On the road up - day one

After a terrible nights sleep all sharing the only mattress in the house, we headed off at 07h00. (I don’t want to drive in the dark with the trailer for very legitimate reasons)

Once we had packed on three beds, their mattresses, a small fridge, and some large drums to make our new loo, - there wasn't a hell of a lot of space left for anything else. My tit-of-the day moment was when, exhausted and tired of packing, I decided to have a full blown argument about why my fishing canoe was bloody coming and the kids school stuff could come later. Luckily sanity prevailed (as she normally does)

It was really nice to have the neighbours come out to see us off. Di, you nearly had us in tears.

Thanks to you all for your support. (or could it be that you all threw a street party now that we are gone, with our dogs that bark and kids that play in the garden too early?)

This was us about to leave. The blue fishing canoe is stuffed full of most of our clothes and towels. The back seat is packed to the roof, and the front seat has just enough space for the suppurating and decaying dog. (He looks like something from an Egyptian Mummy movie)

We are over-nighting in the town of Cradock. It is only 850km to get here, which would normally be about an 8 hour drive. But with the trailer averaging about 80km per hour, I got in 12 hours after leaving home.
Stopped alongside the road for a quick wee break.

A 12 hour drive is the perfect way to realise that you have a really terrible music collection.

It was a beautiful clear day, and the roads were nice and empty. Perfect for driving and marred only by Sedgwick (the dog) who continued to pass wind aggressively for the full duration of the trip, while lying regally atop a business class bed.
I really don't know why we keep him. Sonja is convinced I love him too death, which really isn't true. He is a crotchety, demanding bugger.

The trailer is way heavier than it should be so we have to take it really carefully.

Coming down a mountain pass is an experience.
Tomorrow we head off at about 07h00 and all going well we should be at the village by late afternoon.

That is if we survive our hosts for the night.

He has funny short fingers (that make me shudder remembering shaking hands with him) and a very vacant stare. He appears at our room door and stares at us without saying anything.

His nose looks like it has seen half a decade of heavy social drinking. Very creepy. (Old creepy, thankfully, and not strong and deadly creepy)

Sonja keeps teasing me that they are swingers and are going to come knocking at midnight.

Its not bloody funny.

It is a visual that is going to haunt me for months.

And don't blame me, because it is something a blue pill will not fix.

Our Medical Kit

We spent the last few days before leaving running around trying to put together a medical kit that would be comprehensive, but not over the top. We are two hours from a small district hospital, and about three hours from a proper hospital. We cannot cover every eventuality, but with the kids, you also don't want to be caught short at 3am unable to get to a doctor quickly.

I have taken the same approach that Quinten Tarantino's character had in True Romance, rather have a gun and not need it, than need a gun and not have it.

We spent quite a bit of time compiling this, and spoke to various doctors and medical people and looked at what was in kits of people in similar situations.

I do know that we could probably replace just about everything with natural and organic alternatives, and we will move in that direction.

Because it was such a mission getting our kit together, I thought I would list it for interest, in case anybody needed one. (Other people might you know!)

But for now, and with our time limitations we'll go with this for now.

Our kit consists of:

IV Drip Pack - rehydration mix

Orelox Junior -Broad Spectrum Antibiotic -Treatment of infections
Menthol Ointment - Cream - Camphor Chest Rub
Vermox -Tablets & syrup -De-worming medication
Imodium / Chloropect -Tablets & syrup -Anti-diarhea medication
Inza - Tablets - Anti Inflamatory
Eno / Rennies - Tablets & Sachets - Relief of Heartburn & indigestion
Bactroban - Cream - Antibacterial Cream
Ponstel - Syrup - Fever, aches & inflammations
Rehidrate & Cera - Salt sachets - Oral rehydration salts
Anthisan, Mylocort & Mepyrimal - Cream - Relieves skin reactions, stings & bites
Iodine tincture - Tincture - Antiseptic for wounds
Phyto Nova - Syrup - Natural Remedy for Coughs
Panado - Paediateric Syrup - Relief of Pain & Fever
Panado - Tablets - Relief of Pain & Fever
Medi-keel - Lozengers - Relief of throat pain
MedLemon - Powder Sachets - Cold & Flu Relief
Buscopan - Syrup & Tablets - Antispasmotic, relief of cramps
Similasan / Aurone - Ear Drops - Relief of ear pain
Eyegene & Safyr Bleu - Eye Drops - Soothes eyes
Salex - Solution - Saline nasal spray
Loratadine - Syrup - Antihistamien for allergic reactions, Allergic Symptoms
Allergex - Tablets - Antihistamine for allergic reactions, Allergic Symptoms
Myprodol - Capsules - Pain Killers
Adco - Syrup - Bronchodilator, Mucolytic - Cough Relief
Mercurochrome - Tincture -Antiseptic for wounds
Rinex - Syrup -Relief of Post Nasal Drip
Corsodyl - Mouthwash - Antibacterial Relief of mouth ulcers & gingivitis
Dynexan - Cream - Oral anaesthetic
Rescue Remedy - Tablets - Natural remedy for shock anxiety and sleeplessness
Hydrogen Peroxide - Solution - Antiseptic for wounds
Med Lemon - Syrup - Relief of Dry Coughs
Sinu-med - Tablets - Relief of Sinusirritation and hay fever
Calamine / Caladryl - Lotion - Itch Reliever
Brooklax - Tablets - For Relief of constipation
Ponstan Paediateric Suppositories - Suppositories for Relief of Fever
Thermometers - digital & mercury
Scissors - Two pairs
Tweezers
Dropper
Sterile gloves - Two sizes
Sterile scalpel
10 ml syringe
5 ml syringe
2 ml syringe
20cc. Irrigation Syringe
Green needles
Blue needles
Orange needles
IV Cannula
4/0 silk sutures pack
Suture needle
Snake bite kit (still to be ordered when we get there)
Medisan Gel - Antiseptic hand wash
Heat Packs
Cooler Pack
Face masks
Tongue Depressors
Medicine Measure Spoons
Eye Patches
Space Blanket
Savlon - Liquid Antiseptic
Batadine / Detol - Antiseptic Cream
Arnica Cream - Bruise and Sprain ointment
Plasters - Mixed Boxes
Bandages - 5 x Rolls
Cotton Wool - 2 x Rolls
Gauze Swabs - 1 x Big Packet
Hydrofilm - Water Proof Plasters
Plaster Roll
Micropore
Insect Repelant - Various
Doxycyclone Capsules - Tick bite fever and general braod spectrum antibiotic for adults
Hyospasmol Tablets - Relief od gastro intestinal spasm
Asthavent Inhaler - For relief of closed chest and laboured breathing
Burn Shield - Burn Dressing & Cream
Sterile Burn Dressing

