AND YOU THOUGHT I WAS DONE...

Well, that is if you managed to read the other blog I just posted about two hours ago before I rushed off to the airport (can I tell you how much I love upgrading to business and getting a nice lounge to hang out in with a cocktail and internet access?) So here I am munching away on salt and vinegar chips and consuming what I believe will be my last Castle Lager for a while. The sun is now setting and I can only imagine how nice table mountain would look from a nice waterfront cafe down at the V & A Waterfront. I must say, I am quite sad to be leaving South Africa and have grown very fond of Cape Town. I thought five and a half days at the end of my trip would be enough but alas it wasn't and I missed many many things.

OK, so, now that I have rambled on for a bit, I must get back to the closing story. Oh, if you have not read the previous bloc (one below this one) I highly recommend that you do so as it will bring you up to speed.

When I last left you, I was at a park gate in Sodwana Bay, tired and hungry and debating (or really more pestering and whining) with some gate guards to let us through without payment so that we could just run in and check out the hotel before we committed to staying there. It was quite late at this point and all I wanted was food and a place to sleep for the night. The gate guys, for guards would be too nice of a term, could not make a decision if we should be able to run in or not. We even offered to leave one of us behind. Well, no deal and we ended up paying the fee to just run in, look at the hotel, find that dinner was already done and we couldn't eat there (everything else was outside the gates) and that there were some additional fees, such as renting the linens and park usage stuff. In any case, we opted to head back out (too hungry to skip dinner) and go to another place we checked out before we went in the gates. Why we tortured ourselves by going there in the first place (the place in the park I mean) you may ask? That is, instead of dropping our bags at the place we ended up going back to. Well, that would be too easy! No really, we had this great vision of sleeping at a place on the beach and hearing the waves crash while we slept but turned out that the hotel was not a hell of a lot closer to the beach than the ones outside the gate.

So, anyway, we returned to the option outside the gate - oh, and the gate guards were gone by the time we went back through - apparently they close and well, if we had waited 10 minutes we never would have had the issue in the first place. Back at the hotel, grabbed a beer, calmed the nerves, ordered dinner and ran across to the dive shop, booked a dive and returned to get some food in our stomachs. I cannot stress how much this helped the mood and the rest of the evening. If I didn't already mention it below, I am quite the terrible person if I am low on food and lose all ability to think, reason or function really and can become quite the pain (no, I am not always a pain for those of you who just thought that!)

Next day we went for a dive out in Sodwana Bay on 7 Mile Reef. It was a beautiful reef with lovely coral and loads of fish, but to be quite honest, not really my best dive. I felt a bit heavy in the water (maybe my weight was off) and had visions of crashing into the coral below me and along with that, my mask was a filmy mess inside so vision was quite poor. We didn't really seem to move much around the reef and with there being 8 of us with the dive master, were continually stopping to look at some thing or another creating traffic jams left and right. Otherwise, I highly recommend this beautiful part of the world for a dive...Just not my day I guess. We did get to swim with a group of around 50 dolphins on the way out to the dive shop. They were lovely darting around beneath us and occasionally popping up closer to get a look at us.

After the dive, we headed down to St. Lucia (also a World Heritage Site) to spend a night and get a little closer to our next destination - The Drakensberg Range. St. Lucia was nice but I didn't get a chance to see much. A couple hours at the beach with my book and a wander around town and that was about it. Wayne went for a couple of runs and ended up in an unsafe animal zone and also came across a few hippos, which is what St. Lucia is famous for. Was hoping to have one walk down the streets like the guide book said but given that the streets were paved and there was a lot of activity, I cannot really imagine that. Had a fab borewoer dinner (local farmer sausage that has some weird spicing going on that tastes great). The sausages are HUGE and you buy them in a large coil that looks a little like a dead skinned snake.

So, the next morning, after a little Curio shopping (craft shopping) we carried on up various minor highways to the Northern Drakensberg. We stayed at a place called The amphitheater that looked out at a sheer face of mountains called The amphitheater (funny that). A thunder storm was just about to start when we arrived so we were quite keen our bags out of the car and into the room. Alas, that was not to happen. The check-in girl was quite the blabber mouth and felt the need to go on and on and on about everything that we could do there. She was interrupted several times and ran off to answer the phone, then delayed us for a new guest and started her story all over again (sigh). We tried to escape at one point saying that we just wanted to get our bags in but she would have none of that and pulled us right back saying we would get our room information in a minute.

