One adventure ends, another begins

G’day from Perth, Western Australia! Since writing my last entry in Namibia the tour has finished, time was spent in beautiful Cape Town with those remaining and the last 2 weeks have been me travelling on my own making new friends along the garden route, the amazing coffee bay, not so great Durban and finally in Jo’burg.

All the way back in Swakopmund (feels so long ago now) the big group meal we were having went very well with the food and atmosphere being good then the usual ‘lot’ getting on the drink and ending up in the club next door amongst the very white crowd. Waking up for fishing in the morning was not easy and although felt ok getting to the harbour and the journey north along the coast, when we stopped and the Atlantic rollers were moving the boat I was as far from ok as you could get and wished had had an early one! I avoided (just) throwing up and enjoyed catching dozens of cob for the group as well as cat fish, and Johan, Troy and Keith all caught a small shark each that had to go back in the water but made for cool photos. Being a Sunday Karl and Mandy made a delicious roast dinner in the evening as for once had full use of a kitchen instead of the side of the truck.

After posting my painting, looking around the shops and getting food for a couple days we left and headed south, first along the coast then inland along unpaved, dusty roads through desert and canyons. At the bush camp my cook group utilised the fish we caught and when everyone else had gone to bed myself, Daniel and astronomer Rob stared at the cosmos in all its glory seeing the milky way, two other galaxies, nebula’s and as many stars as you can with the naked eye.

During the night the wind picked up and it seemed everyone got no sleep except me and Keith which was lucky as nearby was the world’s highest sand dunes at Sossusvlei. The only one you were actually allowed to go on was Dune 45 so climbed up (along with other tourists) and took dozens of photos of the shapes, light and colours produced not long after sunrise (yes we were awake at 5.30!). I could of stayed for hours going all over the area but my camera was beginning to pack in and breakfast was waiting so ran down from the top and then around the rim back to the truck where the wind had picked up alot.

Driving back to the main road and for a number of hours to our next bush camp took its toll with everyone incredibly fed up and extremely relieved to get off, so relaxed on the rug/chairs talking and having some wine till a reasonably early night free from wind and cold. Another early start awaited us, this time to Fish River Canyon (only the Grand Canyon is bigger) where we did an easy walk from one viewpoint to another looking into the vast empty hole and of course getting far too close to the edge for comfort.

Not too far away was the border with my 10th and final African country -South Africa. A number of us jumped straight into the Orange River by our campsite down the road then in the evening played countless games of pool and drank beer till the early hours despite lack of sleep from previous nights. In the morning I sat up front in the cab with Karl and Mandy seeing the landscape progressively change from shrubs to grassland and to lush river valley’s where wine is made. At camp everybody contributed to a full on truck clean inside and out, finding numerous ‘missing items’ and throwing out bag after bag of rubbish and dust that accumulated in every possible spot. Galbyn and co cooked a delicious braai as a reward before chilling out on the tasty Hunter’s cider.

Literally 12km from reaching Stellenbosch on the truck’s penultimate journey one of the rear tyres blew to shred’s delaying us over an hour while the change was made. Once in the lovely, picturesque town I went on a mission to post all my Malawian furniture/souvenirs, got a haircut, use the internet and buy a new phone/sim and some t shirts (and of course a pizza). K and M put on a huge cold buffet then we headed out to an Irish Bar and a small club right by the hostel till the early hour’s having a quality not overly drunken night with everyone pleased to have finished camping and that a bed awaited them. On the last day of the tour half the group embarked on an organised wine tour first visiting the Simonsig vineyard to sample good sparkling/red and white wines as well as being given a tour or how it is made and processed. At Fairview there was some of the best cheese I have ever had available to sample (went round half a dozen times) which was made especially good knowing most of it is from imported Jersey cows my family introduced generations ago. Lunch was had in Franschoek then at Dieu Donne I won a bottle of wine for an obvious answer and enjoyed more tastings looking out at a view over the valley and mountains with the ‘tablecloth’ of cloud enveloping some. After the last vineyard, Buschendal (second oldest in SA), wine was bought out in the minivan that people had purchased making for one hell of a journey. Me, Keith and Johan found the best pizza place so far in Africa and had over a litre of wine each then visited the club again with each of us falling asleep at one time or another at a table or by the bar.

