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VICTORIA FALLS FROM THE ZIMBABWE SIDE

After packing up our overnight camp in Kasane we left Botswana through the Kazangula border post (06:00- 18:00) to enter Zimbabwe. Everything here was plain sailing – the gardens tidy, offices neat and even the official on duty greeting me unexpectedly in Afrikaans. Today we will be revisiting the Victoria Falls after nearly 20 years. The mission of this? To show the wonder of the Falls to some newby Africa travelers to marvel at one of God’s creations. The first thing I noticed was the spray of the Falls forming the background of a rather quiet Victora Falls town. The buzz of tourists wandering the streets lingering at sidewalk popup vendors are notably absent. Instead “sale hunger” vendors follow your every step in the desperate hope to put something on their table tonight. We parked our vehicles in the shade of a tree at the Kingdom Hotel where the hotel… Read more >

STONE CHURCHES IN NOUPOORT

The last couple of weeks were quite busy and I did not get to my blog for some new posts. On our travels to Bloemfontein, for a school reunion, we took a detour through the rather depressing Karoo town of Noupoort where we stumbled upon two little stone churches. Situated across the street from the run down municipal building we found the St Agnes Anglican Church dating back to 1901. It was erected by a railway engineer in memory of fallen British soldiers, of whom some were stone masons, and were stationed at Noupoort during the Second Boer War. However before the troops could complete the church they were repatriated. That is probably the wall that I noticed just below the bell tower and was wondering what went wrong. It was the first time that I noticed this unique timber type bell tower on a church. I sort of like… Read more >

ST MARKS CATHEDRAL, GEORGE

I took some time off from my day job and did a bit of exploring in my own town. I must confess that I have been living in George for more than 15 years and have never visited the little stone cathedral in the middle of town. Arriving over the lunch hour on a sunny day I found the gardener attending to the lawn with love and care. He only gave me a quick glance and carried on with his tasks at hand. Today the little stone church stood out against the blue sky with picture opportunities aplenty. This is another one of the legendary Sophy Gray churches. The design of the cathedral is based on the Littlemore Church near Oxford in England which was designed by Henry Jones Underwood. Three stonemasons were used to build the cathedral and it was completed in only 13 months. Without the modern technology… Read more >

THAT FIRST RIDE OF SUMMER

Finally summer has arrived in our part of the world. It was time to get the dust off the bike and out of the garage after the long and wet winter months. The weather was perfect for a ride out with hubby as my usual riding buddy. Just to get the bum and hands in condition again we took a leisurely drive mainly on tar roads today and made some stops to log a cache or two. The camaraderie on the road by fellow riders, extending a nod in recognition no matter what the steed, always gives a warm feeling to my heart and just makes the ride more worth while. Everybody is enjoying the sun, the smells and the wide open roads our country has on offer and unlike a car you get to experience all the smells along the road which varies from the aromatic veld to the… Read more >

BRAKKEDUINE

Een van die beste plekke om jou bass visvang skills te kom bemeester is hier by Brakkeduine. Sommer net ‘n klipgooi neffens Port Elizabeth is hierdie juweel, in die hartjie van die Tsitsikamma, geleë en net reg vir ‘n vinnige naweek wegbreek wanneer die stad druk. Die grondpad vanaf Humansdorp verby Oesterbaai raak soms ‘n bietjie sleg, maar juis te meer maak dit van Brakkeduine meer spesiaal – dit is nie sommer enige Jan Rap en sy maat wat hier uitkom om te kom ontspan nie. ‘n Mens wil amper die plek geheim hou en dit nie met die massas deel nie. Hier is kinders welkom en kan hulle nog vry rond hardloop en na hartelus kerjarkker op die groen gras. Die foefie slide, glybaan, swaaie en swembad hou hulle ure besig en ‘n mens vergeet amper van hulle. En as die grootmense voel om ‘n slag weer ‘n kind… Read more >

BLUE SHED ROASTERY, MOSSEL BAY

Chocolate cake for breakfast! That sounds good to me, but not what my mom will regard as healthy. After all it is Sunday morning so anything is allowed for breakfast. We opted for the Blue Shed roastery, with a view over the harbour, in Bland Street, Mossel Bay which sells and serves a wide range of coffee varieties from countries such as Indonesia, Uganda and Ethiopia (the origin of coffee) to name but a few. You will even find a coffee liqueur neatly packed on the small counter. Not too shabby for this part of the world on the African continent! Without doubt this is where I will get my next quality brew for a cuppa or two. With the laughter of kids in the background enjoying themselves in the small play park my option this morning fell on a moist but very delicious chocolate cake for breakfast and hubby… Read more >

KABULA LODGE, ZAMBIA

It is early August in Africa. The days are not sweltering yet and the nights coolish, but not cold. Actually perfect weather for the African bush! Arriving rather late in the afternoon and after randomly meeting a fellow South African who runs a business in Livingstone we discovered a gem of a shop called Stop Shop (open until late) in the main street where we could buy everything from beer to fresh bread before heading to Maramba to make camp for the night. The next morning, after stocking up at the Shoprite in Livingstone, we were heading to Kabula Tiger Lodge in Western Zambia. Doing shopping at the Shoprite it felt like I was back home. Everything was familiar, organized and easy to find – you will even find good old Mrs Balls! Our aim was to do some tiger fishing and birding at Kabula Lodge (S17º02.404 E24º00.892). On arrival… Read more >