Our travels
Video+Pics
Cycling
Walking
About us
  SOUTH AFRICA2009 We added a week safari in Pilanesberg and Madikwe to one week business visit. All pictures at our multiply page. This trip was the first one we took a videocamera. See two short movies of the two gameparks at our movie page. Or read the travelstory below. Friday 14 august There are a lot things that need to be done before we leave, and with Tom handicapped by a broken collarbone and bruised ribs, I am glad I have the entire day off. Willeke drives us to Schiphol airport. At the airport we buy some Dutch souvenir cookies for Hans and Tina. On to the gate, Tom needs to sit down. The gate is empty and it takes a long time for the Lufthansa airplane to arrive. There for we leave for Munich over 30 minutes after the original departure time. In Munich we see our South African Airlines airplane at the gate next to us. But we are in the Schengen in department and have to go a level up to leave Europe via customs. In South Africa they changed some safety rules, in order to get it right for the World Cup Soccer in 2010. This means every passenger has to have his or hers passport scanned before entering the flight. There is an announcement about this rule when we arrive at the gate, so we are in the beginning of a huge line. This means we have some time left to buy a bottle of soda before boarding. It is hot inside the airplane and that doesn't change after take off. Long after dinner we are still awake because of it, and Tom's pain doesn't help either. A painkiller, some inflatable pillows and some cool air from the vents make us doze off at the end. Saturday 15 august We arrive 30 minutes ahead of schedule in Johannesburg, after that everything is going fast. No lines at customs and our luggage is amongst the first ones on the belt. While custom officers ask others to open their bags, we an just walk through. 
An airport official brings us to the domestic departures. This is a level up and to our amazement the luggage cart
travels with us on the escalator. The carts are specially designed for that. With this speed we could have taken one flight earlier but everything is fully booked. We even sit on
different rows, although we got our boarding pass over 12 hours ago. Our flight to Durban only takes us about an hour.
Hans and Tina are there to greet us, it is a warm welcome. They take us to their little paradise in Westville, a suburb of Durban.
Their house is built on a hill and looks over a huge garden. There are lots of trees in the vicinity and in the valley there is a nature reserve. This means there are many birds around.
They even have a pair of yellow billed kites nesting next door.
After a quick freshen up lunch is served on the terrace. It is a good lunch with real South African dishes like boerewors and bredie. The chicken wings, salad, bread and chips make
it more than enough for us, but we have to dry dessert. A melktertjie is a small cake that looks like a cheesecake but is made with milk.
At the end of the afternoon we go to the beach at Umhlanga Rocks. Just a short stroll to get some fresh air in. Hans and Tina put on a jacket because it is winter, but we like the
temperature (21°C). There is a very strong wind though.
For dinner we are taken to Waxy O' Connors, an Irish pub. There are a lot of people there. So it takes a while before the food is served. The large portions is something we have to
get used to I am afraid. After dinner we are tired enough to go to bed early.
Sunday 16 august The sun rises at six. 
It promises to be a wonderful day. Hans and Tina leave for church while we enjoy a cup of tea and the bird life in the garden.
After church we drive to Durban's harbour area. At the shoreline is a diving club where we have breakfast. There are many people at the diving club and it costs us some time to find a
table outside. But we don't have to wait long for our bacon and eggs.
After breakfast we walk along the beach towards the centre of Durban. It is a lovely winter day, the sun is shining. And it is no problem that our trousers get wet by some larger waves
as the water is 20° C.
We walk along swimming beaches and surfing beaches until we arrive at the souvenir stands.
After having a quick look at all the handicraft we turn back to uShaka Waterworld. This is a theme park with water as a theme in the broadest sense. There are aquaria, but you can
also snorkel or ride white waters in a tube. The dolphin show was funny and entertaining but the artificial shipwreck with the aquaria inside was really stunning.
Back to the beautiful house of Hans and Tina for a lunch on the terrace. After lunch we take some time to enjoy the last sunrays in the grass. The sun is setting and the wind is
picking up, even we think it is getting cold.
With a drink in front of the television we decide to order a pizza. The pizza names are not sounding familiar to us, in fact no names sound Italian at all. So we go for the tikka-chicken
and the vegetarian.
