Road Report #11
Drakensburgs
Battlefields
Swaziland
Kruger NP
Drakensburg Mountains
July 16, 2012
The Drakensburg Mountains are to South Africa what the Rocky Mountains
are to Canada, a vast north-south fortification that demarcates landscapes
for thousands of kilometers.
Traveling from south to north, our route began in the semi-tropical
sugarcane
fields. As the slopes steepened we came into vast areas of cultivated
evergreens. Approaching an area of the Drakensburgs known as Cathedral
Peak the hills became mountains, with one village after another marching
up and down their steep slopes.
Mid-afternoon now, the roads were filled with masses of school children
in colourful uniforms wandering home for the day. One mass would be decked
out in green and yellow, ten km down the road they were all wearing red
and blue, another few km and it was orange and white. It was like finding
our way through flocks of chattering parakeets.
Didima Camp at Cathedral Peak is is a comfortable, modern conference center
with a hotel, chalets, restaurant and campground. There was a conference
underway at the hotel, but the campsite where we are, is empty save for
us. They tell us though, that in the warmer seasons you cannot get a reservation
here for months on end.
We were warm under our massive pile of blankets but come morning we are
reminded that we are high up in the mountains; we step outside onto crunchy
frost-covered grass. But the difference between Africa and Canada is the
intensity of the sun. Where a day in Canada that starts with frost will
be a cold one, here in Africa, once the sun comes out it is t-shirt-weather
warm by 9 am.
We head up to the hiking paths that start in the conference center area.
The views here are, in a word, spectacular. In this area the “hiking
trails” are better described as “paths that meander”
along the sides of the foothills before heading up and through the mountains.
It’s a rounder, gentler landscape with little foliage and few obstructions
to block the view.
A troop of baboons watched us from a ridge. It was not about us, however,
they were watching to see when breakfast at the hotel had been served,
cleaned up, and deposed to the garbage bins behind the kitchen. When the
time was right, they dodged and weaved across the open spaces like a band
of Navy Seals. Sure enough, as they came within striking distance the
kitchen crew were out with slingshots. The baboons leapt to the roof,
slipped under the porch and behind the posts, watching and watching; infinitely
patient. When the hu mans
got bored and went back inside the little ones came flying down from the
ridge to join the big boys and breakfast was served. Another mission accomplished.
The next day we headed further north into the Drakensburgs to the Royal
Natal Park to see how the mountains might be different there. Not so much.
Still lovely to look at – this is the area known as the Amphitheatre.
We made a picnic and enjoyed the view. As we left we came on a group of
local women who’d set up shop beside the road to and from the park.
They were weaving and selling colourful baskets.
At the actual park gates a couple of young boys waved clay figurines in
our face. This  was
too much. We stopped and picked up a group of four clay animals. They
are very appealing, different from anything we’ve seen here. Unfortunately
the clay was very green and despite being carefully wrapped for travel
some important bits like trunks and ears chipped off. Back home Steve
re-worked the clay and they are now passable facsimiles of an elephant,
giraffe, rhino and hippo.
The photo to the right is of a family walking through their
village in the Drakensburg Mountains. My own son and his wife had just
had their first child, my first grandchild and this couple with their
infant were such a clear reminder to me, that all over the world, we all
want exactly the same things for our children and our grandchildren.
The Battlefields
July 18, 2012
East of the Drakensburg Mountains we come to Dundee, the administrative
center of KwaZulu Natal. It is a great base from which to explore the
history of South Africa because 68 battlefields and skirmish sites are
within a two hour drive. The contentious parties were three: the Boers
and the British; the Zulus and the Boers; the Zulus and the British.
The terrain here is open and rolling with occasional outcroppings
of high ground. We can well imagine the battles taking place in front
of us. The Boers were more guerrilla-style in their tactics but both the
British and the Zulu fought in clearly demarcated battle formations that
you can visualize marching across the rolling grasslands.
W e spend the night at a beautiful private campground on
the outskirts of Dundee, known as the Kaw-Rie Caravan Park. The sites
are all centered around a small lake with lovely gardens. Peacocks and
other pretty birds march around acting like they own the place.
Talana Museum
In the morning our first stop is the Talana Museum, just a few km to the
east of Dundee. This living museum and cultural center is set on the slopes
of Talana Hill, the scene of the first battle of the Anglo Boer War. Talana
is a Zulu word meaning “the shelf where precious items are kept.”
