Aug, Sept & Oct 2001..

In this edition, I shall briefly (Yeh likely!), tell you about:

A - past Safaris
B - Future Safaris
C - our Self-drive vacations
D - Our new ZFS service
E - my Family and friends

A - PAST SAFARIS -

I remember telling you about Greg and Jennifer and How I had met them and then even flown with them up to Sibayi Lake for the start of their Honeymoon. Well, after they spent a few days at Sibayi Lake, having an awesome time, they were transferred from Sibayi Lake to Tembe Elephant Reserve - and that is where I drove up to meet them. I spent just one night there and then the following day we left for Josini Dam - and a lovely lodge overlooking the large dam. The accommodation was in luxury-tented chalets - and the food and service was superb. We enjoyed he days on game walks, birding, boat cruise, game drives and I even took them the one afternoon to another reserve to do some horseriding, as Jennifer is an excellent rider and was thrilled at the prospect of riding horses in amongst wild animals! What a ball they had. Well, batteries recharged, we continued to Swaziland and arrived at the appointed rendezvous point - an African trading store! We drove across the river and then joined our gamedrive vehicle - an old battered 4x4 landrover with the head ranger as our driver/guide. What an experience that was! He drove right up to the animals, in front of the other game vehicles, along very bumpy roads… seems as though he was keen for us to loose weight and possible any spare change in our pockets - but we all loved it!! The accommodation was totally something else and Greg & Jennifer really fell in love with their chalet! A thatch roof, walls that were not even 2 feet high, and open plan bathroom which had a toilet with a view and no windows. To top it all, there was no electricity, only candles and paraffin lanterns. Dinner was cooked on the fire and the pathways were lit with the occasional lantern. Being on Honeymoon, they also had a lovely bath, also with a view. However, their chalet was also the showpiece for the staff, and closest to the dining room area (bad planning) - so when they were having an afternoon nap, a family of tourists arrived in their chalet and started looking around, not noticing the two of them lying dead still in the bed with the pillows over their heads! Well, we all enjoyed the stay there and had many laughs with the Swazi rangers.
From Swaziland, we continued to one of my favourite lodges, near Hoedspruit, with the orphaned animals - and had a really great time. Got some super pics of the lions and elephants interacting with the guests, and of course, Savannah, the cheetah, and I are good pals, and enjoying being with each other! Eventually, we said our goodbyes at Johannesburg Airport. This lovely young couple have their comments in our guestbook and I look forward to seeing them again in the not too distant future.

I stayed overnight, to experience a nearby guesthouse - nearby the airport and aimed at the budget traveller who just needs an overnight stay. To be honest, I still prefer the Holiday Inn, even though it lacks the personal attention. I have yet to find a B&B guesthouse near to the airport which will suit both our clients and myself - they either charge too much, or are too far out of the way or the owners do not live on the premises! Don't worry, we will find one! For dinner, I was invited to visit Chas, Carl and family, who lived about 20 mins away from where I was staying. Returning to Durban, I had the weekend to catch up on all the happenings, before jetting off to Johannesburg, to meet brothers Mike & Robby, who had arrived a short while before me.

We had decided to drive in a Toyota Condor rather than my 4x4, as it worked out cheaper - and so off we went through the countryside to my friends private game reserve with the orphaned wild animals and lion breeding project, before venturing into Kruger Park for a few nights, which included a night drive and then into Swaziland. Here the guys had great fun bargaining at the craft centre outside Mbabane. We overnighted here, before re-entering South Africa and arriving at the Mocambique border post of Ponta Do Oura. We locked the car up at the border post, before being transferred in a 4x4 to the beach resort where we spent the next 3 nights. Mike & Robby were both Open Water divers and thoroughly enjoy the dives to a variety of reefs out at sea, launching in a "ruby duck" through the sea. They also had awesome experience swimming with the wild dolphins off the Mocambique coast. We also had lots of fun negotiating with the local artists at the craft market. I bought a fantastic carving of a Gold mine worker - and have named him Harry, after the artists' name! He now stands proudly in our office, between Alice and my desks and stands almost 4 feet high!
From Ponta, we continued on our journey to Sodwana Bay, where the guys had some more diving - and they commented afterwards that they enjoyed the wider variety of fish and coral at Sodwana, but the size of the schools were larger in Mocambique. With me not being a diver, I spent the days lazing around on the beach, reading and chatting to the locals.

