Ubuntu in Plettenberg Bay, South Africa

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Back in Quissico, Mozambique, we met a family from Jeffrey's Bay. We decided to surprise them with a quick visit on our way through town, and surprise them we did. Tyrone and Kerry were excited to see us, and offered for us to stay, but we had made plans for Plettenberg Bay. It was great sitting out on their fantastic deck on the top floor of their place, overlooking the surfing waves below - home to what Tyrone described as the best right hand wave in the world. Tyrone, and his son Teagan are hard core surfers, and what better place to live than on top of the waves at Jeffrey's Bay.

The House on the Left is where we stayed

From J-Bay, our map showed a road heading down to the Bloukrans Pass, avoiding the main highway, and also the toll road. Of course, we like to stay off the main roads, and also like avoiding tolls, so we were a little confused when the exit signs showed our next destination crossed out. We stopped a passing car, and as our luck would have it, he turned out to be the forest ranger of the area. He informed us that the road is technically closed, because of a previous flood and some rockfall, but as far as he was concerned, it was very passable, and as tourists, we would love the more interesting drive. He even drove the 10 km down the road to make sure we could pass the road-block - how nice is that!! So around the road block we went, and found a very scenic 'free' drive down to the river and back up the other side. This little inside knowledge would save us some cash a few times over.

Amazing Sunset from Mary's House

There is a word here in South Africa - Ubuntu - that means kindness to others, hospitality, generosity. And we've sure been getting our fair share of good fortune and exceptional kindness (ubuntu) from the locals, but how about this one. Through Tina and Allan, we met a couple of guys (David and Colin) from Zimbabwe. They mentioned that their mother, Mary, lives in Plettenberg Bay, and that we should go and stay with her. So, our connection to Plett, was the mother of friends of friends (got it??). She was happy to oblige though, and threw out the invitation. Little did we know what a beautiful place we were heading to. It was absolute luxury, overhanging the cliffs and above the beach at Keurbooms, with an infinity pool out above the rocks. The house was stunning, designed by Mary, it was three floors of rooms, all with beautiful large windows and views out to the ocean. We couldn't believe our good fortune, as upon arrival, we saw some whales from our own room!!!! Throughout our stay there, it was a daily occurrence to see whales feeding, and dolphins surfing and playing in the waves.
Mary's brother and sister-in-law (Mike and Fiona) were also visiting from Zimbabwe, and also Mary's son Mark with his girlfriend Emma from England. No worries though, the place is plenty big enough for the whole crowd!! When we arrived, Mary took us all out to dinner, and I had a delicious combo plate of steak, ostrich steak, and kudu steak - all cooked to perfection. Michelle stuck with just a large ostrich steak, and they were so tender, they melted in your mouth!!
Robberg Nature and Marine Reserve is a rugged peninsula of cliffs jutting out into the ocean south of Plettenberg Bay. Mark and Emma were interested in walking the trail around Robberg, an 11km trail on the rocky peninsula, and we gladly joined them for the walk. A relatively tough trail, rocky with many ups and downs along the steep walls. Great views over the bay and mountains, not to mention some wildlife. We could see a large group of seals playing and swimming in the green waters below. It turned out that we didn't have time to complete the whole trail as we were meeting the rest of the family for a braai back at the picnic area, so cut across on the surprising sand dunes in the middle. Apparently, all the sand for Plettenberg Bay blows up the one side of the peninsula and into the bay over the other side. I love to run down the steep dunes, so i was in my playground once again, running all the way to the ocean. It was a very scenic trail, and we are glad we did the trail before the braai. Not only did we have a nice meal to come back to with Mary, Mike, Fiona and Mary's friend Gail, but I don't think I would even be able to walk after the 'meat feast' we were supplied with upon our arrival!! Delicious, and with quite a view!!! 