Our New Solar System

We received our solar system today. So for any of you needing or thinking about putting in any solar system, here is what we are going with initially. The system is really just to power our two laptops, charge cell phones, charge small batteries for torches etc. The whole thing cost just under ZAR25,000 ($2,500), and has been put together by the suppliers so that I can jsut plug it in and go.

We will keep a note of how it operates and functions.

In the photo I have left my leatherman on the panel for scale.

This is one panel, the other two are still in their box.

The system consists of:

3 x 80 watt solar panels

An aluminium mount, frame and cables

1 x solar regulator with digital display.

3 x 100 amp hour batteries

1 x modified inverter

We will be cooking with open fire and gas, the small fridge/freezer that we have runs on gas, and for lighting we will be using LED lamps and candles. So this system really is just to keep our office going.

Hopefully I won't look like a tit when I try and put it all together.

Wikipedia will definitely be used.

One more day to go before we head off

We are both absolutely exhausted and neither of us has been to bed before 2am for about the last week. In light of this, and the fact that we still had quite a bit of loading tonight which would have meant being up to at least midnight, we are spending tomorrow morning doing some last minute chores, and then having an early evening, getting in a good night sleep, and heading off on Sunday morning.

I think it was a good call. Two days solid driving with trailer, kids, dog and the roof piled high, on 4 of 5 hours sleep over the course of a week, was not something I was looking forward to doing. Feel much better leaving on Sunday after a really good sleep.

The girls left today with Sonja's mom, Louise. We will see them on the 10th once we have got a loo and shower set up. She is taking them on a two day train trip to Port Elizabeth, and from there taking a slow drive up to us, spending a few days in the Addo Elephant park doing some game viewing. They are having a ball and phoned from the train very excited about their private sleeper compartment and all of the little knick-knacks they have been given.

We have farmed out all the pets except the decrepit one. Bugger.

The snake went to a family in Noordhoek, and included a live mouse feeding session as training.

Three of the hamsters have found a new home, and the last one heads off tomorrow.

One of the dogs is getting picked up tomorrow at 1pm, which will leave sedgewick.

Sonja after the move looking a little contemplative.

We are now down to one mattress, so Sonja has passed out upstairs with Caleb next to her.

The dogs are looking at me suspiciously as I eye their blankets and baskets.

House is now empty, the only furniture remaining is one mattress.

Can't wait for Sunday morning to finally be on the road.

We drive from Cape Town, via Beaufort West, Aberdeen, and Graff Reinet to overnight in Cradock. This should be about 12 hours with the trailer restricting our speed.

On day two we drive via Queenstown and Mthatatha through to the village. This will be about 10 hours. So Monday evening we should be enjoying a beer in Bulungula.

Can't wait.

At last, a blog from Sonja

We need to get Sonja blogging. She is much more intelligent and articulate than I am. I think that once we get there, the blog will be much more balanced with two perspectives. I have just got got her to agree that we would post a copy of a message she has sent a friend. (Doc, I changed the details to protect your families privacy.) I will press publish before she changes her mind.

Hi XXX

Thanks so much for your message. I feel like I have really neglected everyone lately, and have not had the time or space to see as much of my friends as I’d like to. It’s really been a crazy time – physically and emotionally. Charles continues to storm ahead with absolutely no anxiety or reservation, and I sometimes feel ridiculous for not being equally undaunted. In between work, packing, fundraising for the early learning centre and wrapping up life in CT, I have made a tentative start with the home schooling. It’s really great to engage with the kids in this way, but it has made me realise the enormity of the task – and that’s only ONE of the many new responsibilities we’ll be taking on – along with hunter-gathering, running an NGO and playing doctor! Speaking of which, we spent the evening putting together the medical kit – trying to think of every eventuality which we might face in our hut 2 hours from the nearest medical facility – from snake, dog and tick bites to diarrhea, fever, broken bones, worms, cuts and abrasions, burns… enough to make even the most hardy of parents squirm just a little!

As I write this, Charles is updating the blog – no doubt presenting a completely different take on the latest events!

Anyway, hope you’re not working – and that you’re having xxxxx (ha, ha).

Lots of love,
S.

So we figured a radio is a must

So, we figured that a radio is a must.
This was put on my list. Sonja entrusts me with all the important stuff like this, while she handles the simple things like home-schooling, actual paid for work, and raising two million to build a school.
Then I spent literally about two weeks looking for a good old fashioned, battery operated FM / AM radio.
I couldn't find one anywhere, and I looked everywhere.
Eventually I found a decent one in a small local electronics shop.
I got the specifications, had a good look at it, and returned on the week-end to buy it.
Unbelievably the shop was closed.
I got really grumpy. The pressure is mounting. Time is short. The to-do list is long.
How can they frigging close on a week-end.
Its not the frigging sixties. They are not selling booze on a Sunday. Its not a hash bar.
Its just a radio !&$#%!@#&!! and another ( %7$#*!! )
So, after staring coldly at the window, I stormed off into Pick n Pay to buy some chicken for dinner. (yes, free range)
This is a completely different shop, in a different place. I am alone. I speak to nobody.
(Concentrate)
(Cosmic forces are about to strike)
Now normally, when you need a staff member to find a really obscure item, you can look for one for hours.
Not this time. I am walking down an isle, heading for the chicken section, and a staff member cautiously approaches me.
I feel nervous. I haven't shop-lifted since I was ten years old. And that was the only time ever. It was a Spider man comic from CNA in Rondebosch if you are interested. It was dead easy, but I was so wracked by guilt I couldn't enjoy the comic. That was my last and only criminal act.
Anyway, I know I am not about to be nabbed for that, but still, this guy was looking at me pretty funny. Whacko.
(so back to my story.)
He says. (And now this is true and not exaggerated in any way)
He says
"excuse me sir, are you the man looking for the radio"
Eh, eh.
Read that line again.
That is not just friggin weird, it is frikken weird.
So I tell him I haven't asked anyone in this store for a radio, but I am actually looking for one.
(are you getting goose pimples yet)
So he looks at me and he tells me this is the last one in the store, he got it out of the back, and he was told a man wanted one, but there is nobody else, so it must be for me, and then he gives it to me and walks off.
So now I have the radio packed and ready in the garage, and I have to tell you.
I am going to treat this radio with the utmost respect.
I am expecting cosmic utterances from the beyond to eerily float around the room at 2am.
I am expecting big things.
Special things happen to special people.
Perhaps that dude who had that whole Pyramid / UFO vibe happening was right.
Maybe (Robbie Williams) there are little chaps in spinning craft hovering over Los Angeles and the Sun Valley Mall in Cape Town.
You have to keep an open mind about these things.

