Watching the fireworks from the water was so less crowded.

Literally as we were leaving this chap came into camp to say goodbye.

Those termites like to keep themselves busy.

Probably the one animal that paid absolutely no attention to us tourists at all.

Was lovely spot for our finally morning coffee stop. Though I opted for hot chocolate with Amarula.

The steenbok, a smaller relative of the springbok.

A scops owl, just perched right by the camp's outdoor dining area.

An electric fence where the first wire is 6ft high, designed to keep elephants out of the camp.

This was yesterday's bush survival lesson, very entertaining.

The somewhat basic departure lounge at Hoedspruit airport, minus any glass for the windows.

Table mountain lit up to the right of the wheel, it looked like cloud to me.

It was so loud and lively in the marina, was great though taking it in from the comfort of the boat.

A Day Of Two Halves

December 31, 2024 in South Africa ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

Our final 5:30am start this morning. We've done 6 drives of around 3.5 hours each, so in the last 3 day we've spent 21 hours in the vehicle. The time though has absolutely flown by, it's always been interesting, sometimes really exciting and once or twice scary,

It was a fantastic trip, the accommodation and facilities in the middle of the bush were excellent, the free drink contributed to the ambiance but most of all the staff were so friendly, helpfully and entertaining.

So after our final 3 course breakfast, it was back to the local airport for the 2.25 hour flight to Cape Town, arriving at our apartment at 5:30pm. So plenty of time to get ready for our evening boat trip.

The solitude of our time on safari was blown away as we headed to the waterfront at 8pm, to find our boat. The whole area was banged out, people already taking up the best standing spots, every restaurant and bar looked full. It was a good job we had booked well in advance. There was loud music being relayed all around the marina, the place was really buzzing.

The days of standing for four hours waiting for midnight and to watch the fireworks are long gone. So a boat in the harbour, food, drink, a seat and toilets to hand was the perfect way to see in the new year and watch the fireworks. A couple of drinks in an Irish bar after getting off the boat, meant it was just gone 3am by the time we got back to the apartment. I certainly slept well.Read more