And so, with a renewed tenacity and a better plan for erecting my poncho tent, I continue towards the Indian Ocean! In about a week and a half I will greet the surf and, though I won't be able to load a photo (4 months, 28 days and 3250 km in a backpack as left my phone quite disagreeable), rest assured that it will be in good style... Naturally.
Thanks again to the Mountain Club of South Africa for this life-changing experience!
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Continued...
Staying in the police station that I previously blogged about, quite an eye-opener.
Phalaborwa: A great town, very clean, friendly people, and met a wonderful Dutch couple in the backpackers who were very interesting to chat to! I love talking about our country with foreigners and learning about their countries. One of my few memories of Amsterdam is walking into a shop when we were exploring on a stop over day on our way to England when I was about 7 years old. As we walked in my brother and I were quickly yanked out my my mom who realised the walls of the shops were lined with photos of genital piercings! Don't go to Amsterdam if you're reserved... And if you're 7 years old, avoid shopping...
Matumi Game Lodge: Very cool! Especially with the resident warthog, squirrel and nyala!
Bushbuckridge: Lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of people... It has a Spar which I thought was quite impressive for a giant informal settlement. Spar usually stock vegetarian burgers and sausages which I quite enjoy as a treat every now and then, but in the place where I would usually find them, there were whole ox heads on sale instead... Clearly not a large vegetarian population in Bushbuckridge!
Elephant Whispers in Hazyview: Wow!!!! Such an amazing experience! Got to ride the biggest bull there! Such a wonderful approach to conservation and education! Really worth a visit, they also run a volunteer program. They are already doing so much for elephants and the environment in general, but I learned that they could be doing so much more were it not for the lack of political support, not a very good state of affairs at all. To compound the situation, international pressure is often misguided and does up doing more harm than good. Hopefully they'll listen to what the guys at Elephant Whispers have to say!
Nelspruit: Movies!!!!!!!!!!!! I watched District 9 and Up. Was more impressed by the original short film that inspired D9, Alive in Joburg. You'll probably find it on Youtube, it's worth a look! That being said I still thought is was very good! Up was great! Met lots of fun people in the backpackers, every night is a party there with people from all around the world!
Waterval Boven!: A big thanks to Gustav and Alex for putting me up at the Roc and Rope while I climbed, chilled with friends and partied at the Rock Rally!! Boven has got some world class climbing so if you haven't been there yet, I highly recommend it! If you want to be shown around, Jan is a great guy and a very knowledgable guide!
It was really good to be around friends, which made the next week particularly tough. This was compounded by icy-cold mist reducing the the visibility to around 15m for the first day and a half out of boven, and getting caught in a serious thunderstorm which left me drenched under my hastily erected poncho-shelter. But I tried my best to keep on smiling and I think I did a pretty good job considering.
My tenacity paid off and I met some really friendly people in Amsterdam (no genital piercing photographs in this Amsterdam) and Piet Retief, which is where I stayed last night.
Up to date!
Phalaborwa: A great town, very clean, friendly people, and met a wonderful Dutch couple in the backpackers who were very interesting to chat to! I love talking about our country with foreigners and learning about their countries. One of my few memories of Amsterdam is walking into a shop when we were exploring on a stop over day on our way to England when I was about 7 years old. As we walked in my brother and I were quickly yanked out my my mom who realised the walls of the shops were lined with photos of genital piercings! Don't go to Amsterdam if you're reserved... And if you're 7 years old, avoid shopping...
Matumi Game Lodge: Very cool! Especially with the resident warthog, squirrel and nyala!
Bushbuckridge: Lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of people... It has a Spar which I thought was quite impressive for a giant informal settlement. Spar usually stock vegetarian burgers and sausages which I quite enjoy as a treat every now and then, but in the place where I would usually find them, there were whole ox heads on sale instead... Clearly not a large vegetarian population in Bushbuckridge!
