South Africa

 

DAY FORTY-FOUR – 7th November 2010

Nkwathle Bush Camp

Up at 5.30am and on the road at 7.  We stopped at the border crossing to get stamped out of Botswana and into South Africa – No fee.

It was a long drive to Nkwathle bush camp , it is a really nice place, great atmosphere.  The camp opened in June this year

They have open air toilets and showers but they’re modern and somehow really cool!

 

The outlook from the bar area

The Bar – Mike in his favourite spot

That night we had a cultural night with dancers and tried the local beer (this tasted like yeast, we didn’t like it much).

Our meal being cooked over the fire

Mike trying the traditional beer (note normal drinks to the side)

The dancers

Dinner was amazing with lots of traditional food, we had Koru (a large antelope) as the main meat dish.  It was good to try some of the African game.

We slept well as it was a bit cooler here.

 

DAY FORTY-FIVE – 8th November 2010

Nkwathle Bush Camp

Up at 5, we had a breakfast of fresh fruit, museli and yogurt – yummy!

Then we were picked up by Kurt Safari in an open safari vehicle and taken to Krugar National Park.  We're a little difficult to please on safari now as we’ve been spoilt so much already.  But, we had a really good morning drive, spotting all the big 5 plus a giraffe or 2 before midday!

Our first significant sighting was a baby leopard which was special as these are very rarely spotted.  Even our driver said it was the first leopard cub he’d seen! Trace wanted to take him home! 

Next we passed a few kills sitting in trees from leopards around the area.  One was more or less untouched and we waited for a while hoping the leopard would return to dine out… Unfortunately not.

After an hour or so we come around a bend and there were a herd of elephants crossing the road.  One of them didn’t like the sight of us and was a little moody, he eventually quietened down.

 

Later into the morning we got our photo of a rhino! We’ve now had really good clear sightings of all the big five… Although we’d just as sooner watch Cheetahs or Giraffes it’s good to tick them off.

 

 

We had lunch at a picnic area in the park which was nice.

In the afternoon we didn’t see much as the sun came out and all the animals were hiding in the shade.

A huge giraffe crossed the road in front of us:

We arrived back at the camp by 4 and had a few drinks and played five hundred, Trace is getting better and making it a bit more of a challenge for Mike!

Had another yummy dinner at the campsite – the food is amazing!

Our last night in a tent . . . . . We are rather happy about it!

 

DAY FORTY-SIX – 9th November 2010

Johannesburg - Nicola and Sean’s House

Up at 6am for a yummy breakfast, we left camp at 7 for Joburg, our last day on tour. . . . . Can’t believe it!

We arrived in at Joburg about 2.30ish and waited at the hostel for Nic (Trace’s cousin) to pick us up.

Acacia Africa Tour has come to an end, after 46 days in a tent, too many long drop toilets, cold showers and too many creepy crawlies we have survived and live to tell a few tales of our adventures.

That night we enjoyed catching up with Nic, Sean and the three girls, they are adorable!

 

10th November 2010

Johannesburg - Nicola and Sean’s House

After a bit of a sleep in, in a nice bed with pillows, Trace decided it was time the braids came out!  Mike gave her a hand, it took forever and the result was  . . . .  terrifying!!

After a good shampoo and conditioner the hair is back to normal, well as normal as it can be after 5 months of travel!

 

11th November 2010

Johannesburg - Nicola and Sean’s House

Nic dropped us off at a shopping centre on her way to work so we could do a bit of shopping for the day, Trace was excited but Mike was not enthused. 

It was a good day shopping, Trace didn’t see anything she particularly liked.  Mike bought quite a lot! the majority of our clothes have all but fallen apart through Africa!

 

12th November 2010

Johannesburg - Nicola and Sean’s House

We looked after the kids today, Caydee who is 4 and the twin girls, Maddison and Georgia who are 18 months.  They are all so cute!

 

Caydee

Georgia

Maddison

 Georgia and Maddison playing in the water

 

13th November 2010 and 14th November 2010

Johannesburg - Nicola and Sean’s House

We relaxed at the house with Nic, Sean and the kids.  Going to a Portuguese Festival on Saturday and Sean’s brothers for a barbe or in South African terms a Brie on Sunday.  It was great to be able to spend some quality time with the family.

Nic also spoilt us with Kiwi dip – yum! and “coffee and milk”, we had one for you Pop.