Goodbye Durban,Goodbye safari

We are on the bus heading - a few hours away to the airport ready to fly to Cape Town.

The trip is going well - the kids have had a little down time, not much, and the parents the same. Highlights: the Waterpolo and the pride of lions we saw on the night safari night.

The safari park was amazing. We entered it in the bus and immediately saw zebras and giraffes. The place we stayed, Hilltop, was not unsurprisingly on a hilltop with panoramic views and very cool units like African huts around the site, but quite luxurious. Signs on the wall warning against leaving the door open in case the baboons and monkeys come in and take things.

The night safari involved a 3 hour drive in an open jeep- see pictures. Initially we saw buffalo - in our case a single male who according to our guide Ephraim - would be grumpy as he would have been turfed out of the herd and would now have no breeding rights and forced to live alone. Then came the elephants,impala,nyala,weaver birds,dung beetles( the male pushing a huge ball of rhino dung and the female perched on top - yah for women's lib!). Next the rhinos,warthogs and a break for a cold drink. Night had then fallen and we commenced driving with lights, eyes peeled for the reflection of the animals' eyes. Then the highlight: first a single lioness and then 5 lions walking up the road, lopping in a very cat like fashion even lying in the road way. That arrogant way that only cats can do. We all got up close. Apparently they do not always see lions, sometimes only every 3-4 weeks. So lucky.

The early morning safari was equally as good although most of the boys had a bit of a sleep during it ( not just Pete). Things easier to spot but no lions. Could see the tracks where they had walked last night. Lots of birdlife including an odd bird with long tail feathers making it very awkward to fly. The males grow these long tail feathers during the breeding season which fall out when they mate. They sure looked awkward for flying- what we do for love!

Enough of the travel blog. We continue to be very impressed with your boys. It has been a privilege to travel with them

Jane