Craven Suid Afrika 2022 TR

[craven morehead]

A glorious morning in St. Lucia. Off to the Lapa for breakfast (ontbyt) pronounced ontbait.

The entrance to the Lapa.













The UK tour group had been in earlier for a continental breakfast and had left by the time I showed up around 7.30am. So, these beautiful girls only had to cook for me this morning.



Guava juice & Black coffee to start the day.



I am the Master of all I survey this morning! Got the place to myself.



The girls cleaned up the kitchen while I ate.



A great start to the day. No stress, no rushing around just perfect.

 

[N860CR]

Should have mentioned that google has the location for that wrong. Caught me out as well. Surprised it hasn’t been updated as it’s been out for a while!

 

[MelMel]

What does the blue sign with 3 stars and a circle signify?

Very interesting TR. Living vicariously…

Beware of hippos crossing at night??

 

[craven morehead]

After my nice relaxing breakfast, I decided I would go spend some time driving around iSimangaliso Wetlands Park. Dropped in at the Engen servo on the way and grabbed a few litres of water and a sandwich.



Cost was ZAR$135 ~ AUD$12 so I wasn't particularly concerned how many hours I spent in the park. Just play it as it unfolds.



Approaching the security gate. You had to keep your pass on you until you returned and have it sighted on the way out.





About 2 minutes inside the gate. Zebra, Impala & Warthog.



Zebra & Kudu



A Kudu buck.



Heading off on one of the loops.



A very handsome Warthog.



This little fella wasn't too fazed.

 

[craven morehead]

Just found some much better-quality photos from my Canon Camera.



















One of the lookout spots on a loop road.

 

[craven morehead]

Wildlife photos continued.

I pulled up at a carpark/picnic area for a walk down to the ocean.

Here is my car guard as with everywhere in this park, you get out of your vehicle entirely at your own risk.





Some of his cousins. One of them poking his tongue at me!





A rocky walkway down to the ocean.



Pretty rugged beach.





Now heading back out to the main road.



A Wildebeest (aka Gnu) going for a gallop.

 

[craven morehead]

Another lookout. This one on the lake side.





Rhino time

 

[craven morehead]

First sign of Buffalo















This old fella was wandering down the road. He put the wind up a few of the tourists I backed off for a bit and observed. Then let him pass by my vehicle.

 

[craven morehead]

Next, I took another loop road heading down to a Hide to see if I would be lucky enough to observe anything. It was the middle of the day by this stage, so I wasn't expecting miracles. Once again, this place is unfenced, and one must assume any risk. There was no indication as to how far the hide was from the carpark. It turned out to be around 120m with the fairly dense bush not far either side of the walkway. I was the only person here, so I will admit to being slightly nervous heading down the path and into the unknown. This part of the country has high numbers of Leopard, and everyone knows how dangerous Hippos are they were probably my main concerns along with hoping not to encounter any Mambas in the actual hide.



















Appears to be snake free!

 

[craven morehead]

I didn't have to wait long. A mother and calf Hippo decided to travel the length of the small waterhole in front of the hide. My guess about 150m which they did in very good time. Hippos can't swim or float. They hold their breath for up to 3 minutes and then actually run along the bottom of the waterhole/lake.



The calf is safely in the water.



Mum is following.



Mum emerging.



They're both out now.





Off they go.





A few more Hippos sighted at another waterhole later in the day.

 

[Sprucegoose]

Great photos, CM - wise never to get between a Cow and her calf.

 

[craven morehead]

Next stop, Cape Vidal for another look at the ocean. A good place to stop for a while and enjoy my lunch by the sea.





There is accommodation available over here, a convenience store and a fuel station. I made use of the picnic tables in a nice, relaxed setting.







Fairly windy today.





The fuel was very Deer here the servo mower!

 

[Sprucegoose]

Looks hauntingly desolate similar to much of our coastline.

 

[craven morehead]

Time to start heading back.

I only had to knock over the Grassland Loop Rd to complete the reserve.

Stopped at the Red Dunes Lookout.

 

[craven morehead]

Looks hauntingly desolate similar to much of our coastline.

Yes, the coastline is very much like here for sure. Same goes for a lot of RSA in my opinion.

 

[Sprucegoose]

Yes, the coastline is very much like here for sure. Same goes for a lot of RSA in my opinion.

Maybe we were the one country a trillion years ago?

 

[craven morehead]

A few more photos on the way out of the park.

This poor Warthog was trying to wake his mate up. If it wasn't dead, it certainly wasn't very responsive.

















The only Elephant I managed to spot today photo was taken from ~300m away.



One last Hippo for the day It's still hard to believe that these massive creatures (Males get up to 1500kgs) can move across the ground at 40-45km/h. All up today I spent 6 hours in the park. Being so cheap I had nothing to lose and just drove around by myself with no distractions and thoroughly enjoyed the day.



Safely back at Safari Lodge and time for a quick beer before a swim to freshen up.

 

[craven morehead]

All nice and fresh after a swim (had the pool all to myself ) it was time to walk down the street in search of dinner.

Once again, my friends from Newcastle had given me the heads up on a few must do places.

Only about a 5-minute walk down the street and tonight it was Barraca: Portuguese-Italian Restaurant | Barraca Restaurant | South Africa | St. Lucia



A huge outdoor area at the front of the restaurant. The perfect place to park my cough and watch the world go by while having a beer. Cheers



The waiters seemed a little bemused that I wanted to kick back and have a few beers before ordering any food. So, I made them wait a bit longer Once I was ready, I kicked off with Fried Snails topped with creamy garlic and blue cheese sauce. Not too bad at all.



Of course, I would need something to wash it down with



Now, this is what I call a Blend



ZAR$260 - AUD$22



You have the option to eat inside but nobody was inclined to do so tonight.





Mucking around with one of the waiters



For my mains, I had one of the best Prawn Curries I've ever eaten served with rice and chutney. ZAR$169 - AUD$14
I asked the manager to bring the chef out so I could thank her for such a delicious curry. She was well deserving of the decent tip she received



Very happy to recommend this establishment. We also had a big dance, acrobatic, tribal performance from the locals accompanied by some heavy drumming. It was very entertaining and good to watch, of course they were there soliciting for tips. Old money bags flicked them a quick ZAR$100

 

[craven morehead]

The next day I decided not to do the Western Shore of iSimangaliso Wetland Park and just poke around, do a bit of sightseeing and get my bearings for next time. After another lovely breakfast I headed off to suss out Jabula beach. It was maybe a 10-minute drive from my lodge. As you leave town and start to head down the beach road there is a point where there is a chain across the road and some local rangers check to make sure you aren't taking any alcohol down to the beach before letting you continue.



Pulled up and gave a nod to the car guard. Made sure I had a ZAR$5 coin in my pocket for later.









Once again it was fairly windy.



Some of the locals having fun and a bit of a surf fishing for one chap.



A very wide open beach.



I was very impressed with the well-presented shower and toilet facilities.



In the gents of course!



The dopey car guard wasn't paying attention, which is quite unusual. Anyway, he missed out on his 5 Rand

 

[craven morehead]

Headed off to Ingwe Beach which is the other beach in St. Lucia. Ingwe is Zulu for Leopard. This beach is next to the estuary and is the spot where all the local fishermen tow their boats down to the water with a tractor and head out to sea.



My free car guard



It seemed to be windier over here than at Jabula.









Too windy to hang around, so just some quick photos and back to the car.

Just as I got back to the edge of town, what else but a warthog cruising around the place.





The locals tell me that the stretch of road between town and the beaches is well known for sightings of Hippo and Leopard at nighttime.