After some great – and less great – game driving, we continued towards a landlocked kingdom and what would lay beyond it… As it turned out, loads more of wild animals in close – and even closer – proximity.
We thought to have one more relaxing breakfast at Skukuza camp before heading out toward the next country on our list, but some adventurous (and still wild) monkeys disrupted that plan. Once my breakfast platter was all set on the terrace outside our bungalow, being jummy granola mixed with berry yoghurt and a freshly cut fresh fruit mix, they decided I had done enough and attacked it. So, being humans as we are, we fled back inside and waited until at least five monkeys – small and big ones alike – had feasted on my delicious meal before daring to get out again. A wise lesson learned. And as we say in Dutch, “een ezel stoot zich geen twee keer aan dezelfde steen”. We thought…
Fortunate for Véro, she had devoured her portion – minus the granola and yoghurt – already, so she was the less grumpy one while we drove south toward Crocodile Bridge gate. Hopefully some better game sightings than yesterday! And indeed, what a feast it was. Certainly, compared to my breakfast. Yes, off course we spotted the usual suspects of elephants, boks, giraffes, zebras and buffalos. But when we at last had abandoned all hope to spot the king of the jungle, lions, we came to halt behind another stopped car. And just when Véro would tell me to drive ahead because nothing apparent could be seen (as happened all too often before), a lion, a mere few meters away, decided to lazily check out the new noise being heard from the tall dry grass surrounding the gravel road we were driving. And when a third car joined the small queue, two other lions decided to relocate themselves to find a more secluded and quieter spot to take their morning nap. And after some patient waiting, we also saw the fourth member of the family. Our close to 1000 km driving had not been for nothing after all! Exhilarated by this sight, we – and especially Véro, was finally at peace to drive out of Kruger after lunch.
Winding roads took us to the border of South Africa with the relatively new named kingdom of eSwatini, formerly known as Swaziland, but changed because it was too close a link to the colonial past. After a surprisingly smooth border crossing, we continued our drive towards the Phophoyane Falls. Set in lush, almost rain-forest like environment, this lodge is a divine tranquil spot to relax after all those long hours driving and being confined to the cramped environment of a car. With a magnificent view over the rolling hills and the South African border beyond, we took a beer on the terrace, laid back and did some reading before heading to bed in our luxurious tent. Nothing alike our camping tent, this one was actually fitted with a double bed, an attached (and concrete-built) bathroom, electricity and even a water kettle to make us some instant coffee in the morning.
We first thought to do some more driving the day after, but the longer than expected hours driving in Kruger made us reconsider. We opted instead to just hike to small trails surrounding the falls to explore the local fauna and flora. Unfortunately, shortly after we set out on our morning hike, Véro felt a bit out, so we cut it short. Although we still got to see the waterfalls, which were secluded and luckily not yet overrun by tourists and we had the it all to our own. We returned to our tent, relaxing and enjoying the sounds of the cascading water running in the valley below our tent and own private terrace.
The tour operator which worked out the itinerary for us, Joker and African Genius, suggested we visit the Ngwenya glass blowing factory. Initially we thought it would be one of those tourist traps, but actually turned out to be a nice experience. However, apparently what is in Belgium the first day of new school year, in Eswatini is a national holiday celebrating a successful harvest by cutting reeds by the women on the river beds and presenting them to the king. So the factory was not working, but luckily the shop was still open and we arrived just in time to shop some very nice glass souvenirs before a busload of Taiwanese tourists arrived, flooding the place.
So yeah, now we have a large cardboard box with 4 special glasses, which we will need to dispatch back to Belgium somewhere from South Africa. Hopefully my sister will assist in receiving it, hopefully with all the souvenirs still in one piece. Thanks sis!
After and uneventful drive further towards St. Lucia, we checked in with Monzi Tented Lodge, located right in the center of the touristy town. Albeit we had our doubts, this tented accommodation turned out to be even nicer than Phophoyane. And since we think – or felt at least – that it was low season, even although smack in the middle of the town, we had a good night’s rest there.
Because we were in St. Lucia for what is on first sight the only thing worth visiting: hippos. Véro, as you can imagine by now, was almost beyond herself of excitement to see these wonderful, heavy creatures. We boarded a small craft located on the Sunset Jetty and set out in the shallow water of the estuary for a two-hours discovery and learned some interesting facts about hippos. Can reach up to 10 knots or 15 km/h walking in shallow water. They can’t swim, but if the water is too deep, they would actually walk on the bed. On land, they’re even faster, travelling up to 40 km/h. Try to outrun those, Usain Bolt… They are also quite vicious, responsible for about 3000 killings per year in Africa. They won’t scatter away when approached too close, but rather attack. Evident the two sunken fishing boats this year around the estuary.
After a refreshing dive in the quit cold swimming pool of the lodge, we set out for diner in one of the many restaurants lining the main drive in the town. It felt quite good to be able to walk on the streets, even though it was only a few hundred meters.
And then it was off again, driving towards to Dolphin Coast town of Umdloti. Not that far, only two and a half hours driving, it allowed us still plenty time for a walk on the beach, enjoying the sounds and smells of the Indian Ocean. It was only a small and one-night stopover on our way to the Drakensbergen mountain range on Thursday. But being able to just lazily walk and stretch our legs just felt so good.
