Today is a special day as my second daughter is 25 years old and we are going around shortly to her house to have a family and friends braaivleis.

Wednesday 27th July 2011
Today, 40 years ago, is the day that I met Geoff on a blind date at my sister Julie and her husband Rex Osborne’s anniversary party at their home in 1971 and today was also special for we had heard that it had snowed further inland and we decided to travel towards the lower Drakensberg in the hope of seeing snow for the first time in my life. Well as we came over a ridge, about 20kms before Kokstad, there it was – beautiful white snow as far as the eye could see. What an absolutely magical feeling it was for me and I was quite overwhelmed by the whole experience. Lots of other people had the same goal as us and a number of cars had stopped on the side of the road, with the adults and children all building snowmen and having a good time. We stopped a number of times just to “experience the snow” and had such a good time throwing snowballs at each other, building small odd shaped snowmen and marveling at God’s creation. Needless to say we took lots of photographs on the way. We also stopped at the entrance to Ripplemead Bed and Breakfast, where we had stayed a year earlier, and took lovely photos of the farm covered in snow. Too soon it was time to turn around and head back to Uvongo as we had made plans to meet Audrey, my sister-in-law, for coffee and cake at the Shelley Centre. We made it back just in time and we even gave Audrey a small container of snow so that she could feel it as well. After a lovely time of fellowship we went back to the caravan and built a snowman on the front of our car from more snow that we had brought back with us so that we could take photos for “Facebook” and to remind us of this wonderful time we had had today.
Thursday 28th July 2011
It was raining lightly today so we spent time in the caravan before driving to the Village of Happiness, a retirement village in Margate, to collect details of the villages and application forms. They have three lovely villages with many activities, in Margate, Ramsgate and Pennington, but our first choice would be in Ramsgate where you could keep a small dog as well. After getting the information which was another emotional experience for me we went for a short drive along the Margate beach front before returning to our caravan.
Friday 29th July 2011
It was still raining and was quite chilly so we spent the whole day at the caravan, sort out our things and beginning to pack up for our return trip to Gauteng on Monday.
Saturday 30th July 2011
It was sunny at long last so we drove to the Uvongo area nearby where the weekly flea market is held every Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday’s there tends to be more stalls than on a Sunday and after browsing the stalls we decided to have a cup of tea at the local tea garden around lunch time. The service received from our waiter was great but we did find that the convener/owner was a tad unfriendly as he wanted to close down and go home. After tea we made our way to the Margate and Uvongo beaches where we walked along the beaches for the last time. Back at the caravan we relaxed and contemplated our adventure of the last 10 weeks at the coast.
Sunday 31st July 2011
We were up early for church and after a lovely service we regretfully bid farewell to our new friends at Margate United Church and made our way back to our caravan so as e to take shade netting down and pack what we could in our car. This kept us busy until 1.30 pm when we walked up the road to Audrey, who had kindly invited us for lunch, which was delicious and it also gave us a chance to say a final goodbye to Shane and Nikki Dunford and the girls. It was early to bed that evening as we knew that we would have to be up early to dismantle the tent and pack the rest of our thing in the caravan and car so as to leave Uvongo as early as possible.
Monday 1st August 2011
We were up around 5 am taking the tent down, packing and getting the final things done to the caravan for towing before we went in the car to Margate to the Village of Happiness Retirement Village to hand in our application forms for their waiting list. We were told that there is an 8 to 10 year waiting period so I felt fine with that idea. When we arrived back at the park, Eddie the owner, helped us to hitch up the caravan and after saying goodbye to the staff and our pensioner friends, Andrew and Wendy Luke, we left for the Muller’s home in Howick. We had an uneventful trip up country and we were soon driving into Des and Noreen’s property. We enjoyed a social time together and two of their grandchildren, Graham and Hayley arrive after school and shortly thereafter their lift arrived to take them back to their farm in the Boston Area of Kwa Zulu Natal. Geoff then started working on Hayley’s computer but unfortunately had to go into Howick to buy a compatible keyboard for the replacement computer Noreen had obtained from the Westville church. More problems arose when he could not use the power supply unit as it was not compatible as well so there was nothing more he could do at the time. We were very aware that evening that it was a lot colder here than at the coast. We enjoyed a delicious dinner with wine and all watched Survivor before getting a good night’s sleep.
Tuesday 2nd August 2011
We had a bit of a lie in this morning and after a delicious breakfast of bacon and eggs cooked by Geoff, the four of us climbed into Des’ car and travelled to the Peels shop to buy Honey and Brittle and then we made our way towards the farming area of Boston. We popped in at a farm owned by Noel Maclean and his wife Eve but unfortunately they had apparently gone to the coast for a while to escape the cold weather. Noel had attended Glenwood High School when Geoff was there (in the dark ages!!!). Fortunately Wayne and Jacqui Muller’s farm is but a stone’s throw away from there and we arrived at the house to find Jacqui missing but we soon heard a nearby tractor and there was Jacqui driving it with a hay bale on the back end – food for their cows – Oh the life of a farmer. Geoff worked on the other computer that we had given them which was also faulty and thankfully managed to get it working again. We then drove to Midmar Dam to make enquiries about the cost of Caravan Storage and not too far away was Piggly Wiggly where we stopped for lunch. We enjoyed a good lunch there before looking around at the few boutique shops on the property before we made our way back to their house.
As the price of petrol was again going up at midnight, we took our car into Howick to fill up the tank with petrol before our departure and on the way we decided to drive the short distance to Hilton to go and see my niece Rose who runs a Haberdashery Shop there. We hadn’t told her we were coming but fortunately she was there and it was so nice to catch up with her over a Cappuccino Coffee. We then returned to Howick and had a delicious cottage pie made by Noreen and after chatting and watching a little TV, we were off to bed.
