Lockdown Day 8 - Friday 3 April

It was overcast and cool at Ximongwe. No swimming. The birds were quiet but the animals were everywhere. It was a real elephant day. There were the two who looked like they were having a cuddle in the mud and at dusk the big family came down to the river to drink.

The magnificent Kudu and Waterbuck bulls were showing off and the monkeys just hanging around.

 I made a bobotie.

We are eating fresh, healthy, home cooked food. ( Neil will be rushing to KFC as soon as he gets out of here! )

We are enjoying the group video chats even if our data connection is a bit dodgy at times. We all wished Claire in Singapore a happy birthday from Limpopo, Gauteng, Zambia and Wales.

Lockdown Day 7 - Thursday 2 April

One week done, two to go. There are rumours going around that the lockdown will be extended. I did panic about this a bit; impatient about how far out I need to cancel and rebook things. But then I made a cup of coffee, stared at my view and decided I was better off than almost everyone else facing this crisis around the world!

It was a very windy day at Ximongwe. We got invaded by ants in the kitchen and in the bath. The insects here are amazing. Every night we get hundreds of moths. The top picture is not a moth but a lacewing (from an antlion pupa.)

It's extremely delicate and beautiful.

And we had a (non-venomous) bush snake on our deck!

Lockdown Day 6 - Wednesday 1 April

So no-one seemed to be in the mood for April Fool's Day jokes on social media this year. My Granny Short ( and my mom ) loved practical jokes.  I still tease my mom when she laughs at her own jokes. 

We made a Quiche Lorraine for brunch and a Moussaka for dinner.

See the pic of Neil helping in the kitchen! Cheese grater and DJ!

The three bull elephants were back and a troop of vervet monkeys enjoyed our deck.

Only one got into the house through the bedroom window but luckily we keep all the food in the pantry and are strict about keeping the door closed all the time.

Lockdown Day 5 - Tuesday 31 March

Another day in Paradise.

Started out with a healthy breakfast.

And ended with a rump steak braai paired with Eagle's Nest Shiraz 2012.  Luckily we brought a lot of good wine with us from the farm. 

The water level in the river rose overnight and so a hippo came and spent the day with us.

I tried an hour of "aqua aerobics" in the plunge pool which even drew curiosity from a waterbuck.

Neil has been receiving and sharing old photos which is always fun.

Lockdown Day 4 - Monday 30 March

Ximongwe is fabulous and when this is all over, I'd encourage you to come and spend a few days here. We're all going to have to support small businesses as much as we can.

There's an expresso machine! 

Strolling in the garden gives a different perspective.

We had our first giraffe visitor.

We're enjoying sundowners on the deck each evening. ( It's good to get some routines going. )

Lockdown Day 3 - Sunday 29 March

Sundays are often quiet days for us when we are on the road. Neil reads all the papers and I do chores and admin. So it's no different. I cooked more Saffa comfort food - Durban Lamb Curry and rice.  Chilli bites with Mrs.Balls (and little sachets of Lime and Mango pickle Neil bought in a street market in Chennai last year). No- bake cheesecake with granadilla topping.

We were visited by elephants, waterbuck, impala, zebra and monkeys. 

The birds are a delight. Fish eagles and a pair of wood owls. And a Retz's Helmetshrike. A lifer. ( if you aren't a birder, that means it's the first time I've ever seen that species )

Lockdown Day 2 - Saturday 28 March

We are happily settled at Ximongwe. I baked cheese scones for brunch and sat for hours on my balcony doing what's app and some admin. Lots of birds and animals to watch, including this Ellie on our lawn.

We had a virtual cocktail party on Google Hangouts with Justine and Arjen in Basel, Mylene and Coenraad in London and Carol and Jane in Johannesburg. Our iffy data connection sort of managed it. It was good to see everyone and chat but it's nothing like being at a real party!  We had a lekker fire and a braai outside. I made 3 of the most typical South African braai salads...green salad, bean salad and potato salad!

Lockdown Day 1. Friday 27 March

And so we begin our "Lockdown in Paradise" at Ximongwe River Camp in Balule Private Game Reserve, Limpopo Province, South Africa due to the Coronavirus pandemic. 

I have decided to write a daily record and so this blog may take some twists and turns over the next few weeks.

We are not sure yet what we are facing.  It's raining and chilly here today. Leftover lamb roast pie for lunch and chilli beef burrito for dinner.

