A few Seasonal Observations

Autumn was hijacked for a couple of weeks by the return of the rainy weather and cloud cover, and last Sunday afternoon still featured moody skies, and storms.

During an evening sundowner at a local lodge,  I photographed this palm tree in the fast flowing, flooded river below the deck. Dramatic rain storms are visible over the horizon in Namibia.

The Namibians have now changed their clocks back ready for Winter, therefore listening  to Namibian radio on the way to work is no fun anymore... the ridiculous morning show that always brings a smile during the big six minute commute is now on far too late -  will meet them again in Summer time!

On Monday I wanted to take an updated photo of the 'new' route to work down the hill, and there we found a police roadblock interfering with the view. In any case, one can see the blue of the river spread all over the floodplain, which was not there before the seasonal floods began, see earlier pic here. I notice one new lamp post is already leaning over at an angle!

At the office, Marula fruits carpet the ground in the neighbouring yard - which happens to be right outside the window at my desk.

Having the window open to the great outdoors, the wind wafts in the aroma of crushed marulas, and during the day I'm interrupted by the snuffling and crunching sounds of the warthogs feasting on the fruit. I took this photo through the fence.

The baboons don't need to crunch, as they are skilled marula peelers, eating only the flesh, and leaving the rest.  Herewith the baboon leftovers, deposited on the doorstep! Actual baboons are too elusive for my camera.

If I were a domestic goddess, I would probably be joining in and collecting fruit like mad, to create the great South African classic - Marula Jelly.

The surviving young warthogs are looking fit, fat and healthy. Here is one of the families crossing the road. I have even seen them popping up unexpectedly out of the culvert/drain in the bottom left of the photo - private warthog subway!

In our garden we are observing the evolution of our very first ever bunch of bananas. My talented, green fingered mother planted the small grove of banana trees about 7 years ago, and they've never done much up till now. I was surprised to discover this fabulous bunch during a completely aimless and non expectant banana audit a few weeks back!

I do hope now that the baboons don't come over the fence and raid them. For now they are mainly using the track next to our fence as a transit route.

News at home is that we have acquired a new cat who was in need of a home.  Having two resident cats  who are less than thrilled with their new brother, it's not the easiest transition. A lot of cat psychology is going on, and despite reading up on everything the internet has to say on the topic, fur is still flying, and, typically, the felines don't seem to be behaving as predicted!

To end off with, here is different version of a floating island, rushing along in the floods. Amazing to think that if it doesn't wash up on the shore at some point, it will end up plunging over the edge of the Victoria Falls...

Today was forecast to be sunny and clear, and as expected, without our cloud cover, it was a chilly morning, dipping below 20 degrees C on the way to work this morning. Autumn is back, and early weekend greetings to all!

The Planet of the Baobabs - revisited

Before the onset of the Easter holiday weekend, we found that we were in desperate need of a break, preferably involving doing as much of  Nothing as possible.  A place was needed to do it in, and, almost exactly one year later, we re-visited the amazing Planet Baobab.

About 400km from here, in the stark, arid terrain edging the shores of the Makgadigkadi Salt Pans, this otherwordly group of baobabs and the quirky lodge clustered in between, provides just the place to disappear entirely from the workaday world. Soaring atop a giant anthill, this roadside sign is hard to miss!

This is a photo taken this time last year, of the hugest and most impressive baobab. It is a truly magnificent tree, and I don't believe this photo even does it justice.

Being low season, we had the place pretty much to ourselves again, which was, of course, the whole idea. Since last year, another hammock had appeared underneath the giant baobab tree, and we spent some wonderfully peaceful hours here, with only a few uncoordinated spills onto the white sand below!

This certainly merits its description as The Coolest Pool in the Kalahari! Baobab in the background...

... and this lively fountain under the thatched hut...

...however, even in the heat of the day it was way too effective in the cooling department, and floating in the warm turquoise water was much more appealing - overlooked by yet another gorgeous babobab.

Here is a view from our hut, looking over to the next door one. Nothing is too close together or intrusive here, and the pathways meander amidst the indigenous vegetation, with the lovely scent of wild basil all around.

Our resident Francolin - one of nature's best little alarm clocks, but his raucuous wake up calls were studiously ignored by us - real fugitives from the routine world!

Late breakfast in the funky dining room. Enamel plates and mugs are the order of the day, here...

