Drakensburg & Lesotho

I've just had an AMAZING weekend in the Drakensburg mountains. The scenery was breathtaking! It was different to what I was expecting (I thought it would be more like Hogsback) but I think that it was better that way! On the first day we only had an afternoon, so Ali and I went for a walk around near the hostel, it was quite pretty.

Then on the second day we signed up for a 5-6hour hike. I was a bit aprehensive - that sounded like a lot of walking uphill to me! But I'm unbelievably glad we did it, met some cool people - 2 Kiwis, a Dane and a Dutchperson and our guide Simpewai. Plus I did a lot better climbing that I thought I would. Clearly the running has made a bit of a difference! We started at 2500m above sealevel and finised at 3120, so I climbed 500m in about 3 hours! I think that's pretty mad! It was a steady climb for most of it, but the last leg was rock climbing and scrambling up this ravine - it was a lot tougher than I thought it would be! But still heaps of fun. This was the only ladder of the climb.

Me placing my rock on top of the Kairn to signify me conquoring the ravine!

The weather was really good going up - nice and sunny so we got a pretty good view, but at the top it changed really quickly and we got hailed on! Fortunately it didn't get tooo cold - and i had enough warm stuff and my trusty huge raincoat!

This is the start of the second highest waterfall on earth! How mad is that - and I climbed up to the top of it! I was pretty impressed!

On the sunday we did a day trip to Lesotho. It was AWESOME! Lesotho is the country with the highest low point on the planet! Its all mountains, which makes for some breathtaking scenery, as usual it looked better in real life, but this does give you an idea!



We visited the school, heard how it started in a stable of the chief before 1943, when the first building was built. Then in 1976 the kids and teachers built the second building! I can't imagine doing hard labour in primary school! but clearly they did a good job coz its still standing! This is one half of one of the buildings - grade 3 is taught on one side of the room, grade four on the other! Down the other end of the classroom grades 1 and 2 are taught - so basically 4 classes are run simulatenously! This guy was waiting for church, which is also held in the building on Sundays!


Next we climbed up into the hills a bit to see some rock art. I was really sad because the local kids have scrached away and graffitied the paintings, which are 1000s and 1000s of years old! Our guide, Power, was one of the 9 teachers at the local primary school and he told us all about the San people who became the Bushmen in Kilahare and other places today - its too long a story for my blog, but its really really interesting - so let me know if you want the full story!

Some of the local kids followed our group up there, they were very cute!
Everyone in Lesotho wears a blanket! I guess it is soo cold so often it makes sense!

Then we went to a Sangoma. This lady was 72 years old and cured 3-5 people a day, most of the common complaints were headaches, stomach aches, back pain and other minor ailments. You would have loved it Chrissie - given your recent essays on traditional medicine. I asked her how she became a Sangoma. She said in 1968 she became incredibly ill - lost her sight, was partially paralysed and generally not in a good way. She tried local healers and Western doctors but no one could help her. Then in a dream she saw all these people in red, including her grandfather. They were all ancestor Sangomas. They told her she had to see a lady (another Sangoma) and that only this lady could help her. The ancestors had chosen her as a Sangoma. She went to see the lady as instructed and beads were placed on here head (seemingly worn by all Sangomas), slowly she started to get better. She spent 11 years training with this lady and is now one of the most respected Sangomas in the region - people come from all over South Africa and Lesotho to seek her wisdom and some her training. It was soo interesting talking to her (thro a translater), i learned heaps about how Sotho medicine works and the connections to the ancestors. Plus the Sangoma admired my fashion taste! She liked my kneelength skirt! So i was pretty chuffed!

We also tried some local beer (better than Zulu beer, but really kind of sour) and traditional food - also scrumptious! So all in all I had a MAD day! Very exciting! Learned heaps and so amazing things. Plus the area we were in is only visited by the hostel I was staying at, so it is still very much untouched (ie not a tourist trap). So I really appreciated that too - everyone we drove past waved at us and stuff, all very friendly, all the kids wanted photos too (but that is pretty common I guess).

