So what am I eating?  I’m trying to self-cater at least a little bit, but this gets old fast when you move every few days and carry all your food along with you.

Luckily for me, everywhere in Africa the following seem to be readily available; bananas, peanuts and bread in some form.

In East Africa fruits are abundant – mangoes, oranges, papaya, watermelon, and my favorite, pineapple.  Having a pineapple just seems to make everything better.  We’ve also encountered a fair amount of cassava and plantains, which take May back to her days growing up in the Dominican Republic.  It’s easy to find fried cassava and plantain chips for sale at local groceries – both of which are delicious.

Most days I buy a real meal for dinner, either when we go out as a group or at whichever place we happen to be staying.  In Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar and Nairobi we went out to eat a few times, sampling Swahili, Indian and Chinese at reasonably priced restauarants.  The Indian food has been especially good especially in Dar, and at the home of our friend Krupa’s parents in Nairobi, where we were invited one day for lunch.

If I had to choose one food item that seems to dominate our lives it would have to be the cashew nut.  Or cashew nuts, to be precise, as you never eat just one!  After discovering that we could buy a 1 kg bag for less than $5 at the market in Dar, they quickly became an integral part of our diet.  We’ve each eaten at least 1-2 kgs of cashews since we arrived in Dar the first time and we’re still eating them.  It’s gotten so bad we all joke about how many cashews we eat and how we can never eat them again (after we finish our current supplies of course), yet we still do, everyday.    

For a few weeks I had the distinct impression that Meghan’s smelly workout shirt was following me.  Everywhere I went – there the shirt was – hanging from the rafters or the door knob to dry.  Often it was fluttering in the breeze of a ceiling fan which also served to circulate the Shirt’s pungent odor of BO throughout our shared room at various Southern African backpackers.

I guess at the beginning I wasn’t completely sure Meghan’s Shirt was the source of the smell, as the odor of BO is fairly common in these parts.  So before I unfairly accused the Shirt, I did a some investigating. 

Is it me?  By doing a quick self sniff check I was able to rule myself out.  Someone in the room next door or outside?  No, this smell was much closer to home.  Finally, I got the courage to smell the Shirt at close range, and a positive identification of the culprit was made. This accomplished, I began the much more difficult task of convincing Meghan it was time to WASH the Shirt.

Meghan is about 5′2, 130 lbs and her 80 litre backpack is almost as big and heavy as she is.  It’s definitely even if one adds the 15-20 lbs of stuff she carts around with her in 4 smaller bags.  Her stuff has grown since the trip began and shows no signs of diminishing, as she’s decided to buy presents from what must be close to the entire state of Minnesota.  Some of these things include:

1 bottle of wine

1 bottle of raunchy Malawi Gin

5 one kg bags of cashew nuts

9 spice boats (plus 20 smaller spice packets)

5+ yards of Tanzanian fabric.

Then she has enough clothing so that she can go almost and entire month without wearing the same thing twice.

Nora in contrast doesn’t have enough clothing, and she somehow keeps ripping holes in her pants and get the few items she does have impossibly dirty.  She has so few clothes that she wears the same thing almost everyday; purple shirt, green shirt, brown shirt, repeat.

Oh the girls, this trip wouldn’t be as fun without them!

I really like Malawi and I think we left too soon after spending only a little over a week there; mostly in the northern part of the country.

We took a horribly long night bus to Lilongwe from Lusaka.  At the Zambia-Malawi border we were made to exit the bus with all our belongings for some kind of check, although as soon as we lugged everything off they just told us to get right back on again, without actually checking anything.  Bizarre.  I was tired and cranky at this point (it was like 2am) and none too pleased to be participating. But at border crossings the best thing to do is keep your mouth shut and cooperate.

Lilongwe was similar to Lusaka in that it was a dusty and unremarkable place.  We did spend sometime at the local market there were I found some colorful African fabrics.  The market also had a section which sold used clothing – presumably donations from North Amercia and Europe.  Picture young African men wearing T-shirts that say: “Bingo-aholic” and “Altoona Girls Softball”.

From Lilongwe we headed north to Mzuzu (Malawi’s 3rd largest city, although you’d never know it) from where it was just a short hop by dladla down to the town of Nkhata Bay.

Nkhata Bay is right on Lake Malawi, one of the largest fresh water lakes in the world.  It’s kind of similar to the North American Great Lakes in that there are a few sandy beaches and sometimes a few waves.  But there the similarities end.

Unlike the Great Lakes, Lake Malawi is ringed by palm trees, boulders and African bush.  Locals’ livelihoods, based on fishing and ferrying, are tied to the Lake as they have been for hundreds of years.  These activities are accomplished using traditional dugout canoes and motorized boats are seldom seen.

Despite rumors of a dastardly Lake bacteria/worm/parasite I decided to try scuba diving there.  I was reassured by the fact that the local dive master, Steve (yep that’s right Scuba Steve), looked healthy enough.

Nkhata Bay is surrounded by steep hills, and the earth just keeps plummeting down after it meets the water.  Scuba diving there is like swimming alongside a cliff, with a few sandy plateaus appearing from time to time.  While it doesn’t have as wide an array of fish as can be found in coral reef dive sites in the ocean, Lake Malawi’s aqualife is still exotic.   I saw an upside-down fish (which swims upside-down, duh) and a Mouth Brooder that sucks its group of tiny babies into its mouth like a vacuum cleaner when danger approaches.

Meghan and Nora spent most of their time in Nkhata Bay at the local shebeen sampling Chikula or “Shake-Shake”, traditional maize been sold in a paper milk-like carton.

Malawians live up to their reputation as Africa’s friendliest people.  We were often greeted in Nkhata Bay by locals, and not just because they wanted something, but because they were actually being genuinely nice.  They all said the same thing, “You are Most Welcome.”  If I ever meet someone from Malawi in my own country I will be sure to tell them that as well.  

Our first stop in Zambia was Livingstone, home of legendary Victoria Falls. Unfortunately we arrived at probably the worst time to see it due to the low water level of the Zambezi River, which produced little more than a trickle, instead of the roaring waterfall we expected to see.

The Zimbabwe side of the falls (which we were able to catch a glimpse of while still in Zambia) looked a bit more impressive however none of us wanted to deal with the hassle of crossing the Zim border to get a better look.

Nora visited Victoria Falls last April and said at that time it was spectacular. I guess April must be the time to go. It definitely isn’t October!

My friend and traveling companion Mayerlin has a very unique name which is difficult for many people to pronounce after hearing it for the first time.  To make it easier for us, Mayerlin often introduces herself as May, for short.

In Africa many people want to greet foreigners and this greeting will involve asking your name.   For us as three single females traveling many of these friendly greeters are often random men.  You’d think that Mayerlin introducing herself by her nickname would speed up this often tedious process (often these guys are harmless but annoying nonetheless) however the conversation will invariably proceed as follows:

Random Man:  So what is your name?

May:  It’s May.

RM:  Oh, ok Mary.

May:  No, May.

RM:  Like Mary, Mother of Jesus?

May:  No, like the month…May, June, July.

RM:  So Mary, where are you from?

May:  The Dominican Republic.

RM:  The what?

May:  The Dominican Republic…It’s an island…in the Caribbean…

RM:  (dumbfounded silence)

May: ….near Jamaica….

RM:  Oh Jamaica!!  I love Reggae music! You know Bob Marley?

Sometimes at this point May will claim Bob as a relative, and sometimes I think they might actually believe her.

On this African adventure my companions and I have vowed to use public transport almost entirely; buses (long distance and local), minibuses, ferry boats and trucks.

The advantages of public transport are of course the cheap price but also the experience of rubbing elbows with locals (although this can be both enjoyable and unpleasant..)  Some of the disadvantages of pub trans include long waiting periods, infrequent bathroom stops and losing all of the feeling in your ass.

