It has been almost four years since our last big overseas adventure, so it is time to dust off the travel blog again!
This trip will be a little different from our previous travels. Chris and Danielle are now being joined by Karl, aged three, and Isaac, aged one. Travelling halfway around the world with two small children will either be a wonderful family adventure or a terrible logistical mistake. Probably a little of both.
We leave New Zealand in early September and, after a very long day of flying, arrive in Johannesburg. We will spend our first night near the airport before continuing to Cape Town once everyone has had at least some sleep.
We have allowed ourselves a couple of quiet days to recover from the flights and work out what time zone everyone thinks they are in. After that, we will spend several days exploring Cape Town. Our plans include visiting the penguins, attempting Table Mountain and generally moving at a pace suitable for a three-year-old and a one-year-old.
From Cape Town we head into the Winelands, where we hope to ride the Winelands Light Railway, see some giraffes and perhaps even manage to visit a winery or two. How sophisticated the wine tasting will be with two toddlers remains to be seen.
We then fly across the country and make our way into Kruger National Park for a few days of self-drive game viewing. This is probably the part of the trip we are most excited about.
Karl is particularly keen to see hippopotamuses, giraffes and rhinos. Isaac has not expressed a strong preference yet, but will probably be satisfied by anything large that moves. Chris will also celebrate his birthday while we are in Kruger, which should be slightly more memorable than spending it at home or at work.
After leaving Kruger, we have allowed several quieter days at a lodge near the park. There are vague plans involving massages, the spa and not spending quite so many hours in the car. Whether the children agree with the “quiet and relaxing” part of the plan is another question.
The main reason for the trip is to celebrate the wedding of our friends in South Africa. After the wedding, we will gradually make our way back towards Johannesburg, with a few more stops and possibly a visit to Sun City along the way.
We will begin the long journey home in early October, eventually arriving back in Northland after nearly a month away.
It is a fairly ambitious trip with two small children, several flights, multiple rental cars and plenty of accommodation changes. We have tried to leave enough slower days in the plan, but we are also expecting that at least some of it will change as we go.
As with our previous trips, we will try to post regular updates and photos here so our friends and family can follow along.
This will be our first big overseas adventure as a family of four, and we are excited to see how it unfolds.
It was nice to have another slower start to the day. We had breakfast at our accommodation, took our time getting ourselves organised and let the boys explore around the outside area while we ate and caught up on a little bit of the blog.
Before doing the supermarket run, Chris and Karl stopped for a coffee and a hot chocolate. Karl decided to make friends with some of the locals who regularly go to the coffee shop, introducing himself and then making sure they all knew exactly how to spell his name. He seemed very pleased with himself.
Chris and Karl then headed to the little supermarket in Marloth Park to pick up a few supplies. It is quite amazing how much they manage to fit into such a small shop, but unfortunately baby formula was one of the things they didn’t have.
That meant a trip out to Komatipoort, where there is a much larger supermarket. Being Heritage Day, we weren’t entirely sure how long everything would be open for, so we thought it was better to head out sooner rather than later.
On the way, Chris dropped Danielle and Isaac at the restaurant overlooking the river where Chris and the boys had eaten lunch while the girls were having their spa day. It was an extremely hot day, so sitting somewhere with a nice view while Chris and Karl went shopping seemed like a pretty good option.
Driving along the N4 towards Komatipoort, we once again came across the enormous line of trucks waiting to head towards the border. Chris counted more than a hundred trucks in just one small section, and the line continued for kilometres. There must have been many hundreds, possibly close to a thousand, all sitting there waiting to cross. We have absolutely no idea how long some of them must have to wait.
Once the shopping mission was completed and everyone was back together again, we headed to Werno’s house. Werno is Reggie’s brother, and Reggie’s parents also live there. Their house is new and absolutely lovely, with a really nice outdoor area and swimming pool.
This was where we were celebrating Heritage Day with some of the Mostert family, some of their friends, Danielle’s parents, Whitney and everyone else who was there. Of course, being Heritage Day, there was a braai.
We spent a lot of time around the pool, which was especially appreciated given how hot the day was. There was also plenty of wildlife coming close to the house while we were there. A number of animals wandered through, including some monkeys which the kids thought were absolutely hilarious.
Isaac was a little more challenging than usual during the day, mostly because he hadn’t managed to get much of a sleep. Chris spent quite a lot of time keeping him entertained and trying to stop him from getting too upset. We are definitely learning that keeping on top of his naps makes a very big difference.
