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After another animal-filled safari at Madikwe Hills , we boarded the small plane that would take us back to Johannesburg and the perils of the Johannesburg Airport. All I can say is, don't let a porter get hold of your luggage and don't trust the agents at the South African Airlines counter. Upon returning to the states, we discovered that our United VISA card had been compromised . The only place we used it - at the South African Air counter to confirm our flight. VISA did a great job of catching the bogus charges, closing our account and issuing new cards.

But back to South Africa, Brown and Keene chartered a bus to take the group to the West Cape and our accommodations at Birkenhead House in Hermanus. The staff was waiting at the curb to greet us with glasses of chilled champagne, complete with floating cherries. Then we toured the sprawling complex that seems to tumble down the hillside, one gorgeous space opening on another.

Our room, #8, was up a private marble staircase and included balconies, front and back. Flower petals decorated the bed in an elegant greeting, along with a bottle of chilled champagne, which we never drank. Vivid colored art decorated the walls, an interesting complement to the traditional furnishing. Personally, I could have lived in the bathroom with its oval tub, heated towel racks and heated floor.

Although we were exhausted from safari, we couldn't miss the cocktail gathering where other members of the cruise were joining us. In a living room, or salon as they call it in South Africa, we visited with old and new friends while oohing over the ocean view out the large glass windows. We enjoyed another elegant dinner, I tried the Kudu, before crashing for the night. But there's no rest for the weary. Tomorrow is shark viewing day.

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