Videos
Robertsons' Cruise Sea Views - Twiga Lodge - Finding Utopia In Kwale - The Kenyan East Coast
The familiar chime of a wake-up call cries shrilly down the passage where our friend will get up to go off on his Sunday morning walk. Ignoring the blind, light creeps shyly into our bedroom. It’s a thinly veiled chilly, grey light, cold against my cheek. It will rain soon I think....
Going With The Flow - Slow Lanes in Uganda Part 5 Murchison Falls National Park
The negotiations taking place a mere ten meters from my window, where a clapped-out army green Defender is being appraised, have snatched my attention from my writing. The buyer, a true connoisseur of vintage vehicles, was immediately captivated by the unique features of this classic Land...
Unexpectedly Trekking Gorillas In Uganda
This morning, I woke up with a spring in my step. It’s hard to believe, considering the day we had yesterday. In the background, I have Laurika Rauch singing about the Karoo, Mannejies Roux and her aunt, who would lay a table under a thorn tree, and serve figs and champagne. Her uncle, she...
Uganda - My Reflections And Discovering A "Rolex"
The Pearl of Africa – a term coined by Winston Churchill in 1908 due to the profusion of birds, insects, and reptiles found in this garden of Eden. Locals fondly call Uganda the Banana Republic honouring the hundreds of millions of humble banana trees. Pure gold, wrapped in a canary...
Falling For Livingstone - Butch’s Zambia Part 3
Before I know it, it’s Thursday; weeks are slipping past me so quickly I have to double-check to ensure I’m on the same day as the calendar. We are currently traveling most days which makes it impossible to write or post blogs hence the lateness of this blog. Nostalgic memories and stories...
Art Arusha Arusha Art Arusha Au Revoir
Saturday, the 21st of October, 2023. The Springboks will be running onto the field in three and a half hours to beat the English in the semi-final of the RWC, and my nerves are shot. Butch has been preparing psychologically for the game all week. He’s listened to and watched every report,...
Lake Natron Naturally Maasai And An Active Volcano - Ol Doinyo Lengai
Butch has just been handed a 3kg Nile Perch. It is ginormous. Lake Tanganyika is breathtaking, and there are even waves on it. Small waves pound the beach a mere three meters from where I sit. The fish is for our evening braai. I'll make fish cakes with the leftovers for a roadside...
Serengeti - A Serendipitous Safari
Dear Sarine, Today, Ouvrou, I will kill two birds with one stone. As promised, here is the long overdue letter followed by a browse through my thousands of photographs before sorting, deleting and editing them starts in earnest. There will be no more gallivanting until I press post. I have...
Dear Diary - ABC In 1-2-3 - Galong-Galong Oh Do Come Along
Journaling, travelling, and recording my steps are in my blood. Writing my thoughts down is a whisper only I can hear, and in listening, to retrace my journies. My scribblings are not always to remember, but at times to forget. My Diary sets the record straight. “How can I begin anything new...
Driving Diesel, Dust, Donkeys - Daring Enduimet Wildlife Management Area
Enduimet Wildlife Management Area is a picturesque area stretching west of Kilimanjaro and a well-kept secret—a hidden gem bordering Amboseli National Park (Kenya) and Kilimanjaro National Park ecosystems. The area forms a vital corridor for large herds of elephant that migrate between the...
Arusha and Life With A Honey Badger
There are three of us on this trip (besides old “somebody”); believe me, Miss Honey Badger can throw her weight around and cause havoc . She appears all gentle and chilled but has a will of her own and lets us know all about it if she doesn’t have her way. She will not be ignored. Much of our...
Keeping Promises And Another Spin Around The Sun Done - Tanga And Moshi
You must agree with this statement, “You’ve not experienced South Africa if you’ve only stuck to the N1 from Bloemfontein to Leeu Gamka?” Indeed. You have only touched the tip of the iceberg with a teaspoon. Right off the bat I must apologise for the quality of some of my photographs,...
Cutting Corners - Bagamoyo
We had our baby back, and we were on the road again. Whoop-whoop. Our mission was to go north from Dar es Salaam to Bagamoyo and slowly dance up to Tanga to keep a promise. The Honey Badger was in good form but, Butch reported still veering slightly to the left when braking. A break...
