10 Days in Mauritius

This was our first trip to Mauritius. We landed, picked up our hire car and headed to Auberge Miko in Grand Baie. As you know, we don't do package holidays in resorts which is probably why we haven't been here before. The owners at Miko were very friendly and helpful and the simple guesthouse was well located to walk to central Gran Baie. Gran Baie is very beautiful and many European expats and retirees live here. It's supposed to have a great nightlife scene but doesn't have more than a mere handful of bars and restaurants. We found one bar, Cokoloco, with live music and we enjoyed sundowners at The Beach House. Food and especially wines are pretty expensive in Mauritius. We enjoyed walks around town and discovered a few small beaches like Pereybere.



We drove to Port Loius one day and explored the market and Chinatown. Parking and traffic were really painful and the Waterfront was rather uninspirirng. We did really enjoy the street food though. Another day we went to the Botanic Garden in Pamplemousses and enjoyed driving through sugarcane country nearby.

 



On the weekend we drove down to the Black River and Tamarin area to stay with Sandi and Derrick. They have a lovely cottage right on the beach. A lot of South African expats live in this area. One day we took an inland trip into the Black River Gorge National Park and enjoy a wonderful lunch at the Chamarel Rhumerie. On another day we took a private boat trip from Le Morne. We saw many dolphins and enjoyed snorkelling and a visit to Benitiers Island. We spent a night in Flic-en-Flac and a night in Belle Mare. Belle Mare is the vicinity of some very fancy resorts like St. Geran but it's no fun for independant travellers. We found a great restaurant calle Falaise Rouge north of the fishing town of Mahebourg. We returned to Le Morne for a night because it was our favourite area of Mauritius and spent our last night in Blue Bay because its's close to the airport. We enjoyed our stay and we saw every corner of the island but we wouldn't recommend it unless perhaps you are looking for a resort honeymoon.

Cape Road Trip : Capetown

How much can you squeeze into a week in Capetown? Firstly, spread yourself around: We stayed with Danie and John in Llandudno, Madeleine and Andrew in Scarborough and Dave and Rene in Claremont.We love visiting friends for meals; thanks Danie and John, Caroline and Steve, Simon and Natalie. Of course, Capetown has amazing restaurants. From being 38th on the waiting list to being offered a table at The Test Kitchen was something of a surprise. It was more of an epic culinary journey than a meal and a great treat from Fred and Terri. The CTFM at the waterfront gets a real thumbs down from us in terms of service and food but we did get to see Freshly Ground at their badly organised music festival. And in between let's add The Pot Luck Club, The Hub, Cafe Paradiso, Harbour House Cafe and the Olympic Bakery.
Another highlight of this trip was a visit to the new Zeitz Museum of contemporary African art.The building is an amazing remodeling of an old silo. I think the Silo Hotel is the most expensive place to stay in Capetown now.

Cape Road Trip : Hermanus

We all checked into "Di's Apartment" on the Hermanus seafront and Paulet, Gavin and Clarissa joined us there. Oh, the joy of breeching whales in the bay. Dinner at the new Heritage House Restaurant with family and friends followed. On Sunday we drove to the Elgin Wine area and had a wonderful lunch at South Hills. Hats off to them for coping with our group of 24. Monday was Gavin's birthday, so we had lunch at another Hermanus favourite, Bientangs Cave. Neil and Gav still managed a range of cocktails at Coco's before we all poured ourselves into a taxi to go to a braai at Marjo and Di's. Did we really end the evening on rounds of Russian vodkas? Gavin said it was the best birthday he's had for years!
We drove to Stellenbosch on the coast road, stopping to see the penguins in Betties Bay. We had a spot of lunch at Ernie Else Estate which was rather disappointing. Sadly, we didn't have too much time in Stellenbosch and missed lots of good wine tasting. Fred and Terri will have to put the Winelands on their list of things to do next time they visit the Cape.

Cape Road Trip : Route 62

We travelled from George to Oudtshoorn, visited the Kango Caves and on to our Africamps safari tents on an osrtich farm just outside town. Africamps is a fun, luxury tenting experience set up on various farm locations around the Cape. The next day we did a tour of a few Ostrich farms and the hatchery, where all the chicks are hatched for all the farmers in the area. It's a big incubation plant and we were lucky enough to see a few baby ostriches crack out of their eggs and into the world, with help from Terri.We also bought an egg for scrambling - equivalent to 24 hens eggs. After coffee in town, we set off on route 62 to Calitzdorp for some port tasting at the Boplaas Estate. In Ladismith we stopped at Kanna Kombuis for hot roosterkoek with cheese and jam. You can't travel past Ronnie's Sex Shop without stopping for a beer. Chat to raconteur Ronnie on the verandah or hang with his son in the bar adorned with hundreds of bras.In Barrydale we checked into the quirky Karoo Art Hotel where every room is decorated by a different local artist. Neil met up with Anthony, a primary school bestie he hasn't seen in nearly 50 years. Anthony took us to Mez Karoo for dinner. We drove to Swellendam via the Grabouw Pass and then on to Caledon and into one of our favourite wine regions; the Hemel and Aarde Valley. Of course, those who know me will know that we went directly to Creation Winery for a food and wine pairing lunch.