Whales and dolphins from our room



The rest of the time in Plett, we tended to just enjoy our location above the rocks, and our new found 'family'. It seemed there was an endless Scrabble competition going on, along with a few other games and some delicious food and drink. Along with some walks down the beach. What a fabulous time we had in Plettenberg Bay and it was a really tough decision to leave - as it was, we stayed one additional day than planned. More famous South African ubuntu - Thanks so much Mary, you are a star and we thoroughly enjoyed meeting you!! *Stub

 

Big and Little at Addo Elephant National Park, South Africa

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Martin with Two Elephant Skulls at Addo Entrance

Addo Elephant National Park had been on our radar since entering South Africa all those months ago.  It just sounded like a place we NEEDED to visit, so we were excited when we were finally on our way there from Cradock.  The park was created back in 1931 and now encompasses approx. 120000 hectares.  Originally, there were only a 11 elephants, as farmers had tried to eradicate the 'menace' from their land.  Now they are thankfully about 500 strong in the friendly confines of the park boundaries.
Upon our arrival late in the afternoon, we figured we would set up camp and then head out for a quick drive around the park, to attempt to see the animals at a good feeding time near dusk.  However, we were really surprised to find that not only were the campsites quite expensive, but for a large park like Addo, they only had tiny little spots for tents and pretty poor kitchen supplies for the likes of us travellers.  There was no way we were going to pay that much, and not even be able to cook our food, so we had to turn to Plan 'B'.  A quick drive around the park in search of animals, then a drive around to the town of Addo in search of a place to stay.
We did find a great place, Orange Elephant Backpackers.  Quite an ironic name, as there are tons of citrus fruit in the area, and apparently elephants love them.  You are not allowed to take any citrus fruit into the park because the elephants will literally tear your car apart looking for them.  We heeded the warning with little Figaro, our rental car, in mind.

 

Close Encounters with the Elephants in Addo

Orange Elephant was a great place, although a bit quiet this time of year.  We had a great campsite at the house, and cooked our food finally.  John, the owner, was a nice man and had a pet parakeet with him often.  We also got great Africa tips from Rachel, who had just driven from London to Cape Town.  Thanks Rachel!
In the park, we did see a lot of elephants, and sometimes a little closer than we wanted to.  On a couple of occasions, we were parked a distance from the elephants, but they decided to walk past us in the lane right next beside us!!!  I must admit it was pretty cool, but I was worried for poor little Figaro - he wouldn't stand a chance against one of these giants!!  Males, females, and babies alike cruised past our window!!  Some of the young were actually feeding from the mother in front of the car!

MMMMmmmmm...... Dung balls

One of the really interesting animals in the park was much smaller - the rare flightless dung beetle.  You are not allowed to drive over any elephant dung piles in the road (and they are everywhere), in case these rare bugs are playing around in the pile.  Makes for some pretty swervy driving through the park.  The beetles gather the dung and make it into balls, which they then roll along ground backwards, while in an inverted position pushing off their front legs.  Very interesting, and they seem to push them quite some distance.   Apparently the male dung beetle will make a dung ball, and present it to it's mate.  If successful in the mating ritual, they both devour the dung ball after the 'act'.  An interesting after sex meal!!

Another up close and personal encounter with a big male

Addo was also the place of our first sighting of the black rhino.  Michelle and I have been really excited to see rhino anytime, as they are quite elusive, but our sightings have all been of the white rhino.  Now, we finally spotted a black rhino, and we know this since there are no white in Addo.  It was from a distance, but still amazing nonetheless. 
After a few days in Addo Elephant, and at the Orange Elephant, we had to move on.  On our last day, we decided to still head through the park on our way out to Nanaga - a farm stall along the highway to Port Elizabeth that has the most delicious meat pies in the country!!!  Thanks Ken and Thora for the recommendation again.  I wish we had bought a whole box of these tasty treats!!    *Stub

In Search of the Rare Cape Mountain Zebra, Cradock, South Africa

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Cape Mountain Zebras - Kissing??

The Cape Mountain Zebra is a much less common animal than the Burchell's Zebra, in fact, it is one of the rarest animals in the world.  It has tighter black stripes that do not continue to it's underside.  It also does not have the grey 'shadow' stripes between the black, therefore, giving it a much more black appearance (less white).   The mountain zebra also has a reddish-brown tinge to it's face.  We went in search of these creatures in the aptly named Mountain Zebra National Park, near Cradock.
We have loved the parks here in South Africa, but this one not only had great game, but also the best scenery we have seen in a park yet.   The park seemed to have three sections to it.  First, the wide open grassland plains interspersed with some of the regional bushes, home to many animals in the park.  Second, a stepped up plateau, with a large grassland area, where many herds of grazers dot the plateau.  Third, a beautiful drive through the south end of the park, traveling from the low lying rivers, high up onto the steep slopes, and up to the plateau.  This area was the most scenic, with a super road cut into the slope of the hillside, with views of the surrounding mountains.

