Yair Schkolne
Consultant, Gqeberha
Instagram: @yaya_goes_places
I’m an ex-corporate actuary – my wife Debbie and I now consult remotely, to pursue a more flexible lifestyle for our family.
In 2021, we decided we wanted to move to a quiet place where our two young girls could learn isiXhosa and experience Xhosa culture. Our friends had bought a house in Hamburg, a rural village south of East London. We decided to join them there for a year. (We have since moved down the coast to Gqeberha.)
From our home in Hamburg, we had unobstructed views of the Keiskamma River meandering through the hills. Nature was at our doorstep, with cows, goats, sheep and donkeys roaming freely. There was just a different feeling to life, from the crunch of shells under your feet to the sting of sand against your ankles and the whistling wind in your ears.
We loved it and so did our two huskies, Phoebe and Cooper (pictured). We sadly had to say goodbye to Phoebe in September 2021. Debbie and I both grew up with dogs. We got the huskies eight years ago – they were best friends and an integral part of our family. They had very different personalities: Cooper’s calm and quiet manner was offset by Phoebe’s wild energy and incessant “talking”. What they shared was their playfulness, affection and love of the outdoors. And their beauty – hardly a walk went by without someone commenting on their looks.
With huskies, regular exercise is essential. Our daily walks taught us to slow down and appreciate our surroundings. Most mornings in summer, I’d take the dogs for a sunrise run from the estuary to the river mouth. They’d chase each other through the shallow water or make half-hearted attempts to catch birds. When the weather cooled, we’d walk into the dunes instead. There, they’d charge off into the distance and disappear.
Seeing our dogs happy has always given us immense joy.