The museum area has quite a few different areas to explore:
Smith Cottage and Talana House
This cottage was built on 3000 acres of land purchased by the brothers,
Tom and Peter Smith in 1859. The brothers became very wealthy by exploiting
the clay and coal deposits of the valley. Millionaires yes, but Peter
and his wife Ann never left the cottage, living in it till they died at
ages 83 and 84.
The cottage is significant because it was used by the British as a dressing
station during the Battle of Talana (October 20, 1899), the first major
battle between the British and the Boers. It is the only battlefield building
that still exists as it was originally built. It is a wonderful home,
warm and cosy with memories.
 The
museum site features many buildings of the era: stable, milk shed, machine
shop, blacksmith shop, etc. One of the most interesting is Talana House
which was built by Ann and Peter’s son Thomas Patterson Smith to
house his family in in 1894.
Whereas the Smith cottage has been furnished as if the family still lived
there, Talana House, a much grander edifice has been fitted out as a museum
for the purpose of depicting the history of the Zulus, the Voortrekker
movement, the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879 and the Anglo Boer War of 1899-1902.
It’s well done and deserves at least a couple of hours to absorb.
Henderson Hall
Henderson Hall houses:
Coal Museum –Dundee was the center of the coal
mining industry in South Africa. The “museum” is actually
a walk-through, living re-creation of conditions at the turn of the
last century brought to life by the cold, the damp, the smell and the
sounds of the underground. Very well done.
Coalopolis – recreates the life of Dundee circa
1912.
Hall of clothing features displays of the clothing worn
by South Africans of all races over the past 100 years.
Bead Gallery – a colourful exhibition that displays
the history and importance of the beads used by various cultures throughout
South Africa for self-decoration and commerce.
Glass –The availability of silica sand from the
coal industry made glass an important manufacturing product in Dundee
from 1889 to 1997. The display covers both the functional and the fantastic.
The Gandhi Memorial and pictorial plaque for indentured
Indians commemorates the arrival of indentured Indians in Natal in 1860.
Memorial Wall of Peace and Reconciliation commemorates
the involvement of all people involved in the Anglo Boer War of 1899
to 1902.
Blood River Heritage Site &
Ncome
Next up was the Blood River Heritage Site. This is about
an hour from Dundee and requires about 20 km of gravel to get to. We were
the only visitors.
A brief history lesson:
Their antipathy for British rule having caused them to abandon their land
in the Cape Colony, many Voortrekkers chose Natal as their destination.
Their leader, Piet Retief, negotiated with the Zulu King Dingane for land.
But during a visit to Dingane’s kraal on 6 February 1838, Retief
and his comrades were killed. This was followed up with the massacre of
hundreds of Voortrekkers at Bloukrans and Weenen.
Andries Pretorius arrived in Natal in November 1838 and
was elected as the new Voortrekker leader. Pretorius immediately organised
a punitive commando consisting of approximately 64 wagons and 464 Voortrekkers
accompanied by the same number of servants and wagon attendants. On December
9, 1838 the Voortrekkers made a Covenant with God, that should he grant
them victory over the overwhelming Zulu force, they would commemorate
that day as a Sabbath and erect a church in His name.
The Voortrekkers organized their wagons into a laager (circle)
in a strategically advantageous position on the banks of the Ncome River.
On the morning of December 16, 1838 the Zulus attacked with between 12,000
and 15,000 warriors. After mounting wave after wave of attack throughout
the morning, the Zulus gave up and retreated. Pretorius pursued them with
a mounted commando. So many Zulus were killed in their attempt to cross
the river it was re-named Blood River. Body count? Voortrekkers 0 dead,
Zulu 3000 dead.
The pursuing Voortrekker commando reached Dingane’s
royal kraal on December 20th. They found it already deserted and burned
to the ground. The remains of the Voortrekker’s first leader, Retief,
were found nearby. The treaty that Dingane and Retief had reportedly signed
was found in Retief’s shoulder bag. According to this treaty, Dingane
had voluntarily gifted a choice piece of land in Natal to the Voortrekkers.
