The road to Bulungula

OK, here’s the deal. I spoke with Tim and Mark and we agreed that Bulungula was such a sensory overload that we’ll post two blogs. The first is about the experience of Bulungula itself and the second will be specifically about the Essential Oils project that the Old Mutual Foundation supports.

Ever since we’ve started planning this road trip, Tim and I (who’ve both had the privilege of visiting Bulungula before) have been regaling Mark with tales of its beauty and especially of its bathrooms! He’s been so excited that he’s practically wriggled in his chair in anticipation...

Finally, after visiting the traditional mama’s in Willowvale, we are on our way to much awaited Bulungula, situated on the mouth of the Xhora River on the Transkei coast. By now its late afternoon and the sunlight is low and fat and golden. The last thing we want is to arrive in the dark as the roads are really bad. (In fact, this project is the reason why we had to hire a 4x4). We turn off towards Coffee Bay, pass through Mqanduli (check out the isiXhosa click guide at the end of this post) and turn off the tar road. The last 20km takes approximately 1½ hours and we crawl along at a kidney-jarring pace.  But what makes it worth it, is that each kilometer deeper into the wild coast grows more rural and more beautiful.

A young herd-boy with his oxen

 

Life is easier holding hands



The road to Bulungula, with evening mist forming over the Indian Ocean. (For those observant blog-readers, the last 5km of the road had been recently upgraded much to our delight). 



Bulungula situated on the Wild Coast at the mouth of the Xhora River, Transkei



The end of the road, we're here - space to breathe, space to relax, space to think

The land of the Eastern Cape is soft and rounded, with high green-grassed ridges rolling down into wooded valleys. It’s easy to imagine a giant person lying under a heavy blanket outlining the indentations of a body. Scattered all over this land-body are traditional homesteads, round huts painted in vivid pink, blue, green or lime yellow, each connected with myriad paths worn smooth by bare feet. Sheep and cattle roam free (hopefully under the watchful eye of young herd-boy) but very often wander onto the road, hence Cynthia’s comment earlier about the ‘Transkei robots’. Children wave from the side of the roads, and women walk in file balancing bundles of firewood on their heads. Time slows down and becomes more rural so that ‘I’ll meet you at 9.15am’ becomes instead ‘I’ll meet you after I’ve collected water for the household and walked to your village.’ 

Sometimes when I write, a word/s will simply drop into my mind. One such phrase appeared and was jotted down in my scribble book, but I didn’t write it into our blog originally thinking it might sound a bit too 'wafty'. But the next day Mark used the exact phrase to describe an image as we were selecting photos for the blog. Strange how we both felt the same thing, except I saw these words, he saw the picture below...

"The land grows bigger as we grow smaller."

Here communities are born and knitted into each other, there’s a strong sense of identity and belonging in this traditional lifestyle where each person knows their neighbour’s children and grandchildren, customs are more conservative and respectful, and roles for men and women are clearly delineated. But despite this pastoral beauty, poverty is not pretty and the Eastern Cape battles with some of the most severe problems in the country, particularly health and education support in rural areas such as Bulungula.
 

Given the natural beauty of this region, tourism has certainly bolstered the local economy and helped in some areas, but in my view, it too can have its downside - instead of tourism working for the benefit of local people, all too often it can become the local people who end up working for the benefit of tourism (either as serving or cleaning staff). The Bulungula Lodge is different in that it is run and 40%-owned by the community (it's Fair Trade certified). Because of buy-in and support by local authority, the lodge is well-integrated into community life, with foreign and local visitors being able to experience home stays in local houses, a day in the forest with the local sangoma collecting herbs or even experiencing a day as a Xhosa women collecting water, working in the fields etc.



Transkei magic reveals itself in moonlight and starry night!



A family moment in moonlight, Bulungula, Transkei.

