BOTSWANA-KHAMA RHINO SANCTUARY

BOTSWANA-KHAMA RHINO SANCTUARY

TUESDAY 28^TH MAY

After an early start we drove to Martin’s Drift border post. The border post was nice and quiet and we got through relatively easily. We stopped at a Spar in Palaypye, which has a power station just outside that is basically the powerhouse of Botswana. Her we got some groceries at a Spar and filled up with diesel.  We drove through and on towards Khama Rhino Sanctuary. Botswana has a very South African feel to it compared to Moz & Malawi, so you feel quite at home. The locals we have encountered have been extremely friendly & helpful.

MITCH: Khama Rhino Sanctuary 28-30 May

Today we left for Botswana. It was quite a long drive to our first destination- Khama Rhino Sanctuary. When we arrived we saw some beautiful birds, the Grey Go-Away bird  a Loerie and when I was walking around I saw a big wood pecker. It was beautiful. After we had set up we went to the restaurant and had some chips, we also had a swim. When we got back to the restaurant Aimee, Bryce & I went exploring. This campsite does not have electricity but it has hot water and clean ablutions. Today we had a lazy morning watching the birds at the campsite, but in the afternoon we went for a game drive.

 At the first watering hole we saw springbok, gemsbok, giraffe, a jackal, impala and white rhino. Did you know that the white rhino and black rhino are the same colour but it is said that the Eouropeans gave them there names by the way they carried their babies. White people in front, as the white rhinos do and they have squarer mouths for grazing grass.The black rhinos let their babies follow to protect them from bush as the black people carry babies  at the back, the black rhinos are smaller & eat the leaves off bushes. This is just one theory. The Khama rhino santuary started off with 8 rhinos and now they have 48. That is a big increase. While we were on the way too the next watering we saw 1 weildebeist and 6 white rhino. When we got to the next watering hole we saw a small baby and a mother. afterthe game drive we we back too the campsite. The Khama rhino santuary started off with 8 rhinos and now they have 48. That is a big increase. While we were on the way too the next watering we saw 1 weildebeist and 6 white rhino. When we got to the next watering hole we saw a small baby and a mother. afterthe game drive we we back too the campsite.

AIMEE:

Before we started our game drive we learnt everyones names Mufui and

Dan nice and easy. On the game drive first we saw a watering hole and at

the watering hole we saw buck,giraffe,wild dog and best of all Rhino

we learnt that Europeans gave the black and white Rhino their names

because the black ladies carry the babies on their backs and the

black Rhino keep the babies behind them and the white ladies

 put there babies in prams in front of them and white Rhinos

keep there babies in front of them. Soon the game drive was

over and it started to get cold we sat around the fire and had supper.

In the morning we packed up and left for Planet Baobab. When

we got to planet baobab we swam and soon it was night time.

BRYCES: BOTSWANA-TUESDAY 28/5/2013

Today we left Warmbaths @ about 4:45am for Botswana. We arrived at the Border Post. It did not take long until we were in Botswana. Not far from the Border Post we did see a few Baboons. On the way to Khama Rhino Sanctuary we stoped in Palapye to get fuel and groceries. Did you know that the Pula which is Botswana's currency is stronger than the Rand. We finally arived at Khama Rhino Sanctuary. There are lots of beautiful birds here and when you keep quiet you can hear the birds tweeting and the bushes moving. For supper we had a braai & once we had eaten we sat around the fire and listened to the sounds of nature.

WEDNESDAY 29/5/2013

This morning we just relaxed and in the afternoon went on a game drive. We saw lots of White Rhino, Impala, Zebra, Giraffe,, Gemsbok, Osttrich and we saw a Red Hartebeast. It was wonderful seeing so many animals especialy the the White Rhino. We sat around the fire and had our supper.

THURSDAY 30/5/2013
Today we left Khama Rhino Sanctuary to go to Planet Baobab.