Only an hour away was the 10 week tour’s final destination, Cape Town, which looked as good as I hoped nestled in a bowl backed by the imposing Table Mt and Lion’s Head. Once all the stuff was off the truck and in the very nice, comfortable Ashanti lodge I got a taxi to the end of Signal Hill for some magnificent views then found a short cut down to street level and along lively Long Street to the V & A Waterfront to get acquainted with the city.

In the morning myself, Troy, Jackie and Johan took advantage of the perfect, cloudless weather and went up the cable car to the top of the 1000m high Table Mountain where we spent a while walking to the highest point (didn’t intend on it but went wrong way) seeing the peninsula, beaches and city. After a bit of a wait we put on the gear to do the world’s highest commercial abseil with husband and wife going first over the ledge then it was our turn and considering a few years ago wouldn’t do a small cliff I was a little nervous to say the least. The scariest point by far was when my chilled instructor said ‘just lean back and let the rope take your weight’ but once plucked up the courage to do so the rest was relatively easy- slowly making our way down 60 metres then a 40 metre controlled free fall with no rock to grab onto. All chuffed at what we had done we had a drink in the bar after walking back up and walked to the hostel from the cable station then I rushed off to the other end of town in my sweaty gear to get my laptop fixed making for one tiring day.

The activities (and expense) continued when the next day a few of us got picked up at the ungodly hour of 5am to go Shark Cage Diving near Gansbaai. We were given an introduction, food and got aboard the Lady T for a surprisingly short trip into the bay to wait for the Great White’s to come to us through the use of fish soup being chucked into the water (all the time being reassured it’s just baiting and not feeding them). 45 minutes later and the unnerving call of ‘shark’ came from the skipper prompting the cameras out (only person clever or stupid enough to bring an SLR) and a large shadow to appear in the water. He was joined by another soon with them both circling, slowly being more confident and trying to grab the fish head’s constantly being thrown into the water (attached to a rope) making for some good photos; been afraid of these beasts for so many years that is quite surreal to finally see one a matter of metres away and not be scared at all. Two groups of four got inside the cage for 15-20 minutes and just as we put on the damp wet suits and slid into the cold water the sharks decided to go in search of actual food and were nowhere to be seen. Not far off an hour passed trying to keep warm and it was time to get out for food and some sort of pick me up as was utterly gutted at this point. With hope fading another, bigger one (10ft) showed itself and I got my chance to see it look directly at me in its own territory; like the lion kill I don’t have any photos but it’s the experiencing it that matters. All in all I think we were a little unlucky but at the same time it wasn’t quite as great as hoped. As it was K and M’s last night, with those remaining, a braai was put on with salad, garlic bread and chips/crisps then I came 7th (out of 25) in a killer pool competition run by the hostel.

There were a couple of day trips to the Cape Peninsula available but instead I hired a small Opel Corsa with Johan and drove through the city (I was only driver) to the very much overrated Camp’s Bay and onto a lovely, quiet, not tacky and no shops about beach at Llandudno where a small film set was filming right on the sand. Past Hout Bay there was an amazing, Italian-esque coastal drive along the cliffs and under man made overhangs and a view across a long, white sandy beach to a small town with a lighthouse. Further south we watched a group of Southern White Whales playing near the shore, entered the Cape Point NP and made it to the Cape of Good Hope, made famous through mariners and countless shipwreck tails. If it wasn’t for the shed loads of tourists coming on their big coaches only to get a photo of the sign it would of been really nice so climbed up the empty cliff for a view out to sea trying to imagine ships hundreds of years ago trying to navigate around it. We avoided Cape Point itself, saw the other car and narrowly avoided a large Baboon and baby from jumping through the window before leaving the NP and making it to Boulder’s Beach for the African Penguin’s. From looking at the photos I presumed it was unprotected but in fact you had to pay to enter and had to stick to board walks (nothing in Africa is free) seeing hundreds of cute foot high bird’s waddle around, lie down or prune their feathers. At nearby Simon’s Town we ate a seafood lunch then drove towards and through the city, getting stuck in traffic for the classic silhouette photo at Blougestrand. The view was unbelievable and by far best of the day so sat down and took it all in, leaving at last possible minute to boot it back to the rental place with only 5 minutes to spare!

