3 September 2025 The Last Laugh

Three go on Safari!

 What I should be writing is:

Here I sit in my Air New Zealand business pod sipping on a glass of bubbles as we begin our final flight of the journey from Perth to Auckland. Homeward bound to New Zealand. 

What I am really writing is:

Here I sit in a very average business class seat on a Qantas flight from Perth to Brisbane.

Yep, you guessed it, Air New Zealand  had a mechanical problem and our flight from Perth to Auckland was cancelled.  However at the Air New Zealand desk in Perth, after quite a little wait, we were promised business flights from Perth to Brisbane, and then business on to Auckland. It 

So off we trundled to the taxi stand and the first two taxis said they don’t take the taxi chits. Lance had been very cool, calm and collected until that moment. Fortunately a lovely driver stepped in and took us to the terminal which actually clocked up a $45 fare. Thank goodness for the $50 chit. 

 We arrived in Brisbane at midnight and were booked into a motel (shabby at best) where we  repacked our bags to allow for only one piece of check in luggage and crammed 7 kilos into our small case. This was due to no business seats being available from Brisbane to Auckland, only economy seats, so we assumed only 1 piece of check in instead of the two promised for the final leg of our trip. (PS. Got to check in and they had made an allowance of 6 bags for the three of us, but nobody told us, even when we had called Air NZ to check).

After moaning about the domestic business class, my dinner and a second glass of rosé arrived and it was bloody great! Salmon salad.

We finally arrived home on the 4th after leaving Mauritius on the second. All very happy but tired. It is a shame that things went a bit haywire at the end, but at least the problem occurred in a country that we are very familiar with!

Thanks for coming along with us. There have been a load of posts made by moi  over the last couple of weeks and sometimes I wonder if anyone read and more importantly, enjoyed them. 

Often as I am experiencing wee adventures or extraordinary experiences or something just plain stupid the words play out in my head and I really need to get them down. So once again thank you for reading my words and for your comments. They mean a lot. 

I hope I haven’t appeared too snobby throughout this blog with our business class flights. But it has been a big deal for us. It is not something that we would usually get to enjoy. However this change to economy for our last flight home should result in a refund of sorts and of course that will help the credit card! 

I thought that I should finish by including some of our best videos. 

Even though we had some up close pictures and personal experiences with elephants and even lions, my favourite is still the sunset at Gomoti Lodge with the hippos. You can’t see them, but they certainly make their presence felt in the most entrancing of environments with the tinkling of frogs in the background. I do keep watching it and each time I laugh out loud. 

Our first scary elephant encounter. My bum was squeezed tight!

The baby elephant who just doesn’t know how to operate his trunk yet. And his cousin grinds to a halt!

And lastly this little elephant who got left behind. 

See you on ur next journey! Until then!

1 September 2025 A few days lazing in Mauritius

Arriving at Mauritius airport we were required to complete and All in One form. This can be filled out online, but we hadn’t done this and thought that they would give us a paper copy on or before arrival.

We were first and only in the queue and when the man heard that we hadn’t done the All in One form he said don’t worry I have done it for you and stamped our passports. At the next stop, again only us, the guy said that we had to fill one out, and we hadn’t hooked into wifi so it was going to be a bit of a mission. When we told him that the other guy said it was done he waved us on. Must not be too important, I can’t see us getting through Auckland airport without our customs declaration!

Once we located our private transfer we hit the road. The one hour drive to the resort was during Friday afternoon rush hour and fortunately we were moving in the opposite direction to most other commuters. Driving seems a bit hectic, and there was a lot of tooting, but nothing like Italy or Vietnam!

Entering the Intercontinental Resort Balaclava … if you reread this we were not wearing balaclavas, it is just the name of the area. Anyway, on entry the lobby is wide with sofas to sit and check in, but best of all is the magnificent view over the water and we arrived just before the sun was setting.

We can highly recommend the resort. It has several beach areas and two pools. One with a swim up bar and the other with a bar service. The beach is a little rocky, but has crystal clear water and a reef surrounding it.

There are four restaurants available for dinner and our package includes breakfast and dinner.  We have tried the Asian, Mediterranean (for lunch and dinner) and the Indian. We will give the fourth, a buffet, a miss. The food has been the best so far on holiday and tonight we have booked into the Indian for our final dinner as the food there was really delicious and a bit different.

They do have Heineken, but the wine by the glass is a bit ordinary, however it does come out of a bottle and not a cask!

The breakfast buffet is great and has all sorts of different things to try. There is a Mauritian breakfast counter and I have a had a few interesting and tasty treats from there, I have skipped the Indian breakfast and today I found the bacon. It has only taken three breakfasts to do this and it is only because I saw it on a man’s plate. After snooping around I found the ‘infidel’s’ corner that had bacon and pork sausages well away from all of the other food.

