A return to Tutume

I’d been looking forward to returning to Tutume for some time.  It has been the place of many happy memories for a number of years.  I had lived there from the age of 2 till 6.  My memories were vague in some respects and strongly linked to feelings and emotions rather than organised visual ones.  I was intrigued to see how much of the village I would recognise.  We had driven from the airport in Kasane down to Nata the day before.  We had a relaxed afternoon and leisurely morning before heading off at 8:30 to Tutume.

We approached the village from the west on a road under construction.  I didn’t recognise anything... we drove for several minutes and I realised that either Tutume had grown tremendously or my memories were insufficient.  We drove right through what was now clearly a town and I didn’t recognise a thing.  I was a little disappointed but thought we should turn around and drive through once more.  This is the direction we would have entered Tutume in the past and as a result I started to get familiar feelings.  I first spotted my old primary school, got out and looked around.  Then with the help of the head found our old house.  It took a bit of hunting as there were more than twice as many buildings in the compound, 30 years on.  Lastly I tried to track down some old family friends, who I had heard were still about town.  We had lost touch, so I wasn’t sure I was going to be successful.  I did, however find them, and they remembered me and the family.  They took me to see, Habana, who was Will and my old nanny.  We shared photos from the past and recently, and it was great fun.  Unfortunately our trip down memory lane had to be cut short as we still had quite a drive ahead of us.  We exchanged contact details before we set off back to Pretoria for our last few days in southern Africa.  Despite our restful evening the night before I was really shattered by the end of the day.. it had been quite an emotional experience!

 

 

Day 13 & 14 - Okavango Delta

We had to catch a small flight into the delta as our camp was on an Island inaccessible by road. It was my first time in a small plane and I was a little anxious as not being the biggest fan of flying. Soon after take-off I relaxed as it was actually a very enjoyable experience. We seemed to skim just above the tree line and the view over the Chobe park and later the delta was brilliant and diverted me from my fears as I scanned the ground for animals.

The planes are a bit like taxi’s in the delta. Matt and I were dropped off on an airstrip in the middle of nowhere to wait for our next ‘lift’. An even smaller and older plane arrived to collect us. The pilot took one look at Matt’s height and recommended he try the co-pilot’s seat. After 10 minutes of folding his limbs into a very small space they gave up and Matt took a seat in the back. The pilot shuffled his seat forward to create some room and we were off again for another pick-up.

After 2 hours of flying we arrived at Pom Pom. A luxury camp with 9 tents. We met our fellow guests who were to be our safari buddies for the next 2 days. We formed a friendly group of 6 who got on well and had a fun time bumping around in the Jeep on our many Game Drives. Once at the camp everything was included and organised for us and it was so relaxing and enjoyable. We seemed to be forced to have nice snacks and drinks every few hours...pretty tough.

Our first afternoon took us on a game drive where we encountered aggressive bull elephants (when the Jeep stalled at least 6 times in the sand trying to make a hasty exit!) and a pride of lions with cubs who then attempted a kill of an antelope before our eyes. At a safe distance from these predators our guide then pulled off the road and set out a table with beers and yes, more snacks for a sundowner. How civilised.

After a night in the bush, with the hippos from the nearby pool tramping around our tent we were woken early for a trip in a traditional Mokoro boat. A bit like a small punt with a poler who guides and steers from behind. A very peaceful way to explore the waterways of the delta. Luckily no close encounters with hippos or crocodiles were had, only giraffes, water antelope and tiny frogs. Phew. The water was fairly low in the delta despite it being the rainy season. The flood waters were yet to come. We followed small channels in amidst the lily pads which our guide called hippo-highways and I realised these plant-free tracks were what I had seen from the air as looking like a network of blood vessels going to and from small islands.

The rest of our 2 night stay in the Delta was taken up with game drives and enforced siestas (again...pretty tough going). Our guide Shaku must have thought we were the most demanding group as we all eagerly wanted to see leopards and when he delivered not 1 but 4 leopards we were then demanding hyena and lions....which he also delivered. It was fantastic. It had been part of our trip I was looking forward to most and it met all my expectations. Perhaps we will return some day...once the bank balance has recovered!

