Thursday, June 26, 2003 (Boeing 777-400 – Somewhere between Dubai
and London)
The mixed emotions of going home. Reflecting on
where we've been and what we've done.
My
very best versus
Sandy's
very best.
Day 106. Well, it’s finally here. The end
of this leg of the trip is now fully upon us. We’re sitting in the plane
on the flight back home to London. What a trip it’s been. Exactly fifteen
weeks of adventure have left its mark on the both of us. We’ve seen so
much, experienced so many new things and have so many stories to
tell.
Going home is a bit of a mixed
bag of emotions. I’m dying to see all the family again yet so sad to be
finished with the travelling for a while. Over the past couple of weeks, my
thoughts have been slowly returning to life back in Europe. There is still very
much the sense that we don’t really belong anywhere right now. The last
place we lived, in any permanent manor, was Florida but we left our house there
last November. Since then, we’ve been in transit from one temporary
residence to another, relying on the generosity of others. Travelling has only
heightened that sense of disconnect. I have no doubt that we will struggle to
fit into to normal life again. This is the price we pay for the experience of a
lifetime
As we meet new people and
tell them of our adventures, they invariably ask what the best place has been
that we’ve visited. It’s the most frequent question that we are
asked and yet it still remains the most difficult to answer. Different places
have touched us in different ways. Each country has its own charms and pleasures
and it’s unfair to judge, for example, a safari experience in one country
against the temples of another. For me, the highlights, in chronological order,
have been as follows:
The Amazing
wildlife of the Kruger National Park in South Africa: This was our first real
taste of the African wildlife. We saw some amazing things there and we will
never forget the thrilling experience of watching the Lion climb the tree to
capture a baby Baboon, literally just feet from our position. We saw an immense
amount of wildlife in Kruger both small and large. The birds of the park are
amongst the most stunning that we’ve seen anywhere and it definitely
spoilt us for the rest of the trip, as everywhere else that we went only paled
in comparison.
Finding the Black
Rhino in the Mkaya game reserve in Swaziland: The short-tempered beast was one
of the very few animals that we missed in Kruger and by the end of our time
there, the wildlife bug had bitten us good. I desperately wanted to find the
Black Rhino somewhere in the wild and it was until the tail end of our Mkaya
game drive that we found it. It was doubly pleasing when it happened as we
stumbled into not only one but two of them together – a mother and a
five-year-old juvenile.
Diving in
Sodwana Bay: We had learned to SCUBA dive expressly for the benefit of this trip
and this was our first foray into the underwater world without our instructor in
tow. I’ll never forget the nausea of the first day but the memory of this
quickly faded as we got to know other people there and started to enjoy
ourselves. We started to feel like we were a part of a community that was
previously unknown to us. The drive through Swaziland and down into Sodwana Bay
was also noteworthy as this was the first time that we started to feel like we
were in the real Africa.
The guided
tour of Sossusvlei in Namibia: The sheer presence of Bushman, our guide, was
awesome. His knowledge of the area, the desert and the surprisingly abundant
wealth of wildlife is legendary and just blew me away. At the end of the tour,
he stood in front of us all (we were all sat under the shade of a tree) and told
us a moving and poignant story about the Bushmen people of long ago. It was
captivating and it felt like I was sitting in front of Dad when I was a child
listening to a story. Everyone in the group left the tour in awe of the
experience.
Quad biking over the
dunes of Namibia in Swakopmund: I’ve never had so much fun before. The
exhilaration of raw speed over the brilliantly coloured dunes at sunset was a
pivotal moment for me. There were a couple of times that I got too close to a
huge hole or the edge of a high dune and genuinely felt like I was going to
loose my life. I felt
free.
Befriending the locals at
Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe: Perhaps it was because I was so nervous about going
to Zimbabwe to begin with that I was so impressed with the place once we got to
know it better. The locals that we met there are all extremely nice people and
the picture that I had of Zimbabwe was completely obliterated by their warmth.
Shopping and bargaining for curios in the curio markets was also a highlight for
me in Zimbabwe and I only hope that the packages we sent through the post office
from there actually arrive home – they haven’t
yet.
Hunting for Leopards and
Cheetahs in the Serengeti: Kruger was good, but the Serengeti was even better.
