Swaziland Fishing

Now i know i have not posted in a while and i have alot to catch up on. But things have been hectic and alot has changed n the last few months.

On a sad note i have to report that myself and Lefty have split up and are currently getting divorced. not a happy ending to 20 years. But life does go on and i just spent an amazing week end in Swaziland doing some serious fishing. It was brilliant, busy and fantastic.


Sunrise over the dam on Saturday morning
 

The drive into Swaziland was a first for me and the trip from Nelspruit was pretty uneventful until 5 km before the border getting a speeding fine. One thing that i did notice and was mind boggling is the architecture. I am not sure if this is the latest "in thing", but to see houses being built with upside down archs is strange.



Is this normal?????

The border crossing was quick and in no time we were on our way to the dam. The Sand river Reservior was to be our home for the next 3 days. Myself and "DAD"(ex father in law) arrived and started pitching camp. And of course something had to be left behind..... this time i was bright enough to leave the tent pegs at home. Thank fully one of the guys had extra so we were saved... Thanx Craig... With camp set up it was time to hit the water.... thats why we were there... We were allocated to the HMS leakingwaters. Asmall boat that had more water in it that around it. But apart from a few times that it would not start, it served us well....and safely...

The HMS Leakingwater in the foreground



By friday afternoon all the guys had arrived and the fishing was in full swing. it was strange to be catching "kurpers" for the first time and took a while to get used to the hits. But once i got the hang of it there was no stopping. it was great. The fish were lively, the boat was unstable, it rained a few times and then suddenly it was time to return to camp. the fires were lit, the meat was braaied, the drinks were flowing freely. All in all a most fantastic day. the stories around the camp fire covered all the topics that are normally discussed by a bunch of men around a fire and the stomach muscles were getting a good work out with all the laughing. I had an early night but the other guys went out later to catch "Barbel"(catfish). They caught about 8.

Saturday morning 5 o Clock

Saturday morning saw me awakening to one of the most beautiful sunrises i have ever seen(see top photo). The sky was clear, the birds were busy and the dam looked perfect. Breakfast was prepared and the boats hit the water early morning to get some fishing done before the sun started roasting us. Turned out to be a good session for me and i managed to land about 30 fish in a matter of 2 hours. thats not counting the little ones that i threw back.



When the sun decided to come in force we hastily retreated to the shelter of the trees in the camp site and spent a few hours chatting, laughing and sharing stories. Saturday afternoon saw us on the water again and this time the fishing was slightly slow. The highlight, or lowlight, of the afternoon was when i took a strike on my rod and stood on the bait bucket. trying to regain my balance on the boat saw me very neatly do a half back somersault with a slight twist and end up in the dam. Atleast i didnt break anything and i managed to hold onto my rod. Saturday night we went to the local golf club to watch the rugby and saw SA beat Ireland(only just). Back to camp for drinks and supper.



To hot to fish. Relax with a drink.



"DAD" Pieter

The Guys>>> Thanx for a great week end

The open air toilet

The camp site

The Manne


Sunday morning the camp was up early to pack up, get boats ready and get ready for the trip home. I don't think anyone wanted to leave but the real life was calling and with a heavy heart we left to get back to our normal lives. It was a brilliant week end with fantastic fishing and is TOP 1 on my list of favourite fishing destinations at this moment. Swaziland is great, clean and the people are friendly. Something that South Africans need to learn. To TOBY and all the guys that arranged this week end i want to say thank you and i hope we can do it again soon.

 

Cheers and may you all have great and safe travels.

 

Regards     George

 



My baby's matric farewell

Ok, so this doesn't really qualify as travels, but we did get out the house and we slept over at a guesthouse.......so technically we travelled.

To any father out there who has had the honour of watching a beautiful little girl grow up, and then suddenly finding yourself standing at the hall watching her walk up the pathway looking like a princess and realising that the little girl has become a little lady, this is my story. I'm going to call Lisa my "poepies" till the day i die but i have to get used to the idea that she is not so little anymore.

