Hungry Hungry Hippos

Howdy everyone!

Hope all's well back in the UK... though frankly, this blog isn't about you is it? So, let's not dwell on your situations, as this is all about me, the vain narcisstic person that is Aaron... well... at least i admit it!

When i last left you (hanging on my every word), i think i was still in Storm's River, post-bungee jump, still with the last remnants of my hangover. Well - a LOT has changed since then, and the past 2 days have reminded me greatly of the US... for a few reasons - one of which is highly politically charged, so i'll save that one for another day (i'll keep this one light and smutty); with the other reason being the amount of buses we've had to sit on! Luckily, this is FAR better than the Greyhound though - i don't have people looking at me like i'm a threat to society, and nor do i have to sit next to people that are a threat to me... just zie Germans. Who are more of a threat to themselves!

In the past 48 hours we've rocketed through two of the major cities down here - Port Elizabeth (or Nelson Mandella Bay) and Durban. We've seen VERY little of these places, as we rolled in at night and just fell asleep as soon as we got in, as well as leaving at 6am. We're quite happy to put ourselves under the illusion that nothing is happening in these places, when i think we both know that there's a hell of a lot going on. Ideally, we should be spending 6 weeks in South Africa, not 3... but i like to think we're cramming this holiday full of EVERYTHING possible - living for the moment, so to speak.

For any of you wondering about the fine ladies down here... nothing much to report at present. The bus was bare on hotness... which was a crying shame. Nothing better than a bit of flirting to pass the time. The only flirting i did was with my book... but she's not much of a tease - you just open her up and she shows you all her goods at once. The filthy little slut.

So, where am i now? In probably the most scenic place yet - St. Lucia, which is deep in Zululand. We're here for a couple of days, which is cool, before we head off to Swaziland for another couple of days. Yes, lots of "lands" at this stage of the journey. It's strange... it feels like we've been here for a month already... probably due to the amount of ground we've covered and the number of things we've seen. Hell, when i think what lies ahead - i'm pretty damn excited. This holiday is far, FAR from over.

What's in St. Lucia then i hear you ask?? Well, the main reason for coming here is a bit of wildlife. We've jumped off bridges, swam with sharks and kayaked with whales... now we want to WATCH the wildlife... though again, we're going to throw in some danger. The main wildlife here is a) hippos and b) crocodiles... oh, and the rivers team with zambezi sharks too. Ultimately, you don't want to swim here, much like you don't want to go to a sleepover at Josef Fritzel's house. So, what are we going to do?! Yes - we're going to KAYAK IN THE RIVER!!! What fun is wildlife spotting if you're not in imminent danger?! Hippos swim at 25kph in water, croc's obviously can spin your arm off, and sharks... well, zambezi sharks are angry little dudes who will have no trouble in eating you. Needless to say, we're a bit hesitant about tomorrow, though i'm pretty sure we'll do it... gulp...

We would do one of the overland safaris here in the Kwazulu-Natal National Park... but we're going Kruger in under a week, where we'll easily get our feed of the "Big 5", so i'm not too worried at present. I'd rather see those hungry hungry hippos in the lakes. Apparently, they're meant to walk down the street outside our place at night... as too do certain big cats. Namely leopards / cougars. So that's heartening. And again - needless to say, i'm not going for a midnight stroll around here! My night vision is questionable at the best of times, but i think there's a big difference between not seeing a curb and not seeing a hippo! I'll pass!

As i say, we're here for a couple of days, and i'm sure i'll update you tomorrow to let you know how things are progressing. Hopefully, i'll have all my limbs intact! Let's keep those fingers crossed right?! Regardless though, this place is beautiful - THIS is what i expected of Africa - keep all that westernised crap in Cape Town, this is the real deal, and i love it.

Much love,

Aaron x