I could get used to that

Whenever we check in before a flight I always show as many people as possible just how long my legs are.  This often sparks a bit of friendly conversation and usually Jacks and I are given exit row seats.  Before our recent flight from Cape Town to Dubai, on the way to Istanbul, I performed my usual tricks.  Unfortunately they only had 1 exit row seat available and we decided that I should take it.  Jackie is ranked 1 in the world when it comes to sleeping on a plane so she's not overly concerned if I'm not next to her. 

We boarded and I found my seat, stretching out and performing the usual pre-flight checks.  I turned on my 'award winning' entertainment system but after a few flashing lights and splutters it decided to die.  I let the air hostesses show us how to buckle our seatbelts and then brought it her attention that I was not a happy chappy.  My system was reset a couple of times but nothing worked.  She approached nervously and asked if it would be alright if they moved me to business class.  'Um, yes, I suppose that will just have to do', I replied, holding back the tears of joy. 

I think if there was an extensive worldwide study on who would make the most of such an opportunity I would be at the top of the list.  I tucked in my shirt and followed her towards the front of the plane without even the slightest glance back.  My new improved seat come lounger was soft yet supportive.  I reclined it down almost all the way and let my fully extended legs settle perfectly into position.  My waiter (as I preferred to call him) stood attentively at my side as I browsed through the wine list.  It was a tough call but I finally I decided that the cheeky little Italian Pinot Grigio would be just right to get me into the swing of things.  Relaxing back, with a bowl of lightly warmed nuts, I turned on my big screen, scrolling through the seemingly infinite movie options.  I turned my attention to a lovely NZ Sauvignon Blanc and began to study the food menu.  The Sauvignon Blanc was going down rather well so I decided to nibble on some marinated seafood delights.  A little while later I was presented with the Seafood Thermidor, which stood up wonderfully to the crisp acid of the wine.  The crayfish was especially fresh and perfectly prepared.  I had a little go at the 2000 Vintage Red Bordeaux and after a couple of movies, and a superb cheese platter and port, I felt a bit of a bump and remembered where I was. 

Is flying business class worth the money you may ask.  I'm not sure, I didn't pay for it?  What I am sure of however is that I could certainly get used to travelling like that.                      

A taste of Turkey

Jacks and myself just spent 3 weeks exploring Western Turkey. We started with 5 days in the bedlam of Istanbul; a massive city of around 18 million where East meets West and old and new coverge. One things we realised fairly quickly was that we'd come across a new winner when it comes to public bus transport. These guys are absolute maniacs! There is the likes of the Topkapi Palace, the Aya Sofya and the Blue Mosque but the beauty of the city and it's real charm is best encountered by exploring the streets and waterways. The ferries are cheap and efficient, taking you to all over the show, up the Bosphorous (the arm of water that splits the European and Asian sides) and into the Sea of Marmara (that joins up with the Mediterranean). The city can be a bit intense and overwhelming so to get some peace for a day we caught a ferry out to Buyukada, one of the Prince's Islands. We hiked around the island which took an hour and a half and then had lunch at the harbour. Along the walk we dodged a number of horse-drawn carts but never in our wildest dreams could we have imagined the extent of the equestrian attraction. It seems that every Tom, Dick and Hashim that visits the place jumps on and has a ride. There must have a been a few thousand horses!   

The Blue Mosque

Inside Aya Sofya

The Galata

One of Galata Bridge's fish restaurants (see rods above)

Turkish coffee

The Sea of Marmara, from Buyukada

Mmmm, food!

Turks in general are a friendly bunch but wow can their attempts to get you into their shops and restaurants get irritating. Here is an example of an everyday pavement conversation.

Restaurant owner (RO), "Hi, where you from?"
Brad (B), "South Africa, where are you from?"
RO "Istanbul, South America is great place"
RO "Come and look at my menu"
B "No thanks, we've had lunch"
RO "Then have coffee"
B "No"
RO "Beer"
RO "You want carpet?"
B "Bye"

We met some great Turkish folk but you can't help feeling that those involved with tourists, especially in and around Istanbul, are beyond irritating and generally stuffing it up.

