Kathy’s Travels

Wow, who ever thought my entry would be on the correct date. But here I am able to catch up a little.

Have been in Port Elizabeth for 3days now. Only arrived at Tanaqua Lodge at 1am thursday morning. But was given a fabulous room with private shower, loo, TV and DOUBLE bed!!!! Please note I do not usually stay in such “comfort” at backpackers, but am on a marketing trip and this often means I get a few perks…… The owners of Bomvu decided since I was heading down to Cape Town I could take flyers with which is equivalent to a marketing trip. Most hostels give free accomodation, some give meals and occasionally some give you better rooms. No arguments here.

Tanaqua Lodge: 9.5/10, stunning set-up, swimming pool, very homely with up-market decorating. The word elegant comes to mind. Had a little bit of water pressure problems but think they were still fixing up that room. Very friendly staff. Excellent atmosphere. A definite must!!

Met up with my dad’s cousin for lunch and then onto my gran. She has just moved to PE and I went to see her new house. Then onto my aunt, lunch with my second cousin and finally tea with old friends of my parents. Crumbs!!!! All in 4 days! Now am at Wet Hippo Backpackers because the bus comes at 6.30am tomorrow.

Wet Hippo Backpackers: 8/10. The manager is very friendly. Good internet connection. Satelitte TV. Pool, very comfortable.

Tomorrow is on to Plettenburg Bay and the last set of family members, other cousins of my dad.

January 31st

OK, this time I am going to work backwards since not much has happened since my last entry.
Presently I am staying with my dad’s cousin and his family in King Williams Town. I have been here for about a week and a half and will leave for Port Elizabeth tomorrow on the Baz bus.
Yesterday I got back from spending a relaxing weekend with friends in Mthatha, yup very close to Coffee Bay (unfortunately not close enough for a quick visit). My Aunt and Uncle went up to Durban for the Grand Prix and dropped me off on the way. On the Saturday there was a HUGE storm, in fact a tornado hit the northern part of Mthatha, We saw the funnels forming. My friend and I were at a small reserve and got caught in it. We barely made it to the gate at the road rapidly turned to slush. Of course, Murphy’s Law, it had just started hailing when I had to get out to open the gate. Within about 2 seconds I was drenched to the bone, may as well have jumped in a swimming pool. Hectic is an understatement, but beautiful and amazing are good descriptions too.
The week before that saw me relaxing and catching up with emails and as you might have guessed, my blog. We spent a fabulous day on their farm in the little karoo, about a 3hr drive one way from King Williams Town. It is a game farm and has numerous animals including springbok, impala, wildebeest, gemsbok, eland etc…. Truly spectacular.

The day before our trip to the farm, my aunt and I had visited a Lion Park near East London and got to play with some of the cutest little cubs ever. There were 4 of them at about 3mths old and they were true little terrors. One of them decided my bag was a nice chew toy, another decided my pony tail needed combing, the 3rd attached itself to my leg and the 4th lunged at my back. All very amusing…. Until I was nipped on my posterior….. Also had to be careful as they had a fascination with 2 of my most important assets, nearly lost them once or twice….

Before visiting family, I was in East London, Hogsback and Cintsa.

East London I stayed at the Sugar Shack: 6/10, right by the ocean, comfortable, clean. The internet is a bit expensive, there isn’t a very good vibe there, the bar should be moved to the upper deck and the lounge and kitchen to down below, the streets are not safe at night. But on the whole, not a bad place to stop.

Hogsback was amazing, it is rumoured that Tolkien based his descriptions of Hobbitville on these valleys and mountains. Sure enough, as you walk through the fields and forests you almost expect Bilbo Baggins or Sam or any of the other characters to walk past you.

Away with the Fairies: 9/10 nice feel, looks like a little cottage in a beautiful garden with herbs and flowers everywhere. The housekeeping staff and most of the office staff are really friendly. Stu, the gourmet chef from Scotland, is phenomenal and you will want to marry him for his food.

Being in Cintsa was like coming home to friends and family. I had met the staff when I had done my marketing trip and it was great to see them. I might even go back there someday after I get my Massage Therapist license. Spent one afternoon on the booze cruise down the lagoon, great fun and very relaxing. Every now and then you hit a sand bar and have to get out and push. At one point, a guy sitting near me turns and says, “Hey! You’re the girl who didn’t leave Bomvu in like, forever. I gave you and your friends a cigarette on the beach on New Years.” Kind of crazy, but rather amusing how small the world can become.

Buccaneers Backpackers: see previous rating.

That pretty much brings me up to where I am now. Last night I went and watched the latest Harry Potter. We arrived with 10min to spare and nothing was open, they were still cleaning and not in any hurry to finish. Today I will leave on the Baz to Port Elizabeth to see my Gran and Aunt and some other family members who I haven’t seen since I was knee hi to a grasshopper.

Wait for the next entry, hopefully sooner than a month……