Wednesday 3rd August
We were up early once again, packed the car, had breakfast and started the last part of our journey back home. In the distance we could still see thick snow on the Drakensberg Mountain range and there was still a good deal of snow alongside the road at Van Reenen’s Pass.
We were both looking forward to seeing Charmaine, Mark, Christopher and Alice once again as it seems to have been such a long time since we had left Johannesburg and also Skype Melissa and Gregg in Newbury England. Charmaine and Christopher had done such a good job of looking after the house whilst we were away with all the various problems that had occurred – It is not easy to have all that responsibility but hopefully it will help them in the years to come when they own their own homes.
Over the 11 weeks that we were away we travelled 5,009 kilometers at an average consumption rate of 8.81Litres per 100km and the cost of the petrol alone came to R3,887.85 (figures provided by Geoff who keeps this kind of detail!)
We would like to thank our Saviour, Jesus, for once again being with us every single second of this adventure and friends and family for their ongoing love and support. We have been so blessed and know that our Lord provides everything that we have and need.
We have been truly blessed and privileged to do what we have done of late.

Thursday 21st July. After breakfast we all drove into Underberg as we were looking for old friends of ours, John and Jude Emmerson who retired from the Bank before Geoff, and had retired to Underberg years ago and who had been involved with the SPCA. Our first stop was the Underberg Country Club and Geoff spoke to the chairman who told us that John and Jude had stayed in the area, apparently they then managed a farm in Boston for six months before emigrated to the UK. We then went to Himeville which is 5km away to see where my brother Frank and his wife Marge Dunford live but as mentioned they were away but were returning later on in the evening. We then stopped off at the local butcher and chatted to him for a while before visiting the Himeville Museum which is a most amazing place to visit and is open to the public between 9 and 12.30 each weekday. We were welcomed by the old chap who runs the museum and he was so glad to see some visitors.
According to the Drakensberg Tourism website: Himeville was named after Sir Alfred Hime, a road engineer elected Prime Minister of Natal in 1889. Himeville Museum was built in 1900 as the last of Natal’s loop-holed forts before housing prisoners until 1972.
It is one of the best rural museums in the country due to its wide range of exhibits. From fossils and stone age artifacts to a comprehensive display on the Bushmen, the early settlers as well as African beadwork and artifacts. The displays also cover the Anglo Boer War and the two world wars. There is an old post office and a school room, wild life display and many farming implements and machinery including a blacksmiths forge and a workshop. The museum is housed in the old fort or laager started in 1896 by the Border Mounted Rifles sent to police the area after the LeFleur Rebellion of 1895. Completed in 1899 it was only used once during the Bambata rebellion of 1906 although no fighting took place nearby. It was taken over by the Natal Mounted Police after the Anglo Boer War and turned into a prison by the addition of the warder’s house and magistrate’s court along with a number of cells. Abandoned as a prison in 1972 it became a museum in 1976 and was declared a National Monument in 1978. It is now affiliated to the KZN Provincial Museum Service. Covering the Bulwer, Underberg and Himeville communities it commemorates the way of life of all the erstwhile inhabitants of the last frontier of Natal and has fairly extensive archives.
We then went to Puckety Farm Stall which is situated on the road coming into Underberg from Bulwer. This is a lovely area and where honesty is anticipated in the farm stall, art gallery and curio shop where you can buy and leave your money in a container. At the time we were looking for a place to have drinks and this was also a type of a self-help place with a few farm animals and a little picnic spot. One of the farm animals was a huge big fat pink pig who was having a lovely snooze in the sun! (You all know how much I love pigs – so that is why I mentioned him it). We however decided to go somewhere else for tea and made our way to the Rose and Quail in Himeville which looked nice and we weren’t disappointed – Noreen and I enjoyed a most delicious Lemon Meringue slice and a cup of tea, Geoff a huge scone with Jam and cream and Des opted for a Ginger Beer only.
One thing I noticed of this area was that there is such a tremendous community spirit and one just has to read the local newspaper to see the activities and events in the area.

On the way back to Fairways, we visited places like:
Duck and Dolittle: This place is situated on a farm and has a tea garden, shop and has farm animals which can be fed with a trusty fat pig sleeping in the sun and a pony and donkey as well as goats, sheep and chickens.
Lake Navarone Self-catering Berg Retreat: This must be one of the most beautiful spots and best kept secrets of the Berg. The setting is just beautiful. At the office where we stopped there were 2 dogs. One was older and did not want to play but the younger Labrador amused us greatly as this dog didn’t catch the ball when you threw it, he just waited for you to throw it to him and he kicked the ball back to you. He had a lovely game with his owner and I just wish we had been able to capture this on video at the time.
Underberg Cheesery also known as River Glen Farm:
This small farm is situated on the Umzimkulu River outside Underberg on the road to Drakensberg Gardens. This is another hidden gem of this area where they make their own cheese and the owner, a very friendly lady named Jill, showed us the process of making cheese. We did some tasting and bought two packets of Black Olive Cheese which was quite reasonable considering what one pays in the supermarkets. We watched the cows being milked and had fun with the calves as well. They are so cute and one in particular was hungry and kept trying to eat my clothes with its rough tongue. Unfortunately there was no big pig sleeping in the sun at this farm!
If you visit their website www.riverglen.co.za you will find some delicious recipes and information. According to the Legend on their website the story has it that cheese was ‘discovered’ by an unknown Arab nomad. He is said to have filled a saddlebag with milk to sustain him on a journey across the desert by horse. After several hours riding he stopped to quench his thirst, only to find that the milk had separated into a pale watery liquid and solid white lumps. Because the saddlebag, which was made from the stomach of a young animal, contained a coagulating enzyme known as rennin, the milk had been effectively separated into curds and whey by the combination of the rennin, the hot sun and the galloping motions of the horse.
