Chandler's Overseas

In an effort to commence work on our summer tans and to reminisce our similar trip 1 year ago( http://chandlersoverseas.blogspot.com/2007/10/bollito-beach-weekend.html ), it was decided by us expats ( Soph , Dabbo , Chris, Nix, Rob and Keithy ) that a weekend by the coast was a must. Southbroom , 1hr south of Durban, was the chosen location and Chris took care of organising the accommodation in 2 houses with views of the ocean. We all flew down on the Friday night (bar Chris, unfortunately he and Nix missed their flights so ended up driving down late on Friday night!) excited that the weekend had begun. Beach time called on Saturday morning so we settled ourselves comfortably on the beach for a couple of hours. Soph & Jen enjoyed the sun whilst the boys run amok (as only they do when at the beach)! Unfortunately the South Coast was hit by terrible storms a couple of months earlier resulting in murky beach water. Still, it was nice to breath in the fresh ocean air. Southbroom is ...

Within 3 days of saying goodbye to Ian and Julie, we had new visitors... Andy & Mel! They managed to squeeze in 4 days in RSA on the way home from their European holiday so we ensured they had the maximum African experience as time would permit. Friday was dinner at the African themed Moyo's, including local African entertainment, tribal face painting (unfortunately mandatory for all foreigners!), and African cuisine... Then we whisked them away for a weekend of game and camping at Pilansberg. Unfortunately they brought the winter weather with them from Europe (ha) so experienced intermittant showers for most of Saturday, however we were still lucky to see 2 female lions roaming through the savannah. Sunday was more game viewing prior to the return drive to JHB via Pretoria and a quiet night that we all needed at home. It was great seeing Andy & Mel again and we loved showing them a tiny morcel of Africa! Mmmm.... Don Pedro's at the Bull Run

About a month ago we moved to Esprit Estate, Wendywood . It was a long awaited move as the house was still being constructed a couple of months ago when we committed to the lease. But needless to say, it has been worth it. Although we have had to give up the pool and bar of our old house in Pine Slopes we have both benefited hugely from the dramatically decreased daily commuting time. Pete down from 35-45 mins (12km) to 3.5-4.5mins (2.5km) one way and Jen saving up to 1hr sitting in traffic each day. We tried our hardest to live in the 'burbs'.... but have only proved that it is not for us! With three bedrooms and three and a half bathrooms, and a lap pool, tennis court, cafe and running track (shared with rest of complex) we are looking forward to hosting many visitors! There are around 120 townhouses- almost all identical. Very Truman show like! Our backyard The ridiculously large master bedroom!

Well… we’ve had what feels like a very busy month, spent with the following: We moved houses a fortnight ago and have had builders coming & going all week trying to finalise small issues; Pete’s parents arrived so we have resumed being tour guides; The townhouse next door was broken into during the night a week ago (4th night we had spent in the new complex). Thankfully the owners were not too badly injured, however the incident felt a bit too close to home. Unfortunately it was Pete’s parents first night in South Africa so has not given the country a good first impression for them! (It should be noted that the owners had not yet installed an alarm system which would have potentially mitigated the incident – we do have one!); Spent a weekend camping at Pilansberg with the Chandlers seeing excellent game; & Last weekend we flew to Port Elizabeth and spent a few days driving the garden route, and then spent a relaxing night in Franschhoek. Ian and Julie leave on Monday after spen...

We flew to Port Elizabeth (‘PE’) on Friday evening and experienced exceptional hospitality from Kiren & Phillipe, some of Pete’s friends from work. Kiren cooked us a delicious meal, which was a perfect starter to our short break- Thanks Kiren ! On Saturday morning the boys headed off to Pete’s work site (Port of Ngqura ) to see the progress and get a better understanding of the project. We then commenced the road trip west across the garden route, a picturesque coastal line from Plettenberg Bay to Mossel Bay. Walskipper had been recommended to us for lunch and it did not disappoint. It was literally a rustic shack on the beach with the beach sand as the floor. We had a delicious seafood lunch at the restaurant which was less than 10m from the ocean. The coast along the garden route reminded me a lot of the Victorian coastline. It was very rugged and windy at times with tall cliffs which would then contrast with km’s of sandy beaches where sheltered lagoons and estuaries meet t...