Away with the fairies

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It's been 3 weeks since my last blog, so this is going to be yet another lengthy article. In that time I've traveled from Cape Town to Durban along the coast, visiting places on the Garden Route and Sunshine coast.



The Garden route, Sunshine coast and Wild coast are all marketing names for the stretch of coast between Cape Town and Durban. The first part of the coast is known as the Garden Route. which is very scenic coastline of indigenous forest, lagoons, dunes and beaches. Other highlights of my trip have to include the Cango Caves in Oudtshorn and the walking trail in the forests around Hogsback. Hogsback claims to be the inspiration for J.R.R. Tolkein's Lord of the Rings'. Tolkein was born in South Africa and is supposed to have visited Hogsback when he was young. The place is South Africa's very own mystical fairytale land.



During the past 3 weeks, I noticed that the world's press has finally woken up to the food crisis in Niger. I mention this in this context because I was in Niger back in April. Whilst I was there I was very aware of the problem. So, why does it take pictures of starving babies on Television for anything to be done about it? Frankly it makes me angry, because there is no reason for it to have happened. It could have been prevented. But then that's true of most food shortages. If you've been reading all my blogs you'll have noticed that I commented on the food shortages in my blogs back in April. The blogs were: Stu's World Tour - we're on the road to nowhere and Stu's World Tour - the amazon female warriors of Dahomey.



So, after all the promises of the Gleneagles G8 summit - still they starve.



What worries me, is that as soon as the pictures are no longer on the TV, people will forget about the problem. It's not just Niger that is facing a crisis. The swarm of locusts that reduced Niger crops, didn't know anything about West Africa's borders. In fact, the whole of the Sahel region is facing a food crisis.

"Niger, Mali, Mauritania and Burkino Faso have been forgotten by the rest of the world and this neglect has led directly to the current crisis. It is appalling that rich governments only remember these countries when they see children there dying of hunger on their TV screens"

Oxfam press release, August 8th 2005 (http://www.oxfam.org.uk/press/releases/wafrica_crisis_080805.htm)

"The humanitarian crisis affecting parts of the Sahelian country this season is as much an issue of the affordability of food as its local availability...what has changed this year is that in some parts of a southern belt...food prices are critically high, while the value of livestock has crashed"

Niger: price of food tips people over the edge, IRIN News. (http://www.irinnews.org)




The point is that the crisis is a market driven famine. There is food in the Sahel, but it is too expensive for much of the population to buy. In fact whilst much of the population in Niger is malnourished traders are exporting food from the country. It's been allowed to go this far because the World Bank, the IMF and the rich countries have imposed ideological dogma on the country. The rich countries insist that the solutions to Niger's problems have to be market driven. In fact Niger is in receipt of Debt relief. But in return, Niger's government has to be financially prudent. That would not include giving out free food. It would distort the free market after all. At least not until the world was shamed by pictures of starving babies.



It's not as if the severity of the crisis hasn't been flagged up for some time.

November 2004
UN appeals for aid. Receives hardly any pledges

FEB 2005
UN starts emergency program for 400,000 people



MAY 2005
UN Appeals for the money again



JUNE 2005
Not a single pledge has been received by the UN!

Frankly it's a catalog of criminal neglect. It's not good enough. I don't expect monsters like Paul Wolfovitch, who's the new boss of the World Bank to give a damn, but we should make it clear to our political masters that they have to change. The promises that were made after the last G8 meeting were as a result of political pressure and Live 8. Don't let the world's politicians forget.



Anyway, back to the events of my road trip along the coast of South Africa in the last 3 weeks. On Friday 22nd I was in Cape Town. I had arrived in Cape Town the previous day from Namibia. On the 21st I had booked into the Ashanti Lodge. The Lonely Planet guide book thinks it's one of the best backpackers in Cape Town. I wasn't impressed. It was very noisy, until very late at night. The noise continued until after 1am in the morning. That is despite notices in the place, that state that no noise should be made after midnight. Hmm...

FRIDAY 22nd

After a noisy night at the Ashanti Lodge I decided I was going to move. So, at 9am I walked to Kloof Street in the Gardens area. I looked at the Saasveld Lodge. It wasn't much more expensive than a private room at the Ashanti Lodge. The advantages of the Saasveld Lodge were - a room with an on-suite toilet, satellite TV, a stunning view of Table mountain from the bedroom and no noise. Often, the backpacker places listed in the Lonely Planet are full of partying 18 year olds on their 'gap' year. Also, they are often no cheaper than many hotels, at least in the tourist low season. I've been in South Africa during the winter, the low season.



