January 2018
Peter Giddy Guided Tours
peter.giddy@gmail.com
+27 82 550 3174
Addo Elephant Park and other wildlife reserves
Shore Excursions
City; Township; Cultural and Historical Tours
Garden Route
Airport and Hotel Transfers
Adventure activities like Sandboarding; River Canoe Trail, Ocean Safari; Quad Biking.
Oh praise the name of the lord our God;
Oh praise his name for evermore
For endless days we will sing your praise
Oh lord oh lord our God
Monday 1st January 2018
An Addo Tour with Don ........ And Waisi -- staying at Jikeleza from the UK. A windy and chilly day for most but we did see Lions and good sightings of Elephant.
Tuesday 2nd.
I meet Yen, Waisin and her parents at the Dockside where the Silver Spirit is berthed. Yen and Waisin live and work in Australia while her parents are in Singapore.
We have a really good outing -- seeing Buffalo; Elephant and Lions within the first hour. They continue their journey at sea for another three days before returning home and to work.
Thursday. Run Target Kloof. Manage to do the Comrades Shuffle all the way up on both sides. Then Chris picks me up and we go for a cycle along the promenade. At 5th ave I have a puncture. We fix and continue then at the entrance to Cape Recife we see a chap, Zuko, struggling so we stop. And I have a second puncture. So push back while Chris cycles back to his car. Then I see that Zuko is having ongoing trouble so he gets a lift to his home with us. Zuko is a five times Ironman and Half IM as well as 51/50.
Later I work through my list of chores which seems to grow by the minute. I take the wheels in to be sorted -- I cannot afford to have punctures like that. Dole works out successful in the end.
Friday 5th. I swim with Megan and Chantele. 1400m today.
We did this last year and it worked well so this evening was again a successful little get together of some friends. Not everyone could be there but that is the nature of this time of year.
Saturday morning. I was supposed to run with Adrienne at 6 but only managed to wake up at 6.30 and so did the Grassroof Parkrun at 8am. It was a warm morning but I was determined to work off some of the supper and to try harder.
| Sardinia Bay parkrun results for event #41. Your time was 00:33:59. |
| Congratulations on completing your 58th parkrun and your 6th at Sardinia Bay parkrun today. You finished in 71st place and were the 54th male out of a field of 349 parkrunners and you came 1st in your age category VM65-69. Take a look at this week's full set of results on our website. Your PB at Sardinia Bay parkrun remains 00:32:32. Also at the Parkrun today -- Beth; Robyn and Shane; Tony & Sandra Boardman; Peter Allnut and Adrienne Wilson; Ivor and TIna. |
I meet up with Pauline and Bruce; Georgie and Chris Darke who now live in the UK. and Aiden Wilson who do their own run and then have breakfast at Grassroof.
This afternoon I take Josh and Daniel the beach where they fool around in the waves -- I do a swim to the Pipe and back. Going out against the current was slow but coming back unbelievably fast with the waves. Meet up with some of the Summies Lifeguards on Duty. Jason; Philip; Tod; Sjani who is studying in the UK and Wendy. Wendy tells me how Varrin is battling.
Rocky and Salli are there and I borrow their supping board. It is an inflatable and is not firm enough to stand on (That is my excuse anyway).
Also Suzanne Albeit 49 Admiralty and Bruno at Hippo
I meet them at 8am at the dockside and then find out that they must be back on board ship by 12.30 - 13.00. So unfortunately we have to do a bit of a rushed tour but they take it in good spirit and we end up with a cheerful bunch and good sightings.
I take the Combi in for Service and then have an Addo Safari with Mike and Ursula who are staying at Millbury with Colleen and Dennis.
Tuesday morning I run to Westview where I meet up with Adrienne and her group for our run / walk.
I again have a list of chores to do as well as a Kragga Kamma tour.
Wednesday 10th. Start the morning with a swim -- Megan and I are joined by Chantale. Megan is swimming about 2.5km while I managed 2km. I battle the first 100m then settle into a steady pace and then between 1000 to 1200m I start to tire and have to force myself to finish the full 2km.
