Horses – WANDER OUR WORLD

17. Januar 202122. Juli 2021

Capetonian views

Hello, Bonjour and Molweni from Cape Town where I live and work for two years. Due to the ongoing pandemic, I have arrived about 9 months later than planned. But I think all of us have realized by now that planning and COVID-19 are not much compatible.

View on the Marina Residential Apartments

By now I believe I am the queen of apartment hunting, I have seen lots and lots of apartments. It’s time to get one longterm rental now and I think I know which one I prefer, we will see if and how it will work out though as it seems as if COVID-19 is making up its own plans without me; again!

I found myself a gorgeous horse lease in Constantia, a lovely gelding, a former racing horse that loves jumping. We get along quite well so far and I am looking forward to get to know him better and to our dressage and jumping lessons.

The past days were either windy or very hot, proper summer days that I experienced here. During the days it could hit something in the 30 degrees celsius with a little wind breeze it was actually nice. Some of the evenings however the wind decided to pick up and do it’s own crazy dance! During one afternoon, I decided to have a look at the roof top bar on top of the Silo hotel but underestimated the wind. The views were stunning but my food was flying everywhere except into my stomach.

Due to the current pandemic you don’t need any reservation you can just show up, there will be plenty of free seats to choose from. Nevertheless, you should remember that there is a curfew in place so the last food order will only be considered before 6.30pm. I will surely go back once there is less wind to enjoy my food.

Table Mountain, Lion‘s Head and signal Hill from top of Silo hotel

My last week of holidays has started and I spent the time at the pool and in the gym as much as I could. I explored the waterfront and found the baby seals again. They are very sleepy and always lay around on one of the platforms. The parents are much more playful and I spent an afternoon just watching the adults catching fish and enjoying themselves in the harbor. I enjoyed my time at the stables and wanted to go on some hikes.

However, sometimes life has a different plan. The hiking didn’t happen. One morning I drove to Alphen trail in Constantia to meet a group of people that go hiking together 3 times per week. Before we wanted to start I collapsed unfortunately and found myself laying on the ground with lots of worried faces. Even a security guy was there with guns and a big dog. He took care of me until a friend came around to pick me up and drove me to the hospital. So, I checked out the South African hospital from the inside much earlier than I wanted. They took well care of me, did blood tests and heart tests and luckily didn’t find anything except of low blood pressure.

Views that hopefully won’t repeat themselves any time soon

After 2 hours, I came out of hospital with luckily only a bruised knee and hand, which I guess I must have fallen onto. I was very relieved I could go back home as during these COVID times I surely don’t want to be in hospital. Despite the ongoing pandemic I must admit the situation in this particular private hospital was not too concerning. Everything was kept clean, there were empty beds and no one waiting in the entrance hall. I am unsure how the rest of the rooms looked like but what I had seen was ok.

Since the incident, I enjoyed the views from my apartment during the last days of my holidays before my first working day in Cape Town will start.

My newest lessons learned in my new home town:

Cheeky birds – the seagulls will share your food plate with you even if you disagree,
No reservations needed – you can spontaneously get a seat at the roof top bar on top of Silo as not many people go out during COVID-19 times &
Early dinner – last order for a meal outside is before 6.30pm due to the current curfew, otherwise you must cook on your own!

Cheers to wandering the world and exploring my new home town – bye bye, salut and hamba kakuhle ∞

10. April 201917. Januar 2020

Rehabilitation for little Bandi

Hello, Bonjour and Salibonani from the donkeys ad horse sanctuary of MARESZIM in the suburbs of Bulawayo, where I am staying at since one week, as for different reasons I can’t go to Cawston yet. Making plans in Africa is not an easy thing :)!

MARESZIM is being run by Claire Einhorn who rescues horses that should be put down and donkeys that are being abused or hurt by improper harnesses. She explains to the owner how to treat a donkey and which harnesses are working properly. For this purpose she is producing harnesses that she will sell for a small fee to the donkey owner. In a case of abuse of the donkey she will call the police and fight in court all at the same time while she is running her restaurant Déjà-vu, which is just fabulous and offers very tasty food!

Three donkeys that had severe wounds from improper harnesses but the owner was trained and given proper harnesses

Plenty of things have already happened in these few days. I am mainly helping with the foal at the stables called Bandi, that was injured so very badly by a gelding, who has bitten the foal in the shoulder when little Bandi was just one day old. This wound is really severe and we had to do an OP on the foal last week Friday. The vet had to cut it open and to get scattered bones out as well as bad tissue. But this wound is not the only one, he got lots and lots including 2 legs that were in splints for 3 weeks as Bandis mother stood on him when he was 3 weeks old, causing his little legs to break. Now, he is 9 weeks old and since one week the splints are off.

