I was pretty sore from riding the quad bikes most of yesterday. It didn't seem like any work at the time. We figured a short trek that started from the lodge would be best, so talked with Minette about the options. She suggested walking to Makaira and having lunch there. She called ahead to Makaira so that they would be expecting us (it's a small island).
We had a guide on the way there, just to help us through the forest areas. Minet said if we felt comfortable then we could let the guide know that we'd find our own way back.
We started by descending the 100m + down to Praia Banana. This was probably the hardest part, it's inclined at 45* at times. We then followed the same trail we had been quad biking, through Palm trees parallel to Praia Caju. We walked by a small fishing village on Praia das Burras, saw the boats being pulled up on shore on rolling logs. The fishing nets and boats made good subjects for pictures so I took a few. We also saw salted fish drying on the beach, on top of large leaves. It was a very photogenic village.
Makaira was on the next beach, separated from the village by a ridge about 50m tall. First we had to cross a small stream. We thought about trying to jump over but ended up just removing our shoes and socks. Then up the ridge we went. The trail was actually marked, so we'd have no problems on the way back on our own. The trail would have been extremely slippery if it had rained last night - probably not passable for us.
We walked into Makaira Lodge, feeling a bit like shipwrecked people stumbling across an oasis. They were very welcoming. We relaxed in the shade, and later had lunch. Lunch was whole grilled fish with rice and peas. It was pretty tasty, I felt like I could have eaten twice the amount, but maybe that's because we had walked over.
After lunch we retraced our steps back to Belo Monte. We debated taking the shuttle back up the hill at the end but ended up walking, it wasn't too bad.
So that was our day. We relaxed and stretched back in our room. Dinner was on the lower deck from the dining area, on the edge of the valley. There was a quick breeze and we thought it might rain, but it was really quite pleasant.
Saturday, January 06, 2018
Friday, January 05, 2018
Príncipe, São Tomé and Príncipe
We got a lot of insect bites yesterday, either from standing around on the beach at night waiting for the turtle to return to the sea, or from after snorkelling when we were waiting for the shuttle. There's very low incidence of malaria here so we weren't too concerned, just itchy.
It had been a full day of activities yesterday, so we were looking for a half day excursion today. Our friends from Beijing were heading into the Santo Antonio so we thought about joining them, except they were also going to Roça Sundy which we had already seen. So instead we arranged to take quad bikes with a guide to go to Santo Antonio.
We all left Belo Monte around the same time, and our Beijing friend took a bunch of pics and videos of us on the quad bikes (she was in the back of the pickup, in front of us). Later we ran into them at Bom Bom and she airdropped them to us.
So me, Heather and our guide drove into Santo Antonio. It's a cute little colonial place. It claims to be the smallest city in the world according to Guiness, but Google doesn't seem to agree.
We got stopped by the police who asked to see our driver's licenses. There was no bribe or anything expected, they were just checking that our papers were in order. The Belo Monte folks had said it was likely we would be asked in town.
We parked the quad bikes on the street and walked around town a bit. It's not very big so this took about five minutes. Saw the post office, the main plaza, the church. Stopped in for lunch at a popular restaurant. It was pretty good.
Then we were back on the quad bikes. Drove over to see Bom Bom. It's very resort-like, not to our preference, with chalets packed in very close to each other. There was a wedding taking place later that day and the Bom Bom folks were busy setting up. As mentioned above we ran into our Beijing friends.
Our guide asked if we wanted to drive by Makaira and other beaches, said it was a good programme. We were having fun on the quad bikes and wanted to see Makaira, so agreed rather than just head back to Belo Monte.
The path to Makaira was terrible. I think because we had taken the quad bikes out our first day we didn't find it that hard though. We had originally booked into Makaira when we made our plans back in June, but after the regional flights changed we had to reschedule everything and Makaira didn't have availability.
We descended to the lodges. Makaira has by far the best location out of all the places we saw in Príncipe. The beach is capped by cliffs on both ends - it really does feel as remote as you can get. The difficult path down makes it seem even more isolated. The lodges are more rustic than other places, but also a bit cheaper. There's no a/c but they do have mosquito nets.
We then drove back up to cross over to Praia das Burras, and through to Praia Caju and Praia Banana. The latter is my favourite stretch to quad bike - it's parallel to the shore and winds through palm trees and big rocks.
We were back at the roça around 3pm, and cooled down in our room. Dinner was set up in the courtyard. At first we thought we would prefer the normal dining area on the terrace, but they do a great job of lighting on the outside of the roça, and also had a couple fire pits going. Later a group of musicians started playing traditional regional music (a couple guitarists and singer). It was all very surreal, and quite unexpected.
It had been a full day of activities yesterday, so we were looking for a half day excursion today. Our friends from Beijing were heading into the Santo Antonio so we thought about joining them, except they were also going to Roça Sundy which we had already seen. So instead we arranged to take quad bikes with a guide to go to Santo Antonio.
We all left Belo Monte around the same time, and our Beijing friend took a bunch of pics and videos of us on the quad bikes (she was in the back of the pickup, in front of us). Later we ran into them at Bom Bom and she airdropped them to us.
So me, Heather and our guide drove into Santo Antonio. It's a cute little colonial place. It claims to be the smallest city in the world according to Guiness, but Google doesn't seem to agree.
We got stopped by the police who asked to see our driver's licenses. There was no bribe or anything expected, they were just checking that our papers were in order. The Belo Monte folks had said it was likely we would be asked in town.
We parked the quad bikes on the street and walked around town a bit. It's not very big so this took about five minutes. Saw the post office, the main plaza, the church. Stopped in for lunch at a popular restaurant. It was pretty good.
Then we were back on the quad bikes. Drove over to see Bom Bom. It's very resort-like, not to our preference, with chalets packed in very close to each other. There was a wedding taking place later that day and the Bom Bom folks were busy setting up. As mentioned above we ran into our Beijing friends.
Our guide asked if we wanted to drive by Makaira and other beaches, said it was a good programme. We were having fun on the quad bikes and wanted to see Makaira, so agreed rather than just head back to Belo Monte.
The path to Makaira was terrible. I think because we had taken the quad bikes out our first day we didn't find it that hard though. We had originally booked into Makaira when we made our plans back in June, but after the regional flights changed we had to reschedule everything and Makaira didn't have availability.
We descended to the lodges. Makaira has by far the best location out of all the places we saw in Príncipe. The beach is capped by cliffs on both ends - it really does feel as remote as you can get. The difficult path down makes it seem even more isolated. The lodges are more rustic than other places, but also a bit cheaper. There's no a/c but they do have mosquito nets.
We then drove back up to cross over to Praia das Burras, and through to Praia Caju and Praia Banana. The latter is my favourite stretch to quad bike - it's parallel to the shore and winds through palm trees and big rocks.
We were back at the roça around 3pm, and cooled down in our room. Dinner was set up in the courtyard. At first we thought we would prefer the normal dining area on the terrace, but they do a great job of lighting on the outside of the roça, and also had a couple fire pits going. Later a group of musicians started playing traditional regional music (a couple guitarists and singer). It was all very surreal, and quite unexpected.
Thursday, January 04, 2018
Príncipe, São Tomé and Príncipe
We slept in (breakfast was served until 10am) and had a leisurely breakfast on the terrace. There were lots of birds flitting about, mostly we just heard them at the late morning hour.
Minette came by to discuss today's excursions. The hotel was having a barbecue on Praia Banana (which they own) and so after breakfast we walked down (the Belo Monte sits at about 100m above sea level). Grabbed a cabana for two under the palm trees and relaxed. It was very comfortable with the temperature about 22C and a slight breeze coming in off the beach. It was just the Belo Monte guests (about 12 of us) and a couple people from Bom Bom.
The Belo Monte has a permanent grill and bar set up just under the palm trees and they started up on lunch. We could smell the grilled chicken and grilled fish and we were getting hungry, even though we'd just had breakfast and then pretty much just lounged about.
Lunch was excellent, with the exception of buzzing flies attracted to the food. My left arm was in a constant windshield wiper motion, not even needing a fly sensor cause they didn't stop buzzing.
After lunch we sized up our snorkelling masks and fins and then waded out to check out the fishes. We followed the suggested circuit of about 500m. There was quite a variety of fish, more than what I've seen on recent snorkelling attempts (and definitely more than at Praia Sundy). Visibility was also great, we had clear views down about 20 feet.
After about an hour we headed back into shore, and grabbed the shuttle (just the hotel pickup truck) back up the steep hill to the Belo Monte. On the short ride up we met two sisters from Beijing who were also staying at the Belo Monte. The one sister who was more comfortable speaking English was really witty and reminded us a bit of Chang, the South Korean we met in Ethiopia on the Danakil excursion.
We had a quick shower and then got ready for the turtle excursion. We had originally planned to go before dinner, but we were paired with a group of three other guests that wanted to have dinner first. So we had dinner at 7pm. Dinner was much better tonight, the main chef must have had the night off yesterday.
We met the other people, from South Africa. They were pretty fashionable and we think they may have been sponsored by a tourist board as influencers on social media or something like that.
We were wearing our trekking shoes after talking with some other guests who went the night before. There are hundreds of crabs on the beach and we were paranoid about our toes and ankles. We also had our headlights which had a red LED setting - regular light scares the turtles and they don't nest when scared.
So we loaded into the truck for the 30 minute drive to Praia Grande. There was no avoiding crabs on the road - they were all over the place. Heather said this was more like eco-terrorism than eco-tourism what with all the dead crabs just so we could see a turtle or two.
We got out of the truck and started walking down the beach with our red lights. The crabs started thinly at first, where it was possible to avoid them. Then it got thicker and thicker where each step we brushed up against a crab and hoped it didn't bite us. It was mostly in our heads as the guides wore flip flops and still had all their toes, at least it looked like that in the red light. After about 20 minutes of scary crab beach we met up with the researcher. It was like a scene from an Indiana Jones movie.
We then walked to the first turtle that was nesting. Its shell was 95cm (the researchers measure as part of their docs). Walked down to the beach to another turtle, slightly larger at 105cm. It was in the process of covering the eggs with sand and so we waited about 30 minutes for it to complete, so that we could watch it return to the sea.
There was then a surreal sight of five tourists plus our guide slowly following a distance behind the turtle as it slowly but surely made its way to the sea, reminding me of a slow funeral procession, with us trailing behind the turtle as pallbearers.
Anyways the turtle eventually reached the sea and swam off.
We walked back through the crab area. This time we were smarter and walked the thin line between the waves lapping up on shore and the crabs who gave the water a bit of a berth. There were still hundreds of them.
Got back to the truck and drove back to the Belo Monte. It was a cool experience to see the turtles nesting, and it wasn't even on our list of things to do here! Went to bed hoping to avoid nightmares of crab attacks.
Minette came by to discuss today's excursions. The hotel was having a barbecue on Praia Banana (which they own) and so after breakfast we walked down (the Belo Monte sits at about 100m above sea level). Grabbed a cabana for two under the palm trees and relaxed. It was very comfortable with the temperature about 22C and a slight breeze coming in off the beach. It was just the Belo Monte guests (about 12 of us) and a couple people from Bom Bom.
The Belo Monte has a permanent grill and bar set up just under the palm trees and they started up on lunch. We could smell the grilled chicken and grilled fish and we were getting hungry, even though we'd just had breakfast and then pretty much just lounged about.
Lunch was excellent, with the exception of buzzing flies attracted to the food. My left arm was in a constant windshield wiper motion, not even needing a fly sensor cause they didn't stop buzzing.
After lunch we sized up our snorkelling masks and fins and then waded out to check out the fishes. We followed the suggested circuit of about 500m. There was quite a variety of fish, more than what I've seen on recent snorkelling attempts (and definitely more than at Praia Sundy). Visibility was also great, we had clear views down about 20 feet.
After about an hour we headed back into shore, and grabbed the shuttle (just the hotel pickup truck) back up the steep hill to the Belo Monte. On the short ride up we met two sisters from Beijing who were also staying at the Belo Monte. The one sister who was more comfortable speaking English was really witty and reminded us a bit of Chang, the South Korean we met in Ethiopia on the Danakil excursion.
We had a quick shower and then got ready for the turtle excursion. We had originally planned to go before dinner, but we were paired with a group of three other guests that wanted to have dinner first. So we had dinner at 7pm. Dinner was much better tonight, the main chef must have had the night off yesterday.
We met the other people, from South Africa. They were pretty fashionable and we think they may have been sponsored by a tourist board as influencers on social media or something like that.
We were wearing our trekking shoes after talking with some other guests who went the night before. There are hundreds of crabs on the beach and we were paranoid about our toes and ankles. We also had our headlights which had a red LED setting - regular light scares the turtles and they don't nest when scared.
So we loaded into the truck for the 30 minute drive to Praia Grande. There was no avoiding crabs on the road - they were all over the place. Heather said this was more like eco-terrorism than eco-tourism what with all the dead crabs just so we could see a turtle or two.
We got out of the truck and started walking down the beach with our red lights. The crabs started thinly at first, where it was possible to avoid them. Then it got thicker and thicker where each step we brushed up against a crab and hoped it didn't bite us. It was mostly in our heads as the guides wore flip flops and still had all their toes, at least it looked like that in the red light. After about 20 minutes of scary crab beach we met up with the researcher. It was like a scene from an Indiana Jones movie.
We then walked to the first turtle that was nesting. Its shell was 95cm (the researchers measure as part of their docs). Walked down to the beach to another turtle, slightly larger at 105cm. It was in the process of covering the eggs with sand and so we waited about 30 minutes for it to complete, so that we could watch it return to the sea.
