When at the South Coast..

Top 10 Things to Do (when at the South Coast)

1. Leave hair to go from GHD'd to XXXL Curly
2. Discover there are 50 ways to get lost in the little town of Southbroom
3. Braai half a cow (every night)
4. Wear winter clothes to the beach
5. Listen to husband moan about winter clothes on the beach
6. Refuse to cook
7. Get sick from KFC
8. Eat Flings, Chomps (many) and Cheese Curls
9. Visit the fabulous Banana Cafe near San Lameer (like its better than Woolworths ok)
10. Decide "out of season" should become a way of life

Home Execs Unite!

So I figure - I must have heard "So have you found a job yet" or "So what do you do with yourself all day" about a million times since being back from Harnas. Strange.. But thank you for all the concern!

The Hartmann Household is in fact.. busy. Activities ranging from the establishment of an organic veggie patch, to daily gym sessions, to organising the study / house and of course meeting friends and family has ensured a pretty busy schedule. November saw a brilliant wedding at Leopard Lodge with Bruce declaring his undying love for his Meredith. A mechanic bull and line dancing completed the picture.

I also had a wonderful visit from David The American From Seattle.

I met David during my last week at Harnas and he was travelling South Africa after his volunteer work. Got a list of volunteer organisations from him so have some homework to do. He also introduced me to something called "Couch Surfing" which I am keen on (check it out on http://www.couchsurfing.com/). He stayed with us for 3 days and it was great doing all the tourist things with him again.

He LOVES cooking so he also made us real Cajun Jambolaya from New Orleans. It was incredible.

We also went to the Good Food and Wine Expo at the Dome and bought the most delish Walnut & Rocket pesto.

Booked at Moyo Melrose Arch for his last night and my wonderful-listening-buddy-and-friend Kim joined us along with Anton's BFF Clive, his mate and Rolf & Thands. Still not fond of the place..

Anton and 8 mates returned from their annual 4 day hike in the Drakensberg.

The aim is to hike the entire range of the Berg over the next few years. Armed with 10kg backpacks, warm clothes (in Anton's case - fleece leggings) and tinned chicken they set off.

Hiker Wives were a bit worried about freezing cold weather and/or Berg fire / Lesotho pouchers but indulged in Bookclub wine sessions to ease the anxiety.

After hearing how tough the trip was, its safe to say some guys wont return for next year's trip! New recruit applications can be submitted from January.

Its been really rainy and cold in Jozy. I had visions of me, the pool lilo and SPF 2 over the next few weeks. Alas.

Off to Southbroom (KZN) this week for a long awaited holiday at the beach!

Please let me see some sun..

Harnas - Looking Back Now

WHAT I MISS MOST...

1. The lions roaring at night and early in the morning
2. Frikkie saying "I'm telling you now.." (big Afrikaans accent)
3. Frikkie (teaching us how to work with lions) "He will kill you, but you will learn"
4. Goeters purring like a diesel enjin
5. The morning walk to the farm and walk back at sunset

6. Putting on a beanie and headlight torch at 19:15pm and climbing into my sleeping bag
7. Audrey holding my hand
8. Sana holding on to me and giving hugs
9. Sneaking back to the farm during siesta to lie with Goeters

10. Malcolm saying hi when you first go into his enclosure
11. Marieta shouting at the bushmen in Afrikaans

12. The coldrink and cookies we got at our afternoon meetings
13. The massive amount of sprinklers on the farm lawn spraying recycled water... nice
14. Sir Roger holding on to Brollox the dog whilst drinking his bottle

15. A good warm shower at night
16. The meerkats chasing each other
17. Zippy the lion dog playing with the lion brothers

18. Frikkie says "Give yourself and all your sad experiences to the animals, and this place will heal you"
19. Frikkie says "Even when you feel your life is falling apart, think of yourself as a shiny mirror that's broken, each part still shines on its own"
20. Every day brings new opportunities

Day 22 - Harnas, Gobabis, Windhoek

10 September 2009

Day started cold and overcast. Wonder if rain is finally coming!

After panic packing had breakfast (usual apple and rice krispies) and then last walk to the farm and lapa to say goodbye. Was really hard especially when poor Kathrin came hopping accross the lawn to come and say goodbye to us. We were only 8 leaving, at least liked Ruth and Jo so the 3 hour trip to Windhoek was not too bad.

We stopped at Gobabis for petrol and I spotted Wimpy and in 2 seconds we were out of the van and ordering cheese burgers with chips! We arrived in Windhoek around 14:00pm and I checked into Puccini again and had a fantastic afternoon nap until 18:00pm!

Then arranged with my new friend Ruth to have dinner at the famous Joe's Beerhouse. I was exhausted still but it was a great night. Also managed to stop by a petrol station to buy beer and sweets for Kathrin, George and Tanya. I gave it to Ruth since she was staying at a backpackers where some of the girls were going to Harnas in the morning to start their volunteer work. Really hope the transfer arrives tomorrow morning.

What a sad and emotional day.

Day 21 - Harnas

9 September 2009

A really cold and windy day!

Had the day off since it was my last day before I leave. Felt really lost without my daily activities.

