Sunday Sunday

I just slept something like 9 hours (HUGE for me). I still feel slightly asleep despite being up for an hour or so now and having showered and vacumed and more, but it feels nice to be out of my sleep deficit. Our 10.30am visitors have cancelled which means we're full steam ahead for an 11am breakfast with an old colleague of mine. Sundays are great for late breakfasts / brunches, lunches that become dinner and the like. And after an incredibly busy week I'm looking forward to, hmm actually - a very busy Sunday - but at least I have slept!

Life & Love... a fun safe sex ad...

length: a few minutes max

I like this one - the French know how to animate - sexy, poignant and even sensible!

Clifton Beach - Cape Town

Clifton 3
Clifton 3
Clifton 2
Clifton 4

While there is a suburb called Clifton just next door to me, these photos are from a world away in the seaside suburb of Cape Town, SA with the same name. There are a lot more people on its beaches which are numbered (hence the 'Clifton 2,3 and 4' labels) Guess which crowd has Clifton 3 as its favourite?

In my observation of the crowd - some of whom were decidedly Brazilian - there was a very high population wearing Aussiebum swimwear! I was impressed but at the same time a tad disappointed... go all that way... and what do we find?! But what a fantastic place to chill out for an afternoon. Hit the water and you'll do that literally - stay more than 5 minutes and you're getting closely acquainted with hypothermia. The landscape is truly spectacular, and the men aren't bad either.

The photos can be enlarged with a simple click... you know you want to...

Wild HELP ME Wednesday

HELP!!!!!

There are days when you just can't do it all yourself. You need to ask someone to give you a hand... today it's the wild HELP ME wednesday.

It maybe a pure logistical thing - you need to delegate some work, or it might be you don't know quite what to do, and you need advice. Alternatively it might be more something you've been trying to deal with a long time personally but haven't been able to make sense of it.

It's time to ask your workmates, your family & friends, or a counsellor for help. If you run your own business - you might need a new employee!

I'd like another pair of hands at work this week - as one of our doctors is away - but we have no reserve (bugger!). I'd also like a few extra hours in the day, because there are about a thousand things I need to get done that are piling up on my desk here at home and also at work... So I'm in for today's Wild Wednesday - but as the world is still spinning at the same rate, I'm going to be delegating somewhat. Who will you ask for help?...

Into the Wild

A leopard is tracked down on safari - elegant in it's motion and certainly not looking the least stressed. I wouldn't mind some of that poise!
Vultures - there were probably four times as many as you see here when we arrived. They flew off in a hurry. The buffalo wasn't so lucky.
A mid-morning Scrabble break.
The Rhinos get this size just from eating grass... Who said vegetarianism was slimming?

I will be posting more photos of wildlife and detailed travel stuff here on my travel blog for those who are interested.

Next stop here on Superchilled's express South African tour: Clifton Beach.

Where is this post?

Can you figure out where this sign post is exactly?
GPS coordinates even?!

If you've been reading any recent posts, it's not going to be very difficult to figure it out...
(click to enlarge)

Camps Bay Cape Town

More travel photos... While I have more from Kruger - I'll come back to those. It's summer in the southern hemisphere and after training this morning with a host of very talented triathletes, I'm thinking beach; incentive to train hard... not just for speed. Anyway - the photos above are from Camps Bay, Cape Town, our first foray onto South African Beaches. It was a hive of activity both on the beach and in the cafes and bars behind it as the sun set. It was a sensational vibe and I had one of the best smoothies I've ever had - a combination of banana, nut, chocolate and I don't know what - but it was heavenly. The water was freezing though so we didn't swim. You'll see more in photos to follow which have more in the way of speedo clad men. Very few in the water.

Be careful with men wearing sunglasses...

32seconds

superchilled on tour in Africa

I have to say Zebras are probably my favourite - it might the whole graphic thing - the black and white patterns... But the whole safari thing is fantastic. We had a superb guide who was good fun and a tracker who found all manner of animals for us - in places we least expected them (more on those later).

Myself, Dennis, The Frenchman & David, the A-Team in Africa. Here we are during 'Sundowners' literally watching the sunset with drinks served in the middle of a meadow somewhere within the Kruger Game reserve.

This was our accommodation for our time in the park. Tough, but someone has to do it...

Baby elephants playing. It was very entertaining to watch - and they certainly seemed to be enjoying themselves.

More photos later.

Wild Wednesday 1 : 2008

This is the first Wild Wednesday @ superchilled this year, and being the start of the year it's time for things new or renewed. The challenge today is to see what you can do in a new way from now and for the rest of the year. A new job? Perhaps a new computer system - mac to pc, pc to mac... Change to a new gym, or pool. A new training partner or coach. Maybe a new more fuel efficient car or hybrid (or ditch the car altogether if you have adequate public transport or want some gorgeous cyclist's legs ;-) ) . Perhaps it's a whole new look, a change of style in your clothes, or your hair?! Or a whole new outlook on life.

Here's to a new year and a new you.