There was then a surreal sight of five tourists plus our guide slowly following a distance behind the turtle as it slowly but surely made its way to the sea, reminding me of a slow funeral procession, with us trailing behind the turtle as pallbearers.
Anyways the turtle eventually reached the sea and swam off.
We walked back through the crab area. This time we were smarter and walked the thin line between the waves lapping up on shore and the crabs who gave the water a bit of a berth. There were still hundreds of them.
Got back to the truck and drove back to the Belo Monte. It was a cool experience to see the turtles nesting, and it wasn't even on our list of things to do here! Went to bed hoping to avoid nightmares of crab attacks.
Wednesday, January 03, 2018
Príncipe, São Tomé and Príncipe
We were up early to make sure we didn't miss anything at breakfast. Unfortunately they didn't have the fresh coconut today, but the rest of breakfast was excellent.
It was one of the shortest transit days we've had - it's only a 30 minute drive from Praia Sundy to Roça Belo Monte. We checked out (were able to pay with credit card) and then the Praia Sundy folks drove us over to the Belo Monte. As we found out later, it's quite common for the hotel guests to have day trips to the other hotels, so showing up in a Praia Sundy vehicle wasn't considered odd.
Normally guests arrive via the morning flight, so our room wasn't quite ready. We had a coffee on the terrace, overlooking the bay of Santa Rita and Bom Bom in the distance. It's a beautiful setting. It's a former plantation that's been restored and has great atmosphere. Jannie, who helped us with our bookings and who we met at Loango, was the project manager for the restoration, and is quite well-known on Príncipe.
Both Jacques (another person from Africa's Eden who helped with the bookings) and Minette dropped by to chat and discuss the excursions we wanted to do over the next few days. So now I had met four of the Africa's Eden folks (Jacques, Jannie, Mathieu, Minette) who I had been emailing with to organize the trip. I had pictured them all working in an office in Portugal but in fact they're all on the ground actually running the places - no wonder email responses were sometimes slow!
A rain storm poured down while we finished our coffees, but the plantation is designed to handle rain and we sat comfortably on the terrace watching the storm.
Our room was ready so we checked it out. We had booked room 102 which is one of two rooms with a view of the ocean. It also has a window to the courtyard so it gets a nice cross-breeze. We had booked for four nights so it would be nice to spread out and not repack all our stuff every day.
I had been checking the forecast for Príncipe, and according to my iPhone it was a high of 22C and low of 19C every day. I figured the data source was whacked, but it turns out that is the climate here!
We had lunch back on the terrace. The sky was clearing up so decided on a guided quad bike (ATVs) excursion to see some of the other beaches nearby.
It was the first time riding quad bikes for both of us. A quick lesson in the parking lot and we were off! The dirt road was pretty muddy from the rain and our clothes didn't stay clean for very long.
It was fun riding the quad bikes, and probably the best way to get around to some of the sights. The dirt road was in bad shape in spots. Saw a couple beaches including Praia Boi which was one of our favourites.
Came back to the Belo Monte and cleaned up for dinner. Handed our clothes to be laundered overnight - first time I've had a hotel offer overnight laundry while traveling! Dry fit clothing helps with the drying.
Dinner was on the terrace, with kerosene lanterns adding to the ambience. We were more tired from the quad biking than we had expected. Overall it was a pretty good transit day.
It was one of the shortest transit days we've had - it's only a 30 minute drive from Praia Sundy to Roça Belo Monte. We checked out (were able to pay with credit card) and then the Praia Sundy folks drove us over to the Belo Monte. As we found out later, it's quite common for the hotel guests to have day trips to the other hotels, so showing up in a Praia Sundy vehicle wasn't considered odd.
Normally guests arrive via the morning flight, so our room wasn't quite ready. We had a coffee on the terrace, overlooking the bay of Santa Rita and Bom Bom in the distance. It's a beautiful setting. It's a former plantation that's been restored and has great atmosphere. Jannie, who helped us with our bookings and who we met at Loango, was the project manager for the restoration, and is quite well-known on Príncipe.
Both Jacques (another person from Africa's Eden who helped with the bookings) and Minette dropped by to chat and discuss the excursions we wanted to do over the next few days. So now I had met four of the Africa's Eden folks (Jacques, Jannie, Mathieu, Minette) who I had been emailing with to organize the trip. I had pictured them all working in an office in Portugal but in fact they're all on the ground actually running the places - no wonder email responses were sometimes slow!
A rain storm poured down while we finished our coffees, but the plantation is designed to handle rain and we sat comfortably on the terrace watching the storm.
Our room was ready so we checked it out. We had booked room 102 which is one of two rooms with a view of the ocean. It also has a window to the courtyard so it gets a nice cross-breeze. We had booked for four nights so it would be nice to spread out and not repack all our stuff every day.
I had been checking the forecast for Príncipe, and according to my iPhone it was a high of 22C and low of 19C every day. I figured the data source was whacked, but it turns out that is the climate here!
We had lunch back on the terrace. The sky was clearing up so decided on a guided quad bike (ATVs) excursion to see some of the other beaches nearby.
It was the first time riding quad bikes for both of us. A quick lesson in the parking lot and we were off! The dirt road was pretty muddy from the rain and our clothes didn't stay clean for very long.
It was fun riding the quad bikes, and probably the best way to get around to some of the sights. The dirt road was in bad shape in spots. Saw a couple beaches including Praia Boi which was one of our favourites.
Came back to the Belo Monte and cleaned up for dinner. Handed our clothes to be laundered overnight - first time I've had a hotel offer overnight laundry while traveling! Dry fit clothing helps with the drying.
Dinner was on the terrace, with kerosene lanterns adding to the ambience. We were more tired from the quad biking than we had expected. Overall it was a pretty good transit day.
Tuesday, January 02, 2018
Príncipe, São Tomé and Príncipe
We woke up slowly, probably going to the pool bar before dinner wasn't such a great idea.
Anyways breakfast was great. Had a fresh coconut to restore my electrolytes and also eggs florentine. I had asked for tea but should have stuck to coffee in a coffee place.
Feeling better, we checked out the snorkelling. The water temperature was perfect, unfortunately most of the coral is bleached and there wasn't much to see. So we switched to stand-up paddle boarding instead. It was the first time either of us had tried paddle boarding, it was good exercise. We spent over an hour going back and forth in the little bay.
We then took a quick walk down the beach. There's a rock outcropping (which wasn't too difficult to cross) and on the other side was a perfect beach. The forest grows right up to the sand, so it was possible to walk in the shade on the beach. There were no other footprints at all except for ours.
Showered and cleaned up before lunch. We thought we had some time before our bird watching excursion but it turned out the clocks changed in the country on Jan 1 to align with Portugal. We had ordered a 'São Tomé' coffee from the bar. They brew it using a siphon coffee maker so it takes about 15 minutes. We only had time for a small coffee before rushing off to see the birds.
The bird watching excursion was excellent. We first drove to our starting point, near Roca Sundy. It's close to the Praia Sundy, except all roads lead through the airport so it took about 45 minutes. We parked at the Roca Sundy and then walked a 90 minute circuit along a dirt path. Our guide was excellent and very passionate about birds, especially the small little fellows. He also pointed out a bunch of food ingredients, such as cacao, coffee, jack fruit, papaya, a local pepper-like seed, and a coriander-tasting leaf. We tried a few of them, the pepper one was my favourite.
We did see a bunch of birds too. Heather saw parrots (which was on her list to see in the wild).
On the drive back home it was getting to dusk, which is when land crabs come out and cross the road. At one spot there were dozens of crabs, about hand-sized. Our guide tried to avoid them but we unfortunately ran over one.
Dinner was excellent again. We both had the banana-leaf wrapped fish, although I think there are no wrong choices here.
Anyways breakfast was great. Had a fresh coconut to restore my electrolytes and also eggs florentine. I had asked for tea but should have stuck to coffee in a coffee place.
Feeling better, we checked out the snorkelling. The water temperature was perfect, unfortunately most of the coral is bleached and there wasn't much to see. So we switched to stand-up paddle boarding instead. It was the first time either of us had tried paddle boarding, it was good exercise. We spent over an hour going back and forth in the little bay.
We then took a quick walk down the beach. There's a rock outcropping (which wasn't too difficult to cross) and on the other side was a perfect beach. The forest grows right up to the sand, so it was possible to walk in the shade on the beach. There were no other footprints at all except for ours.
Showered and cleaned up before lunch. We thought we had some time before our bird watching excursion but it turned out the clocks changed in the country on Jan 1 to align with Portugal. We had ordered a 'São Tomé' coffee from the bar. They brew it using a siphon coffee maker so it takes about 15 minutes. We only had time for a small coffee before rushing off to see the birds.
The bird watching excursion was excellent. We first drove to our starting point, near Roca Sundy. It's close to the Praia Sundy, except all roads lead through the airport so it took about 45 minutes. We parked at the Roca Sundy and then walked a 90 minute circuit along a dirt path. Our guide was excellent and very passionate about birds, especially the small little fellows. He also pointed out a bunch of food ingredients, such as cacao, coffee, jack fruit, papaya, a local pepper-like seed, and a coriander-tasting leaf. We tried a few of them, the pepper one was my favourite.
We did see a bunch of birds too. Heather saw parrots (which was on her list to see in the wild).
On the drive back home it was getting to dusk, which is when land crabs come out and cross the road. At one spot there were dozens of crabs, about hand-sized. Our guide tried to avoid them but we unfortunately ran over one.
Dinner was excellent again. We both had the banana-leaf wrapped fish, although I think there are no wrong choices here.
Monday, January 01, 2018
Príncipe, São Tomé and Príncipe
We woke up early to catch our 9am flight to Príncipe. Not surprisingly for Jan 1, we were the only ones at breakfast at 7am. The buffet included good Portugese bread and a fruit that was new to us (we later figured out it was jackfruit, which is in season right now).
One of the staff went to find the manager so we could check out. He also called for the transport to take us to the airport.
We checked in and went through security. Most of the other passengers were already there. The plane had 33 seats and was completely full - I had pictured a much smaller plane.
Then we waited. The airport folks had mentioned that the flight was delayed by one hour due to weather, so we settled in. Then they came by and said the flight was now delayed until 1pm. Some passengers headed into town for a coffee or snacks (it looked like some had arrived in São Tomé on an overnight flight from Europe, they were jet lagged). We just stayed back as we had water and our devices and it didn't matter to us where we waited.
Then around 11am the flight was delayed again until 2:30. We walked into town (I think the only place I've walked from an international airport to town) and stopped in at Hotel Praia, about 500m from the airport along the main drag. It looked like a fairly large resort hotel and had a restaurant. We both ordered burgers which we figured was harder to mess up than some of the other items.
While we waited for our food, we got the wifi password and checked out the reviews of the place on tripadvisor. Large hotel. Check. Mostly empty. Check. Hour wait for food. Check. However it was really close to the airport and if our flight didn't get out today, it became our backup place for the night.
The burger was a heart attack waiting to happen, beef pattie, bacon, cheese, egg, and a sauce. It was a shock as otherwise we've been eating relatively healthy foods so far on this trip.
Around 1:30pm we headed back to the airport. Went through security and into the gate area. The plane was being readied for the flight, a very good sign. Then we were allowed onto the tarmac, another step closer! There was about a 10 minute wait while they completed the pre-flight checks and then we boarded.
It's only 40 minutes to Príncipe. I had my camera ready but there were too many clouds for any decent pics. We did fly over Bom Bom island on the northeast side on our approach.
There was a medical check as we entered the terminal / small building, just the forehead temperature check. We got our bags and outside were greeted by our driver from Praia Sundy where we were spending the first two nights on Príncipe.
The drive from the airport to Praia Sundy (really, any drive on the island) was really cool. It's a dirt road cut into the side of steep hills, with just barely enough for vehicles to pass. It took about 30 minutes to cover the 5km.
Praia Sundy is our splurge for the trip, which we booked after flights were rearranged and we couldn't get into Makaira for our new dates. It's a brand new sister lodge of Bom Bom and the Roca Sundy, only been open for two weeks.
Because of the flight delays, we weren't able to go out for any excursions today. We looked at booking the turtle viewing for either tonight or tomorrow, but Jan 1 is a big national holiday and so wasn't possible (something to do with the guards).
So we just washed up and headed to the pool bar for drinks. We then went to the restaurant for dinner. They do an excellent job with food here, it's the kind of place that wins awards. They've done a great job of incorporating local ingredients and flavours. Everything we tried over the next day or so was excellent. Chocolate and coffee feature prominently (Príncipe is apparently world-reknowned for both). Anyways we really really enjoyed dinner.
One of the staff went to find the manager so we could check out. He also called for the transport to take us to the airport.
We checked in and went through security. Most of the other passengers were already there. The plane had 33 seats and was completely full - I had pictured a much smaller plane.
Then we waited. The airport folks had mentioned that the flight was delayed by one hour due to weather, so we settled in. Then they came by and said the flight was now delayed until 1pm. Some passengers headed into town for a coffee or snacks (it looked like some had arrived in São Tomé on an overnight flight from Europe, they were jet lagged). We just stayed back as we had water and our devices and it didn't matter to us where we waited.
Then around 11am the flight was delayed again until 2:30. We walked into town (I think the only place I've walked from an international airport to town) and stopped in at Hotel Praia, about 500m from the airport along the main drag. It looked like a fairly large resort hotel and had a restaurant. We both ordered burgers which we figured was harder to mess up than some of the other items.
While we waited for our food, we got the wifi password and checked out the reviews of the place on tripadvisor. Large hotel. Check. Mostly empty. Check. Hour wait for food. Check. However it was really close to the airport and if our flight didn't get out today, it became our backup place for the night.