To be fair to him though, he has done incredibly well considering how much we have asked of him on this trip. There have been lots of long days, different beds, disrupted sleeps, different feeding times and generally very little of his normal routine.
We really enjoyed the braai and spending more time with everyone, but we headed back to our accommodation fairly early. We knew we still had packing to do, as the following day we were leaving Marloth Park and moving through to Nelspruit to be closer to the wedding.
So that brings our time in Marloth Park to an end. We have really enjoyed staying here and having the animals wandering around us, but now we are very much moving into wedding mode and helping Whitney and Reggie with everything leading up to their big day.
We are also not quite sure yet what the rules are around sharing wedding photos on social media, so there may be a little less in the way of wedding-related photos over the next few posts. If there seems to be a suspicious absence of wedding photos, that will be why! Once we know what everyone is happy for us to share, we can work from there.
Some of our most loyal readers, like Barbara and Jim, may have noticed that since the hospital and Kruger Park we have been posting about a day behind. This has actually been quite helpful, as it has given us a chance to catch our breath and sit down the following evening to work out what happened the day before. The downside is that by then we have sometimes forgotten some of the little stories, especially the funny things the kids have done during the day.
So we are going to try and get ourselves caught back up again and write each post in the evening after the day has actually happened, which will be New Zealand morning. This post is therefore being written on the morning of Day 20 so that, hopefully, tonight we can write Day 20 while everything is still fresh in our minds. Hopefully that makes sense!
Today was a little different as Chris and Dan spent almost the whole day doing completely different things, so we thought we would split this one into two parts.
Chris
Dan left very early, before either of the boys were awake. Chris is pretty comfortable looking after Karl, but has had considerably less experience looking after Isaac, and very, very little experience looking after both of them at the same time. Add to that being away from home and out of our normal environment, and he knew from the outset that it was probably going to be an interesting day.
The first challenge was getting our washing to the laundromat before 8am, so there was definitely no going back to sleep after Dan left. Chris got everything organised, woke the boys, got them dressed and fed, and then realised he was rapidly running out of time. Everyone was loaded into the car and they headed off to a place that is literally called The Bush Laundry.
Laundry seems to work a little differently here, with lots of places offering a full service rather than having machines you use yourself. You simply drop everything off, they weigh it and you pay based on the weight. The lady running The Bush Laundry looked like she had stepped perfectly out of a 1970s movie set. Everything about her outfit was absolutely immaculate and she was probably the last person you would expect to find running a little laundry in the bush! It was also very reasonably priced and, even though the following day was a public holiday, they said everything would be ready by lunchtime, which was very helpful as we need to keep moving.
After getting back from the laundry, Chris realised there was another logistical problem. Our room is upstairs, and getting up and down the stairs while keeping Karl and Isaac safe, as well as collecting medication, breakfast things, bottled water and everything else we needed, was going to be rather difficult. We are also still using bottled water for everything, which adds another thing that always has to be carried around. In the end the boys stayed strapped safely into their car seats with the air conditioning running while Chris raced around gathering everything. Isaac was extremely unimpressed with this arrangement and screamed for most of the few minutes it took, despite Chris checking on them constantly.
Eventually everyone was inside, medication was sorted and the day could properly begin. Then a message came through from Whitney about a possible lion sighting across the river, so back into the car they went. Down at the river they ran into Gary, Kevin and Mackenzie, and Chris was finally able to get the camera out and get a reasonably good photo of a lion. Interestingly, the lion was wearing a GPS tracking collar, which made it look slightly like somebody’s very large and dangerous pet.
After the lion sighting they headed back towards Kevin and Gary’s house, but they hadn’t arrived back yet and Isaac was starting to have a bit of a meltdown. Chris decided to head back towards our accommodation, but spotted a café along the way and decided that stopping was probably a very good idea. Isaac had a bottle, Karl had some water and Chris had a very much needed coffee. Karl turned the seat they were sitting on into a boat and appointed himself captain, spending his time shouting instructions while Chris managed to catch up on a little bit of admin.
One of the jobs Chris needed to sort out was another rental car change because of all the changes to our trip. In a few days we need a different car that we can keep all the way through to Johannesburg, so while Captain Karl was steering the boat and Isaac was happily drinking his bottle, Chris managed to get all of that organised.
They then headed back to the Airbnb, where Gary, Kevin and Mackenzie had returned, and spent the rest of the morning there. Chris even managed to get Isaac down for a sleep, which took a bit of effort but was definitely a win.
