Halfpom

Day Three & the Moru kopjes...

It's going to be a fine day today...this is the view from our tent....we're up early - raring to go on our first early morning game drive. Fortified with a hot coffee and breakfast 'to go', we depart camp to see what we can find this morning. Last night we were lulled to sleep by the sound of lion and hyena.... 
This area of the southern Serengeti is known as Moru kopjes - little mounds of rock & vegetation that break up the montony of the endless plains...and also a great place for lions & leopards to hang out with lunch on the hoof nearby...

And sure enough, there they are....

He's quite a handsome fellow....& he knows it...

Down on the plain nearby is the other male in the pride, trying his luck with one of the ladies...

It's these two we've been hearing at night.....swopping progress reports on their respective dates...

After the morning's excitment, it is back to camp for a bit of R&R....lots of books to read...tea & the marvellous Tanzanian coffee on tap...

And a spot of lunch never goes amiss...

After tea we head back out - as this is a national park we have to be back in camp by 18h30 at the latest so no sundowners out on the plains this time...

I'm quite pleased with this flamingo photo at sunset....I have seen the odd couple of birds but never been anywhere like Lake Nakuru or Bogoria where there are a multitude of flamingo's to be able to photograph them in all their pink glory so this will have to do for the time being....

 
 

Day Two...

After an all too brief a stay at Plantation Lodge it is time to hit the road again - it's grey & chilly today but a roaring fire at breakfast starts the day off well...

We had heard that Monday was market day in Karatu but Captain Chedi, who had swiftly & accurately summed up his charges, realised that it was never going to be a quick visit & kept his foot firmly on the accelerator...

It stayed misty & cool all the way along the Ngorongoro Crater rim - we can't see anything until at last it starts clearing as we head toward the western side of the Crater..this dramatic mountain (I think this is called Lemagrut but I might be mistaken..) is viewed en route around the Crater.

Finally the clouds lift high enough for us to get this view of the Ngorongoro Crater....no sooner had we stopped the vehicle than several Maasai appear with various trinkets to sell including Maasai blankets (still in their plastic wrapping). Needless to say this was not quite the shopping experience we had been hoping for..

 
A bit further on we stopped at Olduvai Gorge...except that it is now known as Oldupai Gorge - after the local Maasai name for the sisal plant that grows in the gorge. Apparently Olduvai is a mispronounciation and the name changed in 2005.....there is a guide who gives a 15 minute introduction and then you can wander around the museum at your leisure.

 
Oldupai has the dubious honour of having the MOST disgusting toilet I have ever visited....seriously only for the desperate (which we were - eyeballs were floating at that stage). Most visitors have to use the facilties though as the surrounding countryside is riddled with little Maasai herd boys who have the unnerving ability to pop out of nowhere as soon as they hear a vehicle stopping & surprise the unsuspecting soul who is trying to inspect the local flora.... 

We passed a sign saying 'Shifting Sands' but I didn't pay it much attention until Chedi started showing us the markers for a dune that is moving across the southern Serengeti...they mark it's location every five years to see how far it has moved. In the middle of nowhere we come across the cresent shaped dune quietly going about it's business....very odd indeed..

 
We find a nice spot under some flat top acacias for our picnic lunch...Chedi having checked for bees & other things that bite first..

Picnic lunch on safari...everybody gets their own lunch box....so nicely presented..

We pass through & get signed in to the Seregeti National Park proper at the Naabi gate...we take it slowly, stopping when something interesting presents itself....like this group of elephants looking for water at the end of the day..

 

There is such a beautiful light & the smell of rain in the air....heaven...

Finally we reach home for the next two nights...Serengeti Safari Camp, situated in the Moru kopjes area when we visited...simple but perfect..in fact, I'm convinced I could quite happily live in one of the tents on a permanent basis..

 

 

En route to Karatu...

Not such an early start this morning & really starting to feel the fizz of exitement now as today is the day that we start our journey proper. Once the group has been assembled at ACL we set off and hit the countryside almost immediately as the lodge is on the far side of town only 5 minutes from the airstrip. A brief stop for a delicious lunch & quick look around at Manyara Ranch...this picture simply could not have been taken anywhere else except East Africa...

A short but surprisingly productive game drive through the conservancy back to the tar road & then on to a look out point to view lake Manyara - so many places we would like to stop but I suppose we have to leave something for next time...

