24 July 2017

It has been a while since our last blog. Today is yet another perfect day.

We managed to get a site right above the beach and overlooking the sea. What a blessing this has been. We moved here on the 18^th July. The wind here is virtually non-existent, especially compared to the site that we were on.

There is a lady in a caravan just up the road from us, and when I pass her each morning on the way to the ablutions she greets me with “yet another day in paradise, isn’t God great.” Indeed our God is great and greatly to be praised.

When I sit and look at the sea I marvel at His wonderful creation. This morning as I sat drinking my tea outside the tent, I saw the dolphins again. The surfers were out in full force but the waves were rather disappointing. Just now I saw the whales as well. We have secured this site until the end of November, when we can move into our flat. Why go anywhere else when you live in paradise.

We have decided not to go to the Cape after all. Because of the severe drought conditions we just felt that to go on an extended tour of the Cape would not be worth it. Everything is so dry and caravan parks have requested that we bring our own water and extra it we can. With the possibility of not seeing any flowers and adding to the burden of hosts, we decided to go another year when things are not as bad. It has been raining, but it will still take a lot of rain to make things comfortable for the people in the Cape province. Friends of ours in Somerset West have said that they have closed their one room which they use for a B&B as with guests there, they use up the household’s quota of water very quickly then they have to really scrimp and save.

I celebrated my 65^th birthday in style this year. Tom took me to Umdoni Golf Park clubhouse for supper. When we drove up I said to him would we ever be able to afford to eat at such a beautiful establishment. Well, what a surprise. This is an incredibly beautiful place which overlooks the sea. The meals are very reasonable and we spent a lovely evening there. Then he took me to Botha House, which is in an securely fenced part of the Golf Course. What a beautiful old Cape Dutch style house. General Louis Botha, the first Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa, built this as a holiday ‘cottage’. Nothing cottage about this house. 

Beautiful wooden floors, and old furniture. Apparently General Botha didn’t ever get to use the house, as he passed away before he could, but his wife lived there for quite some time. After that the ministers of the cabinet used it as a quiet retreat. It is now used as a guest house. It has 4 rooms upstairs with their own bathrooms. All very old fashioned, but still so well built and maintained. Then there are two garden rooms and a self catering cottage. I could really recommend this as a get away for anyone who wants to be truly spoilt.

Tom booked a room and we got the whole house! The next morning we were treated to a scrumptious breakfast on the verandah. Wow, what a way to celebrate my birthday.

Tom’s brother Malcolm and his wife Colleen have a house at Ramsgate. After Dad’s passing, they needed a break so spent some time at Ramsgate. We went down to see them and spent the night with them. They treated us like royalty. What a beautiful home this is. No wonder they hanker to spend more time there just to get away from the business of their lives in Benoni. Together we went to a place called Clearwater - great for mountain bikers and hikers. We had a lovely lunch there and took a small walk to the deck which overlooks the gorge. (Can’t remember the name of the gorge) On one side is Natal and on the other is the Transkei. What a beautiful sight. Unfortunately the day was a bit hazy and gloomy so we couldn’t really get a good view of the sea in the distance.

Tom and I had been to Beaver Creek Coffee Estate about two weeks prior to our visit with Malcolm and Colleen, which is situated on the same road as Clearwater. This is also worth a visit. We had such fond memories of Sabie Valley Coffee, so this was bound to be a good place. We also had a lovely lunch there, slightly expensive but really very good. The coffee was excellent, and we will definitely be visiting them again.

When speaking to friends here in the camp about our visit to Beaver Creek, they told us about a little known place at Port Edward. There is a small desert there, called the Red Desert. It is such a strange phenomenon. It is just 200 metres across and covers an area of 11 hectares. It is a recognised desert and is classified as such. Tom and I still want to visit it in the near future then we will blog some more about it with pictures as well.

We have started attending the local Methodist Church here and are really enjoying being part of the congregation. So many people have come up to us and just started chatting. The minister is Alan Bester. We knew his parents when we were part of Lay Witness and met him as a young man about to candidate for the ministry. We haven’t actually spoken to him yet. He is a very sound Bible teacher and his message every Sunday is so thought provoking. We are truly blessed. Tom is enjoying just being part of the congregation with not having to worry whether the sound is working, etc. I have joined the ladies fellowship on a Wednesday, and Tom has attended the Bible-study led by Alan on a Friday morning.

