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June 1st 2005
Published: June 11th 2005
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First, I apologize for the length of time since the last blog. As a result this will be a long blog, with 41 photos. In the last couple of weeks I've flown from Cameroun, stayed in J'burg (Josie), Tshwane (Pretoria), the Kruger National Park, the Drakensburg and other places. I also rented a car for 10 days which managed to break down twice. More of that later. And, yes I've enjoyed myself.



Getting off the plane in J'burg (Josie) was a shock after months in West Africa. The roads were tarred. The electric doesn't cut out without warning, and all the rooms in cheap hotels and guest houses have flush toilets and proper showers. In fact, it felt like I had left Africa! The city has all the first world comforts you could desire including flash shopping malls that look like they could be in the USA.



The darker side of J'burg is crime and fear of crime. Although the crime rate is supposed to have started falling in the last couple of years. The houses in the middle class suburbs all have electronic security gates controlled by remote controls. The same upmarket houses (overwhelmingly
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white), also have bars over all the windows and big notices saying that they are protected by an armed security company. Lots of public streets are also gated. The effects of apartheid are clearly not dead. Many residential areas and even the shopping malls are still segregated by race. It's possible to go to shopping malls and see that 95% of the customers are white. Similarly, there are other malls that are overwhelmingly black. Added to which many white South Africans make comments which I find offensive and shamelessly racist.



In recent weeks, the discontent of the poorest in the townships and shantytowns has become evident. There have been riots in many townships, protesting at the lack of housing and basic services, like running water and electricity. Also, there have been complaints about corruption and lack of efficiency in local government. Over 10 years since majority rule, millions of South Africans still live without access to basic services, like water, electric or a decent roof over their heads. The ANC seems to have been rather fazed by this protest, after all they won the last election with over 75 percent of the vote. Some in the ANC have darkly talked of a sinister 3rd force, but this seems rather lame - they can't even name this supposed force. Frankly, it's more likely that after years in power, leaders within the ANC are losing touch with their own political supporters. For more information visit http://sa.indymedia.org



At the same time as the political disturbances, and the promises of the ANC to root out corruption there has been a high profile court case taking place. As I write this, the judge is summing up in the state's case against Schabir Shaik. The case is politically explosive. Schabir Shaik was Jacob Zuma's financial adviser. Jacob Zuma is the deputy president of the country. The judge in the trial summing up has just said that the proof that businessman Schabir Shaik and deputy president Jacob Zuma have had a generally corrupt relationship is "not only convincing but overwhelming".



Returning to my diary format. The last blog ended on the 13th of May. The diary starts on the 14th of May, when I was still in Cameroon at the Seaman's Mission in Duaola.




SATURDAY 14 MAY



Today is the day when I catch
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Mapani Lodge, Boabob tree
the plane to South Africa. I waited around the Seamans Mission because a taxi driver had promised to pick me up at 11am. When there was no sign of him I walked down the road from the mission and caught a passing taxi, which arrived at the airport at 11.30am. I checked in straight away. The airport in Duaola has to be one of the most confusing and disorganized that I have ever seen. There was no signing of the terminals and gates. I had to ask passing uniformed staff for directions. They directed me to one room which was full of people. It was only a holding pen - they moved us 2 more times before they loaded the plane.



When they loaded the plane, I assumed we were just being moved around again, partly because it was still early. We were loaded onto the plane early. Not only that we took off 10 minutes early at 1.40pm.



The flight landed in Brazzaville, Congo to let off most of the passengers. We waited on the runway for an hour whilst the plane re-fuelled. Not many passengers got on, so I had a whole aisle to myself for the rest of the journey.



At 10pm we touched down in J'burg. It was late, I needed to find somewhere to stay, but first I got some money from an ATM. I looked around the airport for somewhere to call a guest house. I asked a woman who said that the information desk was closed, but she worked there and would help me out. As I was talking to her, another man arrived. He was recruiting for a guest house. So, I agreed to go with Richard to the Petra guest house and backpackers.



They had no single rooms left, but there was space in the dormitory at 100 Rands (8 pounds sterling).




SUNDAY 15th MAY



After breakfast I went into a mall that was very smart and very white! I bought new shoes and a shirt and had a very good meal in a fish restaurant. I thought I had left Africa, for a middle class suburb in the USA! In the evening I ate in a restaurant in another strip mall and moved into a room that cost 260 Rand (21 Pounds sterling).