There’s a laid-back, chilled vibe that we found energizing – check our Mark’s gallery and you’ll see. (But for some people the slow pace, dusty corners, faded cushions and simple rooms aren’t going to work and heaven forbid if you have to drink out of an enamel cup!) The entire establishment runs on an honesty basis and you’re able to leave your bag, your laptop and your cell-phone lying around for hours and it will not be touched. You can sleep with your windows wide open, and in the morning open your door onto one of the beautiful views in the world. Best of all it’s completely eco-friendly with waterless, non-flush compost latrines, solar-powered electricity and the most fun-filled, fantasy-induced, fire-powered rocket showers!      

Tim enticed by the late afternoon sunlight

 

A toilet to liven up any day!



Showering amongst jelly-fish and star-fish like a Transkei mermaid

And not to forget, the whole reason why we’re staying here is that the Old Mutual Foundation is a primary funder of the Bulungula Incubator. No, this hasn’t anything to do with premature babies, well not of the human kind at least. It’s a term used for the development of LME (Local Micro Enterprises) within a supportive and protected environment. The Bulugula Incubator, or BI, as it’s referred to by the locals, spans a number of initiatives which create sustainable livelihoods, of which the Essential Oils Project is one of its most successful.  Watch this space for our next blog, The Lemon Grass Ladies of Bulungula…

Have fun in the office, make your Xhosa-speaking friends laugh (!), get them to help you practice your click sounds!
C = the C-sound, tongue against palate, as you’re impatient or exasperated such ‘tsk’, represented by 'c' 'incala' = trouble.
X = the X-sound is made with the sides of the tongue, ('baxabene oxamu'), such as when you’re urging a horse to ride faster (to ‘gee’ up!).
Q = the Q-sound is made by pulling your tongue away/clicking your tongue against the roof your mouth, like the sound of a champagne cork popping. (iqaqa)

Mark and Tim loved Bulungula, on the first night they were both like Duracell bunnies hustling around using moonlight and prolonged exposures to get some totally creative shots! Check out the uber-extra-sized gallery for today ...



Throughout this trip we've staunchly resisted any kind of branding in our photographs, wanting them to be utterly authentic - if it was there, it was there, if it wasn't, it wasn't. So Tim and Mark created a Totally Branded photograph especially for Old Mutual, using a delayed exposure with Tim running around writing the letters backwards with his headlamp. Isn't it utterly awesome!! I laughed out loud with delight at their efforts :) 



They both came in from the night, pleased as punch to show me their trophy photograph above, puffing and blowing from the exertion of running around. I'm wrestling with posting another late night blog...



Children in silhouette carry water as evening falls on the Wild Coast.



"That's the most creative picture of a urinal that I have ever shot!" says Mark.



A lonely cow grazes as early morning lights the sky.

Fireside under a clear night sky, full moon rising...

We are one woman

“Let’s go meet the mama’s,” says Nonceba Cynthia Klaas, Old Mutual Sales Advisor (RMM) at the Idutywa Branch, Eastern Cape. It is a typical sunny morning in a typical Transkei town.  A stream of cars nudge their way in one direction through a congestion of cars moving in the other; taxi’s are being washed soapily at taxi ranks, their sliding doors open and music blaring, competing with the loud gospel coming from ‘God’s Blessing Hair Salon’ across the road; mongrel dogs with looped tails scavenge amongst roadside litter; sidewalks are crammed with vendors displaying stacks of balanced fruit and towers of Hart aluminum pots in ascending size, umbrellas made in China hang from fences, with suitcases and Tupperware and everything you could possibly need; all of which gets packed into red-white-blue striped plastic carryall’s, loaded onto bus roofs in between goats and chickens, or balanced on heads. It is messy and lively and chaotic and colourful. It is Africa.

Nonceba Cynthia Klaas

Cynthia Klaas is an Old Mutual Staff Community Builder and today we will visit her community project Sibanye Bomama (We are one woman). As an Old Mutual staff member involved with community work, she is eligible to apply for R20 000 funding from the Old Mutual Foundation to support her project. With a corporate workforce of approximately 16 000 employees, staff volunteerism is a core element of the Foundation’s focus and is actively encouraged and supported.  In the last three years, the Foundation has supported over 900 such projects, investing almost R14 million into the fabric of our society. Sibanye Bomama is a collective group of approximately 20 women who gather thrice weekly to make traditional Xhosa garments and beadwork. The funding provided to the group through Old Mutual's Staff Community Builder programme assisted them in purchasing work tables, sewing machines, fabric and beads. Their products generate an income for the group which is distributed accordingly. “I am so proud of them,” says Cynthia.


