It is hard to believe that a week and half has passed since we were sitiing in the Joburg airport waiting on our Midnight launch time to fly back to Calgary. But i finally found time to close out the final chapter of out trip to ZA as i am sitting in MacDonld's in Laughlin , NV on our way to Yuma.
Anyhow our 20 hour boring flight got airborne at 10 min after midnight and our first leg was an 11 hour ride with a 2 hour stop in Amsterdam. Most of the trip was uneventful as most of the Brats, excuse me, kids , were sleeping. Althought they fed us twice both Carroll and i managed to get a few hours sleep.
After leaving Amsterdam for the 9 hour flight to Calgary, which swear was at least 2 days long and noisey, we were finally on our way home. I believe they purposely awoke all the kids and fed the candy and coffee, especially the 2 located 2 seats in front of us because they hollered and screamed most of the flight, hence, no sleep time.
We arrived in Calgary at 3 PM and the temp was - 33 C and our bodies went into shock. After spending 3 months in shorts and tee shirt, the cold temp seemed to go thru us like a knife. Yvonne, Emily and Rhett met us at the airport and she brought us coats, mitts and hats which was much appreciated.
I think i got caught in the Jet Lag syndrome because I could not get much sleep for the next three days.
As most of you know, we intended to head south until apr so my next Blog with start with our trip south effective Tuesday. South Africa is a wonderful country and i think everyone should add it to your " Bucket List"
Friday, 27 January 2012
Monday, 16 January 2012
15 Jan Sunday.... Victoria Falls
I know that my last Blog said no more blogs until I get to Okotoks but I'm sitting in the Joburg airport in the KLM "Slow Lounge" with nothing to do but drink Beer, Jack Daniels and Tea in that order so I will do my Sunday blog.
Sunday morning after breakfast our guide picked us up for a trip to the World famous Victoria Falls and they certainly are great. But first the guide had to pick up 7 other people around town. The next 2 ladies were ready as there pick up time was about 2 mins after us. Then we moved to the Kingdom hotel to pickup a couple and their adult son ( and I use the word adult loosely ).
The couple were ready but the son was nowhere to be seen. After 5 mins the driver said to go get him and i will return after I pickup another couple. In less than 5 mins we return and still no son. So we waited and waited and after about 10 mins this idiot finally showed up. Even after the driver ask him to hurry he just saundered.
The trip to the Falls is just a few mins away but we needed two hours to walk the entire lenght of the Falls and take time to shoot some Pics and we had to be back to our hotel to catch a Bus to the airport by 11:15.
Now we get to the Falls and we are behind time so the guide pushes us to keep moving because there are 16 lookout points to take some pics. We did have time to shoot as many pics as we wanted but we hurried from one spot to another. Now the idiot and his parents and another couple where from Argentia so they where guided by a Spanish speaking guide. I'll get to the Falls in a min. The Argentias must have taken their sweet time because they where 20 mins behind us. By this time our driver/guide is getting mad so he tells they to hurry and they don't give a dam. Instead of getting in the bus they go to watch some dancers performing in the parking lot; then they decide to buy a CD. Finally the driver tells them that some of his passagers have to get to the airport so please get in and they did. I was told later that Argentias are like that.
Now for the Falls: Victoria falls is much like Niagara Falls ( but much bigger ) in that it dives two countries. Fhe Falls is located in the Zambea river which divides Zimbabwe and Zambeze, however, the majority of the Falls is in Zimbabwe. There are actually 7 set of Falls, all have a name of course and they are at different heights, albeiit by several metres. The shortest is 70 M and the highest is 107 M. These Falls set up such a spray that it actually rains down on you as you are very close to the edge. There are 16 lookout points from where you can take some pics but you are so close you can not alway see where the sheet of water hits the river. The noise is deafing. After the water/river passes over the falls it then joins another river running thru a gorge and this povides a venue for white water rafting. I spoke to a guy who went rafting and he says it is so wild that you will definitly get thrown out of the boat in some of the rapids.
This was a great experience and well worth the money. It would have been ashame to come all this way and not see this "Wonder of the World".
We did manage to get to the airport on time and flew back to Joburg where we rented a car or what passes for a car in this country. I ask for a spare "Bobbin" as i thought it was too small to fit an engine in it. It did hold our 4 peices of luggage. Then we drove to the store and picked up supper and returned to the KEA Rental lot where they graciously gave us suite for the night. This was all prearranged before we left. After three days of running for 12 to 14 hours we were quite content to just rest for the evening. Another chapter in our travels come to a conclusion. Tomorrow we fly home.
Sunday morning after breakfast our guide picked us up for a trip to the World famous Victoria Falls and they certainly are great. But first the guide had to pick up 7 other people around town. The next 2 ladies were ready as there pick up time was about 2 mins after us. Then we moved to the Kingdom hotel to pickup a couple and their adult son ( and I use the word adult loosely ).
The couple were ready but the son was nowhere to be seen. After 5 mins the driver said to go get him and i will return after I pickup another couple. In less than 5 mins we return and still no son. So we waited and waited and after about 10 mins this idiot finally showed up. Even after the driver ask him to hurry he just saundered.
The trip to the Falls is just a few mins away but we needed two hours to walk the entire lenght of the Falls and take time to shoot some Pics and we had to be back to our hotel to catch a Bus to the airport by 11:15.
Now we get to the Falls and we are behind time so the guide pushes us to keep moving because there are 16 lookout points to take some pics. We did have time to shoot as many pics as we wanted but we hurried from one spot to another. Now the idiot and his parents and another couple where from Argentia so they where guided by a Spanish speaking guide. I'll get to the Falls in a min. The Argentias must have taken their sweet time because they where 20 mins behind us. By this time our driver/guide is getting mad so he tells they to hurry and they don't give a dam. Instead of getting in the bus they go to watch some dancers performing in the parking lot; then they decide to buy a CD. Finally the driver tells them that some of his passagers have to get to the airport so please get in and they did. I was told later that Argentias are like that.
Now for the Falls: Victoria falls is much like Niagara Falls ( but much bigger ) in that it dives two countries. Fhe Falls is located in the Zambea river which divides Zimbabwe and Zambeze, however, the majority of the Falls is in Zimbabwe. There are actually 7 set of Falls, all have a name of course and they are at different heights, albeiit by several metres. The shortest is 70 M and the highest is 107 M. These Falls set up such a spray that it actually rains down on you as you are very close to the edge. There are 16 lookout points from where you can take some pics but you are so close you can not alway see where the sheet of water hits the river. The noise is deafing. After the water/river passes over the falls it then joins another river running thru a gorge and this povides a venue for white water rafting. I spoke to a guy who went rafting and he says it is so wild that you will definitly get thrown out of the boat in some of the rapids.
This was a great experience and well worth the money. It would have been ashame to come all this way and not see this "Wonder of the World".
We did manage to get to the airport on time and flew back to Joburg where we rented a car or what passes for a car in this country. I ask for a spare "Bobbin" as i thought it was too small to fit an engine in it. It did hold our 4 peices of luggage. Then we drove to the store and picked up supper and returned to the KEA Rental lot where they graciously gave us suite for the night. This was all prearranged before we left. After three days of running for 12 to 14 hours we were quite content to just rest for the evening. Another chapter in our travels come to a conclusion. Tomorrow we fly home.
Sunday, 15 January 2012
13 and 14 th Jan Friday.. Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe
We had a great sleep in our Five Star suite, compliments of KEA rentals. After breakfast we repacked/rechecked our luggage to make sure we has the right things and enough things for our trip to Vic Falls. After living in a MH for 2 1/2 months, a suite case was kind of a novelty to us. Besides we were only taking one suite case so whatever did not fit did not go.KEA was taking us to the airport so we had a pickup at 9:15 AM for our 11:30 flight. We flew British Airlines and they are comparable to Air Canada but some friends we met said that BA is not as bad as United.
We arrived in Vic Falls, Zimbabwe at 1:30 and it took us an hour to get there immigration and we had to pay 75.00 USD per person for a Visa. More on that story later.
