We left Lesotho and right away reentered teh world of fencing with every propoerty fenced to protect it. We headed towards Port Elizabeth and ended up driving for 8 hrs through 2000m mountain passes with really good roads so Chris oozed F1 driver attitude... Luckily no police in sight!
The mountain passes opened up to the planes of the northern cape - the astonishing fact is that there are 100s of kms of uninhabited land. Reminded us of Texas Hill country but with mountains... Very dry and rugged bushes....
We slept one night in Oudtschoon which is the world capital of Ostrich! Started out in the 1800 for its feathers ended up today for its meat... We then followed on and slept in Swellendam at a historical home.
4 days left, two more days in the winelands with 5 important regions to visit: Franschoek, Swartland, Stellenbosch, Robertson and Paarl.
We only have time to explore three and will keep Swartlandand Franschoek for our next trip. Interestingly enough a couple of days here have turned into a business opportunity to import south african wines to Texas - a practically non-existing offering today with Texans little or not aware that South Africa even produces wine....
The cape is definately alot more colonial in feel - with lots of European decents spending their money and the rest serving them....
We dined twice at the Bosman restaunrant which is part of the Grande Roche hotel - the chef, Christophe was inspiring. He is young and dynamic, someone we want to follow in the future, he is destined for grestness - we would not be surprised if he ended up running one of the top tables in the world.
Today on the menu : Rust en Vrede and most likely Klein Constancia wineries
Wednesday, 5 February 2014
Sunday, 2 February 2014
Islamangaliso Wetlands - Dutban and Lesotho
It's been a while since we posted but in Lesotho we have no cell phone reception and no Internet! What a horror!! We made an uneventful, for once, journey to St-Lucia, a very small village packed with hostels, lodges and hotels for tourists just like us that come to visit he world heritage site that is the Isimangaliso Wetlands! We did a quick safari that afternoon and saw plenty of Hippos up close, giraffes, black and white rhinos, Buffalos, water bucks and kudus.
We decided to stay two nights and reserved for the next morning at 8am estuary kayaking with a guide and sea turtle watch on the beach for that evening. We arrive for kayaking and the guide, Justin, quickly suggests we should rebook as the water was too turbulent which can cause for our cheap kayaks to topple over and there are too much ' danger ' in the water.... We agree and give him a ride back to the village asking him for some ' danger ' stories... He said : nothing bad except once a crocodile bit a lady and they had to rush her to the hospital... Another time, a hippo tried to flip them over by going under the kayak and pushing it up.... And regularly crocodiles bite the kayaks, but we should stay calm.... In retrospect we are happy we didn't go!
We ended up spending a part of the afternoon shopping for an animal skins ( kudu, zebra and giraffe ) were available and legal to bring back. But we ended up finding them much cheaper on EBAY! So no animal skin in our living room for now and to explain to the US customs.....
The turtle watching - an Isuzu Turbo Diesel picked us up at our lodge ( which by the way was stunning ) at 4pm and returned us turtle less at 11pm.... We saw no turtles, no hatchlings, just a few broken eggs.... We did see, however a huge amount of wildlife right on the road in the dark suck as hippos crossing the roads with young ones, Buffalos and plenty of waterbuck sans kudus... Turtles as well!!
We headed the next day to Durban and to our surprise, we loved Durban! Everyone said skip Durban - it's ugly and boring.... We stayed at the Concierge Boutique hotel and spent the day wandering the streets. 90% of all Indians live in Durban so it's the place for a curry and other evolved South African dishes. We headed to Ushaka Marine World and visited one of the largest indoor Aquarium in the world. We also tried to find the Indian market with spices, and meat hanging upside down... But we got here too late! We saw 'colored people' which are the mixed between Africans and whites which during Apartheid were considered second class above the Africans. Durban was surprisingly very evolved in terms of architecture, design and urbanism... We would come back :)
People here still refer to others by their races which is quite disturbing but it seems to be the way.
