Luxury living in Sanbonani.

Camping is great and the bush is great and living in a house with all your facilities under one roof and where it is warm is also great. Everything has its time and everything is appreciated for what it is. We arrived on Friday afternoon at Sanbonani in the Hazyview area. We booked through our Timeshare and we are in a 2 bedroom chalet with everything that opens and shuts, as well as a housekeeping service that means that we don’t even have to make the bed or do any washing up!

The chalets are on the banks of the Sabie river and it is beautifully situated. There are Hippos in the river and you hear them regularly and there are warning signs everywhere to remind city dwellers that hippos are around. On our way here on Friday we travelled through the Kruger Park from Malelane gate to Phaleni gate, which is a stone’s throw from Sanbonani. We were so lucky on that tripppie as we saw a Leopard, which is really a rare sighting. Dick has a photo to as proof. We were very chuffed. When we arrived here we unpacked all our stuff and settled in our home for the next week and we went for dinner at the restaurant on the estate on Friday evening. A break is a break and that included a night off from braaiing or cooking.

For the 3 full days that we have been here we have done washing and shopped and breakfasted and explored and went to Misty Mountain Inn for a G&T and had a pancake lunch in Graskop. Pancakes and pancake restaurants are very popular in this part of the world so we came on board and had pancakes as well. This is now not the ordinary “church fete “pancakes, no, these are designer pancakes.  I had a Chicken liver and cream pepper sauce pancake and Dick had Dutch bacon and cheese. Needless to say this had to be washed down with a glass of wine. Wow, what a Sunday lunch!!!

Just tha way Kruger look

Today we spent the best part of the day in the Kruger Park just travelling through some of the southern parts. We saw lots of animals and 5 birds which we have not seen at all on the holiday, as well as 3 Bateleurs, which we had seen before, however here they were sitting like in your face. We are keeping a “Holiday spotters list” and we mark every new bird off as we go along. So today we added the Ground Hornbill, an African Grey Hornbill, a Parrot, a Yellow billed Kite and a Coqui something. I haven’t got the book here now to confirm names. It is a lovely time to be in Kruger, as the grass is relatively low, although the Indigenous forest areas are still very green and lovely, especially along the Sabie river area in the park.

Groud hornbills strutting their stuff. A little like young attorneys!!

Impala at sunset

My Bateleur!!!

Swaziland Part 2 Correction

Clearly this was not a "Hippo roadblock" This was the Rhino roadblock. Hippos lodged an official complaint, so I had to correct it immediately!!!One cannot risk messing with a Hippo!!!

Swaziland Part 2.

So after our shopping experience at Manzini market we were on our way and off to Hlani Royal National Park, which was about 100 km away, in the Lowland area of Swaziland. It was a straight road and we were planning to be there by lunch time as we only had to buy wood along the way. Well that was also quite an experience. All along the way there were ladies selling wood. We stopped to get some and in the end we got a huge bag full for R35. The lady packed it in a bag and then she and Dick carried it across the highway which carries all the traffic, mostly trucks, to Maputo.

The wood bag behind the stack,which is the same amount in the bag, about to be carried across the highway

While Dick was buying wood, I was reading through the very good Swazi publication, called Discover Swaziland. In there was a description of the little town of Siteki, which was 1000 metres high and from where you can see the Indian Ocean on a clear day. There was also a little ad for a restaurant called R&B and talk of Pizza, which just sounded so enticing after all the braaiing that we do. We decided to take the 12 km detour and go for lunch there. Well the R&B of the ad and the real one were slightly different. We found a small and I mean small restaurant with 4 tables. When we sat down we were presented with finger bowls with hot water to wash our hands. There was not an indication of pizza on the menu or I just never saw it because right there on the menu was Pap and Stew, either beef or chicken. My mind was made up. It was going to be that and I was willing to take my chances with the chicken. Dick had the beef and in that little bit of Africa we had the best meal of our holiday, amongst the locals of the town and the friendliest of waitresses.

The R&B Restaurant.

Inside R&B with our "meal of the trip"

It was a short drive from Siteki to Hlani and we were there early afternoon. Real bush camping, with the only difference this time that we were right next to the bathroom and we felt like we had an “en suite” facility this time. This surely made up for the very distant facilities of the previous camp. We settled in and spent 3 nights and 2 days in this wonderful environment.   The park is not very big, cannot remember the size now, and there are 3 sections to it. In one area there are lions, but we only heard them at night, as they were off limits to the public at the time we were there. In another area were the Rhinos and Elephants and Hippos and we saw many of those. For the rest it was Impala and Nyala and Warthogs and MANY birds. One morning we booked to go on a “bird walk”. Well we were out on a Land Rover and were driving through the park with a well informed guide with good bird knowledge. We did do a bit of walking and we did see some birds, or more to the point, Dick saw some birds and I agreed. My bird spotting eyes are rather poor at the best of times and in the early morning it is poorer. Anyway, a good time was had by all.

