Blyde River Canyon

Tuesday, 30th November 2010

We all overslept so didnt manage an early walk, but we went out to the Cheetah Rescue Centre.  The rangers take you round on a truck and tell you all about the Cheetahs they have rescued and the breeding programme, as Cheetahs are endangered in the wild.  The Centre also had Royal Cheetahs, a rare mutation, that gives the Cheetahs a larger patterning - the gene is passed on to offspring and they are highly sought after for their skins.

The centre also had rescued wild dogs, caracals and ground hornbills, sable and lions rescued from a Portuguese circus; the male lion had been castrated so its mane did not grow, which meant he could never be released into the wild.

Later, we went to the Reptile Centre which was quite run down, but had a sort of rustic charm about it.  There were local snakes, plus snakes which had been imported and kept as pets until they became too dangerous.  But the scariest tank contained black mambas that had been found too close to human habitation; the stories that abound in the area are dreadful - the 5 year old boy who had a mamba curled up on the botton of his bed - his mother had to call for help while trying to stop the boy from moving as the mamba would have struck!  The black mambas are not like other venomous snakes in that they are intelligent, lively and aggressive.  The green mamba is just as deadly, but is shy and avoids contact.  The black mamba seems to actively seek contact.

We arrived back at the Lodge mid afternoon and caught up on our phone calls and interneting ready for Helena's departure back to England next day.

Then we went for our last walk around the botanical gardens, had another gorgeous meal and prepared ourselves for the next part of our adventure.

Back to the Kruger via Barbeton

Friday, 26th November 2010
It was a short run, via the scenic route over the hills to the old gold mining town of Barberton.  This was a really lovely town with an excellent museum which covered geological aspects of mining, cultural aspects and a section on Percy FitzPatrick, the author of Jock of the Bushveld, who was a transport rider in the area. Jock is a favourite family book and it was so lovely to learn more about the man behind the story.

At lunchtime we travelled the short distance to the Malelane Gate in the Kruger and discovered  that we were not booked in until 27th November!  Fortunately, there was a chalet free at Pretoroskope so we travelled along the Voortrekkers Road to there.  How different the Kruger looked on our return after the recent rains.  The grass was lush and green, flowers popped up everywhere and the Impala had mostly given birth to their young. The accommodation at Pretorskope was basic and Hels had no bed again so back to the floor, but at least we had a roof over our heads.

Saturday 27th November 2010
We awoke early and went out for a short drive.  We didnt see any unusual mammals but the bird life round there was excellent.  We saw a variety of birds of prey but the best was a baby eagle owl by the side of the road, waiting for Mum.

We packed up and drove down to Skukuza to our booked rondeval.  It was red hot and we had the windows open most of the way across.  When we stopped at the petrol station to refuel, Hele and I decided to walk over to the Rondeval.  We saw the vervet monkeys on the way over.  Carole and Hele were cooking breakfast when a commotion broke out from the direction of our car; the monkeys were in the car trashing it, having gained access through an open window.  They took every bit of food out in seconds and were fighting over the hand out.  We had to laugh at them licking the jungle bar wrappers, as they had clearly enjoyed the contents!

It was too hot to go out again so we spent the afternoon and evening resting and catching up on washing!

Sunday 28th November 2010

We went out of the camp at 5am and stopped off at the first culvert to watch a family of hyenas we had seen the night before.  The babies were possibly about 3 weeks old and were so cute!

About 5 km along the road to Pretoroskope, we came across a dead giraffe which had clearly been brought down by the lions.  The lions in Kruger have learnt that if they chase a giraffe over the tarmac road, the giraffe slips and then they can kill in easily.  There were 4 lions resting up nearby, in a terrible mess, from the kill.  We all envisage lions as we see them in zoos, but these guys were covered in blood and gore; it was not a great sight.

Just before Pretoroskope, there was a loop road road a copje and were amazed to see a lion on the road, panting in the hot temperatures - it was about 38 degrees.   Pete leaned out of the car window to get better shots, so he was about 3 feet away from the lion; when the lion moved his head, Pete shot inside the car so quickly!

We had breakfast at Pretoroskope and then chilled out in the Pool for a couple of hours - the pool there is glorious as it is chiselled out of natural rock and has a manmade stream leading from a small pool into the larger pool.

Around this area there is a tree that smells of earwax - unfortunately it is everywhere, especially in the camp!

