Tuesday 14th April.
It was very cloudy at 07.00m this morning, but it had been windy overnight as the sea was looking much more active than when we left Durban last night. The wind was blowing a force 6, (strong Breeze) but it felt much stronger than that. The sea state was now officially moderate. (Just a bit of a swell running, but not sufficient to cause much movement ) After breakfast we took a few pictures around the ship as it as still overcast outside. By about 10.30 the sun was breaking through the clouds, so we decided to go up to the sundeck. Unfortunately in high winds they close it off. I suppose they don’t want anyone being blown overboard - too much paperwork! Not to be beaten, we came down deck and stretched out on one of the unused sun beds. The sun was quite strong when it broke through the clouds for better part of an hour. Then the cloud thickened and black ominous ones took over, just before the showers started. Back inside we went to find a quiet place to read, but not before a cup of coffee in the chart room. That peace and quiet was soon destroyed by the pianist whose personal pleasure of banging out the tunes overrides the passengers desire for a gentle tinkling of the ivories. We, along with a few others decided to leave him to his own pleasures. We decided to go up to the Commodore club for some peace and quiet - or so we thought. Just as we were going in a couple were just coming out moaning that they were sick of listening to the conversation that was going on at the bar between a number of South Africans. Low and behold, the chaps on the table next to us at dinner had infiltrated the peace and quiet of the Commodores Club and just for good measure they had been joined by an even bigger gobby South African, who had clearly done everything it was humanly possible to do plus a few more, just for good measure. He was the type of person who was probably very sad that apartheid had been abolished. We managed about 20 minutes of this booze fuelled bullshit before retiring hurt back to our room. Peace and quiet? No. Just as we returned to the cabin they decided to start cleaning the carpet with some noisy industrial device, which appeared to leave the carpet damp. As the industrial noise machine was moved down the corridor, the equally industrial blower was set in place almost directly outside our door to dry out the carpet. The bleakness inside was rapidly matching that of outside. For the rest of the day we were like nomads, trying to find somewhere peaceful. Respite came at 3.30 when we had Afternoon Tea in the Queen’s Ballroom. By the time we returned to the cabin, the carpet cleaning and drying operation had disappeared sufficiently far enough down the corridor so as to not bother us anymore. By the time we were going to bed, the wind had increased and we were moving about just a small amount and we were concerned for what the weather would be like for our safari tour in Port Elizabeth.
One thing that I forgot to mention was the Laundrette on our deck. This is a source of rumours and antisocial behaviour. One thing guaranteed to bring out the best in the hardiest of cruisers is the use of the washing and drying machines. There are lots of notices requesting that passengers do not leave the machines unattended, mostly because when the machine/dryer finishes its cycle, you are there to empty it immediately and it can then be used by the next waiting passenger. However, the temptation is to let it get on with it and return in 1hour, or whatever the wash/dry time is supposed to be. The problem comes when the cycle finishes and there is no one there to empty the machine. Well actually there are people there, but not the owners of the washing - it’s the ones waiting for a machine. Some of the more stroppy ones take it upon themselves to empty the machine on behalf of the absent owner of the washing and unceremoniously dump it on the floor. When the owner of the damp clothes realises what’s happened, they get a bit uptight that their washing has been ejected from a machine. The penultimate word was had by one lady who waited for the person who removed her washing from the machine to load their own washing into a dryer. The aggrieved party then went back to their cabin and picked up a handful of bedtime chocolates that are on our pillows every night. She then lobbed them into the dryer along with the other ladies clothes!! Mess or what. This caused the husbands to become involved and led to fisticuffs between these 2 Australian couples. The final word was had by the Captain at the next port - they were all asked to leave!!
Since returning from Durban, which we thought was quite a nice place, it seems that 3 passengers were mugged in the streets and one passenger had a heart attack on a tour coach and died. That’s two down on our watch that we know about.
