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Day 139 28.05.05
met at the airport by Pretoria Backpackers where we had booked a room for a few days. Day 139 - Day 143 28.05.05 - 01.06.05
Sorting out Visas for onward travel. We got the Zambia visa and visited the embassies of Tanzania, Kenya and Ethiopia to check the requirements and where we could get visas nearer the time (as it is not possible to get them more than 3 months ahead).
We had to buy some warmer clothes as temperatures of 16 deg were a bit of a shock. Also we were used to life as it is lived on the streets in West Africa. In Pretoria there are high walls and fences around every building and all the houses have electric gates with notices saying 'armed response on call'. Cars are not left on the streets at night and we were advised not to walk anywhere after dark.
However we discovered that the local pub serves T bone steak and a beer for the equivalent of 3pounds 50p. Steve also discovered a taste for biltong! Day 144 02.06.05
Hired a car although as it was short notice there wasnt much choice and the Toyota Tazz seems ridiculously small after the Land Rover. We set off to see the countryside. Interesting sign of the day was on the side of the road. It said "highjack hot spot do not stop!"
On reaching Sabie, Steve was extremely interested to be told that there was a big motor bike rally in the next town -Grasskop, the following day.
At the internet cafe, that evening, we got an email informing us that the ship on which our Land Rover was booked never reached Accra. The Agents have booked it on another ship but it now won't leave Accra until 6th June. This was upsetting news. Day 145 03.06.05
Guess where - yep we went to Grasskop!
The weather seemed to suddenly get warmer.
The main street was closed to traffic so the bikers could wheelie up and down to their hearts content. There were loads of bikes so Steve had a great day.
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There was no accomodation left so we had to move on and drove through some great scenery in the Blyde River Canyon. We got a self catering chalet for the night at the north end of the canyon.
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Blyde River Canyon
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Day 146 04.06.05
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Liked it so much we stayed on. Went for a horse ride up the ridge overlooking the canyon with some breathtaking views. Enjoyed using the braai (SA barbeque)for our steak supper.
SA is the land of meat eaters!
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Riding horses
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Blyde River Canyon
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Day 147 05.06.05
Beautiful morning so had breakfast outside. Steve took the toast out and came in to collect the rest. When he got back outside a monkey was sitting a little way off with a piece of toast in each hand, munching away smugly! lucky monkey -we were left with crusts.
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The Cheetah project near Hoedspruit is a breeding and rescue centre for cheetas and some other animals. We went on a tour with Annette who was an excellent guide. The cheetas are in large compounds separated by wire netting.
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Spot the cheetah
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Part way round we heard a commotion and saw an agana (large lizard) shoot through from one compound to the next followed closely by a large snake which was either a Spitting Cobra or a Black Mamba. The speed was amazing.
They disappeared from sight and the young cheetas went over to investigate. Annette, concerned that if the cheetas found the snake it could be fatal, drove in and called for reinforcments. The rangers arrived with brooms! (apparently effective against snakes).
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Camping in style
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As, by the time we ended the tour it was late, we ended up staying in the tent camp in the reserve attached to the project. This was a posh Safari tent with full braai facilities.
Annette organised some sausages, rolls and beer from the cafe and donated some salad from her own fridge. We had the camp to ourselves which was great. There are lots of animals in the reserve but no predators so there is no barrier round the campsite.
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Day 148 06.06.05
Walked from the tent around the corner and met some giraffes coming the other way! (They didnt stay to have their photo taken.) Also saw some antelope and a warthog and a troop of mongoose who all looked very busy and quite comical as they bobbed up and down looking at us.
Drove on to Nelspruit and booked into the Formule 1 hotel. We located Dakar 4x4 (0137525461) where we bought some bits for the Land Rover. For overlanders this is a great place to visit.
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Day 149 07.06.05 to Day 151 09.06.05
Walkersville
We went to visit Neville and Eileen who used to live opposite us until they moved to South Africa some years ago. We had such a warm welcome that, originally planning to stay one night with them, we ended up staying 3.
Both international dog judges they breed Papillons, and as well as the dogs they had a litter of gorgeous puppies.
It was great fun to see them again and lovely to be in a real home for a change and have some good home cooked meals.
We spent some time trying to track what is happening with the Land Rover only to find that there is some confusion over the second ship it is booked onto and the container still seems to be in Ghana! Day 152 10.06.05
Jo'burg to Waakerstroom
Up early to meet Rhona and Richard at Jo'burg airport as they arrive for a 2 week holiday.
It's wonderful to see them both.
We swapped our small hire car for a larger one and set off for the coast.
Stopping for lunch at Moresons Ranch we found some 4 month old lion cubs in an enclosure by the bar. 'You can go in and play with them' said the waitress. Well they looked very cuddly and quite small. Steve and Richard ventured enthusiastically in. This was entertaining for the cubs who were keen to practice a bit of mauling. Richard had only been in the country a few hours before being bitten by a lion! Done in such a friendly playful way as well.
