Stage One: Puerto Jiménez (Oct 9th until Oct 13th)

It was a really good decision to fly down to Puerto Jiménez. Really. No rushing through San José, no 8 hour+ bus drive, no bad roads, nothing. And I'll surely do the same next time I come here. 7 people on the plane, only locals. After 40 minutes we had a short layover in Drake Bay which is already situated on the Osa peninsula and then we continued to PJ for another 20. A beautiful scenery to see the rain forest of Corcovado National Park and the coastlines from high above.

When I arrived at the airport I felt a little lost cause everybody was gone in an instant except for me and 2 cab drivers. Which was kind of weird in a funny way. So I decided to make a little trip around downtown Puerto Jiménez with one of them. Didn't take us long cause there is only one main street anyway. I had looked up some recommendations in the travel guide but the best looking spot was one recommended by a friend of mine: the Cabinas Jiménez. A nice little guest house by the sea run by an american guy called John. And yeah, it has a pool, too. :)

Upon arrival and after I had my first pipa (coconut) I told them I'd need a guide for Corcovado and they sent someone in the same evening. His name is Roger Munos and I can tell you he's highly recommendable. I have met quite a few guides in my life and just by talking to him the impression I got was great and it was to be confirmed when we went out to the Corcovado National Park the next day. We were accompanied by an Israelian couple and they offered to take their 4x4 rental car. And what a ride it was. I have seen many bad roads in my life but this was by far the worst. No, not a road: the term "pot hole-mania" suits it much better. We had to cross several rivers which luckily weren't that deep so after a 3 hours drive we had managed to make the 42kms(!) to Carate. From there we had to walk the last 3 kms along the beach front. We passed by La Leona Eco-Lodge and I took a look at one of the most amazing arrangements I stumpled upon in Costa Rica so far. Situated right at the pacific coast beach with only rain forest surrounding it. I talked to the owner's son and after just a few minutes I had made my decision where to stay next after Puerto Jiménez.

Then we went to the park and what a hike it was! Spider-, howler- and capuchin monkeys, squirrels, aras (macaos), eagles, falcons, hawks, herons, ibises, poison dart frogs, iguanas, anoles, agamas, bugs, wasps, spiders and red crabs all over the place. Just like last year, only a little more intense. :) What a great, mind-blowing environment even though we didn't see a cat which I am so eager to encounter! What a good decision to hire a guide especially because Roger can pinpoint things so unbelievably precise.

So after a six hour hike we went back to PJ again. We made several stops along the road to watch parrots, monkeys and a sloth. Back in PJ we had dinner at a soda, a mini restaurant where you can get food at a very resonable price. The next day was to chill and recover from the rather exhausting hike with all my camera gear. An aching back and sore muscles are the down side, but hey...it's worth it. So I did some kayaking through the mangroves with a dutch couple I met at the guest house. At dusk Kenneth, a tico (local) took us for a short walk to the mangrove forest to show us a few caymans and crocodiles. We then had dinner at his restaurant and called it quits cause we were supposed to go on a whale and dolphin watching tour the next day.

Well. Boat trips in Costa Rica are something special, I can tell you. We managed to get Charly, a tico and supposedly a local tour operator who was willing to take just the three of us out while the other two companies wanted a minimum of four to five people. We would later find out why. Anyway...we saw several humpback whales, some were accompanied by their young and it was beautiful to see those massive creatures move so elegantly through the water. I felt an urge to jump in and get closer but the two guys leading the tour got really nervous so I decided to spare them the trouble. :)

After 2,5 hours they told us we'd try to find dolphins now and headed back to the direction of the PJ pier. so after another 40 minutes they said that they are sorry but that the tour would be over now. Which means that the tour we were supposed to go on for 5 hours finished after a little more than 3. What a turn-off, I can tell you. To make a long story short: after they were threatening to call the police and a bothering discussion at the tourist office we paid 50 instead of 60 bucks. We told them to think ahead before they try to rip tourists off next time. A bad choice in times of online reviews and their possible impact on a business. The aftertaste was still really bitter.

So in the afternoon I took daylight pictures of the crocodiles and caymans we had seen the night before and I really, really realized that I need to pay more attention to these guys next time I am close to them because while I was distracted by mosquitos one came crawling straight at me until our distance was far less than comfortable. Nothing happened but it was a lesson learned that day.

