a few buck which I later identified as Grey Rhebok. (horns on males only, narrow vertical spikes, ears tall & narrow, brownsih grey, underparts white in small herds). We stopped for a sandwich. Ian jumped out of the boat and into a deep mud bath. The rest of us decided to stay in the boat for our breakfast. As we were sitting there we heard the distinct sound of the Fish Eagle. And sure enough there was a bird above us.

We had seen a few African Goshawk, African Pied Wagtail (which could have been the blacksmith plover except that they were is groups of more than two and plovers are normally in pairs), Egyptian Goose, Oyster Catcher, a Pelican, plenty of Comorant as they raced in front of our boat, what I think was a tern diving and catching a fish and a Redbilled Hornbill. As we were boating back we saw a small group looking uphill. They had spotted a Fish Eagle on a branch. This magnificent bird had something in its beak and was enjoying a morning snack.

Ian steered us home. This had been a really relaxing morning but Barbara & I had to leave and drove home to collect Ally.

This had been a stunning break for us. Charles, Ingrid and Ian had a few more days there.

This week went quickly with a visit to Kingwilliamstown, a stay over at the Red Valley B & B in Komga and a visit to Butterworth. Wednesday and Thursday I was up early for a run/walk with the group. Friday I had the day off and used the day to pack and ready our kit for the Mountain Zebra hike. Ally had Holiday Club. For a full report on the Mountain Zebra Hike see separate blog.

Monday the 13th: I was supposed to be in Jhb for a FS GM meeting and had missed some "customer Care" training in PE and had also missed a visit by Barry Dell in PE. While all of this was going on I was in Cradock completing the hike.

Tuesday 14th: Back to work. I was supposed to meet Gerald for a run this morning but still felt a bit stiff from the hike.

Wednesday 15th: Back on the road this morning. Cold: Adelle said she read 3Degrees in her car. None of the 'Slowies' to run with this morning. Others (Nicky Roote, Elmarie, {just back from Knysna half} etc) who used to be at the back are now part of the front group (John, Tim, Adelle etc)and me who used to be part of the front group is now at the back. Ah Well: "Ce le vie".

ADRIENNE WILSON:
Here is an email I received from Adrienne Wilson who is in Rome for FINA Diving Competition Judging.

Hello dear running friends, You think I am lucky being here, well I think you are lucky enjoying your weather. It is unbelievably hot here, and our pool is out doors. We are not allowed to put umbrellas up because of TV coverage so we are going to look like dried up prunes when we all return home.

The venue is big and beautiful with blue life size posters of all the different disciplines. The pictures are like statues, and yes the men in the pictures do have cossies on, unlike the statues all around Rome.

I arrived only yesterday, but have already taken the tube to explore. I met up with a few of the diving officials who have arrived, and we went to a quaint little place to try their pasta. I note the wine is cheaper than the water, and a coke goes for about R30 so I guess I will have to stick to wine!!.

Today was the Fina congress where I was the SA delegate - that meant I had to behave myself and have lunch with Sam Ramsamy and talk small talk.

The other judges will start arriving later tonight. There are only 5 of the 17 judges that were at Olympics and the last world championships, all the judges are new. It is great being an old girl on the block. I must say though, we never get over our nerves and our butterflies are already beginning. Tonight the initiation starts for the new ones. I am sharing with Hannah from Prague. Lovely girl, and in my mind the prettiest, sexiest etc etc - and no she will not lead me astray!!, I think I will be in bed way before her at night.

Our technical and judges meetings start tomorrow. We also write another judges exam. The days are going to be really full now. Diving starts on Friday at 9.30 in the morning, and some nights we only get home at 9,00. The mens 1m competition is scheduled for four and half hours because of the competitors. They are going to have to roll the judges, because we cannot be expected to sit out in the sun for that length of time.


Saturday night will be the opening ceremony. I am not too sure if I will be able to send any pictures, because I am using the business center to type to you.
Saying goodbye to Jen, Dani & Mat yesterday was horrible. They are going to be so spoilt. Poor Dani has a mouth full of ulcers and is a little run down. I have just spoken to Jen on the phone and they have just finished a round of golf, and are now going to Ice Age 3.

Running is going to take a back seat because our hotel is right in the center of town with tiny little streets and lots of traffic. There is a gym in the hotel but it is small and we have to queue to get the bikes or treadmill. The uniforms that we have been issued are great, but we are going to be so hot in it. Finals we will be in full pants, long shirt, and blazers, and during the day it will be long pants and T shirts.

Take care, just sending a little note to say I miss you all and wish you could share this experience with me. Sending lots of love from Rome Adrienne

Here is an interesting story from Dave Gassner who I met when doing the Amatola 100kay run with Tim Gendall. He is a real tough athlete who loves extreme sport and pushes the limits.

Dave wrote this email in response to an invitation to hike the Otter Trail with us in June 2010.

Hello Peter,

Hope you are well, thanks for the mail. We won't be joining you but thanks for the invite, I doubt you will battle to fill the spaces. I have done the Otter 5 times now, last in 2006, I really enjoy the hike and have even run it, back in 1981. A friend of mine and I were holidaying along the Garden Route and turned up at Storms River. We stayed in the hiker's huts at the mouth (long gone now, fancy log cabins have replaced them) and discovered the trail.

When we asked to go on it we were told that we have to book through Pretoria but we could start the trail if there were hikers who did not pitch. After a few days there were some no shows and we had to wait one day later until 09:00 to be sure thay didn't arrive late.

We bought some cokes, bully beef and baked beans, packed a small army canvas rucksack between the two of us, rolled our sleeping bags around our belts and at about 10:00 off we went. We had to cover two days the first day but we were going so well we just kept going and stopped at the last hut as it was getting dark and we had no idea how far we had to go.

There were very plain huts then, just a one room affair, no bunks and just enough space for 12 to sleep on the floor, as the hike was full we slept outside. The next morning we quickly got to Natures valley and hitched back to the start. In 1981 the route was not even well marked or well worn and we took wrong turns a few times, mainly on the local fishermen's paths.

Watch out for crows, the buggers know how to open the zippers on back packs and they can unpack your food !!!!!! They did it to us at Blaauwkrantz and at Blue Bay.

Keep well.

Fond regards.

Dave
16 July 2009.

CLOVER HELPERS RUN
Saturday 18.07.2009.
This morning I did the Clover 10kay helpers run with Gerald. See separate Blog.
While running a number of cyclists greeted me and this made me even more determined to haul out my Bicycle, clean it up and pump the tyres. I did this on Saturday afternoon and then on Sunday I drove down to Summerstrand where I met up with Ron. The two of us did about an hour of slow cycling around the Summerstrand suburbs and in the University.

This was exactly what I needed to regain some confidence and to get going with cycling again. It was really good to spend the time with Ron, chatting and enjoying the winter afternoon sun as we rode side by side. There was almost no traffic and this gave us the opportunity we needed to enjoy a mild cycle.