Day 11 & 12 - Chobe & Vic Falls

We rose early to get to the park gates for 5:30 as the sun was creeping over the horizon.  There was no queue at that hour which was great!  Our drive round the park lasted about 6 hours.  In that time we saw plenty of wildlife: hippos wallowing in pools, numerous antelope grazing, and birds galore.  For the first 3 hours we didn’t see a single elephant and were getting a little disappointed.  We turned away from the river and headed inland into the thick bush.  Eventually we came across a small herd on the track.  The big bull elephant was a little perturbed by our presence, and his behaviour did cause a little anxiety in the car.  We sat with the engine off, quietly watched him and all three of us were starting to feel a little relaxed, when suddenly a dung beetle flew in through the open window and landed on Kit.  There was a bit of scream, and Kit almost opened the door and ran out!  Eventually calm returned and we continued our drive.

 

We relaxed after our long morning until 3pm when we joined a river cruise organised by the lodge.  It was a sizable boat with an upper viewing deck and a bar... we were in for an enjoyable afternoon!  The cruise was spectacular, with us seeing many hippos and crocs up close.  There were many water birds of all shapes and sizes.  The highlight was when a herd of 40 or so elephants were spotted coming out of the bush towards the river.  We watched them drink, wash and frolic in the water... lovely.

The following day we put aside for a day trip to Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe.  There was a little bit of anxiety about crossing the border, but everything went very smoothly.  Kit had to pay almost double for her visa having a British passport.  It was just under a 2 hour journey in total when we arrived at the Vic  Falls Hotel.  I had been there as a youngster and was getting feelings of familiarity.  We walked down to the falls themselves where we encouraged to hire raincoats.  I was worried that it might be a bit of a waste as it wasn’t high water at this time of year.  Nonetheless we did get the coats and started the stroll to the viewing points.  Once again I started to remember my previous visit 3 decades ago... I remember hearing the roar of the water and the moisture in the air.  The falls were impressive, and I was most pleased with our raincoats as it was extremely wet at the viewing points!  We managed to take a few photos without getting the camera too wet before we turned back up to the main road.  We then strolled across the bridge over the Zambezi, touched Zambian soil and then made our way back to the Vic Falls Hotel for lunch.  The hotel was very grand and oozed British colonialism.  There was lots to keep us entertained after lunch before we commenced on our return journey to our lodge in Botswana.  We managed with a cup-a-soup for dinner that night and packed up for our flight into the Okavango delta the following morning!

Days 9 & 10 - Caprivi and onto Botswana

The drive from central Namibia to the start of the Caprivi strip was once again long and straight.  We were at least back onto tarmac.  The surrounds changed significantly: it was far greener which allowed for some agriculture and therefore many settlements along the way.  We arrived at our camp for the night shortly after lunch.  Our “room” was a hut on stilts overlooking the Okavango river.  It had wicker walls which rolled up – a little like blinds.  From our bed we could see birds and hippos in and around the river.  We were one with nature, which was nice... until we tried to sleep!!

The following morning we drove along the Caprivi strip to the most westerly outpost of Namibia.  Here we spent the remainder of our Namibian dollars on petrol before heading into Botswana.  It had been a long absence... I was last in Botswana in 1982... almost 30 years ago.  After the border formalities, which went very smoothly, we were immediately in the Chobe National Park.  We had a short drive to our lodge and within 5 minutes we encountered our first elephant.  It was huge and stood by the road side.  We got a flavour of what was in store... Botswana is the country with the greatest number of elephants in Africa.  In the Chobe park alone there are some 90,000!  We stayed in the Chobe Safari Lodge, which was a lovely and rather luxurious lodge on the banks of the Chobe River.  There was a bar perched on the river bank were Kit and I enjoyed a hot chocolate!  It had been raining all afternoon and we felt the need for a little warmth.  After dinner out, we returned to our rooms and tucked ourselves under the mosquito nets excited by the prospects of lots of elephants!