What to take with us.

Three days to departure. House chaos (check) Kids chaos (check) Charles ratty (check) Sonja lucky to have Charles (check) Boxes everywhere (check) Checks-lists being lost (I put it next to the microwave, the kids must have moved it) General mayhem and bedlam (check)
Not calm (no) Not peaceful (not) Enough time to do everything (no) Enough space (no)

I pack well.
Packing a months equipment into a boot before heading off into the Namib dessert for a camping trip, and ending up fitting a pair of binoculars into a perfectly sized space, a perfect fit, why - it gives me goose pimples.
I love packing.
And you mess with my packing system at your peril.
Keep the hell away.
I'll get what you need.
You don't mess with the way I lay my wood on a fire, and you don't mess with my packing.
Obviously.
I still have a picture in my head of Robin Knox Johnson, the lone sailor about to head off for the first solo, unsupported circumnavigation of the world in his yacht. He is on the jetty, surrounded by a mountain of supplies. All carefully calculated to the last tin. The last needle.
Beautiful. Exquisite.
I can add one thing at this junction.
I can promise you, he did not have children on the jetty.
Packing with kids is very, very trying.
Packing with kids who are home from school all day is even worse.
Trying to reduce your entire life into what you can fit into the family car and a small trailer starts off as being cathartic, but quickly turns you psychotic.
Luckily for the kids it is illegal in South Africa to bury them alive, sign them over to the neighbours, or dangle them upside down from the top of the stairs.
Our new cottage suddenly seems a very small place to be moving to.
We have been absolutely ruthless packing. To fit enough to make a small cottage functional, while having enough of the basics is not easy.
And we have stuck to the basics:
Solar system and batteries - tick (enough to operate laptops and communicate)
Tools and spares - tick (we need to build a loo, shower and a long list of other things urgently)
Fishing kit - tick (we have to catch fish, three meals per week are earmarked as seafood)
Pots, pans and kitchenware - tick (very little of anything, just enough to cook and get by)
Wood, buckets, drums, pipes - tick (we need that shower and loo)
Beds and bedding - tick (one short, two kids must share)
Gas fridge - tick
Two plate cooker - tick
Gas Bottles - tick
Clothes - tick
Kids homeschooling material - tick
Suddenly we are out of space, damn.
What to take out.
What to leave.
And when we think that we have the balance just right, its one thirty A.M, you can't see straight, you hit your bed feeling good, and the next afternoon when you return home from work the kids have got creative with your packing.
There will be no smiling final photo just prior to departure.
I promise you.
The worst part is. The worst part.
We have got so little. So very little to take with us.
The worst part is.
It is still so much more than everybody else in the village.
So I am going to have to feel guilty moving in with what little we have.
There will be no Kudos.
It is like cooking without an audience - you may as well eat toast and egg.
I remain sane by reminding myself that I can still at least pack perfectly, and feel excited, in a very satisfying TETRIS way, when I slip the last tin of paint perfectly into position.
If you knew how little you could take.
You would freak out.

Water Restrictions

It sometimes takes a little thing to make you really learn and understand.

The simple action of filling and carrying a 20 litre jerrycan was one of these lessons for me.

A twenty litre Jerrycan is heavy. It should weigh twenty kilograms, but it doesn't.

It weighs about forty kilograms. A scale won't tell you that, but carrying one will.

When we were plastering the inside of the cottage in October we needed about two hundred litres of water each day for the building each day.

This was a challenge. There are no taps. If you need two hundred litres of water you go and find a spring.

We used a four wheel drive to collect the water each morning, and we usually had a small army of children to help us fill and load.

But it was still a massive mission.

So this was the lesson I learned: Living in an urban environment, it is impossible for me to appreciate the importance and value of access to fresh water.

One of the bigger challenges we have at the cottage will be how we will access water.

There is a spring about 350 meters away, down a 40 meter hill. But this spring will have ecoli. And if we drink it it will make us ill.

This is the spring, the logs and sticks are to discourage animals from using the same spring and contaminating the water even further.

Our best bet has been a rainwater tank.

We put a 5000 litre tank in when we were up in October.

We have about 50 square meter of roof to fill this.

We have put gutters on half the roof, and as soon as we arrive we must put up the other half.

Based on East London rainfall figures this will give us the following rainwater per month in litres (by the way, you are using more than 200 litres in a single bath - the figure in brackets is what we can use, as family of five, for all our cooking, drinking, cleaning, bathing, and washing up)

Jan - 3450 litres (115 daily)

Feb - 4600 litres (153 daily)

March - 5250 litres (175 daily)

April - 4150 litres (138 daily)

May -2600 litres (86 daily)

June - 2000 litres (66 daily)

July -2350 litres (78 daily)

Aug - 3900 litres (130 daily)

Sept -4000 litres (133 daily)

Oct -5100 litres (170 daily)

Nov -5500 litres (183 daily)

Dec -3150 litres (105 daily)

So in a best case scenario, the figures in brackets are the total litres we can use per day.