A Gemsbok with massive horns

We had great success finding the rare zebras, as they seemed relatively prominent in the park.  I think they are the better looking zebras, with the strong, black stripes.  It's good to see they are taking measures to protect these wonderful creatures.
There was plenty of other wildlife in the park, from jackals to gemsbok, but there are not too many predators.  Sounds like a good place to live for these animals, and we felt happy to camp at the park amongst the mountains.  *Stub

Martin will remember:
- the 'kissing' zebras
- the super long, straight horns of the gemsbok

Hitting the Road with Figaro, Graaff Reinet, South Africa

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The familiar face of Bloemfontein awaited us from Lesotho, and Allan once again picked us up from the bus.  We were off to watch the local Super 15 rugby game, with the local Free State Cheetahs blowing out the visiting side in a very lopsided affair.  I really enjoyed seeing some professional rugby up close and personal, but it was unfortunate that we were some of the few fans there.  You see, there was a big match-up between the national team Springboks, and the NZ All Blacks that afternoon, so I think most people stayed home to watch!!  We left the game a little early to see the big game ourselves in the friendly confines of Allan's bar, and this time the home team didn't disappoint, winning a well played game against the favourites!!
So as to not really burden Tina and Allan, we picked up a rental car (a Ford Figo, we call Figaro) in the morning and sadly left Bloemfontein.  Tina and Allan had been so very kind to us, and we hope to see them in Canada one day to return the favour!!
We had unfortunately left quite late in the day, and with construction on the roads, made it nowhere near where we planned.  We found ourselves in the out of the way, stopover town of Colesberg but only for a quick night.  The little backpackers was quite dated, and we were the only people there, so were happy to get out.

Scultures in the garden at the Owl House

Early in the morning it was a pleasant drive on a dirt road to Nieu Bethesda, a quaint little village, quite isolated from anywhere, but famous for a crazy little house called the Owl House.  A Nieu Bethesda resident lady named Helen Martins one day decided to bring colour and light into her physical environment, and transformed her home over the next 30 years.  Painting bright colours and adding crushed glass all throughout the interior, then building an incredible amount of sculptures of owls, camels, giraffes, mermaids to adorn the exterior grounds.  It is all a little bizarre to say the least.  To each their own though, and unfortunately, Helen committed suicide once she could no longer physically create anymore.  The town was quite cute, but apparently becomes busy in the summer, and with all the little guest houses around, would be a vibrant little place.

Continuing on the loop road from NB, our next stop was Graaff Reinet for the night.  Another picturesque town, with a stunning stone church in the centre - the Dutch Reformed Church..  The town is often called the 'Jewel of the Karoo', and it is easy to see why.  It has over 220 buildings designated at national monuments, so they are well preserved and attractive - from Cape Dutch style houses to flat-roofed Karoo cottages to majestic Victorian villas. 

Graaff Reinet and church in foreground - township behind

The town had a nice feel to it, although we attempted to go out at night, and the place was deserted other than too much litter around the main supermarket!!

There is a National Park around Graaff Reinet; Camdeboo has recently been added under national park protection, and it was our first sighting of the relatively rare Cape Mountain Zebra (more to come later).  Within the park boundaries, there was a fantastic drive up high onto the cliffs with a birds eye view over the circular looking town of Graaff Reinet (must have been in a river bend below the dam).  You could easily see the disparity between the beautiful old colonial buildings, and the township houses on the other side of the highway. 