I love driving through a new country as you see so much more of the local customs & population than you do when flying.....in the middle of Karatu village at a rough hand painted sign for the lodge we turn right & make our way up what looks like a farm road....all of us are wondering what we have let ourselves in for as the sign is basic to say the least & the road doesn't inspire confidence either.....but it just goes to show that you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover....Plantation Lodge turns out to be one of my favourite places on this trip. Owned & run by  a German couple who have lived & farmed in Tanzania for many years it is delightful - everything is perfect. They have upgraded us to Garden House so that we each have our own room - this touch is the mark of a true hospitality professional. We are all in love with the gardens, our house for the night, the friendly staff  & owners.....it is quite difficult to please four jaded & highly critical travellers but Plantation Lodge have come up trumps!!

It doesn't look like much from the outside although the immaculate subtropical gardens do give a slight clue what to expect. This area reminds me so much of the area around Tzaneen in Limpopo province in South Africa - the same plants in the garden - jacaranda, bougainvilla, frangipani etc as well as the cool misty conditions as this is the tail end of the long rainy season in East Africa.

 

The lodge is beautifully but simply furnished using lots of local materials which really gives you a sense of place when you walk around. The innovative flower arrangements are all done by the staff using flowers & foliage from the gardens - no mass produced hot house roses here....I love all of them & take far too many photo's.

 You could just sit forever with views like this...very happy!!

 
 

Jambo & karibu... (Swahili for hello & welcome...)

Finally arrived in Tanzania after a journey consisting of many legs & a very early morning start at 02h00. This is one (& possibly the only..) of the downsides to living in Cape Town - when you are travelling within Africa Johannesburg has the edge in that it serves as the hub for all the flights. No matter - one has to keep the end goal in mind here - everything went according to plan & the lovely Mohammed was at Kilimanjaro Airport to transfer me to Arusha Coffee Lodge as arranged. The rooms at this lodge are all set in amongst the coffee plantation...

 Red coffee berries on the bushes....no time for a coffee tour this time unfortunately..

Another must have for my dream house is mosquito net curtains around the bed....there are few things worse than being woken up just as you've managed to get to sleep by the droning of a moquito - it just puts me in a very bad mood. I've come to the conclusion - after trying almost all of the mozzie repellants on the market  - that none of them work except to give me a blocked nose so the mosquito net is the green way forward...& besides they just look so lovely.

 

The Men who Stare at Goats - what is point......?

Okay, I realise this header could potentially lead us down a totally different path to what was originally intended.....ahem...back to the straight & narrow please...

It is a bank holiday in the UK today so that meant I got a day off when most Saffers are working.....normally it's the other way around as South Africa gets loads more public holidays than the UK so I enjoyed the novelty....off to Tanzania on Saturday so spent most of the day preparing for the trip...but decided to go to the movies in the afternoon.

At first I thought I would be the only one in the theatre...yippppeee...but then...drat, two more people pitched...late....then proceeded to hoover their way noisily through 'supersize me' boxes of popcorn (okay -I'm stretching the truth with the popcorn...but it has been known to happen).

When I worked in the hospitality industry, you either worked an early (07h00 to 15h00) or a late (15h00 to 23h00) shift....if it was a late shift MB & I would often go to the movies around noon-ish which would get us up to the hotel in time for work. That was my initiation to the joys of having a movie theatre all to yourself.....a private viewing....so decadent....love it! Occasionally other people would pitch up & it would drive MB absolutely wild when, having the seating of the ENTIRE cinema to choose from, they would invariably sit right next to him. Normally he is a very polite guy but that just used to make him flip - he would actually get up & move to an empty row just to make a point. What is wrong with people...give each other some space, for goodness sake!! Grumpy old woman in training...don't get me started...it's a slippery slope.  

I opted to see the movie 'The Men Who Stare at Goats' as the quirky title appealed to me & it stars George Clooney (normally a surefire winner) & with that title the movie had huge potential. Not this time....I really could not see point of this movie at all...maybe I'm just being thick? Sorry George....but I think your time would have been better spent at Como or trying to find Malibongwe Drive (I'm trying to point him in the right direction, Helen....). BTW, really did enjoy 'Up in the Air' - that one I got totally!! 

So while it had a few laughs it was, sadly, not a winner for me...here are some other reviews on Rotten Tomatoes in case you think I'm being too mean to George.
 

Happiness is....

Being outside in the warm autumn sunshine.....walking off Sunday lunch....

Or in some cases, running off our lunch..
 
Happ(y)ness is.....knowing there is always someone there to catch you if you fall...

 

'Fearless' should have been our middle name....
 

Chiffon cake......

