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Podcast TTT Robbie Cheadle Season 4 South Africa The Virtual Journey Travel

Season 4 Episode 7: Travelling to Cango Caves, South Africa with Roberta Eaton Cheadle

Roberta Eaton Cheadle

Welcome to Tea, Toast and Trivia.

Thank you for listening in.

Living in the reality of Covid-19, travel has been curtailed, internationally as well as domestically. Even though travel is coming back slowly, there are places that I will never visit in my lifetime.   Over the past months, I have found that travel is possible through the alchemy of technology.

Roberta Eaton Cheadle (Photo Credit Roberta Eaton Cheadle)

Welcome to a new podcast series on Tea Toast & Trivia – “The Virtual Journey” which will explore new horizons through the eyes of a friend.  As Marcel Proust reminds me, “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.”

I am thrilled that Roberta Eaton Cheadle, aka Robbie, has invited me to South Africa, which is approximately 16,000 kilometres, as the crow flies, from Vancouver Canada.  I have crossed an ocean and entered the southern hemisphere. 

I invite you to put the kettle on and join the conversation on Tea Toast & Trivia. I am your host Rebecca Budd, and I am looking forward to sharing this adventure with you.

Cango Caves (Photo Credit Roberta Eaton Cheadle)

Thank you for joining Robbie and me on the first podcast in the series – “The Virtual Journey.”  

We have lived the experience of Cango Caves today, thanks to our gracious travel host, Robbie Cheadle! 

A very special thank you, Robbie, for sharing your amazing country. 

I invite you to meet up with Robbie on her blog, Roberta Writes, her Amazon Page,  Goodreads, Instagram,  and YouTube. Robbie has created a space where history comes alive with every page turned.

Until next time, dear friends, stay safe, be well.

Cango Caves (Photo Credit Roberta Eaton Cheadle)
Cango Caves (Photo Credit Roberta Eaton Cheadle)
Cango Caves (Photo Credit Roberta Eaton Cheadle)

Travelling to Cango Caves, South Africa with Roberta Eaton Cheadle – Tea. Toast. & Trivia.

By Rebecca Budd

Blogger, Visual Storyteller, Podcaster, Traveler and Life-long Learner

126 replies on “Season 4 Episode 7: Travelling to Cango Caves, South Africa with Roberta Eaton Cheadle”

I was excited to travel to South Africa with you, Robbie. Your thoughtful and detailed discussion was remarkable. Thank you for the in-depth research. Your reading was “icing on the cake.” I do hope that someday I will be able to meet with you in person.

I looked up South African’s Anthem after our conversation.

National anthem of South Africa which was sung by the Soweto Gospel Choir (Link below)

Nkosi sikelel’ Afrika
Maluphakanyisw’ uphondo lwayo
Yizwa imithandazo yethu
Nkosi sikelela thina lusapho lwayo

Morena boloka setjhaba sa heso
O fedise dintwa le matshwenyeho
O se boloke (Ntate) o se boloke setjhaba sa heso
Setjhaba sa South Afrika (South Afrika)

Uit die blou van onse hemel
Uit die diepte van ons see
Oor ons ewige gebergtes
Waar die kranse antwoord gee

Sounds the call to come together
And united we shall stand
Let us live and strive for freedom
In South Africa our land

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This podcast was enthralling, Rebecca and Robbie! Fascinating to hear about South Africa, the amazing ostriches, and the amazing cave experience — all narrated to perfection by Robbie. Congratulations on this impressive start to “The Virtual Journey” series!

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Many thanks, Dave, for joining us at Cango Caves. They are magnificent – I felt I was “there” in reality. Did you see Robbie’s short video on her YouTube channel, which I linked to the photo? “The Virtual Journey” idea came from Misty’s adventures. I head over to Montclair every day to meet up with Misty and you. Would it be possible to travel through the eyes of another person, I wondered? Hmmm….. Misty has the best idea! Please tell him thanks for me.

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Thank you, Rebecca! Misty the cat is thrilled to have you and Frances among his viewers. 🙂 And now, after your latest wonderful podcast, he would like to meet one of the ostriches Robbie vividly described. 🙂

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A most impressive achiever, Roberta Eaton Cheadle! Congratulations to her for all that energy and her many accomplishments benefiting seemingly all ages of readers. As well to you Rebecca for introducing her to us. Her being influenced in her writing by Edgar Allan Poe, speaks to me, as you my friend would know.

