December 2009 - Wild Coast

The beautiful Tsitsikama Forest is a personal favorite since visiting it for the first time. Nature’s valley as well as Storms River (its camp site was voted a couple of years ago as one of the 5 most romantic in SAJ) are not to be missed.

Jeffrey’s Bay is a must stop for every surfer and the Super Tubers speak for themselves…

The Bavianskloof Mountain range is a pleasant alternative to the coast line.

The highlight of this province, if possible to say is the one and only Wild Coast. What different beauty! Makes you truly wonder if you are still in the same country. Banana trees, humid heat, tropical climate…. Here we had one of the most wonderful cultural experiences in SA. A 5 day 70km hike from Port St Johns to Coffee Bay, accommodation was provided by the lovely Xhosa people in their villages along the way.

The first step of actually leaving the sleepy town of Port St’Johns might be one of the hardest steps to make. Once you arrive you feel at home, it’s as easy as that. The surrounding is beautiful; the climate pleasant, the people act as if you have known them forever and the water is warm! Concerning the latter however, also shark-infested. While having our Christmas breakfast on a lovely veranda with the view of the beach, the body of a lifeguard got washed back, he had been taken 5 days ago by a shark. That was the 4^th person in 3 years. And we were getting concerned about Muizenberg?

Once the hike begins, the rolling green hills of this region loose part of their initial beauty after walking up the 10^th one on a day with a 20kg backpack.

However, the mealie pap of the previous evening, proudly prepared by the head of the household, the Xhosa mama, along with chicken from the yard, corn, butternut and stew topped up with mealie pap prepared as porridge for breakfast definitely gives you the strength required. Such friendly, self-sufficient people. Integrating an experience like into the South African school curriculum would teach in what a completely different way life can be lived and would give a different perspective to life outside the guarded cities and to the culture and hospitability they bear.

The hike ends in Coffee Bay. A place which seems to have attracted all the mushroomies from Cape Town and backpackers from around the globe. A minibus took us from there to Umatata and with a bus we got to Chintsa where we ‘treated ‘ourselves with dormitory beds (indeed, no double bedroom available) in the famous Chintsa Backpackers to spend New Year’s and recover from the hike on the beautiful beach and relaxed environment. To our pleasure the Backpackers had an improvised Sauna and Jacuzzi, that was the extreme of Luck and we took full advantage of it which was much appreciated by our blisters and sore backs. The next day, a party was planned to celebrate the New Year, we decided to cook in our little kitchen and had managed to find a bottle of sparkling in the convenience store of the village. However, while the food was just digested, the stomach became very upset. Midnight was spent on the toilet, with fevery shivers, extreme nausea and all sorts of nice stuff. Nothing worse of being in such a state in a dormitory bed sharing the room with 3 other people. Well actually, there is, the 20 hour bus ride back to Cape Town the next day.

Beautiful place, beautiful memories, stunning nature and people!

September 2008 - Kruger Park

Fred was invited over the University to attend a Organic Chemistry Conference organized by a collaboration between South Africa and Germany in the Kruger Park! Each member was allowed to bring a partner. So there was our chance to get to see the famous Kruger Park and of course some famous Chemists who however, were ranking rather low on my interest scale... Being in Africa most certainly involves safaris and eventually if one is lucky enough seeing the Big Five of the Wild. The Rhino, Leopard, Buffalo, Rhino and Elephant.
Why they did not include in those the unbelievable pleasure of seeing a Whale I have not been to figure out until now.
While Fred was spending most of the days in the Conference room of the Berg en Daal Rest Camp in Kruger I had the whole day to my self, to either stroll along the camps's footpaths and sit and watch the elephants, rhinos and millions of antelope species coming to get water and rest in the shade from the burning sun or the more fancy option was to be driven by a 4x4 vehicle to game drives.

Nothing can bit the feeling of driving along a dirt path and seeing your first elephant standing in the middle of the road. While just a few meters further a rhino is hiding in the bushes and beyond the tree tops you can spot a couple of giraffes feeding of the leaves. However, writing this 3 years after the actual visit to Kruger and having seen plenty of other National Parks in the meantime has sort of altered my first impression. Kruger is something like a game drive factory. It is the biggest and oldest National Park in South Africa and maybe one of the most well-known to visitors to South Africa. It has an airport within its border, very well-equipped rest camps and well-maintained roads (every city car can easily drive around Kruger) all this can lead to ques of cars forming around waterholes. With such a great influx of visitors the true 'wild' experience is sort of flawed while at the same time prices may be double than in other parks.
Nevertheless, this first experience of 'Game Viewing' which is the South African equivalent to a 'Safari', was stunning.
One lecture-free afternoon we managed to escape the gates and drove north along the borders of the Park to the Blyde River Canyon. The rather flat, dry savannah like scenery of the Park is transformed into canyons covered in pine forests and due to the altitude most of it was covered in mist. Beautiful! The way back was longer then expected and the gates of the park had closed... This was rather embarrassing as a ranger needed to drive from the camp to the main gate to escort us back...
A wonderful experience all together!

Life in The Big Easy

Throughout the last three years both of us have lived and loved Cape Town and the lifestyle it allows one to live. Despite full time jobs one cannot get rid of this slightly guilt-laden feeling of constant holiday. Waking up to the sound and the view of the waves every day, grabbing a surf board and walking to the beach on weekends or being stuck in traffic with the full view of Table Mountain and Constantia’s wine-lands on weekdays. Constant reminders of the luck to have chosen “The Big Easy” as city to settle for some time.

On the doorstep, Table Mountain National Park stretching throughout the whole city and length of the peninsula with uncountable hiking trails, caves, dams and beaches to explore.

A little further outside the vast Western Cape. Where should one start describing all its treasures? Starting with the Winelands of Franshoek, Stellenbosch, Paarl with their so non-African flair made up for many high-quality culinary experiences.

The wonderful Route 62. What a feeling it is to travel through the Little Karroo in late afternoon with the late sunlight reflecting on the hills of the semi-desert and passing through the lush little wine towns of McGregor, Barrisdale, Calitzdorp. The adrenalin rush here comes with an Ostrich ride in the Ostrich capital of Outhoorn just before climbing the famous Swartberg Pass and arriving in the idyllic Price Albert where people will need to strongly make an effort to speak in English to you as opposed to Afrikaans.

Further to the North comes the Cederberg, a landscape as if taken from the imagination of the Moon. As well just a two-hour drive from Cape Town but so immensely different. Hot dry climate and little vegetation along with steep mountain cliffs and cracks within them make up for an unforgettable hiking experience.

In-between south, west and north Western Cape there have been many more places that have offered excellent weekend escapes throughout the time in Cape Town. The lovely town of Tulbagh, the De Hoop, Matroosberg, Limietberg, Kogelbay and honestly so many more Nature Reserves.

Every occasion that allowed us to spend time away from out jobs drew us to some new place to explore.This very much to the concern of our families and friends far away on a different continent… All along we counted on their understanding which we have received plentiful and have also had the pleasure of their visits.