As we bump our way over a dirt road to the project, Cynthia tells me a bit of her life. She was born and grew up in Idutywa as the fifth-born of nine children. Her beloved father of 75 years has recently passed away on April 19^th and she points out his grave to me as we drive by, “it’s still hard to believe.”  At 44 years, Cynthia is about to become a grandmother because her oldest daughter Zikhona is expecting her first child. I am shown Zikhona’s wedding photos from last year. Cynthia’s youngest daughter, Ntombi is studying Marketing at DUT (Durban University of Technology).  Out of the blue, we are startled from our conversation as the sound of running water fills the car. Cynthia reaches into her apron pocket, retrieves one of three phones and proceeds to confirm our arrival loudly with one of the mama's. We think her ringtone is totally cool! As we drive, she gestures to a cow blocking the road causing Tim to slow down and swerve the vehicle, “Watch out for the Transkei robots,” she remarks.

Transkei robots!

Cynthia Klaas with the Sibanye Bomama group

Intricate beadwork

Cynthia wears her traditional outfit and beadwork for our interview.

We meet Mam Nobantu Dumalisile, the wife of the Chief of Willowvale, Jingqi Administrative District, who initiated this project. She introduces me to the group of ladies sewing and beading around a display of traditional products especially laid out on the floor for us. A tray of coffee and slices of cake sits courteously on a nearby table, under a gauze fly net. Mark and Tim are professionals and it’s such a pleasure working with them as they interact with the ladies, they know exactly what they’re looking for. The mama’s start to relax a bit (I think Mark climbing into a tree to photograph them really made them laugh) and towards the end of our visit, a song spontaneously starts. Timelessly and easily they begin to sway, clap their work-worn hands, shuffle bare feet, rhythmically harmonizing with each other, peacefully lulling me into the bosom of Africa herself. Even though my ears can’t understand the words, my heart understands that they are saying thank you. Before we leave, we are given a plastic packet filled with guavas. Again, I am reminded that even amongst the poorest of the poor, from Hermanus in Nieuwoudtville to the mama’s in Willowvale, in traditional cultures guests do not leave empty-handed.

Womandla is woman power. Mam Nobantu Dumalisile (far left), Old Mutual Staff Community Builder Cynthia Klaas (centre), Old Mutual Foundation, Louise Jones (far right)

The mama's gathered outside for Mark perched, to their amazement in a tree.. Cynthia (holding a traditional smoking pipe) is centre, stands next to the chief's wife (dressed in brown) Mam Nobantu Dumalisile.

We bundle into the bakkie to drive back to Idutywa. Tucked into the back of the car with Cynthia and I is the chief’s wife and I see firsthand the many benefits of the Staff Community Builder programme at work. Not only is there real impact in the community, but from a business point of view, this is truly what it means to build ‘brand’ in the community. Rounding a corner, we encounter a herd of cattle standing obstinately in the middle of the road. “This isn’t a robot,” declares Tim, “this is a roadblock!”

 The Gallery:

The mama's work together, talking and singing.

This is to show you a little more of what's involved with documenting these stories. Here Tim is interviewing Cynthia, who is answering my questions.

Mam Nobantu Dumalisile and Cynthia stand outside the building on the chiefs homestead which the Sibanye Bomama group currently use for their work.

Nkosi sikelel' iAfrika (God bless Africa)



Rural schoolchildren walking from school

A loo with a view?

Happy birthday Mark!

Louise dashed off an sms to me earlier today asking me to please wish Mark a very happy birthday for today. Her laptop battery had died on her and she was waiting for the solar power at Bulungula to recharge it. So Mark, from Louise and Tim, and all of us, we hope your birthday was a memorable one and that the year ahead is filled with sunshine, laughter and the love of family and friends!  Blog admin

PS
Your photos are absolutely amazing!