Island Style - Zipping Through Zany Zanzibar - It Is Hakuna Matata
It’s all about wanderlust and island dust. When we mention an island, our immediate reaction is, “Oh, how romantic”. I wonder why we’re all so intrigued by small land masses surrounded by an ocean. Zanzibar has always conjured exotic images and bright colours, blue seas, white beaches and...
Dar es Salaam - Peace In The Home
Some of us yearn to see the Statue of Liberty, the Sydney Opera House, or Table Mountain. I have always wanted to see the Kigamboni Bridge. Sultan Majid bin Said of Zanzibar began building a new city close to Mzizima and named it Dar es Salaam. The name is commonly translated from...
Kilwa – Fishing For Compliments
Kilwa in Swahili means ‘Place of Fish’ or can mean markets too –the collective name given to three different areas on the Tanzanian coast: Kilwa Kisiwani, Kilwa Kivinje and Kilwa Masoko. We explored UNESCO-listed ruins, enjoyed the beach, ate seafood and chillaxed in our hammocks. ...
Tantalising Tanzania
If you had to ask me, “What is the most frustrating part of your journey?” Without hesitation, I’d say “ waiting.” Waiting for a diagnosis, parts or a time slot. Yesterday while filling our water tanks, something untoward happened. Water pressure, fatigue, or wear and tear to our pipes caused...
Mysteriously Mystifying Malawi
In all fairness, I must advise you, dear reader, that my experience of Malawi is subjective and prompted by our mood and Butch's bout of malaria. Imagine you have a reservation at Passionné in Paris. It’s been a dream to dine there for ages, but the night before the big day, you’re kept up with...
Our Final Fling In Mezmerising Mozambique
After our week of running around being tourists on Ilha de Mozambique, we were exhausted and needed to chillax on a quiet beach, just the two of us, before setting off on the long road to Malawi through Nampula Province. Our friend, Pai Diesel, being the gentleman he is, wouldn’t let us...
No Man(It)’s An Island – Ilha De Mozambique - It Was Love At First Sight
As good as his word Pai Diesel was waiting for us at the boom and entrance gate as he’d agreed. We understood that heavy vehicles like the Honey Badger would not be permitted to cross the 4 km bridge built in the 1960s, linking Ilha de Mozambique with the mainland. He said it would be...
All Aboard, We’re Taking The High Road To Ilha De Mozambique
It’s a long way to Tipperary and we’re taking a “wye Kaapse Draai” en route to Ilha de Mozambique which could be likened to driving from Worcester to Cape Town via Johannesburg. It was an adventure we might’ve missed had we stuck to the potholed EN1. We had an extra month to...
Hats Off To Hoedspruit - Highlighted By Our Antares Bush Camp Experience
When we heard our friends from England, who lived in the New Forest, decided to pick up sticks and move, lock, stock ‘n barrel to South Africa, I was impressed, but when we heard Hoedspruit was their first choice to settle in, I had my doubts. More fool me. A reasonably sized town surrounded by...
Kruger National Park And The Story Behind The Story
It is an undisputed fact that the Kruger National Park is our national treasure, and SANParks is probably one of the few state-run enterprises that works and has improved over the years. They have all my support and admiration for doing a sterling job. My photographs are just a random,...
Highways and Byways to Hoedspruit. Places We Saw And Friends We Met
Maun is not my favourite place, possibly because it’s a neither-here or there sort of place. It could also be the flashbacks I have of our off-road caravan’s demise and the dreadful trip back to Cape Town we had. Our poor caravan was in a dire state and looked like a sardine tin with a...
One, Two, Three, Four-tee-Four Elephants - Elephant Sands - Nata -Botswana
My Sister-in-law Lol is a loyal follower of our travels. When she realised, we were at Elephant Sands. She wrote, “I’ve often been to Elephant Sands near Nata, a lovely spot, but in all the years, we never saw one elephant! Good luck." While Butch was doing our registration, I...
Drotsky’s Cabins with Kat-‘n-The-Four-Kin-Airey’s – Botswana
Skedaddle is what we did to meet up with the Aireys who were in search of a Honey Badger. Nothing beats meeting up with family, particularly when you’ve been starved of your familials like we have, especially over the festive season when we all experience a little slump. Sometimes, late at...
