Blogs from Free State, South Africa, Africa - page 3

As you approach the Northern Drakensburg, you feel mesmarised by the dragon mountains covering the horizon. Baboons run wild across the road while african children burn the land while hunting with dogs. The smell of smoke lingers in the air, while you are met with beautiful lakes and misty mountains. At only 3482 metres above sea level, this place truely is a hikers paradise. While in Johannesburg I met a couple of lads that showed me some photos of the dramatic landscapes in the Northern Drakensburg. They warned me hiking in the mountains isnt cheap and getting there is difficult on public transport, but even on a backpackers budget, I knew the challenge was set and it had to be done. The Northern Drakensburg is a remote part of South Africa, close to the country Losoto. ... read more

Dawn and Sam have a very large cattle and sheep farm ( 4500 acres) in the Free State Province (about 4 hrs. S.E. of Joburg). Beautiful countryside with mountains and valleys and 6 ft high green African grass and Bluegum trees everywhere. Very remote area with the nearest town of Harrismith 40 miles away on rough dirt roads. They have 4 dogs, 1 timberwolf who thinks he's a dog , 6 cats , one of them is half African black footed wildcat, African Grey Parrot (named Fred), cattle, several horses, sheep, chickens, rabbits, 6 emus, geese. I may have left some others out .Ha Ha! Sam and Dawn also have several Zulu workers and their families who live on their farm in their own housing. They also have a full time Domestic (maid) named Maria. This ... read more

Shortcut's in Africa. What NOT to do Just thought I'd give a quick account of a great idea we had, when travelling from the Drakensberg mountains south east of Johannesburg, to Rustenburg, north west of Johannesburg. It was a Friday, and to avoid the renowned hectic traffic jams that stop the city everyday, we thought we'd drive along the R24, a national highway that cuts around the city. When we turned off the major highway, there was a sign that said 'Potholes, next 5km'. If you ever see this sign, please take it seriously. There were a couple holes in the road, but nothing too major. Not straight away at least. We stopped and swapped drivers, so I was behind the wheel, and as we cruised along, the road kind of fell away in front of ... read more

South Africa - Drakensberg Monday 15th March Our next stop is the Drakensberg Mountains, the range of mountains running down the eastern side of South Africa and including Lesotho. We stop at the Sungubala permanent campsite for a couple of days of walking in the spectacular scenery of the mountains. Sungubala is in a beautiful location up in the mountains with some good views of the mountains. It is a “permanent” campsite with the tents being the permanent feature with cot beds inside. The site has an electricity generator which comes on at dusk but which is switched off at 10p.m. - there won’t be too many late-night parties here! It’s definitely a place to relax for a couple of days. The World’s Highest/Biggest/Largest/Most Powerful Waterfall??? Our walking takes us to t... read more

So Piet stayed behind in Joburg, doing some visiting before he heads back home to the farm in Calvinia. Nathan, the guy from California, was not quite sure what he wanted to do.. so I said you can just come along with me as I travel for a bit.. with Piet insisting on doing so, we took the train from Joburg to Ladysmith, instead of the regular taxi minibus.. big mistake.. the train was dirty and uncomfortable in many ways... it was a tube full of rats..drunk, sprawled out on the floor in some areas.. I saw more white poverty on that train than I have in all of South Africa.. there was an Afrikaner guy, drunk out of his mind, yelling at people..accusing everyone of trying to take his bag..shouting racist words..and then he decided ... read more