The last report from Africa

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Having finished my volunteering work and organised various food parcels to be sent out, I decided it was time for a holiday, believe it or not! I went with two friends at Mozambique for a week and boy, was it an adventure! We decided to go for the full experience so as opposed to taking up the offer of a lift, we opted for the challenge of public transport - it truly was a 'full experience'! First we caught a kombi to Manzini and from there another to Maputo, the capital of Mozambique. We were squashed into teeny tiny spaces, next to a smelly man or two with the odd chicken scuttling around the floor while listening to the sound of goat hooves tap dancing on the roof! We had to laugh, it was our only means of survival!

After the overnight stop in a particularly 'smelly' Maputo, we had another bus trip to look forward to - we were dreading it. We were warned that it could take anywhere between 8 and 14 hours so we crossed our fingers and waited with baited breath!

When we finally arrived in Tofo, a mere 8 hours later, the sight that we were met with instantly dissolved any feelings of weariness or frustration. I jumped into my togs and ran for the ocean, diving into a sensation of absolute bliss. We were in paradise. Crystal clear water, sparkling white sand, and beautiful blue skies. The uncomfortable, sweaty, stinky journey was definitely worth it.

We spent the next few days enjoying our surroundings, eating and drinking to our hearts content. I enrolled in a diving course so it was a bit of a challenge having to be up at 7am every morning but it was worth it. I loved scuba diving and I managed to get my PADI Open Water qualification which means I'll now be able to dive the Great Barrier Reef when I get there - one of my big ambitions.

The other girls were on Doxy, an anti-malarial which makes you extra sensitive to the sun. Guess what? They got burnt but not just burnt, their thighs were fried like pork sausages, even with factor 50 sun screen applied every couple of hours! Lydia, the Irish one, ended up being hospitalised on her return. I have never ever seen burns so bad. Lots of credit to her though, she took it all in her stride, never moaned or anything.

Despite the sunburn, we all had a great time and returned to base in good humour after a very uncomfortable 16 hour trip in time for Xmas.

Xmas was a pretty quiet affair. We ate dinner of gammon, turkey, roast potatoes, cous cous and salad (?!) on the evening of the 24th in a thunder storm. No power cut this time though. We went to a very happy clappy church service on Christmas Day and then relaxed, opened a couple of prezzies and ate too much, no change there then!

Thank you so much to everyone that called to wish me a happy Christmas. It was lovely to hear your voices. I am now in Jo'burg awaiting a flight to Perth on the 28th where I will meet my Pops. I can't wait to see him! I hope that you all had a great Christmas and have a wonderful New Year. Make the most of the festivities while they last. Be lovely to hear the stories, I'm sure they'll be a few!

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