Merry Christmas and Happy new year 2017

947 bike race

We did it! Almost one hundred kilometres of biking with start near our home, trying our speed at the new Kyalami race track, all the way to downtown Johannesburg riding on the highway, over Mandela bridge and back home through Cradle of Humankind and Lion Park. It was tough but definitely worth it. Our legs were rather wobbly in the evening and our bums sore. 

The radio station 94.7 organises a bike race every year and it has become a massive event. 30.000 bikers joined this year. Many do it over and over again, for K and me it was the first bike race ever. We trained on our old mountain bikes, which was maybe not the best ones for a road race, but we really enjoyed the day and were very proud to finish it. The vibe was so great we might actually join next year again. 

We rode for a charity called Project Dignity, which provides washable sanitary pads and panties for township girls who cannot afford to buy sanitary products for those days of the month. They use tissues, leaves, newspapers, whatever they can find and often miss school up to one week per month. With one pack of SUBZ, which includes nine pads and three pairs of panties, they are able finish school as the pack should cover them for five years, so about ages 13-18. 

One package of SUBZ costs 200 rand (about 15 euros). With the proceeds from the race and other fund raising events before the race, our team raised enough money for 500 girls!!! 

Awesome roadtrip in SA

Wow, another awesome holiday is behind us. This time we decided to do a roadtrip in South Africa so we packed up the car with food, drinks and a trailer and headed towards Drakensberg and our favourite place in the mountains, the Champagne Valley. Four days hiking, riding motorbikes, horse riding, swimming and just relaxing after a hectic time at school and work. 






Then we packed up again and drove through Zululand to the coastal town of St. Lucia, which is famous for the hippos that roam the streets at night. St. Lucia turned out to be a lovely little town with wild nature areas just next to people's houses. We saw hippos playing in the water close to the campsite, but did not spot any on the street. Unfortunately we had only one night at a lovely B&B, but the wetland park and Cape Vidal would be worth exploring another time. 


Last Christmas we were at superb beach called Mabibi Beach. It was so great that we wanted to revisit and so this time we checked in to the amazing Thonga beach lodge just below the campsite we stayed at last time. What a place! Nestled among trees with wooden walkways behind the untouched beach and the ocean. We enjoyed the waves, the beach, the delicious food and K and J also managed to explore the sand tracks around the lodge on their two-wheelers. On our last morning the housekeeping lady knocked on our door and told us that the first leather back turtle was on the beach laying her eggs. It was amazing to see how she struggled to cover her eggs by scooping sand with her fins for at least an hour before heading out to the sea. In about two months time the eggs will hatch and tiny turtle babys will follow her route. 

Champagne Castle Hotel

Our cosy chalet

J enjoys driving in the soft sand.

The South African national flower is called Protea.

Thongs Beach Lodge

The first Leather back turtle for this year on Mabibi Beach.

Lake Sibaya, South Africa's biggest lake.

Views on Zululand from the car.

Confirmation party for S

In August, just before returning to Johannesburg, we celebrated S's confirmation. The priest kindly offered to come to our home, so family and godparents gathered in the garden for the ceremony, followed by lunch. Here are some pictures from the day. 

In Cape Town for ice skating

Last week, S and I went to Cape Town for the South African national figure skating championships, the most prestigious competition of the year. We had a wonderful four days trip and the skating went very well. The team performed their best ever. Hope the video will work, it is in two parts. 

All the figure skaters from Central Gauteng (Johannesburg).

Team Lion Cubs with coaches.