Time to say goodbye

Well we have come to the end of our time in SA and what an emotional but great week. Sorry no pics this time but here are the highlights....

Monday

The last week at ikhaya is fun week where basically the normal programme is out and is replaced by all things fun and Christmassy! Mark led all the children in making decorations which included some rather nifty paper folding and colouring :) Very hectic and we probably decorated the floor more with glitter but great fun and ikhaya is looking very festive.

In the evening we hosted our last time with our home group which consisted of eating fish and chips, too much cake, a bit of time in the Jacuzzi (yes, we have been blessed with a hot tub during our stay!) and most importantly, the present game which is a bit of an advanced secret santa where you can swap each other's gifts if needed. Top gifts included the shoe wallet, loo roll and a tube of sweets which Mark later revealed he only wanted for the packaging (always the practical thinker!)

Great times and we are really going to miss this group who have been a great support to us while we've been here.

Tuesday

Christmas card making at ikhaya - in our own classes this time so a bit less hectic!

Wednesday

We bunked off ikhaya today to take in our gift of afternoon tea at Mount Nelson hotel, Cape Town. We were warned not to eat anything all day and so glad we didn't. We chose the tea experience which consisted of 5 different teas ranging from red bush to green blends all served in the glass set so you could see the infusion... ok sounds very geeky but it was actually a really nice experience. Food was amazing - what seemed like a million savory and sweet items which meant we were there for about 2 hours and pacing ourselves :)

Thursday

Practice and last bits for the Christmas party at ikhaya followed by dinner with Steve, Celeste and PJ (the family who we rent our apartment off). These guys have been great to us during our stay in what has been a crazy time for themselves.

Friday

Last day at ikhaya. We spent the morning putting up decorations and cooking the lunch (buffet food-pizza etc. which the kids don't usually get). All was looking good and then it was a bit of a wash out as the heavens opened (guess we need to get used to that again!). Still, didn't dampen our spirits and after the picnic we had songs from each class, presentation of certificates and what the kids were really waiting for, Christmas presents! We were given a huge card made by the children and some beautiful letters by the older girls. It was an emotional day especially hearing some of the older group who are leaving talking about their experience and what ikhaya has done for them. In the evening we went to Melt's for a braai with some of the guys involved in the Vineyard church which included Costa (the main guy) doing his Father Christmas bit - a bit of a light relief from a draining day :)

Weekend

Well today we are doing a few bits and bobs and may head out for dinner later. Tomorrow we'll be at church and then going out with some friends for lunch and saying our final goodbyes.

Some final thoughts

Thank you to everyone who has read this blog. It has meant a lot to us for so many people to take an interest and if it has inspired you in anyway, please check out ikhaya le themba and History Maker Foundation.

Thankyou to all who have supported us during our stay here:

Kim and Ian and Margy - for their hospitality and putting up up temporarily

Steve and Celeste - for their hospitality, generosity and support

Nathan - for his friendship 

Ikhaya staff and children - for all your love and being family to us

Rob and Nicky - for making us feel at home, transport and supporting us in many ways during our time here

Home group  - for fun, friendship and encouragement

Kenilworth and Shoreline church - for making us feel welcome

To everyone we've met - for making our first time in SA so memorable

I have certainly learnt a lot during our time here and am amazed at how far the 1800 pounds we raised back home went. I can definitely see us returning to Ikhaya one day as it is a wonderful place full of joy. We have been blessed in meeting a lot of new friends which I hope we will be able to maintain. Look forward to seeing all the guys at home soon. Mark x

Our time in South Africa has been an adventure. We came with open hearts and other than knowing we'd be working with the children and doing some touristy stuff, didn't really have an agenda so it's been amazing to experience the stuff we have. I will never forget the energy and joy the children and staff here have in what is often really hard circumstances...I hope that attitude is something that will stay with us. As far as visiting the country itself is concerned, one of the highlights for me is seeing elephants at the watering hole and our trip to Robben island.

