Cape Town - Part Two

As promised the second part of our recent holiday to Cape Town that involved some drama. I've decided to call it "Rains and Bees and Plans" (sung to the tune of 'Trains and Boats and Planes').

THE RAINS

These started on our second day as we drove towards Hermanus. On our arrival there it was falling down and the downpour continued non-stop for the next 27 hours resulting in flooding as rivers burst their banks. Depositing debris over the roads and onto the beaches and into the sea. A drive up to Caledon was not possible (see picture). 

This is the Road to Caledon. Or not !

We were told all this rain was due to a weather system called a 'cut-off low'. Never heard of this? See: www.weatheronline.co.uk/reports/wxfacts/Cut-off-low.htm - if you're interested. Basically the slow-moving rain clouds were trapped and it just kept raining until it could rain no more. 

Though the weather cleared for our journey back to Cape Town we could not have gone back the way we came as the road was closed. Also our decision to drive further north and not take the Franschhoek Pass was lucky as this pass was not pass-able and we would have been forced back if we'd tried to go this way.

This same bad weather was the reason a few days later we found Chapman's Peak Drive closed, and it would remain so for the whole holiday.

A ball of bees

THE BEES

Our first morning at Margaret's mums place we noticed all these flying insects from our bedroom window. Causing the gardener Simon to take cover until the air cleared.

As we all ventured back out into the garden I noticed inside a tree, clustered around a branch, a very large wriggling ball of bees. To say this looked like trouble is an understatement. We drove to the Local Municipality to report it and organise a bee man to come round. Some advice suggested they may not stick around and fortunately before the 'bee' man arrived the entire ball of bees flew off to trouble someone else.

Later that same day, probably while our heads were still a little buzzy, our hire car began to rebel. First we set the alarm off, somehow! Then we couldn't get the petrol cap open at the filling station. Out came the car manual, for a second time, but to no avail. We simply couldn't open the thing and we were in dire need of petrol. A passerby helped us with an enlightening display of car key remote pressing and pushing on the petrol cap cover. 
Nothing about any of this in the manual....!

THE PLANS

This final part is all about swallows and flying south for the winter. It spreads over most of the second week of our trip and is very much an on-going story.... 

So Part Two of Part Two will follow shortly...

Newspaper article after the storm

Clearing up, after surviving the big rain of 2013

Celebrating 'One Year' at Hurley

Last week was one year since we moved into our van at Hurley.
In July we had a visit from Tony and Clive, Yvonne and Anthony and they sent us a montage of the pictures they took that day. I thought it looked like a picture postcard, so have added a suitable title and to commemorate that occasion and our 'one year', here it is.

It's a Hurley heat wave

From cold and damp, rain and wind we are now basking in an English heat-wave. Ten days and counting... Excuse the thinly disguised excitement, but it's been some time since anything like this has been enjoyed on these shores.
A long weekend allowed us to enjoy this lovely weather.
And some lovely photos too.

"Sally Slapcabbage"- that's the name of the boat. On the Thames path to Marlow.

The Henley Regatta.

And blue skies up above. A 'Saltire Sky' as named by Margaret.
(Aircraft vapor trails that resembled the Scottish flag).

I now pronounce you...

Man and Wife.

"You may kiss the bride, when she stops laughing."

What a great day (2)

Chelsea Town Hall, Friday 3rd May, 2013

WHAT A GREAT DAY

Ding Dong.... and the sun shone !

M loves B - TRUE
(May 3rd, 2013)

Holy Moley... Amen

We have caught (and killed I am afraid to say) our first mole. It's not a nice feeling but they started it. And information (below) suggests why we got targeted (following the floods) and that there maybe more moles around. 

We can only wait and see.

Moles are solitary but not as solitary as people think. Sharing the main runs under hedges and fences, but will defend their own territories aggressively. Territories will overlap and this is why when a mole is caught or vacates its territory another mole will sense this that it has been vacated and will quickly move into the vacated territory.

The moles have several layers of tunnels, shallow short lived surface tunnels, and deeper tunnels used for breeding and feeding. The large mole FORTRESS the very large molehill one frequently sees, are usually found in areas of high water tables or on land which can become flooded.

Hurley Declaration

"We have just returned from our van at Hurley and have issued a final ultimatum stating that unless we hear from them by 11.00 am today that they are prepared at once to withdraw totally from our garden, then a state of war will exist between us."

"I have to tell you that no such undertaking has been received and that consequently we are now at war with the moles of Riverside Park."

Hurley Ahoy !

In the weeks leading up to Christmas the rain continued falling. The flood warnings for England increased as we kept our eyes on the weather forecasts. It was looking like we were dreaming of a 'Wet Christmas'.

Fortunately the nightmare wasn't as bad as first feared. My cousin and her husband were keeping an eye out and while the over flowing River Thames did fill many peoples gardens and the surrounding fields it stopped short of our front gate.

By New Years Day the water levels had reduced, even though we still needed wellies to wade our way to our van. See more pictures below.

Normal view from the road to our van in Cedar Field.

Willow field.... !!!

Newly formed Cedar Lake

River Road, Hurley 'in' Thames