SA 2014 (2 weeks is not enough)

[jdinevens]

So, fair warning, this will be somewhat of a story, if you are interested in the pictures feel free to scroll ahead and view them.

I'm a soldier, I was in Afghanistan, sadly not really gainfully employed. About two weeks earlier I had separated with my GF, so newly single I decided that I wanted to go someplace epic for my leave. Finiancally I had done alright this trip and I always wanted to go to Africa (I've got two Rhoedisan Ridgebacks named Selous and Grey), so it was settled, now the question was where. Well I've done a few, we'll call them long range adventures, where you try and cover as many miles as possible and see as much as possible. Sadly what this means is you are generally always in the car and you don't have enough time to explore anywhere. So looking to not make that mistake I settled on driving through South Africa. I've been on this site religiously for something like the past 2 1/2 years so in my mind doing Africa correctly is getting a Defender with a RTT and getting out in the boonies. Well not really sure where to go, I posted my question here in the Africa forum and was directed to a South African 4x4 forum, I also asked my friend Matt to join us to which he said...Hell yea!

I also bought a fairly nice camera, Nikon D5200 while I was deployed with the hope that my ex and I would go places and take nice pictures, obviously that didn't happen. But I did go places with lots of chances for awesome pictures, I'm really glad I had a nice camera and had a lot of fun taking pictures, maybe a new hobby. Now I did watch a lot of videos about the camera itself and how aperture, shutter speed and ISO all work but to be honest I shot most of the stuff in outside preset as at the time I just wanted to capture a nice shot and move on. But I'll probably be experimenting with it in the future, I did watch a few videos on how to make a Panoramic shot, Which I think turned out well.

Now I've got this theory, and it says that generally any question you might have, has already been asked and you can generally find the answer or at least the question on the internet. So with this belief in mind I posted my timetable on the SA forum, which was vague at the time because nothing in the Army is for certain and was blown away by the responses I got. I think in the first day I got 10 responses with ideas, recommendations and things to try, some I listened to, some I ignored. With the ideas I got a laid out a list of things to do there and the overwhelming response I got was that I didn't need a Defender to do what I wanted to do, a simple 2wd car would probably work. Well this is one of the ideas I didn't listen to as we ended up with a 4 door Hilux with a RTT, also it was set up for camping already with an Engel fridge and 60L of water with most of the supplies needed for cooking and etc. Through all of this there was one person who was especially helpful, Hennie, who after a few rounds of talking to, turns out to be a Vet of the SA army. Now as a pupil of wars past I was instantly curious, so after some more rounds of chat he offers to get a Braai(BBQ) together for us with some of the other Vets around the area and give us a place to rest over night, I think he was as equally curious of us as I was him. Also during this time I had discovered that there was a few spots we could go climbing along the route that we had chosen so this was starting to shape into a fairly epic journey. So to give a brief overview of what we did:

2 days in J-berg
2 days at Mt. Everest just outside of Harrismith
1 day in Bloemfontein
1 day at Mt. Zebra NP
1 day at Addo Elephant NP
1 day at Tsitsikama NP
1 day in Stellenbosch
3 days in Cape town.

So lets start with pictures.......

 

[jdinevens]

I put a lot of effort into making sure we had reservations at the National Parks and that we had a ride waiting for us at the airport when we arrived, which actually worked out wonderfully, neither of us had a cell phone for SA or really wanted to pay to get an international plan. So we headed over blind, luckily the rental guy was there and we got our first dose of the South African accent, and it was thick. We worked through it, he showed me and Matt through the vehicle; part of the reason I went ahead with the Hilux and all the gear was I wanted to see how they had it set up and get some experiance using a RTT. One thing not mentioned in webpage was that it had a dual battery setup with the National Luna Dual battery Kit. I was kind of surprised at the simplicity of their setup in the bed, as that is where I am with my truck. They had a single platform held up with 4-6 metal supports, much simpler that some of the stuff on this forum =) with a fairly basic but sturdy drawer on the bottom fitted with 9 Bundu box knock offs, in which was all of the other stuff with 3 still empty. On the right of this drawer was a shovel and the hose that led up to the 60L water tank which was mounted on the top towards the front, which meant gravity was our friend, on the left was a Hi-Lift Jack. The Engel fridge was mounted on top of the passenger side (left side) with again a fairly simple but robust slide, it was some 50th anniversary edition which smelled terrible, but worked well. So far everything looked good.

So my plan for navigating was to use my laptop with Nroute and some route-able maps I had gotten off the internet for free, It worked really well as there wasn't really a great route to the hotel from the airport, it has turn by turn directions and did I mention it was all free. This ended up leading us through some rather busy places which made me nervous as I've heard how bad J-berg can be and here we are driving through, glow of the laptop on our faces spare tire with a tent up top and a topper full of expensive goodies. Nothing happened, surprise. Anyway we get to the hotel, park the car and check into Sunny Park Hotel, somewhere near the southern portion of downtown, near the J-berg Zoo.