Martin in Camdeboo National Park

The Lizard trail snakes around the top of the jagged cliffs for approx. 2km.  There are ample opportunities to sneak to the edge of the cliffs and look into the canyon below, then out to the grasslands and hills surrounding the area.  Not much wildlife up here, but on our way down we took a drive through the flooded game area containing some animals, but none of the Big 5.
We have been happy with the decision to rent a car.  It is a bit of a luxury for us, but we justified the expense by actually being able to get to all the out-of-the-way places, and self-driving ourselves through the National Parks (which we love to do).  It has also made us feel more comfortable in South Africa, something we were struggling with for some time.  Now we are on the road for about 2 weeks to Cape Town, and looking forward to the road and adventures ahead!!  *Stub

Our Lucky Day(s) in Lesotho

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Terraces and fields around Malealea

Once we found our bus in the madness, we were on our way for a 3 hour drive to Lesotho (pronounced le-soo-too).  Our friends from Mozambique, Jennie and Sean, had warned us about the hassle of public transport in Lesotho, so we were ready for it!  As it turned out, our journey was seamless, with plenty of help along the way: locals and minivan passengers seemed to want to take care of us and would show us the way from leg to leg of the journey. After stocking up with groceries in a tiny village before our final leg to Malealea Lodge, we had the icing on the cake: we joined minivan driver Sefako 'Bernard' in his groovy mini-bus taxi with cool house tunes pumping out of the eight after-market ceiling speakers, as we passed over the Gates of Paradise Pass!

Village in front of Ribaneng Waterfall

Lesotho is a small, mountainous country completely surrounded by South Africa, and is home to the Basotho people.  They have managed to keep their culture separate from the troubles of South Africa in the recent century, and are a friendly and kind nation.  They are usually cloaked in a Basotho blanket, with various patterns for status symbols, and sometimes clad in a straw style hat.  The country itself is the only country in the world where the entire nation is above 1000m elevation, earning it's name as the 'Kingdom in the Sky'.  We thought our whole experience there was fantastic.

We've been hitting it pretty lucky lately, with places to stay, and Malealea was no different.  Tina and Allan were friends with the brother of Michael, who ran beautiful Malealea Lodge.  He was very generous, not allowing us to stay in our tent, but giving us one of the best view rooms for the same price as a tent site!!  WOW….. when you are traveling for a long time, these bonuses really make all difference!!
Initially, we wandered around the village to get an idea of the place, and met some of the local people.  All smiles and nice greetings, and some good interaction, especially with the kids.

Our Rondavel Accomodation in Ribaneng Village

We love to hike and get out in the mountains, so after waking up to a wonderful view of the mountains, we found a guide named 'Lucky', and he took us on a 6 hour walk to the Botsoela waterfall, and then to some San bushman paintings.   The different colour tilled fields, with mountains behind made for some spectacular scenery.  And strolling through various villages of round huts called rondavels was quite interesting.  Lucky was a happy-go-lucky character really - singing along as he walked.  He was friendly and a nice companion.  He had been guiding in the area for about 7 years, since he was 17, and was knowledgeable about the paintings in the cliff/cave area!  We enjoyed our time with Lucky, so we asked him to guide us on an overnight hike the following day.
We stocked up with some groceries, and bought a lunch of 'Fat' cakes (basically donut balls) and delicious chips, then set out on a 18km hike to Ribaneng waterfall.  It was quite the arduous hike, but maybe because we are out of shape.  Most people do the trip as a pony trek, but we decided to save the money, and get some exercise.  It was a stunning day for walking, and the scenery again didn't disappoint.  It was really pleasant walking through the fields and villages, with smiling faces greeting us with 'Dumela'.  Lovely interaction with all the people, and playing with all the kids in the villages that came running out to see us.  It never tires taking photos/videos of the kids and watching their reactions to seeing themselves on screen - genuine awe and joy!!  The walk was up and down, but heading towards the snow-capped mountains in the distance.

The view from our Rondavel in Ribaneng Village

After lunch, we came over a hill and saw flames on a hillside.  Lucky and I dropped our packs and sprinted towards the fire.  Turns out a young boy of 3 or 4 years old had apparently tried to light a small fire to cook some maize, but a spark flew out into the grasses and he didn't know what to do.  He was by himself, and lucky that we came over at that time because the fire would have spread quick in the dry grass.  Lucky and I managed to beat out the fire with blankets, and saved the small boy from getting in real trouble, not to mention the damage the fire could have caused!!!

