The Garden Route

After having reached some semblance of normalcy at home in PE we decided it was time to venture out and see some other sights in this new country of ours. 

The Garden Route is the area between Hiedelberg in the Western Cape and Storms River in the Eastern Cape.  We decided to stop just East of Plettenberg Bay in an area known as The Crags.

This weekend of adventure will be multiple postings to cover the various sights that we saw.

First the trip itself.  The trip is roughly 200km from PE.  The highway is in great condition (recently fixed up by the looks of it) with only one toll booth, but the strange thing about it is the 3 lanes.  Here's how they work.  Most of the time the N2  is 3 lanes.  Sometimes there are 2 lanes West, one East.  Some times it's 2 East, one West.  Then there are times when it's 1 1/2 each way.  Yes, 1 1/2.  

The shoulders are clearly marked with yellow lines and the white line down the centre marks East and West bound traffic.   When there are 2 lanes you always drive in the left most lane, the right lane is only for passing.  So, what happens if you only have 1 lane? Well that's where the 1 1/2 comes in .  The shoulders are paved to allow someone to drive 1/2 on the shoulder, 1/2 in the lane.  This indicates to vehicles behind that they should pass.  Really slow trucks for example, drive with the centre of their vehicle on the yellow line so other vehicles can pass safely.  What really surprised me was that everyone, almost without fail flashed their hazard lights in a, "thank you for giving way" gesture to the slower car now behind them.

In Canada I used to give the wave to say thanks for letting me merge or whatever, but I'd never used the hazard lights except in inclement weather.  I kind of like the hazard light thing.  I'm glad dh was driving and knew what he was doing as I haven't done any highway driving yet, and wouldn't have had a clue.

The second thing that surprised me was the mountains.  Now, I knew that PE was hilly, but these really are mountains.  Not like the alps, but mountains none the less.  Those of you from Southern Ontario will appreciate the twinge of homesickness I got when I found out the B&B was overlooking Formosa Peak. 

Formosa Peak, South Africa

The third thing that surprised me was the pine trees.  As I mentioned the trip is about 200 km.  About 80 km in dh said "hey look a Christmas tree farm".  Of course we all looked out the window and sure enough little pine trees as far as the eye could see, similar to the farm not to far from us back home.  The thing is, it didn't stop.  Obviously, this was a commercial plantation, because there were pine trees of various sizes in large plots for the next 40 km.  We saw a mill and then they continued for another 60 km or so.  Out of our 200 km trip almost 100 km was a tree plantation.  There was the odd dairy farm breaking up the lines of trees, and some indigenous forest, but there were a whole lot of pine trees.  So there you have it, according to South Africa Online, South Africa has one of the largest cultivated forestry resources in the world. Production from these plantations was 16,7 million m3, valued at almost R2,6 billion in 2000.

I love that I learn something new about this country every day.

Next post - A B&B in The Crags.

Winter in Port Elizabeth

I know it is getting to be winter. The school sent out notification that winter uniforms are now required.  People are wearing scarves and I noticed that one of the mom's was wearing her shearling coat the other day at pick up time.  The owner of the gardening service that we hired to clean out the flower beds (that had been neglected for 3 years while the house was vacant) was wearing his long sleeved shirt and wool sweater and I'm not sure who brought the touque to Port Elizabeth, but they are wearing them too.  I'm told that swimming season is over and no one will be daring their pools until some time in November or December. 

Thing is, today, the forcast is for 21C and sunny.  Now, I will admit that shearling coat and scarf day was a meagre 17C, but still, this is winter (or late fall anyway) in Port Elizabeth. 

My kids are still bugging me every day to go swimming.  They have been since we got here.  Paul and I are wearing short sleeves and unless the windy city is living up to it's name we don't bother with jackets or sweaters, yet.  People here cannot comprehend what winter in Canada is like.  Wind chill of -30C is so far from thier reality and it's so strange that there are so many people who have never seen snow, when I've known it all my life.  I wonder what I will be like after we've been here for 2 or 4 years.  Will I be wearing a shearling coat at 17C.  Will my internal thermostat change over the time that we are here.  Only time will tell.  For now, we are those weird Canadians that don't feel the cold.

Next post - The Garden Route

The Easter Challenge

When I left Canada I figured we were arriving in South Africa so close to Easter that I'd better be prepared.   I really wasn't sure to what degree, if at all, South African's celebrated Easter so I packed the baskets and grass in the air shipment which was scheduled to arrive within 2 days of our arrival and I packed the egg dying kits in the suitcases to take with us. 

