TRAVELBUCKET

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SWAZILAND

I have not posted for quite a while, but that is because we were on a road trip to Kruger National Park via Swaziland – by the way this is the shortest route from George in the Southern Cape to Kruger! This was my first visit to this landlocked country and what a surprise. I must confess that I did not have any perception as what to expect from Swaziland. This is contrary of my visits to other countries where I sort of had something specific in mind as what to expect. The only aim for Swaziland was to add a yellow smiley in a new country to my geocache map. We paid our road toll of E50, entered through Oshoek and took the King Mswati Highway north, direction Piggs Peak, and exited at Jeppes Reef near Komatipoort. Arriving at Oshoek well before 07:00 there was already a queue of… Read more >

THE ROSE GARDEN TEA HOUSE, PORT ELIZABETH

My aim for 2016 is to find a new eatery in Port Elizabeth with every visit to the Friendly City. This year started with a Sunday breakfast at the Rose Garden Tea House at the Floradale Nursery in Charlo. Arriving a bit before nine there was already a queue of cars waiting at the gates. I think we were at the right spot for a Sunday morning breakfast! We chose a protected spot on the stoep with a view over the garden as the wind was unpleasant and inside all the tables were already chock-a-block. Even the children were not too enthusiastic to visit the playground in the wind. However we were welcomed with a smile and soon my aromatic cup of coffee arrived. This was a good start to my day. It was hard to decide what to eat as everything on the menu looked delicious and even more… Read more >

WINBURG CHURCHES

When driving our 1962 Land Rover home from Gauteng to George we had some mechanical difficulties and were compelled to stay over in the farming town of Winburg for two days to get the problem sorted. This gave me the time to roam around town and to explore all of the few choices of shops in Winburg. In the centre of town is the magnificent old stone church with the following interesting history. The European community of Winburg is famous for the differences in political heritage. The town was divided into two camps, due to their support to either the South African Party of General Jan Smuts, or the National Party of Dr Daniel François Malan. This led to the division of the Dutch Reformed Church into two separate congregations, Klip Kerk (Stone Church), which was the original church for the Dutch Reformed Church, and Rietfontein Church in Voortrekker Road…. Read more >

WHERE IS THE NEXT CUPPA?

We are really enjoying our 1962 Landy now after the rebuild has been completed. We regularly go for a “coffee drive” where I pack my Stanley flask with steaming coffee and we just explore all the scenic passes in our own backyard. What a joy and privilege to live in the Garden Route. Some times we take the dogs along with for the ride. Chuck, the Fox Terrier, just loves it, but Pilot, the Jack Russel, is sometimes a bit nervous, but he is getting better the more he rides. Lately we have a new dog addition to the family – a Bull Terrier named Fiela – which we are training to enjoy the drives but sometimes it gets a bit busy at the back. Hoofseun, aka Pilot, is trying his best to teach her although he is not a very good traveller. Life passes you slowly when you drive… Read more >

PASS THE BUCK

Kruger National Park is famous for its hordes of Impala from Pafuri in the north along the 350 km stretch to the most southern gate at Crocodile Bridge. This is so to the extent that if you see a herd of impala that you hardly mention it to your travel buddies – unless there is really nothing else to get excited about! On our recent trip I took some time to photograph the beautiful buck faces hiding in the grass and foliage. But I think the first prize goes to the cutest curious baby Kudu, with its white moustache, peeking through the trees to us! Despite the severe drought all the animals seem to have babies and all looked in a good shape considering the extreme drought conditions. Park officials reckon that it is the worst drought since 1991. We can all just hope and pray that the rain will… Read more >

THE LIBRARY @ SKUKUZA (KNP)

After brunch at the Cattle Baron in Skukuza village, actually on our way to collect some information for a geocache, we stumbled upon the library with the little hero acre in front of it. Here pets who served with their masters are remembered. Some died of old age and some died in the line of duty – defending their master and the Park. Here Spotty, Lappies, Percy, Hebet, Tessa and many more rest in peace and are remembered by way of commemorative stones. However the legendary Jock of the Bushveld that also traversed Kruger with Sir Percy Fitzpatrick you will not find here. Tucked away under a thatched roof we found a well-stocked library with books ranging from law to French dictionaries, to all sorts of science and reference books as well as all the major daily newspapers. Must say the comfy leather chairs in the cooled room looked… Read more >

ST ANTHONY’S, BUSHMAN’S RIVER

St Anthony’s Cathlolic Church with its green roof sloping down to almost ground level is tucked away in the sleepy holiday village of Bushman’s River Mouth. In the church grounds there is a beautiful Wild Fig tree providing generous shade in the hot African sun. The church is small and can seat about 150-200 people however large crowds of people are apparently overflowing the church and crowding the doorways during Easter and the summer holidays. But today with all the holiday makers back to the grinding stone there was nobody in sight. St Anthony, a Portuguese Catholic priest born in 1195, is often depicted holding the infant Jesus, a book or a lily. He is the patron saint of mariners, fisherman, elderly people, poor people, shipwrecks and travellers. I think these attributes are very fitting also for the village of Bushamn’s River. This is yet again one of those unexpected… Read more >