More rainbows please

More rainbows please

Symbols of hope

They say a rainbow is a symbol of hope.

Rainbows are supposed to be a positive sign. They can bring a smile to the saddest person and lighten most people’s moods.

After my husband died I used to look out for them as I wondered about the belief in ancient mythology that rainbows were a bridge between humans and the Gods.

In Greek  mythology, “Iris” served as a “rainbow goddess” creating a link between humanity and heaven. Read more here

Children and Rainbows

Often when I was driving around the Bay along with my grandchildren in the back of the car I would point a rainbow to them.

We would then stop and admire the beautiful colourful arcs. Once I told them that Rainbows reminded me of their Granddad.

They were very small when he died.

When they were very little they would respond to seeing a rainbow with all sorts of questions.

“Was their Grandad sitting inside the rainbow?” “Why did he want to go there?”  “Did he fall out of heaven?”

“When can we go and visit?” “What can we eat in the Rainbow?”

As they grew up that changed.

One day,we spotted a beautiful rainbow over the water as we were driving along. My eight year old grandson, as he was then, put his hand gently on my shoulder trying to console me.

He told me in a serious voice that it was okay to believe that Grandad was there, but he really wasn’t because the rainbow was made up of a reflection of light in the  water droplets.

I felt my heart strings pull as I looked into his shiny bright blue eyes. How lucky was I? Grandchildren are such a gift! I wondered if we were going to have the “Santa Claus” chat soon.

I hoped he was not going to break the news that Santa was only the chubby man in the suit at the shopping Mall! I always told them I had been waiting for a Pony for Christmas since I was little and that I was positive he would remember it was me that wrote about it!

New beginnings and positivity

For me though, rainbows still give my spirits a lift.

They remind me that my late husband is safe and free from pain and somehow they are a message from above saying that things will be okay.

Yesterday, as I was driving home round the Bay through the mist and driving rain, just as I rounded a corner I was confronted with a huge rainbow.

It seemed to full the whole view between the hills in front of me and went up very high. I felt shocked and pleased all at once.

Rainbows are thought to offer new beginnings and going back in time to the story of Noah and the Ark, it was thought that the rainbow signalled the end of the flooding and the wiping out of humanity.

Rainbows can mean many different things to different cultures 

I choose to believe that there is a positive influence in a rainbow and wish for many rainbows for all and one, especially during these trying times of Pandemic, Floods, Earthquakes and climate change.

Remember, the greater your storm, the brighter your rainbow.

Why not be the rainbow in somebody’s day?

©2021 gentlelifehacks.com|e-propertymatters.com| Author| Kathryn

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Business Lingo- Cars NOT Cows!

Business Lingo- Cars NOT Cows!

Business Lingo- Cars NOT Cows!

The Big Move- 1995

Emigrating to a land at the bottom of the world was exciting if not different.

There were many things other than acclimatising to the cold to get used to, but also trying to understand the quick speech and odd sayings of my new country was a challenge some days.

It was a land of such beauty and simplicity really, but I did find that there were some people who had never been out of their city let alone country and for them they might have found me quite strange.

They would look at me quizzically as I spoke, and often say “ Ooh -I love your accent ….where are you from?”

And when I told them I could see the look of sheer puzzlement on their faces as they had no idea where my land of birth in Central Africa was, and often would ask, why I had a white skin?

I soon just let people believe what they wanted to believe, some thought I was British, and some thought I was Irish, there were some who said I spoke like the Queen, and this used to make me laugh heartily as I was certain that I did not speak like the Queen.

I remember flying back to Africa in the early 2000’s and missing my new home with such an intensity. Africa felt foreign after only a few years absence.

It was only when I landed back home again in NZ and when I heard the Customs lady speak with her nice rising intonation where it sounded like she was asking a question even though she was just saying “Hello” -it was only then that I felt safe again.

The First NZ  office meeting.

I looked around the room at the people who had become my new work mates. They were a varied bunch.

They spoke quickly and I had to listen carefully as they spoke about the different properties. Some of the comments were puzzling…..

