Blogs from Howick, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, Africa

Today we have been doing the tourist thing, just to prove we do sometimes, despite what people think. We were awoken again this morning by the Egyptian Geese alarm clock as it got light, and as I sit this evening writing this they are calling away outside, but these geese must be unique as the roost in trees, particularly the tall eucalyptus trees. After a wonderful breakfast where the menu offers starters, main course and dessert we headed off on a leisurely drive down to Howick to see the spectacular waterfall which crashes 110 meters down the vertical rock face. As it’s a Saturday the locals were out completing the weekly wash at the top of the falls, seemingly oblivious that a step in the wrong direction could send them plummeting over the edge. Next stop ... read more

Despite having been to Africa before, today has been the hardest day of travelling we have ever experienced. Ten hours on the road to cover 600 km, or to put it another way an average speed of 37 mph. For the cyclists among our readers we have had a total gain today of 22,000 feet and we are now up in the Drakensberg Mountains. Meg has been complaining of dehydration and altitude sickness! The Eastern Cape where we started this morning is very different to places we have travelled before in South Africa and Namibia; it has suffered from under-investment for many years and the road infrastructure is fairly poor. We had completed nearly 20km this morning before we were able to get into fourth gear. Today we had another first, something that we said we ... read more

Shish!!! What a day! Well I’ve not had much sleep over the last few days, but I was awoken by my alarm at 6am, so I must have been sleeping! I sprang out of bed - clearly the sleep had done me good! I felt much brighter and full of energy, although my throat hurt more than before and it was much harder to swallow - clearly the tonsillitis has not yet gone. I showered and ate my breakfast, then had to leave at 7:30am. Grant and Shelly are away for a few days, which means I’m looking after the animals (more on that later!) and also I had to pick up some food for for Ethembeni. Every Thursday, the care workers from the Ethembeni hospice, along with volunteers from Howick Community Church, go out for ... read more

So Sunday was not a good day, I was so sick I didn’t even make it to church, which is really saying something! I spent pretty much the whole day in bed watching movies, although by late afternoon I felt well enough to get up and make some cupcakes, yummy! Part way through icing them, I ran out of energy, so they were the plainest cupcakes so far! In the evening, I was invited over to Grant & Shelly’s as it was Andy’s last night in Merrivale. Not wanting to turn down what I was sure would be a fantastic meal, I accepted. Grant had cooked for a change, and he assured me it was traditional a South African dish, then went on to say he had chucked anything he could find in it! It didn’t ... read more

Did you not read the title? Not much to report on today, I decided to prepare for the trillions of Holiday Club planning meetings next week, and I decided this would be much easier to do from the comfort of my warm, comfy, quiet cottage, rather than the Family Centre. So, my day began with a lovely long look into the book of James - thank you very much David for e-mailing your notes! I feel very united with you guys now, at least I might know as much about James as you (provided you were paying attention at Bible study!). The Holiday Club is a few short weeks away and the theme is going to be culture. As a co-ordinator, it is my job to put some flesh on the bones which is our plan ... read more