The burger was a heart attack waiting to happen, beef pattie, bacon, cheese, egg, and a sauce. It was a shock as otherwise we've been eating relatively healthy foods so far on this trip.
Around 1:30pm we headed back to the airport. Went through security and into the gate area. The plane was being readied for the flight, a very good sign. Then we were allowed onto the tarmac, another step closer! There was about a 10 minute wait while they completed the pre-flight checks and then we boarded.
It's only 40 minutes to Príncipe. I had my camera ready but there were too many clouds for any decent pics. We did fly over Bom Bom island on the northeast side on our approach.
There was a medical check as we entered the terminal / small building, just the forehead temperature check. We got our bags and outside were greeted by our driver from Praia Sundy where we were spending the first two nights on Príncipe.
The drive from the airport to Praia Sundy (really, any drive on the island) was really cool. It's a dirt road cut into the side of steep hills, with just barely enough for vehicles to pass. It took about 30 minutes to cover the 5km.
Praia Sundy is our splurge for the trip, which we booked after flights were rearranged and we couldn't get into Makaira for our new dates. It's a brand new sister lodge of Bom Bom and the Roca Sundy, only been open for two weeks.
Because of the flight delays, we weren't able to go out for any excursions today. We looked at booking the turtle viewing for either tonight or tomorrow, but Jan 1 is a big national holiday and so wasn't possible (something to do with the guards).
So we just washed up and headed to the pool bar for drinks. We then went to the restaurant for dinner. They do an excellent job with food here, it's the kind of place that wins awards. They've done a great job of incorporating local ingredients and flavours. Everything we tried over the next day or so was excellent. Chocolate and coffee feature prominently (Príncipe is apparently world-reknowned for both). Anyways we really really enjoyed dinner.
Sunday, December 31, 2017
São Tomé, São Tomé and Príncipe
Today was 2nd day of three transit days in a row to get from Loango to Príncipe. We had a flight from Libreville to São Tomé at 3pm, which gave us the morning to run errands and repack for the next part of the trip. On the past few trips we've used the hotel in our hub city (in this case Libreville) to store left luggage with items we need for only some legs of a longer trip.
First was more francs. Our hotel suggested we try the ATM at the next door hotel (Le Meridien) and sure enough our cards worked there. That was very convenient. Next was onto the grocery store just down the street for some toiletries. We ended up also buying a fresh baguette, prosciutto and babybel to make sandwiches for lunch.
Back at the hotel I posted my pics (we had been without Internet access while at Loango).
We were ready to go by 12:30pm, so we checked out. We were planning to have a coffee at the hotel but our driver was already there so we figured we'd just grab one at the airport.
However we ran into the same AfriJet terminal problem, they wouldn't let us in until 90 minutes prior to the flight. So we waited outside in the heat again. We had an international flight today, which I thought would mean a different path through the terminal, but it was just an official at a desk between baggage check and security.
It's only a 45 minute flight from Libreville to São Tomé, with an time zone change, so in theory we'd arrive before we took off. It was cloudy and hazy so I wouldn't be able to get pictures from the airplane, although I think it's the approach to Príncipe that is more photogenic.
For some reason the pilot circled a couple times around the airport at São Tomé, including a flyover. Maybe they were doing a visual inspection of the runway as a training exercise. Whatever. But it did mean that our flight took just over an hour.
In São Tomé we made sure to walk quickly on the tarmac to get to immigration ahead of the rest of the plane. We filled out an arrival form (almost every country we've been to recently has done away with these, with the exception of getting back home to Canada), and then onto immigration. There were no issues with our evisa, we paid our 20 Euro each and got a couple stamps in our passport. They also gave us back the printed evisa with a stamp. Maybe we'll need this to exit? I guess we'll find out.
The luggage was just starting to come out on the conveyor belt as we entered the room, ours was one of the first pieces. We had just enough time to get a cart and grab our bags before they disappeared for to start another turn around the belt.
And we were through! Got a taxi to São Pedro Guesthouse, checked in, and relaxed in our room for a bit, just to cool down. It was New Year's Eve and sometimes restaurants have specials which we wanted to avoid. Asked the guesthouse for recommendations, and then walked into town around 6pm. It was a full moon and a clear sky. The town itself is very approachable with a lot of character. There's all sorts of cafes and restaurants in old colonial buildings with tall ceilings. We have a few days in São Tomé after we return from Príncipe so lots of time to explore.
We walked about two km along the bayside road to Sabor do Îla in Parque Popular. Their specialty is grilled fish, so that's what we had. They were out of local beer so I had a Sagrès, Heather had a 50cl of vino tinto. Dinner was excellent, we were glad we went out. We even had an espresso even with the late hour, just to try the São Pedro coffee beans. It was really good.
Walked back before too many fire crackers started going off in the street. We were asleep by 10pm to be rested for our early morning departure to Príncipe. We were woken up by the New Year's Eve revellers just before midnight and heard the countdown in Portugese.
First was more francs. Our hotel suggested we try the ATM at the next door hotel (Le Meridien) and sure enough our cards worked there. That was very convenient. Next was onto the grocery store just down the street for some toiletries. We ended up also buying a fresh baguette, prosciutto and babybel to make sandwiches for lunch.
Back at the hotel I posted my pics (we had been without Internet access while at Loango).
We were ready to go by 12:30pm, so we checked out. We were planning to have a coffee at the hotel but our driver was already there so we figured we'd just grab one at the airport.
However we ran into the same AfriJet terminal problem, they wouldn't let us in until 90 minutes prior to the flight. So we waited outside in the heat again. We had an international flight today, which I thought would mean a different path through the terminal, but it was just an official at a desk between baggage check and security.
It's only a 45 minute flight from Libreville to São Tomé, with an time zone change, so in theory we'd arrive before we took off. It was cloudy and hazy so I wouldn't be able to get pictures from the airplane, although I think it's the approach to Príncipe that is more photogenic.
For some reason the pilot circled a couple times around the airport at São Tomé, including a flyover. Maybe they were doing a visual inspection of the runway as a training exercise. Whatever. But it did mean that our flight took just over an hour.
In São Tomé we made sure to walk quickly on the tarmac to get to immigration ahead of the rest of the plane. We filled out an arrival form (almost every country we've been to recently has done away with these, with the exception of getting back home to Canada), and then onto immigration. There were no issues with our evisa, we paid our 20 Euro each and got a couple stamps in our passport. They also gave us back the printed evisa with a stamp. Maybe we'll need this to exit? I guess we'll find out.
The luggage was just starting to come out on the conveyor belt as we entered the room, ours was one of the first pieces. We had just enough time to get a cart and grab our bags before they disappeared for to start another turn around the belt.
And we were through! Got a taxi to São Pedro Guesthouse, checked in, and relaxed in our room for a bit, just to cool down. It was New Year's Eve and sometimes restaurants have specials which we wanted to avoid. Asked the guesthouse for recommendations, and then walked into town around 6pm. It was a full moon and a clear sky. The town itself is very approachable with a lot of character. There's all sorts of cafes and restaurants in old colonial buildings with tall ceilings. We have a few days in São Tomé after we return from Príncipe so lots of time to explore.
We walked about two km along the bayside road to Sabor do Îla in Parque Popular. Their specialty is grilled fish, so that's what we had. They were out of local beer so I had a Sagrès, Heather had a 50cl of vino tinto. Dinner was excellent, we were glad we went out. We even had an espresso even with the late hour, just to try the São Pedro coffee beans. It was really good.
Walked back before too many fire crackers started going off in the street. We were asleep by 10pm to be rested for our early morning departure to Príncipe. We were woken up by the New Year's Eve revellers just before midnight and heard the countdown in Portugese.
Saturday, December 30, 2017
Libreville, Gabon
We had a relaxing breakfast because we thought we were departing at 10am. We chatted with some of the newly arrived guests, including one who is a travel writer for the Financial Times and the Telegraph. She had recently been to São Tomé and Príncipe and gave some advice for both. She was debating on which excursions to go on at Loango and based on how much we liked Akaka, she decided on the gorillas and Akaka.
After breakfast we found out we were actually leaving with another group at 9am. So rushed to finish packing, pay our bill (just for the alcohol, everything else was included) and say bye to everyone. Jannie asked us to say hi to the bartender at the Roca Belo Monte in Príncipe (Jannie was the project manager that built both Bom Bom and the Belo Monte years ago).
And so we were off. First was an hour in a safari vehicle to Camp Liambissi. (I forgot to mention that on our excursion to Tassi, we crossed through flooded areas about 4' deep, the water pooled over the hood of the vehicle. It's the deepest water I've driven through). Anyways parts of the trail to Camp Liambissi are washed out and only a safari vehicle would make it.
We switched vehicles at the camp. Another group of seven was returning today as well, and so we needed a second vehicle to get to Port Gentil (POG). We lucked out because it was Philippe (the camp manager) who was driving back to POG for other reasons, and we joined him in his nice air conditioned SUV. We were provided with lots of water and a snack, I guess they quickly made changes to their procedures after our hungry and thirsty ride down!
It was an interesting conversation with Philippe. He's worked to build up tourism in Gabon for the past 16 years. Between him, Jannie and Zeka, I can see tourism growing quickly here.
We were back in POG by 2pm. Relaxed at Le Bouganviller until closer to our flights. The flight for the other group was two hours before ours, but we just went to the airport with them (it was a wash for us whether we waited at the airport or the hotel).
Unfortunately, with AfriJet, they only let you in to their terminal 90 minutes before the flight. There were no seating areas in the (air conditioned) check-in area of the main terminal, so we sat outside in the heat. After an hour or so, we were getting sleepy and noticed there was a little cafe in the terminal with a good coffee machine. So we grabbed a cappuccino each. They offered us seats in the business lounge, which was nice of them.
So finally the check-in opened at AfriJet and we made our way through baggage check and security. Now that we knew it was okay to take water through security we weren't thirsty waiting for the flight.
Arrived after sunset in Libreville, and initially had trouble finding a taxi at the AfriJet terminal. We asked around and someone showed up to drive us for 6,000 Franc, cheaper than what we paid the first time through.
They were expecting us at the Royal Palm. It was Guy at the desk, who Heather had been emailing with over the past few months to sort out our changing itinerary. The restaurant was open until 11pm (it was already 8pm) so we had time to shower and clean up before dinner.
The restaurant was packed at the Royal Palm, it's a destination for locals, especially with tonight being Saturday. Dinner was good, I had the lamb noisette and Heather tried a local fish (capitain).
Overall we both really enjoyed Loango. The highlights were the gorilla tracking and the boat ride to Akaka. We saw other big animals including elephants, buffalo, hippos, duikers and chimpanzees, but the real attraction is just the isolation and lack of other people in the park.
After breakfast we found out we were actually leaving with another group at 9am. So rushed to finish packing, pay our bill (just for the alcohol, everything else was included) and say bye to everyone. Jannie asked us to say hi to the bartender at the Roca Belo Monte in Príncipe (Jannie was the project manager that built both Bom Bom and the Belo Monte years ago).
And so we were off. First was an hour in a safari vehicle to Camp Liambissi. (I forgot to mention that on our excursion to Tassi, we crossed through flooded areas about 4' deep, the water pooled over the hood of the vehicle. It's the deepest water I've driven through). Anyways parts of the trail to Camp Liambissi are washed out and only a safari vehicle would make it.
We switched vehicles at the camp. Another group of seven was returning today as well, and so we needed a second vehicle to get to Port Gentil (POG). We lucked out because it was Philippe (the camp manager) who was driving back to POG for other reasons, and we joined him in his nice air conditioned SUV. We were provided with lots of water and a snack, I guess they quickly made changes to their procedures after our hungry and thirsty ride down!
It was an interesting conversation with Philippe. He's worked to build up tourism in Gabon for the past 16 years. Between him, Jannie and Zeka, I can see tourism growing quickly here.
We were back in POG by 2pm. Relaxed at Le Bouganviller until closer to our flights. The flight for the other group was two hours before ours, but we just went to the airport with them (it was a wash for us whether we waited at the airport or the hotel).
Unfortunately, with AfriJet, they only let you in to their terminal 90 minutes before the flight. There were no seating areas in the (air conditioned) check-in area of the main terminal, so we sat outside in the heat. After an hour or so, we were getting sleepy and noticed there was a little cafe in the terminal with a good coffee machine. So we grabbed a cappuccino each. They offered us seats in the business lounge, which was nice of them.
So finally the check-in opened at AfriJet and we made our way through baggage check and security. Now that we knew it was okay to take water through security we weren't thirsty waiting for the flight.
Arrived after sunset in Libreville, and initially had trouble finding a taxi at the AfriJet terminal. We asked around and someone showed up to drive us for 6,000 Franc, cheaper than what we paid the first time through.
They were expecting us at the Royal Palm. It was Guy at the desk, who Heather had been emailing with over the past few months to sort out our changing itinerary. The restaurant was open until 11pm (it was already 8pm) so we had time to shower and clean up before dinner.
The restaurant was packed at the Royal Palm, it's a destination for locals, especially with tonight being Saturday. Dinner was good, I had the lamb noisette and Heather tried a local fish (capitain).
Overall we both really enjoyed Loango. The highlights were the gorilla tracking and the boat ride to Akaka. We saw other big animals including elephants, buffalo, hippos, duikers and chimpanzees, but the real attraction is just the isolation and lack of other people in the park.
Friday, December 29, 2017
Loango NP, Gabon
Today we had a boat cruise down to Akaka. Loango does a good job of limiting the number of tourists per safari so that the experience is optimal. Otherwise the first boat goes down river and scares the animals, and the second boat hardly sees anything. They also don't crowd people into vehicles or boats.
So there was no need for us to rush through breakfast as weren't delaying anyone else for the safari. There was hardly any wind, which boded well for the boat ride through the lagoon.