Days 7 & 8 - Etosha

I am sat overlooking the Okavango River on the deck of our tree house (lovely!) in the North of Namibia’s Caprivi strip reflecting on the previous two days of safari in Etosha National Park.  So I have put the binoculars down to take a break from hippo and croc-watching to write a short blog.

Etosha Park is a vast protected area around a salt pan where amongst many other animals the “big 5”can be found. The summer rainy season is not the best time for safari so we tried to keep our expectations realistic, but still we were excited.  Our first 4 hour stint explored the first section of the park and despite it being during the heat of the day we still saw ostrich, buck, giraffe and birds a plenty.

We stayed at a camp in the centre and from here we booked a 3 hour night safari with an expert guide. As we sat to dinner the rain clouds came and just as we set off at 8pm the rain began. We were dished out some fetching ponchos to protect us from the wet and set off.  Using a red light to shine into the bush the guide spotted owls, bat eared foxes, aard wolves, wild African cats, jackals and plenty more of the smaller variety of animals which rarely get a look-in.  No big animals but we went to bed content having enjoyed a unique experience.

Matt and I rose early for a pre-breakfast stint in the park.  Matt is certainly becoming a skilled tracker as he can even be negotiating Jeepy through rough terrain whilst pointing a chameleon which was practically on my head. I was not so observant, only spotting animals that actually came out onto the road! Our morning drive was not a disappointment as after a couple of hours we rounded a bend and saw 5 lionesses drinking from a puddle in front of us.  They then backed off the road and collapsed in the grass metres away. Brilliant!

Breakfast was devoured and a final 4 hour drive took us out of the Eastern gate and onto our night stay before heading up to the Caprivi strip by the Angolan border.

Days 5 & 6 - Swakopmund and the Skeleton Coast

The drive to Swakopmund was predominantly straight dirt roads in a rocky portion of the Namib desert.  Fortunately it was somewhat overcast and not too hot.  After several hours we arrived at the coast just north of Walvis Bay.  It was a most unusual sight: first a big harbour and industrial area, then beach side apartments and new developments in progress.  There was sand either side of the road with beach on one, and desert on the other.  Not much further and we arrived in Swakopmund.  Our guide book commented on the town as being more German then Germany... it had a point.  We found our guest house and finished the day off with a pleasant fish meal out in town.

The following day we had a long drive up the Skeleton Coast and eventually inland towards the Etosha National Park.  It started very bleak with the sea mist making it feel wet and cold.  This was a welcome change from the 45 degrees of recent days.  We drove on a salt road, which once the moisture dried, was an excellent surface.  Up to that point it caused a great deal of mischief to Jeepy’s exterior!  Our first stop was the seal colony at Cape Cross.  There were tens of thousands of seals on the beach with many many pups.  It was a fantastic sight; there was an amazing din of squaks and barks; and most impressive was the smell!  Kit had to resort to wearing a medical mask I still had lying about the car, as the smell was so nauseating!!  After our senses had been saturated we headed further up the coast.  We drove several hundred kilometres without seeing another person, the land was dry and barren spotted with the occasional shipwreck and even a washed up old oil rig... it was a truly desolate place!  

We eventually arrived at our lodge for the night in Khorixas, where one of the “boys” eagerly approached me and offered to wash Jeepy.  It no longer looked like a car, more a block of dust on wheels!  We headed to bed early in anticipation of the next two days... spotting wildlife in Etosha National Park, and much less driving!!

Bird of the days: Flamingo

4 legged animal of the days: none!

