Travel Travel Travel Travel!!!

The last year has really been quite the year for us. Since the Christmas holiday a year ago, we've enjoyed 5 amazing vacations in southern Africa and at this point it's hard for me to know which one has been the best. When we joined the Peace Corps, we certainly had travel experiences in mind and were pleased to learn about the generous leave we'd receive as part of our service. We have been very lucky to be able to do all of the things that we have done and to see all of the things we have seen. We've seen more of South Africa than most South Africans, rich or poor, will ever see and we've seen more of Botswana than most Botswanans will ever see. The range of what can experience, see, and do in southern Africa far exceeds what one could experience, see and do in the states and in a much smaller space. Start saving your money. Take the time off work. Come out here and see the place. It's a different world. In our latest trip we explored the south-eastern part of South Africa and were quite pleased with much of what we found.

First we started in Durban. We took a public taxi from Jozini to Durban and were quite comfortable as it was not over-crowded or full of crying children, and the driver had a taste in music that was relatively quite tolerable. We started a day earlier than we had planned and having never been in Durban were a little lost when we arrived. We told a young man we wanted to go to Florida Rd. and he shoved us on a local taxi going the wrong way and tried to charge us double, (the naive white person's rate). Luckily, everyone else on the taxi had our backs and helped us get to where we were going. It was late lunch time so we headed straight toward the highly touted TacoZulu. TacoZulu is a tex-mex restaurant located in the middle of a hipper affluent neighborhood. The fare is reasonable for those who have been deprived of a US staple food for 18 months and we were immediately happy.

The next day we walked past the new World Cup stadium to the ocean and walked along the beach for much of the length of beach the city has to offer. Our guidebook was clearly written before the city had made improvements for World Cup as the beach was a lovely place to be. There were some tourist curio sellers along the nearest road but we enjoyed a stroll on the new walkway right next to the sand. Instead of busque-ing, people build large and elaborate sand sculptures, often employing two different colors of sand. Our favorite was 'Gorilla Honeymoon' for the laugh it gave us, we tossed its creator a 5R coin. At the southern end of the beach is Ushaka Marine World which combines the concepts of shopping mall, boardwalk, aquarium and waterpark. We didn't have a swimsuits or cozzies (from the British English swimming costume )as they are locally called so we enjoyed the surf shops and had a cocktail on the pier watching the big container ships enter and exit the harbour. Later that day we enjoyed Bunny Chow which is a local adaptation of Indian Cuisine that involves hollowing out a loaf of bread and filling it with a curry dish and met us with 3 Peace Corps volunteers we'd be spending the next leg of our trip with.

Along with another volunteer we met up with headed our way, the 6 of us quickly caught a public taxi to Umthata located in the Eastern Cape Provence which is the area that gave us Nelson Mandela. The drive was scenic, the taxi was again not overcrowded, and despite a sick child in the back, the ride was not too unbearable. Umthata is an African city with street vendors, broken stop-lights, loud stereos blasting out of shops, and a bad reputation for crime. We ended up getting dropped off north of town at a small shopping center in a calmer neighborhood while we waited for a shuttle to Port St. Johns. I imagine the drive was also very scenic, but I have to imagine it because much of the drive was completely socked in with fog. By the time we arrived at Port St. Johns we were a bit tired of being on the road.

Port St. Johns is a small beach town with a handful of backpacker hostels and hotels and not too much else. For us, Port St. Johns was to be the starting point of a 61km hike we would undertake over the next five days. After a brief visit to the ocean, we stayed within sight and sound of it's "Second Beach" at a hippie haven called Amapondo Backpackers. The accommodation was nice and the beer was cheap so we couldn't complain except that about the same time that the backpacker's bar quieted down, a much louder party started somewhere in the vicinity and made it hard for me to sleep.