There is a very large Muslim population in Mauritius and many of the guests here are Muslim. The island has no indigenous people and was first colonised by the Dutch in 1638. They lasted less than 100 years due to the harsh weather and pests. They were followed by the French in  1715, five years after the Dutch had left the island. The French introduced indentured Indian labourers and sl@ves from Africa and were successful in developing the country. However in the Napoleonic wars (1810) they were conquered by the British who continued to rule, abolishing sl@very, and ruled until independence in 1968. However for all of those years under British rule the French flavour is still around. Nearly all of the population speak Creole (a hybrid of French), French and English. 

The population is predominantly Indian Mauritians, at around 67-68%, followed by Creoles (of mixed African and European descent) at about 27-28%, and smaller percentages of Sino-Mauritians (Chinese origin) and Franco-Mauritians (European descent). 

Jean, from ‘Get Your Guide’ picked us up on our first morning here. I had booked this from New Zealand and the company has been really great to deal with. Jean, an Indian Mauritian with French accent, showed us around the Northern part of the Island. I have to say that there was not a lot to see.

Usually the umbrellas are colourful, but because it is winter here they are white to resemble snow!

The famous red church

Fort Adelaide in Port Louis

Lance stayed home as even though his bowels seemed to have settled down he was not prepared to risk a day out on the road.

Jean sent us into the local market to have a look and told us not to buy anything as they would inflate the price way too much. Also we were told to watch out for pick pockets. It was good to have a look and the vegetables were probably the best that I have ever seen in a market of this type.  Sandi and I were not just wary of pickpockets, we were very concerned about getting lost, so we did a quick circuit and called Jean to pick us up.

We visited a temple and a few other spots and then he dropped us at the Waterfront, where there are tourist shops and a few market stalls. This felt much safer and we managed to get some spices and trinkets and use the clean bathroom!

The Grand Baie is a seaside area on the drive home. The beach was lovely, but it was quite crowded and touristy even though it is the low season here. Our resort is not crowded at all and there is absolutely no competition for a lounger!

Today is our last day and after our sumptuous breakfast Sandi and I went to the spa to fix up the nail polish situation. Remember on Safari our toe nail polish melted! 

A pedicure was the perfect remedy.

I know that I have gone on a bit about the dust when we were on Safari, but it was a different sort of dust to what we are used to. This dust stuck to everything! Anything white is now grey and my feet have never been so dirty. Even after a scrub in the shower my towel had patches of dirt where dust was still stuck to my legs. There were parts of my feet that looked like they had a tan and on closer inspection and a scrub with a wet corner of a towel the so called tan transferred to the towel as a grubby patch!

We are enjoying another day by the pool and beach and our drinks have just been delivered.

Spotted from below, Lance on our balcony

This is the most perfect way to end our African safari holiday

And Lance is better and we get hourly updates on his toilet situation!

This is not my last post for the trip. I plan to put together one more blog post when I get home. Hopefully it will be about the painless and problem free trip that starts tomorrow. A four and a half hour flight from Mauritius to Johannesburg, then a nine and a half hour flight to Perth with a seven hour layover over. And finally a six hour and fifteen minute flight to Auckland! 

Then it is washing, washing, washing the dust out of our clothes!

29 August 2025 Off to Mauritius

 

Arriving at Victoria Falls airport we found a long check in queue. Where was Lance’s lovely customs man today?

We were in the front third of the queue and it split into two. Sadly we were in the slow queue. One lady was at the counter for almost an hour! They pulled her to one side a couple of times and processed someone else but then they brought her back again. Finally she was done and we were the absolute last people! Grrrrrrr!

Arriving at Johannesburg airport an hour and 49 minutes later everything went well and our accommodation for the night, City Life Hotel, is joined to the airport. In fact the two terminals are joined so we have not had to go outside. 

Lance is still unwell and is too scared to eat in case it comes back up or shoots out the other end. So it is good that we have finished our safaris and are off to Mauritius in the morning to relax. 

I thought in this post I would add a few little things that I have noted as we have been travelling. 

According to an old African folklore the wildebeest was created from the leftover parts of other animals: a buffalo's horns, a baboon’s face, a hyena body with the hump and short back legs, a lion's tail, and horse's legs. 

In several places the pin digits are scrambled when you put your pin in. This is to stop someone watching your movement and copying the pattern easily. Do you know how hard it is to put in your pin and not follow your normal finger movement!

Lance was chatting to the driver when we were in a taxi in Victoria Falls. The driver asked about the weather in NZ. Lance replied that at the moment it is cold and very rainy. “You are very lucky” was the drivers reply. To him it sounded like paradise!

Sandi and I have had to buy some nail polish remover because our toenail polish has melted in the heat!

On our way out of Namibia we saw rough wooden stalls on the side of the road with huge sides of beef hanging and for sale. 

The giraffe is the only ruminant to have a gestation period of over a year. 15 months. 

If you ever get a chance to go on safari you should take a good supportive sports bra!

