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SOUTH AFRICA - 1
The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
Chinese Proverb
March 2006
It was strange to be arriving in a country without our 'wheels' but we were soon made to feel very much at home in Mike and Shelley's lovely Burns Guest House where we stayed for B&B. Situated in a very nice area of Durban, it meant we were able to walk to nearby shops, restaurants and gardens and after all, according to Exel, the ship should be arriving in the next few days!
20th March
We visited the Durban Motor Show today after a South African guy had very kindly given us 2 free tickets at breakfast this morning.
We soon found the Land Rover stand displaying the Land Rover that belonged to Kingsley Holgate, author of 'Following the Invisible Line - Capricorn' which tells of his epic journey following the Capricorn line around the globe with two Land Rovers.
We also managed to find an aluminium, weatherproof box from African Outback Products, to fix on our roof rack.
21st March
Human Rights Day today and therefore a Public Holiday, so we visited U Shaka Seaworld by the coast and then enjoyed the company of Kim and Dave (also staying at Burns), for an evening meal at Butchers Boys in nearby Florida Road. We both wish you all the very best with your hotel venture in Spain.
22nd March
We learned today from Exel Durban, that the 'Estimated Time of Arrival' for our ship in Durban will now be 1st April. It is apparently at Lagos where unknown to us, (perhaps fortunately) it has been for nearly a month, waiting to get a berth because of unbelievable congestion there due to lack of staff, space, equipment, equipment failure and rulings that every import container has to be inspected by customs officials. After Lagos, the ship has to call at Lomé in Togo, almost back to where it started from! Not good news and we wonder why the new schedule of this ship could not have been explained to us by Exel at Tema!
26th March
Shelley kindly provided us with a blanket and basket, we bought a picnic lunch and tried to forget our worries about our vehicle arriving, by spending a relaxing day in Durban's Botanical Gardens. It is the longest surviving botanical garden in Africa, a subtropical garden full of exotic trees and plants and a lake with many birds such as grey heron, pelican, African spoonbill, ibis and others, including a family of ducks with 10 baby ducklings.
The trees were all labelled and the variety, some indigenous, was fascinating, with the most extraordinary and beautiful, flowers and fruits. The Gardens also had an orchid house, herb garden and fragrant garden for the blind, not forgetting a fantastic tea garden where you could indulge in scones, jam and cream and crêpes and ice cream!
This was certainly a lovely place, away from the streets and traffic noise and we made more visits during our stay in Durban.
28th March
Another visit to Exel where we were told that ETA Durban for our ship is now 12th April. We also visited the Mitsui Shipping Line in the MOL offices in the city centre where they also confirmed this latest news. We live in hope but are not holding our breath! We are on African time now!
2nd April
A slight mishap, (perhaps fate) led us to a meeting with Peter Hart who works for McCarthy the Land Rover Dealer for Durban.
Being on his own for a while whilst his wife was visiting Johannesburg, he kindly offered to take us to the Tala Game Reserve today, approx. a 1 hour drive out of Durban.
Passing through the thatched entrance, we immediately saw zebra and two rhino and later, plenty of antelope and wildebeest. We had a great braai and the day was complete when we came across a number of giraffe, only too keen to have their photos taken! It was wonderful to be so close and to really be able to appreciate their size.
Leadwood Lodge inside the Reserve was stunning, as was the view from the edge of the infinity pool and beyond.
Our last place to visit was the lake where we watched a group of hippos surfacing and watching us just as carefully!
Many thanks Peter for a great day!
5th April
Because we need to be in Durban longer waiting for our ship, Shelley's B&B is now full so we have moved across the road to Exafrica house. This is another lovely guesthouse owned by Andy Rattray and where we were made to feel completely at home again with his three lovely dogs and Maureen his housemaid.
The delay with our ship however, continues. ETA Durban is now 19th/20th April, good thing we didn't hold our breath but now sleep is beginning to elude us! Andy very kindly invited us to lunch at a restaurant in Botha Hills, where tables were set out on a balcony with a wonderful view across to the Valley of a Thousand Hills. Andy has a heart of gold and has managed to lift some of our depression about the ship and its continued delay.
