A week in Kruger National Park and Mpumalanga

We're back from an amazing 10 days in and around Kruger National Park. The holiday was slightly marred by the fact that we've all been struck down by a vicious lurgy, however we still managed to see and experience such a lot. Got back to Cape Town on Monday evening and returned the girls to school for precisely eight days before they break up for another week and a half to cover the combined Easter and Freedom Day holidays.

The highlights of the holiday included:

Crystal Springs Nature Reserve, Pilgrim's Rest, Mpumalanga.

We stayed on this reserve for three days at the end of the holiday. The accomodation was fabulous, and the surroundings even more so. On Sunday we walked the Kudu Trail, a 6 km rough walk through the reserve where giraffe roam free. We had great sightings of wildebeest, which made a loud snorting noise as they ran away from us, kudu and other antelope. If you're very lucky you can even spot leopard on this walk, but sadly that wasn't to be for us. Watching the sun go down from our balcony, with a wandering warthog below us, was very special, even if we were toasting the sunset with hot flu remedies instead of cocktails.

Blyde River Canyon, God's Window and Pilgrim's Rest

The Blyde River Canyon is the third largest in the world. (Must find out what the second largest is...) The scenery is spectacular, and from viewpoints like God's Window you get a real sense of the absolute enormity of this country. The vista stretches for ever. We enjoyed good weather and as a result the heat haze slightly obscured the far distance, but apparently on a clear day you can see from God's Window right over Kruger, across Mozambique beyond to the Indian Ocean. That must be well over 200 miles. We drove along the rim of the canyon stopping frequently to take short walks to waterfalls, viewpoints and the river where we paddled and splashed.

Lottie did some bargain hunting at a local market, buying little stone carved animals for friends.

Pilgrim's Rest itself is an old gold mining town that grew rapidly during a 19th century gold rush and was just as quickly abandoned when richer deposits were discovered elsewhere. It's now very sleepy, though also a bit touristy twee. Not that many visitors make it up here with almost all the tourism in SA focusing on Cape Town, Durban and Kruger. The cow that we encountered wandering down the middle of the road certainly wasn't concerned by too much traffic and the BP garage we filled up at is definitely a relic of the distant past.

Kruger!

What to say about Kruger? It was incredible. Although we were lucky enough to observe a lioness for five minutes or so patiently staking out a small group of impala, several rhino, a leopard in the dusk, elephant and buffalo making the official 'Big 5' the absolute highlight for me were the impala, as in the middle photo below. They are extremely plentiful in Kruger, so we had ample opportunity to watch them at really close quarters. So dainty and graceful, so beautifully marked and so athletic, I would have stopped the car every time we saw a group together, but with 130,000 impala or so in an area the size of Wales, we'd never have got beyond the first few miles.

The girls were wowed by the whole thing, even with two 4,30am starts to go on sunrise game drives.

Pretoria and Johannesburg

Before we arrived in Kruger we spent two days in Joburg and Pretoria, revisiting Neil's old haunts. We stayed in Melville in Joburg, now a thriving arty suburb near the centre of the city, but a distinct 'no go' area when Neil was here 15 years ago. Our only day of rain - and what a storm we had with hailstones the size of golf balls. The main photo is of the Vortrekkers monument in Pretoria, commemorating the Afrikanner push into the centre of South Africa in the mid 19th century. Inconceivably vast, it is almost Soviet in its starkness.

The overnight train from Cape Town to Johannesburg

We decided to see a bit of the interior of the country on the way and to go by train instead of flying. It took 26 hours, versus 2 to fly but was a very comfortable, fun and interesting way to travel.

Now we just need to quickly unpack, wash clothes and repack for our holiday that starts on 23rd April to Lesotho and the Drakensburg. What an astonishing year this will have been by the time it's over.

The Cederburg and a special horse show

Last weekend was a holiday weekend - we had Monday off for Human Rights Day.

Thinking it would be starting to cool down pleasantly, we had booked a weekend at The Baths near Citrusdal, a small resort build around natural hot springs at the southern foot of the Cederburg natural wilderness mountain range. Our route took us directly up the N7, the road that runs all the way up the west coast of SA to Namibia. We left CT around 3pm, with the thermometer reading 31C, and the temperature just rose steadily throughout the 3 hours drive. By the time we got to The Baths about 6pm, we had seen 37C, some preparation for the 42C we would encounter in Citrusdal the next day. We had a self catering chalet - basic but fine, once we had cleared out the huge (though harmless) rain spiders.

As a result of the heat, the hiking we had planned went out of the window! We spent most of Saturday oscilating between the hot and cold pools at the resort, and decided on Sunday that an air conditioned car was probably the best place to be, so set out to explore the region. The Cederburg is really beautiful - a vast wilderness, with a central spine of mountains crafted into unbelievable shapes by wind, rain (and snow in winter). The area has been inhabited for thousands of years and we headed out on rutted dirt tracks to reach one of the famous sites of San rock art. After nearly two hours of jolting along we finally got there, our little Hyundai performing brilliantly. The rock art was in a series of caves, and we stayed for ages exploring the cool interiors.

