Our Campsite

Oh Wow

We have been experiencing a heat wave for the past 3 weeks, every day going over 40C. The heat just relentless and any wind felt like a hot hairdryer. Needless to say our little swimming pool was being used often and we were keeping ourselves well hydrated.

I have always said that you know that you live in a desert when you have more water in the fridge than beers.

Rain had seemed to be a thing of the past. I think the last time it rained was early January and that was 2mm.

The bush was calling out for rain and grasses dying.

Yesterday started no differently, weather app was telling us 39C and 5% chance of rain. We woke to 29C and as the morning went along so the thermometer climbed. By 11h00 we were already 38C and not long after that 40C. By 13h30 we had reached a warm 42C.

Clouds have been appearing every afternoon, but with no follow through.

Yesterday we did hear the rumblings of thunder in the distance, but no clouds. So the 95% chance of us not getting rain seemed very possible.

Then in the south dark clouds appeared, but we still didn’t get excited.

The sound of thunder got louder and lightning was visible.

You could hear the rain approaching, the trees started bending in the strong winds. We rushed to close car winds and get everything under cover.

Then the rain hit us, coming in almost horizontally. Our goats were standing outside their shelter, so they could stay dry.

The rain just kept on coming and we ended up with a stunning 31mm of the good stuff and the temperature dropped immediately right down to 26C, the lowest we have seen it for a long, long time

( we wake up to a 28/29C). last night Sue and I were both in jerseys and Sue had a blanket over her legs.

Mopane Worm season

All over The Plot this sought after worm, by many in Africa, can be seen eating the leaves of the Mopane tree.

What a Christmas Present

We were blessed with 5 baby diary goats born in 3 days, by 3 mothers, from 23rd to 25th December. This took our tally for the month to 6 babies.

Each mother with her babies have to have their own nursery, so as they can bond and the babies, for the first week, are too small to mix with the other bigger goats, especially at feeding time.

We had made 2 nurseries, so when in the rain, on Christmas morning, we had a problem when the third mother gave birth as the other 2 nurseries were already taken.

So in the pouring rain, which was a lovely Christmas present as is, Sue and I had to make a nursery. The joy of having the new ones, outweighed our dis-comfort.

Festive Season Wishes

Giving Water to the Community

Our closest neighbour is Mr Tawana, who we have nicknamed “The Carpenter”, owing to his trade. He, like all in this area, use to load his donkey cart with water containers and go into the village, about 4km away, to get water which he had to pay for.

The trip to the village is mostly downhill, when the cart was light, after filling with water he had to make the uphill trip back with a heavy cart and through thick soft sand, making it heavy weather for the donkeys.

So when we were blessed with a good borehole, Sue and I offered him the option to get water from us. Not only he didn’t have to pay for it, but we are about 300m away, an uphill to us with a light cart, and a downhill home with the heavy cart.

We also offered the same to others in the area and I remember times when we had a queue of 3 donkey carts and then me all looking for water. Nothing like queueing for your own water.

Sue and I have always dreamt of running a pipeline to his home, so when he approached me last week and asked what it would entail we got excited. He bought all the piping and fittings needed and we had a water tank that we donated as we were not using it.

For the last 3 days the project has been on the go, digging of a 300m trench for the pipe, laying it and covering it. This in a heat wave.

Today was the exciting part, connecting all the fittings, to get a leak free flow of water. In the heat of the day this was a bit of a challenge, but we knew the reward was going to be big and we pushed on.

Finally it was time to turn on the pump, Sue and I stood with him and waited for the water to arrive. It took a while for the water to fill the long pipe, but finally it came. It was a stunning moment.

When the tank filled enough so water came out the tap and he could wash his hands, drink, and cool himself and big smile filled his face.

Sue and I went down about an hour later, just to check on things. Him and his wife were sitting in the shade next to the tank listening to the water coming in. Some great moments in life are priceless.

For a lot of people water is taken for granted, turn on a tap, water flows, flush a toilet, take a shower, wash dishes, water always is there and there is the option of hot water as well. As it is readily available most, tend to waste plenty. It is only when you don’t have water and you have to struggle to get this precious commodity, do you appreciate it and use it wisely.

