DEAN'S DIARY JULY / AUGUST 1998
Dear Friends
These last two months have just shot past - I've been soooo busy - and so has Alice - which means business is looking better.
When I last wrote, I had just past my Western Cape Tour Guide Exam and I have now just returned from the Western Cape - so it has officially been used!
At the moment we have just had two days of rain and it is bitterly cold (for Durban standards) as there is snow on the Drakensberg and low-lying areas and since I got frostbite to some of my toes when I climbed Kilimanjaro 3 years ago, I seem to feel the cold more than in the past - I guess also having less covering on my crown adds to the discomfort! We have actually had an abnormally warm winter - and the weather bureau have officially acknowledged this - they predict that our summer temperatures will be from 2 to 6 degrees higher than normal, this year - so be warned if you are visiting our shores during our summer at the end of this year - it will be hotter than normal !!
Let me reflect back on what trips I have recently done - just after the my last entry, I met David, Angela, Stephen and Beckie for an exciting 7 day safari. They had decided to travel up the coast from Cape Town by Translux and Greyhound coaches, so that they could see the countryside from ground level, rather than from an airplane. To cut a long story short - Translux won the vote for the best service and comfort, even though there were many short miscomings. They stayed at a lovely B&B in PE and enjoyed the "Friendly Cities" hospitality for the night inbetween the two coach rides. Unfortunately their Greyhound bus arrived VERY late in Durban (almost 2 hours!) and so the restaurant that I had made a reservation at, has lost future business from me as they were not prepared to assist - goodbye Caravelle!
On the next day - Monday, after a hearty breakfast - we left for a short city tour of Durban, views of Durban from the breakwater at the harbour mouth, a walk through Durban, the Natural History and science museum, then an authentic Indian lunch at The Workshop, followed by a visit to The Indian Market. After returning to their B&B in Umhlanga Rocks, they spent the rest of the afternoon at the beach. The next day I collected them after breakfast and we departed for Shakaland, the famous Zulu Cultural Village, for an interesting and informative educational tour and scrumptous lunch, followed by a drive past Ulundi and into Umfolosi Game Reserve. Then the weather changed - it started raining!! We had booked into a house (cottage) in Umfolosi and had all the comforts one could hope for - hot water, electricity (until 10pm), a lounge, dining room and even a cook for our meals!
The next two days were spent game viewing - the one evening they went on a night drive, using spotlights, but if I recall correctly, it was not too spectactular or nothing special to report. We all did however enjoy an interesting and exciting 3 hour game walk with an armed game ranger. I am not too sure who was more suprised - the kudu antelope or us or later the two Rhinos or us - either way - I hope that their photos come out OK - let me know David!
We were challenged by a lonely Bull Elephant in the Hluhluwe side of the reserve - forcing me to reverse a fair distance, until he was happy to walk into the bush again - until some stupid women tourists came along and opened their car doors to climb out for "better photographs" !!!
You know - there are signs and notices and warnings everywhere telling people to stay in their cars - but no, you still get idiots and not only foreign tourists but local South Africans who will insist on sitting on their door window frames, climbing out of their cars etc - animals have learnt to relate that a car is safe and it will not harm it - but the moment someone steps out of the car - then the outline of their familiar shape of a car changes and they are even more on the alert, often running away with fear and fright and bang - there goes that photograph thet you were trying to line up - my message "STAY SEATED IN YOUR CAR - DO NOT LEAN OUT OF THE WINDOW, DO NOT OPEN THE DOORS, DO NOT TURN OFF YOUR ENGINE WHEN NEAR ELEPHANTS OR RHINO - BE SENSIBLE AND CONCIDERATE - THINK OF OTHER TOURISTS PRESENT AND FUTURE"
Leaving Umfolosi-Hluhluwe we drove via Stanger and Greytown to my brothers house in Howick, were we had lunch - (there was a nasty cold wind blowing, so his house was nice and warm and sheltered!) and continued to Sani Pass Hotel. A warm welcome and reception was received and then we relaxed a bit before a delicious dinner in the dining room. This was followed by an exciting card game or three - I almost mastered the family game - determined to conquer them all the next night!
After a fantastic breakfast the next morning, we took our passports and headed across the border and up the famous Sani Pass and into Lesotho. Whilst checking in through the Lesotho post the officer informed us that his one colleague had shot and killed his other colleague that morning and he did not know what to do - he had left the body and all the blood in the room next door waiting for someone to tell him what to do!! - Welcome to Africa! We continued into Lesotho and up the Black Mountain Pass to the snow, returning after a while to Sani Top Chalet - and the highest pub in Africa! Jonathan had prepared a lovely lunch for us, afterwhich we drove back down the pass and to the Hotel for another delicious dinner and cards around a roaring logfire.
