During the last week of June and the first week of July, I and my family, went on a well deserved vacation in (mostly) Natal province (South Africa). We drove almost 3500KM in my VW Kombi. We encountered warm (tropical) climate, as well as cold weather (in the Drakensberg mountains at over 2000m altitude) It was a very nice break from work (and school for my kids). Every 5 years I travel 'home' to Europe. Earlier this year however, I had a minor cerebellar stroke and the Doctor advised me not to fly for at least 6 months. Because of this I decided to use the money and have a nice 'local' vacation. And what a nice vacation it was. Below you see a few pics out of a total of over 500! I also recorded about 2h of video footage. Some video clips I will upload to my YouTube account.
My kids playing on the Gonubi beach near East-London, Eastern Cape, South Africa.
Crab on the Gonubi beach.
Old church in Grahamstown, Eastern Cape, South Africa.
Our residence at Gonubi. Note the heavy electrified security fence. Yeah, you are right, South Africa is the country with the highest crime rate in the world :-(
Another Gonubi beach shot. Outside temp. was about 22 deg centigrade. Water temp. was around 18 deg. Keep in mind, we are in the middle of the winter here!
Lake in the East-London zoo.
East-London zoo. My kids enjoyed it a lot.
Unwanted visitor at our Gonubi residence. One really has to keep all windows and doors closed at all times otherwise the place will be turned into a mess in minutes.
Testing my N8 wide-angle lens. It does distort the image a bit but try getting a pic like this inside your vehicle and see how far you come :-)
Kids playing during the long driving hours. I must add, the Kombi bus makes a BIG difference when it comes to travelling long distances with the children.
Salt-Rock beach. Because my cerebral incident I had 2 months ago, I was not allowed to fly. Just to upset me, there was a trike jamboree nearby. They flu daily. The weather was perfect :-(
My kids with my brother in law's family at Salt_Rock beach.
The view from our porch at Salt-Rock.
My Father in Law looking over the Salt-Rock beach. Average water temp. was around 21 deg. Air temp. was about 25 deg centigrade.
Shaka-Water-World in Durban. And what a day it was . . .
Crocks at St.Lucia estuary.
And no, we did not want to swim, although the water was a nice at 24 deg centigrade :-)
Me with my Son Michael in front of our residence for the night near the Drakensberg mountains. We are here at well over 2000m altitude and only about 7-8 deg centigrade air temperature. Keep in mind, a day earlier we were swimming in the subtropical see at Cape-Vidal.
At Gariep dam. The biggest water reservoir in South Africa.
Cape-Vidal, overseeing the flat lands.
Hippos at St.Lucia estuary near Cape-Vidal.
And more St.Lucia hippos.
And a few more :-)
Lone Cape buffalo in the flat lands at Cape-Vidal.
My daughter Marina with Hippo foot prints in cement at Cape-Vidal. What happened here is, the workers cemented the walkway but before it could harden a hippo walked over it and the next day it was too late to repair the damage :-) That place is full of wild hippos and crocks.
Marina with a Hippo tooth at St.Lucia estuary.
Me and my brother in law, catching fish (Elf) at Salt-Rock.
I and my daughter Marina with my Brother in Law's girls.
My son Michael at our residence in the Drakensberg. Note the 'Amphitheater' peak in the background (over 3000m high)
My and my brother in law's daughters. Only my brother's daughter is missing to complete the picture :-(
Rhinos at Cape-Vidal. Note: they still have their horns. Sadly, most rhinos in South Africa had to have their horns amputated due to poaching!
Marina and Michael near lake Bhangazi (Cape-Vidal) Water temperature was pretty warm. Ok, I did not measure it - guess why?
The family at St.Lucia lake (Cape-Vidal)
My kids playing on the beach at Gonubi. (Sorry - the pics are a bit mixed up)
Driving near Cape-Vidal on the cement road. Nice tropical climat.
Lone Kudu antelope youngster at Cape-Vidal.
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