Daar het jy dit nou – there you have it! The mighty Blue Bulls against the underdog from Waikato. Who would have thought that the Chiefs would fight their way to the Super14 finals? It’s a pity that the match is in Pretoria, and that local time at half past three in the morning, the temperature is barely above freezing. But BK will of course be hugging the heater and sipping on a cup of “boeretroos” – maybe swing by Fred’s Fine Foods and pick up some of that lekker karringmelkbeskuit, or rusks if you will.

It’s a bit early for anything stronger, if you know what I mean – not that that hasn’t happened before. BK remembers going to the Waterfront there in Randburg at 4 in the morning – visiting friends for the rugby. Those were the days before M-Net and DSTV, so we went to the pub to watch it on the big screen. Waking up at such an early hour was difficult, keep in mind that we talked long into the night after having not seen the others for a while (Groot Marico is not just around the corner, you know). But we managed to get to the pub, only to find that some brave souls had been there since the night before, keeping in high spirits, so to speak. Needless to say, we could not let them embarrass themselves any further, so we quickly put away a few “dops” so that they may appear less embarrassed to us – problem solved.

Hopefully this weekend’s match will be a mighty clash, worthy of being watched at 3:30 in the morning – nothing more disappointing than watching a one-sided affair, if you know what I mean. But be assured that even though BK’s support is from halfway around the world, it is no less sincere – go the Bulls!

Bosveldgroete!

Man, how lekker would a big bacon and eggs breakfast have been this morning? But what with all the swine flu going around, BK has decided to stay away from bacon, pork sausages or any product related to pork. It was also a good excuse to stay away from certain individuals behaving like pigs…

Of course it is a good opportunity to take some sick leave – you just have to sneeze once or cough a little bit and you get sent home for three days! Don’t get me wrong – I’m not saying it’s not a serious “pandemic”, I mean there must be at least 61 people that have died from it all together worldwide. Almost like the great bird flu pandemic of 2007 when 160 people died and millions and millions of dollars got spent on Tamiflu, made by Gilead Sciences. So who was the CEO of Gilead from 1997 to 2001? And when he stepped down, did he keep his shares in the company? But I’ll leave the heavy thinking up to you clever people out there, BK just wants to say that the bird flu story completely put me off eating chooks for life. Which is not important because according to some, chicken is a vegetable…

On a completely different note, BK will be braving the cold and rain to cheer the Blues on Friday when they play their last game for the 2009 Super 14. Yes, the defeat against the Brumbies last weekend was the nail in the coffin of the so-called mathematical chance they still had, and only pride is on the line for Friday. Not that there’s a lot of that left after a season of disappointments - at least they hold the new record for the most bonus points collected – for what that’s worth!

Bosveldgroete!

Well, the nation watched in anticipation - we all knew it was going to happen sometime or another, but nobody expected it to be so soon. Everything has been leading up to it, and I guess it was to be expected.

Yes, disaster struck last weekend – the Reds beat the Blues. And on home soil too – it was almost too painful to watch. BK’s adopted New Zealand team has put the cherry on top of a season of disappointments, dropped balls, missed opportunities, fumbled tackles and injuries.

But somehow they still managed to end up near the top of the Super 14 log. Is it cleverly managing to get bonus points even when losing? Or is it a sign of how badly all the teams were playing? It is almost the end of the first round and still nobody is clearly in front. The Hurricanes are looking good for a victory, but I wouldn’t put any large sum of money on it. Not that BK is a betting person, if you know what I mean - only 4 points separate the top 5 teams, the Bulls as always breathing down the necks of the leaders. The Sharks are quietly waiting in the wings, ready to pounce when the time is right and the Chiefs are still trying to cope with the surprise of being in the top 4. Secretly BK is hoping for a Bulls win – anything but the Sharks, and am just happy to see the top Ozzie team is only seventh on the log. The mighty Brumbies have fallen so low, BK wishes he could have seen Stirling “I’m not too old for rugby” Mortlock’s face when the scoreboard read 57 to 7 – against.

But there’s still some games left to play, and we will see what happens. Making a lekker curry chicken potjie is fast becoming the tradition when you come to watch rugby at BK’s house, so at the end of the day we’re all winners!

BK also heard something about Zapman’s party winning the election? Not too worry, if it was important, we would have been told something by now.

Bosveldgroete!

