Wednesday 27 November Punda Maria
Last night we had another amazing and terrifying storm, simultaneous and continuous thunder and lightening, gusts of strong wind and heavy rain. Our mobile phone network coverage, which was slow and laborious at best here at Punda Maria yesterday, has now disappeared completely, presumably as a result of the storm, so I don't know when I will be able to upload this.
We drove to Punda Maria from Bataleur yesterday morning, after another indulgent breakfast of eggs and ham. We stayed on the tarred roads but still saw plenty of game on the way. Punda Maria campsite ground was a bit disappointing after the excellence of all the others. It is unbelievably stony, people who know the site seem to come prepared with rakes and stiff brooms. It is on a slope and undulating, so it is quite hard work to find a level piece of ground with some shade where a tent can be pitched. It is not very busy so we finally decided upon a shady spot and swept it with our small brush as well as we could. We are still on quite a slope and I rolled off my sleeping mat a couple of times in the night onto a very stony tent floor.
Another downside is the fact that a laundromat is advertised, but all the washing machines are broken. At this half way stage of the trip, thinking we would be at a well-equipped site, I had planned to do a washing machine wash of our bedding, tea towels etc., instead of which I am scrubbing them by hand in a bucket. The ablutions block for the campsite is quite small, 2 toilets, 1 shower and a bathroom. It's OK at the moment but there must be queues for toilets and showers when the site is full. The shop is very basic, with limited supplies. These are all negative comments, but in fact the campsite has a nice feel to it, lots of trees, close to the bush, very laid-back.
When we got here yesterday afternoon we were unsure of exactly how we would spend the last few days in the Park. One option which had occurred to us was that we would spend two nights here, then move up to the privately owned Pafuri Tented Site for the last two nights. That would enable us to spend more time in the region of the Luvuvhu River and the Thulamela archaeological site, both marked as things we really wanted to do. We battled with the slow and intermittent phone and data transmission to discover that the Pafuri Tented Site, the only accommodation available in that part of the Park is horrendously expensive, about £250 per person per night. It is such a shame that the eclectic northern strip, with amazing biodiversity and with availability to an important archaeological site, is priced well out of our resources, and I would suspect also of many others. As it happens any disappointment about not being able to afford to stay there was removed by the knowledge that it isn't an option. The floods last January which devastated Shingwedzi also destroyed the Pafuri site. Whereas SAN Parks has rebuilt Shingwedzi and re-opened it as a very good, well appointed Rest Camp, Wilderness Safaris, who I think are responsible for the Pafuri Camp, still haven't come to an agreement with their insurers. One disappointed followed another when we discovered that due to the floods the Thulamela Archaeological Site is still not open to the public. We checked this out with Punda Maria Camp officials, as we would have considered joining a tour group from here, to have that confirmed, the Site is closed.
So here we were yesterday evening at Punda Maria, replanning the last few days of our journey through the Kruger Park, enjoying our braai, sitting by the tent in the early evening dusk, when flashes of lightening started to appear on the horizon, followed by low rumblings of thunder. We played on, continuing our three hands of Crib, John was victorious 2-1, as the lightening became more persistent and the thunder louder. We decided to zip up the tent and go to bed. As at Maroela, we were hardly settled when the wind started. The intense flashes of lightening and the ear-numbing roars of thunder are scary but manageable, the intensity and strength of the gusts of wind, threatening to rip our tent from the ground is the really frightening part. Once again we held onto the sides as it was buffeted around. This time our experience of the previous storm paid off, John had replaced tent pegs with strong nails anchoring us firmly to the ground. Although the poles bent in the wind and the tent rocked from side to side nothing came loose. Then the rain came as well. Torrential rain battered the sides of the tent as we tried to hold it steady against the wind. The rain continued after the wind had stopped and the storm drew away. As the noise of the storm abated it was replaced by the ear-splitting sound of frogs. They continued long after I dozed into an uneasy sleep. At some time, maybe around dawn, the noise from the frogs stopped and the cicadas began.
Around 05.00, when we were both awake, it was a still and sunny day, although the sky was still very overcast and we wondered if there was more rain to come.