After some time in the big city we jumped on an overnight bus and made our way off to Goreme, in Cappadoccia. The bus was incredibly comfy, with reclining seats and thoroughly comprehensive 'turkish' music and film attractions. A couple of stewards man the isle, dishing out water and coffee and making sure no passengers are left behind at one of the frequent stops. If they're good, they not only get to the start the bus but are also allowed to get involved in a bit of casual road talk up at the front. Cappadoccia is home to valleys of weird and intriguing rock formations, that are affectionately known as fairy chimneys. This term is lovely and poetic but possibly a description that is too family friendly and slightly off the mark. The place is breathtaking and ideal for those with hiking boots and common sense. There is also the option to view the landscape from a hot air balloon and even though it's probably Turkey's number 1 tourist activity we decided to join the masses. We were glad we did, it was amazing. After each flight you get some local champagne, a piece of chocolate cake and a certificate telling you that you're still alive. Your name is read out and you are handed this by your pilot. I was summoned and then they called for Jackie Ozturk. We all looked around for a bit and then realised that they had decided to rename Jacks. Ozturk, if anyone is interested, means 'genuine Turk'.

Somewhere near Goreme

Trying to get a lift back into Goreme

The 'Love' Valley

'Fairy chimneys'

A church between Red and Rose Valleys

A bit of early morning ballooning

Around the time of the name change episode Jacks developed a touch of fresh Turkish flu. After my nursing duties were done one morning I decided to head off to Urgup, a nearby village, to acquaint myself with the local wine industry. I tasted a good few wines and can conclude that I'm glad to be South African.

Sarikaya Wines

 
Another overnight bus and were found ourselves on the South Coast, in the city of Antalya, for all of about 5 minutes, before we squashed into a dolmus (minibus taxi speed-demon) and made our way west to Cirali. Well to the Cirali turn off at least, where the dolmus dropped us and gave a friendly hoot as it vanished into the distance. The little village is about 7km down the hill, on the coast. Lucky for us there was a smiling taxi driver at the turn off. I've become slightly stubborn in my old age, and when he told us what we had to pay for the short ride I told him where I thought he short rather go. We saddled up our backpacks and started the walk down towards our destination, deciding to try and hitch. Five minutes later we were sitting in a truck and were dropped off about 3km's out of town. We marched the rest of the way at a rapid pace, encouraged by the possibility of a big breakfast and a good cup of coffee. We enjoyed 4 nights in this beautiful little place and we both agreed that it was the highlight of our time. Turquoise ocean and fresh fish, soaring mountains, scattered Roman ruins and a truly chilled out and friendly community. Hotel Villa Monte was superb and if anyone visits it's definitely the place to be. The hosts are great people and their food is superb.  The Lycian Way, a long distance walk, passes through Cirali and we spent a day taking in a tiny portion of the route. When I asked about the trail up to Ulupinar I was told that we must eat at one of the restaurants in the village because they had great views of the waterfall and some nice fresh trout. Well they were spot on with this description. After a 2 hour hike along the river and up the mountain side we came across Ulupinar and a restaurant called Selele (waterfall). I can only describe it as 50 metre natural cascade of water, with a wooden restaurant of tables and platforms built around, along and on top of it.

Cirali

Back down to Cirali

Cirali's beautiful beach

The ruins of Olympos

A brief stop in Fethiye showed us why a certain type of British tourist is frequently seen as being the worst in world. The beach and lagoon of Oludeniz is on the cover of 99% of Turkish guide books, on most postcards and apparently one of the most popular UK package destinations.

Next stop was Selcuk and the nearby ruins of Ephesus which we enjoyed but I would say that it's not an absolute must see. Our hostel was pretty good, nicely decorated and with some OK food. The piece de resistance however was the free glass of wine served on the roof terrace at sunset every evening, around the time of the muezzin's second last call to prayer. As one would expect, therer are mosques wherever you go in Turkey and 5 times a day the Muezzin does his thing, calling everyone to pray, which booms out the towers or minarets. These calls were a tad strange in the beginning but they became a welcome tune, even at 4:45am.

