South Africa

COUNTRIES: South Africa
SIGHTS: Garden Route – Birds of Eden , Monkey World , Knysna Lagoon, Dias Museum / Cape Town – Table Mountain, Cape Point, Kirstenbosh Botanical Gardens, Long St Bars, Camps Bay, V+A Waterfront / West Coast – Paternoster, Iziko Fossil Park, Cape Columbine Nature Reserve. Wildlife: Pegiuns, seals, dassie, right whale, flamingo, yellow billed kite, rock kestral, marsh hare, vlei rats, puff adder (skin of), baboon, cow shark, franklin, camelion and fish eagle.
TOP MOMENTS:
1. Catching loads of fish (including a large whitesteinbras) in the sunshine on the houseboat in Knysna Lagoon.
2. Taking a break in Cape St Francis and seeing our friends Paul and Taryn. Beating Paul at pool and fishing.
3. Wine tasting in the Cape Town area of Constancia.
4. Getting a great deal on our curios – exactly what we wanted for a cheap price with no hassle.
5. Seeing a large cow shark being caught and landed in Laangban lagoon.
LOWEST MOMENTS:
1. Losing to Paul twice at golf.
2. Paul and Taryns car breaking down hlf way through the trip.
3. Getting stuck on sandbanks twice. The first in horizontal rain. The second time for about half an hour as we pushed off one onto another.
4. The England v SA rugby game.
5. My hangover after a Saturday night on Long St (the worst so far) - Chris

SCARIEST MOMENTS:
1. Drifting towards steel oyster beds whilst stuck in the Kysner Lagoon – Lil
2. A close encounter with a very large male baboon – what are you meant to do? Run (it followed), clap hands and shout ‘yah’ (it ran faster at us), scream and make your self look big with arms in the air in last minute panic (luckly this one worked when it was half a meter from us). Adrenaline and heart beat very high. We had no food, i think it fancied Lil.
3. The 200m high cable car up the side on table mountain – Chris only.

MOST USUAL FOODS:
Fish selection – Caught by Chris: Spotted Grunter, White Steinbras / Other: Cob, Yellow tail, Pickled Snoek, Western Rock Lobster, Bokkoms (dried fish biltong ).
Oysters – Raw (farmed and natural) and cooked with cheese, bacon, breadcrumb or herbs.
Mealie maize, ham and beans.

MOSTLY MISSING: A good cuppa tea
MOSTLY HAD FILL OF: Overpriced accomodation

QUOTES:
‘ White wine is not good for me, it does funny things’ Taryn whilst holding a large bottle of white wine.
‘You always tell me to do stupid things like this – just let it climb on you foot Paul – why do i listen to you’ Fella to Taryn at Birds of Eden, unable to remove a parrot that took a liking to his shoe lace.
‘Peaches and plums good for your gums’ - Africa fruit seller, Laangban
‘ I not speak very lakka english’ – 5 year old African girl, Paternoster.

FISH CAUGHT: 1 Steppie (Lil) / 1 White Steinbras and 2 Gully Sharks (Chris)
MOSI BITES: Lil = 0. Chris = 0. A pest free month.
TAN: Ovaltine – blending like a local.
NEXT ON THE AGENDA: SE Asia – Thailand TBC. Otherwise Veitnam 1st.

COUNTRIES
Swaziland
South Africa – Zululand, Drakensberg, South Coast, Wild Coast, Sunshine Coast and Cape St Francis.

SITES
Cuddle puddle – hot springs
Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary – opens park with abundance of wildlife
Execution Rock – 3000 ft rock that Zulu leaders threw rivals.
The Greater St Lucia Wetlands Park
Shaka’s Rock – a coastal rock that a Zulu leader threw off his rivals.
Sani cave paintings – one of the oldest and most preserved cave paintings in southern Africa
The Wide side, Cape St Francis – wild rocky coastline.
Wildlife: Eagle Owl, White lipped herald snake, moray eel, mongoose, tortoise, whales and dolphins.

TOP MOMENTS
Playing and drawing pictures with the kids at the orphanage.
Learning to surf.
Sharing the largest pile of braai-ed crayfish we have ever see with a bunch of Africaans bikers at Port St Johns.
Eventually catching some fish.

LOWEST MOMENTS
Losing to the village idiot (Fella) at golf by one point.
Being a golf and fishing widow (Lil)

SCARIEST MOMENTS
Meeting a croc face to face on the edge of the estuary whilst fishing.
Getting caught in a lightening storm on top of a mountain.
Taking a ride in a taxi mini van at high speed whilst the driver listens to happy hardcore.

UNSUAL FOOD
Poikkie – a SA stew, not an Irish gypsie
Bunny Chow – curry inside half a loaf.
Crayfish on mass
Spotted grunter

MOSTLY MISSING
Pork pies and scotch eggs

MOSTLY HAD FILL OFF
Rain and wind – isn’t this supposed to be Africa.

QUOTES
Watch that salty - Mart, Ozzy bloke
Tea Addicts – Geoffery, Dutch bloke
Bloody fish catchers – Stoney, not happy Saffa local.

FISH CAUGHT - 6
Spotted grunter (large 40cm)– Kromme River (Chris)
Spotted grunter (mini) – Kromme River (Lil)
Sand shark, 2 x Stingray (one large)– St Francis
Steinbras (small) – St Francis

MOSI BITES
About 20 odd each - Balito Bay – both got eaten.