9th April
We spent another lovely day with Peter visiting Oribi Gorge and the Lake Eland Game Reserve, both south of Durban and not far from Port Shepstone.
The Reserve spans 5000 acres of Bushveld, Grasslands, Wetlands and Coastal Forest eco-systems.
We went over the walkway suspended 80 metres above the gorge, to the Eagle's Nest View site, enjoyed another braai in a lovely, quiet, picnic area and then drove a short distance to Leopard Rock, where we sat and had tea and cakes looking out to panoramic views of the river, meandering far below through the gorge. Another lovely day with fantastic scenery!
14th April
We left early today with Peter to visit an area known as the Midlands Meander with its many crafters, cottage industries, guest houses and hotels and private schools.
Agriculture and tourism are the main economic activities in this area and our route took us through rolling hills and lush, green pastures, some with cattle, all looking extremely fat and well. Their beautiful hides were for sale in many of the shops.
First stop was Howick where we looked across at the Falls, walked round the little shops and art galleries full of local handicrafts and watched a group of Zulu dancers perform.
We drove further into the Midlands and had lunch at the beautifully thatched, Rawdons Hotel Guesthouse and Pub, sitting under a shady vine with a wonderful view across immaculate lawns that led down to a lake.
Peter drove us back through acres of pine forests to the edge of the Karkloof Nature Reserve and then on to view the Karkloof Falls at the end of yet another great day.
19th April
We have had some grey, wet days recently but today the sky was blue and the sun was shining, more like a typical winters day in South Africa we were told.
The evenings can get cool now but we enjoyed drinks with Andy by the harbour watching the ships sail into and out from the docks, only about 50 metres from where we were sitting. Loaded with containers, the enormous ships glided in and out to sea almost silently. As the ships left the harbour, a helicopter also flew out, hovering over them to winch up the pilot before they reached the open seas. It made a fascinating evening and we couldn't wait for our container ship to arrive!
20th April
Mitsui Shipping Line and Exel Durban, both confirmed today that the ship is now due on the 23rd. For some reason, we feel quite positive that this sounds a more realistic date from the time it left Lomé in Togo.
22nd April
Andy has kindly asked us to join him for a weekend trip to visit the Hluhuwe Imfolozi Game Reserve, about 3 hours drive north of Durban into Zululand and just north of the southern end of the St. Lucia Wetland Park.
The journey took us through endless fields of sugar cane on each side of the road and then forests, where the timber is used mainly for making paper.
On arrival, we left our bags at the very welcoming and friendly Hluhluwe Guesthouse and then drove into the game park. This is Africa's oldest game reserve and once a royal hunting ground, where Zulu Kings such as Dingiswayo and Shaka hunted and put in place the first conservation laws.
This enormous reserve is home to the Big 5 (lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo and rhino) and it is also credited with ensuring the survival of both the black and the white rhinos.
At least a fifth of the world's population of both these rhino are found in this park.
We came close to zebra and giraffe, disturbed a buffalo having a mud bath and experienced two separate groups of elephant with their young, ambling along the road towards us.
As light was fading, a rhino and its baby came walking through the tall grass close to the road. No big cats around but seeing the elephants at such close quarters certainly made the day!
We drove back the next day in pouring rain but stopped at Ilala Weavers which specialised in Zulu handicrafts, particularly their beautiful basket weaving.
A great weekend Andy with you, many, many thanks!
24th April
We woke today to find a note pushed under the door of our room from Andy.... 'Your boat is here! Docked in the harbour'. What great news! Can't think of a better way to start the day!
26th April
Our big day today to get our Landy!
We left at 8 a.m. for the Container Depot at the docks with a driver from Exel, as the Customs Officials were arriving there at 9 a.m.
Our container was located, dwarfed by hundreds of others, the seal was broken, the padlock undone and there was Moby, no damage and everything in place! Customs took only about half an hour.
