Tag Archives: creatures

Oribi Mom, Travelinds

Oribi Mom: Doing Life One Tree at a Time

“Mist-blanketed rivers with crocodiles have tales to tell, I’m sure.” – Heather Lind.

The mist in Oribi Gorge, just like in the rainforest. PHOTO BY: HEATHER LIND

October 16, 2024

More than a decade ago, we planted a tree in the rainforest. It was one of those last-minute decisions you make when you’re leaving a beautiful place and wonder how you can leave some sort of mark on it.

We’ve always been free souls who preferred to leave footprints and take only memories. I guess it was a sort of ‘ethical traveller’ decision. It’s the same reason we never rode an elephant or went on those boat tours to see the propeller-etched whale sharks they feed to keep nearby for tourists.

We don’t buy curios most of the time unless the mementoes on sale are directly helping a local person earn a living. In this case, planting the tree was the best of both worlds. We were supporting a local business and, at the same time, contributing to reforesting the badly depleted jungle.

That tree also contributes to the oxygen you and I are breathing at this very moment, 11 years down the line. Yes, we understand that this little side business of the place we stayed at was to make money.

Isn’t it okay to feed your family off the money tourists are willing to pay for a tree-planting exercise? You’re making a living and helping the jungle ecosystem. We even got a ‘plaque’ – a little wooden thing painted with ‘Linds’ on it. They stuck it in the thick mud next to our sapling. I guarantee that plaque is not there today. It was the kind you might recycle later for another tourist by painting over it. That’s okay. The tree, though? I often think about it.

I’ve planted many, many trees since then, particularly on our farm in Oribi Gorge. Hundreds of trees. But I still wonder what that tree looks like now. Is it towering over the little wooden huts with the rickety boardwalk? That boardwalk was really the only way to walk from your hut to the place they served food.

The ground was basically just thick mud up to the knee. Thousands of leeches were also just waiting for you to squelch over there so that they could feast.

I’d still go back to see that tree, but we’re older and wiser now, aren’t we? Imagine what else we would notice ten years on. Mist-blanketed rivers with crocodiles have tales to tell, I’m sure.

Oribi Mom

Oribi Mom: Buzzing Into the Newer New Normal

“The summer is almost over and all these creatures will be gone for another season.”

Picture from PexelsMarch 11, 2023

It’s March again. And the ants, hornets, and wasps are in a tizz. I think if I sat in my favourite porch chair long enough, these army ants would probably carry me off into their city beneath the steps.

I’m not sure about how much research has gone into an ant’s sense of smell, but it must be incredible. One dropped piece of litchi skin under the kids table is enough to alert the whole lot of them to the feast. They march across the porch, hundreds of big black ants with reddish heads. They nip, too.

Maybe that’s why the geckos don’t pay any attention to them as they search every inch of the concrete. Or, maybe the geckos are too busy keeping out of the way of the huge female Western Natal green snake that comes to my front door on most hot afternoons. They love eating skinks, but thankfully, they’re not interested in toes.

It’s a Dog-Eat-Dog Sort of World But Snakes Don’t Eat Hornets

I do wish the snakes would eat the hornets, though. Those little brown ones with yellow stripes are so cheeky. Oribi Dad has had a couple of occasions where he’s been walking innocently past something and received several stings on the head for his troubles. And boy, does it burn.

The wasps are a little less of a problem, but they get right up in your face whenever they feel like it. You can be quietly typing away one minute and furiously swatting away at a buzzing enemy the next.

The high-pitched sound they make while they’re making their mud nests is the most annoying thing to hear. It signals that the housekeeper (me) is going to have to locate the sound, uncover the nest’s hiding place, and knock it down before it gets too big.

The black and yellow wasps love the curtain creases. The huge purple or black ones love the highest places on the lounge wall. And the mud doesn’t just fall off either. It needs scrubbing, scraping, and a lot of patience to erase all traces. If you let them get too far ahead, you also get the pleasure of knocking down a nest filled with poor paralyzed spiders – one in each compartment for a wasp baby to eat!

Well, it won’t be hot forever. The summer is almost over. All these creatures will be gone for another season. For us, the year is just getting going. There’s so much to look forward to now that the calendar is out of its COVID hibernation.

Published here.

Oribi Mom

Oribi Mom: Hello Darkness My Old … Eish!

“Do you think loadshedding will be a thing when our children’s children are listening to that same nightjar calling, ‘Dear Lord, deliver us’ in the dark?”

