After we arrived in Marloth Park, around 4:30 pm, we stopped at Louise and Danie’s to pick up the keys to the house. It was fantastic to see them both again, as well as Louise’s lovely parents from Cape Town, Estelle and Johan, whom we’ve come to know and adore over the years.
We were too exhausted to join them for sundowners, but we stayed for about 30 minutes, enjoying lively conversation and looking forward to more in the next few days before they return home over the weekend. Louise and Danie’s birthdays are coming up next week, and we’re insisting on taking the four of them out to dinner tomorrow night to celebrate.
While we were away, Zef and Vusi did a complete spring clean of the house, and every corner of the house was clean, dust-free, and organized. We are so grateful.
This morning, at 7:30, after waking up after sleeping through the night, I became blissfully aware that I had no jet lag whatsoever. Also, I couldn’t wait to look through the glass doors to the veranda to see who’d come to call. I wasn’t disappointed.
There were at least eight bushbucks, two male kudus, three impalas, four warthogs, and a dozen helmeted guineafowl. (Sounds like “partridge in a pear tree”). I didnt turn off the security alarm since I didn’t want to wake Tom, who was still sound asleep.
I decided to take another shower, after doing so less than ten hours earlier, get dressed, and get ready for the day. Since the timing was off due to the time difference, I skipped my usual morning pills yesterday to get back on track with morning dosing, considering the time difference.
Now, as I sit at my usual spot at the table on the veranda, the joyful feeling of being surrounded by nature overwhelms me, along with a profound sense of “being back at home”.
The long 42-plus-hour travel time was worth every moment, although the nine-hour layover in London was tough when we hadn’t slept in 24 hours. On the later second flight from London to Johannesburg, I think I slept for about 20 minutes while Tom didn’t do much better.
The flights weren’t too bad, with little turbulence, but the food was awful, so neither of us ate much. We went to lunch at a restaurant in Heathrow, and the food wasn’t much better.
Fortunately, we had left some homemade frozen leftovers, so by 6:00 pm, exhausted and out of sorts, we put together a decent plate of food for each of us and then headed to the bedroom to shower, relax, and see if we could wind down, streaming a show.
Neither of us got through the single episode without nodding off several times, desperately trying to stay awake until at least 10:30 pm. We each took an over-the-counter sleeping pill, and by midnight, we’d both managed to drift off, miraculously both sleeping through the night.
That’s all it took for us to awaken refreshed and alert, with the brain fog gone. For us, a single good night’s sleep is all it takes to get us back on track after a long trip.
As soon as we upload this post, we’ll head to Komatipoort to buy groceries and a few other items. When we return and put the groceries away, I’ll finish my unpacking, and by this evening, our lives in the bush for these remaining three months until we depart for Spain, will be in order.
Today’s photos were all taken this morning. Enjoy them, along with us.
Be well.
Photo from ten years ago today, June 18, 2015:
