Day 14

Adolph was our chaffeur for the day, and took us to Reception first thing where we were meeting Gerhard, who true to his word,  was going to take us around some old properties to see what we could scavenge for the Barn. We sat around waiting for a while as unfortunately the Land Rover we were taking had thrown a cam rocker earlier and was currently being repaired as fast as poss in the workshop.

Fluffy bird is fluffy

In the meantime, to save us getting completely bored, Gerhard invited us into his office and showed us loads of interesting pics of many of the animals in Kuzuko, as well as lots of day and night pictures of the busy and active wildlife caught by his infrared motion sensor cameras that are dotted around different areas of the reserve. It was especially fascinating to see all the activity at night from one camera that is placed just down from our waterhole, including the rhino in that area taking his nightly mudbath! He's a big lad! (the rhino, not Gerhard! Well, Gerhard is too, but in this case I'm talking about the rhino) He also showed us the dart gun, and all the different kinds of darts that are used to either tranquilise the animals, either to send them to sleep or in the case of the elephants, to administer birth control.

At last the Landie arrived with its cam rocker fixed and we all jumped in along with Joseph, and trundled off down the dirt tracks. First stop was to place one of the cameras on a track not too far the Barn. Hopefully we'll get to see the results of that before we leave.

Then we carried for many miles taking in the awesome landscapes of Kuzuko's land, passing the occasional kudus and zebras. No time to stop for pics though as we had things to do, and places to be. We also crossed over into public areas and public roads used by Kuzuko staff to get from one area to another that are basically deserted, and it was quite strange to see a triangle road sign, a school-children one similar to the ones in the UK, basically in the middle of nowhere!

At the first stop on the list he showed us some very large trees that would be good to use for tree stump seats in the Barn. That was also quite strange seeing tall trees again as the trees all around Kuzuko are generally quite short (large trees, especially Eucalyptus, take up far too much valuable water that is needed for other plant life). We weren't there to cut them down and take them home though, as we were only recce'ing today to see what was available, and what we wanted to use. Joseph and others will be back a bit later with a chainsaw to come and get them, and all the other bits we find.

The next was some old buildings that looked very colonial, and full of character, that belonged to old South African farmers before all the nature reserve changes were made several years ago. It was a shame to see them in such disrepair, and apparently would cost many thousands to get back to any kind of habitable state. I only wish we had taken more pics of all the buildings.

The upside is that they are also full of wood that we can use, most of which is still in great condition. In one of the places there was also a sliding door complete with its wheels and runner on one of the barns, that while tatty, wouldn't take much to recondition and use for the main doors on our Barn. Another had a good solid cabinet that could come in useful for storage and a worktop space.

In one of the buildings, just as we were following Gerhard in a musty old entrance hallway, there was suddenly lots of noise that sounded like we had disturbed a family of kudus, that made us all jump. Except Gerhard that is, who calmly carried on unpeturbed, saying ''it's ok, it's ok..''. It turned out to be nothing more than a couple of panicked pigeons, who were trying desperately to escape. He sheparded one out of the window, and even managed to catch the other mid-flight! As he is a pigeon fancier himself, and owns hundreds that live up at the lodge, it was no surprise it was so easy for him. I think he was actually quite pleased that I'd caught it all on film too! (which, along with all our other Kuzuko videos, will be uploaded once we're back in the UK, as the connection here is usually slower than a dead tortoise).

The last place we went to was a small abandoned village, which he hopes can be turned back into a working village again, before the march of time reduces it to a state completely beyond repair. In that village, there was also an old tractor that we're hoping can be brought back to the Barn and can sit outside for kids to play on.

Recce complete, it was back to Kuzuko again, but not before going to the spot where Max and myself had met Avis the Caracle the week before. Unfortunately, no signal from his collar was being received there, or anywhere else on the journey, and despite calling for him for some considerable time, he failed to appear. Gerhard thinks either the collar has stopped working, which is unlikely, or he's met his fate and the hands of a neighbouring farmer (Caracals are not exactly welcome in some areas) or at the claws of one of the more predatory animals on the reserve. It was a shame for Ines and Kira who had missed out on the opportunity last week, after having to get to Somerset East to fax through the money order to the Royal Bank of Scotland. Gerhard also seemed quite concerned, though he tried hard not to show it. we suspect that beneath that tough South African exterior he might be a bit of an old softy. (Just don't tell him we said that!)

After arriving back at the Lodge, we had our lunches with him, who after eating some tasty sausage and rice with us took down a shopping list of all the materials and tools we still needed for all the work still to do on the Barn. He was going to Somerset East to pick up our supplies that afternoon.

Talking of RBS, when we got back to Reception, the girls and Max went off to carry on working on the Barn while I phoned them to find out why the fundraising money STILL hadn't come through. After a long talk with one of their digital banking advisors it turned out that they had tried to transfer the money a couple of days before, but because they couldn't get through to me on my mobile phone, had subsequently cancelled the order.

It was massively frustrating as I had already told them that being in the bush miles from anywhere I was always unlikely to be reachable on my mobile number, obviously having no reception here, and had instructed them to call the Lodge and speak to Catherina, who would then contact me in turn so I could confirm everything they needed. The totally stupid and inexplicable madness was that while I was talking to them right then and there, and had already passed the necessary security checks in order to discuss my business with them, they insisted that they could only send the money through after they had called me on the number registered on the system, and not any other?! They could do it on a different number, but that could take anything up to a fortnight to officially change, by which time it would be too late anyway, and which of course I would have to change again on my return to the UK.

While the ladies on the phone tried to be as helpful as they could, the ridiculous and impossible security policy steadfastly stuck to by RBS, and their inept digital online banking system has been nothing short of incredibly frustrating and a complete and utter waste of time. When I get back to the UK I'll be first booking an appointment with my local branch manager - who I should add is impossible to reach by phone as they never answer it whenever I've tried to call previously - and will thereafter be looking to change banks as soon as possible.

Up until now, RBS has been reasonably good, as far as domestic banking goes at least, but when it comes to a simple international transaction, they've been as helpful as a bunch of vervet monkeys. I do not include the digital banking operators, such as the incredibly helpful Cathy or Jed, but refer to whoever setup the digital banking site that insists on a code that no-one here has ever heard of, and the idiots who decided that calling a mobile phone with no hope of reception would be the best security policy. Un-believeable.

On the website, their tagline is "RBS - Here for you". If it was up to me, I would retag it more accurately: "RBS - Here for you... but not Over There".

Resigned to the fact that however we are going to transfer it, it won't be with any help from RBS, I cadged a lift from Adolph back down to the Barn to join the rest of the family. To try and calm down and forget about the whole silly business and RBS' uselessness when it comes to banking internationally, I took a walk down to the waterhole to see how it was getting on.

Of more benefit to animals than RBS' digital banking system is to humans

Then I joined the everyone back up at the Barn, and began fixing the outside windows, while Max filled and sanded the side door, Ines carried on with the messy job of painting sealant on the ceiling struts and Kira continued doing an excellent job painting the window frames. Gerhard turned up heavy with our supplies, including a nice new long ladder, which means we can finally replace the missing glass panel in the roof.

Our new ladder! Long, but not as long as a wasted phone call to RBS digital banking team

Getting the job done. RBS digital banking, take note.

Being more productive than RBS' digital banking system

If only RBS' digital banking perfromed as well as Max does

Tools to screw things up with..... just like RBS' digital banking system

Yay! More supplies! Let's hope everything works like it should....unlike RBS' international banking

Evening approached, but our lift home didn't, so after we packed up we walked home under yet another beautiful african sunset.

Something something, RBS' digital banking system