Martin swinging the kids in Ribaneng Village

We arrived in a tiny village near Ribaneng waterfall, and were shown to our accommodation for the night - a nice rondavel on the mountain slopes, underneath the snowy peaks!   We were joined by a French couple Fabrice and Severine, who had taken the pony's there - a good choice.  We were too exhausted to walk all the way to the waterfall, but as we sat enjoying the view, the local kids started getting curious and coming to see us.  We had a wonderful time with them all, swinging them around, giving them pen and paper to draw, tickling them, and letting them try on my sunglasses.  Lots of laughs and giggles. 
We had a couple of mattresses to sleep on, and were quite comfortable and warm.  All was going well until about 3 AM when a chorus of donkeys 'eeyore-ing', dogs barking, goats bleating, roosters cock-a-doodle-doing.  It was a crazy amount of noise, and bordering on ridiculous - we just had to laugh!!  Unfortunately, we were awake for most of the night after!!

Village in Ribaneng Valley

It was a cool, crisp morning in the village, with smoke pumping out of the doors of all the rondavels.  We hit the trail early for the 18km back, but a slightly different route.  More wonderful scenery, but we could now see our destination in the distance.  When we arrived back at Malealea Lodge, we were so glad to have our lovely room to chill out in and near.  It was a tiring walk!
That night, instead of cooking, we went out for dinner at a local villager's house.  He and his sisters had cooked us a nice traditional meal of pap and chicken, with a spinach-type veggie.  It was nice seeing the local way of life, and meeting Teboho his family.

We were on our way the next morning, hitching a ride with Fabrice and Severine.  But not before I found Sefako, and attempted to exchange some music with him.  We had a good laugh, and picked up some new tunes.

Dinosaur Footprints above Morija

Fabrice and Severine dropped us off in our next destination - Morija.  Then, a short walk up the hill, to an old English style stone country house called Morija Guest House with a perch above the town and valley below.   Muesli the dog, accompanied us on a walk up the hill to find the dinosaur footprints preserved in the rocks high above the town.  Then, a quick visit to the local museum and walk to town, where little local boy PhoPhi found us and tagged along for our walk.  We shared Coke, chips, fat cakes and even some fruit with him, and had a laugh with the cooks and staff of the little shop.
It was with disappointment to leave, we were on our way back to South Africa.  It was a short journey to Lesotho, but one we will remember fondly.  And it finished the same way it started, with a seamless journey, and lots of help from the friendly locals.    *Stub

Michelle will remember:

They wanna hold my hand!!

- the lady in Bloem who helped us find the bus, and then recognized us five hours later in Maseru
-helping a lady with her big bags up the stairs in Bloem and how she (seemed to) brag to her friends that the two white people had helped her with her heavy bags
-practicing my limited Sesotho language on the local villagers and actually managing to pull off a flowing 'how are you' conversation
-all the special handshakes and genuine smiles from the locals that she tried to engage with her limited language skills
-the two young children who just wanted to hold her hand (and wouldn't let go!) at one local village
-the kids' reaction to watching themselves on video replay on the camera, and then waving at themselves on the screen
-Our guide, Lucky, singing Ladysmith Black Mambazo-style while walking through the mountains
- the jangling of the cow and sheep bells as we passed herds and shepherds hiking to Ribaneng





Martin will remember:
- The outrageous chorus of donkeys, dogs, roosters etc at 3AM at Ribaneng Village
- Bernard's groovy music in the minivan
- locals laughing at my Sesotho language attempts
- the local blankets for outerwear
- Muesli the dog
- good chips with the fat cakes
- putting out the fire before it got out of control

Bowled Over by Hospitality in Bloemfontein, South Africa

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Michelle with Tina and Allan

Michelle grew up in Birmingham with one of her best friends Becky, whose sister Tina was only a year younger, so the three of them would always hang out together.  Tina now lives in Bloemfontein, with her husband Allan Donald.  Michelle was with Tina the first night that she met Allan 23-odd years ago.  He was a cricketer for Warwickshire at the time.  Allan has since gone on to become one of the premier speed bowlers in South African history, and is well known around the world in the cricket circle.  He has just started a job as the bowling coach for the South African national team, which was lucky for us as they were due to move to NZ for another job.  Together with their two children Hannah and Oliver, they welcomed us into their house for what turned out to be a full week, as they wouldn't let us leave.
Tina was away on a girls hockey tourney when we arrived, so Allan had the duty of picking us up from the bus station.  He made us feel right at home, opening his bar room up and having a few drinks with us until almost 2AM.  I enjoyed looking around at his memorabilia in the bar.  Allan is still sponsored by Castle beer, so there is always plenty of beer and wine flowing at the Donald house!!
It was a nice reunion for Michelle and Tina both the next day, and the whole time they were together.  Michelle commented that it felt like old times, and they shared many laughs. 