Our new "anti-muggie" wine covers, bought at Manzini market.

Our camp set-up in Hlani. Did not even need the awning.

The next day we went on our own game drives in the park. We started off in the Rhino section in the morning and we did not get very far. On the first road that we took there were some Rhino very close to the road and it did not look like they were keen to move away, so we moved away and reversed and backtracked. We chose another road and again we were met by Rhinos in the road. We again turned back and chose another road, just to be met by more Rhinos. We gave up at that point and changed our route for the morning.  In the afternoon we went the other way and saw very little. There is a lovely waterhole by the camp and we saw Rhino lazing around all day and Elephants coming to drink and Hippos doing what Hippos do, which is nothing, other than the occasional snort.

The "Hippo Road block"

We left Swaziland on Friday morning via the Highlands area. We stopped at Pig’s Peak hotel for our last Swazi coffee and came back into SA at Jeffrey’s Reef. All in all we had a lovely time, met some great people, like the manager of the park, Glen, a ex SA guy who is passionate about his park, the couple from  Betty’s Bay who shared the campsite with us for 2 nights  and the great outdoors which you can only experience in the bush.

Last view over  the mountains.

 We honestly had a super time in this small country right here close to our country. The people were great and so passionate about their country and friendly beyond friendly. For me Swaziland differed from SA in one very big way and that is the positiveness that you experience all over. It was very refreshing.

Swaziland Part 1 continued...

The Beehive huts in Mlilwane. This is the Blesbok "camp"

The Market to beat all markets.

All these are made with plastic strips. I had to buy one. The colours are so vibrant

My personal candle maker who made my Hippo candle.

Audrey finishing off my Hippo for me.

Swaziland. Part One.

a wonderful time this was. We enjoyed every moment of our Swazi  experience, from the moment we crossed the border to our last cup of tea before we left again. We had many lovely individual experiences and found the people extremely friendly and positive about their country.

We left SA through the border post at Golela and headed towards Manzini. We stopped on the way to have lunch at  Nisela, a restaurant  along the road which forms part of the huge Nisela estate where they farm with  Sugar cane, Maize and all sorts.  Sugar cane farming is huge in Swaziland and you see kilometers of land under cane. I didn’t know it, but Sugar cane is one of the main forms of revenue for Swaziland. We headed on towards Manzini, which is a big city and sprawling over many hills. Not too far out of Manzini was our first campsite at Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary. It is a lovely place with all sorts of different accommodation, from Beehive huts, to cabins and then a campsite. There is a restaurant and bar as well, as none of the accommodation is self catering, other than obviously the camping, so all the guests have to make use of the facilities. There were not many guests while we were there, however on the Saturdays and Sundays they make big fires in several designated areas where there is then an opportunity for people to come and spend the day and braai and picnic. It seemed to be popular with the local folk, as we saw several groups there both days

Our campsite in Mlilwane

The tallest Blue Gums

Our campsite was rather removed from everything and the walk to the ablutions was a walk indeed. There were no other people in the campsite either , so we had all the facilities to ourselves. We set up a lekker home and we had 3 lovely nights there.  There are huge Blue Gum trees in the campsite which generates some scary sounds in the dark of the night. I woke  up one night and said to Dick that all our stuff will be wet  from the rain and it took some convincing from him that it was not rain, but the wind in the trees! The fact that there were no clouds could have been a clue!

The first day we walked in the reserve. The walk that we did was a self guided one and it took us through the forest and along the river and we saw many birds and hippos and generally had a great time. The weather was warm and we did not miss the cold and rain from Cape Town at all. We sat outside in the evenings in short sleeves and shorts and candles on the table.

The following day we went to do some of the touristy stuff in the area. The Wildlife reserve is in the Ezelweni valley, which is the area where all the hotels, like the Swazi Sun is and also where the King lives. It is in the Highlands of Swaziland and on the main tourist route. We first went to the glass factory at Ngwenya. That was on my “have to visit” list and I was not disappointed.  One can buy the Ngwenya glass in many shops in SA, however being able to stand on the viewing deck in the factory  and watching the guys doing the work just adds a dimension. Luckily we have a space restriction, not to mention a budget, so I was limited to what and how much I could buy. It was only 6 wine glasses in the end. There are also some really good craft places there and the temptation to buy was constantly there. One thing that was very apparent all over Swaziland was the fact that the people of the country and especially the women, are very involved in creating goods, whether it is weaving or sewing or whatever. There was a distinct absence of all the “African curios” that one sees everywhere from Cape to Cairo. There is a much more authentic feel to the crafty goods.

