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Hi Neil,
Since I am a Mod here, you are too, I took the liberty to change the tread title. I think you asked some time back, but wasn't actioned on.
I hope you approve of the new thread title. If not then change to whatever you like:p ;)
Mrs hh:angel:
Hello again - sticking to the Afro-theme.
Interesting poser - what if animals were round?
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yltlJEdSAHw&feature=player_detailpage[/ame]
Wouldn't be quite the same as the typical Attenborough scene.
Cheers,
Neil
Hello again.
Seemed appropriate to lodge a brief report on how the weekend in the tree house went recently.
Short answer - pretty well.
I headed south of Johannesburg along the R59 to take in the secondary roads and hamlets en-route to Kimberley rather than the main N12. I figured that I would have to retreat back up the N12 at high speed anyway to make a meeting at the airport and the flight departure for home. Very rewarding drive as it gave me a chance to witness life in the small dorps and farmlands as lived by your typical 'Van der Merwes' and the natives. Can recommend it to anyone planning to go there - the cities are highly avoidable (my prejudice), unless you have a particular thing for over the top shopping arcades and casual muggings.
In direct contrast to the simple life of the bush, I laid up at some new digs on the Saturday night in Kimberley - viz the Kimberley Club, (the creation and one time plaything of Cecil Rhodes of De Beers fame and once the Empire's richest man). This establishment once boasted more millionaires per square foot under its roof than anywhere else on earth. Still pleasant today even if the magnates have long left:
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...014/11/110.jpg
HRH the Duke of Edinburgh and I have both used this same room - although not at the same time......
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...014/11/111.jpg
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...014/11/112.jpg
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...014/11/113.jpg
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...014/11/114.jpg
Steak cost $13.50 and a nice glass of red was $1.90 - all silver service.
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...014/11/115.jpg
Breakfast was Cecile Rhodes' favorite - small serve of curried mince on toast with a poached egg and cheese sprinkle... Excellent.
Couldn't go past one of my favorite watering holes in Africa without a short pause - Star of the West (bar is built from timbers from a wrecked ship of the same name):
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...014/12/575.jpg
Faded beauty - but the rugby was on TV and the beer was cold.
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...014/11/116.jpg
Then on to Mokala and Kameeldoorn:
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...014/11/117.jpg
Much as previously depicted and in a great location.
Mokala NP is on the Kalahari sands and so has more of the desert animals than the parks further north and on the lowveld (e.g. Kruger), such as eland (biggest antelope in Africa), gemsbok and roan antelope:
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...014/11/118.jpg
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...014/11/119.jpg
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...014/11/120.jpg
Springbok have a similar niche to red kangaroos and are quite common here, whereas impala are more like grey kangaroos, and while present are less common in the sandy country:
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...014/11/121.jpg
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...014/11/122.jpg
Being late winter in the desert meant that most of the animals were a bit thinner than you might expect in Kruger or Pilanesburg, like this Tssebe:
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...014/11/123.jpg
Otherwise, many of the usual suspects including warthogs, giraffe, rhino, wildebeest, zebra, etc - a herd of about 200 buffalo were on the plains as I was leaving, but the track was closed and the photo would have been rubbish:
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...014/11/124.jpg
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...014/11/125.jpg
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...014/11/126.jpg
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...014/11/127.jpg
Finally, in an earlier post I was musing over the choice of safari wagon - having given up on a Defender as being too dear. I was tempted to go with a Polo but enough merchants of doom cautioned over the track conditions in the park so I opted for an Avanza instead:
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...014/11/128.jpg
Well it drove just OK and didn't get stuck anywhere, but to be honest a Polo would have gone anywhere I took it. Next time..............
In all, a grand couple of days out.
Cheers,
Neil
Hello again - its late Friday afternoon and naturally thoughts turn to sundowner time and a general reflection on the things that don't matter all that much - but occasionally make life a bit more interesting.
Now in an earlier post I mentioned that one of my favorite waterholes in Africa (if not global) is the 'Star of the West' in Kimberley in the Northern Cape. Opened around 1870 and sited near the Big Hole diamond diggings, it was a popular hang about space for the miners of the day - many of whom were Australians, noted by the name of an equally iconic pub called the "Australian Arms" just down the road.
