Despite the fact we are heading into winter, we had a really warm evening and it was only in the early hours of the morning that I snuggled into my duvet. This is despite leaving all the doors open to the elements. What a privilege to be so remote to be able to do this.

This morning started off with cups of condensed milk coffee. A delicious and delightful ritual saved for bush trips. Then a glorious outdoor shower and mention must be given to our ‘loo with a view’.

We left our camp at around 9 and returned, a touch travel weary, at 4:30. We stopped at the main camp for lunch and an extremely frustrating hour of trying to post blogs but the dismal reception made this impossible. 

The 30 000 ha reserve contains a wide variety of habitats from grassy hillsides and steep valleys in the south, to open woodland, bushveld and savannah in the north. We pretty much covered all the drives on offer, including a pretty hairy 4 x 4 track, Gray, of course, was delighted – boys and their new toys. 

The reserve is not teaming with animals but we saw nice herds of impala, giraffe, zebra, wildebeest and kudu. We also saw eland, red hartebeest, warthog and a big tortoise. The absence of lion on the reserve makes for a relaxed atmosphere among the ungulates and they appear almost tame. 

We saw a lone elephant scaling up one of the mountain slopes. After the park was proclaimed in 1972, 50 elephants were relocated from the Kruger Park. They were distributed in family herds throughout the park but found their way back together. Nature is wonderful. Today there are around 90 elies, making up 2 or 3 herds. 

I guess for those who like to race around looking for the Big 5, this is not the place to come. Gray and I, however loved the beautiful scenery, with the amazing view sites, some high up in the mountains, overlooking the Phongola River. We also delighted in the bird life, highlights being a jackal buzzard on the cliff edge, a secretary bird and a pair of ostriches. 

Presently we are chilling around the fire, with a glass of wine, looking at the river flowing gently past the cliff face, where baboons are roosting for the night. Life can be kak in Africa. 

I’m not sure where to start. Sometimes you visit a place and it gets under your skin and into your soul. You fall in love with it and you know you have to return. I have happy places, like Olifants and the sea, places that you know are there and easy to visit. I’m talking about places that you have to make an effort to return to, it would best be described as a return to bucket list. Fugitives Drift as become one of those places.

Dining room at Fugitives Drift, filled with battle memorabilia 

Heritage tourism on a game farm in understated elegant accommodation with excellent food and interesting people, who would not want to return. Hats off to Nicky Rattray and her sons for continuing to establish the lodge and work so tirelessly to uplift the lives of those in the area, after the  tragic death of her husband David in 2007.

Gray and I left the lodge around 9 and drove to the battle site of the Battle of Blood River. This was one of THE battles taught to us in the apartheid era. Arriving on the Boer Museum side it was as if nothing had changed. Afrikaans books and old SA Flags in the curio shop. We walked around the D-shaped laager of life size ox wagons. A tribute to the Boers.

Gerhardus van Morrison

 We walked on further and crossed over the Blood River, formerly known as the Ncome River, on  the Reconciliation Bridge.  

On the other side was the Zulu Museum. This depicted Zulu warriors and their history. In the true spirit of reconciliation, it would have been good if the two museums could have been combined. Gray says I have been too kind regarding this site, which left a bad taste for both of us.

The Battle of Isandlwana was just as bloody and sad, the site however, is more poignant and leaves one with a feeling that we have learnt and grown from history.

Battles, history and lodges were wonderful, a real treat and now we move into the next phase of our Natal trip – bush, self catering camps and Panda for company. I can’t lie, this excites me just as much.

We stopped at the Pick’n Pay in Vryheid for some fresh fruit and salad ingredients. I can’t believe how little we buy when it’s just the 2 of us. Our meat I bought vacuum packed and frozen from home, it is in the fridge/freezer in the back of the car.

 Vryheid, like most South African dorps boasts a beautiful old church in the center of town. I am delighted by how clean and litter free all these Natal towns are.  It was about an hours drive from there to Ithala. A beautiful drive through the mountains.

