Here are the last of the photos from my absolutely wonderful African safari adventure…..
Posted by Jeff Farschman at 4:48 PM
Postcards from Paradise!
No wake up call for us this morning. It felt good to sleep in, at least until the other guests woke us up at 6am, chatting all the while before their game drive. We could have gone with the group this morning, but it would have been necessary for someone to come out in their vehicle to pick us up in the bush. We figured seven game drives was enough, although, the one disappointment was that we saw no lions. This might give us an excuse to return here someday. Well, we would consider coming back even if we had seen them.
While we were having coffee on the patio, watching for animal life from the comfortable outdoor couches, the owner, Dave, came to talk with us for awhile. He and is wife live in a home on the property about 200 meters away from the lodge. Last night, we could have sworn we heard barking dogs. Turned out we were right. Dave owns two Rhodesian ridgebacks that had been spooked by animals during the night. Wondering where his kids were, he said they were in boarding school. It is the only way for them to get the best education in these remote parts. They come home on weekends and vacation time.
By 8:45am, our pre-ordered breakfasts were ready, so we sat down and enjoyed every bite. One by one, staff members came out to say goodbye to us. They had welcomed us like family members, treating us with a soft-spoken respect not commonly seen where we come from. And where else could you go and relax with no locks on your cabin doors, or anywhere else for that matter? Come to think of it, there were no telephones in the rooms either. We did find a pressurized can for blowing an alarm horn in case we needed help in the middle of the night. Never know when those vervet monkeys would come inside to finish off the cookies and nuts!
We finished packing the last of our things, when one of the fellows came to our cabin and asked if the bags were ready. Honestly, we used small bags that could have counted for carry-ons, and certainly we could pack them to the car ourselves. But no, they insisted and we agreed to let them escort us and our bags to the roomy van that had arrived by 9:45am sharp. We had the whole van to ourselves too. One last handshake from the owner Dave, and many goodbyes from the guests who had just returned from the morning drive, then we were off and running. And by the way, on the drive early this morning, they saw lions, several of them. Figures..........
Our driver was nice enough to take the van ride out of the game reserve slowly. We even saw an elephant on the way out. Once we arrived at Shaw's Gate, it only took a few minutes for them to OK our exit. Recalling our entry through this gate a few days ago, we remembered an incident that we had questioned the driver about. A group of native lodge workers had been on their way home for their 7 day break that afternoon. They had arrived to this gate in a local bus, that was stopped and empty. The workers had lined up, and one by one, were being searched as they left the gate to re-board the waiting bus. Why, we asked? Our driver said they were being searched for stuff, but did not elaborate. So while reading safari magazines at the lodge, we were able to piece together enough info to figure out the problem here. The poaching of rhinos is still a major problem for Kruger Park and the outlying areas. An article written in the magazine stated that from the beginning of 2013 to March, over 100 animals had been killed for their horns. It became necessary to explore every area where weapons could be brought into these parks illegally. One of those possibilities was that weapon parts were being smuggled in by some workers in the park. Then handed over to poachers from other countries to use for the kills. Even some of the horns had been found hidden in unsuspecting places to be smuggled outside the park. There is huge money to be made in this horrible business. Thus, the reason for the gate searches. Those that are recruited to do these illegal activities do not profit much...only the gangs involved in the selling of horns for mostly the Asian markets. They are ground up into a fine powder, and sold for a variety of strange purposes. Negotiations are in progress to stop the receiving end of this practice, which is a good thing. Or else, there will be no rhinos for us and our future generations to enjoy seeing. It has already happened in the recent past where black rhinos were almost extinct in parts of Africa.
The ride back to Nelspruit took less than two hours. A few obstacles we encountered were domestic cows blocking the road. They are not fenced, but allowed to roam and forage for food anywhere they wish. The nearest town along the way that was more than village-size was Hazyview with modern shopping malls, nicer guest houses, restaurants, and entertainment centers. McDonald's, KFC, Starbucks, and Pizza Hut were on several busy corners. Looked like a good place to shop for groceries or any pharmacy products you may have forgotten. Most of the housing in the outskirts was basically made from concrete speed blocks with metal or thatched roofing. Many had rooftop water tanks, but no indoor bathrooms like we know it. Outhouses were on each property.
Once we reached the groves of farmed eucalyptus and macadamia nut trees, the potholes in the road became more frequent and much deeper. Our driver obviously knew where they were and cleverly avoided them most of the time. When he missed, he said sorry, sorry. We were thankful we did not get a flat tire or tyre as it is spelled here in this part of the woods.
We arrived in one piece at the Kruger Mpumalanga Airport right on time, allowing an hour ahead of our 1:15pm flight. We seemed to be the only ones waiting in the terminal, when a group of travelers arrived like a swarm of bees. Judging from the name tags hanging from their neck lanyards, they were from a very well-known agency that specializes in land excursions worldwide. This group was on the elderly side, but quite mobile from what we saw. They had little problems boarding the small jet, climbing the steep stairway to enter the plane. That would change once we were in Cape Town.
This flight would be a longer one in duration, 2 1/2 hours to be exact. We had left Nelspruit and the Kruger area in the bright warm sun, but as we headed southeast, clouds began to take over that pretty blueness. The pilot had mentioned that Cape Town had been having rain, and we could expect more when we got there.
A "snack" was printed on our boarding passes, so we thought that meant a bag of crackers and a drink. No, we were given a choice of a chicken or beef sandwich, with a cold salad of cooked rice, carrots, tomatoes, cucumber, and a slice of peach for color. A sweet chocolate cookie went well with our cokes, although we could have ordered beer, wine, juice, or water.
When the plane landed, we found Cape Town to be very overcast with dark, heavy clouds. It had obviously rained, leaving the air crisp, clean, and cool. Rather refreshing. When we approached the baggage platform, we noticed a parade of airport stewards pushing ten wheelchairs coming for some of the "suddenly immobile" guests from that travel group. Wonder what happened to these folks on the 2 1/2 hour plane ride to require that? OK, giving them a break, perhaps a few may have needed them, but from past experiences, we figured out that these folks get automatic expeditied service out of the airport. Who knows, maybe someday we will need that also?
What was nice was to find our driver waiting outside the baggage claim area, with a large card printed with our names. Another sigh of relief. This time we also had a large van with only the two of us. Despite it being close to commute time, we seemed to be heading in the right direction to avoid the backup. It only took 1/2 hour to reach the container pier, which was very close to the Victoria Wharf complex.
We and all the other groups returning to the ship were greeted with the "welcome home" sign always tied to the promenade deck of the ship. Yes, it was good to be home, but we will treasure our time we spent in the bush for a long time to come.
Opening the door to our room, we were struck with the heavy, pungent scent of 16 tiger lilies blooming in our window garden. Holy cow! These flowers all opened up at once. It was a nice welcome home sign.
It took the rest of the afternoon unpacking and filling up two laundry bags to go out for cleaning. This is when we really appreciated having this perk of free laundry. The turn around for the laundry would be speedy, since we think about 200 passengers disembarked yesterday when the ship arrived to Cape Town. A few new folks and crew members joined as well. But the last segment to Ft. Lauderdale will carry the least amount of guests on this particular world cruise.
It would have been easier to skip dinner at 8pm, but we had abandoned our tablemates for five days and wanted to catch up on any news we may have missed. Van and Carol had gone overland with our travel agency to see Victoria Falls, Chobe Park, and ride elephants like we had done in 2009. Loved the stories they came back with, as they listened intently to our tales of adventure. Yes, it was nice to be back to continue with the cruise, which is rapidly coming to an end, we're afraid.
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