Right after this mini adventure I went to meet Kenneth again at Las Palmas hotel. He, like everybody else in town was watching the soccer world cup qualification game of El Salvador vs. Costa Rica which was eventually won 1:0 by CR. I had a delicious papaya shake and casado con pollo, the national dish containing rice, beans and chicken plus some yuca, a root that tastes a little like potato. Very tasty but fried like most of the other stuff. With all the greasy food they serve here I really wonder how the guys can stay in shape as most of them do. Amazing. :)

That basically concluded my last day in PJ cause on the next I would take off to La Leona Lodge with Roger in the so called "collectivo", a local transport. Take off at 6am. And I can tell you: that's when the real adventure started.


Just in case you are interested: here's a link to the pictures I took during those 3 days.

San José reloaded

So here I am in San José after 20 hours of traveling. Got a noisy room in the Pangea Hostel and after 3 hours of bad sleep and the decision to get up at 4:30 I am not exactly in the mood to start early again, but it'll be for the better as at 8:30 I'll be flying out to Puerto Jimenéz close to the Corcovado National Park. No problems with my heavy camera gear so far, keep your fingers crossed. Man, am I cranky this morning.

Fort Lauderdale, USA

Well, the vacation is almost over. I spent the weekend in Fort Lauderdale exploring parts of the city in the evenings and relaxing in the pool or hotel room during the day cause the heat is just unbearable. I have taken a few pictures at the beach, but be warned: they display not as much wildlife as usual. ;)

It seems I was quite lucky to not have experienced any really intense consequences of Irene as here it's all quiet and peaceful. Still wallowing in thoughts of the beautiful days I spent on the Bahamas. A great bunch of people and lots of great experiences...good memories!!

I hope you are all good, cheers,

Stefan

P.S.: I added a few more pictures to the Bimini album, too

Leaving Bimini

Here we are at the Bimini airport, almost an hour of waiting for the customs officers to come in now. Don't know whether they were hiding from the storm, but it really wasn't that bad at all. Dany's flight already got cancelled yesterday but we seem to be the lucky ones to fly out soon, depending on the mood the customs guys are in. If things go as planned I will spend the weekend in Fort Lauderdale diving, maybe kite-surfing and definitely shopping. No trip to the Keys or the Everglades, I am in chill mode right now.

Cheers,

Stefan

Bimini, Bahamas

So here we are. The Bahamas. On a boat called Indigo and the name suits it perfectly. A liveaboard boat, 18m long and made of steel with a deep blue skin. Since Sunday we are on board, a crew of three and 4 guests. 2 from Canada, 3 from the US, 2 from Switzerland and myself. Had to skip the first day cause we waited for a honeymoon couple who was too late for the morning flight and finally decided to cancel everything due to the hurricane warning we received. By now we got news that it will only be a tropical storm (60-70mph) and we came back into dock just minutes ago.

Three beautiful days we spent out on the crystal clear, light blue sea. Went snorkeling and got towed behind the boat on our first dolphin tour. 29 spotted dolphins upon first contact. Unbelievable. The came so close that they almost touched me. Extremely curious and playful. And the best thing is: its all their choice. They can leave anytime but they "decided" to spend time with us. Even when we let go off the rope to swim with them. Incredible. Another 13 individuals on our trip yesterday which I took pictures and videos of. I still don't know what to say, out of the many, many encounters I had with animals this clearly was one of the most amazing.

Today we went to a reef nearby and spent 90 minutes snorkeling, saw lemon sharks, lobsters, parrot fish and I swam with two huge adult eagle rays, then had another 2 hours with the "local" stingrays. They like to rub onto you and when the do they almost cuddle. Like a cat they like to be caressed on their wings and "noses" and they hung out with us the whole time we were in the water. Another wow out of the many I had on this trip.

So tonite, since the tropical storm is coming up, we will spend in the harbour to have some delicious seafood in the local restaurant and then try to sleep on the ship. Which will be very interesting. No need to worry though, the hurricane won't hit us, there will just be strong winds and rain.

So take a look at the pictures if you like and feel free to leave your comments.

Cheers,

Stefan

August 21st: Bimini, Bahamas

Took off from FLL Executive Airport this morning, got to sit in the co-pilot's seat which was quite cool. Now we're on a 16m boat called Indigo and it looks like it's gonna be a dream.

