The Ark Pearly Beach

Who ate all the carrots?

2012-01-21T11:14:00.002+02:00

“Mr Noah,” said Mrs Noah, “Why don’t you make one of your delicious carrot and coriander soups for lunch?”

“Mmm, that’s a good idea,” he replied. “I bought some fresh organic carrots only yesterday from the man on the market. They smell delicious!”

So, Mr Noah set about gathering all the ingredients for his soup. He knew that, as always, the two dogs, Mango and Alfie, would be watching intently by the kitchen door, just in case there was anything left for them. As Mr Noah opened the fridge door to take out the home-made stock and the coriander, he turned to glance lovingly at the dogs but was surprised to see that only Mango was sitting there.

“Where’s Alf?” Mango looked away anxiously and kept her head down.

“Oh well, never mind. If there’s a little something going at the end, you won’t have to share it with Alfie, will you?” he chuckled. With that, he went to the vegetable box and took out the onions and potatoes. “There, now I have everything I need to make the soup, so I can start,” he said to Mango.

“Woof, woof,” barked Mango quietly.

“What is it, girl?”

“Woof, woof,” she repeated, and looked towards the pile of onions and potatoes.

“Oh, I see. Silly me! I’ve forgotten the most important veggie. The carrots! Well done, Mango, for spotting that.” And Mr Noah turned back reaching for the carrots in the veggie box – coming away with an empty carrot bag!

“What’s this?” he uttered, looking at the empty plastic bag. “Where have all the carrots gone?” He called to Mrs Noah, “Have you used all the carrots?”

He saw Mango looking behind her. “What is it?” asked Mr Noah, as he peered around the breakfast bar to where Mango was looking.

“Alfie,” he cried. “Put that carrot down!”

There are Birds and then there are Birds!

2011-11-02T17:20:00.001+02:00

About six months ago, Mr and Mrs Noah adopted a little kitten that they called Chilli. She was called Chilli because she was very laid-back and took life in her stride. She was totally chilled out!

Chilli certainly lives up to her name and spends a great amount of her morning curled up on Mr and Mrs Noah’s bed enjoying the warm, morning sunshine.

As the sun moves across the sky, it is time to move. She stretches deeply, and saunters across to the sofa, jumps up on to the back, and plays ‘pat-a-cake’ with her best mate, Alfie. Well, it’s not really so much ‘pat-a-cake’, as more ‘pat Alfie’s head’ as he is passing by! This is great fun and requires very little effort on Chilli’s part. Alfie just keeps coming back for more!

Then, later, when the sun is high in the sky and is shining on to the back stoep, she will sit on one of the seats out there, and watch the world go by, whether it be a boubou, a starling, or perhaps a sunbird or a canary. Sometimes it is even a little lizard, or a cricket.

It is very warm in the sunshine and she doesn’t bother with the birds as they come down to drink from the bird-feeder, or wash in the bird-bath. She doesn’t even move when a robin hops down looking for crumbs that Mrs Noah threw out for the birds earlier in the day. She doesn’t look up when a beetle scurries across the stoep in front of her. Chili continues to snooze in the heat of the sunshine – and chill!

At least, that was until one day she decided to go and see what Mr Noah was doing upstairs, and find out what all that bashing about was that she could hear. She leaped up on to his desk and saw what he was doing – bashing a keyboard. She watched him for a while, but decided that typing wasn’t very interesting, and the best thing she could do was curl up on the cushion that Mr Noah had on the edge of his desk - and chill out. She thought the cushion was probably there for Mr Noah to lay his weary head when he was exhausted from all that typing. Still, it made a lovely comfortable chilling-out place for a little cat too! And she settled down, purring contentedly.

After a while, Mr Noah stopped bashing his keyboard, stood up from his chair, and stretched. He said to Mrs Noah, “Do you fancy a cup of tea, dear?”

“Yes, please. That would be lovely.” So, Mr Noah disappeared downstairs to make one.

A little time later he came back up with two cups of tea, and was amazed to see little Chilli rigid in front of his computer screen.

“What is she doing?”

“Just watch for a moment, Mr Noah.” She smiled and said, “Chilli’s not so chilled now.” Chilli certainly wasn’t chilled. Her fur stood on end and her ears were flat back. Her tail was lashing from side to side. Suddenly, she launched herself towards the computer screen, bristling, claws out, and teeth chattering.

“What... ?” exclaimed Mr Noah.

Then Chilli was around the back of the computer, knocking and banging behind it, and getting very agitated. “Mrs Noah, what exactly is the matter with Chilli?” he asked, as he retrieved a very stressed-out little cat and placed her back on the cushion.

“Just watch and wait, Mr Noah.” Mrs Noah laughed, and added, “You will see why in a moment.”

Chilli was still staring at the computer screen, ready to pounce - which she did the moment Mr Noah’s screensaver came on. “Oh, I see.” Mr Noah laughed, “She’s attacking my screensaver pictures.” He watched in amazement as Chilli tried to catch all the different, brightly coloured birds in front of her, changing to different ones every twenty seconds. Beautiful sunbirds, oystercatchers, canaries and even penguins. Magnificent images of birds that Mr Noah was using as his screensaver.

“Well, I never. She’s not so chilled out now, is she?” he chuckled.

Second Helpings

2011-09-12T20:56:00.006+02:00

Mango’s new doggy friend, Alfie, loves his food, as everyone who knows Alfie will vouch. In fact, he is a vacuum cleaner dressed up as a dog. Everything that can possibly be put into his mouth and tested for taste is put into his mouth and and tested for taste, and everything that can be eaten is eaten! He is always on the lookout for something else to be tested and eaten, yet he is never ‘full up’. Food is his passion.

Mr and Mrs Noah try to ensure that Alfie is growing up with good table manners. When it comes to feeding times, (the official ones that is, not the snacks he finds in between) they always make sure that, once the food has been put into his bowl and placed in front of him, he sits and waits a few seconds for it. This not only calms him down but also shows him who is boss! You see, Mr and Mrs Noah are big fans of The Dog Whisperer on TV and they know all about being calm and assertive pack leaders! Just to reaffirm this, Mr Noah has a T-shirt with 'Pack Leader' written on it - just in case anyone hasn't recognised the fact that he is one.

A few days ago, Mrs Noah was preparing the evening meals for the animals. “Ostrich and rice tonight.”

"Yum, yum,” woofed Alfie. “That’s my favourite!” Well, actually, that was a little bit of a fib because ALL food is his favourite! Nevertheless, Alfie knew the rules and he sat down promptly and properly, waiting patiently to be given his bowl of food. At least, he waited as patiently as a little Alfie can wait. OK, maybe his whole body was twitching and saliva was pouring out of his mouth, and even though his ears tend to take on a whole life of their own when he is sitting waiting for his meal, he was waiting patiently - for Alfie.

Mrs Noah put the bowl of food down and Alfie waited until she said, “You can have it.” With a lunge, his head disappeared into the bowl and Alfie set about trying to get a ‘personal best’ for eating his current meal.

“There,” he announced just a few seconds later. “All gone!” A completely clean and empty bowl and a very contented Alfie! At least, that was until he suddenly sat very still, looked at Mrs Noah, and heaved his chest. Out came an enormous burp!

“Alfie!” said Mrs Noah, sternly. But Alfie wasn’t listening. He opened his mouth wide and out flew a single biscuit of ostrich and rice, landing on the floor and all alone.

Alfie stared at it for a moment, then looked at Mrs Noah. “Wow! Second helpings!” Then it was gone - again!

A Long, Long Way

2011-08-30T12:50:00.003+02:00

Ever since Mango, Mr Noah’s faithful hound, can remember there has been a routine at dinner time at the Ark, which goes a bit like this:

Mr Noah to Mrs Noah, ”What would you like for dinner tonight, dear?”

“Oh, I don’t mind. You choose, because whatever you cook I know it will be delicious.”

“Alright then, I’ll cook something nice.”

At that point, Mango comes and lays down at the kitchen door watching Mr Noah cutting and slicing and stirring. Then, as the food is being cooked, a delicious smell wafts around her nose.

Eventually, the food is placed on the plates and, if the weather is right, Mr and Mrs Noah will sit outside and eat their meal on the stoep, watching the waves of the sea and the colourful sunset.

Mango, of course, has moved outside with them just to check that the food is still on the plates. She will rest her nose on the very corner of the table, watching every mouthful disappearing.

After that, Mr and Mrs Noah may have a little pot of yoghurt each. Mango is allowed to take the ‘empty’ pots and wash them up - yummy!

She knows that Mr and Mrs Noah then go and wash up the plates after that in the kitchen, so she will sit quietly watching until the tea towel is placed on the rack and the last pot is put away. Then, it is time to get excited...

Jumping about, rushing to her lead, looking at Mr Noah with pleading eyes, more jumping about, until he takes notice that it is time to take Mango for her evening walk!

So, it’s outside to the braai area, where Mango keeps her large collection of sticks, so she can choose just the right one for that evening, and carry it out of the Ark on to the road for their evening stroll.

Mr Noah takes his piece of fruit with him and can be heard muttering something like “five portions a day, bah!”

Off the two of them go for their evening ‘bonding session’.

This little routine has been going on for almost two years now, and it’s always been a strictly ‘Mango and Mr Noah’ time.

That was, until Mrs Noah decided to take Mango for her evening stroll one day. She was given instructions on how to ‘do’ the walk by Mr Noah, and Mango was to look after Mrs Noah whilst they were out!

Off they set…

All was going well, until Mr Noah looked out of the window about twenty min utes later and saw them coming around the corner. There was Mrs Noah and Mango ambling along the road, and right behind them was ... Sid!

A few minutes later, Mango burst into the Ark, followed by Mrs Noah and bouncing behind them was an excited Sid!

“You’ll never guess what?” said Mrs Noah.

“What, Mrs Noah?”

Sid saw us go out for our evening walk and she decided to come as well.

“What? She went all the way? It’s a long, long way for a little cat, and there are many dangers out there in the bush!”

“Yes, she did. She came with us all the way. She scampered about with Mango and she loved it. Mango showed her lots of new ‘sniffs’.”

“Well, well, what a clever little cat, aren’t you, Sid?” He turned to Sid, but she was not listening. She was already fast asleep on Mango’s cushion ... with Mango.

“Ah,” said Mr Noah. “I told you it was long, long way for a little cat!”

The Treadmill and the Cheese

2011-07-19T09:33:00.003+02:00

It all started with cheese. Let me explain.

Mrs Noah had had enough of all the rainy, windy weather that we had been having lately. It meant that she could not get out and do her running. You see, Mrs Noah is training to run a marathon and has to run around Pearly Beach, several times every week. Everyone knows Mrs Noah as she pounds the roads around the Ark, and they all wave and shout encouragement to her! However, all this bad weather meant she could not get out as often as she needed to. Luckily, Mr Noah had a bright idea…

“Why not get a treadmill?” he said. “That way you can run inside when it’s rainy and windy outside.”

“Yes,” said Mrs Noah. “What a good idea. We could also use it for the dogs to exercise on when they can’t get out as well.”

So it was that Mr and Mrs Noah set out one day to buy a treadmill.

After a successful visit to the big shops in Cape Town they arrived back at the Ark with a shiny, brand new treadmill. Mrs Noah was eager to try it out, so they set it up right away and Mrs Noah tested the new 'road'. “It’s brilliant,” she puffed, sweating profusely. “It’s just what I need. Shall we try the dogs on it now? Alfie first.”

Up stepped Alfie who, after the obligatory sniff and lick of the machine, took his first tentative steps on the treadmill - followed quickly by his first expulsion from it, straight off the back! And again! And again! No matter how much Mr Noah explained it to Alfie, he didn’t understand that he needed to actually walk along the belt and not stand still. It was Mrs Noah who had the bright idea of using cheese. “Cheese!” she said. “It’s one of Alfie’s favourite foods. Mr Noah, you stand in front of the treadmill and hold out some cheese pieces. I am sure he will start walking towards them.”