Day 4 - The Namib Desert - Sossusvlei & Sesriem

A fantastic trip so far but today was definitely a high-light for Matt and I. We woke at 5am and were at the Sossusvlei park gate for opening at 6am keen to catch the desert colours at sunrise. It was not a disappointment or a wasted effort as we drove the 90km to the roads-end, deeper and deeper into the desert dunes. At 85 km the tarred road gave out and a sign welcomed Jeepy (and other brave 4x4’s) to venture on further into the sand/road. Matt was in Jeep-heaven as we skated over the sand to the final stop – Deadvlei, an area of immense dunes and dried up pans. It was breath-takingly beautiful and nothing like anything I had ever seen before. A bit how I would imagine the beginnings of the earth to look. Matt parked Jeepy under one of the few trees for shade...more like a twig really but anything was better than nothing as the temperatures were threatening to soar into the 40’s.

We set off with tripod and camera to a nearby towering dune. Matt ventured ahead, clambering up the side to reach the ridge. I was a bit tentative but soon discovered that the knack was to not be put off by the large landslide I was creating under my feet and to just keep going, and although it felt like I made no progress somehow I reached the top...very out of breath! The view was awesome, out across the pans and desert. MANY photos were taken and we spent a couple of hours just soaking it all up before heading back to the relative cool of our desert camp before we melted.

After a swim and rest we set off for an afternoon explore in the nearby Sesriem Canyon. Baboons were ready to greet us as we clambered down into the canyon depths before the heat got the better of us and we set off home. Matt was all up for pioneering new paths out of the gorge but I kept him on the straight and narrow much to his disappointment, voting for the man-made steps rather than negotiating the cliff faces in our flip-flops!

A final swim with a sundowner drink before a fun attempt at self-catering in our little outdoor kitchen...pasta alla tinned tomatoes. Yum?! Asleep by 9pm and ready for more adventures....

Day 3 of Namibia-Botswana trip

Day three has brought another glorious day in the Namibian heat.  We had a more leisurely start to the day with breakfast at our hotel.  We popped to the shops to stock up on supplies as we were heading into the Namib desert for two nights!  The first leg of the journey was 240km on the B1 to Mariental.  This is main north-south road in Namibia and there were sufficient cars on this for us to overtake one or two!  In this small town, but district capital, I tried to organise an internet connection by getting a local SIM for my dongle.  After visits to a few places, I found the right shop.  I thought I was onto a winner until it transpired that my dongle is locked and I couldn’t use it with a SIM from the local network!  I had left Kit in the car, and despite it not being 11 yet, it was getting uncomfortably hot.  It was clear that it was going to be hotter than the day before.  We gave ourselves the luxury of air-conditioning as we carried on west toward Maltahohe.  We had been a little anxious about doing this, as we had only just had the radiator replaced after Jeepy overheating over Christmas in Lesotho.  Maltahohe was an even smaller district capital.  The size of a small village in fact.  We filled up at the petrol station, potentially the last for over 500 km of dirt roads.  

The next 2 and half hours took us through plains with small shrubs and scattered trees, then down into a valley with green grass, numerous trees and birds.  Thereafter the landscape got steadily drier and vegetation sparser until we could see the red sand dunes on the horizon.  Our camp for the next two nights became clear as we approached the edge of the desert.  Our “tent” turned out to be a rather luxurious one, with running water, electricity and even a kitchenette!  We unpacked Jeepy, through on our swimmers and made our way to the plunge pool.  Our fellow guests that were already enjoying the cooling waters warned us it was cold... they were kidding!  I have never found a swimming pool more pleasant... looking out at the desert with a hot breeze passing over the pool.  

After the dip, we prepared for dinner at the neighbouring lodge.  It was a splendid buffet meal in a gorgeous setting.  We watched the sunset and the starts come out.  Feeling satisfied we headed back to our tent as we were going to rise before dawn to experience the dunes of Sossusvlei!