To finish, a quote from a book given to me by my friend Joe who I have thought about so much during these 3 months...Nay x

Do not ask yourself what the world needs. Instead ask yourself what it is that makes you come alive. For what the world needs is people who have come alive.

Last Day Blues

Last Day

Its the last day today at Ikhaya and I am not looking forward to saying goodbye to the kids. We have already seen about a dozen of the usual suspects most of whom are celebrating passing the year and moving up to the next grade. But as sad as I am to leave I know that we have made a difference. Below is a table that shows what the money that we raised was used for at Ikhaya (in south African rand).

History Makers
Item	Amount
Received income	21687
Table Mountain Outing
transport	1740
food	1071.34
Kirstenbosch Outing
fee	1680
food	817
Groceries
Fruit & Veg (Sept) - 3 weeks	1330
Fruit & Veg (Oct) - 4 weeks	1774.28
Brito (meat - sept) - 3 weeks	2124
Brito (meat - oct) - 4 weeks	2473.3
Other
Packs for parents (Oct)	1900
Macro (monthly shop)	5348.55
Gifts (R20 per child for bday)	500
Packs for parents (Nov)	1000

The Packs for the parents were food parcels that feed the children over the half term break.

Its good to see that 1800 pounds went so far. This will be our penultimate post before we return on Monday to the UK and Im looking forward to seeing family and friends for some Christmas frivolity.

Catch you all soon
Mark 

Cinema, carols and red balloons

Seasons greetings (can't believe we're in December!!)

Another jam-packed week in South Africa....

House update

You may recall a couple of weeks ago that a family from ikhaya had a house fire. They are still in need of a few things but the good news is that they are back in their place which has been freshly painted, new windows etc. We have seen the mum a few times since and she is so thankful to everyone who has helped them. The way this community comes together is amazing and something we won't forget.

Monday

Grades 6-8

We had our final cooking lesson with our class which resulted in persuading them to pose for a photo with the cupcakes they had made (food is always a big motivator here as you can imagine!). We've made them all recipe books which hopefully they can use at home...definitely have some African Jamie Olivers here!

Grades 6-8 will be leaving ikhaya on Friday so it's going to be an emotional time for everyone I think. These guys have been with the project since it started but it's def time for them to move on and there is alot of stuff in the pipeline such as a weekly Friday night event.

Tuesday

It was our turn to host "Tea at 2" where basically each staff member takes a turn at preparing refreshments after the weekly meeting. This seems to have evolved from a cup of tea and cake to 2 course lunches! Not to be outdone by the traditional African meal or cake selections, we opted for a very English Ploughman's lunch and scones which seemed to go down quite well. Afterwards we were presented with an early thankyou gift.....afternoon tea at Mount Nelson hotel (a very posh place in Cape Town) which we will be enjoying on Wednesday. In the evening it was our last formal home group which, to fit in with American thanksgiving,  involved sharing the stuff we're thankful for. 

Wednesday

Sharing some popcorn

As a special treat, we took 12 of the leavers to one of the local cinemas to see Twilight: Breaking Dawn. We had a chance to look round the shopping centre first which the girls thoroughly enjoyed and as usual, were posing for photos at any opportunity (much to the annoyance of the security guards!). It's very strange to be seeing Christmas decs up...not quite the same when it's 30c! Anyway we haven't seen any of the Twilight series before (sorry all you vampire fans!) and neither had the group, but that didn't stop them from clapping enthusiastically when the baddies got killed and cheering at the end!! Afterwards we had some food where the management kindly gave us a free drink. For us quite a normal experience, but for these guys it was so exciting and even better that they had raised the ticket money themselves :) 

We stayed at Nicky's place in the evening as Mark wanted to watch West Ham v Man U (her team) - Mark wasn't too pleased with the result (1-0) but was good to watch with the opposition!

Friday

After a couple of days doing bit and pieces, on Friday evening we went to Shoreline church, Hout Bay for a picnic and carols. The weather wasn't the best so everyone had blankets laid out in the main building and shared food. The carols were led by musicians and singers from Ambleside school (where the church is held) and was a short but sweet event. The best bit was that some of the older kids from ikhaya wanted to come along so, as hectic as it always is, they got to hear some of it and hopefully they will continue to get involved more in the future.