The 2nd charger for my netbook definitely died, too, so no more pictures at the moment, sorry. Tiger sharks, rays, turtles and dolphins coming up, fingers crossed. And yeah, a hurricane, too, but that's gonna be by the end of the week, so no worries. ;)

Cheers,

Stefan

August 20th: Stopover in Fort Lauderdale

Not really much to say about the Holiday Inn, my place to stay Ft. Lauderdale until my flight to Bimini takes off tomorrow morning. A simple business hotel. Nothing going on anywhere in the area as downtown is 10 miles away. Did my laundry, since most clothes smelt funny from the last few days travelling in Costa Rican humidity. I have to admit though that it's not much better here. Maybe even worse. :) Thank god I only stay one night at this otherwise boring place. Had my fill of sushi tonite and will hopefully go to bed soon. :)

I added a few more pictures of waver crabs, bats and an iguana as well as the goodbye pictures Kata, Peter and I took on the balcony of the Alajuela Backpackers last night.

Nighty,

Stefan

August 17th until 19th, 2011: Corcovado National Park

Wake up time for the trip to Corcovado National Park was at 5am. Quick breakfast at 5:30 and off we went in a boat at 6. Well, exciting 60 minutes they were. Shortly after we took off we spotted a school of 150+ false killer whales, no idea what the german term is. Then we saw a humpback whale with a baby but we only got a glimpse of the peaceful two. When we arrived close to Sirena Ranger Station we prepared for a 3 hour hike through the jungle and along the beach. We saw toucans, a woodpecker, spider monkeys, lizards, termite mounds (they say termites taste like peanut butter but I tried them and cannot confirm that), a white-nosed coati feeding on turtle eggs, great curassows, a bare-throated tiger heron, black vultures, a crested caracara, a grey hawk, an ant eater and more monkeys. :)

After a short sandwich lunch at Sirena Ranger Station we continued our trip through the jungle. We got really close to a troop of squirrel monkeys which I could take great pictures of. Our guide tried to find the bush pigs which had apparently left their very "fresh" tracks, but the search was in vain. Which wasn't really a problem for me as they have a rather bad reputation when it comes to greeting people hiking in the jungle. I know that the african bush pigs have to be dealt with the greatest attention so that seems to be the ultimate rule for this species. No cats were seen on that trip but that was what I almost expected after I talked to a few guides. Honestly...most of the time the joke was on me when I mentioned that I would love to see a cat. History repeating cause on Borneo it was the same sad situation. Well, not really sad as anything else that comes along is just as good. And Corcovado literally throws the wildlife right at you. A crazy place which was mentioned to be one of the most biodiverse areas on earth by the National Geographic Society.

On the boat trip back "home" we got to see the humpback whale and her baby again. This time the little one was just full of beans. It jumped constantly and we saw the whole body during that display of playfulness. Another amazing sight, though it was really hard to take pictures from the moving boat, which is why only a few came out right/ok. So the rest of the day was just relaxing in our hammocks and getting eaten alive by the moskitos. Which really wasn't a hard goal to accomplish. :)

Yesterday we went hiking without a guide which was also quite nice. A short stop for a swim at a lonely beach completed the rather laid back first half of the day (we started at 7am and came back at 2pm). Besides lots of lizards a snake I couldn't identify, more toucans, a big boa constrictor, a few spider monkeys very close-up and a hummingbird were what we spotted on that trip. We went to Paul's seafood restaurant in the afternoon and had some amazing dorada, snook and wahoo caught by the local fishermen the night before. The terrace was a great place to watch a few huge iguanas in a tree nearby and some beautiful birds (blue-gray & Passerini's tanager) feeding on ripe bananas. I bet we could have stayed there all day to see more wildlife cause even the town is just full of it. Right after we went to the bay to take pictures of the sunset but we were surprised by -guess what- another heavy troipcal rain which lasted really long so we took shelter in a building which -as we found out later- is one of the local churches. After packing our bags a huge storm announced its arrival with a scary, rolling thunder. The night was a toss and tumble as lightning struck very close to the cabinas, at one point I almost felt like it hit my bathroom. I heard that noise so close in my life.