Jeanette was describing a buyer “ he was full of grog but a grafter”.

I was imagining an ugly man with a big belly and made a note to myself to look it up in my little book of “kiwi isms” when I got home that day.

She carried on describing others from her open home…” he was troppo, and she was a tyre kicker “- my head was spinning.

Pete remarked that a certain document we had to complete as part of compliance was “ a piece of piss” – I wasn’t looking forward to that one for sure – it sounded awful.

Gabby was describing her vendors who would not meet the market.

“ She was all done up like a sore toe” and he looked at me like I was a “smart fart”

“ All throughout the meeting he couldn’t take his eyes off my puppies” she said, so I mused “ why on earth would you take 2 little pups with you to a meeting?”

Real Estate in my new country was utterly confusing.

Pete walked out of the office in front of me when the meeting was finished – I was shocked that he did not hold the door open for me as I was accustomed to so tapped him on the shoulder to remind him of his manners.

He seemed not to understand that lady’s go first through a door and a gentleman will always hold it open for them – well that was what happened in Africa anyway.

It took several weeks before he got the hang of it and even better than that he would then offer to make me a cuppa – which I learnt was a nice cup of strongly brewed tea.

Pete told me that he would knock up a good feed next time he had an arvo off.

Alison from the opposite desk yelled out to Pete “ get us a cuppa too will ya?” Pete retorted in a most ungentlemanly way “ Get off your arse and get it yourself – bloody libber”

I was shocked. Such disrespect for a lady, and told him so. “ he told me “ she’s no lady” and laughed.

All these funny expressions made my head spin and I often had to write them down to remember to look them up later.

For me though, when I said “ I will be there “just now”” that also seemed to confuse people.

What is “just now?” They would ask- I would explain it is “now now”.

I knew precisely what that meant and so did others who used the same expression in Africa.

It meant “I will be there when I am there, early now now or not not now but a little later, but not too late”.

 Rose and Ted and the cows

One of my first listings in my new country of residence was an older home with a large lounge and 3 small bedrooms and a separate double garage which was at the rear of the property.

It was not a particularly big block of land but the garden was neat and tidy.

Rose and Ted were a nice couple. They arrived on time to view the property.  They drove a big noisy Ford and took great care when parking it.

They had 2 children they told me, who were at the school close by. They said that they were renting till they could find a place big enough for them all.

They quickly assessed the space inside the house. The bedrooms were tiny, but that did not seem to bother them. They were anxious to get outside to inspect the garage.

We were standing in the cold garage with it’s cracked concrete floor and unfinished timber walls and aged iron roof, when Ted asked me suddenly

“ How many cows can this place hold?”

I told him that unfortunately as it was a residential area, I doubted that he could bring his cows into the garden, let alone the garage.

He scratched his chin and asked the same question again.

I wondered if he was a bit daft.

Rose asked another question of me “ Can we park two of our cows in here?”

I thought about this for a bit and then replied – “ This garage is for cars, but I suppose if you wanted a cow in here then you would need to check with the council first – they might let you have a dog or a cat or even a chicken but I think cows and horses are a bit too big”.

Rose and Ted looked at each other and started to laugh.

C A R – they spelt it out- “ oh I said, silly me I thought you said C O W”.

Ted  pointed to the ceiling and said “its half pie”.

I did not go there – I was still coming to terms with the cows in the garage.

At the open home that Saturday Rose and Ted came back a second time, bringing with them an older couple. They introduced me to them as their “fam dam”.

Shirley, who I assumed was Ted’s mother remarked to Ted that he would need to run like a hairy goat if he wanted it.

She was pointing to the many people at the open home.

Later that day I got a call from them to ask if they could make an offer, so I assumed that they had run like their hairy goat to get sorted in order not to dip out.

I was getting the hang of it already!

Ted told me he had been “working off a dead horse” so now had a sizeable deposit to put down.

I wondered about these hairy goats and dead horses in the fam dam.