Elephant Whispers in Hazyview: Wow!!!! Such an amazing experience! Got to ride the biggest bull there! Such a wonderful approach to conservation and education! Really worth a visit, they also run a volunteer program. They are already doing so much for elephants and the environment in general, but I learned that they could be doing so much more were it not for the lack of political support, not a very good state of affairs at all. To compound the situation, international pressure is often misguided and does up doing more harm than good. Hopefully they'll listen to what the guys at Elephant Whispers have to say!
Nelspruit: Movies!!!!!!!!!!!! I watched District 9 and Up. Was more impressed by the original short film that inspired D9, Alive in Joburg. You'll probably find it on Youtube, it's worth a look! That being said I still thought is was very good! Up was great! Met lots of fun people in the backpackers, every night is a party there with people from all around the world!
Waterval Boven!: A big thanks to Gustav and Alex for putting me up at the Roc and Rope while I climbed, chilled with friends and partied at the Rock Rally!! Boven has got some world class climbing so if you haven't been there yet, I highly recommend it! If you want to be shown around, Jan is a great guy and a very knowledgable guide!
It was really good to be around friends, which made the next week particularly tough. This was compounded by icy-cold mist reducing the the visibility to around 15m for the first day and a half out of boven, and getting caught in a serious thunderstorm which left me drenched under my hastily erected poncho-shelter. But I tried my best to keep on smiling and I think I did a pretty good job considering.
My tenacity paid off and I met some really friendly people in Amsterdam (no genital piercing photographs in this Amsterdam) and Piet Retief, which is where I stayed last night.
Up to date!
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Updates!!!!
Ok...
I think I've narrowed it down: The reason I haven't been blogging is because I let myself get so far behind that I'm dreading having to type everything that's happened over the past few months (and my up, down, and select buttons have stopped working so I have to crab and rotate my way around my phone!). So I've decided to get up to date in a highlights package fashion. There won't be as much detail but I think it needs to be done to avoid any detriment to my future accounts. I imagine the following being read in a deep American voice with lots of explosions in the background, much like a trailer for a Hollywood blockbuster:
Lots of small villages where everyone still gets around with donkey carts and people on the horizon wave back!
Reginald and Amandus: Two really cool missionaries from Tanzania who were very entertaining, very friendly, and going beyond their duties as missionaries to improve the community.
The Carroll family: 3 of them quit their jobs for a family reunion!
Willie Bloem: Flew out from his farm and landed his plane next to the road just to bring me some fresh fruit!
Lorenzo the crazy florist: One day in Mafikeng I get this very hippie sms about the universe, turns out it was just Lourens' way of seeing if I was a tolerable sort of guy. My reply past the test and he joined me for 2 days. Wish I could load the photo of his bling hat he bought in Zeerust, the locals were quite amused to see this white-boy walking around in a kwaito hat, as was I! Good company!
More confused locals when my friends, the Rinsmas and Simpsons, found me on a dirt road west of Thabazimbi. And exploded out of three cars with sparking wigs and hats that they got at a show the night before. The party got us some strange looks, one guy even stopped his bicycle and stared at us for a good hour or so! After a roadside picnic and a walk we headed to a farm on the border that belongs to the extended Simpson family. Such a beautiful place! Right on the crocodile river, so lots of paddling and general relaxing with friends (basically extended family). Also got some awesome letters from some kids at Woodland Preparatory, run by the Rinsmas. The letters were great to read, especially since I went to Woodland and it shaped alot of my character and my outlook on life.
Jan from Ellisras: An engineer who gave me a fantastic tour of the powerstation!
A realisation that where there are good schools, everyone is happy: I must say that I was very impressed with the North-West province, their government really looks after the rural villages and their are really good schools. Unfortunately this was not the case when I entered the Limpopo province. I had a very interesting chat with a school teacher and he was less than impressed with the government. It was interesting because he was very politically aware compared to most rural villagers that I have met. I'm sure his English and History students will be an asset to the next generation!
