A Day of Driving

We spent most of the day driving from Graskop to our airport hotel near Johannesburg. We stopped a few times to refuel the car and ourselves. We almost treated ourselves to a Steers (like McDonalds) but they hadn't received their delivery, so didn't really have any food to sell! Although they did have ice cream which we couldn't resist.

Our hotel was in a great location and really nice. More of a business class hotel. We had a trip out to see how far the airport was but didn't realise we would have to go on the motorway and couldn't get off. We then ended up dragged into the airport's one way system in busy traffic! It wasn't pleasant ...

After we escaped the airport we stopped to spend our last South African rand on fish and chips before heading back to the hotel to watch Star Wars on TV!

The Panoramic Route

After breakfast with our Braai buddy we left Kruger. We spent most of the day driving along the Panoramic Route. First stop was the Blythe River Canyon, then Bourke's potholes, then waterfalls .... dramatic scenery, really spectacular as you can imagine, from the 3rd deepest gorge in the world!

We took the chance to visit Pilgrims Rest, an old gold mining town. The buildings were all of the gold mining era and very cute.

When arrive in Graskop, a small town. We are a local lunch which was delicious. A beef brisket, fantastic sloppy mashed potato plus maize. It was huge!

A really warm welcome at our hotel, which incedentally was stunning exceeding all expectations. A relaxing evening came next before bed time!

On Safari

We left our cute little cottage behind and headed into Kruger National Park on our own Safari adventure.

Here is our story ... told from a rented VW Polo and a retro orange 2 man tent!

Over the course of 4 nights we stayed at 4 different camps - Bergendal, Skukuza, Lower Sabie and Satara. Between the camps there are tarmac roads with side roads to explore which are dirt/gravel/potholed! Every road held something special to see. Here is the list of the wildlife we saw over the course of 5 days ....

All of Africa's famous 'Big 5': lion, buffalo, elephant, rhino and leopard!

Plus:

Giraffe
Zebra
Hippopotamus
Vervet monkey
Baboon
Mongoose
Impala
Great Kudo
Eagle
Warthog
Jackal
Eland
Crocodile
Spotted Hyaena
African civit cat
Tortoise and turtle
Lizard
Wildebeest
Lots and lots of colourful birds including storks, various eagles, a bataleuer, vultures, hornbills, guinea fowl

What an amazing few days! It has been so hot, with the car windows open it has felt like a hairdryer in your face. A totally different climate to Cape Town. The temperature rose as high as 42 degrees during the midday sun!

What an incredible experience we have had. Please check out our photos for a little inspiration...

The Overnight Bus to Car Transfer

The bus left on time from PE at exactly 5pm. We were due to arrive in Pretoria at 9.30 am. We watched movies, drank cups of coffee and ate chocolate cookies that the hostess gave out. A few stops during the night but we slept really, really well. In fact we are glad we ditched the box because that meant we had the duvet in the bus because the air conditioning was freezing!

We arrived in Johannesburg rather later than expected and we still had a hour drive from here to Pretoria. Why does it matter that we are late? Well, today is a national holiday and we have now discovered the car rental company closes at midday. We arrived in Pretoria after 11am! We checked our route as we got off the bus and ran through the busy street to the car hire office. We reached there just as the man was closing the door! Sooooo lucky, because that night we had booked a hotel just outside Kruger National Park - 5 hours drive away. We needed that car!

We drove all afternoon and stopped to collect food at a supermarket, just outside a township. We also replaced the box that we left behind because we need something soft to camp on as we have no camping mats.

Eventually, after seeing a police car every few minutes for 5 hours and battling crazy drivers continually, we arrived in White River. This is where we stay tonight. It has to be said that the thatched lodge we booked and it's grounds with a pool are stunning!

