Stranded in a Game Park in Botswana

(This is another extract from my diary of the month long camping trip a friend and I took, traveling through Namibia, Botswana and Zambia.  It was intrepid, exciting and although we were hot, tired and dirty, most of the time, it was wonderful and certainly unforgettable)

You know you're in the wilderness when a hyena spends the night whooping and prowling around your camp site. Something is walking up and down outside our tent.  It is either a hyena or a black backed jackal but we are not keen to investigate. We can also hear lions and elephants near by so, all in all, not much sleep tonight. A 5.30am breakfast, truck packed and we are off on safari at 7.30am. Shortly after leaving camp we pass a broken down safari truck. Three men are working on it and tell us they don't need our help so we sail past feeling smug. You know the saying -"pride comes before a fall"!

Above: All hands on deck to load the truck. It usually took about an hour

A couple of kilometres down the road our driver, Ike, notices problems with our truck. Water is gushing from the radiator. He fills a jerry can from a nearby water hole to top it up but it still gushes out.  The men in our group are in their element and gather round to inspect the radiator only to find it has a huge hole in it, pierced, it seems, by a stick. Other safari trucks stop to offer help so that at one point there are 10 men gathered around but there is nothing they can do, we need a new radiator. Ike radios for help from Maun, the nearest  town, 3 hours away, so we settle in for a long wait.

Above: The broken down truck and our guides, Ike and Mfana pondering the problem

Initially we follow the rules of the game reserve "Never leave your vehicle" but it is stiflingly hot and the truck is cramped so we all eventually leave the truck and move to the shade of an acacia tree.  We idle away the hours reading, chatting, snoozing, and doing crosswords, always with one eye out for any wild life. Our cook even provides us with a welcome picnic. 

We spend the whole day sitting in the game reserve with wild  animals  not far away, fortunately for us they keep their distance. I don't know what we will do if lions decide we look tasty, thankfully they don't come near.  We feel quite proud of ourselves  - who would have thought we could be so brave and intrepid? 

 Our new radiator finally arrives 7 hours after we broke down and mechanics quickly install it, then we can finally set off for our next camp site 5 and a half hours away. We make a stop to collect great piles of firewood for cooking which means we spend the long trip with the wood under our feet and our knees up to our chins.

Ike spots some cheetahs in the distance so we bounce and rattle at speed across the countryside to view them. Two of these magnificent animals are resting on a mound.  They are gorgeous with their distinctive facial markings, muscular, sinewy bodies and plush coats.  We get within 5 metres of them and they look at us warily.  Cheetahs are not known to attack humans but I still feel nervous when they stand up and pace around our open sided truck.

It is a very long trip to our next campsite but I don't mind.  I thoroughly enjoy looking out over the burnished countryside as the sun sets and, as night falls, passing through tiny lantern lit villages where locals call out and wave to us. It is magical looking up at the millions of stars in the night sky, without city light pollution the African night skies are sensational.

Finally we reach our new camp site and it is hard work unpacking the truck and setting up our tents in the dark.  Meanwhile our amazing cook, Mfana, prepares us a meal of boerewors sausages, maize pan, which look like mashed potato but is a kind of porridge, and tomato sauce.  He is a magician, he can make even the simplest meals taste delicious, or maybe it is just that we are starving! We sit around the campfire chatting about our day and marveling at the fact that we actually sat in a game park for 7 hours, unprotected. When traveling it can be the things that don't go to plan they can sometimes make for the best memories.

Left: Mfana cooking our dinner over the fire

Te Aroha, New Zealand, a charming, historic town, well worth a visit

Nestled on the lower slopes of the lush, verdant and often mist clad Mt Te Aroha (952 metres) the village of the same name looks out over flat farmland to the west. It is a charming place full of character, heritage buildings and another place on my  "never visited before" list.

Te Aroha, with a population of around 4000, is blessed with hot, natural thermal pools, an excellent heritage walk, glorious bush tracks and mountain bike trails on the slopes of the mountain and a quiet, gentle pace of life. It is fair to say I kind of fell in love with the town, aptly, since Te Aroha means "the loved one" in Maori.

My first afternoon I ventured up some of the walking trails on the mountain, first pausing to enjoy the Mokena soda geyser doing its thing. It is said to be the only natural soda water geyser in the world. 

I do love New Zealand's native bush, it is one of my happy places. (Note:what we call bush in New Zealand is known as woods or forests in other countries) We are very fortunate to have no predators, no snakes, no wild animals etc so can walk in the bush without fear.  I was on the hunt for the Tutumangaeo Waterfall zigzagging along various trails before I found it. You must know by now I love waterfalls and running water and rapids and streams, you get the picture, anyway the falls at Te Aroha were worth the climb up the lower slopes with the added bonus  that close by is a lookout with a magnificent view over the town and the surrounding countryside.

Well pleased with my afternoon's adventures, up bright and early the next morning, I set off on the town's heritage trail.  This was impressive.  Unlike so many other towns in New Zealand where most of the heritage has been destroyed in the name of progress, Te Aroha has proudly maintained most of its heritage.  The walk is rewarding, taking you right around the town and out over a bridge at the town's entry and through fields to return to the town again.  Along the way there is plenty to see.  Full marks to Te Aroha, it's a shame other towns have not followed its lead. 

Below: Some of the buildings on the Heritage Trail

 

The jewel in Te Aroha's crown has to be the wonderful Edwardian domain,  where the original buildings from the 1880s,Te Aroha's glory days as an Edwardian spa town, have been lovingly preserved and are still used for various purposes, including housing the museum. It is an excellent museum, well worth a visit. I enjoyed whiling away some time there, learning about the town's history, including its role during the gold rush of the late 1800s and then its development as a spa. During its hey day thousands visited to bathe in the soothing waters.

One of the Edwardian buildings, now housing the museum

 

Still a popular spa visitors have a choice of visiting the Spa or the public pools.  If I have one criticism of Te Aroha it is that the much vaunted Spa does not cater for single people.  It has been designed to contain hot tubs for two and due to health and safety laws a person is not permitted to be alone in a tub.  This rules out solo travelers like myself.  Interestingly I got into conversation with two other solo travelers who also expressed their deep disappointment. In this day and age when many people travel solo the Spa is missing a trick.  They need to develop a larger pool which can take groups to cater for singles. The public pools are close by but while I was there they were swarming with excited children. Disappointed I consoled myself with coffee and cake at the nearby and charming Domain Cottage Cafe where a group of local women were enjoying a knit and natter get together. They were a happy, friendly lot.

Down a gentle slope in the domain are public foot pools where anyone can soak their feet for free in the natural hot springs.  The springs sometimes run hot and sometimes cold, unluckily for me, they were cold that day. Undeterred, I wandered down to the river, enjoyed the tranquility there and later had lunch at the popular main street cafe, Ironique.

I am definitely going to go back to Te Aroha.  There was something about the town that really appealed to me.   I loved the heritage, the bush and the way the town nestled against the mountain, not to mention the well cared for community garden and the brightly painted free library cupboard, the river and the friendliness of the locals.  Te Aroha, indeed.