Travelogue of our second honeymoon to South Africa in 2004
We didn't make a whole travelogue because we only visited game parks and nothing else this time.
But we did send e-mails to our family and friends every now and than. We placed them on this site.
Friday, March 26 2004
There is not much opportunity to go on the internet around here. So this might be the only mail we will send you.
At Schiphol airport the alarm system went off because of my shoes, so I had to be searched. Well that has become more severe these days. As a woman you cannot hide anything anymore in your underwear. Every private part of the body is being touched (by a woman). Even t-shirt up and hands in the pants!!
After two good flights we had to collect our rental car. Someone waited for us at the airport but we didn't know that. So we dead passed him. Later we looked in vain at our voucher to see which rental company we had to go to. It didn't say on the voucher and we forgot about it. But someone looked over our shoulder (?!) and said: "There stands someone with a sign that says Koenders". And that person happened to have the right vouchers..... Weird!!
The Toyota Condors weren't available anymore so they offered us a minibus as alternative. But we didn't want that. And now we have a super deluxe Nissan X-trail, unfortunately no 4WD (that we tried to have instead of course). But this one has little refrigerators in the dashboard to cool two soda cans. Not bad since it's hot and humid.
Than we went to Casa do Sol. Marvelous. A complete Portuguese village in a nature reserve. It has all kinds of alleys, houses, patios, garden etc. Beautiful. But we haven't seen a lot of wildlife yet. Just a group of vervet monkeys. Our first game is monkeys. Who would have thought that?
Meanwhile we have arrived in Kruger park. We had booked for a Bush Camp for the first night. It's a camp without facilities (so no restaurant etc.). We had a beautiful bungalow with river view. And in that river crocodiles swam along and hippos where constantly present.
The first day was quit cloudy. In the evening it started to rain. At a temperature of over 25 degrees (80 F); sweaty.
It is now March 25 and it's our last day in Kruger. An internet cafe is nowhere to be found but perhaps we'll find one tomorrow outside Kruger to send you this e-mail.
We are now in Biyamiti Bush Camp. No facilities like restaurants etc. but at the same time that is why it is so quit. The bungalow is huge and very pretty. From the living room (porch) we view the Biyamiti River. So tonight we will see if we can find crocs and hippos again.
Yesterday we were in Lower Sabie. We had dinner in the restaurant. While we sat there a severe rain storm burst out. Water leaked through the restaurants roof and one of the lamps exploded because of the seeping water. The result of all this rain was that almost all of the gravel roads in the park were closed. We couldn't actually reach the Biyamiti Bush Camp but we were allowed to ignore some stop signs.
Although we are in the worst wildlife viewing season we already saw about every animal on our wish list. The big 5 (lion, leopard, hippo, rhino and elephant), a lot of birds and about 1 billion impalas. The reason why this is the bad season is because it has rained a lot lately. The animals don't have to come to the waterholes for drinking, and the plants have grown big by which you cannot see the animals easily. So we have been very lucky to see so much already.
A couple of days ago we joined an early morning bush walk. You go on foot with two armed guides into the bush. Although it was very early (pick-up at 5 AM) it was very worth while. We saw four rhinos. Unfortunately the wind turned just while we approached them. They could suddenly smell us and ran away immediately. When we left the bush a couple of hours later (soaking wet because of the wet grass) a car drove towards us with flashing headlights. It appeared that those people were glad to see armed guides. Half a mile down the road they had watched a couple of lions. One lion walked around the car and suddenly destroyed a tire. So they asked our guides to stay around with their weapons while they switched the tire. No problem for the guides because now they had an excuse to return to camp too late. We were supposed to be back at Olifants camp at 8 AM, the next walk left at 9 AM and it was now already 9.30.
We already live on African rhythm. We wake at 5AM, leave the camp gate at 5.30 for our first game drive. Return for breakfast at about 8, another game drive and around noon relax at the bungalow. Have the last game drive at about 5PM. Return at 6, cook, eat and go to sleep around 9PM. It is quit warm (around 35 degrees (95 F) and quit humid.
What else have we been through?
Some short memories:
• Sitting on the porch with bats literal flying around our ears.
• Cooking in a kitchen where hundreds of insects are attracted by the light. And what kind of insects: huge moths, a dozen different kinds of grasshoppers that hop on your clothes.
• A huge elephant that approached us irritated flapping its ears. So backing up with the car fast.
• Watching two rhinos at 30 meters (100 feet) for 45 minutes and no other car around.
• Suddenly have to stop for a male lion that sleeps on the middle of the road. And again no other car for 15 minutes to scare him away.
• Suddenly bump into a herd of buffalo after a turn in the road.
• A lot of cute baboon kids.
