Welcome home to Australia

Our plane arrived half hour early, and gee it was good to be back on Aussie soil.

We went on to passport control where again Darian and I were separated and I got to the front of the line first. The guy behind the desk asked if I was traveling alone and I said no I was with my husband but he is in the other line as he is South African. The guy said call him over, his your family. So I called Darian out from the middle of the line and we went through passport control quick.

We then went to baggage claim to collect our bags before going through customs. My bag come through quick and going past us were bags with 30kg weight stickers on, what the????
So we waited for Darians suitcase...and waited and waited. it was a no show.

We went to baggage claim and made a report. They said it would probably be on the next flight and they would courier it out to us when it turned up... So Darian had no clothes...

So onto customs, at least with the bag being lost and all the customs line was short. We only had a few things to declare and Darian went off with the suitcase to be xrayed. We were then asked to open the suitcase ( lucky us) and when the lady opened it she was surprised to see it empty...the lid even sagged. we explained the whole story and even she was amazed...so everything was OK and we cleared customs.

Out we go into the airport and waited for mum and Mattew....

Yes I cried when I saw him

We went home and Darian had to go pick up Megan.

Time to say goodbye...

Our plane was to leave PE at 6.15pm and we had to be at the airport 1.5 hours before hand. Thankfully we were as we had major problems when we got there. The lady who checked us in first of all could not find our return flights home from Jo'burg to Perth and then when she weighed our suitcases she said they were 14 kg over weight and we had to take the extra weight out....Now we bought 25 kg each over with us and now we were only allowed to take 20kg each home....what the?

So we had the hard time of trying to get rid of the excess 14 kg...this woman was not going to budge on a kilo. I had to leave my wedding dress behind and some beer glasses but the rest we managed to shove into our hand luggage...including our toiletry bag....

So we were now checked in (the surely cow found our flights) and we then had to say a very quick, teary and stressful goodbye.

Our Flight from PE to Jo'burg was non eventful and we were hoping that our bags were check straight through to Perth like they were meant to.

At Jo'burg we were stopped at security just after our hand luggage went through, a aerosol can showed up on the xray (oh no the toiletries) here is me thinking razor, tweezers etc...anything over 100ml can't go through and all make up needs to be bagged....we were in trouble. The girl was nice though and asked why we had not checked it in, we explained that our luggage was going straight through.

The poor girl felt so bad for us as everything over 100ml had to be thrown (including my expensive body lotion from Shamwari) she did however snuck my perfume back in for me and said quick go!

We then went and waited at the departure lounge, we bought the kids a few things at the souvenir shops.

We boarded the plane late and I got a window seat so I was able to see the lights of Jo'burg as we took off....that is one big city and we were heading home...

The rest of the week

We spent a lot of time with the family or shopping. We also spent time with Wayne and Miriam.

I am going to miss Port Elizabeth, its a very friendly town which is very similar to Perth (just a lot smaller). I am going to miss Darians family and the friends that are here.

My first Potjie

Tonight we went to Darians best friend Wayne's house to watch the springboks beat Scotland int the rugby and to have my first Potjie. (to us Aussies its a camp oven) and instead of cooking in the coals underground, the SA's cook it on a braai.

Wayne had cooked a lamb roast and veggies.

We didn't end up eating until midnight but it was yummy

Home to Port Elizabeth

Said a very sad goodbye to Craig as we don't think we will be able to see him again before going back to Perth. Packed the car and trailer and headed back to Port Elizabeth.

We stopped at Port Alfred for lunch.

Every now again as you are driving you see monkeys on the side of the road, or they run on the road as your driving.

Its going to be very nice sleeping in a real bed again.

The Lion Park

Woke up early this morning, not used to sleeping on the floor (I'm getting OLD). Walked down to the beach front to a local flea market. I bought a little wire and bead lizard for R10 or $1.60 and then I bartered a local for a soap stone statue of a family of Giraffes. He wanted R150 but I managed to get him down to R120....we also bought 2 small canvas paintings....I fell in love with a big one but are not sure if they would go through customs...we bought the 2 small ones for R70. If we get these cleared next time we will get the bigger one to match.