Mr Noah stood in front of the treadmill tempting Alfie with little pieces of cheese. It worked a treat. Alfie had really got the hang of it, and started to walk, then trot, then run along the belt, and was rewarded with little pieces of cheese. However, Alfie didn’t always manage to grab the cheese and some of it dropped on to the belt, and was propelled straight off the back and on to the floor. What happened to these pieces of cheese?

Chilli, the kitten (with a tail) had been watching all this from a comfortable spot on the nearby sofa. She had spotted what was going on, so she positioned herself at the back of the treadmill and was feasting on all the little cheesy bits that were flying off the end! Ten minutes later, at the end of the treadmill session, Alfie had had some exercise and Chilli had had a feast. Success all round!

As Alfie went to tell Mango all about it, Chilli found another use for the treadmill – well, she was rather full of cheese! (Picture above)

Something New and Tasty!

2011-06-09T19:31:00.001+02:00

Alfie, Mr and Mrs Noah’s ‘little’ puppy, was proving to be quite a handful! What with both of them fully employed looking after the Ark and all its guests, making sure that Mango and Sid still felt ‘special’, and constantly having to fetch Chilli back from various parts of the garden because she has learnt to clamber over the stoep fence, but hasn’t worked out how to get back yet, they felt that perhaps they weren’t giving Alfie as much attention as he needed!

Alfie has settled very well into the routine of the Ark and is learning all sorts of new games and tricks from his ‘big sister’, Mango, but the one thing that he does have an absolute obsession with is … eating! Maybe, it’s because he had 10 siblings in his litter? It’s not just eating his meals, which are always finished in 7 – 10 seconds’ flat, but food to Alfie is ANYTHING he can put into his mouth!

He is constantly strutting purposefully around with his nose to the ground! Not just for the smell, and who or what has been there. It’s to find something to put into his mouth! His mouth is constantly opening, closing, opening, closing! So far, he has ‘hoovered up’ stones, pebbles, sticks, grass, bird poo, animal poo, Sid and Chilli’s cookie trays, apple and pear cores, almond nuts, orange peel, bread, bites of metal, pieces of string, kelp, shells, the rubber plant, and the list goes on.

When Mr or Mrs Noah see that he is chewing on something he shouldn’t eat, a stern word from them will have him dropping the ‘tasty’ morsel, if he hasn’t eaten it quickly enough, and moving on, looking for the next item.

A few days ago, Mr and Mrs Noah were walking Mango and Alfie around one of the local dams in the mountains, a much-loved walk of theirs. It was no surprise, therefore, when Mango ran off to play in the water, as it is one of her favourite pastimes. Alfie was sniffing his way alongside the water’s edge with his head down intent on finding something interesting.

Mr and Mrs Noah had just spotted a beautiful Fish Eagle in the sky and were admiring it as it soared and swooped along the tree-line, allowing the dogs to play happily for a few minutes. When they eventually looked around for the dogs, Mango was still playing in the water, but Alfie had his back to them and was chewing away!

“Alfie,” shouted Mrs Noah, “Put it down!” But Alfie didn’t put it down.

“Alfie,” cried Mr Noah, “Leave it!” But Alfie didn’t leave it!

“Alfie!” they both exclaimed. “Come here!” But Alfie didn’t come here! Alfie ran off, still chewing, with Mr and Mrs Noah in hot pursuit!

Finally, they caught him, when Mr Noah grabbed his collar and Mrs Noah told him he was a bad dog for not doing as he was told, but he was still chewing! Holding tightly on to Alfie by the collar both Mr and Mrs Noah peered down at what he was chewing. All they could see was a pair of legs sticking out of his mouth, little legs with tiny feet on the end! “Oh, what on earth is that?” cried Mrs Noah.

“What, this?” Alfie seemed to say, as he dropped it at her feet. ‘This’ turned out to be a totally flat, totally dried out, and totally long-dead frog. “It’s delicious,” he woofed, with his tail waving happily.

Out of the Night Sky

2011-05-03T19:42:00.001+02:00

On a hot and humid night over the Easter holidays, Mr and Mrs Noah decided to eat alfresco on the back stoep and watch the sun set over Pearly Beach. “Let’s have a glass or two of wine with dinner,” said Mrs Noah. “After all, it’s a lovely night and we have earned it, I’m sure! We have been so busy lately.”

So, the two of them settled down with their beloved animals - Mango, Sid, Alfie and Chilli, and enjoyed a lovely home-cooked meal. Afterwards, Mr Noah went inside and started to wash up, whilst Mrs Noah stayed outside to play a game of ‘Fetch - but I won’t bring it back’ with Mango. By this time it was well after sunset and the sky was dark and filled with twinkly stars and the white streak of the Milky Way.

Mr Noah was bent over the sink scrubbing away and could hear the sounds of a toy being thrown and Mango rushing around to find it. “Aah, it’s really nice that Mango and Mrs Noah are enjoying themselves so much.” The problem was, however, that Mrs Noah is not known for her good drinking capacity and had drunk slightly too much wine!

Suddenly, a shrill shriek rang through the still night and Mr Noah heard (a, possibly, slightly slurred) “Mango, leave it - now! Mr Noah! Come here! Quick!”

Mr Noah took off his rubber gloves and rushed outside to see what had happened. He was confronted by Mrs Noah and Mango peering at a little bundle of feathers on the ground. “What happened?”

“Well,” said Mrs Noah, “I was just throwing Mango’s soft plastic stick toy for her to catch. I threw it high into the dark sky, and there was a thud and feathers came fluttering down, followed quickly by this little bundle on the ground - here!” There, laying somewhat dazed on the ground, was a little turtle dove.

“I think I must have hit it when I threw the toy into the air! Mango ran to grab the toy and picked up a mouthful of feathers at the same time. Is it ok, Mr Noah?” Mr Noah looked at Mrs Noah in total disbelief!

“So, what you are saying is, that you threw the toy into the pitch black night sky and, somehow, managed to hit the only turtle dove, or even the only bird, flying around at this time of night? And you hit it with a plastic doggy toy? Unbelievable! Let’s have a look at the poor little bird.”

Mr Noah picked up the bundle of feathers and looked deep into the eyes of one dazed and confused little turtle dove. After a few minutes, it looked at Mr Noah and seemed to say, “I can’t believe I was just shot down by a plastic doggy toy! That’s absurd!”

With that, Mr Noah stroked and smoothed the little bird’s feathers, and Mango gave it a kiss just before it flew off into the night sky to find somewhere else to roost for the night!

Two by Two

2011-04-25T13:41:00.003+02:00

By now, you all know that Mango, the German Shepherd Dog, and Sid, the tail-less cat, live in The Ark with Mr and Mrs Noah. They have all been having the most wonderful adventures together, and especially for Mango and Sid, life has been fantastic. That is, until recently…

Mrs Noah was sitting on the sunny stoep, having her well earned cup of coffee, and reading a book when, thoughtfully, she said, “Mr Noah, did you know that there were a couple of people just like us, living a long, long time ago? They built a great big wooden zoo and called it The Ark.”

“Well, I never,” exclaimed Mr Noah. “What happened then?”

“They filled it with all sorts of animals. They had two of every kind.”

“Well,” said Mr Noah. “We live in The Ark so perhaps we should do the same. We have only one Mango and one Sid, so maybe we should find another cat and dog to come and live in our Ark.”

So that is how, one day, Mr and Mrs Noah came to be at the local animal shelter, in the quest to find another dog and cat for The Ark. As to which dog and cat to take, it was very difficult to decide, as there were so many deserving little ones all in need of a home.

However, one little puppy stood out from the rest, or at least that is what Mrs Noah said, after spending over an hour with nine tiny yellow, wriggling pups. It was to be the puppy that came up to Mrs Noah, rolled on to his back and chewed her fingers and anything else he could get his tiny teeth around!

Mr Noah went in search of a kitten, and found a Sid-lookalike – except that this one had a tail and a pink nose.

“We’ll take these two, please. We’ll call the puppy, Alfie, and the kitten, Chilli. Come on, let's go home.”

And that is the story of how Alfie the puppy with attitude, and Chilli the kitten with a tail, came to live at The Ark. They have been here less than a month and are already having their own adventures!

Seeff Weskus Marathon and Half Marathon - Saturday 19 March 2011

2011-03-22T20:55:00.002+02:00

We decided to stay up at the West Coast for a few days so we could enjoy the National Park as well as giving me the opportunity to run the half marathon. I’m not up to a full marathon yet – that’s too scary! The National Park is beautiful and we were able to stay in one of the eleven chalets on the reserve rather than in the busy town nearby.

My race was not starting in the reserve, but a few kilometres outside of it in Langebaan, so we had to drive out of the reserve at some unearthly hour, whilst it was still dark, to get to the start line. Helpers were still setting up the water tables at that early time of the day and it seemed strange to think that within a few hours I would be running (as it happened, probably walking!) past these tables grabbing water pouches.

It was incredibly warm, even at six o’clock in the morning, and we knew it was supposed to get very hot that day so we were eager to be off. Our race was due to start at 7 o’clock. The marathon was starting at the other side of the lagoon, just over 42 kilometres away (surprisingly!) but the busses hadn’t turned up in time to transport all of the runners so they were going to have to start their race late – at about 7.30 or 8am instead of 6am! Not good, considering the heat expected that day.

Anyway, after several visits to the toilets, we were off! Up the main road for about half a kilometre then straight across on to a gravel trail. Well, actually it consisted of rock, potholes, sand and a bit of gravel thrown in. Not too bad, though. At least it wasn’t hilly! Ha ha, little did we know… !

A few more kilometres, then we left the trail and were on tarmac again, and through the park gates we went. A bit undulating now, but not too bad. We turned off right, on to a cycle trail, and we ran next to the lagoon. Stunning views. The sun was just rising over the hills to our left, and the blue of the lagoon was beautiful. I found it quite hard running on this trail as I was constantly having to look out for the uneven surface. Also, it was now starting to get quite undulating – with what seemed to be more “ups” than “downs”. I had another look at my Garmin (my early birthday present). I have only had it for about 10 days and it’s great! Tells you all sorts of things! Apart from telling you how long you’ve been running, it also tells you how far you’ve run (or not run) and how fast you’re (not) running! And when you get home, you can download all this data on to the computer and see it all laid out on a map! Technology, eh!

Anyway, as I was saying, I had another look at my Garmin and I was thinking that this wasn’t good, I was a kilometre slower than I wanted to be. I had only reached the 9km point, and not the 10km point, where I had wanted to be at 55 minutes. There were two ladies running almost alongside me, and one was telling the other lady exactly the same thing. Mmm, we’re not doing too well. And it’s starting to get quite hot now and it’s still only about 8 o’clock. Still, we must keep going! Wow, I just passed one guy running barefoot. I bet that hurts on the rough trail!

We turn on to the tarmac now and have about half a kilometre before the turnaround point, then it’s all the way back to Langebaan on the main road of the national park. You certainly don’t realise how “hilly” it is when travelling up and down this road in a car! There don’t seem to be any flat bits anywhere! Some of us are having to walk a little in places now. And it’s getting hotter! Still only 8.30 though, and approximately 9 or 10kms to go!

Keep going … keep going … have to walk a bit … brilliant, another water table. Grab a water pouch. This one’s going over my head! Ah, that’s better! Run a bit more … keep going … keep going… !

There are rather a lot of people walking now. Can’t believe it. I’ve even passed some of them! There’s certainly a lot more walking going on than running. It’s so up and down and … hot! Oh, and there’s a photographer. Pity she caught me walking, not running!

A few more kilometres of ups and downs, jogging and walking, hot sunshine and ice cold water, and I see around the bend. Oh no! A long, long train of people walking up the next few kilometres of “mountain” into the distance! How long was it going to take me to get up there? It looked like MILES! I struggled on and eventually, one of the marshals shouted out, “Keep going, only another 400 metres and it’s all downhill for the last 2 kms!” Oh, magic words!

