Hitchikers

This post wont have any photos, but it was a memorable experience I wanted to pass on.

While crossing the Lesotho border I met two women about my age. They were in the Peace corp. and heading into South Africa for a short weekend reprieve. As we passed through the border we saw the girls walking along the highway. Dad and I knew that the nearest town was at least a an half hour drive away, and there weren't very many cars on the road at all. We pulled over and picked the girls up.

They were going to a town called Clarens. They had hitchhiked all morning from the south of Lesotho and were planning to thumb it into the town. It was incredibly interesting talking to the girls. One of them had been with the peace corps for three years. She described some of the hardships of her work: living alone, being stared at constantly for being the only Caucasian around, the simple food and often boredom that came with long nights and lack of entertainment. It was no surprise they needed a weekend reprieve in South Africa.

Talking with the girls, it made me realize, wow, there are some good people in the world. These women were giving up years of their life to help people in remote communities. They were so candid about their experience, the difficulties and reality of peace corps work, and I found it inspiring. I'm glad we picked up those hitchhikers, it gave us another view of Africa we would have missed otherwise.

The Mountain Kingdom Of Lesotho

I realize that the title of this post sounds like a quest in Lord of the Rings but that's what they call their country!

We left the backpackers hostel at Witsiehoek Lodge after another breakfast enjoyed in the dining room with the fantastic view. We may have pilfered the  packets of peanut butter and jams for our upcoming breakfasts but if questioned we'll deny it. If Michelle turns to a life of crime this may well have been where it all started.

We were off to our campsite at the Highmoor Nature Reserve in another area of the Drakensburg. The Drakensburg is a huge mountain range that runs roughly north-south in the centre of South Africa. It slightly defines the border of enclaved country of Lesotho and Lesotho lies within the mountains. We would camp at Highmoor and then take the infamous Sani-Pass into Lesotho. Our plan was to camp at the Katse Dam in Lesotho and then exit the country at a Northern border back into South Africa. Oh how our plans would change! Little did we know that we'd be sipping lattes in a ski lodge in Africa in a couple days. But first the Nature Reserve at Highmoor.

Now you may be wondering why we've included so few pictures of our camp setups in Africa. The main reason is that we would roll in at or near dark and get packed up in the mornings and be on the road before it really got light out. One of the things that we had to get used to is that SA lies quite near the equator (well, nearer than Canada's West Coast, that we're used to) so the days are quite short year 'round only varying about an hour or so between winter and summer. So the sun would come up about 6:30 am and set about 6:30 pm. Our evenings were quite short and with the cold nights we'd often be in our sleeping bags by 8:30 or 9:00 "strung out from the road" in the immortal words of Bob Seger.

But Highmoor was a short drive from Witsiehoek so we had several hours to set up and enjoy the sunshine. Michelle even got a workout in while Rick admired the scenery. (Rick's arguments that vacations have no room for workouts fell on Michelle's deaf ears.)

But first, We stopped at a grocery store to stock up for the next couple days.

Historically South Africa was a stop off point for ships carrying spices from the East. Lots of influences in the local food. Or not, Rick would make up stuff and tell it to Michelle. His way of getting back at her for saying she saw a rhino.

Our camp set-up at Highmoor. Pretty nifty digs eh?

Cooking over our campfire. Once we mastered South African fire we were unstoppable.

We never got tired of sunrises.

No to-go cups at SA coffee shops. You sit and enjoy it like God intended.

Sani-Pass marks the border between South Africa and Lesotho. We had to get an exit visa from South Africa at the bottom  and cross the Lesotho border up at the top. Both were just bureaucratic rubber-stamps and filled with paperwork but necessary nonetheless.

We stopped to air down the tires as the going got rougher. 

The road just kept going up and up. Many, many switchbacks and loose gravel turns. The views just wouldn't stop.

The view from the top. The pass can sometimes be closed due to snow or fog but we had excellent weather.

And at the top of the pass? A pub! I will never not be amazed by man's ingenuity to serve alcohol to each other. If we ever colonize another planet I'm sure the first thing to go up will be a bar. 

We enjoyed rib-eye steaks on the patio overlooking the pass.

Highest Pub in Africa cat! The stuff he pushes off tables falls a loooooong way.

  

After lunch at the pub we continued on our way through Lesotho. Being so mountainous there are only a couple major roads through the country. The road we were on was obviously new and in excellent shape. We suspected that there had been some foreign investment in Lesotho to improve the infrastructure. This was confirmed when we passed two diamond mines further into the country. 

