Blog 8 Safari and seatime

Thursday 4^th February

We arrive in Durban at 0800. Today we are off on our independent  overnight safari with Endless Summer Tours. We disembark at 0830 and are glad to see Steven our guide holding up a placard with our names. A very personable young man who leads us to a comfortable 12 seater Toyota – just for us! He is going to be our driver, guide and cook for the duration. We drive out of Durban and head for Imfolozi-Hluhluwe Game Reserve about 3 hours drive away in Kwa Zulu Natal.

 After we enter the Reserve gate we take in the beautiful landscape and encounter a distant white rhino, some elephants and impala and of course the ubiquitous warthog. Due to killing, white rhinos nearly became extinct. Measures were taken (Operation Rhino) to save them and by 1961 the numbers had increased substantially and 3500 were able to be moved to other game reserves…so a success story. There has been a big drought here due to lack of summer rain but it did rain a couple of days ago so there is some water in the rivers. We arrive at Mpila Resort situated on top of a hill, which is going to be where we stay tonight. Very comfortable accommodation – not over the top but everything we need. Steven provides us with a snack lunch and at 1500 we set off on our afternoon game drive. It lasts for 4 hours and we have a great time. We see several white rhinos up close which is a great experience. The star sighting of the drive is a cheetah sitting up and alert. (see photo). 

What a very beautiful animal!  We get back to Mpila just before 1900. It starts to rain (yes rain!) as Steven tries to get the braar (BBQ) alight – not an easy task but somehow he manages and soon there is the smell of steaks cooking. This attracts a hyena who prowls around close to the braar but intrepid Steven shoos it away! The rain eases off and we enjoy a delicious meal washed down with a bottle of ‘Wolftrap” from Franchhoek. Lights out at 2200 and sleep soundly after our action packed day.

Friday 5^th February

Our early morning wake up knock on the door from Steven is at 0445! After a quick cup of tea we are off in the dawn light on another drive. The freshness of the new morning especially after the rain is special as is the landscape and the light. This makes up for rather a lack of game though we do see the head of a giraffe poking above a tree, impalas, nyalas, elephant, vultures and the highlight of the morning a white rhino with an extremely long, pointed horn and her baby (see photo). Back at Mpila Steven cooks us breakfast, we pack up and leave in good time to get to Richards Bay where we see the ‘good old lady’  (to quote the previous Captain) Boudicca at the quayside.  We say farewell to Steven our wonderful guide, well pleased with our safari experience. Steven is off to Pretoria this afternoon to see his girlfriend and they are going to a Mumford and Sons concert there tomorrow evening! There is a delay in leaving Richards Bay but eventually we get under way with our new captain, Viktor Stroica from Rumania. The weather changes – rain, swell and rough sea state and watch the river pilot being winched off the ship by helicopter.

Saturday 6^th Febraury

Another port day, this time Maputo the capital of Mozambique (ex Lorenco Marques).  It takes a while to get clearance but eventually we are able to get ashore. We opt to do our own thing rather than go on a Fred Olsen tour. Well, it is quite a culture shock after South Africa. A lot of poverty, lack of infrastructure, ruined buildings from the civil war, poor roads, rubbish everywhere. A lot of hassling just outside the port gate and elsewhere to get us to buy stuff.  It’s very hot too. We walk up to the big square, Independence Square, where there is a big Art Deco cathedral (closed) and a communist-lookingstatue of the ex- leader Machel. We make our way back to Boudicca in time for lunch. Not a long trip ashore but it is a salutary experience and makes us realize how fortunate we are and gives us food for thought as to how a place like Maputo can pull itself up.

Sunday 7^th February

A day at sea – the first of four as we head east to Reunion. There is a church service, talks, a piano/violin recital and in the evening a Cocktail Party ad Formal Evening to welcome the new Captain and crew and approximately 100 new passengers who embarked at Durban. Captain Stroica is a different character from “Its Me Again” Captain Jensen – much shyer and quieter. A lot of his fellow crew are Croatians. We are getting to know a few more passengers now. Very lucky that we get on so well with the couple who sit at the next table to us at dinner (we opted for a table for two at the start of the cruise).  Shiela and Peter are musical and sang in the BBC Symphony and Philharmonia Chorus for many years.

Monday 8^th February

A bit of a swell today! After a port talk on Diego Suarez in Madagascar there is a lecture by Edwina Currie entitled ‘Lies, Damned Lies and Politicians’! She gives a very well informed presentation in an engaging manner! In the afternoon John gives a recorded music talk – ‘My Journey Into Classsical Music”. He brought the music with him and he has given a similar talk to the St Fillans Music Circle. He is now enrolled by the P & R Agency who provide cruise ships with speakers. This is his first foray – voluntary – into this field. 70 people come to it which is a pretty good turnout in the middle of the afternoon and it goes very well. Good choice of music and he talks with enthusiasm of his journey into music. At the end a lady from Oxford comes up and asks if he will come and speak to the Oxford U3A!  It’s possible he may give another talk or two on this cruise- all good experience.