Home and hosed

 So the South African adventure finally comes to an end and we are back safe and sound. That was not always looking possible as I was caught up in a massive food poisoning outbreak. Snail pate was the probable cause of mine, but the load shedding programme which they have in place is more likely to be the culprit.

Two or three times a day the power is switched off and businesses and homes have to rely on generator power for anthing up to 4 hours at a time. There is now a widely held view that fridges are going on and off spasmodically and consequently some of the contents are being compromised.

The funding to fix the problem has gone missing, so the natives are getting restless and there could be a serious uprising against the government if the situation is no resolved.

Anyway, no great harm done, and a local doctor prescribed some medication to sort me out. He was Dr Ventner and had a rugby picture on his surgery wall. Apparently his grandfather toured Great Britain with the Springboks in 1931. He was F.D Ventner, a three-quarter who scored against Glasgow District.

The finl drive of the safari allowed us to click in with the final big 5 animal, the African buffalo. we also saw black rhino and a male lion, so all in all a very successful sortie to the Southern Hemisphere

 

Big ears

 There are other matters to blog apart from a safari so I was searching for a link when Gary Lineker stuck his head, ears and all, above the parapet like some bull elephant out on the territory protection trail.

Lineker has history with contentious text's on a number of subjects and is often looking for a reaction. On this occasion he got rather more than he bargained for and has rightly been suspended by the BBC. To think he can bring down the Director General with the help of his footballing cronies is another example of how the football community big themselves up when faced with adversity or external criticism.

 No doubt there will be people in the footballing fraternity rubbing their hand as they see this as a direct challenge from the government at just the time thay are looking to regulate the business of football in a way football won't want.  Let battle commence.

Gary Neville runs close to the wind with his comments on social media and I have unsubscribed to various sites, including Twickenham RFC, when the owners or Web masters start using the media for their own political ends and not those for which the mouthpiece was designed.

Lineker needs to realise people only listen or follow him because of his visibility on BBC, and footie commentators are two a penny. So if the BBC dump him, he will quickly become yesterdays news. Just ask Andy Gray!!

We fly back tomorrow which is probably just as well, as Cyclone Freddie has decided to regroup and start battering Guadeloupe.  Apparently Mozambique had a years raining for days when it first hit.

England must have felt they were in the eye of the storm at Twickenham yesterday. They were outplayed in every aspect of the game by France. England looked unfit, ill prepared and physically lightweight against a French side clearly building positively towards their home World Cup.

Let's not mention the Argyle albeit to say it's getting tight at the top. 

Jurassic Park

 We can now confirm the rhino, tick, and a few elephants,tick, so the African buffalo remains the elusive member of the big five to complete the list.

As a bonus we saw a couple of cheetah too. The leopard remains elusive as do armadillos but there were mongoose and jackels. Maybe a hyena ot two might put in an appearance as well

Jumanji

 Another long car drive eventually got us to Shamwali game reserve. We came in the wrong gate but that gave us an opportunity to see giraffe, warthog and antelope before reaching the lodge.

There was little time to check in before we were off on our first safari. Three hours later we can report on two ticked off and one sighted but too far away to gain photographic evidence. So, lion, tick, hippopotamus, tick and white rhino,?

Up at the crack of sparrows tomorrow and search again.

We arrive for the big five

 

Monkey business

 More animals today, but last night we ate some dead ones in a good restaurant in Plett. The Fat Fish was a very vibrant beachside bar and restaurant in a small mall type development close to Central beach. All things SA were evident. The drive was a bit slower than expected as 'loadshedding' was in operation. This involves shutting down the grid for two four hour periods twice or three times a day. Those who can power up a generator, otherwise its candles and teatree lights. 

There is huge unrest about this with potential uprisings against the government as funding to overcoming the problem has 'disappeared' after being diverted elsewhere. Safe to say the ANC are comfortable and blinkered to the fact the state is moving back on all the gains made in the Mandela era,

 It is a real sadness to still see shanty towns on one side of the road and 5 star mansions and Country clubs on the other. The 'workers' try to hitch lift home and wave Rand in the hope of a pick up.

A couple of other restaurants were lit and open  but elsewhere many homes were in darkness. We gave a cheer when the street lights came back on.

But back to today, our last night before safari time. The animal reserve we went to  was mainly for rescued animal which had been abandoned as pets, not all were indigenous. SWMBO had her sunglasses whipped from her head by one of the monkeys and only swift intervention by the ranger retrieved them. We got some interesting pictures to send to our own monkeys at home, and are now waiting to visit the on-site restaurant here. No sign of the baboons today which was a pity.

We have used four rope bridges this week so SWMBO might start watching the Indiana Jones films now. She summed the trip up well. Its like being on a cruise but having to move cabins every night. Only one cabin to go!!

SA in a nutshell