Africa Archives - Escapes From The Little Red Dot

SA 2013 Day 16 and Day 17 – Lambert’s bay and Home Sweet Home

Posted on August 17, 2013September 27, 2019 by ziyi

Started the day with breakfast in the hotel and checked with receptionist on the status of Robben Island ferry. Cancelled. OMG. That was unbelievable. We were really disappointed but there was simply no other choice. Drove our vehicle to V&A to collect our customised towels and also to get the refund on the tickets from the ticketing office. However, I forgot I left the tickets in the haversack that was in the car’s boot but thought I left it in the luggage and so we rushed back to the hotel only to remember after that. Cape Heritage hotel was really close to V&A and luckily we did not waste too much time and it took about 30mins max to travel to and fro. Furthermore, the traffic was light since it was still early on a weekend. After this, we tried our luck with Table mountain again and drove up to the same carpark spot. The heavy mist was still all around and then that’s when we decided to visit Lambert’s Bay, 300km up north from Cape Town, something that we planned as contingency should Robben Island fail.

So it was all highway on the N7 at average speed of 120km/h with 2 lanes till it became 1 as we moved away from Cape Town. One of the amusing behaviour of drivers in SA was that people here were generally courteous. On the 1 lanes, drivers at the slower pace would move to the shoulder so that the faster ones could pass. Once passed, the front driver would turn on the hazard light for about 2 flickers to say “thank you” to the slower driver. Then I learnt to do the same too since we were at a faster pace then some of the drivers and some of them would return my “thank you” with 2 short bursts of high beam flashes to say “you are welcome”. There were also some people who drove really fast, zooming past me even when I was at speeds of 140km/hr already.

When we moved onto side roads off from the main highway, the traffic became a little more congested. We even met a roadblock for road works that last some kilometers and they had to do the 10mins roadblock for each direction in order for the construction work to carry on and concurrently traffic continued usage of the road. Skies cleared as we moved closer inland and away from Cape Town and we were hopeful that Lambert’s bay could present a change of weather to what we have encountered in Cape Town.

Some 3hrs and we arrived at Lambert’s bay. Small town with small buildings with lots of space in between. It was already 2pm and we visited one of the restaurants (not many of them anyway) that was in Lambert’s Bay Hotel and there were only 2 of us. Looked at the menu that consisted mostly seafood, not surprising for somewhere just next to the ocean. The seafood was really tasty!

While waiting for the food, I went to the reception to get some brochures on things to do in Lambert’s Bay. There were some trips that could be arranged earlier for fishing and such. We were interested in a visit to bird island reserve and the receptionist informed that we could walked over to the reserve where we could see the natural habitat of the thousands of birds on the island.

After lunch, we drove closer to the entrance that was just 1 min away. I approached the guardhouse personnel to ask for directions but he gave me a disappointing answer. The island was close due to bad weather. This was really frustrating, 300 km away and still bad weather! He went on to say that the tide was too choppy and we would not be able to walk across the land that was connecting the main island to the bird island. It was the truth and we had to turn back. We came 300km just to have lunch.

Bird island from afar. Many birds flying above.

Choppy ocean wave crashing against the rocks.

Lambert's bay beach — Lambert’s bay beach

It was the same route back, same areas picturesque with landscapes and vegetation. It was an enjoyable road trip. Stopped by a hydrodam to snap a picture too, though it was not like we haven’t seen one before.

When we arrived back at Cape Town, we saw that the clouds at the top of Table Mountain have cleared! A tinge of regret felt as we were contemplating whether to climb or to go Lambert’s bay, looked like we chose the wrong option!

Silhouette of Table mountain on the highway back to Cape Town.

Drove to V&A again for dinner and again we ate at the smaller branch of Simply Asia, which was grouped together with a few other fast food counters. Went back to the hotel feeling disappointed and packed in preparation for the trip back home the next day. Not an ending that we all expected.

Day 17: Home Sweet Home

Our flights was planned at 10ish in the morning and thus we had to leave really early since we had to return the car too. As usual, the traffic was light on Sunday morning and driving to the airport was of no hassle. While on the road, we saw the clear view of Table Mountain and it was like telling us again how unfortunate we were to visit at that time of the year. Took a final shot and continued towards the airport.

Returning was a bit tricky, we had to pump gas till it was full at the station nearest the airport and then returned at the designated location. GPS really came in handy in this aspect even though we still had to go around in circles trying to find the entrance of the car return location. There was one huge parking lot designated for return of rental vehicles for many different companies, and locating the same company sign was not easy. Once we parked the vehicle and handover the keys, we had to cross the road to return the GPS at the main office at which then the whole procedure was completed. Checked in was no drama and we were soon shopping at the waiting area of the airport.

This was unlike Changi, the area was so much smaller and not much to see. My wife wanted to get some safari stuff toys but eventually did not as there were space in the house to place them. They were quite cute by the way, especially the warthogs and rhinos.

Then it was a 12hrs flight back to Singapore, via Joburg 1hr transit. We only arrived at 6am following day due to the time difference.

This travel experience gave us much insight to the culture and lifestyle of South Africa. We experienced the extremes between the insecurity felt in Joburg and the comfort in Cape Town. It was also our first safari experience that we enjoyed thoroughly and having to visit 2 different safaris, it was a good introduction of what to expect for future safari visits. The visit of Vic Falls gave us time to appreciate the beauty that Earth could offer and the grandeur of the falls showed the insignificance of ourselves in the greater environment. Overall a successful trip lest would be more perfect without the constant bad weather.

SA 2013 Day 15 – From Hermanus back to Cape Town

Posted on August 16, 2013September 27, 2019 by ziyi

Woke up today feeling unwell. The weather outside remained gloomy but a rainbow soon appeared in full view from our room. Attempted to go to the beach for a little walk to see if we could catch sight of whales close by but after reaching the beach in the cold wind, my poor health status got the better of me and we trekked back for breakfast instead. Didn’t eat a lot of the complimentary breakfast, which I thought looked really good and just had African Rooibos tea which was said to aid digestion. As I proceeded back to our room to take a rest, I approached the owners for some digestion pills and that helped improve my situation. Slept for a bit before we checked out the room and headed to town again for some whale watching and pills shopping. The plan was to drive to Oudtshoorn but since I wasn’t feeling too well, we were thinking otherwise. What really changed our idea completely was when we saw the amount of whale activity going on at the same spot we were the previous evening and that got us hooked to whale watching for practically the whole morning!

Rainbow arising from the ocean in morning.

