The Boys' Corner

 All the boys' extra notes and creations.

June 30, 2016

After recapping what we did and where we were for the past 2 years, we had a kind of interview with the boys concerning what they've learned, highlights, what they missed, etc. Here's what they said. 

What particular incident/aspect did you enjoy? On the Kammanassie farm….

Theuns: I really enjoyed to make such good friends with the local workers' children, particularly Brendon, Brayton and Jaylin on the St. Ancothesa farm.
Maarten: Having JanDiesel as a 'little brother' (though not biological) was really special for me, as I'm the youngest and had no idea what it's like to have a younger sibling. Now I do, and I love it!

During the other 8 months' travel….

Theuns: I'll never forget the spectacular New Year's Eve fireworks at the Cape Town Waterfront.
Maarten: We saw a lot of fantastic places, but the Knysna Lake really made a big impression on me. [when we drove into Knysna, Maarten's first comment was that he'd like to live there]


What did you miss most? On the Kammanassie farm….

Theuns: I missed Potch (the known), and the stability it'd always represented for me.
Maarten: I missed our old house a lot. [both boys were born in that house, by the way – thus much sentiment]

During the other 8 months' travel….

Theuns: Still Potch.
Maarten: I missed the Kammanassie farm.


What item(s)/things did you learn you can't go without?

Theuns: A place that I can go to, to be by myself.
Maarten: My soft toy 'Perdjie', which I got when I was 2 years old.


What did you learn about yourself and what you can do, that you didn't know you could do before? 

Theuns: I didn't know I could row the Orange River. That was quite a personal victory for me.
Maarten: I didn't know I could operate a TLB machine – that was awesome! ['oom' Jan let them work with the TLB once on the Kammanassie farm] 


What are some things you didn't like at all? 

Theuns: All the hiking. [he complained whether it was on the beach, in the mountains, or around the block] 
Maarten: When all the goats escaped when we had to look after them on OverThere Farm; they knew they were being naughty, they really did it on purpose. It also sucked when I broke a friend's toy boat in Somerset West…. And when the hike to the Arch in the Cederberg took much longer than we thought, it wasn't nice. We made it though – that was a highlight!


What's the coolest thing that happened to you? On the Kammanassie farm….

Theuns: Riding our pony Arend for the first time, as well as being Tarzan in the wattle trees.
Maarten: All the giant machines, like the bulldozer that ripped new orchards next to our house.

During the other 8 months' travel….

Theuns: Meeting a real bushman, named 'Yster' (literally translated 'Iron'), and having him explain to me how he made the bow-and-arrow I bought in the Kalahari. It's made from real Gemsbok horn and leather (that's still a little stinky..)!
Maarten: The canopy tour we did in Tsitsikamma was awesome, as well as hiking The Cracks in the Cederberg! Riding Rusty the pig on OverThere Farm in KZN was also funny, and now that I think about it, also riding our own piglets on the Kammanassie farm haha.


What's the strangest/weirdest thing that happened to you? On the Kammanassie farm….

Theuns: To have piglets. I would never have had piglets if we hadn't lived on the farm (and I don't want to have them again, ugh).
Maarten: When the drifts overflowed after heavy rains. Everyone would be trapped by nature, and that's really weird, for a person who lives in a town/city.

During the other 8 months' travel….

Theuns: When we were in Springbok, it was really strange but awesome to learn about all the different gemstones from 'oom' Daniel, and sorting them.
Maarten: The seagull that chased and swooped at my head when we camped at Stormsriver! [the video is still on The Boys' Corner]


What lessons did you learn? 

Maarten: Women pack better than men [mom and dad had regular fights about this, and Maarten had obviously drawn some conclusions…], and you actually need much less stuff than you think.

Theuns:

• You have to be prepared for change – it's an attitude, and a skill. 
• When you start something new, it's exciting and fun, but after a certain time it's not as wonderful any more and can get too much. 
• You can manage with very little stuff, but not everyone enjoys simplified possessions equally. [he being one of those]

December 25, 2015

Theuns: "I am very sad that we are leaving this farm, because on the farm we made many happy memories. The fun riding of the ponies, the enthusiasm of the piglets during mealtimes, and moving the fence for the chickens' cage with the help of the farm workers was good experience and memories made. I'll never forget when we swam in the dam with Brendon, Breyton and Jaylin, when we played hide-and-seek with Bolla and Diesel, and how we had 'Movie Night' with oom Jan, tannie Anel and Diesel. Thank you Kammanassie and Burgers - I love you, goodbye!"