Well, that was the weekend, and apparently that was summer as well. Winter arrived this morning with grey skies and that soft rain that lasts for 8 months in this place. Time to dust off the raincoats and wellies and pull out all the books you left for winter reading.

You people living in the land of the giant Springhase might not understand this rain thing – let me explain:
In the land of the long flat white it rains in winter. It starts around this time of the year and lasts till late November. BK got himself a dog last year – born on ANZAC day, which is around this time of the year. The poor thing nearly had a heart attack in September when he saw the sun for the first time! First it rains and then it gets cold, but what makes it worse is that it still rains too! The grass gets so soggy you can’t walk on there without sinking up to your knees – the garden service lost a guy there last year mowing the lawn – they didn’t find him till Christmas.

But on a lighter note, BK was recently hauled over the coals so to speak, for not stopping by Springbok Foods in Oxenford. Frik says it’s Fred that works there, but Oom Fred from Fred’s Fine Foods told BK last weekend when BK was buying those lekker boerewors rolls that they are not related, if you know what I mean. Man, these Kiwis can learn a thing or two about making boerewors rolls – take a drive by there on Saturday morning and see for yourself, but be prepared to stand in a queue, that’s how popular they are. And make sure you wear gloves when you eat them, they’re so nice you might not stop when you get to the end…

Karooseun wants to know if we saw any of the indigenous people of this country – yes, and not a pretty sight either. Reminds BK a bit of those jelly babies we used to get as kids, with the round faces and big lips. Liquorice flavour… But we also met some locals on the way – like the boatie at 1770 who confided to us that he has a son that lives in Kiwiland, but that he’s not sure whether it’s one from his sixth or seventh wife…

Bosveldgroete!

Almost Easter and the children are anxiously awaiting the visit from the “Paashaas” – to BK it just means that this year is flying faster than a BMW with a number plate that reads “Faizel” on the Ben Schoeman. You blink and the Xmas songs start playing on the radio. But there’s still a bit of summer left, even though it gets a bit colder in the mornings and evenings and we get to work when the sun is still touching the horizon.

Ja, jong, the snow has already fallen on the mountains and when the wind blows it has that icy edge like a cold Karoo morning. But you want to hear about the camper trip, and BK is not someone who lets people down, so here is the low-down, so to speak:

Arriving in Cairns it felt like someone was pointing a hair dryer at you, on full blast and the hot setting. BK thought “Ja, wragtag, so moet mens mos leef!” and promptly switched on the car’s aircon.

The trip on the cable car over the rainforest was “pragtag” – all the different types of trees and shrubbery – ferns growing in the fork of bigger trees! But it also meant there wasn’t a lot of time left to explore the metropolis of Cairns and Townsville was still a few hours away.

The camping ground at Townsville was just opposite the beach, and the giant hairdryer was blowing till late that night. BK heard two mosquitoes talking: one said “Shall we eat him here or take him away?” The other one said “better to eat him here otherwise the big ones will take him from us.”

Mackay and Rockhampton was very plain, reminded BK a bit of Zeerust, you know. The strange things was the signs on the door of Sizzlers advertising breakfast from 7:30 to 10:00 right next to the sign showing opening times from 11:00 onwards. So BK walked to the place with the big “Now Open” sign, only to see the smaller “Sorry, We’re closed” sign on the door.

Then came Agnes Waters and 1770 (that’s right – the town is called seventeen seventy) and let me tell you, a beer has never tasted better! Cold as a woman’s heart… BK sat overlooking the lagoon and trying the local beers – not that BK drinks a lot, you know, but to be able to better recommend to visitors which ones are good, and which ones should best be avoided.

Noosa was busier than a flea market after payday, and BK understands that it is always like that. It’s a pity, it looked like a nice place, but too busy for BK’s “plaas” taste. So on to Caloundra again, having been there before, and enjoying the visit as much as the first time.

But of course the trip had to come to an end far too soon, and there was still a little visiting left to do with friends on the Gold Coast, which BK will tell you about next time.

Bosveldgroete!

Well, I’m sure you all are waiting on the edge of your “riempiesstoeltjies” to hear about BK’s trip from the tropical north Queensland back to civilisation and the short holiday in the Gold Coast. Let me just say that once again the little guy (in the case of BK not so little) had to suffer at the hands of the big companies – as usual. The cause of BK’s lament being the loss of the $1000 deposit due to a truck throwing up a metal sign and hitting the bumper of the campervan.

