Driving Through the Mountains with 007

Stepped out of our hotel this morning, and who should drive up in his Aston Martin but James Bond...

We're pretty sure it was him - who else drives a car like that?

Apparently more people do, because just up the street was another one, along with a couple Ferraris, a few Porches, and this $1.2 million McLaren, which fits right in with our freshly washed(!) Hyundai just in front of it.

Apparently a very-expensive-sports-car club was having an outing, with a mid-morning stop at the Royal Hotel (the hotel bar, to be specific).  We met up with them a couple hours later when we stopped at a restaurant at Graskop for lunch (we ate, but they mostly seemed to be drinking - considering the narrow, winding roads, prodigious potholes, and erratic traffic, drinking didn't seem like a great idea to us, but what do we know - we're driving a Hyundai).

The roads may have been sketchy, but the scenery was first rate as we wound through the mountains.

Our destination was a hotel just outside the entrance gate at Kruger National Park.  We're staying here one night before going into the park tomorrow morning.

Today's digs are the exact opposite of last night's - new, air-conditioned, and completely lacking historic charm and the over-powering aroma of a failed septic system wafting out of the bathroom.

We expected to see wild game as we neared Kruger - there were road signs warning drivers to look out for them and notices here at the hotel to beware of baboons and monkeys - but all we saw today were a couple deer eating the landscape plants.

Pilgrimage to Gold Country

Today we packed up and headed for the historic gold mining town Pilgrim's Rest, which is now a designated heritage site. Since it's only about an hour's drive from Dullstroom, we took a side trip to Blyde River Canyon by way of Long Tom Pass en route.

Long Tom Pass is named for one of the four long cannons used by the Dutch to fend off the British during the Second Boer War (around 1900 or thereabouts).  The "Long Tom" was last used at the location at the top of the pass just east of the town of Sabie where this replica now stands (the Boers melted down each cannon to prevent the British from getting hold of them).

We then headed to Blyde River Canyon, which ranks third behind the Grand Canyon and Copper Canyon, notably different because it's green and lush, rather than located in a desert.  The downside of that is the fact that fog often rolls in, like it did today, obliterating much of the view.

Along the road we saw lots of lilies growing wild.

As well as termite hills -

Decided not to bring one home as a souvenir.

John looked a little hungry...

There are buildings like these at most tourist stops, designed to provide an opportunity for local artisans to make a living.  We shopped at several.

As we left  Blyde River Canyon, we saw some of the blackest clouds ever up ahead - and we soon were engulfed in torrential rain that impressed these native Oregonians.  Soon the lightning flashed and thunder rolled, with one huge flash striking right ahead of us.  This area is known for thunderstorms, and we've seen them every day since we arrived, but this one really got our attention.

We're staying at the Royal Hotel in Pilgrims Rest. 

 This town reminds me a lot of a smaller version of Virginia City, Nevada - both Victorian era mining towns with somewhat preserved buildings housing gift shops, etc.  

The hotel rooms are cute, but the amenities are pretty basic.  There is wifi in the guest lounge, which surprised us.

Along with our room key, we got this notice to put on the dashboard of our car:

Alas, too late - the local "car washers" had already taken their dirty rags to our car, with the obvious expectation of payment.  Since the car was covered in mud after yesterday's off-pavement adventure, we just laughed and gave them 20 rand - a little less than $2.  The "boss," who hadn't done any of the work, wanted 60, but John let him know that that wouldn't be happening.

Exploring Dullstroom and environs

Today we went exploring in and around Dullstroom, first on foot, then by car.

Dullstroom is a very popular tourist area, with trout fishing, art galleries, and lots of inns and restaurants.  We stopped in several shops to look around including this one featuring Columbia Sportswear fishing shirts.  We talked to the owner about them - he said they were kind of a hard sell (because they're more expensive), but once customers bought one, they tended to come back to buy more.

There are lots of retirees here, not surprising to us.  There are lots of nicely remodeled older farm houses along with newer ones designed to fit in the traditional style.

After lunch we went out exploring by car, heading out of town on unpaved roads which led to fishing resorts and relatively remote homes.

Signage was scarce and the GPS simply told us we were on an unpaved road (didn't need high tech gadgetry to figure that out), but as the road got narrower and rougher, we debated whether to turn around or keep going.  John spotted - and I confirmed seeing - a bus at a distance coming our direction, so we took that as "proof" that the road must get better.  We have no idea what happened to that bus, we never saw it again and the road went downhill in all senses of the word - got much worse than this, making us glad we'd paid extra for the tire damage waiver -

We carefully made our way over large rocks, deep ruts scoured out by torrential rains that accompany the frequent summer thunder storms, deep sand and mud, and unexplainable pools of water completely covering the road.

We made it back just in time to follow our host's recommendation and have dinner at "Mrs. Simpson's" - named for the American woman who won King George VI's heart, leading him to abdicate the throne in order to marry her. 

It's a great restaurant with an amazing selection of Wallis Simpson memorabilia and other fun things (like dozens of pairs of shoes).  Very fun place with exceptional food - and very reasonable prices.

Peace and Quiet in Dullsville... er, Dullstroom

Following a 14-hour flight (plus an hour of de-icing at Dallas) to Doha, Qatar, where we spent a night at the airport hotel, and an 8-hour flight to Johannesburg, we're finally here in South Africa, where we're resting up at the Peace Corner lodgings in Dullstroom.

And yes, it's quiet here!  The only noise is an occasional screech from some peacocks a block or two away, and they're pretty quiet peacocks, at that.

After the excitement (!) of the initial flight cancellation, the rest of the trip was very good.  Using a boatload of frequent flier miles to upgrade to business class made the two day trip very pleasant, and Qatar Airways is the most deluxe airline I've ever been on by a long shot - probably doesn't hurt that Qatar is the richest county in the world, per capita.  The airport at Doha is pretty impressive, too.  It would have been interesting to see the city of Doha, as well, but it would have required getting visas, and we were only there overnight.

We picked up our rental car at the airport and were very glad that John had purchased a chip for the GPS for South Africa because it made getting out of Johannesburg so much easier.  Despite the roomy seats in business class and staying at the airport hotel, we still were sleep deprived, and driving on the left is challenging in the best of circumstances.

The two and a half hour drive to the beautiful town of Dullstroom seemed much longer, but we got here safely and, after dinner in a pub a couple of blocks from here, had a good, long night's sleep in a charming little inn in what was once a milking shed.

The parking area is on the lawn - John is having a hissy fit!

Off to a rocky start

When we logged into our airline reservation yesterday to check in online, a disturbing word was prominently displayed next to the first leg of the flight:  CANCELLED.  Not a good thing.  So John devoted the next four hours of his life to waiting on hold to reschedule our flight to Dallas in time to make our connection to Doha, Qatar, and then on to Johannesburg.  The wait was not in vain - we made it to Dallas on an earlier flight.

Normally crowded, bustling DFW is like a ghost town - more than a thousand flights out of here today were cancelled because of icy runways.

That said, the view as we left Portland was spectacular - as we took off, a deep pink began to appear on the eastern horizon, and as we skirted the southern slope of Mt. Hood, the pre-dawn glow reflected on the snow in sharp contrast to the deep blue crystal clear sky.  A once in a lifetime view - a combination of ideal atmospheric conditions and a flight that required us to be at the airport at 4 am - an experience we will try hard to avoid in the future!

But we're here in Dallas awaiting our flight, which is on schedule for now anyway - but too early to check in to the lounge.  We'll survive!

We'll be off to South Africa soon!