TWO DRIFTERS SAY GOODBYE TO CRUISE N SNOOZE, TO LAST TEDDY AND AFRICA

Our last three days on the boat were very special. It was called Cruise and Snooze and we did just that but the owner got concerned cos we kept calling them Boozy Snooze - the name of Tom and Clive's boat in Spain!!!
Imagine - no electrics no power for phones or camera no blog so no communications for three days mostly just DRIFTING on this glorious river - it was magic. A great finale to a wonderful month

As Friday night came so did the residents to their billionaire houses some by helicopter of course. And the power boats also came out at high speed down the river with music playing so our last night wasn't so peaceful but fun all the same to see the river come alive.

As we were leaving The Vaal a little boy of 2 was toddling down the road holding his Dads hand. I approached them and asked if the boy would like a teddy. His father said he would love and be very grateful for the teddy but his son was very shy. His name was Joshua and had only been in SA for three weeks and is shy because he hasn't met white people before. They came from Malawi - so those who know me well, will know my heart really went out to them. The father said there are very few white people in Malawi and I said I know and really hope to visit there sometime. So hopefully Joshua will think white people are ok as he gets used to South Africa.
As it happens the white population here is only 8 per cent!!!

So we have had amazing experiences and whilst sad to leave we are looking forward
to coming home to family and friends.

When will we be back? Who knows - it could be Malawi or more likely a Winnebago in Canada and hope to rent a house in Cape Town but definitely will be renting more boats, on the Thames and the canals of France. Want to join us? Just let us know!!

THE RHYTHMS OF THE RIVER VAAL

Imagine drifting down a wide river. On one side the banks are spotted with incredible properties. The other side is wild bush with willow trees. Monkeys play in the trees and otters frequent the banks while dragonflies float on the gentle breezes, suddenly a tiger fish will leap out of the water creating ripples on the otherwise calm river. This area is called Windsor on Vaal and there are similarities except here it's hot sun, very few boats, no people,much larger properties. There are a few restaurants which allow boats to moor up which we did last night as there was the storm of all storms Never seem lightening like It !!! But we were snug in this little boat and found it very easy to manoeuvre after our Princess.

drifters one teddy head north on the N3 to Joburg. More amazing scenery for miles and miles over Africa are enormous forests many man planted and it can be quite monotonous driving through these extensive areas but it is employing 170,000 people in SAfrica alone. It adds 6billion rands to SAs GDP and there is more potential. SAfrica uses a large amount of wood and can't keep up with demand.

VAST VAST LANDSCAPES ALL AROUND YOU-makes your eyes ache!!

Land of contrasts. North Drakensberg with Blyde River Canyon, gorges and waterfalls whereas Southern Drakensberg is vast expanses of lush grasslands with rolling hills and distant mountains all around you. Our eyes hurt just looking continuously at the amazing landscapes. This is farming areas with large herds of cattle everywhere as well as incredible mountains.

Ardmore is £60pppn for the cute cottage below plus good breakfast and four
course dinner with wine. Very good value cos the cottage has a four poster and ensuite plus two other bedrooms. The lounge is great with comfy sofas and log fires which you are encouraged to use upstairs and down. Lots of facilities too a large swimming pool and other activities for kids

Spioenkop Dam/lake was beautiful and there was wild life, wildebeest and zebra as seen in the photo below and us
- no one else

The last picture is of a typical African home. We have hardly seen any shanti towns. Large employers are being enforced to supply reasonable accommodation for their employees. So near a factory you will see an area of individual rectangular single story homes - bricks and corrugated roofs and glass windows.7
But the typical African home is a thatched rondavel. As the family grows and marries they have their own detached single brick dwelling next to the parents. So you will see a large family altogether sharing the same piece of land but with their own houses and share growing and tending crops, chickens goats etc. How sensible!!
Also all the Africans we have met so far are always in clean colourful clothes and they take pride in themselves and their
homes however poor.

Love Africa

GOODBYE TO THE RHYTMS OF THE SURF - TWO DRIFTERS ONE TEDDY ON THE LAST LEG OF OUR SOUTH AFRICAN ADVENTURE

What a contrast - within 2 hours we are up in the beautiful Drakensberg Mountains
- a bit chilly and damp' but Ardmore lit an very large log fire so we soon warmed up!

Had Left the hot sun and surf on The Bluff after a Heidi's breakfast - the first photo is of the furniture in Heidi's cafe which is made out of palettes - don't think our UK palettes would be strong enough!

Said sad goodbye to Ansteys- we will be back!!

Now on the road again N3 to Joburg with two sleepovers!

The first - Hello again Ardmore Farm Southern Drakensberg. Were here last year but mist rolled in so couldn't see the views, a little better now. Fantastic birds so enjoying bird watching again
The farm has chickens ducks horses and an enormous black pig, a Rhodesian ridgeback and a welsh collie also weaving sheds and potteries. Great

TWO DRIFTERS AND ONE TEDDY SAY GOODBYE TO TWO DRIFTERS AND HEAD TO THE BLUFF

Feels like being home again! Back at Ansteys on the Bluff near Durban where we had a wonderful month last year Sun out and enormous surf. Saturday afternoon quite a buzz with lots of young people enjoying themselves .

Said sad farewell to Sue and Josef having dropped them off at King Shaka Airport Durban. Certainly covered a lot of Sourh Africa about 2300 miles now and it's been amazing.

Barry and I are now in Seaview cottage looking out over the surf - lovely. I think Tash and Heidi were surprised when I rang the bell on their doorstep!! We had made a booking thro their office so tried to keep it as a surprise
It was wonderful to meet them in person after a year of emails and Tash is the lovely warm person I imagined .