So this morning we took the early boat to Sierpe to have time for our tripup the pacific coast but unfortunately, as mentioned earlier, I left my key back in the room and now we have to wait for the afternoon boat to get here. Fortunately this place is really nice and Kata&Peter don't really mind. So another drive after dark it will be. :( Anyway...pura vida! :)

Before I forget: new pictures can be found here.

Cheers,

Stefan

August 16th, 2011: On the road to Drake Bay and Corcovado National Park

That day we took off at noon for the 1,5h trip to Sierpe where we switched from the car to a boat taxi to Drake Bay. Another heavy tropical rain shower while on the boat, we got soaking wet and I am happy I was able to "save" my camera", which I really could have avoided if I had taken some raincoat and plastic bag out of my backpack beforehand, but hey, you never really stop learning. Upon arrival 90 mins later we, however, quickly found accomodation at a place in Drake Bay, which is run by the very nice and friendly family Manolo. That's thanks to a belgian family we met on the boat and who were booked into that place so we even got a car ride to the cabinas which on foot would have been a pain with all the luggage we have. All we did that evening was to book a tour to Corcovado, have dinner at the restaurant and then relax in the hammocks they have put up for the guests. I fell asleep to the amazingly beautiful sounds of the nearby primary rainforest. 

August 11th until 15th, 2011: Tortuguero National Park

So finally I have the time to write a few lines as I forgot the car keys in Corcovado National Park and now we have to wait for the afternoon boat to bring them. I'll just try not to be too upset and stick to the "pura vida" feeling I got a glimpse of here in Costa Rica. :)

So the last couple of days in Tortuguero National Park were simply amazing. It all started off with a crazy taxi ride directly from San José airport to La Pavona, the little harbour where the river boats to Tortuguero take off from. Everybody had told me that if I'd arrive around noon I'd never make it up to the carribean coast on the same day since I had to catch the last boat at 4pm, but the taxi driver was quite confident he'd make it and we agreed on a really good fee, so that was that. I was, however, quite nervous about everything due to my lack of experience with Costa Rican means of transportation. We shared a local snack (yucca frita con carne and patatos fritas con queso) halfway through and then continued the race down to La Pavona. At some point he told me that he had never driven further than "that road" and well...it didn't exactly add to a more "tranquil" state of consciousness. To cut a long story short: we made it right on time and I only had a couple of minutes to buy the ticket before the boat took off. Following that were 90 minutes of pure magic as it was an amazing ride through the jungle. The forest was a little hazy and there were animals everywhere. Words really can't describe these breath-taking moments.

When we arrived in Tortuguero it was almost dark and I was happy to receive news from Barbara, a german biologist I had contacted before I went to COsta Rica about available cabinas in an "ok" place. Besides 10$ a night weren't that bad. Let me put it this way: it had four walls, a roof, a bed and a bathroom. Good for 2 nights. After that I had to look for a different one since it was fully booked. Right after I went for a "turtle walk" with Barbara. Didn't know what to expect but right after we came to the beach there was this huge sea turtle lying down in a hole she had dug before in some kind of a trance state to lay her 200+ eggs. No one is allowed to take pictures as the research team wants them to be as undisturbed as possible. So after approx. 30 mins of laying her eggs she would wake up, cover them with sand and head back to the sea. I was told that at the time they are in that trance they are most vulnerable to predators, especially jaguars. Well, jaguars are one reason I came to Costa Rica for but of course I wouldn't want to see one eating a turtle. :(

The next morning I went to have breakfast at a local bakery and they served delicious fruit salad with banana bread and great Costa Rican coffee. I had an interesting conversation with a hungarian couple, Kata and Peter, who seem to be into wildlife as much as I am so we decided to take a jungle walk together on that same day. And oít was great, I can tell you that. It's just amazing to be accompanied by someone who walks as slow as you are and who is as interested in insects, reptiles, mammals and plants. We spent 7 hours in the jungle and I took the first lot of cool pictures. The next morning I went on a 3,5h canoe trip with Barbara which was one of the really rewarding experiences cause we just saw so much, you wouldn't believe. Snakes, monkeys, lizards, birds, spiders and caymans all over the place, Just "wow!". The rest of the day was just relaxing at the beach with Kata, Peter and Jordi, a guy from Spain I had met on the boat ride to Tortuguero and who also stayed at the new place I moved to that day, the Cabinas Balcon del Mar.