The next destination was Umfolosi-Hluhluwe game reserve, but we popped in to a super craft and curio shop in Hluhluwe for some last minute Xmas shopping! Whilst in Umfolosi, we encountered a lot of fire! Yip, they were burning the veld (fields/bush) as part of the annual controlled burns, to produce fresh grass after the forthcoming spring rains. We visited the Game Capture centre and it was interesting to see the rhinos in the bomas before they get sent to other game reserves. The guys had a night drive at the Mpila camp and on the early morning bush walk, we came rather close to a large herd of buffalo and quite a few encounters with white rhinos. All very exciting! We left Umfolosi after just one night, as we had planned a surprise for Robby for his 40th birthday, the next day. We arrived at Thula Thula Game Reserve - and off we went on the afternoon game drive, all very exciting as we encountered their two new rhinos, plus the herd of elephants who were eating and playing in the bush in the one valley. After the usual excellent meal and good nights sleep, I woke up and quietly sneaked across to Robby's chalet to put my gift outside his front door - which surprised him. Well, off we went on the game drive, and about half way along, we came around the corner near the river and the staff had set up a breakfast table, with balloons and champagne - and so Robby had a champagne breakfast in the bush for his 40th. Mike them gave him some really sneaky birthday presents, only a brother could give! We all had a great laugh!!
Well, from Thula, we proceeded across the famous battlefields of the Anglo-Zulu war, before ascending the Drakensberg Mountains and arriving at Witsieshoek shortly after sunset. Boy was it cold! There was still snow on the top peaks and the wind was blowing - cutting through the seams on any jacket you wore!
The following morning, when we awoke, there was a group of people running up the mountain, past our chalets and then right up the mountain. It was the annual Top of the Mountain marathon. Approximately 250 runners, set off at 06h00 (before sunrise) and then had to run 50 kms from an altitude of 1200 metres, right up to 2900 metres and back again! Crazy if you ask me. So, after breakfast, we drove up the pass a bit, in the direction the runners were going - and found out that their route had to be changed, as the final few hundred metres of cliff and rock (where there is a narrow path which they were to run on) was all iced over! Well, we spent a few hours watching them and cheering them on, before we drove out of the mountains and continued to a Basutho Cultural Village. The tour would have been great, except we had an English woman who was trying pathetically to control her adopted indigenous child. This kid was hyperactive and totally disruptive - and very annoying! I could have happily taken the kid away and tied him to a tree, but I was trying to take photos of the village and the child was not one of my clients! From the village, we continued to the small arty town of Clarens, where we enjoyed a lovely lunch, before driving back to our hotel in the mountains! Whilst in Clarens, I popped into the shop of two of my old friends - Moesch who works at a Persian Rug shop and has lived in Clarens so long, everyone in town knows her, and then Ian, whose wife is an artist and sells her paintings from a nearby shop. I'll be seeing them again at he end of the month, when I overnight in Clarens with my next guests.

Well, the following day after breakfast and the guys having to repack their bags, (incidentally, they each had to buy an extra suitcase to transport all their curios they had bought!), we left for Johannesburg International Airport, but stopped at the one shopping mall first, so the guys could have some South African Chinese food! Mike loves Chinese food and wanted to see what our Chinese food was like - we all enjoyed it! So, off to the airport we went and said our goodbyes… another fun and exciting trip! You will see their comments in our guestbook on the website. Mike enjoyed it so much, with all his talkings at work, a number of his workmates have contacted us now, for a prospective trip next year.

I returned to Durban and spent the next few weeks working flat-out in the office, before meeting Celine and Nick at the airport. They had just got married, a few days after the terrible NYC tragedy, but being from Montreal, they were not nearly as inconvenienced as folks from the USA - but it was a close call. I took Nick and Celine on a shopping spree to start off - and as tired as they were (having spent the previous 39 hours travelling) - we visited a few jewellery shops to see if gold rings, earrings, necklaces etc were cheaper than in Canada (they were not) and then ended up at the Indian Market were Nick and Celine spent many hours bargaining with the owners of the different shops to get the best price! That night they spent in Umhlanga Rocks, and skipped dinner, due to us having a nice lunch and them being totally exhausted! Well, the next morning, they awoke refreshed and rearing to go - when I had to break the bad news that they had left their digital camera behind, so I was to become the photographer for them - and they were to concentrate on the video camera! Leaving Durban, we travelled up the Dolphin Coast and into Zululand, arriving at the Zulu cultural village outside Hluhluwe. Here we enjoyed the cultural tour around the village and Nick hit it off with some of the warriors when they saw his knife he had attached to his belt. Well, after a great lunch and curio shopping, we left for Mkuze Game reserve, where we pitched camp and then set about cooking dinner on the fire - a braai. (Barbeque to foreigners!)