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I agree, Jean-Jacques – Robbie is energized. I marvel at how much she accomplishes in a day. I am convinced that there are more hours in a day when you cross into the Southern Hemisphere. I am delighted that you joined Robbie and me at Cango Caves!!! I always appreciate your company!

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What a great connection, Jacquie. I forgot to ask Robbie what voices sound like within the caves. I would imagine there is an amplification. Thank you for listening in and travelling with Robbie and me to Cango Caves!!

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Thank you Robbie, Rebecca and Don for producing this outstanding verbal vision of South Africa. From the beginning words, I was taken to this beautiful place on our continent. I was surprised that Robbie mentioned that our world’s history goes back millions of years. When I read the same fact mentioned by a totally different person and place, I had considered it false! South Africa is so far away, but this time with Robbie makes it seem close and very beautiful. I loved the part about the Ostriches and their feathers. This is only one of the beautiful descriptions–our trip with her down in the caves is outstanding! ! Thank you for including Robbie and her reading part of her story. I am glad that you will be continuing this story.

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HI Ms Frances, I am so pleased you enjoyed this podcast and a virtual visit to South Africa. I have always enjoyed ostriches although I wasn’t a big fan of the ostrich massage. They are very large and powerful birds. Rebecca does such a wonderful job with these interviews and makes her guests feel so relaxed and comfortable.

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I am delighted that you enjoyed this conversation, Frances. I agree that Robbie brought South Africa to where we are on the other side of the world. I was delighted that Robbie added a reading to the podcast. It was the “icing on the cake.”

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Excellent interview. What is amazing about all this is that the formations in the Congo Caves look so much like the formations in Carlsbad Caverns in southeastern New Mexico. Even nature does a bit of “the same as it ever was” over millions and millions of years.

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I have always wanted to visit Carlsbad Caverns, Tim. I am delighted that you joined Robbie and me in South Africa. Robbie is a wonderful and knowledgeable host. From Ostriches to archeological sites, to music, language and a reading of her book, I felt that I had travelled to South Africa.

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You would love CBCs. The immensity of the caverns is something you have to experience in person. I’ve had some pretty good adventures at CBCs. I did some primitive caving in the 70s when I was young and skinny enough to crawl through tight places. Not something a claustrophobic person would want to do.

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A few years ago I reconnected with a childhood penpal in South Africa. She does daily Facebook posts on her life in and around the Mossel Bay Municipality in the Western Cape. I was quite excited to recognise some of the place names you mentioned in your conversation eg George. My friend uses George airport quite a lot.

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Have you noticed how small our world has become with technology, Mandy?. It is amazing how much I travel every day from my kitchen table. How wonderful to be able to reconnect with a childhood penpal.

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I am delighted that you joined Robbie and me in South Africa. I was amazed by how much travel we did in a span of about 20 minutes. It was a wonderful experience. I believe that virtual travel is in the ascendency. Exciting times!! Sending you many hugs with great speed.

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I enjoyed the interview with Robbie. I chuckled, learning about the ostrich massage.

I find geology incredibly interesting and have visited several underground caves.

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I tried to imagine what it was like to turn my back on the ostrich and hope that this formidable bird liked the food. I am delighted that you joined Robbie and me in South Africa. Robbie is a brilliant and gracious host!!

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How did you enjoy feeding the ostriches, Carol? Can you imagine turning your back to these huge birds and wonder whether they will like the food?!!! YIKES! Robbie was a wonderful tour guide. I love travelling without jet lag!

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What a lovely discussion ladies! I really enjoyed listening. Robbie is so well-travelled and so knowledgeable about our country. I’ll be sure to listen in to more of your virtual travels, Rebecca 🙂

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Great to see Robbie featured here today. I enjoyed listening and learning about South Africa. Like you said Rebecca, we can always travel virtually and learn about different parts of the world. Thank you Robbie. Hugs to both xx

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A wonderful virtual tour of the caves and also the background to some other amazing places to visit in South Africa.. loved the ostriches and not sure I could manage one of those eggs for breakfast. How amazing to have that familial link to one of the founding fathers Andries Pretorius – a terrific and enjoyable journey.. thanks Rebecca and Robbie..♥

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Sally – how wonderful to have your company on this amazing tour of South Africa. I was calculating the size of the pan that would hold an ostrich egg.

