Day 145 – Last Day In Gonubie

Mashy Gold (Aka Pitch & Putt)

Seeing as how this would be the last day that I’d be spending in East London, I wanted to get as many gifts as possible before I make my way to Cape Town as everything there would be twice or three times the price. So we made our way to a bigger market than the one yesterday along the waterfront to get authentic South African crafts and have a beautiful Wors (Pronounced Vorse) Roll. This market was way better and Id finally got my haggling techniques to a higher standard. Although Jess was saying that all the market sellers are managed by the one person so they cant sell their items for any price as they still need to make money. Ive heard the same rumours about the rose sellers in Belfast, and that they are in fact ran by the UDA. Crazy.

Next was to a Pick & Pay in Beacon Bay to get all our food to take home. Its horrible having to buy food that your not going to eat yourself, but are for your family and friends to try. Then we went to Sandras son and almost daughter in laws house (they are getting married in August) where we stuffed our faces with milk tart, tipsy tart and bee stings (Me and Jess had both already had a friesland this morning; the last we would have on our journey so eating all these deserts were just too much!).

We stopped off at Lindies house again to say goodbye and her boys then very kindly invited me and Jess to play some pitch and putt behind the Fig Tree. Jesus, both of us were so shit but it was such good craic and for Jess first time playing she really enjoyed it, and got the best shot of the day! The three brothers were really nice and made us feel so welcome.

It was quickly back to Sandras to say goodbye to Lesleys father before making our way to Guidos for some long awaited Pizza. I had calzone for the first time and it will also be my last! I wish I had got just regular pizza instead , even though it was nice it just wasnt the same.

Dinner at Guidos!

Jess then drove me and her to our final stop, her friend Lindas house to have a bit of a catch up with her and her mum. They were both so lovely and it keeps reminding me just how incredibly nice, accommodating and courteous the South African people are. We got home about 10:30pm and spent the rest of the night packing all our stuff for the six hour drive to Kynsya (Pronounced Nies-na, halfway between Cape Town & East London).

Ive had a great time in Gonubie and all around East London but Im so excited to see the western cape and everything else that South Africa has to offer. Cape Town, here we come…

Day 144 – Beautiful Christmas Rock

Pretend That Your Alone...

There is a little flea market that sits outside Gonubie Library every Saturday so we decided to head down there this morning and have a little peak at whats on offer on the stalls.  The answer was, not much!  lol they had a couple of book stalls and one other that sold souvenirs but other than that it was pretty empty, so we then made our way to a farmers market called Lavender Blue.  Well it was the best farmers market I have ever been to!

They sold the most amazing things like cooked sisters (pastry soaked in sugar), milk tarts, bee stings, tomato jam and the tastiest Lemon Merangue Pie I have ever tasted.  They had beautiful seating as well out the back:

We then made our way to Christmas Rock about 50mins from Gonubie, where Lesleys friend Sharon lived.  Naturally me and Jess had a nap in the back (If that trip was too long, how are we gonna cope with Cape Town, eh?).  When we got to Christmas Rock it suddenly reminded me of Ireland.  It was a tiny little village with a local shop and only a town hall which doubled up as a restaurant.  It had very little people there and it was soo quiet with the most unbelievably gorgeous beach at the bottom of the street (which was where the photo at the top of todays post was taken).  When I think about it, it reminds me of a hot Portsalon!

Sharon was honestly the nicest person you could meet.  She was so interested in what we were all up to and selflessly bought us gifts!  I got a beautiful bracelet and both Jess and Lesley got the most beautiful sterling silver rings!  I was so overwhelmed.  She was also telling us about her son and how he fishes  for the South African team!  He was away to a competition this weekend where the grand prize was 20,000R.  Definitely a talented family.

Me and Jess decided to have a walk towards the beach, stopping for an ice cream in the most local shop you have ever been to.  I was already slowly falling in love with Christmas Rock but Jesus, once I saw the beach my jaw just dropped.  It was the most gorgeous beach I had ever seen.  Like a mini Portsalon!  And it was only for a couple of hundred people that lived in the village.  How could they be so lucky?

On the way back there was a beautiful black cat walking around by itself and then when we got up close we realised that she looked absolutely identical to our own cat at home, Lily!!  It was so funny; we were taking the piss saying that Lily had flown over with us in my suitcase and mum was going to shit herself when she found out etc.

