South Africa - Bush Luxury at Singita Lebombo

SINGITA LEBOMBO EXPERIENCE

No 1 Safari Lodge in the 25th Edition of Travel & Leisure 2020
SOUTH AFRICA

Singita – just the name conjures up romantic ideas! We couldn’t wait to get there!

We landed at Kruger International to lovely warm air and a beautiful thatch airport building – the prettiest airport I have ever seen. We spent some time driving around the scenic Long Tom Pass before booking into our cottage on a Macadamian nut farm just outside Hazyview for the night. A gentle stroll down to the riverbank ended up as a quick sprint back as we spied large hippo prints! We had not quite believed our hosts that there were hippo in the river but faced with the evidence we turned tail pretty fast! 

The locals in this area use wheelbarrows to fetch and carry from the store and we found this far more picturesque than Pick & Pay trollies! Someone has made a mint out of wheelbarrows or maybe someone lost a mint somewhere. Who knows!

After a large breakfast we set off for the Paul Kruger gate and entered the Kruger Park with great excitement. I had not been to Kruger since the early 70’s and we stopped every time we heard a rustle or saw a branch moving!

After a leisurely drive with lots of game sightings, we arrived at Singita Lebombo to be welcomed with a glass of ice-cold homemade lemonade and hospitality second to none.

     

Singita Lebombo is a private concession in the Kruger Park and has been built in the most environmentally friendly manner possible. The architecture is stunning, all glass, wood, reeds and open spaces. No curtains or drapes, the bush and river view are just out there! The bedrooms are large and airy with curtains near the bed, but only for the sun – the rest of the room is open to the bush so for those who are shy, it would not be the place to visit! The wild animals don’t really care if you wear clothes or not!

We spied a lazy croc down below in the river sunning himself every day. The sounds of the water over the weir and the hippos with their loud calls lulled us to sleep every night. The large bath overlooked the bush, as did the open air shower. For the cold nights there is also an indoor shower. There is a bed outside on the balcony but we resisted that temptation!

 

 An early morning start to the game drive (5.30am) nearly killed me but it was worth it. The animals are free to roam all over Kruger, which is a huge park so it is very exciting when the tracker spots lion hiding in the grass. They are just about impossible to see as they blend in so well with their surroundings. The off-road bumps were the most fun when the tracker spotted animals in the bush. On one game drive we got to within a few feet of a large male elephant – he started to charge and I got such a fright that my finger froze on the shutter! When I eventually clicked, I was shaking so much that the photo turned out unusable! The driver and tracker both were as cool as cucumbers and informed us that it was just a “mock” charge. They insisted that they could spot a true charge and would reverse at full throttle in plenty of time! Luckily, this was not put to the test as the huge “Ellie” did indeed back off.

The afternoon game drives start off at the Long Bar at 3.30pm for smoothies, tea, and delicious goodies to eat. The Long Bar has stunning views over the Kruger and with luxurious seating all around it is a must for drinks at any time of the day or night.

A boma dinner was a great way to get to know the guide as well as fellow guests. The staff does an impromptu song and dance and their enthusiasm is a joy to see for both the overseas and local guests. To add to the sense of adventure, guides escort you to and from your room after dark at all times. With their torches flashing, one is on the look out for those yellow eyes glowing in the dark!

Log fires keep you warm at night and the long swimming pool keeps you cool during the day. Lazing on the lounger, gazing over the vast wilderness just slows you down and makes one appreciate the finer things in life.

The smell of the bush, the excitement of a good game spotting, the comfort of a hot water bottle on the morning drive, the sounds of the hippo or the roar of a lion, a crazy baboon emptying our fridge and daring to steal my chocolate, a lazy dinner with our fellow travellers, the American honeymoon couple who could not stop apologising for the actions of their President, George W. Bush, watching the early morning mist rise over the river, the friendly greetings from all the staff………………

These are the things that I will long remember about our stay at Singita Lebombo.

     

      

The only problem with this was that it took me over a week to get back into office mode on my return home! Oh well, what is work anyway…….

© Judelle Drake

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bradclinphotography

                For Accommodation Cape Town, South Africa

                                      www.bradclin.com

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Crete - An Ancient Island

CRETE – An Ancient Island

 

Our RCI accommodation offer was for Villea Village in Analipsi, which borders on the village of Makrigialos, meaning “Long Beach”. We accepted and arrived to find that the Greek Manager owns a small wine farm in Church Street, Tulbach! Talk about a really small world!

