Jon, Kayanne and I were dropped off in Hoedspruit town and met our guide for the next trip. He seemed a bit eccentric but he was on time.
Then off we went, heading to Mozambique, starting with a drive through Kruger National Park. And that is certainly what it was. A drive through, viewing off the tarred road.
We did see a good range but nothing compared to the amazing experience we had. Elephant, giraffe, zebra, kudu, of course impala. Bushbuck.
The traffic would flow along until someone saw something. They cars would stop to look. It might be a huge group of hippos on a dam, a herd of zebra with babies and so much more.
At one choke point we couldn’t see what people were looking at. We drove by and asked. They pointed out a tree. There were two leopards in it. I could see the tail hanging but not much else. But there she was in the photos, with a kill and a young leopard. A mother and cub. Sensational. I now know it’s possible but I didn’t know it was probable to we three leopards in one day. Wow. So unbelievably hard to see but there they were. Yay.
We saw a lot of the safari vehicles out from the ‘camps’ in the park. I’m sure that had a lovely time but you couldn’t help feeling sorry for them. Driving along the tar and seeing animals. There were some dirt roads but still busy roads.
Towards the southern end of the park we came across the Sabie River. A giant waterway snaking through the scrubby country. One Part even had a small rapid. Huge waterholes with dozens of Hippos regularly appeared.
When we reached the end of the park the tour leader told us that he didn’t print out our proof of accommodation letter that were needed for us to get visas to Mozambique. So there was a Big hold up to cross the border.
But we eventually made it to our hotel in Maputo, Mozambique. We all slept very well.
29th Dec, Maputo, Mozambique
We headed off at about 10 am to see the city. We appointed Jon as the communicator with the idiot “guide”. This white South African didn’t think these women had any right to opinion. Jon put on his high level public servant hat and became the mediator, the spokesman. After about 5 retelling Joh got through that we didn’t want the mall. Not the flea markets either. As we drove past the fish market I yelled for a stop. Fantastic.
A huge shed full of sellers. Outside was a wash station – not sure if it was for hands or for fish. They had the full range of fish. Tuna, barracuda looking things and so much shellfish. And all so beautifully stacked and presented. Some of the lobster really needed permission notes from their parents as they were so small, but the prawns were giant. Some as big as the lobster. The sellers had straw hand mops that they slopped into water and sprinkled over their produce while also swishing flies away.
Outside were people willing all kinds of things. Much of the commerce is done with roadside shops.
Next stop was the Saint Antonio Church. A Catholic Church built in the shape of a star. Nice from the outside. But when inside the stained glass was great.
Outside were high rise slums. Good to see the church ministering to the poor by spending money on lovely buildings.
The whole city is that bizarre mix of modern city and classic African poverty.
We went for a walk though Tunduru Botanic Gardens. A beautifully green space with massive trees and a stunning covered walkway of lush green plants. An avenue of pergolas? People sat and read, or just sat enjoying the cool and quiet.
At the entrance a man was selling drink. He fed cane sugar, pineapple, ginger, lime and lemon into a press then cranked it around and around until a glorious juice came out. Wonderful, cool and cost about $2.
Lunch was in a small foodery build on a wedge corner. Full of locals. Always a good sign. Its a Portuguese place so I had little empanadas.
The stress around were lovely. Electronic shops selling iPhones next to crumbling building and great street art. The working girls called out to Jon, then switched to begging for food from me. Second hand shows were a popular selling item. Shoe shiners. Vegetable etc.
The train station was very impressive with its huge domed top.
And the to the local markets – another favourite of mine. Selling everything edible as well as, strangely, so many hair wigs. How could anyone wear a wig in this heat?!?! Everyone was so lovey and happy. And again the produce was beautifully presented.
In fact the people were lovely where ever we went. Even the pushy trinket sellers. Once they got that you wouldn’t buy they still chatted. We didn’t see any other tourists, or even any other white people.
After an afternoon nap, Jon and I went down to a waterfront restaurant for dinner. Wonderful. Sunset views and amazing food. I accidentally ordered two main course so lucky we could share. |
A crab curry with a whole crab on it.
