Girls Spa Day - Gocheganas

This is what happens when you send a Field Guide and a Somatologist to a lodge/spa - informal review by two self proclaimed critics

So myself and Vanessa got treated to a spa day/sleepover at Gocheganas Wellness Centre just South-East of Windhoek. On arrival and after check-in we have a coffee in our room and we have half an hour to get ready for our treatment, an outdoor massage and we're super stoked. We wait a little to long for our luggage but after a call to reception we receive it and quickly get ready.

We arrive at the spa, we're a bit early but still expect someone to be at reception, a therapist pass us in the waiting area with a plate of food now smelling up the serene atmosphere and practically ignores us, we take initiative and start filling in the client form, the phone rings for what felt like 10mins stopping and starting again and we can hear the therapists laughing somewhere presumably having lunch,  eventually (yes we were early but any form of communication would have been welcome) we are taken to the dressing room to change into over/under sized bathrobes, now I was thinking there is some outdoor boma where the massages take place, wrong! We are loaded in a gameviewer, now u need to picture this, I'm drowning in my manly size bathrobe and Vanessa got a petite version that stops at her elbows and barely cover her....well u know

We get on the gameviewer and by this time we are in a fit of giggles (tourists would've not found this funny) as we're now driving on a gravel road in sleepwear in the middle of nowhere, next moment we go offroad, the driver/guide is definitely not keeping to the speed limit so I'm swinging like a monkey that has dropped out of beauty school and stole the robe on the way out on the bars of the vehicle and Van is trying to keep her robe in place and in the process getting way to much wind on the (throat clear) subject, so now we're histerical with laughter! 

So still we think there should be a structure somewhere in the veld for this treatment, wrong again, the driver and the two therapists are having a debate as to which tree has the least bugs, then we're waiting on the game viewer for our beds to be set up whilst the guide asks me to fix his phone (tsk tsk) eventually we're allowed off the vehicle and the treatment starts,  now ur lying face down into a hole in the bed smelling poo with flies circling around your nostrils but it is an hour without a phone, kids, work etc so we're grateful but the poo smell is really overpowering and literally leaves a bad taste in your mouth which makes it difficult to enjoy the treatment, I swat at a fly, almost dislocate my shoulder as I get tangled in the towels ontop of me and nearly punch the therapist in the face..

Treatment over and the therapists starts packing up, one of them calls the driver but we see him only leave the lodge on the hilltop about 10mins later whilst we're still sitting in the bush half naked with a herd of about 100 springbok as spectators, I decide I don't actually mind this waiting to much as I'm in the bush which I love if only it wasn't for the ginormous need for a water chamber so we did come to the conclusion that the treatment would be alot more pleasant was the randomly selected area cleared of poo, there be some citronella burning and the driver perhaps given a time to return instead of calling him after the treatment, clients still swatting flies and all seeing as you're drenched in massage oil seemingly pleasant to flies aswell. Overall the girls were well trained but certainly lacking some techniques which can be rectified with a refresher course and clients shouldn't have to wait around for set-up not at the rates the spa is charging. 

We get back to our room and realise we have half a litre of massage oil in our hair aswell and Van has got a "Something about Mary" moment 

By now we need something to drink other than water, I opt for a non-alcoholic beer and she orders a Sprite Zero, we go chill by the outdoor pool, I'm in trouble for playing candy crush (when do moms get time for candy crush? But my argument doesn't fly)  so I fool around with pics instead

Now I want to go to the indoor heated pool, I try all sorts of tactics to convince Van as I never got to swim there when the kids were with us as they're not allowed at the spa pool, I tell her about the water drop and the stunning view. She reluctantly obliges, we get there, we swim to the drop and man now we laugh, the window is so dirty we can't see shit of the view, after composing ourselves, back to the room and by now we're starving on this health mission so we decide on a quick shower before dinner, I head for the bath and it's bliss! No toys, no pieces of bath crayon, no unidentifiable bits floating around, Van heads for the shower and after about 10mins of fighting with the showerhead she decides to jump in the bath instead, I get out determined to fix the shower.....there, fixed it....

She decides to stay in the bath...

We head for dinner and by now I want to eat the tablecloth, Van is having a lenghty conversation with the chef as to her 100g chicken and 120g veg, no carrots, no parsley, I'm eyeing the bread basket on the table next to us and wondering if the two tourists sitting at the table will notice if I grab their basket of bread (the one I didn't order as I'm spoiled by #lindasheavenlybread and won't compromise). 

