After a month of silence on our site, we finally found some time to write you a new story and display some of the good pictures.
This month we experienced a lot of nice things, but also had a very busy time (and still have) at university. We are now in the middle of exams, Tim already did his first exam and Tanja will write her first exam on Tuesday.
Our first trip with GEOS, the geology society, to Sardinia Bay was a lovely day, learning about rocks but also relaxing in the nice ocean breeze. We also found a German “Wurstman” who sold nice Dutch croquettes. Elmo really enjoyed the taste of the Dutch snack. And after 5 months we enjoyed the taste of a croquette as well! The cockroach on Elmo’s nose ate the leftovers of the croquettes.
Our camping weekend to Steytlerville was really the nicest weekend in this month. We left Saturday early in the morning to camp in the middle of nowhere of 'Baviaanskloof'.
At the farm of the family of Gideon we departed with a 4×4 to the camping place, but first the goats had to check our stuff. Before we pitched up the tent we had a Skype appointment with our parents and grandma and grandpa! For this appointment we drove to a point with phone reception and tried to get a good connection. The connection was not really the best, but it was super to have a special Skype conversation from a special location.
The nature was really amazing, there was no phone reception in the rest of the area. Elmo made friends with a scorpion, pigs and a little calf and made coffee for us. We made an enormous bonfire to keep the wild animals on a distance, especially the baboons and leopards. On the fire we cooked a nice “potjie” (a kind of stew) and baked a loaf in a pan. There was a nice ambiance with the guitar and the drums. Finally at midnight the potjie was ready and we were ready to sleep. After the night with screaming baboons we ate the potjie for breakfast and the fire was still warm enough to boil some water for coffee and tea. After breakfast, we did a nice hike through a small part of the mountain range, the pictures give the best description…
And then… it's bedtime…
It was an amazing weekend with our friends!!
Two weeks ago we had graduation party of Tanja’s classmates. We were invited to share the fun and to help finish the whole! sheep on the braai. Tim’s friends were also there, Wernich (geology lecturer) and Hugo (Ann’s boyfriend). The theme for the night was the eighties, that explains the bright make-up on the girls (Ann, Rachel, Sharlene, Cherize and me).
This weird guy in the kitchen makes the best pancakes. If you want a curry with rice… no problem, even if we are in a busy time. Then we eat the curry in the office of Dewald and Wernich, so we can start studying rocks directly after dinner. But not before we feed all the friends in the tank some chicken.
Our second visit to the Oystercatcher with our neighbours, Michael and Joanna, was lovely again, the Sushi chef still knows how to surprise his customers with the delicious sushi!
To conclude we found a funny definition of "Potjie" in the "Coast to Coast":
"A three-legged pot. Put everything in and leave it on the fire for at least 5 – 10 beers. Don't stir and don't open it. It requires a great deal of culinary skill and is the traditional preserve of men (women prefer to feed their families when they're hungry rather than drink beer). The secret is in making everyone wait for so long that they don't care how good (or bad!!) the food is."
Hi All—-How is it all going? The envious couple here in England look forward to hearing from you. How are the old couple Martha en Jan doing ? are they enjoying themselves? We wished we were over there in S A enjoying the fine scenery and wildlife with you! Someday soon perhaps.
loads of best wishes. Dave and “the boss” XXXX