Can;t think of a title but suffice to say 3 little pigs took me to the lions den!

Just starting todays blog at 9pm and not yet written a title - there is so much to write i cannot think of  a headline.

We left the house at just after 7 as planned for Faiths birthday trip to Templehof which is a very small privately owned game park.

All went well and we crossed the border to South AFrica without incident until we were approaching Ladybrand when i heard the car change sound and was aware that something was wrong. Bryan skilfully brought the car to a standstill at the bottom of the hill and we discovered that the power had gone.    Being used to dealing with old cars and this happening to me on frequent occasions he and i set out to diagnose the issue.  Nothing we did worked so Bryan rung Moribe to ask him to bring fuses as we found that a fuse had gone - the fuse box was a bit of a mess anyway!   Moribe didnt tell us there were spare fuses in the ash tray of the car but he came out, crossed the border and replaced a fuse and we started!  I think he liked to be our hero - he got a hug from me anyway! 

An hour behind schedule we set off again and not long down the road we felt the fuse blow again!  That was ok - we replaced it and minutes later we were off = a few more miles down the road and it went again!  This time, having run out of fuses and now taking fuses from other places, they were blowing immediately. We were now  over an hours drive away from home and in the middle of no where!  Tensions were high - we had few options!  Amazingly a van stopped, the first one, no one stops to help here in Africa!  It was the guy who owns the place where we were heading - Templehof!  He knew Bryan from previous visits but hadnt recognised him - just stopped to help!  he agreed to take us in his truck to his place and call his daughter with a bigger truck to tow Bryan in!  I walked over to talk to him and found to my horror? delight? shock?  so many emotions went through my mind that in the back of his truck was a dead pig (actually there were 3 we discovered later) - he was on his way home from the abbetoir!  Undetered i said i was willing to sit in the back of the backie (an open backed truck i had experienced last year). He laughingly said thats fine you can sit on my pig!  Well there were 9 of us in all - Bryan stayed wiht his vehicle and got a tow, the 8 ofus piled into the truck - 2 in the front and 6 in the back!  I sat in the middle literally on the pig!  This was for their family to eat - not for their animals!  Wow! what a ride! It was about 15 miles i am guessing - 15 windswept, porky miles!  It was very chilled so i got a very cold bottom and to say it was an experience of a lifetime is an understatement!  I said to Bryan later that God had given him a frustrating day of blown fuses just to give me this day! 

On arrival at the park which actually is just a back garden of someones house with small rondevals and huts to rent out ( I am so goign back there one day to stay there) the pig was uncovered and then we realised there were 3!  It brings a whole new story line to the 3 little pigs!  Anyway the lady half of the owner was out, the husband who towed Bryan home and the daughter had business in town so we were there alone to wander around and look at the animals - lions, fully grown and cubs, monkeys which we later fed, wild dogs, serviles and springboks who were running round freely and making us laugh so much by jumping over the dogs!  When the lady owner returned she go tthe little tiny lion cub out for us and I bottle fed it and then let it trample all over me as I laid down!  Awesome is the only word!  I wore a light pink vest top this mornign and my intuition said to me, take a spare but i had ignored it!  I wont ignore my intuition again, car oil, lion dribble all combined to make me look rather dishevelled and dirty!  Do you know? i didnt care, I was having the best day!

She then took us down to the older cubs who she referred to as her children!  she asked if we wanted to go in so in two halves we did and played with them and i even picked one up - it was incredibly heavy and to be honest, far too hungry for my liking, it was nearly lunch time!  She then took us to the fully grown lions - a mother and daughter and i was able to stroke chubby (the daughter who is 4) through the wire fence!  That, to be honest was a little scary!  

The scariest thing in teh day for me was picking up the quite large tortoise!  Everyone else did it so I felt a bit of peer pressure and it was horrible!  so creepy - i shiver at the thought but i did it (albeit for a few seconds only)


We went into the bar and had a cool drink to finish our time there (we were the only ones there) and the lady was  interested to know i was from England and i wrote in the visitors book that I was the pig girl so next time I go, I know she will remember me!

We eventually left there, having got the car fixed - it was 2 bare wires causing a short so nothing serious, and headed back to 'The Cabin' a favourite haunt of mine, for lunch (albeit rather late at 3 pm).  The Cabin is just a beautiful place full of beautiful things and i could not resist a bit of retail opportunity, bearing in mind the weight of my suitcase for my return trip of course!.

We sat outside in absolutely burning sun and  I enjoyed a healthy salad! 

We finally made it back over the border and arrived back at Beautiful Gate at 6.30 for Faith to open her birthday presents, me to take a much needed shower and to play with gliders which i taken over from our normal Christmas tradition as we had not used them at Christmas!  the children played until it was dark and then i continued to sit out here and write this and just relax and experience some 'Jenny time'! 

What an amazing day!  I never thought i would sit on 3 dead pigs, bottle feed a lion, be trampled on by a lion, be up close with an adult lion and just enjoy myself quite as much as i have!  AS the moon came up i reflected on a perfect Valentines DAy here in Africa!  No cards, no flowers or chocolates but the perfect day with lovely people and a whole lot of fun!

Back to reality tomorrow - back to feeding babies and not lions but a day like today reminds me that life out here is not all work and no play -the beauty of the scenery, the wildness of nature and the huge expanse of sky and stars makes this, to me one of the most beautiful places on earth and I would love to share it with you.  Words are not enough - those people who have been here with me know what i mean when i say you have to experience it to understand it!  It puts life into perspective and makes you realise how small we are in the big wide world!

Enough philosophy for one night!  Going to go through my pictures and download them and then have an earliesh night i think - it has been a busy week!  Have 2 Dutch people arriving tomorrow, have been educating Bryan today on European etiquette and manners!  He has a lot to learn but he has the best teacher!

Hope you have all had a lovely Valentines Day but i bet it will not have been as memorable as mine!

love
jenny x