The next day we met our guide and started our hike. The area we were hiking in is known as the Wild Coast for it's lack of developed infrastructure. It is known for it's scenic rolling hills, lush forests and untouched beaches. We chose to hire a guide and accommodations through a community-based tourism group. Each night we would stay in a village not unlike the one we live in as part of our Peace Corps service, and be fed traditional tea, dinner, and breakfast. Each of the village accommodations is equipped with a primitive toilet and shower and at each one we stayed in a traditional rondavel which is a thatch roofed round hut with mud walls and flooring made with a mixture or mud, grass, and dry cowshit. They say this mixture keeps snakes away.

The first day of the hike got off to a rough start for me. One of the first hills was covered in trees and the ground was muddy from recent rain and I lost my footing and put a gnarly gash in my knee. We had antiseptic, triple antibiotic and plently of bandaids so we cleaned it and carried on. The first day was maybe the hardest. Since we were meeting our guide that morning, we didn't get started til 9 in the morning or so which in Africa means it's already hot! The hills were steeper and higher than we imagined from the description of "rolling hills" and we began to doubt whether this hike was a good idea. Luckily, the scenery never failed to be completely wonderful so our spirits were easily held high. It was about 7 hours from when we started to when we arrived but we had rested at a few beaches along the way for a swim or two.

Day two was much shorter and easier and I rested up while others went hunting for oysters down on the beach. This day we only walked about 3 hours. Days 3 and 4 were longer with 4 being the longest. On day 3 we had a short spout of rain which seemed to get us down. On day 4, which we knew would be the longest and hardest day, sunburns, heat-rashes and overequipped packs seemed to add to the challenge. However, the weather remained outstanding, the scenery was unending with its beauty and we trudged on rather pleasantly. On the fifth day we walked about 3.5 hours to arrive in Coffee Bay.

We were quite proud of ourselves as we arrived. Liz and I had never done anything like this before and our bodies seemed to show improvement for the task at hand. Two of our group left quite shortly after arriving to prepare for a 120km hike they would do the next week and the last one stayed just the night with us. We were also greeted by another Peace Corps Volunteer with whom we had traveled to Port St. Johns.

Liz and I had booked 4 nights in Coffee Bay and it was a great place to recover from our hike. We were welcomed with a free beer, hot showers and a private room with flower pedals sprinkled over our bed. Coffee Bay is another small town that's really hard to get to, has a few backpackers and hotels and not much else. It's beach has good surf and not a lot of people. From where we stayed, the beach was a short walk so long as the river between us and the beach wasn't too high. We enjoyed our time there quite a bit. The backpackers we stayed at is called the Coffee Shack and is a bit of a raucous party. We had stayed there for the price tag and the holiday availability. We struggle to burn the midnight oil these days and sometimes it seemed the party would never stop but we managed ok. We enjoyed early morning jogs on the beach, a cozy pizza joint with an unbeatable view, cheap and convenient food and drinks at the backpackers and the company of the travelers who were passing through there for awhile. We went on one day trip organized by Coffee Shack to some caves and to a cliff jump. The hike to the caves was a bit more than advertised so we stayed at the trailhead while the others got rained on :). After they returned we found the cliff dive and I had the opportunity to jump into a river from a 7 meter cliff. It was totally scary! For a moment I thought of turning back and then to make my legs move to jump off was another struggle. While I was in the air, I thought about what a stupid thing I'd just done. But it was quite a rush when I was safe in the end. I thought about even doing it again. The Coffee Shack through a great Christmas Party on Christmas night and we enjoyed some holiday spirit.