We had a packaged deal that include all the meals; a Sunset Cruise ( actually a boat ride) on the Zambeze river on Sat evening and a guided tour of the Falls on Sat and then a traditional supper ( called a BOMA dinner ) on Sat evening. Carroll got to thinking ( and that is dangerous )about all the spare time we would have so she ask the Bus driver, who picked us at the airport if we could change our timing and he said "absolutely" . So we took the Sunset cruise at 5 PM Friday and changed the guided tour of the Falls to sunday morning since we were not leaving until 1:30 PM to return to Joburg. Now we had all day Sat to kill so the Bus driver suggest we go to Botawana as he was taking a group of 7 and had extra seats at a cost of 175.00 USD per person. Did I mention the a trip to Zimbabwe is not cheap. Anyway We took the deal so now we are set for the 3 days.
About 4;30 the bus picked us up at our hotel along with a few others for the Boat Cruise at 5PM. We just happen to say hello to a young couple from Solvakia ( who spoke fluid English) on the Bus so we invited thenm to our table on the cruise. They were very interesting couple as she is an executive with Johnson Controls and she is part of a Team working for the next to in Joburg as the make car parks for the car manufacturers in South Africa. He is a self employed Mechanical Designer. After the Boat Cruise we returned to the hotel called the Safria Lodge and had supper around 8 PM. The hotel is built on a hill overlooking a forest and a small watering hole for the "wild " aninals , if warthogs and baboons are still considered wild aninals. All meals were 3 course and I had Impala (antelope ) verison steak and Carroll had Filet Mangon. the cost was 48 USD, althought our meals were include. I tell you right now that Zimbabwe does not have a currency so they prefer USD but will accept the ZA Rand, reluctantly.
Saturday 14 th
Since we had to leave at 7 AM on Saturday for our trip to Botawana, some 70 KM away, we had to order a "Takeout " since the kitchen did not open until 7 AM. The downside was that we had to eat it before we got to Botawana as we could not take food into the country but the driver never mentioned it until we got to the Border so we had to leave it on the bus. since this bus could not cross the border, he and his family had a good meal on us.
I should mention at this time that the others on the trip with us were: a couple from Castlegar, BC: the young Solvak couple; a mother and daughter from Austria; and a young man from Japan.
Crossing into Botswana was easy. We just filled out the normal form and he stamped out passports and that was it. The Botawana bus driver then took us to the Marina lodge were we would pre order a 3 course lunch including beer and then board a boat for a 3 hour boat ride to see wild animals along the river and to get an history lesson on the Chobe river and the national Park including the land and water dispute between Botswana and Namiba. This dispute had to be settled by the World Court in the Hague. Both countries are now happy with the Agreement. There is a point on the Chobe river were it joins the Zanbeze river that all 4 countries actually meet. That is Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namiba and Zambia. It is the only place in the World where this occurs. The best part of the river cruise was that we seen and where within a 100 KM of a herd ( more than 35 but less than 50 )of Hippos grazing on the island in the river. This is rare because Hippos normal stay in the water but apparently they will grass if the grass is pentiful and near their watering hole; this case the river. It was at this point where our camera batties went dead so no camera for the rest of the day because our spare batties were in Joburg. However, all 3 couple are sending us the pictures and the couple from Castlegar are sending us a disk so we will definetly have enough pictures.
At 12;30 we returned to the Marina Lodge for our lunch which was great. At 1;30 we were picked up by a Game Drive vehicle and taken to Chobe National Park for another game drive for 2 1/2 hours. The park covers 11000 sq KM and has 60,000 Elephants. Do you think we seen any Elephants? The only wild animal that does not live in Chobe N.P. is the Leopard.
Now we have to return to Zimbabwe and the immigration is no more freindly than it was yesterday. They charged us another 75 USD each to get another Visa. Canadian are charged the highest rate and do not get a "Double entery " because Mr. harper has decided to Bad Mouth president Mugabe about his " Human Rights" policies. As an example the US citizen only pay 30.00 and can get a "double Entery".
When we returned to Vic falls, I ask the bus driver to stop at a camera store so I could get sone batties. this is a small town so he didn't think i would have any luck, especially since it was after 5 PM. While driving down the street we spotted a small Kiosk that said Camera and Bike Hire so we stopped. But it was closed so the driver ask some kids if the knew where the owner live. One kids said he did so he went and got the owner who open his shop and sold me the batteries. Just try to get that kind of service in Canada.
Tonight we are going to a " Traditional " dinner called a BOMA. (Don't even ask what it means ). Reservation was 7:30 so we were pickup and delivered to the BOMA House. We were met by a warrior ushered us in, then a young lady " Warrior " dapped some paint on our face and another Warrior wrapped and tied a shawl around us so we looked like them. Now for the food; They had a beautiful layout of food, including cooking a lamd over an open fire inside the building. it was buffet style and it had many of the eadible wild meat in Africa such as Alligator, Warthog, several species of Antelope, Guiney Fowl ( a wild chicken ). I had to taste some Traditional home made beer but it taste like dish water. During our meal there was Traditonal Dancing and much playing of the Bongo Drums. It was most enjoyable evening
History: Botswana has a population of 2 Million and their main industries are diamond mining and tourisum. They have a Democratic gov't which is not corupt or self fulfilling as is so in Zimbabwe. According to the Game driver the people are happy with the PM and the gov't.
Zimbabge has a terrible gov't and it shows. We had to pay 30.00USD to visit the Falls because it is a national park so I ask the driver where does the money. He said, you never ask a gov't offical about money because it is hazardous to your health and well-being . One good point about Zimbabwe is that when it was Rodesia and Smith was the President, ( before Mugabe ) he had all the blacks educated to the British standard , hence they are well educated. ZA on the other had spent less money on educating the blacks and the country is now paying for it by having so many under educated.
My next blog will be from Canada.
We arrived in Vic Falls, Zimbabwe at 1:30 and it took us an hour to get there immigration and we had to pay 75.00 USD per person for a Visa. More on that story later.
We had a packaged deal that include all the meals; a Sunset Cruise ( actually a boat ride) on the Zambeze river on Sat evening and a guided tour of the Falls on Sat and then a traditional supper ( called a BOMA dinner ) on Sat evening. Carroll got to thinking ( and that is dangerous )about all the spare time we would have so she ask the Bus driver, who picked us at the airport if we could change our timing and he said "absolutely" . So we took the Sunset cruise at 5 PM Friday and changed the guided tour of the Falls to sunday morning since we were not leaving until 1:30 PM to return to Joburg. Now we had all day Sat to kill so the Bus driver suggest we go to Botawana as he was taking a group of 7 and had extra seats at a cost of 175.00 USD per person. Did I mention the a trip to Zimbabwe is not cheap. Anyway We took the deal so now we are set for the 3 days.
About 4;30 the bus picked us up at our hotel along with a few others for the Boat Cruise at 5PM. We just happen to say hello to a young couple from Solvakia ( who spoke fluid English) on the Bus so we invited thenm to our table on the cruise. They were very interesting couple as she is an executive with Johnson Controls and she is part of a Team working for the next to in Joburg as the make car parks for the car manufacturers in South Africa. He is a self employed Mechanical Designer. After the Boat Cruise we returned to the hotel called the Safria Lodge and had supper around 8 PM. The hotel is built on a hill overlooking a forest and a small watering hole for the "wild " aninals , if warthogs and baboons are still considered wild aninals. All meals were 3 course and I had Impala (antelope ) verison steak and Carroll had Filet Mangon. the cost was 48 USD, althought our meals were include. I tell you right now that Zimbabwe does not have a currency so they prefer USD but will accept the ZA Rand, reluctantly.
Saturday 14 th
Since we had to leave at 7 AM on Saturday for our trip to Botawana, some 70 KM away, we had to order a "Takeout " since the kitchen did not open until 7 AM. The downside was that we had to eat it before we got to Botawana as we could not take food into the country but the driver never mentioned it until we got to the Border so we had to leave it on the bus. since this bus could not cross the border, he and his family had a good meal on us.
I should mention at this time that the others on the trip with us were: a couple from Castlegar, BC: the young Solvak couple; a mother and daughter from Austria; and a young man from Japan.
