Escape to Orbi's

Last weekend we escaped from Zithulele for the day! On Sunday morning, Anita picked us up to go to Hole in the Wall which is a place about 40 minutes away, google it if you want the full story. Two of the occupational therapists, Jess and Shannon had rented this amazing house on the beach for the weekend (at about R110 = £11 per night we will probably rent it soon as well...) so we all went for a day of beach fun, food and good chat.

First of all, Orbi's house (btw, Orbi is the owner) is AMAZING. The basic facilities here at Zithulele do lose their rustic charm now and then so it was great to sit in a house that was nicely furnished and had a sofa for once! There is a garden that looks right out onto the beach and its about a 30 second walk down onto the sand. To top it all off, it was probably the hottest and most stunning day we've had since we got here so perfect for a beach day.

We went down for a swim about 11, well, when I say swim on in the sea here, its more like playing in enormous waves as its pretty rough! I really need to get hold of a bodyboard and start taking advantage – surfing is another option but I don't think I have the coordination...After we were all finished with the sea for the morning, we went to sit in a rockpool and drink some beer :D Which may sound odd, but it was nice and refreshing in the hot sun, and there wasn't any rank sea creatures a la North Berwick beach. At around lunch time, we went back to the house to avoid a roasting in the midday sun.

I read the entire of Breakfast at Tiffany's (see my previous post where I went to see the play) which took about an hour and a half, then Jess made pancakes for a lunchtime snack. I can't say I've had pancakes that many times, but these were the best pancakes EVER. Since then I have made pancakes twice, the first time I've ever made them in my life, and if I am still in a pancake loving mood when I come back, then maybe I will make some for you lucky people at home!



For proper lunch, we had a South African take on Sunday dinner: braaied chicken, potato and cheese bake, roasted sweet potato and vegetables. Etienne, Anita's husband (the hospital dentist) is an expert on the braai (BBQ) front so it was an excellent meal and it was also nice to have a sit down lunch with other people :D For pudding, Shannon had made icecream (anyone else get the feeling my entire blog is about foood? Haaa) which was stunnnnning and we all sat and ate it in the sun overlooking the beautiful Hole in the Wall beach. If you've googled it by now, I should probably point out we weren't actually at the Hole, we were in a different bay along the coast a bit.



After lunch and a rest, we went over to Hole in the Wall holiday resort where we met Karl and Sally, two doctors at Zithulele, and their kids, Emma and Johann, and Liz who is also a doctor. We had a swim in the pool, a bit of a chat, played with the cute kids etc etc before heading on back to Orbi's. Probably the coolest thing about the little outing to the swimming pool was the way we got there – Sam and I sat on the roof of Etienne's 4 x 4 which was pretty scary at first but turned out to be refreshing on a hot day and a much better to see the landscape around here :D Next time we do it I'll get some pictures!



So that was the end of the Hole in the Wall day, good times all round!