On Christmas day, with the help of some friends, we traveled back to Mthata to pick up a rental car that would carry us for the remainder of our trip. We drove on to the next portion of our trip where we would explore an area known as the Drakensberg Mountains or The Berg. They are misnamed really. Once you summit them, you find flatland on top. They are really more of an escarpment. They form the eastern border of Lesotho with South Africa. So we combined our explorations of this area with explorations of Lesotho. First we stayed at the Sani Lodge outside of Underberg in South Africa, in the shadow of the southern part of The Berg. There, they loaded up Land Rover Defenders and drove us up the only road that goes up the escarpment. The last stretch of road is steep, short, sharply cornered switchbacks and it's far from comfortable. The scenery is outstanding but the vehicle we were in was less than optimal for enjoying it and the photographic opportunities were also quite limited. The guide was quite knowledgeable and it was an exciting trip. Once on top of the Sani pass, we are in Lesotho. We traveled into Lesotho to summit Black Mountain and stopped for lunch at a place where we could see highest peak south of Kilimanjaro. The peak itself is a little pimple that rises above a flat ridge so it's not really so impressive but we can say that we've seen it. On the return trip we stopped in a tiny Basotho village and learned a bit about Basotho culture. Near the border crossing, in Sani Top, is the Sani Top Chalet which boasts "The Highest Pub in Africa" where we stopped for refreshments.

The next stop took us further North to a hostel outside of the small town of Bergville which I think could easily be called Bergburg. We stayed at Amphitheatre Backpackers which itself is in the middle of flat grassy plains but from which the view is really stunning. We joined a tour from there for a day hike to see Tugela Falls, the tallest waterfall in Africa and the second tallest in the world. The tour starts out with a 2.5 hour drive to the trailhead which isn't very far away as the crow flies but the terrain requires a highly indirect route. This hike included some really amazing views from 2500m up. One portion of the hike includes a really steep climb up a gap between two peaks. The view at the end is quite rewarding but personally this pushed my limits. For the time being though, I felt quite proud of myself. From there, it's a leisurely stroll to the top of the falls. The river above the falls is a narrow stream only about 3m across and not too deep either. Just before the edge, there are a few pools that will no doubt one day be the top of the falls as erosion does its work. We swam in them for a bit and then wandered off by ourselves to get a better view of the falls. There are several tiers and from the top, you can only see the first one. If you walk about 5 minutes away you can see much more of the falls and of the 20 or so hikers on that trip, we were the only ones to do so. The hike back included some rather long chain ladders going down which pushed Liz's limits but she faced her fear admirably. It slowed us down for the whole group to go down these ladders as well as some other hikers there that day which for some may've been a nice rest but for me was just long enough for my muscles to get really tight. The walk from there back to the trailhead was far less pleasant was we were tired, hungry and sore. If that wasn't enough, we had to make a detour on the ride home to pick up some other people staying at the hostel. When we finally got back, I was completely beat and felt awful.

Luckily, the next day didn't have much on our agenda. We took just a few hours drive northwest to Clarens, a small town known for its celebrity visitors and it's yuppy art galleries. The drive there, took us through the Golden Gate Park which is a series of stunning rock formations heavily eroded by wind and rain. We checked into Clarens Inn Backpackers where were we accommodated in a teepee and I took a nap. We enjoyed some swimming in the creek below the mountain and just relaxed before enjoying a wonderful Italian dinner in town.

The next day we had booked a private tour of some parts of Lesotho. The plan was to enter Lesotho, visit some dinosaur footprints, a community art project, and then summit a peak to get to a nature reserve where we would take a short hike, have lunch and then return. Unfortunately the pass we summited was quite misty and though it was clear on the other side, it did not stay that way. After about 5 minutes of walking we turned back due to the rain. Our guide was quite adaptable and we drove on to clearer weather at lower altitude and enjoyed our lunch next to a part of Katse Dam.

Lesotho is called The Mountain Kingdom and is properly associated as such. Along the northwestern part, it does not differ much from South Africa which is its only neighbor. Much of the rest of the country is high in the mountains and the further in you get, the more the culture becomes unique and distinct. In these parts of Lesotho, few people are wearing western clothes. Most people are wearing a balaclava, a heavy mohair handwoven blanket wrapped around their body, maybe some short paints or underwear, and then rubber gumboots. The men who've gone through the iniation ritual all carry a stick about a meter in length and an inch or so in diameter. The blanket is traditional and practical against the cold conditions at altitude. The cap is versatile and warm and the gumboots are durable and also quite practical. Lesotho suffers from having very little top soil. What is there is usually just a foot or so deep and highly subject to erosion. This gives much of the land a marshy feel and sometimes puddles may be very large, thus the gumboots make much sense.

