A Day of Travel

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We started off this morning, up at 5:00 a.m., in order to have an early breakfast and be on our way to Cape Town International at 7:15 a.m. We flew direct to Johannesburg via British Air and were surprised to be served another hot breakfast. After landing at Johannesburg and collecting our bags, we were met in the arrivals area by our new guide, Mary-Anne.

She would be our driver and source of information for about the next four hours as we made our way to Mt. Sheba, a resort isolated in the hills of Mpumalanga. We stopped for lunch at a travel plaza that was also a nature preserve. It turns out Nando's (Peri-peri chicken) is actually a South African franchise. The Nando's in downtown Chicago, however, doesn't have views of emu, rhino, zebra, eland, sable antelope, blesbuk, or ostrich.

From there we continued on toward Mt. Sheba and the roads started a turn for the worse in terms of condition. What started with some potholes ended in a rock/gravel road for the final 15 km trek toward our hotel. Along the way, Mary-Anne continued to share with us her wealth of knowledge about South African history, particularly Zulu warfare.

Once we got checked in, it was time for a very nice dinner of hake (fish), fettuccini Alfredo, leek and potato soup, vegetables, and pancakes and ice cream for dessert. This hotel is really unique. As we write this blog, we are gathered around a coal fire, the source of heat for each room. We had dinner in an elegant dining room under a thatched roof. Hopefully we will have time to add a few pictures in the morning.

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