Please contact me should you require services of a qualified and registered Guide: Wildlife Reserves such as Addo Elephant Park Safari; City Tours; Township Tours; Hiking and Walking; Adventures in the Garden Route; Sight Seeing in Cape Town or Western Cape; Flower Tour; Ocean Safari; Transfers -- Airport; Safari; Intercity.
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| SUNSET Sunday; Second April 2017. The day of Ironman is coming to a close. But for many there are still a number of hours on the road to complete. |
Be the mountain where I run
The fountain I drink from
He is my song
Let the king of my heart
Be the shadow where I hide
The ransom for my life
He is my song
You are good, good, ô ô
Let the king of my heart
Be the wind inside my sails
The anchor in the waves
He is my song
Let the king of my heart
Be the fire inside my veins
The echo of my days
He is my song
You are good, good, ô ô
You're never gonna let
Never gonna let me down
APRIL 2017
1st April 2017
Ironman; Ironkids and Corporate Ironman
I take part in the Corporate Ironman on Saturday morning; Joshua and Daniel do the Ironkids in the afternoon; Sunday morning I spend the morning volunteering in T1 and the afternoon watching the Bike and Run events.
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| Coming to the end of the Run leg of Corp Ironman. |
This morning I have a Kragga Kamma / SAMREC tour. SAMREC is being taken over by SACOB -- Kerry is going to be in charge. We hope that this attraction can now become a bit more dynamic. I have 7 people and so hire Mark's Quantum. Glen and Cathy who were with me last month; Friends of theirs -- Sue and Ruth; Nic and Shey from Los Angeles; and Jose Manwuell from Spain who was the only one of this group who completed Ironman. He works at Securitas at the Harbour. This is his thirteenth Ironman.
We then do the Kragga Kamma where they go in with the Cheetah. We see the baby Rhino from up close. And then we see four of the Cheetah in the drive in enclosure. One of the rangers opens the Out Gate and then Terri blows the whistle to call them for meat at the restaurant.
I have a busy evening trying to sort out tours for the next day. I think that this is the storm before the calm. Not sure when it will slow down but right now we are all flat out.
Tuesday 4th.
I have an Addo Schotia Tour which is done by Schotia. I also have an Addo Tour for Afroadventures (Leigh) and he allows me to put another Four into the Quantum.
It is really hot and so we end the tour after lunch.
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| The Whitfields do an Ocean Safari on the Stampede and then a City Tour with me. |
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| Catherine; Cameron; Scott and Bruce on the Lighthouse Lookout ledge. Cameron is not happy with the lighthouse thing after climbing the one at Agulhas but overcame the apprehension to enjoy this. Also with us was Granny Evelyn. |
We do this tour with Mark's Vehicle and Luba driving. Enjoyed by all.
Later Barbara and I take Roman Deisenhoffer to Bungy. A crazy drive there and get to the bridge with five minutes to spare. He does the jump.
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| A wonderful group -- braved the possible rain (there was none) to run Target Kloof this morning. Reflector Belt Joan; Kelly; Mike; Maria; Stefany; Viv and Shiny Adrienne. |
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| Hardly time to cool down and Chris fetches me -- we meet Andrea at Kings Beach for a cycle. Terrible! I take phone calls for tours; Then have a flat; Then my back wheel comes loose; then the repaired flat is flat; Then I leave my glasses in Chris car. Actually loved the outing. |
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| Roman Deishoffer. Pro Triathlete from Germany. Staying at the Beachwalk for this year's Ironman. He was hoping for a better position but was a credible 17th overall. He lost his "Nutrition" on a Speedbump (probably at Schoenies) and this set him back. Here Roman is about to do his Bungy Jump at the Blauwkraans River Bridge. |
Friday. A Kragga Kamma Tour. With Safia who is in PE with her father (from the DRC). Safia has studied Cost Accounting and has just graduated -- Living in Jhb with her brother.
Keith at Church shows me where the Creche and Soup Kitchen are in Airport Valley. This is a terrible part of Walmer Township. Here it must be the very poorest of the poor who have to endure these terrible conditions. Michael and his wife Jessica run the soup Kitchen feeding children three times a week - Monday; Wednesday and Friday at 4pm. They are trying to set up a vegetable garden. Church members have assisted them in putting up a structure and fence. Keith plans to add burglar bars, a sink and power if possible. If any project needs contributions, this is one of them. Next to the soup kitchen is the crèche. Bjorn from the German group gave me some stationery which I will give to this crèche.
