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

Chillin' like a Vilan-culos, Mozambique

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Pool at Beach Village

Chilling is about what summed up Vilanculos.  This beautiful coastal area of Mozambique was so nice, we had real trouble leaving.  Amazing beaches that stretch out to sea for a huge distance you feel you could walk all the way to the islands of Parque Nacional de Bazaruto.  These beaches then disappear upon high tide, leaving just a skinny stretch of beach.  Two very different landscapes from low to high tide. 
We found a beautiful new backpacker place, right on the beach called Beach Village.  It had great a-frame huts, a big dorm building, but most importantly, a pool and beach bar.  We spent a lot of time within the friendly confines of Beach Village, and why not - look at the place!!!  The staff were very friendly too.

Isla de Magaruque - our lagoon

Our first day, we got right into things and took a dhow trip out to Magaruque Island.  As it was low tide, we had to weave our way between the long sand bars just to make it out to the island.  It was the scenic route, and we had close up views of the fishermen in their boats, and walking out in the shallow waters, trying for the day's catch.  We arrived at the island, and pulled into a small lagoon, almost enclosed by the reef.  It was beautiful, and we were the only boat there, so very peaceful.  We were to swim across the lagoon, climb over the rocks and snorkel on the other side of the reef where the incoming tide would drift us down the reef.  There were some very colourful fish, but the water was pretty cold.  We snorkeled, then walked back up to have another go.  After a couple of times, we wanted to warm up in the sunshine, then were served fabulous crabs and a calamari curry for lunch on the beach.  Unfortunately, by now about 5 or 6 other boats had turned up to ruin our little paradise.

Three ladies on Vilanculos beach

To get away from the small crowds, we walked to the East side of the island, looking out to the Indian Ocean.  There were some nice dunes to climb up, but we had to bush-whack our way back across the island to get back in time to catch our dhow home. By now, the lagoon had disappeared at high tide, and the boat ride home was much more direct.
From this day on, we got stuck in the vortex of Beach Village - Vilanculos.  Not much going on each day but a great place to be; a walk into town at times, picking up some groceries including super fresh bread at the bakery, then making a trip along the beach to meet all the people selling the fresh seafood off the boats on the beach.  We came back with 4.5 kilograms of squid for about $17US, and 12 smallish to medium crabs for about $1.65US.  The crabs were unbelievably cheap, and some good meat on

Martin with Squids for dinner

them.  Apparently, they are pretty abundant out there.   For Canada Day, we brought the seafood home, and got the local chef to prepare and cook it for the 6 of us, and we gave him a tip for cooking it.  The 6 were, Jennie and Sean (still with us after almost 2 weeks), and Jenny and Andy, who were a fun, boisterous English couple who we met on the bus ride to Vilanculos.  Good laughs with dinner, and also at the beach bar later on.  One of the nights, we made a trek into town to hit up the Afro Bar.  Leaving at 2:30AM, we had a good night with the locals, and man, they can sure dance up a storm!!  But the toilets were something to write home about!!

One night we were really treated by Terrick, the South African guy who owns/manages the resort.  It was one of the guest's birthdays, so he had the chef make a cake.  It was massive, about 5 inches tall and really BIG, and was supposed to say 'From Beach Village'.  Terrick was surprised to see the cake come out with the lettering 'Jerk Baech Village'.  It made for a good laugh, but definitely something lost in translation!!

Birthday Cake 'From Beach Village'

Other than that, we really didn't fancy the town very much.  Not a lot interesting, but a necessity for our daily life.  We spent most of our time at the backpacker resort playing Carcassonne, and playing with Terrick's little puppy named Brutus!!  Soooooo tough to leave!  *Stub

