Our new pet

Oh I WISH all pets could be this wonderful and easy to take care of. She stays outside, doesn't poop, pee, eat or bark. And she helps to keep our grass short.

Her name is Wilma.....

Here she is grazing with Trixie and Gemma.

The Victoria Falls

We have just returned from one of our most fabulous weekends away - ever!

In celebration of mom's 70th birthday, we (us and Roland and Caron, with Heidi and Darrell contributing) decided to take the folks to the Victoria Falls (so they can cross it off their bucket lists!!). It also fell over Alistair's 10th birthday, and a long weekend, so it worked out perfectly.

We had to stay at the Victoria Falls Hotel - the greatest colonial hotel ever! It was built in 1904, and, being the first hotel built in the area, secured the best spot of all. Every time I walked out onto the terrace, my breath was taken away with the beauty of it's view.

We arrived on Friday afternoon, but sadly our luggage did not (turns out it did make it, but they omitted to off load one container, so it went all the way back to JHB!!!). Lucky Roland and Caron got theirs! After much frustration and filling out of forms, we eventually took our transfer from Livingstone in Zambia, across the border into Zimbabwe.

The hotel, as I have already mentioned, was superb!! 5 star meant pure luxury! It wasn't just the view, it was the food, the decor, the giant bed, the excellent service, the lovely pool area and dining area and so much more that made it so special.

Please note, that I AM MISSING from the above photo - just in case you weren't sure!!!!!!

We arrived at the hotel in time for their world famous High Tea. Anyone who has ever been to the Vic Falls will tell you that that is something one has to do. So we did, and it was delicious!

We then ventured into the town so we could purchase some essentials to get us through the next 24hours until our luggage arrived (hopefully!). Meg got a gorgeous cosie and I'm glad she did because it was stinking hot, so she got good wear out of it (although, as Roland says, when you consider the cost to amount of fabric, it was a pretty expensive purchase!!). We went to a local supermarket and were pleasantly surprised to see the shelves full of goods. They now use US dollars, or SA Rands, and it seems that things are more available than I heard they were in the past.

Something rather odd about our sojourn into town was a 'tourist policeman' who attached himself to us as we left the hotel and stayed the whole duration of our shopping trip. At first we were pleased, then cynical and decided he was in it for the tip. As it turns out, every time we left the hotel, we were accompanied by a tourist policeman and it is obviously what they do to keep their tourists safe.

Because of our enormous High Tea and the fact that we felt stinky and gross, for dinner we just sat on the terrace and had a light meal. Then off to bed after a long day. But not after hand washing all my clothes for the next day!!

On Saturday morning, we decided to hang around at the hotel due to our lack of spare clothes. We took a little walk along a path which leads from the hotel to the Falls, and while out we came across 4 elephants!!!! That was a first for me - I was pretty nervous!

We lazed around at the pool area after brekkie and I'm glad the kids got to swim. Caron kindly lent me her cosie so I could cool off too (while mom looked on enviously!!). We had a cake around the pool to celebrate Ali's birthday. Poor boy - all his presies were in our missing luggage so he had no gifts to open, other than the generous one from R & C.

At 3pm we were collected from the hotel and driven to a nearby game reserve where we enjoyed an amazing Elephant Safari. We got to ride on Elephants through the game reserve, and on our return get up close to the elephants - feed them, feel them etc. It was quite an experience. Then we had drinks along the banks of a river before being returned to the hotel.We were all eagerly anticipating the arrival of our luggage (we had been tracking its progress by phone all day!) only to find it was not there. Then after some serious confusion we finally found out that Roland and Caron had collected our bags. WHEW!!!! At last, a good shower and CLEAN CLOTHES before going to the restaurant, Jungle Junction, for the joint birthday celebration dinner. There was traditional dancing and a buffet groaning with food, all enjoyed under the African Sky with the spray from the falls in the distance shining in the full moonlight. A more idyllic evening would be hard to find.

Sunday was mom's birthday. After brekkie we went to the falls. You have to see them with your own eyes to understand their power and magnificence. Because it is high water season, the spray was unbelievable and despite most of us wearing rain coats, we got drenched!!!

