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

Southern Africa - Swaziland We make a brief stop in Swaziland on our way south towards Cape Town. Our stopping point here is the Ndlovu campsite in the Hlane Royal National Park- so called because this park was once the Swazi king’s hunting grounds. Ndlovu Campsite The campsite is quite busy during the time that we are there with a couple of big groups staying in the area. There are enough people there to encourage a group of local dancers come and give a performance one evening. The campsite is also built very close to a watering hole and, all the time that we are there, there are rhinos, hippos or elephants by the watering hole. The rhinos are supposed to be quite “friendly” because they are used to the noise and activity from the campsite. ... read more

South Africa - Kruger Park Wednesday 10th March Kruger Park is the largest game reserve in South Africa with an area of 2½ million hectares. That makes it the same size as Israel and larger than Wales. It is also probably the most popular - it was certainly very busy during the time that we were there. The park is very successful - it is increasing in area and has expanded into Mozambique. Some of the species are too successful - the park is currently having to cull its elephants because the population has grown too large and they haven't been able to give the elephants to any other reserve. Our tour leaders, Justin and Anneka, worked as tour guides in Kruger Park before working on our current route and are lucky enough to live inside ... read more

Johannesburg Saturday 6th March When I told friends that I was going to South Africa most people’s reaction was the same - “Don’t go to Johannesburg”. So here I am. I have no choice, really - the next organised trip I’ve arranged sets out from here tomorrow. I arrived here from Cape Town yesterday expecting the same heat as we had been experiencing in Cape Town, only to arrive in a thunderstorm. Today I’ve been out with a waterproof and it’s been non-stop sunshine all day. Soweto I’ve managed to avoid spending the day hiding in my hotel room in fear of being robbed and murdered and I’ve booked myself on a coach trip to Soweto. I don’t imagine that a coach tour to Soweto will be one lots of comfort breaks and a stop at ... read more

Jumpers For Goalposts Tuesday 2nd March Today it is 100 days before the start of the World Cup and we have at last got in to see the Cape Town Stadiumat the third attempt. The stadium itself is ready and a football and a rugby match have already been played there. The stadium is a short distance from our apartment and we have been watching the work being done in improving the approaches to the stadium from our balcony every day. I Become a Pensioner I hope that by the time the World Cup starts they’ll have better organisation for getting the 68,000 fans in and out of the stadium than they did for taking 100 people on a stadium tour. The process seems unnecessarily bureaucratic. Having already been turned away twice, Leon has been to ... read more