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Published: November 9th 2009
Monday, November 2nd
Ferdi and Bruce left early to go fishing. Talita slept in and later went for a jog and a shower. The fishermen drove down to the beach, then walked a kilometer to the fishing spot. The tide was coming in so, in theory, the fishing should've been good. Bruce ran through the basics of lure fishing and they tried to catch some dinner. Ferdi had a couple of nibbles but no fish, but Bruce managed to catch two small Kahawai. After three hours of fishing they were starving and headed back home.
Bruce whipped up some tuna-melt sammies for lunch, and then Tim accompanied us on a hike to the Fenian Caves. We misread the sign and thought it was only an hour return hike. After an hour's hike on a well maintained track we reached a sign that said the caves were another hour away. This part of the tramp was along a thin and muddy track and after 15mins we reached the first cave. We went in as far as we could and were pleased to see many small stalactites and a few glow-worms. We continued on to the second cave, called Tunnel Cave. True
to its name we scrambled the 80m and emerged on the other side of the hill. The third cave wasn't very deep and didn't have much to see. We continued on along a very muddy and sticky track. Thank goodness for our gumboots! Ferdi got stuck and almost lost a boot to the sticky mud. After a massive slog we finally made it back to the main track and retuned to the van. What we thought was an easy hour hike had turned out to be four and a half hours. We were knackered and starving by the time we got back to the van.
In town we stopped for some supplies and back home Talita and Tim cooked up a few pizzas. Ferdi made another fire and we watched a complicated and confusing film before crashing for the night.
Today's highlights:
1. Fishing.
2. Tramping and caving.
Tuesday, November 3rd
We have to say a very very special happy birthday to our ouma Wanda. May God bless you on your 90th birthday. May your family bless you with joy and happiness and may you have many more years filled with love and appreciation. We love you and wish we could join you on this special day.
Today was the second day of our practical course in the pine forest. Mike & Dave borrowed us their safety pants made specifically for chainsaw use. We felt a bit more confident wearing these. First off Bruce taught us how to safely start the chainsaw and we took turns practicing cutting logs. It was awesome! Bruce fell a couple more trees and we set about making our cradle. It was hard work leveling our cradle area, digging holes, rolling the logs there, and then planting them straight. When the cradle was finally done we practiced the various techniques we'd been taught.
At lunch time we feasted on smoked fish, sammies and chips. We spent the afternoon practicing our chainsaw work and called it a day at 17:30. With aching bodies we headed home. One thing is for sure; log building is not for sissies! It requires strength, stamina and heaps of patience. It's a good thing we’ll be getting some physical exercise the next couple days, considering the way we've been eating lately.
Back home we lit a fire, had a shower, and made dinner while
enjoying a glass of wine. We love this course!
Today's highlights:
1. Learning more chainsaw techniques.
Wednesday, November 4th
Happy birthday dad Franz! We hope you have a great day and amazing years filled with joy and pleasure and beauty. My God bless you and keep you for many many more years to come! We (Talita, Ferdi, Tim, Dave, Mike & Plat) continued with our course. While Ferdi cleaned and sharpened the chainsaw Talita went to get us proper ear protection. While shopping she discovered a pair of chainsaw pants for a third of what they usually cost. Needless to say she got them immediately. These pants have seven layers of Kevlar (used in bulletproof vests) and will stop a chainsaw blade dead if you tried to saw off your leg by accident.
We continued our technique training and Bruce was very happy with our progress. After a delicious lunch it started to rain hard, but that didn't stop Talita from felling her first tree. It was a big one and she had to work hard to take it down. Bruce guided her through the process and the tree fell exactly where she intended.
We
continued for a while longer, but the rain intensified so around 3pm we called it a day and headed home. Ferdi had a fierce battle to get a fire going. Wet wood just isn't the best fuel for a fire. Bruce cooked up his famous hashbrowns for starters and Paddy came over for a visit. Tim cooked a risotto but Bruce's hashbrowns had filled us enough so we weren't hungry.
We accompanied Paddy to Saracens Cafe where a Celtic musician was performing. There were some local lassies dancing to the tune of his flute. The musician was a real entertainer and played the harp, the Celtic drum, guitar, various flutes and the Irish Bagpipes. We sat enjoying the music and a couple beers with the sound of the crackling fire in the background.
Today's highlights:
1. Talita felling her first tree.
2. Celtic entertainment.
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Tina Lombard
non-member comment
Wow!
I am sooo impressed with the two of you! Two beautiful people growing into very interesting and special human beings. The life you had in SA must feel light years away. Therefor, again, thanks for not forgetting us and keeping on sharing the adventure with us. Love, Tina Lombard