The wildlife experience at the Manyeleti Game Reserve with the Tintswalo Safari Lodge has been beyond expectations, if you need a proof look below.

African Lion, Manyeleti Game Reserve, South Africa

Some of my encounters have been so close I actually shot with the normal (18-55 mm) lens rather than the 75-300. However the above picture has been shot by the 75-300. We were so close to two sleeping lions that we could hear them breathe. This one just lifted its head once or twice and then went back to sleep completely unconcerned about two jeeps full of human beings.

A Sleepy African Lion at the Manyletei Game Reserve, South Africa

Folks I have no internet in my room and I am typing this from the lobby and my colleagues are waiting for dinner. So have to go. Two more days in South Africa but the safaris have come to an end. You can never go back home the same person after visiting South Africa!

                          

So it is time so say goodbye to Durban. I had a great time at INDABA 2013 and I like what I saw of Durban, which is very little. I sincerely wish that this is just the beginning of my relationship with the continent. It is a warm (not weather wise right now) and lovely place.

Durban at Night, South Africa

I was not sure how would I feel at INDABA 2013 as this was my first time for attending a big trade event and I certainly didn’t expect that I would miss it. But I am surely going to miss the buzz of the place. Here almost everyone talks about Corporate Social Responsibility and Conservation. It is part of the everyday vocabulary. I wish it was so in India too. And there are exciting things to look forward to from tomorrow. We are heading to the Manyeleti Game Reserve.

Wild Encounters, Durban, South Africa

I am now absolutely looking forward to the wild encounters in South Africa! I have a 4.00 am check out time to catch an early morning flight and before that I have to get up and pack as well. It is already 1.48 am in India and I am for sure sleepy. So I will keep this short. I am really excited and looking forward to my safaris and the bush experience. See you all from Manyeleti which boarders Kruger.

                          

I arrived at Durban really tired and crumpled. And by the time I could even vaguely take stock it started raining. And it rained for more than a day almost continuously. And then today morning when I very reluctantly opened my eyes this was the view that greeted me right out of my hotel window!

Sunrise from my Hotel Window, Durban

I hope I get a similar view tomorrow and that I wake up less reluctantly as well. I have also spotted birds around the area but I do not promise that I will get up early enough to click pictures!

uShaka Marine World, Durban, South Africa

And then in the evening we had a few hours to spare. It was bright and sunny, a lovely day to roam around. We first visited a local flea market. It was so colorful, I love the African colors, they are so vibrant and earthy. I also find it simply amazing the way people carry those bright colors here. After that we to the uShaka Marine World and took a stroll around. There I saw this gondola on the water as the sun was turning everything to gold!

Durban, South Africa

We then went to the beach and it was such a good decision. It was full of people, today being Sunday, and a great place to take a stroll. I wish I would see the view through the eyes a little more, rather than primarily through the viewfinder. And that is going to be my ‘note to self’ for today as well.

The Pier at uShaka Marine World, Durban

After standing for a while my colleagues realized I would not stop clicking pictures unless they dragged me away, literally. So they offered if we chould walk by the beach to go back to our hotel. I readily agreed. They were almost always walking ahead of me and waiting with impatience while I tried to click one more shot!

Walking on the Beach, Durban, South Africa

It has been a day well spent first at INDABA 2013 and then later as we explored Durban on a sunny day. Tomorrow we explore parts of Durban with South Africa Tourism and I am so looking forward to it.

                          

If you have visited this blog before you know I mostly don’t post pictures of people. But at INDABA 2013 there are so many people and so many people with camera that I too tried my luck at clicking people. So come see some faces at INDABA 2013 on Day 1, come meet South Africa.

Sand Sculpting, INDABA 2013, Durban

This was right before the Tourism Minister of South Africa Marthinus van Schalkwyk was about to address the media. I love the colors I have seen till now and how I am waiting to see more.

Marthinus van Schalkwyk, Tourism Minister of South Africa

This is the tourism minister of South Africa- Marthinus van Schalkwyk, and he addressed the media in the morning and was there at the opening ceremony of INDABA 2013 as well. You can see how difficult it was to click a picture of his! For this one too, I requested someone to move so that I could also click a picture!

