Boxing Day. 26 December 2006. Kloofing the Groot Rivier in the Tsitsikamma.
I had planned to take some of my sons-in-law down the Groot Rivier in the Tsitsikamma Forrest. I had borrowed wet suites from a number of people and we had prepared for this trip quite carefully. This would be my second trip down the Groot Rivier as I had been earlier this year with Mike Perks. There is a Huge difference between being a follower of a confident Kloofer and trying to lead a group. Adrienne Wilson’s brother, Gavin, was visiting her from Cananda and I had asked him to join us. His wife Barbara had agreed to assist with driving. We packed ourselves a small backpack with some energy bars, chocolate, biltong and energades.
We managed to leave at about 06.00am. In my car were Gavin and his wife Barbara and Saul. Stefan took his car with my son Michael, my son-in-law Michael and a friend of his who also lives in the UK, Werner. We had a brief stop over at the Storms River Bridge and then drove into Natures Valley where we met friends of Charles and Ingrid. Johan and his son Jannes loaded us up in their bakkies and drove us to the Groot RIvier Bridge on the N2. This is located a few Kilometers West of the toll plaza. Saul had not been feeling well before we left and en route and was not sure if he would join us but in the end decided that this was an adventure that he would not like to miss.
Barbara took a photo of us at the bridge and then we set out. It was 09.00am and I had anticipated a 5 hour hike. Barbara said that she would wait for us in Natures Valley where the Groot Rivier crossed the road at the bottom of the pass.
We had to scale a fence and then set off into some fairly dense bush before emerging above a steep slope. We then headed west and tried to locate the valley where we would descend into the gorge. We were incredibly fortunate and found the valley first time and after a bit of a steep climb down some slippery and loose rocks we were into the valley that would lead us to the river. I was now certain we were heading in the right direction and we climbed down into the gorge. This section takes about an hour and should not be rushed as it is an adventure on its own. There are all kinds of tree ferns, indigenous bush and rock faces to be enjoyed. There are only a handful of people in SA who have ever had the priveledge to be able to do something like this and we wanted to savour the moment. Just as we reached the point where we could hear the river flowing we came across a sheer rockface. Fortunately someone had left a section of seatbelt webbing attadhed to a tree and we used this to absail down the rock. I was quite nervous but as the only one who had done this before had to take the lead. The webbing dangles over the rock and we eased ourselves over lowering ourselves until we could feel the rock below was firm on our feet. The rocks were all slippery and loose and we had to be careful not to slip to what could be a nasty fall. Once we were all past this obstacle we came to the river.
There was a strong flow of water and the waterfall looked quite formidable. I had brought some rope and I slung it around a tree and worked my way onto a rock from which we would jump into the river. The others followed one by one. We donned our wetsuits and packed the day packs carefully so as to limit the amount of water that would get into the food and drinks. We tossed the packs down into the river and leaped down into the pool below. This was between two to three meters depending if you climbed onto a lower ledge before jumping. Stefan was first then Michael and I was next. Once we were all in the river we began our swim down stream.
The wetsuites we used varied between full length and arms to shorts and sleeveless. People, like Michael Z, who used the full wetsuite seemed to get too warm. I used Nicci’s old wetsuite which was shorts and sleeveless and while I was not cold, I felt the cool water each time that I got into the river. I think that either will do fine in Summer but when the water cools down I would suggest that full wetsuites may be more suitable.
The back pack plays two roles. It is used to carry food and drink. But it is also an important flotation device. Everything in the pack is double wrapped in black bags and stays reasonably dry. Bottles and the pack itself help in keeping us afloat. I would generally put my arms trough the straps and float backwards with the pack providing a head rest.
This part is difficult to describe as it alternates between swims and rock climbing. We would hear the thud of a bag being tossed into the water and know that there would be a splash as someone followed. Each time we would get to a shallow section we would have these water laden back packs making us unsteady on our feet. Often we would topple over due to the heavy pack, the loose and slippery rocks and the sensation of gettting out of the water and onto our feet. At stages there were big boulders to climb over and down while at other times there were smaller loose stones. Walking with our feet submerged seemed to be the toughest as it is impossible to judge where to put the full weight of your step and you are likely to slip.
As we swam we were able to float on our backs and look up to the underside of the bridge. Here we found quite a bit of debri from the construction of the bridge. But considering the enourmity of this project there was not a great deal of steel or concrete in the river.
We really had no sense of time or of distance but I estimate that when we got to the very narrow gorge where we swam under a waterfall would have been about half way. This section was quite spectaular as there was one point where we were swimming where the cliff face was quite sheer on either side and not more than two meters wide. Michael had brought an underwater camera and took pictures of us in the river and under the waterfall. This is quite an experience as the water thunders onto your head with force and is quite noisy as well. Up to now we were all quite chirpy and enjoying ourselves. The “Vasbyt” section was ahead.
After the waterfall it is still a very long pull to the end, there are long swims and long walks through bush and lots of loose gravel which gets into shoes and sandals causing irritation. This section should not be underestimated as it appears from the landscape that we are nearing the end but the end is still a long way off. Werner was generally in front but would often have to stop and empty his shoes of small stones and gravel. Saul was by now quite exhausted and was into a survivial mode. He did not complain but was clearly feeling the effect of the earlier nausea.
This is a really tough day. Exhaustion and hypothermia are to be expected. We stopped fairly often but while some of the group had been drinking regularly, I had not drunk or eaten enough and the effect of getting in and out of the water and the exersion of the day was getting to me. The body must use a huge volume of calories trying to warm up each time we got into the water. I should have eaten and drunk substantially more than I did. Finally we could hear the sound of the water pump and I knew that we were close to the end. At the water pump we took the short road out to the old N2 and met up with Barbara who had been waiting for us for about two hours. Seeing the car and Barbara was quite a relief. The walk to Johan’s house would have taken us 30 to 45 minutes more.
It was 15.30 and we had been on the hike for 6 and a half hours. Barbara took us to Johan’s house where we collected Stefan’s car and drove back to the group wating at the bridge. Stefan had a flat tyre but as Michael’s wife was waiting for him at the Storms River Bridge I pressed on. We regrouped at the Storms River bridge where we bought some coffee and something to eat. Michael & Lene left for Knysna. The road back to PE was quite busy and we took it easy. We got back home at 18.30 and I dropped Gavin and Barbara off with Adrienne.
Kloofing is a really tough thing to take on. Once you start there is no backing out as there is only one way and that is down stream. There is not chance of rescue from the outside. A cell phone would be useless as it would be saturated and there is at any rate no reception. The gorge is quite inaccessible to anyone except on foot.
Once I had offloaded our stuff I drove down to Summerstrand to give Varrin Karp back his wetsuite which I had borrowed. By now I was also starting to feel nausea and went straight to bed. The next morning I was still feeling unsteady and decided to stay at home for the day. Saul had also complained of nausea and gone straight to bed but was feeling a lot better the next morning. I think that everyone was stiff and sore in some way or another. Cathy and Saul left for Cape Town and the rest of us went to Ten Pin for a game. Stefan was the champ but only just managed to beat Nicci who had been the first to get a Strike.
Later that evening we heard that Cathy was also feeling poorly while Jacqui was quite sick at home. It could have been a tummy bug but for me it was an exhausting Christmas period of exersize, family and eating.
Thursday 28th
It is now four years since Jacqui and Michael were married in our front garden. And today Emily was dedicated by Jonathan and Anne also in the garden. People who came to be with Jacqui: Charles & Ingrid, Debbie and Samantha, Michelle and Werner, Beauty, Gail, Delene & Karen, Carrie, Ally, Jessica, Nicci, Stefan, Christian (slept), Aaron and Zara, Ron and Michael DeK. It was a good little gathering and quite emotional. Later that evening we went to Charles & Ingrid for a Braai and Jamming session.
Sunday, December 31, 2006
GIDDY FAMILY DECEMBER 2006.
DECEMBER 2006..
Nearly at the end of another year. But the activity never stops. This month I have entered for the Xtreme Wild coast event for February 2007. I will not have Ron to second me but hopefully I will be able to tag along with Dave and his crew. Nicci and Stefan came to PE to collect their car. It was good to have the whole family stay with us. It had been ages since we last had all of them with us.
Nippers came to an end with a 100 club draw and braai. Unfortunately Donald had an operation to his knee and we did not present the Nippers with awards as we had done the previous year. ON the Sunday morning I entered an off road triathlon. I used Barbara’s bike but it turned out to be a disaster for me. I was entirely under prepared. All the other cyclists had a stuff called Slime Lime in their tubes to help in the case of Punctures as well as Liners which also help for preventing punctures. The triathlon started late and then we did the swim in the lake. That was fine and I then got onto the bike. I had no idea how tough the course was going to be. It was in the game reserve and on sand dune type sandy tracks with more Deviltjies and event thorns the size of knitting needles. I was soon pushing the bike up and down the hills as I found it impossible to ride in the soft sand. I then found that the front riders had been sent on a wrong route and they began to pass me. After about 5kays I realised that I had two flat tyres and so decided to walk back to the start. I got back tired and frustrated and so packed up and went to the beach to meet up with the family and the last nippers session of the year.
Barbara had agreed to drive a trailer full of Michaels stuff to Knysna and seeing the size of the trailer I agreed to accompany her on the Monday morning. We left at 05.00 and drove into a strong West wind the whole way there. With the drag and weight of the trailer, the wind and rain this trip took us close to four hours. It was not at all pleasant but I was glad that I had gone with Baabara as I would not have liked her to be on her own for this trip. ON the way there she read about a business where the owner of a house wanted to rent the house to a patrnership and then the partnership would in turn rent out furnished rooms on a self catering basis. She called this person (Jacquie Jorgenson) from the car and set up a meeting for the same afternoon. Nicci and Stefan had left us that Sunday afternoon, drove through to Knysna to meet up with Michael and then back to Plett where they stayed the night with Ena. Lene also left PE on the Monday morning so it turned out that at one stage we all drove the Plett to Knysna section at one time.
Once we reached Knysna Michael organised two men and we quickly off loaded the trailer and headed back to PE. On the way back we again drove through sheeting rain. It was so heavy that we had almost no visibility and had to slow down to a crawl. We stopped off at Plett for coffee with Ena and were back in PE at about 13.30. I still went to work that afternoon and Barbara met up with Jacquie. She was very enthusiastic about the venture and decided there and then that this would be for her. The investment would be R50 000 and we hoped to be able to recover this within two to three years. The following day I had a business meeting in East London and Kingwilliamstown. This was to be two heavy days of driving. We met up with Jacquie again and finalised most of the detail of the 11 Glen Street Business. Our back room was almost complete with touching up and Glazing still to be done.
We had a church function where the administration said thanks to everyone who made some kind of contribution to the continued growth and life of the church. Johnathan showed us the vision for the staffing and development of buildings and then we were entretained by a stand up Christian Commedian. Rowland.
The rest of the week is a blur as we get so busy at this time. Michael was struggling to settle in Knysna but at least his family was there. Jacqui’s little baby Emily is not entirely happy here. She is very clingy with Jacqui. On Friday we had a Christmas Carols evening with Charles & Ingrid. It was raining but we still had our Braai. And then Charles played the guitar and we all sang our Carols. Barbara bought a soccer twirly game and Ally loves to beat us all at the game. On the Saturday morning I had my first run in ages. I had taken a bit of a break. We did a 15kay and I managed okay but really feel that I am slowing down considerably. I had to do some officiating at the Lifesaving club for the senior club at summerstrand. It took most of the morning and I was quite exhausted afterwards.
Lloyd Lindsay died last week. He was 50 and had battled Cancer for the past 5 years. The Funeral was at the Kingdom Church in Summerstrand. I had met Lloyd while studying at Technikon for the Marketing Diploma. He had spent most of his working carreer in the Citrus Business. He had a Daughter who is a friend of Jessica Gendal so Tim was also there as were a number of people who I know. It was a very emotional service for me. A number of people stood up in the front and gave testimony to Lloyds life as well as a DVD presentation with Pictures of Lloyd from a baby to his last years. For me the part that hurt so much was the fact that he is out of the lives of so many people who trusted and respected him. I had not known him well but we recognised and acknowledged each other on a number of occasions particularly while running. I, like many others found him to be a likeable, easy going man.
Last week the Port Elizabeth Warehouse had an armed robbery. It seems that a number of men walked into the warehouse and then pulled out guns and demanded money. The staff told the robbers that there was no cash on the premises and they then demanded cell phones, jewelry and items that could be carried away. One of the staff members was in the back and called the police from his cell phone. The Police were quick to respond and a gun battle ensued with one of the police being shot in the leg and one of the robbers was killed while another was arrested. The one that was Killed was known to the police and they had, it seems, been tracking him down. The robbers got away with very little. But the staff were quite upset at the whole incident.
We decided against the Guest House with Jacquie Jorgenson. There were a number of reasons but most of all she was expecting an investment with no assets. I had to do duty at Summerstrand for the senior Lifesavers competition. It was a pretty boring day and I was happy to get out of there that afternoon. We were open on Sunday and so the whole weekend was a bit of a washout for me. Michael Z arrived from UK and He & I did a bit of swimming in the evening at Hobie beachin the evenings after work. I ran four mornings that week.
Here are a couple of emails that we received:
Hello Everyone
It was a day with no electricity until just now 7.30pm - as you can imagin Stefan and I were at quite a loss, but eventually got into things and had a nice lazy day at home. Felt a bit like camping, but luckily we have a gas stove, so we could boil water without having to use the fire.
The boys are in bed and we're about to resume our Rumikub challenge. We had a lovely night in Kermanus with our friends Melany and Marius.
Ann starts tomorrow. She spent the day with us on Friday and stayed after we left to clean the flat. I'm feeling very positive about her - she's very warm, caring and motherly. She also has two boys and a girl and her middle child, Owen was born at the same time ont eh same day as Chris and is also quite a sensitive soul. He was burnt last week when he knocked over the kettle and has been in Red Cross.
It's getting dark now and I'm glad to not have to use all the candles and tourches I've prepared. Missing everybody there and I know you're having fun without me!!
Please pray for a productive week for us.
Hugs and kisses all round and a special big one for Emily.
Niki @
Hi Peter,Barbara and Ally,
Everithing ok with you,so it is nice that you have your own geust house.
Iff i know some triathleets i will send them too you and i will tell them it is the best guest house there is( i know i was there with you and had a graet time )
I come back to IRONMAN South Africa from 11 march until 21 march and will stay in a hotel near the start off the Ironman.
They invided me to stay in a hotel so what can i say!!!!
My wife is comming with me and we will visit you when we are there.
Say hello too all your friends,i hope they are all ok?
Hope too here from you soon and see you in Port elizabeth.
Cheers,
Gerrit and Nadia.
Here is an email that Nicci sent on Saturday 16th December 2006.:
Check this email I found. Read from the bottom up. Can you believe I'm
actually here now.
Hi Dad,
You are right with everything you say. It is about enjoying the small
things in life.
There are things that are good. Like the church for example and my friends
and especially my sisters. I am so blessed having them here. It allows
Stefan and I to have a evening out every now and then on our own. And Jax
comes over almost everyday and helps with the kids and keeps me company.
There are little things that I do and I enjoy doing them, but I can just
feel that I am longing for something more. It is probably my own attitude
that will change how I feel and I know it doesn't matter where you live if
your attitude is not right.
I don't even really know what it is. I'm happy, not there is something
missing. There could be more. Maybe is is just the monotony of daily life
that is getting me down. I used to be an 'outdoor' person, but I really
can't even say that about myself now. I miss that.
Oh well. This too will pass.
You know Madelein? Stefan's cousin? Anyway, she has a little boy, I think
about 6 months now. They have found out that he is deaf. Such hard news!
It's a holiday here today, but Stefan has a wedding and it's raining - so...
another boring day indoors trying to entertain the kids.
Love you dad.
Nix
-----Original Message-----
From: Niki Steenkamp [mailto:niki@steenkamp.com]
Sent: Saturday, May 28, 2005 1:40 PM
To: Peter Giddy
Subject: RE: SATURDAY
Hi Dad,
Well I'm okay. I do get a bit down with things sometimes, like the weather
for one and Stefan working so much, but generally I'm okay. I am happy that
I can be with the kids at home, but would like to have a better life style,
more healthy and outdoors. I feel very caged in here sometimes, but I think
that can come with being a stay at home mom.
But now we have a vision to be in South Africa and I am motivated by that.
I want the lifestyle that South Africa can offer on a day to day basis. I
know there are loads of things to do here, but we don't. Mainly because of
finances, but even when we had money we didn't do THAT much.
So as soon as we can get things sorted to leave, the better. I tolerate the
working hard and stuff now because I know that it is all going towards a
better life in SA.
Thanks for caring.
Love you
Hello Nix
Good to hear that you are feeling positive
about the weather, the children and the business.
But what about Nicci? how do you feel yourself?
This morning we had to assist at a race.
So we went for a run first and then did our
marshalling duties afterwards. It was a lovely
morning for a run on the Seaview hills. It started
raining a little later and so Hockey was cancelled.
Mom not feeling her best again today.
I wonder if you heard about Michaels luck?
If not I do not think that I will spoil his
Thunder. Let him tell you himself.
So it is raining today and so no cycling this afternoon.
Probably just chill at home this afternoon.
Mike and Lene plan to do some packing of their old house
so as to move to the new place by Tuesday and Wednesday.
Thats about what I can think of for now
Love you
DAD
16th December 2006.
Dawn & Richard came for a visit to PE this weekend.They will be leaving for Canada soon and so decided to have their South african Christmas in PE. Michael and Jacqui & Emily were at the beach for a walk. When they returned we all sat outside for a stir fry supper. It was a perfect still evening. ON Saturday morning I went for my normal run to the beach and back. There was a slight drizzle but perfect running conditions.
Michael and Lene seem to be a bit more settled in Knysna now. We sent a maid from PE to help them for a few weeks until they can find themselves a more permanent arrangement.
Dawn & Richard had a kind of Chrismas Dinner at our house on Saturday evening. Gail, Delene, & boyfriend, Jasmin, Karen, Johnathan, Carrie, the Zivors, the Kumms & Giddys were there. 15 People in all. It seemed to be a very successful evening. Michael & I had been for a run that afternoon along the beach promenade. It was the evening of the opening of the season. There were lots of people there, gathering for the evening of fireworks. There was a wrestling display that we watched for a short while.
On Sunday Charles & Ingrid joined us for a Lunch Braai. They also brought a guitar and while some of us sung carols, Charles & Michael were “jamming” with their guitars. After lunch, Michael & I went for a short run on the beach and met up with Barbara, Jacqui and the rest of the family. There was a Carols evening at Clarendon later that evening. Ally & I were actors in the nativity scene. Ally played an angel and I was a sheperd. Prior to the carols there were all kinds of games including a “photo hunt” which we enjoyed running around looking for the various photo’s that Mike Perks had taken and placed strategically around the field.
Monday the 18th is Rons birthday. Michael came with me to wish him a happy birthday. There was a funny incident with one of Ron’s friends, Corrie. He had his new wife with him and she was introduced as such. It made Michael think of someone showing the people in the group a new car that he had recently acquired. I had met Corrie on two previous occasions. Once on the bus to the start of Comrades and the second time was also at Ron’s house. On all three occasions he had a different wife. This just added to the comedy of the situation.
