South Africa

Once upon the time, a group of four people decided to explore distant lands of Africa. The mission was clear – taste a lion steak, ride a giraffe and most importantly, bring home some diamonds & gold. At the end, none of the above happened, nevertheless, we had a time of our lives. It all started with a hectic arrival of the crew – Zuzana, Helena and Ondra to O.R. Tambo airport. First destination was Kruger National Park. Our first camping site was called “Gecko Backpackers”, which was located just a few minutes away from the park’s entrance. Following day, the schedule was pretty tight, there was simply too much to see in such a short time. First stop was camp Skukuza, where we settled for a night. As the speed limit in Kruger Park is limited to 40 kmph, to cover even a decent distance takes ages…Most of the time, the actual speed is even bellow 30 kmph as stopping every now and then for sightseeing is inevitable. Highlights of the day was an elephant herd that charged right along our car as well as an angry buffalo stressing at the middle of the

road, marking its territory by peeing all over the road. As we returned to the camp, without knowledge of time restrictions, we were held at the gate & fined for late return. The highlight of the day, and for that matter, of the whole trip, was crew member Ondra, who managed to get so drunk that he got rid of all the clothes and run all over the camp, knocking on nearby caravans and swimming at the local pool. Not getting any attention from the guards and rangers for that matter, was a surprise, yet the following day, we had to seek the ranger anyway to pay the fine for late return last night. With one more day ahead in Kruger Park, even though we hit the road as soon as we could, we did not manage to see as much nor had such an adventure as the day before. As we came back to “Gecko Backpackers”, the seemingly decent storm approached by, but after a while, we were forced to leave the tents and move into the dorm.

The following morning, our next stop was close-by valley called God’s Window. Unfortunately, it was so humid that the mist swallowed all the place up and we were lucky to see a tip of our noses. With the whole day spent on the road and arriving in the Drakensberg Mountains just before midnight, finding a camping site was almost impossible. Decision to sleep in a car was not the most pleasant, yet was the only option. The following morning, a meeting was set with our guide, King Steve, in a small town called Winterton, from where we drove to our next camp, set up our site & went for a hike to the cave with bush people’s paintings. Right after the hike, we went for a horse ride. Well, except of Ondra. I bet he is secretly scared of horses! For the next day, we had planned an all-day hike to the “stable cave”. Overall, it took us briefly 6 hours to get to the cave. As we set the place up, our guide Steve began to cook a meal. He had mistaken one of our bottles, which he assumed was filled with water, but was actually full of vodka, and cook the meal from

it! The meal was really good, yet we did not realize until late evening, when we wanted to have a little bit of booze. That made our night – we could not have stopped laughing, what a story to tell! The very next day, the journey from the edge of Lesotho to the coastal metropolis Durban took us quite a few hours and as we arrived during the dawn, the only thing on our mind was to settle down, have a beer or two and hit the bed (should rather say floor). Driving through beautiful ocean-site highway was quite an experience. With a bit of a struggle, we managed to find a camping site with very pleasant owners, offering us to join them for a braai (South African barbeque). Spending the whole day on the road to arrive to East London in time, we were able to see the “other side” of South Africa.

As the only way further west was through rural “townships” areas, seeing all those slums built in the middle of nowhere with nothing around, yet happy people with children playing around… Those people seemed happy to me. Money is not always everything. While arriving in East London, we realized that it’s named “London” for a reason. During our stay, we did not experience anything else than rain and winds! Trying to leave East London as soon as possible, we managed to hit the road quite early with destination – Port Elizabeth pointed on a map. Once arrived, we enjoyed sandy beaches close by, although we could not swim as the whole area was covered with stones and rocks. As we drove along the coast, we saw a sign – Jeffrey’s Bay, while seeing bright sandy beach with hundreds of people around, we did not hesitate and made it our destination. The experience was truly incredible! Huge waves, clean warm water and beautiful girls all around.

Unfortunately, we could not have stayed longer as we had to hit the road to make it to our final destination - camp near Plettensburg’s Bay on time. As we arrived to the place, we have been told that phosphoring plankton could have been spotted on the beach close-by. As we stormed to the beach, we did not believe what we saw! Fantasy like scenery – we were running around like small kids, every footstep or splash of water made sand light – just wow! We were lucky enough to sees something like this as one see something like this once in a lifetime. As we came back to the camp, a group of young students invited us to join them at the campfire – singing and drinking. What a great day! 

In the morning, we decided to see something local, and as quite a few visitors mentioned nearby waterfall, plan was made. Following our departure, next stop was town Knysna with a small Rastafarian community within. Finding Rastafarian village was quite a challenge, yet after a few wrong turns, we managed and sneaked inside the village. Supposedly, the police is not allowed beyond the gate, so local community of circa 40 people have freedom of growing their own marijuana.

As one local resident Paul offered us a small excursion through his gardens, we have seen with our own eyes what the real Rastafarian garden looks like. As there were no camping sites around, we decided to camp at remote site right on the beach. Although, in the morning we have found out that the area was vastly occupied by one variety of poisonous snakes! Next stop - southernmost point of Africa, Cape L’aghulas, was quite far ahead, so after proper breakfast, we hit the road. After an amazing sightseeing, with nightfall coming, we arrived in Cape Town (our final destination).

For our 2-day stay, the “Green Elephant Backpackers” was a place we called home. The very first thing that comes into mind when mentioning Cape Town is the Table Mountain, and we were no exception. Spending the whole day climbing it (well, some of us climbed, some if us took easier way – cable way). The view on the top of the mountain was worth it! On one side, you can see almost all of the Cape Town and on the other, the two oceans merging together. As for last day in Cape Town and of our trip for that matter, our interest was pointed towards the marketplace. As that was the last time to buy some presents. With some time left, we tasted local fish & chips and went to Chapman’s Peak to observe the sunset. One last idea before departure for Pretoria, partyyy… We parked right in the city center & went to Long Drive (street with numberless clubs & pubs). Although when the midnight came, departure was imminent as a long drive was ahead of us. After about 16 hours of drive, we arrived in Pretoria, where we pulled ourselves together and prepared for departure back to Europe…

Zuzana made amazing video of this amazing trip, there it is: South Africa 2015