Once Isaac had slept for a while, everyone headed out for lunch at a lovely restaurant overlooking the river. From the restaurant they could see crocodiles and hippos in the water, including some quite close to one another, which was really interesting to watch. They were waiting for Reggie and his brother to join them, so lunch stretched out to nearly three hours and the kids ended up ordering before everyone else arrived.
Chris also went a little outside his comfort zone and tried raw springbok as an entrée. Surprisingly, he actually really enjoyed it. He followed that with an enormous chicken schnitzel which he couldn’t finish, so the leftovers were packed up to become dinner later.
Unfortunately, getting back to the car after lunch turned into probably the least glamorous part of the day. At first Chris thought Isaac had simply managed to spill apple juice over himself. It quickly became clear that he had actually wet through his nappy, his clothes and the pram. That was messy enough, but when Chris pulled his shorts off to change him, things got considerably worse.
Without going into too much detail, the problem was no longer just pee.
Isaac, Chris and the boot of the rental car all ended up covered in something rather less pleasant, and what followed was a fairly major cleaning operation in the back of the car. Chris pretty much exhausted his entire supply of wet wipes before everyone and everything was finally clean enough to continue.
After that adventure they headed back to the Airbnb, where the boys had a cool but refreshing swim in the pool. As the afternoon started to cool down, the citronella candles came out, the kids were given a quick dinner and everyone sat watching the wildlife again while waiting for Dan and ladies to return.
Danielle
My day started considerably earlier and considerably more peacefully than Chris’s!
I had a very early pickup followed by about a two-hour drive into Nelspruit for a girls’ day. The place we went to was beautiful and very upmarket, with a lovely café outside in a courtyard. We had just enough time for a quick coffee before everything began.
Nails were first, starting with our toenails. There were many, many, many different colours to choose from and they all had names. Amusingly, the colour called Danielle was black, while Cynthia was purple. I eventually chose a purply sort of colour for my toes and got a lovely warm foot soak and foot massage at the same time, which was very relaxing.
After that it was onto fingernails, where I ended up going for sparkles. I also had my very first spray tan, which was an interesting experience. Looking back now though, I probably should have booked a massage and maybe a facial as well while I was there!
We ended up spending pretty much the entire day there, with lots of yummy food, cocktails and drinks being brought out along the way. I was a good girl though and didn’t drink anything alcoholic.
Eventually it was time for the roughly two-hour drive back to Marloth Park, where I returned to find that Chris had successfully survived his day alone with both boys.
Possibly only just, judging by some of the stories!
Today started with breakfast at our accommodation in the shared kitchen. Using a shared kitchen is a little more challenging than having a kitchen to ourselves, mostly because you have to work out where everything is kept. It is made even more challenging when you also have a one-year-old who thinks opening every cupboard is a very important job, and who can happily spend ages opening and closing the fridge and freezer.
While we were eating breakfast we had a couple of visitors wandering around outside. We think they were kudu, with their huge curly horns. One of them jumped over the fence and another came a little closer to investigate what we were having for breakfast, but thankfully they didn’t cause us any trouble. It was pretty magical sitting there eating breakfast while wild animals wandered around us. It is definitely not something we are used to at home!
After breakfast we headed over to see the rest of the family, who are staying at an Airbnb elsewhere in Marloth Park. Their place is really nice, with a big outdoor area and a couple of steps down to an open area where all the wildlife can wander through. We ended up spending most of the day there, with the three older children spending lots of time playing together and Isaac doing his best to keep up.
Isaac also spent much of the day trying to crawl off the deck, trying to crawl into things, trying to climb the concrete staircase and generally finding every possible dangerous thing within reach. The staircase has no handrail and there is also a swimming pool without any fencing or rails around it, so there were lots and lots and lots of different ways for Isaac to try and kill himself. Needless to say, keeping an eye on him kept everyone fairly busy!
There was plenty of wildlife coming and going throughout the day as well. We saw lots of warthogs wandering around, which the kids seemed to think were just very big friendly pigs. The adults were a little more aware of the fairly impressive tusks sticking out of their faces, so we kept the kids well back and also kept a couple of big sticks nearby just in case one decided to wander up onto the deck. Thankfully they were quite happy doing their own thing.
At one point somebody rode past on a bicycle with what seemed like an entire herd of zebras chasing along behind them. We’re not entirely sure what was happening there, but it was very funny to watch!
