Hospital Visit

April 1 and 2

Levi has continued to have anywhere from a high grade to low grade fever for the past 6 days. Tylenol would help bring it down, but it kept coming back. Jack phoned the doctor in the nearby town of Cradock and she suggested he be tested for malaria since we had recently been in Kruger. Some of Kruger's mosquitoes carry malaria and we had been bitten a few times. She said she could do the test in Cradock, but it would take 4 days to get the results. She suggested we go to the city of Port Elizabeth. I quickly found a house on airbnb and we packed up and left for the city.

I punched the address of the house into my google maps and we were set. As we neared the house address, with each turn onto a new street, I thought the neighborhood had to improve drastically. When we arrived, 2 Phylis Street did not look anything like the picture on airbnb. We were in the middle of a neighborhood that was just above that of a shanty town. People on the street were eying our big white bus, with all us white people inside, wondering what we were doing.

I phoned the owner and explained where we were and he confirmed we were in the wrong neighborhood. We were staying on 2 Phylis Road. Twenty minutes and a new neighborhood, things can look quite different!

The house was huge. Luke and Nate were happy with Levi's predicament as it meant being in a house for 2 nights.

We went to a private hospital and were pleased with the speed and care Levi received.
Outside the hospital we were greeted by a flock of 6 peacocks. They were beautiful! One flew up to the roof.

The blood tests would take an hour so we went off for awhile and returned later in the evening.

Results showed Levi did not have malaria, but he did have an ear infection. We went to pay the bill, and of course, the internet was not working and they asked if we could come back tomorrow to pay.

On the drive home, we found out why South African drivers do not give pedestrians the right of way. Anna, our google maps navigator, directed us home in the dark down a unlit street. We could see a group of people walking in the middle of the street and started to slow down as not to hit them. A car came quickly behind us and sped through the group. They scattered to the side and we followed behind. Passing them we saw these young men were all carrying golf clubs or large sticks. With what intent we were not sure, but the driver ahead of us must have known what he was doing.

We came home to Luke having prepared wood fired pizza.

The outdoor braai area opened up onto the pool.

When Luke and I went running the next day, the main street to the beach was closed for the Iron Man triathlon that was going on that day.

The sand dunes were amazing.

An evening on the dunes.

The boys wanted one last run on the dunes before we left for Plettenberg Bay.

Mountain Zebra National Park

March 31

Time for one last park. The park pass we bought has sure paid off. The drive was not that long today. Ostriches like this dry, hot landscape. With an expected high of 35, we saw a few ostriches along the road. They like this Karoo country.

We stopped in Cradock at a supermarket for food for the stay at the park. I picked up supplies to try and make pap en saus. The supermarket was the usual chaotic shopping experience. The store absolutely stuffed with people, loud noise and a more than busy parking lot with "parking attendants" vying for you to park in their stall. This of course, requires tipping. The same applies at gas stations.

Mountain Zebra National Park is home to that type of zebra. They look different from the Burchill zebra we had seen in other parks. They are stockier, their tails look like the black stripes are braided down the back and they have a lump on their throats.

Their faces seem to have more brown on the nose.

We saw a different kind of wildebeest. Wildebeest means awkward beast. They seem to be a genetic mistake. A horse tail on an unproportioned body, with horns that seem out of place. Very strange looking animal.

The scenery was rugged. This park has 7 lion. Although we did not see any we did hear them at night from our tent. They would grunt  as they prowled at night.

We did see 4 cheetah. Just missed their kill of a baby kudu. They were lazing in the grass with their full bellies.

The campground was picturesque, with a swimming pool nestled in the hills.

Trail back to the tents.

An Oasis in the Desert

March 30

The landscape does not look the same as yesterday. No more banana plantations, citrus groves or lush landscape. The road is flat and dry. Barely a town along the way. Ultra City Petrol stops are a must. They consist of a few restaurants, some have grassy play grounds, bathrooms, and of course, petrol. The drive was long, but not too much traffic. South African courtesy is to flash your hazards at anyone who pulls to the shoulder to let you pass. Three cars are often side by side on a two lane highway.

Buttes are frequent and break up the flat landscape.

I had read blogs of families who make the trip from Johannesburg to Cape Town in three days. We were not looking to do it in three days, but all blogs mentioned the town Colesberg as an overnight. That was to be our destination today.

We travelled 5.5 hours and pulled into the Onze Rust Guesthouse and campground. We thought we would camp but it was very hot, and the camping area was rock covered. Rooms were available and we were all happy to sleep in a bed. The boys were glued to the computer as they were able to get Netflix; internet actually worked.

The gardens were amazing. Hundreds of pots of different cacti, and plants. A true oasis. The evening was so warm, it was nice to eat and then sit outside playing cards. Jack and I cooked supper, but the owner was catering for a school group that was spending the night and suggested we try a South African dish, pap en saus (pronounced pup and sauce). This dish has maize meal, which is like a dry oatmeal on the bottom and a stewed tomato sauce on top. It is usually made on the braai and served with braaied meat or sausage. We all thought it was delicious and that we could try to make it ourselves.

Colesberg is an accommodation town. No wonder it was listed as an overnight stop. I asked if it was safe to run along the streets in the morning and the owner said, "Of course, this is Colesberg!" It was a clean, cute town, very Dutch looking, for Luke and I to run our 11 miles. School children and teens were out early in the morning. I wondered why they were not in school and then remembered it was a three week school break. They were walking to school to collect their report cards. This reminded me of how happy I was not to have to write report cards!

