Coming to the tail end of my adventure, I donned the safari khakis and got wild in Kruger National Park, South Africa.
We spent four nights in tents under a starry South African sky, listening to baboons, lions and elephant calling to one another in the depths of the night. One elephant came into our camp during the day, nuzzling a tent which contained an unsuspecting sleeper. After seeing all the uprooted trees littered around the park, if just one of those elephants felt a little hormonal, it could surely trample the whole camp.
We rose at 4.30am each morning for a 3-4 hour walk. It's much easier to appreciate the sheer enormity of rhino, elephants and hippo when you're on foot (particularly on my foot). We also spotted leopard, buffalo, impala, chameleons, giraffe, mongoose, eagles, vultures, zebra, wildebeest and even the odd dung beetle rolling its precious poo cargo up a hill. I was losing faith in our quest for lions until we stalked four (two female, a male and a cub!) hunting on the last night. They were so majestic and had such presence. With only headlights and a spot lighting the way, it was always a bit of a worry when we lost sight of them. It would have been the perfect scene for a horror movie where the guests get picked off one by one.
Unfortunately, my very battered camera decided to pack up and so it threw in the towel after day one and revived itself on the last day - typical. But on the way back to Joburg, camera or no camera, we visited a very very spectacular Dam (of which I can't remember the name). It was so grand, breathtaking, wonderful *insert other adjectives here* that it was impossible to condense into a tiny digital frame. The drop was extreme and a blue river trickled far below. The scantily barricaded gorge could bring even those unafraid of heights into a sweat.
So now I have two nights left in Joburg to read, relax and contemplate my navel. It's been the most amazing five months but all good things must come to an end and it will be great to spend Chrissy and new year with everyone (including the new 20 kg puppy).
