THE SOUTHERN AFRICA
ADVENTURE BEGINS
South Africa
Click on the photos to
see the full size picture
CAPETOWN, JUNE 18, 1999.
* We touched down in Johannesburg,
where we had a great stay with John and Ilse and their TV watching dog,
Bonzo.
* We met up with Chris and Gabrielle
of the USA, our travel partners for the next few months, and sorted out our
expedition gear. Chris and Gabrielle arrived a day before us and bought a 1971
VW Kombi, complete with a peace symbol on the front, from a departing German
(within 2 hours of their arrival).
* Johannesburg is a bit like
Calgary; without a car, it is not an easy place to get around. We didn't get
mugged, attacked or carjacked.
* Our first week on the road was
spent in and around the Drakensburg Mountains, approaching the impressive
escarpment from various angles. We admired bushmen paintings that are found
beneath rock overhangs; the art of a lost people, exterminated by the white
man.
* At Elliot, we shared the campsite
with a herd of zebra and one wannabe zebra in the form of a
donkey.
* We stayed in Grahamstown and
visited a museum to look at our first "camera obscura". The local watchmaker of
the 1800's had built a sort of periscope on the roof of his home which projected
an incredibly clear image of the town below onto a large viewing
dish.
* We decided to lay low during the
South African election at Addo Elephant National Park. We had scored a huge bag
of oranges in a citrus town only to find that oranges are a forbidden fruit in
the park (elephants go mad for them), so we squeezed them into orange juice
before entering the reserve. 51 kilometers of elephant-proof fence in the midst
of farmland provides a sanctuary to an amazing array of animals including 300
elephant. We saw over 100 jumbos come down to the waterhole by the campsite and
had a herd of buffalo graze below our tent. At another waterhole, we munched on
potato chips washed down with cold beer while elephants lumbered through.
* The South African election itself
was a non-event as most people were more interested in the cricket world cup
than politics.
* We then set out for the coast to
take in the surfers at Jeffery's Bay and then watch Chris take the plunge at
Bloukrans; the world's highest bungy jump (216 meters). His post-jump grin is
just wearing off now.
* We spotted thousands of dolphins
and plenty of Cape fur seals in Plattensburg Bay. Fur seals and Sea Lions are
the only seals with ears.
Click on the photos to
see the full size picture
*At Oudtshoorn it was time for us to
ride ostriches at a show farm. Sheila also faced and conquered her
claustrophobia crawling through the "Devil's Chumney" at the Cango
Caves.
* We worked our way towards Cape
Town, staying at Bontebok National Park and Die Hoop national Park, enjoying
plenty of game viewing, spectacular ocean side sand dunes and the southern right
whales.
* We made an unscheduled 3 day stop
in Bredarsdorp (an African farming community) for more vehicle repairs. An
Afrikaner mechanic and crew worked on the dead Kombi for an entire day. They
dissasembled the engine, replacing valves, etc then charging a whopping 100 USD.
If you need a car fixed, then bring it to South Africa!
* Finally, we reached the actual
Cape. We visited a fantastic small colony of African penguins (5,000), braved
the food seeking baboons of Cape of Good Hope and reveled in the magnificent
coastal scenery.
TRAVEL NOTES
* South African campgrounds: They
are amongst the best in the world. They often have fantastic settings, plenty of
game and always have endless hot water. Almost all have bathtubs. Bring your own
bubble bath!
* Best tour quote: "we are going to
have to make a decision about tomorrow in the next couple of
days"
* On South African Crime: We have
been in liquor stores behind bars, seen plenty of houses with huge walls with
security signs "Armed Response" and met plenty of worried white South Africans.
However, Gabrielle left a pair of shoes behind on a brief roadside stop; a day
later we returned to the same place. A local villager happily returned her
shoes!
* Budding naturalists: We know the
difference between a bulbul and a boubou bird. We can identify the "small leaf
karoo Boer bean" tree. We can identify many antelope by their horn shapes and we
carry a hefty supply of bird feed for the guinea fowl (and friends) around the
campsite.
