May 19 - Hippos

We needed to be on the road by 7:00 a.m., so the last night, we chose the items for our “to go” breakfast box. Coffee and tea were delivered to each room shortly after 6:00 a.m., and as we left, we were handed beautiful red boxes and a second coffee/tea serving. The Oyster Box knows how to do service.

We travelled through countryside with enormous sugar cane, banana, and orange plantations. Agriculture is a huge sector of the South African economy. We passed a massive sugar cane processing plant that makes both raw sugar and syrups for drinks. There are many eucalyptus tree plantations here too. After massive clearcutting in the late 1800s, proper reforestation practices were implemented, and tight controls placed on harvesting. It was clear to see the different stages of growth – young trees, mid-growth trees, mature trees.

One distinctive thing we saw on most properties was a round house with a peaked roof, known as a rondavel. These round houses are used for spiritual ceremonies where the people attempt to commune with their ancestors who have passed on. When not in use, these houses serve as extra sleeping place or they are used for storage.

We saw a rather unusual sight – we saw hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of trucks loaded with coal inching their way along, fortunately going the opposite direction, towards a weighing station. From there, they would be going to the coal-fired electricity plant. The rail system here in South Africa is very poor – rails laid got stolen for their scrap value by desperately poor people, so what rudimentary system there was became unusable. Hence, the very inefficient and expensive coal transport system that we saw. There are some serious infrastructure issues in South Africa.

We stopped for a rest break at a service centre. The whole area was being patrolled by burly guys carrying machine guns. Chronic unemployment breeds desperation which in turn breeds crime, and with a lot of cash around, this would be a prime target. We scuttled out of there as fast as possible. The vibe was slightly unsettling.

Our destination was the little town of St. Lucia. A World Heritage Site, iSimangaliso Wetland Park (the former Greater St. Lucia Wetlands Park) incorporates an astonishing variety of habitats from the Ubombo Mountains to grasslands, forests, wetlands, mangroves and ancient dunes, magnificent beaches and coral reefs. The drive into the park area was interesting as we had to constantly slow down for cows, donkeys and goats wandering on the road, and impala and nyala (both are types of antelope) in the fields. We unfortunately dinged a monkey just as we got to the park. Behki checked later but didn’t see an injured monkey, so we are going to assume that it escaped the encounter. The van needed a couple of zip ties to refasten something in the front end.

We had a 10:00 a.m. booking on a boat to cruise up the estuary. Our aim was to see hippos, maybe a crocodile and to enjoy the prolific birdlife.

We did spy one crocodile nestled on the shore and lots of birds and some lizards, but the best part of the boat trip was getting close to the hippos. Magnificent, gentle beasts with a very distinctive call.

Back in St. Lucia, we saw wart hogs nonchalantly grazing on a major street.Read more