Elephants And Wahoos

Part 3 of Expedition No Regrets Reflections

Our landlocked lodge time was coming to an end. We left Mpeti and drove south and east toward the South African coast. Along the way, hubs had a surprise for me. I have always loved elephants, ever since our first trip to Kenya in 1987. I saw my first wild elephant at Treetops, the same place where Elizabeth found out she was Queen of England. I was so excited that I could only manage to blurt out one word when I saw him below me at the waterhole. Tusk!!

Along the road to the coast, we pulled off on a bumpy dirt road and chattered all the way to my surprise elephant encounter with Rambo. We got to get up close and personal and it was the coolest thing ever. He and Rachel, his little buddy, would come up every day at 11 for some feed. These elephants can never be in the wild and are at a sanctuary where the patrols go on, day and night. Rambo has a handler who spends many hours a day following him around the reserve. Rambo has a broken nose/trunk and can’t eat the way a normal elephant can. I will let the videos do all the talking.

Yes, that was me making that little ‘eueh’ sound as we were feeding him. And, in the pictures and videos that follow, you may think everything happened in 3 days because I am wearing the same clothes in so many photos. I can assure you that is not the case. Between purposeful packing for a 2 month trip and my ever expanding waistline due to late dinners, drinks and deserts, my clothing options were ever so repetitive.

Americans tend to take for granted the fact that we can just buy stuff in the next town, or order Amazon to be delivered to our next stop. Not the case in Africa. When you go through a town, you don’t want to shop. You cannot just hop out of the car anywhere because chances are, when you leave it unattended, you will come back and it will have been broken into. And…they have perfected the art of remotely blocking your key fob from actually locking your vehicle. You think you lock it, but you didn’t. So, I could not just stop and buy an African Mu-Mu for my huge ass.

I took this on the drive south.

The music playing is not ours, it is South African and in Afrikaans, which is fine with me. For about 5 minutes. Perfect for this video.

There were always people walking beside the roads, everywhere. Owning a car is the exception and not the rule for them.

We were headed to Sodwana Bay for some deep sea fishing in the Indian Ocean. I will admit right here that I am a solitary creature. The constant engagement was beginning to take its toll on me and all I wanted was some solitude, a rug when I got out of the shower, a separate towel for my hair and no spiders in my path. I was not being ungrateful, I just wanted back in my comfortable zone. It is different from a comfort zone! And…I wanted a top sheet. In Africa and Europe, they do not have top sheets, just duvets. I will admit that I knew this and took my own top sheet, but it was packed so nice and tight in my suitcase, I didn’t want to get it out because I would never have fit it back in. We had to travel with our 2 months worth of luggage all the way through South Africa and my suitcases were like jack-in-the-boxes. One wrong pull and it would have been like something off I Love Lucy.

We took a little drive from our accommodation to the beach in Sodwana, and saw where we would launch the boat the next day.

The white South Africans are descended from French, German and English settlers. They are resilient, passionate, super outdoorsy, brilliant, engaging and all of them are multi-lingual. They exceed all social norms of American Human Expectations. I never saw one low-T male. So, to all you single ladies who are looking for a real man, I say to you, go forth to South Africa and you will findeth what you seek. No Problems!

Ranier, owner Inventor, Engineer and Captain

Launching boats in Sodwana is one of the wildest things I have ever seen. It is only one of two places in the world where they beach launch boats. There are no docks, no marinas, nothing. They literally push you out to sea with tractors and then you beach your own boat when you come back in.

And here are 2 shorter videos that you can see the push out and beaching process of random boats. Crazy.

I really hate fishing and I think the fish knew it. I was the only one who didn’t catch something, but I don’t mind. Being on the Indian Ocean, just off the coast of Mozambique and South Africa was an amazing adventure.

When we returned, the tractor towed us (in the boat) all the way to Ranier’s compound. The guys battered and cooked the fish caught that day. Mike caught a Wahoo and it gave him quite the fight. But the hand battered fish and fresh cut potatoes made into homemade fries were the best we have ever had!

After 2 nights in Sodwana, our next day took us to St. Lucia and the !Simangaliso Wetlands.

Out of all the places we had been, St. Lucia reminded me of an American town. Except for the hippo warning signs. Hippos are one of the most deadly animals in Africa. This is why they don’t allow anyone outside on hotel grounds at night. You should have seen the hotel manager, when, after our dinner, the young guys in our party started running around outside near the pool. I thought his head was going to pop off as he herded them all back into the safety of the hotel.

We spent our last evening with our Mpeti friends on a sundowner cruise in the estuary. It was gorgeous. Yes, I know. Conrad was taking forever to take the picture.

So, we said good-bye to Conrad, Jenno, Ruan and Lafranz and headed back to Johannesburg from Richard’s Bay South Africa.

Conrad, Jenno, LaFranz and us at Richards Bay Airport.

LaFranz is Conrad’s son and that kid NEVER wore shoes. We went to pick him up at school in Pongola one day and none of the kids were wearing shoes. Even in the bush or on the streets of St. Lucia-NO SHOES. The kid is like an Afrikaans Mowgli who has a thing for his dad’s phone.

Thanks for reading my latest story about our 2 months in Africa. More to come!

Love, Sadie