Chasing the Monkeys

Arriving at the cottage at the Magalies River in North West Province in the latter half of last month was quite a shock to me, and I think to Piccolo as well. We both had so many memories of little old Skippie. Her ‘smells’ and presence were still with us and I felt it very strongly. Piccolo seemed at a total loss and I thought, almost in a depression. She slept the whole day and didn’t seem interested in anything.  I didn’t know what to do with my doggie or how to entertain her, as suddenly there were no long beaches on which we could walk, or run.

But, then something magic happened: the vervet monkeys came to visit in the trees around the house and Piccolo started chasing them; from there onwards she had a ball! It took a few days and then this was the game of choice…chasing the monkeys.

Piccolo on the deck, looking for the monkeys in the trees

Poor old Piccolo is half blind and deaf and half the time she misses spotting the monkeys when they are right above her, but she loves the game and somehow I think the monkeys understand that she is harmless. They started playing with her in the sense of hanging low from the branches and troops would tease her for hours on end. But they are free and live the life of nomads. They go where there is food and fortunately at this time of the year the white stinkwood trees around the cottage have many juicy berries that they love, but they have a routine of moving through the area in the day.  

Monkey in the tree, watching us

 This poses a problem as Piccolo waits impatiently for them to return…sometimes the whole day. She would come to call me with a pleading look in her eyes, as if to say, “Find the monkeys for me” and that was how the game started…

Monkey sitting at the bird feeding tray, eating pieces of apple

I would run out of the house, look up at the trees and clap my hands, calling “Monkeys, monkeys where are you. Piccolo wants to play!” Whether she ever hears me I don’t know, but she soon got into the habit of looking up and when the leaves on the trees move, she believes there are monkeys. Many times there are and she can of course smell them as well. It has become such a game that I think they come to look for her in the day and they tease her. We even found lately that some days they sleep in the trees above the roof, because early morning they would wake us by dropping down onto the roof, making quite a racket. Of course, that means that Piccolo starts ‘chasing’ monkeys from 6 o’clock in the morning. She no longer sleeps in the day.

Sleeping by the fireplace at the lapa after a heavy day of chasing monkeys

But on the odd day they haven’t come and I eventually did the unspeakable and started to put out little bits of fruit for them (I know Garry is going to have a problem when we leave) but I believe it is unavoidable as, ‘anything for my Piccolo.’

We have watched her with delight, but some days we are concerned about her as she doesn’t stop running the whole day and in between finding the monkeys she sometimes chases one of the Emus that belong to the neighbor, but for some reason they like to come to our field of grass. The Emu has a mate, but it was born with deformed legs and can’t really run. I am proud of my Piccolo as she never chases the weak one, but in return I also believe that the monkeys are kind to her as they must surely sense that she is an old girl (17 years). In her younger days chasing birds were a no-no, but she is no match for the Emu and it keeps her busy. What makes me happy is that she is content. The only problem is that I have taken the place of Skippie and have become her companion as some days it is all I do the whole day, namely calling the monkeys; I have lately even started to play my own game with them.  About that you can make up your own mind.

Piccolo, in her younger years, at the river

Soon however, our time will be up here, and once again we will walk the beaches of Cape Town, but before then she surely needs a bath as at the moment she is what we call, ‘a mucky pup,’ albeit a happy one.

The rainbow is there for the picking

Traveling up-country from the Western Cape we noticed how dry and parched the land really is, with no water in most of the rivers. Just before we left Cape Town there was a call to the local community to donate water for Aliwal North in the Eastern Cape. We have since heard that similar calls have been made elsewhere in the country where people are also without drinking water. It is almost impossible to imagine a resource, although known to be scarce, to be totally unavailable!

Upon arrival at the cottage situated on the Magalies River we noticed how low the water level was, but that very same evening a well-known Highveld thunderstorm greeted us with heavy rains and massive hail stones. Later that evening a huge body of water came from upstream and washed the thickly packed hyacinth towards Hartbeespoort Dam. What a relief and no doubt early the next morning, those who were there, made the most of a clean river and descended onto the water – some canoeing and others just paddling about, but all having fun.

The river after the first rain

Since then, we have had heavy storms with rain almost every day and we are thankful for the rain. However, our electricity was knocked out one afternoon and although Eskom was still working on the lines late that night, the fault was only restored the next afternoon. At the time however, I decided to stay positive and make the best of the situation. The doggies and I went out on the canoe, a treat they thoroughly enjoy.

While peacefully rowing about I noticed how green everything was and that was in huge contrast to the brown muddy water that has been flowing in, obviously washing loads of topsoil from the farmlands in the vicinity. It was as though nature has come into its own again and the restoration had begun, as to me everything looked greener, the water level was slightly higher than the day before and the song of birds could be heard all around.

Suddenly so many birds that usually frequent this area are around. Here is the woodlands kingfisher. They obviously stayed away because of the drought.  

Stopping in the middle of the river and just floating about, feeling much at peace, I was trying to distinguish between the various greens…so many different shades in the trees, shrubs, grass, reeds and plants. I noticed a red bishop hopping from branch to branch in a tree on the water’s edge. The bright yellow of the southern masked weavers were remarkable as they were hard at work building their nests. A brown hooded kingfisher was sitting on a branch waiting for his prey, while a squacco heron was sitting on a rock basking in the sun and the white egrets took off in front of me. Looking up I noticed that although the sky was blue there were some loose clouds drifting about, which indicated more rain.  

I was sitting there marveling at the beauty of it all and wondered, while watching the rainbow of colours around me, what has happened to our rainbow nation. Lately, we have seen racism coming to the fore. It has probably always been there, buried just below the surface. We need healing in this country, but a weak and corrupt government only intent on enriching themselves and their respective families are contributing to the downfall of our nation. Instead of keeping to their election promises of uplifting  the poor, creating an enabling environment for job creation, they have allowed the economy to weaken to such an extent that the divide between rich and poor are even bigger than ever before. I believe that is the source of most of the frustration.

The ship is not only rudderless, but has holes in it and is sinking fast. However, does it help if we all complain and thereby contributing to the climate of discontent, hatred, and mudslinging? I believe not and that we should rather try to remain positive and see the good around us. We have a great country. We often hear of Europeans making it a life dream to come to Africa. In fact I am reading such a book once again. Yet, we are right here, but we don’t appreciate what Africa has to offer. I believe that self righteousness does not contribute to nation building. Everyone has something in his or her attitude, world view or outlook to change or fix. The Bible tells me to take the plank out of my own eye before I point out the speck in my brother’s eye; to me that means that I cannot always claim to be right or know better.  

If we start by having more compassion, accept the differences in each other and celebrate that which we have in common we may start noticing the colors of our rainbow nation once more and contribute to healing this beautiful land of ours. It may be something small, yet rather contribute to a beginning and not an end.  

Sunset at the cottage