“Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away”


Again I had the joy of visiting Nikki and his family. Mumsy, Fikile and I picked him up at his school and drove to that little parking area at the top of the trail to his home. We hiked down that mountain again and when we got close to home, I could hear Granny with her undulating song of welcome - what a delight. A welcome that sends a wonderful chill down your spine.

Whilst planning this trip I had wracked my brain to come up with a useful gift for Nikki's family. Searching around the internet I came across a site that sold Eco-Zoom stoves. Reading that they are suppose to only use about three small sticks of wood to cook a meal, it made me think of seeing the women collecting firewood, while last visiting here, and decided this would be a great thing to give them. Plus, it has the added benefit of a child not being able to fall into the fire, double bonus. How to get them over to South Africa with me though, as they are made of a brick type substrate inside, so far to heavy to take on the plane and carry all over Zambia with me, before I got here. I Skyped with the company owner in Seattle and he told me there was a fellow in Durban who was selling them and put me in touch via e-mail. Well, small world that it is, the fellow turned out to be Nobuhle's' fiance! We figured out that the best thing would be for him to ship them up to St. Lucia while I was there and I could bring them down with me in the car (I purchased one for Fundiswa's Mom as well). As per the car, there were some tense moments waiting for their arrival in St. Lucia. They hadn't arrived by the time I got there and didn't show up till almost time for me to leave, but all ended well. Nikki's gift was an inexpensive phone to have with him on his walks to and from school, in case of emergency. Practical, I thought, without thinking about how/where he could charge it. I was told it would be no problem, he could charge it at the Spar store up the road. An added bonus to this visit was his Grandfather being home from Johannesburg, as well as his Dad coming up from Durban again. It was wonderful to see them all again.



some new clothes

the Rondavel we had sat in last time has been destroyed by rain storms

here's the stove

 

All to soon the visit was over. The ladies and I headed back to the WV office so I could fill out a bit of paper work then it was time to head back to Greytown. When I had left there that morning, I had plugged in the GPS and typed in that I was heading to Stanger, as that was the way back to KwaMapamulo and the GPS wouldn't recognize that area. I almost made it without needing directions, at one point I pulled over and called Mumsy, I wasn't sure where the turn off to the office was, things had changed in the few years since I was last here. What could I see around me she asked - I could see a sign for a Spar store perhaps 300 feet away on my right. Turn there she said and as I did I recognized where I was at once. When it was time to leave I once again used the GPS typing in Greytown. Here is another of my misadventures. Did I want to add that to my trip, it asked me. Not having used these things before this trip and not knowing how they worked, I touched the button for yes. Well turn right it said, and I did. Little did I realize the GPS had added Greytown to the end of my trip to Stanger, which meant I was heading there first. After about 3/4 hour driving I was getting pretty worried, as things just didn't look the same as the way from Greytown and shouldn't I be getting close by now? It was then that I realized my mistake, made a hasty U-turn and headed back the right way. By now the sun was getting low on the horizon and was beginning to shine right in my eyes, making it difficult to see on a road I was already nervous about travelling. The thought of driving after dark was not pleasant either and caused me much angst. I thankfully arrived back just as dusk was settling in with great relief.