Row, row, row your boat!!

Some how i managed to get a weekend off work that actually corresponded with something... KZN and Gauteng Rowing Champs at Albert Falls. Budg and i packed our stuff and headed to the dam on friday afternoon, we were greeted with a hail storm as we drove into Martizburg.

Once we got the boat lauched, we were out on the water putting the final touches on the lanes... 4 lanes, 4.3kms and 400 buoys per lane, no easy task laying those, which had been going on since the weekend before! We set up camp and enjoyed a few cold beers and a braai at the yacht club!

Home sweet home

Up early and on the water before sunrise on regatta day to add yet more final touches... finally, let the race begin! The regatta was a complete success thanks to all the hard work put in by everyone including budg... well done you! I was promoted to an official during the regatta as well... i became a time keeper, great fun!!


The Saturday night party was a big one... needless to say i can't remember how, what and when i got back to my tent and woke up on Sunday morning with a mother of all hangovers!!! I spent a lot of Sunday lying in the sun... recovering, whilst the others pulled in the lanes again! This process continued well into the evening and we finally finished in the freezing cold, driving rain!!!

It was a long night of hard drinking

All and all it was a great weekend... i met some awesome people and have some great fun! :)

Home sweet home

The view from my front door

The view from my balcony door

Durban is in the middle of a usual summer heat wave, with temps hitting 32 degrees and more everyday. I ventured down to the beach front this morning and took this photo... doesn't it look gorgeous? :)

Durban Harbour

Ok, i'm crap... posting a foto a day is a little to much work for me, so it's now a foto a week... or when i remember! :) i took this foto from the very cool and chilled Bat Centre... a very cool spot to enjoy a drink or 3 and watch the daily grind of Durban Harbour! :)

Potd: A day at the cricket

Mom and i went to watch SA play West Indies... SA is of course kicking arse!

Potd: My best friend's wedding

The bride and bridesmaids doing the Baywatch!

Bridesmaids gone wild :)

Potd: Dragonfly

In an effort to improve my photography i'm reinstating the pic of the day feature... i'm gonna try really hard to post a foto a day taken during my day!

Taken on the farm in Weenen

Flower of Weenen

Weenen you ask... where the hell is that??? Well it's a little farming town in the heart of KZN and where a friend of mine has a pecanut farm! I've just returned home from a chilling 3 days on the farm, where i did nothing more than chill, eat and walk the beautiful gardens taking fotos... here is a sample, click here to see the rest! :) i'm very keen to start taking photography more seriously... like that's my next project once my degree is done with!





I hope everyone had an awesome christmas and new years'... my festive season was very quiet but very chilled and it's been great catching up with family and friends again! Here's wishing you all a fantasic 2008, may all your goals be achieve! :)

The xmas gang :)

Turning the Golden Mile Green

The celebrating is still continuing as the Springboks and the Webb Ellis Trophy do a South Africa road trip! Sunday morning was Durbs' turn and after a quick Wimpy breakfast we joined the hundreds of Springboks fans alone the Golden Mile to applaud our World Champs! The atmosphere was amazing as a group of people sang Shosholoza and got everyone involved!

AMA BOKKE BOKKE

What an amazing game and night... and to wake up in the morning with this feeling of being the World Champs again, thankfully there was something to mask the hangover... it was all worth it!!!

Myself and a group of friends went to the rugby party at my flatmate's parent's house in Ballito... there was a sea of green and an amazing atmosphere! We are greeted at the door with a Springbok shooter and that set the tone for the rest of the evening! :)

The celebrations carried on into the early hours of this morning... to see the photos, click on the Picasa Photos Link! :)

AMA BOKKE BOKKE rule the world! :)

Coming face to face with the sharks of the open sea

So i arrive at work on a Tuesday afternoon after a hectic weekend, where Billys opened on a rare Sunday afternoon to host a Redbull function which featured an awesome South African duo called Goldfish, to the news that i was going diving with sharks the following Saturday! What, where and how??? Apparently there was an incentive for us waitresses... whoever sold the most Vodka Redbulls would win a shark dive... oh cool! :)


Saturday morning arrives and a group of us are off down the coast... the morning started a bit chilly and overcast! We arrive at Blue Wilderness, Rocky Bay and are quickly kitted up with wetsuit, flippers, goggle and snorkel. After a group shot and a short orientation from the lead diver, it as time to hit the beach. The rain started to come down at this point and the sea was looking very rough. We had a pretty rough but exciting 30 minutes boat ride to the dive site where the chum was dropped and within seconds we saw our first shark from the safety of the boat! While staring in disbelief into the open waters... we spotted a Southern Right Whale jumping in the distance! :)


After about 20 minutes of chumming the water, we were surround by sharks, who were breaking the surface is a frantic race to get to the sardines... gulp!!! The lead diver then says, "get in"... what, in there??? I eventually pluck up all my courage and plunge into the depths of the Indian Ocean. Once i got the water out of my goggles and controlled my breathing i realised i was surrounded by sharks, everywhere i looked! The visibility was very poor and the sea very rough which made the experience even more intense. There were Black Tip sharks swimming around us, below us and through us... it was crazy awesome!