The edge where people climb to in order to get closer pictures.

Famous whale crier of Hermanus blowing the horn to communicate with the whales.

The whales were pretty active today. We wanted to get some pills first and so while walking near to the whale viewing spots, we saw whales coming out of the water. After we reached, the activity then lessened. Just when we thought it ended and started to turn around, the whales came out of the water again. We turned back and again the activity lessened. It was like hide and seek in a mean way. Finally we decided to just leave first, get the pills and whatever we needed from the shops and returned. It wasn’t too bad an idea cause after we returned, we saw whales coming out from the water pretty frequently!

Whale coming out from the water seen from shore.

Sequence shots of whale coming out of water.

Hooked till it was close to noon and by then it was really late. As we need to get into Oudtshoorn for an Ostrich farm visit, 5hrs drive away, we figured it was too late and not a good option, since we need to return to Cape Town the following day early so as to get on the afternoon ferry to Robben Island, it definitely does not seemed like a good deal. Back to Cape Town.

Mountain views on the way back to Cape Town.

Since we planned for a ostrich farm visit, we decided to visit one too, not too far away from Cape Town. Punched in ostrich farm near destination Cape Town into Garmin and we were on our way. Cape Point Ostrich Farm.

The farm was situated at the location close to the Cape National Park which we found really familiar since we were there on the first day of our visit to Cape Town. The drive was really easy, not many vehicles on the road and both road signs and directions from GPS was easy to follow. Conditions of the road was good too. Took about 2hrs to reach the ostrich farm. Thought that there was some restaurants nearby but was not what expected – a simple restaurant at the farm but selling foodstuff from the farm itself. In the end we bought a muffin for lunch as I was still feeling bloated.

The tour ran every hour and we were able to join one soon after. It was a “private tour” in a sense since we were the only people there at the time. A guide from the farm met us at the waiting area and walked us around the farm, explaining what their farm did, how they breed the birds and stuff like that. Along the way, we saw birds of different ages, held in different holding area. Educational for people who were interested in these birds.

The tour was about 15-20 mins. There wasn’t much interaction with the birds and you couldn’t ride a bird there, a little different from those in Oudtshroon. Understood from the guide that it was cruel to ride one anyway and that usually those birds would get injured and often killed after that. Since theirs was a small establishment and they weren’t keen to put the birds under stress, they did not have that. Point taken.

There was bird feed that was on sale at the waiting area which we bought to feed 2 birds that were out in the open fenced up area. They were left there so that they could mate. The wind was really strong but these 2 birds didn’t seem much affected by it. It was really amusing to feed them as they weren’t really smart, especially the male, which did not know how to reach my hand when I brought the feed close to the ground and it was obstructed by the top horizontal wooden log. The female stuck her head between the top and bottom log and managed to pick some feed off my hand. We were told during the tour that these birds weren’t smart and had very small brains, but I guess the feeding experiment showed that the male bird had the smaller one.

Female bird which is not as brightly coloured as the male.

Male bird, bright red beak showed that it was on heat.

We didn’t planned anything else that day and thus we decided to just drive around and stop at places with good views. Weather wasn’t on our side so we didn’t stop any many places either. Revisited Simonstown and parked at a location that was indicated panoramic viewpoint on the GPS. There was a rainbow yet again. We looked out for whales too but didn’t see any. However, as we drove along the shore towards Cape Town, there were some places where we could also see whales sticking their fins out of the water.

We reached Cape Heritage hotel in the early evening and approached the receptionist for assistance since we didn’t reserve a room. She was really helpful and managed to get one room for us such that we did not need to change room for the next night. It was a different one from the first time that we were there, designed differently but just as nice. The only complaint was that it was a just above the pantry and noise from the pantry was really audible in the room.

Had dinner at a Thai restaurant called “Simply Asia” around the corner and had some spicy food which really warmed us up in the balmy weather. The food was ok but a welcome change to the daily western cuisine that I was getting a little sick of. The small restaurant was busy and there was a commotion when someone who didn’t pay for some takeaway left the restaurant. Also enjoyed watching the TV that was showing world athletics games, a channel that we didn’t have in the hotel.

Spacious bathroom with tub and separate shower and double basins.

Back in the room, we went online to look at the options we had the next day if the Robben Island tour was to be cancelled again, which was very likely. We heard news the good weather would only return the following week after we left. That was really unfortunate.

SA 2013 Day 14 – Cape Town to Hermanus for Whale Watching

Posted on August 15, 2013September 27, 2019 by ziyi

Today we checked out the Cape Heritage Hotel for our onward journey to Hermanus. We spoke to the recept on leaving the bulk of our luggage at the hotel since we were coming back a few days later and they agreed! This would have helped us save some costs in terms of fuel since we would be carrying less load on this mini road trip.

We went to the Skinny Legs cafe for breakfast which was a few streets from our hotel. It was a modern design cafe with pretty good food!

After breakfast, we packed a sandwich each for our Table mountain climb from the same cafe and went back to the hotel to wait for our pickup. The company “Around about Cars” sent a vehicle to picked us up to the company which was just around the corner. Gone through the usual procedures which was done pretty quickly, partly because there weren’t many people there and we were soon off with our Nissan Latio equivalent with a GPS. 1st stop was Table Mountain.

Parked near the Platteklip Gorge climb entrance. Misty background was the route upwards.

Reached the climb entrance where there was a parking lot for a few cars. We stayed in the car for some 15 mins to observe the weather, hoping that it would really change for the better. But the cloud did not dissipate for as long as we waited so we decided to take a risk and tried climbing. After all, there were just steps and should not be too difficult.

View of the city from the parking lot. It was one of the better times during the bad weather.

Signboard of the Platteklip Gorge entrance.

So we started going upwards. The weather was really cold but we wore enough to keep us warm. The steps were easy but a little slippery. Started climbing for about 10mins and was stopped abruptly. The flight of steps had a stream of water gushing across it and we weren’t able to cross it and thus had to make a U-turn.

The little stream on the left interrupted our climb.

On the way down, we noticed a group of 3 locals also attempting the climb. We told them about the stream but they appeared unhindered and continued on. I supposed they were going to go for it. Upon reaching the car, we did not see the group coming back down so I guessed they really made it through. It was also a wonder how they managed to get up to the entrance in the first place as it was a really long walk up! Salute to these experienced walkers!

Punched in the next destination, Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden, an Unesco heritage site. This was part of our contingency plan since we did not really know if we could do the climb. It was not too far away from Cape Town and also en-route to Hermanus so it was not a bad idea.