Food arrives, the best Oryx steak I've had in a long time, crisp potatoes and al dente veg, I inhale my plate and have to be reminded to eat slower, Julia the chef cooked Van's meal perfectly and we watch the most amazing sunset, the restaurant service is fantastic.

Back in our room we proceed to bed after sitting outside for a while listening to two black backed jackals call, bliss

I wake up to "I'm never sleeping in the same bed as you again, next time we get two rooms" aparently I kick in my sleep, alot! Now I know why my husband sometimes move to the kids rooms at night. 

Overall we have not laughed, chilled and have girl time like this in what feels like forever and we'll go again sooner rather than later, maybe just opt for an indoor treatment next time.

We want to thank Heloise Smith so much for this spoil, we needed it and we loved it! 

Caprivi Dec 2017

As always this time of year we head to the magical Nambwa Lodge & Campsite joined by Linda and her kiddies, my parents and Dieter & Chariz.

We look forward to having a week of having to do absolutely nothing but spend time in the park, on the river and by the pool.

Our first night is at Hakusembe River Lodge, the rooms are nice, kids love the pool and the air conditioning is welcome, unfortunately only breakfast is included and we're billed with a whopping N$330 per person for dinner, nothing special but an ordinary buffet and a pancake for dessert, I'm disappointed that we didn't go the self-catering route.

Next day we head for Nambwa, after packing in a proper (included) breakfast, we spot our first elephant breeding herd crossing the road not far east of the Divundu border. It's a quick sighting but gets the spirit going.

At Nambwa we are greeted with a welcoming citronella infused wet facecloth, the same welcome cloth we get after every activity and to which my dad now refers to as the cooling pancakes as he reckons that's how they roll

The next morning we head out on the boat with our guide Martin, Martin is an intern guide trained by The Nature College in RSA and knowing quite a bit of guiding and especially client care myself I have to admit I admire his passion for the surroundings, the dedication towards his clients and the knowledge he accumulated in the area over the past 6 months of his internship, he packed us some fishing rods and we try our luck Tiger Fishing. I cast for Alex from the top deck of the boat, he sits for a while with the rod and seems bored, I remind him that if a Tiger takes the rod he will know it and if he is not prepared he'll lose the rod, about 2 secs after this he jumps and I grab the rod, I realize this is no small tiger and subtly ask him if oupa should reel it in, this fish fights! Oupa takes the rod and fights it to the surface, we realise we're not really prepared for this expedition and Ian and Martin looks at each other on the lower deck wondering who will take it out of the water, they pull a team effort with a T-Shirt, the fish is in the boat and longer than Dieter's two size 10 shoes lined up, we calculate it should be around 7-8kg's easily, this thing is massive, Alex is beaming and the kids are all chanting Alex the Tiger King, Alex the Tiger King!

We spend the following days on game-drives and boat cruises, we see a pack of wild dogs en-route to horseshoe on an early morning drive, we spot the most majestic fish-eagles, we crack jokes, we read, we laugh, we swim. 

The last night of our week in heaven we decide to go spend it at horseshoe, we sit in wait with a G&T and Martin's bush popped popcorn when the first elephant heard approaches, they seem jittery but soon relax, next in is a bachelor herd and the young bulls mock fight and mount each other in the water, I creep closer and position myself behind a fallen tree, Linda and Chariz soon follows, we sit in silence, all you hear is the occasional click of our cameras. The kids are behind us in a hippo path building a shongololo farm, I notice movement in the bushes to my right and see it is Martin walking the perimeter around us, again I am impressed. My mom and dad is sitting on the game viewer and getting nervous about an approaching bull, after the 3rd call of "poppetjie hy kom nader" I reluctantly get up from my spot, gather the kids in the vehicle and take position next to them, Ian has moved in on the other side of the vehicle and so has Linda so we create a barrier around the kids, there's absolute silence, Martin crouches down infront of the vehicle positioning himself between the bull and his clients and again I sigh with relief of another trained guide present, there is absolute silence on the gameviewer and then it happens....Alex farts....not a subtle fart, more like a nervous explosion but everyone is so scared by this bull passing not even a giggle slips. The bull is warning us that he is passing but I can see in his demeanor he is unsure what we are and his only objective is to pass, he's a safe distance from us now, nervous giggles erupts, first because everyone is in awe and secondly because Alex says "mom I was so scared that I farted" I check his pants to make sure he didn't shit himself.