She was right! But where was my energy! It was so hard to run after all the effort involved in getting up that hill! Such a good feeling, downhill at last. Out of the park now and along the road for the last kilometre or so. A group of people shouted from the balcony of their house, “Well done, you’re nearly there!” Oh, I do hope so!

Then, around the corner, was someone I recognised, in his blue t-shirt! Mr Noah! Then, I knew I must be nearly home. “Nearly there, just a few more hundred metres!” I turned left as the marshall directed, and I could see the finish line. I can do this. I’m there. I’ve done it! It was so great to take the medal.

I kept running, and found myself looking down on about 100 runners, who had gone down to the water’s edge, and were standing, swimming, floating, or just enjoying the cool water of the lagoon. That’s where I want to be, I thought, and I was straight down there, even though my legs were struggling on the rocks, throwing off my shoes and socks towards Mr Noah as I went. Oh, that was the most wonderful feeling. Standing in all that sparkling, blue water. I didn’t move for about 10 minutes.

It turned out that the temperature had reached 38 degrees C by about 9.30am. We later found out that the temperature got up to 43 degrees C that day! On the way back to our chalet, as we drove through the park, we passed hundreds of marathon runners. Runners? Well, I’m not sure that is quite the right word. A few of them were running, but most were walking or had given up altogether, sitting at the side of the road awaiting transportation back to Langebaan. Others had commandeered a Coca cola truck, full of coca cola, and were sitting on that drinking the coke!

It certainly wasn’t what I had expected the day to turn out like, but I think I really earned my medal!

My results:

Overall: 635 out of 968.

Ladies: 259/502.

My age category: 19/60.

Time: an appalling 2hr 37min 14 seconds, but not surprising under the circumstances!

Would I do it again? Of course I would!

Article in the Gansbaai Courant

2011-03-05T10:58:00.004+02:00

"We have four French scientists visiting Pearly Beach, who are studying Fynbos and the effect of the field fires in and around Pearly Beach," said Steve Peck, owner of The Ark B & B in Pearly Beach, where the scientists are staying. Steve said the above-mentioned scientists are Alexandre Courtiol from the University of Sheffield, Agnes Mignot and Isabelle Olivieri from the University of Montpelier and Eric Vindimian from Cemagraf Montpelier.

"Fire is an essential component of the Fynbos: while fire burns to death acres and acres of vegetation, it also provides the unique conditions allowing some plants to release their seeds and thereby to produce individuals that will constitute the next generation." the scientists said. One of the species they are studying is the Leucadendron coniferum, which is a very common Fynbos plant and can be found in particular along the coast nearby Pearly Beach.

During a fire, females burn and disperse their seeds. Those seeds will germinate, grow, and establish only if the fire has sufficiently cleared the ground from any other plants. "One population we have been following for several years, in the context of a French – South African cooperation agreement) has just burnt during the summer 2009 fire, east of Pearly Beach" they said. "This is the reason of our current visit to this site. We are now sampling and mapping the seedlings that are starting to grow. We will analyse their DNA to identify their parents, most of which have been sampled prior to the fire event. Then we will compare the abundance and spatial distribution of seedlings to their parent plant." They said such research will enable them to shed some light on how natural species deal and cope with the fire and on how fire influences the amazing plant biodiversity found in Western Cape. "Of course, humans are interfering with the fires." Understanding the tight interactions between fires and the Fynbos ecosystem is, according to them, an important step toward understanding consequences of human activity on biodiversity and to establish effective conservation strategies.

"As fundamental researchers based in France and England working in collaboration with leading scientists from University of Cape Town (Jeremy Midgley) and from the Kirstenbosch botanical garden (Tony Rebelo), we are at one extremity of the long chain linking scientists and environmental management," they said. "We do hope that our research will ultimately help to protect one of the richest ecosystems of the world, certainly the richest with regards to plant biodiversity." But they also mentioned that all requires lots of work in the field and nothing would be possible without the help and the support from the community of Pearly Beach and Gansbaai who have always provided them with everything they needed.

"We especially would like to thank Güntz for enabling us to access our plant population located in the Nature Reserve of Southern Heritage Farm, as well as Steve and Lee for providing wonderful hospitality in The Ark B&B", they concluded. What a privilege having foreigners like these four scientists taking such an interest in our beautiful Fynbos!

Hardus Botha, Gansbaai Courant, Friday 4 March 2011.

Sid's Ups and Downs

2011-02-24T13:36:00.000+02:00

Sid, the tail-less cat of The Ark, has always had a thing about getting high! Not in the hallucinogenic way, of course, but in the way of getting to the top of things. Ever since she was little, Sid has climbed up things! She loves height. She would always jump up on to the bushes in the garden and perch perilously on the topmost twig, or strut along the wooden handrail of the balcony (she has the bumps to prove that on more than one occasion she has fallen off!) and who doesn't remember the infamous “flying cat” episode?

She likes to find new things to climb up, to get a different view of life. One of her favourite places is perched high up on the roof of the house next door, right at the very top, surveying all of Pearly Beach, and only coming down when the local pigeons have teased her relentlessly.

Sid was well aware that the only way she could leave The Ark was via the back door, which was at “ground level”. As the front of The Ark was high up on the second floor, there was no other way down without jumping a long way – not a good idea because it hurts!

One day, when Sid was sunning herself on the front balcony, she noticed something interesting as she watched Mr Noah go into his den (aka the garage). Mr Noah opened the “up and over” wooden doors and went inside to work. As Sid lay there, she noticed that the door didn't stay up flat, but fell down a bit, hanging invitingly close to the ground. Sid sat and pondered this, as only cats can. She thought through an idea that was forming in her head. “Mmm,” she thought. “I wonder…”.

And so, a plan was hatched. The next day… “Just off to do some DIY in my den Mrs Noah”, called Mr Noah.

“Just off to get a bit of peace and quiet!” thought Mrs Noah.

Mr Noah opened the “den” door and pushed it back up, then stepped inside. Sid was already up on the balcony watching. Now was her chance…

She hopped up on to the garage roof and peered down over the side at the raised door. Tentatively, she stretched out and placed her paw onto it. It didn't move, so she placed another paw, followed quickly by her two hind paws, and sat proudly on the upturned garage door!

"Mmm, haven't had this view before!" she thought.

Oh! Something was happening. She started to move. Slowly. Downwards.

Sid clung on with her claws as she descended!

Mrs Noah let out a little scream as she spotted Sid sliding down the garage door, and disappearing off the end. Mr Noah, who had heard the door creaking as it started to move, and then a scraping noise across it, had gone to investigate and let out a very loud, “Ow!” as the garage door hit him squarely on the head!

Mr Noah staggered out, clutching his head, just in time to see the door drop to the ground and a very surprised Sid slide off, landing safely on the ground on all four feet.

Turning her tail-less bottom towards Mr Noah, she haughtily strutted away, her head held high and muttering to herself. ”Just what I thought would happen, obviously!”

“Oh, what a clever Sid,” said a laughing Mrs Noah. “I see you have your own personal elevator now!”

KFC Brackenfell 10km Run – 19 January 2011, 6:30pm

2011-01-21T19:50:00.002+02:00

I really didn’t feel up to it! I had had a nagging headache for a day or so, made worse by sitting in hot sunshine the day before watching the ODI at Newlands between South Africa and India.

Of course Beloved OH had been nagging me – “You’ll be fine!” and “You’re doing the run! We’ve come all this way, so you’re running it!” I did really want to do it, but didn’t really feel up to doing it! A few months before, I had already decided that I wanted to run another 10km to see how I was doing with my training. The run was being held in the same town as my Dad lives now, and where I used to live many years ago so it was an ideal “in-betweener” for me whilst I build up to my second half marathon in March.

We had gone to Cape Town on Tuesday so that Beloved OH could watch the cricket at Newlands (a late Christmas present). It was a great day, but very, very hot and we both ended up with headaches. After an extremely late night (we didn’t get back to the hotel until nearly midnight) we eventually woke up the next morning at 9:30am! Yes, 9:30am! That’s unheard of in our household! The black-out curtains obviously worked very well!

OK, so it’s 9:30. What time do they finish breakfast service? We checked the literature. Oh dear, 9:30! Better get down there fast! So we threw on some clothes and down to the breakfast room. Luckily, the very nice ladies working there were in a good mood and let us in so we didn’t have to go hungry! I sat there eating some fresh fruit salad and thinking that I’m never going to be able to run later. I felt awful, almost like I had flu coming.

However, after a number of coffees, etc. over the next few hours, and a bit of food (carbs!) I began to feel a bit better and by mid afternoon I began to believe that maybe I could run the race after all.

And that is how I found myself standing behind the starting line at Brackenfell High School waiting for the “gun” to go off. By that time I knew I would complete the 10kms, partly because I felt a lot better and also because they were giving away steri-stumpies (flavoured milk) at the end – and I wanted one! I desperately wanted one! I know, I know – how old am I? But I really did want one so much!

Bang! We were off! Well, the ones at the front were! Those of us nearer the back didn’t actually move for over a minute and then, once we had actually crossed the starting line, we bottlenecked at the school gates trying to get out, so that was over 2 minutes of the race gone already. The “elites” would be about half-way round by now!

At last we were off properly and I trotted off up the road with the others at a nice, sedate pace. I was warming up. There was no need to hurry anyway as I knew it would not be a good run – it was still very hot at 6:33 and I had decided I was going to conserve my energy, not try and do it too fast and die! After all, I was never going to do it very fast as it had taken so long to get through the school gates! So, I settled down to a slow, steady pace.

Then I got a stitch! Well, that definitely blew any chance of finishing in a reasonable time so I walked for a while – several times! Then I found myself caught up in the middle of a group walking up a hill, so I had to walk then as well! Still, that covered the first 4 kms – nearly half way. My Beloved OH (and my Dad, who had also come along – that was really nice) had agreed to be standing at the half-way point to cheer me on and I needed to be there at 33 minutes. So, at the 5km marker I looked at my watch – 33:17. Wow, not bad! I thought I’d better speed up just a little bit so that when I saw them I would look good! Then, someone in yellow overtook me and cut me up! How dare they! I couldn’t believe it! This was war! I ran a bit faster so that I was in front of them again – perhaps I could trip her up! No, that’s not nice, and I’m a nice lady!

I looked up and there were my Beloved OH and my Dad. I felt loads better then and was able to continue around the bend at a reasonable pace, leaving the lady in yellow behind. Another km further on, and an elderly gentleman came up alongside me saying that it was “all downhill from here”, and off he went! Wow, all downhill! That really encouraged me and I overtook a fair number of runners, sorry, strugglers, then. I began to think that it couldn’t be much further now and kept going.

There seemed to be some km markers missing and then, from nowhere, there was the 9km marker. I checked my watch – exactly 60 minutes. Wow! I had to check my watch hadn’t stopped! No, it was fine. Right, I’m going for it now! I really put my foot down – I could crack this. My last 10km took 66 minutes. I wanted to beat this! What a great feeling flying past so many people. All my aches and pains had gone! OK, so there were some who overtook me but I felt good. The marshall turned me left into the school grounds and I saw the official time on the clock at the finish line – 1:05 something and it only changed to 1:06 as I was crossing the line.

I was SO pleased because that meant that, allowing for the 2 minutes it had taken to get from behind the start line to outside the gates, I was 2 minutes faster! I had a PB for a 10km race, and although I have to wait for the official results, I know that I ran that 10km in 64 minutes! That was so exciting! I’ll crack a 60 minutes 10km yet!

And I got my steri stumpie! Yummy!

Bundles of Fur with Legs

2010-12-31T14:46:00.002+02:00

It was a hot, sticky day at the Ark, and Mango was lying on the stoep trying to keep cool when Sid strolled up from the garden with a present for Mango. Hearing Sid, she slowly opened one eye and watched as Sid dropped her head and let the mouse fall next to Mango’s mouth. “Here,” said Sid. “This is just for you,” and she stepped backwards sitting proudly watching Mango’s reaction.

