Plaas toe

our Pretoria-branch will post a picture later
scroll down to see the pictures added to earlier posts

We leave Jamestown via the main road, also the only tar road. Just out of the village we turn left on the dirt road, and drive up in the mountains. The views are magnificent. Thanks to the good rains the land is green and flowering and the cattle is fat. When the sun burns away the early morning mist and cold, the trees are brilliant with the first autumn colors. Bram and Maud enjoy the treat of sitting in the back of the bakkie – where you normally put the sheep.
The road becomes smaller and bumpier. Suddenly we are there: a little house for the workers, sheds for tools and sheep, and an overflowing dam. It's shaving time: two men with gigantic scissors free the sheep from their heavy coats. It's loitering time also: wander around, cross the dam, and try to give each other a cold mountain-water bath.
To see all the farmland, the sheep and the cows, we drive further up in the mountains. South-African farms are huge for Europeans: abfab beautiful rough valley after valley, with shepherds, some cattle, and patches of farmland where the winter-food grows.
We decide to walk back along the spring that ends in the dam, hunt for frogs and the leaves that you can make bangles from, and try to avoid the snakes. Maud of course managed to fall and get muddy. Luckily the boys looked the same after their water-fight down by the dam.
Back home there's a good farmer's meal, and some muddy clothes to wash before we can sit down to watch our daily soap.

Back in E-World

This is Maud, just back from Jamestown (near Aliwal North, hope I get the names right, in Oostkaap / Eastern Cape). After the peace and beauty of die Oostkaap I really have to adjust to the e-world with mail, internet, and etcetera. And after a week of only Afrikaans my English seems to have evaporated…
It's hard to imagine we left Botswana only a week ago! We had a luxury bus trip from Gabs to Rustenburg, where our Avis car picked us up so we could travel on to Potchefstroom. Around 18:00 Gerhard, Nick, Bram and Maud started their Eastern Cape Expotition. Although Maud and Gerhard managed to get lost around Bloemfontein, we reached Jamestown just after midnight (hope you have a map to see the distance), a surprise for Nick's parents, who only expected us the next day.
How to describe the surprise of arriving somewhere in the darkness of the night, waking up the next morning, and seeing the lovely big house, the small village and the wondrous surrounding landscape?
After an excellent farmer's breakfast we drove to oom Nico's plaats – the farmland up in the mountains, where Nick's father keeps sheep and cows. If you've seen our Lesotho-footage: we were near to the border, the landscape has that kind of beauty.
The next day poor Bram had to stay at home, preparing his Pretoria-lectures (although poor? he enjoyed the care of tannie Elsa!), while Nick took Gerhard and Maud to Lady Grey, a mountain-village on the Lesotho-border where his mom's family-farm used to be. Maud overcame her vertigo and climbed on top of the dam - it just was too beautiful to be afraid!
Sunday Gerhard and Bram had to shoot back to Potch / Pretoria because work called. Maud won the lottery: Nick invited her to stay and escape small and big city life a bit longer.
According to Bram's phone-calls he's doing fine in Pretoria. The university put him in a nice flat, and his lectures go well.
Meanwhile Nick and Maud were very busy. Imagine entertaining three little dogs who have to sit on your lap all day, a huge boerboel who thinks she's a chiwawa, lots of good meals, and in between you have to walk around the village, check the village-cows, go to Aliwal to have facials and lunch, drive to the farm to check the sheep and the crop, and a zillion things more.
Today we had to drive back up North because work called Nick. The boys (BGN) really tried to get me to Joburg for the weekend also, but although I love their company, I want to escape Big City more, so I stayed in Potch.

Planning

Due to a fubar usb-stick we can't publish our home-made blog-stories an -pictures online... Hope to solve this problem before we leave Botswana, so we can post the picture of 'Het Grote Gevaar' and other stuff!
We're planning to go to South-Africa Thursday 23 early in the morning. If we manage to reach Potchefstroom in time, we'll travel on to Oostkaap with Gerhard and Nick, to visit the farm owned by Nick's parents. Sunday 26 we have to be in Pretoria, because Bram's classes start Monday early in the morning.
We hope to find a fast internet-connection at Pretoria University. Otherwise Maud'll move on to Potch aruond March 30, and maybe manage to do some posting.

