South Africa
<<< Thursday, 5th September 1996
Awoken at 5.00am by the ringing of the front door bell, staggered downstairs to find it is the taxi to take us to Heathrow Airport, only problem is the taxi is not booked until 5.00 p.m. however as we had a lot to do we before we set off for South Africa, we put the extra time to good use. The plane took off at 10.00 p.m. and we had an uneventful flight, as the plane was only 50% full George was able to spread out and get some sleep.
Doug & Ivy met us at Jo'burgh Airport and we were quickly off to Rob and Jackie's new house on the outskirts of Jo'burgh. Crime is now such a problem in J'b that everyone locks their car doors when driving through the city and most people have locks on the gates as well as their house doors and windows, armed security firms are used by many home owners. Unemployment in SA is around 50% mainly in the black community, many of whom seemed to be at many road junctions selling everything from fruit to car sun shields; we kept our car windows closed and doors locked. J'b was and still is a mining town, the whole area has large resources of gold, platinum, diamonds and coal. Apparently one diamond mine still produces two million Rand a day.
| After refreshing ourselves we drove NNE for about 2 hours to Dikhololo (a place where people relax), which is a conference and time share holiday centre in a small game reserve and has a small selection of wildlife. We have an excellent chalet which is a very large round thatched unit built on a pile of rocks which extend inside so forming a unusual centre piece. The park is full of exotic birds including grey lourie, black collared bartets and for neighbours we have a family of rock dassies which live in a hole under the rocks. | |
Saturday, 7th September, 1996
We drove into Brit with Rob and Jackie who had arrived the previous evening, to obtain provisions and fuel for the braai, on the way back we stopped for refreshments at a delightful Inn which specialised in BBQ meals.
| After Rob and Jackie left at 10.30AM we drove about 40 km to Borakalalo National Park, which is one of the lesser known to tourists game parks but has a good selection of the larger species. Initially we followed the track along the edge of the Klipvoor Dam where we saw numerous colourful birds including hornbills, cormorants, herons, white egrets, hammercocks, coots, blue wax bills and a violet crested roller. Further along the track we saw several leguaans (a 4 foot lizard), numerous waterbuck, impala, kudu, water mongoose, several families of ostrich and giraffe. |  |
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| The Sefudi Dam is no more than a water hole but even though is was early afternoon we were delighted to watch a family of warthogs come down for water and then play in the mud, at the same time two terrapins were getting amorous on a log at the edge of the water hole. |  |
The Pilansberg National Game Reserve lies NE of Johannesburg and mid way to the Botswana border. The park is in an eroded volcano that is more than 1,000 millions years old and is one of the largest of it's kind in the world, being a natural sanctuary within rings of mountains. It is unique because it is the result of one of the biggest ever game translocations since Noah's Ark. Over 6,000 animals have been relocated since 1979 The big five game animals, lion, leopard, elephant, rhino and buffalo are within the park in good numbers but we were not lucky to see any of them, however we did see troops of baboons, numerous giraffes, hippopotamus, zebra as well numerous species of buck To our inexperienced minds it is fascinating to see that so many different species of wild life can coexist in the same area. It is the beginning of spring and the middle of the dry period so the ground is very dry and many shrubs and trees are bare or still shedding last years leaves, yet at the same time blossom and light green leaves have started to appears in many places which are close to a water source.
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After adding numerous other species to our list we went on to visit Sun City and the Lost City which are both part of a very large holiday come casino complex just outside the game reserve. It is smaller version of Las Vegas and considering it was built hundreds of kilometres from civilisation in an area which was previously just scrub land, it is very impressive. |
Tuesday, 10th September 1996
After going into Brit so Doug could arrange for the car aircon to be repaired we had a lazy day at the Dikhololo game reserve, finishing the day with a braai. Tried to connect to CompuServe but no luck, is it my equipment, the phone or the South African phone system? I plan to find out.
Wednesday, 11th September. 1996
Now had six days of unbroken blue skies, hardly any wind and temperatures which do not drop below about 15C at night. Still getting use to the sun being in the north and how quickly is gets dark at around 7pm
Pretoria is the government capital of South Africa, and we drove there for half a day to see some of the buildings and a few shops. However, after the quiet of Dikhololo we all agreed to leave Pretoria and find a quieter place for a lunch.
After dark we took a game night drive into the bush and saw many buck and a heard of zebra, most of the animals seem to be use to tourist watching them with a search light and just carried on eating.