After standing for such a long time, the battery was lifeless but there was lots of help at hand to push Moby out of the container and then the use of a fork lift truck and jump leads, to bring the engine back to life!
A long 6 hour wait followed, for Bill who had to return to Exel to complete the paperwork and for me waiting at the docks in Moby. We were finally away through the gates by 4 p.m. and then back to Andy, where we discovered that Moby was unable to fit into any of the garage parking!
Shelley from Burns Guesthouse, approached Carol and Craig who lived at the end of the road and who had a long, wide drive behind secure gates. They very kindly allowed us to park there at night until we left Durban. Many thanks to both of you, it was good to know that our Land Rover was safe there with you.
29th April
A beautiful day! We visited the Snake Park in Durban with Andy and two of his nieces. A very interesting place that made us feel even more aware of some of the dangers that will be lurking in the rest of Africa! Later we all walked along the beach and watched the surfers and fishermen.
30th April
What a contrast, it poured all day and we have been trying to pack up the Land Rover for our departure. Andy introduced us to Doraine and Steven Livington who were visiting him at Exafrica. They help as missionaries in a little village in Lesotho and kindly invited us to stay at the house that they have there when we arrive.
1st May
Our wait for our Land Rover has enabled us to experience the generous and kind hospitality of Andy, Peter and Mike and Shelley, who have all helped to make our stay in Durban a very special one.
You have a great city, lovely homes and beautiful beaches, so many interesting places to visit and a wonderful climate. Sadly at the moment, you still have to live behind high walls, electric fencing and armed responses, let's hope that the crime can be sorted out in the not too distant future for you all.
And so tomorrow, we will have to say a sad goodbye and a big thank you to all the friends that we have met here in Durban but it's great to have our wheels again and to be able to continue on our travels.
2nd May
The spectacular Drakensberg Mountains form the western boundary of KwaZulu-Natal and are the highest range in Southern Africa with mountains rising to over 3000 metres. These then spill over into the Mountain Kingdom of Lesotho to the west, where we will be heading shortly.
The Drakensberg range is also known by it's Zulu name - Ukhahlamba, which means 'Barrier of Spears.' The 243,000 hectare Ukhahlamba Drakensberg Park was declared a World Heritage Site in December 2000 and because of the variations in altitude over relatively short distances, the mountains are home to many, rare plant species, found nowhere else in the world. The rare and endangered bearded vulture also makes its home in the cliffs, in some of the more inaccessible gorges.
The Sani Pass (for 4x4's only) begins in the Southern Drakensberg and we plan to take this scenic route into Lesotho.
So we left Durban, after taking photos of Andy with his dogs and Maureen at beautiful Exafrica and then stopping to buy notebooks, pencils and footballs for the school in Lesotho that we will be visiting with Doraine and Steven.
From Howick we headed to the Mzimkulu Wilderness Area and the Mzimkulwana Nature Reserve, both of which were at Cobham in the Southern Drakensberg. We discovered that we were the only people at the camping ground and so had the spectacular view of the mountains, the wonderful sky scape and the river, all to ourselves! It was a cold night and out came the sleeping bags but we fell asleep to the sound of the flowing Pholela River close by.
3rd May
We woke to a bright, sunny day with a cloudless blue sky. A cold wind was still blowing however and caused a disaster with the porridge pot when it blew the rear door to, which had our gas stove attached to it!
There were numerous hiking trails from the camp ground and we chose to follow the Pholela River Trail which offered spectacular views of 'The Giant's Cup'.
We collected logs and branches to sit round another fire that evening. The sky provided an array of stars and a clear moon, it was going to be another cold night!
4th May
Another delay to the start of the morning when we found that we unable to open the rear door of the Land Rover, due to a metal clip sticking out of the storage drawer system and jamming it! We will always remember to check this in future!
However, it was another beautiful and clear, sunny morning as we finally set off. We moved some luggage over and gave a lift to David, a backpacker from Germany, on our way to the South African border post. We said our goodbyes at the bottom of the Sani Pass which will take us into Lesotho. David insisted that he wanted to walk all the way up!
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