We left the lodge around 8:45. It took about an hour through the lagoon to reach the starting point for Akaka, about five minutes past the gorilla research camp. The lagoon was like glass, perfect for the boat ride.
Akaka is a wetlands area, with a narrow waterway (about 15' wide) that goes on for kilometres. I don't know what the proper term would be, but it was river-like. Anyways we slowed down and put-putted through. There were lots of birds on both sides, along with flowers, fauna, and even a duiker. It was really cool to cruise up. I took a lot of pictures, trying to capture birds in flight. Some of them flew in unison with the boat, which made it easier to focus and take pictures. Supposedly Akaka is better in dry season because there's more wildlife, but we enjoyed it just for the atmosphere.
It took about 90 minutes to reach a small satellite camp where we had lunch. It's possible to then hike in the surrounding area, but there were lots of bugs and mosquitoes and we weren't prepared to possibly get our shoes wet, so we just asked to go back to the lodge. Plus we'd get to relax for a couple hours before dinner.
So cruised back down the 'river' to the lagoon. There was a bit more wind and so it wasn't as smooth as the ride in, but it was still a pretty comfortable ride. Plus the rain held off and we didn't get wet.
The cruise to Akaka was excellent, our second-favourite thing here at Loango after the gorilla tracking.
The lodge folks asked if we wanted to do any other activities to fill out the day, they really like their guests to maximize their safari time. We just wanted to relax so declined.
We cleaned up, half packed for tomorrow's departure, and then back to the main lodge for reading / blogging / picture editing.
The kitchen had issues with their oven and so our appetizer was the same coleslaw that we had for lunch (the kitchen has been great here - we haven't had anything twice). Our main was lasagna, which was filling. We had a drink after dinner to celebrate the end of the Loango part of this trip. There was still no breeze and so we felt a couple bites, but more like sand flies than mosquitoes.
So there was no need for us to rush through breakfast as weren't delaying anyone else for the safari. There was hardly any wind, which boded well for the boat ride through the lagoon.
We left the lodge around 8:45. It took about an hour through the lagoon to reach the starting point for Akaka, about five minutes past the gorilla research camp. The lagoon was like glass, perfect for the boat ride.
Akaka is a wetlands area, with a narrow waterway (about 15' wide) that goes on for kilometres. I don't know what the proper term would be, but it was river-like. Anyways we slowed down and put-putted through. There were lots of birds on both sides, along with flowers, fauna, and even a duiker. It was really cool to cruise up. I took a lot of pictures, trying to capture birds in flight. Some of them flew in unison with the boat, which made it easier to focus and take pictures. Supposedly Akaka is better in dry season because there's more wildlife, but we enjoyed it just for the atmosphere.
It took about 90 minutes to reach a small satellite camp where we had lunch. It's possible to then hike in the surrounding area, but there were lots of bugs and mosquitoes and we weren't prepared to possibly get our shoes wet, so we just asked to go back to the lodge. Plus we'd get to relax for a couple hours before dinner.
So cruised back down the 'river' to the lagoon. There was a bit more wind and so it wasn't as smooth as the ride in, but it was still a pretty comfortable ride. Plus the rain held off and we didn't get wet.
The cruise to Akaka was excellent, our second-favourite thing here at Loango after the gorilla tracking.
The lodge folks asked if we wanted to do any other activities to fill out the day, they really like their guests to maximize their safari time. We just wanted to relax so declined.
We cleaned up, half packed for tomorrow's departure, and then back to the main lodge for reading / blogging / picture editing.
The kitchen had issues with their oven and so our appetizer was the same coleslaw that we had for lunch (the kitchen has been great here - we haven't had anything twice). Our main was lasagna, which was filling. We had a drink after dinner to celebrate the end of the Loango part of this trip. There was still no breeze and so we felt a couple bites, but more like sand flies than mosquitoes.
Thursday, December 28, 2017
Loango NP, Gabon
I woke up a few times from the lightning and thunder overnight. It was still raining lightly when we went down for breakfast.
Today's excursion was a safari to Tassi. The lodge has a satellite camp in the middle of the savannah at Tassi. The attraction for some is the remoteness and being in the middle of nowhere. For us the downside was no electricity or mosquito net, so we just visited on a day trip.
We again crossed the lagoon and boarded the safari vehicle. Tassi is on the Atlantic side of the peninsula, about 5km west of the gorilla research camp on the lagoon side. It was still raining lightly, so we put on our baselayers and rain jackets. We saw a chimpanzee in the distance, running across a field with its white bum standing out in the haze. I took out my camera to attempt a pic, but my lens got all fogged up as it was the first time I had removed it from the case after sitting in the air conditioned room all night. So no pics.
We also saw a very young elephant with its mother. Our guide said the baby elephant was about one week old. I got a picture, but because of the rain and the distance it looks out of focus.
We reached Tassi after a couple hours, mostly wet. We dried off in the breeze, and then had lunch. Normally on the Tassi excursion there's a walk along the beach, with the possibility of seeing more chimpanzees and other animals. However the animals dislike the rain as much as us, and there wasn't anything to see, so we decided just to call it a day and head back to Loango lodge. We were lucky to have seen what we did.
Back at Loango, we showered and relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. The main lodge is very comfortable to hang out at, there is usually a nice breeze coming off the lagoon which it overlooks. The lagoon is saltwater so it also helps keep mosquitoes to a minimum. Had a tea, then later an aperitif, caught up a little on my blog, and read our books. There's no wifi here, one of the first places in a long time that we've been off the grid.
Dinner was excellent again, the main was pork with plantain and a rosemary sauce, a fusion creation by the kitchen.
Today's excursion was a safari to Tassi. The lodge has a satellite camp in the middle of the savannah at Tassi. The attraction for some is the remoteness and being in the middle of nowhere. For us the downside was no electricity or mosquito net, so we just visited on a day trip.
We again crossed the lagoon and boarded the safari vehicle. Tassi is on the Atlantic side of the peninsula, about 5km west of the gorilla research camp on the lagoon side. It was still raining lightly, so we put on our baselayers and rain jackets. We saw a chimpanzee in the distance, running across a field with its white bum standing out in the haze. I took out my camera to attempt a pic, but my lens got all fogged up as it was the first time I had removed it from the case after sitting in the air conditioned room all night. So no pics.
We also saw a very young elephant with its mother. Our guide said the baby elephant was about one week old. I got a picture, but because of the rain and the distance it looks out of focus.
We reached Tassi after a couple hours, mostly wet. We dried off in the breeze, and then had lunch. Normally on the Tassi excursion there's a walk along the beach, with the possibility of seeing more chimpanzees and other animals. However the animals dislike the rain as much as us, and there wasn't anything to see, so we decided just to call it a day and head back to Loango lodge. We were lucky to have seen what we did.
Back at Loango, we showered and relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. The main lodge is very comfortable to hang out at, there is usually a nice breeze coming off the lagoon which it overlooks. The lagoon is saltwater so it also helps keep mosquitoes to a minimum. Had a tea, then later an aperitif, caught up a little on my blog, and read our books. There's no wifi here, one of the first places in a long time that we've been off the grid.
Dinner was excellent again, the main was pork with plantain and a rosemary sauce, a fusion creation by the kitchen.
Wednesday, December 27, 2017
Loango NP, Gabon
It took us a while to wake up from my alarm at 6:30am, we were in a very deep sleep after our long day yesterday. We were the only guests (aside from Jannie and his family, but I didn't count them as he worked for the travel agency). Breakfast was pretty good considering our remoteness. Ordered an omelette to get more protein as we had a big day ahead.
Mathieu had reviewed today's itinerary With us the previous evening after dinner. In the morning was gorilla tracking, followed by an afternoon safari to see elephants on the beach.
We packed for the gorilla tracking. We debated wearing beach shoes because there was good chance we'd be crossing streams and swamps, but didn't like the idea of open ankles for ants and other insects to nibble on so wore our trekking shoes.
At 8am we left by boat for the research camp, an hour south on the lagoon. One of the researchers, Zeka, met us at the dock. She was also our guide for the gorilla tracking. First we went through an orientation and the rules. There's three species of gorillas. We had previously seen the mountain gorillas in Uganda. Here we would see the lowland gorillas. The third species is not yet habitualized (I forget what they're called).
Gorilla tracking at Loango only opened up about seven months ago. It wasn't an option when I was planning the trip - we only hoped to see the gorillas randomly on a safari, for which the odds were rather low. Zeka said we were the first tourists to the gorillas who didn't have a connection to Gabon (e.g. an expat from Libreville or friends / family visiting someone in Gabon).
The trackers were out early in the morning, and radioed the location back to camp. We washed our hands so that we didn't bring germs into the gorilla habitat. We then took a boat ride to the nearest point so we didn't have to walk as far through the rainforest. We followed elephant trails (they are nicely wide) for about 45 minutes, to about 200m from the gorilla family. We stopped to put on a medical mask (for the gorillas' protection), remove our cameras / binoculars from our packs, and packed away our water bottles. Then we were on to see the gorillas!
First we observed Kamaya, the silverback on the family. He pretty much ignored us, which was what we wanted. Next we moved on to other members of the family. Over the course of the hour visit, we saw 13 of the 14 family members. We were fortunate to observe the family during a rest period, and that they were on level ground. There was pretty dense underbrush which made for dim lighting and difficult focusing for pictures. Lowland gorillas tend to spread out, unlike mountain gorillas which clump together. So there was gorilla activity all around us, about 20m away, and near the end we were encircled by the family! The researchers said it was a sign that the group was truly habitualized, otherwise the silverback would make sure he was always between the humans and the family.
After our hour was up (tourist exposure is limited so that the gorillas don't become over-habitualized), we left the family. After 200m we were able to remove our masks. The trackers led us back to the boat and we returned to camp. We were really lucky with our tracking - there was no rain, it was a short walk to track the gorillas, they were in a relatively flat area, and we didn't have to cross any swamps or streams. It was really cool to see the gorillas. It's the first time a baby gorilla hasn't hugged me, breaking my streak at two.
We chatted with Zeka over lunch. She's doing her masters thesis on something related to gorillas and ecotourism, and was very interested in what drew us to Loango. She was very knowledgeable and passionate about gorillas.
The boat ride back to the lodge was pretty bumpy, as the wind had picked up. We were back at the lodge by 3pm, just enough time to freshen up and head out on on next excursion.
We were joined by another group of four tourists. Took a boat ride 500m across the lagoon, and boarded the safari vehicle. We drove over white sand, which was far more bumpier than I would have thought sand could be. We drove to the Atlantic facing side of the peninsula, along the way seeing elephants, buffalo, and other animals.
One thing we did not like was that the guides purposely antagonize the elephants to try to get them to charge so that tourists can get videos to post to social media. It's very stressful for the elephants. The other tourists we met at the lodge all showed off their videos, so the problem is that there's a demand for it, which safari drivers and the lodge are happy to supply. Anyways it the lowlight of our time at Loango.
On the Atlantic side we drove parallel to the beach, hoping to see elephants and / or hippos on the beach. There was a lot of garbage on the beach. We came across buffalo and elephants on the grasslands adjacent to the beach, but not actually on the beach. There was no use taking pictures what with all the trash.
We returned back to the boat, and then back across to the lodge. Showered and then went to the main lodge for dinner. We had red snapper for our main, which was excellent. We had had maybe ten minutes of downtime since our arrival at Loango and were pretty exhausted. Fell asleep almost immediately.
Mathieu had reviewed today's itinerary With us the previous evening after dinner. In the morning was gorilla tracking, followed by an afternoon safari to see elephants on the beach.
We packed for the gorilla tracking. We debated wearing beach shoes because there was good chance we'd be crossing streams and swamps, but didn't like the idea of open ankles for ants and other insects to nibble on so wore our trekking shoes.
At 8am we left by boat for the research camp, an hour south on the lagoon. One of the researchers, Zeka, met us at the dock. She was also our guide for the gorilla tracking. First we went through an orientation and the rules. There's three species of gorillas. We had previously seen the mountain gorillas in Uganda. Here we would see the lowland gorillas. The third species is not yet habitualized (I forget what they're called).
Gorilla tracking at Loango only opened up about seven months ago. It wasn't an option when I was planning the trip - we only hoped to see the gorillas randomly on a safari, for which the odds were rather low. Zeka said we were the first tourists to the gorillas who didn't have a connection to Gabon (e.g. an expat from Libreville or friends / family visiting someone in Gabon).
The trackers were out early in the morning, and radioed the location back to camp. We washed our hands so that we didn't bring germs into the gorilla habitat. We then took a boat ride to the nearest point so we didn't have to walk as far through the rainforest. We followed elephant trails (they are nicely wide) for about 45 minutes, to about 200m from the gorilla family. We stopped to put on a medical mask (for the gorillas' protection), remove our cameras / binoculars from our packs, and packed away our water bottles. Then we were on to see the gorillas!
First we observed Kamaya, the silverback on the family. He pretty much ignored us, which was what we wanted. Next we moved on to other members of the family. Over the course of the hour visit, we saw 13 of the 14 family members. We were fortunate to observe the family during a rest period, and that they were on level ground. There was pretty dense underbrush which made for dim lighting and difficult focusing for pictures. Lowland gorillas tend to spread out, unlike mountain gorillas which clump together. So there was gorilla activity all around us, about 20m away, and near the end we were encircled by the family! The researchers said it was a sign that the group was truly habitualized, otherwise the silverback would make sure he was always between the humans and the family.
