The Day After the Night Before or Rhinos with a Sore Head

(There's a law in nature that states that the size of one's hangover is roughly proportional to the number of drinks you've had the night before. There's also another law that states that the more you drink, the more you forget about the first law!!)

In stark contrast to the cloudy haze in some people's heads the next morning, the sky's above Tala were brilliantly clear and blue. The storm, rain and cloud of the night before had gone, replaced by bright, eye piercingly, head splittingly bright sunshine (at least for those who had succumb to the the laws of nature I mentioned before - to protect the guilty I won't name names!!). Not being one of them (I out grew those shenanigans years ago) I could appreciate the spectacular beauty of Tala and its animals in the full light of day. It was wonderful to see the rhinos, which had been quite illusive up until now, grazing on the roadside very close to the lodges. 

Herds of wildebeest, impala, zebra and a family of warthogs had  also congregated by the roadside, giving us a spectacular send off as we were driving out. Despite the fact that you are not allowed to walk through the game reserve at any time, we did have to stop at a zebra crossing once. 

As if we hadn't had enough drinking, eating and partying, an after party, put on by our more than generous hosts, Adam and Collette, was held that afternoon at the Flynnlands Sports Club back at the Bluff (Durban). With a great (but loud) band, a few beers, a braai (Saffa BBQ) and rugby on the big screen, it was a great way to wrap up a great weekend. On behalf of myself, Leanne, our kids and the rest of your friends and family, I would like to thank to you both for a wedding that will go down as one of the all time greats (except for ours 20 years ago of course!!!). 

Party Like it's 1999!!

With the ceremony over, and the obligatory meet and greet and group photos taken, the bride and groom headed off with the photographer and the rest of the wedding party on their own private safari photo shoot leaving the rest of us to catch up and reflect on a day that was as unique as it was memorable! 

Table seatings at weddings are always an awkward affair to plan, family here, friends there, work colleagues over the back, but with Adam and Collette, friends, family and work colleagues we pretty much one and the same and the seating reflected this United Nations of guests!! People from seven different countries had come together to celebrate this wedding and in keeping with this theme, the table seatings were set out by country too. This caused some confusion initially as we thought that we were to sit at the table by country of origin, however it was soon explained that the country names on each table were not countries of the guests, but the countries that Adam and Collette had both visited together. I did feel a bit sorry for the videographer who landed Singapore though - being the kids table and all!!

MC for the night was Rob/Bob/Robbie/Robert Coran (how do people end up being known by so many names??). Despite the fact that Bob can usually talk the hind leg off a donkey (or maybe a zebra), I got the impression he was a little bit nervous about being responsible for the evenings proceedings!! He needed not to have worried though as he did an excellent job, although he wasn't forceful enough in limiting the time Mac (Collette's dad) had with the mike during his speech! Collette's "Best Chick" Chantal spoke of the deep friendship she shares with Collette and how much of special person she is and I think I'm not the only one of Robbo's mates to acknowledge that he managed to pull the rabbit out of the hat with his speech about Adam too - nice one mate!!

With the formalities over, Rob could finally hit the grog and the party went into overdrive!! Excellent, food, great South African wine and a DJ that took us back to Friday nights at Promises, I'm sure I'm not the only one to say it was one of the best nights of eating, drinking, dancing and general all round partying I've ever had, even Sean and Tim were busting a few moves!! One small downer was that Ashleigh unfortunately fell ill with a stomach bug and we had to take her back to her room soon after the speeches. Although I can't be sure, I don't think anyone was slipping her Bacardi Breezers disguised as peach Iced Tea!!

In some cultures it is said that if it rains on your wedding day it will bring you luck. If this is true, then Collette and Adam will be blessed with luck coming out their respective ying-yangs because during the evening, a storm came over Tala, bringing with it the most spectacular lightning show I've ever seen. Cloud and fog descended over the park and when the lightning struck, the sky lit up revealing striking silhouettes on the ridges of the trees and animals weathering the storm. With us all high and dry in the lodge, the storm only added to this special night. 

Weddings, Wombats and Hippos (Part 2)

I need to explain something before I go any further. Adam has acquired a few nicknames over the years, at school he was AB. My memory is fading a little but I'm pretty sure it was self appointed and not because he possessed cricketing skills akin to the Australian captain at the time or anything but more I think that he had a limited imagination!! Later, in his early working career, he received the dubious title of wombat. Now, in Australian folk legendary, you don't receive the name wombat because you are cute, fury and cuddly (although Collette might disagree) but because you allegedly dine on vegetation and depart afterwards (now this is a G rated blog so if my international readers don't follow the euphemism - look it up!!). Alas there is a much less provocative explanation. It turns out that when Adam was operating the radar screens at Air Traffic Control, he had the brightness turned down so low his colleagues said he must be nocturnal. Lucky he didn't become known as fruit bat or badger!! Sorry to burst the bubble mate!! As for Collette and hippos, well they're her favourite animal. Hippos are also nocturnal so there must be some supernatural serendipity thing going on here somewhere!! It is quite appropriate then that the hippo and the wombat became the symbols of union for Collette and Adam at this wedding.