Buffelspoort & Cradle of Humankind

BUFFELSPOORT - STERKFONTIEN CAVES - MAROPENG - WARMBATHS
SATURDAY 25TH MAY - MONDAY 27TH MAY
MONDAY  27^TH MAY

LAUREN:After leaving the Allen’s  we headed to the Sterkfontein Caves where we did a guided tour of the caves. The guide we had was awesome, informative & really funny. We then walked up the stairs to the outside where we got a photo with the Dr Robert Broom statue and walked to where the excavation site of Mrs Ples was. In the caves there is an underground lake that some Wits diving students came to explore. The deepest they could go was 40 metres & still hadn’t touched the bottom. They went along the caves for a couple of kilometers but could still not find the source. Unfortunately one of the divers rope snapped & he did not make it back. After placing a certain type of dye  in the,”cave lake” it showed up about 70km away.

From the caves we went to Maropeng Exhibition Centre, it is really worth a visit and there was a lot to take in. First we walked through the exhibition and then you head underground to go on an underground river on tubes through the evolution of the age. From Ice Age to fire. After this there is another exhibition underground where you can telephone extinct animals and find out more about them e.g. dodo, mammoth.

When we had finished at Maropeng and the Cradle of Humankind we headed to Warmbaths. After we set up we headed for the supertubes and  outside hot pools. We had an early supper at Panarottis at Warmbaths and then went to the inside pools for a swim before heading back to campsite for an early night as we were heading to Botswana early in the morning.

MITCH: Sterkfontein Caves and Warm Baths 28 May

Today we went to Sterkfontein Caves. The Sterkfontien caves are a world heritage site and famous for two discoveries: Little Foot by Ron Clark and Phillip Tobias and Mrs (Mr) Ples by Dr Robert Broom my great, great grandfather. Little Foot the most important discovery in the world because they found a almost complete body very close together. We also went on a tour in the Caves. We learned about Stalagmites and stalagtitest. Stalagmite is the rock on the bottom and Stalagtite is on the top. A way to remember it is termites are on the ground and you have to grip tight to climb. In one of the chambers there were rocks in the shapes of animals. After that we went to Maropeng museum. It has an under ground museum. We went down a moving  passage were you get dizzy and we also went on a boat and we went through all the stages of water. In the museum there was a place where we could call animals. I called a dodo. After that we left for warm baths. When we arrived we went for a swim.

BRYCE:MONDAY 27/5/2013

Today we went to Sterkfontein Caves. They used to be mined for lime stone and are now a national heritage site. Little foot was found in Sterkfontein Caves and is the most importent discovery in the world because it was the most full body ever found. Mrs/mr Ples which was found by my great great grandfather Dr Robet Broom was also found around the Sterkfontein Caves. It was a skull that had both human and ape features. We went into the caves and here are some of the things we learned. We learned that pillars are formed when stalagmites meet with stalagtites. A stalagtite rock that forms from the roof down and is formed by acid rain and the cemicals in the rock, when they drip down they dry and form rock. Because there is not much wind in the caves it takes a while to dry which means that some of the water that dosn't dry up falls diectly down and starts to form a stalagmite which grows from the ground up. It takes a couple of hundred years to form a pillar. After this we went to Maropeng. Our guides name was Norman he took us from the past to the present, we first looked at the outside displays & then took us inside where we went on an under ground boat trip. We went through the underground caves on a tube on a type of rapid. It was very exciting. After this we left for Warmbaths. We were so happy because we could go on the super tubes was lots of fun and we would race each other.

Jhb: GOLD REEF CITY-Wednesday 22nd May 2013

GOLD REEF CITY: Wednesday 22 May 2013

AIMEE: Today we  went to Gold reef City and learnt a lot about mining. In the olden days the miners used candles as it was so dark down there and there was not electricity yet in the mines. We went down the mining shaft in a cage to 225 metres to Level 5. We had to wear hard hat helmets in case we bumped our heads or rocks fell down. We also had to take a light with us as it is soooooo dark down there!!!!!! We switched our lights off and couldn’t see a thing, it was pitch black.

While we were going down the mine shaft, I kept thinking how difficult the miners jobs must have been. Imagine being in the mine all of the day time and never getting to see the light and when you come up after working it is dark. The guide told us that as you go deeper the temperatures can get to 36 degrees celcius. No 1.Mining is very dangerous and can be bad for your lungs or No 2.Rocks can fall and break your bones or get trapped. No 3 It is really, really bad for your eye sight. There was one funny thing they said that if you run your finger across the rock with gold in it and rub it behind your ear, it will bring you good luck.

