Another early morning for our last game drive. Having seen all the animals most of us wanted to, it was a relaxing drive. We saw some more giraffes!
After a delightful breakfast, it was time to load up and leave Ulusaba. Our rangers drove us one last time. We said our good byes and then off in our little planes to the main airport in Kruger. Things took longer than expected so we were pushing the time to check luggage unto our flight. Sometimes it's a good thing that your group is most of the flight... they made exceptions for all of us and we all made it.
I should mention that today was our 15 year anniversary. :) On our flight to Cape Town Ben and I were sitting by Paul. Towards the end of the flight he got up and was talking to one of the flight attendants. We saw hand gestures and looks coming our way. We knew he was up to something! A few minutes later, the flight attendant came over and congratulated us on our anniversary. She said that the captain wanted to invite one of us to the cockpit. I wanted Ben to go. He wanted me to go. We decided on me. I started to get up and she quickly said to sit down and that she would get me later. We then thought that perhaps we had misunderstood her and I would get to go to the cockpit after we landed. Not nearly so cool, but whatever. We went back to chatting. A few minutes later, the flight attendant came back and said the captain was ready for me. I guess we were right the first time!
I got escorted to the cockpit door and then it was opened and I was ushered inside. The captain introduced himself and his copilot. He helped me get settled into the jump seat. He told me about our approach. At this point we were above a huge layer of clouds, so beyond clouds, I couldn't see anything. It was slightly unnerving for me to watch us go through the clouds knowing that we were relying on equipment and maps to keep us from plowing into the side of the mountains. But once we passed through the clouds, it was a beautiful sight! I quickly made out the landmarks the captain had told me about. He pointed out a few more things as we made our way to the runway. And then, we had landed. It was then that the captain told me that the copilot was picking up his mom and sister and flying to Johannesburg to propose to his girlfriend.
After getting our bags we loaded up into a bus and made our way into the city. In Cape Town we were staying at cute little boutique hotels. Because of this, we had two hotels to accommodate us all. Slightly disappointing to be separated, even if it were only by 600 meters. We were in the second hotel. Our host, Emmy, was fabulous! Just a bubbly lady with happiness following her around. Unfortunately, our room was directly underneath the reception and dining room. And we could hear just about everything.
Soon it was dinner time so we headed out to catch our bus. One of our guides came by with her car and said there was a problem with our bus but they had chartered a city bus for us. Whatever. Soon the bus pulled up. I told Ben, "Look, there are randoms in the bus. That's weird." But whatever. A few blocks into our journey and the most amazing thing happened... the randoms started singing! They were an a capella group! It took us seconds before some of us were up and clapping and singing along. It was so much fun! One song they sang was "Welcome to Cape Town." We sang it for the rest of the trip.
Our destination wasn't what we were expecting. It was someone's house! The lady there offered tours and from her home, cooking lessons. So we all got to help make roti, curry chicken, samosas, and some fried corn balls. We had a lot of fun. And the food was delicious! Although it was a fun time, not exactly what we were thinking would be a nice anniversary activity. We had talked about just going out the 2 of us, but part of the reason we love going on trips is the interactions with the others in the group. We can always hang out just the 2 of us. Had we known though, we may have been selfish (mainly because we were so hungry when we got there and then we didn't eat for another 1.5 hours). But I'm glad we stayed.
After a delightful breakfast, it was time to load up and leave Ulusaba. Our rangers drove us one last time. We said our good byes and then off in our little planes to the main airport in Kruger. Things took longer than expected so we were pushing the time to check luggage unto our flight. Sometimes it's a good thing that your group is most of the flight... they made exceptions for all of us and we all made it.
I should mention that today was our 15 year anniversary. :) On our flight to Cape Town Ben and I were sitting by Paul. Towards the end of the flight he got up and was talking to one of the flight attendants. We saw hand gestures and looks coming our way. We knew he was up to something! A few minutes later, the flight attendant came over and congratulated us on our anniversary. She said that the captain wanted to invite one of us to the cockpit. I wanted Ben to go. He wanted me to go. We decided on me. I started to get up and she quickly said to sit down and that she would get me later. We then thought that perhaps we had misunderstood her and I would get to go to the cockpit after we landed. Not nearly so cool, but whatever. We went back to chatting. A few minutes later, the flight attendant came back and said the captain was ready for me. I guess we were right the first time!
I got escorted to the cockpit door and then it was opened and I was ushered inside. The captain introduced himself and his copilot. He helped me get settled into the jump seat. He told me about our approach. At this point we were above a huge layer of clouds, so beyond clouds, I couldn't see anything. It was slightly unnerving for me to watch us go through the clouds knowing that we were relying on equipment and maps to keep us from plowing into the side of the mountains. But once we passed through the clouds, it was a beautiful sight! I quickly made out the landmarks the captain had told me about. He pointed out a few more things as we made our way to the runway. And then, we had landed. It was then that the captain told me that the copilot was picking up his mom and sister and flying to Johannesburg to propose to his girlfriend.
After getting our bags we loaded up into a bus and made our way into the city. In Cape Town we were staying at cute little boutique hotels. Because of this, we had two hotels to accommodate us all. Slightly disappointing to be separated, even if it were only by 600 meters. We were in the second hotel. Our host, Emmy, was fabulous! Just a bubbly lady with happiness following her around. Unfortunately, our room was directly underneath the reception and dining room. And we could hear just about everything.
Soon it was dinner time so we headed out to catch our bus. One of our guides came by with her car and said there was a problem with our bus but they had chartered a city bus for us. Whatever. Soon the bus pulled up. I told Ben, "Look, there are randoms in the bus. That's weird." But whatever. A few blocks into our journey and the most amazing thing happened... the randoms started singing! They were an a capella group! It took us seconds before some of us were up and clapping and singing along. It was so much fun! One song they sang was "Welcome to Cape Town." We sang it for the rest of the trip.
Our destination wasn't what we were expecting. It was someone's house! The lady there offered tours and from her home, cooking lessons. So we all got to help make roti, curry chicken, samosas, and some fried corn balls. We had a lot of fun. And the food was delicious! Although it was a fun time, not exactly what we were thinking would be a nice anniversary activity. We had talked about just going out the 2 of us, but part of the reason we love going on trips is the interactions with the others in the group. We can always hang out just the 2 of us. Had we known though, we may have been selfish (mainly because we were so hungry when we got there and then we didn't eat for another 1.5 hours). But I'm glad we stayed.
