A slow start but what trip later 13 july 2014

Good morning readers I am sat here all on my own in some stunning scenary with only the sound of the birds, the water pump and the occasional hippo.
As you can tell it was a slow relaxing morning, as usual a chat with others when they arrive, wonder why they only appear just before breakfast, then the full meal to prepare me for what was going to turn out to be a long busy day.
After spent time with other guests, its surprising the lives some have lead and how well they have coped with adversity but also seem to still have lots of plans for the future. Also discussed tablet computers and photography, before it was time for lunch,  oops forgot to say weather is getting milder and I should of been putting on sunscreen so not really sure why aftersun was used instead.
We set off for lunch at Boekenhout, no idea where it was, unfortunately my usual seat was taken so I ended up sat at the back corner seat in the other vehicle, which led to a much bumpier ride and more restrictive view. I forgot to say we all seemed better at dressing for the trips, it was a beautiful setting and there was a good choice of food, plus there was a river which was ideal for photos, then off on our drive. I found the people in this vehicle much quieter and they seemed to concentrate more on the photography.
As usual we saw a whole range of animals, by now wildebeest were plentiful so of no interest, in the distance I spotted  firstly an ostrich then a  girafffe, but it seemed we were after other animals, firstly we came across a crocodile sunbathing in the middle of the road the prescence of our selves and others did not seem to encourage it to move, so we had to reverse along the road for the next photo opportunity, this was a couple of small well maybe large lizards, but until they went past our vehicle due to the angle I was unable to see them.
Next that we saw, we were told was a very rare situation, firstly we came across what turned out to be 4 hippos, in the water, we stayed a while just taking photos as they raised their heads then suddenly one decided to venture out in front of us onto the grassed area, we had to move our vehicle because it seems getting in the way of a hippo  heading for the water is not the thing to do.GsDWqjE/U8v5JCy_zvI/AAAAAAAAA4Y/DvMiMctmGHg/s320/afternoon+evening+safari+saturday+(17)+(Small).JPG" />
Even better another came to join this one, that we were told is a once in a life time sight, they seemed happy to just graze, other vehicles had been alerted by radio,  so now there were a group of us also. I wonder what the hippos made of these strange creatures disturbing their meal. Well surprise surprise another hippo decided it was hungry or wanted to know what was missing, so it lumbered out of the water, to be quickly followed  by the last much smaller hippo. They seemed totally oblivious of all our cameras clicking, later we realized we had been there over half an hour. Eventually I think it was the younger one, became bored so had a little play with one of the others, then set off back into the water quickly followed by the others and our magic experience was over.
It was now getting late but ovet the radio came a message thay something else was going on so we decided to go and have a look delaying our trip back. It turned out to initially be a female lion, it was now very dark but the spotlight illuminated it in the fields, we spent a few minutes spoiling its peace and quiet before going searching elsewhere for what I did not know,  until we came across a huge male lion eating a huge piece of red meat. It was very inconsiderate in that it was in the middle of a field with poor lighting, I tried various settings and one could only obtain black and white which at the time seemed rather odd, but later I rembered I had not re set the camera after a previous session.

Finally we set off back to the lodge it got much colder and was a very bumpy ride, it also seemed to take for ever, we were very late back for the evening meal so I feel appreciated it much more than usual, then tried to catch up a little with FB and e mail before retiring to bed, luckily the next day was to be a relaxing slow start

What a day its been 10 july 2014

The title says it all, maybe I should commence by saying it is 9 45pm its minus 2 outside and I am typing this in bed as its the most comfortable and warm place to be.
Maybe not, lets go back to the beginning of the day, I had one of the best nights sleep I have had for a long time, when I woke I looked at my watch thinking it must be early because I had not had my wake up call at 5am to prepare me for the trip, err umm, my watch said 5 30am so I had overslept.
I quickly sorted myself out and dressed, got all the important things together and rushed to the dining room. Its the fastest I have ever done it was 15 minutes, I met a couple others who informed me luckily they set their alarms for 5 but there were no staff about, we went inside and just then Even arrived, we explained so he went off to sort it all out after finding some rock cakes, for us to eat, which were,  plus we made ourselves a drink as slowly in drips and drabs people appeared,  finally everyone that was going was ready to depart.
It was dark and freezing cold as we set off,  I tried to take a couple of photos with no success, plus I struggled to keep warm despite all the extra layers of clothes.
Soon it brightened up and we could concentrate on looking for game. One of the things that confuses me is that we are told not to make a noise,  in case we frighten the animals, well the noise of the diesel engines must warn them plus the sound of the various walkie talkie that they use to communicate. But back to the story, we saw a range of animals as we moved about, the most interesting was a group of elephants on the mountain side, we saw them first by the branches of trees they were disturbing as they wandered along,  we only saw brief glimpses because they were across the valley, Given our ranger Givern said he had never seen this sight before with them.
Eventually we moved on and saw a range of animals, there was still a chill wind despite the sun shining, then back to the lodge for breakfast, never have I been so ready to eat and get into the warmth, we had a rest before setting off for our lunch at Figtrees, on the way seeing more animals in their native setting, including giraffe, rhino,  wildebeast, to mame just a few.
Figtrees was pleasant with tables and chairs and a pleasant selection of good food in a beautiful setting, also people seemed to join in the chat, more surprising was that there were toilets for us to use out there in the middle of nowhere. We had an unusual visitor namely an ostrich, it did not come to close but maybe ut was just checking us out.
After our meal we continued on in the the vehicle finding a range of more animals to take photos of and some beautiful scenery,  I must admit I was getting quite tired out and nodding off only to be awoken at the next rut in the road, in fact it seemed to get rougher and rougher until we reached a peak where we stopped to admire the view and had a chat with our ranger Given.
After this we made our way back to the lodge, to freshen up then have our evening meal, which was pleasant enough, then just before I was going to leave we heard the sound of drums and singing,  it was the staff putting on a display for us, it was pleasant enough,   after I went to the bar area to do some work on the Internet, but others wanted to chat about Tablets etc, after a while most had gone to bed so I made my apologies and left also, so here I am its now 10 30 so I think I will finish and hopefully have a good nights sleep ready for a very long day tomorrow.
I do hope I can solve the issue to do with photos on here

