South Africa

Clutching a park permit and driving down a dirt track, we’re not really sure what to expect, either of what we might see, or of our accommodation. Helen is concentrating on dodging the pot-holes in the road, I’m staring intently out of the window looking for wildlife. To our delight we’re taken by surprise as to our right a giraffe has appeared, then two more, and we watch in awe for a few minutes before slowly proceeding. Elated at our first wildlife sighting, we continue along the track wondering what else is in store for our three days here. We find out sooner than expected, turning a corner and coming to an abrupt halt as a large grey mass looms just metres ahead – a white rhino is in the track. We’re stunned, thrilled, then scared; our rental car is small and we feel quite exposed. We hover nervously watching this beautiful beast, not knowing quite what to do aside from keeping a respectful distance. Seconds later he retreats into the scrub. We’re still and quiet for a while, then a rush of excitement mixed with relief hits and we’re ecstatic – our bags are not even unpacked and we’re already onto the big 5. And I have a medley of songs from the Lion King going round my head, which continues for three days.

So this was our introduction to Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park, a 960 square Km game reserve in KwaZulu-Natal, and the oldest national park in the whole of Africa. It is now home to a huge variety of wildlife and a real conservation success story in the re-establishment of the while rhino population – our initial encounter was happily one of many to be had over the following few days. This did include again getting a bit too close for comfort but without the shell of a car for protection -we took a guided walk through the bush, following various animal trails (mostly rhino) and found ourselves getting close enough for our guide to gesticulate wildly and make a hasty retreat in the other direction - we only came so close as there was very little wind, normally the rhino would have sensed us coming but we managed to catch her having a snooze, until we moved to a safer distance upwind of her, and on getting a whiff of human she trampled off into the bush.

Hyena spotted on a night drive

But this is only the last few days; my South Africa escapades began two and half weeks ago in Cape Town. Here I spent a week, the first few days staying with Hannah, a good friend from university days now living in Sea Point. Then my friend Helen flew out to join me for the rest of my time in South Africa. I loved Cape Town, mainly for what it’s possible to do in a day from the city – highlights were exploring the cape peninsula which included visiting the Boulder’s Beach penguin colony on the way to Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope, climbing Table Mountain on a route beginning and ending in the beautiful Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, and of course visiting the winelands for some wine tasting.

From Cape Town we headed east into the Karoo via Route 62, an inland alternative to the Garden Route. The drive was stunning – incredible landscapes, dramatic mountain passes, and the occasional ostrich. We stayed at a friendly little farm in Montagu and enjoyed a beautiful but hot day of hiking in the mountains followed by a relaxing visit to some hot springs to recover from the day’s exertion. 

Spotted on our walk from Montagu

Onwards from Montagu, past lots of fruit farms, we re-joined the Garden Route and the next stop was Sedgefield where we stayed in a lovely hostel right by the golden sand of Myoli Beach. It would have been easy to spend a few days there, but time was pressing and it was then on to Storms River for 2 nights. Storms River is an outdoor lover’s/adrenaline junkie’s dream, with loads of activities on offer and beautiful surroundings to enjoy while you bungee/zipline/mountain bike/kayak or whatever takes your fancy. We opted for a 26km bike ride from Storms River Village where we were staying, to the cliffs overlooking Storms River and the adjacent coastline. I’m sure Helen’s patience was tested as I shuddered slowly down the rocky tracks (I will blame my overly cautious approach on extremely dodgy bike breaks) then huffed and puffed up the slopes, but it was great to be out in the fresh air, and even better to get back and treat myself to a large piece of cake. We had a more sedate afternoon exploring Storms River mouth, strolling across the impressive suspension bridge and sitting in the sun with an ice cream. Did you know there is such a thing as a biscotti Magnum? It’s good.

Myoli Beach, Sedgefield

Storms River

Our next couple of nights after leaving Storms River were planned around breaking up the journey to Imfolozi, stopping in Grahamstown and Port St Johns. Although driving for hours, the changes in landscape and settlements have been interesting, along with a steady deterioration in road quality and steady increase in number of animals wondering onto the highway. One more stop and a quick swim in the sea, at Warner Beach just south of Durban, and it was the final few hours on the road to get to the park.