Bato barata Dikolobe

picture follows next week
Mask: Karen; T-Shirt: Peter Jensen & Bram; Doll: vangog ontwerpers; Cards: Pa, Karen, vangog

When Bram told Maud last year, on his 49th B-D, that the only thing he wanted for his 50th was 3 months in Botswana together, we never thought we would manage to arrange that, but here we are.
The day before D-Day Bram had his goat hunt with Pangaman. During the hunt his father-in-law phoned to give him some pointers about what to do with the catch. By the way, Maud’s dad managed to rig up a really good Skype-Out connection, wondrous!
Exhausted Bram managed not to touch his presents the evening before, and just fell asleep. Around 6 a.m. the B-D Boy attacked his goodies pile, smelling heavenly thanks to the Chanel present from Tio H and Tia Maria-I. While we were admiring the T-shirt Peter Jensen sent from Denmark, decorated with a drawing Bram did 27 years ago of Peter, Paul and Bram dressing up for Peter’s party, Pietje phoned from Maun. The evening before Bram already had a surprise present: he discovered his friend Gao, who died 7 years ago, fathered Pelo’s 21-year old daughter. One of those unbelievable coincidences of life!
All in all, an excellent start of what will be a very busy day. We planned to stay home alone, but as always stuff comes up. The goat’s corpse, which is hanging at the butcher, has to be transferred back to Jeff & Pelo. The original plan was to keep the poor animal alive in their garden till today, but Jeff doesn’t trust his hunting dogs around a nice snack like that. The woman who organizes the party cooking needs to go shopping today, so we have to drive. In between we have to rush over to Gabs for some last-minute color proofing on Andre’s billboards. Pelo found a nice small thatched house in Morwa we might rent next year, if we can come to an agreement with the owner, so we have to make a plan. And a zillion things more.
But first we’re going to enjoy a very special breakfast. In between hunting and slaughtering Bram managed to find cheese at an Italian Deli - not the plastic cheddar you’ll find in the supermarket, so we’ll postpone the Peanut Butter Contest judging till Sunday.
Just now our nephews Jelle & David are singing birthday songs over the phone, all the way from Marknesse. Before we left Holland they gave Bram super cool self-made strips. Bram’s sister Christine tells the special B-Day present, Joseph, couldn’t wait till today, so Marisabel had her caesarian February 26, on Linde’s B-Day.

Dangers

Some of you will be very disappointed by now, us staying in the ‘untamed Africa’, as someone called it, and our life being so tame. So here are the dangers we experienced so far.
The biggest threat up till now is getting a contagious illness from freshly arrived Western-Europeans. Mopping the house is also risky; Maud had a very painful week after crashing her back while cleaning. Another threat is the Batswana style of driving, a bunch of would be Schumachers without the skills, Andre calls them. So we avoid the streets when it’s really Schumacher-time: Friday and Saturday after six p.m.
While camping with the rhino’s the heavy winds blew down a tree that was half eaten by termites. Luckily this happened during the night, while we were sleeping in our tents, which we put under other shady trees. Miraculously the tree also didn’t crash Bram’s birthday presents. It just missed the skottelbraai, and although it hit the fridge, this heavenly luxurious item still works, although it looks a bit battered now.
Also at the rhino’s Bram & Maud experienced a first: a group of young males, which didn’t go out of the way, but approached the car. Cursing that he was missing the video footage of his life, Bram did as Maud bid and backed up, after which the rhino’s came to a standstill, looking very satisfied. Moremi and Ompatile confirmed this was a first in their park, rhino’s walking up to a car.
What about malaria, cholera- or otherwise infected water, yellow fever, etcetera? We’re sorry to disappoint the Damn Sexy Bitch, but this wild part of Africa also doesn’t have that. To meet malaria mosquitoes you have to travel far up north, and yellow fever is much further north again. The tap water is drink water quality, so we get to use our water cleansing tablets only in some suspicious looking South-African camps.