Now, BK understands that insurance excess is there for a reason, but you know, you don’t spend a whole lot of money shoeing a horse that’s going to collapse and die anyway, if you know what I mean. The campervan was dirty and in an ill state of repair to begin with, and had there been a choice, BK would rather not have taken it. But it was a last minute arrangement and promises were made. BK, being a man of his word, took pity on the poor guy and said that he would take the van to Brisbane for him. Had I only known…

Now the money is gone, the campervan guy won’t discuss the matter, insisting that the repair cost more than a $1000, but won’t come up with a proof of the repair (which he probably did in his backyard with a hammer). So here’s a word of warning to all of you: always deal with a reputable company, and not with a one-man band that will take you for everything you have every time. A lesson was learnt, even though it was an expensive one – don’t ever deal with Budget Campervan Hire again, especially not if a guy named Mark approaches you.

I hope BK’s lesson that he paid so much for at least stops somebody from making the same mistake, in that way it would be worth it.

I will tell you about the ups and downs, if you’ll excuse the pun, of the trip very soon. In the meantime, Bosveldgroete!

What do you know – no sooner has the trip to Cairns been booked when the heavens opened up and tried, sometimes successfully, to destroy the houses, roads, farmlands and more. BK keeps checking the weather report, and it seems that it’s still raining there! You know, people tell me the land of the giant springhase is a dry place…

The motorways around Townsville are still closed, and Ingham is still cut off from the rest of the world as far as I can see. So the problem is how BK will get from Cairns to Brisbane because the campervan trip idea is disappearing faster than the Zim dollar can lose value. But of course that is the least of the problems – the people of Northern Queensland has to clean up and rebuild after the floods, and our hearts are with them.

BK recalls the first memory of floods (no, not the 40 days and 40 nights one, that was before my time!) – it was the floods at Laingsburg in the now Western Cape. The devastation was widespread and the tv showed people in tears who had lost everything. And even though donations flowed in and people donated food, bedding, furniture, clothes and the like, there is no way of replacing the photos and memories that was lost.

Now in Queensland with the floods and Victoria with the fires, we once again see families who has lost everything, and in some cases lost loved ones, and all we can do is to open our hearts and open our wallets and help as much as we can. At least while these people are dealing with the loss, let’s help them do it without having to worry about food and a place to sleep.

Bosveldgroete!

Well, the long trip from Cairns to Brisbane is just around the corner and BK can’t wait. It promises to be both a memorable and enjoyable trip – that is if the weather plays along, if you know what I mean.

It’s longer than the trip my Dad used to take us on every December holiday (but not by too much) – from Groot Marico where we all piled into the kombi right down to Mossel Bay. We had a mattress on top of the luggage and heaps of games to keep us busy while he drove non-stop, first to Kimberley, then the next day to the sea. But of course the games are all played out within the first few hours and then the boredom sets in. and you know what happens when you have four bored kids in a confined space…

But BK also remembers the trip fondly now as a memory of South Africa and the landscapes we drove through – from the dry desert between Zeerust and Vryburg, to the neverending rows and rows of mielies other side of Hartswater and the irrigation ditches around Warrenton. Then the looong “vlakte” this side of Kimberley, where you can see the city for miles but you know it will be a while before you’re there. A short visit with the family and making final arrangements to meet them on holiday (remember, this is the pre-cell phone days – we didn’t even have electricity and a phone at the beach house!). Then early-early the next morning, long before the sun is up, we hit the road – sleeping till the sun comes through the windows. Hoping that when we wake up we’d almost be there, but then seeing the sign that says “Welcome to Hopetown” and knowing it’s going to be a long, hot day in the car (no aircon in an old kombi!).

Strydenburg, Britstown, Victoria-West – the landscape never changes and we find a cement picnic table next to the road under the “bloekombome” to eat sandwiches and boiled eggs, and drink the “aanmmaakkoeldrank” which always seemed to be orange flavour. Watching the big black ants fight for the crumbs and then it’s off again – Beaufort-West and then the longest piece of straight road you can find in Springbokland. Finally into Meiringspoort – into the shade of the high cliffs and counting how many times we cross the river (seventeen, right?).

