Mabibi and beyond.

Zara, bugologist of note.....

Ndumo Game Reserve......beware crocs, hippo, rhino etc!

With the Armstrong family 

Mabibi is a Tongan community nestled in the sandy vegetation between the fresh waters of Lake Sibaya and the rolling breakers of the Indian ocean.  They run what must be one of the most exquisite camps in Africa.  It comprises about a dozen private campsites tucked away in the thick coastal bush and perched on the edge of magnificent dunes and within earshot of crashing surf.  You are awoken at dawn by a sweet symphony of birdsong and golden sunrises provide magical light which filters through and plays on the fabric of your tent.  A short walk along sandy paths and a spiraling wooden staircase, entombed in thick green creepers and sail-like leaves, takes you down to a copper beach, dappled with the meticulous scratchings of ghost crabs and prints of timid antelope that have ventured from the security of the foliage.  Bold blue breakers crash incessantly onto the smooth sand and   further back, near the deep indigo water, dolphins cavort and cajole, careering down sleek, silver waves, cartwheeling and diving, euphoric and manic, in their beauty and liberty.

Camping Africa style at Mabibi.

Elegant Eland crossing pristine mountain
 stream in the Drakensberg

This is where we spent our first Easter holiday back in Africa.  Our routine was simple and repetitive; wake up to the above spectacle; run or walk on the beach basking in the morning light and sunrise; refresh in the warm seawater and risk the thundering shore-break; breakfast back at the camp with piles of fresh fruit; wage war with the vervet monkeys who attempt to steal everything; back to the beach armed with mask and fins; dive in an aquarium with Loggerhead turtle, octopi, electric ray shivering under sand, and gaze in awe at multitudes of fluorescent and colourful fish vying for food and attention; bask on beach; lazy lunch; read and snooze in warm afternoon sun; back to beach armed with kites, bats, balls; swim again in wild waves; shower; supper around fire; idle chatter; sleep....and start again.

That was our holiday!

Then back to reality.  My job is fantastic; no day is without action, drama, frustration, disbelief or joy.  We have had no telephones or internet for the last 2 weeks.  CT images had to be “whatsapped” to referral hospitals in Durban; communication relied on private cell phones and e-mail was non existent.  The telephone lines near the hospital had been stolen for their valuable copper.  Then, just to add to our woes, there were days with no water (so no operating theatre, no x-rays and no blood tests) and, repetitively, no electricity!  But these are woes that are tolerated and accepted without too much fuss and life, and work, continue, somehow adapted to the inconveniences; ok, do without that x-ray or blood test or that operation perhaps.  This week things are infinitely better and everything seems to be working.  There is construction and renovation everywhere and a creaking 50 year old hospital is getting a facelift in preparation for NHI, the new national health service, which promise to provide good health for all and minimise the massive health care inequality between the rich and poor.

Our Emergency Department is going from strength to strength. Morale is great and the team is growing and evolving.  EM is embryonic here but the excitement of a new project and the prospect of providing excellent emergency care is wonderful.  New equipment, new ideas and, next year, a new ED, make for a dynamic and determined department and I feel privileged to be a part of it.

Relaxing at Bannerman's Hut

On top of the Drakensberg in Lesotho, Mabibi Pass, 3000m

Margot and Zara have embraced and integrated into their new world like only children can;  every time we do this I am reminded of the fortitude and resilience of our children.  First it was Oz to NZ; then NZ to France, then back to NZ; then to home schooling in SA, then traveling in Africa, then back to France.....and now the full package of South African private schooling.  They attack it with a vigour and determination that provides ME with motivation for my work; to watch them playing hockey for the first time (and Margot making the 2nd team and Zara the U10 c’s), singing in the school choir at the easter concert; being part of the excitement of the school gala and heading off on school camps is both thrilling and wonderful and leaves us proud beyond belief.  Then Zara getting full marks for her Afrikaans tests (never seen the language before this year!) and saying how much she loves it!  Margot is exempt from Afrikaans having started in SA in grade 7 so is doing a bit of extra Maths and English in preparation for the entrance exams in 2 weeks time.  Ilda is keeping her busy with French sent from France.  This week it is auditions for the school play.

Swimming in a tarn, Drakensberg

Ilda, too, is resilient.  This week she, for the umteenth time, starts the arduous task of piling our belongings into boxes and preparing us for the next move.  We have committed ourselves to rentals for the time being, and this time head up the hill to the village of Hilton, which is conveniently close to the girls’ school and they can walk there in the mornings.  The house is thatched and in dense bush with magnificent views down the valley to Maritzburg.  Our next move will be determined by where the girls end up at school next year.

And so slowly, we bed in into this crazy world of South Africa.  It’s not easy but it is certainly rich, challenging and hugely rewarding.  Every morning, when I drive to work, there are always a number of local Zulu folk thumbing a lift to work; they squash up into my Land Rover, grappling with seat-belts and chattering excitedly and always proffer their grubby five rands.  This, makes me smile!

Electric spider perhaps?