A Very Memorable Christmas Day

Dawn awoke us high in the fort in Jaisalmer, and yes, it was Christmas Day. Aside from the odd kitchy santa hat for sale in the village, there was no sign of Christmas. Everything was open as usual, and it was a fine sunny 24 degrees in the desert sun.

We ate a long leisurely breakfast in our hotel courtyard, surrounded by the fabulous sandstone fort. Cheese omelet, lemon pancakes, toast and a whole pot of coffee probably costing close to $2. We had decided to do the secret santa thing, so we headed out shopping. Our limit was supposed to be 10 rupees (20 cents), but I decided to break the budget and spend 30 rupees.

We did the secret santa thing in our hotel at 2:30 in the afternoon, making our Indian guide wear a santa hat. The family members that own the hotel gathered around watching our odd tradition. I got some individual packages of laundry soap from Santa - very practical! It all just seemed so much more fun (and less stressful) than Christmas at home.

Then most of our group were off through the desert in a couple of jeeps. It felt very Indiana Jones zipping along.














We arrived at our desert camp within an hour. The tents were up on platforms and had beautiful furnishings and thick comfortable Indian carpets - hardly roughing it. Our camels were already waiting, so we just dropped off our luggage, and headed out to meet our mounts. We were going in two's, so Rachel and I hopped up on our camel, Michael Jackson.
















We headed out through scrub desert towards the more stereotypical sand dunes. It was a good ride and I figured it would be over soon. Not so, we hung out with our camels and drivers in the desert waiting for sunset. We amused ourselves by doing high speed gallops on the camels, and sipping cold beers that a very entreprenuerial vendor got for us. We watched the sun set on Christmas Day, and headed back to our desert camp.

After cleaning up a bit, we headed over to a sandstone compound for drinks and a buffet dinner under the stars. They served peanuts, papadums and veg pekoras with our cold beer. There was a really good Indian band there playing traditional music, plus a couple of beautiful women in saris dancing and spinning. The buffet dinner was very good, with mostly vegitarian food (it is so easy here), and we just relaxed and took in the ambience.

A couple of us headed out to the desert on foot to stargaze later, then it was home to the cozy tent for a good night's sleep.

We are back in the fort in Jaisalmer again today (Boxing Day), and head out to our next destination tomorrow. We are having another buffet under the stars in the fort tonight, prepared by the mother of the family who owns our hotel.

A very memorable and relaxing Christmas here!

Oh yes, forgot to mention we spotted the three Wise Men on the way to see baby Jesus.

T'was the Night Before Christmas

Well, it actually is the night before Christmas right now in India, and here I sit in an internet cafe sorting out the next couple of days. Of course, it feels nothing like Christmas here, it is almost completely ignored, which as you all know, is fine with me.

So we left Delhi last night (23rd) at about 6:30 PM. Our overnight train to Jaisalmer was scheduled to leave at 6:30 PM, but was cancelled. Of GAP tour leader said prepare to scramble onto the train, and with that, we were off to Delhi train station.

We scrambled into taxis with our luggage, and headed out in this city of 14 million people during evening rush hour. We drove over a pile of re-bar, across a pile of gravel which almost tipped the cab, then on past cows, horses and chickens. We drove past a huge unprotected open pit, and then with a laugh past 2 big black pigs. With that, we launched into Delhi traffic.

Words cannot describe our journey, it was beyond even previous trips. There were literally hundreds of near misses each few minutes. At one point, we drove onto the sidewalk to get around a bus traffic jam.

We arrived at Delhi train station on time, and with a few platform changes, jammed ourselves into a train for which we had no tickets. Our original tickets were for a berth for each of us, but we ended up with 4 seats for 16 people. What ensued after that was hours of chaos, as people boarded and exited the train, but mostly boarded.

Our final toll was 7 of us in 4 bunks, and the rest of the group in an unheated car in the freezing night of the Rajastani desert. There was also the usual screaming children, and their parents who would not shut up all night. It was not a pretty site.

What was pretty however, was our arrival in the city of Jaisalmer at 2:30PM the next day. We were exhausted, but thrilled to be there. You may recognize it as being that Indian city with a beautiful fort high above it, as featured in the Amazing Race - stunning.

What was even more amazing was the fact our hotel is situated right inside the fort, actually near the top, with absolutely stunning views. We settled in and got cleaned up, took a brief tour, then went out for another fabualous Indian dinner.

