We left you last time as we were about to go walking for a day or 2. Well we did that, and great it was too. Lovely walks among rocks and with hills in the back ground, and very quiet. The monkeys and baboons came to visit us daily, but decided that we were not going to feed them so they soon lost interest!!

Our water-tank was fixed when we got back, and very well too. Great!! What a relief!! Next stop was a small guest farm. It was a very tranquil setting with a small ‘children’s ‘ zoo….lovely peacocks strutting about, some kuni-kuni pigs, guinea pigs etc! There were also African animals roaming about in huge enclosures and we could walk and drive about amongst them too. All very peaceful and restful too. The folks here were mad keen on rugby and we were able to enjoy a very match between South Africa and Australia.

We then headed off to the east coast to Sodwana Bay which is in the middle of the Wetland Park, a world Heritage site. After watching the rugby [it must seem to some that we spend our life going from one place to another just so that we can watch some rugby!] we went onto the National Park wondering if there would be room for us to camp…well, there were over 500 campsites so they found us a spot!!! Michael began to do a PADI diving course, starting in the pool and then progressing to the ocean. Liz just pottered about looking at the wild-life, flowers, birds and small animals, and of course doing the washing etc..as you do!!! There was a lovely little antelope, called a duiker, and he came to visit us every day. He didn’t seem at all afraid of us, and came really close. Also we were visited by a gang of mongeese[maybe that should be mongooses] who go around looking quite intimidating, but are really quite harmless. All was well until Michael began to get earache, so it was off to the doctor to see what he thought! He was an amazing man…very jolly, kind and seemed to be good at his job!! He said no more diving until things had calmed down…what a blow…however we decided to make the most of it and went to Mozambique for a few days.[ we needed to get our carnet stamped outside the S.A customs zone] On the way we spent 2 days at Kosi Bay, still part of the Wetland park. There were lovely weaver birds building their nests….how they weave the grass into neat balls is incredible. We were able to wade out to see things more clearly…amazing.

On then to Mozambique…what a contrast. The tar ended as we crossed the border….sand only. We were glad that we had had some experience in sand in Botswana, especially when we ground to a halt because we stopped to let someone past!! We stayed in a ‘resort’. An area of level ground close to the ocean, with showers…cold, and water taps. It was a fabulous spot with lovely walks along the beach and plenty to see, as it is a great surfing area and also kite-surfing. It looked tremendous fun, and a bit hairy from time to time. We met a couple in Sodwana Bay..he is Austrian and she is German… and we all went out to eat one night in Mozambique. We had just got ourselves a beer and ordered some food when the heavens opened and huge hail-stones began to fall…about the size of a 10p piece!!. There was a tremendous clattering on the tin roof, and we had to change tables as we were getting wet!! It lasted about 10 minutes, the proprietor said he had never seen anything like it in 15 years!!

The economy in Mozambique does not compare with S.A. There is much more begging and selling of things on the beach. The houses are poorer and the shopping is small stalls with people desperate for you to buy. Having said that they all seemed happy and cheerful.

After our few days we went back to S.A. with our carnet stamped [.we had to show them what to do]. We revisited the doc who advised that the ear needed more time to heal properly. What a shame but there will be other opportunities for the PADI course to be completed.

In complete contrast to our other adventures we decided to go and visit the battle sites on our way to the Drakensberg Mountains. Dundee seemed to be in the middle of it all so that is where we went. There was a great museum in the town and we spent a whole morning there trying to sort out in our heads the chronology of the events. It was all very bloody and the Brits didn’t seem to come out of it very well on numerous occasions…not sure how we eventually won as we seemed to make all sorts of stupid decisions, which led to our troops being in sieges for months and defeated several times. Masses of soldiers died on both sides..what a waste. It was quite difficult to imagine what it was like in the various sites…Rorkes Drift, Ladysmith, Dundee and Blood River. We were helped in Blood River by a short film and a walk down to a replica Laager, about 40 wagons in a circle, each with its own bucket and water container hanging down, and all made out of bronze. What a sight! It certainly made it all seem more real….what a waste of life, and all to very little purpose.


The Drakensberg Mountains are really spectacular. They rise up out of a plain, have impressive towers of rock at the summits, which reflect the sunlight and glow at sunset. We spent our 3 days there walking to view waterfalls, or just to look at the amazing views. We also had some spectacular thunderstorms, which lit up the sky and rumbled around for ages. Magnificent!

During our last few days at Sodwana Bay we received a telephone call from the Visa people in Mafikeng to say that our visas had come through and would we please collect them. After a bit of negotiation they agreed that we could have 2 weeks to get back to Mafikeng. The annoying part of all this was that we discovered when we arrived that the visas had been granted on the day that we left Mafikeng and that it had taken 2 + months for them to let us know. Still it did give us a chance to stay at, in our opinion, South Africa’s best campsite. It is fairly basic but has electricity, hot showers and toilets but NO fences. The animals just wander in and out; giraffe, water buck, impala, wharthogs. Although we did not see any rhino actually inside the campsite, they slept so close to our truck that I am sure that I heard them snoring! [we did see some footprints inside where the fence used to be]. The other glorious thing about this campsite is that nobody seems to go there. Apart from a chap and his son who where working in the area, we were the only campers.

Then it was back to Johannesburg. We made a decision to come back to the UK for a flying visit. We shall be there for 2 weeks, and hope to see as many of you as possible, albeit briefly. At least we shall be able to wish you all a Happy Christmas and New Year, and hopefully share a glass of something festive too!