Photo for illustration purposes. WIKIPEDIA

October 4, 2022

Did you know that fiery-necked nightjars still call when it’s raining? I hear them as I venture out into the still dark rainy dawn to put on a load of washing. Why am I doing this again? Oh, yes. Loadshedding.

School sandwiches, cups of tea, baby reflux medication and sterile syringes, showers and baths, vacuuming, getting things out of freezers and fridges, cooking, charging things…all confined to random slots in a 24-hour period.

Only, life does not fit so neatly into those times when you have three children and work online from home. It doesn’t fit neatly even if you don’t have children or work from home.

Eishkom Dictates My Life in These Loadshedding Slots

You need electricity to have an internet connection. On the farm, you also need electricity to pump borehole water for household and farm use. Rain tanks help, but not for long. They don’t work either if they rely on a little electric pump for pressure.

It’s okay. We are used to it now, right? We are even grateful that enterprising apps tell us when it is going off and for how long.

But, any length of power outage is still inconvenient. Changing a baby’s nappy at 3am by the light of a cell phone is challenging, to say the least, especially when you’re trying to locate random spots of butternut-colored mess while holding tiny feet out of the way. When you only manage to get one eye open and half a brain awake, the task is almost impossible.

Other Things Manage Just Fine in the Dark, Including…Eish!

The eagle owls manage to come and hunt crickets on our lawn easily enough at that time. The rats run through the roof sounding like a soccer team at certain times of the year. They don’t need light to smell their way through life and find an easy meal of discarded toddler snack items. Thankfully, they didn’t find the half-eaten biltong in the couch I happened upon the other day.

Some time ago I also had a reminder why lighter coloured tiles were, in fact, a good idea. I question this choice occasionally.

I was walking to the kitchen for a baby bottle or something at 1am and stepped over something dark, thanks to my peripheral vision. I thought it was a sock or a broken toy, both common items waiting to pierce tender soles.

Instead, shining my cellphone torch on it revealed a giant black scorpion casually crawling near my bare foot. Close one (and nothing a toddler-sized cup with a lid can’t handle for chucking outside).

Like our schedules, our eyes can adjust to the dark somewhat. But I’m still hoping and praying that we don’t have to make it a permanent arrangement in this country.

Do you think loadshedding will be a thing when our children’s children are listening to that same nightjar calling, ‘Dear Lord, deliver us’ in the dark?

Published here.

Oribi Mom

Oribi Mom: Do What Makes You You

“Parenting three under five is probably not the time of life to be writing books for fun but the opportunities will come if I let them.”

Do all boys love TLBs and other giant machines? PHOTO HEATHER LIND

September 5, 2022

Have you ever heard and then seen a huge swarm of bees approaching as your newborn sleeps on your lap? It’s quite terrifying at first. You wonder whether they are going to come straight at you on the porch or pass by. The sound is incredible, a crescendo out of nowhere … before disappearing as the bees speed off to wherever they are going.

How can you describe that feeling of uncertainty when a thousand stings approaches and you don’t know the outcome? I think it is called exhilaration. Not knowing whether the next moment will be a good one is a physical experience as well as a mental one. It heightens the senses, pumps the adrenaline and gets the muscles ready to do their thing.

Your Body Suddenly Says, “Pay Attention”

It is the same kind of feeling that my almost five year-old gets when he sees a yellow or orange crane arm extended into the skyline. A digger! Will it be huge? Will it have a hook? Will it be operating as we drive past? The excitement is palpable as we drive via the N3 to Pietermaritzburg with all the roadworks in play. Every ten seconds a new shout of ‘excavator’ trumpets from the backseat all the way into town.

I recently had a fresh injection of exhilaration seeing my very first full length book in print. It didn’t matter that it was a ghostwriting project that my name will never be on – those are my words right there in black and white forever. What a feeling!

Why would I write a book for someone else? Perhaps a better question is why would someone hire me to write a book for them when they could do it themselves. The short answer is that some people have ideas they don’t know how to express in the way that does them justice. Writers can do it and do it well for the most part.

Your Mind Says, “Stay Calm and Breathe”

For me it is a job that I can do at home with my three boys in tow. Finding a client who wants to pay me to do what I love for six months to a year is well, worth any sacrifice of fame or prestige. One day when I have the time to churn out all the books that have embedded themselves into my imagination I won’t need a professional ghostwriter. It is still a dream to write my own books for now, though seeing this first one done and dusted makes it feel a lot more achievable. I know it can be done even as I feed my third baby and watch my toddlers wrestle on the grass.

