Heading South

Friday 15^th February, Zambia

We arrived at the home of Charlie & Margaret Whipp who live on the outskirts of Lusaka last night. Our 800 km trip from the southern edge of Lake Tanganyika was relatively easy; reasonable tarred road, very little traffic, just a little lonely. All day we kept looking in the back mirror half expecting to see Ian and Heather’s land cruiser. During the day we exchanged messages with them and they were missing us too.

We had stayed with Charlie & Margaret and their family on our way up, so it was nice to catch up again on our way down. Margaret was away in Cape Town so Charlie and his two sons, Charles & Bradley, spoiled us to a delicious pork roast and a proper ‘cowboy’ breakfast the next morning. They had been following our blog so it made chatting about our trip so much easier. We took up the offer of a bed and found once again that sleeping indoors was something we are going to have to get used to. Thank you Charlie for the hospitality second time round!

Saturday  16^th February, Zimbabwe

After another full day’s drive we arrived at Al and Joy’s in Zimbabwe last night. Shortly after leaving Charlie’s in the morning, as we reached the south of Lusaka, we were stopped by the same traffic cop who had fined us the day before as we entered Lusaka from the north! At that time we didn’t have enough money to pay the fine, so after much discussion (and an offer from her to pay a bribe at a lesser fee) we agreed that we would go into town to draw money and then come back (as if!) to pay the fine. Actually it was more about the logistics of returning back (a forty kilometre round trip) than about the money, Lusaka is the worst city out of all the capitals when it comes to finding your way around.

So we were totally flabbergasted when the same cop stopped us as we left Lusaka the following day (being yesterday). We weren’t speeding this time so she had clearly been on the lookout for us. As we wound the window down she declared with a big grin: Todaayy I am going to fine you DOUBBLE! We had just spent all our cash which we drew yesterday on petrol and again didn’t have enough money to pay the fine. So off we went back into town to the nearest ATM machine. This time she made sure that Don left his driver’s licence behind. The charge of ‘double’ was reduced promptly when Don, whilst another officer was in earshot, brought up the bribe that she had offered us the day before. I guess it was a classic case of rough justice.

We are now back with Al and Joy in Zimbabwe and have finally met their baby girls, Bella and Catlyn who were born last August, whilst we were in Zambia. They are totally delightful and full of smiles and because there are two of them you find your face aching after a while from all the smiling back at them.

Al and Joy had to leave Makore (the game ranch where Al was working when we stayed with them on our journey north) shortly after the girls were born since the farm was under threat of being taken over and the situation reached a point where their safety became an issue; a difficult time for them so close to the birth of their twins. So it was nice to see them settled and happy in their new home, a school in Katungu where Al now works as the school’s maintenance manager.

It was lovely to find Gary and Sheila (Joy’s parents) as well as Ruth and her little boy Joshua had come down from Chinhoyi to also visit for the weekend. It was Gary and Sheila who had treated us to our unforgettable holiday at Lake Kariba and Mana Pools in Zimbabwe a couple of years ago.

As our trip is now seriously approaching its end there are a few milestones here and there. Tonight we will spend our last night in our rooftop tent, pitched under a big tree in Al & Joy’s garden. For the first time on this trip I feel slightly unnerved about sleeping under a tree since we found a vine snake in the garden today.

This is a small but very poisonous snake living mostly in trees and looking for nice cosy places to lay her eggs. This particular female had made her nest in an electrical distribution panel cabinet situated by the garden fence and the electrician who had come to do some wiring got the fright of his life when he found her curled up in the corner of the cabinet. Gary and Al tried to catch her, but she managed to get away and is now on the loose in Al’s garden looking for a new home.

Tuesday 19^th February, South Africa

After bidding farewell to our extended family  we embarked on a 10 hour journey travelling through beautiful Zimbabwean countryside before crossing into South Africa and heading for Karen’s home in Polokwane . Once again, very little traffic and good roads along the way, now finally getting used to being on our own.

