There were not a lot of other campers and we found an isolated spot beside a pond. We tried to set up our power cord but it kept flicking the circuit breaker. We assumed it was all the wet ground.
This was our first night camping in Africa. There were lots of dogs for Oliver and Sophie to play with.
The next morning we packed up camp and headed back towards Howick on the motorway pulling off onto the old main road just before Howick to visit the Nelson Mandela capture site. There was a small museum about Mandela and we were told by the attendant to take our own “long walk to freedom” down a path to a sculpture of Mandela. As you approach the sculpture made of many profiled steel posts, a bust of Mandela forms. You have to stand in just the right spot to get the perfect image. Across the road from the sculpture is a more modest monument which marks the actual spot where Mandela was arrested leading to his trial and eventual 27 years in prison.
Further along the old main road, known as the Midlands Meander, we arrived at Tourist Village Piggly Wiggly where there were several craft shops and cafes. We had dinner and afterwards, Sophie did candle dipping. She chose a cat-shaped candle and could choose the wax colour and decorate it with paint before a final dip in clear wax. She chose purple wax and had a fun time painting her “kitty” which she took a lot of care over. This was her birthday treat.
On the way back to camp it started to pour so we spent the night in a caravan as we did not want to pack away wet tents in the morning. The ‘van’ as they called it was not great. The veranda to the sitting and kitchen area leaked and one bed broke as soon as I sat on it. Worst of all it was damp and smelt of mould so we used our own sleeping bags rather than their sheets. To top it off there was a power cut for most of the night.
The next day dawned fine and we fortunately were only charged camping rates for the caravan from hell. We celebrated Sophie’s birthday and she seemed oblivious of her rough surroundings and excited by her presents. Benji the dog joined the celebration.
We chose to travel the old main road as this was more scenic than the motorway. Our first stop of the day was Mooi River, a very African town, but with a new supermarket where we did some shopping, had a pooi (pie) for lunch and managed to buy Sophie a red velvet birthday cake.
We made a stop at Estcourt to see Fort Durnford. After a look around the fort, we put candles on Sophie’s cake and enjoyed eating it under the shade of little round thatched picnic shelters.
Near Frere where Winston Churchill was captured by the Boars during a train ambush we crossed the motorway and headed northwest to the Drakensberg Mountains passing Winterton, a lovely little village with trees lining the main road, and Bergville, a rural service town. The road up to Royal Natal passed through a village with lots of people and animals along the road. After all the farm land it really seemed like Africa. Arriving at the entry gate we were told to hurry to reception as it was about to close, we made it just in time.
Four by 4x4 
Happy Birthday Sophie it should like you are having a great time. Mason is here with me today looking at your photos as he is home from School with a cold. It is winter now and starting to get a bit cooler. Although we have had no real frosts yet. It has been such a mild start to the winter. Mason misses Sophie and looks forward to catching up when you get back. Safe travels.
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Thanks Debbie. It’s pretty awesome – never a ground hog day that’s for sure! In fact we are so in the swing of it Oliver says he thinks he could travel forever! Poor Mason; funny as Oliver and I have a cold right now, Graeme a tummy thing and Sophie is well except for some chemical burns from wearing a wetsuit in a swimming pool. It is cooling down here too as it is also winter but today is 28 degrees so not so bad! It’s lovely when it’s so mild but I always think a warm winter means more bugs the following summer. Sophie misses Mason and Senka too and talks about home and friends a lot. It’s a different way of life here but a good one. There’s things to be said for stability and also nomadic way of life. Look forward to catching up at the end of the year! Nx
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Hi guys, what an adventure! I think you are all just AWESOME. Happy belated birthday Sophie, fancy finding a red velvet cake in the middle of Africa!I bet it was delicious too. Wow, you guys are hard core campers, the caravan from hell sounded hellish!! A comedy of errors, I hope you ended up rolling on the floor laughing…I bet it was quite something visiting the site where Nelson Mandela was captured. Not many people can say they’ve done that. I’m going to look on a map now and see if I can spot your actual location. Safe travels, glad to see you’ve found pies over there, yum yum!! lots of love the Clarks and Zorro xx woof
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Thanks Judi. Hope you guys are all well and winter is not too cold yet! We are well in the swing of being nomadic now and quite enjoying it. It was a shame when we got to Cape Town to find that every single trip to Robben Island to see where Mandela was in fact kept hostage was booked out for the rest of the month. So while we missed that experience, we were here when Winnie Mandela died. It was quite a controversial time as she had created quite a divide among the African people. Yes, not too hard to find a pooi in Africa, tell that to ‘Uncle PJ too many poois’! Currently in Namibia at Etosha … lots of blogs to catch up on … Nx
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Awesome to hear from you again. I was just thinking it must be time!!! Oh to know about the bits in between! So many stories! Glad all seems to be going so well for you.
Happy (belated) Birthday Sophie. Looks like your day was full of special memories. Are you keeping a diary Oliver?
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Thanks Georgina. Lovely to hear from you. Yes, there are some awesome ‘bits in between’. Time is hard to find especially as we are planning UK and Europe from here too. It’s a time soaker! We will get there eventually. Hope all is well in your world, Nx
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