We left Durban around 8 am and headed for Lesotho!!! We did not gets topped by the cops BUT got flashed by a speeding camera :) the route to Lesotho was magnificent with curbs and mountains - took us 7 hrs and as so a s we entered Lesotho - it started raining!!!
Lesotho - the unfenced country ( meaning there are no fences ) is loved by motorbikes and hikers for its accessibility. You can hike and bike anywhere, anytime at no cost! It is also the least evolved country we have ever visited with little electricity and no water works. The Basuthu people live off the land us tilting donkeys to carry their bags, horses to travel longer distances, lamb for wool, sheep for food and cows for dowry. ( 12 cows buys you a wife ) they still live in traditional huts made out of cow dung and rocks... They eat Maize ( corn ), pumpkins and make beer and lots of Marijuana!!!! What a life!
We decided to live it up and do two days of Pony trekking ( it's a horse but they call it a pony??? ) with a half ass saddle and a very dirt and bing horse.... We had 6 hrs of ridding to go , sleep in a village and 7 hrs to return to the Malealea Lodge ( $29 a night is very luxurious in Lesotho ).
The scenery was the most beautiful we have ever seen and non accessible by car so we know it's special. The horses knew the way but it was quote scary at times near cliffs and going downs or up steep mountains with the horse slipping and hesitating... We saw thunderstorms coming around 3pm and had to stop in as mall village with Chris made the 20 kids believe he was Jet Li! We ended up staying isn't that village in a small round cow dung hut wit a tiny very dirty mattress, lice, ticks two large rats and the gastro for Isabelle , throwing up in the corn field in the back of the hut until 3 am ! We cooked a rougaille de saumon with a paraffin stove and a candle :) ahhh the adventures... We left the village with all the kids and adults waiting outside our hut wondering what tourists do.... It was good!
And now we are not he road again heading for The Cape our last week has started and already the bought a of heading back home are creeping in, thinking... It's too soon,,, wait... Make it last longer !!
We decided to stay two nights and reserved for the next morning at 8am estuary kayaking with a guide and sea turtle watch on the beach for that evening. We arrive for kayaking and the guide, Justin, quickly suggests we should rebook as the water was too turbulent which can cause for our cheap kayaks to topple over and there are too much ' danger ' in the water.... We agree and give him a ride back to the village asking him for some ' danger ' stories... He said : nothing bad except once a crocodile bit a lady and they had to rush her to the hospital... Another time, a hippo tried to flip them over by going under the kayak and pushing it up.... And regularly crocodiles bite the kayaks, but we should stay calm.... In retrospect we are happy we didn't go!
We ended up spending a part of the afternoon shopping for an animal skins ( kudu, zebra and giraffe ) were available and legal to bring back. But we ended up finding them much cheaper on EBAY! So no animal skin in our living room for now and to explain to the US customs.....
The turtle watching - an Isuzu Turbo Diesel picked us up at our lodge ( which by the way was stunning ) at 4pm and returned us turtle less at 11pm.... We saw no turtles, no hatchlings, just a few broken eggs.... We did see, however a huge amount of wildlife right on the road in the dark suck as hippos crossing the roads with young ones, Buffalos and plenty of waterbuck sans kudus... Turtles as well!!
We headed the next day to Durban and to our surprise, we loved Durban! Everyone said skip Durban - it's ugly and boring.... We stayed at the Concierge Boutique hotel and spent the day wandering the streets. 90% of all Indians live in Durban so it's the place for a curry and other evolved South African dishes. We headed to Ushaka Marine World and visited one of the largest indoor Aquarium in the world. We also tried to find the Indian market with spices, and meat hanging upside down... But we got here too late! We saw 'colored people' which are the mixed between Africans and whites which during Apartheid were considered second class above the Africans. Durban was surprisingly very evolved in terms of architecture, design and urbanism... We would come back :)
People here still refer to others by their races which is quite disturbing but it seems to be the way.