When we arrived, Easter items were all over the place. A good percentage of South Africa is Christian so Easter is celebrated here too.  

My first hurdle occurred the day after we arrived when I was told the air shipment would not be arriving within 2 days as I had been told in Canada, but instead possibly before Easter (8 days after arrival) if we got all the paperwork in immediately. 

No problem, we'd get started dying eggs instead.  That was easier said than done.  I love the fact that here in PE we don't need to search for free range eggs and pay higher prices like we did in Canada.  Essentially, all of the eggs here are free range and local.  The problem is they aren't white.  Every egg in every store was brown.

Now, eggs in Canada are stored in the refrigerator section.  Not so here in PE.  They are on shelves like non perishables.  So, just as I was about to give up, in what felt like the millionth grocery store, DS #2 noticed a display of white eggs, at the front of the store.  Terrific, I thought, they have white eggs just for dying right at the front of the store.  We bought a pack of 6 and brought them home.  The kids were all excited and so was I.  Well, I should have read the package in the store.  They looked like eggs.  They came in a plastic egg container.  They were stored like other eggs, they must be eggs.  Alas, no.  They were chocolate eggs in a white candy shell.  Not so good for water based dyes. 

I tried to find the wonderful stickers or shrink wrap that we used to use in Canada, to use on the brown eggs, but no such luck.  My markers and paints were in the sea shipment and I really didn't want to buy something that I knew full well was in a container on the way to PE.  So, no decorated eggs for Easter.

Then we found out that, no, the air shipment would not be arriving for Easter, all of the paperwork was not complete.  The shipment had not even left Canada.  So, no baskets or grass, or pots, or pans, or dishes for Easter.  This was the day before Good Friday.

Thankfully, here in PE all the shops are open on public holidays, for a few hours at least, usually from 9:00am to 2:00 pm.  The same hours as they are open on Sundays.  So, out went dh on Friday (or maybe it was Saturday),  let's just say the pickin's were pretty slim.  So, we had a low key Easter here.  I can't even recall what I cooked, but I know I did it in the one pot and one frying pan that the bosses wife so graciously loaned us from her kitchen.  So our first Easter in PE was a quiet affair. 

After Easter I tucked the egg dying kits away and when the air shipment arrived, the baskets and grass were put with them.  I had forgotten until the sea shipment arrived that I had packed the Polish easter eggs, and a few that the kids had decorated in previous years, though I remember debating if it was really necessary.  Maybe next year we'll take out the dying kits and dye the brown eggs anyway.

The moral of the story is, if you are moving to places unknown quadruple check with the moving company on both sides of the move as to how long it will take you to get your stuff.   I only double checked and just on the home side, not the destination side.  It would have changed a lot about how and what I had packed and when I let them take it out of my possession.


Next Post - Winter in Port Elizabeth

Driving on the Left side

I admit the thing that most concerned me about moving to South Africa was driving on the left side of the road.  I know there probably should have been other things to worry about more, but really, it was my biggest concern. 

Now, I've never been concerned about driving before.  I've been called crazy (or brave) for the times I used to pack up the 3 kids and the dog, hitch up the old pop up trailer and go camping sans dh.  I'd back in the trailer and unhitch and it never phased me.  Never once did the thought enter my mind that it couldn't be done.  Still, the thought of driving on the left kind of freaked me out.
We arrived on a Thursday night.  On Friday afternoon we went to my dh's work to pick up his company car.  I was supposed to drive the rental car home.  Well, I totally copped out.  Jet lagged as I was there was no way I was trusting myself driving for 20 min. (part of it on a highway) on the "wrong" side of the road.  And really I didn't want to do it anyway, I was beyond intimidated and bordering on scared.  So, dh drove us home in the rental and had a colleague pick him up Monday morning.

That, of course, left me with a rental vehicle, three kids, a dog and a million things to do on Monday.  Every one of those things required me to drive somewhere.  So Monday morning I gathered the children and got them settled in the Toyota Yaris.  Now, if you have 3 children, 2 of whom are in booster seats, you know that the appropriate sized vehicle is a mini van, station wagon or SUV.  A Toyota Yaris is not a minivan.  Mini yes, van no.

