Following the Germans

(Lloyd)
The soundtrack of our trip a bit of a throwback, really tried to find something on the radio over the last few days but the music stations are appalling out here.  They make Capital appear a rich cultural experience in comparison, and my hatred of Capital radio is well documented.  Everywhere we go our hosts tell us about a German family that stayed the day before and were disappointed with the weather or were heading in the wrong direction.  We, on the other hand, the welsh germans, were getting all the luck, we bid them auf wiedershen pet/butt


(Carys)


After a night of large thunderstorms and lightning - dad woke me up to enjoy the unusual weather- we had a lovely breakfast in our B&B and I chose continental instead of cooked, to have something different for a change. After another brief storm of rain and thunder, we set off on the four hour journey, the longest car journey of our travels.

An hour or so into the drive, we took a detour to Monkeyland! It was incredible, being able to roam amongst the monkeys and apes in natural habitat. Even before we entered the forest, there were monkeys just jumping about. Overall our tour guide said we saw 9 species out of the 11 species that live there. My favourites were the Cappucion monkeys - the mothers often had tiny babies on their backs. There was also a horrific moment with an eight legged beast, which crawled onto mine and mum's chairs and backs!  I freaked out but not as much as i  could have done.  But i had the shivers all day after that!  Once we left the enclosure and had a quick snack, we were back on the road.

We drove through many mountains and beautiful lagoons which were lovely to see on our long, otherwise boring, drive. We arrived at Mossel Bay and our home for the next two days. It had bunkbeds each for me and Bryn, a double bed, a kitchen, bathroom, living room and even our own pool with lilos! We relaxed there for a while and in the early leaving left to find some food.

We struggled to find a nice takeaway on Easter Monday, but managed to find a nice chippy, It was late by then and we were tired and hungry, so we enjoyed it ever so more after we returned to our room after a quick round of getting lost.

Right before bed Bryn decided to have a quick 'nighttime swim' and dove into our pool. He said it was freezing but it couldn't have been too bad!

(Lloyd)

Jeffrey's Bay was beautiful, our welsh hosts (pure chance) looked after us and gave us a hearty breakfast and a bit of Afrikan politics.  We were soon on our way, filling up Zola (who has been a pretty good budd so far) and getting on the highway and heading west toward Cape Town.  Soon we were in the Tsitsikamma national park and taking in breathtaking mountains, gorges, forests, the works.  Our stopping point today was Monkey land, the best wifi we have had in days, and a few monkeys too.  Most of them not African though which seemed a bit pointless, apart from the cheeky Vervets.  Best bit of wildlife sighted in the cafe though as Chrissi and Carys became the entertainment for fellow diners who had been watching them for a number of minutes as a massive rain spider had been crawling up their backs.

On we went west, making a schoolboy error at the toll. I thought the toll lady was trying to sell me a dodgy heater (strange as it was 25 degrees) but it later became clear she was pointing to the meter in our car which meant we didn't have to pay.  I'd already thrust 50 rand into her hand and sped off by the time I realised she was in fact trying to be helpful.

The sleepy lagoon side town of Knsysna would have been a nice stopping off point but wanted to get some miles under the belt and got into Mossel Bay around mid afternoon.  We have a lovely compartment with our own pool and ocean view so all good, although the town a little more industrial than I had imagined.  Took a drive down to the boardwalk for dusk, eventually found some fish and chips, and eventually (after getting lost on the way back to our appartment) settled down in our cosy home away from home to eat them.

I say cosy, that was until lights out, when it felt like an episode of Police Academy, as we had to shut a thousand locks, bring down bars over all external windows and cocoon ourselves away from the outside world. The love a bit of security down here.

Bryn being helpful (notable moment)

Driving and Learning

Monkeying

Lady Indiana Jones

Knysna

Township

Very lucky

Mossel Bay

Bank Holiday chipper

al fresco chipper

Police Academy 

Elephunk - Where is the love?