Tofo (not Tofu), Mozambique

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Our bungalow at Bamboozi

We are not exactly sure why, but it seems like all the transport leaves at ridiculously early times in the morning - like 5AM.  So, together with Jennie and Sean we got up early and made our way to the 'chapa' (minibus) station.  Madness ensued, and of course some haggling, to finally get down to the correct price without any extra for baggage or whatever!!  I found it kind of crazy that on a long distance mini bus, there was absolutely no space for luggage, so we had all our bags piled around us, under seats, in aisles - every inch of space was used, and this of course made for a fairly uncomfortable ride!
Arriving on the beach in the popular backpacker town of Tofo was a nice feeling.  Because of price, we split up with Jennie and Sean, so we could camp at a place called Turtle Cove.  When we finally arrived there what seemed like an eternity of walking later, we found that we could camp, but they had NO other facilities for us to use - no kitchen, and no safe to lock up our valuables, were the big criteria.  So, we walked all the way back to town, then on to Bamboozi Lodge, another couple of kilometres the other way, to meet up with Jennie and Sean again.  In total we worked out we walked about 9km with our backpacks. Luckily, we hitched a ride on a diving truck for the final 1km, and needed a drink when we arrived.  Bamboozi was great and they even gave us a 2 bed bungalow for the same price as camping!!  We'll take that any day.

Overlooking Tofo Beach

We spent the next four days hanging out with Sean and Jennie and socialising with other guests at the resort chatting about the wonderful countries of Africa and collecting great tips and recommendations for our future travels. Alan, who we'd originally met 10 days ago at Swaziland Backpackers, also made it to Bamboozi, and with Jennie and Sean, the five of us walked the beach by day and played Carcassonne by night- a game that Martin and I had introduced them back in Maputo -- and to which they were now addicted to. We basically just chilled out in Tofo and our major highlight was cooking up huge crayfish bartered from local fisherman on the beach in town.

Sean and Jennie with Michelle in front of Bamboozi

The thing that draws people to Tofo are its beaches, its laid-back feeling and its whale sharks! Scuba diving and snorkeling is the thing to do! It was pretty expensive though at $60 for a two hour snorkeling trip, so we thought we'd check out the snorkeling deals further up north at Vilanculos, and if not there, then we would retrace our footsteps back to Tofo and find those whale sharks.   We'll see what transpires, but it would pretty special to see one of these massive fish up close and personal.  * Stub/Mush

Our delicious crayfish dinner

4 M's - Michelle and Martin in Maputo, Mozambique

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Sean, Jennie, Michelle at Helena's Place

Monday, it was finally time to leave the comfort and spoilings of Paula and Sergio at Swaziland Backpackers and get traveling again. A 6 hour local minibus ride got us effortlessly through the Mozambique border and on to Maputo. We were happily distracted for most of it chatting away to an English/Australian couple in the van; we had lots of travel stories in common and the time flew by.
For a couple of days we explored with Jennie and Sean, Mozambique's capital city Maputo. I had to put on my language head and shift from the recent French we had to use in Madagascar to Portuguese. We found local markets and drank a few beers outside "mama's" place, went to the infamous train station (ranked in Time magazine as one of the 10 nicest train stations in the world), and enjoyed local art at the art gallery (the sculptures and paintings were a little dark at times). Mozambique's most famous painter died this year, and some of his art was on display.  We also had some nice encounters with locals whilst getting things sewn up at a row of men with sewing machines!

Michelle and the Tailors of Maputo

Michelle also had the nerve to ask a church attendant whether it was possible to climb up the church tower.  She went to get the key, and the 4 of us tackled the circular stairways all the way up to the scary walkway around the tower.  I love being up high and seeing cities from above - gives you a whole new perspective.  Since the railings were pretty sparse, we made our way down relatively quickly,  put our donation in the box, and were happy that Michelle asked!!

We crammed in to Maputo's small minivan buses where they squash about 4 (sometimes large) people across the seats (instead of 3) and even had people hunched over as standing room in what was not even considered an aisle. At the sea front we aimed for the fish market and we were disappointed by the inflated tourist prices for the (delicious-looking) squid and snapper and prawns. We had been told you can buy the fish and find a local to cook it up for you.  Since it is now in the travel books, and has received an influx of tourists, the prices were actually more expensive than at home, so we gave it a miss!  A shame, as we were all looking forward to the promise of lovely seafood, but our tastebuds would have to wait.