Crossing into Botswana was easy. We just filled out the normal form and he stamped out passports and that was it. The Botawana bus driver then took us to the Marina lodge were we would pre order a 3 course lunch including beer and then board a boat for a 3 hour boat ride to see wild animals along the river and to get an history lesson on the Chobe river and the national Park including the land and water dispute between Botswana and Namiba. This dispute had to be settled by the World Court in the Hague. Both countries are now happy with the Agreement. There is a point on the Chobe river were it joins the Zanbeze river that all 4 countries actually meet. That is Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namiba and Zambia. It is the only place in the World where this occurs. The best part of the river cruise was that we seen and where within a 100 KM of a herd ( more than 35 but less than 50 )of Hippos grazing on the island in the river. This is rare because Hippos normal stay in the water but apparently they will grass if the grass is pentiful and near their watering hole; this case the river. It was at this point where our camera batties went dead so no camera for the rest of the day because our spare batties were in Joburg. However, all 3 couple are sending us the pictures and the couple from Castlegar are sending us a disk so we will definetly have enough pictures.
At 12;30 we returned to the Marina Lodge for our lunch which was great. At 1;30 we were picked up by a Game Drive vehicle and taken to Chobe National Park for another game drive for 2 1/2 hours. The park covers 11000 sq KM and has 60,000 Elephants. Do you think we seen any Elephants? The only wild animal that does not live in Chobe N.P. is the Leopard.
Now we have to return to Zimbabwe and the immigration is no more freindly than it was yesterday. They charged us another 75 USD each to get another Visa. Canadian are charged the highest rate and do not get a "Double entery " because Mr. harper has decided to Bad Mouth president Mugabe about his " Human Rights" policies. As an example the US citizen only pay 30.00 and can get a "double Entery".
When we returned to Vic falls, I ask the bus driver to stop at a camera store so I could get sone batties. this is a small town so he didn't think i would have any luck, especially since it was after 5 PM. While driving down the street we spotted a small Kiosk that said Camera and Bike Hire so we stopped. But it was closed so the driver ask some kids if the knew where the owner live. One kids said he did so he went and got the owner who open his shop and sold me the batteries. Just try to get that kind of service in Canada.
Tonight we are going to a " Traditional " dinner called a BOMA. (Don't even ask what it means ). Reservation was 7:30 so we were pickup and delivered to the BOMA House. We were met by a warrior ushered us in, then a young lady " Warrior " dapped some paint on our face and another Warrior wrapped and tied a shawl around us so we looked like them. Now for the food; They had a beautiful layout of food, including cooking a lamd over an open fire inside the building. it was buffet style and it had many of the eadible wild meat in Africa such as Alligator, Warthog, several species of Antelope, Guiney Fowl ( a wild chicken ). I had to taste some Traditional home made beer but it taste like dish water. During our meal there was Traditonal Dancing and much playing of the Bongo Drums. It was most enjoyable evening
History: Botswana has a population of 2 Million and their main industries are diamond mining and tourisum. They have a Democratic gov't which is not corupt or self fulfilling as is so in Zimbabwe. According to the Game driver the people are happy with the PM and the gov't.
Zimbabge has a terrible gov't and it shows. We had to pay 30.00USD to visit the Falls because it is a national park so I ask the driver where does the money. He said, you never ask a gov't offical about money because it is hazardous to your health and well-being . One good point about Zimbabwe is that when it was Rodesia and Smith was the President, ( before Mugabe ) he had all the blacks educated to the British standard , hence they are well educated. ZA on the other had spent less money on educating the blacks and the country is now paying for it by having so many under educated.
My next blog will be from Canada.
Thursday, 12 January 2012
12 Jan Thursday End of our Camping
Today we return the MH to KEA around 3 PM. I'm not sure what to expect but I know it will take an hour for the paperwork. First they will do an inventory of all the cutlery, chairs, bedding etc. Then they check for damages and ensure the fuel is FULL. Anyways, there is no hurry as we are only about 150 KM from Joburg. We left the fridge for today as we had to defrost it and do a cleaning. We have some food stuff to keep cool until we get to KEA.
By 11 AM we were ready to go so we stopped at the Camp resturaunt had lunch then headed for Joburg.
We arrived in Joburg around 2:30 and went to the grocery store ( Pick and Pay ) to pick up something for supper because KEA not only has a room for us, but they also have a kitchen for us to cook/make supper since we would not be going any place until tomorrow morning.
Then we arrived at KEA and they were waiting for us. We backed into the inspection bldg which is also the guest accommodation. First they show us the guest quarters and I was floored. This is a 5 star room and it could have been the Raddison or the Hilton, and most import, it is free. The kitchen is fully furnish and design like any upscale home in Canada.
So we unloaded our 4 bags and other paraphnalia so they could actually see inside the MH and then proceded with the paperwork. As expected everything was fine.
They gave us a key for the bldg so when we return on the 15 th we can come back to stay overnight again and they will take us to the airport tomorrow morning. We whiled away the night by having supper and doing my Blog and Carroll spent her time organizing the bills to get our VAT ( this is the same as our GST )tax back at the airport.
As Carroll said as we hit the bed; finally a real bed to sleep in. there was nothing wrong with bed in the camper, but a 6 inch foam is not a 12 inch "pillow top " matress. Tomorrow we go to Victoria Falls.
By 11 AM we were ready to go so we stopped at the Camp resturaunt had lunch then headed for Joburg.
We arrived in Joburg around 2:30 and went to the grocery store ( Pick and Pay ) to pick up something for supper because KEA not only has a room for us, but they also have a kitchen for us to cook/make supper since we would not be going any place until tomorrow morning.
Then we arrived at KEA and they were waiting for us. We backed into the inspection bldg which is also the guest accommodation. First they show us the guest quarters and I was floored. This is a 5 star room and it could have been the Raddison or the Hilton, and most import, it is free. The kitchen is fully furnish and design like any upscale home in Canada.
So we unloaded our 4 bags and other paraphnalia so they could actually see inside the MH and then proceded with the paperwork. As expected everything was fine.
They gave us a key for the bldg so when we return on the 15 th we can come back to stay overnight again and they will take us to the airport tomorrow morning. We whiled away the night by having supper and doing my Blog and Carroll spent her time organizing the bills to get our VAT ( this is the same as our GST )tax back at the airport.
As Carroll said as we hit the bed; finally a real bed to sleep in. there was nothing wrong with bed in the camper, but a 6 inch foam is not a 12 inch "pillow top " matress. Tomorrow we go to Victoria Falls.
11 Jan Wedesday D- Day or Packing day
Today is the last camping day of our ZA trip and it will be a busy day. First i had to take the MH to the Wash Rack, which i previously had made an appointment for 9 AM for a Full cleaning. However, we had to unload the MH and pile everything on the ground as we ask the Wash Rack people to clean inside and outside including a complete vacuum of the storage area. The food stuff and Fridge was left for us.
After delivering the MH to the Wash Rack we started to sort out what we would need for our trip to Victoria Falls and then decide how to arrange the other stuff so we would only have our limit of 50 Lbs in each bag. We started with 1 large Hockey bag and two smaller sports bags. This was proving to be most difficult as we appeared to have too much stuff for the bags. I really don't how that could happen. Like i told Carroll it was her fault but I blaming her anyways. ha ha. I then googled KLM to see if our bag limit was 2 per person and if i read it correctly that we are allowed 2 bags each weighing not more than 50 lbs each. So we went shopping for a 4 th bag/suit case. Now with the 4 bags we had to do some more re-arranging but I think we have the bag weight down to 50 Lb limit.
After 2 1/2 hours af packing and repacking I went and retrived the MH. They did a fantastic job and only charged 20.00 Cdn. Then we started to put the bags and other stuff back in the MH and it was about that time I realized the MH was too dam small.
Since we had to return the MH to KEA tomorrow we called to see what time we had to have it back. They said 3 PM would be great so we decided to hit the wave pool and worry about cleaning the fridge and the cupboards tomorrow. I always say " Don't do today; what you can leave for tomorrow". However, we rec a Bonus by calling the KEA office. They are really helpful and they ask if we had a hotel to say at tomorrow night. Carroll told them we called a couple but could not get thru. They said ;good, we have Guest Siutes for our customers, free of charge, and you are welcome to stay with us. We also have a kitchen so bring your supper and cook it on site. Talk about luck???
After a couple of hours at the pool we decide to see if the 5 PM Game drive had an opening and it did so we took the 2 hour game drive just to kill the evening. These are not wild animals , in fact the Rhino's was a tame as a Milking cow. However, it was an enjoyable evening.
After supper we headed back to the indoor/outdoor Hydro pool for our last swim. Actually !/2 of the crowd from the previous night must have went home because they were not there. Also we were not the only Whites in the pool. Many of the Muslum ladies go in the pool fully dressed.
