Swaziland is a tiny little country, land-locked and very mountainous - and therefore mighty pretty. We crossed the border at Bulembu along a fairly torturous dirt-track road (by this stage the poor Toyota Corolla was well and truly layered in fine dust, inside and out). We stayed the night in a nice restored old building in the town of Piggs Peak, a mostly deserted mining town that used to process asbestos. But the town was tiny and had no shops or restaurants or any life really, so the next morning we moved on to the capital Mbabane (but only stayed there two nights - Abacus Backpacking Lodge, run by a kinda weird, sad, but friendly, English lecturer).
Even though Swaziland is so small, we still managed to spend over a week seeing and doing just about everything there is to see and do. The highlights were in the main touristy place, the Ezulwini Valley where we stayed in a wildlife sanctuary (Sondzela Backpackers), which was a really beautiful spot. We hired bikes one day and rode around quite a bit of the park - stopping for a peek at a lovely private lodge (as usual, nobody thinks to stop you from having a good nose-around), and got a great view of execution rock (where apparently the ancient tribes used to throw sacrificial victims to their gruesome deaths). Another day we rode horses around with just us and the guide, while for the rest of the time I just chilled out in the pool or sitting in the restaurant of the main camp (which had a great location right up against a watering hole with crocs lazing around and birds coming and going).
Another day while just driving from one place to the next we passed some ramshackle signs for rock art. So naturally we followed the signs and arrived at a very simple local setup in the middle of nowhere. As always, everyone there was extremely friendly and welcoming, and a young local girl took us for about a 10 minute walk to an overhanging rock with some faint, but visible, ancient rock art. She didn't hype it up at all, and explained that there quite a few things they didn't know or understand about it, even it's exact age. But it was a lovely little excursion to see genuine African rock art whilst knowing we were genuinely helping a local initiative.
Further south we stayed at Legends backpackers. Again we rented bikes for pottering about, but while passing the parliament buildings (just across from the not-too-impressive national soccer stadium), I just popped in on the off-chance and got a great personalised tour of the Swazi government buildings and a comprehensive explanation of how their system of government works. The government wasn't in session though so we didn't get to witness any debating or anything. After that we had coffee and cake in a lovely place beside a nature reserve (which we didn't have time to visit properly, and looked kinda corny anyway due to the 'traditional village' they had built).
Another Swazi highlight was a scenic drive through the mountains, stopping off to climb the worlds largest granite outcrop, and popping into the five-star Royal Swazi hotel. As usual I just completely ignored any semblance of security and strolled straight over to their swimming pool and dive in. I did order coffee though, so although I wasn't a hotel resident I was a patron. It was a gorgeous sunny day and the hotel setting was magical, so we ended up sitting by the pool for a good while.
Just down the road from the Royal Swazi was a natural hot spring swimming pool which was really for the locals I think. You had to pay a few pence to get in but the water was like a jacuzzi and the atmosphere was much livelier than the hotel - loads of local kids just running around having a great laugh (we were the only white people there), as opposed to the rich crumblies sipping silly cocktails at the Swazi (to be honest though, of course, I liked both settings!).
So all in all we spent about a week in Swaziland, a lovely laid-back place with more of the same lovely African people. We passed through the border control effortlessly again (as we had coming into Swaziland), and headed straight for Sodwana Bay on the East coast of South Africa, which was reputed to have great scuba diving.
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Kruger and the Blyde River Canyon
One of the reasons initially for renting a car in South Africa was to allow us to drive around Kruger National Park independently. Up until this point we'd always had to go on safaris through tour operators, but in Kruger (and South Africa generally) the roads are excellent and even in the park itself all the roads and tracks are really well signposted. So in fact most people rent a car and 'do' Kruger themselves.
But on the way towards Kruger is the Blyde River canyon that has a number of spectacular sights to see, trails to hike, (many) waterfalls to ponder and some lovely picturesque towns to visit. Between just Kruger and Blyde canyon we must have spent nearly two weeks pottering about really. Our first hostel stop in Nelspruit was full, so we just moved up closer to Kruger and stayed in a cool laid-back backpackers place in Hazyview. We stayed here a few days, checking out the local animal rehabilitation centre (where Sarah hand-fed a huge vulture), and a local snake park. After Kruger we remained in the Blyde River area and stayed three nights in a really nice house 10kms outside the pretty town of Graskop. This house was really brilliant and we had the whole thing to ourselves (it was the only accommodation option they had left, so I managed to haggle a good price). The owner had worked for years in the construction industry and had built the house himself - it showed in the attention to detail and the beautiful finish. When I get back to Graskop (someday) I'll definitely try and stay there again - it was also only a 10 minute walk to a lovely small river with a small waterfall (which was nice for a bit of Hanno-esque meditation), swimming area and great, unspoilt natural picnic spots.
