Our decision to use the wet towels last night for some respite from the heat did just the trick and we slept fine. We had been getting so far behind on these posts that we took the iPad with us to breakfast in an attempt to get some writing done. Breakfast was again scrambled and poached eggs with bacon and Jenny took some of the leftover toast and jam for a snack towards lunch. Our plan to get some writing done quickly backfired when June let us know that she would leave the wireless router on so we could use the Internet; well that was the end of the productivity. We finished up our breakfast and Jenny wanted to use the iPad to Skype her mom and her sister.
Unfortunately the Internet signal wasn't quite strong enough for a clear Skype conversation. Jenny spent about an hour talking to each of them but never more than 45 consecutive seconds connected before Skype would drop the call. They kept reminding themselves that it was free but even I was getting frustrated listening to the whole ordeal haha. Eventually when Jenny finished her phone calls I decided I should try to phone my dad. The call that I made was riddled with just as many interruptions and we decided we would try and talk more in depth when we found access to better Internet. I walked back to the house to get the computer while Jenny took the iPad back to do some browsing on Pintrest.
Dan spent a good deal of time in the afternoon researching mortgage loans and building a loan calculator on Microsoft Excel. He also used his time researching properties for sale in St. Andrews that could be in our possible budget on our return to the UK. We had been deprived of any prolonged exposure to the Internet since staying in Harare and ended up not leaving the lodge all afternoon. It rained for about five minutes half way through the afternoon, bringing with it the gorgeous fresh just rained smell I remember so well from when we used to live here.
We spent the hour before dinner sitting out on the deck enjoying a couple of drinks and watching the sun set. The view is really beautiful from up here, especially as the sun sets and a few animals pop by for a drink. Dinner with our amazing hosts started at 7pm as usual, and we sat down to enjoy the braai the cooks had prepared for us. We ate boerwors, steak and potatoes for our main, and for dessert they served a delicious pineapple cheesecake!! It was divine, and I may have had an extra slice :D
We sat and chatted to Clive and June after dinner about the lodge. A little while ago they had installed mains electricity to the lodge whereas before they ran on generator power. Unfortunately, soon after the electricity wires were put up, they had a massive thunder storm, and a bolt of lightning truck the tower and ran the last length of wire till it hit the last thatched chalet on the property, and it promptly burst into flame! They couldn't save it, and when we went walking down there earlier to have a look, the devastation is incredible! There's literally nothing at all left of the chalet, bar ashes, twisted up melted glass and a burnt fire extinguisher. Lightning can be such a beautiful and yet devastating force! The rest of the chalets are thankfully just fine, and Clive is in the process of building a new brick cabin to replace the one they lost. We retired to bed after our fascinating conversation at about 10pm.
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