Eastern Free State, Aberfeldy

The summer break and a break from the heat - the high Eastern Free State as cool as the rest of South Africa is hot.

Nieu-Bethesda on the way to the farm. As much as the dorp changes it stays the same. The guide I helped write and photograph is almost ready, two years later...

Namibia Wilderness Safaris visit

Three properties - Little Kulala near Naukluft; Damaraland Camp and; Ongava Lodge near Western Etosha. Flights between them were in tiny Cesena 210s and Caravans, the last leg scary as the landing gear didn't lock and we were told by a tense pilot to prepare for a possible collapse of the undercarriage.

Kulala good except for the fishbowl suites being too hot, Damaraland run by Maggie, a force of nature and Ongava saw the Night of the Bugs after the first rains of the season. Etosha empty of animals in the west, much to the chagrin of Evelyn the Complainer. In fact, German octo-tourists everywhere.

The dunes the highlight again, especially Dead Pan, a first for me. And meeting slightly weird, wonderful moustached Stefan and quiet Marion Rossen, Porsche dealers here for the launch of the latest 911. 

Kenya October visit

An invitation to the first travel Indaba in Kenya was followed by visits to the Mount Kenya area (the mountain itself frustratingly covered in cloud) and Malindi, on the coast, very Italian, very odd, iffy diving but great lodge (Flavio Briatore's Lion in the Sun).

Kenya less interesting than I remember - very crowded, bureaucracy overload, traffic insane and even the lodges and attractions looking and feeling a mite tired (other than Lion in the Sun). There's a chance of a story on the islands of Lake Victoria. 

Magaliesberg Meander update

The crew at the Ou Pastorie - Sue Sparrow right, and Ken and Guido Oliva-Sparrow. Lovely spot, great people, memorable visit.

Lady Grey

Straight from the Maglies Meander update to Lady Grey in the Eastern Cape. It is a return of sorts; Narina and I in Getaway years visited here for the Lesotho story. The town is divided into upper and lower parts, with the Arts Academy something of a bridge, trying to unite rich and poor, inevitably black and white. At the top of town just before the start of Joubert's Pass is Heleen du Preez's home. An artist and teacher, she is getting over her husband's death from cancer and readjusting to life in a small town all over gain. Her studio (above) is an inspirational space.  

Waterberg trip AA Traveller

A story of contrasts - silent, ancient mountains and giggling kids in large warm pools. Lots of fun in the X-Trail, great roads - eventually - and a close encounter with big cats.

Waterberg, Mabalingwe

A story which started slowly - 'where are the fucking mountains?' - ended well, although potentially fatally. Taking pics of Tlopi tented camp in Marakele I didn't realise I had been ringed by lions. As I got back into the X-Trail they popped out around me. Close call. Stayed at Mabalingwe.

Eastern Free State trip

For a story on hidden places in the Eastern Free State, this spot, in Bethlehem, unofficially the longest name for a junk shop in the country - Komkyk’nloer’nbietjiekrapgatkardoes

Zim published

Peter Frost Country Life Zimbabwe touring story

The back story of a crabbing hire car and a delightful bakkie with its very Zimbo-like locking mechanism didn't make the cut, but one day I'll post the complete story...

Zimbabwe for Country Life

Country Life Zimbabwe article

Finally the story is published - and while it's a little squashed, it's good to see in print. Hopefully it'll help the independents fill rooms.

Separated at birth?

Nissan's new Micra - small, bulbous, cute. Where've we seen this face(ia) before?

Food, KZN Midlands April 2011

From Namibia, straight to Jozi pick up car and off down to the Midlands for a food story. Very wet, very wet.

Naukluft National Park, Namibia

Myself (for a change) photographing the overnight campsite at the Mercedes G-Wagen launch

Namibia, Mercedes G-Wagen launch

In the Naukluft National Park Merc pulled out all the stops for the G-Wagen, including a banquet in a canyon during which everyone released their own lantern. What a breathtaking country.

Post-Zim

Zim was wonderful. Vic Falls, Hwange, Bulawayo, Matopos, Gweru, Harare, Bvumba and Nyanga. It reminded me of the beautiful people, the emptiness of it all, that certain magical something. Right now I miss it, feel I could be there longer, live there. Storywise it's a big ask, all those places in one feature, and there's a problem with prices - Zim is now expensive, US dollar being what it is. 

Zimbabwe tour March 2011

On the Zambezi as part of the 16-day tour of small hotels and lodges, a hippo pod hiding from the force of the river in a grove of partly submerged trees. It's going to be a long trip, but I'm driving myself and looking forward to it.

Karoo flooding 15 February 2011

On the R353 to Fraserburg, below and above the Teekloof Pass, the massive dump of rain on February 15th caused havoc - the road below is damaged, the pass itself undermined and above it, standing water across whole plains. The R356 dirt road to Loxton was, in places, a river, though the Touareg handled it with no problems.