Lazy Day Amending Chaos

After a small lie in, we woke up to great coffee and homemade jam.We played a few games in the garden before we dropped off the hire car, which sounds fairly simple but ..
we found out yesterday that the car hire office is closed on a Sunday, today. It is however ok to leave the car at the rental office but you then become responsible for the car until 4 hours before the office opens. Monday is a national holiday, so it is likely the office is still closed. Having thought this through, the car would be left outside for one and a half days, unattended and not 'checked back in' in the centre of a city! A little too risky for us, so we hatched a plan! There is an airport in PE which has a car hire office. We spoke to them, rearranged to drop the car with them. Simple! Next we arranged a lift from the airport to the original office because that is where our next bus goes from. Confused?

We are now on an overnight bus to Pretoria having been treated to a traditional South African pokjie cooked on the braai before we left. What a treat, it tasted amazing, all washed down with some fantastic South African pinotage!

We did have a small issue with checking in for the bus ... Luggage allowance is 23kg per person in 2 bags. That was fine because our bags are under 10kg and we have one each. However, instead of having another bag each, we packed the tent and duvet in a cardboard box. The box weighed about 5 kg, so we are still well within our limit BUT ... Sir you have to pay extra to take a cardboard box, it is the rules! Rather confused, we removed the duvet to take on the bus, strapped the tent to one of our bags and there was no longer a charge. The
cardboard box was gone and so was the extra charge!

An Unexpected Day of Events

Today's breakfast consisted of maize porridge - meale pops! Maize, butter, sugar and milk, all mixed together.

We played a few games outside, watched the cute little chicks run wild in the garden and generally had a lot of fun. Afterwards we drove to the beach. We took a walk on the Port Elizabeth pier and watched the surfers catching some waves. We then drove to the wild coast side where - it really was wild! Waves were crashing against the rocks. We sat close to the sea but had to move back rather quickly as one wave was a little close for comfort.

Opposite the beach we stopped at a bar and cafe called Munkee Bizniz. We sat and chatted to Elston (the karaoke king) whilst we waited for the electricity to come on. Elston told us all about his family and being brought up in South Africa, which was really interesting but he had to leave half way through his sentence as the electricity came back on. This was a great place to spend the afternoon. The bar had loads of things for the kids to play on which certainly would raise a few health and safety eyebrows in the UK! There was food, a beautiful setting and of course, karaoke! All of the people singing were excellent. One big, burley man got up and performed a rock song which was really good. He had the most incredible high pitched voice.

Another fantastic day in South Africa ended with a huge dinner and a special treat ..... ice cream!

Addo Antics

We woke up to a breakfast of South African porridge (maize, butter and sugar). On our way out we noticed a baby safe set into the wall of a house. At first we were unsure exactly what it was but after a while we managed to work it out. It is to encourage desperate mums not to abandon their baby and put them in the safe, where someone will help!

We pointed the car in the direction of Addo Elephant National Park which has the largest concentration of African elephants in South Africa. We didn't enter through the main gate at Addo but took a less popular gate to avoid 'bank holiday traffic'.

On entry we paid our national park fee and were given a map of the park and an animal spotting guide. The park was really nice with lots of trees and bushes. We spent our whole day in the park searching for animals. We saw so many different types ranging from the endangered flightless dung beetle to the pride of the park, the African elephant. Some of our first animal sightings were from afar but we both have a set of binoculars, which really helps bring the detail into view.

After lunch in a designated picnic site, one of the only places where you are allowed to exit the car, we headed on a few remote roads to continue our search. We were so lucky as we spotted elephants next to the road. In fact one huge fellow was in the road and there was no way to pass! We sat and waited and waited ... He was enjoying feasting on a small bush and was in no hurry to go anywhere.

We had a fantastic day in the park. Here is a list of the animals we saw:

Elephant
Buffalo
Zebra
Dung Beetle
Kudu
Ostrich
Caracal
Vervet monkey
Secretary bird

When we arrived back in Port Elizabeth we had a special treat. The Braai (South African BBQ) was lit and dinner was served!

