Visitors

Some things happen for a reason and I guess that in the end I was better off being out Pezulu lodge because it’s given me the opportunity to see more of l South Africa and other places. I came back from my trip to Zimbabwe and Botswana completely exhilarated by the sights I saw and was looking forward to Avril and Yann’s visit. I spent a night in Jo’burg and funnily enough I met an Irish guy and we had a few beers. We watched the Augusta Masters and we had a few quid on the winner at 8/1 with 4 holes to play! Thank you Betfair! I got up the next morning and picked up our car for the tour with Avril and Yann. I was delighted to find that we had a big VW Combi. Enough space for Avril and all her bags and if times got tough, we could sleep in the thing!
I headed north after trying to find my way out of Jo’burg for an hour. No GPS at this stage but eventually got on the right track. I ended up in Soweto though at one stage. The best part of Jo’burg to be honest is seeing it in your rear view mirror as you drive out of the city. I drove for a long 6 hours and eventually got to Kruger’s Skakuza camp. I was gonna spend a couple of nights there before the holiday makers arrived. After surviving a couple of ATM scammers at a petrol stop on route and a couple of hairy driving moments I was delighted to land into the rest camp. I got myself a nice big T Bone Steak and a couple of beers and set about making myself a Braai. This is the real Africa for me. Cooking your food under the stars with all the wild life around you. No music or any other distractions. Just you and nature. It’s a cool experience and one I’m gonna miss when I go home.
I spent two days in Kruger and bumped into some of my old college mates. They are all working and the same theme seems to be true about guiding. It’s a business where the guide gets exploited. Very long hours for shit pay. Most people do it for the love of the animals and not for the money anyway but I think that unscrupulous lodge owners take advantage of that. Myself Emma and her sister Nicola had a few drinks on the second night in Satara and watched a herd of Buffalo drinking at a pan just outside the fence line. It was nice and it’s funny that you tend to bump into people by chance all the time!
I travelled to Eastgate airport the next day and met my weary travel companions for the next two and a bit weeks. The flight was fine and they arrived a little tired but in good form. We drove to our first lodge for the next 5 days in the conservancy I used to work in. We stayed in a place called Sunset lodge. It was a lovely trendy modern lodge only about 1 km from Pezulu. It doesn’t have the rustic feel for me of a lodge though and although it’s cool in it’s own way I prefer the bush style accommodation. We had a blast for the 5 days regardless. Most of the Pezulu staff came over to say hello at some stage and we had a fair few drinks! We did all the touristy attractions around the area and Av and Yann had never been introduced to so many wild animals in such a short time. The time flew there and before we knew it we were on the road again and heading down South. I drove down to Jo’burg and met the guys off their flight. I was fairly tired by the time we met them and we hit the road for Bloemfontein. We arrived there at 11 and stayed in a kip of a Backpackers. The Footprint book I was using really got this one wrong. The Lonely Planet even recommended it. Avril and Yann’s bed definitely had bed bugs and to say there was a stain on the sheet would be a small oversight. They showed me the next day and it looked like the Shroud of Turin! Needless to say they didn’t sleep very well that night! We had a nice surprise the next morning to see the GPS bag with the Garmin GPS and my I Pod sitting in a bag just outside the car!! The guy in the hostel told us it was safe area here and we counted our blessings!
We headed further South to a place called J’bay or Jeffrey’s bay. This place was made famous by a surfer video called “Endless Summer,” in the sixties. It was a cool spot but the weather wasn’t kind to us. It rained for the 2 days we were there and it was the equivalent to Dollymount Strand with some big waves! You don’t come to Africa for that kind of weather! On the way further West Yann decided to do the biggest bungee in the World. He jumped off Bloukrans Pass Bridge at 216 metres above the river below. It was savage to watch but as myself and Av discussed. It must be an age thing because I wouldn’t have any interest in doing it. I did consider the Vic falls jump and might do that at some stage again. Having said that I’m probably going to do a sky dive in Cape Town when we get there. Maybe it’s a bad idea to even write that idea down! We had a couple of chilled nights there and headed on to Plettenburg bay. This to me is a far nice area. The waves are good, the beaches are beautiful and it just has a nice feel to it. We are heading on to a place called the Wilderness lodge this evening and I’m going to get my Braai skills going and impress Avril and Yann! Fingers crossed!

