Drakensberg Diaries: Chute and Shoot to Thrill; Canoeing in the Drakensberg Foothills. Guide to Flexible Mortgages.
Planning a holiday in the Drakensberg Mountains in the South African winter? This little gem is a "something completely different" day-trip. So your Drakensberg holiday doesn't have to be all walking.
There are other ways of getting around. Like bobbing through the Weenen Game Reserve in an inflatable canoe. I hear you say "Hold it. Game reserve?". Relax, no lions. But that's about all it's short of.
The Bushman's River sources in the high Drakensberg of Giant's Castle. At altitude, its crystal-clear rock pools refresh overheated hikers. Lower down it feeds the Weenan Canal - built 100 years ago to provide irrigation for the farmlands. While the river rushes and tumbles over rocks, the canal is much less imposing. Only a metre deep and no more than a few metres wide. But it's 12 kilometres long, traversing rough and hilly terrain. Don't be too quick to jump in though - its cold, winter-green colour tells you it hasn't been in liquid form for long.
Your river guides will have everything ready for you. Lie back in your boat. And bob. It's warm in the sunshine but cool in the shade. You've got paddles but you don't need them. En route there are three not-so-large steel pipes through which the water has been channeled. You either stop, pick up your boat and portage. Or you lie back with the steel tunnel only inches from your face. It's dark and you can feel the heat radiating from the surface. Grit your teeth. Go with the flow. Breath relief when you suddenly pop out into the sunshine again.
There's a driverless boat behind you. This is the drinks trolley. And very welcome it is too. At around lunchtime you'll come upon a feast spread out on a group of rocks next to the canal. Scotch eggs, asparagus wrapped in ham, chicken wings, quiche, salad, fruit, and cheese. The lunch fairy's been and gone.
After lunch you move into the Weenen Game Reserve. The sharp, mountainous Drakensberg terrain has given way to undulating thornveld valleys. The canal rejoins a now fairly sluggish and narrow Bushman's River. You need to paddle a little, and duck under the odd tree as you drift through a spectacular gorge. There's a huge diversity of bird life and antelope. Buffalo and black and white rhino. Being on the water means you're less noticeable, and less of a threat to the bird-life and the animals. So you can get close without startling them. And you don't need a $10000 lens.
Once through the Game Reserve, you disembark just before the main road into Weenen with the tall thatching grass glowing orange in the fading light. Your river guides have arranged transport back to your starting point.
This is different.
Brian & Janette Kemp own an award-winning Drakensberg accommodation establishment on the Giant's Castle road in the Central 'Berg. Halls Country House is a 4-star country retreat in the foothills of the Drakensberg in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/
Outlined
below is a useful guide to flexible mortgages. Flexible mortgages are also known as Australian Mortgages because they usually feature something which is common in Australia - interest recalculation on a daily basis.
Daily interest rate calculation means that the amount you owe falls each month as a little more capital is paid off with each mortgage payment. Most flexible mortgages now offer daily calculation of interest, so changes to the outstanding balance are taken into account immediately.
The flexible mortgage was originally designed to help homeowners take a more pro-active role in managing their debt. Since their inception they have increased dramatically in popularity.
Flexible mortgages allow you to tailor your mortgage to suit your lifestyle. A flexible mortgage allows you to make additional or lump sum payments in excess of your scheduled amount, enabling you to pay off your mortgage early. By reducing the capital amount of your mortgage in this way, you are also reducing your monthly interest payments. You may take this money back at any stage or use it to take a repayment "holiday".
A flexible mortgage typically allows you to increase and reduce payments. This flexibility allows you to match your income patterns to your out-goings. If you repay extra each month you can reduce you mortgage balance and interest charged resulting in substantial savings being made.
Flexible mortgages are loans which allow you to increase or reduce the size of your repayments within certain limits. This may help you cope with changes in your income or spending, and reduce your outstanding commitments without penalty.
Each lender has a different idea of what makes a mortgage flexible choosing to combine all or some of a set of flexible features. Flexible features include regular overpayments, lump-sum overpayments, lump-sum withdrawals and payment holidays. Customers may also be able to make payments weekly.
Flexible mortgages offer the safety net of being able to take occasional payment holidays when financial times get tough. But the payment holiday safeguards lenders put in place to ensure borrowers are generally prevented from falling into arrears or negative equity vary considerably from lender to lender. So it is vital to check the terms and conditions of each loan. A large number of lenders allow payment holidays where the borrower is drawing back on a reserve limit agreed at the time of the mortgage application.
Many self-employed people whose income varies from one month to the next find these products helpful. They can make overpayments when earnings are at the annual peak and cut payments when earnings fall again. Some flexible mortgages allow you to withdraw sums you have overpaid into your mortgage account for emergencies.
Borrowers will usually have to build up a reserve through overpayments before being allowed to lower or miss payments. The benefit with a flexible mortgage is that many lenders offer rates that are calculated on a daily basis. The advantage to this type of mortgage is that even by overpaying the mortgage by a small amount on a regular basis, it can reduce your mortgage term by years
Some flexible mortgages operate as both a current account and a mortgage account. The advantage of a flexible mortgage is that all money is controlled within one account and savings can be used to offset the debt. With flexible mortgages interest is only paid on the balance outstanding at the end of each day, leading to less overall interest payments.
Most flexible mortgages follow the lender's standard variable rate, although a few lenders offer short-term discounts. The interest charged on a flexible mortgage is usually high compared to a short-term special offer rate, such as a fixed rate or discount.
To get the maximum benefit from a flexible mortgage you will need to actively use the flexible elements of the loan, otherwise there is little point in taking out this type of mortgage.
Your home is used as collateral for the flexible mortgage, so if you fail to make repayments on the Flexible Mortgage the lender can take procession of your home and resell it to cover the debt.
You may freely reprint this article provided the author's biography remains intact:
About The Author
John Mussi is the founder of Direct Online Loans who help UK homeowners find the best available loans via the http://www.directonlineloans.co.uk website.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/
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