The Bus

The majority of our progress thus far has been made using the long distance bus.  I will have to check with Nora to be sure about the travel times but here they are roughly:

Jo-burg (SA) – Gaborone (Bots) : 5 hrs

Gabs – Palapye : 3 hrs 

Palapye – Maun : 4 hrs

Maun – Nata : 3 hrs

Livingstone (Zam) – Lusaka : 6 hrs

Lusaka (Zam) – Lilongwe (Malawi) : 14 hrs

Lilongwe – Mzuzu : 6 hrs (it was supposed to be 4 but the bus got a flat tire)

Mbeya (Tanzania) – Dar es Salaam : 12 hrs

That’s alot of time on a bus.  Mostly bus rides aren’t that interesting, but once in a while something notable will happen.  In Malawi a volunteer typically leads the passengers in prayer before setting off.  I don’t know if this occurs because of the devout religious faith of Malawians or because of their fear that the bus won’t reach its destination…

In Botswana if you arrive late or get on the bus when its already full you’re left standing in the aisle until a seat opens up – if a seat opens up. 

The only bus ride so far that has featured live animals was in Tanzania (unless you consider cockaroaches to be live animals, in which case we also encountered some on a Zambian bus), and it was what I believe to be a single chicken discreetly concealed in a small cardboard box.   I wouldn’t have even noticed it except for the box’s makeshift airholes and the soft clucking noise that emanated from within, which definitely indicated the presence of a fowl.  Also in Tanzania we saw two goats tied to the top of a tanker truck.

Then there are hawkers selling everything from airtime to to bananas to cheap fashion jewlerly and shoes.  They swarm the bus stations and ranks – and in TZ even the places where the bus even slows down for more than 10 seconds.  The hawkers in Botswana are the most aggressive while those in TZ have the widest variety of goods, offering their wares up to the high bus windows on spiked sticks or boxes balanced on their heads.

Minibuses

Knowns as “taxis” in South Africa – they can be some of the most cramped and uncomfortable means of long distance transportation – however I would still prefer them over riding in the back of a truck.

Maun – Bush Camp (Bots) : 1 hour

Mzuzu – Nkhata Bay and back (malw): 4 hrs

Mzuzu – Chitimba: 2 hrs

Chitimba Malawi – Tanzanian border: 2 hrs

After crossing the TZ border and walking about 1 km, we got on a vehicle of Chinese origin that I do not feel can be correctly classified as either bus or minibus – but somewhere in between.  We took this what-what from the border post to Mbeya and the trip was about 2 hours.

Our first minibus experience with all our crap was in Botswana – and it was pretty comical since we all have about as much stuff as we can carry.   The minibuses there don’t have any space for luggage in the back so you have to hold everything on your lap – and the laps of whatever people happen to be unlucky enough to be sitting beside you in the front row.

The minibuses we rode in later had room in the back for our packs.  Not that this meant they were any more comfortable….

Add : Space for luggage

Subtract : leg room between rows, all seat padding and consequently all feeling in one’s ass after about 30 minutes.

Trucks

Don’t worry Mom, it isn’t exactly the same as hitch-hiking…not all the time anyway

Nata (Bots) – Livingstone (Zam) : 8 hrs

Chitimba – Livingstonia (Malawi) : 30 mins

Following a 3-4 hour bus ride from Maun via Nata, Botswana we arrived at a petrol station in no-man’s-land only to find there was no connecting bus to the Zambian border…

Meghan, our intrepid little negotiator arranged a lift for us in the back of a man’s pick-up truck all the way to our final destination in Livingstone, Zambia.  Our fellow traveler in the truck was a lone Japanese man who appeared out of  seemed somewhat out of place without the usual gaggle of sun-protected, picture-snapping countrymen.

Sun protection was something my friends and I all could have used a bit more of on this leg of the trip.  Pigmently-challenged Nora covered herself with every article of clothing she could manage to grab out of her backpack at high speed, while I arrived partially sunburnt (failing to re-apply Block appropriately).  Meghan, who generally laughs in the face of sunblock was burnt to a crisp and subsequently peeled in a bizarre pattern which gave her the appearance of suffering from a rare skin disease for several weeks.

Ferry Boats

We haven’t had to take very many of these so far.  The first trip was pretty short and uneventful by itself

Bots – Zam border crossing, Zambezi river : 10 mins

The second trip from Dar es Salaam to Zanzibar Island (4 hours) was a bit more interesting due to high waves and barfing children.  There was no barfing Amber though – Thank God for seasickness pills!

We head back to mainland TZ today from Zanzibar…so we’ll be able to add a few more hours to the ferry total!

Actually if you want to get technical it’s really Durban – Nairobi, since I’m leaving Durban once and for all on September 30, 2007. My next stop is good old Pretoria where I have to finish-up things with PC officially – this includes closing out my SA bank account and a lengthy medical exam that requires three consecutive samples of my POOP. PC, it is all yours.

Joburg is a good starting point for any overland trip, as it’s a big regional transportation hub. It also works out well for my PC friends/travel companions and I since Joburg is only about 30 minutes from PC-HQ in Pretoria.

As I related in the previous post – I’ve been extremely bored at work lately. This been good in a way, as its inspired/forced me to do some planning and come up with an itinerary for my trip after PC. I’m hoping to set out on October 6, 2007 and travel for a little over 3 months.

THE ITINERARY
Botswana, October 6-15

Gaborone, Palapye (to visit Emily B!), Okavango Delta, Rhino Park

I should probably tell Emily I’m coming.

Zambia, October 15-20

Victoria Falls, Lusaka

Sadly we’re going to go through Zam as quickly as possible and might not see much there other than Vic Falls.

Malawi, October 20-31

Lilongwe, Nkhata Bay, Likoma Island, Livingstonia, Manchewe Falls, Mzuzu

I’m really excited to get to the Lake, but nervous about The Lake Worm, Malaria and Dengue… I have read about some of the spots in Southern Malawi that are supposed to be really nice (Mt. Mulanje, Monkey Bay) and depending on time maybe we can make it to that part of the country.

Tanzania, November 1-14; 21-28

Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar, Serengeti National Park, Ngorogoro Crater, Kilamanjaro/Moshi

Yea Tanzania! There is so much to see and do there, the biggest drawback is that the park fees (to get into Serengeti, etc) are so expensive! To climb Mt. Kilamanjaro for example it can cost around $750. Supposedly it can be done for cheaper (like $550) but then you’re either risking your safety or skimping on your guide’s (required) salary. So climbing the actual mountain is sadly not on the itinerary; hiking around the park, however, is. I’m also pysched for Scuba on Zanzibar.

Rwanda, November 14-21

Kigali, Parc National des Volcans (Mt. Gorillas!)

Don’t worry Mom, it’s safe! Rwanda is very peaceful now and you have a better chance of tracking down the mountain gorillas in the Rwandan park than in the Ugandan one nearby.

Kenya, November 28 – December 14

Nairobi, Masai Mara Reserve, Mt. Kenya, Lake Bogoria National Park

Two of my traveling companions are shipping out on or around December 14th, so I’ve been looking at how to fill my time between Dec 14 and Dec 27th. Any suggestions?

I’ve looked into going to the Seychelles or the Maldives, but those are are pretty expense options since they cater for the resort crowd, with resort budgets. The flights aren’t cheap either despite already being on this side of the world. I’ve also looked at going to Lamu, which is a Kenyan beach town.

India, December 27 – January 12

More on that later.

South Africans call Cape Town “The Mother City” as it was the first place in the country settled by Europeans. The origninal inhabitants were the Khoisan, a group of people living in Southern Africa since the days of the caveman, if not before.

Cape Town has a rich history as a sea port and place where cultures from around Africa and the world have mixed for decades, beneath the majestic backdrop of towering Table Mountain.

Day 1

I flew from Durban on cheap but inefficient Mango Airlines, South African Airways low-priced alternative carrier created to drive the other national low-fare competitors, like Kulula.com, out of business (although SAA heartily claims otherwise of course).

