Yesterday we moved Yrumoar from our regular parking spot to a new one. For a few moments I could feel the anticipation grow in my stomach as I realised that this meant we are even closer to leaving. The new owner of our spot should arrive here today or tomorrow. Today Kyle will be moving out of his room into the spare room whilst we strip and fix the wood rot that has manifested itself around his window. We also want to check why the motor under his bed overheats.
28 Sep. 12
We managed to cut away the wood rot and replace that piece with foam core and fibreglass. We still have to sand the fairing compound in some spots and paint our repair before we can replace the window. It is supposed to rain this afternoon so I hope we manage to paint and fit the window before the rain gets here. Lola took out the list and I was quite surprised to discover that we are down to forty one items. I didn’t realise that we had managed to tick so many things off the list. It hasn’t felt like we have been working at all yet these things are somehow getting done. It must be the fairies again.
30 Sep. 12
We managed to finish the window with about an hour to spare before the rain arrived. On Saturday morning we woke up and found our parking spot occupied by the new guy that was supposed to arrive on Wednesday. He came over and informed us that his trip up was very unpleasant with fifty four knot winds and steering problems. I was glad that he eventually arrived since we have been waiting for him. His arrival was one of the final obstacles that we had to use as an excuse to still be here. Somehow I just can’t become excited about the trip anymore and both Lola and I seem to feel the same way. Maybe it has just been too long, even though it is supposed to be fun sitting around all day doing nothing without having the responsibility of going to work, we can’t seem to see the fun side anymore. Everyday is just the same as the day before. We wake up, I have coffee whilst Lola has coke. Then we discuss the list and during the day I work on some of the items whilst Lola teaches the kids. Lola cooks at about lunch time and we eat. In the afternoon we sit in the cockpit and have the same conversation about the same things repeatedly whilst I have a few drinks. Then we go to bed just to wake up and have a rerun the next day. Yes, things will have to change soon.
Dylan, a friend will collect us here this morning and take all of us to a game park for the day. I hope this breaks the monotony and gives us something new to talk about.
01 Oct. 12
The trip into the game park was interesting and relaxing. We came across herds of giraffe, zebras and of course a few different species of buck. At lunch time we stopped and had a picnic under some trees near a small dam. Dylan romanticised about owning that setting and building his home near to the little watering hole. I agreed with him, it was a beautiful piece of ground and the natural pond was stunning. After our picnic we headed out of the game park. The game park is surrounded by plantations, rows and rows of trees planted in straight lines. If you study the plantation while you drive past your eyes can see far down the rows and sometimes, when the plantation isn’t that wide, straight along one or two of the lines and out the other side. Occasionally a firebreak is created between the rows, where there are no trees and the natural grass is kept short. It was down one of these firebreaks that we turned. Never being off road in a car before I watched and bounced around as the Toyota land cruiser made its own road, finding its way to one of the indigenous forests that lay hidden secretly between the plantations.
The Kwazulu Natal bush is lush thick and green. We found a small clearing hidden deep in the forest and parked. The remains of a derelict camp site, long forgotten and no longer maintained, stood built in the clearing. Here we found an old hiking trail and decided to take a walk. After negotiating with the overgrown bush covering parts of the trail for a while, we came across a broken down bridge that stood over a small creek. Since the bridge was no longer usable we clambered our way through the creek and went up the other side continuing along the trail till we found another bridge. Again this bridge was no longer useable and we had to cross through another creek. This one was a lot deeper and wider than the last one. The banks were muddy and slippery and we had to negotiate our way carefully to avoid landing in the mud. Being slightly unprepared and not wearing hiking boots probably made the task a bit more difficult than it should have been.
After our hike through the forest we made our way back towards the main road through a marsh and nearly got stuck in the mud when we had to cross a small river. We made a few attempts at crossing the river in full four wheel drive mode with wheels spinning and mud flying everywhere before we achieved success.
I enjoyed the day and was happy to escape the confides of the boat for a while. Lola’s day was unfortunately not as pleasant. Her seat in the back was cramped and uncomfortable with the wheel arch placed directly under her making for a bouncy hard ride. At some point during the drive she was also punished with her obligatory migraine and had to do the hike with a pounding head. I don’t know what evils she committed during her past lives to be punished in such a cruel and malicious manner, but I am left powerless and can only empathise with her pain.
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