Yep...all but us stuck in the mud!

 April 18th

Oh, what fun was had this morning. It was I dreaded, too soft a ground and the wrong tyres meant those vans that had decided not to move last night (us included) had the wheels spinning as they tried to get off the mud. Now I don't want to blow Ian's trumpet, but he, having got stuck many a time in the motorhome, knew not to try and drive out at full pelt but to put the gear into drive and let the engine do the work. Consequently, it was a master class in how to do it, and he drove off the sludge as sweet as you like. Our neighbours tried the hard way, put it in drive and press the right foot hard to the floor. Obviously, that didn't work; in fact, it made it worse, so to the rescue came Ryan, our mechanic (yep, he is with us the whole 5 weeks, taking up the rear, 'just in case' of a breakdown) with a very long tow rope to pull them out. 

l

By 8 am, we were on our way to The Three Rondavels, located along Mpumalanga’s Panorama Route within the Blyde River Canyon Nature Reserve. These three massive round mountain peaks that resemble traditional African beehive huts. The spectacular quartzite and shale rock formations rise over 700 meters above the Blyde River Canyon. 

Kobus (our guide) then had us all gather around one of the motorhomes, where a map had been pinned up of part of our route. Crikey, we have a long, long way to go, and there is still more further North. Plenty of stalls to go round, although Kobus did say we only had limited time at that place, so the soverneers will have to wait for another day.

Then it was back on the road towards Blydes River Canyon and Bourkes Luck Potholes. Known as the Giant's Kettles, these potholes were formed by swirling water eroding the sandstone bedrock at the confluence of the Treur (river of mourning) and Blyde (river of joy) Rivers.

 There were three more stops before heading back to the same camp as last night. God's Window viewpoint, Graskop, where lunch was served and the Motisetsi Gorge lift.

God's Window offers spectacular views across the Lowveld. On a clear day, you can see Kruger National Park towards the Lebombo Mountains in the distance. One can not grasp how deep the canyon is without being there, but boy, did it go down a long way! 

k

 Lunch at Graskop was at Harries Pancake and was amazingly good. wrapped pancakes with a filling of your choice. Ian had chilli chicken, and I had butter chicken. and for £9 each, amazing good value. It was also in this town that I batered for a beaded belt. Shop owner wanted 1200 rand, roughly £55 I got it for 500 rand, £20 😀

 

Motitsi Gorge had it all. You could cross the gorge by the rope bridge, go on two zipwires, and, if one dared, do a bungee jump by the falls. Needless to say, both of us are too long in the tooth now to attempt any one of them.

 

It had been a long but rewarding day, and I was quite grateful to get back to camp, stop on higher ground away from the river, plug into electrics that worked and then head off to the showers, where, would you believe, one could have a bath too!

Tomorrow we go into Kruger National Park. Another 6 am start, but really excited and hopeful about what of the big 5 will be around. 

 And wildlife

Dung Beetle

 

Convoy and potholes

April 17th 

Really early start this morning. Breakfast was served at 6 am, we were the first in, so one would expect everything to be piping hot! But no, the chefs must have started cooking hours before because everything (scrambled eggs, baked beans, sausage, bacon, tomatoes and hash browns) was cold!

7 am coach arrived to take us back to the airport, and to Bobo Campers, where all 14 motorhomes were waiting to be collected. By 10.15 am, the motorhomes pulled out of the yard to the nearest supermarket to stock up on provisions.  

A long drive lay ahead of us: 370 km, taking 5 hours to reach our first campsite. 14 vans, all in convoy, were a sight to see; the locals thought so, as phone cameras were pointed in our direction.  

 

Comfort stops on route were factored in, as was a lunch stop at a service area. Gosh, what a place to stop. If only our services had a watering hole where animals congregated, this place was amazing.

 

Lunch over, all 14 vans tried to leave together. Well, the inevitable chaos occurred, blocking traffic and coaches; it was laughable. We had done the sensible thing and parked nearer to the entrance; it was a great place to watch it all unfold.

 

So potholes!!! We Brits moan constantly about the state of the roads. Well, try taking your car here, and you will soon take back everything you said about the English roads. Km after km we dodged those retched things. A few caught us unawares, and I feared for the suspension and tyres! Our guide, Kobus, then mentioned this was one of the better roads we were to travel on. Oh, ‘eck, what have we let ourselves in for?

 Anyway, we eventually arrived at the campsite, was told to back the motorhome toward the river, the electric meter was nearby. Hmmm…what was not mentioned was how soft and spongy the ground was. We backed onto it okay, the next two vans followed, but then got stuck and had to be towed out.  6 further vans had the same plight, 4 decided to be pulled out, the other two and us decided to stay and see what the morning brought. By now the light had gone, and we could hardly see a hand in front of one's face; the thought of trying to move in the dark was not an option. It didn't bode well for us leaving tomorrow! And then to top it all, we plugged in the electric kettle and tripped the electrics. Too late to see the site owner, by now they had long gone. Anyway, we can live without electricity for one night, early to bed, I think cos another early start for us tomorrow (if we make it off the mud!)

Us by the watering hole

 

Still in Johannesburg day 2

 April 16th

Had a bit of a session last night, getting to know our fellow travellers, quite a few drinks were consumed. Didn't stop us falling asleep as soon as heads hit the pillows, although I did have a bit of a wobble first when I noticed this had been left on the table!

Arrgh...Cockroach and fly spray!

 

 If something had crawled over me during the night, I certainly wouldn't have felt it cos I slept like a log. 

Today we were off to do the Lesidi village experience. Took an hour to get there, and one of the most noticable things about travelling along the road was that at every traffic light, drivers were being accosted by the natives trying to sell their wares.

 

 

I expect we will be running the cauntlet when we take the motorhome! 

 On arrival, we were greeted by the villagers with a traditional 'welcome' song.

 Before the tour started, stalls had been set up for visitors to spend their money on beautifully authentic, handmade African crafts, beadwork, and souvenirs, but apart from a peaked sun cap for myself, nothing really took our fancy. A lovely Lisoto girl with a great name of Porscha was our guide and walked us through authentic, replicated tribal homesteads, where the residents shared their history, customs, folklore, and daily life. Five distinct homesteads were represented: the Zulu, Xhosa, Pedi, Basotho and Ndebele tribes. 

I'm not sure Ian would make a good warrior!

The lady in black is unmarried and available, but the prospective husband must pay a fee of 10 cows and two horses for her hand. The one next to her is married, and her headwear is sewn into her hair, where she is never to take it off. If she does, it means she must divorce her husband. 

The making of their tribal homestead

Traditional face painting

Ladies pipe for African tobaggo (Marijuana)

 

Traditional costume for the men when they spend time up in the mountains

Grinding the corn

After the tour, a traditional dance show was put on, very energetic, lively and tribal, and they even pulled a couple out of the audience to partake. Phew, glad it wasn't us, and we chose to sit high up! Anyway, all in all, the day was amazing even though a bit pricey at £135 each!

 

Tonight is the welcome dinner, so looking forward to that, especially as we are starting to remember our fellow travellers' names. Then an early night because tomorrow we pick up the motorhome and breakfast has to be early, ready for pick up at 8 am! 

From now on, and with limited Wi-Fi, blogging will be when I can, but I will do my best to keep the pictures to a minimum, it's the uploading of them that takes quite a bit unless I edit every one first, and that could eat into my time for the evening socialising. 

And wildlife today

Nyala

One very big fly!!

.