He told me it was hard to earn a crust but he stuck at it as he did not want to be sent down the road.

I translated this to mean that he was a baker, a competitive one, who wanted to stay put in his job.

Ted had a bit of a tummy going on so I thought he must be a darn good baker.

Rose was a hairdresser- she said she worked at a “tonky” place in the city. I wondered if it played a lot of loud honky tonk music and thought it could be quite zany. Later I looked up the word and it said “fashionable”.

When I called them later that day to congratulate them on their successful purchase there was much noise and celebration at the end of the phone so I guessed they were pleased.

Ted said “ lets whack into the grog then” I agreed that it was a good plan having no idea what he meant and ended the call.

Later that month, I met them at their new home. They introduced me to their 2 children.

Their son apparently was “packing a sad”.

He had been told off about swearing it seemed.

The 2 children wandered into the garden while we talked on the patio. Jason, the eldest, was looking at his boots and kicking stones at his sister, Melanie.

All of a sudden, Rose yelled at her son “Ooiy you will get a boot up the gunga if you say that word again!”

She turned to me and said “ Golly he makes me go maggoty!”

I think I learnt more “kiwi-isims from Ted and Rose than anyone else in such a short time, whenever I was with them.

Ted was actually a mechanic not a Baker and he had a love of old cars, so when they moved in, and I visited with a Welcome gift, I was introduced to all his old cars.

There were such a variety in different states of repair, but the old Ford Zephyr was one I remember as he had made it look as good as new and it reminded me of the older cars of my youth in Central Africa.

©2022 gentlelifehacks.com|e-propertymatters.com| Author| Katie

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Keeping fit for the job!

As a real estate agent it is important to stay fit and healthy!

There is nothing worse than presenting an offer with a runny nose sniffling and coughing, or walking up a long flight of stairs showing potential buyers how easy the access is whilst puffing, panting and leaning over miserably hanging onto their arms as you make your way up out of breath from talking about how easy the access is and what a wonderful view the property has.

So yes, ideally, fitness is important as a cornerstone of your profession.

It was with this in mind one sunny winter’s morning that I casually agreed to my eldest son’s invitation to a game of squash at the local university where he was enrolled.

Of course I had no idea how long it was since I had played the game, but I rather fondly imagined that I was pretty good, and said to him “ what a brilliant idea! I will meet you there after work!”

I started the search for my squash racket frantically as soon as he had left for university. I knew that it was rather an expensive one in a shiny leather holder, and so I got out the small ladder to look into the back depths the top cupboards of the wardrobe.

I also wanted to search for my snazzy little pleated skirt and the frilly pants that went with it.

I felt excited at the thought of being able to show off my prowess once again on the squash court and was happily imagining my past efforts.

Fleetingly I did think that hopefully this was not a case of “the older I got the faster and better I was at the game?”

As the dusty box fell on top of my head from above, I looked down to see a tatty leather holder with an even tattier racket handle sticking out of the cover.

There were some squash balls tucked into the cover.

Sadly, they were now melted into the racket having disintegrated into the frame after many years of storage.

I frowned…”Never mind, I would shoot into the sports shop in my lunch hour and buy a better one ” I thought as I excitedly unpacked my pleated skirt and frilly pants.

“Aah! These look okay” I smiled with pleasure and shoved them into a bag with a teeshirt…that would do nicely.

Traffic was heavy that day as I wound my way through the busy streets to my first appointment.

Number 48 had a hideous house hidden up a nasty steep driveway with a surly cat who always barred my entrance to the house for some reason.

Molly, the seller, was a nice Scottish lady though.

She was downsizing after her miserable git of a husband moved on with a younger model. Her words not mine!

Apparently he had met his new girlfriend at work.

I was thinking about the photo that Molly had shown me of her soon to be ex-husband. It was taken at his office Christmas party where he had been standing next to the girl that he had chosen to have “the” affair with.

I remember gasping, thinking that the girl in the photo was not only ugly with her patchwork pimples, but could easily have been his daughter.

Poor Molly, I thought.