Monday 17 august At six they are present again, the sun and the noisy ibises. 
It is still early, but we don't manage to wait much longer to get out of bed. So at 7 we are at the breakfast table on the terrace.
A lovely healthy breakfast with muesli, yoghurt and fruit. Chad, who arrives around 7:30 is not very interested, because he likes 'the real thing' for breakfast. At 8 we leave for the office,
the working week is starting.
Tom starts with a presentation of the company and its products. After that the men leave to visit some customers.
Tina takes me to the 'valley of the 1000 hills' . This the area where the Comrades Marathon takes place, a run between Pietermaritzburg and Durban (90 km), in which Tina participates.
After some searching we find the plaque on the Wall of Fame with her name on it between the many others.
Today we visit PheZulu, starting with coffee before we see the performance of the Zulu dancers. It all starts with an explanation of live in a Zulu village. In the first hut the guide
tells us about some customs like the cooking and beer making by the women. This is interesting. But in the next hut, the main hut, the guide tells stories about how the men protect the women.
When he tells about how the spear is twisted into the guts it is getting ugly. 
The dancing is a lot more festive, it is about a man and woman falling in love and getting married.
Time to have lunch, a salad is more than enough. After lunch we walk through the crocodile farm and the reptile centre. There are crocodiles in all sizes, but most of them are big…
At two we have a safari of one hour. We are the only two guests in the jeep. Tim, our guide takes us through a beautiful terrain. There are not many animals here, but he tells us all we
want to know about them and even more.
Back to Westville, where there is some time left for a drink before Tina takes us to the airport. Our plane leaves for Capetown while the sun sets. The flight goes as planned and we don't
have to wait long for the luggage or the rental car. On to Stellenbosch, which takes us some extra time because the road works that are all over. The entire South African road system is
under construction this year before the World Cup Soccer 2010. Alta, Kristian (a son of Hans) and Daniël welcome us to their home. After a cup of tea we leave for 'de Oude Meul' our
guesthouse in the centre of town. It is a beautiful building in the Dorpstraat. We occupy a large room with a balcony.
All pictures of our visity to Durban can be found at our multiply page. Tuesday 18 augustIn this part of South Africa the sun comes up considerably later. When he drink a cup of tea at seven, it is still dark. Later that day we know that the sun isn't going to show the entire day. It starts with heavy clouds. So I decide to go for the city walk I downloaded from internet. I am just halfway when it starts to rain, and after a short while it is pouring. Now I know why there are such deep gutters along the roads. 
I am glad I had the time to see some Dutch Cape architecture and the VOC Kruithuis before it got too bad.Time for a warm cup of tea in our room. At one o'clock Alta is going to pick me up, I hope the weather clears. But it is even worse at that time. Roads are just floodwaters, and you can't see more than 100 meters. Everything is grey and there is water everywhere. Alta drives around the town to show me some things, but you can't even see the high mountains. Back to Stellenbosch where we have lunch with Kristian. The food is good and the warmth of the fireplace makes it real comfortable. Alta insist on going to the tourist place of Stellenbosch, Ome Samie se Winkel. This is an old store where you can buy absolutely everything and more. After that we go wine tasting, Kristian thinks this is the best part of the day. 
We start at Muratie, here everything looks very authentic. For 20 Rand you can taste 5 wines, standing at the bar. While the tasting is going on we are looking in the spider webs in the window,
is someone home? Alta isn't very amused to find out there are some fat spiders so close by.
Next stop is wine estate Delheim.Everything here looks a lot more modern, but at the same time also more for the tourist. There are some large tables in the cellar where you find the menu. As I am not a big fan of wine I liked Muratie far better. When I get back to the Oude Meul I find Tom and Hans who finished their client visits for today. A quick shower before dinner. Tonight we have dinner with the 5 of us. The restaurant (Barrique) is at the wine estate Vredenheim. And beyond my expectations they have their own microbrew beer. It is very new and the dark version we try doesn't have a name yet. But it tastes alright, perhaps a little bit sour. The food is excellent and it is clear why there are so many tables occupied on a Tuesday night. It still rains when we come back and we decide to go to bed early. Wednesday 19 august It rained the entire night, it sounded like autumn at home. At exactly 7 in the morning we hear people in the coffee shop downstairs. This where we will have breakfast later. Yesterday I chose some French toast, today I want to try something without eggs. But it is just not that simple. The waffles with fruit and yoghurt are a problem because they are out of waffles. Okay, just bring me some toast with fruit and yoghurt. Well, that is difficult, it is not on the menu. Kristian joins us for breakfast again today. Time flies and before we know it we have to go. 