Rain, Subtropical Gardens And A Host With The Most
When rain falls, one can expect the vegetation to change, the dry air cools, and humidity takes over. Our travels in the desert were ending as we climbed the plateaus. Small wizened trees gave way to taller, leafed trees, and game farms made way for subsistence farming. Dry riverbeds...
Travelling with Somebody. A Weekend in the Karoo - Kanniedood 4x4 Wild Camping
Two’s company and three’s a crowd. There are times when we have a very unwelcome guest in our midst. Her name is Somebody, and she’s the one that causes all the ructions. It’s almost impossible to pin her down, and she never owns up, apologises, or admits to being the culprit. Her shenanigans...
Wild Camping - Mudumu Campsite 3 - Second Time Lucky - The Caprivi adventure continues
It’s all very glamorous staying in beautifully appointed campsites with manicured lawns, five-star ablutions, and interesting restaurants. Even more so is gliding on a makorro and going for guided game drives. I'm not complaining. Still, we love doing our own thing. Besides, social...
Climbing the Skerpenheuwel To The Breede Otter Campsite -
When you’re a Grey Nomad, you’ll probably answer to Hodophile too, and we’re both. The Honey Badger stood forlorn, dusty and neglected in a barn behind a lock and chain, and she needed a weekend out, even if it's going loco on a road less travelled by us. My response to the Knight’s...
Casually Cruising The Khaudom National Park - North Eastern Namibia
Once again, we set off as early as possible. We had a big day ahead and knew the going wasn’t going to be easy. By all accounts, we were breaking all the rules. It’s suggested that one does the Khaudom in a convoy of at least two vehicles, preferably three. We have a Honey Badger, a Butch, and...
Ewe Herd We Explored The Kgalagadi?
We shrew did and Veareax eagle to meet you! I Gnu we’d have a fabulous time. I haven’t felt the sun on my skin for days and feel cheetah'rd. That’s the sort of thing I do when I’m cold. With this thought, I decided to cheer myself up and click through some of my photographs of our recent trip...
Bonnievale River Lodge And White Linen Camping
Sometimes the end of a story is the story. Our stay in Bonnievale is a classic case where a mishap could make or break one's enjoyment of the moment . We have friends who are Swallows, in other words they spend six summer months in South Africa before migrating back to the UK to spend...
Not Pie In The Sky - Old Fashioned Apple Pie With Nuts and Cranberries
Did you know?: The apples we buy as fresh have been hermetically sealed in a cold storage facility for at least a year! Cold Storage works something like this: Organic-Hermetic storage or “hermetic storage”, consists of a sealed storage system containing a modified atmosphere. This means that...
The Wall - Kariba Dam
It was time to wave Mana Pools goodbye. A month was just long enough and I was excited to resume our road trip and next destination. Kariba. All the stories I’ve heard about Kariba have conjured a picture of holidays, fun and houseboats. Romantic. We, of course, would not be staying in...
Going To The Dogs - Nyamepi Campsite Review
Close your eyes. In the distance hear the cry of the African Fish eagle calling its mate. The soft rustle you hear could be a Vervet monkey suckling her young one, the soft blow is an Impala warning the herd of possible danger and the loud swishing and snorting in the water a hippopotamus...
The Company We Keep
It's true, birds of a feather flock together. Just like Lilian's Lovebirds. Although we travel very well together and comfortably do it without company we were delighted to know that we would not be alone for the entire time we were in Mana. We are social animals after all and I definitely...
Mangwanani! Mana Pools
Morning! Early bird catches the worm. We’d be there when the gates open. That’s what we thought. But of course in Africa that seldom happens. We could not have known that the fuel shortages were about to commence. Eventually, we made it to the Mana Gate and then we had to negotiate the...
Roadtripping From Our Southern Shores to The Mighty Zambezi
On a fine Friday afternoon we were all packed and really excited to set off on our 5 day road trip from the southern tip of South Africa to the most northern border of Zimbabwe where our journey would end on the banks of the mighty Zambezi. Our first stop would be Matjiesfontein. We arrived...
The Honey Badger Does Its Maiden Long Haul To Zimbabwe
I am not a procrastinator by nature, what I can’t do is multitask. This blog has been coming along for a while now, unfortunately Murphy had a hand in the delay. What I must confess is that the last couple of months, since my last blog have been hectic. I hope to catch up and share all the...