Saturday

1st December is World Aids Day and ikhaya were hosting an awareness event which involved speakers, face painting, dance, drama, music and most importantly, the opportunity for people to be tested for HIV. It was an early start as Mark was doing his braai master bit again and I was helping to put up, what felt like a thousand red balloons (not an easy task when faced with the crazy Cape Town wind!) but a great day was had by all. The mural in one of the classrooms has been repainted to basically remind people about being responsible. All  the children are affected  whether it's themselves or through family members so it's something that you can talk about quite openly here. 

Parading through the township

Happy Feet - gumboot dancers

After a hot and hectic day we decided to go to the pub to watch England v NZ in the rugby end of year games. With a win of 38 to 21 we were both happy bunnies and were able to share the moment with some locals and a few Savannas!

That's about all for now. Here's to our final week in SA!!! 

A busy week

This has been one of our busiest weeks to date.

The week at Ikhaya had lots of ups and downs. The usual classes we have went ok but the kids are starting to wind down now as it's the end of their school year. Some of the kids have already left for the Eastern Cape where they go to visit family for Christmas. Thursday was a bit of a hectic day after some Football training with the guys and Bram (a volunteer from the Netherlands) we were on our way home when we heard a scream and and looked up to see smoke pouring out of one of the township houses. Realizing that the place was on fire Nay called the fire brigade (who despite being 500 yards down the road took 20+ minutes to arrive) while I joined about a dozen men from the township in trying to bring the fire under control. This was no easy task as we only had some small garden hoses and an array of buckets and containers that were filled with water. After 15 minutes and a few brave men who pulled a flaming bed and mattress out of the house whilst it was still alight we managed to put the fire out. The devastation wrought in such a small space of time was shocking. The entire back bedroom was gutted along and most of the remaining things in the house were covered in smoke and water. Extraordinarily there were no major injuries just a lot of people coughing up smoke. It was only after the fire had been put out and I was standing in the house burnt out house that I noticed the pictures on the mantle piece were of one of the kids from Ikhaya.

The kids warming up to pull some moves 

Friday was a stark contrast of Thursday as we went round to the house to see if there was anything else that we could do. When we arrived at just after noon. we found about 18-20 people from the community all helping to clear the house. All the furniture had been removed, the windows were being replaced, the damaged wall in the back bedroom had been taken back and was being rebuilt and the joists in the ceiling that were damaged were being replaced. I was amazed at how much work was already being done and by how much the community had rallied round the family. There was little we could do to help at the time but we were able to get some supplies for the renovation (paint, brushes, turps and food for the busy workers). The day got progressively better from then on and we had a break from the Ikhaya program and had a fun day with the kids. Later that evening we took 10 of the grade 6-8 kids to the Shoreline church youth group where they had a RnB and Break dancing demonstration on. As always I had to pull a few moves and show them that despite being 30 I still had it, plus I learnt a few more moves.

Nay at the rhodes memorial

Mark, Rob and Nicky at Cape Point

Bedingfield concert

Boulders Beach

 The Weekend was good and we spent some time chilling on Saturday morning before going to a Braai to watch the rugby with a few friends. To lose by a point was a pain so I had to console my self by tucking into some braaied Snoek (fish). Sunday we took a road trip with Rob and Nicky and went around the Cape peninsular. We started by having a drive around Cape Town university and the Rhodes memorial before having brunch in Kalk bay and heading down to Boulders beach were we saw penguins. We then went onto Cape Point were we saw lots of Baboons and climbed up a steep hill to get a great view. We then had a late lunch at Chapmans peak before heading off to see Daniel Bedingfield in an open air concert at Kirstenbocsh. 

Until next time...................

An African adventure

Hi peops. Here's what we've been up to this week....

Friday Day

We took a day out of Ikhaya and made our way by bus to Cape Town. There we spent the day doing touristy things like going to the Dutch Fort, District six museum and Green Square market.

