Pics...

The bath in our room, with no fences between the house en the 'wild bush' outside.




View from the bedroom. Big glass doors that can be opened.

One of the big five - was not really into big game viewing this time, had other things to keep us busy, but we did spot 3 of the big five - Buffalo, Ellies and a Rhino.

The birthday 'beverage' - Pierre Jourdan Cap Classique.

A little breakfast spread...

The Clubhouse lounge where we played board games at night while talking up a storm.

Outside lounge and dining area at the clubhouse.

Another view of the clubhouse lounge area.

On the open vehicle looking for game.

Cute little sign at a coffee shop we stopped at on the way.

Enough for now...

TTFN

Stuff...

The weekend was great! Fun, exciting, great food and wine, wonderful company and some of the most scenic areas I've seen in a long time.

And cold nights with fireplaces and warm feather duvets to keep us warm... Nothing quite as nice as lying in the dark, looking over the African bush (Lit by the moon) trough wall to ceiling glass doors in the glow of a fireplace. I am truly blessed...

And as for the young man. We had the best time together. We laughed, talked, had deep meaningful discussions, silly meaningless discussions and really enjoyed each other company. It seems I'm developing more than a fleeting interest in him... Which still feels a little wrong so close to Dawie's death, and then there's the nearly 19 years age gap to contend with too.

As for the place - it's absolutely stunning. Not only is it exquisitely decorated and maintained, very well designed and fully integrated into the surrounding nature - the service was also friendly, efficient and non - invasive, which is exactly what you need when you're on a break. They will definitely see us again. (And I will post some pictures soon - when I have a bit more time.)

So, a quick 'check in' to say that all is well in the world of the Kenya Worm, that my smile is genuine and my heart is warm.

Hope y'all had fruitful weekends!

TTFN

Weekend...

So, this weekend we'll be spending some time in a Private Game Reserve in the Waterberg area in Limpopo Province. Firstly it's a LOT warmer than it is in the City at the moment (Joburg was zero degrees C this morning!) and all the big five roam in the reserve were we will be staying.

It's also the young man's 21st birthday, so we'll be celebrating that as well on Sunday. (My goodness, where was I when I turned 21...) Should be a most enjoyable weekend, and they offer one of those 'bush bath' numbers which I'm really looking forward to... For those that don't know, they place a large copper bath in the bush away from everyone and then fill it with steaming hot water and bubbles. They then leave you there for an hour with only a screen to protect your privacy from the armed guard that in turn protects you from the wild animals. Hope he's not too freaked out by the moaning... (Obviously the moaning will be from the very hot water!)

So here's wishing y'all a pretty weekend filled with love, smiles and sunshine. Mine will be filled with good food, lots of champers and long, slow days.

TTFN

Some feedback...

So, the 'big bad church' lost it's case against the evil gay man. Big up's for the South African legal system! I especially like the fact that this is a watershed moment is South African law as anybody can now take an employer to task for discrimination based on sexual orientation! Good. Still planning to go and paint their fence in pride colours...

On another note, decided on a phone. It will be a Nokia E71 so that I can still receive my mails on my mobile but at least it's less of a brick to carry around. Now just hope I don't drop it in the first week. The IT guys said I should get a little thing called a condom for it... Apparently it's a rubber 'jacket' that you pull over the phone to protect it. Well then, that's exactly the same as the condoms we keep in our bedroom drawers now, isn't it? Don't think it will work the same way though...

This weekend they are launching Mamma Mia here. (Yes, yes. SA is a bit behind the rest of the world in some things) On Saturday we're going to get dressed up in white spandex suits and going out to see the ABBA movie. I'll look like the Goodyear blimp in drag but hey, anything for a laugh, right? Should be fun though... And no - no camera's allowed!

Then we're also busy with the garden layout at the moment. Will post some pictures of that when it's done. The house is 'nearly' finished, but I'm sure Dawie will start changing things soon enough. He's never been one to keep things the same for very long.

Hope y'all have a really pretty weekend now and be good, or at least good at it...

TTFN

Travelling in Kenya.

Just read a 'rather funny' post, and it reminded me of a time (it was last Easter, actually) when we travelled down to Kilifi for a long weekend. A dear friend from SA - her nickname for me is Chicken so that's what we'll call her here, was here for a visit, and a local friend Es was also travelling with us. Dawie was flying in from Joburg and taking a connecting flight to Mombasa where we would meet him and then proceed on to Kilifi. The picture is of the house we rented.

But I digress...

