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Greetings from Howick
It's difficult to believe it was a year today that we left the UK for South Africa and the start of this trip! To say the time has flown by would be an understatement, it has been a year of many fantastic experiences and also the saddest time of my life (Mum's death last October).
The overwhelming good memories of this year are not just of the fantastic scenery and wildlife but also the incredible hospitality and friendliness of everyone we have met.
Whilst Afrikaaners have born the brunt of most of the jokes in these postcards, they are a very friendly people and have bent over backwards to help, protect and feed us, and show us a country for which their love and pride is undisguised.
Equal thanks are due to the English speaking South Africans, nowhere near as frequently encountered as we thought they'd be when we started the trip, but equally helpful and proud of their country.
Further thanks are due to the non whites we've met on our trip. Whilst we have not met many in a social environment (camping is not that popular a pastime yet), we have been overwhelmed by the friendliness and politeness, often in circumstances that in the the so-called developed world would lead to envy and resentment. We have been well aware that our vehicle and trailer represent more wealth than most may possess in their lifetime and yet there has never been any bad feeling or issues about it.
Thanks are long overdue to Angela for the good natured way in which she has born the brunt of the jokes (all 2 of them) in these updates over the past 12 months. We've had a few rows, usually when I've got too close to elephants, but there is nobody else I would want to have done this trip with (apart from Angelina Jolie, Cameron Diaz, Liz Hurley, a LandRover mechanic, a Zulu speaker...OK...apart from them, oh also that Russian tennis player, and that Serb one.....)
The car and trailer are currently being pampered and prepared for whatever the next 12 months will throw at us. We have plenty of places in South Africa that we've either missed or rushed by, parts of Namibia to get to, and virtually the whole of Botswana to explore.
I can't wait!
Finally many thanks to all of you that read these postcards. I know we have at least one reader, my mother in law Jo, which is why I've avoided the mother in law jokes! We appreciate the time you all take to look at the website and the comments and feedback on the Messageboard and privately by email.
Hope you enjoy reading about our upcoming travels!
Take care
Ralph & Angela
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