Checked in for our third and final flight to Nelspruit, and
got rid of the big bags. While deliberating over getting food I discovered that
Francois had bought a very nice DSLR (which I duly fawned over coz twas very
pretty, and oh so light!) and a bottle of JD while in Heathrow. That’s all well
and good sir, but you are travelling on another flight and they may have a
liquid 100mls allowance, did you not consider that? Shiiiiit! Cue us returning
to check-in desks to see if we could find any more of our group who could
afford smugglage space in their checked luggage. Sure enough we bumped into Geoff, Tony and Lu
on route. Yaaaay!! More celebratory hugs all round. Guys had no space in their
checked luggage as they were already packing bottles of Gin and Bacardi – travelling
with a bunch of alcos I am!! Hahaha! Still, Tony checked with the airline staff
and because we were travelling a domestic flight, Francois was safe to have his
bottle in his hand-luggage. Phew! Visions of us helping him down a bottle of JD
subsided. Disaster averted.
The five of us made our way through security. When Geoff got
out the other side he looked into the basket and went “My wallet? Where’s my
wallet?”. Shiiiiit! Deeming the guy ahead of him to have taken it in error (or
not), Geoff ran off in pursuit to question him.
In his absence we discovered the wallet in a second basket under his
iPad. Oh dear, this will prove interesting. Geoff returned empty-handed
(oddly enough) after having a heated discussion with an extremely miffed
gentleman who did not like what was being insinuated one little bit. Awkward!
Still, happy ending and our first drama of the trip. I can see now why the
alcohol might be necessary!
We proceeded to leave the security area. A few
minutes later Francois exclaimed “My phone!” and sprinted back to security –
he’d only gone and left it in one of the baskets after all the hullaballoo over
Geoff’s wallet. Francois returned and said security no longer had his phone but
had given it to the boarding staff. Next thing his name is being called over the
tannoy and he is being requested to the boarding gate to collect it.
Seriously!! I do not know these people at all; where did all this forgetfulness
and drama-attracting tendencies come from? Hopefully that is our quota for the
trip now complete in a manic 15 mins.
Made our way to the boarding gate,
where Francois was reunited with his mobile. We also met Jim and Sue who were
joining us on the trip. Introductions were made and we chatted away. Finally
Steve and Karen met up with us, and that made nine – our group was nearly complete.
Wow, it's only 9am, however having not slept in over 24 hours I’m already
wrecked! Luckily the Jo’burg to Nelspruit flight was only 45 mins.
On arrival at Nelspruit airport we met up with Pete and
Kirsten (who was proudly displaying a tidy baby bump!!). Yet more hugging
ensued, and lots of congratulatory wishes. Having gathered all our luggage we
made our way to the parking lot where we were introduced to our two trusty
vehicles for the trip: a Nissan Navara (complete with fridge) and a Toyota
Quantum (complete with esky). After a quick bite to eat, we headed for our
first destination: Kruger National Park, one of the largest game reserves in
Africa.
Pete tells us that this time of year is good for viewing
wildlife as the vegetation is more sparse and animals are drawn to the
waterholes to drink every morning and evening. Chances of hitting the Big Five
are high!! Just in case you don’t know Africa's Big Five are: Elephant, Lion,
Rhino, Leopard and Buffalo.
We spent the afternoon driving around Kruger spotting
wildlife. Giraffe, hippo, impala, kudu, elephants and warthogs were the order of the day. Aside from Pete and Kirsten, Lu and Geoff are supreme spotters. I'm still agog at how well the large animals can be camouflaged. God, I
love this! It’s so good to be back in Africa!!
Made our way to
Skukuza, which is the largest camp in Kruger, and where we will be spending
two nights. Disembarking from the minivan we saw that the pickup crowd were
beaming suspiciously (Kirsten more so than the rest). Only very gentle prodding
was needed for them to proudly announce that they had spotted a leopard!!! They
even had pics to prove they weren’t spoofing. Noooo! This had better not be our
only leopard sighting, he was my elusive nemesis last time round, the only one
of the big five that I didn’t get to see. I really hope we get a chance to see
another. Ah well, Kirsten 1 : Pete 0.
Accommodation is cute little thatched huts, and I’m sharing a bungalow with Geoff and Francois. Pete unloaded the fridge on the
Navara into the outside kitchenette of our bungalow and began whipping up a
welcome feast on the BBQ. We had ostrich, pork fillet, boerewors, cous-cous
and salad, all washed down with some very nice South African red wine. Oh yes,
it’s going to be a difficult trip…
I'm getting an awful ribbing from Tony and Geoff over my Irish accent at the moment as apparently it's very strong (they haven't heard me physically speak in a year). My lazy pronunciation of 'th' words amuses them no end. They are getting great delight in asking me questions about the time (usually at tree-turty) or querying my age (Turty-tree). At least they don't want me to be specific (Turty tree and a turd) - apparently tis very cute! I'm now on high alert and am precise in my responses, but god it's an effort. REALLY gotta think about it - and then very slowly enunciate it. Cheeky pups!
Later that evening a night drive was organized with the park rangers.
On the drive we saw giraffe, two male lions, and a genet (related to cats, but
more closely related to mongooses. Most have spotted coats, long, banded tails,
small heads, and large ears). By the end of the drive I was ruing not bringing
more layers with me as it was FREEZING, and my hoodie and windbreaker just
didn’t cut the mustard!! We also caught a glimpse of some wild dogs, this was
quite the sighting as there are thought to be only about 400 in the whole of
South Africa.
The rangers dropped us off at reception and we had to walk
back to our bungalows. Unfortunately it was dark, and turns out our group do not have
the greatest sense of direction. (Isn't that right Geoff!). Suffice to say we got there in the end, we
just took an extended walkabout route to get there – making sure to double
back upon ourselves to confuse any predators that may have been following us.
By this stage I had gone 39 hours without sleep and was in desperate need of my
leaba. So head hit pillow and that’s all I remember…
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