Together in South Africa: October 2008

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Budapest to Bamako 2010:

Willem and Julie’s next adventure!!
Since returning from our Southern Africa trip, we have been busy making plans for our next travel adventure. We are planning to participate in the Budapest to Bamako charity rally in 2010. This rally goes from Budapest, Hungary to Bamako, Mali, and includes both touring and racing categories. We are planning to enter the racing category, but not in Skillie, she’s not up for a trip like this! We are actively seeking corporate sponsorship for the race. If you or anyone you know are associated with a company that might be interested in sponsoring us we would love to hear from you! Full rally details are available on the official website:
www.budapestbamako.org

Nieu-Bethesda, South Africa

1. En route to Nieu-Bethesda
2. Outside of a cafe where we had coffee/tea.
3&4. In the garden of the Owl House

Daytrip to Nieu-Bethesda

WR and Julie took a fantastic day trip by motorcycle on Saturday 18 October to Nieu-Bethesda. Nieu-Bethesda is a very charming old Karoo town about 115km from Murraysburg, most famous for the Owl House. Most of the old houses in the town have been beautifully restored, and because of the number of tourists the Owl House brings in, the town has guesthouses, craft shops, eating places, and galleries. The Owl House was the home of an eccentric/reclusive woman in N.B., and during the 1960’s-70’s she turned her house and garden into a work of decorative and sculpture art, using glass and cement. The interior walls and ceilings are all covered with pieces of colored glass, and there are mirrors and lamps everywhere. The yard is full of cement figures, mostly owls and camels but also other figures, including mermaids and a nativity scene. Here are some links with more detailed info about the woman and the house:
http://www.encounter.co.za/article/99.html
http://www.southafrica.info/travel/cultural/owl-house-251005.htm

While in N.B. we walked all over the town, had coffee/tea, went to shops and galleries, toured the Owl House and a fossil museum, and had lunch at a fantastic microbrewery/gourmet cheesery. It was an extremely fun and pleasant way to spend a Saturday.

Tree Work

Pruning/thinning job at the Lazy Zebra B&B in Graaff-Reinet.
Palm tree felling at the Graaff-Reinet Police Station.

Karoo View

An amazing view outside of Murraysburg.

WR Avenant Tree Management

WR’s tree business is back up and running in the Karoo! He’s had quite a bit of work in Graaff-Reinet, so we’ve been busy going there for jobs and quotes. Some very good news is that the municipality of Graaff-Reinet is interested in hiring him on a contract basis for all the powerline tree work there, which would be fantastic. If you know of anyone in the Karoo who needs a quote for tree work, contact WR at avenanttreeservice@gmail.com.

Walk Departure

Paul, Julie, and Sybrand departing Murraysburg on their attempted walk to Graaff-Reinet.

The Attempted Walk

A few weeks ago, Julie, along with Paul Avenant Jr. (WR’s brother) and Sybrand Swanepoel (WR’s good friend), attempted to walk the 90km from Murraysburg to Graaff-Reinet. WR unfortunately had appointments in Graaff-Reinet the next day and couldn’t join the walking. Sybrand had tried it before (with no preparation or supplies) and made it 45km before having to stop, so this time he was determined to finish it. This time we were a bit more organized, carrying backpacks with food and warm clothes, and WR was on board as our support/back-up to bring us food and hot drinks at key intervals. The three intrepid (foolish?) walkers set out from Murraysburg at 3:00 in the afternoon on a Thursday. Walked for about 5 hours, when a whole truckload of friends and family came driving up to supply us with a hot dinner. Paul was wearing very inadequate shoes, and at this point was already limping, but he kept going. After about another hour he called it quits at the 28km mark and was taken back to Murraysburg by a friendly farmer. Julie and Sybrand kept walking. It was a very dark, moonless night, and at times we struggled to see the centerline of the road. It was also very cold, and though the motion of walking kept us warm, every time we would stop to rest we would quickly get very very cold. We walked through the night, until 3am when WR pulled up with thermoses of hot coffee and tea. At that point we had walked just over 45km. We rested a bit, downed more Ibuprofin to ward off muscle pain, and kept going. From 3-6am the going was extremely rough. Fatigue set in badly, we were stiff, and both of us were developing wicked blisters on our feet, making each step painful. We hoped when the sun rose we would be re-energized and invigorated to finish, but it didn’t quite work out that way. WR came back at 6:30am, meeting Sybrand and Julie at the 58km mark. At this point Julie pretty much could not walk another step, due to excruciating blisters covering her feet. She was very ready to call it quits and hop in the truck. Sybrand was staggering from fatigue and pain but still didn’t want to quit. He walked to the 60km mark before finally stopping, and joining WR and Julie in the truck. So it was an extremely interesting experience. Not really “fun”, due to the amount of pain involved. But Julie and Sybrand are still both determined to finish the full 90km, so plans are being made for a future re-try of “The Great Walk”, and WR wants to join the walking next time. We’ve had plenty of helpful advice about blister prevention after the fact (soak feet in spirits in the days leading up to the walk to harden feet; wear pantyhose underneath socks to prevent chafing), so hopefully with these tips we’ll be able to reduce blisters next time and make it. It definitely was not fatigue or muscle pain that were the stopping factors, but blisters!