The Ibis Lounge

 

Hi Everyone,

Man I am bushed and for those of you who think that I am surround by thick vegetation and stumbling through the wilds of Africa, you have got it wrong…I’m tired, but a very pleasant tired, the satisfied tired that you get when a job has been well done and you realize that you  have achieved your objective  and at this point I just have to say a few words about my amazing wife, Lucie…boy  she jumped into the deep end and is holding her head above the water…what a lot to absorbed in a few days as far as admin is concerned, but she has taken  the bull by the horns and as you guys in the U.S.A. would say…”Ride em Cowboy”…and she is doing just that…Lucie I’m proud of you and so very happy to have you at my side.

To Terry and Layton, you guys are wonderful and just have so much experience and knowledge to share with us, and for that we thank you…over and above all your packing and getting ready for your big move to the Big City…heck guys you are going to be blinded by the lights. We also thank you for trusting both of us with your awesome Guest House.

Now, what is all this about…a new chapter in our lives…and I’m not talking about a new chapter in one of my books but a new chapter in the book of life. Lucie and I have been given the amazing opportunity to look after and run a wonderful guest house in the middle of the Karoo….a lovely village that goes by the name, Nieu Bethesda…and wait for it…the name of the guest house is…The Ibis Lounge…Right I got your attention….great name huh?

Check us out on Google…have a look and if you are really looking to experience something different…never seen the stars at night….never heard the bray of Donkey as you lie in your bed or woken to the sound of a horse galloping past…or just want to step back into the past where family values are what they are meant to be…and if you are willing to test my cooking…then this is the place for you.

The Guest house consists of three bedrooms…The Amour Room, The Happy Room and The Karoo Room. The dining is exclusive for The Ibis Lounge Guests only, and we offer Bed, Dinner and Breakfast. You can book directly with us at “manager (at) theibis.co.za” and we will make sure that you only leave your footprint and take happy memories away with you.

I will admit that I am not sure if my cooking is as good as my writing… (that is one thing that I have been asked) but never fear, I have been given instruction under the watchful eye of Terry, and am confident that the kitchen will maintain the high standard that she has set, plus I am lucky enough to have the backup from Lucie, but then if you feel the meal is not up to scratch…you can always eat up a good book, one of mine I hope.

Take Care and Stay Safe, you never know what is watching from the shadows.

God Bless

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Moving On

Heck it has been awhile since I last touched the keys to the lap top and did any writing at all and I mean no writing. My current work in progress…”Fangs of Fury” has been left on a hanger in the cupboard for now, currently sitting on 46k words and only halfway done, and I know that there are certain people out there who have been privy to a glimpse of the story-line that are jumping up and down for me to complete my latest so they can get their sticky hands on the published copy and I have to say to those eager beavers…sorry guys, I have had to take time out from writing to attend to other matters, but I did make a promise in my last blog, and I will keep to that promise. The books are lining up to be written, and believe me, I am going to write.

Now, the title of this blog is ‘Moving On” for more than one reason, so let me explain.

Firstly, after the passing of my Mother, my wife and I found ourselves drifting in a sea of uncertainty and doubt about the future. Now you might find yourself saying…”but you are an author, you’ve got eight books published, they are out there, they are selling.”

That may be the case, but an author can’t live on promises and dreams, waiting for that illusive Best Sellers list…the books need to be distributed, they need to be in your face or else they just do not sell, no matter how hard you work at promoting them, looking for reviews and relying on your publisher…at the end of the day the time comes when you have to look out for number one, and in everyone’s case, number one is self.

The world spins around on empty promises, believe me Lucie and I have been down that road on more than one occasion. For example in 2001 we were the proud owners of a 150ha farm in the foothills of the Katburg Mountains…we ran it as a guest farm and it was a wonderful life until September 2003 when Mother Nature with a little help from unknown persons decided that the gale force wind hitting the farm could do with a bit of fire and we lost everything. Now the empty promise at that time came from the government…it was declared a natural disaster and we were promised disaster aid. It is now 2016 and to date we have never been compensated for a loss of over R1mil.

The point of all this is that although you get empty promises from various parties in your life there are still some very good people out there which brings me to our decision which I will now share with you. After some soul searching and debate between ourselves we decided that we needed to uproot and move to a more affordable home. The decision was made to sell up everything that we owned apart from the clothes and a few necessary items.

A company based in Port Elizabeth called “Moving On” was contacted and a young lady by the name of JUANITA came calling and placed value on each and every item we wished to sell…she took photos of everything and before we knew it, we had a price-list in our hands and the date of sale was confirmed. Everything was taken out of our hands on the day of sale and the turnout was awesome.

They promised they would sell everything and they missed the mark by 4% . High praise for the team from “Moving On”. They were professional in their approach, and wonderful to deal with…we slept on a blowup mattress that night as that was all that was left…the next day Lucie and I “Moved On.”

To all the many good people living in Gamtoos who made us feel so welcome…we might be gone but your kindness and friendship will not be forgotten.

Our move brought us out of the Gamtoos area where we spent two wonderful years into a country setting just outside Port Elizabeth called Theescombe, where we thought that we would remain until the new year and then take up a caretaking position of a Guest House in a small town in the middle of the Karoo called Nieu Bethesda, but before I get to that, I would like to thank Paul and Janice Vice for the awesome welcoming committee when we arrived and making us feel right at home, and the cottage we are staying in at present just says…”live in me.”

We were all geared up for a bit of a break here, gazing out at the horses, donkey, geese and ducks, being taken for a DRAG by Pooch and just recharging our batteries when we were blessed by the Lord our Father. No sooner had we unpacked when we received an e-mail asking us if we would consider the following proposal. “How did the two of us feel about running the Guest House as Managers?”

We jumped at that suggestion, and now will be leaving our country setting on the 13^th of this month to start a new chapter in our lives, thanks to a wonderful couple, Layton and Terry. Our thanks go out to you two for seeing the potential and for making us feel so welcome in your lives. The two of us are very excited at the prospect that lies ahead and the path we are going to walk.

So all of you out there, looking for a break, looking for something different and would like to meet the face behind Piet van Zyl…our location will be revealed to you shortly and I can promise you this…you will not be sorry…pack your bags and get ready for a trip to the Karoo.

In the meantime, take care and stay safe, you never know what is watching from the shadows.

God Bless You All.