Somewhere along the way around here (I can't remember exactly), we did a short cave tour. It was the first of now many cave systems we visited, but was quite interesting. We had our own guide, and the tour didn't take very long, but we did get to see the resident bats.
From here we also did a full day hike down into the canyon itself. This was actually a pretty tough hike, but was rewarded at the bottom of the canyon with a really spectacular series of mighty waterfalls. It was a great a place to stop for lunch and then further along at the end of the hike (an out-and-back hike as opposed to a loop) there was a nice spot for a swim. It was probably the most invigoratingly refreshing swim in a river I've ever had, as it had been a tough hike on a gloriously hot day.
In total we spent five days driving around Kruger, and still only managed to see about two-thirds of the park. We spent three of those nights at camps situated within the park (even though it was low-season it was still difficult to get a room), the other days just outside the park. The main camps are really excellent and the rooms are actually rondavels which are self-contained and really comfortable. We spent two nights at Olifants camp and one night at Pretoriuskop camp.
But even with all that time spent in Kruger we still never managed to see a leopard, the most elusive of the big five. Lots of people we met had seen one, some had seen a few, but many others hadn't seen any at all, so it's all the luck of the draw really. But we had plenty of up-close-and-personal encounters with elephants and rhino and loads of other amazing critters (including another chameleon just walking across the road) - but I'd need to go through all the photos to remember them all.
We did a night drive one of the evenings and although you generally don't get to see much on these trips I did manage to spot a bushbaby. It didn't have the mad huge eyes I expected though, and at first I thought it was just a squirrel but then it started leaping around the tree it was on and was unmistakably a bushbaby - another critter off the list so.
We also did a half-day cycle safari with a couple of guides. We were lucky to get this trip, as all their bikes had just come back that day from two weeks of servicing. The trip itself was a bit too short for my liking though - it was obviously designed for people who don't normally cycle much, so although it was on off-road tracks, the distance was only 12km in total and the tracks weren't difficult at all. But it still felt very different being in rhino/hippo/elephant/lion/etc country on a bicycle instead of being wrapped up in a car or in a sturdy jeep.
Overall I think I have to say that the best place we've been on safari (so far!) was actually the very first one, on day two of the whole trip in the Masai Mara in Kenya. I think it was the most beautiful and varied in terms of scenery, and also in terms of the shear number of game animals loitering about. It certainly had the greatest number of lions (by far), but then again maybe we were just lucky with our timing or whatever.
Anyway, after pretty much exhausting everything there was to see and do in both Kruger and the Blyde River Canyon we finally started moving South and headed across the border into Swaziland.
But on the way towards Kruger is the Blyde River canyon that has a number of spectacular sights to see, trails to hike, (many) waterfalls to ponder and some lovely picturesque towns to visit. Between just Kruger and Blyde canyon we must have spent nearly two weeks pottering about really. Our first hostel stop in Nelspruit was full, so we just moved up closer to Kruger and stayed in a cool laid-back backpackers place in Hazyview. We stayed here a few days, checking out the local animal rehabilitation centre (where Sarah hand-fed a huge vulture), and a local snake park. After Kruger we remained in the Blyde River area and stayed three nights in a really nice house 10kms outside the pretty town of Graskop. This house was really brilliant and we had the whole thing to ourselves (it was the only accommodation option they had left, so I managed to haggle a good price). The owner had worked for years in the construction industry and had built the house himself - it showed in the attention to detail and the beautiful finish. When I get back to Graskop (someday) I'll definitely try and stay there again - it was also only a 10 minute walk to a lovely small river with a small waterfall (which was nice for a bit of Hanno-esque meditation), swimming area and great, unspoilt natural picnic spots.
Somewhere along the way around here (I can't remember exactly), we did a short cave tour. It was the first of now many cave systems we visited, but was quite interesting. We had our own guide, and the tour didn't take very long, but we did get to see the resident bats.
From here we also did a full day hike down into the canyon itself. This was actually a pretty tough hike, but was rewarded at the bottom of the canyon with a really spectacular series of mighty waterfalls. It was a great a place to stop for lunch and then further along at the end of the hike (an out-and-back hike as opposed to a loop) there was a nice spot for a swim. It was probably the most invigoratingly refreshing swim in a river I've ever had, as it had been a tough hike on a gloriously hot day.
In total we spent five days driving around Kruger, and still only managed to see about two-thirds of the park. We spent three of those nights at camps situated within the park (even though it was low-season it was still difficult to get a room), the other days just outside the park. The main camps are really excellent and the rooms are actually rondavels which are self-contained and really comfortable. We spent two nights at Olifants camp and one night at Pretoriuskop camp.
But even with all that time spent in Kruger we still never managed to see a leopard, the most elusive of the big five. Lots of people we met had seen one, some had seen a few, but many others hadn't seen any at all, so it's all the luck of the draw really. But we had plenty of up-close-and-personal encounters with elephants and rhino and loads of other amazing critters (including another chameleon just walking across the road) - but I'd need to go through all the photos to remember them all.