Now we’ve left the rhinos, lions, elephants and buffalo behind and we’re in Durban where we’re leaving the car, having a curry (or a bunny chow), and catching the bus up to the Drakensburg for a few days in the mountains, which will be our last few days in South Africa. 3 wonderful weeks have gone so quickly and there is still so much more to do and see here - another country I definitely hope to return to one day!

Boulders Beach, Western Cape

Part Two Begins

Soon after arriving, I realised 10 days in Sri Lanka was definitely not long enough, and only a few days in I made a vow to myself to return one day to explore more of this beautiful island. But the time I did have available for this trip was well spent and extremely enjoyable. It was also rather different to my recent travelling experiences - this time was travelling with my sister, brother-in-law and my 21 month-old niece Rose, who came out to join me in Negombo on the west coast, a couple of days after I arrived.

Temple in Colombo

On a boat trip near Negombo lagoon

From Negombo we went inland to explore some of the Cultural Triangle area, basing ourselves near Sigiriya for a couple of days to visit the spectacular ancient citadel perched on top of a huge rock (formed from a volcanic plug in case anyone’s interested), and also go to Dambulla where there are fascinating Buddhist cave temples. It was at our guest house in Sigiriya that we met Manju, who would be another travelling companion for the next week, in the form of our driver and guide.

Dambulla Cave Temples

The next stop was Kandy in the Hill Country. Besides the usual, but well worthwhile, touristy trail activity of visiting Pinewalla Elephant Orphanage (a big hit with Rose more for the apparently amusing abundance of elephant poo, as opposed to large numbers of pachyderms), we were treated to dinner at the house of Manju’s parents, who live in Kandy. It was incredibly kind of Manju and his family to invite us into their home and feed us a superb meal of string hoppers (Manju had picked up on one of our conversations in the car that we had wanted to eat more of them and put in the request to his mum!), and a wonderful insight for us into a Sri Lankan home and family life.

From Kandy we made the long journey through the hills to Ella, its length mainly due to the windiness of the roads rather than large distances. During the day we, got some incredible views, stopped off at a tea factory, and saw more tea growing than even I will ever drink in my lifetime. We stopped on the way in Nuwara Eliya, interesting to Marnie and me for a family connection as our great grandfather used to be a teacher there. However my neglect of the necessary research in advance meant we didn't trace the school, but enjoyed seeing the town nonetheless.

We decided to visit Ella to have a relaxing couple of days enjoying the hills, the tea plantations and eat good food, and it didn't disappoint. In the morning we walked from our guest house up Little Adam’s Peak – a much smaller undertaking than its bigger brother of a peak, but a lovely walk with the reward of fantastic 360 degree views from the top of mountains, forest and tea. 

On the way back we detoured to see a green tea factory, where we got an interesting tour, and then a bonus of bumping into the director of the factory and learning a lot about the company and Sri Lankan tea production as he sat and chatted with us over a brew. We then walked a short distance to a hotel on a neighbouring tea plantation, where we had a delicious lunch and sampled some wonderful tea from their estate. I had a cup of Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe Fanning’s Special (don’t think I’ll be able to get that particular variety in Sainsbury’s).

Drinking tea surrounded by tea

More culinary delights followed in the evening, where we had a huge meal of Sri Lankan curries including a local speciality of garlic curry, using whole garlic cloves. Delicious. The next morning was an early start to begin a very, very long journey, the first leg of which was a train ride from Ella to Colombo so I could get to the airport to catch an evening flight. This meant I had to say goodbye to Marnie, Peter and Rose who still had another week to enjoy the island. I’ve been so fortunate not only to be on this journey, but to have my closest family members visiting me at different points – first my parents in Kerala, and then my sister and family in Sri Lanka. Seeing the people I love most in the world when I have been so far away from home has been very special and has made my trip all the more unforgettable.
From Colombo airport I got the first of three flights to get me to Cape Town. The first flight to Mumbai was quite dramatic, involving a passenger being escorted off by the police before we could disembark, after he had drunkenly assaulted a cabin crew member mid-flight and spent a large part of the journey shouting. Thankfully the next two flights were more relaxing and got me to my destination without any problems, for my South African adventure to begin...

