Wine, Whales and Music at De Hoop Nature Reserve

Saturday, 28 July 2018

Our friends Perci and Ray invited us to help celebrate their five years of wedded bliss at  De Hoop Nature Reserve.  There was a Wine, Whale and Music special on so we accepted with alacrity.

The weather was beautiful for this time of the year and it was great to get away for this special weekend.

On Saturday morning we arrived just in time to join a cruise on the vlei.

The Happy Couple

Our guide was excellent. What a great surprise to see hundreds of black-crowned night herons roosting on the bank with other herons and egrets.   We would never have seen them from the shore.  It was a fabulous start to our cruise.

Black-crowned night heron

Sacred Ibis and Little Egrets

Hundreds of flying ibis, herons and egrets

Adult and juvenile black-crowned night herons

The rest of the cruise did not disappoint.  We kept seeing more and more species but the moving boat made photography difficult.  Highlights were greater crested grebes,  lesser and greater flamingos, Caspian Terns, yellow-billed ducks, Cape Teal and black-winged stilts.

A tree full of African Darters

African Darter

Greater Flamingos

Rock Dassie (hyrax)

It was really a most enjoyable trip and it ended with another super surprise – spoonbills waiting to greet us at the jetty.

Beautiful spoonbills with a little egret

From there  we went to the restaurant and  did some wine tasting, bought some specialty cheeses and then enjoyed a mussel chowder for lunch.

As we were leaving the restaurant somebody came and threw her arms around me.  It was my ex-colleague Taryn who was there with her hubby, Craig and daughter Ella.   What an amazing surprise.  We keep up on Facebook but I haven’t seen Taryn for many years!

After checking into our chalet, Earl had a nap, I read my book and Perci and Ray took a walk to the restaurant to enjoy the high tea.   Later in the afternoon we went for a short game drive.

Bontebok

Blacksmith Lapwing taking a bath

Rhebok

Male Ostrich

Scrub Hare

The evening dinner was fantastic.  A quintet of a flutist, three violinists and a cellist entertained us with their beautiful music.  For dinner we had courgette soup for starters then Pork belly with mash and veggies for mains and a tiramisu for dessert.

Sunday, 29 July 2018

This morning we were up early and at breakfast by 8.   There was a lovely selection of continental goodies and then scrambled eggs, sausage and bacon.

Our morning activity involved a drive to Koppie Alleen where we would meet Lauren de Vos for a whale-watching and rock pool activities

Black-winged stilt seen on our drive

Grass bird at Koppie Alleen

Southern Right Whales in the bay – on the left is an albino calf.

Life in the rock pools

Star fish

Cape Robin

Whale Tail

What a great weekend.   We are so impressed with everything that De Hoop has to offer.   The accommodation is well maintained, the restaurant serves excellent food, the guides are exceptional and there is a lot to see and do in the park.

Check out their website

Hermanus Weekend

Friday, 08 June 2018

The Earl drove me to Hermanus this morning.  The plan was for me to spend a girls’ weekend with Meghan while he and Tommy would have a boys’ weekend in Struisbaai.  Tom and Earl are old friends who need to catch up from time to time!

Once I was settled into the lovely holiday home we girls had for the weekend, the guys hit the road back to Struisbaai.   After they left, Meg and I went to have her car washed, do a bit of shopping and have a coffee at The Running Rabbit.

A little later another of Meg’s friend’s Sandy arrived with two German exchange students, Lici and Lina. Meg is hosting Lici and she’d brought her friend along with her.

Lici is 15 and is in Grade 10 at Bergvliet High School. Lina is 17 and in Grade 11. Lina is from Berlin and Lici from Munich.   It was so interesting chatting to them about their impressions of a South African High School.

Lina is the product of a Montessori school and has a happy relationship with her teachers.  The approach to learning is more relaxed there than it is here. The emphasis is on teaching the child rather than the curriculum. There is a close relationship between learner and teacher and they are allowed to progress at their own pace.  Lici on the other hand finds school here less strict than the private school she attends back home. They both find it really strange and annoying to have to wear a school uniform! Back home they can wear make-up and any clothing they like to school.  But in spite of the differences they are both very happy at Bergvliet.

Meg’s Holiday Home in Hermanus

Before dinner Meg and I went with Sandy to walk her beautiful black lab. We laughed when he poohed on command.