Mafala: I met him in the sister reserve of Blotberg, he was one of the key figures in a conservation effort that worked with local schools educating communities about the local vulture colonies which were dwindling due to the young birds being sold to Sangomas for "medicinal" use. The program was incredibly successful and was on the verge of huge international funding, but the Limpopo government basically decided that conservation wasn't important and due to various local actions, international funding was lost. The program still continues thanks to some private funding, but not nearly to the same efficacy as it used to. I am astounded by the number of people that I have met along the way who are trying, and have the capacity, to do so much good for this country, but can't because of our politicians' inability to think about anyone but themselves. We need people like Mafala and the history teacher in politics.
Getting lost: my map tends to be quite vague on secondary roads, especially with new roads being tarred (on that point, I think road building has to be one of the best forms of job creation around; all the road works that I have passed have required at least 3 people supervising one person working!) and all the signs pointing to small villages with African names when my map has the old surveyor's names. So I got the feeling that my map was about to lead me in the wrong direction and asked a passing taxi driver where to go. After greetings the conversation went as follows:
Me: Sorry, do you know where Blouberg nature reserve is?
Driver: Hmmm... Blouberg... Oh yes... Yes... Yes... If you take this dirt road... And... You follow it... And... You will get to a village...
Me: [mentally preparing myself to remember detailed directions accumulated over a lifetime of driving and local living]
Driver: Then you will ask them how to get to Blouberg... Yes...
I ended up walking from village to village getting directions in broken Tswana and Afrikaans!
Blouberg: If you're a climber, you know why I'm speechless. Would've killed for a climbing partner and a trad rack! Must head back there!
Carel, Ad, Jaco and Boerie: Awesome people (and dog) in Louis Trichardt! Carel organised and participated in a charity cycle from Beitbridge to Cape Town, so he is also something of a long distance adventurer. Jaco walked with me for the first day out of Louis Trichardt then cycled back. They live and work in Schoemansdal, an environmental education centre at the base of the beautiful Soutpansberg.
I think I've narrowed it down: The reason I haven't been blogging is because I let myself get so far behind that I'm dreading having to type everything that's happened over the past few months (and my up, down, and select buttons have stopped working so I have to crab and rotate my way around my phone!). So I've decided to get up to date in a highlights package fashion. There won't be as much detail but I think it needs to be done to avoid any detriment to my future accounts. I imagine the following being read in a deep American voice with lots of explosions in the background, much like a trailer for a Hollywood blockbuster:
Lots of small villages where everyone still gets around with donkey carts and people on the horizon wave back!
Reginald and Amandus: Two really cool missionaries from Tanzania who were very entertaining, very friendly, and going beyond their duties as missionaries to improve the community.
The Carroll family: 3 of them quit their jobs for a family reunion!
Willie Bloem: Flew out from his farm and landed his plane next to the road just to bring me some fresh fruit!
Lorenzo the crazy florist: One day in Mafikeng I get this very hippie sms about the universe, turns out it was just Lourens' way of seeing if I was a tolerable sort of guy. My reply past the test and he joined me for 2 days. Wish I could load the photo of his bling hat he bought in Zeerust, the locals were quite amused to see this white-boy walking around in a kwaito hat, as was I! Good company!
More confused locals when my friends, the Rinsmas and Simpsons, found me on a dirt road west of Thabazimbi. And exploded out of three cars with sparking wigs and hats that they got at a show the night before. The party got us some strange looks, one guy even stopped his bicycle and stared at us for a good hour or so! After a roadside picnic and a walk we headed to a farm on the border that belongs to the extended Simpson family. Such a beautiful place! Right on the crocodile river, so lots of paddling and general relaxing with friends (basically extended family). Also got some awesome letters from some kids at Woodland Preparatory, run by the Rinsmas. The letters were great to read, especially since I went to Woodland and it shaped alot of my character and my outlook on life.
Jan from Ellisras: An engineer who gave me a fantastic tour of the powerstation!
