ADDO TRAIL RUN KIRKWOOD TO ADDO AND ZUURBERG MAY 2010

May 2010

Addo 25 mile and 50 mile trail runs

For us it turned out to be an Addo 52kay trail run

A few months ago Andrew Barton had told us about a trail run that he had done last year. As far as I can remember, Gerald said that he would be doing the 25Miler while Andrew was planning to do the 50miler. A number of us took up the challenge and Ronel entered the 50 with Andrew. Adrienne, Pat and I thought Gerald entered the 25. I was mistaken and Gerald had entered the 50. So now it would be Pat, Adrienne and myself running the 25 together.

I have done a few trail runs before but I think that I had forgotten quite how difficult a trail run is. I took my training lightly. I had been very busy in the month prior to this run and had not done any long distance running at all. In the week of the Run I did one Moffat 15kay with the backpack but apart from that I did occasional morning runs which are barely 10kays.

The organisers of this event are Extreme Marathons. This is a family of Nadia and Etienne from Mossel Bay. Nadia sent out a whole pack of information emails and we were able to check the website for any other information we required. Unfortunately no amount of reading can prepare you for an event of this nature. A few days before the run we received an email to say that the start had changed from in the village of Kirkwood to a venue just outside of Kirkwood. This added about 4kays to the distance.

I had asked Adrienne to collect my Number as they were all going to drive through on Friday. Registration was at the Addo National Park main camp. I prepared myself with my backpack and a few essentials. I also took a small waterproof bag that Nicci and Stefan had given me. I would use this to carry my phone. We had workmen in our house doing the flooring and our house was a mess but I managed to get a good night's rest and woke up refreshed at 03.30am on Saturday morning. I had put all of my kit out the night before and by just after 04.00am I was on the road to Kirkwood. I took Barbara's Corsa Bakkie as Michael would be collecting us from Zuurberg in my car.

The weather had been predicted to be overcast but no rain. I saw that there had been light showers the night before but as I drove towards Uitenhage I encountered heavy rain showers. I was not prepared with a waterproof top for rain but there was nothing that I could do now so pressed on. The drive to Kirkwood took me about an hour and 20 minutes. The start was at a ranch called Lookout. As you reach the T-Junction from the Uitenhage-Graff Reinette road you make an immediate left and Lookout is on your left. I drove up a dirt road for a few hundred meters and found the Lapa where there were a number of cars.

They marked my name as present and I was able to use the toilet and then was ready to start. Adrienne, Pat, Gerald, Andrew, Ronel were all there. I also saw Shane Norris who I gave my finish tog bag to for his vehicle to take to the end. I looked for Chris Gedye but could not find him. Also Christophe Opperman and Sharon Jessop were on the list of entrants but I new saw them at all. Trevor Hawkins and friend Daniel Melin were there. This would be their second time doing this event.

Adrienne put her tog bag in the Bakkie. There was a photo taking session under the start banner. Etienne, the organiser gave us some final instructions and we left at about 06.15 down the dirt road to the main road to Kirkwood. Many of the runners had head lamps. We jogged along this road and past the outskirts of the village. Within minutes it was light. I could see that Andrew was taking strain. He told me that he had been suffering an Achilles injury.

Robin Fourie ran past. I immediately thought that he must have taken Chris Darke's entry as Chris was injured with a stress fracture and was out of running. We jogged out of the village and past the local township area. It was a colourful scene with the locals just waking up to brush teeth and watch the runners passing by. Camera's (and phone camera's) were taken out and within the first hour we were taking pictures galore. Michelle Elfick and Ronel passed us. They were doing the 50 and we would not see them again. Gerald caught us up to tell us that Andrew had pulled out injured.

At about five kays, just as we entered the game park, we came to a fork. The 25 Mile participants took the right fork and Gerald took the left fork. He was running with a man who he had met but we were all worried about him running on his own. The 50milers would now run an extra 13kay loop.