Michael & I have been running a short 5 or 6 kays in the evening along the promenade. After which we have been swimming out to the pier. We have had two good experiences. First we were swimming when a rescue helicopter came and did an exersize of dropping and then lifting a patient from the sea just past the pier. When they began the second exersize, Michael & I swam out to the area and were right under the blades of the helicopter. The swimming was very difficult due to the water being driven into our eyes. Then the second experience was when we had swum out past the pier and saw two dolphins swim within 10 or 20 meters of where we were swimming. It is a good sensation to be so close to nature.
And then it was Christmas eve. Cathy arrived with her boyfriend, Saul from Cape Town. They had left early on Saturday morning and after a brief visit to Michael in Knysna they were in PE Saturday afternoon. The next to get to PE was Michael and Lene. They had left on the Sunday morning early but then had car trouble and just after Humansdorp called us to say the car would need to be towed in. Barbara & I were fortunate to be able to borrow a tow rope from a garage owner and when we got to them they had carried on slowly but eventually the car gave up completely and we towed their car back home.
That Christmas eve was very relaxed as we sat outside and had a simple Sphagetti Boglognaise. Michael, Saul & I had been for a short run and swim at the beach and it was a good time to be able to chat a little and get to know Saul. We had agreed to delay opening of the presents until Nicci and Stefan arrived from Cape Town the next morning. They had spent Christmas eve in Ceres with family there and left for PE early Christmas morning. We had our Christmas Stockings. Michael and family slept outside in the tent for the weekend. The Service at church that morning was full as ususal. We arrived there at 08.20 for 09.00am and were first into the church. But it soon filled up and I was glad to be able to sit all together.
It did not seem long before Nicci and family all arrived in PE and the Present Opening Ceremony began. Barbara took her traditional role as chief distributor of presents. I was surprised when she callled out my name first but when I saw that she had bought me a Video Camera I realised why I had been selected first. I was able to film some of the family sitting there that day.
This would be a First for us. It was the first time that we had the whole family, as it had now developed, together under one roof. Ally ws now 9 years old and would be going into grade four next year. Cathy had her boyfriend Saul. Nicci and Stefan, Christian, Aaron and Baby Zara who was not quite a year old but who was nearly ready to walk. Jacqui, Michael and their Baby Emily who was now just over 9 months old. Michael, Lene, Jessica, Joshua and Daniel completed the list. That made it two Grandparents, Five Children, one boyfriend, three sons.daughters in law and seven grandchildren. There were 18 people in the house. It was Chaos. Crying erupted on a regular basis, The smell of nappies was everywhere, rubbish bags became a problem and genereally we tripped over each other whenever we walked though a passage.
Barbara and the girls made a supper for us. It was a simple roast chicken with vegetables but went down well and the Christmas dinner took on a new dynamic.
Boxing Day. 26 December 2006. Kloofing the Groot Rivier in the Tsitsikamma.
I had planned to take some of my sons-in-law down the Groot Rivier in the Tsitsikamma Forrest. I had borrowed wet suites from a number of people and we had prepared for this trip quite carefully. This would be my second trip down the Groot Rivier as I had been earlier this year with Mike Perks. There is a Huge difference between being a follower of a confident Kloofer and trying to lead a group. Adrienne Wilson’s brother, Gavin, was visiting her from Cananda and I had asked him to join us. His wife Barbara had agreed to assist with driving. We packed ourselves a small backpack with some energy bars, chocolate, biltong and energades.
We managed to leave at about 06.00am. In my car were Gavin and his wife Barbara and Saul. Stefan took his car with my son Michael, my son-in-law Michael and a friend of his who also lives in the UK, Werner. We had a brief stop over at the Storms River Bridge and then drove into Natures Valley where we met friends of Charles and Ingrid. Johan and his son Jannes loaded us up in their bakkies and drove us to the Groot RIvier Bridge on the N2. This is located a few Kilometers West of the toll plaza. Saul had not been feeling well before we left and en route and was not sure if he would join us but in the end decided that this was an adventure that he would not like to miss.
Barbara took a photo of us at the bridge and then we set out. It was 09.00am and I had anticipated a 5 hour hike. Barbara said that she would wait for us in Natures Valley where the Groot Rivier crossed the road at the bottom of the pass.
We had to scale a fence and then set off into some fairly dense bush before emerging above a steep slope. We then headed west and tried to locate the valley where we would descend into the gorge. We were incredibly fortunate and found the valley first time and after a bit of a steep climb down some slippery and loose rocks we were into the valley that would lead us to the river. I was now certain we were heading in the right direction and we climbed down into the gorge. This section takes about an hour and should not be rushed as it is an adventure on its own. There are all kinds of tree ferns, indigenous bush and rock faces to be enjoyed. There are only a handful of people in SA who have ever had the priveledge to be able to do something like this and we wanted to savour the moment. Just as we reached the point where we could hear the river flowing we came across a sheer rockface. Fortunately someone had left a section of seatbelt webbing attadhed to a tree and we used this to absail down the rock. I was quite nervous but as the only one who had done this before had to take the lead. The webbing dangles over the rock and we eased ourselves over lowering ourselves until we could feel the rock below was firm on our feet. The rocks were all slippery and loose and we had to be careful not to slip to what could be a nasty fall. Once we were all past this obstacle we came to the river.
There was a strong flow of water and the waterfall looked quite formidable. I had brought some rope and I slung it around a tree and worked my way onto a rock from which we would jump into the river. The others followed one by one. We donned our wetsuits and packed the day packs carefully so as to limit the amount of water that would get into the food and drinks. We tossed the packs down into the river and leaped down into the pool below. This was between two to three meters depending if you climbed onto a lower ledge before jumping. Stefan was first then Michael and I was next. Once we were all in the river we began our swim down stream.
The wetsuites we used varied between full length and arms to shorts and sleeveless. People, like Michael Z, who used the full wetsuite seemed to get too warm. I used Nicci’s old wetsuite which was shorts and sleeveless and while I was not cold, I felt the cool water each time that I got into the river. I think that either will do fine in Summer but when the water cools down I would suggest that full wetsuites may be more suitable.
The back pack plays two roles. It is used to carry food and drink. But it is also an important flotation device. Everything in the pack is double wrapped in black bags and stays reasonably dry. Bottles and the pack itself help in keeping us afloat. I would generally put my arms trough the straps and float backwards with the pack providing a head rest.
This part is difficult to describe as it alternates between swims and rock climbing. We would hear the thud of a bag being tossed into the water and know that there would be a splash as someone followed. Each time we would get to a shallow section we would have these water laden back packs making us unsteady on our feet. Often we would topple over due to the heavy pack, the loose and slippery rocks and the sensation of gettting out of the water and onto our feet. At stages there were big boulders to climb over and down while at other times there were smaller loose stones. Walking with our feet submerged seemed to be the toughest as it is impossible to judge where to put the full weight of your step and you are likely to slip.
As we swam we were able to float on our backs and look up to the underside of the bridge. Here we found quite a bit of debri from the construction of the bridge. But considering the enourmity of this project there was not a great deal of steel or concrete in the river.
We really had no sense of time or of distance but I estimate that when we got to the very narrow gorge where we swam under a waterfall would have been about half way. This section was quite spectaular as there was one point where we were swimming where the cliff face was quite sheer on either side and not more than two meters wide. Michael had brought an underwater camera and took pictures of us in the river and under the waterfall. This is quite an experience as the water thunders onto your head with force and is quite noisy as well. Up to now we were all quite chirpy and enjoying ourselves. The “Vasbyt” section was ahead.
After the waterfall it is still a very long pull to the end, there are long swims and long walks through bush and lots of loose gravel which gets into shoes and sandals causing irritation. This section should not be underestimated as it appears from the landscape that we are nearing the end but the end is still a long way off. Werner was generally in front but would often have to stop and empty his shoes of small stones and gravel. Saul was by now quite exhausted and was into a survivial mode. He did not complain but was clearly feeling the effect of the earlier nausea.
This is a really tough day. Exhaustion and hypothermia are to be expected. We stopped fairly often but while some of the group had been drinking regularly, I had not drunk or eaten enough and the effect of getting in and out of the water and the exersion of the day was getting to me. The body must use a huge volume of calories trying to warm up each time we got into the water. I should have eaten and drunk substantially more than I did. Finally we could hear the sound of the water pump and I knew that we were close to the end. At the water pump we took the short road out to the old N2 and met up with Barbara who had been waiting for us for about two hours. Seeing the car and Barbara was quite a relief. The walk to Johan’s house would have taken us 30 to 45 minutes more.
It was 15.30 and we had been on the hike for 6 and a half hours. Barbara took us to Johan’s house where we collected Stefan’s car and drove back to the group wating at the bridge. Stefan had a flat tyre but as Michael’s wife was waiting for him at the Storms River Bridge I pressed on. We regrouped at the Storms River bridge where we bought some coffee and something to eat. Michael & Lene left for Knysna. The road back to PE was quite busy and we took it easy. We got back home at 18.30 and I dropped Gavin and Barbara off with Adrienne.
Kloofing is a really tough thing to take on. Once you start there is no backing out as there is only one way and that is down stream. There is not chance of rescue from the outside. A cell phone would be useless as it would be saturated and there is at any rate no reception. The gorge is quite inaccessible to anyone except on foot.
Once I had offloaded our stuff I drove down to Summerstrand to give Varrin Karp back his wetsuite which I had borrowed. By now I was also starting to feel nausea and went straight to bed. The next morning I was still feeling unsteady and decided to stay at home for the day. Saul had also complained of nausea and gone straight to bed but was feeling a lot better the next morning. I think that everyone was stiff and sore in some way or another. Cathy and Saul left for Cape Town and the rest of us went to Ten Pin for a game. Stefan was the champ but only just managed to beat Nicci who had been the first to get a Strike.
Later that evening we heard that Cathy was also feeling poorly while Jacqui was quite sick at home. It could have been a tummy bug but for me it was an exhausting Christmas period of exersize, family and eating.
Thursday 28th
It is now four years since Jacqui and Michael were married in our front garden. And today Emily was dedicated by Jonathan and Anne also in the garden. People who came to be with Jacqui: Charles & Ingrid, Debbie and Samantha, Michelle and Werner, Beauty, Gail, Delene & Karen, Carrie, Ally, Jessica, Nicci, Stefan, Christian (slept), Aaron and Zara, Ron and Michael DeK. It was a good little gathering and quite emotional. Later that evening we went to Charles & Ingrid for a Braai and Jamming session.
Email from Dawn:
What, no one on Skype! Had a lovely Christmas with the family, Christmas eve with Ray and Steve and Christmas day here where we had a Christmas tree and present opening both upstairs with Trace and Mark and downstairs with us - really managed to drag it out!
Trace, Mark and the boys went to Lake Louise yesterday and then on to Panarama where they spent the night with friends. Asher has now moved onto the 'green' slopes having outgrown the nursery slopes and Cale is learning to snowboard. We elected to stay at home on the grounds that we have done nothing but travel around for the past month or more. It snowed all day yesterday and during the night and we have a ' winter wonderland' outside our windows this morning with the promise of sun today. Should be really beautiful but means the snow won't last too long. Will have to clear the driveway before we can go through to Ray and Steve for tea. Fortunately Mark bought a snowplough for the tractor in our absence so will only need the shovel for the paths.
Kiska loves the snow and spends most of her time rolling in it and playing outside with her ball, only coming in, leaving little heaps of snow and water, to let us know how great it all is!
Showed the photos of Digby, Barbara, and Ray and Trace both fell in love instantly. Ray and Steve now locked in battle over the virtues of a Great Dane versus a minature Yorkie.
Will send some photos later, in the meantime love to all and keep in touch (constantly)
Lotsaluv,
Dawn
Our new years eve was a quite evening with Pat, Gerald, Nicci & Stefan , Jacqui and Michael’s family. We played a kind of charades game and ended the year quietly. The next morning Michael left for Knysna.
Nearly at the end of another year. But the activity never stops. This month I have entered for the Xtreme Wild coast event for February 2007. I will not have Ron to second me but hopefully I will be able to tag along with Dave and his crew. Nicci and Stefan came to PE to collect their car. It was good to have the whole family stay with us. It had been ages since we last had all of them with us.
Nippers came to an end with a 100 club draw and braai. Unfortunately Donald had an operation to his knee and we did not present the Nippers with awards as we had done the previous year. ON the Sunday morning I entered an off road triathlon. I used Barbara’s bike but it turned out to be a disaster for me. I was entirely under prepared. All the other cyclists had a stuff called Slime Lime in their tubes to help in the case of Punctures as well as Liners which also help for preventing punctures. The triathlon started late and then we did the swim in the lake. That was fine and I then got onto the bike. I had no idea how tough the course was going to be. It was in the game reserve and on sand dune type sandy tracks with more Deviltjies and event thorns the size of knitting needles. I was soon pushing the bike up and down the hills as I found it impossible to ride in the soft sand. I then found that the front riders had been sent on a wrong route and they began to pass me. After about 5kays I realised that I had two flat tyres and so decided to walk back to the start. I got back tired and frustrated and so packed up and went to the beach to meet up with the family and the last nippers session of the year.
Barbara had agreed to drive a trailer full of Michaels stuff to Knysna and seeing the size of the trailer I agreed to accompany her on the Monday morning. We left at 05.00 and drove into a strong West wind the whole way there. With the drag and weight of the trailer, the wind and rain this trip took us close to four hours. It was not at all pleasant but I was glad that I had gone with Baabara as I would not have liked her to be on her own for this trip. ON the way there she read about a business where the owner of a house wanted to rent the house to a patrnership and then the partnership would in turn rent out furnished rooms on a self catering basis. She called this person (Jacquie Jorgenson) from the car and set up a meeting for the same afternoon. Nicci and Stefan had left us that Sunday afternoon, drove through to Knysna to meet up with Michael and then back to Plett where they stayed the night with Ena. Lene also left PE on the Monday morning so it turned out that at one stage we all drove the Plett to Knysna section at one time.
Once we reached Knysna Michael organised two men and we quickly off loaded the trailer and headed back to PE. On the way back we again drove through sheeting rain. It was so heavy that we had almost no visibility and had to slow down to a crawl. We stopped off at Plett for coffee with Ena and were back in PE at about 13.30. I still went to work that afternoon and Barbara met up with Jacquie. She was very enthusiastic about the venture and decided there and then that this would be for her. The investment would be R50 000 and we hoped to be able to recover this within two to three years. The following day I had a business meeting in East London and Kingwilliamstown. This was to be two heavy days of driving. We met up with Jacquie again and finalised most of the detail of the 11 Glen Street Business. Our back room was almost complete with touching up and Glazing still to be done.
We had a church function where the administration said thanks to everyone who made some kind of contribution to the continued growth and life of the church. Johnathan showed us the vision for the staffing and development of buildings and then we were entretained by a stand up Christian Commedian. Rowland.
The rest of the week is a blur as we get so busy at this time. Michael was struggling to settle in Knysna but at least his family was there. Jacqui’s little baby Emily is not entirely happy here. She is very clingy with Jacqui. On Friday we had a Christmas Carols evening with Charles & Ingrid. It was raining but we still had our Braai. And then Charles played the guitar and we all sang our Carols. Barbara bought a soccer twirly game and Ally loves to beat us all at the game. On the Saturday morning I had my first run in ages. I had taken a bit of a break. We did a 15kay and I managed okay but really feel that I am slowing down considerably. I had to do some officiating at the Lifesaving club for the senior club at summerstrand. It took most of the morning and I was quite exhausted afterwards.
Lloyd Lindsay died last week. He was 50 and had battled Cancer for the past 5 years. The Funeral was at the Kingdom Church in Summerstrand. I had met Lloyd while studying at Technikon for the Marketing Diploma. He had spent most of his working carreer in the Citrus Business. He had a Daughter who is a friend of Jessica Gendal so Tim was also there as were a number of people who I know. It was a very emotional service for me. A number of people stood up in the front and gave testimony to Lloyds life as well as a DVD presentation with Pictures of Lloyd from a baby to his last years. For me the part that hurt so much was the fact that he is out of the lives of so many people who trusted and respected him. I had not known him well but we recognised and acknowledged each other on a number of occasions particularly while running. I, like many others found him to be a likeable, easy going man.
Last week the Port Elizabeth Warehouse had an armed robbery. It seems that a number of men walked into the warehouse and then pulled out guns and demanded money. The staff told the robbers that there was no cash on the premises and they then demanded cell phones, jewelry and items that could be carried away. One of the staff members was in the back and called the police from his cell phone. The Police were quick to respond and a gun battle ensued with one of the police being shot in the leg and one of the robbers was killed while another was arrested. The one that was Killed was known to the police and they had, it seems, been tracking him down. The robbers got away with very little. But the staff were quite upset at the whole incident.
We decided against the Guest House with Jacquie Jorgenson. There were a number of reasons but most of all she was expecting an investment with no assets. I had to do duty at Summerstrand for the senior Lifesavers competition. It was a pretty boring day and I was happy to get out of there that afternoon. We were open on Sunday and so the whole weekend was a bit of a washout for me. Michael Z arrived from UK and He & I did a bit of swimming in the evening at Hobie beachin the evenings after work. I ran four mornings that week.
Here are a couple of emails that we received:
Hello Everyone
It was a day with no electricity until just now 7.30pm - as you can imagin Stefan and I were at quite a loss, but eventually got into things and had a nice lazy day at home. Felt a bit like camping, but luckily we have a gas stove, so we could boil water without having to use the fire.
The boys are in bed and we're about to resume our Rumikub challenge. We had a lovely night in Kermanus with our friends Melany and Marius.
Ann starts tomorrow. She spent the day with us on Friday and stayed after we left to clean the flat. I'm feeling very positive about her - she's very warm, caring and motherly. She also has two boys and a girl and her middle child, Owen was born at the same time ont eh same day as Chris and is also quite a sensitive soul. He was burnt last week when he knocked over the kettle and has been in Red Cross.
It's getting dark now and I'm glad to not have to use all the candles and tourches I've prepared. Missing everybody there and I know you're having fun without me!!
Please pray for a productive week for us.
Hugs and kisses all round and a special big one for Emily.
Niki @
Hi Peter,Barbara and Ally,
Everithing ok with you,so it is nice that you have your own geust house.
Iff i know some triathleets i will send them too you and i will tell them it is the best guest house there is( i know i was there with you and had a graet time )
I come back to IRONMAN South Africa from 11 march until 21 march and will stay in a hotel near the start off the Ironman.
They invided me to stay in a hotel so what can i say!!!!
My wife is comming with me and we will visit you when we are there.
Say hello too all your friends,i hope they are all ok?
Hope too here from you soon and see you in Port elizabeth.
Cheers,
Gerrit and Nadia.
Here is an email that Nicci sent on Saturday 16th December 2006.:
Check this email I found. Read from the bottom up. Can you believe I'm
actually here now.
Hi Dad,
You are right with everything you say. It is about enjoying the small
things in life.
There are things that are good. Like the church for example and my friends
and especially my sisters. I am so blessed having them here. It allows
Stefan and I to have a evening out every now and then on our own. And Jax
comes over almost everyday and helps with the kids and keeps me company.