Thursday, 12th September 1996
Doug left early to get the air con fixed on the car. Ivy and Valerie caught up with the laundry and then packed a few things in preparation for leaving for Swaziland. Spent the rest of the day relaxing and then had a braai.
| We left at 8.30am for the fairly long drive to the Mountain Inn hotel in Mbabane, Swaziland. The first half of the journey was not at all interesting, very flat and polluted from the coal mines and steel factories, however the scenery improved as we neared Swaziland where we had to enter the Immigration building to have our passports stamped. The Customs man asked to see in the boot of the car but changed his mind about searching when he saw the amount of luggage and boxes on board. | ||
| Passed lots of Swazi mud and thatched huts and roadside stalls selling avocados and other exotic fruits, also carved items which Doug says we will see plenty of tomorrow at the market. Hotel is very nice with the rooms scattered around the swimming pool - we have a lovely view over the valley to the mountains. |  |
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Swaziland is a landlocked country, over 17,000 square kilometres in area and is the smallest in the southern hemisphere. It is surrounded both on the north and south by provinces of South Africa and on the east it is bordered by Mozambique. Mbabane is the administrative capital where King Mswatti III resides with his many wives.
Saturday, 14th September 1996
As it was Saturday we visited the local market which was selling local crafts and fruit and vegetables at unbelievable low prices, the vegetable display was a riot of every conceivable colour. Later we visited the Swazi museum, learning much about the Swazi Nations 150 years of history. We then had lunch at the Matalanga game lodge overlooking the valley, returning to laze around the hotel pool for the afternoon.
After some thought came to the conclusion that the Email connection problem may be due to us using the wrong network setting, we changed to CSIR-Net and bingo, managed to connect first time. Like most things in life it is normally something simple but finding out just what that little thing is out of the numerous possibilities is the challenge.
Woke to find the valley completely covered in low cloud so our intended game drive was delayed until 10.30 when the sun came out. This was a very different terrain to the previous reserves, hilly and some very rough roads. Rounded one corner where we were confronted by two giraffe, which posed very well for the cameras. Had lunch in the reserve at a restaurant that overlooked the hippos pool where there were three of the animals in situ. Whilst three of us were happy with toasted sandwiches George of course had to try the Impala stew and phuto (a local food which resembles porridge!)
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Monday, 16th September 1996
It's was time to leave Mbabane and travel to Pongoland which is just over the southern Swaziland border. The drive took about five hours and along the route were numerous traditional round thatched mud huts which are still lived in. Many are surrounded by stockades made from tree branches to keep out wild life and to occasionally pen in the cattle. These villages do not have any water so the women collect water from the river which can be some miles away, carrying it home on their heads. Most of the women still wear traditional dress and it was a sobering thought watching them do their washing in the river. Cattle, goats and donkey roam all over the countryside and use the roads extensively as they move from place to place. Swaziland is still a very poor country by our standards but is comparatively well off compared to many parts of Africa.
We are staying at the Leeukop private nature reserve and the young man who is the Manager surprised us when he said he had spent several years working in pubs in the UK and had actually worked in the Town Crier at Hastings and lodged in Bexhill. Its a small world.
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Up at 6.00am for a boat cruise in anticipation of seeing game and birds before the heat of the day sends them seeking the shade. We saw burchell's zebra and several species of buck as well as a number of very large crocodile, however did not see any sign of the python that live along the waters edge. Some of the more interesting birds were the green backed heron and the snake eating secretary bird which makes it's nest literally on the top of an acacia tree. | |
A beautiful gymnogene was catching lizards by inserting it's legs into holes in trees and several African fish eagles where calling, apparently their call is known as the call of Africa. This is the windy time of the year but it is a very pleasant warm wind, however it fans the local scrub fires which are deliberately lit to encourage the growth of new grass. |
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Wednesday, 18th September 1996
Still being surprised by the low cost of living in South Africa, typically things are about 30% lower than in the UK. Beer is about R5 and our lodge accommodation, breakfast and excellent four course evening meal is R150 a day (£ is R7). Up early again for a five hour game drive adding another eight birds and three animals to our growing list and then it was back for a late brunch. Later on we went for a four hour late afternoon and night game drive which even though it was very cold it was interesting to see creatures like the white tailed mongoose, baby jackals and the hardly ever seen small spotted genet, which all being nocturnal are normally only seen at night. One fascinating sight was seeing about two dozen mongoose following each other nose to tail along a track and then heading off into the bush when they saw us. Our list of birds has now grown to 49 and animals to 21.