We travelled back to Fairways again, and Des cooked us a lovely chicken casserole and we opened a bottle of champagne to celebrate our blessings that evening. Geoff made us a lovely fire inside the cottage and we were kept very warm until all went to bed reasonably early.

Friday 22nd July. We woke up at 6.30 am to another awesomely clear mountain view and after breakfast packed the cars and drove back to Himeville after the chalet was checked to visit my brother Frank and his wife Margie. It was so nice to be able to catch up with them and see their beautiful house that they built many years ago which has a lovely view of the mountains. If anyone is ever in the area and in need of self-catering cottages or a bed and breakfast, please give their website a visit: www.dunfordsloft.co.za . We had coffee and toast on the verandah and were entertained by their two dogs. One dog is a Staffie named Pumba who has such character and is very loveable whilst the other is Jessie who kept herself amused trying to catch rats and moles in the garden. All too soon it was time to say our goodbyes to them and Des and Noreen who were travelling back to Howick whilst we were making our way back via Park Rynie and Bazley Beach. At Bazley Beach, we went and visited our pensioner friends that were still there and I had tea with Dick and Eileen whilst Geoff went onto the beach to do some fishing. Unfortunately he did not catch any fish and we left at about 4.45pm to travel back to Uvongo.
Saturday 23rd July. Woke up to a lovely clear, warm and sunny day and took the opportunity to do a load of washing and to clean up the caravan, repack and sort out our things. Geoff went and bought some supplies and I stayed at the park and managed to finish the book I was reading. We had a lovely Boerewors braai and had turned in early. The grounds man here at Oasis, Simphiwe, came to be very proudly and showed me a ground mole at the end of his shovel. He had just “klapped” it over the head as he said it was destroying the grass. I quickly told him that that is not something I want to see again. He was very proud of himself and when I asked him what about the children down below waiting for their Dad, he couldn’t understand that concept at all. Good ol” Simphiwe!!
Sunday 24th July. We again travelled to the Margate United Church for the 9am service and after that we were invited by our friend Ann Grant to her house in Ramsgate for coffee. Ann is the lady that we knew from St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Pretoria when our children were babies and she ran the Sunday school there. She shared her testimony with us and also shared about her family (5 sons) and husband Craig who had recently passed away. She is remarkable lady who is now 83 years old and is still very active. After we left Ann we went to one of the Ramsgate beaches and enjoyed a lovely walk along the beach front, collecting shells and having a relaxing time. It is so sad that in South Africa of today one has to be so aware of the possibility of crime and we therefore kept looking over our shoulders as we were the only people on this beach. What a sad fact that when 3 African men passed us, we immediately thought that they are out to attack us but in actual fact they may very well be enjoying the beach themselves. We returned safely to the car and drove to our camp site where we relaxed over a fine dinner and drinks.
Monday 25th July. It had started raining overnight and as it was pouring down we took the opportunity to only get out of bed at about 10.30 am. That was a late morning for us but after bathing and breakfast we went to have a gas cylinder refilled and then went to Shelley Centre to see the final “Harry Potter” movie. It was still raining when we got out of the movie after 5 pm and when we arrived back at our resort the caravan was warm and tent still dry inside and we enjoyed some curried mince that night. We later heard that it was snowing in Himeville (just a day or two too late for us), on the farm in Boston and that snow and ice had closed all the major routes between Durban and Johannesburg.
Tuesday 26th July. It is still raining heavily this morning and we haven’t yet ventured out of the Resort but my personal Chef is preparing a tasty mutton potjie for this evening. Hmmmm we are so spoilt!
Over and Out until next time!!

Friday 8th July 2011 I made a provisional booking, here at the park, for my niece Rose and her husband Mike Viljoen who want to bring their caravan and visit Audrey, my sister in law and us for the weekend of the 15th July. In the afternoon we took a ride around different areas of Uvongo and Margate again to get a feel for the area and ended up having another quiet evening at the park – you might think that our evenings are so boring but Geoff and I do not really like going out in the dark of night even when we are at home and we are quite content to get inside the caravan, out the cold and read or watch DSTV.

Saturday 9th July 2011 We were woken up at 6am this morning by a lady shrieking in the street outside the resort. She was absolutely hysterical and shouting “Please help me, they’ve stolen my purse and passport”. She kept repeating that over and over again. We thought maybe she had been raped as she was so hysterical and just did not calm down. I went to the fence and she was walking down the street towards the caravan park. I asked her what had happened and she repeated the above and asked if I had seen the robbers running this way. Fortunately a few motorists arrived in the area including a Chubb Security van which took her away in all probability to the Police Station. It was quite unnerving to hear this poor woman screaming like that particularly as she was so traumatized. Well after that bad experience we bathed early, did some washing, tidied up the breakfast plates and then walked around the immediate suburb with Geoff’s knobkerrie in tow to see the shops and other interesting places – It was such a lovely warm day after the wind we had experienced of late – We were very careful not to take any valuables with us this time. We then walked down to the Uvongo beach and then along the beach front area towards St. Michaels on Sea and were fortunate to see a large school of dolphins, not too far out, enjoying themselves in the waves as they swam this way and that whilst surfing through the waves and just generally having a fun time. By now the sea was calm with no white horses at all. For those that do not know Uvongo Beach area, like many along the Natal coast, was very badly damaged by “big storm waves” in 2007 and the Uvongo beach disappeared as a result thereof which is really such a pity. The local Italian restaurant has pictures of the tragic event on its outside windows and it is surprising that there was not great loss of life at the time. We also watched some huge crabs running around on the local rocks whilst a few people paddling in the sea where a little area of beach sand remains. Now we had to tackle the long “UPHILL” walk back to the caravan park. After crossing the South Coast main road where found the Uvongo Library which is in good condition. Just outside the library there is a monument to the men from the area that fought over the years serving their country and a huge gun carriage from the 1st World War. Unfortunately like in many places the area has not been maintained and it is now obviously used as a place of rest and a toilet by vagrants. We then walked up to the top of the hill and marvelled at some of the houses in this area which are really huge and have lovely sea views. On returning towards home we came upon the road where the unfortunate lady had been robbed and not surprisingly noticed a huge area of dense bush on the one side where they had obviously come out of and returned that morning.
