We pick up Trust member Kate Thompson’s South Africa diary straight after the disappointing draw with the USA
We had been urged by the Thomson rep to get back to the coach as quickly as possible but inevitably some people failed to do so, which meant that it was very tight for us to catch the return flight at 2.15. Like nearly everyone else so far as I could see, I slept nearly all the way. We caught the flight, which landed just before 4.30; by this time we had been up for over 24 hours! The coach dropped us back at the hotel at 5.30 and I crashed into bed – only to be woken two hours later by the same mysterious alarm.
This time I identified it as the smoke alarm but it was too early to ring reception, so I tried to go to sleep again; I finally managed to do so and got another hour before the wretched thing went off again. This time I did ring reception and a man came and changed the battery. If it does it again I will take the battery out, even though it’s probably illegal!
Day 5: Sunday, 13 June 2010
After that abrupt awakening I had a shower and some breakfast before listening to all the reaction to last night’s game. It rained in Cape Town yesterday and although it is dry now the temperature has dropped somewhat. I’m going to have a lazy morning before going for my massage. In fact I did very little all day, reading and watching the three matches on the television.….
There is an Italian restaurant close to the hotel which appears to have some ties with it, and does take-away food. So I opted for a pizza and a side salad. I thought I’d treat myself to a bottle of South African wine but to my surprise the little supermarket doesn’t sell it; the nearest place is apparently in Sea Point which is some distance away. I assume that there are shops that just sell wine, unlike at home.
It was pretty cold all day and rained on and off. I had got a plug-in heater from reception but it is not very effective – still better than nothing. I decided in the end to buy some internet air-time but had to use my laptop in reception. If I want to use it in the room I need a network cable, as it is dial-up rather than wifi, and of course I didn’t bring one with me, so I will try again, probably now on the next free day, Tuesday.
Day 6: Monday, 14 June 2010
Another early start, at 5.45, for the visit to the Aquila private game reserve. It was pouring with rain and blowing a gale, which I gathered it had done all night, but I was dead to the world and didn’t hear a thing! As a result of the awful conditions, the journey took longer than scheduled and we finally arrived at about 8.30. After a welcome drink of sparkling wine or grape juice (who wants to drink so early in the day?) we were given breakfast, which was very good and warmed everyone up.
We then got into open-sided jeeps, which held eight people; fortunately we were supplied with a blanket to sit on and a cape, but the latter was uncontrollable in the fierce wind and was not a lot of protection. We were supposed to be out for two hours but in fact it was barely half that and many of the animals were very sensibly sheltering from the conditions and therefore not to be seen. Of the so-called big five, we failed to see elephants or leopards, but we did see five lions, a few buffaloes and a few white rhinos – plus springbok (the animals not the rugby players!) and wildebeest.
The driver, who had incredible eyesight, said there was a zebra but I really couldn’t see it. One of the lionesses took exception to us and began to charge, so we had to beat a hasty retreat. Similarly, a buffalo objected to our proximity and began to move threateningly towards our vehicle. Although it was disappointing not to see an elephant in particular, I guess three out of five in such awful conditions was not bad. I shall have to come back in the summer. (I gathered, from speaking to someone later who was on the coach that arrived late, that they had seen a lot of zebras and a giraffe, but they had no waterproofs!).
After a warming drink and then lunch, we returned to Cape Town through some stunning scenery, including snow-capped mountains and more vines than you could imagine. I tried desperately to stay awake as I wanted to see as much as possible, but another early start – combined with a full stomach and a warm coach! – meant that I slept most of the way back, in common with practically everyone else. When we got to the outskirts of Cape Town, the authorities had already started to close off roads, although the match here doesn’t start until 8.30, and the centre was almost gridlocked. The weather was much better in Cape Town, and the sun even appeared for a few minutes, but the rain returned and the sea is very rough with lots of white horses.
Part four of Kate’s diary will appear tomorrow