Africa Day 1: Arrivals and Grubs

After a delightful breakfast at Ten Bompas (Poached eggs!), Ben and I headed back to the airport. At the Johannesburg airport we met up with a few from our group and we all headed out to Livingstone. The flight was short and fine. But man! Immigration was terrible!!

We were at the back of the plane, so we were some of the last in line. There were three desks open. Every single transaction lasted no fewer than 5 minutes. So obviously, the line was very slow. Kevin and Ashley had been near the front. We thought about joining them in line, but figured everyone would get mad at us. So we stayed in the back. And waited. And waited. It was terrible.

Finally we got our stamps and visas, and were on our way. Kevin and Ashley wisely made their way to the hotel without us. Luckily, we still had a driver waiting for us. He got our bags loaded up and brought us to the Royal Livingstone Hotel. It was beautiful! But because we had gotten held up so long at immigration, we didn't have much time to enjoy our surroundings. We got our room, dropped our bags and loaded up!

Our first group activity was to go to an elephant experience. We were able to feed, pet and look at elephants. Elephants are huge!! I didn't fully appreciate their size until I was standing next to one. After that we had a very lovely high tea.

We made our way back to the hotel. And... their were zebras outside our room! Just wandering around, munching on grass. It was so cool to be close to them. While fairly tame (they live on the property so they are used to humans) they are still wild animals. A guy was standing around making sure we didn't get too close.

For dinner we were off in golf carts to a private dinner on the far side of the property. We were greeted by singers, dancers and drummers. They had a huge spread of meats and vegetables. And grubs. A whole big bowl full of them. Somehow my table all decided to give them a try. Honestly, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but I was still choking and gagging it down.

After dinner a few of us got up and danced with the dancers. I'm sure we were pretty entertaining! After a bit, we headed back to our resort. A few of us stayed up and had a drink, but none of us lasted too long after a busy day and an early day ahead of us.

Getting to Africa

A few weeks ago we had the opportunity to travel to Africa for a Maverick Epic trip. And it was epic! So many great memories and adventures. But first, we had to get there.

We left on a Friday morning. Our first flight was to MSP. It felt a little like being back home. On our way between gates we stopped at the rest rooms. I hung my hoodie on the hook on the back of the door. I put our passports and tickets in the pocket. I went about my business. I put my backpack back on. I carefully grabbed my hoodie, making sure everything was still in the pocket. I washed my hands. I reached into the pocket and... no passports! Other pocket... nothing. Floor... no sign of them. I ran out of the bathroom (freaking out) to tell Ben. Then back into the bathroom to check the floors and ask the ladies in there. No passports. Great. We hadn't even left the country, and now we can't leave the country! I was so upset with myself. I reported back to Ben. He was very chill and unconcerned, by the way. As I headed back to the restroom to look again, he went to the closest Delta gate. Sure enough, someone had found our passports and tickets and returned them. Still baffles me as to how I managed to lose them.

Ben used his global upgrades to get us into Business Class. It was so nice to have room, good food and a seat that went flat for sleeping. We traveled to Amsterdam in comfort. Once there we went to the lounge to see if we could get an upgrade to Johannesburg (that leg was KLM and Delta can't confirm upgrades). Luckily for us, we got the upgrades for that leg too! Another pampered flight for us.

We arrived in Johannesburg around 9 pm. We had a driver waiting for us to bring us to our hotel. We stayed at a very nice boutique hotel owned by Starwood (Ten Bompas). The staff took great care of us.  In our room we had "welcome fruits" and champagne. Our shower was also a steam room.

And after a good night's sleep in a real bed, we began our "real" trip.