The time I kissed a hippo

Mwah!

When I was first told about Jessica, the world famous hippo, I couldn’t quite grasp what I was hearing. A hippo that had been saved just after birth, raised by humans, and is now the only one of her kind in the world that can be touched, fed, and even kissed?

Tonie and Shirley Joubert, Jessica’s ‘parents’, found her just hours after birth, washed up on the banks of the Blyde River near their house outside Hoedspruit. She had been swept downstream by the devastating floods of the year 2000. Thirteen years later and Jessica is now like a real daughter to the Joubert’s. While Tonie shows us one of the 91 documentaries about Jessica before our meeting with her, I hear a grunt from the river below the lapa. She is just as curious about us as we are about her.

Weighing in at a whopping 1040 kilograms, Jessica is a large, round bellied bundle of cuteness. Each of us gets a turn to feed her slices of raw sweet potato, stroke her on the nose, and give her Rooibos tea from 2l Coke bottles. “The tea has to be warm and sweet otherwise she won’t drink it,” says Tonie. When it is my turn to give her some tea I am astounded by her calm and sweet nature. Half her body is on the raft on the river and her eyes stare bizarrely at me as she waits, with mouth open, for her drink. I give it to her and then place a kiss on her wet and slightly hairy nose. It’s hard to believe that this is one of Africa’s deadliest animals, killing more humans than any other animal on the continent.

She may be deadly but she sure is a cutie

Once the feeding and drinking is done, she swims over to the side of the raft and everyone gets a chance to put their feet on her leathery back. “Are you afraid?” Tonie asks me while I remove my black sandals. “No, why?” I reply. “Do you mind getting a little wet?” He tells me to put my feet on her back and to wait until she holds her breath. Hippos hold their breath between 30 to 40 times a day. When she is ready, Tonie tells me to sit on her back. Sit on a hippo’s back? He assures me that it’s okay, and I do it. For about 20 seconds I sit, somewhat bewildered, on the back of a world famous hippo named Jessica. It was incredible!

Hi Jessica, it's Mignon. I'm just chilling here for a little while.

Please don't eat me?

We round up our adventure with a stop at the giant baobab (upside down restaurant) down the road from Jessica. It doesn’t matter that the restaurant is closed because we are too occupied climbing, hugging and photographing this unique and mind blowing piece of nature. We take in the beauty as the sun slowly sets and make our way home for some much needed rest. Have you met Jessica the Hippo?

Day Seven: Graffiti, dirt, and dust

How Frankie has not signed for a divorce yet I don’t know. Today we had another dirt and pothole road adventure through the mountains. One of the things I did actually plan for this trip was to see a painting on a rock face at the foot of the Kerkenberg done by Piet Retief’s daughter, Deborah. The painting, well more like graffiti, is still there today and is of Piet’s name and the date of his birthday which was when Debs painted it.

Frankie barely made it up those mountains so I have no idea how the trekkers got up with there with their ‘home on wheels’. Once you eventually get up there, though, it is one of the most spectacular feelings you will ever feel. The Kerkenberg mountain stands proudly above you, so mighty, so powerful, and in the opposite direction are other smallish mountains, part of the Drakensburg I presume, which all surrounded by the vast open veld. Beautiful doesn't describe it. It’s more than beautiful. It’s unreal. I sat there for a while and ate my packed salad bun and wondered what the Trekkers did when they camped up here.

On my way to the klip, which by the way has no signs from the road telling you where it is, you literally have to take that random dirt road that leads up the mountain and hope that you are going the right way. While searching for the klip I found a huge sea of water called  the Sterkfontein Dam and right then and there I wished I had a group of friends and some food because it makes for the perfect picnic spot. On the one side you have a view of the Drakensburg and the other is of the hills and veld areas alongside the R57. It’s so peaceful J

Anyway, I know I originally said that my trek was ending in Pietermaritzburg, which is where I am now, but it is not done just yet. I still have a few more things to see, photos to take and stories to share. So keep reading. Prease :p 

The turn-off to the BnB I stayed at in Bethlehem, Free State. 2013.

On a random dirt road waving to my only friend- myself (haha). Somewhere

in the Free State. 2013.

Sterkfontein Dam, Free State. 2013. 

Dassie on a rock at Sterkfontein Dam, Free State. 2013.

Somewhere close to Bergville, Free State. 2013.

Pretty-ness, Free State. 2013.

At the Retief Klip, foot of the Kerkenberg, Drakensburg. 2013.

South Africa's first graffiti. Not really. Retief Klip, Drakensburg. 2013.

