Wicked Campers Africa Blog

We have landed in Jo’burg and immediately slept for about 12 hours straight.  Heading to Uganda today.

So we arrived in Uganda and took about 2 hours to get from the airport to the hotel – so we were pretty tired when we arrived!  Next morning I went to head out to get our gorilla permits but luckily I asked at the hotel about directions to the office as it has moved since I last visited (and Google maps still has the old location).  So we decided to catch a taxi to the car hire place and drive out from there instead as it is a ways out of town.  Trying to find a taxi was interesting with us getting conflicting instructions and making several dangerous and unneccessary road crossings.  We found a taxi and he took us to the wrong place – Nysambia on the outskirts of Kampala – only to find it was in Kampala on Nysambia road.  Finally we found it and were told we had book a car AND driver (I wanted self drive).  Thank god I let her talk me into taking him as far as the end of the road works as when I got to the wildlife office she informed me I had at least a 12 hour drive ahead of me… and it was now 10:30 am…. and advised me strongly to keep our driver.

Benson turned out to be an absolute gem and Dad thinks he is the best driver he has ever seen.  He managed to get us to our desination in a touch over 6 hours and that over some of the worst roads – everything is being repaired at on the way to the impenetrable forest it was rally driving conditions with sheer drops off the side.

Next day dad and I went gorilla trekking and saw the alpha male silver back and several females and bubs.  And let me tell you I have NEVER heard flatulence like that in all my life!!!  Some of the male’s went on for over a minute.

The trek out was really hard work as it was all up hill and it almost killed dad as he had come mst of the way down on his backside and crashing through vines as they hack a way for you through the forest.  One German tourist was not so lucky and had to be stretchered out.  ALl worth t though.

We spent a few days at Lake Bunyoni where I caught up with my mate who runs a community project there and I am amazed at what he has accomplished in the 9 years since I last saw him there …. which incidentally was day one of his project!  We also visited a national park on the way back were we did a lovely sunset game cruise on the lake and an early morning game walk next day – lots of monkeys, a croc, buffalo, zebra etc.  Still no leopard……

Love Skitch and Mike

The World’s oldest backpackers.

So we flew into Jo’burg at 10am Saturday with the idea of getting to Durban with a day to spare before the BIG GAME. (no… not the leopard).

What we hadn’t counted on was INTERPOL.  Yes it is true.  Maybe the Indian postal service had contacted them about my arrival but our van had been impounded in BOTSWANA of all places and so we had to wait for it to be released… and wait… and wait.  When it got to 8pm I decided that South African roads were not the place for us that evening and Wicked took care of us for the evening and made sure we had a van to drive the next morning.  The place we stayed at was lovely – where Gandhi had stayed all those years ago in fact.  After a good night’s sleep we were good to go and headed for the fair city of Durban.

Made such good time that we arrived after 6 hours and even had time for a nana nap before the game.  We were helped on our way by a kindly african policeman who stopped all the traffic across 6 lanes so that I could do a u-turn and follow his excellent directions to the hotel.

The match atmosphere was fantastic and the stadium was a SEA of green a gold.  We defintely won the battle of the national anthems and there was a tear in the pater’s eye to ear such a staunch rendition at a game of soccer… something he never thought he would hear.

That was where the victory ended unfortunately but we shall hope for better results along the way.  The germans totally deserved their victory but I could have done without the one idiot in front of us who had to stand and dance and cry and even cheered the red card.  One must learn to be gracious in victory as well as defeat… and that chap was not.

I met up with my buddies Super-Coach and Mrs Coxy and headed off with them for a bevvy of condolence.  We were standing looking puzzled at the map when the local constabulary again came to our aid and gave us a lift to the hilton hotel!!! 

Next morning however we had cause to call them for an all-together less pleasant cause.  Our vehicle had been broken into in the car park of the hotel (despite it having 2 armed guards) (they unfortunately go off shift at 8 am and the attempted robbery happened at 9amish – in broad day light, meters from the hotel reception and in full view of many hotel patrons and taxi drivers.  Lucky for us a kind taxi driver called the police for us and they were scared off before they could nick the vehicle.. but not before they made the ignition inoperable. 

Nick from Wicked came to our aid and called us a locksmith who was a real diamond.  We had to sit for most of the day waiting but he managed to find us a laudrette and food while we waited so it wasn’t a totally a wasted day and he fixed all the locks and ignition so it works even better than before!  And we managed to make the lovely south coast beaches by nightfall.

Had a night there and then headed to the beautiful Drakensburg.  They are having a cold snap so it was actually snowing – so that meant no camping!!  In the morning the water pipes were all frozen so dad was most unimpressed that we paid for a room with an attached bathroom which we couldn’t use.  SO we moved out of the backpackers and to an expensive hotel in the nearest town – very cute little old fashioned place – but again the pipes didn’t work in the morning.  Lucky I had forced him to shower the previous evening as we had been hiking all day.  I had a lovely 1 hour boiling hot bath which was superb.  We had a very nice meal in the little pub on the hotel site but could only manage to watch half the south africa v uruguay game as the noise of those blasted horns inside was bone rattling!!!  Had a great night’s sleep though and are staying in a huge house tonight with a woman and her 7 schnautzers (4 are puppies) (she runs it as a B & B).  Tomorrow we head for Rustenberg.  And VICTORY!!!!!!

