Pre Africa Adventure - 2025

PREPARING TO GO TO AFRICA

29th July 2025, Tuesday – Shoalhaven Heads

I’m not feeling well as I had a large squamous cell removed from my chest today, and a lot of stitches. I have to have another large one on my shin removed on Wednesday – which means more stitches. Something I wasn’t anticipating as I have a very busy time ahead!

The Africa Team are arriving on Thursday for two days and nights – a chance for us all to get to meet each other in person, for the first time. We’ve done two Zoom calls which have been fun – with champagne and lots of laughs! The four special people who are coming with us to the land of our birth are Genevieve and Wasyl, ‘new’ in laws, and Gary and Jenny, Gerald’s old ‘outlaw’ from IBM – back in the good old days when they worked together. A great couple we have travelled with, twice – and successfully - before. In 2015 to the 100 year anniversary of Gallipolli, and last year n a Silverseas cruise to the Kimberleys. And Gen asked me some months ago - very tentatively! - if she and Waz could join us on our Africa trip – that they had always wanted to go to Africa, but were ‘too nervous’ to do it on their own – and here was an opportunity to travel with real Africans! She emphasised that it was completely OK to say no! We were in the spa having our second glass of champagne! I had the thought that she and Waz didn’t know how ‘anti-social’ and ‘isolated’ Gerald can sometimes be – as our ‘old friends’ do. I was somewhat dubious about how he would respond - but also not wanting to misrepresent my Beloved in any way to our in laws! When I relayed the conversation to him, I waited for what I believed was the inevitable response. He never paused. He said “Yes!” I was absolutely stunned. Gob smacked. Wordless. What? REALLY? Gerald???? And then a week later he invited Jenny and Gary who had also expressed interest to join us ….. oh my goodness! After 61 years together, and how much do I really know this man – he can STILL SURPRISE ME!

When I told Gen and Wasyl the answer was ‘yes!’ - Gen said “I’ve been thinking. What if we don’t get on? An wreck the relationship? What if things go pear shaped?”

I never missed a beat. “I’ll feed you to the lions.”

We laughed.

I look forward to getting to know more of the lovely parents of Our Son’s Wife., Victoria – ‘Tori’. The remarkable woman he chose forever. What a special privilege this will be to do so in Africa!

I’ve written out birthday cards for the next four months – ready to go! – and bought gifts to take to Africa – and created this ‘blog/diary’. I haven’t used this I Pad for years, and it is taking some getting used to. I notice my brain is ‘creaky’ – something I hate to admit.

I’ve also taken on creating a party for one hundred people on the 30th August. Our two amazing local Post Masters, Jodie and Debbie – are retiring from the role. They have managed our communities banking and bill paying and loved and hugged and remembered every customer for years and will be sadly - very sadly – missed. I want them to be acknowledged. I have a team of people waiting to contribute. Of course.

7th August 2025

Gen and Wasyl and Gary and Jenny arrive at our house tomorrow for two days and nights of meeting each other and celebrating and learning about each other before we fly to Africa in a few weeks! These two couples have only met on two or three zoom calls we’ve had, I feel they will love each other. Two are ‘newly acquired’ family – and the other two are old friends. Gary and Gerald worked together at IBM over many, many years. Gary is a funny man, quick as a whip with a response, who makes Gerald - and me – laugh a lot. We’ve travelled twice together in the past – they say you really know who people are when you travel with them. The first time was to Istanbul ten years ago for the 100 year anniversary of Gallipoli. It was a powerful and emotional time, I remember crying solidly for two hours during the Anzac Day Ceremony on the beach as the row boats from Australia came silently, paddling in. Last yer, we cruised again – on real ‘adventure’ of zodiacs and hiking - to the Kimberlys in the north of Australia – and that was wonderful, too – in an entirely different way.

Gen and Wasyl – we have had four ‘times’ together, a very different Christmas shared in their large extended family and their lovely home in Benalla. Gerald and I drove eight hours to Benalla after Gerald recovered from Covid – only to discover both Tori and Josh had just been diagnosed with Covid in Sydney. Clearly, couldn’t come! Such a disappointment! Especially as we had given them all the Christmas presents for the family as we couldn’t fit everything in our car! Then I got sick, with ‘thunder storm asthma’ – a REAL thing – who would have known? Christmas Day was a bit of a disaster with Gerald and I and a tin of sardines for Xmas lunch with the dogs in an air B and B! Boxing Day made up for it – meeting a large portion of their generous and gifted family! It was a very special, and happy, day! We’ve also have had a couple of gatherings here, with Josh and Tori, and a trip or two to Sydney together.