Mountainous, dry and cold. Lesotho is like playing life on hard mode.

Meanwhile we passed village after village of small huts with tiny garden plots and many, many sheep and goat herders walking their flocks up and down the roads. The country is quite impoverished but everyone seemed very friendly and inviting. Lesotho was really nice and we could have spent much more time there exploring but the sun goes down quickly in the mountains and we needed to find our campsite. We turned off the paved highway onto a small dirt road in the direction of Katse Dam were we had planned to camp. (to be continued...)

Chains Ladders and Epic Views

Ugh, I just re-read my previous post. Wayyyyyy too wordy. And the pictures sucked. ( Rick and Michelle sitting in a generic Toyota dealership. Riveting!!). I'll make up for it in this post. We climbed The Amphitheatre in the Drakensburg. Danger! Excitement, Thrills! Cold wind! Michelle got a headache from the cold wind! This post has it all! Oh, and some real cool pictures too.

Our previous camp had been at the base of The Amphitheatre. We got up early to drive about 100 km around and up to the top side were we would begin our hike. Advantage of waking up early is catching really nice sunrises

Worst part about mornings? Instant coffee. Best part about mornings? Instant coffee.  

Our first real breakfast! Witsiehouk Mountain Lodge. We had decided to forgo camping for one night and we stayed here in the backpackers hostel. Breakfast included! Eggs, bacon, sausage, fresh fruit Real Coffee! 5 days on the road and eating over a campfire this was a great place to rest and catch up. Free wifi too!

Did I mention the coffee?

 After breakfast we started up the mountain. It was about a 5 km drive over a fairly steep and rough road. We had just started and had got out to take some pictures when we met a couple from Johannesburg in a two wheel drive Nissan who drive up behind us. They obviously weren't going to make it up the road in their vehicle so we offered for them to come along with us. We all drove back down to the lodge, left their vehicle in the parking lot and they piled in with us.

At the carpark at the top of the road, we paid the entry fee and started off.  The path was well marked and in good shape. They had even started laying paving stones to protect the mountain from erosion. The views were incredible.

Sometimes I think whoever created South Africa was just showing off.

There are two routes up the the top. The more interesting route includes a set of chain ladders. The ladders are about 30 feet long and take you up and over a sheer cliff face. They're only fastened at the top and they sway and swing as you climb. Most fun ever! 

A bit of a wait at the bottom while we all build up the nerve to climb the ladders. The ladder on the left is for descent.

She's having waaaaay to much fun!

Enjoying the view from the top.

Shortly after the chain ladders there is a bit more hiking and suddenly you're on top of the ridge. The plateau is massive and you walk across it to get to...well, to get to the other side.

Massive elevation gain? Check! Super sketchy chain ladders? Check! Crossing the plateau? Coming right up!

 Actually you walk across the plateau to get to Tugela Falls. The second highest waterfall in the world! Over 3000 feet tall. And we got to see it from the top. Well, we would have had there been any water in the river that eventually cascades off this mountain. But this was wintertime, the dry season. As the little bit of water in the river falls over the edge it all dissipates before it gets to the bottom. It's actually pretty cool to see.

The Amphitheater is so named as it forms a natural semi-circular bowl rising up from the surrounding  plain (or veldt)  

The view just went on forever. This was another place we just didn't want to leave. and we had it all to ourselves. Michelle's highlight of South Africa was all the animals in Kruger Park. For Rick it was this view and the hike that got us here.

We stayed at the peak as long as we could, but after a while the wind started getting to us and we, reluctantly, started our hike back down. The climb down the chain ladders was just as harrowing as on the way up. but the walk down the trails was so much nicer than the on the way up.

The only route down.

This stuff gets inspected by competent professionals, right? Right??

Away we go. 

The view at the base of the ladders.

The trail down the mountain stretched out before us. At the end of that trail somewhere is the carpark.

We were happy to get back to the car. a short trip down to the lodge and we unpacked in our room at the hostel. We sat and chatted with the other people there and when they heard that we were on our way to Cape Town we were offered places to stay all up and down the coast. South Africans can be a little stand off-ish but once they get to know you a little they are extremely friendly and generous. And everybody has a relative, or knows someone, who has emigrated to Canada from South Africa.