After we paid the bill we load all our stuff in the car and leave in the direction of Cape Town.The weather is looking much better, we enjoy the nice views on the mountains. Today there are only two clients that need to be visited, so there is enough time to see something of the Cape area before we fly on to Jo'burg. Hans drives along the Boyes Drive, with its great view of the False Bay, to Kalk Bay. From viewpoints on the Boyes Drive we see the whales swimming in the bay below us. It is lunchtime when we arrive in Kalk Bay. Restaurant 'Brass Bell' has a nice covered terrace on the water edge. The whales are just too far away to be seen from the terrace without binoculars. The seagulls come a lot closer, they try to steal our fish and chips from the table. After lunch we follow a scenic route to Hout Bay. A nice fisherman's wharf to get out of the car and let the wind blow through our hair. 
The sun is shining the entire day and most of
the dirt from yesterdays floods is already cleared. So there is no problem with driving back along the coastal road to Cape Town.In the city we pass the new soccer stadium, they have to do a lot of work to finish it before the 2010 World Cup. As we have plenty of time before our flight leaves, Tom and Hans complete their visit reports from the last three days while enjoying a beer in the bar. There is a strong tailwind and arrive early in Jo'burg. But then we have some problems at the luggage belt. After a while we are notified that boxes are not coming on the belt, but have to be collected at the service desk. The hotel is really close to the airport (only 5 minutes by car) so we make it an early night again. Tom needs some rest. All pictures of our visit to Stellenbosch and the Cape can be found at our multiply page. Thursday 20 augustBreakfast at eight with all the people form the Johannesburg office. After breakfast Tom gives a presentation of the company and its products. The first client meets us at the hotel. 
This visit is longer than expected and we have to hurry to visit two firms in Midrand.No time for lunch, so we stop at a German beergarden on our way back to the hotel for some Bratwurst and Weissbier. We have time to freshen up before we go for dinner with Hans, Ian and Karin. It is a long drive to Melrose Arch, but it is worth it. It is very busy in the parking garage and the restaurant we go to. Moyo serves African dishes in an African atmosphere. Before ordering your food a lady comes to the table to wash your hands with warm water. The menu is extensive and it is very difficult to choose. I wouldn't recommend the grilled vegetables. It is an interesting dish with an entire sliced and grilled lemon in it. But I think the lemon is standing out so much, there is no other vegetable that kept its own taste.  Friday 21 august While we are waiting in the lobby we remember there is a saying 'African time'. This means it is always later than the appointment. So Tom is picked up by Ian and Hans just after 8:15. Today they will visit some companies that make plastic. Karin and her daughter Emily take me to the birdpark at Montecasino. They are also 10 minutes late. Although we should know by now, I am still surprised. Montecasino is a huge complex with a casino, restaurants, shops and a birdpark. The buildings are styled like an Italian city. It looks great. The birdshow is educational, but for my European liking a bit childish. We meet the men for lunch at the 'cheese factory' in Edenvale. After lunch the working part of our trip is over. Hans brings us to the hotel and drives on to the airport to fly home. We make it a relaxing night with a beer in the bar and a chicken/mushroom pie. The pie is not what we expected, but tastes great. It is a mix of chicken, mushrooms and cream under a cover of potato mash. All pictures of our Jo'burg visit can be found at our multiply page. Saturday 22 august Our brand new white Hyundai Tucson (106 km at the meter) is delivered at exactly 9 o'clock. After all formalities with copies of drivers licences and credit cards we leave in the direction of Pilanesberg. Somewhere in Jo'burg we take the wrong exit. Because of the works (everything needs to be good for the 2010 World Cup) many signs are removed or placed in a really awkward place. 