Note: this may be the last Blog until I get to Okotoks because we will return the MH tomorrow and then off to Vic Falls, where i will not have a connection. I am on a Vodafone SIM card and it does not work in Zimbagwe.
After delivering the MH to the Wash Rack we started to sort out what we would need for our trip to Victoria Falls and then decide how to arrange the other stuff so we would only have our limit of 50 Lbs in each bag. We started with 1 large Hockey bag and two smaller sports bags. This was proving to be most difficult as we appeared to have too much stuff for the bags. I really don't how that could happen. Like i told Carroll it was her fault but I blaming her anyways. ha ha. I then googled KLM to see if our bag limit was 2 per person and if i read it correctly that we are allowed 2 bags each weighing not more than 50 lbs each. So we went shopping for a 4 th bag/suit case. Now with the 4 bags we had to do some more re-arranging but I think we have the bag weight down to 50 Lb limit.
After 2 1/2 hours af packing and repacking I went and retrived the MH. They did a fantastic job and only charged 20.00 Cdn. Then we started to put the bags and other stuff back in the MH and it was about that time I realized the MH was too dam small.
Since we had to return the MH to KEA tomorrow we called to see what time we had to have it back. They said 3 PM would be great so we decided to hit the wave pool and worry about cleaning the fridge and the cupboards tomorrow. I always say " Don't do today; what you can leave for tomorrow". However, we rec a Bonus by calling the KEA office. They are really helpful and they ask if we had a hotel to say at tomorrow night. Carroll told them we called a couple but could not get thru. They said ;good, we have Guest Siutes for our customers, free of charge, and you are welcome to stay with us. We also have a kitchen so bring your supper and cook it on site. Talk about luck???
After a couple of hours at the pool we decide to see if the 5 PM Game drive had an opening and it did so we took the 2 hour game drive just to kill the evening. These are not wild animals , in fact the Rhino's was a tame as a Milking cow. However, it was an enjoyable evening.
After supper we headed back to the indoor/outdoor Hydro pool for our last swim. Actually !/2 of the crowd from the previous night must have went home because they were not there. Also we were not the only Whites in the pool. Many of the Muslum ladies go in the pool fully dressed.
Note: this may be the last Blog until I get to Okotoks because we will return the MH tomorrow and then off to Vic Falls, where i will not have a connection. I am on a Vodafone SIM card and it does not work in Zimbagwe.
10 Jan move to Bela Bela
Bela Bela will be our last camp site as we will be here for 2 days to PACK and to have the MH washed and cleaned. Ironically, Bela Bela was were we stated for the first two nights of our trip. I'm sure you folks all knew that because you would have read in the Blog for 1 and 2 Nov.
To refresh your memory Bela Bela ( previously called Warmbath until the ANC gov't decide to change some city names to a Black Africa name ) has many attraction that all go with the price of admission. They have a huge hot pool for swimming, a Wave pool and a couple of small pools for toddlers. Along with the swimming they have a water slide, a Tube slide, a Single Zip line and paddles boats. For an extra fee they have Cable skiing which is water skiing pulled by a cable around a 1/2 KM oval waterway.
They have a fair size hotel and convention centre. But most of all they have 2 Olympic size Hot pools. One is inside and one is outside and they are attached by a 50 foot Isthmuis.
When Carroll and I went to the pool tonight I could not find another white person. I was not sure if I was in India or Iran. I actually thought there was some kind of Muslum/ Indian convention but I was advise otherwise. When i ask were they all came from the answer was mainly Pretoria. You probably know that Pertoria is the capital of ZA and with a large population of Muslums and or East Indians... join that up with the ANC and the minority Whites don"t have a pray about the SAY in Gov't. Enough about politics.
When we came to Bela Bela in Nov the price R160 per night and because this is "High" season the price was R360. Talk about inflation, actually they call it " screwing the Public " .
To refresh your memory Bela Bela ( previously called Warmbath until the ANC gov't decide to change some city names to a Black Africa name ) has many attraction that all go with the price of admission. They have a huge hot pool for swimming, a Wave pool and a couple of small pools for toddlers. Along with the swimming they have a water slide, a Tube slide, a Single Zip line and paddles boats. For an extra fee they have Cable skiing which is water skiing pulled by a cable around a 1/2 KM oval waterway.
They have a fair size hotel and convention centre. But most of all they have 2 Olympic size Hot pools. One is inside and one is outside and they are attached by a 50 foot Isthmuis.
When Carroll and I went to the pool tonight I could not find another white person. I was not sure if I was in India or Iran. I actually thought there was some kind of Muslum/ Indian convention but I was advise otherwise. When i ask were they all came from the answer was mainly Pretoria. You probably know that Pertoria is the capital of ZA and with a large population of Muslums and or East Indians... join that up with the ANC and the minority Whites don"t have a pray about the SAY in Gov't. Enough about politics.
When we came to Bela Bela in Nov the price R160 per night and because this is "High" season the price was R360. Talk about inflation, actually they call it " screwing the Public " .
Wednesday, 11 January 2012
9 Jan Monday Sun City
Today we went to Sun city which is Theme Park located 20 KM from the Nation Park but in the middle of NOwhere. This is a mining area , mostly platinum so why the built here is beyond me, possible because the land was available and cheap. There is a town 5 KM away but I am quite sure no one in that town can afford to go to the theme Park. The closes city is Pretoria which is about 1 1/2 hour drive and Joburg would be at least 2 hours so that would be where the majority of the patrons would be from. The theme park has a huge Hotel, some less expensive self catering chalets, a large Wave pool with a sand beach, a "Killer" watwer slide , a casino and a huge amphitheatre to watch sports and each seat has a VLT screen to take youe money as you watch sports.
Now, a little story about the Casino; Carroll plays the machine but I don't but you need to purchase a card for R20 ( 2.50 cdn ) before you can play. you then insert the card and insert your money which goes directly to this card. there are no coins nor slips of paper, it is all on the card so if you win it goes up and if you lose it is deducted. As the story goes i was standing in line with Carroll to get her card. A security lady approaches me and rambles on in Afrikan. I said "what" and she switch to English and said, turn your hat around backward. My reply was " what for". she said you are under cover, please turn you hat around backward. Carroll picked up on her request right away and said to me the camera can't see your eyes because of the peak. So i turned my hat around backwards. This was a first for me and I have been in many Casinos in several different countries.
After Carroll lost her 20.00 dollars we decide to go thru the back gate to the park which was about 30 KM from our camp site. During this self drive we had hope to see tha t wild Elephant ( just kidding ) and the every elusive leopard. We did see Elephants ( and I kept my distance ) huge Rhinos, several Giraffes, Warthogs and a Red Hartebeest which looks similar to a Wildebeest but is rarely spotted except in western ZA and this was in the north.
On out way home we decide to stop at one more Dam just to see if there were and Hippos waiting for a " Photo Op" by us tourist. The road to the Dam was about 2 KM long but was a Cul de Sac and had a 1 lane bridge. We did spot the Hippos but they could only be seen from the bridge and as luck would have 7 more tourist like ourself came behind us so I had to wait until they crossed the bridge. Just as I entered the bridge we seen an Elephant standing on the road. I looked at Carroll and said ; I seen this movie before and there is no Dam way I'm crossing the bridge first. So we waited until another car past the Elephant and i stopped him and ask where the Elephants was now as I could not see him. The driver said he was 100 M off the road so I made a run for it. No More Elephant hunting for me.
We got home around 4:30 so Carroll did a Wash as we only have 3 more days of camping before we fly to Victoria Falls. Around 7 PM we went to the resturaunt on the camp site as we are down sizing our fridge before we return the MH. I had Venision Pie with Puff Pastry for 12.00n Cdn and Carroll had pork chops for about the same price. I can't believe they can make money with these prices but I assume the waiters rely on tips.
Now, a little story about the Casino; Carroll plays the machine but I don't but you need to purchase a card for R20 ( 2.50 cdn ) before you can play. you then insert the card and insert your money which goes directly to this card. there are no coins nor slips of paper, it is all on the card so if you win it goes up and if you lose it is deducted. As the story goes i was standing in line with Carroll to get her card. A security lady approaches me and rambles on in Afrikan. I said "what" and she switch to English and said, turn your hat around backward. My reply was " what for". she said you are under cover, please turn you hat around backward. Carroll picked up on her request right away and said to me the camera can't see your eyes because of the peak. So i turned my hat around backwards. This was a first for me and I have been in many Casinos in several different countries.