There are little things that I do and I enjoy doing them, but I can just
feel that I am longing for something more. It is probably my own attitude
that will change how I feel and I know it doesn't matter where you live if
your attitude is not right.
I don't even really know what it is. I'm happy, not there is something
missing. There could be more. Maybe is is just the monotony of daily life
that is getting me down. I used to be an 'outdoor' person, but I really
can't even say that about myself now. I miss that.
Oh well. This too will pass.
You know Madelein? Stefan's cousin? Anyway, she has a little boy, I think
about 6 months now. They have found out that he is deaf. Such hard news!
It's a holiday here today, but Stefan has a wedding and it's raining - so...
another boring day indoors trying to entertain the kids.
Love you dad.
Nix
-----Original Message-----
From: Niki Steenkamp [mailto:niki@steenkamp.com]
Sent: Saturday, May 28, 2005 1:40 PM
To: Peter Giddy
Subject: RE: SATURDAY
Hi Dad,
Well I'm okay. I do get a bit down with things sometimes, like the weather
for one and Stefan working so much, but generally I'm okay. I am happy that
I can be with the kids at home, but would like to have a better life style,
more healthy and outdoors. I feel very caged in here sometimes, but I think
that can come with being a stay at home mom.
But now we have a vision to be in South Africa and I am motivated by that.
I want the lifestyle that South Africa can offer on a day to day basis. I
know there are loads of things to do here, but we don't. Mainly because of
finances, but even when we had money we didn't do THAT much.
So as soon as we can get things sorted to leave, the better. I tolerate the
working hard and stuff now because I know that it is all going towards a
better life in SA.
Thanks for caring.
Love you
Hello Nix
Good to hear that you are feeling positive
about the weather, the children and the business.
But what about Nicci? how do you feel yourself?
This morning we had to assist at a race.
So we went for a run first and then did our
marshalling duties afterwards. It was a lovely
morning for a run on the Seaview hills. It started
raining a little later and so Hockey was cancelled.
Mom not feeling her best again today.
I wonder if you heard about Michaels luck?
If not I do not think that I will spoil his
Thunder. Let him tell you himself.
So it is raining today and so no cycling this afternoon.
Probably just chill at home this afternoon.
Mike and Lene plan to do some packing of their old house
so as to move to the new place by Tuesday and Wednesday.
Thats about what I can think of for now
Love you
DAD
16th December 2006.
Dawn & Richard came for a visit to PE this weekend.They will be leaving for Canada soon and so decided to have their South african Christmas in PE. Michael and Jacqui & Emily were at the beach for a walk. When they returned we all sat outside for a stir fry supper. It was a perfect still evening. ON Saturday morning I went for my normal run to the beach and back. There was a slight drizzle but perfect running conditions.
Michael and Lene seem to be a bit more settled in Knysna now. We sent a maid from PE to help them for a few weeks until they can find themselves a more permanent arrangement.
Dawn & Richard had a kind of Chrismas Dinner at our house on Saturday evening. Gail, Delene, & boyfriend, Jasmin, Karen, Johnathan, Carrie, the Zivors, the Kumms & Giddys were there. 15 People in all. It seemed to be a very successful evening. Michael & I had been for a run that afternoon along the beach promenade. It was the evening of the opening of the season. There were lots of people there, gathering for the evening of fireworks. There was a wrestling display that we watched for a short while.
On Sunday Charles & Ingrid joined us for a Lunch Braai. They also brought a guitar and while some of us sung carols, Charles & Michael were “jamming” with their guitars. After lunch, Michael & I went for a short run on the beach and met up with Barbara, Jacqui and the rest of the family. There was a Carols evening at Clarendon later that evening. Ally & I were actors in the nativity scene. Ally played an angel and I was a sheperd. Prior to the carols there were all kinds of games including a “photo hunt” which we enjoyed running around looking for the various photo’s that Mike Perks had taken and placed strategically around the field.
Monday the 18th is Rons birthday. Michael came with me to wish him a happy birthday. There was a funny incident with one of Ron’s friends, Corrie. He had his new wife with him and she was introduced as such. It made Michael think of someone showing the people in the group a new car that he had recently acquired. I had met Corrie on two previous occasions. Once on the bus to the start of Comrades and the second time was also at Ron’s house. On all three occasions he had a different wife. This just added to the comedy of the situation.
Michael & I have been running a short 5 or 6 kays in the evening along the promenade. After which we have been swimming out to the pier. We have had two good experiences. First we were swimming when a rescue helicopter came and did an exersize of dropping and then lifting a patient from the sea just past the pier. When they began the second exersize, Michael & I swam out to the area and were right under the blades of the helicopter. The swimming was very difficult due to the water being driven into our eyes. Then the second experience was when we had swum out past the pier and saw two dolphins swim within 10 or 20 meters of where we were swimming. It is a good sensation to be so close to nature.
And then it was Christmas eve. Cathy arrived with her boyfriend, Saul from Cape Town. They had left early on Saturday morning and after a brief visit to Michael in Knysna they were in PE Saturday afternoon. The next to get to PE was Michael and Lene. They had left on the Sunday morning early but then had car trouble and just after Humansdorp called us to say the car would need to be towed in. Barbara & I were fortunate to be able to borrow a tow rope from a garage owner and when we got to them they had carried on slowly but eventually the car gave up completely and we towed their car back home.
That Christmas eve was very relaxed as we sat outside and had a simple Sphagetti Boglognaise. Michael, Saul & I had been for a short run and swim at the beach and it was a good time to be able to chat a little and get to know Saul. We had agreed to delay opening of the presents until Nicci and Stefan arrived from Cape Town the next morning. They had spent Christmas eve in Ceres with family there and left for PE early Christmas morning. We had our Christmas Stockings. Michael and family slept outside in the tent for the weekend. The Service at church that morning was full as ususal. We arrived there at 08.20 for 09.00am and were first into the church. But it soon filled up and I was glad to be able to sit all together.
It did not seem long before Nicci and family all arrived in PE and the Present Opening Ceremony began. Barbara took her traditional role as chief distributor of presents. I was surprised when she callled out my name first but when I saw that she had bought me a Video Camera I realised why I had been selected first. I was able to film some of the family sitting there that day.
This would be a First for us. It was the first time that we had the whole family, as it had now developed, together under one roof. Ally ws now 9 years old and would be going into grade four next year. Cathy had her boyfriend Saul. Nicci and Stefan, Christian, Aaron and Baby Zara who was not quite a year old but who was nearly ready to walk. Jacqui, Michael and their Baby Emily who was now just over 9 months old. Michael, Lene, Jessica, Joshua and Daniel completed the list. That made it two Grandparents, Five Children, one boyfriend, three sons.daughters in law and seven grandchildren. There were 18 people in the house. It was Chaos. Crying erupted on a regular basis, The smell of nappies was everywhere, rubbish bags became a problem and genereally we tripped over each other whenever we walked though a passage.
Barbara and the girls made a supper for us. It was a simple roast chicken with vegetables but went down well and the Christmas dinner took on a new dynamic.
Boxing Day. 26 December 2006. Kloofing the Groot Rivier in the Tsitsikamma.
I had planned to take some of my sons-in-law down the Groot Rivier in the Tsitsikamma Forrest. I had borrowed wet suites from a number of people and we had prepared for this trip quite carefully. This would be my second trip down the Groot Rivier as I had been earlier this year with Mike Perks. There is a Huge difference between being a follower of a confident Kloofer and trying to lead a group. Adrienne Wilson’s brother, Gavin, was visiting her from Cananda and I had asked him to join us. His wife Barbara had agreed to assist with driving. We packed ourselves a small backpack with some energy bars, chocolate, biltong and energades.
We managed to leave at about 06.00am. In my car were Gavin and his wife Barbara and Saul. Stefan took his car with my son Michael, my son-in-law Michael and a friend of his who also lives in the UK, Werner. We had a brief stop over at the Storms River Bridge and then drove into Natures Valley where we met friends of Charles and Ingrid. Johan and his son Jannes loaded us up in their bakkies and drove us to the Groot RIvier Bridge on the N2. This is located a few Kilometers West of the toll plaza. Saul had not been feeling well before we left and en route and was not sure if he would join us but in the end decided that this was an adventure that he would not like to miss.
Barbara took a photo of us at the bridge and then we set out. It was 09.00am and I had anticipated a 5 hour hike. Barbara said that she would wait for us in Natures Valley where the Groot Rivier crossed the road at the bottom of the pass.
We had to scale a fence and then set off into some fairly dense bush before emerging above a steep slope. We then headed west and tried to locate the valley where we would descend into the gorge. We were incredibly fortunate and found the valley first time and after a bit of a steep climb down some slippery and loose rocks we were into the valley that would lead us to the river. I was now certain we were heading in the right direction and we climbed down into the gorge. This section takes about an hour and should not be rushed as it is an adventure on its own. There are all kinds of tree ferns, indigenous bush and rock faces to be enjoyed. There are only a handful of people in SA who have ever had the priveledge to be able to do something like this and we wanted to savour the moment. Just as we reached the point where we could hear the river flowing we came across a sheer rockface. Fortunately someone had left a section of seatbelt webbing attadhed to a tree and we used this to absail down the rock. I was quite nervous but as the only one who had done this before had to take the lead. The webbing dangles over the rock and we eased ourselves over lowering ourselves until we could feel the rock below was firm on our feet. The rocks were all slippery and loose and we had to be careful not to slip to what could be a nasty fall. Once we were all past this obstacle we came to the river.
There was a strong flow of water and the waterfall looked quite formidable. I had brought some rope and I slung it around a tree and worked my way onto a rock from which we would jump into the river. The others followed one by one. We donned our wetsuits and packed the day packs carefully so as to limit the amount of water that would get into the food and drinks. We tossed the packs down into the river and leaped down into the pool below. This was between two to three meters depending if you climbed onto a lower ledge before jumping. Stefan was first then Michael and I was next. Once we were all in the river we began our swim down stream.
The wetsuites we used varied between full length and arms to shorts and sleeveless. People, like Michael Z, who used the full wetsuite seemed to get too warm. I used Nicci’s old wetsuite which was shorts and sleeveless and while I was not cold, I felt the cool water each time that I got into the river. I think that either will do fine in Summer but when the water cools down I would suggest that full wetsuites may be more suitable.
The back pack plays two roles. It is used to carry food and drink. But it is also an important flotation device. Everything in the pack is double wrapped in black bags and stays reasonably dry. Bottles and the pack itself help in keeping us afloat. I would generally put my arms trough the straps and float backwards with the pack providing a head rest.
This part is difficult to describe as it alternates between swims and rock climbing. We would hear the thud of a bag being tossed into the water and know that there would be a splash as someone followed. Each time we would get to a shallow section we would have these water laden back packs making us unsteady on our feet. Often we would topple over due to the heavy pack, the loose and slippery rocks and the sensation of gettting out of the water and onto our feet. At stages there were big boulders to climb over and down while at other times there were smaller loose stones. Walking with our feet submerged seemed to be the toughest as it is impossible to judge where to put the full weight of your step and you are likely to slip.
As we swam we were able to float on our backs and look up to the underside of the bridge. Here we found quite a bit of debri from the construction of the bridge. But considering the enourmity of this project there was not a great deal of steel or concrete in the river.
We really had no sense of time or of distance but I estimate that when we got to the very narrow gorge where we swam under a waterfall would have been about half way. This section was quite spectaular as there was one point where we were swimming where the cliff face was quite sheer on either side and not more than two meters wide. Michael had brought an underwater camera and took pictures of us in the river and under the waterfall. This is quite an experience as the water thunders onto your head with force and is quite noisy as well. Up to now we were all quite chirpy and enjoying ourselves. The “Vasbyt” section was ahead.
After the waterfall it is still a very long pull to the end, there are long swims and long walks through bush and lots of loose gravel which gets into shoes and sandals causing irritation. This section should not be underestimated as it appears from the landscape that we are nearing the end but the end is still a long way off. Werner was generally in front but would often have to stop and empty his shoes of small stones and gravel. Saul was by now quite exhausted and was into a survivial mode. He did not complain but was clearly feeling the effect of the earlier nausea.
This is a really tough day. Exhaustion and hypothermia are to be expected. We stopped fairly often but while some of the group had been drinking regularly, I had not drunk or eaten enough and the effect of getting in and out of the water and the exersion of the day was getting to me. The body must use a huge volume of calories trying to warm up each time we got into the water. I should have eaten and drunk substantially more than I did. Finally we could hear the sound of the water pump and I knew that we were close to the end. At the water pump we took the short road out to the old N2 and met up with Barbara who had been waiting for us for about two hours. Seeing the car and Barbara was quite a relief. The walk to Johan’s house would have taken us 30 to 45 minutes more.
It was 15.30 and we had been on the hike for 6 and a half hours. Barbara took us to Johan’s house where we collected Stefan’s car and drove back to the group wating at the bridge. Stefan had a flat tyre but as Michael’s wife was waiting for him at the Storms River Bridge I pressed on. We regrouped at the Storms River bridge where we bought some coffee and something to eat. Michael & Lene left for Knysna. The road back to PE was quite busy and we took it easy. We got back home at 18.30 and I dropped Gavin and Barbara off with Adrienne.
Kloofing is a really tough thing to take on. Once you start there is no backing out as there is only one way and that is down stream. There is not chance of rescue from the outside. A cell phone would be useless as it would be saturated and there is at any rate no reception. The gorge is quite inaccessible to anyone except on foot.
Once I had offloaded our stuff I drove down to Summerstrand to give Varrin Karp back his wetsuite which I had borrowed. By now I was also starting to feel nausea and went straight to bed. The next morning I was still feeling unsteady and decided to stay at home for the day. Saul had also complained of nausea and gone straight to bed but was feeling a lot better the next morning. I think that everyone was stiff and sore in some way or another. Cathy and Saul left for Cape Town and the rest of us went to Ten Pin for a game. Stefan was the champ but only just managed to beat Nicci who had been the first to get a Strike.
Later that evening we heard that Cathy was also feeling poorly while Jacqui was quite sick at home. It could have been a tummy bug but for me it was an exhausting Christmas period of exersize, family and eating.
Thursday 28th
It is now four years since Jacqui and Michael were married in our front garden. And today Emily was dedicated by Jonathan and Anne also in the garden. People who came to be with Jacqui: Charles & Ingrid, Debbie and Samantha, Michelle and Werner, Beauty, Gail, Delene & Karen, Carrie, Ally, Jessica, Nicci, Stefan, Christian (slept), Aaron and Zara, Ron and Michael DeK. It was a good little gathering and quite emotional. Later that evening we went to Charles & Ingrid for a Braai and Jamming session.
Email from Dawn:
What, no one on Skype! Had a lovely Christmas with the family, Christmas eve with Ray and Steve and Christmas day here where we had a Christmas tree and present opening both upstairs with Trace and Mark and downstairs with us - really managed to drag it out!
Trace, Mark and the boys went to Lake Louise yesterday and then on to Panarama where they spent the night with friends. Asher has now moved onto the 'green' slopes having outgrown the nursery slopes and Cale is learning to snowboard. We elected to stay at home on the grounds that we have done nothing but travel around for the past month or more. It snowed all day yesterday and during the night and we have a ' winter wonderland' outside our windows this morning with the promise of sun today. Should be really beautiful but means the snow won't last too long. Will have to clear the driveway before we can go through to Ray and Steve for tea. Fortunately Mark bought a snowplough for the tractor in our absence so will only need the shovel for the paths.
Kiska loves the snow and spends most of her time rolling in it and playing outside with her ball, only coming in, leaving little heaps of snow and water, to let us know how great it all is!
Showed the photos of Digby, Barbara, and Ray and Trace both fell in love instantly. Ray and Steve now locked in battle over the virtues of a Great Dane versus a minature Yorkie.
Will send some photos later, in the meantime love to all and keep in touch (constantly)
Lotsaluv,
Dawn
Our new years eve was a quite evening with Pat, Gerald, Nicci & Stefan , Jacqui and Michael’s family. We played a kind of charades game and ended the year quietly. The next morning Michael left for Knysna.
Friday, November 10, 2006
ENERGADE TRIATHLON NOVEMBER 2006.
Energade Triathlon November 2006.
The first weekend of November was the Energade Triathlon. I was down at Hobie beach early, as I thought that the race started at 08.00 whereas it started at 09.00. As I drove to the start the heavens opened up and rain came pouring down. But by the time I got to Hobie it was a perfect morning again. The Sea looked flat and, while there was a West wind blowing, it was not too bad. I did the registration thing and then met up with Ron. Once I had checked the bike into the transition area, he & I went for a Coffee at the Wimpy. Finally the time came for the race to start.
I met up with Mike Webb and Ian Thomson from Achilles. It was Mike’s first Tri. Ian is a good swimmer and was looking forward to the swim. I saw Rob Ermes there. He does well on the bike. Paddy Hogson from Nippers was there. It was also his first Tri. I greeted Rod, the ex professional American triathlete now turned pastor. He has moved back to PE after a stint in Cape Town. Tim, Herman, Tracey and Paula were doing the relay as were a number of the Ironmen competitors. Other Achilleans I saw were Comine & Martin Geirz, Adelle & Mark Hunter Smith, Garreth Jacobson, Heidi Jansen, Chris Gedye, George Scott, Robin Fourie, Davera Magson and Pat Thomson who was not taking part due to a cold.
I was apprehensive but walked down to the beach. The Ladies went off first and then it was the Men. I was soon far behind the pack of swimmers but pressed on. I saw one swimmer (Trevor Hawkins) turn back and another few had to hold onto the safety craft. I was not stressed as I had swum steadily and was soon heading back to shore. With the swells behind us, the return was quite quick. The Relay swimmers came charging past us back markers like torpedo dolphins. I was not phased by this display of strength.
As I ran up the beach, it was good to hear Neil, Rene, Gaynor and other people I know cheering me on. Ian Ross was there. He normally runs these events but had just returned from the Augrabies Endurance event and was feeling flat. I think that I am the only participant who needs a stool to sit on to change my shoes. I am hopeless at bending down or sitting on the grass. So I put out a stool and sit down to change. I was soon on the bike and heading towards Noordhoek. I had started off with Herman but he dropped me like a hot coal. I heard an interesting comment, as I started cycling, about my new vest that I had just purchased. I don’t spend a whole lot of money on Clothing and I bought this vest at my first 2 Oceans in 1986! It is perfect for Tri’s.
I was quite surprised to see that I was able to overtake quite a number of the younger cyclists. The wind was in our faces from the University corner. As I rode past the Back Entrance to the University I saw that the names that I had painted on the road for this year’s Ironman were still visible. The returning riders seemed to fly back with the wind. I was able to lock onto small groups of two or three on the way out and this of course assisted me as I could use them to break the wind. I chatted to Justin who works with Robyn Steyn (MPRG) at E & Y Auditors. He had good things to say about her before he rode away from me. On the way back I rode with one of Michaels school friends, Greg Wallace. Greg was the Hooker for the Grey first team when Michael was in Matric.
