Chillin' at the coast and hangin' with the hippies #5

It’s been about 2 weeks since our last entry so we thought we’d fill you in on what we’ve been up to in and around East London.

2 weeks ago myself, Nat, my Mom, my aunt and uncle, a friend of theirs Jenny, a cousin of theirs Ray and his wife Gladys and my cousin Jeanne all went and spent 4 days in a small coastal town, if you can call a few houses, a hotel and 1 shop a town, called Morgan Bay. My mom’s family have been going on holiday there for over 100 years. My Grandfather and his family used to go there on horseback and ox wagon. How cool is that! There really isn’t much there but the beach is really stunning. If you are facing out to sea on the left there is a perfect white sandy beach which stretches for miles and ends on an outcrop of large looming rocks suitably called Black Rock where my Grandfather used to go fishing, much to the annoyance of his family as the waves crash right over the rocks at high tide. My Grandfathers ashes are scatted on this stretch of beach as it always used to be his small slice of paradise. Anyway on the right hand side of the beach its very rocky which makes for a great place to go looking for shells and there is an abundance of sea life hidden in the rock pools which are formed when the tide goes out. At the beginning of the century, I’m not sure of the date hence me being vague with the date, there was a ship which ran aground off the coast of Morgan Bay and it was carrying a shipment of Ming China and still to this day small pieces of the china are washed ashore and there are woman who comb the beaches every day looking for the pieces which they then sell to tourists. My aunt and Mom often buy some of the pieces to use in their mosaic pieces. Usually when my family goes to Morgan Bay we stay in a house called Castle It which my Grandfather had a share in but sold off to his cousins and is now a B&B which is run by my Grandfathers cousin. It’s literally right on the beach and has an amazing garden which attracts all kinds of birds. As there were too many of us this time we stayed in a rented house next door. We also went horseriding and as I’m sure some of you already know Nats horse decided whilst cantering along the beach to throw her off. Fortunatley she was wearing a helmet and it was on beach sand. It was only my second time and they gave me the biggest horse which in the end turned to be the most chilled one of the lot. Hopefully we’ll be able to do alot more riding on our travels and lets hope nats doesn’t land up with anymore unpredictable horses.

After getting back Nat and I decided to spend a few days in a place called Hogsback which is a 2 hour drive inland from East London. It’s located up in the mountains in a rainforest and has an English climate, 4 distinctive seasons. Once again it was a very small town with a couple of restaurants, some shops and some accommodation. We stayed in a backpackers called Away with the Fairies, insert joke here, which was very cheap and cheerful. As it was the middle of the week and winter we managed to get a double room with a fireplace, which we made very good use of as the nights were pretty damn cold. All the locals that we met were so friendly and when going out for a meal or a drink we had to be prepared to sit and listen to someone’s whole life story before even ordering. Life seems very relaxed for the locals and they rely solely on tourism as a source of income. The main reason people go to Hogsback is for the amazing walking and hiking trails that you can do through the forests. Nat and I went on one which took us right down into a forested valley and past “The Big Tree” which was pretty impressive for an eight hundred year old tree, a few waterfalls and we ended up at the base of the Madonna and Child waterfall which was pretty spectacular. The area is known for its alternative lifestyle with people offering holistic massages and there love of all things hallucinogenic which we were promptly offered the second we got out our car.

This past Sunday Nat and I went with my Mom to see the kids at Sunday school again where they each got to colour in a picture of Moses parting the Red Sea. They all love colouring in and for some reason the red crayons and pencils are much sought after but everyone shares. We made Fairy cakes for the kids (not of the Hogsback variety) the night before so when we handed them out on the Sunday everyone had a huge smile from ear to ear. We were both very touched at how something so simple could bring the kids so much joy and has made us appreciate what all that we have.

This week we are off to spend a few days in a place called Coffee bay which along the Wild Coast about 4 hours north of East London. We shall let you know how it was in our next blog.

Hope you are all well.

Cheers
Kim & Nat

Seeing the real Africa #4

East London is a contrast from J'burg and far more relaxed down by the coast. The weather is still gorgeous and sunny, even though we're still in the middle of winter. Kim's mum took us to see the Sunday School children for the first time last Sunday. This was the first time we drove through 'real Africa' in a township, which is a shanty town with rows upon rows of corrugated iron roofs and people gathering on the streets, playing loud music and chilling out together. This is where the divide between the rich and poor became extremely apparent. And yet the upbeat vibe in this area didn't reflect the deprivation they lived in.