Martin looks back at his guests and gives me the guiding sign for that was aaaaawesoooome, it's subtle so the guests don't notice but I get it! I see the satisfaction on his face for giving his clients this experience and my heart yearns for one more day in the bush.  

We have to pack the next morning, everyone is short tempered and miserable. The vervet monkeys managed to get into Linda's tent and is now throwing her with her own dried pears from the trees. Management is freaking out at the monkeys and worried that Linda will be upset unbeknown to them this is the highlight of Linda's week and if she could have her way she would most propably cuddle them. 

We exit the park and my heart longs to stay or join Dieter & Chariz to Botswana but maybe next time....

We're back at Hakusembe tonight but this time brought rolls & cold meats, sitting on the stoep in what feels like 80% humidity and there is no where else I would like to be right now than right here in the Caprivi, the gift that keeps on giving. 

a new season - diary 1st entry

So my first week has arrived where I need to get accustomed to not only focus on work, I've been going into the office half day, my plan for the year ahead until I fetch my kids from playschool midday. Well it has started well.......well actually let me tell you the 1st five years of a child's life is easy compared to what comes after when they become a young child and outgrows the baby phase! My son, he's turning 5 in April has all of a sudden realized that things actually happens on demand, last night the following was said/asked of me, in one sentence and I am sure without even taking a breath....

"mommy I want to watch toy story but you must bring my duvet and my pillow to the TV room and then you must make me chocolate milk and do not forget my blanky and then you have to wait until the movie starts so you can press play, okay?, oh and popcorn please''

I had to go back and forth three times for the things on the list I did not promptly memorize. This past December holiday my husband lit the fire and this same little man turned up next to him, asked him what he was doing and on response from Ian replied "daddy why was I not known in this?"  Seriously?

So I'm trying to think of ways to keep them busy, today I tried my hand at baking cookies with this dinosaur cookie cutter given to me by their godmother. After what must be an epic fail, perhaps because I microwaved the butter, substituted baking soda for chocolate chips and then did not actually follow a roll out dough recipe my dinosaur looked more like a dismembered tortoise. One thing you need to understand is I love cooking, it is "me" time, I put Ellen DeGeneres's show on my kitchen TV and then I cook and I taste and I improvise and I love it and it makes me happy but I do not bake, I do not like baking and I don't like to measure and follow recipes and baking I believe is only measuring and following recipes and the fact that I've been on a no carb, no sugar diet on and off since my first child was born tasting is not an option either so I don't like baking. 
 

Brutally dismembered tortoise, killed at 2pm at the hands of a serial non-baker

Tonight I am cooking my mom's spaghetti bolognaise, although I most probably will only have mince for dinner, no carbs remember, I wish my parents lived closer, I miss them and I am reminded of them every day as a parent, mostly because of things I say to my kids that was said to me numerous times as a child, things like keep your room tidy, dirty laundry in the basket, brush your teeth but also things like in this house we make mistakes but we say we're sorry, we respect each other, we forgive each other, we have fun, we laugh, we give hugs

we love

a new season

It's the start of a new year and I haven't blogged in a while.. Partly because of not having the time but mostly because of not having the inspiration, I believe they call this writers block.... I'm good at blocking things from my mind, I usually watch TV until 12 at night when my family is already asleep until I am so tired I fall asleep with the TV still on only because if I close my eyes to go to sleep the reality of my situation hits home so hard that I cry myself to sleep, thus the TV keeps my mind occupied and save from the thoughts that haunt me.....that is until recently

Now you may ask what could be so bad? well first of all my business has had a very tough year, to the extend I had to retrench most of my staff and well secondly, our amazing training site Matota burned to the ground on the 3rd of August 2014. We have other sites, don't get me wrong and it's not losing this site that terrifies my mind, it is all the funds we invested in this site that is now no more than ashes.....and insurance claims (or no claims)... and law suits..... I hate conflict, I have always hated conflict and now I managed to get myself smack bang in the middle of one of the biggest conflicts I have ever been in...... so it haunts me....until recently...

