Category: Travel

Communication in this part of the world is at best, hopeless and a part of the trip which had more adventure to talk about. After an email to the boss at Rawandair about our treatment at Jo’berg and the lost bag, we were treated to the business lounge at Kigali before we boarded our flight to Nairobi in business class. On arrival we were picked up by our driver and taken to the hotel. The trip to the hotel took 2 1/2 hours in peak hour, a trip any other time would have been 20 minutes. The hotel was in the middle of town and under heavy security with large gardens and a country feel about it. The next day we were picked up by Ken to take us anywhere we wanted to. We visited Karen Blixen’s house (Out Of Africa) before the bead & pottery factory and then a lovely lunch. Dinner that night was with out travel agent from Nairobi with his mum and brother, who owned the restaurant. Saturday 3 August – Nairobi to Ngorogoro Crater. The day turned out to be an epic trip. Late departure out of Wilson airport for Kilimanjaro we were met and whisked through customs and escorted to our waiting plane for Arusha. We were the only passengers on a 12 seat Cessna with a local at the wheel, who started the take off on the taxi way. It was the best roll start I have ever seen. The flight was short and on arrival we were transferred on the tarmac to our final flight to Lake Manyara. The pilot was this gorgeous 23 year old German woman called Hanna, the plane was choka and she dropped us in on a dirt uphill strip like a true professional. Our guide Samson picked us up for the 2 1/2 trip up to the Crater. The roads were horrendous and as it was late in the afternoon we were meeting all the traffic coming out of the crater. There were many near misses. We finally arrived at Lamala our first of many tented nights. A few drinks around the fire before the whole camp dined on one big table. The next morning was an early start and we were the first into the crater. We had breakfast with the hippos and were fortunate to see a Rhino very close. It was not as good as we expected but was still very enjoyable with plenty of animals. That afternoon we did a bush walk with a local Maasai ranger.

It was good to farewell Victoria Falls, we had seen most of the attractions and we found the Zimbabweans the unhappiest of the people so far. We meet more people from Rovos on the flight to Jo’berg and finally farewelled them. The hotel was right at the airport and very handy for our overnight stay. The airport was very confusing and as we had an early start the next morning with taxes to claim we had a dry run before dinner. The next morning it was up at 5 for the long haul to the gorilla camp in Rwanda. We arrived without my luggage which had most of our cold weather hiking gear in. We were an hour late and we had a 3 1/2 road trip to the mountain. The lodge was fantastic and we were pampered like never before, to the point that every time we entered our beautiful cabin the fire had just been lit. The afternoon talks in the lounge around the fireplace were very interesting with everyone swopping stories from the days activities. The next morning with borrowed clothes we set off early in search for the mountain gorillas. Unfortunately there was a little rain at the start but fined up for the main event. We spent over an hour with them before the trek back down and back to the lodge. After dining out dressed in some of Ros’s clothes, the bag arrived that night just in time for our next leg to Nairobi. Sorry about the photos, but could not upload with shaky reception for Wi Fi here overlooking Mt Kilimanjaro.