The other 'interesting' aspect of trip was the return home. We spoke to the hostel before we left and they told us not to book anything home, as some of the activities finished later and that they would help us when we got there. As it turns out that was a lie! They made us pay to use their internet and phone to book our tickets home! The guy also told us there was no way we'd make the 5pm bus home, so we tried to book the midnight bus but that coach company kept rejecting Ali's credit card details, so we had to book the 1.45am bus (monday morning). So as it turns out, we reached the pickup point at 4.30pm, so we hoped to get the 5pm bus home. It turns out every bus company except for ours stops at a different point, and of course our company has no 5pm service. So we sat waiting for an hour and half for a bus that never came then did the rounds of the fast food places at the stop. Starting with Wimpy, where we ate dinner. And Chrissie and Roz I watched the South African Survivor (silently) in Panama! We decided to try and hitchhike home rather than wait the full 9 hours, so randomly started asking the nice looking couples at Wimpy, but everyone was going to Jberg! Eventually the manager asked if he could help us (potentially worried we were harrassing his customers...), he was very sympathetic and rang the hotel at the stop to ask if we could have a cheap room till our bus came, but we decided what they were asking was too expensive. Then at 8pm when Wimpy closed we migrated to Nando's. We also made friends with the manager there - he invited us back to his house to wait for the bus, I felt a little uneasy about that so in the end we didn't go. We played cards in Nando's till about 11.15 when all the staff eventually went home. Then we moved again over to the 24 hour takeaway Wimpy were we hung out with the ladies working there watch Exectutive Decision and Smallvile! It was pretty fun. And the bus came 1 hour early, but didn't have our names on the list! Apparantly they a.) don't usually even stop at our stop unless its marked to pick someone up (and we weren't on the list) and b.) they usually totally fill the bus with standby travellers in Jberg so there are usually no seats! Clearly the travel gods were smiling on us coz they let us on board anyway and we had a seat each (tho not together). And we continued on uneventfuly till Durban (arrived 4.30am ish). There were no cabs there at the station and when we asked the driver for directions he conned the other driver into driving us home! So that was nice! So i've had a total of 3 hours sleep today 5am - 8am, then i got up and went to WOW. I'm actually feeling pretty good! The weekend was totally worth it! I've been to the higest country on earth! And into Free State province, where previously the only thing i'd heard about was it was an area with lots of Afrikaans who still enjoy going out and shooting bb guns at the 'kaffirs' for fun!

Coffee Shack!

The first half of my week break we (Amy, Iain and I) spent at Coffee Shack in Coffee Bay (named appropriately after a ship got wrecked on the shore and spilled its cargo of coffee beans; they sprouted and the whole area was covered in coffee plants for a while!).

We had a great time, the hostel was such a party place! We went to the local Shebeen (local pub essentially, but has history of rebellion tied up in Apartheid). Have to say taht was more scary than fun, but i'm glad i went.

We also went on a day hike along the cliffs. It was breathtaking! Like unbelievable, the weather was so perfect, blue skies and clear water, and awesome cows wandering around, and the beautiful little roundavilles everywhere, i was in heaven! So we walked along the cliffs, rock climbing up and down bits, very fun for me, but less so for Amy who is scared of heights. Then we went into a some caves - nothing too serious as our guide Lindani wasn't a fan of caves (or surfing, he is convinced black people cant surf coz they are the same colour as seals and get eaten by sharks...)

Then the highlight was the cliff jumping. I can't believe i have no photos of it! but you'll have to believe my stories of a 10m jump! Actually it would have been pretty close to that, into the ocean below. You have to watch the waves and time your jump when they are small. I waited till the most of the guys went (being macho they clearly had to jump first!) then I watched the waves and waited for the ok and jumped. only to get stuck in this massive swell that came out of no where! I was swimming against the waves so i didn't get smashed on the rocks for like 15 mins, and my arms were so tired, it was really hard work! I was so worried about climbing out, coz you had to hoist yourself up, but fortunately Lindani took pity on my and helped yank me ungraciously from the water! Lindani was a total champ, we saw him all the time for the rest of our stay, and he was the nicest guy!