Bird of the day: Black-chested snake eagle

4-legged animal of the day: a large lizard (name to follow)

Day 2 of Namibia-Botswana trip

We got up early in our B&B in Upington, 130km from the Namibian border.  The day before we drove the 800km from Pretoria, but apart from the torrential rain there is not a great deal to tell.  Let me start therefore at 7am on day 2, when we headed off with Jeepy full of petrol (including 2 jerry cans) towards the Nakop border crossing.  We immediately got a flavour of what was to come, very long straight roads with about 1 vehicle coming the other way every 20 minutes.  We started noticing some amazing constructions on the telegraph poles.  First I thought they were manmade but then it became clear they were the thatched nests of the sociable weaver bird.  They seemed to get larger and larger as we neared the border.  The crossing was quite an event.  We had been used to border crossings of course, but this was a far more involved affair.  We had to fill in forms, declare all our electronic goods and have the car checked.  On the Namibian side we even had to pay road tax.  It took us almost an hour!  The road continued, straight with barely any other cars, onto the first town and petrol station at Karasburg.  We filled up, at one rand a litre cheaper than in South Africa.  No wonder the officials at the border were puzzled as to why our jerry cans were full!  Kit took the wheel as we swapped tar for gravel and headed to our first site, the Fish River Canyon.  The roads were smooth and we managed a far greater speed than the 10 km/h TomTom estimated, which was fortunate!  

The canyon was beautiful.  There were hints of a river winding its way at the bottom.  The surrounds were rocky and arid with every shade of red and brown visible.  We had a picnic lunch at the canyon’s edge and after about an hour of touring the area we decided to continue on to our night stopover at Keetmanshoop.  The afternoon drive was a hot one with temperatures into the mid-thirties in the shade.  When we arrived at our lodge at 4pm the swimming pool was most inviting.  A quick cooling dip, followed by a film in our air conditioned room and then dinner.  The menu provided the first hints of Namibia’s colonial past.  There were numerous sausages, schnitzels and sauerkraut available.  After a filling meal we returned to our room for another film and a good night’s sleep.

Bird of the day: martial eagle

4-legged animal of the day: hartmann’s mountain zebra

My year at the QEII hospital

I’m sat on the futon in my cousin’s house in Pretoria and reflecting on my year working in internal medicine at QEII Hospital.  We left Lesotho on Friday for the last time and I’m heading back to the UK and the NHS.  What has the year meant?  What have I been able to leave behind?  Has it changed me as a physician?  There year definitely had its ups and its downs, saying my farewells this week provided an opportunity for feedback, which was valuable.

Throughout my year, I was constantly worried that I was not going to have a lasting impact.  The situation was so dire, with over one third of the admissions to the medical unit dying and so many reasons for this, I wanted to try and have some impact.  This proved very difficult, because the majority of reasons for the high mortality are not in the departments control.  This feeds a sense of futility and apathy amongst the staff, which makes what little change we can manage hard to achieve.  I even noticed myself slipping into the mentality, so I can fully understand where it comes from.  A few initiatives were taken, but they required so much energy to try and get off the ground, and then often this was not enough. 

One of the nursing sisters said something very positive on my last day.  She thanked me for the input I had had with her patients, said that she found my enthusiasm for the job was infectious and this had had a positive impact on her approach to her work.  This is not something that I had been particularly aware of before, so it was really great to hear.  So perhaps I will have left some sort of legacy in the hospital and amongst its staff.

What about the impact the year has had on me?  I have gained a lot of experience in HIV and TB, which was one of my objectives.  My colleagues on the ward used to joke that I could smell cryptococcal meningitis, which is a fungal infection HIV patients can suffer from!  I was given a lot of responsibility and gained confidence in my decision making.  I had to make diagnoses and feel confident about them, without the comfort of the tests I was used to in the UK.  I have undertaken a study in to the microbiology of TB samples which hopefully will show some helpful and interesting results.  Another study, into smoking in TB is ongoing.  The staff at the TB clinic seemed enthusiastic to carry it on in my absence.

In summary I have really enjoyed the challenges of my year, and feel I have taken a lot from it.  I may even see the benefits more clearly when I am back in the NHS.  Unfortunately, I have not had as much opportunity to improve the service at the hospital as I may have hoped. 

Hopefully the link between Wales and Lesotho in Health can grow stronger over the coming years, and will very much like to assist it where I can.  The great unknown of the next year is what impact a new private-public partnership hospital is going to have on things when it opens in September.  I would love to go back and see for myself one day!