We can forget multimedia footage at the moment, even in our urban accommodation the wifi not coping with those kind of uploads.


(Carys)

Picking up where I left of yesterday, with eating, one of my favorite things. We ate a meal of sausage, steak, potato salad, homemade bread and for dessert - pancakes. All of which were utterly delicious and unexpected. I quite enjoyed having my meal already picked for me. After that we enjoyed traditional African singing and dancing from the people who worked at Addo Palace. It was a great way to get into the spirit of the culture, and end the night. We went to be shortly after.

Yet another full night of sleep, and a quick shower in the morning before breakfast; scrambled eggs with bacon, toast and sausage. Again, all quite tasty. We set off early, and were waved goodbye with more African singing. We led the track back to the main road and drove for about half an hour when we reached Addo National Elephant Park. We decided because our tour wasn't till later, to have a little explore in our car  and try to spot some animals.

We firstly sighted a Black-backed Jackal, looking a lot like small travelling alone the grassy land. We also saw a Kudu, dung beetle,warthog, zebras and elephants as we drove along. We then returned for our guided tour, and spotted many of these animals once again, but closer-up. The zebras were breathtakingly beautiful, as were the Eland and Red Hartebeast - two types of lovely deer.

Then we saw the main attraction - elephants. Loads of them gathered around a waterhole. We saw them all over the place, more than we'd seen earlier. They were so large; so peaceful. They'd trod carefully around the place. I was a little disappointed to not see any lions but enjoyed myself thoroughly anyway.

We then left the lovely park and drove fro about an hour and a half.  Along the drive, we saw a large township called Motherwell. It was quite sad to see the amount of poverty these people suffer with and I wrote a bit about it. That may appear in a later blog. We theen reacheed Jeffreyds Bay and checked in at our B&B. The room wass gorgeous, but not as gorgeous as the viewq. nbWe were high up, and had aclear view of the ocean - known as one of the best sufring beaches in the world.

We drove to a mall and ordered a selection of pizzas - that turned out to be square - to takeaway from a shop called Nina's. We also bought a few snacky things in a small supermarket to bring back as well. We returned to our room and ate the pizzas and other food as we looked over the beautiful view oin the balcony. The food was great, and soon after we went to bed.

sausages

dancing and singing

daybreak in the misty mountains

bath time

super imposed ranger, not

(Lloyd)

Beautiful start to the day, gorillas in the mist type scenery, no gorillas, or even baboons today.  But quite a lot of elephants.  Bumped and grooved in the style of the black eyed peas back to the main highway and found our way to Addo Elephant Park.  The clue is in the title I guess; a last nod to our hosts at the Addo Bush Palace, a chance to really get away from it all (apart from the Premier League) well worth doing if you have the means to get out of Port Elizabeth.  Very much looked after, as Carys mentioned above; apparently they mainly get Germans, and now the welsh germans (eh Tom?)


The drive to the park not too arduous, a few zebras to keep us occupied, and seemed to be racing a freight train for a good chunk of the route.  The park itself massive, we made our first error of the trip by paying park entrance fee and the tour. So in effect doubling up, and not having time to make the most of it.  One or the other with the time we had would have been the sensible choice.  The self drive stuff was fun but being the driver meant keeping more of an eye on fellow excited drivers stopping suddenly, reversing etc And trying not to make any similar sudden movements myself.

The ranger tour much better, wasn't Biggins, but you can't have it all.  Good look around the park, on and off road, and elephants everywhere, mingling in with us at water holes.  Real wisdom in those eyes, reckon they could tell a tale or two, mainly about idiot drivers I would imagine.  Seriously though, were magnificent beasts, and the camera clicks were going ten to the dozen.

Needed to get on the road to our next port of call, taking an unexpected trip through the township of Motherwell. Suddenly the guilt of moaning about making first world mistakes on paying double of the elephants kicked in. The deprivation, the squalor, and a slight sense of panic were all feelings as we drove through, pleased that most of the traffic lights were on green, Such a country of contrasts, from beautiful animals, landscapes, to millions with nothing in a matter of moments.  Sense the elephants probably in a better state of health and housing.