Chicken is a 'Kugel' of note. This is 'Souf Efriken-ism' for 'Cool Girl', or a person (of the female persuasion usually, but you do get male kugels) that is a dedicated follower of fashion, talks with a funny-ish nasal, accent (Ye knew doll, this little spot is deviiiiiiine!Im about to platz!) and is ever so slightly over the top. Do not misunderstand me for one second - I love her to pieces, she is such a genuine person and will not hurt a fly, but her mannerisms really are very stereotypical. It is also important to note here that Chicken is VERY well travelled and has been all over the world - both on leisure and business travel. However, most of her travels are to Europe and the like...

So we set of for Mombasa with a cooler box full of Evian water, wet wipes to clean our hands and faces every now and again, some low -GI sandwiches in a cooler and a half a ton of luggage. We also have the air con pumping full blast in the car, and soft, esoteric music playing on the stereo. It's all very Zen...

As you might know, the first section between Nairobi and Machakos Crossing is not particularly smooth, and this took us a good hour and a bit to complete. Chicken is making little funny noises in between mouthfuls of Evian, and me overtaking into oncoming traffic and the occasional crazy driving antics as only displayed here in Kenya. Ducking a diving in between cars and matatus, taking on trucks and just generally being a right arse on the road - loving every minute of it... Chicken - being of the nervous passenger variety, makes comments like -'You never told me we needed a sports bra for this daaaahling', and 'My Gawd, this is stuuuuning doll!' and 'Mummy needs to make piddles, see!'... So, after a rather bouncy bit we stopped at Machakos Crossing at the fuel station to 'make piddles'.

This specific station is used by the truckers that travel on this very busy route and, to be honest, is not particularly 'clean and sanitized'. In fact, as you get out the car, you get a whiff of old urine and blocked toilets, and then you're not even close to the bathroom door yet. You have to still walk around the building... So, Es and Chicken head for the bathroom (I know better, I'll stop next to the road a little out of town) and I sit in the car. Chicken has a packet of wet wipes, a toilet roll and hand lotion in her hands in addition to the whole handbag thing, and Es - being an old Kenyan traveller, a roll of paper and wet wipes.

Chicken, bless her, walked to the bathroom with all her normal flair, flicking her hair, slight bounce in the step and bosom pushed out to as far as it would go - getting the attention they deserve - the puppies, I mean, her Prada heels clicking on the rough sidewalk next to the petrol station. She walked to the door of the bathroom, slight grin on her face and took one step into the door of the bathroom. As if running into a brick wall she stopped, paused for the slightest of moments and duly made a 180 degree turn. Walking back to the car, she looked me straight in the eye and said 'Don't worry sweetie, I'll hold it!'

And she did - until we stopped another two hours later - but she was applying Avroy Slain to her lips every few minutes and not a drop (wet or dry) passed her lips until she had a chance to empty her bladder. I have enormous respect for her - I cannot hold 'it' that long - when a mans gotta go, a mans gotta go!

The rest of our trip was wonderful and the rest of the weekend phenomenal, but that is another post altogether - or maybe I've written about it already... Not about to go back and check. There were other great instances - like when Chicken went to braid her hair in Kilifi, when she was 'attacked by a vicious minkey' in the room, when we had to remove the 'froggie from the bathroom but not kill it, because it has a family' or when we used a tuk-tuk to go to town and it nearly rolled over when negotiating one of the pot-holed streets. (That scream made the whole town of Kilifi stop in it's tracks for a few seconds...)

Dawie and I both LOVE Chicken to pieces and one of the places where we can always just be ourselves is at her stunning home in Sandton. (Obviously!) She is just such a sweet, wonderful and sincere friend. The rare kind!

Now hope y'all have a really purdy day now, see!

TTFN

Lake Baringo...

Spent some time this weekend at the stunning 'Camp Island' as we called it, or Island Camp as it is really known... Was a bit of Freudian Slip the first time it was said and it stuck around for the rest of the weekend. Well, long weekend really, we arrived on Thursday and only got back to the city on Sunday afternoon. It was truly worth every shilling... You have no choice but to relax and just let the time fly by - you're on an island in the middle of a croc invested lake, so what you gonna do - swim across?

The first pic is where we are crossing the equator by road...

I'll post a few pictures here today - no real time to write a whole story with it, but it will come!

On the boat on the way to the Island. It was a stunningly hot dry day!

Sunrise the next morning over the lake - taken from the veranda of my tent on the edge of the water. Boy, life is Africa is hell! Hell I tell you!