Pancakes at Dawn

We woke up to the smell of freshly cooked pancakes, that the 2 German helpers had made us for breakfast. Pancakes and coffee is just what we needed before heading to the beach in glorious sunshine.

Super tubes or 'Supers' as it is often referred to was a short walk from our hostel and today the waves were real nice. We spent the morning watching the surfers on one of the longest waves in the world. Their ride was so long and the tubes were definitely something to write home about! To add to the excitement a huge humpback whale paid a visit to the surf spot, only metres behind the take off zone. It was incredible. We collected a range of beautiful shells on the beach, all different shapes, colours and sizes.

Before heading towards PE (Port Elizabeth) we visited the JBay surf village, packed with surf shops. We didn't buy anything ... but only because it won't fit in our bags.

We took the scenic route to PE which was great. It was quite a big place, a lot bigger than we were used to on the Garden Route. We spent sometime walking in the large park before searching for our accomodation.

Our evening was spent playing hide and seek, police, Lego and watching a 'homemade' X Factor. We had a lot of fun playing with some very special children.

JBay - One of the World's Best Waves

After a relaxing breakfast in Knysna we packed up our things and hit the road. We travelled on the main road (N2) but diverted to Natures River, part of the Garden Route National Park. Beautiful scenery, glorious gorges ... stunning! We then managed to avoid the toll road by taking a fantastic scenic route through the mountains. So gorgeous. We passed lots or sustainable tree operations where we could see the cutting areas and the replacement trees that had been planted. Our next stop was Storms River. We didn't enter the National Park this time but took a quick peek. On the road again to JBay (Jefferys Bay). As we approached the centre we spotted 2 Zebra! Whilst we looked for a place to stay we crossed a lagoon where flamingos were grazing. Tonight we won't be camping. Why? It is really windy and raining. Our tent will definitely blow away! When Christine opened the car door at the beach, it was almost blown off. We have checked into a rather upmarket backpackers right next to a famous surf break named Supertubes. Tomorrow we are hoping for sun and waves!

A night of chillin' at the backpackers. Reading the surf mags, watching DVDs and hanging with the dudes. Out bro.

Knysna

First stop this morning was a trip to the beautiful Steenbok nature reserve, where we we took a leisurely stroll along the Knysna lagoon. What a lovely spot.

Next on our list was a trip to the Knysna Heads. We took a steep road to a view point where we could see across to the other high rocky point that forms the entrance into Knysna lagoon. The view all around was spectacular. We took a little walk on a path that led around the point, before heading down to explore the rocks around the headland.

Back in the car, we drove to the other side of the lagoon to Benton-on-sea. A gorgeous white sandy beach stretched into the distance. We ate our lunch on a little bench on the cliff overlooking the beach. We then took the road back down and visited a really cute church on the way. At the church it started raining, so a great time to do a little shopping for dinner!

Fantastic evening but all we can say about it is .... unicorn ice cream rocks!

A mysterious early morning wake up call

Well, we are not exactly sure when the siren started and are not 100% sure why! A cute campsite under a light house in an area called the point? It was a little misty when we retired to our tent so, Lighthouse = dangerous rocks = FOGHORN! It was pretty loud, but only sounded a few times during the night. Therefore, that is our logical explanation.

After a short conversation with our fellow campers, we now know what it was. Quite a surprise but the loud siren was the school's bell, which just happens to be broken at the moment so turns on at random times!

We packed up the tent, discussed the local wildlife with our fellow campers and headed out of town. Next stop Wilderness.

We had lunch at the beach. Not just any beach but a huge, gorgeous one. Inland at Wilderness there was a lot of pretty hikes and small villages. Afterwards we headed to Sedgefield, where we were the only people on a beautiful deserted beach. We sat on and watched the ocean. Christine thought she saw a whale, and then another. There was so many but they were not whales .... They were dolphins. A huge pod swimming past, maybe 50. Some headed towards the beach to play in the breaking waves. We watched on as they surfed in perfect harmony. How excited were we!