 

We went as far as a lookout place where we could see the sea then walked back.

Meg had a goulash ready for heating and we served it with pasta, spinach that I’d made and green beans.

Lici, Lina, Meg and Sandy

Saturday, 09 June 2018

The girls were up early and went for a walk. Sandy went to Stanton to meet an old friend. Meg and I had brekkie together and shared our superior wisdom of how to solve the problems of all our friends and family – LOL

Later the girls made the most delicious carrot cake muffins which Meg iced with cream cheese frosting.

The muffins in the foreground – Sandy cooking chicken curry for dinner while Meg cheers her on

It rained hard in the afternoon so after indulging in my spinach quiche for lunch we all sat in front of the fire and played Rummikub. The girls were Ace at it but we soon caught on.  It was great fun.

Lici gets a massage from Lina before we start the game

Rummikub in front of the fire

Lina has a good hand

 

Sunday, 10 June 2018

Meg made her delicious fruity oats for breakfast, Sandy supplied croissants and we all sat down to enjoy it.    The men arrived around 11 and had some too.

Meg had to go off to meet a friend for lunch so the rest of us piled into the Everest and went exploring Hermanus.

Our first stop was Hoy’s Koppie. It is an isolated hill rising approximately 75 metres above sea-level. In the mid-19th century, the early inhabitants of the town called it Klip Kop (stone hill).

The steep steps up to the top of Hoy Koppie

Tom and The Earl 

The View

Tom had researched the story of Hoy Koppie and shared his knowledge with us.

Sir William Hoy, who was born in Scotland, was head of the Cape and SA Railways in the early 1900s. He spent frequent holidays in Hermanus and loved the relaxed lifestyle. He frequently climbed the koppie to admire the views across Walker’s Bay.

In 1912, he vetoed the building of a rail line to Hermanus. Sir Hoy died at the age of 62 in 1930. It was his wish to be buried at the summit of his favourite hill. A contour path was constructed and his fishermen friends carried his coffin up for burial in a hollow that was blasted out of the rock for this purpose.

Five years later Lady Gertrude Hoy died in England.  Her body was placed in a lead coffin and shipped back to South Africa.  Twenty fisherman carried the heavy coffin up the koppie and buried her beside her husband.  The Hermanus Historical Society takes care of the graves today.

After climbing the koppie we went down to the waterfront.   There were dolphins in the bay and the girls also enjoyed watching the dassies.

There were interesting sculptures to be seen too.

Sitting on the Whale Tail Bench

 

The old harbour is also fascinating. As part of the art festival there was a display of sculptures made of the plastic, hooks, fishing line and netting  from our polluted ocean. Hermien welcomed us into the tiny museum.  She is passionate about saving the Sea.   We were given a glass of water and told to drink a toast to the sea.  We were then invited to take a sprig of fynbos and place it on the sea’s coffin.   She then gave a brief explanation of what was happening to our oceans and how it was up to humankind to change their habits to protect them.  It was a very moving experience.

A Wreath made from sea polution

An old whaling harpoon

The Coffin

Sculptures from sea polution

 

The Old Harbour was proclaimed ‘a Museum’ in 1972. Old fishing boats were collected and repaired for outdoor display.

We then went to have a drink at one of the local restaurants before making our way back to the house.  We stopped at the new harbour and spotted a whale in the bay.

You can see a barnacle on this Southern Right Whale

We saw him quite well – but photography was difficult

Earl and I left at 4:15.  We took Lina with us to Cape Town as she has an exam tomorrow.   The others stayed another night.

Monday 11 June 2018

We were in Cape Town to celebrate The Earl’s sister’s 75th birthday.  We took her and her hubby to The Black Marlin for dinner.  It was really lovely.

Just after Sunset – view across the bay from Carrol and Vere’s home at Castle Rock

 

Happy Birthday, Carrol.

 

 

Struisbaai Easter Weekend

Struisbaai at Easter time becomes a hub of activity.  Our normally quiet little fishing village is suddenly alive with tourists and events.  On a normal weekend it’s busy enough for the peace-loving locals but at Easter the town explodes and there’s traffic on the normally car-empty roads.   The beach, which goes on for miles, is often empty of people on a normal day, but at on this weekend it’s the first place the visitors head to.

