Umkomaas & Aliwal Shoal

My final few days in South Africa were spent just south of Durban in the town of Umkomaas which is close to the famous Aliwal Shoals. Located about 30 miles south of Durban, Umkomaas is a small town that seems to be there primarily for the diving industry and I stayed at the Aliwal Dive Centre which had accommodation on site. This suited me fine as diving in KwaZulu Natal generally starts early and is finished by lunchtime as by then the sea has started to get a bit too rough.

Diving is normally from RIBs (Rigid Inflatable Boats) so groups are small and it’s a bit of fun getting to and from the dive sites. I prebooked 3 days diving (2 dives a day) and arrived around 6:30pm the night before where I met one of the Divemasters and a couple of other lads who were staying at the centre. After I put my luggage in my room, we went around the corner for something to eat before crashing out as it was an early start in the morning.

Aliwal Shoal has a reputation as one of the best dive sites in the world and is a hot spot for sharks so having spent the previous week viewing land predators, it was the turn of the their marine counterparts. The briefing was straightforward and we were soon off out to the first dive site. The marine life viewing started in spectacular fashion before we even reached the dive site with 3 humpbacked whales appearing close by so we took time to head over to them and took a few pictures. Soon they disappeared from view leaving us with the classic ‘whale tale’ view so on we headed to the dive site.

Diving on Aliwal Shoal tends to always involve a current and is always affected by surge so overall, its not ideal for taking photos. However, its something I always try to do and the area is particularly well known for rag-tooth and tiger sharks. My last dive had been in August last year so I started taking pictures of fairly mundane marine life just to get the camera settings correct. By the end of the 2nd dive, I had managed 6 pictures that I was happy with including a small scorpion fish that I nearly put my hand on, a paper fish which I’d never seen before and a turtle.

The following day, the sea was pretty rough with swells of around 3m, not ideal for me as I suffer a bit in small boats. Given the surface conditions, I was a bit surprised that underwater, it was better than the previous day. I managed to get pictures of a Manta Shrimp, a couple of Ramoras (the long thing fish that normally attach themselves to sharks), a video of a Rag-tooth Shark and a turtle eating some soft coral. All in all, it wasn’t a bad collection of pictures but back on the surface, I was a lot less comfortable and was very glad when we got back on dry land. A cooked breakfast and nice cup of tea soon sorted me out ready for an afternoon of laziness.

My third and final days diving saw the best conditions so far. The sea was very flat and visibility under the surface was much improved. Just prior to jumping in, we found a number of dolphins who predictably disappear as soon as the cameras were ready. Never mind, we had 50 minutes underwater ahead of us and in we went. As the previous 2 days, there was a surge and a current but there was also a variety of marine life and I managed to get photos of Potato Cod, Clown Fish, Sea Snake (back half), Scorpion Fish, Moray Eel and a partly hidden Octopus.

Not bad and we were soon back on board heading back to shore. However, June/July in KZN sees the annual Sardine Run and there had been reports of a large shoal about 100km south of us. On the way back we say some activity to the south and headed over to investigate. There we found a small shoal of sardines being attacked by a number of sharks. We also noticed that more and more fishermen were appearing on the coast. The arrival of the Sardines is a big event each winter and they are remorselessly attack by predators from land (humans), sea (dolphins, tuna, sharks, whales) and the air (gannets and other sea birds).

I decided to abandon the 2nd dive of the morning as I wanted to see something of the Sardine Run before I left. I had my breakfast, showered, changed and headed back to the coast. Most of the parking places and vantage points were busy by now and more people were arriving all the time as word of the sardines spread. After a while, I went back to the dive centre and they suggested I head further south so off I went and all along the coast road were fishermen parking up and I also saw people selling sardines from buckets that they had obviously caught earlier that day. Unfortunately, I didn’t see any ‘David Attenborough’ type action with regards to the Sardines but it was interesting nonetheless and I did get to see a little bit more of KZN.

The following morning, I enjoyed a bit of a lay in before the mammoth task of trying to pack everything into my suitcase. Over the last 2 weeks, I’d been given so many things it was a real challenge to get the suitcase closed, never mind under the 23kg limit. However, I eventually binned quite a lot of unwanted paper and the suitcase seemed quite light although the true test would come at check-in and the risk of excess baggage.

