Bye, bye Africa :(

We caught our flight from Vic Falls to Johannesburg & were greeted by Pieter & Hester. There were lots of tears last year at the end of our tour when it was time to say goodbye but the most tears came when saying goodbye to Hester. I had come to see her as my Mum on tour & it left a real hole saying goodbye. So of course being reunited caused even more tears but this time tears of happiness & disbelief that we were actually there, together!

Photo: The smallest baby elephant in the world!!


We arrived at their house in Pretoria & straight away we felt at home. Plus Hester spoilt us rotten!! We did have a packed itinerary so after chatting half the night away, we headed for bed.....in preparation for our 5am wakeup call!! So after receiving coffee & bikkies in bed we got up & headed out for the day. First stop, Pilanesburg National Park for a morning game drive. Can you imagine how cool it would be to drive less than 2 hours from home & be able to drive your own car around a park full of wild game?? We were lucky enough to see some elephants & giraffes within the first 15 minutes or so & we were hoping it was a sign of things to come. Unfortunately (according to Pieter & Hester) we didn't see much for the rest of the morning but we did stop off at the visitors centre where there was the oldest, funkiest looking warthog I've ever seen. He not only had the Bon Jovi mullet happening he also had a wicked comb over!

Photo: Bon Jovi - eat your heart out!!

Photo: We are family!!

It got to about lunchtime & it was time for our next port of call....Sun City. A casino & water park about 45 minutes from Pilanesburg NP. The casino part looked like any other casino from around the world but on the way to the water park you had to cross a rather theatrical, Indiana Jones style bridge. What I mean is the bridge rumbled, vibrated & rocked while jungle type sound effects played & smoke poured out of the sides. What a freaky feeling....& apparantly one you can experience over & over cos the bridge goes off every hour or so. The water park was cool & I could see that Andrew would have loved to go in but we had another stop to make....the posh hotel up the hill. We walked casually up to the front doors & made to walk in as if we were staying there. Unfortunately the guards spotted our not-so-convincing acting & told us we could pay to look in the hotel or move on! There was no way we were gonna pay but Hester (or paparazzi as she is better know) sweet talked her way in a bit further & took some pics...I wouldn't have been able to say no to her either :)

Photo: Everyone loves a water park!

When we had finished walking around the casino we headed back to Pilanesburg for our afternoon game drive....I did say we were spoilt rotten right?? The afternoon game viewing was even better than the morning & we were lucky enough to see a rhino with the tiniest baby, a huge herd of ellies again with the tiniest baby & lots & lots of zebras, giraffes, antelope, pumba, kudu.....& most excitingly a rabbit! Apparantly very rare!

Photo: Bye, bye.....

Photo: Taken out the window of the Corolla!!

We were due out of the park at 6pm & it was approximately 5.58pm when we pulled up at the gate to leave...perfect timing. We had both found it confronting how security conscious Peter & his family have to be in their home in Pretoria. Home invasions are a massive problem so bars on windows & high tech security systems are a part of life for them & all their neighbours. So on the way home we drove through some fairly dodgy areas, known to be black communities & it was shocking to see the lack of security along these streets. It reminded us yet again how lucky we are to live in Australia.


Next day wasn't such an early start so after breakfast we headed over to Johanessburg. We drove around & checked out some of the buildings before going to the Hector Pieterson Memorial & to the weirdest disused concrete ex-power station towers ever. They had been painted up beautifully & a bridge had been built in between them to be used as a bungy platform. Now, you'd never get me throwing myself off it but the towers were impressive none the less.

Photo: You'd never catch me jumping off there.....


After that we headed to the Hector Pieterson Memorial in Soweto & to another casino, Emporers Palace. Here Andrew got to re-enact his Statue of David pose from Florence...this time with a little help from Pieter!

Photo: A little bit of Florence in Johanessburg....or is that Vegas???


On the way back to Pretoria we went to the Voortrekker Monument on the hill. The monument contains a memorial to the Boars who came up from Cape Town & various representations of the struggles they faced during that time. If nothing else it had an amazing view across Pretoria plus there were some zebras & antelope in the grounds of the memorial.

Photo: Pretoria

Before we knew it, we were at the airport again saying goodbye. Sooooo sad to be saying goodbye to Pieter & Hester....I really felt at home with them & we really were soooo spoilt! BUT, South America awaits......as do many hours of air travel!!

Photo: Don't ask...........

........& more animals in Chobe!