On Easter Saturday this is exactly what happened as it dawned bright and sunshiny after two days of cloud and rain.

The Earl, our grandson, Jay and friend, Ray were off to sea by 6:00 am.  They should have gone yesterday so we could have fish for Good Friday but the rain prevented that so we had to have our Good Friday on Saturday.

Jay loves sharks!  He cuddled this dogfish and gave it a kiss before releasing it back into the sea.

The rest of the household rose from their slumbers a lot later and we headed to The Shed for the Food Market.   There were lots of goodies to eat but all we bought were some fresh veggies from the farmer’s stall.  We decided it best to go for a proper brekkie at Shipwreck Coffee Shop instead.

My gorgeous girls at The Shed’s Food Market

Me buying fresh produce for the weekend

Traffic on the main road was bumper to bumper.  The NSRI (National Sea Rescue Institute) were encouraging folk to part with R 10,00 to boost their coffers.  In return you got a marshmallow egg and a chance to photograph them and their vehicles.

I gave them R10,00 – after all my men were out at sea!

Rescue Boat

On Standby

Josh and I walked to the area where the Land Rover Rally was happening.  We spent some time admiring the landies both ancient and new.  There were time trials too which were fun to watch.

Land Rover Rally

Registration Office

A very old land rover

Land Rover Passion starting young

This one is 71 years old – I was told.

Track Trial

After taking some interesting photographs we went for a long walk on the beach – well, I walked and took photographs and Josh ran on for about 3km.  I thought I’d missed his return but soon after I turned around he caught up with me.

Somebody scrawled the date in the sand

And declared her love for Daddy and family

Abandoned Sandcastles

Busy Beach

Fishermen’s Paradise

Watch out for the jellyfish!

Most Beautiful Beach in the Country

Josh running in bottom right corner

Josh returning

We continued our walk along the boardwalk and as we approached the harbour, Lisa and Laurie waved to show they were there with the former’s friends, Margaret and Frans.   Their kids were having fun on the beach.  Spencer invited Josh to go out with him on the paddle skis.  He dashed home to change into his costume while the adults went to Pelicans for a drink.

My girls and Margaret sharing a bottle of Pink

Josh on paddle ski

Josh and Spencer

While we were there we heard the whirring of a helicopter and observed it doing a practice rescue.  That was fun too.

It was after three when we finally got back home and I started preparing for the fish supper.   I baked a lemon meringue for the first time in my life – and this was a Banting version that I got from a recipe book written by a local of the Overberg,  Madelè Burger.   Her book is called “Hier’s Die Toortsie Weer”  You can see her blog Here   Her posts are mainly in Afrikaans but there are some in English too.   I am pleased to report that it turned out pretty well.  Not a crumb was left after our dinner. I also used her recipes to make a creamy eggplant dish and a butternut salad.

Busy in the kitchen

And it’s done!

Creamy Eggplant Dish

The fishermen returned at 5 pm, sunburned, tired but happy after catching enough fish to feed eight of us for dinner.   There is nothing to beat eating fish fresh from the sea.

The Earl cleaning fish

Josh helping the Earl wrap potatoes for the Weber

Fish cooked and ready to serve

Rewards of a day at sea and on the beach –  Weber cooked fish for eight!

 

Share Your World 30 October 2017

Here is my contribution to this week’s Share Your World from Cee

Where do you eat breakfast?

Funny you should ask, because this is my favourite meal of the day and it is usually quite an elaborate affair.  I seldom eat breakfast in bed.  I like to be up and dressed and seated at the table.  Usually my darling husband cooks it for me, at least twice weekly we go to our favourite coffee shop where they don’t even ask what we want as the just know, and on rare occasions I am the chef.   Properly brewed coffee is essential and no matter where I am the quality of the breakfast is greatly influenced by the quality of the coffee! If the weather is good I like it al fresco, if it’s in a cold place a roaring fire helps otherwise a lovely ambience indoors will do.

Typical Shipwreck Coffee Shop Breakfast – Fried eggs, bacon, cheese grillers tomato and coffee

Scrambled Eggs Al Fresco at my garden picnic table

 

 

Given the choice of anyone in the world, whom would you want have a evening with?