Jennie, Sean and Michelle on the Church Tower above Maputo

We were happy to find that Jennie and Sean tend to travel in the same manner/budget we like to.  So, the struggle of finding decent priced food was difficult, but we were rewarded eventually with a delicious meal at a VERY local little stand that served up tasty chicken and a huge pile of rice or pap (local mashed potato type thing), with sauce.  All for about $1.50!!  YUM, but too bad this was our last day!!
We were surprised to find American Alan at our hostel one night.  We had met him in Swaziland, and weren't expecting to see him again, but we enjoyed his company and spent the evening teaching all three of them our game Carcassonne, which they all got addicted to!!  *  Mush/Stub

Grandad the Explorer

In January - Martin with Grandad, Uncle Chris and Aunt Hazel

One of my fears traveling is that you are so far away from home, and if something bad happens, it is not only hard to do anything, but sometimes it is a long time before you hear about it.  Well, this occurred in Swaziland, as I received news of my Grandad's passing in London, but not until about 5 days after it happened.  He was a strong 91 years old, and had been an inspiration for us to get out and explore.  Since my Grandmother died from Alzheimers about 15 years ago, he started doing so many things he always wanted to do; fly on Concorde, travel to Gibraltar, take the Rocky Mountain Railway in Canada, and he would even travel to France for the day, to name a few - and he was in his 80's.  He also enjoyed just getting on a bus in London, and seeing where it ended up only to return on the next one back - then take a different one the next day.  He just liked to get out and explore.  When I visited him on my first big trip in 2001, he gave me a walking tour of London, at the tender age of 81!!   We rode the buses, boats up the river Thames, and hiked up the hill to Greenwich.
A highlight of my return visit was when I met a bunch of travel friends at a river boat bar on the Thames.  Grandad came along, and was known across the bar as "Grandad" to everyone.  All had a great time with him, and I think he really enjoyed his night out with all the 'kids' - not to mention his fish and chips at the bar!  I walked him to the Tube at about 10PM, and he found his own way home from there.  We repeated this a few years later, but this time my Dad was able to join us at the boat - 3 generations!!
He was a good man, and still very "with it" mentally.  Michelle and I were lucky to visit him just in January, and he asked a lot of astute questions about our trip, and shared some of his stories from when he was stationed in Egypt during the war.  A nice visit and a very good memory with him.
Cheers to my Grandad, we remember you fondly.   *Stub

The Sun's not Down on Swaziland Yet!!

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Once we left Mlilwane, we were somehow drawn back to Sundowner's Backpackers.  Our tastebuds were salivating, and the friendly warm welcome back we would receive, was something we looked forward to.  It is something you miss when you are traveling, a place that makes you feel at home!!  So, we planned a quick overnight stop back there, whilst we had some business to take care of, namely getting a Mozambique visa in the capital city of Mbabane.

Our Camp site at Sundowners

We had originally planned to head south into South Africa, but so many people told us how much they loved Mozambique in the South, we decided we were too close to not go.  We took the combi-van up to Mbabane, and searched out the Mozambique High Commission, and were pretty surprised to find out how easy the visa process turned out to be.  After applying, we had to go to town to deposit the money in their account at the bank, then return at 2PM to pick it up.  Piece of cake, and we were stunned to see it all work out.  A side note, Mbabane was a relatively mediocre town, with the usual hustle and bustle of a medium sized African city.

Group at Sundowners including Sergio and Paula in centre

After our first delicious meal back, we decided to stay another day and help Sergio and Paula out with a little work at their place.  Martin spent the full day helping sand and prep an exterior wall for painting, so at least we could give something back to them!

Of course, we were then treated to another delicious braai (bbq) meal, and the promise of another the next day.  So that meant we were sticking around one more day, because neither of us could resist the offer of ROAST TURKEY on Father's Day!!
We did manage to get out a little while at Sundowner's.  One night, we joined a Swiss girl named Dominique to go to the House on Fire.  A very funky, artsy bar/performance centre that reminded me of Gaudi style architecture and bizarre art from Barcelona area.  It was a great venue for a concert and we watched a local Swazi singer/band called

A Night out at House on Fire

Nancy Ginindza and the Human Family.  Great show, and a good view from our perch above right of the stage!  We also visited another strange but successful Swazi place - Swazi Candles - where they make all kinds of interesting candles shaped like African animals in all kinds of colours and patterns.  Very cool actually.  We probably would have bought something if we weren't afraid of it melting.  We did buy a nice Batik from one of the vendors out front, and we have taken to decorating our rooms with it along the way!!

The morning before the turkey, we joined Dutch Mark, and American Alan, on a quick drive around Swaziland.  It is a tiny country, where I think you can drive from one side to the other in about 3 hours.  We saw some interesting sights like the Magugo dam, and a walk to the interesting, community run Tsangwini Rock Art.  The rock art is approximately 4000 years old, and still well preserved.

