February 10-17: Lesotho and the Drakensberg

Lesotho is an amazing little country. The landscape is mountainous and immense, with deep valleys and many fast flowing rivers. It is also very rainy and misty, which adds to the magical feeling of the place. We entered Lesotho at Qacha’s Nek, where we had our first experience with a corrupt border official who wanted a bribe. His intimidation was lost on us and we refused to give him any money. To our surprise, he quickly dropped the subject and we passed through the border with no problem.

Orange River (Senqu) valley, Lesotho

Lesotho’s roads are steep, rocky, and winding, which means that covering any distance takes a long time. We stopped quite a bit to gape at the incredible views and at the Basotho locals with their neat little villages perched on the slopes. Most of the locals just stared back at us, although the childrens’ first reaction was to run after the truck shouting for “sweeeeeets!!” To their dismay, we usually gave them apples instead.

Traditional Basotho rondavels

We decided to spend a few days hiking and fishing at Sehlabathebe National Park. The road and weather deteriorated as we climbed high into the Drakensberg and we were very relieved to finally arrive at the only facility in the park – a 70’s era lodge built for the prime minister at the time. As the weather was completely foul, the caretaker talked us into staying a night at the lodge.

The Three Bushmen, Sehlabathebe NP

The next day we climbed up a nearby set of peaks called The Three Bushmen. There were no paths so we just picked a route and headed up. The weather held out and the climb was straightforward, up grassy and rocky slopes covered with wild flowers. We had views across the next valley and down into South Africa waiting for us at the top. We even saw a bearded vulture soaring around.

Field of flowering aloes near Sehlabathebe NP

The climb didn’t take too long, so when we reached the bottom we decided to hike off in the opposite direction. We followed a river downstream to a huge waterfall plunging off a basalt cliff. We pitched our tent there and I did some flyfishing in the plunge pool for trout… successfully! The next day I fished downstream from the falls and caught quite a few feisty little fish while Jessica pottered around caves in the cliffs. On our way back to the lodge we had some fleeting views (through the rain and mist) of eland and mountain reedbuck.

We made it!! Sani Pass

After a long and bumpy journey through Lesotho and down Sani Pass, we descended back into South Africa. We headed to Lotheni National Park, on the South African side of the Drakensberg, to meet up with friends for the weekend. Oli and I spent most of the time fishing for trout in the Lotheni River. We got an A for effort and not much else. This was mostly Oli’s fault because he jinxed us with his endless optimism about how many fish we were going to catch. Eventually we were rewarded for our efforts (at least 20 fishing hours) with one fish each!! We also did some hiking, bird watching, and wine drinking around the fire. It was a beautiful spot, and we had such a great time hanging out with Oli and Erika. We weren’t quite ready to say goodbye, so we followed them to Pietermaritzburg and stayed the night at their cute flat before heading off the next morning for the Elephant Coast.

February 1-9: Garden Route and Wild Coast, South Africa

We left Cape Town at the beginning of February, and began making our way along the coast of South Africa. We were ready to start our long journey and were wondering if we’d bitten off a bit more than we could chew, trying to make it all the way up to Kenya and back by July… After spending one more night with the Mudge family at Chiltern Farm, and being loaded up with bags of apples, pears, and all sorts of camping equipment, we drove off toward the De Hoop Nature Reserve where we had a very good sighting of bontebok (such beautiful animals!), as well as blue crane, white stork and Cape vulture. I am definitely starting to catch the bird-watching fever!

Bontebok near De Hoop Nature Reserve

The area just inland of the coast is very pastoral, with little white farmhouses dotting the landscape. The rolling hills are covered in vineyards and pastureland for sheep, cattle and ostrich, and birds are everywhere. From this semi-arid region, we proceeded on to the semi-tropical coast, where we spent three days at Nature’s Valley, fishing in the ocean and the estuary and hiking in the dense forests. The best part was seeing the Knysna lourie every morning during my jog through the forest.

Easing into the camping life!

From the Garden Route, we drove toward the Wild Coast, marveling at how the landscape abruptly changed from lush forests to acacia grassland to succulent-rich hills and canyons. We took the scenic route through the area, stopping in Morgan’s Bay, Dwesa Nature Reserve and Coffee Bay. The Wild Coast feels very remote: small brightly-colored rondavels (turquoise and orange seem to be the two favorite colors) dot the lush green hillslopes, and goats, cattle, sheep and donkeys crowd the dirt tracks. We drove for days (in and out of the rain) up and down winding dirt roads, over rivers and through small villages (where people stared and waved, and the children ran after us yelling for sweets).