So, I booked out of the Ashanti Lodge and moved to the Saasveld Lodge. I took it easy for the rest of the day. I uploaded the photos for the last blog and took a long lunch. In the evening I went out to Alfred's restaurant. I was walking past the restaurant when a woman gave me a voucher - a free bottle of wine for a meal. It was a good meal, only costing me 80 rands, which included a free bottle of wine, worth about 40 Rands.

SATURDAY 23rd

I walked to the waterfront in the morning and tried to write up the blog. I struggled with it, only managing to produce an introduction. These blogs are sometimes hard work. Again I took a long lunch and returned to the Saasveld Lodge. In the evening I went out to the cinema. There was a cinema in the shopping mall opposite the hotel, where I watched Batman Begins. It was a good movie.

SUNDAY 24th

I finally managed to finish the last blog entry. It was hard work. So, I rewarded myself with another long lunch break. In the evening I went to Arnold's restaurant again, but this time they weren't giving out free bottles of wine. The difference was that this time the place was packed.

MONDAY 25th

I decided to stay in Cape Town another day, after checking the bus timetables. I booked myself a place on a bus to Mossel Bay for Tuesday morning. Mossel Bay, is a very pretty town , at the start of the Garden Route. Mossel Bay was given its name by Paulus van Caerden, a Dutch seafarer in 1601. Mussels were the only food he could find in the place! So, I spent the afternoon at the cinema watching War of the Worlds and What the Bleep.

TUESDAY 26th

I set the alarm clock for 5.30, and caught a taxi to the bus station at 6.15am. The bus left for Mossel Bay at 7am. It was a comfortable bus and the roads were good. I arrived at Mossel Bay at about 1.50pm. Although, the bus didn't go into the town, but stopped at a petrol station a few km out of town. So, I walked the few km's into town along the coast. It was a pleasant walk, with great views of the coastline framed by mountains.



Once I got to the centre of town I booked into the Santos Express Train Lodge. This is an old train that is parked right on the beach, and has been converted into budget accommodation. A room to myself, which was an old train carriage was only 110 Rands a night. Then I walked into town, had lunch and asked about the possibilities of Whale watching. I was told to check if anything was running the next morning.

WEDS 27

I got up at 8am for breakfast and then walked into the Diaz Museum. The weather had turned, and the sky was overcast and threatening rain. The Diaz Museum houses a replica of the boat that Barthomew Diaz, used to round the Cape. Diaz, was the first European to sail around the Cape. The replica was used to recreate the journey from Portugal in 1988. To be honest, I was not impressed with the museum. There was even an apology on one of the displays, because it contained information that is wrong!



At 11.40am I checked at the Whale Watching place. They had canceled the trip. Bad weather, and I suspect a lack of potential customers. So, I spent the afternoon in Cafes, first the Pavilion and then at the point, where I watched the surfers. The waiter at the cafe, at the point asked about me, and seemed to find it difficult to understand my lifestyle. He seemed keen to find me a girlfriend!

THURSDAY 28

I spent the morning walking around town and sitting in Cafe's. I had booked myself onto the Baz Bus the previous day at Santos Express. The Baz Bus is a service aimed at backpackers. It runs door to door to backpacker lodges and youth hostels. The Baz Bus was due at Santos
Express at 2.15pm but didn't turn up till 2.30pm. The bus drove to George, where we were transfered onto a shuttle which was going to the Backpackers Paradise in Oudtshoorn. Oudtshoorn is famous for its Ostriches. The feather barons made a fortune from the birds in the past. Being in Oudtshorn I felt I had to order Ostrich for my supper in a local restaurant. So, I did.

FRIDAY 29

Today was a fun packed, activity day. We left the backpackers at 8.30am. On the way to the Cango caves we saw an ostrich in the middle of the road, running away from a pick up truck. We followed this bird for 15 minutes, during which time it nearly hit a passing bus. Finally we managed to get past the bird at which point Moses the driver stopped. We got out of the minibus to try to help capture the bird. At which point, the bird turned around, and ran the other way. So, we got back in the bus and continued on our way to the Cango Caves. The Cango Caves are limestone caves with massive stalagmites and stalactites. We had opted for the adventure tour, which meant crawling through very narrow caves for 1.2km's.



