There are plenty of birds to enjoy during the day. My favourite sightings from yesterday were a scarlet-chested sunbird feeding from aloe flowers, and two gabar goshawk hunting small birds at a drinking pool. We try to keep going until 12.30 or so, otherwise we don’t get much achieved, then we go down to the bar. We are happy to eat there once on most days as it’s a pleasant and shady place to go and the food is nicely prepared. While there we can do bits on the internet, read, plan our forward travel, watch the birds and lizards in the garden, or chat to other people. At the moment we are very lucky as the Swiss family (Claudia, Andre, Jael and Moris) are also still here waiting for a part for their vehicle, so we have some very nice company on the campsite, as well as the friendly Oppi-Koppi people. But it has to be said that both of us would really rather be on our way by now. We stay at the bar until about 4.30, when it hasn’t really cooled down but we are tired of sitting, and finish off the jobs from the morning. The flies come out around this time, which can be quite annoying if they are buzzing in front of your face while you are trying to do something fiddly. Later on we usually have a light supper as we have had a meal earlier and also we find it a bit of a pain trying to cook in the half-light outside and going up and down into the truck to get stuff while trying not to let any insects in. In the early evening the security men come by on their way to fetch firewood, which they really must need overnight. Our day generally also includes some socialising either with the Swiss family or someone up at the bar. We were thinking of taking a game drive for a change, but not sure if this is going to be possible. Well, B has finished his coffee and the sun is starting to warm up, so I guess it’s time to get on with the day and see what it brings. S.
We are getting into something of a routine here at Oppi-Koppi. It’s quite cold in the morning, so it can be difficult to get out of bed. This morning I got up at 7.20. Just outside the kitchen window is a tree with fluffy pale yellow blossom, and below it an aloe whose orange flowers are opening to yellow, so I try to see which birds are feeding there before I start clattering around making coffee. Today there were a lot of red-eyed bulbuls and some little finches with red beaks. After coffee B gets up and we have breakfast, or sometimes a walk first. In the morning we do jobs: continuing with the spring-cleaning, working on the truck, laundry, shopping in the village, or anything else that might be hot work. Yesterday's cleaning job was a bit epic. We wanted to clean all the road dust from under the under-bed storage and then seal the gaps as best we could. This involved Barney perching on the bed frame supporting the mattress Atlas-like on his back, while I clambered into the gap under the bed where the storage drawers usually are to do the cleaning and sealing with tape. All very hard work even with the air-con on, but will hopefully only have to be done once!
There are plenty of birds to enjoy during the day. My favourite sightings from yesterday were a scarlet-chested sunbird feeding from aloe flowers, and two gabar goshawk hunting small birds at a drinking pool. We try to keep going until 12.30 or so, otherwise we don’t get much achieved, then we go down to the bar. We are happy to eat there once on most days as it’s a pleasant and shady place to go and the food is nicely prepared. While there we can do bits on the internet, read, plan our forward travel, watch the birds and lizards in the garden, or chat to other people. At the moment we are very lucky as the Swiss family (Claudia, Andre, Jael and Moris) are also still here waiting for a part for their vehicle, so we have some very nice company on the campsite, as well as the friendly Oppi-Koppi people. But it has to be said that both of us would really rather be on our way by now. We stay at the bar until about 4.30, when it hasn’t really cooled down but we are tired of sitting, and finish off the jobs from the morning. The flies come out around this time, which can be quite annoying if they are buzzing in front of your face while you are trying to do something fiddly. Later on we usually have a light supper as we have had a meal earlier and also we find it a bit of a pain trying to cook in the half-light outside and going up and down into the truck to get stuff while trying not to let any insects in. In the early evening the security men come by on their way to fetch firewood, which they really must need overnight. Our day generally also includes some socialising either with the Swiss family or someone up at the bar. We were thinking of taking a game drive for a change, but not sure if this is going to be possible. Well, B has finished his coffee and the sun is starting to warm up, so I guess it’s time to get on with the day and see what it brings. S.
1 Comment
Petra
13/9/2012 02:01:20 pm
Dear Sue and Barney,
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