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Hello! Sorry for delay in adding photos and written updates, the internet was non-existant or rubbish in SA but we've found a good air conditioned internet cafe (that doesnt sell coffee) in Mauritius so here we are...
First thing's first... An overview of SOUTH AFRICA ;(for those ofyou who Jimmy or I emailed, sorry if this is repetetive - for those of you who we havent emailed, its because we dont have your addresses so write them on our message board if you wish!!)
We stayed with my (liz) aunty and uncle's place in SA - just over the river from the Kruger National Park - they are so close to the park and wildlife its amazing, they live in a protected area so there are all the same animals as inside the park, but minus the elephants (they eat or knock down all the trees, and probably cars and houses too if they had the chance) and big cats (for obvious reasons!) So it wasnt unusual to be sat on the porch or in the plunge pool (ahh) and see a family of worthogs, or a zebra walk by! Worthogs are suprisingly cute by the way, especially the small ones!
We had two trips into the Kruger park and saw almost every animal under the blazing African sun, except cheeters and loepards which were elusive as expected. But we saw a pride of lions chilling out under the shade of a tree close to the roadside, and numerous elephants, giraffe, hippo, rhino, wildebeest, impala, kudu.... I'm no birdwatcher, but there were also some spectacular birds! They put our little robins to shame with their bright colours.
Refer to the pics anyway, they say it all. Sorry we cant upload more yet, but it takes AGES to resize and upload them all!
So then, onto SWAZILAND;
We only spent 3 nights in Swazi, but its a lovely country, really safe and friendly. The hostel was great too, and we made some nice friends (a selection of Europeans - all spoke english and smoked like chimneys) to hang out with. We did a cultural day trip with the slightly nutty owner of the hostel -visited a traditional village, big waterfall, workplaces, and markets. Really interesting and wanted to buy everything but cant really carry it all!! Then we all (us and our new found friends) trekked up to the nearby orphanage to see the children who are were awsome - they were so grateful just for some sweets, bubbles and a football! We had some time playing with them in the yard, then they all introduced themselves and sang some songs! Very cute.
We then had the Baz Bus trip (recommend it as transport around SA to anyone) back to Jo'burg for one night in dodgy hostel before our flight to ...
MAURITIUS;
As the photos show, it really is like a paradise island! Our first night here was also a bit dodgy but then we moved to our current apartment which is lovely! Again - see photos - it shows how teeeny tiny it is (its a converted garage at the back of a big villa!) but really well done and in a nice resort with pool and tennis courts. We have bikes, raquets and alsorts thrown in too, which is fab.
We've spent time at the beaches (obviously) and exploring by bike. We also went on a boat trip where pods of dolphins surrounded the boat, and werent bothered by us jumping in and swimming right with them! It was sooooo amazing, gutted we didnt have an underwater camera, but hey, its great memories. Lucky we had flippers and snorkells though as they swim pretty fast! We've hired a car for a few days, which has meant we've been able to head to the beaches where there's surf breaks just off the edge of the reefs - Jimmy's hired a board until his arrrives here in a few days (with a friend also coming for Nat and Dan's wedding) so has had some good surfs in just board shorts and a tee shirt!! Its not as bad waiting on the beach for a surfing boyfriend when the sun's out and there are lots of fish to snorkel with! And no, i dont want to brave the loooong paddle out and reef breaks...
Better go now,
Look forward to your messages!
Lots of love,
Liz and Jimmy xxx
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