In this case the sign was placed at the point of no return, we saw it too late. Next exit, was not a very good idea, as you couldn't turn here. But using a detailed map brought us
to the right freeway in only 10 minutes. After that the route is relative easy. A few kilometres before Sun City we encounter many cyclists. They are riding a tour. Must have been
a big event, because we also see many cars with bicycles coming our way.In Sun Village we buy some drinks and snacks at the Spar supermarket before we continue to the Bakubung Lodge in Pilanesberg. Our room is not ready yet so we decide to have lunch at the terrace first. They serve some good salads. In our room we have free access to internet, time to check our email. After we wrote postcards for family and friends we enter the park for our first gamedrive. We spot many zebras and rhinos. No exciting views though. Diner is a buffet with too many choices. After diner a little stroll and on to bed. Sunday 23 august Today we start with breakfast. That way we can tour the park for an entire day. We made many pictures and movies, but above all we enjoyed our long day in the bush. Halfway 
we stopped at Bakgatla Resort to have a look. The camp is looking older but the chalets seem alright. The campground is large and maybe during a weekend very busy.
Today is Sunday and we see many people packing their things. At the end of the week we will have a look at another camp so we can make a decision for our visit next year.
Today we saw many animals, with drinking elephants at the waterhole and later an entire herd of elephants right next to the car. The large number of rhino, some very close
by are also a good memory.Just before five we are back in the lodge. A good shower to get rid of the dust. Somebody knocks at the door. Housekeeping, is it alright to turn the beds and close the curtains? Ofcourse they can, we will open the curtain again later…. After dinner again a short stroll before we retire. All pictures of our safari in Pilanesberg can be found atour multiply page. Monday 24 august It is 6:30 and we are the first ones to drive through the Bakubung Gate into the Pilanesberg Park. At first the animals are far from the road. But in the middle of the park it is getting serious. A jackal thinks big and chases a group of springbok. Not much further we see our first lions this year. A lioness caught a hare and crosses the path carrying the hare in her mouth. Just before we return to the lodge we see a cheetah. A very good beginning of the day. After breakfast a quick shower and packing the bags. We take it easy to get to Madikwe, enjoying everything we see on our route. We spot many birds, especially hornbills. Cattle is crossing the road with almost regular intervals, we see cows, goats and donkeys. After 70 km the asphalt disappears and the last 30 km to the park is dirt road. It is dry and very dusty. After entering the park at the Molatedi Gate it is another 29 km on dirt road. We make it into a private gamedrive. Not many special sightings, although we count 12 giraffes before we are at Madikwe Safari Lodge.  Patrick is waiting for us at the lodge, we are
staying in east camp, the signs brought us to north camp. Patrick gets in the car and directs us to the right camp. We are welcomed with a drink and after doing some paperwork we are shown
to our room. We decide to skip lunch, because it is only 45 minutes until the snack before the afternoon gamedrive.Claire is our ranger, she starts with telling us about the park and the environment. After that the real thing. We are joined by 4 Australians. It is their first safari, so we stop for everything. But when we encounter a male lion who starts to roar just before dusk, our day is good too. The sound of the roar is overwhelming. Back at the lodge we are welcomed with a warm cloth to freshen up and a lovely drink. Diner is served in the boma. There are large fires around the boma and we think it is a bit too warm. But the people from warmer climates think it could be better. They even ask to lit the fire in the fireplace in their room. After diner the night guard is bringing us to our room. Even though our room is the first one along the path, which is bordered with lights. We think it is not necessary, there is a fence along the camp as well…. Tuesday 25 august It is 5 to 6 when security knocks on the door. "Good Morning". Ofcourse we were already up and after we put everything in our backpack we are on the search for coffee and tea. We are the first ones there, but it doesn't take long for the others to arrive. As soon as Claire sees all six of us she wants to leave. And we are all with her on that. 
