Champagne Castle

K and I were fortunate enough to spend a couple of days in the Drakensberg this past weekend. We stayed at the Champagne Castle Hotel, which is tucked up against some of the most spectacular mountains in the country. Played a round of golf at the magnificent Champagne Sports Resort, did a bit of walking, some reading, and plenty of relaxing. Here are some of the pics:

February - the month that was...

Ever had one of those days where everything seems to go wrong? How about a month of that? That's what February felt like for me. Yup - its been a month of endless problems and disappointments.

Lets be honest - moving into a new place sounds fantastic at first. Bigger rooms, bigger garden, loads of ideas on how you are going to fill the new spaces. This was tee'd up to be the month of painting, decorating and settling into a cozy new environment. It was destined to be month where it all came together and we could kick back, soak it all up, and get back onto the golf course.

Instead, what we ended up with was one (i would refer to them as 'earth-shattering', but for fear of being labeled a dramatist by the readers of this blog, i'll settle for 'major') disaster after another.

In no particular order of importance, lets start with the alarm. I had an alarm put into the house during the last week of Jan, and after surviving two days of installation and having my paving ripped up to make way for the outdoor beams, I was told that all was in working order. "Here's the technical manual sir - you'll have to program the LCD keypads yourself - its after 5pm on a Friday, and we're out of here". In retrospect, it was probably a good thing they did leave the manual with me, as I bet you that I could now program that system better than any of their technicians could. Anyway, that's not the point. The point is that the system wasn't working properly. After a bit of testing, I discovered that none of the 'panic' buttons placed throughout the house actually worked. Two aggressive phone calls to the alarm company later, and a technician rocks up at the door. He proceeds to cut through a bunch a wire in the roof, and reconnect some new ones, and promptly leaves. Then we discover that the door mag and passive in the lounge don't work. Another phone call threatening cancellation of the contract, and two days later, another technician pitches up to fix this latest problem. So far so good, but I have to say that along with tow truck drivers, I now consider alarm company salespeople to be absolute bottom feeders.

Following the alarm theatrics, I wake up last Saturday morning ready to take on all the action and excitement that the kick-off of the Super 14 has to throw at me. Its been a while since the world cup, and I'm having rugga withdrawal. Proceed to tv room with cup of milo in hand, ready to take my seat, and get my weekly dose of Rugby Build Up. Switch on the tv - no signal. Reboot the decoder - no signal. Get onto the roof to check the LNB - no signal. Spent half the morning dismantling the dish and reassembling - no signal. Eventually I get into my car and drive to the nearest audio shop to get them to do a Saturday call out (which they at first refuse to do). After another 2 hour wait, a new LNB and R550 later I have a signal. Rugby is all over for the morning, and but that time, it was the last thing I felt like.

Incident number three is a real treat though. Last Tuesday morning I drive down the driveway and off i got to work. I get about 1km down the road and my power steering goes. K calls me to say that there is hydraulic fluid all over the garage floor. I pull into the nearest garage to top up - no stock. I go to the next garage, and I kid you not - no stock. THIRD garage later - I buy 2 bottles of hydraulic fluid, thinking that this will sort it out. I get another 1 km down the road and run out of fluid. Anyway, regardless to say, I limp the car to the nearest Audi dealership, and dump it there. 2 days later I get a call from the workshop manager - advising me that the damage amounts to around R40k! Not exactly what I'm going to do to solve this little dilemma.

Oh yeah - its been a fun month and I haven't even mentioned the countless other issues - trenches being dug up for sewerage pipes, irrigation pipes that have had garden forks put through them, water pumps that stopped working, the electric fencing that I had to have repaired, and the disappointment of not having K's folks come and stay with us.

Let's look on the bright side though - only 3 days left in Feb. Then we're into March...the month where things come together, we get to kick back, relax, and take up golf again :-)

NGC 2007

So I had the opportunity to travel up to the Nedbank Golf Challenge last week - in a chopper! Well, a Bell-407 to be exact. A friend of a friend is a pilot, looking for any opportunity to rack up flying time, and this was the perfect opportunity. Six of us left from Lanseria airport at 8am Thursday morning, and 39 minutes later, touched down on the soccer fields at the main gate to Sun City.

