South Africa: Mountains and beach and mountains and beach

So to start South Africa I have to say that on this trip we have repeatedly experienced a travel phenomenon where we have some preconceived notion of what we should fear from country X that is ultimately shattered by our experience on the ground. In India it was how they lust for the ladies, in the Philippines it was all the gun crime, in Indonesia it was the local moonshine that was gonna make us blind and on and on and on. That’s not to say that these fears were frivolous, or not based in some way on real dangers (maybe overblown, but real none the less) but for us Deiters every place we’ve gone has pleasantly morphed in a consistent pattern from being scary, to weird, to novel, to normal, to something you miss with those initial fears being a distant memory by the time we leave. In South Africa this first stage struck as we were driving on a beautiful country road back to Johannesburg in our safari truck when we passed a sign that said “hijacking hotspot next 6K – do not stop.” So then my brain goes…………Is hijacking the same thing as carjacking? Should I be watching for planes? How many cars have to be hijacked for them to put up a sign? Should I put on my hazards? Why not have a cop here instead of a sign?....... This sign had us so thoroughly shook that I would have driven over my grandma if she appeared in the road, like it was 4^th and goal in the Superbowl. Johannesburg (Jo-berg to the locals) wasn’t much more reassuring because the security was so over the top with lots of spiky barbed wire-ish fences and “armed response” security signs. Don’t get me wrong, the place we were staying looked like a moderately wealthy suburb of New Jersey, it’s just here you will definitely get shot for hopping your neighbors fence where in Jersey its only probably. After grabbing our super tiny Suzuki Alto (google it, if it’s bigger than the shoe you’re wearing right now we’ll buy you a beer) we hit the Apartheid museum where we learned that: The first free vote in the new South Africa happened in 1994 (thought it was way older than that), most of the thousands of people who were killed fighting against apartheid died between 90’ and 94’ (various estimates have the number around 7-10K) and that “mankind began in Africa, so ultimately we are all Africans.” Then we skedaddled. To be fair we probably didn’t see the best that Joberg has to offer, but there is a reason that all those security companies offer “armed response.” Thankfully for us Deiters this tension would ease like we were getting into a hot bath the further we got from Jo-berg, and our biggest fears went from hijacking and crime to worrying about whether it was better to take the scenic ocean or scenic mountain route or choosing between two impossibly delicious and cheap dinner options. Our first stop was Sabie which is a sleepy mountain area east of Jo-berg. On the drive there you might think you were in Maine or Northern California based on the beautiful green forests that absolutely cover the hillsides, but anytime you stopped the super cheap prices would confirm that you weren’t in Kansas anymore. Upon arrival we experienced our first “backpackers” which is slang for a fantastic network of hostels that cover South Africa and allow you to see this great country in a unique and inexpensive way. A “backpacker” is a magical place where you can stay in accommodation ranging from a tent to a 10 bed dorm to a private room. Meals can be cheaply and deliciously prepared for you communal style by simply signing your name on a list or you can cook for yourself (they call it self-catering) if you are in the mood. They can book any activity from bungee to backgammon to a flight back home and often do so at a discount. They foster friendships with daily activities like hikes or horseback riding or free “wine volleyball” which is absolutely as fun as it sounds and they have fire pits where you can stare at the stars and repeatedly mispronounce your new Dutch best friends’ name. Mostly they are run by eccentric souls (we call em wierdo’s back home) who would not survive one single second outside of this environment and yet somehow manage to thrive here in the center of this multinational storm. Also they are super cheap, ranging from $25 to $40 for our own room per night. If there is one single thing we could bring home from this trip it would be the backpackers. I would love to be able to experience my county in the way that I did South Africa, but unfortunately if you have a $25 hotel room in the US it’s gonna be full of prostitutes cooking meth. Our first backpackers was called “Billy Bongo Backpackers” and was run by a beautiful unicorn of a man ironically named Garth. Billy….er I mean Garth was eager to please and set us up with an itinerary that included touring the amazing rock formations that are scattered around the area and munching at a restaurant that featured lots of South African Game meat. At one point we had Crocodile, Springbok, Ostrich, Kudu and warthog all on one plate. (mostly yum, but some were kind of game-y). Another plus about Sabie was meeting our first backpacker best friends, a lovely German couple named Marcus and Michaela (Meech-Ha-A-La). We knew we were going to hit it off when Michaela was gracious enough to answer to Michele for a while cause that was the best our American tongues could do. They were great fun and we enjoyed palling around with them for a few days, checking out the sights and watching Aladdin at our very own German-American movie night. After a few days we put the first backpacker in the books and headed down south around Swaziland to a spot on the eastern coast called St. Lucia. It’s a funky little town with signs that advise you to “watch for hippos at night” because its located right next to a national park that’s home to Africa’s largest estuary. We never ran into any hippos on the main drag but we did encounter a very rare “white hippo” at a fish and chips place one night. Actually it was just a super drunk 50ish British dude who weighed in at least 300lbs and somehow managed to lose his shirt during a day of drinking with his pals. We’re not in the place two minutes and the guy has me up on a table awkwardly dancing with him. Now normally I got the moves like Jagger but I was thrown off by the three inch long wound this dude had on his forehead (it was like a day or two old judging by my man nurse skills and it ended up oozing on my shirt when we were half hugging/ half holding him up). I also had concerns for the structural integrity of the table (check out the video). At the end of the day they bought us some shots so they weren’t the worst thing in the world. What was the worst thing in the world was our room at the backpackers. The place was relatively expensive and featured stark white insane asylum walls that were completely blank and bright enough to light the room at night (would it kill you to throw up a Pink Floyd poster or something?). We resented this place more and more as we stayed at increasingly awesome backpackers throughout our South African Adventure. Still St. Lucia was cool and provided a unique flavor scenery wise that ultimately added to the diversity and overall awesomeness of South Africa. From there it was off to Durban to stay at a “party hostel” to see if we can still hang with the young bucks (spoiler alert: we can) and have what Billy Bongo told us was  “proper Indian food mate” known as “bunny chow.” Now maybe we didn’t go to the right part of India, but no where in our travels did we encounter a half loaf of white bread hollowed out, stood on its side and filled with curry. It was weird but tasty and might reappear back home filled with say beef stew instead of curry. Then it was a right turn north into the Drakensberg (dragon mountain in Afrikaans) for some fantastic hikes through stunning scenery. The first spot we hit was called “the amphitheater” and is a UNESCO world heritage site based on its natural beauty. It’s just jagged peaks, and waterfalls, and rolling green hills dotted with little bursts of flowers that look like someone went crazy with a 64 count Crayola Crayon box. We hit two spots over 5 days working our way back down south to the coast and as an added bonus we bumped back into our German friends for a final night of hanging out before they headed back home. From there it was back to the beach completing the mountains to beach to mountains to beach quartet to a backpackers situated in a little patch of jungle just above a stunning “blue flag beach” which means it has shark nets and lifeguard’s so you probably (but not definitely) won’t get eaten. We had one day long knife fight trying to do our taxes over a sloppy internet connection. It literally took us 11 hours and believe me nothing makes you look cooler than sitting in the corner of the backpackers doing your taxes while people party. Tax non-sense included we had a blast and 2 out of three nights we indulged in the all-time Deiter family favorite activity of hanging out on a beach with a bottle of wine around sunset. Sitting there with a glass of wine and someone you love in the space between day and night, cool ocean breeze, colorful sky, waves crashing and sand on your toes…it’s just a little slice of heaven. Thank you South Africa.