Friday night

Ethiopian food

 

We went to the African dance theatre which is basically an hour-long show which shows the history of African music and dance. It was amazing and we were tired just watching the cast! Afterwards we went to an Ethopian restaurant and tried some traditional food which consisted of a meat and vegetable platter and a mountain of pancake style bread which you use as your knife and fork. Couldn't eat it all but yum! That and the jungle-like decor made for a lovely evening.

 

Saturday

Well thanks to Ryan and Karlie (my bro and sis-in-law) we were up early to go to Aquila private game reserve for a safari. It's about 2 hours out of Cape Town and after the coach journey with the slightly stressed driver (the joys of African time!) we arrived where we were given a sparkling wine (never too early!!) and a buffet breakfast. After a quick nose around the resort it was time to jump on our safari truck and, armed with some binoculars, do my best Dora the Explorer impression. The elephants, zebra, ostriches, rhino. buffalo, springbok, wilderbeast were all out to play but best of all were the lions (about 100ft away, the mountain kind) One decided to pose in true Lion King style for the tourists! .

 

 We've found the South African domestic cat!!

 

After our time with the animals it was back to the resort for more food, drink and a quick relax by the pool before heading back on the coach. We can now also add the South African bus service to our transport list - timetables don't exactly exist here but thankfully we found one that would take us back to Hout Bay.

 

Sunday

 

A great service at Kenilworth Vineyard church (we love the fact it's so like our own with whoever is taking the service having to call people by name to sit down so we can start!) we some friends who were giving us a lift wondered if we'd mind going to an open house in Constantia (the wine distrct nearby). Another chance to have a glass and some food in the sun....it's going to be interesting heading back to UK winter!

 

 

Life at ikhaya le themba

 

Well we're into our last 2 weeks of teaching and a fun week before term ends. We are planning the Christmas party and helping to send off the older students who will be leaving. I'm putting together a cook book of the recipes they have been doing in their cooking lessons and I think the plan is to make some certificates and other prizes..a bit like graduation I guess. There's a real sense of wanting to make them feel special despite the fact they have a grown out of ikhaya which is great to see.Should be an interesting few weeks and we're just making the most of the time we have left. Many of the children head to the Western Cape for Christmas so there is alot of excitement about that and Mark has been asked to do the Father Christmas bit! Unfortunately his attempt at growing a moustache for Movember only lasted a couple of days so he'll definetly be borrowing a white beard if needed :). Mark has also been helping out with the grounds and along with Phila (site manager) and Bram (volunteer from Holland) dug a trench to divert some contaminated water away from the Ikhaya entrance.

 

Coming up this weekend....run on Saturday, England v SA rugby, road trip to Cape Point and Daniel Bedingfield in concert at the botanical gardens.....Think we'll be coming home for a rest :)

 

The final third

Greetings one and all.

We have had another busy week teaching the kids. One of the highlights certainly being the girls that Nay has been teaching music to, leading worship on Friday's assembly. Also we finally managed to Skype Nay's school  and some of the girls here did a traditional African dance for the assembled masses of Lexden Springs!

I have managed a few runs this week including a large hill run which was about 6-7km as I'm planning to do a charity fun run on the 24th of this month.

The weekend was quite quiet as we looked to chill a bit before the last 4 weeks which are shaping up to be a bit manic. So Saturday we headed down to the beach for some tanning before going to the yacht club to watch the Rugby (England vs Fiji). Unfortunately the African sun is very unforgiving and after only an hour in the sun between 11am and 12pm I had gotten a little red (this was mainly due to poor spreadage of the the sun cream). OOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCCHHHHHHHHHHHH.

So Sunday was a sit in doors covered in after sun day. Oh well you live and learn.

We have a lot in the pipe line the next few weeks as we move to towards the end of the term.
It's fair to say that we are going to miss this place when we leave but we are looking forward to seeing all our friends and family when we return.

Here are a few images that you haven't seen yet.

