Cold

The usual heat of Zululand that is where it is like a hot wet blanket, has vanished. Currently it is quite cold - although cold is really relative! Our minimum temperatures are slightly higher than the cold maximums of Johannesburg. I am so glad that I live where it is not too cold! In fact during the year, we seem to go from spring to summer to opressive heat (swimming pool weather) to a day or so of autumn (Fall to the less civilised of us!) before we swing back into spring. We do not exactly have winter. Strangely enough in November to March, we suffer from "Zululand Snow" the smuts from when the sugar cane is burnt before it is harvested. This is somewhat strange that a ripe crop is burnt before it is harvested, but practically, the fire burns off the rubbish leaves - that would need to be stripped off anyway!

In a Cane trailer, you can fit 14 tonnes of crop, so it makes sense that you only load the sugar cane stalks, and dont need to load 2 - 3 tonnes of rubbish per load!

I am always asked "When is the rainy season at the coast?" but there is practically no rainy season - or winter! If there is a day in the week, it is sure to rain. You cannot plan for a dry season - because there is none! Like Britain, there is a serious drought if it has not rained since last week!

Flying home to Richards Bay from Johannesburg, you can see from the plane when we cross into Natal - because the countryside changes from the brown of the highveld, to the green of Natal coasdtal. The word "veld" is afrikaans for "bush" or "countryside" - kind of like I imagine the savannah of Africa normally looks. I grew up in what became known as Zimbabwe, that is kind of a tropical highveld, since the Tropic of Capricorn runs through Southern Africa north of Johannesburg and near Polekwane (used to be Pietersberg) and Zimbabwe is closer to the equator than this tropic.

Generally Natal is green, Gauteng (old Transvaal) is brown (and grey concrete), the Cape tends to be blue and my favourite is the old Eastern Transvaal - where the famed Kruger National Park is, which reminds me of the colour lilac or even purple! Even in KZN, you drive to Durban in the green coastal area (mainly sugar cane farms) and you can tell when you get neat Durban - there is a pall of dirty air that is visible for a long way! Even driving up to Johannesburg, you can see the pall of smoke around Johannesburg! When you drive home from Gauteng, you feel the opressive air from a big city clearing. I hate the traffic in Johannesburg - rush hour jams of 35 - 45 kilometers, 4 lanes one way - compared to the traffic that goes past my home - heavy if there are more than 2 cars A DAY!

New things

About a year ago, I bought myself a new watch. It has hands - AND is semi digital! It has the time digitally as well as has hands that are traditional. My first watch was given to me when I was 12 or so, and that is well before we had digital displays, so I have had traditional "Big Ben" style timepieces. I am comfortable with hands that tell the time.

Anyway, last week I noticed that the second hand was not moving! I was in Durban that day, so had a watch repairer guy open the watch to replace the battery. He found not one, but 2 batteries, one for the digital side of the watch and one for the mechanical side! Knowing my luck, the second battery would have run flat sooner or later, most likely sooner, so I had them replace both batteries! No wonder the hands were not moving, but the digital side was still working!

I am also kind of annoyed when I am using my GPRS on my cell phone, and someone trys to ring me! When I am running on my GPRS, the phone is well out of reach in it's cradle above the dashboard. I therefore went in and bought myself a Garmin GPS system. Then when the phone rings, I dont have to disconnect the GPS signal. The only thing is that the Garmin set is sold with only one clip for the dashboard, so I have had to make up a sticky thingy to put the one Garmin into 3 different cars - My V8 Landrover, my Turbo diesel Landrover AND my Renault Clio. With luck the interesed party for my Porsche has swapped it for his Audi Turbo, which will be far easier to sell than a 25 year old supercar! One divorced guy (me) does not need 4 cars!

I have managed to be of very real help to my neighbour. Last week he suffered a minor stroke and was in hospital in Richards Bay (the Bay). I volunteered to take his wife through to see him on Tuesday, and he was discharged, so I collected him from hospital. Today I bought him a Stress Ball, to help to strengthen his now weak hand. It is not easy to get them to accept that I had no requirement to recover the cash from them. I kind of feel that the Pay-it-forward principle applies. When I was run down in 1992, I received a lot of help from people, so I feel honour bound to give them assistance, without expecting a cash refund. Then when they find someone who desperately needs their help, they can do this and so on!

I feel pity for him. I know what it is like not being able to express yourself like you want to, or even move like you used to. He was at least joking because he said that now he cannot speak clearly, it makes 2 of us -or the entire side of our street! - who cannot speak well! I have sympathy for him because I know from bitter experience, how frustrating it can be not to be able to express yourself well. I went through a phase where I really did not like the person that I was left after the accident! Thank Heavens I was disabled in a freak accident, and not in a stroke, although I have often been asked when I had suffered a stroke?