With the men comparing their (small) wounds we continued on.
We stayed overnight in a self catering cottage that we have found through a friend of Eileens. It is cold and we are glad of the log fire.
In a small sleepy country town it is the first place we have stayed in South Africa without a large security fence. Day 153 11.06.05
Waakerstroom to Sodwana Bay
Rhona and Richard are keen to do a PADI scuba diving course so we have booked into Coral Divers for a couple of days. Sodwana Bay is reputed to have some of the best diving in Africa and is part of the Elephant Coast area of KwaZulu Natal. This includes the Hluhluwe Imfolozi game reserve and the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park a World Heritage site with a 220 kilometre coastline. Day 153 12.06.05 & Day 154 13.06.05
at Coral Divers
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Accommodation billed as log cabins, strongly resembles a large wooden garden shed with a bed in it. The shower and loo are tacked on the end surrounded by a fence and open to the sky.
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Rhona and Richard log cabin
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Waiting for the shower
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The local monkeys have discovered that the showers go on dripping for a while after being used and if swung on vigorously enough are a good source of drinking water. -Somewhat disconcerting to have a monkeys swinging about in a tree above watching you shower while waiting for a drink!
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R and R have an intensive couple of days of theory and swimming pool practice before getting to visit one of the reefs.
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Diving school
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We, meanwhile, go horse riding on the beach and snorkelling. Just a few feet into the water there is an amazing array of fish.
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Beach ride
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Day 155 14.06.05
Coral Divers to Hluhluwe
R and R do a final open water dive before getting their certificates.
We move on to Insinkwe Backpackers just 14k south of Hluhluwe Day 156 15.06.05
Hluhluwe
(pronounced sh shlewee)
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Up at 5.30am to set off in an open top safari vehicle to the Hluhluwe game park. After the initial drive there we were numb with cold!
The park was beautiful with the early morning mist but where were the animals? 'Oh it's a bit cold for them to be about yet' said Ernst our guide cheerily. Huh?
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Anybody out there?
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Suddenly we spotted two buffalo near the track and as we sat and watched them some elephant wandered across in the background. Hurray the animals were out of bed! The park has a lot of vegetation with relatively few open areas so we had to work hard to spot them. It was a brilliant day once we had thawed out and we saw a great variety of animals and birds.
The rhino with calf who trotted along beside us for a while and then crossed close in front of us was a highlight.
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Yes, me!
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and me
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and us
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However the best was reserved for last. There are relatively few lions in the park as there has been a problem with them breeding. We had an hour left before the gates would close. As we rounded a corner in a wooded area suddenly there in front of us, on the track were two lionesses and two cubs. They turned and looked at us, decided we could be ignored and they ambled along in front of us. We slowly followed. The cubs lagged behind, stopping to scratch themselves or investigate things along the way.
As they came to a more open area the lionesses suddenly slowed and lowered themselves. Edging forward slowly they peered up to the right. There was a Nyala (large antelope) a couple of hundred yards away. One of the lions peeled off to the left. The cubs lay down and awaited instructions. Both of the lions advanced into the grass and melted completely out of sight within a few feet. The cubs followed.
We waited.
Suddenly we heard a barking sound. 'The Nyala alarm call' whispered our guide. There was a commotion and several nyala were running in different directions. However they had spotted the lions too late and with a flurry of action the lions had one.
It took less than 15 minutes from them spotting their prey to being able to start feeding. By now the light was fading fast. It was an exciting end to the day for us and the lions, if not so great for the nyala. Day 157 16.06.05
Insinkwe to St Lucia
Having booked ourselves into Bibs backpackers we went on a boat trip down lake St Lucia. This lake is part of the wetland park. It is possible to hire kayaks and the boat captain sang us a cheery song to the tune of Bye Bye Miss American pie which he had entitled 'Bye Bye Mr Kayaking guy'. This was because the area is home to a huge population of crocodiles and hippos.
We saw plenty of them!
Also the Goliath Herons and Sea Eagles again seen close up added to the impression of a very special place.
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Goliath heron
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Croc
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Hippos
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Day 158 17.06.0517th June
St Lucia
A day at the beach.
The road to the beach goes through the St Lucia Park and as we drove along we spotted the usual antelope and zebra. When we saw the rhinos the notice at the entrance about not getting out of your car because you may end up dead, made sense.
We stopped at Mission rocks on the way and were able to watch some Dolphins playing in the surf.
At Cape Vidal the beach is popular, but only 120 cars a day are allowed to drive through the park.
We surfed and snorkelled.
Boating is popular with the 4x4 brigade (oh how we are missing our landy) driving down to an allocated area of beach.
