Week 2 in SA: Catching up with Family and Friends

We’ve had a lovely time catching up with family and friends over the last week, commuting between our boat in Richard’s Bay, and Salt Rock on the Kwa Zulu Natal North Coast, about an hour and a half south of Richard’s Bay, where our dear friends Vicky and Haydn have made their 2nd home available to us, as they are currently living in Johannesburg.

My mom and dad made the drive to Salt Rock last Sunday, and we had a lovely day catching up with them. It was the first time we’d seen them since they visited us in the States in October 2015, so there was lots of catching up to do! We ended up going to a lovely place called “The Litchi Orchard” for lunch, where we had yummy toasted sandwiches and milkshakes!! We definitely have to start watching our weight, with all the “comfort” food eating that we are doing!

Enjoying lunch with my parents

Such beautiful flower arrangements, along with a fresh grapefruit!

On Wednesday we headed back to Richard’s Bay to meet up with some people who came to measure our boat for new sails. South Africa is a good place to get new sails, but we have not yet decided whether or not we will purchase a new set. It is a big expense, and we can make it back with the sails we have, but it is the most economical place to get new sails, which will need to be replaced at some point, so it’s a decision we will have to make.

We also enjoyed spending some time with the other cruisers at ZYC (Zululand Yacht Club), and the kids had fun playing with the kids in the marina. By Friday afternoon, we headed back to Salt Rock so we would be close to Durban for the following day’s travels.

On Saturday morning, October 21, we drove to the Point Yacht Club, Dave’s former yacht club. He had been invited to sail in a race that day, the Jonsson Cup, and his old sailing friends had organized a Laser for him! Thanks, Campbell Alexander for providing Dave with the Laser, and letting him use your brand new sail!! Despite some problems with the course (the storm that I had reported on earlier had moved some harbor marks), the race was run and Dave had a ball racing again, and while he had not been on a Laser in about 20 years, he finished second by only a few seconds!

Durban harbor with some of the upturned pontoons that were destroyed in the storm

Dave's home away from home when we lived here:  Point Yacht Club

Taking the Laser down to the water's edge to launch

Gaby and Ben learn the art of launching a Laser.  Dave is in the background

And off he goes...it's like riding a bike!

Some action shots:  thanks to Sophie Thompson for most of them:  my apologies if I've used some and have not credited the photographer!

 

A great shot of the close finish with Durban skyline in the background

Barely back in the country and he makes the newspaper!!  Thanks to my dad for the shot above, and Gary Harmon for sending us the one below!

While Dave was racing, I took the opportunity to go and see my folks again, and we visited them at their new home, a beautiful little cottage at the Altersheim Port Natal in New Germany, a retirement village attached to the German Lutheran Church where Dave and I were married! This gave me the opportunity to show the kids where we were married, and also where I went to pre-school! The playground I played on as a 3 and 4 year old is still there (with just a few more playthings on it!). We were also able to see a memorial plaque in remembrance of my aunt, Anna-Marie Martinick ("Tante Ami", my mom's sister). She had lived at the same retirement village, and we had visited her here on our last trip in 2012, and both kids clearly and fondly remembered her. She passed away in 2014 at the age of 93. The wall of remembrance is in a little garden next to the church and the plaque commemorates both my aunt and my uncle who died many years ago, in 1978. 

My mom's collection of cacti and plants fascinate the kids

The cottages are in a beautiful setting

The Wedekind family crest (my maiden name) hangs in my dad's study

My old playground!

The entrance to the church where Dave and I were married

Walking in the Garden of Rememberance

In remembrance of my uncle and aunt

We also had the chance to finally meet Gisela and Martin Tscheuschner, friends of my parents who loyally follow us on the blog. I’m so sorry I didn’t think to get a picture of us all together, but it was lovely to finally meet the faces behind the friendly emails we often received from them along our travels!

The kids and I headed back to the Yacht Club and found Dave at the bar, enjoying the odd beer with many of his old sailing friends. It was great to see some of them again…Chris and Joy Sutton, Campbell Alexander, Rowen Clark, Miles White and even Wayne (sailor/fellow graduate of Dave) and many more. Thanks for the enjoyable evening!

Selfie at PYC!  Dave, Campbell, Miles, Joy and Chris

On Sunday morning we drove to Hillcrest, where we spent a few hours visiting Helen and Colin Murdoch, and their daughter Gillian, old family friends of the Hibberds. It is Colin Murdoch whom we have to thank for introducing David to sailing, and for teaching him to sail when he was just a young kid! Helen and Colin, it was lovely to see you both again! Thank you for the coffee, cake and catch up! 