Of course by the time she was done with her various stories and tangents, it was pissing down rain. Got a bit wet brining in the bags but given that we parked the car right in front of the door of the room, it was not too bad. We were rewarded after the storm with a beautiful rainbow and that lovely deep purple grey sky that comes after a storm and right before the next one moves in. The mountains were incredible and created a wall all along the skyline.

The next day we headed off to hike Sentinel Peak, which is where (supposedly) the second largest waterfall in the world is located and the highest in Africa. However, before reaching the hiking point, it was imperative that we pick up more sunscreen. I was already a bit pink with lips that had blistered from the sun and salt walter and had no intention of adding more pinkness to my body. Well, try to buy sunscreen in an all black village...not really too easy. The best we could do was factor 23 - not water proof or sweat proof! Once we acquired that, we headed off a dirt road to the starting point of our hike.

And at that, it will have to be the ending point of my bloc today. The airline has just called boarding for us and I must run. Hope to update again in the next couple days once I have another computer and my feet are back on the ground.

PS - again sorry for spelling mistakes etc.

AND TO AN END IT COMES

Oh, OK not quite to an end but my time in South Africa has come to an end...tonight in fact. I only have five hours before my flight takes off and I head to stormy cold England. I am quite tempted to just miss the flight and stay here where it is warm and sunny and I can go play in the pools at the hostel or by the sea. That said, I have had a wonderful time here and will give you a quick rundown of the past couple weeks.

When last I left you, we were heading to Swaziland from Maputo in Mozambique. The original plan was to stay a night in Swaziland and then move into South Africa. Well, Swaziland was nice and we stopped quickly in the Hlane national park in the hopes of seeing another lion. Alas, there were no lions but the rhinos didn't seem very shy. In fact we came around a corner a couple times right into the massive beasts. One was a mother and her baby so we tried to keep bit of a distance. The other group was happily sleeping in the shade under some nice leaf covered trees. It was a nice park overall but a bit disorganized. They had no maps and just left us to wander around the dirty, muddy roads hoping that we didn't get stranded in the muck and left out there until someone happened to drive by, which was not very likely as I think we were just about the only people in the park. Apparently the lions were in an enclosed area and only reachable by 4x4. We did head into the enclosed section, which was a little odd as it was just a large gate with a sign saying "please close the gate". I got the honors of opening and closing the gate, which really didn't make me feel too comfortable as you never know who might be lurking in the bush. Obviously I am still here so nothing terrible happened.

After the park, we headed to what we thought was going to be an nicle little camp/game park. However, when we got there, it was quite deserted and not at all appealing and we think that the lions were basically tame so not very interesting/exciting. We opted to move on and head to Sodwana Bay for another round of diving. Boy was that a long drive day and by the end of it, I think I was up for being put in the middle of the road and run over by the car a few times. It was so hot and tiring and well, I was really hungry and that always makes thinking (functioning really) for me quite impossible. To top it off the hotel we planned to stay at was way back in the park and to get there you had to go through the park gate and pay. We weren't even sure we were going to stay there so a debate between ourselves and the gate guard ensued with us begging to just run in and check the place out and then come back and pay. True to their nature and inability to make decisions, the guards waffled on about it for ages....

OK, sorry to break the flow of things but I just wrote a very long long blog and lost it so now I am back to square on and at this point must leave you so that I can head to the airport. Shocking as it is, I plan to be at the airport three hours before my flight. Yes, family, sit down, I know you are all staring at the computer screen right now, mouths wide, thinking that this is not your dear ole steph writing at the moment. However, it is and so, I am off in my effort to for once, get somewhere early!

I will have to finish with the guards and Sodwana Bay then update to today when I touch down in London.

