Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Our three weeks in Howick seem to have gone faster than Angela can eat 6 hot cross buns (very fast, you won't be surprised to learn).
Pat & Roger De La Harpe hosted us yet again and, clearly enjoying our company, soon departed for Zimbabwe and Botswana on a photographic assignment!
Repairs, modifications and improvements to both the trailer and the Landrover have been completed. We now have a roof rack bigger than a rugby field on which we have secured a second spare wheel. A year ago we would have thought 2 spare wheels was overkill, 5 punctures and a broken axle later we see it as a minimum requirement!
We have off loaded equipment that has remained unused over the last 12 months, including ice blocks (we don't have a freezer!), a 3m x 4m retractable gazebo that took off the one time we used it, a plastic snake that didn't deter monkeys or ground squirrels but frightened the life out of us, 6 wineglasses (we still have 4!) and a collapsible wardrobe that took longer to erect than the stage for a Rolling Stones concert.
You might conclude that we now have a half empty car but you'd be wrong of course. By the time we load the umbrella and stand, Zulu walking stick, outdoor patio light, 4 man tent (not to be confused with the trailer rooftop tent), 2 roll mats, 2 rucksacks, 60 litre coolbox, 15 litre coolbag, 80 litre utility box, laptop, battery charger, compressor, trolley jack, tripod, 2 cameras, video camera, binoculars, the reference library (not joking, we have more wildlife reference books than Kruger National Park) and the cases of wine there is not much room for us!
Whilst here in Howick we've spent most of the time haemorrhaging money buying new essentials and fixing things. Essentials included a pair of prescription reading glasses for Angela so that she can at least see the map even though she still has no idea where we are going!
For reasons that escape me we volunteered to marshal at the Howick Super Classic mountain bike race and spent a nerve wracking 3 hours at a forestry crossroads trying to ensure that the slow riders stopped on the gravel road whilst the leaders hurtled across it as they exited from the forest above at 30kph. Angela nearly got to practice her first aid training on a kid that departed from his bike as it hit a tree stump but he was back on his bike and off as Angela approached with the iodine, scissors and bandage. There were no other casualties apart from our nerves, soon soothed by a couple of pints of Pickled Pig, the closest equivalent to proper beer out here!
The major event of our stay was courtesy of Mother Nature and an awesome reminder of her power. The Howick area had been on high fire risk alert for weeks and on Monday 26 June a fire that had been burning in the forests to the north west was fanned by high winds and arrived alongside the Amberglen housing development where Pat & Roger live, on the northern outskirts of the town.
We were having dinner in central Howick with friends when we noticed the glow of the fire and realised it was dangerously close to our temporary home. We ignored the police request to turn round at a roadblock and arrived back to find that the fire, fanned by a very hot and strong wind, was coming up the grass lawns. Police with loudspeakers were advising all residents to depart and the combination of embers, soot, smoke and incredible heat meant that we needed no persuading; it felt like hell on earth.
We stopped to wake up Pat's mother and her father in law at their house on the same development and put them in the car in their pyjamas before driving to the relative safety of a vantage point nearer town. Over the next two hours we watched with fascination, fear and then growing relief as the fire moved east of Amberglen and missed the 300 houses and care home that constitute the development. By 1am it was safe to return to our respective homes and retire to bed, though I did stay up to 4am in case the wind decided to change direction!
In the light of day it was clear that the only thing that had stopped the whole estate burning down was the favourable wind direction and the fact that most of the opposite hillside is set aside for growing cabbages and is irrigated daily, acting as a natural firebreak. My mother always told me cabbage was good for me and now I realise why!
In what is becoming a more regular event than Britney Spears on a bender we'd like to thank various people for their hospitality during our stay. Pat & Roger for putting up with Angela and not complaining as their garage and house filled up with our gear, Ken & Paula for their hospitality and for showing us some of the lovely Midlands area, David and Mark at Afrispoor for the speedy repairs and enhancements to the trailer (we have brakes again!) and to Brad and Steve for an excellent job on the Discovery.
We are back on the road on Wednesday, heading south of Durban to the Indian Ocean coast to warm up a bit and test everything out. After that we are going to do some whale watching around the coast towards the Cape then hopefully enjoy the spectacular wild flower displays of Namaqualand on the Atlantic seaboard of South Africa.
- comments