With Colin and Helen Murdoch.  Ben, Dave, Gillian and I are at the back;  Gaby took the photo!

And then it was on to lunch with Dave’s family…the South African Smiths (as opposed to the Australian Smiths we spent Christmas with!). This was a 16 person gathering consisting of: Dave’s uncle, Eric Smith (his mom’s brother), his aunt Colleen, his 2 cousins, Mandy (and her husband Brad and 3 kids) and Rowen (and his wife Lauren and 3 kids), and the 4 of us! It turns out that Mandy's second daughter, Tiel, was not only the same age as Ben, but was in fact born on the same day/year as him….April 29th, 2004….what a small world!! 

All 16 of us! (and Chloe, the Lab)

We had a lovely lunch at Mandy and Brad’s house (with the most stunning garden!), and then walked over to Colleen and Eric’s for coffee and cake (did I mention we have to watch our weight?!). The kids had an absolutely wonderful time playing with their cousins they had never met: swimming in the pool, jumping on the trampoline, and zipping down the “Foofy Slide” (zip line)! We later also went for a walk through “Camelot”, the estate where Eric and Colleen live, where the kids got dizzy rolling down slopes between the greens on the golf course! They also have a replica of an old English castle, complete with stocks and all!

The "Grown Ups":  Rowen, Lauren, Eric, Gudrun, Kayla, Mandy, Brad, Colleen and Dave

What a beautiful setting!  The kids jump on the trampoline

From left to right:  Roarke, Austin, Kenan, Kira, Kayla, Tiel, Gaby and Ben

Walking around the golf course at Camelot

Am I in South Africa or England?!

The kids roll down the slope as Dave videos it on his phone

Fun, Fun, Fun!

This is Dave on the blog for this last little chapter…..On a side note, Eric mentioned to us at lunch some history about the Tampa Bay area that he had recently read in an old National Geographic magazine that was quite fascinating, and detailed the early discovery / settlement of Florida in the year 1513. When we got back to their house he ended up giving me the old National Geographic magazine dated March 1988! It turns out this magazine belonged to my Grandfather, Gerald Smith, so it was really a special gift, and one I will always treasure as I don’t really have much from my Gran/Grandpa. In addition, Ben’s middle name is Gerald, named after my Grandfather, so thank you Eric for giving us this gift…we will read it and treasure it, and now have something on our boat, to take back to the USA with us that is very special and dear to me.

National Geographic: Vol 173, No. 3.  March 1988

The article on Florida's History that caught Eric's attention

We've had two additional visits with old friends where we were once again remiss in taking photos!  On Monday evening (last night), we were invited to dinner at the home of one of Dave's oldest childhood friends,  Andrew de Vlieg.  We had the honor of meeting his lovely wife Ana and their two teenage children Luke and Louisa, as well as Ana's mom, who kept us entertained at the dinner table!  Ana is a very talented artist, and I had first seen her work back in Australia, when I saw a sketch of Lyn Savage's dog Silas, and I commented how well the artist had captured his little personality!  Turns out it was Ana who had sketched Silas when they had visited mutual friends, Clynton and Lisa Wade-Lehman a few years ago in Australia.  Small world!!  Ana was so kind and showed us her art studio and took the time to chat to Gaby, encouraging her to make a book of drawings of her travels around the world in addition to her written journal.  Thank you, Andrew and Ana for a truly lovely evening.  You were such gracious hosts, and the kids LOVED playing with all your animals...dogs and cats alike!

And last, but not least, to round off the week of visits, a lovely night out tonight with Gary and Jenny Harmon at "Eat Local" in Ballito.  We couldn't actually remember when we had last all seen each other...perhaps as long at 30 years ago!  Thank you both for making the drive out here and meeting up with us, it was really great to catch up!

Tomorrow we are off to the Midlands and will be taking in some farm visits!  We will be seeing old friends John and Heidi Watt at their farm, and then on to Vicky and Haydn's farm for the weekend.  The weather forecast calls for some cold weather...a novelty for us water babies!  We'll report back soon on how that all turns out, and how we survive the other end of the temperature gauge!  Until then, this is Cool Runnings signing off!

PS:  Check out "Kid's Cabin" for an update from Gaby