Why did I get this insane idea that I could not go to Africa without experiencing the "booga booga" zulu thing - did I forget that I am a "bling bling city girl???
Shakaland was very good, but the cool thing about going to Simunye was that it has actual zulu families living there - there was a "tourist" part with a bit better rondavels, but then there would be the REAL mud huts - THERE WERE!!!!
And no one described EXACTLY what it would be like to get there!
Our hired guide picked us up at Shakaland and drove us to the "drop off" point for Simunye - I should have taken the term DROP OFF a little more seriously!! I did know that you could only take in an overnight bag, and had to leave all your cases (which in our case had now grown considerably - LOTS OF GREAT SHIT TO BUY HERE!!!
We got to the dilapitated SECURE center, and China our guide immediately said no way, he would keep our bags with him overnight - he was going to some small town an hour out of Simunye to sleep!
Okey Dokey, so now where and how do we get to this "booga booga" happening? I noticed 2 horses were saddled up - an option I knew about, but since I was not travelling with the wonderful and famous physio Dr. Simon, we had decided to take the ox wagon!!!!
Then we saw the wagon - maybe not!!! The wind was very cold that day and blowing up a storm and a few drops of rain! We also saw that we were going to be navigating some pretty scary roads - no, make that narrow DIRT PATHS for an HOUR up and down small mountains - YIKES!! Remember I had planned to be the old and infirm for the 4 X 4?
Asked about the 4x4 - answer: "yeh, we did have one of those, but it broke down a couple of weeks ago and we don't know when it will be fixed (welcome to Africa AGAIN!!!). Crap -so how did they get all the other guests up there, there must have been some old farts like us who haven't exactly kept our riding skills up the last few years!!!!!!
A balck dude points to the OLD OLD OLD truck he just pulled up in and said "that truck" - YIKES - does that thing even run, and I don't think it's going to make an hour of rough ride.
You'll see a pic of the dude - only spoke Zulu - made it fun on the drive - all I learned was that he worked underground in a mine for 18 years (I did hum Diamonds on the Soles of Their Shoes the rest of the way!!!).
Tells me to "hop" in the cab (that would be somehow crawl your Canadian ass and short legs up into the VERY VERY high cab!!!)and your husband can sit in the back of the truck with 2 Zulu girls who need a ride up - that would be in the box of the truck - but it did have a small cover on it - windows punched out though!!!!!!
I have put some of the pix I took as we came to the top of a very high hill and then, defying death got down it - oh did I say I asked Zulu Dude where the seat belt was and he gestered that it had been ripped out - yup, sure was!!!!
Let's just put it this way - I can now do the rollercoaster at west ed. and feel safe!!
Got there and was very underwhelmed - IT'S A SCARY, REAL, MUD HUT ZULU VILLAGE. FOR GAWD'S SAKE - WHOSE IDEA WAS THIS????
You'll see the small meeting committee with juice for us - MADE WITH TAP WATER - I asked - so I start out rude in their eyes because we won't have juice.
The pix tell the rest - our hut was the Hilton of the village - you will see the mud huts the real Zulus live in - and, oh yeh, how did they get ALLLLLL the other guests up there - there was only 2 others - a lady from Denver who owns an art gallery there and her snotty, attitude teenager who deemed not to talk to us!!!!! Not a big booking for this "booga booga" thingy!!!
This is mainly for Meg, but many of the rest of you have been to Edmonton Folk Fest and know the hill - Meg, our rondavel was at THE F***ING TOP of the hill (remember this whole place is built on/into the mountain!!!! Hence the "only bring an overnight bag" - aka: you'll stroke out otherwise trying to get your luggage in!!!
THEN, to go to supper, the outside boma supper place is back at THE BOTTOM OF THE HILL, and part way down there is a river with a swinging suspension bridge made out of tiny logs fastened together - not bad when it's still light going down to supper, but hell whne you go back for the night and you only have a girl with a torch leading your way - I don't have fabo balance anyway, that bridge in the dark was scary!!!
While at supper I asked where the toilets (the right word here is toilet)were - RIGHT - they were on the side of another major hill, built into the mountain, with stone stairs up to it (I think I may have posted the pic)and the 20 stairs had 12" risers - are they kidding - I didn't know whether to wet my pants or cry!!!! Finally made it - had to rest on the can before returning IN THE DARK - NO, I LIE, there was a bonfire at the bottom of the hill/mountain!!!
SAVING GRACE: Here it is - after supper, some of the young kids who are staff - ages 18 - 25 - built a huge fire for us to sit around - really moody. Denver gal and pouty teenager bailed pretty quick, but we stayed for 4 hours. WOW WOW WOW, can these Zulu kids sing their songs from their tribe.
We felt like dorks - up-tight white Canadians, when asked for a Canadian song couldn't remember all the words to any, showed them how to sing rounds of Row Row Your Boat - pathetic huh???
They sang their hearts out and loud and really great sounding - good enough to cut a CD, really - Almost Black Mombasa!! Then one of the guys brought out a couple fo tribal drums - he played one and I took the other and drummed to their songs - ended up being one of the most incredible musical experience I have ever had!!! An amazing night of music that you could never experience anywhere else - made the truck ride of death alsmost worth it!!!
Left the next day the same way we came out, but was humming those Zulu songs!!!
Guide picked us up at security (???) center, drove us to Durban - 3 hours to take a 29 seat plane to Nelspruiit, then at Nelspruiit, we were met by a private, cute, pilot holding a name card for us, and he took us in a private 3 seater plane, Brad Pitt and Angelina style, to the landing strip at the Mala Mala Private Game REserve, where a game ranger picked us up in a safari jeep.
HOnest to gawd it was cool, as soon as we met the private pilot a herd of black boys 14 - 17 appeared and put out baggage on their bags and took it to the SMAAAAAAAL plane!!!
Then I notice a small group of black dudes have gathered on the runway - that would be the 1 mile walk to the plane - they were airport workers - and stood and stared at us - I told Tom that I am getting really sick of this being recognized everywhere and thank gawd there wasn't any paparazzi there. Seriously, because of the poverty they live in they just assume that this kind of service must be for someone famous - AND IT WAS OF COURSE!!!
We have been at Mala Mala since mid Monday. Benn out doing the safari drives twice a day - get a call from the ranger at 5:30 am, leave at 6, back for breakfast at 9:30 (execpt for the day we got stuck in a bog where he fearlessly went to get us up close and personal with a pride of lions!!!!!!, then out at 3:30-4pm for another safari, back at 7:30, supper at 8:30 which is too late for us - you are gobsmacked tired by then.
We came here becasue of its reputation - Conde Naste, best game reserve etc. - we saw the Big 5 the first day, a leopard kill of a kudu, lions, sat in the middle of a herd of Cape buffale - the most dangerous of the Big 5 (ranger says!!) etc.
I have more wild tales, but we're running out of time - leaving for Scotland tomorrow noon. Tonight will be the night from hell again with the "luggage Nazi"
I will post pix of our digs here - a huge bungalow, plunge pool, monkeys hanging from the trees, female bathroom, dressing room and loo as well as the same for the male. Just incredible. I could get used to living like Brad and Angelina in Africa!!!
Ta Ta my little beasties, I'll find a way to post the pix of the safari - Tom has been brilliant with his shots - will definitely win a couple of pic contests I think!!!
I'm tired of Africa now - looking forward to Scotland, Noreen, ALi, MAiri, great kippers, great fiddling - I feel much more like I'm home im Scotland - that Scottish gene pool!!
Luv, N-J & Tommy!!!!