A realisation that where there are good schools, everyone is happy: I must say that I was very impressed with the North-West province, their government really looks after the rural villages and their are really good schools. Unfortunately this was not the case when I entered the Limpopo province. I had a very interesting chat with a school teacher and he was less than impressed with the government. It was interesting because he was very politically aware compared to most rural villagers that I have met. I'm sure his English and History students will be an asset to the next generation!
Mafala: I met him in the sister reserve of Blotberg, he was one of the key figures in a conservation effort that worked with local schools educating communities about the local vulture colonies which were dwindling due to the young birds being sold to Sangomas for "medicinal" use. The program was incredibly successful and was on the verge of huge international funding, but the Limpopo government basically decided that conservation wasn't important and due to various local actions, international funding was lost. The program still continues thanks to some private funding, but not nearly to the same efficacy as it used to. I am astounded by the number of people that I have met along the way who are trying, and have the capacity, to do so much good for this country, but can't because of our politicians' inability to think about anyone but themselves. We need people like Mafala and the history teacher in politics.
Getting lost: my map tends to be quite vague on secondary roads, especially with new roads being tarred (on that point, I think road building has to be one of the best forms of job creation around; all the road works that I have passed have required at least 3 people supervising one person working!) and all the signs pointing to small villages with African names when my map has the old surveyor's names. So I got the feeling that my map was about to lead me in the wrong direction and asked a passing taxi driver where to go. After greetings the conversation went as follows:
Me: Sorry, do you know where Blouberg nature reserve is?
Driver: Hmmm... Blouberg... Oh yes... Yes... Yes... If you take this dirt road... And... You follow it... And... You will get to a village...
Me: [mentally preparing myself to remember detailed directions accumulated over a lifetime of driving and local living]
Driver: Then you will ask them how to get to Blouberg... Yes...
I ended up walking from village to village getting directions in broken Tswana and Afrikaans!
Blouberg: If you're a climber, you know why I'm speechless. Would've killed for a climbing partner and a trad rack! Must head back there!
Carel, Ad, Jaco and Boerie: Awesome people (and dog) in Louis Trichardt! Carel organised and participated in a charity cycle from Beitbridge to Cape Town, so he is also something of a long distance adventurer. Jaco walked with me for the first day out of Louis Trichardt then cycled back. They live and work in Schoemansdal, an environmental education centre at the base of the beautiful Soutpansberg.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Phalaborwa
Just a quick update to say that I'm in Phalaborwa right now, and about to head South to Hoedspruit.
Unfortunately I couldn't organise a walk through reserve area so I have to break the 100km limit just for this short stretch. Spent forever on the phone to Kruger Park being transferred from beurocrat to beurocrat getting nowhere, and the private reserves didn't help much either, but it is largely my fault for leaving it so late (I am the king of procrastination!). No use sulking though so I'm looking at it as an excercise in dynamics...
Also, suddenly summer has arrived! In literally three days it went from freezing cold to stinking hot! So I'm going to change my walking routine to start at sparrow's fart and take a long break in the afternoon heat before an evening session.
Been in Phalaborwa now for 4 days waiting for a dodgy tummy to sort itself out so I'm now pretty well rested and ready to push for the coast! Also can't wait to get to Nelspruit as there is a cinema there, haven't watched a movie in a cinema in 4 months!!!! If you don't know already, movie-going is a pretty big part of my life!
Spoke with Jaco Swart over the phone the other day, he's walking aroung the border barefoot!! He's walking the other way around (up the East and down the West) but unfortunately we managed to miss each other as I cut a bit South to walk next to the Soutpansberg. Very nice guy and very determined! I think his website is www.kaalvoetsolo.co.za, check it out!
Otherwise, my Shangaan is slowly improving but I know that as soon as it starts to get good I'll move into Swazi area! It's happened so far with Tswana, Sotho, and Venda, but I'm enjoying learning different languages! From what I can pick up though, Shangaan should help me a bit with Zulu and I'll be in Zulu areas for a while.
Hope everyone is doing well!