Intro signage at Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden

We also read that the garden had a nice collection of flowers and a lovely view of the city with the Table Mountain as the backdrop. It was not far off from expectation if not for the misty weather that plagued the city view and the Table Mountain. And it was still winter but there were still some flowers in bloom.

And of course, we were there to look for the National flower, King Protea.

King Protea - about the size of the hand. — King Protea – about the size of the hand.

Walking around the garden didn’t take too long. For one, we weren’t exactly flower people and two, there was not much flowers due to the season. But it was a refreshing view from the city or the safari.

A duck family with ducklings waddling behind.

Our lunch place where there is a pond and the mountain view. But it was cold too!

The garden was split into various sections, we chose some to visit and also attempted to explore a route that led to Skeleton gorge, which we didn’t know any details about it and later gave up as it looked like an never ending route up to Table mountain. Had a coffee at the cafe in the gardens before it started to drizzle and then left the gardens during the periodic stop of the rain.

Yellow Crane flower, known as Mandela's Gold — Yellow Crane flower, known as Mandela’s Gold

So we began our road trip towards Hermanus. The route was straight forward and driving on the highway was really easy. The initial plan was to take a boat trip out to sea for whale watching but it was also cancelled due to weather. So we decided to just do the whale watching from the shore, as many had claimed that the whales were close to shore for our viewing pleasure.

Clouds covered skies most of the time with the occasion rainbow that brightened the drive.

Short 1.5hrs of driving and we reached the Hermanus Beach Villa and checked into a Grotto suite on the 2nd floor that had a good view of the ocean. We were told that some whales were seen really close to the shore while the owners were preparing breakfast at the ground floor. That really got us excited. We stayed in the room for a while watching out in the far but did not manage to see anything. Then we went to Hermanus town where there were higher chances of whale sightings, as told to us by the lodge owners.

Town was just a 10 mins drive away. Parking was easy since there are many parking lots available. There were already some people near the stone shores looking out at the whales, and soon enough we could already see some parts of the whales when they surfaced for air!

Again, although the whales were not too far away, it posed a challenge for my camera without a good telephoto lens. We had to depend on digital zoom.

A shot of some parts of the whale surfacing.

Stayed for at least an hour just watching these water mammals in sea was really amusing. Though it was really windy and cold, we can’t help but had our eyes glued to the ocean just so that we didn’t miss any actions. Would have spent more time if we could but the sun set and we went to the nearby Burgundy restaurant for dinner. Tripadvisor was accurate on this, the food was excellent!

While at dinner, we took the window seat so that we could try to see some whales during our dinner. And then we caught a glimpse of whale jumping out of the water, once. The waiter who was staring outside witnessed the whole event and informed us but it was too late already. That’s wildlife, nothing is planned and luck was all we had.

After dinner, we drove back to the lodge for our overnight stay. The temperature was really cold and so was the room. The helpers brought some some warm water bags to be placed under the sheets to provide warmth for our sleep, that made the stay so much heart warming too.

SA 2013 Day 13 – Cape Town City Tour

Posted on August 14, 2013September 27, 2019 by ziyi

This day began with bad news over breakfast. The morning tour to Robben that we booked was cancelled due to bad weather and it was informed to us via SMS. It was a real bummer as we were looking forward to visit Robben Island to know more about the history of Africa and the former president Nelson Mandela. Furthermore, we had also arranged the guide to do a transfer for us to the harbour and he had on the other hand, have his wife do this transfer while he had to attend to another group of inbound tourists. As soon as his wife arrived, we informed her about the information and she immediately called the guide. There were several exchanges on the phone and soon she left and he came for us, to carry out the afternoon activity, which is the Cape Town half day city tour.

Again there were some grumblings on why we did not inform earlier but still we proceed with the tour. Got in the vehicle and we were taken around the city in the freezing Cape Town morning.

Easily the oldest building in Cape Town, Castle of Good Hope, now a musuem. Not much of the castle left though.

English style building that resembles Big Ben

After a while, we got off at some street to walk around. We were brought to a piece of the Berlin Wall given to Cape Town as a gift.

Piece of Berlin wall at St George's mall — Piece of Berlin wall at St George’s mall

Then we proceed towards the Company’s Gardens, we were introduced to one of the cathedral where Nobel Prize winner Tutu used to preach.

2nd oldest building in Cape Town, once a slave lodge, refurbished as a museum.

The gardens had a collection of plants (though we were not sure what) and some statues. Some interesting old plants and various plants were also found here, brought to Cape Town long time ago from Asia.

Oldest tree in the gardens, currently requiring man made supports.

After the gardens, we were driven to Green market square for a little walk.

One of the old buildings with English architecture at the square

After the city tour, we were driven to signal hill where a panoramic view of Cape Town can be seen. It would have been better if the table mountain wasn’t covered with clouds.

Another popular natural landscape in the form of Lion's head — Another popular natural landscape in the form of Lion’s head

The next stop was Bo Kaap, where the Cape Malays stayed in the past. The pastel coloured buildings were the highlights of this visit.

Indicates the number of shots it has fired. Our visit was the 65164 times

The Noon Day Gun was really a impressive culture that was practised for ages and was the longest running of cannon firing in the world. The cannons were also original with slight modifications to auto firing that was linked to the time station so that the cannons fired off at exactly the correct time.

There were 2 guns side by side. If one did not managed to fire, the other one goes off. The guns were fired alternatively. After the flag raising and an introduction to the history of this custom and the workings of the cannon and the auto ignitor, we were counting down. And the shockwave felt after the “boom” was fantastic!

Smokes followed the bellow of the cannon

This concluded the half day tour and also our meeting with the guide. We were dropped at V&A waterfront for lunch and to spend the day since there wasn’t anything planned for it. We were supposed to get a refund from the ticketing counter in the Robben Island museum also at the V&A waterfront, for the reservation made online. We explored the places for a little after lunch since we didn’t do it the other night since it was late already and in the day, the waterfront was a really big place to look around.

A ferry entering the habour. A movable passenger bridge rotated away for the ship to enter.

The museum was just across the ferry crossing. There were a few tourists who wanted to visit Robben Island. Unfortunately, there weren’t any ferry services on that day. Even if there was, the tickets were way too hot to be still available for counter sales, which was why we bought it in Singapore before arrival. Talked to the sales rep and informed that we wanted to try to visit again on the coming Saturday, hopefully if the weather could improve.