On the last day in this amazing city it was just the two of us again (there were others about but not bothered about seeing or doing anything) so walked all the way to the World Cup stadium at Greenpoint for the tour; I enjoyed seeing the new building with all its modern facilities but with no history and no club heritage was not overly interesting. The Two Ocean’s Aquarium at the waterfront was awesome with a massive tank full of sharks and other predators, penguin feeding (had only King Penguin in Africa), glow in the dark jellyfish and a tank full of Nemo’s. Going through the skyscrapers, squares and restaurants there was the slightly dodgy train and bus stations (few whites about) and infamous District 6 where thousands of people were forcibly removed and homes bulldozed during apartheid although missed the closing time for the museum there. For my last night in Cape Town the ten guys left (spread all over city) all met up for dinner and drinks on Long Street, eventually going to a posh club but the vibe wasn’t great so me and friend Tracy dodged the pouring rain and got a taxi back.

I finished packing, said goodbye to Troy, Jackie and Keith (three quality Aussies who will hopefully see again in a few months) and began another adventure with the Baz Bus east towards the Garden Route but with time limited only had three nights in the area. In Knysna I was practically the only guest there so had a whole dorm to spread out in before having a full rack of ribs at a lively local pub and passing out watching a film due to being very tired from three hours of sleep. The adventure guy Orin drove me to the viewpoints on the East Head where you could see expensive houses, the stunning lagoon and waves hitting the rocks then I wondered down for a slap up breakfast and across the sand, as was low tide, to Leisure Isle. Finding I couldn’t make it all the way to town I found the road and a nice family gave me a lift saving me an hour or two. I looked at the harbour, tourist shops and bought food before meeting watching films the whole evening with Danny (met him on bus and arrived that day). I woke up early for the Japanese GP and spent the day watching documentaries as didn’t have the energy or money to do anything else.

An hour inland was Nature’s Valley and the Wild Spirit Lodge which is set in the heavily forested hills and is very eco minded with posters everywhere reminding you how much water you use, recycling bins and even sinks atop the toilet itself. It was very nice and friendly so sat on the porch uploading photos and eating a vegetarian dinner, being last up so turned off lights and put out the fire. I was planning on waking up for the sunrise but constant rain put paid to that but without curtains couldn’t go back to sleep anyway in my giant empty room. Luckily the internet was free otherwise would of been twiddling my thumbs all day although did manage a quick hour walk to the ‘magic forest’.

Back on the bus we picked up Danny (doing a bungee at another place) and watched Sly Stallone’s new film The Expendables at top volume and entered the grim town of Port Elizabeth at 10pm. We had three fun girl’s with us who made the night entertaining as no one else and cold outside (had an honesty fridge with beer....would of been fatal if not for only ten beers in it). A long travel day followed with 7 hours towards Mthatha in the very traditional Transkei region (stopped at Nelson Mandela’s old house) and 2 more hours in a shuttle down a potholed road to Coffee Bay (via an African style Wal-Mart)- been looking forward to this for months. The crazy manager gave us a tour of the hostel, had a free drink and got ready for the evening’s events. A group of us hastily made up some space gear using cardboard and tinfoil, had beer and cocktails then a single free glass of punch (thought it would be more). People from other hostels and locals came to the bar filling the place up and giving it a proper party atmosphere making it a really fun evening.

We took a guided hike along the cliffs and dangerous rock platforms and into a couple of caves to a small hole filled with water that we could sit in out of the way of the waves (now know why it’s the wild coast). Timing it right, in groups of four we rushed round the corner avoiding slipping to become perched like sitting ducks on a ledge finding out we had to scramble upwards dangerously with the help of two of the local guides. We watched Joseph somehow get to a level 16 metres high and jump into the surf then made our way back past the Xhosa huts, long drops, children, dogs and cattle for cheese toasties and as the rain began to fall went back to Coffee Shack. Nearby was the Shibeen where you could buy big bottles of beer and next door sit with the villagers trying to communicate while a few try and sell you various illegal produce made in the area.

The sun was out for the first time in a while so made the most of it and began walking the ten minutes to the beach but Kathy somehow stood on a rusty nail that went a good couple inches into her foot with me having to pull it out, later finding out it fractured a bone inside forcing her to be given a stick as no crutches were left at local medical centre. The wind had picked up making it quite uncomfortable on the beach with the sand blowing everywhere but was determined to stay for a bit so swam in the rough sea with a weird current going in more than one direction, tried sunbathing and played football with kid’s watching how bad we were. I went in the sea again with Rob but on a mission to get out to the bigger waves we got caught up in a rip current not being able to get in and the water swirling us around like a washing machine. Enough was enough so we packed up and chilled out the rest of the afternoon, watched the sunset overlooking Bomvu Beach and had another awesome night with a load of newbie’s having recently arrived.

