Hi again everyone!
It feels like it's forever that we've been here - but actually it's only just over two weeks! Just goes to show how fantastic this holiday's being.
Right, let me recap from where I left off.
The day after NZ vs Italy we went to a reptile park where we saw lots of venomous snakes (adders, mambos etc.) , some big, hairy spiders, as well as some big friendly pigs who loved having their chins scratched! It was quite interesting to learn a bit more about snakes - such as the fact that they've all got the remains of back legs from when they used to look more like iguanas etc.
But the day after that was the biggie - Kruger National Park! We got up at the most ungodly hour of 5am, then were bundled into our open top safari 4WD (complete with blankets, thank goodness, as it was FREEZING), then drove to the Numbi gate at bang on 6am. A quite dispiriting hour followed where the only thing we saw were a couple of impala and each other's cold and hungry faces! But a hot breakfast stop later, and a bit warmer so the animals were getting up, it was all on! We saw: 2 male lions complete with big scarred faces, lots of herds of giraffes and zebras, a male elephant whose musk scent was quite overpowering, 2 other herds of elephants, chacma baboons, some leopard tortoises (unfortunately no leopards though!), warthogs, gemsbok, kudu, mongeese (mongooses?) and all sorts of other antelope creatures. It was BRILLIANT! It really lived up to all expectations.
The day after that we drove up to Polokwane (which used to be called Pietersburg) to see what turned out to be the final NZ game (vs Paraguay). Again, how proud were we of our team - undefeated!! And even though we're out of the match, we still sent Italy home as well which was pretty good. We stayed in a pretty dodgy part of town, and our funny campsite had barbed wire all around it, plus a security guard, but it was actually pretty good fun because the whole place was NZers. After the game we met this Afrikaaner couple (Jeanne and Rolonde) who took us in their car to the bar where all the Kiwis were and we had a really fun night celebrating our team.
The next day we went to the Polokwane Game Reserve where we saw white rhinos from about 10m away - they were so close! - and a whole flock of ostriches. That night, we went and stayed at Jeanne and Rolonde's house and they made us a 'potjiekos' which is a traditional Afrikaaner stew - it was so delicious and they were so kind to have us random strangers to stay! Everyone we've met has been so friendly, it's been great.
From Polokwane we drove north to the Blyde River Canyon. On the way we saw the 'Sunland Baobab' - supposedly the biggest baobab in the world and which has a bar inside it! How random. We set up at the campsite in Blyde River (where we had some more fantastic braais with borewors) and then the next day went for a big hike around the canyon. It was absolutely breathtaking - it's the third largest canyon in the world and we saw lots of beautiful waterfalls and vistas. Emilia even got a photo of the elusive protea she's been looking for!
After another braai that night, the next day was a bit of a surprise - it was raining! It was the first day of rain we've had and considering every day since has been brilliantly sunny, it could even be our last. We went to the 'Echo Caves' which were a traditional hiding place during the Stone Age for the local tribe and which were rediscovered by an Afrikaaner farmer during the 1920s. It was really interesting - being the amateur geologist I am! After that we drove south to Graskop to Harrie's Pancake House - delicious! I had venison, Dan had chicken livers, Emilia had biltong and mozzarella and Adrian had peach and pork...mmmm... (By the way, we are in love with the biltong!). After that we went to the Moholoholo Rehabilitation Centre which was something we'd been told about by a guy on our Kruger safari. It was excellent! It cares for lots of animals who have been captured on private farms - including some tame(ish) cheetahs which are used for educational purposes, some lions, lynx, cervils, and even a leopard! We finally saw one so now we don't have to search so high and low anymore... There was even a baby black rhino who charged everyone, too cute. The other highlight there was all the birds - especially the eagles and the vultures. Emilia and Adrian fed a vulture - eek!! But very cool, I can't wait to put the photos up.
From there we've come down to Pretoria. Yesterday afternoon we went to the Japan v Paraguay game which was a nil all draw even into extra time - which meant we got a penalty shootout! We were going for Japan which was a bit sad they didn't get through, but because of the result of another game that day, our next (and final) game is Spain v Paraguay in Joburg in a couple of days time. After the game we had some delicious chicken and rice which some ladies were cooking up on the side of the road, then went out to a local bar to watch the later game - meeting some more very friendly locals! Everyone seems to be very keen that the tourists have a great time here - and tell everyone at home to visit! I have to say it's working on me...
And so today we're going to see the capital buildings in Pretoria, then out to a cheetah rehabilitation centre north of the city. Tomorrow we're catching up with some friends from Oxford in Joburg which I'm really looking forward to, then after a few more days in the big smoke, down to Lesotho.
The travel's been really good so far (apart from when my camera got hit out of my hand and broke...gutted...but thank goodness Adrian's got such a good camera - which I have basically hijacked now), can't complain at all. We're eating our bodyweight in meat (borewors, stew, biltong...) and the luxury of being in proper beds at the moment after two weeks of winter camping is unbelievable.
I hope everything's going well at home - hopefully I'll be able to write another update soon!
