Monday 8 June 2015 Windhoek to The Waterberg Plateau
Our hostess, Anthea, cooks us a superb breakfast and tries to get an appointment with dentist for Erich because he has broken a tooth. Unfortunately he is unable to see him straight away and as Erich is in no pain he decides to leave it until we return to Windhoek in a week’s time.
The birds are active at the feeding table and bird bath and before we leave I take a few photographs of these cute little blue waxbills and black-throated canaries.
On our way to the Waterberg Platteaux we stop to shop and refuel at Okahandju. The street markets look interesting so we decide to browse. The traders are pushy and call for us to come into their shops. We look at some necklaces and small bowls in one and ask how much. He shows us a hugely inflated price on the calculator on his cell phone and says – “This is my normal price – but because you are my first customer today – I will give it to you for less.” The price offered is still way too much so I help Wendy bargain. “$400 is my final offer.” I tell him after haggling for several minutes. He looks upset and annoyed and shakes his head so we turn to leave. He calls us back – Fine -You can have it all for $400 but it means I will starve!”
We wanted to browse at some more shops but the pushiness of the traders put us off and we escaped as fast as we could. It’s a pity – because if they offered a reasonalbe price to begin with they would get more customers and make more money! Every trader who approached us after this began with – because you’re my first customer, I will give you a special price!
Earl decides to buy some braai meat and salads as he has a feeling that there might be a place to braai at The Waterberg. When I booked in I was told there was no self-catering at any of the Namibian Wildlife Reserve chalets.
When we check in, we find that we could have had one chalet instead of 2. The person who booked me in had not explained that I only needed one chalet for 4 people although she knew perfectly well I was booking for 4! There is a fridge and kettle in the chalet but it is not equipped with any other catering utensils. There is, however, a braai! I have my own catering equipment so we are delighted to be able to have a home cooked meal for a change. The cottages are clean and comfortable and banded mongoose are there to welcome us.
After snacking on last night’s leftovers from Joe’s Beer House we go for a 4 hour game drive on the plateaux. It is fun and we see giraffe, sable, buffalo, springbok, impala, eland and kudu. We hope to see the rhino but no luck in this respect!
Wendy and Erich at the viewpoint on the plateau Inquisitive Giraffe
Damara Hornbill
It is warm travelling up to the plateau but the sun is setting on our return and so the chill sets in. Luckily we have our warm jackets and rugs with us. There are also rugs available on the vehicle.
We have a lovely braai for supper and turn in early so as to be ready to leave for Etosha tomorrow.
We are up and ready to for breakfast at 6:30 sharp, enjoy a leisurely breakfast, take photos of a hot air balloon over the mountains, check out and set off for Windhoek.
The highlight is travelling over the Spreetshoogte Pass. Meaning: Spreeth’s Peak Pass. It connects the Namib Dessert with the Khomas Highland by traversing the Great Escarpment and is the steepest pass in Namibia.
The pass was erected during World War II by farmer Nicolaas Spreeth, after whom it is named. He owned the farm Ubib just at the foot of the escarpment. Whenever goods were delivered to his farm they would be dropped at a bus stop at farm Namibgrens (English: Namib border) on top of the mountain. To gather them the choice was to either travel via Remhoogte Pass approximately 30 kilometres (19 mi) southwards, or to trek uphill along existing Zebra paths.
Spreeth decided to do the latter, fortifying the path with quartzite rocks whenever he undertook the journey. Soon the bright white rocks formed a line that could be spotted from a distance. Spreeth even catered for motor vehicles (not very strong at that time), placing long, flat patches of road ahead of every steep ascent. He built the pass literally with his own hands. To flatten obstacles he used dynamite.
Here we go
Our hostess is not home when we arrive at Anjo Villa Guest House so we duck to the local supermarket café and have a coffee before checking in.
What a charming place it is. After unpacking we sit under the trees and have a glass of wine and a chat, download emails using the free wi-fi and at 4:30 make our way into Windhoek. As advised by Anthea we pop into Joe’s Beerhouse for a drink but are so fascinated by the place we decide to stay for dinner. It is a series of outdoor enclosures and spaces filled with all sorts of memorabilia and relics of the past and present. Basically it’s junk made to look interesting. Possibly each piece has a history and a story behind it. We wander about enjoying the exhibition and then sit at a table next to a roaring fire in the middle of the boma where we eat. Wendy and I enjoy Kessler and sauerkraut, Earl has lamb shank and Erich eisbein. They both have to get doggy bags as the portions are so huge.
After that we head to the casino, have a cup of tea and lose some money before coming back for an early night.