Mango’s reaction probably wasn’t what Sid was hoping for, as 40kgs of German Shepherd leapt into the air, and backed off, staring at the shivering little bundle of fur. All three animals sat completely motionless, staring at one another. Sid looked quizzically at Mango wondering why she hadn’t pounced on to her little meal …

Mango looked curiously at the little ball with legs, then at Sid, puzzled as to what she was expected to do next …

The mouse was clearly considering its options over this “Mexican stand-off” …

Mango leaned forward slightly and sniffed at it. After all, that’s what dogs do – sniff things! The mouse remained as still as it could, hoping to call their bluff!

Sid meowed, “Pounce and devour, silly dog!” The mouse continued to stay as still as it could under the circumstances, obviously trying to decide what to do next, which was becoming increasingly difficult when a monster-size nose was trying to inhale her.

“What am I supposed to do with it?” Mango asked Sid.

“Eat it, of course. Like I do,” she replied. “You’ll like it. It tastes just like chicken.”

“You what? Eat me?” The little mouse squeaked. “You have to be joking!” And, with that she moved up on to her hind legs to make herself appear much bigger. As she did so, 40kgs of German Shepherd launched herself into the air from a lying down position, absolutely terrified! With a sideways glance at Sid, Mango shot into the Ark and on to her bed, hiding her eyes under her paws!

Sid was speechless! She sauntered across to Mango, as only cats can do, and began to explain the Rules of Engagement to her.

Meanwhile, the little bundle of fur with legs, scurried off into the bush with a disbelieving smile on her face!

Cape Point Half Marathon - My First (Ever)!

2010-11-29T17:51:00.001+02:00

Cape Point Half Marathon – A Kind of Running

There were howling gales for about 36 hours before the day, and horrific winds on the actual day, although the sun was shining brightly. At least it wasn’t raining as well! We parked up in the car park at Buffels Bay, along with everyone else, and sat in the car for about half an hour, (along with everyone else!) rather than stand out in the wind. I did have to get out eventually, though, to go and find the toilets! Mmm, can I last the length of the race before needing another “comfort” break!

Then, we walked up the hill to the start – and I went to find the toilets up there too!

The start line was about 100m from the Visitors Centre. Hoped the run would start on time because it was cold! Pleased that it did start on time - at 7:30 and set off. Why do I feel almost emotional before the start of a race?! Excitement? Nerves? The fact that I might not finish???

We were off! Well, the ones at the front were! 30 seconds later, being at the back, I crossed the line too! The first few kms we warmed up a bit and didn’t attempt to go very fast at all. There was a sort of eery silence – like the silence on aircraft, on its descent, about 10 minutes before it lands, and everyone seems to go quiet! Well, silent apart from a bit of heavy breathing around me (or was that the wind blowing?)!

We continued along the road, turning off downwards towards the Cape of Good Hope, and ran a few kms down there, where there was a turnaround point and then back the way we had come. The view was fantastic, just a pity it was so windy. Thank goodness for my Hilly headband! There was a drinks station down there, which was much appreciated by that time too.

I walked up the hill as there didn’t seem much point in running and using all that energy up after just 35/40 minutes! Anyway, everyone else around me also walked up!

At the top we went back the way we had come, and Steve was at the Visitors Centre waiting for me to appear again. I took another drink and had some of my sports jellies! Good excuse to walk for 30 seconds! Running with jellies in the mouth doesn’t work as they tend to get spat out all over the place – not nice!

Continued up the road until we reached Circular Road and, suddenly, the wind was behind me (sort of) – for a km or so anyway, so not too bad. But then, we turned right, and – ouch! – a headwind so strong it knocked you backwards! And sideways! It was so open and flat at that point, the wind could blow across with all its force. From about 13kms most people were walking, with a little bit of (a kind of) running thrown in to impress those around them! It battered off the number that was pinned on to the back of my shirt and I had to carry it around with me for the rest of the way! Phew!

It was with a huge amount of relief that I eventually got back on the main road again. 17kms marker – great! I think it was the thought that I would eventually turn away from the wind that kept me going! Off I went again, at a sort of medium plod, then I reached the 18kms marker. I’ve never run further than that before – wow! I speeded up a bit then, and started telling myself that I was on “virgin soil” now and I was “doing real well”! I really picked up the speed for the last few kms. There was no-one very close in front, and the closest runner was a lady in red and yellow about 50 metres away. There was another lady – in pink - about 50 metres in front of her, but she dived off into the bushes so I didn’t have to worry about her! I gradually caught up with the lady in red and yellow , and we spent a minute or so overtaking each other alternately. At about 19.5kms it was getting quite exciting as we started to run alongside each other and even chatted to each other – we were nearly finished. I had nearly finished my very first half marathon!

We ran together the rest of the way, turning left down the hill to Buffels Bay, the fact that we were nearly finished making us go faster! Which way to go? We weren’t sure where we were to go at the bottom of the hill but a marshall directed us left and we kept going. I just wish the finish line was clearer so we both knew when to stop running. Anyway, eventually we did see it – there was someone handing out medals, so that had to be the finish! And, yes, there was a line there drawn across the road! Hooray!

2hr 29min 17 sec – according to my watch! So very pleased, because I had wanted to do it in less than 2hr 30min! I felt that was ok considering the amount of walking I had had to do around Circular Road in the wind. And I had actually felt really good whilst running – nothing hurt! And, even more exciting, I wasn’t the last one in after all!

Yay! When’s the next one???

"Street Cred"

2010-10-04T17:47:00.000+02:00

A long time ago when Sid, the tail-less cat, came to live with Mr and Mrs Noah, she was just a tweeny weeny kitten. She was so small that Mrs Noah had to hand-rear her for the first month on powdered kitty milk! As she grew bigger and stronger, Mrs Noah agreed that Sid could finally venture into the outside world, but only if she wore a collar.

Now, both Mr Noah and Sid were not impressed with this idea at all, as it would make her look too much like a “pampered pet” and not the street-wise “roughy toughy” feline that both Mr Noah and Sid thought she ought to be. It would be hard-going enough, they thought, not having a tail, never mind having to wear a collar as well!

But Mrs Noah insisted, stating that there were so many stray and feral cats about that other people might mistake Sid for one of them and she might get taken away by the “nasty cat man” in his van, never to be seen again! So Sid was made to wear a collar, a beautiful bright blue, velvet collar. Well, she wore it for a day and then came back home that evening proudly collarless!

“Oh no!” said Mrs Noah. “Sid, you are a naughty cat! Do you know how much those collars cost?” Of course neither Mr Noah, nor Sid, had any idea how much they cost! “Off you go immediately, Mr Noah. Go into the bush and find it!” This was the first of many collars that Mr Noah had to try and find. He spent hours, no days, nay, even weeks of his life, crawling around the fynbos next to the snakes, the tortoises and the nesting Franklins, searching for Sid's various collars! Not one did he find! Even when Mango, with her amazing sense of smell, searched with Mr Noah, they still could not find any collars. She had worn blue collars, yellow collars, red collars, even multi coloured collars but she would, eventually, leave them all in the bush!

Finally, after yet another lost collar, Mr and Mrs Noah sat Sid down and gave her a long, hard talking to over the “wearing your collar” business. They explained the cost implications (you might not get so much cat food because collars are expensive); they explained the safety reasons behind wearing a collar (you don’t want to end up in cat van with the “nasty cat man”), and they explained the state of Mr Noah’s poor knees and blood pressure (!!!!!!).

Sid listened intently and at the end of the lecture said, “Look, it’s not really a collar I object to. It’s the fact that they have a bell on them, they are too colourful and they make me look like a “pampered pet”, and all the other cats out there in the bush take the *%!*%! out of me!

“Tough!” said Mrs Noah. “You’re wearing it. Now, just get over it!”

So it came to be, that the next day Mr and Mrs Noah were sitting on the back stoep enjoying a well deserved glass of wine in the late afternoon sunshine, when along strolled Sid - wearing her collar!

As she strolled past, she was heard to purr loudly, “It’s how you wear it that gives you “street cred”, and when you’re a tail-less cat having “the edge” is more important than anything!”

The Amazing Italian Jumping Spider

2010-09-30T16:04:00.001+02:00

A few months ago, Mr and Mrs Noah decided to visit their very good friends in Italy, Mr and Mrs Casa di Ragni, so Mango and Sid decided to go and stay with their friends at the nearby kennels.

Mr and Mrs Noah hadn’t seen Mr and Mrs Casa di Ragni for a long time so they were looking forward to the trip. They packed brightly coloured t-shirts and shorts, hats and sandals, and off they flew for their holiday in Italy.

Unfortunately, when Mr and Mrs Noah arrived in Italy, their luggage didn’t! It didn’t get put on the aeroplane to Italy at Heathrow Airport, and it sat there for the next 4 days – just in time for Mr and Mrs Noah to finish their holiday in Italy. “Never mind,” said Mr and Mrs Casa di Ragni. “We’ll lend you some of our clothes.” So they did!

To cheer up Mr and Mrs Noah (it wasn’t much fun having no clothes of their own to wear, particularly as they had packed brightly coloured shorts and t-shirts especially for the trip), Mr and Mrs Casa di Ragni showed them around their beautiful old Italian home. They had bought the cottage and its very large and, presently, overgrown gardens with a view to restoring it to its former magnificent splendour. It had spectacular views across the valley below, and Mr and Mrs Noah were very impressed. “What an idyllic place you have found to live, high up in these hills.”

“ Ah,” said Mr Casa di Ragni. “You haven’t seen the best bits yet.” With that, he proceeded to lead them outside and down some rickety old steps. At the bottom of the steps, there were several very old and broken wooden doors, covered in cobwebs and grime. “Look inside,” said Mr Casa di Ragni. So, Mr and Mrs Noah peeped into the eerie darkness. They were told that these rooms were known as cantine. “These,” Mr Casa di Ragni said enthusiastically, “were the old stables and rooms where the people kept their animals in the olden days. They go right under the whole house. Come and look!” Mr Casa di Ragni had, by this time, disappeared into the gaping dark hole. He was followed by Mrs Noah, then Mr Noah and, finally, by Mrs Casa di Ragni, who was brandishing a torch.

“Be careful, because we don’t know what might be in here. Check out the room with the torch, Mrs Casa di Ragni.” As she shone the light around the small, dark room, they clambered over all sorts of dirt and debris into another small, dark room… and then another!

“Wow, there’s some really old stuff down here,” Mr Casa di Ragni said.

“Oh, look! Bats!” Mr Noah said.

“Agh!” Cried Mrs Noah.

“Look,” said Mrs Casa di Ragni. “Down there! What’s that?”

“Oh, don’t worry,” said Mr Casa di Ragni. “It’s only …”

A second later, Mrs Casa di Ragni let out a piercing scream. She dropped the one and only torch and shouted, “IT’S GONE UP MY TROUSER LEG!”

“What has?” asked everyone in surprise.

“I DON’T KNOW!” cried Mrs Casa di Ragni.

“Stand still!” said Mr Casa di Ragni. “Let me see!”

“****** that!” Mrs Casa di Ragni exclaimed, and carried on screaming as she struggled out of her trousers in the dark to find out what had gone up her leg. By this time, Mr Casa di Ragni had found the torch, switched it on, and shone it at Mrs Casa di Ragni in her state of undress!

“Ah, I see what the trouble is,” said Mr Casa di Ragni. “It’s just one of those little Italian jumping spiders. Let me remove it from your leg, dearest!”

“Agh! ****** ****!” Mrs Casa di Ragni shouted.

As Mr Casa di Ragni bravely wrestled with the scared little spider, Mrs Noah turned to Mr Noah and said, “Did you see that?”

“See what?” Mr Noah asked.

“Oh, Mr Noah! Did you not see that she was wearing beautiful frilly knickers, and all she lent me was some really old and faded BIG ones!”

Running

2010-08-18T18:08:00.001+02:00

See this link for Lee's running story

http://www.runnersworld.co.za/static/nutrition/story.php?section_id=6⊂_section_id=51&id=3202

Update:

This link no longer works but please see below. This is the article that was on Runners World South Africa about Lee's running.

