South Africa Day Nine: Johannesburg to Hazyview

We had hoped to get an early start on our long drive to Hazyview today, but our laundry that we had given to the guesthouse to wash for us was not yet dry when we went to bed, so we had to wait for the guesthouse staff to be awake to give it to us before we could go, so we got a slightly later than planned start. Driving out of Joburg was a bit complicated, especially in rush hour, and it took a bit of doing to find the road we wanted, but eventually we did and we were well on our way by 8am.

The road out of Joburg is pretty dull for a good hour or so as you head northwest, but eventually, after we had crossed into the state of Mpumalanga, the scenery becomes prettier and more “African”. The road is excellent, too, and, except for those areas where they’re fixing it or widening it in preparation for 2010, we were able to go 130 km/h or so, so we made very good time.

Our route had us go along highway for much of the way, from Joburg through Witbank to the town of Belfast, from where we got off the highway and onto smaller, more scenic roads. Since we had time to meander through the area, we decided to head toward the Mac-Mac Falls before lunch, so we drove through some lovely countryside along mountain roads for a good 90 minutes to get there. The falls were a bit smaller than we had anticipated, and the viewing platforms not all that well situated, but it was a nice diversion and it afforded us an opportunity (finally!) to find some gifts to bring back for people at a small curio market located at the falls’ parking area.

Having done our tourist thing, we decided it was time for lunch, so we headed to the town of Sabie to eat at the Wild Fig Tree, where I was able to sample the highly regarded local trout (J2 had a beef dish; the trout was in fact very good, though the beef was a bit boring). We then continued toward Hazyview, not too far further along, and found our inn for the night, the 4-star Tana Mera lodge. The lodge is located off the road about 2km up a rutted packed-earth road that really jostled our car quite a bit and made us very glad it’s a 4x4. But the inn itself is lovely, and our room is a thached cottage with a fireplace and a lovely bathroom area with a stone tub (for two) in the middle overlooking the Sabie River in the valley below.

Now that we had found our lodge we headed out to the town of Hazyview to buy provisions to use while inside the Kruger Park. We found a Super Spar supermarket in a very crowded shopping center and headed in. (I should note here that just about everywhere we have been in South Africa when you park your car there is a person in a safety vest who will offer to “watch” your car for you while it’s parked. I have had the feeling that it’s prudent to accept their offer, other than in Franschhoek, where the stores all display a sign pleading with visitors not to do so. In exchange for their services they expect a tip of around R4 (50 cents), and then they will help you maneuver your car out of your parking spot.) The store was huge, and packed with people, all of whom were African. We stuck out like a sore thumb, but absolutely no one seemed to notice or care. We picked up some sausages (“boerewors”) and some steaks to barbecue, and some chips and stuff to snack on, and wood for a fire, and got into a huge line to check out (the check out clerks were extraordinarily slow). I was tempted to abandon our stuff and try another store, but feared that other stores would be the same way, so we waited it out and eventually got through.

Before returning to the lodge we visited one other grocery, and this time almost all the patrons were white. The selection was a bit more limited than at the Spar, but of a higher quality, and included quite a good wine section, and the check out was much quicker and more organized.

Back at Tana Mera we decided to take advantage of the last hour or so of sunlight to take a hike down to the Sabie River. The path started out OK, but before too long it was covered with fallen logs that we had to climb over and under, and then it became a steep descent, often with no supports or footholds, down to the river bank. The river was nice to see, though, especially since at this point it goes through a bunch of rocks and forms a little rapids. The climb back up the path was a bit slower going than the way down, and by the time we were back at the top we were drenched in sweat. After around 10 days of no Alphacise, perhaps we had already got out of shape...

After a quick shower we headed to the lodge’s lounge area to have some wine (Simonsig Syrah) before dinner, flipping through some of their books on wildlife and African scenery to while away the time. At 7 they served dinner, seating all six guests at a communal table. The other guests were a Belgian couple from Antwerp and a South African couple from nearby Nelspruit, and we had a lovely time chatting with them about all sorts of things. The Belgians had just come from spending several days at one of the private game parks nearby, and told us about the wonderful animal sightings they had had, while the South Africans talked about life in rural South Africa. We discussed our plans to move to Elgin and open a guesthouse and apple farm, and they were extremely supportive of it, though they also gave us some tips about dealing with the local work ethic and some of the less attractive aspects of South African culture, all of which sounded similar to what we experience in China.

The dinner menu gave everyone two choices for each of three courses, so naturally J2 and I each tried one of the choices and shared. The starters were a delicious potato and leek soup or a grilled mushroom salad (both excellent) and the mains were either grilled trout with almonds or oxtail (ditto, though my trout was extremely similar to the one I had had for lunch) and the dessert was the iconic Malva pudding (a sponge cake with apricot and a butterscotch topping) or a chocolate mousse.

After dinner we returned to our room and headed straight to bed, despite the early hour, to be able to get on the road bright and early in the morning.