Molly told me that her ex had never been much of a gardener and had left everything to go to seed and ruin.

As I surveyed the entrance to the front of the property, I was glad that it now looked slightly better, especially since we had got my gardener contact “Hairy Hedges” in.

He had done what he could to make the property a little more presentable.

I spotted Molly standing nervously at the front door waiting for me, smiling quietly in greeting. I had first home buyers that day wanting to view, so Molly was making a dash for it, to keep out of the way she had said.

I secretly wished she would take Tabitha her surly cat with her, as for some reason the cat had not warmed to me, nor me to her.

She walked up to me with her saucy swagger as I entered the front door and I noticed her stretching out one sharp little clawed paw on the carpet in front of me.

“Was that a warning? Was she going to pounce on me?”

I tried not to get anxious, but the hair on my neck prickled in fear.

Tabitha was a mean cat.

The last time I was on my own with her, she had clawed my nice skirt pulling threads out of it for no reason other than she wanted attention. I chased her off after that with a hiss.

She had hissed back at me in reply, flexing her nails and giving me her beady eye.

Molly said over her shoulder as she left to no-one in particular I thought “Tabs, now do be polite and be nice to everyone won’t you?”

I watched the surly cat walk off in a huff and hoped it would stay away while I showed my buyers through the home.

Not everyone liked animals and I remembered one man who could not stop sneezing even though there were no pets in sight. He said he could smell pet dandruff!

The day passed really quickly, so I dashed into the Sports shop and got advice on squash rackets.

A young pumped up man in a tight shirt with his hair loaded with greasy product came over to give me advice. “So what level are you at?” He drawled in his know everything about squash way.

“Oh , I was terribly good once upon a time” “But I don’t want anything too heavy as I am going to play a game tonight with my son, and I don’t want to win by such a big margin, as that won’t be good for any young man’s ego will it?”I chatted away.

I gasped at the price tags on the shiny new one I had picked up. “ My goodness! Is this what they cost now ?”

I struggled to keep my facial expressions under control.

No need to alert the young man to my lack of appetite for expensive unnecessary squash racket purchases, now was there? After all, the money saved could buy another pair of rather nice high heeled unsuitable red shoes?

With my new squash racket safely clutched in my possession, I got back into the car to drive to a “building inspection”.

It was not far from the university, so I thought I would have plenty of time to have a quick few push ups maybe before I met my son for the much anticipated game of squash.

A thought fleetingly passed over me “Golly…I hope the skirt still fits!”.

The Building inspector eventually arrived and waved hello to me. I opened up the house for him and told him that if he had any questions to please ask and made my way over to the dining room table to continue with some work on my laptop.

Building inspections were usually very thorough, sometimes taking a few hours.

He was taking his sweet time though I noticed after 2 and a half hours…the clock was ticking!

He seemed very professional which was good, but then he did seem to be noting everything he possibly could …. I noticed how his mouth twisted in distaste as he wrote his report.

The house was not brand new. I felt I had to point this out to the inspector several times as he tut tutted his way through his report tapping this and that…sighing in frustration when he could not get the stove to work.

He actually snapped at me at one stage when I suggested nicely that in order for the Smeg oven to work, one had to set the clock first.

Later, I realised he must have already put that down as “not functioning “ so that was the reason for the snapping. I resolved to tighten my lips.

No good getting on his bad side now was there? As he chipped away at some loose paint on a window frame, I wondered if he would be much longer.

He had told me that it was his last one for the day and I realised then that he had time to kill.

The report would be a long one I imagined…every window with a scratch itemised and every mark on every wall no doubt, which was par for the course.

At last, he was packing up and ready to go.

I waved farewell to him and then locked up the property, making sure all the lights were off.

He had left a trail of “un-switched off lights” and heaters left on in his wake, so much to sort out and switch off. I only had minutes to spare for the squash game, so raced over to the university grounds to meet my son.

He was waiting at the front entrance to a large set of steps. “ Come on Mum, let’s go get changed”. “I have booked the courts for an hour” he chatted as he bounded easily up the hundreds of steps.