Back home at last we felt good after our long walk which had tired us out so we relaxed at the caravan for the rest of the day and really slept well that night.

Sunday 10th July 2011 No early morning screaming from the street to wake us up this morning but we were soon up to get ready for the church which starts at 9am. It was another lovely day and we really enjoyed the church service at the Margate United Church (Presbyterian/Congregational) up the road once again. A very uplifting service and we are finding the congregation to be “young” at heart – we were made to feel most welcome and a number of people came to chat to us. After the service we drove to Margate Beach and sat in the car watching all the holidaymakers around us. I for one just love watching other people (as you all probably know). The whales and the dolphins were enjoying themselves out to sea again but unfortunately we had not brought our binoculars with us this time which would have helped us see better. On the way back to the caravan we bought some groceries and on our return home enjoyed a delicious dinner of chicken and salads. After lunch we drove down to St. Michael’s and walked along the beach looking in all the rock pools and along the swimming beach. Swimming has been banned all along this part of the Indian Ocean as the shark nets have been lifted due to the current sardine run but people still take a chance and I have a lovely picture of a life guard on the beach who had scooped out a little bed for himself in the sand, covered himself with his anorak and proceeded to fall asleep (well it looked like it anyway).
Another unusual sleeping position I took a photo off was one of the ladies who sell their wares on the side of the road who was lying fast asleep in a wheelbarrow warmly wrapped up in her blanket.
We then went to Shelley Beach itself where they have a Small Craft Harbour and where all the fishing boats are launched from. We sat there for over an hour just watching the activities. Far out at sea, a huge whale was visible every now and again as he jumped out of the water. A few fishing boats were coming back into the harbour and one in particular called Shake Shake came in at great speed and stopped on the beach. The owner went to fetch is 2 wheel drive Bakkie to pull the boat off the sand and up the ramp. The thin nylon rope that they were using was actually no good at all and it snapped. The boat itself was surrounded by lots of beach sand in the front and the chaps that were with him didn’t even bother to clear away the mound of sand and just proceeded to sit, smoke a few cigarettes and wait!!! We didn’t know what they were waiting for but it soon became apparent when another smaller boat came speeding in from the sea and a large round fellow who they called Amos was the guy that they were waiting for. He was obviously an old “sea dog” and had a decent rope and he in the end managed to pull his boat up and came back to get their boat up the ramp. So it was Amos to the rescue and by this time it was getting dark, but I just wanted to see what was going to happen. While we were watching this, we were also amused by a few fishermen close by. At one time all 4 of these men climbed on to 1 little rock and tried to fish. They were catching small reef fish and nothing worthwhile at all. We had had such a good time and this time had our binoculars with us so were kept very entertained. We came back to the caravan and just had soup and toast for dinner and watched our favourite Sunday TV programmes.
Monday 11th July 2011 It is Monday morning again which means, sleeping in late, cleaning out the caravan, and catching up with admin and blog updates on our computers. It is a most beautiful day outside and I intend to go and sit in the sun somewhere… We are at the moment looking forward to Rose and Mike’s visit on Friday and also to Christopher and Alice’s visit from Jhb as well, if the latest strike by the Petrol Companies does not put paid to any of these plans.
One of the advantages of this caravan park is the bird life that is found here and we marvel at the way the Starlings suck nectar out of the Coastal Corral Tree flowers, the Barbets, the Wood Hoopoes that visit and many more. Stayed around the camp most of the day and in the afternoon went for a lovely walk down the hill (steep!!) to the Uvongo Beach.
Tuesday 12TH July 2011 After our normal “morning routine” we drove to Shelley Beach, looking around at the various houses and complexes there and then went to the Centre just in time to see the morning show of Something Borrowed. What a lovely chick flick this turned out to be and it had Kate Hudson in it, who I like. I even found Geoff chuckling and enjoying it. So for the men out there – take heart.
We returned to the caravan, Geoff made Babotie, rice and Vegies and as soon as the sun goes down one can feel the “coastal chill” come in and we watched TV and again had a good night’s sleep.
Wednesday 13th July 2011. We enjoyed a quiet day at Oasis getting the tent ready to accommodate Alice and Christopher who arrive tomorrow for five days down here with us. We cleared a space for them for the blow-up mattress and then assembled our hanging cupboard (which Tom & Lyn Coulter gave us), prepared two loads of washing including our bed linen, duvet cover and anything else that looked vaguely dirty. We then walked down to the beach in the late afternoon but did not see any whales or dolphins this time around.

Thursday 14th July 2011. We woke early on Thursday in anticipation of Christopher and Alice’s arrival that day. They contacted us at 7.30am to say that they were in Harrismith so we anticipated that they would arrive around lunch time so we headed to Shelley Centre to get supplies and then waited for their arrival. However, unbeknown to us, they had taken the “Midlands Meander” and stopped at a number of places on the way down and when they eventually arrived, eleven hour after their departure, we were sitting on the beach at St. Michaels watching the swimmers, surfers and fishermen. They were so surprised at how warm the weather was down here as opposed to that in Johannesburg. We all made our way back to the caravan park and as they were exhausted we turned in early and were surprised to hear rain on the tent as the moon had been shining in a clear sky minutes earlier. We still enjoyed a good night’s sleep that night however.

