Cascades Sun City

... a large resort located just next to a large<br>game reserve. It used to be the only place with gambling in South<br>Africa, they liken it to Las Vegas, I would say more like a cheesy<br>place in Mississippi with gambling that likens itself to Las Vegas.

... and of course golf! None of those appealed to us so instead we went for cakes!So here we were sitting at that cafe terrasse with alot of wery rich looking people around us, having a feel of "Life in the Fab' lane". Gladly, the cakes were good! It was already time to go back and we took our final sky train ride back to the parking lot and back to the lodge. Tomorrow we're heading back to Jo'burg with great memories and with a thankful heart for this blessed time we spent as a family.

... nowhere to be found! It was a very anxious walk and bus ride back to the parking lot. But once we got there we very very very luckily found the keys on the steering wheel! I had forgotten to lock the car! We were indeed very lucky... Trust my wife to remind me that event every now and then! The car ride back was quiet as the 2 kids fell asleep after a fun filled day. We will do it again tomorrow! And I will let you know how it went.

... spider which I couldn't actually look at. After all the wildlife we needed some much needed refreshment so we went to the Palace for High Tea. After plenty of cakes and tea we took a dip in the waterfall pool with some fugly Baboons and then headed to the bar for wine, beer and cocktails. A perfect end to 2 really great days and we met a really nice couple. So thanks to Kirsten and Sheldon for putting up with us for the day! Next stop - 10 hours drive away - Drakensberg...

... about how rowdy the previous SAS groups had been and how we didn't drink and we didn't party, blah blah blah basically calling us all pansies. All of the guides are between 21 and 27 years old and all look forward to when the 50 SAS college students come in because it lets them have a really good time with their guests. So Leon was talking and talking all day, and to say the least I am not one to back down from a challenge, and I said we were going to drink the guides under ...

... reminded me a vertical waterfall. LIKE HELL I was going on that. After frolicking and splashing around we made our way to the top of the 'slide of doom' Justin was keen so he went, I felt like a bit of a goose standing up there with everyone looking at me and I could see Justin down the bottom half laughing and half shaking his head. DAMN IT, I wasn't going to be left looking like a gutless girl. I lay down ...

A glorious day that had to unfortunately begin in the dead of night with our trusty steed, Tazz the Toyota Terror of Tourist Tramps, leaving JO'berg at 4am and arriving just as the sun was, at Pilanesberg gates. The animals thought that they'd out-jackal'd us but as the famous saying goes- "the early bird gets to pick ticks off the rhino while the late lion misses his deer" (no-one says that) but "if you get there early you see more ...

... who would become dinner tonight. We ended the tour with a bush braai (barbeque) in the heart of the park. The food was delicious. I sat next to a couple from Brazil who were finishing their two week trip in Africa that started in Kenya. He was in business, and we had a lot to talk about. Our guide both times that we were in the park, Roelien, was an incredibly sweet Afrikaner. She immediately adopted us as her own kids, helping us arrange good deals ...

... an incredible variety of African game, including the "big five", (lion, elephant, leopard, Cape buffalo, and rhinoceros) so named because they were the most dangerous animals to hunt back when they were hunted rather than protected. The roads inside the park are well kept, some even paved, so that one can visit the park in a normal car rather than a four-wheel drive vehicle. We unloaded our luggage and soon met the Jahns as we set out on a game drive ...

... static. We had it. Buried deep inside a clump of grass, it was taking refuge from the beating sun. What a sensible chap. His temperature had gone up, so he had retreated to a cooler spot. It was wonderful - science in action, and the mole in the shade. And so it continued. Helpers came and went, we sat in the baking heat and the mossie-filled night, drinking coffee, staying awake, chatting, and trapessing through the wilderness by the light of the moon to check the ...