NEWSLETTER ARCHIVE
HAPPY 2008!!
First Quarter of 2008 Finished!
Mid Year Already
As we spring into Spring!
All will be fine in 2009 |
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 MID
YEAR ALREADY…
And along with Mid-year here is our 3rd Newsletter to all our
special friends and clients wherever you may be in the world
today reading this.
Winter has settled into the land very comfortably. Making it
essential to make a roaring fire at night, to cozy up to.
Relaxing and watching the flames flicker as we consume copious
amounts of hot chocolate or hot toddies – whatever one’s fancy
may be! Waking each morning, we wrestle with ourselves as to
when and if we should leave our comfy warm beds at all…but alas,
the wheel must keep turning so up we get. Most mornings we are
fortunate enough to witness the mist blanketing the hills
surrounding our beautiful city, until the sun rises and hugs the
rocky mountains against the backdrop of clear bright blue sky.
On the home front Bella has 6-7 weeks to go before our bouncing
baby boy joins our family. We are besides ourselves with
excitement. We have bought and set up all the baby essentials,
such as a pram, which these days is more luxurious than a Hummer
and probably just as smooth a ride! A comfy cot awaits our
little boy, and all these little things make it more real and
exciting for us. As each day brings him closer to joining us,
the Busschau family.
I finished the Comrades with 5 minutes to spare. It really was a
grueling run this year, I am not going to deny, It really took
mounds and mounds of inner strength and the total love and
commitment from my family who spurred me on in what felt like my
darkest hour. I seriously considered quitting at one stage – my
problem was that I unfortunately did not drink enough fluids,
which culminated in me running 2 kms in 50 minutes. I phoned
Bella to tell her that I was going to “throw in the towel” and
she convinced me to hang in, she knows I can do this and she
promised me that I could “throw in the towel” into the wash when
I returned home.
50 year Vladmir Kotov came 8th and I was very chuffed as he was
there to congratulate me when I finished. What an honour!
Huge thanks to all my loved ones to name but a few: Sherese, my
sister, Ingrid and Theresa for supporting me along the route.
I am happy to say we are all great – no winter colds or flu to
report. We are as fit as fiddles and intend to keep it that way
throughout the remainder of winter, so we all have the strength
to take on the night shifts that are about to descend on us when
our little one is born.
The kids are great as always! And as always they continue to
make us proud. Even though Theo just seems to adopt more and
more snakes – he certainly is our future Croc Dundee of which we
are proud – not to mention Sherese who is growing on an hourly
basis – and talking on an hourly basis we roped her in and she
is doing office work for us now, and no this isn’t child labor –
its our beautiful Sherese helping out as a labour of love.
OLD VIC.....
Business is bustling as usual at Old Vic, the Dutch teachers
were awesome and we really have to adjust to them not being
around – it truly is not the same without them on the weekends.
But we wish them well and may all their dreams become a reality
in Holland.
On this note we also wish Elise well as she has ventured on to
Mozambique. Go well and enjoy!
Twenty students from a University in the UK will be joining us.
Their main purpose for visiting Nelspruit for eight weeks is to
teach in the townships here. We look very forward to welcoming
Tenteleni for this wonderful experience. A huge thanks to Jebi
and Claire for all your hard work that allows these students to
have such an incredible life experience, and not to mention how
great it is for South Africa – THANKYOU!!!!
We also welcome back Gerrie and the bowling team for this years
event and wish them Heaps of luck – go guys GO!
The other great news is Old Vic is 4 star again – whilst Crazy
Kangaroo’s is also very busy…… it is ideal and proving to be
idyllic for big groups and we’ve noticed it seems to really
attract plenty of sports groups.
Last weekend was our 5th year of hosting Innibos – it is an arts
festival and is certain renowned throughout South Africa as one
of “the” truly incredible festivals with not only South Africans
but foreigners returning each year. It attracts approximately
100 000 people. The invited group this year was Boney M – who
entertained the crowds till the cows came home. Which in turn
resulted in people phoning us in the wee hours of the morning –
one or two were fortunate enough to find a comfy bed with us and
were checking in at 1am!
July and August are very busy months for us – and we look
forward to seeing both old and new faces.
In between welcoming and accommodating our guests we are kept
busy visiting and supporting Betty’s Haven. This is an orphanage
we support and the kids there bare the consequences of AIDS.