Below is are target of what we will try and keep our daily consumption down to:

Showering/Bucket Bath - 40 litres (20l for the 3 kids, 20l for the adults - this gives me 5 x 2 litre juice bottles of water to bath/shower with each day)

Brushing teeth, shaving, washing hands etc - 3 litres

Drinking - 12 litres (2l per person per day drinking, plus 2 litres for the kettle)

Cooking - 8 litres

Cleaning Food - 3 litres

Cleaning dishes - 12 litres

Total minimum required per day for family of five = 78 litres

(this is about one third of one bath)

When I see the total like this it seems pretty daunting.

But we don't really have an option.

Roy very kindly donated an old pump to us, and I will play with that and see if we can get some spring water up to the cottage, and by adding chlorine or jik, get it clean enough to at least shower in. But it is a bit of a long shot and we cannot rely on it.

We are also going to need about twenty litres per day for chickens and dogs. We will use spring water for this which we will collect once per week and store in two 100 litre drums at the cottage.

We will also recycle any greywater we can to use to water our vegetable garden.

So, like I said, you learn little lessons all the time.

When I stand in a shower now, I appreciate it.

And when we build our new house, we will for damn sure put in rainwater tanks.

R.I.P Segewick

"Sweetheart, don't encourage them to give him the big green injection, okay"
Look, nobody wants to put a dog down. I mean this little guy, bastard that he is, did some, if not lovable, then at least quirky things. But the truth is he is old. Too old.
And he isn't going to survive Bulungula. That village has real dogs.
He struggles to get up, has mange, his back legs look painful, and worst of all he has these cancerous growths all over his belly. The final straw was his ear. The whole thing swelled up like a balloon. So even though I felt a slight twinge of guilt, I knew it was for the best. He also certainly didn't help his cause with his nightly incontinence and permanent stinking, fetid gas releases.
With a sad farewell I headed down to the vet to get the job done. It had always been in our planning anyway, I mean, we just don't have space for the kids and a dog. (And Sonja wouldn't let me leave any of the kids behind.)
The examination was done with respectful austerity. I didn't smile or crack any jokes. I know how this works. I kept it solemn and gave the old boy a few strokes and pats.
Things started to go wrong when he tried to bite the vet. No kidding.
Did I just see a flash of defiance in those eyes. Please no. This guy is closer to two decades than one. He has to lock his entire body and hop down the stairs as though he is in a plaster cast.
Second bad sign. The vet asked me (me!) to put a muzzle on him. I mean the dog is dying. What self respecting vet uses a muzzle on a dying dog.
He has to be dying, there is no room for him at the inn. He is dying, right doc?
Once the muzzle was on those cancerous growths calmed me down. They were really big.
No worries said the vet, we can drain this ear, its just a burst blood vessel.
But the cancer doc, the cancer. "Mmmm. These look like normal age related fatty growths, we'll take a quick sample of that to confirm it, but nothing to worry about."
After that I only remember little snippets.
"He's got a nip of arthritis in his hips, but nothing too bad."
"You'd be surprised how long these little guys live for"
"Please sign for this account sir"
And you know what, the little bugger tried to bite him again when I took the muzzle off.
This is terrible. Its a week later and he is snorting and scratching and grunting in the most disgusting way at my feet.
And the bastard. Not only do I now have a fleabag coming up to live with us, but the bugger cost us over a thousand Rand for the visit.
They are going to have to bloody muzzle me.

Cooking our first pig head - a trial run

Okay, not a bad result overall.
4 – 1 to the home team.
Actually, 4 – 2 if you count the pig, which strictly speaking you should because I included the dogs.
Still a win in anyone’s books.
All things considered I thought this was a reasonably minor leap on the grand scale of edible possibilities, but a good place to start none the less.

You start with a pigs head, in this case cut in half.
Clear a decent working surface and get going.

First thing I did was get the brain out. I had plans to boil it and then fry it in flour and herbs and spread it on toast. (thanks to Hugh, of http://www.rivercottage.net/)
After removing the brains,
I gave everything a pretty good scrub in the sink under cool water. Especially the ears, which I was hoping to crunch on later.

That’s when Sonja arrived home early. And that is just when a blowfly decided to use my pig head as a landing strip. Right on the snout.

She walked in with a smile, and then, honest to god, she headed straight for the downstairs guest loo.

I thought I was quite brave taking these photo’s. (footnote: Sonja is the bravest person I know. That’s why I married her. She is tough and determined, and beautiful, and intelligent and would carve me to pieces in an instant. She has only two weaknesses. Cockroaches and anything vaguely unusual on the menu)
Anyway, this was the result of the pigs head and the blowfly. In her defence it was only a dry retch. And in the middle of it all she did smile.
Now this little chap was a champ. No worries there. At least I know I won’t be eating alone. Outside, yes. Alone, no.

I also can’t accept full responsibility. So should the trigger.




Once the head was cleaned, I salted liberally, and added black pepper. I was just getting started when I realised that with our move coming up next week-end, I no longer have any herbs, all the pots of herbs left us last week-end. Damn. I was down to garlic and an old jar of chillies. Both of which I added in large amounts.

Then I popped the pan into the oven on about 180 C and opened a bottle of cheap red wine. The wine wasn’t as bad as I thought.



I turned the head over after about 30 minutes, and then again after about an hour, when I taste tested some cheek, which was delicious.

After another 15 minutes on each side, a total cooking time of 90 minutes, I thought it looked done and took it out.

Honestly? Well, I had ears, snout, check, jaw, neck. I tried it all out. It all tasted just like pork would. It was pretty oily and very rich, so I would be interested to try it in a more subtle form. The garlic, salt and pepper approach is palatable, but certainly not subtle or very creative. The meat was mainly in the cheek, along the jaws, and in the neck area. It was slightly more textured than normal pork, a bit more gamy perhaps, but as I say, I think a more creative and subtle approach would yield a much better result.

There wasn’t much left afterwards and for R24.00 it could feed a lot of hungry mouths.

And, lets not forget to salute my little chap who soldiered on against popular opinion.

Here’s to you boy.

Now, what to do with the bowl of brains hidden in the fridge behind a large tub of yogurt and two small tubs of cottage cheese?