I was red in the face and breathing heavily as I got to the top of the stairs “One hour on a squash court” Surely that can’t be right…I started to worry!

After that run up the stairs I was ready for a lie down! He showed me to the Ladies changing room.

I struggled as I pulled the very tight pleated skirt on up over my thighs and then put on the glamorous frilly pants.

Had the skirt shrunk in the wash I wondered? My pom pom socks looked fine, and the tee-shirt was okay, but the waist band to the skirt was a little tight.

I loosened the top 3 buttons “aah that feels better!” I was ready. No, just one moment, I thought. I reached into my holdall bag to get my fancy squash type pink and white headband.

I definitely needed to keep my long hair out of my eyes in order to put in the most accurate shots I thought, and so pulled it down in a professional squash player type of style.

I definitely looked the part I thought smiling at reflection in the mirror! The other occupant of the ladies change room was smiling oddly at her reflection.

I wondered if she was jealous of my professional attire. She seemed to be looking longingly I noticed at my pom pom socks.

She was only in a pair of boxy white shorts and a teeshirt with nasty looking ankle socks! Heavens I thought, the young of today!

Not much style sense indeed! She would look good in frilly pants I mused.

My son was already pounding the little black ball against the squash court walls.

The thud and speed of the balls alarmed me. “Golly, he is good” I thought in a panic.

My competitive spirit rose to the fore and I bounced onto the court in a very professional squash like way, with my pleated skirt swinging and my frilly pants swishing backwards and forwards and started to warm up.

My son laughed out loud “Mum, what on earth are you wearing?”

“ Well, you might ask, my boy, when I was your age, I was quite the player, just you wait and see!”

“Right, who wants to go first?”I demanded, warm up suddenly forgotten in my eagerness to beat him!

We got right into the game and I had been playing for at least 30 minutes, but this was later refuted by my son, who said it was less than 3 minutes, when I fell to the ground in agony.

My hamstrings happened. I could not move. I was in agony, writhing in pain on the court.

I had no idea what hamstrings were and cared not!

It took my son with the help of a nice young man to get me into his car to take me home.

My car stayed at the university.

I recovered after 10 days of sheer hell, and resolved to get fitter.

In fact, the state of my fitness over their teenage years, was discussed frequently at the dinner table by my sporting sons as if I was not even present. I had failed miserably at Gym, Squash, Body Boarding, Golf and many other physical activities, where they were determined to beat me, all throughout their teenage years.

My ski-ing attempts were okay I thought, even the last one where the row of foreign tourists went down like dominoes to prevent me injuring myself further, when I was speed ski-ing down the mountain.

I did feel that it was very generous of them and thanked them all and laughed with them all later in the canteen speaking in my best international sign language.

My husband told me later that the spectacle of me racing downhill uncontrollably into a crowd queuing for the lift was hilarious.

I had lost my pole sadly, and that had caused that accident, but those sorts of things happen to everybody don’t they?

I was certain that my teenage sons would not be able to keep up with me most days, showing house after house, dodging traffic jam after traffic jam by shortcuts across the city and still being able to cook the dinner, fold the washing, take them to their sport, and then to collect them in the early hours on a weekend after partying.

Their day would come I thought if they were lucky enough to be blessed with children as I had been.

Keeping fit for the job of course especially as we get older is important, so I have decided to take up another sport besides watching sport.

That still takes an awful lot of effort on a winter’s morning to stand on the side lines of a rugby game trying to keep warm. I usually have to pump my arms several times to warm them on the coffee mug.

My first round of Golf is coming up soon. I just need to find a suitable outfit first.

Perhaps a nice pair of brogue type trousers and a posh blouse? And some of those shoes with the spikes in them?

I am thinking pony tail with headband or sleek golfing cap. We will see. I don’t want to be useless AND not dressed properly for the occasion now do I?

©2022 gentlelifehacks.com|e-propertymatters.com| Author| Katie

“Health-full” honey bees

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Is Hashimotos Thyroiditis incurable?

