Turban Durban, South Africa

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Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban

Thora and Ken had managed to get us a ride to Durban with an old friend of theirs, Stan, and for eighty-five years old, he was doing pretty well! Stan was picking up his daughter from the airport - an hour away - which was perfect for us. All we had to do was catch a shuttle into Durban itself. We only spent a couple of days in Durban. A big city is a big city after all, and it didn't even feel very 'African'. We did go to Victoria Street Market with our dorm room-mates from the Happy Hippo Hostel, who had a car and therefore easy access to get out around town. Durban's famous Indian market was interesting and eclectic, but all Martin and I were interested in was… food! It was almost five in the afternoon and we hadn't eaten anything since 8am! Luckily, the market also had food stalls akin to greasy spooners, but with an Indian twist. 'Bunny Chow' is the local "delicacy" of beef or chicken curry in a dug-out loaf of bread with the bread chunk served on the side. It was surprisingly good and went well with delicious samosas and Indian chilli-bites!

Michelle at the ray tank in uShaka

Durban is a large city (about 4.5 million people) by the sea and we checked out the recently rejuvenated waterfront area just round the corner from our hostel. Being a Saturday, families were out and about while the young and hip were enjoying drinks and appies at the trendy pier bar; kids were playing on the beach while recreational fisherman were casting off from the shore in the hope of catching that evening's dinner. As for us, we ended up doing something we never do - going to an aquarium. We had heard great things about Durban's "Sea World" (uShaka) and with its vast swimming areas it definitely was very impressive and very well done. The backdrop for the aquarium itself was a large shipwrecked vessel with a labyrinth of displays winding through its 'hull' and interior. You name it, they had it.  Large shark tanks, ray tanks, reef predators, and plenty of interesting and outrageous fish.  The four star restaurant area was also set in the monster ship with views of the sharks and fish in it's three 'boiler rooms'. The outdoor displays were cute too with penguin feeding and dolphin displays. Martin and I don't go in for zooey-type things but uShaka seemed to be doing its bit for education and protecting South Africa's endemic sea life and coast.  * Mush

Wild Winds and Floods in Mtunzini, South Africa

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Breakfast with Thora and Ken in Imfolozi

A few months ago, we had a fleeting meeting with a gentleman named Ken in Kruger Park whilst washing clothes and dishes.  Ken had sailed extensively around the world in different locations, with his wife Thora.  He generously invited us to come and stay with them in Mtunzini, and was probably a little surprised when we actually showed up!!!  Ken and Thora were very hospitable, and for us they supplied us with such treats as:
- a bed (and in our own room)
- hot showers
- a roof over our head
- a kitchen with usable crockery and pots/pans

Seriously though, we were very lucky on the timing, as we had been camping for many days before Mtunzini, and the day we arrived, so did the storms.  We were so happy to be not sleeping in our tents when the torrential rain and 80 km/h winds hit for 2-3 days.  The winds blew down many trees around the town and the river flooded it's banks.  The weather didn't allow us to go out much, but we enjoyed Ken and Thora's company, whilst looking at their sailing photos from across the globe.  Oh yeah, we drank lots of wine and liquers (Thora makes her own)!!!

The spooked rhino 10 ft beside the car

Back in Kruger, Ken suggested taking us to Imfolozi National Park for some more Big 5 opportunities.  The weather finally cooperated and we spent a nice day in the park.  A highlights was rounding a corner a seeing a huge rhino only 10 feet from the road beside the car, and then having him charge off into the bush and luckily not towards the car!!  We did see some good wildlife including an elephant, more rhinos, zebras, giraffes and more, but no big cats like we were hoping.  Two delicious meals in the park at different camps, and then an adventurous drive home via some backroads completed a great day out exploring with them.  Thanks Ken and Thora for your hospitality and keeping us out of the rain!!!   *Stub

A bee eater coming in for landing

St. Lucia Estuary, South Africa

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St. Lucia Beach

Another travel day, this time with a border crossing from Swaziland to St. Lucia, South Africa.  We just missed the bus departing at 8AM because it was full, so we had to wait for the next one to fill up - 2 more hours of sitting around.  It's really just plain luck - you never know when to try to catch one of these mini-vans.  You could be the first or the last to get on at any time of day, and your wait time depends on your luck!!
They were really nice though, and our driver was a good one.  A bit of a wait at the border for all the goods on the trailer, but Michelle and I were happy because we had asked for another 3 month visa, and the border guy was nice enough to give it to us!!  We could have been stuck with a 30 day visa, and then have to extend, but he must have liked the 'cut of our jib'.
On our arrival to St. Lucia, we were greeted by two friendly faces.  Lee and Maquinna had stayed at Sundowners also, and were heading the same direction as us.