We then made our way back to Sharons and said our goodbyes:

I honestly didnt want to leave.  Being in christmas rock simply made my week and was the most beautiful place in East London for sure.  We had to rush back though as the Clews old next door neighbours were having a small braai for them and me before we left.  But not before stopping for another friesland milkshake (I got Milo this time) and it was 50 times better than yesterday.  As you can see, I was very upset that mine was finished :

The braai at Classys was very quick and there were a handful of us where I got a chance to talk about the troubles (or lack of really) back home and I got recommendations about where was the best place to stop for oysters on the way up the Garden Route to Cape Town, and how to find the best ostrich biltong etc.  I had a lovely time but was getting so tired  so I was really glad when we got home.

Now I only have one day left in Gonubie .  Western Cape, here I come…

Day 143 – People Seriously Love Their Braai’s Over Here!

Sandra & Reg, Les & Lesley

Ok todays post isnt going to be particularly long, purely because I took very little photos and I am also writing this two days late because ive been so busy.

Me & Jess got dropped off at Vincent Park to go see Harry Potter 6 (Woo Hoo!!) and sneaked in half a shops worth of sweets and crisps;  Jess had Simba Chutney Chips stuffed down her jacket, I had astros, biltong and marshmallow bars stuffed in my pockets lol.  I really really enjoyed HP6;  A lot of people are really pissed off because of the changes made like [SPOILER ALERT] the Weasleys house being burnt down and the big fight at the end being omitted, but I really think they help the story along.  The reason they burn the house is to show how serious the attacks are, and they had to leave out book 6’s final fight because they didnt want to overcast book 7’s ultimate fight (which I cant wait for!!).

We did absolutely nothing in the afternoon except nap a bit, lie about in the sun and relax.  Sandra asked me to take a photo her, Reg, Les & Lesley so it turned out that it was the only photo I took all day!

We were then invited to a Braai by Lesleys best friend Lindie at her house, which was really good craic.  Jesus, all these men really know how to do a proper BBQ!  They burn the wood for about 3 hours until it is perfect, eh?  The food was gorgeous, especially the steaks.  They seem to get  better with every one I have.  Lindies sons were also very friendly and Mark spent most of his time leaving his girlfriend to talk to me and Jess.  We ended the night watching The Holiday, possibly the shittest movie ever made but it wasnt too bad watching it in SA, and caught up on an episode of Cheaters which is honestly the stupidest/funniest show ever made.

I cant even count now how many Braai’s [BBQ's] Ive eaten since ive been here but Im not complaining!  Im sure Rónán is extremely jealous back home!  I keep telling people here about when at home there is the first inkling of sun, Rónán is getting the BBQ started lol.

Day 142 – Jurassic Freakin Park!!

Look, It's Simba!

A lot of photos to show today so apologies but they really are worth looking at …

We had to leave the house at 9am this morning because we were going to the animal reserve and our booking was at half past so naturally we rushing about a bit but when we got to Inkwenkwezi (The animal reserve) I was in shock!  It was absolutely beautiful and unbelievably massive!  There were wild ostriches, rhinos, monkeys, zebras and kudus running about!  Here are a couple of photos of the restaurant and reception buildings, which no joke looked like Jurassic Park:

So the two of us had booked into a 2 hour tour of the reserve on quads.  Well I tell you right now that it was one of the craziest experiences of my life!  They were harder to control than anything ive ever been on and twice I nearly broke my neck.  It was definitely an experience.  Unfortunately we only stopped once to look at the lions who are in their own 100 hectre enclosure but they were absolutely gorgeous:

We very rarely saw any animals running about which was shit but when we did it was one of the most amazing things I have ever seen.  It really did remind me of the scene in Jurassic Park when the wild dinosaurs are running about and the background music plays and everybodys mouths are just wide open!  We were on our quads driving along and all of a sudden about 50 kudu start running really fast in front of us, crossing the plains towards some zebras.  Absolutely breakthtaking!

