Back to reality

So Sunday afternoon we returned from a wonderful trip with our friends Anne and Katie. Overall the trip went very well. Katie's flight from England was canceled so instead of rushing to the airport last Saturday morning, we leisurely picked Anne up at her site and found ourselves with a day to kill. Also, we booked the cottage at Pretoria Backpackers because we would not be able to drive to our first destination after picking Katie up at the airport.

At first we thought we would use our day to go to the Sterkfontein Caves where some of the earliest hominid fossils were found. The road there according to the directions we found were treacherous however and we were eager to get to the duty-free shop in Pretoria before it closed so instead we went to Pretoria. We had a Lebanese food lunch and then checked into the cottage at Pretoria Backpackers.

I have only stayed in Pretoria one other time and so I had no idea what a treat this was going to be. 1322 Backpackers is cheaper but noisy and the accommodations are really barely adequate. We ran into a few other volunteers convalescing there at the Pretoria Backpackers and the dorm style accommodations there are greatly superior to those at 1322. However, we had booked 'the cottage'. If other Peace Corps volunteers are reading this, we must book this for future stays in Pretoria. The cottage is a two-story thatch-roof house with a double bed and 4 singles. The kitchen is self-contained, there's a living room area with TV and couches and beautiful African decor. For the price of R550/night, it was a pleasant surprise.

From there we went to the Museum of Anthropology and admired some lovely taxidermy. We picked up a graduate student named Jordan at the backpackers who came with us and after the museum took us out for coffee and conversation about work in development.

Then we went to the airport to pick up Katie. Her flight was on-time and she had no trouble with immigration or customs. For Anne, Liz and I, it was quite a nostalgic feeling to return to the very reception area where we first stepped foot into South Africa.

The next day we drove to St. Lucia and found a warm and bustling resort town. We checked into our hostel and found some food. Seafood was available and a delicious change of pace from our inland diet. Despite rumors, we saw no hippos roaming the streets but we did take a long walk down to the beach and dipped our toes into the Indian Ocean. On the way back we ran across some youthful fishermen who has spotted a puffadder snake. Anne shared that perhaps prodding it with a fishing rod was unwise as the puffadder can strike 3 times in a second.

The following morning we woke up early and headed to the Umfolozi Game Reserve to check out the animals. Umfolozi is a beautiful park that is credited with the survival of the hippopotamus. We didn't see any hippos there, but there were rhinos all over the place. At one junction, another game viewer told us that there was a lovely big bull elephant just down a gravel road. We turned down to see an elephant obscured by bushes and our path blocked by other guests in large pickup trucks. When they finally cleared we impatiently proceeded down the path. As soon as we turned a corner, the elephant was right there, staring down our tiny Toyota Yaris and flapping his ears. We quickly reversed. After calming we watched the bull who had now turned away from the road give himself a dirt bath. We also saw giraffes, zebras, impala, kudu and buffalo there before leaving around lunchtime. Three out of the big five seemed pretty good for our first outing.

The town of St. Lucia is situated between the Indian ocean and the estuary system that drains Lake St. Lucia to it. That evening we booked a boat tour on the outlet and were treated to lots and lots of hippos. We could hear them grunt, saw them open their mouths wide and even caught a glimpse of a newborn. Also, the bird viewing was quite nice with goliath heron and egyptian geese. We even saw a few nile crocodiles.

The Greater St. Lucia Wetlands Area, now known as the iSimangalo Wetlands Area, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site because it hosts 5 highly-developed ecosystems all within a few kilometers of the lake. Since our guidebook was published around the time of this change, we really didn't know what to expect but from asking around we knew that there was a nice beach at Cape Vidal. We had also heard stories about how the vegetated sand dunes there were rich with valuable minerals and metals but that mining had been blocked in order to conserve the space for a particular turtle that breeds there. As we headed there we were surprised to come up to a park gate and asked to pay admission but this was well worth it. We again saw very many animals. The kudu there are very stunning. We saw some hippos and a rare monkey species and enjoyed the breath-taking scenery. Anne was particularly delighted when we drove up to a sizable pile of elephant dung teeming with dung beetles. The beach was nice but our plan to get lunch there was short sighted as only a bag of potato chips was available at the camp store. We returned to town and were blessed with another buffalo sighting on our way out of the park. That evening we met up with Kristen, another Peace Corps volunteer, and her father and shared stories and drinks together.