We entered the Mvunyane gate and drove to the main camp of Ntshondwe. It is a beautiful Camp, well maintained and the staff are super helpful and friendly. From there we drove for about half an hour to Thalu Bush Camp. It really is a bush camp.  We are staying in the one and only rustic semi tent, wood and thatch bungalow. The kitchen is open and looks out into the bush. We have an outdoor shower and toilet, about 30m from the house. No electric lights and really basic but a view to die for. Sitting around the fire, with Gray braaing, listening to the call of the baboons, the elephants in the distance and impala walking past (there are no game fences around our hut). This together with my glass of wine, who could not be deliriously happy and content. 

By 6:30, it was dark, with a few stars coming up in the night sky. We were in bed by 18:45. It had been a long day and Gray now has flu.

For the first time this holiday we had a morning wake up call.  Up at 6, breakfast at 7 and departure for Isandlwana at 07:30. This however, definitely beats the fate of my colleagues who return to school for a staff development day. 

Today we were to savor the extraordinary Battle of Isandlwana led by our amazing guide Alistair. In an emotionally charged and thought provoking rendition of events we toured from the ridge overlooking the vast battlefield area, to the museum, and then onto the Battle sight at the foot of the sphinx shaped Isandlwana mountain. Here among memorial headstones and plaques to the fallen lie hundreds of white painted stone cairns where the bones of the brave soldiers lie. A surreal experience absorbing the battle history.

We returned for at lunch  on the deck at 1, after a busy morning. Following afternoon tea and chocolate cake we went for a walk, with all the wonderful food, we needed it.

Along the walk we saw giraffe, they were so tame, we could almost walk up to them. We also saw impala and blesbok. This morning we saw a purple-crested turaco. The other wildlife we frequently encounter are big rain spiders in our room, one of which we share a shower with. However, the purpose of the walk was not to walk off cake or look for wildlife but it was historical. We walked to the cliffs overlooking the gorge of the Buffalo River. We identified areas of the story we had heard about this morning of brave soldiers crossing the Buffalo from the then Zululand back into Natal. We also visited the grave site of Melville and Coghill, the first men to have posthumously been awarded the Victoria Cross. 

Sitting around the campfire chatting to the guests this evening, we were struck by the number of British tourists we had met and most of them had been back a number of times. I guess it must be a cheap holiday if you are paying in pounds and good news for South African tourism. 

This morning we visited the Talana Museum, just outside Dundee. The museum and surrounding grounds are situated at the base of the flat Talana mountain. A zulu name, meaning ‘the shelf where precious items are kept’. I incorrectly assumed that because the Battle of Talana took place there on 20 October 1899 the the museum was about the Anglo – Boer skirmishes in the area but it is a multi-faceted, educational experience. Opened in 1983, the museum is well respected for the quality and variety of displays, research and archival resources. The main building houses various rooms depicting interests in the area, such as coal mining, which was a thriving industry from early times.

The drive to Fugitives Drift Lodge was an easy 45 minutes along good tarred and gravel roads. The area is predominantly farm land, with cows grazing along the road. The grass has turned golden, a sign winter is well on its way.

The Lodge where we will be spending the next 2 days is located inside the Fugitives Drift Game Reserve. The terrain is dense bush and along the way in we saw giraffe and impala.

What a pleasure and privilege it is to be staying here, at Fugitives Drift Lodge, the Lodge that has been built and established by the Rattray family over the years.  Our room is situated in beautiful natural gardens and contains what must rate as the biggest bed I have ever slept in. The bathroom is the size of our bedroom.

 We met for lunch on the veranda of the building that houses the Harford library. Unlike most hotels and lodge, where guests pretty much keep to themselves, guests here are introduced to each other and lots of interesting conversations ensue over drinks. We are one of the few South African couples here. Lunch was as delicious as the view was spectacular, we were above tree height, looking down into the gorge of the Buffalo River. 

After lunch, we boarded an old Land Rover and drove to Rourke’s Drift, about a 15 minute drive. We spent the most, fascinating and interesting 3 hours listening to Doug Rattray regaling the story of the Battle of Rourke’s Drift. Even for those people not interested in history or battles, this is a Bucket list must.  Doug makes you feel as if you were there on 22 January 1879.  We stood at the sight and walked around the buildings of the battle as it unfolded on the day. The story continued till the sun had gone down and we travelled home in the dark. 

Guests then congregated around the boma fire for drinks. The G & T’s tasted really great after fighting battles all afternoon. Dinner was delicious.  Great day!!!