Crete is a large island so choose between 7 nights or 14 nights depending on your interests and tastes. If you would like to explore the entire island, choose between 10-14 nights. If your aim is purely relaxation on the beaches, then 7 nights would be perfect.

Most flights will land at Iraklion, it’s easy to reach the highway from the airport and head off towards your destination. The drive from Iraklion to Analipsi was   scenic with lots of info on sites to visit along the way. However, we choose to drive directly to our destination for a much needed siesta after a long journey.

      

Crete is about many things but all Cretans are positive that their olive oil is the best in the world! The olive trees in Crete produce very small olives but they produce approx twice as much as any other varieties. Cretans use approx. 25l per person per annum compared to approx 1l per person in Europe and they lay claim to being a very healthy bunch. We certainly saw many very old ladies around but the very old men were not so conspicuous! The olive groves need to be watered during summer so they have an intricate system of black pipes all over the groves with a central tap system, usually right on the road with up to 20 or more taps. We often saw the farmers stopping to change the sprinkler taps. Luckily, nobody interferes with these or steals them for their copper or lead!

Many hotels and Taverna close down at the end of October and re-open in March/April. Most are family owned, with the mother in the kitchen with daughter or daughter-in-law, whilst the sons and fathers act as front of house and waiters. During winter they tend to their olives and the picking thereof or they have some other form of income. The lucky ones most probably make enough to tide them over the winter months. So the standard of food varies considerably but is usually good and tasty, though not quite Michelin standard! 60 Taverna, in the small area we stayed in, close for the winter months so tourism is a huge industry for summer and certainly keeps the economy going.

On our first day we drove to Sitia in the East, via the scenic route into the country and down to the coast, passing through villages of Handras, Zakros, and Palekastro. The road winds through pretty valleys filled with thousands of olive trees. The villages are often so dilapidated that one wonders how people still live in them but time appears to have stood still here and life goes on in the old-fashioned way – slowly! Sitia is a pretty little town built in a semi-circle facing the sea and harbour with hundreds of Taverna all looking for customers.

   

The local men always sit together and drink coffee and ouzo and never seem at a loss for words. Although sometimes, they all just seem to sit and stare at life passing them by. It’s such a common scene in Greece that one wonders what the women are doing! We happened to pass an old lady peering out of her front door, balancing on her walker. We asked her if we could take a photo and she gave us a great big nod and smiled beautifully!

                                   

Sitia dates back to Minoan times, the Venetians later used it as a base and it was destroyed 3 times (earthquake, Pirates, Venetians) before being abandoned by the Venetians totally. Apparently, this town was then settled by farmers in 1869 and life appears fairly slow and evenly paced here still.

    

On Day 2 we drove to the village of Kritsa.  This lovely village is about 11km from Agios Nikolaos and has a population of approx 2000. There are many shops for tourists with locally made goods of Cretan weaving, pottery, art etc and it was a pleasure to wander around. There were many old ladies, all dressed in black (widows) wandering around. Many so frail, a puff of wind could have blown them away. We succumbed to buying 2 oil paintings from a lovely local couple for whom nothing was too much trouble. This village appears to rely solely on tourism to keep it going.

         

We also visited the Byzantine church of Panagia Kera (about 1km from the village) with its Byzantine frescoes of the 14^th and 15^th Century. Unfortunately, no photography is allowed.

Agios Nikolias has a very long sea frontage walk – you can park at the yacht Marina and walk and walk and walk! Past Taverna, shops, beaches. The walk still stretched as far as the eye could see when we called a halt so, if you are keen on exercise, this town would be for you. It’s a good base for touring.

       

                    

On Day 3 we set off to explore the Lasithou Plateau. We drove to Malia and then up to the plateau. It’s a lovely drive, climbing and climbing until you reach this amazing plateau filled with fields of crops, fruit trees etc. At an altitude of approx 840m, winters must be fairly harsh with snow on the Dikti Mountains. This area is also the land of the windmill. Built of wire and cloth and sometimes set into stone buildings, they were built to irrigate the plateau in Venetian times. Most of these windmills are in ruins now but some are being restored by the Government. The windiest places were chosen as we found out when I nearly toppled over the edge in my attempt at a photo. A fierce, cold wind was blowing when the rest of Crete was bathed in warm sunshine.  