Shortly into the run we came across streams and large pools of water. Each time we would step gingerly across trying to avoid getting our takkies wet. We had met up with Susan Jurgens from Mpumalanga. Her husband (Flip)was doing the 50. It seems that he is a bit of a trail running freak. He has twice won the Augrabies trail run and has even run the Desert Run in America where you have to run 180kays in 40 hours carrying everything yourself to be awarded a belt buckle. Susan told us that he would be taking it easy today. Susan told us that Flip is a vet who consults for chicken farms in the Mpumalanga and the Free State area's.

Once we were in the Addo Park the rest of the run was on dirt tracks. Mainly Jeep tracks where we were able to run in the road. There were many sections where it was uncomfortable to run and we would walk these sections. We also walked every up hill. It did not seem long in to the run when we came to the first checkpoint. They had a real spread for us including potato, banana, tea, coffee, water and energy mix, Pepsi and sweets. I met up with Robin Fouries wife, Ronwyn. She confirmed that Robin had taken Chris Darke's number.

The people who are prepared to man these check point / refreshment tables are all volunteers and it is amazing to see how cheerful and willing they are. At each table we would be listed as arriving and as leaving. This is essential in this type of event as it is possible for an athlete to become lost or disoriented.

We pressed on and with the first of the 50milers passing us we realised what it is to be really fit. He came charging past with just a water bottle in his hand. As we were negotiating one of the water obstacles another of the 50's came past us. He did not bother with trying to keep his feet dry and splashed through the pool. So at the next pool I decided to follow suite and then the whole group of us were almost knee deep in water.

As it turned out this did not make any difference to our feet. Later in the run I saw that all three of the girls in our group changed socks. I had only one pair but in any event the socks and shoes seemed to dry out pretty quickly.

We came to the second check point. Again there was a real spread. At each table I would take in as much as I could. Potato and banana, Pepsi, fill the bladder in my backpack and store some sweets for the road. At this point I finally met Nadia the organiser. She was running the 25 as well and would try for a good time. We never saw here again and presumed that she had missed her goal of 8.30hours.

Shortly after this table we started the really big hill. It took us about an hour to reach the top. It was a real slog up a steep incline and a never ending hill that every time you think that you are at the top there is more hill ahead. It was on this climb that I met up with Robyn Reid from George. She was with her parents who she told me were a little further back. Robyn would walk the entire distance. We next saw Robyn at the finish. She was far ahead of us and must have walked at a really good steady pace. Susan had showed us the mountain that we would have to climb. It had looked ominous. The real thing was as tough as any climb could be.

Pat was a little way behind us but we had agreed to stick together and we would wait for her when she got too far behind. We tried to jog as often as possible but these would be for short distances before we would reach another uphill. Many of the 50milers were passing us. We met up with a couple from Johannesburg. They too were doing the 50kay; Graham and Jennifer Morrison who we would pass and then they would pass us for most of the day.

Finally at the top of the hill we reached the third checkpoint. I seemed to recognise one of the ladies there. It turned out to be Rufka who is at the Dresden Coffee shop in Rink street. I saw Rufka and her husband a few weeks later and he told me that their Landrover was the only vehicle that was able to climb the steep hill on the muddy roads. He was planning to volunteer for the Augrabies seconding.

We waited for Pat who was only minutes behind us. Here at last we were able to make and receive phone calls. Adrienne has entrusted carrying of her phone/camera to me as I had this really handy water proof sling pouch that Nicci & Stefan had given me for a birthday. Adrienne would take and MMS photos to her family the whole day. This check point was about the half way mark in distance. At this stage I thought we were in good time for about a 8 to 9 hour time. I phoned Michael to let him know of our progress. Michael would drive through from PE to Zuurberg to fetch us later.

At the top of the escarpment I was able to phone Nicci to find out how their morning had gone. Stefan and Nicci were at Wellington where they were taking part in the Safari Dried Fruit 21kay. Stefan had this wish to complete a half marathon in under 2 hours. Nicci had run the 5kay in 38 minutes and told me that she had watched as Stefan completed his 21 in 2hours and 10 seconds. It was quite a milestone for him and they were both elated with the results.