The time we spent on the plains of the Gol Kopjes searching for Cheetahs was
very memorable and made even more so by the film about the life of the Cheetahs
on the Serengeti plains that was showing that evening in the lodge. The film was
a near perfect recreation of our own experiences out on the plains that very day
and it was extremely moving. Extending our trip to search for the Leopard also
made finding one that much more memorable. The Ngorongoro Crater is probably the
most impressive one physical landscape that I will remember most from the entire
trip (perhaps along with the Namibian
dunes).
The temples and monuments of
Pharonic Egypt and, of course, our very good friend Ehab: Egypt was the first
place that was completely different to all the previous countries we’ve
been to. Standing in awe at the foot of the pyramids and the temples of Abu
Simbel and others made everything that we’ve seen on the Discovery Channel
that much more appreciable. And, of course, Ehab, our mild mannered tour guide
that became our good friend and even came with us on a two-day holiday to
Hurghada - bless him. People like Ehab are very rare and we feel privileged to
have met and gotten to know
him.
Diving in the Red Sea at Sharm
El Sheikh: Sodwana bay was great because it was the first place that we dived
but it pales in comparison to the sheer beauty of the underwater world of the
Red Sea. The richness and variety of both marine life and corals alike is
something that I doubt we will ever see elsewhere. The night-dive in particular
just blew me away.
Floating in the
Dead Sea in Jordan: This has always been a life’s to-do list entry of mine
and it was everything that I expected of it. My only regret is that we never got
to go back and visit it for a second time due to the security measures being
taken as a result of the Middle-East peace conference at the
time.
And finally, living in the lap
of luxury at the Burg Al Arab – the world’s only seven-star hotel:
We wanted to go out in style and it just so happens that we finished our trip in
Dubai where the Burg Al Arab is situated. The only real reason we included Dubai
on our itinerary to begin with was because we wanted to see this magnificent
work or engineering art. The documentary that we saw dedicated to it on TV
doesn’t do it justice and we thoroughly enjoyed being pampered with a
complete disregard for the bill. The opportunity to do this may never come round
again in our lifetimes but at least we can say that we did it
once.
There are many more highlights
that I can think of and it is so hard to narrow the list down. Picking one
overall winner is near impossible as all the experiences I just listed are there
for very different reasons. If pushed, however, I think the Serengeti would have
to take the winning spot.
With our
lives having been touched in so many ways after just a few months on the road, I
can’t help but feel the anticipation of what is to come with all the other
wonderful and far away places that we are planning on visiting. There will be
good times and bad times ahead of us, this much we now know from experience.
Who knows what the future will bring. Living life today and not tomorrow is what
it’s all about and this is how we plan on living in the coming year and
beyond.
Here are some of
Sandy’s highlights
…
Apart from some of the things
Chris has already mentioned the highlights I enjoyed most
are:
Roaming around in the Kruger
National Park, driving ourselves, camera at the ever ready to photograph any
unsuspecting animal that we might just find around the next corner. The feeling
of excitement and teamwork and so many close encounters with these wild animals
still show in the thousands of great photos that we took.
Riding an Ostrich and being
photographed whilst petting four Cheetah cubs in Oudtshoorn really put a nice
finish to our last days in South
Africa.
Sand boarding the sand dunes
in Namibia. Though the climb up the dunes was strenuous, the experience was
worth the climb - one of the very few things on our trip that I was better at
then Chris. Having good control of the flimsy piece of wood that they called a
High Tech Speed Machine, I whizzed down the dunes at high speed, took corners
like a pro and usually ended up a quite bit faster and farther than
Chris…. Funny it doesn’t show that in the pictures…….
The down side of that was, of course that I also had to walk back up the dune
further….. Maybe I wasn’t better than Chris after all, maybe he was
just smarter……. Yeah right, at least I didn’t fall of like he
did…..
The local people that we
befriended in Victoria Falls, the markets and the people, their humour and
helpfulness, and the way people would stand up and look out for their family and
friends. The way our new friends would look out for us and make sure we
wouldn’t get “ripped of” at the markets, and how the people
magically stopped from harassing us to helping us out on the street once
realizing we were friends with some of the locals. The fact that our friend at
the post office kept the it open an hour after closing just so that we were able
to mail our package full of curio’s that we had bought at the local
market!