I like them very much. I am looking forward to getting to know them better. We are so different. And so alike. Apart from the bond of “Our Kids” – we love to talk, love champagne, have many things in common, and have, as far as I can see – similar values on so many things.

I had the stitches from my chest removed yesterday, a surprisingly large scar – and it feels so much easier. And the RESULTS FROM BOTH MY CHEST AND MY SHIN ARE CANCER FREE! Such gratitude – and Bless You, Dr. Khan! The stitches on my leg come out on Monday, so am still hobbling a bit, but have rested a lot to avoid a possible deep vein thrombosis which can occur from lots of stitches to the leg, apparently. I feel good today, and have accomplished so much.

I’ve been prepping for these couple of days for several weeks. I’ve bought boerewors and babotie, Ouma’s Rusks, KoekSusters, Mrs. Balls Blatjang, Koo guavas, biltong (which Gerald unfortunately ate all of …), made shakalaka and samp, and baked a new recipe for lemon slice, which was a bit of a disaster, as after copying the recipe off my phone into word, printing it and following the recipe – I realised something was wrong. I’d omitted to add one line of the recipe – leaving out the flour in the topping! Eeek …. It’s a big scrambled eggy, but tastes OK! Gerald has just arrived from his volunteer work from SALT, and the final shopping he’s done for our African Adventure days together.

The house is sparkling. Dear Amanda has cleaned the house to perfection, a suitable tribute to loved family and friends. Gerald has put his back out scrubbing the lounge room windows and deck (necessitating a visit to the osteopath yesterday), we’ve made beds, filled vases and the cellar and the fridge - wrapped gifts, and we’ve hung up the welcome signs.

Our guests are being generous and bringing food and champagne (an essential!) and wine. Gary and I have been in ‘secret service’ together – and he has kindly visited Stanley Street Buchery in St.Ives,

Sydney – a well known Australian South African butcher shop – and replaced all the biltong Gerald has eaten – as a surprise for him!

Gerald also had a visit to the Heart Specialist yesterday for a stress test, and his results were excellent, his heart is in good shape – ‘cellular effectiveness’ for his age. We are celebrating many things! And - I’m able to move my arm enough to wash my hair – so I’m off to do that in the shower, a real treat – as I’ve been ‘bucket bathing’ in the tub for a week so has to keep the wounds on my chest and leg dry. Last week, my friend Dianne came and washed my hair over the laundry tub! Bless her! Now I will wrap a plastic bag around my leg and have a proper shower! Oh my Goodness! – the sheer luxury of that!

Monday 11th August 2025

Well, our African Adventure Team ‘Weekend’ is over – and what fun it was! What a blessing to see how well the six of us got on together! Gaz and Jenny arrived from Mona Vale first, and a half hour later, Waz and Gen arrived from Benalla in Victoria. Having met a couple of times on our Zoom calls, they ‘knew’ each other, and after afternoon tea and lemon slice, we began to prepare an early dinner – and brought out the first of several bottles of champagne we consumed over the three days. Gaz took on the ‘braai-ing’ of boerewors and lamb chops. I’d made samp, shakalaka, roast potatoes, green beans, broccoli, Brussel sprouts. Both the women were their organised, hard working, thoughtful selves – constantly washing up, asking what could be done – aided by glasses of bubbles. And we all know that EVERYTHING is better with champagne! The Team work well together!

There was enough food for a small African village – Gen had made a huge lasagna for our second night’s dinner, Jenny had made a rhubarb and apple crumble, they brought champagne and chocolates and so much alcohol we could have filled the bathtub with bubbles.

Gerald and I finally got to bed at midnight – a VERY late night for us! Very happy – Gaz and Gerald’s friendship goes back decades, and he is very good for Gerald. His sense of humour is a lively companion - constant, Australian and cheeky. I feel his eyes observing our motley crew – sometimes with delight and sometimes thoughtful. “How will we all manage together in the bush for three weeks?” I imagine him saying. He brings Gerald ‘out’ a lot – their ongoing ribbing is a joy to witness, and their unabashed affection for each other touches me deeply – with hugs and dewy eyes, at times.