From the glass works we went to visit the “oldest mine in the world” where the ancestors to the Bushmen, some 43 000 yrs ago mined the first Hemitite. It did become a commercial operation from 1964 to 1977 when they mined High grade Iron ore, 28.3 Million tons, to be exact. This was all exported to Japan and would be enough to make all the cars in SA, Botswana and Swaziland today.

The next  day we went to another stop on my “list”of stops. It was the Swazi Candles factory and retail outlet. Dick had often spoken about Audrey from Swazi candles a now I was about to meet her. What a lovely lady. She greeted me like I was her old friend, in typical Swazi fashion, and thanked Dick for bringing his wife along. Clearly she knew a “candle “person when she saw one. Well, what a fascinating place to be. Other than the fluted candles, all the candles are hand sculptured and it really depends on the mood of the candle maker on the particular day as to what he makes.  I will never again look at a little Rhino or Hippo candle and think it is “kitsch”. Just do yourself a favour and go and see it being made. Every candle starts off with a block of wax, which is warmed in the “candle oven”. Once it is moldable the candle maker decides what to make and he then gets going and sculptures his ‘design of the day”. They also cover the wax with a design layer and that is where the colour or pattern comes from. I watched him making a hippo and as unlike I would have been to buy a design hippo previously, so much I wanted to have the hippo I watched being made. They finished it off for me and I bought it. I am sure I will never light that candle. It would be like eating a pet.

The next stop was Manzini Market. African Market at its best. There is something of everything and in the true sense a shopping mall, but without the involvement of the property developers. It covers a huge area and there are very clear demarcations. There is an area for sewing, hair cutting, muti, cobblers and you name it, it is there. I bought a bit of this and a bit of that and a brightly coloured shopping basket. Again, we could have spent  much longer and bought much more, but we didn’t!!!

I have some pics I want t o add in here, but the signal is so weak, I cannot get it to down load. Will give it a bash tomorrow.

And the we were off to Hlani and that is Part 2.

On our way to Umkhuze Game reserve.

We left Tugela with heavy hearts and a box full of pottery from Suzie, the local potter. We stopped off at Mandini, the town closest to Tugela as I wanted to buy some meat there for the next stage of our trip. You can buy beef fillet there for  R79 per kilo and they are big fillets. The local folk are not into fillet. They prefer heads and feet and guts and stuff like that, so the fillets get frozen and you have to ask the butcher for some and then they fetch it from the “fillet freezer”.

 I must say visiting that SuperSpar is an experience. It is a cross between a Spar as we know it and a Macro. The ordinary area is much smaller and then the rest is a “bulk buying” area, but the meat section is my best. There is no pre-packed meat really. There are just the huge masses of frozen chicken and you obviously as for a quantity. Next to it is a huge fridge with lose frozen mixed veggies and then there is a section just with frozen chicken feet. We didn’t buy any chicken. At the butcher it is heads of any sort, loose guts and stuff. I didn’t look too closely and then a sausage, which is clearly very popular, as there was a massive quantity of it being processed. It looked something like fat pork sausages, which I am sure it was not, and a guy was separating them one by one and dumped them into a huge white container. This is not happening in the fridge, just there in the path of the customers. I tell you, African retail at it’s best.

The Spar complex is huge and there are a few other shops as well, but right in the middle in the front sits the owner. I would guess a good traditional Jewish trader,  at his “work station” with a cigarette in his hand and a laden ashtray in front of him. I assume that nobody in their right mind will dare challenge him regarding “smoking laws”. We also guessed that not only the Spar, but also most of the surrounding businesses and the garage all belonged to him, as they all carried the same name. Must be a dying breed of business people in S.A.

We travelled on the R103 as far as Empangeni in order to avoid the Toll road. Along that road it is just Cane fields and more Cane fields and then large forestry areas in between. The landscape also gets flatter and there are not as many huts along the way. We stopped for a roadside lunch at Empangeni at what in its time surely was a regular stop for many travelers.  It was good for us for the mini pizza bought on the way and our daily anti malaria drink of and Gin and Tonic. Not long after the lunch stop we stopped for our dessert. This was at a roadside market that sells fresh fruit and veggies and crafty type of stuff. Anyway this is one of Dick’s regular stops with his groups and we had a pineapple lolly!. The lady peels the whole pineapple and cuts away some of the leaves and then you eat it like a lolly. It was delicious.

