We have been in Canada for about 9 months now. The time has flown by and we have enjoyed most of it.  Our current hometown, Fernie is an amazing town where all of us has made friends and had great experiences, but the time has come for us to move on to the next chapter in our lives; Vernon, BC.

Putting on some mileage

When we arrived in Canada, the first few months were hectic!  We had to travel 1400 km to Vancouver four times in two months to visit the BC Children’s hospital.  We bought a new truck (‘bakkie’ for those in SA) and after two months had clocked up around 15 000 km.

Since December we have been going to the Alberta Children’s Hospital that is only a 3-hour drive away, but all these trips have been worth it.  August last year, Sarika was so weak she could not even climb a single step.  Last week her muscle strength test results were normal; her improvement has been remarkable to watch!

Activities

The kids wake up excited to go to school every day and they both love their teachers and friends. Both of them have found activities they love doing.  Christopher has participated in running club, swimming lessons, ice hockey, Lego club and now baseball. Sarika also loved swimming lessons, ice skating and has weekly gymnastics.

I tried downhill biking for the first time at the end of last season and I am really looking forward to be doing more of it in Silver Star (the ski hill in Vernon) once we move there.  We all have bicycles as well and take a ride down to the river every now and then. I also had the chance to go heli-skiing at Galena this year which was #1 on my bucket list.

Making Friends

We slowly made friends through the school and our church small group, but things really got moving once Ankie started to work at Mountainside Community Church.  Now we have many good friendships and connections that we are sad to leave behind.

Why are we moving?

I have always been a passionate person; I think I’ve learned to be passionate watching the Bulls (rugby) playing at Loftus growing up. Through good and bad years, I’ve watched those around me support them 100%.  That passion has been evident in all parts of my life including business.  So I have been looking for a way to combine some of the other passions of mine with business.

Passion for snow and technology

Since my first time skiing in Breckenridge, Colorado in 1998, I have loved the feeling of sliding down a snowy mountain.  I loved skiing so much that it was one of the main reasons we’ve moved to Canada.  So, since we’ve been here I have been looking for a way to do something in the ski industry.

I want to help improve the ski industry by building technology that will make it more efficient, accessible and sustainable.  Better technology can help resorts become more profitable, attract more visitors and make sure first time visitors come back for more.  I love the feeling of skiing so much; that I want to make sure as many people as possible get to experience the full thrill!

For the last few months I have been working with Silver Star Mountain resort to figure out how we can use technology to help them.  Last week we concluded an agreement for Silver Star to be the first customer of Entabeni.  Entabeni is the Zulu word for mountain, combining my African heritage and love for the mountains.

Okanagan Valley

We are very excited about moving to Vernon, which is nestled in the Okanagan valley.  The whole region is beautiful, an amazing combination of mountains and lakes.  A few weeks ago I’ve attended a function at one of the vineyards on the edge of Lake Okanagan.  It is truly amazing, as you can see from this picture.

And so the next chapter starts for us, and we are very excited about what the future holds.