South Africa Late into Cape Town on the 12th. Checked into the Table Bay Hotel, where we had stayed 5 years ago. We had the honeymoon package. Don't get excited, anyone, just a bit of creative room-booking on Georgia's part. It's cheaper and comes w breakfast. It also means it looks like a florist's shop exploded in our room. Rose petals everywhere! Have to feel sorry for the chamber maid! Floor, bed, desk, they really went to town! Including in the ...

Cover photo: dune ridin' Had a truly spectacular flight to Swakopmund. First over the red dunes, and continued over miles of sand. Flew over deserted (ha-ha) diamond mining camps in the middle of nowhere, straight west to the coast and then north. Passed 2 seperate shipwrecks, the one from 1909 now easily 500m from the coast. Also saw colony after colony of seals and loads of flamingoes near the salt flats. Probably the most scenic flight I have ever been ...

Namibia-#100!!! 05 Jan '11 How do you make a German tourist crazy? Assign him a seat on a 20 seat aircraft, then tell only 50% of the 18 passengers "sit anywhere you like." Good Lord! Amusing at first, and then you just wanted the music to stop so they would all grab a chair. Late into Windhoek, just before dusk. I saw my first ever "Yield to warthogs" road sign. Had an eponymous beer to c...

Chitabe Camp. 02 Jan 2011,con't Arrived in time to catch the only other two couples at the camp finishing their lunch. Had half a sandwich before siesta time. Very hot here. Our evening game drive was shared w the Belgian couple. The terrain here is very different. We are in the Okavango delta proper now, and the camp is on an "island". It is very marshy in spots and mostly sandy otherwise. Wild sage everywhere and many dead Leadwood trees lend and ee...

I have only a short time on line before we head off again, so I will have to cut and paste from my journal. No time to edit, I'm sorry if it's full of boring details. Botswana. 30 Dec 2010 Early breakfast in Joburg, sitting on the deck in already hot sun with lots of amazing fruit, and the always charming (if glacially slow) service. It remains so old world here. So gracious, loosely formal and almost overly...