Lesotho & South Africa

I got in around 11am Saturday morning and had a bath before going straight to bed. I woke up around 8pm and everything felt odd, like I’d been away longer. Still after a brew I decided I better write everything down that is currently in my head. Lots of the stuff I did out there still hasn’t sunk in yet but I think I’ve managed to capture most of the places visited on the journey.

Lesotho

Lesotho is a wonderful country. It is poor and that is visible in the state of the roads and the majority of the structures built. Yet, it is surrounded by some breathtaking scenery, if you like mountains then you will love this country. The Drakensburg is also in Lesotho as well as South Africa (although I never went) so if mountain walking is your hobby, you should pay a visit.

I went to Maseru which is the capital and the place was great. The people were friendly and I did not feel threatened there in the slightest, even when venturing deep into the belly of their central market. Of course you are encouraged to view what is being sold, and will gently nudged into making a purchase, but if you decline no offence is taken. One thing that did stick out in my mind was the amount of barbers that Maseru had, practically every other spot was a makeshift barbers. What I mean by makeshift is a large cargo holder container for the shop with a couple of garden chairs and some clippers hanging from the wall. I was tempted but I’d already given myself a haircut so just looked on and watched as someone was getting their head shaved.

I visited the mountain where the country was formed and the tour guide explained that all the people gathered here to evade their attackers and in fact used the mountain as a means of a platform to forge their own attack on those who tried to climb it. Eventually Moshoeshoe led them down to victory and Lesotho was born. Whilst at the top I saw another mountain which was shaped a bit like a hat I’d seen a Basotho boy wearing earlier in the day, it turned out that the mountain is their national symbol and features on all their car number plates.
















Kruger Park

The concept of Kruger Park was hard to fathom. The idea that there was a national park bigger than the country I live in. It just didn’t make any sense. That was until of course I visited the place. Once through the gates (which reminded me of Jurrassic Park) you are then invited to drive around and look for any animal you can find under the sun. Within a few metres I spotted an impala and thought I’d done well. Turns out there are thousands of these little antelopes. Along the road the shrubbery is quite dense so visibility is thin but every 800 metres or so it clears up and you are rewarded with a glimpse of a beast. We saw black rhino and two friendly giraffes that walked right up to the roadside and began munching on a tall tree whilst every one stopped their cars to take a look.

The early morning safari drive is recommended if you can get up and be at the meeting point, which is at 5am! The reason it is so early is because that is when a lot of the animals come out to play. In fact, within a few minutes of driving a large African elephant with her baby pounded across the road. The elephant stared at the vehicle for a moment before ushering her baby along. We also encountered a pride of lions relaxing on the road which was enthralling to watch even though they were doing nothing. I also caught my first glimpse of the Greater Kudu which freaked me out. I never knew antelopes could grow that big, it was bigger than a horse! There were also a lot of vervet monkeys which scrambled along the roadside looking for food, they also invaded the lodgings and would try to open bins or investigate any rubbish that happened to be left behind. Quite a few hyenas and buffaloes roamed the area as well, the hyenas looked quite devious and their skulking manner made me feel a bit uncomfortable. It looked like they were looking for a weakness in something which they could exploit. Unfortunately the weather was not always good and resembled England quite a bit but that is where the similarities ended.

















Shosholoza meyl train journey

The longest train journey I had ever been on before this one was the London Waterloo to Weymouth I used to take every Christmas. This train journey was to take 19 hours from Johannesburg to Port Elizabeth. The Shosholoza meyl is a long distance train and I was not sure what to expect.

Inside we were given our cabin names and we went in them. It was not like the long rows of seats I was expecting; instead it was one long hard seat per person. That long seat was to be turned into a bed. So 19 hours was spent either within the allocated cabin or along the corridor where the views were amazing, especially during sunset. Every now and then a lady would walk by asking us if we wanted food and would shove a menu that consisted of either burgers or steaks.

It was a surprisingly pleasant journey considering there were not many places to go. The only negative were the train’s brakes. Every time it stopped the brakes would wake me up as they screeched to halt leaving me bleary eyed and forgetting where I was. And do began the Garden Route journey.