---------

I have done just a (very) little running on and off over the years but not seriously. However, last year I started running again with a goal in mind – to lose about 8kgs so that I look good for my daughter’s and step-daughter’s weddings in September this year. Also, moving to a very quiet village seaside location in South Africa from a highly pressurised job in a town in England, I needed something to take away the “stress” of such a quiet lifestyle here, and I have discovered that running fits this beautifully.

I started a “couch to 5k” plan, which I found really difficult at first. I persevered for a few weeks, always hoping that the weather would be so bad that I couldn’t go out! Then, everything started to flow a bit better and I ran my first 5km in April this year, followed by a 10km a month later. I am now training for my first half marathon in September, and have managed to run nearly 18km so far – my biggest distance ever, and am really looking forward to the race.

Well, I have successfully reached my goal weight, and am looking forward to the weddings, so now have another goal – an even bigger one. I have applied for a ballot entry into the Virgin London Marathon next year and am waiting on the results of that, but would really like to run for charity. If I am unable to run in the VLM, I will try for entry to another marathon but will still raise money for the charity close to my heart – Alzheimer’s. My mother and my stepdaughter’s mother are both victims of forms of this disease and I know that thinking of them, I will be able to complete the marathon.

Running has made a tremendous difference to my life, and it doesn’t matter how old you are to do it. I am 55. You have no-one else to compete against, and you can do it at your own pace – literally! The high you feel after a run is the most wonderful feeling and it stays with you for hours afterwards. I am a much happier person now with far more energy and confidence, so my husband benefits as well! Sometimes I can’t believe that I have come as far as I have in less than a year – a year ago I would never have thought I would ever run 18km!

Walkies!

2010-06-14T14:44:00.002+02:00

Mango has always been a very enthusiastic dog. She loves to be around Mr and Mrs Noah, and is always trying to be ‘helpful’, hoping to join in with all the fun that goes on at The Ark.

So, it was with particular interest that she watched Mrs Noah as she embarked on a training plan to prepare herself for her First Ever Half Marathon Run later in the year!

Mrs Noah’s plan states that she must run set distances four times a week. How did she measure these set distances? She had Mr Noah drive around the village and mark out each kilometre on the edge of the roads. He used silver paint to mark the tar roads and tied green string around fence posts along the dirt roads! Of course, Mango always came along to supervise the measuring, barking her approval from the back of the car.

Then, one day Mrs Noah, in her quest to become uber-fit, ok then, super-fit, dressed in brand new tight lycra running shorts and her bright yellow Bafana Bafana football top, started her training campaign!

Mango always hated these days, as she was always left behind and could do nothing more than bark her encouragement as Mrs Noah left on her merry way and did another few miles. However, after a few months of hard training, Mr Noah had a(nother) brilliant idea!

He called Mrs Noah for a meeting, and they both huddled over cups of tea, whispering quietly so that Mango could not overhear what they were discussing. She just caught the odd word: ‘walkies’, ‘lead’, ‘fun’, and ‘good exercise’.

“I wonder what they are planning,” she thought. “Sounds interesting.”

And the very next day she found out…

“Time for my run,” said Mrs Noah. ”Do you want to come too, Mango?”

“WOW,” thought Mango. “YES! I’m going to the beach! Hooray!” And she leapt around in excitement.

So, on went the lead and halti (on Mango), and on went the tight lycra and bright yellow top (on Mrs Noah) and out they went. Mr Noah watched them both disappear towards the beach road and then went off into his beloved garage ‘to do some proper work’ as he called it!

About an hour later, after working hard, he went up on to the balcony of The Ark with a cup of tea. Whilst he was sipping it and relaxing in the warm sunshine, he spied Mrs Noah walking back along the road with Mango crawling along behind her!

A few minutes later, they staggered up the driveway and into The Ark. Mrs Noah was excited about the run, and was full of cheer, chatting away happily to Mr Noah about the outing: “It was brilliant… we ran up the dirt road for 10 kilometres…Mango loved it…She ran beside me all the way…She was great!

Mr Noah turned to his faithful hound to heap praise upon her…

But where was she?

Curled up on her bed, eyes closed, breathing heavily, and softly growling to anyone who was listening…

“ I’m bushed! thought I was going to the beach…no way…just miles and miles of dirt road, silver paint and green string…

“Never, ever again…

“Well, until next time anyway…”

And she fell asleep!

10km Race

2010-05-10T13:37:00.001+02:00

I did the Wheels & Runners Race in Hermanus as my first 10km race. I was so lucky in that the weather was just right - sunny, only a little wind, and not too warm. Up until then, the weather had been really cold and windy!

It was a really well organised race and a lot of fun.

I did it in 66 minutes, so very pleased. Now, I just have to better that!

Edit: 14/06/2010

I am very excited in that I have just entered my very first half marathon being held at Cape Point Nature Reserve in November. Now, the real work begins...

5km Race

2010-04-20T13:32:00.001+02:00

Well, I managed to complete my first 5km fun run this month. Beautiful weather and about 4,000 runners in all. I have no idea how long it took me to run because, having so many runners I had to walk for at least the first kilometre, but once I got going, I kept going until the end of the run.

My first medal! Yay!

Sooty Footprints

2010-04-14T15:50:00.006+02:00

One dark, windy night, Mr and Mrs Noah were fast asleep in bed, dreaming happy thoughts, when their faithful hound, Mango, let out a little warning bark. Mr Noah shot up in bed instantly, alert to all possible dangers, poised and ready to deal swiftly if need be, alongside his favourite hound.

Mrs Noah carried on dreaming her happy thoughts!

However, no matter how hard Mr Noah listened, he couldn't hear anything amiss. Even his hound was silent now, so he put it down to ‘doggy dreams’, and carried on with his dreams too…

Next morning was a beautiful, sunny one, and Mr Noah was up and about quite early getting ready to make Mrs Noah breakfast in bed (after all, he had to keep his skills up for the time he next had guests to feed). As he opened the curtains in the lounge, he noticed on the floor were…

… footprints!

“Oh, my,” he thought, “We did have an unwanted guest in here last night.” He was just about to thank his hound for scaring the guest away when he noticed that whenever he walked anywhere new footprints appeared on the floor. “That’s strange,” he thought, “they’re my footprints…and what’s more …there’s soot everywhere!”

There was soot all over the fireplace, the floor, the ornaments and the nearby rug. Mr Noah called Mrs Noah, “Come and look at this! We appear to have had a fall of soot in the night and it’s EVERYWHERE!”

Mrs Noah, dressed by now having heard all the commotion, came and had a look at the mess saying, “How can that be? We have a ‘flappy thing’ in the chimney to stop the soot falling down.”

“Yes, we do Mrs Noah. You are right. Look, it’s just here at the bottom of the chimney and it’s still closed." Mr Noah said, “I’ll check its working properly.” He started to open it…

“CAREFUL,” barked Mango, who had been watching and listening. Too late! Mr Noah had opened the flap and exploding into the lounge came a very black and annoyed starling, along with several years’ worth of soot!

Mr Noah jumped back in surprise!

Mrs Noah screamed with shock!

Mango said, “I did try and tell you last night it had fallen down there, but did you listen to me!”

The picture is not of the actual sooty starling as it didn't hang around long enough for us to take a photo, but it is one of a similar starling!

Hissing Sid

2010-03-14T15:40:00.000+02:00

Mr Noah stretched, yawned, and stepped out on to the back stoep with his first cuppa of the day. The sun was shining, the sea was calm, the birds were singing, and all was well with the world.

As he stood there scanning the sea for the first whales of the new season (a bit optimistic for this time of the year, but that’s Mr Noah for you, forever the optimist), he turned to look at his favourite cat, who was also sitting on the stoep enjoying the warmth of the morning.

“Now then, Sid,” he said, “What are you looking at?”

Sid was silent, sitting rigid and alert, peering into the garden. “I’m concentrating!”

“What are you concentrating on, Sid?”

“Well, you remember how I got my name?”

“Yes, I do,” said Mr Noah. “I chose it, because when you were very small you couldn’t ‘meow’ very well and all that came out was a little hissing sound, so we called you Hissing Sid. But why do you ask?” said Mr Noah.

“Well,” said Sid. “I think I must have found a long, lost relative!”

“Oh yes, and what makes you think that, little Sid?” said Mr Noah with a smile on his face.

“Well, there’s this funny looking thing in the garden hissing just like me, so we must be related in some way.”

Mr Noah casually walked over to see what she was looking at, and as he did so, he spied not more than half a metre away from Sid, crawling though the undergrowth, the biggest puff adder he had ever seen! Before he could utter a warning, out bounced an excited Mango to say ‘hi’ to Sid’s relative.

Mango pushed past and stuck her nose through the wooden fence, wondering whether to invite the snake in for a game and some doggy biscuits when, suddenly, she found herself flying through the air as Mr Noah grabbed her by the scruff in one hand, and Sid in the other, and threw them into the house.

Mr Noah slammed the patio door shut just as the puff adder decided to slither on to the stoep for a closer look around, and they all stood looking through the glass door at the snake – Mr Noah, Mango and Sid. It was huge, well over a metre long and was hissing loudly – very lost, and clearly not a happy chappy. All it wanted to do was get back into the fynbos nearby and away from the Ark!

Then, Mrs Noah came over to see what the three of them were looking at through the door. Wait for it …

“My goodness, do something!” screamed Mrs Noah.

“What exactly do you have in mind?” asked Mr Noah.

Mango barked with excitement.

Sid just said, ”Ah, he DOES sound like me. We MUST be related after all. Perhaps I’ll find him again when Mr Noah lets me out!”

Mango and the Black Panther

2010-02-10T13:42:00.000+02:00

It was a really sad day when the little kitten, Kitkat, that Mrs Noah had adopted, passed away last year. She had contracted biliary, which was passed down from her mother, the feral cat called Bob (Sid’s mum). So, it was with this in mind that Mrs Noah decided to do something about the situation which, in turn, led to the first ‘black panther’ being sighted in Pearly Beach.

A few months ago, Mrs Noah set about contacting the local animal welfare centre telling them she wanted to do something to help the feral cat population in Pearly Beach. She wanted to prevent future generations of feral cats developing biliary by starting a ‘trap/neuter/release’ programme in this area. They said that this would be a great help to them, so Mr and Mrs Noah bought their own humane cat trap, which could be used for the local feral cats and those in other areas too. After many telephone calls and several meetings with the local animal welfare people, they were ready for action. They could do their bit to stop this horrible, often fatal, disease.

Unknown to Mr and Mrs Noah, Mango their faithful hound, had been very attached to Kit Kat! Well, she used to try and chase her everywhere in an effort to bond with her, and, secretly, had been listening to all the plans and conversations regarding catching the feral cats. So, Mango being Mango, thought she had better give Mr and Mrs Noah a helping hand…

Mango is aware that there are many other types of cats in South Africa besides feral cats because she watches the nature programmes on TV with Mr and Mrs Noah and Sid. She even knows some of their names - lion, tiger (although she realises that there aren’t any tigers naturally in South Africa), leopard and even - the black panther!

So, when Mr Noah set out one day to ‘recce’ Pearly Beach for feral cats, it was with great interest that Mango tagged along to keep him safe and out of trouble! They looked high and low, behind bushes and trees, and under every piece of fynbos. Not one cat appeared anywhere, in fact no sighting of anything furry at all! “Oh, how disappointed Mrs Noah will be that we haven’t found a cat to trap,” said Mr Noah.

But then…

As they crossed another bit of dense fynbos, Mango suddenly barked, “Look out, Mr Noah! It’s huge and black!” Off she ran, as fast as the wind, barking at it to protect Mr Noah, then disappeared out of sight! Fearing the worst, (after all, it is deepest, darkest, Africa) Mr Noah ran after Mango and as he rounded a corner, he saw it…

‘It’ was climbing up a telegraph pole, straight up and right to the top - where it just hung on with all its claws, for dear life!

