We're Home!

We made it back to JFK at about 8:50.  Flight was late due to the delay in Senegal.  Everyone said that it was a great experience.  I had a great time -- I love South Africa.  Its an incredible country with incredible people.  I hope you enjoyed the blog!  Check back next January for the trip to Cape Town.  Thanks for taking this trip with us!

Back in the U.S.

Here are some pics as we boarded the plane on Saturday night.  Plane left right on time, but we refueled in Dakar, Senegal.  Another flight had mechanical problems, so we had to take on additional passengers.  We were acting silly the entire flight home.  Delirious, I guess!

The Drive Back to Joburg

Well...better luck with the border police this time.  No issues...no searches...only slight delay.  This time it took less than 30 minutes.  But the route was as scenic as the one coming from Durban.  We arrived after 9:30 last night.  The vehicle is soooooo slow.  Going up and down the mountains.  We made it safely and now we are in the home stretch.  We will leave for the airport at about 3pm!  The group is doing last minute packing AND SHOPPING.  This was a great trip.

Finally Made It to Swaziland!

After driving all afternoon at a snails pace, we finally made it to Swaziland.  The border crossing was torture!  They wanted to search the entire vehicle and it took almost 2 hours. This region where we are staying is called "Ezulwini" meaning Heaven.   Anyway, the hotel is splendid and the dinner buffet was absolutely wonderful.  And for dessert....bread pudding!

Morning Safari

The group got up at 6am to go out on a morning safari drive.  This is one of our little friends that was waiting right around the corner!  Yep, a real live giraffe!

Safari Lodge

We made it to Leopard Mountain Safari Lodge!  Here is the group on the way.  We saw giraffe, rhinos, wilderbeasts, impala, kudu, whew....a lot of animals!  Everyone is excited!  Now we are headed to the Boma (place of eating) for dinner.  Stay tuned for more pictures later!

Gardenia Primary School Visit

This morning we went to visit one of the schools from my research project in the late 90s--Gardenia Primary School.  The children here are beautiful and eagar to learn.  In 2005, we sent over 5,000 books to the school that previously had only about 400 in their library.  The school currently has about 1,100 students.  The administration and the staff are incredible with over 40 children per class room and no teacher assistants!  We wanted to stay all day!

Sunrise on the Indian Ocean

I chartered a yacht for the group to experience an unbelievable start to the morning.  We were on the Africa Queen by 4:15am and were among the first to experience this morning on earth today.  This is one of the pictures I took from the bow.

Whew!

Well here I am the durban beachfront.  It actually wasn't hot at all.  It was perfect!  The waves were the best part of the water today!  Huge huge waves!

Arrived in Durban

We left at 6am this morning and made excellent time!  Its almost 1pm and we are headed to the beachfront at 3pm.  The weather is gorgeous and is a welcome break from the snow in the U.S.  This is a view from my hotel room.  Jealous?

Church!

Today was a glorious day!!  We worshipped with Pastor Matilda Tshabalala and the congregation at the Christian Community Church in Kwa Thema.  We sang, danced and prayed with our brothers and sisters here and had a marvelous time in the Lord.  We are going to dinner at Nandos!  Yay!!

Busy Saturday

Well,, we arrived safely almost 4 hours late.  After waiting in NY JFK airport we had avoid yet another storm brewing over the Atlantic Ocean which caused us to lose more time.  But we arrived without incident and made it safely to the hotel.  About half an hour after arrival, we left for the orphanage--this picture shows you how the children received us. 

Flight Delayed at JFK - 2/12/10

Our flight was scheduled to leave at 10:30, but we are sitting here at JFK enjoying the good company and conversation.  Everyone is excited and ready to board the plane!  We are scheduled to depart at 2:00 EST.