Port Elizabeth

This city is known as the ‘windy city’ in South Africa and it lived up to its name. However, the wind was not cold and in fact provided a welcome breeze to the hot weather that had finally come. It is a good looking city but there is not actually that much to do there. There is the Donkin lighthouse which I climbed and stood at the top taking photos of everything below, and it also has some beautiful beaches. This was where most of the two days were spent.

















Addo National Elephant Park

This park is superb, if you like elephants. A guide accompanied us on this trip who was knowledge but had a thick accent I found hard to understand. At first there were no sign of elephants; instead I was shown the flightless dung beetle. In fact, there were road signs stating that the dung beetle had the right of way if it was crossing the road which made me laugh. There were also a lot of tortoises that ambled along minding their own business which I loved watching. They just rocked along at a slow pace not caring about anything else. There were also warthog along some of the roads eating the grass before cars would scare them off.

Finally, an elephant came. A young bull crashed through the trees and stomped its way to a watering hole. It was fantastic to see the largest living land mammal doing its daily routine of sucking up water and squirting it all over itself. .

At another watering hole we saw a large herd of elephants drinking. The buffalos were by the watering hole too but were unable to get to the water because the elephants just kept bumping them out of the way. And these are not small animals, either! One elephant got so close to the vehicle that it looked like it was going to sit on us, luckily it just fell asleep standing up so we went.
















Jeffreys Bay

Now in a Kia Picanto the first stop on the road was Jeffreys Bay. The Lonely Plant Guide (LPG) describes the place as a surfing hotspot. It is a small place but has a fantastic beach. True to what was written there were many surfers in the sea trying their luck against the waves. Well, apart from surfing though, there isn’t that much to do apart from go to the beach and try to spot a whale.

After about fifteen minutes I’d given up trying to look for a one, I thought it nothing more than a myth, even though the informative poster about how to spot Southern Right whales made it sound like they were here all the time. I couldn’t see one and in the end decided to get some food instead.

















Storms River Part 1

Storms River is another National Park which is gorgeous woodland by the sea. I do not know the name of the trees but they are tall and picturesque. There were many activities to do here like black water tubing and zip wiring amongst the tall trees which was great to do. There is also various trails to go hiking where you can see some of the wildlife (I never saw any though). It was strange but when surrounded by the trees it does feel like a completely different country and not actually South Africa, perhaps Sherwood Forest or something. It just didn’t seem South African but that is only because I did not associate woodland, streams and mud with this place.

Unfortunately the weather got bad at this point and the visit to Storms River mouth was a bit of a flop because nothing could be seen amongst the grey and rain. What was supposed to be there is a suspension bridge which overlooks where the river and the sea meet.
















Plettenburg Bay

Now, according to the map this was a place where Southern Right Whales could be seen. From the beach I spent a good hour looking and thought I saw something which actually turned out to be a wave just crashing. I wasn’t impressed.

The bay is very beautiful, more so than Jeffreys and also has a better vibe with more things happening. I do not know if this has something to do with the size of the place or because there is better access to marine wildlife. It is recommended to go on a whale watching tour because one thing you will see up close are the Southern Right Whales. I have often wondered in my head how big whales are. Although I have seen a skeleton of a Blue Whale in the Natural History museum it cannot prepare you to see this huge mammal swim past. The barnacles that are scattered all over its body or the way the seagulls land on it and peck away at the dead skin. It is all a bit surreal, well it was for me anyway. There were seven whales that swam by the boat in the end, they raised their heads in the ‘spying’ position, flipped there large tales and another one in the vista even breached.

As an added bonus we also saw a pod of humpback dolphins weaving amongst the waves and past the boat.
















Storms River Part 2

As the weather had made a turn for the better we headed backwards to Storms River Mouth.

I thought the suspension bridge would be a lot higher and also a lot more treacherous, the kind that would be found in an Indiana Jones movie. Instead it was clean, safe and felt durable with no risk of tipping over. The view was lovely however and although I saw no difference between the river water and the sea, the scenery made it a trip worth visiting and the 20 minute hike to get there.