The Intermission

9 days in the UK- enough time to recover from jetlag, see my family, get to the Isle of Wight, help set up for the wedding, go the wedding rehearsal, be a bridesmaid, and see my best friend get married. Then recover from the wedding, get back from the Island, catch up with some friends on the way, find a South Africa plug adaptor, do some washing, and go to Heathrow to begin the next stage of my adventure!

The End of Part One

My final week in India was spent in the Kerala midlands, quite off the tourist trail, at a place called The Pimenta. I planned the time here with the intention of learning how to cook delicious vegetarian Keralan food, which I definitely feel like I did, though having not been back in my own kitchen yet I haven’t tested out whether any of my new skills have been retained. It was a busy week, with mornings out exploring the local area, visiting food markets and buying ingredients, and afternoons cooking up a feast for the evening meal.

Morning excursions were often fascinating, getting to see local life that I never would have even known about if I had just passed through on my way to one of the more popular destinations either direction of where I was staying. Wholesale banana and pineapple markets, snack making establishments making banana chips on wood stoves, and a truck painting warehouse were just some of the things I had an insight into. Actually writing this down and reading it back they all sound quite dull and/or nerdy… but really they were so interesting! Truck painting possibly wins on sounding the most obscure, but there is a long tradition in certain places in Kerala of having extremely intricate hand painted designs on lorries and trucks, and very few places in which this painting takes place. The winner for me though was seeing the products of the numerous rubber plantations I have seen so many of since starting my travels in Kerala. Seeing rubber gloves and a rainbow of rubber bands out to dry in the sun was quite a peculiar but brilliant sight. One morning I also took a trip to the government-run elephant training camp, and got to see the gorgeous baby elephants taking their bath and playing in the river.This trip happened to be on my birthday so it was a very memorable birthday treat!

One of many fried snacks being made over a wood fire

Hands up who wants a pair of marigolds!

But back to my main objective – cooking. Each day I made about 5 different dishes, under the watchful eye of Jacob who runs the Pimenta and has lived in the area his whole life, so knows a thing or two about what tastes good and where to get the best quality ingredients, though he grows most of the spices himself in the large jungle-like garden on-site. Most days there was a lot of coconut involved in a variety of formats, then lots of types of dhal and a huge range of vegetables, masses of curry leaves and few other spices. Rice is a big part of the diet too, and I learned that you can tell the quality of basmati rice by how long the grain is (value stuff at the supermarket just isn’t long enough apparently!) I was pleased to have a go at making my all-time favourite South Indian dish, masala dosa, though I haven’t quite refined my dosa batter spreading technique so more practice needed before any dinner party appearances of that dish.

Making masala dosa during a power cut

The end of the week came round quickly and before I knew it I was heading back to Cochin to get an early morning flight to the UK, feeling a mix of sadness to be leaving India after 4 incredible, challenging at times, but enjoyable months, and excitement for a whirlwind trip back for some very important bridesmaid duties, seeing family and friends, and as an added bonus the chance to show my clothes a washing machine which they hadn't seen in a while. So the next stop was home turf, for a brief intermission before part two of the travelling adventures began!

Jaya Ganesha

Pranams from Kerala. I have just spent possibly the most peaceful week of my life on the Kerala coast, at Arsha Yoga Gayathri, a small yoga centre north of Cochin. I was treated to excellent teaching, delicious traditional vegetarian food, a beautiful deserted beach (aside from a few fishermen and some dolphins) and stunning sun-sets each day. With only a short time left in India, it was a perfect way to spend my penultimate week and take some time to reflect on the past few months, with the wonderful company of Hari and Meera who run Arsha Yoga, as well as their adorable family of rabbits.

Each day was a 5.30am start, for a pranayama session at 6. Not being an early morning person I wasn't sure about this, but I got used to it surprisingly quickly, and the pattern of the days soon became a welcome routine. Living a yoga lifestyle, beyond just the physical part of yoga which I am more used to, was quite enlightening and something I learned a lot from. Being away from the hustle and bustle of towns and cities was so refreshing, and under the careful guidance of Hari and Meera I felt my practice improving day by day, along with a growing appreciation for all the other aspects of yoga. I didn't realise how attached I got to the place until my taxi pulled away at the end of the week, and I felt an immediate wish to stay for longer.

