Kruger National Park

Got up at 5:00am to go the Kruger National Park. 2 car loads of us went, and we have seen elephant, hippopatami, monkeys, zebras, antelope type things and something that looked like a horse with a mane but wasn't.

And here's some more pictures!

Thursday 25th February

We found a pair of hair clippers in a drawer and have shaved all my hair off. Mum says i must wear a hat to stop my head getting sun burnt!

Fathers interjection - why?!

Child Headed Households

Spent the weekend with a child headed household which was an experience. No running water and no electricity. When it got dark we sat round a candle for a bit and then went to bed. I lived with Musa, a 17 year old who lives on his own. The smaller building on the right is the toilet

Pictures, finally!

Got pulled up by the local traffic police, but no problem. Showed him my driving licence, which he couldn't read, and we then got waved on!

Tuesday 16th

I have passed my local driving test and have been out on the African roads in a Mitshubishi Shogun today. Good fun, but African drivers have some interesting habits!

David

This is ghosted by my dad following a phone call on Sunday 14th...

I spent some of the morning getting a vehicle out of a ditch. Last night there was a fierce storm with spectacular lightening, and today the roads are very muddy and slippery. A vehicle went in to a ditch, and had two wheels hanging over the edge. We tried to get it out with a 4 wheel drive, but there was no tow rope, so I had to build up a brick and stone ramp to the wheels hanging over the edge, and get lots of people to rock and push the vehicle back on the road.

I have also worked on another Toyota Landcruiser, replacing brake pads and shock absorbers. I have a local driving text tomorrow, so should be able to drive the charity vehicles after that

It is greener than I expected, as it is the rainy season, although when it is not raining it is very hot – in the 40’s today. I haven’t got sunburnt, which is good as the malaria tablets make me more prone to sunburn. There have been more frogs in my room and there are lots of big bugs and butterflies. There are also snakes, and we have a lecture on them on Monday. In particular we have to look out for the very dangerous black mamba, which chases you if it has a mind to! I have seen a monkey, and there are supposed to be more of them when the rains are over.

Most of the other volunteers are young, and I am sharing a room with a Canadian called Ivan. Other volunteers come from England, Germany, Texas (howdy and how you doin’ y’all) and Canada. We have to fetch all the water we need in a bucket. We went in to Nelspruit for a night last week, but no Spoonies or Harrogate night life over here! I am off to a BBQ later today

We have lessons every day at the moment, about the country, Hands at Work and snake spotting.

Last weekend when we went to church we were the only white faces, and because we were new had to go out the front and tell people about ourselves

Next weekend we are each going to stay in a child headed household, where the parents have died, and there is no adult to look after the children.

We have no internet access at the moment, but as soon as we do, I will send pictures.

(Just had a text from David to say he is getting another car out the same ditch! John)

Wednesday 10th Feb

We have just driven past Mbombela Stadium, which is 7km from Nelspruit in Mpumalanga. This is where some of the first round matches in the World Cup are to be held. It has a capacity of 40,000, so a lot bigger than Wrexham is KT and Daf! I can’t see it making me interested in football though.



The matches are in June

* Wednesday, 16 June 2010 - Honduras vs Chile
* Sunday, 20 June 2010 - Italy vs New Zealand
* Wednesday, 23 June 2010 - Australia vs Serbia
* Friday, 25 June 2010 - Korea DPR vs Côte d'Ivoire

Monday 8th Feb

Mended my first vehicle today - a Toyota Landcruiser. Tomorrow I am off to visit the orphanage. I will try and upload some pictures as soon as I can.

Sunday 7th Feb

I had very good day today. I went to a traditional african church service. It was very loud, with lots of music and dancing and it lasted for four hours! Then we climbed a local mountain which was a 3 hour climb in midday heat. I have also been stung by a bee and woke up with a frog in my bed. It's a good job I have all my medication with me, but I didn't kiss the frog to see if it turned into a princess.

This part is ghosted by my dad as I am in the air while he is writing this.

I left Harrogate on Wednesday night to drive down to Warrington, where I left my car at Grannys. Dad took me to the station to catch the 6:00am train to London to go the South African embassy (for the THIRD time) to finally get my visa. All that fuss for a simple stamp in the passport. I then got the train back to mum and dad's and we went out for tea at the village pub. On Friday KT and Daf came down, and we all left about 1:00pm. Smooth journey down to the new cathedral like terminal 5, with a speedy check in with my E-ticket. We were an hour early to check bags in, so had a wander and a caramelatte. I then checked my bags in, and we all had a M&S simply food salad, and spent 10 minutes looking for a bin to put the rubbish in. Then it was time to say goodbye, and we had a hug, and I went through security on the next leg of my adventure.

Next time you hear from me, I shall be there!

For those of you who want to learn more about who I am going to work with, see http://www.handsatwork.org/who-what-where-how/

Leaving Preparations

Hello everyone,
Four days 'til I go and I'm nowhere near ready! I haven't packed, haven't got my visa yet and I've got to sort out all my bills.. my car.. my bike.. my dog. However, it'll be alright. I'll keep you updated on my leaving plans.
Iv just been sorting all the pills i have to take whilst im out there to so i though i would show you a photo of them!!
Dave