Raya, HLUHLUWE and St Lucia Sanctuary

Hluhluwe Game Reserve

Rindu betul nk menulis kt blog ni..punyala tadak masa smpaikan org lain yg kena updatekan..Syawal baru je berlalu meninggalkan aku yg masih terkial2 dgn kehidupan baru ni..smpaikan another special month da berlalu pun aku tak perasan..hmm

Di pagi raya yg sayu dan ala kadar

Sambutan raya kt sini aku boleh katakan hanya ala kadar memndangkan baper kerat je kenalan yg ada. Time bulan pose punyala aku berangan nk try kueh itu ini..last2 buat bihun goreng je huhu. ape punya pemalas daa..but then in the afternoon baru la rasa meriah bila geng2 mesia dtg rumah and we all pegi beraya ke rumah Aslam yg buat open house hr tu. that's how Syawal should be celebrated right. Di rumah Aslam, ramai family Aslam yg dtg and eventhough that was our first time meeting Aslam's family, they were so friendly and treated us so kindly. We had Bryani ala Africa and variety of desserts. Kurang2 terubat la jgk rindu kitorang nak makan sedap2 during raya hehe.

At Aslam's open house

Last weekend, just before Syawal ends, warga2 Mesia di Durban samada yg da lama atau baru smpai just after raya, held a Jamuan Raya. Supaya tidak dicop sebgai pemalas, aku dgn rajinnya prepare macaroni bakar, guna resepi sendiri yg aku create time belaja kt Jerman dulu hehe. Org lain ade yg bawak nasi lemak kelantan, mee goreng durban, dessert, and paling best ada braai (BBQ) yg di taja oleh the bachelors. Makin ramai Malaysian yg dtg and join the community..hopefully pasni banyk lg aktiviti boleh dianjurkan..bak kate omputih, the more the merrier..

Raya gathering host by encik Nasrul yg berbaju merah

Malaysian community in Durban

Sedar tak sedar da nak masuk 3 bulan aku stay kt sini. Life's getting better. Kalau dulu aku tak bersemangat nk gi keje, skrg keje da bertimbun2 risau pulak klu tak dpt siapkan. Dgn ofis mate pun da semakin rapat wp English aku still lg tunggang langgang. Org sini tak kisah pun asalkan deme paham ape yg aku cakp. kdg2 malu jgk bila terperasan ayat english aku salah..but that's how I improve it. Pernah sekali ofis mate aku offer kacang tanah rebus, aku pun beria la cerita kt mesia kacang tanah agak glamer byk diguna dlm masakan. tp aku lupa ape benda kacang tanah dlm english..last2 selambe aku cakp 'earth nut'. Mamat ni pun angguk2 la seronok dpt vocab baru..lepas sembg tu aku try pk2 balik brla terkeluar perkataan ground nut hahaha bodoh plak rasa..sian mmber aku tk pasal2 blaja ilmu salah. Hubby selalu gelakkan aku..tp besela bkn aku tak tahu, cuma suis english kt otak aku belum betul2 function, kejap on kejap off, kejap flashing..

Life as a wife pun semakin bertambah baik. Disebabkan hanya kami berdua je kt sini tade sedare mara, aku n hubby byk merancang utk travel and explore bumi Safari ni. For our next trip after pegi Giant castle as per my last entry, aku n hubby pilih utk explore the wild pulak. Klu dulu, aku pernah pegi ke kebanyakan zoo kt mesia hatta kt jerman sekalipun, sekarg ni aku teringin sgt nk tgk kehidupan sbenar wild animals. For that reason, kami pilih Hluhluwe and St Lucia as our next destination.

On the 3rd of October, we made our trip to St Lucia by our car. It took about 3 hours to get there. Hubby da 6,7 kali dah smpai ke St Lucia coz dia selalu kena jd Tourist Guide utk org2 petronas yg dtg melawat ke sini. But this time, to fully optimizing our weekend, we planned to sleepover there. Lgpun ada bnyk aktiviti can be done there, so rugi la da dtg jauh2 tp tak smpat nk enjoy sgt kan.

Tiket masuk agak mahal tp for SA residents blh dpt half price.