After Carroll lost her 20.00 dollars we decide to go thru the back gate to the park which was about 30 KM from our camp site. During this self drive we had hope to see tha t wild Elephant ( just kidding ) and the every elusive leopard. We did see Elephants ( and I kept my distance ) huge Rhinos, several Giraffes, Warthogs and a Red Hartebeest which looks similar to a Wildebeest but is rarely spotted except in western ZA and this was in the north.
On out way home we decide to stop at one more Dam just to see if there were and Hippos waiting for a " Photo Op" by us tourist. The road to the Dam was about 2 KM long but was a Cul de Sac and had a 1 lane bridge. We did spot the Hippos but they could only be seen from the bridge and as luck would have 7 more tourist like ourself came behind us so I had to wait until they crossed the bridge. Just as I entered the bridge we seen an Elephant standing on the road. I looked at Carroll and said ; I seen this movie before and there is no Dam way I'm crossing the bridge first. So we waited until another car past the Elephant and i stopped him and ask where the Elephants was now as I could not see him. The driver said he was 100 M off the road so I made a run for it. No More Elephant hunting for me.
We got home around 4:30 so Carroll did a Wash as we only have 3 more days of camping before we fly to Victoria Falls. Around 7 PM we went to the resturaunt on the camp site as we are down sizing our fridge before we return the MH. I had Venision Pie with Puff Pastry for 12.00n Cdn and Carroll had pork chops for about the same price. I can't believe they can make money with these prices but I assume the waiters rely on tips.
8 jan Sunday Game Drive
Sunday was dedicated to several Self drive Game drives in hopes that we could finally find that elusive Leopard especially when there are 35 of them within the park. So, bright an early ( around 7 AM ) we head out on the hunt. We were out for approxi 3 hours and seen Hippos, Elephants,giraffes, Zebras, Wildebeast and of course 100's of different species of Antilope. Antyilope are just "cannon fodder" for the Lions and Leopards. By this time it was getting too hot (33C ) so we return to camp; had breakfast, then hit the pool as it was nearly empty, since all the trailer trash had return home to start another year, both at work and at school. We decide that 5 PM would be a good time for another self drive.
It seems funny in hind site, at how much time we can spend watching a Hippo do mostly nothing while waddling around in a pond of water, or a graceful Giraffe muching on a tree branch.
So when 5 PM arrive and the Sun was a little less hot, we did another Self drive but each time we go out to a different area. This time we planned to be at a Dam where we had hoped the animals would come for a drink, as they normally do. about 6 PM we arrived at the Dam and seen 5 Hippos that were either playing or just mad at each other. They would roar, raise there head out of the water and open their huge mouth. However, we did not see them fight like they would do if a new male tried to join the herd. Then we decide to mossey up the road hoping to see something; and this were the story gets interesting.
As we came around a corner traveling at no more that 20 KMH we see an Elephant plodding down the road in our direction. Carroll immediately grabs the camera for an " action " and believe me , we got action. After Carroll snapped the pic we could see that the Elephant was in a bad mood because he was waving his head, flapping his ear and his trunk was going up and down and over his tusk. This had all the potential of becoming problem if the Elephant want the whole road. Bare in mind , these roads are dirt, just wide enough for 2 vehicle to pass slowly. A 7 ton Elephant takes up most of his 1/2 of the road, leaving very little room for a car to pass. And our MH is "slightly" larger the a Camary, so we need a little more of the road. So I decided to back up and to give the Elephant his space but he went from plodding to a fast walk so I assumed he did not want us on his road. I tried to back up faster but I had to stay between the ditches or i would be stuck and I had to back around a curve, which is not easy, even without an Elephant in persuite. When the Elephant got within 20 feet or so I realized we were in a "No win " situation and my brain was in "overdrive" looking for a solution. All while Carroll was giving me directions, but to this day I have no idea what she said nor what good it would do. Luckily the Elephant stayed on his have of the road so I stopped going backwards hopping he would pass us without causing a fuss. Now, for any of you folks who have not driven a vehicle with a 6 speed tranny, you will not know that you can not shift directly from reverse into Low gear. You have to take it out of reverse, let it sit in netural for a second and then shift into Low. However as the Elephant got closer, my brain lost some of its' ability to think fast so i was fighting the gear shift. I finally got it into Low and I waited until the Elephant was even with the front of the MH and then I "floored " it to get past him. At this particular time Carroll was hollering " close your window... "close your window". I later advised Carroll that i had 2 hands and one was on the steering wheel and the other on the gear shift. As we past the Elephant he bellowed at us and flung his trunk but did not hit the MH. He aslo chase us down the road but I did not even slow down or look back for about 2 KM. We feel lucky that we got away unscathed but we did here that a pickup truck recieved a dent in it earlier in the day by an Elephants swinging its' trunk.
I think my heart was racing for the next 1/2 hour so needless to say we had enough "Elephant Hunting " for one day so we returned to camp for supper.
It seems funny in hind site, at how much time we can spend watching a Hippo do mostly nothing while waddling around in a pond of water, or a graceful Giraffe muching on a tree branch.
So when 5 PM arrive and the Sun was a little less hot, we did another Self drive but each time we go out to a different area. This time we planned to be at a Dam where we had hoped the animals would come for a drink, as they normally do. about 6 PM we arrived at the Dam and seen 5 Hippos that were either playing or just mad at each other. They would roar, raise there head out of the water and open their huge mouth. However, we did not see them fight like they would do if a new male tried to join the herd. Then we decide to mossey up the road hoping to see something; and this were the story gets interesting.
As we came around a corner traveling at no more that 20 KMH we see an Elephant plodding down the road in our direction. Carroll immediately grabs the camera for an " action " and believe me , we got action. After Carroll snapped the pic we could see that the Elephant was in a bad mood because he was waving his head, flapping his ear and his trunk was going up and down and over his tusk. This had all the potential of becoming problem if the Elephant want the whole road. Bare in mind , these roads are dirt, just wide enough for 2 vehicle to pass slowly. A 7 ton Elephant takes up most of his 1/2 of the road, leaving very little room for a car to pass. And our MH is "slightly" larger the a Camary, so we need a little more of the road. So I decided to back up and to give the Elephant his space but he went from plodding to a fast walk so I assumed he did not want us on his road. I tried to back up faster but I had to stay between the ditches or i would be stuck and I had to back around a curve, which is not easy, even without an Elephant in persuite. When the Elephant got within 20 feet or so I realized we were in a "No win " situation and my brain was in "overdrive" looking for a solution. All while Carroll was giving me directions, but to this day I have no idea what she said nor what good it would do. Luckily the Elephant stayed on his have of the road so I stopped going backwards hopping he would pass us without causing a fuss. Now, for any of you folks who have not driven a vehicle with a 6 speed tranny, you will not know that you can not shift directly from reverse into Low gear. You have to take it out of reverse, let it sit in netural for a second and then shift into Low. However as the Elephant got closer, my brain lost some of its' ability to think fast so i was fighting the gear shift. I finally got it into Low and I waited until the Elephant was even with the front of the MH and then I "floored " it to get past him. At this particular time Carroll was hollering " close your window... "close your window". I later advised Carroll that i had 2 hands and one was on the steering wheel and the other on the gear shift. As we past the Elephant he bellowed at us and flung his trunk but did not hit the MH. He aslo chase us down the road but I did not even slow down or look back for about 2 KM. We feel lucky that we got away unscathed but we did here that a pickup truck recieved a dent in it earlier in the day by an Elephants swinging its' trunk.
I think my heart was racing for the next 1/2 hour so needless to say we had enough "Elephant Hunting " for one day so we returned to camp for supper.
Tuesday, 10 January 2012
7 JAN Golden Gate N.P. to Pilaneberg N. P.
This trip would cover approxi 500 KM and would take us thru the rest of the Free State, Gauteng province and into the most northern state of Limpopo, which borders on Zimbabwe. The first 2 hours was thru the Free state and this is obviously part of the "Food Basket" for ZA. The corn fields never seem to quite and there were many filds of beans and peas. Every small town we passed thru had 10 or 12 silo elevators so thet speaks for itself. We also seen some potato field for the fisrt time and i notice that there was not irrigartion so I assume they get enough rains as the crops looked great. Then we got on N3 which is a Toll highway so the speed change to 120 KMH but I noticed that most of the drivers , skipped their reading class because i was doing 120 and they flew by me. I was stopped once by the police but I think he was doing a commerical vehicle check and he thought I was a bus. He just checked my licence.