ANOTHER YEAR, ANOTHER LION

Well, not really much of another lion as Kruger was not particularly plentiful in the lion area, in fact, we only saw one and she was a bit off the road. Still she was graceful, beautiful and wonderful to watch slink along the edge of the grass and into the trees. Then again, I guess, another lion could refer to another year ahead to tackle but that seems like a bleak way of looking at the new year and I would much rather look at it as another year to hunt for more adventures and, so far so good.

New Year’s eve and the first four days of the new year were spent in Kruger National park attempting to see more lions, leopards, elephants, hippos, rhino etc. etc. etc. It rained on New Year’s eve so the animals weren’t particularly cooperative the first 24 hours of so and had all wandered off to find shelter or enjoy the nice lush lands that appeared right around them, reducing their need to wander. However we did get to see a fair number of good things in the following days: a massive leopard enjoying a nap on a rock and then climbing the tree for a late afternoon snack, multiple rhino sightings, huge bull elephants wandering off and on the road in front of us and a group playing in the local watering hole, zebras hanging with their favorite buddies – the wildebeest, and a couple hyenas. One hyena was lounging right on the side of the road with her two cubs (? – babies? Wonder what they are called) feeding. She barely even stirred when we drove up, only looked at us with her huge eyes and then put her head back down. Clearly we weren’t a threat to her little ones. It was incredible to see her so close up and not moving and I can now see how they are actually part of the cat family and not the dog family. She really did live up to the name “spotted hyena” and you could see the spots on her fir, almost clown like really. Oh, and I must not forget, loads and loads and loads of Impala. They really are like rabbits – no lion is ever going to go hungry in that park and in fact, I think they might need a few more lions to help reduce the population. Still they are cute.

PS on the animal sightings…also had a small cobra run across the road in front of us and by small, I do mean tiny. It stood up in front of the car (to its full four inch height) and flared it’s head menacingly as if to let us know who was boss and well, then we drove over it and it was gone. No, we did not hit it.

MOZAMBIQUE HERE WE COME…

After Kruger we headed for the Ressano Garcia boarder post keeping our fingers crossed that the crossing would not be as painful as we were told it would be. Before departing we had to get permission from the rental car company to take the car over the boarder, registration papers, a sticker for the back that said ZA for South Africa and secondary car insurance. Cash in hand the prepared to pay up the various bribes we approached customs. In fact, they ask for none of our papers except the rental agreement and the secondary insurance and charged us exactly what we thought they would to cross the boarder and get the visas. The worst thing about the crossing was having to go from point A to point B and back to point A for a signature, then to point B to show the signature from point A and possibly hitting a point C somewhere in the middle. It probably took about an hour to get through everything and then we were on our way to Tofo to enjoy a few beach days.

Getting to Tofo didn’t seem too bad to start with as the reputedly hideous roads seemed to be quite good and we were making good time. That was, until just after Xai Xai, when I took the wheel and the road turned into pothole city. It was like playing a video game – dodging potholes, people and even the occasional bus or car that strayed onto our side of the road to avoid a pothole or person on it’s side of the road. And just when we hit the grand finale of potholes – a patch that spanned the entire road and turned out to be several inches deep in places (the one I hit) – I managed to get just the right angle and, well, bent the rim. Wayne was quite the trooper and took this all very calmly and didn’t bitch, moan or well, get bitter with me, which he well could have. We dug out the spare, which thankfully was a full tire and not one of the doughnut things. As is the norm in Africa, loads of people started oozing out of the previously unpopulated grass and trees on the side of the road and all descended upon us like locusts. They wanted to help – for a price that is. Wayne could barely managed to get the bolts loosened before one of the guys enthusiastically started jacking up the car. We had to shoo them off like flies on a fresh fruit tart. Of course, once we were finished and getting in the car, they tried to explain that they wanted money. We still aren’t quite sure what they wanted money for – maybe getting in the way?