Oh yes, in case you were wondering, the military is everywhere here. Tanks, equipment and personnel were all along the rail line heading to this area - hey we are only miles from the Pakistani border. Even as I type, jet fighters are sceaming overhead.

So, are we worried? Of course not. Tomorrow, Christmas Day, we head out into the desert on camels to stay overnight in tents. We plan on exchanging tacky gifts by the bonfire. Yes, camels, desert, heading west on Christmas Day... it will be hard not to do the Three Wise Men thing. Hey, where is my frankenscence?

Merry Chistmas to all....

No meat in this Delhi

Well, devoted readers, it is almost Christmas and 2009, and I find myself safe and sound in New Delhi, India.

The long trip from Cape Town, via Germany, was actually not that bad. Andrea and I got to the Cape Town airport quite early, and saw each other off. Unfortunatly, we heard that there was a major incident on the N2, a key freeway in Cape Town. A pedestrian was hit, and the freeway was closed. We were ahead of this horrible accident, but the entire crew of our Lufthansa flight was behind it! We heard from them later that they were 3 hours in traffic.

Our flight left 2 hours late, but that was just more appies and cocktails in the SA Lounge for me. The flight itself was wonderful, as usual, and I got lots of sleep in the LH Private Bed.

I had a fairly long transfer in Frankfurt, so no rush making the connection. Especially considering the plane was still in maintenance. Another 2 hour late flight, but at least we landed in Delhi before the major fog moved in.

I had a rather creepy cab ride thru Delhi at 4 in the morning. There is a huge park just before the neighbourhood I am staying in, but I did not know that. I am in urban India, and wondering why there are no buildings. Am I way outside town, and about to be taken for all my money????

Well, the driver was really nice, so my worries were completely misplaced. "How much longer before we get to our hotel?" I nervously asked. "Only about another couple of minutes, sir". Seconds later, we emerge from the huge park, round a big traffic circle, and plunge into the crowded neighbourhood. I feel like a bit of a smuck - stop worrying so much.

Check into an OK hotel, and sleep well into the next day.

I walk around a very crowded and crazy neighbourhood, Karol Bahg, the next day. Decide on a quick hair raising tour throught the local neighbourhood on a motorized rickshaw late that afternoon. Cairo is no longer the crazy traffic champ for me, Delhi has now taken top honours - absolutely nuts, but fun. I just relax and laugh, figuring my relaxation will soften the impact with another vehicle. Pedestrians, bicycle rickshaws, motorized rickshaws, push carts, cars, trucks - tightly packed and weaving like crazy. They are really good drivers, did not see one collision - but boy, it was crazy!















Next day, one westerner and I are having breakfast amongst many Indian tourists in the breakfast room. I ask if I can join her, and sure enough, she turns out to be on the GAP tour with me. An Aussie, named Jeannine (Andrea, you are so easy to replaced!)...... just kidding.

Anyway, I end up joining her for a full day city tour. Once again, we are the only Westerners on the tour - lots of Indians on holidays. But it works out well, with the guide giving us English commentary as well.

Like I have heard, things here are absurdly cheap. Breakfast chocks in at $1.20, I spent $1.60 on lunch yesterday, and I ordered room service last night which came to $8.00, but only because the delivery boy went out and got me 2 large Kingfisher beers! The full day city tour cost a whole $7. This is a nice relief after going through so much money in Europe. Oh, by the way, the title of this blog makes refernence to the fact that I am going veggie for this part of the trip, on the wise advice of my dear sister.

I am in an internet cafe in Connaught Place in New Delhi now, trying to catch up on picture uploading. I have switched chips in my camera, so it may not get caught up until I get home.

We meet our group tonight at 5:00, have some kind of tour around Delhi tomorrow morning, then it is off on a 20 hour overnight train ride on the world's biggest rail system tomorrow afternoon. Don't worry, we have berths, so should not be too bad. I am truly looking forward to yet another adventure.

It is sunny and comfortable in Delhi now, and luckily I got in before the thick fog you may have heard about. I am guessing that may have delayed some of the other GAP travellers. But the weather is nice now, so we should all get going tomorrow. The fog/smog did make for a nice sunset, pictured below, at the resting place of Mahatma Ghandi.

I have a feeling internet cafes are going to be difficult to get to, and that we are going to be fairly busy in the next couple of weeks, so please do not worry if you don't hear from me for awhile (right, Laurie).

Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas season, while I am over here ignoring it! Enjoy the snow, as I will enjoy the warmth of India.

Namaste.