Our wake-up call is a knock on the door at 4:30 am. It is a tad chilly and we all meet wrapped up in fleeces and warm jackets. It is an hour’s drive to the sunrise spot. We take photos of the rising sun before climbing a high dune.
Dune Sunrise
The name, Sossusvlei, comes from two languages – Sossus is the Nama word meaning No Return – or – Dead End. Vlei is the Afrikaans word for marsh or pan. The actual Sossusvlei is a salt and clay pan which fills with water on the rare occasion that it rains. There is no water in it when we visit. The name “Sossusvlei” also refers to the surrounding area (including other neighbouring vleis such asDeadvlei and other high dunes), which is one of the major visitor attractions of Namibia. The area has many high sand dunes of a vivid pinkish/orangish/reddish colour caused by the high content of iron in the sand and the consequent oxidation processes. The older the dune, the redder the colour. Big Daddy is 380m high and this is the one we climb!
Big Daddy
Erich at the top
The dry pans look white because of the high salt content
Wendy does well but has a height phobia so decides to go back down after a while. As we climb it seems to get steeper and steeper with each footfall! There are a number of other climbers, some in groups, some individual. We have a photographic group in front of us so they keep stopping to take interesting and creative photographs giving us an excuse to rest frequently! We are supposed to descend at a certain point and go down to Deadvlei but I turn back and go the way I came meeting Sammy on his way up and he tells me to return so as to get to Deadvlei with him. Omiword – another upward climb before I can descend! I am feeling a bit shaky – from low blood pressure or altitude intolerance – or perhaps I’m just not fit enough for dune climbing!
The descent is lovely. We make our way to Deadvlei where the trees have been dead for almost a thousand years. There is underground water so there is a grove of green trees there too. We wonder around and take creative photos and then make our way back to the vehicle.
Looking across to one of the dunes
A short drive to Sossusvlei and we disembark once again where we find a beautifully laid breakfast table set up by Sammy who then presents us with cereal, fruit salad, yoghurt, cold meats, boiled eggs and fresh bread. Wow. The Cape Sparrows think it was for them and twitter away in the trees until we give in and feed them a few crumbs.
Our return trip takes us past all the amazing dunes and we marvel at the shapes and contrasting colours. We stop to photograph Dune 45 so named because it is 45 km from Sossus Dune Lodge.
By now it is hot and we all take off the outer layers. Back at the lodge I have a shower and change into shorts.
I put on cargo pants and take a fleece to fly over the dunes in the afternoon. We have to go to another lodge just outside the park to get our over-dune flight. We pay our fare, receive proper tickets and fill in an indemnity form at the Adventure Activity desk and then are taken to the airfield by one of the staff who also explains where we would go and what signals the pilot would give to indicate what he sees below. Unfortunately the plane is not equipped with earphones! Loubser is our pilot and we are his fifth trip of the day. I am feeling only a tad nervous having recently been up in a light aircraft with Abri and survived! This plane is a little bigger but not as comfortable as Abri’s. But I can open a tiny square in my window to take photographs which makes a big difference. I will let the photos tell the story.
Sossus Dune Lodge from the air
The Dunes
Wave after wave of them
Old Mining Settlement
The dunes stretch all the way to the sea
The Wreck
Seal Colony
Dinner this evening is kudu steak for me and Earl and pork for the Schoffls. After our long and exciting day we are in bed by 8 o’clock.
We wake at 6 and Earl and I watch the second half of another movie – The Journey of Charley and Hooch – or some such name – an Australian movie starring Paul Hogan.
We then join Erich and Wendy for breakfast which is really good – continental cheeses and cold meats, cereals and yogurt and eggs to order.
Our trip to Sossuvlei is interesting. We enjoy the changing scenery and arrive at Sossus Dune Lodge at 12 noon.
Earl goes into frantic mode because he can’t see the sign to the lodge. I have to calm him down to a panic before he realises that we are right there. We go through the gate, give our details and then go to the reserve reception to pay the conservation fee.
It is still another 2km to the lodge and when we arrive we see some distant huts.
Earl once again has a nervous breakdown at the thought of having to drag luggage a fair distance to the door. However, we are ushered into an undercover parking and met by an open land rover and told, “We will take you and your luggage from here.”
We are duly delivered to the lodge reception and I go ahead to book in. Outside reception a charming and cheerful Herbert greets me and asks me to wait just a few minutes. Earl and the others arrive and my stressed out hubby immediately attacks me – Why haven’t you checked in? – I have to have a few firm words with him to calm down and wait to do as he is told. He decides that to cross me further will not be in his best interests and nervously paces until Herbert ushers us into reception and brings refreshing glasses of litchi juice for each of us. We fill in the visitors book and he then eloquently explains what is on offer at Sossus Dune Lodge. He stares straight at Earl and says – Do not worry about your luggage, sir – it will be delivered to your cabin – so Earl is able to breathe again. He gives us the details of where we will be lodged, what trips we can book and what and when meals will be served. And so within the first half hour of our arrival a sunset drive, sunrise drive and air flip over the dunes is organised! Tea and coffee is free unless it’s cappuccino, complementary water is in our fridges, breakfast will be served at the sunrise drive venue and snacks will be freely available on the sunset drive too!
