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.

Morrinsville, aka Cow Town, New Zealand

Recently I made a day trip to Morrinsville, (population 7000) purely because I had never been there before. Less than two hours from my home city of Auckland, Morrinsville is a rural service town set in the lush, productive and prosperous, dairy farming area of the Waikato.  It is a busy, bustley sort of place, a genuine hub for the local farming community.  It is not known as a tourist destination, nevertheless, I was still keen to find out what it had to offer.

First step was to go to the local information centre to collect maps of the town and a list of points of interest. Then I headed off full of the excitement I always feel when exploring a new place.

The Nottingham Castle as it was in 1877.  See how it looks today in photo below

I went straight to the Morrinsville Heritage Centre, a small but very well curated museum, where I learnt a lot about the history of the town and the surrounding area.  I found that the town was named after an Aucklander, Thomas Morrin, who owned a vast estate there. It was Thomas who laid out the plans for the town.  Interestingly, Morrin Road, near where I live in Auckland, is also named after him. Inside the museum is an original and complete colonial cottage dating from 1874, which was moved there and is incorporated into the museum building.  I enjoyed this museum, taking my time to read and study everything. Regular readers of this blog will know I have a penchant for small, local museums.

Next, armed with a map, I set out to do the Heritage Walk. As is not uncommon in New Zealand many of the sites of interest are now occupied by utilitarian, modern buildings, the heritage lost to progress.  I found the walk a bit disappointing to be honest.  Stand out, though, is the category 1 heritage listed Nottingham Castle Hotel (1914) which holds a prominent position at the end of the main street.

It started to drizzle so I sought refuge in the excellent Loxy and Co cafe (read about it in my previous post) and once fortified with a good hot coffee wandered through town to look at the Herd of Cows street art.  Many small towns try to make their mark by coming up with a theme. Morrinsville, since it is in the middle of a dairy farming area, has chosen 'cows' as its symbol. Drawing on that theme there are  60 full size painted cows, many with witty titles, and painted appropriately to their location, dotted throughout the town.  The piece de resistance is 'Mabel the mega cow' on the road leading into town.  Mabel is 6.3 metres high. This street art is a bit twee but the cows are bright, quirky and cheerful and I would suggest a 'hunt the cows day' as a fun activity for the family. Children would love them.

Mabel the mega cow is 6.3 metres (21Ft 3ins) high

Cow in police uniform at the police station.  Note the red and blue horns (lights)
Below a small selection of the 60 cows dotted around town

Unfortunately, the day I was there the Wallace Art Gallery was closed but I am told it is good and the town is proud of it.

There are many small towns like Morrinsville in New Zealand and some of them look tired and dreary but what I liked about Morrinsville was that it had a busyness, a spring in its step, and a sense of pride in its importance to the surrounding farming community.  Would I go there again? Probably not, because I would have no reason to, but I'm glad I've been.

6 Cafes worth a visit, North Island, New Zealand

 I love going on road trips and one of the things I really enjoy on these trips is stopping off at cafes for coffee, a snack or lunch.  I am pretty fussy when choosing a cafe and will often wander the streets of a town until I find just the right one because I'm a cafe lingerer. I find cafes are great places to write up travel notes, catch up on emails or trawl the net for sight seeing ideas. I also like to chill out and relax and watch the comings and goings of people. As someone who travels alone it is always good to be surrounded by happy, chatting people even for a short while.    As far as I'm concerned, since I'm going to linger, a good cafe has to be clean, have an inviting ambiance, a good selection of food, appealing decor and be popular.  I know being popular means busy but popularity also usually means it's good. The way I see it is if you are going to stop and spend some time in a cafe it might as well be a good one!

I have gathered together 6 excellent cafes that I have discovered on my travels around the North Island of New Zealand which you might like to try.  Some are old favourites and some are new discoveries. Here they are in no particular order:

DIXIE BROWNS 38 Roberts St Taupo

I had wandered round Taupo looking for a good cafe and ended up right on the lake front.  There seemed to be a steady flow of people heading for Dixie Browns so I thought "this must be good"and followed them in.  It was a very happy accident.   The cafe is large and although busy it didn't feel crowded. The decor is modern and clean. Being on the lake front its large picture windows provide views right down the lake to the snowy mountains.  I was wet and cold from steady rain but managed to get a seat right beside the fire.  I was warmly welcomed, service was excellent and my steaming hot soup was delicious.  Sitting by the fire with a glass of  red wine was bliss and I didn't want to leave.  There is an outdoor area with warm rugs provided against any chill but the weather wasn't good enough to be outdoors that day.  This was my first visit to Dixie Browns and it will stay on my list of "go tos". Vegetarian and Gluten free available.