Allan, Tina, Martin, Michelle, Linda, Lauren at Grey College Rugby

We were treated to yet another braai (we can definitely get used to this), at friends of Allan and Tina.  Colin and Sarah, David and Vicky, and Charles and Lauren were friends that we saw a few times throughout our week in Bloem.  They were a really nice crowd, very generous and fun to be around.  They were all interested in what we were doing also, and wished us luck and any help on our journey!
A couple of quiet days in Bloem, as Tina was recovering from the hockey tourney, and a cold, but also running the kids around to all the different schools, and events. 

Grey College School Boy Stands

Tina and Michelle did manage to go to Tina's book club, but we were surprised to see them home quite early, and sober.  Apparently the book club turned into a bit of a scuffle, with one girl wanting to institute a bunch of 'rules' and calling out a few others.  Not sure if Tina will return, as she seemed a bit embarrassed and put off by the whole situation.
Oliver was excited for the Friday night, as it was a multi-cultural festival at the school.  I think he was more excited because he would meet some girls there, but we all went along.  It was quite an impressive spread, with many tents set up with different foods from around the world.  Italian, Portuguese, Thai, Indian, American, and plenty of sweets for after to mention a few.  It seemed like we were one of the few groups to bring a cooler full of beer - the others were definitely missing out.   We attracted a little group at our table!

Martin and a lion cub

On the Saturday, we managed to treat Tina and Allan to a tour through the local Cheetah Experience cat sanctuary.  This sanctuary had lions, leopards, servals, cheetahs (of course), and even some Canadian wolves (they must get HOT in the summer)!!  We were able to enter the pens of some young lions including a white lion, the caracals, and hang out with the cheetahs.  Touching these majestic furry animals is quite a wonderful experience, and something we will never get bored of.  We even inquired about doing some volunteer work there, especially as we saw a baby black leopard there.  Michelle loved the fact that the little lion cubs had huge paws and eyelashes.  I think Tina and Allan really enjoyed the their time with the big cats too. 
The rest of our Saturday was full of rugby.  Both of us love watching the sport, and we went to the local boys school to watch schoolboy rugby between Grey College and a squad from Durban.  These boys really know how to play, and the quality of the game was excellent.  Watching was a treat from the beer garden in the stands.  I especially liked the cheers from the boys in their school stands.  They are all dressed in the same school blazers and ties, but with some creativity, have come up with some good effects with the colours.  Grey College would wear the striped blazers backwards, and certain boys would lower the blazers to reveal their white shirts, spelling our GREY in the stands. Very cool.  Grey won the game, and there was a great celebration after. 

Tina and Allan with the cheetah

Then it was back to Tina and Allan's with the rest of the crew, for more rugby.  This time, it was the National Team - the Springboks, taking on Australia. Of course, Allan's bar was open again, and the beer flowed through both the national game, and then the local Cheetahs Super 15 game.  Unfortunately for Allan, neither of his teams won, but he was again a good sport, whilst cooking tons of meat on the braai, and provided quite a feast for the crowd.
For me, loving all things to do with sports and athletics, I was eager to learn more about cricket from Allan.  Allan had all kinds of memorabilia around the house, and I found it interesting to pick up a Sports Illustrated magazine on the table, and seeing an interview and photos of the person sitting across from me!! I really enjoyed talking cricket, rugby, golf, and any sport going (even ice hockey), with Allan.

We went golfing with Allan on the Sunday, and I don't think he knew what he was getting himself in to.  Not picking up the clubs in a year is pretty tough, and it wasn't a very impressive round of golf.  Michelle managed 16 holes (which was probably too much for her), but enjoyed a day out.  Allan got a sizzling Eagle on one of the par 5's which he was quite chuffed about!!  It was nice to get out on the course again, but definitely need to hit the range a little before!
On Monday morning, Tina graciously drove us to the bus station at 5AM.  We were off to the country of Lesotho nearby, but due to return to Bloem.  We had left our big bags at the Donald's, and were armed with just our day packs and tent.  It was nice to head off lightly, as we went upstairs in the station, we hit the surprising masses of people.  We even managed to helped some big mamma's up to the bus with their huge loads, and they showed us how to get to ours!!  *Stub 

