I mentioned last time that me not writing a blog for a while is a good sign. Well, if it was true then, it's doubly true now!

Surfing was great - I even managed to ride a wave (albeit for a fraction of a second)!

After Jeffreys Bay we headed on to Steve's house on the Wild Coast. The scenery on the way there was breathtaking. The Transkei (as this area used to be known) is one of the more ethnic areas of SA, which is to say that not many white people ever lived here. The black population is very high however, which you can see as you drive along: scarcely a hillside passes that doesn't have at least a small village's worth of rondavels (traditional round thatched single-room houses).

The Wild Coast itself is also splendid. Luckily we had a GPS receiver to assist us when we turned off the main road onto the dirt track; we arrived safely an hour or so later to be greeted by Ethel the housekeeper. The house sits overlooking a beautiful secluded beach, and over the next few days we were treated to views of dolphins surfing the waves inshore and whales splashing about further out to sea. The evenings were spent taking the piss out of my firestarter skills as Mathias saved the day (and the braai - did I mention that's what they call a barbie in these parts) and cooked steaks, chicken and huge unnamed fish to perfection. The fish were brought to us by a passing fisherman and were delicious.

Our next stop was a day's drive away in Durban. We popped in on Jens, Jackie and their twins, and met up with two friends of Veronika as well. The braai was fired up and we stuffed our faces sitting in the garden, nestled between the pool and the jacuzzi - what a life!

After watching the Springboks get brushed effortlessly aside by the All Blacks in the Rugby World Cup, we drove in convoy to Lotheni, a gorgeous and deliberately underdeveloped campsite in the foothills of the Drakensberg mountains. It was touch and go whether our trusty but knackered Polo would survive the dirt tracks, but eventually we arrived and soon after fired up the braai. I am slowly turning into a steak.

We drove up the Sani Pass in Jens' 4WD VW van. This is truly a hair-raising ascent through mountains into Lesotho, but Jens assured us it is ten times worse in winter, when it turns into a gushing river of mud. Hm, maybe I'll give it a miss!

The next stop, after spending a little time in the Drakensberg, was Pretoria and the comfort of Gary & Mercia's lovely house. The day after we arrived, we had an action-packed time shooting clay pigeons (I was much better at this than I had anticipated, which was nice), having a pool session for scuba diving (I didn't drown or freak out too much, which was nice), and stuffing our faces at a restaurant aptly called Carnivores. I don't think much of crocodile, but the blesbok and the kudu were delicious.

And then came the crowning period of the trip: diving in Mozambique. I am speechless. Sailing back to shore from my very first dive I was treated to the site of two humpback whales frolicking in the water. One even lifted its whole head out of the water before splashing its fin down heavily on the waves and disappearing. Wow!!!!!!!!!!! The rest of the trip was magical, with many laughs, beers, offroad fun and new friends. A special mention must be made for the Botha brothers, Jan & Louie, and Louie's wife Yolanda. Spending time with such lovely people is a treat!

And now I am in Madagascar. Weird but interesting. And great food so far too. Bye until the next update!