The Old Postal Road
Up in the Cederburg mountains, a trail links Biedow Camp and the Tankwa Karoo Reserve across a mountain plateau. The name comes from the 1800’s when a 19 year old … Continue reading
Red Rock
Before anyone gets the wrong idea, Annemarie took this photo! These Herero ladies seek to show the traditional way of living, including grinding the red sandstone rocks to powder and … Continue reading
The Red Sands
There is a renowned petrified forest at Sossusvlei. Set in the middle of huge red dunes, the contrasting white ‘lake bed’ with its dead tress is both vast and haunting. … Continue reading
And for dessert…..
Namibia has a lot of sand. We saw a lot of it on our road trip, and a lot of it ended up in the car, the sleeping bag, etc. … Continue reading
Okavango Delta
After yet another very early start, we drove up into the Okavango to stay in the Moremi reserve. The Third Bridge Camp is a very long way in, and … Continue reading
A Trip to Botswana
The close proximity of two public holidays, one for the local elections, gave us the opportunity to go and explore Africa some more. Our nephew, Max, has joined us … Continue reading
Best Laid Plans………
My wonderful wife decided that we needed a break, and as Easter this year arrive close to my birthday, she made her plans for us to take a week away. … Continue reading
Up to Limpopo
There are times when you just have to escape the city. One suggestion had been to head north-east up to the hills. It’s a bit of a hike along … Continue reading
A Soggy Return
Having torn ourselves away from the Caribbean, landing back in Johannesburg was a bit of a culture rather than temperature shock. (If you exclude 36 hours of shivering in … Continue reading
Books, Bonnets and Pap
So what does a kept woman do while the breadwinner is slaving away? Did you REALLY think I could do nothing all day except shop, drink coffee and walk dachshunds? … Continue reading
Ramblings of a Kept Woman
Having earned an honest living for so many years, it was a bit of a shock to accept my new status! Abandoned in the UK for two months whilst Steve wandered … Continue reading
Bush break
For another weekend off, we drove back up to Madikwe, a game reserve on the border with Botswana. This was the same lodge we visited last year, so no need … Continue reading
Victoria Falls
Time to be tourists and take a break from work via a British Airways flight to Zimbabwe! (Actually I thought that relations between that country’s Government and Britain was … Continue reading
Hennops Trail
Just outside Johannesburg, there is quite a well-known 4×4 playground in the bush. Having had a quick pitstop to replace a badly squeaking prop-shaft joint after Lesotho, and with … Continue reading
…….and down again!
So leaving Oxbow early it was again long climbs up the passes, first Moteng and then Molomong. At this time of morning, it was so cold at their peaks of … Continue reading
Lesotho
The start of Day 3 of the trip was a rude awakening. Daniel spotted a leak with a pool of liquid under the Landy. At 7 in the … Continue reading
Unfinished business & the 1st Outing for the Landy
After a flying visit to Makro to get a basic toolkit, we hit the road south towards Durban. Curiosity took us off the highway at Harrismith to see if the … Continue reading
A Fleeting Visit… and already looking to escape!
After 2 months down in Johannesburg on my own, I was so looking forward to seeing Annemarie again! Heading back to the UK for a couple of weeks would allow … Continue reading
Nairobi – Forgive me if you have been here, but….
Nairobi is different! Flying in past the magnificent Mount Kilimanjaro from South Africa, you sort of expect something fairly similar to the cities there. Wrong! Nothing had quite … Continue reading
Bush Wheels
Here in the urban jungle there roam many herds of BMWs and Mercedes interspersed with various lesser breeds. Aside from the hoards of ubiquitous Toyata minibuses, or Chinese knock-off … Continue reading
Did the Earth Move for You Too?
Struggling manfully to cope again with work, it was in the middle of a necessary, but dull, meeting that the shaking began. After the séance-like questions of ‘is that you … Continue reading
A Big Impact!
Take one bit of rock, hurl it at the ground, and what do you get? A huge hole if the rock is big enough and comes from outer space! … Continue reading
It all seems so very far away……
To think that it was only 2 weeks ago that we said goodbye to Freebooter for the summer, and started the long journey back to the UK! It … Continue reading
Townships – a different aspect to South Africa
As the last post in this series, time for a more challenging visit. ‘Township’ refers to a substantial settlement occupied by less well-off African people, reflecting history and enduring poverty of … Continue reading
Whale Hunting
Shame on you those who expect unpleasant and gory content, for this is about feeding and playtime for the visiting Southern Right Whales. (By the way, apologies for my previous inaccuracy, … Continue reading