South African wine country

Andrea and I are both big wine lovers, so it seemed appropriate that our last days in Southern Africa were in the fabulous Franschoek area. I have been to many wine areas, including Napa and the Okanagan, but none compare to the spectacular scenery in South Africa. The mountains surrounding the valleys are very rugged, and the wine farms, as the South Africans call them, are second to none.

The South African wine industry goes back hundreds of years, yet there is still a youthful enthusiasm about the wine industry here. The wines themselves are excellent quality, and the prices are so low, its almost a joke.

Craige and Greg - you must come here one day - you would absolutely love it. Make sure you see some wild animals too!

We took a tour called the wine hopper, which dropped us off and picked us up at 4 wineries, that way there was no problem driving. All 4 were absolutely beautiful, with spectacular views, and some very impressive wines. Unfortunately, we were leaving the next day, so could not buy any.
















I am sitting here in the South African Airways Lounge in Cape Town typing this. The couple behind me in security just had two beautiful bottles taken away from their carry-on - they did not look happy.

I am off to Dehli via Frankfurt in a couple of hours. Just time enough for a glass or two of South African wine - Cheers Dwayne and Andrea!

Really South, South Africa

After dropping Dwayne off at Cape Town Airport for his long trip home, Andrea and I headed further south. I really miss Dwayne already, it was so nice to have him join me in Africa - it made this part of the trip so special.

We drove to the beautiful seaside town of Hermanus, the best place in the world to view whales from land. Unfortunately, it was not their season, so we filled our time walking along the wonderful waterfront, and hiking in hills filled with wildflowers.
















We also visited some cool climate wineries in the area, and made our way to the southernmost point in Africa - Cape Aguhlas. We stayed in a gueshouse high on a hill with a great view of where the Indian and Atlantic Oceans meet.















We are now (Dec 16) back in wine country, in the very beautiful town of Franschhoek, which could certainly give Napa a run for its money. Like the good budget travellers that we are, Andrea and I have discovered that one of the top 50 restaurants in the world is here, and guess what, they had a last minute cancellation. So..... we are treating ourselves, a bit expensive, but nothing like North American or European prices. We are doing the 7 course tasting with 7 matching wines - hey, you only live once!

Watching the Tablecloth

It was 100 degrees F when we went through Stellenbosch, and it did not look like the pretty wine town we were expecting, so we contined on to Cape Town. What a fabulous view as you approach the city, seeing Table Mountain looming over the city.

I had booked us at the African Train Lodge, and interesting sounding concept were you sleep on rail cars in an old train station. A few problems, as lovely as Cape Town is, its old train station is in a very scary part of town. There is unfortunately, so much crime in South Africa. The other problems is that a train compartment is a tad stuffy when there is a heat wave on. We braved it out one night, Andrea bunking with us because she was too scared to be alone in her room.

We moved to a nice guesthouse in the Sea Point area the next day, and were much more comfortable.

We explored Cape Town, including its interesting gay neighbourhood. We also spent time at the Victoria and Albert Waterfront, took a boat trip to Robbin Island where Nelson Mandela was imprisioned for many years. One day when the wind died down, we actually made it up to the top of Table Mountain, with the fog whipping in and out. I tell you, I thought San Francisco had amazing fog, but it is nothing compared to Cape Town. Same kind of speed and coolness, but it rolls over the top of Table Mountain in the most spectacular fashion - thus the expression - the tablecloth!

















We also had some really great dinners in Cape Town, the one that really stand out is Addis in Cape Restaurant - featuring genuine Ethiopian cuisine.

The Ostrich Capital of South Africa

We drove over some spectacular mountain passes into the Ostrich farming capital of South Africa - Oudtshoorn. The area is very hot and sunny, and has some great scenery. We stayed in a fabulous guesthouse complete with pool. We have been doing "self catering" apartments all over South Africa, and we really enjoyed this one.

We even invited some of our GAP travellers over for dinner at our place one night. The GAP truck had caught up to us here, but we were very fussy about who we got in contact with.

We went to a place that claimed to be an animal sanctuary, where we could experience cheetas first hand. It turned out to be not much more than a glorified zoo, so we left before the "show" ended. I don't think I will ever be able to see animals in confinement again, after seeing them free and as they should be in Africa.

We did the first of our wine tasting in this region too. South Africa has a variety of wine regions, including the really famous ones that have been around for hundreds of years. The new up and coming regions are really interesting, with hot climate ones like here, as well as some cool climate areas around the southern most part of the continent.