My ideal evening is in the bush with friends who enjoy it as much as I do.  There is nothing to beat, sitting outside your caravan, watching the flaming sun sink beneath the horizon,  listening the sounds of the wild, glass of wine in hand exchanging stories about the day’s adventures.  Priceless!

My fantasy companion would be Sir David Attenborough because I would love to chat to him about his lifetime of doing wildlife documentaries.  What a fascinating life he has had.  How lucky we are to be able to spend any number of evenings watching said documentaries!

If you could be a tree or plant, what would you be? 

I would choose to be a Baobab Tree.  She is the queen of trees. You cannot miss her standing proud on the African Savannah demanding to be admired.   Not only would I be a wonderful sight to behold I would also be permanently among the wildlife that I love so much and I would be a great asset to their lives. Because the baobab has many useful properties, it is widely known as the Tree of Life.  How wonderful to be a Life-giving Tree.

Baobab products are useful to mankind as among other stuff soap, rubber, glue, traditional medicine and cream of tartar are made from their products.  But best of all it creates it’s own ecosystem and provides food and shelter for animals, birds and insects.

It is a deciduous tree so during the dry winters it has no leaves and its bare branches look like roots  hence it’s nickname – the upside down tree.

In Winter it is The Upside Down Tree

In Summer It dons it’s leafy finery

 

 

What inspired you or what did you appreciate this past week?  Feel free to use a quote, a photo, a story, or even a combination. 

The Earl and I left Struisbaai at 6 am this morning and considering the state of his health one year ago I appreciate how fit and well his is now.   He coped well with the driving and we made sure to stop frequently.  We are overnighting in Middelburg in the Eastern Cape and will do another day’s drive to Kokstad tomorrow.  This is the start of a three month trip away and I will be blogging about our adventures as often as I can during this time.

Cape Agulhas Presents Its Best Face For Kokstad Junior School

Today it was our privilege to meet up with our grandson Simon when his school tour stopped to visit the Southern Tip of Africa.  The teacher in charge alerted our daughter to the time they would be coming through Bredasdorp, she alerted us and then we timed it just right to meet them coming through Struisbaai.

Here they come – a very excited granny takes the photo!

A close up and then they all pulled over so we could say hi to Simon

After an initial big hello to Simon our grandson, Aiden our great nephew and Robyn, daughter of our kids’ best friends, we followed them to Cape Agulhas

The Kokstad Junior Grade Six classes were two weeks into a three week tour takes them from Kokstad to Cape Town and back.   En route they stop at interesting places and it forms part of their Life Skills programme.   It’s epic and hats off to the teachers and helpers who take these sixty-eight lively pre-teens on such an amazing, educational tour.

The kids are exceptionally well-behaved.   On this trip they’re divided into groups and have chores and responsibilities that are character building. Many have never been away from their protective parents before and so this is a huge learning curve for them.

There are developments afoot at the Southern Tip and road works meant a little wait before entering the car park.

The controlled but excited group getting ready to do the touristy thing at the southern tip

Our gorgeous Robyn Baker

Si-Si pretending not to be embarrassed by his grandparents attention

There were some other tourists at the view point but being a Monday the kids had the place virtually to themselves.

Aiden

Robyn with her group

The kids were given relative freedom to explore after the compulsory photographs had been taken.

Robin and her group at the Southern Tip of Africa

Simon waiting his turn

Simon and Aiden’s Group

Michele’s group

Simon playing a stone kicking game with his friend – BOYS!

A lot of fun was had throwing pebbles into the rock pools

Collecting rocks and exporing the rock pools was also fun

Where’s your rod Simon?

Not today, Gran – I want to see how far I can skim this stone!

That’s a good bowling arm he has there!

Robyn rock hopping with her friends

Smiling for Mom and Dad

Hand away from face please Rob – Nice one of your friend though!

Thank you, that’s better

Aiden and his gang of rock exploring friends

The kids have been to Robben Island, The Science Museum, Cape Point and other wonderful places.  I asked Simon what his favourite part has been so far – first he said that he liked the movies at Somerset Mall!  Then his friend, Liam, said The Science Museum and his eyes lit up and he said – Yes definitely that!   One lad said he liked Robben Island but – Too much history!  I think it was all too confusing for him.