We then made it back with a lot of dirt on our faces, got cleaned up and then met up with Les & Lesley for the Elephant interaction.  We drove up to the area where it was taking place and the elephants were brought right beside one of the most beautiful lakes I have ever seen:

Then the next hour would be spent feeding and petting the elephants which was just incredible.  Pictures say a thousand words so here they are:

We then came home and I had not only my first Pie ever, but my first Shamrock Pie ever which everybody in East London think are the best pies in existence.  Lesley’s auntie Marie has been working there for nearly 30 years so she brought us a box of steak, peppered steak pies and cornish pasties:

We then all had a nice wee nap and then made our way to Friezeland, a popular milkshake place on the East London coast where I got a Double Thick Caramel Milshake but to be honest it wasnt anything special.  We then walked along the coast which was absolutely breaktaking, and there were a lot of market people selling wooden ornaments etc which were so amazingly crafted:

When we got back we did absolutely sweet FA because we were all so tired;  We just sat around talking and then all went to bed early at around 8:30pm lol.  Was definitely a day to remember though!

Day 141 – Braai

Jess beat me at Super Mario Bros today. I was not happy. Her prize? Being the blog photo lol.

We went back to the mall this morning to have another look around Mr Price home (bit like matalan in a way) and I went into First National Bank (FNB) to get my travellers cheques changed.  So I queued in the first line and no one came to the desk so I then queued in the one beside it.  When I finally got to the clerk he called the woman for foreign exchange services.  She then told me that she couldnt help me and Id have to go to this other queue.  Finally got to the front of it and the clerk then told me I had to try another different queue.   By the time I finally left the bank I had been in there for 1hr and 15mins.  Jesus Fucking Christ!   I cant remember the last time I had felt so irratated.  Because of this I didnt get a chance to shop so we just made our way to Wimpy again in Vincent Mall.

This was the funny part because as we were being shown to our table in wimpy all I hear behind me is “Leeesslleeyy???!!” from one of the women who worked there.  About 3 or 4 of them remembered them both from before they left and had been working at wimpy since it opened nearly 30 years ago!  Small world eh?

We needed to be back for 4pm because Sandra and Reg were hosting a big braai (BBQ) for us, inviting all the family and friends they could think of.  The food was gorgeous and the craic was really good; I got a chance to talk to most people which was really nice.  Everyone filtered out by about 10:30pm even though it still felt like 2am as per usual!  Anyway ill not blether on any more but here are photos of everyone at the braai:

Jess, Linda & Andrea

The Clews & The Davies

Dave & Stoopsie

"Dont Take A Photo Of Me, Eh?!"

Sandra, Reg, Glen & Lindie

Day 140 – Quiet Times

Out for dinner and I dont look happy! (I was joking though )

I cant understand it but for some reason I wake up every morning absolutely wrecked.  Im getting plenty of sleep but I wake up and I feel so tired.  Anyway Jess let me sleep on and it was about 10:30am by the time I was up and ready to go.

We had to make a stop at the doctors surgery first near to where Les and Lesley first met (Les told me in the car, “over on that road is where I made my first dinner for Lesley!”) and me and Les waited outside whilst Jess and Lesley went in to get their antibiotics and stuff.  Us two men had a really good chat about the state of South Africa and how NI and SA are extremely similar.  Before we knew it they were back out again;  hell they spent even longer at the Bank yesterday than at the doctors today.

Me and Jess got dropped off at the nearest mall whilst they went to visit friends, so we decided to go to the cinema to see the Proposal seeing as how neither Bruno nor HP6 were out.  Heres a breakdown of the price:

2 x Cinema Tickets: 42R
Bottle of Water, Bag of Wine Gums, Box of Astros (Same size as bag of M&Ms): 42R

Its 12R to £1 so for two tickets it was about £3.65 and the same for two bags of sweets and a bottle of water!  Some things are so incredibly cheap over here.  The woman at the checkout was soo funny as well;  when I asked her for two tickets for the proposal she was like “No sorry, im married already” and then said “the showing is free seating so you can sit anywhere you like except of the roof”.  We were pissing ourselves!  We went to jess’ favourite fast food chain in SA for lunch, called wimpys:

Wimpy!!