I am looking forward to getting more of this kind of excersize as we become fitter and stronger with some regular training even if it is just once a week. This afternoon Michael and Lene came over to play some bridge. I prepared a very mild Chicken Curry. They have only recently learned the rules of Bridge and already Lene in particular has become quite skilled at the game.

Michael is off to JHB this afternoon where he is joining up with the Furn City (Ellerines) people for a week of intense training before he takes over in the Pier 14 shop. I am also off to Jhb on Monday as we have the Annual Launch over the next two days. It is the first such affair for Financial Services. I purchased a new black shirt for this function.

During this week I first went off to Jhb for these meetings and then on Wednesday morning I drove through to EL for Branch Visits. I was able to catch up on some of the shops that I had never been to including Idutywa (now Dutywa).

Friday morning I had a run / walk with Gerald and Saturday morning I did the Clover 10kay event. The more I think about it the more content I am that I am still able to take part in these events. Not that I am at all competitive anymore. But it is such a pleasure and joy to be able to meet up with all of the local runners, to run the whole distance without stopping and to finish feeling totally satisfied with life.

TRI NATIONS
This afternoon was the first of the 2009 TriNations Rugby matches. Barbara and I had a relaxed afternoon in the sun reading and watching an episode of Shield. We are now into Series 3. We dropped Ally off at Drama where she is auditioning for Alice In Wonderland. The Springboks played the All Blacks in Bloemfontein.

It was a great match for the local team who have a poor overall record against the New Zealand team. Ruan Pienaar missed three penalties and the game was a very close call. But in the end we scored two tries to their one and converted enough penalties (Morne Steyn again) to set us up for a win. It was a great match for us to win and we were deserved victors.

PETER WHATLEY
.This is an email from Peter Whatley who is an Achillean who has recently moved to Doha for work:

Doha Diaries – 16 July 2009

A massive dust storm has hit the Middle East over the past few days. It originated up in Iraq. The storm was so large that warnings were issued for people to stay indoors when it arrived. To put this in perspective, it was estimated that there was 2 billion tons of dust being kicked up by the storm. The mind really boggles. When you get a really bad one, it can strip the paint off a vehicle.

Fortunately when it arrived, it wasn’t as bad as had been predicted. Visibility was reduced to about 2km which was not too bad. In a bad one, visibility can be virtually zero.

I’m still driving a pool car, but have now seriously entered the car market, not only looking for myself but also for Lise. I think that I have decided on my vehicle with the choice being between the Nissan Xterra and a Pajero. In all likelihood it is going to be the Xterra. As regards Lise, the choice is a lot wider. She will have to decide but at this stage it will probably be between the Suzuki SX4, Nissan Qashqai, Honda CRV , Rav4 or Hyundai Tucson. For what you get, the Honda and Toyota are very expensive, with the Hyundai and Suzuki being the best value.

I am now settling into work but the working hours are taking a lot of getting used to. Normal hours are 7h30 to 15h30. In summer, 7h30 to 14h30 and during Ramadan, 7h30 to 13h30. As with most expats, we still end up working longer hours.

The pace of life over here is very different and the phrase “more is nog ‘n dag” is most appropriate. After there being no real sense of urgency, all of a sudden, everything needs to be done by tomorrow morning. Even for someone like me who tends to put things off until they are needed, this is quite frustrating.

I had dinner last night with an old work colleague from PE. It was great to have a home cooked meal that I didn’t prepare. Good meal and even better company.

Whilst one doesn’t like to harp on the bad driving and lack of courtesy on the road, two incidents from last night just reinforces this. In the first one, some poor bloke was trying to enter a row of traffic. He would never be able to break into the traffic, so when the lights changed, I let a gap open in front of me to let him in.
The lights flashing and hooting from behind is hard to describe.

The second incident occurred right in front of me while I was on my way home. A vehicle was driving on the wrong side of the road, towards the car directly in front of me. Neither driver was prepared to slow down. The driver on the wrong side of the road could not get into the correct lane as the vehicles in that lane were not prepared to let him in. All that happened was an enormous amount of hooting, a near head on collision and the air around me turning rather blue as I vented my frustration, irritation and aggravation at the arrogance of all the participants in this incident.

It is now only two weeks and Lise, Justin and Nicole arrive. I am counting down the days.

I had to order some books for Justin as he has some summer reading to do before he goes to school. He writes exams on them during the 2nd week of September. The books are not available in Doha or SA so Amazon here we come. The books cost R1200 and the delivery charges were R600. At least two of the books will be used at university.

Between now and the start of the school year which for him is 26 August, Justin has to read 9 books. 6 are English literature and 3 are related to Mathematics. I suppose that’s what comes from going to a specialist school.

Nicole is also not getting off too easily. I need to make sure that her mathematics is up to scratch so we will be working through the Year 8 mathematics textbook with her to determine whether or not there are any gaps in her education. Lise and I expect that she will need to do about two hours a day for three weeks. So much for her being on holiday.

In an attempt to keep the Sheikh-i-bellie under control, I’m exercising 4 days a week. Only time will tell whether it’s working.

With me having acquired my medicine (Alcohol) license, I can now stock up my apartment. The only snag with the license is that you are only allowed to transport your purchase between the bottle store and your house, so you cannot take drinks with you when you visit friends. If you have people over, you supply all drinks and this is reciprocated when you visit. The trick is to know what all your guests drink. I must say, I was a little disappointed at the selection of SA wines available.

This weekend I’ll be introducing one of my English colleagues to “Springbokkies”. It will be interesting to see his reaction as he is quite discerning about what he pours down his throat. Like me, he is waiting for his family to arrive in Doha. His son will be at the same school and in the same year as Nicole, so she will at least know someone on her first day.

Justin already knows a few people in Doha and will be introduced to friends of his contacts when he arrives. His transition should be quite seamless. Lise has had a taste of the Souq’s already and I’m quite certain that she will spend hours exploring them.

On the work front, there seem to be many positions available for librarians so once Lise decides it’s time to start working, I don’t envisage her having a problem finding employment.

I am currently in a temporary office but a little later this year will be moving to an international award winning tower block called the “Tornado Tower”. I have to admit that the building is quite impressive, especially at night. We were going to go into the Marriott Towers but due to ongoing construction delays, we cancelled our agreement. Besides, we have just become part owners of the Tornado Tower.

With me not feeling totally comfortable on the 22nd for of my apartment block, I’m not certain what it will be like if we end up on one of the upper floors of the tower block. It goes up 52 floors. If you do a Google search, you will be able to see what the office block looks like.

In many ways, Doha is first world with a number of world class facilities, but in other ways, there a plenty of 3rd world characteristics. Education could be part of it. The Qatari’s are a Bedouin people and the discover y of natural gas and the corresponding development has only take place during the past 60 years.