MONDAY 16th



I took a tour with Richard of the sights of Soweto, which include Nelson Mandela's old house and the Pieterson Memorial. Pieterson was a 13 year old school boy that was shot dead by the South African police in 1976. The police opened fire on a peaceful demonstration by high school kids. They were protesting at the government insisting that half the lessons must be taught in Afrikaans. They hated Afrikaans as a language of instruction, and its imposition had led to a decline in students grades.



The photo of Pieterson's dead body being carried from the street went around the world. He was the first to die. The Afrikaner officer who ordered the massacre is reported to have said that it would teach 'them' a lesson.



After the demonstration was broken up the police went on a shooting rampage throughout Soweto. There are very famous photos of plain clothes police firing at random at Soweto residents. The police action provoked severe rioting.



It was a haunting exhibition. I spent 3 hours there.



After we had finished in the memorial, we visited Nelson Mandela's old house and went for a meal in a local Soweto restaurant.



Much of Soweto looked very neat and tidy with paved roads and extensions built onto houses.



We then drove to Gold Reef City. There is a gold mine that can be visited there and the Apartheid Museum, but everything was closed. Most of the tourist attractions in J'burg seem to close on a Monday. We drove back to the guest house through the city centre and Hillbrow. The city centre and the nearyby suburb of Hillbrow did look run down. The parts of Soweto I had seen looked prosperous, although there are run down parts of Soweto. Soweto has a population of 4 million people, the same as J'burg.



We returned to the guest house. In the evening I went out to an Italian restaurant, which was very good.




TUESDAY 17th



After breakfast I visited the Lion Park, which is about an hours drive from the north of J'burg. The park has lions, cheetahs, giraffe's etc. The lions are white lions, which are rare, the colour is caused by a regressive gene.



Then we drove back to the South of J'burg and I spent the afternoon in the Apartheid Museum.



In the evening I had a meal with Ziad, who is the owner of the guest house and his wife, at the guest house, that had been cooked by Ziad. Ziad is originally from Jordan hence the name of the guest house. Petra is the leading tourist attraction in Jordan. Ziad's wife is an Irish South African.




WED 18th



Wednesday was a frustrating day. I wanted to move on. I had been told by Richard about a very cheap car hire. So, I asked Ziad to phone to see if I could get a car. I waited most of the day to get an answer. Which was finally that I could have a car the next day. So, I had to wait.



Whilst waiting for the car I visited the internet. I checked prices for car hire. The local guy that Richard knew was definitely cheaper. At the same time I checked out prices for tours in Botswana to the Okavanda Delta. The tour that Ziad sold seemed to be a good deal. So, I also asked him to ring the company to check availability. The internet cafe was on a nearby high street. It was much more run down looking than all the malls I had seen so far. All the shops had bars on the windows.



Whilst on the high street I took my phone to the shop to change the SIM card to a South African tariff. When the shopkeeper put the SIM in, it didn't work. The phone was locked. So, I left him the phone to unlock, to pick up the next morning.



In the evening I picked up a Pizza and some wine. I ate in the sitting room next to my room and watched TV.




THURS 19th MAY



Another frustrating day. The car had been promised for the morning. A VW Golf had come back the previous evening. I collected my phone which now had a South African SIM from the high street near the guest house. I spent the afternoon in the internet cafe and walking around the shops. I found a really cheap place to eat - only 16 Rands for any medium size Pizza at lunch time (1 pound 30 pence sterling).




FRIDAY 20th MAY



In the morning Amando, the guy who runs the cheap car hire business picked me up and took me to the car. So, I was expecting to actually leave! But...



When we got to his house, it turned out that there was something wrong with the car that he wanted to give me. So, I spent the day killing time again.



In the afternoon a Thai man arrived in the guest house. We agreed that we wanted to go out to Melville in the evening. Melville is an area with a lot of trendy bars and restaurants. We waited in for Richard to come back from the airport, where he was presumably recruiting people for the guest house from the incoming flights.



Richard returned at 10pm with 2 new guests - Arnold and Pamela from America. (They didn't vote for Bush!)



We then all went out together to Melville.




