International Railroad Discussion > South Africa 1973.

Following on.
Houtkraal. North of DeAar.
Shot 1 "25NC "Alice arriving amide California Poppy blooms.
Shot 2 "Alice" station
shot 3 "25NC "Lindy Lou" departing Houtkraal.

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Fantastic photos. Thanks to share them with us.

Pedro Rezende
Vespasiano MG,
https://youtube.com/c/minasgeraisrailways1

Thanks for your comments Pedro, its a dito always thoroughly enjoy your posts.

Along with China, SA was the last great steam destination.  Unfortunately I was a bit late getting there, only experiencing steam on the last few special charters. I never did get to experience that beautiful country when it was actually safe to do so. Even the little remaining preserved steam is under threat. As another poster indicated yesterday, the current  SA government views steam tourism as a white man's toy and don't see the value it provides in tourism. We used to spend thousands of Rand in hotels, hire cares and buses, even flying the now bankrupt SAA to get there. If you don't believe this, ask any of my Friends in the steam community down there and they will tell you the same thing. Photo is from a 2006 David Rodger's tour in Natal. This was the second to last tour organized by my late friend David as the government had begun to institute draconian restrictions on when and where steam could be operated, making such tours increasingly difficult. 

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Great shot.

Stayed in one of those round huts while on tour in Zulu country that was converted to a hotel room with cold and cold running water (a faucet provided for hot water but temperature never reached!)   Was told the natives prefer circular construction as snakes have no corners in which to hide/cower.  Sounds believable.

boejoe Wrote:
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> Stayed in one of those round huts while on tour in
> Zulu country that was converted to a hotel room
> with cold and cold running water (a faucet
> provided for hot water but temperature never
> reached!)   Was told the natives prefer circular
> construction as snakes have no corners in which to
> hide/cower.  Sounds believable.

That makes good sense regarding the snakes.  The thatched hut construction is very simple and sturdy and well insulated.

I stayed in the government run Simatella Camp in Hwange National Preserve in Zim and in the evening and morning a lady would come round and light the decrepit wood-fired hot water tank.   The first time I flushed the toilet a bunch of frogs apppeared in the bowl, swimming around confused.  I opened the tank and found more.  They had taken up residence in there somehow, perhaps coming in from the water pipes.  These were old western style cabins and full of bugs of every kind.   Quite amusing.   The next day we headed off to a private camp and things changed considerably for the better, but the frogs in the toilet story is always one I like to recall.
 

Mike Massee
Tehachapi, CA
Photography, Railroading and more..

5 years ago long time good friends of mine sold their home and businesses in SA and returned to the UK. They said that the nation was rapidly becoming a basket case with wide spread corruption now the norm. They had to hire private security services to safe guard ther home and business after repeated robberies and no help from the local police. They said that in 10 years or less they thought the entire nation would become totally unglued. 

   Sad when you recall that SA was once the pride of the entire continent

   Ross Rowland