That's me with the bright yellow flippers!

After being in the water for about 30 minutes, and floating on the rough surface i started to feel the horrible feeling of sea-sickness and nearly threw up in my snorkel... i an attempt to avoid that and attracting the sharks i made a beeline for the boat so i could throw up from the safety! I remained in the boat for the remainder of the dive unable to get the sickness under control, only to watch as one of our guys received medical attention on his shark bite... yes, shark bite! Well it was more a scratch... but inflicted by a shark no less, there goes the companies 10 year safety record!!! :)

Thankfully, for my sack we headed home on what felt like the longest and roughest boat ride of my life... but fun never-the-less, i never shy away from a roller coaster ride! :) myself and my stomach were very relieved to have my feet firmly planted on sand again.


There are not many words that can describe an experience like that... something you always think is impossible until you're actually there and realise how awesome it is! Yes, i would most definitely do it again... but with motion sickness pills in tow! :)

You can have a look at more photos by clicking on my Picasa Photos link!

The Tanzania Dash through Rasta's eyes

I apologise for the delay in filling you in on the adventures of my amazing journey through Africa! That duty now falls on the hairy shoulders of Rasta, the littlest member of the Dashers... here is the story (which is being updated everyday) through his eyes!

I'd just like to say thank you to Marilyn for putting Rasta's story together!

Zanzibar and Dar es Salaam hotel rooms

Ian and i boarded our flight to Dar es Salaam very excited and apprehensive... i didn't really know what to expect! The flight was pretty uneventful and everything was going far to smoothly until it came time to collect my luggage... thank you SAA, i didn't need my bag anyway! My eyes were opened to the ways of Africa almost immediately as we navigated our way through Dar es Salaam city centre... not a good idea at 4 in the afternoon. As we waited patiently at a robot behind a fuel truck we watch in amusement as a guy walked up to the tanker very casually with a spanner and packet. He opened the outlet valve, filled up his packed with fuel and walked off... all as casual as ever, something tells me he's done that before!! He tried a repeat at the next robot but the driver was waiting for him with a panger...

We were up at the crack of dawn the following morning to board our flight to Zanzibar... thankfully my bag had arrived during the night so we picked it up on our way. It was a very smooth and short flight to Zanzibar on a 16 seater... just flying over the island was amazing. Next stop Stonetown... the town is made up of a maze of very narrow alleys, 4 and 5 storey buildings with huge wooden doors and small markets. We walked through the meat and fish markets... not a good idea if you have a weak stomach, it made me think twice before ordering a meal for the rest of the trip. A tour of the Slave market is also a must... defiantly an eye opener (there is now a hostel at the Slave market site).

The wiring system in Stonetown

Barry and I walking through the narrow alleys of Stonetown

Ian, Barry and myself in the Slave chambers... excuse my wardrobe, thank you SAA again!

We stayed in Nungwi, on the Northern part of the island at Smiles Beach Cottages. The locals are very friendly and tourism orientated, their favourite phase is "Hakuna Matata" (Swahli for "no worries"), which is very much the attitude in Zanzibar! The typical response from the locals when we answered the question of where are you from was, "Bafana Bafana"... which i found very amusing! Sunsets in Zanzibar are breathtaking and i made sure i didn't miss any of the 3 we were there for.

Our activities on Zanzibar included walks on the amazing beaches, chilling in the sun, a boat ride and snorkelling trip to Mnemba Island (the colours underwater were absolutely amazing... so many different species of fish) and the boys also went scuba diving (which by the sounds of things was also amazing). A large amount of time was spent at one of the many bars along the beach... i can't think of a better way to spend an evening than sipping on a cocktail, under the stars with your toes in the sand!

Mnemba Island is a private island and at $1000 per day we didn't step foot on it!

Unfortunately our 3 days on Zanzibar had to come to an end and it was back on the 16 seater for our return flight to Dar. On our return to the Seacliff Hotel, Ian discovered he has LOST his passport, $1000 and 2 cameras... ouch! One word of advice, not a good idea to loose a passport in a foreign country, especially when we are planning on driving through another 5 countries!!! We had to delay our trip for the next 3 days and camp out at our hotel in Dar for a couple of reasons, the main one being waiting on an emergency passport, but the Land Rover had to have it's power steering fixed (the first of many problems to follow) and John had fallen victim to blood poisioning and needed medical attention. I somehow fell victim to the famous Africa guts and spent the next 3 days in bed watching TV... fun fun fun!