And right there at the bottom was Mango, looking up and barking!

“It’s ok, Mr Noah,” she said. “I’ve scared it away! Did you see it run? It was very fast! It’s huge! Pure black! One of those black panther thingies! Don’t worry, it’s trapped up this tree!”

Then Mango said, “The only problem now, Mr Noah, is that I can’t quite see how you are going to set the trap up there to catch it!”

Lee Raising Money

2010-01-14T14:48:00.003+02:00

Following the loss of little Kitkat, I decided to do what I could to help the feral cat population of Pearly Beach and the surrounding areas.

The cats do a very useful job keeping down the mouse and rat population and are needed around, but many of the cats are unable to find enough food for themselves and their kittens; there are too many kittens being born, they are not healthy, and therefore they struggle to survive. Many of them carry the parasite causing biliary, a deadly disease, not unlike malaria in humans. Unfortunately, there is no vaccine for it, and it causes many deaths among the feral cats.

I, therefore, decided to try and raise money to help the local animal welfare centre, and have committed to run a half marathon. If I succeed at this, then I will attempt a marathon.

I know... it's a lot of hard work and training. I've been out running three times a week for the last, oh, I don't know, it must be at least six months! Yes, that is a picture of me running in Pearly Beach!

And I will keep going...

Body permitting...

I have my first 5km race in April, which I am looking forward to, and a 10km race a few weeks after that, in May. Then I will start to run further (I hope) - I need to work up to at least 21km!

Watch this space!

Happy Christmas

2009-12-21T15:18:00.005+02:00

We would like to wish everyone a very Happy Christmas, and if you have stayed with us this year it was really great to see you. Looking back on the year, it has certainly been eventful, and we have achieved a huge amount at The Ark.

Looking forward, we hope you all have a very happy, prosperous and healthy New Year.

New Guest Braai Area

2009-11-13T14:47:00.003+02:00

Hooray! At last we have a super new area for guests to braai when they stay with us. Mr Noah has been really busy doing his carpentry and concreting.

Well done, Mr Noah!

We are looking forward to some great weather so it can get lots of use!

Who is going to be the first?

Kitkat has gone to Rainbow Bridge

2009-10-27T19:25:00.003+02:00

Dear, sweet little Kitkat is no longer with us. She developed parasitic biliary a few weeks ago, which destroyed her liver. Although she spent some time on a drip at the veterinary hospital, her jaundiced little body was unable to sustain food, and she passed away last night. She was with us for such a short time but it feels like she has always been there.

This type of biliary appears to be prevalent in the local feral cat population seemingly being passed down by the mother cat and we, at The Ark, pledge to do all we can to prevent future generations of cats being born with it. This is the least we can do in Kitkat's memory. Hopefully, in future posts we can report on what we are doing in this respect.

Thank you, Kitkat, for giving us such joy for the short time you were with us.

The story of the “Bent Billed” Seagulls

2009-10-07T15:53:00.004+02:00

One sunny day, Mr and Mrs Noah decided to treat themselves to a day trip to their local town, Gansbaai. Instead of just the usual, twice a week shopping trip, they planned to have lunch in town as well. So, once they had cleared up after the guests had left, off they went, leaving the animals in charge of The Ark.

Mango was told to look after Sid; Sid was told to look after Kitkat, and Kitkat wasn’t told to look after anyone, as she was fast asleep on the bed.

As they drove along the long road to town, Mr Noah said to Mrs Noah, “What do you fancy for lunch, Mrs Noah?”

“Ooh, what I would really like is a pie and some tasty chips, and to eat them down at the harbour, watching the boats.”

“Fair enough,” said Mr Noah, and they carried on until they reached the fish and chip shop.

So, half an hour later, two pies and two portions of chips had been bought, and Mr and Mrs Noah were sitting in their car overlooking the harbour mouth and the sea, watching the little boats bouncing around in the waves and the bigger ones chugging into harbour. After they had been admiring the view for a few minutes, Mr Noah said, “I’m getting hungry now, Mrs Noah. Shall we eat?”

“Yes, let’s.” Said Mrs Noah. And so they did.

It didn’t take more than a few seconds before the local seagulls, delightfully named “Hartlaubs gulls”, or so Mr Noah told Mrs Noah anyway! He liked to impress Mrs Noah and show her that he was picking up the names of local things and becoming more like a true South African every day! Lekker!

Now Mr Noah, liking all things fluffy and furry (and feathery) started to throw the odd chip out of the window for the gulls. Silly Mr Noah! Of course, you sensible readers realise that this is likely to attract quite a lot of seagulls and alert them to the possibility of a free lunch! Within seconds, they were flapping and squawking all around the car.

Mrs Noah was getting a little concerned about all this attention and asked Mr Noah to stop the feeding, please, and place the chips where the gulls couldn’t reach them. “OK,” said Mr Noah as he placed the open packet of chips on the dashboard of the car so they were not accessible to the gulls, but easy to reach for himself and Mrs Noah. He then returned to watching the gulls circle and dive around the car wondering where their free meal had gone.

Thud!

“Oh!” Mrs Noah called out!

Thud! Thud!

This was followed by a spine-tingling sound like fingernails scraping along a blackboard.

There above the windscreen was gull after gull diving at the open chip packet and slowly sliding down the windscreen clutching their slightly bent beaks!

“Well I never,” said Mr Noah. “What stupid gulls!”

“Well I never,” said Mrs Noah. “What a stupid place to put the chips.”

… Needless to say, after the chips had been removed, and the gulls had flown away, it took quite a while to clean the windscreen!

Dinner Anyone?

2009-09-30T14:22:00.002+02:00

One day Mr Noah and his faithful hound, Mango, were pulling up at the local post office to post a letter, when Mr Noah’s mobile phone began ringing.

“Ooh, someone calling for The Ark. Maybe it’s a new guest, Mango.” So, he pressed the Answer button, “Good afternoon, this is The Ark Bed and Breakfast at Pearly Beach. How can I help you?”

Caller: “Hello, is that the Ark B&B?”

Mr Noah: “Yes, it is.”

Caller: “Can you tell me when the sun rises and goes down, please?”

Mr Noah: “Pardon?”

Caller: “I want to know if I can see the sun rise or set from The Ark?”

Mr Noah: “Yes you can see it.”

Caller: “Good! Please can I book a table for Saturday night?”

Mr Noah: “Pardon?”

Caller: “I would like to book a table for Saturday as it’s a special occasion for me.”

Mr Noah: “Do you mean you would like a room for Saturday night?”

Caller: “No. You’re a Bed and Breakfast, aren’t you? I want to book a table to eat.”

Mr Noah: “I’m afraid I am not a restaurant so you can’t book a table. I’m a B&B”.

Caller: “I know that. I am looking at your website right now. I just want a table, please.”

Mr Noah: “Sorry, I don’t think you understand. We are a B&B. You book a room for the night and you have breakfast in the morning. We do not do evening meals.”

Caller: “I just want to book a table for a special occasion and watch the sunset or sunrise with my girl friend.”

Mr Noah: “But we don’t have tables for evening meals.”

Caller: “So, are you saying you won’t serve me then?”

Mr Noah: “I can’t serve you as I don’t do evening meals, or even have tables for evening meals!”

Caller: “Well, what do you serve your breakfasts on then, if you don’t have tables?”

Silence while Mr Noah composes himself.

Mr Noah: “Listen to me, please! We are a Bed and Breakfast house. We only do breakfast food. We do not serve evening meals. OK?”

Caller: “So you are saying that I cannot get an evening meal on my special occasion?”

Mr Noah: “I can recommend a proper restaurant in the village that would be happy to serve you an evening meal?”

Caller: “Can you see the sun rise and set from there?”

Mr Noah: “No!”

Caller: “Oh, that’s no good. I must see the sun rise and set. I want to eat with you!”

Mr Noah: “I’m sorry, we’re fully booked Saturday night!”

Caller: “Oh! Good bye.”

Mr Noah: “Good bye!”

Mango woofed: “You should have let me speak to him!”

Situations and Opportunities

2009-08-05T16:35:00.001+02:00

Over the months that Mango has become part of the menagerie at the Ark, she has also become Mr Noah’s faithful companion. Mr Noah might not realise that, himself, but Mango certainly does. Wherever Mr Noah goes, Mango goes too (or tries to)!

So, Mr Noah has taken this situation to teach her some simple tricks and acts of obedience (or, should that be Mango has taken every situation to teach Mr Noah some simple tricks and acts of obedience?)

Here’s an example of one of these tricks. Mango has a favourite toy - a blue, chewy, indestructible, rubber ball. She will play for hours with this toy, pushing it around with her nose or lying quietly on the floor chewing on it.

Her trick is to push the ball into Mr Noah’s hand so that he can throw it for her. She then runs to fetch it, but flatly refuses to give it back until Mr Noah has apparently lost all interest. Then, and only then, will she try and push it back into his hand. After all, she doesn’t want Mr Noah to get too excited with the game and it’s not fair to play by his rules only.

However, there is one favourite trick she likes to play with this toy, and that is to drop the ball (actually, she throws it) down the stairs. She says that she likes to watch it bounce – all the way into the guest lounge if her aim and the line of travel is right, and usually whilst our guests are eating breakfast! After all, she says she likes to get them involved in her games too, believing in friendly hospitality.

Mango knows she isn’t allowed down these stairs and, being such an obedient and well-trained dog, she sits at the top and tells Mr Noah that the ball seems to have rolled down (yet again) by giving a gentle “woof”.

Over time, this game has extended to the steps in the back garden where she drops the ball over the gate, watches it bounce away, sits there watching for a moment longer, and then “woofs”.

Mr Noah very kindly opens the gate and says, “Go get it,” and Mango is allowed into the PROPER garden ALL ON HER OWN to fetch it! The strict rule is that she just fetches the ball and comes straight back. Which she does! Every time! What a good girl! Of course, this game has also become a firm favourite with the ever-so-patient Mr Noah!

Now it came to pass that early yesterday evening, Mr Noah was attending to his juicy steaks on the braai, whilst downing a beer or two and enjoying the magnificent sunset, when he noticed that his faithful hound, Mango, who had been helping him with the braai, was sitting by the gate “woofing” - the “woof” that means, “Please can I fetch my ball?”

Mr Noah, his senses dulled a bit by the beer and dreaming about his soon-to-be-eaten steaks told Mango, “No problem, faithful hound,” and he opened the garden gate saying, “Go get it!”

So, Mango tore off!

Through the gate…

Down the path…

Around the fynbos bushes…

Through the back gate at the bottom of our garden…

Across next door’s garden…

Then disappeared from view, down the track, heading in the direction of the beach! “Oops,” thought Mr Noah, “I think I might have lost the dog!”

Suddenly, from the thick bushes along the track, came an explosion of noise, a cacophony of shrieking and barking! Out of the fynbos came a dozen francolins, scuttling and jostling trying to take flight in order to get as far away as possible.

Mr Noah realised at once what had happened (he hadn’t had that many beers) and the big clue was the “tailless” bird hurtling across the skyline!

“MANGO,” he screamed.

Instantly she came back, trotting across next door’s garden, through the back gate at the bottom of our garden, around the fynbos bushes, up the path, through the gate that she’s only allowed to go through when she is fetching her ball, and back on to the stoep next to Mr Noah.

Mr Noah just looked at her and said slowly through clenched teeth, “So where is your ball then, young lady?”

Mango just looked back at him with those soulful brown eyes, smiled sweetly, and said, “Ball? What ball? Who mentioned anything about a ball?”

Whales enjoying themselves

2009-08-03T20:36:00.001+02:00

The whales seem to have only one thing on their mind at the moment (well, the male whales do anyway)!

There is considerable activity off Pearly Beach now with each female whale having several escorts around her. The females do not seem very impressed by this!

Still, it's early in the season yet!

