Thoughts

Sorry I have been offline for a wile, but while I have been in Tzaneen over the weekend there has been no real news (or photos).  I am in limbo a bit until I can pick up my car, which should be mid week, but then I am having a few extras put onto it so it will be later in the week before I depart.  Then once I start travelling the photos should start coming again.  By the way I am a bit underwhelmed by the lack suggestions for a name for the car!  I have addressed my short term transport problems by buying a mountain bike, which will obviously travel with me in the back of the ‘bakkie’ (ute).  It was about half the price of my bike back home but about twice as good.

I have met some nice people here, and have got to know a couple of the reception staff at Hotel@Tzaneen reasonably well.  Yesterday, after his shift Joseph took me for a walk to a nearby dam where we had a couple of drinks and generally chilled out.  We met a group of volunteers doing micro finance and business development with people from the USA, Canada and Italy.  So it was good to speak to some people who were a bit more ‘worldly’ again and had English as a first language.  When they found out I had just bought a car, a couple of them were interested in teaming up to travel after their volunteer time was up and share costs.  So I will probably follow up on this as it will offset costs and it is always more fun to travel with somebody.  I have already started buying some bits and pieces for it, as I need to do something to keep myself occupied.

I haven’t really had a chance to take any photos recently, so please stay with me and they will start coming again.  However, when I unpacked at the hotel the other day, I found this ‘spider(?)’ had hitched a lift in one of my shirts from SANWild to the hotel.  I am assuming it is an arachnid of some sort as it has eight legs, but it also has ‘pincers’ like a scorpion.  It reminds me a bit of the Camel Spiders in the Middle East, which a supposedly in the arachnid family but a genus between spiders and scorpions?  Anyway, it doesn’t look very nice!

The friendly 'arachnid?' with a pen to show scale, after it crawled ot of my shirt.

A it closer so you can see its pincers.