Turquoise rondavels, Wild Coast

We had heard that the Wild Coast is one of the poorest areas in South Africa, but we were impressed at how clean and well-maintained the countryside actually is. The people here do not live in squalor (as so many people do in the townships) – it is obvious that they take a lot of pride in living the traditional Xhosa village life, farming the land and herding their animals.

January 14-31: Cape Town, South Africa

Over the past 2 weeks, Maarten and I have been pleasantly “stuck” in Cape Town, making all the final preparations for the next five months on the road. Our vehicle has been in the shop, getting some routine maintenance done and a few new parts put on; we have had a 5-hour immersion course on “how to fix your Toyota if/when stranded in the bush”; we’ve been frantically running around buying camping gear, tools and spare parts for the truck, and food for the next few months; and Maarten has been making all sorts of modifications to the vehicle to make it Africa-proof!

New and improved Hilux with aluminum canopy and rooftop tent

The best part is that we now have a snazzy new canopy and rooftop tent on the back of the Hilux, thanks to Brian and June Flanagan (friends of the Braithwaite family). The Flanagans took the canopy on the Cape to Cairo overland route last year, and as it is now covered in African flags and the obligatory Hakuna Matata bumper sticker, it never fails to get attention wherever we go with it. Most people seem genuinely interested in what we are about to do!

Penguin Colony, Betty's Bay

In addition to all of the days spent on trip preparation, we’ve managed to find some time to hang out on the beach, climb up Table Mountain, go fly fishing on the Elandspad River, spend a day at the Mudge’s cottage at Hangklip picking mussels and catching lobster from the rocks, visit the penguin colony at Betty’s Bay, attend a few braais (barbeques, for you non-South Africans!), go to a local play called Footsteps to Freedom at the Cape Town Waterfront, and spend an afternoon near the Cape Point Nature Reserve with a bunch of happy hippies (some things are the same no matter where you go!) listening to a local band called Hot Water.

Lobster that Maarten and Anthony caught at The Rocks cottage

Closeup!

We have made quite a few new friends, and Maarten has renewed many of his old friendships. It has been good fun spending so much time in Cape Town, but we are both itching to finally get on the road and start our trip. Our plan is to leave this Friday, and begin driving along the east coast of South Africa, toward Mozambique. We are a bit worried about of all of the flooding that has been going on for the last month in Mozambique (no snorkel on the truck), and about all the violence that continues in Kenya (no body armor either!). Our route may have to change somewhat, but we will deal with it as we learn more and get closer to those countries.

Hanging out with the hippies and our new friend, Jock, at the Hot Water show

January 8-13, 2008: Klaseriemond Farm, South Africa

John and Margarethe Braithwaite invited us to spend 5 days with them, their daughter Phillipa and Maarten’s sister Emily at their farm, Klaseriemond (“Mouth of the Klaserie River”), which is a part of the Klaserie Private Nature Reserve and which shares a border with Kruger National Park. Maarten and I happily accepted, and flew from Cape Town to Johannesburg to Hoedspruit to get there. Although the farm was a further 2 hours’ drive from the Hoedspruit airport, from the moment we landed we saw wildlife everywhere. We were greeted by warthogs running along the landing strip and saw elephants, kudu, baboons, steenbok, impala and many birds before we even reached the farm.

Elephant bull, Klaseriemond Farm

The Klaseriemond farm is beautiful beyond description. It is located at the intersection of the Klaserie and Olifants Rivers, and in the wet season is a dense, lush green tangle of trees and shrubs (not like the arid, grassy desert I had imagined). Animals are everywhere, but they are camouflaged in the bush, and one must look hard to find them. We went on game drives day and night in an open-topped Land Rover (with a basket full of tea and rusks in the mornings, and sundowners and snacks in the late afternoons – very civilized!), and ended up seeing three of the Big Five (the Cape Buffalo, elephant and lion).