Animal shapes at Swazi Candles

It is apparently the only rock art in Africa depicting humans with wings - very interesting.
Mark drove back quickly as we were late for turkey, and when we arrived we feasted on soooooooo much food!!  It was fabulous, and with 3 desserts also.  As it was Father's Day, Paula and Sergio's families were there for the feast!  It was a nice day, and she even invited our friends Rachael and Allana from the orphanage!!   So very generous!!   *Stub

Walking Amongst the Wildlife, Mlilwane Nature Reserve, Swaziland

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Martin on Execution Rock high above the Ezulwini Valley

It was tough to leave, but we finally moved away from Sundowner's Backpackers.  The hospitality there, and the wonderful meals, kept us hanging around.  Both Paula and Sergio made us feel like family.  We will return one day!!
But, we didn't go too far, only around 10 km away to the Mlilwane Nature Reserve, where we set up our tent at Sondzela's Backpackers and we excited to see zebra and warthogs from our tent.  No sooner had we set up, we started hiking out in the reserve.  We found it really interesting that you can just walk amongst the animals without fences or being closed up in your car.  Tons of impala, nyala, kudu, and other antelopes.  Warthogs, zebra, hippos, and some scary looking crocodiles (they advise you not to go too close to the water - duly noted).  Definitely not in Canada anymore Toto!!

Lunar Eclipse

It was nice to just chill out and watch the animals when we wanted to, and stroll through the forests.  At the main camp, the animals were not shy, with one nyala trying to steal Michelle's sandwich from her hand.  Back at the hostel, they had a friendly ostrich they called Cindy.  She just strolled around the place, but it was a little weird being face to face with her at times.
One of the evenings, we were lucky to see a full lunar eclipse - pretty special considering where we were in the nature reserve.
A following day, we took on a larger hike and made it all the way up Execution Rock.  This provided us with some great views over the Ezulwini Valley and further.  It was nice to get out and do some exercise, as we've been a little sluggish for a while. We took in the full views, spending about 1.5 hours on the windy summit.  On the walk back to the hostel, we got a treat as we spotted two hippos sunning themselves on a little island.  I hadn't really seen any hippo out of the water in the daytime, and these two were pretty close to us!!  Apparently, there are more human fatalities from hippos, than any other animal in Africa - I guess they are quite territorial, and have poor eyesight, but can run at 35 mph.  I wouldn't want to be in the way of one of those trucking along!!   *Stub

Hippos at the Pond

Volunteering in the Kingdom of Swaziland

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After three days in Joburg it was time to move on and get on with our Swaziland adventure. Our minivan was expensive but safe. Many people tell us to not take the combi vans for long distances so the only other alternative was to catch the expensive minibus 500R - $70 for a 5 hour journey.

We had to wait at the border leaving South Africa as one of the other passengers had picked up his wife's passport instead of his own when he by mistake. His own passport was back in Cape Town (a 5 hour ride and two hour plane away!) Eventually through much persuasion by some of the other women passengers, the border police decided to permit him exit and re-entry. His daughter was anxiously waiting for him across the border in Swaziland, and unfortunately we had to leave him waiting for his temporary documentation to be sorted. We later found out that he did get through safely.

Michelle with Rachael, Allana, and kids at the orphanage

Since we arrived late, and couldn't get in touch with our friends at the orphanage and the backpackers, and the taxi driver had no idea where the hostel was, we eventually got a ride to Manzini with a lady from our bus, and she invited us to stay with her for the night. Angela was our rescuer. She had a spare room and together we assembled a delicious late evening meal. The next morning we finally, we got in touch with our friends from the orphanage, and Angela actually drove us all the way there - super nice!!  Here we were our first night in Swaziland and we had already encountered Ubuntu yet again! How great was that!

Lunch Line

For the next nine consecutive days we worked solidly at the New Hope Centre orphanage getting a ride with Sergio the hostel owner every morning at 7.30 and getting back every evening before dark at around 6pm. The kids were so much fun. Some took to us more than others and wanted to play with us or just to be around us. There were some interesting characters for sure! Many come from tragic backgrounds, many are still recovering. For some you would never know that they had been left for dead under trees or seriously abused by members of their family. The New Hope Centre was doing what it was supposed to - giving children the chance for a better life.

