2008-09 Our Trip

In England, TEDDINGTON

2009-08-19T04:56:00.000-07:00

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.

New Photos uploaded

2009-06-29T12:05:00.000-07:00

To look at more photographs of our time in Wisconsin click on our Picasa gallery.

Trip to Door County with Keith and Brenda

2009-06-29T10:03:00.000-07:00

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.

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

2009-06-29T09:50:00.000-07:00

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.

The Four of Us

2009-04-21T12:06:00.002-07:00

Typical Scenes

2009-04-21T11:47:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-21T11:38:00.000-07:00

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 new house with gable end unfinished

2009-04-21T11:12:00.001-07:00

The Zakayo family home

2009-04-21T10:51:00.000-07:00

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.

Zakayo,Joshua and Mama Lydia

2009-04-21T10:29:00.001-07:00

The New Bathroom

2009-04-21T09:48:00.000-07:00

Upon deciding to drive to Kenya

2009-01-10T10:17:00.000-08:00

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.

Camping trip to Lesotho

2008-12-10T04:57:00.000-08:00

This is our Howling Moon Tent.

We travelled to Lesotho and headed towards Malealea Lodge. Highly recommeneded by the Getaway magazine.

We went on a six hour horse ride from here to a waterfall and the San painting. Check out My Photo Gallery for more photo's. We were driving to the waterfall and suddenly the road became unpassable for our 2x4 vehicle. The photograph of the children was taken whilst trying to negotiate a three point turn. Colin said "look out" as I was directing him, and when I turned there were about 20 children all running to greet us.

We were advised to try out the local restaurant. Thoroughly enjoyed a chicken curry with the locals. As the waiter passed I happened to be commenting how handsome he was!! He seemed to enjoy the compliment!

Our Opel bakkie.

wedding of Franz and Julie

2008-12-07T02:42:00.000-08:00

October 25th 2008

This is Colin arriving with Julie and the flower girls.

It was raining slightly and there was talk of cancelling the tractor idea.....

Colin commented in his speech about the downside of having such a creative son-in-law.....his suit was getting wet from the seat.

Otherwise all went well.

The wedding ceremony was held at Kildonan and Janet Mackenzie's farm and the reception at Kildonan's brother Macgregor and Ann Mackenzie in Ixopo, South Africa.

More photo's in the gallery. Follow the link above.

our last days in Wisconsin

2008-09-01T18:07:00.000-07:00

Just click on the picture to get a video of Kirstian at work he is 28 months old............our time in Wisconsin is coming to an end just one week left so we are making the best of the grandchildren. Kristian is so cute and loving, we have taken many photos of his willingness to help with the work on the house...........as soon as grandad or dad let go of the drill he picks it up and copies everything they do......so far there has been no accidents.
Erin is equally as cute she has a great habit of pointing, she points when she knows she is doing wrong. she is one loving child..........just what I ordered!!!! so I am making the best of her cuddles.......it will be hard to leave them.

Colin and Ste are busy knocking through walls they are about to attempt making one huge larder instead of a few fiddling cupboards. They have already blocked a doorway and closed off a set of stairs.

We will keep you all posted on our plans ,we are heading to England for only two weeks then off back to South Africa. Julie is getting married Oct 25th. There are a few relatives from England going so we will be kept busy. I am well looking forward to it as I feel we didn't do Africa justice so much more to see and do.

We are anxiously waiting for Timothy Knighton my sister youngest son to arrive, its his first visit to America. We will have a few days with him here before we leave so should be exciting.

our trip to USA

2008-08-18T19:37:00.000-07:00

We arrived in Wisconsin 12th June it was rather hectic as Ste and Sarah were still in a one bedroom flat waiting to move into their new house. It fell through due to problems with the septic tank. It meant another long search for another one. Did not take long to find the ideal property. We eventually moved in on 9th July. After spending many weeks with family we decided to go and see Sarah's mother in Montana and friends of ours in Seattle. This meant travelling over 2000 miles on the greyhound. We thoroughly enjoyed meeting people and seeing this vast country. We travelled through Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana Idaho and finally Washington. We are now back in Wisconsin with Ste and Sarah to spend the final days with the grandchildren.

Nanyuki nr Mt Kenya

2008-05-20T11:40:00.000-07:00

Through our friend Graham Barnes we had opportunity to visit native Kenyans in their homes. It was a glimpse into the lives of these special people. Life in these rural areas is very different than living a western life, as you can see from the lady above lighting a fire for a meal. we had sunday lunch in this home it consisted of mealie (maize) and kale.

We wanted to climb Mt Kenya but sadly I developed a fever which we suspected was malaria, so was put on medication.

Kenya Mombassa

2008-05-20T11:26:00.000-07:00

We landed in Nairobi which was quite a shock, the poverty is unbelievable, the lonely planet book is right it takes the brave to stay there. We have a friend in Kenya who was away for a few days so we quickly booked a flight to Mombassa. It was well worth it as you can see from the photograph. We had chalet right on the Indian ocean. We stayed here for 10 days, riding on the matatus (local buses) it was exciting being with the locals. Very sad for them as the tourists are not there this year due to all the trouble in Kenya.

long awaited photographs

2008-05-20T11:09:00.000-07:00

We spent 3 weeks in S. Africa before going to Kenya. During this time we took a road trip to Cape Town. It was rather hectic as we had many miles to do and we had planned a trip to Kenya. Cape Town is beautiful, we left there to go through the vine growing area of Stellenbosch.

first few days

2008-04-07T09:54:00.000-07:00

we are really loving S.Africa!!

We have already coverred a lot of miles. Been to Cape Town, travelling down the coastal route. Stayed in some lovely places and took our time! For people in England we will give you one reason why we really enjoy this country.... our pound goes a long way! We are currently getting 16 rand to a pound, and a cup of coffee is rarely over 10 rand! Had some wonderful meals out and come out wondering if we did only pay that little for all of us.

It is probably easier for you to get a feel for our holiday from the pictures, so rather than writing lots, I will take the time to upload some. We took a hike one day and hopefully will get some pictures of that online. All the trips to Amida came in useful as it was quite arduous, but we loved it. Some terrific sights, beautiful beaches, seals in the water and stunning cliffs.

Will write more another time.

Love to all.

planning our trip

2008-01-19T12:58:00.000-08:00

Just to let you know the cases are packed by that I mean one small case each we are travelling light this time. First stop South Africa. We are heading through England first to see most of the relatives. A family renunion in Bedford to see the Heyes clan then to Lancs to see the Bell family so an excited pair will see you all soon.

We are at Matt and Katharina Felthams seven weeks before our adventure, if things go to plan we are leaving around the 15 th of March.