After crushing my fingers under the weight of a child in a booster seat, twice, in an effort to find the clip thing that the latch thing goes into to get the seatbelt fastened, I was ready to go.  I promply opened the drivers side, and slipped in to find that the steering wheel was not there.  Sigh.  There it was on the "wrong", which of course is the "right" side of the car.  So, out I got and settled myself in the "right" side.  

One of the things that frightened me the most about driving on the other side was that the peddles would be reversed.  Wrong.  They're not reversed, they are the same as in Canada.  So, I start thinking hey, this can't be too bad at least I know where the gas and break are.  Surprise, surprise the ignition is on the same side as in Canada too.  Woooohoooo.  This is going to be easy.  It was an automatic so putting it in gear with the left hand is no biggie.  I'm ready.

I pulled slowly out of the garage.  So far so good.  Now the tricky part.  Find the remote.  The remote has 4 buttons.  Oh heck, I think, now which button closes my side.  Nope, not that one.  Sigh.  After getting the correct button I pull to the front gate.  I know which button opens this one, now I am actually on the road outside the house. 

Before going any further, I turn in my seat and implore the children that regardless of how uncomfortable they are to please, let mommy concentrate and try to be quiet.  Then I back tracked and suggested that there was one and only one phrase that they could speak out loud.  "Stay left mommy."  So my children dutifully reminded me to stay left a few times and off we went, on the left side of the road. 

Now, I'm doing okay because the subdivision is right at the end of the road so all I had to do was drive straight for a while.  Hey I can manage straight, right?  Yup, I could, but I would need to turn eventually.  Now we've always told the kids, "Before you cross the street look left, then right, then left again."  Not so much when you're driving here.  It's right then left then right again. 

This became my mantra all the way down the road until the stop sign.  Drive on the left, look to your right.   Ahh the stop sign, no problem brake in the middle, gas on the right, just like Canada.  I come to a complete stop, turn on the windshield wipers and scare the poop out of myself.  Sigh. I never should have assumed that the turn signal was on the same side, when I realized that the peddles and ignition were.  So, after some initial confusion and giggling from the back seat, I get the wipers off and the turn signal on.   I am turning left.  I wait for the traffic to clear and I turn.  Stay left, look right.  Stay left, look right.  Drive 10 feet, stop for the train tracks.  Drive 25 feet stop at the red light, turn on the windshield wipers.  Sigh.  Turn off the wipers, turn on right turn signal.  Stay left, keep right.  Stay left keep right.  The light turns green.

It was at that moment that I fell in love with PE, because right there before me, right at the bottom of the robot on the median was a  blue sign with a white arrow.  It was like a bright shiny light house to a ship in a storm. The arrow pointed down and to the left.   Yes!!!!!! There were signs to remind me not to be an idiot and stay to the left.  Life was good.  Okay, now those of you who are actually reading every word, have gone back and read that first sentence again to make sure you didn't read it wrong.  What's a robot you're thinking?  Well, robots are what they call traffic lights here in South Africa.  My kids thought that was hysterical.  For the first week, at every traffic light I pulled up to, 3 voices would chirp out of the back seat, "Look mom a robot."  Just in case you're wondering, yes, just about every robot has a blue sign with a white arrow reminding people to stay to the left of the median.  Life is good.

After about 2 days, I was able to drive on the left side without my mantra running continuously through my head.  So, 4 weeks in and I can honestly say I was worried about nothing.  I still turn on the wipers every once and a while.  It's habit after 24 years.  I've also learned that some South African vehicles have the turn signal on the left side of the steering column, so I'm looking for one of those, but it's not a deal breaker.

The only thing left for me to conquer is traffic circle, but that is a whole other post.

Next post:  The Easter Challenge

Sightseeing in PE - Mommy style

When we visited PE for our house/school locating visit, our relocating agent told us that there was so much to see in the city.  Lots of history, nature, museums, amusements and cafes.  I was told that PE takes going out for coffee to a new level, and there were dozens of quaint little cafes to experience.  Then of course there was the shopping and restaurants.

Here is a list of all the exciting and historical places I have seen so far.

Nature sites - I have been to, I think, perhaps every grocery store in Port Elizabeth.  Given that they have so much produce I'm calling them a nature site.  Spar, Super Spar, Pick n' Pay, Pick n' Pay Hyper, Woolworths, Splendor.  I've found either the same products or adequate subsitutions for my tried and true recipes and we've tried many new things that we will be adding to our everyday menu's, but with so much on my mind I forgot to write down where I found what.  So, my next goal is to find everything for a second time and write down where it came from.  If you ever move make sure to take a pad and paper (or smart phone) with you everywhere to go so you can write stuff down.