Safari here I come 9 June 2014

Well folks the safari to South Africa is not far away, I did worry last month when I had problems with my health,& mainly my back started to play up but also I started getting something that felt like electric shocks down my right arm. Luckily due to Gail and Andrea the physios things have improved, just now have to do more exercises to prevent a re occurrence.
I have had all my inoculations, I had read about monkeys being about the lodge so decided to have the rabies one as well but after buying it was warned I could have a bad reaction to it, so at present have vaccine in my fridge, sob sob. I did contact Saga who are arranging the trip, their view was, if I dont bother the monkeys, they will leave me alone, maybe I should of contacted them first.

I have bought a camcorder for the trip, couldent believe how small it is but can be used as conventional camera also. I have had to buy extra clothes for the trip, that are dark colours for when on safari, but also needed a mixture of warm for the early and late trips out but lighter for the middle of the day, have a list of things need for the trip such as special adapter for their electrical sockets, insect repellent, luckily was able to get this trip in a malarial free zone so one less tablet and adverse reaction to worry about, but have strong painkillers from GP just in case I need them for other aches and pains.
I had decided that when I found out I was travelling with Virgin that I would upgrade on the plane to their economy plus both there and back, because it would give me a better seat and more legroom on the 10 hour flight, I also joined their frequent flyer scheme in the hope it would help for future trips, also Saga had arranged for me to be picked up from home by car and transported to London by them. It was only the other day that I realised how much travelling was involved on this trip. I am being picked up at 1 30 pm on the day, then down to London for the evening flight at 9 30pm, then there is a trip of approximately 3 hours after to the lodge so it looks like in total is will be in excess of 20 hours before I reach my destination.
Well I will close for now but give more background on the trip as I get closer.

A Totally New Adventure A Safari At Last 23 March 2014

I promised I would write a blog about the plans I had for a Safari to Africa, so here goes. I had been talking for years about a trip to go on Safari, whilst at Disney, I did go on their imitation Safari, it did have Lions, elephants, giraffes and all sorts of other animals and even had imitation poachers firing guns, but the animals seemed totally disinterested, so I thought the other thing to do is the real thing.

I started to look at holidays and the first problem was to do with medication and travel insurance because of my health issues, in particular, malaria and and malarial medication and its effects on me, the other problem was I was still being investigated for various health issues so was unable to go at that particular time. Last year, I looked again, but unfortunately needed an operation and then something else came up which would have prevented me from travelling that sort of distance, so again the trip was cancelled.

At long last, my health seems to be not too bad at present, I feel my back with the help of painkillers if needed will cope with the holiday so all I had to do them was book it. Not quite so easy as I thought it would be, it seems most people, book their holiday a year or two in advance for this sort of thing, so with only a few options with Saga who given my age and health seem to be the safest option as travel agent, as I was travelling on my own. I contacted them and discovered they had the sort of holiday, I wanted this year. In June, it would be in South Africa for nine nights (two nights flying there and back) so effectively only seven nights, this wasn’t a problem as I felt I would not be able to do a Safari every day and could rest in between.Also I decided to upgrade for the very long flight as it is 10 hours, so now in Economy Plus, bigger better seats,

I also wanted to visit Cape Town on the advice of my physio, so I mentioned this when making the booking as it seemed an exciting add-on to the holiday. The company was able to accommodate me, but the cost for three nights would have come to £1000, I did explore through the website, The Man in Seat 61 travelling from Johannesburg to Cape Town by train which would have been a 24-hour journey, but what a fantastic experience to see, unfortunately the dates did not fit in with the holiday, so in the end I decided to discard the Cape Town element maybe to look at that another year if I have enough money.