We spent most of the day in one of the tents, catching all the action as it unfolded around us. We watched the entire field come through the 8th hole - lucky for us the weather was pretty mild. In fact, the conditions were perfect for following the guys around the magnificent Gary Player course. As for the result, well, apart from Trevor's little choke on the 18th on the final day, he looked like he was going to win from the very first tee shot on Thursday - starting off birdie, birdie, birdie - with an eagle on the 9th. Fantastic stuff.

Once the field had come in, we made our way back down to the soccer fields, buckled up, lifted, and headed back to Lanseria in just over 30 minutes - topping 260km/hour at one stage.

Here are a few pics from the ride:

The Bell-407 that was to be our ride for the day

The view of Pecanwood from the air
The parking lot at Sun City

The Palace...

K and I have just arrived home after a weekend away at the Palace of the Lost City.

The reason for the weekend away was twofold - firstly, the company that K works for took the management team away for their efforts over the past year, spouses included, and secondly, it was our 5th wedding anniversary, so a weekend out of town was on the cards anyway. It just worked out nicely that we got to spend the weekend at the Palace. Even more of a bonus was that K was pampered with spa treatments whilst I was given the opportunity of a round of 18 holes at the Lost City golf course (see picture below, taken from atop the Kings Tower).

The food was magnificent, the decor opulent and the service world class. Great weekend!

This that and the other...

Been a while I know.
Here's the news:
- Bought a house with K. Its in Bedfordview - close to where we stay at the moment. Didn't intend to buy it - put in a stupid offer that was accepted, got a bit of buyers remorse and tried to back out of it, but in the end, we decided that it was a good step in the right direction. There goes that ski trip next year...
- K's mom dropped in for a surprise visit two weeks ago. Was good seeing her again. She's in London at the moment visiting with K's aunt before stopping back in SA for a couple of days on her way back to Aus. Speaking of Aus - shame, being a rugby fan must be kak at the moment :-)
- Went to Moyo Melrose Arch this evening with K, her boss and some potential clients. Reason for the trip is that they are negotiating an oil and gas contract in Tanzania at the moment. Sean and Aron seemed like nice guys - hopefully K gets the contract.
- Squash is going well - killed my opponent in the summer league match on Tuesday, 9-3; 9-7; 9-1. Have my club champs match tomorrow against Keith. From past experience, I should take it comfortably. Although, that's what the All Black's thought I guess.
- Played 2 rounds of golf this past weekend. It was tough. I mean, a round of golf on the weekend is a treat, but two rounds! Managed some half decent scores of 88 and 85. Be careful Sean Morgan - this weekend is going to be deadly for you.
- On the work front - all good. Has been a bit slow for my liking over the past few weeks, but some nice ideas floating around, and some killer projects on the horizon.
- Oh, went to the AV/Sony Expo last week. Lusting over the Sony HD DV Cam's. Some great equipment on show. Pity about the purchase procedure though - what a shambles. If you buy anything, including the HDMI cable that I got from the Ellies stand for like 80 bucks, you fill out a form, go to the exit, pay for your goods and then wait for them to be delivered to the till at the exit. You do that for every purchase. I understand the security concerns, but what a joke!
- Finally, will be wearing my Bok golf shirt with pride tomorrow. Ole, Ole Ole Ole.

Whirlwind update

So its been a while since my last past - and I'm starting to feel the guilt. Thought now would be as good a time as any to post a whirlwind update.

The Tour:
Its over - and life has returned to normal again. No more dominance over the remote control - K is free to change channels if she wants to. So what was up with the Tour de Farce anyway? Things were looking so good at the start of the third week - I thought we were in for a cracking final couple of stages - and then it all fell apart, and continues to push out a daily sport headline revealing some new scandal. On a lighter note, there has been talk amongst one or two mates of putting a "Tour holiday" together for the 2009 season.

Graft:
On the work front, things have been pretty hectic. We're busy with the development of the web, mobile and other interactive elements for the three reality shows that are about to be launched. Interesting times - exciting projects to be involved in.

Golf:
Haven't put in as many rounds as I would have liked this month - although I did manage a round with Tweedie at Obs 2 weeks ago. Had a dogdy start, but came back strongly. Also managed a round at Irene, and shot a respectable (for me) 87.