If Sonja sees it, she will freak.

Planning a Dinner

Sonja is at a workshop tonight, so this is a perfect opportunity.
As I was walking to buy a bottle of water in the supermarket she just smiled at me in a way I couldn't resist.
We have a date later, so I hope it is a she.
She looked like a she.
She has these little blond eyelashes and a small tattoo.
She had a subtle Mona Lisa smile that captivated my attention.
Risky, but stable.

So tonight, while Sonja is out, and the kids are asleep, I am going to light a few candles, pour some wine, run my hands over her skin, examine her eyes, and then gently pick her brain.
Later, I am going to devour her whole.
Just the two of us, in secret.

I haven't cooked a pigs head before, but this one is a beauty.
She is resting comfortably and with a certain detached air about her in the fridge.
And she is a cheap date at only R24.00 for half a head. (cut lengthways, and yes she does still have teeth and eyes)

So tonight, while I have the kitchen to myself, I am going to try roast pig head.
I have an idea I can fry the brain in a little flour and herbs.
It is apparently good on toast. (creamy texture)
The ears I will try boiled, and then crisply fried.
The rest I will give a good boiling with herbs and a bit of veges, and then roast as I would a wrack of lamb.
I think I can boil the water down to make a nice stock.

I wish I had the DVD recorder back, but still photo's will have to suffice.

All in the name of experimental cooking. Soon, we won't be able to be to choosy.

To be honest I am really looking forward to the kitchen and have a whole list of dishes I want to experiment with.
Red Bait, Sea Urchins, Sheep's head, Chicken Feet, Field Mice, Pigeons, various offal and other less risky options like tongue and tail and trotters.

I hope to fill several blog pages with the results of how these have turned out.

Any suggestions are experiences are welcome.

What could possibly go wrong

12 Days to departure...
A lot of people ask me what I am most worried about.
I hope I am not being to unrealistic about the whole thing, because I am not actually that worried about anything.
Its not the sharks.
There are sharks, ragged tooth I believe.
Sonja even met a guy there on one of her visits who got badly bitten crossing the lagoon mouth in front of our hut. He was called shark boy. Nice one.But the odds there are very low, and ragged tooth sharks aren't very aggressive.
I reckon watching the kids swimming in the evening off of Fish Hoek is more risky.
There are great whites out there. No question.
I was keen to try and learn to surf while we are there, and will be cautious approaching this. I was also thinking of going spearfishing instead of angling, again, I'll just have to be careful.
Snakes. Snakes aren't too bad. You mainly get night adders. These are poisonous, but rarely deadly. You don't want one of the kids to get bitten, but then again Cape Town has a high population of cobra's and puff adders which are a lot worse.
You have to be a lucky snake to survive out there. Sadly snakes out there don't have the same protected status as they would here.
Lightning. This wasn't really on our radar originally. But then Dave told us about the family that was thrown out of their hut, the three cows that were hit and killed, and a man who was hit and killed. Now it is on our radar. Being the highest hut on the hill and with a metal roof and all.
So I have spent a bit of time googling "how to protect your house against lightning"
Oh, and then last week we found out about the dogs. Two stories about people being attacked and the dogs having rabies. Another new one. We'll keep an eye open for foaming mouths.
Our main dog fear, is our own flea bag coming in having rolled in something unspeakable.
Kids and the water is an issue. We have been drown proofing the kids like mad. Skye (9) can swim like a fish, Mila (5) is pretty good and also half fish. Caleb (3) has just got to the stage of jumping in the pool and swimming lengths. As far as he can on one breath. The breathing thing hasn't really got through to him yet. So we will have to watch them carefully because there is a lot of open water.
Boys are definitely slow learners. By three, Skye was already swimming like a fish.
Water born diseases is quite high up the list. Getting the kids to understand not to drink any other water than what is in their own personal water bottle. All of the village springs have various forms of contamination. If you drink from them without having grown up there, you will get sick. Very sick.That is a definite. Kak one.
I guess I am more aware of the politics. Not knowing when a word or action could ruin somebody Else's hard work.
I guess we will just have to be sensitive to that and not screw up.
But I am not really worried about it. More just aware.

There will be lots of crap times and pressure and madness.
I am sure being cooped up for five days in the rain will drive us all a bit barmey in only 40sqm of cottage.
Sick kids will be stressful with a 3 hour drive to Mthatha hospital.

But, if you weigh things up, there is probably less that can go wrong out there.
Then living in the city.

I am not going to be hijacked in my driveway.
I am not going to be burgled or robbed.
No traffic each morning.
My kids aren't going to get run over by a car.
How many times have you had to rush off to hospital in the last year.
The closest we come to noise pollution is a noisy cockerel in the morning.
And that even that has a definite solution and a tasty end.

If anything I think we are incredibly lucky. We are really privileged to have this opportunity. I don't mean that in a shallow sense. I really do feel lucky.
How many people get such an amazing opportunity and life experience.

So now I do have a worry.
Not to screw it up and waste it.

Nonezile's cottage, our home for two years

Nonezile and her family have been good enough to rent us a cottage for the two years that we are going to be in Nqileni. I think we have got the nicest view in the village.

Instead of a group of traditional rondavels, the cottage we are renting is a small T-shaped building. For lots of practical reasons this has made our lives easier. Each of the arms of the T is a room.

The front door opens into a small 3x4 metre room that Sonja and I will have as a bedroom, but that must also double up as an office space for a couple of months until we either rent or build a single rondavel as an office.
Although small, our bedroom has an amazing view down towards the lagoon and the beach.

When we get a chance we will try and add on a very small porch, just 2 x 3 meters, but big enough to fit two rickety chairs on to watch the dolphins in the sunrise.

We can squeeze our bed inside, plus a small trestle table to work on. If we are lucky we might even get in a set of shelves.

Our room leads into the main living area which is perhaps 4x4 metres. This will serve as our kitchen, dining room and living area. At the moment there is no door, but we will need to get one in if we want any privacy from the children.

The living area is a small room, even with nothing in it, but it has rough wooden rafters with an open roof right up to the corrugated sheeting that lend it a bit more of a feeling of spaciousness.

