Time in South Africa in 2020 has enabled our marvelous
Willmore Adventures to continue. We’ve had an audio book with consequences; a period
of disruption due to the weather; and three too many hikes for Elowen; making
it an active and frustratingly inactive few months so far this year. Laurence
has also had a work trip to a great destination, and it’s a shame we couldn’t
all go too…
On our long drive to the coast over Christmas, we decided to
invest in some audio books for the children, for some good, wholesome
entertainment. Clare Balding was the chosen author, and with a life surrounded
by horses, her stories rather beautifully involve children and her four-legged
friends. On arriving home to Lonehill and to our alarm, Amelie asked the
question no parent wants to hear… “Mummy, can I have a pony?” We live in horse
country, with Lonehill maintaining its bridleways and our house overlooking some
stables, so we have allowed Amelie to start horse riding lessons this year. She
must look after the horses as well as just ride them, and with plenty of
thunder and lightning, there has been a lot more of the former and less of the
latter!
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| Amelie learning to trot and stop. |
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| Horse grooming in the thunder and lightning! |
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| Taking the horse to it's stable. |
I have kept up my hockey over the summer months but, as with
Amelie and the horses, the thunder and lightning has also disrupted activity.
Lightning is something that has killed many people over the years in South
Africa, to the extent that there is even an App that you can download onto your
phone to show you exactly where the lightning is and your proximity to it. The
rule is that it must be 10 kilometres away before you can play hockey. Often it
has been too close, and we have had to go home without enjoying a game.
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| The Lightning App! |
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End of season drinks after we
finally got to play a game! |
In between our stormy weather we have spent a good few
weekends seeking out walking trails to explore the surrounding Johannesburg
countryside. I rather foolishly took the children on a 5-kilometre hike on a
very hot day up a hill. Elowen’s lack of enthusiasm kicked in rather early on
as she showed a dislike for bugs, long grass, heat, walking, and eventually
when we reached the top, a summit that didn’t even have any snow on it! But we
came across some amazing animals; a two-metre-long monitor lizard, lots of cheeky
vervet monkeys, multi-coloured locusts, and flights of golden butterflies. We
also had to cross the rather large, fast flowing, Hennops River on a homemade
pulley system, the bridge having washed away before Christmas. My heart was in
my mouth as we dangled rather precariously, but we survived to tell the tale. After this hike we stuck to shorter, flatter
trails inviting friends and family along, with braais and swimming to look
forward to at the end. And on our last hike through the Modderfontein Nature
Reserve, it was as if fate was on Laurence’s side. After a dry January the
trail led us rather unexpectedly to a newly opened craft brewery. The perfect
find on the 1st February, and a nice stop on a hot day.
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| The 5 kilometre hike...I was happy! |
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A massive locust!
They come in lots of different colours. |
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| A cheeky vervet monkey playing in the trees. |
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| A 2 metre long monitor lizard. It was ginormous! |
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| Crossing the fast flowing Hennops River. |
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| On a 2.5 kilometre hike with friends, we came across a cave. |
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| Laurence and Mike at our post hike braai. |
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| Playing in the woods by the braai. |
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| A swim to finish off after a hike and a braai. |
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| Modderfontein Nature Reserve. |
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| Amelie at Modderfontein Nature Reserve. |
The 2nd February saw Laurence fly to the UK with work
and stay for a week with his mother-in law. I was terribly heart sore, and I
wanted to sneak in his luggage, but it was great that he got to see my
wonderful family and meet up with some old work colleagues in London. His work
spanned weekdays in London, to weekends in the garden recovering fence panels
blown away in the storms for my mum. Once back in South Africa, Laurence
invited me into his office in Sandton, the business district, to show me where
he disappears to everyday. If it wasn’t for the glorious hot sun in February,
you could imagine that you were in London, with all the high rises and
activity. It was such a culture shock though, as I stepped out of the chaos of
children and housework into this calm space with music playing that made me
feel like I was in a spa and about to be called through for a massage. And with
baristas on hand for a coffee break, I now understand Laurence’s desire to work
at the office and not at home!
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| Laurence in his calm and quiet office. |
So, in between Mother Nature’s disruptions and Elowen’s
eruptions, we’ve had a wonderful month full of horse riding, hockey, hiking,
and a little bit of time in the UK.
I hope the storms and wet conditions leave the UK in a bit
of peace in the coming weeks, allowing for some warmer, drier spring weather. Our
leaves are beginning to fall here giving South Africa that reflective, autumnal
feel.
Next month I will be writing a rather special blog involving
a very special family. I look forward to sharing it with you.
Lots of love,
Jess x
A few extra pics...
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Helping a little girl, with potential Autism, to speak,
at Buttercup Preschool in Cosmo City. |
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| Looking at pictures of animals. |
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Teaching the 5 and 6 year old children
the sounds s and a. |
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| We currently have no electricity and no water! |