Now this will possible be the most cliche-ridden blog ever but recently, whilst watching TV and keeping my mind occupied I came across a movie called "moms night out", well I thought to myself this must be an easy watching, keep the brain busy movie, that is until one sentence, right at the end of the last scene literally changed my life, that sentence: what you do is important

The movie in a nutshell is certainly not an Oscar winner but it gave me a valuable life lesson. It's about a mom, a stay at home mom, so desperately unhappy and not because of her life but because SHE sets the bar for HERSELF so high she will never in a million years reach and then when she fails she beats herself up .... in her thoughts...over and over again and then it struck me! All this I am trying to achieve whilst being a wife and mom I have set for myself, I had the option 5 years ago to be a stay at home mom but I was driven to open a business all because I believed what I will be doing at home for my husband and kids will not be important enough: what you do is important, there it is again, that sentence.

So this year, this year the business will be handed over to people who has the passion to run it, I have taken 5 years to set it up, It is time to let go, I will not give myself more financial stress, I will dance, yes I enrolled at a dance school, not because I can dance but because I love to dance! I will not stick my kids in daycare anymore, I will be there to help with homework and see every milestone they reach, I will support my husband as he is the foundation of my life, my rock and he needs to know that I am here to carry his burdens and not contribute to it and I will become his rock and I will be happy and I will cook and I will paint and I will learn to play the piano,wait, what? okay that's maybe pushing it a little but Whatever I will do, it will be important

People, especially in my work circles, might believe I have given up, or that I failed, and from the outside It might seem that way, but to me...to me I have made the best change for the new year and that change is to BE HAPPY.

HAPPY 2015! I'm going to rock this one with two adorable toddlers dancing on my feet!

Never give up!!

So hey we've all had mayor dissapointments in our lives...I can name a few in mine without even really thinking. Like when my 1st boyfriend cheated on me in highschool or when my visa for the states to go visit my sister was denied at age 19 due to me being "2 young and 2 single!" at the time...gutwrencing heartstopping dissapointments but little comes close to when you absolutely put your heart on something in a business you've worked ur fingers to the bone for the last 5 years and you get turned down. 

I'm known to be a trusting person, I believe promises and I hold on to them until the day you realise that there's not alot of people in business you can really rely on. I walked into my neighbors office today only to see she has written on her wall "remember why you started!" This really hit home. Sometimes we need to just sit back and look at the situation from the outside and remember why you started, something drove you to make every single decision that you made, a conversation was held or news broke in the industry, something sparked an idea....something got you to where you are now and this is where one needs to decide to not give up! 

Did you know that Henry Ford was broke 5 times without a cent to his name until he reached success or that Walt Disney was fired from a newspaper due to his lack of ideas before he built Disneyland? Abraham Lincoln failed as a businessman at age 22, at 24 he failed again in the same quest, the love of his life died when he was 26 and a year later he had a breakdown, at 29 he yet again failed as a young businessman in politics and at 34 he failed to make congress, this went on until the age the age of 51 he became one of the most powerfull presidents the United States ever had.

I do not for a second compare myself to any of these influencial people, what they did was truly remarkable but I do want to learn from their legacy and if there is one message here it is to "never give up"!!

I got most of the details above from a book I'm reading by Joyce Meyer, this woman was abused her whole childhood by her own father! Can u imagine! And she turned out to have one of the most powerful Ministry's in the world. These are the people I want to learn from. 

On a more positive note we had an amazing 10 day training session in the Zambezi Region, we did this at cost and I hope we changed some lives, here are some pictures...

Now ask me again why I started this project?

The fundraising continues....

Snakes!

Okay let's be honest, I know there is a lot of snake enthusiasts our there but unfortunately I am not one of them. I decided when I became a field guide that the subject you least enjoy is the one you need to know best, the encounter you least want to have with a creature of nature is the one you need to absolutely familiarize yourself with, the one that is most likely to cause panic, not only within your clients but especially within yourself! Mine is snakes.....never liked them...never will.

So we spend December in the Zambezi Region, thing is Matota is situated on an island and to be honest so is most lodges in this region so naturally when the flood plains starts filling up this time of year with all the rain the snakes find higher ground, who can blame them but I prefer not sharing accommodation with them.

