South Africa has an abundance of birdlife, as is well known throughout the world. While we know very little about these creatures, it does not prevent us from stalking them and mostly, being shunned by these chirping fellas. For every bird we capture on camera, a multiple of five seems to evade us. Nevertheless, it's an enjoyable endeavor while we move up and down the mountains and through the forests. (See end for text...)
'Hey, I'm showing you my tail; at least, take a look.'
"Hi Gorgeous."
'Imagine how I'd look with long eyelashes...in fact, any lashes.'
This 'bird' is lucky to be on chains. (One of our favorite places, Sentinel).
You're not serious?
'I'm not as mean as I look...not even close.'
Takeoff!
Giving the eye.
Majestic.
The bird is at the top of the Tugela waterfall, the second highest in the world at over 3,000 feet.
A male captured on camera chasing the poor bird.
Not all creatures can be attractive. (Apply caption to the above picture, too)
Only a female can offer that kind of look.
Those two again.
I suppose the typical reaction is, "So cute."
Football coach calls the play.
'Go on, say it. Make my day, Clint.'
Some enchanted evening.
'Nice body but I still like to see a face. I'm not as shallow as the pond.'
That's the weary look: seen it and done it all.
"I don't wanna hear anything about proportion, please."
"It's actually a great back-straightening exercise. Don't try it at home...although I do."
It’s hard to make up some of the stories or the occurrences of the trails and the roads. Most of them range from enjoyable to wonderful and even incredible. Of course, life is not a one-way street and at times, difficulties arise and have to be dealt with, often pushing us into less palatable positions. Some of the adverse situations, even at the time of the occurrence, will become laughable or humorous memories sometime in the future although stressful in the present. Then there are other occasions which are unpleasant from start to finish and will probably conjure bad memories in the future.
Fortunately, and hopefully, they are few and far apart. I think our last such event which we mentioned, humorous in retrospect, occurred in Sophia, Bulgaria when we booked accommodation for two nights and arrived at the hotel in peak traffic only to find our booking was seven nights earlier. We had to find alternative beds in a place unknown to us and in a hurry as we had a small automobile—could not spend a night in it or even a few hours..
In sunny South Africa, we have experienced a somewhat worse situation and are not guaranteed it won’t happen again. We collected a car from Hertz, our second one in four days (for insurance purposes) and headed to one of the world’s premier regions, The Drakensberg. One could write a tome about this region, its history linked to the British Empire, the Zulu nation, the Afrikaans nation and the South African English. That’s even before beginning on the magnificent Drakensberg mountain range and all who and that inhabit it: below, upon, and around it. We arrived at Vergesient and were treated exceptionally well by management and staff. As an aside, bear in mind our bias, the hospitality and respect of South Africans is admirable. With all the upheaval the country has endured and continues to face daily, there is a quality inherent in the people, black and white, that is not matched elsewhere or at least, where we have travelled.
We began by mentioning a struggle we recently underwent. After a hike at the property at which we were residing, the following day we headed for Royal Natal National Park, another marvel. On our return, we noticed the car seemed to be struggling as we approached our parking space at the Retreat. A puncture or as some may say, a flat. We changed the wheel and all went well although I noticed my strength seems to be waning or a gorilla tightened the wheel-bolts previously. So now we were back in action, although with black and brown hands and arms as 20kms of the road leading to the Retreat is of gravel and rocks and in rough condition, leaving its mark/s on the car.
We needed to have the tyre repaired and as the closest garage was an hour away, we thought of doing it the next time we left the property. The following day we hiked locally and thereafter (following day), left early for Royal Natal again. After a tough hike in 95-degree weather, we decided to forego an extra 90 minutes of travelling and take a chance that we would not need a spare wheel. We calculated the risk and felt the odds favored us. We approached the boundary of the Retreat and Jen spotted an eagle close-by. We stopped to view and snap pictures, but the bird took flight. Pity, as it was a marvelous specimen. We continued through the gate, Jen jumped out the car, opened the said gate, I drove through and she closed it and returned to her seat. She knows she has to behave otherwise said driver may not stop to wait beyond the gate. The journey continued slowly and suddenly it felt like the chassis collapsed. Puncture number two in two days. We now had three working wheels which does not cut it. The time was latish Friday afternoon and we were departing from the Retreat on the Sunday...(continued next time.)
Cheers,
Jenni and Jeffrey
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