Sunrise in iSimangaliso Wetlands Park

St. Lucia is famous for the iSimangaliso Wetlands Park (St. Lucia Wetlands), which was the first Unesco World Heritage Site in South Africa.  It stretches 280 km North to the Mozambique border and contains the largest estuary in Africa.  It protects five different ecosystems, including the estuary wetlands, lakes, off-shore reefs, dunes, and coastal forests.  Unfortunately, it is struggling with very low water levels due to droughts and high water usage upstream.  This will obviously affect the flora and fauna contained in the park. 
We headed to the beach after our first night, with Lee and Maquinna.  Lee had hoped to go spear fishing, and catch some dinner, but we had trouble hitching to our desired destination of Cape Vidal, so settled for the town beach.  After a cool lunch on the beach, Michelle and I walked back to town along the beach and then boardwalk, with views out to the estuary.  Hippos and crocodiles are abundant here, and often in the evenings, there are hippos wandering the back streets of town. 

We think these are hippopotamus footprints in the dried concrete

We saw a couple of each in the estuary, but luckily none in town.  Hippos actually are the most dangerous animal in Africa, accounting for more deaths than any other creature.  I think mainly due to their poor eyesight, and territorial instincts, and the fact that most people think they are harmless.  They can actually run up to 35 km/h - CRAZY!!  Try outrunning that mass at that speed - lots of momentum behind them.
Since a safari trip to the iSimangaliso is quite expensive, we decided to self drive ourselves in a little toaster-oven of a car we rented for 2 days.  First day, we visited the cheetahs at the cat sanctuary, then we hit the road at 6AM to get an early start in the park.  There were some nice animals in the park, but not as abundant as other parks we have visited.  We did have nice views of hippos playing in a pond, 6 rhinos in the distance past other game, and spent some time at a fancy new 'hide' built near a good waterhole.  

Sunset in iSimangaliso Wetlands Park

It seemed everywhere there was a concrete path, there were some type of cat footprints, and once a weird 4 toed tracks, that we found out was hippo.  It was nice to be able to cruise around ourselves, through the various terrain and ecosystems.  Stopping for a nice break on the beach at Cape Vidal, I decided against a swim as the seas were rough, and looked quite chilly. 
After a long day out, we arrived at the backpackers to find they had a Zulu dancing show by the fire pit.  It was interesting to see them high leg kicks, foot stomping, and heavy drum beats.  Very staged, but the group enjoyed as they asked all to come up and dance as well.    Off to Mtunzini next to visit a lovely couple that we met in Kruger Park in late August.   I think we will have our own bedroom, laundry, and hot showers - some things we are both very much looking forward to.  *Stub

"I Tawt I Taw a Puddy Tat" - Emdoneni Lodge, Hluhluwe, South Africa

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Juba the Cheetah

While we were in Swaziland the first time, we met some students on a three week volunteer trip of South Africa. One of their projects had been a cat sanctuary in Zululand looking after Cheetahs and African Wild Cats.

Martin and I are not into zoos at all, but couldn't resist the chance to stroke a big cat!
It seemed that seeing St Lucia and its parks were quite expensive on tours, so we decided to hire a car to get around and see some of the sights at our own pace (and definitely more cheaply).  Luckily, I vaguely remembered at the last minute about the cat sanctuary recommendation!!