The whistle blew – time to go

Liam (I think) and Simon

What a great morning – the weather cooperated, the kids were delightful and we enjoyed our interaction with them all.   Bon Voyage for the next week, Kokstad Junior – Grade 6 and Teachers!  Thank you for letting us join you for the morning.

The Famous Agulhas Lighthouse

 

 

 

 

Photo of the Week 15 June 2017

This week’s challenge for Photo of the Week is Ships and Boats

Tall Ship in Sydney Harbour

Meisho Maru – Japanese fishing boat wrecked near Cape Agulhas, Western Cape South Africa

My husband’s ski-boat, Kiora – Struisbaai Harbour, Western Cape South Africa

Rowboats on the hard at Struisbaai Harbour

Narrow Boat on a waterway in Hertfordshire, England

Day Trip to Robertson and Barrydale

The Autumn weather has been awesome in our neck of the woods.   We’re desperate for rain so it’s with a smidgen of guilt that we’re enjoying the sunshine.   May it not last too long!

They were upgrading the electrical services in our section of Struisbaai on Wednesday so the electricity was cut from 8 until 5.   We used this as an excuse to go out of the day.   After all we couldn’t use the internet for banking and other online chores.

Such trips just bring home to us how privileged we are to live in such a beautiful part of the country.  In spite of the lack of rain the scenery is still stunning.  All the farmlands looked like they’d survived the dry spell and the sheep and cows were all in good health.

At midday we stopped at Stormsvlei Restaurant and Farmstall.  It’s on the R317 half way between Riviersonderend and Swellendam.  You have to go a little way down a dirt drive until you come upon it.  They also have self catering cottages next to the river.   The last time we passed this way it was closed so it was great to find it open for lunch on Wednesday.   What a picturesque little place it is.   We could choose a table either inside or out.  As it was such a beautiful day we sat on the patio and enjoyed the gorgeous garden.   The Earl had a chicken wrap and I the chicken salad.   No complaints from either of us.

The gorgeous garden

Interesting table decor in the form of a very pretty white and ginger tipped cat!

Our next stop was Springfield Wine Estate in Robertson.   I am rather partial to their Sauvignon Blanc – Life from Stone – so we had to pick up some supplies.   It is my only vice.  And it’s a very pretty estate to visit.

One drives along an avenue of autumn colour to get to the wine shop

So peaceful to sit and enjoy the dam in the shade of the trees

An Egyptian goose enjoyed the peace too

We continued our drive enjoyed more scenery and then  stopped at Barrydale.

The quaint little town of Barrydale is on the border of the Karoo and the Overberg and is named after Dr Jame Barry who has an interesting history.

Dr Barry (1789 to 1865) was a surgeon in the British Army, served in Cape Town and did much to make the lives of wounded soldiers better. Dr Barry also improved the conditions of the native inhabitants.  This dedicated doctor also performed the first caesarian section in Africa in which both the mother and child survived the operation.   However, it was only after his/her death that it was discovered that Dr Barry was a woman.  He/she’d lived his/her whole adult life pretending to be a man so that he/she would be taken seriously in the medical profession.   How awful that a woman of her generation had to go to such lengths to live her dream.   More interesting facts about James Barry here

Barrydale, like the person after whom she is named, is a unique little town.   It is culturally mixed having both English and Afrikaans residents and a number of people from Europe have also settled here.  I would describe it as a colourful town filled with arty restaurants and shops.

How cute is this bright yellow house with its hot pink window frames!

Why not have a purple pizzeria

I’m loving the Orange Pots with Karoo type designs

We bought some Karoo lamb from the cheerful butchery

I just love the windpomp!

The most intriguing restaurant is the very rustic Diesel and Creme.   It was getting towards afternoon tea time when we got there and I was craving a bit of sweetness.   Nothing nicer than their granadilla cheesecake for me and lemon meringue for The Earl.  He also indulged in a double thick chocolate shake.

The coffee was good too

It’s a place that is calling back the past

Now that’s a cool caravan

A bike and car collector’s dream

Don’t you just love it!

House sparrow looking for crumbs

It was certainly an interesting visit – always fun to go to Barrydale.

Share Your World 10 April 2017

Here are my answers to Share Your World 10 April 2017

Have you ever participated in a distance walking, swimming, running, or biking event? Tell your story.

