South Africa Part 1 of 7

My first week is over and my impressions of South Africa are as follows:
1. The BEST kept secret in the world is the hidden vacation treasures of S.A.
2. It is HOT down here. Temperatures have been between 28C and 35C.
3. The people here are EXTREMELY friendly.
4. The car you are driving has to have GOOD shocks when off of the paved roads.
5. Be PERPARED to eat when you come here.

Quick Tips:

Bring a hat, sun screen, and light clothing. If traveling in the bush, DO NOT get out of your vehicle and DO follow the ranger's suggestions.

Best Way To Get Around:

Car is the only option. There are no buses, trains, or taxi (as we are accustomed to). If it is a long distance, then air is the other option.

Fantastic location and great units. The hosts/owner are Sandra and Donny Thistle. They treat you like one of the family from when they pick you up at the airport until you go to bed each night.

For more information visit their website. The pictures on the website show the cottages just as they are.

Fantastic Greek cusine for any palate. From vegetarian and meat to seafood and pita specials, it is all here for you.

The House speciality is "Kleftiko", Greek for "stolen Lamb". The leg of lamb is oven-baked overnight with garlic, lemon, and mountain herbs and is served with roast potatoes and the vegetable of the day. R59,90 ($8.50US).

Appetisers started at Greek dips served with pita bread such as Tzatziki, Taramosalzta, and Skorthalia, and also included Mediterranean Kebabs, Mussels and Calamari heads. There are many other as well.

For those watching their waistline (a waste of time in South Africa) there are Greek, French, and Sizzler's own Village salads to choose from.

Main Courses include seafood, grills, platters, and pita specials. If you have that yearning for lamb, you have now found the place.

"The Cradle" restaurant is located on the Nature Reserve called The Cradle of Humankind (see the article on that attraction). It is only open for lunch.

VIEW: The view of this African Nature Reserve is FREE and is FANTASTIC. There is a watering hole just below the outside deck and on the ridge you might get lucky and see the giraffe.

There is one price for the meal: adults are R150 ($21-22US) and children (under 12) are R60 ($8-9US). The menu is a three course meal.
STARTERS: Crisp Bouchee, Gingered Butternut Soup, Indonesian Marinated Beef Strips, Cognac and Balsamico flambeed Chicken Livers, or Smoked Salmon.
MAIN COURSES: Pan-seared Linefish (choice of the day), Spinach and Feta Cannelloni, Veal Escalopes, Apricot and Tequila-basted Roast Baby Chicken, Oxtail, or Red wine-braised Lamb Shank. Choice of potatoes and fresh vegetables are included.
DESSERTS: There is a large selection put out in the form of buffet to choose from. Save room for it (if you can).

The Cradle Nature Reserve consists of rolling highveld grassland dotted with islands of sinkhole forests, valleys with indigenous bush-lined streams and textured dolomite rock formations. The reserve is a habitat for over 35 mammal species and a rich diversity of other fauna and flora, and an environment that is both beautiful and educational. Guided drives and walks through the nature reserve can be arranged with well-informed guides or specialists explaining all aspects of this surprising environment. The cradle is rich evidence of past cultures and history from early man to the Boer War. Fossil deposits from the dawn of life in an ancient sea can be viewed in a landscape teeming with game. From high points on the cradle, one can see evidence of the earth's extraordinary geological evolution over billions of years. The major excavation site at Motsetse has revealed fossils of mammals over 3.5 million years ago.

For more information visit their website.

Preparing for the trip to South Africa involved many steps – passport, electrical current adaptor, camera and lots of film and packing. What do you take for a seven-week trip? Remember you are limited by the airlines to two pieces of luggage to be checked (up to 70 pounds weight) and two carry on pieces. Check with the airlines that you are using for their restrictions. Remember not all airlines are the same in this area.

Flying time for me started at 11am (EDT) on Tuesday September 23rd and ended at 4am (EDT) on Thursday September 25th. There were three aircrafts and four airports involved. Yes there were two delays, thirty minutes at the start of my flights (an engine would not start) and an hour before the start of the last leg of the journey.

Leaving Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada in the rain, I flew to Toronto, Ontario, Canada and arrived in bright sunshine and a temperature increase of about 10C. Then there was the four hours wait for leg #2. From Toronto I flew to Frankfurt, Germany, my first overnight. You don’t get very much sleep. Between meals, movies and bathroom breaks it can be a long night.

When I arrived in Frankfurt, I went directly to the Sheraton Hotel and checked into my room for a few hours shut eye. My final flight left Frankfurt for Johannesburg an hour behind schedule (an engine would not start). Again another flight of very little sleep.

Finally, I arrived. Johannesburg, South Africa.

I was greeted at the airport by my host. We drove to the Heatherdale Guest Cottages where I met the owners (for more information see the accommodation section)

The next two days were reserved for getting my body clock on the local time and for getting acclimatized to the region. I had just come from living at sea level to being at 1769 meters (5804 feet) higher. Air is thinner and it is HOT here. On Friday evening, our hosts at Heatherdale took us out to supper at "The Greek Sizzler" (for more information see the dining section).

Saturday, September 27th arrived with an early wakeup call from the Hadeda birds at 5:30am SAT. (South African Time). In the afternoon we met one of our two hosts for the stay in SA. Lynn took us to her home for a braai (bar-b-que). We had lamb, chicken and sausage.

Biltong is a form of dried meat and is fantastic. It is a specialty of South Africa and I had my first experience of it at the braai. I loved it.

South Africa has been invaded from space . . . that’s right they have been invaded from space . . . As we were driving to our hosts home she was telling us various things about the area we were traveling through. Then she said she had better speed up to make all the "ROBOTS" on the way home. What is a robot? Well, it turns out that SA has NOT been invaded from space. The object ‘robot’ is what we call in North America a traffic light or stop light. What a relief!

Sunday, September 28th and Lynn was around at 11am to take us to "The Cradle of Humankind" restaurant (for more information see the dining section). After lunch we went on our first "Game Drive" It started at 4pm with Ranger Peter and we were off for 3 hours of fantastic sights. The first sighting was a family of Rhinos, followed by giraffes, wildebeests, and zebra. The trip ended with a traditional South African ‘sundowner". More about that in the next issue.

My first week is over and my impressions of South Africa are as follows:
1. The BEST kept secret in the world is the hidden vacation treasures of S.A.
2. It is HOT down here. Temperatures have been between 28C and 35C
3. The people here are EXTREMELY friendly.
4. The car you are driving has to have GOOD shocks when off of the paved roads.
5. Be PREPARED to eat when you come here.