Reflection continued all the way to Jeffreys Bay, which is the first built up (albeit coastal) part of South Africa we have arrived at that is not all gated communities and people hanging around at major junctions. In fact this could be the east coast of Australia.

build them up in black and white (swans reference)

where you going?

oh coming to say hello?

poverty

Jurassic Parkrun

No pics - poor wifi - will add later - now added - still poor wifi so limited choices

(Lloyd)

Fantastic sleep with a nights worth to be made back, and 6am alarm call (5 in UK) for ourselves to ready for international parkrun.  Strolled down to Hobie Beach where the masses assembled in the increasing heat for an 8am start.  A respectable time, but big numbers meant 30-60 seconds getting over start line, and lots of friendly locals meant chatting which also tends not to be something that happens when running flat out.  3k run on the lovely beach, with the Indian Ocean lapping at our feet will live long in the memory, as did the interest of the locals, and met a chap who is well on the way to running all 136 South African parkruns, 23 may not be so hard after all!!

Well earned breakfast of eggs benedict back in our fantastic lodge and then showered before the next part of the adventure.  The amount of security, even around a drop in to a supermarket, makes even shopping an adventure. And the highways can be quite intimidating, not so much the drivers, but the amount of people beckoning you to stop and help on the sides.  After 60k we turned right and did 13-15k across a gravel track, surrounded by mist and mountains. Baboons were sighted other animals crossed our mind, as did the fact we saw only one other vehicle in our 40 minute run.  Crossing a gate 2k outside our lodge thoughts turned to how it all started with oohs, and aahs, but soon there may be screaming and shouting.  If a T Rex had crossed our path I would not have been surprised.

As it turned out we saw nothing more than a few hikers and were soon in our next lodge, the Zebra room a better option than some of the huts that also form part of the Addo Bush Palace.  Took a walk up to a nearby vantage point, seeing not a great deal of wildlife, but the imagination suggested a lot more.  Massive beetles everywhere, trust they don’t feel the need to visit our lodge later.  In the main dining area we could pick up wifi which we did, although very intermittent, and so other entertainment sourced.  And then suddenly we didn’t feel so far away from home as Premier League football surfaced on the box, so watching the Swans lose to Man Utd meant Saturday afternoon took on a very familiar feel.  Not much animal from the Swans though and now looking forward to seeing what food is offered up for evening meal.  Not exactly in a position to pop out to the shops now darkness has fallen, so we will take what we are given.

(Carys)

Our day began earlier than I would have preferred, but had a good night of sleep anyway. We set off along Hobie beach to try to find the start of our parkrun, regretting not wearing sun cream as we felt the sun burning down on us. However, by there the end of the run the cream would have been dripping off us profusely and we were not massively sun burnt anyway.

The run was tough, but enjoyable. Most of it was along the beach by the ocean; a lovely sight to witness. I took to stepping on the wetter sand, as that was smoother and easier to run on. When I had finished I almost passed out from the heat. We rushed back to our accommodation to enjoy a tasty breakfast – I also had eggs benedict – though I could not finish it. After a quick shower and visit to the local supermarket (Pick’ N’Pay) we were back on the road.

On our travels, I was delighted to see small monkeys, hogs, baboons and even giraffes! The scenery was beautiful, as was the view from our lodge when we reached it. It took us about 12km to get there once we left the main road. Once we arrived, we had some snacks, looked around and went for a short walk. We looked at many animal tracks, wondering what creatures could have left them. We also saw a few suspicious-looking holes in the ground. Could there be snakes or spiders lurking within its depths?

We returned in time for the football match on the reception TV, and found a nice sofa to settle in. Now I’m waiting to find out what’s for dinner, and it truly smells delicious.