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Mokopuna

A drawing by Maddie ( age 11)

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Lemons

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The things kids say!

The things kids say!

1940’s -As an “Evacuee” duirng the 2nd World War

I had learned two new words that day.

I was an inquisitive six year old evacuee in Wales, and in the care of my foster Aunt Florrie.

“What does ‘severe’ mean Aunty?” I queried.

“It means ‘harsh’ or ‘really bad’ she replied.

I already knew the meaning of the rudest word ever, ‘fart’…never mentioned, but always giggled over.

I continued,

“What does ‘Fu..’ mean? There was a shocked silence , followed by a loud smack as Aunty Florrie slapped my face.

I can clearly remember feeling superior as I said to my sister Margaret,

“That was a severe smack”

“Aunty….” my five year old sister sang out,

“She said that word again!”

Unfamiliar words are always a source of interest to a child.

Some years ago, my daughter Laura had collected our four year old granddaughter Lindsay from Kindergarten.

“Mummy, my brother doesn’t have a ‘winkie’, it’s called a peanut” she declared, anxious to share her first sex education lesson.

She further expounded, “and I don’t have a bottom, it’s called a ‘Regina’.

Regina was the name of the gardener who came from time to time to weed the garden. Laura didn’t correct Lindsay.

However, a few days later the matter seemed to be resolved.

“Lindsay, please tell Regina that her tea is ready”, she said as she set a tray.

Lindsay stood on the kitchen step, her clear young voice echoing throughout the neighbourhood and she yelled,

“Vagina”

Spectacles take on a new meaning

Our other granddaughter was five, and being teased by her two elder brothers.

“I know something bad about you, “ she chanted.

“Your spectacles are going to drop, so there!”

Joanne had eavesdropped on her Dad’s talk to his sons.

This was the child, who when asked in class the meaning of E.T, eagerly put up her hand to pronounce “Extra Testicle”, her brothers’ humour again.

Grandad’s wise words

When our grandson Warwick had his first sex education lesson it was likened to gardening.

One day, he shared his thoughts with us as Harry was working in our garden.

“Grandad, if you plant some seeds in Nanna’s tummy, you can get another little baby”

As I escaped to the kitchen, I heard Harry’s reply.

“Seeds don’t grow in barren ground my boy, and implements don’t last forever.”

“The soul is healed by being with children!”

©2021 gentlelifehacks.com| Author| Doreen

“Health-full” honey bees

Is honey good for us? Raw honey has been enjoyed thoughout history and has always been known for its health benefits and medical uses. It has a source of antioxidants with compounds known as polyphenols which may play a role in preventing heart disease. Phytonutrients...

7 Cancer Myths

Cancer and common myths Cancer is something we are programmed to fear. Cancer statistics in the United States alone make quite alarming reading Yet the World Health Organisation reported that in 2019 the top 10 causes of death accounted for 55% of the 55.4 million...

A dog in sheep’s clothing

Thinking of selling? Don't be a dog in sheep's clothing. Do it the right way. You would not be the first sellers who have questioned what their own obligations are as to what they should disclose to potential buyers. There are some out there who will blatantly hide a...

Air fryer health benefits

When we we were renovating, I purchased my first air fryer. We had limited space so it was ideal until my brand new kitchen was installed. I have since bought my 2nd air fryer (  the same brand -deLonghi "ideal fry"), so we can take one away with us in the motorhome,...

Apple Cider Vinegar’s Mum

When fighting illness, it is common to search for products that promote healing. One thing I searched for was a way of maintaining an alkaline body. We were told that cancer does not like an alkaline environment. Cancer cells apparently thrive in acidity (low pH), but...

Are we teens addicted to gaming?

Are you spending too much time gaming or on your mobile phone? A huge percentage of children play video games and studies show an unhealthy percentage can get addicted to them. Did you also know that the World Health Organisation have recognised gaming addiction as a...

Can you hear me?