We did a night drive one of the evenings and although you generally don't get to see much on these trips I did manage to spot a bushbaby. It didn't have the mad huge eyes I expected though, and at first I thought it was just a squirrel but then it started leaping around the tree it was on and was unmistakably a bushbaby - another critter off the list so.
We also did a half-day cycle safari with a couple of guides. We were lucky to get this trip, as all their bikes had just come back that day from two weeks of servicing. The trip itself was a bit too short for my liking though - it was obviously designed for people who don't normally cycle much, so although it was on off-road tracks, the distance was only 12km in total and the tracks weren't difficult at all. But it still felt very different being in rhino/hippo/elephant/lion/etc country on a bicycle instead of being wrapped up in a car or in a sturdy jeep.
Overall I think I have to say that the best place we've been on safari (so far!) was actually the very first one, on day two of the whole trip in the Masai Mara in Kenya. I think it was the most beautiful and varied in terms of scenery, and also in terms of the shear number of game animals loitering about. It certainly had the greatest number of lions (by far), but then again maybe we were just lucky with our timing or whatever.
Anyway, after pretty much exhausting everything there was to see and do in both Kruger and the Blyde River Canyon we finally started moving South and headed across the border into Swaziland.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
The Road Trip begins
Pretoria (the actual capital of South Africa) was actually a nice enough place to spend a few days. We were in a nice backpackers place with a friendly Irish owner situated in the student area of the city. But the place had no bikes for rent (quite an annoyingly common problem in backpacker places in South Africa I've found), so we moved to another place down the road that did have bikes.
It turned out they only had one bike available, so I headed off of the day exploring while Sarah chilled out and used the Internet. Having a bike gives great freedom in checking out a city (a car is far too inconvenient when you don't know the city and can't get parking), so I had a great day. Cycling around the downtown area was a tad worrisome though as I was getting a few strange stares, as I think I stood out as a crazy tourist target (everyone else was arriving at tourist locations in tour buses). But I just cruised about and also used the bike to check out a few different car rental places about the town. I was kinda nervous about it really, as I've never rented a car before (since I still can't drive one properly - something I'm quite proud of in fact. Luckily, for whoever is reading this, I'm not in the mood for one of my rants right now, so I won't wax lyrically on the benefits of living inside 'the machine' unburdened by a car).
Anyway, after checking out a few options I think I managed to get a good deal. We got a Toyota Corolla 1.4 for 31 days, with power steering and air conditioning - not the cheapest option by any means, but I thought the AC would be a nice luxury (although we've actually only needed it a couple of times). We've already extended that rental period twice - first by one week, then by a further two weeks, and will have to ring them again tomorrow to extend a third time - no idea by how much yet.
So naturally enough Sarah was quite nervous about driving a strange car in a strange country. But at least we'd been in the Pretoria area for a couple of days, so she knew the local roads and she had no problems at all as we just drove back from the rental place to the supermarket and back to our hostel before hitting the highway...
It turned out they only had one bike available, so I headed off of the day exploring while Sarah chilled out and used the Internet. Having a bike gives great freedom in checking out a city (a car is far too inconvenient when you don't know the city and can't get parking), so I had a great day. Cycling around the downtown area was a tad worrisome though as I was getting a few strange stares, as I think I stood out as a crazy tourist target (everyone else was arriving at tourist locations in tour buses). But I just cruised about and also used the bike to check out a few different car rental places about the town. I was kinda nervous about it really, as I've never rented a car before (since I still can't drive one properly - something I'm quite proud of in fact. Luckily, for whoever is reading this, I'm not in the mood for one of my rants right now, so I won't wax lyrically on the benefits of living inside 'the machine' unburdened by a car).
Anyway, after checking out a few options I think I managed to get a good deal. We got a Toyota Corolla 1.4 for 31 days, with power steering and air conditioning - not the cheapest option by any means, but I thought the AC would be a nice luxury (although we've actually only needed it a couple of times). We've already extended that rental period twice - first by one week, then by a further two weeks, and will have to ring them again tomorrow to extend a third time - no idea by how much yet.
So naturally enough Sarah was quite nervous about driving a strange car in a strange country. But at least we'd been in the Pretoria area for a couple of days, so she knew the local roads and she had no problems at all as we just drove back from the rental place to the supermarket and back to our hostel before hitting the highway...
Jo-burg 2
Seeing as how Mark now had another week in South Africa we decided to head out to Sun City, and to stay overnight. It's actually a pretty cool place - basically a big water park with fancy hotels and casinos. Kuda knew someone working at a hotel just outside the park, so we stayed there (and got a room upgrade 'cos our original room hadn't been made up properly). The first night we just visited a big casino where Mark won quite handsomely and then we headed back to the hotel.
