One of the routes to the ship goes past this school, so today I thought it would be a good idea to get a photo... Since I share the school's Scottish name, Crawford!
With the sign for Crawford College.
Due to the wear and tear that the roads of the KwaZulu-Natal midlands are having on our fleet of Land Rovers - and the fact that we still want them in a good condition for Sierra Leone - Mercy Ships has chartered a taxi (shuttle) company to supply the majority of our transportation needs. They're brand-new Toyota Quantum buses, and they're really comfortable!
This past Saturday (9th October) a group of us Mercy Shippers went across the road to the Appelsbosch Lutheran Church to help paint one of the parsonages. This house will be used by the second pastor of the church. It was lovely to get involved in a project with the local community and make a positive impact there. It reminded me of when I used to be involved with Habitat for Humanity blitz builds back in Cape Town. I like this sort of work. Hard work, and definitely meaningful! Photos thanks to Rachael Spencer and Debra Bell.
One way of reaching the top of the wall!
Clearing the dirt off the roof in preparation for the paint.
The house looking much smarter with the walls painted and half the roof done.
I went to the ship again today on purser business and stuck my head in the engine-room to see the progress there. The new generators are now in the ship (Don't ask me how they got them in!) - although not installed just yet - and the shipyard are in the process of welding up the hole in the side of the ship. The ship may be floating by the new week. Here are some more photos!
Shipyard workers prepare to weld the hole shut.
Looking out at the hole from the inside.
This is going to be a ballast tank once it is completed.
This is one of our new MAN generators.
It's spring here in South Africa and with the onset of warmer weather and longer days, many little animals begin to lead a more active lifestyle - including those of the slithering kind. Snakes are a hazard here in the KwaZulu-Natal midlands and several have been seen in and around Appelsbosch, including the dangerous Puff Adder. I photographed this large Puff Adder in the Cape Point Nature Reserve a month or so ago. I plan to watch my step carefully from here on in!
Since I'll be going to the Africa Mercy for purser duties at least once a week over the next few months, I thought it would be good to keep all of you updated on a more-or-less weekly basis, with pictures when possible, of how the generator project is progressing. And today was one of those days.
This is the space where the old generators were! They're gone and the shipyard are already putting in the platform for the new generators!
Shipyard workers and engineering crew members work side-by-side to get the space ready for the new generators.
Looking at the bow of the ship, from about the water-line level.
Standing by the large bow thrusters - just aft of the bow rudder.
Looking towards the hole cut for the generators.
As promised in the previous post here are some photos of Appelsbosch College of Education. This is where all the non-technical crew and their families are located during our stay in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. We are roughly halfway between Durban and Pietermaritzburg in a rather rustic setting, surrounded by sugar cane farms and traditional Zulu villages. When we venture out we share the roads with not only other vehicles, but also pedestrians, cows, goats, and perhaps the odd chicken or two. Thus the drive to Durban is always an interesting challenge!
al feelings about Appelsbosch, which are no doubt as a result of missing my floating home, I hope that given time I will settle here. It's just different, that's all. And I can definitely recognise that God has blessed us with these facilities. Especially in the Academy where they have their own large classrooms and the children can run around without fear of being reprimanded for running on a ship. They can be free to be normal children, which I think is a blessing to everyone. (Picture here of the pretty Lutheran church just across the road.)
Rolling hills of sugar cane make up the surrounding countryside...
This is the turning to Appelsbosch. We are located close to the hospital.
I've tried to make my door feel as ship-like as possible with photos of my ship family.
And of course I have my photos above my bed.
This is the view from just outside the men's dorm.
Looking towards the women's dorm (left) and the Dining Room (right).
This is the gym, where many a game of indoor cricket has already been played!
