Well, here I am, back where it all started 28 years and 350something days ago.
Some of you are probably wondering why I am back in South Africa for the third time in less than 12 months, there is a very valid reason for this but I won't reveal it quite just yet.
I am currently in the Balule reserve, which is a part of the Kruger national park.But let us start with order shall we?
After lazing around in Lugano, Switzerland it was time to leave again. I landed in Johannesburg (Joburg) on the morning of the 11th of September, I then took the Gautrain from the airport to Sandton, one of the wealthy parts of Johannesburg. My cousin Jean-Pierre and his wife Millie came to collect me. It was nice to see him after all this time. The rugby world cup has just recently kicked-off in New Zealand and South Africa is in rugby fever mode. The national team, the springboks were playing on the very morning I landed and everyone was wearing their green and gold rugby jerseys. JP asked me if it was alright if we went and watched the game at a friends place. What better way to start my stay in South Africa, than a rugby game and a braai (bbq)? I was rather sleepy (zombie-like) for the entire day as I didn't get much sleep on my night flight from Cairo to Joburg. In the evening JP and I went around to Gabi's new place for dinner (my other cousin). Both my cousins recently relocated to Johannesburg. After a delicious dinner I went back to JPs place, sorted out some logistic issues and proceeded to sleep like a baby! So on the morning of the 12th of September I left Joburg with a tour operator called Viva Safari and headed out to the Kruger park (a 6 hour drive) where I will spend four days visiting this spectacular place. Yesterday we got to the lodge in the Balule reserve and we were immediately brought on an evening game drive. The breathtaking sunset made way for an even more spectacular full moon. Driving around the park in a big fat land rover with several tourists kitted out in the latest safari gear from Tshermany made me feel like a real tourist, but it was nevertheless quite a spectacular experience, we saw Zebra, Kudu, Steenbok, Jackal and a hippo. This amazing picture, is a picture I took of the zebra during the night drive:
Beautiful aren't they? What a pity that I forgot the flash.
We had dinner after the drive (lekker Kudu stew) and I subsequently passed out. This morning the wake up call was at 4:45 am for a morning walk. I was somewhat sleepy (aka: totally zombified) when our guide drove us out into the reserve. Our guide was amazing, his name is Vimpi (not sure about the spelling) and his nick name is Impi, he looks like an afrikaner (of Dutch descent) rugby player, the kind of player that carries on running even if he has 6 opposition players attached to him. He is South Africa's very own version of crocodile Dundee, except that he is bigger, has a broad Saffa accent and is much better at rugby than the aussies. You can picture him, legs the size of baobab treetrunks, arms the size of oaks, crewcut, khaki and military style gear, short sleeves and shorts despite the very cool morning temperature (13C at 5.15 am), intimidating tattoos armed with a gun and a knife that would make Rambo look like a girl scout. Impi loves what he does, we get to a spot that he deems appropriate and then get out of the safari jeep and he gives us a talk about safety while walking in the African bush. He has 14 years experience and knows what he's doing. Basic concept is be quiet, do what is say, don't run -no matter what-, walk behind me -if a lion tries to eat you I will wrestle it away- .He shows us tracks of several animals including a Leopard, a honey badger (his favorite animal, because despite its small size it is incredibly courageous), a hyena and last but not least a lion. We pass a Marula tree and he explains that the Marula fruit is incredibly nutritious and then digs out his Rambowisheshehadthis Knife, takes off a piece of the trees barks and rubs it onto his skin to show us why it was used as a dye: it leaves intense red marks. After that we are hot on the trail of several lions, the tracks are recent. We pass a spot where the male lion marked his territory. How do we know this? Well Impi sticks his hand into a pile of sand and sticks it under our nose, “here smell, lion piss”. Ahhh, priceless moments in the African bush. He subsequently finds lion excrement and I am somewhat surprised that he doesn't stick his hand into the mound, he kicks it and tells us “it is highly poisonous, don't ever touch it”; thanks bru, just in time, I was about to stick my hand into the lion poo. We pick up the pace and try to catch up with the lions, we reach a watering hole, but no sign of the lions, however we do see a crocodile eating catfish. Impi's eyes light up when he sees the animals, it is so great to see somebody enjoy his job so much. We sit down for a light snack and Impie tells us stories about elephants, lions and the bush. We then make our way back to the monster sized jeep and drive back to the lodge. On the way back we pass Impala, Zebra and giraffe, we then pass another safari jeep. Impi and the driver exchange a conversation in afrikans and the only word I think I could make out was “buffel”. Impi turns around and tells us to hang on tight and accelerates on the bumpy tracks. The other game driver had just spotted four Rhinos, unfortunately we don't see any, but on the way we pass more giraffes, Zebra and voltures. Impi brought us back to the lodge and then I guess he walked back into the bush to wrestle some lions. We have a late brunch and four giraffes decide to join us right on the terrace, they are majestic creatures, I love the way their head bobs back and forth while they walk and they way they spread their front legs in a comical way to bow down in order to drink water. I am exhausted and still have one more game drive ahead of me and a transfer to a different lodge, so I hope you will please excuse me as I go for a sound sleep.
Oh, by the way, Impi speaks seven different languages: Afrikaans, English, Zulu, Sutu and three other languages that I cannot pronounce let alone remember at this given moment.
En route to the park from Johannesburg we passed the cute rural village of Dullstroom, which is gradually becoming a bit of a tourist center. We stopped in a restaurant called the “Mayfly”, at the end of the lunch I asked if there was a pharmacy within walking distance as I had forgotten to buy mosquito repellent and the waitress politely answered that unfortunately it was a bit far to drive. The owner overheard our conversation and told me not to worry and offered me a lift to the pharmacy on his bakkie (pick up truck), this was a wonderful act of South African generosity.I was very grateful for this, as the Kruger is a malaria area and malaria is not my idea of fun. His restaurant was clean and the food was good, if you drive by make sure to stop for a bite!
Impi took us for the afternoon drive, substituted his gun for a camera and somehow managed to spot rhinos in the thickest vegetation you can imagine. He assessed the situation and got us to slowly walk closer to the rhinos. It was amazing. The rest of my stay was amazing, including a drive to central Kruger part, where I got to see all the big 5 in one day (Elephant, Buffalo, Lion, Leopard, Rhino) and also sleeping at Marc's treehouse lodge was quite an unusual experience. On the way back to Johannesburg we stopped at the Blyde River Canyon and it was breathtaking, it is the 3rd largest canyon in the world and truly spectacular.
Here are pictures of the trip:
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| Sunset in the Veld |
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| Buffalo and Elephant |
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| Giraffe |
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| Elephant |
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| Can you spot the Croc? |
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| Elephant |
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| Marc's treehouse lodge |
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| View from the balcony at treehouse number 4 |
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| My home for 2 nights |
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| Quite true |
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| Me in front of the safari jeep |
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| Blyde river canyon |
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| Me at blyde river canyon |
Yesterday evening I got back to Johannesburg and went out for dinner with Jean-Pierre, Millie (his wife), Gabriella and her flat mate Nick. It was a very pleasant evening. This morning I woke up to some fabulous news: Lindsey, who is Roberto's (my older cousin) wife, gave birth to two beautiful twins: Franco and Michela. Congratulations to the entire family!! I hope I will be able to catch up with my friend Abey and hopefully spend some time with my cousin here in Johannesburg before heading down to Cape Town on Sunday the 18th of September, where I am looking forward to see my entire family.
