This was a great trip! I can’t remember what or when or who I told you. It’s amazing that we’ve been back only about 10 days---it seems like longer ago that we were there.

We could not have asked for more glorious weather! I had expected rather iffy weather in South Africa, esp. in Cape Town. It IS spring, after all. We had NO rain, and the only day the weather was marginal was the morning we went down to Cape Point. Too bad! We had been atop Table Mountain first thing---just as the lift opened. As it turned out, this was really lucky because later on in the day…while we were at Cape Point… the power failed. Those poor people who were in the Table cable car had to be winched down by hand!!! God! Sure glad it wasn’t moi!

We were in Cape Town 4 days. Our guide said that each morning we would be up and about as though we were going for the first cable car of the day. He said this was necessary because if we gave it 4 shots, we would probably make it up there one day! Needless to say, we made it on the first morning, so no sweat after that. And, as it turned out, our weather made a real liar out of him. He was the BEST guide in the world! Absolutely! He lives in Pretoria, and does not really like Cape Town all that much because of its fickle weather! He tells us we were extraordinarily lucky! Not only did it not rain, it was a shorts day every day! Couldn’t believe it!

What’s not to like about South Africa. The people are friendly, they speak English, and things are so cheap! I couldn’t believe the fabulous dinner you could have for $20 a couple! Incredible! And they were all dying for tourists! Of course there were a lot of Europeans there, but tourism is way, way down since Sept. 11. We stayed in some absolutely charming places where they thanked us for coming, even expressed sympathy for the attacks. One place, way out in the middle of nowhere, near the ostrich farms---it’s the place with the wisteria---even decorated their dessert table with red, white, and blue. This was the day the air war started. Scary.

We started out watching CNN daily. After about a week of anthrax, we decided it was better just not to watch. Funny thing. I feel the same way now! Why the hell worry about something you can do nothing about??!

Namibia was one of the main reasons we chose this particular trip. I just had to get to those dunes at Sossusvlei! How gorgeous they are!

We stayed at that Desert Lodge, another gorgeous place that is “always full”. 40% full when we were there. These poor people are dying! Anyway, we stayed there overnight, got up early the next morning to head out to the dunes before it got too hot to climb them. Wandering around after breakfast (you know how EARLY Chas and I get up on vacation!), I happened into that hot air balloon. I ran back to our room, got my camera, and got some great shots!

Anyway, these dunes are in a National Park. The most photogenic ones were right along a PAVED road! Incredible! Amongst these was ONE that people were allowed to climb. We stopped several times for pictures, but continued onward. Finally we got to a point where we could go no further. No more good road. We transferred to a 4X4 and continued. It was great! Dunes all around! I though I’d died and gone to heaven! We finally arrived at the other ONE dune that people are permitted to climb. Since we were so early, the pictures were great, it was still not too hot, the SAND wasn’t too hot on the feet, but only FOUR of us (out of 10) climbed the dune!!

There was Chas, me, one guy about 65, I would say, and a 75-yr-old “lady” and I do mean LADY. It was rough climbing, really tiring. Every now and then we would stop for a breath and to switch leaders---it was hardest to go first, easier to step in someone else’s footsteps. About half way up, Ruth (the lady) said to me, as we walked, “I just want to know when we’re getting to the f-ing top!” Then, “I don’t know if I know you well enough to say this.” Well, I lost it! Thought I would die laughing! And here I was, being careful not to say “shit”! We did finally get there, then couldn’t figure out how to get the hell down. It’s really high up there! Yeah, you might say we really liked Namibia!

Then to Botswana. What a drag, because we had to fly from Windhoek to J-burg, then J-burg to Vic Falls, then drive to Chobe. This got all screwed up by our SAA flight Windhoek-J-burg, which was 2 hours late. So of course we missed our connection, our guide hadn’t been able to come with us, had to have other people meet us to hassle the airlines to get us to Vic Falls. We did make it, Chas and I in business class! The real hair-raiser was whether or not we could make it across the Botswana border by 6 pm, when it closes for the day. Long story short, we got through at 5:55! What a day from hell! And if ONE of us had NOT already had our visa, he would have had to stand in that line to get one at the airport and we ALL would have been screwed. Boy, was I glad we had, like suckers, gone through that agency in the US and paid a fortune to get ours!