At the end of the day we watched as the boats were loaded back onto the trailers. At home the usual method is to back the trailer into the water. Here they drive the boat toward the beach accelerating on the approach so the boat tilts and then shoots up onto the beach completely out of the water. (Rand R had enjoyed this bit when they returned from their open water dives). The boat is then winched onto the trailer.
The slope up from the beach was steep with soft sand, quite tricky to negotiate towing a boat. Most of the variety of vehicles failing first time round had to do some complicated manoeuvring to extricate themselves. Steve and Richard predicted the 2 Land Rovers there would succeed first time and so it proved. Day 159 18.06.05
St Lucia to Albert Falls Dam.
Checking our emails before we left the backpackers, we discover to our dismay that the Wanderer has still not left Tema as the second ship scheduled to take her also failed to find a berth and had moved on!! The good news was that she would be put on one of MOL's own ships, the Volta, but it was unlikely to arrive in Durban before the end of the month. We arranged to hire the car for longer and continued to enjoy our holiday with R&R.
We left the beautiful Elephant Coast and drove inland, heading for Howick. It was a holiday weekend and difficult to get any accommodation. Rhona spent much of the journey on the phone but eventually found us a self catering chalet on the shore of Albert Falls Dam. (lakes are often called Dams here). (Apparently this is rated one of the best bass fishing dams in the world and the warden was surprised we didn't require a fishing permit!) It was a beautiful ,tranquil setting.
Listening to East Coast Radio we have been hearing about the progress of the sardine run. This is an annual happening when the local sardines get together in huge numbers and migrate up the coast. One shoal is 30 kilometres long! They are followed by dolphins, sharks etc and sardine appears on all the local menus. We are travelling in the opposite direction so we hope to meet up with it as it is still south of Durbs. Day 160 19.06.05
Albert Falls to Durban
Spent the morning in Howick, a peaceful tourist town with a 95 metre high waterfall and some good souvenir shops. Its claim to fame is that it is the location where Nelson Mandela was arrested in 1962 before being sent to jail for 27 years.
Then off to Karkloof for the reason we were in the area.
The canopy tour based in a steep sided wooded valley.
We were driven high up to the top of the valley in a pick up. Then, strapped into safety harness and accompanied by two guides, we zipped our way down the valley on a series of 8 steel cables strung high over and amongst the tree tops. The lines were up to 175 metres long between platforms. Each destination platform was invisible through the trees as you set off. Height and steepness varied and the guides were specific with instructions for each cable. Thick gloves with leather reinforced palms were needed as braking was done by applying pressure onto the cable with your arm stretched out behind and on particularly steep bits with the other arm in front.
One of the guides always went first so, as we went one by one, there was always one guide to make sure you landed safely and one to make sure you didn't hesitate too long before leaving the platform. At one point we had to abseil down from one platform to another.
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The views as we zipped along were stunning (well so I was informed, as personally I closed my eyes for a lot of the high up stuff unable to believe I was actually doing this!).
Arriving back at base we were rewarded with toasted sandwiches. A big thank you to our two guides!
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You can't fall off
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Ready to go
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Richard flying down
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The proof
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Then it was on to Durban to stay with Christine and Paul. Christine used to work with Rhona so it was great that they could meet up. Day 161 20.06.05
Durban
uShaka Marine world
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The aquarium here is styled as a huge shipwreck and filled with impressively wonderful fish from very tiny reef fish to a tank of large sharks.
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Shipwrecked
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We had a very late lunch in a pub at the edge of the docks and as we watched a huge container ship come in we wondered where our landy is.
The huge shoal of sardines is also elusive. Day 162 21.06.05
Durban to Port St John
As there is no sign of the Land Rover arriving in Durban we move on, heading for the Wild Coast.
R and R have had a recommendation from someone they met at Bibs backers for a great place to spend a couple of days.
Torrential rain slows us down and we turn of the road to look for somewhere to have a break. In Ramsgate (its next to Margate!) we spot the Waffle House. On the back of the menu we see there are 3 branches of the Waffle House, the one in South Africa and 2 in the UK in St Albans and Norwich. We realise that we know the Norwich one well! On enquiry it turns out that this branch is run by the son of the family who has returned to South Africa. Consuming Banana and Maple syrup waffles passes the time until the rain eases off.
(As we move on we hear that the sardine run has reached Durbs so we've missed it!)
Our journey takes us through the former Transkei region a traditional homeland. It appears that people here still mostly live in rondavels the traditional round huts. The main road is tarred, but potholed and in our hire car we have to take care.
Arriving at Port St John we check into Island Backpackers a laid back family run place with no chairs at all - just cushions and tables with very short legs. Day 163 22.06.05
Stayed Port St John
Went on an all day horse ride. We were picked up by Cat and driven across the river and up the coast a short way to a nearby traditional village. The village has a population of 1000 people. Of these 18 have local jobs and about 20 work in the gold mine in Jo'burg returning only twice a year.