TAN
Healthly glow (caramel) – restricted to farmers tan.

NEXT ON AGENDA
Graden route to Cape Town.

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THE DISCOVERY DIARY

MONTH: September 2008

COUNTRIES: South Africa, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique

SIGHTS: Voktrekker Monument, Vic Falls, The Okavango Delta (from 300 meters in the air ), 100’s of different birds including; fish eagle, vulture, great egret. All the usual Safari animals including Lion, Rhino, Cheetah, Elephants and in the sea whale shark, humpback whales, devil ray and dolphins.

TOP MOMENTS:
1. White water rafting the Zambezi.
2. Snorkling up close with whale sharks, Mozambique. (thanks to cash from Al.G, Ed, Sal and Al)
3. Sitting with the pilot in the light aircraft over the delta.
4. Body boarding the monster waves at Tofo beach.
5. Getting very close to a male lion in Kruger Park.

LOWEST MOMENTS:
1. Not been able to Braii beacuse of crazy landlady (looking like Miss Marple) panicking about the wind setting the beach huts on fire.
2. Waves caused by 20 mph winds stopping deep sea fishing trip.

SCARIEST MOMENTS:
1. Sleeping (or not) in a tent whilst a bull elephant snacks on nuts in a tree above our tent.
2. Looking under the water and coming face to face (arms length) with a 20 meter whale shark.
3. Driving at night on potholed road surrounded by drunken locals not really sure where we are going in Mozambique.

MOST USUAL FOODS:
1. Hunterpot Wilderbeast with sudza (mealie meal) – Vic Falls, Zim.
2. Kudu Boerwors sausage –My Bday, Botswana.
3. Crayfish – speared and cooked by locals.

MOSTLY MISSING: comfortable bed

MOSTLY HAD FILL OF: impala and elephants / local kids trying sell us shell bracelets.

QUOTES: ‘The mighty Zambizi... somebody stop me’ – Colgate, rafting guide. ‘Its running toward the tent’ – Chris, Gunns Camp. ‘I’m a beer smuggler’ Christopher, guy on Botswana ferry boarder crossing.

FISH CAUGHT: Zero – crocs, boat parts, wind / surf, competition dates and fat lazy Gary all working against me.

MOSI BITES: Lil = 6. Chris = 3.

TAN: Lost the pale glow, more the colour of weak latte now.

NEXT ON THE AGENDA: Swaziland and more of South Africa – Kwazulunatal, Eastern Cape and Western Cape.

We departed Joburg early on a overland truck with 17 other people from Oz, US, Germany, Switzerland, Israel, UK, New Zealand, Ireland, Finland – a real mixed bunch who turned out to be a fun crowd and we all got on great. After a back breaking long distance journey we arrived in Maun, Botswana for our four seater light aircraft trip over the delta to our bush camp. On the way back Chris confronted his fear and joined the pilot in the front seat, one of the highlights so far.

Camping on the edge of the delta we soon found out we shared our camp with a three tonne bull elephant name Bruno. Instilling fear into all of us with his midnight visits to stomp around a metre away from our tents, violently shaking trees to get the nuts, very sleepless nights. The next day was followed by an early morning game ride on Chiefs Island that we got to in traditional Mokoro dug out canoes that Chris also had a go on at poling the Mokoro. On the walk we spotted loads of wildlife such as zebra, wildebeest, giraffe, baboons, impala, elephant and many birds including fish eagles and great egrets.
The next section we moved to Chobe National Park in the north of Botswana. On the way we celebrated Chris's birthday in style, starting with Amarula ( thanks to Len and Kate), then champagne, springsboks, Kudu boerowors sausages and steaks the size of hubcaps. A really nice camp with swimming pool surrounded by ancient Baobab trees up to 2000 years old. The next morning was an early slightly jaded start. When we arrived to Chobe river and our camp. That afternoon we went on a game sunset cruise where we again spotted loads of animals including crocs and hippos.
We had to take a ferry across the Chobe river which divided Botswana and Zambia. We got onto one of the two ferries ( there was three until recently one sank, reassuring!) only to see a flip flop floating past us at high speed as the ferry moved off across to the Zambia border. Chris followed the flip flop to the end of the boat to help a local rescue his flip flop so he did not have to hop across the border. Chris's now new best mate ( also called Christopher) insisted on shaking his hand many times and chatting to him. When enquiring what Christopher did for a living, we interestingly found out that he and his friends were beer smugglers.

In Zambia we took in the falls and as there was low water we walked along the top lip and looked precariously over the edge. The following day our fixer named Active transported us across the Zimbabwean border to Vic Falls. This was the location of the best part of the Africa trip so far – white water rafting on the mighty Zambezi river. 24km, 21 grade 5 rapids, in a gorge 200m deep on a plastic boat with a mental guide called Colgate and five other people. As we went through rapid 5 – stairway to heaven the section with the 10ft drop lifted the boat practically vertical and twisted on the drop spitting us both out into the river for our first swim. A mental adrenaline filled experience, defiantly the best so far.
Quick flight back to Joburg and tomorrow we depart for Kruger National Park then Mozambique.