We have cabin 13 and 14 right in front of the waterhole and first off we find gemsbok drinking and later springbok and warthog appear.
Very comfy beds
Enormous bathroom
The waterhole is right in front of our chalet
We meet our guide, Sammy, at quarter past four and along with four British tourists climb into a really nice carriage which is glassed in so that we do not get too cold! It is warm at first and we drive with the windows down. Sammy is an excellent guide and stops to show us oryx and gives information about the bachelor herds and age of the buck we see. Because we are with him we can go to areas that self-drive cars may not. We stop at Elim dune first and find a fallen down sociable weaver nest. The birds are there too.
Community nest built by the industrious socialbe weavers.
Gemsbok (oryx) blending into the dune
At our sunset spot Sammy sets up a table with snacks and drinks. We watch beautiful sunset while sipping our sundowners.
Wendy ad Earl
It is dark on our return trip and we are most grateful for the glassed in doors.
Dinner at the lodge is a set menu with a choice of chicken or beef. We skip the soup starter and all chose the Hawaiian Chicken served with pasta. It is delicious.
We are all in the pool by quarter to 8 this morning. Erich and Wendy are earlier than we are. They’ve had tea on their stoop and had watched the sun rise! The water is divinely warm. My eyes are itchy from allergies and I am sure the water is making them feel better or is it a placebo effect? Whatever, I feel great relaxing in these soothing waters.
After our swim we go off to breakfast and sit chatting till 10. Then we go for a walk around the lodge, admire the scenery and find some birds.
At 1 Earl and I go for an hour-long full body massage which is divine. Erich and Wendy each had half-hour back massages. Afterwards we have a long afternoon nap. When we wake up we go for a lovely, long swim in the hot baths. I stay in a lot longer than Earl and chat to a Grade 11 girl who had just completed the 6-day hike of the Fish River Canyon. She tells me it was amazing but she is exhausted and every muscle is aching.
Earl comes to call me. Stuart and Janet have arrived. We knew they were doing a similar trip to ours at the same time and had planned to meet them in Etosha. They aren’t meant to be here but had started off from Cape Town later than planned so decided to spend the night at Ai Ais. They join us for drinks and then dinner and it is a super evening.
Relaxing in the pool
Ai Ais
Outdoor pool – Hot but the air is cold!
Baboons are a problem
Mountain Chat
Swallow-tailed bee-eater
Dinner – Earl, Stuart, Janet, Wendy
Thursday 4 June 2015 Ai Ais to Africa Sa fari Lodge
We wake to a rainy and cold day! This is not meant to happen in the month of June! After showering and packing we go to meet the others for breakfast at 7:00 am. After breakfast we all head to the Canyon Lookout. We have to pay R60 per person to drive to the lookout point but it is worth it. It’s just a pity that the weather is not clear. Still we get excellent views of the canyon and don’t mind too much about getting wet. Earl and I were here 20 years ago in brilliant sunshine and no fences. It is a little different today but the views are the same.
We then bid farewell to Janet and Stuart who head to Luderitz while we make our way to Mariental where we will spend the night at Africa Safari Lodge. The weather improves and there is no rain when we arrive at Keetmanshoop. We stop at the Spur for lunch and I buy a Namibian Sim Card at the local phone shop. My package is amazing – I pay in R295 in cash and dial in for whatever I need for a week. Each week I renew my contract until my balance runs out. I get Facebook, the internet, Whatsap and a number of free calls. whenever I return to Namibia I use the same sim card and top up my balance. I do not have to RICA!
We arrive at Africa Safari Lodge at 3:00 p.m. It is lovely. We have ‘tea’ on the stoop and then an afternoon nap.
When we wake up it is dark and we find a rhinoceros on our front lawn!
Dinner is superb. We start with Sweet Chilli Calamari and Greek salad and then have gourmet Oryx steaks with mushroom sauce and mash potato. To die for! Dessert is Apple crumble and ice cream.
Our room was is really comfortable. The bed is made from a concrete slap on which is a very comfortable mattress with down duvet. There is a television and we watch a skop, skiet and donner movie before dropping off to sleep.