After packing up this morning, we were all a tad slow, I’m sure the G & T’s and numerous bottles of red wine may have had a little something to do with it.  We returned to Tranquili-Tea for a post wedding brunch.  This 4 day wedding party starting with the bachelor and bachelorette party on Thursday and ending with brunch today is the way to go. I can see why so many cultures stretch out their wedding celebrations. 

Brunch at Tranquili-Tea

After brunch and many good byes we set off to Dundee in KZN. We took the R33 for the 120km trip. As always, Gray chooses the routes least travelled. This one was no exception, up and down mountain passes through rural African villages and towns. The first part of the journey was pretty, with mountainous outcrops and mountainsides filled with aloes. This is battlefield area; a historical area of early Zulu conflicts, Voortrekker – Zulu conflict, Anglo – Zulu and the Anglo Boer wars. Robs is very jealous that we are doing this area without her. As a history major she had done lots of reading and papers on the subject. 

The first mountain descent was particularly hairy, a gravel road, pitted with potholes and a deep drop off into the valley below had us traveling at a slow pace.  We crossed over the Tugela River into the town of Tugela Ferry and like most of the trip we were dodging goats in the middle of the road. The final 40km into Dundee were really pretty, with green rolling mountains and the road was considerable better.

On entering Dundee, I became a touch concerned, Gray is really good at finding us good places to stay but based on the main road I wasn’t sure what we were in for.  Heading into the suburbs (2 blocks from the town center) did little to allay my fears. I don’t know why I ever doubt him, the Lapha B& B that he booked us into was really nice. As we arrived early and the rooms were not ready, we sat in the beautiful gardens, read and watched the birds – so peaceful, we really need to take more time out to relax and smell the roses.

Oops no pun intended but we were booked in the rose room, a spacious room with a bay window and a big ball and claw bath. Best of all was the glorious king size bed. For the past two nights we had been spooning in a three quarter size double – if one of us rolled over, the other pretty much landed up on the floor.

As there was very little, or actually nothing to do in Dundee on a Sunday afternoon, we chilled and googled places for dinner. The best fine dining establishment was the aptly named Battle Creek Spur. Having woken up with flu that has been getting worse all day, I gratefully fell into my big comfortable bed at 07:30.

The day started with 22 of us having breakfast at D’Vigne B & B. If this is how the day started, and we were all sober, it was going to be a goodie. Just like back in the day, lots of laughs with the boys telling embellished stories and ripping each other off big time. 

I remember visiting my friend Gill when Brad was a new born and thinking ‘if this is what babies are all about, I’m never having one’, the poor child screamed for 23 hours a day with colic. Today this handsome, successful, young man married his beautiful bride, Jess.

We walked to the old Catholic Church in town for a delightful ceremony officiated by an old Irish priest and a young Zulu priest. 

Guests were then shuttled to the Amanzi farm in busses. As soon as the couple got engaged last year, the mother of the bride started on making sure her garden was in full bloom – not an easy feat, with winter looming  – it was truly a fairytale setting. Like the garden every attention to detail for the reception was perfect, making the guests feel very special.

During photos, we were treated to a delicious farm spread of home made meats, cheeses and preserves. This was beautifully laid out on wine barrels. This was further complimented with drinks of your choice – mine was a few pomegranate G & T’s on tap. With this spread I would have been happy happy staying there all night. 

 

As the sun set, Jess treated us to her sabrage skills, a technique used for opening a champagne bottle, wielding a sword – with a nervous Brad holding the bottle. 

We then entered the marques that was decorated with natural greenery and fairylights, magical. After lots of amusing speeches, one ringing really true was the made by the best men (Brad’s childhood friends) about the old Brad and the new Brad. Never a truer word spoken in jest – Brad had really matured into a responsible and really respectable young man. 

After a delicious dinner, the dancing started and they played all our old sing/dance along songs – despite a vast variety of age groups, the dance floor was always full. We left the party on the midnight shuttle, while it was still going strong. 

What a wonderful and happy day.

Leaving the Midlands this morning, what struck me was the beauty of autumn; the leaves ranging from golden yellow to deep red and the grass was turning from summer green to winter wheat.