Our safari at the Serengeti,
the many lion cubs we saw, the cheetahs running across the Gol Kopjes and the
way they tried to stalk a prey (but didn’t succeed) reminded me so much of
the many wonderful cats I know that it was difficult to remind myself that these
where very dangerous animals and, if forced to choice, I to could become a
meal…. so cute but oh so dangerous! And ultimately finally seeing a
Leopard in the wild……. To bad it’s such a lazy animal….
It didn’t move much in the 5 hours we sat there watching
it…..
Tanzania and Kenya and
their inhabitants. The first time we truly felt like being in Africa… The
landscape, the local people, the culture, the
colours….
Our first impression
of Egypt, the undecipherable language, the pyramids and temples and the strange
disregard, other than that they bring in tourists, to these monuments from the
locals. And the constant requests from people for “baksheesh” (tips)
even if they haven’t provided any service was, even though initially a
nuisance, quite memorable and funny as an afterthought. Our good friend, Ehab,
who made our trip so memorable and interesting. And who helped us get to know
and deal with Egyptian culture.
The 3 days
on a cruise ship on the Nile where we could rest, and enjoy and didn’t
have to do any walking, just rest and enjoy was a godsend. After which we where
thoroughly rested to continue our visits to the many temples and other monuments
that Egypt harbours.
Our trip to
Petra that, despite a long strenuous walking and climbing detour of four hours,
showed us some of Petra’s highlights, including The Treasury which was a
main feature in the movie Indiana Jones and the Last
Crusade.
Chris surprising me with a
two night stay at The Burg Al Arab. It wasn’t so much the luxury as the
fact that I had the house/apartment to myself, was given my own laptop with
unlimited internet access to use at will. The time and luxury to do whatever,
when I wanted to hang out in the spa or curl up on the big soft luxury sofa with
my new Harry Potter Book at will. And of course my own butler and the cleaning
crew that kept the apartment neat and tidy. Now all I needed were a few brownies
and a big jar of liquorices and it would have been
perfect!!!
Since we have already
written about all the great wonderful experiences I’d like to add some of
the more “horrific”
experiences:
Climbing White Mountain
in the Drakensberg. What was supposed to be a little strenuous walk turned out
to be a two hour strenuous climb, followed by a wonderful abseiling/repelling
experience, followed by a hazardous equally strenuous climb back down.
Subsequently followed by exhaustion, dehydration and muscle aches for days and
days.
Our quad biking experience,
though for Chris the ultimate, for me it was the most horrific. Not being able
to keep good control of the bike (having a wobbly wheel and a sticky gas paddle
didn’t help much) and my natural clumsiness didn’t give me a good
feeling, climbing those high dunes knowing there would be a sheer 100 meter
drop on the other side…… Nor was watching Chris crossing around on
those hills getting too close to the edge and raising the hair on my back as
well as our instructors. I still shiver thinking about
it!
Letting Chris bungee jump of a
111-meter high bridge in Victoria Falls. I did not cave in as many of you may
think, Chris didn’t know I had planned this Jump for him; it was a belated
Birthday present. And the only reason I let him jump here was because of the
special harness they used. It did mean, however, that he had to make the jump
backwards and feet first (not head first) - apparently the scariest way to jump
because you can’t see where you are going/falling….. My heart was
racing and I still tremble now thinking of watching him jump. It was a hair
raising experience that I would like to never ever repeat again……!
Good thing he didn’t quite like it as much as he thought he would…..
So no worry about him repeating it on the 220-meter bridge in New
Zealand.
Our free lift from the
Wildlife overland safari truck (the company we travelled with from Cape Town to
Victoria Falls) that drove us from Harare, Zimbabwe to Arusha, Tanzania. The
four day trip of 14 hours driving a day, with no or little rest stops, sleeping
in the truck, feeling carsick more than half of the time and running out of
books to read the rest of the time, wasn’t exactly a joyful ride. Our
attempt to save a few dollars this way resulted in a loss of 4 days travelling
and the costs we saved were overshadowed by the extra visas we’d had to
pay for whilst crossing several borders.
Posted: Thu - June 26, 2003 at 01:01 PM