 

Christmas and New Year with family Brouns

Our adventures continued on from Cape Town as we had my parents and brother in tow.  We returned to Lesotho in a two day journey which took us through a sun swept Cape, foggy garden route, thunder storms and eventually into the cool of Lesotho.  The week leading up to Christmas was relatively relaxed.  I had my last week at work (more on that another time) whilst the family caught up on washing and sleep!

On Christmas Eve, I was given a half day at work, so we headed off at lunchtime into the mountains for our last visit to Semonkong.  The journey was as beautiful as ever, our visitors were suitably impressed, and we made it to the lodge by mid-afternoon.  The water level in the river was high, so abseiling was off, but I was looking forward to seeing the waterfall in its full splendour.  That afternoon we simply settled into our rooms enjoyed what the Thatcher’s Tavern had to offer.  

We awoke on Christmas morning to blue skies and a cup of tea.  After wishing everyone a merry Christmas, we had breakfast and then walked to the gorge to see the waterfall.  After almost a year in Lesotho, I thought a gentle stroll would be perfect for the Christmas morning... work up an appetite for the feast that was to follow.  However, I hadn’t realised how much I must have acclimatised as others found somewhat challenging!!  We all made it and enjoyed the spectacle that is the Maletsunyane falls at high water.  On our return we had lunch and then opened Christmas gifts... all mine seemed to be food related... what people must think of me!!  The dinner that was put on by the lodge was lovely.  All the guests sat together and enjoyed pot roasted turkey, gammon and all the trimmings.  We then played an entertaining game of dirty Santa... an interactive version of secret Santa.  The evening drew to a close with great satisfaction, although some limbs were aching!

Boxing day was a day of relaxation... a splinter group went for a short walk along the river, but had to turn back after 30 minutes due to the high river levels.  We left the lodge on Monday morning  to head back to Maseru.  We said our goodbyes to Jonathan and Armelle who run the lodge.  It had become our favourite place to stay in Lesotho, and we were sad to be leaving for the last time.

Back in Maseru, we made preparations for the next stage of the adventure.  There was washing to be done, and I had to tackle the hospital’s bureaucracy one last time to get my pay for November and December.  On Tuesday shortly before lunch all was ready, and we set off to Katse Dam.  It was a long but beautiful drive up into the mountains of Lesotho and back down in the centre of the country to the reservoir. 

The journey continued the following day further East.  We passed Thaba Tseka and took the road we had travelled with Jim, Dani and Jez only in October.  The surface had deteriorated quite significantly due to the heavy rains.  We were all a little anxious about the crossing over the river Senqu (or Orange river).  We had heard rumours that the bridge often flooded and with all the recent rains may well have become impassable.  As we turned the corner, the bridge came into view... when I say that, some of the bridge came into view.  There were numerous people standing at either end.  As we neared we could see people wading through water.  It looked as though we could get through, so we all got back into the car and I cautiously drove across.  We made it, without any incident much to the amusement of everyone standing around!  We now entered new territory for Kit and I, this was the last bit of “A” road for us to drive on in Lesotho.  It was quite rough and very spectacular.  The approach road to one particular mountain pass was rather steep.  The nerves of the passengers was not helped by the wrecks of previous vehicles lying in the valley far below!  We made it to our next lodge at the Sani Top without incident though.  Sani Top at just under 3000 metres was cold and windy.  We all changed into out warmest clothes and sipped glu wine in the highest pub in Africa.  We had dinner, then swiftly retried to our chalet with lit fire and played cards.

