Two Minutes from the Panorama Route, Mpumalanga, South Africa
We visited the beautiful Panorama Route in the Mpumalanga region and a lot of us thought we need to spend one day per attraction rather than the one day we got for all the attractions! Enjoy this two minute video from the roads of the Panorama Route in South Africa.
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I am not a sunrise person, there was a time when I could blissfully sleep through all the sunrises in the world. But that was before I started playing ‘photographer.’ I now try to get up at sunrise as I know it often makes for beautiful pictures. Doing so in Durban was not too difficult anyway as they are three and a half hours behind us. So getting up at six there meant 9.30 India time which is not bad at all.
Sunrise from my Hotel Window, at Durban, South Africa
I was staying at Southern Sun Elangani and what an incredible view I had! And before you start wondering how come I went to such a far away place from India, I was invited by South Africa Tourism. And since I came back (this Sunday) I have been dreaming of the place and of ways to go back again!
I also remember very clearly that this was the day of the CEO Breakfast at INDABA 20313 and we had a very early start. So the picture was clicked in extreme hurry, as I did not want to be late and make others wait for me! This was also clicked handheld with a 75-300 zoom. I forgot the tripod at home and I wanted to kick myself for it. But on this day there was anyway no time to set up a tripod. Some excuse I say!
PS. This post is part of Sky Watch Friday, check it out.
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At the end of most of the trips I am happy to go home, so I was really surprised when I was torn between going home and staying for longer. And even now I have such a strong South Africa hangover that it barely registers that in about two weeks I would be trekking in Nepal again. So why do I miss South Africa so?
Those Happy Smiles
10. For the Warm People and Smiles: Every where I went I found people who would smile and generally be happy. How can I not miss it? And this is just the beginning.
Musicians, Durban, South Africa
9. For South African Music: If you have been reading this blog even for a little while have you ever and I mean ever seen me talk music? And here I am talking about missing music. You tell me you did see me posting a music/dance video not so long ago? Well my dear friend it was after all a Dance from South Africa!
Sunset, Manyeleti Game Reserve, South Africa
8. Those Sunsets and Starry Nights: Sunset and night sky in South Africa is epic but my pictures are not and they do no justice. In fact I don’t have one of the starry night. But that is one sight I still carry in my eyes.
The Souvenir Shops, Panorama Route, South Africa
7. Those Souvenir Shops: I am not much of a shopper and by my standards I shopped a lot at South Africa. Many small things for family, some fabulous earrings for me. How I miss those vibrant colors that the shops put on display! We had to drag each-other away from the shops most of the time!
Good Food
6. Food: Once again how many times have you seen me discussing food? I am a vegetarian on top of it as well. And South Africa is by no means a country for vegetarians. They have exotic meats and would pity you if you do not eat it. But once the folks knew there were a bunch of vegetarians in our group they would always find stuff for us, stuff that tasted good. Also plenty to drink and I am glad I discovered Amarula. So much so that on my flight back instead of my usual wine I asked for Amarula which got a chuckle from the cabin crew!
5. The Hospitality and the Sense of Humor: South African sense of humor is over the top! If you ask which bird was that- the answer could be ‘flying bananas’! I will show you a flying banana a bit later, there were cool bananas and simply bananas too! And these are the tame stories I am telling you!
The Roads, Panorama Route, South Africa
4. The Roads: Every nation I visit I get impressed by their roads. And yes you can go ahead and say that is because I am from India. I specially miss the roads from the panorama route! They seem to reach beyond the horizon. And look at the amount of traffic? Why would I not miss them! And their sense of driving is so civilized.
Listening to Erick on the Bush Walk, Manyeleti Game Reserve, South Africa
3. The Bush Walk and the Talks: I simply love walking. After all I pay money to walk when I go on my treks! And the bush walk at the Manyeleti Game Reserve with Erick was something equally special! So were the talks we had in our group! One among us wanted to become a chef so that he could stay back as ‘much in demand Indian chef’ in town. I wanted to check out the local universities and another person wanted to volunteer. We wanted to hire a caravan and drive through Botswana! Those walks and talks!
The Red Billed Hornbill, Mayeleti Game Reserve, South Africa
2. The Small Things: I miss the small sightings. This is a Red Billed Hornbill and its yellow billed cousin is also known as the flying banana in that part of the world.
1. And the Big things: This was the sight that greeted us as soon as we arrived at the Tintswalo Safari Lodge! After a long photo session I realized that I dropped my handbag right in the middle of the path and simply ran to the fence which was about 20 feet away from these magnificent African elephants! Can you blame me for missing South Africa?
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My first glimpse of Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban came quickly after landing at Durban. I was supposed to attend (as a listener) the #MeetSouthAfrica blogging event but my flight was late. I managed to get to hear only the last two speakers. Then the snacks and wine was served. I was really excited about being in the stadium as it was one of the World Cup Football 2010 stadiums. So I took out my snacks through the door that opened to the stadium. Imagine having your snacks all alone in such a location!
Inside Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban
OK, there were four other people inside the stadium all clicking pictures or having their drinks/snacks! But this was not my last encounter with the stadium, I was back for more fun at the end of my stay at Durban when we went on to the arch in the SkyCar!
Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban, South Africa
The SkyCar travels along the arch and leaves you high up on a viewing platform. The fee as of now is 55 Rand for an adult (one Rand varies between 6 to 7 rupees) and when we visited there was no queue. We actually formed the queue as we were 10 plus two guides. The only other tourist was a young girl on her own. It was late in the evening and I was quite excited about the views as well as the light!
