#hluhluwe

From here we headed north of Durban to Ballito, we camped at the Dolphin Resort making this home for a week. A sea town with a bit of hustle and bustle, a few bars and restaurants and most importantly, somewhere for Chris to watch the rugby. We met a lovely Dutch family Jiske and Jurrianne travelling with their 2 children Hugo and Sophie age 3 (very adorable may I add). The day they arrived we experienced one of the maddest thunder storms I had ever been in. The lightning lit up the sky in shades of purple and pink while the thunder roared and crashed above us. For shelter we had the awning from their motor home and decided we would drink wine and flying fish to get us through. A few hours and many laughs later, the storm passed and we were able to safely retreat back into our tent.  The heavy rain continued for a few more days and so we stayed stationary. We were in the tail end of cyclone Dineo which hit Tofo region in Mozambique pretty bad. Soon enough we would see the destruction that it caused.

We travelled with the Jiske and Jurianne for another 5 days heading north to St Lucia and Hluhluwe before travelling into Swaziland. We were able to do a really great self drive in the iSimangaliso wetland park. We saw lots of Giraffe, elephants, buffalo, antelope and zebra. On our way back to Sugar loaf camp in st Lucia we crossed over the river and to our amazement were able to catch hippos having their daily swim down the river. Thankfully we were viewing them from the safety of the bridge and not ground level. Hippos are one of the most underestimated animals of all time. They are notoriously quick on their feet and know to attack humans frequently.

After iSimangaliso we headed to Hluhluwe where we camped at the Bushbaby Lodge. We relaxed in the pool and then the following morning made an early start to the game reserve. Once again we were able to get up close to elephants, giraffe, zebra, wilder beast, buffalo, many antelope and we must not forget the rhinos. I was amazed by the sheer size of them, some of them weighing up to 3 tons! Another successful day at a game reserve and we decided we would make the border run to Swaziland. I don’t think we had really accounted for how long it would take to get there... Finally at 10pm we found our destination, Milwane Nature reserve.

Waking in the morning we were able to take in the beauty of Milwane. Zebra, Warthog and Duiker roamed free. The trees surrounding us were tall reaching up into the sky, offering plenty of shade to get respite from the sun. We went on a hike around the reserve in the hope to spot crocodile in the lake. It wasn’t until we were leaving that we were able to see a crocodile off for his morning swim.

Heading north we made our way to Maguga dam, one of the largest in Swaziland the infrastructure was quite impressive, despite the rain the dam was still only at 20%. We camped for our last night with the Dutch at the Maguga lodge. The whole area to our selves overlooking the dam was a perfect setting. We held a little party for Chris’ pre birthday night, even had a cake and balloons courtesy of Jiske. The only thing that was quite was concerning was the sign stating to be aware of the hippos and crocodiles!! Needless to say I was hyper sensitive to all the sounds around me that night.

The day of Chris’ birthday we went white water rafting in the Great Usutu River. There had been a lot of heavy rainfall and so the river was full. The safety speech at the beginning was enough to make me want to turn back and get on the bus, but it was Chris’ birthday and so I thought I should really face my fears and give it a go. The first couple of hours were really fun; we rafted down a working wear and got into sync with our paddling. I don’t think any amount of paddling would have prepared us for the rapids that would face us in the afternoon. The guides had decided to not show us the rapid before we went down in the fear that I would say I didn’t want to do it. We tipped over the edge and were faced with waves of water crashing into us. Two brits on an inflatable croc... this wasn’t going to end well. We negotiated the second wave and it sent us sideways, crashing into a large rock that we got stuck on. The force of the water sent us flying out of the croc, trying to get orientated I surface from the water and shout for Chris to help me. The guides are laughing finding it all very amusing, they drag me back to the river bank where I am able to get my breath. Chris had managed to swim himself in and decided he needed another go down the rapids. This time he went with a guide and again they get over the first wave and then the boat gets tipped vertically and out they come, floating down the river. Thank goodness for helmets and a life jacket is all I can say. I am thinking that has to be the worst one, but then later that afternoon we had to take climb with our croc over rocks to bypass a raging waterfall, the rain is coming down and the rocks are slippery. The guides make it look so easy, jumping across the rocks with our croc on his head as if we goat clinging to the mountain. Myself and Chris however, are sliding all over the place. The final large rapid of the day and there is a torrent of water raging down there. Keep straight, come on keep straight we can do this, and then we hit another rock, and get spun sideways. I luckily manage to stay in the boat but Chris comes flying out again. He resurfaces and to make matters worse I go over his head with the croc. Get me off this croc, I have decided that grade IV water rafting is not for me and I will leave it for the adrenaline hunters. Needless to say that night we treated ourselves to a room in the hostel to recover from the day. 

The next day a much more relaxing day, we went to Hilwane Royal National Park, we stayed in a beautiful traditional rondavelle. We booked onto the sunset safari ride and at 4pm off we went. Within 10 mins we come across 6 rhinos grazing, we are able to get so close, all I can think is please don’t charge. Their giant horns protruding into the sky, they really are beautiful. We travel around the park for another hour and just as we are about to go back we get to see what everyone has been waiting for...lions, not just one but three. They are napping and hiding in the tall grass so we are able to just see them but still we have seen lions.

For now it’s goodbye to Swaziland and onwards to our adventure in Mozambique. We are prepared for the border we have everything that we could possibly need, they are particularly fussy at the border and on the roads so you need to have all your paperwork in order and the car in good condition. We cross with no problems, a few runners trying to earn some money but we head straight to immigration and get through within thirty mins. Our first night to break it up we stay on Macanetta Island at Tan ‘n’ Biki, then onwards to Priar do Bilene. Palmerio Complexo would be our home for 3 nights. It was a great place to get into the swing of Mozambique life and also bulk buy the famous tipo tinto rum (6 bottles for £14). We experienced quite heavy rain while we were there; thankfully we had the gazebo for cover.

Next stop Chidengule, 160km up the road. There is only one main road heading to the north of Mozambique and so as long as you keep the ocean to your right, you can’t go wrong. Again we have some more rain in Chidengule so we only camp for two nights at the sunset lodge. Onwards and upwards to Tofo, which is where I am now. As I sit and write this I am sat looking at the turquoise ocean, golden sands and blue skies. The rain has ended.

We have been in Tofo for 13 days all ready, the break here is just what we need to refuel the batteries. Camping is so cheap, £3.50 a night so we can’t go wrong. Tofo is only just recovering from the cyclone that hit. As you drive around you still see so much damage, houses that have had the roofs blown off, straw houses that have been flattened. Giant trees that have fallen from the extreme wind and rubbish is everywhere. People are still working so hard to get things back in shape. Tofo is paradise and brings a lot of tourism to Mozambique so people need to work quickly. Thankfully the locals aren’t forgotten, there has been a lot of community projects and fundraising to help people rebuild their homes and lives. We donated a load of vegetables and rice to a school to help feed 800 children. About one week into our stay we are warned that more heavy rain and strong winds are coming. We take down the gazebo and prepare for the 50kmph winds. The sea becomes wild and waves double in size. All of the rubbish the initial cyclone took into the ocean gets spat back out on to the shore; the once beautiful beach is covered in plastic and debris. Operation clear up begins, Chris and me decide that we will get the rakes from the caretaker and clear the beach, slowly more people join and before we know we have a team and within two to three hours the beach is looking much more appealing. Less plastic in the sea = happy fish.

In a couple of days we are heading to Vilankulos where we will explore the Bazarutu Island. I won’t wait so long to write next time. To be continued....