We ended our day watching England paste South Africa in World Cup Rugby prequalifier on the big-screen TV in the Lodge with about 20 other people. Many of whom we had met during our hike that day. The next day we would have a short drive to another campsite but for tonight we enjoyed the luxury of real beds.

The sunset out of or bedroom window at the hostel.

Vehicle Breakdowns and good fortune

We left Kruger Park on what was going to be our longest daily drive of the trip. We were off to Royal Natal Park which borders up against the country of Lesotho 750 km west of where we were in Kruger National Park. 750 km, not impossible considering the excellent roads in South Africa, but we didn't want to be driving after dark so we knew we'd have to get going and try to avoid any delays. No problem whatsoever. We pulled out of Kruger Park and headed through the  rather depressed area of Mahushu and Swalala. We were making good time. Then the truck coughed.  

Heh heh. Just a hiccup. Shift into a lower gear and keep going. I was driving and Michelle chatted on obliviously. We drove through a long stretch of concrete block shanties, I rolled through a lot of intersections, hesitant to stop as there was absolutely no place to get the truck looked at if we couldn't get going again. The truck was accelerating slowly and it was apparent that something was amiss. Going up a long hill as we pulled out of Jerusalem (totally didn't make up that name) the truck entered "limp mode" and wouldn't go over 20 km/h. It was a long slow drive up and around the hill with nowhere to safely pull over. We made it to the top of the hill then largely coasted into a parking lot of a mini mall where we could have a look at what was going on. We shut the truck off not knowing if it would turn on again and had a look under the hood  Everything was clean and looked okay. We held our breath as we started the truck up and everything appeared to be normal. We took a few laps around the parking lot before venturing back onto the highway and everything seemed fine. Until we got to our first hill. Again into limp mode. We scanned the GPS looking for a safe spot to stop. We found the police station in the town of White River and stopped in their parking lot expecting it to be safe. A quick call to the rental company and he consulted with his mechanic. Their feeling was, if it reset itself once it would  probably do so again and we should just continue on. We headed out again and everything seemed okay. We went about 20 km, and pulling up a hill out of the town of Nelspruit the car coughed again. I knew we wouldn't be able to go any further. We did a u-turn in an intersection and headed back into Nelspruit where we found a Toyota dealership (our truck was a Toyota Hilux).

Imperial Toyota of Nelspruit. Quite possibly the best service at a dealership I have ever received. We met Coenie the Service Advisor, who listened to our problem and understood immediately that we were in a time crunch. He booked the car in for service and we met the shop foreman Vikkus. Although the shop was busy with vehicles, Vikkus and Coenie squeezed us in and did what they could to get us on the road as quickly as possible. Our good fortune at having the truck breakdown WHERE it did and WHEN it did was unbelievable. We had spent the previous three days roaming Kruger Park and were off to spend the next week driving through some very remote back areas of South Africa. Including climbing through the hilly mountainous Kingdom of Lesotho. Had we broke down anywhere else or at any other time we would have been seriously in a difficult position. As it was Vikkus had us patched up and on the road again with a new diesel fuel filter and a Mass Air Sensor within two hours. We couldn't have received better or more friendly service. Coenie and Vikkus have our heartfelt thanks for getting us on the road so quickly.

Waiting for our truck to get fixed at the Toyota dealership in Nelspruit. Smiles to the contrary, we really wanted to get out of there!! But they had a cappuccino bar!! 

On to Royal Natal!

We made it to the campground at Royal Natal, picking our way through the darkness to our campsite. We hadn't stopped much during our long drive, so the plan was to light a fire and have something to eat. Our campsite was in the Drakensburg Mountains and it was already cold. We really needed that fire. Now, I have to say something about South African firewood. It doesn't burn. Well, it kind of burns but it needs a real hot fire to get it to burn. So how do you start a fire with this stuff? In the last few days whenever I started a fire I did what I always do, chop up little bits of kindling in progressively larger sizes, light a fire with the smallest bits and keep adding larger pieces until you can get a nice flame. In South Africa it doesn't work that way! We had built fires every night with only limited success. All around us people were enjoying their fires using the exact same wood as us.  We couldn't get this darn wood to light!  We blew on little embers until we were red in the face. Nothing. Then I noticed something. Everybody else lit their fire with firestarter and walked away from it. The guy at the rental place, while he was showing us the vehicle had made a real point of showing us the firestarter and making a big deal of how much there was. I had scoffed at the time thinking, what kind of  noob fire guy needs firestarter!? Kindling! Kindling is the answer to starting a fire. Not in South Africa it isn't. At our Royal Natal campsite I put in the firestarter and piled chunks of wood on it. A quick light with the matches and I left it alone. In no time we had a roaring fire. Lesson learned, listen to locals when being offered advice.  

