Blogs from Mthatha, Eastern Cape, South Africa, Africa

Today we checked out of Garden Court hotel in Mthatha, having first done a bit of provisions shopping at the local Spar. From Mthatha we travelled East past where we met Mihlali yesterday to Hluleka nature reserve on the coast. Sandi School is on the way so we called in briefly and then went back as soon as we had dropped our bags. It is a slightly strange sensation to be treated like VIPs and I hope we lived up to it! The staff and pupils were certainly very excited to meet us and we were introduced to all the staff and governors and then treated to some very lively singing and some soft drinks and biscuits all served with some ceremony. This was followed by a tour of the school, which now boasts a computer ... read more

A good night’s sleep was achieved last night following only a couple of hours on the flight the previous night. Last night’s meal was really good: a restaurant with a French name ‘Le Petit Restaurant’, a Swiss theme (Swiss flags, a log cabin feel, windows with Alpine views, etc), run by a chef with a Welsh name and serving South African food with a European twist. We each had one of the restaurant’s speciality game flambé dishes washed down with a glass of Merlot/peach iced tea (you can probably guess which was which). The meal and the service were excellent. Most of today has been spent on the road travelling from East London up to Mthatha. On the way we diverted off the main road to visit Mvezo, which is where in 1918 Nelson Mandela was ... read more

It's one hell of a journey but boy was it all worth it when through the dark I spotted the lonely light of Bulungula Lodge shining like a beacon guiding us across the rolling hills of the Transkei. Having taken most forms of transport known to man, and endured 4hr delays at possibly the worst airport ever, then flown in a tempestuous thunderstorm, the final 100km from Umtata to the coast were a delight. As the road disintegrated further the smile on my face grew bigger as I knew we were getting ever closer to paradise. With each gravity defying roll of the ancient 4x4, with every bounce in and out of the craterous potholes, the rest of the passengers winced and wondered if it was really all worth it, thankfully I knew it was, and ... read more

It's tough to get these entries written in 1-hour internet sessions! I will put some pics of trips to beaches I have taken in a couple days, but I wanted to give a bit of an overview of day-to-day life as a doc here. This is actually my last week in South Africa, before traveling for about three weeks and ending up in Malawi, so I can also reflect and analyse. I imagine this will also be an evolution. The complex I am at is called Bedford Hospital. It is the orthopaedic hospital associated with a large complex in Mthatha called Mthatha General or Nelson Mandela Hospital. Bedford used to be a private missionary hospital, but the site has been taken over by the government. All of the orthopaedics in the region is done at this ... read more

Hello everyone. I guess this is the first official posting after commencement of the journey. I arrived in Mthatha (or Umtata) on Thursday evening after a bit of improvization while traveling. My initial flight out of Chicago Monday morning was delayed and I missed my connection in LA. I took a flight out later that night and arrived in Hong Kong early in the morning, I think it was Wednesday there. After the missed connection, spilling orange juice all over myself during an intercontinental flight, and opening a container of yogurt that proceeded to spray me in the face, not unlike Yosemite Sam looking down the barrel of a shotgun, I was beginning get nervous at all of the poor omens at the start of the trip. But then my luck changed during my layover in ... read more