The Blood River Heritage Site consists of a number of memorial
cairns and markers,  the
most important of which is the bronze wagon laager. This is a replica;
every piece cast in bronze, of the original circle of wagons that the
464 Voortrekkers gathered within and empowered by their Covenant with
God overwhelmingly destroyed the might of the Zulu nation, some 15,000
battle-hardened warriors.
If you find this all a tad farfetched, so did we. So after
watching the 45-minute video in the museum then marching around the bronze
laager, we headed across the river to Ncome, where the Zulu version of
history is depicted.
As we arrived the Zulus were hard at work, building, building,
building. They are making a grand facility here which will host cultural
events, workshops, admin offices, etc. They are also building accommodation
chalets, restaurants and shops to attract visitors. Fortunately they finished
the museum first. The presentation within is very nicely done. Without
the hyperbole of the Blood River Site, it simply makes the Zulu’s
case for a more realistic version of history.
 As
we arrived a guide greeted us, a youngish man in his late 20s. We had
a great time talking to him, not just about the Blood River history but
about the evolution of South Africa. He explained that the current generation
of youngsters has no memory of apartheid, carry none of the baggage. They
are focussed on getting ahead and moving forward. He sees a bright future
for all South Africans, whatever their colour; a place where everyone
who calls this country home belongs.
In regard to the Blood River Historical Site he and the
museum offer the following version of the event:
They claim that several thousand Zulus were thrown at the
laager. As per their custom in battle, these would not have been the best,
battle-hardened warriors. The veterans were always held back for the most
strategic fighting.
When the Zulus immediately came up against guns and cannon
fire the commanders realized how out powered they were so they staged
a tactical retreat to rebuild. They have no  argument
with giving the Voortrekkers the victory, but the concept that a few hundred
Voortrekkers vanquished the might of the whole Zulu army is a highly romanticized
version of history. The Zulus claim they made a strategical retreat to
rebuild and carry on.
The photo to the right shows the display of cowhide shields
that the various regiments of Zulu warriors carried. Each regiment was
identified by the colour and design of its shield.
The Zulus who actually died in the Ncome River were few
– not enough to make it run blood red. It was already doing that
courtesy of a recent rain and the run off that carried the red silt made
it look red. We noticed this colour when we were there too.
After viewing the Zulu exhibits and having a good talk,
we carried on to Rorke’s Rift but got hopelessly lost. The gps has
been very good at finding our way for us but on this occasion it led us
into the mountains and through small villages along bumpy rural tracks.
We were obviously an oddity in the area because when they saw us hundreds
of school children, returning home on these tracks, jumped up and down,
madly waving and laughing with us. This was lots of fun but the children
made it very slow going. Eventually we realized that dusk was coming and
we were nowhere near Rorke’s Rift. We headed for the nearest major
road.
This was not a great day for navigation because our first
choice of caravan park was closed and our second choice had vanished from
the landscape. So once we found the highway we just headed in the direction
of Dundee, figuring we’d go all the way back to where we started
from that morning. But enroute we came on the Battlefields Karavaan Park.
This is a really interesting place, a farm with a few spots for travelers
to park in. Cows mooed and ducks quacked. We liked it.
July 19, 2012
During the night the cows were doing a lot of anxious-sounding bellering.
It was very cold so I thought perhaps they were just complaining about
that. After a while they did settle down. But this morning one of the
mama cows walked by the campsite with a brand new calf, the bloody umbilical
cord still dangling and his wobbly little legs barely  keeping
him upright. Very cute. What a terrible cold night to come into the world
though. After this night every day will seem warm.
First up this morning was another attempt to find Rorke’s
Drift. This was where about 100 British soldiers are said to have held
off 4000 Zulus. Today it is a beautiful peaceful spot and hard to imagine.
Steve loves this stuff. I enjoy driving through the countryside. The road
to it is horrible gravel. They do not try to make it easy to see these
sites.
The most interesting thing to me was an artists/craft cooperative
onsite. Women were busily at working sewing all kinds of fabric products:
bags of every size and configuration cushion covers, etc. Their work is
colourful and professional. I left a few dollars there.
Next up was Islandwa, where the British garrison was wiped
out by the Zulus, just before they ran through the night to Rorke’s
Drift. This location is basically just a graveyard so we did not pay to
go see it. We drove on.
After we got off the gravel, the road south, R68 is quite
scenic. First we wind up, down and around through the cultivated forests.
