Day 114 (Feb 22nd)We woke to a lovely sunny morning, and after a shower and brekkie, it was time for us all to load up our vehicles, and say a temporary "goodbye".
As I said previously Elsa and Klystron were going back to Ballito, and we were going to Malelane Camp, but it was not so difficult to say goodbye to our friends, because we knew we would be seeing them again soon in Ballito.
We had so enjoyed our stay at Buchells, and hope that maybe we can do it again sometime!!
We were all good to go about 8am, so we said our farewells, and Dungy and I set off for Skukuza, where we needed to do some shopping, before making our way down to Malelane.
Shopping done, we set off down the H3, but sightings were again scarce, and we eventually checked in at Malelane Gate at about midday.
We then drove the few kms to the camp, and were delighted to get a warm welcome from Eco Junkie, who very kindly changed our bungalow, as the one we had been given wasn't as disabled friendly!!! Thanks EJ!!!
Sadly our meeting was brief, because she was just going off for the weekend on a bush camp, but it was great to catch up and it's lovely that I can picture where she is now, when we chat online.
The camp was very quiet, and stayed that way the whole time we were there.
It is such a pretty little camp, and we will definitely be staying there again sometime.
That night we ate cold meat and salads bought from Skukuza, and the following night we ate lovely juicy lamb chops, corn on the cob, and the remains of the salads.
We did some laundry the following morning at B en Dal, as we had needed to take our car there to check a flat tyre, so we killed two birds with one stone.
It was a shame because we had been due to meet WendyA and her Mom at the gate, but sadly it wasn't to be as things took longer than we thought they would!!
We had a very hot and tasty toasted sarmie at the restaurant, which was brought promptly with a smile.............well done B en Dal!!!!
Sightings from then, until we left the park the following morning were scarce, so I will just post a few photos, rather than bore you with the details!!
On our last night we sat drinking our Amarulas, listening to the sound of the bush, and watching the wondrous African sky, with it's myriad of stars.
We reflected on our four months in Phala, our four amazing days in Shingwedzi, Punda and Pafuri with our kids, then the few days with them in the south, our time with Elsa and Klystron in Phala and Mopani, and finally the last few days at Burchells and Malelane.
We had found our Cheetah and Painted Doggies, and had seen so much more.
We had spent quality time with family, and friends, and met many forumites, some for the first time, some for the second time or more.
We had many wonderful memories and photos, to sustain us during the months that we will be away from our beloved park.
Four months is a long time, and though a little part of us was sad to leave, we were now looking forward to the last part of our holiday at the coast, and while there we would start to plan our next visit to the bush.
Thanks to all my faithful followers..............you know who you are!!!
When I get the time, I will look through my photos and maybe post a few that I haven't already done...............till then farewell dear friends.