The two male cheetahs

Michelle with two male Cheetahs

Emdoneni Lodge was only a forty five minute drive north of St. Lucia, and when we arrived there was no one around while we waited for the tour to start. Just as we were thinking we might be the only ones there and get to enjoy some great time with the cats by ourselves, suddenly car after car pulled up with bundles of parents and kids (probably about 40 in the end).  Our timing was clearly, off - it was a Saturday and probably the worst time to do something like this.  So we were not to enjoy the cats in relative peace. In spite of this, it still turned out to be a very cool experience. We learned about the four different types of cats that they have at the sanctuary - four African Wild Cats, eight Caracols, nine Servals and then saving the best 'til last - four cheetahs. The wild cats looked just like domestic alley cats to us. The Caracols were perhaps the most interesting with their tufted ears (like a lynx) and they could jump about 3m to catch the meat slung over the fencing in mid-air.

Our favourites, of course, were the cheetahs. So beautiful and placid. Everyone had a chance to pet them and have their photo taken with the great cats. We spent quite a time stroking them and just chilling with them. It was surprising how the trainers were quite generous with the time, considering the group was so large!!  They seemed very placid and and you could tell that they really enjoyed being petted and stroked. There eyes would be semi-closed in bliss while they purred like a 1200cc motorcycle from distance - just like an overgrown house cat!  One of them rolled over on to Martin's foot and he almost gave it a tummy rub... but who knows what might have happened - like most domestic cats you don't touch their tummies or their tails. The special moment for me was when Juba started licking my hand and wouldn't stop. His tongue was super rough!

It was a profound and puuurrrfect experience. * Mush

Quick Pass Through Swaziland

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With new friends at Sundowners

Apparently, the road south from Maputo is a 4x4 only to Ponta D'Ouro and South Africa.  We decided to just retrace our steps and head back into Swaziland and visit our friends at Sundowners Backpackers on our way back towards South Africa.  Only 2 hours wait for the bus to fill up in Maputo, and leave this time - Not bad!!!  The border was a little long probably because a lady was trying to bring over a big box of prawns!!!
It was nice to be back, but we were surprised to find out that the previous staff had been let go, and the other traveler/workers were not there at that time.  But very nice to see the owners Sergio and Paula, and we were treated to a delicious braai (BBQ) that night.  We met some new friends there too also, and had some fun nights!
I helped do some more prep and painting work on the exterior walls, as they are making some major upgrades to the place.  Should look really great when they are done!  They are also building some stand -alone units!  I've never been to a backpackers where so many travelers were just keen to get in and help with the place!!  Everybody seemed to help out working there, and Sergio/Paula were gracious and generous in return!!
We had hoped to go up to the orphanage again to see the kids and Rachael/Alanna, but unfortunately the kids were all away at a camp, so nobody would be home!  We were able to drop off some photos we had printed for them though.  Hope they enjoy!
It was sad to leave knowing this time we would not be back.  We wish Sergio and Paula the best of luck with their new business, and hope they don't wear themselves out running it!  Enjoy.... as the backpacking business can be fun with all the amazing people you meet, including you guys!!   *Stub

Lovely Lagoa Eco-Lodge in Quissico, Mozambique

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Michelle down by the Lagoon at Lagoa Eco-Lodge

Mozambique has 2700km of coastline and our travels over the last three weeks had covered just a small fraction of it. One spot that we had been recommended to go was a little town further south before Maputo called Quissico. Actually, not so much the town, rather a place - LaGoa  Eco Lodge, 7km down a dirt road from Quissico. Unfortunately, Niels  the owner, wasn't in town so we couldn't get a ride from him. Luckily, a white south african named Teegan we met on the bus, had family staying there and were picking him up. Could we have a ride I said? I'm glad we did, because getting there with all our stuff along the dirt roads would have been challenging to say the least.

We had met Niels the owner at our second home - Sundowner's Lodge in Swaziland a few weeks before. Over the last four years Niels has been working endlessly to build his dream - an Eco -friendly lodge made from local traditional materials to promote responsible sustainable tourism - something local people could run and benefit from.