Kami bertolak awal, kul 630 pg lagi kete da jalan. So around 10 am, kitorang smpai ke destinasi pertama which was a Game Reserve. Baru aku tahu game tu maksudnya binatang2 hehe so basically game reserve ni adalah tmpt binatang2 liar ni terpelihara. Besar sgt kawasan ni and ada bermacam2 jenis binatang yg dr zaman tok nenek moyang diorang lg tinggal kt situ. Mmg definitely bkn mcm zoo, boleh parking kete then jln lenggang lenggok smbil tgk binatang dr dekat. Klu rasa nk jd daging fresh utk dijamu, silakanlah huhu. Lgpun tak kuasa den nk jln kaki naik turun bukit redah hutan sumer dan smmgnya anda dilarang sama sekali utk keluar dr knderaan semasa bersiar2 dlm kawasan tu. kedegilan adalah tanggung jawab sndiri.

the wilds and their habitats...there were a lot more

Hari tu tak banyak binatang yg kuar, but still banyk jgk yg smpt kitorang bertegur sapa. Kat South Africa ni terkenal dgn binatang 'The Big Five' which are the lion, buffalo, rhino, leopard, and the elephant. Tp hr tu we only saw buffalos and dua ketul Rhinos. yg lain mungkin sibuk bermesyuarat sebb tu tak jumpe2 smpai ke petang.

Taking a break at the Hilltop to enjoy Nasi lemak sambal sotong for lunch.

Wp hanya memandang dan meninjau2 dr dlm kete, terasa jg kepenatannya bila da smpai petang cari gajah n singa tak jumpe2. memandangkan hr da petg kitorang pun proceed to our plan utk ke tmpt penginapan which took us about 1 hour to reach at the place.

This was our place of stay, the Rhino Coast Guest House

Kami pilih utk stay kt Bndar St Lucia, sonang klu nk cari makann2 pape. It was really a lovely place, clean with fresh air right from the ocean. After having a short rest lepaskan penat, we then spent the evening by visiting the beach which is just located a few kilometres from our Guest House. Memula tu ade org tu siap plan nk mandi kt pantai, tp smpai2 situ tgk tadak sapa pun, ombak pun besar, terus tk jd huhu.

Berjoget sblum smpai pantai

Berposing sesampai di pantai

Lepas jln2 tepi pntai, abg ajak pegi kt tasek just berseblahan dgn pantai. Dulu tasek ni bersmbung ng pantai tp mungkin kemarau kot, terputus saluran air tasek tu ke pantai. Cantik tasek ni betul2 mengadap matahari petang. Ada several pakcik2 tgh memancing. Aku n hubby smbil posing2 tepi tasek smbil menikmati sunset.

This is St Lucia lake yg dulunya bersmbung terus ke laut.

Tgh syok posing mosing, tetibe dgr bunyi dr tgh tasek. dr jauh nmpk mcm bdk2 tgh mandi. tk sangka pulak igtkan org lg berminat nk main air kt pantai. Lgpun tasek tu mcm agak dalm je. Ye la siap org mancing2 lg. So kitorang pun pegi la dekat2. Makin dekat makin pelik rupe makhluk yg tgh main air tu..da dekat baru nmpk..mak aih rupenya Badak air! Aku punyela excited sebb ni first time aku tgk Hyppo yg hidup dgn cerianya..klu tak, yg penah aku jumpe kt zoo mcm hidup segan mati tak mau je..berkubang je dlm air kolam zoo tu tayang lubang idung. Tp kali ni mmg ceria hyppo2 ni bermain dlm geng. Terkejut gak la memula bila realize tu hyppo, hubby siap tarik tgn aku lg nk lari jauh2 sbb dia tahu hyppo ni antara binatang yg paling bnyk bunuh org n wp badannya gedempol tp mampu lari lg laju dr pelari pecut dunia dgn kelajuan 40km/h. Lg2 klu hyppo ni dlm air. Aku pun baru tahu hr tu. Ganas jgk rupenye, nmpk je baik. So kitorang pun dok jarak skit dr tasek demi keselamatan sejagat.

tgk tu, 'kanak-kanak' sdg bermain air

Hari pun da makn senja, kami pun beransur pulang..on the way nk pegi parking baru lalu papan tanda state yg tasek tu bkn setakat ada hyppo tp crocodile loo!! Gile lah aku dgn selambe badaknya berdempek tepi tasek ambik gamba, sib baik buaya tak teringin huhu..bahaya betuii.