We’re in Nairobi at the moment and heading off to Ngorongoro Crater today so here is a quick update of trip so far. Wi Fi has not been very good. Back to the Rovos.
Life on board the train was one big party sharing our time in one of the 3 lounges talking eating and drinking as we chugged along at 60km/h. We arrived into Kimberley mid afternoon where we were shown over The Big Hole, a diamond mine started by De Beers years ago. The next day we arrived into Pretoria and were transferred the stopover hotel, which was in keeping with the style of the train. We then took an afternoon tour around the city visiting the memorial of the battle of Blood River with the Boor Trekkers, historic buildings and the Union Buildings which is the local Parliament House. Back for a fireside dinner and the end of a big day. Pretoria being the hub for Rovos meant that we were blessed with the presence of the man himself, Rohan Vos. There was a working steam locomotive at the platform for everyone to see and photograph before it steamed off and hauled the train up to the station. There were peacocks walking around the station which really set the scene and local guys wheeling luggage up the platform with the old barrows dressed in period uniforms. There is no detail missed in the Rovos world, a truly great experience. Fortunately we were upgraded to a deluxe cabin for the 2nd leg which meant a lot more room. The next day we stopped off at cattle station which had been in a family for over 100 years. They breed prize Bos Indigos cattle which was all explained to us and then a mini game drive around the property. We saw giraffe, water beast, impala, ostrich to name a few and then had drinks by a large dam in anticipation of seeing the animals coming down for their afternoon drink. We were the only ones drinking that afternoon. The rail line in very rough in Zimbabwe and it was a rough night on the train. Next day up early to spot animals as we passed on the edge of Hwange National Park. Unfortunately poaching is still a problem in the area and there wasn’t a great deal to see except for the occasional droppings of elephants. We arrived into Vic Falls at 3.30 and checked into the Llala Lodge where we could hear the falls and see the mist from the terrace restaurant. A quick walk around the town trying to dodge the hawkers whom we discovered a new strategy called The Special Sunset Price. US10 would buy you 5 wooden carvings of “The Big Five” which you wouldn’t sell for 50cents in a garage sale. Of all the people we meet on this trip the Zimbabweans were probably the less helpful and content with their lot. Next day we had a 20 minute helicopter ride over the falls and then walked down to the falls and spent most of the day there and had lunch at the Rain Forest cafe. Dinner that night was at the opulent Victoria Falls Hotel where we meet up with some of our intrepid travellers off the Rovos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After a rainy windy night and a beautiful breakfast we headed off for our last day in the car. The weather did not do justice to the scenic coastal drive into Cape Town which was only about 10kms. As we checked into the hotel in the pouring rain with a very scant awning over the entrance I removed one of the 4 stars. After we settled into the room we drove up to the historic and vividly painted low roofed houses along narrow cobbled streets of Bo Kapp. Initially a garrison for soldiers in the mid 18th century and later where freed slaves started to settle after emancipation in the 1830s and is now a predominately muslim area, with the oldest mosque in South Africa. We visited The Slave lodge which is a large retangular building with a large court yard in the middle. It is one of the oldest buildings in the city dating back to 1660. Until 1811 it was the “so called” home
to as many as 1000 slaves, who lived in damp, filthy and crowded conditions where up to 20% died each year. We had lunch in the Eastern Food Bazzar which is the oldest eatery in the city. The food was cheap, plentiful and it was a hive of activity. We strolled back to V&A waterfront for a afternoon bev at the Irish Style pub.We had dinner at Karibu restaurant which is superb South African cuisine. My favourite was the biltong salad and Ros had a delightful filet of Ostrich with chuka chuka.
Saturday 20 July
After buying a couple of giraffes and boxing them up with the help of staff we posted them at the local post office and then headed down to The Nelson Mandela Gateway to Robben Island. The trip took about 1/2 hour on a pretty rolling swell. We sat next to an off duty ferry captain who was returning home after further studies for his job in Durban. When we arrived we were put into buses for the 1 hour guided tour around the island before being shown around the prison by an ex political prisoner who was a member of the ANC underground. He was there at the same time as Nelson Mandela and spent a little time with him one day when he swapped clothing and after passing the guards delivered meals to B block and spent 2 hours talking with him.
Sunday 21 July
Finally we had a beautiful clear winters morning and Tabletop Mountain was out of cloud. It was the last day of operation before closing down for maintenance for several weeks. We took a cab up to the cable car to save time where the place was manic and it took 1 1/2 hours to get going, which wasn’t too bad considering the volume of people. Each car carries 65 people with a rotating floor which gives everyone a shot at the view as it shoots up at 10mtrs per second. They process 800 visitors per hour. We spent about 90 minutes up there with great 360 views. We then jumped on the Hop on Hop off bus for the trip back to town via the beaches and around the historic part of town. After the walk back to the waterfront we stopped off at the pub for a 1/2kg of BBQ prawns and chips with some very welcomed afternoon drinks. It was a beautiful after noon with a band playing country rock music next door as the sun went down.

We have travelled some 2400kms down from Durban over 11 days, initially over roads less travelled to areas reasonably remote and eventually into a very sophisticated, diverse and friendly society. We saw no road rage no words in anger from or to anyone and only 2 car accidents. Considering the speeds everyone gets along here, that was a miracle. They have a unique way of passing in South Africa, if you are chugging along at 140 and a car slides up behind you, it is customary to move to the edge of the road if it’s safe to do so where you will receive 2 flashes of the emergency lights as he passes. Sometimes when it’s you doing the death defying manoeuvre and you do the flashing you get the thank you flash with their headlights, I guess for not killing them on the way through. While your dealing with the left hand side of the road you have to be mindful off the same thing happening with the oncoming traffic. The level of accommodation, the service and friendliness of the people has been outstanding. Like the start of the trip, wi-fi was in short suppy as it will be from here on. We leave on The Rovos Rail today which pride themselves with travel from a bygone era, where mobile communication is forbidden in public areas. I’m sure if you arrived on the platform with your trunks and a small cage with a couple of pigeons and a set of bongo drums you wouldn’t turn a head. So from here on the dispatches will be few but I hope still enjoyable to read.

After heavy rain all night, we woke to an overcast and rainy morning. Not a good prospect for our trip to The Cape of Good Hope. After a final shop and a free cup of coffee from the girls next door in a little cafe called Lemon 41 we set off for our wet drive south to The Cape. Ros typically had her bucket list and the first one were the coloured Victorian bathing chalets at Muizenberg Beach followed by The Boulders to see the penguins. Unfortunately the weather turned pretty foul and we didn’t get to go on the beach and saw them from the boardwalk instead. After a coffee and a heavy down pour we chanced it and headed south. The scenic drive was nothing short of spectacular with huge cliffs plunging into the Indian Ocean. By the time we arrived at the entrance gate the weather had come good and we were blessed with beautiful wind sweep low heath scenery for the 5 km drive to the tram to take us to the lighthouse at the top of the cape. We then drove down to the ocean side passing Ostrich to the most southern point of Africa. On our way out we saw a herd of Kadu crossing the road. We travelled along the most amazing cliffside road called Chapman’s Peak Drive, which was seriously breathtaking and then onto our overnight high on the hill overlooking Hout Bay. We had dinner at this seafood restaurant on the water front which had the decor of a wooden boat. The oysters were first class and a great night was had.