I am just crazy about the bar, with its magnificent green beer-bottle chandeliers, vintage photos on the walls and soulful African music.  We seem to have spent a decent amount of time idling around in here, too. At least it's just a short stroll through the pathways, to whichever pressing destination is next on the list!

Partaking of an evening drink in the bizarre outdoor concrete lounge is not to be missed, either. This armchair is really surprisingly comfortable!

The glorious moon and stars, under a miraculously cloud-free sky, enticed us to sit up late outside our hut, with a bottle of wine. Here is last year's photo of the moon and baobabs over the swimming pool.

Then, another day and a night to do it all over again.. this is my idea of a true break.

On the way home, we checked up on my favourite termite mound to see if it had grown in one year. I think it has defintely grown taller, and the base seems broader.

It is also evident that I very seldom buy any new clothes, either!

I'm enjoying looking through these photos again, and re-living a special time. We have not braved the busy roads this Easter, and have been interspersing a bit of work with a bit of relaxation at home. I'm feeling saddened by political events next door in South Africa, and rather depressed about it all, so luckily found the time to escape into the blog world for a little while.

While we have another short week to look forward to, it will be predictably chaotic as soon as we open our doors tomorrow, so I am going to enjoy the rest of the peaceful time! Sending residual easter weekend greetings to all reading this, and I'll be back again when I can.

I Can See Clearly Now the Rain has Gone!

I'm back, after a fairly lengthy absence, I realise. All's well, and I'm still alive on planet earth! In my previous post, I see that I was looking forward to a February which has now long disappeared in the floods of time...

View of town from the river, end of February

The rain finally stopped here last weekend, and I'm ecstatic about the rain-free week. My favourite time of year is coming up now, with the end of the rainy season bringing blue skies and perfect weather.

Golden evening on the river, 7th March

Leaves are starting to fall now, while morning and evening temperatures are dropping. The annual floods are coming in, and the river is flowing fast, spilling out of its channel and onto the floodplain.

Fast flowing water, end of February

Happily, our sunsets are back... here's one from last weekend.

Thanks to the high water, we can launch our boat below the rapids - a totally different part of the river, from where one can go all the way down to the four country meeting point.

The world below the rapids, 7th March

Amazingly, we have had friends and family in and out of our place since before Christmas, and, since January we've been muddling along in a sloshy, cloudy environment of rain and mud, as well as covering kilometres of southerly roads with our typre-prints, as ever! I've been trying to maintain some kind of balance here but it's been difficult at times, with work falling behind and blogging not even featuring. My dad left last weekend and he was our last visitor/family member until May... Suddenly it's just us, and it feels as if the festive season has just ended.  A few New Year Resolutions have been dragged out of January's mud puddles, too!

Here is a small floating island, encountered on the river last weekend. Sometimes I can't help feeling like one of these!
Wishing all reading this a wonderful rest of the weekend, and I hope to be back again soon...

Road Blocked

On my way to work this morning, I had to sit still for a while and wait for these elephants to kindly let me pass, so I took a few photos of them while waiting. After crossing over, leaving their trails of uprooted vegetation all over the road, they just stopped and hung around - not bothered by me sneaking quietly past them in the car.

We have a brand new road here, which curves its way down the hill to river level. Annoyingly, it's also much favoured by the world's worst drivers, to whose ranks I confess I added myself this morning - indulging in more phone photogpraphy while driving along!  The view of the river floodplain is just breathtaking, with the early morning steamy cloudiness on the horizon.

The road here skirts areas of lush indigenous forest, and as yet, very little development has taken place on these slopes. In the early mornings, this is such a beautiful way to get to the office.

It's been a rather difficult week, actually. Apart from everything else that's been going on, I've been home/business alone for a couple of days, with my other half floating around working in the bush (and also taking some great pictures!). Plenty of tennis being played Down Under, has caused a temporary TV addiction...

I have also been much preoccupied with work permit bureaucracy. The normal routine ebb and flow of expiries and renewals has been rudely interrupted due to my entire file being randomly and mistakenly Archived with apparently no possible means of retrieval! After a year and a half of being lost, the decision was made that I should redo the whole thing. This entails copious paperwork, running around from one office to another, and spending a lot of time at the Police Station, but I have had nothing but help and graciousness all round, which reminds me yet again why I enjoy living in this country. People are most apologetic that my file has been sent to the "Museum" and are regretfully making me jump through bureaucratic hoops, but couldn't be nicer about it all!