Paris or Parys

March 29

We had thought that Kruger and the Blyde River Canyon would be our end destination. Now we are on the long trek back to Cape Town. This part of the trip only has the destination of Cape Town, but not the stops in between.  We packed up our tents in the rain and thought about where we would head to that day. Jack needed to gas up the van so at the gas station we looked at the map and he pointed to a town called Parys, just outside of Johannesburg. He said he had been there before and that would be driveable. Perfect! We have a destination.

Our drive took us through more banana plantations, fresh fruit stalls, citrus groves and very tropical, lush landscape.

We got into Parys around 4:30, stopped at the store for some groceries and went out of town toward a campground I had found online. This campground was found at the end of a very long, twisty, dirt road. A man came out of a shed as we approached the farm yard and motioned for us to go to the farmhouse. A woman emerged and told us the camping was down another kilometer by the river. There was no one else camping at the moment, but we could go ahead. Decision was it looked too remote and deserted, and us with basic camping supplies may not have enough light for the night ahead. Dark comes quick and we had a little of daylight left.

Heading back down the dirt road we accessed the highway and tried Umzumbi Animal Park. When I had googled it looked like an animal park, but what a find at the end of a long day. It had 3 swimming pools which Nate was anxious to try even in the dark.

The tents are quick to set up with our well seasoned boys, but supper was braaied in the dark. Our first feeling of being cold tonight.

The Vaal River was beautiful. Many fishermen had lines in.

Nate practicing his Tai Chi in the morning.

Blyde River Canyon

March 28, 2017

Hazyview lies at the starting point of some very scenic spots in South Africa which belong to the Blyde River Canyon. Tuesday, we ate our yogurt for breakfast and headed out. We packed up the tents not sure if we would stay somewhere else that night.

On the city limits of Hazyview, this was one of the road signs.

We drove through more banana plantations and arrived at Graskop. Levi saw this sign along the road and thought he would be up for the challenge.

The Big Swing is being strapped into a harness (which Levi later told us was held together by duct tape) and then walking into off a plank to ride a zipline across a 115 meter gorge; part of the Blyde River Canyon. He started walking the plank and all of a sudden changed his mind. It was hard for him to walk back up the plank with all those heavy ropes. He got back to the starting line and the man convinced him he should go. After about 5 minutes of convincing, Levi went off the edge. I could barley look over the edge.

No going back this time.

It's hard to watch your kid walk off a cliff.

That evening we did decide to go back to Hazyview and stay another night. Michele who runs the Numbi hotel and campground told us she would never have recommended that place to anyone. Their safety record is not good and she knows of one couple who died due to faulty equipment.

From Levi's Big Swing, we went into the town of Graskop. The garbage dump was on the outer edge of town and very large pigs were busy rooting through.

Michele recommended Harrie's Pancakes for lunch. Excellent recommendation. Apparently they are world famous pancakes. After eating there we had to agree to that status. Everyone tried something sweet. Luke's was the winner with lemon meringue filling.

We rarely eat out, so it is worth taking a picture of.

From Graskop on to some of the scenery.

God's Window is a look out over the Blyde River Canyon which became know to the western world when the movie The Gods Must Be Crazy was made. It is best viewed on with a low cloud base so that it seems that you are above the clouds. Twenty years ago we had the ideal conditions. This day, it was sunny and hot. Still a good view. Since the boys had watched this movie with the Ens they thought throwing the coke bottle over the edge was necessary.

From God's Window we drove further along the canyon to the Three Rondovals and back. Beautiful day, beautiful scenery.

Back to Hazyview for the night.

Hazyview

Monday March 27

We packed up the tents, ate peanut butter sandwiches for breakfast and headed out of Kruger. We took a few new trails and luckily came upon a lioness laying on a rock by the road.

She is beautiful.

A high hill to get out (at your own risk!) and look over Kruger.

We exited Kruger and were asked by a ranger who looked just like Will Smith, if we had firearms in the vehicle. Without having any, it was a quick departure and onto Hazyview. Many banana plantations  on the way.

We had received the name of Numbi hotel from some people we had met a few weeks ago in Oudtshorne. Hazyview turned out to be a lot larger of a city than I anticipated. We were not sure where the hotel was and decided to turn towards the sign we saw for information. As we turned, wouldn't you know it, there was the Numbi hotel. We camped in the grounds out back and Nancy decided to get a room in the hotel.

It was wonderfully hot, and we were told to pick some of the lemons growing on the tree behind our tent. Luke put them on the chicken he braaied that night - delicious! The insects were abundant. Nate found two large spiders in our tent and insisted we do a thorough investigation before he slept in it. He also said his "feet were back". This meant when he took off his sandals or shoes, we would almost pass out. His socks were not worth saving.

Evidently we have been camping a long time and the boys have not seen TV for awhile. They enjoyed Nancy's TV more than she did.


Today I finally got a sim card and now we have airtime and data! I do not know why I did not do this earlier. The experience of going into the Hazyview mall to Vodacom (right behind where we were camping) was memorable. First, while we were setting up the tent we heard gun shots at the mall. Then, when we went to the parking lot we found areas of it being evacuated by police. Most parts were still going on as usual and we never did find out what happened that day.

The mall itself was huge. Upon entering we were inundated with blaring music and hoards of people. Going through the inefficient process of getting a sim card is my reminder why I did not do it earlier. Vodacom had the blaring music and people sitting up front who were not the least bit interested in customer service. I did, however, successfully get my phone set up. Patience.....