Lioness, Klaseriemond Farm

I was honestly more impressed by the large array of very small and very endearing antelope (steenbok, duiker, klipspringer and grysbok) and by the vervet monkey and his brightly-colored genitalia (look it up on the internet, it is amazing!). Other animals we saw were giraffe, hyena, hippos, wildebeest, zebra, spotted gennets and over 40 species of birds. (I am starting to catch the birdwatchers’ fever!) We also saw spoor for leopard, rhino and wild dog along the tracks and in the dry sandy riverbeds, but had no luck seeing the animals themselves. Besides the game drives, we were also able to go on a few morning jogs through the bush (with the Land Rover following close behind), a guided bush walk, and spend an afternoon fishing in the Klaserie River.

Cape Buffalo, Klaseriemond Farm

Staying at the Klaseriemond farm was a complete luxury – it was basically like being at a 5-star resort. The main house rambles along a hilltop, and faces toward Kruger National Park and the Olifants River. It is open and airy with high-beamed ceilings and a thatched roof, a huge verandah with a pool and also a detached circular boma for braaing and eating outdoors. Maarten and I shared a thatched-roof "honeymoon suite" that had a balcony and an outdoor shower overlooking the Olifants River, and we were spoiled daily by the Braithwaites with breakfasts of tropical fruit and dinners of grilled steak and fish. It was really a special experience to stay at such a beautiful place, and to be shown around by people who know the land and the local ecology so well, and who play a large role in regional conservation.

Sundowners: drinking Amarula creme under the Marula tree!

January 2 - 7, 2008: Chiltern Farm, South Africa

After an exhausting two days of traveling from Seattle to South Africa, we found ourselves in Cape Town (Maarten’s old hometown), a lush and exotic city built between and around Table Mountain and the shores of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. This was not the harsh and extreme Africa that I had imagined, but I didn’t mind starting our trip with a bit of the “privileged” and “civilized” side of Africa.

Cape Dutch buildings at Boschendal Winery, Franschhoek

A car was waiting at the airport to drive us to the home of John and Margarethe Braithwaite (to whom we are extremely grateful for having done so much to help us prepare for our upcoming adventure – thank you, J & M!). Once there, we picked up our Toyota Hilux bakkie and took it for a drive to some of the local beaches. The verdict so far is that everything about the truck is awesome, except for its horrendous gas mileage (or kilometer-age, I guess – ug, I dislike having to think in the metric system!). It’s going to go even lower once the truck is fully loaded. (I swear I’ll ride my bicycle to work for the next 5 years to make up for our excessive fuel consumption…)

Eating smoked trout at Mont Rochelle Winery, Franschhoek

Anyway, the next day we headed east out of Cape Town, through the verdant, rolling winelands (stopping to taste wine at the Boschendal and Mont Rochelle vineyards in Franschhoek), and ending up in the Overberg (literally, over the mountains) at the Chiltern Farm, a sprawling apple orchard, to attend Anthony and Erin’s wedding. Anthony is a good friend of Maarten’s from boarding school in Cape Town, and the two of them spent many summers together at the Chiltern Farm when they were young. I was so glad to finally meet Des and Suzanne Mudge, Anthony’s parents whom I had heard so much about. They were so kind and hospitable, allowing us to stay in the accommodation of honor at the farm, “The Yellow Peril,” a bright yellow 1960s camper van outfitted with a bed, shelves and a fridge. It was awesome! Thanks so much for everything, Des and Suzanne!

The Yellow Peril, Chiltern Farm

The wedding took place at a neighboring farm, Bosmansrus, that has beautiful Cape Dutch-style buildings with white-washed walls and thatched roofs, lush manicured grounds covered in roses, bougainvillea, hydrangea and agapanthis, and ibis and peacocks parading around the lawns. It was such a beautiful place for a summer garden wedding, and the weather cooperated perfectly! The day after the wedding I had my first real South African braai experience, and was amazed by the pounds and pounds of coiled boerwors sausage and kebabs that were consumed (I definitely did my part, for sure!).

The Rocks cottage at Hangklip

A few days after the wedding we accompanied the new bride and groom and some of their immediate family and friends to the Mudge’s wonderful little cottage near Hangklip. It is aptly named “The Rocks,” as it is built into the rocky cliff just feet above the crashing surf of the Indian Ocean. The entire back wall of the house is composed of the natural quartzite cliff face. It was a perfect place for a few geologists to spend an evening enjoying sundowners and a fish braai!