Thank you for mentioning Andries Pretorius, who was instrumental in the creation of the South African Republic. I headed back into the history books to find out more. Pretoria, the executive capital of South Africa is named after him. His son, Marthinus Wessel Pretorius, became the first President of the South African Republic (Transvaal). I continue to learn.

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This virtual travel podcast is very interesting, Rebecca and Robbie. The ostrich eggs must be huge. When we study the limestone, especially in caves, we realize our earth goes back longer than we could imagine. It reminds me of the underground cave we visited in Guilin of China. Thank you for the conversation, Rebecca and Robbie.

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We took a family trip to China. I’m glad we visited this cave, it was amazing. We took a cruise along the Li River. The spiky mountains are incredible and they’re the inspiration for many Chinese paintings and poetry.

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One time, a Chinese painter demonstrated his painting in my watercolor class. He did the painting with black ink on a at least 50 feet long rice paper. He painted the mountains and woods along a river. At first it looked like blots of inks, but at the end, he added some strokes and dots here and there, then we could see the trees, birds, and other objects. It was as if he had the mile long images in his mind but revealed the details at the end. It was amazing. He had an assistant to help him holding the long paper.

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Hi Rebecca and Robbie.

I love seeing places that I know I will never visit in person. Robbie has brought us to so many interesting places on her blog and in her stories and poetry.

Robbie, your love of history and your ability to explain it is so impressive. I loved being able to listen as you explained these caves, their history and the related elements in the area. The way you mix your family history with the history of South Africa makes me wish I had had you for a history teacher.

Rebecca, this is such an interesting way to learn about people and places. I love this series.

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I agree wholeheartedly, Dan. I would have loved having Robbie as my history teacher. She is a historian, “writing” history alive in every one of her books. Her historical details add clarity and relevance to the narrative.

By the way, Teagan and Robbie inspired me to add my thoughts to your Door posts. You have created a weekly virtual travel where I zoom around the world from my kitchen table. I have been looking back into my photos an was overwhelmed by how many “door” photos have been hiding in my virtual photo albums. Stay tuned…

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I greatly enjoyed this virtual tour of South Africa! Robbie was the perfect choice to kick off your new TTT series, Rebecca! The first musuem I ever went to, in Edgartown, Mass., featured an ostrich egg. in addition to the size, the texture of the shell was fascinating, too.

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Wasn’t Robbie an amazing tour guide – from ostrich eggs, to music, to language, to archeology excavations. Travel will come back, but I have to admit the 10 second travel time and no jet lag is very appealing.

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Robbie always has such wonderful shares about her country. I’ve learned a lot through her posts about South Africa. The caves are beautiful, their ancient history fascinating! Her experience with the ostriches cracked me up. Fascinating information about the national anthem and the combination of languages (thanks for sharing the anthem in the comments, Rebecca). I loved listening to Robbie read. Great interview, Robbie and Rebecca. Thanks for the fascinating tour. ❤

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Wasn’t it the best fun to meet up with Robbie in South Africa? I have never covered so many miles in such a short time. Robbie has a marvelous sense of adventure. She ignites our imagination with stories, both as a writer and as a tour guide. I just was over at her place where she introduced the artist, Helen Elizabeth Martins. Always an adventure.

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She’s multi-talented, Rebecca. I’ve learned a lot about her country, which I knew very very little about. Plus she’s a writer and poet. I don’t know how she does it all. It was also great hearing her sweet voice. The Martins post was fascinating, wasn’t it? And sad.

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Thanks, Rebecca and Robbie. These days real travelling is becoming trickier, but it is great to be able to travel through your podcast, especially when we have a talented writer like Robbie to narrate her adventures. I do love caves and ostriches are such fantastic animals… Excellent!

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Well, that was a wonderful experience. I like this idea of travelling virtually.
Taking this trip with you and Robbie was a sweet treat. The Cango Caves are a treasure of earth.
I enjoyed listening to the SA national anthem, thank you! First time I’ve ever heard it.
I also love listening to Robbie’s voice.
A return visit will be nice. I wonder where else we will go with Rebecca?
Hugs to both of you!

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I am thrilled that you met up with Robbie and me in Cango Caves. Robbie’s photography added so much to the virtual travel as did her reading. I imagined that Billy was standing beside us. I LOVED the singing of the SA anthem. A few weeks ago, I was lamenting that travel had been curtailed. Don said that if we stand still, the world will come to us. I love tagging along your mural treasure hunt walks, Resa. You always find a brilliant mural treasure for us to enjoy.

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