Travel:
Had the pleasure of being able to spend a couple of days in Dullstroom this past weekend. K and I went down to a place called Millstream - its a trout farm about 4 km's before the town of Dullstroom. Old style stone cottages with fire places - was really nice. We ventured out on our mountain bikes on Friday morning for a ride down to Highland Gate estate. They are busy laying the fairways and greens at the moment, and its looks like its going to be a magnificent course (and housing estate) once complete. Riding the 22km back to Millstream into gale force winds proved a little too challenging for K and I though - we hitched a ride back through the farm roads on the back of a tractor after battling for about 12 of the 22km's back. In fact, the winds were so serious, that on Monday morning, we heard that fires (aided by the strong winds) were responsible for the deaths of two people in Lydenburg, and a number of runaway fires in Dullstroom. Luckily for us though, Millstream wasn't affected.
The fishing wasn't that great either - although I did manage to land a sizable brown trout. I blame the wind for the lack of success :-)

Social:
Off to dinner club tonight - its the "cheap and cheerful" round for the next four dinner clubs. No take out, no franchise restaurants - cheapest total bill out of the four couples wins this round. We're up tonight and will be going to a place in Emmarentia called Lapa Fo. Should be good.

Uncovering some Cape Town gems...

Had the fortunate opportunity of travelling down to Cape Town this week on a business trip. The purpose of the trip was to meet and greet a mobile solutions provider that will probably play an important role in some of the projects that I'm working on at the moment. Went down with a good colleague of mine, and despite the cold and rainy weather, we managed to uncover a few of Cape Town's gems.
First up was a little pub/restaurant in Steenberg called Jakes. What a great atmosphere - tucked away at the back of a little shopping centre called the village, nicely styled with log fire, it had a great cosy feel about it. They also make the best beef, onion and ale pie I've ever had.
On our way back to our hotel, we stopped in at a great little joint in Long street called Cafe Royale. Typical Cape Town joint, trendy and alternative, with that UCT design student feel about it - not that it was very busy at 8pm on a Thursday night. The place is located in what is obviously a very old, narrow building. On the street level you'll find the main restaurant/cafe. Two doors down, but still part of the same place, you find another level of the same cafe. Up another level you'll find a retro lounge and bar area, with yet another level above that playing host to private functions. Nothing is expensive or snobby about the place, and you might get the picture that its a big place given all the levels I've described, but its actually another small and cosy place, playing funky new age tunes. They also serve some of the biggest and tastiest burgers I've ever come across.
The last place that made an impact on me, was the West Lake golf club. Managed to sneak in a few holes on Friday before heading back to the airport, even though it rained. We had a look at Steenberg gold club, but they had closed the course due to all the rain they received the previous night. West Lake, just down the road, was open for play, so we indulged. What a delightful course it was too.

Hole-In-One

I have been playing the game of golf for about 15 years now, on and off. Today I join the Hole-In-One society for my efforts at Killarney Golf Club.
Didn't have the best start to my round, but the Par 3 sixth hole will remain one of the sweetest golfing memories I have to date.
My caddy told me that we had 165 meters to the pin, into a slight breeze. In my books, that's a six iron. Anyway, struck the ball well, starting it out on the right hand side of the green, high approach shot that drew nicely towards the hole in the center of the green.
I didn't actually see it roll into the cup, and there was doubt on my part, but the caddies in our four-ball were quietly confident that it had gone in.
Sure enough, as we made our way to the green, my ball was not on the green, but in the cup.
What a sweet feeling.

POTD: 27 April 2007

Yes, that clock does read 6:02am. And you'll notice that the car is definitely not stationary either. That's because I was about 15 minutes into my journey to Carletonville for a marathon round of golf. What's a marathon you ask, and why Carletonville? Well, a marathon is two rounds of golf played in one session. That's 4.5 hours for 18 holes, and then another 4.5 hours for another 18. And as for Carletonville, thats what happens when you let some guy who lives out on the West Rand arrange the golf.

Needless to say, there was plenty of golf played, lots of laughs, a full day outside in the fresh air, and a couple of very tired golfers by the time the round came to an end.

Awesome day out, and a great way to spend Freedom day.