I just don't get the whole casino thing though. In fact, walking around the endless rows of slot machines (which are mostly just video game things these days, with very few actual mechanical ones with spinning wheels), I just feel terribly sorry for all the poor sods sitting in front of them. It's similar to the sadness I feel when walking around a gym seeing people cycling stationary bicycles or jogging on treadmills (after having driven their cars to the gym - bloody Epsilons!). I always get a strong sense of desperation - desperate to lose weight or desperate to win a few quid, it's both the same thing. For the record, my idea of 'not desperate' solutions - to lose weight, eat less. To earn more money, be entrepreneurial (e.g. start your own company or join a start-up) or get a better job (or a better education to get a better job).
But Mark plays roulette or blackjack. I still struggle to 'get' the attraction of roulette in general, but Mark plays quite simply on the higher odds options (like 'red' or 'odd') after watching the previous results and so doesn't play the numbers. But at least I can kinda get why people play blackjack. At least each hand is very quick, and the player does get to think and appraise their odds with each card, so I enjoyed watching Mark play, but I still had no inclination to play myself.
I know there is the simple 'buzz' of a win, so I've enjoyed playing cards with mates at home, but playing for money when you know the casino has better odds just seems plain silly to me. And besides, the prospect of winning big money has never really appealed to me either. Its the fundamental reason I've never played the lottery or bought a scratch card - I'm 'weird' I know, but I've always, since I was a kid, felt that I wanted to earn any money I get through my own labors, and not just be given it for no genuine reason.
I guess it might have something to do with Karma or something, but I love the story of my generous Aunt in America offering to pay my college fees when I was 22. But since I'd worked all Summer I had the fees saved up myself. I told my Aunt I had the money myself and she understood and respected my motives. Later that year I was dealing with the college authorities over something else (I can't remember what), when the lady I was dealing with asked what occupation my parents had. She then discovered that I was actually eligible for a government grant to cover my college fees, something I had never even considered. The following week I received a government cheque for the entire amount, and I felt immensely proud for not having accepted my aunts original offer of assistance. Its about having the confidence to be independent and stand on your own two feet - and the rewards, ultimately, for doing so.
Anyway, rant over, back to Sun City. The next day was a gloriously sunny day, and was perfect for all the water slides and generally exploring the whole complex. We all had a go on the kamikaze slide - they always have one in water parks - a big slide with a vertical drop, and generally no queue. The 'no queue' bit should have been a bit of clue, but Mark bravely gave it a go regardless. I think he gave himself a right fright though, as halfway down he tried to climb out of the slide! I was trying to video him and captured it nicely I think, even though I was laughing so hard. Needless to say, none of us did it again.
There is a massive, very fancy hotel in Sun City, but only residents are allowed walk into and around it. We tried to walk in but were turned away, along with lots of other people. So instead we went exploring some of the lovely forest trails and eventually realised we could gain access to the hotel via one of those trails. So we just sauntered in and explored the hotel acting like we were residents (even though it was a mad fancy hotel and we were all wearing shorts and I had no shoes or sandals on at all). After another wander through the casino we drove back to Joburg.
Mark's last night we went to a famous Joburg jazz venue (I forget the name of the place) and after a few technical problems saw a pretty good performance. We had met up with another friend of Marks - a famous South African actress named Nambitha (we'd met her previously for a dinner in Jimmy's Prawns (a chain of restaurants - there are lot's of chains here in South Africa), and she'd been accosted by a couple of groupies, signed a plate for the owner of the restaurant and received a free bottle of champagne) - and so we felt safe in her company, seeing as how this venue was in one of the rougher parts of town. The place was fairly quite though, as the following week was a big jazz festival, so I think people were saving themselves for that. But after the show we kinda stumbled into a private party a couple of doors down (I think Nambitha's notoriety might have had something to do with us being invited in). In was actually in some marketing company's office and was a really cool party, with everyone being really friendly - in fact, it was probably better than the jazz gig.
The next day we bid Mark farewell at the airport (after he met up with an old friend of his fathers - which turned out to be quite unexpected and emotional). We stayed another night in Kuda's kind hospitality and the following day she drove us to Pretoria, which we planned to check out and then rent a car for the rest of South Africa.
I just don't get the whole casino thing though. In fact, walking around the endless rows of slot machines (which are mostly just video game things these days, with very few actual mechanical ones with spinning wheels), I just feel terribly sorry for all the poor sods sitting in front of them. It's similar to the sadness I feel when walking around a gym seeing people cycling stationary bicycles or jogging on treadmills (after having driven their cars to the gym - bloody Epsilons!). I always get a strong sense of desperation - desperate to lose weight or desperate to win a few quid, it's both the same thing. For the record, my idea of 'not desperate' solutions - to lose weight, eat less. To earn more money, be entrepreneurial (e.g. start your own company or join a start-up) or get a better job (or a better education to get a better job).