Pineapple "lolly"

Closer to Mkuzi the landscape changes again and it becomes more African bush. That is o, so good to see that, the bush and then the beginnings of the Lebombo mountains on the right as we were travelling. We got to Umkhuzi Game Reserve early afternoon a as we were staying in a Rest hut  we did not have to set up camp and we were off on a game drive. This is one of the oldest game reserves in the country and it is relatively small, if one were to compare it to Kruger, etc. The rest huts are fully equipped,, however you have shared ablutions and a central kitchen area. This was no problem as we were one of 3 huts in use the one night and alone the next night.

We were not very lucky with our game spotting on the first night but the next day we were doing a whole lot better. We spent about 2 hours at a waterhole in the morning and we witnessed the “Animal Planet” being acted live for us. There were a few different herds of Wildebeest that came drinking at different times. They all run for the water and then within a few minutes they take off as if there was a great looming danger. Then the Zebras that walk right into the water and stand dead still for minutes while they sip up the water and then fart- fart they are off again. Then the Warthog come and they kneel at the edge of the water and drink and the 2 big daddies came for their mudbath. What a sight to see. They waddle and scuffle and look so funny and when they done they walk off sort of stiff legged and “windgat”.One was still having his mudbath when another one approached and there was nearly big drama. Then there were the single male Impala chasing the young ladies around and snorting and grunting and generally behaving like teen agers. And so it went on and on. That is why we are having such a good time and not missing TV!!!

There are lots of Impala and Nyala , Zebra and Wildebeest in the park, however we also saw about 15 Giraffe and many a Warthog. It is also a wonderful place for spotting birds and we saw quite a few that we could tick off on our “holiday spotting list” Our best was the fact that we had a Nightjar that came out every night to sit on the Electricity pole outside our hut and hunt from there. Needless to say we could not identify which one it was, as I think the only way to identify a nightjar is when it is dead.

And  so 2 wonderful days in a wonderful place ended and off we were for the town of Mkuzi on Saturday morning and from there on to Swaziland. Just outside the park we were met with2 young “dancing boys” in the road. They could not have been more than 8 years old. Clearly the objective of dancing in the middle of the road was to get some money, but sorry, not from us!. As we drove past, Dick saw one of them picking up a stone and throwing it at us. Well, never before has the Terracan stopped so fast and went into reverse so fast. I think those 2 boys were up on the hills faster than they had ever done that before. I am also sure they never expected us to reverse. A few non publishable words were yelled at them.

We stopped in Mkuzi at the Ghost Mountain Inn to have a long time promised G+T and to say Hi to Christine the GM of the Hotel. Dick has often stayed there on his trips and it was lovely just to sit down and have a chat to her and enjoy the sun and the splendid environment .  It is a beautiful set up and real “Colonial Style” hotel.  It is also lovely for me to see and experience the places that he has been to and often talk about.

Tugela

This is indeed a place so close to heaven you cannot even begin to imagine it. It is a place with a soul, filled with memories and love. We arrived here late afternoon on Monday after the lunch stop at Sea Belle for the world famous Prawn Curry. We just knew we had to stop as Carl would not understand that one can travel past there on your way to Tugela and not stop for a proper taste of the North Coast. It is indeed not a place to pass.

Sea Belle and the Prawn curry

This is another of the Nauhaus homes where many people come to stay and to share and to fellowship. It is filled with memories of Toti and you sense her presence everywhere and it is wonderful. We have walked on the beach, we have sat in the sun, we have braaied outside, we  have cleaned the pool and drank wine and sat in bed staring at the sea and generally just chilled. If you cannot find inner peace here, you are indeed a lost soul. We just love it here and we are so grateful for having the opportunity to spend a few days here. The Tugela mouth  is on the one side and the Lighthouse on the other. What more do you need?

View of the Tugela mouth

Pharos the Lighthouse

Today is Voting day and we hope and pray all goes well. I must say we have not seen great voting activity in the rural areas as we travelled along, other than the odd poster. Obviously the cities were postered up everywhere. Luckily we are no exposed to TV currently so we are missing out on all the propaganda.

Durban memories

On Sunday we went to visit the Ushaka Marine world. It is an aquarium by another name, however well worth visiting. I really tried hard to take photos inside the aquarium of swimming fish, but no way. Not even a chance of getting anything in focus. The whole aquarium is built as if it is a shipwreck. Very cleverly done.

Stone fish. Not swimming!!