Papan tanda dan 'hyppo'

the Hyppo and the Croco

Esoknya after having toast bread n ommelete for breakfast, seawal 730 pg kami sudah terpacak kt Jeti berhampiran tasek buaya semlm. Tujuannya, we were going to do Kayaking!! Ala2 berani kucing terjun pokok gak aku sbrnye, mau taknya, tak tahu la plak aku nk kena kayak kt tasek ade boya. tp sebb da book n baya, we proceeded with the plan. tunggu punya tunggu then tgk balik peta..rupe2nya tersilap jeti, ceh penat je tunggu heh..sib baik bila smpai ke jeti yg betul, instructor still tunggu kitorang. Ada tiga lg peserta yg join. Two of them are Germans. dengar diorang bersmbg, terasa rindu pulak nk bercakp2 jerman..tp byk aku da lupa..

Nak buat pape pun yg pnting posing dulu

It was really adventurous during Kayaking.. semua org kena stick together and sekali-kali tak boleh masukkan anggota badan dlm air..nk celup jari ke, basuh muka ke sbb boleh terus direct ke mulut boya. Gerun kan huhu..perahu kitorang pulak asyik tersasar je ikut arah lain,penatla aku n hubby berhempas pulas kayuh perahu. Smbil kayuh smbil kumpul air tasek dlm perahu huhu..habis basah kuyup baju. Lama jg berkayak ade la dlm 2 jam. Kitorang melawat tmpt buaya berjemur, then dr situ boleh nmpk a group of hyppo tgh having lunch with fresh grasses by the lake. Pastu patah balik pegi the other side of the lake yg banyk berpaya bakau and ada mcm2 jenis burung terbang n bertenggek kt pokok. Ada satu masa tu angin punyala kuat smpai kayuh mcmn pun, perahu kitorang tak bergerak pun..sib baik muscle aku kuat tak krem pun. Sbb da tak terdaya nk lawan angin we all pun patah balik ke jeti..seronok sgt dpt berkayak..our sun-burn skin can prove it :)

Air tasek ni agak dlm..we never know what stays down there.These photos were taken by the Germans and they send them to us thru email. baik betul diorg ni.

Lastly, after checking out the guest house, we proceeded to the last activity which was to have a relaxing moment on a cruise while exploring most parts of the lake.

Before boarding the cruise

Utk trip kali ni, mata kami dijamu secara dekat dgn hyppos and crocodiles..jln skit nmpk badak air tgh mandi2, jln skit nmpk boya dok berjemur, jln skit nmpk badak air pulak berguling2 tdo mmbontot, jln skit nmpk boya pulak dok nganga...sampai da tak larat dh nk tgk hyppo n boya...other than that, there were many species of birds flying freely in the sky.

The weather was so good for the whole weekend that we enjoyed our trip so much.

Huh aku ni mmg tak reti nk tulis pndek2 lah..konfem org tk larat baca tgk gamba je haha..tkpelah ni utk kenangan aku jgk and also utk those yg nak dtg sini can take the ideas of how to spend time here. Tak sabarnye for our next trip of honeymoon hehe..tata

It's time to go home!

Giant Castle Trip, Aug 15 2009

The Giant Castle, Midland

'salams'...the normal way muslims in south africa greet other muslims..first of all, this is not fatimah...but laki dia..hehe..fatimah malas nak update blog..so after berkali-kali suruh dia update and failed, i decided to update on behalf of her cause i really want to capture all of our best mements here...tak sangka it has been about 2 months since we arrived here..feel like yesterday..maybe sbb happy kot ade somebody around all the time...honestly, i feel really grateful to have her here...ade org nak share problem, share happiness, do things together..ade org tolong masak, basuh baju and gosok baju...hehe..yang paling best ade org ngigau malam2, siap boleh sembang2 lagi dlm tido...but still we are in the 'knowing each other better' phase..try to adapt and give and take..sometimes both of us can be quite stubborn..but biasala tu kan??

we arrived in south africa on the 9th of august....10th of august, terus masuk keja...i am used to that but kesian kat wifey...baru sehari sampai, dah kena masuk keja..dah la nak kena adapt tugas as a newly-wed wife, then kena adapt dengan new place and weather, pastu kena pulak adapt dengan new working environment, new type of work, new people and new working culture...alhamdulillah, all of her reporting process kat Engen refinery went well...all in place..personally, i think working here is a very good opportunity for her...dapat hands on experience..get better appreciation of her design work..improve her communication skills and english etc...alhamdulillah rezeki dia...