The Smile Says it All! INDABA 2013, Durban

I have often red that you can stand in a corner with a camera and photograph people walking by. I never tried it before but it works, at least if it is quite crowded. Hardly anyone noticed me!

I Wanna Dance, INDABA 2013, Durban

I have to say South African music rocks, for even a stone statue like me goes foot tapping! This person was ready to dance at the hosted dinner in the evening.

The Dancing Gandma, INDABA 20313, Durban

At the opening ceremony there was a point when almost the entire auditorium stood up and danced. This grandma was up and dancing much before that!

I Hope it was Not Loaded, INDABA 2013, Durban

No I do not know what he was doing, all I was sure of was that it was not loaded and he was pointing it at the other photographer who dared to take a picture! Just kidding he was posing for the other photographer.

The Model and the Product! INDABA 2013, Durban

You decide what you like more, the model or the product? She was also modelling for someone else and I just gate crashed their photo shoot.

Colorful Attire, INDABA 2013, Durban

He was walking out of the auditorium after the opening ceremony of INDABA 2013 and after clicking I showed him the picture. He gave me a smile and a big thank you and walked on.

Lovely Smile, INDABA 2013, Durban

She was cat walking along a stall where a fashion show was taking place. And when she saw that I was taking a picture, she paused for a while and gave the camera that lovely smile!

Beautiful Women, South Africa

And to end this post, here are three beautiful women at Durban, South Africa. If you were to pick up a favorite, what would you choose?

                          

I arrived at the Durban Airport dead tired. And you cannot blame me. I first took a flight from Delhi to Mumbai which landed there around 7.00 pm. Then at 2.am I tool the Mumbai Johannesburg flight. Reached Johannesburg at around 7.00 am (South Africa time) and then took a 11. 00 am flight. By now my mind was a mess. Till I saw this Zulu dance the airport which was for the delegates attending INDABA 2013. I am looking forward to INDABA (which literally means a conference, originates from Zulu word meaning ‘a matter for discussion’). And I used to think that INDABA is an acronym

A Zulu Dance at the Durban Airport

Enjoy the dance and the energy while I go and enjoy some sleep.

                          

Finally all the chips have fallen in place and now I am South Africa bound. Tomorrow I take the flight from Mumbai to Johannesburg and then to Durban. OK before that a flight from Delhi to Mumbai as well! Durban is the first stop on this trip. I am part of a media delegation attending INDABA 2013 from India. After that we go on a tour of the Panorama Route and  Manyeleti Game Reserve which I am told borders Kruger National Park.

As usual I got the visa just yesterday when my flight is scheduled for tomorrow. It certainly gave me some jittery moments. I am not at all good at waiting for visas. I actually applied for the visa between the Sri Lanka and the Shillong trip. It was very kind of the organizers to pick up the forms and and apply for it on my behalf.

And yesterday at 8.30 pm I got to know that I got my visa. As I did not apply it on my own, I was unaware of the tracking number. Otherwise I refresh the site so many times, it is a wonder they don’t crash!

To say that I am excited is an understatement. I am really truly excited as this is my first trip to that part of the world!

I have to say this has to be a post without pictures as I have none yet. As I would be catching a lot of flights I might miss posting on a few days. But once I am in Durban I think I will get back to blogging.

When I started blogging in 2005 never even in my wildest dreams I imagined it will fetch me such trips! Someone up there is having a kind eye on me! Really happy and thankful for the travel opportunities that have been coming my way.

                          

I recently went to Sri Lanka with my younger nephew who is also known as Brat 2. Of course there is a Brat 1, his elder brother, and there are two more, Brats 3 and 4. Brat 3 is my niece and 4 my daughter. The numbering is according to the age, Brat 1 being eldest and Brat 4 is the youngest. It is difficult to say who is the biggest brat of them all. The first time we traveled together it was Brat 1 and 2 with my husband I and we trekked through Goa. At that point I was taller than Brat 2 and he is 6 feet 3 now! Both of them were in school then.