I wasnt too impressed with the food to be honest but there is this chocolate bar over here called a Milo bar that jess is obsessed with, so I got the Milo Milkshake and it was divine!:

Please excuse the iphone focusing :S

We then surprised one of Lesleys old friends by being at her house before she came back from work and I swear I have never seen someone scream so much in my life!  It was so lovely to watch two people enjoy eachothers company after such a long time.  The night was then finished off by us all going to a local restaurant called The Fig Tree;  I had the steak, ribs and chips and I swear to God that not only was it the tastiest steak ive had in my life, but also the most gorgeous ribs ive ever tasted.  Everyone definitely agreed about the ribs!  And it was something like 60R which is like a fiver!!!  Youd pay between £12 and £15 at home just for the steak!

Jess then went to visit an old friend and all her girlfriends for a couple of hours whilst I caught up with Ryan on msn and hear about how quiet the 12th was this year.  Its funny how you do miss things about home (except for the 12th!).

Ok anyway, before I go I thought it might be interesting to point out things that stand out so far about SA:

# No white people are even remotely fat over here, although some of the black community are.
# Food, Petrol and basic living essentials are half the price;  electronics and luxuries are almost double
# People are really crazy about security;  making sure the doors are always locked, windows have bars across them etc but there hasnt really been a point where ive felt unsafe.  Maybe thats why; who knows.
# The heating goes off in the whole country from 6am – 9am and 6pm -9pm every day so you cant have a hot shower or any hot water during those times.
# There was a power out for almost a full day;  this also meant that all the traffic lights went off so cars just try and get through crossroads as best they can!  Absolutely crazy!
# The people here are the nicest ive met in any country.  I expected all of their family and friends to be nice but the staff in anywhere we go are always up for a bit of craic and are extremely polite, courteous and really appreciate good manners.  And as Jess says, its mostly been the black people of SA who have been so nice.
# There is still a lot of racism and bigotry around here (however Les’ family and him are just as tolerant as back home but really seem to be the select few out of everyone.  Im actually quite proud to be staying with a family like that.)
# Peoples cars are about 20 years in the past.  Today we saw people driving 50 year old cars; the reason being that they are so expensive to buy and cant afford to upgrade.
# Everywhere is extremely dry and dusty.  Really makes you miss the green fields back home.

Its definitely a very interesting country, one which I cant wait to see more of…

Day 139 – Best Day Of Jess’ Life!

Cant believe we actually stroked Lion Cubs! Unbelievable.

We didnt have so much of a lie in today and got up at around 9am so that we could get an early start to the day.  I had caramel coco pops for breakfast (Caramel?!?  I thought that was bad, theres strawberry too made by kelloggs) which tasted, umm, interesting, and then we all sat around for a couple of hours talking to one of Lesleys best friends who still lives here, chatting about everything to do with Ireland as well as the economy and safety of East London and how it had changed.  She was lovely, and its always nice when someone is interested in what goes on in your own country.

Next was a short drive to the Lion Park (Anybody who knows Jess will know that she was almost pissing herself in anticipation)  and when we got there the entry into the park was 25Rand for an adult. 25R!?!?!  That works out at about £2.10 to sit with a baby lion cub and feed giraffes and see cheetahs up close.  God if only things were that cheap at home.  Anyway a picture tells a thousand words so here are a few from the Park today:

A Hibernating Crocodile

80 Year Old Tortoise

Feeding Jenny The Giraffe

Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine, So Come On!

A South African Antelope; So Friendly!

Jess with her new best friend

Baby Lion Cub

Jess and her best friend

Close Up

It was an amazing time and the staff were so lovely, helpful and laidback.   Although sometimes I thought maybe a bit too laidback as the lioncub escaped whilst we were there and the staff were just like “ohh ill go and pick her back up”.  Crazy!  There was also a cage with a fully grown Lion and a sausage dog who lived together, and the Lion never ate the dog!  In fact if the Lion annoyed the sausage dog the dog would go and nip him, and the Lion would run off!  In fact when we asked the lady at the desk why he doesnt get eaten she said she didnt know, but that he used to live with three cheetahs and a tiger too!

Next we then went to another outlet mall to have a little look around (Lesleys obsessed with the Mr Price Home, man!) and stopped at a place called the Curry Muncher where I got some cheese and ham samosas (I know, crazy but nice) and a chicken curry pie which was lovely, but made my stomach churn like nothing else!  We got told off for eating outside the shops too.  Shame!  We also stopped at a meat butcher that had been recommended for good billatong and got, and I am not kidding, the nicest billatong I have ever eaten in my life!  They said that I could come back and get some vacuum packed so I can take it home and let you all try it!