Later in the day some zebras came back and wandered right up near us. They were very cute and the kids absolutely loved having them so close. It also turns out that zebras quite like Marmite sandwiches, after the kids threw a little bit of theirs out for them. We still kept a pretty close eye on everyone as, despite how cute and friendly they look, zebras are still wild animals and can bite and kick. It was still a pretty special experience having them wandering around so close to us, and the kids thought they were adorable.
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At another point some baboons arrived. We had already been told fairly clearly that you do not mess around with the baboons, so everything got packed up pretty quickly and we all moved inside for a while. The baboons then proceeded to chase away the monkeys that we had been happily watching beforehand. Apparently the baboons are in charge!
Chris disappeared for a little while during the day as well, as he had a massage booked at Grand Kruger Lodge as his birthday present. He had a really good massage and, while he was waiting, got to sit beside the pool watching the animals wandering around, which wasn’t a bad way to spend part of the afternoon.
Chris also made a trip to the local supermarket. The supermarket is really small, but somehow seems to have pretty much everything you could possibly need. He finished his shopping, paid, walked out to the car and had just put everything away when a text message arrived from Danielle with a list of more things to buy. So back into the supermarket he went. We think the staff probably thought he was a little bit crazy when he appeared again only a minute or two after leaving.
To finish off the day we had another big family braai with sausages, meat and garlic bread, including some garlic bread flavoured with sweet chilli and some kind of spicy cheese. Dan discovered fairly quickly that the garlic bread was much too spicy for her!
After dinner we headed back to our accommodation reasonably early, as Dan had an early start planned for the following morning. It had been a really nice day just spending time together, with animals wandering around us for most of it. Marloth Park is certainly a very different place to stay!
Today we had a fairly late start, as we didn’t need to be out of our accommodation at Berg-en-Dal until 10am. The four of us headed up to the restaurant and had a nice lazy breakfast. It was quite nice not having to rush anywhere and knowing that we had plenty of time to get ourselves organised before leaving.
After breakfast we went back to our room and started the usual mission of trying to get all of our possessions back into the same number of suitcases that they somehow came out of. We really don’t know how we manage it. Everything fits perfectly well when we arrive somewhere, but a few days later it always seems almost impossible to get it all back in again! Eventually though, we managed to get everything packed, loaded the car and said goodbye to Berg-en-Dal.
We didn’t need to be at our accommodation in Marloth Park until around midday, so rather than heading straight out of Kruger we spent our last couple of hours slowly driving around the southern part of the park. It was actually one of the nicest drives we had done. For the first time we weren’t really trying to find anything in particular. We had seen the Big Five and there was no list of animals that we desperately needed to tick off, so we could just drive slowly, stop when we wanted to and enjoy being in the park. We saw plenty of zebra, giraffes, buck and all sorts of other wildlife along the way. Instead of seeing something and then immediately wondering what we might find around the next corner, we could stop for a bit longer and just watch. It was a really nice way for the four of us to spend our last bit of time in Kruger.
Eventually it was time to leave, so we made our way out through Malelane Gate and started heading towards Marloth Park. The drive there was interesting in itself. Once we were on the N4 we started coming across trucks parked along the side of the road. Then there were more trucks. And more trucks. There were literally hundreds of them, all stationary along the side of the road. We assume they were waiting to head further towards the border, but whatever they were waiting for, it made for quite a sight. Thankfully we were able to get around them without too much trouble and continued on towards Marloth Park.
Before arriving we had been warned that the roads inside Marloth Park were in pretty bad condition. Apparently flooding and storms a few months ago had caused quite a bit of damage and washed out sections of the roads.
Being from Northland, we thought we knew what bad roads looked like.
It turns out we have finally found somewhere with worse roads than Northland! We were very pleased that the owner of our accommodation had sent us some very specific instructions on which way to come in. The directions took us on a particular route to avoid the worst of the damaged roads. Even with those instructions, and despite having a small SUV, there were still some pretty challenging sections to get through. Eventually we made it and arrived at our accommodation at around midday.
This accommodation is a little different to the places we would normally stay. It is more of a lodge setup, with a large communal kitchen and living area, but we have our own big private room with an ensuite bathroom and plenty of room for all four of us. The communal kitchen has pretty much everything we could possibly need, and we even have a full-sized fridge dedicated just to us, so the setup actually works really well. While the owner was showing us around, she explained a bit about the wildlife that wanders through the property. Apparently there had been zebra grazing around the lodge earlier in the day. There were already a few buck wandering around while we were there, which was a pretty good introduction to Marloth Park.