Past Oudtshoorn with the curious ostriches next to the fence and over the Outeniqua pass, which now only reminds me of our erstwhile ill-fated cricket captain, and you can almost smell the sea! The air is cooler and the sun is starting to hide behind the mountain. Now the eyes are peeled, because the competition is on – who can see the sea first. Through Blanco, which BK always thought a funny name for a coloured township, but it is only when we get on the road (before the freeway was built) to Glentana that the sea makes it’s presence know between the hills.

Ja, what good memories – let’s hope the trip from Cairns to Brisbane is as good!

Bosveldgroete!

A Kiwi friend asked BK recently why it is that South Africa is such a poor place, what with all the natural resources like gold, diamonds and other minerals, as well as the rich soil to grow corn and feed for the cattle and sheep…

And that made BK think – the “goewerment” here in Kiwiland looks after the unemployed, which is apparently about 4% of the people, makes sure there’s nice roads and hospitals for everybody, but it’s not a rich country in the same way as South Africa is rich in minerals and mealies. So where does the difference lie? And then I tried to explain to my Kiwi friend that here almost everybody contributes to the taxes, and those being helped are few compared to the rest. But in the “Vaderland” the few support the many, and the many are the ones needing help.
The richness of the minerals don’t mean anything to the “goewerment” because some smart people long ago made the rules that those who gain from the diamonds pay their taxes in London. And when the question gets raised, people get paid to keep quiet – take a bribe on the side to keep your brother poor and oppressed. Apartheid might be gone, but the oppression of the poor and uneducated remains. Those who have get more and those who don’t have no mouthpiece to air their views. And so the long slide downhill continues – BK cries for you, land of my blood. The answer does not lie in the hatred of one another because my skin is a different colour, but in recognising the need for working together before it is too late. Now is not the time for pointing fingers because of what happened in the past, but the time to wrap those fingers around the shovel and the pick and to work together to change the future.

So there you have it – Happy New Year!

Bosveldgroete!

Well, the long trip from Cairns to Brisbane is just around the corner and BK can’t wait. It promises to be both a memorable and enjoyable trip – that is if the weather plays along, if you know what I mean.

It’s longer than the trip my Dad used to take us on every December holiday (but not by too much) – from Groot Marico where we all piled into the kombi right down to Mossel Bay. We had a mattress on top of the luggage and heaps of games to keep us busy while he drove non-stop, first to Kimberley, then the next day to the sea. But of course the games are all played out within the first few hours and then the boredom sets in. and you know what happens when you have four bored kids in a confined space…

But BK also remembers the trip fondly now as a memory of South Africa and the landscapes we drove through – from the dry desert between Zeerust and Vryburg, to the neverending rows and rows of mielies other side of Hartswater and the irrigation ditches around Warrenton. Then the looong “vlakte” this side of Kimberley, where you can see the city for miles but you know it will be a while before you’re there. A short visit with the family and making final arrangements to meet them on holiday (remember, this is the pre-cell phone days – we didn’t even have electricity and a phone at the beach house!). Then early-early the next morning, long before the sun is up, we hit the road – sleeping till the sun comes through the windows. Hoping that when we wake up we’d almost be there, but then seeing the sign that says “Welcome to Hopetown” and knowing it’s going to be a long, hot day in the car (no aircon in an old kombi!).

Strydenburg, Britstown, Victoria-West – the landscape never changes and we find a cement picnic table next to the road under the “bloekombome” to eat sandwiches and boiled eggs, and drink the “aanmmaakkoeldrank” which always seemed to be orange flavour. Watching the big black ants fight for the crumbs and then it’s off again – Beaufort-West and then the longest piece of straight road you can find in Springbokland. Finally into Meiringspoort – into the shade of the high cliffs and counting how many times we cross the river (seventeen, right?).

Past Oudtshoorn with the curious ostriches next to the fence and over the Outeniqua pass, which now only reminds me of our erstwhile ill-fated cricket captain, and you can almost smell the sea! The air is cooler and the sun is starting to hide behind the mountain. Now the eyes are peeled, because the competition is on – who can see the sea first. Through Blanco, which BK always thought a funny name for a coloured township, but it is only when we get on the road (before the freeway was built) to Glentana that the sea makes it’s presence know between the hills.

Ja, what good memories – let’s hope the trip from Cairns to Brisbane is as good!

Bosveldgroete!