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...014/12/575.jpg
Perhaps unsurprisingly, a number of legends exist about the hotel, some of its female employees in particular, famous acts of thuggery and buggery, ghosts of various origins and so on. So, always interesting to read a little of suchlike from time to time.
Now one bold statement I came across was that there is an exact replica of this pub in Australia - so where might that be located?
Well, Google "Star of the West Hotel, Australia" and the only thing to come up is this fine establishment of the same name in Port Fairy:
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...014/12/576.jpg
Is it the missing clone? How close has close got to be to get an "exact replica" and should I let the fact that this one was built in the 1860's get in the way of a good story.........
Could be a future research trip in it anyway.
Cheers,
Neil
Hello from Indooroopilly.
Indulging in one of my least preferred pastimes - sitting in a shopping mall both looking and being palpably bored pretending to be uplifted by the spirit of Christmas. Scrooge had it right (bah humbug).
A bit of eye candy here and there for a distraction, but overall everyone else looks about as jaded as me. So, once the tribe sees its way clear to give up and go home, it will be time for sundowners on the stoep. Now there's a nice thought.
Anyway, before then a quick return to the festive spirit of things - all the best for the rest of 2014 and trust 2015 is a good one too. Looking forward to some more great activities from SLOW in the coming year and thanks for the good company and sage advice.
Cheers,
Neil
P.S. Decided not to send my usual "I've been a good boy" letter to Santa at the North Pole this year, but just sent it to John Craddocks instead - cut out the middleman......
Hello again from Sherwood.
Must be that time of year again as I seem to be spending more evening time poring over the atlas and starting to wipe the summers' mould off the field kit.
All going well, should be back on the highveld around mid-March with the usual opportunities to harass poor old Godfrey and the impi into scouring the landscape for hidden treasure - notably the odd bit for the truck and the fabled Zim AA badge...... Plus the pleasant evenings with sundowners and roaming conversation on the camp stoep.
But beyond that idyll, not sure what to expect this time around in Zimbabwe - the other day a well meaning colleague sent me a press clipping suggesting that Zanu were again on the attack calling for a complete takeover of the remaining white-owned farms. Whether that was a serious clarion call to arms or the usual playing to the mob is a little hard to tell from this distance. On the whole, life there can be fairly pleasant if you are not directly in the line of fire.
Easter falls around the time that I was planning to pack my Melville and Moons and having spent the last two Easters in the bush at Hwange, the temptation to go for a hat trick is strong. However, Zimbabwe uses the US dollar these days and, with the decline in the Pacific peso, the cost of such amusements has become a little on the rich side. Partly, why for the last couple of trips I have been taking to safaris on the South African side where the Rand remains weak and the comforts on about par.
So, spoiled for choice I suppose - happened to notice that there are still a few vacancies for rondavels and tents at some of the camps in Kruger for Easter, but few of these will last much longer. Possibly time for action rather than musing...
What's the attraction you ask?
You don't usually get these things on the lawn at Casa del S3:
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...015/02/444.jpg
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...015/02/445.jpg
And the beer and beef is cheap.............
Cheers,
Neil
Hello again from Sherwood.
Managed to shift from musing to taking action on the safari front overnight. Basically, gave up on Hwange for this year and looked over the border to Kruger NP in South Africa.
Kruger books out pretty solidly over any of the breaks and Easter is no exception - Easter Saturday is booked out solid down to the last tent site across the whole park. Managed to grab the one remaining tent at Tamboti camp for one night and the one remaining rondavel at Letaba the following night (Good Friday) - both are situated in the middle of the park in the plains area which favours grazers which, in turn, brings on the things that like to eat grazers. The former includes the usual suspects such as zebra, wildebeest and impala with buffalo and white rhino in numbers as well. The latter includes lion and leopard with the highest cat concentration in the park in and around the Timbavati River and Satara plains. Elephant are about, often in numbers, but generally prefer the mopane woodlands and forests further north in the park.