After our hour was up (tourist exposure is limited so that the gorillas don't become over-habitualized), we left the family. After 200m we were able to remove our masks. The trackers led us back to the boat and we returned to camp. We were really lucky with our tracking - there was no rain, it was a short walk to track the gorillas, they were in a relatively flat area, and we didn't have to cross any swamps or streams. It was really cool to see the gorillas. It's the first time a baby gorilla hasn't hugged me, breaking my streak at two.
We chatted with Zeka over lunch. She's doing her masters thesis on something related to gorillas and ecotourism, and was very interested in what drew us to Loango. She was very knowledgeable and passionate about gorillas.
The boat ride back to the lodge was pretty bumpy, as the wind had picked up. We were back at the lodge by 3pm, just enough time to freshen up and head out on on next excursion.
We were joined by another group of four tourists. Took a boat ride 500m across the lagoon, and boarded the safari vehicle. We drove over white sand, which was far more bumpier than I would have thought sand could be. We drove to the Atlantic facing side of the peninsula, along the way seeing elephants, buffalo, and other animals.
One thing we did not like was that the guides purposely antagonize the elephants to try to get them to charge so that tourists can get videos to post to social media. It's very stressful for the elephants. The other tourists we met at the lodge all showed off their videos, so the problem is that there's a demand for it, which safari drivers and the lodge are happy to supply. Anyways it the lowlight of our time at Loango.
On the Atlantic side we drove parallel to the beach, hoping to see elephants and / or hippos on the beach. There was a lot of garbage on the beach. We came across buffalo and elephants on the grasslands adjacent to the beach, but not actually on the beach. There was no use taking pictures what with all the trash.
We returned back to the boat, and then back across to the lodge. Showered and then went to the main lodge for dinner. We had red snapper for our main, which was excellent. We had had maybe ten minutes of downtime since our arrival at Loango and were pretty exhausted. Fell asleep almost immediately.
Tuesday, December 26, 2017
Loango NP, Gabon
I was a bit nervous about the Loango part of the trip, that it would actually happen. After our plans changed in early November due to flight schedules, the Loango part had taken the longest to confirm, with the booking only being finalized a week before we took off. My bank transfer for the balance owing had been declined by the receiving bank because the IBAN (account #) was invalid, even though I had sent a deposit to the same IBAN back in September. So I was hoping that someone would be at the airport in Port Gentil (called POG by the locals) to meet us.
First we had to get to the airport in Libreville. We had arranged an early breakfast at 5:30am, but there was no one at reception or in the kitchen at the Royal Palm. Not a promising start :(. The person on duty came out from a back room (looked like we woke him up). We asked for petit dejeuner and he sprung into action, and by 5:45am we were enjoying croissants and pain au chocolates with tea and coffee.
We asked about the taxi we had reserved for 6am to give them some time to work out in care there wasn't actually a reservation. Quickly ate (for us anyways - for most other people it was probably normal speed). Then got our packs and back to the reception. We still had to pay - we had tried the previous evening after dinner but the credit card POS wasn't connecting. It worked the first time (we had Euros as back up but preferred not to spend them so early), a taxi was there at 6:05am and we were at the airport by 6:25am.
We were flying domestic, the driver had asked around a few people to confirm the correct terminal for AfriJet. It took all of five minutes to check in, go through security (bottled water allowed), and get to the (only) domestic gate.
The other passengers looked like oil industry folks heading back to work after Christmas. At 7:15am, we walked out on the tarmac to board, right on schedule. It was a larger prop plane, a manufacturer I didn't recognize.
Thirty five minutes later we touched down at POG. We waited a few minutes for our luggage, (they actually checked the tags when we exited), and out into the sidewalk. I didn't see anyone with a D'Souza / Murray sign, but before I could look fully around, someone walked up and asked Loango? He had a Loango Lodge tshirt too, so it all seemed legit. So far so good!
The driver took us to Hôtel Le Bouganvillier in town, about 10 minutes from the airport, which was the same hotel that had been mentioned when I was originally booking back in July.
We switched to a quatre-quatre (4x4) for the next leg. They weren't quite ready to leave so we had a 2nd breakfast, including an omelette, as we hadn't had any protein with our 5:30am breakfast and I wasn't sure when we'd be eating again.
Our first driver came back from the pharmacy with a pair of generic reading glasses, and asked if we could deliver to Mathieu (the manager at Loango). Like most remote places, there's infrequent transport to a main centre and anyone going back and forth becomes an ad hoc transport service.
We drove through POG, to another hotel, where we picked up a group that had their own vehicles but had to follow our driver in a convoy.
So now we were four vehicles on our way to Loango. Our driver said it was about 3.5 hours to another meeting point, where we would switch vehicles for the last hour into Loango.
It was a long hot bumpy ride over a dirt road. There is a road being constructed, and for parts of the drive the new road was operational. There weren't lane markings or anything, but aside from a couple of construction related vehicles, there was no one else on the road.
I hadn't realized that the entire drive would be through undeveloped countryside. There weren't any little towns or even junction towns e.g. to buy water. Never mind junction towns - there wasn't even a junction - there was just this one road, from POG to Loango, with nothing else in between. This would have been good to know before we left POG, as we would have bought some extra water. We had a 1L bottle that we had carried on the plane, but that was it.
There were a couple of security checkpoints, related to the construction company. Our driver makes this run frequently and knew all the checkpoint people so there were no issues.
Finally around 3pm we reached Camp Liambissi, very parched and hungry. This was the destination for the rest of the convoy, which finally made sense to us. We had been wondering how the group of 14 including 7 young kids would handle Loango, as there's not many kid-accessible activities.
The manager, Phillipe, greeted us and invited us to stay a few minutes to have a snack. I guess the driver had called ahead to let them know that were hungry and thirsty tourists incoming :) It was the fastest Heather and I have ever finished a 1.5L bottle of water, less than 10 minutes.
We switched to a safari vehicle for the last hour to Loango, just me and Heather. It felt great to be in the open safari vehicle after the hot enclosed ride for the previous five hours. The scenery was amazing - intermingled grasslands and forests. It reminded me of a very large golf course in the woods, except this was natural.
We reached Loango around 4:30pm. We met the manager, Mathieu, as well as another person who introduced himself with what sounded like Yanni. Turns out it was Jannie who I had been emailing over the past few months. He had signed his emails alternately as Jan or Jannie, and I had assumed it was a female name of someone with Africa's Eden, and based in Portugal. So finally I knew that the Loango trip wasn't an elaborate Internet scam :)
Mathieu showed us to our chalet. We quickly washed up and then went out for a short tour of the lagoon which separates Loango National Park from Loango Lodge.
We saw some hippos, and then did a short walking safari and saw a lone elephant. Our guide / boat driver got us close to the elephant on foot. The elephant didn't take too kindly to this, and we backed off back to the boat. It all seemed rather sketch. (Over the next couple days we observed other newly-arrived tourists doing the same walking safari to a lone elephant. It looks like walking safaris are The Next Big Thing that lodges offer, without all the safety / knowledgeable guides that we've had at previous lodges.)
We went by boat to another beach and walked around to the ocean-facing side of Loango NP, hoping to see elephants or hippos on the beach. We did see elephant footprints but no animals.
We got back to the lodge around 6:30pm. Showered and then to the main lodge for dinner. It was excellent - freshly-caught jack fish, impossibly tender, with green beans and mashed potato, and a fruit crumble for dessert. Mmm good.
We were a little concerned about sleeping, as there was no mosquito net and Gabon is a great place to catch malaria. I had brought a small net but there was no place to rig it up. There was a/c and a big fan, so we cranked up both and hoped that the power didn't go off in the middle of the night. Also put on bug repellant as a back up. Turns out the power at Loango Lodge is pretty reliable and the a/c and fan did the trick, we didn't get any bites.
First we had to get to the airport in Libreville. We had arranged an early breakfast at 5:30am, but there was no one at reception or in the kitchen at the Royal Palm. Not a promising start :(. The person on duty came out from a back room (looked like we woke him up). We asked for petit dejeuner and he sprung into action, and by 5:45am we were enjoying croissants and pain au chocolates with tea and coffee.
We asked about the taxi we had reserved for 6am to give them some time to work out in care there wasn't actually a reservation. Quickly ate (for us anyways - for most other people it was probably normal speed). Then got our packs and back to the reception. We still had to pay - we had tried the previous evening after dinner but the credit card POS wasn't connecting. It worked the first time (we had Euros as back up but preferred not to spend them so early), a taxi was there at 6:05am and we were at the airport by 6:25am.
We were flying domestic, the driver had asked around a few people to confirm the correct terminal for AfriJet. It took all of five minutes to check in, go through security (bottled water allowed), and get to the (only) domestic gate.
The other passengers looked like oil industry folks heading back to work after Christmas. At 7:15am, we walked out on the tarmac to board, right on schedule. It was a larger prop plane, a manufacturer I didn't recognize.
Thirty five minutes later we touched down at POG. We waited a few minutes for our luggage, (they actually checked the tags when we exited), and out into the sidewalk. I didn't see anyone with a D'Souza / Murray sign, but before I could look fully around, someone walked up and asked Loango? He had a Loango Lodge tshirt too, so it all seemed legit. So far so good!
The driver took us to Hôtel Le Bouganvillier in town, about 10 minutes from the airport, which was the same hotel that had been mentioned when I was originally booking back in July.
We switched to a quatre-quatre (4x4) for the next leg. They weren't quite ready to leave so we had a 2nd breakfast, including an omelette, as we hadn't had any protein with our 5:30am breakfast and I wasn't sure when we'd be eating again.
Our first driver came back from the pharmacy with a pair of generic reading glasses, and asked if we could deliver to Mathieu (the manager at Loango). Like most remote places, there's infrequent transport to a main centre and anyone going back and forth becomes an ad hoc transport service.
We drove through POG, to another hotel, where we picked up a group that had their own vehicles but had to follow our driver in a convoy.
So now we were four vehicles on our way to Loango. Our driver said it was about 3.5 hours to another meeting point, where we would switch vehicles for the last hour into Loango.
It was a long hot bumpy ride over a dirt road. There is a road being constructed, and for parts of the drive the new road was operational. There weren't lane markings or anything, but aside from a couple of construction related vehicles, there was no one else on the road.
I hadn't realized that the entire drive would be through undeveloped countryside. There weren't any little towns or even junction towns e.g. to buy water. Never mind junction towns - there wasn't even a junction - there was just this one road, from POG to Loango, with nothing else in between. This would have been good to know before we left POG, as we would have bought some extra water. We had a 1L bottle that we had carried on the plane, but that was it.
There were a couple of security checkpoints, related to the construction company. Our driver makes this run frequently and knew all the checkpoint people so there were no issues.
Finally around 3pm we reached Camp Liambissi, very parched and hungry. This was the destination for the rest of the convoy, which finally made sense to us. We had been wondering how the group of 14 including 7 young kids would handle Loango, as there's not many kid-accessible activities.
The manager, Phillipe, greeted us and invited us to stay a few minutes to have a snack. I guess the driver had called ahead to let them know that were hungry and thirsty tourists incoming :) It was the fastest Heather and I have ever finished a 1.5L bottle of water, less than 10 minutes.
We switched to a safari vehicle for the last hour to Loango, just me and Heather. It felt great to be in the open safari vehicle after the hot enclosed ride for the previous five hours. The scenery was amazing - intermingled grasslands and forests. It reminded me of a very large golf course in the woods, except this was natural.
We reached Loango around 4:30pm. We met the manager, Mathieu, as well as another person who introduced himself with what sounded like Yanni. Turns out it was Jannie who I had been emailing over the past few months. He had signed his emails alternately as Jan or Jannie, and I had assumed it was a female name of someone with Africa's Eden, and based in Portugal. So finally I knew that the Loango trip wasn't an elaborate Internet scam :)
Mathieu showed us to our chalet. We quickly washed up and then went out for a short tour of the lagoon which separates Loango National Park from Loango Lodge.
We saw some hippos, and then did a short walking safari and saw a lone elephant. Our guide / boat driver got us close to the elephant on foot. The elephant didn't take too kindly to this, and we backed off back to the boat. It all seemed rather sketch. (Over the next couple days we observed other newly-arrived tourists doing the same walking safari to a lone elephant. It looks like walking safaris are The Next Big Thing that lodges offer, without all the safety / knowledgeable guides that we've had at previous lodges.)
We went by boat to another beach and walked around to the ocean-facing side of Loango NP, hoping to see elephants or hippos on the beach. We did see elephant footprints but no animals.
We got back to the lodge around 6:30pm. Showered and then to the main lodge for dinner. It was excellent - freshly-caught jack fish, impossibly tender, with green beans and mashed potato, and a fruit crumble for dessert. Mmm good.
We were a little concerned about sleeping, as there was no mosquito net and Gabon is a great place to catch malaria. I had brought a small net but there was no place to rig it up. There was a/c and a big fan, so we cranked up both and hoped that the power didn't go off in the middle of the night. Also put on bug repellant as a back up. Turns out the power at Loango Lodge is pretty reliable and the a/c and fan did the trick, we didn't get any bites.
Monday, December 25, 2017
Libreville, Gabon
We managed to sleep through the night so I hoped we had skipped jetlag on this trip. Breakfast was yummy at the Royal Palm - pastries, pancakes, fresh fruit salad and the best scrambled eggs I've had.
We spent most of the morning reorganizing our packs. We had used the carry-on suitcase to pack clothes in case our luggage didn't make it. (We were leaving the carry-on at the Royal Palm to carry souvenirs back at the end of the trip.)
It was Christmas so everything was closed, so we just walked into the centre of Quartier Glass to stretch our legs and see what the neighbourhood was about. Similar to Toronto, Libreville is a city of neighbourhoods. We did have a few objectives -- get local currency (CFAs), find a place for lunch, and buy some bottled water.
