Optional Activity: Dinner out at local restaurant
Meals: Breakfast
8th December 2013
I've decided to stop referring to early starts, not because they don't happen anymore but because most days we get up somewhere between 4:30am and 5:30am. If its a late start I'll be sure to let you know.
Today we got picked up for a 4x4 game drive in the Hluhluwe - Umfolozi Game Reserve. The 4x4's are typically either heavily modified Toyota personnel carriers or Land Rover equivalents, the roofs & sides are removed and replaced with rollbars and fitted canvas sides that have clear windows. When you are diving along a main road at speed they roll the canvas sides down and they use alien technology (velcro) to keep them in place, it works well but at speed first thing in the morning you have to rug up like an Inuit as it gets cold, really cold. In our vehicle for the day we had Ester, (the Dutch girl) Diana & Christine, Shauna, Lina, Michael, Lucas, Lisa & me.
The only downside to these vehicles is that with the sides down we get the diesel fumes coming in the back. As a result Shauna started to feel sick (just quietly I think everyone was) and the team sprung into action, we tried desperately to open the canvas sides from the inside but alas the alien technology held firm, it was sealed from the outside. Our next plan involved trying to communicate with our guide for the day via a small opening above the drivers cab. We eventually established communications but it was under some duress, Shauna suggested that it was all a little too late but at last we got the sides open. Shauna had a little chuckle and rode in the cab for the rest of the way to the game park.
Once we go to the Game park we had our breakfast and prepared ourselves for the game drive. Unfortunately Kruger has spoilt us because whilst we saw lots of animals we only saw them at a distance or moving away, and we did not see all of the Big Five. Hluhluwe - Umfolozi Game Reserve is renowned for its breeding of Rhino's, because they have successfully breed so many they sell them to other game parks Kruger being one of them. On the drive we saw a rhino lying down on the river bank about 400 meters away, because he wasn't moving the guides were concerned he was a victim of poaching. Fortunately I could zoom right in and was able to see his horn was still there and he was beginning to move. One of the amazing things about Africa is how easily the large animals such as rhino's can disappear into the bush - one minute you can see them, then they just fade away. Houdini would be jealous. For example two rhino walked 25 metres in front of the vehicle, went behind a bush and just seemed to vanish, within a couple of steps.
I now think I have the big lens and tripod / monopod sorted, it's not perfect but it seems to work. One of the tripod legs is extended to the required height and then I hold the tripod in place with my foot and rotate the camera at will using the trigger on the pistol grip, it makes life much easier than trying to hold the camera up and shoot.We then left the park to meet Otis and the boys and once we caught up with them we headed for Durban.
At Durban three family members left us, Lucas, Shauna and her dad Kevin, unfortunately it probably wasn't the best last day for Shauna given the episode on the 4x4.
We were hoping to try some Indian curries but because we didn't book anything in time we had a team dinner in the hotel. As Lisa says its like herding cats.The dinner we had was the buffet (including ice cream) for 160 Rand each which works out to about $16 Australian.
The thing I liked about Durban was the vibrancy of the waterfront area, it was like a theme park. There was a chair lift which went for about 300 meters, all sorts of merry go round rides for the kids, water playgrounds, DJ's playing music, market stalls etc. But the truely amazing thing was we could see 100's and 100's of people all grouped together in the surf, it wasn't until we got closer that we saw that they were all swimming between the flags.
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