After breakfast next morning, we had a lovely couple of hours, relaxing and wandering about in our pj’s eating Ouma’s rusks and fruit, then they all took the dogs for a walk on the beach – whilst I rested my ‘stitched up’ leg. I met them down at the beach an hour later, and we went to Bangalay for coffee. We’re getting on well – lots of jokes and some gentle insults being bandied back and forth, plenty of laughing and everybody making a fuss of Cino and Clover.

We had a delicious lunch sitting outside in the sunshine at the local Shoalhaven Heads Pub on the river, with great food shared amongst us – and the dogs. The pub is, happy to see, in the hands of new management – a charming woman called Phoebe – no more draft Prosecco, thank goodness! - and the pub has been renovated with colourful paint and posters, the bathrooms are bright and quirky, and thoughtful areas for kids to play and cosy arrangements of armchairs for a little ‘intimacy’ in an otherwise large, open area.

Back home, we did our own thing – watching the football, resting, reading – amid noisy chatter and lots of laughter. We had a call with Cuan McClaren in South Africa, our friend and marvellous African Travel Agent – when everyone was introduced and their last few questions answered. We showed

them our clothes, our bags, our backpacks, compared vaccinations and passports, and African advice – their eyes are lit up like stars, a wonderful thing to witness.

We’re feeling a little ‘responsible’ for the outcome of their holidays!

We’re still trying to work out what to call each other. Given we have a Gen and a Jen. We abandoned Gigi as a suggestion for Gen. We have a Wasyl. A Gary/Gaz. So, its Gen and JENNY. Gaz. Waz. Sandra and Gerald - who could be a GG – but that’s too complicated given we were going to call Gen, Gigi.

Attempting to teach them African pronunciations of words is fun. Gen insists on calling biltong “Bintang” – the Indonesian beer - another pressing issue which needs addressing.

Gary’s choice of clothing was an ongoing point of conversation and insult. The daggy shorts were mercilessly criticised and totally banned from Africa. There was much discussion of which ‘roles’ people would perform during our adventure. Gary’s offer of being ‘hander out-erer’ was initially agreed, then denied, when he failed to hand out the first hand out. Gen, given her considerable experience, was immediately designated as Alcohol Provider by Sandra, who has as much experience, but didn’t want the responsibility. Gerald was unanimously nominated as Head Honcho of The Team, a decision which Sandra found sexist and unjust given her equally impressive African experience, but yet another role for which she doesn’t want responsibility. Gerald, as Animal Spotter, with his perception and eagle eyes, was once again, unanimously, voted in. Sandra will write a daily blog. Jenny and Waz have yet to step into their roles, an issue which needs to be addressed immediately. Gaz is still the Wild Card.

Dinner was a delight – inside tonight, as it was so cold. Gen’s lasagna was simply superb, and then to everyone’s delight, Gerald produced a 1997 bottle of Penfolds 389! After watching Gerald remove the cork as tenderly as one would deliver a new baby, it had to be carefully sieved to catch any corkage, an action which received so much advice, support, suggestions and criticism from the crew, it was commendable that Gerald didn’t throw the corkscrew at someone. I’ll never forget Gaz’s comment when I suggested using some ‘muslin’ cloth to sieve the wine ……!! Not printable, sadly.

And then a relatively ‘early’ night of 10 pm!

Our last morning was fun. Gerald dressed up in a giraffe outfit I bought at Vinnies last year and we put a sign on the door ‘BEWARE – wildlife in camp!’ as people entered for breakfast. People fell about laughing, posing for photos with the resident giraffe. Then Gerald, the Giraffe, presented both couples with a gift – an gift wrapped African basket containing a tin of Koo guavas and a bottle of Mrs. Ball’s Blatjang. Breakfast was huge – ham on the BRAAI, not BBQ! – eggs, mushrooms, tomatoes and sourdough toast. Everybody helped, all pulling their weight – even the sheets were stripped off the beds and along with the towels, put into the washing machine and hung on the line, pronto. Everything packed up and ready to go. Efficiency galore.

It was sad to see the four of them leave. But we’re READY for our BIG AFRICAN ADVENTURE in just four weeks time! It’s been a great few days of connecting and planning and sharing and we are all SO EXCITED!!!!

It was easy and fun - if tiring – the laughs kept coming and the dogs thoroughly enjoyed the company of so many doting fans. We’re feeling very good about our companions on our African Adventure and the relationship the six of us are creating.