Backpacking South Africa

Ashanti Lodge - Cape Town

2008-07-06T08:57:00.005+02:00

Ashanti Lodge and Travel Centre is stylishly housed in an Afro-Victorian mansion, complete with a pool and more spacious balconies, palm-fringed sundecks and mountain views than you could possibly hope for.Set in chilled parkland but within walking distance of the city centre, we offer all accommodation options, including private rooms with en suite bathrooms in our guesthouse around the

Afrique Du Sud Backpackers Website

2008-04-24T15:01:00.001+02:00

Afrique Du Sud backpackers has a new website. After many years of using the free hosting service offered by Mweb, Afrique Du Sud Backpackers has taken the plunge and registered their own domain. I did the site update for them using a template from Styleshout.Site Summary for www.afriquedusudbackpackers.co.zaHome Afrique du Sud is the best-positioned seaside backpacker lodge/hostel in Cape Town.

Fiat Strada 1.6 ELX Review

2008-02-16T19:25:00.005+02:00

Fiat Strada 1.6 ELXSo I took the plunge and took ownership of the newest car I have ever owned. Whilst shopping for the bakkie there where three different options. The Opal Corsa Utility, the Ford Bantam or the Fiat Strada. I didn’t even consider the VW Citi pick-up or the Datsan 1400 (sorry Nissan). I wanted a vehicle designed after 1980.After a lot of umm-ing and ah-ing I decided to go the

Backpacking South Africa

2007-11-05T09:30:00.000+02:00

Alternative Route has been busy out on the web designing and releasing a new management site for Alternative Route clients. Backpacker Information is a dual site that showcases the work done under the "Mkoya Travel Marketing" banner and also allows Alternative Route clients to upload and modify information for their adverts in the Alternative Route Travel Guide. Of course travellers can also

Public Transport in South Africa

2007-08-26T17:36:00.001+02:00

For the first time in many years I am taking public transport on a long distance trip.First Impression - The bus was late!Second Impression - Hey the view from up here is awesome... The seats relatively comfortable and the fact that I am not driving is a relief.

Whales in False Bay

2007-08-12T10:14:00.001+02:00

Whales in False Bay Yesterday I went for a drive with Sadia to Kalk Bay to pick-up the post and get my weekly Olympia cafe croissant & coffee fix.On the way there we had already spotted some whales in the bay near Muizenberg. Close into the shore they were probably as close as 100m from the rocks. The whales spotted in the bay are mainly the Southern Right Whale. On the way back we

77 dead dogs, 3 dead cats, 1 dead cow, 1 dead goat but the sheep w ere lucky

2007-07-09T08:41:00.000+02:00

On the road again... This is a serious quick trip around the country. I left Cape Town on Thursday. 3 days later and I find myself in Port Edward at Ku-Boboyi. Today was a heavy day driving through the old Transkei (an old homeland or Bantustan) - no fences and many stray animals. Thus slow speeds.All the dead animals got depressing in the end. Normally I would do this stretch over 2 days, I

Lesotho

2007-05-05T06:50:00.000+02:00

I always enjoy arriving in Lesotho. From the moment a person steps onto Lesotho soil the pace of life slows a little and the prevailing tensions and undercurrents of South Africa disappear. Traveling into South Africa's neighbouring countries gives me a chance to be a foreign tourist again instead of a South African traveling on business through my own country. Lesotho is a poor country that

Baksheesh and Grease on a slippery morning (lesotho part1)

2007-04-16T00:05:00.000+02:00

I woke up early to make a move for Lesotho. Karoo mornings are fresh - perfect for driving. I dropped in at the local truck stop and filled up with petrol and coffee... Just passed Bethuile I passed a car that had rolled some time the previous evening. The car belonged to the provincial traffic department. The driver was lucky to escape unharmed as the car had rolled at high speed for about

Poppies van die Platteland - the dolls of the flatlands (sic)

2007-04-14T19:40:00.000+02:00

I pulled into Colesburg and went straight to my accommodation for the night - Toverberg Backpackers and Guest House. Jurie the owner is an interesting fellow having worked for many years in Malawi and Zambia as a theological lecturer at their respective national universities. His mom lives in Colesburg and subsequently Jurie

All roads lead to Fraserberg

2007-04-02T08:46:00.000+02:00

It's amazing how some obscure little towns have so many roads leading to them yet few people go there. Fraserberg is one of those towns. For about 200km on the N1 heading from Cape Town there must have been 4 turn offs going to Fraserberg. By turnoff number 4 I was tempted but alas schedules and time dictated that Colesburg it was going to be for the night. The beginning of every trip is

Introduction

2007-04-01T10:19:00.000+02:00

So here we are in 2007 and I eventually get my blog on the road... To give you a little background I started a (advertorial) guide to backpacking in 2003 called The Alternative Route. Since last year I have had help with AR and no longer do it by myself. Sadia is now a partner in Alternative Route and together we aim to grow the book further. Each edition of AR goes through a similar