Kids at the school in Quissico

Well we fell in love with the place. Set in a beautiful location on the edge of one of several large saltwater lagoons around Quissico, La Goa was well thought-out with  tastefully decorated and landscaped accommodation. There were a couple of chill-out grass roofed structures at the water's edge and even over the aqua-blue water.
Several guests came and went while it seemed the weather got worse - more high winds and consistent heavy down pours. We chilled out, played Carcassonne, read books. We took a couple of trips to explore the area walking to local villages / compounds that were well kept and tidy.  There was no electricity at the lodge, so we had to go back to basics for everything.

Martin saying goodbye to the school kids

With two other guests, Hugh and Paula, we stopped at the primary school on the way in to town. The kids were beside themselves with excitement at foreigners stopping at their school. The head teacher and other staff came out to greet us and called all the pupils from their classroom huts. One kid was being goofy and started doing funky dancing so I copied him and suddenly I was surrounded by about 200 kids watching the dance -off. It was pretty cool to be surrounded by them all these little black beautiful faces especially as they burst in to song and clapping along while I was still in their midst. They were super-obedient kids and the teacher summoned them into rows to sing their national anthem and other songs with lots of clapping and an occasional child would be singled out one at a time to do a funky traditional dance style.  In response to to all their entertainment, Hugh, decided that we should sing a song back to them and he came up with, of all things, 'We all live in a Yellow Submarine;!

Michelle with Sedonia at the Quissico Market

Oh dear. Also much to the children's bewilderment, Hugh did a handkerchief magic trick. The kids were dead silent and I think they didn't know quite what to make of it! After we'd caused enough disruption it was time to go but not before we had pretty much shaken or high-fived every kids' hand in the school. In farewell as we got in the car they started to sing again. It was one of our most special memories of Mozambique yet.

Hugh and Paula dropped us off to explore 'town'. There is not a lot to Qussisco - mostly shops and market stalls along the main road to Maputo. It had a nice vibe though - the sun was shining, loud music was booming out of somewhere and the people were friendly and in good spirits. Being a little off the beaten track we needed to replenish our food supplies and had fun bargaining with the market stall ladies. All in all, a very good day.

The Bakkie we caught a lift on - in the rain

On the 7km walk back to the lodge, we managed to stop a bakkie heading in the right direction.  A bakkie is a small pick-up truck, that loads as many as possible in the back.  We were standing along the bumpy roads, basically holding on to the person in front who was holding on the person in front, and so on.  It was a tough ride, and since we were at the back, were the most wobbly. We had a good laugh with the people on the bakkie, and were happy for the ride, as the rains soon returned, and it would have been a miserable walk in the downpour.  *Mush

Waiting for Whale Sharks, Tofo, Mozambique

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Martin's Reflection on Tofo Beach

Since we had done some snorkelling up North, and not found any whale sharks, I really wanted to return to Tofo in search of the world's biggest fish.  On our way back down south we dropped in for a couple of days in Vilanculos. it was nice to see the changing scenery of the shallow bay as the tide of the clear aqua water headed in and out revealing sand spits it seemed all the way to the Bazaruto archipelago. We couldn't resist staying at Beach Village again and love being welcomed and seeing the familiar faces of Terrick and his staff, and of course, cheeky little Brutus the puppy (not so little, perhaps even a little wider!).

A couple of days hanging out, catching up on internet and onto Tofo in search of whale sharks. Tofo has the highest concentration of these beasts in the world apparently as it has the best habitat and good phytoplankton food supplies. The snorkel trips out to the Indian Ocean have about a 70% success rate of seeing them, so odds are good - and should be for the price.  But, when will I get another chance like that, so we went to Tofo.  And there, we hit bad weather - rain and high winds which caused a large swell in the Ocean in which the boats would not go out in.  So, we waited, and waited, and waited, and waited.  5 days in total, with no break in the weather, and also no break in the forecast.  So, it was time to move on, and I was disappointed, but also because I didn't take the chance to go out on our first visit to Tofo.  Swimming with whale sharks will have to stay on my 'to do' list!!

Mozambique Flag (Complete with AK-47 Machine Gun) Plus Moon

We attempted to make the most of our time in Tofo again, but the weather just didn't allow much beach time.  With the rain, there was not much time to explore.  The backpackers  where we were staying was very busy as it was South African holidays, so with all the people around, it was easy to meet others, and we had fun with different groups.  There were some big overland trucks that pulled in over our time, some groups of 35 people!  We managed to party a little bit, and headed to the big busy backpackers party spot called Fatima's Nest for drinks on the beach.