When Mango was launched last year I vowed never to fly with them on principle. I guess that died an early death. Cape Town International is TINY (I think maybe even Durban’s airport is bigger) and undergoing a crapload of construction at present which makes it all the more charming. Luckily I didn’t have to hang around there long, since my Backpackers, Big Blue, arranged for free airport pick-up. Yea!

Big Blue is one of the nicest Backpackers (hostels) I’ve ever stayed at- and I’ve stayed at a few! It’s situated in a refurbished colonial mansion with wide halls and a banister that you could slide down, although I didn’t try to myself. It’s also CLEAN and in a location that’s convienent to some restaurants and shops (Greenpoint) and within walking distance of the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront. The only drawbacks are the small kitchen, and when I was there, a few of the other guests.

After checking in I met up with my friend Jessica. Despite living in a rural village in Limpopo Province for the past two years, and working with several HIV/AIDS community-based organizations there, Jess had already been able to visit Cape Town. This worked out well for me because she could show me some of her favorite places. We also managed to do a few new things as well….

That night we met-up with my friend Charlie, who’d recently moved down from Durban, and headed to Long Street – one of the happening nightlife areas. We ate dinner at an African restaurant (possibly called Mama Africa) that was authentic enough but not outstanding in my opinion. Charlie would want me to note that when visiting said restaurant do not attempt to request olive oil for your salad. They don’t have any and will try to trick you into settling for canola oil instead. After dinner we all proceeded to nearest Irish pub (the correct name of which is also fuzzy) and listened to some live music.

Day 2

Jessica and I were up bright and early to fetch our rental car from Aroundabout Cars. Being over the age of 23 goes a long way with Aroundabout – a company that offers super-low rental rates but with only minimal insurance coverage available. On the plus side, they don’t ask alot of questions either…The order of the day was to head fabulous Cape Point where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet, one of the most scenic routes in South Africa if not on EARTH.

Cape Point

We drove out of Cape Town via the Seapoint Waterfront and the ritzy neighborhoods of Clifton and Camp’s Bay – reputed to be some of the highest-priced real estate in all of Africa. Then on to Hout’s Bay, which kind of reminded me of Aspen- except with alot of sailing instead of alot of skiing – if that makes any sense. Jessica, who lived in Aspen for a year, would want me to note her strenous objection to this particular thinly drawn parallel.

Outside of Hout’s Bay we picked up the Chapman’s Pass road which is a real cliffhanger (har har)! I think I got vertigo just driving on it – and there are guardrails most of the way. It would be a great spot for a dramatic movie car chase or something.

Hout Bay from Chapman’s Pass

At the end of Chapman’s Pass we emerged along the coast of Cape Point itself and headed towards the National Park area. When we arrived we climbed up to the Lighthouse so I could get the obligatory photo with one of those signposts with the different signs pointing to cities all over the world. That accomplished, we went back down and drove to the end of the Cape of Good Hope and fought a horde of Italian tourists for a turn to get the obligatory photo there. On the way we saw an ostrich.

Simon’s Town

Jess and I stopped for lunch in Simon’s Town on our way back. Simon’s Town is a cute little New England-esque seaside hamlet which is the home of the South African Navy, and much more interestingly, a colony of African Jackass Penguins. Yes, that is their REAL name! I guess the Jackasses didn’t make out so well in the name department, unlike the Emperor Penguins for instance. But on the other hand they live in Africa – not Antarctica.

In Simon’s Town there’s a fenced wooden boardwalk that allows one to walk through the Jackass nesting ground and to a little beach where (for a small fee) one may frolic unfettered with the Penguins. The childish glee inspired by this opportunity, and of course by the Jackasses themselves, made it the highlight of my day!

A Couple of Jackasses

Next Jess and I went back to Hout Bay to meet up with some friends of hers who live on their boat in the harbour there. Jess met Gavin and Vanessa and their two kids on her last trip, and they were nice enough to invite us for a sail out from Hout Bay to Seal Island, and then for dinner afterwards. It was great to be able to see the town and nearby Chapman’s Pass from the sea, plus there was yet another animal encounter with the Stinky Seals of Seal Island.

Boats in Hout Bay Harbour
Day 3

On my third day in Cape Town I set out for the Kirstenbosch Gardens with my parnter in crime. The Kirstenbosch is nestled at the base of “the other side” of Table Mountain – that is the side not facing the ocean – and is one of the oldest cultivated gardens in Africa as well as a UNESCO World Hertiage Site.

Kirstenbosch is more than just your average botantic gardens; it strecthes on for what must be acres and provides access to some lovely vistas of Cape Town and numerous different hiking trails. Jessica and I decided to take a stroll along one of these not realizing that it led directly up the mountain. As we walked, the incline gradually became steeper and steeper until we got to a point where the path proper disappeared and was replaced by ladders and climbable rocks.

Normally, Jessica I and would be up to the challenge, however, on this particular day we found ourselves without the requisite equipment – namely shoes other than flip-flops and ballet slip-ons. Assuming it was called The Skeleton Gorge trail for a reason, we turned around.

The Mountain We Climbed Halfway

Next Jessica decided that she wanted to visit Cape Town’s most famous mall – Century City. South Africans love malls and there are some doozies in all of the big cities. The only problem with Century City, we soon discovered, was getting there. It shouldn’t have been hard – when looking at a decent map (unlike the piece of crap WE had) the route between Kirstenbosch and Century City is not all that complicated.

The combination of Crap Map and some rather vague, and probably not very closely listened to, driving directions from a kind stranger earlier that morning, resulted in a tour of some of the Cape Town sights off the typical tourist trail – namely Khayelitsha and the Fish Packing Section of the Industrial Park beside the Airport. But we perservered and an hour and a half after leaving Kirstenbosch we got to the mallm which wasn’t all that impressive – definitely not worth the trip!

Day 4

On Friday we headed down to Long Street again, but this time during the day, to take a look in some of the funky little shops. From there its only a short walk to the historic city centre where one can find Parliment and some other equally old and colonial-looking buildings, and the business district. That night we went to Observatory, another part of the greater Cape Town area for dinner and drinks.

Day 5

Saturday Charlie drove us out to the winelands! We were joined by Jessica’s friend Colin and had lunch in a really cute French-like restaurant in Franshoek, behind the Huguenot Museum. Due to a late start, and much internal squabbling over the itinerary, we only managed to get to one winery – Rickety Bridge – for an actual tasting. We also tried to go to one called Tokara near Stellenbosch, but by the time we got there it was closed. I didn’t realize that pretty much all the wine estates are closed by 4pm!

Rickety Bridge Wine Estate, Franshoek

Day 6

The highlights of my sixth Day in Cape Town were Table Mountain and Robben Island – which are on the top of most CPT visitors’ Must See lists. Unfortunately it was too windy that day to take the cable car to the top of Table Mountain, which was a little disappointing. There is the option of hiking up from the cable car point, but we didnt have time since we already had tickets to Robben Island that afternoon. There’s still a nice view of everything from the cable car station though, which is pretty high up the mountain already.

The departure point for Robben Island is the Victoria & Alred Waterfront, which is full of restaurants and shops and of course has its own mall. Tickets must be purchased in advance and sell out quickly, as there are only a limited number sold each day. Robben Island is located about 12km offshore from Cape Town in Table Bay; the boat trip takes upwards of 30 minutes. It’s about 1km in diameter and has had a variety of uses since colonial days including a supply stop for passing ships and a leper colony.

But Robben Island is most famous for serving as a prision during the apartheid era. Nelson Mandela was held there for 18 of his 27 years in prison, along with numerous other important Struggle figures. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is overrun with rabbits.

Watchtower at Robben Island Prison

Mandela’s Cell

Day 7

My last day in Cape Town was rainly and miserable, which I didn’t really mind too much since I’d had great weather the entire rest of the week (save the day I arrived). CPT is known for its unpredictable and often wet weather – people claim that you can sometimes experience all four seasons in one day.

Some would also say that due to the general unpredictability of the weather I was taking a big risk visiting during the winter. I think it worked out well though since the usual Must See spots weren’t completely overrun with other tourists – which I hear can be the case in the summer. I can’t imagine what the city will be like during 2010 when its hosting one of the World Cup semi-final matches. It just doesn’t seem big enough to hold all the people that are likely to show-up!