It feels like it's forever that we've been here - but actually it's only just over two weeks! Just goes to show how fantastic this holiday's being.
Right, let me recap from where I left off.
The day after NZ vs Italy we went to a reptile park where we saw lots of venomous snakes (adders, mambos etc.) , some big, hairy spiders, as well as some big friendly pigs who loved having their chins scratched! It was quite interesting to learn a bit more about snakes - such as the fact that they've all got the remains of back legs from when they used to look more like iguanas etc.
But the day after that was the biggie - Kruger National Park! We got up at the most ungodly hour of 5am, then were bundled into our open top safari 4WD (complete with blankets, thank goodness, as it was FREEZING), then drove to the Numbi gate at bang on 6am. A quite dispiriting hour followed where the only thing we saw were a couple of impala and each other's cold and hungry faces! But a hot breakfast stop later, and a bit warmer so the animals were getting up, it was all on! We saw: 2 male lions complete with big scarred faces, lots of herds of giraffes and zebras, a male elephant whose musk scent was quite overpowering, 2 other herds of elephants, chacma baboons, some leopard tortoises (unfortunately no leopards though!), warthogs, gemsbok, kudu, mongeese (mongooses?) and all sorts of other antelope creatures. It was BRILLIANT! It really lived up to all expectations.
The day after that we drove up to Polokwane (which used to be called Pietersburg) to see what turned out to be the final NZ game (vs Paraguay). Again, how proud were we of our team - undefeated!! And even though we're out of the match, we still sent Italy home as well which was pretty good. We stayed in a pretty dodgy part of town, and our funny campsite had barbed wire all around it, plus a security guard, but it was actually pretty good fun because the whole place was NZers. After the game we met this Afrikaaner couple (Jeanne and Rolonde) who took us in their car to the bar where all the Kiwis were and we had a really fun night celebrating our team.
The next day we went to the Polokwane Game Reserve where we saw white rhinos from about 10m away - they were so close! - and a whole flock of ostriches. That night, we went and stayed at Jeanne and Rolonde's house and they made us a 'potjiekos' which is a traditional Afrikaaner stew - it was so delicious and they were so kind to have us random strangers to stay! Everyone we've met has been so friendly, it's been great.
From Polokwane we drove north to the Blyde River Canyon. On the way we saw the 'Sunland Baobab' - supposedly the biggest baobab in the world and which has a bar inside it! How random. We set up at the campsite in Blyde River (where we had some more fantastic braais with borewors) and then the next day went for a big hike around the canyon. It was absolutely breathtaking - it's the third largest canyon in the world and we saw lots of beautiful waterfalls and vistas. Emilia even got a photo of the elusive protea she's been looking for!
After another braai that night, the next day was a bit of a surprise - it was raining! It was the first day of rain we've had and considering every day since has been brilliantly sunny, it could even be our last. We went to the 'Echo Caves' which were a traditional hiding place during the Stone Age for the local tribe and which were rediscovered by an Afrikaaner farmer during the 1920s. It was really interesting - being the amateur geologist I am! After that we drove south to Graskop to Harrie's Pancake House - delicious! I had venison, Dan had chicken livers, Emilia had biltong and mozzarella and Adrian had peach and pork...mmmm... (By the way, we are in love with the biltong!). After that we went to the Moholoholo Rehabilitation Centre which was something we'd been told about by a guy on our Kruger safari. It was excellent! It cares for lots of animals who have been captured on private farms - including some tame(ish) cheetahs which are used for educational purposes, some lions, lynx, cervils, and even a leopard! We finally saw one so now we don't have to search so high and low anymore... There was even a baby black rhino who charged everyone, too cute. The other highlight there was all the birds - especially the eagles and the vultures. Emilia and Adrian fed a vulture - eek!! But very cool, I can't wait to put the photos up.
From there we've come down to Pretoria. Yesterday afternoon we went to the Japan v Paraguay game which was a nil all draw even into extra time - which meant we got a penalty shootout! We were going for Japan which was a bit sad they didn't get through, but because of the result of another game that day, our next (and final) game is Spain v Paraguay in Joburg in a couple of days time. After the game we had some delicious chicken and rice which some ladies were cooking up on the side of the road, then went out to a local bar to watch the later game - meeting some more very friendly locals! Everyone seems to be very keen that the tourists have a great time here - and tell everyone at home to visit! I have to say it's working on me...
And so today we're going to see the capital buildings in Pretoria, then out to a cheetah rehabilitation centre north of the city. Tomorrow we're catching up with some friends from Oxford in Joburg which I'm really looking forward to, then after a few more days in the big smoke, down to Lesotho.
The travel's been really good so far (apart from when my camera got hit out of my hand and broke...gutted...but thank goodness Adrian's got such a good camera - which I have basically hijacked now), can't complain at all. We're eating our bodyweight in meat (borewors, stew, biltong...) and the luxury of being in proper beds at the moment after two weeks of winter camping is unbelievable.
I hope everything's going well at home - hopefully I'll be able to write another update soon!
No comments:
Post a Comment