In the evening, we booked on a game drive.  It was late going out because a tour party had not turned up.  Eventually a student took us out on his own.  He used his radio and said he had something very special to show us.  He took us straight along the main road to the lion kill and talked as though it had only just happened!  We did see more lions as there were other family members on the road that we did not see in the morning.  He also took us to see the hyenas which we had seen in the morning, then took us back to camp early. There was a small puff adder on the road though.

We were really disappointed so decided, quite rarely for us, to go to the bar for a drink.  As we walked over we saw two bushbabies very closely that had just come out of the thatched roof.  It was such a surprise and so pleasing to see.  If we hadnt gone on the awful game drive, we wouldn't have seen the bushbabies.

Thursday, 29th November 2010
After a late start and a late breakfast, we watched the vervet monkeys for the last time and the mongeese raiding the rubbish bags, and set off for Blyde River canyon, via Satara and Orpen Gate.

 
The heavens opened and the much needed rain poured down.  The Kruger seemed empty as most people had stayed at camp, and yet there was so much to see.  We spotted the Ground Hornbills again, one of which was carrying a dead frog to trade with other Hornbills.

The rains brought the frogs out on the flooded plains and the noise of their croaking was deafening.  We also saw herds of buffalo, far larger than we had seen before.

We arrived late at our beloved Blyde River Canyon Lodge to find that we had been put in the gorgeous Cottage.  Helena found a large frog in her toilet!  After a lovely meal we had a relatively early night.

Drakensberg to Ladysmith and on to Carolina

Wednesday, 24th November 2010
The storm had devasted the countryside - telegraph poles lay on the ground, signs and fences were down and the locals were out chasing the cattle back to where they belonged. The Drakensburg mountains were shrouded in thick cloud but we decided to visit anyway.  The area is great for walking but we only managed a short walk to the Cascades as it was still drizzling.  We also visited the San paintings with a guide, walking for half an hour up a hill to a cliff face.  Unfortunately, there was no view!  The paintings were quite good but of the same style as the Australian Aboriginals and the American Anastazi Indians, which makes one realise that man has developed across continents in the same way, although not necessarily on the same timeline.

We decided not to stay in the Drakensberg as there seemed little point so we headed down to Ladysmith and were fortunate to find accommodation at Bullers Lodge.  Named after General Buller a major player for the British in the Anglo-Boer war, the Lodge had collected memorabilia from the battlefields and the town.  We sat in the little museum, at a rough wooden table, with kerosene lamps and ate our takeaway Nando's - it was all slightly surreal.

Thursday, 25th November 2009
We visited the Ladysmith Siege Museum to find out more the 118 day siege of Ladysmith.  The British forces were holed up here, surrounded by the Boers.  The Boers had a gun called long Tom on the hillside and fired cannon balls into the town. Although Long Tom was the first long range gun, it was woefully inaccute and the shells, more often than not, didnt explode and buried themselves in the ground.  There are wonderfully humourous accounts from the British, of how they carried on playing football, ducking the shells as they flew overhead, or carrying on playing cards when a shell hit the ground beside them and covered them in sand.

We also visited the Cultural Museum and learned more about the Ladysmith Black Mambaso Group who won every competition they entered - the prize was usually a goat!

On the way up to Carolina we stopped at an Anglo-Boer battle site to stretch our legs.  The guide in charge was quite scary - a white Afrikkaner who had clearly not seen anyone for a long time.  We declined the offer to climb the mountain to visit the site as we felt the car might not be there when we got back......!  The museum was damp, dirty and not worth the visit.  The guide grumbled that he had to keep the toilets clean for visitors as part of his duties - we thought they had not been cleaned since 1983!

With extreme haste, we left the site and journeyed up to Carolina, staying overnight at a B&B. The lads who booked us in were keen rugby fans and insisted, quite humorously, that South Africa would completely decimate England in the match on Saturday - they made our day!

Battlefields

Sunday 21st November 2010
Time to leave the game parks and take on a bit of history, but we went via the St Lucia Wetlands to show Helena Samango monkeys.  These are rarer than  the vervets but are fun!  We watched them, and stopped them, from stealing food out of a cool box.  There was a family of banded mongoose near the shop with tiny little babies who entertained us, until a very stupid woman decided to try to photograph them at point blank range so that was the end of the show.

So time to do the Battlefields.  We stopped at the Garden Court Hotel in Hampton and treated ourselves to a bath (bliss) and a proper meal.  Helena and Carole tried out the swimming pool but it was filthy so they sat in the fountain instead to cool down.