Cruise Liner in PE but I am not taking people from this ship. I have Isabela and Vito who made reservations a while ago and Gunnar & Eva from Sweden. A hot dusty day in Addo but still good sightings ending in a huge herd of Elephant at the Main Camp water hole.
Cathy having fun with Blake
Thursday 11th. Isabela and Vito join me for a Kragga Kamma Safari. Today we are fortunate and we see all the animals (except for the rhino) close to the car. Cheetah so close you could touch them. Giraffe towering over us. Another successful day with Wildlife.
Friday... Swimming in the Newton Park Swimming pool with Megan. This week I have swum 2kay X three times. Megan is usually about 500m ahead of me. So we decide to enter the Ocean Series on Sunday.
Saturday... I fetch Ronel and Elmarie and we drive to Bluewater bay for the 15k... I have done this event many times but today was to be an eye opener for me. I battled to keep going. My running training has been really slack over the past number of months. I have been walking / Jogging but no real hard, distance running. Many of the people who I am normally ahead of pass me. My legs are heavy and tired. So ..... I am determined to start afresh and to lose some weight. My inner thighs are chafed and sore.
2016 I ran 1.34
2017 I ran 1.28
2018 I ran 1.40.... Almost a minute a kay slower.
Sunday... Ocean Series Swim. Daniel is placed second in the one km run. Megan and I swim the 1km. Perfect conditions. Clear seas, Almost windless, It is my first Ocean Series swim in many years. And I love every minute. The feeling of the cool water as we swim out to the first buoy. I tend to pull to the left and so have to continually check my position and make a deliberate effort to pull to the right. Its a long way out to the first buoy and then we turn left towards the 6pack. Also a long distance but with the prevailing currents. Then around the second Buoy and turn left again towards the beach. This is the shortest leg and I am soon making my way back to the Pier. It is a bit of a pull against the current but it is not long before I am rounding the Pier and heading to Hobie Beach. Megan, Lene and boys are there. I am feeling quite elated with the swim. My legs were a bit stiff from yesterday's 15km race.
At the swim this morning -- Steve and Bev; Craig and Sharon; Dalen and Ursula; Tony Maine; David Hyam; Jaques (Megans friend); Warren and Lee;
After the swim I go to Summerstrand to buy a cossie. I meet Jo and Rob who tell me that I introduced them to Nippers three years ago. They are now clearly committed Nipper Parents.
Ally and I attend the Oxygen Church this evening. Unfortunately they too have a long sermon which tends to become lost in both repetition and direction. The pastor started off well but continued on too long and so lost me.
Swimming ---
On 16th October Megan joined the walk / run group around Linkside. She joined us a couple of times but realised that this was not her best option so she suggested we start swimming again as we had done some time ago.
On 10th November we swam our first 1 km at the Newton Park Swimming Pool. On that day I also took delivery of the VW Microbus.
We continued swimming with breaks in December due to travel and Holidays. On one particular day in early December Liesl joined us and after her swim suggested we enter the River Mile in February.
We started swimming again in January and in the second week we were swimming 2km per day for three days in a row. And then Megan suggested we enter the Ocean Series.
So on Sunday 14th Jan we swim our first Ocean Series One Km.
What an adventure the swimming turned out to be over the past 2 - 3 months.
Monday 15th. Swimming with Megan. I manage 1300m and am not highly motivated to press on. Tired legs and a heavy weekend.
Addo with Jasper from Denmark.
Tuesday. This morning I run with Stef; Liesl; Elmarie and Ronel. Later I move the Combi and reverse the boot door into the wall. DOFF!
Daniel and I cycle the golf course for the first time in many months.
Wednesday... I wait at the Silver Spirit to see if I can get a tour and Frans & Martha approach me so I do an Addo with them.
Thursday -- Morning run to 9th ave and up and down Target Kloof. I take my Combi for the boot repairs.
Then I have an Addo with Cristin; Nadine and Serena. Too hot to really enjoy the day but we have great sightings of Elephant.
This evening we have a braai with Nicky; Werner; Ron; Lyn and Cristin.
Nicky and Werner drove to PE via Mossel Bay, George, Knysna and Plett as they have Fouriesburg Pamphlets to hand out.
Friday 19th and Saturday 20th.