We left Durban around 8 am and headed for Lesotho!!! We did not gets topped by the cops BUT got flashed by a speeding camera :) the route to Lesotho was magnificent with curbs and mountains - took us 7 hrs and as so a s we entered Lesotho - it started raining!!!
Lesotho - the unfenced country ( meaning there are no fences ) is loved by motorbikes and hikers for its accessibility. You can hike and bike anywhere, anytime at no cost! It is also the least evolved country we have ever visited with little electricity and no water works. The Basuthu people live off the land us tilting donkeys to carry their bags, horses to travel longer distances, lamb for wool, sheep for food and cows for dowry. ( 12 cows buys you a wife ) they still live in traditional huts made out of cow dung and rocks... They eat Maize ( corn ), pumpkins and make beer and lots of Marijuana!!!! What a life!
We decided to live it up and do two days of Pony trekking ( it's a horse but they call it a pony??? ) with a half ass saddle and a very dirt and bing horse.... We had 6 hrs of ridding to go , sleep in a village and 7 hrs to return to the Malealea Lodge ( $29 a night is very luxurious in Lesotho ).
The scenery was the most beautiful we have ever seen and non accessible by car so we know it's special. The horses knew the way but it was quote scary at times near cliffs and going downs or up steep mountains with the horse slipping and hesitating... We saw thunderstorms coming around 3pm and had to stop in as mall village with Chris made the 20 kids believe he was Jet Li! We ended up staying isn't that village in a small round cow dung hut wit a tiny very dirty mattress, lice, ticks two large rats and the gastro for Isabelle , throwing up in the corn field in the back of the hut until 3 am ! We cooked a rougaille de saumon with a paraffin stove and a candle :) ahhh the adventures... We left the village with all the kids and adults waiting outside our hut wondering what tourists do.... It was good!
And now we are not he road again heading for The Cape our last week has started and already the bought a of heading back home are creeping in, thinking... It's too soon,,, wait... Make it last longer !!
Wednesday, 29 January 2014
Swaziland
It's been a few days since we last posted but as we had no internet or phone connection as soon as we hit the Swaziland border.... We left Kapama Game Lodge at 10am on the 24th with the GPS saying : 3.5 hrs to our destination! 25 minutes into our journey and not surprisingly the popo stops us again!! Yes, we are like Bonny and Clyde!
The cop always very nice explains that we overtook a truck on a full line... Which we know we didn't and gives us a fine of 760 Rands..... That's a middle class monthly salary.... Chris proceeds to question the popo who is surprised by the questions. Chris explains that it is a long truck and that he started on a dashed line but the car is so small ( a Ford Figo 1.4 liters with 650kms on it ) the cop says: we'll you did go back into a straight line and that merits a fine! Now I intervene Nd pull my famous card: are you stoping because we are tourists and it's easy to get to pay large fines? :). The popo now is uneasy and asks us to follow him to the station to pay the fine which is 60 Kms away...
So After arguing a few more minutes and saying okay - le's go to the station, the popo knows we won't offer him a bribe to let us go so... He gives us back our license and let's us go! And off we again again without any fine or harm done!!!
We decide to opt for adventure rather than boring highway into Swaziland and pick a mountain border which was difficult on our tiny car but breathtaking views and cool fresh air - we arrive at the border at 2800m in altitude and it's tiny with a hard sleeping next to the half ass gate. ( Chris insists on describing it as a counter wight pendulum gate )
We proceed through tarred roads and the cops stop us again :) this time checking our car for safety and asking us for a light to the next city.... Not a bribe for once....
The final journey took us almost 8 hrs with a quick stop at Mcdonalds to verify if the quality is the same worldwide : final verdict : same taste, same quality! half the price! We slept two nights at the Malandela's B&B which had basic but nicely decorated rooms with no aircon and a. Dry thin and wirery mattress. Chris got up at 5 from back ache and became best friends with the property guard!