It was cold in the mountains. We literally went to bed wearing all our clothes (including toques!) shivering as we fell asleep. 

Kruger Part Deux

As Michelle mentioned, Kruger National Park exceeded our expectations. We both hoped to see animals but the sheer number of animals we saw was unbelievable. 

Lilac Breasted-Roller

Southern Ground Hornbill

Yellow billed Hornbill. Loved these guys, not skittish and a great scowl.

So. Many. Guinea Fowl.

I learned that baboons freak me out. The way they look at you, as if daring you to do something is unnerving.

You wanna start something?

Vervet Monkeys are baboons super chill relative

Kruger Park is very large, about the size of Belgium and we only saw a small part of it. In the centre area where we were it had several different eco zones like scrubby, wetlands and open savannah so we had a really good representation of the park.

Life Pro-tip

Kudu. This may not actually be a kudu but we took to calling all 4 legged deer-like horned animals, that are larger than impalas, Kudu. We both realized we would make terrible zoologists.

Speaking of Impalas....

And all the animals were SO CLOSE.

It's difficult not to be in awe when a giraffe crosses the road right in front of you.

Steenbok are small deer like animals that aren't kudu.

Zebras. But I didn't have to tell you that did I?

Giraffes have incredibly hard palates as the trees they graze from have 4 inch long thorns on them.

Savannah that just goes on forever.

Just before sunrise, leaving the park to continue our journey. Look closely, there is a leopard on the road on the left side. He was the last animal we saw as we left the park. We felt great about all the animals we were fortunate enough to have seen. 

Kruger National Park: A wild experience

It is difficult to put into words the awe inspiring feeling you get when faced with a wild Africa animal. No fence. No zoo warden. No warning signs. Whether it is a gnarly faced wart hog or a huge tusked elephant, it does not compare to any discovery channel documentary or zoo experience.

Warthog: One of the "Ugly Five"

 The difference, I believe, is the luck involved. The animals in Kruger are completely wild, you drive along dirt roads for hours, watching, hoping, and then, all of a sudden a 3 meter high mammoth of an elephant pushes his gigantic head out from the trees just feet from the car you are sitting in. With excitement you grab your camera, marvel, not knowing what will happen next. That is the beauty of the safari. You never know what you will see. And at a park like Kruger, you will see a lot. 

 At Kruger National Park anyone can drive there own safari. We spent three nights in the park, camping in campsites surrounded with electric fences and barbed wire. Baboons however were still rampant through some of the parks.

 The first animal we came across was the ostrich

You can tell it's an ostrich by how it is.

If you look closely you can see a zebra hiding in the grass 

We spent two days driving the park. And we put in work! from 6:00 am, when the gates opened, until 5:30 pm when they closed, we were out driving the park. And it was worth it. 

Ignore that zebra butt in the background 

In the Safari world there is the concept of "The Big Five": Lion, Elephant, Buffalo, Leopard and Rhino. We were lucky enough to see all of these animals (though only a quick glimpse of a rhino, I'll be honest it might have been a big grey rock but don't tell Dad)

I'm not sure why the buffalo is part of the big five...I'm pretty sure it's just a cow...

 Baboons are the bane of my existence in Africa. Signs are everywhere in South Africa to not feed the baboons. Who ever started feeding baboons in the first place and warranted a sign like that?! Needless to say, this is the one cute photo I have of the baboons. I don't want to start spreading too much monkey hate. 

One of the highlights of the trip was seeing a Leopard (one of the hardest animals to spot of the big five), drag a dead impala across the road in front of us and into the trees. 

We never saw a pride of lions as we hoped. But this lioness was basking in the sun and scaring off warthogs.

 The Crocs (below) were always hard to spot.

These hyena pups were adorable. Saw them for the first time at the end of our trip. 

After two days in Kruger we were overwhelmed with how much we saw. By the second day we were laughing because we were actually getting a bit sick of zebras. There were huge herds of up to a hundred, they were getting in the way of the other wild life! 

Kruger was magnificent because you never knew what would happen next. You could go for an hour and not see anything, and then all of a sudden a giraffe and her baby pokes her head out from a tree and runs in front of you. Those are unforgettable moments. Kruger was an unforgettable experience.