Before I left, I handed over the last of my England replica football shirts which were greatly appreciated. We often don’t realise just how hungry people all round the world are for English football so if you travel to these places and have some old football shirts that you no long want, passing them on to people in places like South Africa will be greatly appreciated. I checked out and as I had a few hours to kill before my flight, I headed up to a shopping centre just to the north of Durban for some last minute shopping.

If you would like to contact us for more information about, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa, please visit our website here (http://www.bigfive.explorertravel.co.uk/)

Umkomaas & Aliwal Shoal

Fugitives Drift Lodge

While down in South Africa, I was determined to see the battlefields of the Anglo Zulu war of 1879. Fugitives Drift was founded by David Rattray along with his wife Nicky and created an award winning lodge for visitors to savour this amazing story. Tragically, in January 2007, David was killed by an intruder but Fugitives Drift is a wonderful legacy to something he started with his wife Nicky and it still continues today. Rob Caskie has taken over as the main guide. Like David, Rob speaks fluent Zulu, knows the history inside out and is probably the finest story teller I’ve ever heard.

For those that don’t know, the two battles that I was interested in were the battle at Isandlwana when the Zulu army wiped out more than 1,300 British soldiers on 22nd January 1879. Later that day, just south of the Buffalo river, a smaller force of Zulus who had missed out on the action at Isandlwana, wanted their chance so against orders, they attacked Rorke’s Drift. This defensive action has gone down in the history of the British Army as one of its most remarkable battles which saw 11 Victoria Crosses award. Less than 140 British soldiers fought off around 4,000 Zulus in a battle that raged for hours. Both battles have been brought to the big screen with story of Isandlwana being told in the excellent Zulu Dawn. The better known film Zulu (starring Michael Caine) tells the story of Rorke’s Drift.

My stay at Fugitives Drift started with an afternoon tour of the Rorke’s Drift site. It’s a few miles from the Lodge and we started looking round the museum which was it hospital building at the time of the battle. As with most battlefield museums, there were various artefacts from the battle (rifles, bullets, buckles, spears etc) but the most striking thing I saw was a model of the battlefield. It showed the latter stages of the battle when the hospital had been evacuated and the British were defending the store behind their piles of mealie bags. The model showed a handful of red coated soldiers surround on all sides by Zulus several deep and this was the first time I’d really been able to visualise the battle properly. All the films and images I’ve seen in the past were usually close ups with a small number of people but this model gave an overall image which was quickly frankly, shocking.

Rob started the tour with an orientation, explaining how the landscape had changed since the battle and various important landmarks. To help visitors imagine the layout, there on lines of stones marking where various defensive lines were. Rob started the story explaining what Rorke’s Drift was and the reasons why it was attacked. In some ways, the story was the wrong way round as we heard about the second battle of the day first but it wasn’t really an issue. Rob’s launched into his story show passion and knowledge. He made the story so interesting and explored ideas and information that most of us who know a bit about Rorke’s Drift hadn’t even considered. He made you realise there was so much more to the battle than just a fight between black and white, British redcoat against Zulu warrior and from what I know of David Rattray’s reputation, I’m sure this how David used to tell the stories too. In all, the tour was around 3 hours and we all just sat listening to this wonderful story teller recounting the events of 22nd January 1879.

Back at the lodge, I took the opportunity to freshen up in my magnificent room. It really was a shame I couldn’t spend more time in the room as it was so comfortable but it was time for drinks just before dinner so I made my way to the dining room. This room is like a museum with pictures, flags, letters, weapons and much more covering the walls. The meal itself, like everywhere else I’ve eaten in South Africa, was superb. Everyone staying at the Lodge sat round the same table and I was sitting next to Rob and we chatted about a number of topics. It was a very pleasant evening but an early start the following morning meant it wouldn’t be a late night.

My 6:30am alarm call was a nice hot pot of tea being brought to my room (its nice to see some British traditions still live on). We had a nice warm breakfast before leaving for our morning tour of Isandlwana. This battlefield is across the Buffalo river and our guide was a Zulu called Joseph. This was a very different battlefield to Rorke’s Drift. It took place on a vast plan in the shadow of a mountain so the orientation took a lot longer as we first visited the museum before moving on the hill wear the Zulu commanders had stood 129 years ago. We moved on to the battlefield itself and parked up. Now the talk was going to be a couple of hours so we had deck chairs which we carried up the mountain to a vantage point which gave us a great view of the battlefield. However, the altitude was about a mile above sea level so it wasn’t the easiest climb I’d ever attempted.