Things Michelle remembers:
- Tina hasn't changed - they still have the same laugh as they did when they were 16 years old
- Allan was great host and kept on topping up the red wine
- talking to all Tina's sisters in UK
- the big paws of the lion cubs
- Oliver's favourite song and funny dance
- a lion cubs eyelashes
- the pig at Emoya cafe, sniffing her leg

Martin with Tina and Allan Donald, and Rosie

Martin will remember:
- making a cheetah purr
- learning cricket
- Hannah graciously sacrificing her room for us
- enjoying seeing rugby everywhere
- People recognizing the celebrity Allan everywhere - at the waterfront mall, rugby games, cultural night, and in the street
- Allan's bottomless bar

King's (Other) Museum, King Williamstown, South Africa

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Uncle Vasco in his 'Museum'

Here I am, forty two years old and I have family yet to meet. Yes, my Uncle Vasco (my Mum's brother), and Aunt Carmelita, who live in King Williamstown, close to East London.  We almost missed our bus from Durban to King, as the early morning transit caught us off-guard, as they only run one direction.  if it wasn't for the kind man who stopped at 6:45AM to ask two confused backpackers where they were going, we wouldn't have made the bus.  Michael gave us a ride to the bus station with 5 minutes to spare - Thanks for the kindness again!!
The bus journey was long, and uneventful.  Uncle Vasco looked similar to Uncle Manuel, but this was not the only way to recognize them - they were the only two white people waiting for the bus to arrive.
In true Portuguese style, Auntie had prepared a huge feast for our arrival.  After cleaning up, we started eating and didn't stop for the next 4 days!!!  It was delicious meal after delicious meal, and I think we both gained some weight over our visit.  They really treated us!
Vasco and Carmelita, toured us around East London where we ate on the waterfront, the beaches at Gonubie (a very upmarket area), and also around King in the rain.
But most of the time, we looked through tons of old photo albums, and I learned more about my family history.  Stories about my Mum, and how she often had to go to bed hungry since the family was so poor.  How my Mum had worked as a seamstress from the age of 13, and had her own fashion show at 19, which impressed people from the whole community.  After my Grandfathers death at a young age, his brother forced them to sell the house, leaving my Grandmother to fend with 7 children on her own, and another 'bun in the oven'.
We also managed to meet my cousin Frederico, who lives in the area, and runs a supermarket that was quite small, but seemed to stock just about everything from televisions and radios, to groceries and beer.  It also had a bar and take-away food!!  The business seems to be going quite well for him.
Because of the rain, it was too wet to visit any of the buildings and museums in town, but when we weren't looking at photos, we were up in the 'other' museum of King - Uncle Vasco's study!!  We can't believe the amount of things that he managed to fit into that small room, and all well organized.  From Matchbox rally cars to stamps to mini-alcohol bottles to postcards to money from around the world to newspapers from the world …… you get the idea.  Vasco seemed to collect everything and had it all neatly organized and documented in his mini-museum.  It was fascinating, and we constantly found ourselves finding 'new' items of interest.
To top of our 4 day visit, Vasco lit up a braai (South African BBQ), while Carmelita made other fixings for dinner.  We can't believe the amount of food and meat that they cooked for us - I think they could have fed the entire neighbourhood with the meat alone (see the photos - that's for 4 of us).  No wonder we put on some extra pounds!!  We didn't leave empty handed though, as we were packaged up many of the leftovers for our journey North to Bloemfontein, along with some nice memories and gifts!!   *Mush

Things Michelle will remember:
1. Uncle Vasco's mannerisms that remind her of her mother
2. Shedding tears together with Vasco, when they discussed his childhood with her Mother
3. Feeling homesick for her own family in the UK
4. Cousin Isabel on the phone apologizing for the shrine of photos, but Michelle reassured her it was a Portuguese thing, as her parents have a shrine of their own

Things Martin will remember:
1. Enjoying Vasco's money collection from around the world, and Vasco generously giving him some of his 'doubles'
2. Not being able to move much for 4 days because he was so FULL
3. Continuously flipping meat on the braai with Vasco, as there was so much it was a two man job