So we were picked up early for a game drive in Chobe National Park. We joined about 25 other people in a huge game truck & headed out into the park. The first thing we saw was a pair of hyenas....& this is when we realised we were in for an interesting morning. An obnoxious American guy started whistling & calling the hyenas who responded by turning tail & running away. The American (lets call him Billy-Bob) was not impressed & grumbled about how he didn't get a good enough photo of "the dogs". Then I noticed a young Aussie girl sitting in our row, on her phone, trying to get Facebook so she could update her status...OH MY GOD!! She even complained to her Mum about it who responded with "Don't worry darl, just keep trying, we're bound to get it eventually". WHAT THE??

Photo: Lion footprint!



Then we realised our driver was crap....mainly because he didn't seem to notice any game so if we spotted anything half the truck would start to shriek "Stop, stop, giraffe, giraffe" & by the time he stopped the giraffe had either been frightened away or we were so far past it we couldn't see it anyway! Then just to add insult to injury he got us bogged in the sand. Not a problem you are probably thinking, surely the truck is 4WD?? Well, it was BUT the 4WD was broken.....so 35 minutes of him digging us out & we were back on our way. Only problem is we were now half an hour late so he became even less interested in stopping for animals & more interested in sticking to his schedule.

Photo: Sooooo cute!!


At one point we passed another truck which was heading in the direction of a leopard. Now, as explained in an earlier blog, managing to see a leopard is almost impossible but no, our driver decided to turn around & drive back to where the leopard was last seen. By the time we got there we were one of about 12 trucks waiting for this leopard...as if it was just going wander out infront of us & pose for a few happy snaps. Not likely!! So after about 15 mintutes he wisely gave up & drove like a bat out of hell back to where we should have been. Needless to say we didn't have much luck with game spotting on that drive but we did see some lovely ellies, lots of pumbas & quite a few giraffes. Oh, & Billy-Bob, Facebook girl & about 12 others went to sleep before we had even left the park......

Photo: Only a Japanese tourist would break out the binoculars to look at a crocodile that is 3 meters away!!

Later that night we headed back to Chobe....this time to the Chobe River for a sunset cruise. This, I'm happy to report, was spectacular! We piled into the boat with our esky & snacks & sat back to enjoy the show. The water was teaming with fish, crocodiles & hippos & the riverbank was packed with elephants, zebras, giraffes & various antelope. We even got to see some ellies cross the river in front of us & all of this in the soft light of dusk. The highlight for me was a giant herd of elephants with the tiniest baby ellie I have ever seen. We felt like the ones in the zoo as we were surrounded by wild animals on mass....what a feeling!

Photo: Happy families!!


It was coming to the end of our overland tour in Africa but before it was time for more sad goodbyes, we headed out of Botswana & into Zimbabwe. Our gorgeous tour leader & truck driver are natives of Zimbabwe & were so proud to be showing us into their country. Infact, at the border, Peter ran into his neice who was working at the immigration office. After settling into our camp at Victoria Falls, we walked into town for some shopping. We remembered how much we loved the markets last year so were very excited to get back there. It was while admiring some gorgeous carved masks that I met my new friend "Respect". Same as the boys in Botswana, these boys also have random words as their "English" name but Respect's actual name means respect in English. He explained to me that he had carved the masks himself, then pulled up a chair for me so that he could show me how he did it. It was really lovely to see him carve something right infront of me because you get quite used to the usual answer when you ask if they make their own wares - "Oh, my brother make this lady!". Respect proudly showed me his skills & then shared with me how his grandfather had taught him before he died & how important it was to him to keep the tradition alive for his Grandpa. He was such a sweetheart, maybe 17 years old, & we chatted for about 30 minutes about random stuff. He asked me if I would visit him later on my way back from the falls. The real reason for this, I know, is that he was desperate for Andrew's hat but Andrew didn't want a burnt head so he wouldn't give it up! Unfortunately I never managed to talk Andrew into giving up the hat (even though Respect said he'd give me a bowl for it) but I really enjoyed the banter & I learnt a little bit about his culture....even if I never did get a bowl & Andrew ended up chucking out his hat less than a week later!

Photo: Vic Falls

We left Respect & headed to the falls.....toting 2 masks weighing 5kgs. At the entrance gate one of the guards saw me struggling with my parcel in the heat & offered to watch them for me. Some would say naive but I still have confidence in the human race so I took the chance. Plus the guy's name was Philip & his colleague's name was....ummmmmm....Ngotibe.....I couldn't pronounce it so Philip told me to call him Elephant!! Nice! Their beaming smiles gave me even more confidence so without a care in the world we started off on the walk around the falls. It was beautiful. Most of the walk is along shaded paths & every now & then you would get a light shower from the spray of the falls themselves...a welcome event in the plus 40 degree heat.

