What can I say? It was a crazy week with the intruder in the garden, shown in this post, and now the latest, a flood at our house.

Last evening, as we often do, we were on the veranda, sipping our beverages, listening to music, and enjoying a slightly cooler evening than those of the past several days. We’d considered going out to dinner but decided to dine in, having been out the previous night and having a busy upcoming social week, we’ll explain in tomorrow’s post.

We threw a well seasoned free-range chicken (generally, not available) on the braai on medium heat and let it cook for a crispy exterior and moist, tender meat. I’d made a big salad, roasted some carrots with the chickens, made rice for Tom, and we were looking forward to our upcoming meal on the veranda watching wildlife.

About 20 minutes after we sat down outdoors, we went indoors to refill our glasses. We stepped into the water and heard the water running hard and loud from the master bedroom. Sloshing through the living room to the master bedroom, where the water was even higher, we saw the water supply line under the sink in the en suite bathroom was pouring out water like a hose. We couldn’t believe what we had encountered.

Quickly, I contacted Louise, who happened to be grocery shopping in Nelspruit, and she told us where to find the water shut-off. In seconds, Tom found the shut-off valve close to the road in our driveway, and he turned off the water supply.

We ran around the house, picking up things off the floor. The water had run through the entire first floor but didn’t reach our luggage in the second bedroom but wasn’t far from doing so. Surprisingly, the two bags of pellets in a corner in the second bedroom was only a meter from the water. That would have been a mess since pellets dissolve quickly in water.

But, the worst of it all, due to our concern about leaving our laptops in the second bedroom at night, we’ve been leaving them on the floor of the master bedroom, plugged into an outlet that works off of the inverter during power outages, and load shedding. There’s no dresser or table in the master bedroom to set the computers on. The little nightstands are too small.

Had it not been for this week’s human intruder to the garden and our concern of theft, we would have kept the laptops in the second bedroom on the long wood shelf along a wall. The laptops were far from the window, which we’ve kept locked with the shade down. Now, we’ll develop another plan with the laptops off of the floor.

My laptop was on the daybed in the lounge room when this happened, so there was no issue there. But Tom’s laptop got wet, dripping when he picked it up. Plus, all of our specially purchased power cords, adapters, and converters, of which there are many, were underwater.

Firstly, we knew we couldn’t spend the night with all the water in the house. The power had tripped from the water, but Tom managed to get it going again. Louise arranged for a guest room at Royal Kruger Lodge, where we spent New Year’s Eve at a party, hosted by owners Flo and JiJi. We decided we wouldn’t leave until after eating our dinner, which was still cooking on the braai.

We packed a duffle bag with overnight stuff, the laptops (including Tom’s soaked device), and by 6:45 pm, 1845 hrs, we were on our way to Royal Kruger Lodge. The room and setting were beautiful, with impeccable service, and we were settled in no time at all. Tom left his laptop open all night in the cool air-conditioned room, deciding not to check it until this morning.

Much to our shock and relief, his laptop is working fine. Plus, all the power cords, converters, and adapters survived as well. That was also surprising. There was no way we wanted Louise to feel responsible for replacing our equipment.

When we returned to the house a few hours ago, it was dry and spotless. This morning, writing back and forth with Louise on WhatsApp, they had the plumber here to fix the broken pipe, and Louise, Danie, and Zef and Vusi cleared all the water, cleaning everything to perfection in its path. Thank goodness it isn’t quite as hot and humid today since the house feels a bit humid after all of that water. But it’s drying out with fans running and a few windows with screens open.

This morning we had a lovely breakfast at the resort, and soon, I’ll start prepping for tonight’s t-bone steak dinner, again using the braai. We are good and pleased with the result. Perhaps there was a little “safari luck” in the mix with our equipment surviving.

At the moment, we’re back on the veranda, after feeding pellets to Gordy, Spikey, Broken Horn, and “Little” Imposter, sipping our iced tea and content as we could be.

Happy day!

Photo from one year ago, January 9, 2020:

This photo was posted one year ago while in lockdown in a hotel in Mumbai, India, on day #290. The excellent staff served us at the Courtyard by Marriott Mumbai International Airport. They couldn’t be more attentive and concerned about our needs and those of the other stranded foreign nationals staying at the hotel during this difficult time. This photo was taken when we could still go downstairs. For more photos, please click here.