Part 2 - animals, children, muddy potholes and beaches

So the 2 night stay in Durban with Mike was awesome. It was fantastic to have a nice bed, shower and to wash our clothes again - they all turned an interesting shade of blue/purple, which is actually cool, because now it feels like we've got brand new clothes! We spent Thursday night eating pizza and catching up, slept in until 7ish on Friday morning, watched a terrible movie at 8am then went to the port with Mike for lunch. Afterwards we went to the beach for a swim in the Indian Ocean. It's nice to get back into some decently warm water. We threw together a lasagna for dinner and ate it with red wine and beer then stayed up late talking. The next morning we drove Mike to the airport then headed out on our 6 or so hour drive to The Kraal. It was definitely an adventure. The 20 km dirt road wasn't so fun in the dark! The next morning we got to see where we actually were, a beautiful, basically deserted beach! We got up early to go for a walk on the beach and go swimming. We ended up on a beach full of huge cows and swam for a good 45 minutes. We met 2 Belgian girls and decided to give them a ride to our next destination as they had to take the horrible local bus the night before. It was nice to have more company. After driving out of the Kraal and dodging dogs, pigs, horses, cows, donkeys, various roadkill, children and muddy potholes...we made it safely back to the highway. Our next stop was Hole In The Wall. It was pretty much empty since we arrived Sunday afternoon. The backpacker was closed for the season so we got a nice ensuite condo for the same price. We were the only ones in the bar, and the restaurant that night, but had a great sleep in awesome beds! The next morning we hiked to the hole in the wall, went swimming again....This is Anna and my new resolution....to go swimming in the ocean everyday for the rest of this trip...no matter how cold it is. Today we drove a few hours again and are now at Buccaneers backpacker in Cintsa. Looks pretty cool. After this we plan to lay on the beach, then go play some volleyball which includes free wine! Tomorrow we may try our hand at some surfing!

Road Trip (Part 1)

So our road trip has begun with a bang! Anna and I have had far more fun and good fortune in the last 5 days than we deserve.

Day 1: We headed to Harrismith right out of Johannesburg to stay with a couple we had never met before. Cass is the brother of a doctor in Anna's hometown. We made a quick phonecall and were pleased to discover that they were excited to have us. We got directions to the nearest petrol station where Cass met us and led us on a narrow dirt and rock road, through an under-highway tunnel to their farm. Upon arrival we met his wife, Pannie, who immediately ushered us in to their little stone kitchen and living room. We sat out on the porch and got to know eachother over a view of their polo horses and the Free State. We then got a tour of the rest of the house. The farmhouse is around 100 years old, so is pretty cool. The living quarters consist of 5 rooms that each have their own door onto the veranda that overlooks the beautiful view. There are 4 bedrooms, for their 3 children (who come to visit on the weekends) and themselves, and a sitting room. Anna and I each got our own room and bed which was awesome after sleeping for 20 nights in a tent! While Pannie made dinner for us (so nice!), Cass took us on a tour of the farm. We had a very South African dinner of boerworst (sausage), potatoes and salad, visited for a while then headed to bed.

Day 2: Anna and I woke up early to watch the sunrise. At 9, Cass took us for a 3 hour horseback ride down the mountain, to a campsite on his farm and back up. Since neither Anna or myself had much experience, we ended up leading the horses down about half of the mountain. It was a cool experience and we definitely felt the effects for a couple days after! After an awesome lunch of "eggs special" we continued on our way to the Northern Drakensburg.

Day 3: This morning we got up early to go on a guided (the weather can be unpredictable, so this was a good choice for two inexperienced hikers), hike of Tegula Falls (the highest in South Africa, and 2nd highest in the world). We drove for close to 2 hours to get to the starting point, which made for a fairly small increase in elevation for the actual hike. We took our time and hiked for close to 5 hours, taking lots of time to enjoy the view. We reached the falls, where only a few drops of water were actually falling (because it is now winter), and started our decent (only 700m). We ended the day with a HUGE dinner back at the backpacker with the German couple that was on the hike with us.

