60th Celebration

It's Monday, after what was a very festive Sunday, when friends and family prematurely got together to celebrate my 60th Birthday (19th April). Many statements have been made on the Value of having close Family and Friends, I can confirm that with the care and support that I receive from all of them I am standing strong.

This is a Travel blog and I did promise that I will be telling stories about my tours and travels, and it is for this reason that I have to tell a story that happened while on tour a few years ago.
I received a last minute call from two ladies from Germany who dearly wanted to view some San Rock paintings in the Cedar berg mountains on our West Coast.  After a few hasty arrangements I set off to collect them at their Hotel. We manage to depart by 10:00 on what was to become a very hot day in the Cedar berg. We arrived at the Savilla Rock Painting Trail and started to explore and view some of these spectacular paintings that are easily well over 2000 years old. By one in the afternoon the temperature between the rocks and along the footpath has risen very close to 40 degrees.
One of the two ladies suddenly showed symptoms of heat over exposure, due to her not drinking sufficient water.  We suddenly had a patient high in the mountains with no possibility of the temperatures lowering, and to top it all no mobilephone reception in less than an hours walk. Her friend and I managed to move her under a cliff overhang which gave some shade from the sun and heat. I still had two liters of water with me and decided to cool her down by soaking her clothing (yes with her permission) in water, and then using my shirt as a cooling fan. her friend assisted by hydrating her with the available water and soon she recovered , I decided to take the shortest route to our Minivan through a little stream, with more water from the stream we were all okay to reach the van and the Ice-cold water in the fridge.  Water never tasted so good. I learned a lesson from our experience, ensure that all drink as much water as possible on a very hot day, and although people may look strong, they could be at the edge of their strength.
Talking about strength (power) tomorrow I want to talk about wild animal behaviour, and try to bring some understanding why sometimes docile animals misbehave.