South Africa – Round The World Tour 2003 Day 1Kosmos in Hartbeespoort (near Pretoria)Thursday 13th March I can hardly believe it but we are now in Africa. We arrived at Johannesburg, via a 3 hours layover in Dubai, just this morning. I’m still adjusting to the fact that we are here after about a year […]
South Africa – Round The World Tour 2003 Day 2Kosmos in Hartbeespoort (near Pretoria)Friday 14th March Several times today, I asked myself and others around me “Did we really only arrive yesterday?” I feel so relaxed that it feels like we’ve been here quite some time already. Our accommodation and surroundings is the closest thing […]
South Africa – Round The World Tour 2003 Day 3Kosmos in Hartbeespoort (near Pretoria)Saturday 15th March Another day in paradise awaited us this morning as we again woke, refreshed and relaxed. After breakfast on the patio, we packed some provisions and took off in the car for a day out exploring some of the local […]
South Africa – Round The World Tour 2003 Day 4Kosmos in Hartbeespoort (near Pretoria)Sunday 16th March Today was another fantastic day in paradise, yet again. I find it hard to believe Helen when she tells me that we will continue to enjoy ourselves even more over the coming weeks. Once again, we awoke to a […]
South Africa – Round The World Tour 2003 Day 5Lataba (Kruger National Park)Monday 17th March This morning we bid Helen and Wim, and the idyllic setting of Kosmos, a sad farewell. We could not have hoped for much of a better start to our grand journey than that which they had given us. We may […]
South Africa – Round The World Tour 2003 Day 6Lataba (Kruger National Park)Tuesday 18th March Today was a fun day. We went out on Safari twice on our own. A morning drive just after breakfast and an afternoon drive after lunch. Interestingly, we saw the most game during the morning drive. Apparently, the best time […]
South Africa – Round The World Tour 2003 Day 7Oliefants (Kruger National Park)Wednesday 19th March Today was one of the most exhausting days so far, but also one of the most rewarding. We are both thoroughly exhausted after a solid nine hours straight on the Safari trail. We got up at five thirty this morning […]
South Africa – Round The World Tour 2003 Day 8Skakuza (Kruger National Park)Thursday 20th March We had another eventful day out on the Safari trail today. After the highs of yesterday’s Lion kill just yards from our window, I didn’t think we could possibly top that but we were again very lucky today because we […]
Swaziland – Round The World Tour 2003 Day 12Sodwana BayMonday 24th March We bid farewell to Tambuti and Swaziland this morning. We enjoyed our few days there and take fond memories with us. We drove for about three hours or so before reaching Sodwana Bay. Curiously, we somehow managed to take one of the dirt […]
South Africa – Round The World Tour 2003 Day 13Sodwana bayTuesday 25th March Today was not a good day. It started off just fine with our refresher SCUBA course lasting an hour and a half in one of the small swimming pools they have here. We were scheduled to go out on the noon boat […]
South Africa – Round The World Tour 2003 Day 14Sodwana bayWednesday 26th March It seems the seasickness tablets that we paid so much for at the front desk the other day (R5 per tablet – four tablets each per day) have paid off, as today’s dive was completely nausea free. As an added bonus, the […]
South Africa – Round The World Tour 2003 Day 15Sodwana bayThursday 27th March Today we completed the remaining two dives from our five-dive package. We’ve had a great time here at Sodwana Bay and met some really fantastic people, several of whom we have exchanged contact details with. The atmosphere here has been wonderful and […]
South Africa – Round The World Tour 2003 Day 16Unhlanga RocksFriday 28th March After settling our tab this morning at the front desk, we said goodbye to Sodwana Bay and South Africa’s premier dive location. This was the first of many diving opportunities that we will encounter during our world tour and I can only […]
South Africa – Round The World Tour 2003 Day 17Unhlanga RocksSaturday 29th March Durban isn’t anywhere near the violent, criminal, threatening environment that so many people we have met have made it out to be. In contrast, it is a pleasant, vibrant, seaside resort with a warm and gentle atmosphere. The couple of hours that […]
South Africa – Round The World Tour 2003 Day 18Unhlanga RocksSunday 30th March Not a lot happened today as we mostly relaxed here at Dave & Glennis’ house. We drove down to the beachfront early this morning to see a convoy of about twenty-six or so ultralight trikes fly down the coastline and back again […]
South Africa – Round The World Tour 2003 Day 19White MountainMonday 31st March We got off to a later than planned start this morning as we wanted to tend to some more e-mail duties but the connection and the computer were rather slow. By ten thirty in the morning we were ready to bid Dave […]
