Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
My last blog from South Africa! (or at least for the time being ;) )
And yet another week has flown by. I passed the milestone of 50 days on October 6, which means that after that only less than half was left. And now I'm already on day 61, and yesterday I had to say 'See you soon' to best friend Nouki as well as to South Africa.. Very sad! Spending 17 days with someone so close during 100 days of travelling by yourself has been unbelievably nice, and I am very sorry she had to leave today. Also South Afriva has given me so much love, fun, beauty and mostly many new friendships these past 8.5 weeks that it is a shame to leave..
But! Time to pull myself together, because it is all part of the travelling and I already got some nice stuff lined up for the next bit :)
First things first: Kruger National Park and Soweto!
We had 5 nights booked in different camps in Kruger, so that we could see as much as possible. Kruger Park is huge, and it has solid roads as well as sandy paths. There are about 18 fenced campsites in the park, and this is also where you go for lunch and spend the night etc.
Our first night was the real deal already: our flashlights shone on a hyena strolling around the fences begging for left over food, and that was a pretty scary picture! Those fences really don't look all that impressive at night..
During the night you can wake up to sounds of predators on the hunt, and pray the fences are solid enough to not become the food yourself.
During the days you drive around the park, trying to spot any movement in the trees, grass, bushes or open fields. I must say the animals blend in to their environment very well.. As soon as a car pauses on the side of the road, all other cars speed up to have a look at whatever it is they are looking at. It is a nice way to fool people, and mostly the windows roll down for the all time question: 'what are we looking at..?' ('Well, I had to pause to adjust my seat..')
But truth be told, no day is the same, and you truly have NO idea what to expect. Even turning a corner can put you in a exciting / scared-to-death / beautiful situation.
And ofcourse we ran in to situation numero 2! Passing the corner revealed a giant male elephant on the side of the road, with 2 cars in front of us who were even closer to him. The elephant, as they all like to do, decided to go back and forth over the path, making it impossible for anyone to pass. So you are left with 2 options: turn around and admit defeat and drive an extra hour to get back on track, or hold your ground and pray for the love of God that the elephant passes you without flipping you on your side or tossing you in the air. The first 2 cars decided to go for option 2, stand your ground. The elephant passed car nr 1, and already started to move more agitated.. Passing car nr 2 made it turn its head annoyed and wiggle its ears- BAD sign! And yes, than a little orange car was next, which so happend to be OUR car.. And, the elephant started running. Like seriously running. Straight ahead. Towards us. Wtf!! As the car was already in reverse (better safe than sorry) I started speeding backwards as faaast as I could, while making car nr 4 behind us do the same, and while keeping an eye on Mr Angry Elephant still heading for us. After about 200 meters (which I can tell you is a freaking long distance in reverse with a running elephant!), the elephant finally slowed down. I am pretty sure I drove another 2 km before I dared to turn the car, and drove another 30 km before we were able to slow down and take a breath. On our way back we warned cars heading that direction, and I think the panic and fear in our voice made it into a you-are-for-sure-going-to-get-killed-if-you-continue-that-way.
If a youtube video shows up from the people in car nr 1 or 2: yes we are that glimpse of orange getting the hell out behind that big big big elephant.
But all in all, it was a GREAT experience. On day 1 we saw a leopard at the bottom of a tree, with a dead impala (type of gazelle) HANGING upside down in the tree. Welcome to wild life 1-on-1.. Ofcourse the famous Big Five, but also a cheetah, hyena babies (which are actually quite cute) and very rare and special: a group of wild dogs! They look a lot like normal dogs, with floppy ears (I know, not very cool) but also a wild, restless movement in their body. It was a group of about 25 of them, and they even chased an impala right between all the cars watching them. Beautiful.
The night drive was also very interesting. You are no longer allowed in the park or outside the campsites after 18.00 hrs (honestly, you don't even want to if you're not suicidal). But the night drive is in a truck with an armed guide and 2 spotlights, driving around from 20.30 to 22.30 hrs.