Little Black Kitten

2009-06-15T16:56:00.003+02:00

A little black kitten appears to have “adopted” us. She is about 8 months old now and we know that she is related to Sid, being born to the same mother but a litter later.

We have been feeding her since she was about 10 weeks old – well, we couldn’t let her go hungry, could we?! Although, at that time she was very much “feral” and wouldn’t let us anywhere near her.
Gradually, over many weeks, she has become much more confident in our company and we have got to the point of being able to pick her up and cuddle her (which she loves by the way), purring and kneading like mad!

She is a very vocal kitten – feral kittens are normally taught by their mum to be very quiet so as to avoid danger. Perhaps that is why mum told her to leave home when she did – she was too noisy!

Sid isn’t 100% sure of her, although they spend a lot of time outside sitting about a metre apart just watching each other. I think Sid might be a bit jealous of the kitten having a tail, whilst she doesn’t have a tail – she was patting the kitten’s tail this morning!

She has a little plastic home outside at the side of the house with a nice warm blanket so she doesn’t get too cold at night, and she is very fond of that. She is always up in the morning around the back of the house waiting for her breakfast when Mango is let out in the morning.

I don’t think the kitten will come into the house as Mango is too boisterous, but I think she is quite content with life as it is, for the time being (we won't let her know that if she stays around much longer, then she will have to visit the vet's for "the snip"!)

Computer Problems

2009-06-09T17:04:00.001+02:00

The first problem was when a moth flew inside the casing of the computer and died across the circuit board of the hard drive, crashing the computer. How I hate that blue screen!

No sooner had we got that fixed, then both the computer and the fax/answerphone were fried, probably by a power surge. We use a UPS so that was the last thing we expected, after coming back from a few days’ away, having unplugged everything before we had gone away. There had been a power cut all day on the day that we returned, so we didn’t switch on the computer and fax/answerphone until the next day.

When we did … Nothing! Totally dead!

Anyway, after obtaining enough parts to almost build a new computer from scratch, we are getting straight again now! I hope it lasts … at least for a while!

Made It!

2009-01-19T14:59:00.003+02:00

It was Sunday morning at about 6.30am. Mr and Mrs Noah were just waking up. They had been very busy lately, so it was lovely to lie there quietly, listening to the birds singing and the gentle waves of the sea breaking over the rocks on the shore.

Mr Noah opened one eye, and saw the sun peeping around the curtains. Mmm, another sunny day – lovely! Then, he listened again, because he thought he heard something else too. He leaned across to Mrs Noah and whispered, “Can you hear voices?”

“Mmm!” she groaned, and tried to go back to sleep!

“Listen!” Mr Noah said.

“Mmm!” she groaned, louder this time, and pulled the duvet further over her head.

“I can hear voices in the lounge! Listen, Mrs Noah!”

So, Mrs Noah came out from under the duvet, and they both listened really intently.

“… and they said I would never get there! At least that’s what Dad kept telling me! Mum was always a lot nicer and kept encouraging me to ‘hang on in there’ and I would 'make it!'

Sometimes I think I do have to agree with Dad, though. There were times when it seemed most unlikely that I would actually ‘make it’. Like the time I chased you from the balcony straight across the garage roof, and nearly didn’t see the end! Nearly fell off it, like you did once. Did it seem like a long way down, Sid? Did it hurt?

Then, there was that time I tried to eat those ‘nippy’ things! Well, they did look delicious, and Dad is always saying how tasty snails and crickets are to eat, so how was I to know that scorpions would make my face and tongue swell up and make me poorly! That was horrible. I hope I don’t do that again!

But there have been some extra special fun times too, like when Mum takes me swimming in the sea. The first time I went swimming in the sea, it made me remember of the time when I fell into Grandad’s swimming pool. I was only ten weeks old. I didn’t know that I couldn’t run on water, or even walk on it, like I can on grass! But I came up to the top, didn’t I, and I SWAM, like a big dog!

Anyway, back to the first time I went swimming in the sea … usually, it’s just fun running in after the kelp and taking it back to Mum and Dad. But one day, they took me to a huge rock pool. Mum threw the kelp in for me but when I ran into the sea, the sky disappeared and I could see fish! It was just as well I had learnt to swim in a swimming pool when I was young and could do doggy paddle! It was a bit scary at first, but it’s great fun now!

I’ve learnt how to do carpentry with Dad, too. I often help him cut up bits of wood. Remember that time I helped him with the wooden staircase? It was such fun! Every time he sanded down the rough edges of the stairs, I finished the edges off properly for him. But he always seemed to want to do them again! I think he said they weren’t smooth enough! After a while, I got bored – he just didn’t appreciate my efforts, so I didn’t do it any more! I think he’s got bored with it too, ‘cos he doesn’t sand them any more either!

Then, of course, when we go out in the car, I am such a good help. I mean, I’m always telling the cars behind us to keep their distance! And I tell people to stop walking in front of the car, so they don’t get run over. I know Dad appreciates this, because he’s always telling me to ‘keep it up!’ Or is it ‘shut it up?!’

Dad’s always saying I should make new friends and go and play with the sharks, but I thought sharks bite?

Anyway, Sid, come on, let’s get up and have some fun, ‘cos when I went to bed last night Mum and Dad said that tomorrow is my birthday and, therefore, despite everything, … I have actually made it!

Sid, tell me, though … what is a birthday?”

Fun on Cappuccino Beach

2008-12-25T15:23:00.010+02:00

A very unusual phenomenon occurred at Pearly Beach just before Christmas.

Due to extremely high tides and very high winds, we ended up with a cappuccino beach! It was covered in "foam", over a metre high in places!

Merry Christmas from The Ark

2008-12-15T20:30:00.001+02:00

Everyone from The Ark would like to wish all their past and future guests a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Proposal of marriage

2008-11-29T12:10:00.003+02:00

Mr and Mrs Noah are delighted to share some exciting news with you.

On Tuesday 25 November 2008, John and Samantha, who are currently staying at The Ark on holiday, have announced their engagement.

They hope to be able to return to South Africa for their wedding.

A few comments in our Visitors' Book from around the world

2008-10-31T10:55:00.000+02:00

"Once again - superb holiday! Thanks Steve & Lee. All the best for your new venture." (Cape Town, South Africa)

"Thanks for a fantastic stay and gorgeous breakfast. A great start to our holiday." (Sweden)

"Thank you so much for your hospitality and friendship. It was fab." (Tulbagh, South Africa)

"We felt very homely in your house and thank you for the special, friendly atmosphere which you created." (Russia/Germany)

"Arktastic! A fantastic B&B - like home from home. Brilliant yogurt bread!" (England)

"A very enjoyable stay." (Germany)

"Thank you for the lekker rest!" (Durbanville, South Africa)

It Wasn't Me ... Honestly

2008-09-29T14:07:00.002+02:00

As you all know, Mr and Mrs Noah have a charming puppy called Mango and a scatty, tail-less kitten called Sid (aka Little Sid). They all live in a big, old house called The Ark, next to the sea.

Now, Mr and Mrs Noah have a love of all animals (that is why they live in the Ark) and they spend much of their time feeding the many types of birds that fly into the garden, and putting down food for the numerous cats that wander around. In fact, only a month ago, Mr Noah built a wonderful bird table. He was, rightly, very proud of his bird table! It looked fantastic! He showed it to Mrs Noah, with a large grin on his face, and they choose the ideal spot in the garden to locate it - a place where they could watch the little birds come to eat, safely, out of reach of all the cats and other wildlife!

So up went the table, and on went the food!

Unfortunately, Mr Noah had chosen a rainy day to put up the bird table but, never mind, they could still watch the little birds from the comfort of their lounge through the patio doors.

They went off to the kitchen to make a cup of tea and, after a while, returned to the lounge to watch…

Oh dear, what had happened to the bird table? It was bent in the shape of an umbrella! The little birds couldn’t actually stand on the bird table! Silly old Mr Noah had made it out of laminated wood (any wise person knows that laminated wood bends when it gets wet!) and it was bending over more and more, as it was raining more and more!

The poor little birds were trying to land on the table, but just slid straight off it! “Silly Mr Noah,” said Mrs Noah. “Go and make a proper bird table!”

Now, as you know, The Ark has two large rear patio doors and Mr and Mrs Noah like to leave them open as much as possible so that everyone, including Mango and Little Sid, can enjoy the long, warm, sunny days. Of course, this means that all the wildlife Mr and Mrs Noah have spent so long attracting into the garden, also like to wander in to say “hello”! All sorts of birds have come in to say “Hi” to the Noah family – little robins, colourful weavers and canaries, even large francolins and pigeons all pop into The Ark. Word of how kind and friendly Mr and Mrs Noah are even got out to a bat once, which paid them a visit in the evening and flew up and down, from one end to the other, admiring The Ark.

If Mr and Mrs Noah haven’t heard the latest bird visitor fly in and flutter about, then Mango and Sid will bark and miaow (respectively, of course) to let Mr and Mrs Noah know that they have another little guest in The Ark.

Now, on this particular day, as Mr and Mrs Noah were enjoying yet another cup of tea in their lounge, they heard the sound of little feathery wings fluttering around the lounge and, right on cue, Sid was miaowing loudly. Strangely, for once however, Mango wasn’t making any sound at all!

Mr and Mrs Noah went to investigate and found Sid sitting on the floor looking at Mango intently, who was, herself, standing very still, facing away from Sid. However, Mr and Mrs Noah looked around but could see no sign of any little bird, anywhere.

“Oh no,” said Mrs Noah staring at the floor! “Look, Mr Noah, there are some brightly coloured feathers!” They both turned to Sid and said as one,”You bad cat, Sid! You’ve eaten the bird!

Sid stared back at them and miaowed loudly, “No, I didn’t. It wasn’t me.”

“Sid, it must have been you,” said Mr Noah. “You are a cat, and cats eat birds! You are a very naughty cat!”

“But it wasn’t me, honestly.” Sid said. With that, Sid got up and walked towards Mango indignantly. If she had a tail, it would have been held straight upwards. Mango was still very quiet and turned away even further from Mr and Mrs Noah and Sid. “Look at Mango,” miaowed Sid, “Look at her.”

Mrs Noah (who has always been far more perceptive than Mr Noah) turned to Mango and said, “So what do you know about the little bird then, Mango? Are you going to tell me?” Mango coughed slightly but said nothing, still facing away. “Come on, Mango. You can tell me,” said Mrs Noah. “What has Sid done with the little bird?”

Sid sat up on her hind legs and pointed accusingly at Mango. She was not going to be told off for something she hadn’t done!

Mango really can’t keep quiet about anything for very long and as she turned towards Mrs Noah to speak, Mrs Noah saw something sticking out of Mango’s very firmly closed mouth. The ‘something’ was two long, brightly coloured, tail feathers.

Mrs Noah shrieked,”MANGO!”

Mr Noah yelled, “MANGO!”

Sid miaowed, “MANGO!”

Sheepishly, Mango hung her head, looking down at the floor, refusing to look at Mr and Mrs Noah or Sid, and coughed. She opened her mouth and out popped - a very damp and bedraggled little yellow canary. It dropped to the ground, shook itself, looked accusingly at Mango, and flew out through the open patio doors into the garden.

“Oh my goodness,” Mrs Noah said. “Go and check that the bird is alright. Can you see it, Mr Noah?”

“Um, yes I did,” replied Mr Noah. “Unfortunately, it has tried to land on the bird table, but has slid off the side and disappeared!”

“Mr Noah,” shouted Mrs Noah, “I thought I told you to fix that table!”

Luckily, there are two happy endings to this tale.

1. Mr Noah was banished to the garage to make another bird table out of ‘proper’ wood. He excelled and made a wonderful bird table with a little green roof – The Little Ark - and all the little birds are thrilled with it.

2. The little yellow canary survived unscathed and is now able to enjoy The Little Ark along with all the other little birds.

Mr and Mrs Noah's Flying Sid!

2008-07-31T13:26:00.001+02:00

You may remember that Mr & Mrs Noah took in a little kitten that they called Sid! You know - the one that got her head stuck in her carrying-box on the way to the vet!

