I recently did a 6200+km motorbike ride around South Africa with my brother.
CLICK LINK:
http://www.wilddog.za.net/forum/index.p ... c=106063.0On the evening I was leaving my cousin Marius took me out for dinner and we were to be met by another guy.
Later we were joined by Wilddogs member H20 who amongst other things is a keen diver.
He had contacted me in the first week when we were in Elliott to ask when he could meet me.
Tinus is another of life's gems (for the English, an abbreviation for Marthinus) who had contacted me.
He desperately wanted to meet up with me to give me a smoking pipe he had dived out many years ago from a 300 year old wreck, for Nicola to add to her collection.
"Het Huis te Kraaiestein" was a Dutch ship of 1,154 tons, built in 1697 at the Zeeland Yard for the Zeeland Chamber of the Dutch East India Company, and commanded by Jan van de Vijver. It was wrecked on the rocks in the bay at Oudekraal on the Cape Peninsula on 27 May 1698 in thick mist as they were trying to find the way into Table Bay. The ship was on its maiden voyage outward-bound from Wielingen, which they had left on 1 February 1698, with a cargo of 19 chests of pieces-of-eight (approximately 57 000 pieces). No lives were lost. Three chests of treasure disappeared and the name 'Geldkis' (money-chest) appears on maps of the area.When he got there, he showed me a couple of other pipes he had bought in deepest darkest Africa some years ago.
Lovely stuff.
Once we had enjoyed these, he brought out the reason for the meeting......
More than 300 years ago, someone had this in their hands and used to smoke it, using what would have been a luxury item, as tobacco was very expensive in the early days.
300 years worth of crystalization inside the bowl.
And back in the UK, in its current resting place, in front of Victorian tobacco jars.
I am in the process of making a small wooden display case for it, in which it will live a slightly protected life.
Finally I was checked in Cape Town International and waiting for my 23.25 departure for Amsterdam.
Stupidly I forgot the privileges that go with a Business Class tickets and went and bought myself a coffee ......
When I came back from my bike trip through South Africa, I was greeted by a bunch of parcels from the USA.
Some from Turnpikecruiser .... WHAT A SURPRISE !!
Thank you very much.
And some more from unidentified members.... Thank you too.
Problem is user names on here are not related to real names and surnames.
Tomorrow I start a new contract job.
Life is good.