Sit back and just think about this elderly couple, they still don’t have a toilet, bath, etc, but for the first time in their lives they have 1 tap that gives them water, and how much this means to them.

Heat Wave hits Southern Africa

The darker the colour the hotter it is, as you can see 95% of Botswana falls in the darkest colour. Letlhakane is right in the middle of that. The heat wave has also been extended to Tuesday,

For Sue and I, we have always found it amusing, when we hear of heat waves in other parts of the world at 30C (86 F) as that is a cool day for us.

We have been hot, but nothing excessive, temperatures one could expect in November. Maybe the killer has been the constant high temps everyday for the last week. We have been over 40C (104F) every day and have reached a high of 44C (111F). We have recorded a high of 48.9 C (120F) in November before, that’s why I say it hasn’t been excessive.

We get moving early and by 11h00 we try and be out the sun, the UV index is over the top and the sand burns your feet when it comes between our feet and sandals. It is also rather warm.

From then until about 16h00 you just have to find a way to stay cool, our swimming pool has been a great help. A good friend does it like this.

Being in the shade of our patio, and frequently jumping into the pool, also gives me time to write posts for our blog.

I am sure my sister in Chicago is having totally the opposite situation.

Another animal makes itself at home

This time a Rock Monitor Lizard, we have called him Lego, from its other name leguaan or in Afrikaans legavaaun.

We did see him from about a year ago and then as quick as it appeared it disappeared. That was during the colder winter months. We thought that maybe it was hibernating, but apparently they don’t, they brumate which is hibernation-like state to handle temperature extremes. In brumation an animal does not exactly sleep, but slows down its metabolism and continues to feed.

Sue was the first to spot it again when she was showering in our outside bathroom. He appeared in our drainage system covered in suds, and actually seemed to be enjoying getting clean after its brumation.

We see it all over our garden look for beetles, grubs, insects and what ever. It also loves our roof, why I don’t know as our roof is metal and with temperatures like today of 42C, that can’t be pleasant.

After being up there he comes down and uses our water fountain to cool off and to drink.

It has been given strict instructions not to come inside our house or climb the plastic walls of our little swimming pool. So far he has obeyed the rules.

Read more facts about the Rock Monitor Lizard

Just Stunning

We were treated to this lovely sight yesterday evening, it was accompanied by the amazing sound of thunder.

The dark clouds brought us a further 5mm of rain. Everything, this morning looks so fresh and clean.

We Survived Suicide Month Again

September is known in the bush as suicide month owing to the stark nature of the bush, plenty of hot wind and high temperatures. Here it is more like mid-September to late October.

The bush looks dead, no leaves on the trees and no green grasses or bushes. We are continuously watering our plants and trying all we can to get them to survive until the rains come.

The winds have been intense this year. We had a sand storm of note that lasted about half an hour, gale force winds lifting sand into the sky and sand blasting us and The Plot. Whirlwinds are a daily event, covering us in sand and leaves.

The heat has been relentless, temperatures have been about 40C every day with a high so far this season of 42C. When the wind blows it feels like you are sitting in front of a hot hairdryer. The UV index, a scale between 1 and 10, determing how safe it is to go out into the sun, has already reached 12. Our little swimming pool as been a great saviour.

Basically all animals and birds just don’t move during the heat of the day. Dogs, cats and goats passed out in the best “coolish” spot they can find. The only animal that seems to move about is a Mozambique spitting cobra.

Just when you are beginning to feel you can’t take any more, suddenly, especially around our house and campsite, leaves start appearing on the Mopane trees and the Purple-pod Cluster-leaf starts flowering. Our first rains enhanced the process and before we knew it parts of The Plot looks like the below photo.

From this

To this – same scene

We find this an exciting time as every day more and more come to “life”. Recent nice rains have just made things even better, rapidly.

November is our hottest month of the year on average, with the highest temperatures we have recorded. Something to look forward to.