Monday, December 27, 2010

Up, up and away in a Hot air balloon!

That is why travelling is such fun, because there are so many facets to it.
Hot air ballooning was only ever on the "wish list" of things to do when I get older, have the time, before I die, etc, or as it is now more popularly known, on my "bucket list". I suppose retirement falls into that category.
Well on Saturday the 18th December this dream became a reality, but , boy was there a lot of behind the scenes activity going on beforehand, which I only heard about after the event.It was supposed to be a surprise, which it was, however unlike booking a trip to the Kruger or to see the Big Five near Worcester, hot air balloons don't care about any of your own plans, it only cares about the weather and then  only about perfect weather for flying. That means no fog, winds not too strong , not too late, not too wet and EARLY IN THE MORNING. So a challenge for a surprise outing!!Well Dick pulled it off, with many secretive phone calls,SMS's and some late night and very early morning calls from a mysterious person.
On the perfect morning we were up at 3-30 and off in the direction of Paarl where we had to meet our transport at 4.45 at the Grande Roche. Well the Combi with a big trailer behind it put the idea that it might be white river rafting to bed and I could relax on that one. The hosts for the outing was a bubbly German lady, Carmen and her husband Udo, whom we later found out was an experienced "balloon pilot". Off we went towards Malmesbury with another couple who had been on the list for months and one other lady who received the flight as a 70th birthday gift in March already. She had once before arrived for her flight, all the way from The Strand, however too much fog on that morning . On this day she struck it right.
Going on a Balloon flight is not a "sit back and wait" event. No ways, you are involved with off loading , laying the balloon down for inflating, unpacking and holding and once the balloon is fully inflated, to hold the basket down, else it might take off without the passengers. We received careful instructions on how what where and when, however before long we were in the balloon armed with cameras and ready to take off, just as the sun appeared over the mountains to say "good morning" and then we were in the air, just like magic!!No sound at all, just drifting like you were on a cloud. What a sensation!!!
Up and down and across you drift and you can take in the scenery at your leisure and Udo is a great guide who knows the landmarks from 1000m off the ground. Kasteelberg, Paarl Mountain, Perdeberg, Groot Winterberg, the Limietberg and all the mountains from Du Toitskloof as far back as the Hexriver and beyond appears systematically as you go higher or in a different direction. None of the stretching and straining of the neck to see something like when your are flying over in an aeroplane. There are also tit bits of information being passed on. The biggest Plum farm in the Southern Hemisphere is below us, Perdeberg has the best value wines, this farm is in the market and all the time we are taking pictures and wishing that this experience will continue forever. It is so carefree, silent and different. I think one could easily become addicted to this type of "escapism".
All too soon the flight is over. It was well more than an hour and suddenly we are on the ground on a freshly harvested wheatfield and we have to do some more work, because as we all know, what goes up must come down and what is inflated, has to be deflated and packed away and this all happens with happy banter and a sense of new found freedom. No cares left on this Saturday morning.
No job is done until the paperwork is completed, so we are all issued with a certificate to certify us all as "having defied the laws of gravity................" and then it was off to Grand Roche for a breakfast with some champagne of the region.This is a non negotiable.  If you were to go on this outing you will hear the story from Udo!!
.....and we got the T-shirt!!!

Getting ready

Inside the balloon

Whoof!

Highest we went

Mountains and more mountains

Nearly there

On firm ground again

Only packing up to do

Thursday, December 9, 2010

The journey takes a turn...

This time it is the Life Journey that is taking a turn. On November 30 I completed a 28 yr 11 month journey with Woolies. This obviously came as no surprise, as it is company policy to retire at the end of the month in which you turn 60, however the reality of walking out on the last day is slightly different. I really felt a bit weepy and sort of a person without purpose. Nobody really made a fuss either, so I think I was feeling a bit sorry for myself. Never to be beaten, I then invited  myself to lunch, had a lovely salad and a glass of wine and then packed up, said good bye and left.
The next day was spent on doing "me" things, but only after a lovely breakfast made by Dick and then I went for a facial. Nothing like spending money on yourself and feeling good about it. The very next day, Thursday, I got a call from one of my now ex-bosses with an invite to coffee the next morning to discuss a possible proposition. Well, before I had formally been "said good bye to", I was made an offer to work on a contract for another 2 months and thus the life journey took an unexpected, but welcome turn. I now work in the store in Worcester, which is about an hours drive every morning and a little more at night. I see the most spectacular scenery every day ,  I meet new people and I get paid at the end of the month. What a pleasure!!!!

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Two weeks later.....

Our trip back to Johannesburg was slow with many a "stop/go" and several km spent behind a monster of an abnormal load truck, not to mention a breakdown of our camper van. This happened somewhere near Heidelberg and about a km from where we joined the N3.  We all stopped and contemplated our options, peered into the engine and just knew that this was not a quick fix job because the area covered in leaking diesel rapidly increased as we were checking things out. Several phone calls later we decided to leave Dick and one of the guys behind and the 4 other vans left for Johannesburg and the Maui depot. They had agreed to send somebody out to fetch Dick and the van. He was eventually towed in. I drove the one Camper in thorough the traffic and all went well, only to  run out of diesel about 2 km from the depot.The reason for this is that one has to hand the camper back to Maui with as little as possible diesel. Beats me, but then again stranger things happen. Anyway by about 16.00 the guys were taken their hotel and Dick and I transferred all out stuff into another camper for our trip back to Cape Town. We met with our group at the hotel for a last farewell drink and then we were off to have supper with our kids and to spend the night in the Krugersdorp Game park. A lovely time with the kids and a late arrival in the park, however we saw a lot of game the next morning. The facilities in the park does look a bit tired, but there was hot water for the shower.The next morning we took a trip to Pretoria to go and visit our friend Toti who is terminally ill. We chatted a bit and had a glass of champagne with her and then hit the road to Cape Town. We were hoping to get to Upington, but with all the road works and the late departure we only made it to Delareyville. The campsite was non existant but we stayed nonetheless. The next night we stayed in Calvinia and then we arrived in Cape Town by lunch time on the Thursday. Lovely to be back home and back to work on the Friday for me. Luckily it was only for 8 working days and as I am writing now, I am in my first day of official retirement and that is going to be a different journey all of its own.