The construction of the 'staff village' as it is called here is nicely coming along. So far we are very satisfied with our builder and his team. During the weekend everything is left nice and tidy and even during the week when the builders stay here we hardly hear them. They cook their own food and it also gives our own staff some entertainment in the evening. Although Silias does comply with the Corona rules. Armed with a large bottle of disinfectant on the counter, he keeps everyone at an appropriate distance. Later it becomes clear why. Sometimes the 'Silias language' causes some confusion. We thought he had already been vaccinated during his leave in June but it now appears that he only had his first vaccination last week. This is also apparent from the vaccination card that he proudly shows and which must be kept safe in the kitchen drawer of M and M. (By the way, for Silias it is not Corona but Cholera)
Monica also had her first vaccine and is very happy with it. Since this week, everyone in South Africa from the age of 18 can now also be vaccinated and the figures are finally going in the right direction. Even Cassius is now registered. Although he had other things on his mind; his 2nd child was born.
So quickly in the car, we bought him a pink outfit and he rushed home for his new daughter and his African Princess as he always called his wife.
We hear around us that international tourism is fortunately picking up again. Especially now that there has been unrest in the country everyone was afraid for more negative impact.
In the meantime I had the opportunity to perform two volunteer flights to move animals for the Bateleurs. The first flight was to fly some animals from the veterinarian hospital in Johannesburg to Kimberley, from where they were rehabilitated and placed back into the wild. 2 weeks later, an early morning request came in to urgently fly a sick flamingo from Hoedspruit to Johannesburg. Preferably the same day. This suited me perfectly, because we were scheduled to go to Cape Town the next day. I texted Monique if she wanted to come along and so an hour later we were on our way to Johannesburg together with this sick flamingo in the back seat. How cool! When I was asked on arrival if I wanted to hold the flamingo for their social media, I gracefully thanked for the honor :)
Anyway, the organisation was happy and so was I. Finally my dream; flying with animals in the back, fantastic. We are back at 3 o'clock in the afternoon and hear that the flamingo is now on an IV drip and is already recovered quite a bit. Even though I am not a fan of birds, this still gives a super good feeling. I am again called by the animal shelter here in Hoedspruit and asked if I would like to fly a leopard to Mozambique soon. What do you think ?!
We then went to Cape Town for a week and Glory seems to have found her place in our house. Everything looks tip-top. Of course she was a bit mistaken in the idea of living in Cape Town. Our house is only 20 minutes by car from the center but she has not gone further than the center of Constantia. Since we are not there very often, life there is of course a bit lonely. But anything is better than no job.
From Cape Town we fly to the Netherlands to arrange a few things. Back and forth to Spain in 1 day for the transfer of our house, my medical examination that can only be done in Europe and after 6 years I had to do another English language test for my certificate. Fortunately, living in South Africa has ensured that I have now reached level 6 and it is valid indefinitely.
A week later we are back on the plane after a busy program full of coffees and dinners. Including 5 suitcases full of stuff that Patrick has ordered here and there and collected from Leo. Thanks again guys and I'm afraid there's more to come... :)
The new rooms are really taking shape and Monica is still very unsure whether she will move or not. Her old room has its own TV but she has to share the bathroom. The new rooms all have their own bathroom, but the TV will be in the shared TV room. I'm really curious what will win
It is a cold winter in Hoedspruit. Of course there are days that hit 30 degrees during the day, but the nights are cool and the August wind is serious this year. When we come back from a game drive, Silias has always lighted the fireplace. Only lately our favorite beanbag has been been taken bu Nobu!