Cape Town is beautiful, clean, well-maintained, laid-back and well-worth visiting. It hasnt managed to completely escape the top three scourges of South Africa – poverty, HIV/AIDS and violent crime – but only to push them back from the city into the sprawling townships and informal settlements of Khayelitsha and others along the Cape Flats. It’s easy to forget those things, the even the rest of South Africa, exist when you’re in Cape Town. It kind of feels like a world of its own.

Cape Town from Table Bay

Swaziland is a small southern African country surrounded on three sides by South Africa. Its eastern border is with Mozambique. Although Swaziland is an independent country, culturally it has a lot in common with certain South African cultural groups like the Siswatis (who are basically Swazis living in SA) and the Zulus, who some would argue have their origins in Swaziland as well. Also like SA it has a huge rate of HIV/AIDS infection.

The only monarchy in southern Africa is found in Swaziland; currently it’s led by King Mswati III and his mother the Indlovukazi or “Great She-Elephant”. King Mswati III has 13 wives – a new one is selected each year during the Reed Dance ceremony and added to the group. The Swazi Royal house is situated in Mbabane, which is also the nation’s capital. A king wouldn’t be a king in Africa without a crapload of livestock and the Swazi King is no exception. Everytime I drove past the Royal Residence on the brand-new modern 4-lane highway there were a few cows and goats wandering along beside the road.

I arrived in Mbabane after a six hour drive from Nelspruit, South Africa – which was in itself an adventure! I left Nelspruit in a rented Volkswagon Chico (see above for how it looked at the end of the trip!) around 1pm and headed for the Lebomba border post.

Earlier that day I read on a map hanging the Backpackers that this particular border post closed its doors at 4pm or 16h00 to be precise. I enquired about this before leaving and was informed by Nitto (Backpackers’ employee, guide and boyfriend of my friend Debs) that that was not the case and this border post was in fact open until 8pm or later. So I took his word for it and headed off figuring no matter what I would get there before 4 anyway.

After I was on the road less than an hour when things started to get interesting. There was tons of construction which slowed me down, steep and windy mountain roads which I was expecting – but the best part was that the last 40-50km of the journey was on unpaved roads. Surprise!

Unlike many other countries in the region, South Africa has very good roads and you basically have to be pretty deep in the boondocks to come across one that isn’t paved. When I arrived at this particular section workers were actually in the process of paving, or starting to anyway. I was confused to have so suddenly found myself off the asphalt, and I asked them if I was lost. They thought that was funny.

The road was pretty bumpy in some spots – much more so than in the photo – and my Chico was not exactly built for going off the beaten path. I was worried that any second I was going to lose a tire – or worse. So it was slow going. It was also pretty isolated, as it went through a timber farming area and no villages were to be seen even anywhere. I think I passed a total of three other cars going either way the whole time. The lack of traffic gave me a sneaking suspicion that the border post did close at 4pm after all – since this road ended there.

I rolled up to the border post office at exactly 4:10 to find the gates closed and locked (picture a tiny little building in the middle of the wilderness with nothing else around for miles). So it’s probably not hard to imagine how happy I was to see an SA border guard emerge and unlock the gate. He also confirmed that they did close at 4, and I had better hustle over to the Swazi side before they all went home. He didn’t have to tell me twice.

The Swazi border officials told me a car that passed me on the road told them I was on my way, so they waited for me! I thanked them and apologized profusely for making them stay after work. Then I discovered that I didn’t have enough money to pay the entrance fee. Ooops. They were really nice about this too and just let me in, giving me a map of Swaziland and a look that said, “you’re gonna need this.” I guess my planning for this trip was less than stellar…

The next leg went pretty smoothly until I got to Mbabane, where my luck ran out and I became hopelessly lost trying to find my accommodation – Grifter’s Backpackers. See a lot of Mbabane’s roads have recently been renamed, so when I stopped with my out-of-date directions printed off the internet, no one I asked had ever heard of any of the streets! Eventually I got there, but I was lost for a while. And in retrospect, I should have known better.

After the previous day’s driving adventures (and like 8 total hours driving) I was not excited to start again the next morning. But the handicraft shopping in Swaziland seemed just too good to pass up, and you need a car to get around to the various market spots in a reasonable amount of time. First I set out for Ngwenya Glass Factory, a locally owned and operated enterprise that manufactures hand-blown glass products, although I soon discovered I’d taken a wrong turn. Luckily this was not a “train-smash” and I ended up finding some good stuff at some roadside markets on the way back towards Mbabane. AND I also almost ran over what I’m pretty sure was a Black Mamba as it was crossing the road!

The Black Mamba

Eventually I found Ngwenya Glass Factory which was pretty cool, in my opinion, and definitely worth finding! Ngwenya Glass was started as a Swedish development project intended to benefit the local people by training them in glass-blowing and manufacturing skills which they could then use to earn an income.

And it actually worked – Swedish artisans came down, trained a bunch of people, helped them run the factory for a while and then pulled out leaving the whole thing to the Swazis. The factory has changed hands couple of times since the Swedish left but is now predominantly owned by the workers. They make all kinds of glass items from the usual wine glasses to various African animal figurines. Everything is done on site with recycled glass.

The next day it was back out on the craft trail again but this time in the opposite direction on the highway towards the Ezulwini Valley. I hit a few more roadside markets and Gone Rural, a local women’s cooperative that sells handwoven grass items like bowls, rugs, baskets, etc. Somewhere in that general area is another weaving co-op called Rosecraft, which specializes in wool products. I didn’t make it to the actual factory but did see an“outlet” or two and they had really nice stuff. The road through this part of Swaziland is probably the most “touristy” area I found. It was full of hotels – from backpackers to five star – spas, restaurants and even a golf course. The atmosphere in this area is quite different than in the rest of the country.

Donkeys in the Road

I left Mbabane about 10am on the following morning to begin my drive back to Durban. It took about 3 hours to get to the Swazi-SA border post, Lavumisa – almost going from one corner of the country to another. At Lavumisa one can cross into northern Kwa-Zulu Natal. Overall it was a pretty easy drive; the roads don’t have too many holes, there’s not a lot of traffic, and no where to get lost since there’s basically only one highway. There are a number of villages and small towns that the highway goes through, and instead of stoplights or stop signs to slow cars down – they have speed bumps – sometimes appearing out of no where with no warning whatsoever. BAM! I hate speed bumps.

Swaziland is a nice place to visit especially if you’re in the market for African handicrafts. I saw alot of what the Mbabane-Ezulwini area had to offer but there were some other stops up near Piggs Peak that I missed which (according to some of the local PCVs) are great for stuff like jewerly, silver and batiks. But in addition to the shopping the country is attactive as its people are friendly, helpful and easy-going with a real sense of pride in themselves, their culture and history. It’s a good kind of pride though – as opposed to the annoying obnoxious kind that I’ve often encountered among some South Africans or Philadelphia Eagles fans. In addition, it’s easy to get around (minus those pesky name-changing streets) and bit less expensive than South Africa despite the currency being pegged to the Rand.

The Blyde River Canyon area of Mpumalanga province features a number of picturesque tourist-friendly stops that can all be visited on a day-trip from Nelspruit. Mpumalanga literally means, where the sun (langa) goes out (puma) in Zulu and is often translated as “land where the sun rises” or something similiar.

The northern Drakensberg mountains give the landscape some of its dramatic features along with the Blyde and Sabie rivers that have carved out a number of canyons and gorges. Our first stop was the Mac Mac Falls waterfall followed by The Pinnacle; a rock tower jutting out of a deep gorge making it appear to almost hang in mid-air. Then it was off to a stop along the route where one can walk to the edge of part of the Blyde River Canyon with the help of a number of bridges.