Perhaps the most amazing part of Lesotho for me was the way it manages its primary exports of wool and mohair. When you are in the highlands, sheep and angora goats are seen just about everywhere you look. You will also find small stone structures with thatch roofs with stone walls built nearby. These structures house shepherds and corral their sheep or goats. They are always on a north facing face of the mountain to collect sunlight and always built on stones to absorb heat in the day. The structures are built of stone as most of them are above the treeline and wood becomes a scarce commodity. Perhaps the most amazing part of this is that most of the shepherds are young teenage boys, maybe 13 -16 years old. Many boys are unable to gain an education because of their shepherding responsibilities. As a consequence, most shepherds are illiterate and are unable to market their product. The government takes full responsibility for the shearing, marketing and sales of the wool and mohair. To keep the young shepherd from spending all of their money of beer and cigarettes, they receive half of the payment in terms of a trust account at the grocers that can only be spent on food. All of the shepherds we saw appeared well nourished and fit. The system seems to be working but it also seems to trap the shepherding families to that lifestyle. Basotho shearers are World Champions in terms of speed and efficiency.

Another export it has is water. A fair amount of the rain in Lesotho runs into South Africa. Much of what does not is collected in Katse Dam which was a joint venture between the South African and Lesotho governments. This dam provides water for the highly developed Gauteng Provence of South Africa which is far from being able to provide its own water. The final export is labor to the South African mining industry.

After our exploration of Lesotho was finished, we returned to Amphitheatre Backpackers for their big New Year's Eve celebration where we ran into quite a few other Peace Corps Volunteers and had an enjoyable evening. Early on the 1st we returned to Durban and said farewell to our rental car. The next day we explored the overcrowded waterpark and aquarium at Ushaka Marine World and enjoyed a relaxing afternoon and a last Durban style Bunny Chow.

That night I had anxiety dreams about waiting hours in a tiny taxi in order to get back to Jozini. Those dreams came true sadly! When we arrived at 7am, the taxi rank was a calm and quiet place. A loud and crowded taxi rank can be pretty intimidating for sure, but a calm and quiet one frightens me for sure. Most taxis are either Toyota Quantums which comfortably seat 13 people with a small allowance for baggage or Toyota Siyayas which seat 15 uncomfortably and rather crampedly without any concession for baggage whatsoever. On short rides, it's not too bad to tolerate the Siyaya and it's underperformance on the incline but on long rides, such as the one from Durban to Jozini, one really hopes for a Quantum. And on a slow day you have to wait for two more passengers. After waiting 3 hours for it to fill, we took the 4 hour journey home in a Siyaya, unable to move our legs more than an inch or so. We arrived back to a Jozini we could hardly recognize. We stumbled out of the taxi and into the Spar to buy groceries for a day or two since we couldn't carry much but knew there was no food at home. There were more people there than we'd ever seen before! The streets of town were easily twice as crowded as they are on a busy day. To go to our village, there were more people than taxis (almost always there are more taxis than people) and we decided it was best to walk the 6-7km home. So one last hike for us to top the trip off. The Jozini Dam has seen a lot of rain and they were letting some water out which is often pretty to see.

Our host family was pleased to see us and we were pleased to have our own bed, our own long-drop toilet, and some privacy. Overall it was a stunning trip full of exercise and of course the pictures are available here. We are happy to be back in the village and look forward to a productive year at our school as well as a future visit from Liz's Dad and Step-Mom, a June or July holiday we are planning in Namibia and the Transfrontier Kalaghadi Park, and an end of service trip north through Eastern Africa!!! Join us!