Back to Australia

Arrive in Sydney on time. Clear customs and get train to Siesta Inn near Darling Harbour. Bit tatty. We have been spoiled in Africa
Dumplings in China Town then Darling Harbour dinner. Free bottle of wine with seafood basket, lovely.
Opera House and Bridge look nice on a warm evening.Great to walk the streets after dark and we get back to the hotel about midnight.

Next day wake at 11am. Jet lag.
Pack, argue on late checkout charge. Have a quick walk to the harbour to take pictures of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge Minibus to airport, then virgin flight to Melbourne. Too easy after the Malawi buses. Meet our great friends Peter and Jenny at McDonalds at Melbourne airport. Wonderful to see them in the warm sunshine and we are home.

Dave blows his Soweto vuvuvsela outside Maccas and two passing guys want to buy it. We should have bought more. This could be one item for Youngmis internet trading business.We are driven home and find the arrangements with the estate agent to get back into our house were not followed. We carried a door key safely around the world but the agent used another lock. After a while Youngmi climbed in through a window and we were home. The house looked great after being rented for a year. Then onto the Lincolnshire arms for steak and red wine.

Two days later Peter was back to help us again. With his trusty chariot and trailer we made two runs to the store room and got everything back to the house. 5 days of sunshine and lots of washing machine action got everything refreshed.
Many thanks to Peter for helping us over several months to get a new citizenship certificate, new passport, bank cards and pin numbers all with great patience and humour. Settling back into Oz has been much easier than we thought and again thanks to Peter and Jenny for welcoming us back. So nice.
Thanks to everyone who has read the blog over the last 12 months. Your interest has helped to sustain us in our great adventure. Onward and upward.
Does anyone know how best to send a big electric organ to Tanzania?

South Africa -Cape Town and Durban

Auriol cooked springbok for lunch on the brai. Delicious. Another hot sunny day in Windhoek and we had a walk through the flower lined quiet streets. Auriol drove us through Katatura, the township. Loads of people but not as many flowers. The Intercape sleepliner bus left at 5pm on time. Comfy big seats. Past the North Korean built heroes monument and lots of mountains to Reheboth home of the basters.

Cape Town and Table Mountain

Robben Island Namibian prisoners including the guy we were privledged to meet at Auriol's home

Nelson Mandela's cell

Table mountain from Robben Island ferry

Durban sea front

click name for all photos Cape Town

Through the night and across the border to stop at a Wimpey for breakfast. Beautiful gardens and mountain view. Mountains, farms and then wineries to Cape Town. Passed Stellenbosch.

click photo name for all photos   Cape Town - Table Mountain

Nervous at Cape Town station but taxi ok. Driven by zimbabwe guy. Hotel head south lodge nice reception another zim guy. Walk along sea front in sun. Big waves crashing onto prom. V&A harbour very exciting. Wine tasting in info centre then t bone steak dinner in pub. Walk back. First time out after dark for weeks.

Next day trip to Robben Island. Tour by ex prisoner. See Nelson Mandela cell.

Following day sight seeing bus trip with highlights Kirstenbosch botanical gardens and fish and chips at huot bay.

Weather still very good on Thursday as we climbed Table Mountain. 6 hours up and down from cable station. Luckily we walked with a german lad Malte, safety in numbers. Superb walk bit like Torridon in Scotland

Friday bit of sightseeing in Cape Town but cold and grey and table mountain had gone.

5.30 and we were off again on the Intercape bus for 24 hours and 1600kms. Comfy again through night. Flattish Karoo country to Bloemfontain then flat top mountains past Harrisberg and Estcourt. The latter is where Winston Churchill was captured in the Boer War.

Down and down through Pietermaritzberg to Durban. Even more nervous arriving at beach front at 6pm. Taxi to hotel which is on the sea front and really good. Belaire Suites. Dinner nearby wine,pizza and sushi. All good.Rains that night and on and off next day. Walk along sea front seeing sights included rickshaw rides and house of fear.

click photo name for all photos Durban

Monday walk through city. Apartheid museum, city hall, post office where Churchill gave a speech after escaping, harbour, bit rough then back on sea front. Swim in sea very clean, warm and lots of waves. Dinner at Casino and a bit of gambling. Lost 1 rand about 5p.
Tuesday sunny again. Great view from top of moses mabidha football stadium.

Check out car hire, another swim and buffet dinner at casino. Worst ribs ever especially those in monkey gland sauce.very windy on short walk back.

Wed.book budget car hire. Visit holocaust centre with lots of school kids. Replica Anne Frank house.

Swim in very rough sea.