Inside the 3 storey Robben Island museum

Nice little quay side that kinda reminds me of boat quay in Singapore, though nicer

We walked around a bit. There was a tourist center which we visited for advise on climbing the table mountain and was told that the cable car going up the top of table mountain was closed for maintenance. However, we could still try to climb but require a taxi at least to the bottom of the Platteklip Gorge route climb. The time required was 4hrs and at that time, it was a already late so we had to forgo the idea. At this time, we were already considering to change some of our itinerary to spend more time in Cape Town and postponed the garden route to another time.

Saw 2 garnets fighting for fish a the harbour

While walking around the harbour, we finally got to witness the flat top of the table mountain as some of the clouds start to move away from the top. There we finally got the shots that we wanted, with help of some other tourists who were also busy taking photos themselves.

There was a place where there is a collection of food such as crepes and ice-cream and we thought we would have our dinner. Just close by was also a collection of handicraft shops that we bought a couple of towels with customised designs and keychains made from buffalo skin where names could be etched together with the wildlife design that was on the buffalo skin. The gifts for family and friends back home were all settled there and then. Took some photos before sunset, where there was also a rainbow seen from Nobel square before dinner and back to the hotel for some renewed planning.

While back at the hotel, the first thing we did was to cancel the booking for the 3 days garden route driver, informing him of our change in plan. Then we looked up vehicle rental and booked online for a vehicle. These 2 days in Cape Town gave us much confidence in the security of the city and also its drivability and we had no doubt that the car was the way to go explore Cape Town. Then, we also made a booking for an accommodation over at Hermanus which wasn’t in the plan previously since we wanted to stay further away in Kysna instead. We had to forgo the costs of the accommodation at Kysna since it was to late to cancel it already. Finally, we hoped again that the weather becomes better.

SA 2013 Day 12 – Full day Peninsula Tour to Cape point and penguins

Posted on August 13, 2013September 27, 2019 by ziyi

After a comfortable but slightly noisy windy night, we awoke to welcome the freshness of the morning and of experiencing of a new location, Cape Town! Breakfast wasn’t included and it was just next door at the Awestruck Bistro that we found lovely breakfast.

Before leaving the hotel, we received a call from the guide who was supposed to meet us at our hotel at about 830am, dispersing the confusion that we had the previous night due to the delay in our flight. Our hotel was pretty close to the tourist information store, and there was a good amount of information in the form of brochures and a helpful personnel to advise. We had booked most of the stuff back in Singapore and thus was not willing to change unnecessarily. A skydiving trip was really enticing but we were told that it was unlikely since the bad weather was going to stay till after we left. Bad luck! Went back to the hotel to meet the guide, who obviously wasn’t really impressed with our lack of communication and he requiring to wait for us 2hrs in the airport but still, we agreed on some form of compensation and we were good to go.

As we embarked on our journey to first stop on the Peninsula Tour, we were greeted with scenic landscapes of the lovely Cape Town. The weather was fine and we were hopeful for an enjoyable tour since bad weather would really dull the photos.

Some clouds, mountains and the ocean. Shot from the vehicle

The wind was blowing all the sand from the shore onto the buildings

After some 20mins of driving, we arrived at a jetty that we would be taking a small ferry out to seal colony. We were informed that it was going to be choppy and thus brought along all the warm clothing that we had for the trip, at least we should be protected from the winds.

Waited for a while as the ferry was still out from its earlier trip. There was a visit from one of the seals at the harbour and it seemed like it was used to visiting as it went pretty close to the deck and a local kid was feeding it.

We boarded the ferry and went to the front section where there were seats. Leaving the harbour was fine as the waters were still not that bad. Once out, the waves started crashing onto the stern and often water splashed inwards. At one point, the assistants had to make everyone move and take shelter at the back. It was really choppy and luckily we did not have a late heavy breakfast or we would have had Merlions on the ferry. Soon we arrived at location where we can see an island made of rocks and seals, some 50m away.

An island of seals in front of an overcast backdrop

The trip out was not entirely interesting as we had previous experience of similar trips elsewhere. And it would have been definitely better if not for the choppy sea. The ferry left the dark clouds behind as we went back on land and continue towards Chapman’s peak.

Chapman’s peak presented to us a panoramic viewpoint of Hout’s bay, and coupled with that short period of good weather that was on offer, we took it all in, in awe.

Lovely Hout's bay from Chapman's peak — Lovely Hout’s bay from Chapman’s peak

After spending time enjoying the scenery, we moved along the scenic mountain side drive towards the boulders penguins. Along the way, we passed by nice little towns like Simon Town. It was an English town from days of past and evident in the Victorian architecture in the some buildings design.

Moving along the main road and then into a side road to the home of the Boulders’ penguins some 15 mins later. The guide dropped us, provided us a time of return and instructions to get to the penguins entrance, walked some 200m, paid the entrance fees and went in to one of the most beautiful places there was! A sanctuary for both penguins and penguins lovers!

This place provided a natural habitat of the birds to live, close to the ocean where they feed. There were elevated wooden pathways slightly above the ground for humans to walk on by, yet so close to observe these birds in the habitat. And these birds have the most awesome of views for their living space, envy!

Awesome view of the beach from their habitat

Whatcha staring at? Shot while standing directly above it

Penguin with a human made artificial nest

As usual, we took longer than planned and went to meet up at the Seaforth Restaurant, walking distance from Boulder’s entrance and had our lunch there. Typically crowded since it was the nearest restaurant, with a nice sea view while you dine. Food was ok, tad bit slow due to crowds but no drama.

Proceeded to the Cape of Good Hope. It was about an hour’s drive from the penguins. After some driving, we reached the famous sign that indicated the Cape of Good Hope location. Of course, I got the touristy photo of it. There were some tourists, but we arrived early and so only one tour bus was around. Queued and got a good shot of the sign.

On the way towards the sign, we saw some wild ostriches. And shot a picture of a ostrich feeding beside the ocean, one of the few chances to see something like that.

After the sign photo taking, we moved on to more awesome panoramic landscapes by going to the old lighthouse atop a mountain. Took the funicular up to a station and continued to climb some steps until we reached the lighthouse location. Breathtaking, in terms of the exercise and the views. But thoroughly enjoyed it. Again, time was given to meet up and we took too long, snapping photos of the landscape and the lighthouse and also spent some time shopping at the souvenir shop.

Lighthouse with a bunch of other tourist

It was a 2hrs drive back to Cape town. Though it was still early, we were keeping to the time of the guide, since he was paid for that day tour only. This was something I did not really appreciate but I understood it anyway. Through this trip, I knew I could do probably do a self drive, and Cape Town really gave a different feel in terms of safety as compared to Joburg. Cape Town was really doable in terms of getting around in a car. I would have more flexibility in spending time if I had chose to drive.

