Today five of us are going up one after the other. Me and Karen opt to go last just in case the wind changes and Francois cannot fly. First up is Jim, Lu, Pete, then me, and finally Karen. When it's my turn Francois shakes his head and warns me that it's not as plentiful with animals today. That's fine I say, I'm just back for the adrenaline rush of being in the sky.
We set off and go straight to the ocean heading further out to sea than yesterday but only catching small glimpses of a few whales, rays and fish. Francois turned and let me know that we were going down again, but there's a cheeky grin there today (and if I could see his eyes through the visor I'm sure they would be glinting in mischief!). Thumbs up, no problem. Instead of going straight down like we did yesterday, he pushes the bar forward and we soar up gaining altitude. Suddenly he cuts the power and we nosedive down towards the ocean in an eagle swoop. Whoosh, my stomach lurches in that horribly gorgeous feeling, maybe the full English breakfast was not such a good idea, hahaha. Damn, I do love this!! Woo-hoo!!!
We again nip along the beach, seeing yet more adorable scuttling crabs. Suddenly Francois bears left towards the sand dunes, up and down we soar and plummet, stomach doing mini-flips at each drop. The grin on my face gets wider and wider. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, this is the life my friends. What wonderful inventions microlights are. Without a doubt the BEST way to fly. An incredible opportunity to enjoy the skies in a completely freeing experience. The climbs, sinks and glides are thrilling. Nothing can properly describe the feeling of freedom and bliss that comes from being 'as free as a bird'. Microlight timeshare anyone; anyone??
Next stop on our itinerary is the little town of St. Lucia, so all aboard as we set off again. One thing I've noticed as we transit between towns is the large number of people that are continuously walking along the side of the road. The colours of their outfits are loud and vivacious. No-one seems to dabble in drab colours here - it's bright and vibrant all the way. Plus, the number of unaccompanied small children we see at roadsides absolutely beggars belief, that just simply would not happen back home, but it's a completely different way of life here.
We have also seen vast numbers of schools on our travels. Education in these areas seems to be well supported, and judging by the throngs of children in the vacinity, well attended. Uniformed school kids were always making their way to or from school when we zip along the highways. Children were simply everywhere. There is an extremely young population here.
St. Lucia lies to the southern entrance to iSimangaliso Wetland Park, the first in South Africa to be declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. The park is renowned for its five recognizable ecosystems which includes forest, mountain, desert (sand dunes), grassland and aquatic - both marine, (reefs and beaches) and freshwater (estuaries, rivers and lakes). It is South Africa's third largest park and home to the largest population of hippos and crocodiles. I was surprised to learn that the park supports more species of animal than Kruger National Park.
Life here, like pretty much all of Africa, is laid back and peaceful; monkeys and duikers (a pretty and diminutive antelope) roam the streets freely. The most fascinating feature about St Lucia is that at night hippos come out of the nearby estuary to eat homeowners lawns. There are warning signs all around the town and we were told not to wander the streets at night!!
We are staying in a beautiful guesthouse called Whalesong. I'm sharing the Marlin suite with Geoff and Francois, which is a garden chalet just off the main house. The main bedroom has a queen size bed (mine!!). A second, children's, bedroom leads off this and has a single bed and a bunk bed (enjoy boys!). There is also a small lounge and a large bathroom (shower, bath, double sink). Very plush! The roof of the bathroom is sheeted glass, which at night turns into a giant mirror. Hmmm, that's interesting. Still at least the adjoining guest house is not two-storey otherwise twud be a wee bit disconcerting I reckon.
Chilled out at the pool for a bit. God what are we going to do once we return home and there is no pool in the back garden?? There will be some major withdrawal symptoms (on my part anyway).
We headed to St Lucia Ski Boat Club for dinner. They have a great outdoor garden overlooking the St. Lucia estuary, plus a small viewing deck to watch hippos and crocodiles. As the sun went down we had two sightings of hippo who made their way out of the estuary to graze. Stunningly magnificent creatures.
During dinner we were entertained by a gekko on the wall that was considering taking on a giant beetle. We must have spent a good five minutes enthralled by his stealth like antics. Ever so slowly he inched closer to the beetle, sliding his feet forward with extreme care to go unnoticed. Anticipation mounted as a pounce attack seemed imminent. However the gekko seemed to have last-minute doubts (understandable since the beetle was larger than him) and chickened out, skulking back off to the ceiling beam. Shucks! We felt bitterly robbed of a showdown.
On the way back to the guesthouse we tried to locate some street-roaming hippos but sadly did not come across anything other than bushbabys (galagos to give them their proper title; a small nocturnal primate) and vervet monkeys. Perhaps tomorrow we will have better luck!
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