We had to make a stop in bustling Pietermaritzburg.  Mall shopping was a pain after the gentle meandering of the previous day. The reason for this was that Graeme had forgotten to pack takkies. So the some total of his footwear was, slippers and slops. To put gender packing in perspective – I started sorting out my holiday wardrobe two days before we left.  I have 2 bags, one for the first part of the trip catering to lodges, hotels and a wedding, the second is for more casual wear for the bush. I have clothes suited for the warm days and winter items for the cold mornings and chilly evenings. Each outfit consisting of pants, top and underwear was sealed in a plastic bag. Of course I have footwear to match the outfits. Gray, on the other hand, threw a couple of shirts and pants into a tiny tog bag an hour before we were due to leave. I think he will be going commando most of the trip and I’m sure the takkie shop this morning is not going to be a first.

We arrived at D’Vigne Lodge (pronounced- yes-devine), in the centre of town. We met up with our food friends Gill and Steve Moir (it’s their son, Brad’s wedding). There are 18 of us staying in this classic Victorian B & B, built in 1903. 

Shortly after our arrival, the women folk left for Amanzi Farm, where the wedding is taking place. The farm is owned by the brides parents. There were an army of people, local farmers and friends helping with wedding preparations. I loved the community vibe, with all happily pitching in.

Amanzi Farm

On our return, we went shopping for stuff for lunch. OMG, this was Africa at its best  – pay day Friday of a long weekend.  The queues were insane. The men, meanwhile had done a bottle store shop, where the owner had been shot three times an hour before. 

Greytown is larger than I expected. There are no modern houses but it is clean, with very no litter. As there is clearly not much to do in the town. Bowls matches were organized at the local sports club in the afternoon. 

 From here we moved on ‘Tranquili – Tea’, the local nursery, come coffee shop, for a pre- wedding party for all the guests in town. We had a great dinner catching up with all our old hockey friends. Lots of wine and laughs. 

PANDAS IN SOUTH AFRICA 2017

Day 2: Granny Mouse Country House, Natal Midlands

We had a really pleasant day driving through the Midlands and doing the Midlands Meander. Back in the day, we used to explore this area regularly as we swam 10 Midmar Miles, with the children when they were growing up. 

We pottered around book and furniture stalls and visited the odd wine stall. A lot of the farm shops and stalls have amalgamated into centers, like Piggly Wiggly, a haven for people with kids. I still prefer to drive down a farm lane to find hidden treasures in a shed, on a farm with horses and cows grazing in the fields.  

We visited the Nelson Mandela capture site. Across the road from the original plaque is now an impressive sculpture by Marco Cianfanelli.  It comprises of 50 steel columns, that are between 6m and 9.5m in height and cover a width of almost 30m. They  were cut by laser to form an image of the late president when viewed at the correct angle. The monument is situated at the end of a winding path that represents the long walk to freedom.

The highlight of the day was a visit to Ardmore Ceramics, one of South Africa’s most celebrated art studios. We wandered, carefully, around the Bonnie Ntshalintshali Museum.  Some of the pieces can go for as much as R200 000 and can be found in art studios around the world, as well as in the White House and a piece has been presented to the queen. The studio is however unpretentious, with the owner’s great danes wandering around, our labs would have smashed millions of rands worth of art in seconds if they had been let loose in there.  We were welcomed into the paint and sculpting areas and chatted to the local artists. A very enjoyable hour was spent there, only marred by the fact that Gray didn’t buy me a piece of art.

I wouldn’t have minded this piece of art

We had lunch at the picturesque Caversham Mill restaurant , overlooking a little waterfall and dinner at the local, the Bierfassl on Nottingham Road. 

Day 1: 26 April

It’s been 6 years since my last long leave, when we travelled from Sandton to the Serengeti. The 4 month trip took us through Namibia, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania, Zanzibar, Zimbabwe and Botswana. 

My long leave 2017, started on 13 May, leaving school with with an excited bunch of kids as they embarked on their Easter holidays. I return on 4 September and since Gray is ‘retired’, we have 5 months of freedom to pursue our passion for travel. For the past 2 weeks we have caught up with friends and family, celebrating Easter – still hiding the kids Easter eggs, although it’s now bottles of wine – my dads 88th birthday and Gray’s birthday. A highlight was dinner at the Saxon, thanks to Gareth and the LDRS team.

