Look what we found in the garden - Feb 2011

Post Holiday travels - Nyanga and the Bvumba 2010

This year for our after Christmas trip we opted to stay a little closer to home (only a 3 hours drive each way) and spend our time exploring the lovely eastern highlands area of Nyanga and the Bvumba. Both locations were stunning and after all the rains this year both were green and lush as well. Our first two nights were spent in Nyanga at the Troutbeck resort. The resort itself was a bit tired, but the staff was friendly and helpful and we were able to have two connecting rooms. The weather wasn't that great, as the rains were still coming down, but we managed to spend a day ahead of the rain, seeing sights and taking in the beautiful area.



The rains chased us all over Nyanga, thankfully it stayed about 30 minutes behind us so we got to see the sights dry, and then witness the beautiful rainbows.



Nyagombe Falls, Nyanga



Nyagombe Falls, Nyanga


A shot from World's View at 2,258meters.

The second half of our trip was spent at the Leopard Rock resort in the Bvumba. This hotel as the guidebook quotes "... is set in an area of unsurpassed natural beauty" I can assure you, this is true. Leopard Rock was built by Italian POW's and boasts in addition to a lovely hotel one of the finest championship golf courses in the world. We took advantage of the golf and all took lessons. We also did a short horse ride to see the small game reserved. It was absolutely lovely, and Ed got bit with the golf bug.



Leopard Rock Resort



An absolutely stunning course overlooking Mozambique.



Sunset over the course.



Our first golf lesson.



A beautiful course, even just for walking.



Of we go to see the game.



A zebra unaware of the beauty that he is surrounded by.

Christmas 2010

Christmas 2010 has again brought us all together. African Christmas is different and requires a few adjustments, such as lightweight Christmas tree ornaments as the Christmas juniper just can't handle heavy objects, plenty of sunscreen for hanging out at the pool and the constant hum of the a/c units to keep us all feeling at little holiday like. Thanks to Martha Stewart we all enjoyed our share of delicious egg nog made from scratch, plenty of Christmas cookies and loads of holiday cheers, Africa style.




Our beautiful Christmas juniper, all decked out for the holidays.





Even Kodi was full of holiday cheer and thankful for a very generous stocking filled with all sorts of fun treats.

Christmas in Summertime

I just love having Christmas in summertime. It isn't that great for sitting around the fire, enjoying a mug of gluwein or spiked egg nogg, but it is excellent for swimming in the pool!

18, no wait, 19 December Jordan arrives!

After an unscheduled overnight in Addis Ababa, Jordan finally arrived. We were all so happy to see her. She is doing great, getting ready to start the last phase of her Master's in Special Education program, actual student teaching. She begins this adventure in January when she returns.

Lucas' Christmas Program

The second graders this holiday season sang songs and played a variety of instruments at the annual Holiday Program. Lucas was pleased with his prowess on the xylophone.

Kodi goes for a swim

After much anxiety on Kodi's part around the swimming pool and other water sources, he has finally over come his fear and found his inner Golden Retriever. All it took was us ignoring him around the pool and letting his own natural curiosity overcome his fear. Front feet in the water felt good... whole undercarriage felt better... swimming around felt GREAT! Now he is the first one in the pool when we go for a swim and he has no fear or trepidation when encountering a more natural water source. He enjoyed a swim in the small dam at Mukivisi Woodlands as well. A welcome by-product of this whole development has been that Kodi is much more relaxed and less stressed in the bathtub as well.