The next day it was a sad day as we drove back to Durban and said farewell at Durban International Airport as they bordered their Sun Air flight back to Cape Town - all in all - another great safari - read my guestbook.
I was at home for a couple of days and then we had the pleasure of meeting Lorenza and Gabriel, from Switzerland. They are Tour Operators and they came here to SA to see for themselves what we had to offer and also to meet the different people who they are going to be working with - so soon, we shall be dealing with Italian and Swiss tourists who will be coming to explore our beautiful country.
On Friday 31st, after much packing and shopping, I left Durban to spend my first night with my sister, Gail, in the small town of Kestel, not too far from Harrismith, for the night. We had dinner at the local hotel - a really nice dinner and atmosphere, with us being the only clients there! The next day I popped in to Fouriesburg to see her little cottage that she has recently bought and is planning to 'do it up' for arts and crafts to be sold from and also she will eventually move into another house in the town as well. I continued via Bloemfontein (stopping there for lunch) and then through Kimberley arriving in Upington later that night. I booked myself into a B&B overlooking the Orange River (now called the Gariep river - New South Africa and all that..) It was a lovely establishment - very new, but the rooms (all 17 of them) were too noisy with other guests being heard by everyone as they walked up and down the stairs and in the corridor. The breakfast however was magnificent. I then continued to Die Eiland holiday resort where I spent the rest of the day tinkling around and relaxing, waiting for the evening flight from Cape Town, for my Belgium clients.
My clients, Koen, Jan, Kaoru, Robert, Wim and Mickie arrived on time and it was not long before they were introduced to Africa! We drove into Upington to a Keg pub for a quick drink before going to Die Eiland. After ordering a round of drinks and having consumed a bit, there was soon a rather loud discussion and breaking of glass on the other side of the bar - 3 local 'coloured' chaps were having drinks - the one had obviously had too many and the barman correctly, did not want to serve him anymore - and with the barmen being white, this drunk chap was accusing the barmen of being racist and insisted on being served - well, manager and assistant manager came in, threats to call the police etc and eventually his friends helped carry him out - well after a set of apologies from managers etc - we left, for our camp.
The next day after a good breakfast, we left Upington and headed for Kalahari Gemsbok National Park - and the Twee Rivierien campsite. Boy the exclamations about the size of our land, the vastness of our country and the beauty.......coming from Belgium, which is a small country, just the drive to the Kalahari Park was enough to take their breath away. After demonstration on tent erection, they pitched their tents etc, we enjoyed lunch and then went on an afternoon game drive. That night the stars amazed all - "wow, so many...where is the Southern Cross..." The following day, we packed our picnic lunch and departed for the day, returning to camp shortly before sunset. Unfortunately the game viewing was not too spectacular as there had been rains in Botswana two weeks ago and most of huge herds of animals had migrated there. We did see small herds of Springbok, Gemsbok, a number of Ostrich, Red Hartebeest and quite a few various birds of prey. The scenery was great though. Well, we left the park and drove to the Molopo Kalahari Lodge an hours drive away where we enjoyed a great dinner, great accommodation, a good sleep and a great breakfast in the morning followed by a short drive to the Namibian border. Some of the pans that we drove across were really breathtaking and huge. Well after two hours and many hills we reached our first town, at lunchtime - and guess what - everything was closed, except the cold wind and threatening clouds - so we went to the only hotel for a lovely soup and sandwiches lunch. Departing from Karasburg, the weather changed - here we were in the desert driving towards the Fish River Canyon and it started raining!! In winter !!!! This was the start of our peculiar weather that we encountered.
It was team work and extremely good team work at Ai-Ais - setting up camp in the rain - and for 3 of the group - this was the first time they had ever been camping - and now to set up camp in the pouring rain - an excellent team-work assignment!! The next day after having spent part of the evening and morning in the outside hot mineral swimming pool, we departed for the main Canyon outlook, where after a number of photos, we descended to the floor of the canyon to enjoy our lunch - this took a long time to walk down the rock path and everyone dreaded the climb back to the top again - it was a drop of nearly 500 metres! Jan I know will never forget me calling back to him when I thought he was calling to me from around the one corner. Never mind - we returned to Ai-Ais for a second night after popping in the another near Lodge near the Canyon - very nice - will be used on my next trip!
