South Africa ’14, Part 3: Hluhluwe National Park

30 March, 2014 jpcorp Leave a comment

Originally we didn’t plan to visit Hluhluwe Park (pronounced “shlushluweh”) because we were going to spend 5 days in Kruger already, but since it’s just a short drive from St. Lucia where we were heading from Umngazi River, we thought dropping by for a night would be fun. We’re so glad we did. Writing this post from our 2015 perspective, it was way more interesting compared to Kruger even though it is only about one-30th of Kruger’s size. When you’re there you really feel like you’re part of the nature around, the roads are empty and sights are clear for kilometers on end. All the animals are so calm they’re wandering around right next to your car totally unawared (and unimpressed) of your existence. While you have to be patient to find any Rhinos in other Parks, they’re everywhere here, both Black and White Rhinos, for it being a transition hub for the authorities to distribute and control/protect the Rhinos population in all South Africa. It’s still hard to understand why people nowadays still believe their horns be a god-sent medicine. It’s made of the same type of protein as your hair or fingernails (Keratin), why not chewing your nails instead?

The whole park is made up by two parks in fact: Hluhluwe & iMfolozi running from North to South. Since it’s quite a small Park, it doesn’t take long to cover its ground so we did one half in the afternoon we arrived and the other half the next morning before heading to St. Lucia. It turned out to be the Park we enjoyed the most on this trip.

Arriving in the park — First sight at the entrance of the Park, we knew immediately it was a promissing sight.

Sunset in the SAN (South Africa National Parks) camp. Basic accommodation but you have everything you need at for prices. — Sunset in the SAN (South Africa National Parks) camp. Basic accommodation but you have everything you need at a fair price.

First animal spotting in the morning. That guy watched us closely but was totally unimpressed. — Hyenas are quite aggressive animals but this guy’d probably had a good hunt that night so he was totally unimpressed as we stopped our car right next to him.

Mother and child — White Rhinos with flat mouth: these mother and child walked in front of our car for a long while.

It’s not the color that separates Black & White Rhinos for them having similar color, it’s actually the shape of their mouths that also define their eating habbit. In German, the Black Rhino is called the “Spitzmaulnashorn” (pointed-mouth Rhino) because they eat by picking fruits and leaves from branches. The mouth of White Rhinos like these in the picture above are wide and flat for grazing on grasses.

More rhinos, we saw many of them all day long — Black Rhinos with pointed lips/mouth

Burchell’s Zebra on the way back to the camp

Last year we were lucky to take a glimpse of some Mountain Zebras on the West Coast because they are nearly extinct. Burchell’s Zebras are more common, actually they’re everywhere. We really like them, they’re not as human-shy as giraffes and let you approach quite close.

This guy was in our way so better be prepared to use the reverse gear

Beautiful Impalas, some locals told us that they are also called "McDonalds" fro lions — Beautiful Impalas, some locals told us that they are also called “McDonalds” in the bush

Male impala with a bird looking for bugs

P on top of our Toyota HiLux hunting for good pictures

Maybe a little less elegant... — a little less elegant ;-).

Beach, Foods Foods Foods, Our Most Favorites, Road trip, South Africa, Vacation

South Africa ’14, Part 2: Umngazi River – our kind of paradise

28 March, 2014 jpcorp Leave a comment

When I saw some pictures of the Umngazi River Bungalows & Spa the first time while planning our trip, I knew we had to make a stop here. It was a long drive from Drakensberg, not in terms of distance but in terms of time because of the very curvy mountain highways across Kwazulu-Natal province. The resort is nicely located at the Umngazi River Mouth where it meets the Pacific ocean, very secluded from the rest of the crowds along the coast around Durban. It is the oldest beach resort in South Africa dating back to 1906. The staffs were friendly and attentive, the foods were beyond delicious, and they had the most amazing home-made chilly sauce I’ve ever tried, and I tried pretty much everything(!). Do you know any resort where the chef went around every night asking every guest if they were happy with their meals? This is that kind of place. The rooms are on the modest, eco-friendly side so nothing really luxurious, but decent and clean. What they lack in luxury they more than make up for it with this view…

and this Spa…

Spa at it's best. 2 hour program with massage, bath, champagne and a priceless view — Spa at it’s best and a million-dollar view. We spent one entire afternoon here, first with a two-hour couple massage & facial then who-knows-how-long in this tub afterwards. Champagne in the afternoon is always a good idea ;-). We slept like babies that night.

and the exclusive beach of course . At low tide, you can cross the river on foot to reach the beach. Other than that there’s a small ferry taking you to the other side anytime you want. All you have to do is go to the port and ring the bell.

Beach day — Often we had the whole beach for us all alone

View from the ferry boat that carries you across the river to the beach — View of the entire resort from the ferry that carries you across the river to the beach. I still miss this view every now and then.

That's the flag to raise when you're looking for (another) drink at the pool - great service all over the place — No more shouting for hotel staff, just raise the flag and they’ll be at your service

Horseback riding is a so-called community event, organised by the local people living nearby — Horseback riding organised by the local people living in the area, one of the many activities offered by the resort

Looks like John Wayne - almost.... — My John Wayne 😉

Sunset Umngazi river tour, watching fish eagles — Umngazi river sunset tour, watching fish eagles

Playing dart after dinner. I have to admit, the dart right in the middle was hers..... — Playing dart after dinner. I have to admit, the dart right in the middle was her’s…..

During the 5 days there we didn’t get on the car once. We spent our time going for long walks on the beach, horse-back riding with the local kids, taking the sunset tour along the river, reading some in the library (yes, they built a library from books left by hotel guest, which I think is a genius idea), and the rest of the time lounging around the pool and bar area. It was exactly what we needed after the long winter in Europe. It was so relaxing that we were really sad to leave.

Writing this from today perspective (19.02.2016) we’re kind of ready to move on from South Africa cause we’ve “been there and seen it all”, at lease those places we wanted to see, but this is the only place that’d probably make us come back someday.

Au Revoir

On the way to our next destination. A funny shop in some village in Kwazulu-Natal. — In some village in Kwazulu-Natal on our way to the North. We couldn’t have said it any better so Have a Ding Dong Day!

Road trip, South Africa, Vacation

South Africa ’14, Part 1: Drakensberge

26 March, 2014 jpcorp Leave a comment

Despite having been to the country only half a year before, we were so excited coming back to South Africa for another 3 weeks this time. There’s even a direct flight from Munich to Johannesburg that made the whole trip much more comfortable (we hate long flights). After the long winter in Europe, we didn’t want to spend any day in the city so upon arriving at the airport, we picked up our car and drove straight to Drakensberg, the highest moutain range in this part of the continent. There’s not much to do in the area except hiking so we did just that. We went into Winterton once, the nearest town, to buy some sim cards and found the perfect souvenir for our home. I think it was also the only non-food item we bought in the whole trip, along with countless bottles of local spices/herbs and miri miri sauce (P loves spices). March is Autumn time in the Southern hemisphere. Although the air was still warm, the winds on the mountain already turned a bit chilly, which made the evenings very pleasant. We couldn’t be any happier with the weather.