At about half past 5pm, we were back at the hotel. Informed about the time for meetup the next day and the guide left. Didn’t have the opportunity to look around and so we did that. The hotel had the oldest vine in its garden and we had a look at it. There was a rooftop jacuzzi but the weather was freezing cold to be enjoying it there. Retired to our room for a short rest.

From our room, we can barely see the Table mountain. So I went out onto the streets to see if I could capture a better view. At that time, I wasn’t really comfortable with the security of the streets, so I moved quickly and all the time with my camera hidden underneath my windbreaker. After moving several streets away from the hotel and trying to get a clear shot of Table mountain, I gave up and took a shot. There were just too many buildings along the way and there was the cloud table cloth that shroud the mountain.

At night, we requested the hotel to get us a cab to V&A waterfront. Wanted to go for dinner and V&A seemed like the place to go. This is a previous dockyard converted into a shopping arcade. It seemed like the biggest shopping area in Cape Town but was nothing impressive if you come from a shopping city like Singapore where even mega malls were sometimes boring. Searched around for a restaurant that sold seafood as we were looking for a butterfish that someone recommended in the Safari that we should try in Cape Town, but to no avail. Settled for seafood platter instead. It was so-so.

Shopping arcade that offered a wide range of products

It was a drizzling night and it was cold. We did not venture outside for fear of our lives (so we thought) and nothing much in the mall either. Took a cab after the dinner and back to the hotel we went. Slept in hope for better weather, but the shuttling window panes reminded us otherwise.

SA 2013 Day 11 – Zimbabwe to Cape Town

Posted on August 12, 2013September 27, 2019 by ziyi

Today we fly back to South Africa, Cape Town via Joburg. It was a long way down and the whole day was expected to be spent on flying. Our transfer picked us up at the lobby after our check out and our vehicle pass through the bridge over to Zambia. Gone through the customs and travel into Livingstone town which we missed on the first day while heading to Botswana. Small town with repainted old style building, pretty but nothing much. It was at most a 30 mins drive to the airport.

Soon we were back at the small airport; with a line already waiting for check in. While waiting, went over to one of the little shops selling stamps and got myself a souvenir, with some Zambia currency. There were 2 flights during that morning but only one gate. We found ourselves a seat and waited till when it was time to board. It was then the earlier flight started to board. We had a bad feeling that our flight was going to be delayed and so subsequently missing the connecting flight. We flew off 1 hour late.

Small and crowded waiting area at LVI airport

Upon reaching Joburg, there was a long queue at the immigrations. As we exit the arrival, we rushed towards the BA counter to ask for a another flight and a free pair of tix for Cape Town, as it was their flight that was late and we missed the connecting because of that. It was another hour before the flight but as we boarded the plane, there was a technical issue that held the plane back for another hour. I wanted to call the airport transfer at Cape Town to postpone to a later time but as I searched my reservations emails, there were no mobile number stated and the internet chose to fail on me too. By the time we arrived at Cape Town, we were 3hrs later than planned and I also received an email from the guide that mentioned that he had waited for 2hrs but we did not turn up. Still I didn’t have his mobile so I returned the email and took a cab straight to our hotel. The biting cold was back after avoiding it for the 5 days while we were in Botswana and Zimbabwe.

Reached the Cape Heritage hotel without drama. Welcomed the nice and warm atmosphere within the hotel, with really friendly staff to help us check in. We absolutely loved the deco, modernity within history. The room we had was really beautiful with a nice tub and huge toilet! A great place to rest albeit the many unfortunate events that took place earlier. Had to worry whether the guide was still gonna come pick us for the guided tour the next day but was tired from all the hassle. Went to bed after the bath.

Beautifully decorated room that is for chilling and internet

Night was cold and the wind kept shaking the window panes. As we slept, we hoped for better weather the next day but knew that the forecast was showing otherwise.

SA 2013 Day 10 – Victoria Falls part 2

Posted on August 11, 2013September 27, 2019 by ziyi

Morning started with a nice Al Fresco breakfast, choice from the menu for cooked food and bread & cereal from the self help buffet table. Overhead, we heard flights of angels and microflights going about their rounds. There was a morning tour of the falls that was included in the package. In the afternoon, it was free and easy. We were thinking of visiting the devil’s pool in the Vic falls and thus thought that we should check with the tour guide if their company could arrange for such trips. The bus picked us up about 15 mins later than the agreed time. We initially got worried and ask our recept for assistance and he called on behalf and assured us that the vehicle was on the way. Eventually we chilled and surfed the free wifi for info till the bus picked up us and a few other passengers thereafter before reaching the gate to the national park. It was really close to our lodge but because of the detour, it took awhile.

The tour consisted of some intro, history of the discovery of the falls by Dr. Livingstone and other misc stuff. It was a really easy walk along the full length of 1.7km with very easy path (and rainy spots too). Our time of visit was at a period where the falls was picking up since it was breaking from winter to spring. It was a good time to see the falls since the misting wasn’t too much, but then you would not be able to feel the full force of the falls. It really depends on what you want. For this walking tour, our entrance fees were all taken care of. The only thing that was required was basically registration of ourselves for the visit.

Leopard tortoise carcass at an exhibit near the entrance.

The smoke that thunders, native name translated was really appropriate. The various vantage point along the 1.7km provided the experience as you proceeded towards the fall. The initial devils cataract viewpoint already shown the massive amount of water gushing earthwards, roaring as the water made contact with the ground 100m below.

As long as the sun shines, the rainbow shows

This waterfall was wowing us over as we moved from view point to view point. There was a stretch of pathway on the way to the main falls that had “rain” coming down from the sky but actually from the falls. We brought our poncho and wore them quickly. Some of the other visitors didn’t and just went ahead. One such couple actually said they enjoyed it! I tried to take photos of the middle section but was not able to, having so many droplets formed on the lens, even though the camera was splash resistant. Within minutes we were already near the end of the falls.

From the tour I finally understood that the difference between seeing the Vic Falls from the Zimbabwe side vs the Zambia side. The main path for viewing was accessible from Zimbabwe and the remaining short section from Zambia. Therefore, it would be best to visit Zimbabwe for the various viewpoints of the falls. However, Zambia side actually offered something more exciting, the dip in Devil’s pool and Angel’s pool! So if you want to do both, you gotta really plan.