    

Day 4

We set off for the South, past Irapetra towards Ano Viannas. This area is known for its green houses and there are hundreds of these white blobs dotted around the landscape. Some are full of crops like bananas, tomatoes, peppers, aubergines, chillies, cucumber while some stand empty and forlorn. We wondered how they could sell all their tomatoes but I suppose it all goes in the lovely Greek salads! No lettuce chaps – we wish South African restaurants would take the hint! Greek salad is loaded with lots of tomatoes, cucumber, onion, olives and a huge blob of thick, Feta cheese. Plus all that Cretan olive oil!

In the village, we (and others) had to reverse down the main road to allow 2 trucks to pass each other. Well I have never seen anything like it – I have the photo! An inch or two between the walls on either side of the road and between the trucks.  It was crazy – the road through the village is that narrow! This is another hilltop village like so many others in Crete. Many of the houses behind the main road are basic and poorly maintained, some nearly derelict. Some have a burst of colour in flower pots of all kinds, a cat is usually somewhere to be seen, whilst a builder works away on an alteration of sorts. It appears to be a “poor” in monetary terms life, yet I am sure that the Cretans in these villages maintain their traditions and family values. A loudspeaker blaring forth from a parked van, was calling all the locals to come and buy their wares – mainly blankets, towels and other linen. The locals suddenly appeared from nowhere to surround this van, pick out what they fancies, looked it up and down, had an argument about the price and then either bought or walked away. This was such an old-fashioned sight to our eyes, being used to the modern malls that we have in South Africa. A back-to-basics shopping style! This vendor then duly drove off and headed for the next small mountain village.

We stopped at Myrtos for lunch and chose a peaceful Taverna above the beach where we could relax, watch a wind-surfer catching the wind, falling off and not giving up! Myrtos is possibly the most southerly settlement in Greece and the village's shingle beach looks out over the Libyan Sea towards North Africa. So we worried about the wind-surfer – he could have blown all the way to Africa!

We carried on to Tersa where we had a lovely swim before heading back to base camp.

  

Day 5

We were woken at 3.20am by a shuddering bed and building. “Don’t panic”, says the manager, it’s only a 5.5 on the Richter Scale. Thanks buddy, 0.0 would have suited me better! Cretans love the little (!!!)  earthquakes as they let off pressure and hopefully delay the bigger ones. Very alarming all the same – it truly brought home to me the terror of being trapped beneath falling rubble and not being able to breathe. The fault apparently lies about 60 miles beneath the surface of the Aegean, north of Crete.

“ATHENS, June 12 (Xinhua) -- A moderate earthquake measuring 5.5 on the Richter scale jolted the island of Crete in south Greece in the early morning hours of Thursday, but no damage was reported.

According to the Athens National Observatory's Geodynamic Institute and the Thessaloniki University's Geophysics Laboratory, the earthquake was recorded at 3:20 a.m. (0120 GMT), at a distance of 385 km southeast of Athens, with its epicenter in the area of Ancient Zakros, on the eastern tip of the island, and at an estimated epicentral depth of 25 km.

The quake was felt throughout all of eastern Crete. The town of Zakros is situated near the eastern coast site containing ruins from the Minoan civilization.”

Well, after all that unwanted excitement, we decided that a beach day was called for and headed off towards Gouduras. A lovely drive with the sea on one side, the mountains on the other, beehives amongst the Cretan “fynbos”, the Kapsa Monastery perched on the hill, weird rock shapes and then the most delightful swimming cove, with a pebble beach. Crystal clear water just invites you in! We lunched further up the road in another area filled with greenhouses in a lovely local Taverna where the owner’s wife spoke only 2 words of English. Good food!!!

    

     

Day 6

We paid a brief visit to Heraklion, the capital of Crete – a busy city filled with locals. The harbour area is worth a walk (remember your water!) and the continual stream of planes fly over the huge ferries and small yachts lined up in the harbour. The Venetian influence is ever-present  with the Koules Venetian Fortress on the harbour walls, built in the early 1500's. The city appears crumbling and unkempt as do so many of the Cretan cities and towns – building maintenance does not seem to feature high on the Cretans list of priorities.

      

Having spent a week in mainland Greece, looking at ruins and more ruins we decided to give the Palace of Knossos a miss. However, this would be worth a visit for those who are not totally “ruined” out and is 20-25 minutes from the centre of Heraklion.

