Scribbles Abroad

  

Kahi, me, Kim and Todd over looking the Southern Draks  

 

 

Driving though the Sani Pass was a great way to see the Southern Drakensburg Mountains.  The view was spectacular and the drive itself was an experience in its own.   We had done our fair share of hiking and driving through the mountains and wanted to experience them in a different way.  Ever since the beginning of the road trip we had been talking about horseback riding but had a difficult time choosing where to do it.  This was the perfect place.  A nice family recommended Khotso Horse Trails and Backpackers and we headed in that direction.  

 

 

 

 

Todd, Kim, Cecelia, Steve, Lulu, Me and Kahi in front of Khotso Backpackers  

 

 

 

 

 

There’s a horse thqt thinks its a dog and kicks it around the house  

 

Khotso is a cozy farm house that offers backpacker accommodation, family lodging, plus all sorts of horse tours.  The farm is run by Steve and Lulu, some of the warmest people who really make you feel at home.  Steve is a hard core runner who raises money for the needy by running crazy distances.  The last run he did was a 1000k run to raise funds for a special charity.  1000k!  It took him around three weeks and running the distance close to a marathon eac day.It was too late for us to do a horse tour that day so we went for a short hike instead.  Just out the back door of the lodge is a gate that leads to open pastures and rolling hills.  We climbed up the highest hill for a nice view of the area.  The landscape was stunning with miles of green grassy pastures and the Southern Draks in the distance.  It was different from anywhere else we had been in South Africa.

 

 

 

    

 

  

 

View of Khotso’s Backyard  

 

  Sunset over the Southern Draks  

 

 

 

We chose to do the full-day horseback tour, a six hour ride with a break to eat lunch and a swim.  This was my second horseback ride and my first ride was only two hours long.  After that first ride my entire body ached for a couple days.  I was a little nervous about riding for 6 hours. 

 

  

 

 

Horse assignments  

 

Our guide asked how experienced we were and we kind of lied and told him we were excellent riders.  He then asked who was the most experienced between the four of us and we agreed that was Kahi.  K ahiwas assigned the “ferrari” horse who was the least tame.  The horse knew how to walk and sprint, nothing in between.  If his horse was walking behind us and began running our horses would take off after his.  We were hauling ass!  It was so much fun but there were a few moments where I felt out of control.   

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Riding  was scary at times because Kahi’s horse would start sprinting with our following and there were barbed wire fences in some areas.   Our hoses would be so focused on trying to catch each other that they wouldn’t recognizes the fence until we were very close.  It was difficult to get our horses to stop running and we has a few close calls. 

 

 

 

 

 

After the fist hour of riding I got the condition we called “monkey butt”.  You know those monkey’s with the big swollen looking red butts.  Well thats what my bum felt like after just the first hour.  My butt was rubbing against the saddle every time my horse ran and it rubbed the skin right off of my bum.  OUCH!!!  We still had many hours of horseback riding to go.  It sucked!  I decided that I’d just stand in my stirrups while my horse ran to spare my bum.      

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

Riding by a dairy we saw a cow giving birth.  Kind of gross but pretty cool.   

 

 

Half way through the tour we stopped at a park to have lunch and go for a swim in the icy river.  It was a beautiful sunny day and it was really really hot.  We soaked our tired feet in the stream while eating my tasty lunch.  

  

  

 

Icy cold river swim  

 

The sun beating down on our way back to the farm and it was HOT.  We were sweating, our horses were sweating, and it was time to cool off.  We got back to the farm were ready to find a hose to cool ourselves down.  One of the staff members offered to give us a ride to the swimming hole.  We all jumped in the truck, walked over to the pool of water and tried to decided wether to get in or not.  The water looked really cold and the breeze was a little chilly.  Kahi decided to go for it and after a little persuasion I followed shortly.  

  

  

  

  

   

  

 

  

 

  

 

Nothing like a frosty beer and a big dinner to end a long exhausting day  

The next morning the weather had completely changed.  Kim and I woke up early to go for our morning run, it was drizzling but decided to go anyway.  It went from being sunny, hot and beautiful to freezing cold with the possibility of snow.  We froze our butts off!  The weather was cold, wet, and poopy so we spent the day lounging around relaxing, watching movies, and visiting the local cheesery.  

  

 

Cheese!  

 

  

 

Todd making out with a calf 

Since we were heading south, Steve asked us to deliver his Land Cruiser to the auto dealer so that he could sell it.  Kahi and I took the Land Cruiser and Kim and Todd took the 4×4 to Durban to trade it in for a smaller cheaper car.  After switching the cars they picked us up at the car dealership and we were off to Umzumbe.  

 

 

The Land Cruiser.  Mozambique would have been no problem in this baby.  

 

Todd had arranged accommodation for us at the Mantis and Moon Hostel in Umzumbe, about 100K south of Durban.  It was a super chill backpackers with a jacuzzi, tree house style accommodations, and a hip bar.  There was a beautiful beach near by with a surf spot but the conditions weren’t quite right.  

  

 

Some birds building cool nests out of plam leaves   

The next day we drove to the near by Oribi Gorge.  The gorge was a deep trench formed from the erosion caused by the river that ran through it.  The view was spectacular.  Steep rocky cliffs that dropped for hundreds of feet.  The river at the base of the gorge was barely visible but had a steady flow.  

 

  

 

View point over looking the gorge  

 

 

At one of the cliffs there was a bungee swing set up.  We weren’t quite sure what it was but were curious and wanted to check it out.  We stood on the cliff looking at the bungee set up and tried to figure out what exactly you were suppose to do.  

  

 

Bungee swing set up 

 

Then a fellow tourist decided to jump.  They strapped him into his harness, escorted him down a ladder to the cliff’s edge, hooked him in, shouted “1-2-3 BUNGEE!!!” and gave him a gentle push over the edge.  The cliff was steep, probably about 300ft.  The free fall was much longer than we were expecting and it looked insane.  Kim asked Kahi if he was going to jump and he told her he would if she did.  Kim said, “lets do it!”  They signed their liability wavers, strapped into their harnesses and walked down the ladder.  1-2-3 BUNGEE!!!  

 

 

  

 

Kim jumping (left), Kahi taking the leap of faith (right)  

 

  

 

View of the fall

 

 The difference between the bungee swing and the traditional bungee is the way that you are attached to the bungee.  In the traditional bungee your ankles are tied together and hooked onto the bungee.  For the swing bungee you are wearing a harness around your waist which is then hooked to the bungee.  Instead of falling head first you fall in a swing motion, head upright and avoiding the feeling blood rushing to your head.  

We had one more stop before heading back to J-Bay, Coffee Bay.  Our last stop there was cut short due to bad weather and we did not get to do a few activities that we were looking forward to, we also left behind our computer charger.  We loaded the car and began the long drive down the terrible pot-hole ridden roads to Coffee Bay.