Out of Africa...

the name of the cheesy African merchandise shop in the airport departures lounge of Johannesburg's main airport. After over a week in the tents of Mankwe game reserve in a world so far removed from the tacky, commercialism of real life, it was an interesting sight.

I'm not really sure where to start when it comes to describing those 13 days. I could start with some adjectives like amazing, awe inspiring, but really they don't do it justice. I feel like I've visited another world, and when the big air conditioned coach came to get us to take us to the airport it sort of shattered a dream.

So what was South Africa like, in brief, because I could go on for a long time.

Well, it was cold, very cold, at night. we all wrapped up and sat around the big fire pit huddling together with our fleeces and coats on. The first few days everyone shivered at night and in the morning. We had porridge and cooked breakfasts every morning to try to warm us up.
Then in was hot, during the day the sun came up and the temperature rose steadily and predictable so that slowly we all shed our gloves and got our sun glasses and sun cream out.
This was our daily cycle, warm clothes in the morning, slowly lost, then in the evening regained.

We stayed in a family run game reserve, with the amazing Dougal, Jack Bower of the game reserves, can do anything, placed himself between us and three angry Rhinos (literally), that sort of person.

We saw amazing animals, that can't really be described, and we ate lots of them!! Obviously not Rhino, giraffe or elephant...that would be stupid. But Wildebeest and Eland are lovely (spot the carnivore!)

I've been spiked repeatedly by a variety of species of Acacia bush, made a fool of myself in front of three lecturers and spent 25 hours on various planes.

So all in all, I'm warn out, happy, and have billions of photos!! Oh and I love traveling on open top jeeps!


P.S. The circle of life doesn't play every time the sun rises, but it was beautiful.