We spent most of the afternoon settling in and having a fairly quiet time. The rest of the family had travelled further north in Kruger for the day, so we knew they wouldn’t be arriving back in Marloth Park until quite a bit later. Before dinner we all went for a short walk down towards the river.
Marloth Park sits alongside the Crocodile River, with Kruger National Park on the other side, so you can stand on the Marloth Park side and look straight back across into Kruger. While we were down there we could hear hippos somewhere in the river. We couldn’t quite manage to see them, but there was absolutely no mistaking the noise, so we know they were down there somewhere!
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After our walk we headed out for a quiet dinner at The Tin Shack. The food was good, although there was a bit of a wait for it to arrive. Waiting for dinner feels considerably longer when you have a one-year-old and a three-year-old sitting at the table with you! Eventually everyone was fed, and after what had been a fairly relaxed day we headed back to our accommodation for an early night.
So that was the end of our four nights inside Kruger.
We had an interesting time, saw far more wildlife than we could ever have hoped for, and it was really nice to finish our time there with one last slow drive rather than racing around trying to find something.
Now we get to see what living amongst the animals in Marloth Park is like!
Day 16 started early and Chris and Dan were on the road by 7.30am. We left the boys with Nana and Poppa for the day as we intended to do the big loop, including gravel road, about 8 hours total driving. The goal; finishing off the Big 5.
First we started by going along the bottom area of the park, but saw very little. Well, little of interest. There were still plenty of Elephants and Warthogs and of course the Bok.
Then we headed north along the sealed roads (how good was it to be on the seal again!). We stopped half way up for a coffee and snack, and were stopped further up the road by 5 buffalo casually walking down the road in a line. Between them and the Elephants, no one was getting past in a hurry! Before we found the Buffalo, we came across another animal, very similar, but a bit smaller.
We stopped at a number of little water beds on the way up in the hopes to see cats drinking, but there were none. What there was were hippopotamus and turtles and even a crocodile or two on the bank (they looked like dead animals to Dan).
We were following Crocodile river, and on the other side of the river was a high bank, so we were keeping an eye here for cats. Again, no cats, but lots of Giraffe and Zebras. And Hippo/ Elephants in the water.
Chris downloaded an app (of course) which shows local sightings, and so we knew some Lions had been seen near the road about 2 hours north. We doubled back (we passed the spot without realising) and were rewarded for our efforts. Three Lions (though hard to see), a bigger and a smaller one sitting under a tree facing away and another lion on its own sitting in the grass. Not the best viewing and not the best photos, but definitely Lions, and definitely marking off the Big 5. You can always tell a Lion or Leoapard sighting, as all the cars are crammed tougher parked all over the road, and no one can move forward or back and everyone is fighting for the best spot. Remember, you can’t get out.
We stopped for lunch in Shukuza (2 hours north and the top of our loop) at a lovely restaurant with lots of delicious food and fantastic views of elephants playing and relaxing in the ravine below. it also has a train parked on a bridge over the ravine which has been converted into a restaurant. We didn’t check this out, but would have liked too.
Home time again, and so a straight two hour trip down the country, stopping when there were interesting things to look at (including Dan’s interesting rock that she swore looked like an animal when passing). There were two or three leopards that crossed the road a minute or so before we arrived, but we couldn’t see them, they had taken off when we got there.
The monkey above tried to bite Chris then stalked us around the camp. We had to fend it off with sticks and a water bottle.
Back to the camp to purchase some post cords from the shop and another Braai dinner. Packing up in the morning as we head out of Kruger and to another park over the river, but not within the conservation land.
The day started early with Chris going out the gates at 6am. He didn’t have much luck but did with the help of Olivia’s (Gary and Ashleigh’s daughter / Karls cousin) keen eyes did find a Hippo for Karl. Chris returned to camp to collect Karl to see “his” hippo and a day out exploring.
After the Hippo we travelled north via a few side roads seeing 30+ Giraffe. A quick stop for morning tea for Karl, breakfast for Chris and a few snacks had us set for a 4 hr round trip looking at animals. Karl was really good keeping himself amused with a water bottle that was both a plain, runway, telescope and my favorite, a camera so we would both wind our windows down and each take photos with our respective cameras.
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Dan’s day…
Dan and Isaac remained at camp for the day to have more of a R&R day, We went for a walk along the buffalo walk in front of the units through to the reception area and the waterhole where we found more deer and then back.