SATURDAY 21st



Finally I had a car! The previous evening Pamela and Arnold had discussed sharing a car with me, if my car didn't turn up. They were a nice couple, even if they might have been hippies when they were young!



I got my wires crossed a bit, assuming that we weren't sharing if my car arrived. So, when Amando arrived at the guest house I left without saying goodbye.



From Amando's house I drove to the high street to buy maps and check my email. I then set out but I needed petrol. At the petrol station I realized that I didn't know what fuel the car took. I rang Amando only to find that Arnold and Pamela were expecting me to pick them up. I apologized saying I would be back in 10 to 15 minutes.



No such luck! I got lost. I was forced to ring, to get Richard to come out in a car to show me the way!



Finally Pamela, Arnold and myself left together at about 1.30pm. I drove for the first few hours, handing over after I stopped for a coffee. After that we shared all the driving between us.



We were headed for the town of Nelspruit, which is the largest town in Mpumlaga's southern low veld. It's a place to stay for the night before entering the Kruger National Park.



It was dark when we got into Nelspruit. The N4, which is the main road into Nelspruit had a budget hotel called Formula 1 on the approach into town. Rather than driving around in the dark looking for places recommended in the Lonely Planet, we booked into the Formula 1. It was only R240 a room, no matter how many share the room. We took 2 rooms, I didn't share.



In the evening we drove into town and found a good restaurant.




SUNDAY 22nd



After breakfast we booked out, driving toward Hazeyview, sharing the driving.



Hazeyview is a small town near the entrance gates into Kruger Park. It is also a good place for scenic drives and hikes. At Hazeyview we drove away from the park because we wanted to do some hiking, but after a while we decided that although the scenery was spectacular, we wanted to get into Kruger park.



Kruger is said to have the greatest variety of animals of any wildlife park in Africa. The park is huge. It's also good value for money.



So, we turned around. From Hazeyview we drove into the Kruger Park. We entered the park at about 1pm, driving towards Skukuza lodge. The amount of game that we saw was impressive. At Skukuza we had a pick nick which the local birds seemed keen to pinch.



We realized that time was running short, so we then rushed (relatively) to the Satara lodge which we intended to stay at for the night. Fortunately for us, it was low season, there was no problem finding rooms.



We booked into the lodge at Satara at about 5.30pm. The place was very good. In fact, the park itself was very well organized. The roads within the park were much better than I've seen in most of West Africa. There is a good paved road that runs hundreds of kilometres, from the South to the North of the Park. We booked 2 rooms, which were in fact huts for R470 a room (40 pounds sterling).



We opened a bottle of wine, went to dinner and then went for an organized night drive. The highlights of the night drive was the sighting of a leopard and a pride of lions. We first spotted the lions because the male lion was sat down in the middle of of the sealed road. The male moved off the road slowly as we approached. By the side of the road was a female and her cubs, Unfortunately I didn't get any good pictures because my camera is not good enough to deal with the low light levels. It was dark, my camera is only a point and shoot.



The drive took 2 hours starting at 8pm. Near the end of the drive it became very cold, so we were glad to get back to the lodge, finish the wine and talk.




MONDAY 23rd MAY



The guidebooks say that the best time to see game animals is first thing in the morning and the evening.



So, we got up early. Arnold, Pamela and I left the lodge at 6am. We drove down a gravel road where someone had said they had seen a leopard the previous day. We saw nothing for maybe an hour. We gave up on that road. We turned around, then went down the road where the night drive had gone the previous night. It was about 7am. We saw loads, including water buck, giraffes, zebra's, hippos, wilderbeest and kudu.



At 8.30am we returned to Satara lodge packed and left. We drove north, spotting game as we went. We stopped at Olifants lodge for a pick nick lunch, which had a very good viewing platform. We continued driving, arriving at Mapani lodge just before sunset.



The lodge was the best yet. It had stunning views from the bar and the viewing platform. We discovered we could save money as well, by sharing a hut. They have huts for families. The place we got had an en suite bathroom plus a sitting room which also had its own bathroom. The sitting room had 2 couches that also double as beds. The huts also have kitchens and sitting areas. The huts cost R470 plus an extra R100 for a third person to share. We ate in the restaurant as the prices were reasonable and had a bottle of wine.
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Fast food for lions!