Unfortunately I couldn't organise a walk through reserve area so I have to break the 100km limit just for this short stretch. Spent forever on the phone to Kruger Park being transferred from beurocrat to beurocrat getting nowhere, and the private reserves didn't help much either, but it is largely my fault for leaving it so late (I am the king of procrastination!). No use sulking though so I'm looking at it as an excercise in dynamics...
Also, suddenly summer has arrived! In literally three days it went from freezing cold to stinking hot! So I'm going to change my walking routine to start at sparrow's fart and take a long break in the afternoon heat before an evening session.
Been in Phalaborwa now for 4 days waiting for a dodgy tummy to sort itself out so I'm now pretty well rested and ready to push for the coast! Also can't wait to get to Nelspruit as there is a cinema there, haven't watched a movie in a cinema in 4 months!!!! If you don't know already, movie-going is a pretty big part of my life!
Spoke with Jaco Swart over the phone the other day, he's walking aroung the border barefoot!! He's walking the other way around (up the East and down the West) but unfortunately we managed to miss each other as I cut a bit South to walk next to the Soutpansberg. Very nice guy and very determined! I think his website is www.kaalvoetsolo.co.za, check it out!
Otherwise, my Shangaan is slowly improving but I know that as soon as it starts to get good I'll move into Swazi area! It's happened so far with Tswana, Sotho, and Venda, but I'm enjoying learning different languages! From what I can pick up though, Shangaan should help me a bit with Zulu and I'll be in Zulu areas for a while.
Hope everyone is doing well!
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Perspective.
Tonight I am sleeping in a police station in a small town in rural Limpopo called Vuwani.
While I was waiting for the room I am staying in to clear, a boy of about 7 years old sat tentatively on the chair next to me and I greeted him in the little bit of Venda that I know. Quietly he looked up at me and nodded a badly bruised head. The combination of bruises and a police station can lead one to a pessamistic view on the origin of bruises, but I hoped that he had fallen while playing soccer or something and only looked so dazed because he didn't know quite how to react to this scruffy white guy sitting next to him. The lady who had greeted me earlier in English smiled and asked if I knew Venda, and I explained that I had just started learning. The little boy asked me something in Venda which she translated as, "Where is your car?!", I laughed and tried to explain what I was doing in English while the lady translated. He milled this over for some, then asked again, "But where is your car?!". The lady and myself just laughed...
The room cleared and I went down to where I would lay my sleeping mat on the floor and spend the night. The officer explained that the room I am staying in is used for counseling victims of domestic violence. We headed back to the main building of the station so that he could show me where the bathroom was. As we were walking I asked the officer if there is a big problem with domestic violence in the area, to which he replied, "A very big problem! This lady for instance is a [victim] of domestic violence." and pointed to a woman who was laying down her blankets, much like I was about to do, to spend the night on the concrete floor of the police station. She had one child strapped to her back and her oldest stood next to her with that dazed look that I had hoped was just out of suprise at seeing a white hobo in his small town. But the dazed look wasn't because of me and the bruises weren't from falling during soccer or some other fun thing. As I lay my sleeping mat down on the concrete floor in the counseling office I realised that I was doing it out of choice, that boy's mother was doing out of necessity.
That just added a little perspective to my night and my lifestyle in general. I suddenly have a far greater appreciation for my freedom of choice.
Feet are feeling better by the day and looking forward to another good days walking tomorrow! By choice.
While I was waiting for the room I am staying in to clear, a boy of about 7 years old sat tentatively on the chair next to me and I greeted him in the little bit of Venda that I know. Quietly he looked up at me and nodded a badly bruised head. The combination of bruises and a police station can lead one to a pessamistic view on the origin of bruises, but I hoped that he had fallen while playing soccer or something and only looked so dazed because he didn't know quite how to react to this scruffy white guy sitting next to him. The lady who had greeted me earlier in English smiled and asked if I knew Venda, and I explained that I had just started learning. The little boy asked me something in Venda which she translated as, "Where is your car?!", I laughed and tried to explain what I was doing in English while the lady translated. He milled this over for some, then asked again, "But where is your car?!". The lady and myself just laughed...
