TheIsland@GreatBrak - Island Blog - TheIsland@GreatBrakRiver

We're Going to the Birds [Corrected]!

27/2/2015

Yesterday there was a sole Greater Flamingo in the shallows between The Island and Southern Cross. Later in the day, an Osprey came and perched on the roof of one of the houses [which I erroneously posted was an African Fish Eagle - apologies and thanks to the birders out there!]. Though he flew off eventually, he was back here this morning.

A Greater Flamingo in the shallows between The Island and Southern Cross

An osprey does a fly-by...

There's a much better photo of the Osprey on this Facebook page.

Stage 2 Load Shedding Today - Feb 26

26/2/2015

Eskom has announced that Stage 2 load shedding will be implemented today from 10:00 - 22:00. According to the schedule for Greater Mossel Bay, this means we can expect to be without power on The Island from 8:00 - 10:00 p.m. this evening.

Eskom Announces Load Shedding This Weekend

20/2/2015

Eskom announced on their Facebook page that they will be implementing load shedding this weekend: Stage 2 on Saturday from 8:00 a.m until 10 p.m. and Stage 1 on Sunday (no times given). Based on the latest load shedding schedule for the Greater Mossel Bay area, this means we can expect to be without power on The Island as follows:

Saturday, Feb 21st (Stage 2) from 12 noon to 2:30 p.m.
Sunday, Feb 22nd (Stage 1) from 8 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.

A Little Valentine's Romance - Thanks to Oyster World and Eskom

14/2/2015

Had 6 large and 6 jumbo (wild) oysters from Oyster World, served with a fresh mango-cilantro-chile salsa and a drop of tabasco - yum!

With load shedding scheduled to hit at 8:00 p.m., I hardly needed an excuse to get creative on the lighting front. Here's my old standby, it's simple, cheap, fun and it's guaranteed to wins points with the missus!

Here's what you'll need:

Some small paper bags (I got a pack of 100 for next to nothing a few years ago at Vredebest Packaging in Mossel Bay - I am still working my way through them...)
Some tea lights
Some sand (hey, that's free!), a bucket and a trowel - or your kid's pale & spade beach set
A lighter

Paper bags: check... Tea lights: check... Sand: check... Lighter: check. Looks like we're in business!

Put a good trowel full of sand in the bag (wet or dry, it doesn't really matter), then set a tea light on top. Give it a bit of a press so it has a reasonably firm position in the sand.

Light your tea lights, turn on some music (Gregory Porter anyone?) and you've just earned yourself the Boy Scouts "Instant Romance" badge! In the bags, these tea lights withstand a pretty good wind, too. If the wind is very strong, it may blow the paper bag over the flame - usually this puts the flame out, but you can also end up with a burned bag, so be careful. In no-wind situations, it's a piece of cake (we had 30 km/hr gusts tonight!)

Load Shedding Scheduled to Hit From 12 Noon to 2:30 p.m. Sunday

14/2/2015

This evening (Saturday, Feb 14th), Eskom announced that Stage 2 load shedding will be implemented for Sunday from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Based on the load shedding schedule for the Greater Mossel Bay area, this means we can expect to be without power from 12 noon to 2:30 p.m. on Sunday.

It's Valentine's Day So Break Out the Candles, Stage 2 Load Shedding From 8-10 p.m. This Evening

14/2/2015

A few minutes ago, Eskom announced they would be implementing Stage 2 load shedding from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. this evening.

Based on the schedule for the Greater Mossel Bay area, this means we can expect to be without power from 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.

So, looks like even if your sweetie isn't particularly romantic, you may still get your candlelight dinner tonight ladies (and gents). Or at least the washing up will be by candlelight. Happy Valentine's Day folks!

Best Burger in George? You Be The Judge at The Bench

13/2/2015

In George and looking for some excellent food? Then head over to The Bench at Shop 5, 107 York Street (see the reviews on tripadvisor and their Facebook page). Had their fantastic burger (one of the best I've had in a long while), while the missus had their "pizza pastry" - also delicious. And easy on the wallet, too.

R55 for this delicious, cheese-stuffed, medium-rare burger which came with potato wedges

Just R17, believe it or not.

Load Shedding 8-10 pm Tonight - Tues, Feb 10th

10/2/2015

Eskom has just announced there will be Stage 1 load shedding until 10:00 p.m. this evening. For us, this means the power will likely be off from 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.

Wouldn't it be ironic if there is no load shedding on Valentine's Day and the lights stay on? We may use up our candles by then anyway!

Leervis (Garrick) and Spotted Grunters

10/2/2015

The Spotted Grunters and Leervis (aka Garrick) are particularly large in both the Little Brak and Great Brak River this year (it was a topic of discussion at both River Forums earlier in the month) - and what's more, they're biting and being landed. Here's a Spotted Grunter that John caught earlier this morning (apparently not the largest of 3 others that got away):

Willem showing me the Spotted Grunter which John caught earlier today. They'll clean it, hang it to dry, then slit the flesh and cover with corn flour and spices before pan frying it in a bit of oil (or something like that - my Afrikaans is a bit like my fishing - hit & miss!).

Great Golfing Weather

9/2/2015

We've had spectacular weather - and what better way to enjoy it than walking around the golf course, taking in the amazing Outeniqua mountains?

There are obviously plenty of options, but we had to play our own George Golf Club on Sunday. Rather bad golf (on my part), but excellent company. So much so, that the 3rd who joined us, a South African expat visiting from Colorado, and I decided to play another round the following day before his flight out. "Pack your bags, I'll pick you up at 6:15 and we'll get a round in!"

So, where to play? hmmm, he'd already played the Outeniqua at Fancourt and the first available time on the Montagu was 3:00 p.m. (!!). Scratch that one off the list. Okay, how about Kingswood which we could see from the George course? Nope, they don't open until 10:30 a.m. on Mondays. Darn, we're not doing well here. But wait, what about Oubaai? Repeated calls the Pro Shop go to voice mail. That's odd.
Okay, make a provisional booking at George for 7:35 a.m. and hope someone from Oubaai calls back.

Brainwave: the missus and I decide to swing by Oubaai on the way back home and pop into Dutton's Cove for a drink and the Golfer's Platter.

We get to Oubaai but due to load shedding, they weren't able to tell which tee times were available (hint guys: print out your tee times in advance of the scheduled load shedding time!). They'll call me back when the power comes on at 5:00 p.m. Okay, but we need an early tee time so we can get to the airport. No problem, we'll call you back, they say. Sure, sure, I think.

Over to Dutton's Cove (it was either that or an ice cream cone at the beach, but it was a zoo down there). Sadly, no Golfer's Platter as the power is out - just a few of the mains are available (anything that can be pan-fried). Okay, fine, we'll have the grilled calamari and a side order of "the view", leaving room for tonight's braai.

Guess who calls at 4:20? Oubaai, the power is back on and they have the morning's first slot available for us. I call my South African expat playing partner, who had tried calling me while I was at Dutton's Cove. Turns out, he, too, had been to Oubaai's Pro Shop and drove around - he's keen to play it. Perfect, we're on for a 6:15 a.m. pick-up - we have the day's first tee time at 7:30 a.m.

And what a fantastic day it was - the views were amazing - it's not often both the sea views and the George mountains are crystal clear. Even the golf was good. And we had the whole course to ourselves - though to be fair, a 2-ball did finally catch up to us on the 16th hole (we were still 18 minutes ahead of schedule).

Thanks for the convivial round, Pine - looking forward to seeing you back and seriously training for the Seniors' Tour!