42) Lake MacIlwaine
The water supply for Salisbury came from Lake MacIlwaine Dam it was not far from the city, just about
20km I think and many recreational facilities had developed around the edges. There was sailing, fishing and water skiing. There were good camping and caravan sites but what we liked best of all was the Robert MacIlwaine game park. The cottages there were owned by the government and were like all the government cottages we ever visited, really good value for money. We liked to go out there for the weekend. When we first went we stayed in the chalets, which were nice but they were pretty close together and they only had communal shower facilities. On one occasion we decided to stay in one of the Lodges and we liked it very much, we were spoilt and never stayed in the chalets after that. There were only three Lodges, they were placed a reasonable distance from each other amongst the trees so they were very private. They had two bedrooms each and all had their own bathroom, a kitchen, a lounge, a dining room, an enclosed veranda and their own braai (Afrikaans for barbeque) stand. There were staff to keep the place clean and it was also their job to start the fire for the braai so we could have a lovely relaxing weekend when we went there.
The game park around the campsite was well stocked and one could always manage to see quite a lot of animals. There were rhino, giraffe, zebra, duiker, eland, buffalo, ostrich, monkeys and I suppose other animals too. There were always a lot of squirrels and monkeys around the lodge, the staff who kept the place clean were always chasing them away but when we first went there we thought that was terrible and rather encouraged them as they were very sweet. After we had given them some food they started expecting it and were becoming a bit of a nuisance and so we could see why the staff shooed them away. One weekend we were there with David and Janet Arnold and the monkey were being a particular pest. They would come into our lodge and steal food from the kitchen so we used to send the children to shoo them away. Jonathan, David and Dominic were pretty good at it and when the monkeys saw them they would run off into the trees. Once the boys were all busy doing something else and little Janet offered to do the shooing. She rushed out of the door and the monkeys seeing her coming turned to make a dash for the trees once again. Then one of the monkeys took a look over his shoulder and saw that it was only little Jan doing the chasing and she was only tiny so he was not in the least afraid of her. He turned round stood his ground and gave a little mock charge at her. Jan got a bigger fright than the one she intended giving so she stopped in her tracks, did a 180 degree turn and was back inside in a flash. She never offered to do that job again; it was defiantly left up to the boys.
The most impressive animals in the Lake MacIlwaine game park were the white Rhino. We had read in the papers at the time how they were being introduced and we loved to go out and see them. Once again when we were there with David and Janet we had a very close encounter with them. Jonny had borrowed a Land Rover for the weekend and it was a wonderful vehicle for game viewing as it was high and we had a good view of the animals. We spotted a female Rhino with a young calf and stopped to photograph them. Jonny had his cine camera and opened the driver’s door and leant a little way out of the car to get a better shot of them. They were standing grazing not far from us on the left side of the road. Jonny was not happy with the view he was getting so he leant out a bit further and then further still. Visitors to the park were not supposed to leave their vehicles, but Jonny just had to get the best film he could so he ended up laying across the bonnet of the Land Rover filming Mum and her baby. The children and I inside the car had a wonderful view but eventually Janet began to worry about Uncle Jonny and asked him to get back into the car. As he got off the bonnet and climbed back into his seat he looked behind him and at the same time we all saw just a few feet from him at the back and to the right of the car was Daddy Rhino watching to see that we did not harm his family. We all got such a shock; I think the children bumped their heads on the roof of the car they jumped so high. We were pleased that he was one of the more placid White Rhino and not one of the more aggressive Black species but I don’t think even he would have tolerated it if Jonny had gone any closer.
Maureen and Roy Arnold were members of a sailing club on Lake MacIlwaine. They had a caravan in the club’s caravan site and they often went out there for the weekend. David and Janet attended sailing school each year. They each had little Opies, they were tiny little sailing boats that were wonderful for children to learn to sail in. The Arnolds took Jonathan and Dominic with them many times. One weekend we were all out at the Lake, David and Jonathan in one Opie and Janet and Dominic in the other. For some strange reason Dominic decided that he would like to be in the other boat with the boys. As they were sailing close together he took hold of the edge of David’s boat but as his feet were still in Jan’s boat the one boat moved away from the other. I can still see Dominic, holding on to one boat with his fingers and the other with his toes as they drifted apart until they got too far apart and he went plop into the water. It was the first time in his sailing life that he fell in, the first of many times.
One weekend we had booked to go to the Lake but it turned out that Jonny was called away with the army and so I decided to take the children on my own. Bernice was with us at the time and we also took her friend Theresa. I was not used to driving around in the game park and got a bit lost, I went down one road that turned out to be a dead end and had to turn back. I don’t think any of the children had much confidence in me. As we drove along with me trying to convince them I knew exactly what I was doing and that they were just as safe as if Dad had been in the driving seat there was a sparking in the interior light of the car. There was a fault with it and we had never got round to fixing it, some wires must have touched and so the sparks and a little bit of smoke. Bernice and Theresa were out of that car so quickly I could not work out how they had managed it. One minute they were sitting in the back seat with the door closed and the next minute they were standing outside. (So much for not leaving ones vehicle) I smothered the sparking with some item of clothing and it was fine but I remember being puzzled all weekend about how the girls had managed that emergency exit. They must have gone through the windows I suppose but I have never seen anything so fast. After that none of them trusted me enough to go game viewing again so we spent most of that weekend around the swimming pool instead.
