1-3/03

So we have entered March and all too soon our time will be over in this fantastic continent. Today we haven't driven as far as yesterday, but it has been just as rewarding. The mountains are changing colour as we move past. The odd oryx suddenly appears and dissapears again just as quickly. Again we feel we are the only vehicle on the road. We got to Hamerstien Lodge where we will camp for the night. A friendly oryx wonders round the camp, and five springbuck graze right next to us. They even walk amongst the guests at the pool. Yes, this is Africa.

Sometime it's difficult to find shade

 

Still very hot, but the evenings are cooler now - thank god! Drove down to Auob Lodge. Fueled up in Marienthal on the way and did some shopping in Spar. The supermarkets have certainly improved over the years. You can more or less buy anything and use your credit card to pay with.

The campingsite at the lodge is on the other side of the road. Maybe 10 cars use the road during the day. From our site we can see guinea fowl, springbuck and kudu. We are going to stay here a couple of days. I am going in the pool tomorrow. This evening we had oryx steaks in the lodges restaurant mmmm. The wi-fi is good in the lodge, so we read mails, updated what you are reading and so on.

 

Fantastic campsite. Today we have seen copper springbuck, which are quite rare, kudu, impala, lots of guinea fowl, bushbuck and letche. There isn't a lot of water around and Peter the manager of the lodge told us that lots of springbuck had died as a result. During the day we thought there was quite a strong smell drifting over the camp. It turned out to be a dead letche, that had been rotting out there for a while. Karen told them and immeadiatly men were sent out to bury it. It was a nice stay here at the campsite, but tomorrow we have to press on towards the Transfrontier Park.

 

Just a few meters from us at the camp

4-10/03 Transfrontier park (Botswana/South Africa

Drove down to Mata Mata which is where you can get into the park. We leave Namibia now and cross the border. The park is both in South Africa and Botswana, so you in theory are crossing from one country to another as you game drive in the park. We drove through the park in a south easterly direction towards Three Rivers campingsite where we would camp. The site wasn't much to write home about. Lots of noise, not from the game, but noisy Germans.

We saw a lot of interesting game during our two game drives. A cheetah, 9 lions (two male three female and 4 cubs) and 5 cheetahs enjoying life under a tree. Wildebeast, oryx, springbuck and hartebeast completed the viewing. We stayed in the park for two days. This is compulsary if you want to leave the park at the Three Rivers exit. This is to prevent people using the park as a short cut to South Africa. Had breakfast at the restaurant and then on the road to Augrabies waterfall. In the restaurant we met Linda and Laurance her guide. Linda was handicapped and Luarance was looking after her. They were also going to the waterfall. Linda is from Manchester, so she prommissed us a cuppa at the campsite in the evening.

 

Hello

The falls were still impressive even though there wasn't much water compared to what there can be. The orange river feeds the falls and the river originates in Lesotho. As soon as there is a good amount of rain in the mountains, the river rises very quickly. We did an afternoon drive in a thunder storm. Did not see much game, but the natural beauty of the park was outstamding.

Park at Augrabies falls

 

We walked over to Linda and Lawrances challet and got our cup of tea and a bit more. We had an enjoyable evening together.

Next day we were off towards Kimberely. Drove over 500 kms before we found a place to stay. No campsites, so we booked in at the Kalahari Lodge. We definitely didn't want to stay at The Hole campingsite. There was no security what so ever and any one who wanted to come in - could! At the lodge we gave 1100 rand for a nice room, plus evening meal and drinks and breakfast. This is about 600 Danish crowns.

Next day we drove down through Bloemfontein, Ladybrand and on towards Ficksburg. We again had trouble finding a place to stay and eventually ended up at Muelstroom Resort campingsite, close to Ficksburg. Managed to get the Aha organised before the storm hit us. We can see the mountains of Lesotho, because we are traversing her border. We have decided not to visit Lesotho this time round. We have been there four times since 2010.
   
We are driving towards Sabie which is south east from us. We have been driving through mountains for the last two days, so there have been lots of photos and coffee breaks on the way. We got to Drakensville Resort, where they have a nice campsite, with a fantastic view of the mountains from our site. We decided we needed two days here. They have wi-fi, but it doesn't work, so our homepage won't be updated here. Fantastic sunset tonight - wow. You never get fed up uf looking at them at all - not us anyway.  
   
11-17/03

Still moving through some of the most fantastic countryside I have seen. We called in at Forever Resort Campsite and spent one night there and took advantage of the warm thermal pools they have. Arrived at Sabie River Camp the next day and Desmond our friend was waiting for us. His father owns the site. We cooked the evening meals together and talked until late. We went out to Bridal Falls to see the waterfall and Karen and Desmond climbed up behind the falls. Not for me, it was too high. We went with Desmond to his local golf course and managed 9 holes. Nice course - rubbish golf!!! Tonight we are having Pjorke, which is a local stew. Desmond will do the honours. One of Desmonds biker friends came to eat with us and he brought a starter and dessert- mmmm.

Karen and Desmond high up behind the falls

 
  We started the evening meal a bit late and didn't get to eat before about 11.00 pm. The stew was great and a girl staying at the camp joined us later and played the guitar and sang for us. Before we knew it, it was 2.00 am. A great evening!

We left the next day, on our way to Olga at Mfubu Lodge. Drove up through "Gods Window" and it really is well named. It is like looking down from above. We drove into Berlin Falls on the way. We arrived at Mfubu and Olga was waiting to say hello. We stayed in the Stone Cottage, but we will move to a tent later. We will both do some jobs while we are here. One evening the elephants were waiting for us when we got back to the cottage, after we had dined. There were three and they were only meters from the cottage. This is what a Africa is all about. The weather is warm again after a cold spell at Sabie. We are only 300 meters above sea level at Mfubu, so that probably explains it.

   
One day the elephants were in amongst us, and we had to take alternative routes to and fro to avoid them, because they weren't about to move. Karen was employed up in the Gallery and I was working with Enoch, one of the guys working at the Lodge. Lots of interesting jobs to get involved in. Her dish washer has been invaded by mice, so I will have to see if I can repair the damage they have chewed away. A wooden bridge was next on the list. It leads to the swimming pool, but a lot of the wood is rotten. We did what we could to shore it up until an overhaul of the bridge can be done at a later date. The weather still very hot here, but we love being here at Mfubu lodge. You never really know which game you are going to see and how close it will be. Exciting stuff!!!

After nearly a week, we had to take our leave, because unfortunately we have to catch a flight home. Thanks Olga for a fantastic stay at your great lodge. It's always hard to say goodbye, but we will meet again. We called in to see Kobus and Hester on the way. We had been invited to Hesters birthday on the Saturday, the day before we fly home. Great to see them again. They have a lovely house about 2 hours drive from Joburg. 

 

Olga and the bridge

   

We dropped the vehicle off at Zebra and had to argue a bit to get some compensation for all the problems with the vehicles. Next time we hire in Africa, we use one of the more well known companies when we hire, not amatuers who think a vehicle is alright if it looks clean!

Bye Africa - you didn't let us down!

 

Even the elephants are waving goodbye