A year ago our Australian friends, Erich and Wendy asked my advice on what to do and where to go in Namibia, a place they have wanted to visit for many years. Earl and I decided that we wouldn’t mind another trip to this amazing country so we decided to go ourselves and asked them to tag along. Our itinerary of 26 days included Ai Ais, Africa Safari Lodge near Mariental, Sossusvlei, Windhoek, The Waterberg Plateau, Etosha National Park and then on our way home we spent 9 days in Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park.
We are now back and what an adventure it has been. I am in the process of sorting out the hundreds of photographs and will try to publish one episode per day but forgive me if I fall behind 🙂 Some of the trivia and information mentioned in my posts are taken from park pamphlets, brochures, books on the area and Wikipedia.
2 June 2015 – Cape Town to Ai Ai
Finally this day has arrived. I love the excitement of the pre-dawn start to a long journey. I settle down in my seat – pushed far forward so Erich has space for his long legs behind me. I scribble down our departure time on my pre-prepared chart – 4:30 am – The kilometerage registers 119632. What will it be when we return? I know my neat chart with its recordings of costs and stops will look the worse for wear when we return too! Cape Town is cold and rainy and we look forward to warm, dry weather and the healing waters of the Ai Ais hot springs. Perish the thought – the cold and rain continues. Our first stop is a freezing Klawer and our hot Wimpy breakfast and coffee is sooo welcome. It is strange to see pelting rain soaking into the dry Karoo earth. The weather only improved around Springbok.
Earl is not at his best at border crossing so I make sure that all the documentation is ready and hand my list of items to be taken across the border to the grim-faced officer at Vioelsdrift. Within minutes he has dismissed most of them as unnecessary and pins my list to the form he has filled in – no problem! The whole procedure is over in 40 minutes and by 2 pm we are in Namibia!
It is interesting to see wine farming taking place on the banks of the Orange River. Aussenkehr is such a farm. It is planned to develop Aussenkehr into a town. 6,000 erven have been surveyed and water and sewerage systems have been built.There is less than 50 millimetres average annual rainfall but the farm includes 15 kilometres of riverfront and has a government-approved quota to draw water for irrigation from the Orange River.
Vineyards of Aussenkehr
Straw houses we passed – Aussenkehr
We bought wine and beers from the Aussenkehr Spar – which is in the middle of nowhere and serves the farming community and straw house dwellers.
The road we travel
Moonscape
We arrive at Ai Ais at 3 pm Namibian time, taking the new dirt road which is a tad quicker. The weather is overcast and there are a few drops of rain and it is really cold.
We have room A3 and A4 which lead onto the indoor pool area. We have a swim and then a rest before going for drinks and then to supper at the restaurant. We all have eland steaks which are rather nice. They are served with rosti, butternut and green beans. Then its off to our comfortable beds decked with down duvets – so welcome after a hard day’s travelling.
The princess sleeps with earplugs and covers her eyes with a black mask so as not to let in the early morning light so I was surprised to find her up with the sparrows and ready to go! We were out the gate by 7:05 and as we admired the gorgeous sunrise she said, “I’d better take a photograph so I’ll remember what this looks like because I’m never up to see sunrises!”
A sunrise fit for a princess
She is sitting comfortably in the front seat and has warned me not to take photos of her without make-up – but she somehow manages to get it on between sightings – while we’re watching birds I suspect!
We drive around until 10ish finding the usual suspects – warthogs, a variety of buck, zebra play-fighting the odd elephant and lots of birds the highlight being a bar-throated apalis. Two pale chanting goshawks in a tree are also great and of course the bokmakieries are iconic in Addo.
The beautiful bokmakierie
Pale Chanting Goshawk
Denim’s Bustard
Bar-throated Apalis
Back at the hut we shower, the princess tarts up and Earl and I go to the communal kitchen to make breakfast. The princess has specific requests – no tomato and no kidneys please! Dad presents her with eggs, bacon and banana cooked to perfection. We slum it on scrambled eggs and kidneys – somehow I think we got the better deal!
When Her Highness is ready we set off for another game drive. We hear on the grapevine aka the Addo Face Book page that there were two male lions on the Gorah Loop 2 hours ago so we head there without expecting much. There are a few gathered parked on a bend and we see two lions a little way off but fast asleep. We snap a photo just to say that we’ve seen them then move on to enjoy more exciting things.
The King of the Jungle does not interest our royal passenger in this lazy state
Our drive is fruitful and we have fun watching Princess’s favourite creatures, marvelling at the Kudu and eland, amazed at the number of warhogs abound and are thrilled at how plentiful the game is. We spot one jackal but he is no mood to pose for a portrait.