I have some Dole work that occupies my day. Collect the Combi from the panel beaters; Swim with Megan in the morning; Run the 10kay from Moffet -- I pick up Andrea who I have not seen for a couple of months. They have just returned from a Skiing holiday. Meet up with Kelly who runs with Andrea. I cannot keep up so I run on my own but also with Rob Button, Lindsay Brent (Quin)
The run starts at the William Moffet Shopping center. There are some guidelines as to where to start. I like to start in front if I can.
So off we go across Moffet and into Charlo. Up the hills to the top of Lovemore Heights and then down Melsetter. We wind our way through the suburbs and then back to Moffet. A tough climb to start and I manage a slow jog up the hill and run non stop the whole way. But slow. I finish the last few kays with Lindsay Brent (Quin) who is an ex Victoria Park and Walmer Methodist girl.
Back home -- Nicky leaves for Cape Town and I have a lazy morning.
94 74 3396 LYNNE WOODS CRUSADE F 36 35-39F 0.52.47
152 540 4649 CINDY MILLER ASPEN F 37 35-39F 0.56.53
158 526 1097 MATI JACK ACH M 66 65-69M 0.57.35
168 339 656 ANDREA DYER ASPEN F 39 35-39F 0.58.05
169 81 648 KELLY HOLMES ASPEN F 40 40-44F 0.58.05
173 382 634 JO-ANNE FORSON ASPEN F 30 SF 0.58.16
198 276 98 AMANDA WOLMARANS INFINITY F 59 55-59F 0.59.25
215 422 1110 KATIE MORRIS ACH F 34 SF 1.00.03
254 162 4862 LINZAY QUIN TEMP F 28 SF 1.02.22
255 338 1116 PETER GIDDY ACH M 67 65-69M 1.02.23
313 238 1074 BEVERLEY BARENDS ACH F 56 55-59F 1.05.49
321 236 1185 CAROL-ANNE CASH ACH F 47 45-49F 1.06.16
322 237 1140 KATIE MARTIN ACH F 29 SF 1.06.16
From the back
Carol Anne needs articles for her newsletter. So here is some trivial personal stuff from me.
I recently read the article about the Big Tree Runs. It was interesting to see that the slow runners, who run at 5.30 per km, start at 4.45am. I thought to myself that if I was to run with this group, at my pace, I would have to start the previous evening. By the way; a 6 min a kay runner at Comrades could earn a Bill Rowan and probably be in the top 10% of finishers.
Last week had been a bit of an eye opener for me as I battled with the Bluewater Bay 15k. Not just the final climb up Tippers; but the whole 100 minutes it took me to complete this event. After the event I determined that I would have to do something about my fitness.
First of all lose some weight. So here is my resolution -- No Alcohol for two months and generally cut back on sugars and carbohydrates. And the goal is to lose 5kg within the two months. So I weigh myself for the first time in a long time = 74kg.
Secondly -- Train more than my two or three walk / jogging 5km a week. I try to also swim a couple of kays, 3 times a week.
Now at the end of my first week of no alcohol and sensible eating -- I swim the Ocean Series 1km; Swim three times during the week; I have run 6km, non stop, on two occasions this week and I run the Galaxy 10k (also no walking) in just over an hour. And, Saturday morning, I weigh myself again = 75.5kg. So now the goal is to lose 6.5kg.
So now what? I will just have to work harder. My resolve remains despite the disappointment of the first week.
Sunday 21st.
I start the morning with a Cycle. It is my first time to ride the road bike in many months. I have had new Cleats fitted and I knew that I must try them out. And nervous to do so except near to grass. So I drive to Grassroof where I try but my cleats don't fit and I cant extract quickly. I find someone who looks like he knows about bikes and he shows me how to loosed the fitting on the bike. So I have a good ride back up to Boundary Road. Down to Grassroof and to the end of the Yellow Lines and back to Grassroof. I feel a lot better after this cycle. I just have to do this a couple more times this week.
I have a City Tour with Brian and Sonja from England who have holidayed in SA for the past 15 years during their winter.
Meanwhile in NZ -- Barbara leaves for Doha and then arrives in CT on Monday.