We tried a couple of ATMs but no luck, so went to Hotel Le Cristal to see if they would change some Euros. They had an ATM, so we tried that first, and it worked!
Flush with cash we continued on our little tour. Heather spotted a happening place in an old colonial building, with people seated around the 2nd floor balcony. It was starting to drizzle and it looked like a nice place to at least have a coffee so we stopped in. It turns out the salon de thé, Le Pelisson, is a Libreville institution (at least according to the Bradt guide). We decided to have lunch there, even though it was still before noon and a bit early for us, as we hadn't seen much else open. The food wasn't anything to write home about, but the coffee was great and the dessert was amazing.
We figured that was enough for the day and so headed home, stopping in at a gas station convenience store along the way to buy some water.
Cleaned up and then went to the pool area to have a drink and watch the sunset. I was expecting the sun to slant down across the sky, but then remembered that we were close to the equator and so the sun just goes straight up and straight down. The sun got close to the horizon and then disappeared behind some clouds.
So it was now dark and we figured respectable enough to have dinner. However the bar staff said the kitchen wasn't open and to come back later. They weren't really clear on the reason. So we surfed a bit in our room, looked up some back up places that might be open on Christmas. At 7:30 we went back our to the bar and luckily, they were now open for dinner.
I had the grilled langouste and Heather tried the duck with fig. Both were pretty good, our Christmas dinner. We had an early start the next morning so went to bed early around 10pm.
We spent most of the morning reorganizing our packs. We had used the carry-on suitcase to pack clothes in case our luggage didn't make it. (We were leaving the carry-on at the Royal Palm to carry souvenirs back at the end of the trip.)
It was Christmas so everything was closed, so we just walked into the centre of Quartier Glass to stretch our legs and see what the neighbourhood was about. Similar to Toronto, Libreville is a city of neighbourhoods. We did have a few objectives -- get local currency (CFAs), find a place for lunch, and buy some bottled water.
We tried a couple of ATMs but no luck, so went to Hotel Le Cristal to see if they would change some Euros. They had an ATM, so we tried that first, and it worked!
Flush with cash we continued on our little tour. Heather spotted a happening place in an old colonial building, with people seated around the 2nd floor balcony. It was starting to drizzle and it looked like a nice place to at least have a coffee so we stopped in. It turns out the salon de thé, Le Pelisson, is a Libreville institution (at least according to the Bradt guide). We decided to have lunch there, even though it was still before noon and a bit early for us, as we hadn't seen much else open. The food wasn't anything to write home about, but the coffee was great and the dessert was amazing.
We figured that was enough for the day and so headed home, stopping in at a gas station convenience store along the way to buy some water.
Cleaned up and then went to the pool area to have a drink and watch the sunset. I was expecting the sun to slant down across the sky, but then remembered that we were close to the equator and so the sun just goes straight up and straight down. The sun got close to the horizon and then disappeared behind some clouds.
So it was now dark and we figured respectable enough to have dinner. However the bar staff said the kitchen wasn't open and to come back later. They weren't really clear on the reason. So we surfed a bit in our room, looked up some back up places that might be open on Christmas. At 7:30 we went back our to the bar and luckily, they were now open for dinner.
I had the grilled langouste and Heather tried the duck with fig. Both were pretty good, our Christmas dinner. We had an early start the next morning so went to bed early around 10pm.
Sunday, December 24, 2017
Libreville, Gabon
Our flight was Saturday at 6:35pm. We got most of our packing done on Friday night so we weren't too rushed on Saturday to get to the airport. We had booked our flights back in June through Heather's cousin Cindy and got a great deal for Business class. I hadn't realized this also meant we skipped the line up through security, which was a nice bonus, especially over the busy Christmas season. The agent verified our visas to Gabon in Toronto; I thought they would only check before the flight from Paris but I guess it makes more sense. (Airlines are responsible for flying you out if you're refused entry to a country, so they check to make sure your papers are in order before you board.)
The food was pretty good on Air France, and we both slept for the latter half of the flight. The Air France lounge at CDG was under renovations and the temporary lounge was packed (woe is us). It was a short connection, just enough time for a coffee and pastry, and then we were off to Gabon!
We napped a couple times on the second flight and arrived relatively rested in Libreville. We were one of the first people to disembark and I accidentally followed the first class passengers to the VIP immigration, before one the VIPs helpfully pointed out the normal immigration checkpoint.
We already had our Gabon visas and the immigration official whisked us through in no time. Her ink pad was getting dry so the stamp is barely visible, but oh well. Then we waited over an hour for our luggage (reminded me of being at Pearson), but they all arrived. Everyone was very friendly around the conveyor, moving carts out of the way to let people pass and generally being helpful.
There was a final checkpoint leaving the secure area, where the official asked if we were students (lots of students were returning home for the holidays). We said, no, we're tourists, at which point she got suspicious. Oú allez-vous? cause no-one comes here as a tourist. We said we were going to Loango, and she nodded approvingly and waved us through.
Outside the terminal it was packed with families and friends waiting for the returning students. We found the taxi line and took a taxi to our hotel. We could smell the ocean as we drove, and I remembered that the road from the airport to town ran right along the coast. It was a pleasant temperature, about 26C, and pretty humid.
We checked into the Royal Palm around 7:30pm. We cleaned up and went to the hotel restaurant for dinner. According to Heather's research it was one of the better restaurants in town, plus on Christmas Eve we weren't sure what else was open. We sat at a table outside. We were the only guests at first, but a couple other tables filled in later on. We were still a little full from the Air France food, so split the seafood platter and a couple large Régab (the local beer). The seafood was excellent, it was super fresh and cooked properly. A good start to the food on this trip!
The food was pretty good on Air France, and we both slept for the latter half of the flight. The Air France lounge at CDG was under renovations and the temporary lounge was packed (woe is us). It was a short connection, just enough time for a coffee and pastry, and then we were off to Gabon!
We napped a couple times on the second flight and arrived relatively rested in Libreville. We were one of the first people to disembark and I accidentally followed the first class passengers to the VIP immigration, before one the VIPs helpfully pointed out the normal immigration checkpoint.
We already had our Gabon visas and the immigration official whisked us through in no time. Her ink pad was getting dry so the stamp is barely visible, but oh well. Then we waited over an hour for our luggage (reminded me of being at Pearson), but they all arrived. Everyone was very friendly around the conveyor, moving carts out of the way to let people pass and generally being helpful.
There was a final checkpoint leaving the secure area, where the official asked if we were students (lots of students were returning home for the holidays). We said, no, we're tourists, at which point she got suspicious. Oú allez-vous? cause no-one comes here as a tourist. We said we were going to Loango, and she nodded approvingly and waved us through.
Outside the terminal it was packed with families and friends waiting for the returning students. We found the taxi line and took a taxi to our hotel. We could smell the ocean as we drove, and I remembered that the road from the airport to town ran right along the coast. It was a pleasant temperature, about 26C, and pretty humid.
We checked into the Royal Palm around 7:30pm. We cleaned up and went to the hotel restaurant for dinner. According to Heather's research it was one of the better restaurants in town, plus on Christmas Eve we weren't sure what else was open. We sat at a table outside. We were the only guests at first, but a couple other tables filled in later on. We were still a little full from the Air France food, so split the seafood platter and a couple large Régab (the local beer). The seafood was excellent, it was super fresh and cooked properly. A good start to the food on this trip!
Sunday, December 17, 2017
Toronto, Canada
This year's trip is to Gabon and São Tomé & Príncipe. I can't say I could have pointed out Gabon on a map prior to researching this trip, although I knew roughly the whereabouts of São Tomé and Príncipe. We picked the destinations based on the least touristed countries in the world, with things of interest to us. In 2011, São Tomé & Príncipe received 12,000 visitors, which is an average of about 30 tourists per day. Gabon is a relative hotspot with 269,000 annual tourists, which still puts them in the lowest 25% of countries. (For comparison, France, the most-touristed country, has over 80 million visitors per year). Well enough with the statistics.
The two countries provide good variety for a three week trip. São Tomé & Príncipe has great beaches and snorkeling, coffee and chocolate plantations, hiking, and Claudio Corallo chocolate. Gabon highlights include national parks, with surfing hippos, lowland gorillas and elephants on the beach.
There wasn't much choice for guide books, just a skinny Bradt guide for each country. The two put together are the same thickness as the South Africa Lonely Planet from our previous trip.
We had booked most of the trip back in June, and had to rearrange everything in November when the regional flight schedules changed from what we were expecting. Luckily we were able to change our dates for most of our hotels & lodges.
We were a bit concerned with getting visas, as there's a lot of comments all over the web about other travellers having their visa applications rejected. We had no issues, although we did have to submit a lot of documentation. The visa application for São Tomé & Príncipe is online. Gabon also has an e-visa, but we needed a double-entry so mailed our passports to the embassy in Ottawa. The Gabon visa is a nice looking full-page sticker which includes our picture! I've not seen that before.
We learnt from previous trips and did most of our shopping for gear in early summer, when stores still have hot weather inventory. We're mostly ready to go, another week and we'll be on our way!
The two countries provide good variety for a three week trip. São Tomé & Príncipe has great beaches and snorkeling, coffee and chocolate plantations, hiking, and Claudio Corallo chocolate. Gabon highlights include national parks, with surfing hippos, lowland gorillas and elephants on the beach.
There wasn't much choice for guide books, just a skinny Bradt guide for each country. The two put together are the same thickness as the South Africa Lonely Planet from our previous trip.
We had booked most of the trip back in June, and had to rearrange everything in November when the regional flight schedules changed from what we were expecting. Luckily we were able to change our dates for most of our hotels & lodges.
We were a bit concerned with getting visas, as there's a lot of comments all over the web about other travellers having their visa applications rejected. We had no issues, although we did have to submit a lot of documentation. The visa application for São Tomé & Príncipe is online. Gabon also has an e-visa, but we needed a double-entry so mailed our passports to the embassy in Ottawa. The Gabon visa is a nice looking full-page sticker which includes our picture! I've not seen that before.
We learnt from previous trips and did most of our shopping for gear in early summer, when stores still have hot weather inventory. We're mostly ready to go, another week and we'll be on our way!
Saturday, December 31, 2016
Toronto, Canada
We have returned from our trip to south eastern Africa (Mozambique, Victoria Falls, Lesotho, Swaziland, and the eastern half of South Africa).
The highlight for us was Mozambique. It's still relative untouristed, especially in the north. Supposedly the middle area around Tofo is busy with beach-going South Africans, but we didn't go there so can't really say. We loved Mozambique Island and Coral Lodge. To give an idea of how untouristed Mozambique Island is, there is only one store selling souvenirs on the whole island. The whole island is a UNESCO Heritage Site and the centuries old buildings are being quickly restored. There was hardly any hassling of tourists, for the most part nobody gave us a second glance. Maputo was also amazing, with a unique architectural style in the core, great food, and artsy feel.
Victoria Falls was cool to see, and the last of the big four waterfalls on my list (Iguazu, Angel Falls, and Niagara being the other three). I would put Victoria Falls 3rd on the list, if only because it's hard to get a big picture view of its size. Maybe in high flow season if I took a helicopter I might have a different opinion.
The safaris were good with lots of game. We both liked the remoteness of Kidepo in northern Uganda better than any of the safaris on this trip, with maybe the exception of Mountain Zebra NP because of the interesting landscape. We saw the big five on this trip, which wasn't really a goal, but cool anyways. One thing we realized about safaris this time around is to stick to the highlights for each game reserve. For example, Mkhaya is known for its rhinos -- so it's better to focus on the rhinos there, and not try to find the one hyena (I made that up) in the park.
Lesotho was a contrast to the rest of South Africa. It reminded us of Bolivia, as both are at an altitude and people wear distinctive clothing that's somewhat similar. Lesotho had the least-developed infrastructure out of the places we visited this trip. It would be better with a 4WD.
This was one of the few times I've rented a car on vacation. It's really the only way to see South Africa / Swaziland / Lesotho, as it's all very car-centric. It was interesting as we got to see parts of the country that we wouldn't normally if we just flew from place to place. In particular we loved the Karoo region around Cradock.
Our next vacation is hopefully to North Korea. Depending on how long we have, we may try to tack on Cambodia while we're half way around the world.
The highlight for us was Mozambique. It's still relative untouristed, especially in the north. Supposedly the middle area around Tofo is busy with beach-going South Africans, but we didn't go there so can't really say. We loved Mozambique Island and Coral Lodge. To give an idea of how untouristed Mozambique Island is, there is only one store selling souvenirs on the whole island. The whole island is a UNESCO Heritage Site and the centuries old buildings are being quickly restored. There was hardly any hassling of tourists, for the most part nobody gave us a second glance. Maputo was also amazing, with a unique architectural style in the core, great food, and artsy feel.
Victoria Falls was cool to see, and the last of the big four waterfalls on my list (Iguazu, Angel Falls, and Niagara being the other three). I would put Victoria Falls 3rd on the list, if only because it's hard to get a big picture view of its size. Maybe in high flow season if I took a helicopter I might have a different opinion.
The safaris were good with lots of game. We both liked the remoteness of Kidepo in northern Uganda better than any of the safaris on this trip, with maybe the exception of Mountain Zebra NP because of the interesting landscape. We saw the big five on this trip, which wasn't really a goal, but cool anyways. One thing we realized about safaris this time around is to stick to the highlights for each game reserve. For example, Mkhaya is known for its rhinos -- so it's better to focus on the rhinos there, and not try to find the one hyena (I made that up) in the park.
Lesotho was a contrast to the rest of South Africa. It reminded us of Bolivia, as both are at an altitude and people wear distinctive clothing that's somewhat similar. Lesotho had the least-developed infrastructure out of the places we visited this trip. It would be better with a 4WD.
