Helen and Mike, Isaac and Theo come to visit
Over Easter we have had our friends Helen and Mike with their two boys Isaac and Theo over to visit. I first met Helen and Mike at Uni in 1988, Mike and I studied engineering and Helen and I shared a flat. We’ve been friends ever since and shared many experiences together.
Helen and Mike, Issac and Theo started their NZ trip in the north island, taking 10 days to travel down by campervan. We were interested to hear which bits they enjoyed for when we make it up north. They then took the ferry across the Cook Strait from Wellington to Picton and the train down to Kaikoura where we met up with them for the south island part of their trip.
We spent the first night catching up, the kids were all pleased to see one another and enjoyed playing on the beach opposite the apartment. The following day we had booked to go out whale watching. This was a first for us too and we were lucky to have sunshine and calm waters as we headed out on the boat. Not far off the shore of Kaikoura is a huge trench which is almost 2km deep, called the Kaikoura Canyon. It is home to giant sperm whales and it wasn’t long before we got our first sighting, using a hydrophone, the crew had picked up the noise of a whale under the surface of the water. We waited patiently for a few minutes and then it surfaced, spouting every 20 seconds or so. Then after about 20 minutes on the surface it raised its tail and gently slid back into the depths of the sea.
We then sped across the water to catch up with another whale which was already on the surface. We made it in time to watch it for a few minutes before it too dived back under water. On the way back in to Kaikoura we saw a pod of about 150 dolphins, leaping and playing in the water. It was a great way to finish our trip out on the water.
We spent the rest of the day down by the seal colony, there weren’t many seals close to shore but the kids enjoyed running around on the rocks. Later that day we drove back to Christchurch where we gave everyone a day to catch breath and take in a game of rugby at Jade Stadium before driving down to Tekapo.
Teakpo is one of our favourite spots in NZ – the first time we went down that way Ben bust his elbow skiing but there is something about the turquoise waters and the imposing views of Mt Cook which keeps bringing s back to this spot. Although Helen and Mike only had a week in the south island, we were keen to show them as much as possible. On the first evening we made the most of the clear skies and went up to the observatory at Mt John – the night sky of the southern hemisphere viewed from here where there is very little light pollution is truly amazing. Stars littered the sky, we saw Saturn through the telescope and the milky way as a long cloud of thousands of stars across the sky
The following day we drove up to Mt Cook national park where we had a picnic and then went out on the Tasman Glacier Explorer. This is a boat trip out on the terminal lake of the Tasman Glacier – after a 20 minute walk through the valley that thousands of years ago was glacier, we arrive at the boats, they are like large reinforced dinghies and because there are 8 of us we get a boat and a tour guide to ourselves. We have done this trip once before but it is certainly one of the most awesome (to use an NZ expression that we have picked up since we have been here) trips we have done this year. Second time round was just as amazing, our guide explains about the silvery grey colour of the water and we are shown icebergs of different shapes and sizes, some have popped out of the water and turned over, others are very blue as they are new on the lake. We weave in and out of the ice and get to walk on one of the icebergs and see reflections of the mountains on the water.
After the last few days packed with sightseeing and a long drive back to Christchurch, we spend the day at Sumner beach chilling out and recharging for the next few days in and around Christchurch. We go into town, taking a trip on the tram and visiting the Arts Centre and in the last few days we go crab hunting in Governor’s bay, up the gondola, to the museum and finally just before Helen, Mike, Isaac and Theo get on a plane back to the UK we make it to the Antarctic Centre.
Photos from Helen, Mike, Isaac and Theo's visit to the South Island of New ZealandIt’s difficult to pick the best bits, the boys will go back to the UK full of what they have done in NZ. The Waitomo caves in the north island sound like a big hit and the stars in Tekapo and the glacier boat trip were amazing. We’ve converted the boys to rugby and Theo has discovered that he loves the beach. We’ve all had a great time and for us it has been nice to show our friends where we have been living for the past year and some of the landscape that we love in NZ.
Computers for Africa
Two years ago, we took Louise and Daniel on their first travelling adventure to South Africa. We spent a couple of weeks in Cape Town and also ventured further up the coast, two hours from Port Elizabeth to a place called Kenton-on-Sea. It was there that we met Erica McNulty and Mike and Marijke Kirby who introduced us to the some of the surrounding community.
On our return to the UK we wrote an article for the local paper about our experience (it provides the background for the next bit of the story) and set about trying to put something back into the community that had made us feel so welcome. Given our background in IT, the obvious choice was to try send some computers that could be used in the local schools.
April 2005: notes from our holiday in South Africa, Kenton-on-Sea
Two years later, with the support of RM (thanks Terry Sweeney) and a lot of chasing (our thanks to James MacIntyre who followed it all through whilst we were in NZ), the computers have not only arrived but are being put to good use. The following link is an article written recently by the Kenton Community Computer Centre about the project.
April 2007: update from South Africa, turning ideas into reality
Kenton 2007
April 2007 - extract from the December 2006 community paper, an update from the Kenton Community Computer Centre
First there were Computers, then an Internet Cafe, now a Container!Masithethe Foundation spreading its wings to enable more individuals gain access
to basic computer skills, to support their school education and equip them for the future.