Photo: .......& again!!!


After a couple of hours we had taken enough happy snaps & had enough exercise so we headed back to the camp....plus we had a hot date. Oh, & by the way, at the gate Philip & Elephant saw me straight away & brought my masks out to me! What good boys!


Our hot date was with Bernie. During the trip both the boys had talked non-stop about their families & they had both impressed us all so much with how devoted they both are. During one quiet chat I was having with Bernie I asked him how close to Vic Falls his house was & he said quite close. I asked him If he thought we might be able to meet his family & so the seed was planted. So at 5pm on our final night on tour we all met up to go to Bernie's house. It was literally 5 minutes walk from the campsite. When we arrived he showed us into his home & introduced us to his wife & son. You could see the pride written all over his face. After a few minutes his son disappeared & came back with a bag full of cans of drink & some chips. We all felt terrible that Bernie had spent his hard earned money on us so we all quietly agreed to share 1 can between 2. Bernie cottoned on straight away & demanded that we each have a can because "you are a guest in my home & I will provide you with refreshments!!". We did as we were told! We spent over an hour asking questions about the kid's school (his daughter is away at boarding school) & chatted to his wife...who looked completely bewildered as to why we were there! Soon it was time to leave though. On the way back I quietly asked Bernie how many other groups he had taken to his house over the years. He responded in a surprised way with "None!". WOW, what a priviledge to be allowed into his home & be able to share in his culture even just for a short time. It is something I will never forget. On the way back to the campsite every car that drove past stopped & chatted to Bernie. When we asked him what they said he replied "They all want to know who the white people are & I tell them them that they are my friends & they have been at my house!". What a sweetheart :)

Photo: Our beautiful boys......Bernie & Peter!

As I said, before long it was time to say goodbye. The best part of this trip are the amazing & diverse people you get to meet & spend time with & the worst part is having to say goodbye. There was definitely lots of tears....not just for the people but for the countries we were saying goodbye to & the experiences we had shared. Africa gets under your skin & provokes an emotional reaction in a way that I can't describe......but it's ok cos we still have a few more days left to spend in Johanessburg with Pieter & Hester :)

Photo:.......I made another new friend!!!

Lazy days in the Delta!

Before we knew it we were saying goodbye to Namibia & crossing into Botswana. Border crossings are generally a little bit stressful & usually slow but not the Mohembo crossing into Botswana. It was good fun....all because of a tiny man named Dominic. I approached the counter, passport in hand & he said with a giant smile "Welcome to Botswana!". We were applying for a 14 day visa but Dominic said "I think you love Botswana & want to stay longer so I give you 21 days......I do not want you to overstay your visa just because Dominic not give enough days!!". What a sweetheart :)



Our first stop in Botswana was Sitatunga campsite, the same place we had stayed last year. At the bar that night Andrew got talking to the bar tender, Stix, & after mentioning that we had been there the previous year Stix started asking questions. Turns out he could remember us....well he remembered that we were the ones that were dancing on the tables, slightly inebriated, doing rude things with a stuffed rooster! When it came time to leave he told us "I look forward to seeing you next year". I have to say, so do we!


The next morning we packed up & left for 2 nights camping on an island in the Okavanga Delta - the largest inland delta in the world. To get to the island we were "poled" out in Mukuru boats (a giant tree cut in half & carved into a canoe) by a group of young locals. Our poler was called "B"....the others had names like Action, Labour & Baker. It was a serene 2 hour boat ride, skimming across the water, working on our tans & taking photos of the water lillies, frogs & the occasional fish.

Photo:......ahhhhh, pretty!


We got to the island, set up camp & spent the rest of the afternoon swimming in the waterhole & sun baking. Late in the day we strapped on our walking boots & went out with Labour for a nature walk. Last year we had done the same thing & had the most incredible encounter with over 30 elephants....this year not so much as an impala. The temperature had dropped nicely as the sun was setting (it had been around 40 degrees for days) so we just soaked up the peace that comes over the bush at sunset & enjoyed the exercise after sitting on the truck for days.



