Halfpom

The Men who Stare at Goats - what is point......?

Okay, I realise this header could potentially lead us down a totally different path to what was originally intended.....ahem...back to the straight & narrow please...

It is a bank holiday in the UK today so that meant I got a day off when most Saffers are working.....normally it's the other way around as South Africa gets loads more public holidays than the UK so I enjoyed the novelty....off to Tanzania on Saturday so spent most of the day preparing for the trip...but decided to go to the movies in the afternoon.

At first I thought I would be the only one in the theatre...yippppeee...but then...drat, two more people pitched...late....then proceeded to hoover their way noisily through 'supersize me' boxes of popcorn (okay -I'm stretching the truth with the popcorn...but it has been known to happen).

When I worked in the hospitality industry, you either worked an early (07h00 to 15h00) or a late (15h00 to 23h00) shift....if it was a late shift MB & I would often go to the movies around noon-ish which would get us up to the hotel in time for work. That was my initiation to the joys of having a movie theatre all to yourself.....a private viewing....so decadent....love it! Occasionally other people would pitch up & it would drive MB absolutely wild when, having the seating of the ENTIRE cinema to choose from, they would invariably sit right next to him. Normally he is a very polite guy but that just used to make him flip - he would actually get up & move to an empty row just to make a point. What is wrong with people...give each other some space, for goodness sake!! Grumpy old woman in training...don't get me started...it's a slippery slope.  

I opted to see the movie 'The Men Who Stare at Goats' as the quirky title appealed to me & it stars George Clooney (normally a surefire winner) & with that title the movie had huge potential. Not this time....I really could not see point of this movie at all...maybe I'm just being thick? Sorry George....but I think your time would have been better spent at Como or trying to find Malibongwe Drive (I'm trying to point him in the right direction, Helen....). BTW, really did enjoy 'Up in the Air' - that one I got totally!! 

So while it had a few laughs it was, sadly, not a winner for me...here are some other reviews on Rotten Tomatoes in case you think I'm being too mean to George.
 

Happiness is....

Being outside in the warm autumn sunshine.....walking off Sunday lunch....

Or in some cases, running off our lunch..
 
Happ(y)ness is.....knowing there is always someone there to catch you if you fall...

 

'Fearless' should have been our middle name....
 

Chiffon cake......

Any excuse is good enough - birthday, christening, a day of the week....but this time it was for my mother who has just moved into her new home...I thought I would christen the chiffon cake tin that I'd bought a few months ago - got to buy it when you see them as they don't come along very often!!!

What makes a chiffon cake tin so special? The short answer is the little 'legs' along the top of the the tin as you cool this cake UPSIDE DOWN....you could always use a normal bundt tin (cake tin with a hole in the middle) & invert it over the top of a bottle of wine but I like to do things properly so a chiffon cake tin with legs it has to be...& besides I've always wanted one...

I used a recipe from a lovely South African book called 'A Farm in my Heart' by Emilia le Roux & Francois Smuts - got it for Christmas & have spent many happy hours going through it. You can just tell that this is written by someone who likes to cook & that all the recipes are going to work. Nothing more frustrating than a recipe that doesn't work....'celebrity' chefs take note!!! Besides the recipes the book also contains advice on various matters - garden, fruit trees, chickens, the smokehouse, wine etc so right up my alley.

It was really easy & turned out perfectly - you can either decorate with a butter icing or whipped Chantilly cream with fresh fruit (am thinking berries of some sort - raspberries, strawberries etc) but I just used some plain icing sugar mixed with lemon juice to compliment the lemon zest & lemon juice already in the cake and good old sprinkles for a touch of colour... 

Having done the taste test I can honestly say this is one of the nicest cakes I've made - soft, fluffy & moist and have added it to my list of 'regulars'. I'm embarrassed to say that we made real pigs of ourselves & managed to polish off most of this by the time Sunday evening came round....it was THAT good.  

With a little help from his friends....