On the last day we went into the jungle again but this time it we took it really slow as the heat and humidity simply takes you out after a while. Crazy. Later in the afternoon I met a few girls from San José and took them to the jungle to find the spider monkeys we had spotted before but unfortunately they had disappeared. So much for trying to be the wanna-be guide, but hey, shit happens. :) Some more local food (rice, beans and chicken) in the evening and we called it a night. Which was horrible though. Full moon and no sleep at all (blood on the sheets though...just kidding). The worst preparation for a day of driving cause after we (Kata, Peter and myself) took the boat back to La Pavona and the bus to San José we got ourselves a rental car to drive down to Corcovado national park. Horrible ride down to our overnight stay in Dominical since all the ramps onto the highway were closed which is why it took us 7 hours instead of 3, plus driving after dark through heavy tropical rains. The stay at the surfer backpackers place was good though. Quite relaxed and cheap. And good to relax for the upcoming days in Corcovado.

So that's it for Tortuguero, cheers,

Stefan

Pictures can be found here.

Jungle Walk no. 2 and "Frog walk"

Hi everyone, still in Tortuguero, I (we?) will leave to some other place tomorrow, no idea, where to yet. :) I have made 2 new little trips to the jungle today, so the pics are updated. Enjoy!

Cheers,

Stefan

Tortuguero National Park

So I finally arrived in Costa Rica despite of all the trouble with the cancelled flight. Too tired to write a lot, the pictures were taken in the boat taxi to Tortuguero, during yesterday's jungle walk and today's canoe trip in the early morning. Enjoy!

Cheers,

Stefan

Preps

Thank god, the flights are booked. 10 days of Costa Rican jungle, one week with Dolphin Expeditions and a weekend in Fort Lauderdale ahead of me. Getting those plane tickets for a somewhat reasonable price was quite a pain, but now things are getting sorted. I still need a 4x4 for Costa Rica and accomodation in Corcovado National Park, but that should be possible soon as I have gotten a few quotes yesterday. Fingers crossed.

It looks like this time I won't be able to bring the whole plethora of my camera equipment since I don't wanna take a risk with the total of 6 flights I have ahead of me. But we'll see about that. Will try to keep you updated as soon as there's a wireless hotspot available. :)

Thanks for your interest and cheers,

Stefan

Back home...

Hi all, dear friends and family,

so today I also came back home to Germany like Sandra did a week before. We and I had a blast in various parts of South Africa and after all these times I was blessed to visit this beautiful country it's good to see that there are still lots of new things to discover and interesting people to meet. It's also good to see that the bonds of friendship are strong and sustainable, another beautiful thing that makes me come back over and over again and which adds a very special glow to that gem in the south. Yes, this goes out to you, the Pieters and the Paintings! :)

Besides Chitwa Chitwa is not only worth remembering but a unique place with a very strong gravity field, last but not least because of the hospitality and all the great animals to see in Sabi Sand Private Game Reserve. I will be back and this is a promise.

As this is the end of the 2010 South Africa "mission", I want to thank you, the readers of this little travel journal and encourage you (including all the nice people we/I met in the course of the trip and who I gave the URL to this blog) to please leave your comments! You might want to bookmark this site as there will be more to read in the future.

Thanks again and "Cheers" to all of you!

Stefan

Goodbye for now...

Hi all,

I hope you are well and the winter in Europe doesn't bother you too much. :)

So here I am again, back in "civilization". Joburg airport. Kinda strange, but thats just how it is. The last couple of days at Chitwa Chitwa were simply amazing, I have hardly ever met so many nice people in one place. Everyone from reception to staff to the kitchen team and the guide/tracker were just unbelievably nice and caring. Next time someone asks me for an advice regarding a great lodge in South Africa: this is what I will recommend. I have seen quite a few nice locations over the last couple of years but nothing beats Chitwa Chitwa. Besides that Johan (the ranger) and Rodney (the tracker) were really pushing it hard to track interesting and rare animals, which is why -again- I have seen far more leopards than anywhere else in South Africa. What an experience!! Loads of interesting sightings (including two magical close elephant encounters) , lots of other nice guests but also a few rather sad things like a hippo which got badly injured in a territorial fight with a dominant hippo bull and lay in a thicket during a really hot day. Which is very bad for their skin cause they are dependent from water and usually only leave it at night. We all thought he would die but it seems he made it to another water hole in the area. Yesterday we saw an old male lion lying at a water hole which was only skin and bones. He apparently looks like this for quite a while now and manages to stay alive but it's a shame to see how a once powerful animal with a decent pride will eventually die alone in the bush. Yeah, it's nature and it's good that no intervention is made but like many other guests and even the rangers/trackers it still touches me.

