Playing In The Desert!

Michael Alexander · January 09, 2008, 10:46:03 PM

Here's a memory for you guys that were talking about playing in the desert. This photograph was taken last year by me Neighbour of our kids playing in the desert to the east of town, just as you get to the big dunes.... note the how the sand has covered the old telephone pole....

Delia · January 10, 2008, 06:08:09 AM

how awesome to see the kids still doing that.........that's one of my favourite childhood memories - having the wide open spaces of the desert as a playground. i remember i used to sometimes tag along behind my boet and his buddies (when they'd let me) to go catch snakes and scorpions. the one time we brought one home in a bottle (whip snake) and it got loose in the house - my mom freaked when she got home for lunch to hear there was a snake loose in her house - needless to say, she ate her lunch outside that day and left to go back to work with a warning that if that snake wasn't caught and out of the house by the time she got back from work, there'd be hell to pay. we eventually found it coiled up with the cord of our heater - maybe it thought it was a potential mate (being the same colour)...........when i tell people today that the desert was our playground, they look at me as though i'm touched............they cannot fathom the childhood we had. even after school when i was working up there, to clear my mind after a hectic day at work, i'd go for long walks in the desert.

georg ruf jr. · January 10, 2008, 06:52:00 AM

We used to take our dogs for walks in the desert near the dumps. Our Alsation (I think we bout it from the Gerstners) was really mad. As soon as you'ld let him off the leash he'd go off like a rocket. Nighttime was great to. Stary nights and silence. Missing it till date...

Delia · January 10, 2008, 07:08:14 AM

found this pic - trying to judge by our ages, i'd say it was ± late 1968/1969. we used to go for a braai every sunday at the beach and this was taken at the yacht club - beach side.

Michael Alexander · January 10, 2008, 07:35:29 AM

That hill is still there... it is on the otherside of the pan, quite a few of the guys on Quad bikes ride it.....

Delia · January 10, 2008, 07:59:35 AM

glad to hear something from my childhood's survived - that's right, now i remember, it was also one of the favourites with the off road guys when they used to go biking in that area.

Paula Gottsch (Willson) · January 10, 2008, 09:22:19 AM

Delia, do remeber the den we used to have next to the Abattoirs where we all went to smoke, Julie still peed on a horn adders head out there. hahaha

SandyB · January 10, 2008, 09:55:15 AM

I have buried in the desert behind the hydroponics farm a " treasure chest " one of those huge square tins with the round push in lid // think they used to pack tobacco in them ... contains a letter from me and some other items that i cannot remember . yes our imagination used to run riot while out there ... on the outskirts of the town somewhere near e 35 11th behind the trees there is a remnant of some or other piece of machinery .. we would play there .. make up story about this piece of machinery from the war that our fathers would not talk about .. in the pink crystal quarry as you entered town we would tunnel and I was constantly on the hunt for a german bunker that my imagination told me was there .. yes people may think we were crazy to be abe to entertain ourselves in the desert .. other funny memory was me walking out into the desert looking for the poles that held the blue sky up .. must have been 4 then .. what made the difference was our imaginations were fertile ..

georg ruf jr. · January 10, 2008, 11:02:51 AM

my wife, one of our daughters and I were chatting about the desert Gobi. Had something to do with my daughters homework. Somebody just mention: Well there's nothing out there anyway. That#s where I intervened. The desert is so full of life and treasures you can only know if you've been there. Espescialy those of us, who spent their childhood in the desert. The ages in which your fantasy makes you look for things that do not exsist other than in your head. Then that's the point you start finding the things that exsist...

Michael Alexander · January 10, 2008, 12:00:01 PM

Only a fool would think that a desert was lifeless.....

@Sandy, your tunnels are still there and we pretended that the German bunker was on top of that hill as for some starnge reason there is a manhole type effort on top of it with metal rungs that went down the shaft..... as for your buried treasure, if there were any shiny stones in it, send me tha map and I'll... er! ...uhm...... get back 2 you!

SandyB · January 10, 2008, 12:03:53 PM

Mike .. you got it the manhole ... it went to nowhere , I was convinced there were secret passages somewhere ........

Michael Alexander · January 10, 2008, 12:07:32 PM

there was ! There was! If youn knew which brick in the wall to push, the door would open, and then the tunnel went under the security fence and came out on top of the 4 plant mine dump...... and don't let anyone tell you that it did'nt

:emot26:

SandyB · January 10, 2008, 01:52:12 PM

Unfortunately that only occured in my dream state .. real life could not get to the secret passages .. kept me very determined though .............

Michael Alexander · January 10, 2008, 01:56:59 PM

It's funny how it was always a German Spy or A German Fort or a German Tunnel..... we never did Japanese......?

SandyB · January 10, 2008, 02:14:45 PM

Dont forget that Omund had large contingent expats a lot from britain with fresh memories of WW2 so thats where it all came from .. secondly SWA was at one time a german protectorate and was said to sympathise with Germany during ww2 .. best part was that Omund was this small society where all had to get on .. it taught people to forget .. onetime enemies created by politicians and power hungry men demonising the " enemy " became friends in this town of ours .. like said good memories of the Braais at the Siebers Home ...
If ever you saw the movie Hope and glory .. it had a wonderful scene where a german fighter pilot is downed over a borough in britain .. comes sailing down on his parachute .. lands in a vegetable patch .. all the folk from the area with pitchforks and spades and any other sort of weapon advance on this person who is supposed to have teeth and claws .. this poor pilot did not know what to do so he just sat down and lit himself a smoke .. the one old codger from the home guard then advanced slowly toward him .. saw he did not have teeth and claws , instead what he saw was just a shocked and very lucky to be alive human being like all around .. sort of gestured and gently led him off ... If you have not seen the movie then it is a MUST ...