The room cleared and I went down to where I would lay my sleeping mat on the floor and spend the night. The officer explained that the room I am staying in is used for counseling victims of domestic violence. We headed back to the main building of the station so that he could show me where the bathroom was. As we were walking I asked the officer if there is a big problem with domestic violence in the area, to which he replied, "A very big problem! This lady for instance is a [victim] of domestic violence." and pointed to a woman who was laying down her blankets, much like I was about to do, to spend the night on the concrete floor of the police station. She had one child strapped to her back and her oldest stood next to her with that dazed look that I had hoped was just out of suprise at seeing a white hobo in his small town. But the dazed look wasn't because of me and the bruises weren't from falling during soccer or some other fun thing. As I lay my sleeping mat down on the concrete floor in the counseling office I realised that I was doing it out of choice, that boy's mother was doing out of necessity.
That just added a little perspective to my night and my lifestyle in general. I suddenly have a far greater appreciation for my freedom of choice.
Feet are feeling better by the day and looking forward to another good days walking tomorrow! By choice.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Louis Trichardt... I mean Makhado... No wait... Louis Trichardt!
I must apologise for the lack of blogging, but I've not really been in the mood... So this is just a quick "I'm not dead yet" (Don't worry! I'm not planning to die on this trip but my eventual death is inevitable, hence the "yet").
I'm currently in Louis Trichardt, which was Makhado for a short while before officially changing back to being Louis Trichardt (though many of the local signage is as confused as I am). I am being accommodated by Carel, a local cyclist who found be on the road while training and I have had a fantastic 2 day rest (after not having a single rest day last week!) in the nature reserve and environmental education centre that he works at. I recently had a wonderful visit from some close friends (basically extended family) whose company did me a world of good!
Details and updates to follow soon... ish...
Also, check out the September issue of Go or Weg magazine, I'm on page 16!
I'm currently in Louis Trichardt, which was Makhado for a short while before officially changing back to being Louis Trichardt (though many of the local signage is as confused as I am). I am being accommodated by Carel, a local cyclist who found be on the road while training and I have had a fantastic 2 day rest (after not having a single rest day last week!) in the nature reserve and environmental education centre that he works at. I recently had a wonderful visit from some close friends (basically extended family) whose company did me a world of good!
Details and updates to follow soon... ish...
Also, check out the September issue of Go or Weg magazine, I'm on page 16!
Saturday, August 1, 2009
QWERTY!!!
A QWERTY keyboard now lies beneath my fingers, much better than blogging from a cellphone!!! I'm sitting at an Internet cafe in Mafikeng, there are malls, restaurants, franchises and chain stores! All quite a change from what I've been walking through, but more of that later.
From Andriesvale where the Germans had found me and Johnny Depp dropped me off, I headed a short way to Askham. That's where the whole lightweight revolution happened which I've already mentioned. It's also where I met TJ who made the change possible by letting me leave Olive in his garage till I finish. It was great to meet TJ not only for that reason but also because he was a welcome change from the largely unfriendly, conservative population on the stretch between Noeniput and Askham. I was starting to wonder if there was any truth to the rumour that Kalahari people were friendly (aside from before Noeniput were people were incredibly friendly!), luckily TJ confirmed it. He seemed to get the ball rolling because after that I met the owners of Loch Broom Paradys who gave me a free night's stay and tried their best to load me with as much food as they could give me! I met Jaco and his family who ran a hunting lodge, they also had the coolest pet meerkat that they had rescued from someone dragging it around by a piece of wire. I thought I'd see more meerkats along the way because I was walking past the area where they filmed Meerkat Manor, an Animal Planet documentary series, but there were far more mongooses than meerkats along the way.
