Shinde to Jo'burg to Heathrow

Arriving at the little airstrip, we were relieved to see another truck waiting with our luggage in it as our plane was about to land.  We said our goodbyes to Chachos (I'm sure he was as relieved as we were) and to Ron/Sheila, who I wish we had more time with as they were a delightful couple.  

Again it was interesting and infuriating how other people behave; those who boarded the little safari plane first sat at the back and we all had to force our way past.  

I couldn't resist a few last photos as we flew over the delta, sadly it was probably more impressive from the air than the ground.

Aerial view of Maun, which is known as "The Gateway to the Delta" and I'm sure before mass tourism started was a sleepy little village.  Now it is a sprawling mini-city and home to most of the people who work in the delta's camps (regular flights to and from usually form part of their contract which is why the safari planes here are always so full).

The fellow passengers who I moaned about above were obviously the first to get off the plane at Maun and first also onto the tarmac-terminal minibus sitting at the front this time, so once again we all had to push past.  These trips are relatively short so surely get in and sit in the most convenient place for those following on grrrrrr!

We'd been given a packed lunch by Shinde but with the little plane rammed full there was no chance of consuming anything and unfortunately when we arrived at Maun we had to put all our baggage through security and were told to throw the drinks away - I quickly downed mine.  

We had about 1 hour 15 mins to wait for our flight to Johannesburg and as we were killing time in the departures area (no wifi - shock! horror!) I suddenly looked up and recognised the back of someone's t-shirt - it was George, our Chinese pal from Mashatu.  He was chatting with some guys from National Geographic and they found it most amusing that "everyone knew George" but he's that kind of guy and we had a good catch up until his flight to Cape Town departed.

The flight to Jo'burg was uneventful and once again we had a box of nice food and complementary wine - it really is like going back in time.   

This statue in the arrivals hall is of Oliver Tambo, South African anti-apartheid politician and ANC president 1967-1991 and from whom Johannesburg International Airport (O R Tambo) gets its name.

Another quick snap I took at the airport was of a promotional stand for Ian's favourite tipple - Amarula

Ian was meeting us at the airport to drive us across town to the Peech Boutique Hotel (only to collect us again tomorrow for the reverse 1 hour trip - don't get me started) and so we decided (my) Ian would go and meet him in arrivals whilst I dashed up the escalators and raided Woolworths for sandwiches, crisps and some wine for our evening meal.  We were both tired and going out for dinner would have involved taxis or eating at the Peech, neither of which really inspired us.

Much to Ian's surprise we asked him to collect us tomorrow at whatever time he suggested in order to get us to Jo'burg Airport for 1330 (although our flight didn't leave until 1845).  When we'd done our recce for the Maun flight, we'd walked past the Virgin Help Desk and so asked them at what time the lounge opened and whether we could indeed be there from its 1330 opening - absolutely, yes, we'd be most welcome.  So we explained to Ian that as we have to check out of our Peech Hotel room by 1100 (no late check out option even though they were certainly not full - another gripe) and kick our heels, we might as well kick them in Virgin's Lounge where there is food and drink, all freely available.

So we enjoyed our picnic and early night and after a decent night's sleep and breakfast, we checked out of the Peech, but left our cases there, and walked back down to the shopping precinct in the hope of buying a few gifts but in fact all we could find were some individual chocolate bars in the shape of a bear and named Spencer, so we bought 4 of these for C/S/M&E.  But we spent a very pleasant hour nursing a cuppa and watching the world go by.  Yes, there is still huge inequality in Johannesburg (as we saw driving through), but there is also seems to be a healthy population of black, middle class, who were immaculately turned out and clearly had money to spend.  Maybe a simplistic, tourist's view for which I apologise.

This time at the Peech we we'd had a much nicer room, upstairs and with a view of the gardens, although it was almost dark when we arrived I took a quick snap and a couple more this morning.  It seems funny to see blossom at this time of year but the temperature has warmed up considerably since we were here two weeks ago (although I still wouldn't swim!)

Ian was early picking us up and so we got to OR Tambo before check-in opened but only by 15 mins or so and once we had handed over our cases we headed for the lounge and settled ourselves down.  We didn't expect it to be anything like the one at Heathrow but it was perfectly fine and quite empty when we arrived.  After a couple of glasses of fizz, we left our camera bags under the watchful eye of the receptionist and her numerous CCTV cameras and went for a walk around the airport shops, which is not something we usually bother with.  We were able to get a few presents and I managed to get another soap stone animal for my collection, but we never did find a wooden giraffe we both liked.  This photo of Ian is incredibly rare as it shows him in an airport lounge without a glass of something alcoholic in his hand (maybe because I chopped them off!).  Although we knew we'd be fed on the plane, we had a one course meal in the lounge (Fish and Chips again which was delicious) and the staff, once again, were all lovely.

The time passed very quickly and in due course we boarded and settled in our little coffins for the night.  The choice for dinner was fabulous for me, but the portions were huge.

We made good time to Heathrow and in fact had to circle for 15 mins or so as apparently nothing is allowed to land before 0430 and we were the first to touch down.  I know there's been problems with luggage but even so I wasn't prepared for the carnage in the Baggage Reclaim Area, but luckily our cases appeared without much of a wait.