The rest of our day has been so good. The shop at Punda Maria is very limited so we decided to go our of the Park to do some shopping. The SatNav showed us a large supermarket about 40 kms away so we headed for it. As soon as we were outside the Punda Maria Gate we entered a different world. I have already said that living inside the Park as we have for nearly a month has been like removal from the real world. I hadn't expected re-entry to be so dramatic and sudden. Less than 2 kms from the Park gate put us into a world of circular thatched huts, fields ploughed by harnessed cattle, women working in the fields with rudimentary tools. The destination the SatNav gave us was a busy, buzzing, and lively town. The main street was a corridor of improvised stalls, selling everything, but mostly fruit and vegetables. We drew into a complex, labelled by the street sign as 'NEW'. We found a Shoprite Supermarket, where we bought a few basic groceries. We spotted a Hardware Store sign, where we bought some more long nails. We didn't see another white face. We were stared at, but everyone was friendly and helpful, We knew that we were in a totally non 'white= affluent' area when no-one rushed forward to 'mind our car' for a small tip. Maybe we were such an oddity, combined with our age, I joked with the young woman at the checkout desk in the Liquor Store, that she hadn't asked John to prove he was over 18, as it was stated she needed to do.
We finished our shopping and drove back to the camp, back into our little bubble of unreality. Our shopping expedition is one of the highlights of our trip so far, just a tiny step into the real world of South Africa.
Thursday 28 November Punda Maria
Still no mobile phone coverage after the storm of a couple of nights ago. It's annoying and frustrating for us as there are several things we would like to check up on before we go to Zimbabwe, as well as upload this journal. The inconvenience for the Camp administration is much worse than that. We now appreciate that all their computerised system is dependent on a mobile phone network. We are not sure how they are coping with centralised bookings as we checked in before the outage, but a trip to buy one item from the Camp shop requires taking a packed lunch. We've given up getting an ice cream out of the cabinet before every thing else has been checked out. Each item purchased is hand written into a receipt book, every detail including bar code number is recorded, then totalled up using a calculator. The character of the local people does not have haste as one of its attributes, any intrusive diversion, such as a greeting from a colleague, may cause a further delay in the transaction, hence the melted ice-cream scenario.
The restaurant is currently out of action, due to a bat infestation of the roof over the kitchen. When we arrived we were told that the restaurant might be closed on the following evening. Now that work has begun it is obvious that it could be closed for many days or even weeks. The stench from the bats now that the workmen have broken into the ceiling cavity is disgusting and choking, the workmen are actually wearing masks. Yet, as with the previous entry, Punda Maria is an engaging Campsite. In comparison to all the other Camps we have stayed at in Kruger Park it is unassuming and run on traditional 'African' lines. All the other Camps have provided facilities for every campers needs or wants, whereas Punda Maria is back to basic camping.
Today we went up to the far north of the Park, where the scenery is dramatically different. Tall and distinguished Baobob trees dot the landscape. Kopjes rise majestically from the plains, which disappear into the distance, lasting for ever. The route is often undulating, corners turned to find copses of trees and pools of water. There are fewer animals but many more birds. It is empty and lonely.
We tried to drive to the Thulamela Archaeological site, but the track was blocked, a fallen tree pulled across it. We stopped at the Picnic Site and spoke to a Ranger there who had no idea when it would reopen. I asked him about the fact that even when Pafuri Camp is rebuilt it is too expensive for most people to stay at. It seems that SAN Parks has a plan to build a Camp in the area, over in the direction of 'Crooks Corner'. Things seem to be happening quite slowly in some parts of SAN Parks at the moment. It is incongruous that on the one hand Shingwedzi Camp has been completely rebuilt and the Pafuri Picnic spot looked brand new, levelled and reconstructed after the floods last January, but coming up to the busiest tourist season of December and January, Punda Maria has just decided to replace the bat infested restaurant and hasn't replaced its washing machines. An affordable Camp in the northern Pafuri region would surely be a good financial investment, it's surprising it hasn't happened before. We keep hearing comments from fellow campers, white South Africans who love the Park and have been coming here for many years, came with children and now bringing grand children, without any racist comparison, who say that unfortunately it is not as well maintained as it used to be. If it is now under black South African management, why should that make a difference? Can there really be such a racially stereotypical diverse view on what is considered 'good management'? We have both spent time in a number of 'African' countries and in some ways envied the 'what ever will be, will be', 'if God wishes' approach to life, however....??