This afternoon I take Joshua and Daniel to the movies -- Smurfs. I park at the coffee shoppe for a lunch and too much coffee.
PICTURES OF NICKY; WERNER AND FAMILY IN ISRAEL.
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| Nicky and Werner about to leave Cape Town for Israel. |
Saturday morning. I pick up Maria; Viv; Lindi and Adel. A bit of a mix up as Steff fetches Adrienne. But all okay in the end. And Adrienne gives me some Banana Loaf. We seem to run a bit harder than usual. I am with Adel for most of the morning run and she is certainly no slouch. But we still battle to keep up with Andrea and Maria.
I rush home for a shower then back to Summerstrand to pick up Safia and her father Jean Baptiste. Take them to Heavenly Stables where Kelsey is the guide and takes them for a beach ride. I am back to Flight Centre to finalise Barbara's flight ticket. Get a call from Ally. She overslept and is late for her flight back home. So after much tears and negotiation with SAA I purchase another ticket and she is on a 15.00 flight.
Rush back to fetch the Horse Riding Group. Drop them at their Guest House.
Ally comes home for the weekend. A bit of a hiccup as she misses her flight but all sorted and she is home on Saturday afternoon.
Monday 10th. Miss my morning run. Lene; Joshua and Daniel come with me for a Lady's Slipper hike.
When you walk into the room
Everything's changes
Darkness starts to trembleAt the light that you bring
When you walk into the room
Every heart starts burning
Nothing matters more
Than just to sit down at your feet and worship you
Our father, we worship you
We love you
We'll never stop
We can't live without you
Jesus
We love you
Can't get enough
All this is for you
Jesus
Everything's for you, Lord
This is for you, Lord
When you walk into the room
Sickness starts to vanish
And every hopeless situation
Ceases to exist
When you walk into the room
The dead begin to rise
There's resurrection in all that you do
Tuesday 11th. Run ; Township Tour. Visiting Airport Valley for the first time with visitors. I had received a gift of some stationery from the German Tour Group and handed it over to Jessica and Michael (South Korea) who run the soup kitchen next to the Creche. They are presently busy with a Vegetable Garden. We then visit the Red Location where I am able to hand over the Cash Gift from the same group.
Later in the day I have Daniel (a teacher in Montevideo in Uruguay) and we visit Kragga Kamma where we have good sightings of all the known animals. Lichen -- An Ecological or Biological Indicator of the cleanliness of the air.
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| Jerome in the red jacket is Captain of the Yacht. Also here Lyn and Barbara and friends. |
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| Ron is releasing the Yacht from the mooring. |
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| Lester is trying to raise the main sail |
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Ron and Herman setting the sail for a strong wind |
Wednesday is an admin day for me. This afternoon Barbara and I go sailing and then we have supper with Carryn Duffield at the Yacht Club. The day was a really hot day. No wind, So we anticipated a calm sailing evening, As a last thought we took something warm but not waterproof nor really warm. There were 11 of us on the Yacht. I and two others had not sailed before. I sat up front watching and taking in the process of getting the rigging up. Barbara sat in the back where she would be useful pulling ropes to tighten or loosen the sails.
We realised that the wind was going to start blowing so Ron put up the storm sail in the front. Jerome eases the boat out of the Harbour under Diesel Power. As we leave the breakwater I see that the waves are a lot bigger than we first thought. And we head towards the Boardwalk. I try to find a position where I am out of the way but remain safe. Soon we are feeling the real power of the wind. And getting splashed.
At last we turn around. Ron and others seem to know how to handle themselves. By now we are pretty much saturated from head to toe. The wind gusts strongly and every now and again we are pushed right down towards the water. I try to lean against the wind but my weight will have little influence. Jerome is in control and steadies the boat each time.
Then we reach the Easterly Breakwater and Jerome carries on for quite a while. I keep on thinking "when will we turn back into the harbour?". He attempts a couple of times but each time a strong gust pushes the sails out again. Finally after a few attempts he is able to head towards the Harbour. And as we reach the wall of the Container Berth, Ron and Derrick pull down the front sail as we hover in the lea of the wall. Then we are in the Harbour but still the wind batters us around.
