Sage on sail

Ah yes, it’s been a few days we’ve been incommunicado. Yes, it happens it places like this. Issues of connectivity in a country sparsely inhabited, differing SIM cards which take a while to figure out, electrical plugs that don’t fit, and finally we’re just having too good a time!!

So where shall I start in order to catch up?

Day 1 Johannesburg to Moreti Camp

First, had to say good-bye to our hosts at Hadeda Hall. They had been wonderful hosts and even going to the extent of inviting us for dinner during the rugby game between the Springboks and England. What a night. And just this morning, we learnt the Springboks beat the All Blacks, so people here are going crazy. So, goodbye to Maikye and Bryan.

Next was to pick up Dave and Lesley from their guest home and then off to Bushlore which is located north east of Johannesburg just before Pretoria. Travis came to pick us up at each of our guest houses and was the one to provide us with the intiation into driving one of their beasts – an 8 cylinder, 4 wheel drive split differential Toyota Land Cruiser.

2 hours later, we pulled out of Bushlore’s yard and headed over to the fueling station to begin our adventure. And boy, were our heads ever spinning from the amount of information that we had just had to absorb in terms of the operation of the vehicle.

Here we are after the first night in Moreti Bush Camp on the South African side of the border with Botswana called Martin’s Drift. There’s lots to learn about all the functions and the first day we arrived was in the dark at the campsite. It took a little longer than expected to get everything set up for the night but we succeeded with the help of the light from an almost full moon. 

Day 1 did not come without incident. Minding our own business on the road leading to Botswana were lots of trucks from the mining in the area. One went by and CRACK went our windscreen. small shards of glass came inside and as the days went on the cracks grew and now we are in Maun waiting for Monday morning to get a new windscreen.

DAY 2 – Moreti on the Limpopo River to Rhino Sanctuary

Only 5km to the Botswana border – Martins Crossing. For most of the way both sides of the road is lined with trucks. We’re not sure if they are waiting for directions from the owners about potential pick ups or are they waiting to cross? Anyway, 100s of trucks and assume they will soon find their loads and/or cross over.

For us our crossing was fairly routine, although lots of uncertainty as to which counter to go to, who to talk to, what to pay, if anything, and general confusion. Keeping a smile on and being polite and patient pays off handsomely. The whole process only took us about an hour,  and we got free condoms and lots of laughter from the border health inspectors whose job was to make sure we had no intention of spreading diseases while on tour. Dave was the winner in terms of getting the most condoms. We’re  not sure if that was just because he is the handsomnest or if he has the look of the most likely to carry disease?

Finally on our way and 200km to go to the Rhino Sanctuary, our next camping site.

A quick set up, a drink or two and then off on a 2 hour drive around the sanctuary with Tea. We took off around 1600hrs and, of course, saw mostly rhinos. But what beautiful and majestic animals. They have both white and the black rhino. Here are a few shots from the rhino sanctuary. There were also giraffes, warthogs, springbok etc

Day 3 Rhino Sanctuary to Botiti River Camp

A cold morning to start the day. Mornings start at around 24C and quickly rise to a mid afternoon max of 41C – like sitting beside a radiator on a cold winters day in Canada! By 2200hrs temperatures drop to around 32C,  allowing one to start dozing off without sweating. It’s a dry heat, thank god.

Botiti River Camp to Maun

We had planned to stay 2 nights at Botiti but having met a couple of South African wanderers, John and Nolene, who invited us to drive into the local park the next day. So, break camp at 0800hrs and following John and Nolene, we headed out into the park and followed the Botiti River, which was running slow and low. However, the river valley was full of zebras, elephants, ostriches, wildebeast, steenbok, kudus and stuck Germans.

Yes, driving is a challenge in the parks. Having a 4X4 is a necessity and also being supplied with shovels, tow ropes, traction pad and winches, and a little raw man power. On this day, we came across a couple of German tourists who had managed to sink their car up to their bumpers in deep sand. They  had no equipment and had not done the basic for sand driving which is to lower the tire pressure from 3 kpi to 1.5 kpi.With a few people looking on we drove down in the the river basin from the ridge, dug out the sand from around the vehicle, attached the a tow line and dragged them out from a stable position above them. All worked well, but all this is done in the blazing sun at 38C! Calls for a good drink after…what an excuse!

We’re in Maun for two nights, and then we are going incognito again and this time for 9 days. We will have no contact during this time, but we will have some great stories to share with you as long as we’re not eaten by a lion or a crocodile or a hyena or….

Johannesburg – the most treed city I’ve seen anywhere in the world and for our visit the jacaranda trees are just starting their display:

Daytime temperatures are in the mid 20s and evenings are in the mid teens. Fantastic temperatures for outdoor patio eating in the evening and walking in the daytime.

Our 5 hour walking tour of downtown Johannesburg started in the building that was once the South African Stock exchange.

Our guide for the day was Charlie

Charlie is from a tour company that offers an incredible variety of tours in Johannesburg. If you’re coming down this way then I can highly recommend connecting with https://www.localplaces.co.za We spent 5 hours with Charlie, who was incredibly articulate and knowledgeable.

