Radisson Blu Hotel Sandton, Johannesburg

... br><br>Saturday 1st August<br><br>We were up at 2.45 but even though we had all had very little sleep we were surprisingly awake! The final packing was done - in fact most of the final packing was just thrown in and the trailer forced shut! We managed to leave at 4.05, which for the Ketley crew is pretty good! As we left it was just beginning to rain, but after about an hour it ...

... that he knew who the robbers were as they had targeted the hostel on numerous occasions. The owner was an absolute giant, with a shaven head, goatee, tattoos, and hands the size of our torso with sausage sized fingers. We cringed when he informed us that he was, &#8220;forced to beat them&#8221; as they were found with a knife. We believe he found the guy, handed him a knife, and then&#8230; thud!<br><br>The next day we continued our journey towards Cape Town ...

... our friend Mikhael at his home, have a cup of tea, a longish chat, and then we all retire for the night. Claire and I now have a couple of days to explore Jo'burg, some other friends to visit, and lots of curiosity to soothe. The South African section of our road trip couldn't start in a better way. <br><br><br>Stay Tuned for more. <br> <br>Some pictures in my Flickr photostream here. <br><br>

Just a quick update from Jo'burg airport... We're having a great time and just finished our safaris! We saw tons of lions and lots of other cool stuff. Internet access has been impossible and even electricity has been hard to come by so we're definitely a bit behind. We're headed to Mozambique now and will hopefully have some more posts up toward the end of next week. Missing all of you! Katie &amp; Tim

... as some left over for Madagascar... Good times! Speaking with Liz throughout the day was awesome as she has a much different perspective on South Africa then Noah, Christine, and Coach. She has been working for the Peace Corps here and has been exposed to a much more local experience. While slightly jaded about the violence, she provides an extremely informative insight into what real ...

... like it. Luckly we could go in tandem, but my poor partner adam was somewhat deaf after the experience. It was such an adrenaline rush!! The scenery was also beautiful which helped calmed the nerves after. I massively recommend it to everyone!! But then it was goodbye to the cheetahs, little julliette (who made a full recovery) and all the staff. It was sad to go, but I'm really keen to start the next bit of my travels now. Dad, Ailsa and Nicki - You must be so excited ...

... groggy, like a tramp waking up after a meths bender, it gets up, yawns and trots off home absolutely fine, despite having some of the worlds most deadly poison injected into it. So when I came upon 2 honey badgers in a concrete enclosure I was secretly pleased to be able to see one up close. Now this badger had its own story to tell. Originally it was located in a grass enclosure with a standard game fence right next to the lions enclosure. The badger was bored ...

... when the generators turned off at 9. This morning we were up at the crack of dawn, showered, and had a delicious breakfast with the rest of the guests. The fog was gone so the visibility was perfect, but the wind was ripping through at 25-30 miles per hour. The road down from Sani Pass was going to be intense. We had heard horror stories from the other guests and the road did not disappoint. It would have been intense on a motocross bike ...

... disgruntled muttering (which i guess is the closest they got to outright disgust while remaining emotionally stunted). The tour finished with the Irish guy drinking two bottles of possibly the roughest C******nay i have ever tasted and promptly passing out. Hilarious at the time but considerably less funny when i had to carry him off the bus and into his hostel. He passed out on a bench in the garden, but not before showering my legs with the ...

... OK thanks.' So the photograph that will now follow me around the world shows me in all my mournful gloriousness. It was taken a few weeks before, on a totally rotten day, after the burglary and after my mini heartbreak. I couldn't look more gloomy. "Perfect. Thank you. You can pay over there and it should be ready to collect in 4 to 6 weeks." No thank YOU! As I drove away, the ...