But Mark plays roulette or blackjack. I still struggle to 'get' the attraction of roulette in general, but Mark plays quite simply on the higher odds options (like 'red' or 'odd') after watching the previous results and so doesn't play the numbers. But at least I can kinda get why people play blackjack. At least each hand is very quick, and the player does get to think and appraise their odds with each card, so I enjoyed watching Mark play, but I still had no inclination to play myself.
I know there is the simple 'buzz' of a win, so I've enjoyed playing cards with mates at home, but playing for money when you know the casino has better odds just seems plain silly to me. And besides, the prospect of winning big money has never really appealed to me either. Its the fundamental reason I've never played the lottery or bought a scratch card - I'm 'weird' I know, but I've always, since I was a kid, felt that I wanted to earn any money I get through my own labors, and not just be given it for no genuine reason.
I guess it might have something to do with Karma or something, but I love the story of my generous Aunt in America offering to pay my college fees when I was 22. But since I'd worked all Summer I had the fees saved up myself. I told my Aunt I had the money myself and she understood and respected my motives. Later that year I was dealing with the college authorities over something else (I can't remember what), when the lady I was dealing with asked what occupation my parents had. She then discovered that I was actually eligible for a government grant to cover my college fees, something I had never even considered. The following week I received a government cheque for the entire amount, and I felt immensely proud for not having accepted my aunts original offer of assistance. Its about having the confidence to be independent and stand on your own two feet - and the rewards, ultimately, for doing so.
Anyway, rant over, back to Sun City. The next day was a gloriously sunny day, and was perfect for all the water slides and generally exploring the whole complex. We all had a go on the kamikaze slide - they always have one in water parks - a big slide with a vertical drop, and generally no queue. The 'no queue' bit should have been a bit of clue, but Mark bravely gave it a go regardless. I think he gave himself a right fright though, as halfway down he tried to climb out of the slide! I was trying to video him and captured it nicely I think, even though I was laughing so hard. Needless to say, none of us did it again.
There is a massive, very fancy hotel in Sun City, but only residents are allowed walk into and around it. We tried to walk in but were turned away, along with lots of other people. So instead we went exploring some of the lovely forest trails and eventually realised we could gain access to the hotel via one of those trails. So we just sauntered in and explored the hotel acting like we were residents (even though it was a mad fancy hotel and we were all wearing shorts and I had no shoes or sandals on at all). After another wander through the casino we drove back to Joburg.
Mark's last night we went to a famous Joburg jazz venue (I forget the name of the place) and after a few technical problems saw a pretty good performance. We had met up with another friend of Marks - a famous South African actress named Nambitha (we'd met her previously for a dinner in Jimmy's Prawns (a chain of restaurants - there are lot's of chains here in South Africa), and she'd been accosted by a couple of groupies, signed a plate for the owner of the restaurant and received a free bottle of champagne) - and so we felt safe in her company, seeing as how this venue was in one of the rougher parts of town. The place was fairly quite though, as the following week was a big jazz festival, so I think people were saving themselves for that. But after the show we kinda stumbled into a private party a couple of doors down (I think Nambitha's notoriety might have had something to do with us being invited in). In was actually in some marketing company's office and was a really cool party, with everyone being really friendly - in fact, it was probably better than the jazz gig.
The next day we bid Mark farewell at the airport (after he met up with an old friend of his fathers - which turned out to be quite unexpected and emotional). We stayed another night in Kuda's kind hospitality and the following day she drove us to Pretoria, which we planned to check out and then rent a car for the rest of South Africa.
Jo-burg 1
So we arrived in Johannesbug (aka Jo-burg or Jozi) on time and hassle free. A good friend of Marks, Kuda, picked us up at the airport and dropped us straight back to her house, where she was putting up all three of us. Obviously myself and Sarah felt a bit cheeky crashing in the house of someone we'd never met, but Mark assured us it would be OK. Little did we know that Kuda had two kids (Curtley, aged 14 and Vuyiso, aged 7), and myself and Sarah were to be given their room.
The original plan was to only spend 4 days in Joburg, as Marks entire holiday was just 2 weeks. We spent the first couple of days visiting Soweto (Nelson Mandela's house, Wandys famous restaurant) and touring the excellent Joburg museums and some of the huge shopping malls. Mark then showed some signs of wanting to extend his holiday, naturally enough, so of course we pounced on him and badgered him into actually doing it (Sarah and Kuda took turns on the phone to the various ticket agents to rearrange everything for him).
So we ended up spending a total of 10 days in poor Kuda's house. The kids were off school for the holidays so when Mark and Kuda went out for the afternoon doing some wheeling-and-dealing myself and Sarah would lounge around or go down the road to play tennis and go swimming with the kids. What with playing Mark in Zim, and Curtley in Joburg, I've developed a taste for tennis - something I haven't played since watching Bjorn Borg as a kid.