A Spotted Eagle Ray

A wake up call

After this touristy bit we were off to visit some old friends of Dick who live on the Bluff. What a lovely time we had. It just confirmed the old saying again: “Make new friends but keep the old, as the new ones are silver, but the old ones are gold”. True friends are a rare commodity indeed, so we felt blessed on Sunday to be able to share time and a meal with them.

We spent our last night in the lovely home in Kloof, with the absent landlord, but well looked after by George, the housekeeper and was off early on Monday morning and back to the Hyandai dealer where we had spent a large part of Saturday morning. Like so many time after you have been to a garage, there was a new problem as a result of the fixing of the previous one. Anyway this was sorted out and by 11.30 we were off to do a bit of shopping and for Dick to go and visit the Thompson Travel ladies and by 1 we were on the road and off to Tugela mouth.

So Durban to me was about meeting and spending time with lovely people, both on Saturday and Sunday, experiencing the hospitality of more people, getting to know the Hyundai dealership in Springfield and at last finding good wine at a good price at Makro. We did some “test buying” on Saturday and then I went back on Monday to get a case of the “specially bottled for Makro” wine called escape at R20 per bottle, so it is GOOD BYE to PnP box wine for now!!!! 

A Day in Durban

Well the day was set aside for some touristy stuff, however the Terracan had to have the Oil Seal on the Diff replaced. (No real idea what that means, other than it could be very costly if not done) So off we were to Hyandai,Springfield, which are open on a Saturday morning. This was no casual “pop-in”, it was well planned and organized and booked and all and sundry knew about it and us arriving. We were there at 8 and left the car there for 2 hours and headed off to the nearest Wimpy for breakfast. Well we breakfasted, walked through the shops, went to Makro across the road, went to price their wines and then went back to the garage. Was the car ready????? An hour later, yes!

Back to Makro to get some wine and then we headed to the Moses Mabhinda stadium, as I wanted to do the ride to the top with the little funicular. We me a friend of Dick’s there and the 3 of us went of on the ride, pensioner’s discount and all! 

The stadium

On the way up

The view from the top is well worth the trip as you have a view of all sides of the city. Nothing like Cape Town, as Durban is built on many hills. Even the squatter camps look good here. The stadium is also located right next to Kingmead, the home of the Sharks and that is “holy ground” in this part of the world. I thought the people in Cape Town were passionate about the Stormers, but let me tell you we are NOTHING compared to the Sharks supporters in Natal. They are just everywhere even when the Sharks are not playing!

Speaks for itself. Note Terracan in reflection

After the stadium we went into the centre of town and took a walk through the Workshop, which is a mall redeveloped on the site of the old railway workshops. It is just a mall, but outside there was activities galore. When we got there we noticed a huge gathering and the car guard informed us that it was “church”. Well there was a huge crown and a preacher who spoke in Zulu, I assume, and an interpreter who translated instantly into English. It nearly sounded like those songs we used to sing in junior school where the one lot started and then the next lot would fall in singing the same words. Cannot remember what we used to call it. Fraire Jacque was one. It must have been some religious message as we could make out some words like “Jesus” but there was a lot of hype alright. When we came out of the centre later there was a “music interval”.

The Crowd listening to the Preacher

An Historical sign

The city is colourful and there is a lovely vibe all around. I suppose it is so as it was a Saturday. We walked around and id a bit of the historical stuff and then we went to the Wilson Wharf for a spot of lunch. Lovely day and tomorrow we are going to do the uShaka Marine world and then off to visit friends for lunch.

Tugs at work

The road to Durban

We left The Drakensberg on a cool morning with snow on the mountain tops. Not a lot of snow, but it had a definite impact on the temperature. We travelled in the normal way, which is of the beaten track and more rural and hilly than the main road and thus the scenery is always well worth it. We went through some little town and the one in attached picture sort of an indication as to what has happened in some of the small villages with the building of the major highways.

Snow on the Drakensberg

Himeville Arms(visited the day before)

Even the Chinese did'nt make it

We stopped to have lunch in Richmond at the “something” Pub and Grill. There was nowhere else, I have to add and there was also nothing to eat at the Pub and Grill. Dick got us each a glass of red wine and I fetched the leftover chicken legs and cheese and pro-vita from the car (much to Dick’s disgust) and we ate our own lunch on the stoep. Nothing happened and in my mind it was a “win-win” situation!

Once we had done lunch it was one way to Durban, or rather Kloof, where we are staying for the next few days. Our friend, Bruce, has left the house to us for 3 days, while he is away and we are more than grateful to him. It is a beautiful house, high on a hill, overlooking some part of the city. There is the massive, stunning garden and we are feeling very blessed to be here.

