Living in Rustenburg

Staying at the Travellers Inn in Rustenburg

I am staying with family who are looking after me very well. I am very grateful for their help and support the past few months. I don't know what I would have done without them.

Gone back to work? Yuck!!! Yoikes!!!

I would rather try and work for myself.

The Travellers Inn is situated in the central CBD of Rustenburg, in the North West Province of South Africa.

It is a lovely place with an established garden, huge trees, a haven, and very affordable at that.

The rooms are spacious and well appointed with bar-fridge, tv, fan, desk and chair, en-suite bathrooms, bed(s) and all the normal accoutrements. The family rooms have a double sleeper-couch, and the VIP rooms have lock-up garages.

Various accommodation options: Dinner, Bed and Breakfast, Self Catering, Camping (2-man tents only) and Backpackers dormitory.

This is the pool and 'lapa' (Backpackers).

Great swimming pool to cool off in the hot summer days, the most interesting pub I've ever seen, pool table, dart-board, and intimate conference facilities (max 20 people).

See more on my Accommodation in Africa South website i.e. what a marketing page would look like e.g. Travellers Inn.

Where?

North West Province of South Africa

Canon Camera

I used a Canon 400D Camerawith a Canon 300mm Lens

Links to blogs of events since I left Cape Town on 1 April  2012

Utopia Nov 2012
Buffelspoort Dam Nov 2012
Olifantsnek Dam Feb 2013
Pilanesberg Aug 2012
Photography Course Oct 2012
Margaret Roberts Herb Farm
Dikhololo Game Farm July 2012
Overberg April 2012 till end June 2012
Living in Rustenburg July 2012 to date
 - my furry friends in Rustenburg
Broke my arm in August 2012
Cape Town Dec 2012 - To paint my flat and put Hugh's stuff in storage
Hazyview Mpumalanga Feb 2013 - Kruger Park Lodge - to follow
Hartbeespoort Dam Yacht Club Marina
Second operation to remove plate and fix tendons
Cameras and Photographic Equipment I use

I broke my arm in August

My hands chopped off?

I am now a bionic woman with a plate in my arm. It hurts when its cold.

Where?

North West Province of South Africa

Canon Camera

I used a Canon 400D Camerawith a Canon 300mm Lens

How did it happen?

We went running to support Pick and Pay cancer walk.  We were late and I was running, looked back to my friend behind me, and tripped over a speedbump.  I fell skew and my arm went 'ding'.  I knew immediately it was broken and badly. On the x-rays it showed it had splintered off lengthwise close to the wrist. 

According to the doctors it couldn't be fixed with plaster of paris only, it needed an operation.  I sat around from Saturday morning till Tuesday before they operated. I don't have medical aid.  I have a hospital plan (Insurance) and they don't man the telephones on weekends so I couldn't find out that I'm not covered for operations where I am in and out of hospital in less than 3 days.  They catch you on the swings and on the roundabouts. I had to cough up the money before they operated.

So by Tuesday I was steaming as you can imagine. I arrived at hospital and even though I had organised with the doctor and the nursing staff, they did not have me on the operating list because the doctor hadn't confirmed.

I threw my toys. They organised.

More than R50,000  and a number of physio sessions later I am still in pain with most things I do.

The following things are painful to do even now more than 6 months later;

• Tie shoelaces,
• Wash hair
• Knitting (impossible)
• Sewing (with difficulty)
• Pick up anything heavier than a mug
• Anything needing dexterity or a bit of precision
• and so on...

Thanks goodness, typing is getting there.... and I can use my hand and arm, even if not with the full range of motion and power I used to have.  Something is better than nothing. I have great sympathy for anyone who has gone through something similar, be it arm, leg or other body parts.  We take so much for granted.

Do you know what its like for an independent DIY-er to have to ask others to do things for you? F-ing frustrating if you'll excuse my french.

What have I kept myself busy with?

So what have I kept myself busy with the past few months since October, when my arm was remotely usable again?
.  I have created a website for travellers, tourists, people who love to explore, who  have adventure in their blood, who want new experiences, new tastes, see and do new things.  The website will have places to stay and visit, things to do and see, i.e. accommodation, venues, an events calendar, and advertise adventure sports.

At this stage I am building up a portfolio of accommodation and venues. A directory listing is FREE.
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Look for Accommodation in Southern Africa or Find Venues in South Africa for special occasions like Weddings, Conferences, Conventions, Shows and much more.
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Want to know what the weather is like in the places you would like to visit?
Find out What's on in South Africa, in your neck of the woods, or elsewhere in the country on the Events Calendar.

....Besides this

List of Links to Events since I left Cape Town on 1 April 2012

Utopia Nov 2012
Buffelspoort Dam Nov 2012
Olifantsnek Dam Feb 2012
PilanesbergAug 2012
Photography Course Oct 2012
Margaret Roberts Herb Farm
Dikhololo Game Farm July 2012
Overberg April 2012 till end June 2012
Living in Rustenburg July 2012 to date
Broke my arm in August 2012
Cape Town Dec 2012 - Painted my flat and put Hugh's stuff in storage
Mpumalanga Feb 2013 - Kruger Park Lodge - to follow

Meerkat / Suricate death: Travellers Inn meerkat mascot killed in Rustenburg

Traveller's Inn where I stay in Rustenburg has a  meerkat or suricate as mascot.  Our resident meerkat, Travis, was brutally murdered on sunday morning after someone left the gate open and he went walkabout in the neighbourhood. He was like a child in the house and is sorely missed.


