First impressions of Nelson Mandela

When I first heard about Nelson Mandela he was in prison on Robben Island.  We had just moved from Rhodesia to South Africa and were living in Cape Town. We were told that Nelson Mandela was a dangerous terrorist.  He served 27 years in prison before he was released in 1990.
I remember seeing Robben Island from the window of a Sikorsy 58 Helicopter that my dad was flying to drop off supplies at a light house.  The thought that was mainly on my mind was that Nelson Mandela was in one of those buildings down there.

Nelson Mandela could have had a lot of bitterness when he got out of jail but he chose to forgive his persecutors as well as the rest of the white tribe that had treated him so badly.  He could have called for a bloodbath but instead he called for peace and proved to be a true statesman.  The country of South Africa is indebted to"Madiba."

For similar Stories of Africa you can read my book "How I battled the demons of Bipolar Disorder" in Kindle books.

10 Little-Known Nelson Mandela Facts

Nelson Mandela: Portrait of an extraordinary man

Lake Kariba

Kariba Dam was built on the Zambezi river from 1955-1959 at the cost of 86 lives. Some of whom were buried in the wall while the concrete was being poured. The dam floods 280km upriver and has a surface area of 5400 square kilometres making it the largest dam in the world until it was superseded by the Aswan Dam in Egypt. During the flood several thousand animals were rescued from the hills that became islands and the disappeared beneath the water. The rescue effort was named Operation Noah.

I first went to Kariba with my family when I was 8 years old. We stayed at the Air Force chalets which were built on the shore of the lake. There was thick indigenous bush on the other three sides. We also brought our cook to prepare meals. One morning I, my younger sister and baby brother, began to play on a fallen Mopani tree. After a few minutes I noticed movement in the bushes near us. We were slowly being surrounded by baboons. My Dad came out the chalet and started yelling for us to come inside. We all ran inside until the baboons had gone on their way.

 Later on I went fishing in a small canoe with the indigenous caretaker. I caught a tiny bream which I was very pleased with. While we were fishing a green mamba swam past us. I often wondered what I would have done if I had hooked the snake instead of the fish.

In the evenings my parents liked to go to the casino at Kariba Town. One night we came back in the rain along the power line track when a lioness ran in front of the car. It got a fright and tucked its tail between its legs and ran off into the Jesse Bush on the side of the road. That was the first time I had seen a wild lion.

A couple of days later our cook got the giggles because the caretaker told him the news that an African man had been eaten by some lions that night and all that was left was his hands. Our cook was actually very nervous but the only way he could express himself was to laugh about it. He was very relieved when we left a few days later. I loved Kariba so much I wanted to live there.

Don't Lets Go To The Dogs Tonight

This story is about a girl growing up on a cattle Ranch in war torn Rhodesia and how she and her family coped.  When I read this book I couldn't put it down and ended up reading it twice from cover to cover.  I highly recommend this remarkable story from Africa.

South African Air force

When I was 22 years old I was accepted onto the South African Air Force Pilot training course.
This was despite the fact that I had been diagnosed with manic depression (Bipolar Disorder) when I was 16. I had always wanted to be an air force pilot like my Dad so getting into South African Air Force was a dream come true.   However just before intake I got sick again and didn't make it onto the pilots course as I was declared unfit for military service.  My Dad always wondered why they accepted me in the first place knowing my medical background. This is just one of the stories in my book "How I Battled The Demons of  Bipolar" which is listed below.    

Silver Falcons 2008 - The South African Air Force display team

Kindle Fire- Web, Apps, Movies, Reading, Music and more

Battling bipolar disorder background

The story below is about my battle with Bipolar Disorder.  It has a bit of every thing from African wildlife to gliding, and motor cycling throughout southern Africa.  And in the background is a mystery that cannot be solved.  I hope you enjoy it.

How I battled the demons of Bipolar Disorder

Mukiwa Introduction

The name Mukiwa, is the title of the book below and is the name given by the black people to a white boy in Rhodesia and is a memoir about growing up in in white governed Rhodesia during the time of the bush war. It is a story to which I can relate because there are many similarities to my boyhood. We did have a privileged life style and I hope you enjoy it because it is one of my recommended books.

Mukiwa

First memory of a snake

When I was 3 years old we had moved to a property called "Jabulani", which means to be happy in the native Ndebele tongue.  The house was on a large property and had many large trees and bushes on it.  The back of the property bordered a cattle farm and on the front was a stone wall with a gate.

One day I walked up the driveway and climbed onto the stone wall.  I was looking back towards the house when I noticed what looked like a thick black hosepipe coming out of a hole next to an old musasa tree.  I realised I was looking at a large, long snake and was fascinated.  The snake wrapped itself round the tree twice as if to stretch itself then it uncoiled itself  and came straight towards the wall.  It went into a hole at the base of the wall and disappeared beneath  my dangling feet.

My Mum came up the drive shortly afterwards and was shocked when I told her about the big snake I had just seen.  She got the gardeners to try and dig around the wall to kill the snake but they found nothing.

I now think I either saw a black mamba or an Egyptian cobra.  I also think because I showed no fear, I did not panic the snake and in doing so risk a snake bite.

Africa's Deadliest Snakes

First encounter with a snake

I don't have any memory of my first encounter with a snake but my Mum does.  We were living on a farm near Gwelo, Rhodesia, (later renamed Zimbabwe.)  I was just a few months old.  My Dad was an air force pilot and my mother was a house wife.  One afternoon my Mum left me in the pram at the bottom of the garden underneath an acacia tree.   It was a warm day.  When she came to see if I was all right she saw that I was sleeping.  To her horror she noticed a baby cobra coiled up at the bottom of the pram.  She decided not to move it for fear of her or I getting bitten.  She knew I would be OK if I stayed still, and I was wrapped up.  She stood back a few meters and after about half an hour she watched the snake uncoil itself and slowly slide out of the pram and then wriggle off into the thick grass at the end of the garden.  Fortunately neither of us were hurt because even baby cobras have enough venom to kill an adult, so as a baby I would have stood no chance.

Introduction

I was born in 1966 in Harare, Zimbabwe which is in Southern Africa.  I did high school in
Cape Town, South Africa and over the years travelled many miles between the two countries.  My favourite places were those parts of Africa where the wilderness had been untouched by man.  I have been fortunate to have seen many of the wild animals that Africa is famous for as well as those that are not so likeable such a snakes, scorpions and spiders.  I have dedicated this blog to Africa to hold the memories alive for myself and family and to share this with any interested readers.

We had to leave Africa due to circumstances caused by idiotic policies of the Zimbabwean government.  In 2002 they decided to take the farms away from commercial farmers and in the process destroyed the economy.  We have now been in the UK  for seven years.  I am very grateful to the British Government that allowed my family and I to live here even though I was not born here.  My Grandfather was born in UK and his Mum and Dad left for Africa when he was one  year old.  If my Grandfather had been born in Africa we would have had no rights to come back to the UK and I hate to think what would have happened to me and my family if we could not have left when we needed to.

  

Through out my life I have struggled with Bipolar Disorder and now living in a stable country has made a world of difference.  I have written another book on this aspect of my life which I will share at a later stage.  

That's all for now.