TUESDAY 24th MAY



We slept in late - I got up at 7.30am! But we didn't check out till 10am. We walked around the camp - there were stunning views.



There was a lot less game in the park north of Mapani. We stopped for lunch at Shingwedzi lodge, which wasn't as good the others we had visited.



At 3.30pm we left the park at Punda Maria gate. This area was much poorer. Entering at the southern gate the area was very prosperous. This part of the far north though used to be the Venda Homeland - where black people where dumped on poor quality land by the apartheid authorities. We had to rush to get to a guest house before it got dark.



At 5.30pm we arrived at Clouds End Hotel, Makhado. It was a very good, old fashioned hotel that cost just R260.




WEDNESDAY 25th MAY



We got up late again at 8.30am. We visited town to use the internet. In the afternoon we went to Ben Levin Park to stretch our legs. We had been confined to the car for
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Not another Impala - where are the lions feeding on them. That would make a picture!
days. When I signed in at the gate, I noticed that we were the only people that had visited the park that day.



THURS 26th MAY



We got up early, taking breakfast at 6.30am. Pamela drove for the first 3 hours, with Arnold taking over.


Suddenly, the car lost power climbing a hill in the middle of nowhere. We were 25km's from Middelburg the nearest town.



Phoning Amando it was clear that he didn't want anyone else to move the vehicle. This meant that we would have to wait for hours. So, Arnold and Pamela decided to hitch a lift with a passing motorist into the town of Middelburg to see if they could rent another car there.



The vehicle broke down at 12.10, Amando finally arrived at 4.30pm. He and his mechanic looked at the car. They couldn't fix it. So, they gave me another car, they had brought with them. It was after 5pm when I was able to drive off. Just before I drove off Arnold and Pamela phoned me to check I was OK. They had been unable to hire a car, but had
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got back to J'burg. They had changed their plans. They had decided to fly to Victoria Falls in Zambia.



I drove into Middelburg and looked for somewhere to stay. The first place I tried was full, but they phoned another place for me. They gave me instructions to find the Colonial Guest house. I had some difficulty finding it, but after driving past it several times I finally booked in at about 6.30pm. It was a huge on-suite room for R240.




FRIDAY 27th



I left the hotel at 9am. I had a long drive ahead of me. I took a long lunch break of 1 and a half hours at the town of Ermelo. Once I got back onto the N11 south of Ermelo the road got worse. The road was full of potholes between Amerfort and Newcastle.



At 5pm, I decided to look for somewhere to stay in the town of Ladysmith. I hadn't planned staying there, but I wanted to find somewhere before it got dark. I don't like driving at night, especially in rural South Africa. People drive without lights, cattle stroll across the road and pedestrians
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walk on the roads.



Ladysmith is the town that the world famous band Ladysmith Black Mombaza come from. Otherwise it's a small quiet town. It's part of the battlefield tourist route in KwaZulu Natal. There are a number of battlefields in the region from the Anglo-Boer and Zulu wars.



There were lots of signboards for guest houses all over the town. I followed one of the boards and booked a room with en-suite bathroom for R150. It was very good value for money.



Despite being Friday night the town was dead.




SATURDAY 28th MAY



I booked out of the hotel and visited the town's main tourist attraction, which is the siege Museum. Ladysmith was the site of a long siege in the 1899-1900 during the Anglo-Boer war. I also tried to visit the cultural centre but it was locked up, probably because this is the low season for tourism in the area.



After that I drove towards the Royal Natal National Park, which has some of the most dramatic scenery in the Drakensburg. The area was named a UN World Heritage site in 2000.
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Vervet monkeys
It is a mountainous basalt escarpment that forms the border between KwaZulu Natal and Lesotho. In Afrikaans the name means Dragon Mountains. In Zulu the Drakensburg are called Quathlamba, the battlement of spears. A very fitting name.



Driving towards the park I saw the Amphitheatre backpackers, so I stopped off and booked in for 2 nights. I paid R120 for a dormitory to myself with its own kitchen.



I then drove to the Park. At 2pm I started a walk. After half an hour I met a group of South Africans who were heading to Tugela Gorge. We walked fast because we knew it was a long way.



At 3.45pm I returned back as I had no intention of being stuck in the park after dark.



In the evening I had a meal in the backpackers restaurant. There I met a group of young backpackers, we retired to the bar, drank and played pool.