Notice it has been raining....now I don't have a lot of pictures of J-berg as at this point because I'm pretty worried about my camera being taking while we are driving around. We also used the hotel's new as of that day shuttle service. That worked out well as we could leave our mobile treasure box parked inside a fenced parking lot while we explored. We got there just before a weekend and both agreed to try and find a local soccer match. It ended up raining both days while we were there which kind of made our walking around interesting, we headed out the first day on a quest to get cell phones as we'd probably need them at some point should we get separated or need help, Simple affair there was a mall nearby and we both picked one up with 300 minutes for about 60 dollars. After that it was near lunchtime so we went to Moyo near the zoo and got out first taste of some African food and culture. It was delicious but we got our first taste of an ongoing theme, slow restaurant service. If you are going to be eating out in SA don't be in a hurry and order everything you want while you can. This was difficult as an American to deal with but as we were never really in a hurry it wasn't ever a problem. After that we went to the zoo and saw the only lions we'd see during the trip, though as described to us from the shuttle driver, fat and lazy. We ended up going out that night and exploring Nelson Mandela Square having a good time at a club and generally keeping it cool the next day, still raining. Now before we left J-berg I boot up the laptop as I have a guide to the climbing routes in Mt. Everest, I notice my battery is about 10% so I go get the charger that I had brought with me only to discover that the little charging light on the laptop refused to turn on, Crap. Well it dies, and I can't get the charger to work, I tried, I cut open the wires and tried to re-connect the wires, it was a universal charger which came with a 12v connection, which is why I brought it so. Lesson one, dont bring untested equip. Matt graciously agrees to pick up a fairly nice TomTom which was a clutch move as we would have been F-ed without any sort of navigation.

 

[jdinevens]

After J-berg, it was on to Harrismith and Mt. Everest Game lodge, now for those who aren't familiar it was just north of Lesotho, a small country inside of South Africa. The reason I planned 2 days here is that it had something like 80 bolted sport routes! Well when we got there it looked like it had just finished raining but the sun was out so I grabbed some pictures.











Now when we got there, it was off of a R road, which usually meant it was gravel, with a gate in front of us with some numbers posted on it to open the gate. Simple affair, glad we got the phones and we were let in. When we got to the reception area (first pic) it was empty. We kind of poked around and found the office, which again there was a number posted on it to call. I explained the situation and she said no problem and that we could pay her the next day in the morning, somewhat unusual but whatever right. We ended up returning to Harrismith, a 30 minute drive for a meal and some supplies and caught here later and she directed us to where we could stay, which sounded like literally anywhere but we choose the campsite on the backside of the MTN as it was right next to a bunch of the routes I wanted to try, which turned out to be abandoned. Anyway we had plans to start early and get as much climbing in as we could....then about 1230 in the evening we are awakened by a pretty legitimate storm with winds strong enough to sway the truck. Now in one of the pictures you can see a cloud hovering around the top of the MTN, we are on the back side of that and the campsite was in the zone where all that wind comes crashing down, lesson two. It ended up raining all day with a small break in the afternoon at which point I notice Matt isnt at camp.....After about 20 minutes I finialy call out, to which I get a very faint response that is coming from the direction of the MTN. Lets play a game, Find Matt...

See him?


How about now?

 

[jdinevens]

How about now.....?



Reckless, crazy or awesome I'm not sure but he got pretty high up there. After about an hour he returns and it was overcast with a little wind but not raining, so I was like, "dude lets climb!" Now the rock was all sandstone so even though it had been raining it was dry enough to climb. So we did one simple route on a lower boulder about 10m high so I could show him how to clean and finish a route, we just did the one as it was now starting to drizzle. So in all of this I give Hennie a call and he suggests going through the Garden route NP on our way to Bloemfontein, good thing we did. He described it as similar to the Grand Canon, having never been there I would agree except that it was green everywhere. What a drive.



My goofy self




Now we roll into Bloem about mid day and Hennie gives us a short tour of the house, we talk for about 30 minutes and he explains that we should get cleaned up and that the Braai would start around 1730 or so and that he has to return to work. Matt and I were kind of shocked at the trust he gave total strangers, but as we'd learn that is the good nature and hospitality of South Africans. Now we had the Braai, met and talked with a lot of them, and learned one thing really quick as you get out of J-berg or Cape town, the more and more of a second language english becomes. Everyone speaks Afrikaans and knows some English with a very unique accent, Dicaprio's in Blood Diamond is...so so. We also learned that South African meat is REALLY good, all of it. Now I've got a bunch of pictures of the team house, but out of respect to those guys I'm not going to post them, what happens in the team house stays in the team house.

