2019 is already quarter of the way through, and our feet have yet to touch the ground, as we enter an exciting new era in our lives. WE HAVE MOVED!

After many decades in Port Elizabeth, we have finally fulfilled a long held dream of relocating to the Karoo, once Max retired. During our fairly extensive travels around the country, looking at so many places as potential retreats from the increasing madness of city life, one place has consistently stood out since the first time we saw it in 2005. We entered Prince Albert on our way to visit the flowers of Namaqualnd for the first time, on a freezing cold August evening, and the very first building we saw, opposite the historic old Mill, was a restaurant. We asked the young man on the veranda if he knew of somewhere we could stay for the night, and he directed us to Miller’s House, where we spent a wonderful cosy night. Next day we headed off to continue our floral quest, but from that night on, the adorable hamlet of Prince Albert has been embedded in our hearts, and we never missed an excuse, in the intervening years, to add it to any trip remotely in the right direction. In fact, the town was a rich source of windmill photos for The Climax Collection books.

We knew, however, that it was probably out of our league, financially, to ever buy a home there, as prices were seriously higher than those in Port Elizabeth. Roll on 2018, and two marvelous opportunities to exhibit Sue’s art at the Prince Albert Open Studios, hosted by the delightful Casa Milorca, a guesthouse owned by friends of ours. We were also offered accomodation in between these events, and finally had time to properly explore the town, get to know locals, and dream of living the longed-for country life.

Then, in one of those turns of fate that happens so swiftly and seamlessly that you just know it is meant to be, we spotted a For Sale sign on that very first building we ever saw, the old Millers Restaurant.

It had been standing abandoned for several years, and was in a sad state. There had been a fire, and one of the rooms was burned out. For most normal people, this would be a red flag, but for us it shrieked of golden opportunity. Just MAYBE, we could put in a cheeky enough offer to afford the place, and the renovation/conversion into a home.

 The rest is history…. our offer was accepted, and the very first people who viewed our Port Elizabeth home put in an offer the same day, at the full asking price… we were good to go! So 2019 has opened with a flurry of packing, moving and renovating on a shoe-string budget, requiring loads of work and creative flexibility. Unfortunately, that means we have had less time to spend on our publishing business, but it is a temporary situation, and we will be back in full force shortly, with a delightful new HQ!

The other big change that has happened recently is that the famous Koos, Max’s 4×4 who has taken us on so many adventures to so many awesome places in the last few years, (see Travels/troubles with Koos under Print Books) has been sold, and moved on to a new home. We needed to consolidate our retirement finances, and running a thirsty and expensive old vehicle was not part of the plans… enter Nellie, our cute new Nissan bakkie, who will hopefully be a participant in many new explorations.

So 2019 has got off to a cracking start, and we hope to share many more of our photos, writings and adventures with you over the coming years!

We are delighted to announce the launch of our newest book. A Hyena’s Tail is the second in the Tales from the Waterhole Series, in which an old terrapin relates some of the events he encounters, while watching quietly from his spot next to the water.

A Hyena’s Tail, written by Max Hoppe and illustrated by Jeannine Dickie, is set to be released on 25th October 2018, through El Gecko Publishing.

The story is set in the plains of Africa, and is an amusing account of how a wily mongoose thwarts the plans of two persistent hyenas, who are keen on making him their dinner.

Harry and Henry, the hungry hyenas, soon discover that just because an animal looks small and helpless, it is not always easy prey! Manny the Mongoose and his new friend, Gilbert the Ground Squirrel, come up with a crafty plan, to make sure Manny doesn’t become the hyenas’ next meal!

Jeannine’s fun illustrations capture the misadventures of the two hungry hyenas with great flair.

All the books in the series contain a useful checklist at the back, with photos of African animals and birds, where kids can tick off when and where they have see them.

Book dimensions: 210 x 210mm, soft cover, 48 pages.
The books retail for R180 each including VAT. (But will be on pre-launch special for R150 until 24/10/2018)

The official book launch for A Hyena’s Tail will take place on

Thursday, 25 October 2018 at 17h00 for 17h30

in the St George’s Preparatory School Library, MacIntosh Road, Port Elizabeth.

To attend, please send an email to publishing@elgecko.co.za as this will help with the catering.

Do you also hear the news (struggling to sift what is real from what isn’t) and see social media depicting a world gone mad?

We don’t want to be complete ostriches, with heads in the sand and nether regions exposed in the air, so we try to keep up. But most days, it seems like we have fallen into some sort of alternative reality (one where alternative facts are the order of the day!) So, to maintain our frazzled minds in some sort of sanity, we plan to do a lot of travelling this year, whenever an opportunity presents itself, and to continue writing about the good things we encounter along the way. The planning is also fun, and helps build anticipation for the real thing. Since world politics seem to be dragging us to hell and back, we thought it would be apt to finally visit Die Hel, a.k.a. Gamkaskloof, which has been on our impossibly long bucket list for many years. So that is the plan for the easter weekend.

On the publishing front, Santa’s New Helpers has proved quite a hit, so next on the ‘to-be-printed’ queue will be another title in the Tales from the Waterhole series… watch this space!

In the meantime, More Travels troubles with Koos has been translated into Afrikaans (thanks again to Mignonne van Heerden) and is available as a PDF.

We also printed a VERY limited edition of the 4 Postcards from Abroad books, so if you are interested in quality coffee-table style books with sunning B&W images of Turkey, Bulgaria, UAE and Jordan, now is your chance.

As 2017 already seems to be running away from us, the 2017 calendars are on a crazy special, now selling for R60 each while stocks last …

Hope you all get a chance to do some travelling too; the road beckons and new horizons give us perspective!