A herd of buffalo are roaming somewhere in the midst of all the prickly bushes. Claire turns the wheel and steers right into the bushes. The buffalo are very skittish and all we
see are a few heads. Time to have a coffee break. We drive to the top of a hill and enjoy a hot coffee and tea with the great view from up here. When we drive down again we see a herd of elephants below us. Claire turns left to find them. We will never know what spooked them, was it us, or did the other ranger do something. Point is they don't want us nearby. The matriarch is trumpeting and runs towards us with flapping ears. The rest of herd follows her example. Claire outruns them by stepping on the gas. We wait around the corner, where they can't see us. But they are not happy with that and charge again. An exciting moment which we will tell about for a long time. Around another corner we see some coloured umbrellas in a tree. The kitchen crew is waiting here for us. After we washed our hands in the small basin they put on a tree stump and chose a fruit juice. They baked us pancakes. All kinds of topping made the experience complete. After all these great things nothing could excite us anymore until we got back to the lodge. We are welcomed with a warm cloth and a warm glass with flavoured tea. Patrick brings a huge breakfast and asks us what we want lunch. Well it is eleven already, and at three there is a snack. So we skip lunch again today. We make it a relaxing day in and around our room. First an outdoor shower. View on the bush and the sun shining on your skin, what more can you want? After a while we would like to stroll around, but the lodge is not accommodated for that. The path ends at the north camp, not really far away. The north camp is empty and not very interesting. Back again to east camp. A beer and a book on the terrace above the bar. Soon it is time for the snack and afternoon drive. Today we are with 8 guests. Two people from Jo'burg join our group. 
Claire drives us to the Tholo dam. At the dam we see our first rhinos in Madikwe. A mother with her young and a new baby. A young male elephant comes out of the bush. The mother
chases the elephant away. The baby feels very macho and runs after the bull. When the elephant turns, the young one is running back to its mum. The elephant doesn't give up and
takes a detour to get to the water.Claire hears on the radio about a pride of lions stalking a rhino with a young. It is not far away and we go to see it. Nine lions are in a circle around the rhino. The calf is standing under its mum. The lions take turns to attack. But the rhino chases them away every time. The lions get bored and one by one they go away. They meet three rhinos on their path and decide this is their new target. But three is too many, and they are much too large. Some of the lions decide the calf is easier and go back. It is an exciting experience for us. But in the mean time the sun is going down and when it gets too dark to see anything we leave the spot hoping the calf will get through the night. On our way back to the lodge we spot some hyenas, spotted and brown ones. This means there was a kill in the neighbourhood. But it is too dark to find the carrion. Tonight Claire joins us for dinner. This time it is under the roof with gas heaters to keep us warm. The meet is eland, it tastes really good. The conversation at the table is interesting. Many differences between living in South Africa, Australia and Europe are discussed. Wednesday 26 august A lovely, quiet night. The stars were shining brightly, which we could see because we opened the curtains.  Such a clear sky also means a crisp start of the day. But in the open jeep we find
next to a blanket also a hot-water bottle. Today Claire brings us to the river. We are with only 6 as the South African guests decided to sleep in. We spot baboons and a water monitor. But Claire doesn't want to give up before she found us some hippos. We even leave the park via the Wonderboom gate. And we are lucky, there is a group close to the fishing spot of the rangers. On our way back we meet another ranger. He stops to make to ask what we saw. At that moment we hear the hippo laughing behind us. He asks us if we know why they are laughing. This is what we told us. It is because they think: 'we shit in the water and they drink it'.  After breakfast we take it easy. A book, a drink, looking through all our pictures. As we get so much food here we skipped lunch again. Our travel buddies didn't and when we get to the communal area they are still there enjoying their wine. We join them with a beer. Today the snack is at 3:30 because sunset is getting later in this season. Until the sundowner break we see nothing special. But while Claire is pouring the drinks Tom sees a brown hyena passing by.  The moment to toast on it.
Returning in the dark we see some owls and a bat flies against the jeep. (blind as a bat?)Dinner is in the boma. But first we have a farwell drink with the group. Claire makes a group picture with four cameras, this way we all have one. After a while the cook urges us to get some food, it is getting too well done. Again a perfect diner under the open skies. See a short movie we made of our visit to Madikwe. Or have a look at all our Madikwe pictures at our Multiply page. Thursday 27 august The sun is showing its orange face when we are leaving for our last gamedrive in Madikwe. But there is some wind this morning. The wildlife usually hides when there is too much wind. Because they can't smell good enough, all odours are mixing with the wind. That is why we spot almost nothing. A herd of elephants is hiding in the prickly bushes. We have to stand on  the chairs to see them. At the waterhole are some zebra and wildebeests.
