11 June - 12 June 2015
June 11
Vaal Dam to Ladysmith
Well, today was time to leave Mothership and head towards our next destination of Ladysmith. We had a bit of a delay sorting out a new oil leak ( Darrels builder/mechanic Sam) popped under Pumba and created a new washer & fitted it and after the BIG pack up off we went, deciding to travel through Bethlehem, Clarens and the Golden Gate national park with a trip down memory lane ( Van Reenens pass). Gorgeous flat brown dry countryside with a bit of rain thrown in.
We stopped in Clarens, a destination arts & crafts town near the Lesotho border, for lunch and had the best soup, service and staff interaction one could wish for. By the time we got to Golden Gate it was wet, hazy and dismal. Unfortunately the Golden part did not shine :( however, we arrived in Ladysmith at rush hour, found our way to Magda's gorgeous home and had a great catch up of 15 years. Sadly Matti, Magda's Mum passed away 10 days ago so we were not able to say goodbye.
June 12
Ladysmith
A catch up morning, then thanks to Magda's contacts we were able to get the oil leak (which became a major) sorted out, then had a visit to her school, and tour around town. The highlight of the school visit was the quadcopter which proved a hit and hopefully has provided a useful resource for Magda to use in fundraising. The children were delightful, totally engaged in learning & it was fascinating to see how much computer based tuition (like maths) was being used. The school is private, and truly reflects the SA population demographic. We were treated to a marimba concert before we left.
The rest of the afternoon was spent catching up and after a quiet dinner at the local club we prepared for tomorrow.
13 June
Up bright & early and off to Isandlawana Lodge in Kwazulu Natal - in the historic Boer /British /Zulu battlefield area. Great quiet roads with a brief stop along the way we arrived at our destination in good time for lunch. Most of the trip is through African tribal areas with the last 30 km of a fairly good dirt road. As always we were on the look out for people & cattle walking / grazing along the roadside.
As many people rely on African minibus taxis there is always a lot of activity alongside the roads, especially near the villages.
The Lodge is amazing with outstanding views over the countryside where the battle of Isandlawana & battle of Rookes drift took place. We had a delicious lunch before our afternoon tour of Rookes drift with our very knowledgeable and charming Zulu guide. Each couple had a guide and we were so fortunate with Dalton who is a descendant of one of the Zulu Chiefs who participated in these battles. His passion for his topic was palpable and he made history come alive. As an aside we were pleased we did not do the 2 tours in one day as it would have been information overload.
The Lodge (www. Isandlawana.co.za ) has the most stunning position hewn into the rock face. Every room has a gorgeous private deck and view.