There is an incredible amount of wealth here but it only in its 2nd generation so the people are not particularly sophisticated when it comes to business. In fact, locals do not really need to work. The government pays each male Qatari the equivalent of R1 200 000 per year for merely existing and when he gets married, land and accommodation is supplied free of charge.

As a result of the locals not needing to work, the work ethic amongst them is generally quite poor, but how does one break this cycle?

Next weekend I’m off to find the local Catholic Church. There is a congregation of 80-100 thousand. The church is massive and seats 7500 people. There are 4 priests and they hold 6-7 masses a day in different languages. I’m told that it is located well out of town, somewhere in the desert so I will be going with one of the congregation.

It sounds as if you are all having a cold winter, but remember this, when you are cold, you can always put something on, but when you are hot, there is only so much you can remove.

Got to do some work.
Regards
Peter Whatley
16.07.2009.

Sunday morning 26.07.2009.
This morning after church Michael and his family joined us for Breakfast at the Pink Fig which is this outdoor childrens playground / cafe near to the Riding area of PE. Seems very successful and Barbara spoke about her dream to open something similar "when" we move to CT after Ally Matriculates and I finish with JDG.

I had eaten so much that I had to have some excersize. I drove down to Summerstrand where Ron and I did about an hour of cycling around Summerstrand suburbs and the University. I am so pleased to be back on the bike even though I am so slow. Ally was doing a Drama.

Barbara and I watched her in the South African version of Pandora's Box. It had been set up by a group of Canadians who had come to SA for this reason. We thoroughly enjoyed the production. It had been a huge amount of fun for this group of young people. I think that Ally was quite sad to say goodbye to them.

ADRIENNE WILSON
Here is a letter from Adrienne in Rome:
Well my emails have been few and far between, and I do apologise. The business centre here is in the main foyer of the hotel. I have to go to reception to get a password for the day and then I can go onto the computer. If I take longer than 15 minutes to write a letter the computer loggs off and I loose everything. I found this out the other day after typing a huge letter to everyone. I wanted to take the computer and throw it out of the window.

The diving finally finished on Saturday with the men's 10m synchro. This has been a very different time judging world champs. Being a deck official as well, I am put to task and have to sweet talk my way through a competition with a VIP. Give me judging any day, especially in the heat we experienced. I also had to miss a day of competition because I was the deligate at the Fina Congress with Jace Naidoo (president of Swim South Africa). The congress happens every 4 years where new committees are formed, along with new rules etc.

I attended the Diving congress before our competition started - I am pleased to say diving was quick and easy with not too many rule changes or new dives to add to the list.

The judging side, well we still have our observers watching us judge the diving. We are given a computer print out immediately after the competition that tells us how many dives we are exclusively high or low, equaled high or low and our panel agreement, plus our percentage out of 100. Our observers then give us our exact results at the end of the 10 days. If you don't get 95% and over you do not get to judge finals. I did 3 finals, missed one with a 92% and the others I was on duty.
To get to the final we have to go through prelims (anything up to 55 divers), semi finals (top 18) and finals top 12.

I was thrilled when I was not on the panel for the mens 3m springboard, and tried to video the final. I tried to get a good place to video, but soon gave up because of the heat and found a little corner on the steps where the divers walk past after their dives. This was far more entertaining to watch the TV cameras follow them, my eyes were on their tiny little costumes. I am amazed they still have them on when they come out of the water.

Although most of the judges are new and a bit inexperienced we are having a good time. This bunch seem to want to party. We have a balcony on the 5th floor of our hotel that overlooks Rome where we all meet for drinks at night. For supper everyone goes out to the local side cafe's. My german room mate Monica, and I go to a little supermarket where we buy a salad, a bottle of wine, cheese and biscuits, take it to the roof and have a quiet supper before the others get there. We do this because at supper the bill is split by 18 of us, and most of the time we do not have steak and loads of beer like everyone else.

I originally was going to share with Hannah from Prague, but ended up with Monica. Well I could not have a better roomie. She is an English lecturer in Germany and a comentator on TV for diving. She is only 2 years younger than me, loves to go to bed early like me, and we find we have the same likes and dislikes. We have laughed so much in the room. The only thing I cannot get used to is how she walks around the room in the nude before and after her bath, plus she just sleeps in little panties. I think it must be a continental thing, because you should see all the lady judges showering after competitions. Does it sound as though I becoming an old lady!!!!!

The one night we were on the balcony we each had to sing something from back home. I tried to do a zulu dance to izga zimba. I don't know if it was my lousy singing voice or my body movements but everyone laughed so much that they made me repeat it the following day to our fina technical chaps. (I wonder what the observers gave me for the performance).

Every free minute we have we get taken to the sights of Rome. We have all had 2 free days during competition. I chose to go to the Vatican city, St Peter's Basilica and to the Trevi fountain. Today we did the Colosseum before our judges meeting. Last week Monica and I did a full day of a lot of the churches in Rome. Each one unique in its own special way. Not many of the judges wanted to do this, so unfortunately we did not have a guide.

We did however manage to buy ear phones at the entrance of each church which explained the history. Our favourite was Sana Maria. It is the most ancient and greatest among the Basilicas dedicated to the Virgin Mary. One has to dress appropriately before entering the churches and shorts, miniskirts or bare shoulders are not allowed.

I have taken so many photos of the inside of these churches and will send them to you once I am home. Another day I visited the Wax Museum and Palatino. The Palatino is a ruin with beautiful views showing the Palatine hill where Romulus killed his brother Remus and founded Rome.

There is just not enough time to explore and the heat does get to us, but to have guides on all our tours is a major advantage.

Last Wednesday night we had dinner and then a tour of Rome by night. We stopped at the Trevi fountain, for half an hour where we could wander through the streets and have an ice cream. I just could not believe that at 11.00 at night the streets were just jam packed with tourists. I wonder if Rome ever sleeps.

Our first day is finished, and tonight we will go to the swimming. On Saturday I saw the finals of the synchro swimming group finals. I could not believe what these 8 girls did in unison. Waterpolo I have not seen at all because it clashes with the diving but I hope to get to one of the matches tonight. The village here is huge with lots of different places to eat.

Every night they have a live band playing. Our shuttle bus runs from the pool on the hour every hour so it is easy to get back to our hotel. I have walked back to the hotel - it took me 40 minutes and it was uphill all the way. I have managed to get in a few runs early in the morning before traffic gets bad. It is a good way to see Rome. One of my runs goes uphill (like Brickmakers) but three times the distance, and at the top there is a look out point showing the beauty of Rome.

We saw video footage of all the dives where we were 2 points or more out of range from the rest of the panel. I did a 2 when the other judges gave 4, and I am pleased to say I was correct (what a good feeling that was), it was on a synchro dive where a ukrane girl hit the board and then bent her legs, and finally bombed into the water.

Our technical committee always advise us to use our full range of marks, but when we do, they complain that it is not good for TV. My set of results are great, but once again I mark the divers too high on highboard and only got an 89%. That means I was 6 dives higher than my panel on 60 dives and only by half a point most of the time, and when I see the video replay I still think I am right.