We have decided on this trip to travel around our beautiful South Africa, there is so much in our own country we still have to explore and many old favorites to revisit. We are also at a funny stage of our lives where we seem to be in the middle of being responsible for aging in-laws and ‘adult’ children and so don’t want to venture to far from civilization. 

This time we leave behind our 2 wonderful old dogs, one blind and one deaf, our 2 beloved cats and Gray’s 4 Indian runner ducks. The dogs and cats are low maintenance and just want love and food.  The ducks on the other hand are high maintenance and want no love. They have to be put in their ‘Duckingham Palace’ enclosure before sunset  or they sleep (and crap) in the swimming pool all night. Looking after them appears to be a tall ask for Gareth and Kirsty, both complaining that this will be difficult due to onerous work commitments. The problem is that as baby boomers, our generation has molly coddled our Gen Y and millennial children to the point that they find adulting difficult . Hopefully we will get back to our house still standing.

The idea this long leave is go where the wind blows. Our starting point is KwaZulu Natal, to attend a wedding in Greytown on Saturday. We will then move onto Northern Natal and return home for a few days for another wedding. Originally, we were to leave on Friday but managed to get a last minute booking at Granny Mouse Country House in the Midlands for 2 nights, so we packed up and left this morning.

We are traveling lighter this time, no trailer and less ammo boxes of tools and spares. The main reason being that our old 2000 Discovery has been replaced with a new 2017 model. It was sad to put the trusted old vehicle out to pasture after so many years and 1000s of km through deserts, rivers and over mountain passes. However, I cannot lie, I love the comfort and smooth ride of our new car. Gray is really going to miss not having something to fix along the way.

The other upgrade of this trip is thanks to technology. Blogging has become so much easier, as I discovered on our Namibia trip, thanks to my Ipad. Writing, pics and posting are a one stop shop, all done on one device. I remember the Pandas in Africa trip; the struggles of a broken lap top screen, uploading and jpegging photos from my camera, linking the lap top up to a pay as you go phone, after hiking up to the top of a hill to post our blog.

Today,  after a pleasant drive drive down the N3, we took the Balgowan turn off and drove through the beautiful Natal midlands. The peaceful rolling hills are known as the land of milk and honey, where black and white Ayrshire cows  graze the farmlands. 

We were welcomed at Granny Mouse Country House with a glass of champagne, good start. I love staying at this thatched cottage retreat nestled in the valley of natural bush on the Lion’s River. The accommodation is elegant and cosy. I love walking through the beautiful, overgrown gardens with their quirky signs; like ‘butterfly crossing’, ‘shhh the bulbs are sleeping’ and at the entrance ‘everybirdy  is welcome’. Great start to our trip.

PANDAS IN SOUTH AFRICA 2017

Day 1: 26 April

It’s been 6 years since my last long leave, when we travelled from Sandton to the Serengeti. The 4 month trip took us through Namibia, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania, Zanzibar, Zimbabwe and Botswana. 

My long leave 2017, started on 13 May, leaving school with with an excited bunch of kids as they embarked on their Easter holidays. I return on 4 September and since Gray is ‘retired’, we have 5 months of freedom to pursue our passion for travel. For the past 2 weeks we have caught up with friends and family, celebrating Easter – still hiding the kids Easter eggs, although it’s now bottles of wine – my dads 88th birthday and Gray’s birthday. A highlight was dinner at the Saxon, thanks to Gareth and the LDRS team.

We have decided on this trip to travel around our beautiful South Africa, there is so much in our own country we still have to explore and many old favorites to revisit. We are also at a funny stage of our lives where we seem to be in the middle of being responsible for aging in-laws and ‘adult’ children and so don’t want to venture to far from civilization. 

This time we leave behind our 2 wonderful old dogs, one blind and one deaf, our 2 beloved cats and Gray’s 4 Indian runner ducks. The dogs and cats are low maintenance and just want love and food.  The ducks on the other hand are high maintenance and want no love. They have to be put in their ‘Duckingham Palace’ enclosure before sunset  or they sleep (and crap) in the swimming pool all night. Looking after them appears to be a tall ask for Gareth and Kirsty, both complaining that this will be difficult due to onerous work commitments. The problem is that as baby boomers, our generation has molly coddled our Gen Y and millennial children to the point that they find adulting difficult . Hopefully we will get back to our house still standing.