Jerome sails in and onto the west side of the Chokka Boats where they release and secure the Main Sail. And then we are under diesel power again. And finally dock back onto the Pier.
We have to offer lame excuses and rush off to join the Mosaic Group who are waiting for us for supper.
We explain that we are saturated and will have to rush home to change. And it is about 7.45pm when we finally sit down for Supper
This afternoon Werner creates a Scavenger Hunt for the children. He does elaborate clue setting which turns out to be a huge hit with everyone including parents. The housesitter, Stefan, also brings a big bunch of Easter Eggs so the children end up with enormous stashes of chocolate. Gabriel and Sandra are the neighbours and they do the Braai-ing. And make a big Pumpkin Bake. Like pudding as someone says.
Sunday we drive home after dropping Ally in Stellenbosch.
Monday -- I have an Addo Tour with Gary, Charmaine and Sienna Australians travelling on the Queen Elizabeth. This goes well. Barbara has a transfer to Amakhala and then an Addo Transfer for Sheila Kauffman also of the ship.
All goes well until my Landrover breaks down. Barbara fetches the clients. Tony stops to help and tows me out of Addo. Then Marius of Scorpion Towing tows me back to PE.
Tuesday. Running with Adrienne; Anne; Steff and Maria. I try to sort out the Landrover; visit car dealers; do the recycle; Shopping; Water and visit Gerald. Make some Rusks and Crunchies for Joshua Market day. Supper of Ceasar Salad. Made by Josh and Daniel.
Wednesday 19th. Running this morning with Chris. He had a tough Two Oceans 21k. Cramps and pain for the last 8k of the event. Also on the road this morning were Sjani, Gaye, Steff, Lindi, Adrienne and Liesl. I use my phone to measure my runs. It is not 100% accurate but gives me a good idea of the distance each day. This month the runs that I have measured are; 8k; 7k; 5k; 24k cycle; 11k; 8k; 21k Oceans; 8k and 9k this morning. 78k running. Last month was about 130k running.
Thursday 20th. Morning running with the group. Adrienne; Sjani; Mike and I are at the back. Cycle with Chris and Stefany while Elmarie goes running. Elmarie returns from a Tough but ultimately successful Two Oceans 56kay run. I receive a call for a 2 hour City Tour with Lovemore and Lydia from Zimbabwe who are here for their daughter graduation in Grahamstown.
Friday Morning 21st. I now receive the Herald E Newspaper in the mornings. This is a free trial for 9 months as I cycled the Herald Cycle Tour. But a bit of a disaster as it makes me lazy to lay in bed reading.
Saturday 22nd.
Run from Hobie beach in the morning.
Pick up Maria and Adel ... Meet up with the group and we run our normal Beach Front, Walmer Boulevard, Strandfontein and 5th Ave route of about 10k. Pat joins us with Coffee. What a treat.
I then pick up my two guests Mintu and Vaibhav who are in SA for Tata Power company with wind turbines. Addo and Kragga Kamma combo. In Addo we see three lions just before exiting.
Sunday. Pick up Alice in Addo. She is visiting her cousin, Analisa in Grahamstown. They were going to do a Garden Route but had to change plans when Analisa injured herself. We drive to Jeffreys and stop for coffee.
Then on to TsiTsikamma Falls zip lining. From there to Storms River bridge for a Mug and Bean sandwich. Then to the River mouth where we walk to the swing bridges but Alice is not up for the huge climb back to the walkway so we stop short of walking down to the bridges.
Then on to the Bungy and finally to Plett Woolworths for some supper supplies. Alice stays at Ann Thomas and I stay in the Plett Flat.
Monday 24th. Still in Plett. I collect Alice from Ann Thomas and we start the day at the Elephant sanctuary. For me this is a wonderful experience. I see Elephant so often. But being close up and being able to interact with these great animals was a real treat.
From here we visit Jukani. A wild cat reserve. Lion; Tiger; Leopard; Cheetah; Puma; Rooicat; and other predators are all on show.
We continue on to Knysna where we take the ferry across to the heads. We go up on the tractore and then walk back along the pathways. This too is a highlight of the day.
Meanwhile in other parts of the world.
- Cathy has an afternoon picnic in Aukland New Zealand.