Lets start this little story at the beginning and go back almost 19 years. Lefty and myself married in 1993 on a guest lodge called " Marepe Lodge" which is about 30 km outside of Hoedspruit (a town (?) thats even smaller than Burgersfort). I was in the Airforce at the time working as an Aircraft fitter at 1 Squadron Airforcebase Hoedspruit (GO BILLY BOYS). Lisa was born a little while later and, i have to admit, i was scared. We were both young and it was a huge challenge to have kids so early, but our love prevailed and we took life day by day and i won't change it for anything in the whole world.

My little girl



To get the long story short, in no time at all Jared (Jerry) was born and our lives started getting hectic. Lisa has been a "Diva" since the day she born. I had to literally fight with the nurses to get a chance to hold her in the hospital. She was a little drama queen and has, still is and hopefully will far into the future, provided us with endless amounts of laughter, tears and total amazment when she starts getting into her drama self. We always beleived she will be on TV or movies and i still hope so (move over Charlize, Poepies is on her way).

The Dress.... well thats about the same as going to the dentist. Lisa spent weeks in JHB and kept sending info regarding dresses that she liked and i didn't (price range R8000.00 plus). Eventually we heard that she found "THE DRESS" and, well, it was a relief. Almost affordable and when i first saw her wearing it i cried. I know it is not manly to admit, but i did. The whole outfit started taking shape and the shoes, jewellry, underwear, handbags, hair, make up and everything else was falling into place. This is not an easy time for a man in any house, woman getting ready for a big day!!!!.

Our room at De Ark

We booked ourselves into a guesthouse in Lydenburg called "De Ark". It was close to the school and central in town. The day started off at a rush and everyone(except me) was running around like headless chickens. We met up at the hairdressers and (of course) everything was running late. Make up was being done, driers blowing, smirnoffs cold, me sitting in the car....bored. At last we got to the guesthouse and the dresses were pulled out, shoes were cleaned and handbags were clutched. Then the great adventure begun. The photographers were scattered all over the counrty side outside of Lydenburg and we had to get there on time to get the photos done. This was where the great sense of direction of a woman came into full swing. We (lisa and i) got lost(she was navigating) and spent about 20 minutes on the phone trying to figure out where the hell these people were. Eventually we happened across the first photographer and i suddenly felt relaxed. That was until i saw my baby in her full glory standing tall, this is the time i walk away and silently wipe the tears out of my eyes.



The mafia convoy



Lefty and Lisa

We moved to 3 photographers and everytime i had tears when i heard the people complimenting my baby.            The photographers were excellent and their photos are more than fantastic. I could not believe how my little girl can grow up into a princess. Photos done, we finally got on our way back to the guesthouse and only just got back in time for the convoy that was picking the kids up. A real mafia style limo, escourted by 2 vehicles. A good entrance at the hall.

On the red carpet

In no time at all we found ourselves standing outside the school hall i got a serious attack of hay fever (that is my story and i am sticking to it) when my "Poepies" walked down the red carpet. She was stunning and i will forever believe that she was the prettiest, most beautiful young lady there on the night. Speechless. teary eyed, Lump in the throat, or according to Lefty, just a softy at heart. Call me what you want, but i cried (behind the tree) and i finally realised that my "Poepies" is now getting to be independant. She is beautiful (must be from her mom) and i love her very much. All in all it was a brilliant night and Lefty and i found ourselves back at the guesthouse after a dinner at Ocean Basket not knowing what we should do with ourselves. I have to say that it is not easy to let go and let your kid get into the Big world. But hey, thats life. Lefty and i spent the evening talking about how all the "kids" looked and when we were woken at 2 in the morning by our "kids" getting back to the guesthouse we breathed a sigh of relief and slept like proud parents the rest of the night.

I have to say that a matric farewell is a big deal for anybody and to all the Dads out there, get involved. It is great to show interest and i can promise that you will remember it forever.




At one of the photographers

Lisa and Stefan





Arriving at the hall