Last Days - Parting Thoughts
One of the prettiest dinners was at the Singita Boma, which was a round, open air enclosure decorated with hanging lanterns, sparkling luminaries, and a fire pit. We had a lovely BBQ and tried Mark's favorite dessert, which was Brandy Pudding. In this case, pudding in the English sense of a brandy soaked cake. As in Europe, the South Africans don't seem to like intensely sweet desserts. Food at Singita was delicious. Breakfast and lunch were buffets, but you could order off the menu, too.
I spent my time on safari with 5 guys, since all the other couples seemed quite cliquish. (Shades of high school drama). Luckily, the guides and single guys were really nice, and we had a great time.
The last day had an early morning game drive, then a flight in a Cessna to the airport in order to board a larger plane for Johannesburg, in order to board another flight to Washington, with a stop to refuel in Dakar, and then on to Detroit. All told, we were up for 36 hours before arriving home. 30 of those hours were spent on planes or waiting in airports to catch a plane. I have to say, it was a grueling flight home. The trip in the Cessna was the worst for me. Luckily, that was short, as it was a good bet I was going to get sick had it been any longer. It was worse than the helicopter.
Random thoughts:
1. I love how everyone said, "Pleasure," or "My pleasure," when you said thank you, instead of you're welcome.
2. There was a wildebeest rug on the floor on my room.
3. Kenneth spoke Shangaan, from the Tsonga tribe. He and Mark communicated with English, Shangaan, Afrikaans and hand signals
4. I love the proper English accents
5. A group of zebra is called a dazzle of zebra
6. A group of giraffes is called a journey of giraffe.
All in all, this was a wonderful experience, the trip of a life time.
I spent my time on safari with 5 guys, since all the other couples seemed quite cliquish. (Shades of high school drama). Luckily, the guides and single guys were really nice, and we had a great time.
The last day had an early morning game drive, then a flight in a Cessna to the airport in order to board a larger plane for Johannesburg, in order to board another flight to Washington, with a stop to refuel in Dakar, and then on to Detroit. All told, we were up for 36 hours before arriving home. 30 of those hours were spent on planes or waiting in airports to catch a plane. I have to say, it was a grueling flight home. The trip in the Cessna was the worst for me. Luckily, that was short, as it was a good bet I was going to get sick had it been any longer. It was worse than the helicopter.
Random thoughts:
1. I love how everyone said, "Pleasure," or "My pleasure," when you said thank you, instead of you're welcome.
2. There was a wildebeest rug on the floor on my room.
3. Kenneth spoke Shangaan, from the Tsonga tribe. He and Mark communicated with English, Shangaan, Afrikaans and hand signals
4. I love the proper English accents
5. A group of zebra is called a dazzle of zebra
6. A group of giraffes is called a journey of giraffe.
All in all, this was a wonderful experience, the trip of a life time.