Return to Oz

We're on the way to the airport in Port Elizabeth for a connecting flight when we both get the following text message from an Australian number :

Qantas flight QF64 05 JAN from JNB now est to dep at 1430 06 JAN.

The flight we're connecting to is running a day late... Suddenly the whole trip home that we're all packed for, dressed for and are on our way to is thrown to the wind for another day. But we're still headed to Johannesburg... we don't quite know what will greet us when we get there.

We contact our friends David & Dennis who have travelled the opposite direction (and found spectacular weather, in contrast to us). They are landing in Johannesburg a few hours later and promise to save us from a day in an airport / airport hotel. So past the high walled security fenced estates, the shanty towns crammed filled with people and surrounded by more meandering on the streets, past new shopping centres with designer labels, cars patched together with tape and BMW X5's fresh off theproduction line, we make it to the oasis of a suburban home replete with swimming pool, tennis court and our haven from an uncertain city.

Everyone has different views of Johannesburg, but no-one describes it as safe. It's a great add-on day to our holiday. Had we planned it - we'd probably be somewhere else.

But the next day's flight (delayed yet again) finally leaves in the evening and we make it home for a hot sunset and a swim in Coalcliff pool. We're back home, back to work and I've taken so many photos my hard drive can't breathe.

Captain my Captain

Tired of wearing mud and changing tyres in godforsaken backwaters, we take to the luxurious side of life. Knysna (pronounced nize-na) is the town at the centre of our oppulence and after a day of extremely shitty weather (sea-side towns are not the best in fog and rain) we land upon the oasis that is The Alexander. As we approach, the coastline plunges beneath us to a rocky headland complete with crashing waves and storming rain. We're upgraded to the Captain's suite, which seems a prerequisite given the weather, and we navigate through it's decadence with ease, and more than a few laughs. The hosts here are a very cool gay couple - not that we knew this when we booked, but we're instantly at home and we forget our plans of exploring in the afternoon, opting to shelter in this haven until dinner which Martin has booked for us at Lush, appropriately named and certainly keeping the decadent theme we've established for the evening. A cute waitperson serves us a stunning dinner and it is quickly established that the food in South Africa is sensatiolicious, unbelievably inexpensive and the chocolate desserts are uniformly the best I've had ever - and there is some stiff competition there. The SA wines have been popular with the Frenchman and I drive home with our brand new Pirelli tyre and watch a surprisingly good movie, appropriately titled Head in the Clouds, in the lap of luxury.

I wonder what tomorrow will bring...

Are we stuck in the middle of nowhere?

So we're driving from Capetown to 'The Garden Route' where there have been floods in the region a week or so ago. The road is closed but the helpful roads authority guy there tells us there's a really long detour on tarred roads, or a shorter one on dirt road that's quite good - and a lot shorter. So we do the short detour and for the first 30km it's great and we manage 80km/hr or so but then the good road disappears and a crapulent one appears out of nowhere. It seems doable, but after the second river crossing we wonder what the story is - of course that's also when we realise we have a flat tyre. Middle of nowhere in Africa, small, front wheel drive car, flat tyre. Thank god the rental company have a REAL tyre as a spare and we're up and running again in no time - but a 4WD owner coming the other way warns we're about half way, and the road doesn't get any better... Damned either direction... So we travel onward with extreme caution, especially when we discover the two German girls who passed us earlier with their stalled golf on the next river crossing; some other drivers are already helping restart them. Finally we all get going again , traverse the crossing and manage to make it to the good road. The Frenchman is stressed but I'm enjoying the problem solving and the knowledge that this is something we'll remember long after the beautiful landscapes have faded from memory.

Happy New Year - Jan 1st: Capetown

There's no time to sit back and relax. This is 2008. It has begun and we're taking no prisoners. There's much to be done or before you know it Christmas will be here again an you'll wonder what happened to the year. Take hold and start to make a difference. Now.

I'm in Capetown, South Africa, having had a sensational week leading to this. I've seen all manner of wild animals from Leopards to Lizards and Hippos to Giraffes in Kruger National Park, explored various capes, numerous beaches, and sighted numerous gorgeous specimens of the male form. I've eaten much more food than I'd normally have partaken, but it's all been sensational and more is yet to come. Swimming has been limited - today it was with penguins, tomorrow? Who knows, but it's looking good as we head Eastwards and farewell our good friends David & Dennis who have been sensational companions traveling with us up until our planned brunch in the wine region tomorrow.

I have loads of photos, but no software to load them here just now... see if I get a chance to do something in the next few days, but at the frenetic pace we've been going - I expect not. No rest for this very wicked one.

Again, thanks everyone for coming back, and rest assured Superchilled will continue into 2008. Welcome aboard, strap in and prepare for a bumpy ride.

Merry Christmas and Bon Voyage

I'm writing from my cousin's pc in Nelson Bay (where my photo id here on the right was taken this time last year). My extended family migrates here for Christmas these days and I've just driven the 300km or so to get here. My cousins are night-owls like myself, and at 2.30am they're both up and about, as normal. I always feel right at home here. The Frenchman has gone back to France for Christmas, so we're spending it apart for the first time in years, and while he was still on his delayed flight home I was already missing him. Sad isn't it!?