From here we would be able to do quite a bit of jogging. This is the best part of the run. You are able to see vast valleys and hills on both sides of the hills and necks that you run past. At each turn there is another breathtaking view to admire. Many photo's were taken. At one stage I feel the urge to see if the :"Kranse Antwoord Gee" so I give a wild and loud shout and true enough the hills echo to my call. It was good to have Susan with us as she was doing her second 25miler and remembered various features and distances. We walked / ran this section of the event with relative ease. More and more of the 50milers would pass us.

We reached what we thought would be the very highest point: there was a beacon located here. The two walking ladies passed us. They looked like they were on a very serious attempt to do well. A number of runners and walkers had "Ski Sticks' to assist them. I once tried hiking with a stick but found it to be a burden and have never walked with a hiking stick again. The Walkers would stride out with arms pumping. Pat looked at her GPS to tell us that 5.15hours had passed and that we were at 35kays. In our calculations this meant about 15kays to go. Just then Etienne came past in his four wheeler and I asked him how much further to go. He told me that it was 17kays from the next checkpoint which was about 2kays ahead.

This was a bit of a blow and we now calculated that the total distance was going to be closer to 52kays. We reached the next check point, registered our numbers, had plenty to eat again and pressed on. Susan had explained that it would not be long after this point that we would begin a serious descent. At this stage we were still high up on the ridge looking down into deep valleys and kranses.

The weather had been really kind to us. At no stage was it so hot that we were in trouble. Most of the day the sky was overcast with cloud cover. Once or twice a cool breeze had blown from the north but we were never cold nor were we over heating. The only time that I had felt the heat was when we were ascending the first steep climb and water was dripping off my face.

Susan showed us a look out point were we could see down to the river and valley below. We had not seen any game. I kept on wondering if we would come across any Elephant or Rhino. Susan assured us that they were enclosed behind the fence that we were running along. That was until we reached an open gate to this so called enclosure. As we were descending some of the really steep drops one of the 50milers came past. He was carrying two hiking sticks which he used to assist himself up hill.

At one point, on a steepish downhill, I got excited and tried to jog, but with tired legs, I miscalculated and tripped. I was lucky that all that was really hurt was my ego. I had small scratches on my knee which stung for a while but this was a solid reminder to behave myself. Finally we reached what appeared to be the bottom of the valley. There was a kind of farm with cattle and grassy area. I suppose that the Game Park and the local people come to some kind of arrangement when it comes to farming in a nature reserve.

We came to the last of the check points. This was down in the valley and the people manning this table had camped out for the night. There was a toilet there which the girls found to be a real relief. There must have been 5 or six tents where whole families had camped in this remote valley with no reception, limited water supply and no electricity. They told me that the night had been mild but in previous years they had been really cold in the night. Waiting for Pat gave us a short time to recover.

The people at the final refreshment station told us that the remaining distance was just 8kays. It was familiar territory for me as this valley is the same route as the Zuurberg mountain run that Achilles (Bob Stedman)hosts. I have not run the race for some years but have a permanent number due to having completed 10 of them. We climbed over the turnstile and from here it would be a single lane pathway. Previously we had been running along jeep tracks. Shortly after the turnstile we came to the large pool. I had anticipated this and had worn my bathing costume.

I took off my running stuff and had a short but refreshing swim in murky water. The girls pressed on. I got dressed again and jogged up to where Pat was a little way behind Adrienne and Susan. Robin Fourie came from the opposite direction. He was going back to the last checkpoint where he would meet his wife and drive back for his car. He too, complained about how tough the final 8kay section had been.