Day 4: We woke up early again to head on another day walk. We headed to Royal Natal Park and set out on a 2 hour walk up to the Cascades and Tiger Falls. It was really nice, not a lot of water, but definitely a worthwhile hike. In the afternoon we moved to a different backpacker in the Central Drakensburg, watched the Drakensburg Boy's Choir perform (they were amazing!), had burgers at the Monk's Cowl Country Club, and headed back to the backpacker to catch up on the news we had missed for the last 3 weeks.

Day 5: Today we woke up even earlier to get in another hike before noon. The hike to Blind Man's Corner was supposed to take 5-6 hours, but apparently Anna and I are amazing! We made it in under 3 1/2! The view was again different. Because we were done WAY ahead of schedule, we headed to Valley bakery for lunch before heading to Durban....and that's where we are now. We will be staying here for 2 nights with a friend of Anna's. We'll finally get some time to relax and a chance to wash our clothes...some of which haven't been washed for nearly 3 weeks and have been through 6 African countries! Ahhh the joys of travel!

Until next time....

Back in South Africa

So Anna and I have survived our Overland trip through Southern Africa and we are now back in South Africa. We drove 20 hours straight yesterday to make it from Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, through Botswana, to Johannesburg. Woke up early, got our rental car and are now sorting a few things out before we leave for Harrismith.

After Swakopmund we headed towards Etosha National Park, Namibia. On the way there we stopped off at a Cheetah farm where we got to pet tamed, full-grown cheetahs, then witness wild cheetah feeding! It was pretty cool, and a little scary, but well worth it all. We headed on to Etosha where we stayed for 2 nights. The first night we sat and watched the watering hole and got to see giraffes, elephants and a black rhino. Anna and I went to bed fairly early, and woke up early to the sound of lions! We got out of our tent and ran to the water hole, where we saw about 8 lionesses running past, towards the sound of what could have been the male. We think they probably got a kill and were meeting to devour it. We stayed for a while just listening....very cool. The next night we weren't quite as lucky, but the day game drives were fairly successful. We saw tons of zebras, springbok, kudu, wildebeast and giraffes among others. Our next stop was Rundu where we spent Friday morning at the local Church. What an experience. We were welcomed into the Church as guests by amazing gospel singing and dancing. It seriously brought tears to my eyes. Seeing people that are so poor, but so happy. We stayed for 2 hours singing and dancing, listening to them welcome us etc. Definitely the most valued experience to date. The social interaction was like no other! When we got back to our campsite we hung out for a while by the pool then headed on a sunset cruise along the Kavango river. We didn't see any wildlife (besides birds), but we got to see another amazing African sunset, AND we set foot on the banks of Angola! No stamp in the passport, but we were there! Our next stop was the Okavango Delta in Botswana. We packed light, and went on a 3 day excursion through the delta - a world heritage sight that may not be there in 30 years! We took speed boats through natural canals amongst overgrown papyrus plants and crocodiles. We stayed one night at the campsite there before heading deep into the delta. The next morning we took another speed boat ride to an island where we got on 2 man mackorels. We filled 7 of them with us and our stuff. The polers took us gently through the water to our bushcamping sight. We spent the evening on a nature walk as well as the next morning. The only animals we got to see were birds of course and baboons, but still very nice. We took the mackorels back in the heat of the day...where we had to stop part way for a swim. On the speed boat ride back to our first campsite we took time to find lots of crocodiles and where so lucky to find 10 hippos pretty close up. I was luckily unaware at the time of the danger, so thoroughly enjoyed the experience. After leaving the Delta we headed to yet another game park. We hit Chobe National park, Botswana and stayed there for 2 nights. The first morning there Anna and I went for a run, past the local prison and education centre, and checked out the Mowana Safari Lodge...pretty nice, but definitely not within our budget. After the run we sat by the pool for a good 5 hours before setting out on another sunset cruise (this is really the thing to do). This was a more amazing experience than I could have imagined. We saw tons of elephants. They seemed to be pretty used to the boats of the Chobe river, as we were able to get really close. There were 3-4 babies (which was the best) and probably around 20 others. We also got to see another hippo, and a sunbathing crocodile. Once again we saw another beautiful sunset, then headed back to camp. After Chobe it was to our final destination: Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. We got there in the afternoon, set up our activities for the next day, checked out the curios market then headed out to Zambia for yet another sunset cruise. It was lots of fun, as it was the last night to spend with the friends we have met on this trip. The next morning Anna and I woke up early to White water raft the Zambezi river!!! What an experience. We capsized once (on rapid 16B), and it was pretty scary, but we all survived and it was well worth the adrenalin rush. Definitely something I will never forget! We went from rapid 11 to 23 and it took around 2 hours on the water. We rode some of the rapids hanging onto the outside of the boat, got to do a mini cliff jump (don't worry mom, the river is in excess of 60 meters deep!), and enjoyed the scenery during the slow rapids. At the very end we saw another crocodile, which wasn't too reassuring, but at least we were finished with the angry Zambezi river. We hiked up the 250 meter gorge, had lunch and got a ride back into the town. Anna and I hit the curio market again, actually bought some stuff this time, then headed to the Awesome Victoria Falls! Unfortunately the sunset was going to be on the wrong side of the falls (which was ok actually so we could walk back in daylight), but it was still amazing. The view is somewhat obstructed due to the fact that they have kept most of the jungle intact...really nice to see. We got some cheesy pictures in front of the falls, with a rainbow I might add - what a full day. We had a great dinner and went to bed as we had a big day ahead of us. We got up early, said our goodbyes to everyone from the trip (they got up early to see us off!), and headed to Johannesburg...5am saturday to 1am sunday.