We also did an early morning drive, which is indeed very early: from 4.30 to 7.30, so you can still spot some night animals.
All together we have seen tons of spectacular animals, and it was an unique experience.
We ended our trip together in Soweto, a 'city' within Johannesburg that is know as the biggest township of South Africa, and also former home to Nelson Mandela. The backpackers was nice and very cozy, and we spent 2 hours on the backseat of a TukTuk with a guide showing us all the local treats. We even got to taste some local beers, not bad at all! In Soweto the areas are very diverse: you can see proper family houses, but make a turn and you see the real township huts with those iron plates put together. The unemployment rate is about 45%, so the streets are filled with people just hanging every day of the week. But the people are proud, and the angry-complaining atmosphere of years ago has changed into a positive and musical ambiance.
However, seeing a huge bus with only white American tourists in their zip-off pants and safari hats on passing through the city as if they are in Kruger Park spotting monkeys, made even us resent the tourists.
And than it was time to head to the airport.. How crazy it felt to hang around killing time before boarding and than not go flying back home. I contemplated of buying a ticket on the spot, but that would have spoiled the welcome committee on November 25 for flight MS 757 from Cairo arriving at 14.00 hrs (hint hint).
But hee, I am now in the bus off to Mozambique, where I'll start my diving course on Sunday, and it is only 39 more days..!
Take care all, and thanks for sticking out till the end :)
X
- comments
Mollie Wauw DD wat een verhaal weer :) Wat doe je mooie dingen! En coole dingen! En enge dingen! En leuke dingen! Alleen jammer dat Nouki erbij was. Grapje natuurlijk, sorry Anouk :p Ik ben best blij dat je nu niet plat-als-een-dubbeltje-DD bent want dat knuffelt zo lastig op schiphol op 25 november om 14:00 bij de gate van vlucht MS 757 uit Caïro. Geniet er nog maar van schatje, wij zijn hier als je terugkomt! xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Snoek Ik vind het vooral jammer dat Jans er niet bij was... Waar is ze eigenlijk? (hahahahahaha, sorry Fem, ik kon het gewoon niet laten dat begrijp je) Anyway, ik heb goed nieuws en slecht nieuws.. het slechte nieuws is dat ik geen deel uit maak van je welkomscomité, maar het goede nieuws iiiissss dat ik waarschijnlijk op tijd terug ben om je opnieuw uit te zwaaien. Wat een feest!! Maar het grootste feest is natuurlijk dat ik weer je blog heb mogen lezen, dat begrijp je. Het valt me alleen wel een beetje van je tegen dat je het niet in het Afrikaans hebt getypt. Ik bedoel maar, na aaaal die weken aan de andere kant van de wereld heb je vast het nodige opgepikt niet waar? Maar geen sorge, ek het gedink jy is 'n gawe meissie! En ek is lief vir jou :) Super veel plezier in Mozambique met je duikcursus, ik zie je al helemaal enthousiast en voldaan het water uitkomen na een bezoekje aan onze vriendin Dory haha. En je weet het, pas op voor 'the beautiful rock'! ;) Dikke vette lebber en wie weet tot in UGANDAAAA!!! LLL
Nouki Haha wat een sterke verhalen hebben wij mee gemaakt! En thnx Jet, echt lief van je, ik ben ook erg blij dat we niet plat zijn.. Wat was het fijn om deze dingrn met je mee te maken bollie <3, en nog steeds baal ik ervan dat het angolees blauwfazantje niet een tick of the box is geweest!! Daagg vetje,have fun in mozambique
ning wah Mooie verhalen, Diandra. Ik heb mijn neef Daan gesproken, als het goed is heeft hij je een bericht gestuurd. Heel veel duik plezier in Mozambique. Zij zitten meer in het Noorden , maar wie weet, kom je daar nog in de buurt.