Thursday, 19th September 1996
We shared the driving during our 600 km journey south staying at the Oribi Gorge Hotel which in its day must of been a very grand place, but it has been poorly maintained and we will be happy to move on tomorrow.
| It was a long day’s drive (700 km) to Ivy and Doug's home in Port Elizabeth mainly along the N2 which follows for the most part the eastern coast, so we had our first view of the Indian ocean. The road took us through Transkei country which is mountainous terrain for 400 km, on the slopes are numerous Xhosa (President Mandella's tribe) villages with their traditional round thatched houses brightly painted in the characteristic light green. | ||
We saw women carrying up to three tree logs 6 Mt long on their head, George remarking that he would not be able to even carry one on it's own. The centre of the villages were really crowded with the locals milling all over the road where they were buying fresh fruit and vegetables. The only means of transport for most of the black population is by walking long distances or to use one of the hundreds of non-timetable mini buses which travel at very dangerous speeds. |
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Saturday, 21st September 1996
Caught up on the washing and needed to stock up on food so the first stop was at the local fruit store where they were selling large quantities of paw paw, butter nuts, gems, mangos, grenadillas and with prices like avocados and pineapple at 4 for R5 (20p each) it is difficult not to buy too much.
Sunday, 22nd September 1996
Maitland (east of P.E.) is one of many places where is possible to see whales in St. Francis Bay close to the shore, within a few minutes of arriving at the beach we were watching whales surfacing, diving and blowing water out of their breathing holes, it is a magnificent sight. Apparently the whales use the bay to give birth as well as being a good feeding ground. After a pub lunch at the harbour, we saw numerous vintage Alfa Romeo's at a beach side rally.
Monday 23 September 1996
Doug loaned us the car for the day so we spent some time in the Green Acre Shopping Mall mainly buying odds and ends, after which we did some local site seeing. P.E. is heavily industrialised around a large part of the harbour area but has magnificent long and mainly sandy beaches to the east. The southern coast at this time of year is very windy but fortunately it is a reasonable warm wind and even in the middle of winter it never snows on the coast.
Tuesday 24 September 1996
Today is Heritage day and a national holiday, so like most of the locals we wandered along the promenade followed by a light bite at the Walmer Gardens Hotel.
What a fascinating day. We went to the vast Addo Elephant National Park which is about 75km from P.E. After driving through the park for about an hour we had only seen one giant tortoise when we suddenly came across a small group of elephants around a watering hole. While watching them we realised that there was several other families of elephants in the bush waiting their turn to drink at the water hole. For the next hour we watched in awe as the elephant families came in turn to the water hole led by their matriarch. The family members ranged in size and age from babies less than one year to huge males which were constantly watching out for any danger, to the extent that one huge male deliberately walked right up to the front of our car, stopped, waved his trunk at us, stared into our car and then slowly walked around us. At one point about 80 elephants were grouped around us, some drinking, some playing and a few sparring with each other and on occasions males from different families threatened each other.
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Nearly forgot to mention the sign at the entrance to the park saying one should not run over dung beetles. They are surprisingly large spending most of there lives moulding dung into balls and then rolling it along the ground for up to 80mts. for the female to lay her eggs in - nature sure has developed some strange creatures. After lunch we came across buffalo taking a rest in the shade of some trees, numerous ostrich as well hartebeest grazing in the open plains.
Thursday, 26 - Sunday, 29 September 1996
This week was a time to relax, catch up on the chores and have a look around P.E. Having not been to the cinema for over a year we made two visits this week. We will be able to sleep easily knowing that the USA has saved the world from destruction from space invaders by planting a computer virus in their mothership - in other words one of the films we saw was Independence Day!
Monday, 30 September 1996
The plan for the next three weeks is first to tour the Garden Route, then the Wine Route and finally spend about one week in Cape Town before returning to the UK. We drove about 300 km to Wilderness which is small village near the town of George where we will stay at the Fairy Knowe Hotel for three days, using it as a base to tour the Garden Route area. On the way we stopped for a short while at Jeffreys Bay which was founded by a ship wrecked sailor. Today it is a very attractive and desirable place to live but mainly by the whites contrasting strongly with Humansdorp some 20 km to the west which is a much poorer township mainly for the black community. >>>