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So, yesterday the clutch on our little Citroen Picasso broke. Here are the guys that helped me in the Ramsgate/Margate area on the South Coast of Kwa-Zulu Natal in South Africa.

Roedolf Fourie of Giorgio Express tow-trucks: 039 317 3534. Provided friendly service and great local advice about where to take the car, and even took me there the next day. And a Christian too - very interested in what we are doing here.

Johann van der Merwe and Etienne Goosen (100% Boer), ProTech Auto: 082 493 6873 and 076 889 6714. Worked flat out to get the clutch fixed in less than a day! And they've got a extremely cool Land Rover Defender 300 tdi tow truck.

May God bless them all. Olly

Cheeky monkeys!

Vervet monkeys, typical to many parts of South Africa, are really cute. A troop of them hang out in the garden of the house we are staying in, and it is fun to see them moving around with their tiny babies clinging to their mummy's tummies.

However, today we came back from the beach only to find a load of them had raided our house, and stolen most of our fruit and bread, and made a BIG mess in the process! My parents even had to throw a couple out! Bless 'em! Olly

Merry Christmas

It's been a while. I've not blogged for a couple of weeks, simply because there was nothing worth blogging about. Life at Appelsbosch stays the same: it remains misty and cool. Life on the ship stays the same: slowly the engineers are finalising the refit. Meanwhile, my parents arrived in South Africa a week ago, and we are now staying in a beautiful house in Ramsgate, about 3 hours from Appelsbosch on the south coast of Kwa-Zulu Natal, having a great time in the sunshine, playing on the beach etc etc. Anyway, Merry Christmas! Olly

Africa Mercy update

Thanks, Chuck, for another great photo. So, the new and improved Africa Mercy, still moored at the repair wharf: note the new and huge "URL" down the side, the new and huge logo on the funnel, and the new and smaller exhaust pipes coming out of the funnel, and also the frame for the Deck 8 canopy. Great. Progress continues...

Olly