This morning Johan and Rodney really pushed hard to find "me" another leopard and they succeeded. A very beautiful female lying in a riverbed which we were able to adore for quite a while. After that I mistook a visit to an active hyena den for our coffee break and almost jumped out of the vehicle daydreaming, but luckily nothing happened.

Will have to check in my luggage now (after a domestic flight from 38 degree Hoedspruit to 26 degree JoBurg), so this is a new farewell to South Africa. Another great stay in Sabi Sand and a very nice cross country trip with Sandra. So I believe, that we will be back. April 2011 might not be a bad date. :)

Cheers!

Stefan

Pictures are completely updated!

Animals sleeping in...

Well, the expectations were high but unfortunately we got disappointed. No sign of the three lions we saw yesterday, only two rhinos and a leopard's bum. After only 5 minutes of being close by the leopard the guide didn't want to follow him when he got up and walked off as there were "other vehicles waiting" and the vegetation was "too dense". What a turn-off. I know a lot of other guides who would have made the effort to make their guests at least get a glimpse of the leopards face, but hey...the vehicles are new so why bother going off-road too much. Well, these (and a lot of other) things will be better at Chitwa Chitwa where I will take off to in approx. 2 hours from now. I might not be able to post any more stuff as they only have an internet access at the reception. We'll see about it, I'll try to keep you updated. :)

New pictures can be found here.

Cheers!

Stefan

The cats are out, part 2...

If I hadn't travelled to Africa a few times before I'd probably have peed in my pants today. Male lions all over the place. And pretty much intruding the comfort zone of most visitors, I would not have been surprised if they had rubbed their bum on the vehicle. Funny enough it was scratching day today. We saw zebra, rhino, buffalo and kudu with itchy bums all over the place. Each of them were rubbing against something, mostly trees or branches. Wildlife comedy.

But when it came to the three lions we saw this morning, everybody just shut up. They were a little scattered over an airfield inside the reserve when one of them started vocalizing. The definition of vocalizing in this case is more like a brutal roar that makes your clothes and the whole vehicle vibrate. This was just CRAZY and strangely exciting!!! We then followed them a long way and they headed straight for a big herd of buffalo. I don't know why we didn't pursue them longer but tomorrow we'll probably know what they were up to.

Will have my last dinner at Nkorho now, til later and cheers!

Stefan

The cats are out!

Still no rain but whoa! what a game drive this morning. First we saw two well fed lionesses (maybe members of the now scattered Styx pride) strolling over to Kruger and then we were really blessed cause the mighty lion coalition had apparently returned out of nowhere. We saw three of the four male lions who took over a big territory in Sabi Sands a couple of months ago wreaking havoc on the prides in the reserve. To accomplish that they have gone through a lot of fights and it shows. Good to see them in such a great condition though resting around a termite mound.

Just to spoil that sighting a little more we saw Tanya, a small but very successful leopardess up in a tree with a duiker she must've killed tonite. Too bad the light conditions weren't as superb as they were last evening. But the perfect picture wouldn't be the perfect one if you could take it every day, would it? I have added the new corresponding pictures to the album, see link in the posting below.

Have a great day, hope you are well & cheers!

Stefan

Coming back "home"...

Dear friends and family,

sorry for the little enthusiasm we had for maintaining the blog but most of the days we were either too busy or too tired to sit ourselves down and write so apologies for this.

Just to give you a short wrap-up of what happened so far:

On Oct. 14th we arrived in JoBurg and headed to Capetown on the same day. Well, not really Cape Town but rather a little smalltown called Fish Hoek where we found the most beautiful B&B called the Tranquility House nestled into the hills of a stunning bay. The owners Ron&Gill are the typical hospitable and ever friendly South Africans I got to appreciate over the last couple of years. But still a wee bit nicer. :) And the breakfast is the best you will ever get in whole South Africa. Not only did they say so, we also did after we had it. :) So we stayed 2 nights there, made a trip to the penguins in Simonstown, the Cape Peninsula, Chapman's Peak and, of course, the Cape's Town itself.

