Last Day - Noooo!

Well after another great night wining, dining but not winning so much we headed out again after breakfast for our last look around this magnificent place! We went back to the Valley of the Waves and had a swim, then healed ourselves in and around the adult baths, where there were only another couple of people. It's amazing for how many guests there are here, there's plenty of room for everyone and doesn't appear crowded at all!
We had a bit of lunch and a cocktail - as you do, then had to reluctantly get packed for our 2.30pm pick up.  We had organised the night before for a late check out and the reception girls were just so lovely and helpful and all they really wanted was chocolate haha! So we delivered the chocolate to them, some we had from Positano, and they were ever so grateful - you'd have thought they'd won the lotto!
We had a long drive back to Johannsburg airport as there was a strike on one of the main roads, so we had to detour, which added another hour onto our trip! Their strike is not like our strike - they burn cars and tyres in the middle of the roads and pelt rocks at passing cars - so hence the word out not to go anywhere near that area. Obviously, there are some places that are unsafe to venture in South Africa, but if you're sensible and heed the warnings given, we would come back in a heartbeat.
Our flight out was about half an hour late, so we hoped that we would still make our connecting flight from Sydney to Brisbane in time.  We slept for about 6 hours on the plane, which was great and arrived in Sydney in a little bit of a hurry to catch our connector, but it all worked out in the end.
An uneventful flight back to Brisbane in time to listen to the first half of the semi final between Broncos and Cowboys on the radio, then settle in to watch the rest on tv at home.
Scooby was very glad to see us, so we spoilt him and he watched the footy with us too.
It's always wonderful to go on a holiday, but always wonderful coming home and appreciating what we have here.
We've had a fantastic couple of weeks - lucky enough to share a wonderful time with friends in Positano, then the vast difference of Sth Africa and it's magnificent animals.


Until next time .......

One of the elephant statues at our hotel 

One of many waterfalls in our grounds

Looking back towards the side of the Palace 

heading out on our last walk

Beautiful water cascade down to the adult healing baths

Huge timber doors to the baths

We'll give it a go!

A straight drop ride in Valley of the Waves

Double tube ride looks fun!

Just a small part of the many huge carvings 

around Valley of the Waves

Sundowners at Valley of the Waves

Last sunset from our room 

Very last sunset from Johannsburg airport. 

Goodbye South Africa! Xx

Sun City - Day 3

After a late rise and late brekkie we headed off on foot to have a good look around Sun City. This is an amazing place and is a really great way to finish a holiday. So relaxing and everyone is so friendly and welcoming. We headed off through the gardens to the wave pool which is just incredible. To get there though we had to go through the Royal Baths which are supposed to be healing waters. It was a bit cool this morning, so we'll try and dip our bodies in tomorrow. At the wave pool, it is like a water park in its own right! There's water rides and slides, a massive drop slide, little kids area, music playing, bars - unbelievable! We then made our way up to the maze and if you get through the maze at the end is a bar and you get to have a beer. We were a little worried for a while, as we could hear people in the bar but couldn't get there because of solids walls. Fortunately, we finally found our way there and it's quite a celebration entering the bar, just like you've crossed the line in an Olympic race! Beers are had and I have to say, it was a really fun thing to do.
We meandered back to our hotel after a sundowner at the wave pool again. Aaahhh what a great day!
Sadly we have to leave tomorrow, so are hitting the town tonight. Will have a meal at the Casino and a bit of a gamble  to see how lucky we are. This is an absolutely wonderful place, there's no doubt about that!

Part of ore resort from thr highest tower 

Walking to the pool area

A waterfall from the caves in the hotel area

As close  as I could get to an elephant here

The Royal Baths for healing purposes. It's tough

The wave pool

Waves in the middle of Sth Afica. Fantastic!

Monkey says monkey does

After the wave pool on our way 

to the maze

Great bridge to the maze

John trying to find his way out to the bar

The maze from the bar area

Sundowners by the wave pool - if we have too! 

Our last sunset view here from our room 

Sun City - Day 2 at The Palace

Well, after a ridiculously extravagant breakfast here at The Palace, we went for a swim in the incredible pool, went on the tour of the hotel - crazy you have to do this as it is so big, and there's so many places we wouldn't even have known were here if we didn't do this. Then we booked in for a round of golf at the Gary Player golf course where the Nedbank Challange is played every year in early November. We were shuttled over to the course and were introduced to our caddies and had the most wonderful 18 holes. They prefer us to have caddies, and they were so great with their advice, and it also helps the locals immensely. It became pretty hot so much water was taken in, but we had a fantatic afternoon.  We sat back at the golf club with our caddies having a couple of beers when the cheeky monkeys came out and were very entertaining for sure. What an afternoon!
Pretty tired after our golf so had a couple of cocktails around the pool and thought we'd have an "in" night. We  ordered fish and chips, a bottle of red and mixers for a scotch and the total was equivalent to AUS$26. Such good value here, it's crazy. Anyway, another fantastic day here in Sth Africa - weather warm, people so friendly and all so relaxing - very much enjoying this for sure!