Loitering with Rhinos

On a sunny Friday morning we left for Serowe with Christa & Michel. Just after Mochudi one realizes again this is the oldest patch of tar in Botswana, patched up a zillion times, but by now fubar (fucked up beyond all repair). Arab Contractors Botswana are busy making a new road next to the old one, so maybe next year we’ll just fly over the posh highway. Lets hope the little bar on the Tropic of Capricorn than reopens, it’s so romantic to have a guave juice exactly on that geographical border.
In Palapye Bram and Christa did their desperate ‘last chance before camping food’ shopping at the takeaway, so we had a fridge load of chicken livers and chicken filled fatcakes for our campsite eekhoorn.
In Serowe we did the first half of our usual tour. Like every year, the Tswaragano Hotel looked a bit more run down, but hurrah, this year the bar had more than tap water on stock. As always the magnificent view from the terrace made Bram long for the old days, when you would only see the spread-out roundavel-village around you. The Ghanaian dressmaker is still there and once again we proved to the Batswana employees that Ghana has its own language by exchanging our 6 words Tswi with the owner. We found a nice ‘his & her’ outfit for Bram’s birthday, and Mma Kofi gave Bram a ‘first put on your sunglasses’ shirt as a present. Zaba Watson also is still there, but he’s closing the General Dealer that has been in the family since 1946. He doesn’t want to compete anymore with the Chinese, Korean and Indian crap that is so popular nowadays.
Quite a disaster for Maud; it was the best shop in the world, with literally everything. Tree-legged pots, needles, kamferoil, flour, soap, water tanks, buttons, machetes, shoes, axes, cookies, shovels – you name it, they got it.
At the Seretse Khama Memorial Museum Skobi had a surprise for us, actually three surprises. The picture-exhibition of Serowe through the centuries is ready, since visiting Eastern Europe & Russia he’s not a communist anymore, and he build a General Dealer like it was in the old days. So next year Bram has to do some sign painting on that project. In the old mall Christa & Maud went to look at the remains of the Big Fire last November – it must have been big indeed! (For Botswana-news read Mmegi online
www.
After a quick visit to the bottle store (having a fridge means you have to fill it…) we pushed to the Seretse Khama Rhino Sanctuary for another homecoming. As soon as we jumped out of the car Ompatile proudly announced the birth of yet another white rhino, only about two weeks ago. So after making a camp at one of the most beautiful camping sites on earth, we headed out for a game drive. There it was, happily splashing around in the big pan, next to it’s mother and a bunch of other rhino’s. Not quite sure of it’s identity yet: when a herd of impala’s walked by, it wanted to join them. It’s like something from ancient times, the rhino’s, especially when the light-footed, graceful antelopes mix with them. But when they start to run, their plumpness evaporates and they fly over the savannah like ballet dancers.
While sitting around our campfire we felt the weather changing. Rain we had before, but now the cold came with it. During the days, the rain stopped, but the cold stayed, Maud even bought a winter coat. Moremi, the park manager, tried to cheer us up by telling it was snowing heavily in the Netherlands and England.
The sanctuary really is a small paradise. Cruising around we managed to see more rhino’s, ostriches, zebras, duikers, kudu, red hartebeest, gemsbok, other antelopes, and lots of birds. Moremi asked Bram to update the map he designed 8 years ago, and do some other artwork, so we have to come back next year to see ‘our’ brochure and vehicle stickers, and camp for a while in paradise.
We put Christa & Michel on a bus to Maun and ended our Serowe-tour with giving the bakkie to Motushi for more repairs and a visit to the printers. It’s very, very sad to see the printers going down. They got a big donation once again, and spend it on the wrong computers, ignoring all Bram’s advice, and a business manager who turned out to be a Zimbabwean crook.