                                                                Me dancing on a table

                                                                              
                                                                     Me in another waterfall, without my iphone this time

                                                                              

                                                                          Boers Luck potholes park

                                                                           
                                                                 The mountains in Sabe

To be free is not merely to cast off one's chains but to live in a way that enhances the freedom of others- Nelson Mandela

Interesting huh?

That's croc, kudu, warthog and springbok

Tashy Likey MMMMMMM

This is a "savory pancake" they make em both sweet (like with syrup and stuff) and savory where there packed with ham and cheese and stuff. Once you get over the confusion its delicious.

A waterfall in Sabe

Our tiny car for Easy-E

A hug for my gentle giant

That's when you know the potholes are big

Tash and I at the "bores luck potholes" national park



A panorama from Sabe

My beautiful baby with some beautiful mountains

Those three round rock formations are called the "three rondovals" after the circular houses that the Dutch settlers would live in



More Rondoval action

Tish with our German friends

Two cat best friends

A baby lizzard

We love our lizzard

so watch our for crocks, leopards, hippos, rhinos and elephants

buffalo in the park at St Lucia

Another empty beach with just our footprints in the sand

now with me and tish

Me and the "white Hippo"

This is an ad from a South African magazine. This is what the world thinks Americans look like

Will do

Seems fair

What a steak. Sooooo good

This is the "bunny chow" just like they made in New Delhi

From the top

The rolling foothills of the Drakens Berg

Our room in the Drakens Berg

Our German Friends

Tish and Michaela

Me and Marcus

Now all four

Me and Tish in the Amphitheater park

More beautiful scenery

Another panorama

A "small" plough mans lunch platter

Check out the reflection of the clouds in the pool at our hostel

Same. This was a "natural pool" with algae and fish in it

A domino stack at dinner

A vicious game of Jenga

Just considering my options

wrong move tishy

It was girls vs guys, here's me enjoying the sweet taste of victory with a Dutch friend

Loving those panoramas

Color lock is sweet as well

Me and tish in the Mountains

Tish heading down the waterslide at the backpackers

The beach in Umzumbi- no sharks here

Dogs on blogs

Wow a great day for our friends in the Brown family

Oh wait, never mind

Another waterfall in Sabe

Same

Now with me

Then tish

This is for are friend Gary

Me feeding the birds at Billy Bongo's

This one is called the pinnacle

more from Boers Luck potholes park

Now with our friend Marcus

Those things down there are the actual "pot holes"

Look at these Germans breaking the rules

More beauty from sabe

Same

Purple mountains magesty

Eating a PB&J with Tishy on a hike

It was beautiful as the clouds rolled in

Love the clouds here

Same

This is the path we hiked on

Go Pro Raindrops in the pool

Same

And again

Tish at the apartheid Museum. They randomly assign you a race and you enter through different doors.