Friday 15th July 2011. After breakfast we all headed down to Margate Beach for the morning but only Geoff was brave enough to swim in the surf. Chris and Alice were throwing a tennis ball to each other and in the process Alice’s ring came off into the beach sand and remarkably Geoff found it by running his finger through the sand in the area where it went missing. It was a lovely clear day and we all enjoyed the warmth and relaxation on the beach. After walking to the fishermen’s pier at Margate to look for fishing activity (there was little going on) we drove to Shelley Centre and made our way to the Elna Shop to see whether Audrey was working but she had already gone home. Christopher and Alice stood us to lunch at John Dory’s which was really tasty – They have delicious Fish and Chips special on at present for R 29 and wine at R 8 a glass! We returned to Oasis Caravan Park and played some energetic table tennis games amongst ourselves. We were expecting Rose and Mike Viljoen (my niece and her husband) that night at Oasis and so Geoff cooked boerewors for them on the braai. As they could only leave Hilton after work they arrived quiet late but happy to reach their destination safely. It was 10.30 pm before we all went to bed, which by our standards is quite a late night, but had enjoyed the social occasion and getting to know the family better.
Saturday 16th July 2011. We were all up rather early so as to attend the annual Lions Show at Port Shepstone Fairgrounds but before we left Christopher, Alice, Geoff and I had some more great table tennis matches but try as we may we could not beat Christopher so we eventually played doubles and had a fantastic time that morning. The resort gardener, Simphiwe, was in the meantime cleaning the Toyota Corolla that Christopher had travelled down in and we had to wait for him to finish before leaving for the show. We spent a great morning and afternoon walking around looking at the different stands, the different rides at the funfair and also a Polo X demonstration with riders from the local Harding Polo X Club – The horses were very well groomed and disciplined. We then bought a whole grilled chicken to share which we took to a nearby bear tent and listened to a local band that was entertaining the crowds. Unfortunately the sound technician couldn’t get the sound levels right between the drums, guitars and singers so we couldn’t really hear the words clearly. Soon thereafter the heavens opened up and the rain came pouring down which brought a lot of people into the tent to wait out the rain. Before we left we bought a “wonder type peeler” from a Zimbabwean who was quite dismayed when I tried it out on the only butternut he had – so he politely asked me to stop.….. We arrived back to the caravan park, met up with Rose and Mike again and we then all went across the road to Audrey’s Dunford’s house for a delicious braai, salads and social. Her son, Shane, his wife Nikki and their two girls, Megan and Rachel joined us as well and Shane did all the cooking – it was so nice to sit and reconnect with family once again and at least we didn’t have far to walk home that night.
Sunday 17th July 2011. After early morning coffee with Rose and Mike in their caravan, we all went our separate ways today. Geoff and I went to church in Margate, Christopher and Alice to the St. Michael’s Beach and Rose and Mike to Uvongo beach and then morning tea with Audrey. We all met back at the caravan for lunch that we had prepared and once again Audrey, Shane, Nikki and the girls joined us. Just after 3pm Rose and Mike left to go back to Hilton. Geoff, Christopher, Alice and I then drove around to try and find an ideal fishing spot but the sea was rough with waves so big so we made our way to the Waffle House at Ramsgate arriving just before closing time. Many of these places have quite reasonable food but then they mark up their drinks, be it tea, wine or cool drinks a lot. We all enjoyed a banana waffle with ice cream each washed down with tea or water and with our tummies full we made our way back to our caravan. Chris and Alice packed the car soon after as they were leaving bright and early the next morning and we were all soon in bead that night.
Monday 18th July 2011. We woke up at 4.25 this morning to all the happy birthday greetings for Nelson Mandela on TV – 93 years young today. Alice and Christopher left at 5.07am for the long journey to Gauteng and suddenly our “space” seems so empty. It was great having them here with us and they had also played many games of Battleships and table tennis over the four nights. Obviously both of them enjoyed the break from their studies and work and we were just sorry that Charmaine had not been able to come down with them due to school starting again on Monday morning. As I type and update this blog, we have heard that they have managed to get petrol in Mooi River, Kwa-Zulu Natal and are making good progress back to Gauteng. Geoff is opening all his post that Christopher brought down and I have done a load of washing, hung it up to dry and we will just be relaxing in the park today – maybe we will go for a walk to the beach later on this afternoon?
On Tuesday morning we plan to leave our caravan at Oasis Resort and travelling to Fairways timeshare, Drakensberg Gardens to spend two nights with Des and Noreen who have booked a mid-week break there. We hope that we will see some snow nearby but we will have to take all our winter woollies with us in case it is freezing cold in the Drakensberg. I had also been hoping to see my brother Frank and his wife Margie whilst we are near Himeville but unfortunately it seems that they will be away during the time we are there maybe we will we will see them briefly on Thursday before we make our way back to our caravan in Uvongo.
Beware, my next update might have icicles hanging on it…. So watch this space!!

Monday 4th July 2011
We woke up determined to finish off some ironing that I had been carrying around with me and after breakfast, a cleanup of the tent and caravan we set off for Margate Post Office. We had a chat with the owner of Oasis, Eddie, and when I told him about the untapped market for him of Pensioners he said that he preferred not to take in pensioners as most of them were either drug addicts or alcoholics and they ended up telling him how to run his caravan park. I was quite taken aback and we just wonder what category, we fall into!!!
We needed to get to Margate Post Office, so that I could courier the envelope to Charmaine via overnight service (counter to counter). It was pension payout day and there were hundreds of people in different queues waiting to be helped. Lucky my queue was not too bad and it wasn’t too long before I was helped by a very friendly, efficient and capable Afrikaans lady. It is so refreshing to have good service and I was soon on my way out – But for Geoff, sitting waiting in the car, it seemed to take ages. Three people (who we contacted) share this day as their birthday…. Gregg’s Mom, Liz Robertson, such a special person – my brother Kevin Dunford, who lives in Howick and our nephew Wayne Muller who has a farm in Boston outside Howick.