We stopped by at Lesley’s auntie Marie’s house again before we went back to Sandra and Reg’s house for a cup of coffee and a chat.  I swear to Jesus that she has the scariest dog in existence.  It kept sniffing round my calfs and I was nearly sure I was going to lose one of them!

No joke, this dog made me shit my pants. Thank god I brought an extra pair!

But it was nice being round at Marie’s;  for living in South Africa for so long she still has a very stron Northern Irish accent and its really nice to hear.

We got stuck in a traffic jam in Gonubie on the way home but made it just in time for a beautiful dinner made by Sandra;  roast pork, cauliflower, corn and peas, butternut squash and just a hint of aromat for seasoning. Mmmmmm.  The rest of the night was spent showing off the photos taken at the Lion Park today.  Jess is dying to go back!  She says she would never move back to SA but i think the Lions definitely tempt her…

Day 138 – South African Shopping, Swimming & BBQing

A South African Braai (BBQ)

　

I cant believe that I actually slept from 10pm last night, till almost 10am this morning (minus an hour for a coughing fit in the middle of the night) and yet I still felt a bit tired throughout the day. But that is definitely the best sleep that I have had in probably well over a month. We had some lovely bacon and eggs in the morning and then made our way to a local retail park (very like Boucher back in Belfast) where we had a walk round the shops, many of which brought back a lot of memories for Jess and her mum.

We went to a place very like poundstretcher called Mr Price and I was able to get my very first present for my family. I have to admit that things still really arent that different than back at home. They sell pretty much the same stuff and you get it for relatively the same price. They are a bit stricter on security in the shops; so say for instance that you go back into one of the stores with the same bag; they will check through your bag and make a note of what you bought so that your not stealing when you go back in. In saying that, the security guard was very friendly and continually smiled to make sure you didnt feel that you were being ridiculed.

We went back to Sandra and Reg’s house and then the four of us went on a wee drive round Gonubie where they pointed out to me their old house and where all their friends lived around the neighbourhood. The streets work very differently to what they do back home in that they are all numbered avenues very like America (so you get 17th Avenue etc) so they are all in blocks, however because everyone builds their own houses so they all look extremely different!

We took a short stop out onto the Gonubie coast, and then a short drive to the boardwalk and Gonubie beach for a quick look which was gorgeous, before making our way back to Jess’ family’s next door neighbours house [Classy] for a quick cup of coffee before heading back to Sandras house to get the Braai on (Braai is the afrikans name for a BBQ). I decided to jump in the pool for the craic; holy shit it was colder than the irish sea! I swear I shivered for about 2 hours after getting out, but it was definitely worth it! We made our way to the super spar to get some groceries for the week. They started to play some music over the sound system so me and Jess started to dance like fools; then all of a sudden the clerk who was packing the shelves started to dance with us and was loving it! Even when we stopped dancing he was still shaking his ass whilst putting the jars of sauce on the shelves. Then when we were walking away he said “I wish we had customers like that more often”. Made our day .

We got back to the house with all our groceries and Reg started the Braai. It took a few hours for the logs to be the right temperature so we sat around having a few beers whilst Les and Reg taught me afrikans words that I could use whilst I was here, or at least I thought I could because what they told me was a polite way to say thank you actually meant “Your full of shit” lol.

The BBQ was beautiful and we had typical South African sausage called Boerewors  chops and chicken. We all just sat round telling stories and laughing a lot! The night time is still very deceiving and what feels like 2am is usually around 10pm so an early night actually worked out quite well as it still feels like you were up all night.

Great Day!

Day 137 – We Made It Bru! Get The Braai Started!

Flying over East London, coming from Johannesburg

 

This is more of a two day post seeing as how I nearly spent 24 hours travelling to get to where we were going in South Africa. So ill start from yesterday where we got our flight from Belfast City Airport at 3pm. Thankfully that was only to Heathrow so the long journey hadnt begun yet. Jess had been having really sore pains in her stomach so she was always waiting to get to the toilet, bless her. Flying always seems to get people very stressed but it really never bothers me; whats the point?

