Day 11 - Friday 15 October 2010

It was a beautiful sunny day as we bid farewell to Capetown and the southern tip of Africa and head north. Our van arrived at 7:30 and we headed to the Capetown airport for our flight to Nelspruit National Park and Wildlife Refuge. We passed through security easily and the guys went for coffee while the ladies went shopping (Duh)!

We arrived to overcast, cold and windy weather on schedule and thankfully, so did our luggage. Luck was with us as the Boon's house keys had fallen out of Larry's bag on the carousel but a good Samaritan found them and called out for the owner. Whew! Hugo had rented a van and a car so we had a similar transportation configuration as in the Cape area. Everyone saddled up and we were off for some critter sightings. On our drive from the airport to our new digs we did not see any new species of critter but vast stretches of agriculture primarily Sugar Cane, Papaya and Bananas with a few baboons thrown in to keep our interest. There was a stop at a grocery store for the weekends provisions then the requisite liquor store for the party supplies. On down the road was a street vendor with an array of fruits and vegetables for our pleasure. Some of the towns we passed were in stark contrast to those in the Capetown area. Older for sure which probably contributed to the seemingly lack of cleanliness seen in the south, although they had a certain quaint charm.

We arrived at the Ngwenya lodge at 4:30 and finally settled into one of our two condos with a bit of confusion as to which would be the main meal and party central.  The upper condo won out and Doug, Larry, Ronnie, Patty, Jeniferand Ben settled into the bottom unit. The lodge was situated just on the border to Krugar Park and right on the river. In fact the Park fence was just below our decks and we could see Hippos, Crocodiles, Water Buck and a flurry or waterfall from the decks, WOW! That evening we started out with drinks on the deck overlooking the river, what a pleasant sight and the binoculars and cameras were out and at the ready.

It was raining when we arrived but it had stopped and the weather was quite pleasant - no wind and a comfortable temperature. After drinks we headed to the lodge dining room where we had a varied menu. some of us chose one of the dishes that you would not see in the US, Lamb Neck and it was very good. Venison pie was another more exotic dish that was offered. Then off to bed as we will again be up early for our venture into the vast plains of Krugar Parks and all the sights that await.