And prawns and fish. Beautiful food. And the giant prawns were not tough and tasteless. This restaurant was a favourite of the locals especially the middle class all out in the suits and looking wonderful. And finally we saw another white person – out having dinner with his Mozambique wife.
Fun day.
30th Dec. Mozambique to eswazini.
We headed off at 9 am. Our guide was in a better mood today. And it was great to go thorough the border crossings in daylight. Coming from South Africa were the hundreds of coal trucks. Also dozens of cars that had been to South Africa shopping. Large trailer packed to bulging with all kinds of things. Plastic chairs was a popular one. They go to the dollar ships and buy things to sell. One van was stopped for an inspection and had pallets of drinks. Carefully packed so that not a cm was wasted. Don’t know how it moved.
We got rain today. Amazing. And just like in the Toto song “We blessed the rain’s in Africa”.
The Kingdom of Eswatini (formally Swaziland) is a small landlocked country in South Africa. It’s the last absolute monarchy in Africa. We crossed into Eswatini at Jeepps Reef and started climbing.
The Drakenberg Mountains runs through here and we climber up to 1530 metres. (Jindabyne is only 950m). Fog and rain.
Then through one of the capitals, Mbabane. It was very similar to many small Aussie towns.
We went on to Mantenga Swazi Cultural Village for a performance. One of the main moves is a forward leg kick. The higher the better. There was lots of singing and drumming, but the best was the whistling. A few of the guys were amazing making bird sounds.
We then had a tour of the village. The Boma fence was built with large branches. The huts were the domed Beehive huts with thatched roofs. Floors were made of crushed termite best, topped with cow manure.
Then a visit to a Mantenga Waterfall on the Lusushwana River. Pretty. Eswatini’s biggest falls at 95 meters. It had been raining so they were really pumping. Very impressive.
The restaurant at our accommodation was fantastic. “Iyasha Inyama” is a traditional Swazi meat dish where the maritated meat is flamed. And they really flamed it with flames going up well over a metre. And it was delicious.
31st Dec. New Year’s Eve.
Up and into the car at 8am. We knew it was a 600km drive so would be a long time in the car.
We drove out of Eswatini and back into South Africa.
The weather was glorious. Light rain and slightly cool. How wonderful.
Most of Eswatini was over 1000 meter. It appears to be a well off country and the home to many big rivers.
Most of the smaller houses near towns were built of besser bricks not tin like in South Africa. People were out walking to and from the shops. Carrying things on their heads.Two ladies were walking along with 20kg sacks balanced nicely.
We exited Eswatini and back into South Africa. Almost immediately the land flattened out and was heavily cropped. Much corn And still the massive euc forests. All planted in perfect rows and trimmed so they grew straight up.
We saw many roadside stalls selling poles. 4-5 meters long and about 100mm diameter. They were stacked up against a horizontal pole criss crossing each other. Looked great. Also many people selling corn .
And then the roads deteriated. Speed humps. Speed humos every few kms. Apparently it is emergency services are few and far between – so they slow the traffic.
And pot holes. Deep craters all over the place. There is no way you could average 50kph. I inocently asked Pieter our “Not guide” if he had ever done this trip before.
Opps. Again he started screaching and yanking his hair.
“I am the guide. I tell you I have done this trip hundreds of times……”
Well, a 5 yo would know 600km of this would take 10 hours.
Then he tried a few short cuts, up dirt, but the road was to cut up so we had to turn around and back track.
We did get to visit the site of Blood River site. This is where battle between Zulu and Dutch settlers occurred. There was a beautifully bias video telling about the vicious attack. Over 4,000 Zulu were killed, including one canon blast that killed 12 of the 15 leaders 2 km away. And then said that happily there were only three casualties. Guess the Zulu people didn’t count.
And we continued on. We did get another stop at a petrol sation and ate more rubbish.
The weather closed in the high we climbed. Wonderful. Until the idiot tried to over take on a blind corner, in fog, and rain, and dusk.