CAPERS EPICUREAN 1181 Eruera St, Rotorua

I love this place.  It is almost worth the three hour trip to Rotorua just to go there and is on my 'must do' list each time I visit the city. It is extremely popular so it can be hard to get a seat at busy times, like Sunday brunch, but so far I have never had a problem. It is large and cosy with a stunning array of cabinet food as well as menu food. Part of the cafe is given over to a shop selling food products made by New Zealand artisan producers and it also houses a T2 speciality tea shop.  In one corner of the cafe is a glass walled room especially for children so parents can enjoy a peaceful chat while keeping their eye on their little ones.  The play area provides colouring in, interactive toys, a TV showing child appropriate films and a kids menu.  It is a wonderful idea more cafes should follow.  Happy parents, happy children! Vegan and vegetarian catered for.

LIME CAFFETERIA 1096 Whakaue St, Rotorua

This is another cafe I have frequented many times.  It is very handy to the hotel I usually stay in, also it is close to, and has views across, Lake Rotorua.  I often have breakfast there and have never been let down. Located on a corner it is bright and airy with windows on two sides and an outdoor seating area.  The decor is clean and modern. It is a small, friendly cafe offering good food, a selection of magazines to enjoy and warm, welcoming service. Recently I was stopped in the street by a couple who couldn't get into Capers for Sunday brunch and asked for my suggestion as to where to go.  I told them to go to Lime.  I saw them again later in the day and they told me they had loved it. Vegetarian option available.

DOMAIN COTTAGE CAFE In the Domain, Te Aroha

The tiny town of Te Aroha is packed with heritage buildings from the Victorian and Edwardian era so it is fitting that The Domain Cottage Cafe is housed in an old cottage high above the town in the very picturesque Domain. It is rated number 1 eatery in Te Aroha on Trip Advisor. Several rooms in the cottage are used by the cafe and it has a charming, cosy, old world atmosphere with a fireplace for chilly days and wide views out over the town. There is plenty of outdoor seating, too, for summery days. When I visited there was a knitting group of half a dozen women enjoying a knit and natter in one of the rooms, they added to the down home charm of the place.  Service was friendly and my passionfruit cake was delicious.   This was my first visit and it is certainly a place I would visit again. The cafe offers vegetarian, vegan and gluten free options

LOXY AND CO EATERY 292 Thames St, Morrinsville

This has the reputation of being  the best cafe in Morrinsville.  It is large and popular with a big city, industrial decor and vibe. The day I visited the patrons included business men having meetings, a mothers group with toddlers and  assorted couples enjoying morning tea.  It is clearly a go to place in Morrinsville.  The staff are outstandingly friendly and welcoming, calling greetings to everyone who walks in.  They serve great cafe food and have a very enticing array of cakes, muffins, biscuits and sandwiches in the cabinet.  It is very hard to choose. Excellent service and a kind farewell.  The only thing I would criticise is the rather out of place and shabby looking artificial flowers on the walls...they need to go. Vegan, vegetarian and gluten free available.

Last, but not least, one of my favourite cafes in all New Zealand and one I have frequented many times over the last 20 years. It is a compulsory stop for me when passing through the town of Matamata, often planning my trip to coincide with a meal break just so I can have it there.

WORKMAN'S CAFE AND BAR 52 Broadway, Matamata

This cafe is fantastic.  Don't be fooled by the name, it is the surname of owner Syd Workman, the most welcoming, outgoing, generous and friendly host you could imagine.  He has had the cafe for 26 years and when I spoke to him recently he told me "I just love it".  It would be easy to say that Syd makes the cafe, and in a way he does, but the food and service are excellent as well and the decor is quirky and interesting. On a recent visit I had mushrooms on toast and it was the best I have ever had. Workman's offers a Kiwi Retro menu while also keeping up with the times. They also offer vegetarian and gluten free options. Part of the cafe is a bar where you can pop in for a drink in the evening or before your meal.  

