I wrote the last post on my Blog almost a year ago.

A number of factors led to my writing silence. The dominant one was the time and energy it took to buy a house and sell my apartment in EbbTide, both in Camps Bay, the market conditions being difficult in 2022 going into this year. I had almost daily viewers in my apartment, requiring cleaning, and standing outside during the viewing, all in all an overall disruption to my writing flow.

I had lived in EbbTide for almost five years, a Hell Hotel in which the other three apartments were permanently let on an AirBnB basis by its owners Rhode Snyman, Sacha Jack, and Magali Seguilon. Owners of and clients renting the apartments had no respect for my need to sleep during reasonable evening hours, partying in the early hours of the morning, driving in and out of the garage with squealing tyres, and using the noisy lift at all hours of the day, the lift shaft being next to the bedrooms in the building. Every noise disturbance in the building was communicated to the other Trustees, but fell on deaf ears, often received with abusive replies from them.

An incident in the building led me to finally seeing the light, coupled with new neighbouring apartment owner Tristan du Plessis moving in with two labradors barking continuously, especially when he went out at night and left them at home alone. I realised that nothing would ever improve in the building, something I was hopeful I could achieve but the continuous barking of the dogs was the final straw. The final conclusion was that I could not endure living in a Sectional Title apartment, being a minority Trustee outvoted on a three to one basis continuously, and that I needed to buy a freehold house in which I have full control. The reduction in rates and taxes as well as no longer having to pay an exorbitant levy meaning a saving of R14000 per month was a no brainer.

Through luck and perseverance I found my dream house one street parallel to that of the apartment, with two bedrooms, a sizeable garden with 15 olive trees, an abundant lemon tree, a passion fruit creeper, gooseberries, many lavender bushes, and flourishing origanum and thyme. My two cats and dog were in lockdown until a fence and electric fence could be completed, so that the cats could be kept safely inside the property and anybody else outside!

It has taken almost three months to unpack, to find my bearings in the house, to repair many maintenance deficiencies in the house, and to tackle the garden, one or two minor maintenance issues still needing to be completed.

I am planning to broaden my Blog scope in including writing about my work in keeping Camps Bay litter free, and including more tourist related content, having been a very busy Tourist Guide during summer.

Thank you for your patience and support over the 13 years of my Blog.

Chris von Ulmenstein, WhaleTales Blog, Cell +27 0825511323. www.chrisvonulmenstein.com Facebook, Twitter, @chrissy_ulmenstein

My Cape Town Guide/Mein Kapstadt Guide (Facebook, Instagram)