Barry lending a hand in fixing the Landie

At noon on Friday the fantastic news came that we had the passport and we were out of that hotel and on the road to Tanga quicker than we could say Hakuna Matata...

Leaving on a jetplane

I can't believe the time has finally arrived... 1 more sleep til i board my flight to Dar es Salaam!! Not sure how much sleep i'm gonna get tonight mind you! :)
I'm not taking my laptop and my phone probably won't work outside of South Africa but i'll try update the blog whenever i get the opportunity!
hope everyone has a great 4 weeks... i know i will! ;)

Tanzania Dash Itinerary

Here is the rough... ok not so rough but very well planned and thought through itinerary for my trip that we are gonna try and stick too! I only join the group on Day 14 (15 June) , so i'll start from there:

1-13. Mozambique

14. Dar es Salaam (Tz)

15. Dar es Salaam (Tz)

16. Zanzibar (Tz)

17. Zanzibar (Tz)

18. Tanga (Ken)

19. Tiwi (Ken)

20. Nairobi (Ken)

21. Samburu (Ken)

22. Lake Bogoria (Ken)

23. Lake Bogoria (Ken)

24. Masai Mara Gate (Ken)

25. Masai Mara (Ken)

26. Musoma (Tz)

27. Nansio (Tz)

28. Serengeti Gate (Tz)

29. Serengeti (Tz)

30. Ol Doinyo Lengai (Tz)
31. Ol Doinyo Lengai (Tz)

32. Dodoma (Tz)

33. Uyole (Tz)

34. Karonga (Mal)

35. Nkhata Bay (Mal)

36. Senga (Mal)

37. Senga (Mal)
38. Tete (Moz)

39. Cahora Basa/Chicao (Moz)

40. Chicao (Moz)

41. Bandula (Moz)

42. Bubi River (Zim)

43. JHB

44. Ballito

Meeting Kingsley Holgate

As preparation continues for my African adventure, myself and the other 4 happy travellers had the amazing opportunity to meet the great explorer himself... Kingsley Holgate! He is as down to earth as he looks with that beard and hair and has given us some invaluable advice and tips! :) His next trip is called Cape to Cape, where him and his team are planning to travel the entire coast of Africa, and should take about a year... amazing! We've been invited to join the Mozambique part of the trip in Feb/Mar next year... decisions, decisions! :)

At the back is Ian, Me, John and Richard and sitting is Barry and Kingsley!

Just as a side note, i've been asked by the editor of southafricalogue.com to write an article a week about what's going on in the beautiful city of Durbs... so i expect everyone to read, it'll be checking up on you! :)

Tanzania Dash

It is creeping up to 9 months now since i've been home and i've survived the heat that is a Durban summer! :) A trip back to the US of A was in the pipeline but that has fallen through because of a number of factors but i'm very excited to report that i have another trip planned!

On 15 June 2007 i board a plane to Dar es Salaam... i never thought i'd ever say that! Once i land there i'll be meeting up with a few fellow travellers and we'll be carrying on our 4x4 adventure! So far in our itinerary we plan to spend a few days in Zanzibar, we then carry on up north into Kenya and the Masai Mara to see the migration, then it's back down south and back into Tanzania, through the Serengeti, Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe and after 4 weeks of this incredible journey we'll end up back in South Africa! :)

I'll keep you updated as i know more... as it stands now i have booked my one way ticket to Dar es Salaam and the visa process will be starting soon!

Well this is going on i'm trying to keep focused on studying and working... easier said that done! :)

Summertime

It looks like i've slipped into my bad habits again... taking so long to post an entry in my blog! I do apologise for this, i don't really have an excuse... i suppose it's a combination of not really getting up to much and working loads!

Work is going well... keeping me busy and out of trou... oh who am i kidding, it's seems to be getting me into more trouble than keeping me out but that's what you get for working in a famous bar like Billy's... hehe! :)

For those who don't know, the A1 Grand Prix is hitting the streets of Durban this weekend, which is really exciting for Durban! I've managed to land a job for the main race day on Sunday... should be good fun, hopefully i'll have time to take a few photos!

Otherwise Durbs is it's same old extremely hot self... although February has been kind to us so far. At least i've had the time to work on my tan, looking human again after 4 years of being pale!

Still not 100% sure of what's gonna happen with me in the next couple of months, there are a few options each with their own pros and cons... i'm trying my best to work it out! Right now i'm trying to take one day at a time!

