Sunday arvo.

We seem to have got into a Sunday arvo, post nap ritual of heading down to Wurstbude, the pizza restaurant/pub with some other families from the film. The kids play, we drink & eat, the sun sets and we head home. A great way to wrap up the weekend.

Sunday mornin (or the week of spew).

In between Sonny vomiting, Steve vomiting and Ace's midnight vomit we have had a relatively low key week.  Not much sleep, Ace's first full week of pre-school and Steve almost but not quite shooting.  Saturdays are busy but come Sunday we are in family mode.  After an early morning Skype with the Allans we got out amongst it.  Swakop in the sun!

Our Crib

So finally here are some pics of our home.  We live in a three storey home and yes it is great for one's buns!  Ground floor, garage & laundry. Second floor, bedrooms & bathroom. Top floor, lounge room & kitchen.  From the top floor we have fabulous views of the Atlantic ocean right across the road.  It is somebody's holiday house so it is furnished in holiday house fashion with terrible lighting, cold blue tiles throughout, zero heating and no soft close cabinetry.  What can I say .... it's home now!

PS - These photos were supposed to be a little neater... but

The Master Boudoir

Lounge room.

Ace's bedroom - complete with dodgy old scrim for a curtain.

Sonny's crib.

Our rather dramatic entrance.

Happy Namibian Father's Day

When I first insisted that Al Jam introduce me to Peaches some 5 years ago I did ask myself "is this guy the father of my children?" The answer was "no, but damn he's good looking!"  I think the question I was actually asking was "does he dress like I had imagined the father of my children to dress."   That was until my good fashion friend Nickers said "Darls that is easy fixed!" And well it was & so it turned out, not only is he really good looking but also an incredible father of my children.

Happy Father's Day babe... you are everything two boys could want, strong, proud & a big marshmallow.  Have fun watching the MotoGP.  We love you.

First a father of one.

Then a father of two.

Swakopmund 101

Thought I might try to fill you in on what life is like in Swakopmund.  As I mentioned previously Swakop is a holiday town for Germans and South Africans and as it is currently winter there are many empty homes and apartments.  It is also home for many miners, I am not sure of whether these folks commute to the mines or live here on their days off. 

The town of Swakop and its neighbouring suburbs along the coast are predominantly white.  It would seem (with my limited knowledge) that most of the black people live on the fringes and inland from Swakop.They all walk the hour into town to work. 

It is a funny thing the safety factor.... I really think fear begets fear.  This place is pretty safe but the paranoia and fear is contagious.  I suspect in summer when the town is busier and there are people living in all the now empty homes it would feel safer again. I don't feel vulnerable.  I would perhaps if I lived any further away from town. We don't live in a gated community and whilst many properties have gates (& big dogs!) there are no such communities.  Much is made of the locking of doors, alarms, not leaving anything in your car, paying for the guys to watch your car while you shop and the security guys who watch a bunch of homes at night.  Some of it probably just employs people and maybe some of it is necessary... who knows? There are stories of film crew getting robbed, mugged etc but you know what people, we are in Africa, it ain't the eastern suburbs (of Sydney or Melbourne for that matter!!) Rest assured I feel safe and am confident this won't change when Steve is not home till late. It is by no means South Africa or any of the other lawless African countries and let's just say I reckon it is safer than the south Maroubra ghetto.

As for the weather.... well today it is beautiful, warm and pleasant. But tomorrow it could be freezing.  It is like Melbourne weather on steroids! It is kinda fun to be mixing up the fashion on a daily basis and finally getting to wear some of the gear I never get to wear in Sydney like beanies and mittens!  Ace looks super cute in his red beanie, thanks Mrs S.  Being on the Atlantic coast results in two weather options.  Either the wind comes from west bringing with it the Swakop fog, where I can no longer see the ocean across the road.  It can be tres cold and damp.  Or the east wind blows from the desert bringing with it dust and an oppressive hot wind.  And then there is everything in between.  However the most refreshing part is that in the month we have been hear there has been NO rain! Maybe two mornings of the slightest fine drizzle but that is it.  After 4 years of Sydney deluges I am finding this state of affairs very pleasant. 

Now I hope I haven't bored you all to bits with such a mundane post.  Next up where we live!

And below some photos from our morning stroll today. Ace is home from pre-school with his cold & cough, very typical of this changing Swakop climate. Hope to be back at Bugs & Beetles tomorrow.

Where the wild things are - part 2

So Steve returned from his Game Drive where we had been warned it can get pretty cold, well he was freezing! The following morning was meant to be my turn on the Game Drive however motherhood had other plans for me and when Steve returned from that 3 hr dawn drive and described the first hour as "bullshit freezing" I was grateful to my needy ill boy, I really don't handle the cold so well . 

The boys and I had a leisurely morning then Ace & I put on everything item of clothing we had in anticipation of our Kid's Drive.  Ace and I saw the male lion in the rehab centre, animal tracks, elephant poo, bush turkeys, a dead zebra, last night's sirloin of Oryx and my lovely new Kudu boots.  Then Ace fell asleep. Fortunately he woke to see the lovely big herd of giraffe, some warthogs, hippos, springbok and vultures.  It was fantastic and we were warm!

The rest of our stay was great, more wildlife at the watering hole. More 3pm cake & coffee. I enjoyed eating meals I didn't have to make.  Ace did try to throw himself on the electric fence which resulted in almost every female staff member running from the restaurant to save him.  The weather was freezing which meant we mostly stayed inside. Ace scooted around the place.  I admired our comfy verandah chairs and dreamt of the day in the future where we too could relax with some sundowners and watch wildlife stroll by.

Sadly the boys both woke up sick & sicker so we packed up and headed home to Swakop.  Ace rather thoughtfully waited till we had cleared the gates of Erindi before projectile vomiting. Lucky for us most of it landed in the car seat so we threw it in the back of the buckie, did a quick wardrobe change and hit the dirt road again.  Ace & Sonny obligingly fell asleep and we made it home with no further incidents.  The east wind had blown that morning so Swakop was warm and dusty but it was great to be back. Sometimes you have step away from things to appreciate what you got!  Great weekend and I have the two days of washing to prove it!

Where the wild things are - part 1

Early Saturday morning we headed out of the Swakop mist and began the four hour drive to Erindi. Inside the gates you are advised to remain in your car at all times and head directly to the Old Traders Lodge.  We checked in, marveled at our spacious gorgeous room then went straight to lunch.  Where we bumped into most of the film crew and all of the above animals.  The restaurant is built on the high side of a water hole and all the animals visit throughout the day. It was incredible.

The weather was beautiful, the boys were awesome on the 4 hr drive and things were looking good.  Steve got ready to go on an afternoon game drive and me and the boys enjoyed coffee and cake and the wildlife.