We went back to the Caravan about lunch time and after lunch Geoff went to pay the telephone account and transfer the remainder of the money owed for the caravan site. I sat inside where it was warm, as by this time it was rather chilly. Audrey popped in for a few minutes to say Hi and I made chicken a la king for dinner and after watching another episode of Survivor had a very good night’s sleep.
Tuesday 5th July 2011 We have woken up to a very chilly, wet, drizzly morning and the best place is inside the tent, where I am writing this and I must say that we have both got our winter woollies on. This is the coldest that we have ever experienced in KZN. Geoff has been spending the time on the internet looking at the different Estate Agencies rental websites. One thing we did not realize is that there is not a very big permanent rental market down here as most of their rentals are holiday rentals.
Went off to Shelley Centre to see a movie but the midday show was sold out as everyone seems to have chosen to go to movies, because of the bad weather. We bought tickets for the 2.45pm show and then went and had a Fish and Chip special at John Dory’s for R 29 each which was delicious – they also had the most beautiful coloured fish in an aquarium nearby to us. We then went to visit a rental agent to leave our names with them, chat about permanent rentals and indicate which areas would be suitable. We then made our way back in time to see Kung-Fu Panda which we both enjoyed tremendously. Back home we enjoyed a sandwich supper and watched our regular shows on TV: Border Patrol on Zone Reality, The Oprah Show, 7de Laan and then the news as it was blowing gales and bitterly cold outside the caravan.
Wednesday 6th July 2011 During the night we were woken up with about 6 gun shots (felt like home!!!) Dogs in the area barked for a while, but we didn’t hear any sirens afterwards. (there is no police station at either Shelly Beach or Uvongo). The weather is still cold but the wind had died down a bit and it was nice to see a bit of sun. We left the park at about 10am to travel inland to go and “find the snow”. I call this trip “There and Back Again to see how far it is……” (that is what my father always used to say to me when I was growing up) After buying some petrol at R9.70 (The price was reduced at midnight by 33 cents) we left Marburg near Port Shepstone and travelled inland towards Kokstad. We had driven this road in August last year whilst pulling our caravan, Awesum 1”, when we started on our Cape Adventure. The road itself is still excellent but this time we came across many large trucks travelling this road and as is normal for us now, the impatient drivers passing on solid white lines, blind rises and corners and considering the speed limit is 60km a lot of the way it is amazing that there aren’t a lot more cameras and speed traps in place – The traffic police would make an absolute fortune along this stretch of road. This time around we turned into the small town of Harding to see what it was like and immediately you are warned of the “potholes”. These small country towns are in decay, attract the very poor, are not well maintained and have really turned rural and it reminded us a lot of Bergville in northern Kwa-Zulu Natal. We found Dicki Ice Creams, Moosa’s Wholesalers, FNB, Spar, Jet, Rhino Cash and Carry, Capitec Bank, Check-out Supermarket, a building previously used as SA Police Single Quarters gone to rack and ruin and a town struggling to survive the needs of the local population and farmers. But the Town Hall and municipal offices were still well maintained.
About 55 km’s from Kokstad we passed large forests and farms in a most beautiful setting off the beaten track for most travellers but one really worthwhile travelling through. The wind was blowing strongly inland and the car temperature kept plummeting eventually reaching 7 degrees centigrade by the time we reached Kokstad. We popped in at Ripplemead Bed and Breakfast just outside Kokstad to pay a short visit our friend Carol-Ann Blakeway – For those of you who did not read my blog last year this is a delightful resting place on the Port Shepstone side of Kokstad which is really worthwhile. One can either take up self-catering or bed and breakfast accommodation and the cottages are wonderfully warm in winter.
We drove through the town of Kokstad which is much larger than surrounding towns and appears to be thriving – we could see the snow high on the surrounding hill but we decided to then drive further along the Underberg Road passing the small place of Franklin and then Swartberg in order to try and get closer to the snow. We could see the whole of the lower Berg capped in snow but little nearby so we decided to settle on a far-a-way picture as it was already early afternoon and we needed to get back to Uvongo. We enjoyed our day out and had an uneventful trip back to Uvongo listening to the sounds of R.E.M, Chris Rea, and Sting as we travelled. Such good music to listen to and I was thankful that Geoff did all the driving especially with the large trucks on the road, as I mentioned before.
We got back to the Caravan at 4.40pm to an overcast, windy and cold evening once again – such unusual weather for this time of the year. I made pap, gravy, chicken and vegies for supper and this was welcome as were quite hungry having not eaten since Breakfast. We noticed that two more families in tents that had arrived during our time away so our little community is growing.
Thursday 7th July 2011 Hooray, the sun is out and although the wind is blowing the air is a little warmer. Geoff is catching up on his admin on the computer and I am finishing my blog ready for the next update. We plan to just relax around the camp today and maybe go down to St. Michaels later to see how the Ski-Boat Festival is going – It started yesterday and runs till Saturday 6th July. The wind has come up stronger again so hopefully it doesn’t get too strong later. In one of the houses opposite the camp site is a dog that is so bored and barks at anything and everything with small intervals of sleeping.
Over and out until the next time!

I got up at 6.30 on Tuesday morning to the most beautiful sunrise sky over the mountains. A beautiful pink coloured the sky. Woke Geoff up to see it and he complained as to how early it was and went back to sleep. I sat outside reading “The Message” when the workmen descended on us just after 7am. What a noise they made as they pave areas around our site. The resort is currently laying paving areas in the camp site and so all thoughts of Geoff’s dreamland went out of the window and so our day began.
The wind has been blowing ever since yesterday and it is quite cool outside, but today is a day of sorting out our things, blogs, watching TV, reading and relaxing. We spent the day basically indoors and in the afternoon went for a drive to see the small dorp of Jagersrust which is the housing for Eskom’s plant that they have in the area and the Kilburn Dam nearby. We then took a drive into Bergville to purchase more food supplies which is a lot of like other rural towns serving the local community and the farmers in the area.