At Storms River Mouth there is also a hike called the Waterfall trail which is a 3km walk there and back to a waterfall which was quite an enticing reason to go and investigate. The trail was great fun although a bit slippery, basically it is along the shoreline but the muddy path is amongst the trees so it’s like walking on wet wood. Yes, I fell a couple of times but was able to scramble to safety before being pulled away into sea. It took 55 minutes to get there and the waterfall was the second one I had seen on my journey so wasn’t completely in awe over it. I was more pleased that I’d managed to get there without falling over. In retrospect wearing trainers is not advisable on hikes. The guides do tell you this so it is worth listening to them because I didn’t and although it added a bit more spice to the walk, it could have easily ended in tears.

















Oudtshoorn

If I was to describe this town it would be ‘Ostrichland’. As you enter, whilst in it and as you drive out you are surrounded by Ostriches. They were everywhere. The town itself was about 55km in mainland and is hot. It reminded me a bit of a Wild West town, the dusty roads, low buildings that resembled saloon bars. All it needed was the tumbleweed but had Ostriches instead.

Oudtshoorn is also home of the Cango Caves. I had never heard of these caves until I read a bit about them in the LPG. Apparently they are world famous. The caves themselves are very interesting to look at. They are different sizes and various textures which help define the ages of certain parts of the caves. Unfortunately, the guide was rather commercial and felt it would be more interesting to focus the explanation on how famous they are and how lucky we all were to see them. It was good to see them but I wish I could just be allowed to have a look myself, but I am aware how impractical and unsafe that would be. Saying that though, there was another tour which was to go right through into the smallest rooms of the caves that required the participant to actually do some caving, I didn’t bother.

Also in Oudtshoorn is the Cango wildlife sanctuary. This was a good place to get a sight of the elusive cheetah (I’d tried really hard in Kruger but to no avail). I did get to see the cheetah and even interact with some small cubs; one of them even regurgitated their raw meat lunch by my foot (nice). I also saw the Marabou Stork in the flesh which I’d always wanted to. Not because they are beautiful or majestic, they are none of these. In fact, they eat what the vultures don’t from a carcass and have habits that I won’t divulge here. I wanted to see one because of the book, Marabou Storks, by Irvine Welsh. It is one of my favourite books.





















Mossell Bay

The place of residence in Mossell Bay was a converted train by the beach front. The view was great but it was rather cramped. Mossell Bay surpassed even Plettenburg Bay for its beauty, the sand was clean and the sea was a nice aqua colour but extremely choppy. The time here was spent on the beach and resting after driving around for so long. In Mossell Bay you have an opportunity to go Great White Shark cage diving. Now, I must admit I was intrigued but ultimately I knew I was too scared to go through with it. A supreme efficient killing machine was something I wanted to see but at the same time didn’t want to submerge myself in ice cold water whilst a leg of lamb (or some other meat) is floating on the water looking to attract these beats.

Instead, as an alternative, there is a trip to Seal Island where you hop on a rather rocky boat to a seal colony. There were hundreds of them on this island no bigger than 100 metre sq. I was kind of hoping that I would see a Great White in action as they feast on these little creatures, but I did not. Instead the boat slowly circled the island whilst the seals hopped on and off the rocks into the sea, it kind of felt like I was watching a wildlife documentary but without the commentary.


















Swellendam

In hindsight I wished we just drove through this town and carried on to Cape Town and had the extra day there. However, I am not sure I feel like this because it was here I caught a cold and got ill or that the town is just boring.

The town is back into mainland and about 200 – 300 km from Cape Town. It is very picturesque. Everything is neat, tidy and clean. It was almost perfect like a Laura Ashely showroom. In fact I thought the designers had been allowed to design the place. I was scared to touch anything in case I’d soil their lovely decorative pathways, trees and shops.

Apart from admiring just how neat and tidy it is, there is not much else to do. There is a national park down the road but I’d already seen my fill of animals. Instead I got a headache which eventually blossomed into a nice spring cold.



Kaapstad

The LPG describes Cape Town as one of the most beautiful cities in the world. I agree. When driving towards it I was not expecting much, partly because I didn’t want to raise my hopes and partly because I wasn’t feeling that good. However, driving down from the mountains I saw the sun gleaming on the silhouette of a city which was in front of the sea, I knew this place was going to be good.

