Blogs from Saint Lucia, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, Africa

An enjoyable boat trip with Ash and his family. We were lucky to see a pod of hippos basking in the water. Ash was given special permission to stand on the front platform so we could get a good view. http://www.heygo.com... read more

http://www.heygo.com 8th March - A safari & Estuary walk - iSimangaliso Wetland Park - South Africa iSimangaliso Wetland Park (previously known as the Greater St. Lucia Wetland Park) is situated on the east coast of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, It is South Africa's third-largest protected area with no fewer than 328 000 hectares of pristine natural ecosystems. A considerable part of the park centres on the huge estuary, Lake St Lucia – part of the largest estuarine system in Africa that runs parallel to the coast line with the world’s highest forested sand dunes sandwiched between the estuary and the sea. Today we took a walk with our virtual guide Ash, it was his first tour with Virtualtrips and I’m sure it won’t be the last he gave so much information on what we were seeing, This ... read more

Today we make our way to the wetland park a World Heritage Site in St. Lucia. The longest one-day drive is awaiting us. 608 km from Hazyview to St. Lucia a coastal town on the Indian Ocean, close to the border to Mozambique. Due to Covid the borders to Swaziland are closed. Our original plan to drive through this small, independent country had to be changed. Swaziland, officially called eSwatini covers an area of 17,364 km², it is one of Africa's smallest countries, slightly smaller than the U.S. state of New Jersey. The country is known for its game reserves with diverse wildlife. But also for the highest tuberculosis and HIV rate in the world. Swaziland has a population of 1.4 million people (est. 2015). Autonomy for the Swazis of southern Africa was guaranteed by the ... read more

Meeting the iSangoma Today we got the chance to meet the Zulu iSangoma. The iSangoma is like a spiritual psychic which is in charge of protecting the clan against evil spirits. Bad luck is considered to be the work of evil spirits and the iSangoma gets rid of the spirits through communication with the help of prayer and herbs. It was pretty interesting seeing this aspect of Zulu culture and although I do not believe in fortune tellers it was interesting getting my fortune read by the iSangoma. For a small fee I was allowed to ask 3 questions to the iSangoma. I don't remember the questions I asked but the answers were vague something like I choose my own happiness or destiny. Nevertheless, it was pretty interesting seeing how psychics are able to answer questions ... read more

Constructing Houses For the next two days Renata and I and the rest of group B volunteered in the construction of two houses. One of the sites was for the Gunede Family. Eddie is the father of the house. Currently he and his wife and 3 children live in a one-room house. The second site was for the Jobe Family. Currently on their plot of land there is ten residents living in three one-room houses including one grandmother, her two sons and six children. Cement and Concrete Flooring For the two houses we worked on mixing concrete for the concrete foundation in the two five room houses down the road from one another. Other member of the group worked on laying bricks for the septic tanks. It was an amazing and educational experience. I learned how ... read more