SNOW CLAD CEDERBERG

At the best of times I reckon I’ve got the greatest workstation in the world. If I’m not gazing down onto waterbirds in the rock pools below then I am looking at the cavorting of Heaviside’s dolphins at play in the bay. In fact, it makes for difficult concentration, especially when out of the corner of my eye I spot this magnificent sight: to the east the Cederberg, wrapped in a blanket of snow.
This wilderness reserve is a rock climber’s delight. The mere names of the formations – Wolfberg Cracks, Maltese Cross and Stadsaal Caves – tell a story, one of the climbers who ventured there and discovered a treasure trove of fynbos, a geological wonder.
This is the view I have today across Britannia Bay and Golden Mile and, you know what? My work for the day has just been stowed away!

A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS

Often I have said to prospective purchasers of property in this area, “The West Coast doesn’t grow on you; you have got to fall madly in love with it the first time you see it” - and this is precisely what happened to Marcello Pogglioni.
During his annual holiday here in the height of the summer and windy season Marcello lost his heart to this stark but beautiful countryside. Of course the safety and security of life as it should be lived and the inherent friendliness of all whom he met during that time did much to convince him that there is life after Gauteng and so he purchased a piece of land in a new development called Kompanjeskloof. Backed by granite boulders that are synonymous with the West Coast and fronted by wrap-around views of Stompneusbaai and Shell Bay, the foundations have just been laid to what is going to be his dream home.
Plans are afoot to allow for solar energy and wind power and Marcello’s already thinking organic gardening and wise usage of ‘grey’ water. He even purchased a bag of seeds from Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden’s Seed Bank and intends to scatter them before next year’s winter rains in the fallow land directly behind his new home. His original order for 2 kg of wild flower seeds was soon tempered to a mere 100 grams when he learned that the price per kilogram is R1 000,00. “I’m scared I’ll sneeze while scattering them,” he quipped.
Next springtime I hope to be able to share the rewards of his not inconsiderable investment with you as gazania and mesembryanthemums show their true colours. Watch this space!

Saying thanks to my first guests

I'd like very much to offer Dale Simpson, Nicola Fellows and Lars Timmerman a free night's accommodation at Dolphin B&B+S/C, but I have not been able to track them down.
They were the first guests to overnight here 10 years ago and I've often wondered what it was that made them ask over breakfast, "Are we your first visitors?" I didn't burn the toast nor did I scramble what should have been fried eggs so was it perhaps the sheen of perspiration on my brow as I scuttled about?
Unless I can trace them I guess the question will remain unanswered. So if anyone out there knows how to get in touch with these elusive three, I'd really appreciate hearing from them.

Long Distance Love

Dan and Natasha are conducting l'amour from city-to-city, Durbs to Cape Town to be precise - and they spent the recent long weekend stoking up the fires of their romance here in Britannia Bay. As if it needs firing. Catch the smiles of happiness on their dials over a glass of Cabernet from one of the local wineries.

She's with a wellness/spa centre and Dan's into imports/exports so it is possible that they could keep their respective careers and switch cities so as to be closer to each other. I wait for a turn of events that might make this possible and they have my good wishes.

Easter bunny regulars

Robin and Sylvia Gibbs honoured me with their sixth stay (fifth Easter – and the biggest egg I’ve seen in a long time). They had a glorious sighting of a school of some 200 dusky dolphins on Monday morning. Avid walkers, they trailed through Groot Paternoster Private Nature Reserve, marvelling at the eight charming Table Mountain sandstone houses there. Serious money that! Their daughter, Margaret, is married to one of South Africa’s top birders, Trevor Hardaker, and Sylvia and Robin have become quite adept at IDing new avifaunal species. I know this to be a fact because I heard Sylvia shouting, “I’ve just seen a Ruddy Turnstone!” By the way, for a whole new experience I urge you to visit http://www.zestforbirds.co.za/ as well as its many links.

Duxbury takes a duck

Jason's a hard-working investment/asset manager and took a well deserved break at Dolphin B&B+S/C recently. He wrote:

Hi there, Lucille, Many thanks for the excellent hospitality while I was at your place. I really needed this time away and really did relax nicely. I must say I wish I could have those breakfasts every day! Although I would have to run many a mile so as not to put on weight!

Once again, many thanks and take care

Kind regards
Jason

INDIAN SUMMER

... or, in my case it was an Indian winter with temperatures dropping to 2°C early mornings. I visited the northern area of the subcontinent visiting specifically five of the major national parks: Sariska, Ranthambore, Bharatpur, Kanha and Bandhavgarh and which meant seeing the cities of New Delhi, Agra and Jaipur as well.
If I wasn't so dumb as to have left my camera at Indira Gandhi International Airport (I am ever hopeful) I could show you pics of the Royal Bengal tigers. The only word to describe this magnificent creature is awesome but, sadly, the day before my departure home the Hindustan Times ported that the latest five-year census shows their numbers have dropped by 50% and the species per se is doomed to extinction. The impact on the environment is profound: the predated species (antelope and deer) will over-populate and thus over-graze, turning the meadowlands into desert areas.
There’s also great pressure from the abutting villagers for the land, its water resources and wood for fuel. With 1,2 billion people India - let alone the tiger - is hard-pressed to survive.