We drove to Buffalo Bay, which was stunning. A small beach filled with holiday homes and noone around except a few surfers and a stand up paddle boarder. We watched as they enjoyed the surf with the dolphins. What a beautiful place, so calm and with a really nice vibe. We eventually tore ourselves away and carried on The N2 road to Knysna. We will be in Knysna now for the next few days.

Off to the beach

We were woken up last night when our tent collapsed. We think a school football team accidentally tripped over the guy ropes. What a shock, as it came crashing down on to us!

We woke up early and took a walk around the campsite. To our surprise we came across a couple of ostriches and lots of turkeys. The turkeys were all showing off, with their tails on full display.

Next we headed out to look for breakfast. We were hoping to find an ostrich egg omelette or other ostrich egg delight but after trying a couple of ostrich farms, none were on the menu. We put this down to an ostrich egg being equivalent to 24 chicken eggs, and noone can eat that much! We saw loads of ostriches at the farms and read lots of facts about them.

On our way out of town, we took the Robinson Pass to Mossel bay. We arrived and did a little exploring of a train that used to run along the coast. It is now used as a hotel and attached to a lovely restaurant over looking the bay. After figuring out we couldn't afford to stay on the train, we headed to The Point. We found a cute little campsite next to the beach and set up our tent. There are lots of South Africans camping in huge tents, so our little tent causes quite a stir, especially as we are using rocks to hold it down as we have no pegs. One very kind gentleman offered to help put the tent up and even gave us his spare pegs!

We checked out the beach and watched seals surfing the waves, then walked along the coastal path to a cave with a lighthouse standing proudly on top. We took a short breather on a bench on the cliff top and watched the humpback whales swimming past with their calves. Wow!

After looking for a supermarket and finding it was closed, we headed to the Oasis Cafe where we had a delicious curry and rice, oh ...and bought some banana cake for later!

A quick game of Scrabble and a hot shower to prepare for the cold night and it is time for bed.

Back on the road

Woke up at 6.15, by the birds singing at the top of their voices, just as that spa opened. We spent time relaxing in the spa and we watched the most incredible sunrise. The colour of the sky was just magnificent. Deep red and orange. Awesome! Breakfast was served around the picnic table and we watched the birds go about their daily chores. There are so many varieties and colours. One looks like a robin with a red breast but also a red tail. One is bright yellow all over!

We set off from our camp and headed through many small towns. We stopped in Ladysmith to buy some biltong (dried meat). We turned off the main road and headed towards Prince Albert through beautiful scenic valleys. We spotted many private game reserves, quite a few ostrich and a tortoise, who was crossing the road. After a while the track became a little rough and with larger stones, so we changed direction to Oudtshoorn. This city is well known for it's ostrich farms and the Cango Caves. It is also close to the Swartzberg pass, a marvel of engineering which cuts it's way through the mountains. We took a drive along the pass and was not disappointed by towering cliffs and spectacular rocky outcrops on either side. We stopped in Da Rust to ask directions to a campsite we had read about. We followed a few small tracks and eventually arrived. But, no-one else was around! We decided to head back into Oudtshoorn where
we had seen a small campsite as we passed through. We set up the tent, had our dinner and are now getting prepared to face the evening temperatures, which are rather lower than usual! Luckily this is the poshest campsite ever and there is a lovely bath which is roasting hot. That should warm us up nicely for the night ahead.

Into the interior

A day of driving and stopping in a number of places for a look; Stanford, Riversonderend, Suurbraach, Tradaux Pass, Barrydale and Warmwaterberg Spa. The Tradaux pass was our highlight of the day. It cuts through the mountain range with deep gorges either side. Fantastic views, hardly any traffic, truly gorgeous. We saw baboons and ostriches along our route. Our final destination was Warmwaterberg Spa where we are camping. We have erected our tent with a few large rocks (as we have no pegs) and tonight is going to be a cold one. There is however a slight advantage ... the beautiful spa full of really lovely warm water doesn't close until 10pm! Guess where we intend to be all night. Oh, whilst writing the blog and eating our homemade rusks and fig jam, a brigade of peacocks walked past our picnic table. Wow!