Three dinner meat ...

I don’t know about you, but there’s something about clean laundry that I love. Today the sun is shining, there isn’t a rush, the witoogies are singing outside. I am freshly showered and feel good, so I decide it’s a crispy white t-shirt day.  We’re flying through to East London, moving onto the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal leg of our journey, our flight’s only at 13h00 so for once I have a quiet morning to gather myself.

I meet up with Tim and Mark at the airport and discover that checking in 70kg of overweight camera and photographic equipment is time-consuming. What makes things worse is that for some reason, our pre-booking reference for the overweight luggage cannot be located by the airline. My earlier feelings of calm are starting to dissipate, we should have checked in by now and there is a terse discussion taking place between me, the check-in counter lady and the overweight counter lady. In the midst of these cross-conversations, Mark hands me a bottle of mineral water which he had sweetly retrieved from our car last night and carried in all this way to give to me in the morning. Whilst I am having an animated discussion with the two counter ladies, I screw open the bottle-top and immediately its entire contents fizz and explode all over me. My crispy white t-shirt is sodden and I am looking like a contestant in some sort of bad taste competition.People at the next counter turn to stare, the counter ladies stare. I close my eyes realising I have lost my calm space.


On top of this, a boarding announcement person is now calling for us repeatedly.  Finally sorting out the overweight altercation, we leg it through security to the boarding gate escorted by an airport employee parting the crowds in a neon bib. I am trying to run modestly, which is difficult in a wet, white t-shirt, clutching handbags, laptops and boarding tickets. We are the last ones to board the plane, everyone stares at us pointedly.

Luggage troubles

Landing in East London is always a treat for me. I love this little airport and this small town, all too often overlooked. In small towns there’s no rush, no crush, no traffic-jam and no stress because it takes five minutes to get anywhere. It’s as if life slows down to the pace that it should be.

Loading up our gear

Our bakkie is collected from the airport and we head out to Cinsa to get a head-start on tomorrow’s long drive. Immediately I notice a change in vegetation, it’s more humid, open grasslands and thorn-trees, somehow the land feels more African, as opposed to the Cape’s Mediterranean climate and unique fynbos. A few years ago I had the opportunity to spend a year living in Grahamstown and it was then that I fell in love with the Eastern Cape, with its soft energy and rolling green hills, with pineapples ladies on the side of the road, banks of ‘red hot poker’ aloes and a coast line that stretches on as far as the eye can see, line after line after line of white breakers rolling in.

Mark getting weird with the evening light

On the way there, I phone ahead to tomorrow’s project to ensure that our accommodation is confirmed. “Yes,” says the person at the end of the line in Bulungula where we’re heading next, “do you want dinner when you arrive?”
“Yes please,” I answer.
“Dinner meat? Dinner veg?”
I turn to the guys and ask oddly, “Dinner meat? Dinner veg?”
They shrug shoulders, the universal sign for whatever …
“Three dinner meat,” is my equally odd reply.


Today is a down day as we have no planned project visit, but despite this we still only get into our accommodation late in the afternoon.  We arrive and unfold ourselves from the bakkie. I had forgotten that in this part of the world the sun sets early, getting dark from 17:30 and is completely dark by 18:00. The first thing I notice is the smell of the sea and the muted roar of the Indian Ocean, there’s thick green brush edging the sand dunes, with an unending stretch of beach that’s covered by soft evening mist hanging above the waves. Mark hustles off as soon we stop the car, he has spotted a photo. I look up and see Scorpio hanging low in the evening sky.

Sean Veldman, 23, porter at Crawford Cabins, Cinsa.

Of dogs and blogs ....

Today we wake up in Barrydale, its cold and misty outside. I have committed the cardinal sin of not posting my blog the evening before... which explains why I didn’t sleep well very well, woke up at 3am, decided to do some writing, only to fall asleep at 5am and then promptly overslept! Now I have tired prickly-pear eyes, am not feeling at my best and am sitting eating breakfast with Tim and Mark. I am a bit confused at being served a lettuce and tomato salad with my bacon and eggs. Is this normal?