After the end of the falls, we arrived a viewing location where we can see a bridge that links Zimbabwe and Zambia. This was actually on a no man’s land and the bridge has various activities such as bungee, zipline and bridge swing, hosted by a Zambia based company. We decided that we should do a zipline across the ridge since we were too scared for the bungee or bridge swing.

At the end of the tour, we talked to the guide on our intentions to stay so that we can walk at leisure the places where we want to spend more time. Also inquired about the dipping at Devils’ pool. He thought that the pool might be closed and that the one opened was probably Angel’s pool. This all depended on the strength of the waters leading to the falls since a boat ride was required to bring interested people to Livingstone island. He advised us to check back with the main office in town for a clearer picture. We went around for a bit more before we walked back to town for about 15mins. There was a dedicated space opposite the entrance of Vic Falls that was for the curios stalls. There I asked for my 100 trillion dollars note, which I negotiated for USD3. Seemed like the quantity of these notes were running low, not everyone had them and these notes were no longer printed.

We went to the various tour agencies in town to check out the prices for the Vic Falls dip and the zipline. After comparison, we booked our dip in one of the tour agent that was the cheapest and the zipline at Shearwaters. It was kind of funny when the other agencies mentioned that there weren’t anymore slots left for the Vic Falls dip but heck, we paid and so it should be ok. The other problem was the agent said she was unable to get to the Zambian agent and we arranged to have the pick up at our hotel at 3pm since we were going ziplining first. Shearwaters provided a transport for us to the bridge which was a short distance away from the Vic Falls entrance.

We had to bring our passports but inform the customs that we were going to the bridge and not crossing to Zambia. They would then provide us a stamped paper to give to the gate guard when we returned. The walk to the center of the bridge took about 10mins as it wasn’t really that close. Then it was another 5mins across the half of the bridge and up the slope to reach the registration area.

For those that were not used to chaos would not like that place. It was really messy, people crowding at the table to get registered, no queue or anything like that. For Singaporeans like us, we were kinda lost and didn’t know what was going on. I asked the person at the table and he just told us to wait while registering one bungee jumper and another few persons. And it was then we knew we could just have bought the tickets on the spot, without having to go back to town to do so and wasted that traveling time. Then it was 12 noon. Even before I could move, he announced to all the disappointed waiting customers, to come back after lunch, 1pm-ish. We asked if we could wait at the registration and he said no, just wait around. Luckily, there was a cafe operated by the same company cooking lunches and selling beer. We ordered a meal and sat at a table in the open, out in the sun under a picnic umbrella for lunch. It got worse. Soon a group of baboons came up from the open, jumped onto the seat, reached for our fries and became aggressive with teeth showing! I instinctively grabbed my camera (after hearing how some tourist fell to his death trying to save his camera from baboons back in the safari time) and my beer bottle to try to scare it away but it wasn’t scared! I had no choice but to remove the plate and we moved back into the sheltered area. We had to throw away everything since the baboon touched the fries and most probably our chicken chop. With that minimum lunch, we waited close to the table as the time approached 1pm. In the meantime, I was trying to call back to the tour agent to see if there was any confirmation and if they could pick us up at the customs instead but it didn’t get through, all 3 numbers and handphone.

1pm and the registeration wasn’t open. One American was standing there lining up, I guessed that he was used to the same system that I was familiar with. I stood behind him and soon, a line started to form. Despite this, the table guy told us to sit around first, reason being the stations master and assistants were not back for their lunch yet! It would take probably another half an hour for them to get back, eat their lunch and go back to their stations. What?? More waiting? That sucked. We stubbornly stood there until the table guy suggested that we should remember and agree our queue position and go back to sit around. Well, we thought it was workable and did just that.

View from the bridge. Ziplining across would be fun!

2pm. Got registered. About the solution that was suggested, it worked fine for the first 4 people. Others behind started to argue that they were 5th and what not. Chaos again. Unfortunately, the bridge is dominated by absolute monopoly and I do not see that any improvement would come about from this. I think the only tip I would give if you are interested in bungee jumping into the valley from the bridge is to go really early, beat the crowd, have lots of patience and not too much planned out for the day.

Even after registration, we had to wait for the station master to prepare us, donning the harness and stuff like that. We had to wait for the camera guy too. For this, we could not bring loose items like bags and had to leave it with the guy at the table, in a black box next to him. Talk about security. Not much of a choice anyhow. Walked along a footpath until we reached the launch site. Took many pictures, even one that the station master took for us. The camera guy also shot some but did not object to our photo taking. Loaded up, camera ready, one, two and off we went. Videographed the whole 10secs journey. Was really a thrilling experience. But too damn short to wait 3 hrs for it. But I guess this experience was much longer than the bungee people.

By the time we walked the whole bridge back to the preparation place for the return of the harnesses, the reclaiming of our belongings and the rejecting of the professional photos, it was almost 3pm. We were rushing back to the customs where the Shearwaters driver was still waiting for us! Really thankful for his service, tipped him after we reached the hotel. The recept then informed that a lady was looking for us and had told us that the trip was cancelled as it was over booked. That was disappointing. There weren’t even timeslots for another week! I should have booked in advance. You should too if you are thinking of dipping in the infinity pool of the Vic Falls.

On the way back to Zimbabwe customs from the bridge

So the afternoon was void of activities due to this change. Went back to the hotel to rest instead. The view from the room was entertaining too as we see wild animals pass in front of us.

Didn’t want to go out for dinner and so had ours at the restaurant in the lodge. It was one of the best as according to tripadvisor and so we had to try. Took Alfresco again and though it was a little dark, the food was pretty tasty and we enjoyed the romantic night out. An interesting thing happened, a hippo and a buffalo actually visited the lodge, the same grassy area in front of our room. I tried to take photos of it but it was really dark. Even when we returned to our room, I could see its silhouette amongst the trees.

Returning to South Africa the next day for our final leg of the tour.

SA 2013 Day 6 – Panaroma route back to Joburg

Posted on August 7, 2013September 27, 2019 by ziyi

The last day with Tydon included the transfer back to Joburg through the Panaroma route. The name suggested pretty views which we were clearly in favour to the long boring road which brought us to the safari on the first day but we were sure it wasn’t going to last a good 4 hrs. Packed, loaded up the vehicle after breakfast and we were on our way out of the safari. First stop after some 30mins of driving and we were at the Lisbon Falls. It was pretty small area where there was a deck overlooking the falls. The guide told us that the falls resembled a pregnant woman bathing in the pouring water. Spent probably just 15mins max and we were on the road again.

