Day 38
Today we left our castle just before 0800, we returned the keys and then went to Harrie’s Pancakes for breakfast – lemon meringue pancake and mango juice today – so yummy.
We wandered around a couple of shops and I bought a South African flag badge for my camera bag. I really liked this little clock, explaining ‘South African time’ and the use of the word now, which means ‘in a bit’ (a bit confusing to get used to at first).
We popped to the chocolate shop for another chocolate shot. Then we headed to the Birds Of Prey Rehabilitation Centre. It was really cool, in such a beautiful setting. We spent about an hour looking at the birds (and the tortoises) and reading their stories and then watched the show. The first bird on display was a peregrine falcon, Charlie. The second bird was a jackal buzzard, Jobie. The third bird was a spotted eagle owl called Daffie and the last bird was a secretary bird called Rooney. We got to hold a couple of them which was awesome. The trainer was so enthusiastic, it was contagious and really great to see someone with such a passion for their job.
We went back to the car and then began the two hour drive to Nelspruit. Jess had arranged to meet one of her former teachers for lunch. We arrived about 1400 and met Derek and his wife Leis. They are a really lovely couple. I had a Bar One Milkshake (awesome) and a pizza with chicken, chorizo, sweet chilli sauce, feta and rocket – super yummy. I then had a Picasso Fudge Cake for pudding – delicious.
We did a bit of shopping (contact lens solution and an African wildlife quiz book) and then we began the three hour drive back to camp. Part way there we received a message from the staff at camp saying that the water hasn’t been fixed yet and that it won’t be fixed until Sunday or Monday! We got back to camp and went straight to the classroom to use the WiFi to try and book somewhere local to stay for a couple of nights. We booked a really nice place but then received an email saying that they were fully booked and that the website hadn’t updated quickly enough! We decided to head to town in the morning ready to stay for a couple of nights and try and book something over breakfast! What a palaver!