Day 7

We headed off to Chania and got horribly lost, wandering around Souda for ages! Chania is also heavily influenced by the Venetian era and is a picturesque place again set on the hillside above the harbour. It is worthy of a few days visit as the alleyways are a delight with many shops selling interesting goods. We came across a rooster (or Hen - couldn’t tell!) sitting outside of his owners door! It just sat there in the road, while we clicked away as if to say “Are you guys crazy – have you never seen a rooster sitting on his porch before?” Well, it made a change from the hundreds of cats in Cyprus! I hope he lives on and escapes both the cooking pot and the cats. With an attitude like that, he deserves a long life!

   
Unfortunately, it was our last day and we had to head back to Heraklion to catch our flight home so we could only sample a taste of what Chania had to offer.

Our one negative must go to the “Cretan drivers” – they must be the WORST in the world! Blind corners, double white lines, oncoming traffic – this all means – OVERTAKE.  Nerve-racking! The Guide Book that we bought stated this fact but we thought it could not be that bad – the odd fool here and there. Wow - it was a driver every couple of minutes on the main roads. Our Cape Town drivers are wonderful after that experience!

    

But don’t let that stop you from visiting an interesting country with lots to keep you busy or just the sun, sea and sand to wash the stress away!

© Judelle Drake

Check out:

http://www.rci.co.za/  RCI Resorts if you are a member as this saves paying in Euros’ for accommodation

http://www.venere.com/ – excellent Hotel Booking site – check guest reviews before booking!

http://www.tripadvisor.com/  for unbiased reviews on accommodation and much more

http://www.explorecrete.com/

http://www.cretetravel.com/

             

                       

GOOD BYE CRETE!

SAFE DRIVING!!

© Judelle Drake

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bradclinphotography

                For Accommodation Cape Town, South Africa

                                      www.bradclin.com

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Croatia - A Country full of Surprises!

Croatia - A Country full of Surprises!

Dubrovnik

Croatia has seen much tourist publicity lately and this is certainly a country worth visiting. Whilst we opted for an organized tour, it could be done by other transport means, particularly if you prefer more time in each place. Tourism is a major industry together with Ship building (orders until 2015 for a ship-yard in Split) and Cement works. The Croatians have experienced much trauma in their lives and the war with the Serbs only ended in 1995. This war has played a major part in the general air of neglect that hangs over most of the buildings in Croatia – in fact, some of them are crumbling so badly that one wonders how people can inhabit them safely. The older generation, particularly the women, have very worn expressions and don’t appear to smile very often. This generation also mourns the end of Communism as it now means that they do not have enough money to live on and are struggling to make ends meet.

Croatians, on the whole, do not favour pre-cooked or frozen foods. They go to their open air markets in the mornings with their baskets over their arms to choose the freshest vegetables, fruit, fish, or meat for the day. The markets are an eye-opener; the one in Zagreb was huge, covered in red umbrellas, with a wonderful vibe and the most amazing selection of fresh produce. The stall holders vary in age and some offered us free samples! The best cherries ever!

                                                                                                                 

All of the local restaurants that we visited welcomed the group with a glass of very potent alcohol! Unfortunately, alcoholism has always been a problem in Croatia and it is a social problem that the country has recently started working on. Many Croatian farms are very small as the land passes from generation to generation and has often been divided with time. Most of these farms are still tilled by hand and we saw many women working their fields as late as 20.30 hrs with a scythe. I last saw a sickle as a small child and thought they were all in museums by now. Farms will also have some pigs and chickens and all produce is basically for their own use. Set amongst rolling hills with the farmhouse perched at the top and the fields running downwards, it looks quaint, peaceful, and romantic and one hopes that these farmers are content with their lives.

The country, as a whole, is very clean and we passed a lady in Zagreb picking up the smallest pieces of paper along the verges with a specially designed fork. The Bura wind in the Split area also blows everything away from time to time. When the locals start getting edgy and short-tempered, it is said that the Bura is overdue. Once the wind has blown, everybody starts smiling again! Our Tour Guide, a born and bred Croatian from Split used to line her pockets with rocks to keep her from being blown away as a child – she was terrified she would be taken by Bura and never be seen again! The mountain range is fully covered with forests on one side and is just bare rock on the other side where the wind blows. This only happens along the coast but is such a fierce wind that roads and schools can be closed. Luckily, it blows for 2 or 3 days then stops – until the next time!