We crossed from Zimbabwe into SA at around 2pm and couldn’t believe it when it took us a mere 10 minutes to clear the Zim side; the last time we were at this border crossing in 2010 it took us about three hours to complete formalities. We had been very diligent with our speed all day, but about 100 km north of the border we were stopped by a traffic cop and fined $20 for being 10 km over the speed limit. As I handed over our last $20 bill I told the woman that these were out last dollars. She thought about it for a moment, then handed me $10 back saying: ‘I can’t leave you without any cash’. No receipt given of course but a “kind” corrupt cop.

That evening Karen treated us to a lamb roast and roast potatoes, what a treat! Karen had also been following our blog and it was nice to ‘fill in the gaps’ rather than wondering where to start telling her about our trip. Thank you Karen for spoiling us!

We left Polokwane Monday morning, heading for Johannesburg where we knew we would have to spend a couple of days having things fixed which need fixing (faulty gas bottle holders, locks for our canopy etc). Driving into Jo’bourg with all the traffic was overwhelming after having been ‘in the sticks’ for so long. Anyway, we managed and we are now working our way through a list of things which need doing here but hoping to get them done as quickly as we can so that we continue heading south.

Thursday 21^th February

A couple of busy but very successful days in Jo’burg having items replaced or repaired. Our next stop was going to be Durban but whilst we were wrapping things up here we had a call from Duncan (Heather’s brother) inviting us for a visit to their home in Virginia. We needed an excuse for a little detour, so off we headed west towards the Free State.

We had a lovely evening sitting in the garden which overlooks the Sand River. Duncan and Marion treated us to a delicious curry and yet another cowboy breakfast the next morning. The weight we have lost during our trip (about 15 kg between us) is now coming back fast; the trouble is it is coming back in different places to where it was before!

Thank you Duncan and Marion, we very much look forward to your visit to the UK in September.

Friday 22^nd Feb, Drakensberg

After leaving Duncan and Marion, we had two really great days driving through the Maluti Mountains of the Free State and on to Lesotho which is a tiny (30,000 square km) independent kingdom completely surrounded by South Africa, located between the provinces of Free State and Kwazulu Natal.

The entire ‘country’ lies above 1000 meters with mountains ranges up to 3400 meters. As you cross into Lesotho from the north west (the Free State) and head south east (towards Durban) the countryside becomes increasingly more dramatic culminating in the totally breath taking Sani Pass, a roughly nine kilometre long mountain pass in the Drakensberg mountains. The pass is incredibly steep and narrow, its dirt road twisting its way through rocky cliffs and is not for the faint hearted.

I had never been to Lesotho before and was totally taken by its rugged beauty. Right here in the middle of South Africa you step back in time, not unlike in parts of Ethiopia. It prides itself in being fiercely independent and totally untouched by colonisation. People here live in traditional round huts and the mode of transport is by pony or donkey. Traditional clothing is mostly a locally produced ‘Basotho’ blanket.

 However, the country is incredibly poor and has one of the highest rates of HIV/Aids in Africa. It is reported that in some urban areas about 50% of woman under 40 are HIV positive. Bill Gates visited Lesotho in 2006 and has been a major sponsor in campaigns aimed at reducing HIV/Aids in the country.

This is also where Don’s father was born. Don’s grandfather was a carpenter from Rothesay who sailed to South Africa from Scotland as part of the British Army Support Unit during the Boer War. At the end of the war he decided to stay on and took up a position as Principal of a trade school in Lesotho (known as Basutoland at that time). He stayed here until his retirement then relocated back to South Africa where he lived for the rest of his life.

As we reached the bottom of the Sani Pass we took a left turn (northwest) and meandered through the foothills of the Drakensberg until we found a nice lodge where we are now staying for the night. We have been allocated a ‘luxury’ room since there was a cancellation and for the first time in ages Don is watching TV. He started watching the rugby, then a black and white silent movie (!), now (at quarter to midnight) cricket…………….

Tomorrow we aim to reach Graham & Kirsty’s home just outside Durban.