My friends Craige and Greg would just love it hear, prettier than Napa, with truly great wines at a fraction of the price. A really good bottle of wine can be had at a restaurant here for about US $6, with something really fabulous fetching about $10 - $12. A good bottle at the store is about $3 - I think I should move here.














After Oudtshoorn, we headed out through the Karoo on famous Route 62. And yes, we did stop at Ronnie's Sex Shop, and must stop at restaurant and pub along the way.

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Objects in Mirror are Closer than they Appear

We have seen many amazing animals in our Africa travels, but one of the highlights must be Addo Elephant National Park in South Africa. Yes, we have seen quite a few elephants in other parks, but the park has the highest concentration in the world. You don't just see elephants, you see herds of them, interacting, playing and socializing.

This was also different, in that we did not have to do game drives in the GAP truck, or open air park vehicle - we drove ourselves around in our little Nissan. It was just great, and we got to stop as long as we wanted for photos etc.

One afternoon, Dwayne and I came upon two male juevenilles "playing". They were scuffling, and pushing each other around right on the road, just feet away from our car. It was both exciting and a little scary. They were both way bigger than the car!















The next day the three of us were driving around, and a huge male started following us down the road. As the title says, he was a lot closer than it looks like. We just stayed ahead of him as he lumbered behind for about 1/2 a mile. Then we came upon a huge herd feeding on both sides of the road. We did not want to disturb the herd, so we stopped, and waited to see what happened.

The huge guy following us came right up to the back of the car, then just turned slightly, and walked past us very close. The herd obviously knew him, and they were all greeting him happlily. We sat there for quite a while watching them all interact, it was amazing!

We also saw lots of zebra, warthogs, kudu, tortoises, giraffes, and wildabeasts. We also spotted a lone male lion walking along a ridge just to the left of our car.

Africa really is all it is supposed to be.

Durban to Port St. John

It is so nice to have the freedom to go where we want. The GAP group was off to the mountains, so of course we headed toward the ocean.

We had heard that Port St. John was a funky little seaside town, and were not disappointed. It had a spectacular setting, this cliff separating it and its beach from the rest of the world.

It is here we believe one of our hubcaps was stolen by a local while we dined at KFC - serves us right for eating there.

We also started our pattern of cooking nice dinners "at home". It was kind of easy considering we scored ourselves a three bedroom villa overlooking the ocean beach for the sum of 750 rand (US $75). The power failed for a while in the middle of dinner, but is was already cooked, and of course we had candles going. Ah, this sure beats sleeping in soggy tents and eating truck food!

Escape from Durban

Another upgrade to an ocean view suite in Durban, and we were ready to escape from the group. Many in our group were leaving at this point, so there were lots of goodbyes for people we were really fond of.

The news broke at our farewell dinner for the others, and the good people left behind were sad that we were leaving. The next morning the remaining rag-tag group was off in the truck, and we stayed one more night to "recover".

The next day we got used to our new rent a car, a Nissan Tida, by shuttling our buddies who were leaving to the Durban Airport. Andrea had not driven for half a year, and I had to get used to driving on the other side of the road - interesting. Andrea only had to scream LEFT! at me once.

Another night in our oceanview suite, then we were off on our South African adventure.

St Lucia and Hiuhluwe - Umfolozi National Park

After Swaziland, it was back across to South Africa, and the St. Lucia area. No, we did not take a wrong turn in the Carribean, St. Lucia is South Africa's first World Heritage Site, and the home of an amazing landlocked estuary, that has many hippos, crocs, and some sharks trapped inland when the sea was cut off. It is also very close to Hiuhluwe-Umfolozi National Park, another South African gem.

At this point we have established a pattern when arriving at a new destination - are there upgrades available? As much fun as it is staying in tents, it is often very easy to get accomodation at the same location with real beds, air conditioning and the all important fridge - for just a couple of rand. No problem doing this in St. Lucia, so we were well rested before our morning game drive into the Park.

We drove about an hour on the highway in open air vehicles, before entering the Park. Just minutes after entering, we had a very close encounter with a group of lions. There was a large male, which is always a thrill. Dwayne's camera got the images, so check with him when he gets back. But the scary part was a beautiful female, up close, staring at us, growling, then doing a short mock charge at us! Yikes, everyone was thrilled, but Andrea and I got a little nervous. Another younger male crossed the road behind us with the other two - what an experience!

The rest of the day was viewing a variety of game, including hippos, elephant, giraffe plus a very rare Black Rhino.