Here's a typical blogger's random photo of my second home this week - The Immigration Department. Right next to the river, which you may be able to spot in the top left corner. (This is also a river border post between us and Namibia).

Come to think of it, in many ways it feels as if a RoadBlock of sorts has been suddenly removed in my life, and I think that I can finally begin with what has the possibility to be a great new year! Here's to February..

Forest Dwelling Flame Lilies and Elephants

On Sunday we took a drive into the forest reserve, just a few kilometres behind our home. We were seeking the elusive and gorgeous wild Flame Lilies, which flower around New Year.

Happily, it wasn't very long before we spotted the first flash of orange in the dense greenery...

... and awarded ourselves both an ice cold beer from the cooler box (traditional prize for first lily sighting!)

Here it is: Gloriosa Superba, in all its present and past glory, against a stormy sky.

The Flame Lilies are actually creepers, and this one had flowered right on top of the host shrub. (I have taken the liberty of stealing this particular photo from Tiennie, who took some beautifully detailed lily shots - have a look on his blog over here).

Even the fire-engine hued "Blink Stefaans" can almost hide himself away in the forest reserve at this time of year...

Here one can simply get lost in an alternative world of peace and solitude.  No tourists, no other vehicles, only the sound of the teak leaves rustling in the breeze, the quiet hum of insects, birdcalls, and of course the occasional snap of a branch, giving away the presence of our amazingly silent elephant neighbours.

Here is the first glimpse of one. ( I really hope my pictures are enlarging themselves as they should be!)

He appeared next to the track - me inside the vehicle looking on. (you may need a magnifying glass here).

Browsing peacefully, this elephant is not worried about us, and vice versa.

The teak tree blossoms are also outrageously gorgeous, and it's great to find low growing ones which can be easily photographed without needing a ladder or a mega zoom lens!

Another slight colour variation of the Flame Lily here.

Those stormy blue/grey clouds suddenly unleashed a typical ferocious, over-in-fifteen minutes African afternoon thunderstorm, which leaves you steaming in the humidity afterwards...

Nature's restorative powers are my saving grace on this planet, no doubt about it!

Wishing all a wonderful weekend from the southern hemisphere ...

After the Holidays - just family snapshots really!

Once again the centrifugal forces of this crazy lifestyle have carelessly tossed blogging into the far outer orbit! Thus for now, the best blogpost I can produce is a glorified photo album.

I have loved spending quality time with my sister Jill, and family while they were here over Christmas and New Year. Here we are just doing the sisterly companionship thing, as sisters do!

The Christmas tree, I can report, was indeed twin-proof. Here the aunt allows a small boy restricted access to all the sparkly things!

The weather was glorious! Late afternoon Christmas Day, on the banks of the Chobe looking across to Namibia - featuring  husband and fellow-blogger Tiennie, along with brother in law Mike, and friend Theo.

While we were out there enjoying the evening, our dogs successfully stole almost an entire topside roast, and, along with the cats, enjoyed their own Christmas lunch to the fullest. Luckily the leftover turkey had been properly put away! Here is one of the cats getting into the festive mood - perhaps considering a little aperitif before the dogs served up the roast beef?

Paparazzi photo! My elusive elder stepson Joe, seen cruising past with a bar order. The big boys and one girlfriend drove up to Botswana and surprised their dad on his birthday! Keeping that secret was almost impossible for me, but it was worth it to see his face...

Compulsory Wildlife photo:  a warthog piglet prancing around near the swimming pool at a local lodge- thanks to Zac for the photo!

The twins playing in our antique red truck, aka "Blink Stefaans". They were in their element in there, and eventually the hooter had to be disconnected, for obvious reasons!!

This picture reminds me that we are hopefully going later today to search for Flame Lilies in the forest reserve behind our home.  I do hope we are not too late for them, as it's usually more of a new year ritual!

Currently, more visiting friends have arrived here from Australia, and even from the ice-bound UK, despite the travel chaos over there! This business of working and holidaying at the same time is always quite exhausting but the burning of the candle at both ends will stop shortly, as our house suddenly empties out tomorrow...

That's it for now -  wishing all reading this the very best for a beautiful and fulfilling 2010 x