The holiday will be in the month of July, originally was going to be June, but it appears they did not have enough people, then came the next shock in the letter confirming the holiday, when it explained this is this areas winter period, so don’t forget to bring winter woollies, but also not to bring bright, white, or black clothes, so that was my wardrobe of outdoor gear totally unsuitable, but never mind. It was an excuse to buy some more clothes, while mentioning about buying it has also been a good excuse to buy a new very clever camcorder for the trip. (Still trying to work out how to use it, it’s me not it) I have made an appointment to see the nurse at the GP surgery about any inoculations etc, so I will be ready for the trip.

Well that’s a taster of the planning, I’ve paid my deposit just need to pay the balance, and wait for July to arrive, well actually, maybe not. I am sure there are other things I’m going to have to deal with between now and then to do with the holiday so will keep you up-to-date over the coming months, as usual I hope you enjoyed the read.

Latest News And Ramblings Of My Life 23 March 2014

Firstly I must apologize to people about the delay in posting on here, its just that life seems to of been so busy the last couple of months as, some of the things I hoped to do this year seem to be getting closer to happening after all sorts of setbacks, more details in other blogs, plus other new doors seem to be opening in other ways, so off we go hope you enjoy the Blog.

Those that know me will have heard me many times talking about this Safari. I am one day going to do in Africa. Well after lots of thought. It looks like it might finally be happening, hopefully in July of this year, it will be to South Africa for nine days, what I intend doing is writing a blog about the ups and downs of planning the trip, but then to tell the story as I get nearer and then ultimately let you know how I go on with the trip.

The other thing I have been trying to sort out since my son’s 40th birthday was to finally get round to indulging his wish to go to the Grand Canyon, this will fit in with my interest in visiting Las Vegas, well it looks like this is finally going to happen this year, but is now become a much more interesting and exciting trip than originally planned, guess what I’m going to write a blog about it. How this seems to have taken over my life at present despite the fact the actual holiday is not until much later in the year and has become a sort of round the world trip, so more information to follow.

At the start of the year my life seemed to be going along a fairly even keel with not too much to challenge me, but a plan to make more of my life and to find interesting new challenges. Well, that seems to of happened, now the problem is how to fit everything in, given the restrictions on my health.

Last year, I was introduced to Mindfulness, some of it I feel I have taken on board and have done things to change what and how I do things. Sadly, I find it difficult to stick to the exercises which I am sure would help me even more, unfortunately I have always struggled with sticking to exercise regimes, maybe partly to do with the ME that I have and poor short-term memory.

I also joined the local U3A and now attend regular meetings, as well as joining the photography group and found this is opened all sorts of new and exciting experiences for me, the latest being a trip to London this weekend which was to visit the world wildlife photographer of the year show at the Natural History Museum, but more of that in you’ve guessed it, another blog to follow soon. The group was looking to creating a database of members, by coincidence I was aware of a product that would suit their needs, so became involved in creating this with another of the members, who was now taken it to something much more sophisticated and complex, which seems to be serving the committees needs. About a week ago I got a phone call asking did I want to be the new database manager, well-being, the shy, retiring person I am, I immediately agreed, fame at last, and only after asked the details of what I would need to do. It also seems that I need to join the committee so that I can have access to the members details, so reluctantly have done this. Speaking to the chairman the other week, he was delighted that I had joined the committee, which gave my ego a marvellous boost, err uum, no, it was so there was another male on the committee, as well as himself so we will have to see.

It looks like it’s going to be the year of committees for me, as I am now on our local ME support group also, mainly because they were struggling, good or bad I don’t have a role with them other than to add useful suggestions, attend meetings and other odd tasks. No, wait a minute, I am doing a similar exercise for them for their members database as well as creating a resource database for them. This will help people to find out what resources are out there and how to access them within our ME group. I’ve also joined the Facebook group for our ME group, which has a mixture of very serious and fun discussion on a day-to-day basis. I forgot to say I have a new friend on Facebook, much brighter than me by the name of Filbert Bear, I feel very privileged that he has befriended me has been giving me such helpful advice on a whole range of subjects.

From the Facebook section for the ME group, I have come across a couple of really excellent blogs, one is by a person call Smallfry182, I really enjoy the blogs that she writes, she seems to have a natural talent, although I am not sure that she would believe that, she tells of the ups and downs in her life, she seems to have the ability to write about her life as it is, with the ups and downs, but with a sense of irony and humour that makes it an enjoyable read. If my writing, has made it interesting for you, then below is the link to her blog, I am sure if you are into blogs and learning about people and their lives. This will be a good read.
http://smallfry182.wordpress.com/author/smallfry182/


Well I will leave this for now, because I have to do a blog about this weekend’s trip and then over the next few days, maybe finally start working on a blog about the Safari in July and my other trip towards the end of the year, as usual I hope you have enjoyed the read.