Blyde River Canyon

Then at the bottom of Blyde River Canyon are…

Bourke’s Luck Potholes

I failed to get clarity on how these rock formations got their name – the Bourke’s Luck part I mean – since the potholes part seems like a no-brainer. If I had to guess, I’d say that the first part has something to do with the gold prospecting which went on all over South Africa back-in-the-day. After the Potholes we went on to God’s Window, a lookout point that rewards hikers with a panaorma of the whole valley below. Finally our last stop was the Three Rondavels which are rock formations high above the canyon wall that bare an uncanny resemblance to the traditional African dwelling of the same name. At Three Rondavels the Blyde River seems to stop and form a pristine and isolated lake.

The Three Rondavels

Near The Three Rondavels

And of course no South Africa journey would be complete without encountering at least one of these.

I finally made it! After almost 2 years in SA I arrived at one of the most commonly visited destinations in the country. Since I’d already heard about everyone else’s trips (usually with family or friends visiting from the US) I was pretty prepared when I got there myself a few weeks back.

I decided to fly from Durban to Nelspruit, which is the closest major town to the southern entrances of Kruger Park. But that ended up being an adventure in itself. What I was not prepared for was the pandemonium that accompanied traveling anywhere over this year’s Easter Weekend. I called for a taxi to the airport extra early but it didn’t come for over 40 minutes. While I was waiting I called other taxis and they said it was at least a 20 minute wait because of all the traffic in the city at that time. So I ended up missing my original flight and the next one I could book left at 6am the next morning!

In between the missing and re-booking of flights I also tried unsuccessfully to rent a car at the airport, thinking I would just drive to Nelspruit instead. Every single rental car company was completely out of cars. Has anyone ever heard of that happening? There are no less than 8 rental car companies with offices at Durban International Airport – including some of the big guys like Alamo, Avis and National. All out of cars.

So there I was stuck at the stupid airport. By this time it was 4pm and I had been there for over 3 hours and didn’t feel like sticking around until 6 the next morning! A British girl on her way to a backpackers in Durban gave me a lift home in one of the last available rental cars in the city. The guy working at the Budget desk had taken pity on her – she had just come from Moz and supposedly was recovering from malaria – and called one of his “friends” at this back-alley rental car company. I got to go to the offices with her on the way home. It was literally in a back alley.

Bright and early the next morning I was on my plane to Nelspruit. It was only about 4 hours or so of actual travel time, but by the time I got there it felt like it had been DAYS. I quickly proceeded to Funky Monkey’s backpackers, which is the PC SA gathering point in Nelspruit, and met up with a whole bunch of people.

After a day hanging out in Nelspruit we – Leanne, Jessica, Deborah, Nitto and I – all proceeded to Kruger. The Park is actually huge – it runs the length of two SA provinces on one side and then has Mozambique on the other. Along the SA side there are numerous entry and exits points or gates. We went in at one of the southern-most gates…I think it was Mtumbi Gate, around 2 or so in the afternoon. We drove around that general area of the Park and saw among other things; giraffe, impala, wildebeast, elephants, zebra, guinea fowl, a mongoose and a baby puff adder!

Leanne, Jess, Debs and I were all crammed into a little two-door Fiat, which made photographing the animals interesting. Luckily you can still see lots of stuff if you’re only mainly able to stick to Kruger’s paved roads – of which there are plenty. The animals don’t seem to be very afraid of cars and can get pretty close. In Kruger Park, as in most game parks and reserves you’re not allowed to get out of your car for any reason – unless you’re inside one of the rest camps. The rule exists basically to stop people from getting eaten by lions and trampled by elephants.

We stayed overnight in a rondavel at one of the Park rest camps called Pretoriuskop. You’ve got to get to the rest camps by 6pm or you’re in deep trouble with the park authorities. No one is allowed to be out in the park at night without special permission and a guide. The camp facilities include self-catering accommodation, single room rondavels like the one we had, space for tents, and indoor shower/toilet facilities. There was also a restaurant, general store and a gift shop.

The next morning we left the rest camp at 6am with the hopes of spotting some “cats” which we heard are most active in the mornings. Nitto works as guide on the safari tours organized by Funky Monkey Backpackers, and let us tag along behind their safari vehicles as they headed towards prime cat-viewing spots.

Organized safari guides work really hard to make sure people get their money’s worth and see the big animals, often scouting-out areas of frequent or recent sightings and radioing others when they do find something. So when we got to a spot where there were lions (2 of them) and cheetahs (2 of them) there where also about 15 other cars and safari vehicles jockeying for the position with the clearest view.

The lions where maybe about 100 yards away from the cheetahs with a small herd of impala in between. Everyone was waiting semi-patiently to see if something was going to try to kill something else. Finally the cheetahs went after the impala and chased the whole herd into the road where the impala ran off without any casualties. Then the cheetahs just sat there and didn’t try to go after them or anything, which seemed weird until we were told what was really going on…

Apparently lions are notorious for stealing meat from other animals after they’ve just gone to the trouble of chasing it down and killing it. The cheetahs we saw knew the nearby lions probably had a similar plan for any impala they managed to get, so they chased the herd off to another place where they planned to follow later and take care of business – I guess after somehow ditching the lions.

Next we drove through a huge troop of about 30 or more baboons. Having heard many a tale of baboons’ abilities to open car doors and stitch their hands in through partially open windows, the Fiat was put on immediate lockdown. Then we were off to one of the innumerable watering holes scattered throughout Kruger which give one a decent chance of spotting animals. We were in luck because there was a pride of 9 lions lounging on the other side of the watering hole when we got there.

After that the trip was ruled a success and we headed back to Nelspruit.

Loteni village is in the Southern Drakensberg about 30 km from South Africa’s border with Lesotho. There is no electricity in Loteni, nor is there running water, indoor toilets or paved roads. Leanne lives there, and I had fun visiting!

The whole area around Loteni is beautiful, being so far up in the mountains and all, and people there really still live the simple rural lifestyle. All the water used for cooking and washing is fetched from the mountain stream. Leanne’s host mother, Florence, cooks everyday over a fire in the rondavel (hut) on the family farm that serves as a kitchen. While I was there she made traditional African sweet bread in a big round pot. She also made samp and beans – one of both Leanne and my favorite South African dishes.

Leanne stays in her very own rondavel beside the family’s house. She cooks on a gas stove but has to buy the majority of her food at the nearest town, Underberg, about 55 km away and brings it back to Loteni on public transport (mini-bus taxis). She boils water fetched from the river before she can use it for drinking or washing dishes. She claims to have learned to carry water home in a bucket on her head – a feat I didn’t actually see her perform with my own eyes. I will take her word for it however, since I didn’t actually help with any of the water-fetching during my visit. Laundry day is particularly dreaded in cold weather as this requires lugging alot of water around.

Leanne’s House (aka Rondavel)

Its been almost a year and half now that Leanne has lived in Loteni, but she still doesn’t complain much about the the lack of modern conveniences. Her rondavel is cozy and pretty well insulated from the elements outside – except for the winter cold. Snow does fall in the Drakensberg in the winter and temperatures can get as low as -4 degrees F (or -20C)…not pleasant when all you have are a few blankets and a hot water bottle to keep warm! My visit happened during what is only the beginning of autumn, and it was already uncomfortably cold at night and in the morning, so winter must really suck!

In addition to doing a little subsistence farming, most families have some livestock like cows, pigs, goats or chickens that can be found around the farmyard or grazing in local fields during the day. At Leanne’s house Florence’s husband Justice looks after the livestock and crops with the help of their two sons, Sifiso and Lebo.

Livestock theft is a major problem in Loteni. Basotho men cross the border at night, break into local farms and stealthily herd cattle back into Lesotho under the cover of darkness. And when I say dark, I mean it gets DARK – like you cannot see a thing at night except for stars – so I’m kind of amazed that these guys are able to pull that kind of thing off as often as they do. In response to the problem, residents have organized Citizens’ Stock Theft Patrol groups that go out at night (between 10-2am) to keep watch over a group of their neighbors’ animals. The responsibility rotates between families and family members living in close proximity – and I hear that pretty soon it will be Leanne’s turn to go on Stock Theft Patrol!