The idea this long leave is go where the wind blows. Our starting point is KwaZulu Natal, to attend a wedding in Greytown on Saturday. We will then move onto Northern Natal and return home for a few days for another wedding. Originally, we were to leave on Friday but managed to get a last minute booking at Granny Mouse Country House in the Midlands for 2 nights, so we packed up and left this morning.

We are traveling lighter this time, no trailer and less ammo boxes of tools and spares. The main reason being that our old 2000 Discovery has been replaced with a new 2017 model. It was sad to put the trusted old vehicle out to pasture after so many years and 1000s of km through deserts, rivers and over mountain passes. However, I cannot lie, I love the comfort and smooth ride of our new car. Gray is really going to miss not having something to fix along the way.

The other upgrade of this trip is thanks to technology. Blogging has become so much easier, as I discovered on our Namibia trip, thanks to my Ipad. Writing, pics and posting are a one stop shop, all done on one device. I remember the Pandas in Africa trip; the struggles of a broken lap top screen, uploading and jpegging photos from my camera, linking the lap top up to a pay as you go phone, after hiking up to the top of a hill to post our blog.

Today,  after a pleasant drive drive down the N3, we took the Balgowan turn off and drove through the beautiful Natal midlands. The peaceful rolling hills are known as the land of milk and honey, where black and white Ayrshire cows  graze the farmlands. 

We were welcomed at Granny Mouse Country House with a glass of champagne, good start. I love staying at this thatched cottage retreat nestled in the valley of natural bush on the Lion’s River. The accommodation is elegant and cosy. I love walking through the beautiful, overgrown gardens with their quirky signs; like ‘butterfly crossing’, ‘shhh the bulbs are sleeping’ and at the entrance ‘everybirdy  is welcome’. Great start to our trip.

Granny Mouse

We travelled 7562km in 27 days. We visited some old favorite areas and many new ones, that will be added to the favorites list.  We travelled from the southern tip of Namibia to its Northern border and from the coast on the Atlantic Ocean to the Eastern Border into Botswana. I feel we really got a sense of Namibia this trip. The German influence that I had always attached so strongly to Namibia, applies predominantly in the Southern regions up to Swakopmund, from there it becomes more African, more third world, dominated by original people and cultures.

The total area of Namibia is 823 290 square km (Spain & Germany combined), with a population of 2.3 million, making it one of the most sparsely populated countries. This is not surprising as 80% of the country is desert. They have around 300 days of sunshine per year.

Many thanks to our wonderful travel companions; Tony, Al, George and Sue, who travelled the long roads and visited the amazing, diverse and interesting places with us. It was great to have a laugh, with drink in hand, as the sun sun set each day. Time to start planning for next year.

Statistics:

Losses & Replacements:

George: slops, mattress and washing up bucket… and nearly a peak cap.

Tony: 4 tyres and 1 battery.

Gray: 1 tyre puncture and his dignity at a certain waterhole.

Gains:

All: an amazing month of exploring Namibia (2 weeks for George and Sue).

George: passing the 600 mark on his bird list, adding a whole flock of lifers.

Al: finding new places to shop at.

A huge thanks to all our friends, family and people from all around the world, who we have never met, for following the blog. Thanks for your messages and support, it is greatly appreciated.

Thanks to our 3 children, we missed you and wished you could have traveled with us, pity you had to grow up and become responsible. At times I wondered if hauling you off to some southern African country to sleep in a tent, instead of chilling on the beach at Plett with your friends, was ok. Robs, aged 5, learned to read while traveling along the long Namibian roads, it was where Gareth learned to change a tyre and there were no shops for Kirst. Since they all want to still join us on our trips, I guess they have appreciated some of the adventures; being forced to play closer to the tent in Central Kalahari because the lions were right there, Robs and Jen (Purchase) found a Warthog in their bed at Bray and so on…… We also needed someone to sort out the home fires; a blown up electrical box and Escom – thanks Ga and Kirst.

As always a grateful thanks to Panda for his vision, planning, investigating and basically making our African adventures possible. A mention must go to our trusty, Discovery – 14 years old and 220 000 km under the belt, she came alive on the 4×4 sections.

“We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open” Jawaharal Nehru.