After realising that we had a couple of spare days we headed to Sani Pass in the Southern Drakensberg. Sani Pass gives access to the high mountain kingdom of Lesotho, a landlocked country that sits above the clouds (its lowest point is 1300m). We had been told by a few people that the road has now been tarred and it would be a breeze zooming up in our VW Chico, but we were mistaken... tarring of the road has been under construction for the last 2 years, and they haven't got very far. So we took a day trip in a landy instead passing through 8kms of no-mans land between the SA and Lesotho border control posts. The road was nearly as hectic as Boet's farm roads in the Free State but the views were much more impressive.
Lesotho looked a lot like the Mackenzie country in NZ, rolling hills with lots of sheep and a lack of trees. In fact the only differences seemed to be the sheep were herded by young shepherd boys dressed in blankets (the national dress) and Basotho people were living in brick rondavel houses. We headed up to a high point about 15kms into the country, where we could look across to another high point which is allegedly the highest point south of Mt Kilimanjaro - you wouldn't know it though, it just looked like a hill in amongst the other hills on the horizon. In the Sosotho language it is called 'the little mountain' - a little contradictory. We ate our packed lunches in the company of about 5 shepherd boys posing for photos.
After lunch it was time to visit a local woman in her relatively spacious rondavel to try out the local delicacies, a maize beer (definitely an acquired taste), and some freshly baked bread from the hearth in the centre of the rondavel (very yummy).
Our last stop was for an obligatory locally brewed Maluti beer at the highest pub in Africa at the top of the pass (2850m high). We then bumped our way back down the pass, not so comfy squashed in the dog box at the back of a landy, I realised.
Our next stop was the Wild Coast - part of the old Transkei homeland. We weren't sure whether the 'wild' aspect was referring to the way people drive (rather than the scenery). A lot of yellow line driving and crazy overtaking was going on the main road. When we turned off for the last 70kms the driving became even crazier. The vehicles in front of us zigzagged across the full width of the road avoiding the deep potholes scattered across the tar, it was comical! A favourite game of the local kids was to fill the potholes with dirt, then stick out their hand for 2 Rand has we drove past. Their only English words seemed to be 'money' and 'sweets'!
After an interesting drive we arrived at Coffee Bay, supposedly a beautiful spot with a hippie vibe. The backpacker/campsite we had been recommended by a couple of people was packed to the brim, felt a tad stagnant as they'd had no water for a few days, and had an unusual smell wafting through every now and again. But it was late so we pitched our tent anyway, ate some smash and tuna for dinner, then crashed into bed. Unfortunately it was a pretty sleepless night listening to people partying in the bar, then stumbling back to their tent next door to ours to carry on discussing inane topics with the ghettoblaster raging. We packed up and left first thing in the morning and headed along the coast on a winding gravel road to the little settlement of Hole in the Wall, a much more peaceful and beautiful spot to hang out. We spent a day chilling out and going for strolls along the beach and headlands for the day.
Next stop, East London with the Mulligan clan. We've had a few days on:
- R&D for Nikki's baked goods company (I think I'm going to set up a NZ arm of Raggamuffins Inc),
- testing out Karen's full english brekkie at the B&B,
- watching hilarious music videos made by Shaun and Craig in the last couple of years,
- being lectured on the pros of electronic gadgets from Rory (he's finally converted me to Gmail) and
- listening to the disgusting sound effects made by one of the dogs, BJ (a really bad case of fur balls).
Alex has also been stuck to the couch becoming a video editing pro.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Namibia Dune Running video
Trundler Amms runs the Scenic Dunes at Sesreim, Namibia including Big Daddy, the fourth highest dune in the world.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
YouTube Video
Just Posted on You Tube
Watch our Epic whitewater ride down the Zambezi river.
and feel free to post some comments! is anyone reading this....
Watch our Epic whitewater ride down the Zambezi river.
and feel free to post some comments! is anyone reading this....
Monday, December 14, 2009
PE to PMB
So Port Elizabeth to Pietermaritzburg...
Met up with my brother Steven in JBay and again in PE. He hosted the most amazing braai for us and 13 of his mates, putting our aussie gas bbq skills to shame. He did get his Afrikaans friends to actually cook the meat though!
We drove north deep into the Free State - Afrikaner land and the middle of nowhere. We got as far as Hobhouse just west of the Lesotho border. We stumbled upon a local Afrikaner farm / nature reserve and asked to pitch our tent for the night as we had seen no accommodation for the last 100km. The local Afrikaners were drinking Castle beer and we had a taste of the local hospitality when the manager kindly declined our request and instead offered us the vacant 5 bed thatched chalet for 60 rand a night (about AUD$9).