I don’t need to tell you how lovely Mowana is. Gorgeous! (Again only half full!) And we hadn’t expected much out of the game drives, only because our safari of 3 years ago had been so fantastic. But we saw great game! Also we saw one of the BEST things you could ever see. A herd of elephants came upon a pride of lions, who were devouring their kill. We watched as the elephants approached, neither group aware of the other. We knew that all hell  was about to break loose, but not that we would be so lucky as to have the lions run towards US!! It was really great when they saw one another. The KING of the Jungle saying “Oh shit!” We really laughed!

And then of course, we loved Vic Falls. There again, all those poor people are dying for tourists, esp. those poor guys selling the carvings, etc. they are so poor. It’s really sad! Our local guide in Vic Falls was a real sweetheart as well. She’s prominent in the pictures. We went to visit a school which, it turned out, had been where she went to elementary school. This was the first time she had worked with Odyssey, so she had not been aware that we were going there. She had tears in her eyes as she saw her old teachers. It was sweet.

The falls themselves were great. She said this is really the best time of year to visit, because the falls are at their lowest and you can actually SEE them. She said if you go between Feb-May, the mist is so great that it’s all you can see. Plus, your camera gets very wet. Ga would not like this, trust me!

We did the helicopter, which was fantastic! Then, on our last afternoon, we had free time. We were shopped out (can you believe it??), didn’t feel like wasting time at the hotel, however lovely it might be, so we went on a game drive in Zambia. This in the heat of day, when the likelihood of seeing animals is not great. What the heck! Not 200 yards inside the game park, we suddenly found ourselves surrounded on three sides by elephants; then one trumpeted and charged us. Our driver/guide was really nervous! I have NEVER seen one of these guys nervous! They’re always cool! He kept trying to back up, but the other vehicle (with the rest of our group) was behind us. Finally he told us all to bang on the side of the vehicle with our open palms. This scared the elephants to one side of the road, where they grazed and were happy. We were no longer in their midst, even though we were still near. Later our guide told us that the reason he had been so nervous was that we had indeed been surrounded on three sides by elephants, and that this is a no-no for safety!

So the guide turned off the engine and we took pictures. When he tried to restart it, no go! So here we were, next to a herd of killer elephants, the jaws of whom we had just narrowly escaped, and the goddamn car won’t start. He kept trying! Finally, all the guys got out and pushed! It almost turned over, but then we were at a hill and they couldn’t push fast enough. Finally we had to push it to one side of the road and pile in with the others. We were hysterical with laughter! The vehicle was clearly crowded and I was sure there was going to be some major bitching about the price, once this was over. We had bargained for 2 vehicles for 10 people. As it turned out, the afternoon was so great that nobody complained at all! We saw everything---and up close! They even took us on a little walking safari to within 5 yards of five white rhino; we were in the company of a guard who guards these rhino against poachers 24h a day! And he had a huge rifle! It was cool, really! Way cool! I then took the guy’s pix with the digital and showed it to him. He loved it! I still have to put it on the website. I sent the print to him with friends who are going on the next Odyssey tour.

So a good time was had by all. To top it off, our flight home was only 40% full, so a 17:30h flight that could have been quite uncomfortable was great! Chas had 4 seats to sleep on; I had three. The good news is that we were able to put the arm rests up and lie down; the people in Business class don’t have that luxury. The armrests are not movable, even though they have those nice comfy seats. This time the paupers ruled!

God, anything I forgot? How much of this have I already told you? I know I sent the picture of the elephant and the monkeys; that’s all I remember. I have been closeted with PhotoShop!