After two days we depart with a feeling that Swaziland is a nice country but only one visit is sufficient, the country is still ruled by a king and they practice active polygamy - each wife. Ousting 17 cows which is still the practice for all the population in Swaziland and Zululand. The wife cooks, cleans, and makes beer for her husband - the husband chooses which wife to sleep with each night and or his new girlfriend. Chris asked if we could move here :)
The cop always very nice explains that we overtook a truck on a full line... Which we know we didn't and gives us a fine of 760 Rands..... That's a middle class monthly salary.... Chris proceeds to question the popo who is surprised by the questions. Chris explains that it is a long truck and that he started on a dashed line but the car is so small ( a Ford Figo 1.4 liters with 650kms on it ) the cop says: we'll you did go back into a straight line and that merits a fine! Now I intervene Nd pull my famous card: are you stoping because we are tourists and it's easy to get to pay large fines? :). The popo now is uneasy and asks us to follow him to the station to pay the fine which is 60 Kms away...
So After arguing a few more minutes and saying okay - le's go to the station, the popo knows we won't offer him a bribe to let us go so... He gives us back our license and let's us go! And off we again again without any fine or harm done!!!
We decide to opt for adventure rather than boring highway into Swaziland and pick a mountain border which was difficult on our tiny car but breathtaking views and cool fresh air - we arrive at the border at 2800m in altitude and it's tiny with a hard sleeping next to the half ass gate. ( Chris insists on describing it as a counter wight pendulum gate )
We proceed through tarred roads and the cops stop us again :) this time checking our car for safety and asking us for a light to the next city.... Not a bribe for once....
The final journey took us almost 8 hrs with a quick stop at Mcdonalds to verify if the quality is the same worldwide : final verdict : same taste, same quality! half the price! We slept two nights at the Malandela's B&B which had basic but nicely decorated rooms with no aircon and a. Dry thin and wirery mattress. Chris got up at 5 from back ache and became best friends with the property guard!
After two days we depart with a feeling that Swaziland is a nice country but only one visit is sufficient, the country is still ruled by a king and they practice active polygamy - each wife. Ousting 17 cows which is still the practice for all the population in Swaziland and Zululand. The wife cooks, cleans, and makes beer for her husband - the husband chooses which wife to sleep with each night and or his new girlfriend. Chris asked if we could move here :)
Wednesday, 22 January 2014
Big Game Country
Day 4 - we travelled yesterday from Joburg to Hoedspruit which is situated approx in the middle of Kruger National Park. The drive was good 5.5 hrs with about 1 hr of severely potholed routes - lots of farming land... Who said South Africa was dangerous???
We are staying at the Kapama Southern Lodge and the room is fantastically modern and very spacious. We have our own pool, an outside shower... The hard life!
We had our first game drive this morning - wakeup call at 5am to start at 6am - we saw tons of wildlife: giraffes, pumbas, kudu, water buffalos, large herds of Impalas, a pride of lions that had recently killed a wildebeest - two 5 month old lion cubs.... Ahhhh.... Plenty of birds and elephant dung ( but no elephants yet... ) and the coolest of them all: The Cheetah!!!!
Our next game drive is at 4pm until sunset - we are really looking forward to it.
We are staying at the Kapama Southern Lodge and the room is fantastically modern and very spacious. We have our own pool, an outside shower... The hard life!
We had our first game drive this morning - wakeup call at 5am to start at 6am - we saw tons of wildlife: giraffes, pumbas, kudu, water buffalos, large herds of Impalas, a pride of lions that had recently killed a wildebeest - two 5 month old lion cubs.... Ahhhh.... Plenty of birds and elephant dung ( but no elephants yet... ) and the coolest of them all: The Cheetah!!!!
Our next game drive is at 4pm until sunset - we are really looking forward to it.
Monday, 20 January 2014
Soweto
We knew that by selecting South Africa, we were visiting an emotionally charged country with a history of violence and perseverence... Inequality and hope. I have a feeling that many of our posts will depict what we see and how it makes us feel... Thinking that just 20 years ago, the law required for different races to stay apart... It just doesn't feel right that i was living in Canada completely ignorant to what other kids my age was going through. In a way, we were lucky....
