Holiday!

My mysterious absence from cyberspace for the last week-and-a-bit was due to a long-awaited camping holiday in the Kruger park. We haven't been camping since Heike was born, so we were REALLY looking forward to this. Our favourite camp in Kruger is Tzendze rustic campsite - no electricity, no store stocking curios and overpriced clothing, most of the time no drunken tourists. There is a strict noise rule, so noisy groups tend to choose other campsites (well, most of the time, as we found out).

All in all I have to say the holiday was a bit of a disappointment, in two ways: the game-viewing was really not all that great (with the shining exception of the leopard we saw on our way out of the park), and also it was just way too much work keeping the kids safe and entertained. You'd think that parenting a 19 month old and a 4 year old would have clued us in to the fact that they're high maintenance, but somehow Hanno and I both managed to paint this idyllic picture in our heads of sitting on comfy camping chairs in front of the tent, tending to the meat roasting on the fire, while the kids play quietly and contently around us.

Yeah, right.

If my wonderful in-laws weren't there with us I honestly think we would have packed up and come home about 12 hours into the vacation. They're on their way back to PE as I type this, and more tired than anybody should have to be after a holiday! They might just have saved both my sanity and my marriage in the last week - they were awesome with the kids as always, hands-on and involved and the kids just adore them for it. In fact on our last evening Jana announced that she wants me and Hanno to switch places with Ouma and Oupa so that Ouma becomes her mommy and she'll live in her house. I'm feeling the love.

Anyway, the game viewing was OK but not awesome, we saw lots of elephant, buffalo, hippos, giraffe and antelope, but no carnivores or other scarcities until we came upon a leopard on our way out of the park. That was a HUGE treat, I had never seen a leopard in the wild before. He really only gave us a 40 second or so glimpse before disappearing into the bush. But despite seeing less than we hoped for, it's always special to experience Africa at ground level, so to speak.

I am happy to be back home! We heard on the way back that our plans for home renovation have been approved, and in fact our builder just rang the doorbell so I have to go. Exciting times!