This is whole in the wall - appropriately named i think. It was soo windy the day we went, i probably didn't have the most appropriate attire. We climbed up this hill next to hole in the wall, and I struggled to kept my clothes on the wind was that strong. I made Iain walk in front, and despite my attempts to keep my skirt down, i can fairly confidently saw i flashed the whole countryside...
This is the climbing hill on on the left
This is our ripoff 'guides' who followed us along even when we insisted we didn't need guides, they connned Iain into paying them 20R for the privilage! I would have said no and given them 10R, i'm a bitch i know!

This is the camera handiwork - who needs the top of their head anyway!

I love the view - btw shortly after this Iain slipped on a cow pat and almost fell on his arse, clearly the kind of thing that should be immortialised in a blog!

Wake Snake Cliff Jumping Queen!

Hello ALL!

I had a pretty sweet weekend. I went to Inunda Resource Reserve with Steve and some of his mates. We went water skiing, wake boarding, wake snaking, and cliff jumping! It was an awesome day. And the dam was in such a beautiful area too! as you may or may not be able to tell from my fantastic photography skills.



I would like to say that on my first attempt at wakeboarding I was so amazing that a talent scout on the lake spotted me and asking me to join a troup of performing wake boarders, but alas that would be a slight bending of the truth. I tried about 10 times to get up and tho i got very close 3 or 4 of those attempts I can't say I did any actual wake boarding :( But it was still fun, and the others were amazing! I guess when you are white and rich you go waterskiing all summer. They could do tricks and jumps and stuff, i was impressed. Ali, whose been waterskiing at her aunt and uncles in the past, also put me to shame; she got up on her 3rd attempt, and skied for ages.

This is a wake snake - its basically a small banana boat. And its a lot of fun. It is attached to the back of the boat, like you do water skiing. Basically the aim is for the driver to throw you off, so they do quick turns and stuff, and you hold on for dear life. Its also harder coz there are four of you and if you don't all lean the right way (opposite the way the boat turns i think) you will roll the snake. So its a team effort, and I had the best time! There were four girls, Ali and I and 2 South Africans, Karla and a girl whose name is currently aluduing me... At first we did pretty well, but the other girl and then Ali gave up and it was Karla and I the whole way back and when it was just the 2 of us, we didn't fall off once!

This is the cliff we jumped off. It may not look that high in the photo, but trust me when you stand up there and look down it looks A LOT more daunting. I am very proud to say that I was the first girl to jump. I waited to see if the four of us girls where going to jump together, them went of my own! It was so cool. I also went cliff jumping in Coffee Bay, but got stuck in the swell and was exhausted by the time i got out. Here it was just the river, so it was a matter of swimming to the rocks and climbing out.

This the photo of all of the boys and me jumping - Ali jumped once, then climbed up again and was goign to jump with the group but piked out! The 2 SA girls prefered to tbe camera people than jumpers! It doesn't look like it in the photo, but somehow Lyle, the guy on my right, and I collided as we hit the water! Fortunatley we were both fine! Actually its kinda hard to see me, i'm the highest person, second from the left in white boardies.

On another note, this is some of my friends on res with their sweet new looks. Doucette is Haitian and just took out her braids, she has the COOLEST natural afro at the moment, and she just got a new piercing - don't the know the real name, but the beauty spot above your lip. It looks sooo cool! And Amy got her hair braided, so it was a definite photo opportunity!


Then I celebrated my first Thanks Giving. Essentially a holiday that celebrates colonialism, what could be better! While there was no turkey as such, Amy and I went out to a kind of Turkish restaurant! Had a very nice night, drank some wine and toasted the 'civilising of the savages', what a marvelous feat! ;)

Bulungula Lodge

This is a slightly belated update... but better late than never!

This is Bulungula Lodge, possibly the most amazing backpackers I've ever stayed at! It is a community development project, the first of its kind in South Africa. The Bulungula village own 40% of the lodge, and every activity is run 100% by the locals. It is this amazing place covered in bright murals and eco-friendly!

The artwork was down by Sarah - an English artist who periodically comes out to paint the lodge. She was such a cool chick, we sat around talking to her round the fire one night. This is some of her handiwork.


This is the shower - a rocket shower powered by kerosene I think. You measure out some kerosene and pour it into an opening in the pipe then light it. It goes off like a rocket, hence the name! you get about 5-7mins of hot water. And the mosiac was so beautiful, never seen a cooler bathroom.