Monday, 22nd November 2010
From Hampton, we travelled down to Isandlwana, the site of a great military defeat for the British at the hands of the Zulu.  Britain had decided to invade the Zulu territories after breakdown of a treaty to curb their age army.  All boys of age were required to train in the army and were not permitted to marry until they were 30.  Natal was under British protection and the neighbouring zulus were raiding into Natal taking cattle, grain and slaves.  There was also an issue over gold.  Lord Chelmsord was in command but underestimated the power of the Zulus and did not expect them to come into Natal to attack the British army.  The result was the wipeout of the army with only lord Chelmsford and the regiments he had taken out to investigate a decoy of Zulus survived.  White cairns litter the hillside, under which are buried between 2 and 60 bodies of British soldiers.  It is a very sombre place to visit and really hammers home how terrifying it must have been.  We would like to research Lord Chelmsford and find out what happened to him after the event as hindsite perhaps reveals that he made strategic errors such as not reinforcing the camp before he left. Some of the officers survived because they wore blue jackets and the Zulus were instructed not to kill civilians.
The roads around Isandlwana are dreadful and slow to negotiate.  We drove through linear village settlements and saw the women carrying water on their heads from the communal wells.  We stayed the night at a lovely, B&B, called Chez Nous, run, not surprisingly, by a French lady.

Tuesday 23rd November 2010
Back down the bumpy dirt tracks for about 45km to Rourkes Drift. Iwas well worth the discomfort and travel time to visit the site.  The film 'Zulu' was actually very historically accurate, except that the Zulus just gave up and went away - they didnt salute the British as at the end of the film.
The Swedish mission was being used as a store depot for the main body of the British army, based at Isandlwana.  They heard the news from one of the few survivors who escaped from Isandlwana via Fugitives Drift.  4000 zulus descended on the mission which was defended by 105 soldiers with 35 wounded in the hospital.  The engineer in charge ordered baracades of mealie bags to be erected immediately with an inner defence of biscuit tins.  The baracades were not completed when the zulus attacked from an advantageous elevated position at the rear of the building.  Courage, discipline and sheer fortitude on the part of the British (mostly Welsh Guards) who fought for 12 hours, some of it hand to hand, caused the zulus to finally give up.  The story in the museum which is slightly biased states the zulus were tired from a 5 day journey over 100km before the battle so were not at their best.  The British troops had taken stores over difficult terrain, had to build barricades and were outnumbered 40-1 with 35 injured to defend.

Visiting the two sites gave us mixed emotions. Initially, after Isandlwana, we wondered if the British troops should have taken the action they did.  After visiting Rourkes Drift and reading the displays in the Museum, we realized that the power of the Zulus had to be broken for the sake of Africa.

So, back on the bumpy roads, we aimed for the Drakensburgh, but at Bergville a tremendous storm struck.  The rain was torrential and forced us off the road.  Lightning crashed down around us and streams of water rain down the roads.  When it was finally safe to travel, we were too late to journey to the Drakensberg so pulled into a local Caravan Park.  The telephone lines were down, a tree had crashed onto the path narrowly missing the Restaurant roof and everywhere was flooded.  We paddled across to the last chalet free and then paddled back to the bar.  What a fun place it was!  Everyone seemed to be in the bar and we really enjoyed the camarderie, and of course, the cocktails helped!

Imfolozi

Thursday, 18th November 2010
We drove into Reilleys Lodge to see the endangered Roan Antelope breeding programme - Steven Fry recently visited it for his programme 'Last Chance to See'.  They are so majestic that it would be a shame if they could not be preserved.  Then we drove out of Swaziland via the Southern border and travelled to Imfolozi.  It took about 4 hours to complete the journey so we were in a bit of a rush.  The last time we visited Imfolozi in 2006, we had been in the Park about 20 minutes when the Wild Dogs emerged.  Wementioned that we had seen them to reception the following day and they were astonished; no-one had seen them for months.  We did not expect to see them again, but, to our absolute astonishment, half an hour into the park, the Wild dogs appeared and we followed them for almost half an hour, watching their hierarchy and play - it was truly a memorable experience.  How lucky were we!  We had to seriously dash to get to Mpele camp before the gates shut at 6.30pm. We were staying in a tent here - large safari tents with bamboo screened shower and toilets.  The camp is open to the park; there is an electric wire round at about 20 feet high to stop the elephants coming in, but otherwise, anything has access.  A hyena ran through and raided meat sizzling off peoples barbacues and was followed by a warthog.