After many stops and starts the morning finally gathers itself into a clear direction. I have managed to speak with Colette Teale of KAPS (Karoo Animal Protection Society). Yes, the farm is now accessible after the floods and we can come around at 10am. No, the workers aren’t available for interviews; we will have to work with what we’ve got.

Heading out of Barrydale, we decide to swing past the local Agri-Mark to buy gumboots.  There’s mud everywhere, bridges have been swept away and the little town is drawing breath trying to recover after the flood damage. Directions in rural areas aren’t always that easy:  “You’ll pass a road called Soutkloofpad, then go on for a bit, after that you’ll see two big gum trees on your left near some blue workers cottages, turn right opposite into a gate with a small yellow sign on it. Drive along for about three km, follow the road around a dam and then take your first left.” Of course, this is compounded by the fact that there is no cell reception as soon as we turn off the tar road. We eventually got there ….

The reason we’re visiting KAPS today is that it’s one of many organizations supported by Old Mutual staff. 

Quick commercial break to explain: Old Mutual staff can choose to make a monthly donation from their salary into the Staff Charity Fund. For every rand that staff donate, the Old Mutual Foundation commits to match rand-for-rand. So a staff donation of R50/month will be matched by a Foundation contribution of R50. Since the Staff Charity Fund began in 2002, Old Mutual staff have donated R6, 5 million which has been matched by the Old Mutual Foundation, so a total of R13 million has been paid out to charities across South Africa. A staff-nominated Board of Trustees approves the selection of charities that work in the selected focus areas of Animal Welfare, the Elderly, Abused and Neglected Children and HIV/Aids Care. These focus areas were chosen by staff when the fund started.



KAPS isn’t a big, well-established organization like the SPCA (which we also support by the way); it’s a small one-woman operation (with some dedicated volunteers) and tries hard to make a difference with limited resources. This year staff donated R30 000 to KAPS to assist with mobile sterilization clinics in the townships and rural areas. Because of the poverty in these areas, Colette is insistent that these services are provided for free. “Sterilisation helps to reduce the number of unwanted pets which leads to domestic neglect and cruelty,” she explains. In 2010, R29 640 was provided to KAPS to assist with the purchase of new donkeys bridles for an outreach project KAPS delivered in Baviaanskloof, Eastern Cape. Many cart-horses are forced to use broken, ill-fitting bridles held together with bits of wire that cause dreadful injuries to their heads and mouths. Colette managed to wangle a deal with the supplier of the bridles and secured 30 new bridles at half price. “I’m afraid I’m a fighter,” she says, “I just can’t sit back and accept something.”

Colette and Percy Teale amidst their most recent rescue dogs.

In specific cases of animal cruelty or neglect, Colette has been granted magisterial authority to conduct inspections, removals and initiate prosecutions.  This means that she’s not always popular or welcome. Currently she has over 20 rescue dogs at her house, which is a bit overwhelming at first. They’re all on the mend, some still nervous or anxious, others eager and excitable. She’s looking to re-locate the rescue dogs into caring homes. Whenever we walk in or out the house, or basically move a muscle, a cacophony of barking erupts, so it’s a fairly hectic morning needless to say.

Hoppy has kind brown eyes and despite his experiences, has wriggly happy energy

I fall in love with Hoppy, a three-legged character who wriggled his way onto my lap. Hoppy was caught in a gin-trap and found days later starving and emaciated. His back leg had to be amputated, but he’s still as sprightly as anything and keeps up with the others whenever they race off to chase down a new scent.

Hoppy, happy and healthy 

Eventually we set off, it’s been a long day and trying to photograph animals takes time. But just as we were bumping off down the road, Colette’s group of 24 rescue donkeys come wandering up for their evening feed of lucerne. And who in the world can resist a donkey muzzle, soft and white, with those quizzical ears?

Tim getting in close for that extra-special angle.

"Come donkeys, come to me," Colette calls...

Mark starts giggling every time he sees this photo. He says that the caption must read: "Lucerne. Lekker!"

