Happy Birthday to me - but to be honest the day was a bit of a travelling blur!
To make sure the 7 of us catching the South African airways flight, at 1310, we had a wake up call at 3am, a light snack at 3.30 and were on the road back to the airstrip by 4am after saying goodbye to the Ngaga staff ( today's picture is Ngaga camp communal area). We made good time and were there just after 7am - where breakfast was to be set up by the team from Lango camp who were a smidgen late and behind us! They had the pilots with them because they stay overnight on Tuesdays as they fly in the fresh food and on Wednesdays they fly the guests out. Yesterday however they also flew in the EU ambassador who was on a fact finding mission; the EU provide some of project funding so I hope he was impressed as we were. He will fly back on Thursday after the new guests are flown in - the system works like clockwork!
Just before getting on the plane we said goodbye to Stephanie - probably the best and most enthusiastic guide we have ever had - she did a great job not just with the wildlife but also with managing the human frailties of our group - indeed by the end everyone was at least laughing and joking together - proving that through adversity a team can be blended!
On the way back we had another refuelling stop at D'Olliombo but this time it was quick as there wasn't a President in sight.
Everything else went smoothly albeit we had several checks before finally boarding our flight; I have to say though that I have never had my yellow fever vaccination card out so often.
Back in South Africa we said goodbye to Carol, Daniel and their family along with their guide Gavin - they were off to the Kalahari to stay at Tswalu - the description of habituated meerkats and the possibility of aardvark put another destination on our list. They had been likeminded nature enthusiasts and the source of great conversation; indeed they were our source of sanity amidst the 'interesting' human behaviours of our fellow jeep members!
I decided to postpone my birthday until tomorrow - we made it to our lovely room in the Intercontinental hotel - after rejecting a smoking room - ugh- and we were reunited with our bag that we had left behind. We then flopped on the bed after ordering fruit and cheese from room service - the thought of a slap up restaurant meal was beyond us - we will enjoy it more tomorrow!