The car righted, we carried on to Tofo and finally arrived at our destination around 8:30. After tracking down someone to show us where we were to sleep (reception was closed) we were lead to a grass tool shed looking building. OK, that is a mean description and probably stems from what was inside. The outside looked fine, in fact a little like a cute grass hut. However, once the light was flipped on, we looked inside to see two very dingy, old tired, torn mattresses tossed onto a concrete floor with mossie nets tied above them. The guy who showed us our place explained that they didn’t really provide sheets and said – “you do have your sleeping bags right?” – which we didn’t. He was kind and managed to track down some polyester sheets (great for the heat and humidity we were in) and some very disgusting pillows (rather sleep with my head on a stinky dirty dog). We took the sheets gratefully and did what we could to fashion pillows out of clothes. It looked a little better in the daylight the next morning but my feet sure as hell didn’t. Thought it was mossies at first, but realize now, it was probably bed bugs. My toes, top of my feet, ankles and even up my legs were covered with little red bumps. Thought after all those years of my dad tucking me in with “Don’t let the bed bugs bite!” would have been enough to keep them away for a lifetime (love you dad!) but they finally caught up to me. My feet are finally now just recovering. Needless to say, we changed to another hostel that turned out to be much better and also right bang on the beach.

Tofo was lovely and we went out for a couple of dives, which were quite nice. Saw a few Mantas – so gracefully and peaceful to watch. Supposedly they are about 4 meters across, but they don’t feel that big when you are watching them in the water. On the first dive we finished it sitting on the top waiting for the boat and watching a manta circle below us. It just kept going around and around with the light reflecting off various parts as it moved and then finally dove to deep to see. We also took a quick tour out on the boat in search of Whale Sharks. It is supposedly Whale Shark season in Mozambique but weather patterns have changed and they seem to be coming earlier. We did get one though and all jumped in the water and same over and around it. They are massive creatures and the one we saw was supposedly 9 meters long, or, the size of our boat. We swam with it for around 7 minutes and at one point it was so close that I swore the current from its tail, would push me off to the side. They are so giant and so docile. It just glided through the water ignoring us.

After Tofo we headed to Vilankulos for a couple nights and maybe another dive. The hostel was pretty decent and we had yet another grass hut thing. Did a snorkeling trip out to Magaruque island in the Bazaruto Archipelago on a dhow boat. The dhow is very similar to the Felucca in Egypt and equally amusing. We should have known it might not be the smoothest of trips given the rude owner, the motor that wouldn’t start initially, the yelling between one of the boat captains and the owner and well, the fins that bent down and were supposedly “special snorkeling fins” (hah!). Our captains spent half the time bailing and half the time sleeping, which was OK as long as one of the three was awake to steer the boat. We ended up having to stop at another island to pick up a guy and a boat and tow them back to the mainland so while we had the benefit of seeing another island (briefly) we were slowed a bit by the extra weight. Once we got to the island and sorted out the gear, which was all the wrong sizes, we jumped in the water for a quick tour of the reef. The snorkeling was OK but the water a bit cloudy as some crazy storm system was off the coast and the currents were quite strong. We pretty much just had to jump in and watch the fish go by. On a clear day it must be absolutely amazing as you could see loads of fish and some quite colorful coral. Nice way to pass an afternoon in any case. On the way back we got caught in a crazy storm and all got soaked. We had a bit of a laugh about it, shook with cold until the storm passed over, rushed back to take (cold) showers and then finished the afternoon with a few beers and dinner with the Swiss couple that had also taken the dhow trip. All in all, it was a good day.

Given that we weren’t in love with Vilankulos, we decided to head back down to South Africa. Another long drive day got us to Maputo, where we managed to get pulled over by the “police” for going the wrong was down a road. They informed us that we needed to go to the post office to have the ticket written for our error. Reluctant to comply, we looked at each other a little skeptically but decided that they were four and all had big machine guns so we ought to maybe see…Well, we drove about ½ of a block and one of the guys got off his very beaten up motorcycle – oh, and did I mention that they were basically in riot gear? – and came to our window. When we rolled down the window he said that a cold drink or something would make it better and we could go on our way. This lead to a debate between Wayne and I on how much money we could and should give or could we head to the gas station up ahead and maybe buy them a drink. We parted with 50 Meticas (Mozambique money) and about 6 Rand for a grand total close to $4. Not so bad.

The next day we headed for the Swaziland/Mozambique boarder to see if we couldn’t find something fun to do in Swaziland. However, I will have to tell you about all that at a later date as the queue for the Internet is growing and my next bus is about to arrive.