This is the toilet, home to chickens also. They are ecofriendly toilets - the front section for liquid waste, the back for solids. After taking a dump you put in 2 scoops of dirt. The chickens took up residence in the dirt buckets after a guests dog attacked them and killed 11! They were so stressed they started laying in guests beds and living in the toilets. apparantly guests would go to use the bathroom and totally freak out upon discovering the chickens! So they lodge made proper nesting boxes for them so people would see them when they went in.

This was the roundaville Amy and I shared - it was so sweet!


The rondavilles are all greenish as they are coated with a local limestone. There is a section of the wall that is coated with a different brownish material that attacts the heat, they are so well designed that they suck in the heat during the day and stay sooo warm at night (me and Amy actually thought it was the amazing power of the candle that kept the room warm, but alas our scientific powers of dection were wrong!)

We went to the beach and these local girls, all sisters came up to us. the beautiful thing about Bulungula is that the community hasn't had bad experiences with tourists (like coffee bay where everyone rushes at you and asks for money or sweets all the time... more about that in the coffee bay entry). So white people and tourists are still much of a novelty. the little girls came and played with our hair and tried on my sunnies and Amy's headband. They also loved our cameras and took lots of photos of sand while they worked out how to use them! It was so nice to not just be seen as a walking ATM for a change - very refreshing. In fact even at the lodge it was the same. The community really does benefit from the lodge, and its a place for them too, they come and hang out there during the day and at night. It was sooo cool. I was totally inspired. Maybe oneday I will have an opporutnity to do something like it; community development in action!




The area was sooooo beautiful too. Like I couldn't get over it! Some of it totally reminded me of our south coast, but the little rondavilles everywhere were a constant reminded I wasn't at home. Man it was awesome!





Oh and food was to die for! I ate so much! it was Xosha food for lunch and a mix of things for dinner, but I swear it was some of the best food I've ever eaten, god even thinking about it now is making me hungry! There was also Xosha bread, made in the solar ovens there. It is sooo good. But we managed to get totally ripped off coz of it. I asked if maybe we could take some back to campus with us, and was told no problem. It was only after a lady (who turned out to be another guest, not even a village lady) had made us a loaf (filled with apples, nuts and other goodness) that we found out it was 70R! When you consider normal bread is about 5R a loaf you can see how stupid and cheated we felt, it was a sore point for a while. But I still ahve some frozen in the freezer and its very nice for breakfast with fruit and yoghurt. So all in all i guess it was ok.

So yeah. Bulungula rocked! It was good for the mind, body and soul (well possibly less good for the body given how much I ate, but who cares...). It was a 12hour trip each way which was a bit of a drag, but sooo unbelievably worth it. I've never seen anything like it. Hopefully I can convince Mum and Chrissie to check it out. We will see!

Bird Brain

Myself and Ali just spent over an hour trying to free a sparrow. There is a window ledge in our kitchen - the only place to sit in the kitchen - that has a tiny gap between the glass and the ledge. The shape of our kitchen means that there is a corner in the middle, on one side of the corner there is a gap of maybe 2cm, and on the other side about 3cm. So not a lot of room. There is no fly screen here so sparrows often fly into our kitchen, sit on the cill and fly out, but i've never actually seen one fly around in the kitchen before.

So I had just made something to eat and sat down on the ledge to eat it. I could hear this rustling and occassional sqwark but couldn't work out where it was coming from. Eventually I looked down the crack and saw this little sparrow struggling to get out. There wasn't enough room for him to open his wings to fly so he was trying to jump. But the gap is about 20cm deep so he had no hope. I have absolutely no idea how he even got down there. Crazy bird.

I went and got Ali and then I banana tree branch. We wedged the banana branch down the gap so he could climb up it but he was too doughy to do it! I swear i've never met a stupidier bird in my life! Using a spatula on one side and the branch on the other, we'd manage to leveradge him up, but he kept jumping back down the gap! I swear he was suicidal! We got him up five times and he kept jumping down again! Eventually I was quick enough to grab him on the 6th attempt to get him out. We set him free and he flew away! But I swear that bird did nothing but hinder his rescue attempts! Oh well, at least he's ok now, no damage to his wings (i'm basing that on the fact that he flew away... hope i'm right).