Hi, everyone!

I am back in Cape Town now after an exciting three weeks on safari. If you don't want to read the entire email, suffice it to say that I am alive and well and will be leaving here on Tuesday. But take five minutes and read it! Here are the highlights....

I may have mentioned that my original safari trip was cancelled and that the company managed to book me onto another trip. A few days before we left, I met the owner of the tour company and he told me that the tour was, in fact, a German-speaking tour and that the other 10 people would all be German. D'oh. He said that the guide was English-speaking and that I could sit up front with him in the truck and hang out with him when we do stuff, but he couldn't promise me that any of the other people would speak English. I was so frustrated with my plans changing that I thought, oh I might as well just go along. The itinerary was exactly what I wanted and I really didn't want to have to change again.

I guess I was hoping to meet Aussies and Kiwis and Brits, but really all that mattered was that the people were interesting and well-travelled and that they wanted to do the same things I wanted. Without getting into a discussion of the shortcomings of German tourists (no offence, Anja!), I will say that it went as well as could be expected. Half of the group was under 40, spoke English, and have been to more places in the US than I have. These are the people I spent the most time with, and they were a lot of fun. The other half were all over 50 and did not or would not speak English. Some actually complained to the guide that they didn't like it when we would have English discussions at the table (even though these people were not involved in the conversation). I hate them. Fortunately, all of the under-40s also hate them, so we did our thing and they did theirs, and it worked out fine.

The trip basically consisted of two main activities: game parks and hiking. The first game park we visited was Kruger National Park, South Africa's biggest and best. Most people go in search of "The Big Five": lion, leopard, elephant, rhino, and buffalo. On the very first day, we saw four of them (the leopards are very elusive), as well as wildebeest, giraffe, warthogs, and countless impala. The best time for viewing game is right around sundown and, unfortunately, right after sunrise (which required us to get up at 4am for a few days!).

We finally did see a leopard, but only very shortly (it ran away before I could get a good picture of it). We didn't see any cheetahs, but I did get to PET one at a zoo before the trip. I also sat on an ostrich. Long story. Yes, there are photos.

One night at Kruger, I went on a night-time game drive. Basically, you go with a park ranger at around sundown, and then you break out the high-powered lamps for trying to find the animals. We saw some night animals like hyenas and some of the smaller cats, but the best part was the pride of lions who had decided to take a nap right in the middle of the road! They didn't seem to mind that we were there (must have been after dinner time), but it took about half an hour before they decided to let us by!

At some of the other parks, you can sit in a "hide" for a while, instead of driving. Basically it is a sheltered area, usually near a watering hole, where you are safe from the animals but are pretty close to them. Of course, they know you're there but I guess they get used to it. We saw a few rhinos and a herd of zebras all stopping by for a drink. One of the parks was an elephant reserve and we saw a whole family of elephants (including a little baby one) walking in the road. Then the big papa elephant showed up and "mock charged" us. Needless to say, we got the hell out of there.

As good as all the game viewing was, I think the hiking was better. We hiked in five different spots. Some of them were good, but two were great. The first was at Royal Natal National Park, which is up in the Drakensberg Mountains. We hiked for about three hours up towards a waterfall (the second biggest in the world, in fact) before coming to a point where the only way to continue was up a very steep cliff on a chain ladder. I was first up the ladder. =) We didn't actually make it to the waterfall, but on the way back, you can walk in the river as it makes its way through some caves. The water only comes up to your knees but it was difficult to walk through it nonetheless.

The other really great hike was in the Cederberg Mountains. It was damn hot there: probably around 80 when we left camp at 7:30am, and easily 100 in the afternoon. The camp itself was at 3000ft above sea level, and we hiked up a pretty massive hill that probably brought us up to 4500ft. At the top are the Wolfberg Cracks, which are big gorges and rock formations in the mountain range. Another 90 minutes of (mercifully flat) hiking brings you to the Wolfberg Arch, which is a rock formation in the shape of an arch (duh). We hiked for seven hours that day and, for future reference, one liter of water is not nearly enough!!!

Before I left on my three-week safari, I did a four day trip in the area near Cape Town with a different group. On one of the days, we drove past Bloukrans Bridge, home of the highest commercial bungee jump in the world (216m). The people I was with asked if I planned on doing it and I joked "next time". Well.... fast forward to this past weekend, and I found myself standing on the edge of a bridge with a big rubber band tied around my ankles. Yes, I actually did it (and bought the t-shirt). There are tons of photos but the video does not play on American VCRs, so I didn't buy it. It was by far the #1 highlight of the trip for me. I managed to talk another member of our tour group into doing it, too, and everyone thought we were crazy. But it was an unbelievable experience. I think the only time I was really "scared" was when they were doing the countdown and were on 2 and I thought "oh shit, I actually have to do this now". But I am so glad I did. I was smiling for two days. The thing that I remember most about it is the feeling of total helplessness. Once you jump, you're pretty much at the mercy of gravity, physics, and the safety measures that the people have put in place. Once you're in the air, there's really nothing you can do until they come rescue you and pull you back up. I would do it again in a heartbeat. Anyone who has done it before would surely agree.

There's lots more but these are the highlights. I am planning on putting together a photo/scrap album and I will take it on a bit of a world tour over the winter, so that everyone can see the photos and hear the stories. I'll put the best photos up online somewhere but I haven't even developed them yet so it may be a while.

So now what? I am flying back to New York on Tuesday (arriving Weds). Unfortunately I cannot stop over in London so I won't get to see you folks until after Christmas, I would guess. I am planning on doing a New England trip around the weekend of Dec 1, and possibly visiting San Francisco before Xmas. I'll be sure to let everyone know when I'm going to be in their neck of the woods.

I should be on email for the next few days. I hope all is well "back at home" (wherever that is) and that I get to see everyone soon!!

Chris