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Published: February 8th 2014
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Wow what a way to start our adventure!
We left London on December 23rd with a storm forecast to hit about 4pm - our flight was due to take off at 3, so we headed to the airport with our fingers crossed. The pilot came on the speaker to say the flight may be a little bumpy until we get to cruising altitude & boy he wasn't wrong. lt was the bumpiest take off we have ever had! The remainder of the flight was pretty uneventful until we arrived in Jo'Burg to a message from Mark & Kelly to say they were delayed leaving London & had missed their connection. We replied to the message & confirmed we would still be arriving in Durban as planned. It was a good thing we did as everyone thought we were on the same flights & also delayed. Gary's Dad Russell & brothers Matt & Josh met us at Durban airport. We had several days to catch up with the extended family & enjoy the beach. We spent our days swimming at the beach & in the pool, playing volleyball, cricket & board games, as well as making jelly, reading & relaxing. It
was great to catch up with everyone & spend Christmas together. During our time in Durban we were staying in a B&B, on the last morning we woke up to find that the B&B had been broken into overnight & one couple staying there had been completely cleaned out while they were sleeping. They lost money, a camera, jewelery as well as their passports. It so easily could have been us or Mark & Kelly. We were relieved to be checking out!
We left Durban & headed for Cape Town excited to be catching up with our friends from London. At the airport there was a big reunion as there were lots of other people also arriving. That evening we all headed to the waterfront to catch up properly over a couple of drinks.
We were all in Cape Town for Brendan & Romy's Wedding & they had organised some very exciting activities for everything. The first was a trip to Namibia for a 3 day kayaking trip down the Orange River which included a 10 hour bus ride from Cape Town. A group of 21 made the trip. We arrived at base camp around 8 pm New
Years Eve ready for a party.
New Years morning we were due at breakfast bright & early, some were brighter & earlier than others for reasons that won't be mentioned here (Ms Dempsey). We finally got on the river after lots of waiting for the crew and it was stunning. We spent 3 days paddling along, this included traversing rapids, battling into a strong head wind, and of course enjoying a cool beverage and the meals prepared by the guides. Some of us were better at staying afloat than others, but luckily we all enjoyed cooling off in the river so those who chose to dive in disguised the difficulties endured by others. At night we slept under the stars on the banks of the river.
Back in Cape Town the activities continued. We did a Langa Township tour that included drumming in the local community centre, trying local "beer", seeing the local women cooking sheeps heads ready to sell, walking through the community & seeing the different houses for the different classes.
We went to Stellenbosch for a day of wine tasting which was fantastic. We visited 4 different wineries beginning with bubbles a 9:30am. We
learnt about the wine making & grape growing processes. It was a great day & the drive back to Cape Town involved lots more wine & drinks as well as singing. There may even have been a brown eye or two at the other bus. We finished the day we a good old fashioned bbq (and more drinking, dancing and singing).
All the wedding guests were invited to a cocktail party hosted by the mother of the bride (Fiona). It was lovely to meet other wedding guests & friends that had only just arrived in Cape Town.
The day of the Wedding arrived & so did the perfect weather. The Roundhouse was a fantastic venue in a stunning location. The ceremony was lovely, we loved the idea to write letters to each other to be opened on their first anniversary. Romy looked spectacular along with the rest of the bridal party. Dinner & speeches were great with some good stories about Brendan & Romy. The party continued into the night with everyone having a great time. There have been whisperings of 134 Jaager Bombs being consumed, but I wouldn't know anything about that.
The day after the
Wedding we had a final picnic with everyone before heading to the airport to fly to Jo'Burg. It was sad to say goodbye as we wouldn't see some of our friends again for over a year.
The next day it was off to Kruger with Gary's parents & brothers. The roads were not in the best condition, there were potholes that were large enough to bathe in. We finally arrived at the Game Farm & met Kims friends from high school Debbie & Peter. It was a fantastic setting, you could cool off in the pool or sit on the deck & look out over the plains at the animals. We did game drives each evening & early each morning (5 am). It was wonderful & we saw lots of animals however the leopard still manages to allude us. We visited Moholoholo animal refuge. lt was great to see all the animals & learn about the issues they have with reintoducing them back into the wild or game parks.
Prior to going to Kruger we knew there was a big problem with rhino poaching but didn't realise just how bad it was. On average 3 rhino are poached
a day from Kruger. During our stay one of the rhino in our farm was poached. We didn't see the photos but were told the poor animal was completely hacked up. Following this we heard of an incident in the local town which resulted in one of the anti-poachers being stabbed, one of the poachers being shot dead & another 3 poachers being arrested. The crime in South Africa is terrible, it's such a fantastic country with so much potential but currently the corruption & crime is holding it back.
Our last few days in South Africa were spent in Jo' Burg catching up with family & relaxing by the pool. We headed back to London for a 3 day stopover which was a great chance to have one final catch up with friends before the South America adventure begins.
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