In the jaws of the mastodon…..

I think our grandson should be really impressed with this picture of the Great White sharks ancestor. This is a replica of a mastodon in the uShaka water park and aquarium in Durban. They also have the jaw of the real thing which was caught off Durban many years ago. A photograph taken at the time shows a few men standing in and next to it and the jaw is taller than they are – and you thought it was only the stuff of movies!

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It’s official…..

….hubby has finished work at the conference and is now ON HOLIDAY!!! Yippeee, Durban beach and uShaka  here we come 🙂

www.ushakamarineworld.co.za/

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Knot the end of summer?

We woke up to a wonderfully sunny late summer day – this may be the last we see this year, so we were determined not to miss it by staying indoors and doing boring old housework!

First stop UPS in Leyland to drop off a parcel and then a quick English breakfast at Morrisons supermarket restaurant – very nice indeed. Stock up on veggies for family roast dinner tomorrow and by 10am we are off north – somewhere? Out with the map and we head towards the ocean. Having travelled extensively in England and Scotland it is always lovely to find somewhere near our doorstep that we haven’t yet explored and we find one such place in Knot End on Sea. Just above Fleetwood and only 40 minutes from home – what a pleasure.

Parking was a breeze and we are sitting next to the Wyre river leading to the Irish sea. What a beautiful day and to be beside the seaside makes it extra special.

I am really easy to please and to top off a wonderful dip in the water on the jetty and we find the most wonderfully clean disabled toilets – a true treasure! Thank you Wyre Borough Council – we love you…

The day would have been perfect if we had been able to buy a bag of fish and chips like all the other visitors – boy, they smelled amazing – but a) we are on a low carb diet and b) I go into anaphalactic shock just getting a meter away from any seafood. Oh well, a lovely last of the summer outings anyway….

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This is no Southport beach…

I found a little beach. Amazingly it has some sea you can see and get to without the usual two-mile hike required at our beach in Southport. It is really lovely and I am happily sitting here enjoying sun, sea and sand whilst I crochet some sort of – as yet unformed and undecided – amigurumi. What a life!

Even better, it has clean toilet facilities – I need them after all my coffee stops this morning.

Just heard that the crew are back in the harbour. Some deck swabbing to be done and then I will go meet up with them.

Happy days; I almost have my hubby back….

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Sun, sea and sand….

One week into our holiday and it was time for our son to return home.  We had to drop him at the airport in Bordeaux and thought that it was an ideal opportunity to also visit the Atlantic coast and the beaches.  We had our grandson with us and he had never seen proper waves and beaches before – Southport hardly compares when you grew up in Durban with some of the biggest waves in the world! 

According to the tour guides, this part of the French coast has the biggest dunes and wonderful beaches.  Now, most people in a wheelchair when they hear the words, large and dune, in the same sentence would have realised that this could be a challenge!  Not me, I was determined to go to the beach in France. 

The first place we stopped was Lacanau-Ocean but it was far too busy with a surfing competition in progress, so we headed further north to Carcans-Plage.   This area with it’s big beaches and large dunes reminded me of Formby and parking was really easy with large paths up the dunes to the beaches. 

Baby, picnic and all the other beach paraphernalia in hand, we headed to the top of the dune.  Having to stop every few steps for playing in the sand gave me time to rest on the long climb uphill.  Eventually we got to the top and looking down the very high dunes realised that there was an equally long slog down the other side – but without the path!!  Okay, I really should have turned back at this point, but having come this far was determined to get as close to the water as I could. 

We started out going forward with me pushing and hubby shoving for all he was worth.   The sand was dry and very fine and we sank as fast as we proceeded forward so we turned around and he dragged me down the steep slope.  Exhausted but thrilled to have my feet in the sand after so long, we unpacked everything and enjoyed the sun, sea, sand and picnic. 

After lunch I started to worry about how we were ever going to make it off the beach but one trip to return everything to the car and hubby was ready for the long hard uphill pull.  We were about half way up and thank goodness he had not had a heart attack from the exertion, when a crowd of local Frenchmen swarmed around us and proceeded to help drag me up the dune.  I laughed all the way whilst they chattered away in French and was really relieved to get to the top and onto firm ground.  I really wish I had been able to thank them with more than my big smile and a simple Merci. 

After washing the sand off the baby, chair and ourselves, we headed north towards the ferry to Royan.  What an incredible day and another tick in the box for things to do in a wheelchair.  I am so grateful for the help and support of those around me – they make the little dreams come true – thank you, merci….

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At last – our first adventure

5pm and we are off for our inaugural ramble! Armed with new K-2, energy drink, fleeces, camera and plenty of enthusiasm (oh, did I mention the not so great weather?).

Our destination, Southport beach, with a car park surface that might have been laid back in the 60’s and is now more like the lunar surface. The first time we decided on this walk we didn’t even manage to get out of the car park – definitely not wheelchair friendly.

 

 Hooray! Our first goal achieved – out of the car park and onto the trail. Getting used to the unusual steering meant that I was all over the place at first, but the good thing is that wherever I unintentionally steered, I could get myself out of without my husbands muscle power. This independence lark could get addictive. With our sights firmly set on attaining the waters edge, we set off .

Now, if you know Southport you will realise that this can be no mean feat because the tide only seems to come in every few years and the rest of the time can be miles away. Apart from this we forged ahead and in no time were getting excellent practice over stones, mud, sand, grass and a mix of them all. Not being used to going off road it soon became apparent that I would need to be patient with myself and build up my strength. Pushing yourself around a shopping mall and a beach are entirely different matters. This did however give my hubby a chance to see how easy it was to push and before we knew it we had gone about a mile with the sea still just a distant glimmer! At this point we noticed we were the only people on the beach and rather than become the next headline on the North West news – I could imagine it – “Women in wheelchair rescued from incoming tide”, we decided to turn back and try reaching the beach another day when we had a tidal report.

 All in all, it was an amazing first trip. We tried and conquered a number of different terrains and at the same time got the confidence to go on to bigger and better things.

Tired but happy we returned home to hose off my K-2 ready for the next adventure.

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Day one – delivery

Delivery – Have K-2, but no place to go!

 After much excitement and anticipation the day for delivery of my Trekinetic K-2 has arrived. Mal dropped it off early on Friday morning and after going through some instructions and useful information, left me to get acquainted. I immediately went out onto our road for a few laps to get familiar with the new and unusual driving style. It was at this point that my hubby disappeared back to the office leaving me to spend the rest of the day reading the manual, pushing up and down the living room and waiting impatiently for his return so that we could go for our first outing.

Tick, tock, tick, tock!

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