11th March,2009

I had a very good walk starting at 6.00am. My guide saw a jackal. I now understand why normally sane tourists do stupid things like approaching lions for a close-up photograph. On hearing the word “jackal” in a state of high excitement I started moving forward without a thought to any potentially dangers. Needless to say the jackal vanished before I even got a glimpse of it.

Tala really wasn’t worth the money. There is absolutely nothing to do in the evenings – no wildlife information or books which one could consult. As I was the only person actually staying the three days were more than sufficient. It had the plus that except for one occassion I had the game rangers entirely to myself and we had many interesting conversations.

Donnette came to collect me and she took close up shots of a rhino. When we were back home I told her that there were no black rhino in the park. I had been informed that the rhinos were white. Donnette was adamant that the rhino she had photographed was a black rhino. I mentioned that the creature had not been in an area where one would expect to find black rhino. But then I recalled that the rhino had a completely different horn to the ones which I had photographed earlier. It had indeed been a black rhino and I hadn’t bothere to photograph it even though I could have got a really good shot! (Subsequently I found a picture of a black rhinocerus which I had taken.) It’s the one above.

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I’m Not as Young as I Used to be

10th March,2009

This morning my back was aching so I adged two asprin off the lady who runs the gift shop. I went out on a game drive with six other people. A group of four women of Irish origin and a couple from Holland. We had a very close sighting of a rhino and her calf who was suckling. One woman was very keen to see the giraffes but our only sighting was from a great distance. we did, however, have a quite good view of the hippos in the lake.

There was a braai (barbecue) in the evening which involves huge quantities of meat and sausage accompanied by such dishes as potato salad. I had had enough of jolting around in the Land Rover and I didn’t attend.
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Dzagbe Cudjoe reading a story to children at a Primary School in Hilton, South Africa

The Author Reading a story from her book

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A Day Out with the Children

7th March,2009

As I hadn’t given the children an outing I took us all to “The Crafty Duck” where there are all sorts of animals, horse rides and a minature train. Savannah was not with us as she had opted to stay with her aunt and cousins.
The Crafty Duck is clearly mainly interested in generating income although they do run a rehabilitation centre. Many of the cages are very small, there are no informative notices about the animals and worst of all visitor safety seem to be a matter of indifference. Children could put their fingers through the fence and touch the crocodiles. No helmets were provided forchildren on the horse rides. A poor young lynx was in a tiny enclosure right at the entrance to the rehabilitation area. She was being teased by a group of afrikaans speaking children. I told them nicely but firmly to stop.

It is a good outing for children as they can feed ducks, geese, parrots and numerous other birds. There are also rats, hamsters, guinea pigs, goats, snakes tortoises, antelopes, ponies and the afore-mentioned crocodiles.

The train ride was a complete rip-off and badly organised.

After lunch we went to Albert Falls Miniature Railway which was constructed and is run by a friend of Donnette’s father. I was persuaded to take a ride and it was great fun. There is a properly laid track and the train goes over bridges and through tunnels.

Next we went to Albert Falls where there is dam. The cascades are beautiful but somewhat marred by the workshops right in front of them which are full of steel girders and abandoned machinery. We had bought lovely fresh mealies earlier and Donnette gave the workers enough so that they could roast them when they had a break. I thought that was a lovely gesture.

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Visit to Howick Falls, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa

Tuesday,24th February,2009
My new friend Julie who I met when out walking last week came to take me to Howick Falls about 30 kilometres from here. She came in to meet Donnette and the two got on very well together. Julie asked how the book signing went and before I knew it to my delight she offered to introduce me to Wycliffe school where one of her granddaughters goes.
Julie has a nice car and is an admirably careful driver. On arrival at Howick Falls it was raining. The way to the Falls is lined with tourist stalls and shops. I took a few photos of the waterfall which is an impressive 95 meters high. The view is spectacular. I learnt later that no one goes anywhere near the Falls after dark as people have been thrown over the Falls.
As the rain made prolonged viewing of the Falls rather uncomfortable Julie and I opted to visit Howick Museum. This is a typical local museum with great emphasis on worthies of the past. Apparently electricity has been produced from the Falls since the early nineteenth century and continues to do so. Howick was also a great centre for the production of rubber. The old buildings are still standing.
There was a display of traditional medicine which was accompanied by a photograph of a herbalist of Indian ancestry. Julie knew him and said how sorry she was that she couldn’t take me to meet him because he lived in a Pietermarisburg area which is now too dangerous to visit.
The curator came out and I had an interesting conversation with her about the recording of Zulu stories and traditions. Apparently the museum is financed by the municipality and has little money.
He rain had stopped and the sun came out so we went back to the Falls to take a few more photos. After that we went and wandered around a second hand bookshop and an old building that now houses a number of antique shops.
After this we headed back to Pietermaritzburg and had a coffee before going to Wycliffe School. This is a girls boarding school founded early in the last century. The extremely attractive buildings are sited in beautiful grounds which house tennis courts and a huge swimming pool. The inside of the buildings rivals any of the girl’s boarding schools in England. Pupil’s art work of an exceptionally high quality adorned the walls.
The very polite pupils were mainly “white” with a sprinkling of “black” faces. The teachers were all very outgoing and friendly and Julie and I were handed over to the Librarian. She was immediately receptive to the idea of my doing a reading and will be in touch. Many of the girls come from outside South Africa from countries such as Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Julie is a delight. She is bright, intelligent and we have much in common. We are planning further outings.
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http://www.dance-to-health-help-your-special-needs-child.com

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Valentine’s Day in Kwa Zulu Natal, South Africa

14th February,2009
The family gave me a lovely figure of a woman holding a pot as a valentine’s gift. We went to a garden centre cum children’s play park which had a miniature train and a gem stone mining area for the kids. When it came to paying the telephone lines counrywide were down and banks couldn’t process credit cards. Shops were letting good customers take their goods home and asking them to come back to pay later.
No matter how efficient a person is business efforts are sabotaged by power outages and breaks in internet or telephone services. Things happen due to storms and lack of maintenance.
On the way back there was a road block with about forty police people. We were waved on to be questioned by a female policeman.

16th February,2009
This afternoon I went for a walk along Donnette’s road. I greeted everyone I met along the way. I said “good afternoon” to a lady of Indian ancestry and she started a conversation by remarking on the weather. We chatted a bit then she said she’d walk along with me so she changed direction. Apparently her late father had been a political activist in the apartheid period. He spent many years in England in exile. She had until recently been very involved in looking after her grandchildren and was clearly feeling a bit at a loose end. She wants to take me to the Howick Falls and museum next week. She described our meeting as “fate” because she usually doesn’t go for walks.

http://www.strategicbookpublishing.com/TalesMyGhanaianGrandmotherToldMe.html
http://www.dance-to-health-help-your-special-needs-child.com

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