We’re happy for a photo shoot
Mongoose
Zebra confrontation
An elephant tussle
A bum view
We go past the lions once more – still fast asleep and then go back to camp for lunch. The Cattle Baron has edged into the Sanparks. I hope all goes well and that I won’t have to do battle and change their name to the Battle Caron. The service is good. The Princess and the Earl order beef burgers. I settle for a house salad. The latter is stunning. The princess needs to do Battle with Caron. Her burger is inedible – “If I throw it against the wall it will bounce,” she tells the longsuffering waitress. “Let me try the chicken burger instead, please.” This turns out to be just perfect. The chips, too, are done to perfections. The Earl eats his burger but admits it was rather disgusting. “You should stick to Banting,”I say smugly. My salad is full of greens, tomato, avo, cheese and grated egg. Yum!
After a loo break we set straight off for another game drive. It is now 3:30. We head for Gorah Loop and get there around 4 – the lions have not moved – still dead to the world. We see a tail flick slightly so know they are in fact alive. Off we go in search of the ellies. We find lots and enjoy all the other game and birds too. “We should go to the lion sighting at 5,” I say. “They’ll wake up then.”
“They’ll only wake up if buffalo turn up,” says the Princess knowing that this is their favourite food.
So we continue on our way and enjoy the other things to see in this beautiful park.
We find ourselves back at the lion spot just after 5 – but they’re fast asleep. We switch off the engine and wait to see if anything will happen.
Suddenly the Princess yells – The buffalo are here! And sure enough there is a biggish herd, alert and sniffing the air.
What can they smell
They’re aware but are very short sighted and don’t actually see them. A few separate from the rest and begin grazing in the bushes behind the lions. One of the lions sits up,
The other rolls over and lies on his back.
Just let me sleep!
The grazers suddenly realise the lions are there and return to the herd. They regroup and start walking toward the lions. The boys leap up and start running toward the parked cars. The buffs chase after them and see them off. Wow – what an exciting sighting. See the video on Youtube
We follow the lions for some time and marvel at seeing elephants in the background too.
That was a rude awakening!
The gate closes at six and so the whole fleet of us head back to camp.
After packing up for an early departure tomorrow we decide it is too cold to do a braai so The Princess treats us to dinner at The Cattle Baron – they haven’t misbehaved enough to call them Battle Caron.
The Earl orders ribs – The Princess and I have grilled calamari tubes and share a Greek Salad. Perfect! The Earl is not 100% happy with the ribs – the sauce has a very strong taste that is not to his liking – It’s a half portion but he can’t finish it! We chat to the manager about our concerns and he takes it well and says he will investigate what the chef is doing and suggest some amendments to the way he does burgers and ribs! Everything else is perfect.
Addo Elephant park is fabulous. It is teeming with game, Jack’s picnic site is amazing, the facilities are clean and well-maintained and service is good. Next time we plan to visit one of the other rest camps – perhaps Spekbook tented will be fun. It overlooks a waterhole.
Friday 15 May 2015 Addo Elephant to Struisbaai
We left the park at 7:00 am and made our way to the South Gate. We spotted lots of warthogs but not as much game as when we came in. The elephants were there to bid the princess farewell.
We went to our B&B to collect a pack of beers we’d left in the fridge and the headed to Jeffrey’s Bay where we met Jim and Maureen at In Food Bakery for breakfast. It was so good to see them and hear about their wonderful experiences in Etosha and Kgalagadi. Their friend Joy also joined us a little later.
The breakfasts were delicious. I ordered paoched eggs, spinach and salmon which came with a croissant. Hold the croissant I told the waitress. Would you like Banting bread instead, she offered. Banting bread? Well why not – if it’s awful I just won’t eat it. Well it was delicious! One could eat it without butter or jam as it tasted like a savoury loaf on its own. Yummy – Banting certainly is an easy and satisfying diet to follow.
Don’t ask if I’ve lost weight – I don’t think much – I’ve been eating too much – I’m on holiday after all! But I’ve felt good and not at all hungry. I definitely have not put on any weight and I’m really doing this for health and not reduction reasons. But I am hoping the belly fat will miraculously disappear eventually! Even in my sixties I care! The plan is to be stricter about the orange list and the amount we eat when we settle in Struisbaai in July.
We arrived in Struisbaai at 5, unpacked the essentials and made a braai for supper. We watched TV for a bit and then collapsed into bed.
Saturday 16 May 2015 Homeward Bound
Earl did all the things needed at the house this morning and by 10:30 we were on the road for home. We stopped in Bredasdorp to refuel, pay an account and shop for takkies for Laurie. The latter two were unsuccessful as there was load shedding and the municipality didn’t open on Saturdays!
We dropped the Princess off at her flat at 1:15 and we arrived in Sun Valley at 2:00 pm. Another wonderful trip under the belt!
