Feb 07 2020
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Go CNC @ Sodwana Bay – Sibaya

By Sodwana Bay

Whoohoo – We finally got our CNC Machine up and running. It only took us a month to build up enough courage and energy to set it up… But now it is up and we are going full steam ahead!!! Don’t get me wrong we haven’t been sitting on our butts the whole time doing nothing, everyday we let the dogs take us on long walks through our proverbial “Backyard”(Basically the wide open spaces of Sibaya). But then we started to think a little different about our chores in the afternoons. Instead of just going on walks we could also start picking up sticks and pieces of wood to contribute to our CNC Projects! We have always dreamed of using local woods of Sodwana if we ever came to live here… and now we can. So our first project is to make small round discs (Medallions) – either as coasters or just something to hang up on your wall. So far we just doing practice rounds figuring out how best to “Beachify” our trinkets. We have found this amazing beautiful wood. Its hard, durable and best of all- NO SPLINTERS! Our Very first souvenir in Sibaya!

Feb 05 2020
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Mysterious friends… – Grey Foam-nest Tree Frog @ Sibaya – Sodwana Bay

By Sodwana Bay

I don’t know about you, but I have always thought about frogs and toads as been real mysterious creatures. I bet our little friends that live in our kitchen have loads of funny stories to tell, especially having the best vantage point of being able to see and hear everything that goes on in our house. It’s as if they are little spies, acting so peaceful and chilled in their little hiding spots taking in every story they can, to tell to their friends. One of the species of frog we have living in our kitchen is the Grey Foam-nest Tree Frog. Our first friend  we discovered the day we moved into our new home when we were testing all the lights out. He was sitting on one of the light switches, smiling away as if he was the happiest frog alive. Although there were gloomy days as well, he especially hates overcast, dark gloomy days. He use to always stair out the window, most probably observing his dinner for the night. But than one day… He disappeared, well I can’t blame him for moving cause he was starting to get a little thin. A few days later we found him in a little cup, smiling again. But that didn’t seem to be so comfortable either, so eventually he went to sit by our kitchen sink. Well that was a bit stressful for him and I. Cause I was worried I would by accident squish him or he would jump on me (I think he had the same concerns). So I moved him to the back of the sink. But than he realised  that there was a pretty girl Grey Foam-nest Tree Frog living in a spoon just above him, so he started climbing the wall and went to sit with her and keep her company. His smile is now bigger than ever!!!! On a later time in the middle of winter we found another Grey Foam nest Frog sitting in a tree in front of our house… Clearly it was getting cold judging by its color! Some fun facts about Grey Foam-nest Tree Frog: Grey Foam-nest Tree Frog seem to like living with humans, I think humans attract alot of bugs for these cuties to eat. They have really freaky suckers on their feet, obviously being a tree frog they need can climb trees, but never thought they would be able to climb walls. Now this is pretty interesting, Grey Foam-nest Tree Frog change skin color according to their environmental temperature. That’s pretty cool if you ask me. Their skin color varies between white and brown. So if you wanna know what the temperature for the day is just ask mr/mrs Grey Foam-nest Tree Frog. They grow up to 90mm(9cm) in size. Thats really small, so just be careful not to hurt the poor little thing if he/she comes to visit. Grey Foam-nest Tree Frogs are actually quite intelligent when it comes to easy food… Instead of staying close to waterbeds and aquatic areas they much rather come attach themselves to a human family (not literally). But they do prefer living in peoples homes cause we attract all their favorite foods through our wastage. For more fun facts like these check out – Sodwana Bay Wiki Sources: Wikipedia

Jan 31 2020
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We swerve for moving rocks – Leopard Tortoise @ Sibaya – Sodwana Bay