We had a brilliant time drinking lots of beer with the locals and they reminisced about the last time some 'backpackers' dropped by 2 years ago when two kiwi guys found this place! We were convinced to stay a second night by the promise of the best 4WD safari in Africa in the owners UNIMOG (Google it if you want to see what it looks like). Its a big truck with massive ground clearance and apparently is used as ambulances in Lesotho. So we agreed, understanding that this was likely to be the most scary 4WD excursion of our trip, we were not disappointed. We started as any good Afrikaner game drive would in the bar with some beers. Then we got several chilly bins and loaded them up to the brim with more beer and ice. Then we mounted the truck up a ladder and opened the first beer while the legend owner Boet (a very Afrikaner name we're told!) proceeded to light his pipe and shift into the first of eight gears!
We saw a few animals but it was more about the beer drinking (including the local policeman) and Boet's driving up and down the most ridiculous steep rocky outcrops. We stopped at the second bar, the bush bar up the top of the hill to celebrate our survival at sunset. Boet had a safe with a few good bottles of whiskey stored up there for special occasions!
So after that 2 day delay we eventually made it to the Drakensburg and have been hiking for 5 days. All have been day hikes due to the afternoon and all night rain that falls with fresh regularity. Our second day we made it up to the top of the Amphitheatre from the Sentinel car park via the ladders to see the second highest waterfall in the world, Tugela falls. The next day was a misty one and we hiked along the base of Tugela falls to where the river was running high. Then we went to Cathedral Peak and spent 2 days hiking up paths that seemed to disappear at will. All good rogaining practice especially given the 1:50 000 maps. We realise now how lucky we are to have good maps in Australia / NZ / UK. Major paths could disappear into grassland only to reappear 100m up hill across a creek and minor paths often had Class 1/2 scrambling over exposure. To add to the mix, paths on the maps are not shown contouring on the correct side of certain peaks! Stunning scenery though, we had enough glimpses through the cloud to imagine what its like on a clear winter's day.
Today we managed a quick rendevous with the Wood clan, Sheila, Alex, Richard, Douglas and Gillian on their way to Cathedral Peak to do a 3 day hike. And this afternoon I have traipsed Alex around old Pietermaritzburg haunts (Amms lived here for about 5 years all up as a kid).
Next we head to Coffee Bay at the wild coast for 2 days rest before Xmas celebrations.
Met up with my brother Steven in JBay and again in PE. He hosted the most amazing braai for us and 13 of his mates, putting our aussie gas bbq skills to shame. He did get his Afrikaans friends to actually cook the meat though!
We drove north deep into the Free State - Afrikaner land and the middle of nowhere. We got as far as Hobhouse just west of the Lesotho border. We stumbled upon a local Afrikaner farm / nature reserve and asked to pitch our tent for the night as we had seen no accommodation for the last 100km. The local Afrikaners were drinking Castle beer and we had a taste of the local hospitality when the manager kindly declined our request and instead offered us the vacant 5 bed thatched chalet for 60 rand a night (about AUD$9).
We had a brilliant time drinking lots of beer with the locals and they reminisced about the last time some 'backpackers' dropped by 2 years ago when two kiwi guys found this place! We were convinced to stay a second night by the promise of the best 4WD safari in Africa in the owners UNIMOG (Google it if you want to see what it looks like). Its a big truck with massive ground clearance and apparently is used as ambulances in Lesotho. So we agreed, understanding that this was likely to be the most scary 4WD excursion of our trip, we were not disappointed. We started as any good Afrikaner game drive would in the bar with some beers. Then we got several chilly bins and loaded them up to the brim with more beer and ice. Then we mounted the truck up a ladder and opened the first beer while the legend owner Boet (a very Afrikaner name we're told!) proceeded to light his pipe and shift into the first of eight gears!
We saw a few animals but it was more about the beer drinking (including the local policeman) and Boet's driving up and down the most ridiculous steep rocky outcrops. We stopped at the second bar, the bush bar up the top of the hill to celebrate our survival at sunset. Boet had a safe with a few good bottles of whiskey stored up there for special occasions!