So there you are, 6 great cafes worth trying.  Please note that none of them have paid me in any way to write about them.  This is purely my view. Also be aware that cafes do change from time to time although I have frequented 3 of the 6 over several years and they have been consistently good. It would also be wise to check their opening hours as some of them have days they are closed.  Happy cafeing!

Redwoods Treetop Walk, Rotorua, New Zealand

One of my favourite places in New Zealand is the Redwood Grove in Rotorua.  It is always on my 'must do' list whenever I visit the city. The thermal city of Rotorua is famous for its steaming geysers, boiling mud and natural hot pools.  It is packed with interesting places to see and things to do but for me nothing tops the Redwood Grove.  The tall majestic Californian Redwoods, planted 118 years ago, fill me with a sense of peace, calm, and awe.  Wandering through the grove feels to me like walking through a grand European cathedral. So it was a no brainer that on my recent visit to the city I would take a walk through the grove, albeit this time by way of the Tree Top Walk.

Left: One of the 28 bridges

Right: The highest platform, 
20 metres above the forest floor








At 700 metres long and with 28 bridges and 27 platforms it is the longest living tree walk in the world. The day I visited there was a light drizzle but, just as their brochure states, it made the colours of the forest more vibrant with raindrops sparkling like diamonds on the ferns and spider webs below and that lovely, earthy, foresty aroma rising up.  A plus, as far as I was concerned, was that the rain meant their were fewer visitors.  It is suggested that the walk takes 40 minutes to complete but I was enjoying it so much, and because there were so few people around, I took about an hour just meandering along and admiring a birds eye view of the forest and the stunning ferns below.

I enjoyed it so much that I went back in the evening  to see the Redwood Nightlights. At night the Treetop Walk is illuminated by huge suspended lanterns hung from high in the trees.  Designed by New Zealand award winning light designer, David Trubridge (appropriate name) the sculptural, wooden lanterns reflect the patterns of nature.  They are magnificent and the way they throw light on the trees and illuminate the ferns at night is quite magical.  Unfortunately for me by evening the rain was steady, nevertheless, undeterred, I forged ahead and enjoyed it thoroughly. I met only one other hardy soul braving the elements and I ended up drenched but it was worth it, one of the many beauties of Rotorua being that I could have a warming soak in a thermal pool later at my hotel.  I am now keen to return and do both walks all over again in better weather

Above and right: The David Trubridge lanterns. 

Below right: The only photo I got at night
due to steady rain blurring my lens. 

A few facts: The tallest tree in the forest is 75 metres or 246 feet high.  The lowest part of the Treetop Walk is 6 metres high, working up to 12 metres. The highest part is 20 metres above the forest floor and 100 metres long. 

If you have visited the Redwood Forest before, the Treetop Walk is a must do.  If you haven't visited the Redwood Forest before, the treetop walk is also a must do but you should, before or after the experience, wander through the forest at ground level.  I guarantee you will love it as much as I do.

Wet but happy!

Visit the Treetop Walk website: www.treewalk.co.nz for more information.

Graffiato - Taupo Street Art Festival

Each Labour weekend the town of Taupo, in the central North Island of New Zealand, holds a street art festival where invited artists are provided with a blank wall to use as a massive canvas.  Taupo's was the first festival of this kind in New Zealand, there are now others, and attracts artists from around New Zealand and overseas keen to showcase their skills. 

Street art has many purposes; it can work as a commentary on modern life, be useful as a form of protest, draw attention to social issues, be an outlet for the quirky and/or vivid imagination of the artist or simply just as a pleasing way to beautify an ugly wall. Towns with numerous examples of street art have also noticed a considerable reduction in the amount of mindless graffiti they need to clean up.  It seems even  vandals respect good street art.