I was up early and showered before Earl woke up. The Princess messaged to say her flight was delayed. I rang her and she told me that she’d seen Sharon and Tony at the airport – they were on their way to Johannesburg to get their connecting flight to Singapore then Viet Nam. I rang Sharon to say good-bye! We won’t see each other till July as she only gets back after we leave for Namibia. We’ll both be in Nam but on different continents.
After a delicious breakfast of pork sausage, bacon, eggs, tomato and mushrooms we set off to the airport arriving at 8:45 as we expected Laurie at 9:30. It was very foggy so we thought this was the reason for the delay. No flights were landing or taking off and we began to worry when we heard that a flight from Johannesburg had been diverted to East London. This announcement kept coming about other flights too and finally we heard that The Princess was diverted to George. Well we spent three hours at the airport as the flights only came in when the mist cleared. The Princess finally arrived at 11:40. I waited in the airport while Earl drove out so as to avoid the hefty parking costs. In no time we had her packed into the car and were off to Addo Elephant Park!
The Princess only wanted to come to Addo to see elephants. She is not a natural Nature Girl. So I was a little nervous that there wouldn’t be much to see and she would get bored of our constantly stopping to look at birds! Well the park was beautiful. It was lush and green and we entered at the bottom gate and drove up from the South to the main camp. Wow – so different to our last trip when there were no animals at all in this new section. Today we saw just about everything. Warthogs were the first creatures spotted and then there were hundreds. We found the animals everywhere in large numbers and many species together. The princess was amused – but where were the elephants. Tomorrow – we said – you have to go to the waterholes at midday and then you’ll see the elephants. The words were no sooner cold on our lips when a huge bull elephant appeared on the side of the road. Yay! But that’s not all – more materialised and we saw many along the way. Once in the south we went to a couple of the waterholes and found more elephants and buffalo too. We can go home now – we’ve achieved our goal!
The Common Ostrich looking splendid
The striped ones were plentiful – note the sea in the background – the park includes the Big 7 – Lion, Leopard, Rhino, Elephant, Buffalo, Southern Right Whale and Great White Shark
The Princess knew what this was – Yellow Canary
How cute is this
A special appearance for Her Highness
Which made her smile
The pigs made her laugh
The female elephants in Addo have no tusks – due to interbreeding. However, new stock have been introduced and some new generation females are now getting tusks.
Male and Female Kudu with pig in the background
He is very curious about the beautiful princess
Looking good
Father and Mother Shelduck
Mr Shelduck
Mrs Shelduck
Ellies at the waterhole
Enjoying a refreshing drink,
Buffalo at dusk
Spoonbill
We arrived at Main Camp at quarter to 4, checked in, bought a few things from the shop and then went to our forest hut number 4. It’s a lovely 4 bedded hut nestled in the bush with a deck and braai plekkie. It has its own bathroom, is fully equipped but we have to use the communal kitchen. The Princess has to share her sleeping space with her parents but she has the extra bed on which to spread out her stuff!
We sat out on the deck until supper time when it became a bit too cold so we ate at the table inside.
Today we celebrate Workers’ Day with a public holiday. We thought this would mean less traffic on the roads but that was wishful thinking.
We got up early and then went to have breakfast at the restaurant. While we were waiting for them to open we watched the crested guineafowl pecking about the gardens for food. There were also baboons about and we could hear an angry one barking. I had the camera to my eye when Earl spotted him walk right past me. I wasn’t aware of him at all and fortunately he didn’t try to hurt me
On the way out we found baboon on the road as well as some Nyala.
On the way home through the Durban traffic we stopped off for lunch and to shop for the ingredients I needed for Andrew’s birthday celebration tomorrow. We arrived back at Lauren’s at about 3:30.
I made my dips for the party – tsatsiki and humus but my guacamole did not work out well – it was very bitter. Earl said he would buy more avos tomorrow and I could start again. I don’t think it will be necessary as we really have enough dips for my crudités
Lauren took the kids to the Circus. I was not able to eat supper after eating a breakfast of eggs, bacon and tomato and a chicken salad for lunch. This is Banting! You just don’t get hungry!
We overslept this morning. I did not set the alarm because I thought I would easily wake up! But last night’s coffee caused me to struggle to fall asleep and then once I was asleep I couldn’t wake up!
