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So What's The Weather
Most people have the same reaction when I mention that we have a farm in South Africa. Their eyes widen, and the first question almost always comes: “So… what’s the weather like?” About 95% of them are expecting me to describe blistering heat, desert‑dry air, and temperatures that would make anyone from the Northern Hemisphere wilt.
But here in the Southern Hemisphere, everything is flipped. While June, July, and August mean summer holidays up north, here at 24° south of the Equator in beautiful Limpopo, those months belong to winter.
So what is winter really like in South Africa?
When A Fence Is Not A Fence
We had chosen a resort in Hazyview. Kruger Park Lodge was only 20 minutes from Kruger National Park and had a tour desk. Upon arrival we were very impressed. We had been able to trade our single week on RCI for two weeks in South Africa. The first week we would stay at Kruger Park Lodge and the thrid week at Crystal Spring Mountain. Everything was well organized at reception Kruger Park Lodge and while my husband checked in, I was approached by the woman at the tour desk. She suggested a full day paid safari inside Kruger National Park to get the lay of the land.
And so we checked in and drove to our chalet. Absolutley stunning! The chalet overlooked a teeming pool of hippos with an observation desk. I took about 50 photos of hippos and the impalas that were walking the grounds. We walked along the electric fence that separated the chalets from the garden area where the hippos walked to the pool. At sunset we a female and calf walk on the other side of the fence and then they disappeared. We had been only meters away.from this extradinary sight. After a full afternoon of our first encounter with the animals of the lowveld, we finally unpacked, had dinner and went to bed.
Wake up time would be at 5am.
But nothing and I mean nothing could prepare for the next day's adventure. And we fell in love with South Africa hook, line and sinker.
The safari vehicle was just what we had seen in the movies: slanted seats, a canopy top and doors that went only waiste high. The rest of the vehicle was open. Most of the other travelers were South African, but we did meet a young couple from Chicago on their honeymoon. We drove just a short way through Hazyview and then took the turn for the Paul Kruger Gate. The actual gate was still a few kilometers away but the road was fenced on both sides. Kind of... certain sections of the gate looked like they had been bouldouzed. And in a second we would see why.
He was majestic, towering not having a care in the world. That fence or any other fence meant nothing to him. Our first sighting of an African Elephant! We were learning that the fences were more designed to keep the people out then the animals in.
Maybe Not Such A Great Idea
We were not seasoned travels. Our international travel, up until the point we journeyed to South Africa, was limited to the Bahamas, Canada and one cruise. Still while not in our twenties, we believed with careful planning and a sense of adventure we were well prepared for "the trip of a lifetime". Africa had been calling both my husband, Ray and I for decades. And we answered. Boy! did we answer. My hopes with this Blog is to relay our stories from South Africa. From the first day's mishaps, which is included here, to stories of our lives as owner/operators of our lodge -Tholo Matimba Safaris, and all of the adventures in between.
Day 1
After an endless journey we arrived in South Africa in July of 2010. The British Airways seats were uncomfortable and each row was so close together the trays could not be brought down if the person in the row in front was reclining. The journey was filled with people complaining and stewards waking people up so that the person behind them could eat or drink. The man behind me begged me to see upright "just a little more" Never mind sleeping, there was absolutely no resting on this plane.
We arrived at OR Tambo-the Johannesburg Airport- and had no problem through immigration, but one of our suitcases had not made the flight and would be arriving the next day. That was ok because we knew we were going to be tired and had a hotel reservation 1.2 miles from the airport. The plan had been to rest at the hotel and start fresh the next day for a 4 hour trip to Kruger Park Lodge in Hazyview, Mpumulanga.
The car rental went smoothly and equipped with half of our luggage, we headed out of the parking gargage. Half way down the ramp we were pulled over by a uniformed man. Since we were still in the rental car parking lot, we handed him the car rental paperwork. He looked at us and said, " I have to give you a ticket"
We were exhausted and had no idea what he was talking about. He said we would have to go to the police station, but maybe if we bought him lunch this could be avoided. We were confused. He did not work for Avis. He was a policeman. It took us a while to figure it out but we eventually did. We had run a stop sign. The stop sign turned out to be a little sign dangling from the ceiling of the parking garage. I knew our 8 inch thick wad of South African Rand - the national currency, was in the backpack on the floor in the back seat. I knew I had no rand in my wallet. And now with this first experience I was not getting out our pile of bills. So I reached in my wallet and gave him $20 US. He looked and said, "What am I supposed to do with this"
To which my husband responded," That's what we have. Go buy lunch".