A long walk and a curry.

Thursday 2 July.

 

Although Alex wasn't working today he was up early. He was taking two of his MG's to a worksop on Great North Rd for servicing. He wanted Moira to drive up in the BMW with him each time to take him back. While they were out I got up and had a shower before getting breakfast ready.

 

After breakfast I borrowed Alex's laptop for my SA income tax. I had been trying on my Notebook to open my tax assessments over the last 5 years but it said that I required an updated version of the 'Adobe Reader'. I had downloaded that programme a few times but still it wouldn't bring up the pages on the tax returns I wanted. I was successful with Alex's computer and managed to transfer them via a memory stick to my Notebook.

 

Moira made sandwiches for lunch and she packed them in the daypack with an apple, an orange and two cans of beer. After calling at the doctor's we were going for a walk the Westdene Pan and Korsman's bird sanctuary. We didn't have to wait long in the waiting room before Dr Frankel called us through. He remembered us and remarked how fit and youthful? we looked. He sounded Moira's chest and prescribed a new-more-powerful antihistamine and nasal spray for her allergies and hay fever. We then spent some time talking about running, he's a runner, and the people we know. Before we left I told him about the three unsuccessful operations I have had on my right hand, the fingers bent and twisted with Dupuytren's contracture, and asked If he knew where Dr Straub, who did a good job on my left hand, was now based. He is now at a hospital in Pretoria so I may go to him when we come again in the new year and have a final try at correcting the problem. Dr Frankel is a very nice genuine person and seems to take an interest in his patients.

 

When we left we picked up the medicines from the pharmacy attached to the centre. I asked if they could supply me with Voltarin anti-inflammatory suppositories without a prescription and he could. They also were able to put these through on the medical aid with Moira's medications.

 

 

Blacksmith Lapwing

Now it was time to head out on our walk. We made our way down to Homestead Dam and walked along by waterside to the end. There were lots of birds about, different types of Ibis and a black and white bird that we later found out to be a Blacksmith Lapwing. We cut round the top of the dam and took the path to the main road. From there we made our way by the perimeter road round the golf course and into Lakefield. This was a secured area with a lot of the access road fenced off, a few had barriers that had to be raised by the guard to allow cars to go through. As we were only walkers nobody bothered with us. This area is a mass of huge luxury mansions and they like to protect their assets by locking themselves in a 'fortress'. Once in the suburb we made our way to Westdene pan which is a large wetland area in the centre of Lakefield with the Korsman's bird sanctuary fenced off. When we reached the fenced area we found a bench, its was now well after midday and lunch time. We enjoyed our sandwiches, fruit and a beer before making our way round the edge of the pan. There were lots of birds in the reeds and the water but the fence kept us a distance away from them and there didn't seem to be a hide close up to observe them. There were lots more of the black and white lapwings that we saw on Homestead. There is more information about the sanctuary and all the flora and fauna on the web site. www.korsmanconservancy.com.

 

Views of Korsman's bird sanctuary.

Soon we had circled back to where we started. It had been tiring especially in the very warm weather of today. We came out of Lakefield further over at another security gated point and headed for Atlas Rd. This is the road with entries and exits from the motorway and was very busy. Fortunately there was a path beside it then a hard shoulder where it crossed the motorway. Soon we came off the busy road and took a service road leading to another exclusive suburb, Alphen Park. Here all the access roads were fenced off and we were forced to make our way up to Mercury St. As we made our way along another service road beside Mercury we saw that there was one entrance to Alphen Park where the guard was raising the barriers for cars. We crossed the small bridge over the vlei and then it was only a short distance to Alex's. Alex passed us in one of his MG's as we neared the house. The mechanic had come and collected him to pick up one of his cars from the workshop, the other one wont be ready for a few days. This saved Moira doing another shuttle service.

 

We had a cup tea, feeling a bit dehydrated after our long walk in the sun, and relaxed out in the back garden. We were thinking of buying a car before we went to the UK and wanted to get a battery charger like Alex has to keep the battery up to capacity all the time. He said that the Outdoor Warehouse near East Rand Mall had them. He drove us out there after we had recovered from our walk. It was fantastic camping and caravanning shop with generators, solar panels and various other things you don't see in the UK. We got the battery charger that keeps the battery fully charged over a long period. It cost R900, not cheap but affordable.

 

Tonight we were taking Alex out for an Indian meal at a restaurant, again over near the East Rand Mall. We left at 6:30 pm and Alex drove us there. We had a lovely meal, each ordering a different dish which we all sampled and shared. There was a lamb, a chicken and a prawn curry and each dish included rice in the price, a big difference from the UK where rice is extra. While we waited for our main course they gave us papadums and pickles. The curries were all delicious and we ordered naan bread to mop up the thick sauce. We each had a couple of beers to wash it down and the total bill including a tip was R400. That was about £20, that would be roughly the price for one person in Scotland.

 

When we got back the lounge was lovely and warm, Alex had left the heaters on while we out. We sat for an hour watching the TV, a programme about motor racing and the Le Mans 24 hour race. We were a bit sore and tired after our long walk today, I estimated it to have been about 14 km, so we got to bed early again and had a good night's sleep.

 

 

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