Well, having survived that ordeal, Sid made The Ark her home and settled down to lead a normal life … if only!

She started to grow up, and kept asking Mr & Mrs Noah (nicely, of course) if she could explore more of The Ark, other than just the living room and her very small sleeping box!

OK, well, she didn’t exactly ask nicely … she consulted with Mango, who explained that the best way to get Mr and Mrs Noah to do anything was to make a lot of noise and be persistent! So she took that advice onboard and started to howl and howl and howl and howl and howl … until she got Mr & Mrs Noah’s attention – just as Mango said she would!

So, she was let out into the rest of The Ark.

Big Mistake!

Everything went reasonably well until Sid discovered that The Ark had a mezzamime at each end of it, with a catwalk from one to the other. She discovered it had a thin wooden handrail along it - but it was a long, long way off the ground! Still, it had to be walked along, didn’t it? After all, it was a “cat”walk!

And so, Mr & Mrs Noah spent hours hovering under the handrail with a blanket stretched out between them - just waiting for the inevitable to happen – five month old kittens aren’t that co-ordinated, especially those called Sid!

In an effort to stop Sid becoming an ex-Sid they opened the front balcony door and allowed Sid out on to the balcony. This was much safer because there was Sid and Mango-proof netting all around it! Sid found this much more exciting than wandering around precariously on a wooden hand-rail that didn’t actually go anywhere in particular. There were all kinds of new sights and smells to discover … and the balcony went straight on to the garage roof and if you went under that netting you could have fun running around the roof!

And so it came to pass, one day when Mr & Mrs Noah were having a well-earnt cup of tea and biscuits on the balcony and enjoying a sunny wind-free day with their devoted animals by their sides (Mango, begging for food with those soulful eyes, and Sid proudly wandering around the balcony and her garage roof (the one place in The Ark that Mango couldn’t get to and therefore was truly hers)…

And then…

Suddenly, there was a dark shadow and an intruder was in her space! A “huge” black fly was making its way over the roof just over Sid’s head! How dare it come on to the roof! Her roof! She had better teach that fly some manners!

She tore after it with only one thought in her mind (which was just about her capacity anyway), fleet of foot, and twisting and turning in tune with the fly, like a world-class gymnast, gaining on the fly all the time. My, Mr & Mrs Noah were so proud of her – a “real” grown-up cat at last …

“Eeek! Sid’s just disappeared off the garage roof!” Mrs Noah screamed!

“What? Where?” exclaimed Mr Noah.

“Off the back! Her bottom…” (as you know, Sid doesn’t have a tail!) “just disappeared off the end!” exclaimed Mrs Noah.

“It’s a ten foot drop”, screamed Mr Noah!

Mango looked up just as Mr & Mrs Noah both shouted simultaneously …

“Sid, you can’t fly!”

Mango just smiled to herself and thought, “I wonder what they will do with all that cat food now… !“

Just in case all you Sid-lovers out there are concerned and worried about her – don’t be! She flew brilliantly!

A Day in the Life of Mr and Mrs Noah

2008-06-15T14:56:00.002+02:00

This is the story of a typical day in the life of Mr & Mrs Noah of The Ark, Pearly Beach, South Africa, and a day when they have guests staying at their B&B.

The day starts early, depending what time the guests want breakfast, as that’s the rule they live by at the Ark.

Anytime between 6.30 – 7am the Ark’s animals start to get restless and want to get up, so they starting snuffling and shuffling about, just enough to gently wake up Mr and Mrs Noah!

So it’s out of bed for Mr Noah (Mrs Noah has a lie-in because she spent all yesterday evening baking yummy muffins and tasty breads) and then it’s … chaos!!

Mr Noah has just 3 minutes in which to switch on the kettle, put his shorts on, let Mango out for her wee, make both Mango’s and Sid’s breakfasts, unlock the front door, feed the other (feral) cats, Madge, Bob (has no tail) and Not-Bob (has a tail) and then feed the birds, all of whom are “screaming” loudly for their food. 3 minutes because by then, the kettle will have boiled, and he can’t stand the miaowing, whining and squawking of the birds and animals for any longer!

Then it’s a quick cup of tea for Mrs Noah, and then back to hold on to Mango and Sid as Mrs Noah heads for the bathroom on the other side of the Ark, (it gets very chaotic with all the excitement of everyone saying “Hello” to one another, jumping and weeing all round! That’s the animals, I mean, not Mrs Noah!)

Then it’s Mango tied up outside of the kitchen, Sid shut in the bedroom and Mr & Mrs Noah can get on with setting up the table and preparing the food for the guests’ breakfasts.

Mr Noah lays the table, either upstairs on the mezzamime, if the weather’s nice, or downstairs in the lounge, while Mrs Noah starts laying out the homemade muffins and breads in little raffia baskets, and chopping the salad garnishes up for the bacon and eggs.

A typical breakfast at the Ark consists of:

- freshly squeezed orange juice (in season) or mango juice (no, mango juice, not Mango juice!)
- fresh melon or other fruits
- cereals – muesli and rice krispies currently
- yogurts
- locally home-made jams and marmalades (at the moment it’s orange marmalade, strawberry jam, local honey and pineapple & orange jam)
- homemade muffins (either bran and raisin, chocolate or vanilla - Mr Noah likes the vanilla ones!)
- Homemade breads – usually yogurt bread, seeded bread, and nutty bread sliced for toasting.
- Filter coffee, English tea, Rooibos tea or chocolate.

Then if the guests can manage any more, Mr & Mrs Noah will cook them bacon and eggs, and Mrs Noah’s salad garnish to make it look even better!

Then it’s up and down the stairs a dozen or so times looking after their every need!

When they have eaten as much as they can possibly manage, it’s back upstairs with the dishes and The Big Clean-Up – no dishwasher here on the Ark!

If it is a working day for Mr and Mrs Noah’s Little Helper, Ronelle, then she will do the next bit, otherwise Mrs Noah then goes into the vacated guests’ rooms to strip off the beds, collect the towels and head off towards the washroom to wash and dry them – hopefully before lunchtime – wash them that is, not have them dried as well by lunchtime! Then she cleans the rooms, showers and toilets (what fun!) and makes them look nice again. Then she tackles the guest lounge!

Mr Noah now gets the shopping list up-to-date and heads out into town, some 22kms away, to replenish the food stocks and buy DIY materials (there are always lots of things that need “touching up” and repairing around the Ark!

The “local” Superspar supplies most of our essentials, and then it’s down to the post office to check the box to see if anyone in England has remembered to send us anything!

When Mango considers it is somewhere around lunchtime, Mrs Noah will feed the greedy “little” puppy again (I just don’t know where she puts it all, but she is getting bigger and bigger) and Little Sid and then Mr & Mrs Noah will have a quick bite as well, usually a cheese or salami sandwich with a coke or fruit juice. Oh, and maybe a bit of chocolate too (Cadbury’s of course)!

Then, it’s on to the computer for Mrs Noah to do the e-mails, check the bookings and masses of other stuff that’s called “admin”!

Mr Noah is now into the garage with his touching-up stuff and has the door firmly closed!

Later, it may be car-washing or painting, gardening or cleaning cesspits out, or simply dog walking or just general touching-up type things to be done.

If they are really lucky, Mr & Mrs Noah might just find time to look out of the windows and notice that they live next to a beautiful white sandy beach and a beautiful turquoise sea, and some velvety green mountains in the other direction!

Then its tea time…the animals first of course! Well, Mango at least, as she is now trying to convince us that she hasn’t been fed for over a week! Just where does she put it all!

Mr & Mrs Noah will now settle down to a “peaceful” supper, with Mango trying to eat Sid, and Sid trying to eat Mango around their feet! Mango, bed! The phone usually rings about this time (great timing) or maybe a guest just pitches up looking for a bed for the night (also, great timing), but, eventually, supper is finished!

Then it’s another Big Wash-Up after the meal, and a Clean-Up to make the animals’ beds nice for them, and a last play all together in the lounge (aahhh!), which usually develops into Mango chasing Sid around the room, Mrs Noah running after Mango shouting, “Leave her alone,” and Mr Noah just running around and shouting at everyone! What fun!

Then the time is … 8 o’clock!

Yippee!

And it’s animals to bed … whether they want it or not.

After that, it’s showers for Mr & Mrs Noah, and then it’s a large glass of wine and a settle down about 9pm to watch a DVD!

If they manage to stay awake to the end of the film it is unusual! So it’s normally, “Shall we watch the last bit tomorrow?”

So, teeth cleaned, a last “wee-break” for Mango, and it’s off to bed for Mr and Mrs Noah.

Night night, Sid! Night night, Mango!

And the snoring starts!

And that’s a typical day at the Ark. If you don’t believe us, please pop by and judge for yourselves!

Mr and Mrs Noah take the animals to the vet

2008-05-31T13:15:00.000+02:00

We want to share a little story with you...

Once upon a time, a very nice couple who loved all kinds of animals (Mr & Mrs Noah) took pity on a small and helpless little kitten that came their way. They took her in, gave her a warm home and lots of loving care. They even gave her her own identity by giving her a name...Sidney. This story tells of how she repaid their love and devotion.

One day, it was time for Mr and Mrs Noah's animals to visit the vet for their vaccinations so they could go out into the big, wide world! It was easy to decide how the puppy, Mango, should travel - in the back, behind a dog guard. The problem was how to get Sid to the vet without a cat travel box. Ummh!

Let's put her in the old dog air transport crate that we have," said Mr Noah. "You know, the one with the wire front and small air holes in the back."

"Mmm, maybe!" Said Mrs Noah!

"It will be fine!" Said Mr Noah! Stupidly!

So, off they all set in the car, on the long road to the vet. Mr Noah, Mrs Noah, Mango and Sid!

As they got nearer the town, Mrs Noah looked behind her and suddenly cried out, "Sidney's trying to get out!"

"She'll be fine!" Said Mr Noah! Stupidly!

A few minutes later, Mrs Noah shouted, "Stop the car! Sidney has got her head stuck!"

Mr Noah thought he had better check and reached behind him! Surprisingly, (to Mr Noah) he felt Sidney's head in his hand! He glanced back and, lo and behold, saw that little old Sidney had her head well and truly jammed in one of the air holes! "Oh dear, what a silly little kitten" said Mr Noah. "I'll just stop this car on the busy road and we'll have her back inside in a jiffy!"

So he pushed, and he pulled, and he twisted (her little head) but Sidney was stuck fast with her little legs dangling off the bottom of the box! No amount of pulling, pushing, twisting or swearing (Mr Noah) would get Sidney's little head back inside.

So, out of the car came the crate (with Sidney looking at the world from her new vantage point), on to the roadside verge with Mr and Mrs Noah wondering what to do next! Ahha, Mr Noah suddenly had a brilliant idea! "I have a Multi-Purpose Tool in the car" he said. "You know the type - the one that you get as a present and never, ever use! It has all sorts of "things" attached to it. I even think it has a saw on it!" So, he dug it out and, yes it did have a saw on it! And Mr Noah set about sawing Sidney's head free!

What a sight for all the passing motorists! There he was, sawing away at the box next to the kitten's head, kneeling down on the road (muttering and swearing), with Mrs Noah gamely hanging on to Sidney so she didn't hang herself or have her head sawn off, uttering soothing words of encouragement to the little kitten!

Lots of hacking later, with Sidney and Mrs Noah covered in sawdust, and Mr Noah covered in car fumes and road dust, Sidney was suddenly free! "Hooray," they both sighed, "She's free - and alive!" And they laughed out loud at the frisky little kitten's exploitations! Mango, the puppy, barked with excitement too! His little sister was safe!

They all bundled back into the car, this time with little Sidney wrapped in her favourite "blanket", Mrs Noah's jacket, and continued their journey to the vet.

But that's a completely different story everyone, as Sidney really didn't like the vet!

p.s. Have you ever noticed the black cross on Sidney's forehead before?!