Anyhow, tomorrow night after the festivities here, rather than stay a few days here in paradise I'm headed back home and thence to the airport because on Dec 26th both the Frenchman and I head to South Africa, from very different continents. I've been warned of mugging and personal theft/assault and I'm trying to mentally prepare for losing my cameras, phone, and the rest of my looks. I haven't backed up my phone contacts as the bloody pc connection thingie won't work for me, again, so if this is the last you hear of me - you know why. (That or I just decided that I didn't like you any more, and have made this post as an elaborate excuse).

I'm going to have a hard think about my plans for 2008 over my time away and the real value of continuing Superchilled (which I will update regardless, pending physical incapacity).

Help with my decision making by answering the final poll for this year...

Should Superchilled Stay, or Should it Go?

Regardless, I do wish you all a Fantastic Christmas & New Year. It's been a pleasure to have you on board. Thanks for persevering with me, my posts and my 12 Days of Christmas which is now so big it takes almost until 2008 to load.

X

Trevor.

The 12 Days of Christmas : Day 12

On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love sent to me:

Twelve Swimmers Swimming
Eleven Chefs a-Cooking
Ten Goat Herds Bleating
Nine Jet Planes Flying
Eight Models Showing
Seven ipods playing

Six Men a-Singing
Five Original Songs
Four Swimming Pools

Three French Men

Two Purple Bugs

and a Model with a Peace Prize.

If you'd like to send a gift of goats or alpacas or wells, or the like to people who really need them, go to this World Vision site for details. Give a gift that won't go to E-bay...

The 12 Days of Christmas: Day 11

On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love sent to me:

Eleven Chefs a-Cooking
Ten Goat Herds Bleating
Nine Jet Planes Flying
Eight Models Showing
Seven ipods playing

Six Men a-Singing
Five Original Songs
Four Swimming Pools

Three French Men

Two Purple Bugs

and a Model with a Peace Prize.

The 12 days of Christmas: Day 10

On the tenth day of Christmas my true love sent to me:

Ten Goat Herds Bleating
Nine Jet Planes Flying
Eight Models Showing
Seven ipods playing

Six Men a-Singing
Five Original Songs
Four Swimming Pools

Three French Men

Two Purple Bugs

and a Model with a Peace Prize.

If you'd like to send a gift of goats or alpacas or wells, or the like to people who really need them, go to this World Vision site for details. Give a gift that won't go to E-bay...

intoxicant intolerant

I go to the cinema and see these fantastic ads for beer, wine, and spirits, and while they're spectacular, there is never any drive for me to have or hold one of these magnificent glass vessels. Similarly the sensational ads for coffee have me looking around for signs of when the movie might start. People talk of coffee as their must have in the mornings: "Don't even talk to me before I've had my 2nd espresso" they say. It's an experience I'm familiar with, but from the sense of me saying "Here, you need this," as I hand The Frenchman his coffee of a Saturday morning. I don't even drink tea.

I'm the person people end up apologising to and explaining away their drinking patterns when I say no thanks to their offers of all of the above. The one who people try to get to drink more at parties both to see what might happen to me and to feel better about their own drinking habits. I'm the designated driver, always. The social outcast who isn't. I go to dance parties from time to time, but while others see elephants on my shoulders and stare at the lighting effects like it's a whole new world out there, I'm having a great time laughing at them, enjoying the music and feeling fine the next day.

I guess it started with a family who had no alcohol apart from gifts my dad got at Christmas which sat forever in the disused downstairs bar that came with the house. They refrigerated vintage red wine before serving, and mostly used it for cooking. Coffee they drank (and still do) in bucket loads "a mugaccino please" orders my dad, but I never caught that bug. So while I enjoy the smell of freshly ground coffee, that's where the romance ends. My siblings have moved into normality and indulge in all those beverages I decline. From time to time I'll drink a little alcohol to see if I enjoy it much, but rarely do. I've been wine tasting in all parts of the world, and can identify the style of wine and region where its produced reasonably well, but more than half a glass - and I'm giving it away. A whole glass? Under duress!

Of the 4 times I recall drinking beer, 2 of them were from decidedly gorgeous men who thrust them in my hand. But on none of those occasions did I make it beyond the first serve (of the beer).

While it is a little socially estranging these (lack of) habits of mine. I'm managing to cope. Though I do think it does limit my social invitations from time to time. I'll keep buying the wine beer & spirits for events we have and inviting people out for 'coffee' and 'drinks'; just don't expect to see me actually drinking much of the stuff any time soon.

The 12 days of Christmas: Day 9

On the ninth day of Christmas my true love sent to me:

Nine Jet Planes Flying
Eight Models Showing
Seven ipods playing

Six Men a-Singing
Five Original Songs
Four Swimming Pools

Three French Men

Two Purple Bugs

and a Model with a Peace Prize.