We did manage to make a couple of day trips.  One to the next beach area to the North, called Barra.  Nice to see a different place, and after taking a chap there, we decided to walk the 7km back along the beach, which was a great choice.  Another trip to replenish supplies to the Colonial town of Inhambane.  Some very interesting buildings, almost art deco style, but otherwise an uneventful day.  We did return through Inhambane with a nice South African couple who gave us a ride there in their RV on our way to Quissico.  *Stub

In Search of Paradise (Island), Inhassoro, Mozambique

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Crammed on the backseat of the minivan 'chapa'

On the recommendation of some people we had met in Tofo we decided to head a little further north to Inhassoro where Isla de Santa Carolina (also known as Paradise island) is reputed to be one of the nicest islands in the Bazaruto Archipelago. Andy and Jenny, a gregarious English couple we met on the bus to Vilanculos and who had visited our bar at Beach Village backpackers, decided to join us for a day trip to see somewhere new. The journey itself was pretty typical of this part of the world - cramped in to the back seat of a mini-van or  'chapa' as they call them. There were at least four people to every row, sometimes more if children were on board, and the front row behind the driver would accumulate as many as seven to eight people - half of them on the seat, and half standing hunched over trying to avoid banging their heads on the van ceiling. Being the only way for locals to

Minivan to Inhassoro - note bowed roof struts

travel, everyone brings all their goods and wares with them - whether it be 50kg bag of rice, or plastic patio chairs, or their bicycles. We soon realised that we had chosen the best bench seat as all the goods were shoved straight on to the roof - it didn't have a roof rack - and as the journey progressed the ceiling became more and more concave above our heads! Sitting at the very back we felt marginally safer: we had the van's structural support above heads rather than a bowing roof!

We parted ways with Andy and Jenny so that they could enjoy their brief time in the beach town. Thinking that Goody Villas - our recommended accommodation -  couldn't be too far (we kept on seeing signs but no one could tell us how far).  We seemed to have walked quite a way when we met up with Andy and Jen again.  Thinking there would be refreshment at our camping lodge, they walked with us.  It turned out that Goody Villas was about a 5-6 km (4 mile) walk by road. Astonishingly, the bar and restaurant was not open, so poor Andy and Jen headed back into town along the beach seeking refreshment. For us, we discovered that to camp at Goody Villas was 400 Mts per person ($13) - twice the price we had been told. Apparently it is high season right now because of South African holidaymakers. There were about 4 families in the whole place! I was quite appalled - not only had we walked such a long way in the heat, it was more expensive, had no cooking facilities, and no restaurant or bar - even though it was high season! We were not impressed!

Tony our generous 'luncher' who drove us to our tent

Resigned to staying because we couldn't carry our bags any further (we estimate we're carrying about 18-20kg each), we set up our tent and locked up our stuff, and went off in search of food along the beach back towards town. The first place that was supposedly quite near was actually closed because there was no-one staying there (again, so much for 'high season'!) So we carried on 4-5 km in total into town. We found Andy and Jenny sunbathing on the beach and together we headed off to find a restaurant in town.

Seta Lodge had a restaurant, a full menu, and a camp site! As we sipped a much needed beer, Andy, god-love him, started talking to the only other guest having lunch, and before we knew it, we had a ride back to Goody Villas to pick up our tent and bring our stuff back to Seta's campground. Tony, our kind 'luncher' turned out have studied in England for 8 years. While he waited, we did the fastest tent take-down you ever saw (we hadn't really unpacked anything). On our way out of Goody Villas, one of the assistant managers had the cheek to ask us for money for having the tent up, saying that people usually pay for short term use of the place.  I, in turn, told him that his request was unreasonable, and would not pay anything. We hadn't used any of the facilities - the swimming pool nor showers etc, and of course we hadn't used the kitchen because they didn't have one, nor the restaurant because it was closed. So, no, I wasn't going to pay for the 2 hours that our tent had been there while we had gone in search of food! After pitching our tent at the new place we chilled out with some beer and some much deserved monster-sized garlicky prawns at a Johnson's bar nearby. The day had finally turned itself around, and we met some nice people there. Phew!