Our first encounter is on the road from Divundu to Kongola, I see something in the road as Ian passes in the pick-up in front of me, I see it move, the next moment it strikes, by this time I am next to it, I am so close (and very thankful for car windows) I recognize the Black Mamba immediately, It is ready to strike,  I make a quick calculation by its height of the ground that it is at least 2 meters plus in length..... I call Ian over the radio  ""Did you see that???" his response..."fortunately no!", the hair on the back of my neck raises, the black Mamba is one of Africa's most venomous snakes.

The Signature Black Mouth (Black Mamba)

 

You see the thing is that the black mamba can raise it's body two thirds from the ground, thus if calculated it could as well strike through a car window, well at least in my opinion, then again I do get a little paranoid in their presence anyway.

The Mating "dance"

My business partner, Dusty, has told me how at a lodge they saw the mamba doing their mating dance (quite amazing to see this...even coming from me) their heads were sticking out above the 2m high deck whilst doing this dance, so you can do the calculations if 2m is two thirds of the body being elevated from the ground......

The next slightly concerning encounter was on our way to Matota, a Mozambican spitting cobra, we encountered him on the road, feisty little bugger, small but feisty, I closed the windows once again just in case.


From there on we only had a spotted bush snake (harmless) visiting on the deck in the afternoons, If I am prepared for them and see it coming I manage to still still compose myself however one afternoon I did cause for some entertainment when someone shouted "snake"and I hopped on the dining table quicker than someone could say "hop"... I have to admit even I  found my reaction quite amusing...here is a picture of the spotted bush snake curtosy of my friend Dana, taken most probably during the time I was on the table.

Spotted Bush Snake

Then our final day we had an encounter I am glad we dealt with well and to the best of our ability but surely would prefer not to have a repeat of this. We went to visit friends at a nearby lodge and a friend of mine walked into the curio shop only to shout "snake" once again, she acted swiftly and got herself as well as the kids out of there however another friend (after being warned) decided to have a closer look, by now we realized it was a spitting cobra and all is already searching for their sunglasses to prevent the spray of venom that is bound to happen upon removal. Well low and behold upon this "closer look" and not following the simple instruction to stay away this friend of ours got sprayed, fast, effective, both eyes...a matter of seconds. We run with him to the kitchen and start rinsing, this is all you can do in cases like these, rinse, rinse, rinse and rinse some more, luckily we had running water nearby but as guides you are trained that should this ever happen in the bush use anything safe, water, beer and even urine. The venom of the Mozambican spitting cobra if it comes in contact with your eyes it causes swelling to the cornea so you have to act swiftly and remove as much venom as possible...well some serious rinsing, accelerated heart rates later, antibiotic eye drops and a general wide spectrum antibiotic tablet just in case all turned out well. The spitting cobra has an range of 3 meters so should you ever encounter one of these specimens please keep in mind that if someone shouts "stay away" please do so and save the guides from an experience not on the top of any guides bucket list....

a clear warning sign

Holiday with the Smiths...continued

So we are all finally on Matota Island lodge, we start the new day with setting up children's entertainment, between the 4 couples we have on 10 year old, two 4 year olds a 17 month old and a 4 month old, this is logistically quite a challenge, we know from previous experience that it can get into the 40 degrees at the lodge so first up is the swimming pool, we set it up under the gazebo on the deck...absolute bliss...

We then need to get some more supplies from the closest shop, about 70km so myself and a girlfriend set off on the journey to get supplies, I reckon it will take about 2 hours there and back but a friend of mine reminds me we are in "Caprivi Time" now, she reckons it will take around 4 hours.... well 5 hours later we're back on the boat and on our way with the supplies, we're again using the small channel however the rain has washed alot of grass and roots into the channel so it gets stuck around the propeller, whilst helping Felix our guide and skipper to clear the propeller we hear a hippo grunt.......we give each other one look, he must be close and get the boat started, once we get going again it's smooth gliding across the channel and a feeling of absolute awe....untouched Africa...okay fair enough besides the channel but hey the hippo's has responsibility for this channel as well...

We get back to the lodge and decide to all go for a sun-downer on the Kwando river, cool-box packed and we cruise down the channel, numerous open billed stork sightings, some kingfisher and there it is again...that cry of the Fish Eagle, the sense of being home returns, we see quite a few hippo waiting for the sun to set but we don't seem to be much of a bother to them this afternoon, it starts dripping, we return home. We all debate if we should braai (BBQ) around the open campfire or rather get the gas cooker out and then the heavens open and it's pouring with rain, we run for cover and feel thankful for the rain our country so desperately needs...