Erika and Tony live in the town of Phalaborwa which is just outside the Kruger Park gate of the same name. The main industry in the town is the Palabora Copper Mine, of which Tony is the corporate secretary. The mine property is all a protected nature reserve. There are often lions on the road into the mine works (no bike riding to work anymore!) and elephants ruin the shrubbery around Tony's office all the time. The house is on a quiet street and is surrounded by almost tropical foliage. It's what we would call here a three bedroom ranch, but you can only see the living room and front porch in the picture. We had many breakfasts and lunches at that nice outdoor table. There is a large koppie a couple of blocks away that is home to a huge troop of baboons.
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The real rulers of the roost! Bridgitte, a 17 year old pomeranian and Tiger, an adopted stray tabby--both lovely pets. Bridgie went everywhere with us.
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We had a marvelous VIP tour of the mine, including the famous open pit. Camera's don't do it justice. It's only about a mile wide, so it's not the largest hole in the world, but......
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......it is the deepest. Those teeny matchbox toys on the roads are really huge ore trucks like the one pictured below.
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The bed of these trucks is as big as a swimming pool and a man standing on the ground wouldn't come to the top of the tire. The electrical stuff in front of the cab pulls the truck up the hill like a trolley to save fuel. They are really impressive.
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The mine also owns the famous Hans Merensky Golf Club (which is for sale if you're in the market for one) which is well known for the wildlife one meets while playing. They recently had to close the course for a while because there was a pair of very agressive lions mating on the 17th green. We had a nice lunch at the club and this vervet monkey watched us the whole time hoping for a handout.
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Well known for it's good relations with the community and ongoing good works, the mine supports the Palabora Foundation which works towards these ends. One of their efforts is helping a group of local ladies make goods which are sold in curio shops throughout South Africa. Here they are silkscreening fabric from which they make backpacks, aprons, children's clothing, etc.
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Another group makes brooches and earrings out of femo clay. This lady cuts and arranges teeny weeny pieces depicting a native village onto the jewelry, which is then baked to make it hard. They also make a lot of wooden objects. The mine can be proud of it's place in the community.
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Click on the elephants to go to page ten.
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