Vacation

"Vacation?" you say. "But aren't you already on vacation?" Well, yes, we are in South Africa. But, our friends Susanne and Matt came to visit us, and there are many places to see and things to do still in this country, so we headed off on a vacation within a vacation. We flew from Hoedspruit (which is in the NE part of the country) down to Durban (on the SE coast). From there we rented a car (actually a 4x4 king cab pickup truck -- we were told we needed 4-wheel drive for where we were going) and headed north along the coast to the Kosi Bay area, just short of the border with Mozambique.

We stopped in the small, coastal town of St Lucia to break up the trip. St. Lucia is the start of the huge iSimangaliso Wetland Park. It is a cute town with a very "Florida Keys" vibe (except for the "Beware of Hippos" sign on the main street).

The main draw is Lake St. Lucia, the largest lake in South Africa (I think), home to lots of hippos and visited by lots of birds (either living there or migrating through). We took a very nice, educational boat trip around the lake and saw some beautiful birds (weavers and kingfishers) and lots of hippos.

From there we continued on to our first major destination, Thonga Beach Lodge. Getting to Thonga Beach is a commitment - it's a good 1 to 2 hours off a main road. On the way, Matt skillfullly guided us over sandy and bumpy roads (we definitely needed that 4-wheel drive) -- Paris to Dakar rally, here we come -- and we arrived late in the afternoon. It is hard to describe Thonga Beach Lodge. It is as if Gilligan and friends had created a luxury resort (which evidently happened in a later movie based on the sitcom -- I must have missed that one). Suffice to say, it is an awe-inspiring location -- remote and right on a huge, totally isolated beach. Once you finally arrive to the property, you drive down a lush, green, bumpy, steep, driveway that suddenly peaks and reveals a gorgeous, beach-scape below. You're met at the entrance by a smiling manager who has someone get your bags and gives you a warm, wet towel to wipe off the dust and an icy glass of delicious lemonade to quench your thirst after the difficult drive. (Susanne was nervous about the drive in and the possibility of getting stuck somewhere remote along the way. I wasn't worried at all. :-/).

Standing on the beach, we couldn't see another building in either direction. Matt said it reminded him of the end of Planet of the Apes (the original 1968 one with Charlton Heston) but I must have missed that one, too.

It is a small resort with accommodations similar to but a significant, luxury step up from the safari lodge at Pungwe (including electricity and even A/C in the cabins, an onsite spa with excellent massages, a fully stocked bar and onsite marine/scuba team). We were there for 3 nights. It was beautiful and relaxing. The resort is not very big and it was far from full. We weren't the only people there, but there weren't many others. It was like having a little bit of paradise to ourselves. Very nice.

One of the main reasons we made the trip out to Kosi Bay was to go scuba diving. On the first day, we were worried that the diving was going to be called off because the surf was pretty rough. Unlike more built up areas, there is no dock or marina. To get out, you have to do a beach launch. Imagine Navy Seals pushing off a sandy beach in an inflatable Zodiac, quickly jumping on board as the captain revs the engines and you crash through the breakers. Think "Mission Impossible" and you might get the idea.

Undaunted, however, Mark (the boat captain, that is, not the blog writer) said we would be able to head out just after breakfast -- unfortunate timing, as I will soon relate. We got our gear, crashed through the waves (instructions from the crew: "Hang on tight. When you think you're hanging on tight, hang on tighter!") and had a bumpy but, mercifully, not too long ride out to the dive spot. We suited up and in we went.

The dive was fantastic. It was only 30-35 feet deep but lots to see right on a shallow reef. Almost as soon as we got down, a big green turtle swam by. As we turned to watch it, a pod of dolphins swam over underwater to check us out! They didn't stick around but it was incredible to see -- a once in a lifetime experience. The coral was colorful and looked to be in good health. We also saw another turtle, 2 reef sharks, a big moray eel, a huge lobster and lots of colorful and interesting fish and nudibranches (sea-slug kind of things).

There wasn't a strong current, which was good, but, since we weren't very deep, we could feel the surge of the waves and kept getting sloshed back and forth. Bouncing on the waves as we were suiting up had started to tumble our stomachs and this swishing was not helpful. The seas got rougher as we were under and the swells were really swollen when we surfaced. Suffice to say that a couple members of the diving party lost their breakfasts before getting back on the boat. The fish were happy - the divers were not. Dara was down for the count for the rest of the day...but all agreed it was well worth it.

Getting back to the beach was just as exciting as the trip out. The mal-de-mer did put a bit of a damper on things for a while. But after some rest on dry land, over the next couple days we were able to take advantage of many other activities they offered:

-- Nighttime Scorpion Walk: a walk through the bush just after sunset looking for scorpions. Their exoskeletons glow in black light. Who knew? We saw lots and were reminded to check our shoes in the morning before putting them on. Last thing you want to do is slide your foot into a scorpion.

-- Bird Watching on Lake Sibaya (Thonga Beach Lodge is on a narrow strip of land sandwiched between a good sized lake and the Indian Ocean). Highlight was the rosy-throated long claw with guide Gugu.

-- Kayaking on Lake Sibaya. Ironically, the highlight of this activity was a dung beetle. As we were driving back to the lodge, our guide, Gugu, spotted a softball-sized ball of elephant poop and a big beetle (maybe about 3" long) working on it. We stopped to watch and it was fascinating -- maybe even the highlight of the whole trip, not just this activity! In a yoga-esque, hand-stand maneuver, the beetle would stand on its front legs and use its back legs to push the ball. After moving it a little in the soft sand (tough work), he'd climb up on top of the ball to scout out where he was going. You could imagine him putting his little hand on his forehead to shade his eyes, do a scan of the area, wipe the sweat on his brow and say to himself, "Looks good that way." Then he'd climb down, turn himself around and push some more.

-- Sipping pina coladas and watching the whales swim by. It was migration time for humpback whales as they make their way to the Capetown area for the summer. We could see them right from the beach flapping their fins, slapping their tails, jumping once in a while (didn't see them while scuba diving).

-- Snorkeling in the rock pool area right off the beach. Luckily the waters were calmer there

And, of course, visits to the spa. We were on vacation, after all.

NOTE - the topic of sustainable travel - if it's possible, how we can best do it, if it can make a difference, etc - is complicated. We have long felt that travel opens eyes and minds to new people, new experiences, new cultures, and new ways of being that change the traveler (i.e., us) overwhelmingly for the better. Along with that, however, we do need to acknowledge the costs of tourism on the environment, and on the natural places, animals and peoples that are visited and often exploited. For us, we feel that the balance tips in favor of travel - it makes for more open-minded, empathetic, caring citizens of the world - but we've made a commitment to do it thoughtfully to reduce our carbon footprint and ensure we have a positive impact on the communities we visit. To that end, as much as possible we try to select hotels/resorts/methods of travel/etc that are as sustainable as possible. We were really impressed with Thonga Beach and the Isibindi Foundation family of resorts. They are walking the walk, supporting their local communities, hiring local residents, and using sustainable practices to protect and conserve the areas in which they exist for the long term.

Next stop, one of Thonga Beach Lodge's sister resorts, Rhino Ridge.