The city is overshadowed by Table Mountain and has the ocean in front of it (not sure if it the Atlantic or Indian). At no point did we feel threatened or unsafe, people were friendly and all were looking forward to the World Cup.

It was here that I experienced a township, it was half a day in the Langa township. Here I saw the poverty which is still evident in South Africa and began to place the effects of the Apartheid into a perspective I could understand. The hostels that were built had been the home of five to six men in each room which eventually swelled to five to six families per room once they brought them to the city. As there was no room they built little homes from wood that were outside the hostels for themselves and that was where they would spend most of the day time, only returning to the hostel to sleep, at night. These hostels are still there and there are still three or four families sharing each room but the townships are advancing. Decent homes have now been built and inhabited as well as some sort of road infrastructure which is good to see.

But as Thambis our guide pointed out, there is a lot of counter productivity happening here. AIDS is rife in the townships, and he described a typical manner in how it spreads. Unfortunately it is the men who are spreading it by visiting the drinking shacks and indulging in copulation with an infected partner. They then return to their homes and infect their wives. It is a horrible reality but people like Thambis are trying to educate the young about the needs of contraception and what AIDS is about because it is still very much taboo in SA.

Cape Town is also home to Robben Island which I managed to visit. Although now quite a commercial tourist attraction it still has echoes of the dark past where Mandela was kept. It was an interesting experience because we got to learn about how the political prisoner was considered the most dangerous and therefore had to be kept apart from the rest. How Nelson and other educated prisoners would teach other inmates academic subjects which eventually spread to teaching the young prison officers. Many would come to Mandela for advice about careers or personal issues. I got to see the cell that Mandela was kept in. It was small, claustrophobic and basic. I cannot work out how he and the others that were kept at this prison actually kept their sanity. It seems it was built to demoralise human spirit.

We also got lost in the building which wasn’t the best thing to do considering it used to be a maximum security prison. Luckily, however, we somehow managed to find the way out!

At the mouth of Cape Town is the Waterfront which is a great place to go. It is rammed with restaurants and bars and is full of vibrancy. I could easily spend a few days just watching the sea whilst supping on a Castle draught lager. Unfortunately, I only had one day left but when the sun is blazing, the breeze is brisk you realise what a wonderful place Cape Town is.

I wish I had more time to explore Cape Point and go up Table Mountain but this has at least given me a thirst to go back, although when I go, I do not know.



















Hermanus

As a quick detour Hermanus was the next place to visit even though we had to go back to Cape Town to catch the train back. Hermanus is a small bay but is by far the most beautiful of them all. The main reason being because it has a small cliff which overlooks the shoreline and that is where all the Southern Right Whales come to feed. There were loads of them coming close to the shoreline and then eventually diving deep and swimming away. There were a few that breached near the shore as well which had everyone in awe because it was so close.

As I looked around it was quite believable that people decided to bring a picnic, some binoculars and then spend the whole day whale watching. The views were really that good. Apart from the whales, Hermanus was very friendly and their craft market has loads of odd bits and bobs that tourist’s, like me, love.

















Train back

The Kia Picanto was dropped off and we boarded the train back to Johannesburg. The journey back was spent mostly sleeping.




Apartheid Museum

I am glad I took the time to visit this place. It is here that I read the story of the Apartheid, its makers and those who fought tooth and nail and some times with their lives to bring the regime down. When you pay your ticket you are given another ticket dependant on your ethnicity. I was the only one who was given the ‘non-white’ and had to enter the museum via a different entrance (albeit it was next to it) than everyone else. The idea was to help put in perspective the divisions that were in place during apartheid. It did make me think ‘geez, if I was living here 30 years ago, my life would have been a nightmare’.

I’m not going to babble too much on about the museum. It is definitely a thought provoking place and I’m glad something like this is here for people to remember and learn from. One thing I will take away and look into further is about the story of man called Steve Biko. He was a political activist and as I read about him I just wanted to know more and more about him because I found him and his spirit so galvanising.

Well, that’s about it really. Lesotho and SA are both great places and am thankful for the experiences. It’s now back to reality…