Nursery School Building

When she’s not chasing cattle thievin’ Basothos off the family land, Leanne works for a literacy NGO. This work requires her to travel frequently between the three nearby villages…well maybe the villages aren’t actually that close together….sometimes she has to walk upwards of 10 km during one day if she’s not lucky with transport. Walking that far is pretty typical for most people in Loteni lots of kids walk that far to school – one way.

Grannies attending Literacy Group – and sporting new glasses!

Because Loteni still doesn’t have electricity it’s pretty unique in SA – almost all of the rest of country is electrified (most of the time anyway). There’s talk these days that power will be coming soon, but Eskom has yet to do more than talk at community meetings and people are getting frustrated. Another point of frustration is the poor quality of the roads. During the rainy season some sections get so muddy they become impassable and all year-round the potholes are formidable. People complain to the powers that be but see few results and hear a variety of excuses for the lack of action.

Change is coming but its coming slowly, and whether or not that’s a good thing is debateble. People want access to some modern conviences, but at the same time they value their rural way of life – something that will be irrevicobly changed when Eskom finally gets its ass in gear. I guess finding the balance between those two things is the real challenge.

Leanne has become part of the Loteni community and in alot of ways and it will probably be difficult for her to leave in October. But, she says, she’ll always feel like she has a South African home to come back to.

Last Sunday I spent the day scuba diving on the Aliwal Shoal which is a point off the southern coast of Kwa-zulu Natal near the town of Scottburgh. It’s about an hour’s drive south Durban. The Aliwal Shoal is named after the Aliwal, a British ship that ran into trouble there about a hundred or so years ago. The shoal is also famous for being home to a Ragged Tooth Sharks – or “Raggies”- a docile group that can be found in the winter months (i.e. June and July here). Since this is technically still summer we didn’t bump into any Raggies, which is fine with me!

I went with Tom and his son Aidan (who’s visiting from the US) who are in the process of getting their diving qualification together. This was my first diving trip after being certified, so I was a little nervous that I had forgotten alot of stuff. My initial attempts at putting together my equipment reinforced these fears – I forgot or confused a couple things – which Aidan, unfortunately for him, was quick to point out.

In my defense though I should add that it was about 5 in the morning, definitely NOT the time of the day when I’m at my best and brightest! But once I got in the water I was good to go. During my dive course I think I had been paying alot closer attention to the underwater stuff than the equipment assembly – which isnt really the smartest thing since if you put your equipment together wrong you’re screwed!

We did two dives that day and both times the visibility (how clear the water is underneath the surface) pretty much sucked. It seems like the stronger the current or the rougher the sea the worse the visibility since more sand and debris gets stirred up on the ocean floor. The sea on this particular day was rough hence the crappy viz (diving lingo for visibility!). I did see a bunch of cool fish but nothing overwhelming or spectacular.

The conditions were perfect, however, for trying out my new seasickness pill. The pills worked OK since I didn’t puke or pass out. I did feel very nauseous on the way back in from the first dive when I think they were wearing off. I wasn’t even hungover at all this time – which is really unfair.

For Christmas this year I went to Brooke and Tom’s house in Ladysmith where there was a sizeable gathering of other PC volunteers. The highlights included homemade pasta for Christmas dinner, more cookies than were reasonable and Secret Santa gift exchange (most presents could be valued at around R30 or about $4.60).

Then for New Year’s some of us headed down to Coffee Bay on the Wild Coast. This area is in Eastern Cape Province which is just south of Kwa-Zulu Natal. The Eastern Cape is underdeveloped relative to the rest of the country as it was passed over by the apartheid architects for lack of any valuable natural resources to mine. But the upside is that alot of its natural beauty has remained unspoiled.

Unfortunately the day these photos were taken was one of only two sunny, warm days of the entire trip to CB. Not ideal weather for the beach vacation I was hoping for. We spent the only perfect beach day sweating our asses off on a hike along the coast. The views were breath-taking, but the overall experience was a little brutal due to the intense heat and the fact that we did not have nearly enough WATER.

The Eastern Cape is home to Xhosa people who have a culture which is distinct from the Zulu. Historically the two groups don’t get along well and there is still alot of anamosity between the them – especially when it comes to government matters. They like to accuse each other of conspiracies to come into and maintain power. Mandela and Mbeki are both Xhosas, whatever that means, and to a Zulu it can mean alot. Most regular Zulus and Xhosas stay out of politics though, see traditional Xhosa farm below:

In Coffee Bay we stayed at a backpackers called Bomvu Paradise although it was really anything but. We had to cross a river and climb a huge hill to get to the beach and the dorms were right next to the bar so it was ridiculously loud at night. Alot of drumming also went on there which was cool for about the first five minutes but became very old after five days. If I were ever to go back I would stay near Hole in the Wall, which is a little more touristy but has the superior beaches.

After attending yet another mandatory compound-based training given by the you-know-what I spent a few weeks in Mozambique. I got there via a 10 hour overnight busride from Joburg to Maputo – a mode of transportation that makes you feel rough, unrested and unwashed. At about 6am the bus stopped just shy of the razor wire enforced SA-Moz border, where we all got off and walked across. The sun had just come up and the border post had just opened. The bus had been sitting in a line of traffic since at least 3am, as you can’t get your passport stamped 24 hours a day.

Inside the border post office the bus stewardess (they have those here on long bus trips) herded myself and the other Americans into some special line that allowed us to get through the country entry process a little bit faster. I think her assistance was motivated more by a desire to get the hell out of there and back on the road then by any goodwill towards our clueless selves. Then it was back to the bus, which we stood beside for about 20 minutes while Moz customs officials searched the cargo hold for undocumented/untaxed goods being brought into the country from South Africa.

Its really hard to get alot of stuff in Mozambique as I learned throughout my time there. Even in the capital, Maputo. But South Africa is closeby so its quite common for people to go across the border, go shopping, and bring craploads of stuff back into Moz – without paying the country any tax on the stuff they’re importing.

Arriving in Maputo was kind of like having some sort of weight lifted after being in SA. There isnt the same sort of tension hanging the air or something. There’s crime and anyone traveling through should keep their guard up, but the way people look at you is different; kind of like they find you curious as a white person walking around on the street. But unlike SA there’s no anger in people’s eyes – I didn’t feel once like someone would rather kill me than look at me. Kind of a nice change.

And they speak Portuguese there which is pretty cool since I can actually understand a little bit of that language. There’s definitely a Latin cultural-feel to the country in their architecture, attitude, food – they even have siesta there where all the shops close for 3 hours in the middle of the afternoon!

Moz is worse off economically than SA though, which you can tell by how many people are constantly out to rip you off in any way possible. During our 2 days in Maputo our cab driver and hostel manager both tried to get away with some shady stuff. When you know the going price for things – like cab rides for instance – this type of situation is easy to deal with. You just tell the person, “I know how much this should cost. This is a fair price and this is what I’m giving you.” If the price really is fair, and if they’re smart they’ll take it. But things can get a little more complicated in some cases – like with the hostel manager. Mathew sorted this out though, so thanks for that dude!

There really isn’t much to see in Maputo other than a neat, colorful open air market selling all sorts of fruits, veggies, nuts and crafts. So after a visit there we got on another never-ending busride up the coast to Inhambane. By this time Mathew, Joanna and I had hooked up with Brooke and Tom and we all endured the unairconditioned bus together. Although it was long (9 hours!) and monotonous after awhile, it was a nice way to see the countryside. Once you get out of the capital Moz is RURAL, there ain’t nothing around except a few towns here and there. My favorite one we went through is called Xai-Xai (pronounced Shy-Shy).

The trip was worth it though when we arrived in Tofo – which is the name of the beach hamlet about 30kms outside of Inhambane. It is an absolutely beautiful place, a few buildings made from concrete in the little village proper but for the most part people live in huts made of reeds literally over sand dunes from the beach. There’s white sand, clear blue water and coconut trees as far as the eye can see. Although it hosts travelers and semi-permanent expats from all over the world, the place doesn’t feel like its been completely overrun by outsiders – not yet anyway.