Spending 3 nights here, gave us time to travel across many of the game roads in the reserve, enjoy a bush walk with an armed ranger, enjoy two night drives where a leopard and her cub were encountered on the 2nd drive, and we even drove off to Tembe Elephant reserve for a day visit and to see the largest elephants in Africa! The 3rd night, after the drive, we invited Angel, the Ranger to join us for dinner - chicken stir-fry. It was great to have our new Zulu friend join us for a meal. From Mkuze, we headed across the mountains to Itala Game reserve, and travelled on a really hot day, down the valley to the basic campsite, which was to be our home for the next few nights. Unlike the Mkuze campsite, which had hot, & cold-water showers, a number of toilets and electricity till 9pm, Itala had one cold outdoor shower, one flush toilet and no electricity! Luckily the water was warm enough for a refreshing shower!!
About 2 weeks prior to nick and Celine arriving, South Africa had experienced a very cold spell, with lots of snow and bitterly cold winds blowing across the land. Just prior to the snow, most of the farms and reserves had been burning their grass, to prepare the fields for the forthcoming rain - well, the animals were now short of food, and this cold spell killed hundreds of animals across our province - from dairy cattle and sheep, to giraffe, buffalo, impala, gnu's etc - so in all the game reserves we travelled through, there were dead animals lying around - and not enough hyenas or vultures to eat them all.
After two nights in the campsite, Nick and Celine decided that they really wanted a night drive in Itala reserve, so we travelled up to the main camp, and booked into to a chalet for the final night - and they joined the night drive, which was successful in that they encountered an Aardwolf - something I have yet to see in the wild! I did not sleep well that night - as a coach load of German tourist had arrived - not only were they noisy at the dinner table, but also around the main camp waterhole after dinner - so I went off to bed, and just as I had fallen asleep, I was woken by somebody opening my chalet door and shouting "Number, Number" in a deep voice - when I asked "What do you want" - a reply of "Don't worry" and then the door closed!! About 20 mins later, after I had now locked my doors, I was awoken again, by somebody trying to open my patio doors and could see the silhouette of an elderly person at the door - and watched this geriatric waddle off past my bedroom window and go off to another chalet and try their door! This old German tourist had been in the pub after his dinner and lost his way to his chalet - how irritating! Well, then at 05h45, I was awoken with somebody hitting on my window and saying " Guten morgen"!! Now they were really P'ing me off! They obviously went around to all chalets and woke everyone up for the morning drive, which I was not going to be on. As we were finishing our breakfast, all 30 of them returned from their drive, and the dining room was alive with loud conversations - and I spotted my midnight visitor hobbling across to the buffet table and loading his plate with many rashers of bacon and rush to his table and actually stuff two complete full rashers into his mouth before chewing them!!! Absolutely disgusting - and we could not help but laugh out in astonishment at the behaviour of this bus group! When the waitress came across to our table - she commented that all this types of coach groups were like a circus and very entertaining to watch their behaviour - abnormal or bad!! Gee, I have had German guests before and they have never behaved anything like this, so all I can assume it must be the coach group syndrome!! Thanks goodness I never Guide on coaches.
Well, we hurriedly left Itala and then did a bit of shopping in the shocking supermarkets in Louwsberg, before driving through the mist and rain, out of the area and to Umfolosi Game Reserve, via the back roads. Very scenic and rural. Enjoy three nights at Umfolosi in a tented safari camp, gave Nick and Celine the chance to enjoy two night drives and also a bushwalk the one morning. We had great difficulty finding lions or elephants in the Umfolosi reserve and as I could see that Nick and Celine were very upset about this, I decided to drive to Hluhluwe reserve for the one day and although we did not encounter lions or cheetah, we did find a few elephants, which was great. On the one night drive, they came across a large male leopard.