These are planted in big blocks. You can see the blocks of trees at different
stages of development, including where they are currently logging. Workmen
were hard at work trimming the smaller logs into 8 foot  fence
posts.
The forests are in a mountainous area at about 1200 metres.
As we descended the highway segued into R34 and we found ourselves in
the midst of a semi-tropical area of sugar cane fields. At this time of
year the sugar cane vibrates with this fresh fluorescence. As they ripen
the stalks are burnt and cut so these fields look quite different, black
with the stink of smoke. The rural roads are congested with massive sugar
cane trucks, unconcernedly losing a percentage of their load to the road.
Locals gather it as they walk, sucking on the stalks like a lolly.
Richard’s Bay
July 20, 2012
The marketing slogan says”It is always summer
in Richard’s Bay” and that seems to be true. The caravan
park here is so pleasant. It's set in a jungle of semi-tropical foliage
with the  beach
at our doorstop.The weather is semi-tropical – winter but still
very warm in the day and at night. Monkeys scurry from camp to camp, looking
for treats. One of the women baked a cake and set it on her kitchen counter
to cool. A line of monkeys perched just outside the window of her caravan,
watching and waiting for their chance. They have quite the sweet tooth,
monkeys do.
There is a large contingent of “swallows “here.
That is what they call retirees who come to the warm places for the winter
months. They are very friendly. We’ve been made to feel very welcome.
Today passed so very quickly. We did laundry and had a long,
leisurely breakfast. We got all our shells and rocks out and washed them.
We went for a walk to the beach. We paid for another night which entailed
two very long walks. We read.
Tomorrow we head to Swaziland and then Kruger. Cannot believe it is already
time for Kruger – the last park on our trip.
Swaziland
July 21, 2012
The road was 300+ km today and it was mostly quite boring. A lot of cultivated
forest and then once into Swaziland, sugar cane. They are in the midst
of harvest so there is a lot of smoke in the air.
We came to Hlane Royal National Park about 3 pm and immediately
headed out to look for game; saw very little. They are in the midst of
a hot and dry period here – the  dust
is terrible. The main road through the park is good gravel but the side
roads are red dirt and have huge depressions/holes and high humps. The
bakkie handled the terrain fine but the overhanging dread trees branches
were scraping at the camper. We’d like to get through this trip
without massive damage claims so after an hour we found our way back to
the campground. We are not too impressed by this park but perhaps it is
the drought that is making it seem boring.
There is no electricity in the camp at all, not even in
the ablution block. It gets very very dark at night. There are eight showers
but an overland group arrived just after us, the young women behaving
like guinea hens, running in packs with endless nattering. There was no
getting near the showers once they start in there. But I should not be
so harsh. When I wade into their midst I discover that they are a church
group from England who came to Swaziland to build a school. Once that
was done they went on a 5-day backpacking trek. They’ve just returned
from that and five days in this drought without a shower …well,
they needed a shower more than I did.
The evening is warm and lovely. We sat outside till very
late, reluctant to give up one moment of our dwindling time in Africa.
Kruger National Park
July 22, 2012
It was an easy 200 km today on good asphalt. I remember
some horrendous roads through Swaziland when we were here ten years ago
but today there were no potholes and few speed bumps.
We stopped at Komatipoort right on the Mozambique border
to refill the larder. We will be in Kruger for 5 days and while there
are small food shops at reception they are not useful for anything more
than a quart of milk or a loaf of bread.
 We
entered Kruger through the Crocodile Bridge Gate at the far south end.
From there it is 33 km to Lower Sabie our first campground. This is the
same campground we stayed at on our first trip here in 2001. It is still
recognizable although everything has been updated.
The chalets we stayed at were already old then, now they
are new and very attractive with lovely front patios overlooking the river
where the elephants come to drink and the hippos live. We can hear them
grunting through the evening. There are also some beautiful safari tents
overlooking the river that I would love to stay in if I live long enough
to return here with my grandchildren  someday.
Driving up to Lower Sabie today we came on a bridge over
a river with elephants, giraffe, marbou storks, kudu, springbok and wildebeest.
It looked a lot like I imagine the Garden of Eden. Further on we saw several
herds of elephants and three bulls up really close; excellent start. Just
before the camp we crossed a bridge over the Sabie and saw a large herd
of hippos, several tortoises and some elephants in the river.