We stayed at a backpackers called Bamboozi’s where I slept in a reed hut on bed covered by a mosquito net! It was great. The boiler for the hot water for the showers was heated up by a wood fire. The whole place was built on a giant sand dune.

Alot of my time there was spent getting my scuba diving certification, which felt at times like too much work to be doing on my vacation. But I stopped complaining when I was 15 meters down swimming with sting rays, octopus, pike fish, and lion fish among others. Apparently Tofo is a world class diving site, ranked like 3rd in the world or something. The most popular diving area was where Manta Rays typically hang out – this is a deeper dive so as a beginner I didn’t go this time around. Maybe next time!

Another cool thing I did was snorkeling with Whale Sharks on an “Ocean Safari”. They take a group of people out on high speed boat and drive around until they spot one of these huge creatures, at which point everyone puts on their snorkel gear and plops into the ocean. Luckily for us (but probably not so lucky for them) the Whale Sharks aren’t very fast swimmers, so its not hard to keep up with them. I’ve heard different accounts of what a Whale Shark actually is – most people can agree that they are a fish, making them definitely not a whale, which is a mammal. But they’re not exactly sharks either…they’re extremely docile. Anyway it was awesome swimming with them, although people speculate that all the Ocean Safaris are actually interfereing with the whale sharks routine and altering their natural behavior. Probably true.

The only real damper on my Moz ocean experience was my tendency to get seasick. I learned that the only thing worse than being seasick is being hungover and seasick. As my scuba diving instructor Jules told me about 16 times in a very big brotherly way – “You piss it up, you puke it up.” This is definitely true, and after learning this I made sure not to repeat those particular circumstances. But hungover or not, I am still easily affected by the motion of the ocean. Under the water I was fine, it was just when the boat was stopped and was bobbing around and when I was bobbing around at the surface that I hated life. Next time: seasickness pills.

After the scuba diving course was completed the real party began, with the help of some extra sweet rum called Tipo Tinto and a fun group of people from a couple different corners of the world. I almost didn’t leave!

This is one of my friend Charlie’s favorite lines. He usually breaks out this gem when he’s doing something he really enjoys like drinking, eating or as I learned on a previous trip to the Berg (Drakensberg Mountains); horseback riding.

I was lucky enough to be invited by my friends and co-workers, Stuart and Precious, to the Berg for a weekend. It’s beautiful up there, dramatic peaks and rolling hills – some of which featured prominently in the hiking pics I sent out a while back.

One mainly goes to the Berg to relax, enjoy the mountain air, or hike. At the Champagne Castle resort where we stayed, horseback riding is also included as one of the activities available for guests. I’d never been on a horse since I was a kid.

My Nana had a “farm”. That was what we called it anyway, but it was more like a petting zoo where Nana kept a bunch of barnyard animals as pets. It was fun going there because I got to play with all the animals. That is until the day I tried to feed Nana’s horse a carrot and CHOMP – big horse teeth came down on tiny 5 year old finger – the wailing which resulted has now become somewhat legendary in family circles.

Nana also used to somewhat obsessively warn me about staying away from the horse’s rear end as to avoid being kicked in the head. I’ve pretty much stayed away from them ever since. I guess my fear of horses started early, as did my fear of Nana, who could be pretty scary herself when she wanted to be. But I digress.

I decided on this particular trip to the Berg that I would conquer my fear of horses by riding one, mostly since Charles and Precious were planning on going anyway. When I heard Charles (who is quite the horseman) had signed us up for the “Intermediate” horse-riding session I wasn’t alarmed since I figured we would each be able to go at our own speed. This, however, was not the case.

Apparently there are different horses that are taken out depending on the skill level of the riders that sign up. Some horses like to run, and others are slow and only like to walk – and the ones that like to run take off as soon as the ones in front of them start running. So when my horse started running after the two in front of him, I felt like I would be bounced off at any moment and held on white-knuckled for dear life. I had no idea what I was doing and just concentrated on staying in the saddle. Luckily the first running episode ended rather quickly, after Charlie developed a poorly-timed cramp in the arse.

I managed to get over my initial terror of flying off the horse soon and actually started to enjoy myself, although this occured mostly when we were walking or trotting. But the cantering was definitely fun too – in a high-adrenaline sort of way. The scenery was breathtaking, the weather was fine, and we even got to see some Zebra and Springbok (like miniature antelopes) as we were riding through some flatter grassy areas.

“What would I be doing if I were in America right now?” I wondered to myself as we rode along.

I was thinking the other day how I havent put anything on the old blog about Durban – my current home town. So in honor of my one year SA anniversary here are some vital stats, interesting info and insightful observations about my hometown…

Durban, which is also known by the Zulu name eThekwini, is located on the eastern coast of South Africa in Kwa-Zulu Natal Province. It has a semi-tropical climate with hot humid summers and mild winters (see my “If you can’t take the heat” post for more info on the summer weather). Its kind of like living in Florida – similar climate, plants and animals – and old people represent a similar proportion of the population.

Now experienced almost an entire winter I’ve realized that I am spoiled living here. A few months ago on a trip to Pretoria I froze my ass off! And it wasnt even that cold! One morning when it might have been about 50 degrees, which though not cold by NE-US standards, warranted the use of the mini-heater in Precious and my office for the better part of the day.

Probably the most unique thing about Durban is the influence of East Indian culture and the large population of Indian people in the city. There have been times when I’ve looked around and been the not just the only white person, but also the only non-Indian person in a particular place (ie Mitchell Park and Suncoast Casino). I assume that that is what it would feel like if I actually went to India, expect I imagine that the real India would probably smell a little bit worse.

I also attribute the general chaos of day-to-day life in Durban, in part, to the influence of Indian culture. If you go downtown to the Central Business District (not somewhere you want to hang out in for long unless you plan on getting mugged) you are bound to see swarms of cars, buses, taxis and people in every direction. The swarm is particularly large and crazy the closer you are to any area that features a market or taxi rank.

Everyone basically seems to be racing around from one place to another as fast as they possibly can and trying – sometimes unsuccessfully – not to crash into each in the process. Although I think this sort of chaos is standard for most cities in the developing world, it isnt the norm for most SA cities – which appear to operate in much more calm and orderly fashion. So why is Durban different? The only plausible theory is the influence of Indian culture – which is what is absent from those other more orderly SA cities.

But there are lots of great things about Indian cultural influence- particuarly the easily availability of Indian food. Curries, samoosas, and bunny chow – a big hunk of bread with curry inside – are everywhere and they’re cheap!

Plus there’s lots of flashy Indian fashion andbling shops. Indians, even the ones in South Africa, love their bling (did someone say CHANDRA?)! I’ve noticed that Indian women here also love to refer to things that they like as being “stunning” which in my opinion is a word that is just not used enough.

Durban has all kind of water sports going on which makes sense since it’s right on the ocean. There’s surfing, surf-skiing (riding waves in on a sit-atop kayak), snorkeling, scuba-diving, sailing, deep-sea fishing, ocean kayaking and of course just plain old sun-bathing and swimming on the beach. The nicest beaches are out of town in the suburbs around Umhlanga Rocks.

There’s a port in Durban harbour where ships come in from all over the world. At “Thristy’s” a cafe right on the harbour mouth you can watch them sail in close up. The harbour mouth is so narrow and hard to navigate, that the Durban port flies a specially trained navigator by out helicopter to each ship to guide it into the port. They’re planning on expanding the harbour mouth soon so it will be easier for the really big ships to get in, and when that happens bye-bye Thristy’s. .

Let’s see what else…I wouldnt say that Durban is exactly cosmopolitan, which I mistakenly thought it kind of would be before I moved here. But one can attend a theatre, ballet or orchestra performance, there’s sort of a jazz and visual arts centre, and its not impossible to run into theoccaisonal other foreigner from time to time. The University of Kwa-Zulu Natal has a large campus here which explains this, as well as the whole shipping industry thing.

