We are back in Teddington Middlesex, suberbs of London. Our traveling days are on hold for a while - although Colin is feeling rather unsettled and ready for off again. I signed on at the Nanny agency to see what the job situation was like and after two interviews decided to take what I think seems the ideal job. Two children Alex 11 yrs and Georgia 7 yrs I start on Sept 1st. So I will keep you posted.
Colin decided to do a Franz Swanepoel (our son-in-law) - networking which I belieive you call social capital. Amazing but true it secured him a job in Kingston - a little like his old position but this time sony products. So looks like we will be around for a while.
Not sure what we are doing with the house which we rented - it doesn't come available to us until November. We have suggested to the tenants they could stay in longer - although in a way I would like to move back in and enjoy my cottage for a while longer.
We have taken up Mountain cycling which we are enjoying very much - this is after entering a night bike race in South Africa, Karkloof classic. We are thinking of purchasing new cycles and taking it up seriously - you could call it the mid life crisis thing - Could be worse I suppose.
Wednesday, 19 August 2009
Monday, 29 June 2009
New Photos uploaded
To look at more photographs of our time in Wisconsin click on our Picasa gallery.
Trip to Door County with Keith and Brenda
We had a fish boil in the evening its a Door County tradition.
The chef ready to serve the fish.
We thoroughly enjoyed the scenery and Keith was very kind in taking us to all the hotspots.
The chef ready to serve the fish.
We thoroughly enjoyed the scenery and Keith was very kind in taking us to all the hotspots.
This is the trip Keith and Brenda took us on to a scenic place, the first visit was to their favortite place for breakfast....a great start to the day.
2nd visit to Wisconsin
This is the trip we took to Wisconsin Dells. Colin and I took Kristian and Erin for two nights we really enjoyed ourselves and the children loved the water slides, we will go again its fantastic.
Erin playing on the veranda
This is the road leading to Ste and Sarahs house.
Erin playing on the veranda
Tuesday, 21 April 2009
Typical Scenes
The photos are typical of the scenes near to Zakayo's house. Next door they ploughed using oxen. Simon Peter with me is a local child who followed us for a long way - all he wanted was a ride on the bike....he couldn't ride so he just sat on - you should have seen the delight on his face. He is a frequent visitor to the shamba. From the house you can see Mt Kenya.
Yvonne with 100 ltr empty water container
Typical of the scenery on the way to the shamba.
I am taking the empty container to fill with water at the batch. Colin has ordered more wood for the building so the full container will come back in the vehicle.
The Zakayo family home
The building in the foreground is the kitchen, the main living sleeping part of the home stands behind.
The kitchen is always a seperate building, the reason being it contains a fire.
The house consist of a wooded frame with rough sawn planks nailed on the outside. The inside is then lined with old newspapers to reduce the draught blowing through the cracks between the boards.
Saturday, 10 January 2009
Upon deciding to drive to Kenya
Account of our trip to Kenya
After much tribulation we have decided to travel by car to Kenya…you would hardly believe the opposition we have fought with people being negative and the idea its not safe in Africa. We decided to buy a tent and try it out in Lesotho. So equipped with eighteen rand to a pound we decided the first huge item needed was a vehicle. Whether to buy a 4x4 was not an option being the fuel consumption so we decided on a diesel Opel Bakkie, which turned out to be a very good buy. So with the vehicle, Howling moon tent plus a few supplies we headed to Drakensburgh and Lesotho.
We headed towards Malealea lodge,in Lesotho its mentioned in the lonely planet and the getaway magazine as an ideal place to see the Lesotho ponies, which they are famous for. We went on a six hour horse ride into the mountains to see the waterfalls and the San paintings. We found out as we were leaving that Prince Harry stayed there when he was nineteen yrs old and did not go to bed all night. He met someone with the surname Spencer and they spent all evening drinking and talking. Its here that we heard the local choir and musicians all using home made instruments. They have there own unique way of dancing which was used in tribal days.
On leaving Lesotho we found that we had made a mistake crossing the border. We got the stamp to leave South Africa but not to go into Lesotho. You can imagine what happened….Yes we did our first bribe. It cost us 100 rand. Afterwards Colin said “Why didn’t you offer 50?“ I was just grateful not to have spent a night in a cell which he threatened us with.
Our trip was an ideal test to what we might face going to Kenya. We have spent many days updating our health insurance which we did while Julie our daughter was in hospital with Malaria, after spending ten days in Congo. We quickly learnt that the mosquitoes will be another huge obstacle to have to deal with. Plus to take the vehicle into Kenya you need a ‘carnet de passage’ which is issued through the AA. Its due to the fact there is a 100 percent tax on all vehicles going into the country. The government are concerned that the vehicle will get stolen and they will miss out on the huge tax. No wonder Nairobi is full of old vehicles choking the country of fumes. You would hardly believe it.
Our first trip towards Jo burgh was eventful in the fact we hit a storm. Lightening and thunder plus hailstone, I have never seen anything quite like it. We eventually decided to shelter under canvas used to shelter from the sun. Hence you can imagine camping tonight was out of the question.
Heading further towards Jo’Burgh we found an ideal spot to camp before heading towards the border. Supplies to be bought as once we leave South Africa things will be tougher. I will post you later.
After much tribulation we have decided to travel by car to Kenya…you would hardly believe the opposition we have fought with people being negative and the idea its not safe in Africa. We decided to buy a tent and try it out in Lesotho. So equipped with eighteen rand to a pound we decided the first huge item needed was a vehicle. Whether to buy a 4x4 was not an option being the fuel consumption so we decided on a diesel Opel Bakkie, which turned out to be a very good buy. So with the vehicle, Howling moon tent plus a few supplies we headed to Drakensburgh and Lesotho.
We headed towards Malealea lodge,in Lesotho its mentioned in the lonely planet and the getaway magazine as an ideal place to see the Lesotho ponies, which they are famous for. We went on a six hour horse ride into the mountains to see the waterfalls and the San paintings. We found out as we were leaving that Prince Harry stayed there when he was nineteen yrs old and did not go to bed all night. He met someone with the surname Spencer and they spent all evening drinking and talking. Its here that we heard the local choir and musicians all using home made instruments. They have there own unique way of dancing which was used in tribal days.
On leaving Lesotho we found that we had made a mistake crossing the border. We got the stamp to leave South Africa but not to go into Lesotho. You can imagine what happened….Yes we did our first bribe. It cost us 100 rand. Afterwards Colin said “Why didn’t you offer 50?“ I was just grateful not to have spent a night in a cell which he threatened us with.
Our trip was an ideal test to what we might face going to Kenya. We have spent many days updating our health insurance which we did while Julie our daughter was in hospital with Malaria, after spending ten days in Congo. We quickly learnt that the mosquitoes will be another huge obstacle to have to deal with. Plus to take the vehicle into Kenya you need a ‘carnet de passage’ which is issued through the AA. Its due to the fact there is a 100 percent tax on all vehicles going into the country. The government are concerned that the vehicle will get stolen and they will miss out on the huge tax. No wonder Nairobi is full of old vehicles choking the country of fumes. You would hardly believe it.
Our first trip towards Jo burgh was eventful in the fact we hit a storm. Lightening and thunder plus hailstone, I have never seen anything quite like it. We eventually decided to shelter under canvas used to shelter from the sun. Hence you can imagine camping tonight was out of the question.
Heading further towards Jo’Burgh we found an ideal spot to camp before heading towards the border. Supplies to be bought as once we leave South Africa things will be tougher. I will post you later.