So after that 2 day delay we eventually made it to the Drakensburg and have been hiking for 5 days. All have been day hikes due to the afternoon and all night rain that falls with fresh regularity. Our second day we made it up to the top of the Amphitheatre from the Sentinel car park via the ladders to see the second highest waterfall in the world, Tugela falls. The next day was a misty one and we hiked along the base of Tugela falls to where the river was running high. Then we went to Cathedral Peak and spent 2 days hiking up paths that seemed to disappear at will. All good rogaining practice especially given the 1:50 000 maps. We realise now how lucky we are to have good maps in Australia / NZ / UK. Major paths could disappear into grassland only to reappear 100m up hill across a creek and minor paths often had Class 1/2 scrambling over exposure. To add to the mix, paths on the maps are not shown contouring on the correct side of certain peaks! Stunning scenery though, we had enough glimpses through the cloud to imagine what its like on a clear winter's day.
Today we managed a quick rendevous with the Wood clan, Sheila, Alex, Richard, Douglas and Gillian on their way to Cathedral Peak to do a 3 day hike. And this afternoon I have traipsed Alex around old Pietermaritzburg haunts (Amms lived here for about 5 years all up as a kid).
Next we head to Coffee Bay at the wild coast for 2 days rest before Xmas celebrations.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
5, 4, 3, 2, 1, Bungeeeeeeeee...................................boing!
Well you know we said we'd never do a bungy jump. Well that was before we agreed to give our friend, Adam, a ride to the Bloukrans bridge bungy place on our way from Plett to Jeffreys Bay on the Garden Route. We got there and low and behold it was the highest commercial Bungy Jump in the World! (and one of the cheapest!) So we could not let an opportunity like that pass us by.
All ended well and the elastic bands held. It was a surprisingly smooth bounce and only mildly terrifying jumping off the bridge, 216m above the river below.
Apart from jumping from the bridge we stayed at Gramps' place in Hermanus for a couple of days. The home cooked meals with dessert for lunch and dinner went down a treat (thanks Gramps and Lucy). Amms had her closest whale encounter from the headlands at Hermanus; a mother and her albino calf playing around and another whale breaching right out of the water! We also visited the local Saturday food market for yummy pancakes, pies and samoosas, and we headed up to a private nature reserve for a walk in the clouds and rain on Sunday.
We also searched for the elusive Knysna elephants which haven't been spotted in the forest since 2007, and visited the beautiful Robberg peninsula near Plett which was the most scenic spot we have visited on the Garden Route (thanks Katie for the tip just in the nick of time).
We are now relaxing for a few days at Jeffreys Bay, reputed to have one of the top 10surf breaks in the world, although no surf yet. Cooking for ourselves in a real kitchen is a novelty though, as is watching a pod of dolphins go by just 100m from the dining room table. Thanks Rory and co for use of the beach pad, we will see you all in a couple of weeks.
Some of you might like to know that our car for the SA leg of our trip is an 80's style VW Chico - still made here in the old square styley, with no power steering, no ABS brakes, no A/C, but plenty of character. A car you actually have to drive. Our co-pilot, Jane (Gramps' new GPS unit on loan to us) is only now getting mildly annoying.
And finally, special thanks to Lisa and Martin for putting up with us for 5 nights, we had a great time and were glad to hear we are LIGs (low impact guests)! Looking forward to Bettys Bay.
All ended well and the elastic bands held. It was a surprisingly smooth bounce and only mildly terrifying jumping off the bridge, 216m above the river below.
Apart from jumping from the bridge we stayed at Gramps' place in Hermanus for a couple of days. The home cooked meals with dessert for lunch and dinner went down a treat (thanks Gramps and Lucy). Amms had her closest whale encounter from the headlands at Hermanus; a mother and her albino calf playing around and another whale breaching right out of the water! We also visited the local Saturday food market for yummy pancakes, pies and samoosas, and we headed up to a private nature reserve for a walk in the clouds and rain on Sunday.
We also searched for the elusive Knysna elephants which haven't been spotted in the forest since 2007, and visited the beautiful Robberg peninsula near Plett which was the most scenic spot we have visited on the Garden Route (thanks Katie for the tip just in the nick of time).
We are now relaxing for a few days at Jeffreys Bay, reputed to have one of the top 10surf breaks in the world, although no surf yet. Cooking for ourselves in a real kitchen is a novelty though, as is watching a pod of dolphins go by just 100m from the dining room table. Thanks Rory and co for use of the beach pad, we will see you all in a couple of weeks.
Some of you might like to know that our car for the SA leg of our trip is an 80's style VW Chico - still made here in the old square styley, with no power steering, no ABS brakes, no A/C, but plenty of character. A car you actually have to drive. Our co-pilot, Jane (Gramps' new GPS unit on loan to us) is only now getting mildly annoying.
And finally, special thanks to Lisa and Martin for putting up with us for 5 nights, we had a great time and were glad to hear we are LIGs (low impact guests)! Looking forward to Bettys Bay.
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