I can see why Tala was chosen for the wedding. Beautiful scenery and the promise of wild exotic animals passing by made this a most unique and very African experience. Proteas (the flower not the cricket team) adorned the tables and chairs and a beautifully decorated arbour framed a spectacular view out over the game reserve where the service was to take place.

Now I've got to put a plug in for the boys now whilst I have a chance as it's all about the bride later!! Best man Scott (Robbo) Robertson and groomsman Kieran Donaghy did an admirable job keeping Adam calm on his big day and they all scrubbed up pretty well - one might even say handsome looking!! I think they were all still on a high from their spectacular entrance, arriving  in a helicopter and buzzing the wildlife, causing a mini stampede - fortunately not through the wedding lodge!!

All the bravado and machoism the boys were displaying went to pot however when Collette arrived. I've know Adam a long time and we have been through some times together, however the moment he saw Collette in her stunning dress, being escorted down the aisle by her father Dermot (Mac), Adam went all aquiver with tears welling up in his eyes (he claims it was dust settling from the helicopter ride!!). I don't blame him, it was a beautiful and emotional moment for everyone!!

It was a beautiful ceremony and it was unmistakable the love both bride and groom shared for each other. Either that or the sheer relief they were both experiencing that so many months of planning and organising had gone off without a hitch  well, with a hitch actually!!). 

May I now introduce Mr and Mrs Brown...

Weddings, Wombats and Hippos (Part 1)

After more years than you can poke a stick at, the day has finally arrived when my mate of nearly 30 years is finally going to tie the knot. But more about that a little later!

As the wedding party boys were to spend the morning polishing up on their speeches, shoes and faces, a few of us took the mini bus on a self guided tour of Tala to see what animals we could find in the light of day. Armed with a list of resident animals (which didn't help so much as there were no accompanying pictures) we hit the trails. We made our way back to the hippo lake to get a closer look at these fascinating creatures. On the way we saw a myriad of animals. Burchell's Zebra, they have brown as well as black stripes (or are they white stripes???), Wildebeest, Eland (a type of antelope), Kudu (another type of antelope), Impala (yet another type of antelope), Blesbok (and again!), Nyala (yep you guessed it - another antelope!) and a family of Warthogs (the babies are defiantly much cuter than their parents!!)

Down at the hippo hide, we got our first up close sighting of hippos. Initially they were a little way off but over time, a couple began to make their way over towards us. I don't know if it was natural curiosity or whether they were attracted to Mad Matt's attempts to call them over and were trying to size him up to get a piece of him (no offence Matt!!). Whatever the reason, we got a few spectacular hippo yawns ( a sign of aggression we learnt later) which was great stuff, topped off by the sighting of a heard of Rhino in the background!!

Conscious that we had a wedding to get to in the afternoon and with us all agreeing that it would be poor form to arrive after the bride, we started to head back to the lodge. We were disappointed that we had not yet seen any giraffes however at the very last turnoff back to the lodge, we spotted a heard not to far off!! We were all extremely excited to see such majestic creatures grazing amongst the trees and it was just like the scene from a David Attenborough documentary as we approached them. It was unbelievable how close we ended up getting to them.

If this is what the morning delivered up for us, the afternoon's wedding was going to be something else!!

Great Expectations

I've been to my fair share of weddings in my time but Tala Game Reserve is certainly not your typical wedding and reception venue. For starters, being greeted by hippos in the lake at the entrance to the park set the scene for a wildlife bonanza over the next few days!

Adam and Collette had organised a welcoming dinner that evening. It was a great opportunity to catch up with old friends who had come together from across the globe and to meet new friends, be they South Africans, Swedes, Brits, Americans or Aussies (expats or otherwise). 

From the start, we all knew that this wedding was going to be something very special and very different and how much more special and different can you get than to experience a display of traditional Zulu dancing. The power and energy these dancers displayed was phenomenal and it was a real treat to see. What was maybe even more of a treat was seeing Ads (a new pseudonym I learnt for Adam, given to him by his mates in Sweden), Collette, Rob, Ashleigh, Sean and others all joining in trying to bust a few Zulu moves!!

The drive back to our respective lodges dotted around the reserve at the end of the night was punctuated with detours around zebra, impala, and the odd wildebeest that were blocking the road. I went to sleep with the sounds of Zulu war drums ringing in my ears, images of wild African animals and the excitement and anticipation of the wedding to come.