The tour started at 9.30am. There was a large group of people at the start, but after the first 2 massive caves, we split into 2 groups. The large tour group and the 4 of us from the backpackers who were doing the potholing tour. It started with a large number of steps, with roofs that got progressively lower, until we got to the "tunnel of love" where we have to go through sideways. It's called the Tunnel of Love because it hugs you as you go through. Finally we arrive at the chimney. A narrow vertical tunnel three and a half metres high. It barely looks wide enough. It looked a bit scary. So, I hung back. A young couple were the first to go, then Teresa stepped forward. She is a Spanish woman living in London. She didn't like the look of it, when she put her head into the chimney. She said she was worried that her hips were too big to get through the tunnel. In fact, she started to panic a little. She removed herself from the tunnel. I stepped forward. I put my head in the tunnel and stood up. I cleared my mind, the best thing to do seemed to be not to think. I felt for hand and foot hold in the dark and climbed. It wasn't long before I was at the top. The opening at the top was very slippery, so I had to be careful climbing onto a ledge at the top, and then climbing back down into the waiting cave.



Then with a lot of encouragement from the guide, Teresa had another try. Again, her biggest problem was worrying about it. With a lot of coaching from the guide she started to climb towards the light. I climbed back towards the ledge to help her if needed when I heard the conversation between her and the tour guide. Finally she was nearly out of the tunnel. I told her to do the same thing that I did, and head for the ledge to the left. The ledge though was slippery. To the right was a very nasty steep drop, which also wasn't wide enough to get through. She moved herself out of the tunnel but missed the ledge and ended up straddled across the narrow gap to the right of the ledge, with one of her legs dangling in mid air. It must have been very painful - she was doing the splits, and screaming in agony. At this point I had to make sure that I had a secure footing on the slippery cave floor. I lifted her upwards towards the ledge, high enough so that she could scramble onto it. I was worried that she might be injured, but she managed to get down from the ledge into the cave. I suspect she had just stretched some leg muscles well beyond what they were used to. But, she was in some pain for the rest of day.



We still had some way to go, despite the fact that Teresa was now finding it difficult. The next exit was through the 'postbox'. A hole only just big enough to get through. Basically we posted ourself through the hole and slid a couple of metres down into the next cave. That was the last of the difficult tunnels. We then had to walk back up the many steps to the entrance.



Back at the entrance we met Mosses the driver at 11am. He then drove us to the Oudtshoorn Ostrich show farm. The young couple wanted to leave the town on the shuttle in the afternoon. So, Mosses rushed to get them on the 11.30am tour. When we got to the farm the 11.30 tour had just started but he got them onto the tour. Teresa and I though waited for the 11.45 tour. At this point I tried to turn my camera on, only to find it didn't want to work. The shutter over the lens wouldn't open - it looked as if the shutter motor wasn't working. It was a pity because one of the highlights of the tour is the riding of the ostriches. It's not like riding a horse, the birds cannot be trained. Their eyes are bigger than their brains. They put a hood over the birds eyes, put you on the birds back and get you to hang on. When they take the hood off the birds runs! I didn't ride one of the birds. Also, they race the birds, although only with jockeys from the farm.



After that we were picked up by Moses and driven to the Cango Wildlife Ranch. Teresa though didn't want to go, she asked to be taken back to the lodge. I think she needed the rest, her legs still hurt and her clothes were dirty from all the crawling through damp caves. So, I had a tour around the Cango Wildlife Ranch on my own.



The Cango Wildlife Ranch states that it's mission is :

"To promote and fund the conservation of the Cheetah and other endangered species through the captive breeding, behavioural research and public awareness."

They set up the Cheetah Conservation Foundation in 1988 and they are one of the top 5 breeding centres in the world. Their website is www.cango.co.za




After the tour at the Cango Wildlife Ranch I walked the couple of km's back into town. I needed to do something about my camera. There was no way that anyone in Oudtshoorn was going to be able to repair the camera. So, I went shopping. I spent the afternoon looking for a replacement. I decided to get a slightly better model, one which had a greater amount of zoom on it. Although I found a shop that sold camera's I didn't buy. The guy selling it didn't really know anything about what he was selling. There was another shop, but they didn't keep any stock - they just ordered camera's when they got an order. So, I decided not to buy a camera but to try to get a Camera in George. George is the main business centre of the Southern Cape. It has more shops than Oudtshoorn. The novelist Anthony Trollope said of George that it is

"the prettiest village of the face of the earth"

. It's no longer a village, but is still very scenic, situated below the Outeniqua mountains.