Pretoria and Joburg

Drive to Pietermaritzburg to return the car. Try to find the sleepy hollow hostel but struggle. Ring up and the lady says stay there and I will come to find you with a male nurse! The place is terrible. No locks for rooms, lots of people in the lounge who dont speak and are not backpackers, wifi and breakfast have been stopped, really dismal. Luckily we find a really nice place nearby.
Intercape bus to Pretoria next day.The bus was delayed for 2 hours before departure and we had a very nerve wracking road crossing to Mc Donalds for a coffee while waiting. Youngmi was convinced the road was full of robbers.
We phone a hostel Friends Accommodation from the bus and the owner Tertius mat us at Pretoria bus station. Very kind especially as it was dark when we got there. Hostel great . Diplomatic Fair at union buildings on Saturday was a great success. Union Buildings looked good in the sun and parkland. Pretoria also looked lovely with jacaranda trees everywhere.
Henry( the Joburg mate we met in Argentina and Bolivia) and his friends come for a night of wine tasting at the hostel.Great night.
On Sunday they took us to breakfast at a bird reserve where we met a giant tortoise. Voortekker monument and concert nearby. Great day with really lovely people Carmen,Carl and Dane. They really made our last days in South Africa.

Jacaranda in bloom in Pretoria late October

Concert in front of the Parliament Buildings

Henry and 3 South African mates at our great hostel in Pretoria

Giant tortoise ambles into our brunch spot

Voortrekker monument

Parliament buildings Pretoria

Picnic at a Sunday afternoon concert. Good life for some in South Africa

Pretoria

Have to visit Joburg as we have heard so much about how dangerous it is. Gautrain train from Pretoria to Joburg was excellent. Take the Hop on Hop off bus but daren't hop off in many places The side tour of Soweto is excellent especially Hector Pietersen memorial and Winnie Mandelas house from a distance.The world cup stadium is said to hold 120,000 people but for a local derby 20,000 are security.The apartheid museum is good.We got off for the last stop for a snack but scary area. We didnt dare do wait at the bus stop so stood in a shop and dashed out when the bus came. Walked back from the Gautrain station to hostel in pouring rain.About 30 mins including a stop to buy fish and chips and wine for dinner
We tried to play the vuvusela that Dave bought in Soweto but difficult at first.

Joburg

Soweto

Memorial to Mbuyisa Makhubo who carried the body of Hector Peterson after he was shot by police in 1976

One of many lovely people in Soweto

Desmond Tutu's house in Soweto

Playing the Vuvuzela in Soweto

One of many poor parts of Joburg

Joburg

I

Tuesday and the flight to Sydney.Had a comfy morning at the hostel then Bobby drove us to the airport. He and Tertius are brothers in law and both could talk more than Dave. Very interesting run through South African history and present on the 40 minute drive to the airport. Quantas flight and surprisingly very comfy. One steward like Robin Williams. Flight through the night.

Drakensberg, lesotho and battlefields

Collected a toyota corrolla, very nice. We drove back to the hotel in increasing rain,picked up our bags and drove north looking for sun. Found fog, rain and cold. Stopped at a cafe with a
log fire and pie and chips, great. Kept driving because of rain to Kestell. Lovely hostel run by Vera Ann. We were the only guests and had a very comfy night.

Walking near Amphitheatre in Drakensburg mountains

Path was a bit more exciting than we expected

We were becoming worried there might be lions around

Drakensburg

Tried to walk up the amphitheatre next day bit could not drive up the last 7kms of really rocky road. Fog and drizzle did not encourage us. Walked from a hotel over moors then down onto a spectacular valley below the mist. No people but suddenly a wild animal noise that had us thinking of lions. Quickly up to the Crack an exciting climb through the cliff. On top we were back in the fog but the compass saved the day.

Lovely pot of tea at the hotel  then drove to Phokoputhna to find the ethiopian restaurant. It has no sign but turn left at the funeral parlour and park near the broken wall Vera had told us. Unfortunately there were lots of broken walls to choose from but we found the place and had dinner with 20 ethiopians.

Lesotho village

Lesotho mountain road. Drakensburg mountains 

Lesotho locals

Lesotho

Next day sun shine as we drove through Golden Gate park. Amazing scenary and zebra and eland. Past flat top mountains to Lesotho and a border crossing. Police wanted to put Dave in jail as he didnt have an international driving licence but 50 rand eventually sorted the problem. Then up, up, up through awesome mountains with villages and people wearing blankets and wooly hats. Wine tasting on Clarens on way back and lots more zebra.

Wine tasting event in Clarens

Next to Lesotho Road. Wonderful

Clarens

Rain next day and end up in Dundee. Stefan tells us of his motorbike ride across russia, mongolia,china to Australia and we forhet the hostel is a dump.Talanda museum and Boer war battlefield, rorkes drift and Isawanda zulu battlefields.

Rorkes Drift museum. (Zulu film)

Some of the 100s of kids we saw going to school

Drakensburg Mountains.

Zulu Land

Drivinh to Graytown and weather becomes bad again. The road changes from high in the clouds to down through towns with markeys.

Party in Windhoek

Windhoek Party

After 4 cold cloudy days in Swakop catch bus for Windhoek. 50 kms from the coast the sun is shining and when we stop it is red hot outside the bus. At Auriol and Peters house there is time for a swim before preparing for Peters birthday party and going to an art sale. Buy a warthog masterpiece.
About 70 people at the party and a very mature excellent band. Lots of people to chat with. Dave tells one older guy I was an uni with Auriol in 1974. He replies in 1974 he was in Robben Island prison where he was held for 18 years. Dave can't match that

With Auriol and the band

Youngmi and Auriol at the art sale

The good life. At the Art sale with Auriols friend and sale organiser