Happy Gatherings

After nearly two weeks of travelling through this most fascinating, friendly and beautiful country it was time to head to Durban for the real reason behind this adventure odyssey, the wedding of my mate AB. After the short flight from Port Elizabeth (or PE to the locals), it was really great to be met at Durban airport by AB, especially considering he had so many things still to do for the wedding. 

Our accommodation for our brief one night stay in Durban was the Anstey's Beach Backpackers in the Bluff, the beachside suburb south of the city where Collette's parents live. Now I remember staying in backpackers in '91 when I travelled through Europe with AB and Robbo. They are not necessarily the most upmarket of accommodation options available to the world traveller, especially for a family so I wasn't sure if he was trying to relive old times or what! Needless to say, the name (and its associated connotations) meant that any concerns we may have had were unfounded. Our flat (no dormitories for us here) was clean, well appointed and had views of the ocean. There was also a wonderful cafe owned and run by Heidi, a 19 year old surfer who has turned here hand to catering with exceptional results - Leanne and Ash said her cupcakes were to die for. 10 points to AB and Collette for finding it for us! 

Dinner that night continued the theme of uncertain expectations. Collette had arranged for everyone to meet at her favourite restaurant, Buds on the Bay. Being so many of us, taxis had been arranged to pick us up and take us there. Now the uncertainty started with the taxi drivers and their complete lack of knowledge of where we were going! Guided by Rob and his (hopefully) knowledgeable iPhone GPS, we found our selves battling with container trucks, forklifts and NO OTHER PUBLIC TRAFFIC WHATSOEVER down by the docks. I'm not talking Darling Harbour or V&A, more like Port Kembla or Port Botany! Convinced we were about to hand over a kidney at the end of our journey, I could only hang on to the slim advice AB had given us that if we think we were in the wrong place then we actually in the right place. With this in mind (and ONLY this), I was convincing myself  that we absolutely had to be in the right place!! Sure enough, Rob and his GPS prevailed and we arrived at our destination, kidneys intact!! 

I was expecting to see pirates and brigands there and despite its rather dubious location, we had a great evening catching up with friends old and new. I tried a Durban specialty, Larney Prawn Bunnies. The dish originates from times when the local indian population were not allowed to eat at restaurants so they had their curries served to them in hollowed out loaves of bread. Larney is a South African term for posh or expensive (relating to the prawns in the curry). Apparently the dish I had served up was not the best example of a bunny but it was tasty all the same (and as we were starting to learn about South African dining, everything is served with chips!!) 

The journey home was far less nerve wracking as our taxi drivers arrived on time and seemed to know their way home. In all a terrific start to what was going to be a terrific weekend. 

Tarzan for the Day

When I asked the family who would be interested in flying through the trees of a rainforest suspended on a harness by a wire, everyone jumped at the idea with great excitement. A positive but surprising reaction I thought!! With the vote cast, we booked in to the 9 o'clock "flight" of the Stormsriver Canopy Tour. After getting introduced to our guides (Tarky and Tandy) watching our instructional video and selecting lunch from the menu, it was off to the gear up room. It was about this time that we began to notice one amongst up getting a bit apprehensive. Safety harnesses buckled up, helmets donned, gloves on and final nervous wee stops taken we were off to the bus for the short drive to the launch pad.

The tour was a series of zip line cables strung between the trees which you are suspended from on a pulley, and your speed is governed by how game you want to be and how hard you can pull down on the cable - apprehension level 2 kicking in!!

First up was Sean, itching to have a go. Tandy went first, showing us what to do and how to brake. Once at the other end, she also controlled a brake mechanism on the cable in case you hadn't paid attention to any of the instructions (maybe someone had wished them up to our boys!!). 

Next came Tim and Ash (who had done this before on a school camp). Apprehension levels were approaching was level 4 but after a few calming words, including if Tim can do it anyone can, Leanne assured me that she was ok and went next (although I still wasn't convinced she fully trusted the three points of attachment, two safety cables and the fact that thousands of people had done it before). Fortunately Tarky was bringing up the rear so there was no chance of her doing the bolt!!

Practice runs successfully completed and apprehension levels restored to normal, we all had a fantastic time flying from treetop to treetop, sometimes slow and scenic, sometimes fast and furious (as one dared). Tarky told about the ecology of the rainforest along the way and for reasons beyond all of us, even managed to spot a tiny chameleon in amongst the canopy!!

After our adventure excitement of the morning, we took a leisurely drive into Stormsriv Tsitsikamma National park to take boat ride up the river. This was supposed to be a spectacular trip as the river passes through a very narrow and very steep gorge. Unfortunately our luck with boats was still not with us as we go there only to find it had broken down and would not be running for the rest of the day!! Not to worry, the walk along the boardwalk was almost as good and rope suspension bridges that crossed the river mouth completed our Tarzan theme for the day!!