It was time to move on though, as my Keralan cooking adventure awaited (more about that later...)

Since my last post I have covered quite a lot of ground, but very much enjoyed staying long enough in each place to soak it up. After a few days in Varkala, I headed back to the hills to Munnar in the Western Ghats, where I spent a couple of days surrounded by tea plantations, visited a tea museum, and was thrilled to get another wild elephant sighting while I was zooming through the hills on a tuk-tuk. Almost more amazing than seeing the elephants however, was a large group of 20-something male Indian tourists who seemed to be unaware they were risking their lives in getting too close for a photo. I watched in disbelief as they walked towards the elephants down the bank from the roadside, seemingly thinking they were invincible - possibly one of the most idiotic actions I have seen on my trip. Very luckily for them the elephants didn't seem too bothered by their presence.

One of many well-meant signs, surrounded by litter

Top Station, on the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border

I was determined to take a trip up to the ancient capital Hampi during my time in India, so this was my destination from Munnar, involving a long journey by bus to Coimbatore, the first part through some stunning scenery, then a train to Bangalore, and an overnight train from Bangalore to Hospet. It was well worth the journey though, despite my slight apprehension of travelling alone overnight. The travelling went seamlessly and I met a friendly Israeli couple and an American guy on the train who I shared a tuk-tuk ride with from Hospet train station to Hampi.

Entering Hampi you get an immediate sense of the unique landscape which is home to the majestic former capital of the Vijayanagara Empire. Incredible temples are strewn across dry, rocky hills, with outcrops of huge boulders impossibly balanced dotted around ancient structures. Another striking observation is that of destruction. In recent months, much of the Hampi Bazaar area, which is where many Hampi residents live and work, has been bulldozed, and its residents relocated to a new settlement a few kilometers out of town. This has happened in the name of historic building conservation, as housing a population so close to the ancient monuments was having a detrimental effect on their preservation. The move is obviously a controversial one, and has had a huge impact on Hampi residents who have lived and worked in Hampi Bazaar for their whole lives, not least because their compensation has been minimal. It's quite a topic of conversation with locals, it's so current and the bulldozers are still there amongst the rubble.

On the more positive side, Hampi was a fascinating place to explore for a few days. I met another solo traveller at my guest house from the US, and after realising over a banana pancake that we have a lot in common and a similar outlook on travel, we ended up exploring a lot of the area together, including doing a cycling tour of some of the main temples surrounding Hampi.

Vitthala Temple

View of the Virupaksha temple

Lotus Mahal

At the elephant stables

Making friends with Lakshmi, the Virupaksha temple elephant

A morning greeting at my guest house

Leaving Hampi involved another overnight train journey. This time I seemed to make quite a few friends at Hospet train station, firstly chatting to a few children, then with their siblings, parents, aunts, uncles... It made the hour delay to the train pass much more quickly!

Thankfully the train caught up most of the delay and I arrived back in Bangalore at 6.30am, with just enough time to race to the botanical gardens to join a guided walk starting at 7am, which I had booked a place on optimistically hoping my train would arrive on time at 6.10am. Initially I hadn't been looking forward to spending the day in Bangalore, but train times forced it, and it turned out to be a really enjoyable day. The walk was excellent, Vijay our guide was incredibly knowlegable, and the tour ended up taking almost an hour longer than planned because everyone in the group was keen to learn more. We also had an excellent breakfast stop at MTR, where I had been for lunch on my last trip to Bangalore. Once again it rates highly in my food experiences!

One of 4 courses for breakfast at MTR - rava idly

From Bangalore I took yet another overnight train, so my second night in a row sleeping on the move. I was en-route to Thrissur where I arrived at 3am, attempted to nap for a couple of hours in the ladies waiting room, then took a bus to the Thalikulam, the closest town to Arsha Yoga. From there I took an auto rickshaw to the beach, and somehow instantly on seeing the sea and endless golden sand I was flooded with calm.

The next part I've already attempted to describe, and I'm now at my final destination before my India journey comes to an end, where I'm spending a week learning to cook Kerala style. So next time, another foodie post...