I arranged to stay a full third day in the park since I had yet to see a rhino, let alone a leopard. Luckily, Livingstone Trails could accommodate my request. It was also nice to relax into the rhythm of each day, now that I knew the routine.

Highlights on day 3 [...]

It’s amazing how much of a sense of security a chain link fence provides. I slept well my first night in the park, if only for 5-6 hours. Around 6am, we received our new arrivals while several people left. Since Livingstone Trails offers daily departures from Jo’burg to Kruger Park, there [...]

Up at 5am, on the road to the park by 5:30am, and in the gate when it opened at 6am, we dropped our backpacks and sleeping bags off at Livingstone Trails’ permanent camp within the park, and climbed aboard a modified Toyota pick-up for our first morning game drive. Our safari guide was named Stuart, [...]

The price for my hasty departure from Gemini Backpackers was a 5:30am pick-up, and another full day of driving. The thought of having to spend another night in the dreary dorm was enough to get me out of bed on time. Gideon, the driver for Livingstone Trails, then spent the next two [...]

Three nights in the Drakensberg were enough for me, however due to the Baz bus schedule between Durban and Jo’burg, I was required to spend a fourth day and night. I was satisfied with the two day tours, and spent my free day writing and hanging around the lodge (bored). In the [...]

My companions for the Hodgson’s Peak hike in Lesotho were an an American family from Denver, Colorado. Mark, a geologist, and his wife, Mary Jo, were visiting their daughter Whitney who was finishing up a semester abroad at the University of Cape Town.

We jumped in a Land Rover at the Sani Lodge around 7:30am, and [...]

I departed Durban for the Sani Pass Lodge, a great jumping off point for tours into Lesotho and hikes in the southern Drakensberg Mountains. The elevation is about 1,500 meters. I decided to spend my first day on a 5-hour return hike to see some San rock art in its natural environment.

The [...]

I chose to stay at Tekweni Backpackers, yet another party hostel, due to its proximity to restaurants along a popular street a mere block away. It thrilled me even more to find a swanky, one month old internet cafe nearby as well. I wrote off sightseeing in Durban long ago, considering the required metropolitan stopover [...]

I joined about eight other guys on the ten minute walk to the villager’s home where we would be entertained and fed. We sat outside for a few minutes, sampling the local brew (the best I’ve tried so far, though using a communal cup is getting old), before entering the rondavel.
 

As the sun [...]

The weather was great when I woke up to my second morning in Bulungula. Despite my ready desire to leave after two nights, I was surprised to find my ride out of the village would leave immediately after breakfast. At the time, I foolishly thought a more touristy destination would be better. I said goodbye [...]