We were greeted by lots of excitable children aged from 6 months to 15 years old, extremely excited to see another 'white' face in their town. They sang lots of songs and we were given a card that they had made saying that we were welcome to their town. The night before Kim, Lynne and I had a production line going on in the kitchen and we made 8 loaves of sandwiches for the children along with a massive treat - Chocolate Cake!! The kids all tucked in to their sandwiches as if they'd never eaten before. All of the older children would help the younger children without any fuss, and the whole experience was very humbling. I was commented as looking like a barbie doll, ha ha and that was meant to be viewed as a compliment. Gosh if I had been wearing make up and jewellery I wouldn't like to think what they would have called me!!

The rest of the time we have been relaxing, reading, eating and drinking wine. On Thursday we are going to Morgan Bay where Kim's family have been going on holiday for over 100 years and his grandfather used to get there by horse back and a wagon! I think we will just take the car!

Speak to you all soon, Take Care

Nat and Kim xx

London-Johannesburg-East London all in 1 week (#3)

We're now in East London - and for those who are confused and think we're in the world of cockney rhyming slang - we're on the Eastern cape of South Africa visiting Kim's mum. But lets go back to the busy, bustling city of Johannesburg where Kim grew up. For those who watched the Louis Therroux documentary in Johannesburg, although I haven't seen gangs and any shootings - the fear of crime here is very apparent and there are regular news reportings of Robbings, burglary's and hijackings. The divide between white and black people is extremely prominent, and most white people live in gated communities where you need codes to get in to open the iron gates. It feels strange to not be able to freely walk out your own front door to the local park or shops without fear that something bad is going to happen to you.
Ok - I know that is all sounding negative but I am viewing it from fresh eyes and it is the reality of SA today. However, what I have seen that SA does have to offer is the amazing wildlife and sun sets, which we got to experience when visiting Mabula Game Lodge for 3 days with Kim's friends Sean, Kerri and their two girls Tatum and Rylee. We stayed in a beautiful, charismatic lodge with open fires and a swimming pool over looking the reserve. Each day we were taken around in a landrover to see all the animals. My finger was on fire from all the photo's i was taking and we managed to get some shots of Rhino, Hippo, Elephant, giraffe and zebra and more. A memorable moment was stumbling across a large crocodile lazing at the side of the river with its mouth wide open showing its sharp teeth - luckily it looked like it had had a large meal and we stayed firmly in the landrover watching.
After a long weekend of animal watching, eating lots of animals on the bbq (Braai) and watching the brightly coloured sunsets we set off back to J'burg where we said our first good bye's and headed down to a town on the East coast called East London (and zoe, unfortunately Im not close by to pop in for a glass of vino : )! ).
Kim was very pleased to be greeted by his mum, Lynne at the airport - but I have to say he was more excited to see the famous cat Mogsy - which most of you have heard the story about. Mogsy has settled in well to the African life and lazes around out side in the garden.
Lynne and Kims Aunty Dee have a crafts room where they teach mosaics and it is a women's idea of heaven - with lots of sparkly bright colours and shapes everywhere. There are 3 classes per week so we are going to join in and makes some crafts.
We will visit the children for the first time this Sunday at the Sunday School where Kim's mum volunteers and we are having a tea and cake party with them and will play games, sing songs etc and do arts and crafts.
That is it for now - if you have managed to read through this whole blog.
We hope you are all well and send us updates by email.
Lots of Love Kim and Nat xx

1 day to go (No. 2)

Excitement and nerves are now setting in and not packed or ready yet!!!! Kim and I are running around today trying to do last minutes things before we fly out tomorrow and I guess we're never going to feel 100% prepared. Im sure i'll sit on the plane and remember the number of things I would have forgotten - but as anyone knows, that is not really surprising for me - im always losing or forgetting things! lets just hope I don't lose or forget where Kim is : ) ! People have already suggested that Kim needs to attach one of those children's leads so that I don't wonder off!

I just want to say thanks to all of you for the farewell wishes and coming to our many goodbye gatherings. We will miss you all. Keep us updated with things back home,

Im sure the next time we message we'll be in SA updating you on our Africa Adventures.

Take care

Nat xxx

Kim & Nats African Adventures (No.1)

Well believe it or not the time has almost arrive for us to head off on our great journey. Its taken a while for us to say our goodbyes and its going to be very strange not seeing all your lovely, and some ulgy (you know who you are) faces. I thought setting up a blog may be a good idea so that you can all keep up with our travels and hopefully we''l be able to add a few photos and keep you updated as often as possible.

We only leave on Tuesday evening 4th August so if you do want to drop us a line we'll still be contactable until then.

Kim & Nat