From there we traveled north into the Kingdom of Swaziland. After checking in we went to a tourist, crafty, curio place for lunch and ogled at the wondrous cultural souveniers we would have if we were blessed with greater wealth and a more spacious rental car. The next day was to be the most adrenaline filled so we tried to head to bed early. If you're in Swaziland and you get the urge for adventure sport, I wouldn't recommend booking with the company Swazi Trails unless you are already somewhat experienced at what you're doing. Although Grade 2-4 white-water rafting seemed rather intimidating to us, the folks there assured us that we would be capable of doing it and that we would be entirely safe. I had pictured something in my head about 6 people in a raft after an hour-long movie or presentation just following the directions of some guy in the back of the boat who was really doing most of the work. The rafts we got were for just two people which meant that I had to learn to steer a boat and to take it down rapids all at once. I really stunk at this. The guides who rode alongside us weren't as patient or helpful as I could have used and I found their instructions often unhelpful. It was like they would say, "Do it correctly" as if I was sucking at it on purpose. In any case, we all survived with only a few minor bruises. We all got through a few rapids on our own, but skipped the last one in favor of a walk beside it. My other criticism of Swazi Trails besides inadequate guides was that they gave us poor advice at how to get to Kruger National Park.

The time was pressured. We were staying in the park but the park gate closes at a certain time as do the gates to the camps. They gave us directions that would get us into the park before closing but not to our camp. We didn't realize all of this. As we entered back into South Africa and began approaching the camp, we called the gate that told us that although we'd make it into the park in time, there'd be no way for us to reach our camp and that we must go around the park to another gate and arrange for a ranger to escort us to our camp. The thing is, is that Kruger National Park is larger than New Jersey and this was an additional 3 hours of driving after we had already driven a long ways. In any case, after getting lost for 20 minutes on our way around we made it to Kruger safe and sound and early enough to get dinner at the restaurant and a well-earned sleep.

I know I just said this but Kruger is HUGE!!! In our two day stay we did about 13 or 14 hours of driving around looking for animals and saw a tiny fraction of the place. The scenery was beautiful and we did catch a lot of animal sightings although they didn't occur as frequently as they often do when we visit Pilanesberg close to where we live. The last day, we ended up getting the camp gate just two minutes before it closed. In the late evening we saw all the best viewing of the whole day. We found a pack of hyena with two pups emerging from their burrow just beside the road. There were two elephants browsing on leaves and when I looked behind I saw several impala cross the road only to quickly run back. I suspect that there was a predator of some kind nearby. Continuing on we saw a whole herd of buffalo, one of which was grazing right next to the road. I took a photo and as the flash went off, the buffalo raised its head and started staring me down. The African Buffalo is a notoriously dangerous and ill-tempered animal. Now there was one just three feet from me looking none too happy. It was a great photo opportunity but my survival instinct prevailed as I told Katie, who was driving to "GO GO GO!!!" The second night we had booked a sunset drive with the park rangers. The pinnacle of this was coming across several lions in the road. They were really very majestic and amazing. We had seen lions early in the day but the traffic jam caused by the large guided tour vehicles that make a killing off of tourists make the sighting brief and obscured. Apparently we had missed out on seeing the lions mate. This evening we had time to see them walk around, to see the cubs play with each other and to hear them call to one another. A very nice finish to a great vacation.

I'm sure I've neglected other interesting stories and facts, but I am already back into the thick of it at work, and my Peace Corps report is due. Please check out or pictures and please book your flight to South Africa!