Selcuk and one of it's many nesting storks

Ephesus

The Library of Celsius

We had got to know the road transport pretty well at this stage so for the last bit of internal travel, from Izmir back to Istanbul, we chose to go in fast forward with Atlas Jet.  After a 1 hour flight, a 50 minute tube/tram ride and a 5 minute walk, we were back in Sultanahmet, the old part of the city for 1 last night. It was fantastic to spend a bit more time in Istanbul and enjoy our favourite things all over again. A great Turkish coffee and baklava just outside the spice market. Lunch at Namli in Karakoy; the best place to eat. A walk from Taksim back down the hill along Istanbul's Oxford Street, over the fisherman filled Galata Bridge and back to a spot between the beauty of the Aya Sofya and one of the best night sights in the city, the gulls circling the illuminated towers of the Blue Mosque. A ferry across to Kadakoy, on the Asian side, and dinner at Ciya Sofrasi, the place that takes the cake when it comes to sweet stuff. Their butternut pudding with peanut sauce is unreal, no jokes. 

Butternut heaven

Paragliding

Last year Jackie got a tandem paragliding voucher for her birthday. We've tried to organise it a couple of times but the weather gods would normally intervene, but this all changed on Saturday.

Up above Wilderness is (apparently) one of the best paragliding sites in the world - 'Map of Africa' (so named because the inland view from the top, is of a piece of earth, bordered by a zigzagging river, that resembles a map of Africa). We arrived at about 13h00 and after a 'brief' briefing she was up, up and away.

Looked like a huge amount of fun to me and Jacks commented that she enjoyed it way more than she expected. I was very impressed with the instructors control. I'm not exaggerating when I say they came cruising back towards the launch zone, spun around and slowly descended back to the earth. He just said to Jacks 'Ok, you can put your feet down', and the ground was there.

The Whale Trail

We just joined Carol and some of her Joburg hiking club friends in taking on The Whale Trail in the magnificent De Hoop Nature Reserve. We all met at Potberg and spent the night in the hut. All of us chose to pay a little more and have our bags, and more importantly, cooler boxes, transported each day to the next hut. The accommodation along the way was more than adequate, with hot showers, comfortable bunk beds, great braai areas and fully equipped kitchens. The first 2 days sees you trekking to the top of the Potberg and then making your way through a vibrant landscape painted with proteas and fynbos. The path takes you along a ridge with views of the ocean to one side, the beautiful Breede River valley on the other and plenty of Cape Vultures circling above, possibly investigating the energy of those at the rear. A whale greeted us about half an hour after arriving at Noetzie, the first of the 3 coastal huts. The next 3 days was along the coast and I’m not exaggerating when I say that most the way we had whales alongside. For a relativley managable trail with varied landscape and nature in abundance, with the added benefit of not having to carry all your things, and hot showers, I don't think this can be beaten.

Bryce is not so nice

I'm certainly not going to give my point of view regarding the questionable performance of Mr Lawrence during last weekend's fairly critical quarter final. I thought I'd rather leave the talking to an Aussie supporter.

LIMITING THE POWER OF THE WHISTLE

There are no doubt a lot of Australian rugby supporters celebrating our victory over the Springboks yesterday. There are also a number of us that are wondering how on earth we managed to pull it off against a side that dominated possession and territory and lineouts. Now, I dont want to take anything away from the Australian victory - our boys did perform superbly but on the day the Springboks were, we have to admit, the better side. The boks, as always were magnanimous in defeat with a somewhat pragmatic approach to the result. I wonder what our boys would have said faced with the same situation of blatant incompetence by Mr Bryce Lawrence.

