The Long Road Home

We have our itinerary in hand, and know that we will be travelling for at least the next thirty six hours to get back to Collingwood. The packing job takes no time at all as we are pro’s by this stage of the game, then we climb up to the lodge one last time and settle in to a nice breakfast. Joining us on the first leg of the journey is Mark, who is director of community relations for Safari Collection, who run the camp at Sasaab, Solio, and also the Giraffe Manor. The purpose of his visit was to interview candidates for their scholarship program, and with only six spots available and thirty candidates, he had quite a job deciding who would make it, and be plucked from one of the local villages and sent to boarding school to further their education.

We said our goodbyes to everyone, and hopped in the truck with Ken ready to transport us to an airstrip ninety minutes away to catch our flight back to Nairobi. Our route would take us through a national park, and just before the gates, we stopped at a Samburu village to stock up on beads and bangles.

The trip through the park is bumpy as hell, but soon we arrive at the airstrip. This one is more elaborate than most, and even has a paved runway, duty free shop, etc..

Our pilots haven’t arrived yet, so another shopping opportunity……slim pickings though

It wasn’t long and the pilots arrived, but they were concerned that airspace around Nairobi was closed until probably 2pm……..national holiday in Kenya today. They figured we could make it there just in time for the airspace to open and all would be fine, so we said our goodbyes to Ken, and jumped on board.

The rest of our day would look like this……….arrive Nairobi, 8 hours to kill before our flight to Amsterdam, so our agent had arranged for a driver……….visit some of the Karen Blixen spots (Out of Africa), have some lunch, bead factory, off to the airport……..more shopping……..crash in the lounge, and wait. Everything happened on schedule, and our overnight flight was our first time sitting upstairs in a 747……..tons of room up there, and we are happy to know that on our flight to Toronto we are in the same seats. Amsterdam is shopping heaven……..great stores……Jutta stocked up on double salt liquorice and marzipan for the holidays……I opted for these waffle wafers with honey/toffee in the middle…….scandalous…….could eat a whole box. So before you knew it, badda bing badda boom, we are home.

We can’t stop talking about our experience in Africa. Sure, the wildlife was great to see and photograph, but the scenery, the people, the diversity of their cultures, was just amazing. South Africans are different from Namibians, from Botswanans, from Kenyans, and it was eye opening to experience this first hand. We are already discussing the countries we will visit, or re-visit, next time in Africa.

Jutta just has to be the best travel partner ever. Her energy and stamina kept me going, and when it would have been easy to take a morning or afternoon off, I found myself back in the truck with camera in hand, and actually making some of our greatest finds on those days when I was, shall we say, along for the ride under protest. Giraffe Manor had to the topper, and so many of you have commented on the breakfast picture already, but I swear Jutta had an ear to ear smile on her face for the entire day and a half we were there……….I checked, she was even smiling in her sleep! We had so many laughs along the way, and always had our own private little joke every morning……….you know, everyone has a routine, and when that is interrupted, you want to know what the backup plan is, and when the interruption is a four hour ride in a bumpy jeep out in the wild, I for one became a little concerned. I have never been a good squatter, so praise the lord, I didn’t have to try.

What’s next you ask, well who knows. I am sure Jutta will be sitting at her computer one day and we will be talking about this place or that, and within 48 hours we will be booked, and off on another adventure. All the best, thanks for reading, thanks for your comments……..until next time.