Tomorrow morning off to go and to some touristy stuff in Durbs

The end of the week in the "Berg"

And so this also comes to an end. Warm housy, DSTV, heater and all the creature comforts. Tomorrow we are off to Durban for do a few touristy  things, have a Diff lock seal replaced and to meet a few people. We are staying in a friend's house, however he is away for the week end as it is his daughter's birthday and she lives in JHB. So we are squatting in his house. Nothing wrong with that as it is a very widely practiced SA custom. We have agree not to remove anything, due to the fact that we do not have space to pack anything extra!!
The "Berg" was great, although it was chilly this week. We have seen snow on the high peaks for the last 3 days. I said to Dick that  the Drakensberg to me was "autumn". The colours and the falling leaves and just the general feel of a changing season was just so apparent. It was lovely. I just love autumn as it is such a rich in colour season.. The poor ground staff here spend days trying to rake up all the leaves.
There are some lovely walks around here and we have done a few. After a lovely "comfort food" lunch of pizza and red wine I went for along walk. Up the Plateau, with Eland on the hills and some magnificent scenery. These mountains are not mickey mouse mountains. I must have walked for 2 hours and it is totally safe here. It is wonderful.
Weel, as they say: " All good things come to an end" and now for the next exciting chapter!!

A lazy day

Yesterday was just that but in the late morning we decided to go and explore the world around us. Well first stop was Underberg Cheesery. They make a variety of great cheeses and only supply to local Delis and to the Real Cheese and Get Stuffed Enterprises in Cape Town. Lovely variety of cheeses and the Cheese lady herself was there to talk us through her cheeses. Needless to say we left with a few different cheeses just to add flavour to our journey.As we left it started raining and I mean RAINING. Bucketed down and by the time that we got to Underberg, a mere 5 km away it was thunder and lightning and Dick into the Info centre and me into the Lemon Tree Coffee Shop. The idea was to find out what there was to do and see in the immediate "omgewing" and then go and do it. Well with the rain and thunder and all that , the only thing logical left for us was to do was to visit the Himesville Arms Hotel and the local pub there and to have a bottle of Red wine. It is an OLD hotel with a very old pub and it is clear that it has seen many a happy night, especially from the Trout fishing fraternity. Not sure how it is positioned at the moment, but it was cold outside and there was a fire inside and the new manager joined us to warm up at the fire. She ensured us that she has only been there for about 2 weeks and already the locals are coming back and things are looking up. Takes some skill to turn a business around that rapidly. Sure many f would at some time or other had wanted such a "wunderkid"in our worlds. We can only wish her the best. I must say Himeville is a lovely little town only 5km away from Underberg. It is truelly a beautiful part of the world.

Sani Pass

Monday morning dawned crisp and clear after all the rain from the night before. We decided that this was indeed the Sani Pass day. We were up and showered by 7.30 and then the mist came down. Thick as pea soup and all you could hear were the drops falling off the trees. It was otherwise completely quiet. It was 6degrees when we left, nogals chilly.

We decided to go anyway and to check when we get closer to Sani if it would be worth going up or not. Well we stopped at Sani Park Hotel for a coffee and it looked like it was lifting and we carried on in the hope that things will improve. Well, improve they did. As you can see the mist had nearly lifted completely and the 12 Apostles were just about clear.

The 12 Apostles clearing for us

Crossing Borders

The road up as far as the SA border is rough, but in no way difficult and you are allowed to go that far  with a normal car, that is now a non 4x4. From the border onwards it gets decidedly rougher, like you would expect on a gravel pass. The scenery is awesome. It is just so big and beautiful and the mountains are so majestic. The views back down the valley is just nearly overwhelming

The view down the valley.

The rough part on the GPS

The real tough part of the pass is the last 1.5 km. That is the real Sani challenge. It is everything that any picture shows and the at best a think a challenge to the driver. Dick did a great job and was in his element, but there was definitely no stopping once we got going on that bit, plus you are contantly aware that you have to go down the same road again.

The view up the pass

 You are still crawling and turning tight corners the one minute and then ”whoeps” you are at the top and on the plateau in Lesotho. You have to go through the border post again and “nogals” pay a R30 “toll fee” Not sure what that gets used for, but we just pay and smile and say thank you very much for the privilege to be there.

If you travel a further  10 km along the Swartberg pass, this is now not the Oudtshoorn one, you get to the highest road in Southern Africa at 3217 metres . It is a rough road yet again, but the nice thing was that along the way we saw some Lesotho kraals and we also met Joseph on the horse. I asked if I could take a picture and he said ok, but I must pay, so I asked how much and the price was R10. Unfortunately I only had R20, so I got to take 3 pictures. He was very satisfied with the result when I showed it to him!!