Uncle Vasco's Meat Extravaganza (Braai)

Aunt Carmelita and Uncle Vasco, with Michelle

Freezing in the Drakensberg Mountains, South Africa

To see our South Africa Photos, Click Here

Giant's Castle from Highmoor

The Drakensberg are South Africa's mountains, also a Unesco World Heritage Site.  And being the middle of winter here in SA, they'd had some snow. So much so that we encountered many people traveling up from Durban just to see the recent snowfall (which was almost melted). Again, renting a car is the easiest way (and cheaper than getting a tour) to see the beautiful scenery. Highmoor was our first stop and we squeezed in a 3 hour hike across the fells with spectacular views of Giants' Castle (a large mountain monument in the distance). As we walked, it felt like walking in the Lake District. I commented that the hills were like the fells of the lake district and Martin thought it felt like the foothills of the Canadian Rockies outside Calgary, with the peaks rising above.  The walk ended at an interesting cave/overhang where the park actually had set up some tent sites in the cave, next to the waterfall.  Would have been interesting to stay there, but we didn't have the gear!

Sunrise at Highmoor with a frosty tent

It was a chilly night and a frosty morning in the tent, so we had to make some modifications for the following night.  I think we hit -5 degrees celcius on the first night, but woke up to beautiful sunrise over the hills.  It was nice being so far away from anyone, as we were the only people silly enough to camp in these temperatures apparently.  The park ranger was really nice to us though, and offered us some free firewood - I guess he thought we might need it!!  To bad the wood was a little wet, and we struggled to keep a fire going, so it was almost colder to be around the fire than in the tent!
We took a morning walk to get views of Giant's Castle, a large pinnacle of rock at the top of the wall.  Impressive indeed, but so were the cool icicle-like frost in the mud.  It seemed like the ice had grown from underneath the mud and dirt, creating small pinnacles of crystal/ice (hard to explain).

Tiny Michelle in front of the Amphitheatre

Driving through the countryside was very scenic with the mountains beside us.  We headed North towards Royal Natal National Park, which contains a prominent mountainous feature called the Amphitheatre.  A very impressive rock wall that is apparently 8km from end to end.  We made our way through some local villages, enjoying waving to the locals, and following buses of kids waving out the back window.  All the while, with the views of the Amphitheatre getting closer and closer, bigger and bigger!
We really enjoyed Royal Natal.  A great little campsite with towers of rock in different directions.  A short hike after we set up camp, followed by a much warmer night including some very dry firewood, and a hot water geyser that provided us with hot water for soups and noodles!!  Yum.  The fire 'rocked', but we wish we had the makings for smores!!
We hadn't really done much hiking (or exercise for that matter) in a while.  It was good to get the legs stretched out again, and we did some solid hikes in the Drakensberg.  None more impressive than the Gorge walk towards the base of the Amphitheatre!  A 14km hike there and back, which followed a riverbed and eventually up a tight, skinny gorge.  The end of the hike was supposed to be a tunnel, to impressive views above, but we never found the 'tunnel'.  Only a ladder network, with some pretty steep climbs up the walls, which we found much easier going up than coming back down.  No idea where this supposed tunnel is!

Martin overlooking Monks Cowl

On to Monks Cowl, and a later arrival because of the long morning hike let us relax when we arrived.  We had some leftover wood to make another nice fire, and went to bed warm again.  The morning provided another beautiful sunny day, with some more stunning mountain scenery!  We took an aggressive hike up to the Sphinx (a rocky outcrop that looked like, strangely enough, the Sphinx), and then continued up to the low berg.  A plateau before the Big mountains, with flat grasslands, and weirdly a group of baboons!!  What they were doing up there, I have no idea, but they were running around the grasslands.  A lovely walk to the base of towering Monks Cowl (I believe it is the highest peak in South Africa), but a horrible walk back down.  There were so many rock and log steps built (and in places not required), that our legs were REALLY hurting from the extra stresses on our knees.  No real reason for all these LARGE steps, and a pretty poor trail because of this.  Why they couldn't make it a smooth, steep trail I have no idea!!  We were cursing a little at the end, but really enjoyed our time in the Unesco World Heritage Site of the Drakensberg Mountains - Thanks for the recommendations Ken and Thora!!   *Stub