- Jacqui has built herself an additional room for art and play.
- Lene purchased a Kia Sedan and is delighted to be mobile again.
- Joshua is in Grade 7 at Clarendon and has a Market Day
- A lioness in Addo has three cubs
- Zara is off for a School Outing and Camp out.
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| Alice enjoying the morning breakfast with the Ring Tailed Lemurs |
Tuesday 25th. Pick up Alice at 9am from Ann Thomas. Start the day with a Monkeyland Tour. Then off to Kragga Kamma before dropping Alice back at the farm where she is staying with family near to Grahamstown.
Wednesday -- time off to check up on the Landrover which has been with Savoy motors for over a week. Then shopping for a 8 to 10 seater vehicle. Probably end up with either a Hyundai H1 or a Combi.
Do the recycling and then visit Ron.
Thursday 27th is Freedom Day (Elections of April 1994) in South Africa.
Start the day with a Run at Crossways from the Bartons house. I fetch Adrienne and Maria follows us. We meet at the Bartons. Adrienne; Maria; Xavi and Xavier Jnr; Ronel and Kobus go off at 9am. We run the Cycle Route through the forest and then under the N2. Here the rest of the group pass us. Back under the N2 and up to the Crossways shop where Andrew is waiting with Coke. We regroup and then the slow group goes off first again. After another 2k Andrew is waiting for us. We then do a short loop and then back to the Bartons. By now it is cooking and the sweat is pouring down my face. We run about 9k. The rest of the group run 14k.
I have a shower and then breakfast is brought to us by the shop. We have breakfast with the whole group before Barbara and I leave.
Then Rugby at Grey. It is a two day festival of Rugby with teams from the Eastern Cape as well as Johannesburg. I watch three games... Queens and St Johns and then Daniel Pienaar vs Dale. St Johns and Dale are winners. Earlier Pearson had beaten St Davids.
The last game of the day is Grey Vs Jeppe which is a really tough game for both teams. Kicking is not the best and could have meant the difference in the final score line. As it turned out both teams scored three times in the second half and Grey were winners 36.- 22.
Friday morning I do my first tour for Mosaic's new owners -- Sean and Sarah. It is an Addo with James and Carmella from Chile. We do a three hour in Addo and then move to Kragga Kamma for the rest of the afternoon. They have a great time and see more than they expected.
Also at the run this morning -- Ken Nosworthy; Steve lankaster; Therese Boulle from Schoenamakerskop; Tania Theil; Bernd and Catherine; Odette and Johan; Dee and husband ex Nippers; Grant Marshbank with his wife who is the runner this morning. Also here are a whole group of cyclists having breakfast.
Saturday Start the morning with a MPRG run of about 8kay. Slow with Adrienne; Sjani; Lindi; Chris; Liesl; Maria. Lene and family leave for their camping weekend in the Baviaans. Then Adrienne picks me up -- She is working at the Parkrun at Grassroof.
I run 32mins. The course has improved since I last ran. There are wood chips to settle the track. I still find a handful of thorns in my shoes after the run. A good workout on this warm morning.
| Sardinia Bay parkrun results for event #7. Your time was 00:32:32. |
| Congratulations on completing your 52nd parkrun and your 1st at Sardinia Bay parkrun today. You finished in 31st place and were the 28th male out of a field of 199 parkrunners and you came 3rd in your age category VM65-69. Take a look at this week's full set of results on our website. Well done on your first run. We have set this as your PB. |
Then rugby at Grey. This is the last day of the festival. Pearson had won their first match on Thursday but lost this afternoon.
Grey play the last game of the afternoon and it turns out to be a bit of a let down as they whitewash Parktown 52-0. I sit with Gaye; Diane; Liesl; Chris; Liesl; Chris whose son Andrew is playing left wing; Xavier and Maria seem to be enjoying being at rugby.
Sunday. Barbara and I are home alone. Lene has taken her family to Baviaanskloof for a camping weekend. So we sleep late.
I cycle the Golf Course track three times around. Barbara goes off to feed horses.
Meanwhile in New Zealand it is Blakes first swimming lesson and in Israel Annabell's birthday. In Cape Town Aaron and Christian have fun together. Matthew Calitz rides and Allan Verryne cycles to the Might Men in Middleburg.