This afternoon after this email, I have to do some swotting because we sit our exams tomorrow morning. I look forward to the trick questions but hate to calculating the degree of difficulty of new dives. They give us a number 5271 and ask us what dive it is and what will the degree be. We know 5 is the twist group, 2 is backwards 7 is the number of sommersaults and 1 is the amount of twist that will be done.

The kids are back home, so Peter is very happy, someone to cook supper for him!!!!! Jen has phoned me since they left, and said it was great having them. I think they were spoilt rotten. I know Matthew received an early birthday and christmas present - golf clubs. They played a lot of golf here and Matt just loved it. Dani received her birthday present and Christmas present as well - guess what clothes.

Well I think this is enough to bore you with, I do understand if you don't get to read all of it and delete most of the email. Looking forward to getting back on Saturday. I hope this email finds you all fit and well. Sending lots of love from Rome xxx Adrienne


Last week of July 2009:
I have been home most of this week with just Monday in EL for a meeting. I am trying to keep up with the morning runs but am in huge pain in my left calf. And the Knee. Whoa- sounds like I am a real old crock. Which I suppose that I am. Stragely enough as I am running I have hardly any pain. It is only after sitting in the office or at home for some time that I have this pain.

Thursday 30th: Lene Birthday.
They were here for supper and bridge. Bought a new scanner / printer today. But am not able to get it to operate. Spent hours on the phone with the HP help desk but to no avail.



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ALLY IS CHOSEN TO REPRESENT EASTERN PROVINCE FOR NIPPERS MARCH 2009.

ALLY IS CHOSEN TO REPRESENT EASTERN PROVINCE FOR NIPPERS
MARCH 2009.

Friday 13th March 2009.
Barbara & I had been planning for some time that we would spend the weekend at Bushman’s River Mouth with Charles and Ingrid. On Friday afternoon we heard that Ally had been selected to represent Eastern Province at the interprovincial competition that is held on the morning that the Nationals start in Durban.

We had planned to be at Bushman’s for the weekend but as Ally would be having a Team Practice at Kings Beach on Saturday afternoon we decided to cut our weekend short. I had left work at about 14.00 to watch Ally’s athletics. She had two events. I missed the first in which she came fourth. It was a sprint whereas Ally’s real strength is in the longer endurance events. Then she was in the relay where their team came first with a good margin. The event had been an inter school athletics meeting between St Dominic’s, Victoria Park and Clarendon. Ally’s friends; Amber and Meghan did well in their events.

We left for Bushman’s on Friday afternoon. During the drive I was able to make a number of arrangements for the following week. Cell Phones can really bring your office to the car. As we arrived at Charles & Ingrid’s caravan cottage we immediately opened a couple of Grolsch beers that I had bought especially for this occasion. We lit the fire. The fireplace was the one that Charles & I had repaired the last time that we were here together. The bottle of the Grolsch beer is the best part as it has a “Swing Top” seal top that can be reused. Ingrid promised to give me her Ginger Beer recipe. The Grolsch bottle is ideal for sealing Ginger Beer.

We had ourselves a wonderfully relaxed evening chatting about old music and the “good old days”. Charles told us of when he went to Germany as a 25 year old man. He arrived at a train station almost penniless. As he arrived there seemed to be some kind of political rally on the go with a lot of people shouting and loudspeakers blaring out slogans. He thought that he has arrived at a re-gathering of a Hitler rally when a man came up to him and told him to hurry up and get to the supermarket before it closed for the weekend.

It seems that at that time there would be absolutely nothing open for the rest of the weekend. Charles walked through the supermarket, horrified at the high prices of the food and eventually bought himself a huge loaf of bread that lasted him for a month. Amazing what you do when you are forced to make a plan.

He was with Volkswagen at the time. He was earning 700 D Mark at the time of which 500 was taken up in rent. They were given lunch vouchers and he gathered up the left over pudding vouchers and stashed squashy puddings in his pocket for the evening meals. While he was in Germany he had met a Yugoslav woman who did not speak any English. He spoke only the bit of German that he had picked up while he was there.

The two of them were offered a weekend away and ended up travelling on train over the Easter weekend to some posh hotel. They had the equivalent of R30 for the weekend and so had to be extremely careful as to what they bought to eat. They ended up going to a fish market where the fish was being auctioned. The sellers would offer samples to prospective buyers and Charles and his friend went from auction to auction trying to scrounge samples which they put in their pockets for a meal later. It was stories like this that kept us up till late that night.

After two of these Grolsch beers and two glasses of wine, I was talking nonsense and ready for bed. Barbara woke up first and I heard her taking Digby for a walk. She sat outside reading and then it was my turn to wake up. After a wash and shave I felt a whole lot less groggy and went for a short run to get my circulation going.

Back from the run I had a shower in their outside shower. It is a little shower cubicle that is situated behind the caravan. The passage to the shower is open air and has a tree growing in it. You share the shower with the local spider population and have to clear the leaves from the floor to stop the flow of water from damming up. This gives one a lovely sense of freedom as you are almost showering in the open. They have hot water in the shower. The run, hot water and soap was just what I needed to make me feel a whole lot better after the two glasses of wine which I should never have drunk.

We sat talking and enjoying the morning. Charles mentioned how long it had been since we were able to just sit and not have to do anything. We went for a walk on the beach. As we returned from our walk, Ingrid met up with two of her friends who were swimming. This looked so good that Charles and I decided to jump in the river.

We had seem some canoeists paddling in the river but the tide was going out and it appeared quite dangerous to be in a river that was flowing as fast as this was this morning. I swam out to the middle of the river where the pull outwards was the strongest. Here I was able to float being pulled towards the sea. I then swam towards the side of the river and experienced something quite extraordinary. The pull of the water reversed and I was now able to float upstream.

I tried this a few times to make sure that I was not imagining the phenomenon. But each time I was in the middle of the river I would be pulled down stream but when I swam towards the side of the river I would be pulled back up stream. The friends of Ingrid who had been swimming confirmed this. They said that people would float down with the outgoing tide and then float back upstream in a kind of reverse rip.

After our swim we made a breakfast of eggs on some of this delicious bread that Ingrid had bought. But as we had to be back in PE by just before 14.00 we packed up and left just after 12.00pm. Ally had stayed overnight with Amber. We collected Ally, Amber and Meghan. We met at Kings Beach. Here Paul Lynch and Clint chatted to the Nippers and read out the various teams for the events. They had given each child a fair number of events so that there would be an even spread.

This afternoon we spent 90 minutes of hard training. Some of the youngsters had either been in Gala’s or training that morning. Amber had won two gold medals and one silver medal at the gala in which she participated. I went out on a Malibu a couple of times and was pretty exhausted after that.