New pictures on site

There’s RSA & Botswana 2006 pictures on
www.maudenbram.nl
in the Gallery
bots 2006

Christa & Michel

Monday evening Christa & Michel arrived with the Joburg-Gabs bus, bringing fresh drop & stroopwafels from Holland. We were a bit worried because it was still rainish and, according to us, fokken cold. Luckily fresh arrivees from Western Europe have a different concept of ‘cold’, and the rain reduced to a few showers. Quite busy now, pfffffffff, showing The Mochudi bar, The Mochudi restaurant, The Morwa bar, The Gabs pie place etcetera. Bram already managed to convince a hair salon owner she’ll be perfectly able to ‘do’ Christa’s hair, so we’re very curious what her ‘blocks’ (whatever that is) will look like. Don’t know if she’ll allow us to blog a picture…
Friday we’ll go to Serowe, to camp at the Rhino Sanctuary and visit some people. Sunday or Monday Maud & Bram shoot back to Mochudi, while Christa & Michel take a bus to Maun, and maybe will try a mokoro-trip (tree trunk canoe) into the Okavango Delta.

Loitering at Limpopo River

When Hamish makes a promise, he performs – 500 percent.
He promised Maud a slippry, slimy weekend at the banks of Limpopo river, and she got it.
We started this expotition on a sunny Saturday morning. First we drove from Mochudi to the massimo of Mma Mpo to bring her a big three-legged pot (size 20), pick up Mpo’s cousin Binno, and have a look at the lands. After admiring the maize, sorghum, beans, and melons Modioke invited us for a delicious sempe lunch. The boys of course had to practice shooting (windbuks) - why is it men want to kill everything which dares to move? It already started to drizzle…
We happily drove on to the Limpopo. First stop: a flooded piece of land near to the river, where a lot of cattle egrets and other birds were having a field day. It still rained a little bit. Second stop: a beautiful spot at the Limpopo, where some boys were fishing. We strolled along the riverbanks, enjoying the fine, sunny weather. Trying to cross the river to the South-African side, Binno sunk in the mud over his ankles, Mpo managed to get in till his thighs and Scoogie changed himself from a white to a brownish grey Jack Russell. We thought about camping right there, but decided to drive on to Olifantsdrift anyway.
The dirt road to the village was very good, the weather stayed fine, and even after Olifantsdrift village we hit only a few mud pools which looked like prone to get stuck in. The side Hamish picked to camp looked marvelous, a bit higher up, lots of trees for shade, and next to a dam in the river, which created nice fishing spots above and underneath the dam. There should be crocs and hippos, but even Mpo didn’t manage to spot one. While Hamish tried to walk the kids (3, 5, 11-ish and 13-ish) Bram and Maud started to build the camp, on a nice, barren spot. We were still in a cattle-area, which means you don’t want to camp in the cow-tick infested grass.
Our part of the camp looked ever so nicely when the sky went from blue to gray. We left the preparations for the cooking fire for what they were, dug out Hamish’s tent and managed to get it kind of upright before the rains started. Seriously. Within an hour we got our, slippry, slimy banks, a 500 percent (much like the Zeeland klei we know so well)! We could have done with a bit less convincing performance…
When the little ones finally stopped crying, the rain stopped also, so we had a happy campers evening in the mud.
Sunday after breakfast there was a break in the rain again, so the boys went fishing. Luckily we had an endless amount of peanut butter & bread with us, because they didn’t catch quite enough to feed the whole group. We even managed to pack up before it started raining again.
Maud & Bram rushed back to Gabs via Mochudi for a seldom occasion: Pietje would fly in from Maun, to sign for his new Dutch passport, and sleep over at our place. We didn’t expect to see him in Gabs, which he tries to avoid like the plague, and we won’t manage to get to Maun this year. It was very good to see him again, and when we brought him back to Seretse Khama Airport he revealed he would be in again half March to go to the clinic, so we’ll have another evening together at our house.