The Vic Falls area is known for its adrenalin activities and while I was NOT going to let Ali bungi jump off the bridge, we did let him do the Zip line over the gorge. An exciting experience for him, less so for me!!We chilled at the pool for the rest of the afternoon (at last all of us had our cosies!).At 4pm, we got picked up and taken upstream of the Zambezi to enjoy a Sunset Cruise. It was just beautiful. We saw hippo's and an elephant as well as lots of bird life. We had drinks and snacks on board, so on our return to the hotel, we just sat on the terrace again and had a light supper.Monday morning was pack up and go. Sniff sniff! It was so marvellous, I have run out of adjectives to describe it.

If you have not already been there - PUT IT ON YOUR BUCKET LIST!!! And, if your budget allows, make sure you stay at the Vic Falls Hotel. Liyamangalisa!!

Alistair's Birthday Party

This year, for Ali's big 10th birthday party, he chose the venue Jozi X. For those of you who don't live in Jozi, and wouldn't have heard of Jozi X, let me tell you more.

It is a on an open piece of land and consists of enormous inflatable activities (no, not jumping castles - how un-cool!!). Trapezes (small and big), tight ropes (low and high) climbing walls,a fighting pole thing

a maze, and a wobbly ladder. It also has a massive slip and slide (not inflatable - quite hard actually!) which was a Godsend because it was a scorcher of a day! We held the party from 11am - 3pm, and I think fun was had by all!

I have to add that I also joined in the fun (with Ali's permission - I didn't want to embarrass him!!) and I managed to tight rope walk on the high wire (about 3m high). As Bruce said, am I turning 40 soon or what??

Slalom Baby, Slalom!

The heading for this post is meant to be said with a lateral lisp, like Sid the Sloth, from Ice Age, from whom that quote comes!
I have become a fairly competant water skier on two skis, and had got to the point that I could ski with such ease and not be challenged at all (not even get my hair wet!!). Which meant that I could either be happy with that, or push myself. So I chose the latter. Slalom skiing was the obvious next step....
I did research on Slalom skiing by chatting to people I know who can slalom ski, and was advised to buy a rope which helps to support your single ski as you are getting up. So, having purchased said rope, it was time to put all the advice (sometimes conflicting!) into practice.
My first attempts a couple of weekends ago were fairly disasterous, ending with a spectacular wipe out which left me with a pulled muscle in my left leg, and a fear of high speeds and falling.
However, as my big 4-0 is looming, and I had set it as something to accomplish before then, I had to pluck up my courage and try again.
This past weekend we had my brother-in-law Gary with us, who is a champion slalom skier and a good teacher to boot. He gave me one extra piece of advice that I had not yet heard and when I put it into practice..... success! OK, it took me 3 tries to get up, and 2 more spectacular wipe outs, but I got up, stayed up and let go when I was ready to (about 1 minute after getting up - it is so exhausting!!).
I tried again the next day, and got up again on my 3rd try. This time I even went outside the wake!
My poor old body feels like I have gone through the wringer, but the sense of satisfaction is quite something! I think that once I am able to get up more efficiently, I could actually start to enjoy myself. A huge part of it is conquering my fear of high speeds (the boat has to go much faster for a slalom skier) and falling. Seeing as I had the wipe-out of the weekend and survived, perhaps I'll get there eventually!
What I feel obliged to mention is that Carl also decided to try it. And of course got up, stayed up and is already looking like a pro. Grrrr!!!!!
Sorry, no pics!

Check this out - U2 fan cam

Click on this link and it will take you to the fan cam from the concert on Sunday night. It'll take you almost to where I am sitting - just zoom in a bit. For some obscure reason, I am not tagged, depsite me trying 3 times! However, I am sitting right near Bev Bouwer who did manage succesfully to tag herself. Then just look for me! So cool!!
http://www.u2.com/gigapixelfancam/110213/1074828-kirsten

U2!

After having missed out on watching any live soccer games during the World Cup, I was determined to not let another once in a lifetime experience pass me by.

