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....