These kids sure have crept into our hearts over the years. And
we would be most grateful if any of our friends and guests out
there across the world have any ideas on how to make these kids
lives a little easier. We would also welcome any donations – we
constantly donate them clothes, books and food.
KRUGER PARK
As at the year ended June I have been on 37 tours.
As always there are some truly incredible animal sightings. We
are proud to boast that so far all our trips have had lion
sightings and an average of at least 4 out of the Big Five has
been maintained for 80% of the trips we did.
It was a great experience recently with four Canadian guests who
were on a night drive – and saw absolutely nothing for two
hours. Hence when they came upon two male impala’s fighting they
decided this was most definitely going to have to be the
highlight of the drive …. then whamo out of the quiet stillness
and dark of the night a male lion sprung and killed the one
impala. The Canadians are still thanking those poor old Impala’s
as well as the persistence of some of the guests, as whilst some
had said “Boring, its just more Impalas …lets move on“ the
other’s insisted on filming them, so when they returned back to
camp they could relive that totally unexpected and awesome kill
that was caught on video. Just goes to show patience, patience
and more patience certainly pays at the end of the day.
And I cannot reiterate enough, the earlier you rise to go on
your game drive the more chance you have of seeing more. The
animals like to warm up as the coolness of the night fades and
another warm day arises. They far prefer to walk on the road in
the early morning than in the cold damp grass. Also the roads
stay warmer longer into the night so they prefer the road and
the green grass along the side of the road.
DID
YOU KNOW???????
Kruger celebrated its 110th birthday this year and brags over
1.3 million visitors a year.
It employs over 2 000 staff members and accommodates 5 000 beds
to rest in.
• Cheetah is the Indian word for ‘spotted one”.
• Cheetah used to be found throughout most of Africa, Asia and
Arabia, Sadly, now it is on the endangered list with only
approximately 250 remaining in Kruger. Impala make up 70% of
their kills in Kruger.
• Cheetah differ to leopards in that their spots are smaller and
are also roundish whereas the leopard has rosettes.
• Cheetah have a distinct marking which is like a teardrop
running down their face from each eye.
• Cheetahs claws are non-retractile, so they cannot climb trees
easily unless the tree has a slanted trunk.
• We are happy to admit that we are fortunate enough to spot
Cheetah in 1 out of every 3 of our visits.
ON A SERIOUS NOTE: Safety tips while in SA…
• Be very aware of what and who is around you when using your
card at the ATM - people have had money taken off their cards
and from their accounts,
• ALWAYS make sure you use the ATM in busy areas, such as Malls,
etc., where there is ample security and cameras.
• Make sure no one is behind you or offers to assist you.
• Check that there are no foreign objects by the card slot
before inserting your card. With the use of card readers they
can scan your card details and copy your information.
• Lastly, be very aware when handing over your card for payment
– keep a close eye on the attendant you handed your card to
while they process the payment.
NOW FOR A GIGGLE...
Miss Beatrice, the church organist, was in her eighties and had
never
been married.
She was admired for her sweetness and kindness to all.
One afternoon the pastor came to call on her and she showed him
into her
quaint sitting room.
She invited him to have a seat while she prepared tea.
As he sat facing her old Hammond organ, the young minister
noticed a
cut-glass bowl sitting on top of it.
The bowl was filled with water, and in the water floated, of all
things,
a condom!
When she returned with tea and scones, they began to chat.
The pastor tried to stifle his curiosity about the bowl of water
and its
strange floater, but soon it got the better of him and he could
no
longer resist.
"Miss Beatrice", he said, "I wonder if you would tell me about
this?"
pointing to the bowl.
"Oh, yes," she replied, "Isn't it wonderful? I was walking
through the
Park a few months ago and I found this little package on the
ground.
The directions said to place it on the organ, keep it wet and
that it
would prevent the spread of disease.
Do you know I haven't had the flu all winter."
TILL NEXT TIME...
With the constant rise in costs we are happy to announce that at
Old Vic our rates are still the same as last year. What we have
done to keep costs the same is a slight adjustment in that we no
longer serve a complimentary breakfast. We are now offering a
breakfast menu for guests to choose from.
And on that note – take care till we chat again ….
Thank You
Regards Dave
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