Back on the road to Cape Town, we end up laughing in the car on our way back because Tim got nipped by Noodles. "Nipped?" says Tim, "I could feel his teeth through my gumboots!" ...which had left him feeling a tad ill-disposed towards the little Maltese poodle. He muttered darkly about getting himself a new ‘fluffy’ for the sound mike of his camera.

Goodbye to Barrydale. Goodbye to the Langeberg Mountains bathed in golden afternoon sunlight. It’s a long three-hour drive back to Cape Town. The guys have set up a GoPro camera (a tiny high-definition special effects camera) onto the front of the car. We talk about the highlights of the day, toss ideas around for the title of our next blog, or the title that is so definitely not. There are odd moments that I want to capture and add in…

·     Watching Tim get a sms from his daughter, he doesn’t know it but his face changes, softens. He’s going to miss a Dad's and Daughter's event with his youngest daughter. “I get to miss a lot of special moments," he reflects, "it’s just the nature of my work.” He turns and starts getting the camera ready for our next interview.

·     Mark reads the blog every morning. Hey, he says to me, did I know that there’s another Mark Wessels blogging? Mark’s wife had phoned him saying that the comment posted didn’t sound like his writing? “Don’t worry,” I assure Mark Wessels (1), "I happen to know Mark Wessels (2)”. “Do you mean that I’m not unique?” protests Mark Wessels (1) indignantly.

·    I’m discovering that Mark likes to throw out comments, like those shiny lures used in trout-fishing. He turns to me poker-faced and says, “Louise, can we bring two blondes along on this trip?” I can smell something’s afoot. It turns that out that ‘blondes’ and ‘redheads’ are terms used for lighting equipment and that we already have two blondes and a redhead loaded in all our gear. Now that would make a fine blog title I muse, but ‘Two Blondes and a Redhead’ doesn’t quite fit in with our story, Tim pipes up from behind the wheel, “why not make it ‘Two Baldies and a Redhead’ instead?” The boys crack up at their own wittiness. 

The next leg of our trip is going to be a long stretch, taking us up through the Eastern Cape (two projects) and into KZN (two projects). There’s a strong possibility that we’re not going to get internet reception at some remote sites in the Transkei, so wherever possible we’ll post but as I’m learning, not everything goes according to plan. Hakuna matata I guess …

Night, night, sleep tight.





Wessel's Photo Gallery:

Dogs love being loved.

Adopt me.



KAPS has had an in impact in the Barrydale community, with an increased awareness of good pet practice. Now, there're no dogs on chains, animals have water bowls and the growth rate has decreased. Finding good homes for the rescue dogs is an ongoing challenge.

Benji & the BBA babe ...

“Oooeer, I’ve got dog slobber all over me,” says Mark as he climbs into the car.

We have been standing at the top of Sir Lowry’s Pass intending to take photographs of the panoramic view looking back at Cape Town. Instead we met Benji, the Senior Male Boerbul Champion of South Africa. When we pulled into the parking area at the top of the pass, we were confronted with two massive dogs hanging out of a bakkie in front of us.  It’s Benji and his mate Zinzi. Benji weighs in at 83 kg. He is HUGE! He’s raw power, just like a dog-lion. Tim says Benji would probably use Jack Russell's for floss!  

A moerse groot dog, his official champion breeding name, 'Kleinsandfontein Benji'

We get talking with their owners, Bev and Dana Steendkamp who breed champion boerbuls. Whilst we’re taking photos of the dogs, a pack of marauding baboons have snuck down from their rocks to steal fruit from the front seat of a passerby witless enough to leave his car door open. Both dogs go ballistic and chaos breaks out, screeching baboons scarper every which way, people are shouting, fruit is flying through the air and the Nigerian roadside vendors have scattered at the sight of two monstrous dogs lunging through their wares. We decide it’s time to leave.

