By Frank
So yeah. This was suppose to be part of the Comrades Marathon 2013 race report. But seeing the entry grew too long, I decided that it should be split into 2, the race and the holiday itself.So let's keep thing short now and get my holiday entry started. By the way, I've further edited this entry so it became really compress. Not as detail as before while still keeping attention on what had happened and where I visited.
Day 1, 24 May 2013 - And so, my journey to South Africa began on a
quiet Thursday, 23 May 2013 where I spent most of the day at home doing last
minute packing before flying off on the 7.30pm Emirates flight. 2 surprises at
the airport was Tey coming to send me off while the other being upgraded to
Business Class. The entire journey to Johannesburg almost took a day with a 7
hour transit over at Dubai where I spent 3 hours there snoozing off at Snooze
Cube. Upon arrival at O.R. Tambo International Airport, the first greeting I
got from a local South African was “How are you China”? It was a very usual
warm greeting from them as long that one understands that “China” actually
meant “mate” for them. Immigration was pretty swift as the officer asked my
purpose of visit. Showed him the Comrades Marathon logo on my Be Frank polo tee
and he gladly welcomed me with a smile. Pretty warm welcome thus far!
Business class galore.
Upon touching down, I found that the weather was not as
cold as last year though. A sign of a different race condition? Mei-Ee and baby
Xi Ning picked me up shortly as Chee Kong needed to work. And quickly enough, I
found myself at Fourways with Chee Kong working from home. Took a rest while
unpacking my luggage before visiting the nearby Lion Park safari. As it was
private, there was no problem spotting the games like lion, leopards, hyena,
wild dogs and many more birds and antelopes. As for supper, it was a gathering
with my fellow Malaysian friends there, Peter and Estee. Great catching up once
again after a year, and we had a simple but absolutely delicious Korean cuisine
at Rivonia. Upon filling up, I was already feeling wonky due to lack of sleep
on the flight earlier hence calling it a day early.
Up close and personal with lion cubs.
With Peter and Estee for an awesome Korean dinner.
Day 2, 25 May 2013 - An early morning club run with Fourways Road
Runners. It was their final 10KM club run for the Comrades Marathon and I was
surprised that some of them knew me! The run was at a pace that is fast by my
standards. I struggled to catch up as I was still feeling wonky plus the
altitude of around 1400M isn’t a plus for me. Breakfast of bacon egg burger was
served after the run and we all sat and caught up with each other while sending
regards for the big race. This is really something missing from the Malaysia
running scene. Rested back at home later before swinging over to Lynnwood,
Pretoria for Allan’s birthday get-together. And it was great to meet up once
again with my South African friends like Anthony, Susan, Allan, Caroline,
Pierre and Renee while making new friends in the process. We had a braai
session at a school and it lasted till 9pm for us before making our way home.
Suffering at the Fourways Road Runners club run.
Day 3, 26 May 2013 - Nothing much as we visited Caroline’s humongous
residence and spend the day at the city centre visiting Market and Arts on
Main. Really happening place with so much international food to eat. Absolutely
had a blast here before returning home for a short run around the 420M
Springfield Park.
Day 4, 27 May 2013 - Spent back at home with a little noon time over
at the nearby dentist and hospital with Chee Kong and Mei-Ee doing their health
check. I myself did another short run looping Springfield Park again but this
time feeling more comfy. Finally adapting to the conditions.
Day 5, 28 May 2013 - An early trip to the airport to welcome CP and
Khim to South Africa. Arrival was on time and after having rested, it was my
turn to play tour guide. This was also my very first time driving in South Africa
and to make matters interesting, it’s a manual MPV and a huge one too! Brought
them to the exact same place when I first visited Johannesburg which was the
Apartheid Museum, Hector Peterson Memorial and Nelson Mandela’s House. There
are historical places which should at least be visited once if one visits South
Africa. Everything was done before the rush hour of 4pm where we arrived back
home soon after to welcome Roy and Cham this time. We all had dinner together
at Monte Casino before calling it a night as all 4 of them were feeling very
wonky themselves already.
Hearty welcome breakfast for CP and Khim.
Day 6, 29 May 2013 - Early departure for Imflonzi National Park at 6am.
