Day 18

We were so very nearly ready for our 8:30 lift this morning! Just another 5 minutes and we would have been! However it didn't matter as no-one came, so we ate our cheese on toast at leisure.With a lot of staff off at the moment, finding someone to cart us hither and thither is always a problem.

Unusually, not only was the sun nice and bright this morning, it seemed to actually giving out some heat. The wind was doing its best to take away what warmth there was, but the lack of cloud meant it was losing the battle, with the sun rapidly gaining the upper hand. Go on, my sun!

Jonathon arrived a little later though, and took us to reception where we had been instructed to call Gerhard. By this time I had already removed several layers, which I immediately regretted as we left for reception, as the wind took advantage of a moving vehicle and was temporarily victorious, chilling me to the bone for the short journey. Once there, over the phone he told us that today there would be a delivery of many bricks and plenty of cement (bricks to build the steps up to the Barn entrance), that the guys to help us out were delayed but should arrive at some point later in the afternoon, and something about wire. I think he said wire. It sounded like wire.

Once at the Barn and back to walking pace, the wind's attempts to chill us all were beaten into submission, and yet another layer off for a warm and pleasant wander down to the waterhole. We are beginning to see more and more footprints down there now, lots of kudus, various birds and more springboks. It seems they are making it as much of a habit of it as we are.

I don't know what we'll do when we're back home, as we'll miss our daily waterhole visit. Maybe we should build a pond in the back garden and fill it up really, really slowly.

Kudu, springbok, bird and man prints

After a bit of a sluggish start, we started getting back into it, with Ines and Kira getting on with puttying the windows (and doing a much better job than my pathetic attempts, and using considerably less putty too!), and Max and myself filling several tiny holes in the roof, and other odd jobs in between. With the new glass pane in, the perpex one replaced and the little holes filled, the roof would soon be completely waterproof!

Kira, who has over recent days developed a love and fascination of lizards (and myself too, which surprised me even though our bodily heating systems are very similar) and was delighted when she managed to catch a small one, about half the size of our regular visitor and watertank living neighbour, Mr Lizard. We have named him Junior. We were a bit reluctant to pick him up at first (well, I was, Kira had little hesitation!) but we did, and let him run all over our hands. It's actually quite a nice sensation, feeling his little claws grab onto your skin. We called Max and Ines on the radio, who had wandered off looking for giraffes in the break, who then returned quickly to see her latest finding. Everyone had a turn holding him, and Junior seemed happy with all the attention (though it is difficult to tell with something as inscrutable as a lizard).

Eventually we put him back onto the watertank, but he seemed reluctant to go and desperately tried to stay on Kira's hand. Maybe life in a watertank isn't much fun and he was hoping we would adopt him.

We come in peace, not hunger, my little friend

She's a lizard wo-man..doing all she can... for all the little lizards around the world

Please... don't go....

Jonathon turned up at lunchtime and whizzed us back to reception where we picked up our staff lunch. It was these delicicous bread things, a sort of puffy airy type of bread that none of us had ever tried before. We're not sure what they're called, except that it definitely ended in "..ok". We will find our tomorrow for you, dear reader. And mince. (I mean, we had mince with it... not that we will mince for you tomorrow).

Back down to the Barn again after eating our newest favourite lunch on the verandah, where we greeted by the welcome sight of a large local hardware, or hardeware, truck, with Noel and Morney, and Joseph and Welllington unloading hundreds of bricks. If it had been an Unloading Bricks Off A Lorry Competition, Jospeh and Wellington would have won hands down. They make a fantastic team. I helped with the cement, then stood with everyone else and watched Joseph and Wellington unload bricks like a brick unloading machine. While Noel and Morne might not have been as fast, they did look as though they were having a bit more fun while doing it, keeping all (those who could understand Afrikaans) amused throughout with their banter. Adolph stood on board and lifted big bags of cenent to us and nearly gave himself a hernia in doing so.

Eventually we had a large pile of bricks just waiting to be turned into something more just than a pile of bricks.

Lots and lots and lots of lovely bricks

Job done, we all got back to our jobs of varnishing and puttying, and Max filling the last remaining holes in the roof, in between some elavated meditation exercises.

The roof is like a second home to Max now

Rooftop meditation, maaan

Sun son

Pretty putty, courtesy of Ines the pretty puttier

Zander's here. It must be 4:59

A quick grabbing of stuff

Until tomorrow, old friend

Apparently, so he informed us, the guys coming to help wouldn't now make it until tomorrow, but they would definitely arrive in the morning (african time you know, eh!) Back home, we unloaded all ourselves and all our gear, as well as all the shopping that Zander had done for us that afternoon. He is a most excellent shopper and managed to get almost everything we asked, including to everyone's delight, a box each of Baker's Chockits, delicious choccy biccies that are like a harder kind of chocolate Hob Nobs. We loves 'em!