Andries, Lorette and Irma arrived Thursday evening to a blazing log fire in the Bakoni fire place taking the autumn chill from Machado House's elegant Victorian rooms. They stopped over on their way to the Kruger Park. As ever, the relaxing olde worlde charm of Machadodorp village waylayed them, and resulted in them setting off a good couple of hours later than planned on Friday morning. Andries and his wife have just moved from Johannesburg’s Wit University to Pretoria , Andries working as Associate Professor in Pretoria University’s Department of Sociology. They discussed the interesting cultural differences between the students of each University. The attractions they loved in Machadodorp include Milly’s trout pies, the distant chuffing of trains and the church clock’s bells drifting through the village night air. A soft mist surrounded us as we chatted in the morning.
Later on Friday morning we welcomed Aesha and Mahmood Nathoo just in time to get to Mosque. The Machadodorp Mosque is also in Taute Street, so they didn’t have far to go. The wind had built up a little and this reminded Aesha of Port Elizabeth where they both grew up. Geluk unit was their base for exploring the beautiful Emakhazeni Highlands of Mpumalanga. They took a tour to Badplaas through the beautiful Skurweberg pass, and enjoyed the fresh garden herbs in the Absolute Leisure gardens. Mahmood is a vegetable gardener of note in between his work in finance, so we exchanged a few vege growing tips!
Around lunch time the Grobler family arrived – Daniel and Muriel plus 3 year old Gené & 1 year old Louis. Gené just loved her room in Bakoni. After the long drive from Midrand the kids were brimming over with energy, and garden gates had to be closed rapidly to keep them from disappearing off down the street. Muriel was keen to browse the local junk and antique shops, so I recommended Flippy Taljard’s and the Highveld Emporium, as well as the Windmill Bargain Centre in Belfast. I also recommended they ask Flippy and Alta for a peek into their teddy bear room. Flippy, ever the eccentric Machadodorp artist, has covered the entire walls and ceiling of their bedroom with soft toys which he won from vending machines some years back. This room is a child’s dream come true!
Early afternoon saw the arrival of the Du Toit family from Jo’burg, Karen and Craig and their three boys. The boys, also full of energy and excitement, were straight up into the loft bedroom of Duckworth’s Dargle negotiating as to who would get to sleep there. Then, safely down the ladder again, the toy cupboard became the centre of attention. Pogo sticks and croquet set were tested in the garden while Mum and Dad unloaded the car. Dad Craig admitted to being a 1000 bounce pogo champ from when he was a kid, so their 5 day stay will see him and the kids honing their pogo skills along with some fishing and family bonding time. Happy holidays Du Toit Family! Please send some family pics for the blog.
No comments:
Post a Comment