By Sodwana Bay

So as you should know by now, if you have followed our blogs so far, we are extreme animal and nature lovers. So we swerve for “living rocks” who wanna cross the road. Especially when they rushing to find shelter for the night. What do we mean by swerving “living rocks”? Of course we mean the tortoise… As far as research goes I guess the most common tortoise around here is the Leopard tortoise. So the other day when we were coming home from Sodwana Bay. We saw this little rock racing towards the road, we luckily saw it in the nick of time, just as it stepped into the road.   Leopard tortoises are common pets in Africa, they can handle immense heat and chilling temperatures which makes them quiet hardy and easy to keep, just don’t let them drown in your pool! They can grow up to – 40cm (16in) and weigh up to 13kg(29lb) making them the fourth largest tortoise in the world. Although oddly enough The leopard tortoise will grow bigger the further north or south they are living in. At the far sides of the northern of Southern parts of their habitat areas they can grow up 70 cm (28in) and weigh up to 40kg (88lb). Juveniles and young adults are typically vividly  marked with yellow and black markings, often resembling leopard spots. But as they grow older they may start to loose their color and start to change color to brown, I guess this could be due to the sun. They typically love the savanna regions and are complete herbivores. They will eat just about any fruit, vegetable or plant provided to them in their environment. Mating maturity can start from 12-15 years of age. But thinking about it they do live between 50-100 years in the wild, so it makes sense that it takes so long for them to mature.

Jan 30 2020
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The shy one was sighted – Thread-Fin Butterfly @ Sodwana Bay

By Sodwana Bay

Everybody who has ever snorkeled or dived and tried to take a video or pic of a butterfly fish knows how hard that can be. Its rare enough to actually find a butterfly fish, especially in rocky reef areas, where they usually live. We have only spotted the raccoon butterfly fish a hand full of times and even more rarely been able to capture it on camera. But this time instead of finding the more common raccoon butterfly fish, we spotted a new kind of Butterfly – The Thread-fin Butterfly fish. They might be a bit more of a common variety but this is the first one we have ever seen in Sodwana Bay’s Waters. They usually swim in pairs and like any other butterfly are very elusive and wary of everything. Research suggests that they usually swim in pairs and are monogamous (Stick to one partner), although they will choose a new partner in crime if one should die. Sounds like most humans… This one unfortunately did not have a partner, which would suggest it is either still to young or hasn’t chosen a life partner yet. Thread-fin’s can grow up to 23 cm(9in) long and lives in water depths of 1 – 35m (3-115ft) deep. Fun fact they also darken their colors and night. No-one knows why.

Jan 29 2020
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New Html5 is Better! @ Sibaya – Sodwana Bay

By Sodwana Bay

www.htmlup.co.za   The new way of doing HTML. NO need for slow loading CMS – just do it the right way! If you are not going to constantly make changes to the content of your website, then HTML5 is for you. No more slow loading and long waiting times. Launch your new HTML 5 website today. Built on Bootstrap technology your sure to get the best of all worlds. Out of the Box solutions for your new project or business website. Responsive and ready for any mobile device – just like that! Ask us how? info@htmlup.co.za

Jan 29 2020
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The wild one’s story @ Sibaya – Sodwana Bay

By Sodwana Bay

Our Sibaya Story… You have most probably already seen the gallery of the wild one, but we haven’t shared the whole story about where she came from and how she got from Witbank all the way to Sodwana Bay. We were on our way back to iSibaya after completing a 2 week contract in Pretoria, we decided to make a quick stop at Witbank Ultra City garage. We were on our way to the bathroom after taking the dogs for a walk. When suddenly this little grey ball of fluff appears seemingly out of nowhere, playing with herself. I walked right up to her and picked her up. She never made a fuss or try get out of my arms. Although she is a stray, she acted almost like she use to be someones pet. I have been wanting to get my 5 year old cat a friend for quiet sometime now since all the other pet members have been paired up together. She is the perfect little kitten, never brings out her claws when she plays, is still learning to get along with the big dogs, but has found a playmate in our Jack Russel pup. They remind me a lot about the Disney movie – The fox and the hound. She seems to love photo shoots and uses the house as her own personal palace. She is a true princess. We recently let her go free without any attachments to stop her from going to far and so far so good. She stays real close the house as much as possible. Every day there are new stray dogs and cats, either been dumped on the street or been born into their cruel world. Maybe stop once in a while and try help 1 of these poor creatures out either by giving them a new home, asking around for someone to help adopt them or calling a non-kill animal shelter to help give them a new lease on life.