Day 17: Good-byes

What can you say about saying good-bye?  I guess the fact that I only have two pictures for this day, sums it up.  We had a tasty breakfast at our bed and breakfast and then headed for the Port Elizabeth airport.  We got there early enough for Grandpa to visit yet another Vodacom booth to try to work out the service for his cell phone.  The word "Vodacom" became a regular part of our vocabulary and somewhat of a "Where's Waldo?" adventure through the trip, as Grandpa seemed to always be searching for one.  In fact, when we were at the Johannesburg airport, whiling away a few hours, we passed a sport shop that had a Vodacom shirt and DJ suggested we buy it for Grandpa.  But, since his communication with Vodacom was nothing but frustrating, he would have burned the shirt.

We took the opportunity to play a few more games of Nertz in a meeting room, while we waited for our flight. When the time for our flight came around, we left each other knowing we had such a great time that we just didn't want it to end, yet also feeling the pull of getting back to normal life. We waved to Grandma and Grandpa for as long as we could see each other and commenced to wait some more.

We had a long layover in Johannesburg, where we tried to walk around a lot in preparation for a 16 hour flight.  We also played Nertz, finally got to eat at the highly recommended Mug and Bean (should've done that sooner - it was yummy!), walked by the KitKat tasting table a number of times, bought items that would be confiscated in customs (Biltong and leftover oranges and apples) that would cause a small spat in Atlanta (we barely caught our plane in Atlanta because I decided to be truthful about small food items).

With all the crazy, wonderful, beautiful, funny, uncomfortable, joyful things that happened on our vacation in Europe and South Africa, I wouldn't change a thing.  We learned so much by both information given and having a lack of information that I would deem our trip a true adventure.  I tell people that one of the most valuable things about our trip was learning about other people and places, but also letting the kids witness their parents figure things out in foreign countries and languages (that's right, we really don't know what we are doing).  The boys asked us many questions to which the honest answer was "I don't know, but we'll figure it out."  I thought it was pretty funny that at customs in Atlanta we had a little conversation with the agent about how our kids asked us questions we didn't know the answers to and during our conversation, a mother with two kids passed us while she said to them, "I don't know!"  I guess we are not the only ones.

I loved thinking about life from the perspective of people who do not live in the United States.  I loved sharing it all with family.  I loved the adventure of it all and taking risks and making desperate decisions and laughing about it all.  I love this beautiful earth.  I love making do with what we had.  I loved the hours in the car observing lives lived differently than mine.  I loved trying new food.  I loved being in very old places.  I loved seeing animals. This is not hyperbole.  I really did love all of those things and more.  Except the 16 hour plane ride.  I didn't love that. But it was totally and completely worth it - and I'd do it again!

Day 16: Leaving Plettenburg Bay Area for Port Elizabeth

The last morning in the farmhouse was a busy one as we needed to pack all of our bags, put away the heating rocks where we found them, and play tetris with the luggage in the van.

Good-bye farmhouse in Africa!

Our first stop was to see the World's Highest Bungee jump (highest bridge).  Well, it was the highest for a while, now there is another.  But this one is pretty high!

Since we did not want to try the bungee jump (except DJ) we took pictures of some other daring persons.  If you look closely, he is wearing a black shirt and brown pants.

If you look even closer you can see the brown pants and black shirt (and there is a head and other body parts that appear to be connected at the time the picture was taken) between the second and third white flag.  He did make it back alive, all body parts in tact.  I can't vouch for his mental capacity though.

Almost every day while we were in South Africa, at least one of the boys (mostly Spencer though) asked when we would be able to go on a Segway tour.  Thanks to Weird Al Yankovic and his "White and Nerdy" song, the boys thought Segways would be the most awesome thing ever.  Making us. . . white and nerdy.  So, our second to last day, we finally caved and signed up for an hour tour on Segways at Storms River Village.  Just Mark went with them while Grandpa and Grandma and I walked through town (taking a whole 7 minutes).  

Safety vests.  Check.

Practice course. Check.

Lean to your right and left. Check.

Smiles. Check.

Water. No problem. Check.

Satisfaction. Check.

Lunch at the Elvis Cafe.  Check. Wait. What?  Yes, in this very small town, there was a pink, flashy, 50's-style diner.  We had to eat there!  Hamburgers and milkshakes (except I had an ostrich dog, which was delish!), old cars, pinball machines, Marilyn Monroe, Elvis, motorcycles and more. 

Who knew?