This was one of the few times I've rented a car on vacation. It's really the only way to see South Africa / Swaziland / Lesotho, as it's all very car-centric. It was interesting as we got to see parts of the country that we wouldn't normally if we just flew from place to place. In particular we loved the Karoo region around Cradock.
Our next vacation is hopefully to North Korea. Depending on how long we have, we may try to tack on Cambodia while we're half way around the world.
Thursday, December 29, 2016
Johannesburg, South Africa
It was a nice sunny day when we woke up in Maliba Lodge. We had breakfast and were packed up and ready to go by 9am. It's a five hour drive from Maliba to Johannesburg, although we were planning to take our time and not just drive for five hours straight.
The drive from Maliba to Butha Buthe is really scenic. I stopped in a bunch of places to take pics of the villages and rondavels that dot the valley. There were a few groups of people in the fields (couldn't tell if they were harvesting or planting or something else).
In Butha Buthe we tried to find the craft shop. We drove down some really pot-holed side streets looking for it, but had no luck. Gave up before the car got stuck in one of the giant potholes and headed for the border.
The border crossing at Calendspoort was quicker leaving Lesotho than entering. It was also one of the easiest land crossings we had this trip. We parked at the Lesotho exit and walked in to get our exit stamp (which had the wrong date -- Dec 28 instead of Dec 27). Then drove through, where they stamped our passports again. I guess if you leave by car, you don't need to park -- you can get your exit stamp at the drive-through.
So now we had two exit stamps from Lesotho, one for today and one for tomorrow. Hopefully this wouldn't cause problems entering South Africa! They didn't even bother to look at the stamps at the entrance though, just took our passports and gave us a stamp for entering South Africa. They asked us to pop open the trunk at the gate, saw a bunch of backpacks, and sent us on our way. Very easy, and no attempts to bribe unlike most other border crossings we went through this trip.
Our route to Johannesburg was not on the main highways which was good, as they sounded backed up based on the radio traffic reports. Around noon we left the highway in Frankfurt to look for a little cafe or restaurant. The town looked like it had seen better days. Most of the store and restaurants were closed and boarded up. The busiest (and only open) restaurant, based on cars parked outside, had no windows, never a good sign. Instead we went to the grocery store we had seen on the way in. This also had seen better times -- half the shelves were empty. We bought some cheese and crackers to tide us over and left Frankfurt in a hurry.
The GPS was really helpful at getting us to 33 Melville. We drove through downtown Johannesburg along the way, our only view of the downtown core, which looked just as car-centric as the rest of the country. We arrived at the b&b around 3pm, the end of our long road trip. We drove 4,500km over 21 days, covering a good chunk of the eastern half of South Africa.
We had earlier emailed the b&b to arrange to have dinner. We both chose fish options (sea bass for Heather, salmon for me) which were cooked properly. We ate outside because we figured it was one of our last chances to do so before we flew back to Toronto. It was a bit chilly but okay with our jackets.
...
The next morning we had a pleasant breakfast, seated in the kitchen. We both asked for french toast to break up the monotony of eggs, eggs, and more eggs that have been on offer the entire trip.
It was drizzling as we drove to the Apartheid Museum. The GPS proved very handy again. We parked and ran over the ticket booth to escape the rain. Then we realized half the museum was outdoors, so Heather ran back to get our umbrellas. The entrance to the museum is separated for blacks and whites, just like during apartheid. The tickets alternate between a "white" and "black" ticket, and depending on which one you get, that's the entrance you use. The first displays are separate -- you only get to see the half you're in. After about 5-10 minutes, they group up again. It really emphasizes partially what it was like during apartheid.
There's lots of details in the museum. We took about 3.5 hours to get through, skipping over the temporary exhibits as they aren't necessarily apartheid related.
We decided to eat at the on-site café because usually cafés at museums and art galleries are pretty good. Except for this one. Both our dishes were bland. Oh well.
On the way back home we called into a couple craft stores for our final look at souvenirs, Art Africa on Tyrone, and Kim Sacks Gallery. In particular we were looking at the african bed that's made from a single piece of wood, and is used by westerners as coffee tables. We took some pics and dimensions and will decide when we get back home. Our favourite was 79" x 29", so I think it might be too big for our house.
We had debated eating out at a restaurant just to check out the scene, but most places were closed over the Christmas holidays. We just ate at the hotel again, we had ordered lamb, which was amazing.
...
Our flight departed at 11:59pm so we had the full day in Johannesburg. I had booked 33 Melville for a 1/2 day so that we could shower and relax before we got on the flight.
In the morning we visited Liliesleaf Farm, which is where the underground movement was arrested at the height of apartheid. All the reviews we had read said that it was very underrated. They were right! It was an excellent museum, with lots of interactive displays and explanations. Their café was excellent too. It's a good complement to the Apartheid Museum that we had visited the day before.
After lunch we returned back to the b&b and packed up our bags for the flights home. Surprisingly all of our stuff fit into our two backpacks and one carry-on suitcase. We were planning to check the suitcase because it had the sculptures from Mozambique that were made from old gun parts. We didn't want the hassle of trying to take it as carry-on.
We had a light dinner, a repeat of the fish we had the other night. I still had to drive the rental car back to the airport so didn't have anything to drink. Also didn't want to be dehydrated getting on the flight.
So followed the GPS to the airport. I was a little nervous as the route took us through the city streets at night. At some of the red lights, the other cars used them as stop signs so I followed suit (it's to prevent possible carjackings at red lights while you're stopped). We made it without issue to the airport, dropped off the car, and checked in. We browsed around the souvenir shops while waiting. There's an Art Africa in departures, and the quality and variety was really good. We could have just waited and bought all our souvenirs here!
Our flight left about 30 minutes late, and then we were on our way back home!
The drive from Maliba to Butha Buthe is really scenic. I stopped in a bunch of places to take pics of the villages and rondavels that dot the valley. There were a few groups of people in the fields (couldn't tell if they were harvesting or planting or something else).
In Butha Buthe we tried to find the craft shop. We drove down some really pot-holed side streets looking for it, but had no luck. Gave up before the car got stuck in one of the giant potholes and headed for the border.
The border crossing at Calendspoort was quicker leaving Lesotho than entering. It was also one of the easiest land crossings we had this trip. We parked at the Lesotho exit and walked in to get our exit stamp (which had the wrong date -- Dec 28 instead of Dec 27). Then drove through, where they stamped our passports again. I guess if you leave by car, you don't need to park -- you can get your exit stamp at the drive-through.
So now we had two exit stamps from Lesotho, one for today and one for tomorrow. Hopefully this wouldn't cause problems entering South Africa! They didn't even bother to look at the stamps at the entrance though, just took our passports and gave us a stamp for entering South Africa. They asked us to pop open the trunk at the gate, saw a bunch of backpacks, and sent us on our way. Very easy, and no attempts to bribe unlike most other border crossings we went through this trip.
Our route to Johannesburg was not on the main highways which was good, as they sounded backed up based on the radio traffic reports. Around noon we left the highway in Frankfurt to look for a little cafe or restaurant. The town looked like it had seen better days. Most of the store and restaurants were closed and boarded up. The busiest (and only open) restaurant, based on cars parked outside, had no windows, never a good sign. Instead we went to the grocery store we had seen on the way in. This also had seen better times -- half the shelves were empty. We bought some cheese and crackers to tide us over and left Frankfurt in a hurry.
The GPS was really helpful at getting us to 33 Melville. We drove through downtown Johannesburg along the way, our only view of the downtown core, which looked just as car-centric as the rest of the country. We arrived at the b&b around 3pm, the end of our long road trip. We drove 4,500km over 21 days, covering a good chunk of the eastern half of South Africa.
We had earlier emailed the b&b to arrange to have dinner. We both chose fish options (sea bass for Heather, salmon for me) which were cooked properly. We ate outside because we figured it was one of our last chances to do so before we flew back to Toronto. It was a bit chilly but okay with our jackets.
...
The next morning we had a pleasant breakfast, seated in the kitchen. We both asked for french toast to break up the monotony of eggs, eggs, and more eggs that have been on offer the entire trip.
It was drizzling as we drove to the Apartheid Museum. The GPS proved very handy again. We parked and ran over the ticket booth to escape the rain. Then we realized half the museum was outdoors, so Heather ran back to get our umbrellas. The entrance to the museum is separated for blacks and whites, just like during apartheid. The tickets alternate between a "white" and "black" ticket, and depending on which one you get, that's the entrance you use. The first displays are separate -- you only get to see the half you're in. After about 5-10 minutes, they group up again. It really emphasizes partially what it was like during apartheid.
There's lots of details in the museum. We took about 3.5 hours to get through, skipping over the temporary exhibits as they aren't necessarily apartheid related.
We decided to eat at the on-site café because usually cafés at museums and art galleries are pretty good. Except for this one. Both our dishes were bland. Oh well.
On the way back home we called into a couple craft stores for our final look at souvenirs, Art Africa on Tyrone, and Kim Sacks Gallery. In particular we were looking at the african bed that's made from a single piece of wood, and is used by westerners as coffee tables. We took some pics and dimensions and will decide when we get back home. Our favourite was 79" x 29", so I think it might be too big for our house.
We had debated eating out at a restaurant just to check out the scene, but most places were closed over the Christmas holidays. We just ate at the hotel again, we had ordered lamb, which was amazing.
...
Our flight departed at 11:59pm so we had the full day in Johannesburg. I had booked 33 Melville for a 1/2 day so that we could shower and relax before we got on the flight.
In the morning we visited Liliesleaf Farm, which is where the underground movement was arrested at the height of apartheid. All the reviews we had read said that it was very underrated. They were right! It was an excellent museum, with lots of interactive displays and explanations. Their café was excellent too. It's a good complement to the Apartheid Museum that we had visited the day before.
After lunch we returned back to the b&b and packed up our bags for the flights home. Surprisingly all of our stuff fit into our two backpacks and one carry-on suitcase. We were planning to check the suitcase because it had the sculptures from Mozambique that were made from old gun parts. We didn't want the hassle of trying to take it as carry-on.
We had a light dinner, a repeat of the fish we had the other night. I still had to drive the rental car back to the airport so didn't have anything to drink. Also didn't want to be dehydrated getting on the flight.
So followed the GPS to the airport. I was a little nervous as the route took us through the city streets at night. At some of the red lights, the other cars used them as stop signs so I followed suit (it's to prevent possible carjackings at red lights while you're stopped). We made it without issue to the airport, dropped off the car, and checked in. We browsed around the souvenir shops while waiting. There's an Art Africa in departures, and the quality and variety was really good. We could have just waited and bought all our souvenirs here!
Our flight left about 30 minutes late, and then we were on our way back home!
Tuesday, December 27, 2016
Ts'ehlanyane NP, Lesotho
We were up by 7am on a nice Christmas morning. We were the first down for breakfast, outside on the patio.
Maliba has detailed maps of various treks in the area. We chose a shorter walk for today, a circular route to Black Pool, about 6.5km round trip.
We were on the trail by 9:15am, starting with the Upper Trail. It ascended to about 2300m, through a well-marked trail. There were hundreds of butterflies flitting about as we walked. The temperature fluctuated almost 10C depending on the sun/clouds and side of the valley. There were a handful of streams to cross with rocks, nothing too difficult.
We reached Black Pool in just over an hour, slightly ahead of the map timings. (We were comparing our times for reference in case we decided to do a longer trek tomorrow).
We rested for 10 minutes then header back on the Lower Trail. This was easy until we passed a sign that said "Cross at own risk". Hmm. A few metres on was a stream that had rocks to cross, but only if you had some speed. So mapped our route and hopped across.
Still dry, we walked on and then there was another stream, this one we would have to take off our shoes and socks. Picked the place where the stream was shallow and slow enough, and got across with water up to our knees.
After crossing we realized there was a family watching us as they were trying to cross the other way.
The rest of the walk was easy. We walked down by the self-serve cottages and saw the start of a different trail that we were interested in. However it started with fjording the river, which made it less interesting to us.
We walked back up to our chalet, showered, and went to the main lodge for lunch. The lodge put on their big Christmas spread for lunch - roast beef, roast pork with crackling, chicken, and lots of sides. The crackling was my favourite, although I was a bit concerned about chipping a tooth. We felt justified in eating so much cause we had just done an 8km trek.
It was a gorgeous day, perfect temperature. Our chalet doors opened up fully (four door widths), and so it was like the entire chalet was open to the view.
We were still full when we went down for dinner. There were lots of day-trippers at the restaurant, and the staff were really busy. Dinner was mostly leftovers from lunch. Just like Christmas at home :)
...
We had planned to go hiking again but Heather had a big bruise on the back of her heel, we think from yesterday's river crossing. It was too sore for shoes so instead we made plans for a cultural visit of a nearby village.
Our guide was one of the staff from who we had been trying to learn how to say "thanks" in Sesotho.
We drove about 15 minutes to a local bar, and tried some home brewed beer. It was slightly sweet. Next was a visit to a house / rondavel, and then to a traditional "doctor". People nowadays go to a real doctor (we saw mobile clinics on the road) and use the traditional doctor more for conflict resolution, like family fights.
Anyways the cultural visit was something to do.
Lunch was my favourite at the lodge, pan-fried lamb chops. It came with a half plate full of seasonal vegetables. It was very similar to what we might have for dinner at home!
The rest of the day was uneventful. We were still full from lunch when we went down for dinner, and didn't eat much. A typical Boxing Day :)
Maliba has detailed maps of various treks in the area. We chose a shorter walk for today, a circular route to Black Pool, about 6.5km round trip.