Last week my very dear friend, Vaughn Barkhuizen, chose an extremely auspicious day for the opening of his first retail store in Cape Town, Linen & Home....my birthday!! After months of planning, weeks of putting plans into action & last frantic hours his masterpiece was ready for the unveiling.....& absolutely marvellous it is looking too! For those wanting (no...NEEDING) fabulous bed linen, the store is located at the bottom of Wynberg hill opposite Farriers....may I recommend the 400 threadcount.....after that anything else feels like you're sleeping on sandpaper, darling!! For those needing a helping hand with the decorating of their homes...Vaughn's your man....what can I say, he is a multi-talented guy with excellent taste...

 

  
Surrounded by friends & family, the store has well & truly been christened.....we're not going to mention quite how many cases (ahem, yes cases...did anyone say 29??) of champers were consumed in our efforts to do justice to the occasion. Ambrosia Catering provided the seriously yummy food & I also thank their very patient staff for allowing me to photograph (almost) everything that came out of the kitchen.

 
 

CONGRATULATIONS Vaughn & Carmen (I feel it should be pointed out here that behind every successful man there is a strong & successful woman.....) - may the business go from strength to strength - you deserve every success!! 

Au revoir....

Our last day today....same procedure as yesterday...wake up 06h30...last game drive at 07h00...

  

A journey of giraffe - you'll have to take my word for it....there were about 15 of them all in one spot..

 

And just when we thought we weren't going to get fed again.....a stop for brunch in yet another beautiful spot overlooking the reserve...

 

My nephew plays a game called 'if I can't see you, you can't see me' - even if his feet are clearly visible sticking out from beneath the curtains - he is 2 years old.....this is the adult version.....not wanting to leave Tswalu & hoping we will leave them behind....nice try guys!!!

Up, up & away.....there is a saying that once your feet have touched the red sand of the Kalahari you will always return....I definitely hope so....au revoir until next time...

 

Last sundowner...

Horse riding was an optional activity on our second afternoon at Tswalu....in order not to lose face everybody opted in & our group ranged in expertise from 'very proficient' to 'never ridden before in my life'. I am somewhere in the middle to lower section not having ridden in 9 years & slightly nervous. Comanche (the horse allocated to me) was brilliant - he pretended to listen to me & I pretended I knew exactly what I was doing & so we reached the sundowner spot together with neither of us embarrassing the other too much - bless him!! That horse has seriously made me consider taking lessons to learn how to ride properly...how lovely is this little scene.....a bit of a freshen up before tackling those sundowners....Kir Royale this time, if you must know...

In case you are wondering where the previous post's inhabitants were during this little episode, I should mention that the 100 000 hectare reserve is divided into 2 parts - 20 000 hectares is fenced off & dedicated to predators & the other 80 000 hectares is safe for horseriding, walking & ballooning and contains plains game, meerkats, giraffe etc.

Sundowners in hand, we survey the nibbles on offer....thought the porcupine burgers (no, not really) were very sweet..... 

And then (mercifully) into the vehicles for the ride home......

Meerkats & lions.....these are a few of my favourite things...

You are supposed to be humming this to the tune from 'The Sound of Music'....no seriously, I'd be worried if you were! After what seems like 5 minutes asleep, there is a knock at the door & a cheery greeting...how does he manage to sound so awake???

We're off to see the meerkats this morning.....along with elephant family groups, they are one of my favorite animals to watch....and you'd better take a large memory card as these little creatures are very photogenic...they're not particularly partial to early mornings either especially when it's as cold as it was that morning....after a 20 minute drive in an open vehicle we are trying to massage the circulation back into our faces. The vehicle is kitted out with blankets & hot water bottles on chilly mornings but this doesn't help your exposed bits....and we wondered why Marco was bundled up like a Michelin man....clearly done this before... 

On arrival at the site we quietly climb off the vehicle & position ourselves close to the burrow....one by one, they slowly emerge into the early morning sunlight...

They're a bit like their human counterparts - some are morning meerkats & are bright eyed & bushy tailed while others have clearly been burning the midnight oil & just can't wake up...

 
Fortunately this survival thing is a team effort at Meerkat Manor...attention...all eyes left - warning call....

