DEAN'S DIARY MARCH 1998
Dear Friends,
Summer is almost over and so the hot humid days are drawing to a close and we soak up the lovely warm winter sun and cooler evenings. I watch the leaves turning yellow and brown and then the wind blows them into the swimming pool and then I curse autumn - cut the trees, trim the branches - oh, how I hate cleaning the pool, but then it does look nice when it is sparkling!
Well, it was just last week when I was standing in the back yard deciding which branches I should trim that would create less leaves in the pool, when the following day I get this distress call from my dear ol mum - "Have you seen what has happened at the back?" - a HUGE branch had snapped off during the night, stretched the new telephone wire down to ground level and knocked a few other branches on its way down. So it was out with the axe and saw and within half an hour - chop-chop, at was ready for the trailer - which took two loads to the local dump. Now onto the next set of branches!
I have had a rather busy past month - dealing with many enquiries and also I have done a bit of travelling. At he beginning of March I was able to show Jack and Catherine a bit of Zululand. We first popped into the Dukuza King Shaka Memorial Centre and then continued up the scenic North Coast to the Dumazulu Cultural Village -to enjoy the ethnic tour and Zulu dancing, followed by an excellent buffett lunch. Then they enjoyed the next two nights at Zulu Nyala Game Lodge - a truely nice and exciting private game reserve. Their room was situated overlooking the swimming pool and the huge valley below. Their gameviewing was also successful. On our way back to Durban airport, we enjoyed a great seafood lunch in Salt Rock.
I then was pleased to be able to meet a self-drive client - Jake and family are from Vancouver and over the past two months we have been organising his two week holiday to Southern Africa. Jake who is an experienced traveller had decided to drive his family around, and as I do not charge for offering such a service, as I explained in my last diary entry, Jake presented me with a fantastic Canadian windbreaker anorak plus a generous donation for all my phone calls, and faxes which I made to give him the best service possible. Thanks Jake - and thank you as well for the great letter of recommendation. I look forward to meeting you and the family again, on your next holiday, but hopefully you will allow me to show you around as then you get all that background information that I can give you. (Jake, your e-mail does not seem to work anymore -please contact me.)
Last year I took the Williams family on a great holiday down the Transkei Wild Coast - well, Monica's parents were out here for a couple of weeks, staying in Umhlanga Rocks and I was pleased to be able to take them to Hilltop Camp, in Hluhluwe Game Reserve for 3 days. We had overcast weather with a bit of rain, which made our game viewing even better. The animals were not hiding under trees during the day and we had great success in seeing lots of Rhino, both Black and White, giraffe, buffalo, zebra, kudu, nyala...and even a genet cat and a bush buck. We went on the Parks Board tow game drives - one night drive and one early morning - well, they were nice, but we actually had more success in my vehicle. But, nonetheless, Renate and Maxwell had a great time, with I think one of the highlights being the zebra eating the grass right outside their bedroom window! Hilltop food was as usual really first class - with the normal typical slow African service - there is never a hurry here in Africa!
I returned from their trip on a Friday and then on Saturday I left for 3 days with Lisbeth - a Danish exchange teacher. We had many discussions of all topics, having been a teacher myself, and this added the atmosphere of her exciting educational trip to South Africa. The highlight of Lisbeths safari must surely have been the lone bull elephant that was carefull stripping a tree of its bark and demolishing the other trees in its way or was it - the group of over 40 elephants, including a half dozen baby elephants that came to the one waterhole in Umfolosi? We sat for nearly an hour watching them drink and play around - really exciting. Then we rushed off to Emdoneni - where we were to spend out two nights and enjoyed Ian's talk on the cheetah that he is breeding and watched him feed them as well. On the 2nd day, Lisbeth and I went into Hluhluwe and spent almost three hours at the one hide and watched as different groups of rhino, warthogs, zebra, impala, wildebeest and birds vamp down to the waterhole. We also spotted a leguan lizard and terrapin (which in the Oxford dictionary says "an edible freshwater turtle" !). We also visited the Dumazulu Cultural village on our way back, which was very interesting, as usual - great dancing this time and delicious food! I am hoping to meet more of the Danish teachers as this exchange programme that they are doing with the Indian and Black teachers here is an ongoing programme.
Now, I am about to leave with Joyce and her friends from the States, for a 4 day safari to Hluhluwe-Umfolosi Game Reserve and Shakaland, followed by a longer 8 day safari with a couple from Belgium, to Phinda and Londolozi Reserves and the Blue Mountain Hotel. Really looking forward to both trips.
Whilst I am away, Christine will be handling any of my enquiries and shall try and help you out as best as possible. I really do appreciate Christine and Robs assistance.
Having been a Boy Scout leader for a number of years means that one still has occassional contact with them. Well, after the 8 day safari, I leave on a 3-day hike along the Wild Coast. This should be quite exciting as I believe none of the Scouts have been there before and I can therefore show them all the great places along the trail.
For the future - I have two young ladies wanting other people to join them on a safari during the 2nd half of May, a couple wishing for more people to join them from the 17 June for a week in Kwazulu Natal and then another young lady wishing to form a group tour during the end of July. I also have enquiries for September and October, where I might be able to place a couple or two. I also have the Royal Navy visit here soon and am fortunate enough to be able to offer them most of the tours and sightseing that they want - more news later.
If I am away personally on a safari, I can still place you with one of my colleagues - there are a group of us that work together and so I have tours and Guides based in Durban, Johannesburg, Kruger Park and Cape Town. The cost is the same whether you deal directly with me or them and most of them have e-mail, so communications is normally quite quick.
