7/9: Drive into Zululand

We woke up early this morning and headed south out of Johannesburg. The smog from cooking fires was hazy in the sky, and we passed a few townships on our way out of town. This is the best picture I got of them this time, but stay tuned for some good close-ups from Cape Town. Horrible to think that people are basically forced to live in this kind of situation.

We had 2 big vans to carry all of us and our luggage. Our van consisted of: Dad as the driver, Jason as the navigator, Katherine as the carsick passenger, Claire as the bored toddler, Chris as the funny uncle designated to keep her entertained, and Lauren as the way-back passenger who was continually kept out of the loop.

Almost immediately after we got out of the city, we hit wide open prairie. The color of the grass is an amazingly bright gold, and the contrast between that and the deep blue sky was beautiful. So much of the interior of the country is untouched, and we went miles at times without seeing a building.

Finally, after 5 hours of driving and a lunch stop, we arrived at our next destination: Fugitive's Drift. This is a lodge started by a noted historian of the Anglo-Zulu Wars of the late 1800s. Dad and Jason are big fans of this time period, and the tours the guides give of the battlegrounds are great, even if you've never even heard of them. We were too late to do a battleground tour this day, so we went on a nature walk instead.

We saw our first giraffes, way up on top of a ridge: (Can you find them?)

And then right in front of us! I could have walked over and touched him, had I felt so inclined (which I did not).

We got back in time for the rest of our group to get cleaned up for dinner. Children were not allowed in the dining room, which turned out to be a real hassle, so Jason and I dined by fireplace light every evening in our farmhouse while the rest of the group ate in the dining room.

Fireplace light? Farmhouse? Oh yes, more on that to come......