Instead of paying the ridiculously cheap 40 rand for a two hour surf lesson it turned out a whole beach day was being made of it on the Friday but due to being very hungover missed being in the first groups meaning a long wait to get in the water so played volleyball and lay down. Instructor Niall had a different, better method than the one I have been using for years although getting used to it made me look ultra rubbish till finally got the hang of it with the waves behaving themselves (had a bad patch unpredictable current). Practically all the guests joined Sulla for the journey to one of the villagers for a cultural night but the rain came down heavily slowing us down (had to take it in turns to carry Kathy). We were treated to great vegetarian food, lots of dancing and singing and could ask them questions about culture and family life; found out there is a certain cow dowry not just for marriage but cheating and pregnancy outside marriage as well.

Having come to Coffee Bay primarily to relax I had done the complete opposite being busy every day and night so on my last day got up late, played some monopoly and wrote in my journal. Despite the general lack of backpackers around and a slow start to the night one of the Slovenian girls got out a quality game called Jungle Speed, turning it into a ruthless drinking game and making my last bottle of Stellenbosch wine go down very quickly. Various games of pool and dancing round the table with strong cocktails provided a perfect send off from this very memorable, unique place with my tab in the morning showing it (considering everything for 5 days equated to £150 it’s still extremely good value). Leaving at midday we didn’t arrive into Durban till 9pm getting very warm en route watching a couple of good films on the laptop to make time pass just that little bit quicker

I thought I was going to regret only spending one day in South Africa’s third biggest city but it was just enough time to show me why I don’t need to return. The majority or walking was in run down, grubby areas and when at the Asian quarter it was obviously busy but felt as if my bag could get pinched at any moment. Victoria Market was a nice relief with some fascinating spice and souvenir shops with very energetic staff giving you ‘special prices’. I had to stop myself buying lots of things so at bunny chow and walked back across the city to the beautiful, enormous WC stadium looking completely out of place amongst the buildings and the old rugby stadium behind. After collecting washing and buying alcohol I used the net for first time in a week as didn’t work on the wild coast and barely had the time anyway. Myself, Aisling, Ellen, Emily, Rob and Sian all had the same dorm to ourselves and with it being cold outside forced us to drink and play cards on the floor eventually doing ring of fire making a racket for the old French people in the rooms next door. Being next to a safe, lively road meant the bar was only a couple minutes away where you could get shisha and shots for next to nothing and shared two bottles of wine between us before raiding the staff fridge for food as pizza places closed.

Not getting the best sleep due to the heat it was a struggle to get up but just about managed, packed and quickly said goodbye to the guys and got aboard my last African journey with Bec who met on the bus every now and again and at coffee bay. I sorted out photos and showed her hundreds of ones have taken while progressing north past the Drakensburg Mountains and into huge lightening storms surrounding Johannesburg. At the end of another 10 hours drive day we reached a very quiet hostel set in a not too built up area of the city making us wonder where all the danger was. With funds scarce and knowing it was the end of both our trips very little was done on my last day in Africa except making use of free internet and the hot sun and pool.

I made it to the nearby O R Tambo International airport on time, realised had no money for water and boarded the Malaysia Airlines plane that was half full for the ten hours flight to Kuala Lumpur- watched A Team and wrote the majority of this and attempted sleeping but no luck. Slightly disorientated I used yet more free net at the airport and bought a burger king meal then jumped on the five hour flight to Perth feeling extremely tired by the time we landed at 3pm. Immigration, baggage and bag check went much quicker and easier than thought but the shuttle to the centre took forever putting a dampener on things. The hostel reasonably near the centre was typical of the aussies ones I had been to before but unfortunately for me is full of long term worker’s and although I intend on being one it won’t be in this city probably and would be staying in a house.

The last leg of the tour and Cape Town were a massive high which made the quietness of the garden route all the more sudden but Coffee Bay more than made up for it meeting a new, awesome bunch of people in the process. Even though have only been in Australia a matter of hours it is already apparent how lonely it can be when on your own in this vast country which isn’t helped by the sheer expense everything seems to be. I am going to try and find a car and sort some things out till spending a few days up north in Broome and driving to Kalgoorlie to stay with Darleine. Africa was one long, unbelievable holiday but here I need to buy a car and find work as well as having fun in between so need to have a different mind set and be extremely careful with money at the same time which will be a challenge but if I can pull it off will be totally worth it.

Look after yourself's and will do another in the not too distant future when have found my feet
Ant