Thursday 15th April
We were alongside and the gangways were down by 06.30. Although the sun was just rising and it looked like a good day, the temperature had dropped substantially. We had to be assembled in the theatre by 08.50, so there was just time for a full English in the main restaurant before muster. As the ship was berthed on our side (starboard) we could see the early departers walking off in fleeces and long trousers. Those that were not, probably wished they had. Our safari was going to be in open jeeps, so we decided that we would wear long trousers and take our fleeces. By the time we left at 09.00 the sun was blazing and it was a glorious day. However, the Captain had warned us in his morning address that there was a 60% chance of rain by 1.00pm. Confirmation of our decision to take warm & wet weather gear. It took about one and a half hours driving to the North to reach the Kariega game reserve. During the drive the guide provided an almost continuous commentary about the local area, local issues as well as a plethora of information about South Africa in general. Just outside Port Elizabeth there are both Volkswagen and Ford motor plants and apparently there is a Mercedes plant just outside CapeTown. It’s the Detroit of South Africa and provides a massive amount of employment in the area.
We were soon at the Game reserve and being decanted from the large coaches into 10 seater Land Cruisers with 3 tiers of open air seats. Although the sun was shining it was immediately apparent that we made the right decision to wear something warm as the temperature was even lower that when we got off the ship. Just a couple of minutes later and we were at the main lodge where warm drinks and roaring fires were there to welcome us all. we were scheduled to be on the vehicles for 3 hours, with no stops for comfort breaks, so a quick visit was in order before departing off on our safari. We had only been going for a few minutes and the first animals were sighted. In the first hour we had seen numerous varieties of antelope, giraffes, white rhinos complete with 3 month old baby, zebras, wildebeest and water buffalo. Certainly much more than on the last safari we went on in cape Town some years ago. We crossed over a road and into another part of the reservation where we spent well over an hour driving over some pretty poor terrain in search of lions. The driver was in constant touch with other drivers heading for places where there was either a sighting or using their experience to track down these elusive beasts. By now it had become very overcast and the temperature was dropping even more. The cold, coupled with the torturous terrain was taking its toll and people were beginning to hope it would be all over soon. We were covering the same ground for the second or third time when a call came through which caused us to do an immediate U turn and head back where we had just come from. We were seated on the back row of the Land Cruiser and therefore higher than anyone else. Our path took us alongside one of the outer perimeter fences, which you would have thought was the last place a lion would want to hang around. However, the oversized Australian occupying one and a half of the three rear seats suddenly shouted out there was a lion in front of us. Sure enough, walking up the track directly in front of us was a fully grown male lion and it was heading straight for us. The driver switched off the engine and it still kept heading for us on the track. As it got closer and it kept coming, you could sense that people were wondering what happens next - we certainly did. Wished we’d never signed that indemnity form before we entered the Reserve now. The lion got right in front of the Land Cruiser and it was at this time that you just hoped that he’d had some food in the last few days, otherwise he was just looking at his lunch. It was definitely a heart stopping moment as this totally wild animal came within a couple of feet of the truck and just strolled past our side and wandered off. That was probably a once in a lifetime experience. Not satisfied with a close encounter the driver turned the wagon round and pulled alongside the creature again. This time he just turned away and wandered into the bush never to be seen again. By now it was time to return to the lodge, but our afternoon activity had proven not to be in vain. Truly a fantastic day and a brilliant close encounter with the king of the jungle.
Once back at the lodge we were treated to a great buffet lunch of warm soup, Elan steak, prawns and various other treats all finished of with a buffet of tasty deserts. The return journey was just as interesting as the outward journey in that our guide continued to give us even more information about the area and S Africa. Apparently, one side of the Cape region has summer rain and the other has winter rain, whereas Port Elizabeth has both summer and winter rain, which makes the ground very fertile and green most of the year round. The area just outside Port Elizabeth is home to the greatest concentration of pineapple farms anywhere in the world.
We returned to the ship around 6pm, just 30 minutes before scheduled departure for Cape Town. As we were birthed on our side of the ship, I just happened to go onto the balcony to watch a van go by which was from the Forensic and Coroners Office, or so it said on the side. It pulled up at the remaining gangway, just before we were scheduled to depart and after a few minutes two people got out and carried a body bag up the gangway. Just before we adjourned to the Commodore Club for pre dinner drinks, I looked over the balcony to see the now full body bag being loaded into the back of the Coroners wagon. There was no announcement as to why we were delayed in departing, which is what normally happens, but just before we left the Club, we started to move off the birth with no notice whatsoever.
Since we’ve been on board that’s the third death that we know of. At breakfast this morning another couple assured us that there had in fact been 4 deaths before reaching Sydney. That makes a total of 7 with over two weeks still to go before arrival in Southampton.
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