One of the real features of this event was the Road Closure. Last year had been a Nightmare as the Ski Boat trailers came past when the cyclists were riding in both directions. I saw Stanford Slabbert in the showers at Summerstrand later that day. He is the councillor for the summerstrand area and I think had a part to play in securing the road closure. He reminded me of the time that Markus Burri had resuced him from a near tragedy when he had got into trouble on his paddle ski and was being washed out to sea.
Once back in transition I slipped my running shoes on and headed out on the run. It is a five kay run to the Summerstrand Inn and back. I find the first kay or two the toughest as my legs feel heavy after the cycle. Once I had a bit of a rhythm I was able to run at a good even stride and passed a number of runners. I enjoyed running on the new cycle track that is being built along the Promenade. This is an initiative of Donald McGillivray and my opinion is that this will transform PE into a sought after destination for active people.
Finally back at transition and the finish we received a cold drink and I packed up my stuff. I must remember to read the rules for next years event. There were all kinds of funny rules such as the colour of the swim cap, do you have to wear a shirt while swimming? etc.
Some of the results were: Raynard Tissink 7th; Ryan Peter 14th; Garreth 48 (2004=1:02; 2005=1:12 & 2006=1:04) . Allan Campbell 77th, Mike Kingston 82 (2005=1:21 & 2006=1:08), Christoff Opperman 105, Davera 110 (2004=1:21; 2005=1:18 & 2006=1:11), Corne Du Toit 134, Jonti Daniel 149 (2005=1:17 & 2006=1:14), Heidi Jansen 186, Butch Oxenam 229, Adele HS 246, Ian Thomson 262, Martin Gierz 275, George Scott 277 (2004=1:29; 2005=1:35 & 2006=1:29), Rob Ermes 275, Peter Giddy 293 (2004=1:24; 2005=1:34 & 2006=1:32), Paddy Hodgson 303, Comine Gierz 308, Mike Webb 310 and Keith Harris 315 out of a possible 339.
In the over 55 category I was beaten by John Jones (64) and Colin McAll (56). In the team event: Robin Fourie and Llewelyn Clack came 11th, Paula Wilson and Roger Oakley were 15th, Tracey Brink’s team were 17th. Greg Scott was 19th, Hermans’s team was 27th, Mark HS and John Offerman were 28th, Alan Taylor was 30th, Viv Bullock came 35th, Tim’s team was 46th and young Greg Wallace was placed 83rd out of a possible 122 teams.
The total of all participants for 2006 was 705 while last year there were 695 in total. I felt that PE had done themselves proud that Sunday morning. The spectator support was excellent, The organisation of the event was pretty much flawless and the spirit of the participants was great. In the individual event 2004=313; 2005=377 and 2006=339. In the team event 2004=84; 2005=109 and 2006=122. I think that one of the main reasons for the drop in numbers for the individual event was the decision of many of the registered triathletes and Ironmen to take part as teams.
Peter Giddy
10.11.2006.
The first weekend of November was the Energade Triathlon. I was down at Hobie beach early, as I thought that the race started at 08.00 whereas it started at 09.00. As I drove to the start the heavens opened up and rain came pouring down. But by the time I got to Hobie it was a perfect morning again. The Sea looked flat and, while there was a West wind blowing, it was not too bad. I did the registration thing and then met up with Ron. Once I had checked the bike into the transition area, he & I went for a Coffee at the Wimpy. Finally the time came for the race to start.
I met up with Mike Webb and Ian Thomson from Achilles. It was Mike’s first Tri. Ian is a good swimmer and was looking forward to the swim. I saw Rob Ermes there. He does well on the bike. Paddy Hogson from Nippers was there. It was also his first Tri. I greeted Rod, the ex professional American triathlete now turned pastor. He has moved back to PE after a stint in Cape Town. Tim, Herman, Tracey and Paula were doing the relay as were a number of the Ironmen competitors. Other Achilleans I saw were Comine & Martin Geirz, Adelle & Mark Hunter Smith, Garreth Jacobson, Heidi Jansen, Chris Gedye, George Scott, Robin Fourie, Davera Magson and Pat Thomson who was not taking part due to a cold.
I was apprehensive but walked down to the beach. The Ladies went off first and then it was the Men. I was soon far behind the pack of swimmers but pressed on. I saw one swimmer (Trevor Hawkins) turn back and another few had to hold onto the safety craft. I was not stressed as I had swum steadily and was soon heading back to shore. With the swells behind us, the return was quite quick. The Relay swimmers came charging past us back markers like torpedo dolphins. I was not phased by this display of strength.
As I ran up the beach, it was good to hear Neil, Rene, Gaynor and other people I know cheering me on. Ian Ross was there. He normally runs these events but had just returned from the Augrabies Endurance event and was feeling flat. I think that I am the only participant who needs a stool to sit on to change my shoes. I am hopeless at bending down or sitting on the grass. So I put out a stool and sit down to change. I was soon on the bike and heading towards Noordhoek. I had started off with Herman but he dropped me like a hot coal. I heard an interesting comment, as I started cycling, about my new vest that I had just purchased. I don’t spend a whole lot of money on Clothing and I bought this vest at my first 2 Oceans in 1986! It is perfect for Tri’s.
I was quite surprised to see that I was able to overtake quite a number of the younger cyclists. The wind was in our faces from the University corner. As I rode past the Back Entrance to the University I saw that the names that I had painted on the road for this year’s Ironman were still visible. The returning riders seemed to fly back with the wind. I was able to lock onto small groups of two or three on the way out and this of course assisted me as I could use them to break the wind. I chatted to Justin who works with Robyn Steyn (MPRG) at E & Y Auditors. He had good things to say about her before he rode away from me. On the way back I rode with one of Michaels school friends, Greg Wallace. Greg was the Hooker for the Grey first team when Michael was in Matric.
One of the real features of this event was the Road Closure. Last year had been a Nightmare as the Ski Boat trailers came past when the cyclists were riding in both directions. I saw Stanford Slabbert in the showers at Summerstrand later that day. He is the councillor for the summerstrand area and I think had a part to play in securing the road closure. He reminded me of the time that Markus Burri had resuced him from a near tragedy when he had got into trouble on his paddle ski and was being washed out to sea.
Once back in transition I slipped my running shoes on and headed out on the run. It is a five kay run to the Summerstrand Inn and back. I find the first kay or two the toughest as my legs feel heavy after the cycle. Once I had a bit of a rhythm I was able to run at a good even stride and passed a number of runners. I enjoyed running on the new cycle track that is being built along the Promenade. This is an initiative of Donald McGillivray and my opinion is that this will transform PE into a sought after destination for active people.
Finally back at transition and the finish we received a cold drink and I packed up my stuff. I must remember to read the rules for next years event. There were all kinds of funny rules such as the colour of the swim cap, do you have to wear a shirt while swimming? etc.
Some of the results were: Raynard Tissink 7th; Ryan Peter 14th; Garreth 48 (2004=1:02; 2005=1:12 & 2006=1:04) . Allan Campbell 77th, Mike Kingston 82 (2005=1:21 & 2006=1:08), Christoff Opperman 105, Davera 110 (2004=1:21; 2005=1:18 & 2006=1:11), Corne Du Toit 134, Jonti Daniel 149 (2005=1:17 & 2006=1:14), Heidi Jansen 186, Butch Oxenam 229, Adele HS 246, Ian Thomson 262, Martin Gierz 275, George Scott 277 (2004=1:29; 2005=1:35 & 2006=1:29), Rob Ermes 275, Peter Giddy 293 (2004=1:24; 2005=1:34 & 2006=1:32), Paddy Hodgson 303, Comine Gierz 308, Mike Webb 310 and Keith Harris 315 out of a possible 339.
In the over 55 category I was beaten by John Jones (64) and Colin McAll (56). In the team event: Robin Fourie and Llewelyn Clack came 11th, Paula Wilson and Roger Oakley were 15th, Tracey Brink’s team were 17th. Greg Scott was 19th, Hermans’s team was 27th, Mark HS and John Offerman were 28th, Alan Taylor was 30th, Viv Bullock came 35th, Tim’s team was 46th and young Greg Wallace was placed 83rd out of a possible 122 teams.
The total of all participants for 2006 was 705 while last year there were 695 in total. I felt that PE had done themselves proud that Sunday morning. The spectator support was excellent, The organisation of the event was pretty much flawless and the spirit of the participants was great. In the individual event 2004=313; 2005=377 and 2006=339. In the team event 2004=84; 2005=109 and 2006=122. I think that one of the main reasons for the drop in numbers for the individual event was the decision of many of the registered triathletes and Ironmen to take part as teams.
Peter Giddy
10.11.2006.
Friday, November 3, 2006
GIDDY FAMILY NOVEMBER 2006
November 2006.
Nippers
Nippers is now in full swing. Donald & I have been visiting the schools to try to promote Summerstrand. This month we visited St Georges, Clarendon, Herbert Hurd, Summerwood, Collegiate and Grey. Donald has put together a collage of photo’s from the various Nippers Carnivals. He adds music to make a DVD that captures the attention of the children. I have been adding a little bit of excitement for the children by showing them an Electric Iron box and asking them if they know what is inside. I compare this to the TV show “Fear Factor”. You never know what may be in store for you unless you are prepared to try it out. In the box I pull out some biscuits as well as some onions and old lemons. This seems to entertain the children and hopefully we will have some new recruits this month.
We hear that Paul Lynch from Sardinia Bay has been targeting the Swimming clubs like Big Blue and Aquabears. Personally I think that the rivalry that exists between Paul and our own Nippers is very healthy. Not so much as to which Club wins carnivals but more that it pushes us into trying to recruit new youngsters as well as improving the level of competition and achievement.
Summerstrand had their first 100 club of the season this month. I signed up for the year but did not win any prizes. As Barbara was away in East London, it was just Ally & myself. Ally has a group of friends who she met there. Caitlyn and Amber plus a whole group of the Nipper boys. It was good to see the Nippers Parents and coaches and to hear their enthusiastic feelings about the Carnival last week.
Energade Triathlon November 2006.
The first weekend of November was the Energade Triathlon. I was down at Hobie beach early, as I thought that the race started at 08.00 whereas it started at 09.00. As I drove to the start the heavens opened up and rain came pouring down. But by the time I got to Hobie it was a perfect morning again. The Sea looked flat and while there was a West wind blowing, it was not too bad. I did the registration thing and then met up with Ron. Once I had checked the bike into the transition area, he & I went for a Coffee at the Wimpy. Finally the time came for the race to start.
I met up with Mike Webb and Ian Thomson from Achilles. It was Mike’s first Tri. Ian is a good swimmer and was looking forward to the swim. I saw Rob Ermes there. He does well on the bike. Paddy Hogson from Nippers was there. It was also his first Tri. I greeted Rod, the ex professional American triathlete now turned pastor. He has moved back to PE after a stint in Cape Town. Tim, Herman, Tracey and Paula were doing the relay as were a number of the Ironmen competitors. Other Achilleans I saw were Comine & Martin Geirz, Adelle & Mark Hunter Smith, Garreth Jacobson, Chris Gedye, Greg Scott, Robin Fourie, Davera Magson and Pat Thomson who was not taking part due to a cold.
I was apprehensive but walked down to the beach. The Ladies went off first and then it was the Men. I was soon far behind the pack of swimmers but pressed on. I saw one swimmer (Trevor Hawkins) turn back and another few had to hold onto the safety craft. I was not stressed as I had swum steadily and was soon heading back to shore. With the swells behind us, the return was quite quick. The Relay swimmers came charging past us back markers like torpedo dolphins. I was not phased by this display of strength.
As I ran up the beach, it was good to hear Neil, Rene, Gaynor and other people I know cheering me on. Ian Ross was there. He normally runs these events but had just returned from the Augrabies Endurance event and was feeling flat. I think that I am the only participant who needs a stool to sit on to change my shoes. I am hopeless at bending down or sitting on the grass. So I put out a stool and sit down to change. I was soon on the bike and heading towards Noordhoek. I had started off with Herman but he dropped me like a hot coal.
I was quite surprised to see that I was able to overtake quite a number of the younger cyclists. The wind was in our faces from the University corner. As I rode past the Back Entrance to the University I saw that the names that I had painted on the road for this year’s Ironman were still visible. The returning riders seemed to fly back with the wind. I was able to lock onto small groups of two or three on the way out and this of course assisted me as I could use them to break the wind. I chatted to Justin who works with Robyn Steyn (MPRG) at E & Y Auditors. He had good things to say about her before he rode away from me. On the way back I rode with one of Michael’s school friends, Greg Wallace. Greg was the Hooker for the Grey first team when Michael was in Matric.
One of the real features of this event was the Road Closure. Last year had been a Nightmare as the Ski Boat trailers came past when the cyclists were riding in both directions. I saw Stanford Slabbert in the showers at Summerstrand later that day. He is the councilor for the Summerstrand area and I think had a part to play in securing the road closure. He reminded me of the time that Markus Burri had rescued him from a near tragedy when he had got into trouble on his paddle ski and was being washed out to sea.
Once back in transition I slipped my running shoes on and headed out on the run. It is a five kay run to the Summerstrand Inn and back. I find the first kay or two the toughest as my legs feel heavy after the cycle. Once I had a bit of a rhythm I was able to run at a good even stride and passed a number of runners. I enjoyed running on the new cycle track that is being built along the Promenade. This is an initiative of Donald McGillivray and my opinion is that this will transform PE into a sought after destination for active people.
Finally back at transition we received a cold drink and I packed up my stuff. I must remember to read the rules for next year’s event. There were all kinds of funny rules such as the colour of the swim cap; do you have to wear a shirt while swimming? Etc. Results were Raynard Tissink 7th; Ryan Peter 14th; Garreth 48 (2004=1:02; 2005=1:12 & 2006=1:04). Allan Campbell 77th, Mike Kingston 82 (2005=1:21 & 2006=1:08), Christoff Opperman 105, Davera 110 (2004=1:21; 2005=1:18 & 2006=1:11), Corne Du Toit 134, Jonti Daniel 149 (2005=1:17 & 2006=1:14), Heidi Jansen 186, Butch Oxenam 229, Adele HS 246, Ian Thomson 262, Martin Gierz 275, George Scott 277 (2004=1:29; 2005=1:35 & 2006=1:29), Rob Ermes 275, Peter Giddy 293 (2004=1:24; 2005=1:34 & 2006=1:32), Paddy Hodgson 303, Comine Gierz 308, Mike Webb 310 and Keith Harris 315 out of a possible 339.
In the over 55 category I was beaten by John Jones (64) and Colin McAll (56). In the team event: Robin Fourie and Llewelyn Clack came 11th, Paula Wilson and Roger Oakley were 15th, Tracey Brink’s team were 17th. Greg Scott was 19th, Herman’s team was 27th, Mark HS and John Offerman were 28th, Alan Taylor was 30th, Viv Bullock came 35th, Tim’s team was 46th and young Greg Wallace was placed 83rd out of a possible 122 teams.
The total of all participants for 2006 was 705 while last year there were 695 in total. I felt that PE had done themselves proud that Sunday morning. The spectator support was excellent, The organisation of the event was pretty much flawless and the spirit of the participants was great. In the individual event 2004=313; 2005=377 and 2006=339. In the team event 2004=84; 2005=109 and 2006=122. I think that one of the main reasons for the drop in numbers for the individual event was the decision of many of the registered triathletes and Ironmen to take part as teams.
Barbara & Gail were in East London this weekend. I had dropped Ally off with Lene who brought her down to Nippers as I was now too late fetch her as I had originally planned. Our Nippers session was small as I think that many would have been put off by the wind and earlier rain. Hannes & I enjoyed having the small group of nine children. We did some beach sprints, relays, swimming, boarding and finally flags. Despite the West wind flattening out the sea, there were some big swells and some real dumpers that scared the children.
Crossroads
On my way back from a business trip to East London I stopped off at the Crossroads Nursery near to Grahamstown again. I met Shane who is a recovering addict. He tells me that he and Ivo were friends. One time they were going to break into a house and Ivo somehow opted out. It was the final straw for Shane who was caught and send to prison for something like five years. He talks of car theft and other crimes he committed to sustain his drinking and drugging.
Ivo is now involved in trying to promote addiction recovery with John Preler in Port Elizabeth. Shane is serving his probation at this Crossroads Nursery. He tells me that he has still two years to go after which he plans to open a nursery of his own. I had asked Shane to put some Aloes aside for me. These are wonderful indigenous plants that grow very easily and require no tendering. In winter they produce red and yellow flowers. They grow wild in the fields of the East Cape farms. He had a few in some soft soil in the nursery and I chose two quite well established Aloes. I think that the one is an Aloe Vera and the other is a Krans Aloe with more spiky leaves.
Once I got them home I dug two fairly shallow holes on either side of our front gate and planted them there. I hope that they will produce some colour next winter. In any event I now feel that I am starting to become a gardener with the Yellow Wood and the Aloes. Keith had shown me some of the Acacias that he had planted in front of his garden in Johannesburg.
I am also going to try to establish a bit of indigenous gardening in our house. One of the things that Dawn had given Barbara was a Cycad. They had this beautiful old plant in a large clay pot. I am sure that this plant must be about 50 years old. Dawn also gave Barbara a lemon tree that had been in a pot. I am sure that if we plant this tree in the garden with the same kind of attention that I gave the Yellowwood, then we should be able to grow a substantial tree.
On the first Friday of November Barbara went to East London to visit Dawn & Richard. She took Gail and hired a trailer as she planned to bring some stuff to PE. Dawn and Richard plan to emigrate to Canada where their two daughters, Raylene and Tracey live with their families. Raylene and Steven moved to Calgary over ten years ago. Tracey and Mark with their two children, Asher and Kayle, moved to Calgary in 2005. Richard sold his Burglar Alarm Business to his long time partner, Neville.
Dawn teaches at Rhodes (Fort Hare) University in East London. She took a Sabbatical and they both went to Calgary earlier this year. Now they have determined to apply for permanent residence in Canada. Dawn is able to work at a University there and Richard seems like will be taking life a little easier for a while.
This week Ally had her Clarendon Grandparents day. It seems that this has been such a huge success in the past that the school decided to have a separate Parents day as too many parents were attending the Grandparents day. Barbara was busy at the School and I went alone. As I arrived I met up with John Kotze. His son Gregory attends the school as well. Both of us were amazed at the quality of the show that was presented to us.
The Grandparents day is put on by the “foundation stage” Grades one, two and three. There were about 300 children singing some of the old classics such as Itsy Bitsy Bikini. Then each grade had their own little show to put on for us. I felt quite emotional and proud as I saw Ally doing her thing on stage. Grade three put on this show of the hunters and tourists. Hunters not afraid of anything unless it was a snake, croc or elephant. Each time a hunter would be eaten or the tourists would “drive past”. The show was full of song and fun. This will be Ally’s last Grandparents day. Amber’s “Oumie” has been acting as a surrogate grandparent as Ena lives in Plett and could not be there over the past few years.
Ally had a visit to the Orthodontist and it seems will have to wear a plate to correct her one tooth which is out of position. This is the same orthodontist that Cathy visited when Dr. Moug left PE. Pieter Roux bought the practice from Moug.
Inter Regional Gala in East London.