Helping others is a real heart warmer, in that I can still feel that I can be of very real help to others! I can help - even if I cannot walk properly or talk properly - even if it is only limited help!

Something that astounds me is how economical my Diesel Freelander is! It can go to Durban AND BACK on a quarter of a tank of fuel - I have done it twice now! Last time I filled it (half a tank) it cost R 330. In my Discovery, half a tank is at least R 500! The only thing in its favour is that a tank (R 1 000 worth of fuel) last me at least a month. In my Opel, I was using a tank every 2 weeks, and it cost R 500 to fill a tank! It was a tiny 4 cylinder motor (too small for an airconditioner) and now I have a V8 Automatic that is airconditioned! I dispute that my 3.9 litre V8 is damageing the environment more than my older 1.4 litre Opel Corsa!

Amazing what cash can do?

Along the N2 freeway past Esikhawini is (was) a series of low hills. Over the other side is the sea. About a decade ago, someone discovered that the hills are alive with the sound of cash ringing through the bank account! The sand contains high proportions of "heavy minerals" - the same as they mine on the beaches out in Richards Bay. When the waves wash up the beach and retret, they leave a deposit of black "stuff" that is collected up and smelted down. Richards Bay Minerals has for decades being smelting this mineral into Iron and Titanium. Someone cdiscovered that the hills are crammed full of this raw material and the hills here have been reduced to very low hills, and are vanishing fast! Who says that Man cannot move mountains? This is living proof that it CAN ne done, although I am convinced that the desire for wealth moves slower than can the power of our Creator.

Observe! - I have put Blondie (yellow Porsche) onto the market. To make it more desireable, I have gotten a panelbeater to work on the front sill (below the numberplate) and it looks great now! Pity is that I cannot really justify owning Blondie (the Porsche), La Frog (Renault for Christine to drive), Ladybug (my diesel Landrover) and Big Sister (my Discovery V8)

At the moment, someone from Durban is interested in swapping his Audi Turbo for Blondie! That is amazing, since Blondie is NZ registered now, NUF (Empangeni) registered before that, then ND (Durban) before that, and initially was Transvaal (T) registered before that.

Big Sister (my V8) was formerly NUF registered, as the farmer owner lives out at Felixton - a farming community about 20 kilometers (16 miles) outside of Empangeni. Ladybug (Turbo diesel) has always been NZ registered and La Frog was formerly NP (Pietermaritzburg) registered.

I am headed for big things at Church. My Elders Quorum President has temporarily decided to serve a mission in the Johannesburg Temple. Whilst he is away until the end of May, I am "promoted" from being First Counsellor to the acting Elders Quorum President! That kind of leaves me as 2IC to the branch, behind the Branch President! I know that I can do the calling - but it is still scary having so much POWER! (more than all of my cars put together!)

THEORY of evolution

Watching the programs on Satellite TV, I am astounded at how thinking modern man can preach things like "the THEORY of Evolution" as proven fact! Schools are absolutely convinced that theories proposed by Darwin are indesputable fact - as if they hold more water than the "fact" that the world was created, and has not evolved from pond slime! Sure the one requires faith as a proponent, but neither is more plausible than the other! Sure they claim that there is indesputable proof that evolution is fact, but I question how much of this "proof" is not just a happy coincidence as "proof" of the thoughts of some reknown person! Sure Hitler had a theory that the Jewish population should not exist and that has since been discounted. Sure when he was a young man, there were many who believed in what he said, enough to give up their lives if necessary! That does not make his theories any more valid. Why then is the "theory" of evolution taught in schools and universities as absolute indisputable fact? Surely I have the inalienable right to believe that we are created, not just evolved from pond scum! The intillectual community believes that it is impossible to create the world in 6 days as described in the bible, but that depends entirely on how long a "day" was when the world was created. Even now, a day (sun up to sun up) on the moon is not 24 hours! If you grew up on the moon, then came to earth, the length of a day (sunrise to sunrise) would be strange to you! What gives Man the right to think that he is the pinnacle of thought and emotion - on the pinnacle of perfection in the universe? What gives Man the right to think that he is suddenly (last few thousand years) has become so incredibly powerful as to defeat a creator's plans? I am convinced that "Global Warming" is likewise, a theory. If you believe that the earth has survived an ice age, surely we have globally warmed up since then? What then is the current news that this winter is going to be the coldest one in living memory? Are we warming up, or cooling down? Some scientists appear to be looking at isolated incidents as proof that we are globally warming - or if you dont believe that we are. We are headed for the coldest winter in recorded history, or are globally warming! Whichever is true, some scientists will claim it as absolute proof that their "theories" are correct! Those on the correct side of the fence MUST have a "proven" theory, even if their theory opposes those on the other side of the fence! No matter what happens, someone MUST be proven correct! I rather like my own "theory" that at the coast in Kwa Zulu Natal, a 4x4 is the absolute best vehicle to own - not to drive on the beaches, but I do like a 4x4 in the Game Reserves! A Landrover (Discovery or even a Freelander) is way better (far more comfortable) than is a pickup (Bakkie), apart from a bakkie being a bench seat in the cab, holding a maximum of 3 people, and my Landrovers (even the small Freelander) capable of seating 2 in the front, 3 in the back seat and at a push, a further person can sit in the very back portion.