I have a theory, the kids who start speaking late try to make it up for the rest of their lives. Brat 2 and my daughter both fall in that category. Brat 2 started speaking quiet late and so did Brat 4, Chhavi. And now both of them can talk to themselves! Brat 3 (my niece) also is on the quieter side  and I shudder to think when she tries to catch up.

The last Brat 1, 2 and I traveled together was to Barog in 2009, they were college students then. Now both of them work! I had almost forgotten what fun it is to travel with them.

Brat 2 and I at Galle, Sri Lanka

At Sri Lanka almost all the time there was a constant chatter next to me! As I said he can talk to himself if need be and a topic is not necessary! And when I went to Shillong right after it, it was way too quiet for my liking. I actually like peace and quiet. I can happily be by myself but traveling on one trip after the other, one with a chatter box and one without, brought out a different perspective.

Brat 2 has done an internship in Russia and on the Unawatuna roads he would often say to me, “Bua that person is a Russian.” He said it so many times that I got openly skeptical!

Prakash, The Boatman at Koggala Lake, Sri Lanka

Then came a boat ride where the young lad who steered the boat told us, “Ninety percent of the tourists in this region are Russian. And I am learning Russian.” And after that I just had it, he kept telling me, “Why would you believe me? It has to be another person who has to say the same.”

Brat 1 has yet not got a passport neither has Brat 4 but one day I want to travel with all the four and see how it goes! Hopefully I will still have some black hair on my head after such a trip. In the end I have to traveling with chatter boxes is a lot of fun!

                          

I am becoming brave these days! I saw this lady at a hotel in Cherrapunji and asked her if I could click her picture. She came out of the front desk and posed for me in her pretty Jaisem, the traditional dress of Meghalaya!

Jainsem- Traditonal Dress of Meghalaya for Women

We also asked front desk ladies at another hotel if it was difficult to tie and they said no it was not. How pretty it looks!

                          

I had heard of Mawsmai Cave even before I headed to Shillong. Last year another colleague had done this trip and was singing praises of it. So I was looking forward to our day off and our trip to Cherrapunji. The route was scenic and I have discovered a new thing. I can survive on mountain routes these days with just half a Avomine and it leaves me less drowsy. That way I can enjoy the route more. As we stopped many times along the route we reached the Mawsami Caves almost at the lunch hour.

Welcome to Mawsmai Caves, Cherrapunji,Meghalaya

There is a small entry free (I think Rupees 20) to visit the caves. As I was saying thank you to the person at the counter he said to me, duck your head and enjoy. I laugh and said I would do so. Little did I realize how much ducking there was to do!

The Entrance, Mawsmai Caves, Cherrapunji

The entrance was wide and beautiful. The cave looked big and spacious, and talk about the first looks being deceptive! I have visited limestone caves in Andaman (near Baratang) too but somehow I never took pictures at that occasion. This time I was determined to get more pictures. At Baratang we needed a guide but here the cave is well lit and you can walk on your own.

Mawsmai Caves, Cherrapunji Meghalaya

However, what I didn’t expect was dampness and the water trickle inside. It was well lit actually and there was a bridge too at one portion. But even then at places it was wet, cold and a little airless. Best was there were passages that looked practically impassable. And one of our colleagues was really tall! And what of him, at places I thought I would not be able to squeeze through. He went out much ahead of me. In fact, I was last person to get out as I kept clicking pictures. My other colleague who just went ahead of me in the end gave me a call, asking if I would ever get out!

Mawsmai Caves, Meghalaya

This picture was taken quite close to the exit and all of us were happy to be out in the sunshine again. I asked my tall colleague how did he fare? He said was fine apart from thinking he might slip but he did not in the end.

There was another cave that was unlit but none of my colleagues showed any interest in it. So we walked away to our cab and I properly understood why the person at the counter advised us to duck our heads. The cave is quite big and full of Stalactites and Stalagmites sprouting everywhere. If you are in the region do go.

                          

Sri Lanka has some beautiful beaches and Mirissa is one of them. This is in South Sri Lanka about 150 km from Colombo Airport. Enjoy the blue sea and the blue skies from Mirissa for today’s Sky Watch.

 Mirissa Beach, Sri Lanka

Do check out the Sky Watch Friday theme and take part.