My first fun run was 5 km which I ran with my friend Chantal (She features later in this post too) – I was in my forties and she was in her thirties.   Then in my fifties I ran an 8km fun run with my grandsons who were about 8 and 9 at the time.  They were both fun events but like Cee I was not ever a competitive runner but enjoyed jogging for exercise.   The last time I ran more than 1 km was when I was 60.   I’ve decided it’s time to slow down to a walk.

Name one thing not many people know about you.

My life is an open book.  Most of my friends have known me for a very long time and I can’t think of anything they might not know about me.  I lived in my home town most of my life before retiring to Struisbaai but some people may not know that from the age of 2 to 5 I lived in Johannesburg and started my formal schooling there.

What is your favorite flower?

My favourite flower is the South African National Flower – The Protea

Things I want to have in my home (paintings, hot tubs, book cases, big screen tv etc)

I am very happy with everything I have in my house (all of the above except the hot tub) l’d only change one thing – the floors.  I’d like either wood laminate flooring throughout or tiles that look like wood laminate.

Optional Bonus question:  What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up? 

As much as I love living here at the southern tip of Africa, I do miss my Cape Town friends and family.  So I’m always grateful when they come to visit for a few days.  After much re-scheduling Chantal and Jeremy made it here this past weekend.  How wonderful it was to have a good catch up and not have to try and get all the news in during a quick dinner date fitted in when we go to Cape Town.

The placemats at Potpourri in Cape Agulhas suited each of us appropriately

Chanty certaily loves her songs

Translation for overseas readers – That what we have is enough!  Definitely The Earl’s Motto

And everyone knows how much I love my coffee

Jeremy wants all those gorgeous girls out there to know that he is taken!

The sky was amazing at the Southern Tip on Sunday

A yellow mongoose or six greeted us on the way to Arniston

This morning we had breakfast at the harbour

The gang waiting for service

Next week I am looking forward to Easter.  The kids will be coming in large numbers!

Fishing and Fun in Struisbaai

Our daughter, Laurie, brought a group of friends to stay this past weekend.  What a great time we had with Cara and Shaun, Dylan and a young girl visiting from Turkey named Cansu – pronounced Yunsue.

They all drove up together after work on Friday evening and we met them at The Michael Collins for dinner.   The fun began from there and it was midnight before we got to bed.

In spite of this Dylan, Shaun and Earl were up bright and early and went out on Kiora to try their luck on the five and twelve mile banks.  And it all went well – more of that later.

We girls chilled a little longer in bed but when we arose Cansu cooked us a Turkish breakfast.  She heated olive oil in the pan, threw in chopped green peppers, tomato and garlic and fried them till soft then mixed in some eggs and then topped it with grated cheese and cooked it slowly.   We sat out at the picnic table and enjoyed this delicious feast.

Breakfast was a Turkish Delight – Cansu and Cara

Our mission for the day was to show Cansu what the area had to offer so off we set to climb to the top of the Agulhas lighthouse.

 

Cara and Laurie stayed down below but I went up too. The last ladder that takes you to the top is the scariest of all.  You may only go up one at a time.  When I reached the top I found a mom and a very scared little girl refusing to go down.   I stopped to encourage her telling her the story of two other little ones I’d recently had in the tower who were just as terrified but very brave.  Just hold on tight and don’t let go and you will be fine, I said.  I think just hearing a voice other than her mom’s did the trick as the tears dried up and she went straight down.

Dad and Little Sister were waiting to welcome her – what a brave girl!

Cara and Laurie walking Caper the Daschund

Magnificent View from up there

 

Down the scary ladder she goes

But she was not afraid

It is compulsory for every visitor who comes this far south to stand at the very tip of Africa.   As it was the weekend there were a number of visitors but the wait was not too long.

In 982 a Japanese fishing boat, The Meisho Maru 38 wrecked at Cape Agulhas and can still be seen on the rocks today.  We took Cansu to see it.

The rocks are rugged – you wouldn’t want to run aground here

Cansu poses with the ill fated Meishu Maru

The threatened Black Oystercatcher 

Casper loves the beach

Some fynbos

By this time we were all hanging out for a cup of coffee so the delightful gift shop, Potpourri, was our next port of call.  We sat outside as we had Casper and shared a scone – a first for Cansu.