March calendar

It was suggested I put up some kind of calendar on the site - apparently noone knows when I'm where. So here goes:

March 6 - 23 Zimbabwe on a small lodges and b&bs story
Sunday 6 March - Vic Falls 2 nights at Ilala Lodge and The Hide, Hwange.
Wednesday 9 - move on to the Ivory Lodge ( of the Amalinda Collection ), Hwange.
Thursday 10 - motor on to stay overnight at the Bulawayo Club, now a boutique hotel.
Friday 11 - go out and stay 2 nights at Camp Amalinda, Matobo Hills.
Sunday 13 - adventure on to Gweru and stay at Antelope Park.
Monday 14 - through to Selous and stay at Chengeta Safari Lodge one night and the other at the sister unit , Pamuzinda Safari Lodge.
Wednesday 16 - onto Harare and stay at Bronte Hotel, dinner at Emmanual's.
Thursday 17 - still in Harare but stay at our alternative venue, Wild Geese Lodge.
Friday 18 - to the Eastern Highlands , staying at White Horse Inn.Site inspection of Inn on the Vumba *on the way to or from the Bvumba.
Saturday, 19 - on up to the Leopard Rock Hotel.
Sunday 20 - saunter onto Pine Tree Inn, Juliasdale
Monday 21 - move onto our select Inn on Rupurara for 2 nights
Depart 23 for Harare and Cape Town.

Swaziland and Kruger, Singita and Hlane

A drive through the flooded Mordenaars Karoo via Loxton and Victoria West, stopping in the Eastern Free State in Aberfeldy finished up in Kruger at Singita Sweni and finally, at Hlane in north eastern Swaziland. The park is simple and unfussy, Kruger before the tourist buses. Elephants are skittish - we were chased - but the rhinos are so well monitored they are habituated to humans and we walked within metres of them, obviously not recommended in normal circumstances.The drive back down the entire length of the N2 from Pongoland was a marathon; for all the great work done repairing roads in the former Transkei, the powers-that-be neglected the in-town roads, meaning you fly into say, Butterworth and grind to a halt behind a hundred ancient bakkies sunning themselves in the 'high street'. 1 685km in one day, 500km the next. Again, not recommended.

Swaziland Hlane Royal National Park, Singita Sweni, Kruger

A drive through the flooded Mordenaars Karoo via Loxton and Victoria West, stopping in the Eastern Free State in Aberfeldy finished up in Kruger at Singita Sweni and finally, at Hlane in north eastern Swaziland. The park is simple and unfussy, Kruger before the tourist buses. Elephants are skittish - we were chased - but the rhino are so well monitored they are habituated to humans and we walked within metres of them, obviously not recommended in normal circumstances.The drive back down the entire length of the N2 from Pongoland was a marathon; for all the great work done repairing roads in the former Transkei, the powers-that-be neglected in in-town roads, meaning you fly into say, Butterworth and grind to halt behind a hundred ancient bakkies sunning themselves in the 'high street'. 1685km in one day, 500km the next. Again, not normally recommended.

Car test

    Citroen C5 1.6 THP 155

Next in line was one of our favourites, the large French beast that is the Citroen C5. We have tested it before, a 2-litre diesel, which we found to be both true to the spirit of previous big Citroens (comfy, fast, effortless, beautiful) and also, crucially, right up there when it comes to contemporary standards of fit, finish and handling. Indeed, no car today, with the exception of the Jaguar XF, combines limousine ride and elegant handling quite like the big C5.

But this was a paltry 1.6 litre engine. Insane. There had been much laughter at the idea of putting such a tiny engine into such a large car – some wit on the team referred to it as David in Goliath. Turns out he wasn’t far off the mark – the proverbial Napoleon slingshot. What a revelation! The sublime little 1.6 intercooled turbo, allied to the seamless power train of the 6-speed autobox, is not simply adequate for the job, but downright fast. That’s right, fast. In any gear, at any speed, indecently fast. As one tester noted, ‘this has to be THE sleeper car of the past two years’.

The secret is in that BMW/PSA gem of an engine also seeing service in the MINI Cooper S, the Peugeot RC-Z and the DS3. It boasts an unspectacular 116kW but a much more revelatory 240Nm of torque. That’s good for a 0 – 100km/hr time of under 10 seconds, a top speed of 210km/hr and consumption of 7.5l/100km, as measured. Impressive figures indeed for a full luxury car weighing in at 1500kg.

Such was the revelatory nature of the car that the few niggles almost slipped past. But not quite. No drinks holders, difficult to sit in if you’re tall, we’re still not entirely convinced about that fixed steering boss (it eats thumbs and the horn buttons are woefully small), and, perhaps more worrying, not as cheap as we’d hoped. Even though at R304 000 it’s R24 000 cheaper than a base model Audi A4 (which is smaller and has a whole lot less standard kit), that’s a lot for a 1.6 Frenchie still trying to win over the locals. Our suggestion is to claim a demo and bargain hard. Do that and you’ll have one of the most accomplished motors on the road today.    

QUICK LOOK

Citroen C5 1.6 THP 155

Price: R304 000

CO2 Emission:169 g/km

Warranty: 3 years 100 000km

Service Plan: 5 years 100 000km

Hogsback, Eastern Cape

Visiting Hogsback for AA Traveller. I remember the previous visit, soon after the priest killing; dry, brittle, angstful, not a good experience. This time green, warm and somehow friendlier.

The issues remain though - a divided community, water and power problems, bad road maintenance the inevitable grumblings of not enough income from those that live here. But things seem smarter, cleaner, better organised. There is more to do and plenty of places to eat and drink. The Arminel Hotel is a world class country hotel, as is Hogsback Inn, renovated and back to something like its best.  

2011

After a much-needed break in the Free State and Zimbabwe, back to the coal-face; Hogsback for Traveller (late January) and the Eastern Free State for Country Life, early February. Watch this space.