POTD: 14 April 2007

Just in case you thought I was bluffing - here's the handicap proof. Now I know its still nothing to get too excited about, but its come down from 18, to 17, to 16 and now 14 in the past 4 months. I knew all that time off was necessary.

Have a 6:45 tee-off tomorrow morning at Killarney, my second favourite course at the moment. Hoping that my swing will come to the game tomorrow, and that my putting is as sharp as the chirps in my fourball are likely to be. I'm still on my quest to reach a single figure handicap.
BTW, today is Angie's 25th birthday. Happy birthday Ang.

POTD: 06 April 2007

First day and first round of our annual golf tour. This pic was taken on the Par 5 8th hole. As you can see, it was a late afternoon round. The mountains of the lowveld (sounds a bit oxymoronic that) in the background, and the Kruger park to the right of this picture. The course - Kruger Park Lodge, at the Numbi Gate.

Heading in the right direction...

Ok, so all the golfing time that I have put in over the past few months is finally starting to pay off. Checked my handicap today, and I've dropped from a 17, to a 14. Still not single figures yet, which is where I wanted to be in the first quarter of this year, but its heading in the right direction. The trick is to now try and keep up the regular rounds, even though I'm working again, so that the handicap doesn't suddenly start heading in the opposite direction.

Weekend in the Lowveld

Returned home yesterday from a great weekend in the Lowveld. Each and every year for the past 6 years, K and I go away with a group of mates on a "Golf Tour". The idea is to get away for the Easter weekend, spoil ourselves with a new destination, and allow the guys to splash out on some of the top courese in South Africa. The tour has taken us to Swaziland (Royal Swazi course), Sun City (Gary Player course), Zinkwazi (Prince's Grant course), Drakensberg (Champagne Sports Resort Golf Course), Cape Town (Erinvale and Clovelly courses) and this year, to White River (White River country club). We rented a house in the White River Country Estate, and had a round of nine holes (American scramble with all the wives and g/f's playing) at Kruger Park Lodge course, and then the main round on Saturday morning. The rest of the time was spent relaxing.

POTD: 01 April 2007

The 18th fairway at Germiston Golf Club. First time I have played at Germiston - the course is in good condition, which is surprising considering the lack of rain. I wondered whether they watered from the lake, but apparently not. I guess boreholes on this course are pretty full though, considering all the water close by.

POTD: 18 March 2007

OK, so we couldn't go all the way down to Ballito, and not play a coastal course. It would not have been a good idea to play on K's birthday, so Sunday morning it was. This is the view from the 15th tee at Prince's Grant - a long sweeping par 5 from atop this hill, down to the house almost on the beach.

The weather was not golfing weather by any means, which made this round quite challenging. To put it into perspective - I used a 3 iron from 140m out, into the wind (normally I would play a 3 iron from 200m or more) and still left it short by about 50m. The winds were gale force - so much so that on the way into work this morning, I heard that there had been flooding all along Durban's beach front, and that 6-8m waves has destroyed holiday homes and roads in Ballito. My round of 98 in that kind of wind does not seem so bad suddenly.

POTD: 15 March 2007

I was lucky enough to be invited to play in the MWEB golf day last Thursday. Shot a half decent round of 87 and had a great day out on one of my favourite courses. This is the 18th at Parkview.

POTD: 11 March 2007

Early morning start - sun rising over the Gillooly's Interchange as I make my way out to Randfontein Estates Country Club for an early tee-off.

POTD: 25 Feb 2007

The par 5 3rd hole at Houghton. Early morning tee-off with Graham, Anthony and Di. Shot a 93 - completely hacked the second nine, after a respectable 45 on the first. Although, considering I've raised my bat here before, I guess I should be fairly happy with the 93.

POTD: 10 Feb 2007

Thats right - 84. My best score ever. Had a cracker of a round this morning - with a first nine score of 40 (two birdies and two pars in succession). Back nine wasn't as successful - shot a 44, to give me the 84 total, with 38 points.

POTD: 06 Feb 2007

After dropping K at work, I headed off to Benoni Country Club for a round of golf. About three holes in, I spotted what looked like Springbok about 3 fairways down. Sure enough, when I got there, I came across a herd of about 30 Springbok, some Hartebeest, Duiker and Peacock. The round of golf wasn't much to talk about, but the animals were pretty impressive.