MITCH'S POST: Today we dropped Granny Joyce at school and then borrowed her car to go to Gold Reef City. I was so excited. The first thing we did was wander through the old village that they have preserved all the old houses. The first house we went into was the Ohlthaver House. In this house we saw all the rooms displayed as if you were living in those days, there were old embroidery needles, trunks, shoe boxes and beautiful dresses & old furniture. Mr Olthaver took part in four sports that we could find equipment for: there were old fashioned bowling balls & bag, golf clubs, hunting rifles and fencing.

The next house we went to was the Oosthuizens house and this was a very fancy house with fancy plates. tablecloths. I was so amazed at how they have restored all these old houses back to how it was in those days. We saw shoe horns for putting on your shoes, hat boxes for storing hats, special boxes for keeping collars of shirts in shape.



In the bedrooms there were jugs and bowls for washing yourselves before running water and before electricity there were coal stoves in the kitchen. The bathrooms were mostly outside the house and had long drops for toilets, they were called outhouses.

The last house we went to was the Dowse House. What I liked about this house is that they had a old fashioned homeschool room in it. The English children from the area came to this house to learn. There was an old fashioned calculator, an abacus. They used to write on slate boards with chalk.

After this we went on a mining tour under the ground. Did you know the mine bagan in 1909 and closed in 1977. Bryce is going to give more information on the mine excursion. We went on a roller coaster and when we were standing in line, Aimee and I were saying, "Lets go, lets go!" All Bryce was saying, " I don't want to go, I don't want to go!" The guy sitting behind us started praying," God let me rest in peace." When we went down the track Bryce screamed louder Aimee's friend Leah and she can scream. 

BRYCE'S POST: This morning we went to Gold Reef City. The best part was when we went down the mine. This was the first mine established in the gold rush, It is the deepest mine in the world at about 3700m deep. It closed down in 1977. the mine has 57 levels but we only went to Level 5 which is 225m deep. The lower parts of the mine are flooded with water which was rushing just 70 metres below where we were standing. It is evidently rising by 3 metres a month. Before jackhammers were used and invented it would take them 8 hours to chisel and hammer out a 1 metre hole whereas the jackhammers took 5 minutes.

They place holes in the rock and then place sticks of dynamite in which they blow up to create more tunnels to access the gold.

The miners had 3 shifts a day and the mie was open for 24 hours. It took two hours to get to the bottom of the mine by the elevator cage and 2 hours to return to the surface. The original electricity system that converts is still working. The Kimberly quartz Rock in that reef contains gold, silver, copper and zinc.

The steel drums that the rock is transported in are called cocopans and it would take 2 men to push it as it could hold 1 ton which only gave 4 grams of gold.

THURSDAY 23^RD MAY – SUNDAY 26^TH MAY

MITCH: Today was Granny’s birthday. After we had dropped Granny off at school we went to Spur for breakfast. After breakfast we went  back to  Granny’s school. Mom dropped Aimee, Bryce and I off because my dad had arrived in Joburg. While we were at the school we had lots of fun and Travis showed us all around his school. After school had finished  we went back to Granny Joyce’s  house and saw Dad. In the evening Aunty Shay, the Browns and Aunty Liz and Uncle Ian came  for supper for Gran’s birthday.

 

The next day we went to the Spur again as mom & dad needed to use the wi-fi. After breakfast we went to an Outdoor expo at a Kurland polo fields. While we were at the expo we saw lots of caravans,tents, cars, a dog show and 2 lion cubs. In the one tent there were scorpions, spiders, lizzards and snakes. The one snake opened its mouth at us. After the expo we went back to grans house and played hockey. After that we went to the Browns house for supper.