The next morning was an early walk of about 3 hours but again we didn't see any animals so it was back to the camp to spend the day as we had the previous - swimming! This time though all the locals came into the water & everyone spent hours playing keepings off with a makeshift ball. Not a bad way to spend a lazy day in the Delta!

Photo:......ahhhhh, more pretty!!

Late in the afternoon we headed out on the boats for a sunset cruise. We came across a hippo & decided to park nearby & watch it while waiting for the sun to set. Now, the thing is, with hippos they can hold their breathe under the water for a very long time....so every now & then the hippo would disappear under the water, only to pop up a bit too close to the boat for comfort. Now with the thought that hippos are the most dangerous animal to humans in Africa, I was a bit freaked out. Luckily our polers knew what they were doing & we didn't end up as hippo bait.

Photo: I was hoping I didn't look like dinner!



On our last night we were excited to enjoy a tradition that we had also experienced last year. All the guides joined us around the campfire after dinner & they danced & sang for us. Now, when I say danced & sang, I mean they blew us away with their incredible voices teamed with lots of foot stomping & a bit of play acting. Nothing I write will do justice to the sound of 8 untrained voices harmonising perfectly & rising up into the night air....it made us all speechless. These guys have obviously been doing it their entire lives & we were terrified about the finale to the evening......we had to get up & reciprocate! Karaoke is my worst nightmare so you imagine how sick I was feeling when the guys took their final bows & it was our turn. BUT, I got a reprieve....before we could stand up & thank them, they disappeared into the night, off to sing for another group of campers on another island. So all in all it was a perfect night, not spoiled by my out of tune wailing & awkward 2 step!


Next day we were back in the mukurus early for the 2 hour journey back to the launching point & the ride back to our campsite. Just as we were leaving we spotted a familiar face - OT, our poler from last year. He is the big boss & it was lovely to see him & his wife still out there keeping the young ones in line.

Photo: Couldn't resist another sunset shot!

Time to move on again though, this time we were heading for Kasani, our base for game watching in Chobe National Park.

Stinky seals & beautiful cats!

So after a morning of sadness......no more sky diving & goodbye to the lovely Leanne....we headed to Cape Cross & the seal colony. I will do my best to convey the stench that overwhelmed us as we alighted the truck at Cape Cross. It was soooooo disgusting we all nearly threw up as soon as we got our first wiff....& that was about 100 metres from the seals! It was a spectacular sight, thousands of seals sprawled over the rocks & playing in the water....but the smell was something else! We lasted maybe 10 minutes before we all hightailed it back to the safety of the truck (not before postphoning lunch for a couple of hours due to our distrubed tummies!!). That night we stayed in a town called Twyflefontein....useless info but weird name huh?!

Photo: Stinky seals.....by the thousand!


Next stop was Kamanjab & the Cheetah Farm. It was incredible, we spent about an hour hanging out with 3 "tame" cheetahs. When I say tame, what I really mean is that they are all snuggles with their handlers & quite inquisitive about us but not too keen on being cuddled up to. So much so that after about 10 minutes we were advised to stay away from one of them cos she had "had enough"....translation "she is ready to eat someone!".

Photo: "Who's a pretty girl then?"

So the cheetahs wandered around the yard, stretched, licked our hands, climbed the trees, stretched some more & played chasey.

Photo: Mmmmmm...tasty!!


The funniest part was when the pet Jack Russell snapped at the heels of one of the cheetahs once too often & the cheetah took off after it. They also had a feed while we were there.....nice fresh zebra steaks! Of course I was in my element, they are just like pussy cats....only spotted, have giant teeth & weigh about 200kgs.

Photo: Run little fella....

Photo: Nomnomnomnom

After the fun of dinner time with the tame kitties, it was time to go out into the park for the real thing....feedtime for 16 wild cheetahs! As soon as we got to the gate the cheetahs started appearing out of the bush. These guys were much skinnier than the tame ones & they had a much harder look in their eyes but they still had the elegant walk & the stunning spotted coats. We drove for a few minutes into the park & the cheetahs followed from a safe distance. When we stopped, they encircled the ute & trailer (did I mention we were standing up in the back of the trailer??) & started licking their lips. It was a slightly disturbing feeling watching 16 hungry, wild cheetahs eye you off as a possible entree!

Photo: Check out those freaky eyes....

Then the show began......the first piece of meat was thrown out into the crowd of hungry cheetahs & they growled, fought, smacked & snarled at each other before one came out the winner with a slab of zebra in its mouth before taking off into the distance! This was repeated until all the cheetahs had grabbed a piece each.

