Shebeen and Elephants

---

Love having messages and thanks to my star sonfor sending on link!! Good thinking batman.

I feel bursting with things to say and my new good fridns who are less voluble than me will be waiting ot go next door for coffee.


The shebeen in in New Brighn township and looks a bit like a rural American general store in a tin shack with all the drinks in a separate room behind a kind of iron gate. There is one bartender in shorts welcoming you in and you just go and pick out your drinks and pay when you leave. The link is that one of the Calabash orkers, Sempiwe, provides music there. You sit at rough tables and the marimbas are in a small space outside. The music is amazing and very infectious. He is a larger than life character with a beautiful voice and there are three marimbas and a large drum. They are dressed in vibrant colours. The were followed by an apostolic gospel choir of about 20 young men and women who were involved as part of a project in the township to enable them to move on through music and drama. The music makes you want to dance and there is a bit of space in the middle. Some people who need not be mentioned manage to know the drinks over but it doesn't much matter. One of the teachers joined us for the evening and we were allsinging and dancing. We were back at the hotel for the African dinner which included roast kudho ( antelope) which was rather like very tender roast beef ( apoliges to vegetarians for that detail)

Ou trip to Addo was very successful. We had received dire warnings about rain and now elephants. Apparently they do not go to the water holes if the vegetation is wet. We were incredibly lucky as we say three lots including abut 50 at the biggest water hole walllowing in mud and with babies playing and trailing around after their mother. We also saw zebra twice - two kinds, Burchalls and Cape Mountain. I could tell you how to distinguish them if you like! WE had to stop to avid running over tortoises on the road and you have tocircumnavigate dung as the dung beetle is a protected species. We watched one rolling it' ball of dung off into the side to start it's family. I though you would all like some details. We saw some live kudho and I was glad it was after I had enjoyed eating it. The buffalo were grazin in several places and we sptted ibis and black headed heron.

Some of you will be pleased to know I used my leaving gift binoculars extensively. I have taken some photos to bore you will but only on request.

I am being frowned at for being too long winded. Time for the windy walk back

Love to all

---

Comments

[Michelle]

Fantastic!
Sounds like you are having a wonderful time. All that wildlife you are seeing, glad the binnoculars have come into use! I very much look forward to seeing all the photos. I had little doubt in my mind that if there was just a bit of music you would be bopping away like mad - you just love it! Keep on enjoying yourself! Michelle

[Jillian]

African Animals
so excited for you seeing elephants in the wild and zebra - that's so awesome - I tried to gloss over the part about eating antelope - altho it is probably so much more humane to eat that meat than what we buy in the market...(I don't eat much of it!) Can't wait to seesome pictures - watched the film "Yesterday" about S.africa (pretty sad , the woman has aids, it's a foreign film) but thought it would give me some idea of the scenery - looks very beautiful, lovely colors, but arid.... am enjoying your blog - but everyone has difficulty getting on it...I thought I subscribed but it doesn't seem to have worked... XO Jillian