 The next day Aimee, Bryce and I played a hockey festival for JSA (Jeppe St Andrews). Aimee played U9 and Bryce and I played U11. Our first matches were on the astro.  Aimee’s  team won 5-0 and our team lost 2-0. After that Bryce and I had to wait 2 hours to play our next match match.  Aimee’s  next match, there team played on  grass and won 3-1. In our next match we played on astro and lost 4-0. In Aimee 3rd match they played on the grass and won 6-1. Shanna scored 5 goals. In our 3rd match we played on the astro and lost 7-0. In Aimee’s  last match they played on the astro and won 6-0. In our last match we played on grass and won, just kidding we lost 8-3. I scored 2 goals and Bryce scored 1 goal. After that we went to Buffelspoort. When we arrived we went for a swim in the indoor heated pool.

AIMEE: Today it was granny's Birthday. We dropped her of at school and went to have breakfast at spur because my mom needed the wi fi to make payments. After that we went back to granny's school and stayed there for the day. When we got back to grans house my dad was there and sleeping.

 On Saturday we played in a mini-hockey festival with my cousins and it was so much fun, after that we went to  Buffelspoort and the first thing we did was go the the hot pools after setting up camp. The indoor pool was soooo warm and the outside pool was also hot. When we had fiished swimming we went to have supper at the restaurant. In the morning my mom mom and Bryce did a 12km trail run. While they were running my dad took Mitch & I swimming and on the supertubes, it was awesome! When we had finished we went back to the start-finish line and we found mom & Bryce and they had just finished the race. When they had finished we sat on the grass for the prize-giving while dad went back to the truck to sleep.

 BRYCE:THURSDAY 23/5/2013

Today it was my Gran's Birthday we wished her a happy birthday,went to her school and on the same day my dad arrived in Jhb. In the evening our cousins, uncle ,aunty and a few other people came for supper.

FRIDAY 24/5/2013:Today we went to an outdoor expo and there were all sorts of different things like lion cubs, trailers on show, spiders, snakes, scorpions, food, drinks and Aimee went on a camel ride she said that it was very bumpy. We went to our cousins house for a braai.

SATURDAY 25/5/2013

Today we played in a Mini Hockey Festival which our Aunty Mandi orginised for us to play in. We lost all of our matches but is was a wonderful expirence. After the hockey we left for Buffelspoort. Once we had arrived we went to the warm pools and then had supper and went to sleep.

SUNDAY 26/5/2013

This morning ny mom and I did a 12km run in Buffulspoort,it was beautiful. We ran through a field of orange trees, crossed some streams and ran next to the Buffulspoort dam. After our run we swam in the pools for a little. After all of this we left for our second cousins house to spend the night. Our second cousins names are Matthew and Gregory their parents names are Trever and Peta. We had lots of fun time playing golf, soccer, drums and table tennis.

LAUREN:  On Saturday morning Mandi had organised for our kids to play in a mini-hockey festival that was being held at St Andrews. They were so excited and really had a great morning playing most of their matches on the  astro and the rest o such perfectly flat, hard grass that it felt like astro. It was so good to see how all the kids improve as the morning progresses. After the festival we went back to moms house to pick up the truck and then headed to Buffelspoort in the North-West Province.

On the Sunday morning Bryce and I took part in a trail run at Buffelspoort. It was beautiful with such varied terrain. We ran through orange orchards, forests, river beds, veld , through storm water  pipes and back over the Buffelspoort dam wall. After  our run we had a quick swim and headed to my cousin Trevor and his wife Peta’s house. It is always great to catch up with them and we really enjoyed our visit. The kids had a ball playing golf, soccer, drums & table tennis with Matthew & Gregory. In the morning we left for the Cradle of Humankind.

Jhb-BODY WORLDS Tuesday 21st - Wednesday 22nd May

JOHANNESBURG: Tuesday  21^st May 2013

This morning we stayed at 94 Ernest Rd and did some school work while granny was at work. We had booked to go and see the Body Worlds Exhibition in the afternoon.

BRYCE’S POST:  BODY WORLDS & The Life Cycle

At the Body Worlds exhibition held at the Sci Bono Discovery Centre we saw the most amazing things.  We were not allowed to take photographs inside the exhibition but you could hire audio guides to take with you. You would press the specific number displayed if you wanted to find our more information.