There is a lot of housekeeping to be done before the group sets off for the day - looks like full scale renovations are in order today.....either that or they are planning to emigrate to Australia via the back door...

  

And then there's always the little one who is braver than the rest...

I nearly forgot Gary & Barry.....they watch each others backs...

Reluctantly we drag ourselves away from these endearing little creatures & set off on the prowl for the famous black maned Kalahari lion......they're making it easy for the tracker today....pug marks right in the middle of the road....even a novice like me could spot it...

We follow the road for a short while, turn a corner & there right in front of us lies the whole family......

Relaxing after last nights meal of gemsbok, the remains of which is still lying near the road in case one of them feels like a snack later....just look how full their little bellies are....just about dragging on the ground..

The male was pretty impressive....all the more so when he is jogging along the road towards you!! The lions here are all much larger than anything I have seen in other areas....& I've seen quite a few lions in my time.....

 

 

First sundowner....

After a quick trip to your room to explore & freshen up it is back to the main area for another snack - this time afternoon tea before your game drive...

And then off into the reserve - the scenery is just beautiful at the moment - apparently they have had 3 years of good rains and you can see it in the condition of the veld and the animals are sleek & well fed..

After 2 nights here guests also leave looking a little sleeker......next stop sundowners....oh well, if I must....Gara's first in line for his G&T while Marco & Johannes work hard to keep up with demand....

Sunsets in arid areas are always spectacular - this photo, in particular, reminds me of Damaraland in Namibia....the landscape looks very similar in appearance in the dusk...

  A perfect ending to our first day at Tswalu....

Tswalu....

Last week I was lucky enough to find myself staying at Tswalu for 2 nights, which is situated in the southern Kalahari - if I remember correctly they are approximately 60 kms (or was it 80 kms) from the Botswana border to the north, 200 kms from the Namibian border to the west and 200kms from the Orange River to the south - so a long way from anywhere. It is a magical area that has photographers - amateur & pro alike - reaching for their camera's. The adventure starts at Johannesburg's OR Tambo International Airport at the Anglo American hangar......no scheduled flights for passengers to Tswalu....oh no, it is private all the way - thank you very much!!  

The thing that tickled me the most was that the plane taxi's to the perimeter fence looking out on to the runways.....then someone then presses a switch & then the fence slowly rolls back allowing direct access to the runway....just like your remote controlled gate at home - is that great or what? If you look closely you can just about see my hand luggage (in silver) in the hold - somehow & don't ask me how my hand luggage acquired a name (& a personality) en route to Tswalu so now she shall forever more be known as Betsy...

We stayed at the Motse which was just perfect....here are a few pics of the lodge & the room (although room is not quite the right word to describe the accommodation....below the main area with pool deck..    

 

 
In the background you can see the 'rooms' set at various intervals in the indigenous gardens for guaranteed privacy.

I loved the use of indigenous flora here.....the plants are so beautiful in their own way & most importantly of all, perfectly adapted to the harsh conditions experienced in this part of the world - very hot in summer & bitterly cold in winter.

 

   
 
  

Please excuse the quality of some of these photo's - they were taken at about 6:30 in the morning on the way to coffee & muffins before our early morning game drives so not as vibrant as those taken later in the afternoon...they keep you quite busy here so I wasn't feeling particularly frisky either at that time of the morning....

As mentioned earlier I think 'room' is a gross misnomer for this gorgeous accommodation - why, in the UK you would happily accommodate a family of four or five in this amount of space. In Africa this generous proportion houses one or two people at most.....bliss. For me one of the most luxurious features of the rooms was the fireplace in the bedroom.....the nights can get very chilly in winter in these parts.....what a wonderful treat to come back from dinner & find a fire cheerily burning in the grate with an enormous stack of wood next to it to keep it going all night if you can keep awake. I've added it to the list of things I NEED in my dream home....when I eventually get round to building it......

   
 
Just loved the subtle colours here - echoing the distinctive red Kalahari sand, the dry grasses & the sky outside your window.....which apparently was just what designer Boyd Ferguson intended..

Seriously you could quite easily move in & never leave...