South Africa – Round The World Tour 2003 Day 20White MountainTuesday 1st April They were not kidding about the strenuous climb to the top of White Mountain. My legs are killing me and we will sleep well tonight. We started the day with a short drive to the starting point at the base of some […]
South Africa – Round The World Tour 2003 Day 21White MountainWednesday 2nd April Another full day of walking took its toll on our poor, aching feet again today. We set off this morning to see the Giant’s Mountain and the caves with the five thousand year old SAN rock art. The Bushmen of Southern Africa […]
South Africa – Round The World Tour 2003 Day 22BloemfonteinThursday 3rd April This morning’s exertions on the fufi-slide were a lot of fun. So much so that I went down the cable no less than three times. They made me do it J Much as was the case with all the other places we’ve been […]
South Africa – Round The World Tour 2003 Day 23ColesbergFriday 4th April Well, we did explore Bloemfontein a little after all. We went to the tourist information office next to the sports stadium to get our bearings. There was a Mainliner bus ticket sales office there so I inquired about the route between Cape Town, […]
South Africa – Round The World Tour 2003 Day 23TsitsikamerSaturday 5th April With nothing compelling enough to keep us in Colesberg, we were checked out of Mimosa and were on our way this morning by nine o’clock. We weren’t sure how far we would get but we headed in the general direction of Port Elizabeth […]
South Africa – Round The World Tour 2003 Day 25KnysnaSunday 6th April Today, we’ve seen both ends of the pleasure spectrum. The day started off poorly with the bill for last night’s lodging and meal. In addition to the R200 ($25) for the very poor (and way overpriced) accommodation, they tacked on no less than […]
South Africa – Round The World Tour 2003 Day 26KnysnaMonday 7th April Today was a fun day and we really got to enjoy ourselves. After getting up this morning and enjoying the free cereal and fruit breakfast provided, we drove down to the waterfront to catch the steam train ride to George. At just R55 […]
South Africa – Round The World Tour 2003 Day 27KnysnaTuesday 8th April The highlight of our day today was the township tour. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect and, to be honest, I was a little anxious about going into the township and shantytowns of Knysna. I think it fair to say that my […]
South Africa – Round The World Tour 2003 Day 28OudtshoornWednesday 9th April A definite pattern is now starting to emerge as far as our daily activities are concerned. Recently, our days seemed to be planned around what tourist activities there are to do in the town where we currently are. Perhaps it is because we […]
South Africa – Round The World Tour 2003 Day 29Cape TownThursday 10th April The four-hour drive from Oudtshoorn to Cape Town this afternoon made today a very long day and we are both very tired.The day started out well enough. We checked out of our Backpackers Paradise accommodation this morning because we were not sure […]
South Africa – Round The World Tour 2003 Day 30Cape TownFriday 11th April Today was a day of logistics. We didn’t go to see any attraction, participate in any adventure activity or take any photos. The main object today was to investigate and plan the next leg of the trip here in Africa. We don’t […]
South Africa – Round The World Tour 2003 Day 31Cape TownSaturday 12th April For the second day straight, today, we took no photos at all. I think one of the cameras may be exhibiting withdrawal symptoms. We mostly rested today. The weather did not cooperate so we didn’t take the cable car up to the […]
South Africa – Round The World Tour 2003 Day 32Cape TownMonday 14th April Enough of this slow-paced, relaxation nonsense already! Today we leapt back into tourist mode again and started to explore the area a little. Since we are close to the Southern most point in Africa, it seemed fitting that we see what it […]
South Africa – Round The World Tour 2003 Day 33Cape TownMonday 14th April Much to tell about today but very little time to tell it in since the laptop power adapter has packed up and the current battery has less than twenty minutes of power left in it. By all accounts, this is a major […]
South Africa – Round The World Tour 2003 Day 34Cape TownTuesday 15th April So far, today has been by far the most stressful day of the whole trip – and it isn’t over yet. We started the day with an early rise as we had a lot of chores to complete, on this our very […]
South Africa – Round The World Tour 2003 Day 35Somewhere on the roadWednesday 16th April Today marked the beginning of our organised overland journey. We got up fairly early and packed our stuff (we’re getting good at it now) and walked next door to meet the rest of the group and the truck (we’re not […]
South Africa – Round The World Tour 2003 Day 36Fiddler’s CreekThursday 17th April Our first complete day (excluding yesterday’s travelling) on the Safari trail is now drawing to an end and all is well. We really enjoyed ourselves today and many of the concerns that were plaguing me yesterday are distant memories for now. Today’s […]