Blogs from KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, Africa - page 54

We drove from Eshowe to the Battlefields area, stopping first at The Battle of Blood River. This was the site of a famous battle between the Voortrekkers and the Zulus. The museum suggested the Voortrekkers "miraculous" victory over all the Zulus that bombarded them was intrepreted by some Afrikaans people to be a sign of their destiny to rule South Africa. Hmmm...Well, we had fun playing on the bronze monument of the "laager", a defence formation of cattle wagons (not the amber nectar!) that was key in protecting the small group of Voortrekkers from all the impi which descended upon them. (Please note we are not historians so if our story is a load of rubbish, don't blame us!). Talana Museum In the afternoon we drove on to Dundee and visited the Talana Museum. This was ... read more

St Lucia We left Swaziland for St. Lucia and made sure we stuck to the main roads, although we had a much busier border crossing with big queues. St. Lucia town is a little strip of restaurants, shops and hotels. We checked into our flat and met Debbie the crazy dog lover who works in the Stokkiesdraai office. We opened our apartment to find it could sleep 6 and had a lovely view of the wetlands. Debbie warned us not to venture too far down our garden in the evening, just in case we bumped into any crocs or hippos lurking at the waters edge. Apparently a hippo had been seen wandering around the gardens recently - and these creatures are real killers in Africa. We walked down to the beach, which turned out to be ... read more

It's been a while since I arrived back in the UK now so I really don't have any excuse for not having done this earlier... but I figured I should at least finish the last few blogs from my Africa trip before I head off again ;0) Eshowe is a small town and at first, when I realised I was the only person staying at the backpackers there, I was more than a little tempted to hop back on the Baz Bus and head on up to St Lucia with everyone else. In the end I was glad I stayed (and not just because I got upgraded to the hotel ;0)) - travelling through in the low season I think I was a bit of a novelty in town and so got to spend a great ... read more

Safari in Hluhluwe-Umfolozi park.... read more

I had planned to head directly to Durban from Coffee Bay but most people (tourists and S. Africans alike) advised me to skip it and stay at smaller villages along the coast, so instead I went to the Mantis and Moon hostel in Umzumbe, about an hour and a half south along the coast from Durban. It’s a one-of-a-kind place—you basically feel like you’re in the middle of the jungle. (I originally thought the plants must have been imported since I hadn’t seen tropical plants like that anywhere else in S. Africa, but I was informed that right around that area is where the climate becomes sub-tropical.) There are lantern-lit wooden paths that lead around the property—very romantic! I opted for a double which was basically a little bungalow with a semi-outdoor bathroom attached. It ... read more