We're now starting the 2nd leg of this trip. 2 weeks along the Garden Route back to Cape Town.
I'll derfinitely post pictures once we're back in Cape Town...keep me posted on everything back home. Just so you all know....I'm having an awesome time!

Day 6 of the Hardcore Overlanding Trip

Today Anna and I are in Swakopmund, Namibia. Up until yesterday the majority of our trip has been driving, eating, sleeping, inhaling sand, setting up camp, sleeping, taking down camp, and putting up with our guides attempts to amuse himself by telling us falsehoods about Africa. Yesterday though we had an awesome day! We woke up at 4:30 to make it to Dune 45 before sunrise. Once we got there we weren't sure how much time we'd have, so Anna took all the stuff, I took the camera, and ran up the dune...it's pretty steep though so eventually (rather shortly) I had to slow to a quick walk. I made it up the 150m vertical height in 15 minutes and sat to enjoy the amazing sunrise. As the sun came up all the surrounding dunes appeared with awesome S shaped shadows and golden glittering red sand. After taking our time to enjoy the sight (and take copious amounts of photos) we took our shoes off for the hike down to get the full experience of the soft, fine, cool-but-warming desert sand. Once at the bottom our guides had made us a bacon and eggs breakfast to nourish us for the next adventure of the day. Anna and I climbed on top of the truck for the 15 km ride (on the worst tar road in the country) to Soususvlei where we took little safari-type vehicles deeper into the desert. We then walked the 1.1 km into deadvlei (dead-pan) which is a limestone bottomed riverbed that has been dried up for over 900 years. This was an amazing site. There are trees there that are over 1700 years old and have not decayed due to the intense heat of the desert. The contrast between the blue sky, red dunes, black trees, and white limestone is amazing! Although I am putting this all into words, and will eventually add pictures, neither will ever do this beautiful place justice. It is like nothing I have ever seen and there is still so much more to come!