                                                    Indian  Ocean over there

Entering the Lost World

Addo Bush Palace

Baboons

Explorers

I predict a riot

(Lloyd)

So who knew the Kaiser Chiefs were named after the former club of Leeds Utd player Lucas Radebe?  Who knew that the Kaiser Chiefs in South Africa are the equivalent of Man Utd over here with 17 million registered fans?  Who knew that they are one of 2 teams from the Soweto township and a massively big deal in South Africa?  And who knew the whole team would be joining us on our flight from Johannesburg to Port Elizabeth today?  Needless to say Bryn had spotted 1-2 of the players in the departure lounge and made friends with Tshabalala who only went and scored the most important goal in South African football history.

-

I made friends with this fellow below who is the teams goalkeeping coach on the plane who gave me a full history of South African, and a bit of Swedish and Championship football to boot.  Along with a few shark diving videos to boot.

Lee Baxter (Goalkeeping Coach)

And the singing fans were waiting the team as we all stepped out of the arrivals hall, vuvuzelas and all.

So a great flight, easy sail through the airport and car pick up went a dream, upgraded to a nice mercedes, really felt the benefits today in the 8k drive into Port Elizabeth to our lodge.

http://www.singalodge.com/

Ensured it was parked in a high security garage and settled into our jungle themed, gated, lodged community, complete with fountains, lovely wooden decor and a very relaxed ambience.  Kids took advantage of the pool, I faded in and out of consciousness, then we took a stroll along the boardwalk to the Easter celebrations at Hobie Beach in Summerstrandt.   Chewed on a bit of billtong as is the done thing on pleasant Summer/Autumn evenings.

Typical resort type, carnival type, chilled type evening, but we stayed long enough to see a pod of dolphins make their way across the harbour, before heading back to our lodge for cards and reflections.  We have had a 'riot' in the fun sense of the word.

(Carys)

Our second flight was a lot more enjoyable. Was surprised to be served a meal on such a short flight, but thought it best to not eat it, in case i needed to use a provided bag again...

Anyway got some wonderful photos from the plane and once we got of, it felt great to feel the warm air and sun on  our faces. It's already been mentioned, but it was really cool to have the Kaiser Chiefs on the flight with us. As we left the airport in Port Elizabeth to collect our car, there was a huge commotion from the fans of the Kaiser chiefs - they'd come to greet them as they got on there bus. All the fans were singing and dancing which brought some joy to the area.

We collected our car - a Mercedes Benz - which we have called Zolar and after mum and dad agreed on how to work the automatic car we set off on a short journey to our lodge.

Once we got there the lady at the desk brought us past a nice pool and rounds through a tropical looking forest to our lodge. There were lots of separate lodges in a close capacity, each with beautiful designs. Our lodge had lovely glass doors and a huge bed and lots of beautiful decoration.

After we'd got over the beauty of our room, we went to the pool for a while. I expected it to be quite nice and warm but it was so cold i couldn't even enjoy it. I felt like my heart had stopped. We then got changed and went for a stroll by the gorgeous beach, and reached a market/fair area. First we browsed, but then bought some snacks. I tried Biltong (a South African snack) or the first time. It's basically just chewy spicy meat, but I enjoyed it. I also had a hot dog - very different - as well as fried potato on a stick - absolutely delicious - and a strawberry milkshake. We then walked back to our lodge where we enjoyed a drink and a game of cards before an early night to make up for all the sleep lost on the plane.

Heathrow to Jburg

(Lloyd) All pretty good in terms of flight and boarding etc  Managed to squeeze in an unintentional game of boarding chicken.  Chrissi our lookout at the boarding gate kept saying no-one had moved, so we sat in a nearby cafe, making calls, drinking beer etc  Thought the flight was delayed so took a stroll over to see what was going on only to hear the words 'last call', which as it turned out was our first call.