Historical site - The school was established in 1959, so I'm calling it historical.  DS #2 started school within a week of arriving, but with DS #1's learning disability we have decided to focus on remedial tutoring for his reading and writing, so he is attending school part time. The school the kids are going to also has different hours for each of the different grades. As children progress through the grades they attend school for longer each day.  So, DS #2 starts at 7:50 in the morning and finishes his academic time at 12:55.  DS #1 has various start times and finishes at 14:10.  Which means I see the school parking lot 4 times per day.  DD will start in July for 3rd term as they do not have room for her yet.  Then, it will be 6 times a day (or hopefully only 5 if DS #1 is full time by then).  I'll post more on the education in the school later.

Museums -  Car dealerships are kind of like transportation museums, right?  We were a 2 vehicle family in Canada.  We probably didn't need to be, but it was more convenient.  Here in PE 2 cars are a must, if for no other reason than getting the kids to and from school.  DH has a company car and we figured I would lease.   Unlike Canada, where there are multiple dealerships for the same manufacturer, here in PE there is one dealership per manufacturer only.  I have visited almost all of them.  I have test driven several models that seemed to fit the bill.  A decision was made, but it turns out leasing here is not the same as leasing in Canada.  In fact it is much more expensive to lease than it is to purchase.  Therein lies the rub.  We are not South African Citizens nor have we lived here very long, so we have no credit history which makes purchasing a car with a bank loan impossible.  So, we are on the hunt for a used vehicle that doesn't cost too much, that we can pay cash for and won't sell for too much, as we can't take money out of the country when we leave.  More on that in a later post.  Used car dealerships, here I come.

Amusement parks - Standing in line for hours just for a couple of minutes of exhilaration, that's an amusement park. It could also describe what I experienced trying to set up our technical services. Line up for an hour, then the exhilaration of getting the service you've been waiting for and finding out the ride wasn't the one you thought it was.  You have to join a different line for that ride.  Much like purchasing a vehicle, setting up any service, television, telephone, or Internet has been a challenge as an expat.  I was warned that things take more time in South Africa.  South African time they called it.  I'm not sure I can accurately comment on whether it is South African time or the fact that we are not South African.  Here in South Africa everyone has an ID card.  Without one, some things, like using our South African credit card online are impossible, as in, it can't ever be done. Without an ID card I have to use my passport number for everything that I can access and I can honestly say for the first time in my life that I have actually memorized my passport number.

Cafes - I have been to one cafe.  It's called the The Pink Fig.  The only reason I've been to The Pink Fig is because it has a giant playground with swings and slides and climbers.  The kids love it.  It also has what they call the "Clay Shack".  You can paint pottery pieces and they will fire them for you.  You can do sand art and glass mosaic pieces too.  Did I mention the kids love it?  Hopefully, some day, when the kids are all in school, I will visit more than just the one and truly experience the cafes, plural, of Port Elizabeth.  In the meantime I will have to get my cafe fix through my neighbours blog http://www.portelizabethcoffeecrawl.blogspot.com/.  She's a retired teacher, from New York State, who arrived here in July 2010.  She accompanied her  husband on a transfer too. She's a mom, but her kids (and grand kids) are all grown and still in the states.  She was looking for something to do to get her out and about and so the Port Elizabeth coffee crawl began.  She encouraged me to start this blog, as she has had a great deal of fun doing hers.  Thanks neighbour.

Shopping  - There is a mall very close to the children's school.  It has 2 grocery stores attached to it, so between pick up times at school, we go to the mall.  I grocery shop most days as I'm there anyway. Our fridge is a side by side and much smaller than the one we had in Canada so it's hard to shop just once a week for a family of 5.  We don't have a chest freezer either.  The mall is definitely first world.  Big and bright with stores for books, kitchen ware, furniture, beauty supplies, jewelry, clothes etc. 

