Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa (March 8-10, 2008)
I left Chinsta (a small beachtown many SA's haven't heard of) on Saturday with "Himeville" plugged into my Garmin/GPS. It is the highest South African city in the Drakensburg Mountains, which I had seen in photos and knew I wanted to experience first-hand. I had only the names and numbers of a couple of hotels/Backpackers and Kevin, who runs the QUAD tours. My new South African friend Richard said the SANI PASS QUAD TOUR is not to be missed, so I called Kevin first. He confirmed me on the tour and said "Call me when you get to town". When I arrived, he directed me to his home, where he and his wife Jacqui also run a small B&B. Their hospitality was remarkable, and their dogs (and potbelly pig) are adorable. I slept in a private Rondavel with my own private bathroom - it was luxury compared to the backpackers I'd stayed in the last few days. And I actually went to the old & famous local pub HIMEVILLE ARMS with Alison (Jacqui's sister) to watch the Kwazulu-Natal Sharks play the Blues (big Rugby match). Thankfully "our team", the Sharks, won. We drank fabulous red wine and we feasted on some of the tenderest calamari I've ever eaten.
The next morning I got up early and headed to the farm to try my hand at driving a QUAD and head up the mountain. A guide led five of us on 4-wheel ATVs up a sometimes incredibly rocky, bumpy trail to the highest pub in Africa*. They go as fast as 30 km/hr, but we only reached that speed on the dirt road to/from the farm where we began. The huge, green mountains feature the picturesque "12 Aposotles" peaks and contain ruins from old trading posts and border crossing - from South Africa to Lesotho (passports required, as the mountain-top chalet is in the country of Lesotho:
It was FUN and definitely felt like an accomplishment. I celebrated my success with 2 beers at the top of the pass.
At this moment my right hand is still very weak from working the accelorator with my right thumb for four hours (last night was worse, I even had trouble buttoning my pants!)
After showering up I drove 2 hours to TALA PRIVATE GAME RESERVE for a 5pm Game Drive. It is just west of Durban (one of the largest city in South Africa), and home to a wide range of game and birds. During my 2-hour game drive I saw Giraffe, White Rhino, Sable Antelope, Eland, Nyala, Warthogs, Waterbucks and Zebra. Our amazingly knowledgable guide, Ashley, taught us a lot, including the fact that Antelope sleep most of their youth, as it allows more energy to go into growing (I should've used that excuse with my mom). After a great dinner I arrived at the little A-Frame I'd be spending the night in welcomed by a whole herd of Antelope - less than 20 feet away. I listened to their grunts and movement as I fell asleep. I think they liked me, as they also showed up this morning as I was reading by the pool.
WATER BUFFALO, ONE OF THE BIG FIVE... ON MY NIGHT GAME DRIVE:
I will now head to Winklespruit, a beach town 30 km south of Durban, where my friend's friend's family lives. I'll stay at their house (it's a B&B) and am planning for an "escorted tour" by the youngest brother (a cop), and trip to the casino with him & his mom (what fun!)
Tomorrow (March 11) I will return my rental car and fly to Johannesburg, where (thanks to NUNU) another friend of a friend (of a friend) will pick up me and 2 others and take us to Mozambique. I will slow down my hectic speed of travel for a week-long stay in one spot in Moz, where I hope to experience some of the best diving in East Africa and practice a little Portuguese.
I know I have left out major parts of the first week of my trip... I am sure I will find time to fill in the blanks, and hopefully upload some pictures as well.
Until next time! ~steph
* Joe - I thought of you as soon as I heard about this! Is this not an activity perfectly suited to you???!!!! You and Mel would LOVE it.