The Nippers started off with an Iron Man individual and then Clint sent them into the water over and over again; swimming and boarding combined with running. They should have been totally exhausted. But when Clint said training was over and they could now have free time the Nippers then went back into the water and continued with boarding and swimming.

Later that afternoon we watched the Stormers at Newlands score 8 tries in a match that they won against the Lions. Percy Montgommery never ceases to amaze me as he continues to make a really meaningful contribution to the Stormers back line. Schalk Burger scored one of his few tries. Jean De Villiers, the Stormers captain, is a joy to watch as he has this permanent grin on his face and appears to really enjoy the game.

Sunday morning I met Andrew Jonas at Hobie Beach and we ran the beach front and Strandfontein road. About 12kays of fun running. Andrew & I spoke about church and it turned out that he was attending the Anglican church in 9th avenue where there was no Sunday School or youth group. I invited him to join us and I saw him at Walmer Methodist later. After church we rushed down to Nippers.

An easterly had been blowing and the surf was quite rough with big, uncontrolled waves. We took the U10’s for some body Boarding and swimming. A few of the younger group did not want to venture into this wild looking surf but after a little encouragement they enjoyed catching some really stunning waves. Fortunately we had Roger, Andrew, Marius, Lynne and John assisting.

The U14’s went out on Malibu boards. I saw Ian charging out in front but he must have become involved in a battle for strength with one of the biggest breakers of the day. He managed to snap one of the unbreakable soft Malibu board in half. The U12’s also had some hard swimming and boarding under the coaching of Deon, Hannes and Roger.

It is not safe for the U10’s to be in conditions like this unless there is a lot of individual attention. As it was we had a number of these youngsters disappearing under foamy water with us completely losing them for a few seconds. The U10’s did a few beach sprint relay races and then I had to call Ally away from their practice as we had planned to take part in the Biathle at Happy Valley. At that time Ally, Amber and a few other U12’s were running heats to determine who would be in the beach sprint relay team at Durban. They had to run three or four times and each time it would be Amber and Ally coming in first together. I would not like to have to make the selection between the two of them.

We arrived at Happy Valley as the first event was underway. There was a small group of participants. Thomas and his wife Liesel were the only adults joining me. I came third in the adult group. Ally was in the last event of the day and I told her to not push herself as she had just come off a hard Nippers workout. Ally started off the first run slowly but when they came to the sea leg she rushed in while the others were a little hesitant. This gave her a solid lead for the second run and she was able to win her event.

BUSHMANS RIVER WITH CHARLES AND INGRID DU TOIT MAY 2008

BUSHMANS RIVER MAY 2008
May 2008.
The first weekend in May we were invited to Charles & Ingrid’s Bushman’s shack. Thursday and Friday had been public holidays due to Workers day. Saturday morning I enjoyed a run with Kobus, Adrienne, Andy and Stuart. Then we packed up and after a few errands collected Ian. From home to Bushmans is less than 130kays and a really easy drive. Charles has bought this home together with Stuart Herrington and family. Stuart lost a child recently. The child had been in a coma for many years and finally died this year.

We had been to the Butcher at First Ave Walmer and had bought a Fillet steak @R140pkg. As we were driving to Bushmans, we were signalled by another driver that our wheel was flat. We stopped to inspect and decided that we could drive as far as Alexandria as it was just 20kays further and then pump up the tyre. In Alexandria we searched for some cold ham for lunch and after being shown some really disgusting looking stuff at the OK foods we were directed to the local butcher. Here I was shown some really delicious ham which I purchased and for interests sake asked about fillet. The owner told me that he sold fillet @R91pkg. I felt like I had been “had” but decided to purchase a nice big fillet which I would take home after the weekend. We also bought some Kudu dry wors for the road.

The home in Bushmans is in a caravan park. They have bought a 15 year use of the home. It is a caravan with a room and stoep built onto the caravan. It makes this a really good place to visit for two families at a time. They are within walking distance of the river and beach where they launch the motor boat that they have bought. This is their second boat as they were not entirely satisfied with the first boat. And this weekend was their first time to take the boat out.

We arrived at the Bushmans shack at lunch time. Charles & I went to the shops across from the main road to purchase some wine for the evening. He had a look at a hardware shop for some cement to fix the braai area but as they did not have any we went to another bigger hardware shop which was really well stocked. Here he was given some cement by the owner. I bought a shower caddy for Wildcliff.

Both Ally and Ian had made themselves sandwiches and after we had all had something to eat and drink we headed down to the river. Charles and Ingrid had been there a few days already and the boat was in the water. We launched the boat and went for a long drive up river. Charles had packed some rods and eventually we stopped and cast our lines. It was Ally’s first time to go fishing and she had a few tugs on the line. At the place where we stopped in the river we had game parks on either sides and on the north side we had seen an Eland (See below).

Charles was the only one who caught a fish. It was a flat round fish that we decided was not going to be good to eat so threw back into the river. We saw a number of people going past us in some fancy looking boats including groups of tourists on safari. Charles had also packed in some snacks, cooldrinks and beers so we felt like we were on top of the world.

Barbara was sitting at the back of the boat and had a wet behind. Not even this had put a damper on the afternoon. Ingrid was our captain on the way back. We had hardly started up the motor when Barbara yelled for her to stop. She had spotted a Cheetah (see below) lying on the side of the river. There are fences all along the perimeters of the game parks and the Cheetah was lying inside the fence. We stopped to look at the cheetah and, as we were turning to get a closer look, Ian saw what we first thought was another Eland but turned out to be a Rhinoceros (see below).

It was a White Rhino with two enormous horns grazing right next to the fence. It walked along the fence for a while and then we think that it may have picked up Digby’s scent and then stood at the fence looking at us for a while before moving off behind some shrubs.

As we cruised down river we saw a number of birds; Cormorant, Heron, a Crane, a Kingfisher amoungst others. This had been the most amazing afternoon with a lovely boat trip and game viewing all thrown in. Once back at the jetty we secured the boat for the night and headed back home.

This evening we braaied the steak with some chops and sosaties. Ingrid had bought some Mielies and spiced rolls which also went on the fire and made a delicious meal. We sat chatting and enjoying the evening and after supper went for a walk down to the beach. Ian was fooling around and had a nasty accident in the dark as he cracked his shin on the stairs leading down to the beach. When we got back to the shack, Ian put some ice on his leg and I iced my left knee which gives me constant trouble. The walk added to the evening and made me feel tired enough to excuse myself for the evening. I think that others also bedded themselves down shortly after I had left. I awoke in the evening and opened the window and door and then fell into a deep sleep with the fresh sea air in the room. Digby slept outside which is quite unusual for him.

Sunday morning I went for my morning run. I ran to the hardware shop in the industrial area and past along what I thought was a nice farm road but turned out to be the road to the town sewerage farm. Along this road there is a marshy area which is a conservation area for the Crested Blue Crane. After a shower and coffee I was ready for breakfast and was happy to say yes thanks to the offer of scrambled eggs.