Love skitch and mike

World’s oldest backpackers

xx

I thought we did a lot better in our second match – especially after half time… but that red card – I mean come on.  Does anyone else smell a conspiracy here.  Australia, USA, NZ … all being given the shaft.  Methinks FIFA is a little scared of us minnows!  Anyway it seemed to initially make the boys a little despondant and then fire them all up.  They looked terrific in the second half and were unlucky not to pull ahead again.  The nightmare was getting the bus back to the park and ride – a bit like my indian experience in the temple except it didn’t last 4 hours and no one vomited.  But there was a lot of pushing and shoving and WAY too many vuvuzelas being blown in one’s ear at point blank range.  The ghana fans were celebrating like they had won and gave us a lot of stick.  Not sure I quite understand why….

Rustenburg actually turned out to be a pleasant spot.  We got there a day early to be told the whole town was booked out.  After several phonecalls I managed to track down a pub in a little village on the outskirts which had a new guesthouse.  Very cheap (comparitively) and nice people.  The pub had some good ambiance with an open fire, good hearty meals and a resident group of bokkies who insisted be join them in jegermeister toasts.  They tried to insist on us joining them for dancing and karaoke also but I managed to resist

After the game we headed to Kruger National Park where I have been sleeping in my tent on the freezing earth for the last three nights.  We drove around each day and also did a sunset drive (Freezing) and I even braved the MORNING drive (starting at 4:45am) (I hadn’t actually realised that time existed previously, except in night clubs).  Luckily I knew it was going to be freezing so I came prepared with6 layers on top, 3 on the bottom, wooly hat, socceroos scarf and sleeping bag.  I was toasty warm and everyone else was turning blue.  But I have finally broken my curse!  IT has taken me 15 years and many many MANY game drives but I have finally been rewarded with seeing a Leopard in the wild!!  (and promptly saw three more the next day.  We have also seen Lion, plentiful Rhino and Elephant and even a rare Sable antelope.

We are now staying at a “larnie”" (glamourous) guest house in Nelspruit and just about to head out to the game.  All fingers and toes crossed ))

Love from Skitch and Mike

WORLD’S OLDEST BACKPACKERS.

That was one of the most exciting games of football I have ever been at.  Even though we knew it was unlikely we would go through (especially once the news came though that Germany had gone one-nil up against Ghana) there was also hope and the boys were on fire in the second half.  It was a real shame that one got past Schwartz in the end but those two goals were so exciting – the reaction of the crowd was just priceless and of course I screamed my head off like a loon!  I have to say the aussie fans were just great – still proud of our boys win lose or draw.  We were all waving our scarves argentinian style before the game and they showed the guys peeping out of the tunnel to see us all in full flyte!  Was quite a sight I tell you!

So good luck to Germany and Ghana – Germany because they deserved to be there and Ghana…. well….  just because I love Ghana   Can’t wait to see the Germany England match!  Should be a cracker.  And while I was sorry to see NZ go out, what a fantastic game that Italy Slovakia one was – go Slovakia!!!  Boy did I enjoy those Italian tears!!  4 years too late but never mind

We decided to come to Swaziland after not going through to the next round (and thus having an extra 3 days to spare) as it seemed the logical place to go – close to Nelspruit and no further away from Jo’burg. 

Dad has managed to pick up some bug and I have left him at home today while I have a look around Swaziland.  I’m sure I will get it too so I may as well enjoy my health while I have it. We are heading back to JHB tomorrow – I am really hoping I don’t get sick overnight and have to drive 5 hours with a cold.
  
We are staying in a very nice place here – very quiet – a bunch of chalets on someone’s sugar cane/pineapple growing property.  They have 3 lovely doggies who are supposedly guard dogs and sound pretty vicious but the boxer licked my hands when I put them through the gate (probably seeing what I taste like first according to dad) and the little jack russell is a hilarious little bundle of energy with eyes like Jake.  He darts around the breakfast room before settling on whoever is the biggest sook (dad) and sitting there and whimpering and pleading with his sad doggy eyes until someone gives in and gives him a bit of bacon (dad again, surprise surprise).  He was having no luck with me so when I went to push my chair back and stand up he leaped onto my lap!!!  He still looked at me with pleading eyes (well, pleading eye as one eye was fixed firmly on the bacon fat remaining on my plate) but I managed to resist.  He got lots of cuddles though.  There is even a nice cat here who took possession of my lap yesterday and made himself at home – which was fine except for when he kept trying to ’soften up” my belly (I didn’t think I had such rock hard abs but clearly he thought so) with his claws – ouch! 

We have been going to a very nice little restaurant for our evening meals which has a roaring open fire, thatched roof, terrific food and a great ambiance (although it was disturbed a little by a bunch of little kids last night who ran around in bare feet and bare legs in the freezing cold and were clearly born in a tent as they kept flying out the door and leaving it open – letting all the warm air out.)
 
From what we have seen of Swaziland it is really nice – very laid back, beautiful and the capital seems to be populated by the best dressed people we have ever seen!  I am heading off to the “Cuddle Puddle” later today which is a hot mineral spring and will also check out the craft markets and the royal kraal etc.

Love Skitch and Mike

World’s oldest backpackers

We are now in Joburg and about to fly home to sydney – and both of us have colds. Great! Everyone seems to be sick here at the moment, I guess that is what happens when you cram 50 thousand cold people into a stadium and then drive them home in buses that are packed solid.

Off to the apartheid museum now and then to the airport.

This is the world!s oldest backpackers signing out.

Love Skitch and Mike
WOB