Over the years, I have had to explain many times to people that even though our game reserves are fenced, the animals inside them are wild and free to roam around and live as wild here as they would anywhere else. Hluhluwe-Umfolosi is approx 96 000 hectares in size, and having a population of nearly 90 lions, means an average of 1 lion per 1070 hectares - and as lions live in prides, of approx 5 to 8 per pride, means that you should have a lion sighting per 6 930 hectares - and within that area, there are probably on average 2 roads, so the lions have to be near the roads for you to have any chance of seeing them. Never come to Africa expecting to see lions, leopards, cheetahs etc - the predators are skilful in their camouflage, as they have to remain undetected by their prey, so if you see them, it is a cheery on the cake. Even elephants can be very difficult to see, as big as they are. For any game drive, anywhere in the world, you have to be at the right place at the right time. It is only in the private game reserves where you can be virtually guaranteed to see The Big 5 or predators, for the simple reason that the rangers go on at least 2 drives a day, are in radio contact with each other and through their team work, they can locate the lions, elephants, leopards etc and communicate this to each other - but then you do pay for this extra service. I do not enjoy visiting zoo's and our large fenced reserves are not zoo's, but wilderness areas designed for the preservation of the flora and fauna - and therefore becomes a controlled area - both the grasses, bush and animals - and all in the name of conservation, eco-tourism and jobs for people. Why do most tourists come to Africa - to see the wildlife, and so we have these wonderful large tracts of land managed for the tourists. You know all those Discovery Channel and National Geographic movies you watch - did you know that a 20 minute documentary can take up to 3 years to film - and then as a tourist you aim to come here and see it all in 1 or 2 game drives, forget it - rather watch TV!! Just last week I had an enquiry from someone wanting to sleep next to the fire, under the stars and live amongst the wild animals - sorry friend, you've been watching too much Disney channel! Obviously we do not like broadcasting the statistics of people killed by wild animals, but these incidents do happen often in Africa, and to tourists who do not listen as well! Please, we live here, and we know what our animals do and do not like!

Anyway, there I went off on a tangent - back to Nick and Celine's trip - on the 2 day on Umfolosi, it was Celine's birthday, so I surprised her with a small present and balloons and champagne - shame, I never expected to make her cry! She was so touched - well, that's the personal service we are proud of, and thanks for her mother for sneaking me a note that it was her birthday! Well, we left Umfolosi and drove through the back roads to Thula Thula, for a bushwhacking game drive, followed by a superb lunch, before we dashed off to my office, to make a copy of the photos onto CD and then rushing off to the airport. They then flew off to Johannesburg and then off to the Seychelles Islands - for a week of bliss on the beach! They returned a few days ago, and I had a brief message from Celine: "It sure sucks to be back home)o; The Seychelles were absolutely heavenly! I've never seen anything so beautiful in my life. We had wonderful weather, the food was pretty good and the water and beaches were...no words to express. We will definitely be going back there.
I just got back to work with mountains of work so I will definitely write back with more details as soon as I can.
Thanks for everything!
Celine "
So, I look forward to hearing more details about their trip soon.

Whilst I was on safari with Celine and Nick, we were also hosting a Turkish Journalist. KwaZulu-Natal Tourism authority had asked us to organise and plan their itinerary, to see the activities and attractions that we have in our beautiful province. One of our freelance Guides, Shiney was to show Ali and his wife around, and I gather they had a great time - starting off by flying on our Zululand Flying Service plane to Hluhluwe, then over the next week, they visited Hluhluwe, Sodwana Bay, Tembe Elephant Reserve, Ghost Mountain, Phinda, Royal Natal and Giants Castle in the Drakensberg. A whirlwind tour, but enough to take some stunning photos for magazines to promote our country when he gets back to Turkey. I am now working on an itinerary for a Dutch TV Crew, who will be here for a week at the end of October, and I am lucky to have secured the services of Shiney again, who is a superb ambassador for our province and African Bundu Safaris!!