I enjoy street art so on my recent trip to Taupo exploring these murals was high on my list of things to do.  Armed with a map from the Taupo isite (information centre)  I set out to see as many as possible.   Many are up alley ways and behind commercial buildings like hidden, secret treasures, it was fun finding them. Unfortunately for me there was persistent rain that day but I did my best and managed to see at least half of the murals before getting soaked and very cold. The upside, though, is that next time I go to Taupo I will have the other half to look forward to. 

by Jacob Chrisohoou

Hunting for the murals would be a great family activity too.  Get children involved searching for them, like a treasure hunt, and then both children and adults can enjoy the art together. Note: the art remains, it is not removed after the festival

The photos are of some of the street art I did manage to see.  

by Numa MacKenzie

Part of a mural by Jeremy Shirley

Part of a mural by Erin Forsyth

by Beck Wheeler

by Charles and Janine Williams

by Dside

Orakei Korako, New Zealand - A thermal wonderland

With a virulent virus sweeping the world, and New Zealanders unable to travel overseas for the foreseeable future, it is time to explore some of the amazing things our own country has to offer.  Despite having traveled extensively through New Zealand  over my lifetime there are still plenty of places I haven't been and Orakei Korako was one of them.  I had driven past the turn off on countless occasions but never taken the time to go down the road.  What a treasure I had been missing!

A misty morning in the countryside near Orakei Korako

Orakei Korako, translates as The Place of Adorning and is one of many natural thermal areas in New Zealand. Nestled on the edge of the man made Lake Ohakuri it boasts bubbling hot geysers, boiling mud pools, silica terraces of many different colours and a peaceful, unspoilt bush walk - everything you could wish for in a thermal park.

Looking across  Lake Ohakuri to the thermal area 

Located down a quiet, picturesque country road, 21 kms from the main highway, it is worth the drive alone. What a wonderful sight greets you as you  round a corner and suddenly there  before you are steaming cliffs beside a serene lake.  I was so taken by the sight I shouted "Wow!".   A boatman ferries guests from the visitor centre across the lake to the thermal valley, on demand. It is a very short trip, taking just a few minutes.

Cascade Terrace  Photo taken through the steam

The walk around the park can take between 1 and 2 hours.  I took my time, drinking it all in, relishing the marvels of nature, mesmerised by the geysers, boiling mud and hot gushing streams. The silica Emerald Terrace, the first sight you see, is the largest in New Zealand, 20 million litres of hot water flow across it each day depositing silica before gushing into the lake. This terrace will continue to grow with time as more and more silica is deposited.

As with all geysers timing is everything.  They can be temperamental and only put on a show when it suits them.  Fortunately for me the Diamond Geyser, with its steaming plumes of sparkling water, was doing it's thing.  Lucky me!

Left and right:
The colourful algae which thrives in the hot water










On Rainbow and Cascade Terrace hot water algae, which thrive in temperatures up to 60C, cover the terrace in an amazing range of colours of green, yellow, pink and orange.  The terrace is fed by hot water from Hotchstetter's Pool, named after an Austrian geologist who visited in 1859.

Passing through The Golden Fleece Terrace, named for the golden algae covering it, you climb up some steps for a spectacular view of The Artist's Palette. There is so much to see here you need to spend some time to take it all in. It is an almost flat silica terrace measuring 10,000 square metres boasting everything from geysers, silica terraces, multi coloured algae, boiling cauldrons of water and gas, and crystal clear  blue pools. Stunning!

When you can tear yourself away from this view you continue on to stroll past liquid clay pools.  Looking for all the world like great pots of  porridge you can become quite hypnotised watching them boil and plop satisfyingly.

Before making your way back to the ferry via a cool native bushwalk stop to admire the Soda Fountain Pool and Ruatapu, the Sacred Cave. 



At the ferry landing you push a button to alert the boatman who will come and collect you for the short trip back across the lake.

I have outlined just a few of the highlights of Orakei Korako, there are others. I was thrilled with my visit.  I had it all to myself until just before I left when a group arrived.  It was such a joy to wander and marvel in one of nature's wild but beautiful places. I intend to return another time instead of speeding past to get somewhere else.

I was very impressed with the care that has been taken to keep the reserve in its natural state. I have visited other thermal reserves in New Zealand and have found them more crowded and more commercialised.  Orakei Korako is in pristine condition with unobtrusive walkways and well maintained paths and tracks. It is a real credit to the guardians and managers of the reserve. I also found the staff friendly and welcoming.  I encourage you to visit if you haven't already done so, it really is a gem.

NOTE:

•  It is absolutely essential that you stick to the well marked walkways.  The water is boiling and lethal and the earth's crust is very thin in places. 
• There are a lot of stairs which are no trouble to most people but make the reserve unsuitable for wheelchairs or baby strollers.  Baby backpacks are available for hire.

       www.orakeikorako.co.nz

        All photos and videos on this page are my own