The rest of the afternoon was spent relaxing in the spa, exploring the surrounding wilderness on a short hike and eating chips, before later returning to the spa for a spot of stargazing. We think we saw the constalations of Scorpio and the southern cross plus the milky way!6

Walvis

What? I hear you ask... Well we are now in Hermanus, billed as the best place in world to spot whales from the shore. Walvis is the Afrikaans word for whale!

We drove first to the top of the mountains for a spectacular view of the Hermanus bay and surrounding valleys.

Will we be lucky and spot any, we asked ourselves.? Oh yes, this is peak whale season. We followed a beautiful biodiversity walk along the coast to Gearings Point. This is prime spotting territory looking directly into the bay. There were a few rocks close to the shore in a beautiful bay and we spent some time staring out to sea, looking for whales. Hmmm, those rocks seem to be moving! They are not rocks, they are Southern Right whales. The whales were so close to shore. We saw loads! They come into the bay to mate. We saw breaching whales, whales blowing from their blow holes. It was fantastic! After a successful day watching whales we relaxed with a glass of wine in front of a roaring open fire! Yes this is Africa but Cape Town is having a cold spell and there is even snow in some of the mountain passes. This is exactly where we are heading next.... with our tent! Yikes.

Stellenbosch

In the morning, after a leisurely breakfast of homemade South African rusks, we headed out to the Victoria and Albert Waterfront. We took our time getting there because leaving any earlier means battling the Cape Town rush hours. The traffic is terrible because the amount of roads they can build are restricted by Table Mountain. Eventually we arrived and explored the shopping, restaurants and the ferry to Robben Island. The ticket office building has an exhibition all about Nelson Mandela, who was imprisoned in Robben Island.

Our afternoon was spent in the famous university town of Stellenbosch. I don't know if it is famous for housing all those students but it is famous for South African wine. We visited a number of wineries, all in beautiful settings, before heading back to the coast for evening.

Table Mountain

You know your limits...so just go way, way, way, beyond them! Ok ... So we did! We climbed table mountain today but didn't take the tourist route. We took the dangerous, scary, don't look down from the sheer rock ledges route India Vesta! We were lucky to be guided up by a resident expert and it was truly awesome, though extremely terrifying! The scenery was spectacular and the view from the top breathtaking. After a short break, next to see the botanical gardens that were wonderful. Some of the flowers and birds were beautiful beyond belief!

Cape Town Rocks

If you are going to have an awesome day, why not choose a Monday! What a day ...

Picked up the hire car in the morning, which was totally brand new and shiny. Headed to Kalk Bay, which was very cute and to Simon's Town (Boulders beach) to see the penguins. We drove back up the other side of the cape along Chapman's peak, which is a beautiful scenic route along the coast. We saw seals! Next, onto Hault Bay with its white sand beach. Stopping to watch the surfers at Llandudno before making it to the exquisite Camps Bay. Unbelievable sunset at Signal Hill and then an amazing South African feast!

If you are going to have an awesome day, why not choose a Monday!

Cape Town, South Africa

After a night at Charles de Gaulle airport enjoying the facilities of their airport lounge (movies and a place to sleep), we boarded our final flight to South Africa! For the next 11 hours we enjoyed back to back movies, remarkably good food and the bonus of seats with extra leg room! We saw the Eiffel Tower from our window as we took off and the lights of Cape Town as we approached our landing. We are finally here. Cape Town South Africa!

Our last day in .... ?

Not only did we get lucky and arrive in Venice for the famous carnival ..... But when we arrived in the French town of Martigues, this is what we saw! They call it the Venice of Provence. Now we can see why. We have taken a lot of photos. Take a look at www.vengara.co.uk/photos.html

The Countdown has begun!

Just a few days to go until our exciting adventure begins.

See you soon in a new place.... this time on dry land!