Arrived back at the tent in time to see another most beautiful sunset and Geoff started a braai. There were two other elderly couples nearby who had arrived whilst we were out and it amazes us that some people are content with the smallest of tents to sleep in and without much protection for their chairs and tables.
Woke up to a colder morning and the wind continues to blow strongly most of the time. We have been watching the weather and realize that the cold front is approaching. It rained during overnight but we were cosy in our van.
I have spent today, Wednesday, typing my blogs and watching TV. What a lovely relaxing life catching up with those things that one never gets around to! The workmen are not being so noisy today and two more caravans arrived during the morning.
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On Thursday morning we woke up to colder weather and it was very tempting to just stay under the duvet, but after breakfast we travelled to the nearby Royal Natal National Park, where we had free entry because of our Wild Card. We parked our car at Tendele Camp and started the walk down along the Vemvaan trail. Tendele Camp has a very special place in our lives and over the years spent many happy days there. The camp is in the most amazing setting on this planet and you look out at the Amphitheater. In previous years, the chalets had their own allocated Chef and it was always a treat to spend time there and have your meals cooked by an expert. Sadly, this camp has become so expensive and it is probably only overseas tourists now are the only ones who can afford it.
We did the Vemvaan walk, as my parents – Joe and Nora Dunford – have their ashes scattered there and it was so peaceful walking along there in the warm winter sun. We passed two local ladies who gathered a type of reed grass and were carrying it on their heads – so heavy and such a long way to walk as they go right into the mountains. We think that it is for weaving the baskets that they sell on the side of the road.
We made our way from Tendele to the Mahai camp site and walked the short distance to the Cascades. I seem to be quite unsteady on my legs and my poor husband had to help me in all the uneven places. But all the same it was a lovely day out in the fresh air, giving us time to think of all the good times we had in this picturesque part of the country.
We returned to our tent at about 3pm and after checking for ticks had a welcome cup of warm tea and are now in for the night. We did hear that there is snow on the southern Berg in the Himeville area.
Friday morning and we woke up to frost on the grass and a 4 degree temperature in the tent. My hands don’t seem to want to work this morning as they are frozen and I do not want to think about people you hear about trapped in snow and who get frost bite…. But the washing has been done and the dishes washed and are getting down to finishing off my admin. The old people (2 couples in two tents) near us seem to have survived the night and are thawing out in the sun.

This year we decided that we would once again visit Lady Grey for this, the tenth year of the Passion play and because of petrol costs and bad road conditions we decided to take our trusty old tent down and camp. As we had originally intended to take our Opel Zafira, space wasn’t really a problem and so I began making my list. We also didn’t take into account the fact that Easter was much later this year and that it was going to be a lot colder in Lady Grey but fortunately we did prepare all our winter “woollies”, electric blanket and our lion duvet so that we would be warm and cosy at night. A day or two before leaving Johannesburg we again had a problem with the Opel Zafira and ended up taking our Toyota Corolla which limited our available space drastically. With a tent there is so much more one needs to pack than when we take our caravan.
The day of packing arrived and it was an absolute miracle that we managed to get absolutely everything into the car. We were packed up to the roof and all that was needed was a roof rack with chickens. It was literally a case of what we had left behind was just too bad.
We left our home and had an incident free trip and stopped off at Ventersburg at Maxi’s for a bite to it. This stop wins my award for the best petrol/food stop in South Africa to date. At about 2.30 we finally reached our destination which was Maselspoort Resort, 23km outside Bloemfontein. We booked in and went to our allocated site. We had booked a private kitchen/bathroom which was a blessing in disguise as it helped as a storage area we could get. We left the car and started to put the tent up. It took a while to sort the poles out, but between the two of us, we managed to get everything sorted out in about half an hour. It was starting to get cold and we were quite impressed with ourselves as to how cosy we made our little tent home. There was only one other elderly couple there with their caravan and it was obvious that they were only overnighting.
We travelled into Bloemfontein and met up with Uncle Brian du Plessis (for those of you or don’t know – he is a friend who is very much part of our family), handed over a bag of his clothes we had and he guided us to a Spar where we could buy some supplies for the time we were in the area. We later dropped him off at home and before dark made our way back to Maselspoort.
We had dinner and settled in for the night. Totally different this time around as we did not have our TV with us and were dependent on the radio – OFM-the sounds of your life! We were snug as two bugs in a rug that evening and quite reluctant to get out of our warm bed the following morning.
Woke up bright and early and had breakfast, tidied up the tent and spent the whole day at the banks of the Modder River which runs through the resort. Geoff spent his time fishing and I caught up on my reading. It wasn’t too cold and it was nice to sit in the sun and enjoy the peacefulness of the surrounds. Two ducks spent a lot of time swimming up and down past us. We saw fish jumping in the river, but “alas she cried” not one of them were caught by us. Geoff went for a walk around the resort as well. In the late afternoon we took our chairs, fishing rod and “Old Brown” down to the river close to our tent and sat there and fished. At 6pm 2 day visitors who had been fishing the entire day left to go home and we had the resort to ourselves again. We didn’t realize it at the time but lots of “somethings” – Spiders? Bugs? Mosquitos? – had bitten us all over our legs. We only realized it that night when all the red bumps appeared and proved to be “SO ITCHY”. We were both badly bitten but fortunately we had an antihistamine cream.
The next morning we got up and put our “damp” bedding into the tumble drier at the ablution block to dry it out, as during the night we had the most amazing cloud burst and even though we were dry in the middle of the bed, the sheets under the mattress got wet, as the rain had come in under the plastic at the bottom of the tent.
We then travelled into Bloemfontein, collected Brian and his adopted daughter Lesego (who had come to visit him from Jhb) and we took them to Movies to see “Limitless”. Wow what a good action packed, nerve wracking movie. After that we bought chicken and rolls and had lunch back in his flat. We also purchased Calamine Lotion as by this time I was nearly out of our mind with the itchiness of the bites.