I was again the driver with Roy, Cham, CP and Khim being my passengers. It was
a long drive and we stopped a couple of times at 2 small towns. The second was
Polonga for lunch and it was beautiful where a huge dam was. After about 6 hours on the road, we finally arrived at
Hluhluwe National Park. It was about another hour’s drive before we arrived at
Imflonzi and along the way, I believe it was an eye opener for my 4 passengers
as they saw the landscapes and games of South Africa. The lodge at Imflonzi was actually pretty all
right. It was huge! The only downside, the power generators goes off at 10pm
and the water heater is powered by gas! To make matters worse, the curio shop
has basically nothing and there is no restaurant in the park. But we came
prepared with instant noodles and some junk food and nuts. And that settles our
dinner before calling it a night after a very long and tiring drive. It was my
longest drive!
Lots of warthogs welcoming us at the gate.
Park ranger welcoming us.
Day 7, 30 May 2013 - When we all woke up, we double checked with each
other if we heard leopard roaring in the night. It wasn’t a dream after all.
The cats were near and let out a few roars! WOOO… Anyway, we started the morning with a game
drive where we managed to spot buffalos, rhino and lion. That’s 3 out of Big 5!
And after completing our drive and cleaning ourselves up, we left for Durban which was about a 3 hours drive. I was getting tired but was glad to have brought my passengers to the race city safely. And safely we did into the Comrades Race Expo where the first high profile person we met was Stephen Muzinghi, 3 times Comrades champion! Had a photo with him before proceeding to collect our race pack. For international runners, collection was a swift. However, I was given a Green Number race pack by mistake which was rectified quickly. I’ve also met up with MBali whom I picked up my VIP invite from. And from here onwards, it was shopping madness and in the process, I bump into Comrades Marketing Coordinator, Thami before we check into our hotel at Belaire Suites.
A short rest before we proceeded to Hilton Hotel for the International Meet and Greet session, hosted and organised by Bruce Hagreaves, Australia's Comrades Ambassador. We were a little late and we came in just as Bruce Fordyce, the Comrades King and 9 times champion was giving out his talk. We managed to get a group photo with him and he reminded us that he had a little Malaysian side in him as he did reside at Seremeban during his younger days. Therefore, Malaysia did actually had a Comrades champion, well in a way or little.
And soon later back at the hotel, our Malaysian contingent grew bigger with Francis and Fook Seong joining in. We also met Celene from Hong Kong too! Dinner was Thai food this time, something different from the usual South African cuisine which some has grew sick of. Absolute great time together but we all found out the weather is a little on the warmer side. It’s going to be a different race this year!
Young white rhino spotted.
Young lion spotted and running away from us.
And after completing our drive and cleaning ourselves up, we left for Durban which was about a 3 hours drive. I was getting tired but was glad to have brought my passengers to the race city safely. And safely we did into the Comrades Race Expo where the first high profile person we met was Stephen Muzinghi, 3 times Comrades champion! Had a photo with him before proceeding to collect our race pack. For international runners, collection was a swift. However, I was given a Green Number race pack by mistake which was rectified quickly. I’ve also met up with MBali whom I picked up my VIP invite from. And from here onwards, it was shopping madness and in the process, I bump into Comrades Marketing Coordinator, Thami before we check into our hotel at Belaire Suites.
A short rest before we proceeded to Hilton Hotel for the International Meet and Greet session, hosted and organised by Bruce Hagreaves, Australia's Comrades Ambassador. We were a little late and we came in just as Bruce Fordyce, the Comrades King and 9 times champion was giving out his talk. We managed to get a group photo with him and he reminded us that he had a little Malaysian side in him as he did reside at Seremeban during his younger days. Therefore, Malaysia did actually had a Comrades champion, well in a way or little.
With Bruce Fordyce, 9 times champion of the Comrades Marathon.
And soon later back at the hotel, our Malaysian contingent grew bigger with Francis and Fook Seong joining in. We also met Celene from Hong Kong too! Dinner was Thai food this time, something different from the usual South African cuisine which some has grew sick of. Absolute great time together but we all found out the weather is a little on the warmer side. It’s going to be a different race this year!
With Stephen Muzinghi, 3 times Comrades Marathon champion.
With Thami, the Comrades Marketing Coordinator on the right.