When I told him to never again “Overtake against the solid lines when I was in the car…” of course he went nuts. But we arrived at out accommodation after 8.30pm and went straight for dinner.
After dinner I asked for the keys to get out bags out.
“No, I will open the car in 30 min. I am having my coffee and you will not distrub me. This is my time. Go away”.
We got our gear and slept well.
1st Jan 2023 HAPPY NEW YEAR!
After a lovely breakfast we were to meet our different tour company who were taking us up to Lesothi for the day.
But first……”Pieter, the unhinged” shouted at us that we owed him another 10,500 Rand ($1000 AU). If we did not pay it by 6pm he would end the tour and leave us.
You can imagine how well that went over with me. I told him that we would go to the police station and discuss it when we got back.
But off we went with an amazing company and a super guide. A guy who told you what things were, who answered questions. Who stopped for photos and cups of tea. Who walked us into immigration and waited until all we processed. Who was repsectful to all and who showed us amazing things. Ohh, that is probably not a super guide it was just a guide doing his job. (But he was super).
Section one of the road was a lovely tarred road through beautiful green country. Between South Africa immigration and Lesotho is a “no mans land” of about 20 km. We climbed up to 2800 metres. The road was dirt and very 4WD, with a switchback road weaving its way up. A hairpin at evey turn. The scenery was breathtaking. Insanly stunning.
After immigration we entered Lesotho. A Mountain Kingdom, a small land locked country all above 2800m.
It is the home to a mostly traditional people who live in their stone bee hive huts and shepard their angora goats and merino sheep, protecting them mostly from Jackal.
They are known for their blanket clothing and balaclava like hats. They were all wearing the blankets like cloaks and had their bandid hats on. I don’t know what they wear in winter when it gets to -12. I had short sleeves on today.
We visited the huts, and ate fresh bread. Very yeasty and chewy. Fantastic. And drank the homemade beer. Not so fantastic. Just a fermented goat milk made with grains – mainly corn.
The round houses have stone walls up to about 1.5 metres, then thatched conical roofs. The floor it dug out and lined with flat rocks. A big rock is out in the centre and the fire place is built on top. All the stones are touching so they have under floor heating. It is them covered with dirt and packed hard. There is a bench around one side and a raised sleeping platform on the other. The kids sleep on mats around the fire. Shelving, for food goods, is in anothr space.
Many people were out with the sheep and goats. Others were out with horses.
We saw one group who had been down to the town for supplies. 40km down a hugly steep montain. They were on donkeys with pack animals.
The original way up was a mule trail that was the only way up.
We then went to the highest pub in Africa and had a local beer (no goats involved in the making of this) and lunch. Again it was very yeast and was made with corn. Very nice. Beers at 2874m do have a kick!
One of the truly wonderful thing up here are the “Sloggett’s Vlei Rat”. About Guinea pig size but the action rate of a chinchilla. And short bald tails that stick out straight. We watched a group fighting over a girl. They rush around like maniac, then front up to each other, stand on their back legs and slap each other while shouting insults. Amazing. Meanwhile the girl Vlei stood by tapping her fingers until another guy dashed in and got her. We laughed hysterically at their Kung Fu Fighting.
The drive down was equally impressive. Instead of blue skys and huge fluffy clouds we had fog and rain. Huge fat drops that really went splat.
We say a women walking the 35 ks up from Underberg with her small bag of shopping. And a man who had walked down 12 kms to get some wood. They are well above the tree line so no timber and with no cows so they cannot burn dried manure.
What were tiny smears of water on the road up, were now 150mm deep. A huge carchment area.
The waterfalls were stunning on the way up and even better going down. Hundreds of waterfalls.
An amazing day. Up there with some of the best day trips I have done.
During all of this, when we had snippets of wi-fi I was able to contact the lady at the BnB we are staying at in Durban and got the name of her taxi guy that she uses.
I got onto him and organized for him to come and gets us the next day. $350AU very well spent. We called it the “Raina Tax” as he hated me the most. Mind you he did tell Joh he was an “egotsitical narcisist”.
