Marike Van Zyl

Author's posts

Photos of NY – Part I – by Marike

In this blog I just want to show you a jumble of New York photos that didn’t make it into other blogs. I’ll add comments, so hopefully they won’t seem too confusing. First, my favourite place in New York – Central Park! We took so many great photos in Central park that It would have …

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Bird blog – by Franci

We landed in New York during the best birding season : D. Isn’t God’s timing wonderful? Not too many birds stay in New York area all year round. Most of them migrate through New York to the North in the Spring (for all of us who live in the Southern hemisphere, that’s March through May …

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Coffee – by Marike

Whenever my mom brews herself a cup of coffee, I immediately think of two things: Chocolate cake and New York. The chocolate cake thing doesn’t have anything to do with New York. It’s just that we have an awesome cake recipe that uses coffee, so coffee gives me this idea that there should be cake …

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The First ‘Not so Great’ Dingy Adventure – by the Mom

We are in New York. End of a very long day at the Natural History Museum. We stop at the Fairways to pick up some groceries and head back to the Marina. The way leads through the Yacht Basin Café. This time of night they are closed and the chairs are stacked up on the …

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Central Park – by Franci

A lovely bit of nature amidst the forest of towering glass and steel. It wasn’t always that way. Before the park was built there were houses and shops and people living on that land. But when the petition for a green place for the city dwellers was approved, that land was commandeered. A competition was …

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Rockefeller Centre – by Marike

Close your eyes. Squeeze them tight. Now open them. We are sitting on benches. These are interesting benches. The whole bench curves around a huge, dark brown flower pot. Looking around me, I can see about 5 or 6 more flower pots scattered around the area. The skyscrapers rise up all around the little open …

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The People of New York – by the Mom

On our whole trip so far, New York was the first place that we blended in completely. Why? Was this because New Yorkers all look like South Africans? No. It is because there is just no such thing as an average New Yorker. This has to be the melting pot of EVERY culture on earth. …

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New York overview – by Karin & Sophia

Joint Blog   Sophia:     Hey guys, you might not have known this, but there are actual dinosaurs in New York. Ok, so they don’t have meat attached to them, but still, they were real dinosaurs.     Karin:     Yeah, the dinosaurs are located in the Natural history museum. They’re quite cool, and awesomely big. …

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Shang Du and the Yacht Basin – by Franci

If asked what the average day for us is like, there really isn’t just one answer. The ‘average day’ changes for each different location. At the islands the ‘average day’ usually involves a scuba dive, or a snorkel at the least. Sailing (for me) usually involves putting out the fishing line and –if the weather …

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New York – by Marike

Yellow. Grey. Glass windows. Leaves. Wind. Stone. Scarves. Lights. These are the things that come to mind when I think of New York. I also think of cold splashing water, pumping up our dilapidated dinghy (JJ), and the grey Hudson river. Shang Du was anchored more than a mile upriver of the 79th street yacht …

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