Joseph, like Rob gave us a fascinating lecture and really helped us visualise the scene. He also said that although he was a Zulu, he wasn’t there to give ‘their side of the story’, he wanted to give us the facts about what happened, sometimes in quite graphic detail. At the appropriate times, he would echo the Zulu shouts that were made back in 1879 and as Joseph’s voice echoed around us, it brought even more realism to the setting. The story was fascinating. I listened to Joseph recite what was happening and my eyes wandered around the landscape which was littered with piles of white stones. These piles of stones are the graves of the British soldiers who were buried where the fell. Each pile of stones represented 6-8 men with the exception of 2 large piles which were for up to 40 men. The hard African soil meant it was impossible to dig anything but shallow graves for the men and pile stones on them.

After the talk was over, were had time to walk round some of the graves and memorials at Isandlwana before heading back for lunch. Again, all the guests present dined together and it was soon time for me to say good-bye and move on to my next destination. This was a fabulous destination and I probably could have done with spending another day there as there was a Zulu village to visit as well as the walk down to the Buffalo river where Lieutenants Melvill and Coghill lost their lives saving the Queen’s Colour of their regiment and years later became the first men to be posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross.

Sadly, I had to leave and so said my goodbyes and heading off for my scenic trip back through Zululand down to the coast. The previous day, Rob had told us how there was a time that when a white man in car was seen in this area, it usually meant they were lost. Today, there is an industry based on the work David and Nicky Rattray started which means there is a huge interest in those battles between the army of the biggest Empire the world has ever seen and the finest warriors Africa has ever produced.

Rob Caskie is travelling to England in October 2008 to speak at a number of venues in the London and Reading area. He has said that he will send me more details in due course and once I have them, I will be forwarding them via my Battlefield Explorer (http://www.battlefields.explorertravel.co.uk/) email list. If you would like to sign up for the newsletter, you can do so here (http://www.bbmexplorer.com/mailinglist.htm )

Fugitives Drift Lodge

Cleopatras Mountain Farmhouse

Hidden away in the stunning Drakensburg mountains in the Kamberg Valley near Giant’s Castle, you will find Cleopatras Mountain Farmhouse. This exclusive Gourmet mountain lodge is 200km from Durban airport and 450km from Johannesburg airport. I was driving down from Johannesburg and the journey took me just over 5 hours down the N3 toll road before turning off at Mooi River. From there, it was just under 30 miles and although the directions were good, it is better to do this part of the journey by daylight to make it easier to pick up the landmarks that are referred to in the directions.

Eventually, I arrived but as it was dark, I wasn’t able to fully appreciate the beauty of its location until the following morning. I’d also arrived too late for the 6 course evening meal which was a pity. There are 11 rooms at Cleopatras and each one is different. I was checked into room 2, the Scandinavian room and it was beautiful and reasonably spacious. It had been a long day so I soon got into my bed which was warmed by an electric blanket and went to sleep.

I woke up early as I had a long trip to Fugitives Drift ahead of me but first I wanted to have a look round. The morning mist hung over the surrounding mountains and I could see what a picturesque location this was. I made my way to the breakfast room where a splendid 3 course meal was served to set me up nicely for the day. The chef at Cleopatras prepares his food with flavour as his primary objective and I had to say that I was not disappointed. In fact, I can’t remember the last time I was served such a good breakfast.

Next it was time for a quick trip up to the top of the mountain although the view would be limited. However, it was clear enough to see that for anyone looking to spend a bit of time outdoors and enjoy wonderful food, Cleopatras is highly recommended. Activities available include walking in the Highmoor Nature Reserve, horse riding, horse stud tours & local adventures, fishing, helicopter rides, Bushman rock art, Crane rehabilitation centre and if you want to go out driving for the day, there are more than 180 stops on the Midlands Meander from wood turners, to potters, to cheesemakers, to weevers and more. Sadly, it was time to move on again and had a final chat with the staff before checking out and heading on my way to the Zulu Battlefields.

If you would like to contact us for more information about Cleopatras Mountain Farmhouse or other accommodation in the Drakensburg, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa, please visit our website here (http://www.big5.explorertravel.co.uk/)

Cleopatras Mountain Farmhouse

Hells Kitchen in South Africa

15 million people live in the gateway to South Africa but unfortunately we got to spend very little time here. For the rest of the group I was travelling with, this was to be their final night in South Africa before heading back home while I would be heading south into KwaZulu Natal for a second week in South Africa.