Had a good peaceful night’s sleep and the calamine lotion was helping but we had to get up a few times to put more lotion on the bites.
The next morning we awoke to another lovely crisp day and our friend Sophia (who lives in Bloemfontein and who we had met at the 2010 Lady Grey Passion Play) came and collected us and took us to a special restaurant close to Maselspoort ……… What a wonderful surprise this was. This place has white Lions, white tigers, normal tigers and normal lions as well. We had a lovely time taking pictures and there was one tiger cub that was in an enclosure with a Jack Russell and these two had the loveliest time chasing each other and playing so nicely. It was truly amazing and after a cup of coffee and a piece of chocolate cake each, Sophia dropped us off back at our tent once again.
Another quiet uneventful evening and a good night’s sleep and we woke early. Packed up the car, took down the tent and made our way back to Uncle Brian’s flat to drop off some things that we would not need in Lady Grey.
We left Bloemfontein and made our way to Lady Grey wondering how the road had improved in the year since we had been there. Imagine our surprise when we found out that,between Reddersburg and Smithfield, absolutely nothing had changed and there were 5 “stop and goes” which took such a lot of travelling time. Thank goodness we didn’t have the caravan in tow.
As we have mentioned in previous blogs, there are drivers on our roads that are absolutely appalling. Overtaking on solid white lines, overtaking on blind rises are the order of the day and they just generally do not give a hoot about the other drivers on the road. Two Department of Correctional Service Kombi’s were the worst. They went over the speed limit, passed when they shouldn’t have with no regard for the rules of the road or other drivers.
Lady Grey. What can I say? We were both excited about coming back to this area and to experience the reenactment of Jesus’ birth, life and death again and we so looked forward to it.
We arrived at the Lady Grey Country Club at 3 pm and met up with the owners of the only caravan there. They were a couple from Port Elizabeth who were also there for the first time. We decided on a spot, put up our tent and we just made it to the Anglican Church at 5pm for the foot washing ceremony. This is always a special service and this year Rev. Jenny Mabin had come down with the pilgrims from St. Thomas’ Anglican Church to lead them. I have known Jenny for many years from Northcliff Primary School where she was a teacher and it was special for me to have her there. After the foot washing ceremony we met up with the other pilgrim friends and after agreeing to meet outside Comfrey Cottage the next morning at 9 am we went back to our tent. We had a good night’s sleep even though it was freezing cold. We had our electric blanket and “lion” blanket to keep us warm. That night was the coldest night of the lot with ice on the ground in the morning.
The next morning (Good Friday) we all met up at Comfrey Cottage and made our way up the mountain for the Eucharist. This spot on top of the mountain overlooking the town of Lady Grey is awesome and just sitting there, partaking in the service and having communion is so special. Amongst the group of pilgrims from St. Thomas are a number of elderly ladies in their 80’s and they are so sprightly and good fun and it is always enjoyable to be with them. After the service quite a few of the people walked down the hill back to the town but I admit I am not that eager to put my body to the test, so waited for Geoff to take some photos and we drove down back to the camp site.
We went to the Dutch Reformed Church in the center of the town for the start of the Passion Play at 2pm. We had made arrangements with Sheila from St. Thomas’ to purchase our tickets and we therefore sat together with the rest of them. The Church started filling up and the play started – a little later than advertised, but we do live in Africa and with great anticipation we waited.
The play starts off with the genealogy of Jesus, in the beginning, the announcement of birth of John the Baptist, the birth of Jesus, the Wise Men and goes on to where Jesus chooses the first disciples. The story does not change, but more scenes of dancing and the narrators had changed. I found the scene with the child murders very powerful this year and it breaks my heart to know that there are children all around the world who are suffering in many different ways.
After a break we went back to the church at 6pm for the next section – starting off with the wedding in Cana and ending with Lazarus.
Saturday morning we were up early and went for breakfast with the cast. A portion of the street is cordoned off and tables and chairs are put out and after buying a ticket we sat down to a breakfast and I had the opportunity to eat yoghurt with King Herod…..
The next scene was at 10.30 where we met up at Perdedam for the Sermon on the Mount. We sat on hay bales and listened to the choir from Greys College and Jesus arrived on a boat, the disciples were sitting mending their nets around a fire and most people had dressed with head gear from that time. We both did as well and were so glad as it did keep our heads warm. After that we followed Jesus on a donkey all the way back through the streets, waving palm leaves and one just gets swept up in it.
After the final scene of that section where Judas betrays Judas, we went back to the tent and spent the afternoon in the sun and just relaxing. We met back at the church at 6pm for the next session. This is always a moving scene, as we all had communion (with the local Dominee leading the service) and then outside for the Garden of Gethsemane scene – powerful – and then back into the church for the arrest of Jesus and then we left the Church to see Judas hanging in the tree after betraying Jesus. The crowd followed Jesus carrying his cross and after the crucifixion scene went back into the church for a time of reflection and there is another moving scene where Jesus carried in by the disciples and given to his mother who just sits there with his body. We left the church after this to go back to the tent.
The next morning we were back at the church at 9am where the final scenes play out – the empty grave, Jesus visiting his disciples and then the very moving Ascension scene.
Wow after all that we just had a time of reflection and then went at 4pm to Comfrey Cottage to join the Anglican pilgrims for communion and a time of sharing and then we had dinner with them. By this time most people were tired so after dinner went back for our last night’s sleep in the tent.
Monday morning we awoke early, packed up our tent and by this time most of the other campers had left for home as well. We travelled to Bloemfontein, spent the afternoon and evening with Brian at his flat and we had left by 7am the next morning and arrived home all camped out but happy having experienced such a life-changing experience once again.