Tala

Anya is loving Hannah's visit. The girls pretty much scream with excitment from the minute they get up (6am - or earlier) till the moment they go to sleep. Kath and I are exhausted! It took a trip to Woolies to stock up on picnic goodies before we could even consider a day trip to Tala - a small game reserve which is about an hour west of Durbs. Poor Kath had to sit in the back of the car, sandwiched between the 2 baby seats, while Anya did her best Hannah impression (that would be a very loud scream) for a whole hour. Our ears were ringing by the time we arrived. A slight reconfiguration of seats later (Jonny driving - me wrestling with Anya in the back - Kath being trampled by Hannah in the front) and off we went to see some animals. Luckily, you practically trip over the animals in Tala, so Hannah and Anya had lots to see - zebras, wildebeest, blessbok, ostriches, impalas, kudu and nyala. We stopped off at the picnic area for a snack, a cool down swim and then lunch. Anya fell asleep the instant she was put back in the car (she didn't even make it out the car park), a short spell of hippo and giraffe spotting later, and Hannah also fell asleep. Unfortunately for us, the girls woke up the minute we stopped to put the baby seats backs. Typical. Luckily they were good as gold on the way home, even when we stopped off at the Pav for a spot of shopping. Gluttons for punishment, we gave the girls an early tea and bath before heading out to Butcher Boys for a steak. Despite being pushed in her pram up and down Florida Road, Anya refused to go to sleep on command. In the end, Kath ordered her meal before us so that she could share it with Hannah (and Anya). Both girls passed out by the time our main courses arrived. I can't say it was one of the most relaxing meals out, but Jonny got his steak and everyone got to take the piss out of me when I drove them home (Kath sitting in the boot). And all because I drove down Florida Road without the lights on....

Ushaka - Wet N Wild

What do you do when its raining in Durban? Get wet anyway! Our plans for a quiet day on our return from Amatikulu were cast aside in favour of a day at Ushaka Marine World. First stop was the Wet N Wild water park. Anya and Hannah looked super cute in their matching dookers. Anya went down the baby slides on my knee and played in the fountains while Hannah did the bigger slides with Kath & Jonny. Later, everyone went down the big Jiggy Jiggy slide where you go down the chute in a rubber ring boat. Hannah screamed all the way down. Anya was open mouthed in surprise. But by the 3rd descent she had got the hang of it and was jumping up and down in excitement. When Anya had finally passed out with excitement (just before lunch), I took the opportunity to go down some slides with Kath while Jonny nursed his various sliding injuries - caused by one trip too many on the Long Drop (also knows as the ball breaker)! After lunch, and with Hannah and Anya refuelled and ready to go, we rampaged our way through the aquarium, stopped off to see the sharks being fed, then caught the last dolphin show of the day. We had so much fun we did it all again on Thursday.

Amatikulu

They obviously breed them hardy up North. That can be the only explanation for planning a camping weekend safe in the knowledge that the weather is going to be completely pish. A wee bit of rain never stopped us before, so as Saturday morning dawned, we packed our dookers (that's swimming costumes for all you non-Banffers) and prepared to get wet. Hermann went by motorbike so that there was room for Kath, Jonny & Hannah in the Tuscon. Two flat tyres later, and we had made it to Ballito! Luckily, we had to stock up on supplies anyway, so we had an hour break en-route while the tyres got plugged for R40 i.e. £3.08. An hour later we had all arrived safely at our destination - Amatikulu.

There isn't much game there - just the odd zebra and bush buck, but the main attraction of the reserve are the tents perched approx 10 feet off the ground, on large wooden verandas connected by boardwalks. There were great views over the forest canopy. Unfortunately we didn't see much of them due to the stress involved in containing Anya and Hannah. Safety barriers were non existant!! Luckily, the kitchen and dining room were in a separate bungalow so we could let them off the leash for some of the time.