We are trying to show him how he can walk, as he has lost his sense of balance and his muscles to hold him up. Since one week we are walking him and he has improved a lot already! Hopefully he will learn soon to walk alone as he is also getting heavier each day since he is drinking 12 liters of milk and eating half a bale of gras every day. Unfortunately he has some high temperatures since 2 days (about 39 degrees) that we don’t know where it comes from. This is the reason we have started to inject him painkiller, which should bring his temperature back to normal hopefully soon.

Since a few days I am also lunging and riding some of the rescued horses, mainly a chestnut red gelding. He was supposed to be put down as his previous owner didn’t get along with him. But he has proved to be an outstanding horse in the lunging arena as well as in the riding area and on outrides. I took him for an outride today, which was his first time ever since he is at Claire’s stable. He is just gorgeous and so attentive!

My new lessons learned while being at the sanctuary in the suburbs of Bulawayo:

A little foal can take up lots of time during day and night– we are 3 to 4 people watching after him, taking turns during day as well as nights and sometimes we watch after him all at once if we need to walk him or flush out his wounds.
Outrides during sunset time are fabulous – I was taking Sienna on his first outride and we both adored it!
Taking care of a foal will put you in lots of urine – I have never sat in so much urine as now, which we need to clean, rob off the foal and hose down with water.

Cheers to wandering the world and the wonders of our lives, hope to see you see you soon again – bye bye, salut and lisale kuhle ∞

P.S.: if you want you can donate to any horse and the donkeys, they would absolutely love it! You will be given an official donation receipt by MARESZIM. Just let me know!

5. April 201917. Januar 2020

Different plans in Bulawayo

Hello, Bonjour and Salibonani from Bulawayo where I have safely arrived 2 days ago. Immigration and customs took quite long and wasn’t without any hustles but I mastered it. Afterwards, I got a new SIM card with a Zim number and internet, which seems to work for now, even though I am still trying to understand the money market to get new internet data.

Plans have changed before I arrived in Zimbabwe and I will not directly stay at Cawston. For the time being, I am based in the suburbs of Bulawayo and helping to workout the horses on a donkey and horse sanctuary.

There is also a little foal that is about 2 months old, which had a tough start into life. Two of his legs were broken and he has lots of wounds to recover from. As he can’t walk, we do some physio on him and try to walk him with 4 persons, each taking one of his legs to show him how he can move. Long way to go for him to recover.

Unfortunately one of his wound on his shoulder was so bad that we had to bring him to the vet today and he got an operation. Hopefully this is now the turning point and he will get better soon.

I will stay here for some days before moving onwards to Cawston. I will see what the next days will bring.

Cheers to wandering the world and the wonders of our lives, hope to see you in a few days again in Zimbabwe – bye bye, salut and lisale kuhle ∞

10. März 201919. Juli 2021

African Adventures

I’m Janine:

Half-French, half-German, I love traveling the globe, exploring new cultures and enjoying the wonders given by our nature. Especially the African continent has my heart and I am mesmerized by its magical beauty. No wonder I have a deep passion for Southern Africa, its’ wilderness, wildlife and landscapes. An astonishingly divers region enriched by breathtaking landscapes, prolific wildlife and ancient culture.

Originally from Germany, my heart wanders the world and admires the Southern African continent. I dream about the African savannah, its vastness, its natural richness and its beauty. Southern Africa is Africa at its very best.

There is freedom waiting for you, on the breezes of the sky, and you ask „What if I fall?“ – „Oh but my darling what if you fly?“
Erin Hanson

That is why I make my dreams come true: 1.) Flashback April 2019: I fly to Zimbabwe, Bulawayo, to volunteer at a private game reserve in the western part of the country. It’s actually not so far from the largest, most beautiful and just the greatest waterfall in the world that I was attracted to during a vacation in the past. Of course these majestic falls soaked my clothes until the last layers. However, a wonderful experience to be this close to the mighty Zambezi river falling into the gorge.

This fabulous country raised a passion and curiosity within myself, leading to a fantastic research of opportunities how I could interact and actively participate within these wonders. Finally, I found this great possibility of equine volunteering program and received the chance of participating for a three-months period. I will surely learn more about horses, African culture and living in harmony with the nature.

2.) Flashback December 2020: Life will take you to where you want if you dare to dream your dreams! I am lucky enough to have found a job in Mother City, Cape Town where I will be working for some time. This new journey starts a bit later than planned due to COVID-19 but it won’t make it any less adventurous at all. My Cape Town holiday back in 2018 showed me that this beautiful city is a place I want to call my home. The stunning sunsets, the fabulous vineyards and all the magnificent hiking trails are just waiting for me to be explored.

South Africa got my heart and didn’t let me down when I was looking for opportunities. Finally, I signed my contract, patiently waited for COVID to make the plans for me and booked my flight to move to the African continent in the midst of a pandemic to enjoy my first Christmas under the African hot sun. Welcome to my adventures!