Autumn arrives in style

Today marks the official start of autumn …… and we can begin looking forward to our 2^nd winter of the year. Today was also a public holiday in SA and we used the opportunity to drive East along the Garden Route to visit Dieter’s aunt who lives between Knysna and Plettenberg Bay. This part of South Africa is truly breathtaking! The lakes and marshes, the green hills and valleys, the Indian Ocean and long, white beaches, the lagoons and baboons along the roadside were really exciting to see again.

It was lovely to see Dieter’s aunt and cousins again and to spend a good part of the day relaxing together. Despite the overcast and cool weather, the children insisted on having a swim and had an absolute ball in the pool! We had a delicious lunch together and then the children went back outdoors to run around in the gardens together while the adults sat chatting over tea.

On our return to George we stopped at some of Dieter’s parents friends who live just outside of Wilderness. Their 2-hectare plot is up on a hill overlooking the hills and greenery around the Wilderness area and on it they have built a lovely home and cultivated a very beautiful garden. (It is possible to be supplied with electricity, but water either has to be drilled for or collected when it rains.) They have a lovely indoor pool and the children had another wonderful swim while we waited for Oupa to finish helping his friend deal with some internet. The field mice and bird life kept the children entertained as they played nearby in the garden and bush.

PS: Last night we dressed rather neatly and attended the 30-year celebrations of the George Men’s Choir. Oupa has been singing in the choir for a few years now and it was really special to see him in action! The evening was also a tribute to the choir’s director who has led the choir for the past 30 years and it was an very emotional occasion. It was alright for Dieter and I who both speak and understand Afrikaans (as a lot of it was in Afrikaans), but I really understood why the children felt a tad bored! A lot of the talking and singing was in Afrikaans and some of the songs were even in other languages (both indigenous and international) and we didn’t understand them. And I must be honest, I couldn’t even hear the words of  a lot of the songs that were sung in English! It was fun, cultural and wonderful to see Oupa in action!