Hennie


Now I'm rolling around South Africa with my Ford ball cap and Hennie mentions as we are talkng about the size of pick-up trucks in America, that there were a few super duties sold to South Africa a while ago, and what do we see the next day...



Based off the mirrors I'd say its definitely an early model, I didnt see if it was RHD or not though as it was hauling butt past us. Their road system is kind of weird but it works, the speed limit is 120 KPH, but they don't all necessarily drive at it like people do in America. If you want to pass you can wait untill its safe to do so or if the person in front of you is paying attention he will move over onto the shoulder, doing 100 KPH or whatever and you can pass with hardly getting into the other lane, at which point you give him 3 blinks of the hazards for a thank you and move on.

 

[jdinevens]

So on the way to Mt. Zebra at the suggestion of Hennie, we took the smaller roads there past Gariep Damn.



The drive ended up being pretty cool, the whole time in the car we kept thinking wow this some Big Sky country, after every turn we were somehow in the middle of a huge open space sourrounded by hills and mountains on either side. We could drive for miles and not see another car on the road or a house in the distance.




So we finally get to Mt. Zebra and after we get let into the gate we are immediately blown away with the amount of wildlife....everywhere. You really can't go for two minutes without seeing at least a zebra or kudu.




We got there early afternoon which gave us the chance to explore a little on the 4x4 trails they had. Its a good thing we had something capeable off-road the first trail we went up was pretty sketchy, but also a hell of a good time. After a while we arrive at this little look out area.



And some more




This was our favorite park, the combination of the huge open areas with some pretty epic scenery without the huge number of other people, some awesome 4x4 trails....can't beat it.
At the recommendation of Hennie and his wife we took the night tour in hopes of seeing some Lions, we did not, however it was still a lot of fun and the guide was very knowledgeable.

 

[jdinevens]

And



Which brings us to Cradock, a little town on our way out of Mt. Zebra


And a dirt road on our way to the wrong gate of Addo



Finally at Addo, its immediately apparent that it is a much bigger tourist attraction, apparently they have elephants. So we set up camp and sign up for a tour and eye up possibly doing another night tour in the hope of seeing lions. The tour was pretty good, though the next guide wasn't as helpful, it seemed like he had his standard routine and it wasn't anything we couldnt have done in the Hilux. Also Addo is a little different in that the roads are lined with bushes for most of it, so you could be 5 feet from a ten ton elephant and not know it until you're right next to him. This reason among many was why we didn't bother with a night tour at Addo. They did have an abundance of elephants though, seriously a s%#t ton.





Oh did I mention we finally escaped the rain, Woo!

Onward to Tsitikama NP! So on the ride out there we are kind of following a mountain range to our right along the coast. Which was cool except it rained on us pretty much the whole way and most of it was covered in clouds, oh well there ended up being a couple of river crossings which turned into gorges and surprised us. This turned out to be an even bigger tourist attraction but still very very cool, oh well they served beer there. We ended up doing a day hike and then going on one of the zipline tours where we met Peter and Anneka a newly wed couple on their honeymoon, who can hopefully send me some pictures. (knock knock) Anyway we ended up having diner with them at the restaurant at the park and talked about all sorts of differences between SA and the US, they are probably the friendlies couple I've ever met, besides Hennie and Carine. Notice a trend here.

 

[jdinevens]

While the rain did stop long enough for us to get our hike and zipline in, it wasn't meant to be and the clouds started to roll back in. This did however make for a very cool sunset.



So on our way to dinner that evening Matt and I discussed it, we had originally planned for two days there but if it was going to be raining we might as well move on and get to the coast where we know the weather will be a little better. We talked it over with Peter and Anaka, and they suggested staying at this little town 40k away called Stellenbosch, the heart of SA wine country, and a college, with loads of attractive ladies, I was sold. Now before I move on I have to give credit where its due, Hennie mentioned a place 40k away from Cape town but either he didn't remember the name or I didn't write it down either way that's where we were headed. After a drive that seemed like forever, I think it was 6 hours, the clouds started to break and we could see sunshine, YES! Again we are greeted with more epic scenery. South Africans must travel to other countries and just continually be disappointed.



I had a few beers, and some wine and it was good. Now we were there on a...sunday? Anyway I inquired about possible nightlife opportunities got a couple names but ended up just crashing in the B&B we were staying at to the sounds of thunderstorms. Now maybe we were hitting the wrong resturaunts but the whole micro craft beer craze hasn't really hit SA yet. The choices are either generally Castle or Hansa, the Bud and Miller of SA, no big deal its Africa, but I found a nice Wheat beer here. I don't remember the name and had an opportunity to play with the camera a little, more practice is needed.