Pentecost Celebration

Swaziland has the highest rate of HIV/AIDS in Africa - between 40% and 50%. The population of Swaziland is 850,000 people (it used to be 950,000), and about 200,000 of those are estimated to be orphaned children. Those numbers are really shocking and it's only just recently that Swaziland has come out of denial and admitting it has a problem with the HIV! As for the children they are left to fend for themselves or live with family members who abuse them. They lead pretty miserable lives. At New Hope there are 49 children that have better lives and given the hope that their futures can be different.

Martin with Titus and Hepsipa

When the kids were in school, Martin and I did all sorts of projects such as painting buildings, organising camping gear, first aid medical supplies and the director's offices. The orphanage was hard, but rewarding work and we would come home exhausted every night.

As for where we stayed - Swaziland Backpackers, it was one of our most favourite places so far. The owners, Sergio and Paula, were just taking on the running of the place since there manager left a week before and they made us feel so welcome and part of their family. Every night Paula would cook some amazingly delicious food with a huge variety of dishes. It was so wonderful to have home cooked food every night amongst Sergio and Paula and the other guests. The nights were getting colder (it's winter here) and we would keep warm around the camp fire before heading to our tent. * Mush 

Spoiled in Joburg, South Africa

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With Derek Stretton, Distiller of Stretton's gin

Talk about getting spoiled!  Despite our flight's super late arrival in to Johannesburg from Nosy Be, Madagascar, we were greeted at the airport by a very chirpy and gregarious Paige.  Now, Paige is a good friend of our friends Steve and Kerry-Lyn in London, and she had invited us to stay in Jo'burg, and wow, lucky us!!  Steve and Kerry-Lyn, I know, will be super-jealous of the warm and homely welcome that we received from Paige and her husband Roger, and daughter Zoe.  We had a fabulous stay while we attempted to figure out our next adventure, and how to do it.

We wanted to get to Swaziland to volunteer at an orphanage there (we had met some girls from the orphanage when we were in Pretoria our previous time in South Africa). Our dilemma: budget versus safety. Renting a car to head to Swaziland and out the other side back into South Africa would be convenient, but not the most economical since the car would sit idle for a couple of weeks while we volunteered at the orphanage.  After a couple of days of research in Jo'burg, we came to the conclusion we would just take an "expensive" bus to Swaziland, as we had no other safe options!

Michelle and Paige

While struggling with our research we were wonderfully pampered and deliciously fed and watered! Not to mention Paige and Roger's friends and family that we got to meet and enjoy. In true Jo-burg winter-style we warmed around the camp fire in the garden, ate gourmet steaks from the braii (or barbecue), and ate fabulous pasta made by their great Italian friend, Adi. For me it was also an extreme honour to meet the Distiller and namesake of Stretton's Gin - Paige's father Derek Stretton. As some of you may know, I like my G&Ts. And believe me this was delicious gin!

Sign at Apartheid Museum

We were lucky that Paige had some time to take us to the famous Apartheid Museum - something we had missed doing when we were in Jo'burg a month ago. It was fascinating and thought provoking. The hardships and challenges were unimaginable.  It was an extensive (and emotionally exhausting) museum with so much info - we really needed 4 days rather than 4 hours to appreciate it!

With Paige, Roger and Zoe we certainly discovered the spirit of Ubuntu - South African generosity and hospitality at its best. Thank you! * Mush

Nosing Around Nosy Be, Madagascar

  

At about 5:30AM, we were out on the road awaiting our taxi brousse.  This one had to leave Diego

Michelle Visiting a school on Nosy Be

at a ridiculous 4AM to get to us - why so early???  We shoe-horned ourselves into the seats and set off at the usual high speed, swerving around the car sized potholes on our way to Ankify, and the ferry to the island of Nosy Be.  We were greeted by madness again, with boat sellers swarming us before we even had a chance to get our bags - I really hate that.  After a quick bite, and attempt by the shop owner to rip us off, we haggled our way onto a speed boat destined for Nosy Be. 

The ride was wonderful, and nice to be our on the sea again, this time in the North West of Madagascar.  Our port town in Nosy Be was the wonderfully named Hell Ville.  Actually named for Admiral Hell, not any other reason, this quaint little town had a nice feel to it, but no beaches, so we hopped in a combi van to Ambatalokoa and found some nice, authentic accommodation at Chez Aly - the cheapest in the beach town. 