Sunset over the lake. Taken from 'skull island' as we referred to it. The island in your sight is where we stayed. Went for a sundowner cruise to another island...

Skull island taken from the restaurant side.

Just for interest sake, the owner of the lodge on the island is a lovely fellow that is quite the host - he's always got a quick joke and time to talk to his guests. He is also, very gay friendly for those gay folks looking for a spot to travel to that does not 'frown' upon two men sharing a double bed. (Not that my Dawie was there, but I discussed this with him...)

I'm out to my friends and they in turn outed me to him - not that I'm worried about that - he seemed very friendly. Even made a joke when we were checking out that he should post his lodge in the Pink Pages as 'Camp Island' and he (in a very serious note) told me about Gay tourism in other parts of the world, and how much we (the rainbow folks) could mean to a business - as if I don't know, but it was very sweet...

Some more pictures!

Am I the only one to see the 'phallic image' with this Eclair... Maybe I've just been away from the hubby for too long!

More sunset pic's.

Quite the unique picture taken by a friend. And a bit of a pun for the local brew, of which we consumed copious amounts. It was REALLY REALLY HOT, alright!

That all for now folks. Hope y'all have a really pretty day now!

TTFN

My home country.

This Monday started quite well, sunny pretty day here in Nairobi and all well.

The weekend was really pleasant, spent some time with a dear friend and went trough the National Park that is situated here in Nairobi. Had a nice picnic lunch and duly got a little lost, but that is par for the course. How do you expect me to read a map and look at/for animals at the same time? I'm blond after all, and male, multi - tasking is not part of the package! And no, you could not stop and ask for directions - zebra are not to keen to chat with the average human being type person! Then went to pick up some art pieces that I had re framed, and they look absolutely stunning! Will post those pictures soon, but today's picture is the African Bush.

Sunday was a very calm, homely type of day just spent doing as little as possible. I love days where you just do not have to be pleasant, friendly, clean shaven etc. It does help that I was alone all day and could actually just be... Some TV (Scanned channels for about a minute before it bugged me that there is 'nothing to watch' and switched it off!), finished a new book, and slept some. Made a nice chicken and avocado salad for lunch and just laid around. Spoke to the hubby for an hour (!) on the phone and did not do anything else that required anything more than the minimum brain power. Really nice day!

On another note. I'm really proud of the 'new South Africa' that has come about after the 1994 free elections. Yes, there are certain things that are still not right, but the basics are there and if everybody just plays by the rules (Wishfull thinking!), it should be a stunning place for all people - but then you get 'arseholes' like these. Why do people feel that they have to take everything to the extreme? Hubby and I went to the Pink Leorie festival a few years ago, and it's a stunning event where the whole little town of Knysna opens it's heart to the gay community. People (gay and straight) all run around with long pink feathers and everybody just has a gay old time (pun intended!). So why is it necessary for these religious groups to now make 'threats' against this institution that is about 8 years old? I hope the organisers will take these guys to the constitutional court and get a ruling against them for hate speech!

That's all for today! Hope y'all have a really pretty week now!

TTFN

A weekend, a Monday and other stuff!

The weekend was probably supposed to be quite and relaxing, but allas, it turned out differently. Well, not that this is all bad, but sometimes one needs to just switch off a bit... Anyway, such is life and I did (begrudgingly) enjoy myself most of the time.

Friday night I had a few people over for dinner as a work friend (also 'family') from Cape Town was here and stayed with me for a couple of days. She was the guest of honour and we had a lovely Hungarian Goulash with Basmati Rice and a Chickpea, Feta and Spinach salad. This was followed by Ice Cream, Strawberries and a rich chocolate sauce. Then we opened another bottle of wine, and then another, and then another and then... (You get my drift!) It ended up with a bottle of Wild Turkey being finished and us seeing her off for her 7am flight without bothering too much with sleep. Here I just want to mention, I'm not really a heavy drinker anymore, but my dear friends are, and as the host, had to stay awake for this little episode. The house looked like a bomb had hit it, and the poor housekeeper was kept busy the whole of Saturday morning to clean up after this bunch... (Bless him!)

Did not feel like crawling into bed immediately so just cleaned up a bit and then went for lunch with E at the Yaya Centre. Also got a haircut and manicure and now felt like a new person. Went home, the power went out and I decided - might as well go to bed... Slept from around 7.30 to the next morning around 9! Have not done that in a looooong time.