SATURDAY 30th

I spent most of the morning sitting around the backpackers talking to Teresa, whilst we waited for the shuttle. The shuttle runs to a pick up point in George for the Baz Bus. I had no intention of catching the Baz Bus, as I was going to stay in George and shop for a new camera. Teresa is Spanish, she know lives and works in England. She's worked in some very rough schools!



The bus transfer finally leaves the Backpackers Paradise at 12.30pm. Mosses says he knows a good place in George and will take me there. There are no backpackers in George, only hotels or guest houses. At 2pm Mosses drops me off at de Jagerhouse Bed and Breakfast. It's very good value for money. 160 Rands for a double room with on suite bathroom. The landlady of the B and B tells me that my best bet for finding a camera is at a shop called Game. She thinks it's open on Sunday but is not sure. After settling in I walk into town, but a lot of the shops have already closed early. A lot of shops close early in South Africa on a Saturday. After walking around town, I go to an internet cafe and book a bus ticket for Monday afternoon. After using the internet, I ask if Game is open on Sunday. The guy in the internet cafe tells me that it is open Sunday.

SUNDAY 31

In the morning I walked to the Game Shopping Mall. Game is a large discount electrical retail chain. I bought myself a new camera, had lunch in the Mall and then walked back to de Jagerhouse. I spent most of the day playing with my new toy.

MONDAY 1st AUGUST

I booked out of the B & B but left my luggage with the landlady, as the bus wasn't due till 2pm. I went for a walk to the Outeriqua Transport Museum, but I took a very long way round through a shabby industrial estate. I arrived at the museum at 10am, it contains a number of steam trains and even a replica train station. The museum is also the place where the Outeniqua Choo-Tjoe steam train leaves from. Unfortunately it's not running at the moment. There is work being done on the railway line. It was a pity because it would have been a very good way to get to Knysna. When the steam train is working it runs from George to Knysna, along very scenic coastline.



I then walked back into town by a much more direct route. I spent some time in a cafe before collecting my luggage from the B&B and walking to the Bus station for 1.30pm, for the 2pm bus. The bus arrived in Knysna at about 4pm. Just up the road from the waterfront I found a very nice mid market hotel that only cost 300 Rand. Once I had settled into the Grey George hotel I arranged a trip to the Featherbed nature reserve for the morning. Knysna is situated on an estuary that looks like a lagoon. The walking tour was at the Western Heads of the Knysna Estuary

TUESDAY 2nd AUGUST

When I got up in the morning it was cold and wet. It rained all day. The Featherbed eco tour started at 10am with a boat ride to the Heads of the estuary where the Featherbed nature reserve is situated. It was a four hour guided trip. A trailer trip to the top, followed by a 2.2km walk back down. Included in the trip was lunch next to the Featherbed landing at the Heads. At lunch I talked with a couple of English women who had been doing work experience in a Cape Town government hospital. After their experiences in the South African medical establishments, they thought the British National Health Service has brilliant.



We got back to Knsyna at 2pm. I didn't do much for the rest of the day, but I did arrange a canoeing trip up the Knsyna river for Wednesday morning and book my bus ticket on the internet for Wednesday afternoon.

WEDS 3rd

I booked out of the hotel at 8.30, leaving my luggage in reception to be picked up later. When the transport arrived, it turned out that the 2 other people on the canoe trip were the 2 women from the Featherbed Trip the day before! We had booked onto the same trip, without knowing it. We traveled up the river in our canoes for 4 km. We were back in town for 1pm I had lunch, collected my luggage and left on the bus at 3pm.



I travelled just an hour down the coast to Plattemburg Bay, which is the Garden Route's major destination. It has a lot of up market restaurants, and some very expensive houses on the seafront. The bus dropped my off at a service station a couple of Km's from the centre of town. I walked down the road towards the town, finding a B & B only half a km from the service station. La Boheme was a very good B & B and only cost 200 Rand a night. From there I walked into town, found the tourist office and arranged a whale watching tour for the next morning. On my return I talked with the friendly landlady Bianca.

THURSDAY 4th

The whale watching tour started at 9.30am. The tour company I used claim that a proportion of the ticket price is donated towards whale conservation. The boat they used was a speed boat that holds up to 12 people. There was a considerable swell for large parts of the journey. One woman sat behind me became seasick and threw up into the sea just behind me. Having said that , I found it an enjoyable 2 hours. We saw a Southern Right Whale, Seals, and dolphins. Unfortunately we couldn't get close enough to the dolphins for it to be worth my while taking photos of them. The dolphins we saw where in an area with a lot of hidden rocks, so the boat didn't dare go any closer. On the other hand we couldn't have got any closer to the Whale or the seals unless they had got into the boat with us! The Whale in fact at one stage dived under the boat and came up again a few metres the other side.