Ally was chosen to represent EP in a swimming gala against Border (now called Aloes) in East London. Megan Derry came up with us. We left at 05.30 and got into EL three hours later. The gala was being held at the Joan Harrison pool. The children had to register that they were there and were handed a red golf shirt each. We found out that there was no program and it seems that the general administration of the day was to be less than we have come to expect from the galas that Ally has taken part in. Noel Pearson and Poppie from Biathlon had clip boards and looked like they knew what they were doing.
We sat with John and Cheryl Kotze. John’s sister, Tessa was there to support young Greg. It seems that they are farmers from the area. John tells me that his parents died when he was very young and he was brought up in foster homes. They lived on farms in Zimbabwe at the time. A number of the Nippers and parents were also there: Hannes Zeelie & Boys, Peter & Matthew Wilson, Anthony Cox, Chris Lange & Family, The Liss Family (Jessica is U11 and went on to break the SA record for individual medley) I hear that her mother was a springbok swimmer, Christy Vaughn whose dad Craig, was a Springbok diver. Christy herself is a real asset to her swimming team as well as to Nippers.
We spent the morning watching relays and a then it was Butterfly, Breaststroke, backstroke and individual medley. This was a lesson in Under Promise and Over Deliver. The organisers promised us that the event would finish at 14.00. We soon realised that this was no going to happen. I had a few sleeps on the bench, we had too much to eat. I had brought my costume and was able to have a swim during the morning. Ally met a new friend also Ally (Alexandra from Collegiate). Dawn came to the pool to add some family support. Dawn had been invigilating some exams that morning and had caught two students cheating with “crib notes”.
The lunch break ended at 14.15 and Ally immediately had her first swim of the day. It was Breaststroke and she came third in her heat. Megan also did okay in her heat. Once all the Breaststroke swimmers in all the various categories had had a swim then it was time for the freestyle and again Ally was first in line. She had a terrible start and was not able to recover enough to catch the third placed swimmer. As soon as she had completed her swim we left for home. It was now about 15.30. If the organisers had announced that they expected the gala to end at 17.00 then everyone would have understood the delays.
The PE people had a three hour drive ahead of them; The Springboks were playing rugby in Lansdowne Road in Ireland where they lost 30:15. They had poor defense, missing many first time tackling and played a “ponderous” game. The Irish played exciting, fast, thinking rugby and took advantage of every opportunity. Ally & Megan were invited to the Finestone bash and we dropped them there before heading home at last. The Derry’s offered to fetch at 22.00 and we were able to flop down on couches.
Joan Harrison swimming pool
I cannot resist putting this little bit of trivia into the story:
Born in 1935 of a swimming mother and a rugby-playing father in East London, South Africa, Joan Harrison wasted little time taking advantage of her sporting heritage. At 13, she already held three Jr. and two Sr. national records, and that year won the 220 and 500 yd. Senior Freestyle National Championships.
In 1950, at age 14, she won the 440 yd. freestyle at the Commonwealth Games in Auckland, New Zealand, beating the old record by 13 seconds and finishing 7 seconds ahead of the field. It was her first international competition and she was declared the outstanding woman swimmer in the Games.
Her second International Games was the Helsinki Olympics in 1952, where she won South Africa's first and only Olympic gold medal for swimming. In 1954, at the Commonwealth Games in Vancouver, she won two gold medals, a silver, and a bronze before retiring at the ripe old age of 17. She won the Helms Foundation Award for the best African athletic performance in any sport in 1952, and while concentrating on field hockey after 1954, she did manage to come back two more years to win the Nationals in her favorite 100 meter backstroke and in the 300 I. M. in 1956. She was South Africa's supreme swimmer in freestyle, backstroke and I.M. for six years. Joan married Charlie Breetzke in 1955. Charlie was also a Border swimmer and an Old Selbournian Rugby player. Joan represented Border in Hockey as well.
On Sunday morning it was back to Nippers after church. The weather did not look that good and I am sure that this must have scared some of the youngsters off. Those that came had a good morning. We played some games, did some exercises and even swam for a while. Then Donald set up the DVD in the hall and Chris gave us a bit of a talk on the upcoming Plett carnival and what we should expect. Ally went home with Lara and we went to Builders Warehouse to buy some bricks but were told that they do not stock the type that we are looking for.
During the week we managed to order the sand, bricks, cement etc for Builder Thomas. HE started on Friday and had soon dug the foundation trench, mixed the concrete and was ready to start laying the first bricks. Dawn & Richard visited us on their way to CT and we had a gathering of the Otter trail group with a Braai and watching the video that Rob had taken. On Saturday that week, SA lost to England at Twickenham 23-21. It was sad as we had been in front until the last few minutes of the game. That evening it was the Achilles dinner at the Old Cash store. We sat with Bob Stedman & Jean, Graham & Gail Channon, John & Cheryl Kotze and Gerald & Lynne Hoxley. On Sunday morning I met Ron for a cycle to Sacremento & back. Good to be back on the bike. Later on it was the last practice before the Plett carnival. The sea was quite rough with the southeaster blowing but we had a good morning. Ally had a Hip Hop practice immediately after Nippers. I was quite pleased to see that a few youngsters from the schools that we had visited were at Nippers practice. So all the effort was not lost.
We have started to build the back room for Barbara’s School. We have Thomas the builder, his brother Sam and assistant Funwell. They have made good progress, Built the walls, fitted the doors and window, tiled the floor and must fit the gutters and will soon be finished. Barbara had a year end function for the children and for the parents. I was not there but by all accounts was a huge success with about 60 people there to see their precious little ones.
Jacqui arrived from Cape Town for a Month’s visit. Little Emily is quite beautiful. She has adapted to the life in PE and appears to be at home with all these strangers. Hopefully she will soon accept us as well. Nicci and family arrived in PE to collect their car and will be leaving for Plett and then CT on Sunday 3rd December.
Here is my report on the Nippers Carnival that we had in Plett this month.
Nippers Plett Carnival 25 & 26 November 2006.
Under 10’s
The Build up
There had been a great deal of excitement and planning for this carnival. We had worked hard to train the Nippers at some of the more important and difficult of skills such as the Baton Hand over, The Malibu and the Body Board events as well as the team spirit. The coaches had tried to maintain some kind of record of the previous Carnival results as well as the results from the practice sessions. We met during the week to try to set out team for the four team events. It appeared that we would have sixteen u10 competitors if everyone was able to make it to the carnival. Everybody loves the Plett carnival. It is close enough for an easy drive and yet it is a mini holiday for us all.
Friday
On Friday afternoon Barbara, Ally and I took the afternoon off and drove through to Knysna where our son, Michael had recently moved. He showed us around the shop that he was managing and we had a look at the flat that he was renting. His family is still located in PE and will be moving there in a few weeks. It had not been a pleasant drive as the rain had fallen continuously and this made for tough driving conditions. There was a strong wind blowing and we were concerned for the conditions the next day.
My Mother, Ena lives in Plett and we stayed there for the night. Ena is 90 years old, struggles with eyesight and yet lives a full life on her own in a large flat in the main road of Plett. She tells me how she gets to Woolworths in the Market Square. She walks there and then when she has completed her shopping she stands at the traffic light and hitch hikes a lift up the hill. While she is doing her shopping she cannot really see what she is buying and the prices. But she tells us that everyone seems to know her and the local shopkeepers and staff are always most helpful in assisting her shopping trips. When she has to go any distance she seems to be offered lifts by her friends and so she makes a very good life for herself in Plett.
Saturday
On Saturday morning Ena made us a breakfast of Bacon & Eggs and we were early on our way to the beach. We found our tent and soon had ourselves installed for the morning. The coaches tried to do some kind of a roll call to see who was there and were delighted to find we had a full team of 16 u10 nippers. The day was due to start with a managers meeting at 11.00am sharp but somehow the time was blunted to some degree and we must have started something like a half hour late.
The Carnival
The first event for the day was the Taplin Relay. This is an event which encourages participation and binds teams together. The event has a run, swim, body board and malibu (long) board section. There are four to a team so everyone participates. We had four full teams and soon established ourselves as a force to be reckoned with, as our teams came first, third, fourth and tenth.
There was an Easterly wind blowing and while not strong, it was enough to make the surf quite rough and the Plett Central beach is known for the large beach breaks. These waves loom above the Nippers as they try to manouver their craft through the surf. Fortunately Anthony Cox “allows” us to assist this age group through the waves. Once they are through the breakers they are on their own and have to go around two buoys and then back to shore. Often their return trip is just as scary as they have these huge waves threaten to swamp them from behind.
The second event of the day was the Flags. This is an extemely tiring event as the nippers have to run up and down trying to retrieve the flag. The sand was hot and soft and hardly ideal conditions for a sprint. If a Nipper does not retreive a flag they are eliminated. If you think that being eliminated from the “Weakest Link” is tough, then just watch the dissapointment on the faces of these youngsters. And yet knowing that they have a huge probability of being eliminated they still persist and take part in the game. This takes guts and builds character.
The Coaches
One of the toughest tasks of the coach is to round up the Nippers for the next event. Understandably the Nipper must use the toilet, go for a cooling off swim, buy hamburgers, ice cream and other delectables and generally make themselves as difficult as possible to locate. Then having found them the coach has to persuade the Nipper that they should take part in the next event. There is often reluctance to participate where the event is tough and they are not likely to end up a top finisher. We hear that they are “saving their energy” for some future event. Or that they have asthma, sunburn, breathing problems etc etc. The coach must then explain that participation is everything and that often even a 20th position wins points for the team.
The coaches know that winning events requires numbers of participants. Merely having the top three does not guarantee a win in the event. We need as many participants as possible in the event to secure a win. Barbara was given the task of recording results for the u10s. She coped exceptionally well except for the Flags finals where she somehow missed the event and so we only recorded who was in the finals. We do know however that Lara won the girls event and that Tristan was placed third.
Another duty of coaches and of adults in general is that they must provide safety for the U10’s. This means that they must do a huge amount of swimming back and forth from the nippers going out through the surf to returning back with the breakers. In particular I saw Charles and Clint doing their fair share of the work. They must have been exhausted after two days of swimming.
Terry asked me how it was that I became a coach. Well if the truth be known; I am a self appointed coach with little or no experience as a lifesaver. But I love seeing both my own and other children having such incredible fun in a beach sport. Personally I enjoy being part of this group of people and am steadily getting to know which parents belong to which child as well as the names of the variety of people who I see each weekend. This weekend I was able to get to know Tristan’s mom, Tanya. I remembered that Terry’s wife is Caryn. I am now able to distinguish between Hannelie, Dianne and Charlene and know that they are married to Johnny, Chris and Craig respectively. I think that Clint finally knows my name and can now stop calling me “there”. As in: “Hello There”.
The Plett carnival is held at the same time as the Matric Plett Rave. As the Matrics of South Africa complete their exams at this time they think that they have now qualified to legally drink, smoke, Party, enter Miss Wet T-shirt competitions and that the word is at their feet. The coaches have to be vigilant as this bevy of beautiful bodies try to disrupt the carnival generally.
Courage
During the day we witnessed a number of feats of courage. Matthew H was about to start the Malibu event when he asked Hannes “Sir: what are we supposed to do with this board”. Then there was Maurice who, last year had hardly ventured into the surf past his waist and this year was taking part in every possible event. Natalie had a tough experience as she tried to get past the breaking waves but fortunately had Patrick there to assist her and she agreed that this was something that she would work on for the next carnival. Caitlin and Connor battled though the events but there was nothing that they was not keen and eager to complete.
Both Matthew W and Kim were wiped out on Malibus while trying to push through surf but persisted and finished strongly. This year Ally has improved in leaps and bounds as she was well placed in a number of events. Then there was a little girl from Mossel Bay. She had never had to go so deep into the sea. She was very scared of sharks. And yet when I swam around the buoys with her on the body board, she managed to complete the event and has set herself up for a further six years of Nippers participation.
It is wonderful for the coaches to see the way that the Nippers support their team mates. It is not all about me and my own results but just as much about cheering on and supporting the teams and club. The Nipper learns to accept defeat while striving to be part of a winning team. There was only one u10 Bluewater bay Nipper. This young chap continued to participate in the events on his own.
Should the Nipper take part in all the events of the day then they would have done seven tough events on the first day of this carnival. Taplin, Flags, Body Board Individual, Surf Swim, Beach Sprints, Malibu Relays and Body Board Relays. By the time that the last event had ben run it was about 17.00.
Saturday evening
Nippers and adults alike were all completely exhausted. On this particular afternoon the Springbok rugby team was playing in the third of a series of three games in the UK. We had lost to Ireland and then to England and today had the opportunity to redeem ourselves against the English. Barbara, Ally & I went up to Ena’s flat for tea and a shower.
We had booked for supper at the Moby Dick Restaurant at 6.00pm. By the time we got to the restaurant, the Springboks had beaten the English. Everyone seemed in a positive mood after our strong showing at Nippers as well as the good rugby results. At the Moby Dick restaurant they had a special set menu which we had. We sat with Charles, Ingrid, Hannes, Jacqui, Lynne and Alex. The adults ordered a few beverages to wash away some of the sun and sand of the day. This seemed to ease the way for some quite enthusiatic and animated discussions around a variety of unimportant subjects.
There was a little group of girls who seemed to have a ball as they discussed the days events and other important stuff. At another table there was a group of Nipper Boys. They looked like a mini street gang in the way that they related to each other. It was great to see them enjoying themselves so much. The waitress did a wonderful job with all these families and youngsters running around. We were all extemely tired and by 9.00pm headed off home to bed.
Sunday
On Sunday morning we were first at the beach and were soon setting up the tent and organising the boards which Plett had allowed us to store in their club house overnight. Again this morning the sharp time slot was a little blunted but by 9.00am the first event was under way. We started the morning with a long run. The under tens showed that we meant business at this carnival. The sun was hot overhead today. I think that a number of people must have been sunburnt.
There were six events for the under tens on Sunday. Long Run, Run-Swim-Run; Beach Relay finals; Malibu Board individual; Beach Sprint Finals and Flags Finals. If you were in an older group there was also the Iron/Diamond Nipper event where the individual has to swim, run, body board and then malibu board. We were pleased to see that there was a great deal of courage in the under 12’s in particular as some of them such as Ian and others had only recently joined Nippers and yet took part in this grueling event. Peter Wilson had been worried that there may not be sufficient activity to warrant the trip to Plett. I am certain that after a Carnival like this, there is no doubt that there is nothing but continuous activity from Start to Finish.
The u10’s had a bit of bad luck as one of our Body Board Relay teams was disqualified when we failed to touch hands at the change over point. However I was particularly proud of the beach relay teams when not one baton was dropped. Hannes noticed that we had not had a perfect change over as we had stood too far back for the relay change over.
Fortunately was had a brief photo session first thing that morning as the last event was the Flags finals. Those nippers who were not in the finals or who were eliminated packed up and left. If we are to keep interest high to the last then we need to have an event where everyone participates such as the long run as the very last event. By the time the Flags Finals was in progress we had managed to locate most of the craft and had secured the trailer so Barbara, Ally & I decided to call it a day. Our under tens had aquitted themselves above expectations. We had experienced courage, character and stamina that a sergeant major in the army would have enjoyed.
On our drive home Ally quickly passed out on the back seat while I drank a Red Bull to try to stay sharp. The drive was quick and uneventful as Barbara & I munched away at the sandwiches that Ena had prepared for us. As much as we love going to the Plett Carnival, just so much do we love getting home.
I have recorded the weekend as I saw it. If I have left out stuff that you think is important or if I have made mistakes in results etc, then just let me know please. I know that Wendy and others have a good photographic record of the weekend and look forward to seeing what they have to show us.
Below are the results. The under tens can be particularly proud of their performance. The u14s beat Plett by 50points, the u12s beat Plett by 7 Points and the u10’s beat Plett by 144 Points. At the same Carnival last year the U10’s were the only SS team that did not beat the Sardinia Bay team.
Peter
082 550 3174
pgiddy@hinet.co.za
Hi All
Well done SSLC! Thanks to the effort that so many families made to get to Plett, we won thew carnival. In fact, for the first time in my time at nippers, we won all three age groups!!!! That is fantastic! We only managed to that thanks to the support of a large away team of 48 nippers. We saw some amazing performances, not only from our awesome top nippers, but also from the hardworking group of nippers!
Before I give the complete results, please take note of the next important point. We cannot have the end-of-year party on Thursday, as originally planned. There is a clash at the club. We therefore have to move the party to Friday, 01 Dec. All the other arrangements will remain i.e. 100 club, snacks, party packs and boerie rolls for nippers and so on. I apologise for the inconvenience, but hope you can all still join us to celebrate the season so far!
Herewith the complete results:
Overall
6 Seagull
5 BWB 108
4 Mossel Bay 117
3 Sards 826
2 Plett 867,5
1 SSLC 1102,5
Age Groups
U10 U12 U14
3 Plett 227,5 Sards 326 Sards 229
2 Sards 271 Plett 357 Plett 283
1 SSLC 415 SSLC 364 SSLC 323
Victor: Matthew Mcgillivray(SSLC) CJ Velleman(SSLC)_ Cameron Neubert (SSLC)
Victrix: Christie Vaughn(SSLC) Lauren Billson (SSLC) Jessica Roux (Sards)
We will have our last practice before the holidays on Sunday 03 Dec. Hope to see you all on Friday!
Regards
Lee
Hi Peter – thank you for documenting our thoughts on the Plett Nipper Carnival – A post mortem carried out immediately after the event while everyting is still fresh in our minds is always good.
I agree with all of the points made below and will get a forum together possibly with Sards and Blue Water Bay to discuss these points and agree on the implementation of them at our next Summies Carnival.
Plett and Ant Cox have already requested that our Summerstrand carnival runs over two days like the Plett carnival. We will need to think very carefully about the beach setup if we host our carnival at Pollok – we had the most successful carnival running at Pollok 2 years ago and had two arenas running together and things went like clockwork (we were also blessed with beautiful weather – which does help considerably with the water events)
We will talk on Thursday evening at our end of year function and put in an official letter to East Cape regarding our suggestions.
Thanks a million – have a great day.
Best regards
Don
From: Peter Giddy [mailto:pgiddy@hinet.co.za] Sent: 27 November 2006 06:03 AMTo: DONALD MCGILLIVRAYSubject: A FEW NIPPERS THOUGHTS 27.11.2006.
Morning Donald
Apologies for our sudden departure on Sunday but when the u10s had completed the final event it was as if a Tsunami of exhaustion hit our family.
Our Carnival 21 January 2007.
A couple of thoughts that we had:
Scorers
The official scorers should be given triplicate A4 books in which they write the events and results. Perhaps the result sheets should be signed by the scorer and one other before being handed into the administration office.
We should have a computer set up in the Clubhouse where we have the administration and where we can enter results into a Spreadsheet for immediate access to points totals.
We could then give provisional results at stages during the day.
We should give the beach scorers chairs and a TV table at which they sit.
Numbering
The Plett officials had squares with numbers 1 to 20 to hand to the children as they completed an event. I think that we should have a number of these sets but that the numbering should continue to 30 or 40. This would mean that the slower child is not shoved aside as a non finisher. They also have the dignity of being recorded and acknowledged as having taken part.