That night we headed out on the estuary for some close encounters of the hippo kind. There were far more hippos than we have seen so far, and we were very happy we were in such a large boat. Again, Dwayne has some great pictures - 10X optical zoom rocks!

That night was also birthdays for our companions Andrea and Aida, so we celebrated with champagne with our hippos. That was also the night we hatched our "escape plan" to get away from the obnoxious elements in our GAP group.

Swaziland - A Big Surprise

After Mozambique, we crossed over a rather quiet border to the Kingdom of Swaziland. The change was immeadiately apparent, as Mozambique is extremely poor, and Swaziland appears to be more like its neighbour, South Africa. The topography also changed to green, mountainous, and very beautiful.

We staying inside Milwane Wildlife Sanctuary that, while not home to the big five, held some wonderful viewing surprises. Many of the grazing animals would wander right into our camp, especially at night. The logo for Milwane is a warthog, and we saw lots of those. Many of the warthogs had just had babies, so they were wandering around with mommy warthog. Many of the antelope in the Park had also just given birth, so lots of aaahhhh moments.

When we were not outside seeing the scenery (which was fantastic!) or doing game drives, we sat in this fabulous bar overlooking a watering hole. There was some real action one day, with a croc attacking who knows what accross the way as we sipped drinks (actually we were too riveted to sip).

The other highlight was what must have been our best and most interesting accomodation on the trip - beehive huts. One hut for two people, real cute on the outside, and absolutely huge inside. And yes, each one had a private bathroom.

We also went to a Swazi village to visit. Unusual for the area, the village chief was a woman, and what a character she was! We learned about their traditional ways of life, then the women and men in our group took turns making fools of ourselves, singing in the Swazi language, and dancing traditional steps. I can honestly say the we men were even worse than the women, but it sure was fun, and we laughed a lot.

We must say that we were totally charmed by Swaziland, and would strongly recommend it as a stop when visiting this part of the world.

A Big Change of Plans

Well, I have been telling you what a great time we have been having in Africa, and it has just been fantastic. What I did not mention is that we have a couple of total a**holes in our group whose idea of visiting Africa is to sit by the pool, drink themselves into a stupor each night, and either sleep all the next day on the bus, or talk loudly about what they drank the night before.

It has been driving the rest of the group crazy, so we have decided to do something about it. Us, being Me, Dwayne and our friend Andrea from Melbourne.

No, we did not feed them to the hippos, but that would have been an idea. We have decided to head out on our own, renting a car, and driving the GAP itinerary ourselves. Yes, we will lose our GAP payment, but why be unhappy for the rest of the trip. Plus, it should be a lot of fun.

Andrea, like me, is on a one year around the world trip. She is going in the opposite direction, so it is South America next for her, and India for me. And yes, just today we saw a TV for the first time in weeks, and heard about Mumbai.

We are in Durban, South Africa now, and will be heading towards Cape Town. We plan on arriving in Cape Town around December 9, and will be there for some extra days. Still plan to stay at the African Train Hostel (or something like that).

Let the next adventure begin!

Mozambique - a change of pace

Hey everyone!

We have travelled through Mozambique to a fabulous beach for three whole days. We then visited the capital - Maputo, and interesting experience to say the least.

Then it was on to Swaziland, the biggest surprise of the trip - absolutely beautiful and so peaceful.

We have now crossed into St Lucia, South Africa, and are going for an all day game drive tomorrow, hoping to find out elusive number 5 - the leopard.

Stay tuned, for more detailed blogs on the above.

We are doing well except for a major mosquito incident for Dwayne - 300 bites, and no, I am not exaggerating. Can you say malaria? Don't worry, we are watching him carefully, and he seems to be doing OK. He is taking his malaria meds, and will be tested when he gets home.

Other than that..... We love Africa!

Ooops, Blyde River Canyon

In my haste to catch up on my blog, and describe the wonders of Kruger Park, I neglected a fantastic stop we made at the Blyde River Canyon.

It is a spectacular canyon carved out by the river over the years. We made a stop at these amazing formations in the canyon, and took pictures from the lookouts and bridged over the gorge.

Blogging is so easy in Africa - just let the pictures tell the story. Actually, as usual, pictures to not do the actual setting justice.

We camped near the canyon that night, and lit a campfire under the African sky














Andrea (Australia) and Francis (England), two of our fun travelmates.

Kruger National Park

We drove east throught the sizzling African heat towards Kruger National Park, the grandaddy of them all. Within minutes of entering the Park gate, we added number 4 to our big 5 - Cape Buffalo - and lots of them.