Cape Road Trip : Garden Route

After a few days back in Joburg, we were off on our next adventure: the Garden Route and Capetown with Fred and Terri and Ram and Ranji. Fred and Terri were travelling with us so after we picked them up in PE, we met Ram and Ranji at the airport and drove up to Addo Elephant Park. We had one night in the chalets at main camp and on the second night we stayed in Matylholweni. We actually preferred the southern section of the park this time; with loads of elephant sightings; some up close and personal. Our American guests really got into the swing of camp style cooking and braaing.  A lion's roaring sounds really nearby when you're walking home to your chalet at night. Pity we didn't find them the next morning... the lions that is... Fred and Terri were fine. Vervet monkeys can be a real menace around camps if you don't keep everything locked. We all enjoyed the bird watching too.

A craft beer a day keeps the doctor away. After a spot of grocery shopping, we headed for St. Francis Bay and the St. Francis Brewing Co. A sleepy Monday morning in a sleepy, sleepy town but they did manage to pour us all a tasting flight. We had fish and chips for lunch at Balobi's. We checked into our chalets at Storm's River Mouth, part of the Tsitsikamma National Park and went off to explore the coast and the swing bridge over the ocean. The weather came in so instead of braaing, we roasted our leg of lamb in the oven. Nothing like loads of red wine to make you feel cosy inside on a stormy night when you're staying so close to the ocean.

We can highly recommend the pizza at Ristorante Enrico at Keurbooms Strand near Plett. They have a gorgeous seaside deck but the wind kept us indoors. On to Knysna.. as usual Neil stopped to buy the ladies fresh bunches of flowers from the roadside sellers just outside town. Staff at the Turbine Hotel, our favourite stopover in Knysna, had to run around finding vases for the rooms. We went to the Heads viewpoint and the Red River Brewing Company before taking a sunset cruise on the lagoon, followed by seafood dinner. We did see evidence of the fire devastation from the wildfires  that ravaged the area five months earlier, but a lot of forest clearing and salvaging had already taken place.

A leisurely breakfast, more grocery shopping and Sedgefield Craft Brewery for a morning beverage. We always enjoy a night in the quirky treehouses at Teniqua Treetops. Luckily they were narrowly missed by the fires, so we could look out over the lush green valley and relax. The next day we went walking on Wilderness beach before saying goodbye to Ram and Ranji for a few nights.

Zimbabwe : Eastern Highlands, Great Zimbabwe and Gonarezhou

Sunday 1 October : A drive through downtown Harare on a Sunday morning is rather pleasant actually. Heading southeast we drive through a number of farming towns like Marondera and Rusape; all faded and jaded but with hints of their colonial days. This blog is not about history or politics or strong opinions  but one thing is clearly evident when travelling in Zimbabwe : One corrupt and shameless leader and his cronies can destroy a country and it's potential forever..for all it's people...    ( Since our trip Mugabe has thankfully been deposed but it will be a long and hard road back to prosperity. ) We have lunch at the famous old Troutbeck Inn, set up camp at Mare and take a drive to the Rhodes Hotel for a drink on the verandah and a spot of birdwatching. It's rather chilly in the Eastern Highlands and the landscape and vegetation is very different from the hot and dry areas of Hwange and Mana.

On the terrace at Troutbeck

Monday 2 October : Next stop is the World Heritage site of Great Zimbabwe. These are ruins of a stone settlement, castle and fortress dating back to the 11th century. Nothing like a bit of a climb in the heat and the views are amazing. We overnight at Norma Jeans overlooking Lake Mutirikwi. This is by far and away the newest, neatest and well run place we have stayed at all trip. I can highly recommend it as a good overnight spot. We meet some tourists who are on an overland bus trip that began in Capetown. All they have been doing for literally days and days is driving. And I thought our schedule was a bit hectic! 

 
Tuesday 3 October : Its our first visit to Gonarezhou National Park. Things always happen in threes. The caravan brake seizes on a rocky hillside. Neil and Randolph manage to fix it in the searing midday heat while we enjoy Danie and John's sandwiches. The bakkie gets stuck in the riverbed but after letting air out of the tyres and a bit of digging Danie and the Fortuner tow us out. Our private campsite Hlaro has been occupied by a bunch of Saffers who have entered the park illegally. After some pressure they pack up and leave. It's wallies like this this that give white Afrikaners a bad name - don't paint us all with the same brush, please!

Loading wood onto the roof at Gonarezhou reception area

Fixing the caravan brake

Digging the bakkie out of the riverbed

Wednesday 4 October : The rest of our stay is lovely and the views of the red cliffs are awesome. We hear the lions roaring each night around the camp but we can't find them on any of our drives.

Thursday 5 October and beyond : Homeward bound with a night at Lion and Elephant and chaos at Beitbridge, we end up back at the farm for some rushed and disorganised unpacking. A trip of a lifetime, for sure.