Potpourri

The boys, in the meantime, were having a great time at sea.  Soon after we got home, Earl called to say they were on their way in and they had fish for supper.

There was a lot of activity at the harbour and some fishermen were cleaning their catch and throwing the guts into the sea.  This attracted about ten stingrays into the shallows.

A stingray swims in the clear water

These creatures have become very tame, will eat from a friendly hand and allow people to stroke them.  Cansu was fascinated. She kicked off her shoes and waded in.  One of the locals had bits of fish and was feeding them. He told her the stingray was pregnant.

Getting close and personal with a ray

“It feels like a jellyfish with fur,” she said

I yelled to Canu to watch the tail but I was on the jetty and she didn’t hear me.

Ouch – the tail brushed against her leg

Cansu got a fright and there was a small graze on her leg which bled but there was no harm done – the spikes did not penetrate her skin and there was no swelling or pain afterwards.  We just treated her with Allergex ointment and she was fine.

The Fishermen returning after a successful day at sea

Shaun has a Santa and a Red Stompneus  Dylan has two Red Roman

Laurie made us a lovely spinach salad, Cara made garlic bread and new baby potatoes and Earl fried the fish – we had an amazing feast.

More of this lovely weekend to follow.

 

 

 

 

 

Struisbaai Marlin Competition 2017

Last week The Suidpunt Deep Sea Angling club once again hosted the Marlin Competition. This annual event is a great drawcard for deep sea anglers and a wonderful highlight on the Struisbaai calendar.  This year 27 teams from all over the country took part and the competition ran for six days of which only two were not fished due to poor conditions.

The club catered all meals for the teams and there was a wonderful vibe at the evening dinners.  Earl and I hosted Andrew, who was the communications officer and we were appointed the official photographers for the week!

What a Spread

Hardworking Girls behind the scenes

The rules of the competition were fairly complicated but this is how I understood them.  A marlin had to be landed, photographed, a DNA sample taken then released.  A video of the fish swimming away also had to be taken.   The angler/boat who caught the last fish would be declared the winner – this was so that their enthusiasm would last to the bitter end!

Three fish were landed.  Osprey caught the first, Woes Lekke the second and Salti the third.

Crew from Woes Lekke with DNA Sample – second Marlin landed

On one of the evenings Andrew was the Auctioneer and some generous bids were made for the wines donated by some local estates.

Wines on Auction

Sold to that man over there

Should we or shouldn’t we – they did

A special wine bottled in honour of Shanga

Shanga is Andrew’s dog who goes everywhere with him

And what am I bid for last year’s banner?  Quite a lot it turned out and this year’s one went too.

The auction raised R39 000 for the club.  Thanks to all the bidders this will be put to good use a Suidpunt Deep Angling Club.

On Friday there was a pirate party at The Club which was great fun.  Earl and I were the judges and we found it difficult to choose so in the end gave one individual prize and one group prize.  There was no female prize and I was the only girl to dress up and the judge can’t win!

Tattooed and scary?

Captain Morgan ready to pillage

Beware of this lot on a dark night

The organisation of this event was mammoth.   The caterers did an amazing job and kept us all well fed.

Hungry anglers enjoying the catering

Struisbaai, I think, thoroughly enjoyed having the anglers visit for a week and each afternoon the harour was a fun place to be as the boats returned from sea.

The winning boat escorted in by the birds

Feast from the fishermen

No fighting please – there’s enough for everyone

The Stingray will not be left out

 

Second boat to land a Marlin

Team Salti were the winners

 

 

 

 

 

 

Share your world 6 February 2017

Here are my answers to Cee’s Share Your World 6 February 2017

Regarding your fridge, is it organized or a mess inside?

Funny you should ask because if I’d read this question this morning my answer might have been quite different.

Of course I like my fridge to be neat and organized but for the past few days it has been in a bit of a state so today I sorted out the chaos!   I threw out left over food from last Monday’s anniversary party, poured mayonnaise from an almost empty jar into an almost full one, checked to see that the milk wasn’t past its use by date and put veggies into containers instead of leaving them in their punnets and plastic wrappings.   I didn’t know this was going to be a question today so don’t have a before photograph – but here is what my refrigerator looks like after its clean out this morning!

