Spectacular South Africa

What an amazing country, fabulous scenery, friendly people, fantastic experiences and such diversity. I did not expect to be so impressed and overcome with joy when we went on our second safari, but the landscape was incredibly beautiful and vast that I felt a sense of peace and happiness. The vegetation was lush, green and similar enough to Britain to make me feel comfortably at home, spring flowers were blooming and the range and number of animals we saw was staggering. Stick insects, beetles, gerbils, colourful birds, big birds, even a couple of ostrich. An assortment of antelopes, gnus, boks and buffalo as well as zebra and kudu walking past at breakfast time. We were awed to see a group of nine lions less than two metres away from our jeep a herd of ten elephants equally nearby as well as a tower of gorgeous giraffes, rhino, a male lion in the dawn mist and at the last minute a cheetah strutting her stuff. It truly was a completely immersive experience. Perhaps it was just the contrast from endless oceans and the space and freedom from the limitations of boat life that soothed my soul. The bedroom we had at Ndaka lodge was larger than our living space on Celtic Star and the bathroom was even bigger! Here is the lounge and bar and there was comfy seating on the veranda outside.

The dining area and lounges were made from wood and thatched, the rattan chairs and neutral coloured sofas made a tranquil space perfect to relax in after breakfast and before the second game drive of the day at 1600. Dawn and dusk are now lasting longer as we head south away from the tropics, so we experienced some magnificent colours and clouds over the hills and valleys of Nambiti Game Reserve on both our early morning (0500) and evening, game drives. We were served gin and tonics in the evening and coffee with or without amarulla, a tasty cream liquor, in the morning, in wondrous places on our drives. It was an amazing experience, totally awesome. Scott and Richard grew Movember moustaches, but mine didn't work out!

The game reserve was situated within the Battlefields area, where the Anglo-Zulu and Anglo-Boer wars were fought. Here the British invaded the rich and beautiful Zululand and also tried to win the newly discovered gold rich lands from the Afrikaan farmers. You may have heard of the battle at Rourke's Drift from the 1964 film in which the British won against all odds against the Zulu warriors returning from their own victory at the battle of Isandlhwana, which wasn't made into a film! A trip to visit the Seige Museum at a town called Ladysmith extended our knowledge of the Anglo-Boer wars, which was very humbling and educational.

Here we learnt about the Anglo Boer war and visited the graveyard at Elandslaagte which was very close to the park. The history was fascinating, more so because of photographs and first hand accounts of when the Boers held the British besieged for 118 days in 1899. We saw shells and other equipment used by both sides, but eventually, the British were rescued, not before they had eaten the horses!

The Cape was a staging post for British ships heading to India and the East, but as soon as gold and diamonds were discovered a war broke out against the Boers to try to claim the mineral rich areas. The Boers engaged in guerrilla warfare against the dated British fighting strategy.

Finally, we headed to a peak called Giants Castle in the magnificent Drakensburg mountain range.

Our journey was interesting, firstly, we were very excited every time a giraffe or zebra or rhino were visible over the fences along the side of the road, its not a common sight in the UK as you drive down the A470! Secondly, we didn't recognise the distances involved on our road trip or the lack of roads compared to our experience, so we ended up on an interesting road which turned into miles of dirt and gravel track. Our hire car was a small Suzuki with regular tyres, so I drove for a couple of hours in second gear swerving around potholes and praying we would get to a real road as we literally miles from anywhere. We were pleased to emerge into a rich and fertile valley where the local people farmed, but by now we were low on fuel and as there were no garages nearby, so we had to coast down the hills until we found a a fuel station just in time!

There were Baboons and Kudu wondering about outside our cottage when we set off to visit the site of Rock art painted by the San people. Peace loving , cattle herders they were chased into the hills firstly by other African tribes and finally further North by the British where they continue their peaceful existence in Botswana and the Kalahari desert. The hour trek up to the caves was astonishingly beautiful. We walked through vegetation that was verdant and lush, the grass was full of wild flowers, streams chuckled over stones, and the cacophony made by the tree crickets was tremendous.

Best of all we had a break from mending the boat, though I organised the sails to be reviewed and repaired and Richard watched the weather window ready to head south towards the cape. Back in Durban we enjoyed the hospitality of the two yacht clubs, did a bus tour around the city and walked along the promenade. We saw wealthier areas of the city and shocking poverty in the side streets.