Durban City from the Viewing Platform, Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban
I don’t know how it has happened but these days when I reach a place I am interested in photography first and seeing later. I know this is a bad strategy but that is how things are and I am not even try to change it. After a while at this trip I had a feeling I saw more through the view finder of the camera than with the eyes. Not good but I guess it is not changing as well in the near future. The grand panoramas on all sides excited me even though I feel my pictures are not a patch on the actual scene.
Durban City, Another View from Moses Mabhida Stadium
The view all around was lovely with the sun that was about half an hour from setting. I was wondering if we would stay there till sunset but it was not to be. I could have spent half a day there. All too soon it was time to get down.
SkyCar Tracks, Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban
If you are in Durban, do check out the Moses Mabhida Stadium. SkyCar is just one of the fun activities that you can do. There is much more check out the Moses Mbhida Stadium page to find out what is going on.
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If you are reading this in Delhi I know how you feel, we are reeling at 45-46 degree Celsius and escape is constantly on our minds. After all it is the perfect time for family travel. The temperatures are scorching, the schools are closed and that big family trip can be planned now! Above all most of us want to escape the heat, if only for a few days.
Whether you prefer the package holidays or you swear by DIY time is just right to get away. There are plenty of tour packages from Delhi both for India and abroad. However, if you are stubborn like me and would still like to go the DIY route there are even more options waiting to be explored.
However when was the last time when you traveled during summer vacations to one of the popular tourist spots within India? Do you remember the crowds? And the rush in the trains? Cheap train tickets make destinations affordable for everyone but given the capacity of our railway system summer train travel becomes one of the most challenging thing. Also all the tickets to the trains are almost gone by now and if you even have wait list 1 chances are no one will cancel their long planned holiday. This has actually happened to a friend. She had wait list 1 on a South bound train and it remained firmly stuck there.
Escape to the Hills!
Also there was a time when summer vacation meant a visit to the favorite aunt and spending time with cousins. I still remember those summers, where I would climb up the mango or the blueberry (jamun to be precise), get bruises and cuts and enjoy large family meals. Such holidays are probably not so popular any longer? I am told that many parents in the metro cities feel compelled to take a vacation abroad otherwise their child will feel left out after everyone returns to school and starts talking about their foreign trips. Times are surely changing.
So given the scenario I approach the summer vacation trips a bit gingerly. I remember being stuck at Joshimath during summer with my husband and both of us were really taken aback by the number of people we saw at the place. It was packed to capacity, lunch time meant most restaurants would be full. It also meant a lot of litter thrown around. Hotel prices would also head sharply in northerly direction. Even the most basic hotel would come at a steep price.A few trips like this and we started avoiding the main places during the school holidays. This trip to Joshimath was actually a short one as we were heading on a trek after two days of rest and those two days were more than enough.
In Search of Peace
But now we have our school going daughter, and summer vacations are slowly climbing back on our charts. She is still in KG 2 so we are fine, we just take her on small trips and we take turns to go trekking. But there will be a time when we will have to make our peace with traveling in summer time. Till then we are not venturing out to any mainstream place during the summer holidays in India.
What is your take? Are you brave enough to go to popular tourist places during the school holidays?
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As we got down from the car Erick started loading the rifle. He took out three bullets and told me, one is for you, the second is for this lady and the third is for her. Then he turned towards the only male member of the group and told him, “I am sorry I have nothing for you, if trouble comes, you have to run!” The rifle was actually for protection, if need be, for our walk. We all hoped it would not be used and it was not.
When we were given the option to walk in the bush four of us took it. In South Africa bush is an apt name for their jungle as the growth is low and trees only a few. And how I am missing them now! Manyeleti Game Reserve and Tintswalo Lodge is always going to be special for me for it was my first glimpse into the South African wildlife.
The bush walk was the only time in our entire safari when we did not want to see any animals. But it was interesting to watch various pug marks and their characteristics. We also talked about a lot of plants and their use in African life and the feeling was quite similar to the way we talk about the plants and their medicinal values in India!
At one point Erick started going round in a circle. I immediately asked him, why was he doing that, making us behave like sheep? We all went round in the circle too! This trick has been played on me at a tour of Manchester United Stadium as well. So this time I was wiser. We all had a good laugh over it!
The walk ended at a pond where we counted 13 hippos! Erick first told the hippos loudly, “Open you mouth” repeatedly. When that effort failed to produce any effect he tried to mimic the hippos and I captured his efforts on a video.
Erick Calling Hippos
The hippos remained submerged for most of the times. But it was an absolute pleasure to watch them going about their business. Also we had coffee, tea and warmer things as well at the spot. What fun it was to have tea with the hippos on my birthday! I have seen their pug marks too and they are huge. I asked Erick if they attack humans and he said no, not unless we stood between a hippo and their water. Otherwise they eat grass and such stuff.
Submerged Hippos in a Pond, Manyeleti Game Reserve, South Africa
Usually at the end of a trip I am eager to go home. South Africa was an exception, it was 50-50, half of me wanted to go home and the other half stay back and explore the bushes.
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I started 'Travel Tales from India' my India Travel Blog in 2005 and it has become an anchor for my travel writing. My blog was once linked at BBC and The Guardian. All my stories published at Gonomad can be viewed from my writer profile page. In December 2010 I featured in a National Geographic Skoda Yeti Video. My blog was voted the best Travel Indiblogin 2006. You can write to me at mridulablog at gmail dot com For advertising queries please check out my advertising page.