You might remember that Alexis and her husband came out to Namibia, Zimbabwe and Mauritius for their honeymoon, well, after returning home, they moved into their new home and then we received the following e-mail from them: "Hi Dean and Alice - Wow, a lot has taken place since our Africa trip! Our wedding and honeymoon were fabulous and we were just about to move to Boston when the Sept. 11th catastrophe happened. My dad was in New York at the time but luckily he was a few blocks away and was safe. So, now I am in Boston, unpacking boxes and getting to know the city.
Overall our trip to Southern Africa was wonderful. Our comments are the following
1) Bundu was excellent at helping us plan our trip from miles away. They got back to us right away with any information we needed and were wonderful about providing an itinerary and being flexible with our needs. We were also very impressed with how accurate Dean's driving directions were through Namibia.
2) We really enjoyed the Dusternbrook Farm (though the leopard feeding was bit too close for comfort). Food and accommodations were wonderful.
3) The Sossusvlei hostel we stayed at lacked charm, and electricity (only 3 hours a day) but the owners were very nice. We would have preferred to be able to stay inside the gates so we could have seen the sunrise.
4) The hotel in the capital city was really nice.
5) We didn't really like the hotel in Victoria Falls. The staff was not too helpful and the rooms were very minimal.
6) We loved the safari in Botswana, river tour was awesome, the lunch at the Chobe Safari Lodge was lovely and the afternoon tour was great. The tour the following day through Hwange was disappointing. It was too hot for animals to be out and we saw very little.
7) Mauritius hotel was lovely as well.
Overall, we were very pleased with African Bundu Safaris and would definitely recommend them to friends. Thanks for all your help and your patience with us,
Alexis "

The night that I said goodbye to Celine and Nick at Durban airport, I enjoyed a pasta dinner in one of the new restuarants at the airport, whilst I waited for 14-year-old Carl to arrive. Carl you'll remember, I hosted along with his father in April, well, now he was going to spend a week at Leopard Mountain Lodge, learning some more and getting some experience on a game reserve. So, the next day, we left for 2 nights camping in Mkuze Game Reserve prior to me dropping him off at Leopard Mtn. During our stay in Mkuze, the monkeys gave us real problems - the first day that we were out game viewing, we returned to find they had torn the mosquito gauze netting on the roof of the tent, to gain entry! There was no food inside the tent, but they wanted to get inside to make sure for themselves! The then opened the zip of the door to get out! The next day, we purposely left the door open a bit, so they could enter without damaging the tent, well when we returned, some kind campers had zipped it closed and tied it closed! Ah well, they were trying to be helpful. But these monkeys were so brave, you just had to walk 5 metres away from the table or tent and they would jump down from the tree and quickly grab whatever was edible there! So much so, I remember when we were having a braai for breakfast/lunch, with Celine and Nick, at Nsumo Pan, I walked from the fire to the table to get a plate, to put the cooked food onto, and when I turned around, a monkey had grabbed 2 garlic bread rolls off the fire and was running away towards a tree, pursued by 3 or 4 other monkeys!! Anyway, I dropped off Carl and then collected him on the following weekend, dropping him off at the airport, where he flew back home to his family.

B - Future Safaris

As I am sure you will understand, the American disaster and subsequent 'war' has changed many peoples minds w.r.t travel - and we have been affected by it! Many people have either cancelled their trips, or postponed them or are thinking twice. I sent out a recent e-mail explaining to those on our mailing list that our country has not been affected directly by the Afghan war, and that the exchange rate is in tremendous favour to anyone coming to visit us. At the moment, the US$ = R9.3 and the UK£ = R13.1 which is about 15% better for our visitors than just 2 months ago!!
However, I do have one special safari on this coming week - it starts on the 21 October in Port Elizabeth - and that is where I meet Arne, Elly, Dick and Joost - all from the Netherlands. They arrive here a few days ago and after exploring Cape Town on their own, they will drive up the Garden Route, following my recommended route, to arrive in Port Elizabeth, where I meet them. Then, all they know at this stage is that I drop them off in Durban on the 6 November, and know nothing else - they wanted this to be a secret or mystery safari - each day must be a surprise and exciting for them! What a pleasure!! Well, they are on the road at the moment, so I do not expect them to read this edition of Dean's Diary until they get home, but to summarise the route - they shall be visiting some of the Eastern Capes game reserves, then a bit of the Karoo and farm hospitality before we head off to the Transkei Wild Coast for a few days on the beach, and then off into Lesotho and the Drakensberg Mountains, ending off in Umfolosi Game reserve at an exclusive bush camp and then Durban. An exciting 2 weeks and boy will they love it! They will then drive off to Pretoria to visit some friends of theirs for a couple of days, before flying back to the Netherlands. I shall tell you all about it in the next edition! Apart from this trip, I have nothing else booked and confirmed at this stage, though June and Jean's friends in Madagascar are now talking to me about a safari over the Xmas and New Year period - so I am busy planning that one at the moment. I suspect the other enquiries for November and December will not materialise, due to the reluctance to travel - and the majority of my clients are from the USA. This weekend, Paul and Carey get married in Albany, USA and then fly out for their Honeymoon. They shall start off at my friends Orphaned game reserve, then get transferred to a lovely game reserve in the Sabi Sands - listed under Luxury Lodges on our webpage - and then they fly off to a great lodge on the Maputaland beach (also listed under Flying Service Lodges), before, all going well, Alice will fly up on the 23rd to meet them and fly with them to Durban, before they fly off to Cape Town where they end off their Honeymoon with 5 days of exploring. I look forward to hearing from them on their return. Sadly Paul lost a dear friend in the World Trade Centre disaster - a tragic occurrence.
There is a strong possibility of me conducting another short safari during the end of November or early December, but I am waiting for news of a commitment from the prospective clients.

