Unbelievable

On Saturday Dad took Danny to Pets at Home to get some supplies for our beautiful gold fish. Gogo bought the fish for Nicholas when Daniel was born and they are still going strong. Unbelievably they often swim upside down (so we frequently fear the worst). It seems like that is just what they like to do after a meal. Similar to humans in a funny sort of way. They have had a lot of names, including being nameless, but Flip and Finn seem to have finally stuck. We love our fish!


Back to the pet shop - it isn't your average pet shop - it's spacious and clean and has a huge selection of animals. The fish section is like an aquarium and the reptile section is like the tropical zoo, and then they've got chickens, bunnies, chinchillas, skinks and lots more. Every weekend they have special event like a dog grooming demonstration. The unbelievable thing is that they were selling shongololos for £25 - TWENTY FIVE POUNDS - being a South African where there are shongolos aplenty I find this hard to believe. I think I should start a shongololo importing business for the boys. Anyone want to be our agent at that end?

Chicken Pox

Nicholas has chicken pox! The old wives' tale says 3 days' of spots, 3 days' of blisters and 3 days' of crusting over and then life returns to normal. So far it seems quite accurate. Nick's spots started appearing last Tuesday, at first I thought it was just a mild case, but the spots just kept coming, until Friday when he was at his sickest and itchiest. Then, as if by magic, he hit the turning point and has been getting better and better ever since. Thankfully he has been very good about not not scratching so he doesn't look too bad. It's actually been nice being housebound. I've really enjoyed having Nicholas all to myself again and playing school-school with him. I'll miss him when he goes back to school later this week!

SA2011: Joburg

We got quite used to lovely long holidays in South Africa over the last few years, but this year we could only go for two and a half weeks because of school holidays. We spent one week in Magogong and one week in Wakkerstroom, a couple of days travelling in between, and then the last stint in Joburg. We always like a bit of time in Joburg so that we can meet up with family and friends and visit some of our favourite spots. We could actually do with a whole week there!

The Lion Park

We like going to the Lion Park because it is so easy to get to, just on the outskirts of the city (you can actually see the skyline in the distance of the one photo). It affords us the opportunity to have a wild animal encounter with guaranteed sightings and very little effort on our part. The boys always like feeding the giraffe and checking out the antelope, and it's nice to see lion, cheetah and wild dogs up close too!

The De Munniks

It's hard to imagine how we squeezed so many friends and family into such a short period of time. We had lunch with the Frenches, spent a lovely evening with the Krugers, and Warren and Nicole hosted one of their famous braais giving us the opportunity to see them as well as the De Munniks, Pam and Gareth. I am so sorry I didn't take a photo of their lovely bull dog, Dexter, who the kids absolutely adored. The next day we had a last minute swim with the De Munniks. It was great seeing Nicholas and Dylan and Daniel and Travis playing so nicely together!

Sandton Playground

One day a few years ago we stumbled across an awesome playground, albeit a bit overgrown and run down, somewhere in Sandton. It's at a convenient crossroad so when we have some time to kill in between visits we usually pop in there. The boys impressed us no end as they clambered all over the risky equipment in a courageous fashion!

SA2011: Meeting in the middle

Unfortunately the timing didn't favour us spending much time with Monique, Bash and Tyler. We did manage to meet up halfway between Wakkerstroom and Richmond (3 hours each, each way). The place we picked, somewhere near Bergville, was perfect to while away a day. I only wish we had more time with them. The boys remembered Monique and Tyler very well from their visit to London last April. I hope that we will get to spend more time with you next time we are in SA - we miss you guys!

SA2011: Hanging around in Wakkerstroom

A lot of poeple wonder why we love Wakkerstroom so much. The most obvious reason is because it is where we get to spend time the the Dad's side of the family. The boys even think that Oupa and Ouma live in Wakkerstroom because that's where we always see them. There are so many other reasons why it is special to us. It brings memories of playing and exploring in the big garden, afternoon puzzles and games on the sun porch, delicious home cooked food and lots to drink, excellent conversations, evening walks, birdwatching, fishing and hiking. It's also about the only time in the year that we have to really rest and relax!

Christmas Day

Flower arranging with Ouma

Getting the hang of handball

No fun like playing with a hose pipe
Keeping the Great Danes on their toes

Bird Watching at The Vlei

Horse riding at the neighbours

Sudoku Puzzles with Oupa

Books with Great Aunt Megs

Learning about Nintendo DS from extended cousins Jack and Ross

The rainbow

This year we did three hikes while we were in Wakkies. The best way to appreciate nature is to immerse yourself into it and hiking is one of the ways to do that. Especially if you cannot get to the destination in any other way. I always feel so good, relaxed and satisfied after a hike. I hope that my boys will grow to enjoy it as much as I do. I'll put the photos for each hike in a separate post after this one so be sure to look at older posts if you are interested!