In spite of this we were out the gate by 6:15. What a successful morning we had. We came across a small traffic jam – two cars and a jeep jockey – the latter on the opposite side of the road. As we approached I looked into the bush and saw two lionesses. But that is not what the cars ahead were looking at – they had 5 lion on a buffalo kill. Wow! There was one male a lioness and some cubs. Earl pulled up next to the car on the left and I managed to see what was happening although he could not see anything. Then a family of Chinese tourists arrived and we reversed to allow them to take our place and Earl pulled in behind the car with the best view. Not long after the car in front of him left and he took its place allowing us a good view of the lions on the kill. The jeep jockey did not move. The Chinese tourists managed to get a good look but could not move past the jeep jockey. At this point more cars started arriving as well as two more jeep jockeys. The car ahead of us left and we were about to follow when a jeep jockey pulled in front of us on the wrong side of the road! I gave her hand signals to move and finally she complied!
As we came into the good spot the male went onto the kill
And looked straight at us
The female was exhausted from chasing and eating?
The cubs were tucking in big time and they all had fat little tummies
We continued on our trip and were delighted to find rhino and other creatures before we returned to Hilltop for breakfast.
After a delicious brekkie of eggs, bacon, creamed mushrooms etc. we made our way to Mpila Camp. The sightings were not prolific but we saw baboons, giraffe, zebra, impala and some birds. After a brief walk around Mpila campsite we did the loop and found rhino, giraffe, zebra and impala as well as some birds.
Back at Mpila we met a couple in the play park where some warthog were grazing. They’d had a fabulous day as they’d been our and about in the area in the early morning – best time for game viewing. The animals are definitely more prolific in Imfolozi.
On our return we found a lioness, some rhino and a single elephant. We also found a hamerkop and a black-crowned night heron in the river.
We saw more rhino than any other creature – encouraging as they are so vulnerable to poachers
This chap was way out of his element
The impala were having a disagreement
African Pied Wagtail
She refused to look at us
All fluffed up
Looking Handsome
Hamerkop hunting for lunch
White-fronted Bee-eater
Well at least we saw one!
In the evening we went to the restaurant for dinner and once again it was excellent. Only this time the staff entertained us with some Zulu dancing and singing which was really fun. What an amazing thing to do. It really impressed the tourists.
For some reason Earl did not want to fish any of the dams in and around Kokstad but was itchy to do something. I suggested a day trip to Tala Private Game Reserve – “Too tame,” said he. “Well then what about Imfolozi/Hluhluwe?” “Yes -that sounds good. Will we get in?” “I can only try,” I replied.
After some lengthy waiting until Emzevulu Central Bookings got round to answering my repeated attempts to call them we managed to get two nights at Hilltop, Hluhluwe. With the coms being so poor at Lauren’s we’d done all the organising at a coffee shop in town – while having a hearty breakfast of course. We returned to the farm and told the kids of our plans. Oh dear – we were meant to go to one of the nieces for dinner on Thursday! We will have to re-schedule!
29 April 2015
We were up at a very rude and freezing hour, dressed in layers as we knew we would be stripping later in the day and set off Northwards in the dark. We stopped at Gateway for breakfast and then arrived at the bottom gate and made our way through the park to Hilltop. It was only 11 o’clock so we took a slow game drive before checking in. The park looked lush and we found out later that there had been recent rains after a worrying drought.
There was not much game about but this is what we saw.
A Female Village Weaver
White-crested helmetshrike
One of the many zebra
Female Nyala trying to hide from us
A distant rhino
And a heap of buffalo with a warthog in the background
We checked in at 4 pm and sat outdoors and enjoyed the beautiful, shady surroundings. The monkeys paid a visit and we heard the birds but they kept hidden in the foliage.
Earl relaxing outside our very luxurious cottage
We were in non-self-catering accommodation – very comfortable with tea and coffee facilities and a bar fridge but no kitchen or braai. Breakfast was included but other meals were extra. Dinner on our first night was a buffet and the food was stunning. The starters included vegetable soup, marinated calamari, tuna salad and a variety of salads. I opted for the calamari and salads. The mains were roast impala, chicken curry and something else that I don’t recall plus a variety of cooked vegetables. I tucked into impala, chicken curry and the veggoes – no carbs at all! Earl is not Banting properly although he tells everyone that he is!
It is freeing when we wake up – 3 degrees C. We get up quickly and pack, take the keys back to reception, get our exit papers and leave the park. Earl is suffering from Gout again and we have no medication so we stop in Queenstown, find a pharmacist who gives us a special combination of tablets to be taken every two hours. Fortunately this helps. We then go to Wimpy for breakfast. The parking attendant begs us to bring him a hot coffee when we return! There is a power outage but we manage to enjoy an omelette and coffee and remember to take the car guard his order too. He is over the moon with gratefulness.
The rest of the trip to Kokstad is reasonably uneventful for Transkei and KZN roads. We play dodge the pothole for an hour or so and then the roads improve. We arrive at Lauren’s at 3:30. Alan is there to welcome us and the rest of the family arrive home from school a few minutes later. They’d seen us on the road in but Earl says he was probably concentrating too hard on the road to notice.