Entering Van Zylsrus there is a sign that says, "Relax, this is Van Zylsrus". The laid-back and quirky nature of the welcoming sign was echoed by the Van Zylsrus Hotel. A highly recommended stopover if you're in the Kalahari, the decor is really something and facilities are excellent! I am doubly glad that Erns (the journalist from Weg! Magazine) recommended I try the hotel because before Van Zylsrus I would see pretty girls here and there and wonder if they were really pretty or if they just seemed so because I had been in the bush for the past two months, far from the window of Drifters in Sandton where the other guys and I would goggle at the models walking past (a cry of "Muesli" or some other code word would alert all the staff that something worth looking at was walking past, I think the customers must have thought we were insane when the fashion shows were on because shouts of "Muesli!" were frequent enough to make anyone think we all had a health-food variety of tourettes), but a girl in Van Zylsrus set a new standard! Sjoe... Hopefully more to write about her one day...
Well, that's as far as I got on the QWERTY keyboard before the café closed. I left the hunt for an internet café till Saturday because I thought Mafikeng would be a big enough town for shops to stay open late on Saturdays... I was wrong. So back to the cell phone! Will carry on blogging to get back up to date but I'm not making any promises on a date, things tend not to go according to plan anyway.
For now though, this is my first day leaving Mafikeng after I rested there for a week. The idea was to let my feet recover and get them good and strong but they feel worse now than when I walked into Mafikeng!! This makes the week feel like a waste but at least I ate and slept well...
More to follow in the not too distant future...
From Andriesvale where the Germans had found me and Johnny Depp dropped me off, I headed a short way to Askham. That's where the whole lightweight revolution happened which I've already mentioned. It's also where I met TJ who made the change possible by letting me leave Olive in his garage till I finish. It was great to meet TJ not only for that reason but also because he was a welcome change from the largely unfriendly, conservative population on the stretch between Noeniput and Askham. I was starting to wonder if there was any truth to the rumour that Kalahari people were friendly (aside from before Noeniput were people were incredibly friendly!), luckily TJ confirmed it. He seemed to get the ball rolling because after that I met the owners of Loch Broom Paradys who gave me a free night's stay and tried their best to load me with as much food as they could give me! I met Jaco and his family who ran a hunting lodge, they also had the coolest pet meerkat that they had rescued from someone dragging it around by a piece of wire. I thought I'd see more meerkats along the way because I was walking past the area where they filmed Meerkat Manor, an Animal Planet documentary series, but there were far more mongooses than meerkats along the way.
Entering Van Zylsrus there is a sign that says, "Relax, this is Van Zylsrus". The laid-back and quirky nature of the welcoming sign was echoed by the Van Zylsrus Hotel. A highly recommended stopover if you're in the Kalahari, the decor is really something and facilities are excellent! I am doubly glad that Erns (the journalist from Weg! Magazine) recommended I try the hotel because before Van Zylsrus I would see pretty girls here and there and wonder if they were really pretty or if they just seemed so because I had been in the bush for the past two months, far from the window of Drifters in Sandton where the other guys and I would goggle at the models walking past (a cry of "Muesli" or some other code word would alert all the staff that something worth looking at was walking past, I think the customers must have thought we were insane when the fashion shows were on because shouts of "Muesli!" were frequent enough to make anyone think we all had a health-food variety of tourettes), but a girl in Van Zylsrus set a new standard! Sjoe... Hopefully more to write about her one day...
Well, that's as far as I got on the QWERTY keyboard before the café closed. I left the hunt for an internet café till Saturday because I thought Mafikeng would be a big enough town for shops to stay open late on Saturdays... I was wrong. So back to the cell phone! Will carry on blogging to get back up to date but I'm not making any promises on a date, things tend not to go according to plan anyway.
For now though, this is my first day leaving Mafikeng after I rested there for a week. The idea was to let my feet recover and get them good and strong but they feel worse now than when I walked into Mafikeng!! This makes the week feel like a waste but at least I ate and slept well...
More to follow in the not too distant future...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)