Any excuse is good enough - birthday, christening, a day of the week....but this time it was for my mother who has just moved into her new home...I thought I would christen the chiffon cake tin that I'd bought a few months ago - got to buy it when you see them as they don't come along very often!!!

What makes a chiffon cake tin so special? The short answer is the little 'legs' along the top of the the tin as you cool this cake UPSIDE DOWN....you could always use a normal bundt tin (cake tin with a hole in the middle) & invert it over the top of a bottle of wine but I like to do things properly so a chiffon cake tin with legs it has to be...& besides I've always wanted one...

I used a recipe from a lovely South African book called 'A Farm in my Heart' by Emilia le Roux & Francois Smuts - got it for Christmas & have spent many happy hours going through it. You can just tell that this is written by someone who likes to cook & that all the recipes are going to work. Nothing more frustrating than a recipe that doesn't work....'celebrity' chefs take note!!! Besides the recipes the book also contains advice on various matters - garden, fruit trees, chickens, the smokehouse, wine etc so right up my alley.

It was really easy & turned out perfectly - you can either decorate with a butter icing or whipped Chantilly cream with fresh fruit (am thinking berries of some sort - raspberries, strawberries etc) but I just used some plain icing sugar mixed with lemon juice to compliment the lemon zest & lemon juice already in the cake and good old sprinkles for a touch of colour... 

Having done the taste test I can honestly say this is one of the nicest cakes I've made - soft, fluffy & moist and have added it to my list of 'regulars'. I'm embarrassed to say that we made real pigs of ourselves & managed to polish off most of this by the time Sunday evening came round....it was THAT good.  

With a little help from his friends....

Last week my very dear friend, Vaughn Barkhuizen, chose an extremely auspicious day for the opening of his first retail store in Cape Town, Linen & Home....my birthday!! After months of planning, weeks of putting plans into action & last frantic hours his masterpiece was ready for the unveiling.....& absolutely marvellous it is looking too! For those wanting (no...NEEDING) fabulous bed linen, the store is located at the bottom of Wynberg hill opposite Farriers....may I recommend the 400 threadcount.....after that anything else feels like you're sleeping on sandpaper, darling!! For those needing a helping hand with the decorating of their homes...Vaughn's your man....what can I say, he is a multi-talented guy with excellent taste...

 

  
Surrounded by friends & family, the store has well & truly been christened.....we're not going to mention quite how many cases (ahem, yes cases...did anyone say 29??) of champers were consumed in our efforts to do justice to the occasion. Ambrosia Catering provided the seriously yummy food & I also thank their very patient staff for allowing me to photograph (almost) everything that came out of the kitchen.

 
 

CONGRATULATIONS Vaughn & Carmen (I feel it should be pointed out here that behind every successful man there is a strong & successful woman.....) - may the business go from strength to strength - you deserve every success!! 

Au revoir....

Our last day today....same procedure as yesterday...wake up 06h30...last game drive at 07h00...

  

A journey of giraffe - you'll have to take my word for it....there were about 15 of them all in one spot..

 

And just when we thought we weren't going to get fed again.....a stop for brunch in yet another beautiful spot overlooking the reserve...

 

My nephew plays a game called 'if I can't see you, you can't see me' - even if his feet are clearly visible sticking out from beneath the curtains - he is 2 years old.....this is the adult version.....not wanting to leave Tswalu & hoping we will leave them behind....nice try guys!!!

Up, up & away.....there is a saying that once your feet have touched the red sand of the Kalahari you will always return....I definitely hope so....au revoir until next time...

 

Last sundowner...

Horse riding was an optional activity on our second afternoon at Tswalu....in order not to lose face everybody opted in & our group ranged in expertise from 'very proficient' to 'never ridden before in my life'. I am somewhere in the middle to lower section not having ridden in 9 years & slightly nervous. Comanche (the horse allocated to me) was brilliant - he pretended to listen to me & I pretended I knew exactly what I was doing & so we reached the sundowner spot together with neither of us embarrassing the other too much - bless him!! That horse has seriously made me consider taking lessons to learn how to ride properly...how lovely is this little scene.....a bit of a freshen up before tackling those sundowners....Kir Royale this time, if you must know...

In case you are wondering where the previous post's inhabitants were during this little episode, I should mention that the 100 000 hectare reserve is divided into 2 parts - 20 000 hectares is fenced off & dedicated to predators & the other 80 000 hectares is safe for horseriding, walking & ballooning and contains plains game, meerkats, giraffe etc.

Sundowners in hand, we survey the nibbles on offer....thought the porcupine burgers (no, not really) were very sweet..... 

And then (mercifully) into the vehicles for the ride home......