One of the ironies a blogger faces is that when there is a great deal to blog about, there isn’t enough time to do it in. With lots of literary things happening — watch this space! — I am battling to post daily doings.
Le Domaine
Take last weekend as an egg sample. Saturday was spent in having a conducted tour of Le Domaine, a residential area for over-fifties in Hillcrest, near Durban, comprising some 700 units split into fifteen villages and four apartment blocks on some 35 hectares with a boundary wall 7,5km long. It has numerous water features, with water circulating, and the mainly indigenous planting is landscaped and carefully tended and regulated. There is much there for our Garden Judges Association to note and learn from. Small wild animal and bird life abounds.
We did a lot of walking.
The Kenneth Stainbank Nature Reserve
On Sunday we paid another overdue visit to the Kenneth Stainbank Nature Reserve, a little game reserve virtually on our doorstep donated to the people of Durban over 50 years ago by the family. It is a car ride of only 15-20 minutes to get there from home. Coedmore Castle, a lovely old stone homestead built as a home in 1885 is tucked in the heart of it, surrounded by giant Yellowwood trees and coastal forest and grasslands on 253hectares.
It wasn’t the castle we were there to see, however, and we took our walk in the woods with eyes peeled for the wildlife abounding there. Soon we were rewarded, and managed to keep the excited girls quiet for long enough to be able to get fairly close to buck and zebra. The art I passed on to them is to behave as if the animals are the last thing on earth one is interested in. On our way back, the cutest little zebra foal spotted Younger Daughter’s striped top and came galloping at full speed straight towards us yelling, ‘Mommy!’ When close enough to see his mistake he put on screeching brakes and retreated to behind distant bushes where his mother actually was. Pity I deployed the camera far too late to get the scene.
We did a lot more walking.
Colonialist's Blog 
You certainly have more than your fair share of fascinating wildlife in Die Republik Südafrika
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Do indeed. And in Afrikaans that would be rendered as Die Republiek van Suid Afrika.
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What a lovely place. It looks as everyone had a lovely day and did a lot of walking 🙂
I’ll try your hint out next time with the squirrels in our garden ;-
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How exciting it must be to walk amongst such magnificent animals! The photos are wonderful of both the animals and the beautiful Nature Reserve. The story of the young zebra running towards “familiar stripes” is so surprising! If I could walk in these areas I think I’d be fine with tired feet! 🙂
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We certainly covered a distance, and were completely astonished at being galloped at!
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Great pictures. The Kenneth Stainbank Nature Reserve looks like a fun day out.
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Indeed; there are various picnic or braai (barbeque) places dotted about where one relaxes and hopes the animals come to you rather than having to walk to see them!
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It blows my mind that anyone lives that close to zebras! Incredible!
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It is even a daytrip for us to go and view lions and elephants and hippo and leopards and cheetah and elands and younameit smaller species in the wild! (But not stroll among them!)
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I am jealous! But also, it’s probably good that I don’t live there, because I’d probably get eaten 😂
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*soothingly* It’s OK, there’s a strict rule not to get out of cars, and another not to sell tin-openers to predators.
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You were so close to the animals. What a treat.
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It is a lovely way to do game viewing, indeed! Stroll among them. My very favourite is to ride on horseback among them, though.
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Wonderful. Love the wildlife pictures. Hope all is well
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A pleasant stroll, indeed!
We should know more after tomorrow, hopefully.
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