We were on the trail by 9:15am, starting with the Upper Trail. It ascended to about 2300m, through a well-marked trail. There were hundreds of butterflies flitting about as we walked. The temperature fluctuated almost 10C depending on the sun/clouds and side of the valley. There were a handful of streams to cross with rocks, nothing too difficult.
We reached Black Pool in just over an hour, slightly ahead of the map timings. (We were comparing our times for reference in case we decided to do a longer trek tomorrow).
We rested for 10 minutes then header back on the Lower Trail. This was easy until we passed a sign that said "Cross at own risk". Hmm. A few metres on was a stream that had rocks to cross, but only if you had some speed. So mapped our route and hopped across.
Still dry, we walked on and then there was another stream, this one we would have to take off our shoes and socks. Picked the place where the stream was shallow and slow enough, and got across with water up to our knees.
After crossing we realized there was a family watching us as they were trying to cross the other way.
The rest of the walk was easy. We walked down by the self-serve cottages and saw the start of a different trail that we were interested in. However it started with fjording the river, which made it less interesting to us.
We walked back up to our chalet, showered, and went to the main lodge for lunch. The lodge put on their big Christmas spread for lunch - roast beef, roast pork with crackling, chicken, and lots of sides. The crackling was my favourite, although I was a bit concerned about chipping a tooth. We felt justified in eating so much cause we had just done an 8km trek.
It was a gorgeous day, perfect temperature. Our chalet doors opened up fully (four door widths), and so it was like the entire chalet was open to the view.
We were still full when we went down for dinner. There were lots of day-trippers at the restaurant, and the staff were really busy. Dinner was mostly leftovers from lunch. Just like Christmas at home :)
...
We had planned to go hiking again but Heather had a big bruise on the back of her heel, we think from yesterday's river crossing. It was too sore for shoes so instead we made plans for a cultural visit of a nearby village.
Our guide was one of the staff from who we had been trying to learn how to say "thanks" in Sesotho.
We drove about 15 minutes to a local bar, and tried some home brewed beer. It was slightly sweet. Next was a visit to a house / rondavel, and then to a traditional "doctor". People nowadays go to a real doctor (we saw mobile clinics on the road) and use the traditional doctor more for conflict resolution, like family fights.
Anyways the cultural visit was something to do.
Lunch was my favourite at the lodge, pan-fried lamb chops. It came with a half plate full of seasonal vegetables. It was very similar to what we might have for dinner at home!
The rest of the day was uneventful. We were still full from lunch when we went down for dinner, and didn't eat much. A typical Boxing Day :)
Sunday, December 25, 2016
Ts'ehlanyane NP, Lesotho
We were the only guests staying at Patcham Place in Clarens so had our choice of tables for breakfast.
I had booked for two nights in Clarens because all the guest houses in Clarens had a two-night minimum for booking over a weekend. However the owners didn't hold us to the 2nd night and only charged us for the one.
Clarens was a nice enough town to visit for the afternoon but there wasn't too much keeping us beyond that.
So onto Lesotho, the 75th country for me, three-quarters of the way to my goal of 100.
It was a 45 minute drive to the border town of Caledonspoort. There were a couple police checks along the way as we got closer to the border, as well as a check for drinking and driving (similar to the RIDE stops in Toronto).
At the border, we parked the car at the South African side and stood in line for about 10 minutes to receive our exit stamp. It was busier than normal because of Christmas.
There was another lineup on the Lesotho side. Non-regional visitors have to fill out a form; the helpful staff also gave us a few tourism pamphlets. Heather got held up for a bit as the border official was asking her for a visa. Canadians don't need a visa and it didn't look like an attempt at a bribe so we're not sure what was going on. Anyways he called over another person and then let Heather through.
There was a cursory check of our trunk, and then we were on our way.
It was still early in the day (about 10:30am) so we decided to head first to Hlotse for craft shopping, adding about an hour to the drive.
I wasn't sure where the craft shops would be so followed the signs to the town centre. It was the local centre, which looked very similar to some of the smaller towns we drove through in the Eastern Cape, south of Lesotho.
I pulled over and we looked up in google maps (I had offlined the area earlier) the craft shop mentioned in the pamphlet we received at the border. It was just around the corner from us.
We drove in and parked. There was a sign on the door to call a cell number if the door was closed. We didn't have a data plan so walked around, and found the lady who ran the shop in her home next door. She came by and opened the shop.
They had good quality mohair crafts per Heather who's more particular about woven goods. Bought a few items, and then got back on the road.
The way to Maliba Lodge in Ts'ehlanyane NP was clearly marked. The road wound through the river valley and through small villages with speed bumps. Lots of gear shifting!
The people reminded us of Bolivia, with distinctive hats and ponchos/blankets for the cold. Lesotho is mostly at an altitude between 2-3000m, a very different climate from South Africa.
After 45 minutes we reached the gate to the national park, and the road turned to gravel. Another five minutes and we were there!
I had booked Maliba over Dec 24-25-26 as it offers full board, and we've found restaurants and stores hit-and-miss for being open over Christmas. There's lots of hiking opportunities, so seemed like a good fit for Christmas. Plus it would keep us off the roads, the DUI rate is very high in South Africa, and I figured more so over the holidays.
Anyways it was still before noon and our room wasn't ready yet. We had a very nice 3-course lunch (the restaurant at Maliba is one of the better ones in Lesotho according to the Lonely Planet).
Maliba has only six chalets (as well as some self-catering cottages) and I had booked back in April to make sure we got in. I guess cause we were first to book they gave us the "honeymoon" chalet, more secluded from the rest of the complex. We had a really nice view down the valley from our room and large balcony.
We relaxed until dinner. They had some cultural dancing that started at 6:30pm, we're not big fans as usually it ends up with audience participation, so only went down to the main lodge for dinner at 7pm.
Heather had the winner for her main, duck breast with a red wine sauce.
We were tired (I think we've been on safari time the entire trip) and went to bed around 9am. Our room had a fireplace, the first time in years that we've had a chance for Santa to drop by.
I had booked for two nights in Clarens because all the guest houses in Clarens had a two-night minimum for booking over a weekend. However the owners didn't hold us to the 2nd night and only charged us for the one.
Clarens was a nice enough town to visit for the afternoon but there wasn't too much keeping us beyond that.
So onto Lesotho, the 75th country for me, three-quarters of the way to my goal of 100.
It was a 45 minute drive to the border town of Caledonspoort. There were a couple police checks along the way as we got closer to the border, as well as a check for drinking and driving (similar to the RIDE stops in Toronto).
At the border, we parked the car at the South African side and stood in line for about 10 minutes to receive our exit stamp. It was busier than normal because of Christmas.
There was another lineup on the Lesotho side. Non-regional visitors have to fill out a form; the helpful staff also gave us a few tourism pamphlets. Heather got held up for a bit as the border official was asking her for a visa. Canadians don't need a visa and it didn't look like an attempt at a bribe so we're not sure what was going on. Anyways he called over another person and then let Heather through.
There was a cursory check of our trunk, and then we were on our way.
It was still early in the day (about 10:30am) so we decided to head first to Hlotse for craft shopping, adding about an hour to the drive.
I wasn't sure where the craft shops would be so followed the signs to the town centre. It was the local centre, which looked very similar to some of the smaller towns we drove through in the Eastern Cape, south of Lesotho.
I pulled over and we looked up in google maps (I had offlined the area earlier) the craft shop mentioned in the pamphlet we received at the border. It was just around the corner from us.
We drove in and parked. There was a sign on the door to call a cell number if the door was closed. We didn't have a data plan so walked around, and found the lady who ran the shop in her home next door. She came by and opened the shop.
They had good quality mohair crafts per Heather who's more particular about woven goods. Bought a few items, and then got back on the road.
The way to Maliba Lodge in Ts'ehlanyane NP was clearly marked. The road wound through the river valley and through small villages with speed bumps. Lots of gear shifting!
The people reminded us of Bolivia, with distinctive hats and ponchos/blankets for the cold. Lesotho is mostly at an altitude between 2-3000m, a very different climate from South Africa.
After 45 minutes we reached the gate to the national park, and the road turned to gravel. Another five minutes and we were there!
I had booked Maliba over Dec 24-25-26 as it offers full board, and we've found restaurants and stores hit-and-miss for being open over Christmas. There's lots of hiking opportunities, so seemed like a good fit for Christmas. Plus it would keep us off the roads, the DUI rate is very high in South Africa, and I figured more so over the holidays.
Anyways it was still before noon and our room wasn't ready yet. We had a very nice 3-course lunch (the restaurant at Maliba is one of the better ones in Lesotho according to the Lonely Planet).
Maliba has only six chalets (as well as some self-catering cottages) and I had booked back in April to make sure we got in. I guess cause we were first to book they gave us the "honeymoon" chalet, more secluded from the rest of the complex. We had a really nice view down the valley from our room and large balcony.
We relaxed until dinner. They had some cultural dancing that started at 6:30pm, we're not big fans as usually it ends up with audience participation, so only went down to the main lodge for dinner at 7pm.
Heather had the winner for her main, duck breast with a red wine sauce.
We were tired (I think we've been on safari time the entire trip) and went to bed around 9am. Our room had a fireplace, the first time in years that we've had a chance for Santa to drop by.
Saturday, December 24, 2016
Clarens, South Africa
It was much nicer in Bloemfontein in the morning. The temperature was cooler, there was no wind or dust storms. The "view" in Franklin's View (the hotel name) made more sense now.
Loaded up the car and took off for Clarens. This was a straightforward 3h drive along major highways. We actually paid attention to the traffic reports on the radio as it was for the highways around Jo'burg.
Passed through Bethlehem on the way. I had looked into staying there when I was doing the planning but everything was already booked over Christmas. Haha.
We arrived in Clarens just after 11am. It was still early to check in so we parked our car and walked down the street for lunch.
It was unusually hot for Clarens, about 31C. None of the hotel rooms have a/c as that's never been an issue here. It was also very windy, and dusty due to the drought.
Clarens is a small town (pop. 800) that reminded us of Banff or other small resort places. The motorcycle guys we met in Barkly's Pass said Clarens is full of yuppies who drive up in their BMWs and sit on patios drinking their cappuccinos and craft beers. I resemble that remark!
We had lunch at Mosaic Pizza and tried a craft beer. Both were good, although I found the pizza too cheesy.
Walked back to the hotel and checked in. Then back out to the square and Main St (that's all there is to this town) to browse through the boutique stores. It was mostly kitschy generic stuff, of average quality, so the browsing didn't last long. Had a cappuccino at a little café.
About 3pm we called into the Clarens Brewery which was packed with tourists. We had a voucher for a free beer each. Tried the free samplers of nine beers, and made our choices. Unfortunately the keg was too fizzy for my choice so I had Heather's pick too.
It started raining and looked like it could downpour so moved inside. Just in time too, as the skies opened up and then everyone moved inside. We had a little hightable in the corner, overlooking the whole bar.
It was still raining when I finished my free beer so ordered another one. It briefly hailed marble-sized hail, nothing big enough to damage our car.
The skies cleared so we ventured home, showered, and then back out for dinner. Our hotel had recommended Gosto (which they also owned, but it did get good reviews on TripAdvisor and had great atmosphere when we stopped in earlier to check the menu and make a reservation).
The weather was perfect for outdoor seating (under a covered patio, in case of rain). I had the ribeye (first time I had seen this cut) and Heather had the lamb. Both were rather large portions. It went well with the red wine recommended by the waitstaff.
It started pouring rain towards the end of dinner, but after about 10 minutes it stopped long enough for us to walk home.
Loaded up the car and took off for Clarens. This was a straightforward 3h drive along major highways. We actually paid attention to the traffic reports on the radio as it was for the highways around Jo'burg.
Passed through Bethlehem on the way. I had looked into staying there when I was doing the planning but everything was already booked over Christmas. Haha.
We arrived in Clarens just after 11am. It was still early to check in so we parked our car and walked down the street for lunch.
It was unusually hot for Clarens, about 31C. None of the hotel rooms have a/c as that's never been an issue here. It was also very windy, and dusty due to the drought.
Clarens is a small town (pop. 800) that reminded us of Banff or other small resort places. The motorcycle guys we met in Barkly's Pass said Clarens is full of yuppies who drive up in their BMWs and sit on patios drinking their cappuccinos and craft beers. I resemble that remark!
We had lunch at Mosaic Pizza and tried a craft beer. Both were good, although I found the pizza too cheesy.
Walked back to the hotel and checked in. Then back out to the square and Main St (that's all there is to this town) to browse through the boutique stores. It was mostly kitschy generic stuff, of average quality, so the browsing didn't last long. Had a cappuccino at a little café.
About 3pm we called into the Clarens Brewery which was packed with tourists. We had a voucher for a free beer each. Tried the free samplers of nine beers, and made our choices. Unfortunately the keg was too fizzy for my choice so I had Heather's pick too.
It started raining and looked like it could downpour so moved inside. Just in time too, as the skies opened up and then everyone moved inside. We had a little hightable in the corner, overlooking the whole bar.
It was still raining when I finished my free beer so ordered another one. It briefly hailed marble-sized hail, nothing big enough to damage our car.
The skies cleared so we ventured home, showered, and then back out for dinner. Our hotel had recommended Gosto (which they also owned, but it did get good reviews on TripAdvisor and had great atmosphere when we stopped in earlier to check the menu and make a reservation).
The weather was perfect for outdoor seating (under a covered patio, in case of rain). I had the ribeye (first time I had seen this cut) and Heather had the lamb. Both were rather large portions. It went well with the red wine recommended by the waitstaff.
It started pouring rain towards the end of dinner, but after about 10 minutes it stopped long enough for us to walk home.
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