It was time for some relax time on the beach, but not until we had walked the town and figured out the lay of the land.  Looked like it was a little touristy, but this was nice because we had some funky bars, and nice looking restaurants.  These were followed by the local shops, and street stalls, where we get the nice, cheap food.  After an afternoon, on the beach, we enjoyed some fantastic calamari at a restaurant on the beach, and just enjoyed the vibe of the little beach town.

Andilana Beach

The next morning, we rented a motorbike (Thai style), and set out on our own for once, to explore the island.   Nosy Be is only about 60km to circle the island, so we had time to explore along the way.  Our first stop was at a little pre-school we passed along the way.  Of course the kids were super cute, but these were shyer than usual.  It was another great experience, as their faces opened up more and more during our visit.  On to Andilana, and what they say is the best beach on the island.  It was beautiful, but was also dominated at one end by the very high end, all inclusive resort that is full or Italian tourists - I bet most of these never leave the complex!!  Very unfortunate as there is so much out there!!

We took in the nice scenery around the island, stopping at some deserted beaches along the way.  We also passed the local airport, where we were due the next day for our flight to Johannesburg. It was nice seeing more local life near Hell-Ville, watching the fishing, kids playing, cooking, and even getting asked for a bribe from the police - which we chose to ignore (money for a drink he said).

Hell-Ville port

More calamari that night, a couple of Three Horse Beer Fresh Panaches, and in the morning we were off to the airport.  We were being met by a friend of a friend at Joburg, so were happy to see the plane head out to the runway on time.  We both made silly comments like "not like a taxi brousse - waiting until the plane is full until it leaves", or "stopping to pick people up on the way".  We managed to JINX ourselves, and the plane headed back to the terminal, and we disembarked while they checked out some mechanical issues.  We left about two hours late, and from the plane, we saw a funny sight - about 8 men sweeping the runway with little brooms.  They had a Hell of a job ahead, if they are only using little brooms!!
*Stub

 

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Tsingy Thingys in Reserve Special L'Ankarana, Madagascar

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Martin and Michelle on Tsingy

From the gorgeous beaches of the Emerald Sea, we started to head South.  After walking around in circles in Diego Suarez, trying to find the taxi brousse station, one actually found us.  You are always a little concerned when they find you, but it worked out again, and we arrived in one piece at Reserve Special L'Ankarana.  Another interesting park in Madagascar that was not only interesting for wildlife, but also the Tsingy that were within the park boundaries.  Tsingy is basically limestone that has been eroded over centuries by wind and water, into some amazing formations with razor sharp edges.

Upon our arrival in what seemed like the middle of nowhere, and subsequent acquiring of accommodation for our cheapest price in Madagascar (Yeah!!), we rushed to join a couple on a tour through the park.  A guide is mandatory in the park, but costs the same price for 1 or up to 4 people, so sharing a guide is a good way to save money.  Olivia and Ralf, from Germany, were ready to leave so Michelle and I quickly threw some stuff together and we were out hiking in the park.

We were surprised at how many lemurs we saw in this park - they seemed to be everywhere including the very small Northern Sportive lemur, Crowned lemurs, and the bearded Sanford lemurs.  Of course, the real star of this park is the tsingy, and we were thrilled when we finally came across the formations.  Smaller in size than I expected, but a vast expanse of the rock.  We attempted to walk out on the rock, but with the skinny, razor sharp edges, we didn't attempt very far to avoid cutting ourselves up, as a fall would be disastrous.  They had built a nice suspension bridge across a small gorge, so we were able to get good views over the area.  Also, since Olivia is a professional opera singer, we listened to her fantastic voice in the bizarre landscape.

We had a good evening with Ralf and Olivia, and enjoyed our stay at the little Chez L'Aurelien - and our little wooden huts were nice and comfortable.  But we all managed to get up super early to head out into the park again.  This time, our path led us to the park's Bat Cave.  En route, we saw some early morning lemurs in baobab trees - so very Madagascan.  The bat cave had a massive entrance, and 130 something steps down to it.  Seeing all the orange bat eyes reflected from our headlamps is a little freaky, luckily they weren't flying around us too much.