Departing from the Fish River Canyon we enjoyed a long days drive across the Namib Desert, through the towns or settlements of Holoog, Bethanie, Heminghausen to the camp at Sesreim, arriving there at closing time. En route we stopped to assist a foreign couple who had rolled and written-off their rented car - somehow they climbed out of it without a scratch. The Camp manager at Sesreim said that the previous day 4 cars had been written off in the area, also by foreigners who are not used to the gravel roads and drive too fast, and then loose control. I would hate to own a rental company in Namibia! A week later I was at the airport in Windhoek and the number of wrecked cars in the one companies plot was astounding - please people, rather let someone else who is familiar with the roads drive you around - everytime I visit Namibia I come across tourists who wreck themselves and the rented cars on the gravel roads...you are on holiday - let someone else have the stress of driving etc, etc.
Ever camped in a sandstorm? Ever cooked a meal in a sandstorm? Ever walked to the cold showers in the sandstorm? Ever driven 120 kms in a sand storm? Well, if any of your answers were no, ours were yes, yes, yes and yes - Sesreim and Sossusvlei had a terrible sandstorm the 18 hours that we were there - nevertheless, the sandunes were fantastic and my guests were so pleased that they had chosen African Bundu Safaris to take them to Namibia as most of the other companies there made their clients walk the 4 kilometres to the Sossusvlei and 4 kms back, in a horrific and blinding sandstorm, whereas, we could drive right to the end, having a 4x4 and a sealed vehicle and not having to sit on the back in a large truck with a canvas canopy trying to keep the sand out - I would hate to have to repair my sand-filled camera during my holiday!
We left Sesreim and continued to Swakopmund, driving through the beautiful Kuiseb Canyon and the endless roads through the gravel plains of the western Namib desert. The chalets that we slept in in this coastal holiday town of Namibia has a strong German influence with a typical African atmosphere and a western influence very evident in its modernisation.
After a good filling breakfast, we spent the morning exploring nearby Walvis Bay - the birds at the bird sanctuary - good place to be, the flamingoes and pelicans on the lagoon and the saltworks, before returning to Swakopmund for an afternoon of leisure. I spent my afternoon getting the 4x4 washed, my own laundry and shopping! My friends visited the museum, bought some curios, walked along the beachfront, enjoyed a drink or two and then returned. That evening we had a great meal at the Lighthouse restaurant, but boy was it cold outside!
Kaoru by now was not feeling so well - having started feeling lousy - nauseous and headachy...had slept for a lot of the time in Swakopmund and not wanting to go to the doctor, hoping to feel better later and not wanting in inconvenience anyone, she insisted we continued. The drive to Etosha National Park was nothing special, except long - we arrived there just before the gates closed. The highlight, as always, at Okaukuejo Camp is the floodlit waterhole - here during the day and night all walks and types of wildlife come to drink and one can get great closeup photographs - elephants, rhinos, zebras, jackals, lions, springbok.....and many more. The next day we left camp early, at sunrise and went for a 4 hour game drive enjoying our breakfast at a waterhole on the westernside of the park and we were lucky with the quantity of animals drinking there - we spent the heat of the day and lunchtime back at camp and then went for an afternoon game drive, returning at sunset - again, plenty of animals, but starting to repeat the same ones we had seen in the morning - still however, no cats yet. After an early breakfast the next day, we struck camp and spent the morning and an hour in the afternoon driving across the Reserve visiting the Halali camp for tea and a short drive out onto the enormous Etosha Pan, before arriving at Namutoni. I must make the comment about some of the drivers - I moaned last time about some of the stupid drivers in Kruger - well, here in Etosha it was the park staff who were the worst - they would go screaming past you at way over the maximum speed limit and then there were two stupid women in a rented 4x4 who thought it fun to throw dust up in front of us as they overtook us, a number of times - until I parked them in at the one waterhole for 5 minutes or so - never saw them again after that!
Kaoru was still feeling lousy at this stage and we could not diagnose what the problem was, so Jan, her husband, decided that when we got to Windhoek, they would leave us and fly to Cape Town and the doctor, rather than endure the long ride back. So the next day, we left Etosha, stopping in at the interesting Otjikoto Lake and a craft market at Okahandja. I dropped everyone off in the centre of Windhoek whilst I went ahead to the campsite and managed to erect two of the tents on my own before returning to town to collect everyone, the shops all having closed by now. On returning to the camp, Janet (my Namibian Manager) with hubby Derek and daughters, Elizabeth and Kathryn, came down to meet us all and welcome us. Nice seeing them all again. That night we ate out at The Saddle restaurant - very tasty...... The next morning, I took Jan and Kaoru to the International airport, where they caught a 737 to Cape Town, via Walvis Bay. (After they arrived in Cape Town, Kaoru went to the doctor and after a blood test, it was determined that she was suffering the side effects of Larium - again people, I do NOT recommend Larium as an anti-malaria medication - I would prefer a combination of Nivaquine and Paludrine, if anything at all. Larium has TTTOOOO many bad stories attached to it. What a way to ruin a great holiday!)