Sunday was spent just veg'ing in front of the TV and watching one movies after another... The main thing is that I'm missing home. It's been OK to be away from home for over two years now, but with Dawie not really being well at the moment, I need to be there to look after him and to ensure that he gets better. We have a blessed relationship, and here is the man that I want to spend every moment of my waking life with and I'm just not able to get to him quickly enough to take care of him. Yes, the process has started, and yes, it looks like my transfer will take place at the end of next month, but time is now dragging and it's driving me nuts!

It's not that he is not able to look after himself, or that he really 'needs' me to be there (He's quite indipendent), but I need to be there and to be with him trough his difficult time. He has always supported me in every endeavour that I've tackled, and now, during his time of need I'm not able to be there for him just because of my job... It's frustrating! Time must go a little quicker now!

In the meantime my loving parents are looking after him in my absence (It was mom's 66th birthday on Sunday), and my two sisters are there to support him every step of the way. Thank you dearest, dearest family! I do not know what I would have done without you...


TTFN

The weekend.

Spent the nicest weekend with my hubby and some friends, and caught up with a few 'cultural' items while at it. Not that I'm such a culture vulture, but do enjoy a good show now and again. Well to be completely honest, can you see a concert as a cultular event? Dunno...

We went to the show of Andre Swartz on Saturday evening at the Carousel. He's ok, not the greatest, but ok, and he's past his prime. (Sorry Andre!). Then, on sunday evening we went to the Celine Dion Concert at Loftus! WOW, that was amazing! If y'all get the chance to go and see her new concert tour - Taking Chances, make the effort and pay the money! I'm not the biggest Celine fan, but this was truly amazing. She has such a pressence on the stage and her voice is truly amazing.

A lot of the time when you get to see artist perform on stage they tend to sound a little different from when you listen to them on your home or car stereo - it's understandable, a studio recording is always going to sound a little clearer or more 'composed', but she sounds as clear as a bell on that stage, and her two hour performance FLEW by! Truly worth it...

Sitting here with a small mountain of work and too much to do, so better get back to it.

Hope y'all have a pretty day now.

TTFN

The weekend...

Had a few people over for lunch on Sunday, and it turned out to be quite a nice day. In the evening we went to the Karen Country Club (Very posh affair!!!) to watch the Guy Fawkes fireworks display that was 'fired' off over the golf course. All very pretty...

The KCC is a very elitist country club that's not too far from my home. Very posh - don't worry, I'm not a member - too elitist and WAY too expensive for my very tight wallet. Just could not be bothered joining a club where your wealth (or lack thereof) includes or excludes you from society. Anyway, if I walk in there I drop the median age by about 50 points...

Back to Sunday lunch. Last week I invited a few friends to come and have lunch in the garden as the weather is really nice and warm at the moment, and the garden is looking stunning. The lavender bushes are in full bloom, the day lilies have so many flowers in them that the bush is hanging to the ground, bird's a chirpin', squirrels a squirillin' etc etc. Really loverly. Anyhoo, so E offers to make main course on Wednesday, so now I'm down to starter and dessert, and then on Thursday two calls - Ida will make a decadent chocolate brownie cake, and N&A will make a starter. This leaves me with salad and starch - which C&C decided they would bring on Friday. So for my 'Sunday lunch party' I did absolutely nothing, except pour drinks and sit back! We had prawns on sugarcane for starters, a STUNNING butter chicken with cous-cous and spinach, feta and chickpea salad, and the richest chocolate brownie cake with fresh strawberries for desert. Oh, I did make great Kenyan coffee afterwards, so did not just sit on my 'tuchas' all day...

All this talk of food is making me hungry - time to delve into my lunchbox and get out the leftovers...

Hope y'all have a fruitful day now!

TTFN

A fruitful weekend y'all!

This weekend will be spent with friend, all who have rallied around me 'cause my trip to my hubby was cancelled. It seems they have all decided that I cannot be alone this weekend, as I will fall into the deepest of depressions and inflict grievous bodily harm to myself with copious amounts of red cooldrink and chocolate Bonn-bonns...

So, a seafood dinner tonight with N & A, breakfast with E on Saturday morning, rugby finals (GO BOKKE!) on Saturday eve, lunch with Ida and Budgie (No, he is a human being!) on Sunday, and then hopefully some alone time on Sunday eve, in time for another crazy week at work. As much as I appreciate this from my dear, dear friends, me thinks I will enter next week a little more tired than I depart this one...

Well, for the fear of sounding like I'm complaining with the golden spoon stuck squarely in my gob, I will now sign off.

Sincerely hope y'all have a wonderful weekend!

TTFN