Park guard meeting us with an AK-47

Our task the next day was to organise a trip out to Santa Carolina island - the  reason we were in Inhassaro. Lorenzo was a local character half way up the beach - our only way to find him was that he had a sea shell shop next to one of the lodges (insert kids rhyme here - "he sells sea shells").  While waiting for him we sat on the beach watching the local fishermen who were putting out their nets from the shore. Martin and I were checking out his foot as it was sore between his toes. Soon we were attracting the locals and one of the fisher ladies, a tiny wrinkly old woman, started to get closer and closer with her curiosity. Suddenly she was hovering over his foot wanting to squeeze between his toes saying in Portuguese that 'it would eat him and that we must get it out'. By this time we were surrounded by about seven or eight of fisherfolk, one of which ran off and returned with a very sharp scary looking gorse-bush thorn about an inch and a half long. The fisherman started to pick away at the "mantikenya" (is how it sounded).  Gradually by poking and slowly peeling the skin around the thing, he was able to dig out a circular, white firm blob about the size of a lentil. Gross! Immediately we bathed in antiseptic. So it turned out that waiting around for Lorenzo had paid off - Martin got some impromptu surgery to remove his mantikenya (apparently some kind of worm - horrible!!)

Dinner with Darvy, Pete, Kevin and Gerard and some other campers

Back at our new camp we were much happier especially because we didn't have to walk three miles just to get food! Also, the other people camping there were so nice and friendly. Our neighbours opposite were on a year long fishing trip up through Mozambique, Malawi, Tanzania etc from South Africa and they generously invited us to dinner. Pete, Kevin, Davy and Gerard are deep sea fisherman and so dinner consisted of four different recipes of Rock cod, barracuda, and Sail fish with spicy rice and fresh salad. It was so delicious I am salivating just writing about it.

Communicating with people in Africa is not always easy - even face to face when they have good English. Because Lorenzo was quite far up the beach though, he arranged that he would communicate by text message at 5am next morning to say whether the wind was right to sail the dhow (a fishing boat with a sail) or go by power boat (a fishing boat with an engine). Of course, way after 5am we still hadn't heard from him.

Beautiful beach of Paradise Island + boat with one-speed engine!

His reply: "6 o clock. Now is dark." Surely he should have known that information when he arranged a 5am communication yesterday?! As you can imagine, there was a lot of back and forth. It turned out that he was trying to coordinate and negotiate a price with some other tourists who were still asleep. This just delayed our departure further. Finally just before 10am we left the coast in a fishing boat with an engine. What we didn't know was that the engine had just one speed - SLOW. It took three hours to get the Santa Carolina. I'm pretty sure at times we were not moving over the ground - our engine being the same speed as that of the tide. It was farcical

Michelle walking from the boat to Isla da Santa Carolina

but in the end we did get to the island but with only about 2 and half hours there. We were greeted by a man with an AK-47 machine gun, but luckily he was just the park ranger.  We enjoyed our lunch of fish sandwiches (donated by our camp neighbours) over the stunning views of the aqua clear water and Bazaruto island. We just had enough time for Martin to snorkel for a quick half an hour, and then we explored the island with its run down colonial style buildings, jail, hotel, and airstrip. (We only just found out that Santa Carolina had been used for one of the "Survivor South Africa" programs). Within three hours we were back on the boat and, even though the captain had said it would take only an hour and a half hours as the 'water would help us', it still took three hours to get back to our campsite. Of course, arriving well after dark, our neighbours were worried and had gone searching for Lorenzo in town. Thankfully nothing had gone wrong just bad timing for the tides. Also luckily for us, dinner was waiting for us too - goat potjie (pronounced poiky) - a spicy goat stew cooked in a three-legged cauldron-style pot over hot coals. We couldn't believe how nice these guys had been to us.

So, in spite of wishing we'd had more time on the island, not only had we come back safe, but were very fortunate to experience once again Africa's infamous Ubuntu: a warm African welcome of generosity and unending hospitality. *Mush