Photo: Good catch!


There was one close call though....as I was bobbed down at the back of the trailer looking through the camera lens, a cheetah came walking into the frame (roughly level with my head) & as I went to photograph it, we made eye contact & I swear I saw it consider jumping into the the trailer with me.....a very scary split second passed as I moved quickly back & one of the handlers disctracted it from the front of the trailer. Pheew!! What stunning, regal creatures though.....yep, another animal to add to my ever-expanding zoo :)

Photo: I love Africa!

The wild life encounters continued over the next couple of days as we spent 3 1/2 days in Etosha National Park. We went on an afternoon game drive & were lucky enough to see a whole pride of lions - mum, dad, teenagers & babies - sooooo cute!They were all gathered around the watering hole at the same time as a handful of elephants, some zebra & a giraffe. A couple of the teenaged lions were a bit frigtened of the elephants & it was funny to see them give the elephants a wide berth which actually brought them closer to us than the elephants! Made us realise who the lions consider the bigger predator. We were lucky enough to be able to watch the lions for over an hour before it was sunset & time to be out of the park. What a priviledge being able to observe the behaviours & heirarchy in a pride of 16 lions, just mesmorising.

Photo: What an effort just for a drink!

The other cool thing about stayng in Etosha is that there are watering holes inside all the campsites which are lit up at night. This actually attracts more animals because they feel safer drinking there because the predators are easier to spot. So there are seats set up around the water that is raised, fenced off & a far enough away that it's safe but close enough that the view is amazing. This way we were able to observe rhinos in the water, giraffes, elephants, jackals & a lion. The night we saw the lion we went to bed & not long after we heard the lioness calling her family. About 10 mintues later we heard footsteps thudding through the camp, between our tents.....our first thought was "lions - arrrhhhhh" but a quick peak through the window revealed a couple of cheeky jackals scavenging for food....pheeeew!!



During the rest of our game drives we had lots more spectacular wildlife encounters. On one occasion we stumbled across a husband & wife lion trying to have some sexy time. The big boy did not look happy at all with us for inturupting & threw us dirty looks over his shoulder as he & his lady disappeared into the bush. Another time we watched a pride of lionesses lazing in the early morning sun, digesting the big meal they had enjoyed the night before....they all lay around in a meat coma while the babies climbed all over them & drove them mad.

Photo: "Not happy Jan!!"

On our very last morning, at the very last watering hole, on the way out of the park we hit the jackpot.....A LEOPARD. We couldn't believe our eyes, it is so rare to see one that even our guide Peter has never seen one in all the years he's been driving in Etosha. She was aware of us immediately but she kept her cool, finished her drink & then blended back into the bush. What was funny though was another safari vehicle was just down the road & they had stopped to look at some antelopes or something & we were all waving them over & saying "Screw the antelopes, we've gotta leopard!!". Their loss.

Photo: O-kay...so it seems a long way away.......

We could not have asked for a better end to our stay in Etosha National Park.....& I can finally say that I have seen the BIG 5!

Photot: That's me......on the Etosha Salt Pan!

Lets go jump out of a plane......

We arrived at Swakopmund, a small German colony on the coast of Namibia & checked into our hostel for the next 3 nights. It was all 7 of us in the hostel room so it was more like school camp than an African safari. Apart from the new member of our group....a 55 year old Chinese lady who chose to sleep with her naked arse hanging out!!


Our first obligation was to attend the activity information session in the booking office downstairs. Here they ran through all the adrenalin pumping things on offer in the town......& this is where everything changed. All the activities were designed to make the best of what the area is famous for - sand dunes. So you could choose from things like horse riding, sandboarding, quad biking, scenic flights........& SKY DIVING!! Now although I had been interesting in going sky diving in Switzerland (it was waaaayy too expensive), I hadn't given it much thought before now. So we sat through the DVD presentation & by the end of it Andrew had decided to do the sand boarding but I had no interest in eating sand so I randomly decided that I would sky dive. Just like that!!

There were 3 of us booked in for the following day at lunchtime. Now all I had to do was get through the next 15 hours without chickening out.....or letting Andrew talk me out of it! The next day dawned & I will admit there were a few butterflies. We were picked up by a couple of guys from the sky diving centre & I'm not sure if it was just nerves but I was being a bit cheeky & the first thing I asked was "Is there a bar at this place??". Well little did I know that they were also cheeky boys & our first stop was the sky diving office where they filled 3 eskies with beer before loading up the car & heading out into the dunes.