First off Charles had decided to tackle the Braai Repair. He found a small plastic container and started to mix some cement. We removed all the loos brickwork, washed down the area to be repaired. Then Charles scooped cement with a stick that he had scrounged up and we began the repair job in earnest. I will be interested to see how it lasts but once we had finished; we had rejoined both sides of the braai and had sealed the centre area. Finally we washed the whole area down and surveyed our handiwork with a great deal of satisfaction.

Ingrid had a little two burner cooker which she put onto the centre table. Unfortunately she was trying to be kind to Ally and Ian who were also using the extension cable for their DVD player. The result was a cooker upside down on the wooden floor, a burn mark on the floor, bacon on the floor and a broken pan. We were able to right the cooker, scoop up the bacon and Ingrid saved the pan later with some special glue. The floor now has a “character mark”. At the Braai area they have a tree that blends in with the fence. This tree seems to attract a variety of bird life that eat the nectar of the pink flower. The result of the flower is a pod with just two seed in the pod. I took two of these pods and a branch that had been sawed off the tree to see if we can grow this tree either at home or Wildcliff.

After breakfast the Charles, Ian, Ally & I went out on the boat again. We did not have much petrol left and only went as far as the bridge. We cast some lines out, saw some mullet as they were leaped out of the water, probably being chased by a larger predator fish and Ally learned to cast. It was not long before she was casting a really good line.

The sun was shining and while I was content to stay there all morning we eventually had to pack up and made our way slowly back to the jetty. Charles went to fetch the trailer and I watched a bunch of St Andrews boys as they played around on the beach with their teachers. Reminded me of many years ago. Charles brought the trailer down and we quickly winched the boat up and drove it to the area where Charles would leave it till the next trip to Bushman’s. On the way home we stopped in Alexandria again to pump up the tyre which I had forgotten to change. It was an easy drive home. Ally had to pack ready for her outing to Addo.

The Eland is the world's largest antelope. Males have twisted horns which are thick and tightly spiralled, growing up to 25" in females and to 50" in males. Elands belong to the same group as kudus, Nyala and bushbuck. Eland are found in grassland, mountain, sub-desert, acacia savannah and miombo woodland areas.

Diet: Herbivorous, browsers and grazers, Eland usually feed in areas where shrubs and bushes provide the leaves they prefer. Eland use their horns to bring twigs and branches into reach. They are also known to consume large bulbs and tuberous roots.

Family: Antelope

Size: About 70 inches

Weight: 1,300 to 1,500 pounds

Reproduction: Single young are born any time of the year. Gestation is 9 months.

Habitat: Plains; Eland are found in grassland, mountain, sub-desert, acacia savannah and miombo woodland areas. They distance themselves from deserts, forests and swamps.

Socialisation: The social behaviour of Eland is somewhat different from that of other antelopes. Usually older, dominant males are solitary, while other adult males form small groups of three or four. Adult females associate in much larger groups, whose size and membership vary from day to day. Several hundred eland sometimes gather, and males may spend a few hours or even weeks with a female group before becoming solitary again.

Lifespan: 15 to 20 years.


The White Rhinoceros or Square-lipped rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum) is one of the five species of rhinoceros that still exist and is one of the few megafauna species left. Behind the elephants, it is probably the most massive remaining land animal in the world, along with the Hippopotamus, which are of comparable size. It is well known for its wide mouth used for grazing and for being the most social of all rhino species. The White Rhino is the most common of all rhinos and consists of two subspecies, with the northern subspecies being rarer than the southern. The northern subspecies may have as few as 13 remaining world wide.
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Taxonomy and naming


A popular theory of the origins of the name White Rhinoceros is a mistranslation from Dutch into Afrikaans and English. The Afrikaans word "wit", meaning "white" in English is said to have been derived by mistranslation of the Dutch word "wijd", which means "wide" in English and is spelt "wyd" in Afrikaans. The word "wide" refers to the width of the Rhinoceros mouth. So early European settlers in South Africa misinterpreted the "wyd" for "white" and the rhino with the wide mouth ended up being called the White Rhino and the other one, with the narrow pointed mouth, was called the Black Rhinoceros. A review of Dutch and Afrikaans literature about the rhinoceros has also failed to produce any evidence that the word wyd was ever used to describe the rhino.[2] Other popular theories suggest the name comes from its wide appearance throughout Africa, its colour due to wallowing in calcerous soil or bird droppings or because of the lighter colour of its horn. An alternative common name for the white rhinoceros, more accurate but rarely used, is the square-lipped rhinoceros. The White Rhinoceros' generic name, Ceratotherium, given by the zoologist John Edward Gray in 1868,[3] is derived from the Greek terms keras "horn" and therion "beast". Simum, is derived from the Greek term simus, meaning "flat nosed".
Southern white rhinoceros


White Rhinoceros in Lake Nakuru.
There were also two White Rhinos in Livingstone, Zambia (in the Mosi-o-tunia zoological park). They were both poached during the night of June 6, 2007. One was shot dead and dehorned not far from the gate and the other received serious bullet wounds.
According to BBC, there are only thirteen northern white rhinos left in the world as of 2007.[6]
Description


The White Rhino has a massive body and large head, a short neck and broad chest. This rhino can exceed 6670 pounds (3,000 kg), have a head-and-body length of 3.35-4.2 m (11-13.9 feet) and a shoulder height of 150-185 cm (60-73 inches). The record-sized White Rhinoceros was about 4500 kg (10,000 lb).[7]. On its snout it has two horns made of keratin, rather than bone as in deer antlers. The front horn is larger that the other horn and averages 89.9 cm (23.6 inches) in length and can reach 150 cm (59 inches). The White Rhinoceros also has a noticeable hump on the back of its neck which supports its large head. Each of the rhino's four stumpy feet has three toes. The colour of this animal ranges from yellowish brown to slate grey. The only hair on them is on the ear fringes and tail bristles. White Rhinos have the distinctive flat broad mouth which is used for grazing.


White Rhinos have three distinct toes.
Its ears can move independently to pick up more sounds but it depends most of all on smell. The olfactory passages which are responsible for smell are larger than their entire brain.
Behaviour and ecology
White Rhinoceros are found in grassland and savannah habitat. Herbivore grazers that eats grass, preferring the shortest grains. The White Rhino is one of the largest pure grazers. Regularly it drinks twice a day if water is available, but if conditions get dry it can live four or five days without water. It spends about half of the day eating, one third resting, and the rest of the day doing various other things. White Rhinos, like all species of rhino, love wallowing in mudholes to cool down.


