Last week I posted photos of the first house we lived in, in South Africa, where we lived for 18 months. It was a much more glamorous house than this one, but in need of a lot of work, the large glass windows were starting to crack and the river flooded regular. The layout didn't really work for us as a family, so when this house became available, we decided to move.
The garden was not as exciting but the pool was a big incentive and I really wish we had a pool now we are living in Dubai, with it being summer all year round.
The Braai area, sadly this wasn't covered like it was in our old house, and with summer in South Africa comes monsoon style rains.
We attracted some wonderful birds into the garden and had 2 green parrots nesting in the palm tree in the corner of the garden.
We did have a gardener in South Africa, but with the rain, we needed to mow the lawn at least twice a week. The boys earnt their pocket money this way.
Heavy rain would fill the pool and the storms would turn the water green, costing a small fortune and taking a week to turn the pool back to blue from green.
In our old house we could set the 8 sleeper tent up IN the lounge to dry it out, in this house we had to leave it set up for a few days to dry in-between storms.
The boys and the dog loved the pool and needed no excuse to go in there.
We entertained a lot in the 2nd house and held functions there.
I used to complain abut the heat in summer in South Africa, but wish I'd enjoyed it more, since moving to Dubai. However there was no air con in the house and the winter months the temps dropped to zero and below.
The grass was greener in South Africa than it is in Dubai but for different reasons. However, give me the choice and I'd move back there in a shot.
