Sunday was even hotter than Saturday so we spent the morning lazing by the pool and even I ventured in for a swim to cool down. HoweverI did add a Grey Lourie and a Canary to my list of the garden's birds.

In the afternoon we set off again to the game reserve around the corner. It was hot and humid and there didn't seem to be much about as we drove around. It wasn't long however before we spotted a large grey bum, that of a white rhino, the first of the three or four that we saw on our visit. It got hotter and hotter so we went to the bird hides near the picnic site. South Africans seem to go to bird hides to socialise rather to see the birds because this hide contained four young men chatting and fooling around; consequently we didn't see much close up. However I did add Eygptian Goose, Purple Heron and Black headed heron to my list, ... all seen on the opposite of the small lake in front of the hide.

We set off again and as dusk began to fall things got busier and we added zebra, ostrich, jackal, wildebeest and two types of antelope to our list (must look them up). On the bird side I added white crowned plover, little bittern, Swainson's francolin, golden crowned bishop, african stonechat, white fronted bee eater and crowned plover. We were just going back to the main gate as we heard a loud noise/sneeze from the large lake so stopped for a final peak in the last bird hide and saw our prize of the day, .... two large hippopotimi(uses?) floating mostly submerged in the water in front of us.

Saturday was the day of the wedding, the main purpose of our coming to South Africa. The day dawned bright and sunny. Dominique remembers the rain, but then she go up earlier than us. You need to get up early if you are going to fit in hairdressers appointments for five bridesmaids and a bride befor a 10am wedding.

The location in the Nature Reserve round the corner from our guesthouse was lovely. A white bridal pagoda set out in front of the lake. Lilac coloured bows tied round the white covered chairs set out in rows for the guests to sit on.

Dominique looked absolutely stunning, when she arrived just that tiny bit late! ...  She said they were caught in traffic. Her father is a pastor and he held the ceremony with just the right sense of humour. The bridesmaids were in shades of purple and lilac, with even Gavin wearing a matching lilac shirt. It was so lovely we were all biting back the tears before the end.

The reception was in the Lapa just a few yards from where the ceremony was held where we all enjoyed a hearty wedding breakfast. We met some great people and were very touched to be mentioned in the brides father's speech.

We can only wish them every future happiness. They certainly got off to a good start.

Today (Tues) we are walking in the Drakensberg mountains, but I haven't been able to get to a terminal for a bit so, power cuts permitting, I will try to catch up on the past few days.

On Friday we did a tour of Soweto. It was very hot, ... over 30 degrees but we were in a comfortable Mercedes tour bus complete with water cooler! The tour was very interesting and I was surprised with the variation within Soweto. We saw rich houses (a few) as well as the match-boxes houses of the middle class and the shanty towns.

Our tour gudes were delightful, though the driver wasn't interested in coming into the Hector Pieterson museum (on the riots and apartied) because he had lived through it. The actual Soweto guides lived in the shanty towns and were all part of community improvement schemes. They were extremely knowledgable and to finish the tour one sang us a click song, which to me summed up the place, which was of much more hope and growth than other shanty towns I've seen. However this is an experience that I think everyone who come to South Africa should undergo.

We're now back to Pheasant Hill House, the charming guest house just outside Pretoria, which is our main base for the holiday.

We turned up last Sunday driving up a green drive lined with urns on pedestals past the gate and round an Italianate fountain where we parked inside a tropical garden. Entering the Victorian style house we called out but there was no reply so we waited and enjoyed the brightly coloured birds flying around everywhere. After a a few minutes and a few more calls from us we heard a voice from the balcony above. I know it's hot here, but I'm having to get used the acres of male muscle on display! We had disturbed Mike in the middle of his shower so he was only wearing a towel tound his waist! We let him finish his shower before checking in.

The bird life in the garden of the guest house is absolutely stunning. At first I recognised nothing; everything was so brightly colored. However, by the end of breakfast on Monday morning I had identified a paradise fly catcher, a crested barbet, pintailed whydah, masked weaver birds, red bishops and crested guinea fowl although the latter may be domesticated. The bird life is so brilliant because we are on the edge of a nature reserve and the owners lead up two massive bird tables with fruit and seeds every day.

We have a very pleasant room in a block of four, ajacent to the main house with a swimming pool  at least 2 metres from our bedroom door. When we returned yesterday the owner Deon, who is the keen bird watcher, showed us the weaver bird nests hanging from the trees just outside the courtyard. (I'll let you find another web site to discover the nest making process of the weaver bird.) The inspections by the female weaver birds are complete for these nests and there appear to be young inside.

Paul has been doing a stirling job as driver around the Gauteng in spite of us having hired an automatic with the poke of a Reliant Robin. It's taken him a couple of days to get used to the 4 way stop etiquette.  Basically everyone stops then everyone takes their chance. Interesting road signs have inclided graphical interpretations of "Beware of monkeys", "Hippos crossing" and "No trading on the motorway hard shoulder".

Tomorrow we go to Soweto, the wedding is on Saturday then on to the Drakensburg so I won't be posting for a few days, but we're having a great time.

All is going really well at the moment. Its really hot here and sunny most of the time. We've had a couple of stupendous thunder storms but they were over very quickly.

We're just on our way back from Lesidi cultural village where we slept two nights in a Zulu hut. I've not got the technology here with me to upload the photos now but doubtless I'll bore you with them when I'm back. The Zulu hut did have running water, en suite facilities, electricity and a TV so we were fairly comfortable. The Rough Guide is pretty scathing about the place, but we had a great time. We were met by  a Pedi tribesman resplendent in kilt and not much else. He took us to reception where the receptionist elegant in black robe was busy sending spam emails to all her friends! At least with a blog I don't force you to receive my ramblings.

Inside the round thatched hut (think African Butlins luxury chalet) was beautufully decorated with goemetric designs in Ochre, rust and chocolate brown. A colonial fan kept created a light breeze and we had all the luxuries you would expect in a four star hotel, including tea making facilities and free toiletries that actually smelt good. Back at the open air reception we received a full welcome from about six Zulu warriors wearing even less than the Pedi tribesman before being taken to the storytelling, audio video show and a tour of the four different tribal villages. This was very well done with demonstrations of basic skills like hut weaving and maize grinding (by the women - the men demonstrating how to hang around and play cards!). I just had to sample to meewolo worm although Paul along with the other people on our tour declined for some reason. It was very salty, with just an aftertaste of nuts or chocolate, but I can't say I'd like to live on them.

After the tour we went back to the main hut for a song and dance performance. Lots of vibrant dancing and loud African drumming. I particularly liked the gum boot dance. It was so infectious we all ended up dancing. I never knew Paul could move so well!!

After the drumming we went to another large hut, first for a beer and then for the feast. I do recommend crocodile stew although I found ostrich neck a lot of hard work for little benefit. We finished the night sitting outside our hut in the warm night looking at the bright stars to the background buzzing of grasshoppers and cicadas.

Hi, its Friday and I've not gone yet, I'm just testing that I can use my blog OK. Getting very excited

Hi folks I go on holiday to South Africa on Saturday 27th January and hope to use this blog to post my news.