Everyone has bad days. Some days are just worse than others! When we communicate with others it is important to feel that you are heard. How often do you feel that people talk over you? It happens in shops, especially as you get older, or with people who are too busy...

Understanding Dementia

Wendy was only 58 when she was diagnosed with dementia. This brave lady has written a book about her disease. I was listening to Radio NZ this morning and heard an interview with Wendy who spoke of her life now. She seemed to normalise the disease. A disease that has...

Bad sugar

There has been plenty of research done that tells us that a diet high in sugar is bad for our health. High cholesterol, high blood pressure, obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, inflammation are just a few health risks associated with consuming too much sugar. Not...

More rainbows please

Symbols of hope They say a rainbow is a symbol of hope. Rainbows are supposed to be a positive sign. They can bring a smile to the saddest person and lighten most people's moods. After my husband died I used to look out for them as I wondered about the belief in...

Create a “laugh alot” garden for kids

Remember those days of 'Lock down' which must have been incredibly hard on many people, but especially so if you were cooped up indoors with no space to play. Easy projects to keep the kids busy don’t always come to mind, but there are some that are clear winners....

Virus or bacterial infection?

With the spread of Omnicron, one of the variants of Covid-19, it is hard not to put every sniffle or tummy ache down to having the virus. This is essentially because, even though most of us who have been able to be vaccinated, have done so, most countries are having...

Mangoes are the fruit of eternal love

Who doesn't love a mango? I remember as a child eating mangoes in Africa - we would clean the stone and draw faces on it making it look like a hairy face! Later in Australia, we loved eating them and would include them in salads and puddings. The Mango is the...

Is Hashimotos Thyroiditis incurable?

 So you have Hashimoto's Thyroiditis? I was also diagnosed after many years of feeling unwell. At first, in Australia, I was tested for Ross River disease, and then the doctor sent me off to a Heart Surgeon who organised an angiogram for my heart, after I failed some...

Bounce back from illness

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Elephants of Etosha

An occasional grunt or yap of a foraging jackal punctured the surrounding silence.

It was early evening and the air was oppressive as we sat mesmerised, taut with the expectation of what we would see of this promised show. 

Two floodlights directed from our camp lit up the waterhole; evening shadows enveloped the surrounding trees.

The giant stage was set.

We were at the Okaukuejo camp in the Etosha game park in South West Africa, soon to be named Namibia. It was August 1990.

Our journey had taken us North West from East London in South Africa, more than two thousand kilometres from home, through Uppington and its huge dried fruit centre, through the magnificent Augrabies Falls and past prehistoric kookerboom (quiver) trees near Keetmanshoop;

We had seen pre-historic two- thousand -year old Welwitchia plants, had dined in quaint German restaurants in Windhoek, climbed the Waterberg Plateau and driven on to Etosha, via Tsumeb, whose mines produced one hundred and eighty four different minerals.

We had side tracked through two hundred kilometres of farmland, opened and closed sixteen gates to view the largest known meteorite in the world- the Hoba Meteorite;

It weighs fifty tons, is almost three metres long and up to one metre thick, and supposedly struck the earth eighty thousand years ago.

Yet none of those wonderful sights could match the sheer wonder that we felt when we viewed the elephants of Etosha.

Travelling through this huge park, we saw game en masse. The pans were low on water. There is no cover such as there is in the Kruger National Park and game was easy to spot.

The temperatures were in the high thirties and we were grateful for the cover of huge thorn trees when we needed to refresh ourselves in our camper van, our travelling home.

We had finally arrived at Okaukuejo camp’s entrance and after our evening meal, had walked over to watch at this gathering place.

Two jackals crept silently to the water hole, glancing behind them as they made their way across tree stumps, dried holes and ruts. Next came two black rhino, both trotting with heads held high.

The first sign of the elephants was a pungent smell of dung that drifted over the water and our eyes gradually focused on the herd coming out of the dark shadows of the trees.

Quietly and softly they trod, each following the other in a straight line. They numbered twenty-five in all.