Dr Gunther von Hagens  is a scientist & physician that invented plastination. Plastination is the process used to preserve body parts so that they can be displayed realistically and not submerged in formaldehyde. Firstly he takes people who have donated their body to science after their death, he removes all the fluid from the body and replaces with with a plastic type of substance into the body which helps preserve it.

The exhibition starts off with a slide show showing people from youth changing into old age. The next portion was involved in conception & they had displays of babies from the beginning of the third week to newborn. The one was smaller than my pinky nail.

Then it moved onto real live skeleton where half of the body was only the skeleton and the other half, the skin had been pealed back for the view of the muscle. This sounds disgusting but the way that it is displayed is unique and incredibly interesting. He has taken human bodies and displayed them in ways you would never imagine e.g. a man jumping over a fence, a lady dancing, highjump and a man steering a ship. You can actually see the muscles in action.

It gives examples of when the body is healthy and when it breaks down. E.g. There was a display of a lady with a hip, ankle, knee and shoulder surgery and where the metal plates were exposed.

Also we saw a normal lung next to a smokers lung. The normal lung was healthy & clean but the smokers lung was covered with tar and discolouration.  We saw healthy arteries and then clogged arteries as well as a video of how the fatty deposits build up on the walls of the arteries.

We saw displays of the brain, ear, hand and the smallest bones in the body which are the ear bones of hammer, anvil & stirrup.

One of the freakiest things we saw, was a man whose head had been cut in half. They had not removed the skin , eyes and face and had preserved it this way with the brain exposed. He looked so alive from the shoulders up.

We even got to see the whole nerve supply of the body and how it runs to every part. Amazing!!!!!

The small intestines in the digestive system was displayed and they are 9metres long when unraveled. Can you believe they are called your small intestines?

The biggest lesson I came away with was how important it is to look after your body as it is amazing how all these parts work together and fit so perfectly into one body.  God  is such an amazing creator that it is unbelievable.

The one quote that we read & I cannot remember who the author was but it inspired me to live life to the fullest, “ It is not the years in your life that matter but the LIFE in your years.”

PORT ELIZABETH: Friday 26^th April – Sunday 28^th April

Mitch, Aimee & I left east London for P.E. at lunchtime, leaving Bryce & Grant at home as Bryce was taking part in a surfing competition on the Sunday. After arriving at Grant & Michelle’s it was such a beautiful day that we headed for Hobie Beach with Sarah & Mikaya. We enjoyed our swim and play on the beach.

Saturday morning, Mitch had his tennis tournament at Westview Club and Heidi, Rachel & Emma came to join us.  On Sunday Marc had arrived back from Cape Town & came to visit at the tennis. It was so good to see all the cousins & family before heading off on our longer trip the following month.

 BLANCO: Friday 10^th May – Sunday 12^th May 2013

This was such an amazing way to spend our last weekend before leaving.A very cold Saturday morning  dawned & we had all booked to do the trail run at Blanco. Bryce, Mitch & I did the 10km run and the boys ran ahead with Jethro & Gabriel and they all did really well. It was a beautiful run through the conservancy. Lucille, Vicky & Lucille did the 21km and this went up into the mountains & sounds like it is a must do, beautiful scenery.

Aimee, Kate, Tim, Kaila & Katherine all took part in the little kids race which was so well organized. It was more of a treasure hunt & great fun was had by all.

It was really special to spend time with friends in such a beautiful spot.

WILD WOMEN & MORGAN BAY

Thursday  21^st March – Sunday 24^th March 2013

WILD WOMEN ON THE RUN: Twenty of us ladies from East London and surrounding areas set off o our 90km, 3 day trail run. Finally after lots of training, but never quite enough we set off from Glen Eden on Thursday 21^st March to our final destination at Mazeppa Bay to raise funds for charity. It was a real priveledge to be part of such an amazing challenge along such a beautiful coastline as the Wild Coast with an amazing group of ladies. We raised R72000 for the charities and it was a very special time filled with lasting memories and friendships.

 Heading off into the sunrise: Awesomely beautiful day!

