The Return

the great thing about living in the transkei for a year is that you get to know your way around. so when your group of friends decides to head up country for new years you can help them plan the whole trip and maybe even tag along.

the itinerary of awesomeness:

27 Dec AM: leave cape town (when you start your journey in cape town, the best city on the planet, you know you're on to something good)

27 Dec PM: arrive at bushman's river and camp for the night

28 Dec: drive to gonubie campsite and paint east london red

29 Dec: drive to coffee bay and prepare to get well destroyed on new years

3 Jan: drive to bulungula backpackers to relax and detox after getting well destroyed on new years

5 Jan: drive to hogsback because hogsback is cool and i like it

7 Jan: drive to jbay and stay by the beach coz there may just be some surf

9 Jan: drive back to cape town coz now you're pretty much broke and will be fired if you are awol for any longer

I'll tell you what, i may not miss working in the transkei that much, but i do miss the weekends. time to relive the good times.

ps. don't forget the frisbee

st patrick's day checklist

st patrick's day is tomorrow and its a fantastic excuse for drinking

what you need:

the next day off

a green shirt

a fake irish accent

a selection of limericks

an irish pub

green food dye

a working knowledge of ireland's call (because ireland will be calling and you will be expected to answer)

if your friend who happens to be a dwarf is missing, dont worry. he's working as a leprechaun. book yours today http://www.shortdwarf.com/

mozambique

so i'm not signing off quite yet it seems. while still calling the transkei home i took some leave and headed for mozambique. i stopped in durban for some sailing and the drakensburg for some hiking but excessively warm weather, water and beaches was always the main objective. malaria tablets and sunscreen packed it was time to hit the border. by the time you arrive in nelspruit the heat is oppressive. it makes the air heavy, like a blanket, like a frikkin feather duvet, if you do not have a car with air conditioning you are in trouble. border crossings are also a pain. mozambique has some ridiculous traffic laws including: a sticker on the front of you car if you have a trailer (a blue square with a yellow triangle on top. look out for these on fancy cars) and you have to have a reflective vest around your driver's seat at all times. but hey, its all worth it. get some money changed at one of the garages before the border (check the exchange rate first) there is an official forex place but when we were there on sunday morning it was closed. fortunately this is africa and there are a few mamas hanging around who will give you as many metacais as you need

once you get through the masses of traffic in maputo head north as fast as you can. it doesn't get tropical until you pass xai xai. xai xai is a nice place to stop for some prego rolls and ice cold coke. xai xai beach has an awesome abandoned hotel which was extensively shelled during the war. the fishing is fantastic as well but it doesn't quite pass muster as a tropical beach... not enough coconut palms.

from xai xai we headed north to barra peninsula. as you head further north the country becomes endless coconut palms and mango trees. locals sell cashew nuts and periperi sauce on the side of the road and grow cash crops between the trees. for miles on end you will see nothing more than palm frond houses and a single strip of tarmac. when you finally glimpse the ocean it looks exactly like a picture in a travel magazine, white sand and turquoise water with palm trees down to the water's edge. we reached barra in the evening and i fell into an uneasy mosquito infested sleep.

you awake to find the locals walking around the campsites selling breakfast. you can get pow (spelling?) aka freshly baked portuguese bread, coconut bread, mangoes, pineapples, and any other kind of fruit they can find. screw having cereal. slightly later in the morning the fishermen come around. they will sell you tiger prawns and crayfish. the crayfish happen to be bright blue and as large as cats. be prepared to haggle, the first price they give you is quite often ridiculous.

by now the heat is getting hard to ignore, so its time to head to the beach. take slip-slops, the sand gets hot enough to actually burn your feet. the water is amazing. it is the ideal temperature, warm but cooler then the on land and you can stay in it all day, ideally with snorkel and some flippers... and an underwater camera. the fish are very pretty. as the sun goes down, head back to your camp, have a shower, wince in pain from your sunburn, douse yourself in insect repellent and get a braai going. smother your crayfish in garlic butter and enjoy. i know i did

just if you hadn't noticed...

it has all come to an end. thanks to all those who made it possible: me (duh), the south african government, the previous south african government, my coworkers, that fucker who got my first round post at jefferies bay, lots of alcohol, the flight of the conchords, the lenient leave system, the generous salary devision, the department of roads, and whoever left his fuckin sheep on the side of the road. good luck to the replacements, may you have a wacky year with many braais, lots of long weekends and little time spent in admin. enjoy the pictures

will signing off...

solvent abuse

our humble rehabilitation department was recently visited by the highly talented and long limbed Emma Gray. thanks to her the department is looking quite spiffing after a lick of paint and a dash of creativity. who knew first year OTs were actually useful?

never a dull moment

its been a wet couple of weeks out here and it can be said without fear of contradiction that the roads have seen better days. rob and i arrived at a slick and muddy section of road to find that Dr Caroline had gotten stuck in a ditch. she tried to avoid the photos but i was merciless. after a quick tug out she had a second try and with a bit of power sliding she was away.

best viewed with dolby surround...

makambati

^ insert surfer here ^

makambati is stunning. if you go one place in the transkei go here....

makambati is a nature reserve in the northern transkei. it a bit of a drive to get there, two hours off the main road (shot robby boy!) and requires a high ground clearance vehicle to get to there. for this extra effort you get perfection. i jest you not. it is without a doubt the best place i have been on the wildcoast... and i've gone to a few places this year. the makambati river stumbles down three waterfalls into the sea and you can be the only one there to see it... awesome. the park can only accommodate a maximum of thirty people so it doesn't get crowded and most of the other people who were there did nothing but fish leaving the beach free for frisbee and various pools open for skinny dipping. word of warning: don't jump from the waterfall you see in the picture. the pool is actually very shallow. this didn't stop me though. fortunately my fall was broken by the rock at the bottom. thank god. as you limp home and spend the rest of day in bed you can console yourself with the fact that you got injured in one of the most beautiful places in the world.

does some one have some ice?