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Published: November 23rd 2011
Pretoria
View from Voortrekker monumentSo we set off on the Baz Bus for the first time and we didn't realise that our first journey would take approx 9 hours in total, first from Cape Town to George then a shuttle bus to our hostel in Outdshoorn (pronounced oates-horn). This second part wasn't too far but took ages as the road was very windey through the Outeniqua mountains, nice views and there had been some rock falls along the way but not on us thankfully.
After a good nights sleep we had a busy day planned. First a visit to the Cango Caves which were formed by acid erosion and have lots of staligmites/nites which are rocky growths from both roof and floor of ceiling, quite unique apparently. Then we went for a tour of an ostrich farm which was hilarious as they had some poor girl attempt to ride one but she fell off as soon as the ostrich bolted once the farmers had removed its blindfold. Andrew had 3 ostriches feeding over his shoulders which was a bit strange and we also stood on ostrich eggs (they can take about 200kg before cracking and each one can make an omlette to feed 28
people!!). Last part of the day was at a wildlife centre. We saw all sorts of animals from antelope, crocodiles, tigers, lions cheetas and lemurs. Andrew decided to go down into a croc diving cage (clearly sharks were not enough). Fran did the girly thing and played with some baby cheetas. They were only 4 months old and very playful!
We had been in Oudtshoorn 2 nights before we jumped on the bus again to head for Knysna (only about an hours drive) which is famous for its scenery, especially the lagoon which is formed by the water from the Indian Ocean flowing through the 2 beach heads. Unfortunately the weather was pretty overcast while we were there so to be honest we didn't really see what the fuss was about but we had a nice boat ride (no sea sickness this time) to the heads and started looking forward to our next stop which would be Plettenberg Bay which we expected to be a more beachy kind of place.
Once in Platt Bay the weather was a lot better and we could see the beach/sea from our hostel so we headed straight down on our first day.
Maropeng
Us 1 million years ago. can you spot the imposter This was the first time we had our swimming gear on. Someone had been killed by a shark on this beach a month ago so we were slightly dubious about getting in. We went to dip our toes in though, however after that it wasnt the sharks that were the problem but the sub zero temperatures of the Ocean. Although we were now in the Indian Ocean it still wasnt far enough round the coutnry to be warm water. Andrew took a deep breath and ran in Baywatch style. Only to be straight back out with a grimice on his face!
Port Elizabeth was the next stop along. This was only a stop over to sleep before we were back on the bus. Thankfully it was only the 1 night as the room smelled very much like urine or some sort of mould. Nice!!
Next stop along was Chintsa, the first stop along the route they call the Wild Coast, and our accomodation was the most rural yet. We had a little cabin set amongst the forest on the hill looking down on both a river and a beach which met in the middle the next
Down Time
Alot of cards have been played. Full beard present. morning after the heaviest rain we have ever heard!! We headed straight dwon to the beach hoping the water would be warmer than Plett bay....it was a little but the problem here was the wind blowing sand into your face!!! So we thought it best to retreat to the bar where we could still enjoy the view but have a few beers too!!
Later that night the rain mentioned above was so heavy that it started to leek through the roof and Andrew was awoken by water landing on his head! Spent the next hour or so panicing about whether our roof was strong enough to not collapse and placing pans all over the place but fortunately it calmed down a bit after that.
In the morning we went on a horse ride down to and along the beach, this was cut a little short as the horses couldn't cross the joining waters caused by the rain so we had to turn back at which point Frans horse decided it didn't want to obey her anymore and took off down the beach ahead of everyone else. It wouldn't stop to let the others catch up! The horse woman
had to run over and give it a dressing down to get it back in line (naturally Andrew's horse obeyed his stern tones and general air of authority)
We spent the rest of our time here just relaxing and getting told by various people that Durban (our next planned stop) is just a big city like any other but with a much higher chance of getting mugged and nothing worth doing/seeing there. So on the morning of our departure from Chintsa we decided to have a change of plan and head for Port St.Johns which we had heard a few more favourable reports about.
To get there we had to change bus at Mthatha which was the first city/town we had been through that looked 3rd worldish (and a touch scary). We stopped and saw Nelson Mandela's house on the way and the flag was raised which supposedly means he was home, but he didn't have the manners to invite us in for a beer!! Don't know why he's so popular!!!
Arriving in Port St Johns it was clear this was a very small local town with a very African vibe. We were really in the thick
of African culture now.
Our hostel was brilliant. We had a very clean room ( fran much happier with this) with a balcony called Monkey view! The owner explained the name was due to the monkeys swinging by from time to time. He warned us not to have any food on the balcony as this will attract them. We thought he was joking at first until we saw 2 swing past that night while we were eating our tea. The views were spectacular from the balcony and we couldnt belive we were only paying 12 quid each for the night.
Next day we were invited on a hiking tour by the local guide Lulu through the forest close by and up to the waterfall where we woud be able to jump in and swim. He sold it to us as a nice gentle stroll but it turned out to be a full on trek thourgh dense jungle, really should have had a machete to cut through the plants! This was probably the hotest day yet so by the time we reached the waterfall there was no way Andrew wasn't taking the 6m jump into the (pretty murky) water
Port St Johns
Andrew taking the plunge below to cool off, well worth it!
Unfortunately the next 2 days were throwing it down so we just had a couple of lazy days before jumping on the bus to Durban. This was another compulsary stop over like Port Elizabeth which also turned out to be below par hostel so were glad we hadn't stuck to the intended 4 nights before our change of plan!
So the next day we headed 5 hours north to Northern Drakensberg and another remote hostel which had great view of the Drakensberg mountains, we had to cycle 7km to the nearest shop!! Andrew had really been looking forward to this place and hiking through the mountains to the waterfalls. This was meant to be a 3 night stay but turned into 1 night because we were kept up all night by local red necks squueling like wild animals in the hostels bar so we didnt have it in us to set off on the early morning hike. When we brought this to the owners attention she pretty much told us to like it or lump it so we voted with our feet and headed up to Pretoria 2 nights early in
Resident Chicken
One of the many pets at the hostel port st johns protest!
We wouldnt really have wanted so long in Pretoria as there isn't loads to see or do but we rented a car for a couple of days and drove out to some of the more interesting places. The highlight of these was Maropeng which is a museum about evolution and is situated in the Cradle of Humankind approx 1 hour drive west of Pretoria and so called because a lot of significant fossils have been found here which suggests it is where Humans first lived.
So thats the last 2 weeks in a nutshell. Just now waiting to hear what time we get picked up for our Kruger Park camping safari tomorrow. Still struggling to sort photos out but confident we should resolve this in Melbourne in a week or so.
We will try to update this weekly from now on as this has taken ages.
Hope everyone is well
Andrew and Fran xx
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