Here are just a few pics documenting the feel, excitement and overall comradery of both the spectators and participants alike. I hope you enjoy the pics, as much as I enjoyed taking them.

Firstly let’s congratulate the winners. From Zimbabwe, lets hear it for Stephen Muzhingi finishing with the time of 5:29:01.

Now I thought that the pic below was Stephen, but after some careful scrutiny, I realised that it is in fact the first South African to cross the line Sipho Ngomane. Oops sorry Stephen.

And the first lady over the finishing line was Elena Nurgalieva of Russia finishing with the time of 6:13:04, one second ahead of her twin sister Olesya, who won last year in 6:12:12.

The marshals and the police were out in full force on Sunday to keep us safe from the bad guys, thanks man! I couldn’t help taking this photo, I PML when I saw this. Damn, that can’t be comfortable-

Comrades are not the same without the trusty old skottle and a bacon and egg fry-up. Shame, it must be torture for the runners having to smell all this.

This guy had the right idea-

The neighborhood kids were out in full force, really standing behind the runners and giving it their all, sometimes to their mother’s irritation. I now know how loud and overpowering the vuvuzelas can be when faced with hundreds of spectators blowing on the thing.

No specific comrades related reason for showing the next pic, I just love the way this little girl was looking on at the runners, with her pink ‘hoodie’ and ‘Happy day’ back pack-

Now I’m not a comrades guru, but I think this little boy was handing out salt to the competitors to aid in muscle cramping, but I could be wrong.

I admire people who run this already grueling marathon with additional heavy costumes, flags, wigs and all sorts of other paraphernalia in tow all in support of a meaningful cause-

Patriotism at its best-

As in any endurance race, their will most definitely be high’s-

And of course low’s

But for some reason, one that I have difficulty grasping, is that this time next year those same people will be back at the starting line ready to put their bodies through another grueling test of stamina, cramp like they have never cramped before, get blisters the size of KZN, dehydrate…….. sun burn………….chafe (ouch)………………the list goes on. I personally don’t get it, but I enjoyed watching and supporting them regardless.

Well done to all the participants, we at Phuthu salute you.

So this is the rumbling tummy of the Iceland volcano that’s caused a lot of havoc the world over. It looks quite pretty in this picture don’t you think?  It reminds me of the fountain in Gateway Shopping Centre, only prettier, scarier, hotter and more colourful.

But here it’s starting to look a little peeved….

and here….it’s in dire need of an anger management course.

Do you ever play that game where you make shapes in the clouds? Well, to me, this one looks like a giant cotton wool factory that ran out of bleach. The factory behind it clearly had enough supplies.  What does it look like to you? A toxic pancreas?

The good thing is that a few flights resumed today!

We hope the two of you have a (snow)ball over there! We miss the way only you can strut them Zumba moves all the way to the printer and back!

I think in pictures so I couldn’t help trying to imagine where they’re at and what it looks like. Take the journey with me:

This is St. Anton in Austria. They might be here.
Or not.

This is some dude starting off on a fairly decent
slope, nothing too extreme. May even be our
Jeremy. Arent you supposed to wear a helmet
or something??

This is probably Jeremy – what he wouldn’t do
for a good shot.

Watch this space for an update. Can’t wait to see the real pics!

By Elzet

Just had to share it with you…

If you like cute pictures of cats and kittens, you’ll love CanIhasCheezburger.com

Getting up at 4.45am, making two flasks of 5 Roses and driving to Pietermaritzburg is energetic enough for us…

I got tired just watching. Sometimes it’s nice just watching..

It’s a long day out there.. but for the paddlers, the non-stop Dusi is all about the adventure…one I’ve yet to do…

It’s unusual shape has earned it the name “Kite Spider”.

The following excerpt is taken from BioDiversityExplorer

Gasteracanthus (kite spiders)

Kite spiders are diurnal orb-web spiders. Species occur mainly in the tropics and sub-tropics, with four species in South Africa. The spider is small, 8-10 mm, brightly coloured in shades of cream, yellow, red and black. The adbomen is sclerotised (porcelain-like) with four lateral and two posterior spines, the second pair longest and the first shortest.

What do we want from you?
A photo of your Christmas tree.

That’s it. We want a photo whether it’s an OTT traditional tree with santa’s and raindeers, a tiny plastic tree from Game (one of those whose branches you have to “fluff up” to make it look like a tree), an abstract triangular work-in-progress, a real (decorated) tree in your garden, a bare branch featuring some African decorations or a wooden art deco tree.

C’mon man, work with me. It’s easy. Click > Download > Email.
You can do it, you know you can.

This is a competition with a twist. A competition in the sense that you have to enter your tree to have it appear on our page, but there is no prize. That’s way too much admin for this time of the year. We’re just not up to it right now. Sorry.

So make us happy and send in those pics, pretty please.

Elzet > Ok, so here is mine:

As you can see, I didn’t get a professional photographer in to take the photo. Sorry. It was supposed to be spray-painted white, but I just couldn’t wait to get it up! My daughter, Kristin (3) reckoned that this was the most beautiful Christmas tree ever, until she realised that all the other Christmas trees have leafs. So now we’re having a little lesson in individuality.

I look at this photo and think the lion in the background looks a little jealous? Just a tad..

Here I’m thinking how big that paw looks next to his face and getting a little n-n-n-n-ervous for him

Who said Lions don’t like water?

Look how they’re both scrunching their noses up. Aaaaw!

I repeat do not try this on safari, stay in the vehicle at all times! You don’t want to be a starter platter for these guys…

Thanks Juan
Pictures from Barcroft Media

Click here to read what The Telegraph UK had to say about Vanessa’s photo.