Our next stop was not really a stop, because we continued moving, but on a zip line!  There were a few options for zip lining, but we chose to zip line over Tsitsikamma Falls and we weren't disappointed.  The scenery was beautiful and our guides were great. Spencer even said zip lining was better than the Segways! Pictures of zip liners and scenery below are courtesy of one of the guides.

Very helpful sign.

I had to include this picture because that's the same face he makes when he's getting up on water skis.

Being by water is relaxing anyway, but feeling like you are flying over peaceful water, is even more relaxing (when you forget that you are very high up).

After Tsitsikamma Falls, we drove to Port Elizabeth to stay in a very comfortable Bed and Breakfast.  Before retiring for bed, we went to a popular South African chain restaurant called Ocean Basket and partook of the delicious seafood available there.  We ended our night with a stroll through a local mall, watching a water/light show and then eating South Africa's attempt at frozen yogurt, sans creaminess.  A busy, but wonderful day of new experiences and great people.

Day 15, pt 2: Ocean

After the safari, we ate at Old Nick's: seafood soup, steak, hot dishes, veggie dishes, hamburger and, yup, chicken nuggets. And pastries - oh the pastries! When we got in the van, Grandma realized her phone was missing and probably left it in the bathroom at the Safari place.  So the Astling crew was dropped off at the ocean, while Grandpa and Grandma hurried back to the Reserve.

The water was very cold, but the boys played in the ocean anyway while Mark and I sat in chairs from the farmhouse and covered up with towels.

We watched surfers and a safari fishing boat launch itself onto the beach and get towed in by a tractor.

The boys really wanted to eat at KFC for dinner, so we made it there before closing time.  But places where the adults wanted to eat were already closed.  After checking with, Mug and Bean, Old Nick's and a seafood place that didn't offer "take away," we ended up going back to the beach and ordered take away from a seafood and grill restaurant, to eat at the farm house (the food was delicious, worth the trouble).  We had a quiet night of reading in front of the fire or playing games on the iPad.

Day 15, pt 1: Safari

Day 15, we went on a Safari with a safari-looking jeep, and a guide who was very willing to offer information.  We went to a wild game preserve and met up first with African buffalo, which are not related to the similar looking Asian water buffalo.  Our guide informed us that they are particularly aggressive, but we should be fine if we stayed in the large jeep. No arguments there.

Our very helpful guide informed us that even more aggressive than the African buffalo is the ostrich.  In her years working at the reserve, only the ostrich has attacked her.  While their legs look small compared to the rest of their body, they are powerful.  If you ever find yourself being chased by an ostrich (you'll thank me later for this) you should lay down on the ground because they can only stomp on you, as opposed to raking you with their claws.  You're welcome.

I could stare at rhinoceros all day.  They are one of the most interesting looking animals around. The guide turned off the motor so we could hear them vacuuming up the grass. They really did sound like vacuums!

Crocodiles near the watering hole!  They were fenced in so animals couldn't get close.

Are zebras white with black stripes or black with white stripes?

This is an Eland, with cool twisty antlers.

This stunning animal is a Nyala

Another sneaky mongoose.

The reserve's newest animal addition were wild dogs.  They are becoming extinct because in the wild they breed with other dogs, so a pure breed is hard to find.  They really were beautiful.  With the wild dogs, cheetahs and lions, we had to drive up to a fence, open the gate, park in a holding area between two gates, open the next gate, close the last and then we could move on.  Safety of other animals is top priority on a preserve.

Spencer decided to get his cheetah time at this stop.  You can see the two laying in the back ground.  I was proud of his bravery!

I usually get chills when I look at animals, partly because they are really amazing with their looks, behaviors and instincts, and partly because they are carnivores and I'm meaty.  But these two gave me chills because of their magnificence. 

Another perspective picture.  This really isn't a two headed eland, but I can't find the second pair of legs!

We were delighted to see a Mama and baby hippo sunning by the lake.  There was no movement whatsoever, but the guide said we were lucky to see them, since they are usually in the lake.

Lots of movement from birds though.

Just as our ride was coming to a close, our guide spotted a giraffe on top of a mountain. She said we had a little extra time, so we drove up the mountain to get a better look.

The giraffe leaned over to eat something and then we heard loud crunching.  Our guide told us that giraffes can tell when they need calcium, so they look for old bones and chew them up.

While the animals were amazing to look at, the view wasn't too bad either.

And a good-bye from a perfect spider web in an old safari jeep.