first, nampakla wifey quite stress...complain org ignore dia la and macam2 lagi...so on the first weekend we were here, i decided to bring her somewhere to release her tense...lagipun, next week nye dah nak puasa...nanti nak jalan2 pun dah tak best...so pikir punya pikir, last2 i decided nak bawak dia pegi giant castle, satu kawasan pergunungan kat inland kwazulu natal...actually, i have been there like more than 5 times..biasa dulu before kawin, kalau ade staff2 petronas datang, i have to be the travel guide sbb i was the only bachelor back then...so sbb tu dah lebih dari 5 kali pegi sana..tapi takpela...sbb nak bawak wifey, usahala jugak pegi kali ke berapa ntah...walaupun dah pegi byk kali, still giant castle is a very nice place to be...sejuk, scenery mmg cantik with all of the mountains..if lucky, there can be snow-capped mountains during winter...mmg sesuai la utk org2 yang baru berkawin...

so pagi tu on the 15th of august, lepas bangun dari tido, we prepared simple meals..sandwiches for breakfast and nasi lemak for lunch.. i prepared sambal nasi lemak je while wifey prepared nasi and sandwiches..we departed quite late, around 9 am in the morning...but nothing rushed us...takde ape nak kejar pun...perjalanan ambik masa around 3 hours...actually, pikir2 balik that was the longest time we've been travelling together since we knew each other..maybe wifey pun tak perasan kot..hehe...from durban, we took N3 west towards johannesburg...we past through pietermartizburg and took off the midmar dam offramp..from there we travelled through south african country side for 1/2 hour and stopped at nottingham road to refill the tank...from durban to midmar dam mmg nothing much to see..just highway through kawasan bukit2..but from midmar dam, the route was more scenic and interesting dgn kawasan2 kampung with lots of shops to stop by...from nothingham road, we drove further 1 hour hour towards giant castle..the route was even better and more interesting...dah mula nampak gunung2 painting the background of the scene and also kampung2 pak hitam...

at last after 3 hours of driving, we finally arrived at giant castle...though we were not that lucky to see snow capped mountains, the weather was still very cold, around 9 oC. giant castle is actually a world heritage site declared by UNESCO..to get inside we have to pay around rand 25 each...once inside, we immediately got to the resort to buy the bushman cave ticket, kena lagi bayar rand 25 sorang...tanya receptionist, dia cakap next show at the cave is at 1 pm, tengok jam kat tangan dah kul 1230 pm..from the resort we have to do some tracking to get to the cave..the walk will take us about 45 minutes..so mmg tak sempatla...so we decided to go for the 2 pm show...that leave us with 1h 30 m left...

Jalan sikit berenti posing..jln skit posing,bila nk smpai nih

so we walked slowly, taking our time enjoying the scenery and stopped by a very narrow stream of mountain river..ade bridge kat situ where we had our nasi lemak...mmg rasa sedap sgt nasi lemak time tu..dah la lapar, sejuk pulak tu...hehe..

nyum nasi lemak ikan kering penambah energy dan lemak

by the river

after lunch, we continued our walk and finally arrived at the bushmen cave....tepat at 2 pm, pak hitam guide kat situ pun invite us into the mountain...he was the one giving the talk..the bushmen cave was actually an ancient settlemen of human dated back to 5000 years ago...gua dia takde la besar..just cukup2 utk elak panas and hujan je kot..then ade byk bushmen paintings...nothing much to see pun other than those paintings..

Misi pendakian ke Main Cave

yeah we arrived just in time

Patung2 bushmen to represent their lifestyle in the cave and ancient art which still last.

Bushwoman hehe

Antara peserta yg join the show session

after about 40 minutes, the show ended...we continued our tracking back, this time heading back to the resort...but we decided to take a different route along the riverside....mmg cantik sgt view time tu..dengan rumput2 menguning, sungai yang jernih, we were surrounded by the mountains..we decided to stop and rest at a rock by the side of the river to have our prayer...during that time, wifey and i had the chance to taste the water...mmg sedap sgt..mcm minum air mineral...yela mmg air tu dtg directly dari gunung, uncontaminated...lepas sembhyang, we just lay down on the rock...only the 2 of us...looking up the sky and admiring the views...nobody else around..tenang sgt rasa time tu..like the world is only ours...huhu..wish that i have that moment preserved for every next seconds of my life..mmg peaceful...

misi turun bukit pulak

menikmati alam ciptaan Ilahi..

we stayed there about one hour before finally decided to make our move back before dark...at 430 pm finally we arrived back at the resort and immediately got into our car to drive back home....finally arriving home at 800 pm, stopping at a mall in pietermartizburg to have a coffee break...i guess that's all for now..dah ngantuk sebenarnyer...wifey dah berdengkur tu...hehe..sini dah pukul 1145 pm 5th oct 09...esok nak keja...have to go to sleep...till we meet again..chiow...