South Africa -- Day 15

Today was Friday, only one day left before leaving South Africa. We got up in our little huts in Bongani, packed our belongings and headed up to the main lodge for breakfast. We had been invaded by baboons the evening before, we’re thinking because of the children that had recently checked in with their families and the thought that they might be deliberately or accidentally leaving food behind. Omelettes and eggs were had for breakfast, though by this time, I was longing for American breakfast. After breakfast, I was on the patio taking some last minute photos, Mart was also on the patio, reconciling the bill, and Jess was sitting inside the main lodge near the breakfast area. All of a sudden, we hear her yelling, “BABOON, BABOON!!!” I run in to see a baboon steal the croissant off of my plate from the table that had not yet been cleared, grab two artificial sweetener packets in each of his hands and run back out the window!!!!! The ladies came running from the kitchen, but they were too late, he was gone! We found this hysterically funny, as we could not figure out what he was going to do with the sweetener packets. Maybe sweeten up his croissant, maybe add it to his coffee, maybe save it for company! We finally got back on the road to head home. It was another 30 minute drive in the safari truck to get down the mountain, then another 40 minutes on the bumpy road leading out to the main road.

We headed home, but at one point, my brother had to stop to find a restroom. He spied a McDonald’s! I was leery, but he told me the whole concept of McDonald’s is that it is always the same, everywhere you go. I thought I would test the theory. He was right! The cheeseburger and fries tasted awesome and like home! We finished our lunch and got back on the road, getting home around 3:00 PM. Jess and I began unpacking from Bongani and re-packing for our flight home the next day. We rested for awhile, packed, watched some movies, packed some more and talked about dinner. Our first day there, Mart had taken us to a place called Rich’s, and he had ordered ostrich steak filets. We both tried it and liked it so much, we decided that is what we wanted for our farewell meals. So tonight, we went out for ostrich steak. They were delicious! They were served with a cherry port sauce, mashed potatoes and veggies. Very good. A nice ending for our final night in South Africa.