Welcome
to 2008, and may it be a wonderful and prosperous year
for all of my readers.
The
most noticeable thing about 2008 so far is water, water,
water. Up here in the bushveld nothing is done in half
measures. Last summer we only had half of the normal
rainfall resulting in extremely dry conditions in winter
with very little food for our animals and then this
year we get an absolute abundance of rain with a record
January certainly better than any January in the 16
years of my rainbook……
As
I write this e-zine, I can see a group of Impala fawns
standing very forlornly in the rain with none of their
normal exuberance that would cause them to chase one
another around the lawn, springing over imaginary bushes
and just generally enjoyed being a young Impala.
It
is dead quiet at the moment thanks to Eishkom’s
power outage. Not even the telephones are working. According
to Telkom their exchange depends on electricity to function,
so, no power, no phones.
The
only happy animal this morning is Mozart, our resident
bushveld kingfisher. Since early this morning he has
started flying from tree to tree singing as loud as
he can, catching insects on the lawn and fish from the
dam and just generally being a happy little kingfisher,
totally oblivious of Eskom and Telkom problems.
DINOKENG
BIG 5 GAME RESERVE
The
Dinokeng Big 5 Game Reserve is happening very slowly.
There are a number of farmers who have not yet completed
their documentation, that, plus other legal issues are
causing a major slowdown of the whole process. However,
the Southern section of the reserve is pushing ahead.
Most of the grids and gates are installed and the fences
of the farms in the south can now be taken down and
soon we will have some Buffalo roaming around plus all
of the other plains game. We also have Leopard who visit
the area from time to time, so maybe we can rename the
reserve “The Dinokeng Mini Big 2 Game Reserve.“
Hopefully
one of these years all of the problems will be resolved
and our bushveld will resound to the roar of the lions
and the trumpeting of elephants instead of my neighbours
vuvuzela and all of this will happen before 2010.
THE
RESERVOIR,THE VISIONARY AND THE BEAUTIFUL HOME
On
the farms in Dinokeng there are still many water reservoirs
or farm dams to be seen. Some of then are still in use
for storing water but there are many that stand empty
and ugly on the farms. I also thought they were particularly
ugly structures until I met the visionary, one Andre
Boshof from Adventure Addicts. He stood in front of
the reservoir and said to me “I am going to live
in that reservoir” I was totally bewildered and
thought to myself, this oke is two beers short of a
six pack. Anyway Andre did not let the grass grow under
his feet and got started on his “house in a dam”.
Last week he invited me for a cup of coffee in his new
home. Pixie and I popped up there and nearly fell on
our backs, his home is absolutely stunning. It is a
double storey thatch with two bedrooms each with its
own en-suite bathroom for his two daughters, on the
bottom level, plus a lounge, dining room and kitchen.
On the upper level he has his main bedroom, en-suite
bathroom, gym and drawing room. The open plan bedroom
& gym is connected to the sitting room by a suspended
rope and wood bridge and all of the rooms upstairs including
the bathroom have an uninterrupted view of the bushveld.
Well done Andre, you have created a lovely masterpiece
of a home for your family.
GOING
TO MOZAMBIQUE? - BEWARE THE BORDERPOST
A
little to the east of Dinokeng is Mozambique. We recently
went there on holiday and were totally amazed at the
development taking place in this previously war torn
country. There are many South Africans living in Mozambique
and there are many developments taking place there.
The coastline is stunningly beautiful, but this lovely
country has its dark side. The money changers at the
border post. We tried to change rands in South Africa,
but the banks could not assist and we were told that
we could get our money changed at the border post at
Komatipoort. When we got there we asked about changing
money and were swamped by guys with rolls of money.
We duly exchanged some money and went off to Maputo.
When we got there we found that a roll of money had
been taken from my sister-in-laws pocket and they also
got my cell phone off my belt. So, a tip from the suckers.
