Saturday 27/05/2017 - Cintsa (Wild Coast)

We had good night sleep under canvas once again and had easy start to the day. We did some hand washing and sent a bag of clothes to reception to be washed.

It was an overcast day with temperature in low 20s so we decided to go kayaking on the local waterway with Ian and Sim for a couple of hours. It was enjoyable paddling in the calm water chatting away. We saw lots of bird life along the banks of the river.

All that paddling was thirsty work so we enjoyed a pre lunch drink from the bar deck with great views of the beach beyond then had lunch even higher up at the restaurant with even better views.

Catriona had a lovely full body massage for $26 while David went for a walk along the beach. More beers and some UNO rounded out our rest day with Cat and I cooking a hearty beef stew for dinner for the group.

Friday 26/05/2017 - Lesotho to Cintsa

Today we woke up at 5.30, simple breakfast at 6.00 and we were on our way for a full day of driving just after 6.30.

We had an easy boarder crossing at Van Rooyens Gate. We actually drove straight into no mans land then had to walk back to be stamped out of Lesotho before we could be stamped back into South Africa. The boarder staff keep stamping in the same 2 pages of our passports.

On our journey we slowed to view some native ground squirrels, a golden mongoose and some ostrich. We also saw a secretary bird and blue crane. Around noon we stopped at Queenstown to shop for food for the elephant plus get some lunch. We helped Sandile get some food as we said we would cook a dinner for the group on Saturday night.

Back on the road we were on schedule to arrive at our destination around 4pm that was until we encountered a traffic jam. Nothing was moving. Not sure if it was road works or a accident Sandile decided to leave us and walk down the road and investigate.

When he returned he said there has been a horrific accident involving a B double truck and 4 cars on a bridge that has virtually closed the road. There is a fatality we were not sure if it was suicide or not.

We finally passed the accident 2 hours later and we made it to East London as it was getting dark. Our driver made a few wrong turns as they couldn't see the signs for Buccaneer backpackers at Cintsa on the beach but by 6.30pm we finally made our destination. It was a long day in the truck, we were all tired but happy to have safely made it to our next stop.

Thursday 25/05/2017 - Lesotho

We had a great nights sleep again as we were staying in nice warm lodge rooms. We woke and went to an early morning yoga class with Michelle and had a picture with her after the energetic class.

We had a quick breakfast as we met to leave for our hike at 9am. We started with a village tour, first stop was the village shops housed in small metal shacks. David tasted a local delicacy similar to a doughnut hole. Next stop was one of the village beer makers. Not a typical beer it was only 2% alcohol and took her 1 day to brew. David had a taste and it wasn't the best.

Next it was off to the arts and crafts centre where Catriona bought a pair of earrings mad from copper.

We then headed off on our walk to the waterfall. The scenery was spectacular and the walk itself was difficult as we were walking on very narrow rock strewn paths that took a lot of concentration.

We had our lunch at the waterfall and rested before heading back out of the gorge and up to a rock platform where we had another rest looking out back toward the waterfall.

We then headed off to see the bushmen rock painting that date back 700 years. They were made from a mixture of blood and oil.

We finished the day having a drink at the bar and a lovely dinner prepared by Gibson and Sandile.

Wednesday 24/05/2017 - Drakensberg to Lesotho

We set off from the Ampitheatre lodge just after 7:30am in the elephant which started perfectly after the mechanics from Johannesburg replaced a few parts the other night. It was mostly a day of driving with a few short stops. One stop was in Ladybrand where we had on omelette for lunch at Wimpy's.

It was then only a short drive to the boarder of Lesotho (pronounced lesootoo). It was another smooth boarder crossing and we could notice the difference in housing and local dress once we crossed over. Many people were wearing their traditional clothing which included a blanket. Lesotho is a poor country and the people mostly rely on subsistence farming. The main crops growing are maize and sorghum and there were sheep, goats and cows being herded through the countryside. We also had a lot of people waving to us again, we feel like celebrities.

We stopped at The Gates of Paradise pass for a photo opportunity before heading to our accommodation for the next few nights at Malealea lodge.

 

We checked into our rooms and went to an evening concert by a local choir and band with home made instruments. Their voices were lovely as you will hear on the videos.

Tuesday 23/05/2017 - Drakensberg Mountains

What a fantastic day for a hike in the mountains. The guide said we cheated the mountain by driving 2hrs on the road to get up to around 2000m rather than do the 2 day hike to get to the summit which is 3100m. This was demanding and one of the best single days hiking we have done. We are too tired to write any more and will let the pictures paint the story.

Monday 22/05/2017 - Durban to Drakensberg

We enjoyed a lovely cooked breakfast at the happy hippo with Parham and Lauren joining us for a final time. We set off in the elephant out of Durban and headed for our next stop. Sandile and Gibson decided to take us off tour and visit the Neilson Mandela capture site and apartheid museum. We were so glad they took us there as it was very informative and we met some local school girls on an excursion who had a chat with us.

We stopped to buy lunch at a superSPAR and headed off to the amphitheater backpackers lodge which is in the middle of nowhere with an amazing view of the Drakensberg mountain range.
No camping for us tonight as we checked into our ensuite room for the next 2 nights. Then we set off for an afternoon walk in the Royal Natal National park. We learned that King George V, Queen Elizabeth, princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret visited in 1947 and on their return home requested it be renamed as it is now. 

We walked to a cascade viewing the flora and fauna along the way. Our guide pointed out the non indigenous trees too.

Once back at the lodge we relaxed around the pool as the sun set. We decided not to take advantage of the Jacuzzi that is inside next to the bar.