When dh and I were deciding what to bring with us from Canada we looked at it as an opportunity to get rid of some of the furniture that had survived (barely) the infant and toddler stages of our 3 children, not to mention 2 dogs.  It helped the decision when we found that furniture was less expensive here in PE.  We got the kitchen table easily as we had seen in on our prior visit, but living room furniture is still eluding us.  We have our outdoor furniture in the living room at the moment and it will suffice until we find something the suits us.  In the hope that we would have visitors, as so many people indicated that they would love to visit South Africa, we decided to get all the kids bunk beds and just bring our mattresses from Canada, thus having extra sleeping space.  Did you know that South Africa uses European sized mattresses?  Nope, we didn't either. Sigh!  Let's just say it was fun trying to locate a bunk bed that would fit our North American mattresses.  Just one more thing we should have researched better before we left.

So, in closing, there is much sightseeing to be done in PE,  during the week I'm exploring mommy style and the truly exciting stuff will have to wait for the weekends. 


Next Post - Driving on the left

No monkeys were harmed

Apologies that this is not the aformentioned sightseeing post, but this just couldn't wait. 

In the grocery store today I saw this.

Being curious I pointed it out to the kids and after a chorus of eeeeeewww's I read the ingredient list.  In seeing no monkey's, nor glands listed I figured they were safe and we brought them home to try.  They were kind of sweet and sour like, only more sweet.

An after supper google search turned up that a Monkey Gland is an alcoholic cocktail with gin, orange juice, grenadine and abisinthe.  It was created in the 1920's in Paris and named after a procedure where monkey testicle tissue was grafted to humans and was said to produce longevity, in said humans.  Now that's really an eeeeeeeww!

Maybe some of you have heard of it, but I never had.  Next time I find myself in a bar,  I'm ordering a Monkey Gland. 

Next Post - Sightseeing in PE - Mommy Style.  I promise.

A Scout is a Scout (In Canada and Port Elizabeth at least) - Part 1

Back at home in Canada we were a scouting family.  Dh was a cub scout leader and I was a beaver scout leader.  All three of the kids were involved.  I always said that beaver scout meetings were the best hour of my week.  It wasn't just talk, I really meant it.  I cried at my last meeting, I was going to miss them all so much.  The photo that they gave me is on display in the living room here in PE.  The bear that I made at our Build a Bear meeting is dressed in her scouting uniform and sits by the photo, safely guarding the heart that each young beaver gave a squeeze to before she was stitched up.  I drink from the Tim's mug that two of my beavers got me every morning. I am a scouter to the core.

When I found out that we were moving, one of the first things that I did was google Scouts South Africa.    After a few emails back and forth, my Canadian email address became non-functional and the Akela for the PE group was moving back to England so we never did touch base in person and arrange our first visit. 

I enrolled dd in Teddies,  with the South African Girl Guide Association  (South African Scouting does not have a beaver scout age program) and she has been twice now, but it's not really my thing, too quiet, not enough action at that age.  I missed Scouting. 

Now, in Canada, if some random Scouters from another country had shown up at a meeting we would have shaken thier left hand and welcomed them in.  So, I decided to see if a scout is a scout no matter where you are.  I found out the location of the pack meeting place on the internet and ds #1 and #2 and I all donned our neckers and woggles, I threw the crests that I had purchased at our local scout shop in my pocket and off we went to find a cub pack. 

Within minutes of arriving the boys were playing octopus on the grass out front of the Scout Hall and I was ushered into the hall being regaled with stories from an "old" scouter who had been to the 15th World Jamboree in Calgary, Alberta in 1983.  Being there was like putting on a cozy sweater. I mentioned to the "old" scouter that I brought a surprise for the cubs and if he would mind if I could distribute them some time during the meeting.  Of course that was just fine.

After opening we were asked to introduce ourselves and I was thrilled to be able to keep my Scouting name from Canada.  So I remain Scouter Rainbow. Yeh!

The uniforms here in South Africa are brown short sleeved shirts, similar to the current Scouts Canada uniform, and the shorts are the same khaki brown.   The badges that are earned are sewn on the left sleeve and the right sleeve has a coloured triangle sewn on it to depict the six that the youth belong to.  The program is managed in 4 age based (7-10) years.  Each year has a different animal associated with it.  I don't recall the exact animals at the moment, but I will do subsequent posts on the programming when we get to experience it. 

South African Scouting is co-ed, just like in Canada.  The pack was roughly 1/3 girls and the 2 kim's that were helping at the meeting were girls as well.  They were terrific in thier roles.