We had a braai planned for later that evening. And, despite the stop over in Ballito we had somehow forgotton to buy charcoal. Even worse, the beer stocks were getting low!!!! Hermann and Jonny were sent back out to rectify the situation while we explored the riverside. Funnily enough they were back in no time, having found some dodgy shebeen up the road. They bought a selection of beers and Savannah's - all stinking of rotten meat. God knows what sort of freezer they were being stored in, but it says something about our state of mind, that after a quick wash in the sink, we drank them anyway. By this point the continuous rain had the added benefit of making absolutely everything damp. Including the beds. It was like sleeping on a sponge. I think I maybe got about 2 hours sleep.

Nevertheless, we were all up bright and possibly breezy (that would be the beer talking) on Sunday morning, eager to enjoy our trip to the beach. We weren't going to let just any old horizontal rain stop us. We decided that the beach proper was just a bit too far for the kiddies, so opted for a trip to the sandbar in the middle of the river instead. After dire warnings about the presence of crocodiles and bilharzia, we hired a canoe. Maybe hiring one canoe for 4 adults and 2 babies was not wise. Kath, Hannah, Anya and I attempted to paddle to the sandbar, canoes stuffed with bags, towels and shoes etc etc. I'd like to blame the presence of 2 small people on our inability to paddle, but in actual fact we managed to ground ourselves at least twice with very little interference. The boys were no help. Despite many pleads to come and save us - the water was only ankle deep - they left us to sink. In the end, Kath got out to push. We did check for crocodiles first. Eventually Hermann and Jonny hired a second canoe and joined us on the sandbar, where Anya threw herself face first into the bilharzia infested river (?!) and Hannah made sandcastles. The boys paddled round the sandbar until the kids had turned blue and it was officially time to turn back. I think this whole saga may have taken only an hour........

Warmed up and dried off, we headed out of the reserve and up the coast to the Prawn Shack for lunch. We didn't know what to expect. We certainly didn't expect to still be eating 4 hours and 7 courses later. We had lunch on the upper deck of the restaurant veranda. Anya and Hannah had a brilliant time dancing to reggae and shaking their maraccas. We had an interval down at the beach. The sun came out. There was a dog. All in all, it was Anya's recipe for a perfect afternoon.

On Monday morning Hermann headed back to Durban for work, while the rest of us went to Shakaland - not near Eshowe. In fact, despite the local attraction of the Super Rooster (its clucking good), there's not much to do in Eshowe. And Shakaland is nowhere near. Shakaland is in fact beside some orange trees. Despite Hermann's best directions we did eventually find the place, but it did involve winding down the window and accosting every passer by we saw.

As expected the dance show was the best bit. Hannah alternated between holding her hand over her ears in abject terror and clapping her hands. Anya was desperate to dance but didn't quite have the courage so bounced up and down while sandwiched between my legs. The buffet gave us all the squirts (lovely) but we still enjoyed it. Needless to say, we were all completely knackered when we finally got back to Durbs - but a very enjoyable start to Kath & Jonny's visit to SA!

Anya's New Diet

Not quite what the doctor ordered.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year everyone! Apologies for the late conveyancing of Hogmany good cheer, but we're just back from 4 nights up at White Elephant Game Reserve near Mkuze. We went with Laurie & Manfred from round the corner; their friends Paula & John who were visiting from the US and their kids. We were well stocked up with provisions in our self catering bush camp - no chance of catching any malaria because of the amount of gin & tonics which we were imbibing (for medicinal reasons of course). Not that socialising, and lounging in the pool were our only activities. We also managed to squeeze in a few game drives and guided walks. We even saw a jackal. And wild African bunnies. Now, it may seem quite wierd to go on game drives with a pram. However, Anya does get very very excited whenever she sees an animal and restraining an over excited toddler on bumpy dirt roads is a bit of a trauma. The pram came in very handy for keeping her safe, and she even managed to have a bit of a snooze en route.

Hogmany was celebrated at the MCC - Mkuze Country Club! There was even a band playing cheesy music. Line dancing was performed. And Stefan, closely followed by Anya, was the star of the dance floor. Anya had a little snooze prior to her late night shenanigans so was well up for a party. Just as well, because we didn't leave till quite late and then went back to the camp to see in the bells (what bells?) with a glass of champagne in front of the campfire.

As you can now imagine, we are suffering from terrible "back to work/reality" withdrawal symptoms. Luckily we are back on holiday next weekend when Kath, Jonny & Hannah come to visit. Yippee.