We continued on to our camp, which as we expected, was just fantastic. Very dry setting with thorn trees, very clean facilities, and the usual swimming pool and bar.

We went out for an evening/night open air drive. As we were in a Kruger vehicle, we could stay one hour after everyone else had left. There was tons of game to be seen, many of the same animals as in Pilanesburg, but in a different setting. We came upon a pride of lions just as it was getting dark, and watched them for a while. Unlike TV, lions usually just sit there resting all the time, but we did get quite close.

After a while we drove off to see what else we could see. As we move ahead, we noticed the lions had stirred behind us, and were lumbering off to hunt. They caught up to our now stopped vehicle, and about 6 of them passed right by our open truck. If you were foolish enough to reach out, you could have almost touched them -they were that close. They walked ahead of us, we now were moving, cameras snapping aways. After a couple of hundred metres, they wandered off the roadway, and into the bush. You cannot imagine how elated we all were - what a thrill!















The only other hightlight after that, was an African Wood Python by our truck which reared up right by our Australian friend Andrea, who is deathly afraid of snakes. The sound she made and the height she jumped was almost as exciting as seeing the lions.

Back at camp, we entertained ourselves by drinking by our campsite, and chasing a poisonous scorpion into our tent area (not my idea!).

And yes, we did sleep well.

Jo'burg

After camping for about a week in Zambia, Botswana, and South Africa, you can imagine our reaction to a four-star airport hotel in Johannesburg - heaven. Soft fluffy clean beds, showers in our rooms, space, toiletries, and a gourmet buffet breakfast included! They must have wondered who the scruffy lot were arriving in our overland vehicle.

We made the best of our one night there, and managed to get in a double tour for the price of one - Soweto and the Apartied Museum.

Soweto, which stands for South West Township, was amazing. I knew it was the largest, but had no idea it had a population of 3.5 million! We took a mini van in, our African guide and all us white folk. We stopped at a gas station in Soweto for snacks, and it felt friendly and safe. It was like that throughout the tour, with nice people happy to show us their way of life. We even were shown inside a house there. It felt a bit intrusive, but they all assured us it was fine.















I bought some little African figurines that caught my eye. I had said I would not be buying anything on this trip, but I did like them, and it was an easy way to contribute to the community.

After that it was a couple of hours in the Apartied Museum. In some ways, including how it affected me, it was like Berlin. Throughout history, peoples are treated differently and oppressed. Free speech goes, people are jailed without trial for their beliefs and hatred prevails. But in the end, good seems to triumph over evil, and things become as they should. Like Berlin, it is hard to believe now that such a thing occured during our lifetime.

My favourite part was a huge picture of Desmond Tutu smiling and watching television. On it, De Klerk and Mandela were receiving their Nobel Peace prizes - great shot.

Another very moving moment for me was reading the words of the South African Constitution. There is was in the first section, no decrimination based on a lot of things, including sexual orientation - the only constitution in the world to specifically say that.















After Johannesburg, it was back into the overland vehicle, with a few changes of people, and off to a South African classic - Kruger.

Impala T-bone with Pinotage

As I said in my previous post, the wildlife viewing at Pilanesburg National Park was fantastic. We saw 3 of the big five - elephants, rhinos and lions. We also saw zebras, impala, springbok, giraffes, warthogs, hippos (including a cute baby), crocodile, and wildebeast.

The physical setting of the park was another bonus, very hilly, even mountainous, and surprisingly green after some recent rains. So we also got some great landscape shots.















My camera has not proved "Africa worthy", as it only has 3X optical zoom. So I will generally be using pictures from Dwayne's superior camera - plus he is just snapping some excellent shots.

After we viewed them, we ate them! Our site included a gourmet game restaurant. Normally I would have assumed this would be way too expensive, but hey, this is South Africa, so prices were very reasonable. So, I am not kidding in this blog title, I had Impala T-bone with a red wine reduction sauce. Others had kudu, eland and chicken (Dwayne, the almost vegitarian). It was all washed down with some lovely South African wine, under the stars out by a swimming pool. So those of you that think we are travelling to basically, well....

Pilanesburg National Park, don't miss it on your next trip to South Africa.

Pilanesburg National Park - South Africa

Pilanesburg National Park in South Africa is just fantastic. Wonderful camping facilities, clean showers and even bathtubs, swimming pool, bar and a gourmet restaurant serving game meat plus more. We went on 3 game drives and one hike. We will just let the pictures speak for themselves (all pictures by Dwayne).


















African Yoga - the downward facing hog