Safari for Christmas

Merry Christmas to you all!! Great news from my old mate Ben that his wife is expecting! That really brought a smile to my face on Christmas Eve and it also reminded me how much i miss all my mates and family at this time of year. Big shout out to everyone....i miss y'all!
Still i didn't do too badly for Christmas: went on a game drive through Imfolozi Park and was lucky to see 3 to 4 leopards feasting on a kill!! Magic.. There was some debate between this hot Saffa chick in a nearby car and myself with my high-beam binoculars as to whether they were leopards or cheetahs. I was more interested in getting her number but she just insisted they were cheetahs and laughed off my advances. They were definately leopards...
We also saw a huge bull Elephant strolling through Mpila Camp and when you're on foot facing one of these badboys they really are impressive. Got some great snaps. With my friends Andy and Yvonne we stayed at Mpila in 2002 but we didn't see half as much as i have this time (AFI - 'another f****** impala'...).
After having stopped to have a braai in the park i proceeded to Durban with a few friends to have sushi, get checked out by some Japanese hookers (i declined their offer) and finish the day with a whisky at Goble Palms B&B - colonial living at its best.
Only a month to go before i depart for Oz, but i'm working New Years Eve in the meantime which is meant to be carnage! Wish me luck..

Zuma from Nkandla

So Jacob Zuma is the new ANC president and likely future South African president next year. He's a Nkandla boy and lives close to the hospital and although i think he's a corrupt chauvanist with some terrible views on HIV prevention the locals love him and feel he is a man-for-the-poor so one can only wait and see what happens.
Speaking of the poor i was summoned to the local magistrate's court today to give evidence in an alleged assault case in which i had examined the victim. It was pretty nerve wracking even though i was only asked simple questions. I can only imagine what it must be like to be properly cross-examined. The defendant decided to conduct his own defence and when asked if he had any questions for me he hesitated then said 'cha' (pronounced with a 'tut' for 'c') which means 'no'!
In my attempt to bring a little bit of festive cheer to the area, as it has been pissing with rain and cold (bit like England), i gave some of my patients a lift to the local taxi rank yesterday. This might sound trivial but i've decided usually not to pick up anyone as the risk of hijacking is so high. I reassured myself that i'd just examined the 13yo girl with a broken leg who was accompanied by her grandmother - so the hijack risk was low! They were standing by the hospital gates in the rain with no umbrella as i was leaving to go to the bank. They were so grateful that i picked them up for the 2 min drive to the rank and it really made my day as it had been pretty depressing up until then. Sometimes its the smallest gestures that bring the most pleasure..

In with the Sharks

Yeah that's right, i went scuba diving with about 50 sharks....and no cage! Correct! It was absolutely insane and easily the scariest thing i have ever done. There were 3 large Tiger Sharks roaming about too - up to 4m in length and potentially very dangerous!! Thankfully they were more interested in the sardine bait than me. But for those of you who don't believe i did it, i have the DVD to prove it (with the image of me looking very seasick at the end!). Awesome!
I realised that i haven't put much on my blog about my work. Its difficult to describe how varied, interesting, relentless any one day can be. Suffice to say that the experience is amazing and so different to how and where i've worked before. Only this week i was looking after a 2yo boy who'd been bitten by a spitting cobra! His arm was terribly swollen and getting worse, but thankfully after a bit of anti-venom and elevating the arm i was able to transfer him to a big referral hospital in Durban (3 hours away) and he is alive and well! I've been in charge of Paediatrics occasionally as well as my usual Emergency work. The Paeds work can be so rewarding but with all the HIV infected kids its also pretty dispiriting. I have this adorable little boy with HIV on the ward who has posed for lots of photos, and i so hope the Anti-Retroviral Therapy works for him. With so many infected the future for South Africa can so often look bleak...i truly hope things change soon as this is a wonderful country. However, i'm not optimistic...

2 goals and an Elephant

Just been on safari for a few days with mum and dad at Hluhlwe Game Park in KwaZulu Natal. We stayed at an amazing place called Hilltop Camp where you can see out over the park with water buffalo grazing and birds of prey everywhere. One yellow billed kite tried to swoop and steal mum's rump steak from her plate, but she held on tight! We saw loads of rhino, an elephant, hyenas, porcupine, giraffe etc etc... the big cats were elusive but there aren't many there so it wasn't a real surprise. And tomorrow i'm going on a shark dive on the Aliwal Shoal near Durban (without the folks!!). Likely to be in the water with Tiger Sharks and Black tip sharks, and no cage!! Nuts....
On the way to Hluhlwe i got pulled over by a traffic cop who claimed i was speeding (i confess i was but i didn't immediately admit this). He told me i had to pay a 'cash fine' to which i nearly laughed in his face at how brazen he was being about the bribe. I played dumb, told him i was here working in a rural hospital and miraculously he wandered off after giving me a verbal warning. And to think i was just about to give him R100 cash!
My final bit of news is that i notched 2 goals for the Blue Stars last week at Nkandla stadium in front of maybe 10 supporters (it was pissing with rain). For midweek games our manager gets smashed on whiskey and delivers the teamtalk with a slur. So at half time he put his arm round me, told me to score 2 goals and then took another swig. So i duly obliged... one of which i beat 3 players and then slotted past the keeper. Nice!