One of the days Mark, myself and Sarah took the two lads off to Hartebeesport Dam for the day. It was a nice drive and the dam was impressive enough. We went to a pretty cool zoo there too that had all the big cats. Curtley had borrowed Sarah's sunglasses earlier in the day, and while myself and Curtley were teasing the lions to get a reaction from the lazy loafers Sarah's glasses flew off the top of his head and straight into the cage. The understandably frustrated lion pounced on them straight away of course, and then began eating them while Curtley ran off to get the zookeeper. He just laughed when he saw the lion munching away, although Sarah was anything but laughing when we told her her glasses had been eaten by a lion (I had to show her the photos to prove it). Ah well, I'd told her not to buy such expensive sunglasses before we left, as on a trip like this the chances of managing not to lose them is slim indeed, although admittedly I hadn't thought they'd be eaten by lions!
The original plan was to only spend 4 days in Joburg, as Marks entire holiday was just 2 weeks. We spent the first couple of days visiting Soweto (Nelson Mandela's house, Wandys famous restaurant) and touring the excellent Joburg museums and some of the huge shopping malls. Mark then showed some signs of wanting to extend his holiday, naturally enough, so of course we pounced on him and badgered him into actually doing it (Sarah and Kuda took turns on the phone to the various ticket agents to rearrange everything for him).
So we ended up spending a total of 10 days in poor Kuda's house. The kids were off school for the holidays so when Mark and Kuda went out for the afternoon doing some wheeling-and-dealing myself and Sarah would lounge around or go down the road to play tennis and go swimming with the kids. What with playing Mark in Zim, and Curtley in Joburg, I've developed a taste for tennis - something I haven't played since watching Bjorn Borg as a kid.
One of the days Mark, myself and Sarah took the two lads off to Hartebeesport Dam for the day. It was a nice drive and the dam was impressive enough. We went to a pretty cool zoo there too that had all the big cats. Curtley had borrowed Sarah's sunglasses earlier in the day, and while myself and Curtley were teasing the lions to get a reaction from the lazy loafers Sarah's glasses flew off the top of his head and straight into the cage. The understandably frustrated lion pounced on them straight away of course, and then began eating them while Curtley ran off to get the zookeeper. He just laughed when he saw the lion munching away, although Sarah was anything but laughing when we told her her glasses had been eaten by a lion (I had to show her the photos to prove it). Ah well, I'd told her not to buy such expensive sunglasses before we left, as on a trip like this the chances of managing not to lose them is slim indeed, although admittedly I hadn't thought they'd be eaten by lions!
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Gorge swinging
So Victoria Falls of course markets itself as one of those mad adventure sports places - white water rafting, bungee jumping, microlight flights, yawn, yawn... Zeria had done the bungee jump from the bridge over the gorge a couple of years ago (I think), and when we saw a new operation offering three different variations on the bungee theme Zeria was mad keen to try all three.
The three were a flying fox jump (just running off a platform and flying out over the gorge face-down), a zip-line (much faster but basically the same as the flying fox, but in a sitting position) and a gorge swing (quite like a bungee jump, but you swing out over the gorge at the end of the drop, as opposed to bouncing straight back up again - and you fall in a standing-up position, as opposed to bungee where you immediately go head-down).
I had thought originally that we'd just try one of the three things each, as I didn't think it was worth the money for any of us to do all three, and I'd already done some similar stuff before (like the bungee with Sarah in Uganda, and various zip-line things). But because Zeria was a Zimbabwean resident it meant she could do all three for just US$25, and she was mad keen to do all three of them herself. Mark had his residency ID number too, but he really didn't fancy any of the three swings. So that meant that I could use his ID number to get all three jumps for the same US$25 - so of course, just to support Zeria, I had to agree to do all three.
So first up was the flying fox, and fair play to Zeria, even though I offered to go first, she bravely stepped up and said she'd rather just go for it and do it herself. She showed no hesitation in the slightest and ran off the platform at an impressive sprint. I went next and it was a good buzz, but nothing like as scary as a bungee or anything - the fact that you run along a level platform first actually makes it relatively easy as you can't see the bottom when you start, and you have to drag a pulley behind you, which makes you feel nice and secure.
Next up was the zip-line - and this time I went first. This was a step-up in scariness, as you have to tentatively step off a short platform and dangle over the gorge first. Then they release the whole contraption and you zip off across the gorge, apparently reaching 125kph. So that was good and Zeria went next without a hitch too.
The final yoke to do was the gorge swing - and this was yet another step up the scary ladder. All very simple really - you just step up to the edge of the platform and just jump off. The harness is completely different to bungee though, it attaches to your back so your feet aren't bound in any way at all, so no waddling like a penguin to the precipice. So a big, deep breath and away you go. Straight away it felt completely different to a bungee, simply because you remain in a basically standing-up position. The free-fall lasts only a couple of seconds, but was really exhilarating, but then the terror kicks in and I noticed my legs starting to involuntarily kick like mad, as if I was trying to run like a cartoon character whose just run off the top of a cliff. But just then the swing part kicks in and you start decelerating and swinging out over the gorge, and I just immediately relaxed knowing I wasn't falling straight down anymore and that I was coming a safe halt.