Parenting three under five is probably not the time of life to be writing books for fun but the opportunities will come if I let them. Eyes open for those exhilarating moments of bees, books, and being me.

Published here.

Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia, Philippines, South Africa, Travelinds, Travelinds Top 10, Vietnam

Travelinds Top 10: Beaches of Africa and Asia

Travelinds Top 10
Beaches of Africa and Asia

We are certainly beach people, ever happy with sand between our toes.  From Travelinds personal experiences, the following beaches are definitely in our top ten choices from around the world:

10. Blue Lagoon (Bali, Indonesia)

One of the little known Balinese beaches, this secret beach lies over the hill and around the corner from Padang Bai Harbour.  Blue Lagoon boasts a fascinating reef just a few steps into the water.  Walk to the beach from the harbour by heading up and over the steep hill on the eastern side of Padang Bai Beach Road, then grab a snorkel for a day of underwater relaxation.  We even saw eels and turtles in the little reef.  Be sure to support the local restaurants (there are two) as these owners keep the beach clean out of their own pockets.

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9. Gili Meno (Lombok, Indonesia)

One of our Indonesian favourites, the Gili Meno beach actually runs around the whole island (which is only about 1 x 1.5 kilometres).  At almost any point, you can swim out about 10 to 20 metres and hit the reef, so be sure to bring a snorkel and some fins and make the most of it.  We swam with turtles, lion fish and schools of fluorescent beauties every single day. Wish we could have stayed longer!

Gili Meno Cowries

8. Diani Beach (Mombasa, Kenya)

A ten kilometre stretch of fine white sand,  gorgeous Diani Beach was definitely our favourite beach in Kenya, with neighbouring Tiwi Beach a close second.

Camels Diani Beach

7. Linapacan Islands (Linapacan, Palawan Province, The Philippines)

A whole archipelago of tiny islands somewhere between Coron and Palawan mainland,  each island with wondrous beaches and its own reef right off the shore.  How could we choose just one beach? Check out some of the names and descriptions from our fantastic four-day island hopping tour on the Brinze Kylene Expedition.

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6. Barra Bay (Barra Peninsular, Mozambique)

A Northern beach of Mozambique, there is little about it we did not adore. Warm, flat ocean and stretches of Barra sand with smiling locals and coconuts for sale.

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Photo credit: Barra Resorts

5. Anbang Beach (Hoi An, Vietnam)

In Central Vietnam, Anbang is a distinctive beach, which is perfect for lazy swimming days and scrumptious lunches at the local chain of restaurants.  We cycled over from Hoi An. Buy drinks from the restaurants and have access to lovely thatched umbrellas or wooden booths, especially helpful to escape the midday heat.

An Bang Beach

4. White Beach (Moalboal, Cebu, The Philippines)

On the western peninsular of Cebu, parallel to a long, beautiful reef, white beach is another gem in central Philippines.  Truly, one of the most superb coral reefs in the Philippines, the Moalboal reef (stretching all the way off White Beach  to Panagsama) is well worth taking your own snorkel to to swim out whenever you want.

Malapascua Island
Malapascua Island

3. Mawun Beach (Lombok, Indonesia)

The long stretch of Mawun white sand that lines a peacock-blue bay, perfect for long morning swims.  A fleet of tiny fishing boats floats upon sparkling, clear water sits to one side of the bay. Take a motorbike to get there from Kuta and be sure to take some cash to support the local vendors and family restaurants.

Mawun Beach

2. Sempang Mengayau – Tip of Borneo (Sabah, Malaysia Borneo)

Soft white sand borders the Sulu Sea of the Sabah Dog’s left ear. A secluded stretch of paradise all to ourselves is only one of the beautiful beaches in this area.  It was 7 days of bliss.

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1. Mabibi (Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa)

The place where Travelinds began their journey together on the Elephant Coast, part of the rugged Kwazulu-Natal coastline in South Africa. Look out for turtles laying their eggs along the dunes and whales passing by the north coast beaches.  Walk for kilometres and breathe in pure African air.  The Mabibi campsite is rustic, no electricity (except in the cabins) and hot water for showers in the communal ablution block.  Nearby, Lake Sibaya is absolutely breathtaking. This is our number one favourite beach in the world – by far!

 

Photo credit: Mabibi Campsite
Photo credit: Mabibi Campsite

 

Where is your favourite beach?