25 SAOUG Our Own ACE Adventure

In the main post I talked about the South Africa conference, but this is more the travelogue. Whilst not an official ACE Adventure I can say we all had a great time and it would never have happened if we were not part of the program.

As ever I had a layover in Heathrow before my flight and Dr Abi joined me as she flies in from Newcastle. We had a few hours to kill so enjoyed the First lounge which may be our last chance as under the new British Airways frequent flyer program I will never get elite status again :(

The flight was ok, went quite fast and we had good seats for economy. I slept well although am pleased you can't see the photo of me Abi took. We landed in Johannesburg early which was good as Connor was waiting for us, as was his taxi. we arrived at Misty Hills just before noon.

We had a little wait for our rooms but not too long and I had an upgrade to exactly the same room as last year. Thankyou SAOUG. Sarah, Lydia and their boss Marc arrived a couple of hours later and they were no sooner in their rooms then we were off on a game drive arranged by Marc. Two of their graduates Methembeni and Ed drove us in their own cars which was so nice of them. Local help is always appreciated to get the most out of a destination.

We went to Dinokeng Reserve and our guide was Olivia. Before getting in the rucks we saw a family of monkeys. First spotted were Rhinos and Wildebeest. Then as we drove around a bend we met a pride of lions, so exciting. 

So within 30 minutes along with various impala, Eland and Springbok we had seen more than most do on a single game drive. Olivia told us she could hear elephants but if we went looking for them there was no guarantee and we would potentially miss other things. We trusted her and went looking for the herd. Almost an hour later we were rewarded with so much elephant life. More than a dozen of all sizes. Pure Magic. As the sun set we had to leave the reserve. We had missed the drinks but no one cared, and twice we had to reverse as our path was blocked by rhinos whole on the path as it is warmer than the grass at night. Our final sightings were a few young Jackals. What a way to start the trip.

On the way back Marc took us to a steak restaurant he knew from growing up in South Africa and it was amazing. We almost missed out as we arrived within 5 minutes of the last orders due to our extended drive. We got back to Misty Hills about 10.30 all very very tired, remember the previous night had been spent o aircraft, but no one was complaining.

Sunday a few made breakfast but not everyone, and we had our ACE Dinner at midday, in the Carnivore restaurant. I had been before many years ago and remembered what an experience it was, so when so many ACEs were confirmed I asked if we could have an ACE Dinner there. Thankyou to them for saying yes. Carnivore does what it says on the tin, and we got to experience meat we would never otherwise have. We were joined by Ahmed Jassat the local and only SA ACE and then Ron Ekins who also came from the UK but a day later, he literally arrived and joined us.

Sunday evening there was a reception for the user group and the mandatory South African Braai. The final ACE Raja joined us and although we didn't eat a lot more meat (there is a limit) we loved it. 

Monday the event kicked off and after the sessions (which I covered in the last post) there was a party, with a dress code of African Sheik. 

I had managed to fashion a jacket from scarf fabric and was very pleased with the result. There was a live band and a great DJ and even I got up to dance once. However this old lady hit a wall about 11pm and went off to bed but some of the younger ones kept going till 1.30am when it stopped.

Tuesday sessions kept going till 6pm, but Abi, Ron and I had to leave at 5.30 to get to the airport for our overnight flight home. We had booked a taxi from the hotel, but it didn't turn up and when chased was going to be another 20 minutes. However since we had Ron with us we voted to get the unrecommended Uber option. Our driver was excellent, drove quickly but not too fast and obeyed most rules of the road (not all South African's do). We arrived at the airport with time to shop, which is always important. If you know Connor, ask him about his taxi back to airport, more exciting than ours! And ask Abi about her room mate!

Having shopped until there was bio space in our hand luggage which probably didn't matter, Abi and I met a man buying a 4 foot tall wooden giraffe going on our flight in one shop. The flight wasn't actually that busy and again I managed a decent amount of sleep.

After a quick breakfast Abi and I had our flights home. 

South Africa delivered again and I hope I can manage again next year. Thank you again Penelope and Debs for all your help.