November 4, 5 & 6 Final Post

So, I'm now at home but updating the last of the blog. What an amazing trip this was. I met wonderful people who I hope will keep in touch.  The countries I visited were interesting. The animals I saw were awesome.  I feel very blessed to be able to have this opportunity.

November 4

Got up at 5am for our first game drive in Botswana.  Our game ranger Mapa seemed inexperienced and we didn't get to see much except for a lot of birds.  Most of the people in our vehicle let Lindy know about the game ranger so she arranged for another one for our evening drive.  Lindy is amazing.  I hope we can keep in touch.

I took a short walk into town after the morning game drive but didn't go far.  I did encounter a dog who was very friendly.  I needed to update my blog and the internet only works in the lobby and pool area so I headed back to the hotel.  It took over 6 hours for 70 pics to download (previous post).  The front desk was really good about letting me leave my computer with them so my pics could be put on my blog.  Mom slept most of the afternoon and I lazed by the pool.

Gabriel, our new game ranger was much better and we got to see lots of Cape Buffalo, Elephants and were lucky to see 2 Lionesses. The terrain is different here and there are a lot of Buffalo but no Wildebeest.  Mom opted out of going on the evening drive since she wasn't feeling that well.  I think the drives are a bit too bumpy and cold for her anyway.  Since my mom wasn't with me, I sat with Rene and narrated for her since she can't see.  She's my ears and I'm her eyes. We make a great pair.  It was very enjoyable giving her a blow by blow of the scenes since I love to talk anyway. haha

We had a close encounter with a huge herd of Cape Buffalo when we all took a mid-drive break.  We all had to stay on the opposite side of the trucks beside the Buffalo.  They just stare at you and as the rangers say, you never know what they're thinking so stay on this side of the vehicle.  Okay, no problem.  Got back to the hotel and had our farewell dinner.  It is sad to leave but I think everyone is looking forward to going home except for the travelling part.  We all exchanged email addresses.  Got back to the room and was greeted by a large flying animal that hit my head.  It didn't hurt as much as it startled me.  I couldn't figure out what it was, nor could I find it again.  Had to pack and hit the sack early since we have one more game drive before we head out in the morning.  Before I went to bed, I looked around since I didn't really want that thing in our room while I slept.  I saw it on the top of the blinds on the window.  It looked like a HUGE fly about the size of a walnut.  I covered it with a cup and it started to scream loudly....GREEEEK, GREEEK, GREEEK.  I believe it was a cricket.  Not just any cricket, but the loudest African cricket in all of Africa. haha. He stopped cricketing after about a minute.  After telling Mr. Cricket to watch his legs and wings while I carefully slid the saucer under the cup hoping not to injure it, I put the cup and saucer outside my door on the ground.  I then lifted the cup to reveal him and of course took a picture.  Went to bed.

November 5

Up at 5am for our last game drive.  Mom stayed in bed.  When I left the room, Mr.Cricket was on his back still on the saucer. I must have either given him a heart attack, injured him, or he was just old.  I felt really bad in any case.  After the game drive, was back to the hotel for breakfast and board our bus back to Zimbabwe for our flight to Johannesburg.  Mom and I got business class again. Said our goodbyes and Lindy gave us all vouchers to go to the lounge at the airport in Johannesburg.  The lounge enables you to have free food, drink (even alcohol) and wifi with comfy chairs and lounges.  Saw some tour mates there so we were able to say a final goodbye.  We all share a special bond since we experienced this amazing trip together.

Mom took a nap while I finished my last minute Africa shopping at the airport. I'm not a big shopper but there really wasn't a lot of time to shop on this trip & I'll probably never get to Africa again so I wanted to stock up.  Came back to the lounge and emailed Bob.  We had arrived at Johannesburg airport at 3:30pm but our flight to London didn't leave until 10:30pm so there was lots of time to kill.  We boarded our plane to London and it was very empty.  As soon as the 'fasten seatbelt' sign went off after take off I went looking for a row of seats for myself and a row for mom.  Found them no problem. Got to sleep horizontally and it was great.  Slept through most of the 11 hour flight. Woke up feeling pretty good.

November 6

Arrived in London and surprised mom with a 6 hour stay at The Yotel in Heathrow.  The Yotel is small rooms with comfy beds, TV, desk with free wifi, bathroom with toilet, sink and shower.  Mom was thrilled and surprised.  We had arrived in London at 7:30am and wasn't flying to Vancouver until 5:00pm so it was nice to have somewhere to hang out and sleep for a while.  Mom did sleep and I read.  We both had showers and free hot chocolate before we headed to our terminal for check in.  Got mom a wheelchair again since the walk is long at Heathrow.  You also get to go through security faster when you have a wheelchair.  Had lunch at an English style restaurant.  We both ate roast beef with yorkshire pudding and it was better than the pub in London previously.  Then went last minute England shopping.

Got on our plane which was full unfortunately but was able to sleep okay on this flight too.  British Airways is great.  I would recommend them.  Arrived at YVR on time and went quickly through customs electronically which was great.  Had to wait a while for our luggage which was one of the last bags to appear. We had been able to check our luggage through to Vancouver from Zimbabwe so we weren't exactly sure they would actually make it, but they did, making this trip flawless.We had no catastrophes or mishaps during the whole trip. The only complaint I would have about this tour is that there wasn't enough time to really enjoy the beautiful hotels we stayed at thoroughly. But that's not really a complaint, just a desire.

Got picked up at the airport by the limousine service provided by the tour company and headed to Mom's place where Bob was waiting.  YAYYYY!!!!  It's great to be home with my sweetie and best friend. WHAT A FANTASTIC TRIP!!  Here are my final pics.  Again, thank you for sharing my trip with me.

Lindy, our tour guide in the front seat of our game drive vehicle

Mapa, our first game ranger

My first baboon shot

Chobe National Park, Botswana

Kudu

Kudu

In front of our hotel

Friendly dog (doesn't look like it in the picture though)

Hotel grounds

Gabriel, our more experienced game driver quizzing us on all the skulls

A few baboons with babies

Baboons

Ant hill with bush on top

Cape Buffalo

Lioness

Goodbye Lions of Africa

Hotel view of Zambezi River

Farewell dinner

Curried Crocodile

Jiminey Cricket

Business class lunch

Bathrooms in Airport at Johannesburg.  The tiles slope down towards the taps instead of sinks

Lunch at Heathrow

Heathrow

Our Yotel room

About $80 Cdn for 5 hours (this is the view from the top bunk when mom was sleeping)

Home at last with Bob

The other man in my life, Kenny

This is for my tour mates (clockwise from top left-husband Bob, stepson Kyle, son-in-law Ricky, granddaughter Rory, daughter's ex-boyfriend Lucas, Mom, daughter Carmyn, granddaughter Feena, stepdaughter Leanne, daughter Kelsey, Moi, & front & center Kenny our dog.

Here are some videos of feeding Jake the Elephant, & the Lion Encounter.  Enjoy!

Kendra Video #5  This video is 7 minutes long.  It has some good moments.

Kendra Video #6  This video is 2:30 minutes long.