Mums, Dads, Aunts, teenagers, toddlers and babies came into the clearing.

The leader, a huge tusked creature would throw its trunk into the air-moving it about like a telescope.

The herd  surrounded the waterhole as three male elephants stood  guard, each with its back to the waterhole. Mothers pushed and pulled babies out of trouble, while toddlers lay or rolled in the mud.

Teenagers tumbled together, gambolling and splashing through water, tugging at each other’s tails. Aunts kept watchful eyes on babies brave enough to venture into the water.

The leader now stood on three legs, keeping this position for several minutes, like a pointer over its master’s kill, repeating the process again and again; he trumpeted occasionally to let his presence be known.

We watched in awe for more than an hour and it occurred to me that we humans could learn a thing or two from this group, with their strong family ties, the camaraderie and the male reliability in its readiness to defend.

The elephants drank their fill and retreated as quietly as they had arrived.

The last elephant to leave was the big bull, feet marching firmly on the ground and trunk still waving, looking out for danger.

Young calves hooked their trunks into the calf in front, and Mums and Aunts shoo’d them along.

The black rhino drank on, quite unconcerned. 

The jackals had disappeared only to re-appear later in our camp to chew a tent’s rope and steal my sandal.

I think of that family of gentle elephants often and realise how privileged we had been to be able to be part of the audience that evening.

If only the human race could be as caring.

©2021 gentlelifehacks.com| Author| Doreen|Memories of Africa

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Mokopuna

A drawing by Maddie ( age 11)

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Unusual visitors

Unusual visitors

The red salt- packed road ran in a straight line up the Skeleton Coast of Namibia.

We had left behind the seal colony at Cape Cross a hundred miles back, where the stench of ammonia was so strong, that it brought tears to our eyes, and cleared the sinuses instantly.

We were the only travellers on that road at that time, where a permit had to be obtained to travel; it was for our own safety, should we get lost.

We had arrived at “Mile 108”, to the fishing spot where the warm current from the Amazon River in South America was reputed to reach the shores of the Skeleton Coast in South West Africa.

The waves crashed on to a shore littered with the bleached bones and skulls of a thousand seals.  The grey ocean stretched endlessly away and there was not a ship in sight.

However, the occasional shipwreck could be seen all along the coast, forlornly thrusting itself through the pebbled beaches.

We parked our campervan side on to the ocean. The knowledge that there were no human beings within a hundred kilometres or more made us feel like castaways on a desert island.

Driftwood and twigs that lay scattered everywhere were gathered and a good stone fireplace built behind the van and sheltered from the breeze.

The Skeleton coast in August was cool, not more than 17 Degrees Celsius and the mist that would envelope us when darkness came would feed the desert behind us.

It was time for our evening meal, fresh from the sea.

Harry cast into the bountiful ocean and within seconds hooked a six pound Copper Steenbras. As he cleaned and filleted the fish, I prepared the vegetables.

Then our guests arrived, a pandemonium of Pelicans, their pouches yapping beneath their bills.

What else can you call such a gathering?

Perhaps plenitude or even a pageant?

For not only were there many pelicans, but they were our entertainment too as their unwieldy shapes bumped each other and they rose into the air like lumbering Sikorsky helicopters, snatching fish entrails from each other.

When Harry finally threw the centre bone with head and tail attached, the cawing and squabbling became frantic and the winner quickly opened its mouth to swallow its prize;

The carcass jammed in the pouch, head one side and tail the other, and the outline in the now stretched skin gave the pelican a macabre grin the width of its body.

The fire was ready and I cooked part of the fish with lemon juice and butter; the new potatoes and fresh peas, purchased that morning in Hentjiesbaai, added delight to the meal; the bottle of white wine was the perfect accompaniment.

Our guests had departed flying in their cumbersome way back to wherever Pelicans sleep.

As we sat watching the ocean, and setting sun, we were silent, enjoying each other’s company.

It was the end of a deeply satisfying day. What more could a body want?

©2021 gentlelifehacks.com| Author| Doreen – Memories of Africa

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