A cub is a cub holds true as well.  They were inquisitive, thoughtful and obviously enjoyed being there, and it took 10+ min. to get them settled for opening, and the "old" Scouter sighed in frustration once they finally settled just like we do it Canada.  "Old" scouter was leading the meeting and he promised that if they had a good meeting there may be a surprise at the end. 

After a meeting full of games and badge work, there were final thoughts and "old" scouter said someone had lost a woggle and that there was a prize for whoever found it.  Those of you who know me know I'm a bit of a goof.  Well, I found the woggle.  I started jumping up and down in calling "Oh, Oh, Oh, I found it do I get a  prize.", knowing full well that there was no prize coming.  Needless to say, I got some pretty strange looks from the leadership team and the cubs.  In hind sight, I should have tempered my enthusiasm a bit until they got to know me, but even if you can teach this old Scouter a new trick or two, the personality is here to stay.

Then I brought out my surprise.  Well not really a surprise to a Scouter, it was crests from Canada for their campfire blankets.    I put them in a bag and DS #1 very proudly held them up and let each cub choose one at random.  They were a hit.  I took some Scouting in Canada ones with the maple leaf, Fleur De Lis, and the 5 sections in Canadian Scouting,  some Burlington area and Ontario ones,  but the favorite ones by far were the winter cubbing ones.  They all had a wolf and snow in some configuration or other.  I had questions about snow and what all the symbols on the Scouting in Canada one meant.  I'm sure there will be more questions in the weeks to come.  We are quite the novelty everywhere we go at the moment. 

We are excited to go back and learn what South African Scouting is all about.  At a first glance it's mostly like home,  which means BP got it right and it is the biggest (and the best) international youth organization around.

Next Post - Sightseeing in PE - Mommy Style

Name the African animal

We all know that zebra's and giraffe's come from Africa.  I'm sure some of you have even heard of The Big Five. In the baggage claim area of the Port Elizabeth airport is a huge advertisment by Addo National Elephant Park to come see the big five (well they say big 7, but only 5 of them are land animals).  They are the Cape buffalo, lion, leopard, rhino and elephant. Big game hunters called them the big 5, because they were the top 5 biggest challenges to a hunter.  We have, I hope, moved towards an age of conservation and preservation of these creatures, but the name has stuck.  It's too bad really because along with the big five, and those that we are familiar with, there are a plethora of land animals that are just as fascinating.  If you are a rugby fan you would know that the South African team logo is a Springbok, but do you know what they really look like?

Here are 4 other African animals that we have seen.  Do you know them?  Scroll down to find the answer.





Number 1

Number 2



Number 3



  

Number 4

Let's see how you did.

Number 1 -  Waterbuck - Called such, not becuase the live near water, but because, when in danger, they take to the water for safety.

Number 2 - Warthog - Yes, I know all you Lion King fans knew this one,  but what ds #1 thinks is really neat about them is that they bend thier front feet backwards at the knee, to get closer to the ground when eating. 

Number 3 - Wildebeest - Who knew I'd been spelling it wrong all my life. I always thought it was beast with an 'a', but no, wildebeest is Afrikans for wild cattle.  Beeste = cattle.  They are also sometimes called Gnu.

Number 4 - Nyala (male)-  My current favorite.  The name comes from the swahili word for antelope, which is derived from the Zulu Inyala.  I have heard them called both.  We are very lucky to have a herd with 2 males and a number of females and fawns living near us.  The neighbours agreed on a name for the younger male, Hercules, but the second one was called either Shrek or Ratatouille depending on who you were speaking with.  DS #1 took matters into his own hands, as he often does, and christened the larger male Shrekatouille, so that's what our family calls him.


Next post - A Scout is a Scout

Why I don't need a telephoto lens

I am not a photographer, but I like to pretend I am.   Before leaving for South Africa, I toyed with the idea of getting a telephoto lens for my SLR camera to capture our adventures close up. But, given that I only play at photography, I decided that the expense was not justified.

One of the first things we did when we got here was to visit two small game reserves, Kragga Kamma and Seaview.  Both are conservation game reserves close to home that cater to touristy types.

As we drove through the gate of Kragga Kamma I was totally awe struck at the reality of my situation.  I was in Africa.  I was on a game reserve, in Africa.  I was about to see African animals, in Africa.  You get the point.