Monday 22nd Morning. Swim with Chantale and Megan. Ally to Drivers Licence for lost licence. Nissan to garage for repairs. I take my bike out to Grassroof for a 20km Cycle. This evening I attend the Small Groups meeting. Barbara arrives home from NZ
Tuesday. I run with Mike; Adrienne; Chris; Melissa; Liesl; Kelly and Andrea. Later I have a Kragga Kamma; City / Township Tour with Alessandro
Wednesday morning -- Swim 1600 with Megan; Ronel and Chantalay. I have a Homleigh Farms morning with Sarah and Gesine who are staff members of the Europa and three children.... Anabella; Maria and Hugo
Thursday -- Target Kloof. I maintain my slow jog all the way up and back again. With us this morning are Adrienne; Chris; Anton; Kelly; Andrea; Liesl; Melissa; Ingrid; Mike; Ingrid. With the faster group are Mike; John; Merissa; Joan; Johan; Ingrid and others.
Addo tour with Anne Cremers. Father is a teacher; cyclist and ex runner. Mother social worker and she is a tutor of Law (International and European) at a university. Also a runner is training to run a 21k in Madrid on 8th April. So we have a kind of challenge as I will be running Oceans 21 the previous Saturday and have asked her to send me a message with her results once she has completed her first ever 21kay.
Fetch Barbara from Airport. She and Ally had driven to CT on Wednesday and then checked in at Lydia Residence in Stellenbosch today. Ally phones to say that Lauren (daughter of Bobby) Stevenson is her neighbour in Lydia Residence.
Friday morning swimming group with Liesl; Ronel and Adrienne. I am now swimming 1600m as part of training for the River Mile in February.
Friday 26th. Swimming with Adrienne (For the first time this season); Liesl and Megan.
Addo Tour with Sira and Fabienne who are staying in Lungile for the night. They are from Switzerland where they are studying Medicine.
This evening Barbara and I are joined by Chris and Elmarie for supper at Grassroof. I pick up Bobby and Brenda so we are six for supper.
Both Barbara and I are unimpressed with the dinner. The others all have Pork Cheek -- They seem satisfied but there are really no vegetables with their meal. I have Venison with roast potato ... The venison is chewy and the potato crust is so tough it is not really edible. Barbara and I share her vegetarian meal which is okay but nothing special.
So we find the meal to be expensive and unimpressive.
Also at Grassroof this evening we meet up with Kobus and Carol and Tracey and Mark.
Saturday morning -- No water and no electricity when I wake up. I jog down to Grey and find no other runners. So this morning is a bit of a wash out for me.
Afternoon I have an Addo Hop On with Passengers from the Boudicca
Sunday 28th. I am up early and drive to Grassroof where I cycle for an hour on the Yellow Lines. Up to Boundary road and then down to the end of the Yellow Lines. I ride for a while with Sean Lloyd who is with his son Bryce. Sean is a KB lifeguard and a swim coach from his home in 7th ave Walmer.
I have an Addo Tour with a group of five today. We are fortunate that it has rained a bit in the past few days so the dust is not as bad as on other occasions. Our sightings are excellent and they seem delighted with the outing.
Monday 29th. I start the morning with a 1600m swim at Newton Park with Megan.
Queen Mary in Port Elizabeth. I have two couples who contacted me through Trip Advisor and on the internet. Mary Pat -- A Scotswoman and her friend Lana. Mary Pat lives in Cape Town and runs a BnB Maroela. Lana lives in Boston Masachusetts.
Alan and Rosalie live in South West England and know some people with the surname Giddy.
Overall a great day which ends with a bit of a City Tour and some shopping.
Tuesday -- I start the day with a 7k run with Mike; Chris and Tammy joins us for the first time.
Barbara and I leave for Cape Town where we have a Business Meeting with Tourism that Cares in Durbanville. We stay over with Nicky. We are able to visit the BLS to apply for Spanish Visas at the same time.
We take 100l of water to Nicky as they are in drought Conditions and have no water to spare. Nicky is becoming quite innovative with cleaning of the pool and with washing etc as their water is now restricted.
Wednesday 31st
I have a business meeting with Tourism that Cares -- Reynard to discuss the way forward and potential tours in 2018. I also meet the staff who direct work to me.
We manage to fit in a visit to the BLS office which does the Schengen Visa applications.
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