Botswana and Zim

We seemed to adopt dogs where ever we went. Here are a few of our new mates/guard dogs. They even took on a group of Banded Mongoose one morning. That was one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen. The little Jack Russell was all bravado but still was a bit chickenish as the Mongoose’s ganged up on him. I’ve included my hoard of millions/billions/trillions that I accumulated in Zimbabwe. What a class place!

Northwards

Botswana,

The land of the Delta and the Donkey. I’ve never seen as many in one place in my life. They are everywhere you look. I think the expression breeding like rabbits can easily be applied here. You’ve got to be careful driving though because from time to time you have horney donkeys chasing each other and in their amorous state they don’t even register cars heading for them. Not to mention the “Cowboys,” riding their cantankerous mounts in pursuit of an errant Bull! Then there are the goats. The goats seem to be a more intelligent bunch though. They are clever enough to know they are no match for a car. I’ve even seen some climbing trees!

We got to our destination in Maun after travelling for most of the day. We traversed the Eastern Kalahari Desert for the day. The heat was incredible and we eventually ended up at our camp site. It was a nice place, just out of the town and had a pool, bar and showers. What more could you ask for? This is a camping tour ya know. It’ funny because one of the days they ran out of everything I ordered. Black label beer, sorry no we’re out, Hawaiian pizza, no sorry no pineapple. It’s ironic as I’m in Botswana and I had a pizza for lunch and dinner! I do have a valid excuse though as everything else on the menu was yeh you’ve guessed it out of stock! In fairness I’m not here for the food anyway so I can deal with it.


The Okavango

We crossed the Buffalo fence and arrived into the Okavango. The Buffalo fence stretches for 3,500 KM’s across to Namibia and into Zimbabwe. I think the Dingo fence is longer but not by much. What a magical place. It strikes you the moment you get into your Mokoro (type of boat) that you are entering something that up until now hasn’t been influenced by man. The eco system is still pristine. The water is un polluted. The animals have been unmolested. It’s such a different place from anywhere that I’ve been. You can dip your hands in the water and drink it straight. As fresh and clean as you’ll ever get.

We met our guide or Poler for the trip and he tells us his name is Brendan. It’s bizarre because I ask him where he got his name and he just shrugs. Even here there is an Irish influence. We gently paddle through the Delta to our island camp. We hear just wildlife. Its amazing. We are as far as you can get from civilisation. It has a bit of a Ray Mears feel to it. We will be camping and cooking under the stars with Elephants, Hippo’s and Crocodiles as our bed fellows.

We go for some game walks and the thing that strikes me is the sound. The quietness. It’s inspiring. There are no vehicle’s here. No evidence of man bar footprints. It’s amazing to be having such little impact on an area. It’s a pity all the parks aren’t like this. We come across Giraffe and Zebra and they don’t hang around to say hello. They are very shy and even the Steenbok and Hippo are the same. They don’t want to have anything to do with us and it feels more special to me because this is the way it should be. Wild animals shouldn’t hang around and not be afraid of humans. We were they’re natural enemies for thousands of years. Habituation is the next best thing to domestication. What next will we have domesticated Lions? We end a long walk in the Delta and the air was tinged with a constant smell of Sage. It was a fantastic experience and just when we were on our way back to camp we stumbled upon two male Elephants. We keep a respectful distance and that’s another thing about our guide. He respects the Elephant’s comfort zone and doesn’t push into that. The Elephant just goes about his business without worrying about us. We don’t rely on a gun for comfort either which is great. Wild life watching at it’s best. We took a Mokoro out onto an open Pan and we watched the sun set across the Okavango. It was truly magical.

I go for any early morning shower/bath in my birthday suit. I’m in the middle of a clear pool of water and nature is alive all around. I can hear all the birds singing the dawn chorus and I can hear the occasional plop of water as fish take some insects from the surface of the water. I can hear a Fish Eagle calling somewhere out in the Delta and it completes the scene. I keep an eye out for any potential risks though. It’s not a play ground after all and I’d be a nice snack for a hungry Croc!

