A few photos from this year's Island Christmas Service at the tennis pavilion

Here's wishing all the Island visitors a very Merry Christmas and all the best for 2016!

The ride felt pretty good this morning - we stopped at 25K (it seemed appropriate for the 25th) but we could have gone another 25K.  So when I got home I strapped on the old running shoes and did a quick run out to Southern Cross - have to make room I still fit in my clothes after the Christmas turkey (actually, it's a Moroccan spiced butterflied leg of lamb...).

So what do you do on a windy day?  Well, you grab your kite & harness and strap on your board if you're anything like the three guys who were out on the lagoon today (better the lagoon than the sea, especially with gusty, erratic wind conditions if you're not into becoming shark bait, IMHO).

And we're finally good to go - the power was fully restored at 6:22 p.m.

The power is back on... oh wait, it is back off again at 6:08...

I just got off the phone with the Municipality (5:35 p.m.) - it turns out the power had been restored to other areas and they have only just heard that The Island remains without electricity. They advise that the electrician is already on his way back...

I was busy, locked away in the garage working on a couple of entries for this year's Anything That Floats contest so I wasn't able to call the Municipality to ask about the power outage until about 3:30 (I think it had been off for about 3 hours by then). They told me at the time that it was a main cable fault and that they expected power to be restored around 4 p.m.... it is now after 5 p.m. and still no power so i guess it is taking longer than expected to resolve.

If you wish to contact the Mossel Bay Municipality for an update, their after hours number is 044-606-5000.  I will call shortly and will post any further update they provide.

Okay, making a bit of progress, it's no longer feels like I've got a grand piano tied to my butt - just a baby grand.... the treadmill, even with a 2° elevation adjustment to simulate wind, just isn't the same as hitting the old asphalt (never mind the humidity).  But we knew that, didn't we? :)

Meanwhile, the girls were out at Southern Cross beach doing their Pilates - a bit tricky crossing the excess water which was released from the dam, but they ended up there in the end...  The Pilates sessions (R50) are more or less just for the holidays (except for the next few days apparently).  There was a flyer in the Spar - I'll try to take a photo and post it later.

If you're a golfer and looking for some great deals on green fees in the Garden Route, here are some offers you should consider:

Garden Route Golf Passports offers various green fee or green fee & cart options covering most of the courses stretching from Mossel Bay to Plettenberg Bay.  If you're a member of a local course here, then the basic packages aren't going to appeal to you because your own member rates will be lower (same with the special Southern Cape affiliated rates offered out of season).  But if you're a visitor to the area, they certainly will be good value.  And whether you're a local member or a visitor, the rates on the championship courses (see their Albatross or Championship packages) are where you're really going to see value - to the tune of R200-300 a round on courses like Pinnacle Point (Mossel Bay), the Montagu or Outeniqua at Fancourt (George), Oubaai (George), Simola, (Knysna), Pezula (Knysna), assuming you'd normally take a cart on these courses (you pretty well have to as the distances between holes is pretty great on most, with the exception of Fancourt where walking is actually mandatory, unless you have a medical certificate).  My experience is that you can book your tee times in advance and change them as needed with the individual clubs.

It's also worth checking out the Garden Route golf deals on Flook - some are stay and play, but they also have green fee-only deals, mostly in the post-holiday season.

And finally, if you like Oubaai, they have a couple of deals that are worth keeping in mind if you plan on playing a dozen or so rounds there.  You can get 15 rounds for R5832 (the normal price during peak season for a non-affiliated visitor is R800 per round).  You'll still have to pay for a cart which is R300 (so R150 each if there are two of you).  They have a similar deal for 30 rounds at R8343.  Both the "Club 15" and "Club 30" include unlimited use of the driving range & practice facilities (probably the best you'll find within 50 km's - and certainly the closest), plus a variety of other benefits, such as food & beverage discounts, etc.  Full details here.  If you decide to take them up on their offer, tell them you heard about it on TheIslandGreatBrak.com! :)

For the full low down on golf in the Garden Route, check out the Golf in the Garden Route section of this website.