Had super breakfast at Heidi's new cafe , enjoyed the beach again and met interesting people. Alex from Zurich is travelling Africa in a great 4 x 4 with a frame over the top which is a tent Down the sides are colourful handprints of African orphans he has helped He is heading north to Malawi and then Kenya
We wish him well

Heidi cooked us a delicious dinner and talking with Rudi and Tash just felt we had known each other for years. We had spent some time in the afternoon watching Rudi surfing- he goes out three times a day!! Such lovely people, surrounded by interesting drifters and always helping someone or the other. Today it was looking after a dog for a while!!

So we had a great night which went too quickly. I could happily stay a month!!

FOUR DRIFTERS AND ONE TEDDY HEAR THE RHYTHMS OF THE SEA AGAIN

Imagine this.
Log cabins on stilts in a lush tropical forest, boardwalk over wide areas of mangroves and then a short walk over sand dunes to the sea. Miles and miles of white sands and crashing surf as far as the eye can see, no buildings, no trees just dunes and sea. We're now in Mutnzini an hour and a half from Durban and have two nights here - gorgeous.
Great last stop for two of the Drifters.

Sue has been practising her Zulu and is impressing the locals so we get beaming smiles - they love the fact that white people are taking the trouble to learn their language

We've DRIFTED 1600i miles and only half way- seen amazing scenery- fantastic waterfalls, canyons, swollen rivers rolling hills and majestic mountains. We have stayed in twelve very different types of accommodation from tents. Rondavels, Log cabins. a farm, thatched lodges and condos so all great experiences. We have met lovely people we won't forget and seen amazing animals living in their extensive natural environments, beautiful birds and butterflies

AWESOME AFRICA


Tropical storms created torrents of water pouring down the rivers and tumbling into the sea. Great walks thro mangroves where the rain had raised the waters by
2 metres quite incredible
Had a swim in pool with lots of vervet monkeys prancing around in the trees

Sue and Josefs last night so we are at iThe Fat Cat which has become a favourite for our last meal together

LIFE IS A JOURNEY AND ONLY YOU HOLD THE MAP!

Four drifters and one teddy couldn't resist another safari, stayed in tents again in the bush and had a braai. Magic

Hluhlhwe and ImfoloZa game parks stretch for 96000ha and cover some fantastic wild areas. They compare with Kruger but different again and not so vast. Hluhlwe is the oldest game park and In 1898 this area was claimed by King Shaka as the first conservation area as this was his hunting ground and he wanted the area to retain its natural status

The RHYTHMS of the bush, vervet monkeys, warthogs, crickets, birds chirping. A giraffe having a morning scratch on a thorn bush, the biggest elephant we have seen sauntering along the track resting her enormous trunk on her tusk to rest it, large giraffes with very long necks and huge rhinos with very long tusks, hyenas out on the prowl BUT no lions. It's just magic listening to the sounds of the bush and having time to sit quietly with these fantastic animals

So as we didnt see lions we had a cuddle with an orphaned cheetah which was very special

Vervet monkeys very cute and very quick. They dive in when people are eating in restaurants and wait above you watching I had left some yoghurt on the deck outside our tent and a cheeky monkey was down licking the plate before I had realised

FOUR DRIFTERS ONE TEDDY DRIFT TO THE INDIAN OCEAN

Four Drifters One Teddy drift down to the Indian Ocean via a very rural unmade road with lots of cattle and goats lying in the middle of the track. Finally got to Sodwana Bay which is in the far north east corner of KwaZulu Natal near to the borders of Mozambique on the Indian Ocean. The surf was magnificent and the sand stretched as far as the eye could see
Awesome
Stayed in cute individual A framed lodges - all our accommodation averages out at £30pp amazing value

FOUR DRIFTERS and 0NE TEDDY GOING TO THE COAST LEAVING THE RHYTHMS OF THE BUSH

DRIFTING - On the road again, heading south, skirting around the outskirts of Swaziland. Glorious countryside with outstanding views all around. We said goodbye to Mpumalamga and hello KwaZulu Natal

Have so enjoyed the experiences and stunning landscapes. Now at Lake Jozini near Pongola staying Estkhotheni private game lodge . Tho reserve is part of the
Pongola Game Reserve where you can see the Big Four - no lions. Sue and Josef went out on a boat safari around the enormous Lake and saw elephants, water buffalo drinking water from the banks

Bas and I went into town Bas saw dentist for his wobbly front tooth. and I saw a doctor who confirmed I have bronchitis from the day we left Heathrow so very annoying but that's life

Photos below are of this lodge views from our log cabins, Nyala and SJ in swimming

There are three kinds of people in the world
Those who make things happen
Those who watch things happen
Those who wondered what happened

FOUR DRIFTERS SAY GOODBYE TO 17 TEDDIES AND THE DRIFTWOOD AND PEBBLE

On the move again - said goodbye to team at Shindzela and headed to Blyde River Canyon. While having coffee watched a group of children playing happily with a punctured football. To begin with we thought they were well dressed certainly colourfully but close up their clothes were tired and their homes very poor. So Sue and I sat down with them and gave them a glove.puppet teddy bear
They loved them and even Josef entered into it and did a puppet show!!! We have .3 over but word got out and 3 more lovely kids came quietly for teddyl
All the puppets have gone to grateful and needy children. We have one full size teddy left

Blyde River Canyon is awesome - you can see to eternity. The /Wonder View is iunbelievable - photos don't do it justice - but if was not the right spot for the driftwood. and the stone.

The right place was Gods Window overlooking the majestic Blyde canyon - an amazing view further than the eye can see . There is a Perfect Ledge I could just about reach the other side of the fence barrier on the canyon side of the viewing point so I could place the stone and driftwood together so they won't get disturbed and can be a part of the landscape which is referred to as a view to eternity. So they have the view, tranquility and peace, and will never be disturbed on Gods Window Blyde River Canyon