The Not So Fast & The Furious

So South Africa really is as amazing as people say and not a vuvuzela to be heard anywhere. I had visions of being kept awake by them, so I'm more than happy to report that this is not the case.

We cleared through the airport in very short time and before we could blink were heading to Hazy View in our hired Toyota Corrolla. Two quick things about the hire car, firstly the excess is £1000, (Right...didn't see that in the small print!) We were offered a daily charge that amounted to around £270 for the length of our hire and yes, you guessed it, we chose to gamble. The second thing is that our hire car seems unable to go up a hill and have the air-con on at the same time...yes, that much power! Fun times ahead - shot nerves more likely.

First destination was Jackleberrys in Hazy View, home of the Hippos. Seriously, the Hippos rule this place walking around at night; you are advised to be on the lookout for them!!! Only niggle so far is that the BBQ or Braii as it is known over here is around 10 metres from the cottage...with no lighting. It was a fine line between funny and fear as I watched John try to cook on it using the light from his Iphone as a torch. I think had a Hippo turned up at that point, Usain Bolt would have had some serious competition.

We had allowed ourselves two days to stock up on things needed for our 8 nights in Kruger National Park and in usual Lisa style I decided to purchase enough to cover every possible disaster situation and foolishly believed everything I was told I I might need. People lie! You panic buy all the things that it turns out you can purchase here in the park, if of course you ever needed it at all? Ok, yes you may pay a little more, but worth saving yourself the hassle of the big shop at home, as well as the over stocking. I now have enough food to feed everyone on camp for the next week!

At the start of the trip we were a little worried as Roman was a little under the weather, so we were happy to see him turn a corner today. He has had a bad cold and required frequent bathroom visits (not easy on safari when confined to vehicles!) I have to admit that at one point we did worry that it may be the Malarone medication for Malaria prevention and if it had been we would have been left with a few difficult choices with regards to our route. This would never have come into my mind before, (Malaria was something that other people far away got) but after spending time on the infectious disease ward in Leeds I have seen the reality of it and it's

one gamble I would not take now even if it threw our plans in to madness.

I am just going to give a quick account of our time in the park so far as the next blog will be a more detailed one; Kruger deserves a whole blog of it's own. We are out of internet range again after tonight and its £10 an hour where we currently are so it’s not something we are using too much of.

We have had an amazing time and been spoilt with the animals that we have seen in the first day and a half. We entered via Phabeni gate on our way to stay at Berg-en-Dal campsite, and had been driving for less than 15 km when we were greeted by a herd of elephants and their calves.

A very short distance further and we met a herd of Giraffes, again with their calves. We became so engrossed in watching them that we nearly missed a black Rhino walking within 3 feet of our car. Amazing! This is like a perfect dream but it's reality and we are loving every minute.

We have seen young elephants fight playfully and huge elephants fight to win (they really meant business).

We also had a very angry elephant head towards us, at which point we had to reverse up a road to escape. I must point out that we were not in the wrong, it just decided to cross the road at that point and was protecting its young. We have video footage of this, because obviously when you are being chased by an elephant you film it??? I was driving, so that was John's idea. We'll try to add the video later, but it's a little difficult to do out here.


Until next time we will keep taking those footsteps. We really hope you keep reading.



Lisa, John & Roman

Farewell Home Shores

Quick note before we start...if you want comment on any of the blogs, you have to open up each blog individually by clicking on the title (ie Farewell Home Shores) , then you will find the comment box at the bottom of the page.

....

Today is the day: two idiots and a five year old are heading off to far away shores. This is in fact being written on the very long flight from London to Jo'Burg and the boys are crashed out sleeping. I am my usual insomniac self, struggling with my fear of flying in a tin can forty thousand feet up. Thank God for the wonderful steward who seems happy to let me have wine on tap (sorry school). It certainly helps with the nerves but I fear the blogging may spiral into madness.

For those interested (my Dad), we are on BA 747-400 and the flight is full. It’s still a flying can to me, though perhaps I should now refer to planes as the flying wine house. The service and food has been fine, (first time with BA in a long while and nothing worse than expected). The only small grumble I could have is seat pitch...Singapore Airlines it is not! I do have to take into account that John and Roman seem to be playing twister in their sleep and my seat has unfortunately been included in their game, so perhaps my seating experience could have been improved upon if it weren't for my own traveling companions. Anyone else ever wrapped themselves up in the complimentaryblanket and curled into a ball at the foot of your seat? No? I'm pretty tempted right now, and it's not as if I haven't done it before...though apparently it's frowned upon!

This was really just a quick update to let people know we made the plane, thanks in part to Juliette driving like she was taking part in Formula One. We managed to leave with clothes and all necessary documentation, money, cards and passports. The only things missing are the seal outfits that we were going to play dress up in (whilst being baited to a Great White Shark) but I’m sure they cover that part.

Wow........almost forgot to say Roman met and had his picture taken with Usain Bolt whilst we were at Heathrow. He was a true gentleman and very, very tall and Roman is now asking if everything is as fast as ‘Bolt’.

South Africa is upon us so it's time to start taking the footsteps; we would love for you to come along with us.

Lisa, John & Roman

An Introduction to The Coopers

We're going on a little adventure, and we'd love you to come along with us. Unfortunately the baggage allowance won't allow for that so welcome to the place where we will share our experiences with you.

The Cooper Family are, in order of importance:

Lisa (The Mum) - Head of family and the most likely to book another holiday whilst we're on this one. Absolute escapist and explorer. The world has so much to offer and i'm ready to sample.

Roman (The Small Person) - Our beautiful son who is 5 going on 15. He loves traveling and exploring just as much as we do - on dress up day at nursery he asked to dress as a holiday maker!

JC (Dad) - Workaholic who deserves the holiday more than anyone. More than likely to be found lounging by the pool with beer in hand enjoying the rest.

I have to put a quick note about our beloved Bulldog Boycie who will be unable to make the trip with us. He is like a second child to us, but we can relax, knowing he is in good hands and safe at home on British shores making the most of the peace and quiet.

We are of course leaving behind a wealth of folk who we love dearly. Some human, some animals! We have a big family who always help and support our trips. Amazing friends; some new and some that we've had a lifetime but new or old we are lucky to have lovely people in our life and I hope they enjoy joining us on our journey and feeling through our blog what we are experiencing.

We have travelled as a family, and also before Roman came along.

Our favourite place to travel as a family? We would struggle to find a place we can all agree on. My favourite area is Asia where we have spent many months tasting, smelling and living the vibrant city life and even more time relaxing on beaches with the sea lapping the shore at night. Roman is 5 so it was always going to be Orlando, but hey! Who wouldn't love it. His second choice is Cambodia, the temples were huge climbing frames and he loved it.

John's not fussy, beach, sun and beer.... All boxes ticked.

This trip will take place from 18th November and we will return on 18th February.

The trip will be South Africa, 28 days to fit in as much as we can.

Following this we have 10 days in Perth where we will be celebrating Christmas on the beach, a new thing for us as a family.

Finally we arrive into Singapore December 30th 2011 and our next flight is booked from Hong Kong on february 17th.

This is the basic itinery but we're sure there will be a little flexibility here and there.