After this we spent one night in Franschhoek in the heart of the winelands, visited the Spier winery and it's cheetah research and breeding centre. Off we went to Plettenberg to stay 2 nights at the Hog Hollow Lodge, another beautiful place in the hills close to the coast. Some whale watching from an aquatic national park and great food at a place called the Lookout directly at the waterfront plus a visit to Tenikwa, a place where the owners Mandy and Len take care of injured and rescued wild animals to either release them into the bush later or keep them in their good hands. Besides they educate their visitors and the locals about wildlife and the numerous conservation issues. Thanks for a great time to both of you!

Our next part of the trip took us to Addo Elephant Park where we stayed in the Kuzuko Lodge located at the northeastern border of the park. Too bad that they had a bad drought for 2 years and lost a lot of their animals. It still was fun to go on the game drives with Riaan, our guide who was very knowledgeable and helpful. This is where we made a "cheetah walk" approaching two very relaxed males on foot. Lions, red hartebeest, zebra, oryx, springbokkies, elands, elephants, rock monitors and many others were also on our sightings list.

After Addo we had quite a bit of driving ahead of us cause we went to Bloemfontein where we paid Kate and Eve a visit. Great dinner at the Green Fig and a couple of hours with my friends was the perfect finish after a long day of driving. The next morning we went to the Cheetah Experience where a group of volunteers (one of which is Eve) take care of orphaned and/or rescued wild animals, especially cats (cheetahs, leopards, lions, caracals, even tigers). It was an interesting thing to do but I always feel a little uncomfortable to see wild animals in an enclosure.

After this we drove off to Centurion located between JoBurg and Pretoria to see Nicolette and Niel, my favorite South African couple. ;) We had dinner at the Godfather, a legendary steak house in Centurion and with full stomachs slept over at their place to drive to Kruger the next day. Made it there just in time to go on a magnificient game drive at Crocodile Bridge main camp (black-backed jackal pups, porcupines, a civet, elephants, you name it...) but had to stay outside afterwards as the park was fully booked that day. The following day, after lots and lots of great sightings we stayed in safari tents in Tamboti, a satellite of Orpen main cam. Very basic with communal showers but a delicious braai (rump steak, gemsquash, butternut). Unfortunately our sleep wasn't too tight thanks to an outrageous thunderstorm haunting the southern Kruger Park that night.

Some more driving around the park the next day and off we went to the Sabi Sands Private Game Reserve covering an area of 65.000 hectares to spend our first night at Chitwa Chitwa Private Game Lodge. If there is a heaven on earth then this place is it. Unbelievable. Stunning. Wow. Extremely hospitable and friendly staff, two danger-seeking rangers called Johan and Harley and the most beautiful accomodation ever. A great leopard on our first game drive besides lots of other good sightings. Time to relax and enjoy. The next day we went off to the neighbouring Nkorho Bush Camp where we stayed 1 more night before it was time to say goodbye to Sandra because she only had 2 weeks of vacation which is why I drove her to Hoedspruit airport. On my way there I got my 2nd speeding ticket within a week for no particular reason and after I returned to the Nkorho Bush Camp I discovered that 5 other tourists had also been ripped off by the police at the same spot. What a nice way to treat your visitors! But anyway...that was yesterday, Sandra has gotten back home safely and I will spend 2 more nights here before I probably spend my last 4 nights back in Chitwa Chitwa. On today's sunset drive I took one of my best leopard pictures ever of a young female resting on a termite mound. Shortly after we arrived the afternoon sun came through the quite cloudy sky and shone directly on her face. It was the perfect situation, everything was right and a dream came true. One more of the many "wows!" during this trip.

So this is it for now, I might get to write a few more lines or add new pictures to the album (link below) but maybe it won't be possible due to the poor internet access in this area. I hope you enjoyed reading the post, pictures can be found here. Time to sleep now, wake up time is at 5am.

Cheers!

Stefan

Just a few hours to go...

Hectic. Chaos. Mayhem!

Lots of work, nothing packed yet and a pick up at 6:30. Who said the holiday shouldn't be earned properly? Lets go. :)

Cape Town on the horizon.