It was really cold so Alan lit a fire and we spent the afternoon chatting and enjoying our rural family.
Friday 17 April 2015 Kokstad
The weather has not warmed up and we slept under an extra blanket last night. Lauren will put an electric blanket on our bed tonight. The kids woke us up with a lovely cup of hot coffee and then Lauren and Shannon went off to school. Simon said he wasn’t feeling well so Lauren allowed him to take the day off. I think he just couldn’t pull himself away from Granny and Grandpa. His dad made him have a sleep at midday though. He said he was tired and needed a rest. After breakfast we walked up the hill with Alan and he showed us where they plan to build their new house if they don’t move to the Midlands. It will have a fabulous view of the valley. Later we went to town to get some warm t-shirts for Earl. We bumped into Ann in Woolworths.
Saturday 18 April 2015 Shan’s hockey match
The skies were clear and sunny this morning and I hoped for a higher temperature. But that was not to be! There was frost on the ground early this morning. Lauren and Alan woke us with our usual hot cup of coffee and then informed us of the plans for the day. Shannon was at Bible Camp but had a hockey match so we all went off to support her. I made sure to dress in a denim skirt, tights and boots with a warm jacket and felt quite comfortable while I watched Shan captain her team.
After the match we went to The Wimpy for breakfast and then back to the farm where we relaxed for the rest of the day.
Sunday 19 April 2015 visit to Glynis and Hilton
Earl, Simon and I went to visit Glynis and Hilton at their beautiful home in town this morning. It was a tad warmer and we sat outdoors to enjoy a cup of tea and chat with them. Hilton and Earl have both their careers and hobbies in common. It was interesting to note that Hilton had also just bought a Land Rover Disco 4 although he had the more luxurious SE model.
Lauren and Shannon joined us at lunchtime and Glynis organised Nando’s chicken for lunch. We had a really good time.
Monday 20 April 2015 lunch at the Mackenzies
Before we made our way to Brooklyn Farm we stopped at Imbali Guest House for breakfast. We bumped into Patty and Brian Clarke there. Patty walked in first and chatted to us and then Brian came in – he greeted us but we could see he didn’t quite know who we were. Patty reminded him that we were Lauren’s parents and then he came over to chat!
The weather was much warmer today. We sat on the patio in the sunshine and it was really pleasant. Ann’s two little ones were spending the day with Granny. They are too cute and we enjoyed watching them play. Caitlyn is almost five and James is three. She is a real little girl and loves to wear dresses and is totally into pink and fairies. James is a typical Kokstad farm boy!
Caitlyn and James having fun
Barbara and Me enjoying a chat
Great-Uncle Earl showing the kids pictures of his fish
Murray joined us for lunch and then took Earl and Andrew to the dairy at which he works to see the milking. Earl was hugely impressed with the technology and the perfect running of the plant.
We shopped for dinner on our way home and I cooked a bobotie for supper.
Tuesday 21 April 2015 Trip to Durban
This morning we were woken once again with excellent coffee and rusks. Lauren then went off to school with Simon and left Shannon to sleep a little longer. She returned at quarter to nine and off we went to take Shan to Musgrave Medical Centre to consult a maxilla facial specialist. She has been having problem chewing and her jaw gets sore from time to time.
The plan was to meet up with Niru and have lunch with her while L and S were at the doctor’s. It is a 3 hour trip to Durban. The weather was lovely. I was at last able to wear a summer dress although I started with leggings and a jersey in the early morning. They came off well before we hit Durban.
We stopped at Port Shepstone to refuel and get muffins and coffee for breakfast and arrived at Musgrave at around 12:15. We parked at the medical centre and then walked to Musgrave Mall. A quick call to Niru and w met at Woolworths Coffee Shop. Lauren and Shan ordered quickly and then left while we stayed to chat and have a meal with Niru. It was so good to catch up with all her news. The kids are doing well and they’ve just had an amazing holiday in Thailand.
Niru and Me at Woolworths Coffee Shop, Musgrave
Lauren and Shannon were done by 2:00 p.m. so we walked back to our parking and then made our way to Shirley to pick up a donation of four boxes of clothing for a charity that Andrew supports. We had tea with them and then were back on the road.
Grandfather and Granddaughter sharing a joke
It was not a bad trip at all. Simon was with Nicoline and Sean so we stopped by there to pick him up, had a quick drink with them and were back home at 6:45. Alan had a delicious stew ready for our dinner. We were quite tired so were in bed by 9.
Wendy and Erich at the viewpoint on the plateau
Inquisitive Giraffe
Damara Hornbill
Diary of an Adventurous Retiree 