It is very hot today so on arrival in camp we just settled
in and read our books. About 4 we went out again, south of the camp this
time and had a lovely interaction with some giraffes, especially the little
ones who simply would not move off the road. They just stand there looking
at us like WE are very interesting. We also saw two sets of vultures in
the trees. We have not seen vultures on this trip be fore
so that was neat. Went back and had another look at the hippos that were
all in the water now, heads and snouts poking out like crocodiles.
Lower Sabie camp is very full –at capacity. People
are really camped in each other’s back yards. But still, it is nice,
this sharing of humanity – on a limited basis. We have to be back
in camp, behind the locked gate by 5:30. We are the ones in the cage,
not the animals.
As I sit here it is 8 pm the vocalizations of the hippos
in the river below are reverberating through the camp. I love it. When
I die please send me off to the next world to the sound of hippos grunting.
Kruger - Satara
July 23, 2012
Today we set out north to Satara camp.
Some notes on Kruger:
There are many camps and within Kruger National Park.
Some are very primitive and require special permits but the main, developed
camps are:
Skukuza
Berg-En-Dal
Lower Sabie
Pretoriuskop
Satara
Crocodile Bridge
Kruger is 350 km from north to south and 60 km at its
widest.
It has a total surface area of 1,948,528 hectares
Five rivers cross the park from west to east.
There are 300 different types of trees; 49 species of fish; 507 species
of birds; 147 species of mammals.
The climate is subtropical with summer rains from October to March.
Rainfall varies form 700 mm in south to 400 mm in north.
The main camps each have a wide variety of accommodation from luxury
guesthouses to cottages, tented chalets, campsites. There is always
a shop with basic groceries, liquor and expensive souvenirs. There are
excellent kitchen facilities with instant hot water and hot plates and
hot water washing up sinks. There are laundry facilities and of course
ablution blocks with hot water showers.
 Our
third camp is Letaba. Getting there required a whole long day on mostly
gravel roads. You can go the distance on tar but the theory is that
getting off the main roads will lead to more prolific game sightings.
I am not sure that is so. Once we returned to tar we saw a large herd
of elephants at one of the artificial water holes. We also saw a leopard
stalking an antelope. He did not get the buck. But it caused one very
huge traffic jam while people jockeyed for position.
Yesterday we were following a more remote gravel road when we unexpectedly
came on a waterhole with a wonderful blind from which we could stealthily
observe the crocs and hippos. The waterhole was very active and frankly,
we only left because dusk was coming and we had to get back inside the
fence.
A giraffe came down to drink and that was cool to see because they
are very nervous  about
getting down to drink so they are rarely observed doing it. It’s
a very vulnerable position for them. There were all different types
of birds and this really has been a wonderful discovery of this African
journey. Yes, the elephants and hippos and rhinos are wonderful. But
Africa makes us all into birders. We get just as excited about a new
species of bird as we do a lion sighting.
One of the best was a tiny six-inch pygmy owl that we nearly drove
right on by. I just caught him out of the corner of my eye and usually,
when that happens and we back up, the bird flits off. But not this fellow,
he just sat there and stared, unblinking. Like he owned the place.
Kruger - Letaba
July 24, 2012
Tonight we’ve come to Letaba. It is an attractive camp although
they do not put the sites for camping in the most scenic spots. They
save those for the more expensive accommodations! Their campsite system
is also a bit weird here. Sometimes they are numbered but not usually.
It’s like there were numbers on the sites at one time but the
numbers fell off or got pushed over or whatever and no one replaced
them. They make no attempt to assign spots. You park where you like.
 We
pay for electricity but we have to go looking for the poles. They are
placed in odd positions and will have up to five outlets on them. We
plug in wherever we can find an empty outlet. Campers have very long
extension cords that wander back and forth over each other’s sites.
In Lower Sabie there was a campsite monitor who ran around checking
people off a list. That is the last time we saw him. In the other camps
it does seem to be a free for all which seems to suit the independent
personalities here. After all, a lot of these people are descended from
Voortrekkers, the ultimate seekers of independence.
Kruger - Punda Maria
July 25, 2012
Today we headed north to Punda Maria the camp that is almost at the
top of the park. The road sign said 160 km from Letaba but the odometer
said nearly 200 and we did not do that many detours. We stuck to the
main tarred road except for a few diversions to waterholes and to see
Red Rocks.