I will be updating the Traveller's Inn website soon and will let you know when its done. If youb are looking for a place to stay in Rustenburg that is like home away from home, a comfy stay, this is a good place to be.  Close to Sun City, Dikhololo, Pilanesberg and the Royal Bafokeng Stadium.  About an hour and a half away from Pretoria and Johannesburg.

See below for more info about the meerkat or suricate.

The fulll name for this little mongooselike mammal is Suricata suricatta, The suricata is called stokstaartje = "little stick-tail" in Dutch.  It uses the tail to signal and to balance when standing upright. Meerkat live in most areas in South Africa, some places in the Kalahari Desert in Botswana, areas of the Namib Desert in Namibia, and southwestern Angola.

A group of meerkat is called a "mob", "gang" or "clan". A suricate clan can have as many as 50 members.  Its  life span is about 12–14 years in captivity and about half this in the wild.

The small black crescent-shaped ears can close to exclude soil when digging. Like cats, suricate have binocular vision, a large peripheral range, depth perception, and eyes on the front of their faces. The eyes have a special lid that closes over it so that they can look directly into the sun and have black patches around them.

The meerkat's "fingers" have non-retractable claws which they use for digging burrows and for prey. They can even climb trees. The coat is as unique as our fingerprints; usually fawn-colored peppered with brown, gray or tan, with a silver tint. Parallel stripes extend from the base of the tail to the shoulders. 

The meerkat has a bald patch on its stomach. It uses this area to absorb heat while standing on its hind legs.

Suricate eat predominantly insects and grubs, but also eat lizards, snakes, scorpions, spiders, plants, eggs, small mammals, centipedes, millipedes and even small birds.They have no excess body fat stores, so daily foraging for food is essential. Meerkat are immune to certain types of venom. 

Meerkats forage in a group with one "sentry" on guard watching for predators while the others search for food. The suricate sentry makes constant peeping sounds when all is well, but barks or whistles when there is danger.   In addition to alarm calls, suricate also make panic calls, recruitment calls, and moving calls. 

Meerkats have been known to engage in social activities, including what appears to be wrestling matches and foot races. They are fiercely territorial, will kill offending offspring, but sometimes share their burrows with yellow mongoose or ground squirrel who do not compete for the same resources.

See wikipedia for more about the meerkat

Smitswinkel Bay

Smitswinkel Bay

Unfortunately these photos don't do the place justice. It is absolutely gorgeous. It is quite a steep climb and not accessible by car. No Tv, No electricity, probably no phones, didn't see any lines, and Cell reception also non-existent. But what it doesn't have in mod-cons it more than makes up for in wild, exquisite beauty. 

This picture is the path that leads down to the hamlet.

A picture of the bay from sort of half way down

The veld is dotted with these flame lilies

The beach with cottages

More of the bay

The disturbance in the middle of the picture is a school of dolphins having a feeding frenzy.

We saw these dolphins on our way back driving over the pass.

We had ice cream in Simonstown, yuck!.

My dad used to make ice cream. Simonstown yacht club ice cream definitely wasn't up to scratch. If you want ice cream, the place in Kalk Bay is better, the best is in Hout Bay, and St Marco's on the waterfront for gelato.

Canon Camera

I used a Canon 400D Camera with a Canon 300mm Lens

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Argus Cycle Tour

The Argus Cycle Tour no longer goes through Kommetjie

The Argus Cycle Race now takes a shortcut through Ocean View.  Kommetjie is closed today, no entry, no exit. The race no longer goes through Kommetjie - the bends are too dangerous, too many accidents.

Spectators cheering the cyclists on at the turnoff to Ocean View.  Helicopters, Ambulances, Traffic cops, and other support people standing by to keep everyone safe and watered. 

Need a massage after the Argus Cycle Race to relieve sore muscles?
- contact me at 021 783 5303 for Kommetjie and surrounding areas.

Different faces of the Sentinel

View from the Kom

Now you see it now you don't

The Sentinel at different times of day in different weather conditions. Sometiimes very bashful and hiding behind clouds, other times brazen. The one day we caught a rainbow displaying full colours.

 Each time we leave the house it looks different. The sun can shine at sunrise, it can rain in the morning and the sun will come out in the afternoon again. Never a dull moment. I love the surprise of it. Slogging hard, then coming out and seeing the rugged beauty of the kom and its surrounding area.

Camping in the back yard

We usually go camping in December. Camping in the back yard this year, just feels as though we were on holiday again. The fact that it is in the back yard doesn't bother us a bit. We often go to Sanddrif in the Cederberg mountains.

We hope you had a wonderful Christmas and that the year ahead will be filled with all that is delightful, and pleasurable and that anything undesirable will disappear into the mist in nanoseconds.