Highs and Lows and Thanks

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Best and Worst Experiences

Ellie:
Worst - Having a nosebleed and altitude sickness in the Rocky Mountains
Best - Lion Cubs

Jack:
Worst - Falling off the golf cart and getting an ear infection
Best - Seeing the Southern Right Whales and Cheetahs (but not at the same time!)

Mark:
Worst - Jack falling off the golf cart
Best - 1st Safari

Annabel:
Worst - Never getting a night of uninterrupted sleep
Best - 1st Safari and Alcatraz

Best Country: South Africa
Worst Country: America

Best Meal:
Mark - Lunch in Cape Town for his birthday
Annabel - Dinner in Hermanus
Ellie - Steak at Spier
Jack - Birthday meal at Hard Rock cafe San Francisco

Worst Meal:
Mark - Nadi; trad fijian restaurant
Annabel - Chinese fast food in Monterey
Ellie - Fajitas in Nairobi
Jack - Anything with food that he didn't like

Best Animal:
Mark - Whales
Annabel - Elephants
Ellie - Sea Otter
Jack - Cheetah/Whales/Chameleon

Worst Animal:
Mark and Jack - Cockroach in Fiji
Annabel and Ellie - Spider in Fiji

Funniest Moment:
When Jack hid in the wardrobe and Ellie opened it, Jack roared at her and she nearly fainted.

Scariest Moment:
Mark - Pulling onto the wrong side of the road in the US
Annabel - The Spider
Ellie - Making the connection in Brisbane
Jack - First Rollercoaster ride

Tear-inducing Moment:
Mark - Kids not going to sleep
Annabel - Jack falling off the golf buggy
Ellie - Being ill in Monterey
Jack - Falling off the golf buggy

Silliest Moment:
Wearing blankets and looking like wusses on Safari in South Africa

Painful Moment:
Mark - Breaking his Toe
Annabel - Falling over in Fiji (Leaving Kenya comes a close second)
Ellie - Falling off the curb and smashing into a lamp post
Jack - Falling off the golf buggy

Strangest thing:
A drunk/mental man giving the kids a dollar each in Las Vegas

In summary...

We spent 138 hours of the holiday travelling to airports, sitting in airports, travelling on planes and then travelling to our next accommodation - phew! That's over 5 days of the 63.

Thanks go to Mum and Dad (W) for looking after the cat - he's never been so pampered.
To Mum and Dad (P) for looking after the rabbits, even though one didn't make it back home :-( and to both parents for checking up on the house and looking after our cars.

Thanks also to Wendy at African Welcome who did a fantastic job of organising the African part of the trip and shipping Jack's teddies from Outsdhoorn to Cape Town.

We also have to mention Mandila at Governors Camp in Kenya as he made our safaris a real adventure.

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