Of course, by  the end of the tour we collapsed and found a great restaurant in the Rosebank Mall; a plate of ribs and a bowl of potatoes all for CDN$12!

We’re getting spoilt from all the good food and from the Hadeda Guest House – https://www.hadedahall.com – where we are staying. We have a lovely unit with access to a garden for relaxing

The hosts, Bryan and Maiky, are very welcoming and helpful. They make incredible breakfasts. It’s always great to start off the day on a full stomach. That keeps us going to dinner intersperced with a snack or two and a drink during the day.

We were invited by Bryan and Maiky to join them for dinner on the night of the rugby game between South Africa and England. What a night – dinner brai on the rooftop patio and then a wild night of celebration over South Africa’s win. This coming Saturday, we are going to have to be somewhere where we can watch the All Blacks and South Africa battle it out over the rugby field.

The second day of ‘be a tourist in Johannesburg’ was spent at the incredible Apartheid Museum – https://www.apartheidmuseum.org To do this museum justice one needs to set aside a good part of the day. It’s incredibly comprehenive, pulling together the entire development of the apartheid laws and stories that culminated in an incredibly harsh segregation of the entire population.

We spent 3.5 hours wandering through the numerous displays including video, print material, photos and audio exhibits.

But time was pressing. We needed to shop and prepare for our upcoming sojourn into Botswana. Food supplies needed to be found and purchased, and that’s always a challenge in a place that one doesn’t know.

Next will be our pick up on Tuesday by Bushlore where we will get taken to our truck which will be home for the next three and a half weeks.

See you on the road…

As many of you know, Connie is the Chair of the Victoria Regional Pickleball Association. In that role, I kind of consider her to be an ambassador for pickleball wherever she goes.

However, yesterday, we were shown around parts of Johannesburg we would not normally see as a regular tourist. Part of that tour included a visit to The Wanderer’s Club. Now, one would think this is a club for those who travel far and wide where the members gather for wild travelling stories to the wilder places of the world. But, no….it’s a sports club.

The place covers acres and acres and has fields for lawn bowling, cricket, tennis, soccer and rugby. But, wait, hold on what is Connie doing?

Yes, to all those picklball players that know Connie from the Victoria picklball courts should know she is courting (excuse the pun here) padel ball with the idea it may be more popular than pickleball.

Stay tuned as we have challenged well-known padel ball players, Stephen and Liesel Brachmayer, to a padel ball competition on November 18th.

If you are a paddleball player from Victoria, don’t spread this information around.

Ignorant, stupid or brave? I’m not sure which category we belong in but yesterday we did it again. What you ask!

We have a few days in Johannesburg before heading off into the wilds of Botswana. Making the most of our time we decided to visit a gallery close to the downtown area called the Wits Gallery. We didn’t  phone before we went and we should have.

Upon arrival we discovered there was almost nothing on display other than some paintings from the 1970s and 1980s and most done by American artists.

We didn’t spend long and decided to walk to Constitution Hill from the Wits Gallery. Everyone tells you not to walk in downtown Johannesburg – well, we did. And nothing happened other than walking too far for too long!

We made it to Constitution Hill which is the centre for the Constitutional Court and the offices of the Chief Justice. A beautiful new building with an interior covered in a lot of art.

I think my first commercial flight was in 1952 across the North Atlantic. Not that I remember much, but I think flying has gone downhill ever since, at least from the customer’s viewpoint.

Our flight yesterday was on Turkish Airlines from Istanbul to Johannesburg – a 10 hour marathon. Check-in was smooth, but then we were at the airport at 1900hrs for a 0100hrs flight! Yes, early, but we thought we could just snack on something at the airport and find a comfortable place to sit and read.

The airport is new – brand spanking new. It looks more like a mall for very weatlthy shoppers. Plenty of high-end merchandise from Gucci to Fendi and on to Tom Ford; just the place for high end second hand shoppers like us to end up in.

Ah yes, it’s all duty-free, they say, but then it’s marked up to prices beyond what one would pay in a shop downtown. The place bristles with ads for flying, showing happy customers in lie down flat seats being served sumptious meals by smiling cabin staff.

The reality is one is squeezed into a seat like a sardine in a can, served some unidentifiable mixture of chicken and veggies that is balanced on a tray that is mere inches from your stomach with a 1/3 cup full of coffee because they can’t be bothered to brew more.

That’s a pretty good description of flying Turkish Airlines. Adding insult to injury, they continue to show on the screens in front of you advertisements with happy flying customers in business class seats – it’s an insult to those of us in the cattle car seats.

Okay, enough whinging! We made it after a 2 hour delay in Istanbul – dammit if it had been a 3 hour delay some little clause in our health insurance allows us to call and they will provide access to one of those special lounges that people who fly business/first class get to use.

We arrived in Johannesburg 10 hours later and are now relaxing on the back garden deck of our guest house – Yes, it’s great. Clear, warm, welcoming. and very friendly faces – the Africa I remember.