Once at the bottom, which was in a really beautiful setting, I felt absolutely elated. I reckon a gorge swing is 10 times better than a bungee, since it's far less disorientating, and I would highly recommend it to anyone.
Zeria was up next, and her jump didn't go quite so smoothly I'm afraid. Basically she hesitated slightly when the guy shouted 'Go!', and so he needed to give her a bit of a shove (I think he had no choice really as he supports a lot of the weight of the cord, so when he says 'Go!' he needs to let go of that weight and it will drag you down whether you want to go or not!). Anyway, it meant Zeria ended up jumping head-first and I think she got a nasty shock - her scream was certainly a tad blood-curdling anyway (captured it nicely on video).
So that was it basically - although at the end Sarah wanted to have a shot at the zip-line jump. But she didn't feel up to doing it on her own, and since you have the option of a tandem, I ended up doing it a second time and 'zipping' with her. Again it's caught on video, with a nice cheeky little kiss from me just as we zip off.
That night we went to a traditional boma for dinner. It was basically a real tourist trap restaurant thing with a big buffet and traditional drumming and the like. Sarah and Zeria got some nice tribal face-painting before we realised we didn't have enough Zimbabwean money to pay the bill. But after a bit of persuasion and haggling and under-the-table money changing Mark and Zeria managed to sort out the situation.
The next day myself, Sarah and Mark bid Zeria goodbye and caught a flight to Johannesburg. It was all a bit weird saying goodbye to Zeria - even though we'd only met her less than two weeks previously, she'd done so much running around to sort out loads of bits and pieces, including driving for two days to get us all to Victoria Falls (and now she had to drive all the way back on her own). Sarah was quite touched too when Zeria gave Mark one of her bracelets for Sarah (she'd given it to Mark after myself and Sarah had gone through the airport security so that Sarah couldn't refuse to take it). She's actually wearing it now sitting beside me here in this Internet place.
So that was 'Zim' - we only had 10 days there I think, so we didn't get to see too much. All the media hype was, of course, almost total rubbish (interestingly, before we got there everyone was asking, 'why are you going there, isn't everything mental there at the moment?', but once we were there and told Zim people we were heading to South Africa they'd all ask, 'why are you going there, isn't crime mental there at the moment?' - needless to say we haven't seen nor heard any crime in over two months here).
But I certainly got a taste for the place, and got an inkling into why so many people we've met really love the country (or at least loved it before Mugabe went mad). It has fantastic potential to regain the 'power-house of Africa' status it enjoyed before, and I can certainly see why Mark loves the place so much - I'm looking froward to returning there again some day. But for now it was on to South Africa and scary Johannesburg - the crime capital of the world (or at least one of the contenders, I suppose there are a few cities vying for the privilege).
The three were a flying fox jump (just running off a platform and flying out over the gorge face-down), a zip-line (much faster but basically the same as the flying fox, but in a sitting position) and a gorge swing (quite like a bungee jump, but you swing out over the gorge at the end of the drop, as opposed to bouncing straight back up again - and you fall in a standing-up position, as opposed to bungee where you immediately go head-down).
I had thought originally that we'd just try one of the three things each, as I didn't think it was worth the money for any of us to do all three, and I'd already done some similar stuff before (like the bungee with Sarah in Uganda, and various zip-line things). But because Zeria was a Zimbabwean resident it meant she could do all three for just US$25, and she was mad keen to do all three of them herself. Mark had his residency ID number too, but he really didn't fancy any of the three swings. So that meant that I could use his ID number to get all three jumps for the same US$25 - so of course, just to support Zeria, I had to agree to do all three.
So first up was the flying fox, and fair play to Zeria, even though I offered to go first, she bravely stepped up and said she'd rather just go for it and do it herself. She showed no hesitation in the slightest and ran off the platform at an impressive sprint. I went next and it was a good buzz, but nothing like as scary as a bungee or anything - the fact that you run along a level platform first actually makes it relatively easy as you can't see the bottom when you start, and you have to drag a pulley behind you, which makes you feel nice and secure.
Next up was the zip-line - and this time I went first. This was a step-up in scariness, as you have to tentatively step off a short platform and dangle over the gorge first. Then they release the whole contraption and you zip off across the gorge, apparently reaching 125kph. So that was good and Zeria went next without a hitch too.
The final yoke to do was the gorge swing - and this was yet another step up the scary ladder. All very simple really - you just step up to the edge of the platform and just jump off. The harness is completely different to bungee though, it attaches to your back so your feet aren't bound in any way at all, so no waddling like a penguin to the precipice. So a big, deep breath and away you go. Straight away it felt completely different to a bungee, simply because you remain in a basically standing-up position. The free-fall lasts only a couple of seconds, but was really exhilarating, but then the terror kicks in and I noticed my legs starting to involuntarily kick like mad, as if I was trying to run like a cartoon character whose just run off the top of a cliff. But just then the swing part kicks in and you start decelerating and swinging out over the gorge, and I just immediately relaxed knowing I wasn't falling straight down anymore and that I was coming a safe halt.