This section was a really long slog. We did hardly any running as the terrain did not lend itself to getting into any kind of stride. Our legs and bodies were really tired and we were disinclined to run. Many years ago my family did the Zuurberg mountain run with me. We would run the race and then everyone would stay for the breakfast that was part of the whole event. There were always piles of Lucky Draws and our family seemed to be particularly inclined to drive home examining our treasures.

Most of the last 8kays was a walk. The trail is a steady climb until finally we reached what is the actual hill leading up to the Zuurberg hotel. It was a long and tiring climb, mostly steps and switchbacks.

At this stage I thought, with good memories but with a sad heart, of our late friend, Carel Boshoff whose duty it had been to bring water to the runners on the Zuurberg mountain run. I also remembered that this was where I had first met Sonja and Erna who now run with the MPRG. Their fiend Willie van Jaarsveld was doing the 25mile.

Up and up the trail led us. Susan was in front showing us the way. I had thought that we would climb up through the valley with which I was familiar but we turned left and finally came to the entrance gate and back onto a road. We were able to jog the final 500 meters to the hotel. As we approached the finish we took hands and the four of us finished together.

We had taken just less than 10 hours. Susan told us that she had run about 8.30 last year but she did not complain. Last year she had been on her own the whole way. It would be a lonely and tiring trail to be on your own for so long. Michael was there to greet us. Daryl and Eve Raubenheimer were taking times and handing out medals. Eve handed me my tog bag that Shane had left for me. I was happy to put on a clean shirt and a warm top. Michelle's family, Trevor's family, Andrew Barton were all there. Pat elected to stay to watch Ronel come past. They would be support for our runners for the final 27kays to Addo. Susan was not worried about her husband and confident that he could handle the distance.

I never saw Shane or Chris but they must have had a good run. Some of the results from the two events:
52kay event:
The winner finished in just under 5hours.
Robin Fourie was 5th overall and first Achillean in 5.38 with Chris Gedye just behind him in 6th position with 5.49. Christoff Opperman did a 6.21 in 17th position. Willie van Jaarsveld was 19th at 6.28. Sharon Jessop who I have met on Trail Runs before finished in 31st position at 6.48. Shane Norris who had told me that this was to be part of his Comrades Training and he would be taking it easy managed 34th position at 6.49. Trevor Hawkins (Crusaders) was in 58th position at 9.42 and we were just behind: 60th (position not age) in 9.49. The last person in was 87th in 13.25.

In the long event (around 85kays) there were 42 finishers. The first competed this event at Addo main camp in 8.24 while Allison Pledger, Michelle Elfick and Ronel Scheepers finished in 13.49 with Gerald third last man home having been on the road for 16 hours and 44 minutes. He later told me how he had been frightened by a large elephant near to the fence where he walked into the park area. As Gerald finished he had been given special attention and care by one of the nurses. Gerald simply loves to be fussed over by a female attendant.

After a short recovery Michael, Adrienne & I packed up and left for Kirkwood where the Bakkie was waiting. Susan got a lift with us as they had also left their vehicle there. An interesting story is that last weekend we had done the Triathlon and I had met up with Angela Guscot and boyfriend Trevor. This afternoon Michael told me that he works with Angela who had asked him if he knew Peter Giddy. Small world!

We swapped cars and were home by about 18.30. A bit stiff but strangely after a wash I felt no pain and no stiffness. I did not sleep that well as my legs would cramp from time to time and my hips were sore. We learned that Ronel and Michelle had passed Zuurberg about 90 minutes after we left and that Gerald was also through. Andrew reported that he was doing well and in good spirits. Gerald must have had to negotiate the last section before Zuurberg in the dark by torchlight. The 50 milers would have to do a further about 27kays of mainly downhill to the main road and then across and into the main Addo Camp site.

JULY 2009.

JULY 2009

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



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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Friday 3.07.2009.
Cathy's Birthday.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

Hello Peter,

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

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

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

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

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

Keep well.

Fond regards.

Dave
16 July 2009.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Doha Diaries – 16 July 2009

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Got to do some work.
Regards
Peter Whatley
16.07.2009.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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



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