On 26th November we sailed out of Durban and rode the Agulhas current south to Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth P.E.), covering 400 miles in 48 hours. We were sailing at 6 knots but moving 10-11 knots over the ground, it was like taking the moving walkway at an airport. Arriving into the busy harbour early morning along with the fishing fleet who were coming into to unload their night’ catch, we were greeted by a couple of our yachties friends who helped take the lines. Contrary to what we were told, the Nelson Mandela marina was open, facilities were available and the new management welcomed us well. The only down side being the manganese ore dust which left a film of dust throughout the boat during our stay.

Once again we hired a car to explore the Eastern Cape. Our first stop was Storm Rivière an attractive holiday town. We drove into Tsitsikamma Park where we enjoyed lunch at a beachside venue before we tackled trekking along the wild coastal path and crossing three suspension bridges.

That night our accommodation was at Andolome Forest lodge which was charming, set in the woods with roses, agapanthus, and many other temperate flowers in the garden, we definitely were engulfed in greenery but there were fences to keep the baboons out! Following breakfast we flew through the forest canopy on zip wires with much squealing and delight. It was definitely a different way to immerse ourselves in the forest and so beautiful to see and engage in the flora and fauna from the canopy height, not ground level. A brief stop in the 60's museum led to refreshments at a micro brewery, what a charming town this is! A more sedate three hour road trip inland helped to steady our heart rates and we drove through vast areas of commercial apple orchards,

before arriving at the Afrikaan colonial town of Uniondale where we made sure to fuel up.

Our destination was a further hour away in a small town called De Rust where we visited the Doornkraal Padstal shop for wine tasting and bought some treats.

The biggest treat was when we arrived at our wonderful accommodation, the Tuinhuis an annexe of the main house on a working farm called Doornkraal, which means thorn fence from times when they grew spikey hedges to keep lions and leopards out.

Here we were greeted by Julia and made very welcome by her sister Celia and their father and patriarch, Swepie! Swepie has famed there for 60 years, grows his own vegetables, makes wine, vinegar and delicious olives. The main house was built in 1914 by Swepie’s grandfather and the farm has changed its produce as the market changed, from ostrich feathers and tobacco, to olives and now a mix of vines, pomegranate and almonds. Most produce is made on the farm, so we were absolutely delighted with the fabulous vegetarian Braai (BBQ) that Julia supplied for us with dips and sauces. Delicious after a cool dip in the pool.

It was such a wonderful experience that we couldn’t leave after only one night so we stayed on relaxing in the quiet environment, eating the wonderful fresh produce and also visiting a spectacular waterfall in the Swartberg mountain range about 15 minutes away. Here we swam in the refreshing pools at the base of the Meiringspoort waterfalls.

There is a drought in this area at present, so the falls weren’t full but the whole experience awe inspiring as we drove through rugged, soaring mountains, crossed canyons and threaded our way through an incredible pass winding haphazardly over streams and gullies.

Swepie bought us a bottle of his wine for sundowners and shared a glass while he told us about his farm and family history. The following day Scott and I explored the land on a guided horse ride and learnt even more about the area. Richard, meanwhile, had a tough engagement with a chaise longue and his book!

Arriving back in Port Elizabeth we found the boat and all the ropes covered in a fine black grime of manganese ore, it was time to depart from P. E. so we settled up and left on Sunday morning, 5th December. Rounding Cape Recife at the Eastern edge of the south coast we were surprised to encounter, unforecast, head winds and we had a bumpy uncomfortable trip up wind and under motor to our next destination, Knysna (silent K, y=eye). We were now at 34 degrees south and as far from the equator as we have been in seven months. It felt cold to me so I dug out socks, long trousers and a big sailing jackets, though not cold enough to feel remotely Christmassy! Sea lions and skuas as well as Cape Gannets and Cormorants kept us company and entertained us in daylight hours, but we were thankful to enter the lagoon into a calm area of water 27 hours later. The entrance into Knysna is through a narrow rocky channel and has to be timed when the tide is slack. At least some of the black dust had been washed off by the waves! We tied up by the yacht club in another beautiful place where we will stay for a few days for chores and chilling. The cost of everything here is relatively cheap, so we have enjoyed experiencing a range of thrills and spills, but we need to reign in our expenditure ready for Laura's arrival in Cape Town and Christmas!