As we continued north we seen many more cattle than cash crops and about half were dairy herds. The dairy cattle are mostly Gursey.
As mentioned we were on N3 heading for N1 and then to N4 this all seemed fairly simple. After an hour or so I figure we should be nearing N4 until carroll says you are heading SE not North as we thought we were. Needless to say the maps are not good but we also ingnored the GPS, which we should not have done. by now I'm a little peeved so i whip into a gas station to ask directions. I ask the clerk who was black to direct me to the town on Britz. She said ask the gas attendant. I ask the gas attendant who was black and he said , " I'm not working today ".i said I don't give shit if you are working or not : just tell me how to get to Britz. So he notice by Fowl dispostion and called to buddy who was pumping petrol for a White lady. I too noticed the white lady so i went directly to her and she said turn left on 512 and don't get off it for 40 KM and you will be in Britz. Thank you white lady. We did got thru several small towns but we finally arrived at our destination . This would be our last chance to see the Big Five because when we leave here on tuesday our "Elephant" hunting is done. the park is beautiful and the camp site is great and the bonus is that most of the people will leave sunday morning as the kids start the new school year on Wedesday and the parents summer holidays are over. while signing in we noticed that the park hotel, chalets is affiliated with RCI time share. Anyhow we parked at our camp site, and since it was around 3:30 it must be "Miller Time" . The temp was 33C so we took a dip in the pool to cool off. Then back to the camp site for a "Braai" ( Bar-B- Q ) of lamb chop.
As we continued north we seen many more cattle than cash crops and about half were dairy herds. The dairy cattle are mostly Gursey.
As mentioned we were on N3 heading for N1 and then to N4 this all seemed fairly simple. After an hour or so I figure we should be nearing N4 until carroll says you are heading SE not North as we thought we were. Needless to say the maps are not good but we also ingnored the GPS, which we should not have done. by now I'm a little peeved so i whip into a gas station to ask directions. I ask the clerk who was black to direct me to the town on Britz. She said ask the gas attendant. I ask the gas attendant who was black and he said , " I'm not working today ".i said I don't give shit if you are working or not : just tell me how to get to Britz. So he notice by Fowl dispostion and called to buddy who was pumping petrol for a White lady. I too noticed the white lady so i went directly to her and she said turn left on 512 and don't get off it for 40 KM and you will be in Britz. Thank you white lady. We did got thru several small towns but we finally arrived at our destination . This would be our last chance to see the Big Five because when we leave here on tuesday our "Elephant" hunting is done. the park is beautiful and the camp site is great and the bonus is that most of the people will leave sunday morning as the kids start the new school year on Wedesday and the parents summer holidays are over. while signing in we noticed that the park hotel, chalets is affiliated with RCI time share. Anyhow we parked at our camp site, and since it was around 3:30 it must be "Miller Time" . The temp was 33C so we took a dip in the pool to cool off. Then back to the camp site for a "Braai" ( Bar-B- Q ) of lamb chop.
6 Jan Carroll's Birthday
This was not our most active day by a long shot. We did not get mobile until 10 AM as we just admired the mountain scenry that surrounded our camp site and we talked to the neighbours looking for info on other likely sites to visit on our last leg of our trip. Most campers are only too glad to make suggestion and most of their suggestions are great. Then we drove around the National park for about 2 hours admirering the scenery and then headed for the small tourist town of Clarens. This town is littered with small boutigues and resturaunts. But it also attracts a large tourist crowd, us included. First, as is our habit, we stopped at the Information booth and the lady was full of suggestions, most of them very interesting.
However,after a short Walkabout the town, we happen to find the German Brewer/pub/resturaunt who was giving 6 beer samples so that got my attention. After tasting the beer, one of which was not drinkable, we decide to have their Lunch Plate for two which was an assortment of cheese , bread, cold cuts and sauage. I also told the waiter I would like a pint of one of the samples so i could get the "full body flavour". Both the beer and the Lunch Plate were excellent.
Then we checked out the German resturaunt to make a reservation for 7 PM for a German supper and it was superb. I had Lamb Shank and Carroll had a Pork Snitzhel.
After supper we now had to drive about 20 KM to our camp site and it was very dark mainly because we were surrounded by the mountains. Just as we left the town we seen a tire burning in the middle of the road and this made me a little concerned. I slowly got closer to see what was happening but I was prepared to return to town and ask for a police escort past this area if necessary. But as we got closer, there was nobody around the burning tire so I quickly skirted around it and headed home , arriving safely but wondering what the tire burning meant.
However,after a short Walkabout the town, we happen to find the German Brewer/pub/resturaunt who was giving 6 beer samples so that got my attention. After tasting the beer, one of which was not drinkable, we decide to have their Lunch Plate for two which was an assortment of cheese , bread, cold cuts and sauage. I also told the waiter I would like a pint of one of the samples so i could get the "full body flavour". Both the beer and the Lunch Plate were excellent.
Then we checked out the German resturaunt to make a reservation for 7 PM for a German supper and it was superb. I had Lamb Shank and Carroll had a Pork Snitzhel.
After supper we now had to drive about 20 KM to our camp site and it was very dark mainly because we were surrounded by the mountains. Just as we left the town we seen a tire burning in the middle of the road and this made me a little concerned. I slowly got closer to see what was happening but I was prepared to return to town and ask for a police escort past this area if necessary. But as we got closer, there was nobody around the burning tire so I quickly skirted around it and headed home , arriving safely but wondering what the tire burning meant.
Monday, 9 January 2012
5 Jan Thursday Gariep Dam to Golden gate National park
I confused the dates again but I should now be back on track. When we left Gariep , we took the secondary roads on the advise of a " supposedly " well traveled camper, who was just a bundle of knowledge on any topic. After some of the roads he put us on , I might want to give a piece of my mind.
We have now entered the Free State ( FS ) (the name of the province )which by ZA standards is considered to be mostly flat but it is no Parire ,as it is also very mountainous. As we entered the state it was mostly grazing land and i was afraid the scenery would be boring.
Before I go any further, the Free State wraps around 2 sides of another country by the name of LESOTHO which is located in the middle of ZA. South Africans consider it a pain in Ass as it is not a prosporous country nor one you would care to pass there, so they mainly go around it. " Hello Quebec " do you still want to separate?
As we traveled further into the FS, it became obvious that this was an agriculture area. They have huge fields of Beans, peas, some cereal grain and mostly corn. Some area were mainly fruit like peaches and Apricotes. It seemed that every town or city had huge concrete silos which were obviously elevators for storing the grain. I was surprised that I did not see any fields with Canola, althought I'm told they do grow it here.
In the area where there was grazing land, we expected to see hundreds of cattle grazing but it was not so; then again the cattle could have been else were on the land.
We traveled 500 KM today and that is a lot of traveling for ZA due to some road conditons of some secondary roads. As we got to within 100 KM from the Golden Gate National Park we could see the topography changing . The mountains became solid rock formations and the scenery was wonderful. It kind of made you slow down to drink in the different formations. In fact we just had to stop and takes some Pics. It's amazing what the wind, rain and water can do to a rock over a few hundred years and the beauty it can form on the rocks.
We actual came to this area to visit a small tourist town called Clarens, much like Banff, AB except on a little smaller scale. We will visit the town tomorrow so you will get a report in the next blog
We have now entered the Free State ( FS ) (the name of the province )which by ZA standards is considered to be mostly flat but it is no Parire ,as it is also very mountainous. As we entered the state it was mostly grazing land and i was afraid the scenery would be boring.
Before I go any further, the Free State wraps around 2 sides of another country by the name of LESOTHO which is located in the middle of ZA. South Africans consider it a pain in Ass as it is not a prosporous country nor one you would care to pass there, so they mainly go around it. " Hello Quebec " do you still want to separate?