Another short drive and we reached Blyde River National Park where we could find the God’s window. There was some nice relaxing walk up to the top where the view was excellent.

Superb view from the top of the national park

View from God's window — View from God’s window

So much for the Panorama route. We proceeded to a town of Graskop where we were brought to a Curio shop where they sold “things you normally won’t want in your bedroom”, according to the guide. These include African masks that could be as large as 2m in length and other sorts of sculptures! True enough, we did not buy anything other than a wooden keychain.

After shopping, we stopped by a pancake shop that served one of the nicest pancakes there was, and not to mention, a great variety of them. This satisfying lunch was served in a modern deco cafe warmed up by a fireplace, a welcome escape from the cold outside. After lunch, it was another 2 hrs back to Joburg.

Caramel and creamy chicken and mushroom pancakes

Checked in back at the City Lodge in Joburg airport. We were given a slightly different room and this time, it came with a bathtub with a huge shutter gate that opens to the bedroom.

We decided that we should visit Emperor’s palace tonight since there weren’t many choices and shopping malls weren’t the best places for dinners. Walked over to shuttle bus stop at the ground floor and hopped onto the free shuttle heading for the Emperor’s palace. Paid a bellboy some tips and he took us straight to the front of the queue. There were a lot people who were heading to the Emperor’s Palace direct from the airport and while they needed to load up the luggages, we easily boarded the mini bus and got ourselves seated. By the time the door closed, there were guests standing, packed to the door already.

The Emperor’s palace had 3 hotels of varying luxury and costs. The bus stopped in all 3 hotels and we were told to get off at one of these hotel to get to the food court, linked by a walkway. This place had a lot of eating places and we simply chose one. Walked around abit after dinner and return via the same shuttle bus at the hotel entrance.

Nicely designed food court with various cafe and restaurants

Made belief street with european flavour

Rested early so as to prepare for our flight out to Zambia the next day.

SA 2013 Day 5 – Kruger National Park Safari

Posted on August 6, 2013September 27, 2019 by ziyi

Woke up early in the morning because we had to change our accommodation and also make the morning game drive in Kruger. Did the transfer of camp and vehicle and we were on our way. We were travelling with another group of people too.

President Paul Kruger statue at the entrance of the park

The difference between this park and the Sabi Sands reserve was that this was a public park and thus the vehicle had to stay on the main track, unlike in the the reserve where vehicles could go off road to close in on animals and game walk was possible.

Another difference was that there was opening hours for the park but not for the reserve, so there was no night drive in the park. The park itself was very big and we could see a lot more animal sightings. The fences separating the reserves and the national park were removed sometime ago and thus animals could roam about freely between the reserves. It really very much depends on luck!

Some of the photos taken were almost similar to those taken in the reserve. So I decided to post some photos with animals crossing. Unfortunately I didn’t get a zebra crossing…

We were thrilled to see a rhino and we tried to follow alongside it. It realized our presence and had a few instances turned in the opposite direction to try to lose us. When we went into reverse gear to try following it again, it once again turned in the opposite direction. That was a really funny scene. We stopped and allowed the rhino to move away as the guide told us that it probably wanted to cross the road and us following beside him was preventing him from doing so! And sure enough…

Vulture sitting at the top of a tree. Telephoto lens are essential - I learn. — Vulture sitting at the top of a tree. Telephoto lens are essential – I learn.

Whereas it took a while to see some of the animals in the reserve, in Kruger NP there seemed to be a higher frequency of seeing them.

Warthog that is just next to the road. The shadow belongs to our vehicle — Warthog that was just next to the road. The shadow belonged to our vehicle

View of the river that passes the bridge at the entrance

More in quantity of wildlife but we had yet to see the lions. Morning drive ended as soon as it began and we were back in the camp. As we did not have the chance to go to our tents in the morning since we were rushing off to the morning drive, we had to check with the helpers. They pointed us to the right tent and even though they had not seen us before. I guessed there weren’t too many guests to begin with.

Our beds in the tent, almost similar but just as comfortable.

Place where we have our meals — Place where we had our meals

On the inside, where people can chill on the couch to read the various books on wildlife. — On the inside, where people could chill on the couch to read the various books on wildlife.

There is also a pool but it was too cold to swim — There was also a pool but it was too cold to swim

Safari vehicle, slightly different as it has the doors for the passengers at the back, compared to the ones in the reserve that doesn't. — Safari vehicle, slightly different as it had the doors for the passengers at the back, compared to the ones in the reserve that didn’t.

Similar to the day before, read a little, napped a little before the day drive back in Kruger. Last drive and we were seriously hoping to see the lions. Spotted a small gator sunbathing on a rock.

As we were crossing a bridge over the river, we saw elephants on both banks of the river. There we managed to see a mother elephant crossing the river with its youth following behind. What a sight!

Guinea fowl - common birds in the safari — Guinea fowl – common birds in the safari

Soon we spotted a group of vehicles parked beside the road. They must have spotted something, a cat perhaps. We also stopped and tried to search for the “interesting” animal. Sure enough, someone saw a cat dart across the road. The chase was on!

Our guide driver slammed on the accelerator and we moved to another road that was on the other side of location where the cat went into. Other vehicles also followed and started to fill the roads. We went up and down the stretch of road but were unable to locate the cat. It was a master of camouflage.

I stared hard and thought I saw some movement. We moved away and back again and that was when we saw the leopard. It had sat up and we managed to identify its shape within the thick foliage.

Siting, waiting patiently before closing in on the herd of impala in front.

Then the cat moved, with such silent footsteps. I now understand the meaning of leopard crawl. Silent while staying low to avoid detection. We just sat there and watch closely. We were all anticipating for a successful pounce and that would be a priceless experience!

I took a video of its every move. It laid for a while before it got up to close in. Slowly he moved in with each step. Closer and closer until *crack* and an alert went off. The impala must have heard him and sounded out to its comrades to flee! Immediately we saw the leopard hanged its head low, obvious sign of disappointment. Really felt bad for the leopard but that was life in the wild. Survival of the fittest.

Disappointed cat crossing the road - in front of our vehicle — Disappointed cat crossing the road – in front of our vehicle

As we continued and passed another river, we saw something protruding the surface. Hippos nostrils. Then in the far end, we saw another pot of hippos coming into the water.

Joining those that are already in the water — Joining those that were already in the water

A pair of hyena youths, first time seeing in the many outings we had in safari

Lovely view of water and greens and blue sky

Not crossing the road but resting beside the road.