Craig and Ingrid then took us the The Lion Park. They not only had Lion cubs that you could get in and play with but they also have a cheetah cub.

They also have a number of grown cheetahs, white lion and lionesses, tigers, African hunting dogs and a giraffe that you can pat.

We stayed for feeding and then left.

Married 1 Week

This morning we packed up the cars and left for East London where we will be staying at Craig and Ingrid's for the weekend.

We left Kai Sands at 10am and were back in East London at 11am ish.

Spent a lazy day at Craig's...thought Ingrid and I went down to the SPAR (like an I.G.A) and stocked up on Biltong....I'm addicted :)

Last day at Kai Sands

Today is our last full day at Kai Sands. Very relaxing day. Went down and watched Craig fish (didn't catch anything) and I took some photos.
Had a braai for dinner...the meat over here is the best...

Thursday

Woke up this morn and the weather had cleared so we decided to go for a nice walk along the beach before the tide came in...

A lazy few days

The weather has been a bit miserable the last few days, so we havent been doing much.
We did get to see some dolphins playing in the waves and a whale out in the bay today...

The tides here are pretty varied, when the tide is out you can see all the rocks exposed however when its in, it crashed against the retaining wall at the base of the grassed area...

Very Relaxing...

Had a very relaxing day, was going to go for a walk on the beach but the weather came in so then had a small braai on the Weber this evening..

Thought I would show some more photos

Kai Sands

We left Shamwari and headed off to East London where Darians parents would be waiting for us at Craig's flat. On the way we passed so many game reserves, with lots of buck and even some more springbok.

we arrived a East London about 1 ish. Packed some more stuff in the car and headed north towards Kai Mouth were we would be staying until Friday.

East London is a pretty little town which seems more tropical than P.E...

We got there about 4, showed our villa and unpacked the car. the view from our villa is spectacular.
It will be nice to sit and relax for a while after the busy week we have had

The morning game drive....

Woke up early, even before our 6.30 wake up call from Headman. went out side to find a small bush buck feeding right next to our tent. Went and had a light breakfast before heading out for our morning game drive.

we were expecting it to be cold but instead it was beautiful, the sir was fresh and the sun was warm.
The first thing headman took us to see were Buffalo, they are much bigger than the Australian buffalo and I now understand why they are part of the big 5.

We drove for a bit longer when I got to see my first Springbok...I was very excited..

Headman then said he would go find some lion for us.....He had just heard that a lioness and her 2 cubs were near by. we were slowly driving when out from the bush spung two 8 month old cubs (size of a med dog) they then went running up the road...our immediate thought was :wheres mum?) She was up ahead and was turning every now and then just to make sure here babies were following and that we weren't getting to close...I couldn't get the smile off my face, to actually see lion in the wild was amazing.

We left them be and went off in search of Hippo....we found about 8 wallowing in a water hole. We were lucky as some were in the water and some out...Headman said it was OK to get out of the truck to take photos...

We then got back in the Jeep and not even 100m up the road was walking another lioness. She was the daughter of the one we saw earlier.

We then took a leisurely drive back to the lodge where we were greeted again with fresh juice. Once we had freshed up we could go have brunch and our bags would be bought up for us.

Small bunch turned out to be a full English brekkie for Darian and pancakes for me :)

Craig and Ingrid turned up to pick us up and after buying a T-shirt and a few candles we headed off to East London.

That evening...

well we survived the drive home, teeth chattering and wishing we had turned on the heater in the room before we left.
We were met again by the Lodge manager who asked how the drive was and that we had time to freshen up before dinner in an hour.