Claire is aiming for a record, a three hour gamedrive and no impala. But just before we are back the lodge we
pass a last waterhole and there they are impala. The 6 young waterbucks fighting amongst each other at the same waterhole is something special. Waterbuck seldom fight.
Back in the lodge we take a shower first and pack our bags, because they need the rooms to be empty. This way it is eleven before we have breakfast. Again no lunch today for us. After
breakfast we say goodbye to the others, pay our bill and leave for Pilanesberg.But first we have 29 km Madikwe in front of us. The wind is still the same and the game is hiding. Nevertheless we see some giraffes and a beautiful adult male waterbuck. In Pilanesberg we sleep in a new camp: Kwa Maritane. We don't like the security here. The note you have to show to get in or out, seems a bit too much. Our room is one of the older ones. Not as nice as in Bakubung. But the underground tunnel leading to the hide at the waterhole is great. The wind is also blowing in Pilanesberg, not much to see. Just before we are back at the lodge we do spot an eland and a large bull elephant. The restaurant looks nice, but a buffet in a two story building is not really working. The buffet also looks just a little bit less than in Bakubung. Thinking about it all we prefer Bakubung. Also because the first 10 km from Kwa Maritane into the park is always the same road. Friday 28 august We slept in this morning. Breakfast at 7 so we can cruise the park the entire day. In the afternoon we had a look at the Manyana Resort.  The houses look reasonable but the safari tents are not what we expected.
Extra appealing here is the small game wandering around camp. Not only monkeys but also some antilopes.
Today was not a good day for spotting. We saw some animals we didn't see here before like the ostrich and a monitor. And the drinking giraffes at the Rathlogo waterhole were great. But
that is about it.Back at 5, enjoying a drink on our terrace. The swallows are flying in and out to their nest under our roof. Tonight there is a larger buffet. You can also choose stir fry. The stir fry is done outside. Good because all the fumes are staying outside and not in the restaurant but to go outside with every plate is not nice on a cold evening. Because it is a special night there is also live music. The musician is very good. Saturday 29 august 
Our last day here. Breakfast at seven again. It seems like Kwa Maritane is fully booked this weekend. There is a convention. But they don't start early, so the breakfast room is not very busy yet.
We packed everything and go to check out. The receptionist is not understanding why we are leaving so early. Well, we just want to do a last drive through the park before flying home.
Just when we think there is nothing 'new' around we see our first klipdassies in Pilanesberg. They are moving around on top of a rocky outcrop.
We leave Pilanesberg at the Bakubung gate. The route to Johannesburg is relatively empty and without any problems we arrive at the airport. We are very early, but there are many lovely
shops and time flies.Sunday 30 august We had a bad night. The crew was very noisy and the chairs of row 62 are not the best ones in the plane. Not only couldn't we move our armrests, but there was also a thick airbag on the seatbelt.  Making it almost impossible to fit in the chair.At Frankfurt everything was chaos. The passport control at customs was fast. But then they had to check our on board luggage. They checked almost every bag, and the rows were long. They also checked my cameras for foreign substances with a swap test. After this checks we had to cross almost the entire airport. And that is a long walk. We had 90 minutes to get to our next flight, that was just enough. Our luggage had an even more difficult route, the doors are already closed when we see our bags getting loaded as the last ones. Just 45 minutes and we are back in the Netherlands. When the taxi stops in front of our house Tom starts to suspect the worst. In the kitchen window is a large sign with 50. After opening the door we know he is right. There are 200 balloons in the living room. Most of them have a card with Toms' picture and a text. After a short while the entire family arrives. They take a cake from the fridge with Toms picture on it. He is lucky, they didn't put 50 candles on it to blow out. That would have been a problem with his bruised ribs. Below you will find our movies about the gameparks. Our travels Africa America Australia Asia |
Pilanesberg 2009
Madikwe 2009