Christmas Greetings from Chrislin African Lodge

www.chrislin.co.za

Centrestage is coming to Addo!

The Sundowners, the younger members of the Women's Institute, is bringing Centrestage to Addo!

Centrestage will be performing Beatles & Creedence Clearwater Revival, a fundraiser, on 19 Feb 2016 at the Valentine Hall, Addo.

Bring all your own food, drinks, blankets, cushions, chairs etc that will make your evening as fun and comfortable as possible. 

All funds will go to children and animals in the Sundays River Valley

Needing accommodation? Check out Addo Tourism's website for where to stay and what to do.

Accommodation within walking distance/very short drive is Homestead, Bydand B&B and Chrislin African Lodge (all along Valentine Road)

Christmas Blooms in Addo

What a treat, in the summer heat, to be surrounded by such natural Christmas decorations.

Addo, renowned to be extremely hot in summer, can be insufferably hot and humid. Chrislin's garden, maintained by David and his staff, are boasting some beautiful blooms for the silly season. Agapanthas, crysanthemums, jacaranda, bougainvillea, to name but a few, keep our tempers cool and spirits up. Now, for some chilled wine and bilton (milk and cookies!).

Perennial agapantha's, such a Christmas treat!

Aloes, still adding colour to the summer garden

Garden Hut, ideal spot to cool down after a hot summer's day.

Sparkling pool, Sunset Huts and green garden

Things to do in the area...or just relax and rejuvenate at the pool

Watch the kids from the sun loungers, bliss in the bush!

shower at the pool

Thorn tree shade

Sneezewoods, the venue for your Christmas dinner

Local decor to liven up the festive season

Colourful crysanthemums

Beautiful bougenvilla

Jacaranda, bringing bees and beauty

Canna, another Christmas treat

Jack, besides being the best friend, also guides Santa and his reindeer

Addo accommodation January discount

Take advantage of your discount and add a +CrissCrossAddo safari to your holiday. From Addo Park open vehicle safari's to river safari's to quad biking to fishing... welcome to the Adventure Province of South Africa!

Addo Accommodation December Discount!

Theo Aronson's "A Valley Couple"

(Extract from The Trumpeting Elephant newsleter May/June 1999. Editor: Margaret Walton)

Memories of Early Valley Life

Mr. Theo Aronson, world renowned author, who was born in Kirkwood and who now lives in England, has taken a keen interest in “The Trumpeting Elephant” to which he subscribes. To our great delight he has written the following article for us – we only hope that there will be more articles on his childhood in Kirkwood.

A VALLEY COUPLE

Theo Aronson

My mother came to the Sundays River Valley in 1910. Her name was Hannah Wilson and she was a teacher. As the township of Kirkwood was still being laid out, she lived and taught in nearby Bayville, on the banks of the river. I have a photograph of her at the time, in ankle-length skirt, white blouse and with her hair in a loose Edwardian knot on the nape of her neck, taken against a surprisingly empty, almost desolate background. My mother always looked very young for her age and many years later when I used to go out walking with her, her ex-pupils, who to me looked astonishingly old, would totter up to greet her as ‘Miss Wilson’. My mother was very proud of having started the first library in Kirkwood.

My mother seldom spoked about her childhood but after she died I did some research into her background. Her father, who had been born in Aberdeen in Scotland, was a sailor who jumped ship in Cape Town and spent a roving, restless sort of life. At the age of 60 he settled, strangely enough, in Aberdeen in the Cape Province, where he married a girl of 17. The couple had eight children, of whom my mother was the youngest. As I was not born until my mother was 45, I – who am not that old – had a grandfather who was born almost 180 years ago, in 1820.

Sometime during the First World War, my mother went to Cape Town to marry a man who left her, quite literally, standing at the altar in full bridal dress. She returned to Bayville and married my father; on the rebound, I suspect. She was then 32, he 30.

My father, Philip Aronson, was born in Riga, Latvia which was then part of the Tsarist Russian Empire. He came to the Valley in 1914, when he was 24. He had an older brother there, who died young. My father first had a shop in Tregaron, which I think is still there. Why it was called Tregaron, I don’t know. Many years later, when I was on tour of the United States to promote one of my books, I was in Los Angeles to appear on the famous Merv Griffin Television Show. As I left the studio I suddenly passed a small restaurant called for some reason, “Tregaron”. It made me feel that, in many respects, I had journeyed a long way.

My parents were married in 1919. In that same year they built the house in Harrod Street, Kirkwood, in which they lived for the rest of their lives and in which they celebrated their Golden Wedding in 1969. They died – first my mother and then my father – within three months of each other, in 1970.

One final anecdote. When I was in my twenties and working in London, I once put a pack on back and, all alone, hitch-hiked from Ostend in Belgium to Kirkwood. The journey – it was really in the nature of a Napoleonic pilgrimage and resulted in my first published book, ‘The Golden Bees: The Story of the Bonapartes’ – took six months. I arrived home in time for Christmas. Although my mother travelled quite extensively, my father never left Kirkwood except to go to Port Elizabeth. There he sat, for year after year, decade after decade, going only to Port Elizabeth on either the Uitenhage or the Addo road. Well, when I arrived home that Christmas, having completed a 6000 mile overland journey, my father asked me which way I had come. I started to explain that I had travelled all across Europe, through the Middle East, down Africa, but he cut me short.

‘No, no,’ he said. ‘Did you come through Uitenhage or through Addo?’

Chrislin Staff Outing

Chrislin African Lodge staff goes to PE for an outing!

Chrislin African Lodge certainly could not function without the dedication and hard work of all of our staff members. 

In September we embarked on a memorable fun filled outing as a reward for continuous efforts and a celebration of friendships. And what an amazing day it was!

An hour after leaving Addo, we descended upon the Baywest Shopping Mall in Port Elizabeth. It didn't take us long to find an unbelievable selection of sumptuous cakes at Bayleaf Bistro which, with some coffee, piqued everyone's 'mall exploration' mode. Maria and co. went on a quest to have her ears pierced for the first time in her (about) 55 years. Martha bought some bed linen while Zuzu sat put in more or less one spot for fear of getting lost!

Bayleaf Bistro for cakes and coffee

We then headed off to the beachfront and had a marvellous meal at Angelo's. There was much debate as to what calamari is and Zuzu kept us all entertained in her attempts to eat with a knife and fork for the first time. (Next year we may threaten chopsticks!)

Ladies (and gent) lunching at Angelo's on the PE beachfront

Zuzu giggles

Margaret and Maria

After the nourishment for the body and soul, many a photo and selfie on the beach had to happen

Madi and Jean

With the photo shoot over, we hit tenpin bowling at the Boardwalk. We split into two teams and competition was tight. Everyone pulled out their A game. The suspense was enthralling!

Tenpin bowling hilarity!

Bowling hustler Jean

What a fabulous day... Thank you, ladies!

Sharon, Martha, Zuzu, Maria, Mentha and Juliette