Me enjoying some ZEBRA pate in addo elephant park..... mmmm tasty

One of the amazing formations in the Cango Caves

Nay gets an Ostrich neck massage.

The whole group on the table mountain trip

Nobel Square in cape town

Compare the Meerkat (Day)

Hello one and all

 

Grandad's marble game

Well another busy week at ikhaya ending in Market Day on Saturday which is basically their summer fete.After an enormous shopping trip on Friday,  Mark was in charge of all things "manly" including collecting and blowing up the jumping castle (that's bouncy to us!) and of course  the braai. I chose to share a piece of home with the children here as I ran a marble game which is a family Christmas tradition introduced by my dear Grandad Goody! The children, armed with their 1 rand (about 8p), were queueing up to play and couldn't get enough of it - amazing what you can do with a pack of marbles, a baking tray and a hole in the top of a big yogurt pot!

 



 



Hello Kitty!

 .

Now when I say queueing, it's not exactly accurate as I don't think the word exists over here - more of a disorganised bundle particularly when it came to getting the bargains on the second hand clothes stall and castle (which I had to help deflate by rolling across it!!). Still, a lot of fun had by all and great for the local community to come together - often people don't realise events at ikhaya are for all but I think the crazy flyering worked this time (we have been handing out all week - the local children are excited to get a bit of paper regardless of what it is about!). Grand total of just over R3000 (around 220 pounds) was raised.

 

Coming up this week...more cooking for Mark as he tries shnoek (the local fish fav) with Margy tonight and tomorrow cooking for our lovely home group. Maybe a spot of rugby watching on Sat as England take on Fiji which should also be interesting in a few weeks time when we take on SA!

 

Well that's all for now folks x

 

P.S We are now 2 hours ahead from UK time :)

 

 

A tale of two islands

Greetings one and all

Another busy week in the life of the Snellings....

IKHAYA UPDATE

 

We are getting stuck in with teaching the older kids which has lead to some "interesting" cooking lessons, the start of a worship drumming group and discussions on the Olympics, HIV and yet more moles! (the skin type that is!). On Tuesday we were able to skype with my parents and my class at Lexden...the children here haven't quite got the hang of the webcam yet as about 10 of them were all crammed round the camera but it was great to start making the connections!

 

Kirstenboch

 

 

On Friday we took the children out on the second trip funded by our supporters to Kirstenboch botanical gardens. Unfortunately the weather was a little on the wet side but all the groups (42 kids in total) managed to have a walk round as well as join in indoor activities including flower collages, plant investigation and interactive food chains. There were less people then planned so we all mananged to go on the coach arranged with Kirstenboch which was yet another opportunity for singing and dancing. This, topped with the extra lunches the children all received, made for a great trip for all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Saturday we are having Market Day which is basically Ikhaya's summer fete to raise funds. There will be stalls selling second hand clothes, bric a bric and Mark will be on the braai. Having had a few weeks where funding has been a concern here, God has provided the finance for ikhaya to run fully until the end of January so hopefully this will be another chance to raise support.

 

 WHAT ELSE HAVE WE BEEN UP TO THIS WEEK?

 

Seal Island

On Wednesday morning the sun was shining and the sea was calm so we decided to take the trip to seal island which is basically a small island about 15 mins from Hout Bay Harbour which hosts a colony of 1000+seals. Beautiful!

 

 

 

Robben Island

Having enjoyed some fish and chips and live music at Hout Bay Harbour on Friday night, on Saturday we took the trip from Cape Town waterfront to visit Robben Island Museum - where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 18 years.

In true African time, the ferry was running a bit late but the bonus was a spontaneous performance by a gospel choir who were keeping themselves entertained while they waited. Music runs in the blood here. Amazing!

 

The island is named after the Dutch word for seal and before it was used for prisoners, was a site to send lepers, those with diasbilites and anyone else deemeed as "outcasts', unable to live with the rest of the city.

