Back to the Bush!

What a hectic couple of days…
It started with my Uncle and cousin arriving from the UK, and the cricket match that didn’t happen due to the freezing cold and rain. They headed off to Kruger with my Mom while I went to Lisa and Andrew’s wedding. What an AMAZING wedding! Lisa looked stunning and I’ve rarely seen such a happy relaxed couple :) And amazingly, the weather let up for a couple of hours! We had such fun – so much so I even managed to keep high stiletto’s on for (most) of the night, despite almost falling a couple of times on the grass. It really was fantabulous!
Then it was off to Kruger for me as well! I stopped and had coffee and muffins with Tracy in Lydenburg and then got to the heat and humidity (I had forgotten it!) of Skukuza. I met up with the family and we went for a picnic lunch at Lake Panic – much to the concern of my uncle and cousin who were quite wary of being out the vehicle in “the middle of Kruger”. I then quickly caught up with Karen and Stevie from OTS before we headed off to Biyamiti…
Well, at least tried to head off on a relaxing afternoon drive. Due to all the rain over the past couple of days, many bridges were flooded and quite a few of the roads as well. Everywhere we turned we came across people saying roads were impassable. But we arrived safely with some nice sightings along the way, including a HUGE python!
The next morning it was up early (read 4am) for a walk – which was amazing! Apart from a black rhino really close (about 10m away!), we saw elephant and white rhino and the usual impala, giraffe etc. That evening, Chris and Uncle John treated us to an evening (which turned into a night) drive – and we saw another python, a mamba, a white-tailed mongoose, and finally after not seeing much but impala for about 1.5hrs, some lions with cubs! SSOOO cute!
a nice drive through the park, we set off for home…
…or so we thought! Dad’s car decided otherwise when the fan belt broke just past Hazyview. Not a good idea with 4 over-tired people who are all head strong. However, Renault assist and AA were great and just over 2 hrs later we were on the way to Old Joe’s Kaia. Which was great except for the fact it was my Mom’s 60th the next day, and my graduation. However, the folks at Old Joe’s couldn’t have been nicer – they made us welcome, made my Mom a Chocolate Baked Alaska birthday cake and set an amazing birthday breakfast table complete with “Happy Birthday” serviettes. The fact that my other cousin passed more of his GP exams was further cause for celebration :)
Then it was off to Renault in Nelspruit – not the best experience ever. But eventually, the fan belt was fixed and we rushed back to Jo’burg.
After getting my gown, unpacking and changing, we got back to graduation with literally 10mins to spare! And we all got tickets :)
At the end of a rushed day, we went out for a yummy (sushi) dinner!
Pics are: http://picasaweb.google.com/lancasterjenny/LisaAndrewSWedding?authkey=Gv1sRgCLXPu6Hd-L-81wE# (Lisa & Andrew's Wedding)
and http://picasaweb.google.com/lancasterjenny/KNPNov09?authkey=Gv1sRgCOLLycP57L6ZeQ# (KNP)