Our home for a few days! 

I got this in - yippee a par for me!

Springbok in the bush on the 3rd hole 

Johnny hitting off on the 9th back to the 

Beautiful clubhouse and resort 

Myself and our caddies, Moses and Gift - great guys

After 18 holes I. The heat and 2 beers, 

Johnny feeling very relaxed

John in the Gary Player Hall of Fame

The Palace of an evening from the pool bar having cocktails

This is heaven 

Off to Sun City

After our last sleep in here in Idube, we packed and said our goodbyes to the staff and headed off back through the villages on our 2 hrs drive  to Hoedspruit airport.  Arrived in plenty of time, which was great.  The terminal is very small but open air and is like waiting in someone's back garden to board the plane.  One cheeky monkey took a toasted sandwich from a guy's plate and ran up and ate it on the roof. Don't often see that at an airport haha! We boarded the prop plane for Johannsburg and had an uneventful 45min flight where we were collected and driven another 2 and a half hours to Sun City.  You'd think we were in Australia with the vast distances to travel.
Arriving at our resort The Lost Palace and this is the most amazing place, and we pretty much got lost even following staff to our room!
After a quick shower we headed off for an early dinner, as lunch was a non event.  We've discovered a good place to look for nice food is at the Casinos, so we jumped on a shuttle and headed down the road there. We found a fantastic restaurant called Legends and had ostrich and crocodile pie and a springbok carpaccio which was absolutely fantastic! They say when in Rome......
Then we had to try a wildebeest loin for main which was very very nice, a lot like steak, but nowhere near as tender as the fillet we also ordered. Topped this off with a couple of reds and rolled out of the restaurant!
Played in the Casino for a little bit, shuttled it back to the resort and fell into bed again. Our room had been prepared for us with robes and petals on the bed and slippers on a mat beside the bed - which was lovely.  What a place, and we do feel like royalty in a palace, that's for sure!

Off we go to Sun City

Going to get on the prop plane! 

Coming into Johannasburg again

Where we eat breakfast!

The front of this crazy beautiful hotel

The other side at the front of the Palace

Our quaint little swimming pool!

Idube Game Reserve Day 3

Heading off again at 6am on our early safari and it's amazingly peaceful bouncing along in a jeep! We found the lions from yesterday's kill not too far into our drive and because they have eaten so much in the last 24hrs, they are really lazy are are doing pretty much nothing and probably won't do, until they're hungry again and make another kill, so we leave them to their rest. We come across Impala, an Eagle and go back to where the lions had their kill and there are plenty of vultures still there, but not a morsel of anything left. Driving around for a little bit, our driver Rob and Tracker Nhlayo stop and get out of the jeep and try to see where some leopard tracks are heading or coming from, and after some deliberation, we head off again.  Not too far along a track, Rob sees a couple of hyena around the bottom of a tree so there must be a reason for that, and there it is, up in the tree, the leopard with its kill of a small antelope type animal. It would have started eating it on the ground, but took it up when the hyenas came around. The leopard was pretty lazy

Bird life by a drying waterhole

The full lazy lions

Female leopard in tree with her kill

The hungry hyena, waiting, waiting

Rhino family after a soak in the mud

Wildebeest 

Majestic giraffe

Elephant family

Zebras

Our last safari sunset

Good night to the leopard

about it all and full from a bit of food, so was happy to just lay around up there!
In our afternoon drive and unfortunately our last one, we saw again the giraffe, lions, rhino, wildebeest, steenbok and zebra. Huge termite nests that are over 100 years old are plentiful in this part of the reserve.
Had our last sundowner drinks with our new friends at a spectacular sunset near a water hole, drove back past where the leopard was still in the tree and she was happy to let us take some last pics of her. Went back to the lodge for a fabulous dinner of ostrich steaks and a couple of reds and flopped into bed.
We have to leave 8.30am in the morning so no chance for an early drive out, but our 3 nights and 5 safaris here have been amazing. Our driver Rob, tracker Nhlayo, all the staff at Idube have made our first safari in Sth Africa something we will remember forever.