We'd arranged with Don to pick us up at 0700 as we wanted to make use of Virgin's Arrivals Lounge which was fantastic; we had lovely showers and breakfast cooked to order.  We were ready about half an hour early so messaged Don as we knew he'd also be there early and in no time at all we were home.

In order to write the blog, I have to review every single photo and accurately recall the memories they provoke and I think, on balance, we have had a great holiday - not a fabulous one, for many reasons - but I'm so glad we went (especially as Ian's put an indefinite moratorium on safaris!) and the Elephant Hide at Mashatu was an unforgettable experience.

Shinde - Day 3 AM

Well that's it, our last morning and quite frankly I think we're both thoroughly fed up and ready to go home - although there is always that sense of anticipation as to what might show itself on the drive.

Unfortunately when I woke up my right eye seemed unusually bleary, even for 0530, and when I'd showered and finally glanced in the mirror I realised why.  I'd been bitten and it was massively swollen, so much so that may eyelid was practically actually touching my glasses.  We don't carry antihistamine tablets (we really should do as this isn't the first time) although we do have cream but I felt it was a bit close to the eyes/tear ducts for cream so decided just to put up with it.  Might make photography a bit more interesting!

As we were sharing the truck, and most likely missing lunch, we had a full breakfast and continued our chat with Ron and Sheila.  As instructed we left our packed bags in our tent and someone would collect them and bring them to the airstrip.  Waiting to say goodbye was the Manager, a couple of staff and Mr Bee who'd guided us yesterday on the waterways - luckily we had an envelope ready for him otherwise it could have been a little embarrassing.  I'm still not totally happy with the tipping culture on safari, it seems to me that guests are expected to tip the guides more than they earn in wages whereas the general camp staff who usually do so much to make the stay enjoyable and memorable (excluding this camp, sadly) get a few $ to split between them

Sunrise was beautiful and my spirits lifted a little; maybe today we'd be luckier; after all, our "amazing last mornings" are fast becoming a tradition.  

Sadly not this time, this is all I took in the next 1 1/2 hours and if it wasn't for this blog I would probably have binned the lot as there is nothing really worth keeping.

Ron and Sheila had kindly let us have the front seats as it was our last drive and although I thought Ron spoke loud enough, Chachos never seemed to answer his questions - not that we really needed him for the little we saw.  Nor did Chachos bother to check that we'd both finished taking shots before he moved off and as Ron was a little slow, he was quite frustrated at times.  Chachos was probably trying to track the wild dogs again without telling us

African Fish Eagle

Green Pigeon

Even these little darlings were a rare sight at this camp - LBR, of course

We came to a herd of about 7-8 elephants including this one with one very straight tusk.  Unfortunately it was known to be quite aggressive and so we couldn't get too close nor manoeuvre the truck for a better, grass free, shot.

The tall golden grasses are beautiful to look at but a real pain when it comes to photography.

Common Waterbuck

Another fabulously whiskered warthog - I've finally remembered who they remind me of - the late Jimmy Edwards (actor).

We then saw this lone Tsessebe, which had the most hilarious running action, springing all 4 feet off the ground - I wish I'd caught a video.

Sorry OOF (out of focus)

Chachos heard over the radio that there was a leopard in the vicinity and luckily another truck had found it and about 20 minutes later we were on the scene.  We then followed it for just under an hour, so mostly just a series of pictures (hope they're not too repetitive), but I'll add a bit of text when it's relevant.  

It was a male leopard and he was HUGE and I must say not particularly attractive (unlike the females we saw at Mashatu).  

But he did have the most wonderful whiskers.

He was obviously on a mission and walked across all different kinds of terrain, sometimes along tracks where it was quite easy for us to follow.

But also through some quite boggy areas (hence the black belly/feet).  Just imagine if his "whotsits" had been electric blue like the Vervet monkeys!

He walked literally right in front of our truck numerous times (I've left the OOF bits in to show just how close he was).

At one point we encountered this lone male hippo and thought the leopard may attack, but no he just carried on walking past.

In the other truck was the family staying in the exclusive Shinde Enclave and at one point the chap thought it was a clever idea to stand up - boy did he get told off by his guide!

The leopard climbed up on this small mound and we were really hoping he'd stop for a while and pose but as you can see in the video, he just kept on walking.

He'd obviously picked up a scent here.

Sometimes we seemed to lose him completely in the long grass

He did stop and pose on a mound but unfortunately as we were trying to follow we got stuck in the mud and the other truck drove past us!!!

Chachos said that he wouldn't even have attempted to follow the leopard had we been the only truck as he wasn't sure of the terrain and with us having a flight to catch wouldn't have risked it.   After what seemed like a frustratingly long time the leopard carried on and the other truck came back to tow us out - what a missed opportunity to have taken some delicious close up photos.

He then circled a herd of about 50 or so Red Lechwe for a while but they spotted him easily.

They then proceeded to follow him which amazed us, but Chachos explained that they were letting the leopard know that he'd been spotted and therefore they were safe.  As I mentioned before the surprise element plays a big part in any successful kill as leopards' speed isn't that good.

Eventually we decided to leave him to it as I think we were all bursting for a *ee and a cuppa and of course Ian and I were also conscious that we had a plane to catch.  Rather unimaginatively, I thought, we stopped at exactly the same tree as yesterday.

After our comfort break we continued on for a short while but the only other creature we saw was this female (I think) ostrich.

OK so, on reflection, maybe not too bad a last morning after all.