Well, last night was a very disrupted night. Something hit Dick, whether it was food poisoning or stomach bug, but he was up several times in the night throwing up. (He later decided it was likely a bad reaction to the malaria drug he had just started to take). This was quite disturbing because we knew we were going to have a long drive getting from Johannesburg to our lodge by Kruger National Park. In the night, Patti was doing research to see if we needed to spend another day or two and then get ourselves out to Kruger, Dick was insistent: nope, we needed to go. We were down in the lobby by 7 AM for our pick up from our bus. Dick managed to choke down five grapes, a cup of tea, and a third of a piece of dry white toast. He braced himself for a long grueling day in the bus.
We made another stop to pick up the remainder of people who are compatriots on our tour. There were total of 22 of us altogether. Mostly from Europe, Canada, and Asia. Our bus driver’s name was Benny and he got us from Johannesburg all the way to White River just outside of Kruger National Park.
We made a quick stop in Pretoria which is the administrative capital of the South African government. This is where Nelson Mandela operated as President. We could only see if form outside a fence, but it was interesting to see the government buildings.
Dick was less perky and alert than he normally would be, but still was able to enjoy the changing landscape. The bus made several stops, including the most interesting truck stop either of us had been at. It was called the petrol port. Our driver told us to bring on cameras along because it would be a surprise. And indeed there was. Inside an electrified fence, there was a wide variety of animals: impalas, ostriches, rhinos, including a baby, Cape buffalo, Eland antelope, and a number of others. We got the requisite photo to make it look rather like a postcard that we were there. Patti got a quick lunch and stocked up on snacks for safari time. Dick was unable to enjoy anything beside some dry crackers and sparkly water. His stomach was still not good. He was able to get some snoozing in as we were driving and was so so relieved when we finally arrived at our resort.
Another stop we went to was an area that was known for all kinds of citrus fruit. As Californians, we recognized the acres, and acres of orange trees, as well as other citrus and macadamia nuts. Apparently this area produces much of the the citrus for the region. People enjoyed buying fresh fruit, and Patti got to taste the local dried beef, which was hanging from the ceiling.
And she also really enjoyed the nursery part of this stop and giggled at the fact that so many of the plants were succulents and other plants that are growing in our backyard back in California: it was especially fun to see the dragonfruit, avocados, and a whole variety of succulents. It makes us ponder that the climate, especially in this area is very similar to California in terms of what can grow there.
Once we finally got to our lodge, which name is Ndhula Tented Lodge: nine hours after having gotten picked up earlier in the day. We were greeted by a lovely staff, who would take good care of us the next three days. We got checked in, found out which tent number we would be in, ours was number 19. And then we signed some paperwork, including a release acknowledging that there are wild animals on the grounds, although they told us not the dangerous kind.
We were escorted to our tent, and Dick gratefully laid down and promptly fell asleep. Neither one of us had been super drawn to "glamping", glamorous camping, in the past, but we had to admit this was lovely. There was a very comfortable, king-size bed, with an electric mattress pad and a heater. Also a nice bathroom in our tent with a shower. Both of us slept for a while and then Patti and Dick to tried to eat a little dinner at the lodge. The dinner was lovely food, of which Dick managed to choke down a little bowl of soup and some rice, which didn’t stick with him for long. Soon after we finished eating, we went back and by 8:30, we were in bed for the night. Of course, what that means is waking up about 3 o’clock in the morning because we had been sleeping a pretty long time. But, Dick was grateful that he was feeling much better and could be ready for our safari adventure in the park.
No comments:
Post a Comment