On Monday we left after a final swim and set out for CT, with the intention of calling in at Durbanville on the way home for the Harvest Festival celebrations at the local wine farms. We had intended to go to 3 or 4 farms, but ended up staying the whole afternoon at Altydgedacht, a wine producer we weren't familiar with beforehand, but that had a lovely relaxed vibe and lots of activities for everyone plus some very chilled live music. We even had a go at grape stomping - treading the grapes with our bare feet as in the old days.

And so back home for the start of a new week - a 4,30am start for me on Tuesday to fly to Joburg, and a 3 day school camp for Lottie up the West Coast. By all accounts she had a great time with lots of fun activities, though not a lot of sleep.

This weekend we had two fun activities. On Saturday we went to see Cirque de Soleil at GrandWest Arena. Amazing acrobatics, mime, juggling, bike riding. And today the absolute highlight (as far as the girls were concerned!), the Alassio Horse Show. Not quite Olympia, but the first show the girls have been involved with, and a really lovely morning in the sunshine. Libby came away with a 1st and 2nd place rosette for best walk and best trot, (age 9 and under), Lottie with a third in the best walk (age 10 and over) class, and a place in the best trot class.

Later we had friends over for a braai and chilled out in the ongoing heat.

Only one more week of term to go and then we're off for a week's holiday to Kruger and Blyde River Canyon in Mpumalanga in the north west of the country. I've worked non stop in March, so can't wait!

Finally, a photo to amuse those of us who have endured the Kipper, Biff and Chip Oxford Reading Tree schemes at school. The scheme is alive and kicking in South Africa too - but this time in Afrikaans. Oh the agony!

Writing this tonight with half an eye on the TV, watching the images from the Japanese earthquake and Tsunami, and feeling as if I'm not really comprehending what I'm seeing. There's nothing sensible I can say, so I've decided just to upload some images from the last few weeks for us to look back on once we're home.

Firstly, from the trip Neil and I took to Robben Island showing the gateway to that horrible place and the (surely ironic) statement that the mission is to 'Serve with Pride'. The photograph of the written board shows an old menu from the 1970's demonstrating that 'Coloureds' had better rations vs 'Bantus' or the indigenous black population. Whilst the Coloureds got bread, jam and soup, black prisoners largely existed on mealie (corn).
Robben Island has always been a place of imprisonment, long before the Apartheid government saw its potential. Originally a leper colony, it is now a National Monument and hosts a population of 100 or so. There is still a functioning primary school, attended by island children, and interestingly about 15 pupils from the mainland who take the 30 minutes ferry ride across the bay every morning, in all weathers. No idea why!

This is Simon's Town, just outside Cape Town on the way to Cape Point. Lottie's class learned about the history of Simon's Town last year and visited the statue of Just Nuisance, the famous dog who became a recognised member of the SA Navy during the war.

Cape Point, and the Kalk Bay Mountains. Yes, we do walk the girls hard - almost every weekend we drag them out to climb a mountain or slog along a dusty track. They complain, but enjoy it really. And there's usually a good meal at the end of it - as here at Jonkershuis at the Groot Constantia wine estate. Neil and I felt it would be rude to leave without a little wine tasting......

And walking on Table Mountain, with those stunning views. Libby clearly expresses her feelings at the end of that particular walk!

Two weekends ago we explored Constantia, a wealthy and beautiful southern suburb of CT. Quite reminiscent of Surrey in lots of ways (!) - huge houses with acres of grounds, swimming pools and stables and leafy green lanes. The girls talked horses (their total obsession), the entire way. The highlight of the three hour walk for them was stepping off the bridleways to let immaculate horses and riders pass. It all reminded me most of a walk I did with Pippa, Harry and the girls a while ago around Ashford Hill, through the water meadows and down hidden byways. A bit bizarre for the southernmost tip of Africa.

A trip to the seaside and the waterslides at Muizenberg. Very definitely a throw back from the 1970s, with only three slides, but Lottie and Elizabeth love it.

And finally two little girls doing what they love most - riding at Alassio in Wynberg. Alassio is a sanctuary for rescue horses, and a pretty special, if very chaotic place. Lottie and Elizabeth ride amongst the vines and down to a river where the horses can drink and everyone cools off in the shade. The last few weeks have been almost unbearable to watch though, as the girls get into jodphurs, boots and hats as the thermometer hits the high 30s.

It has been stifling as you can see, but since I got back from a brief trip to Chester last week (big European workshop, quick chance to see Mum and Dad), there has been a hint of autumn in the air. Not so much in the temperatures - forecast to be back into the low 30s again by the end of the week, and the sun is still really hot. But the mornings and evenings are cooler and darker than they were only a couple of weeks ago. And today I noticed that the sun is clearly lower in the sky now. We used to struggle to find any shade at all on our deck, and lunchtimes outside were a challenge to escape the burning sun. Now half the deck is in shade, even at midday. The mountain is as stunning as ever though!