Maarten: "I am very sad to be leaving the Kammanassie, because we made so many memories - like the piglets, ponies and chickens. Events like the TLB machine that got stuck in the river, Diesel's birthday party and Christmas Eve dinner was awesome, I even got an Eskom pocketknife with an inbuilt flashlight for Christmas! I loved the way Arend cantered, how the piglets 'barked' when they were surprised, and how the chickens never laid eggs where they were supposed to, so we never got a lot of eggs. I'll always remember how Diesel called out helpful hints when we played hide-and-seek, and when tannie Anel put a whole bag full of presents in the chimney on Christmas Eve, and how oom Jan drove like crazy on the rough farm roads!"


October 7, 2015

Theuns: "I'm here in the Kammanassie valley on a farm called St. Ancothesa. I've been here for almost a year and in this time we've had 2 ponies, Arend and Valk. When we bought them they were rather wild, and so we had to teach them a few things with the help of the foreman's sons, Brendon and Breyton. Here's a list of things that we've had to learn him, as well as what I learned out of it:
1. Sometimes he just refused to budge out of pure stubbornness, and we had to urge him on to make any progress at all! Just like Arend, sometimes we also go into a deadlock despite other people not understanding why we would feel unsure and resist doing something. Thankfully God will always know what it is (maybe it was even Him warning us), and He'll help us sort it out and move on.
2. Most of the time, Arend was willing to learn even though it didn't appear so at first. When he was instruct-able (could be instructed), it usually meant that he was curious about something, and then it was a good thing.
3. The more Brendon worked with Arend, the more Arend trusted Brendon – which implies that Brendon could teach him more things and do more with him. In the same way, the more we trust God, the more He can help us. So when we choose not to trust Him, He won't do anything, even though He wants to help."

Maarten: " I love it here in the Kammanassie, because there are so many hills and plants to explore – but the best part is the machines like TLBs, bulldozers and tractors!! We've climbed a mountain, and have lived here for a year now, after which we will continue travelling! But in the year so far, we've had animals: horses (Valk and Arend), piglets, and chickens Valk was quite wild but Arend we could ride. Through Valk we learned that we are a lot like her against God, she didn't really trust us (she only glared at us) so we couldn't give her the care and attention that we wanted to give her. Through Arend I learned that people always test the lines, just like Arend that always bucks but then he stops when disciplined. About the piglets I learned they are always looking for a place to escape from their camp, and when they get a fright they 'bark' just like a dog and run away with their legs going two-by-two (we always laughed at them). I dunno about the chickens…"


January 2015

Maarten: "I like the view from our porch. I love all the discoveries that I can make in nature here, and I enjoy swimming in the dam almost every day. I learn that farm work is hard work. I love that we are at home most of the time, and have lots of free time. The walk up the mountain at Christmas was interesting as well as sleeping in the open. It's great fun to be able to makefire often. What I enjoyed most was the delicious fruit that we could eat so much of during harvest time."
 
Theuns: "I like farm life because there are so many places I still can explore and discover, and because it is so large. I love the swimming routine after we worked on hot days. It's nice to see the fruit that we are used to seeing in the shop in boxes, hanging on the trees and growing bigger. I like to look at the baler when they bale alfalfa because it's an interesting machine where everything has to work exactly in sync with everything else to work at all! Sometimes it's a shock how long it stays light now in the summer in the Cape. It's been nice for me to go working with my dad at 6 o clock in the morning already, because then the day is even longer. And we learned interesting things about the sheep and cattle. The kitten Nassie is very cute and nice to hold. It's nice to make a fire and braai, because I like it when the meat is grilled just perfect. The Christmas tree on the mountain was really cool because it gave us shade at the right time."


December 4, 2014

 Maarten: "Willows was a nice campsite and it was safe to go do things like fishing and so alone. I made my own fishing rod. I actually really loved the wind one day when we went to the lighthouse, because I could invent a new thing - something like a glidepack for the wind that I am one day going to sell. There was always something to do and the outings were interesting." 

Theuns: "November was full of adventure! Lots of things happened, like a trampoline, a nice sand dune thing to hollow out, the hike, to be able to ride with rollerblades in the caravan park and to be alone on the rocks fishing or exploring. When we first went to King's beach the sun shone least, but the water of the sea was very cold! I remember the 'pub' we ate at in PE when it was already dark and the wind was blowing a lot - but the food was great! At PE the museums were interesting because the exhibits had all kinds of things, and the moving dinosaurs were quite funny. I loved the musical fountain we went to watch one night in PE."

