Happy Easter
Trip Start
Sep 30, 2005
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83
101
Trip End
Ongoing
Table View, South Africa
Monday, April 17, 2006
This morning we woke up bright and early - well early anyways, the sun wasn't up yet. We were treated to a deliscious smoothie care of Richard. We watched the sun rise over the mountains of Durbanville this amazing Easter morning before we left for our Safari.
Today our three-week safari through Southern Africa begins. It has started out very well as the group we are with appears to be a great crowd. There are 20 of us altogether; 2 Americans, 5 Germans, 1 Austrian, 1 Irish, 1 South African, 1 Australian, 1 Dutch, 1 South Korean, 2 Swedish, 2 Englih, 1 New Zealander and 2 adorable Canadians.
Our trip began with a quick stop at Table View for some pictures of the mountain from the West Coast. Continuing on, we travelled through foothills blanketed in lush green from the tops to the bases, where they met golden carpets of fields.
Our first camping spot was Cedarburg. It was a nice little spot with a round fireplace. The surrounding site was a large and open grassy area. Within what seemed like seconds, tents popped up in their domed glory as though they clapped their poles together and appeared out of thin air. The barren campsite had now become a small travelling village.
One of the reasons we chose this particular safari was because all of the meals were included in the price. "How perfect!" we thought, "One of our last legs of our trip and we don't have to worry about cooking or planning anything." With great excitement, and growling stomachs we lined up at the food counter, trying not to push and shove like school kids. The meal that stood before us, was not the gormet meal we had anticipated...it was not what we would classify as 'good grub'...not the 'safari chow' we had envisiond.
Four words: Buttered Buns. Cold Hot Dogs.
We all seemed to simultaneously look at the cold sticks of meat, look at each other, then look at the very empty fire pit. Trev and I both watched on, still believing that the hot dogs would be cooked in some way. If not over the non-existant fire, then perhaps boiled in the kitchen just inside the lodge. This was not to be. We each grasped a cold, slimy hot dog with a pointer finger and thumb, holding it as if it were a rotting stinky sock. Into the buttered hot dog buns they went and we debated whether ketchup and mustard would improve the taste. The 20 of us ate in silence - except for the gooey smacking of lips after each slowly released bite. Thinking to myself how dreadful this would be if this was the catered lunch meal for the next three weeks, I quickly decided not to complain when I noticed the two vegetarians in our group eating their ketchup and mustard sandwiches.
The group of us passed the afternoon with a walk through the orchard behind our camp then up a rocky pathway for a nice view. By the time supper rolled around, we were all sitting with fingers crossed, praying for some improvement from the previous lip-smacking disaster. Hesitant to even begin lining up at the counter for fear of discovering half cooked macaroni and cheese for our nutrition that evening, we slowly made our way over. Smiles and sighs of relief were released as we feasted our eyes on two huge pots of pasta, complete with veggies and a cream sauce. Ahhhh, there is hope still!
Hugs and Love,
Dana and Trevor
