Perfect conditions for mooning in the Karoo
Streaking in the moonlight and having a skinny dip with the kids, that is what the pastor is up to whilst the rest of the church are at Sunday evening service, and no, I don’t feel even a little bit guilty. For one thing the joy on my daughter’s face makes it all worth it, secondly we find ourselves way out on an ostrich farm in a very remote part of the Groot Karoo, and no-one else is around. (We think!) Finally tonight I find myself in a far more impressive cathedral. Mountains buttress the magnificent roof of African stars, it is not lit by candles but the moon is so bright that you could almost read a hymnal if needed but that isn’t necessary as worship is simple, repetitive and beautiful tonight provided by the continuing prayer of the Liturgy bird (Fiery necked Night jar) whose cry of “Good Lord deliver us” rings out across the valley. I might not be in church but I am in worship. It is great to be on leave and exploring our beautiful country. We began two nights ago stopping off in Grahamstown with our great friends the Ter Morshuizen’s who have a wonderful fish farm and tree nursery perched on a hillside overlooking Grahamstown. Then the next day we found ourselves just outside Port Elizabeth in a small village called Seaview. We wandered through beautiful indigenous forests in the late afternoon after lunch at a small restaurant in the village. The walk was awesome the lunch sadly was poor. We should have been alerted when we saw the sign outside which advised us “We do not serve fast food, we serve good food as fast as possible” That degree of insecurity about the service may have a root somewhere I feel, as the reality was that they served very mediocre food incredibly slowly. Thankfully the restaurant was perched almost on the rocks overlooking the sea and the location ameliorated the cuisine. Last night we stayed at a wonderful establishment called “Blackwaters” near Knysna. As we drove in we were greeting by a bakkie with “Fiebiger building services” emblazoned on the side, and later found out that the owners of the resort are actually distant relatives of Debbie’s! Daniel and myself ended the afternoon with a quick round of golf on the little mashie course they had on the property. This morning I got up early and went for a swim in the aptly named black waters of the river that runs through the property in an attempt to offset the inevitable upturn in my calorie intake on holiday. The water was the colour of very strong cup of tea due to tannin that leaches into the river from the surrounding forests. All the same it was fun to swim in especially when my son Daniel joined me later in the morning. For lunch we boarded the John Benn a Lagoon cruiser and ate whilst viewing the Knysna Heads. A bit of shopping and then we trekked out via Oudshoorn to this beautiful spot. It is amazing how even out here in today’s age you hear the news, and you can access the net. Hence the blog update! One thought about the current news. Does it strike any one as interesting that the Chilean earthquake happened near Conception and that it registered 8.8 on the Richter scale? 8 is the number of new beginnings, Conception is….a new beginning! Hmmm. A massive shift just occurred, something is about to be born, there is a new beginning in the offing. What is it? A Mystery!
