Out of Africa 4 - Kruger National Park - On safari

sitting and dining area

This was the most amazing part of our African experience.  The park is huge, around the same size as Wales. We stayed on the Imbali Game Reserve. There are twelve lodges on the reserve, plus a central reception, lounge and dining area. It is beautiful.

Our lodge

The stunning central areas

Our gorgeous room

Bath with a view!

  A dry river bed separated us from a water hole where we saw elephants every day coming to drink.
Twice a day we went out in the jeeps. The first start was 5.30 in the morning, returning around 9am for breakfast. For the rest of the day we were at leisure. The second safari was at 4pm until around 7pm when we returned for dinner.
Once dark we were escorted to and from our lodges, as there was always a chance of leopards roaming around.

elephants come for a drink

Our guide, Bradley, looked after us very well. His knowledge of the animals, the information shared, the humour and fun was second to none. 

Every morning he would set up a table, (plus cloth!) to serve teas and coffees. Every afternoon he would do the same but this time there was a choice of wine, beer, G&T, or whatever you wished.

Bradley serves the tea and coffee

There were nineteen of us all together and we divided into two jeeps. We all got on extremely well, lots of banter, sharing photographs and living an amazing adventure.

Always ready for a cuppa

We saw many animals, so close, it was unbelievable.

Sable

Not a Zebra crossing but a giraffe!

The Imbali Pride, about 18 of them

Beautiful Impala.

Out of Africa 3 - Victoria Falls

We arrived at the Victoria Falls hotel, in Zimbabwe, to discover we were so close to the falls, we could see the plumes of vapour rising from them. The African name for the falls is The Smoke that Thunders. 

A rainbow effect from the late afternoon sun.

Our hotel was build in the early twentieth century and had a strong colonial feel to it.  The gardens were beautiful. Most days we were greeted by wild Warthogs, monkeys and Mongoose running around. The Mongoose were hilarious, very much like Meercats.

The mongoose gave a comedy show every day!

 The next day we had a guided tour of the falls. They are stunning. The falls are roughly twice the height of Niagara and nearly two kilometres wide. I found Niagara very commercialised but not so here. You go through a gate into the park and then the place is as nature intended.

About to get very wet

We were given capes to wear but still got totally drenched.



The following day we went on a short cruise on the Zambezi. We were hoping for a stunning sunset but it was too cloudy. However it was interesting to be on the river. We saw lots of Hippos and a couple of crocodiles.  We didn't get close enough to them for me to be able to take a decent photo. The boat took us to within 800 metres of the actual falls - definitely a wobble moment!

Hippo eyes popping up

We found Zimbabwe an intriguing place. On the whole the people we met we optimistic and cheerful, looking forward to a better future. They have very little and over the three days we were there, we watched many of them waiting outside the banks in the hope they would open - they didn't.
The American dollar is their base currency now and they were so grateful for cash tips in that currency.

The border between Zimbabwe and Zambia

At the end of the visit we were bused across the Zambezi into Zambia to catch our flight back to South Africa and into the Kruger National Park to go on safari...more of that soon.

Out of Africa 2 -Cape Town and Robben Island

The Victoria and Alfred Waterfront at Cape Town was as lively and as cosmopolitan as everyone had told me it would be. We were lucky that our hotel 'The Table Bay' sat right on the waterfront, minutes away from all the bars and restaurants.

 

It's a beautiful, modern development and I enjoyed visiting it very much.
We didn't just sit eating and drinking - although we did a bit of that! The food is good, the beer is great and the wine is, well, excellent.
We toured around Cape Town itself and the surrounding areas. 


Once you get out of the city there are some fabulous beaches.

We didn't manage to get up Table Mountain.

A clear view as we sailed in.

Although the top was clear when we arrived, the 'table cloth' soon came down.  However we had plenty of other things to keep us busy

The table cloth descends

Four famous South Africans including Mandela and Desmond Tutu.

High on our list of 'must do' was to visit Robben Island, the prison that housed Nelson Mandela for eighteen years.
You need to book a ticket well in advance and be prepared for days when the sea is too choppy and the ferry won't sail.  This is difficult when you're only there for three days.  Fortunately on the third day we made it across.
After disembarking from the ferry, you are ushered into coaches for the last few minutes to the prison. This prison was only for political prisoners.To be honest I could have walked it but it didn't seem to be an option.
At the prison gates, we had quite a long talk by a former inmate. He told us about his own experience: arrest, torture and incarceration.

While interesting the sun was very hot and there was no shade. I think most of us were glad to go inside, where it was cooler.
We were taken to one of the communal cells that a number of prisoners shared. He told us about life there and how they managed to outwit the guards.

A communal cell.

Mandela's cell

Classes were given in politics and current affairs, by some of the prisoners to the others.  They threw covers over the spy cameras in the cells.
Mandela would write notes, which could be surreptitiously passed around.
I was disappointed that we weren't given the opportunity to wander around, by ourselves, and look at some of the photographs and information boards that were there.
After a brief visit, we were back on the bus for a tour of the island and to see the limestone quarry where the prisoners were forced to work. I hadn't realised that there was another prison on the island which housed convicted criminals.
So after a fascinating three days we were taken to the airport for our flights to Victoria Falls. We were going to the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe.  More of that later...

I've been away.- Out of Africa 1.

You may have noticed, I've not been around for a while.  At least I hope you noticed.
On January 9th we left Southampton on the Queen Mary 2, bound for CapeTown, a 19 day journey away.  This would be followed by ten days, in South Africa and Zimbabwe, before flying home.

I decided to break my blog into 3 sections.  The first part shows a little of the traditional style of the Queen Mary. Rather than a cruise ship, she is an ocean going liner. The difference in the layout of the ship is noticeable. Most of the public rooms - theatres etc - are in the centre of the ship rather than at the aft or stern. Did you notice my sailing terms!!  Its the pointy bit and the blunt bit for those uninitiated. The ship still likes to have much of the old style grandeur, missing from many others. The steamer chairs were put out every day, once the weather was fine and the restaurant was very elegant.

She is a very steady and smooth ship as her ballast is engineered differently -- don't ask, I haven't a clue!  Her lower decks have sheltered balconies. I imagine you could need these is rough seas, should you choose to actually go out on a balcony at such times!

Three days into the voyage we stopped at Madeira, a place I love and Tenerife. I can't tell you much about Tenerife. I don't know the island and we had torrential rain while there, so I still don't know it.

Eight days of sailing later, we stopped at Walvis Bay, Namibia. This was a place I never expected to visit.  I't's beautiful in a strange way. This county is mainly desert, the Namib desert, which means Vast Place, and it certainly is. We went off on a trip to see the desert. It was intriguing and amazing.

One of our first stops was Dune 7. It is one of the highest in Namibia and and is simply called 7 as it is the seventh dune that was encountered on a trade route.  Many people try to climb it. It is very steep and the sand soft, needless to say I didn't get very far! My legs are too short - that's my excuse!

These plants, the Welwitshia, which survive in the desert, are known as living fossils. I asked our guide how long our footprints would last on the sand. He said at least five years maybe ten!

One of the places to visit, in the desert, is Moon Valley. It has been used to represent the moon's landscape in many films 

We visited the local and colourful town Swakopmund, where Spring Boks are a different sort of hazard on the golf course!
 

On my next blog, I'll be visiting Cape Town and Victoria Falls, on the Zimbabwe side.