When we arrived at the sky diving centre I was suited up....but before that I was introduced to the guy who would have my life in his hands - Fuzzy! Cool name, cool guy! He did up all the straps & buckles & god knows what & then I had to get on my knees for a lesson on how not to die while jumping out of a plane! I could not stand still & it's funny to look back over the DVD now cos I basically spent the whole time hopping from one foot to the other trying no to pee my pants!

Photo: Not nervous at all.......well, maybe a little!

Then it was time to get in the plane....& strangely enough that's where the nerves ended. We jumped in & spent the next half hour or so flying around over the sand dunes & coastline looking for a safe place to land....I assume! During the flight the boys on board were complete clowns, pulling my ankles closer to the door of the plane (did I mention there was no door & the lining was gaffa taped on??). Fuzzy put my hand on the wheel of the plane & turned it so the plane veered left & right.....yet I still remained completely at ease. Before I knew it I was being scooted along on my bum toward the open door. Next thing my arse was hanging out of the plane while Fuzzy prepared to jump.

Photo: Having a ball

Photo: No turning back now!!


And then I was flying! The actual jump out of the plane was a bit of a shock but the falling didn't feel like falling at all. The camera man was right in front of us & he pulled faces, blew kisses & did whatever he needed to do to provoke a reaction from me & make for good viewing on the DVD. It was incredible. After 30 seconds of free fall, Fuzzy said goodbye to the camera man & pulled the shoot. That is a weird feeling....feels like you are shooting up in the air at about 200 miles an hour...oh, & I might have squelled just a little!

Photo: Ahhhhhhhhhh.........

Then we began the 5 minute descent to earth. The first thing that struck me about coming down was how quiet it was. Fuzzy & I could easily chat & laugh & look down at the earth below us. As we got nearer to the clouds, he asked me if I'd like to walk on them. So we did.....I don't know how but next thing I knew I was literally walking on the clouds...then we shot through them. I was having a particularly bright moment & all I could say was "Shit, they're cold"...daaahhh!! I even got to take the controls for a minute...pulling them left & right to send us around in a circle.....until Fuzzy decided I was being too much of a girl & took them back. He yanked them freakin hard & we spun around so freakin fast.....oh yeah, I might have screamed a bit then too!

Photo: Say cheese!!



Then we were ready to land & "Bam" it was over. I didn't face plant on landing which was a relief but as soon as I was upright I was asking Fuzzy if I could go again....I absolutely loved it. The high you get & the sense of achievement were amazing. Unfortunately I was the last one to jump that day cos the weather had closed in so when we got back to where the others were waiting I did my best to control my excitement....I can only imagine how they must have felt having planned their jump for months only to be told they would have to wait another day.....meantime I jumped on a whim.

Photo: Safe & sound......& ready to go again!

At least we still had the beers to drink....& apparantly we weren't allowed to leave until all 3 eskies were empty. It turned into a long night....after finishing all the beer we went back to the sky diving office in town....for more beers. Lots of drinking ensued & before long we were all smashed....& heading back to the hostel for dinner. Before that though, Fuzzy & Craig (one of the owners) had decided that I would be jumping again the next day. Woo hoo!



The next day dawned & Andrew headed off to do the sandboarding (which, I am happy to report, he loved!) We were picked up a bit earlier than we expected....to attend a birthday party it turns out! When we arrived at the skydiving centre a party for Craig's 9 year old daughter was in full swing....& she was to jump for the first time with her Dad. I don't remember my 9th birthday but I'm pretty sure I got ripped off!! She was so confident as she strode out to the plane....Craig looked like he was going to puke! The jump went well though & the look of relief on Craig's face as he landed safely with his baby daughter was priceless. Then the weather closed in again & our guys ended up being the last to jump for the day....that meant no second jump for me :( BUT, it did mean another night on the booze!



It was so much fun. I can't tell you what an amazing bunch of guys they all were. It was like hanging out with my brothers but it made me miss my real brothers so much. By the time the night was over, not only was I going to jump first thing in the morning FOR FREE, I was also going to stay in Swakopmund & be trained up as a sky diving camera woman....I won't lie, a lot of alcohol was consumed during this planning session!! Unfortunately, I had to explain to the boys that I really have no intention of ever jumping out of a plane on my own.....well, maybe one day!!





P.S So the weather was shit again the next morning so I am still yet to jump again.....oh well, just another reason to return to Namibia!