Earlier this Friday morning we’d visited our last Cape Town project. It’s a tertiary education institution called TSiBA (Tertiary School in Business Administration) and is located at Mupine right next to Mutualpark. I’d obviously heard of the college but hadn’t really known for myself what they were all about, so it was good to meet with Leigh Meinert, co-founder and MD of TSiBA to see for myself. She explains briefly that TSiBA is a privately owned, not-for-profit college which offers young adults who’re unable to access universities, an opportunity to study a Business Administration degree. The Old Mutual Foundation has had a supportive relationship with the college since its inception in 2006 and has invested over R7, 5 million in their education work. This has allowed TSiBA to subsidise the tertiary study of deserving students such as Pumla Sodela.


Pumla Sodela, TSiBA graduate and Old Mutual GAP intern

Pumla grew up in the Eastern Cape. When she finished her matric she came to Cape Town wanting to make something of her life. She’s a bubbly person with an effervescent energy and an open smile, you can’t help liking her the moment you meet her. Before Pumla started studying at TSiBA, she was employed selling movie tickets. She’d always known she had more in her, but it was difficult to break out of where she was at, and break into where she wanted to be. So when she heard about TSiBA, she applied immediately. It wasn’t an easy road for a number of reasons; it meant four years of full-time study, she was also anxious about her ability to study at this level and about being older than her colleagues and she had to have the help of her family to support her while she studied. After Pumla graduated with her BBA degree (Bachelor in Business Administration) in Dec 2009, she was accepted by Old Mutual into their 18-month GAP (Graduate Accelerated Programme) internship. Pums (as her colleagues call her) has been thriving in her new corporate life and will complete her internship in July 2011. Sitting at her desk, surrounded by the busyness of corporate life, she looks the picture of a Cosmo corporate woman - confident with bright positive energy, keen to learn and get ahead. She got the break she needed and is running with it. “My message is to persevere,” she tells, “to hang in there and give it all you’ve got.”

I like your attitude, sister.

Tim decides that we need to film Pumla in her work environment, so we hustle back to Mutualpark. It feels so strange coming ‘into work’ again after being out for a week - felt a bit as if we were on The Amazing Race, being trailed by cameramen. Up at her desk, we got Pums to work a few angles for her video shots and PS: thanks to colleagues, Charmaine, Donna and Liz for making her laugh whilst she was meant to keep a straight face!

Pumla Sodela, serious and corporate!

Although we hadn’t achieved 100% of everything that we needed this morning (unavoidable with exams), we’re bang on schedule. Our plan is to drive out to Barrydale to visit an animal welfare organization that’s supported by Old Mutual staff, but I’m a bit concerned about availability of material for two reasons: it’s Friday payday at the drankwinkel and also earlier in this week the Overberg region (amongst others) received over 200mm rain within 24hrs. There have been serious floods with bridges being washed away, one reported death and stranded farms and homesteads. We phone the Barrydale police station to confirm which roads are open and after some consultation head over Sir Lowry’s Pass - via Benji the Boerbul - towards Swellendam and the beautiful Tradouws Pass.

Tradouws Pass, driving from Swellendam to Barrydale.

Hooray, we’re on the road again, crisp country air, goodbye city stress; hello fields of blue cranes, spur-wing geese and sacred ibis. Sheep are woolly contrasts against the vivid green farmlands and their newborn lambs remind me of an OMO advertisement, they’re so super-bright and white, wobbling on their long legs. The air is clean, crows nests are bundled atop telephone-poles and the rain has encouraged a rash of early blossoms.


Yes, I breathe in, I breathe out....

Mark's photo gallery:

Mark's Photographic Essay. Life Sign 1



Mark's Photographic Essay. Life Sign 2

Mark's Photographic Essay. Life Sign 3

Mark's Photographic Essay. Life Sign 4



Men at Play in a Field of Purple Dreams



Tim photographs Mark & I making many-legged, many-armed Ganesh-type shadows.



Muuuum, where are you?

Die Ou Meul Bakkery, Riviersonderend for the best pies in town! Jotting down notes listening to Kurt Darren treffers, "My liefling, jy's die mooiste in die land." I love it!

Hidden beauty. Waterfalls in the Tradouws Pass on our way to Barrydale.

Tim almost in the waterfall, getting that angle just right!

Paving near the waterfall picnic site, a municipal worker with a sense of humour. The Abominable Yeti footprint!