Back in South Africa

Back in South Africa we headed straight to the farm. For once we could spend a few days tidying up and sorting some stuff out.

But we realised it is a job we can only tackle a few days at time without going mad, so we prepared the caravan for a trip to the Kruger National Park. The easiest spot for a few weeks of social distancing.

We stocked up on food and wine, visited the family for a quick chat in the garden and got to Malelane Camp by 5pm on Monday 23 March. Fire going, feet up, drink in hand.

And then the news that South Africa would be going into a serious lockdown due to Coronavirus at midnight on Thursday!

The park was likely to close too.

On Tuesday morning I started looking online for a place we could stay. That's how we found Ximongwe River Camp. On the Olifants River in Balule Game Reserve. My only concern...a good data connection!

By Wednesday afternoon we had checked in.

From the minute we arrived at Ximongwe, we have just been so grateful to have found this spot and so happy here. It's truly, "Lockdown in Paradise".

Thank- you Johan and Ronell. And Stephen.

Western Australia Road Trip Part 2

En route to Exmouth we stopped in Coral Bay for some great snorkeling. We weren't able to sit on the beach or walk due to all the flies. 

We stayed two nights at the Mantaray Resort in Exmouth. Low season around here is very quiet. A deserted marina and lots of locked up holiday homes.

We did a day trip through Cape Range National Park with more amazing snorkeling at Oyster Stacks.

Exmouth to Broome is 1400kms and 2 days of driving with a stop in Port Hedland, which has absolutely nothing going for it! 

We spent three nights at the Blue Seas Resort in the Cable Beach area. Broome is small with a mildly interesting downtown you can be done with in 5 minutes. Then you can hang out with locals in a dodgy bar for a drink. To be fair, the season hadn't quite kicked in yet. 

Cable Beach is the more rarified  and touristy part of town. We spent pleasant evenings at the Divers Tavern and the Cable Beach Club.

You can't swim in the sea at this time of year due to stingers so apart from beach walks and bird watching we did a great dolphin sight- seeing boat trip and a hugely entertaining camel ride on the beach.

Working camels were released into the desert in Australia over a hundred years ago, once railways and roads opened up the interior and the camels were no longer needed. The camels in Broome have been rescued from drought and fire stricken areas and are very well looked after.

After another night in Port Hedland, we stayed at the Tom Price Tourist Park to explore Karajini National Park. Some areas were still closed due to the rainy season and it was still very hot. Hiking with flies and in the heat is not much fun. It's a beautiful landscape but without the animals we are used to in African national parks, we found it a little one dimensional. 

We drove the inland route back to Perth, staying in Newman and Mount Magnet. Unless you love being in the car and on the road to nowhere, I'd suggest flying back from Broome.

By this stage, the Corona Virus was spreading world wide ( no cases in Western Australia though ) and we realised borders would be closing and international travel would become more tricky. We had no choice but to cut our Australia trip short by a month and return to South Africa as soon as possible. 

Western Australia Road Trip Part One

Our roadtrip routine goes something like this..

Coffee and the news in bed.

Up and pack. On the road with a stop for breakfast and another coffee. In Australia that's a "Flat White". And a  "Low Tide Flat White"  to denote less milk. If it's too late for breakfast we'll push on till lunch and a sugar free coke. Burgers or sandwiches or hot pies.

Long stretches of very quiet road. Podcasts and music. Roadtrains. 

WA is vast and unpopulated.

And unlike Africa, you don't see much wildlife or many birds from the car. 

After a few hours on the road, we pulled over to get a picture of a Banksia tree.

 I got out the car and was immediately attacked by a swarm of flies. It's impossible to keep the camera still while waving both arms frantically around. And doing the Tourettes River Dance. Once back in the car you have to blast the aircon at full tilt with all the windows open to chase the flies out. Back on the road there's always one pesky bugger buzzing around on the dash.

At Nambung National Park we headed for the gift shop to buy head nets. Even with these you want to limit your outside time! 

People come here to view the strange Pinnacles landscape.

It's an interesting otherworldly place.

We did mostly drive by sightseeing in Killbarri National Park to avoid the flies.

 Towns are few and far between so it's better to fill up on  fuel when you see a roadhouse.

At Monkey Mia we enjoyed an afternoon of sailing with great sightings of turtle, dolphin and dugongs.

The next morning we joined the tourists for the dolphin feeding. The dolphins are not in captivity here anymore but the older mothers teach their young to come to shore for a free meal and so they are habituated to humans.