20km I think and many recreational facilities had developed around the edges. There was sailing, fishing and water skiing. There were good camping and caravan sites but what we liked best of all was the Robert MacIlwaine game park. The cottages there were owned by the government and were like all the government cottages we ever visited, really good value for money. We liked to go out there for the weekend. When we first went we stayed in the chalets, which were nice but they were pretty close together and they only had communal shower facilities. On one occasion we decided to stay in one of the Lodges and we liked it very much, we were spoilt and never stayed in the chalets after that. There were only three Lodges, they were placed a reasonable distance from each other amongst the trees so they were very private. They had two bedrooms each and all had their own bathroom, a kitchen, a lounge, a dining room, an enclosed veranda and their own braai (Afrikaans for barbeque) stand. There were staff to keep the place clean and it was also their job to start the fire for the braai so we could have a lovely relaxing weekend when we went there.
The game park around the campsite was well stocked and one could always manage to see quite a lot of animals. There were rhino, giraffe, zebra, duiker, eland, buffalo, ostrich, monkeys and I suppose other animals too. There were always a lot of squirrels and monkeys around the lodge, the staff who kept the place clean were always chasing them away but when we first went there we thought that was terrible and rather encouraged them as they were very sweet. After we had given them some food they started expecting it and were becoming a bit of a nuisance and so we could see why the staff shooed them away. One weekend we were there with David and Janet Arnold and the monkey were being a particular pest. They would come into our lodge and steal food from the kitchen so we used to send the children to shoo them away. Jonathan, David and Dominic were pretty good at it and when the monkeys saw them they would run off into the trees. Once the boys were all busy doing something else and little Janet offered to do the shooing. She rushed out of the door and the monkeys seeing her coming turned to make a dash for the trees once again. Then one of the monkeys took a look over his shoulder and saw that it was only little Jan doing the chasing and she was only tiny so he was not in the least afraid of her. He turned round stood his ground and gave a little mock charge at her. Jan got a bigger fright than the one she intended giving so she stopped in her tracks, did a 180 degree turn and was back inside in a flash. She never offered to do that job again; it was defiantly left up to the boys.
The most impressive animals in the Lake MacIlwaine game park were the white Rhino. We had read in the papers at the time how they were being introduced and we loved to go out and see them. Once again when we were there with David and Janet we had a very close encounter with them. Jonny had borrowed a Land Rover for the weekend and it was a wonderful vehicle for game viewing as it was high and we had a good view of the animals. We spotted a female Rhino with a young calf and stopped to photograph them. Jonny had his cine camera and opened the driver’s door and leant a little way out of the car to get a better shot of them. They were standing grazing not far from us on the left side of the road. Jonny was not happy with the view he was getting so he leant out a bit further and then further still. Visitors to the park were not supposed to leave their vehicles, but Jonny just had to get the best film he could so he ended up laying across the bonnet of the Land Rover filming Mum and her baby. The children and I inside the car had a wonderful view but eventually Janet began to worry about Uncle Jonny and asked him to get back into the car. As he got off the bonnet and climbed back into his seat he looked behind him and at the same time we all saw just a few feet from him at the back and to the right of the car was Daddy Rhino watching to see that we did not harm his family. We all got such a shock; I think the children bumped their heads on the roof of the car they jumped so high. We were pleased that he was one of the more placid White Rhino and not one of the more aggressive Black species but I don’t think even he would have tolerated it if Jonny had gone any closer.
Maureen and Roy Arnold were members of a sailing club on Lake MacIlwaine. They had a caravan in the club’s caravan site and they often went out there for the weekend. David and Janet attended sailing school each year. They each had little Opies, they were tiny little sailing boats that were wonderful for children to learn to sail in. The Arnolds took Jonathan and Dominic with them many times. One weekend we were all out at the Lake, David and Jonathan in one Opie and Janet and Dominic in the other. For some strange reason Dominic decided that he would like to be in the other boat with the boys. As they were sailing close together he took hold of the edge of David’s boat but as his feet were still in Jan’s boat the one boat moved away from the other. I can still see Dominic, holding on to one boat with his fingers and the other with his toes as they drifted apart until they got too far apart and he went plop into the water. It was the first time in his sailing life that he fell in, the first of many times.
One weekend we had booked to go to the Lake but it turned out that Jonny was called away with the army and so I decided to take the children on my own. Bernice was with us at the time and we also took her friend Theresa. I was not used to driving around in the game park and got a bit lost, I went down one road that turned out to be a dead end and had to turn back. I don’t think any of the children had much confidence in me. As we drove along with me trying to convince them I knew exactly what I was doing and that they were just as safe as if Dad had been in the driving seat there was a sparking in the interior light of the car. There was a fault with it and we had never got round to fixing it, some wires must have touched and so the sparks and a little bit of smoke. Bernice and Theresa were out of that car so quickly I could not work out how they had managed it. One minute they were sitting in the back seat with the door closed and the next minute they were standing outside. (So much for not leaving ones vehicle) I smothered the sparking with some item of clothing and it was fine but I remember being puzzled all weekend about how the girls had managed that emergency exit. They must have gone through the windows I suppose but I have never seen anything so fast. After that none of them trusted me enough to go game viewing again so we spent most of that weekend around the swimming pool instead.
posted by JC at
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