It was getting late. We were still not ready to give up. We have heard of various comments from other groups saying that they saw some lions a few days ago feeding on a buffalo. What luck! But now that they are full, they would not be hunting for some time. We drove to the river bed where lions were more or less expected to appear. They stayed in their territories and thus guides familiar with these places would bring their group to these locations. We stared hard but no lions…and then we stopped. The guide took out his bino and looked into the distance. We looked in his direction. Bravo! Lionesses!

Group of 4 lionesses, can you see them??

That was really sharp eyes! We could have so easily missed them had it not been for the guide. 5 out of 5! Although I would have wished for a closer encounter with the lions but I guess viewing them in the wild from far was not too bad either. Just wished I had a better sets of lenses. Stayed for a while but the lionesses are obviously not in a mood to move and were just sleeping away. With a sense of accomplishments, we left the Kruger NP.

Same arrangements as was in the bush camp. Campfire dinner and tonight they served the Potjiekos, stew cooked in a pot. It was really delicious.

Tonight the conversation within the group was really funny. It was with the addition of the 2 Americans and the funny guide and there were just explosions of laughter one after another. It was a great end to our safari trip with this awesome night. We retired shortly after, to pack again as we would be heading back to Joburg via Panaroma route the very next day.

SA 2013 Day 4 – Sabi Sands Safari Continues

Posted on August 5, 2013September 27, 2019 by ziyi

Woke up early and got prepared for the morning’s activity, game walk! Breakfast would be served after we returned from the walk. The morning was chilly and so we wore quite a few layers of clothing. The guide did a briefing on the dos and don’ts of game walk, which was a different set of rules compared to the game drive, on how to stand and how to react. He also carried a rifle just in case. Soon we were on our way trekking into the wild.

Shortly after leaving the entrance, we saw some footprints and the guide goes on to explain that they look like hyena footprints, what were the footprints of the various animals, how to determine if the footprints were fresh or not, etc. Interesting info…

We continued and saw a few impalas, too common for us to even bother with shooting them (with a camera of course). Then we reached a pile of coffeebean size poop. The guide picked them up goes on to explain that the poop belonged to impalas and how these were like business cards to attract the female species for mating. Interesting info again.

As we moved along, we were introduced to giant termite hills, abandoned ones and also on chewed bones left over from a fallen prey and hyena’s bone chewing habits and how their poop turned out to be white. Still searching for the big 5 until comms came in to inform us of a rhino sighting. Then we were on the move, quickly to the location stake out the rhino!

After some really quick pace walking, it became really hot and we had to take off the multiple layers of warm clothings that we wore, something to learn again for walks which were really different from drives. We came to another tall abandoned termite hill and waited there in anticipation for the rhino’s arrival. It was estimated that the rhino would be crossing our line of sight from the various info that the guide gathered from the comms. Time ticked away and after waiting for some 10mins or so, a greyish silhouette appeared amongst the trees in the far. We were told to keep absolutely quiet and to avoid sudden movement in order not to alarm the rhino, for fear of it charging at us. The wind was in our favour – rhino could also pick up our scent if the wind was blowing towards the rhino instead. There were also birds that eat off pests on the rhino’s hide and these feathered friends would give a good indication if there was presence of potential danger by flying off and indirectly alarming the rhino. At some point in time, the rhino actually stood still to listen for us as the birds initially flew off. They returned to rest on him after a while and he started to move off again.

As the rhino moved, we also started to move to another location. We had to take a longer route in order not to pass the path of the rhino but it was not too difficult. As he started to move into the open, we could see how massive yet beautiful this animal was. Unfortunately illegal poaching for their horns was forcing them to become endangered. Good thing that there weren’t such activities in the national park. Soon it was time to return to camp for breakfast and some rest. 2 of the 5s, if this continued, we would eventually see all the 5, I thought.

After breakfast, our fellow traveller friend told us that we could actually see a waterhole from the safari. He then brought us around the camp, which we did not know that was so much bigger than our own tents, to a deck that was overlooking the waterhole. Immediately we saw an animal which we initially thought was a buffalo! Quickly we rushed back to our tents to get our equipment and camera. Wildebeest. Oh well.

Animals lurking near waterhole, here is a Wildebeest — Animals lurking near waterhole, here was a Wildebeest

This deck was actually property of the reserve owners and there were a few other buildings there that belonged to the owner. The family was not in during that period of time but the owner would come back to the reserve for a getaway if they would like to.

We walked around the compound for a little more and saw a family of velvet monkeys infiltrated the compound and running around and feeding. Hopefully they wouldn’t come to our tents!

We returned to our tents and was informed by the guide that previously when the camp was empty, a leopard came into the camp and got one of the monkeys. There were furs left on the ground which the leopard would remove before feasting on their catch. Scary thought. What’s left of the morning was spent lazing in the tent where I caught a nap before it was time for lunch and day game drive!

We wore appropriately after the first game drive the day before. With much enthusiasm and optimism, we left. Usual sightings of the herbivores as usual, and then we saw something different – a group of zebras. Spent a few minutes watching them eat and also some info on the zebras, we continued.

Young impala, age determined by its horn

More driving around and suddenly we saw an elephant on the track in front of us. As our vehicle slowly approached, more and more elephants were revealed amongst the trees – a family herd of elephants!

Look at how close the guide was to the elephants

Showing its maximum size by extending its ears. Probably to scare us off.

Baby elephant on the track, no tusks yet

Can't help but to get one photo with the largest land mammals — Can’t help but to get one photo with the largest land mammals

Spent a good amount of time shooting the elephants before we move on. Soon it was time for the sunset break at the same location the day before.

Time flies when you are enjoying the sights

Waterbuck looking at us. Nice milk moustache

Drove around and saw the Dagga boys that we passed on the first day of arrival. We have seen 4 of the big by now.

Dagga boys up close - Old male buffalo — Dagga boys up close – Old male buffalo

Night arrive together with the cold. Same arrangements, drove around but different sightings. We saw alot of activities tonight, zebras, rhinos, elephants and even silhouette of giraffes moving. Wonderful sight but not for the camera to capture.

Dinner tonight was BBQ kebab. We only had to do the eating, superb service!

A little conversation around the camp fire and we retired for the night. Checked with the guide on the hot water and when she checked, she found that the water supply was not turned on! The servants must have forgotten to turn them on before. At least we had hot water for the night! Packed our luggages as we were to move to the camp outside the reserve for our Kruger Park drive the next day and then it was lights off.