LEGENDS GOLF & SAFARI LODGE

Legend Golf and Safari Resort is a luxury estate where people rent their units or houses to visitors. Situated at the base of the HANGLIP MOUNTAIN RANGE, it also boasts a 5 star 18 hole golf course, known as "The Field of Legends" because each hole was designed by a golfing legend! We had beautiful weather during the day and cold nights to rug up and enjoy the "diamonds in the sky".  As we played golf, we watched helicopter rides go up to play the 19th hole from up on top of the mountain peak. They had to hit the ball 400 metres horizontal to make the green below which was in the shape of Africa.  At $ 300 per person for a 9 minute joy flight up and back… we debated whether to add it to our bucket list, but  decided against it.  Legends also boasts having had the Miss World contestants a few years back.

Wildlife actually roams through the resort as well. We went on an evening safari, but did not see a lot as there had been heavy rains a month ago. Still, it was a wonderful weekend away.

Me and my two new friends.

Gorgeous golf course and spectacular scenery!

14th Hole, designed by Australia Golf Legend,
Robert Allenby.

Beautiful "Blesbok" antelopes on the course.
They put their heads down as if to hide from us!

 A photo from the Legends website

The beautiful Hanglip Mountain range during our afternoon safari drive.

We saw a herd of elephants eating in a marshy area.
The elephants were much whiter than elephants we have seen in The Kruger.

Travelling in the open safari jeep.
It can be very cold!

legendgolfsafari

EASTER WEEKEND IN JOZI

Over the Easter weekend, we went to MONTE CASINO for dinner at South Africa's first Masterchef winner's restaurant, "AARYA". We had a lovely dinner and cruised around Monte Casino's internal and external entertainment areas. It was a buzz for those who stayed in Jozi for the long weekend. They even shipped in some sand to make a beach themed party! We ended up at a cabaret show which was extremely entertaining with the lead singer in drag and the showgirls kicking their long legs and singing! A fun night.

Easter Sunday, we visited the GOLD REEF CITY. It is a theme park which has a disused gold mine as a tourist attraction. Unfortunately, the mine was closed for repairs when we were there, but we were able to visit some of the original houses and watch gold being poured straight from the HOT furnace. Mr. O was in his element! He even bought a HUGE sample of Johannesburg gold ore!

Monte Casino with the painted sky ceiling

People enjoying the beach party!

Complete with braziers to keep everyone warm. 

About to enjoy the cabaret show!

And boy, did Mr. O enjoy it!!!

 Gold Reef City Amusement rides. Not for me!

Boot tappers

Greg and his new found friends!

Join in the street parade!

Molten hot gold ore.

This would have been a hot and tough job in the olden days!

Touching a real gold ingot.

Mr. O next to an old crusher. His gold ore wrapped at his feet.

ALBERT STREET SCHOOL IN APRIL

I am now volunteering three times a week at the Albert Street Refugee School. I go on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 8:30 am- 1:00 pm. I have Year 2 on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so that their teacher, Miss Joyce, can do her administrative work as the Deputy Principal. On Wednesdays, I have the Year 1 and Year 3 classes. I even have my own "little classroom" at the back of Miss Joyce's classroom! I take the blanket off my bed before I leave in the morning. This becomes my "mat area" for the children to sit on. The children seem to like it. Otherwise, they are expected to sit in the chairs all day and copy work from the board. The teachers are very welcoming to me and eager for me to teach their classes. They watch how I teach as they are not use to the "hands on" learning activities that I bring to the children. The children rush out to greet me with shouts of "Hello, Miss Diana!" and as many hugs as arms can fit around me!

Miss Diana's Classroom

My locker of resources at the opposite end of "my little classroom".

The children listened to a retell of "The Three Billy Goats Gruff".
They made finger puppets and then got to watch the story on my
 iPad. I have bought a little"jellyfish" speaker that allows
 them all to hear the story!

"Hands on" measuring activities! They had a lot of fun!

It was Mr.O's birthday and he was given a very big cake that we
could not eat. I took it to school and shared it with the Grade 2s.
 I asked if they liked cake. YES! Do you like chocolate birthday
 cake? Their eyes widened, their smiles beamed from ear to
ear and they said …
"YES!" Mmmmm!
That cake could not have had better recipients to eat it!

Just yesterday, I taught the children in Year 1 "5 Currant Buns".
All 32 children had to have a turn being the baker or a buyer
(with rand). I then read "Brown Rabbit's Party" using one of the
few big books from their over crowded, unorganised, tiny library.

They coloured in Easter Eggs, learning 'Ee' says "eh".

Then I gave them all a chocolate marshmallow Easter bunny.
Do you think they were excited?
Do you think they liked it?

As I was leaving, Tatenda and Prince were playing a game with their friend. I asked what
 they were playing. They showed me bottle tops that had pictures of superheroes stuck on them.
They battled for each other tokens.

It is the start of Easter break here. The schools only have the four day weekend off. So do I.
Back to school next Tuesday for me!

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!

HAPPY BIRTHDAYVERSARY TO US!

On the 11th of April 2014, we travelled to the Ivory Tree Lodge for a second visit, to celebrate Mr.O's birthday and our 32nd wedding anniversary. (Liam calls it the "birthdayversary" as we were married on his 30th birthday!)

This year, I planned to spoil my husband! He received a zebra cover for his #1 driver, a book on travelling South Africa and four private tennis lessons. But, the best part was that I was able to SURPRISE him with a romantic dinner for two in our rondavel. The staff actually surprised me even more with the elegance and style with which they presented the evening! We had a delicious meal under the stars whilst listening to African music coming from the township below the hills.

Cheers to our 32 years of marriage!
And here's to the next happy 32 years together!

We played 18 holes of golf on the
Gary Player course at Sun City.
It was a beautiful day, but walking the
18 holes was very tiring.

 

I needed a "rest" beside the evening fire to rest my weary legs!

  

 

We saw some animals during the daybreak safaris. There had been much rain
with some flooding only a month ago. The roads were very eroded and the grass
almost shoulder height. The animals were in there. They could probably see us, but we did
not see many of them. We were fortunate to see a fleeting glimpse of a leopard
before it disappeared into the scrub!

Seeing a hot air ballon land in the middle of the park was a spectacle.
Lucky, they did not land in the middle of a pride of lions!

The BEST part of the safari was left until last! As we were 2 km from the gate,
a herd of elephants came sauntering down the middle of the road. They
had a little baby elephant calf with them! Our ranger stopped the car. There were
nine in total, with the grandma matriarch off to the side. They came to within 2 metres
of our vehicle!!!! Mr. O thought they were going to put their trunks in the jeep!
They lifted their trunks to smell us. They rumbled their tummies and shuffled their
 feet to communicate to each other that we were of no harm.
A magical experience!

MA'AM & THE ICOT LADS

I have been volunteering at the ICOT school for about a month now. The eight boys are so polite and helpful. They call out "Hello, Ma'am!" when I arrive and come to see if they can help me carry anything. I usually have cooking ingredients and utensils, or bags of boxes!

The boys enjoyed making and eating yummy pikelets. They constructed wooden models of planes, birdhouses, firetrucks and cars. They then got to paint the models once the glue had dried.
Recently, with bags full of recycled materials, the boys had "free range" of making anything they desired. "Sir" (Principal/Teacher, Dougie) was on hand to help. They had been learning about Procedural Text, so my activities related to their learning experiences.