White rhinos can produce sounds which include a panting contact call, grunts and snorts during courtship, squeals of distress, and deep bellows or growls when threatened. Threat displays (in males mostly) include wiping its horn on the ground and a head-low posture with ears back, combined with snarl threats and shrieking if attacked. The White Rhino is quick and agile and can run 30 mph (50 km/h).
White Rhinos can live in a crash or herd of up to 14 animals (usually mostly female). Sub-adult males will congregate, often in association with an adult female. Most adult bulls are solitary. Dominant bulls mark their territory with excrement and urine. The dung is laid in well defined piles. It may have 20-30 of these piles to alert passing rhinos that it's his territory. Another way of marking their territory is wiping his horns on bushes or the ground and scrapes with its feet before urine spraying. They do this around 10 times an hour while patrolling territory. The same ritual as urine marking except without spraying is also commonly used. The territorial male will scrape-mark every 30 yards or so around its territory boundary. Subordinate males do not mark territory. The most serious fights break out over mating rights over a female. Female territory is overlapped extensively and they do not defend it.
Reproduction
Females reach sexually maturity 6-7 years while males reach sexual maturity at a later date which is 10-12 years of age. Courtship is often a difficult affair. The male stays beyond the point where the female acts aggressively and will give out a call when approaching her. The male chases and or blocks the way of the female while squealing or wailing loudly if the female tries to leave his territory. When ready to mate the female curls its tail and gets into a stiff stance during the half hour copulation. Breeding pairs stay together between 5-20 days before they part their separate ways. Gestation occurs around 16-18 months. A single calf is born and weighs between 40 and 65 kilograms (90 and 140 pounds) and are unsteady for their first 2 to 3 days of life. When threatened the baby will run in front of the mother. The mother is very protective of her calf and will fight for her baby vigorously. Weaning starts at 2 months and may continue suckling for over 12 months. The birth interval for the White Rhino is between 2 and 3 years. Before giving birth the mother will chase off her current calf. White Rhinos can live to be up to 40-50 years ol
Distribution
The northern subspecies is now only found in the Republic of Congo while the southern subspecies or majority of white rhino live in South Africa. 98.5% of white rhino occur in just five countries (S.A, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Kenya and Uganda). Almost at the edge of extinction in the early 20th century, they have made a tremendous comeback. In 2001 it was estimated that there were 11,670 white rhinos in the wild with a further 777 detained worldwide, making it the most common Rhino in the world.
Like the Black Rhino, the White Rhino is under threat from habitat loss and poaching, most recently by Janjaweed. The horn is mostly used for traditional medicine although there are no health benefits from the horn; the horn is also used for traditional necklaces. A recent population count in the Republic Congo turned up only 10 rhinos left in the wild, which led conservationists on January 15, 2005 to propose airlifting White Rhinos from Garamba into Kenya. Although official approval was initially obtained, resentment of foreign interference within the Congo has prevented the airlift from happening as of the beginning of 2006. On June 12, 2007 poachers shot the last 2 rhinos in Zambia, injuring one and killing the other. They have removed the horn off the dead rhino.
The cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) is an atypical member of the cat family (Felidae) that is unique in its speed and stealth, while lacking climbing abilities. As such, it is placed in its own genus, Acinonyx. It is the fastest land animal, reaching speeds between 112 kilometres per hour (70 mph) and 120 kilometres per hour (75 mph)[3] in short bursts covering distances up to 460 metres (1,500 ft), and has the ability to accelerate from 0 to 110 kilometres per hour (68 mph) in three seconds, greater than most supercars.[4]
The word "cheetah" is derived from the Sanskrit word chitrakāyaḥ, meaning "variegated body", via the Hindi चीता cītā.[5]

Description


A cheetah
The cheetah's chest is deep and its waist is narrow. The coarse, short fur of the cheetah is tan with round black spots measuring from 2 centimetres (0.79 in) to 3 centimetres (1.2 in) across, affording it some camouflage while hunting. There are no spots on its white underside, but the tail has spots, which merge to form four to six dark rings at the end. The tail usually ends in a bushy white tuft. The cheetah has a small head with high-set eyes. Black "tear marks" run from the corner of its eyes down the sides of the nose to its mouth to keep sunlight out of its eyes and to aid in hunting and seeing long distances.
The adult cheetah weighs from 40 kilograms (88 lb) to 65 kilograms (140 lb). Its total body length is from 115 centimetres (45 in) to 135 centimetres (53 in), while the tail can measure up to 84 centimetres (33 in) in length. Males tend to be slightly larger than females and have slightly bigger heads, but there is not a great variation in cheetah sizes and it is difficult to tell males and females apart by appearance alone. Compared to a similarly-sized leopard, the cheetah is generally shorter-bodied, but is longer tailed and taller (it averages about 90 centimetres (35 in) tall) and so it appears more streamlined.
Some cheetahs also have a rare fur pattern mutation: cheetahs with larger, blotchy, merged spots are known as 'king cheetahs'. It was once thought to be a separate subspecies, but it is merely a mutation of the African cheetah. The 'king cheetah' has only been seen in the wild a handful of times, but it has been bred in captivity.
The cheetah's paws have semi-retractable claws[6] (known only in three other cat species - the Fishing Cat, the Flat-headed Cat and the Iriomote Cat) offering the cat extra grip in its high-speed pursuits. The ligament structure of the cheetah's claws is the same as those of other cats; it simply lacks the sheath of skin and fur present in other varieties, and therefore the claws are always visible, with the exception of the dewclaw. The dewclaw itself is much shorter and straighter than other cats.
Adaptations that enable the cheetah to run as fast as it does include large nostrils that allow for increased oxygen intake, and an enlarged heart and lungs that work together to circulate oxygen efficiently. During a typical chase its respiratory rate increases from 60 to 150 breaths per minute.[6] While running, in addition to having good traction due to its semi-retractable claws, the cheetah uses its tail as a rudder-like means of steering to allow it to make sharp turns, necessary to outflank prey who often make such turns to escape.
Unlike "true" big cats, the cheetah can purr as it inhales, but cannot roar. By contrast, the big cats can roar but cannot purr, except while exhaling. However, the cheetah is still considered by some to be the smallest of the big cats. While it is often mistaken for the leopard, the cheetah does have distinguishing features, such as the aforementioned long "tear-streak" lines that run from the corners of its eyes to its mouth. The body frame of the cheetah is also very different from that of the leopard, most notably so in its thinner and longer tail, and unlike the leopard, its spots are not arranged into rosettes.
The cheetah is a vulnerable species. Out of all the big cats, it is the least able to adapt to new environments. It has always proved difficult to breed in captivity, although recently a few zoos have managed to succeed at this. Once widely hunted for its fur, the cheetah now suffers more from the loss of both habitat and prey.
The cheetah was formerly considered to be particularly primitive among the cats and to have evolved approximately 18 million years ago. New research, however, suggests that the last common ancestor of all 40 existing species of felines lived more recently than that - about 11 million years ago. The same research indicates that the cheetah, while highly derived morphologically, is not of particularly ancient lineage, having separated from its closest living relatives (Puma concolor, the cougar, and Puma yaguarondi, the jaguarundi) around five million years ago.[7][8]
Reproduction and social life