After the whale watching trip I walked down to the beach and took it easy for the rest of the day. I also booked myself a hire care with Budget for 4 days starting at midday on Friday. Bianca, the Landlady of La Boheme Guest house gave me a lift to and from a beach front restaurant in the evening.

FRIDAY 5th

In the morning I left my luggage in the guest house to be picked up later in the day. I wandered around town, and picked up some anti-malarial drugs from a chemist. The drugs I had bought in England have run out. I well need the drugs when I start traveling North. I picked up the car at midday, returned to the guest house to pick up my luggage and left Plattenburg Bay. I drove for about an hour to Tsitsikamma Coastal National Park. I then spent a couple of hours walking an easy walk through the park, although there was a climb to the look out point. The park is a highlight of the Garden Route. If you are organized you can do a 5 days hike along the Otter Trail, but you have to book it months in advance, as it is very popular. So, I just did an easy day hike.



At 4pm I left the park. I drove to Port Elizabeth. Port Elizabeth is in the so-called Sunshine Coast. They get a lot of sun all year round. I didn't arrive in the city until after dark. Once I left the N2 I looked for somewhere to eat, before I looked for a place to stay for the night. Port Elizabeth is a very large city, but it also has very long sandy beaches. After eating supper I drove around looking for somewhere to stay. I stopped at a pace called the Global Lodge, which was only 110 Rands a night, but I decided I wanted something slightly nicer. Despite turning the place down, the guy who had shown me around directed me to the beach front where there are lots of places. It was getting late, so I really did need to find somewhere. Once I got to Kings Beach I followed signs for the Formula One Hotel. The Formula One, is a budget hotel chain, they charge from 180 to 240 Rands a night. Unfortunately they were full. It's the first time, that I've found somewhere completely full in all the time I've been in South Africa. It could have something to do with Tuesday 9th being a public holiday. The 9 of August is National Womens Day and a public holiday in South Africa. A lot of South Africans were taking the Monday off as well. So, for a lot of people it was a long weekend and a chance to visit the beach resorts.



It was nearly 10pm. Directly behind the Formula 1 is an Holiday Inn. So, I walked into the Holiday Inn. They did have a room, although it was 510 Rands (about 43 pounds sterling). I took it because I couldn't be bothered looking for anything else.

SATURDAY 6th AUGUST

I got up late, booked out of the Holiday Inn and drove to a PE shopping mall. (Most people call Port Elizabeth PE). At the Mall I watched a movie - the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. I then left PE and drove to Colchester where I had lunch at 3pm. During lunch the Springbok and All Blacks Rugby game was playing on the TV. South Africa won the match. From Colchester I drove to Port Alfred, arriving at about 6pm. I booked into the Ferrymans Hotel which only cost me 180 Rand. Port Alfred is another resort with sandy beaches.

SUNDAY 7th AUGUST

I left Port Alfred at 9am. I drove through the pretty town of Bathhurst and on to Grahamstown. Where I stopped for lunch. I left Grahamstown at 2pm, arriving in East London at 5pm. East London is a major port and holiday resort. It's also the start of the part of the coast called the Wild Coast. I booked into the Premier Regent Hotel which cost me 286 Rands. I also booked myself a bus ticket to Durban for Tuesday, as I was returning the car on Tuesday morning. The bus to Durban, from East London would leave at 10pm, Tuesday night. Then I drove to a shopping mall in town where I had supper. After supper I watched a movie at the Mall's Cinema - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

MONDAY 8th

I checked out of the hotel at 9am. I went to the tourist office to get a map, so I could find my way to Hogsback. I then left town after eating breakfast in a shopping mall. The drive took longer than I expected. The last part of the journey was on a cinder road that was full of potholes. Not only that, but the road was narrow and winding. Winding it's way around high mountains. So, for the last few km's I had to drive very slowly. Once in Hogsback I booked
myself into a backpackers called "Away with the Fairies" The hostel is at an altitude of 1,200 metres and has a great view from the back garden. From the garden you can see three mountain peaks. Hog 1 (1836 metres), Hog 2 (1824 metres) and Hog 3 (1937 metres). The place claims to have inspired Tolkein. Tolkein was born in South Africa. The walking trails through the rain-forest start right from the hostels back garden. When I arrived at the hostel I had lunch, and then went on a 3 hour walk through the enchanted rain forest. Whilst I was walking the weather turned. The sky became very dark and angry, I thought it was going to rain. As time went on the mist also descended. Luckily it didn't start to rain until I had got back to Hogsback. Before returning to my hostel I visited the High on the Hogs bar which is next door. I had a few beers and had an interesting chat with a South African teacher.