N2 to Durban

Usually, the Tugela River - the border between the original Natal and Zululand (Zululand to the left and Natal to the right) is merely a bunch of puddles, but it rises in the Drakensberg Mountains, where they have had a lot of rain recently. There is actually water flowing out to sea and the level is significantly lower than it was on Friday last week. The midlands is obviously drier currently tham it was a week ago.

This is the radio/CD player in my Freelander. I found that the volume control on the steering wheel works better than does the one on the set! It is great having the tuning/volume control at your finger tips rather than on the set itself! La Frog, the frenchie in my family, is set up the same except that in the boot is a 6 disc CD Changer. With my V8 Landrover, the set is actually controlled by a Remote - showing that it is a Big Boys Toy. They say that if you really want to disable your husband, hide the remotes!

I really annoyed and amuzed Christine by pushing the Hazard Lights (red button here) whilst she was driving - Beware, Learner Driver! We do things that strange, and laugh about them. We went to see a movie on Tuesday and it included a werewolf! (Red Riding Hood) When a car ran across the screen at an anxious spot in the film, I side commented to Christine "Werewolf" and she packed up laughing! Now if we see a cat in a garden, it is a werewolf!

She sent an SMS to me "Thanks for the awesome week!" That warms my heart as since Mom started threatening divorce, I have felt that Christine is being steered away from closeness to me! I have a feeling that this is because my ex is resentful that I bonded with Christine before she was able to. I dont think this is entirely conscious, but I do feel it is out there!

Something that stunned me was that I knew my Turbo Diesel is economical, but I had no idea how economical. I filled up with Diesel on leaving Mtunzini, drove to the airport in Durban, then home again and the tank still reads more than 3.4 of a tank. We went to Durban on the amount of fuel between Overfull and Full. In my V8, this overfill is enough to get me from the fuel station to Church (55 kilometers) and Durban is a full 300 kilometers south! There and back on a quarter of a tank!

Trip from Midlands - via Greytown

I had to drive up to Mooi River yesterday, to collect my daughter from the private boarding school she is in! I drove up via the N3 freeway - by far the fastest way via Durban and Pietermaritzburg, to the Midlands! On the way back though Christine drove, since she has her Learners License. I drove via the freeway last time and Christine was lucky that I started with grey hair, as the traffic was heavy enough to give me grey hairs! You try giving the sterring wheel of your baby ((Landrover) to your baby (literal) and see if you are calm and relaxed! When I was learning to drive - 3 and a half decades ago - my Dad refused to let me drive the family BMW Mom had to buy a beater for us kids to learn to drive - called Fred. Not only did we learn to drive Fred, we learned that every so often, the no 2 cylinder oiled up the spark plug and the motor ran really badly! We learned to pul over when the running was bad, let the motor cool dow,then take the plug out and put in a clean one. That always allowed Fred to run smoothly again - until the plug carbonned up! The scenery on the road from Mooi River, via Greytown to the coast at Stanger,, is truly a wonder. On the Freeway, you dont go through many towns (from Durban, you go on one freeway through Pietermaritzburg to Mooi River , getting glimpses only of the Drakensberge! The road via Greytown is much quieter, slower and more potholed, but the no traffic is way better than the freeway - especially when you have trusted your baby to your baby!

This is the thriving(?) metropolis of Greytown - the main road - note the stream of cars and bakkies! It is a typical tiny town, barely more than a very busy village!

In the distance (towards the East) is the Indian Ocean.

In Greytown are many sited like this - hawkers who set up "shop" under an umbrella or a beach shade cloth and they trade in anything from clothes to food to traditional medicines.

Nearer Stanger are many settlements where the hills are dotted with homes.

Dtives away from the beaten track often give one sights that are not what you see from the freeway! It is often worth going out of the usual way, just to see the wonders that have been created for Man to enjoy! This country is so much more than you can see from the freeways.

Before I collected Christine from school. I went into the Landrover Clothing Factory shop in Mooi River. There are outlets in Durban for Landrover Clothing, but there they kind of load the price! I bought 2 Tshirts that will go well with my Camoflaged Jeans pants. I am starting to look like I belong behind the wheel of a serious off roader - not that I often get to use the 4 wheel drive, but it is there for occasions where I need it ("need" is such a relative word!) I LOVE owning - not one but 2 - off-the-beaten-track vehicles! Do I NEED them - sure not, but I can see exactly why in Sandton, 4x4s are so popular!