Warning - everyone and every book will tell you that the following place is very very dangerous!!!! - So today we decided to visit Soweto which is 20 minute drive on perfect highways from Rosebank. Soweto is the black township where, starting in the late 40's, many black South Africans were evicted from Johannesburg by law as more and more areas were declared as 'white only' - We decided to not take a planned tour and started with Nelson Mandela's house - we highly recomend you do go on your own and take in the cultural difference South Africa has to offer! Mandela's house was rebuilt but they had many artifacts from when he spent his time here with his two first wives. Bullet holes can still be seen from the back of the house for when police where trying to kill his family.
We then went to the Hector Pieterson museum which explained in audio and visual details the June 16, 1976 Soweto uprising against the use of Afrikaans as the only language in schools. This little dude died in a peaceful protest and became a symbol that helped overturn apartheid.
As we moved on from the museum we decided to visit the different Soweto neighborhoods by driving from street to street and take a few shots, we ended up trying to find freedom square and passed a roundabout that was blocked with a heard of goats :) we passed and turned around 1 km later to go back to Joburg - what we didn't expect is to see a major accident that had just happened right behind us... First we see a car that is completely destroyed, then the car engine about 20m from the car, then 3 bodies of teenagers most likely dead - i was shocked as no one helped them - about 75 people had already gathered around and they were simply staring - we opted not to get out of our car and get involved not knowing how the locals would take it and not having a first aid kit. For those of you who we shared our previous car crash event with, we were first respondants on another car crash scene in Houston just 1 month ago - lots of blood and confusion, head trauma and a man under the influence.... This time, different country - Two cop cars were on site and were busy making a perimeter - but why no one helping the victims? What if they were still alive? I would want for someone to check on me....
So we left the scene as it was now or stay until they clear everything up. We ended up driving back through downtown Johanesburg and Newtown but Monday seems to be when all restaurants and museums are closed, tomorrow : Kruger Park!!!!
Warning - everyone and every book will tell you that the following place is very very dangerous!!!! - So today we decided to visit Soweto which is 20 minute drive on perfect highways from Rosebank. Soweto is the black township where, starting in the late 40's, many black South Africans were evicted from Johannesburg by law as more and more areas were declared as 'white only' - We decided to not take a planned tour and started with Nelson Mandela's house - we highly recomend you do go on your own and take in the cultural difference South Africa has to offer! Mandela's house was rebuilt but they had many artifacts from when he spent his time here with his two first wives. Bullet holes can still be seen from the back of the house for when police where trying to kill his family.
We then went to the Hector Pieterson museum which explained in audio and visual details the June 16, 1976 Soweto uprising against the use of Afrikaans as the only language in schools. This little dude died in a peaceful protest and became a symbol that helped overturn apartheid.
As we moved on from the museum we decided to visit the different Soweto neighborhoods by driving from street to street and take a few shots, we ended up trying to find freedom square and passed a roundabout that was blocked with a heard of goats :) we passed and turned around 1 km later to go back to Joburg - what we didn't expect is to see a major accident that had just happened right behind us... First we see a car that is completely destroyed, then the car engine about 20m from the car, then 3 bodies of teenagers most likely dead - i was shocked as no one helped them - about 75 people had already gathered around and they were simply staring - we opted not to get out of our car and get involved not knowing how the locals would take it and not having a first aid kit. For those of you who we shared our previous car crash event with, we were first respondants on another car crash scene in Houston just 1 month ago - lots of blood and confusion, head trauma and a man under the influence.... This time, different country - Two cop cars were on site and were busy making a perimeter - but why no one helping the victims? What if they were still alive? I would want for someone to check on me....
So we left the scene as it was now or stay until they clear everything up. We ended up driving back through downtown Johanesburg and Newtown but Monday seems to be when all restaurants and museums are closed, tomorrow : Kruger Park!!!!
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