Wonderful group of ladies

Lu, Candy & I on the last evening

MORGAN BAY: Grant and a couple of the other dads whose partners were involved in Wild Women went camping at Morgan Bay. Although the wind howled for most of the weekend, the kids had a ball and the dads earned serious brownie points for all their work.

PORT ELIZABETH/ CAPE ST FRANCIS/ OUDTSHOORN/ BUFFALO BAY/ JEFFREYS BAY/ PORT ELIZABETH

Wednesday 27^th March -  Sunday 31^st March 2013

BRYCE’S POST: Today we arrived in P.E. for the Grom Games. My mom t ook me for a surf before I had to report to Island Vibe, which is where the Border team was staying. At Island Vibe there was a pool table, swimming pool and Jacuzzi. We had supper and then went to the opening function which was held in the Victoria Park Grey school hall. They showed us a lot of surfing videos and then told us a bit about the history of Grom Games and also the sponsors spoke to us. The guest speaker was Matt Bromley, ( big wave surfer) and he spoke to us about conquering your fears. One example he gave was the fear of disappointment and being afraid of disappointing people. After this we got our packs and we were so lucky as we got 2 waxes, a key chain, t-shirt, stickers and Bos iced tea. We also got a R100 voucher for the Billabong shop at the Boardwalk.

DAY 1: This morning we went for a surf at 5h30 and then back to Island Vibe to get ready for the day. The day started with a march past and then the surfing heats began. It was a beautiful  day, the  sun was shining and the water was warm. I surfed my first heat and came second so was very happy as I made it through to the next round. In the evening we went to the Boardwalk where we were able to get autographs from Matt Bromley, Shaun Payne, Emma & Gina Smith and we were able to spend our vouchers.

DAY 2: Today the weather was not great. I did not surf but went to the beach to support my teammates.

DAY 3: Today I surfed and came third in my heat so I did not make it through to the finals. I spent the rest of the day watching my teammates and the weather was really grotty so in the evening we went to the movies.

DAY 4: Today the weather was terrible, rain & wind. I was taking part in the tag team and the flags. We came third in the tag team surfing heat. Your whole team gets 45 minutes  to catch 2 waves each which you have to claim. There are 4 boys & 1 girl in a team. My friend Nicholas came second in the flags. I went home to get dry clothes and then came back to the beach for prizegiving.

 Tag team

 

Monday 1^st April – Wednesday 3^rd April 2013

AIMEE’S POST: Today we arrived in Jeffrey’s Bay and the whole day we shopped as it was pouring with rain and all the factory shops had sales. We shopped up a storm! I was in my element.

On Tuesday we left  J’Bay and headed for Cape St Francis. We stopped  on the way so that my brothers could surf with their friends. Then we went to the campsite and were so happy because our cousin Andrea came to stay. In the morning we went surfing & it was FREEZING…..Andrea says she stood up first time because she wanted to get her feet out the water.

OUDTSHOORN: Thursday 4^th April – Monday 8^th April

BRYCE’S  POST: Today we arrived in Oudtshoorn and I had to go to the pool for a warm up with our swimming coach Vi.

The next morning we had to get to the pool at 7h30. I swam I 2 races and made it to both the finals and got 2 bronze medals. After my swim we went to the KKNK festival and we ate these amazing pizza stroller meals which is a dough cone with pizza toppings. Yummy! I managed to get into 2 more finals and here I got a 1 silver and 1 bronze. After the final day I went with the team to the Spur for supper.

 

AIMEE’S POST: Today we left Cape St Francis to go to Oudtshoorn for Bryce to take part in a leel 1 gala. I saw my fried Clarissa and we went to the KKNK festival together. We went on the ferris wheel and everytime it wet aroud we screamed and we went on tea cups that spun around so fast that we were dizzy. We also played a game and what you had to do was shoot down the cans and get a teddy. We shot no cans so we tried a different game where we had to pull out an egg from a dustbin and it either had R200 or a number on it and then you could choice a teddy.

BUFFELS BAAI: Monday 8^th April

MITCH’S POST: We arrived in Buffels Baai at the campsite in the afternoon and after we had set up camp we went for a surf and swim. For the rest of the afternoon we just chilled and played around the campsite.

