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beach berg and bush - Sandra and Matt

Why beach, berg and bush?

After resigning from work, and Matt getting a sabbatical we are shortly off to Africa for a year of exciting experiences, mainly spent on the beach, up mountains (berg) and exploring the bush.

After saving for so long for a wedding it seemed ridiculous to spend a huge amount of money on one night so everyone else can get drunk. So we've decided to use it to broaden our horizions, and hopefully put some of it to better use than beer!!! Although is there a better use?

We leave on Aug 12th for Cape Town (Staying at the flat in Simonstown) where we'll be for 5 weeks before travelling to Ulovane in the Eastern Cape to undertake wildlife conservation work and hopeful pass a field guide course, starting on Sept 22nd and finishing on Dec 12th.

After that we plan on travelling through Lestho, Swaziland, Mozambique, Malawi (to help in orpahanges), Zambia, Zimbabwe (maybe), back to South Africa, Mauritius, Botswana, Nambia, then back to South Africa for Aug 09 - If the money lasts that long!!!!

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Last Login: March 26th 2009

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by beach berg and bush, order by Date newest first.

By beach berg and bush
March 14th 2009

Week 24 - 32 Catching up - Mozambique - Kruger - Eastern Cape Africa » South Africa » Eastern Cape » Grahamstown

African fish eagle

Its been a while so no doubt an update is well overdue, the last 6 weeks have been hectic, studying for our Level 2 FAGSA exams and sorting out the next 6 months but more of that later…..The last instalment left us in Mozambique, after leaving Tofo we moved on to Limpopo Transfrontier Park (which boarders Kruger NP) once again its rugged going and a 4x4 is definitely needed. The Park has suffered the same fate of most Moz parks, poaching encroachment and settlement in the park itself. But there is definitely a difference you can see the hand of SAN [View Full Entry]

By beach berg and bush
February 12th 2009

Week 22/23 - Maputo to Tofo (via Xai-Xai) Africa » Mozambique » Southern » Inhambane

Maputo traffic

It was great to leave Maputo in a car that worked again, I was spo happy that on the way out of town I made the mistake of smiling at a policewoman in the back of a truck which pulled up next to us. Lesson number 3 of African travel - never smile at the police! We were summarily pulled over and the conversation covered the following points: • Driving without shoes is illegal in Mozambique - I pointed out that I had sandals. • Where is my license - always hand over the £5 international driving permit in case of [View Full Entry]

By beach berg and bush
January 15th 2009

Week 21 - Reserva Especial Maputo broke my car!! Africa » Mozambique » Southern » Maputo

Main Road to Maputo

Welcome to Mozambique, as usual my border shirt (the Liverpool one) did the trick by giving me something to bond with customs officers over. Football truly is a universal language. Entry to Mozambique was smooth despite a disorganised border post, the SA side is pretty well laid out, the Mozambique side, well it’s a couple of sheds and lots of people standing about. The only exits from the border post were two sand roads one heading east and one north, no signs, but asking 3 different people identified that Maputo was the main road (that’s the sand road north to you [View Full Entry]

By beach berg and bush
January 13th 2009

Week 20 - Bhanga Nek Africa » South Africa » KwaZulu-Natal » iSimangaliso Wetland Park

The bush shower

Where is Bhanga Nek exactly? Well it’s definitely not a easy place to find. Basically if you head north along the coast towards the Mozambique border there are a series of estuarine lakes, which form part of the Greater St. Lucia Wetlands Park. Bhanga Nek is the spit of land which separates the sea from the lakes. It’s a very out of the way place with access from Manguzi settlement down a series of seriously rough roads which turn into deep sandy tracks. It’s only accessible by 4WD vehicles and you can see why. It takes low range with diff lock [View Full Entry]

By beach berg and bush
January 11th 2009

Week 19 - KZN Christmas Africa » South Africa » KwaZulu-Natal » Durban

Leaving Lesotho we entered South Africa into the Free State, the day paned out into a 12 hour drive - on route we booked ourselves into a backpackers called African Sunsets, its in the Valley of a 1000 hills just outside Durban. Basically, the set up is an old coffee farm where the beans are harvested but then piled up and never processed, according to Derek an old Zimbabwean who also lives on the farm. The set up was pretty strange and it looked as if no one had stayed therefore a while, still we were able to drive our Landy [View Full Entry]

By beach berg and bush
December 23rd 2008

Week 18 - Lesotho - The mountain kingdom Africa » Lesotho » Maseru

Ribaneng
The village where we stayed for the night while we were pony trekking

Leaving Amakhala was difficult, not least because we had to work out how to get everything back into the Land Rover. This task was made more difficult by a serious hangover induced by our final night party. I won’t go into details but Chris fans should definitely get him checked for itches and scratches after he was taken in hand by an older lady. I think the scratches might have been sustained when he ran off through the thicket to escape the said lady. I’m not sure what the opposite of a MILF is, but if it’s in the dictionary then [View Full Entry]

By beach berg and bush
December 21st 2008

Sun sets on our time at Amakhala Africa » South Africa » Eastern Cape » Grahamstown

Sunset

The last week was pretty hectic with mock assessments and getting ready for the final exams. Added to this four of us have started walking as lead rifle approaching dangerous game in order to build up enough approaches (and confidence) to attempt our Viewing Potentially Dangerous Animals on foot assessment. This is part of the Trails Guide and means you are qualified (after the required level of approaches) to lead walks in dangerous game areas. Being at the front, responsible for others’ safety, really focuses the mind. There is nothing like approaching a breeding herd of elephants on f [View Full Entry]

By beach berg and bush
November 17th 2008

Week 13 - Eastern Cape Weather Africa » South Africa » Eastern Cape » Grahamstown

Buttons the wanderer

The Eastern Cape is renowned for weird weather and this week we got it all, a tropical start to the week followed by 4 days of hard rain and cold conditions more like being back in the UK. It was miserable all the animals were hunkered down out of the rain and the problem here is that the set up is not geared for rain. The tent leaks, the sides of our lodge leaked and let’s face it driving around in an open topped vehicle is no fun. Well unless you happen to be driving it in which case trying to [View Full Entry]

By beach berg and bush
November 11th 2008

Week 10, 11 & 12 - Elephants and ‘Bush Goggles’ Africa » South Africa » Eastern Cape » Grahamstown

No, we haven’t been gored, eaten or otherwise destroyed (although Alex and Chris tried the best last Friday night but more of that later). It’s just been sunny, busy and generally hectic. We had a great week with the breeding herd of elephants who charged us twice, once on Monday when we returned from canoeing to find them coming down to drink. Chris bumbled into the matriarch while heading for the little boys bush. Cue mayhem, trumpeting and very scared looking Chris leaping into the Land Rover. Friday night our braii was rudely interrupted by them trumpeting and running past agai [View Full Entry]

By beach berg and bush
October 20th 2008

Week 9 - Cheetah Capture Africa » South Africa » Eastern Cape » Grahamstown

Canoeing on the bushmans river

Friday was possibly the best day yet, we were asked to assist with the darting and capture of Damara and her two cubs. The objective of the exercise was to dart damara and move her into the boma for surgery to replace the transmitter which stopped working a couple of weeks ago and is essential for the monitoring programme undertaken by the conservation centre. The aim was also to take the cubs as well, both adolescent. This would enable measurements and health checks to be done as well as keeping mum and cubs together. It was a precision operation with the [View Full Entry]

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