Stay inside your vehicle when changing money. Change
small amounts at a time and ensure that you keep all
other windows are closed and put the exchanged money
out of anyone’s reach and then get the hell out
of there because they are really sharp.
VALENTINE’S
WEEKEND
A
reminder for all of you romantic types - coming soon
- Valentines Day. This year Valentine’s Day falls
on a Thursday so we plan to have a great romantic dinner
at the restaurant and for any couples booking for that
weekend’s Friday and Saturday night you will get
Thursday nights accommodation absolutely free. On Thursday
night we are serving as 3 course dinner with lots of
romance for just R125 per person.
Valentines
Weekend
Book
for Friday and Saturday and get Thursday night free.
Flat
rate for all suites R395 per person per night sharing.
First
person booking gets the honeymoon suite
How
Dickie got the Lemon
I
had a rather bizarre picture in my e-zine of July 2007
and asked the readers if they could identify it. No,
it is not some prehistoric creature and I do not believe
in UFO’s.
It
was a misshaped lemon that we found on one of our lemon
trees. Thanks to everyone who sent mails, quite a number
of folks got it right and the winner is Dickie Coates,
Dickie please give a call and lets take you and a partner
on a quad bike game drive.
Talking
of lemons, I have two trees that have never been without
lemons for the last 5 years. Last year we had a very
cold spell and the lemons died on the tree, subsequently
to this, no more flowers or lemons have appeared on
the tree. Do any readers have a cure for my poor little
trees.
Stunning
Property for Sale
I
have magnificient riverside farm in Dinokeng North on
45 ha with 3 houses.
House
no.1 – 700 sq meter under thatch has 5 bedrooms
an enormous open plan living space and beautifully equipped
kitchen with 2 double garages.
House
no. 2 – 200 sq meter double storey also under thatch,
4 bedroom, one bathroom with pretty kitchen and living
area.
Both
homes are enclosed in a very large Mediterranean style
walled area with huge palm trees, exquisite gardens
and lawns, fountains and cages full of exotic birds
and monkeys.
House
no. 3 - 180 sq meter under corrugated iron, a riverside
cottage with 4 bedrooms.
This
house has lots of potential but needs some tender loving
care.
The
farm has water rights from the river, two storage dams,
lots of storage space and plenty of game that include
Kudu, ribbok, blesbuck, blue wildebeest, impala and
ostrich.
This
property is just begging for someone to develop it into
a luxury lodge. R3,7million
Something
funny to make you smile.
Something
for you to think about
Attitude
There
once was a woman who woke up one morning,
looked in the mirror,
and noticed she had only three hairs on her head.
Well,"
she said, "I think I'll braid my hair today?"
So she did and she had a wonderful day.
The next day she woke up,
looked in the mirror
and saw that she had only two hairs on her head.
"H-M-M,"
she said,
"I think I'll part my hair down the middle today?"
So she did and she had a grand day.
The
next day she woke up,
looked in the mirror and noticed that she had only one
hair on her head.
"Well,"
she said,
"today I'm going to wear my hair in a pony tail."
So she did and she had a fun, fun day.
The
next day she woke up,
looked in the mirror and noticed that there wasn't a
single hair on her head.
"YEA!"
she exclaimed,
"I don't have to fix my hair today!"
Attitude
is everything.
Be kinder than necessary,
for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.
Live
simply,
Love generously,
Care
deeply,
Speak
kindly.......
Life
isn't about waiting for the storm to pass.
It's about learning to dance in the rain.
Dancing in the rain….been there….done that…..got
the t-shirt
Till
you hear from me again
All
the best from the Bushveld
Derrick
"
A songbirds note in a small piece of heaven "
Tamboti
Bush Lodge
Dinokeng
North
Derrick
& Pixie Cochran
Tel
: 012 711 0909
Office
Cell: 083 341 3244
Mobile
: 082 821 1571
info@tamboti.co.za
www.tamboti.co.za