Flight around 10-11 hrs was bearable but not exciting.  Stuck at the back of the plane so we were always last to be served #firstworldproblems which meant stuff had run out, and didn't get any extras, in fact always rushing to clear up just as we were served.  My first choice of movie, Dunkirk, appalling.  Was there a plot? If so, I missed it, am sure the cinematography would have been great in the right circumstances.  Second film Battle of the Sexes much better and interestingly/sadly contemporary, did drift off towards the end, probably for my only real sleep of the trip.

Awoke with about 4.5 hrs to go, and thought, that would be a good marathon time ... such is my thinking .. but also disappointed that still had a bit too much time to kill.  Did so though, nice arrival at Joburg, bit of a crawl through immigration, but we are here, in South Africa!!

Caffeine intake to see us through for our next leg of the journey.

(Carys) I have to admit I think I enjoyed this flight the least out of our family. I took my travel sickness tablets before the journey which seemed to help me relax. I watched a few good movies, and even managed to eat my 'child's meal' dinner. I got it first as it was classed under special meals. I quite enjoyed it.

After a long, boring attempt of trying to sleep, and in return only getting a few hours of rest, I began feeling queasy. Seems like the tablets had worn off and I had to fight on my own. I couldn't manage breakfast so just left it. I managed to remain okay as we landed, but just before the plane stopped I had to make use of the provided Airline waste bag...

All in all though, my first half of the flight was rather enjoyable, though I am sitting here now and worrying about our connected flight. We've just enjoyed some early morning drinks (and in my case a hot cross bun), waiting patiently, using the free WiFi.


I also want to apologise for my mistake on yesterday;s post - I meant to say we were flying Heathrow to Johannesburg, and Johannesburg to Port Elizabeth (Not Cape Town) That was because SOMEONE didn't give me clear details of our travels.

                                                 
                                                     Chicken Licken

                                                     This is the life .. our high life

                                                        landed

                                              Joburg Airport

                                                 Energy

Departure Lounging and Lolloping

Not got quite as much time in the airport as we normally have, needing to park in one terminal to then make our way to another. So we have left the lovely car in Terminal 3 Long Stay and are currently residing in Huxleys in terminal 5, having done the bus to Terminal 2, a walk along the travellators to Terminal 3 (bladder issues requiring people to need an emergency visit to Terminal 2) so a walk between those terminals not factored in the pre departure planning.  Was hoping to keep time on feet to a minimum after 11 mile run this morning around Knollbury and then Redwick.

Got the train from terminal 3 to terminal 5 and then nice queue in the checkin.  Mental note, online check in is there of a purpose, but at least our seats are booked. Need to collect our bags in Johannesburg before the onward flight to Port Elizabeth (think Carys might have got a little confused in the last post)  We will end up in Cape Town eventually, but hang in there ..


Anyway, alls well that ends well.  In a bar, bloody mary ordered and I declare the holiday officially open.  So fellow travellers, there are comments to be made, recommendations required. Please let us know your thoughts on things we could or should be doing. Our first destination tomorrow is Port Elizabeth, we have a parkrun planned for Saturday, but other than that, what should we see. And most importantly where or what should we eat out here?  Remember last time I was in South Africa I had a great steak in Sun City, but in terms of game, what should I be game for .. a laugh maybe.

 

Still Smiling

 

 

 

Not so many smiles

 

 

 smiles are back

'to your good health lovely readers'

So, today's the day we take off. It's been about a year since I last went on an aeroplane, and I have horrific memories of the London to Singapore flight since I forgot to take travel sickness tablets. I've been more careful this time, making sure they're securely packed in my carry on bag. This is possibly the longest flight I will have ever been on - Google wouldn't let me find out if the flight to Singapore was longer.

Anyway, right now, we're still at home, and everything is surprisingly calm, compared to last years manic pre-holiday final packing. Everything is organised and ready - praises to mum. We leave for heathrow in an hour or two, and will be taking off at 7pm. That gives us plenty of time to enjoy th airport. We land in Johannesburg at about am tomorrow, and then have to somehow survive exhaustion and hunger for 4 hours until our next (very short flight) to Cape Town. We will probably be blogging at the airport, so 'stay tuned'.