Crowned Lemurs on Tsingy

After saying goodbye to Ralf and Olivia, we took a nap, then decided to head back into the park again, this time with fun, friendly guide named Francois.  We did a very long walk, taking in more tsingy, lemurs, flora, and even a subway/cave walk through the tsingy, and over the suspension bridge again.  Unfortunately, Michelle fell on the tsingy, and sliced her hand up pretty good - very sharp stuff this tsingy.  We also managed to see something that National Geographic photographers waited 2 weeks to capture - lemur walking through the tsingy.  We were happy to see the brown females, and grey males hopping across the rocks - lucky us!   Our walk was so long, we arrived home in darkness and were exhausted.  A super early morning awaited us, with a taxi brousse, so we needed all the sleep we could get.   *Stub

The Emerald Sea, Madagascar

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A pirogue in the Emerald Sea

To save 3 days in a taxi brousse, we bucked up and bought a flight to the North - specifically Diego Suarez.  There are more parks we wanted to visit there, and our flight was out of Nosy Be - an island in the North.  It was worth the money, to get a few extra days enjoying.
We quickly found out that we would have difficulty getting to the parks without the aid (and $$$$) of a 4x4, so we decided to chill out for a couple of days at the beach in Ramena. 
Our accommodation was a little shoddy, but right on the beach in the sleepy little town.  The locals very friendly, except for one shop owner that tried to overcharge us for a beer, even though it was clearly marked.  When we questioned it, she got all defensive and ended up smashing the bottle on the ground, much to the chagrin of her staff, and people on the street!  Weird!!
We brushed off that little experience easily, as we immediately found our favourite little restaurant, right on the beach, serving up delicious calamari for cheap, cheap, cheap!!  MMmmmmmm, delicious - we did return.

Martin with the Friendly Kids on Ramena

We met some really cute kids earlier in the day, ones that just wanted to be picked up and swung around.  Turned out, one of the little guys was named Kidico, and he was the restaurant owner's son.  He hung out with us for dinners, and we had some fun babysitting him.
It was nice to chill for a little bit, and a nice beach at that.  The second day in town, we booked on a boat trip to the Emerald Sea.  After some confusion in the morning, and the "Africa Time" (1.5 hrs late), we hopped on the pirogue, and set sail with a couple of French guys out for some kiteboarding.  We thought it was a snorkel trip, but these guys were getting dropped off on a little beach and kiting over to meet the pirogue for lunch on this beautiful island in the middle of the emerald coloured water.  I was quite envious, but maybe I will return with my kite next time!!
The sailing was enjoyable though, as the scenery was spectacular.  We did manage to snorkel a little, but only whilst the captain was out snorkeling with a spear gun to catch us lunch!  And what delicious lunch it was - crab and fresh fish, with salads, chips and fruit.  Wow....   only a couple of cold beers topped that meal off just right! 

Lunch on the Island paradise

The guys managed another kiting session, whilst Michelle and I relaxed while watching crabs dig their holes in the beach in the powder white sand.  Then it was some sailing back home along the coast, into the bay.  We both had a good sunburn to remember the day!   *Stub

Lemur Watching in Parc Nacional Ranomafana, Madagascar

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With Joanne and John at Rianala Gite

We met John and Joanne on the train the previous day, and were planning to take a taxi brousse to Ranomafana.  As John's knee was acting up, Michelle and I walked to the taxi-brousse station, and John/Joanne were to follow in a pousse pousse (Vietnam-style foot rickshaw).  To our surprise, they pulled up in a nice big 4x4, that was apparently returning to Fianarantsoa, and was picking up a few fares as extra cash.  It cost the same as the taxi brousse, and was much more comfortable, and quicker.   Good score!!
South of Antananarivo is Parc Nacional de Ranomafana with lush hills and rainforest.  We stayed in a dorm-style "gite" with Joanne and John right outside the park gates - couldn't have been closer!!

Golden Bamboo Lemur

We had a couple of days in the park with a guide (Lorei) watching the golden bamboo lemurs up close and personal. Martin, in spite of feeling yuk with a head-cold was glad that he came out. It was special being that close seeing them preen and groom each other. We also managed another night walk, and Martin was excited because he finally spotted a chameleon on his own - not such an easy task.  We also were relatively close to a tiny little mouse lemur, about the size of a small rodent with long tail.

