Day 1 South Africa

Well, we are finally here. The five of us made it. . . Beth, Cyndi, Charla, Margi and I arrived in Port Elizabeth this afternoon after 23 hours from New York with a stop over in Johannesburg.  We've gotten very little sleep; we are pretty weary, and look like 8 days of hard road; but we are so happy to be here we are on the verge of "giddy". We were picked up in Port Elizabeth by our hunters, Beans and Graham, who then drove us about 2 hours north of Port Elizabeth to the area of Somerset East where our base will be for the next five days.  We all settled in immediately.  Unpacked, sat by the fire, had some wine, had a wonderful dinner, a little more wine, and some wonderful stories.  Tomorrow we sight in guns and hunt for Springbok for Cyndi and Beth.  They want a black and a white Springbok.  We also met Karly our "on sight" masseuse whose services we are definitely going to use.  After the telling of tall tales and setting all the plans for tomorrow, it is now almost 1:00am and time for bed.  Photos will be posted soon. 

We are in a beautiful place, with friends we love, and we are going to have a wonderful, meaningful trip in South Africa.  Till later, Love to friends and family back home.,

And The Countdown Begins. . .

You know all those things you've always wanted to do?

       You should do them. . . 

Next Friday morning our little group of five departs from various places (Portland, Oregon; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Grand Island, Nebraska; and Kansas City, Missouri) and meet in New York City.  We will spend the night and on Saturday morning set off for our long flight to Johannesburg, South Africa.  Then a layout over before we hop another flight to Port Elizabeth.  

While we have all been planning and anticipating for months, it seems like all of the sudden, IT'S HERE! 

Now, the packing, the list making, the slight panic at what I'm forgetting.  Are all my electronics charged up? Do I have enough SD Cards and batteries?  Are all the bills paid before I leave?  Do I have enough cash? Don't forget to call the credit card companies.Do I have enough room left in my bags for souvenirs?  Do I have enough books downloaded for reading? Snacks, sunscreen, shooting glasses, . . . . well, you get the picture.  I did get my tetanus shot and boy was my arm sore. 

I think I'll go check out the guest room again where I have all my stuff laid out to see what I need to re-think, re-pack, and go get.  I'll be doing this right up until Thursday evening.  And still that's part of the anticipation of getting ready for a wonderful trip with great friends.