Following the success of the Kenton Community Computer Centre which was launched by the Masithethe Foundation on 17 March 2005, and has trained over 580 students and provides Internet Café facilities, a second computer centre is coming to life across the Bushmans River from Kenton.
This new chapter of our story started with a visit to Kenton, around Easter 2005, by Ben and Sharon Jenkins and their two young children from the UK. The Jenkins were staying in a B&B run by Mike and Marijke Kirby, and whilst the Kirby’s were babysitting, Erica McNulty from the local Tourism Office took Ben and Sharon around the townships which got them enthusiastic about doing something to help.
Ben was working for Research Machines PLC and decided to see if he could get some computer equipment for a worthwhile project. The Jenkins have since moved to New Zealand, but before leaving Research Machines PLC Ben managed to arrange for 3 laptops and 3 desktops to be shipped to the Eastern Cape.
At the time when the Kenton Computer Centre was taking shape under Errol Greer (Chairman of the Masithethe Foundation), Mike Kirby was concerned that the centre would not be accessible to the whole community, particularly those living across the Bushmans River from Kenton. He spoke to Errol and they came to an understanding that any expansion of teaching facilities logically should fall under the foundation’s aegis, but that they would try to find a way to position a facility within the neighbouring community. Errol would provide the technical oversight and MIke would get the day-to-day supervision organised.
Mike selected the Klipfontein Primary School as being an appropriate place for the new centre, as it is situated between the black and coloured communities of Bushmans’ River Mouth, and half of the learners come from each community. The school had also not received much in the way of attention from the broader population over the years and Mike had a good contact there by the name of Ronnie Jacobs, its principal, who is also a member of the Congregational Church that Mike is the minister of in Alexandria.
While the team were making plans Annette Brierley, also from the local Tourism Office, mentioned to Mike that Simon Avis of Nomad Freight in Johannesburg and she had been discussing ways in which he and his company could make a contribution to the area. Being a shipping man he raised the idea of using a container for some useful project. So the plan, as they say, came together!
Simon’s idea of a container was particularly attractive for the team’s purposes because the Klipfontein School is on hired premises and the container can be moved to a new location if necessary. Simon was prepared to fund half the cost, and Mike persuaded their very dear friends Bill and Nita Whitward from Holland to fund the other half.
Once again, from an initial donation of computers and a container, the local community has come togcthcr yet again to turn an idea into reality. The team is using local labour wherever possible, like George Kleinhans (cutting and welding), Henry Jacobs (carpentry, Bradley Millborrow (electrical), and Elize Millborrow (painting and decorating). Jan Wesselo, and Anton McLean (D&A Hardware) have helped in sourcing materials at reasonable costs. In addition, a German couple, the Merkels, have since provided additional computer equipment.
Work has started on the container and it will be wood and insulation lined, with windows for ventilation. It will consist of two areas, an office of 4m by 4.5m for Ronnie Jacobs the principal, where he can also keep equipment such as a photocopier, and a computer teaching area of 8m by 4.5m. Each section will be entered through a stable door protected by an outer metal door made from the metal cut out of the container. The container will be alarmed.
As Mike Kirby reflects on this project he shares his thoughts... “So, for me this has been heart-warming evidence of how people can show their practical care. Hopefully the children will be the main recipients, and will become skilled in something that may otherwise have eluded them for the whole of their lives - even in this day and age! Of course the school itself will have the advantage of entering the computer age at last.”
link back to Computers for Africa
Kenton 2005
April 2005 - thoughts of our trip, emailed to Erica and published in the local community paper:Amazing, touching, contrasting experiences all in one day, one that we will remember for a very long time to come.
It seemed a long way from where we had started, long winter nights trawling the internet. In a bid to save some money and also just because it was fun seeing what was out there, we decided to ditch the tour operators and go it on our own. With two young children ages 4 and 5 the success of our holiday adventure was going to depend on a balance of culture/tradition/sightseeing for Ben and I with a good dose of beach for the kids to run off some of that seemingly endless energy. As it turns out South Africa was spot on. Louise and Daniel's image of Africa before we left the U.K. was wild animals and perhaps a bit more obscurely drums. A safari was therefore top of the list of things to do. This was to be the start of a series of happy coincidences that were to take us to Kenton.
The safari itself was not an easy search, ideally only a short flight from Cape Town (the kids love flying so cost was driving this aspect) and somewhere that welcomed children (most safaris places will not take kids under the age of 7 - presumably safety and also I think in part based on the assumption that others don't want their experience ruined by rowdy kids). We settled on Kariega - a short flight to Port Elizabeth and a drive up the coast to Kenton and after some negotiation over email they agreed that the kids could come out on the game drive.