The Dalmatian coast has over 1000 islands of which approx. 67 are inhabited. We visited Lokrum which is just a short 15 minute ferry ride from Dubrovnik. It is a peaceful, wooded retreat with the ruins of a Benedictine monastery and Botanical Garden with palm trees and exotic plants. According to legend, the story of the monastery begins in 1192 when Richard the Lionhearted found himself stranded on Lokrum after a tempest. He was so enchanted with the island; he made a generous donation for a monastery to be built on the island. The Benedictine order that established the monastery used their island to warn the mainland of approaching dangers such as pirates or tempests. The inhabitants of Dubrovnik learned to watch for fires coming from the island's hilltop or incessant bells ringing from the monastery church.

The islands other attraction is the Adriatic Sea. Even before we reached the island, I was determined to swim in the Adriatic, notwithstanding that Croatia was experiencing the coldest June in 82 years! The sea is just so inviting, it practically talks to you! Beaches are rare, most are just ladders set into the rock, and you climb down and swim in the crystal waters. I needed to walk into the sea so we clambered over rocks and eventually found a small cove with a sandy bottom. The swim was worth it – 15 minutes of pure, cold, but refreshing Adriatic. When I first saw our hotel’s private “beach” I was dumbstruck – concrete with rows of deck chairs and a ladder into the water. We did pass some beaches further along the coast but the ladder into the sea seems to be a common occurrence.

Split

Croatia has a huge Café culture and the pavement cafes are all over, even in small, narrow alleyways. If a chair and table fits, it finds a space and is called a café! Along the promenade in Split there are thousands of chairs and tables, where people will gather from early morning till late at night. Dubrovnik has cafes tucked into the weirdest spaces and it is advisable to find one away from the large square, where the hordes of tourists gather. Ice-Cream is something you just have to experience in Croatia. Forget about the boring chocolate and vanilla – the Croatian ice-cream has so many flavours you will need 2 weeks to get through them all. In penance, we walked up the many, many steps up one of the small “roads” that wind up from the square to see how the 4000 locals inside the walled city live. Everything they buy has to be walked up these steps and I must say I did not see any overweight locals. Each door has pot plants of some sort to make a small oasis along the never-ending steps. Dubrovnik gets a huge amount of tourists but the city walls are still fairly empty – too much effort for most? This is a “must do” and the walk is approx. 2 km and not strenuous. However, we did all those killer steps first so ……..!

Wherever one goes in Croatia, you will see laundry hanging out to dry. It is quite a fun game to guess how many occupants each “window” has, plus the age and sex as it is all blowing in the breeze for all and sundry to see. We also saw bird cages attached to shutters and a drying rack full of plates and cutlery suspended from a window. As I never knew what we would see next, I became quite focused on windows!

As Croatia has become more westernized, the drug problem has surfaced and the divorce rate has gone from 6% to 11%. At this stage, secondary school is not yet compulsory for children and there are many drop-outs after primary school level. However, many young citizens are gainfully employed and reaching out towards their new found dreams.

The highlight of Croatia was the Plitvice Lakes area. This area has been a major tourist attraction since the late 19^th century. The first hotel was built in 1896 and in 1949 the Communist Government of Yugoslavia made this area a National Park. The park became a UNESCO listed Heritage site in 1979 in recognition of its “outstanding natural beauty”

In March 1991 the first shots of the Croatian War of Independence were fired in the park which was then held by forces of the rebel Republic of Serbian Krajina and suffered much damage as the hotels were used as barracks. It was recaptured by the Croatian army in August 1995 during “Operation Storm” which ended the war. It was de-mined by the Croatian government and was again listed by UNESCO in December 1998 after having been on their Endangered Sites list for a number of years.
The 16 lakes are divided into the Upper lakes (Gornja Jezera) and the Lower lakes (Donja Jezera). We walked from the Lower lakes to the Upper lakes and the area is stunningly beautiful and very photogenic with over 72 waterfalls, trout in the lakes, fallen trees, ducks etc. The park is also home to bear, foxes, rabbits and deer, but we saw none of those. One can catch a boat across the Lake Kozjak, walk some more and then catch a train back down to the hotel. The hotels are Hotel Jezero and Hotel Plitvice. A memorable visit which will live on in our memory – the rushing sound of waterfalls, the peaceful swimming of the trout (needless to say, they do become supper!), the gentle lapping of the lake along its shore, the bird calls, the colour of the water, the trees and ferns – the natural beauty over-awes the senses.

The Famous roofs of Dubrovnik

All in all, a wonderful country to visit with plenty of accommodation packages from budget to 5*

© Judelle Drake

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bradclinphotography

                For Accommodation Cape Town, South Africa

                                      www.bradclin.com

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