We checked into the Protea Hotel Balalaika in Sandton. I never did find the reason why the hotel has the same name as a Russian stringed musical instrument so if anyone can tell me, I’d like to know. Having been without access to shoe shops for much of the week, the girls in our group were straight off to the nearest shopping mall while I took the time to catch up with emails and news via the hotels WiFi connection.

As it was the final night of the Familiarisation trip, we all ate together in a restaurant next door. The food was excellent (as it had been all week) and the drink flowed pretty freely. After the meal ended, we moved back to the hotel bar and I enjoyed a few bottles of Castle at incredibly cheap prices. Eventually, we called it a night as we had one last activity in Johannesburg before heading back to the airport where the rest of my group would fly home and where I would collect my hire car to head down to KwaZulu Natal.

The activity was a cook off hosted by Samp & Souflee (http://www.sampsouffle.com/). We met up with 2 other groups who had also been to South Africa for the past week and from there were split up into 3 groups. The idea was that each group would be responsible for preparing a course for a 3 course meal under the guidance of a chef. Our group was responsible for the main course and making the bread for the soup. The main course was venison (Impala) with an assortment of vegetables and paleta (basically, mashed up sweet corn). Our group worked pretty well together and for what looked to be a very nice meal, it was surprising how little time and effort it actually took to make. Things like this make you realise just how lazy we are when it comes to convenience food. Proper cooking doesn’t actually take too much longer and it was good fun.

All courses of the meal were wonderful and at the end of it, we had time to chat and relax which was a nice way to end an excellent week. We were also presented with a few momentos of the day; an apron, oven gloves, a jar of sauce, a BBQ tool set as well as some brochures. With time pressing, we loaded up and headed back to the airport. From here, my new found friends would fly back to the UK and I would continue my adventure in South Africa for another week.

If you would like to contact us for more information about seeing the Big Five in South Africa, please visit our website here (http://www.big5.explorertravel.co.uk/)

Hells Kitchen in South Africa

Dawsons Game & Trout Lodge

Dawson Lodge is situated near Badplaas about 4 hours from Johannesburg in a beautiful setting surrounded by hills and a trout lake. In addition to the Lodge, there is also a cottage next to the trout lake which is ideal for anyone who wants to fish for trout. Most of the group stayed at the Lodge while I stayed down at the cottage. It’s a self-catering unit which is very well equipped and even has satellite TV.

We arrived late afternoon so there wasn’t much time to do anything after check-in before diner was ready. Prior to dinner, we were invited to watch the chef show us how to prepare a trout which although I’m not fish eater, was very interesting. Its always amazing how simple professionals make their job look.

As with everywhere we’ve stayed, the food was wonderful and the whole group dined together on one long table which added to the atmosphere.

The following morning after an excellent breakfast, there was the option to take part in various activities such as archery, quad bikes and horse riding but most people decided to enjoy the opportunity to sleep in a bit later than we have able to all week. I’d woken up early to try to take some pictures as the sun rose. It’s a wonderful sight in the African wilderness to wake up as it gets light and then to see the shadows cast by the mountains retreat as the sun rise. The morning mist soon disappeared and a glorious blue sky was soon in its place.

If you would like to contact us for more information about fly-fishing and other activities in Mpumalanga, South Africa, please visit our website here (http://www.big5.explorertravel.co.uk/)

Dawsons Game & Trout Lodge

Mala Mala Game Reserve

After the 1 hour flight from Johannesburg, the journey from Nelspruit took around 2.5 hours but once we arrived, it proved to be well worth the effort. Mala Mala was South Africa’s first private game reserve and borders Kruger National Park’s western boundary and is well established as a premier safari destination in southern Africa and the world. There are 3 accommodation options at Mala Mala; first is Rattray’s on Mala which is a small exclusive camp accommodating a maximum of just 16 guests at any one time. No children under the age of 16 are allowed. Second is Sable Camp which is another small exclusive camp although the age limit for children here is 12. Finally, there is Mala Mala Main Camp, where we were booked in. Although it is a larger camp, it retains an intimate atmosphere with a capacity of just 36 guests and it is a child friendly camp.