That was when I got the best picture of my life.  I can show you lots of pictures,  but I can't show you this one. I never even picked up the camera.  This particular picture is etched in my memory along with the rental car smell and the rumble of the diesel engine. It was there. Just over there, to my left.  A white rhino solitary and still.  And, in that silent heartbeat of moment, the moment before I started jumping up and down in my seat whisper shouting (you mom's know what I mean) at my kids "see him, see him over there, a white rhino, no not on daddy's side, on mommy's side) I was glad that I didn't have a telephoto lens.  If  I had been hiding behind my camera I never would have seen him.  He was just inside my peripheral vision, you see, he was part of the bigger picture.

So, for now I will use my regular lens.  I will look at the big picture first and then I will look for the smaller bits that speak to me.  Here are the favorite smaller bits that I've captured, thus far.

Ostrich feathers are so fine, they flow like silk in a strong breeze



To a baby snail, a hydrangea bloom is the big picture




Sometimes, the big picture is really just camouflage



Next post - Name the African animal

First Impressions

There are so many things that at one point in time or another in the past month I have thought "I wish X were here so I could tell them about Y" or "If I had only known Z" .  My brain is quite full of things I want to share.  Things that made me say hmmmmm.  Things that made me say wow.  Things that have made me laugh and of course things that my kids have said.  Things that I never thought I would miss and things I thought I would miss and don't.  Challenges that have been real and those that were all in my head before we arrived.  Things that made my skin get all goosebumpy and things that made my skin crawl.  I hope to get to all these things in good time but let's just start with first impressions.

I admit I was always fascinated by South Africa.  From it's colonization, to the anti-apartheid movement, to the current day.  I had read many books both fiction and non-fiction.  My favorite being A Blade of Grass by Lewis DeSoto.  (Though my book club didn't have such favourable reviews). I have always loved African choral music.  The Power of One sound track and Ladysmith Black Mambazo were in my cassette tape collection, when the music world ran on cassette.  When dh had the opportunity to come to South Africa 10 years ago I was crushed that I couldn't tag along.   So, even though this opportunity was a life long dream in the making I still arrived and felt completely shocked.  I was amazed at how media images had shaped my minds snapshot of Africa. Before I came here, I knew Uganda had lush forests where gorilla's lived (Thanks Diane Fossey) and although I probably knew somewhere in my head that the rest of the continent was not a desert wasteland like all those aid organization ads and videos that we see so often on the television in North America, the lushness and elevation changes of the city surprised me. 

Port Elizabeth is a port city in the true sense.  Roughly, 1 1/2 million people, on Algoa Bay, which is technically part of the Indian Ocean.  The port is very active, transporting manufactured parts and goods and thankfully (eventually) the 40 foot container with all of the worldly possessions that I couldn't cram into 10 suitcases.  (More on that in a later post).  It is the windy city (we've experienced 50km/hour winds), the friendly city (each of our neighbours made a point of coming by to introduce themselves and leave flowers or cookies), and the 10 min. city,  which amazingly enough for a city this size is true.  You can get just about anywhere you need to go in a 10 min drive.  In just 10 min. you can go from this view...

to this one...

What were my first impressions?  That as much as I had read and tried to absorb over the years, in my fascination for South Africa, I really knew nothing.  I learned that this adventure I had so willingly embraced was going to be so much more than I could have ever anticipated and for that am thankful.

Next post:  Why I won't need a telephoto lens.

In the beginning.....

First I was a Canadian, born and raised.  Later I went to school, started a career, got married, and bought a house all within 50km of my home town. Then I became a mom. I dreamed at an early age of travelling, especially to Africa and Australia, but somehow life got in the way. Then 5 months ago, wow has it really been that long, dh was offered an expat position on the Eastern Cape of South Africa. At 39 it was a dream come true.  Though I agonized over leaving my family (especially my mom and dad) the opportunity was one that just couldn't be passed up.  The encouragement and support that I got from all my family and friends was much appreciated and made the decision marginally easier.  This blog is my way of sharing our adventures with friends and family.  It is my way of staying connected until we come home. 

I will apologize up front that this blog may not follow a particularly linear time line in the beginning.  I should have started it when the decision to move was first made, but alas, my friends did not suggest it until the sea container had sailed, the sale of the house was completed and I was half way out of the country.  Settling in South Africa has taken up more time than I would have liked.  So, please be patient with me and I promise at some point in time my posts will catch up with real time.  In the meantime I will post my thoughts about the process of moving my family half way across the world as they occur to me.

Until we come home.