It started with a cocktail in the tranquil setting of Domes Miramare, in the heart of South Corfu, where the date palms tower above the bamboos that lead to the sand and the blue sea stretches away allowing us to imagine and dream.
‘A three week tour from Cape Town to Victoria Falls, passing through the Okavango Delta – sounds marvellous’ my friend Jan said
‘ it does ‘ I replied ‘ I’ve only been to Africa once – Kenya- 1985…’
(at that stage I had never heard of the Okavango Delta)
‘Would you be interested – really?’
‘Of course. Lets look more closely at the itinerary’
And that was it. Plans were made, Deposits sent, vaccinations booked. Then disaster. Jan had a fall, leaving everything undecided while she had physiotherapy As the weeks went passed, Jan made steady progress, but not enough to allow her to travel.
So I’m going on my own. In a group of twelve. I’ve packed already. I’m using things directly from my washbag. A real sign of excitement. The only way not to forget things.
It’s a 21 day trip, on a lorry. The safari vehicles used by the company look a lot like lorries. They are custom built to withstand the roads of Africa and have air con, fridges and cooking stove. Large windows to allow you to get a good view. I wonder how they decide who gets to sit by the window. Maybe it’s rotated.
My first leg of the journey is to get to Athens. From there I take a four hour plane ride to Doha, thence to Cape town on a nine hour forty five minute minute leg. Basically, we fly the whole length of Africa. What an enormous continent to say it takes almost half a day to fly over. That’s overnight tonight so I’ll be wearing my eye mask and hoping to get some sleep. It’s fun to think I won’t be driving a car for three weeks.
So follow along with me, and let me share my discoveries along the way. I’ll be finding out more about the bird who makes this nest and why and how if it’s not perfect, the female refuses to use it and the male must start again.
AH SURE AZURE 
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