And so we took off the next morning after an awesome breakfast at the B&B towards our final destination, Cape Town. Now along the way all we kept hearing was how great the city was where to go, what to do, etc. Now remember my computer has been dead since day one and this is one of the two spots with good climbing. So we get in kind of early 11ish, and decide to go straight to the climbing gym there as they probably know where to go to climb in the area. Well after a discussion with the sales guy we find out there is a guide book, but its two months from being printed and restocked, Crap. He kind of backpedals for a while until he remembers there is a store copy and decides to hook us up with some photocopies, SWEET! So what do we do? Head strait to the rocks. Now the map on the copies we got was pretty vague, but we eventually find a parking lot for a mountain bike trail with a park map on a sign. So we stop and decide to compare notes. We figure out we are in the right place and head down the path, the wrong path. This one lead us on top of the climbing area, not really the place we wanted to be.




Upon actually reading the description that went with the vague map we realize we went left when we should have gone right, my bad. Anyway we finally get there and knock out three or four routes of which Matt leads two of them, his first two congrats Matt.




the climbing area from near the entrance to the silvermine


now we ended up being there for about 3-4 hours, and like fools we rushed into getting out there with no shirts, suns out guns out right? We got REALLY sunburned, we wouldn't really know it until the next day and I never stopped complaining about it, ouch.

 

[jdinevens]

Well from climbing we checked into the Hotel which thankfully had a parking garage.......which was Juuuuust tall enough for us to squeeze into, we may have put some holes in the tent cover from the cement cross beams....they might have already been there who's to say. Anyway we explore town, we have been hearing that Long st. is where the party is at and Jon likes to party so we head that way for dinner and end up at this Ethiopian place. At first glance it would be mistaken for an African goods shop and it was by many people that walked in, looked around and headed out. We both settle on this dish called Tibbs and I like spicy so the waiter says no problem and brings out some meat-meata spice. It was amazing, we were completely surprised. We(I) party, I get drunk, Matt babysits, thanks buddy. Next day we head to the Waterfront, holy crap what a nice area. I do my final gift shopping, Matt starts his and buys pretty much every shirt they have.



Next day we decide on a little hike up a mountain. We ended up doing Lions head, it was a fun hike. Parts were super sketchy, I'm a big puss, Matt is not.


Now this sign says something about an easy way and a hard way, the hard way includes ladders and chains and to climb at your own risk....guess which way we took?



Yup, the hard way....


We also ended up doing a bus tour of the city which was cool, we ended up seeing more of the city than we would have on our own. Anyway we left having the times of our lives meeting people we'll never forget and the promise to return. Hopefully they all get a chance to read this.

Final notes:

Dad I have your lens still, I forgot to give it to greg. I also didnt use the GPS thing because you said it drained battery and the only place to charge the one camera battery I had was in the car while moving so I didnt want to risk it. I ended up having to do it once where I had the camera on the charger and as we came up to a picture spot slapped it in real quick, very annoying for me and Matt who was driving, as it was right next to his knee. Anyway I will get another battery and use it in the future.

One night in Cape Town we were eating at this Belgian place, who btw had all of the 15 dollar Belgian beers for like $4.5, Trappist beer so tasty. Anyway we start chatting with another American sitting at the bar and she mentions that Cape Town is kind of like Africa light and I think she's right most of our trip was on hardball at 120 Kph. I would really like to go back and do the real Africa, Peter offered to take us hunting but maybe even more than that, taking the expo vehicle we rented and putting it through its paces out where it belongs. There are places there where the closest living thing to you probably wants to eat you, I want to go to those places, not to get eaten but to get a possible taste of what the first people in that area felt like, to be an explorer, an adventurer, to get in touch with nature. Also to remember that these things are fragile and are worth our effort to protect not for us but for our children, anyway I digress.

I hope you enjoyed reading this!

Jon

 

[xbox73]

Hi Jon,

Awesome travelogue, thanks for posting. As someone who was born in S.A. and lived there for 18 years or so (ages 0-9 months; and ages 5-22: '75-'92), I can obviously relate to much of your travelogue.

...Cape Town is kind of like Africa light and I think she's right most of our trip was on hardball at 120 Kph. I would really like to go back and do the real Africa...

Cape Town is unique & certainly has its own places of interest & charms, but in other ways is also much like a metropolitan city in other countries. If you want to sample more of Southern Africa, you could also try Namibia, Zimbabwe & Botswana, with Botswana being my personal favorite (we did mini overlanding trips through all 3, in my dad's company car at the time, an outfitted LR Defender )

 

[Silverspiders]

Glad you enjoyed your stay in our country. Next time you visit, let me know, I'll gladly take you to the Cederberg (about 3 hours north of CT) for some awesome climbing and hiking.

 

[hikingff77]

I cannot believe SA looks like this. Great write up.