So, hoping it will be good - summer can be a bit touch and go with wildlife, however, as the tall grass makes it hard to see very far into the bush and the animals are typically less reliant on the waterholes. But if the season is short then April is the transition month into the dry and it might be OK. Whatever, just being out and about looking is a pleasant way to kill a day or so.
As mentioned previously, Zimbabwe has some great wildlife seeking opportunities in the larger parks and more remote areas, such as Hwange, Matsudona and Gonarezhou. But the old (economical) public camp system is still pretty much in the doldrums through being starved of funding leaving the market restricted to the high end camps which charge an arm and a leg for the experience (albeit a very nice experience). Maybe all that will change at some time in the future, but even in South Africa the popular public system is slowly eroding in quality and the up-market (USD$500+ per night) alternative is creeping in.
For now, getting to be there is something to look forward to anyway. I can recommend it. Unfortunately, you don't need a Land Rover in Kruger, so it's back to a trusty Polo.
Cheers,
Neil
Sounds like fun Neil. I will hopefully be working on one of my land rover projects over the break.
A worthy pursuit in itself, and something I should be doing too.Quote:
Originally Posted by Seriestwo
Got a bit sidetracked with the S3 boat and trailer in the last couple of weeks. Once that is out of the way I will get back onto the truck.
Cheers,
Neil
Hello again from Sherwood.
Mentioned before that another trip across the great waters is on track - got my Passport back from the Zimbabwe Embassy yesterday with a newly minted entry visa. Given my previous run-ins with the immigration authorities I generally have to regard that as a bit of a ticket to play a gambling game involving entry to a maze one door of which is arrivals and the other the way back out to the plane.....
But no point dwelling on what might or might not happen until the time arrives.
Until then, it offers the opportunity for a few pleasant evening hours poring over the maps with some end of trip Kruger musings to be had.
I mentioned before that I had managed to get hold of a couple of the few remaining accommodation options for Easter which might have sounded a bit like scraping the bottom of the barrel. However, it is anything but really.
Either side of getting to Kruger involves staying at two of my favourite pubs in Africa, if not globally (I mentioned Star of the West in Kimberley before which is actually #3) - notably the Dullstroom Inn in the dorp of the same name and the Royal Hotel in Pilgrims Rest:
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...015/02/138.jpg
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...015/02/139.jpg
Dullstroom is one of the highest towns in South Africa and also heart of a major woolgrowing and trout fishing region - the village looks a bit like Adaminaby, but with a lot more charm especially cf the Snowgoose.... The pub also has a Guiness record for number of days the open fire has been burning. Mainly eucalypt wood for the nostalgics....
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...015/02/140.jpg
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...015/02/141.jpg
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...015/02/142.jpg
The bar in the Royal at Pilgrims Rest used to be a school house, but IMHO is now being put to a much more useful purpose. Pilgrims Rest was a company-based gold mining town and after the operations closed in the 70s it was handed over to the state as a single entity. Since then is was taken over by a single tourist operator that rents out the central hotel, dining rooms, and various cottages etc - especially for weddings. The whole village is classified by the SA National Trust.
Moving to Kruger itself, the first camp is Tamboti which is made up entirely of safari tents spread along a bank of the Timbavati River:
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...015/02/143.jpg
These face the river which is dry for much of the year and it is common to see hyenas, leopards and the occasional lion walking past the camp early morning and at night. Braai time is good for hyena just through the fence.
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...015/02/144.jpg
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...015/02/145.jpg
Letaba is one of the main camps which are basically self-contained villages sporting restaurants, bars, gas stations, general stores etc plus the cottages and rondavels have their own braai facilities for a bit of seclusion and sundowner musing:
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...015/02/146.jpg
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...015/02/147.jpg
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...015/02/148.jpg
The camp is on a stretch of the Letaba River and is well placed for wildlife spotting from the main bar etc. Lot of antelope, elephants etc hang about, and the plains to the south have a lot of lion, buffalo etc. The elephant museum features the biggest tuskers that lived in the park and is terrific - the statue is of Shingwedzi one of the more famous bulls.
Anyway, just a flavour of the place - the size of Belgium, so there is a lot to see and each camp has its special attractions. If this can act as a spur to get anyone else motivated to go there, then it has been successful.
Cheers,
Neil