Malapo Country Lodge Dullstroom

... a lovely day we decided to book in for another night . After the days of 5:30am wake up calls , night drives and late dinners, it was so nice to just have a few days to relax. We were in no hurry to get to Joburg anyway, given the horror stories we've heard about the crime there. I've caught up to the 6th of September, when we complete the driving portion, return our Toyota to Joburg, and head to the lodge where we will begin our AeroSafari.

... at nIght,,bArs...aNd rEd-eYes hiDiNg iN da dark....crEepy,,hUh??lol. sHootiNg was aCtually oKay...hAha..as iF!,,i was acTually scared oF shootIng!..nOt my sCene bUt,,iVe enjoYed it... (i mEan,,watcHing them...lol). it wAs dA shiTTTtttt!!!...xx i hAd fUn wit mY friEndZ!!..i'LL dEfinitEly cOmeback fOr a viSit!!!.. ;)

Anita, the parents and I have started travelling from Pretoria around 8 in the morning. We used the Hyandai Atos. I did not trust that my car will get us that far. It need a service. Apart from that it was full of stuff and I did nit have the time to offload at home. We planned to have lunch in Dullstroom ...

... about dinner - and where we could watch the rugby. He said we could sit down as soon as we wanted to and by the time we'd finished picking some bottles of wine and arguing about whether England would score any points the soup had arrived. Starters and the main course was excellent but the national anthems were being played as we finished our delicious lasagne, so we checked that it would be ok to have pudding later and relocated to the bar, where everyone else ...

It was finally time for the big one - Kruger National Park!! Karin had used timeshare points to get a good deal on accommodation just outside of the National Park in a town called Hazyview. After a lovely drive, and some great scenery (loved the banana plantations) we had arrived. The house we were staying in was a tad small inside, but the weather was so great that wouldn't be a problem. There was a bit of a rush in deciding who would have which bedroom, with Paul and ...

... to understand where the high crime rate stemmed from, the years of frustration of people being exploited and not really subscribing to it. i am sure it is easy for an outsider to look in and pretend to understand some of what went on, based on the facts that are now provided, though having experienced it and grown up with it, i am sure would have been a whole other matter and probably not allow for such a ...

We are leaving today around 6:20 PM our time. We will be home by tomorrow afternoon. It's been a long journey and we are all pretty exhausted and ready to come home. I wanted to post some video clips, but I think I will do it when we get home, just to show you the children in the school and the lions at night. Thanks for visiting the site. Rebecca

... for the opportunity to see. I know I will not go home the same person. And I also know that I will come back. I have already asked Matt if we could help arrange small mission trips here. Maybe when the funds come in to build the new school or to bring medical teams and supplies. They also need dental care. I am writing too much, but I could go on and on about our experience. We will post pictures later tonight or tomorrow. Love to all. Rebecca and Matt and Sarah

... with the black slaves and was clearly made at a time when political correctness was not such a big deal as today. There was some pretty surprising dialogue about 'black folks' not being as clever as white people and the like, and I couldn't help but feel awkward watching this stuff on a bus on which at least half the passengers were black, in a country not exactly renowned for its spotless history in race relations. Anyway, after about 4 hours or so we arrived ...

... for gold and hear a bit of the history from the engaging guide at the digging museum (on a side road into town). The boys even panned for gold but didn't get anything like competition quality. We settled back for the night but the anticipation and excitement over the coming days in the game reserve kept us from sleeping early. The boys are beside themselves.