Starting on Saturday
For our own Carnival in January; I think that it would be great if we could start on the Saturday. We could offer the Plett and other away teams “home hosting”. Realistically if we are able to start on a Sunday at 08.00am and we must finish at 14.00pm the most events we can complete is about 8. If we are only able to have our carnival on Sunday then we should set out the schedule of events that allows for a limited number of events and not one which includes the list that Plett was able to fit into the two days. Even holding three or four events on Saturday afternoon would help.
Final Event:
As we discussed on Sunday; If the final event has limited numbers then we will see a dispersing of Nippers and Parents as we did on Sunday. We should try to make the last one or two events ones where all the Nippers have the opportunity to participate. The Long Run is probably the most suitable as it does not depend on the surf conditions.
Opening Event.
The Taplin was an excellent opening event as every child was able to take part and this set the tone for the carnival and helped build the teams.
Rope and tape
We will need rope and tape to mark out the exact start and finish lines and the Flags start and finish. It was not clear at Plett where the change over line was for the Beach Relay. Perhaps this was due to our having “borrowed” the rope from Plett. We should also have a few extra lengths for our own tent in case the weather is as good as it was for Plett.
Clearing the arena
We should have some Candy Tape. During an event such as the Taplin where there are a number of people going in and out of the water; we give a length to a Person standing in the water and lead it across to another person standing near to the start or finish. This would help in controlling traffic of passers by.
See you Thursday
Peter
27.11.2006.
Hi Peter
I am impressed with your report and how soon we received it!
We had a lovely week-end, and I was pleased to have met you.
The Nipper experience is an exceptional one. So many things stand out. The parents and competitors give amazing support not only to those who achieve, but also to the last competitor that crosses the finishing line. The hugs and words of encouragement from coaches, parents and fellow competitors. The obvious love for children, the patience and support the Nipper coaches have.
I am so pleased that we joined!
Regards
Tania
Nippers
Nippers is now in full swing. Donald & I have been visiting the schools to try to promote Summerstrand. This month we visited St Georges, Clarendon, Herbert Hurd, Summerwood, Collegiate and Grey. Donald has put together a collage of photo’s from the various Nippers Carnivals. He adds music to make a DVD that captures the attention of the children. I have been adding a little bit of excitement for the children by showing them an Electric Iron box and asking them if they know what is inside. I compare this to the TV show “Fear Factor”. You never know what may be in store for you unless you are prepared to try it out. In the box I pull out some biscuits as well as some onions and old lemons. This seems to entertain the children and hopefully we will have some new recruits this month.
We hear that Paul Lynch from Sardinia Bay has been targeting the Swimming clubs like Big Blue and Aquabears. Personally I think that the rivalry that exists between Paul and our own Nippers is very healthy. Not so much as to which Club wins carnivals but more that it pushes us into trying to recruit new youngsters as well as improving the level of competition and achievement.
Summerstrand had their first 100 club of the season this month. I signed up for the year but did not win any prizes. As Barbara was away in East London, it was just Ally & myself. Ally has a group of friends who she met there. Caitlyn and Amber plus a whole group of the Nipper boys. It was good to see the Nippers Parents and coaches and to hear their enthusiastic feelings about the Carnival last week.
Energade Triathlon November 2006.
The first weekend of November was the Energade Triathlon. I was down at Hobie beach early, as I thought that the race started at 08.00 whereas it started at 09.00. As I drove to the start the heavens opened up and rain came pouring down. But by the time I got to Hobie it was a perfect morning again. The Sea looked flat and while there was a West wind blowing, it was not too bad. I did the registration thing and then met up with Ron. Once I had checked the bike into the transition area, he & I went for a Coffee at the Wimpy. Finally the time came for the race to start.
I met up with Mike Webb and Ian Thomson from Achilles. It was Mike’s first Tri. Ian is a good swimmer and was looking forward to the swim. I saw Rob Ermes there. He does well on the bike. Paddy Hogson from Nippers was there. It was also his first Tri. I greeted Rod, the ex professional American triathlete now turned pastor. He has moved back to PE after a stint in Cape Town. Tim, Herman, Tracey and Paula were doing the relay as were a number of the Ironmen competitors. Other Achilleans I saw were Comine & Martin Geirz, Adelle & Mark Hunter Smith, Garreth Jacobson, Chris Gedye, Greg Scott, Robin Fourie, Davera Magson and Pat Thomson who was not taking part due to a cold.
I was apprehensive but walked down to the beach. The Ladies went off first and then it was the Men. I was soon far behind the pack of swimmers but pressed on. I saw one swimmer (Trevor Hawkins) turn back and another few had to hold onto the safety craft. I was not stressed as I had swum steadily and was soon heading back to shore. With the swells behind us, the return was quite quick. The Relay swimmers came charging past us back markers like torpedo dolphins. I was not phased by this display of strength.
As I ran up the beach, it was good to hear Neil, Rene, Gaynor and other people I know cheering me on. Ian Ross was there. He normally runs these events but had just returned from the Augrabies Endurance event and was feeling flat. I think that I am the only participant who needs a stool to sit on to change my shoes. I am hopeless at bending down or sitting on the grass. So I put out a stool and sit down to change. I was soon on the bike and heading towards Noordhoek. I had started off with Herman but he dropped me like a hot coal.
I was quite surprised to see that I was able to overtake quite a number of the younger cyclists. The wind was in our faces from the University corner. As I rode past the Back Entrance to the University I saw that the names that I had painted on the road for this year’s Ironman were still visible. The returning riders seemed to fly back with the wind. I was able to lock onto small groups of two or three on the way out and this of course assisted me as I could use them to break the wind. I chatted to Justin who works with Robyn Steyn (MPRG) at E & Y Auditors. He had good things to say about her before he rode away from me. On the way back I rode with one of Michael’s school friends, Greg Wallace. Greg was the Hooker for the Grey first team when Michael was in Matric.
One of the real features of this event was the Road Closure. Last year had been a Nightmare as the Ski Boat trailers came past when the cyclists were riding in both directions. I saw Stanford Slabbert in the showers at Summerstrand later that day. He is the councilor for the Summerstrand area and I think had a part to play in securing the road closure. He reminded me of the time that Markus Burri had rescued him from a near tragedy when he had got into trouble on his paddle ski and was being washed out to sea.
Once back in transition I slipped my running shoes on and headed out on the run. It is a five kay run to the Summerstrand Inn and back. I find the first kay or two the toughest as my legs feel heavy after the cycle. Once I had a bit of a rhythm I was able to run at a good even stride and passed a number of runners. I enjoyed running on the new cycle track that is being built along the Promenade. This is an initiative of Donald McGillivray and my opinion is that this will transform PE into a sought after destination for active people.
Finally back at transition we received a cold drink and I packed up my stuff. I must remember to read the rules for next year’s event. There were all kinds of funny rules such as the colour of the swim cap; do you have to wear a shirt while swimming? Etc. Results were Raynard Tissink 7th; Ryan Peter 14th; Garreth 48 (2004=1:02; 2005=1:12 & 2006=1:04). Allan Campbell 77th, Mike Kingston 82 (2005=1:21 & 2006=1:08), Christoff Opperman 105, Davera 110 (2004=1:21; 2005=1:18 & 2006=1:11), Corne Du Toit 134, Jonti Daniel 149 (2005=1:17 & 2006=1:14), Heidi Jansen 186, Butch Oxenam 229, Adele HS 246, Ian Thomson 262, Martin Gierz 275, George Scott 277 (2004=1:29; 2005=1:35 & 2006=1:29), Rob Ermes 275, Peter Giddy 293 (2004=1:24; 2005=1:34 & 2006=1:32), Paddy Hodgson 303, Comine Gierz 308, Mike Webb 310 and Keith Harris 315 out of a possible 339.
In the over 55 category I was beaten by John Jones (64) and Colin McAll (56). In the team event: Robin Fourie and Llewelyn Clack came 11th, Paula Wilson and Roger Oakley were 15th, Tracey Brink’s team were 17th. Greg Scott was 19th, Herman’s team was 27th, Mark HS and John Offerman were 28th, Alan Taylor was 30th, Viv Bullock came 35th, Tim’s team was 46th and young Greg Wallace was placed 83rd out of a possible 122 teams.
The total of all participants for 2006 was 705 while last year there were 695 in total. I felt that PE had done themselves proud that Sunday morning. The spectator support was excellent, The organisation of the event was pretty much flawless and the spirit of the participants was great. In the individual event 2004=313; 2005=377 and 2006=339. In the team event 2004=84; 2005=109 and 2006=122. I think that one of the main reasons for the drop in numbers for the individual event was the decision of many of the registered triathletes and Ironmen to take part as teams.
Barbara & Gail were in East London this weekend. I had dropped Ally off with Lene who brought her down to Nippers as I was now too late fetch her as I had originally planned. Our Nippers session was small as I think that many would have been put off by the wind and earlier rain. Hannes & I enjoyed having the small group of nine children. We did some beach sprints, relays, swimming, boarding and finally flags. Despite the West wind flattening out the sea, there were some big swells and some real dumpers that scared the children.
Crossroads
On my way back from a business trip to East London I stopped off at the Crossroads Nursery near to Grahamstown again. I met Shane who is a recovering addict. He tells me that he and Ivo were friends. One time they were going to break into a house and Ivo somehow opted out. It was the final straw for Shane who was caught and send to prison for something like five years. He talks of car theft and other crimes he committed to sustain his drinking and drugging.
Ivo is now involved in trying to promote addiction recovery with John Preler in Port Elizabeth. Shane is serving his probation at this Crossroads Nursery. He tells me that he has still two years to go after which he plans to open a nursery of his own. I had asked Shane to put some Aloes aside for me. These are wonderful indigenous plants that grow very easily and require no tendering. In winter they produce red and yellow flowers. They grow wild in the fields of the East Cape farms. He had a few in some soft soil in the nursery and I chose two quite well established Aloes. I think that the one is an Aloe Vera and the other is a Krans Aloe with more spiky leaves.
Once I got them home I dug two fairly shallow holes on either side of our front gate and planted them there. I hope that they will produce some colour next winter. In any event I now feel that I am starting to become a gardener with the Yellow Wood and the Aloes. Keith had shown me some of the Acacias that he had planted in front of his garden in Johannesburg.
I am also going to try to establish a bit of indigenous gardening in our house. One of the things that Dawn had given Barbara was a Cycad. They had this beautiful old plant in a large clay pot. I am sure that this plant must be about 50 years old. Dawn also gave Barbara a lemon tree that had been in a pot. I am sure that if we plant this tree in the garden with the same kind of attention that I gave the Yellowwood, then we should be able to grow a substantial tree.
On the first Friday of November Barbara went to East London to visit Dawn & Richard. She took Gail and hired a trailer as she planned to bring some stuff to PE. Dawn and Richard plan to emigrate to Canada where their two daughters, Raylene and Tracey live with their families. Raylene and Steven moved to Calgary over ten years ago. Tracey and Mark with their two children, Asher and Kayle, moved to Calgary in 2005. Richard sold his Burglar Alarm Business to his long time partner, Neville.
Dawn teaches at Rhodes (Fort Hare) University in East London. She took a Sabbatical and they both went to Calgary earlier this year. Now they have determined to apply for permanent residence in Canada. Dawn is able to work at a University there and Richard seems like will be taking life a little easier for a while.
This week Ally had her Clarendon Grandparents day. It seems that this has been such a huge success in the past that the school decided to have a separate Parents day as too many parents were attending the Grandparents day. Barbara was busy at the School and I went alone. As I arrived I met up with John Kotze. His son Gregory attends the school as well. Both of us were amazed at the quality of the show that was presented to us.
The Grandparents day is put on by the “foundation stage” Grades one, two and three. There were about 300 children singing some of the old classics such as Itsy Bitsy Bikini. Then each grade had their own little show to put on for us. I felt quite emotional and proud as I saw Ally doing her thing on stage. Grade three put on this show of the hunters and tourists. Hunters not afraid of anything unless it was a snake, croc or elephant. Each time a hunter would be eaten or the tourists would “drive past”. The show was full of song and fun. This will be Ally’s last Grandparents day. Amber’s “Oumie” has been acting as a surrogate grandparent as Ena lives in Plett and could not be there over the past few years.
Ally had a visit to the Orthodontist and it seems will have to wear a plate to correct her one tooth which is out of position. This is the same orthodontist that Cathy visited when Dr. Moug left PE. Pieter Roux bought the practice from Moug.
Inter Regional Gala in East London.
Ally was chosen to represent EP in a swimming gala against Border (now called Aloes) in East London. Megan Derry came up with us. We left at 05.30 and got into EL three hours later. The gala was being held at the Joan Harrison pool. The children had to register that they were there and were handed a red golf shirt each. We found out that there was no program and it seems that the general administration of the day was to be less than we have come to expect from the galas that Ally has taken part in. Noel Pearson and Poppie from Biathlon had clip boards and looked like they knew what they were doing.
We sat with John and Cheryl Kotze. John’s sister, Tessa was there to support young Greg. It seems that they are farmers from the area. John tells me that his parents died when he was very young and he was brought up in foster homes. They lived on farms in Zimbabwe at the time. A number of the Nippers and parents were also there: Hannes Zeelie & Boys, Peter & Matthew Wilson, Anthony Cox, Chris Lange & Family, The Liss Family (Jessica is U11 and went on to break the SA record for individual medley) I hear that her mother was a springbok swimmer, Christy Vaughn whose dad Craig, was a Springbok diver. Christy herself is a real asset to her swimming team as well as to Nippers.
We spent the morning watching relays and a then it was Butterfly, Breaststroke, backstroke and individual medley. This was a lesson in Under Promise and Over Deliver. The organisers promised us that the event would finish at 14.00. We soon realised that this was no going to happen. I had a few sleeps on the bench, we had too much to eat. I had brought my costume and was able to have a swim during the morning. Ally met a new friend also Ally (Alexandra from Collegiate). Dawn came to the pool to add some family support. Dawn had been invigilating some exams that morning and had caught two students cheating with “crib notes”.
The lunch break ended at 14.15 and Ally immediately had her first swim of the day. It was Breaststroke and she came third in her heat. Megan also did okay in her heat. Once all the Breaststroke swimmers in all the various categories had had a swim then it was time for the freestyle and again Ally was first in line. She had a terrible start and was not able to recover enough to catch the third placed swimmer. As soon as she had completed her swim we left for home. It was now about 15.30. If the organisers had announced that they expected the gala to end at 17.00 then everyone would have understood the delays.
The PE people had a three hour drive ahead of them; The Springboks were playing rugby in Lansdowne Road in Ireland where they lost 30:15. They had poor defense, missing many first time tackling and played a “ponderous” game. The Irish played exciting, fast, thinking rugby and took advantage of every opportunity. Ally & Megan were invited to the Finestone bash and we dropped them there before heading home at last. The Derry’s offered to fetch at 22.00 and we were able to flop down on couches.
Joan Harrison swimming pool
I cannot resist putting this little bit of trivia into the story:
Born in 1935 of a swimming mother and a rugby-playing father in East London, South Africa, Joan Harrison wasted little time taking advantage of her sporting heritage. At 13, she already held three Jr. and two Sr. national records, and that year won the 220 and 500 yd. Senior Freestyle National Championships.
In 1950, at age 14, she won the 440 yd. freestyle at the Commonwealth Games in Auckland, New Zealand, beating the old record by 13 seconds and finishing 7 seconds ahead of the field. It was her first international competition and she was declared the outstanding woman swimmer in the Games.
Her second International Games was the Helsinki Olympics in 1952, where she won South Africa's first and only Olympic gold medal for swimming. In 1954, at the Commonwealth Games in Vancouver, she won two gold medals, a silver, and a bronze before retiring at the ripe old age of 17. She won the Helms Foundation Award for the best African athletic performance in any sport in 1952, and while concentrating on field hockey after 1954, she did manage to come back two more years to win the Nationals in her favorite 100 meter backstroke and in the 300 I. M. in 1956. She was South Africa's supreme swimmer in freestyle, backstroke and I.M. for six years. Joan married Charlie Breetzke in 1955. Charlie was also a Border swimmer and an Old Selbournian Rugby player. Joan represented Border in Hockey as well.
On Sunday morning it was back to Nippers after church. The weather did not look that good and I am sure that this must have scared some of the youngsters off. Those that came had a good morning. We played some games, did some exercises and even swam for a while. Then Donald set up the DVD in the hall and Chris gave us a bit of a talk on the upcoming Plett carnival and what we should expect. Ally went home with Lara and we went to Builders Warehouse to buy some bricks but were told that they do not stock the type that we are looking for.
During the week we managed to order the sand, bricks, cement etc for Builder Thomas. HE started on Friday and had soon dug the foundation trench, mixed the concrete and was ready to start laying the first bricks. Dawn & Richard visited us on their way to CT and we had a gathering of the Otter trail group with a Braai and watching the video that Rob had taken. On Saturday that week, SA lost to England at Twickenham 23-21. It was sad as we had been in front until the last few minutes of the game. That evening it was the Achilles dinner at the Old Cash store. We sat with Bob Stedman & Jean, Graham & Gail Channon, John & Cheryl Kotze and Gerald & Lynne Hoxley. On Sunday morning I met Ron for a cycle to Sacremento & back. Good to be back on the bike. Later on it was the last practice before the Plett carnival. The sea was quite rough with the southeaster blowing but we had a good morning. Ally had a Hip Hop practice immediately after Nippers. I was quite pleased to see that a few youngsters from the schools that we had visited were at Nippers practice. So all the effort was not lost.
We have started to build the back room for Barbara’s School. We have Thomas the builder, his brother Sam and assistant Funwell. They have made good progress, Built the walls, fitted the doors and window, tiled the floor and must fit the gutters and will soon be finished. Barbara had a year end function for the children and for the parents. I was not there but by all accounts was a huge success with about 60 people there to see their precious little ones.
Jacqui arrived from Cape Town for a Month’s visit. Little Emily is quite beautiful. She has adapted to the life in PE and appears to be at home with all these strangers. Hopefully she will soon accept us as well. Nicci and family arrived in PE to collect their car and will be leaving for Plett and then CT on Sunday 3rd December.
Here is my report on the Nippers Carnival that we had in Plett this month.
Nippers Plett Carnival 25 & 26 November 2006.
Under 10’s
The Build up
There had been a great deal of excitement and planning for this carnival. We had worked hard to train the Nippers at some of the more important and difficult of skills such as the Baton Hand over, The Malibu and the Body Board events as well as the team spirit. The coaches had tried to maintain some kind of record of the previous Carnival results as well as the results from the practice sessions. We met during the week to try to set out team for the four team events. It appeared that we would have sixteen u10 competitors if everyone was able to make it to the carnival. Everybody loves the Plett carnival. It is close enough for an easy drive and yet it is a mini holiday for us all.
Friday
On Friday afternoon Barbara, Ally and I took the afternoon off and drove through to Knysna where our son, Michael had recently moved. He showed us around the shop that he was managing and we had a look at the flat that he was renting. His family is still located in PE and will be moving there in a few weeks. It had not been a pleasant drive as the rain had fallen continuously and this made for tough driving conditions. There was a strong wind blowing and we were concerned for the conditions the next day.