* BEST DEALS:
- Camping and entrance fees for 4
persons at Addo Elephant park was 10 USD per night.
- Bungeeee jumping is free for
anyone 60 years or older.
-Ostrich steak cost us 2 USD a kilo
(beef and chicken are good deals too!).
* Banana Index: 12 bananas for 1
USD.
FOR THE RECORD
1999 tent nights:
50.
Land Mammals seen and identified:
Zebra (Burchell, Cape Mountain), Springbok, red hartebeest, eland, kudu,
warthog, scrub hare, elephant, yellow mongoose, meerkat, porcupine, vervet
monkey, chacma baboon, buffalo, blue duiker, black backed jackal, bontebok,
grysbok, striped mouse, grey rhebok, rock hyrax.
Windhoek, Namibia
July 30th
First..a South African
wrap-up..
* In the Cape Town area, we took the
cable car up to Table Mountain to meet the very friendly and overweight hyraxes
and equally friendly ramblers club on our exit route along the "12 Apostles".
The aquarium and whale room in the National Museum were not to be missed. We
also met up with Bokkie whose hobbies include collecting psychedelic
mushrooms.
* We visited a variety of vineyards
north of CapeTown, large and small. At one vineyard they used bar codes on the
oak barrels and could bottle 12,000 bottles an hour on one bottling
line.
* Onto the Cederberg Mountains and
its bizarre rock formations (huge bookshelves, cathedral, tables, arches, Easter
Island heads, etc.). We spent a couple of nights in the basic huts wandering
around exotic flora including fuzzy bamboo-like plants and snow ball protea. Yes
the Cederberg rocks!
* At Lamberts Bay we visited the
Cape Ganet colony; they are close relatives to the boobies and are every bit as
interesting. Good beach too!
*At Augrabies National Park the
Orange River thunders through an incredible 18km gorge carved out of solid
granite passing through the desert and its surprisingly interesting flora. The
desert giraffes took a backseat to the thousands of hyraxes (like agile guinea
pigs on steroids).
Click on the photos to
see the full size picture
* Further up the road, the
Kalahari-Gemsbok National Park was a winner. The juxtaposition of red sand
dunes, camel thorn trees and animals was a real privilege to visit even in the
middle of a South African school break. On our first morning, we sat beside
(15metres from our vehicle) a hunting cheetah awaiting a Springbok herd, watched
a leopard have a drink (water, no ice), then watched a group of meerkats (a type
of mongoose) digging away like mad fools on the side of the road. Gemsbok (Oryx
with magnificent colouration and horns) that visited us at the dinner table were
much less mischievous than the next nights dinner guests, the black backed
jackals. Much of the dirt roads (excellent condition) follow dry river beds
including the Nossab river which last flowed in 1963. We'll always remember the
pink clouds (reflections of the red dunes). From South African it was off to
Namibia...
SOUTH AFRICAN TRAVEL
NOTES:
- Slowest Internet in the World:
sometimes it takes a full 15 minutes to log-in to
'Hotmail'.
- Ceberberg tip: Keep your
unattended doors and windows closed otherwise the mongoose or baboons will make
off with your bread.
- South African Churches: some of
the Dutch Reformed Churches are very nice to look at, though austere inside. The
church found Biblical support for Apartheid during the dark years of South
Africa.
- Living the Vida Loca: In
Namaqualand impromptu roadside parties seem to pop up on Sundays. One car stops,
then another, then there is a party in the middle of the
desert.
- Battle of the titans: Chris'
Leatherman tool was unable to open a stubborn pop bottle top. Sheila's rubber
gloves had no problem opening it.
- First to fall off their camp
chair: Sheila
-Back on the theme of South African
Campgrounds: the hot showers are worth the trip alone, especially after a dusty
day.
-Modern day "voortrekkers": the
voortrekkers were the white settlers in their covered wagons. The modern
voortrekkers pull their trailers on their tenting holidays. Plenty of
them.
-Priscella of the Desert: Glenn of
the desert was found in the men's washroom walking on tiptoes in pink slippers
(He took Sheila's in the dark).