We made it to London with plenty of time for our flight on South African Airways to Johannesburg, and were absolutely over the moon when we finally got to sit down on the plane. Boy was it massive and amazing! There were countless things on the tv screen that you could watch and play (I chose to watch The International with Clive Owen but didnt bother watching the end, opting for the simpsons instead!) they also had a camera strapped to the front of the plane so you could see it landing and taking off, and finally they had a breakdown of what altitude we were flying at, distance left to travel, estimated time of arrival as well as temperature outside. Talk about being well informed! It really makes you feel a lot more settled knowing how long your flight is going to take!

When you sat on your seat you were given complimentary toothbrush and toothpaste, flight socks, eye patch, headphones and a blanket! Not only that but all alcohol was free (so I had two beers, woo hoo!) and you got a full dinner at 10pm, as well as a hearty breakfast the next day. And it was all included in your ticket price! I was in heaven. The staff were all really nice as well and really looked after everyone and made sure you had what you want. It got to around midnight and I decided I was going to try and get some sleep, so I popped two nytol in the hope that it would knock me out. Well I suppose it kind of did! But man that was the worst sleep of my life!

We landed in Jo’berg just before 7am (it was an 11 hour flight) and waited for our connecting flight to East London at 10am. We stopped at the airport sweetshop so Jess could buy all her favourite childhood treats like Simba chips, billtong and super C’s. I went for a Baby Ruth, purely because its in the Goonies! [I love you Chunk!]

Our flight from Jo’berg to East London took just over an hour and to be honest I slept for most of it too! Jet Lag really seemed to get to me. But heres the best part; they gave you a complimentary turkey sandwich, biscuit and juice on the plane. South African Airways are definitely my kinda company! I got a nudge in the side every so often from Les or Lesley to tell me to look out the window to see either complete nothingness or snow capped mountains, or swimming pools in everyones gardens.

Lesleys dad and auntie Marie met us at the airport and after we got our rental car we went to Maries for a cup of tea. Her house was absolutely gorgeous and she had two beautiful “guard dogs” who were so friendly. We moved on and made our way to Les’ sisters Sandra’s house in Gonubie where Jess and her family grew up. Both her and and Reg were unbelievably welcoming and so happy to see their family from Northern Ireland. They both made me feel so welcome too and their house is gorgeous, complete with an outdoor swimming pool! I was also introduced to Jess’ grandfather who was the reason that Jess and her family were coming over in the first place!

The constant travelling had absolutely killed me so I went for an afternoon sleep only to be awoken by their family friend Classy who I had met before when he came to visit in Belfast. Took me almost an hour to wake up. We just spent the rest of the night sitting around talking, eating some pizza for supper and I finally got the shower I had been waiting for all day!

Nothing has really stood out for me here so far that is extremely different to anything else back home. They generally sell the same kind of things and they are only slightly cheaper (that was at the airport though so its probably cheaper in Gonubie town) and they drive the same kind of car, albeit maybe a couple of years older. The hardest thing to get used to is that it gets dark at 6pm even though it is as hot as our summer back home. It really messes with your body clock! But its great to be here and I cant wait to have a full day of adventure tomorrow…

Day 136 – Pride

Mum

I woke up this morning with a smile on my face, knowing that for my mum this was going to be one of the most important if not the most important day of her life.  About five years ago Stranmillis made of of the biggest mistakes of their lives by thinking that they would choose someones fate on half an hour of their teaching and think that they would get away with it.  Well today was a testament to five years of hard work that my mum has spent trying to prove that she deserved to get her PGCE and that everything they had done was completely wrong.  I have never been so proud;  she just goes to show that if someone tells you no, you can show them yes…

We went to stranmillis college for mums graduation and it was the best time.  My heart was beating and I was absolutely shitting myself for mum but she was as cool as a cucumber!  They allowed every person time to get photos which was pretty good!

After it finished we took a lot of photos beside a gorgeous tree outside the college.  Thankfully they came out really well!  We went to cutters for a couple of drinks and then back to ours for a bit of a BBQ.  Everyone was in some form and the drinks were fairly flowing!  It was such a good day, but now ive got to get my stuff sorted for South Africa tomorrow.  Shit!