We went back to the room ready for a hot cup of coffee, opened the sliding door only to feel warmth in our face. While we were out our room had been "turned down", heater was on, robes on our bed and best of all the electric blanket was on....I went into the bathroom where candles had been placed around the bath.... I could get used to this...

we had a cuppa took in some ambiance and went off to dinner.

we were greeted by a waiter who offered us a choice of red or white wine, and said that our tour guide would be joining us shortly for dinner.

we finished our glass of wine and went to be seated at our table, we would be having dinner with the same couple that was on the drive with us and our guide...a kind of getting to know you PR thingy....it was actually a really good idea.

Darian had warthog for his main and as I don't like pork I went for boring old beef....it was a beautiful 4 course meal. I was a loverly dinner with great conversation about the reserve, conservation and such.

Unfortunately the couple that came with us today would not be with us on the morning drive.

I did taste the warthog and it was very yummy...a very light pork taste and the meat crumbled like fish...very nice...

We then headed off with very full tummies to enjoy the huge spa bath....

Our First Game Drive....

We were
warned to dress warm because once the sun goes down the temperature drops and it gets cold, we would also be in an open 4 WD.

We met our tour guide Headman and the other couple that would be joining us. The 4WD seat 6 so we sat right behind the driver.

Bayethe is slightly out of Shamwari so it does not have any hunters in it so we had to drive approx 15 min to get back to the main part of Shamwari.

I had no real expectation from the drive, just being there was amazing, so any thing that I saw was a bonus.

The first thing we did see were Black Rhino and then many different kinds of buck, wildebeest, monkeys and also Kudu.

It was so amazing you didnt know where to look just in case you missed something. we then came across a large herd of elephants. There were lots of babies (the little one in the photo is about 5 weeks old). One of the large females came soooo close to the truck....

We also saw some giraffe, however the sun was setting and the angle was wrong for a photo.

Headman then took us up to a lookout where we stopped and got out, he set up the tail gate with wines, nibbles and an eski full of drinks. The view was amazing but it was soooooo cold.

We got back into the truck where in a compartment between us was hot water bottles and blankets to keep us warm for the trip home.

Shamwari

This morning we were up bright, early and very excited about going to Shamwari...
We left at about 10 am with Craig and his girlfriend Ingrid, they took as it was on the way to East London (just a small detour)

We arrived at the main gate and the feeling was amazing driving through the reserve, knowing that all the animals around us were wild. We saw ostrich and warthogs.

We arrived at Bayethe pronounced "By-ye-ti" and was greeted by the lodge manager who presented us with fresh juice to wash away the travel dust.

She then showed us our tent....if you could call it a tent...amazing is all I could say...

we freshened up and headed up to the restaurant for lunch before heading off for our first game drive. I ordered Kudu (buck) which was rich and divine.

The reception

Darian's sister Sharon organised a surprise reception for us. Darians father was the DJ and his brother Craig was the MC...
It was a very relaxed occasion with BYO drinks and glasses and nibbles were provided.

We danced our first dance as husband and wife to "unbreakable" by Westlife.

Cut the cake, mingled with lots of people we didn't know and danced the night away

We left about 12 ish....

Photos..

We then went to a near by park where I got out of the car, we used one of the pins from the flowers to hold my zip up temporarily. The park was nice and we also managed to get a photo with a diesel train in (Darian was a diesel electrical fitter when he lived in S.A)..
Once all the family photos were out of the way we headed to the reception which was next to the church.
I was met out side by a dressmaker who sort of fixed my dress...not totally but at least it wouldn't fall off.

The Ceremony...

I was met by Darian father Dudley and the Pastor.
The pastor went in and read a scripture before the music began and Dudley walked me down the isle.
I remember being so calm until I took Darians arm and he was shaking like a leaf..
We exchanged vows and then rings. We also had a small candle lighting ceremony before signing the registry.
We walked out of the church where everyone threw dried rose petals over us before congratulating us....
We got in the car to go to a near by park to take photos and just as I got in the zip on my dress gave way...it was broken.