Stopping at Katima Mulilo in Namibia we all trooped into a cafe/ bar called Passione for coffee and toilets. Some of the group all sat at one table and one of our ladies happened to be sitting at the end of the table. An African man came up to her and said that women should not be sitting at the head of the table and why was she there! Apparently he was quite gruff. Lesley replied that in her country men and women were equal. He went and sat down but glared at her. 

At the same township I felt a little uneasy and not welcome for the first time. 

Botswana’s population is only 2,500,000 and Zimbabwe only 3,000,000. They are both large countries with not a lot of habitable areas. I expected more people to be around, but was pleasantly surprised.

An early start this morning meant we were at the airport at 6:20. But remember the hotel is joined to the airport. 

Johannesburg airport has the best airport shopping! So Sandi and I had a little wander through some really lovely stores and picked up a few bits and pieces. 

I write this on the plane flying to Mauritius and Sandi and I have just ordered a G & T which is quite strong but delicious. It is only 10:20am so I am picking there could be a nap on this 4 hour flight!

Six hours later; we have arrived in Mauritius and had a very easy arrival. The hour drive from the airport to the Intercontinental Resort at Balaclava was bump and dust free! It is very lush and tropical.

This is the view that greeted us as we walked into the lobby.

I think this is going to be a very relaxing stay. 

27 August 2025 Goodbye to our tour group

Beautiful restroom at Victoria Falls Hotel. 

Today we had to say goodbye to our tour group. We have really enjoyed the people in our group and do hope to see some of them when they visit New Zealand, or our Italian friends when we hopefully visit Italy once again. And of course our fabulous tour guide Richard.

If you have ever taken a tour you will know that what makes a great tour is not only the sights you see, it is about the people that you are with. And most of all it is about having a great guide. Richard organised us, checked in with us when we inadvertently sat at a table by ourselves rather than with the group. “Was everything okay?” We could hear the concern in his voice, when actually we had wandered in to breakfast and not even seen them! 

 The knowledge that he imparted was always interesting and he has such a wealth of knowledge about animals, history, and geographical information that would surprise and interest us, he knew how to get us through boarder crossings with the least hassle, helped Sandi when she had her nasty border incident and his ability to speak the language as we crossed into different countries made everything appear effortless. I guess this is just part of the job, but he also shared some of his personal life as a Zimbabwean man and was interested in our cultures. 

 The boarder crossing from Botswana back into Zimbabwe was thankfully uneventful. I had felt that I had prepared well with getting our KAZA visas for 30 days multiple entry into Zimbabwe and 1 entry into Zambia. Botswana did not need a visa, and I also got the Namibia visa online. 

Well, I was not the only one fooled by the KAZA multi entry into Zimbabwe. I , and the rest of the group, had accounted for the three times that we would enter Zimbabwe and the KAZA visa would be perfect. But, there was a fly in the ointment! In small print it says and it includes ‘day trips’ into Botswana! And we had been in Botswana for several days. It wasn’t a big problem and Richard said that he had asked the tour company to add this information to the trip notes. He also had the visa forms ready for us to fill out before arriving at the border and told us to have $30 USD ready. We had to have a health check before customs and some of our party who had been to Kenya needed their yellow fever vaccination certificates, and we all had a thermometer gun aimed at our heads to check our temperature. 

Back in Zimbabwe we quickly found ourselves alone in the back of our van, which by the way is named ‘Water Berry’ after anAfrican tree. The others had been dropped at the airport, but we had one night in Victoria Falls before our next chapter which will be Mauritius. 

 It was nice to be back at the Cresta Sprayview Hotel at Victoria Falls. Sandi and I wandered down to the small township for some shopping. The paths, when there are paths are really dusty, in fact everything is dusty! My feet have never been so filthy, and that is after I hop out of the shower, it just seems to permeate your pores! 

 There was a lot of the same sort of tourist stuff in the many small shops, and much as we would love some of the baskets and carved items we have been avoiding them because of problems entering NZ. Some things are cheap and some are expensive. 

 After returning to our hotel, and yet another shower because of the heat and dust the three of us caught a taxi down to the Victoria Falls Hotel for a high tea. The hotel was built in 1904 and overlooked the bridge linking Zimbabwe and Zambia. It has a real feeling of the past and is beautifully designed inside with artefacts and fabulous furnishings. Two huge paintings are in the main lounge and they are of Queen Mary and King George V. 

Whilst it is a beautiful place and the staff are impeccable in their uniforms and hospitality it also still has a colonial feeling that made me a little uncomfortable. Our high tea was great, and we sat overlooking the lawn and bridge. 

We tried our best to eat it all but there were so many sweet things that we just couldn’t do it. Also our main consumer had a tummy ache. 

 Back at our hotel Sandi and I sat overlooking the pool for the evening and had a couple of drinks. Lance was quite unwell and has been popping anti diarrhoea and anti nausea medication like they are M & Ms. Hopefully he will be okay for the flight to Johannesburg tomorrow.