Once at the bottom, which was in a really beautiful setting, I felt absolutely elated. I reckon a gorge swing is 10 times better than a bungee, since it's far less disorientating, and I would highly recommend it to anyone.
Zeria was up next, and her jump didn't go quite so smoothly I'm afraid. Basically she hesitated slightly when the guy shouted 'Go!', and so he needed to give her a bit of a shove (I think he had no choice really as he supports a lot of the weight of the cord, so when he says 'Go!' he needs to let go of that weight and it will drag you down whether you want to go or not!). Anyway, it meant Zeria ended up jumping head-first and I think she got a nasty shock - her scream was certainly a tad blood-curdling anyway (captured it nicely on video).
So that was it basically - although at the end Sarah wanted to have a shot at the zip-line jump. But she didn't feel up to doing it on her own, and since you have the option of a tandem, I ended up doing it a second time and 'zipping' with her. Again it's caught on video, with a nice cheeky little kiss from me just as we zip off.
That night we went to a traditional boma for dinner. It was basically a real tourist trap restaurant thing with a big buffet and traditional drumming and the like. Sarah and Zeria got some nice tribal face-painting before we realised we didn't have enough Zimbabwean money to pay the bill. But after a bit of persuasion and haggling and under-the-table money changing Mark and Zeria managed to sort out the situation.
The next day myself, Sarah and Mark bid Zeria goodbye and caught a flight to Johannesburg. It was all a bit weird saying goodbye to Zeria - even though we'd only met her less than two weeks previously, she'd done so much running around to sort out loads of bits and pieces, including driving for two days to get us all to Victoria Falls (and now she had to drive all the way back on her own). Sarah was quite touched too when Zeria gave Mark one of her bracelets for Sarah (she'd given it to Mark after myself and Sarah had gone through the airport security so that Sarah couldn't refuse to take it). She's actually wearing it now sitting beside me here in this Internet place.
So that was 'Zim' - we only had 10 days there I think, so we didn't get to see too much. All the media hype was, of course, almost total rubbish (interestingly, before we got there everyone was asking, 'why are you going there, isn't everything mental there at the moment?', but once we were there and told Zim people we were heading to South Africa they'd all ask, 'why are you going there, isn't crime mental there at the moment?' - needless to say we haven't seen nor heard any crime in over two months here).
But I certainly got a taste for the place, and got an inkling into why so many people we've met really love the country (or at least loved it before Mugabe went mad). It has fantastic potential to regain the 'power-house of Africa' status it enjoyed before, and I can certainly see why Mark loves the place so much - I'm looking froward to returning there again some day. But for now it was on to South Africa and scary Johannesburg - the crime capital of the world (or at least one of the contenders, I suppose there are a few cities vying for the privilege).
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Still alive.
Jasus, I can't believe it's nearly two months since the last update - but finding Internet places that have a decent connection speed and are not a total rip-off is mighty hard here (most backpacker places charge 6 Euro an hour, which is crazy - even in 'rip-off-Ireland' you only pay 1 Euro an hour). Anyway, finally found this place in Port Elizabeth, but after the usual e-mails and banking I started catching up on Mr Mullins' blog (http://seanmullinsrtw.blogspot.com) and spent the next two hours reading that, so now I've no time left to update my own blog.
Updating it now is a daunting prospect too, given that it's been two months, but I hope to come back to this Internet place again tomorrow and catch up a bit on it (they are closing here now).
But in a nutshell, needless to say we're still having a ball, and South Africa is amazing. We've extended out flight to Perth twice already and I wouldn't bet against a third extension. We've been in South Africa for seven weeks and have only made it from Johannesburg to Port Elizabeth (about half-way to our destination, Cape Town), so we've been crawling along spending lots of time in nearly every place we arrive, and we haven't even started on the highlights of the Garden Route and Cape Town. Anyway, hopefully I'll get an update fired off tomorrow, fingers crossed...
Updating it now is a daunting prospect too, given that it's been two months, but I hope to come back to this Internet place again tomorrow and catch up a bit on it (they are closing here now).
But in a nutshell, needless to say we're still having a ball, and South Africa is amazing. We've extended out flight to Perth twice already and I wouldn't bet against a third extension. We've been in South Africa for seven weeks and have only made it from Johannesburg to Port Elizabeth (about half-way to our destination, Cape Town), so we've been crawling along spending lots of time in nearly every place we arrive, and we haven't even started on the highlights of the Garden Route and Cape Town. Anyway, hopefully I'll get an update fired off tomorrow, fingers crossed...
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