My Mother, Ena lives in Plett and we stayed there for the night. Ena is 90 years old, struggles with eyesight and yet lives a full life on her own in a large flat in the main road of Plett. She tells me how she gets to Woolworths in the Market Square. She walks there and then when she has completed her shopping she stands at the traffic light and hitch hikes a lift up the hill. While she is doing her shopping she cannot really see what she is buying and the prices. But she tells us that everyone seems to know her and the local shopkeepers and staff are always most helpful in assisting her shopping trips. When she has to go any distance she seems to be offered lifts by her friends and so she makes a very good life for herself in Plett.
Saturday
On Saturday morning Ena made us a breakfast of Bacon & Eggs and we were early on our way to the beach. We found our tent and soon had ourselves installed for the morning. The coaches tried to do some kind of a roll call to see who was there and were delighted to find we had a full team of 16 u10 nippers. The day was due to start with a managers meeting at 11.00am sharp but somehow the time was blunted to some degree and we must have started something like a half hour late.
The Carnival
The first event for the day was the Taplin Relay. This is an event which encourages participation and binds teams together. The event has a run, swim, body board and malibu (long) board section. There are four to a team so everyone participates. We had four full teams and soon established ourselves as a force to be reckoned with, as our teams came first, third, fourth and tenth.
There was an Easterly wind blowing and while not strong, it was enough to make the surf quite rough and the Plett Central beach is known for the large beach breaks. These waves loom above the Nippers as they try to manouver their craft through the surf. Fortunately Anthony Cox “allows” us to assist this age group through the waves. Once they are through the breakers they are on their own and have to go around two buoys and then back to shore. Often their return trip is just as scary as they have these huge waves threaten to swamp them from behind.
The second event of the day was the Flags. This is an extemely tiring event as the nippers have to run up and down trying to retrieve the flag. The sand was hot and soft and hardly ideal conditions for a sprint. If a Nipper does not retreive a flag they are eliminated. If you think that being eliminated from the “Weakest Link” is tough, then just watch the dissapointment on the faces of these youngsters. And yet knowing that they have a huge probability of being eliminated they still persist and take part in the game. This takes guts and builds character.
The Coaches
One of the toughest tasks of the coach is to round up the Nippers for the next event. Understandably the Nipper must use the toilet, go for a cooling off swim, buy hamburgers, ice cream and other delectables and generally make themselves as difficult as possible to locate. Then having found them the coach has to persuade the Nipper that they should take part in the next event. There is often reluctance to participate where the event is tough and they are not likely to end up a top finisher. We hear that they are “saving their energy” for some future event. Or that they have asthma, sunburn, breathing problems etc etc. The coach must then explain that participation is everything and that often even a 20th position wins points for the team.
The coaches know that winning events requires numbers of participants. Merely having the top three does not guarantee a win in the event. We need as many participants as possible in the event to secure a win. Barbara was given the task of recording results for the u10s. She coped exceptionally well except for the Flags finals where she somehow missed the event and so we only recorded who was in the finals. We do know however that Lara won the girls event and that Tristan was placed third.
Another duty of coaches and of adults in general is that they must provide safety for the U10’s. This means that they must do a huge amount of swimming back and forth from the nippers going out through the surf to returning back with the breakers. In particular I saw Charles and Clint doing their fair share of the work. They must have been exhausted after two days of swimming.
Terry asked me how it was that I became a coach. Well if the truth be known; I am a self appointed coach with little or no experience as a lifesaver. But I love seeing both my own and other children having such incredible fun in a beach sport. Personally I enjoy being part of this group of people and am steadily getting to know which parents belong to which child as well as the names of the variety of people who I see each weekend. This weekend I was able to get to know Tristan’s mom, Tanya. I remembered that Terry’s wife is Caryn. I am now able to distinguish between Hannelie, Dianne and Charlene and know that they are married to Johnny, Chris and Craig respectively. I think that Clint finally knows my name and can now stop calling me “there”. As in: “Hello There”.
The Plett carnival is held at the same time as the Matric Plett Rave. As the Matrics of South Africa complete their exams at this time they think that they have now qualified to legally drink, smoke, Party, enter Miss Wet T-shirt competitions and that the word is at their feet. The coaches have to be vigilant as this bevy of beautiful bodies try to disrupt the carnival generally.
Courage
During the day we witnessed a number of feats of courage. Matthew H was about to start the Malibu event when he asked Hannes “Sir: what are we supposed to do with this board”. Then there was Maurice who, last year had hardly ventured into the surf past his waist and this year was taking part in every possible event. Natalie had a tough experience as she tried to get past the breaking waves but fortunately had Patrick there to assist her and she agreed that this was something that she would work on for the next carnival. Caitlin and Connor battled though the events but there was nothing that they was not keen and eager to complete.
Both Matthew W and Kim were wiped out on Malibus while trying to push through surf but persisted and finished strongly. This year Ally has improved in leaps and bounds as she was well placed in a number of events. Then there was a little girl from Mossel Bay. She had never had to go so deep into the sea. She was very scared of sharks. And yet when I swam around the buoys with her on the body board, she managed to complete the event and has set herself up for a further six years of Nippers participation.
It is wonderful for the coaches to see the way that the Nippers support their team mates. It is not all about me and my own results but just as much about cheering on and supporting the teams and club. The Nipper learns to accept defeat while striving to be part of a winning team. There was only one u10 Bluewater bay Nipper. This young chap continued to participate in the events on his own.
Should the Nipper take part in all the events of the day then they would have done seven tough events on the first day of this carnival. Taplin, Flags, Body Board Individual, Surf Swim, Beach Sprints, Malibu Relays and Body Board Relays. By the time that the last event had ben run it was about 17.00.
Saturday evening
Nippers and adults alike were all completely exhausted. On this particular afternoon the Springbok rugby team was playing in the third of a series of three games in the UK. We had lost to Ireland and then to England and today had the opportunity to redeem ourselves against the English. Barbara, Ally & I went up to Ena’s flat for tea and a shower.
We had booked for supper at the Moby Dick Restaurant at 6.00pm. By the time we got to the restaurant, the Springboks had beaten the English. Everyone seemed in a positive mood after our strong showing at Nippers as well as the good rugby results. At the Moby Dick restaurant they had a special set menu which we had. We sat with Charles, Ingrid, Hannes, Jacqui, Lynne and Alex. The adults ordered a few beverages to wash away some of the sun and sand of the day. This seemed to ease the way for some quite enthusiatic and animated discussions around a variety of unimportant subjects.
There was a little group of girls who seemed to have a ball as they discussed the days events and other important stuff. At another table there was a group of Nipper Boys. They looked like a mini street gang in the way that they related to each other. It was great to see them enjoying themselves so much. The waitress did a wonderful job with all these families and youngsters running around. We were all extemely tired and by 9.00pm headed off home to bed.
Sunday
On Sunday morning we were first at the beach and were soon setting up the tent and organising the boards which Plett had allowed us to store in their club house overnight. Again this morning the sharp time slot was a little blunted but by 9.00am the first event was under way. We started the morning with a long run. The under tens showed that we meant business at this carnival. The sun was hot overhead today. I think that a number of people must have been sunburnt.
There were six events for the under tens on Sunday. Long Run, Run-Swim-Run; Beach Relay finals; Malibu Board individual; Beach Sprint Finals and Flags Finals. If you were in an older group there was also the Iron/Diamond Nipper event where the individual has to swim, run, body board and then malibu board. We were pleased to see that there was a great deal of courage in the under 12’s in particular as some of them such as Ian and others had only recently joined Nippers and yet took part in this grueling event. Peter Wilson had been worried that there may not be sufficient activity to warrant the trip to Plett. I am certain that after a Carnival like this, there is no doubt that there is nothing but continuous activity from Start to Finish.
The u10’s had a bit of bad luck as one of our Body Board Relay teams was disqualified when we failed to touch hands at the change over point. However I was particularly proud of the beach relay teams when not one baton was dropped. Hannes noticed that we had not had a perfect change over as we had stood too far back for the relay change over.
Fortunately was had a brief photo session first thing that morning as the last event was the Flags finals. Those nippers who were not in the finals or who were eliminated packed up and left. If we are to keep interest high to the last then we need to have an event where everyone participates such as the long run as the very last event. By the time the Flags Finals was in progress we had managed to locate most of the craft and had secured the trailer so Barbara, Ally & I decided to call it a day. Our under tens had aquitted themselves above expectations. We had experienced courage, character and stamina that a sergeant major in the army would have enjoyed.
On our drive home Ally quickly passed out on the back seat while I drank a Red Bull to try to stay sharp. The drive was quick and uneventful as Barbara & I munched away at the sandwiches that Ena had prepared for us. As much as we love going to the Plett Carnival, just so much do we love getting home.
I have recorded the weekend as I saw it. If I have left out stuff that you think is important or if I have made mistakes in results etc, then just let me know please. I know that Wendy and others have a good photographic record of the weekend and look forward to seeing what they have to show us.
Below are the results. The under tens can be particularly proud of their performance. The u14s beat Plett by 50points, the u12s beat Plett by 7 Points and the u10’s beat Plett by 144 Points. At the same Carnival last year the U10’s were the only SS team that did not beat the Sardinia Bay team.
Peter
082 550 3174
pgiddy@hinet.co.za
Hi All
Well done SSLC! Thanks to the effort that so many families made to get to Plett, we won thew carnival. In fact, for the first time in my time at nippers, we won all three age groups!!!! That is fantastic! We only managed to that thanks to the support of a large away team of 48 nippers. We saw some amazing performances, not only from our awesome top nippers, but also from the hardworking group of nippers!
Before I give the complete results, please take note of the next important point. We cannot have the end-of-year party on Thursday, as originally planned. There is a clash at the club. We therefore have to move the party to Friday, 01 Dec. All the other arrangements will remain i.e. 100 club, snacks, party packs and boerie rolls for nippers and so on. I apologise for the inconvenience, but hope you can all still join us to celebrate the season so far!
Herewith the complete results:
Overall
6 Seagull
5 BWB 108
4 Mossel Bay 117
3 Sards 826
2 Plett 867,5
1 SSLC 1102,5
Age Groups
U10 U12 U14
3 Plett 227,5 Sards 326 Sards 229
2 Sards 271 Plett 357 Plett 283
1 SSLC 415 SSLC 364 SSLC 323
Victor: Matthew Mcgillivray(SSLC) CJ Velleman(SSLC)_ Cameron Neubert (SSLC)
Victrix: Christie Vaughn(SSLC) Lauren Billson (SSLC) Jessica Roux (Sards)
We will have our last practice before the holidays on Sunday 03 Dec. Hope to see you all on Friday!
Regards
Lee
Hi Peter – thank you for documenting our thoughts on the Plett Nipper Carnival – A post mortem carried out immediately after the event while everyting is still fresh in our minds is always good.
I agree with all of the points made below and will get a forum together possibly with Sards and Blue Water Bay to discuss these points and agree on the implementation of them at our next Summies Carnival.
Plett and Ant Cox have already requested that our Summerstrand carnival runs over two days like the Plett carnival. We will need to think very carefully about the beach setup if we host our carnival at Pollok – we had the most successful carnival running at Pollok 2 years ago and had two arenas running together and things went like clockwork (we were also blessed with beautiful weather – which does help considerably with the water events)
We will talk on Thursday evening at our end of year function and put in an official letter to East Cape regarding our suggestions.
Thanks a million – have a great day.
Best regards
Don
From: Peter Giddy [mailto:pgiddy@hinet.co.za] Sent: 27 November 2006 06:03 AMTo: DONALD MCGILLIVRAYSubject: A FEW NIPPERS THOUGHTS 27.11.2006.
Morning Donald
Apologies for our sudden departure on Sunday but when the u10s had completed the final event it was as if a Tsunami of exhaustion hit our family.
Our Carnival 21 January 2007.
A couple of thoughts that we had:
Scorers
The official scorers should be given triplicate A4 books in which they write the events and results. Perhaps the result sheets should be signed by the scorer and one other before being handed into the administration office.
We should have a computer set up in the Clubhouse where we have the administration and where we can enter results into a Spreadsheet for immediate access to points totals.
We could then give provisional results at stages during the day.
We should give the beach scorers chairs and a TV table at which they sit.
Numbering
The Plett officials had squares with numbers 1 to 20 to hand to the children as they completed an event. I think that we should have a number of these sets but that the numbering should continue to 30 or 40. This would mean that the slower child is not shoved aside as a non finisher. They also have the dignity of being recorded and acknowledged as having taken part.
Starting on Saturday
For our own Carnival in January; I think that it would be great if we could start on the Saturday. We could offer the Plett and other away teams “home hosting”. Realistically if we are able to start on a Sunday at 08.00am and we must finish at 14.00pm the most events we can complete is about 8. If we are only able to have our carnival on Sunday then we should set out the schedule of events that allows for a limited number of events and not one which includes the list that Plett was able to fit into the two days. Even holding three or four events on Saturday afternoon would help.
Final Event:
As we discussed on Sunday; If the final event has limited numbers then we will see a dispersing of Nippers and Parents as we did on Sunday. We should try to make the last one or two events ones where all the Nippers have the opportunity to participate. The Long Run is probably the most suitable as it does not depend on the surf conditions.
Opening Event.
The Taplin was an excellent opening event as every child was able to take part and this set the tone for the carnival and helped build the teams.
Rope and tape
We will need rope and tape to mark out the exact start and finish lines and the Flags start and finish. It was not clear at Plett where the change over line was for the Beach Relay. Perhaps this was due to our having “borrowed” the rope from Plett. We should also have a few extra lengths for our own tent in case the weather is as good as it was for Plett.
Clearing the arena
We should have some Candy Tape. During an event such as the Taplin where there are a number of people going in and out of the water; we give a length to a Person standing in the water and lead it across to another person standing near to the start or finish. This would help in controlling traffic of passers by.
See you Thursday
Peter
27.11.2006.
Hi Peter
I am impressed with your report and how soon we received it!
We had a lovely week-end, and I was pleased to have met you.
The Nipper experience is an exceptional one. So many things stand out. The parents and competitors give amazing support not only to those who achieve, but also to the last competitor that crosses the finishing line. The hugs and words of encouragement from coaches, parents and fellow competitors. The obvious love for children, the patience and support the Nipper coaches have.
I am so pleased that we joined!
Regards
Tania
Tuesday, October 3, 2006
GIDDY FAMILY OCTOBER 2006.
October 2006.
I received this email from Andrew Barton who used to be an active member of the MPRG. He and Benita moved to Botswana when he was promoted through Standard Bank. I found it to be such an interesting piece of writing.
Being close to parts of SA that we haven't seen much of before, plus Benita not wanting to take a chance with flying or malaria, and this place enjoying it's long weekends, we have traveled around the northern part of SA a bit this year.
Last weekend we stayed on a guest farm near Groot Marico. First stop, Oom Piet Mampoer. Moer!
A very hospitable gent, who clearly samples a significant amount of his own product, was quite insistent that we tasted all 15 flavours of his mampoer. Fortunately not in tot glasses, but tea spoons. One was really a bugger, 80% alcohol with hot chillies in it! He brands it as F U 2 Mampoer! He then gave us another one to 'neutralise' the taste and burn, which it did...but only because it was even worse! However, I must say that the F U 2 made for a terrific flambet on our awesome bosveld steaks that night!
Oom Piet is quite a 'legend' in a part of the world where the AWB found much support. In fact, he leads the local Israelite movement that finds 'support' in the Old Testament re their very right wing views. So, not a guy that took our 'no's' for an answer ..... He just kept pouring!
We found a terrific restaurant about a km from Oom Piet, overlooking the Marico River. The owner is also an Afrikaner, Jacques du Plessis, but one who's sister, before the end of apartheid married a local resident of New Brighton and has been living there ever since. A very liberal Afrikaner family indeed. One of his guests at the lunch was Jennifer Ferguson, one of the first ANC Member's of Parliament in 1995. She was/is a singer and after a bottle or two of red starting singing at her table; clearly quite impressive!
Anyway, in chatting to Jacques I suggested that he and Oom Piet probably didn't share a drink together. Indeed not!!!......but the stories that came out then could have filled a few more books for H C Bosman! He said that Oom Piet has been selling mampoer for decades, but that nobody has ever seen him grow citrus or have any delivered to his farm and suspect that he buys 98% alcohol, dilutes with some Marico river water and adds flavourants.....Jacques insisted that we do ourselves a favour and pour all the Oom Piet mampoer we bought down the drain and rather buy his stuff!!! He was quite sincere about this too............
Only in SA could two such characters live about a km apart, but I suppose complete avoidance of each other creates 2-part harmony!
We also found out that there are about a 150 distillers of mampoer in the district; two of which 'have the dubious distinction of distilling with a license'. The other 148 continue their proud legacy of showing authorities the middle finger - marvelous stuff!!
A new coffee shop has just been opened by two 'boys', pink napkins and ouma's doilies [spelling?]. Decorations a little odd [can't say 'queer' I suppose..]. Next time we pass through will have to pop in to Oom Piet and over a dop ask him about this.....!!!.
A really interesting area that is still filled with many characters indeed. Many more books could be written!!!
Cheers Andrew Barton
October 2006 started off with our Daughter Nicci, and three children coming to see us. They had just moved back from the UK and were now going to be based at Stefan’s Parents home in Stellenberg, Cape Town.
This month we had the official first day of Nippers on the 1st Sunday of the month. There was not a huge turnout but enough to have a good couple of games. Deon Engelke is good at organizing games for the Nippers. That Sunday afternoon we had a little celebration at Michael’s house in Mount Croix for little Daniel who turned one. School started the following morning both for Ally and for Barbara’s Play School.
After quite a long break due to a whole host of reasons, we resumed our cell group the following Thursday. Tracey had just bought a 50% partnership in Coimbra Cycles together with Andre who we hear is an accomplished Springbok cyclist. Jan Havenga seems to have lost interest in the business and Tracey has great plans for the refurbishing of the shop. As a result Tracey was not at the group as she had a meeting at the shop. Ian was also not there due to a camp near to Addo. Elize was back after a trip to Turkey with her sister and mother. Little Cloe was now a year old and walking around the house, quite independent. Ally had her picture in the Weekend Post as one of the Nippers returning to training on a Sunday. Leah told us that she had entered a Miss Majesty competition at Walmer Park. It seems that she did well and received a whole host of prizes and vouchers. Herman and Tracey had recently returned from their trip to Switzerland but the main topic remained the Cycle Shop. All round there was a lot to talk about and so we never got to watch the video that I had borrowed from the church. My video machine was not working anyway.
The following Saturday was Biathlon Trials for the EP Meeting due later in the month. What I did was my normal 15kay run in the morning early, then went to the office on the motor bike. Michael had his car in for repairs and was using Barbara’s car. Barbara got a lift with Debbie Derry and I collected Nicci later. I arrived at the Biathlon in Gelvandale just in time for the Senior Vets and then did not have too long to wait for our swim event. I had run the one Kay in just under 4 minutes which is what I strive for. I did not have a good swim and finished in 107secs whereas Markus for example finished in 65 secs. Still my time was a good deal better than the last meeting. As it turned out both Ally and I were chosen to represent EP. Saturday evening was an incredibly warm night and we had sausages on the Braai. The wind picked up later but I had determined to go for a cycle the next morning and so was up early and did only about ten kays but it was my first ride in ages. I had fitted two new tubes and felt that I should at least do some training for the Energade Triathlon coming up in November. Sunday Morning we were in Church and I was able to hold Nicci’s baby Zara through the whole service. She slept for a good period. After church we went down to Nippers. Ally & I on the Bike and the rest in the car. It was a good morning and the surf was just right for swimming and body boards. Nicci left for Cape Town that afternoon. A friend of hers from London had recently died in Bonnievale and she would be attending the Funeral during the week.
