3 Trips in 1 - African Wildlife, Lesotho, and Durban

The joyous occasion of yet another South African wedding gave us the opportunity to see the amazing South African wildlife, visit a new and rather obscure country called Lesotho, as well as see a new city - Durban.

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iSimangaliso Wetland Park & Hluhluwe–Imfolozi Park

 

On the first day before the wedding we took a trip to St Lucia and its adjacent iSimangaliso Wetland Park for a boat trip, before driving onward to the Hluhluwe–Imfolozi Park for a game drive.

St Lucia

The iSimangaliso Wetland Park was the first location of our visit, and is a world heritage site because of its rich biodiversity. A boat trip along the entrance of the lake will reveal some of it.

Bird Variety

Anyone knows the name of this yellow fellow?

Show Off

This Hippo was keen to show off its teeth to unsuspecting tourists.

Hippo

While they look lazy and slow moving, they are in fact one of the most dangerous animals to humans in Africa. Around 800 live in the lake.

Lucky Capture

The only crocodile we spotted during the boat trip, although there are over a thousand in the lake.

Traffic Control

Even on the water, this seems necessary.

Along the River

Looking westwards from the bridge crossing towards St Lucia.

Hluhluwe–iMfolozi Park

The entrance to the oldest proclaimed nature reserve in Africa features this memorial, advocating mutual understanding between religions.

Buffalo

Most likely the easiest of the Big 5 to find, the Hluhluwe–Imfolozi Park features several thousand.

Vehicle

Not the most comfortable ride for a 14h trip, but definitely cool looking.

Nyala

A male example of the shy species. The park is one of the best spots to view them.

Pumbaa & Family

This family of warthogs was grazing in the high grass of the bush with 5 or 6 piglets. A group of them is called sounders.

What You Looking At

Warthog tusk ivory is often used for trade, but so far the species is not in a concerning conservation status.

Tree

One of the many beautiful trees you can spot in the South African bush.

Find Me

A giraffe with its long neck just visible in between the trees.

Zebras

A Zebra harem grazing in the mountains of the reserve.

Buffalo

A group of Buffalos a few kilometres away from us. While they are the most common Big 5, they are classified as near threatened.

African Elephant

A large elephant roaming by itself.

Injury

The wound on this giraffe's shoulder is likely from fighting with another member of the group.

On the Road

It seem the best food grows directly next to the sand road, blocking our way for several minutes.

Black on White

That's the answer to the colour of the Zebra, according to latest findings.

Search

Find the Hippo relaxing in this small lake.

Scenery

How I always imagine the landscape in the green plains of Africa.

Pride

Two female and a young male lion patrolling the area.

Hungry

A young Rhino drinking milk from its mother. The park is home to one of the largest populations of white rhino in the world due to its leading conservation efforts.

Posing

The male sat down very close to the car. Contrary to what the photo might evoke, he was actually just yawning.

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The Sani Pass & Lesotho

 

The day after the wedding took us up the famous Sani Pass in an amazing tour with Sani Pass Private Tours - highly recommended! A drive into the vast lands of Lesotho - the Mountain Kingdom in the Sky - with a visit to a local village ended back at the pass with an overnight stay before making our way down the next morning.

Sani Pass Landscapes

The second journey of our trip took us up the Sani pass to Lesotho, with its incredible mountain landscape.

Waterfalls

One of the many falls on the way up, filled by the occasional showers that happened during the previous days.

The "Road"...

...was at times hard to classify as such. It took us almost 2h to conquer the 8km stretch.

Baboons

How many of these apes can you spot here?

The 12 Apostles

While Cape Town has its own version, these are higher.

Shepherd

A local farmer in the traditional clothes.

Flag

The flag represents rain / sky, peace and prosperity, adorned with a Basotho hat.

Sani Pass Border

The border into Lesotho - The Mountain Kingdom in the Sky.

Lesotho

The country has the highest lowest elevaton in the world. It's also one of only three that is an enclave within another country.

Farming and Animals

Two thirds of the country's income come from the agricultural sector.

The Road Inland

This road was built with Chinese support, in exchange for mineral rights in the country - a popular strategy in Beijing these days.

Rain

The weather had caught up on us, and we almost got stuck in a village as the only access was with a 4x4, crossing a small river that quickly swell into a raging steam.

View over the Village

The small settlement we visited stretches up into the hills.

Traditional Huts

Two locals rushing towards the traditional house in the village beyond the pass, trying to escape from the rain.

Bread Making

We got to see traditional bread making by a group of women.

Handicrafts

Selling these kind of accessories and gifts provides extra income for the locals, although there are very few tourists who make it up this far.

Bread Tasting

In the end, we got to try the excellent bread, freshly made.

Dance

Followed by celebratory dancing for special occasions.

Healer

We also visited the local healer, who taught us about the powers of the indigenous herbs. A dance in which I participated also took place (no videos of this exist, not at all!)

Healer

The village hospital owner!

Village Guide

Our village guide, a local girl with excellent English skills and a good sense of humor.

Smile

Disclaimer: I didn't manage to get this shot, the kid preferred to pose for more approachable people than me...It's such a good photo I didn't want to exclude it from the series.

Suitcase Car

You have to get creative with your toys in the mountains.

Sunrise

The rain just a day earlier formed some puddles in the rocks and along the pass that made for great scenery in the morning.

Atmosphere

The sun appeared for just a few minutes between the horizon and the lower cloud layer, but what an appearance it was...

A Glimpse of the Sun

While my hope was to be able to capture the Milky Way at night, cloudy skies made my 4am alarm ring for nothing - I was rewarded with a beautiful sunrise for getting up anyway.

Soaking It Up

Could not resist to document this moment for myself.

Into The Valley

A view further down into the pass towards the South African border post.

Pass Panorama

The view over the pass with its final steep switchbacks at the end. Only 4x4s are allowed to drive it, and the total height covered is 1332 metres. Notice the small white car for scale!

Flowers

What species is this bird taking a rest on?

The Highest Pub in Africa

Back at the pass, this place features surprisingly good food and an unbeatable view.

Sani Mountain Lodge

With the pub and at the same time our residence for the night.

Cosy

Our room for the night was one of these huts.

The Inside

Very comfortable, and even in the summer (or so they call it) the fireplace was a necessity.

Village Toilet

Minimalist, but functional (I suppose, I did not try it).

Hyrax

A small hyrax family resting in the sun on the way down. These animals are closely related to elephants (as you will know if you read my blog carefully and regulalry).

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Durban

 

After the drive back down the pass, we had a few more hours to explore Durban, the third largest city of the country.

Durban Harbour

The third and last part of the journey was into Durban, the largest city in KwaZulu-Natal. One of its major features is the busiest port in South Africa.

Whilson's Wharf

A small waterfront complex with restaurants and shops, offering boat tours of the harbour as well.

Skyline Views

A flock of birds along the coastline pass in front of Boatman's Road.

Mode of Carrying

Keeping things on one's head is a common way to transport your grocery shopping.

Ingredients

For a meal or a healing potion? Who knows!

Hungry?

Things you can find in the Victoria market's meat section.

The Shop of Anything

If you need variety, this is the place...

Juma Masjid

Previously the largest mosque in South Africa, it was initially established on the site in 1881. One of the famous mini taxi buses is passing in front.

Emmanuel Cathedral

Just next to the Mosque is the main church of Durban.

Scenes

A typical view in front of Victoria market.

Moses Mabhida Stadium

The stadium was completed in 2009 for the World Cup in South Africa. The arch features a furnicular, the entrance of which is on the right. However, it was not operating, which was probably the most disappointing part of the trip.