We won't fit much in the room, we plan for a small counter, a small gas fridge, a low coffee table and a few home made benches with scatter cushions. We hope to get our hands on an old wood burning stove before winter so that we will have some form of heating.

A door off the back of the living area leads to the children's room which is also about 3 x 4 metres. This will be a tight fit for an urban family, and must also fit in a desk for home schooling.

The entire cottage has a mud and dung floor that we paid Nonezile to do after we were there in October fixing the place up a bit. She would have applied the floor in several coats and we will need to add a layer every six weeks or so.

The house had not been lived in for quite a while and was being used for cooking and livestock must have been sleeping there as well by the looks of things.

There were no doors at all, and only some very old metal window frames that were basically rusted right through. The outside of the building was plastered, but has quite a lot of cracks. Inside, the walls were a mix of various materials, but 90 percent of the structure was mud brick. The inside was not plastered at all, and with the exposure to the elements the mud bricks had become quite crumbly.

The floor was basically piles of dry sand and dirt and had a lot of old rusted metal and bits of burnt wood and rubbish mixed in with it.

This is a detail of the condition of the roof. Quite a bit of the roof beams were rotten from exposure to the elements. Have a look at the wall. Lots of character. This is a mix of mud bricks, then a couple of layers of broken concrete building blocks, a couple of planks of wood thrown in, and then topped with a layer of loosely placed mud bricks. This is how the house is built and it seems surprisingly sturdy.

Anyway, we love the cottage to bits and will work really hard to get it habitable when we arrive.

It has lots of character, and will build lots of character in us if we all survive the experience.

Building our first Lovable Loo

I do not have a secret toilet file that is 150 pages long. That is a complete fabrication and I resent the associated implications.

It is only 117 pages long.

And I might add, that includes some reference material and contents pages.

The reason I have spent so much time and effort on designing, what I hope will be an odourless and insect-less (read flies) double seater, is that I like spending time on the loo.

I really like it.

Give me a good book and a quiet loo and I am a happy man.

The loo is the only place in our house that I can get any peace and quiet. Really.

And even then, only if you plan it carefully.

Too early in the evening and 33.5 seconds after my bum has hit the seat I get a reasonably chilly "please can you do that later, you have been at work all day and this is the one time you can help out and spend some time with the kids".

Then, if I don't lock the door, by page two of my reading material I normally have a 4 year old elbow resting on my naked knee, supporting a very vocal face, asking question after question. I mean, doesn't the smell mean anything to them. Perhaps they are genetically protected.

And then if I do lock the door, three times out of four, I have very small hands pounding on the outside calling me out. (I suspect to their mothers glee)

"Don't blame me that I have to go to the loo once each morning and once each evening. It is a sign of good health."

Anyway, I very rarely get a chance to have a good read.

So for me, a loo is a sacred place. An escape. The good Lord knows I need one.

Importantly, living in Nqileni means that if I build well I can sit on the loo and watch dolphins.

I am not joking, nor am I exaggerating. This is true.

So yes, a lot of effort has gone into having a good loo.

We will have a double-seater. One for wet and one for solids.

(Dry solids won't smell. You want to separate the two in a way that is practical)
Our wet loo is a very simple bucket system that either get emptied each day, or if the landscape allows I will drain with a 20mm irrigation pipe.
The solid loo is slightly more complex and includes an extraction pipe, a clever way to make sure you don't get flies, and is completely biodegradable. Anyway, I will post the technical specs of this is later (with drawings of course)

back to today, today we had a dry run on our wet loo (the bucket one remember)

Basically, you build a box without a bottom (I used 18mm shutter ply)

Our box dimensions are 350mm x 500mm x 536mm. This perfectly fits a 20 litre plastic bucket inside.

The lid of the box is hinged so that it can be lifted up. You then cut a hole in the lid of the box to match and line up with the bucket below, pop on a comfortable loo seat, give everything a good sanding, and Bob's your uncle.

Good result. All it needs is a touch more sanding and a couple of coats of varnish.

The smiling, helpful chap below is our wonderful neighbour, Bruce, who kindly helped me rout out perfect circles in our lids.

He also very kindly lent us two manual drills. Those old ones you turn by hand. Lifesavers in an area without electricity.

Sonja gave us a dry run and a comfort level test (after a glass of wine.)

Followed by Mila, who, bless her soul, gave me a wet run. (Poop in there my girl and you can kiss (your arse as well as) your pocket money goodbye!)

So, we have had our first deposit - so to speak.

Our lovable loo has been christened.

Master Bird List

This is the start of our master birding list that we will keep updated. Photographs are by Gene Gage from our September 2008 site visit.