Returning to the campsite, everything was packed up in the trailer which was then hooked up and we departed for Keetmanshoop and the wild west campsite. Boy was it cold that night - we enjoyed a good few steaks around the fire but once you left the fire, then the Namibian Desert night air hit you! The next morning we cross over the Orange river, oops sorry, the Gariep river and after doing the passport formalities, had a picnic lunch before arriving in the town of Springbok. After checking in to the Springbok Lodge, we went driving around looking for wild flowers - alas, not many about yet - still too early. My 4 friends decided to eat out in a restaurant that night and this gave me a chance to do some more laundry and relax for the night, meeting them all again after breakfast. Kamieskroon is a short drive south of Springbok and we were treated to a wonderful flower display in the fields and surrounding area at Skilpad Nature Reserve. We took many photos of the kaleidoscope of flowers - absolutely stunning. After lunch we headed south for Clanwilliam, arriving there as the sun was setting, on the Krakadouw farm. Our hostess met us and directed us to the lovely quaint cottage. It was so peaceful and the stars were stunning - so much so that whilst I was cooking the dinner, everyone sat around the roaring log fire outside and enjoyed the natural beauty of the southern skies and night. After a good nights sleep and a cheese omlette for breakfast, we headed south, into the Cedarberg Mountains to the elephant Bushman paintings at Stadsaal caves and then for a quick tour and winetasting at the Cedarberg cellars. Lunch was enjoyed under the trees at the Algeria forestry station and boy was the weather great - a warm sunny day without a cloud in sight - typical summer weather for this part of the world. We then departed via the Swartland arriving at their hosts, Kathy and Johan house in Pinelands. After off loading, I went for a shower and to greet my friends, Theo, Morag and children, Brandon and Mellisa, before returning to Kathy and Johan, as we were all going to eat out that night.
Kathy had arranged a booking at the Constantia Uitsig restaurant - on the Constantia wine estates. What a delicous dinner - thanks to Robert and my Belgium friends for a great evening. I bid farewell to everyone once back at Pinelands and returned to Theo's house. The next morning, I made my way to The Waterfront and bought a ticket to visit Robben Island - never actually been on the island myself, so thought it best to be able to talk from first hand experience. The boat ride across was on a HUGE catamaran and took 25 minutes - we then boarded a bus (like an old school bus) and were driven around for almost an hour, shown and explained the different places of interest - medium term prison, WW 2 guns, the famous lime quarry where prisoners were forced to labour, the housing for the staff, the nature reserve area where we saw Springbok, Blesbok, rabbits and tortoise and then eventually we ended up at The Prison. Our Tour Guide was a ex-prisoner, who had been sentenced to 25 years and had served 4 years when the ANC was unbanned in 1990 and he was then released, being a political prisoner. (He had thrown a hand grenade at a police vehicle and also planted a limpet mine, apart from recruiting soliders for the ANC's armed wing and storing weapons for them as well.) Anyway, the tour through the cells, courtyard, dormitories etc and listening to him talk and being able to ask questions was REALLY interesting - if you ever have a chance - go on the Tour - cost at the moment is R100 pp. When I returned to the main land - I then visited the Two Oceans aquarium, which was also really interesting and a few other attractions in The Waterfront, before returning to Theo and Morag. That evening we all went to St Elmos for dinner - really good deal on Tuesday nights - they have a great special - large Pizza, large Pasta and unlimited coke, all for R69 !! More than enough to feed the 5 of us!
After refuelling the next morning, I left Cape Town and drove up the Garden Route, taking in all the sights and attractions, arriving in Port Elizabeth that evening and stayed at a lovely B&B that David and family had stayed at before. I walked to the beachfront that night for dinner - and of the 10 restuarants at Brookes Pavillion to choose from, I chose a Coffeeshop - and enjoyed a really great, huge Garlic roll as a a starter followed by a delicious Chicken ala King! The next morning after a healthy breakfast, I departed for Durban, again, taking in the sights and beautiful scenery of the Eastern Cape before arriving back in KwaZulu-Natal and Durban that night. And so ended 8 824kms of driving in the 3 weeks that I was away from Durban! I spent the next 2 days at home, recharging my batteries!