 Red
Rocks was interesting. A herd of Cape buffalo blocked the road. They
are very intimidating and I keep remembering what Tekko, our guide in
the Okavango Delta said. “They are exceedingly dangerous because
they stand there looking benign and stupid. Then without any warning
whatsoever they get it into their stupid heads to charge. A guide can
read the behaviour and body language of most animals, its how we keep
our guests safe but not the buffalo.” I once read that they
are responsible for killing more people in Africa than any other animal.
The huge elephants we saw beside the road certainly gave us lots of
warning. Two cows and a tiny calf were munching leaves on the trees
beside the road. We stopped to watch. The bigger one stopped eating,
advanced on the truck then stood there stamping her feet, waving her
tail around, grunting and flapping her ears. When she
charged, roaring like a banshee we lit out of there plenty fast.
Generally they don’t do that but we are noticing that the elephants
here in Kruger are more aggressive than we’ve experienced elsewhere.
So we hang back further and are being more cautious than we’ve
needed to be in other parks.
We don’t want to get the camper tossed just when we’ve
nearly got it home safe and sound. Not without a few scratches. When
Steve was backing up in a hurry yesterday he ran right over a thorn
tree. That was nasty but there does not seem to be any harm done. The
camper is fibreglass with a gel coat finish which fortunately does not
seem to scratch very easily.
 Today
we saw a LOT of elephants, mostly in herds, some quite large –
like 30 or more. Whenever we saw a couple there were always many many
more in the background once we stopped and looked closer. The exception
to that is some large bulls – and there are very large, what they
call “tuskers” here. One fellow dominated the road in front
of us, literally filling it with his huge body. We just sat there; immobile
and hoping he would pass us by without interest. He did.
When we returned home a friend sent us a series of photos that were
taken in Pilanesburg in February. When a small car got impatient (okay,
the driver) and tried to edge on by a bull on the road, the elephant
sat on the hood of the car then used its trunk to get some leverage
under the body. It rolled the car over and over into the grass. It happens.
When we arrived at Punda Maria we found a large waterhole beside the
campground.
Very soon it was filled with Cape buffalo, a herd of at least one hundred.
There is not much water but they seemed to come for the mud. Later in
the evening another herd arrived, same thing; tromped through the mud,
rolled around in it, went away bellering at each other, looking belligerent.
It was a very long day today of driving. We did see quite a bit of
wildlife but what we are really looking for are lions and we always
miss those. At one waterhole the caretaker told us that just last week
a pride of lions occupied the waterhole for five days solid. They brought
down a zebra and a wildebeest and just stayed there feasting, never
moving. The caretaker could not service the pump because it was out
by the waterhole and when he went to leave his house one morning the
pride was lazing around outside his door. He was trapped inside all
day.
 Tomorrow
we head for Letaba for a final day in Kruger. Then out to Blyde Canyon
and then to Rudi and Brenda’s for two nights then home. It feels
surreal, after nearly 3 months in this tiny camper we will be taking
our life back to Vancouver in just a few days.
The brilliant bird to left is just a common campground scavenger.
Kruger - Letaba
July 27, 2012
The road between Punda Maria and Letaba today was occupied by hundreds
of Cape buffalo and several large herds of elephants. The Cape Buffalo
were a little intimidating, blocking the road then just standing there
and challenging us to dare moving past. We sat silently, waiting for
them to part and move off but Tekko’s words  about
them charging without warning kept reverberating through my brain. We
were also challenged by a large mama elephant again.
Back to Joburg
July 28, 2012
After a leisurely breakfast this morning we left Kruger. On the drive
out of the park we saw several giraffe. Then a big bull elephant that
was fortunately quite passive. A family of baboons were executing a
feeding frenzy on some buds in a tree. With most of them busy in the
trees a mother wandered near us with a tiny, wet newborn clinging to
her chest. Another female approached, stroked the infant, then appeared
to kiss its head before moving off. In the distance a big male regarded
the mom and babe with  an
expression that was not exactly friendly. When he moved closer the mother
clutched the infant to her chest then rolled into a ball, protecting
the infant with her body. The male moved off.