We arrived quite late in the afternoon and after check-in we opted to go out on a game drive although by now it was practically dark and the chances of seeing much were greatly reduced.. Just before we left, we were briefly introduced to Michael Rattray who founded Mala Mala over 40 years ago. He had just finished a work out in the gym – not bad for a 76 year old, he pointed out. Mr Rattray also added that although it was not an ideal time, if we didn’t go out on a drive, we definitely wouldn’t see any game. I personally didn’t expect to see much but it was the chance to drive out in the open air in Africa and I hadn’t come all this way to sit in a hotel room. As it happened, we got lucky. After about an hour, we got a report that a leopard had hidden a kill from earlier in a tree which we found. We sat and waited for a while to see if the leopard would appear and although we didn’t see the mother, one of her cubs made an appearance. After a few minutes, we relocated to try to get closer and after a while we ended up just 20 metres from the cub who by now was relaxing in a tree. We just sat and watched this beautiful animal for a while and I still don’t know how our tracker managed to spot him.

Eventually, we headed back to camp where we were due to have a Boma. The food and drinks were excellent and all the staff working tireless to make sure nothing was left unattended. When it was time for bed, the wardens walked us back to our rooms. As we were reminded, Mala Mala is a lodge in the middle of a game reserve and as such, animals can come and go through the camp as they please.

The following morning started early with a 6:30am call as our morning game drive was due to start at 7:00am. In addition to the drive, we would also have breakfast in the bush. The drive was fantastic. Not only did we see the Big Five – Lion, Leopard, Buffalo, Elephant and Rhino, we also had the added bonus of a rare Cheetah sighting as well as Zebra and many other smaller birds and animals. In all we were out for 5 hours so when we got back, it was time for lunch. We were briefly entertained by a pair for Vervet Monkeys jumping from tree to tree but moments later a large heard of elephant walk past the hotel terrace less than 200m away.

This set us up very nicely for the afternoon/evening game drive but not before we spent half an hour looking round the other camp, Rattrays on Mala Mala. This is there exclusive camp with a capacity of just 16 guests. The rooms are even more spectacular that the suites at Mala Mala with guests having a private plunge pool, TV and internet access in the rooms. The view from the rooms over looks part of the Sand River so it is a great place to combine relaxation and game viewing.

We moved on to the evening game drive and we were lucky enough to see some giraffe up close and as night fell we moved down towards the river where we found a hippo grazing on the land. This is one of Africa’s most dangerous animals and we sat and watched him from only a few metres away for quite a while before moving on.

That night, we ate around the Boma again and I was very fortunate to sit next to the CEO and founder of Mala Mala, Mr Rattray and his wife. Our meal was briefly interrupted by a small scorpion appearing on the table next to Mrs Rattray but it was dealt with and we had a wonderful evening listening to his stories about life in Africa as well as many other things.

The following morning, there was time for one final game drive before we were due to check out and the highlight was finding a female leopard and its cub who were quite comfortable to have our vehicle positioned less than 10m away and this gave an excellent opportunity for some close up pictures. We headed back to camp and were given a tour of the facilities before leaving.

I can’t speak highly enough of Mala Mala, everything and everyone who is involved with the place.

My Big Five sightings at Mala Mala:
Day 1: Elephant, Leopard
Day 2: Elephant, Leopard, Lion, Rhino, Buffalo
Day 3: Leopard

If you would like to contact us for more information about seeing the Big Five in South Africa, please visit our website here (http://www.big5.explorertravel.co.uk/)

Mala Mala Game Reserve

London Heathrow Terminal 5

Its common knowledge that Terminal 5 had its fair share of problems but in recent weeks the criticism has stopped which generally means that things are starting to work properly. So when it was announced that I would be flying to South Africa on British Airways as part of my destination familiarisation trip, I was actually looking forward to using the terminal to see what all the fuss was about.

Terminal 5 is an impressive, spacious building currently servicing a number of British Airways destinations. There were plenty of check-in machines and counters making the process very easy. Before going to security, there were a number of facilities including foreign exchange counters, shops and cafes.
Getting through security was reasonably quick and this led through to the duty free shops and other facilities. There was a good selection of bars and cafes although I didn’t notice a pub/bar that you would find in most UK airports. There were a couple of places that you could buy beer but these were primarily eating establishments.

It was pretty hard to find fault with the terminal. Everything ran smoothly so it seems that they have got over the problems that were so well reported in the first couple of weeks after it opened. However, it is not running at full capacity yet so it will be interesting to see if they still run that smoothly on a regular basis once British Airways have moved all the flights over there.

For the latest information about British Airways and its operations from Heathrow Terminal 5, please visit their website here

London Heathrow Terminal 5