We continued eastwards to 'Crook's Corner', where the Limpopo River provides a boundary between the three countries, South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. It became known as Crook's Corner because it was where poachers, smugglers and people traffickers hung out. There could easily pass from one country to another to escape whichever police force or military was pursuing them. Having seen maybe one other tourist car all day, we discovered three or four others parked there. The occupants were mostly birders, hoping to catch a glimpse of rarer migrant species traveling a little further south from the heat of Zimbabwe and Mozambique. We had a conversation with a couple from The Eastern Cape who were interested to hear about our trip three years ago when we had passed through that area. They were also able to answer some questions we had. The flood level of January this year was not as high as that of February 2000, but the destruction and devastation was much worse. It wasn't simply a matter of the river flooding, an enormous tidal wave was created at the confluence of the Limpopo and Luvuvhu rivers. The Luvuvhu normally drains into the Limpopo, but on this occasion as both rivers were in full flood, it was met with a wall of water coming in the opposite direction. This explains why we have seen trees uprooted and fallen in more than one direction, and why whole tracts of land were removed and replaced. We also learnt that it is unusual to see so much water at that point of the Limpopo, this could be due to some residual water still remaining in the river bed since last January, but it is difficult to say because the whole river course has been remodelled. It was very fortunate for us, I have a photo of 'the great, grey-green, greasy Limpopo', unfortunately I didn't manage to get a young elephant in it.
It was one of the best days we have had in the Park. We didn't see the game, but the scenery was stunning, so different to anything else in the south. It is a cool and overcast evening. Perhaps it will rain.
Friday 29 November Punda Maria
It did rain it the night, not heavily, more of a thick drizzle and was damp and cool when we woke up this morning. We are now on countdown to leaving the Park, indeed to leaving South Africa, as we cross over the Limpopo River into Zimbabwe for the next stage of the trip. The drizzly rain cleared a bit, although it is still damp and overcast. We have cleared and repacked the car, preparing for the next stage of the journey. We are slightly apprehensive about the border crossing at Beitbridge as we have had so many warnings and cautions about it, but all the information about travelling in Zimbabwe has been positive. We are ready to move on. Looking back on the trip so far, if we were planning it again with the knowledge we have now, we would have had a week less in the Kruger Park and maybe spent the other week in Limpopo Province in South Africa. I think we have missed an opportunity to have had more variety in the trip, the central area of the Park is very similar, with game sightings being the main attraction. On our return trip to Pretoria we are overnighting in the area of the Soutpansberg and are sorry we will not have longer there. A week exploring this northern and less visited part of South Africa would have interesting.
Another thing to add is that we have been in the Kruger Park for 24 days and nave not seen or heard a single mosquito. Maybe there hasn't been enough rain yet? We have decided to start our anti-malarial prophylaxis this morning though, just to be safe as we go further north into wet and steamy Zimbabwe.
I have had a few more thoughts about the white/black management thing, especially the washing machines! Maybe I ought to try and see it from a more 'African' perspective. The Punda Maria Camp was originally created and equipped by whites for whites. I remember when I was in Tanzania and a young black woman offered to do my washing for me. She returned a beautifully clean and spotless shirt without the stubborn stains I had been unable to remove. When I congratulated her on this I was told that the problem is that we (white) people rely on machines to do our work for us, and so we have lost the skills and ability to perform simple and basic tasks for ourselves. Who needs washing machines? There seems to be a number of women living in and around the camp, maybe partners of men working here. I have noticed that they do chores for some of the campers, their washing up and some cleaning, maybe they also do washing, by hand, somewhere? It doesn't sit comfortably with my philosophy of independence and not asking anyone else to do something I am not prepared to do myself, but I do that in other aspects of life. Is it that I consider these tasks to be 'demeaning', therefore I'm not prepared to hand them down to someone else? It would certainly be a way of putting money into the local economy.
13.30 and phone coverage has just returned so I will upload this now. It's very overcast, heavy and sultry, so if we get another storm tonight it could get wiped again. We are hoping not, as we would really like a dry tent to pack up in the morning.
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