Onto Ambositra by taxi-brousse which turned out to be our worst one yet - the driver was going just too, fast racing another taxi-brousse about 3 feet  off his bumper (no lie!). After which we got off and kissed the ground. What does our heads in, is that there's absolutely no benefit that we could see - not even in picking up more fares! He was just plain crazy. I was so angry and scared I told him in a mixture of Malagasy and French that he had bad, dangerous driving. Ritza be! (very bad).  Martin just wanted to stay put, as he was in rough shape.  Too bad, as Ambositra is supposed to be the artisan capital of Madagascar, with some beautiful villages to the south that are Unesco Heritage sites, because of the indigenous people that live there.  Oh well, a rest day is required every now and then!!

Sunrise in Ambositra

To make up for this nightmare journey our next Taxi-brousse to Tana to catch a flight up north, was calm and pleasant - which was just as well as Martin was still nursing his cold, although feeling much better. * Mush

The Only Operational Passenger Train in Madagascar

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Train crossing one of the many bridges

We had heard horror stories about the taxi brousse from Morondava to Antsirabe.  First, it is a small mini-van packed to the gills, and takes about 12 hours or so to drive the pothole filled road.  Add to this, that at night, they try to group together in convoy, with a couple of policemen, to try to avoid the bandits - you can imagine that we were not really looking forward to the drive.  We had to get back though, so this was the only answer.  In reality, we found a vehicle going in the daytime, sat next to a local guide who complained bitterly when they tried to overfill the seats leaving us space, and only were on the road for about 10 hours.  Quite a pleasant journey actually, to our surprise.

Michelle's saviour - camera chasing man

Not so the next day, as we waited 4 hours for the van to fill, and finally we were off to Fianarantsoa to catch the only operational passenger train in Madagascar, from Fian to Manakara on the East coast.
The train is still used by many local villagers, heading to and from the markets and towns.  It seemed that the "First Class" car was filled with Faza's (Malagasy for foreigner), which was a little disappointing.  The train was going to stop often at local stations though, so we could move around.
Michelle became well known on the train within the first hour, but more for the fact that while looking out the open door, her camera case fell off the strap, and out the door onto the tracks.  A couple of the local train personnel saw this happen, and to our surprise they actually STOPPED the train.  Of course, the train took a little time to slow down, but one guy actually jumped out of the train, hopped on a bike of a local passerby, and rode back to look.  We had written off the chance of finding the camera, but back he came, with the case held high.  Michelle could have kissed him - her saviour!!!  So everyone knew Michelle now, including the train conductor, that came back to issue the "fine" for stopping the train.  We were expecting some exorbitant number, but he said it was 900 Ariary per minute - the equivalent of $0.45 per minute, and for 12 minutes, it would cost us about $5 - Phew!!!  That was worth it for the camera, and the camera finder guy also got a nice tip for his efforts which he was thrilled about!!!

Riding in "Second" Class

So, the rest of the journey was much less crazy!  The train traveled through some lovely hilly, rainforesty scenery.  It stopped VERY often at all the little villages to drop off locals, and produce, but also to allow the locals to board and sell snacks and food.  It was a day full of eating little snacks all along the way.  Some of us "fazas" would get off every station and meet the locals, but I felt a bit like we were staring into a goldfish bowl.  Of course, the kids loved getting their photo taken, and were really excited.  Then we were back on the move again, to the next batch of kids.
Michelle and I changed things up a bit, and spent some time in the "Second Class" car.  We got right in, and started talking with the locals and had a wonderful time there.  Everyone was very curious as to why we were there, and not in First Class, but they had beaming smiles, and friendly giggles.  We actually got invited to the home of Anna, who lives about half way along the journey.  It was with great regret that we had to decline, only because we had no idea where we would be, and we had a flight in a few days that we had to get to.  So nice though, and we love that part of traveling.

The gathering for the arrival of the daily train

As the afternoon was coming to a close, and dusk was upon us, we moved back to our car.  I particularly enjoyed sitting at the train door steps, watching the scenery rush by.  The journey was becoming a little long now, and most of us just wanted it to be over, and were relieved when after about 12 hours, we arrived in Manakara.  We celebrated with a beer at the hotel!   *Stub

Another fun stop in a local village