As we traveled further into the FS, it became obvious that this was an agriculture area. They have huge fields of Beans, peas, some cereal grain and mostly corn. Some area were mainly fruit like peaches and Apricotes. It seemed that every town or city had huge concrete silos which were obviously elevators for storing the grain. I was surprised that I did not see any fields with Canola, althought I'm told they do grow it here.
In the area where there was grazing land, we expected to see hundreds of cattle grazing but it was not so; then again the cattle could have been else were on the land.
We traveled 500 KM today and that is a lot of traveling for ZA due to some road conditons of some secondary roads. As we got to within 100 KM from the Golden Gate National Park we could see the topography changing . The mountains became solid rock formations and the scenery was wonderful. It kind of made you slow down to drink in the different formations. In fact we just had to stop and takes some Pics. It's amazing what the wind, rain and water can do to a rock over a few hundred years and the beauty it can form on the rocks.
We actual came to this area to visit a small tourist town called Clarens, much like Banff, AB except on a little smaller scale. We will visit the town tomorrow so you will get a report in the next blog
Sunday, 8 January 2012
5 Jan Thursday Beaufort West to Garip Dam
I suppose some of you readers have realized that my 3 th Jan blog actually covered the 3 th and the 4 th. After 2 1/2 months the days are starting to run together. Anyways, we traveled from Beaufort to the Graiep Dam which covered about 350 KM but it was on N-1 which is basically a freeway without Tolls so it was clear sailing all the way.
The Gariep Dam is the largest Power Dam in South Africa and the resorvior backs up some 85 KM from the dam site. This area is a fantastic recreational area and by all appearances the ZA folk flock to this area during the summer school break. It also has a large marina and about 50 chalets for accommodations.
The trip to the Graiep Dam actually started to change the landscape from GRAPES to actual farm land as we could see that they had Ranches and Farms with some dairy herds which were mostly Gurseys. I did expect to see more Holstein cows than I have seen. It seems that the crop most prevelent in this area was corn and of course they grow their crops continuiosly all year round. So there was some corn planted about 2 weeks ago and some already in tassle. The farms are extremely large and the Farm House is located far from the road so I have never been able to see what equipt they have and i have seen very little field work. As i may have mentioned before most large farms have several permanate staff so it is very common to see 6 to 10 small house for the staff, usually located near the highway.
After arriving at the dam site check-in desk they said we could have any vacate site so that told me that most of the "Summer Vacationers " had headed home as the new school year starts on 11 Jan. The park was great with nice size lots so we grabbed a level one, as it is hard to level our MH and then took the rest of the day off. But we will be on the move tomorrow, just not sure where... yet.
The Gariep Dam is the largest Power Dam in South Africa and the resorvior backs up some 85 KM from the dam site. This area is a fantastic recreational area and by all appearances the ZA folk flock to this area during the summer school break. It also has a large marina and about 50 chalets for accommodations.
The trip to the Graiep Dam actually started to change the landscape from GRAPES to actual farm land as we could see that they had Ranches and Farms with some dairy herds which were mostly Gurseys. I did expect to see more Holstein cows than I have seen. It seems that the crop most prevelent in this area was corn and of course they grow their crops continuiosly all year round. So there was some corn planted about 2 weeks ago and some already in tassle. The farms are extremely large and the Farm House is located far from the road so I have never been able to see what equipt they have and i have seen very little field work. As i may have mentioned before most large farms have several permanate staff so it is very common to see 6 to 10 small house for the staff, usually located near the highway.
After arriving at the dam site check-in desk they said we could have any vacate site so that told me that most of the "Summer Vacationers " had headed home as the new school year starts on 11 Jan. The park was great with nice size lots so we grabbed a level one, as it is hard to level our MH and then took the rest of the day off. But we will be on the move tomorrow, just not sure where... yet.
Thursday, 5 January 2012
3Jan Tuesday Calitzdorp to Beaufort West
When we left Calitzdorp our plans were to go to Karoo National Park which is near Beaufort West. But when we arrived at the gate to the Park; " Sorry Mister the camp ground is fully booked ". Since we were only a couple of miles from Beaufort West, we grabbed our favourite camping book and checked to see if there were any camp site nearby. We called the first one on the list and they had plenty of site, so come on down, so we did. From the road, (a better definition is a Laneway) into the barn yard, I repeat " barn yard" as there were ducks, geese, chickens and dogs, not to mention old trucks, tractor, loader and a scraper. Before I get out of our MH, I thinking " oh no" are we at the wrong place. Then a lady alites from a bldg and says, just grab any space want and i'ii collect later tonight. I'm thinking we are the only ones here so I ask and she says no, there are two other campers . So we go in and to our surprise it was a nice camp ground and all grass. We really did not have to be concerned because by evening there were 12 camper in the park. They also had a pool so we took a dip since ithe temp was in the high 20's C.
Just before we entered the camp site the ENG light on the MH came on and I lost power. I was hoping it would "reset" itself during the night but it did not happen. But that story can wait. It gets better!!!
Around midnight two camper pulled into the park and one pulled up quite close to us. Carroll wakes up and investigates the situation, then wakes me , thinking that I need to know about this at midnight. Basically, if there is no terrorist attack or if I don't win the Lotto I really don't need to be awaken for any other reason. Then at 4AM these same two campers decide to leave. And again Carroll seems to think I need to know about it. Then at 4:30 AM the family next to us decides to pack up and leave and again Carroll advise me, for reasons I don't understand. I think I got another hour of sleep before the roosters decide wake everybody.
Now I have to solve the ENG lite problem so I go to the camp owner and ask if he can direct me to the Mercedes dealer. So he invites me into his house and starts to make some phone call. After 3 phone calls and 1 text msg he gets a hold of "Peit" the mechanic and advises him that I will be there in 20 mins.
So we head out the lane way knowing I can only travel at 30 or 40 kmh due to the lost of power. However, when I shifted into 4 gear, the ENG lite went out and I now had full power, so I decide to go the garage and thank Piet for his concern and then be on my way.
Now the good part that can only happen to the Eslers. As I entered the city of Beaufort west I did notice a Police woman who had a Van pulled over and I assumed she was writing a ticket. I immeadately drop my speed to 60kmh although I was not aware of my speed. I thought to myself that I guess I wasn't speeding until I travel about 200 m and a cop traveling towards me was waving his arm which I thought meant "watch your speed" . However, when I looked in the mirror and seen that he make a quick U turn I knew I did something wrong. So after I stopped I jumped out and met him at the rear of my MH and I said i guess I was speeding; how fast I going. He said, you were not speeding but you are driving a vehicle with expired plates and an expired Roadworthy sticker. I said what are you talking about so he showed the 2 stickers and they expired on 31 Dec2011. I explain that this was a Rental and I was a Canadian tourist so I had no knowledge of these sticker. Technically,he said, I should impound you vehicle, then take you to the police station to pay a hefty fine. I said I would call the company immediately and let them deal with. He said, I'll call my Boss and see what we can do and he did. The finally decision was to let me go and I was to advise the Rental company , which did immediately. When I went to thank the mechanic I ask how long to do the Roadworthy inspect and he said a day but getting an appointment was the problem.
By 10:30 another crisis averted , we were again on the road heading for the Gariby Dam camp site. All is well.... That ends well
Just before we entered the camp site the ENG light on the MH came on and I lost power. I was hoping it would "reset" itself during the night but it did not happen. But that story can wait. It gets better!!!
Around midnight two camper pulled into the park and one pulled up quite close to us. Carroll wakes up and investigates the situation, then wakes me , thinking that I need to know about this at midnight. Basically, if there is no terrorist attack or if I don't win the Lotto I really don't need to be awaken for any other reason. Then at 4AM these same two campers decide to leave. And again Carroll seems to think I need to know about it. Then at 4:30 AM the family next to us decides to pack up and leave and again Carroll advise me, for reasons I don't understand. I think I got another hour of sleep before the roosters decide wake everybody.
Now I have to solve the ENG lite problem so I go to the camp owner and ask if he can direct me to the Mercedes dealer. So he invites me into his house and starts to make some phone call. After 3 phone calls and 1 text msg he gets a hold of "Peit" the mechanic and advises him that I will be there in 20 mins.
So we head out the lane way knowing I can only travel at 30 or 40 kmh due to the lost of power. However, when I shifted into 4 gear, the ENG lite went out and I now had full power, so I decide to go the garage and thank Piet for his concern and then be on my way.