Cheetah cub
Females reach maturity within twenty to twenty-four months, and males around twelve months (although they do not usually mate until at least three years old), and mating occurs throughout the year. A recent study of cheetahs in the Serengeti showed that female cheetahs are sexually promiscuous and often have cubs by many different males.[9]
Females give birth to up to nine cubs after a gestation period of ninety to ninety-eight days, although the average litter size is three to five. Cubs weigh from 150 grams (5.3 oz) to 300 grams (11 oz) at birth. Unlike some other cats, the cheetah is born with its characteristic spots. Cubs are also born with a downy underlying fur on their necks, called a mantle, extending to mid-back. This gives them a mane or Mohawk-type appearance; this fur is shed as the cheetah grows older. It has been speculated that this mane gives a cheetah cub the appearance of the ratel, to scare away potential aggressors.[10] Cubs leave their mother between thirteen and twenty months after birth. Life span is up to twelve years in the wild, but up to twenty years in captivity.
Unlike males, females are solitary and tend to avoid each other, though some mother/daughter pairs have been known to be formed for small periods of time. The cheetah has a unique, well-structured social order. Females live alone except when they are raising cubs and they raise their cubs on their own. The first eighteen months of a cub's life are important - cubs learn many lessons because survival depends on knowing how to hunt wild prey species and avoid other predators. At eighteen months, the mother leaves the cubs, who then form a sibling, or 'sib', group, that will stay together for another six months. At about two years, the female siblings leave the group, and the young males remain together for life.
Territories
Males
Males are very sociable and will group together for life, usually with their brothers in the same litter; although if a cub is the only male in the litter then two or three lone males may group up, or a lone male may join an existing group. These groups are called coalitions. A coalition is six times more likely to obtain an animal territory than a lone male, although studies have shown that coalitions keep their territories just as long as lone males {between four and four and a half years.
Males are very territorial. Females' home ranges can be very large and trying to build a territory around several females' ranges is impossible to defend. Instead, males choose the points at which several of the females' home ranges overlap, creating a much smaller space, which can be properly defended against intruders while maximizing the chance of reproduction. Coalitions will try their most to maintain territories in order to find females with whom they will mate. The size of the territory also depends on the available resources; depending on the part of Africa, the size of a male's territory can vary greatly from 37 to 160 square kilometers.
Males mark their territory by urinating on objects that stand out, such as trees, logs, or termite mounds. The whole coalition contributes to the scent. Males will attempt to kill any intruders and fights result in serious injury or death.
Females



Unlike males and other felines, females do not establish territories. Instead, the area they live in is termed a home range. These overlap with other females' home ranges; often it will be the sisters from the same litter or a daughter's home range overlapping with her mother's. Females, however, always hunt alone, although once their cubs reach the age of five to six weeks they take them along to show them how it is done. The size of a home range depends entirely on the availability of prey. Cheetahs in southern African woodlands have ranges as small as 34 square km, while in some parts of Namibia they can reach 1,500 square kilometres (580 sq mi). Although there have been no studies, it is expected that the home ranges of females in the Sahara desert have the largest of all the cheetah populations.
Vocalizations
The cheetah cannot roar, unlike other big cats, but does have the following vocalizations:
• Yipping - When cheetahs attempt to find each other, or a mother tries to locate her cubs, it uses a high-pitched barking called yipping. The yips made by a cheetah cub sound more like a bird chirping, and so are termed chirping.
• Churring or stuttering - This vocalization is emitted by a cheetah during social meetings. A churr can be seen as a social invitation to other cheetahs, an expression of interest, uncertainty, or appeasement or during meetings with the opposite sex (although each sex churrs for different reasons).
• Growling - This vocalization is often accompanied by hissing and spitting and is exhibited by the cheetah during annoyance, or when faced with danger.
• Yowling - This is an escalated version of growling, usually displayed when danger worsens.
• Purring - This is made when the cheetah is content, usually during pleasant social meetings (mostly between cubs and their mothers).
Interspecific predatory relationships
Cheetahs are outranked by all the other large predators in most of their range. Because they are designed for extreme bursts of short speed at the expense of both power and the ability to climb trees, they cannot defend themselves against most of Africa's other predator species. They avoid fighting typically and will surrender a kill immediately to even a single hyena, rather than risk any injury, as anything that slows them down is essentially life threatening. The cheetah's death rate is very high during the early weeks of its life; up to 90% of cheetah cubs are killed during this time by lions, leopards, hyenas or even by eagles. Cheetah cubs often hide in thick brush for safety. Mother cheetahs will defend their young and are at times successful in driving predators away from their cubs. Coalitions of male cheetahs can also chase away other predators, depending on the coalition size and the size and number of the predator. Because of its speed, a healthy adult cheetah has no predators.
A cheetah has a 50% chance of losing its kills to other predators.[6] Cheetahs avoid competition by hunting at different times of the day and by eating immediately after the kill. Due to the reduction in habitat in Africa, Cheetahs in recent years have faced greater pressure from other native African predators as available range declines.
Diet and hunting


A cheetah with impala kill
The cheetah is a carnivore, eating mostly mammals under 40 kilograms (88 lb), including the Thomson's gazelle, the Grant's gazelle, the springbok and the impala. The young of larger mammals such as wildebeests and zebras are taken at times, adults too, when the cats hunt in groups. Guineafowl and hares are also prey. While the other big cats mainly hunt by night, the cheetah is a diurnal hunter. It hunts usually either early in the morning or later in the evening when it is not so hot, but there is still enough light.


A cheetah in pursuit of Thomson's gazelle.
The cheetah hunts by vision rather than by scent. Prey is stalked to within 10 metres (33 ft)-30 metres (98 ft), then chased. This is usually over in less than a minute, and if the cheetah fails to make a catch quickly, it will give up. The cheetah has an average hunting success rate of around 50% - half of its chases result in failure.
Running at speeds up to 75 MPH puts a great deal of strain on the cheetah's body. When sprinting, the cheetah's body temperature becomes so high that it would be deadly to continue - this is why the cheetah is often seen resting after it has caught its prey. If it is a hard chase, it sometimes needs to rest for half an hour or more.[citation needed] The cheetah kills its prey by tripping it during the chase, then biting it on the underside of the throat to suffocate it, for the cheetah is not strong enough to break the necks of the four-legged prey it mainly hunts. The bite may also puncture a vital artery in the neck. Then the cheetah proceeds to devour its catch as quickly as possible before the kill is taken by stronger predators.
The diet of a cheetah is dependent upon the area in which it lives. For example, on the East African plains, its preferred prey is the Thomson's gazelle. This small antelope is shorter than the cheetah (about 58 centimetres (23 in) - 70 centimetres (28 in) tall and 70 centimetres (28 in) - 107 centimetres (42 in) long), and also cannot run faster than the cheetah (only up to 80 kilometres per hour (50 mph)), which combine to make it an appropriate prey. Cheetahs look for individuals which have strayed some distance from their group, and do not necessarily seek out old or weak ones.