 

 

We had a tour of the prison by an ex-political prisoner which I found very moving as he described his experience and the conditions he and his comrades survived in. He said he didn't hold any grudges against the authorities and was obviously proud of his fight for equality here. Having recently finished Mandela's Long Walk to Freedom, it was interesting to see and here it all in real life. Very humbling...

 

 

 

 

In the evening we watched West Province thrash the Sharks rugby team in the Currie cup. I decided that I would support the winning team so changed my support half way through! A great time with friends at Melt's who is the leader of Kenilworth Vineyard church - another wine drinking ex-rugby playing vicar!!

 

Chapman's Peak

 

 

Not very far from our flat is the start of Chapman's Peak drive, a beautiful coastal route which we decided to walk yesterday. A bit tough on the old legs but so worth the view. In fact walking has been a bit of a feature in our time here as we take the half hour hilly trip to ikhaya every day and back. It's been the best way to get to know people around Imizamo Yethu (township)  which (as I keep reminding myself) we would have missed out on if we were able to afford a car here. Joe, you would be proud of my walking boots :)

 

 

Well nearly time for our computer class to start

With our love especially to what we hear is beginning to get a chilly UK xx

 

 



A closer look at Hout Bay

Hello everybody Peeps!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's been a busy week since our last post. We have had a lot of good lessons with the children from computers, cooking, reading and writing to Rugby. The kids are great fun to be around but can become a bit of a handful when dealing with them on mass.

Township entrance sign

Township sewage system

 On Tuesday we took a tour of the township with a guy called Afrika (Yes that's his real name). Afrika took us on an extended tour that included the clinic where they treat HIV/AIDS and TB among many things. Afrika explained that the township was originally set up for 2500 people but to date the population was more like 40,000. It's amazing how some of these structures stay up as many of them are nothing more then a wooden frame with flimsy bits of metal used as a skin. There are some concrete built properties which were built by an Irish charity though I'd say there was at most about 200 of these.

Township view

A lot of the properties (98%) don't have running water and have the use of a shared toilet with anything up to 50 other families. As part of the tour we looked inside several of the homes. The occupants were very welcoming and had a lot of pride in their homes. We managed to get to talk to a lot of the township people and it is a testament to them that they are both creative and resourceful when it comes to making a living. The vast majority will happily work all the hours to provide for their family.

Feeding a seal at the harbour

The rest of the week past pretty quickly after the tour although a stomach bug has started to now make its way round the staff at Ikhaya. I've managed so far to avoid it, nay was off ill for a day. Fortunately she recovered in time for the weekend which due to some dodgy weather saw us explore a bit more of the harbour area where we found a small market (bay market) which was a pleasant mix of stalls selling jewellery  art, food and drink which had a very similar vibe and atmosphere that you might find in Camden. After a tasty lunch (and the purchase of some spicy olives) we walked along to the area of the harbour where the boat trips go from, unfortunately as the wind was picking up and the weather getting worse we were unable to take a trip to seal island.

Sunday we went to a church service at Ikhaya which was attended by a lot of the families from the township that have children at Ikhaya and many people from the kenilworth vineyard group. It was an amazing service that even the rain couldn't dampen. After the service we again went exploring this time on the other side of the harbour at the start of the Chapman's peak trail were we visited the smallest pub in Africa and had a tasty roast lunch.

We have another busy week ahead as we are taking the kids to Kirstenboch botanical gardens on Friday.

Bye for now
Mark and Nay xx

Term 4, Table Mountain and (Bus) Trip

Life at Ikhaya

Well on return from our road trip last week saw the start of Term 4 at ikhaya which will take us through until 7th Dec (in SA schools have 4 terms a year, with a long break over Christmas). We will mostly be supporting grades 6-8 (top end of secondary) with Mhinti which will cover Sisa's work (he has been released to begin church planting in the township). Sessions include cooking, ICT, English comprehension and life skills. Thursdays have been handed over to us so Mark is getting thrashed by the boys in rugby and I am working with a musician called Gideon who is interested in starting a project with children with learning disabilities in the future.  We will be teaching and sharing worship songs in view for the older ones to lead worship themselves when they leave the project to begin their own thing in January. It's quite a challenge (as working with teenagers always is!) but we are beginning to build some good relationships. Language isn't really a major problem as most of the children here speak very good English, however they do sometimes need reminding to use it rather than Xhosa! (we are learning a few phrases and have become Noma (the housekeeper's) pupils :)) 