Back at the hostel I sat in the bar before having supper. The meal at Away with the Fairies was probably the best food I've eaten in the country. I was beyond excellent. By this time it was raining very heavily. It rained all night.

TUESDAY 9th

I left Hogsback at 9am. It was still raining cats and dogs. I drove back to East London because I had to return the car. First I booked into the Windsor Cabanas Hotel which cost me 200 Rand. I had booked the hotel for the night even though I wasn't going to stay for the night. I had booked a bus, but the bus didn't leave till 10 at night. So, I thought it was a good idea to pay for a hotel, so that I had a base to crash out during the day and take a shower before the overnight bus ride. Then I returned the car to the airport. Getting back from the airport wasn't so easy. There were no taxi's. I asked at the information desk, and the woman gave me a telephone number for the airport shuttle. I phoned the shuttle. I had to wait half an hour for the shuttle to pick me up.



Back in East London I took it easy for the rest of the day. At 7 in the evening I rang the bus company who told me that the bus was running an hour late. In fact it didn't leave till 11.30pm.

WEDS 10th

It was a long slow journey. The driver had to drive slowly because it was very foggy. So, instead of arriving in Durban at 6.30am, we arrived at 9am. From the bus station I took a taxi to a budget hotel on the seafront. I booked into the Parade Hotel on Marine Parade. It cost me 290 Rand a night. Its, right on Durban's Golden mile, next door to the Holiday Inn. It's a very popular surfing beach, just a short distance from the city centre. I walked around and had a late breakfast at a seafront cafe. After that I did some research on the internet. I needed to leave South Africa soon, as my Visa runs out on the 12th of August. I checked out various ways of getting to Swaziland, deciding that the easiest option would be to use the Baz Bus. So, I booked a place on the Baz Bus for the 12th. I couldn't do the booking on the internet. I had to phone them on my cell phone. The weather didn't improve all day.



In the evening I went out to the Wheel shopping mall to watch the movie 'In my country'.

THURSDAY 11th

I spent the morning uploading the photos for this blog. The weather finally improved. The sun came out. I spent most of the day relaxing.

FRIDAY 12

I booked myself out of the Palace Hotel at 7.15am. The Baz Bus picked me up at 7.40am. It was a long journey to Swaziland. In the bus I chose a place to stay. I phoned them to make a reservation. Not only was it a long journey, but the bus didn't stop long enough anywhere to eat properly. We finally got through the border at about 4pm. We, still though had a couple of hours to go before we would be dropped off.



I didn't finally get to my destination till about 7pm. I booked into the All Ways Backpackers. It only cost 80 Rands a night for a double room.



So, the journey continues...the next blog will be about Swaziland.

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Photos

Santos Express Train Lodge
Mossel Bay

Mossel Bay
Inside the Santos Express Train Lodge

Barthomeu Diaz Centre - Mossel Bay
Replica of the boat Diaz sailed from Portugal to Mossel Bay.

Knysna
Canoe trip on River

Arum Lily and frog
Tsitsikamma National Park

Hogsback
Logging pit - 1895

Hogsback
Away with the fairies backpackers

Durban
View from the Hotel Parade

Comments

[Caroline Dow]

FeatherBed Girls!
Hi Stuart! It's Caroline the "scottish" girl you met on the Featherbed and canoe trip! I'm just back from my trip in South Africa so thought I'd check out your web site-love all the photos, brings back many happy memories of a fantastic country! Safe travels and have fun!

[Alicia]

Love your photos!
Hiya! I love all your photos. I was born in South Africa but was moved to Scotland with my family but i go over every year. It is so beautiful. I cant wait to move back over soon. There is an amazing beach just past East London in a little village called Glengariff. My aunite lives there and i go down all the time. Also Table Mountain in Cape Town is really fun to go up. The Cango caves are so beautiful. My grandparents live in George so when I visit them they take us there. Sun City is nice aswell but dear and Glod Reef City in Joburg is great for kids.Heres my email addy [e-mail] email me if you want. (For any one going to ZA wanting to know any good spots) Love Ali xxx

[Nore]

Spelling!!!
I would like to point out that Plattenburg Bay does not actually exist. It is 'Plettenberg Bay'. But, we'll forgive you for that - perhaps you're foreign...