 |
newsletter
March 2010
|
|
 |
| Here
the
first newsletter of
the
new year from a warm and sunny Balule. |
| |
|
The new year is already in its 3rd month again. |
|
When I write this (2 March) it is exactly
100 days before that start of the World Cup Football. |
|
South Africa is starting to get under the
spell of this event. On the route to Nelspruit and other host cities |
|
big footballs have been placed on lantern
posts. |
|
On television, radio and and in the
newspapers regularly something about the upcoming event is shown. |
|
|
|
Off course our lodge will be decorated in
Orange in June, to support the Dutch team. |
|
Flags, shirts and all kinds of other
things will colour our lodge. For 30 days long football will be the most
important |
|
thing and that is something I look forward
to. |
|
|
 |
|
Not just South Africa is under the spell
of the football. |
|
At Amukela we are getting
into the spirit as well. |
|
Niels is practising his support for the
Dutch team. |
|
 |
| |
| newsletters: |
|
Newsletter March 2010 |
| Newsletter
December 2009 |
| Newsletter
September 2009 |
| Newsletter
June 2009 |
| Newsletter
March 2009 |
And our bar is decorated with South
African flags, posters |
|
of the Dutch team and Bafana Bafana and a
"kuduzela". |
|
This is an African horn that you will hear
during the games. |
|
|
|
|
In January and February we regularly got
visited from buffalo's and elephants. |
|
It was wonderful to sit in the swimming
pool with friends when an elephant came to drink. |
|
|
 |
|
In the evenings we could hear the familiar
sound of |
|
breaking branches. The elephants were
mostly interested |
|
top |
in the fruits of the Marula tree. |
|
From this fruit the famous Amarula liqueur
is made. |
|
|
|
|
|
The buffalo's, 3 big old bulls, liked to
hang around in our dry |
|
|
riverbed and were regularly seen at one of
our |
|
|
water holes. |
|
|
|
|
|
The bush is very lush and green now. This
rainy season, that lasts from September till March, brought statistically |
|
|
seen average rains. So far we had 376 mm
where 400 mm is normal for this area. |
|
|
 |
|
|
|
Let's hope we get some more before the end
of the season |
|
| |
so the grass seeds
can grow and there will be enough |
|
|
food for the
animals to get them through the dry winter. |
|
|
|
|
|
When it rains it
can be a heavy storm. We had 130 mm in |
|
|
only 2 days in the
beginning of the year! |
|
|
This is almost one
third of the average we get in a season. |
|
|
|
|
|
The disadvantage of
these heavy storms is that the topsoil |
|
|
with
all the seeds washes away. |
|
|
top |
It is
great though for the underground sources of water and for filling up dams
and rivers. |
|
|
|
|
|
Niels and Dennis are doing very well. |
|
|
Dennis started walking soon after his
birthday and is getting more conscious about his surroundings every day. |
|
|
He loves it when giraffes walk past and
starts waving his little arms. He is quite a handful at the moment since he
wants |
|
|
to try everything and has
no sense of danger yet. |
|
|
|
|
|
Niels had a special morning at
school in
February. |
 |
|
|
All children of the pre-school and their
parents were invited |
|
|
to the froggy-gala. |
|
|
In the schools swimming pool we played
games, which Niels |
|
|
enjoyed very much. |
|
|
|
|
|
There was a piggy-back race where the
parent had to get |
|
|
across the pool with the child on their
back and also the |
|
|
marsh mellow race. It was difficult for
some of the children |
|
|
not to eat the marsh mellow
till the end of the race! |
|
|
|
|
|
|
From November untill half of January is a
very busy period for us. |
|
| |
A good reason to take a break at the end
of January and go to Graskop for 2 days. |
|
|
We stayed in
Thaba Tsweni Lodge,
a nice lodge at walking distance from the Berlin waterfalls. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
We know the owners of the lodge from when
they still worked for Tshukudu Lodge. |
|
|
top |
 |
Wendel is a fuild-guide who did the game
drives and walks |
|
|
with the lion cubs while Patsy worked at
the reception. |
|
|
They are very nice and hospitable people
and the lodge |
|
|
is a nice place to stay when you want to
see Graskop and |
|
|
the waterfalls or do the panorama route. |
|
|
|
|
|
The lodge offers self catering
accommodation or dinner, |
|
|
bed and breakfast and is very
child-friendly. |
|
|
Niels and Dennis enjoyed themselves on the
lush green |
|
|
grass and there was a play area with a
trampoline, a |
|
| |
swing and a slide. |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
In the same weekend we went to visit
friends in Hazyview, which is only half an hour drive from Graskop on a nice
scenic |
|
| |
route. We had to go through a small tunnel
which Niels found very interesting. |
|
| |
All in all it was a very nice weekend and
we enjoyed it. |
|
| |
Our neighbour Steve was so nice to take
care of our dogs for this weekend. |
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
In the beginning of this year also 2
baby's were born. |
 |
|
| |
Our friend Linda became mother of Nathan,
a healthy |
|
| |
baby boy of 3,3 kg and Tinyiko got a baby
girl named |
|
| |
Thubelihle, which means "nice chance". |
|
| |
So we went on 2 maternity visits in
February. |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Beginning of May Tinyiko will return to
work at Amukela. |
|
| |
Niels will be very happy because every
time he saw her |
|
| |
or spoke to her on the phone he told her: |
|
| |
"Tito, we miss you!" |
|
|
|
|
|
|
top |
From Balule: Salani Gahle
(goodby) !
|
|
|