I mentioned before about the CD-rom which is being produced by an Australian company - well, I have now sent them a Betacam copy of my promotional video, as they want to include portion of that on the CD, which should be complete by July - I can't wait to see the finished product. I'll keep you informed.
Political wise - we have had Bill and Hilary Clinton (USA President) visit us for 4 days - quite a lot of security was evident in and around Cape Town. Nelson Mandela and his girlfriend (our President) enjoyed a 2 night cruise on the QE2 from Durban to Cape Town. Robert McBride - a foreign affairs minister of ours and former murderer whose death sentence was never carried out, has been arrested in Moazambique on charges of gun-running! Winnie Mandela is back in the news with accusations of a plot to overthrow the present government. A few other political ministerial figures have made headlines as well - one being caught with a false drivers licence, another with too large a personal bank account and a bankrupt department under her control ?? We have a new young lady in London, running the South African House - she is well known hear for speaking her mind and stirring a lot. Next door in Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe is often in the news with his plans to take away land from white farmers, his wife has also been in the headlines recently for some scandal. We do have a lively sub-continent, do we?
A good few years ago I was fortunate enough to have been invited to one of my past scouts 21st birthday party (which is quite a big event here in SA), well, Lance and I have kept in touch - he is an Attorney now and now I was invited to his wedding. Unfortunately, I will be down the Wild Coast on the hike, but Lance, all the best for the wedding and the future! I did offer to organise their Honeymoon for them, but he is planning for a bigger one at the end of the year. Congratulations lad !
Over the past week I have had no less than 4 suprise e-mails or phonecalls. A few days ago another past Scout, Jason - who is studying at UCT, went to a search engine and typed in "Dean Foster Safari" and WHAM - there I was - just shows you how efficient Tradepage is! Well, Jason enjoyed many hikes with me and the Scouts and now has his own webpage with LOTS of photos of a recent hike he has done - the Great Traverse - Mont Aux Sources to Cathedral Peak - all six days of it. He plans to hike the Fish River Canyon in August - great hike Jason, I did it in 1978! Then I had an e-mail from another old Scouting pal - Andrew - I travelled with Andrew, his dad and his troop to the Witzenberg adventure in 1979 and have occassionaly bumped into him. He runs his own Mountain and Leadership school near Mooi River. Last night I had an e-mail from a past pupil who now lives in Dubai! Neil joined me on a Namibian safari in 1994 and we really had a great time. I did bump into him a few weeks ago, just before his departure and we reminisced on the 'good ol days'. I hope he settles down quickly and makes many new friends and plenty of money! Then at 06h45 on Sunday morning I was woken by the phone, by another past pupil who has joined the Navy and decided to phone me from Saldanha Bay to tell me! Thanks for the call Philip - great to hear from you and all the news, even if I was still half asleep. Just shows, all the days you came sailing with me off Durban must have influenced your choice into a good career.
Other past pupils who I occassionaly hear from are Malcolm - who is studying computers in the USA and really enjoying it there and then Justin and Shannon - who are both in the UK. Justin is working for a computer company and Shannon is working for an Insurance Company. One of my past pupils who is actually still at school popped around last weekend and assisted me erect a taller TV aerial mast. Our reception has always been poor on the better channels, since the New South Africa came about and so by raising the aerial by 3 metres means that we can now watch all 4 channels in colour! Thanks for the help Glenn.
On the 1st March I was up and about at 4.30am when an ex-Scout asked me to help his Scouts handout water and coke to runners in a 42km marathon. That was quite a fun early morning and we even got a bacon and egg sandwich for breakfast. I then went up to the University as the Natal Interschools Rockclimbing competition was taking place, hosted by George Campbell School and it was really great to see so many past pupils and parents and we all had a good 'chin-wag'. Some of the chaps, who I introduced to climbing, are really doing well and are amongst the best in the Province and Country at the moment - makes you feel good hey!
Today I cut the grass, which gave Didi, my miniture Doberman great fun. She chases the lawnmower, biting the front wheel and trying to pull it off track, which she often does. Well once I left the area the birds arrived for the woken worms and also for the sprinkler that I turned on. The Indian Mynahs rule the roost in our bird bath and then the Pigeons come second. The other birds that really enjoyed the day included the Bronze Mannikins, a Red Bishop, the Cape Turtle Doves, the Speckled Mousebirds, Blackeyed Bulbuls, a lone Fiscal Shrike, the House Sparrows or Mossie, and the Golden Weaver and Spottedbacked Weaver. Now yesterday when I was washing my 4x4 a Pigeon literaly fell out of the sky and scurried under a nearby thorn hedge, and a second or two later a Black Sparrowhawk landed in the big tree (that I want to trim). Obviously he had been out hunting and this brave pigeon/dove managed to get away. Well, he saw me and then took off again - to go find another dove! The dove sat very still under the hedge and after an hour, decided to move - by then Didi came into the area and heard the rustling leaves and decided to investigate! Well, this dove was a fighter and was not going to be eaten by a dog after having just escaped from a hawk! It scurried out of the hedge and flew into the carport where my washed 4x4 was now parked. It spent the night ontop of my 4x4, and was there until 9am the next morning, until I threw some bread crumbs on the roof to feed it. It ate a few and then flew off! Quite exciting living in Africa!!
Well, I must end now - I still have studying to do for my next Tour Guide exam tomorrow. By the way, South Africas soccer team - Bafana Bafana came second to Egypt in the Africa Cup of Nations - somebody has to!
Keep in touch - and if you are visiting this site for the first time - welcome, I hope to make your acquaintance.
All the best
Dean
Manager - African Bundu Safaris cc.
p.s. Remember to acknowledge any e-mails you receive - I WILL acknowledge all e-mails within 48 hours - if not, please resend it - something went wrong.
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