misteroverland

Like so many trips you always seem to cram a lot in towards the end. While we have tried our best not to do this, if we are honest with ourselves, we have done a lot in the past 2 weeks. This has included a night at Bhunga neck just south of Kosi bay (SA and Mozambique border) to see the turtle hatchlings, we only saw a couple but the 10km hike up and down the beach in the howling wind and dark was still worth it. Leaving here the weather was poor so we decided on Swaziland first as diving and going out in rubberduck (boat) is not fun when the seas are rough. It was a flying visit to Swaziland but at least we know we want to return to this very clean and friendly country. 

We did head back to the coast and Sodwana bay to do some more diving and managed a few dives on 2 mile as well as one on 7mile reefs. This second site really lived up to the hype as it is in the top dive sites in the world. The underwater topography of gullies, overhangs, swim throughs and reef wall were magnificent. On these dives we were also treated to some new species of harlequin shrimp and frog fish, I can quite honestly say if I had been shown the frog fish I would have mistaken it for the purple piece of coral that it was sitting next to. On the ride out to the reef we came across a pod of dolphins and took the opportunity to dive in with them, unlike the previous time when they just swam past this pod were curious and we were all afforded a wonderful interaction with these beautiful creatures. 

We eventually tore ourselves away from the coast with the promise that we will dive again in CT, the dive bug has certainly bitten! Arriving in Pietermaritzburg we got the batteries replaced so that the fridge is running again and then headed out to Eston where my aunt and cousin have a farm. The next 3 days were spent catching up with family and also having a chance to relax at the tented camp in Hope valley. What an awesome spot, this is a part of the farm that cannot be to laid to crop so they have allocated it to nature and removed the fences with the adjoining game farm. As we descended into the valley we could see giraffe, zebra and a rhino. 
A long drive with some new rear shocks took us to the South Drakensberg where we gave up our tent for an apartment underneath some magnificent bergs (mountains) and mirror like lakes. A trip up Sani Pass into Lesotho and lunch at the highest pub in Africa was not as daunting as expected but the views from the top were stunning! Back to our apartment we were able to get some mountain bike trails under our belts and a swim in the ice cold mountain rivers.
Leaving the Drakensberg we headed back to the Wild coast and staying at Bulungela. A long days travel meant we arrived late afternoon to our pre-erected Safari tent next to the sea. However the weather really closed in with high winds and rain so we decided to cut short our stay and head further south towards the Sunshine Coast. 

In the next day or so we will be meeting up with Sandy’s Cape Town school friends for a welcome home at Ieteke and George’s holiday home at Kaaimans in the Wilderness.