Well the above is how my fridge looked when I started this post but then my adopted grandson, Sam and his friend, Daniel who are staying with us for a few days, came back from a night time fishing trip with four geelbek and a skipjack so they now have pride of place till tomorrow morning when they can be cleaned.   Guess what we will be having for dinner tomorrow!

Sam (left) and Daniel had a great evening out on Sam’s boat Red Head

Lovely fresh fish   

Do you prefer your food separated or mixed together?

Depending on what the meal is – I like each vegetable to have  its own place on the plate but I eat them together with the meat or fish – a bit of fish and a bit of veggie on one fork is the proper way to eat isn’t it?  I do not eat one food group at a time – first the peas, then the carrots and leave the best till last – that’s crazy.  I like mixing the flavours.

Sushi of course is fish, vegetable and rice rolled together in a sheet of seaweed and I love that.

Do you prefer reading coffee table books (picture), biographies, fiction, non-fiction, educational?

If it is printed I read it.   But if the first few pages don’t grab me I have no qualms about setting it aside.   I like well written fiction. My favourite authors are Anne Tyler, Chaim Potok, Bryce Courtenay, Barbara Trapido, Mavis Cheek,Maeve Binchy, Anita Shreve.  I also love books by South African authors about South African life.   Michael Heyns, Rayda Jacobs, Pamela Jooste and Maire Fischer have written some amazing fiction.  I am reading a book by Deon Meyer’s Icarus at the moment.

I have/had a huge collection of coffee table/reference books.  I had to give most of them away when we sold our big house in Cape Town – it broke my heart but there’s no room for them in Struisbaai. I still have too many.

Close your eyes. Listen to your body. What part of your body is seeking attention? What is it telling you?

I’m thirsty – time to have a lovely cold glass of water.   If I don’t drink enough water my blood pressure drops and then I wonder why I’m so exhausted.

 

 

 

 

Spending Quality Time With Friends

We recently had our very good friends, Heather and Peter, spend time with us.  It was an enormously happy time and the Weather Man obliged us with some stunning sunny days.

It was great to show them the improvements we’ve made to our home although they’re not quite finished yet. We enjoyed meals together, immersed ourselves in catching up on each other’s lives and it was a treat to take them to our favourite birding spots.  We have so many shared interests so it was great to have an extended time together to enjoy each other.

The sunny days made it all the more exciting and although winter birding is not as productive as spring and summer we managed to do pretty well each day.   Tuesday found us on the Arniston Road.

Jackal Buzzard

Rock Kestrel

Denham’s bustard

Denham’s in the foreground – steenbok in the background

There were hundreds of our national bird, the blue crane in the farmlands

A malachite sunbird enjoying the aloes

A bee, his only competition

Cloud Cisticola?  Not sure about this LBJ’s identity

The Arniston Hotel where we enjoyed a great lunch

Arniston

Arniston fishermen coming in from a day at sea

On Wednesday we chilled at home till later in the afternoon when we set off to Agulhas Light house.  On the way we enjoyed some birds and then went to see the light house museum.

There were literally dozens of African Black Oystercatchers on the rocks

A little egret soaking up the sun

Enjoying the lighthouse museum

After the museum we took a drive to Suiderstrand picking up a couple of birds and enjoying the views.

The famous “Pietie se huis” which is now part of the Agulhas National Park Rest Camp.

A Black Shouldered Kite with a hapless mouse for dinner

Bokmakierie

In the evening we introduced our old best friends to our new best friends over a stunning braai of ribs, chops and sausage

The next day we took off down the Elim Road and were thrilled with all the birds we found before having lunch at The Black Oystercatcher Wine Estate

A gaggle of Spur-winged geese

Cape Robin singing happily

 

A delight to find a fish eagle

Scores of Denham’s Bustards about

Flamingos on the Salt Pans

The Black Oystercatcher

Lunch was excellent – we all had the sticky chicken salad

The sun was setting when we returned and so we popped in at the harbour to see how the boats had done.  A few fish were caught but not as much as the fishermen had hoped!

Sunset

One of the ski-boats returning from a day at sea

Friday’s weather matched our mood as we bade farewell to our friends as they made their way back to Cape Town on a cold and wet day.

What a delight to have been able to share those few days with our dearest friends!