The place we were staying at is near Underberg. It’s an old trout hatchery. It was lovely sitting by the falls having a great dinner and knowing we didn’t have to talk to “Pieter the Unhinged” again.
6 oclock had passed and we hadn’t paid the ransom, so we were rid of him. Hooray. (we were never in danger (apart from him trying to overtake) it just wasn’t nice.
2nd Jan. To Durban.
Wow, what a lovely start to the day. Breakfast was not open until 9am so it was awesome to have a compulsory lie in.
Our new driver messaged and was on his way and life was good.
A leisurely breakfast by the waterfall then some RnR while we waited.
He arrived. We fed him and off we went. It was fun fitting all our gear in but we did it.
It was such a pleasant drive. Relaxed, him sharing information and answering questions. Him driving so nicely and to the conditions. Almost like a guide should. Prenesh was lovely. He said he was so honored that the lady who runs the BnB, picked HIM to help out these foreiners who needed help. We had agreed on a price and he had tears when he saw the tip he got!
Our BnB is a lovely oldy worldy place a 10 minute walk from “Florida Road” a huge food hotspot. Now to relax and enjoy for two nights.
The internet is horrid all over South Africa i can occasionally get some photos up so keep going back and checking.
3rd Jan
Durban is a Huge city. 2.4 million people. And once again thy horrid mix and rich be more than poor.
Our BnB was lovely. Built in the 1800s and huge. So any rooms be decorated in dark old furniture.
After a leisurely breakfast the manager drove us down to the water front to get a bus trip around the city.
Next trip was at 1. But wait for the cleverest business plan.
We were there at about 10am. They get you to put your name on a list and you have to be there at exactly 12 noon for the 1pm trip.
So off we went to the waterfront for a look around and ended up drinking a cocktail at 11am. Kayanne’s fault. I wasn’t even there when she ordered them. I was away on the phone.
But they were good no it was fun musing Jon with out giggles.
We got back to the bus depo at 11.50. Soon they started cling out names in the order they were listed. If someone wasn’t there the lady would call out “shall we cross them out”. We got our tickets.
But all the people who missed out on the 1pm trip were now rushing to get onto the list for the 4 pm. Pretty clever. Every bus leaves full with a full list for the next trip.
Off we went on our three hour loop of the city. Stinking hot but pretty interesting.
The Golden Mile along the beaches is 15km long. Its lines it’s all the fancy hotel and apartments. The most expensive areas before Covid but not haven’t re-opened.
Saw monkeys up near some bush land. The beaches were lovely. Yellow sand and big green areas, swimming pools, skating bowl and picnic areas. The ocean was far from scenic. Don’t know if the wind had whipped it up but it was messy and grey.
When we got back we went down to Florida Rsto a steak house called Butcher Boys. Fantastic food. We ate Kudo, great prawns and steak. So good.
4th Jan
After a quick visit to Mitchell Park we got an an Uber down to the markets and back to the waterfront.
Cocktails then a harbour cruise. It’s very much a working port and the water was still the churned up look of yesterday.
It was very interesting seeing the different container ship, the number of used cars being imported from Austin’s Japan. 4 year olds from Japan as they are not allowed old cars and crappy old ones from Australia. An then hundreds of left hand drive Fords going off to the rest of the world.
Then back to the BnB for a rest before we headed off to the airport and the fight to Johannesburg.
A lovely uneventful flight to Jo’berg and a good night sleep well apart from the worlds worst ever fire alarm going off just after midnight id didn’t start with a gentle warning just a screaming tone so loud it was hard to think. But out we went. me without my room key as i couldn’t find it with the screaming alarm.
But all was good just a false alarm. bur we did het a midnight email saying our flight to sydney had moved from 4 pm to 10.20
Lucky its a lovely hotel and for 490 rand ($40AU) you could keep tour room till 6 pm. Bargain.
So a very relaxed day then off to the flight. I will
need lots of luck to make the canberra flight. we shall see.
fligjt to