Day 8, 31 May 2013 - Early breakfast and finally, the contingent is
completed with Kin Kok joining in. After a fantastic breakfast, next on the itinerary was to tour the race
route on our own. We drove in 2 fully packed cars, and entered the route via
Botha’s Hill. It was fun to see the expression of the first timers when they
saw the rolling hills. Things are starting to heat up. We stopped just before
Drummond to have lunch and to enjoy the spectacular view of the Valley of 1,000
Hills. We then continued on to the Wall
of Honour before making a wrong stop at Arthur’s Seat. Fast forward later, we safely arrived at the
Comrades House for a short history lesson. I’ve also finally met up and
officially introduced to Sian, museum curator and a whole lot more roles in the
Comrades Marathon Association. It was a pleasure after communicating so many
times via e-mail and Facebook. Back to Durban after a tiring day and next was
the Runner’s World Pasta Party at the nearby Sun Coast Hotel and Casino.
Awesome party and talk by the Unogwaja and Dr. Ross Tucker, and not to mention
in meeting more friends like Susan and Shaun, and some strangers that
eventually became friends too. This is what Comrades Marathon is all about!
The 2013 Malaysian contingent at the Wall of Honour!
A pleasure meeting up with Sian at the Comrades House.
With dear friends Caroline and Susan.
Day 9, 1 June 2013 - Free and easy day, but that’s before running the
AIMS Youth Run in the morning. Except for Chee Kong, Francis, Kin Kok and Fook
Seong, we all did the 5KM run which includes the 3 ladies too. It was rather
badly organised where we nearly could not run it due to missing bib and also
wrong time allocation, but eventually we did. It was a fun run but we all
enjoyed it very much. And after the run, it was back to the expo as we met up
with Barry Holland to have an autograph and chat session with him before having
lunch there. And fast forwarding to dinner, it was a simple one at Wimpy before
calling it a night. The big day awaits!
Bumped into Bruce, Comrades Marathon Australia ambassador at the AIMS Youth Run.
At the AIMS Youth Run.
Day 10, 2 June 2013 - COMRADES MARATHON 2013 RACE DAY! Read all about it the the link!
Day 11, 3 June 2013 - And so reality sets in. The Comrades Marathon is
over now and we who ran it are now having difficulties walking especially at
the stairs. Breakfast was good as we finally bid farewell to CP and Khim who
are flying off to Cape Town. Francis and Kin Kok will stay behind while the
rest will make our return to Johannesburg. Cham volunteered to drive us back as
my legs were just way out of this world. We stopped by a rest area just outside
Harrissmith and had a wonderful German lunch. We can see Comrades runners
around the stop too and everyone was just limping. Comedy indeed. We arrived
home safely and this is where Roy and Cham will bid farewell to us as they had
a place to catch at about 9pm. After a simple Indian dinner, we sent them off
to the airport before returning off for a well-deserved rest.
Day 12, 4 June 2013 - To Krueger National Park as myself, Fook Seong,
Chee Kong and Mei-Eee together with Xi-Ning started our journey late at around
9am. Stopped by a few familiar places like the Alzu Petroport and Yellow
Caravan. After about 5 hours drive, we entered Krueger via the Crocodile Bridge
Gate where we immediately spotted rhinos! We then headed off to Lower Sabie
Rest Camp where we spent our night there together with very noisy hippos that
can’t stop making weird noises at night. We had braai for dinner for the curio
shop here sells lots of varieties of food.
Entering Krueger National Park via the Crocodile Bridge Gate.
Day 13, 5 June 2013 - Woke up early for the morning game drive. It was
a misty morning and throughout the 3 hours drive, we had very little luck. We only
managed to spot some very common animals like the zebras, giraffes, impala and
some other smaller ones. We did however spotted elephants though at a distance.
We left Lower Sabie with out next destination Satara in mind. And just out of the gate, a young elephant bull came charging out of no where. We were lucky indeed that we were out of his path. Soon, I was feeling
wonky already and I knew at that time, that I am falling sick soon. But I was
lucky that I’ve visited Satara before hence almost everything looks familiar.
Upon arrival at the rest camp, I took a rest before going out for a short
evening drive. Then it was braai for dinner again at the fence side hoping to
attract hyenas but to no avail. I call it a night early as I was feeling really
down. Fook Seong gave me some antibiotics and flu tablet and off I went to sleep.
The young elephant bull that came charging out of no where.
