Originally Posted by
S3ute
Hello again from Brisbane.
As noted in the last post, Africa looms and the lounge room in Mrs S3ute’s convenient absence (temporary with work) is starting to look like those grainy photos of the Mombassa docks in days of yore.
Dusting off the binocs and sun helmet, torch, pocket knife and flask, passport and club introductions and getting the old Melvill and Moons ready for packing. The Maui Jim’s are a concession to modernity, but in the main packing follows a well established routine of amassing a pile of useful what-not, placing an empty valise beside it and up-ending one into t’other - easy peasey. After that it is all up up and away and leering at the hosties. That or a good book and plenty of glazed sedatives.
The half-chewed Andre finally came good with securing a booking for the week of a modest lodge on a rock overlooking Maleme Dam in the Matopos National Park - Cecil Rhodes of African colonial infamy had the good sense to be buried in a similar rock just up the hill. In another age I might have thought to do similar, the view being (were you not dead) quite stunning. Actually, on the topic of the great tycoon - the Bill Gates of his age - I discovered once that we share/d a common simple pleasure. Apparently despite his immense wealth (and my lack of the same) his favourite meal was gravy mince on toast topped with sprinkled cheddar cheese and a poached egg - accompanied with a dash of Worcestershire sauce and morning paper and not a smashed avo or jus in sight. Makes you hungry just contemplating it.
The second week might involve a short safari in Hwange - hopefully in a little deeper than the previous excursions with either Sinamatella or Robins camps as the evening braai and beer base. Again, planning has been left to the natives which means that it could turn out to be seeking out a homeless shelter around Bulawayo - hopefully not.
To take advantage of Mr Joyce’s episodic fits of largesse I have to fill in a third week to get the flight discount to and from Johannesburg. Not altogether an unappreciated inconvenience - retirement and lack of an office diary are both useful things to respectively have and not have these days. Decided to take the now well worn track across the highveld and down to Kruger for 5 days mixing it a bit between bush tents, rondavels and cottages. Usual digs at the Dullstroom Inn both ways should cap off a balanced mix of pub crawling, star gazing and animal gawping - hope so anyway.
Reports in due course.
Cheers,
Neil
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