Discussing music

Table Mountain

On Friday we finally managed to take the children to Table Mountain (one of the trips we were raising money for). 70 African children + 6 minibus taxis + cable car = an interesting experience!! The taxis there alone were exciting enough...they can  only be described as mini party buses as the children asked for "volume, volume" for the music which could give any Ibiza club a run for it's money! Remember the lack of seat belt rule and you can imagine the scene :)

After waiting for the cable car, Mark, myself and the other staff took the rather unsuccessful role as crowd control as soon as the door opened. Thankfully we all survived but you have to feel sorry for the guy one the radio with his attempt at telling the group the rules on the mountain! At the top we were given some information about the natural sights including the 5 venomous snakes that live there and then we stopped for lunch ( 100 hot dogs lovingly prepared by us and some of the kids at ikhaya!) before heading back down. 

One of the things I have noticed is that the children are photographed by any tourist at any given time (we don't count as tourists if we're working at ihaya hehe). Now whilst I agree they are a beautiful "attraction" it seems very strange to me that people find it OK to do this without asking permission at least. The kids however seem to like it and will pose at any given opportunity :)

Anyway a short but sweet trip was had by all (I think Mark and I will be returning on our own before we leave though!)

Preparing lunch

Cape Town bus tour

So like all good cities these days, CT has it's own hop on hop off bus tour which we took over this weekend. 

Saturday - Peninsula tour took as round the beautiful beaches and into the city where we stopped at Victoria and Alfred waterfront, Company garden, canal cruise and South Africa museum to name a few things. 

Sunday - City tour which included Table Mountain (viewed in 101 ways!),  District 6 ( a residential areas which was wiped out during apartheid) and ended with the wine tour. We only made it to one vineyard but nice to sample the local produce and share with friends at a braai in the evening :)

So we are now settled into our flat where we'll stay for the remainder of our trip. We are right next to the harbour, shops and access to public transport so a bit of comfort at the end of each day. It is blowing a bit of a gale today though so I can definitely say "oh my hat" (a phrase used at ikhaya or possibly SA in general!). Til the next time..Nay x

Road Trip

So on Saturday 29th of September we started a road trip to Port Elizabeth (and back) in our trusty steed a 1.4 litre city golf (lent to us by Rob's Mum) and have covered over 2000km which is a greater distance then travelling from John O Groats to Lands End (and back again). We have seen many wondrous sites from Baboons having a turf war across a main road to a Nay almost being thrown off of an ostrich's back whilst at a farm tour. This trip saw several miracles happen the main one being that I managed to stay awake for the whole journey and did not fall asleep once.

Nay and our trusty stead at Bontebok national park.

Driving
It's fair to say that our South African cousins mostly like to travel at speed. They tend to sit as close to the rear of the car in front as humanly possible if the car in front is not going fast enough which is not to dissimilar to back home. It's always interesting to drive with Nay as the quiet and polite Essex girl we all know and love disappears and a ragging torrent of abuse streams from her lips which is generally followed by a quick apology and a blessing to the passing driver that has passed within several inches whilst taking over on a bend.  SaturdayWe started at 8am from Hout Bay and made our way through the suburbs to the N2. We travelled for several hours across some breath taking scenery until we arrived to our first stop off point at Swellendam where we stayed at a backpackers hostel in a shed (an actual garden sized shed with a double bed).  We went to Bontebok national park (just outside of Swellendam) where we were hopping to see some Boks and some Zebra. Despite driving around the whole park we didn't really see many animals but the scenery was beautiful. Later that day we headed to a pub that we had found in Swellendam and watched the South Africa vs Australia rugby game (supporting the spring boks - sorry Ryan). After that we went back to the hostel and stayed in the garden shed.