In the back of my mind, I also wanted to see some of the real Africa. After some soul searching and a bit of reading, it seemed that a township tour would be the best option. The idea of peeking into people's lives for leisure purposes seemed somehow insensitive but whatever reservations we had before the tour, were swept away as we experienced the warmth and vibrancy of these informal settlements. Having visited Robben Island earlier in the week and been shown round by Sparks, an ex political prisoner, this was to really confirm to me that all across the country somehow people have managed to come out of Apartheid with a real feeling of positiveness and pride in a country that is trying to bring people up (a stark contrast to the situation in Zimbabwe). There does not appear to be any bitterness, a truly wonderful sprit in people that means that South Africa has a great future ahead.
Anyway, back to the planning. Our safari was booked for 2 days and so in order to cram in as much as we could, we decided to fly up the day before and stay at the beach at nearby Kenton on Sea, sounds like a dodgy English seaside resort but it was to be a real find. In reading through the Rough Guide to South Africa, I discovered Erica McNulty's name - the name had stuck, probably because I thought it was unusual to name an individual in a travel book. Anyway I turned back to the internet to have a look at the area around Kariega. Kenton had its own web site! Embedded the list of accommodation details and activities was Erica's name. I decided to email Erica asking about accommodation ands a township tour. I didn't really expect a reply but when I did that was good enough for me. That was it, we agreed to meet up and in the weeks running up to our holiday we traded emails and by the time we got there we felt that we were firm friends.
Erica had provided us with loads more detail about accommodation available and we had gone for a place called Wings. Right on Bushman's river with breathtaking views and our wonderful hosts Marijke and Mike. After an evening on the beach and a good sleep, the kids woke up in the morning, eager to go upstairs and play with the dogs as soon as they had got dressed. Over a delicious homemade breakfast of muesli, muffins, bread and full cooked, we heard about Marijke's work with local people and how they had struggled and tried to rebel in their own way through Apartheid. It was an interesting discussion, I often wonder whether we would be prepared to do the same, I'd like to think we'd do the right thing but recognise especially that with kids we also have a responsibility to them. We also met Mike who is now a minister, again working with the community, following retirement from his career in Jo'burg.
After breakfast we met Erica who took us to Marselle, one of the newer townships in the area. Our first stop was the pre school which has children aged 2-7. They were really pleased to see us and after some initial nervousness, Louise and Daniel sat and played with the children. The children did some singing and then we watched as the kids just got on with what they do best - playing and having fun together. It was a very moving experience. After an hour and half of being completely absorbed, Marijke kindly offered to take the kids back to Wings whilst Erica took us further into the township. Although we only met Erica a few hours ago and Marijke yesterday, somehow it seems like we have been friends for ages. Erica drove us along to see some of the houses and explained that donations are being used to encourage people to convert their shacks into solid houses. We met a healer and also went inside one of the houses - it was much bigger than it looked from the outside. The lady explained that as there is no drainage, when it rains the water floods through the house. Erica explained that most kids are brought up by grandparents as their parents look for work. In this area 90% are unemployed. We then met some local ladies, including Evelyn who have setup a bead making venture - this is what Erica is all about - helping people to help themselves. It was a real mixture of feelings - clearly things have progressed over the last 10 years - the children are now in school (where they get a nutritious meal), most houses are now concrete with some electricity and central water. Equally there is still so much to do - we were painfully aware of the inequalities that life brings.
After an emotional goodbye we went back to Wings to collect Louise and Daniel - they had been happily playing with the dogs and had built a house on the balcony using umbrellas - it even had a bed. It was then on to Kariega. On the way the car suddenly came to a holt as across in the bush we could see two giraffe - we hadn't even arrived but already we were hooked. Kariega is amazing - the lodges and restaurant are all done in a very traditional style which blends into the surrounding nature. After lunch we met our ranger Leonard who took us out on our first game drive - we headed off down the bumpy track and into the bush. The scenery is stunning and after only a few minutes we see giraffe (so close that we can see the giraffe swallow down its neck) and Wildebeest. Then a bit further down Impala (Louise and Daniel liked the link to McDonalds - they have a dark marking on their rump in the shape of an 'M' - the lions think of them as fast food McDonalds) Next are the zebra including one very pregnant one due to give birth any day. After a couple of hours we head over to the other side of the reserve - this is where the real predators are and we are not to be disappointed. This is now really thick bush and we are holding on tight as we bump our way through muddy tracks. We come to a group of elephants - 11 of them including the matriarch who keeps them all in order. We track them and watch as they pull apart trees on their way. We then head off to the top of one of the hills to watch the sunset with a beer and some crisps. As dark falls we go in search of the lions. When we find the two males they are still asleep (with legs cocked up in the air) Everyone is silent for about 20 minutes and then we watch spellbound as one of them walks off into the bush ready for a night of hunting (further down the track on the way back we see a pile of ostrich feathers from where the lions have been successful earlier in the day).
On that note, we head back to for the evening and some reflection of an incredible day. We had combined the real Africa with breathtaking beaches and wonderful game
all the more special because we had organised it ourselves. Thank you Erica, Marijke and Mike for sharing a piece of your life with us. Don't tell too many people though, we'd like to come back to your spot of paradise again some day.
Enkosi, until next time,
Sharon, Ben, Louise and Daniel Jenkins.
link back to Computers for Africa
