After a fabulous time in Johannesburg we all woke early and made our way to the airport to fly to Port Elizabeth. I was looking forward to two things, firstly Kichaka Game Lodge and secondly, being able to breathe easier. Johannesburg is high altitude and it sounds crazy, but you really feel it. Breathing deep as we got off the plane at Port Elizabeth was a wonderful thing for this low-altitude girl.
(Laura from Glitz at the bottom of the stairs, followed by Paula from 7Gypsies and Jay her hubby).
After a short drive we arrive at Kichaka. There are huge gates at the entrance because of the wild-life, and we stopped for what seems like forever outside – 14 scrapbookers – hundreds of pictures needed to be taken, right? Seriously. There were hundreds of pictures taken.
Actually we stayed out there so long that they called through to us and asked if we wanted tents and boxes of beer delivered outside the gates if we were choosing to stay there.
Here's a great shot of Gary (hubby of SA Scrapbook organiser, Glenda) and Paul. These two have a lot in common and got on fabulously. Until they both came down with the man-flu and went their separate ways. Fortunately they both recuperated in time to watch multiple games of rugby and sample many wines. I know this friendship was a highlight of the trip for Paul but secretly we are glad to leave Gary's company before South Africa and New Zealand have to meet each other in the Rugby World Cup games… although I think there may be some sort of wager between these two lads… bring on the game.
Finally we were done with photos and drove in to reception where we signed a waiver – you know, one of those "if a lion makes a meal of me, I promise not to blame anyone but myself" kinda deals. This freaked me out the first time I went to Kichaka, this time I knew it was coming but would I have signed it had I known about the up-coming Elephant Incident? (see the next blog post for that one).
Kichaka staff always meet you at the gate with a friendly welcome and hot lemony towels… as you arrive, after game drives etc.. love it.
And you get two steps in the door and you are greeted with gorgeous smiles and beautiful drinks…
The treats don't stop there. Everything is amazing. From the rooms with private pools overlooking the waterhole, to the food, to the smiles and attention the staff give to every detail. One night we arrived back at our room from dinner to find our robes had been laid on our bed, a gorgeous bubble bath had been run, a bottle of champagne and glasses were beside the bath, candles right through the room, bath mats down and rose petals scattered around the room. It was soooo nice!
We spent 3 nights at this amazing retreat. We went on four game drives and saw a huge variety of wildlife – check back for the next blog post, remember 'The Elephant Incident'?. We spent most of Tuesday hanging out as a group in the sun at Kichaka. We all had the most fabulous day that day, and it's something I will never forget. We drank Amurula in the sun, we shared crazy stories, we chatted with the staff at Kichaka. My favourite part though was the bonding between the teachers. It was something really special, helped along tremendously by the surroundings we were in.
Unfortunately we got up Wednesday morning for our early morning game drive to find that many of us had come down with the flu overnight. Of the 14 of us travelling together, 9 of us became sick. It wasn't a cold, it was the full-on flu. It was nasty. Paul & I spent Wednesday sleeping. One of my big regrets of the trip is the time I lost through being sick. I couldn't help it at the time but I'd love to have that time back.
The team on the game drive on Tuesday morning – before we all became sick. Back – Rosanne from Ellison, Glenda from SA Scrapbook Convention, Debby Schuh, Ginger from Glitz, Ashley 'Aard-vark' the Ranger, Werner 'Did I really get the jeep stuck' the Ranger, Laura from Glitz, and Mel from KaiserCraft.
Front: Paula from 7 Gyspies, Stephanie from Sizzix, myself, and our two fabulous trackers.
We left Kichaka on Thursday. Most of us still very sick. As I said, one of my big regrets of this trip was the time I lost at Kichaka through having to sleep off a nasty illness. One thing I was incredibly grateful for was the attention of the staff though. All were genuinely concerned and did anything to help us get better. Seeing Jason behind the bar handing out teaspoons of cough medicene instead of drinks was something hilarious I wish I'd got pics of. Kichaka is one place that I haven't said goodbye to. I will go back one day and I'll be taking my Mum and Dad and anyone else I can convince to come with me. Thanks to the staff at Kichaka for making it so special, thanks to Jason for showing genuine concern with all the illness and thanks Ashley-Aard-vark-ranger for trying to exorcise the flu-bugs through extreme adrenaline on the Wednesday game drive. More about that in the next blog post…
laters.
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