We take a 1 hour scenic flight deep into the Okavango. It’s amazing. It’s like the BBC Earth DVD. It’s definitely a place where I’d love to come back to. We saw massive herds of Waterbuck, Lechwe, Elephant’s and Buffalo’s. I have never seen as many Hippo’s before and some of them were monstrous in size. Not something you’d want to run into on a dark night.

I’m travelling with a German guy Axel (who’s a mad just out of a long spell in College partier) and an English lass named Laura from Beeeerminnngham for the first 4 days. We’ve all got along really well and we’ve had some great chats by the camp fire. We all seem to be relatively similar on our outlooks on life and that makes a huge difference. We hook up with another group on Sunday and continue through Botswana to Zimbabwe. It’s a place where you meet all kinds of people. The guy who owns the campsite in the Okavango is a Kiwi on the run for something at home. Sometimes it’s best not to ask too many questions! Our guide is a sound Oke from Jo’burg. He has travelled and done some various jobs and he’s definitely someone who I can relate to. It’s all going swimmingly well so far but I’m just hoping that the dynamic won’t change when the other folks show up on Sunday. We travel Northwards and head through the Foot and Mouth control point. It feels like Dublin airport again after the outbreak a good few years back. We had heard they would give us hassle at the point but we flew through with no hassles. We are heading for a place called Nata to meet up with the others.

On to Zimbabwe and we join up with 5 others. 2 Dutch, 2 Swiss and a Yank. Yeh and the dynamic changed. The two Swiss are pretty dreary people. They were telling a story about having partied hard one night and that they had to take it easy on the first night we met. Fair enough we said until they told us the party had been a week ago! It’s not the end of the World though and the Swiss aren’t renowned for their drinking anyway. I think it’s more like watches, Heidi, Purple Cows, hidden bank accounts and hot Zurich chicks!






Zimbabwe

The things that strike you about Zim are the people. They are very nice. They have seen their country ruined by a dictator but they all seem to have a resilient attitude to life. They try not to let the struggle for survival affect their attitude to life. They barter for old tea shirts and shoes with you. You can trade your shoes for curio’s and trinkets. One guy wanted my shoes! The notion is enough to make you laugh. I am backpacking around the place and I think he thought I was lugging around a suitcase full of the things. I do need my shoes though so no deal was struck. I wonder what I could get for my autographed Irish rugby jersey though? At least he wasn’t offering me a coffee table for them! If you have an old wardrobe then this is the place to come and trade them in. it’s a beautiful country where poverty is the main theme. Victoria Falls are beautiful. We’ve come when the Zambezi is at it’s highest in 40 years. The sound of the falls can be heard 3 km away. It’s to use the old American cliché, awesome! It’s like visiting a rain forest when you go there. You get completely drenched with the sheer volume of water being thrown up by the falls. There’s a great trade in rain Macs and brollies. I met a guy from Duleek at one of the view points. It’s funny to hear a Paddy or Mick in a small backwater like this. You can’t get away from the Irish. They must be literally everywhere. The town must have been a pumping place ten years ago. Now it’s practically a ghost town apart from some backpackers like us rolling through from time to time. It’s a small World in a lot of ways but this place is definitely one of the wonders.

The toilets are classic here. You take your toilet roll from a holder before you go in the door. I guess you have to be good at estimating the amount you need cause once on the pot there’s no turning back. It’s another idiosyncrasy of the country. Mam don't get any idea's of installing them in Castleknock Avenue! Another is the fact you can’t get any money from ATM machines as the currency is worthless. It must be the only place in the World where the national mint had the audacity to print a 100 Trillion dollar note. We went to a casino last night in the town. It was as plush as any Vegas gambling den but there was nobody there. We had our own private casino. Guess what the maximum bet was on the roulette table. 50 Cent! We were only gonna become billionaires if we got lucky but alas we all just about broke even! Red seven did come in though a few times to get me out even.

In the town you can’t get petrol or meat and credit cards don’t work because they don’t have enough zero’s to calculate the amount in Zim Dollars. Despite all this, it’s a great place and it’s a pity more people don’t spend time and money here.

Thanks Bob!