C - Selfdrive vacations:

During August, we had the Curtis family rent a vehicle from us and then they explore the area outside of Kruger Park, prior to attending a conference in Kruger Park. They spent time in Sabie and at a treehouse lodge (Photo on my webpage), prior to joining the conference and then after the conference, they flew off to the Okavanago in Botswana. We assume everything has gone well, as we have not heard form them again. A pity - as we always like to stay in touch with folks who have done trips with us.
Also during August, we had two ladies; Dana and Beth join my cousin on one of his overland camping safaris, exploring South Africa. Well, obviously it very well, as shortly after their return, we had this e-mail from Dana: "The trip was wonderful. I fell in love with South Africa. It is the most beautiful country in the world to me. I must say that it was a life altering experience. I am now trying to figure out how I can come back and tomorrow is not soon enough. I absolutely loved it. Thanks for all, Dana"
Followed about 10 days later by this one: "Hi Dean, I have to say that I had the most wonderful trip. I fell in love with South Africa. So much so that I am coming back. I have rented a guesthouse in Knysna beginning November 1 and staying three months. I don't know what I am going to do while there, just play and see more of the country. I may be looking for some adventures and may call to see what last minute tours I could hook on to. Thanks for all of your help in booking what was the trip of a lifetime!
Dana
So, there you have it, another Ambassador for our beautiful country!

During the later half of August, Durban was host to the World Racism Conference, and we had organised accommodation and car rental to numerous people who were attending. The conference itself I personally feel was a waste - as there were many disruptions, demonstrations and with the USA not committing itself, the Palestine's being disruptive, the Jews being harassed, etc, etc - many objectives where not achieved. Our guests we hosted had a great time otherwise, and were really impressed with our accommodation we had organised for them in Umhlanga Rocks and they loved the little they saw of our country. One lady in particular was Monique, who was from Paris and we had organised an overnight safari with one of our French Guides to Hluhluwe and then with her friend, a tour of Soweto with Max en route back to Paris.
Later this month, we have Tim and friends who will be here in SA and they have hired a vehicle from us, as they tour around for a number of weeks - and then later we have Allison out and she will also be using our services for part of her holiday. I would hate to jump the gun and mention other 'strong enquiries' as with the volatile situation in Afghan and USA etc, one can never tell what is going to happen. Let there be peace and we can all continue our lives, as normal as possible.

D - the NEW Zululand Flying Service

Yip, we are introducing a new service - a shuttle between Johannesburg International Airport and three different airstrips in the Zululand and Maputaland region. Passengers will be met at the Arrivals terminal and then transferred around to our first-class reception lounge, and then once all the passengers have arrived, they take off from the airport and fly over Swaziland to Zululand. This will cut down having to drive there from Johannesburg, which takes from 3 to 6 hours and instead enjoy a flight from 60 to 90 minutes - both more comfortable and more scenic! The public price is only R1990 per person, and the good news is, that there is no single supplement! So, if you are by yourself, that is the price you pay, unlike our service from Durban, where we are forced to charge a minimum of two seats.
So, for those of you who want to get to Zululand quickly, scenically and safely, this is the way to go, from Johannesburg International Airport! The plane will take off in the late morning, fly to a maximum of 3 airstrips, dropping off passengers and collecting new ones as it makes it round trip, returning to Johannesburg International Airport that afternoon. Very exciting news!! Why Zululand? Well, we have superb game reserves, stunning beaches, fantastic scenery, great birding and the fabulous climate - all with excellent lodges to stay at!