After leaving the park we spent the rest of the day exploring the
Blyde River Canyon then overnighted at Graskop, a town on the edge of
the canyon. Very scenic, by the way.
The next day was to be our last driving the camper. Unfortunately
it was not without incident. The first occurred first thing in the morning
when we started down the road towards Pilgrim’s Rest. There was
a terrible screaming noise coming out from under the dash. We called
Bobo, the rental company. They told us to take it to a Nissan dealership.
Hellllloooooooooo. We are in a tiny town in the mountains. Not only
no dealerships here but also no mechanics, period. After several hours
of back and forth phone calls we found the problem. I had inadvertently
turned on the air conditioning and it was malfunctioning. Turned it
off and we were good.
We continued back up the road towards Pilgrims Rest. This is an old
mining town that has been restored as a tourist attraction; chock a
block with curio shops and chi chi cafés. We drove through slowly
but we are not interested in more curio shops.
About an hour out of Joburg there was a very loud bang. We pulled over
and I opened the door to hear the tire expiring air, AGAIN. This is
our fourth flat and second complete blow-out. This is more than either
of us have experienced in our entire driving lives.
Unfortunately the tire that blew was the new one we just paid $120
US for 2000 km ago. We would have to buy a new one to replace this one
too. When we returned the truck to Bobo we made the case that four flats
including two complete blow-outs is not normal. Surely the tires mounted
on the truck are not skookum enough for the weight of the camper and
the roads. But they did not agree and refused to reimburse us for the
tires.. We were happy with this company in every other way but this
tire thing is just not right.
A few hours later we arrived to a warm welcome at Rudi and Brenda’s
home. These are truly special people. They did so much to make our time
in Africa wonderful.
Soweto
July 31,2012
Rudi has arranged for us to tour Soweto in the company of Bengani, a
guide who knows is born, raised and still lives in Soweto.
I don’t know what I expected, but not the bustling city within
a city that we toured. For
one thing, the size of the place; 3.5 to 4 million people live in Soweto.
There are highways and big roads and tiny lanes. There are schools and
hospitals and sports arenas. There are 260 Christian churches, one of
which we stopped by has 7000 congregants. Everyone was coming and going
around it – all dressed in their Sunday best.
We saw the place that Nelson Mandela called home when he lived here
with Winnie and their daughters. The house itself was burned down and
rebuilt several times, but the present replica sits on the original
foundations. It is now a museum, furnished as it would have been and
displaying a wide range of Mandela memorabilia.
 There
are lots of curio stands around the Mandela house. There were musicians
and a contortionist and a lovely little boy who flirted with me and
wanted to be picked up. Neither he nor his mom asked for money although
I am sure that had something to do with why they were there.
We drove around Soweto for several hours, viewing some of the locations
where pivotal events in the evolution of South Africa occurred. I will
write more about those in the future but for now, the experience is
still too raw. I need to study the issues and events more before I comment
on them.
In the afternoon we attended a Poitkje Festival. This is an event
where teams of poitkje chefs compete, including not only the quality
of their poitkje but dress and decorate their tent to a theme. But to
back up, what is a poitkje?
It is a large black cast iron pot that cooks over an open fire for
hours, slow cooking a  mixture
of whatever the chefs deem best. The recipes ranged from beef ‘n
beer to springbok and kudu and prawns, chicken curry, chicken with pineapple
and bananas, Greek mixtures, Italian versions and so much more.
The way it worked was that we bought tickets for a few dollars each.
The money all goes to local charities. We get a plate of rice then go
around to the various poitkje pots, handing over our tickets in exchange
for a big ladle of this, another ladle of that. The teams enthusiastically
solicit our business.
 We
take our overflowing platters to an area of long tables where we quickly
make a whole raft of new friends as we compare poitkjes then quickly
move on to solving the problems of the world.
At our table we met a South African woman married to a Portuguese man.
They had six sons. One of the sons was there with his wife and young
daughter. The daughter-in-law’s parents were there – a Yugoslavian
father and an Indian mother. We were quite the United Nations; had a
wonderful time talking world politics.
What a wonderful finale to our 2.5 months in southern Africa. We enjoyed
our time here so much and learned so much about road tripping in this
part of the world. Stay tuned, there will be a book to help you plan
your own self drive through southern Africa – scheduled publication
is September 2013.
Carolyn Usher
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