Joseph, my R20 model

Lunch was at the Sani top chalet/restaurant. It was still chilly and we justified having a glass of red wine and some comfort food. Dick had a hamburger, but I opted for the Homemade veggie soup with freshly baked bread. The waiter said that he does not think that I will be able to finish it and I thought otherwise, however I was beaten. The soup was delicious and the bread was about the size of half a normal loaf and freshly baked with what looked like home ground flour. I brought the rest home and we had it for supper

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The journey back was quiet and uneventful, other than the fact that the mist was back. Every now and then you would hear the bells from the goats that hang on the slopes of the mountain. How the heck they walk there, I really don’t know. Low and behold, I looked up and I saw a man walking there as well, with a pile of wood on his shoulder. I sure he must have been an Afican Spiderman.

 We had been and seen and conquered the Sani pass, which was on the list of “to do’s” for this holiday. We have driven over many passes and especially 2 years ago in Ethiopia, however the Sani is up there with the best and rates high in terms of spectacularity!! 

The way down

Lesotho Kraal

Thankful for a Chalet

Gee, am I grateful for a warm and cozy little chalet today. We had some rain last night and this morning it was sort of semi overcast and we went for a long walk. Early afternoon we went to buy some wood for a Sunday afternoon braai and then the temperature suddenly dropped and the rain came down. Now snuggled inside next to the heater and drinking PnP No Name Brand red wine from a box! Trying to get affordable red wine in this part of the world is not as easy as driving to Perdeberg and loading up on under R20 a bottle good wine. I suppose one has to suffer one way or the other.
The chicken is now in the oven and the newly acquired wood is indoors keeping dry, hopefully for tomorrow. Weather SA promises clear skies for tomorrow and if they can be believed, we will be off to drive the Sani Pass.

Now in the Drakensberg.

We left Port Shepstone, or rather Southport and Klein Paradys, our camp site and set out for Underberg via the long and rural road. Although the rural road, we were mostly on tar. We travelled  through Sugar cane fields, maize fields, hills and valleys and the home of Clover cows, where the grass is green and the milk is white ”clever cows”.

I am attaching a photo of a “Post Net and Foto First” one stop shop. This “shop’ was situated on the shoulder of the road, which must have been all of 1 metre wide. The first thing I saw was the camera and I still said to Dick to be careful as there is a speed camera on the road, only to realize that I t was actually a “business site”. The guy manning the business was inside and as he is situated on a busy road, both truck wise and pedestrian wise, I suppose he understands his customer base well. The fact that there is no parking available is not a problem, as parking along the motorway is quite common, mostly just to chat to a friend or a passerby. In the rural area that is like the Internet, I suppose.

"Post Net + Foto First" 

As we got closer to the Drakensberg the signs of autumn became more and more apparent. All the trees were in their autumn colours, ranging from yellow to rich red. It reminded us of the UK in autumn. The roads are very narrow and there is no place to stop to take pictures, however I attach a pic taken out of the moving car, through the windscreen, just to show the splendor of it all.

Through the Windscreen

We arrived at our destination in the Drakensberg just before 3pm, starving hungry and thirsty and immediately went to test the Bistro’s pizzas and coffee. It passed the test with flying colours and then we went to check into our little chalet. It is so nice and cosy. We unpacked all our stuff and settled in, as we are going to be here for a week. Suddenly we have  a lovely big bed, with good linen, 2 bathrooms and all of this under the same roof!! It is fantastic just to have the home comforts again for a while and we are enjoying it. All the washing is now done and we are listening to music. We even have a TV, if we wanted to get close to “normal” life, but we are still stalling on that one. We are in Mountain view cottage no. 3, called Oak. The view is stunning and the mountain is awesome and close to us. There are several hikes/walks that we can do and we will do some, definitely not the one to Rhino peak, which is an 8 hour hike. One day is set aside to go and drive Sani Pass. One cannot come this close and not go and experience that.

Up to now we have been in shorts and t-shirts, but this has now changed as it is sort of coldish here. They have already had some frost, so winter is fast approaching in the “Berg”.

On the way to Mbotyi

On our last morning at Chermorne, our camp at Port St Johns we were woken up, well before dawn with the frantic “KAA, KAA” calls of the Hadedas. Who knows what their mission for the day was, but they were making sure that all were on board. In reply to this there was the far more pleasant to the ear call of the Fish Eagle, backed up by the squawky “wha,wha,wha” of the Gippy geese.  It was misty and  Mt  Thesinger looked eerie in the early morning.