And then the cold weather arrived - two days of cold rain and snow on the Drakensberg and the Eastern Cape, with the wind blowing from there to Durban!
During my absence Alice has done a marvellous job running the show and keeping everyone informed of the happenings. She has also done many follow-ups - these are standard with us - when people make an enquiry and we reply, as I said last month, within a day or two, often, many people do not have the courtesy, (or the time - ha, ha), to reply and just say "thanks - we'll think about your reply and contact you again later this week..." - so Alice spends a lot of time recontacting everyone - please folks, let us know what your intentions are after you have received ANY e-mails from us. We go out of our way to help people and are VERY economically priced for all the services that we offer - from self-drive safaris, right through to luxury hotel and lodge tours. Remember, the more information you give us, the easier it is to plan exactly what you want.
Of the future - I have a couple of weeks to do all my preparations for the next big trip, when I depart on the 10 September for 5 weeks to Zimbabwe, Botswana and then return via Mpumalanga and Zululand in October. We have had a large number of enquiries and bookings for the next 8 months already, so if you are wanting the personal attention of a great Guide and an exciting African Bundu Safari, contact us quickly and then we can start planning for you - if your dates are flexible, all the better.
Didi and Abby are still having lots of fun, running around and playing with each other. I tied two of my old socks together some time back and they love having tug-o-war with this and Didi is now chewing through her 7th tennis ball!
Nkosinyathi came and did a few days work during my absence, making a little hut over the swimming pool motor, as the other one was too small and the lid was cumbersome. He has also done lots of weeding, with the spring rains come the weeds, and also the frogs. We had a chorus of them the night before the rain!
Last night I went to my friends Tom and Johness and we all had a good chin-wag and dinner - good to see them again. Rowan, another friend, had the rust removed recently from his old Beetle and spraypainted, but when he brought the car around today to show me, there were a number of wires that they had not reconnected - so now he is busy practising being an auto-electrician! My good lady friend in England, Louise, is saving up to come and visit SA again early next year, so if anyone needs an extra fun-filled and cheerful person to join them, let me know - Louise is anxious to explore more of SA, having only seen part of the Cape last time. I am more than anxious to show her, and all of you around the rest of SA - so much to see, so little time!
The Grade 12 pupils (Matrics) are writing trials at the moment, so I wish them well. I have already spoken to Glenn and Craig, and so far they seem to be OK.
We in Durban are hosted the NAM conference over the next week, so security is really tight - there shall be over 100 Heads of States and foreign ministers staying here and so certain roads have been closed off and areas out-of-bounds.
As I write this, so Wendy and Dave are nearing the end of their Honeymoon safari that I have assisted planning and booking for them. Unfortunately for them this last weekend when it was raining and freezing cold, they were hiking the Wilderness Trail in Umfolosi Game Reserve - I will meet them on Thursday night, so hopefully will hear about their travels. I have another two Honeymoon couples travelling around over the next two months and it has been fun planning their itineraries - also self-drive safaris.
An American teacher, Stan, brought 5 of his students over last month, and they enjoyed a 2 week self-drive safari through part of Botswana and Zimbabwe. Hearing from Stan it seems as though the pupils really enjoyed themselves and LOVE Africa. I hope to meet them in the near future, when they return. I was also hoping to meet Elizabeth, who will be arriving in Cape Town shortly, but unfortunately, our dates do not coincide to meet personally. It is so nice to actually meet people who we have assisted over the Internet, with the planning of their holidays - just a pity I can't meet all of you. I obviously meet many people en route at different lodges, camps and reserves and after chatting, it seems as though many of them could have benefitted more from their holiday by actually going with a Tour Guide - one misses out on so many places and a lot of interesting facts are also missed - before you commit yourself to a self-drive safari, consider allowing African Bundu Safaris to take you on safari - it is well worth that little extra expense. (Many people have commented that I do not charge enough, well, I am happy with the little bit of money that I make - if I am happy, then my guests will be happy!)
This has been another long and lengthy entry in my diary and I know that the next one shall only be in October, after having enjoyed an exciting camping safari with Carol and family and her friend Rachel.
So, if you are reading Dean's Diary for the first time, welcome to African Bundu Safaris - do read some of my previous entries - they are very interesting - and I thank the many people, including the Satour offices around the world who thank me for forwarding the diary to them, or who read it direct from my website. Keep in touch - it's nice to know that one is appreciated.
Cheers for now
Dean
Manager - African Bundu Safaris cc.
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