Now the good part that can only happen to the Eslers. As I entered the city of Beaufort west I did notice a Police woman who had a Van pulled over and I assumed she was writing a ticket. I immeadately drop my speed to 60kmh although I was not aware of my speed. I thought to myself that I guess I wasn't speeding until I travel about 200 m and a cop traveling towards me was waving his arm which I thought meant "watch your speed" . However, when I looked in the mirror and seen that he make a quick U turn I knew I did something wrong. So after I stopped I jumped out and met him at the rear of my MH and I said i guess I was speeding; how fast I going. He said, you were not speeding but you are driving a vehicle with expired plates and an expired Roadworthy sticker. I said what are you talking about so he showed the 2 stickers and they expired on 31 Dec2011. I explain that this was a Rental and I was a Canadian tourist so I had no knowledge of these sticker. Technically,he said, I should impound you vehicle, then take you to the police station to pay a hefty fine. I said I would call the company immediately and let them deal with. He said, I'll call my Boss and see what we can do and he did. The finally decision was to let me go and I was to advise the Rental company , which did immediately. When I went to thank the mechanic I ask how long to do the Roadworthy inspect and he said a day but getting an appointment was the problem.
By 10:30 another crisis averted , we were again on the road heading for the Gariby Dam camp site. All is well.... That ends well
Wednesday, 4 January 2012
2Jan Monday montage to Calitzdorp
The " dorp " in Calitzdorp actually stands for the word town in our language. We chose Calitzdorp because it had hot pools, cool pool and a " Jacuzzi " as if we needed a Jacuzzi in this weather but the cool pool was great during the hot afternoon and the hot pool was great in the evening when it cools down. Besides the hot pool is great for conversation and information gathering , of which Carroll is a master at that. Iwas talking to a guy and he is an oil worker who specialises in the installation of Ocean Rigs and pipelines and is going to Canada next week to do a job off the East coast. He works for a company called Stolts for you oil guys.
The trip from Montagu to Calitxdorp was very scenic and there seemed to be endless farms of grapes, olives and a over abundance of fruits trees, mostly peaches and apricots. With the amount of grape farms we have seen on our travels, ZA must produce the most wine in the world. This area is all mountains ( not the Rockies of course) and the roads wind their way around and thru the passes making it very enjoyable drive. We sent an email to KEA to advise them we intend to keep the MH until 12 Jan but today is a holiday so we will get the reply tomorrow.
The trip from Montagu to Calitxdorp was very scenic and there seemed to be endless farms of grapes, olives and a over abundance of fruits trees, mostly peaches and apricots. With the amount of grape farms we have seen on our travels, ZA must produce the most wine in the world. This area is all mountains ( not the Rockies of course) and the roads wind their way around and thru the passes making it very enjoyable drive. We sent an email to KEA to advise them we intend to keep the MH until 12 Jan but today is a holiday so we will get the reply tomorrow.
Monday, 2 January 2012
1 Jan 2012 Sunday at Montagu
I already did a Blog for 1 jan but I lost the signal during the " Publishing" and it said it went but I don't see it so this is a repeat blog, just so you know if it shows up.
Sunday was a slow day so we went for a drive up the mountain mainly to see if the "Tractor Ride" up the Mountain was open even thoygh we were told it might be closed. It was closed. But the scenic drive was breath taking. I don't know how these people can farm on the these mountain but they do. There never seems to be an end to the grape farms but there were many other farms that grow peaches, apricotes, Olives, strawberries and other vegetables which we could not identiy from the vehicle. There were a few dairy herds and some beef cattle. We also seen 1 farm that had recently combine either oats or wheat. Most of the farms, whether it be grapes or cattle have 6 to 10 houses for the families of their permanate staff. This is quite common throughout ZA and I assume the housing is part of the pay package. The unique part is that all the houses are exactly the same design and colour.
The round trip up and back down the mountain covered 70 KM and was most enjoyable because of the scenery. We never seem to tire of the farms as the layout of grapes , trees or vegetable are in perfect rows and are as neat as can be.
Sunday was a slow day so we went for a drive up the mountain mainly to see if the "Tractor Ride" up the Mountain was open even thoygh we were told it might be closed. It was closed. But the scenic drive was breath taking. I don't know how these people can farm on the these mountain but they do. There never seems to be an end to the grape farms but there were many other farms that grow peaches, apricotes, Olives, strawberries and other vegetables which we could not identiy from the vehicle. There were a few dairy herds and some beef cattle. We also seen 1 farm that had recently combine either oats or wheat. Most of the farms, whether it be grapes or cattle have 6 to 10 houses for the families of their permanate staff. This is quite common throughout ZA and I assume the housing is part of the pay package. The unique part is that all the houses are exactly the same design and colour.
The round trip up and back down the mountain covered 70 KM and was most enjoyable because of the scenery. We never seem to tire of the farms as the layout of grapes , trees or vegetable are in perfect rows and are as neat as can be.
Sunday, 1 January 2012
31Dec End of 2011
Today we are leaving Stellenbosch and going to Montague, about 200 km away. Why Montague you ask; because it is the start of Route 62 which has the same type of Nostalgia that Route 66 in the USA has. This was a very scenic drive as we came thru the fruit belt with grapes, peaches, pears and others we did not recognise from the MH. We also seen a few Chicken Ranches and some Dairy herds. This route took us thru the mountains and in particular pass they cut a Tunnel thru the mountain and at first I assumed it was a km long, then I decided it must be 3 km long and finally when I exited it I now think it was about 5 km in length. I don't like Tunnel so it was too long for me.
When we reached the town of Montague we trusted our GPS to find the camp ground, which is right in the town. As we are going down the street we seen that we have to " fjord " a river and I'm thinking , no way in hell are we crossing a river. But then I/we seen it was actually a one lane bridge with a shallow layer of water running over it so it wasn't so bad after all. Then as I hit the bridge there were 2 vehicle coming the other way but I took control and made them wait.
The camp site is wonderful and all site are completely grass and it is just like a carpet. As we signed in We were advised that there was a New Years Eve Braai ( that is Bar-B-Q for you folks who don't speak Afrikaan) and that we could get tickets at the " Tuck shop " for R65 PP ( 8.00 cdn ) . They were " Braai ing " 2 whole Lambs. During our conversation with people running the Tuck shop we found tht they have a daughter married to a ZA doctor who has his practise in Oyen, AB and they are coming to Oyen to seevtheir daughter in June. For you folks who never travel, Oyen is 1hr north of Med Hat.
Montague is kind of the the fruit capital of this area so they have a business that dehydrated fruit and also does wholesale and retail sales so we ( mostly Carroll ) just had to visit it and of course buy some of their product.
The New Years Briaa started at 7:30 so we joined the crowd of over 100 party " Goers" and managed to get a second helping ofthe lamb dinner. it was an excellent meal.
We called it a day around 11PM and pretended it was midnight. Well that is it for 2011. Were will we be for 2012????? Happy New Year to the blog readers
When we reached the town of Montague we trusted our GPS to find the camp ground, which is right in the town. As we are going down the street we seen that we have to " fjord " a river and I'm thinking , no way in hell are we crossing a river. But then I/we seen it was actually a one lane bridge with a shallow layer of water running over it so it wasn't so bad after all. Then as I hit the bridge there were 2 vehicle coming the other way but I took control and made them wait.
The camp site is wonderful and all site are completely grass and it is just like a carpet. As we signed in We were advised that there was a New Years Eve Braai ( that is Bar-B-Q for you folks who don't speak Afrikaan) and that we could get tickets at the " Tuck shop " for R65 PP ( 8.00 cdn ) . They were " Braai ing " 2 whole Lambs. During our conversation with people running the Tuck shop we found tht they have a daughter married to a ZA doctor who has his practise in Oyen, AB and they are coming to Oyen to seevtheir daughter in June. For you folks who never travel, Oyen is 1hr north of Med Hat.
Montague is kind of the the fruit capital of this area so they have a business that dehydrated fruit and also does wholesale and retail sales so we ( mostly Carroll ) just had to visit it and of course buy some of their product.
The New Years Briaa started at 7:30 so we joined the crowd of over 100 party " Goers" and managed to get a second helping ofthe lamb dinner. it was an excellent meal.
We called it a day around 11PM and pretended it was midnight. Well that is it for 2011. Were will we be for 2012????? Happy New Year to the blog readers
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