We were off and had said good bye to the couple and their friend from Somerset East who we had met in Dwesa and along the way. They were on their way back home and back to work on Tuesday, well for us the picture was different, as we were heading for Mbotyi further along on the Wild coast. We did not have far to go and we stuck to the R61 as far as Lusikisiki as there were no gravel roads linking Port St Johns and our destination.   Again rolling hills and huts dotted all along them.  We were in Lusikisiki at about mid day and being a Sunday the town was buzzing. There were people and taxis and bakkies everywhere. The shops were busy and people were standing in queues for whatever was available, whether it was live chickens, freshly baked bread or Moneymarket.  Needless to say, all the proper banks were closed. We ventured into the Shoprite and I was pleasantly surprised with the offer and the way the shop looked.  We even found some Brinjals!

From Lusikisiki, which means “the sound that the wind makes in the reeds” we headed off to Mbotyi  on another challenging gravel road. In the Terracan, with slightly deflated tires the road is rough, but we saw a guy doing the trip in a little Sparky light. A hired car, maybe? Along the road you pass hectare upon hectare of tea plantations, rolling hills covered  all the way.  This is the Magwa tea estate, which no longer operates. Until about 2 years ago it was still one of the biggest employers in the area, however the unions moved in and the tea estate came to a grinding halt and it is still halted. It is a rather sad state of affairs, but I suppose all the tea comes from China, is that not what we always heard! We passed the factory buildings on our way to see the Magwa falls and it just looks like everybody just  upped and left and that years and years of work just stopped.

The Magwa falls are one of many waterfalls in the area. They are about 140metres high, but there was not much water in at the time. It is a beautiful sight. We had some self appointed guides, with minimal knowledge of the English language, but none the less keen to guide you to the view points and even keener to try and make you understand who the main players are in the game. We started off with 2 guys and then there were 4 and when we got to the car there were about 10. Tipping proved to be huge challenge. They just about got onto the car and that after we had parted with every single bit of change that we had.

Mbotyi itself is a little community village and the Lodge forms the centre of this. We stayed in the camp site which is managed by the lodge and the community on a 50/50 basis. The lodge itself and particularly Tuffy Kirsten the manager, is very involved with the community and plays a major role in the upliftment of the people. The camp site is a gem. There are only 12 sites and when we were there only 3 of the sites were occupied. We had a private spot with our braai, our tap and our view. Does not take much to make a great camp site and on top of it there were plenty HOT showers. The camp “manager” was a lovely lady with the name, Nomvuneku. She cleaned up and organized wood and was there to see to all our needs and she was so pleasant. We really sensed that people was proud about what they have.

For the 3 days that we were there we walked and walked and walked. The first day we walked along the beach and then back through the village. That must have been 5 km. The next day we walked along the beach again but much further to see a waterfall and to climb up the Sugar loaf Mountain. That return trip must have been at least 9 km and we were “lekker moeg” after that one. On the 3^rd day we left the camp and drove about 38km to a spot where we parked and then walked +-4km to see the waterfall that falls directly into the sea, one of 20 in the world. There was not a lot of water in it, but it is still a magnificent sight to see. The walk is along the true Wild Coast. The waves break onto the rocks all along and it is wild and beautiful. The walk is part of the Amopondo trail, which is part of the whole Wild Coat hiking trail. The walking is easy and you are on the foothills all the way. We did not see another person on the walks on any of the days. This waterfall walk we did in true hiking style, with a flask of tea and P-nut butter sarmies!  One can get so sucked into the country side and the remoteness of it all that city life seems so unreal and irrelevant.

View from Mbotyi Camp site

Magwa Tea plantation

Cows on the beach

Mount Thesinger, Port St. Johns

Magwa Falls "Guides"

Waterfall Bluff

On Wednesday morning we treated ourselves to breakfast at the lodge and then we were off to Port Shepstone on the South coast of KZN via Port Edward and a burger at Bobbies on the Beach.  We had arranged to visit Jacque and her boys who used to live in Cape Town and moved to this area when her husband, Dave died in 2008. He was a great friend of Dick. She lives in a Southport and we booked into a camp site close by and spent an evening with them. Today was a “working day”. That means we have to stock up on supplies and go to shops and have the car washed and go to the bank and so all those things that is so mundane and not of the bush. You have to face taxis and queues and sit and wait for all the mud to be washed from underneath the Terracan, however the wine was finished and that can be a real problem, especially as we are off to the Drakensberg in the morning.