Their hilarious video of annoying a seagull at Storms River:


 https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-oW9Zr9nY6cazZxMjRsaTR0TGM/view

November 13, 2014

Maarten: "The hike was very nice. The first day at Milkwood was a big surprise - a hut hidden in a forest. We enjoyed playing games outside and climbed trees in the forest. The second day of beach walking was difficult sometimes because of the dunes and the cold wind but we walked fast. In the natural forest it was very beautiful but more difficult walking. Tree House's tree house was very big and nice to play at. Day three was a very easy hike, the Three Sisters hut was cool because the beds were soft and we had delicious mince and potatoes for dinner. We found horses' hooves' clippings at the stables. As we walked to the store to Kleinemonde (because we had time in the afternoon) we saw a penguin on the beach which we rescued. Day four's Stone Cottage was my favorite because there was electricity, a flush toilet and a big bath. At home where we started and finished, we slept on bunk beds and took a long walk in the country to test the walkie-talkies. I also made a fire for the barbecue sausages because it was my turn to cook. I also made 'pap en sous' with it."

 

Theuns: "The first day was easy because the first and largest part we were on the beach. The last bit was in the bushes and went very slowly, but because it was such a short distance, it went quickly. The interesting part of Milkwood Hut is that when I got there for the first few seconds I didn't even see the hut. After we unpacked our things, me and Maarten explored around there. We came upon some secret paths and also climbed a climber plant that was very high and dense. Day two was more difficult. When we were on the beach I thought it was going to be very fast but when we reached the forest part, the manager had said it was only 4 km, but it felt like 30 km. When we finally came to Tree House, we missed the first big tree house because it was hiding in the bushes. Fortunately, Charlie was there and he showed us. That night we did not have a fire or a shower because there was a river to swim in. Me, Maarten and Elna always like to sleep in the top bunk beds to at all the huts.  

The next day there was a cold wind again on the beach, so we had to wear our warm, dirty clothes. Day three's stage was very short. At the Three Sisters me an Maarten had a good time playing on the high wooden cabin with a ladder. We walked a short distance to Kleinemonde for a milkshake - on the way, we saw a little penguin sitting on the beach. As we approached, he came and opened its mouth for food, but we had nothing. We called Dave and asked where we could take him. Fortunately, my mom had a poncho with which we could pick him up and take him to a waitingplace untilo Fauna and Flora could come to pick him up. On the way to the fourth day's hut, we rested at Clayton rocks for the wind was against us again on the beach. There we looked at all kinds of things between the crevices that washed up many years ago because of all the ships that sank in the area. Eventually we turned inland, but again it took longer than we thought because there was forest and huge dunes that we had to climb. When we finally finished with the dunes, there was a swallow that glided on the grass in front of us the whole time. Stone Cottage was very interesting because the walls and the stairs were both originally built in 1820 by settlers. The last day of walking, we passed the Great Fish River Lighthouse and walked to the Great Fish River estuary where we saw a washed-up, rotting whale. We had a lot of fun at the Fish River where the trail ended and we ate lunch. Bellevue, where we began and ended, is like a normal house with a beautiful view of the lighthouse.​"


November 3, 2014

Theuns: The farm was very nice. We did a lot of interesting stuff, such as swimming in a dam filled with duckweed, stopped the cows from eating the vegetable garden, and looked after goats.
We could also stroke the cows, even while they were not being milked.

Theuns and Stuck, the little orphan calf who stuck true to his name and often had to be pushed along.

Maarten: I like the cows on the farm. It was also cold and hard work. When we swam in the dam it was really nice because I knew there were no crocodiles. I also learned that herding goats are not that easy, and I don't think I would like to do it again.

Jump!

September 30, 2014

Theuns: Before we started this journey, I was very scared. But now, after we have begun it's much better for God is with us and we are five people. We ate a three course meal, hiked the Holkrans trail and found 2 Geocaching treasures which was my favorite adventure so far, so why worry! But I know that this is just the second day so, MUCH is still laying ahead.

Maarten: I am very happy ("Ey am werie happie"). I enjoyed rollerskating in Clarens, and finding the treasures - that was so cool. I am glad that one of my dad's dreams came true; we stayed in the Pyramid Motel for one night!

August 16, 2014

The boys did an interesting art project in which they made tiny sculptures out of all sorts of small things and objects (aka junk). The results?

"Dog Watching Lamp"

Theuns: Our junk finally has a use!

"Jock on a Starship"

Maarten: According to Maarten, our very energetic dog, Jock, had a race. Then he won a starship!