SUNDAY 29th MAY



I left for the park at 10am and hiked to the Policeman's Helmet. I finished the walk at 3.30pm and returned to the backpackers. The place was empty, there were only a couple of other people in the place. The group of young people had left on the Baz Bus. The Baz bus is a service designed for young backpackers. It calls at most of the hostels in the major tourist centres.




MONDAY 30th



I put water in the car because it was very low. I booked out of the backpackers and drove to Cathedral Peak. It was further than I thought. I also had problems with the water. The indicator kept showing that the water was low. So, I had to keep stopping and topping up the water level. I never let it run dry.



At the Cathedral Peak I visited the San Rock Painting museum. There are lots of San Rock Paintings in the area. The San or bushmen were the original inhabitants of South Africa.



At noon I left Cathedral Peak. At the gate of the park, I picked up 2 local men and gave them a lift for 10 km's.



I found I was approaching J'burg during the rush hour as it was getting dark. I didn't want to try
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Ground Hornbill
to drive around J'burg in the dark, so I continued onto Tswane (Pretoria). Pretoria has just been re-named by the local council. Once there I booked into a Formula one budget hotel in the centre of town. The centre of town was deserted and had a very bad atmosphere. According to the Lonely Planet, all the hostels and hotels are a couple of km's out of the centre in the suburbs.




TUESDAY 31st



After breakfast I drove to a shopping mall to find an ATM. As I got out of the car, a car guard pointed out that water was dripping out of the car. The vehicle had only been on the road for 5 minutes, and I had topped it up before leaving. The ATM in the shopping centre was empty.
The water in the car was half empty. I topped it up and drove off. After another 5 minutes I stopped again, only to find it was again half empty. I wasn't happy, and was not prepared to drive the car back to J'burg. The water was falling out of the car.



It was now 10am. I phoned Amando. He said he would not be able to get there till 1pm. So, I waited. I knew he would be a long time, so I wrote up some of my blog in my notebook and visited a shop and a restaurant.



Amando finally arrived at 4pm. You're not surprised, huh that he took so long? His mechanic took the radiator off, it was leaking but it wasn't cracked. I think it was just old and falling apart. The car was at least 15 years old.



Amando then tried to sting me for another 2000 Rand, claiming that it was my fault that the first car broke down. It wasn't my fault. 15 year old cars driven to death, die. I told him it was his problem, not mine - it was his risk in hiring out cars.



When he mentioned it again as he was driving back to J'burg, I said that if he wanted to get funny about it then I would visit a legal practice in the morning and make a claim against him. I had lost the best part of 2 days from my rental period because it took him
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Crested Benfet
so long to respond. So, I would charge him for my lost time at a rate equal to what I could have earned in that time in the UK. I said it would cost him thousands but I didn't care as I had legal insurance and I had plenty of time to spare. I was bluffing. I had no desire or intention of taking legal action. But it worked. He said to forget the 2000 Rand returned my passport, and drove me to the Petra guest house. When I arrived Zaid said he had been worried about me because I was so much later than I had expected.




WEDS 1st JUNE.



At 9.30am Ziad drove me to the airport. My flight wasn't till 12.10. I checked in, sat in a cafe and read the papers. The flight took just over 2 hours arriving at Cape Town at 2.20pm. I got something to eat at the airport, then caught a shuttle bus into the centre of town. I booked into the Long Street backpackers. Long Street is an area full of backpackers and shops designed to cater for them. I didn't do much for the rest of
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Starling
the day, although I spent 2 hours on the net working on this blog.




Additional photos below
Photos: 41, Displayed: 40


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Zebra crossing the road
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Waterbuffolo
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Hippos - I'm afraid I couldn't get any nearer.
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Mapani Lodge
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View from Mapani lodge
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Tropic of Capricorn
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Town Hall and Seige Museum
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Royal Natal National Park
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Policemans Helmet


17th June 2005

survival and keyboards in Africa
We survived Armando's car (at least the first one) As fellow travelers with Stuart in the first "beater", I can attest that we were grateful the 1 year old BMW didn't break down when we were off road, and out of cell phone range in the Krugar! And African Lynx, get over the spelling, the keyboards we were using in some of the places were sometimes difficult, to say the least. Hey Stuart, we're home, at last!

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