• Also an impudent baboon that ran into a restaurant kitchen and seconds later ran out with a pack of meat and a screaming cook behind him.
• 45 Minutes of paperwork to get a refund for a (by the park itself) cancelled night drive.
And now there is nothing more that we can tell you.
Tuesday, March 30 2004
If you receive this we finally manage to find internet access.
We have celebrated our copper wedding anniversary in the White Elephant Bush Camp in the Pongola Private game Reserve. It was super deluxe and very relaxed. It is a small accommodation (7 rooms) with a personal touch. Every evening they put the dinner tables in a different setting in the garden. Because we were on our second honeymoon we had a lot of private time. We had for instance our own bathroom in the bush, luckily also one inside, because at night there were a lot of mosquitoes.
The next morning we went on a rhino walk. At first we wanted to swop it for another activity but that was not possible and in retrospect that was a good thing since it was fantastic. Except the fact that we approached four rhinos very close on foot we also saw a lot of other animals. It is very peculiar to walk in the bush and see warthogs run away, hear wildebeest snort because people are close by, stared at by 10 curious giraffes and walk along zebras.
In the afternoon we were taken to the hide. They have a hide where they sometimes take people. You know them: those wildlife watching huts. But you don't know this one! We were provided with a cooler with drinks and two dishes with food to start with . In the hide were oriental curtains and oriental lights. There was a table with four chairs and a bed with a lot of pillows. And if that was not enough there was even a toilet building next to is also decorated in style. We spend over 4 hours there from 2 to 6.30 PM and time flew by. All kinds of animals came to drink: warthogs, monkeys, tortoises and impalas and king fishers came to fish. We even saw a baby croc.
The next morning we went "Elephanting". They take you very close to the elephants and tell lots of things about them. Also very nice and relaxing. Their point of view is different than other private game reserves. They believe that you have to go along with the relaxing rhythm of Africa. So spending half a day in the hide and watch the elephants for an hour with a cup of tea and a scone.
Next to that we went to the Imfolozi Game Park. This is the rhino capitol of Africa. If you don't see rhinos here there's something wrong with you they say. And that is correct. In less than an hour we saw four groups of rhino. One time we hardly escaped an attack which was quit scary. One rhino stood grazing beside the road while suddenly a tiny baby appeared and curiously walked towards us. The mother suddenly saw us as a danger and started charging us. Only when she was just 2 meters (6 feet) away we managed to start the car and back up. At the same moment they ran over the road where we stood one second before.
But luckily we also saw a cheetah family that just caught an impala. I made the most perfect pictures there but we will not send them with this e-mail. You will have to come and look into our photo album later.
We spend the night here in very large and luxurious tents. There is a separate tent with a kitchen and walkways to the bedroom tent (with a large bathroom half in the open) and a porch in front of it. You have to stick to your grill since hyenas might steal your meat but unfortunately we haven't seen them yet. But we did wake up at night because of their screams. During the day vervet monkeys swing through the branches next to the tent. They want our food and therefore there are locks on the cupboards and even on the refrigerator. And zebras, impalas and warthogs graze on the lawns the whole day.
We have been bitten a lot by mosquitoes. Hans even 100-200 times. He also has a fever and so I forced him to go to a doctor. He said it would most likely not be malaria but he took a test just in case. And no malaria, but a nice souvenir to take home. It was a clean practice also visited by white patients. Not very politically correct but when your health is concerned those things seem to become important. And we made sure to see if the test was from a sterile package.
So it is most certainly the flue but to be sure the doctor gave us antibiotics in case it is tick bite fever (Cyclidox for the medics among us). But in South Africa are no scary tropical diseases so it is probably the flue. For the second time in his life. And that is now of all times.
It is still very warm but comfortable.
Epilogue
Only two e-mails. But the story hadn't ended. So a short tale about the last days.
Hans indeed had African Tick Bite Fever. On the last day we found two attached ticks and unmistakable red spots. But the ticks that caused the disease were most likely from the Kruger park. Back home we asked a couple of authorities and they confirmed us that the treatment was good.
The last two nights we spend in Thalu Bush Camp in Ithala Game Park. This game park is not so well known and has no predators. But because of that the game is very relaxed and the landscapes are gorgeous.
You can see far away, even in the wet season, and because of that we saw a lot of herds. It is incredably peaceful and relaxed.
As said we stayed in Thalu Bush Camp. This is a private camp that lies very remote. Fantastic!! The whole building is open and at night the Bush Babies enter. The living is just the porch. And the bathroom and toilet are two separate buildings. These are almost open. So with some luck you watch wildlife from the loo.
And for the rest there is no-one around. You even have two kilometers (over one mile) of private road. One morning we even found a giraffe in our garden.