On Tuesday morning we went for a run on the beach with mom and as we were heading back to the campsite you could see the storm clouds heading over. We decided to pack up and head for Jeffreys Bay.

JEFFREYS BAY: Tuesday 9^th April – Thursday 11^th April

AIMEE’S POST: We arrived in J-Bay to gale force winds and went to look at the beach and factory shops as tomorrow it is Bryce’s birthday.

HIP HIP HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRYCE! Today it is Bryce’s birthday and he got a surf board from my mom and dad and a t-shirt, hoodie and hacky sack from me. From Mitch he got a bangle and chocolates. We went to Nina’s for breakfast and after that we all went surfing, as this is what he wanted to do for his birthday. For supper we went to Pasta & Co and In the morning we left for P.E.

PORT ELIZABETH: Thursday 11^th – Sunday 14^th April

We headed straight to Pine Lodge when we arrived In P.E. and after setting up we headed for the convention centre at the boardwalk to collect our registration packs for the weekends races.  I the afternoon we went to swim at Hobie Beach. Mom, Bryce & Mitch swam out to the buoy and back. We went to visit the Browns and had supper with them.

On Saturday morning we dropped Lauren off for her triathlon and then collected her after the race and took the truck up to Grant & Michelles as we were worried about getting out of Pine Lodge on the Sunday of the Iron Man.

Heidi & I took Aimee,Emma & Rachel down to the Iron Kids as they were in the first heats. Grant brought Bryce & Mitch later. It is always a long day but so enjoyed by the kids and they love receiving their amazing Pritt goodie bags. On the Sunday we headed back to East London where it is always good to be home.

Lol And Kids on train to Joburg

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JOHANNESBURG: Friday 17^th May – Saturday 25^th May:

AIMEE’S BLOG: Today we went on a train. It was great, we could walk a couple of steps and get to the restaurant. We even slept on the train, Mitch and I slept at the top and mom and Bryce at the bottom. In the morning the train had got as far as Bloemfonteinand stopped because on the tracks in front of us another train had crashed into a car. They think the car was stolen and had been left over the tracks. We waited for ages and eventually buses arrived to take us the rest of the way to Jhb. It took 7 hours and we had to stop wherever the train would have stopped to drop people off. When we got to Jhb Granny Joyce fetched us and we went to our cousins house for supper. It was such fun playing with them again and Travis is so funny, he makes us laugh.

BRYCE'S BLOG: On Friday 17th May we left East London on the Shosholoza Mayl train to Johannesburg. It was a wonderful experience and we had a lot of fun telling stories and walking around to discover different parts of the train. Once we had reached Bloemfontein we stopped for about 5 hours because there had been an accident on the track ahead & the buses had to come all the way from Jo'burg. Once we were on the bus it took 7 hours to get to Jo'burg station.

Once we had arrived we went to our cousins house for supper.

AIMEE'S BLOG

The next day we had breakfast at a driving range and hit some golf balls at Huddle Park.

Then we went to Uncle Craig & Aunty Viv for lunch. Our cousins Josh & Cameron were there so we got to see them all. We were going to meet the Browns at the Randburg astro turf so Josh took us on a short cut route and we got there quickly. We went to watch Jeppe boys playing in a final of some or other tournament. We played hockey on the astro turf at the top and had lots of fun with the cousins.

BRYCE'S BLOG: The next morning we went to Huddle Park for breakfast, it also has a driving range and golf course and played golf and it was lots of fun. After this we went to our Uncles hose for a lovely lunch and it was really great to see our cousins, Josh & Cam.

After lunch we went to the Randburg astro to watch Jeppe boys play hockey as they had made it to the final and played very well, unfortunately they lost by 1 goal after extra time and penalty shots.

We also played hocky on the top astro. After this we went back to Ryan and Mandi's house to have supper.

On Monday morning we caught the bus to Eastgate shopping centre and got some shopping done. After this we walked  across the bridge to China City at Bruma and walked around there until granny came to fetch us after she had finished work. we spent the afternoon playing hockey in the garden at grans house & chewed up a lot of her grass.