The following day we awoke to thick fog.  We waited around a little after breakfast to see if it would clear, but in the end headed down the Sani Pass with poor visibility.  The first timers were impressed with the “road” despite it, so still a success.  We only had a short drive to Himeville where we checked into our rooms before lunch.  We relaxed and enjoyed the relative warmth.  On New Year’s Eve we headed to the city of Durban.  It rained the whole day, so we weren’t that inclined to go out and explore.  In the evening, it dried up a little for our meal out.  A really lovely time was had by all.  After food we went back to the apartment and tried our best to stay up till midnight!!  The day in Lesotho starts and ends early, even Will had been to bed before 10pm on several nights.  Midnight proved to be a struggle but we made it.  We had some well wishes come our way from family shortly after midnight and then it was bed!

On New Year’s Day the sun was out again!  We drove around Durban to get a flavour for the city.  The city itself was a bit of a ghost town and then we got to the beach!  There were thousands... probably even millions of people enjoying the sun and surf.  It was quite a spectacle.  We didn’t get our swimmers on and try and squeeze ourselves onto the beach.  Instead we headed for the botanical gardens for a stroll and a cup of tea!  Thereafter there was time for a dip in the pool at the apartments, followed by lunch before we had to get Lei, Erica and Will ready for their respective trips back home.  Kit and I made time for an authentic Durban curry after our trip to the airport.

Yesterday we packed ourselves up and started the journey back to Maseru, the quick way round.  We stopped off to see friends in Leribe (in northern Lesotho) before getting back to a flooded Maseru.  In our absence there had been almost persistent rain, leading to many of the roads in town becoming rivers.  After my experience of the river crossing the previous week, I knew this was nothing for Jeepy so I ploughed my way through and back home.

We now have a few days to sort out and pack up before we leave Lesotho for good on Friday!!

The Wedding in Cape Town

 We set off on the latest adventure after work on Friday 10^th of January.  We had a monster drive to get to Cape Town, but with sharing the driving and a stopover in Colesberg it was remarkably painless.  There were amazingly straight roads through quite boring countryside and then we descended into the Cape with its beautiful green vineyards and colourful flowers.  As we neared our accommodation at Lagoon Beach just north of the city, a somewhat familiar looking car pulled out in front of us, followed by flashing lights and arms waving.  It was the soon-to-be bride and groom!!!  We chatted through the traffic and made our way to the apartments.

The first evening we caught up with (and met) family and friends over a delicious Thai meal.  It was great to finally meet Elonah’s parents after nearly a year of us being in southern Africa.  Elonah’s father, John, had been instrumental in finding me Jeepy... something I will be eternally grateful for!!

 

The week leading up to the wedding was truly fabulous.  We lazed about the accommodation, drove around the Cape, saw penguins, ascended Table Mountain (the lazy way!) and even had a professional tour around the city.  

 

The day before the wedding the family and friends that had been staying in the apartments all packed up and headed off to Stellenbosch where the festivities were set to take place.  It was an early start as we had to make a detour via one or two vineyards!  There is nothing quite like wine and cheese at 10 am!!  That evening, after a little rest(!) we had the first of the wedding events... a meal was organised for all the guests to meet each other.  It was a great opportunity to meet up with old faces along with new ones too.

The day of the wedding finally arrived.  The atmosphere was quite relaxed.  We walked into town for breakfast where we kept bumping into others guests.  After food there was the occasional emergency to attend to, most vitally Greg’s hair product had to be retrieved from under a tree... 15 minutes drive from the accommodation!  In the end all was set and we headed off to the church shortly after lunch.

It was a beautiful service, to suite a beautiful couple.  The minister presiding over the ceremony was an old family friend which gave it a tangible personal touch.  Emotions and tissues were in abundance!  After the service we all headed to the reception venue, a small vineyard outside Stellenbosch.  The afternoon and evening that followed were truly lovely.  We drank and ate, played garden games, and some even danced.  There was organised line dancing (foot treading!) as well as more free dancing.  The South Africans did seem to have the edge on the dance floor, it must be said!  Eventually the evening had to come to an end, and we headed back to our accommodation – some of the university’s halls of residence.

The following morning we packed up the car, this time with my parents’ and brother’s things.  The roof rack once again came in very handy!  We had breakfast with the newlyweds, said our goodbyes and then started our journey back to Maseru.