A couple of years ago a tourism project was funded by the EU. The village was given some horses and they were taught how to ride and look after them. Now they offer a great day out while earning some income.
The village is spread out over a large hilly area. We were met at the top of a hill by JJ, our guide for the day, and the horses.
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We rode around the village across the local countryside with wonderful views across the rolling hills and along the deserted coast. negotiating past chickens, goats, pigs and a herd of (long horned) cows. At times we had to dismount as due to the torrential rain the previous day the paths were slippery and the horses managed the steep down hill bits better on their own.
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Up in the hills
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Coastline
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Arriving eventually at the beach we were surprised to find that we were proficient enough to manage to stay on as we galloped along the waters edge. At the far end of the beach was a huge cave, a cool place for the horses to rest.
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Cavers
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Then it was back up to the village for a very welcome traditional cooked lunch served in a round hut.
We completed the day with a final gung ho gallop back to our hilltop rendezvous with Cat.
We were interested to hear that her next door neighbours are a Swiss couple who drove a land Rover down through Africa a couple of years ago. They run a restaurant but Dan is a carpenter by trade.
As we are looking for someone to help us with a few adjustments to the landy interior we went along and met them. We have agreed that when we get the land rover back we will return and Dan will spend a couple of days sorting out a storage system. This is very fortuitous.
Too tired to cook after our active day we ate freshly caught fish at the Delicious Monster and were pleasantly surprised when Cat turned up in her other guise as a waitress! Day 164 23.06.05
Port St John to Oribi Gorge.
As we are nearing the end of Rhona and Richards holiday we went upmarket and stayed in the Oribi Gorge Hotel.
This area is where the Umzimkulu and Umzimkulweni rivers meet in a spectacular gorge with steeply wooded hillside.
Whereabouts of MOL Volta uncertain. It was due to dock in Durban today. A phone call to John the shipping agent establishes that he doesn't yet have the Bill of Lading so couldn't get it released anyway.. Further phone call to Toti Berg in Ghana -MOL have telexed it direct to the MOL office in Durban. Aren't the agents supposed to sort all this out??!! Day 165 24.06.05
Oribi Gorge to Durban
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At Oribi
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There are lots of activities on offer here including a giant swing out over the gorge but this was dismissed as being over too quickly and we opted for the walk/scramble/climb down the gorge to the bottom of the waterfall. Then of course we had to scramble/climb all the way back up again. Oh what fun to be on holiday with young people.
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The gorge
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Lunch at leopard rock café was on a balcony on the edge of another part of the gorge with the sun sparkling on the river far far below.
Then it was back to Paul and Christine's house in Durban. As they have spent a year travelling themselves they are very understanding about the needs of travellers and we have made ourselves at home. Very kindly they have said that even after R and R have returned home we are welcome to stay on until we finally manage to retrieve the Land Rover.
We are unsure if the Volta has docked and are frustratingly unable to contact the shipping agent. Day 166 25.06.05
Durban
Michele laid up unwell for the day. (salads are not a healthy option when eaten out!)
Steve trying to establish the whereabouts of the land Rover. Eventually tracking the container on the Internet he is able to establish that the ship docked yesterday evening. (Hurray) However this is now the weekend and things are further complicated by news that there will be a national general strike on Monday and probably another one on Wednesday. This will of course paralyse the docks.
R and R head off with Christine for a final surfing session. This is also complicated as the protective shark nets have been removed for the sardine run and the life guards are very jumpy about the possibility of sharks and keep ordering the swimmers out of the water. Day 167 26.06.05
A very sad day as we say goodbye to Richard and Rhona at Durban airport in the morning.
It was so good to be able to have them here and we will miss them a lot as we wont see them again until we are home at the end of the year.
Strangely having come out to join us on part of our trip they never saw the Land Rover!
We console ourselves with a visit to the Imax cinema to watch a documentary film of a raft expedition down the Nile from Ethiopia through Sudan to Egypt. This wets our appetite for the journey ahead and we wonder if we will be able to get visas for Sudan and if we should consider adding Egypt to the itinery. Day 168 27.06.05
Monday
Steve contacts John first thing and then MOL to find that although John had requested MOL to move the container to the customs area over the weekend, they haven't done so and now, due to the strike, it wont happen today. MOL promise us it will be moved after midnight at the end of the strike ready for customs in the morning. John is keen as are we for everything to be completed tomorrow as everything stops again on Wednesday for the second strike. So near and yet so far.
We make contact with David from Howling Moon as we need a couple of repairs to the roof tent as soon as we get it back. It turns out that he is based not far from where we are staying so we have arranged to go along as soon as we have the tent back.
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Paul and Christine demonstrate how to braai
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