Friends!

It's been slow going meeting people in Zim. We have found a few people to hang out with but honestly, I have missed Jamie and Justin a lot. They are the type of friends where the conversation is always flowing, going from the silly and ridiculous to the serious and thought provoking. We like to camp and hike and cook and just enjoy each other's company. We hadn't spent quality time with them since last October (that fateful night that we ended getting robbed at the backpackers). We were over due, desperately.

After leaving Durban and picking up the stuff we left in Ixopo, we made it to Pietermaritzburg to Jamie's new flat. She cooked us dinner and we chatted until past midnight, even after the beds were made and we were tucked in, the conversation wouldn't stop. We finally just had to cut ourselves off and promise to continue in the morning. Friday, Jason stayed back to work so Jamie and I went out to run errands and shop. More talking, catching up on the last few months and life and where we are in it at this moment. We had a nice lunch, bought a TV (for friends back in Zim) and bedding, along with a few other bits and pieces. To top it off, we bought ice cream cones and got a lot of funny looks as we walked through the mall with a huge 32" flat screen (I wished it really was mine at this point) in a trolly, licking our cones at 2 in the afternoon - completely indulgent!

Justin arrived around 5 and more conversations started. They treated us to a very nice dinner at a Thai food restaurant - a belated wedding present, which included a bottle of wine and some seed packets so we can start our garden in Zim. We were planning on leaving the next morning so we could have a day to rest before the 2 day drive back to Zim but we were easily convinced to stay.

Saturday was one of the best days I've had in a really long time. We lolled around the apartment for a bit then managed to get ourselves together to pick up my computer (plug problem) and get take away food from this place called Kari Nicha's - Indian briyani and roti rolls. They don’t have any seating so we found some fields were a college field hockey tournament was in full gear. We plopped down and joined the crowd, not knowing anything about the sport or any of the girls. A little frisbee to run off the good food then out to the Midlands Meander to…meander. Coffee, tea and sweats then off to a micro brewery for some good beer and a delicious meal. A day choc full of things to do and good people.




We left the next day and made it Pretoria where we stayed with Tommy and Leslie again - more good friends, good food and good company!