My first Midmar Mile

I surprised myself by participating and then managing to finish the Midmar Mile swim this weekend. It was held at Midmar Dam near Howick.



I swam with the Kingsway Church International team. We had a wonderful day at the dam and the swim was a lot easier than I thought it would be. It is certain to be a fixture on our calendar from now on.



The main men's event was cancelled on Sunday due to bad weather - this was the first time a swim was cancelled in the history of this event.
Oh yes, I finished in 44:23. Something to beat next year... (The winning time was just under 18 minutes!)

Reign Barnard is Born

Our dear friends, Elmarie and Mario, have been blessed with a baby boy, Reign.

Family Holiday in Cape Town

We just returned from a fantastic holiday in Cape Town with Amanda's family. Colin and Maritza organised wonderful accommodation for us on the Milnerton beachfront. We lived like royalty in our units. It was particularly enjoyable for me to visit Cape Town so many years after I lived there (Standard 3 to Standard 5). We drove the Cape Peninsula flat - it is absolutely beautiful.

Port Edward and the Eastern Cape

We drove down to the Eastern Cape for fun today. We were sitting around with nothing to do, so we jumped into the car and the day became a road trip.

The route down through the Wild Coast area is truly beautiful. We eventually turned around when it started getting a bit late.

The kids were starting to get hungry, so we stopped at Port Edward for dinner.


First, we clambered around the rock pools a bit to see what little creatures we could find.


The views from the restaurant on the beachfront were spectacular!

The Jungle Gym Takes Shape

We decided to remove a caravan shelter that dominated the corner of our garden and instead install a jungle gym.


We had to build our own custom design, because the trailer had to fit under the main deck. This was Amanda's great idea. So at least now we have something attractive and functional in the corner of the garden instead of the snake trap that was there before!


The White family joined us to help me finish the jungle gym. It was a long and difficult project, but the results are really satisfying.


Tyrone helping out :)


Yes, I did actually work on the project!

The kids are enjoying the jungle gym a lot. The only thing now is that I have to finish the roof...


The peanuts and their friend Jarrod await the final touches

Midlands and Karkloof

We went on a trip up to the Midlands. The first stop was the Rotunda at Cedara - a great stop for excellent farm wares, pies, ice cream and beautiful wooden furniture.

Next up, we viewed the Howick Falls, which are stunning!

We also took a trip up to Karkloof. It was a slippery trip to the base camp for the Karkloof Forest Canopy Tours. This adventure outing is definitely on the cards for us next year.

There was a stunning view of the area from the mountain above the Karkloof Forest.

We returned to Howick for lunch.

Nicholas in the saddle

Jurgens gets the winning shot of Howick Falls

Three generations in one photo!

The view from the Karkloof Forest

Christmas 2005

We had the Du Preez family down for Christmas. It was great for Morgan and Nicholas to have their Ouma and Oupa with them over this time.

Delia and Jurgens also spent a few weeks with us, which we enjoyed. Many hours were whiled away playing Need for Speed Underground 1 & 2 and Jurgens played the latest release of Civilisation.

I also got a lot of help from Hannes with making all the ladders for the jungle gym (more on that later).

We had an absolute feast on Christmas Day!

The kids were spoiled with all the presents from their grandparents and family. It was their first BIG Christmas.

Nicholas and Morgan after opening presents

Delia and Jurgens at lunch

Ouma and Oupa

Dad relaxes with Morgan

Mozambique Getaway

A few of the guys went up to Mozambique this weekend. We went to "Ponto do Nowhere", which is just North of Ponta Mamoli. It is a pristine stretch of coastline with untouched beaches and crystal clear water. I managed to relax totally within three days.

We had a great time together with no real schedule to speak of. Which is probably why we had a great time. On Saturday we snorkelled on the reef of the southern point of the bay. It was totally awe-inspiring. The snorkelling in this bay is as close to SCUBA as you could get!

Quite a few of the photos are courtesy of Thorr. Thanks!

The Mozambique border post

Getting ready to tackle the sand roads

View of the beach

Good road surface!

Sunset on one of the lakes in the area

View from Signal Hill towards Ponta Mamoli

Preparing to snorkel

One of the "bridges" on the way back to the border post

Febrile Seizure

Nicholas suffered a febrile seizure this afternoon. It is, without a doubt, the most terrifying experience I have ever had. You feel totally helpless.

Nicholas spent the evening at Parklands Hospital. Amanda stayed with him and Morgan and I enjoyed the evening together.



We also had some excitement a few days ago. Barely 48 hours in the new house and there was an attempted theft of Amanda's car. Fortunately, our neighbour across the road saw the thieves at work and fired warning shots. They got such a fright that they left their phone, shoes and tools behind. We are very fortunate to have the neighbours that we do. There is also a very strong patrolling presence in the area from the various security companies. We have joined up with the best security company in the area.

PS: See Google for more links to information on febrile seizures. This is "must" reading for parents or prospective parents.

Grampa Visits

Dad came over this weekend for a visit. It is our last weekend at Claverton Hall.

Next weekend is the big move to our new home!

As always, the kids enjoyed him thoroughly. We went for dinner at the Butcher's Block and the food was exceptional.





We had the "Costaplenty" family (John, Kim and Jamie) over for dinner. Kim made us a scintillating dessert and everyone had a lot of fun playing with some homemade play-dough.