Karoo NP to Home January 5, 2020
Yesterday we spent the day in Karoo NP. The temperature was predicted to rise to 39 C so we decided that the best option would be an early morning game drive leaving when the gate opened at 6am and then come back for a late breakfast. Unfortunately because it is so dry, the first 45 minutes of driving basically yield no wildlife as there is no water and no shade for the animals at all. We...
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Golden Gate NP to Karoo NP January 4, 2020
We had the whole day on Thursday in Golden Gate NP. S & I went for a short morning birding drive and we finally saw bearded vulture (which was a lifer and the last of birds we were hoping to see in our Drakensburg trip). After breakfast, S & I went into Clarens as we needed to fill the car up and I needed some things from the pharmacy and we headed back to spend the...
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Golden Gate National Park January 2, 2020
Yesterday morning we left Maliba Lodge at 10am as we were heading out of Lesotho and to Golden Gate NP. It isn't a great distance from where we were staying. It took us an hour to get to the border post at Caledonspoort. It was not at all busy and we basically just walked up and handed over our passports and then headed back to the car to drive into SA and did the same thing...
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Maliba Lodge January 1, 2020
Sorry for not posting for the last two days but we had no WiFi and international roaming on your cellphone is very expensive so I was limiting data usage to a minimum. We left Oxbow Lodge at around 10am (check out time) as we only had about a 2 hour drive to Maliba Lodge (https://maliba-lodge.com/3-star-river-lodge-2/). Driving in Lesotho is slow going as the speed limit is either 50 or 60 km/h most of the time. There...
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Mountain Zebra to Himeville December 28, 2019
Today was a long driving day. We left MZ at 7:30am after pumping up our tyres (we drop the tyre pressure for 4x4 routes and gravel) and refueling - which was a very slow process not because the pump was slow but more so the process of the operator. Filling up 2 cars simultaneously was beyond his ability or seemingly thought process. When I suggested it as an approach it slowed down things further. Fortunately K...
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Mountain Zebra NP Day 2 December 27, 2019
We were up early and heading out at 6:30am for a morning game drive. We decided to do a longer 4x4 route which turned out to be a lot easier than yesterday's route. It was rocky in places but was not particularly difficult. We added a few birds for the trip and also added Eland. We did stop for morning coffee at a view point though they did warn you to alight at your own risk....
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Mountain Zebra National Park December 26, 2019
After an early breakfast at Matjiesfontein with my in-laws, we were on the road just after 8am heading toward Cradock and Mountain Zebra National Park. That is where we were meeting up with the rest of our group - the Ms and Gs. Unfortunately the Ws (family that joined the last two road trips) have left for the darker, wetter world of England. The route from Matjiesfontein takes you to Beaufort West then to Aberdeen, Graaff...
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Matjiesfontein December 25, 2019
We are off on another road trip with the key aim to get to Lesotho and do the Sani Pass. All the rest of the trip is just leading to and from the Sani Pass. That is the pinnacle of the trip and we are hoping it won't disappoint. We left this afternoon at 3:30pm for Matjiesfontein. My father-in-law has been preaching at Matjiesfontein over Christmas for the last 26 years (including today) and we have...
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Japan – My thoughts October 5, 2019
So here are my summary thoughts (in no particular order) about Japan: They are very organised. Everything runs exactly on time. There are specific places to leave and board trains. The train stops at exactly the correct spot each time. They are very polite and respectful. They form orderly queues for everything. I think they beat the British for their queuing ability. I am pretty sure we broke rules or laws but no one would ever...
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Last day, last game October 5, 2019
Yesterday was our last day & night in Japan and the last game we were watching (SA v Italy). We really had done everything there was to see in Hamamatsu so we decided to spend the morning in the room and leave for the stadium around 3pm. We had to take a train to the stadium this time - about 5/6 stops - 30 minutes roughly. We got off at Aino station which then requires a...
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