Day 14, 6 June 2013 - I had a long deep sleep. Almost 12 hours and I
did not join the rest for the morning drive. However, it was worth it as I felt
much better. Left Satara at 10am sharp, our next destination was Olifants where
the view was spectacular. Met up with a South African Caucasian while having
lunch there and we exchanged some of our Comrades stories. He has ran about 20
plus times! Amazing! We then proceeded on to Letaba, our final camp. Our lodge
here was huge. In fact, it was house with 2 rooms. Our usual braai dinner for
this night was a feast! We had beef, pork ribs, borewors, potatoes, tomatoes
and salad. Had a wonderful dinner here for our it was our final night in
Krueger!
Volcanic rocks at the Olifants River.
The chefs in action.
Day 15, 7 June 2013 - Departed from Letaba Rest Camp at 6am and exited
via Phalaborwa Gate after an hour’s game drive. It’s going to be a long drive
back to Johannesburg. Did a couple of stops in between but the most awesome
will have to be at Dullstroom where we stop by at Harries for some awesome
pawsome pancakes and probably the best red cappuccino in South Africa. Even
load up on macadamia nuts here. And after about 10 hours on the road, we
finally got home safely. A short 5KM run in the evening before dinner at
Shanghai Restaurant, Sandton together with Peter and Estee. Food was average and
service was a little tad poor. However, I was pretty impress with a South
African black lady waitress who can speak and understand Mandarin. BRAVO! And
after dinner, its back home for rest for a run awaits tomorrow.
Phalaborwa Gate. Farewell Krueger National Park.
Awesome red cappucino at Harrie's Pancakes.
Day 16, 8 June 2013 - Had awesome Tigger 10KM Trail Run at Pretoria in aid
of a children hospital in the morning, 10KM trail running event sponsored by Saucony. Not many familiar faces at the start, but at the end, it everyone became so familiar. That's what South Africa is all about. The run was held in some private park and upon arrival, we already spotted some kudus, giraffes and zebras. Fast forwarding to the run, the start was a little struggle for me as the rocks were loose. Took it easy and safely and soon, I found people overtaking me! And when we finally exited the hilly rocky area after 3KM or so, it was into a single track trail where I really had fun, smoothly zooming through it. So much freedom.
Zooming through the single track area with Fook Seong chasing me down in yellow.
Meeting up with Tigger at the hill top.
Back on the road at about 5KM, it was an uphill road up to the telco tower. Magnificent view of Pretoria from up there as I was greeted by Tigger! OH, did I mention that Chee Kong was zooming down in second spot when I was running up. Crazy fast! I had fun zooming down too, back tracking to where I came from. Upon entering the single track area, I nearly tripped over a loose rock. Lost my balance but in the end able to avoid falling flat down. *PHEW... Zoom through the bushes and finally arrived at the open area zooming in closely on Johann. And it was a side by side photo finish with this new found friend! Enjoyable and most do-able run indeed. Only downside, no game spotted during the run. Guess most went into hiding already.
While on the way home, Chee Kong took a wrong turn and we ended up turning one big round back to Fourways. But it was a wrong turn worth taking as the journey took us pass part of the Om Nie Dam race route. Beautiful indeed.
Back home, we rested for a while after the run before heading off down town to
Neighbourgoods Market for food and to meet up with Peter and Estee again. And I
thought it was art. It was pretty similar to Market and Arts on Main but with
lots more people and food. After filling up our tummy, it was back home. While
the other rested, I started working again. After all, it has been 16 days
already away from work. In the evening, we all had dinner at Zen Garden
Rivonia, where I had my favourite SzeChuan saliva chicken. Totally heavenly
indeed and myself and Mei-Ee wallop a lot of food. And after dinner, we all
sent Fook Seong to the airport for reality started to kick in. It’s time to go
back home for the next day will be my turn. And after seeing him off, it’s back
home for a well deserve rest, but that’s before I finish packing.
Happening place at the Neighbourgoods Market.
Nope, it's spelled correctly - Neighbourgoods Market.
Breakfast at Citadela with John and Belinda.
And so yeah! It all ends here. A fruitful 17 days trip to South Africa mainly for the Comrades Marathon 2013 which to me was a success not only for the run
itself, but the camaraderie and making new friends. All in all, I had an awesome trip that I was sad to leave South Africa for the third time. Can't wait to get myself back there again!
* photos here credited to Chee Kong, Cham, Kin Kok and their respective owners.
* photos here credited to Chee Kong, Cham, Kin Kok and their respective owners.
1 comment:
HI Frank, great to see you again. You are such a good story teller-you know what-most of the places you have been, I have not even visited yet despite me staying here..lucky you! Take care and see you next year for Comrades 2014!
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