Issac had a nice long sleep during the middle of the day and Dan had a nice relaxing time sitting outside listening and watching all the wildlife pass by. 3 different herds of elephants went to the watering hole, there were plenty of squirrels (or what counts for squirrels here), plenty of lizards and one very persistant bird that kept trying to get into the unit by flying into the window.
After Chris and Karl returned from their day trip all kids went for a swim in the camp pool (it was very cold) before a sleep over with Reghard and his parents. The adults went out for a Bush Braai.
A Bush Braai is literally that, a Braai in the bush. First we are driven around in one of the camp buggies hunting out animals while the food is being cooked. 5 minutes from camp we found a Rhino. We didn’t see too much on our travels, but did see some Bush Babies, Warthogs and other smaller animals. We drove around for about an hour and a half. It is quite different being out with the animals after dark, much different than during the day with others around.
We then arrived at the Braai location, a lovely flat area lit with candles, complete with drinks table, a dinner table elegantly set for 7, roaring outdoor fire and a very long table laden with food. Oh, and the ranger with the big gun to ward off any unwanted animals. We had a lovely dinner underneath the open sky with more than enough food and a very nice dessert. Dan was quite nervous being out in the open, but Chris was quite relaxed.
Back to camp, we managed to pass Issac off to his Nana and Poppa for the night, so a good night sleep all around!
After a decent nights sleep, and catching up with family, we hit the road to see what we could find.
In Kruger Park you are on the lookout for the Big 5, the five hardest animals to hunt/kill. These are; Lion, Buffalo, Rhinoceros, Elephant and Leopard. Day one and we crossed off three of these, Rhinoceros, Elephant and Leopard.
We also saw plenty of Bok (which are like Deer) Giraffes, warthog, and a moving rock (which turned out to be a tortoise). We drove up the park for about an hour (plus animal stops) and met up with the family for lunch.
We then went chasing some of the bigger animals and managed to find a rhino, but not the lion or leopard that were supposedly nearby.
Just before camp we found a traffic jam and a Leopard!
Back to our camp for a traditional Braai of meat and more meat and time for Karl and Issac to bond with their cousins.
The internet is very poor here at the camp inside the park, so there will be limited photos until we leave the Park. When we get the chance, we will do a dump of all the decent photos of animals taken from Chris’ camera
Ok so Danielle will hopefully resume her regular blog updates which are clearly richer with family life etc. Today we got up at 5am after a rough nights with the kids and an evening of packing our life back into something that would get past Fly Safair’s rules and hopefully not get stolen.
We set out the gate at 6:45am from our ‘Farm’. We diverted of the GPS plotted track for a refuel stop that Danielle recommended and landed in the most crazy Cape Town traffic where I needed to push across ALL the lanes! We made it to the airport with heaps of time to spare, went back to the Police station to get the police report number and checked in. A quick breakfast then on the plane to Kruger. Flight was uneventful. Karl liked getting to be on the tarmac.
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Rental car was a bit of a mission because we were a day late but after much work we were on the road… a LOT of roadworks and a grocery stop and we pulled into the park around 4 pm.
We are all shattered so it will be a very early night. (spoiler the Kids DID SLEEP THRU!)
Ok another Chris update for Day 12 which is a little confusing as im writing this at the end of Day 13 trying to catchup a little bit. Day 12 was a lot of driving between Vicki & Hugh (collecting Isaac, taking Vicki to see Danielle etc) our accomodation and of course hospital. Basically the day was waiting for tests to be run, results to be read and a game of will they or won’t they let Danielle go home. Long story short by 6pm she was able to come back to the accommodation with me!
We are able to restart our trip and have the alarm clock set for 5am. I hope the kids sleep through the night… (spoiler… they did not)
Big thank you to everyone who has got in contact with me to check on Danielle / me. And a very VERY big thank you to my sister Vicki and her husband Hugh who have provided us all with massive support and have looked after Issac overnight.
Most have you will have gathered Danielle does most of the writing of the blog so it’s Chris this time with a short update. In the early hours of Day 11 Danielle suffered a medical incident and has been admitted to hospital in Paarl. We are awaiting some test results today and are hopeful that she will be discharged and we will be back on our way however a fair bit is up in the air presently. We were due to fly north tomorrow (Day12) but have changed flights until Day13 however this may need to change further.
Vicki and Hugh were able to divert our way and fly into Cape Town which has meant they have been able to look after Isaac.