E - Family and friends

Well, with me being away quite a lot recently, not much to tell you about here, except that I still hear from Lloyd occasionally, when he needs my help. He does not seem to trust his Dad and his dad does not trust him, so guess this explains why he calls for me to help and chats to me rather than his dad. Puts me in a bit of a tricky situation, as he trusts me to the T and then his Dad wants me to keep him informed as to what the lad is doing wrong! The poor guy has had such a harsh life, and going through the teenage years, and girls coming on the scene, means we are all going to have to be careful! I have known his Dad for many years, but he keeps his distance and is an odd sort of character!!
My pal, Karsten, who has been in Germany for the last… phew, many months, has returned to SA for a number of months, as he has made some money and now come home to study. He has almost completed a Webmaster Design course, bought a great computer and now working hard at improving his new skill and then in February will go back to Europe, to earn some more money, and to market his new skill and qualification. We went out for lunch to the Pavillion shortly after his return and he showed me his photographs of the work he was doing in Germany - constructing silos - HUGE big metal silos, for farmers and factories. Phew, that was hard work, and in all weather as well. Well, it certainly has done him good and no need to work out at the gym!
I know Shannon is due back home within the next month or two, so it will be good to see him again - and he shall be bringing his new girlfriend with him as well. He is in the UK, and so is Karsten's brother Ivan - and together with his wife Mandy, moved down from Scotland to England, where they are doing all the wiring and electrics and new trucks. Good to hear the news from you guys! All past pupils of mine. Malcolm sends me the odd e-mail - and they are rather odd as well! Looking forward to some new family news mate, and a few more photos.

Claudia is fine, having just completed her exams for Hotel & Tourism Management, in Germany, and will now work at her father hotel there for a year, before she plans to come to SA in September next year.
I see in the newspaper that Jason, an ex Scout of mine, has now become a father. His wife gave birth a week ago to a son - congrats Jason! Another ex-Scout, Michael has recently become engaged, and so like his other two brothers, should be married soon - well done Mike!

My brother Sean came down last weekend with the kids, and spent the weekend here. We had lots of fun. The kids slept in a tent on the front lawn on the Saturday night, and the following day we went to the beach after breakfast (where we al got a bit sunburnt) and then popped around to the new big Gateway shopping centre - said to be the biggest in the Southern Hemisphere! It was not complete yet, but nearly half the shops are open now. As we had bought a MacDonald's ice-cream and were eating them, my sister, Lynn and her family (who we have not seen since March or April), walked into the shopping centre, right where we were standing, so we chatted for 5 minutes before they moved on. My God-daughter Erin is small, but compared to Lynn's daughter who is only a few months older, she looks minute! Returning home, the kids swam a bit whilst I made some lunch and then off they went, back to Howick. A nice weekend!

Milly and Didi are still both fine, and getting more obedient as the days go along! They miss me terribly when I am away, and hardly leave my side when I am back! I need to have a photo taken of them and put onto the photo webpage! The folks behind us are new neighbours and their dog, Tess, does not like anyone coming near their property or even to be within sight! The moment she sees Milly, Didi or myself, she comes running to the fence and starts barking - but viciously!! When we get the monkeys visiting and collecting fruit or berries from our trees, the dogs n the neighbourhood go wild, but Milly and Didi are aware that they are not allowed to bark at the monkeys, so they run around moving their jaws, but with no sound coming out! Quite funny when you witness it! I reprimand them if they bark too much, as I hate barking dogs, so if the one starts barking, and they know it is no real reason to bark, then the other one will quickly come running to me, to demonstrate that she is a "good girl" as she did not bark and it was her 'sister' that is making the noise! Again, very cute and funny. Our other neighbours have a larger dog, and between 4 and 5am, the newspaper gets delivered to their house, and Zeena goes ballistic - such a noise, that it wakes me up, as she is only about 15 or so metres away from my bedroom window, their main bedroom is at the back of the house! Trying to find out how to suggest to them to erect another gate in their driveway, which they can close at night! I hate having my sleep disturbed!

Well, that seems to be all my news, for the moment! I really hope that this edition finds you in fine health and that peace shall prevail upon our world shortly. Looking forward to seeing you in our beautiful country soon.

All the best