We slept in until 7 today and then packed up for a day of travel to Johannesburg, RSA.
Lorrie hitched a ride by plane with Elsie, Brock and Sally-Jo. They had a spectacular view of Victoria Falls as they came into Livingstone, Zambia. So we all await the photos.
The rest of us rode back to the river crossing in safari vehicles.
Larry and I crossed the Chobe River from Botswana to Zambia first with the Wilkes and all the luggage, to guard it while the little ferry went back for everyone else.
While we waited, we talked with the porters, who were also selling carved animals and other things. We gave one of them my Canada pin and bought a few things.
They told us they were from an artisan's village that had been established after their own village was washed away in a flood. They like Canadians because Canada was instrumental in rebuilding the village. One guy wanted us to pay for our purchases with Canadian dollars so he could show his old grandfather what Canadian money looked like. Eventually we were loaded up, cleared the border fomalities and drove off to Livingstone airport. Along the way we were amazed by the beautiful jacaranda trees all dressed in purple blooms. Our flight to Johannesburg was uneventful.
the trip through Jo'burg Airport was interesting. First, the immigration officer extracted a promise from us that we would stay until we'd spent all our money, then come back when we had more to spend. He was hilarious.
Then a couple of clowns on unicycles gave us free packages of macadamia nuts ( promoting the duty-free shop ). Then the police stopped everyone to look at the passports of all the women.
Finally as we neared the baggage carousels, a sniffer dog and handler (Dept of Agriculture ) came up to us. The dog sniffed everything and then focused on my tote. "Have you any food?" said the handler. I had had apples, but finished them in the previous airport. The handler said that would have been what the dog smelled. The dog was amazing and clearly wanted a treat for its successful find ( and got one ).
We arrived at the hotel in time for freshening up and resting before heading out for dinner.
We saw some of the very prosperous parts of Jo'burg and entered one of the most beautiful restaurants I've ever seen - Vilamoura. Wow! Yet again!. Quite a contrast to dusty, bumpy roads and warthogs. Even better, the food was as great as the surroundings.
We celebrated Sally-Jo's birthday with a cake and then ceremonially inducted Frank as an honorary Canadian. He was gracious and funny as always. We'll miss him when we say goodbye tomorrow.
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