Started packing but really struggling to fit everything in. Spend the morning babysitting Sana in her cage as she was left alone in there. Marieta wanted more quiet in her courtyard so Willy, Dexter and Tosh the vervets were moved into Popeye's old enclosure.

Poor Sana was crying her heart out. I sat with her a bit but then took her out of her enclosure and we went to play on the lawn infront of the lapa. Had the best time! She would run off into a tree, look back to see if I'm following her and then run back to me wrapping her arms around me. She is such a scared little one! I think the reason is that a few weeks ago she got out of the courtyard and into the lion brother's enclosure. Frikkie had to run in and rescue her. At one stage Sir Roger and his dog Brollox came to investigate but soon got bored of us!

After lunch went to pay my bill towards tokens (there's no money traded on the farm, everything works with tokens) and spend some time with Goeters. Got really sad that I will never see him again as he is so old. Then went to say goodbye to Audrey but Malcolm and Tammy were too hard. Could not leave their enclosure and kept going back to play one last time. Also went to cuddle the baby lions, I didnt get to form a close bond with them but they are adorable.

Unfortunately could not say goodbye to my meerkats Darren and Sarah as they were still out on their walk with some volunteers. Since I was leaving we all get the famous lion roar the night before you leave. I wish Frikkie was here to do it with us as he is so spiritual. So went with Marnus to all the wild lion enclosures to feed them and just sit at sunset and listen to them roar. It was incredibly moving and sad as it felt like they were saying goodbye. It was good to see Macho the male and Simba the female and her lion cubs for one last time.

Got back around 19:00pm and quickly had to get dressed for my lapa farewell dinner. The theme was Cast Away and again had no clue. Didnt really dress up but found one of Nikki's (food prep co-ordinator from the UK) Tshirts at laundry and decided to wear it!

We also had our certificate handover at dinner since some of the people leaving were leaving at 05:00am already. Was really sad and we all cried when Ruth (the German girl in my group, also leaving with me in the morning) got up and thanked all the co-ordinators and the owners of the farm. Will miss the sound of frogs at night but most of all the lions roaring. And in the morning the birds and roosters. Tomorrow will be hard. No one can really say goodbye to a place like this.

Day 20 - Harnas

8 September 2009

What a day! So much happening.

Decided to do food prep for one last time. Worked really hard and after feeding we cleaned all enclosures and raked. Was supposed to clean Gumbi's water hole but couldn't find Marnus as we had to enter in a big group since he was so dangerous.

At that stage we heard that Kathrin, my previous team leader and now secretary was in a bad accident. Apparently the 4 x 4 golf cart she was on with a farm worker flipped and landed on her cutting her leg badly. They think the axl broke. She was raced to Gobabis hospital but after some huge stitches she came back later tonight.

Also a newbie in my group from Aus, Liz, got bitten by a Mongoose when she was feeding them. Her fault really since she was dangling the meat too low and they jumped up.

Had my usual nap with Goeters but 3 other volunteers were in there already so it wasn't that good - way too many volunteers here this week.

Spend most of the afternoon with Malcolm and Tammy, they were in such a playful mood and again they did not dissapoint. Also played with the Meerkats and realised I had to actual photos of Marieta's backyard where some of the animal enclosures are! Had chocolate cake again after dinner as it was Marnus' birthday. Some sitting around the camp fire but it was really smokey and ended up in bed around 21:00pm.

Day 19 - Harnas

7 September 2009

Had a great day with a big change in routine.

Team 1 and 2 were chosen for cheetah research and I jumped at the chance and booked myself (sometimes its good being team leader!). Left around 11am with Joany and Pride and was dropped off in the lifeline at a waterhole with a hidden "anthill" / bunker with my Team 1 mate and Aussie called Carolyn.

Had to sit in the bunker and record their every move. I was following Joany and Carolyn was following Pride's movements. Joany immediately raced off after some Kudu she saw in the distance and didnt see her again until around 15:00pm. So we both watched Pride. At first she was just sitting under a tree, very lazy.

But around noon a warthog came to drink water. Pride stalked it and then dashed off after it. What an amazing sight to see her run!! Think she got a bit overwhelmed as she ran out of steam and the warthog started chasing after Pride! They went around in circles a bit and then Pride lost her as she ran into the bush. It was so close! Carolyn and I held our breath in anticipation of the kill. Oh well, it was great just seeing her hunt. I am sure she is so close to being released! That is the purpose of the research, to record how they hunt, when and how game react to them. Joany didnt kill anything either and Megan fetched all 4 of us in the Rescue around 16:00pm.

Decided to try play with Martha the baby lion cub - but true to her reputation, she was really grumpy and dont like people too much! Frikkie is hand rearing her since he found her.

Ran into George and we both walked back to the camp to see Popeye's new enclosure. Marieta decided he is close to being released (some tourists ran him over with their car and he lost an eye and broke his wing 2 months ago) so some volunteers had to build a new enclosure for him close to our Villiage so he can be set free! He was very traumatized inside his new cage so we all left him alone. Marnus asked me to stay behind and make sure no animals or birds go near his enclosure. It was heaven having the camp to myself. Fetched my book and a bag of crisps and settled next to the pool watching the sun go down! Had a brilliant dinner of rice, meat and sweet potato.