I support Australia and always will but for those of us that believe in fair play this was a hollow victory. This was very much like fighting a worthy opponent with one arm strapped behind his back - it leaves a bad taste. There were rumours about Mr Lawrences impartiality before kick-off from a lot of ex pat South Africans now living in Australia but we tend to dismiss these conspiracy theories with a grin. Certainly, Mr Lawrences performance on the field did nothing to dispel those theories. His performance was nothing short of abysmal. He did not award the bok try because of a dubious forward pass. I have looked and looked and to me, anyway, it did not look forward. Minutes later when the boks once again breached our defences and were well on the way to scoring another try, he called them back for a forward pass. If the first call was contentious, there certainly was nothing wrong with the second one. Here, I must ask - why not use the eye in the sky? An impressive expensive piece of equipment that should be used for such decisions.

He failed to penalise Pocock for slowing the ball down. If we had played like that against the All Blacks, they would not have been so quiet about it. - and rightly so. In the dying minutes of the game he was in full view of at least 2 high tackles by our boys that went unpunished. Any of these transgressions, if properly acted on, would have surely given the game to the Boks with their advantage over territory. To rub salt in the South African wounds, he awarded a high tackle to the Wallabies for a chest high tackle.

We won, but did we really? Our sport has always been regarded as a hooligans' game played by gentlemen - If we do not want rugby union to degenerate into the farce that soccer can become, we need to make sure that our refs are of suitable calibre. They need to be trustworthy gentlemen.

Mr Lawrence, I would advise against any planned holidays to South Africa for a couple of years.

Chris Davis

The Australian (Sydney Newspaper)

Robberg's Fountain Shack

In the heart of Robberg, one of my favourite nature reserves on the planet, there is a little shack that you can spend the night in. A super spot for a cheese and wine, a seafood potjie (pot) and a fantastic way to appreciate the reserve without any other human interference.

What happened Warnie?

Mnr Grootbek

Just walked around Robberg Nature Reserve and spent quite a while watching a large Great White patrol the coast.

The Boozy Prune

Have a look at 'The Boozy Prune', my new blog with the occasional travel blurb but generally more of a food and wine focus.

Red Mountain Lodge

A very special little place, in an interesting mountain landscape, between Oudtshoorn and Calitzdorp. Run by Louis and Annette, who farm and bake for a home industry shop, the lodge impressed both Jax and myself.

My highlight was the dinner, which included some snacks at the pool, a baked Parmesan eggplant, a blue cheese and pear salad, a fillet with port wine sauce and a piping hot Malva pudding with home made custard and ice cream. Jax, on the other hand, thoroughly enjoyed watching me fall head first into the chilled river while trying to do the gentlemanly thing and make it easier for her to cross (by piling some rocks and branches into a makeshift bridge, and then showing how stable or not it was).

The Apartheid Museum in Joburg

Must be good if I spent 5 hours inside!

Hwange National Park

Our last 3 nights in Zim were at the main camp of Hwange, a massive park in the western part of Zim. We stayed in their old but adequate self-catering chalets but spent most of our time travelling around our corner of the reserve. In our 6 drives, probably averaging about 4 hours each, we came across only 6 other cars and got to experience some of the best game viewing I've ever had. A big male lion chasing some warthogs, a pride of lion with cubs playing, a big bull elephant charging us, a huge herd of a hundred buffalo, wild dogs, honeybadgers, crocodiles, hippos and much more.

Victoria Falls (or climbs)

If anyone is reading this and planning to visit Vic Falls any time soon; please take my advice and stay at Lokathula Lodge (part of Vic Falls Safari Lodge). Very good value and well designed self-catering thatched units away from the tourist mess of the town. The Zambezi was extremely full, which sadly made rafting impossible, but gave us a really full on waterfall experience.Standing overlooking the highest drop of about 100m was like being in torrential rain. Serious spray that was climbing at least 50m above us. We decided to be a bit adventurous and signed up for a full day canoe safari on the Upper Zambezi. This took us from about 26km up river of the Falls and finished, quite fortunately, about 5km from certain death. Lots of hippos and elephants along the way which was quite exciting, but the sight of a massive croc sliding into the water next to us really got the hearts going. Carol flew back to Joburg from Livingstone (in Zambia) but before that she organised to fly over the falls in a microlight. Brilliant!