Go with Henry: May 2014

Saturday, 31 May 2014

Sunset tea at the Pretoria Botanical gardens

Afternoon tea at the African Pride Cafe

31 May 2014

Background

Champagne activities on a coke budget have become a hobby of my wife and me.

Not far from home, it was affordable to drive to. Ceylon tea is not expensive either. Taking pictures and doing art is for free, and God's sunset absolutely free.

For a couple hours, we enjoyed the winter sunset mixed with highveld colors, browns, oranges, yellows and reds. Ducks on the pond and birds searching for crumbs, completed the picture.

Therapy for the tired soul that gets stuck in the hustle and bustle of everyday life filled with bills to pay and technology that drains the soul from God. Only God can satisfy the soul. Our enemy aims to keep us from God with the worries of life.

Nature is a way to get back to God and what is really important.

View of garden from the African pride cafe

The African Pride Cafe is situated within the Pretoria National Botanical Garden. What makes it special is its deck that overlooks the wetland from where one can get a spectacular view of the Garden.

About Pretoria

Pretoria (Tshwane), in Gauteng Province, is the administrative capital of South Africa. Known as "Jacaranda City" for its thousands of Jacaranda trees, it's also home to universities and government buildings (Wikipedia).

About Botanical Gardens

The Pretoria National Botanical Garden is one of South Africa's nine National Botanical Gardens. The garden is wedged between Pretoria Road and Cussonia Avenue in Brummeria, in eastern Pretoria, Gauteng, and flanks a central rocky ridge that runs from east to west.

The 76 hectares garden was established in 1946, and of late hosts the headquarters of the South African National Biodiversity Institute (Wikipedia).

View of garden from the African pride cafe

African Pride Cafe deck

Sunset view

View of garden from the African pride cafe

The deck of the African pride cafe

The deck of the African pride cafe - Ansu, my wife at our table

Carrot cake and roses

The deck of the African pride cafe - Ansu, my wife at our table

Carrot cake with our tea

The table rose with the garden in the background

Ansu drawing

Two boys wanted to know what she was doing

Explaining what she was doing

Lake sunset

Sunset view of the garden from the African Pride Cafe

View of garden from the African Pride Cafe

Ducks in the water

Saturday, 24 May 2014

Pretoria's own nature reserve

Afternoon at Moreletta Kloof nature reserve

May 2014

Background

Another 'champagne' activity on a 'coke' budget, is to visit one of the many Municipal nature reserves all over Pretoria. Moreletta Kloof Nature reserve is one of these reserves. How many cities can boast a nature reserve? Pretoria actually has several.

Entrance is free and there are zebras, ostriches, game, etc roaming around.

Rademeyer's is a quaint old farmhouse converted into a restaurant, with outside gazebo's overlooking the valley, which gives you that colonial "Out of Africa' feeling. I wish I had a farm in Africa.......

The Moreletta kloof Nature reserve

About Pretoria

About Moreleta Kloof Nature Reserve & Rademeyers Restaurant

The Reserve occupies the rolling foothills of the Moreleta Kloof and covers a total area of about 100 hectares. It is under the management and protection of the Tshwane Metro Council’s Department of Nature Conservation.

Jacobus and Cornelia Erasmus owned a dairy farm here in the early 1800’s. Carel Erasmus bought the farm in 1877 and built a three-roomed house which today is the chapel. In 1903 his son-in-law Johan Marneweck built his house on the land which now has been converted into the Rademeyers restaurant.

The nature reserve boasts a number of residents that have made it their natural habitat, namely impala, blesbuck, springbuck, ostrich, and zebra. There are also a number of bird species and ostriches.

The Moreleta Spruit has a tributary that winds its way through the reserve and provides a welcome watering hole for many of the birds and other wildlife, as well as water for the surrounding greenery.

There are a number of walking trails through the Moreleta Kloof Nature Reserve. These are of different lengths and intensities to suit a range of walking requirements.

Zebras at the entrance - welcoming committee

Garden feature between chapel and farmhouse (Rademeyer's)

Dilapidated structure near the chapel

Chapel - originally built as a house by Carel Erasmus in 1877

Ansu taking a rest on one of the walls

Chapel walkway

Chapel - originally built as a house by Carel Erasmus in 1877

Farmhouse built by Johan Marneweck in 1903 - Now Rademeyer's restaurant

Ansu, my wife, at our table

View from our table overlooking the reserve - We took an outside table

Ordering

Farmhouse built by Johan Marneweck in 1903 - Now Rademeyer's restaurant

lunch - chicken calamari dish

Notice

Start of one walking trail near our table

I took a 200meter walk on one of the trails

Sunday, 18 May 2014

Stopover in Addis Ababa

One day in Addis

Ethiopia

30 July 2012

Background

After teaching English in Oman for 9 months, our employer booked us spots on Ethiopian Airlines back to South Africa. We experienced serious challenges over the nine-month period, such as an ankle break, a moldy hotel and nearly 3 months in a flat above a brothel with stinky drains and a mattress that killed our backs, so we gladly took what was available.

The flight in Muscat departed late, due to much-needed maintenance on the plane (not very comforting), led to us missing our connection flight to SA in Addis Ababa. The next available flight was only the next day, so we were stuck for a day. The Airline gave us vouchers to stay at a hotel for a night absolutely free.

The Hotel De Leopol International was not the Sheraton, but after a stressful trip from Muscat, a sight for sore eyes. I worked in Somali-land 10 years prior and has been to Addis Ababa during that time.

With an eagerness to work and travel to developing countries, I saw this as a wonderful opportunity once more to visit and experience Ethiopia. My wife, however, beyond the point of trauma, did not share my eagerness for discovery.

We took a hotel 'shuttle bus' to the hotel, which afforded me at least to take some pictures along the way as we drove through the streets en-route to our hotel. It was a rainy day, so leaving the hotel room was not really pleasant, which eased the pain somewhat for me for not being able to explore.

I stood on my small hotel room balcony and took some pics of what was happening below me. I will never forget the small space in the little elevator that took us many floors up......too small for one and his luggage.....I rather take the steps in future....safer that way.

We woke early the next morning not to miss the plane, supposedly to receive a hotel breakfast, which never took place. After many queues and checkpoints, we eventually got on the plane for SA.

Addis street scene

About Addis Ababa

Addis Ababa, "new flower"; "Natural Spring(s)” or Addis Abeba (the spelling used by the official Ethiopian Mapping Authority), is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. As a chartered city (ras gez astedader), Addis Ababa has the status of both a city and a state.

It is where the African Union is and its predecessor the OAU was based. It also hosts the headquarters of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and numerous other continental and international organizations.

Addis Ababa is therefore often referred to as "the political capital of Africa" for its historical, diplomatic and political significance for the continent (Wikipedia).