Bontebok national park

Our (Shed) accommodation in Swellendam

Sunday
We got another early start as we had a lot of distance to cover to get to Plettenberg Bay where we were hoping to get some relaxing beach time in the 25 degree clear blue sky that had been forecast. After several stops and some minor diversions (accidents and road works) we arrived at about 12-12.30ish and booked into another backpacker hostel which had lovely rooms (not sheds). After exploring the area (on foot) we found a lovely sandy beach were we settled down for a quick tanning session. Later that evening we had a great meal (seafood platter) before heading back to the hostel.

Plettenberg Bay

Monday
The final leg of our journey started well as we continued down the N2 passing fields of Ostriches and entering into the Tsitsikamma national park where we saw a Baboon sitting at the roadside waiting to be fed by passing motorists. We did however got slightly lost coming into Port Elizabeth and spent 2 hours driving around lost before a kind garage employee drew us a map to get us back on our desired route. After arriving finally at Fountain Vineyard church we registered for the conference and was giving our accommodation which was with a lovely couple called Divan and Lenee and their 2 excitable dogs a Ridgeback and a Terrier. We then spent a few hours on the beech enjoying the sun before making our way to the hosts. After unpacking we made our way down to the Fountain Vineyard church for the opening of the conference (Nay will fill you in more on this later)

Our hosts at Port Elizabeth

Tuesday
We had a full day of conferencing with a lovely walk along a beach on the Sacramento Trail .

Port Elizabeth Sacremento trail

Wednesday
This was a great day as we went to ADDO Elephant park which was amazing. We spent all day driving around the park and saw some wonderful animals. We saw many types of Boks and Antelopes, Elephants, Snakes, Tortoises, Water hogs, Water Buffalo, Monkeys, Zebra and an amazing array of birds from Ostriches to Cape Hawks.

A pack of Elephants take a pit stop at a watering hole

Thursday
Was another full day at the conference which ended in a banquet including some live music and Mark being one of the few people in traditional African dress!
Friday 
Another early start as we started our trip back towards Cape Town. We made our way back down the N2 for a while before driving onto the R62 and heading towards Oudtshoorn where we visited the Cango Caves before having a braai in the evening at our final pit stop.

Nay in the Cango Caves

Saturday
We went to Cango wildlife ranch and Cango ostrich farm which was where nay nearly got thrown from an ostriche's back. At Cango wildlife ranch we saw some of the rare big cats from a WHITE lion to a White strip less Bengal tiger. This was followed by a private tour of an Ostrich farm which was an interesting experience.

Mark and a cute bird in Cango wildlife ranch (before it took a dump on my shoulder and flow away)

Nay straddles an Ostrich before nearly getting thrown off.

Sunday
Our final day saw us cover a lot of distance on the way back to cape town and our apartment in which we will be staying for the remainder of our trip. We saw a lot of baboons as we passed through the mountains and after a slight detour made our way safely back.

Some thoughts from the conference....
So our conference in Port Elizabeth was the 30th anniversary Vineyard Leaders event. Nicky (director of Ikhaya) and her husband Rob invited us along as they have been involved in the Vineyard movement of churches for a long time etc. Basically in the mornings and evenings there was a time of worship (led by Tony Sanchez and some great songwriters from the area) bible reading and preaching from different people including Christy Wimber (one of the founding members of Vineyard).
These things can get pretty intense but a great chance to meet some different people and think again about who, what, where and how. As we consider our future and the rest of our time here we have been challenged to think more about what God is up to rather than asking "what are we doing?".

Knowing what Mark has already said about my driving it was quite funny that during one of the meetings I got a random thought/picture about a map and a sat nav. We were then asked to pray for each other and the guy next to me (who will hopefully accompany Mark to watch some footie in Cape Town) prayed (not knowing what I'd just written down) that God would guide us like a sat nav .... We'll have to wait and see whether a Yoda voice from heaven appears!! 

If you've got to the end of this then thankyou for reading and goodnight :)

love

Mark and Nay xxxx