Cape Gannet - Sula capensis
Grey Headed Gull - Larus cirrocephalus
Kelp Gull - Larus dominicanus
Swift Tern - Sterna bergii
Reed Comorant -Phalacrocorax africanus
Grey Heron - Ardea cinerea
Blackheaded Heron - Ardea melanocephala
Little Egret - Egretta garzetta
Cattle Egret - Bubulcus ibis
Hammerkop - Scopus umbretta
Greater Flamingo - Phoenicopterus ruber
African spoonbill - Platalea alba
Sacred Ibis - Threskiornis aethiopicus
Hadeda Ibis - Bostrychia hagedash
Egyptian Goose - Alopochen aegyptiacus
African Black Duck - Anus sparsa
Yellow Billed Duck - Anus undulata
Water Dikkop - Burhinus vermiculatus
Black Kite - Milvus migrans migrans
African Fish Eagle - Haliaeetus vocifer
Lanner Falcon - Falco biarmicus
Crowned Crane - Balearica regulorum
Whitefronted Plover - Charadrius marginatus
Threebanded Plover - Charadrius tricollaris
Blacksmith Plover - Vanellus armatus
Turnstone - Arenaria interpres
Whimbrel - Numenius phaeopus
Cape Turtle Dove - Streptopelia capicola
Green Pigeon - Treron calva
Purple Crested Lourie - Tauraco porphyreolophus
Burchell's Coucal - Centropus burchelli
Speckled Mousebird - Colius striatus
Pied Kingfisher - Ceryl rudis
Giant Kingfisher - Ceryl maxima
Halfcollared Kingfisher - Alcedo semitorquata
Malachite Kingfisher - Alcedo cristata
Brownhooded Kingfisher - Halcyon albiventris
Redbilled Woodhoopoe - Phoeniculus purpureus
Crowned Hornbill - Tockus erythrorhynchus
Ground Hornbill- Bucorvus leadbeateri
Blackcollared Barbet - Lybius torquatus
Olive Woodpecker - Mesopicos griseocephalus
Golden Tailed Woodpecker - Campethera abingoni
Rufousnaped Lark - Mirafra africana
Lesser Striped Swallow - Hirundo abyssinica
European Swallow - Hirundo rustica
Brown Throated Martin (African Sand Martin)- Riparia paludicola
Rock Martin - Hirundo fuligula
Black Saw-wing Swallow - Psalidoprocne holomelas
Forktailed Drongo - Dicurus adsimilis
Black Flycatcher - Melaenornis pammelaina
Whitenecked Raven - Corvus albicollis
Blackeyed bulbul - Pycnonotus barbatus
Sombre Bulbul - Andropadus importunus
Olive Thrush - Turdus olivaceus
Orange Thrush - Turdus gurneyi
Cape Robin - Cossypha caffra
Natal Robin - Cossypha natalensis
Barthroated Apalis - Apalis thoracica
Greenbacked Bleating Warbler - Camaroptera brachyura
Fantailed Cisticola - Cisticola juncidis
Tawnyflanked Prinia - Prinia subflava
Dusky Flycatcher - Muscicapa adusta
Black Flycatcher - Melaenoris pammelaina
Paradise Flycatcher - Terpsiphone viridis
Southern Boubou - Laniarius ferrugineus
Longtailed Wagtail - Motacilla clara
Cape Wagtail - Motacilla capensis
Plainbacked Pipit - Anthus leucophrys
Orangethroated Longclaw - Macronyx capensis
Redwing Starling - Onychognathus morio
European Starling - Sturnus vulgaris
Cape Glossy Starling - Lamprotornis nitens
Blackbellied Glossy Starling - Lamprotornis corruscus
Greater Doublecollared Sunbird - Nectarinia afra
Collared Sunbird - Anthreptes collaris
Black Sunbird - Nectarinia amethystina
Cape White-eye - Zosterops pallidus
House Sparrow - Passer domesticus
Cape Sparrow - Passer melanurus
Spectacled Weaver - Ploceus ocularis
Forest Weaver - Ploceus bicolor
Red Shouldered Widow - Euplectes axillaris
Redcollared Widow - Euplectes ardens
Longtailed Widow - Euplectes progne
Bluebilled Firefinch - Lagonosticta rubricata
Common Waxbill - Estrilda astrild

Pintailed Whydah - Vidua macroura

Sustainable Living Introduction

We will record all of our experiences in setting up our sustainable living systems. Successes and failures. If you are planning something similar, you might be able to figure out what not to try. This catagory will include projects like showers, toilets, solar power solutions, cooking solutions, collecting fresh water, building wind generators, testing various lighting systems, refuse removal, grey water systems and more. We will be completely off grid and setting some of these systems up might be helpful to you, or others.

Home Schooling Introduction

We will keep a blog of all of our home schooling experiences. Neither of us has any experience in schooling, but we feel confident (and anxious) and have researched things reasonably well. The idea is to mix some formal home schooling with lots of project work. The kids have already starting making lists of all the interesting projects they will be able to run with an abundance of forests, rock pools, beaches, shells, bee hives, vegetable plots, chickens, goats and other lifestock.

We will have internet conectivity and will be taking up our microscope, telescope and ant farm.

For those who aren't family we have three children to home school.

Skye is turning nine on the 10th of March of 2009.

Mila is turning five on the 10th of February of 2009.

Caleb is three years old and turns four in October of 2009.

It will be interesting to see what ahppens in reality. We are planning to spend two hours per day home schooling Skye (splitting the time between us)

Sonja will probably focus on teaching her numeracy and biology, while I will teach her literacy natural sciences.

The two younger ones will spend about four hours per day at the early learning centre that Sonja is busy setting up within the community.

Fishing and Foraging Introduction

This warranted its own catagory. The first box I packed was all our fishing gear. Each of the kids has their own rod. The plan is that we will have about three fish meals per week, and sustain ourselves as much as we can from the environment. That means we have to catch fish, collect mussels, oysters and crayfish. There are obviously other more exotic seafood lines we can harvest such as red bait, octopus and other shell life. We will keep track of all the fishing and foraging try and post pictures and comments just what we have been able to eat.
Remember it is a six hour return drive to the shops.
Foraging will include everything from Guineafowl, to pigeons, to field mice, to mushrooms. One of us is more keen than the other to see jsut what we can catch, forage and eat.

We will of course do all of this within environmentally sustainable bounds.

Lifestock and Amimals Introduction

This catagory will deal with our attempts at keeping a few chickens, perhaps a couple of geese, a dog well past his sell-by date, and hopefully two milk goats. If the kids and their dad have their way this may also include a horse.
We are planning to keep a rooster and about two dozen chickens to get a reasonable supply of eggs, and take one or two for the pot each week.
If we do get the goats, it will be for milk, and this will not only give us fresh milk, but will allow us to try our hand at some cheese and yogurt making.
We will definitly also get a bee hive established.
Oh, and the good news (not) is that Skye is saving up for a kitten.
If I can find a way to ensure that there is no environmental impact, and everything is legal and above board I would also like to try a few rabbits (to eat and for their pelts) and a pig or two to help dispose of our waste, and for the pot.