Yesterday we went through to Amanzimtoti to the Makro there. While we were browsing a lady came up to me and said: ‘Kan jy dit nou oorvertel! Wat maak julle twee hier?’ (Can you believe this. What are you two doing here?) This was my dear friend Lore and her husband, Joggie, from Standerton. Wow, what a wonderful surprise. We left our browing and went and had coffee and a catch up at the Wiesenhof coffee shop. We chatted about our children and are getting together later this week for lunch in Port Shepstone. More about this restaurant in a future blog. Will keep you posted.

My neighbour has just stopped by to show us the oysters she and her husband have just collected off the rocks below our campsite. She says they also collected a lot of mussels. She wanted to introduce us to the oysters, but I told her not to waste the precious things on me. Tom doesn’t eat seafood and I am so allergic to mussels, I don’t want to risk oysters. It doesn’t sound too appetising in any case. What bounty to be found right here where we are.

Tom has just called me to come and see the whales which are very close to the shore. People pay big money to have this privilege of whale spotting and here I just sit on my deck-chair and watch them lazily swim by. The dolphins are also there and I was just thinking how wonderful it must be to be that at home in the water. Perfectly shaped for the task.

Until we write again, may you and yours be blessed.

Lots of love,

Tom & Lynette

01 July, 2017

A lot has happened since we arrived at Scottburgh. For the first few weeks the wind determined much of what we did. When it really blows, and it does quite often for long periods of time, we have to batten down and hang on. Our site seems to be in a natural funnel which directs the wind to us. We will change it for a better one as soon as possible but certainly after the July school holidays when more sites will be available.

On Wednesday 21^st Lynette tramped on what looked like solid ground but turned out to be a shallow hole and twisted her ankle quite badly.

On Friday 23^rd we received the news that Grandpa had passed away quietly. It was just 4 days before his 103^rd birthday. It was a shock but also a relief. When you see people that old, you thank the Lord that we don’t live forever on earth. His last weeks were really difficult for him.

Malcolm & Colleen have been very busy seeing to his needs for a long time, needs that became more and more as he got older. We owe them a great deal of thanks for their love and effort on Dad’s behalf. The same must be said of dear Annette who assisted him so lovingly.

With the need to go to Benoni, we tied the tent down some more and asked a friend here to watch over it while we were away. We left here on Sunday 25^th and headed North. We stopped at Montrose (At Swinburne) for fuel & something to eat. We left and about 12 Km. later the car started to jerk and make very expensive sounds. I pulled off the road and correctly suspected that the attendant had filled our tank with petrol instead of diesel. There we were, sitting at the side of the road on a Sunday with a car that could not go anywhere. Being an automatic it also cannot be towed. It has to be carried on the back of a VERY expensive flatbed truck.

I managed to phone the owner of Montrose who told us to sit tight and she would sort out our problem for us. Within 30 minutes, the manager of Montrose arrived with the fuel station manager. The latter stayed with us while he went on to Harrismith to get a tow truck. Very soon, the tow truck arrived & carried our car to a workshop in Harrismith where a mechanic was waiting to do what was necessary. I kept an eye on him and watched the whole procedure. He drained the full tank of fuel, flushed the lines and the filter and then filled our tank with diesel. He then started it up and it ran sweetly. Praise the Lord. All this was done at no cost to us. Our journey continued with no further incident. What amazing service from people who could have shrugged their shoulders and let me carry all the blame.

Dad’s memorial service was a real celebration of the life of a (not perfect but) Godly man, sure in the knowledge that he had believed in Jesus Christ and served him as best he could. Sure in the knowledge that he would live forever in glory with his Saviour.

We spent the week with Peter & Elaine and family. It is always such a joy to be with them. Yesterday we travelled back to Scottburgh, stopping again at Montrose for lunch. The manager recognised us, greeted us warmly and then took his leave. Later, when we had had a good lunch and asked for the bill, we were told that the manager had taken care of it. Are we blessed, or what??

We arrived at the caravan after a very good trip to find everything in good condition. Fuel consumption was an excellent 16.6 Km/L.

This morning we went for a walk to exercise Lynette’s ankle and look for suitable sites in the caravan park for our move. We sat down at the little tuck-shop in the camp and watched dolphins playing/hunting in the sea. It was a beautiful sight.

Blessings to you all until next time.