Patricia Schonstein launches latest book Banquet at Brabazan

Patricia Schonstein telling us about her latest book called Banquet at Brabazan.  A delightful story of illicit love, batrayal, living out your fantasy, creating magic in life.

The drama unfolds mostly in Long Street,Cape Town.

A rich feast of food, romance, surprising characters, both real and imagined, mild eroticism, art, poetry and music to tantalize the mind.

The novel skips along at a joyful pace.  Its like some chocolates.  You can't stop till its finished.

For more pictures of the launch see my web album at
Patricia Schonstein - Banquet at Brabazan launch

There were some rather strange characters there.... have a look for yourself. http://picasaweb.google.com/sonja.wilker/SpiritLatexAtBookLaunch  

Drakensberg

DRAKENSBERG HOLIDAY 2010  We arrived in a hail storm. Visibility was so bad we had to stop. The hail was the size of dog pellets. It was soon over and we could continute on our way. The rest of the week it rained, the wind blew, and the sun shone. No snow. On the web album there are pics of magnificent clouds. The one day we went for a short hike (they said it would take us 3 hours, but it took us about 4 hours) from Witsies Hoek Hotel. We climbed down a gorge on a chain ladder. I was a bit worried about this because of my still tricky rib, but it was fine. We crossed a number of streams, passed underneath huge rocks,  and passed two rather large waterfalls. The scenery is spectacular wherever you go. Aparently the winter is late because of all the rain they have had this year There thousands of huts scattered all over the mountainside. The best part of the holiday was the feeling of space, of being able to see far in the distance.

Sanddrif 2009

It is fabulous camping underneath these trees. They provide ample shade throughout the day. We had a lazy 10 days, eating, sleeping, reading, chatting, taking photos, going for a stroll or two, no hectic hiking in the blazing sun for us this year.

Thanks to everyone for making my birthday a memorable one this year. I was touched by the innovative and generous gifts you came up with. Much appreciated :)

Please check my web album for more pics here - http://picasaweb.google.com/sonja.wilker/Sanddrif2009

I see that you can now share albums, so if you wish to add your pics to mine, please feel free.


PS: This post should actually be before the Christmas one.

Trip to and from Pretoria for Christmas 2009

Hugh, Mario (my brother) and I went to my parents who live in Pretoria for Christmas. We left at 7 p.m. on the 23rd, drove through the night and arrived at midday in Pretoria. It is the last time I go up that time of the year.

It was a hair raising trip. These taxi drivers are lunatics. We would go up a blind rise and 3 to 5 of these guys with their minibusses and trailers would pass us plus 3 to five other cars and minibusses on a blind rise, over a double white line, to push in if something came over the rise. Pushing in was difficult because these taxi and trailers were following each other with less than half a car distance between them, not to mention car and trailer. No wonder they have such horrendous accidents. I thank our lucky stars that we got to Pretoria safe and sound.

My parents spoilt us. We ate too much, par for the course this time of year, and lazed around most of the time. I even caught catnaps after lunch,something I rarely do, but siesta seemed the best thing to do during these sweltering afternoons when the tummy is full. How quickly time passes when you are doing this, that, and the next thing. Before we knew it, it was time to come back home.

We had fabulous weather for travelling. It was overcast most of the time with long stretches where it was raining, in some places the windscreen wipers could not keep up with the deluge, and we had to slow down for safety's sake. Here is a pic of the one storm we could see sweeping across the countryside.

HOPE YOU ALL HAD A WONDERFUL FESTIVE SEASON, ARE ALL SAFE AND SOUND.

MAY 2010 BE THE BEST YEAR EVER, IN ALL WAYS.

Riebeeck Wes

Riebeeck West is well-known for its Olives and its wine.

We had Aneta's big-0 birthday there this weekend. It was lovely to connect with old friends and make new ones.

I couldn't take any photos because my batteries were 'pap'-flat, and the spares that I usually carry around for just such an eventuality didn't even let the lights come on they were so flat. Weird isn't it?

Lunch was a spitbraai with baby potatoes, baked veggies and salads. The meal was rounded off with divine puds. My favourite of course was the chocolate mousse with flake crumbed on top, oh me gosh!

When we arrived I was thirsty, but was only allowed some punch, that had such a 'skop' that I had to sit quietly for a while to get my composure back. I didn't want to misbehave.

What a lovely day.
Thanks.

Lalaland, Piket Bo-Berg, Western Cape, South Africa

Lalaland, symphony in green

We left Saturday afternoon after my writing workshop. It was torrenting with rain all the way to within 10km of Piketberg. As we went further up the mountain, the sun came out. Glorious.

Some of us camped on the lawn, others were more fortunate and slept in the house.

We drank Buchu Schnapps and the tongues wagged much better. Some of us, I won't mention names, talked a lot of, you know what, and we all had fun.

The storm came over late the evening after we had our "braai" (barbecue) and waterblommetjie "potjie" (a lamb and vegetable stew we make in a traditional three-legged black pot, on the fire).

Sunday morning we picked oranges in the orchard and had freshly squeezed orange juice. Yum! There is nothing like fruit freshly picked.

The next morning the sky was clear and we could see forever.

If you ever want to visit this area here is a link for: what to do, food and accommodation in Piketberg area.

Beacon Isle Hotel Plettenberg Bay

Beacon Isle Hotel Bliss

We left Cape Town at 11 pm and arrived there at 6 am the next morning. We encountered minimal traffic. Most of the big trucks pull off the road at about 3 for some shut-eye. Our little Honda Jazz did itself proud, it ate up the miles/kilometers no problem

It was a treat to stay in the Beacon Isle Hotel. We were on the first floor. Our sliding door opened up onto a huge balcony that we shared with the rest of the first floor. From there we had a 300 degree view. We saw whales sprouting and cavorting and a 5km school of dolphins passing just beyond the breakers. We could hardly believe our eyes. As soon as we thought this must be the last of them, more would come past, and more, and more.

I tried out the gym, but only once. It was fully air conditioned with no fresh air coming in. It felt like I was exercising in an aeroplane. Gross.

I did not try out the beauty salon, game rooms, nor sport facilities. It was still too cold to swim for my liking. I must have been a feline in my previous life. I am not much of a water lover, unless it is snugly body temperature.

We had some lovely sundowners on the deck. The hotel suppers were reasonably priced, and a handsome portion of very palatable food, not gourmet fare, but definately edible. We licked our platters clean (figuratively speaking). We did not try the restaurant.

We drove back at a more reasonable hour.

On the way back near strand we saw these birds flocking towards a spot. It must have been a shoal of fish.

We got back safe and sound.

Looking for accommodation in Plettenberg Bay follow this link