Introduction to From our Kitchen

The great news is, we can, and will, have a total gastronomic adventure for two years.
We will be cooking on open coals, supplemented with a little two plate gas cooker, and I will definitely be building a mud and clay wood burning oven. We will also have a hot box (thanks mum and dad) and of course will try a solar cooker as well.
Can you imagine catching fish for your dinner three nights a week from one of the top fishing spots on the East coast of South Africa, or dispatching a chicken or two to the pot each week.
Lots of fresh organic vegetables grown locally, eggs warm from under the chickens.
This will be a cooking adventure. And I can't wait.
On my list of to cook and taste. Other than the obvious, are: Red Bait, Sea Urchins, Various fish, pigs head, sheeps head, brains, chickens feet, field mice, snakes, birds, all sorts of offal, tongues, trotters and tails.
We will aim to create an air of culinary authority, and will be sure to lend extravagant experimentation to all cooking proceedings. We might even get Sonja to try a dish that she would never normally do. I will be eating alone otherwise.
We will see just how far we can push the envelope with what we have. We will get pigs ears grilled to perfection, and sheeps brain spread on toast.
We will catch what we need from the sea, or pick it fresh from an organic garden, dispatch it, dress it and hang it. We will have fresh goats milk and lots of opportunity for dairy. Watch us build a mud and clay adobe oven to cook it all in, or grill with us over our open flames.
We can show you how to make traditional African beer, sour milk in a gourd, and perhaps even snake, fieldmouse or guineafowl.
Absolute gastronomic inspiration to last the two years we will be here.
Of course we will have to try cookies too.
Besides all the above we will both be experimenting with variations on more common dishes, bottling and preserving, baking our own bread generally seeing how effectively we can sustain ourselves.

Introduction to our garden

We definitely plan to establish an organic vergetabel and herb garden as soon as we are able to. . We hope to fence off a small area as soon as possible and have our first crop ready to harvest just before winter sets in, if we are lucky. Until then we will visit the village's own organic vegetable project where we can choose exactly what it is we want and watch it being cut or picked.

Bird Watching Introduction

Nqileni village offers superb birdwatching. The village is situated on the coast between two rivers that flow into the Indian ocean. With five different habitats within an area of only a several square kilometers there are always good sightings to be had. We will try and maintain a growing bird list, and photograph birds where we can. If you are coming up, a good pair of binoculars and a bird book are a must.

(photo of African Spoonbill by Gene Gage from our September 2008 field trip)

By the tips of our fingers

Okay, so I'm sitting in the meeting and to be honest I'm slightly distracted.
Trying not to be, but I am.
Everything is conducted in Xhosa and I can't speak a word. Out of the corner of my eye I can see the wind starting to blow my new roof off. Damn.
I sneak a few glances around the circle of men from the village.
I notice that 5 out of the 7 men sitting closest to me are missing the top of their little finger.
mmmm? Interesting. Must be a common mining accident, maybe they didn't keep their fingers out the way when they were practicing their stick fighting.
So later that evening I make a passing comment about the missing fingers.
Bad mistake.
Parents in the village cut off the tip of their kids little fingers. (okay)
No medication, just a knife from the kitchen and whack, off with you finger.
We met a little kid who had it done a few weeks earlier.
We also spoke to a kid of about 18 and asked if he remembered it. (You bet your arse)
When the kids reach about 3 or 4 years of age, it gets done.
I heard a number of reasons, but none really made sense.
I know one thing though.

If I took my three year old son, held down his hand, looked him in the eyes, picked up a knife, forced him to keep still, and then cut his finger off, well, its just not something I could do.
I therefore took a unilateral decision, that this would be the perfect name for our blog.
It perfectly describes the risks we are taking.
It perfectly describes how we will be feeling when we are all stuck in our tiny cottage, with the kids screaming at each other, and the rain into it's 5th day.
It perfectly describes our sanity when it is 3am, one of the kids has a temperature of 40 degrees, and we are 3 hours from the closest hospital. (I told you not to let him swim with a cold!)
And it will be a lone memorial to all the fingertips taken in the name of tradition.
(It will also be a great threat when the kids are naughty - "be quiet now or I will...")

By the tips of our fingers.

Perfect

A Point of Departure

This is just that. A point of departure.
Departure. In 16 days we are climbing into our cars and departing.
We, being our small, and slightly volatile, family of five.
We are leaving our reasonably comfortable, but stressful, closeted but risky - life in the city to go and spend two years living in a small Xhosa village on the wild coast of South Africa.
The fact that none of us can speak a word of Xhosa should bother us. Frighteningly it doesn't.
My partner (secretly my beautiful, brave, patient, kind, frustratingly correct wife) and I have both resigned from our jobs, taken the kids out of school, and decided to go and spend two years in the remote village of Nqileni, in one of the poorest areas in the Eastern Cape of South Africa.
Nqileni has no electricity, no roads, no infrastructure, no toilets and no running water.
They also have no traffic, no Big Mac's, no television, no crime, no pollution, no noise and nowhere to hide.

In about 17 days from now, however, we will have passed the halfway mark and will be closer to the destination, then we will in fact be arriving rather than departing.
Arrival. A point of arrival.
A new opportunity to learn. A massive challenge.
We will be moving from a 300 square meter house to a cottage less than 40 square meters.
This is small. Very small in fact. Our little house has a cow dung and mud floor, mud bricks, and a skew roof that I put up myself in our last visit in October.
We will have to dig our own toilet, rig up a shower under a Jerrycan, survive on what rainwater we can collect, grow our own vegetables, keep a few chickens, fish for a lot of our supper, home school the kids, and amongst it all, find each other and ourselves.
We will be hanging on by our fingertips through the whole wild ride.
Which at least means that we won't be able to point fingers at each other.
Shout , scream, laugh, cry and swear - yes.
Point fingers - no.

We have started packing and are both working flat out to get all of our work, packing and project planning in place before we leave.
We have a manic two weeks ahead of us.

We will keep the blog as a family. When in doubt go with my version of events.
Claims that I am prone to wild exaggeration are wildly exaggerated and not at all accurate.
I suspect that having got the ball rolling, I might be shunted to the back of the blog line by a thirty-something achiever, a nine year old teenage girl, a five year old bossy little dynamo, and a three year old independent little chap who quietly sows angelic destruction in his wake.

Well, the start is made.
Bravely by me, because it was done without consultation or prior approval.

Remind me next time to tell you why I was so wickedly clever calling the site "by the tips of our fingers" and not something like, "returning to the country life", or "Organic country living".
I am a clever little chap.

But let me depart.
For now.