Kerkenberg, Drakensburg. 2013.

One of the 'koppies' you can see from Retief Klip, Drakensburg. 2013

Day One: Surprising adventures

I left Grahamstown at around 9.00 am this morning with mediocre excitement and a lot of stress, but lucky for me that all quickly slipped away as I let the road take control of my mind. I drove for about six hours and only covered about 180 km. LOL.

My first stop was at an adorable farm stall just outside Fort Beaufort called Baddaford Farmstall. They have a fine selection of cake, jam, sweets, and gifts and mostly local produce which is great! Local is mos lekker. And they have a few lovely paintings by J. Atkinson, a local artist and family member of Louise (who I will tell you about soon) as well as cards painted by the same artist. I bought one. It's pretty.

I got chatting to a few of the ladies working there and they are the ones behind today's adventures. First, they informed that me Post Retief, where Piet Retief used to live, is just up the road and that I should go see it. And second, the one lady named Louise gave me a number for a history enthusiast in Fort Beaufort who knows a lot about the area before and during the Great Trek. His name is Gert and I just had a very interesting interview with him which is going to make my final article beautiful. YAY! Thank you Louise and Gert!

Lesson number one: Always talk to people. They won't bite.

Anyways, the reason for my many hours spent in the car and little distance covered is because I basically drove half-way to Post Retief, thought I was going the wrong way, turned back, realised I was in fact going the right way, and then went back that same way. Eish. The ladies at the farm stall warned me that the road was bumpy. BUMPY IS AN UNDERSTATEMENT. It was up not one mountain, but about three, through the bush and veld, and there were massive potholes and narrow bridges and mud and, oh yes, it was a dirt road. So I pretty much drove on a dirt road for about four hours. I am sorry Frankie!

And, just to add to the deliciousness of the situation, after I had driven for about two hours, killing my poor blue baby, I got to a sign that said 'Piet Retief House- 50m' and you know what was 50m from that sign? A monument that said, 'This is where Piet Retief's house used to be'. LAME. All that way for a monument. Flip. Well, it was a good experience anyways. I took some pretty photos and did my first hand-break turn while trying to take a photo of a secretary-bird. Such fun.

Tomorrow I am heading to Adelaide to meet a former History Professor from the University of Fort Hare. Should be interesting.

Just outside Baddaford Farmstall, Fort Beaufort, Eastern Cape. 2013. 

Me in front of Piet Retief's 'house', Post Retief, Eastern Cape. 2013.

One of the views from the 1820 Settlers barracks, Post Retief, Eastern Cape. 2013.

The secretary bird that almost killed me (not really), Post Retief, Eastern Cape. 2013.

My fake red vellies: the only pair of shoes I brought with, Post Retief, Eastern Cape. 2013.

I think this one speaks for itself, Post Retief, Eastern Cape. 2013.

The Great Trek: 175 years later

TASK: Write a 5 000 word non-fiction article

IDEA: Redo the Great Trek

AIM: Find some resemblance of an answer to the question: Who am I?

MISSION: 1175 KM (roughly)

175 years ago over 15 000 semi-nomadic boers packed their jawbone-shaped ox-wagons and headed for the unknown- the interiors of Southern Africa. Similar to these determined trekkers who left their homes in search of new life, I am leaving my home in search of a new beginning.

Following voortrekker leader Piet Retief's route as closely as possible, I will embark from Grahamstown on the 14th of August 2013 (tomorrow) and head for Pietermaritzburg. Driving in my blue Hyundai Getz, Frankie (named after 'ol blue eyes, Frank Sinatra), I will explore the rural Eastern Cape, the Orange Free State, and end my trek in the fertile land of KwaZulu-Natal.

I hope to get some clarity on where I stand on my identity as an Afrikaner and I not only want to try and answer the question, 'who am I' but also, 'am I or am I not an Afrikaner.' I hope that by travelling in the footsteps of my ancestors the answers to these questions will become more clear. My only plan is to get from Grahamstown to Pietermaritzburg in 10 to 12 days. I have not booked any accommodation, and I have no idea what awaits me. Just like my ancestors did not know what awaited them all those years ago.

This project is part of an assignment for my Writing and Editing Course in which I have to write a 5 000 word non-fiction article on any topic of my choice (this is my fourth and final year as a Journalism student at Rhodes University in Grahamstown, Eastern Cape). This blog is a digital diary of my trek- what I see, what I discover, what I lose, what I gain, what I hope for, and what I fear.

If you have any comments, advice, or ideas that you would like to share, check the Contact page.