Biking Again

Neil did another weekend biking trip with mates, this time catching the train to PE and then taking the back routes via Addo, Somerset East and Lady Grey back to Joburg.

World Cup Fever and Big Celebrations

We celebrated my parents 50th wedding anniversary with a great weekend and party at the farm. Then it was back to Joburg for the beginning of the World Cup. We went to the Kick Off Concert at Orlando Stadium in Soweto on Thursday and then to the Opening Game at Soccer City on the Friday. The opening ceremony was awesome and the atmophere at the stadium was great. Joburg was really abuzz and we were very proud to be South Africans.

Fishing in Mozambique

We spent 3 days at Ugezi Tiger Fishing Lodge on Cahorra Bassa and another few days at Casa Msika for Bass fishing. Neil loved the fishing and even I caught a few fish, eventhough we were out of season. Cahorra Bassa is very remote and undeveloped, with not much to do unless you love fishing.

Liwonde

We camped for a few days at Liwonde National Park in Malawi. The highlights of the park are the hippos in the Shire river.

Lake Malawi

We stayed at Monkey bay at Venice Beach,a very chilled backpackers lodge, because they agreed we could park our caravan right on the shore. We spent a great few days chilling, swimming and canoeing. We did a day trip on a fishing boat and drove to Mangochi and the other resorts on the southern part of the lake.It takes a while to get Africanised but once you settle into the African pace of life and go with the flow, you can just stay forever.

Shopping in Africa

We liked the fact that jeans actually do grow on trees, even if money doesn`t. Instead of Builders Warehouse, try the "People Always Complain" Hardware Store!

Gorongoza

In its day, Gorongoza National Park was one of the best in Southern Africa. During the civil war in Moz it was used as a Renamo base and all the game was poached and killed.
Now there are plans to return it to what it was and they have undertaken a massive game relocation programme with foreign funding. It is truely a beautiful place and we enjoyed the quiet campsite. Due to late rains the roads were not open for self driving but we did a few game drives. There are not many predators left but the antelope are plentiful as are the baboons and warthogs.

Vilankoulos and the Bazarruto Islands

From Tofo we drove north to Vilankoulos. It is a shabby coastal town, but worth a stop as a jumping off point to the gorgeous Bazarruto Archipeligo, with all the boating, fishing, sailing and diving you could want. We rented a dow for a day for a trip to the islands and snorkelling off two mile reef, which was a highlight of the trip. We saw dolphins and dougongs from the boat and the snorkelling was probably the best we have ever done.

A Wonderful Wedding in Tofo Beach

We crossed into Mozambicque at Komatiepoort and travelled up to Tofo Beach for Heather and Don's wedding. The roads in Moz are still very bad - potholed or simply no tar left at all - and travelling is very slow. We arrived with the Champagne about half an hour before the start of the Hen Night! The wedding was celebrated at Mango Beach, and was just wonderful.

Southern Kruger

Our African adventure began with a few days in the Kruger Park. We settled into the off-road caravan, which Neil has nicknamed Che, so easily.We saw plenty animals and got back into our birdwatching.