GBRT : South Africa 2012

We have arrived at our first destination - I sit typing this looking out at the unbroken expanse of the Kruger National Park, sitting under a shade tree, with nothing more pressing on my mind that wondering when to try out the pool.

We awoke this morning in the air, having got somewhat differing amounts of sleep - eight and a half for Lauren, who was only just awake for long enough to eat dinner, before trapping her fellow passenger into the window seat for the entire flight.

On landing in Johannesburg the team stocked up on accompainiments for malarial prophylactics (otherwise known as gin) and settled in for what we were expecting would be a long wait whilst the rifles got sorted out. In the event, the rifle collection was much easier than expected, even quicker than at Heathrow, only slowed up slightly by a dodgy lock on Neil's rifle case which needed some persuasion to get open. Even better, the BA part of the team had already arrived, sorted out the hire cars and collected the ammunition, leaving little for the rest of us to do but board the minibuses and head out on the 5-6 hour drive to the Kruger. Thankfully, Rick wasn't driving, having been partially (or mostly, depending on who you ask) responsible for draining the bar on the BA flight dry, and for a small avalanche of red wine bottles towards the front of the plane on landing.

On the way we would be treated to the delights of DC's iPod (mainly Abba, with a history of Rorke's Drift thrown in for good measure), getting slightly lost along the way due to roadsigns having been stolen, and some truly breathtaking countryside.

Arriving at Mohlabetsi safari lodge, we were welcomed by our hosts with a fruit cocktail and given some time to freshen up from the flight and transfer - definitely required given that all of us had been on the move for the best part of 36 hours.

Gin and Tonics (big G, little t) almost inevitably preceded dinner, which was served around a fire outside, and was very tasty indeed, especially accompanied by some excellent South African Pinotage. A very pleasant evening concluded, it's time for some sleep, especially given the 5:15am start for the morning game drive.