My friend Eric the Canadian recently asked me to name my Durban Top Five, and I had a little trouble doing this. Then I realized I would have to use slightly different assessment standards to complete this exercise than I would use if making a list for a city in the developed world (or possibly Jo-burg or Capetown).

So here they are in no particular order :
Gateway Mall

Claiming to be the largest mall in the Southern hemisphere, if you can find it in Durban they have it at Gateway. There are two separate movie theatres with a total of over 20 screens, a live theatre, an indoor climbing wall, surf pool on the premises, and endless rows of shops and restaurants with more crap than anyone could need or want in their entire lifetime. There are also speciality surfing and scuba shops at Gateway. When you go there you feel like you are walking for-ev-er (insert Sandlot soundbyte here).

Although I agree that it is a little disgusting that a mall this large even exists, its nice for movies and wasting time. Really when it comes down to it, isnt that what all malls are for? Plus I don’t get there very often (ie only when Precious is driving there anyway) since its like 20km or so outside of Durban proper. Therefore my Gateway tolerance remains rather high. It’s kind of like Vegas in that things are just so big you can’t help but be at least a little bit impressed no matter how tacky you find them.
Ships at Night

To reach Gateway mall and any other points north of Durban, one must drive along a stretch of highway up on a ridge with an awesome view of the Indian ocean. As noted earlier in this post, Durban harbor mouth is pretty narrow and hard for ships to get in and out of, making the whole process of docking slow. So on any given day of the week there are around a dozen or so ships lined up off the coast to the north waiting for their chance to come into the harbor. Its really cool to drive along that stretch of highway at night and see a long line of lighted ships out at sea.

Workshop Market

Best knock-off market in Durban hands-down. I like it because it has nicer quality knock-offs, is easy to get to on public transport, the vendors are nice and most don’t seem to be out to rip you off, and for Durban its relatively safe. By this I mean although you’ve still got to have your wits about you big time, you aren’t necessarily assured of being mugged when you go there.

The workshop market is located outside of The Workshop which is a sort of rinky-dink mall inside what used to the old train station and train workshop (for those of you who know Pittsburgh – Workshop: Durban, Station Square: Pittsburgh). The Workshop mall features a great cheap Indian fast food restaurant called The Oriental, not quite the Grand Concourse but it’ll do for me!

FL Road and Flagons and Dragons

My current options for nighttime entertainment are limited to places that I can walk to from my flat. This is unless I want to pay money for a cab ride, which I do sometimes although that can get expensive quick. So most of my time is spent at establishments on either nearby FL road or its counterpart WM road.

If they were in the US I don’t think I would hang out at FL road bars very much – unless of course there were no where else to go. Most of the places are very similar – same crowd, decor, drinks, prices and overall atmosphere. Which I find rather boring. Plus alot of the people are snotty and pretenious (which is a problem in Durban in general). But despite these complaints I have managed to have a good time out on FL with the right company.

Things have also started to look up recently with the addition of a new bar/restaurant called Taco Zulu. While not even coming close to being authentic Mexican, and selling Corona for the exorbitant amount of R22 per bottle (domestic beers usually run between R7-12), it will satisfy the Mexican food craving of an American far away from home. There’s also an electic and mixed crowd, laid-back atmopshere, and it sometimes doubles as a sports bar!

But my favorite bar right now can be found on WM Road – which is FL’s less trendy cousin. Flagons and Dragons is about as close as you’ll get to a dive bar in this part of Durban. Although I think it pretends to be something of an English pub, its run by Indians, and doesnt serve anything remotely resembling English beer. There is however a dartboard, pool table and pub food. Flagons and Dragons usually plays host to a varied and whacky cast of characters, the likes of which you would be hard pressed to find on FL – and to top it all off they have Karaeoke on Friday nights!

Durban Waterfront

Durban has a “beachfront” which is where people go swimming and then a “waterfront” which is on the harbor. Even though it would kind of be a gross place to go swimming its more redeeming qualities include an art and cultural centre which often has live music, sailing and boat tours, and plenty of restaurants to choose from right on the water.

This past weekend I went up to Kosi Bay with fellow Volunteer Safi and visiting Canadian Eric. Kosi Bay is located way up in northern Kwa-Zulu Natal – at one point we were about 5km away from the SA – Mozambique border. Much of the area is a nature reserve/park that features miles of unspoiled beaches and dunes, birdlife, fish and coral reefs.

We stayed at a bush lodge that was barely accessible without a 4 wheel drive vehicile. This is due to there being no paved roads on the miles of sand flats between the shore and the “highway”. The roads consisted of fine sand which was pretty deep in some places, causing our rented Nissan sedan to become stuck on the way to and from the lodge. Imagine driving in a giant sandbox.

Luckily shortly after we got stuck about 10 locals appeared out of thin air to help push us out – not just out of the goodness of their hearts though, they were hoping to get a few bucks in the process. Driving in sand is hard. I got to operate the car for awhile the guys got out to help push. It kind of feels like driving in snow, but with absolutely no traction.

Kosi gets a fair amount of tourist traffic (though its by no means overcrowded at least not this time of year) so lots of the people living there, many of whom are unemployed, rely on tourism for all or part of their incomes. Fishing seems to be the only other thing going on in the area. Near the Kosi Bay mouth area there are several large lakes where local people have built systems of fish traps, or kraals, using indigenous materials and techniques. The fish kraals are pretty labor intensive and require a good deal of maintenence, but are effective when it comes when it comes to catching fish.

At the Kwala Kwala Lodge we stayed in what basically amounted to a big hut made almost entirely out of reeds. But inside there were kitchen applicances (the lodge was self-catering) a flush toilet and hot running water. From the lodge we were able to organize a lift in a 4wd vehicle into the nature reserve/park where we spent pretty much the entire first day swimming, snorkeling, sandboarding, shell-collecting and walking on the beach.

Snorkeling was cool, especially since I’ve never been before. The water was warm and clear and we were able to see several different kinds of fish living on the coral reef in Kosi Bay mouth. We were also able to successfully avoid the dreaded stonefish, which lives on the reefs in the area. The sting of the stonefish can be deadly and they’re often hard to spot since the blend in with the coral around them.

After snorkeling we walked up along the totally undeveloped beach where there are no buildings to be seen until crossing the Mozambique border. On the way we ran into some people sandboarding on the dunes and everyone gave it a go. Safi and I collected a bunch neat shells and Eric and I threw the frisbee for a bit on the beach too before we headed back for the day.

The second day we went on a short hike to one of the nearby lakes in search of hippos. There’s alot of vegetation growing in the area despite the ground being completely sand. When we arrived at the lake the hippos were sleeping way far out in the middle, so they were kind of hard to see. But it was a good way to spend the morning nonetheless.

That’s right everybody – for a limited time only I am coming back. So if anyone wants to hang out plan on being either in Harrisburg, PA or Toronto (definitely the more exciting option) on any of the following days:

Harrisburg: July 26 – August 12

Toronto: August 12-19

In Toronto I’m attending the International AIDS Conference from the 12-18, but I’m only presenting my poster on one of the days for like 2 hours. So most of the rest of the time I dont really HAVE to be there. Although I figure there will be some stuff that I do want to see/hear.

Hmmm let’s see what am I most looking forward to having….

1.) Mexican Food

2.) Mom’s Potato Salad

As part of a real American cookout, which although similar to a South African Braai, usually features a few menu selections in addition to MEAT.

3.) Pancakes with Maple Sryup

As part of otherwise grease-filled and unhealthy diner breakfast.

4.) Real Pizza

There are pizza places here but they suck and can barely pass for pizza. SA Pizza sadly enough even makes Antoon’s look good which before coming here I didnt think would be possible.

5.) American Ice Cream

Ben and Jerry’s, Hershey’s, 31 Flavors – any will do!

4.) Miller Lite

This is sad, I know. Just pretend it says Yuengling.

5.) Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies

Why wasnt I fatter when I lived in America?