The morning the U2 tickets went on sale, I happened to be listening to the radio and on hearing all the hype, as well as how quickly the tickets were selling out, I decided to tata ma chance and go to computicket to book. The radio was reporting the mile long queues all over Gauteng, so it was with some aprehension, yet determination, that I set off. However, I am not just a pretty face and I gave some thought to which computicket I would go to. NOT Sandton, NOT Fourways, NOT Hyde Park. Nope, I chose Randburg. For those of you who don't know, Randburg has become a Darkest Africa enclave in the midst of the Nothern Suburbs, and as such, I thought it might be a safe option for people NOT queuing for miles for U2 (U who???).

On arriving, I was alarmed to see a mile long queue (DARN, I couldn't believe it!!), but on closer inspection, the queue was filled with humble types (maids, gardeners etc.) who did not look the type to blow R1000 per ticket to see U2 (U who??). And I was right!!! The mile long queue was for a money market account thingy, and computicket was completely empty! Yay!! Within 10minutes, I had 6 tickets in my hot and sweaty hands. Roland and Caron and Wayne and Bev were the other lucky 4 ticket holders.

At last, the great day - Sun 13th Feb - arrived. I booked us Park and Ride tickets from the Coca Cola Dome and we were advised to give ourselves at least 3 hours to get to the concert. So, we all left from our house at 4pm. By 5:15pm we were on a bus (after MUCH chaos at the P & R) and we were in our seats by 7pm. The venue was at Soccer City (sorry, the FNB stadium) so at last I got the see the great 'Calabash' stadium up close. The two opening acts were less than inspiring (one hugely African and one very heavy rock - neither my cup of tea) but at last U2 appeared. The stage was amazing, and it was incredible to hear songs we all know so well sung live by one of the greatest bands of all time. A couple of observations .... on appearing on stage, Bono greeted the audience as the 'Rainbow People' and yet the audience was 99% white! Not to mention that the average age was about 40! He also tended to be very political - he obviously enjoys being able to use his stage as a political platform for lost causes all around the world (to think, SA was once one of those!!).

Anyway, the music was great, the stage effects were very impressive and I only shamed myself during 'Where the streets have no name'. For the rest I was very well behaved!

At the end of the concert, we went back to the Park and Ride where we had been dropped off and to say that there was unbeliveable chaos would be the understatement of 2011. No marshalls, no queues, no signs - all led to a crush of people trying to get on a limited number of seats on a bus. Reminded me somewhat of New Year's Eve at the Eiffel Tower, although not as bad. Anyway, we eventually got on a bus, and got home by 2am. Yawn!

Megan's First Riding Show

This is a VERY belated entry, However, with all the chaos that has been my life the past few months, it kind of slipped me by. But, I do feel it deserves an entry, and with my official photographer having given me a copy of his pics (thanks Roland!), let me proceed.

Megs entered her first ever horse riding show in November. This is something that Carl and I have not actively encouraged because they always happen on a weekend, and we always have very busy weekends already. However, after 2 years of her riding and us avoiding shows, we finally gave in and she entered. She entered 2 categories, the 50cm and the 60cm jumps.

At the show, the kids all get shown the jumps and the order in which to jump them. Looked simple enough, especially the 50cm round. Ah ha, looks they are deceiving, and it turned out that Meg had somewhat more trouble with the course than she (or we) anticipated. All she needed was a clear round to get a rosette, and sadly, she didn't get it. She was very upset, but didn't have too much time before her 60cm round began.

She had really struggled with her first horse, and so swapped horses, and I'm not sure if it was the new horse, or she knew the course better (she had concentrated more for this one!), or it was the wise words of wisdom and encouragement from Caron, but she did so well and only just missed a clear round because her horse knocked off the top pole from a jump. The difference in her demeanor when she finished was remarkable and so she wanted to have another go on the 50cm round again (which they can do, but have to pay R80 for). I was not going to fork out the money, so Meg took her pocket money and re-entered. This time, SUCCESS! A clear round and a rosette to show for it. Probably the most expensive Rosette ever bought!

Well done to Megs for persevering! And a big thank you to Roland and Caron for coming along, and for the photos (Roland) and words of advice (Caron).

It was actually a fun morning, after all, so maybe we'll try it again in 2011.