Friday, 19th November 2010
Pete and Helena went out for an early morning drive and saw a brand new baby impala.  Carole stayed behind for a lie in and to cook breakfast.  Vervet monkeys came in the kitchen and stole the wholemeal bread - they left the white sliced loaf!  We drove to Hilltop to use the internet as we had lost some bits and pieces.  The internet was not working due to a lightning strike on the server during Wednesday's storm.  So, we drove out of the park to the local town and found what was advertised as an 'Internet cafe' - it had internet but no drinks!!  On the way out  we saw a brand new baby giraffe being escorted to the waterhole by its very proud parents.
We cooked a chicken curry for tea, but naughtily, put the chicken wings on the barbecue to set up a photo opportunity with the Hyena.  We waited and waited.  The hyena turned up, snatched the wings and was gone before we could press our camera buttons!

Saturday, 20th November 2010
We went on an organised walk from 5.00am to 8.00am with 2 rangers carrying guns.  The countryside is incredibly unspoilt in Imfolozi as it was King SkakaZulu's hunting ground.  We didnt see too much but enjoyed the freedom to explore on foot rather than in the car.  A herd of Buffalo were really funny, following us at a distance.  Our ranger threw stones at them to disperse them.

After lunch we went out in the car and came across glass on the road.  We were just comtemplating why there was glass there, when a black rhino shot out of the bush and charged us.  Helena backed up very very quickly!  So now we know that we have definately seen 1 black rhino!

Milwane, Swaziland

Tuesday, 16th November 2010
Alas, time to reluctantly leave the Kruger but new adventures awaited us in Swaziland.  It was a red hot day and on the way out we saw a spitting cobra on the road out by Berg en Dahl.  We also saw a Nile Monitor fishing, a Trumpeter Hornbill and a Leopard tortoise.

The border crossing was relatively straightforward except that we had to declare all our camera equipment and the computer.
We stopped off at a large town to get Pete some new glasses as the 3 pairs he brought with him didnt survive the travel.  To the great amusement of hotel staff etc, he had to place his last pair of bashed up glasses with no arms, on the end of his nose to check bookings etc.

The road to Milwane where we were staying was awful - it took us an age to crawl along the dirt track avoiding massive ruts and holes.  But once we arrived, what a lovely surprise!  We had been given a gorgeous rondeval overlooking the plain to the mountains.

  Zebra, Wildebeest, Nyala, Blesboks and Warthogs grazed right outside our door.  We walked over for dinner and were walking back in the dark when security stopped us - a man with a gun had to accompany us in case the hippo were on our path!  We were advised to drive down in future!



Wednesday, 17th November 2010
It rained and rained and rained!  Pete and Helena went out for an early morning walk and Carole joined them later.  The heavents opened again and we were all drenched.  The planned horse riding was out of the question so we all sat in our lovely rondeval, drank wine and read our books.  It was no hardship as it was such a beautiful view even in the wet.

The park had lots of young animals which is always worth seeing and we did manage a short walk before the night drew in.

Crocodile Bridge

Sunday, 14th November 2010
At last, we saw a leopard - it crossed the road in front of us and then disappeared into the undergrowth so skillfully!

We were on our way to Crocodile Bridge Camp for a 2 night stay.  There was a brown paper bag in the fridge with a tin mug and some dry bread in it. We threw it in the bin only to discover that it was the cleaners lunch.  Feeling completely horrible, we gave her some food and money to say sorry.
At Sunset, we went out for an organised drive.  The ranger that took us out was fantastic - he took us down a no entry track and we saw so much almost straight away;- White tailed mongoose, 7 lions out hunting with 3 cubs, 3 porcupine, hyena, jackal, civet drinking at a waterhole, serval and best of all, a lesser bushbaby gymnastically jumping from bush to bush keeping up with the truck.  There was a hippo in a pool which decided to scare us by throwing itself around in the water and growling.  We also spotted a falcon in a tree which may have been the very rare Ayres Hawk Eagle  (we will be sending in the photos for positive identification).

This was singularly the best drive we have ever been on.

Monday, 15th November 2010
We drove from Crocodile Bridge to Skukuza as Carole's nose kept bleeding for no reason - it turned out to be a bacterial infection. A baby elephant held us up on the road as it decided it didn't want us to pass and charged at us each time we tried!  As it was so small it was incredibly funny, although it could still have damaged the car quite substantially.



On the way back, we saw another pride of lions out hunting.  With the rains hitting the park, the animals had started to give birth and it was so lovely to see our first warthog, impala and zebra with young.  We also saw slender mongoose, banded mongoose, yellow kite and 2 battaleurs in a tree.  As the sun set we watched 2 baby elephants wallowing in a mud pool.  The elephants definately were the stars of the day.