This week would be very full. I had a Cell Group leaders meeting on Monday. Tuesday and Wednesday I was with Johan Sadie and Thursday I did the King trip as well as Cell at the Brinks. Friday Ally had her Hip Hop concert rehearsal. On Saturday morning I did the 20 Kay run down to the beacon, then it was our sales month end. The afternoon I spent increasing the size of the Yellowwood tree hole. That was hard work as I first dug though the rocks and then had to struggle through the clay, scraping the dirt out with an old jam tin. I intend to really give this tree the very best chance of growing to its full potential. Later that afternoon we watched the Bulls and Cheetas Currie cup final which was, in the end, a draw. Ally had her concert that evening. It was a really entertaining show with a variety of acts. Sunday morning Ron and I did the Marine drive. It was good to be out there again on the bike. Ron was not as fit as he has been in the past and so he was a good companion for me.
I had to assist with the Level testing of the new Nippers at Hobie Beach that morning. At Hobie beach there was also a Swim and Run event. A two Kay swim, a one Kay swim or a five kay run. There was also a Surf Ski event going on at the same time. The Scuba divers were also out for a Swim and dive. Hobie beach just seemed a hive of activity on that beautiful Sunday morning. The nippers had to do a short run, a swim and then answer a number of questions on water safety and beach activity. I then collected Barbara & Ally form home. They had been to church. Ally had been on a Bus Treasure hunt with the Sunday school.
We went down to Nippers after collecting Amber and Ian. It was a really good session as we made the children swim out past the breakers and then they did the same with the body boards. We did this a number of times to help build their confidence and then did a bit of beach sport; running and flags.
The following weekend started with Ron & I going to a talk by Brian Downey. Brain was the person who started the franchise “spec savers”. It was an interesting talk and I was appointed to thank Brian. Spec savers is the main sponsor of the PE Ironman. Brian had also taken part and completed the event. On Saturday morning it was the Inter-provincial Biathlon. Both Ally and I are not top competitors but we enjoy being part of the whole thing. We had to rush Ally off to an Interschool Gala immediately after we had done the swim. The next morning (Sunday) there was another level test as well as a Biathle for Ally & I. From there we rushed off to the Nippers practice. It was again perfect conditions and Hannes & I were able to send the Nippers into the water with Malibu’s and Body Boards. We recorded times and were able to select teams for the Carnival the next weekend. I had to leave Nippers midway and rush off to the airport for the Morkels Annual Launch which was being held in Parys on the Vaal River.
This week Graeme Gilmour visited our Cell Group. Michael moved to Knysna to open a new branch of Furn City. Saturday morning I got back on the road and did the 20kay to the Beacon and back. That afternoon I bought the compost and finally planted the Yellow wood tree that I had bought. After the Saturday evening service our Neighbours, the Mussets and Tim joined us for a tree planting ceremony.
Nippers Carnival. Hosted by Sardinia Bay at Kings Beach. Sunday 29.10.2006.
The Under Ten Nippers had basically two training sessions leading up to the Sardinia Bay Carnival. The Coaches I tried to record some times and positions in practice sessions prior to the Carnival. We had little information to go on but decided to do the best we could with what we had. Once Hannes & I had selected the teams I emailed our selections to the various parents. As Sunday dawned I think that there were a number of concerned parents. The sea had been quite choppy on the Saturday due to an Easterly that had been blowing. The West wind was blowing and the morning started off overcast. Barbara & I even packed jackets for the day. But this was to be the most amazing morning.
Warren & Keith had brought the tent and all the boards and we soon set up for a day on the beach. This Sunday morning we had a full house of Nippers at Kings Beach for the Under Ten team. Hannes was not able to be there due to a Christian commitment. The Under Ten coaches and safety officers consisted of Roger Fraser, Donald Mc Gillivray, Peter Wilson, Alex Odendal, Gavin Rogers, Clint Meintjies, Patrick Billson, Craig van Greunen and a variety of other people doing all kinds of tasks from recording results, catching the finishers and aiding the Nippers in the sea. They had a busy morning with a Long Run; Beach Sprints, a Surf Swim; Run/Swim/Run; Body Boards; Malibu Boards; Flags and ended off with the Taplin Relay. Our Under Ten team had been Awesome in how they competed.
The Coaches were particularly impressed with the Nippers who competed out of their Comfort Zone. Nadia is by no means a front runner or swimmer but she was prepared to take part over her fears. The Burrell twins: Amber and Astrid competed in the full spirit of the Nippers Under Ten Team and will be competitive as soon as they have developed confidence and ability. Even Maurice who has a tough time with the Huge Waves that sometimes appear on the beaches was prepared to swim out and around the Buoys. I recall one time when Donald & I were waiting for the Nippers to swim out to us; we saw a wave that was breaking beyond the Yellow Buoys and must have been about 2 meters high. Matthew Hepburn and Kei Hodgson were willing competitors and added to the team effort. Flags is an event which really builds character. Every Nipper knows that elimination means having to sit out. Yet they still line up and risk the anguish of missing a flag. And those who do reach the final ten have to run up and down over and over in an attempt to grab the flag. This in itself is very tiring.
Of course we have a number of Nippers who excel. This is due to a combination of dedicated training and God given talent. I think that the spirit of the Under Tens came out when it came to the Taplin Relay. Christian was prepared to be in two teams, first on a Body Board and then on a Malibu. Everyone was quite exhausted by this time. The Nippers had been out in the water four times already. There were a number of big sets of waves coming through. The idea of another swim or board event was quite unattractive to many of the nippers.
Run Swim Body Board Malibu
Marie Maurice Matthew Hepburn Christian
Jamie Lee Caitlin Matthew Wilson Kim
Amber Ally Lara Connor
Tristan Christy Christian Matthew Mc Gillivray
These four teams did so well and surpassed all expectations from a first carnival. I think that all the parents and the coaches join me in congratulating the under ten Nippers in the spirit in which they took part in the Sardinia Bay Carnival. As it turned out this was to be the only team event of the day as time caught up with us and the Carnival was called to a close at 14.00 after the Taplin Relay. But by then everyone was sunburned and exhausted. I had brought water and constantly tried to stay hydrated but at the end of the day felt like a sandblasted fried chip.
Sardinia Bay can be congratulated for hosting and excellent Carnival. The day went off very well. I was happy when Anthony informed the parents of the Under Tens that they were expected to be in the water during the sea events and that they should assist where the Nipper was experiencing difficulty. It is a huge boost to the confidence of the Under Tens to know that there are lost of Dads and Safety Officers in the water to help them through the surf. Although this was an official carnival, Anthony controlled the event more like a practice session for future events. Barbara and I left before the announcement of the results. I am sure that we will soon hear of which teams won. I felt particularly proud of the Under Tens and how well they had played the game.
I received this email from Andrew Barton who used to be an active member of the MPRG. He and Benita moved to Botswana when he was promoted through Standard Bank. I found it to be such an interesting piece of writing.
Being close to parts of SA that we haven't seen much of before, plus Benita not wanting to take a chance with flying or malaria, and this place enjoying it's long weekends, we have traveled around the northern part of SA a bit this year.
Last weekend we stayed on a guest farm near Groot Marico. First stop, Oom Piet Mampoer. Moer!
A very hospitable gent, who clearly samples a significant amount of his own product, was quite insistent that we tasted all 15 flavours of his mampoer. Fortunately not in tot glasses, but tea spoons. One was really a bugger, 80% alcohol with hot chillies in it! He brands it as F U 2 Mampoer! He then gave us another one to 'neutralise' the taste and burn, which it did...but only because it was even worse! However, I must say that the F U 2 made for a terrific flambet on our awesome bosveld steaks that night!
Oom Piet is quite a 'legend' in a part of the world where the AWB found much support. In fact, he leads the local Israelite movement that finds 'support' in the Old Testament re their very right wing views. So, not a guy that took our 'no's' for an answer ..... He just kept pouring!
We found a terrific restaurant about a km from Oom Piet, overlooking the Marico River. The owner is also an Afrikaner, Jacques du Plessis, but one who's sister, before the end of apartheid married a local resident of New Brighton and has been living there ever since. A very liberal Afrikaner family indeed. One of his guests at the lunch was Jennifer Ferguson, one of the first ANC Member's of Parliament in 1995. She was/is a singer and after a bottle or two of red starting singing at her table; clearly quite impressive!
Anyway, in chatting to Jacques I suggested that he and Oom Piet probably didn't share a drink together. Indeed not!!!......but the stories that came out then could have filled a few more books for H C Bosman! He said that Oom Piet has been selling mampoer for decades, but that nobody has ever seen him grow citrus or have any delivered to his farm and suspect that he buys 98% alcohol, dilutes with some Marico river water and adds flavourants.....Jacques insisted that we do ourselves a favour and pour all the Oom Piet mampoer we bought down the drain and rather buy his stuff!!! He was quite sincere about this too............
Only in SA could two such characters live about a km apart, but I suppose complete avoidance of each other creates 2-part harmony!
We also found out that there are about a 150 distillers of mampoer in the district; two of which 'have the dubious distinction of distilling with a license'. The other 148 continue their proud legacy of showing authorities the middle finger - marvelous stuff!!
A new coffee shop has just been opened by two 'boys', pink napkins and ouma's doilies [spelling?]. Decorations a little odd [can't say 'queer' I suppose..]. Next time we pass through will have to pop in to Oom Piet and over a dop ask him about this.....!!!.
A really interesting area that is still filled with many characters indeed. Many more books could be written!!!
Cheers Andrew Barton
October 2006 started off with our Daughter Nicci, and three children coming to see us. They had just moved back from the UK and were now going to be based at Stefan’s Parents home in Stellenberg, Cape Town.
This month we had the official first day of Nippers on the 1st Sunday of the month. There was not a huge turnout but enough to have a good couple of games. Deon Engelke is good at organizing games for the Nippers. That Sunday afternoon we had a little celebration at Michael’s house in Mount Croix for little Daniel who turned one. School started the following morning both for Ally and for Barbara’s Play School.
After quite a long break due to a whole host of reasons, we resumed our cell group the following Thursday. Tracey had just bought a 50% partnership in Coimbra Cycles together with Andre who we hear is an accomplished Springbok cyclist. Jan Havenga seems to have lost interest in the business and Tracey has great plans for the refurbishing of the shop. As a result Tracey was not at the group as she had a meeting at the shop. Ian was also not there due to a camp near to Addo. Elize was back after a trip to Turkey with her sister and mother. Little Cloe was now a year old and walking around the house, quite independent. Ally had her picture in the Weekend Post as one of the Nippers returning to training on a Sunday. Leah told us that she had entered a Miss Majesty competition at Walmer Park. It seems that she did well and received a whole host of prizes and vouchers. Herman and Tracey had recently returned from their trip to Switzerland but the main topic remained the Cycle Shop. All round there was a lot to talk about and so we never got to watch the video that I had borrowed from the church. My video machine was not working anyway.
The following Saturday was Biathlon Trials for the EP Meeting due later in the month. What I did was my normal 15kay run in the morning early, then went to the office on the motor bike. Michael had his car in for repairs and was using Barbara’s car. Barbara got a lift with Debbie Derry and I collected Nicci later. I arrived at the Biathlon in Gelvandale just in time for the Senior Vets and then did not have too long to wait for our swim event. I had run the one Kay in just under 4 minutes which is what I strive for. I did not have a good swim and finished in 107secs whereas Markus for example finished in 65 secs. Still my time was a good deal better than the last meeting. As it turned out both Ally and I were chosen to represent EP. Saturday evening was an incredibly warm night and we had sausages on the Braai. The wind picked up later but I had determined to go for a cycle the next morning and so was up early and did only about ten kays but it was my first ride in ages. I had fitted two new tubes and felt that I should at least do some training for the Energade Triathlon coming up in November. Sunday Morning we were in Church and I was able to hold Nicci’s baby Zara through the whole service. She slept for a good period. After church we went down to Nippers. Ally & I on the Bike and the rest in the car. It was a good morning and the surf was just right for swimming and body boards. Nicci left for Cape Town that afternoon. A friend of hers from London had recently died in Bonnievale and she would be attending the Funeral during the week.
This week would be very full. I had a Cell Group leaders meeting on Monday. Tuesday and Wednesday I was with Johan Sadie and Thursday I did the King trip as well as Cell at the Brinks. Friday Ally had her Hip Hop concert rehearsal. On Saturday morning I did the 20 Kay run down to the beacon, then it was our sales month end. The afternoon I spent increasing the size of the Yellowwood tree hole. That was hard work as I first dug though the rocks and then had to struggle through the clay, scraping the dirt out with an old jam tin. I intend to really give this tree the very best chance of growing to its full potential. Later that afternoon we watched the Bulls and Cheetas Currie cup final which was, in the end, a draw. Ally had her concert that evening. It was a really entertaining show with a variety of acts. Sunday morning Ron and I did the Marine drive. It was good to be out there again on the bike. Ron was not as fit as he has been in the past and so he was a good companion for me.
I had to assist with the Level testing of the new Nippers at Hobie Beach that morning. At Hobie beach there was also a Swim and Run event. A two Kay swim, a one Kay swim or a five kay run. There was also a Surf Ski event going on at the same time. The Scuba divers were also out for a Swim and dive. Hobie beach just seemed a hive of activity on that beautiful Sunday morning. The nippers had to do a short run, a swim and then answer a number of questions on water safety and beach activity. I then collected Barbara & Ally form home. They had been to church. Ally had been on a Bus Treasure hunt with the Sunday school.
We went down to Nippers after collecting Amber and Ian. It was a really good session as we made the children swim out past the breakers and then they did the same with the body boards. We did this a number of times to help build their confidence and then did a bit of beach sport; running and flags.
The following weekend started with Ron & I going to a talk by Brian Downey. Brain was the person who started the franchise “spec savers”. It was an interesting talk and I was appointed to thank Brian. Spec savers is the main sponsor of the PE Ironman. Brian had also taken part and completed the event. On Saturday morning it was the Inter-provincial Biathlon. Both Ally and I are not top competitors but we enjoy being part of the whole thing. We had to rush Ally off to an Interschool Gala immediately after we had done the swim. The next morning (Sunday) there was another level test as well as a Biathle for Ally & I. From there we rushed off to the Nippers practice. It was again perfect conditions and Hannes & I were able to send the Nippers into the water with Malibu’s and Body Boards. We recorded times and were able to select teams for the Carnival the next weekend. I had to leave Nippers midway and rush off to the airport for the Morkels Annual Launch which was being held in Parys on the Vaal River.
This week Graeme Gilmour visited our Cell Group. Michael moved to Knysna to open a new branch of Furn City. Saturday morning I got back on the road and did the 20kay to the Beacon and back. That afternoon I bought the compost and finally planted the Yellow wood tree that I had bought. After the Saturday evening service our Neighbours, the Mussets and Tim joined us for a tree planting ceremony.
Nippers Carnival. Hosted by Sardinia Bay at Kings Beach. Sunday 29.10.2006.
The Under Ten Nippers had basically two training sessions leading up to the Sardinia Bay Carnival. The Coaches I tried to record some times and positions in practice sessions prior to the Carnival. We had little information to go on but decided to do the best we could with what we had. Once Hannes & I had selected the teams I emailed our selections to the various parents. As Sunday dawned I think that there were a number of concerned parents. The sea had been quite choppy on the Saturday due to an Easterly that had been blowing. The West wind was blowing and the morning started off overcast. Barbara & I even packed jackets for the day. But this was to be the most amazing morning.
Warren & Keith had brought the tent and all the boards and we soon set up for a day on the beach. This Sunday morning we had a full house of Nippers at Kings Beach for the Under Ten team. Hannes was not able to be there due to a Christian commitment. The Under Ten coaches and safety officers consisted of Roger Fraser, Donald Mc Gillivray, Peter Wilson, Alex Odendal, Gavin Rogers, Clint Meintjies, Patrick Billson, Craig van Greunen and a variety of other people doing all kinds of tasks from recording results, catching the finishers and aiding the Nippers in the sea. They had a busy morning with a Long Run; Beach Sprints, a Surf Swim; Run/Swim/Run; Body Boards; Malibu Boards; Flags and ended off with the Taplin Relay. Our Under Ten team had been Awesome in how they competed.
The Coaches were particularly impressed with the Nippers who competed out of their Comfort Zone. Nadia is by no means a front runner or swimmer but she was prepared to take part over her fears. The Burrell twins: Amber and Astrid competed in the full spirit of the Nippers Under Ten Team and will be competitive as soon as they have developed confidence and ability. Even Maurice who has a tough time with the Huge Waves that sometimes appear on the beaches was prepared to swim out and around the Buoys. I recall one time when Donald & I were waiting for the Nippers to swim out to us; we saw a wave that was breaking beyond the Yellow Buoys and must have been about 2 meters high. Matthew Hepburn and Kei Hodgson were willing competitors and added to the team effort. Flags is an event which really builds character. Every Nipper knows that elimination means having to sit out. Yet they still line up and risk the anguish of missing a flag. And those who do reach the final ten have to run up and down over and over in an attempt to grab the flag. This in itself is very tiring.
Of course we have a number of Nippers who excel. This is due to a combination of dedicated training and God given talent. I think that the spirit of the Under Tens came out when it came to the Taplin Relay. Christian was prepared to be in two teams, first on a Body Board and then on a Malibu. Everyone was quite exhausted by this time. The Nippers had been out in the water four times already. There were a number of big sets of waves coming through. The idea of another swim or board event was quite unattractive to many of the nippers.
Run Swim Body Board Malibu
Marie Maurice Matthew Hepburn Christian
Jamie Lee Caitlin Matthew Wilson Kim
Amber Ally Lara Connor
Tristan Christy Christian Matthew Mc Gillivray
These four teams did so well and surpassed all expectations from a first carnival. I think that all the parents and the coaches join me in congratulating the under ten Nippers in the spirit in which they took part in the Sardinia Bay Carnival. As it turned out this was to be the only team event of the day as time caught up with us and the Carnival was called to a close at 14.00 after the Taplin Relay. But by then everyone was sunburned and exhausted. I had brought water and constantly tried to stay hydrated but at the end of the day felt like a sandblasted fried chip.
Sardinia Bay can be congratulated for hosting and excellent Carnival. The day went off very well. I was happy when Anthony informed the parents of the Under Tens that they were expected to be in the water during the sea events and that they should assist where the Nipper was experiencing difficulty. It is a huge boost to the confidence of the Under Tens to know that there are lost of Dads and Safety Officers in the water to help them through the surf. Although this was an official carnival, Anthony controlled the event more like a practice session for future events. Barbara and I left before the announcement of the results. I am sure that we will soon hear of which teams won. I felt particularly proud of the Under Tens and how well they had played the game.
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