October/November - Another Monthly Post

Surprised to find my last post has been sitting around here for a whole month, I've been busy trying to recall what's been going on in the past 30 days by scrolling through my camera! There is, as always, way too much to tell, so this will be a very long post .. it might just take the whole of the next month to read it!

Just after last writing here, early one morning at work, I was summoned from my desk to see a tiny, lone kitten, being gingerly prodded at the end of the cleaning lady's mop. After a fruitless search for her mother and any other kittens, there was simply no doubt whatsoever that I was going to scoop her up and take her home!

She is growing like mad, and developing into a beautiful little cat, with boundless energy. Feline politics at our place have been interesting, with the 3 previous residents and their varying reactions to this new arrival!


At the beginning of November we took a quick trip south of the border. Leaving here in the scorching Botswana heat, at the height of the most savagely hottest time of year, I had to literally grit my teeth and force myself to handle a few precautionary warm clothes, which were flung into a separate bag to be ignored in the back of the car...

On the road down.. The dry, dry season. Dusty and hot, perfect conditions for bush fires.

Sunrise on the way south, after our overnight stop. This gorgeous kudu bull kindly offered us some photo opportunities while gazing curiously at us through the open car window!

The jacaranda trees were in full blossom in Pretoria city, blazing their purpleness all over the streets.

It was great fun to catch up with the kids, and their girlfriends, and to celebrate a 21st birthday, slightly in advance! 

Then - on to a  world of contrast from our home environment - a fly-fishing destination, of course, and a mini reunion with my sister and family. Mountainous terrain is always so appealing to us...

...and to add to the novelty - rain and cold winds prevailed, and the much maligned bag of warm clothing was gratefully retrieved from the back of the car!

At our country cottage for the weekend, we lit up the log fire, and enjoyed the great outdoors and some family time. 

The biggest and the smallest fisherman.

Beautiful roses bloom everywheree in the streets of Dullstroom- so very different to home.

We loved catching up with our twin nephews who are now four years old. One outing involved educating them that, sadly, coins in a wishing well are supposed to be put in, not taken out! After finding the exercise of tossing their coins in extremely boring, they then kept busy tirelessly fishing any accessible coins out, and dutifully flinging them back in - Wishes galore!

 

All good times come to and end - back on the road north.. more moutains and lonely roads...

Back in Botswana, a dirt road en route to our overnight stopover - in the golden light just before sunset.

Here's a billboard that always makes us homesick - only 300km left to go from this spot!

Despite the dryness and the heat, bright green shoots magically appear in the previously burnt areas. Here are a few (almost invisible) roadside ostriches captured in a speedy drive-by shot!

Our new north-south road is finally taking shape with its beautiful black ribbon tantalising us as we bumpily navigate the potholed detour. We are currently allowed access to it for a few glorious km, before being thrown off again..

The only travellers to so far to really enjoy this new road are the elephants, who leave big dinnerplate sized prints on the unmarked highway...

Back home again, and the following weekend my dad celebrated his 70th birthday. All four of us checked out of Botswana, and over into neighbouring Namibia- a boat ride through the secluded channels for a wonderful weekend with our good friends over at Ichingo Lodge.

This haven perches right above the water, in the midst of beautiful riverine vegetation, and, being one of my favourite places on earth, features often in my blogs. The rushing sound of the rapids is always in the background here and one can forget the proximity of our home town just over the river!

The wicked, un-extinguishable, or re-igniting candles on the birthday cake!!

Fires dominate even the riverine world at this time of year, blazing away on the flood plain right up to the water's edge sometimes, and, incidentally, causing incredible effects for sunsets and amazing reflections in the water.

Back home again, back to "normal".  I am playing the never ending game of catch up, but our mini breaks are always worth it..

At the time of writing, I can now report that the rainy season has finally started, and the daily cloud buildups and thunderstorms have at last brought the searing November temperatures down. Fires can now stop burning.  Now we just hope for good rains this season, as there is precious little for the animals to eat in the bush around us right now..

*Special update: the cutest little warthog piglets have started appearing all over town, but so far I have either been driving, or without a camera, so they remain unrecorded in this blog post! Watch this proverbial space, though!

It is time to sign out again, and I'll be back again when I can. For now, sending warm mid-week greetings to all reading this!