It was my godson, Jack's first bithday on 12th February... i can't believe he's a year old already... my how time flies! Talking of time flying, i've been home for almost 8 months now and it has flown!

And also on the subject on flying... it's Steve first flight today as a commercial pilot! :) i'm very proud of him and i know he'll make a success of this new job!

very merry merry

Just a quick post to wish all my 'loyal' readers a very merry xmas... i hope you all have a wonderful day with family and friends! This is my first xmas home in 5 years and it's gonna be good spending it with family and friends again... although i'm not to sure about the heat, i'd rather trade it in for a white xmas!

Oh also to let you know... i passed my exams, so i'm now fully embedded into my second year of my BCom... i will finish it one day! :)

Have a great one!
Luv Me

Adventures of an American in SA continued

So where was i... oh yes, on our way to Cape Town! We were up at sparrow's fart to get catch out 7am flight to CT... we flew the ever entertaining kulula.com! Upon arrival we picked up our hired car... a Ford KA, the cutest little car you'd hope to find! :)

So now to put my plan in action... get from the airport to the Cape Peninsula, drive along there to Stellenbosch where we would be spending a couple of nights. Once we found our way to the Peninsula it was plain sailing... and let me say, one of the most beautiful drives you will ever take! Our first of many stops was Camps Bay for brunch... wow, the beaches and buildings are amazing! We arrived there on Sept 1 (first day of spring), our waiter informed us that it was the first time in 7 years it wasn't raining on the first day of spring... of course Steve claimed to have something to do with that! After eating and a walk along the beach it was back into the KA, making our way towards Cape Point... stopping at regular intervals to take photos of the amazing scenery!

Just before we eventually arrived at the Cape Peninsula National Park we stopped the Cape Point Ostrich Farm and an impulsive decision was made to have a look! We were given a tour of the farm... very interesting stuff, baby ostriches are very cute. Then it was time to reach the South-western most tip of Africa... and what a view and feeling standing there looking out to the horizon! The trek up to the look out point was not that much fun tho! We arrived at the park with only 2 hours left til closing time... much to the disappointment of Steve.

Once we had taken in all we could and the sun started to disappear we jumped back into KA and made our way towards Stellenbosch... eventually arriving in the dark... i think i should take up a job as a navigator! :) We checked into our hostel... The Stumble Inn and hit the student town of Stellenbosch for a great dinner and some live music.

Next morning... Wine Tour! :) We joined a group of about 10 people and were driven around the beautiful wine regions, visiting 5 wineries (Simonsig, Fairview and Boschendal are 3 i remember) and sampling large amounts of delicious wines! Steve... who loves his wines fell in love with Simonsig's Tiara... very yummy (not sure that is the correct way to describe an award-winning wine)! It was an amazing day... i honestly couldn't believe how stunning that part of South Africa was... just breathe-taking, something i'll definitely do again! We were dropped off back in Stellenbosch are 5pm... a long day of drinking, so nap time before a night out! We went back to the restaurant we'd eaten at the previous night for another delicious dinner... not before being insulted by a drunken man insisting that he was our bodyguard!!

Sunday morning dawned... time for a yummy breakfast and back in KA to make our way back along the Cape Peninsula to Simon's Town and Boulders Bay! We were treated to a frolicking display by Humpback whales in Kalk Bay on route to Simon's Town! A tour of the South African Navy Museum in Simon's Town was a must since Steve was in the US Navy... i even found it interesting! Next up... a visit to the penguins of Boulders Bay. There are thousands of them going about their daily lives, not really worried about the thousands of people gawking over them... very cool!

On our way back in Cape Town we came across a troop of baboons taking over the road, there were cars everywhere trying to get the perfect photo! Once back in CT we damped our stuff at The Big Blue hostel and made our way down to the V&A Waterfront to meet up with my aunt and cousin for coffee! Once they left Steve and i enjoyed a very romantic dinner and walked around the waterfront to see what we could see. Back at the hostel bar we drank and chatted with fellow travellers... always fun! :)

The final morning of our whirlwind adventure arrived and thankfully it was a perfect day to make our way up Table Mountain! Another breathe-taking experience... 360 degree views of CT and beyond. We decided to do what we thought would be a little trek to one of the highest points of the mountain... turned out to be a 3 hour hike, nothing like getting the blood pumping! We managed to get back to the cable car in one piece and in time to get back to the airport!! I'm not gonna go any further with the details because leaving Steve and returning to Durban is something i never want to repeat!

I had an absolutely amazing 2 weeks and still remember every detail like it was yesterday! I know Steve loved his time here as well and will definitely return one day! :)

Thanks again to Steve for the use of his fotos... see you in 3 months! :)