I WILL undoubtedly e-mail you

Its Christina, From Tembe Elephant Park, Hope you remember me.I still read your bog and watch your vedi’s from time to time.
Glad to know that you are having the time of your life.

Kind Regards
Christina
Hi Christina:
Well, I’m home now, and it’s cold and snowy, and I miss elephants and antelope and giraffes.
Thanks for dropping in, and leaving a note. Say “Hi” to everyone at the office and to Ernest.
ttyl,
~m

Just checked your blog and found the giraffe pics. A bit gory, but that’s life (and death) in the bush. Sad such a beautiful creature has to meet such an undignified end, though.

*** It was very sad. It’s too bad that birth control for animals wasn’t easier so that culling was unnecessary.

Welcome back to The Great White North! You got out of JHB not a minute too soon – hear there were thousands at the airport to meet the conquering rugby heroes on Tuesday. Have you recovered from that awful flight yet, or are you still waking up at strange hours? Bet your family was glad to see you in one piece after such an absence and so many experiences.

*** It’s getting better. I went to sleep early most nights and have gradually been able to sleep through and wake up at a somewhat normal hour. Work on Monday, so I’ve got to get things lined up properly. It’s coming . . .
And the airport was a problem enough without the football crowds!!
Will check your site occasionally for more pics of your adventures. All the best for a happy return to work. MT
*** Thanks MT. Hope you’ll keep in touch and let me know when your trip is coming up so we can share more adventures.

Glad you survived the drive home. Found your tea plantation on the ‘net. You should know by now that any place ending in ‘kloof’ or ‘kop’ involves heights and twisting roads! Checked the R71 in the road atlas and the route you took has little dots alongside the track showing mountain passes most of the way. It may have been a harrowing drive, but think of the story you’ll have to tell. Hope you took pics from the tea place. The write-up said the views were fantastic. The melktart was not mentioned, but bet it was good as well. Those Afrikaans ladies sure know how to bake. Know what you mean about the road signs. Found on the last trip that many of the signs show the ‘new’ names, but the maps and atlases haven’t caught up to the changes. Most confusing, esp. if you were driver as well as navigator. Must be time for you to turn your car in – or are you driving back to JHB for that?

*** And some of the signs that were changed are in the process of being changed back, as there have been constitutional challenges of the name changes re insufficient consultation with stakeholders. Louis Trichardt is again the name, it’s one of the challenges. ***

Think you are leaving for home soon. Imagine – what luck – to be in SA the weekend they play England for the rugby world cup!! (Ha ha) There will either be partying or mourning by Saturday night. Best be off the roads no matter what the result. There will be copious amounts of liquid refreshments consumed. Read on-line that there has been a run on biltong worldwide in anticipation of the match (NOT kidding!).

Have a restful day or two before you start that long journey back. Last year it took me forty hours door-to-door …. Pietermaritzburg – Durban – JHB – Dakar – Washington – Detroit – home. Was pooped for days – but would do it again in a minute. Hope to, soon, before I get too old and decrepit. Safe trip, grannym! Best regards from MT
*** Hm-m-m-m. I would have taken the bus to JHB, had a day’s rest, then taken the plane. Planes are the world’s worst invention – or maybe it’s just airports. I CANNOT believe the s*** they put you through at the airports now. I got to JHB at 4 p.m. for a 7:45 flight, and just barely made it, and still didn’t have time to collect my return of VAT. At Paris, they put us all through *extensive* security procedures (took me 20 minutes to get through, as they checked every button, inside your socks, had to unload backpack several times, open camera cases and empty etc), though we had undergone same at JHB and were just going from one plane to another with no contact with the outside world. Right now I’m of the opinion that I will never again go anywhere I can’t get to by train.

I worked the advance polls with someone who was from South Africa but she wouldn’t share anything with me. I’ve worked with people who lived in South Africa and it always sounded so fascinating. One girl talked about how “well off” her family was, the servants they had and how wonderful J’burg was. (Time was late 70s)

Guess you are on the final countdown, trying to cram in as much as you can before that looooooong flight home. Maybe you will sleep all 12 000 kms or whatever it is. My ankles are swelling just thinking about it.

Too bad about your jacarandaphobia. I always thought them very pretty trees, and much more exotic than any of ours. But I know they are in the bad books of every good SA horticulturalist as they are attempting to wipe out invader species throughout the country. Think they came originally from S. America

*** Yep they did. ***

and liked the conditions so much they got out of control. Ditto the lantana. I love that, but my SA cousin shrieks in horror, “Noxious weed!” every time I admire one.

*** They have acres and acres of some stuff I’m sure is loosestrife too, but they call it Patterson’s Revenge or something**
*** My favourite tree here so far is the Bottle Brush, which is the name for that tree I didn’t know when I posted the pictures.
It’s the one with the bright red fuzzy ‘tails’***

As for the thatchaphobia …. you’ll soon be home under a strong roof – one with no creepy-crawlies (except the occasional raccoon – saw your previous entries on your blog before you left home in the summer). When the cold wind sweeps across the lake from Buffalo in November – THEN you will be missing the thatch and the nu-nus it contains!

*** Are you implying that my opinions might be swayed by the weather??? ***

Re roads there – they never go through the freeze-thaw cycle, so the asphalt remains reasonably good for many years. The dirt roads are another story as you know – either dusty washboards or quagmires. These destroy the suspension in no time. The car bodies hold up quite well for many years as salt is not needed in the winter, but if you live near the coast, the paint job is pitted very quickly with the salt spray. The real problems concerning the roads are the number of unlicensed drivers and/or overloading of poorly maintained vehicles as no doubt you have observed.

Hope you have enjoyed your stay in Polokwane. Will watch your blog to see if you manage one last entry before your flight. If this is the last (for THIS trip to SA), I want to say it was great hearing about your adventures and sharing travel experiences with you, grannym!
*** Well, this may be my last entry from here, but will be posting lots of pics and video when I get home, so hope you can stick around for some of that. Regardless, it was wonderful having you aboard and sharing views about the place. I still have a lot of things to think over before I get too opinionated, but can say that on the whole it’s been a great experience despite the challenges. You have to expect challenges when you travel even if it’s with a tour group, never mind when you book everything sight unseen over the ‘net
Fale gahle as they say up here . . .
~granny m ***
Have a safe trip home and a wonderful reunion with your family and friends! Sala gahle! MT