Hakuna Matata!

Hundreds of people on our ship went on 3-day safaris that involved flying and hotels, but Bob and I both wanted to concentrate our South African experiences around Cape Town, as we had heard the city itself was simply amazing. (And it was…) Instead, I ended my time in South Africa by going on a 1-day safari at the Inverdoorn Game Reserve near Ceres, about 2½ hours east of Cape Town. Good choice, if I do say so myself! The trip packed a lot of wildlife viewing into one day and it was a great way to have the safari experience without having to catch airplanes and fly to the other end of the country. By the way, I realize the cheetah picture looks like it has a painted background, but that's really what the countryside looked like. The mountains in South Africa are some of the most beautiful I've ever seen, so the bus ride alone, through valley after valley of table grapes and wineries, was drop-dead gorgeous.

Our group arrived at Inverdoorn, had a great Easter brunch of local foods, and then split up into 2 big 4x4 open-air vehicles that could take the rough trails. First our ranger took us to see some cheetahs that have been part of a restoration project; the park plans to move two of them into the wild portion of the park next week. (Bye-bye, albino springbok! They say you‘ll be the first to go, since you show up so well.) We also saw a male and 2 female lions, plus giraffes, zebras, impalas, kudus, wildebeests, a hippo, millions of birds, and a red Botswanan deer. About the only thing missing (besides Bob, who went to a botanical garden and a wine store in Cape Town) was the elephant; it’s too dry in this region, called the Karoo. We also never tracked down the black rhino.

With the Lion King soundtrack playing in my head, we headed back to the ship, which was scheduled for departure at 8 p.m., but the bus got stuck in traffic. Even though it was Easter, full road crews were out paving the freeway in preparation for the FIFA World Cup that starts in June. We got back to the ship nearly at sailing time--only to find that the harbor was too windy and we couldn’t leave! We nearly were blown into the water while walking the short distance to the ship, but once we were aboard Customs closed our entry, and then the ship sat in the harbor for another 21 hours, in full view of all the great shops and restaurants we had come to love during our 5-day stay. Many a sad soul lamented our return to iceberg lettuce, bland pasta, and classes, when such tantalizing possibilities were right off our decks. Now we are hauling ass for Ghana, trying to make up for lost time. Meanwhile, Bob and I are plotting a strategy for our return to this wonderful country.