First order of the day -find the carpet museum:

We’ve passed a sign numerous times telling us the carpet museum is 1 minute walk away but have never seen a carpet museum building. Finally, we ask a nearby tour seller. He points to the building behind us and tells us the museum has been closed for three years!

Leaving the area, we kept our eyes out for a post office box where we could mail our postcards. We found this one with an odd inscription. Are our cards going to make it?

Second order of the day – head over to visit the Orhan Pamuk Museum of Innocence – by the way, Orhan Pamuk is a Turkish Nobel Literature Price winner for his work as an author and a book called Istanbul. He opened a museum we wanted to visit. It was a bit of a trek that included a tram ride, a funicular ride, a stroll through Taksim Square, and a walk through an area well known for antiques called Beyoglu.

The museum was closed:! https://www.masumiyetmuzesi.org

Strike 1

So, next on our marked list was a hamam, a Turkish bath. We happened to have one marked on our map that was one of the oldest in the city and also the only one that allowed men and women in at the same time. Yes, success at last. After turning left, turning right, backtracking, and asking a few locals, we found it. Outside the building was the tariff sheet – for a simple wash and scrub, it was going to cost, for the two of us, $175 Canadian dollars.

Strike Two

Oh God, this is not looking good. We better choose something that’s going to work. Ah, the Perla Palace Hotel was in the area. Up, up and up the hill, around a few corners, down an alleyway, across a major intersection, and yes, there it was in all its splendor. The Perla Palace Hotel was made famous by Agatha Christie, where she committed many a foul murder in her writing career. Apparently, she used to stay here to conjure up some of her murder mysteries.

She must have taken advantage of the adjoining pastries, which we seemed to get ensnared by.

Home Run

To feel we earned those pastries, we we needed to walk a little further, so off we set to uncover mysteries of the area before returning to the hotel for a well-earned rest.

Escape from what, you ask? I how you think we are fortunate to be where we are, and you’re right but it’s hard work!

Being pushed and shoved while shuffling through an ancient old building, fighting for space on an overcrowded public tram, figuring out what’s edible on a menu in a foreign language and walking miles because one didn’t know the transit system was being shut down for the day because of a bike race all adds up to hard work.

I know there’s no or little sympathy. I agree, but then I love the unexpected challenges of navigating through the unfamiliar and sometimes unsettling.

So, that brings me to decision of what to do on a recent day. I headed over to the newly built Istanbul Contemporary Art Gallery. It’s located right in front of the cruise ship terminal (hint, hint Victoria) and I thought might attract a lot of cruise ship visitors but I was fortunate – it was dead quiet – a nice relief from the highly publicized tourist attractions in the rest of the city.

Now this is more familiar territory – out on the water to enjoy a voyage to the black sea. Of course, I have to do it on the cheap!

It was hard rowing but there I am heading over from the eastern side to pick Connie up on the European side. The rental didn’t include lifejackets but everything else was included.

The return trip to the Black Sea was about three hours stopping at a variety of ferry landings. We mostly hugged the European side except in the narrows.

The Bosphorus is an amazing body of water connecting the Black Sea and the Marmarra Sea. The Bosphorus is the only access Russia and the Ukraine have to the Mediterranean. For thousands of years it also played a role in the push and pull of western versus eastern influences. I am currently reading a book written by Christopher de Bellaguie called The Lion House: The Coming of a King. It’s primarily about the power change between the Christains and the Muslims over the Bosphorus and hence the city of Constantinople/Istanbul.

Rowing (!) along the Bosphorus is enlightening in terms of the impossibility of any shipping transiting from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean not being seen or controlled by Turkey. it’s not a wide channel with most of it being a nautical mile wide. What power that gives Turkey.

We stopped at numerous landings along the Bosphorus to let off paying passengers. Here are a few of those stops:

OK,we’re out of practice in the art of traveling and not taking into account our ever increasingly fragility (!).

We set out for a day of exploring the nooks and crannies of Istanbul. We quickly got bogged down in the minituae of public transport bureaucracy. Ever tried reading Turkish, let alone instructions on buying a pass? It’s not easy.

Great public transportation, though and relatively inexpensive – about $1.50/ride, short or long.

Not taking many photos but here are a few from the yesterdays wanderings. The first two are from a tour through the harem at  the Topkapi Palace:

Photogaphy is difficult in a place like this as the number of people is overwhelming and difficult to work around.

That was the day…

A grueling 12-hour flight, canceled seat reservations, incorrectly scheduled taxi service and check-in system collapse all proved a challenge. But we made it!

We made the long trek from the airport to our hotel at sunset. Beautiful crimson skies outlined by modern office towers and residential density that would send shivers up the spine of any Oak Bay resident.

Morning is here,and we’ve been treated to this incredible buffet breakfast on the terrace of the hotel. We’re looking at views over the Bosphorous and in the opposite direction of the Blue Mosque. Who could be unhappy? I’m almost willing to just sit here for the day and watch the day unfold.

That’s not to be – things to do, places to go, people to meet, food to consume – let’s get on with it. No shopping though….